The Jewish News - March 2014

march

16-21, 2014

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www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival.aspx or call 941-552-6304

Celebrating Jewish Life in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Israel and the World FEDERATION NEWS

Serving our community since 1971!

Published by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee www.jfedsrq.org

March 2014 - Adar 5774

Volume 44, Number 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 10A Community Focus 18A Jewish Interest 23A Israel & the Jewish World 25A Commentary 28A Focus on Youth 31A Life Cycle 1B Jewish Happenings

4A Beatrice Friedman Legacy Society at Michael’s Wine Cellar

6A Federation enters a unique partnership with Magen David Adom

23A

Together, JFCS & The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee make an impact!

By Jamie M. Smith, Dir. of Marketing, JFCS

J

ewish Family & Children’s Service of the Suncoast would not exist today if not for the funding and support of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee to found the organization in 1985.

Since then, JFCS and The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee have been collaborating to serve those in need within our community.

Each year, the Federation provides targeted funding to JFCS, enabling it to offer the community an array of Jewish Healing Programs. A corps of compassionate, trained volunteers provides a variety of services to our community through these programs.

Volunteers report great satisfaction from their involvement, stating they directly benefit from being able to give back to the community and forming relationships with participants.

Jewish Healing Programs include: ¡¡ Shabbat, Jewish High Holy Day and Festival Celebrations at area senior facilities ¡¡ End of Life Doula Services ¡¡ Friendly Visitors and Telephone Pals ¡¡ Holocaust Survivor Services ¡¡ Bereavement Support Groups ¡¡ Jewish Care Management ¡¡ Jewish Financial Assistance ¡¡ Grace Rosen Magill Lending Library and Annual Lecture The services within these programs give the isolated a respite from loneliness, seniors access to a Shabbat service, a Jewish family in need the nec-

Joe Mendels, JFCS Board Chair; Nancy Swart, The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Board President; Howard Tevlowitz, The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Executive Director; Rose Chapman, JFCS President/CEO (photo by Jamie M. Smith)

essary funds to get back on their feet, and so much more. Additional services include the transportation of at least 40 seniors to weekly events and a newly added holiday lunch program, “Essen & Fressen for Yom Tov.” The impact the Jewish Healing Programs have on our community is huge! In 2013, volunteers brought the Celebration of Chanukah to 24 senior facilities; 46 isolated seniors were recipients of weekly visits from caring volunteers; and 55 Holocaust survivors received assistance in applying for relevant funding, as well as invitations to monthly social gatherings.

When asked about our programs, participants report JFCS is “doing a wonderful job and provides an important community connection!” Many also suggest that JFCS expand its services and provide longer sessions or opportunities to connect with staff and peers. And, thanks to the ongoing funding and support by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, JFCS is able to assist and provide comfort to more of the Jewish community and promote a positive Jewish identity – a mission both organizations share.

The conversation the Family Jeweler continues: The 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights movement

Jewish National Fund isn’t only about planting forests

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John Wesley Walker, Jr., D. Min

Editor’s note: The American Jewish community was on the frontlines of the modern Civil Rights battle, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. So many This Proof must be signed and returned before Jewish activists contributed to and sacrificed for the Temple Beth we can proceed with your order. This is your movement. prior to Civil printing.Rights Please examine all spellSholomProof ing and informationIn carefully.

RFJD will of not be recognition this modern milestone, The Schools’held responsible for any Federation unnoticed errors.ofAnySarasota-Manatee is sponJewish printing will play be customer’s sole and discussion groups at annual errors found after soring the Thurgood responsibility.

Florida Studio Theatre, the Westcoast Black Theatre Jog-a-Thon Approval Troupe’s play Whipping Man, and continuing its onApprovedgoing support of Embracing Our Differences.

30A

Approved with Corrections New Proof Required A publication of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Non-Profit Org. Klingenstein Jewish Center, 580 McIntosh Rd., Sarasota, FL 34232 U.S. POSTAGE Annual voluntary subscription: $25 Authorized Signature PAID MANASOTA FL PERMIT 167 Date

The focus of the January 23 panel discussion at Florida Studio Theatre was on African American-Jewish rela- John Wesley Walker, Jr. tions: “We are not where we were, how do we get back; The relationship between the African-Americans and the Jews through today.”

The panel, moderated by New College professor Uzi Baram, was comprised of Kate Alexander, The Honorable Larry Eger, Rabbi Geoffrey Huntting,

Civil Rights movement...continued on page 3A

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FEDERATION NEWS

Federation Mini-Series

By Howard Tevlowitz, Federation Executive Director

W

elcome to the Federation Mini-Series, a monthly feature that will serve to outline the work our Federation does as a result of the support of our committed cadre of donors. Each component of this series will focus on one aspect of the important role our Federation serves in our local community and worldwide.

FACT: Our Federation is focused on helping those Jews most vulnerable or at risk, and working to build a stronger Jewish future. We add value by identifying where there are key needs or gaps in the community, identifying key opportunities and effective solutions to these challenges, convening partners/ leaders/donors to address these issues, and ensuring return on philanthropic investment. Bottom line: We aim to be the most effective mechanism to ensure meaningful – and strategic – impact in our Jewish community.

FACT: 1. Federation underwrites the cost of Jewish Family & Children’s Service of the Suncoast staff who are focused exclusively on meeting needs in our Jewish community.

See the article on page 1A for more details on our relationship with JFCS. 2. Federation, through our affiliation with The Jewish Federations of North America, works with partners nationally, like United Way and Red Cross, to ensure that FEMA funds are provided to our Sarasota-Manatee communities. a. Those funds are distributed locally through the United Way. I serve as Chair of the United Way FEMA Committee. In addition, the FEMA Committee examines the cost of services, location of services, and an evaluation of the social service agency in the best position to provide those services.

FACT: In addition to the JFCS staff funded

by Federation dollars, Federation also recently provided funding to JFCS for the following individuals/needs: 1. An 86-year-old Holocaust client has an adult handicapped daughter who lives with her. Her rent and living expenses are greater than their Social Security income, and she has been putting the difference on her credit card because she felt she had no other choice.

One month’s rent was covered by the Holocaust Claims Conference Emergency Fund. A Federationfunded Case Manager found the client a residence that is within her budget. Once the housing application is accepted, Federation

will provide $1,900 in funds to cover the deposit, first month’s rent and moving expenses, which will be administered through and

by JFCS. 2. A father of two recently lost his job and was able to find a new one paying only $10 an hour. His wife is trying to get a job working for the school district in food service so that her schedule will be similar to that of their children.

Their youngest child is four years old and can attend free preschool three days a week until 11:00 a.m.

However, it is not worthwhile for mom to work if her entire salary just covers the child care expenses.

The family also lost their only car when dad lost his job. A vehicle is necessary for transportation to work and school. The Federation provided $3,100, administered through JFCS, for a used van and one year of auto insurance in order to help this family get back on their feet.

3. A former nurse’s aide in her fifties with a critical illness is currently in the fulltime care of her 81-yearold father and 80-year-old mother.

The woman is bedridden and frequently in and out of the hospital due to her illness. Her disability insurance and Medicaid does not cover the cost of non-prescription needs such as food supplements, bed pads and vitamins. Quarterly, Federation will provide $50 a month with the proviso that JFCS will report back to Federation with an updated status.

This provides just a glimpse into the work we do daily at our Federation on behalf of the 2,500+ individuals and families who give to our Jewish Federation and fulfill our mission of saving Jewish lives. I hope this mini-series helps provide an understanding of the impact your dollars have on the lives of those in our worldwide community. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 941.371.4546 or htevlowitz@jfedsrq.org.

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TheJewishFederation.org

March 2014

3A March 2014 FEDERATION NEWS

3A

Prominent guests at Jewish Film Festival screenings

By Roz Goldberg, Film Festival Chair

W

hen the 2014 Jewish Film Festival kicks off on Sunday, March 16 at the Beatrice Friedman Theatre on the Federation Campus, audience members can expect to experience an outstanding roster of new, award-winning films that will span almost 80 years in time and culture: from Europe and Tel Aviv in the 1930s; to France in the 1940s; to Rome in the 1990s; and to contemporary settings in Israel and in outer space. This will be a whirlwind journey that we invite you to take with us over the six days of our Festival.

Again this year, we are delighted to announce that we will be welcoming prominent out-of-town and local guests who will enhance our post-film discussions. Having these prominent guests participating in our Jewish Film Festival underscores the stature and importance of this Jewish Federation event. We believe that this fifth year of our Jewish Film Festival will be even more exciting and compelling than last year’s Israel Film Festival, which was our most successful one to date. It is our goal each year to reach more and more members of our Jewish community by creating a stimulating, entertaining event in which everyone will want to participate.

The Return of the Violin will be the Festival’s opening film on Sunday, March 16 at 4:00 p.m. This one-

hour documentary tracks the fate of the Stradivarius violin that was stolen from celebrated violinist Bronislaw Huberman while he was performing at Carnegie Hall in 1936 in order to raise the money needed to bring world-class, European Jewish musicians to Israel before Hitler could claim them. This

film starts where Orchestra of Exiles left off. Prominent Sarasota Orchestra principal cellist Abe Feder is scheduled to join us for the post-film discussion.

A reception will take place from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., between the showing of The Return of the Violin and the 7:00 p.m. showing of Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story. All ticket holders for either film are cordially invited.

At 7:00 p.m., we are honored to be welcoming Robert Jacobvitz, Founder of the International Committee for the Commemoration of Dr. Aristides de Sousa Mendes. In feature-film form, Disobedience tells the gripping, but little-known story of de Sousa Men-

Civil Rights movement...continued from page 1A Dr. Eddy Regnier, Rabbi Howard Simon, Howard Tevlowitz, Pastor John Walker and The Honorable Judge Charles E. Williams.

Per Kate Alexander, “In an age of screaming media pundits, the art of true dialogue has been all but lost. It has been my goal to bring vivid dialogues on and around the play with leaders from all persuasions in our community – people who are civic minded, passionate and able to reach out to the public.” Kudos to Florida Studio Theatre!

Below are Pastor Walker’s postpanel reflections. We look forward to your thoughts as well.

A

s I often do following a great discussion on any topic, I continue to reflect on what was said, hoping to continue the dialogue and gain some personal enlightenment.

It was great to hear the stories and thoughts, and to feel the emotion of my colleagues on the panel that evening.

Being a child during the beginning of the civil rights movement, it was an honor to hear those from the African American and Jewish communities share about their participation and how they saw the Civil Rights movement through their lens.

Hearing the concerns of my Jewish brothers on the panel concerning the time of cultural awareness or revolution, as I like to call it, it was suggested that this was the time when the separation of African Americans and Jews possibly took place. There were some who appeared to be the voices of African Americans whom my Jewish colleagues felt placed a schism between the two. Yet, as was stated, “Coming out of the sixties, black people had no identity.”

I believe it was during this time that the dialogue and collaboration of both African Americans and Jews discontinued after a long struggle of working together for the rights of all humanity, although I believe many in the African American community appreciated the support and sacrifice of our Jewish brothers and sisters. However, the time had come time when African Americans felt they needed to stand on their own.

It is unfortunate that feelings were

hurt during the Civil Rights movement.

As a child I was not aware that many, if not most of the whites involved in the movement were Jewish. We just saw black and sympathetic whites working together.

As I reflect and read concerning the era, it reminds me of a perceived ‘mentor/student’ relationship. The brilliant strategies of Marshall and King commandeered the era. Yet, some felt, that there was a control issue that was choking the movement. Again, the perceived mentor (Jews and others), who had the means and access to resources that African Americans (mentee) did not always have, was able to effectively use those resources and access during the movement.

In the latter movement, it is unfortunate that as the students began to stand on their own, and walk in the power that they had begun to own, that communication ceased and was replaced with misunderstanding.

I contend, as with any relationship, that communication is the key. The dialogue we shared as African Americans and Jews that evening, as we discussed – “We are not where we were. How do we get back?” – must continue if we are to “get back.” The struggle continues.

Through my lens, Jews can still play a supportive role in the struggle for justice, especially as the black community struggles against the New Jim Crow. I contend that although Jews have been important allies, allowing the “black power” movement to play out was necessary.

Now we can join again in the new struggles. We need the alliances of Jewish people to fight against this new oppression. We must continue the dialogue. Feelings might get hurt.

However, if there is constant and honest dialogue we can get past the hurt and do everything necessary together to fight against continued racism and anti-Semitism or any other injustice that we all know is alive and well.

Knowledge is power! Yet, until we can properly educate our young and teach them that humanity is one race, the powerful will continue to oppress us.

Blessings, as the struggle continues.

des, the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux at the time of Hitler’s invasion, who saved almost ten times as many Jews as Oskar Schindler did. We are pleased to announce that Mr. Jacobvitz will also participate in the post-film discussion at our second showing of Disobedience on Monday, March 17 at 7:00 p.m. at Temple Sinai.

Last, but definitely not least, we are very pleased to announce that, on Wednesday, March 19, we will be joined at both screenings of An Article of Hope by the film’s director, Dan Cohen. The first screening will take place at 3:00 p.m. at Temple Beth Israel, and the second at 7:00 p.m. at Lakewood Ranch Cinemas. An Article of Hope is a moving, one-hour documentary about Colonel Ilan Ramon, the son of Holocaust survivors, who became Israel’s first and only astronaut – and the miniature Torah scroll from Bergen-Belsen that he carried into space with him and talked about from the flight deck of Columbia. This film has been described as “…a remarkable journey of the human spirit.”

We hope to be joined by other guests at our post-film discussions, and will announce these guests via email as arrangements are confirmed. As you can see from the Festival schedule, which appears on page 32A of this

issue and at www.jfedsrq.org/filmfes tival.aspx, each film will be shown at least twice. Based on the reaction of our Jewish Film Festival Committee members, who screened and evaluated a number of highly-regarded films to choose our final six, the 2014 films will provide a remarkable experience for all involved. We expect our screenings to be very well-attended, as they have been each year, and hope that our audience members will continue to participate actively in the post-film discussions, which will take place after each screening.

If you don’t already have your tickets, check out the event listings in the Jewish Happenings section of this issue for detailed film descriptions, a complete schedule of events, and ticket information.

Films with Jewish/Israeli themes provide a window into our history, and make us think about the historical events and human experiences that have shaped us – and continue to shape us – as individuals and as a people. We are proud to be premiering these unique and highly diverse films.

Thanks go to the members of the Jewish Film Festival Committee: Karen Bernstein, Marsha Eisenberg, Barbara Jacob, Helene Morgenstern, Susan Newmark, Lois Stulberg, Evans Tilles and Janet Tolbert.

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4A

March 2014

FEDERATION NEWS

Beatrice Friedman Legacy Society meets, greets and celebrates at Michael’s Wine Cellar

By Marty Haberer, Federation Associate Executive Director

H

elen and Len Glaser accepted the co-chairmanship of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee’s Beatrice Friedman Legacy Society because they understand that they and their friends have an unprecedented opportunity to ensure and protect a vibrant Jewish community in Sarasota-Manatee, in Israel and everywhere that Jews reside. They, along with other members of the community who have made endowment commitments or are considering doing so, met at Michael’s Wine Cellar on Monday, January 27 to share their passion for our Federation and their deep commitment to the future of the Jewish community.

“I love saying, ‘if we don’t, who will,’” said Helen. “We have been fortunate enough to have the means to change people’s lives, and we thank God for that.”

David and Edie Chaifetz acknowledge that the only way to create and maintain the kind of Jewish community they have loved and supported throughout their adult lives is to ensure the future with an endowment. And Rich and Rebecca Bergman understand that “our lives are not summed up by what’s written in our obituaries but in the lives of the people we have affected.”

It is because of these types of passionate leaders and many, many others that The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee is building its endowment and getting ever closer to ensuring Federation’s mission of saving Jewish lives and enhancing Jewish life for many years to come. Just this year alone, gifts from the late Robert Michelson of over $1.15 million for college scholarships and $250,000 from the late Herb and Rita Gold gave a significant boost

to an overall endowment fund that now exceeds $15 million.

We understand that some of our most generous and dedicated contributors and leaders in our community are aging out. It is unrealistic to believe that those who follow them will have the same priorities. Therefore, the way to protect what has been built and invested in for so long is to create permanent endowment funds.”

Howard Tevlowitz, Federation’s Executive Director, said, “The Federation is grateful to have the likes of Helen and Len Glaser leading this vital

initiative. We want to thank them also for generously sponsoring the event at Michael’s Wine Cellar. People were having so much fun together, they lingered for more than half an hour after the event officially concluded.”

Many people are adding Federation in their wills to endow Lion of Judah level giving and to continue their annual giving in perpetuity. For information on how to make an endowment gift or to make Federation aware of expectancies you have made to them in your estate planning, please call me at 941.552.6303.

Barbara Ackerman, Nancy Swart, Ilene Fox

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Jewish Heritage Day at Tropicana Field

O

License # 274871

pening weekend for the Tampa Bay Rays will have unique meaning as they host their annual Jewish Heritage Day at Tropicana Field on Sunday, April 6. The Rays will be offering discounted press level tickets for participants.

Come watch the Rays play the Texas Rangers that day at 1:40 p.m. (gates open at 11:40 a.m.) Custom Rays tshirts will be offered (first come, first serve, and sizes will be based on availability) to those who purchase tickets

through the special rate and take their ticket to the Federation’s table near Section 222.

Press level tickets are $25 for those who buy them in a group of 10 or more and $35 for individuals. The regular price is $50.

For group purchases, please contact Bob Windheim at 727.825.3220 or atbwindheim@raysbasell.com. To purchase individual tickets, visit www.

TheJewishFederation.org.

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March 2014

5A March 2014 FEDERATION NEWS

5A

Mensch of the Month: Roz Goldberg

By Kim Mullins, Federation Director of Operations

Established 1971

PUBLISHER The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Klingenstein Jewish Center 580 McIntosh Road Sarasota, FL 34232-1959 Phone: 941.371.4546 Fax: 941.378.2947 E-mail: jewishnews@jfedsrq.org Website: www.jfedsrq.org Published Monthly Volume 44, Number 3 March 2014 48 pages in two sections USPS Permit No. 167 April 2014 Issue Deadlines: Editorial: February 27, 2014 Advertising: February 28, 2014 PRESIDENT Nancy Swart EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Howard Tevlowitz ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Marty Haberer COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR Linda Lipson MANAGING EDITOR Ted Epstein CREATIVE MANAGER Christopher Alexander ADVERTISING SALES Robin Leonardi PROOFREADERS Adeline Silverman, Stacey Edelman, Harold Samtur, Bryna Tevlowitz, Deb Bryan JOSEPH J. EDLIN JOURNALISM INTERN Sammy Robbins, Sarah Tedesco MISSION STATEMENT: The Jewish News of Sarasota-Manatee strives to be the source of news and features of special interest to the Jewish community of Sarasota-Manatee, to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions in the Jewish community, and to communicate the mission, activities and achievements of the Federation and its Jewish community partners.

t is difficult to put into words what mittee and as a member of both the Roz Goldberg means not only to finance and policies and procedures committee. Roz is also an active memour Federation but to the Sarasota-Manatee community. While she is ber of several non-profit organizations, likely best known in our Jewish such as the Sarasota Film community as the chair for our Festival and AIPAC. annual Jewish Film Festival, now Roz is one of Federation’s most dedicated volunin its fifth year, Roz has been actively involved with our Federateers. In her role as the film tion for close to 10 years. festival chair, she personally Currently, she holds the poscreens upwards of 30 films sition of Parliamentarian and each year and works with a Roz Goldberg is a member of the board of directors committee to make the selections. She and executive committee. She has also also writes articles, secures interestserved as chair of the investment coming guest speakers and even negotiates

I

First ever Interfaith Passover Seder

By Marty Haberer, Federation Associate Executive Director

T

his year, The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee is hosting our very first Interfaith Passover Seder. For the past couple of years, Federation made a concerted effort to open our doors, open our culture and open our faith to more than the Jewish community in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Most notably we sent two missions to Israel with Christian clergy and leadership. We’re members of the Sarasota Ministerial Association and have seven Christians and seven Jews on our Heller Israel Advocacy Initiative’s Executive Committee.

It seems only natural that we take this next step by celebrating the Passover Seder together. Every year, we mark the historic occasion in the Torah when Jews were freed from Egyptian bondage with a Seder. It helps us remember that freedom is our first commandment and that no one should ever be without it. For many Christians, Passover is believed to have been Je-

sus’ last supper and is a special time every year just before Easter.

As part of the Heller Israel Advocacy Initiative, we are joining hands with everyone who wishes to commemorate this moment in time when God took the Jews out of slavery saying dayenu (enough)!

We invite you to join us for The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee’s first ever Interfaith Passover Seder to begin a tradition

of this festive and important breaking of matzoh with friends and family.

The event will take place on Thursday, March 27 at Michael’s On East.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; dinner and the Seder begin at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $36/adult, $18/under 12. Table sponsorships are available. For more information, contact Jessi Sheslow at 941.343.2109 or jsheslow@jfedsrq.org.

Payment is your reservation. To make a reservation, visit www.jfedsrq. org/events.aspx or call Joan Hanley at 941.343.2115.

Temple Beth Sholom Mens Club pays tribute to our

“Man of the Year” Howard Tevlowitz

OPINIONS printed in The Jewish News of Sarasota-Manatee do not necessarily reflect those of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, its Board of Directors or staff.

SUBMISSIONS to The Jewish News are subject to editing for space and content, and may be withheld from publication without prior notice. Approval of submissions for publication in either verbal or written form shall always be considered tentative, and does not imply a guarantee of any kind. Submissions must be sent electronically to jewishnews@jfedsrq.org.

with producers and filmmakers to secure reasonable screening fees. She is extremely hands-on and takes her role as chair very seriously. Her hard work has paid off…the film festival is one of our Federation’s most successful programs, having attracted close to 1,000 participants in 2013.

We are thrilled to honor Roz as our Mensch of the Month for March! Show your support for Roz by attending this year’s festival. Visit www.jfedsrq.org/ filmfestival.aspx for details.

Howard Tevlowitz

Gerry Ronkin

Executive Director of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

LETTERS to the editor should not exceed 300 words, must be typed, and include the writer’s name, mailing address and phone number. Letters can be submitted via snail mail or e-mail (jewishnews@jfedsrq.org).

Not all letters will be published. Letters may be edited for length and content.

President Temple Beth Sholom Men’s Club

Sunday, March 23, 2014 Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 South Tuttle Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34237 5:00 pm Wine & Hors d’oeuvres | 6:00 pm Dinner, Dress: Cocktail Attire

ADVERTISING: Publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertisement and may require the words “Paid Advertisement” in any ad. Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement of products, services or ideas promoted therein.

Entertainment by West Coast Black Theatre Troupe and Freylekh Catered by Michael’s on East NAME

Member publication:

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STAY CONNECTED

Individual Ticket Price $100.00 Note: ($35 per ticket is tax-deductible) RSVP must be received no later than March 14, 2014

Sponsorship Opportunities: Chai (Life) Achim (Brothers) Havorot (Friends) Mazel Tov (Good Luck) Simcha (Celebration)

$1,800.00 $1,000.00 $500.00 $360.00 $180.00

Includes 4 tickets & Recognition Includes 2 tickets & Recognition Includes 2 tickets & Recognition Includes 2 tickets & Recognition Includes 1 ticket & Recognition

Questions? Please contact Men’s Club President Gerry Ronkin 941-809-5195 or Program Chair Paul Rabin 941-927-0901

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6A

March 2014

Federation sponsors Israel art exhibit at Art Center Sarasota Staff Report

he exhibit “Confluence: Israel” showcases works by young, emerging Israeli artists and will run from March 13 through April 25 at Art Center Sarasota, 707 N. Tamiami Trail. Lisa Berger, the center’s executive director, explains that this exhibition evolved from a collaboration with The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee. “It will be the first exhibit of its kind in our area,” she says. “The

T

Parallax Metal by Ohad Zlotnick

Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee has wanted to produce an exhibition of Israeli art for a long time. We’re thrilled to help make that happen.”

Berger explains that her team worked closely with Shosh Dagan, a leading Israeli curator, to showcase a

broad spectrum of Israeli artists working in a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, woodwork, video, jewelry and embroidery. “The media often depicts Israel through the lens of conflict – but there’s far more to it than that,” says Berger. “This exhibit offers a close-up look at the inventive, cutting-edge work that Israeli artists are producing.”

She notes that one of the artists, Ohad Zlotnick, who will be coming to Sarasota, creates three-dimensional metal sculptures of Hebrew letters.

Zlotnick will give an artist’s talk on Friday, March 14 at 2:00 p.m.

Gallery hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Admission is free. For more information, call 941.365.2032 or visit www. artsarasota.org.

Federation enters a unique partnership with Magen David Adom Staff Report

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he Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee has once again entered into a collaborative partnership with another not-for-profit organization, this time with Magen David Adom.

The extraordinary efforts of Gila Meriwether and Charlene Wolff to raise money for an ambulance from local donors, coupled with a generous grant of $25,000 from Federation’s overseas granting process, will allow an ambulance to be built and brought to Sarasota-Manatee in time for Federation’s Annual meeting in November 2014.

The ambulance will then be sent to Israel, where it will be put into use to save lives and enhance the quality of life for the people of Israel.

Marty Haberer, Federation Associate Executive Director and lead staff for the overseas granting committee, said, “These types of collaborations are particularly rewarding.

We have collaborated to send minipumper fire trucks to Israel via JNF, we

sponsored the Ein Gedi Pool at Selby Gardens’ new Children’s Rainforest Garden, and now we are sponsoring an ambulance with American Friends of Magen David Adom.” Howard Tevlowitz, Federation Executive Director, added, “This was our leadership’s way of celebrating Israel’s 65th birthday and I can’t think of a better present as we stand with the people of Israel.”

FEDERATION NEWS

Notice anything different about The Jewish News?

By Ted Epstein, Managing Editor

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f the February issue of The Jewish News or the one you’re holding in your hands looks and feels different than previous issues, you’re not imagining it. The Jewish News is now printed on a heavier paper stock, which translates to a better quality paper. There is now color on every page, allowing for more flexibility in the overall layout and with the placement of Federation and paid advertisements. The newspaper is also three inches longer (20" vs 17"). And, most important, the overall printing is of higher quality.

In addition to editing and designing each issue of The Jewish News, I do the same for the Federation Star and L’Chayim, the monthly newspapers of the Jewish Federations covering Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties. Over the years, I have been approached by several printers wanting the three Federations’ business. No one ever came close to the prices of the printer we were using. And no one offered anything better. That is, until this past summer.

Representatives from Scripps Printing, printers of the Naples Daily News, in Naples, presented a proposal outlining the above printing advantages.

After some discussion, the three Federations agreed to turn over the printing of their newspapers to Scripps.

I trust you, our readers, are as pleased with the new Jewish News as Federation staff and I am.

I would also like to take this opportunity to address the editorial content of The Jewish News and how it has evolved in the 50+ issues I’ve been responsible for. In addition to articles from Federation staff, temple and organization representatives, school and camp directors, “Jewish Happenings,” “From the Bimah” columns from local rabbis, life cycle information, and items of Jewish interest, in the past few years, we’ve added a political cartoon, a Jerusalem Post crossword puzzle, book reviews, and a “Stars of David” column. You will find each of these in this issue.

I read several daily eNewsletters,

Jewish/Israel-related website articles and commentary pieces, combing through them for items you’ll find interesting and that I believe will help meet the goal of the newspaper – “Celebrating Jewish Life in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Israel and the World.”

What I read is enlightening, eyeopening, informative and sometimes disturbing. I try to stay away from controversy. And sometimes, that’s unavoidable.

I’d like to bring your attention to two articles in particular this month.

The first, on page 22A, is from CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America).

Someone has finally called out The New York Times for slanting the news against Israel. Kudos to CAMERA. The second article, on page 26A, “The meaning of Israel: A personal view,” is a 2,300-word commentary

by David Harris, Executive Director of AJC. A few years ago, I received permission from Brian Lipton, Regional Director, AJC West Coast Florida, to reprint David’s commentary pieces in The Jewish News. Normally, I don’t publish articles this long. But I’ve made an exception this month, as David is receiving the AJC’s Human Relations Award at a dinner reception in Sarasota on Monday, March 17 (see page 11A).

Please be sure to read both articles.

I hope you find each issue of The Jewish News informative, entertaining and thought-provoking. I would love to hear from you – the good, the bad and the ugly. How do you feel about the new look and feel of the newspaper?

Do you agree or disagree with some of the commentary pieces? Do you find the “Jewish Interest” and “Israel & the Jewish World” items valuable?

Is the “Jewish Happenings” section valuable? Can it be improved? Is there anything else you’d like to see in the newspaper?

Please email your comments and suggestions to jewishnews18@gmail. com. I look forward to hearing from you.

For a continuously updated community calendar, visit www.jfedsrq.org.

FREE HOLOCAUST WORKSHOP

FOR MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATORS For more information on how to get involved with our Federation’s development efforts, please contact Ilene Fox, Director of Development, at 941.552.6304.

QUESTIONS?

Contact Orna Nissan at 941.552.6305 or onissan@jfedsrq.org

MONDAY, MARCH 24: 6-9PM CONSULTANT: Dr. Suzanne Vromen, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Bard College The Jewish Federation Campus 580 McIntosh Rd, Sarasota FL 34232

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Looking for something Jewish-related to do this month? See the Jewish Happenings section for more than 90 events in March!

Register: www.jfedsrq.org/events.aspx A light dinner will be served. Please bring your laptop or tablet!

Participants will be introduced to IWitness as an extension and complement of Echoes and Reflections through a hands-on lab session: • Engage middle and high school students with compelling video testimonies from survivors, rescuers, and liberators • Foster a knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust and its relevance to contemporary issues of prejudice and discrimination • Engage students in multimedia activities that foster 21st century skills, multiliteracies including: digital literacy, critical literacy, and information literacy • Lessons correlate to Common Core and ISTE National Education Technology Standards and align to FCAT strategies • Receive Continuing Education credits (certificate provided) PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

March 2014

7A March 2014 FEDERATION NEWS

The Mothers Circle Gathering – making Shabbat our own

7A

Take Control of Your Life …

By Flora Oynick, Federation Engagement Ambassador

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arents spend lots of time teaching their children facts and skills: The stove is hot. The sky is blue.

Use soap when you wash your hands.

Say “Thank you.”

Parents teach children what is delicious by putting food in their own mouths and whispering “yum;” what smells good by putting flowers to their noses and sighing, Flora Oynick “ahhh.” Parents define kindness, generosity and love with kisses and hugs, smiles and frowns, questions and answers. Unconsciously, parents teach their children complicated cultural constructions such as manners, grammar and gender roles.

We do most of this by simply being there in the morning when our children wake up, in the evening when they go to sleep, and by living under the same roof. Just being ourselves, we teach them how to be human.

Caring about being Jewish counts for more than our family background or even years of Jewish education. In this sense, Judaism is not inherited like brown eyes or curly hair. It is transmitted parent to child (l’dor vador) by example as well as instruction, in countless ways.

Parents do not have to know everything. In fact, Jewish learning is a lifelong endeavor. Learning with a child gives them a sense of shared purpose with the adults they love and respect.

You don’t have to speak Hebrew or cook chicken soup to be a Jewish role model. You don’t necessarily have to be Jewish. But in order to be an effective Jewish parent, it is essential to

become, in some way, shape or form, a student of Judaism for yourself.

When sons and daughters see mothers and fathers reading Jewish books, taking Jewish courses, bringing Jewish questions and enthusiasm to the dinner table, they absorb the idea that Jewish study is something grown-ups do. And they will want to do it, too.

Parents should find teachable Jewish moments. Some Jewish moments are embedded in the holidays, Shabbat and life-cycle rituals. But Jewish teachable moments don’t have to be limited to “Jewish time.”

Provide your children with positive Jewish memories: family celebrations, summer camp, participation in youth groups, reading Jewish storybooks, buying or baking challah for Shabbat, making decorations, and setting the table for Passover.

Make room for holy moments.

Whenever you say a prayer – any prayer – you help your children frame a moment of wonder or peace as an expression of acknowledgement of holiness.

What is the most important Jewish holiday? Shabbat is the directing principle of Jewish time, the only day with a Hebrew name. The rest are merely numbered in relation to the Sabbath.

For parents, Shabbat is the perfect Jewish lesson plan. Shabbat can have many modes and moods. Parts of the day may be contemplative, peaceful and studious, but it’s also okay to be silly, relaxed and playful on Shabbat.

Shabbat comes every week. But it doesn’t just show up in your home.

You have to invite it inside! Shabbat doesn’t just happen. It must be remembered and created week by week.

The first mention of the word

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comes early in Genesis, in the form of a verb, shavat, which means ‘stopped,’ or ‘ceased’ or ‘rested.’

On the seventh day God finished the work that God had made, and God ceased from all the work that God had made. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that God had made.

In the book of Exodus, God “gives” the Sabbath to the Jews as a token of the relationship between them: “I have given them my Sabbath to be a sign between Me and them, so they will know that I am the One that sanctifies them.”

Shabbat was a revolutionary concept in the ancient world, where only the rich and powerful enjoyed the privilege of leisure. Celebrating Shabbat set the Jews apart and sometimes got them in trouble.

Today, the obstacles to making Shabbat are mostly self-imposed! In the modern world, making Shabbat is a radical act of self-determination.

At The Mothers Circle Gathering on January 31, we learned how to make Shabbat our own, we learned about the blessings and the prayers, we made Kiddush, lit Shabbat candles, baked challah and shared our own ideas and life experiences.

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pplications for interest-free loans for post-secondary education (college, graduate school and vocational programs) will be available to Jewish students in the Sarasota-Manatee area for the 2014-2015 school year from the Jewish Educational Loan Fund, in partnership with The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.

The loan application will be available March 1 - April 30 on JELF’s website at www.jelf.org. JELF loans are need-based and offer “lastdollar” financing, meaning that JELF

J

Monday, March 17th The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

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provides the final dollars that bridge the gap between a student’s total financial resources and the cost of attending school. Applicants must be enrolled fulltime in a program leading to a degree or certificate at an accredited institution that is located in the United States, be a U.S. citizen or have lawful immigration status in the U.S., and be able to demonstrate financial need (FAFSA application required).

For more information, email info@ jelf.org or call 770.396.3080.

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RSVP at www.jfedsrq.org/events.aspx

8A

March 2014

FEDERATION NEWS

Jewish News internship available to area student

By Kim Mullins, Federation Director of Operations

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hanks to the generosity of area resident Miriam “Mimi” Edlin and her family, an area student will be awarded a paid internship with The Jewish News of Sarasota-Manatee this summer. The Mimi and Joseph J. Edlin Journalism Internship provides the opportunity for an area student between the ages of 16 and 22 to obtain real-world experience with a professional publication and the chance to learn more about the Jewish not-forprofit world.

The funds for the internship have been provided through the Joseph J. Edlin Endowment Summer Journalism Internship Fund, represented by Sarasota Bay Club resident Mimi Edlin and her family. The endowment fund is administered by the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, and the St. Louis Jewish Light is also a beneficiary of this fund.

This past year, through Mimi Edlin’s generosity, the Federation was able to hire not one but three interns!

High school students Sammy Robbins and Andrew Wolfson, and college student Sarah Tedesco were selected as the 2013 Jewish News interns. Each of

improved my writing skills. I plan to them submitted a number of articles, inuse these skills in college and beyond. terviews and stories on topics relevant It has also been beneficial to receive to the Jewish community. In addition, commentary on my writing and field all three wrote posts for our Federation other people’s opinions when writing blog, www.Federationblog.org. something more objective.”

I recently spoke with Sammy RobThe roots of this project began to bins about her experiences as one of grow in 1990, when Edlin this year’s interns. She said, and her daughters, Jamie, “My favorite part of this exLaura and Mari, discussed perience has been using The ways to honor Edlin’s late Jewish News and the Fedhusband, Joseph. “We were eration blog as a forum for determined to memorialpersonal thought and comize him in a meaningful munity outreach. While the way that would reflect and blog is more informal, both encompass Joe’s lifetime mediums give me the ability to be a recognized voice for cultural interests and conSammy Robbins cerns,” she said.

Sarasota’s Jewish youth.”

Joseph Edlin was a lawyer and Sammy indicated that her favorite submission was a blog post entitled real estate developer; he also wrote “High Holidays Your Way.” “This was book reviews and did feature writing.

He taught in Washington University’s perhaps one of my most personal piecEnglish Department and was a lecturer. es and accurately represented my view “He was a man who used words exquion traditional High Holiday services sitely, both oral and written,” rememvs. more nuanced/modern ways to celebrate the Days of Awe,” said Robbers Mrs. Edlin.

“I encourage other Sarasota-area bins. In terms of how the internship students to apply for this position. It is has affected her, she said, “The process an excellent way to learn more about of drafting and revising articles has

community happenings and give youth insight into otherwise controversial subjects. It helps to stay aware of current events (in both Israel and America) and analyze political opinions relating to these subjects,” said Robbins.

The intern will be paid $600 for approximately 60 hours of work over the course of the year. Preferred are applicants who wish to pursue a career in journalism, have a desire to work in the nonprofit sector and are interested in helping others.

Applicants interested in writing or graphic design/illustration are encouraged to send samples of their work, a resume and a cover letter to me at kmullins@jfedsrq.org or The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, Klingenstein Jewish Center, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL 34232. The deadline for submissions is April 1, 2014. Please contact Kim with any questions.

The Mimi and Joseph J. Edlin Journalism Internship is funded by the Joseph J. Edlin Endowment Summer Journalism Internship Fund, represented by Sarasota resident Mimi Edlin and her family.

2nd annual Community Teen Lock-in a total blast!

By Erica Brown

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hat a night! The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee held its 2nd annual Community Teen Lock-in on January 11-12. The “Blue Carpet” theme of the night made it memorable, and helped attendees relate to Judaism, with blue being one of the official colors of Israel. The fabulous night was filled with a celebrity-themed charades game, awesome movies, delicious kosher snacks, a costume contest, midnight pizza, and a boatload of fun!

The night started with some mingling, followed by buffet-style movie

snacks such as soft pretzels and nachos (yum!), a sentimental Havdalah led by the lovely Amber Ikeman, then some great ice-breakers to get everyone in the partying mood. Next were some hi-

larious games where knowledge of today’s celebrities and some good acting skills came in handy. Afterwards, we calmed down a bit to write and decorate cards to at-risk children in a program in Sderot that the Federation funds.

Then, late-night movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Mean Girls were enjoyed, followed by some much needed shut-eye.

When we woke the next morning, bagels, cream cheese and orange juice were hungrily noshed on and final farewells Teens from all over the community enjoy the event; Erica Brown is third from the left were said, wrapping up a night

to remember. All in all, the event was a total blast! We hope everyone had a fantastic time.

This event was planned and run by the STEP (Shapiro Teen Engagement Program) Committee, a group of local Jewish teens, to bring the community together for a night full of laughs. We are currently planning our next community teen event for Sunday, April 20, so stay tuned for the details.

For more information about STEP or teen programs, contact Amber Ikeman at 941.343.2106 or aikeman@ jfedsrq.org.

Speaking up and making a difference on a local college campus

By Rebecca Schild

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“quietly.” I didn’t know what this n the night of November 9, meant. I am far from a quiet person. I 2013, I was sitting in a friend’s thought to myself, “I want to get to the dorm. I looked out her winbottom of this as best I can.” My next dow to see a giant Nazi flag hanging in move was to email both of the faculty a window of a dorm adjacent to ours. advisors to the Jewish club, of which I It took up about 75% of the window.

Everything around me stopped. In that am Vice President. I explained the situation to them. Concern about the incimoment my heart dropped and I pandent increased when one of icked. I immediately called the advisors mentioned to my friends over to see. I was me that that night was the in utter shock. I couldn’t 75th anniversary of Kristallbelieve what I was looking at. I phoned my other nacht. The safety and seJewish friend who lives in curity of the other Jewish my building. She met me students were a concern. downstairs and the two of After security and the us became livid. Students school became aware of the Rebecca Schild were taking pictures while I situation, the flag was taken still stood stunned. My first move was down that very night and confiscated. to call the Resident Advisor. I got no The next day, my dear friend (who was answer. I proceeded to call campus sewith me when we saw the flag) and I curity and explained to them, as calmly filed an incident report. During the as possible, the situation. A moment days following the incident, I remained later the Resident Advisor called me on high alert. I was petrified. I kept my back and said that he would talk to blinds closed knowing that the student the student and it would be handled lived in the next building attached to

S.K.I.P

F O R M O R E I N F O CO N TAC T: AMBER IKEMAN 941.343.2106 O R A I K E M A N @ J F E D S R Q.O R G

Send-A-Kid-to-Israel Program

Apply oNlINE: TheJewishFederation.org The SKIP program is funded in large part by the Betty and Herb Schiff Send-a-Kid-to-Israel Fund.

mine. I did not walk by myself at night and suggested to the others to be careful when doing so as well.

A few days after the incident I spoke to campus security again. They explained that they had spoken to the student but could not tell me all of the details due to student rights. I questioned if this was some sort of tactic that they were using. My friend told me this was the second time this flag had been up. It had been up sometime the week prior to this incident and was taken down. But only this time was the flag confiscated. Security said they had never seen anything like this happen on our campus. It was a shock to everyone. I thought long and hard about what I was going to do next. My parents always taught me that if you want to get something done you have to go to the top. That’s exactly what I did.

The Jewish Student Association students decided to make an appointment with our school’s office of Student Development. I couldn’t believe that the school wasn’t telling me things. I thought, “Why couldn’t they just explain to me what this punk was thinking?!” A lot of things began to cross my mind. For instance, if putting up this flag was not a coincidence, why would the student have it? If this student was “remorseful” as security said, why is it that he had it to begin with? One doesn’t just find these sorts of flags anywhere. You have to go and seek it!

I later came to a conclusion about the entire situation. There was no use in screaming at anybody anymore, or getting worked up about it any longer.

It was time to educate those around us. I got in contact with the ADL and they listened to the situation and gave me some advice. They believed my school did all they could to keep the situation calm and rational. We suggested to the office that we could have some sort of event to raise awareness about situations like this. I even suggested to a club adviser that we might do something at our school-wide mandatory convocation. Most recently, the ADL has written a formal letter to my school’s president stating that they are aware of the situation, and are encouraging the campus to reach out for their help.

At this time, I’m continuing to work with my school and administrators to ensure this sort of behavior is dealt with and that all are properly educated on its significance. Most recently, the student responsible was told that as part of his educational experience at Florida Southern College, he was required to attend a class trip to the Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg. I was told he was very moved by the experience.

I’d like to extend a warm thank you to both the Sarasota and Lakeland Jewish communities for their support.

Also, to the board and members of The Jewish Student Association, and Drs. Eskin and Quilliam for their support and encouragement.

As a college student, I feel we are among the future leaders in this country. I wish to make my family and community proud, while ensuring that this world becomes more educated on instances such as this.

March 2014

9A March 2014 FEDERATION NEWS

9A

Actions of the American Studies Association are anti-Semitism at its worst

By Rabbi Howard A. Simon, co-Chair of The Robert and Esther Heller Israel Advocacy Initiative

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States. The interesting thing is that the ou may not know who or what reaction to the action taken by the ASA the American Studies Assohas been the greatest condemnation ciation happens to be. It is a group of college and university profesthat we have seen in years. sors numbering 5,000 members who Lawrence Summers, a former president of Harvard Unirecently saw 1,252 of this versity, stated, “The ASA membership participate in is no longer a scholarly a vote regarding a resolution to boycott Israel. Sixorganization, but more of a ty-six percent of the 1,252 political tool that unfairly singles out Israel.” More members voted ‘yes’ for than one hundred univerthis resolution, meaning only 25% of the membersity presidents rejected the ship took part in the vote, ASA boycott, stating “acabut the resolution was prodemic freedom can only survive if international mulgated as if the entire exchanges are promoted, group supported the idea.

Rabbi Howard A. Simon The resolution calls not curtailed.” The former president of the American Association for a campaign engaging people from of University Professors, Cary Nelson, diverse fields and thoughts to boycott clearly stated that “the fundamental “Palestinian/Arab-Israeli collaborative goal of the boycott is not the peaceful research projects or events.” The goal of the American Studies Association is coexistence of two states, one Jewish and one Palestinian, but rather the to delegitimize Israel. The action is the elimination of Israel. latest expression of anti-Semitism seen The reality is that of all the counin the academic world of the United

tries in the Middle East, Israel is the most democratic, provides the greatest amount of academic freedom, has the freest press and the most independent judiciary, and maintains the greatest diversity in religious and social areas of life. In short, academic freedom abounds in Israel, contrary to what the ASA believes and expounds. However, if you are an anti-Semite, reality and logic mean nothing. The goal of the ASA is to condemn Israel, and stick it to Israel in every way. Columnist Charles Krauthammer said it best when he recently wrote, “The action of the ASA is blatant anti-Semitism and the goal is to incite hatred for the largest – and only sovereign – Jewish community on earth.”

My advice to the membership of the ASA is to examine academic, political and social freedom in the rest of the Middle East. This is what you will discover: Syria is engaged in a civil war and its leader is desirous of destroying anyone who opposes him. Iran hangs

political, religious and so-called sexual deviants, while providing no academic freedoms. Egypt openly persecutes its Christian citizens, having destroyed 60 Coptic churches because the followers of such a faith are unacceptable to the Muslim Brotherhood. Freedom of any kind is a dirty word for all of Israel’s neighbors.

The ASA overlooks these hateful, death dealing acts and chooses instead to attack Israel. It has happened before and we have survived. The ASA boycott will fail and Israel will continue to produce scholars in all fields who will educate the world, bringing truth and respect for academia and all students wherever they may reside.

For more information about the Heller IAI, please visit www.sarasotaloves israel.com or contact Jessi Sheslow at 941.343.2109 or jsheslow@jfedsrq. org.

Reports from recent Federation-sponsored events

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ore than 35 Fifty Shades of “J” guests met at Apollonia Grill in Lakewood Ranch on January 29 to schmooze, nosh, meet old friends and make new friends.

“J” goers said they are thrilled to have an opportunity to get together in a friendly and relaxed environment, with happy faces and great conversations.

The experience was heightened by the beautiful spread of Mediterranean foods and specially-priced happy-hour cocktails provided by Apollonia Grill.

The next Fifty Shades of “J” event will be Dinner & a Movie on Monday, March 17. For more information, con-

tact Jeremy Lisitza at jlisitza@jfedsrq. org or 941.343.2113. To RSVP, visit www.jfedsrq.org/events.aspx. ~~~ As reported by Club Fed correspondent Muriel Sternfield: Club Fed – A Senior Chavurah – hit the road to the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg for a tour of the Dale Chihuly Exhibit.

We were treated to a docent-led tour of the stunning permanent collection of this world-renowned artist’s unique glass artwork. After the tour, we went to the “Hot House” for a private glassblowing demonstration followed by lunch at The Acropolis Restaurant.

Federation thanks donors with new event!

By Len Steinberg

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t is easy to say that The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee would cease to exist if not for the generosity of donors at all levels.

For the first time, our Federation is bringing a brand new program to the community that will give us the opportunity to thank individuals who make a gift of at least $36 and families that have given a minimum of $72.

The event, People of the Book, featur-

ing Robert Edsel, will take place on Monday, March 10 at 7:00 p.m. at the Riverview High School Auditorium, 1 Ram Way, Sarasota.

Mr. Edsel is the best-selling author of the non-fiction books Rescuing Da Vinci, The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, and Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation’s Treasures from the Nazis. He is the co-

producer of the documentary film, The Rape of Europa, and Founder and President of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art. The Monuments Men, a film based on Mr. Edsel’s book, opened in theaters recently. Academy Award winner George Clooney directed and stars in the film.

This and other Federation events would not be possible without the support of our individual and organi-

People of the booK

zational sponsors. We would like to specifically thank The Ringling, The Observer Group, Sarasota Magazine and BookStore One for all they have done to make this program possible.

We are extremely excited to share this event with our community and hope you will consider joining us!

For more information or to reserve your seat, please visit www.TheJewish Federation.org or call 941.552.6304.

FEATURING ROBERT EDSEL AuTHOR, FOuNDER & PRESIDENT OF THE MONuMENTS MEN FOuNDATION

March 10, 2014

7:00 pm

RIvERvIEW HIgH SCHOOL School Auditorium, 1 Ram Way, Sarasota, FL As a thank you to our donors, your ticket is FREE with a minimum gift of $36 (individual) or $72 (family) to the development efforts of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.

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10A

March 2014

COMMUNITY FOCUS

What values will we pass on to our children?

Sponsored by

By Marden Paru, Dean, Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva

A

n astonishing phenomenon occurred on our way through the recent Pew Survey on American Jewry. It jolted many of us into asking ourselves: What values are we passing on to our children?

While a large percent (94%) of the Jewish population expressed positive feelings about being “Jewish,” what exactly did their parents pass down to them and what will they convey to their progeny? The typical Jewish religious behaviors have diminished significantly. Being Conservative, Reform or Reconstructionist no longer seems to matter to large swaths of the younger generations. (They claim no denomination in the study.) Who will succeed the generation who now populate our synagogues? Who in the future will practice Jewish rites and ritual? What Jewish values will the next generation possess and still identify with what can

be transmitted to their offspring?

Many of our now-grey populace share a significant number of values and experiences which, more or less, seemed common to most Jews: an appreciation of the immigration process to the shores of America (Bubbie and Zaydeh came over); knowledge of and/ or experience with anti-Semitism; reverence for the loss of six million during the Shoah (Holocaust); being present when the modern State of Israel was created. This senior generation shared an ethnic cuisine, with many having grown up in kosher homes. (We Jews like to eat, and do so at every Jewish holiday, life-cycle event, or when we simply gather in fellowship; that is part of our Jewish heritage and culture.)

Today, most of those under age 50 did not inherit the shared experience of their parents. They weren’t even born when Israel declared its indepen-

dence in 1948. The Holocaust probably wasn’t discussed by those who survived this inhumane ordeal of the 20th century; thus many lack an appreciation of that event. The history that preceded the Shoah was not discussed either unless one went to an outstanding Jewish school or university. The game plan all along was to become like other Americans, to blend in and to achieve high social status by going to college and becoming a “professional,” live in the suburbs, etc. Thus an entire generation or two did not receive an adequate inculcation about how to be Jewish.

So what exactly do the younger generations possess of Jewish culture to transmit to their children? With four thousand years of Jewish history, religion and culture, what will be taught or known by our grandchildren? Will someone be there to say Kaddish (the mourner’s prayer) after we depart?

What will the future Jewish community look like?

To discuss and inventory the possible answers, the Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva will offer a course on this subject on Fridays from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. starting March 7 on the Jewish Federation Campus, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. The fee is $50 and includes all materials. If interested, please contact me at 941.379.5655 or marden. paru@gmail.com.

The Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit adult education institute founded in 2010. It is partially funded by a grant from The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.

Scholarship assistance is available by inquiry.

JFCS STARS program 4,000 Miles comes to recognizes Jewish Sarasota-Manatee Disability Awareness Month By Sasha Fields, Public Relations Manager, Asolo Repertory Theatre

By Jamie M. Smith, Director of Marketing, JFCS

F

ebruary was Jewish Disability port group is also offered to parents.

Awareness Month and Jewish One STARS participant who gives Family & Children’s Service of back to JFCS as a volunteer with our the Suncoast’s Successful, Talented, SOS program says, “STARS is my life, Adults, Reaching Skyward (STARS) and my favorite part is that the program program recognized the importance of gets me away from school and what awareness through education and celfeels like an overwhelming crowd!” ebration.

Her mom added that her daughter was During the month of February, “unsure of herself before the program,” STARS participants learned about fitand “has come out of a shell and is ting in while in social situations. The more confident; having more friends focus, by high demand from the group and actually hanging out with them.” participants, was on manners, saluFunding for the STARS program tations, hygiene and body language. is provided by individual donors who “It’s beautiful to watch the STARS want to support this special-needs popmeet goals that seem simple to most ulation. Family members of particiyet mean the world to them. Orderpants are huge advocates of STARS, ing a drink or asking for directions, for noting how the curriculum and activiexample, can be daunting tasks,” said ties have changed their loved one’s life Allison Henley Phinney, MA, JFCS and the impact has been so significant.

STARS facilitator.

To learn more about or to support The JFCS STARS program for difthe STARS program, please contact ferently-abled individuals offers young Gwen Gold, ABD-PhD, LMHC, MFT adults (18 - 30 years old) with developat 941.366.2224 x183 or ggold@JFCSmental disabilities a unique opportuniCares.org. ty to build self-esteem and self-respect while learning valuable life and social skills. It’s a weekly co-ed program offering a venue where individuals can make new friends, discover new interests, and have the opportunity to practice these skills in a fun, safe environJFCS STARS participants at a community outing ment. A monthly sup-

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irected by Tea Alagić, Amy Herzog’s 4,000 miles tells the touching story of a Jewish, Greenwich Village-based grandmother, Vera, and her laid-back, hippie grandson, Leo, who unite under the most unlikely and challenging of circumstances. As each rich layer of this family-centered play unfolds, Vera and Leo discover that despite being decades apart in age, they are more similar and connected than they could have ever imagined.

The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee is honored to serve as one of the producing sponsors of this play, hailed by TIME magazine as, “The best play of 2012, hands down.”

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This funny and moving masterpiece looks at how two outsiders find their way in the world today.

For show times and tickets, contact the Asolo Rep at 941.351.8000 or visit www.asolorep.org.

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March 2014

11A March 2014 COMMUNITY FOCUS

Howard Tevlowitz announced as TBS Men’s Club “Man of the Year”

T

he Men’s Club of Temple Beth studying at Brandeis University and earning a master’s in International ReSholom proudly announces that lations from the University of Florida, Howard Tevlowitz, Executive Director of The Jewish Federation of he became part of the World Union of Sarasota-Manatee, has been Jewish Students in selected as its “Man of The Israel. Upon returning to the United Year.”

States, he worked Since coming to Sarasota thirteen years ago, Howard has with Israel Bonds proved himself an able adminand served in Jewistrator, skilled fundraiser, and ish Federations in Howard Tevlowitz Minneapolis, Philathoughtful problem solver. He cares deeply about both the local Jewdelphia and Long Beach, California. ish community and Israel, and commuUnder Howard’s strong leadership nicates his feelings to all of us. in the Sarasota-Manatee community, many important new initiatives have Howard has been immersed in been launched by the Federation locally the Jewish community since childhood, participating in USY, JCC and and in Israel. Howard has also facilitatCamp Ramah Darom programs. After ed many interfaith missions with par-

Sally PUllman HOTOGRAPHY

ticipants from religious, social service and community agencies, which have impacted the entire Sarasota-Manatee community.

Come and join us as the community pays due honor to a special man on Sunday, March 23. At 5:00 p.m., a gala dinner will be held at Temple Beth Sholom in Howard Tevlowitz’s honor. The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe and International Jewish Music by Freylekh will provide entertainment. Michael’s On East will cater a kosher meal. Tickets are $100 per person, payable to TBS Men’s Club, and sponsorships are available. For more information, please call Gerry Ronkin at 941.809.5195 or Paul Rabin at 941.927.0901.

AJC to honor Exec. Dir. David Harris and community leader Gerri Aaron

O

n Monday, March 17, AJC West Coast Florida will honor AJC Executive Director David Harris with its Human Relations Award, and AJC Regional Vice President Gerri Aaron with its prestigious Legacy of Leadership Award. The community will gather to honor these two distinguished individuals at a gala dinner at 6:00 p.m. at Michael’s On East chaired

by Bea Friedman, Larry and Debbie Haspel, and Matt and Lisa Walsh, all past AJC award recipients.

David Harris, AJC’s Executive Director since 1990, has been described as “the consummate Jewish diplomat of our time.” Mr. Harris has been honored by numerous governments around the world for his international efforts in defense of human rights, advancement of the transatlantic partnership, and dedication to the Jewish people. As a leading Jewish advocate, he has been invited to speak at some of the world’s most prestigious forums, including the World Economic Forum in Davos, and has testified before the U.S. Congress, the UN Commission on Human Rights, and the French Parliament. He is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and The Jerusalem Post, and has a weekly spot on the CBS Radio Network. [Editor’s note: You can also find a David Harris commentary piece in most issues of The Jewish News.]

Mr. Harris has developed many

11A

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close ties to our community over his many years as the leader of AJC. He is thrilled to be returning to Sarasota, the home of one of AJC’s most successful Regional offices. His popularity is evidenced by the over seventy local leaders who will join him in Washington, D.C., at AJC’s annual Global

sey, Gerri Aaron has lived a beautiful life of sharing and giving, along with her late husband, Daniel Aaron, one of the founders of Comcast Corporation.

Together, their philanthropy encompasses many causes locally, nationally and globally. Mrs. Aaron is a leading advocate for the arts, environmental causes, education, human services and healthcare, and is committed to enhancing the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel. She was honored with AJC’s Human Relations Award in 2011, and soon thereafter was elected to serve as AJC Regional Vice President.

David Harris Gerri Aaron In addition to honorForum meeting this May 12-14. His ing these distinguished humanitarians, last public appearance in Sarasota, a the award dinner will introduce guests large community lunch & learn last to AJC, the global advocacy organizayear, was sold out within five hours. tion that promotes a strong Jewish fuThe Legacy of Leadership Award is ture and democratic values worldwide. being given to Gerri Aaron, an extraorFor over a century, AJC has developed dinary role model who has demonstratkey relationships with prominent world ed a lifelong commitment to helping leaders and forged coalitions with inothers. This notable award has been terreligious and interethnic groups to given only three times before. Other advance issues critical to the Jewish recipients of the Legacy of Leadership people worldwide and to the defense Award who will be in attendance at the of democratic values. dinner are Bea Friedman, Betty SchoeTo learn more about AJC, please nbaum, and Carol and Mort Siegler. visit www.ajc.org. For additional inA resident of Sarasota, Philadelformation on the award dinner, please phia, and Long Beach Island, New Jercontact AJC Regional Director Brian Lipton at 941.365.4955 or liptonb@ ajc.org.

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12A

March 2014

COMMUNITY FOCUS

Prominent Jewish museum director to offer programs about Jewish art and appraise Judaica

A

rthur Feldman, a second-generation antiques dealer with advanced degrees in art history and archaeology, has served as director of Chicago’s Maurice Spertus Museum of Judaica, curator at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and visiting curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. A fascinating speaker, he will offer three special presentations at Temple Beth Israel the weekend of March 28-30.

Friday, March 28 at 5:30 p.m.: Andy Warhol, one of modern art’s most preeminent figures, rose to prominence by blurring traditional distinctions 7/28/10 between Tidewell fine art- Oct and2010.pdf popular1 culture.

His surprising and controversial “Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century” debuted in 1980. Feldman will discuss why Warhol pursued depicting Jewish luminaries like Buber, Brandeis, Einstein, Freud, Gershwin, Marx and Kafka, and how perception of the series has changed thirty-four years later.

Saturday, March 29 at 10:00 a.m.: Born in 1887, Marc Chagall moved from a childhood steeped in the emotional mysticism of Eastern European Hasidism to the avant-garde of the art world in 1910. Though the premier Jewish artist of the 20th century, his works express compelling universal 3:51 PM themes. Feldman will provide a visual

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survey of multiple facets of Chagall’s remarkable artistry.

Sunday, March 30 at 10:30 a.m.: “Treasures From Your Attic” offers an opportunity for members of the community to bring and share stories about their Judaica items (maximum of three) and also have them appraised. Feldman will place the objects in an art historical perspective and discuss current collecting, preservation and valuation trends. Cost of this program is $15 in advance and $20 at the door; free for Temple Beth Israel members. Light refreshments will be served.

After serving as Executive Director of the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma, trans-

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in march All Are Welcome! Come Join Us! ONGOING PROGRAMS Daily Morning Minyan Sunday-Friday, 8:00am Minyan Breakfast Wednesdays, 9:00am

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Fridays, 6:30pm Saturdays, 9:00am Judaica Shop, Gail Jagoda Monday-Thursday, 10am-3pm Idelson Adult Library Monday-Thursday, 10am-3pm Events in Jewish History with Marty cohn Tuesdays, March 4, 11, 18, 25, 10:30 am Hebrew with Joan Braude Wednesdays, March 5, 12, 19, 26, 11:00 am Advanced Hebrew Reading - chug Ivri with claire Fox Thursdays, March 6, 13, 20, 27, 10:30 am Making of a Modern Jew with Marty cohn Thursdays, March 6, 13, 20, 27, 1:15 pm Adult B’nai Mitzvah class with Don Friedman Thursdays, March 6, 13, 20, 27, 2:30 pm Beginners Hebrew conversation with cantor Neil Newman Fridays, March 7, 14, 21, 28, 10:00 am

Temple Beth Sholom

Saturday, March 1, 7:00 pm, Celebration, TBS Schools Annual Fundraiser Saturday, March 1, 7:00 pm, USY Trivia/Game Show Night Wednesday, March 5, 1:15 pm, Interesting Lives, Ruth Ades Friday, March 7, 6:30 pm, ORT Shabbat Saturday, March 8, 9:00 am, Men’s Club Shabbat Wednesday, March 12, 6:00 pm, Vashti’s Banquet Friday, March 14, 5:45 pm, Congregational Dinner Friday, March 14, 7:00 pm, Shabbat Service Saturday, March 15, 7:00 pm, Megillah Reading, Purim Service Sunday, March 16, 9:00 am, Megillah Reading, Purim Service Sunday, March 16, 11:00 am, Purim Carnival Wednesday, March 19, 1:15 pm, Idelson Library Film Matinee Series, “Brothers“ Sunday, March 23, 6:00 pm, Men’s Club, Club Sholom Tribute Dinner honoring Howard Tevlowitz ‘Man of the Year’ Wednesday, March 26, 1:15 pm, Idelson Library Book Review “My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel,” by Ari Shavit Thursday, March 27, 10:00 am, Mitzvah Knitting Circle Friday, March 28, 6:30 pm, TBS Live

941.955.8121 Email: info@templebethsholomfl.org Website: www.templebethsholomfl.org

1050 S. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota, FL 34237 Home of Temple Beth Sholom Schools: • The Martin and Mildred Paver Religious School – 941.552.2780 • Justin L. Wiesner Pre School – 941.954.2027 • Goldie Feldman Academy Grades K-8 – 941.552.2770

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forming it into one of the top ten ethnic cultural institutions in the nation, Feldman returned to Illinois where he now operates a Judaica gallery in Highland Park.

According to a recent feature article in the Chicago Tribune, the gallery focuses exclusively on antique, vintage and contemporary Judaica. “It is important to show all these things,” Feldman says of the hundreds of pieces he displays. “Every object has a story.”

Feldman’s presentations have been made possible through the generosity of Temple Beth Israel member Ronald Taub and his daughter Marcia Jean Taub. Call 941.383.3428 for more information.

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BOB MALKIN YOUNG AMBASSADORS IN HONOR OF Dr. Jesse Ehrlich Rebecca Schwartz Susan Mallitz - Special Birthday Dee and Arny Kaplan Patti and David Wertheimer Bryna and Howard Tevlowitz

COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FUND IN HONOR OF Lenny Drexler - Special Birthday Judy and Michael Krakow Dr. Steven Halbreich Paecia and Morris Weinstein Dr. Kenneth Hurwitz Paecia and Morris Weinstein Dr. Harold Kulman Paecia and Morris Weinstein Ron Yonover - Birthday Millie and Mike Serling

DORIS LOEVNER FUND MAZEL TOV Judy Weinstein NCJW Women in Power Award Inna and Gerry Sideman

OVERNIGHT CAMP SCHOLARSHIP FUND IN MEMORY OF Arnie Whitten Inna and Gerry Sideman

SKIP (Send a Kid to Israel) GET WELL Sandra Hanan Bunny and Mort Skirboll IN HONOR OF Lenny Drexler - 70th Birthday Shelley and Sheldon Goldklang Susan and Randy Mallitz Cindy and Alan Silverglat Pam and Richard Hershorin Bunny and Mort Skirboll Rick Nassau - Special Birthday Dee and Arny Kaplan Saranee and Cantor Neil Newman Cindy and Alan Silverglat Betty Schiff Patti and David Wertheimer Patti and David Wertheimer Barcy and Mil Grauer IN MEMORY OF Fayth Aronson Arlene and Lee Kahn Me Me Kramer Judy Weinstein Patti and David Wertheimer MAZEL TOV Ruth Ades - Light of Torah Award Elaine and Burt Herman Kim Sheintal Sarah Wertheimer Judy Weinstein Sarah Wertheimer

NOTE: To be publicly acknowledged in The Jewish News, Honor Cards require a minimum $10 contribution per listing.

You can send Honor Cards directly from www.jfedsrq. org. For more information, please call 941.552.6304.

13A March 2014 COMMUNITY FOCUS

March 2014

13A

Don’t miss JFCS’ 10th Annual Celebrity Chefs & Wine Tasting & Golf Challenge

By Jamie M. Smith, Dir. of Marketing, JFCS The annual charity event, benefiting JFCS, usually sells out and hosts more than 600 guests who choose to either spend the day golfing on the Islandside Golf Course and/or enjoying a party to sample specialty dishes prepared by more than 25 local chefs as well as libations at wine stations, a martini bar, or oldfashioned egg creams. Guests will also enjoy a silent auction, chance drawing and island music while networking

B

uy your tickets now for Jewish Family & Children’s Service of the Suncoast’s 10th Annual Celebrity Chefs Food & Wine Tasting & Golf Challenge to be held Tuesday, March 18 at The Resort at Longboat Key Club. The golf tournament begins at 12:30 p.m. and the ticket price is $350 for both the golf outing and tasting event. Tickets for the evening’s food and wine tasting only, which runs from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., cost $100.

Event sponsorships are also available.

with friends from near and far.

Some of the restaurants to be featured this year include Bridge Street Bistro, Café Bacci, Café L’Europe, Chart House, Darwin’s, Kobernick House Dining Room, Libby’s Café + Bar, Louies Modern, Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub, Mattison’s, Michael’s On East, Morton’s Gourmet Market, Pacific Rim, Randabi’s – a New York Deli, Selva Grill, Shore

Diner, The Francis, Toasted Mango Café, and TooJay’s Gourmet Deli and Restaurant.

Proceeds from the event enable JFCS to continue serving those most vulnerable in our community – children, adults, seniors and veterans.

For more information on the event or to purchase tickets, visit www.

JFCS-Cares.org or call Stacy Quaid at 941.366.2224 x142.

51 presenters at Holocaust conference at FGCU

By Paul R. Bartrop, PhD

F

rom Sunday, March 16 to Tuesday, March 18, the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers is hosting an international conference to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the start of the Holocaust in Hungary in 1944.

“The Holocaust in Hungary, 70 Years On: New Perspectives” will be the biggest event of its kind in the world, outside of Hungary itself, in this anniversary year.

On March 19, 1944, Hungary was

occupied by Nazi Germany, precipitating the Holocaust there – a move which was to initiate the fastest period of concentrated mass murder of any of the occupied countries.

The FGCU conference has brought together scholars from a wide variety of disciplines and countries to explore key issues and recent research relating to the Holocaust in Hungary – a time in which over half-a-million Jews were murdered in the space of eight months.

The conference will see 51 presenters participating over two-and-a-

Sarasota Jewish Chorale officers set for 2014-15

By Arlene Stolnitz

A

t the January 16 Annual Meeting of the Sarasota Jewish Chorale, the incoming Board of Directors was chosen for the coming year.

Appointed leaders are: President: Susan Skovronek, Vice President: Arlene Stolnitz, Treasurer: Kathy Rance, Secretary: Sue Gleeksman, Officers: Phyllis Lipshutz, Sandra Evans and Ronnie Riceberg.

Susan Skovronek will continue as Chorale Manager in addition to her duties as President. Arlene Stolnitz has stepped down as co-manager and will continue as Chair of the Music Com-

mittee. Other music committee members are Sandra Evans, Rivka Chatman and Brenda Lederman.

Rehearsals are held Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. at the Hecht School on the Jewish Federation Campus, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota.

Bookings for next season (201415) may be arranged for private groups, public events, and community service groups such as retirement and nursing homes.

For further information, call Susan Skovronek at 941.355.8011 or visit www.sarasotajewishchorale.org.

SJC Officers 2014-15: Susan Skovronek, Arlene Stolnitz,Phyllis Lipshutz, Sue Gleeksman, Sandra Evans, Ronnie Riceberg, Kathy Rance

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half days. These scholars come from Hungary, Israel, Germany, Sweden, France, Canada and all over the United States. The primary aim of the conference is to educate students and members of the public to an area that has not had the full recognition it deserves in Holocaust memory.

The conference will be launched on Sunday, March 16, with a welcome from the Provost of FGCU, Dr. Ronald Toll, and an official opening by the Honorary Consul for Hungary to Southwest Florida, Dr. Stephen Gergatz.

This important event promises to offer a major contribution to Holocaust Studies, and will certainly be a feature of activities for the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies in 2014.

Members of the community are invited to attend the conference, which is free. No registration process is required; it is simply sufficient to turn up to the sessions you would like to attend. However, the conference will be taking place during the university

semester, and classes will be in attendance. Therefore, space will be limited, and those wishing to attend should plan accordingly.

University parking restrictions will be in force (for example, do not park in areas reserved for students with a disability), but free parking for outside guests has been arranged in the Auxiliary Parking Lot (the so-called “Dirt Lot”) and also in Garage 1. Signs for parking will be posted.

The conference will be held in the Cohen Center at FGCU, in rooms 213 and 214. While we are unable to provide refreshments for those attending, the Cohen Center incorporates the student dining areas, and refreshments will be available for purchase there.

FGCU is located at 10501 FGCU Boulevard South in Fort Myers.

For further information and a complete schedule of the program, please consult the website of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies at www.fgcu.edu/HC/Conferences. html.

14A

March 2014

COMMUNITY FOCUS

TBI announces Gala Award winners

T

emple Beth Israel of Longboat Key recently presented awards at its 5th Annual Gala held at Michael’s On East. Suzanne Lutkoff and Shirley Fein were presented with Distinguished Service Awards while Robin Tannenbaum was honored as this year’s “Rising Star.”

Suzanne Lutkoff, a longtime member of the temple, has donated countless hours of service to TBI and the community. She is a past president of Beth Israel Women, the Temple Sisterhood, and former chair of the Membership Committee and Long Range Planning Committee. Suzanne presently serves as chair for the temple’s Endowment

Fund program and serves on the temple board.

Shirley Fein knows what it takes to make a temple. In the 1930s, her father helped build a small, one-room shul in Lisbon, Connecticut. Although it had no plumbing or central heat, Ansha Israel provided Shirley with many warm memories of Jewish holidays and celebrations.

At TBI, Shirley demonstrated that same hands-on spirit, joining BIW and volunteering where needed. Shirley has chaired the Interfaith Committee, which organized the temple’s participation in the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service and has served as Financial

Secretary for the temple board since 2011.

When Robin Tannenbaum, former sound man for NYC’s Metropolitan Opera, and his wife Judy joined TBI, it was not long before Robin was approached for technical help in developing Hearing Loop systems for the temple. Next he was tasked with helping to update all of the temple’s audio/ visual systems. Over the past several years, Robin has generously given a great deal of time updating the a/v systems and volunteering as sound man for the many programs, services and special events at TBI.

Suzanne Lutkoff with son Andrew Lutkoff

Shirley Fein (at right) with daughter Tina Dinitz

Judy and Robin Tannenbaum

OPTICAL SERVICES INC. Temple Emanu-El and Westcoast Center WHAT A DIFFERENCE THE FIT MAKES W. V. SAM JONES PRESIDENT

1901 SOUTH OSPREY AVE. (Corner Hillview) SARASOTA, FL 34239

366-7866

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1819 Main Street, Suite 910 Sarasota, Florida 34236 941.328.3993 www.koontzandparkin.com

honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. legacy

J

anuary 17 was a very special Shabbat for over 300 worshippers who attended Temple Emanu-El’s annual interfaith service honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Joining Rabbi Brenner J. Glickman on the bima were Bishop Henry Porter and speakers from Temple Emanu-El and the Westcoast Center, who shared their firsthand experiences of the struggle for civil rights and the impact of Dr. King.

Among the speakers was Temple Emanu-El member Judy Cahn, who related her experiences growing up in segregated Nashville, Tennessee, and her father’s role in the lunch counter sit-ins of 1960.

“In 1960, there really were no suburban malls in Nashville, and the retail businesses were still clustered in the three square blocks of downtown Nashville,” Cahn stated. “At this time, there were a handful of Jewish merchants with stores in this district. My father was one of them. For the next three months, my father and his four to five friends joined the black youths at the lunch counters of these Five-and-Dime stores. As I researched the recorded

history of this event, I found that 81 students were arrested for disorderly conduct. Of course, my father and the other white demonstrators were not in violation nor arrested. But from my perspective, it was a scary time as pictures of these demonstrations appeared in the newspapers and on local TV. “On May 10, 1960, Nashville became the first major southern city to

begin desegregating its public facilities,” she concluded. “I can reflect on all the unspeakable injustices endured by people because of their race, but I take great pride that my father took part in a movement which began the change to the culture of my hometown.”

This special annual service was sponsored by Temple Emanu-El’s Social Action Committee.

Leaders of Temple Emanu-El’s interfaith Shabbat service honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. include (back row) Rabbi Brenner J. Glickman, Samuel Hicks, Bishop Henry Porter, (front row) Delores McFarland, Ruth Jenkins, Social Action Committee Chair Emily Tennenbaum and Judy Cahn

Temple Sinai receives award at URJ Biennial

A

t the recent Biennial of the Union of Reform Judaism held in San Diego, California, Temple Sinai was presented with the Belin Outreach and Membership Award for its Gift Membership Program. This award recognizes congregations which have created relationship-based membership models and innovative ways to engage and retain members.

There were eight winners and nine honorable mentions from the myriad of entries received that demonstrated a high level of creativity, originality and excellence. Each winner is awarded $1,000 funded through the generosity of David Belin, z”1, the first chair of the URJ-CCAR Joint Commission on Outreach and Membership.

The Gift Membership Program at Temple Sinai is an initiative in which

congregants invite and become the hosts of families with school-aged children, new to the temple, who receive a

one-year gift membership. During this time, special social and educational events for gift members and their hosts take place. In addition, as part of this program, all Jewish families with a child enrolled in the temple’s Gan preschool (new or existing members), receive complimentary temple membership.

Chazzan Cliff Abramson attended the conference and accepted the Belin Outreach and Membership Award for Temple Sinai. In addition, Abramson’s original arrangement of Modeh Ani was published in Transcontinental Publisher’s Shabbat AntholChazzan Cliff Abramson (center) accepts the award from Rabbi Rick Jacobs (left), President of the URJ, and Stephen ogy, VII that was released at Sacks (right), Chairman of the URJ Board of Trustees the Biennial.

Advertise in The Jewish News and reach an established and powerful demographic of over 9,000 homes in Sarasota-Manatee.

Call Robin Leonardi at 941.552.6307.

March 2014

15A March 2014 COMMUNITY FOCUS

Sarasota Sister Cities’ One World Gala

By Kim Sheintal

T

he Sister Cities Association of Sarasota (SCAS) will present its coveted “One World” International Award to two area “exceptionals” – the first to an individual, Linda Rosenbluth, and the second to an organization, Embracing Our Differences – at its One World Gala on Sunday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m., at Michael’s On East.

The 2014 Individual Recipient, Linda Rosenbluth, has a penchant for sighting a critical need and creating an effective response, and she’s been doing it since childhood.

Locally, Rosenbluth organized the first non-profit event at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, the first “phonathon” for United Way, and Sarasota’s first “AIDS Awareness Week,” an initiative duplicated in communities nationwide.

Internationally, her accomplishments are legend. In 1989, she was instrumental in the adoption of Tel Mond, Israel, as Sarasota’s fourth sister city

and was its first “City Director.” She served for five years as president of the SCAS. Embracing Our Differences’ mission is “to promote diversity and respect, not as an alternative to a sense of cultural and national identity, but as an essential part of life in the 21st century all over the world.”

During April and May each year, Embracing Our Differences employs art as a catalyst to spark discussions and promote the importance of peaceful coexistence, creating a huge outdoor exhibit at Sarasota’s Island Park, displaying the art of both national and international artists, photographers, writers and students. In 2013, 248,000 visitors viewed the exhibit.

The One World Gala, the annual fundraiser of the Sister Cities Association of Sarasota, will feature the award ceremony, a guest pianist from Treviso, Italy, and silent auction. For reservations, call William Wallace at 941.378.0085.

Temple Beth El’s new Mitzvah Committee kicks off

T

emple Beth El Bradenton has “adopted” and partnered with Turning Points as its “Mitzvah” project for the year. Turning Points’ mission statement is: “Providing, facilitating and coordinating services to the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless in Manatee County.”

On Saturday, January 25, forty members and friends of Temple Beth El gathered at Turning Points’ wonderful facility to learn more about its operations and to celebrate the week’s

15A

Local JNF supporter wins trip to Israel through Tu B’Shevat raffle

J

ewish National Fund is pleased to announce Susan Mair of Sarasota as the winner of its “Plant a Tree with JNF and Win a Trip to Israel” raffle in celebration of Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish New Year for trees.

JNF partnered with EL AL Airlines and the Carlton Hotel Tel Aviv for an exciting online raffle to win a trip of a lifetime. Participants were given the opportunity to enter the raffle by planting a tree through jnf.org in early January, with the prize being two free round-trip tickets to Israel, courtesy of EL AL, and a free two-night stay at the Carlton Tel Aviv. Ten runners-up received a free JNF E-Z Tree account.

Mair received an email from JNF about the raffle and decided to take part in the celebration of Tu B’Shevat. She loved the idea of getting a “2 for 1” deal on her tree purchase.

“I have childhood memories of my blue and white tzedakah box,” said Mair. “I knew what it meant to Israel.

I knew it meant trees and I knew the name JNF and the importance to the

State of Israel.”

Mair has been to Israel several times and is thrilled to have the opportunity to bring her partner Angela, who has never been to the country. The couple plans to spend time in Tel Aviv and extend their trip to visit friends.

While in Israel, Mair will have the opportunity to plant a tree at the JNFHarvey Hertz Ceremonial Tree Planting Center at Neot Kedumim, the world’s only biblical landscape reserve.

“Each year I am amazed at the increasing scope and creativity of JNF programs,” Mair said. “Without JNF we wouldn’t have our homeland, and I’m thrilled to get the chance to visit Israel through my connection with JNF.” Tu B’Shevat embodies the abiding dedication to ecology, environmentalism and conservation that JNF has always championed. Over the years, Tu B’Shevat has taken on the theme of planting trees in Israel, giving it a special connection to JNF. To plant a tree in Israel, visit www. jnf.org or call 800.542.TREE.

end with a Havdalah service. Under Linda Gaines’ embracing leadership, attendees felt welcomed and inspired as she explained the function of Turning Points and gave everyone a guided tour of the facility.

The Temple Beth El community is extending its reach to help more in our area who need help as it shows our young people the true meaning of tikkun olam.

What a great kick-off for the temple and the new Mitzvah Committee.

Attention TEMPLES, EDUCATORS,

RETIREMENT HOMES AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS:

Group tickets are selling fast!!

JOIN US FOR THE FLORIDA PREMIERE OF

Voices of the Holocaust to honor and remember those who suffered, those who fought and those who died.

Group tickets available NOW. Receive a complimentary display ad promoting your organization in our program guide PLUS 20% off the ticket price.

Call 941.685.6270 or email voicesgroups@gloriamusicae.org by March 28.

Voices of the Holocaust Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day Monday, April 28, 2014, 7:30 pm Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota A cantata in five parts, Voices of the Holocaust is a poignant arrangement of music originally written in the ghettos and concentration camps in proud defiance in the face of adversity.

Purchase group tickets by March 28 and get 20% off plus a FREE ad!

Call 941.685.6270 or email voicesgroups@gloriamusicae.org Reserved seating. Tickets priced at $25, $40 and $70 For individual tickets contact the Van Wezel Box Office

Sheridan Seyfried, Composer, ASCAP award winner Elizabeth Weil Bergmann, Choreographer, Retired Dance Director, Harvard University

Joseph Holt, Artistic Director and Conductor

This community-wide multimedia production is brought to you by Gloria Musicae in partnership with Sarasota Jewish Chorale, Sarasota Young Voices, Booker High School Music Program, Sarasota Choral Society, Sarasota-Manatee Dance Alliance and the Chroma Quartet

and is sponsored by Mr. Clair E. Johnson, The Tourist Development Commission of Sarasota County, and The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

16A

COMMUNITY FOCUS

March 2014

Teach Our Children Well We suspect that there aren’t too many Jewish communal professionals who have made a road trip to Worchester, Ohio. Well, Howard Tevlowitz and Marty Haberer did several years ago. What they found was a charming town that was deeply impacted by the generosity of the Shapiro family. They certainly made an impact there. The same can be said about the Shapiros’ year round home town these days, Sarasota Manatee. Their generosity has impacted the Jewish Federation, the Jewish Community at large and the entire population here. In particular, their understanding of the credo to teach our children well is what led them to make such a dramatic financial investment in the youth of this community.

THE SHAPIRO TEEN ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM IS SPONSORED BY

Thank You! Through the generosity of the Shapiros, four Federation professionals have dedicated time to work with local youth groups. This has allowed us to build meaningful relationships with teens and their families. As a result, this has influenced the amount of community-wide involvement through programs funded by STEP.

YOuth grOups

United Synagogue Youth (USY) is the official youth movement

of Conservative Judaism. We serve 3rd – 12th graders through Temple Beth Sholom’s Chalutzim, Kadima and SRQUSY. For more information, please contact Amber Ikeman at aikeman@templebethsholomfl.org.

BBYO is the leading pluralistic teen movement aspiring to involve more

Jewish teens in more meaningful Jewish experiences. Every Jewish teen in 9th-12th grade, of all backgrounds, will find an experience that provides the foundation for a meaningful Jewish life. For more information, contact Amanda Gluckich at agluckich@jfedsrq.org.

Temple Emanu-el Religious School Youth (TEERSY) is a social group

For over seventy years, the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) has offered thousands of

young people the opportunity to explore and live Reform Judaism.

Locally, we serve two demographics; SAFETY (9th-12th graders) and JOOSY (6th-8th graders) through Temple Sinai. For more information, contact Len Steinberg at len@templesinaisarasota.org.

In addition to the scholarship funds available to attend conferences given out by each youth group, STEP provides additional financial scholarships to teens to encourage participation in youth leadership conferences.

that serves 4th-7th graders by creating a fun environment with Jewish friends. For more information, contact Jessica Sheslow at jsheslow@jfedsrq.org.

S.K.I.P.

im Panim el Pan

Education Scholarships

Community Teen Lock-In

M ht Camp

ig Jewish Overn

MASA United Synagogue

Youth Young rs Ambassado

cy Conferen AIPAC Poli

ce

Hillels of the FL Suncoast

COMMUNITY FOCUS

March 2014

17A

Community Programs That Impact Teens and Their Families “No matter the sect of Judaism a teen was part of, the youth group he or she belonged to, his or her temple affiliation or even non-affiliation, every single Jewish teen present realized one all important, overarching message: no matter where we come from or who we are, we all have a common tie, our Judaism.”

Grant Cotler, STEP Teen Committee Member

s.K.i.p. (sChiff send-a-Kid-tO-israel prOgram) “Going into this trip, I never thought I would come out being so passionate about the Jewish culture and Judaism (even more than I already was). I wouldn’t have been able to say this if it weren’t for Temple Sinai, NFTY and The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee’s Send-a-Kid-to-Israel Program.”

Haley Dennis, S.K.I.P. Recipient

Jewish Overnight Camp grant inCentive prOgram

the BOB malKin YOung amBassadOrs teen leadership prOgram

“Thank you so much for the $750 grant for me to go to Camp Barney this summer. I seriously can’t wait to go!! It was such a great experience for me last year, I couldn’t wait to go again!”

“It was that night in the desert when the silence of her surroundings spoke to Madison louder than any textbook ever could. As she would later write, it was when she was in the desert that “I realized I was meant to go on this trip. I also knew that I had to come back here again. I knew because for the first time in my life, I finally felt a sense of spiritual belonging.” Sometimes we parents can get really lucky, and those miracles we hope for really can happen.”

Kendal Sheckler, Camp Grant Recipient

masa israel travel sChOlarships “Not only did this internship provide a direct link to current professional opportunities, but I have also decided to become an Oleh Hadash and make Israel my permanent home. I would not have been ready to do this without the strong Jewish identity I cultivated with the help of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee during my years at New College and the opportunity provided by the MASA Israel Journeys program.”

Michael Waas, MASA recipient

Upcoming Events marCh 1: Trivia/game show night (USY) 22-23: Mean Girls Sleepover (BBYO) 26: Cheer Making (BBYO) 30: Bagel Brunch (NFTY)

april

Deb Bryan, Mother of Madison Bryan, Young Ambassador

marCh Of the living “This life-altering trip allowed me to reflect on and connect with my roots, making me a stronger person.”

Brandon Ikeman, March of the Living Participant

eduCatiOn sChOlarships “Thank you so much for helping make my educational dreams come true. I truly appreciate your investment in my future and I hope to make you proud.”

Alina Chevstov, Scholarship Recipient

hillels Of the flOrida sunCOast

The Federation funds Jewish programming for area college students through the Hillels of the Florida Suncoast. Hillel groups at New College of Florida and the Ringling School of Art & Design host educational, social, cultural, religious, Tzedek, Israel and leadership programs.

aipaC pOliCY COnferenCe

5: J-Serve (BBYO) 5: Family Havdalah on the Beach (STEP) 12: Murder Mystery Party (USY) 13: Chocolate Seder (USY/Kadima/Chalutzim) 19: Passover Cook-off (BBYO) 19: JOOSY Chocolate Seder (NFTY) 20: Siesta Shakedown (STEP)

“Thousands of Jews and non-Jews alike gathered in support of one main goal: supporting the existence of Israel and the safety of its people. Though I was awed by the sheer size of the event, I felt as though I was a part of a close-knit family.”

Sammy Robbins, AIPAC Policy Conference Delegate

panim el panim “I learned how Jewish values are intertwined in real life situations and have never felt more passionate about being Jewish. This trip changed my life and inspired me to be a better person and encourage others to help out too because anyone can make a difference.”

Sarah Levison, Panim el Panim Delegate like us On Our sarasota Jewish teens page

March of the Li ving

Havdalah

BBYO “Since Erica started in BBYO nearly two years ago, she has become very involved and motivated to increase her involvement even more.

This group has been so great for her in many ways; it has improved her self-confidence, and helped her so much in becoming a leader. I believe she has truly embraced her Judaism through BBYO. Erica will be going to Israel this summer and she is beyond thrilled at the thought of making a real connection to her Jewish roots.”

Caroline Brown, Parent of Erica Brown (BBYO Member)

alexander muss high sChOOl in israel

This program, also known AMHSI, is the only pluralist, nondenominational, co-educational English language study abroad program in Israel for high school students. The Jewish Federation, through the generosity of the Friedman Family Fund, will offer scholarships to applicants who have already been accepted to an AMHSI program.

Klingenstein Jewish Center 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL 34232

941.371.5456 • theJewishfederation.org

18A

March 2014

JEWISH INTEREST

Shteyngart memoir aches with longing, sparkles with buoyant wit

By Philip K. Jason, Special to The Jewish News Little Failure: A Memoir,

by Gary Shteyngart. Random House.

368 pages. Hardcover $27.00.

W

hen President Carter traded grain for the freedom of Soviet Jews in the late 1970s, young Igor Shteyngart, along with his parents and other family members, was transplanted to the Borough of Queens in New York City. A dreamer and a loner, Igor – now Gary – continues to contend with the clumsy way his parents have of showing love. The book’s title phrase is a painful parental term of endearment. “Snotty” is Phil Jason another unsettling nickname for their asthmatic child. His mother alternates between smothering him and not talking to him at all; his father is way too quick to smack him.

In 1979, soon after arriving in Queens, the seven-year-old is enrolled in a Solomon Schechter Jewish Day School, where he feels doubly or triply misplaced. The comforts of habit and the strong Soviet identity developed in his early years in Leningrad are gone.

He arrives without the crucial tool for early success – the survival level of English that immigrants need to begin their ascent. Soon, he is dropped a grade below the level at which his age and Soviet education would otherwise place him. It’s really tough learning Hebrew from scratch when the teaching language is also one you don’t know.

Beyond that, Gary was one of

those kids who drew attention in the endlessly unproductive means of fied in the Diaspora worst way. His personal mannerisms having a fulfilling relationship and especially in the were easy to make fun of. Once he with their only child. Eventually, modern European era became a target, it was hard to build a the award-winning novels. of Jewish history, the positive identity. Fortunately, the overThe story, magnificent as it age of pogroms and sized head that tottered on Gary’s flimis, remains only one dimension genocide. sy shoulders was filled with brains. He of this memoir’s uniqueness Jewish dread is was able to get through, occasionally and power. The writing itself is passed on from parents excel, without ever becoming a very everything else, including the to children, much like conscientious student. Few recognized structure. a predisposition to a disease. It crosshis promise, and his parents were not From the acknowledgments, it is es borders. Shteyngart’s power as a among this few, though they harbored clear that many of the chapters were wordsmith includes his ability to make great expectations. first published separately in periodireaders feel this emotional truth, this Maybe labeling him “Little Failcals. Though relatively self-contained constant shadow that darkens success, ure” was his parents’ idea of a chalvignettes, they certainly interact with circumscribes happiness, and feeds like lenge. one another beautifully, many of them a vulture at the heart of relationships.

After finishing the eighth grade at moving back and forth (and sometimes It’s personal, but not only personal. the Schechter School, Gary attended back again) in time. Shteyngart is conThe brooding tone of Little Failselective, demanding Stuyvesant High. cerned with the presence and power ure is constantly punctuated by wit and His despair about not fitting in, perof the past, and he structures his indihope. It is a remarkable accomplishhaps not deserving to fit in, increased. vidual units and the entire work to juxment: self-absorbed and generous, His dreams of having tapose various stages of petty and cosmic. With half a life to some appeal to the his own and his family’s go, Gary Shteyngart stands on a sturyoung women he met journey. dy plateau of achievement. The cures there were frustrated.

Among the book’s he has taken for his particular version Slowly, the idea that many important themes, of Jewish dread seem to be working, he might become a one resonates quite moving him far beyond paralysis. Bawriter infiltrated his strongly: Jewish dread. ruch Hashem. shaky identity. Getting When Gary asks his Philip K. Jason is Professor Emeritus accepted to Oberlin mother why he is so ofof English from the United States Nawas another sign of val Academy. He reviews regularly for ten afraid, she attributes failure to his parents, his experience to someFlorida Weekly, Jewish Book World, Gary Shteyngart who held nonsensical Southern Literary Review, and other thing almost genetic, Ivy League aspirations for him. But for Jewish fear. This suggests a timeless publications. Please visit Phil’s webGary, it ended up being a great blesscondition of Jewish experience amplisite at www.philjason.wordpress.com. ing in spite of his extreme addictions to alcohol and narcotics.

Perhaps it’s not important to tell more of the story, the story of making friends, finding his first true love, having his talent recognized, continuing a complex relationship to his Jewish identity, dedicating himself to his The Strength of a people. The power of communiTy. writing, and adjusting to his parents’

SENIORS TheJewishFederation.org

Presents the Second Annual Sunday, March 16, 2014, 10:30 a.m.

Michael’s on East 1212 S. East Ave., Sarasota Celebrating our seniors’ leadership, philanthropy and commitment to enhancing our community and our world.

Funds raised help support life-enriching programs and services for seniors living in Kobernick House, Anchin Pavilion and Benderson Family Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Our 2014 Eight Over 80 Honorees are: Herman Frankel Ed Kalin

Florence Katz Alisa & Ernest Kretzmer

~~~ Special Thanks ~~~ PREMIER CORPORATE SPONSOR:

Lee Peterson Sally & Sam Shapiro

PREMIER SPONSORS: Debbie & Larry Haspel KBR Foundation

PRESENTING SPONSORS:

COMMUNITY SPONSOR:

Sharon & Herman Frankel Alisa & Ernest Kretzmer Betty Schoenbaum Jeanne & Bob Zabelle

PLATINUM SPONSORS: The Benderson Family Gerard Daniel Ed Kalin

CORPORATE GOLD SPONSORS:

MEDIA SPONSOR:

Sally Yanowitz Jeanne & Bob Zabelle GOLD SPONSORS:

Isabel Anchin Becker Margot & Warren Coville Sally Yanowitz Judy Zuckerberg & George Kole

BRONZE SPONSORS:

Gerri Aaron Patricia & Robert Baer Sheila & Jerry Birnbaum Carol Camiener Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP Stephen & Lila Huse Libbie & Albert Kaplan* Jill & Scott Levine Judy & Jerry Levinson Susan Milman - The Milman-Kover Family Charitable Foundation Betty & Ed Rosenthal Lorraine & Elliot Schubiner Sally & Sam Shapiro *In Loving Memory

For sponsorship information, call Iris Starr, 941-377-0781, ext. 124 or email: istarr@kobernickanchin.org | www.kobernickanchin.org Event Co-Chairs: Margot & Warren Coville and Irving Bashevkin

19A March 2014 JEWISH INTEREST

Stars of David

By Nate Bloom, Contributing Columnist Editor’s note: Persons in BOLD CAPS are deemed by Nate Bloom to be Jewish for the purpose of the column. Persons identified as Jewish have at least one Jewish parent and were not raised in a faith other than Judaism – and don’t identify with a faith other than Judaism as an adult. Converts to Judaism, of course, are also identified as Jewish.

Oscar Time: The Kosher Connections The Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 2. The show will be aired live on ABC at 7:00 p.m. Ellen DeGeneres will host.

The following are the ‘confirmed’ Jewish nominees in all but the technical categories (like makeup and costumes). This year is lighter than most in terms of the number of Jewish nominees in the marquee categories.

JONAH HILL, 29, is the only Jewish nominee this year in the acting categories (best actor/actress or best supporting actor/actress). Hill is up for a supporting Oscar for his performance as Donny Azoff, the main assistant to real-life (Jewish) Wall St. swindler JORDAN BELFORT in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Leonardo DiCaprio, who isn’t Jewish, played Belfort, and he is nominated for best actor. Azoff, by the way, is a made-up character name (unlike Belfort). Many plot details about the fictional Azoff track real-life (Jewish) Belfort associate DANNY PORUSH, but some do not.

Christian Bale is nominated for best actor for playing a character modeled after another real-life Jewish con-man in American Hustle. His film character is called Irving Rosenfeld. In real life, Bale isn’t Jewish. However, famous Jewish feminist GLORIA STEINEM, now 79, was his stepmother for three years. She was so in love with his father, David Bale, that she decided to marry for the first time, in 2000. She was widowed when the elder Bale died in 2003.

Hustle is loosely based on the 1970s FBI sting operation called ABSCAM. For ABSCAM, the FBI recruited a real-life Jewish con-man, MELVIN WEINBERG, who had the skills to be convincing to “bribe-prone” members of Congress. In Hustle, Weinberg (Rosenfeld) ensnares local New Jersey politicians.

Weinberg, now 89, has lived, since 1993, in a Titusville, Florida, retirement community. He is now virtually blind. His ex-wife, Evelyn, who is the model for the (non-Jewish) character, Sydney Prosser, played in the film by Oscar-nominee Amy Adams, also lives in Titusville. Her home is a few blocks from Weinberg’s residence. He was paid $200,000 by the film’s producers for his life story.

A recent profile in Florida Today ended this way: “Weinberg laughs at – and agrees with – the movie’s disclaimer: ‘Some of this actually happened.’ Still, he’s rooting big for Bale, saying, ‘I hope he wins. In fact, I hope they make a sequel.’”

American Hustle director DAVID O. RUSSELL, 55, is nominated for best director and is co-nominated for best original screenplay. This is the third best-director nomination for Russell, who is the secular son of a Jewish father and an Italian Catholic mother.

In 2011, he was nominated for The Fighter and, in 2013, for Silver Linings Playbook. His “most Jewish” film is the 1996 comedy “Flirting with Disaster, and I recommend a rental. Hustle was co-written by first-time nominee ERIC WARREN SINGER, 46. He’s a native of Beverly Hills and his grandparents

March 2014

19A

Interested in Your Family’s History?

Ten years of doing a Jewish celebrities column has turned Nate Bloom (see column at left) into something of an expert on finding basic family history records and articles mentioning a “searched-for” person.

During these 10 years, he has put together a small team of “mavens” who aid his research. Most professional family history experts charge at least $1,000 for a full family tree. However, many people just want to get “started” by tracing one particular family branch.

So here’s the deal: Send Nate an email at middleoftheroad1@aol.com, tell him you saw this ad in The Jewish News, and include your phone number (area code, too).

Nate will then contact you about doing a “limited” family history for you at a modest cost (no more than $100). No upfront payment. helped found the first synagogue in Beverly Hills.

Competing with Singer/Russell for the best original screenplay Oscar is WOODY ALLEN, 78. He wrote Blue Jasmine. This is Allen’s 24th Oscar nomination. He has won four times (three for screenplay; once as a director). Also competing in this category is SPIKE JONZE, who wrote and directed the very interesting Her (a film about the relationship between a computer voice/personality, played by SCARLETT JOHANSSON, and a real human).

Jonze, 44, was born Adam Spiegel. The secular son of a Jewish father/ non-Jewish mother, Jonze is also nominated for best original song – a tune he co-wrote for Her. Jonze’s criticallyacclaimed films include Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Where the Wild Things Are. EMMANUEL LUBEZKI, 50, has long been one of the top cinematographers in Hollywood and this year he’s nominated for his work on

Gravity. He’s been Oscar-nominated six times for his great camera skills/ signature style and I’ve got a feeling this is his year. Lubezki was born and raised in Mexico City, and his work on the hit Mexican film Like Water for Chocolate (1992) got him Hollywood job offers.

Worthy of note: Facing Fear earned filmmaker JASON COHEN, 40, a nomination for best documentary short subject. It’s about a real life, recent meeting between a gay man and the former white supremacist who assaulted the gay man many years before.

The best picture Oscar goes to the film’s producers, who are often hard to run down. Here are the best picture nominees with a “known strong Jewish connection:” (director, writer, verified producer): American Hustle (Russell/ Singer); Captain Phillips (SCOTT RUDIN, producer); Her (Jonze, director/producer); and Philomena (directed

by Brit STEPHEN FREARS, 72).

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20A

March 2014

JEWISH INTEREST

Jerusalem Post Crossword Puzzle

By Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin

T

By David Benkof, DavidBenkof@gmail.com Across 1. One of forty in a Torah punishment 5. Prussian town that suffered greatly during the Chmielnicki pogroms 10. Olam HaBa (“The world to ___”) 14. “___ at the Races” (Marx Bros.)

15. No contest 16. 1924 Chicago murderer Richard 17. Rabbi Berel Wein’s “Faith and ___” 18. Hebrew letter before Chet 19. Kings king 20. Wilder role 23. Bertha Pappenheim, in Freud’s notes 24. Arendt and Szenes 28. Lot’s lot 32. “See the USA in Your Chevrolet” singer Shore 33. “___ Joey” (West End show for Lou Jacobi) 36. She plays a KGB spy in “The Americans” on FX 39. In Israel, it goes “Meh,” not “Moo” 41. Gay Avek!

42. “Jews ___ horns” (anti-Semitic comment) 43. Saturday Night Live cast member, 1996-2003 46. Abbr. that applies to Eric Cantor in two ways 47. Voice in the Mishnah 48. “... would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from ___.” (New Testament quote) 50. “___ by Adversity” (1971 book of essays about American Jews) 53. Part of a geniza 57. Hole frontwoman 61. Eric of Steven Spielberg’s “Munich” 64. More valuable manuscript, for example 65. Brouhahas 66. TV characters Levinson (“L.A. Law”) and Gold (“The Good Wife”) 67. The Gershwins’ “Porgy and Bess” 68. E followers in a farm tune 69. “A Shot in the ___” (Sellers film) 70. ___ of Peace (Maine summer camp that brings Palestinian and Israeli children together) 71. Aaron’s and Moses’s were famous Down 1. One place to put your falafel 2. “I don’t give ___!” (second to last sentence in Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First” routine) 3. He tested Job’s faith 4. Striped ones can be found in the Negev 5. Enjoy a Shabbat afternoon 6. Former Israeli President Moshe Katzav was born there 7. Sauces at restaurants like “Mi Tsu Yan” and “Yossi Peking” 8. Maryland’s Charles E. ___ Jewish Day School 9. William Shatner’s breathing disorder 10. Anti-Semitic term for Jews who stick together

K’zohar Ha-Ivrit Adar and Purim Katan

Solution on page 27A

11. “Holy Moses!”

12. Tillie Olsen’s “Tell ___ Riddle” 13. He wrote words to Kander’s music 21. Yeshiva Mercaz HaRav ___ (school named after Palestine’s first Ashkenazi chief rabbi) 22. Sen. Bernie Sanders and others 25. “Lend ___” (meaning of the name of the Torah portion “Haazinu”) 26. Split a bagel down the middle 27. Lug in Yiddish 29. Drama ___ Awards, of which Adam Guettel won two for “The Light in the Piazza” 30. Film that aped Spielberg’s “Jaws” 31. “The House of ___” (Edith Wharton’s anti-Semitic novel) 33. Covenants 34. “Otobus Mispar ___” (Israeli song meaning “Bus #1”) 35. Emmy-winning Michaels 37. Fifty shekels an hour, perhaps 38. Ukraine pilgrimage site 40. It may contain Manischewitz 44. Baron who wrote 50-Across 45. Young Judaea alternative 49. Sweet nosh 51. A thousand shekels are worth about 200 of them 52. Kind of shmatte, perhaps 54. Copland 1942 work 55. Entire novel written by Georges Perec without a single letter E 56. Santiago shekels 58. “Lemon ___” (Peter, Paul, and Mary song) 59. Woody Allen type 60. Seleucid and Hellenistic 61. ___-Stuy (Brooklyn neighborhood with many Jews) 62. Judah P. Benjamin’s state during the Civil War 63. Israeli director Bergman (“In Treatment”)

hroughout this year we all noticed that the holidays were celebrated earlier than usual.

The fact that Hanukkah, for example, coincided with Thanksgiving, made it clear that this is an intercalation year in which an adjustment will have to be made to assure that the Jewish holidays will be celebrated in their seasonal time. Rosh HaDr. Rachel Dulin Shanna should fall in the autumn, Hanukkah should be celebrated during the dark days of winter, Pesach should mark nature’s renewal in the spring, and Shavu-ot should be in the beginning of summer.

The adjustment of the Jewish calendar was designed by Rabbi Hillel II (359 CE) and is called ibur hashannah. Shannah in Hebrew means ‘year’ and ibur means ‘intercalation,’ ‘conception’ and ‘growth.’ The word is derived from the verb iber meaning ‘impregnate’ (Job 21:10). Shannah meu-be-ret is an intercalation year, a leap year, the year in which an extra month is added in order to adjust between the lunar cycle of 354 days and the solar cycle of about 365 days. The month added to the calendar is Adar, the very same month in which we celebrate Purim.

The reason Adar was chosen is because it was the last month of the Hebrew calendar in biblical times, marking the end of winter and ushering the month of Nissan, the first month of the new year. In the time of the Mishnah the rabbis changed the Hebrew calendar and declared that the year begins in the fall and not in the spring,

but ibur ha-shannah stayed in its place (Rosh Ha-Shannah1:1).

There are a few expressions in Hebrew where ibur is used. For example, ibur ha-chodesh, ‘intercalary month,’ is the month where a day is added to the month (P’sachim 4:9), and sod ha-ibur, literally ‘the secret of intercalation,’ points to the knowledge of the adjustment system itself (Rosh Ha-Shanna 20). We should also mention the phrases Iburah shel ir, ‘a city sprawl,’ ‘the suburbs’ (Nedarim 7:8), and ibur din, ‘transgression of the law (Sh’mot Raba 30).

The consequence of having two months of Adar in a shannah me-u-beret is that the celebration of Purim is doubled. That is to say, in a leap year, Purim is celebrated once as Purim Katan, namely ‘small Purim,’ on the fourteenth day of the first Adar and then it is celebrated in a big way on the fourteenth day of the second Adar (Megilah 6b). There are no specific instructions for the observation of Purim Katan but the fact that one does not mourn or fast on this date. A more festive meal is eaten but the Megilah is not being read.

In the spirit of Adar, the month that according to Jewish tradition always ushers simcha (Ta-a-nit 29:1), whether Purim Katan or Purim, I wish all our readers a fun and joyful holiday.

Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin is a professor of biblical literature at Spertus College in Chicago and an adjunct professor of Hebrew and Bible at New College in Sarasota.

Rachel Dulin’s Bible Series begins March 4 on the Federation Campus.

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21A March 2014 JEWISH INTEREST

The heartbreak and redemption of Hungary

By Paul R. Bartrop, PhD

O

n March 19, 1944 – 70 years ago this month – the Nazis invaded their ally Hungary.

Seemingly within moments, the Holocaust began, and the Jews, who had so far escaped annihilation, were now hit with the full force of the Final Solution.

By the time the Soviet Army captured Budapest on January 17-18, 1945, it was too late to save the lives of the Dr. Paul Bartrop 564,500 Jews who had already been murdered by the Nazis and their Hungarian fascist allies.

Of all the Jews murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust, nearly ten per cent were Hungarian Jews, murdered in the space of just a few months.

After Hungary emancipated its Jews in 1867, they were given every opportunity to become wholly Hungarian in their language, customs, clothing and, most importantly, their feelings.

After 1938, however, they were gradually excluded by a series of internally-driven anti-Jewish race laws.

With the German invasion, the socalled “architect of the Final Solution,” Adolf Eichmann, moved into Hungary with a hand-picked unit of 200 men.

In the spring and early summer of 1944, with the active help of Hungarian clerks, policemen, soldiers and gendarmes, Eichmann’s men then facilitated the deportation of the Jews from Hungary’s rural provinces to Auschwitz.

Evidence shows that the majority of the country’s non-Jewish population did little to try to help their persecuted fellow-citizens. In many instances, as archival photos documenting the deportation show, it took only a few gendarmes to march the obedient Jews to the railway station, where they joined waiting rail cars ready to take them to their final destination.

The Hungarian Regent, Admiral Miklós Horthy, brought the deportations to an end on July 6, 1944, saving the Jews of Budapest. Owing to this and other defiant acts, however, the Nazis soon arranged for Hungarian fascist leader Ferenc Szálasi and his Arrow Cross party to come to power.

Every day, hundreds of defenseless Jews were then murdered by the Arrow Cross. Many were tortured horribly before their death, while others were simply shot and thrown into the icy Danube.

It was not until January 18, 1945, that troops from the Soviet Red Army were able to liberate the ghetto of Pest, bringing the Holocaust in Hungary to an end – though survivors were scattered across Europe, still in concentration camps and, tragically, still dying in large numbers.

There were some from outside who tried to save Jews. The best known is undoubtedly Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, whose efforts saved up to two hundred thousand Jews. To his name could be added the Swiss ViceConsul to Budapest, Carl Lutz, who used his influence to guarantee the lives of over 62,000 Jews, and a remarkable Italian citizen, Giorgio Perlasca, who posed as a Spanish diplomat in Budapest in order to save over five thousand Jews.

There were also some (though not many) Hungarians who tried to achieve goodness in the midst of evil; they have gone some tiny way to redeeming Hungary’s honor. One such account was uncovered a few years back by an Israeli journalist, Anshel Pfeffer, writing in Haaretz.

The scene was Budapest in 1944.

Information from an informer led an Arrow Cross officer to search for a Jewish man who, it was thought, was hiding in the art studio of painter Lajos Szentivanyi. There was no time to arrange a proper hiding place, and the Jew simply hid himself behind a screen, his yellow shoes peeking out beneath it.

Fortunately, the room contained a stunning nude painting that Szentivanyi was working on. The officer could not take his eyes off it; he stopped searching, spoke a few words to Szentivanyi, and left.

The incident is one of many that took place at the Open School of Art, founded by Karoly Koffan, which saved hundreds of Jews and other victims of the Nazis. The school did not belong to any organized underground, and had neither diplomatic immunity nor access to the resources available to a large organization. They did not have a plan to follow, and did not keep orderly records of their activities. They helped people on the basis of personal acquaintanceship, motivated largely by humanitarian feelings.

Koffan’s art school enjoyed relative freedom until 1944, but after the Nazi invasion, Koffan and Szentivanyi worked to assist people in need. They ran the group’s rescue activities, while three students (Andre Meszaros, Laszlo Ridovics and Sandor Kovacs) carried out the missions.

These students brought Jews forged documents, rescued people from the ghettos and transports, and smuggled them into hiding places. Later on, they even began going into the transit camps where Jews were sent before being transported to Auschwitz.

At first the group helped anyone who was in danger, but over time the Jews became the main group they assisted.

Early in the morning, before classes at the art school, students would take the people to nearby hiding places, or hide them in the school itself. Sometimes up to 20 people stayed overnight.

Some Jews, who managed to escape on their own, ran to the art school for safety. Koffan’s wife hid them in plain sight, give each one an art book, and when soldiers came in looking for victims it appeared as those present were actually students in an art class.

It says much that in Hungary, where from March 1944 the full force of the Holocaust turned against the Jews like the eruption at Vesuvius, there were some non-Jews who said no in the face of evil. It isn’t much, but even tiny acts can have big consequences – and that, of course, is a lesson we can all leave for future generations.

Dr. Paul Bartrop is Professor of History and the Director of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University.

He can be reached at pbartrop@fgcu. edu.

March 2014

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The Center for Judaic, Holocaust, & Genocide Studies presents

The Holocaust in Hungary, 70 Years On: New Perspectives

March 16-18 at Florida Gulf Coast University For more information, see the article on page 13A and visit www.fgcu.edu/HC/Conferences.html.

21A

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22A

March 2014

JEWISH INTEREST

Would a great newspaper slant the news against Israel?

From CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America), www.camera.org

C

AMERA’S billboard in Times Square, just outside the offices of The New York Times, poses this question to the newspaper and its readers. With Times coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict continuing to include factual errors and promote a distorted sense of the region, we continue our campaign to raise awareness about the newspaper’s lack of reliability.

Below is a view of the billboard across from the offices of The New York Times.

Later in this article, you can find an image of our advertisement, placed in major New York City newspapers, about the Times’s history of downplaying genocidal, anti-Jewish rhetoric in the Palestinian media, and another about the newspaper glossing over the murder of Malki Roth, a 15-yearold girl killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber, in a magazine article romanticizing acts of violence against Israeli civilians.

These examples are part of a pattern of bias. CAMERA’s six-month study of New York Times coverage of the conflict between Palestinians and Israel found that the newspaper consistently treats Israel with a harsher standard, omits context, and shows a clear preference for the Palestinian narrative.

Our billboard highlights the newspaper’s habit of misrepresenting facts, omitting key information and skewing headlines, to encourage the newspaper of record to commit itself to its own promise of ethical journalism.

The New York Times consistently distorts the truth about Israel – on the news pages and on editorial pages, in the body of the article or in the headline. Below is a sampling of the misrepresentations purveyed by the publication.

MISREPRESENTING FACTS On The News Pages CLAIM: A news reporter writes: “With the peace process at a current

standstill and Israel’s separation barrier and network of checkpoints long a fixture of the landscape, contacts between the two peoples have dwindled.

Fewer Palestinians work inside Israel. “(Jodi Rudoren, “A Tour Puts a City in Reach and at Arm’s Length,” March 26, 2013) FACT: According to recent statistics, contacts between Palestinians and Israelis, whether through work or healthcare, have not dwindled but have steadily increased. “More than 930,000 Palestinians went through passageways into Israel in 2012, representing a continuing trend in recent years... tens of thousands of movements were recorded at passageways for the purpose of family visits and traveling in Israel, receiving medical care in Israeli hospitals, commerce and employment for Palestinian workers and merchants in Israel.” (Israel Civil Administration, “930,000 Palestinians Pass Through Israel,” March 11, 2013) The number of Palestinians granted permits to work in Israel has been steadily increasing and is at a peak since the start of a violent Palestinian intifada in 2000. The numbers of Palestinians receiving healthcare within Israel has been steadily rising as well.

The New York Times was informed of its error. It chose not to correct it.

CLAIM: A front page article includes the following prominent sub-headline: “Kerry’s Tel Aviv Push Raises Questions About Priorities” (“Mideast Chaos Grows as U.S. Focuses on Israel,” July 2, 2013), with the clear implication that Israel’s capital city and seat of government is in Tel Aviv.

FACT: Israel’s capital is Jerusalem and that is where Kerry’s diplomacy and meetings took place, not Tel Aviv.

On The Opinion Pages In Editorials CLAIM: “...Israel would continue planning for new development in the E1 area – a project northeast of Jerusa-

Now Accepting New Patients.

Joshua M. Newman, M.D.

lem that would split the West Bank and prevent the creation of a viable contiguous Palestinian state. “ (“The Fading Mideast Peace Dream,” Editorial, Dec. 21, 2012) FACT: It is geographically impossible for development of the small E1 area to “split the West Bank” or prevent a Palestinian contiguous state. A look at the map shows the fallacy of the editorial’s assertions.

As can be seen, the northern and southern parts of the West Bank are connected by land east of Ma’aleh Adumim (marked on the map with a green line showing the passage way) that is at its narrowest point about 15 km wide. This is no narrower than the land connecting northern and southern Israel along the coast in its pre-1967 boundaries (shown on the left by the red line). That is, it’s no more accurate to suggest development of the E1 corridor (the small blue area indicated by the black arrow) would “split the West Bank” than it would be to say Israel is “split.”

Although this was brought to the attention of editors, they chose not to issue a correction.

In Staff-Written Columns CLAIM 1: “Eric Burdon was just the latest of a rising number of artists and intellectuals who have started boycotting Israel over the occupation issue.”

CLAIM 2: “One should never forget just how crazy some of Israel’s Jewish settlers are. They assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin when he tried to cede part of the West Bank for peace.” (Thomas L. Friedman, “Daring to Fail,” Aug. 7, 2013) FACT 1: Eric Burdon performed in concert to a packed Zappa Shuni Amphitheater in Binyamina on Aug. 1, 2013 – a week before Friedman’s column ran. Burdon made clear that he never joined any boycott of Israel, and that a temporary cancellation was not in protest of Israeli policies, but rather a result of threats received by his publicist.

FACT 2: Rabin’s assassin, Yigal Amir, was not a settler. He lived in the Israeli city of Herzliya, within Israel’s pre1967 boundaries.

In Guest Op-Eds CLAIM 1: “In 2000, he [Ariel Sharon] entered Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, a holy Muslim site, which triggered the second intifada.”

CLAIM 2: “When he decided to withdraw from Gaza, Mr. Sharon was able to retain absolute Israeli control over the terrestrial, aerial and maritime borders of the Gaza Strip...” (Ali Jarbawi, “The Man Who Made Peace Impossible,” Jan. 22, 2014, International Edition) He also erroneously stated that Sharon “was able to retain absolute Israeli control” over Gaza’s land borders.

FACT 1: Mr. Sharon never entered the Al Aqsa mosque; he simply visited the Temple Mount, Judaism’s most sacred site, and the plaza upon which the mosque sits. Moreover, numerous Pal-

estinian officials have acknowledged that the second intifada was planned in advance by Palestinian President Yasir Arafat and any action by Mr. Sharon was used as a pretext.

FACT 2: Israel does not retain absolute control over Gaza’s land borders. Egypt controls its border with Gaza along Rafah; Israel has no control there.

Although The New York Times was informed of its errors, it has not corrected them.

OMITTING KEY INFORMATION The most extreme examples of antiIsrael and anti-Jewish incitement have too often been omitted from The New York Times account of the conflict. For example, when a speaker said on Palestinian television that it is an “act of worship” to “harvest the skulls of the Jews,” this genocidal rhetoric, which clearly is an obstacle to peace and reconciliation, was not reported by the newspaper.

Other inconvenient information is buried. After Israeli teenage thugs severely beat an Arab boy, the story made the front page of the newspaper not once, but twice, and journalists raised questions about the morality of Israeli society as a whole. But when Palestinian teens perpetrated a bloodcurdling murder of five members of the Fogel family, including a 3-monthold infant, the story didn’t make the front page of the newspaper once, and reporters didn’t ask about the morals of Palestinian society.

SKEWING HEADLINES AND PHOTOS Alongside a news story about a 19-year-old Israeli soldier murdered in his sleep, The New York Times opted to redirect the focus to Palestinian suffering by featuring a photograph of the Palestinian killer’s mother. Although the newspaper’s public editor later admitted that the photo was the “wrong” choice, other editors decided to continue to highlight the problematic photo at the top of the story.

CAMERA’s six-month study of New York Times reporting found that the newspaper’s coverage of violence was marked by a double standard that highlighted Israeli attacks and deemphasized Palestinian ones. Twelve headlines explicitly mentioned Palestinian fatalities; none explicitly referred to Israeli deaths, even though 14 Israelis were killed during the study period.

A 2013 report about the Palestinian killing of an Israeli civilian and the subsequent Israeli killing of a Palestinian terrorist was assigned the lopsided headline, “Israeli Airstrike Kills Palestinian in Gaza.” The headline was later changed under pressure. But the featured photo illustrating the story was, and still is, a sorrowful picture of the Palestinian terrorist’s mother in mourning.

Such errors, omissions and distortions, large and small, characterize The New York Times’ biased handling of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Would a great newspaper slant the news about Israel? No. But The New York Times does.

This article is reprinted with permission from CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America), www.camera.org.

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23A 2014 ISRAEL & THEMarch JEWISH WORLD

March 2014

23A

Planting water in Israel

Jewish National Fund isn’t only about planting forests. Some of its newest water-tech projects were recently showcased in Israel.

By Karin Kloosterman, ISRAEL21c, www.israel21c.org

E

xciting fact about Israel’s land use, as the world experiences massive deforestation: Israel is the only country in the world to have a net gain of trees in the last 100 years.

This is thanks to a non-profit and visionary non-governmental organization, Jewish National Fund (JNF) – or Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – set up in 1901 in Israel to develop the land.

Under Ottoman rule at the time, Israel was neglected and considered a backwater state infested with malaria.

There was a genuine need for a longterm plan to turn things around.

Using donations from generations of Jews in the Diaspora, some 240 million trees have been planted in Israel by JNF over the last 11 decades, including a few by the Kennedys.

But its focus is no longer just on greening the desert. JNF has helped build some 180 dams and water reservoirs and has established about 1,000 parks, some of which feature hiking trails around water. Some of its flagship rehabilitation projects include cleaning up the polluted Alexander River.

At the recent water technology conference in Tel Aviv, WATEC, JNF showcased its expertise and exportable knowledge in water for countries experiencing similar conditions as Israel.

By dealing with desertification and water scarcity for the past few decades, JNF has acquired ample experience knowing where the rain flows, which trees can withstand water stress, and how to make non-arable land better suited for people and agriculture.

Like dialysis for cities Elisha Mizrahi, regional director of JNF in Israel, tells ISRAEL21c that WATEC allowed him “to show what JNF can do in order to enlarge the availability of water to people in the peripheries – farmers or the people in the municipalities,” he says.

Land reclamation for cities, parks and landscaping is one key strategy.

The organization’s biggest achievements in water include the reclamation of the Hula Valley, Mizrahi explains.

The swampy land in northern Israel was once drained to rid Israel of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Recently, ecologists helped persuade authorities to re-flood the swamp, as it offers a special ecosystem for wildlife as well as a twice-yearly refuge for millions of migratory birds.

“In partnership with the farmers, we re-flooded the Hula Valley. JNF took on the burden of carrying the financing of the project,” says Mizrahi.

Even animals thought to be extinct, such as the Hula painted frog, have emerged once again, making Israel’s

environmental Hula project a model of success for countries and regions with similar aspirations.

JNF has also been instrumental in adding a layer of natural water runoff to city ecosystems. Call it dialysis for a city’s aquifers.

The Israeli city of Kfar Saba, for instance, is now home to a holistic pilot project based on a water bio-filter where “wintertime water that runs through the city was channeled to the sea,” says Mizrahi. Now that water is being collected, treated and filtered, with some of it going back to the aquifer and some toward local landscaping.

A water bridge between nations While Israel’s experience is yet to be applied to neighboring countries with which it has no diplomatic relations – consider Iraq and its devastated marshlands – “people are coming from every end of the planet to see what can be done in wide open areas with water reclamation,” says Mizrahi. “We have experience and they want our aid and experience.”

Israel, he says, offers such expertise freely.

“We are speaking with Africa to help reclaim desert. It’s true that we are exporting our knowledge without any fee. It is important to show other countries that this can be done. We are creating bridges,” says Mizrahi.

It’s hard to pin down just one approach or specific technology that Israel uses for water and land reclamation,

he says. There are multiple successful approaches.

Among its areas of expertise are how to prepare the land, how to capture and utilize water runoff, and which species to introduce in each area to create a forest, he says.

Read more about JNF at www.jnf.org.

Karin Kloosterman lives in Jaffa, Israel. She is a journalist, writer and blog-

Youngsters plant trees at Tu B’Shevat, courtesy of JNF (photo by Flash90)

ger who focuses on the environment and clean technology from Israel and the Middle East. Published in hundreds of newspapers around the world, Karin also writes for the Huffington Post and Green Prophet.

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There is no greater compliment to any culture than to be admired by the Chinese, who with some justification regard their civilization as the world’s most ancient. The high regard that the Chinese have for Jews should be a source of pride. Jew-hatred is entirely absent in the world’s largest country.

To the extent that Chinese people know something of the Jews, their response to us is instinctively sympathetic.

Family, learning, respect for tradition, business acumen – these are Jewish traits that the Chinese also consider to be their virtues. A Jew visiting China senses an affinity with Chinese people, more than can be explained by the commonality of traits. There is a

continued on page 24A

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March 2014

BRIEFS continued from page 23A common attitude towards life, and especially toward adversity. (Asia Times - Hong Kong)

OFFSHORE GAS NOW SUPPLIES 45% OF ISRAEL’S ELECTRICITY

ISRAEL & THE JEWISH WORLD

become a billion-dollar industry.

At Pitztal, 30 miles west of Innsbruck in Austria, the IDE All Weather Snowmaker is a $2 million device capable of shooting out 35,000 cubic feet of snow in 24 hours, and is made

by Israel Desalination Enterprises.

(McKenzie Funk, Business Week)

THE IDF OFFICER WHO INTERCEPTS ROCKETS

Israel has verified finds of 35 trillion cubic feet of gas in the eastern Mediterranean.

Noble Energy says that gas from its Tamar field, which began flowing this year, already supplies 45% of the country’s electricity. (Economist - UK)

HOW ISRAELI SNOWMAKERS ARE SAVING ALPINE SKIING Europe’s Alps have lost half their ice over the last century, one-fifth of it since the 1980s. Some 80 million tourists come to the Alps each ski season.

Some 1.2 million Tyroleans depend on glacier skiing for their livelihoods.

No wonder then that snowmaking has

Lt. Aviel Perry, who serves as the commander of an IDF Iron Dome battery, recently intercepted five Gaza rockets headed straight for the Israeli city of Ashkelon.

Lt. Perry was on duty at 1:00 a.m.

Although the battery’s last interception was two months ago, “We must always remain vigilant and alert, even when we think that an upcoming shift will be normal and uneventful,” he says.

When five rockets from Gaza came soaring toward Israel, soldiers in the Iron Dome battery had only seconds to react. Their swift actions resulted in the interception of all five rockets.

“You cannot describe the feeling of stopping a rocket that could hurt, injure or kill civilians. This is what we

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prepare for all the time – to be there at the right time and do the right thing.”

(Israel Defense Forces blog)

TEN BRANDS YOU’LL HAVE TO GIVE UP IF YOU’RE BOYCOTTING ISRAEL Ten brands that BDS supporters have urged others to boycott: Pampers, Victoria’s Secret, Volvo, Intel, Israeli hummus, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Starbucks, McDonald’s and SodaStream. There are thousands of other products that contain or use Israeli-developed technology, including iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, Skype, computer firewalls and Microsoft XP. (Christa Case Bryant, Christian Science Monitor)

JEWISH-ARAB COEXISTENCE IN JERUSALEM In recent years, Jerusalem has seen new infrastructure projects like a light-rail line serving Jewish and Arab neighborhoods. State-funded health care in Arab neighborhoods is improving. One hears more Arabic than ever spoken in predominantly Jewish commercial areas. More Arab residents are requesting Israeli citizenship and taking the Israeli high-school matriculation exams.

There are many thousands of interactions between Jews and Arabs each day, nearly all of them uneventful. What we have here is not peace but peacefulness – a budding, imperfect coexistence obvious to anyone. According to a poll published in January 2014 by Haaretz, when Arab Israelis were asked if they were “generally satisfied” with their lives in Israel, 79% said yes. (Matti Friedman, Tablet)

ISRAELI COMPANY TESTING FLYING AMBULANCE DRONE

The AirMule, an unmanned flying ambulance, has successfully completed a series of fully automatic test flights, the Israeli firm Urban Aeronautics announced recently.

AirMule is significantly quieter –

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In any other context, worldwide, a private company maintaining a factory in an underdeveloped country to take advantage of its lower labor costs would be regarded as a boon for the hosting country.

SodaStream, however, isn’t paying hundreds of Palestinian workers what they’d get from a Palestinian employer. It’s paying the Palestinian laborers Israeli wages, with the social benefits mandated by Israeli law.

Nobody lives in the SodaStream factory: it’s a factory.

If ever there is peace between Israel and Palestine, Israeli-owned factories in Palestine employing Palestinians is precisely the sort of thing everyone should be wishing for – for the quantifiable advantage of employment and foreign currency.

In any other context, this is called FDI (foreign direct investment) and is eagerly sought by politicians.

When it comes to Israel-Palestine, however, normal discourse goes silent.

(Yaacov Lozowick, Israel’s Chief Archivist)

AT SODASTREAM, PALESTINIANS HOPE THEIR BUBBLE WON’T BURST

SodaStream’s Mishor Adumim plant employs 1,300 workers; 950 Arabs (450 Israeli and 500 Palestinian) and 350 Israeli Jews. Salaries and work benefits – workers confirm – are equal for all workers in comparable jobs, regardless of ethnicity or citizenship.

The factory secures Israeli work permits for its Palestinian employees as well as rides from their home and back, SodaStream’s Chief Operating Officer Yossi Azarzar says.

Nahida Fares, 28, from Ramallah, said, “There are no job opportunities in the West Bank. Even the jobs that do exist pay no more than $430-$570 a month.” Fares now earns triple those sums. Fares’ husband, a PA security officer, earns $570 per month. (Elhanan Miller, Times of Israel)

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25A COMMENTARYMarch 2014

Jewish humor From the Bimah Susan Friedman, President Cong. for Humanistic Judaism

A

young boy had just gotten his driving permit. He asked his father, who was a rabbi, if they could discuss the use of the car. His father took him to his study and said to him, “I’ll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study more, get your hair cut and then we’ll talk about it.”

After about a month, the boy came back and again asked his father if they could discuss the use of the car. His father said, “Son, I’ve been very proud of you. You’ve brought your grades up and you’ve studied diligently, but you didn’t get your hair cut.”

The young man waited a moment and replied, “You know, Dad, I’ve been thinking about that. Samson had long

hair, Abraham had long hair, Noah had long hair, and even Moses had long hair.” To which the Rabbi replied, “Yes, and they WALKED everywhere they went.”

Humor or Jewish humor is a part of the Jewish experience that most of us can relate to. The holiday of Purim had the Purim Spielers of medieval Europe who were strolling comic actors presenting comedies and burlesques in the Jewish sections of cities and towns throughout Europe. In America, a disproportionately high percentage of comedians have been Jewish. I grew up in New York and spent many weekends as a young married woman in the 1960s in the Borscht Belt. My closest friend’s family owned Victor’s SunLite Bungalow Colony bordering the Concord Hotel in the Catskills. Weekends were spent helping to prepare the food and entertainment provided in the “Casino,” which was a gathering hall for the residents.

Many of our famous comedians got their start in the Catskills in places like Kutsher’s Country Club, the Pines and the Concord Hotel, and some even made their way to Victor’s to entertain the guests on a Saturday night. The

March 2014

Borscht Belt was home to the likes of Sid Caesar, Jerry Lewis, Myron Cohen and many others who ultimately graduated to radio and television and, of course, The Ed Sullivan Show.

The history of the Jews is the story of the outsider looking in. To survive from one culture to the next, the Jews learned to add their particular viewpoint, the building blocks of humor, paradox, irony and sarcasm. What the immigrant Jew brought to America and portrayed on stage in the Catskills, on radio and television, in movies and nightclubs, was the unique ability to look at the trials and tribulations of life – and laugh.

Even now, joking helps Jews to keep their equilibrium – as we can see by the Israeli humor of today. “An elderly man refuses to leave for the air raid shelter until he can find his dentures. His wife yells at him, ‘What, you think they are dropping sandwiches?’”

I am proud to be a part of that tradition; comedy can be powerful and help to relax the stresses we are all faced with.

As Humanistic Jews we identify with the history, culture and future of the Jewish people. Culture adds interest to our lives, whether it be music, literature, art, dance, food or humor. We take pride in the values and culture developed by our people over 5,000 years and we draw strength from the history and achievements of our people. We see Jewish history as testimony to the continuing struggle for human dignity and as a product of human decisions and actions. The Congregation for Humanistic Judaism combines a humancentered philosophy with rational thinking and scientific thought, and our membership consists of those who, by birth or conviction, identify with Judaism.

The Hebrew phrase “tikkun olam,” which roughly translates to “putting the world in order,” conveys an obligation on all Jews to pursue social justice.

Can making a joke mend the world? As my grandmother would have said, “It couldn’t hurt.”

Susan Friedman is the President of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism.

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Letter to the Editor A gem in our community This past year, my husband, Rabbi Herbert Rose, spent three months in the Benderson Skilled Nursing and Rehab facility, the third floor of the Anchin Pavilion on the Kobernick campus administered by the Jewish Housing Council.

Our family is very thankful that we had such a wonderful facility in our midst when we needed it. The Care Plan Coordinator, Director of Social Services, nursing staff, nursing assistants, dieticians, and physical, speech and occupational therapists were most competent, professional and very caring. Dr. Morrison was most gracious and attentive.

The facility is pleasant, very clean and well maintained, and looked to have everything needed for the care of the patients, including beautiful rooms,

attractive dining rooms, and state-ofthe-art high-tech equipment.

There were many activities for those who could avail themselves of such things. The grounds are inviting with a wheel-chair-accessible walking trail. The Kobernick building has a splendid café where one could meet friends.

All this and a Jewish flavor too, with kosher food, religious services, Shabbat and Holiday celebrations with lovely decorations in the lobby and elsewhere.

The people who founded the campus and its buildings should be remembered and appreciated as the project they started lives on. All of the aforementioned things make for a true gem in our Jewish community. It sure deserves our continued support.

—Esther B. Rose, Sarasota

Send Letters to the Editor to jewishnews@jfedsrq.org.

25A

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March 2014

COMMENTARY

The meaning of Israel: A personal view

By David Harris, Executive Director, American Jewish Committee (AJC), January 14, 2014

A

gainst the backdrop of recent efforts in some academic circles to vilify and isolate Israel, let me put my cards on the table right up front. I’m not dispassionate when it comes to Israel. Quite the contrary.

The establishment of the state in 1948; the fulfillment of its envisioned role as home and haven for Jews from around the world; its wholehearted embrace of democracy and the rule of law; and its impressive scientific, cultural and economic achievements are accomplishments beyond my wildest imagination.

For centuries, Jews around the world prayed for a return to Zion. We are the lucky ones who have seen those prayers answered. I am grateful to witness this most extraordinary period in Jewish history and Jewish sovereignty.

And when one adds the key element, namely, that all this took place not in the Middle West but in the Middle East, where Israel’s neighbors determined from day one to destroy it through any means available to them – from full-scale wars to wars of attrition; from diplomatic isolation to international delegitimation; from primary to secondary to even tertiary economic boycotts; from terrorism to the spread of anti-Semitism, often thinly veiled as anti-Zionism – the story of Israel’s first 65 years becomes all the more remarkable.

No other country has faced such a constant challenge to its very right to exist, even though the age-old biblical, spiritual and physical connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel is unique in the annals of history.

Indeed, that connection is of a totally different character from the basis on which, say, the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the bulk of Latin American countries were established, that is, by Europeans with no legitimate claim to those lands who decimated indigenous populations and proclaimed their own authority. Or, for that matter, North African countries that were conquered and occupied

by Arab-Islamic invaders and totally redefined in their national character.

No other country has faced such overwhelming odds against its very survival, or experienced the same degree of never-ending international demonization by too many nations that throw integrity and morality to the wind, and slavishly follow the will of the energy-rich and more numerous Arab states.

Yet Israelis have never succumbed to a fortress mentality, never abandoned their deep yearning for peace with their neighbors or willingness to

take unprecedented risks to achieve that peace, never lost their zest for life, and never flinched from their determination to build a vibrant, democratic state.

This story of nation-building is entirely without precedent.

Here was a people brought to the brink of utter destruction by the genocidal policies of Nazi Germany and its allies. Here was a people shown to be utterly powerless to influence a largely indifferent world to stop, or even slow down, the Final Solution. And here was a people, numbering barely 600,000, living cheek-by-jowl with often hostile Arab neighbors, under unsympathetic British occupation, on a harsh soil with no significant natural resources other than human capital in then Mandatory Palestine.

That the blue-and-white flag of an independent Israel could be planted on this land, to which the Jewish people had been intimately linked since

embassies and consulates meant to Jews drawn by the pull of Zion or the push of hatred. I stood in the courtyard of the Israeli embassy in Moscow and saw thousands of Jews seeking a quick exit from a Soviet Union in the throes of cataclysmic change, fearful that the change might be in the direction of renewed chauvinism and anti-Semitism.

Awestruck, I watched up-close as Israel never faltered, not even for a moment, in transporting Soviet Jews to the Jewish homeland, even as Scud missiles launched from Iraq traumatized the nation in 1991. It says a lot about the conditions they were leaving behind that these Jews continued to board planes for Tel Aviv while missiles were exploding in Israeli population centers. In fact, on two occasions I sat in sealed rooms with Soviet Jewish families who had just arrived in Israel during these missile attacks. Not once did any of them question their decision to establish new lives in the Jewish

Look at the light-years traveled since the darkness of the Holocaust, and marvel at the miracle of a decimated people returning to a tiny sliver of land – the land of our ancestors, the land of Zion and Jerusalem – and successfully building a modern, vibrant state against all the odds, on that ancient foundation. the time of Abraham, just three years after the Second World War’s end – and with the support of a decisive majority of UN members at the time – truly boggles the mind.

And what’s more, that this tiny community of Jews, including survivors of the Holocaust who had somehow made their way to Mandatory Palestine despite the British blockade, could successfully defend themselves against the onslaught of five Arab standing armies that launched their attack on Israel’s first day of existence, is almost beyond imagination.

To understand the essence of Israel’s meaning, it is enough to ask how the history of the Jewish people might have been different had there been a Jewish state in 1933, in 1938 or even in 1941. If Israel had controlled its borders and the right of entry instead of Britain, if Israel had had embassies and consulates throughout Europe, how many more Jews might have escaped and found sanctuary?

Instead, Jews had to rely on the goodwill of embassies and consulates of other countries and, with woefully few exceptions, they found there neither the “good” nor the “will” to assist.

I witnessed firsthand what Israeli

state. And equally, it says a lot about Israel that, amid all the pressing security concerns, it managed to continue to welcome these new immigrants without missing a beat.

And how can I ever forget the surge of pride – Jewish pride – that completely enveloped me in July 1976 on hearing the astonishing news of Israel’s daring rescue of the 106 Jewish hostages held by Arab and German terrorists in Entebbe, Uganda, over 2,000 miles from Israel’s borders? The unmistakable message: Jews in danger will never again be alone, without hope, and totally dependent on others for their safety.

Not least, I can still remember, as if it were yesterday, my very first visit to Israel. It was in 1970, and I was not quite 21 years old.

I didn’t know what to expect, but I recall being quite emotional from the moment I boarded the El Al plane to the very first glimpse of the Israeli coastline from the plane’s window. As I disembarked, I surprised myself by wanting to kiss the ground. In the ensuing weeks, I marveled at everything I saw. To me, it was as if every apartment building, factory, school, orange grove and Egged bus was nothing less than a miracle. A state, a Jewish state,

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was unfolding before my very eyes.

After centuries of persecutions, pogroms, exiles, ghettos, pales of settlement, inquisitions, blood libels, forced conversions, discriminatory legislation, and immigration restrictions – and, no less, after centuries of prayers, dreams and yearning – the Jews had come back home and were the masters of their own fate.

I was overwhelmed by the mix of people, backgrounds, languages and lifestyles, and by the intensity of life itself. Everyone, it seemed, had a compelling story to tell. There were Holocaust survivors with harrowing tales of their years in the camps. There were Jews from Arab countries, whose stories of persecution in such countries as Iraq, Libya and Syria were little known at the time. There were the first Jews arriving from the USSR seeking repatriation in the Jewish homeland. There were the sabras – native-born Israelis – many of whose families had lived in Palestine for generations. There were local Arabs, both Christian and Muslim. There were Druze, whose religious practices are kept secret from the outside world. The list goes on and on.

I was moved beyond words by the sight of Jerusalem and the fervor with which Jews of all backgrounds prayed at the Western Wall. Coming from a nation that was at the time deeply divided and demoralized, I found my Israeli peers to be unabashedly proud of their country, eager to serve in the military, and, in many cases, determined to volunteer for the most elite combat units.

They felt personally involved in the enterprise of building a Jewish state, more than 1,800 years after the Romans defeated the Bar Kochba revolt, the last Jewish attempt at sovereignty on this very land.

To be sure, nation-building is an infinitely complex process. In Israel’s case, it began against a backdrop of tensions with a local Arab population that laid claim to the very same land, and tragically refused a UN proposal to divide the land into Arab and Jewish states; as the Arab world sought to isolate, demoralize and ultimately destroy the state; as Israel’s population doubled in the first three years of the country’s existence, putting an unimaginable strain on severely limited resources; as the nation was forced to devote a vast portion of its limited national budget to defense expenditures; and as the country coped with forging a national identity and social consensus among a population that could not have been more geographically, linguistically, socially and culturally heterogeneous.

Moreover, there is the tricky and underappreciated issue of the potential clash between the messy realities of statehood and, in this case, the ideals and faith of a people. It is one thing for a people to live their religion as a minority; it is quite another to exercise sovereignty as the majority population while remaining true to one’s ethical standards. Inevitably, tension will arise between a people’s spiritual or moral self-definition and the exigencies of statecraft, between our highest concepts of human nature and the daily realities of individuals in decision-making positions wielding power and balancing a variety of competing interests.

Even so, shall we raise the bar so high as to ensure that Israel – forced to function in the often gritty, morally ambiguous world of international relations and politics, especially as a small, still endangered state – will always fall short?

Yet, the notion that Israel would ever become ethically indistinguishable from any other country, reflexively seeking cover behind the convenient justification of realpolitik to explain its

continued on next page

27A COMMENTARYMarch 2014

March 2014

27A

David Harris...continued from page 26A behavior, is equally unacceptable.

Israelis, with only 65 years of statehood under their belts, are among the newer practitioners of statecraft. With all its remarkable success, consider the daunting political, social and economic challenges in the United States 65 or even 165 years after independence, or, for that matter, the challenges it faces today, including stubborn social inequalities. And let’s not forget that the United States, unlike Israel, is a vast country blessed with abundant natural resources, oceans on two-and-a half sides, a gentle neighbor to the north, and a weaker neighbor to the south.

Like any vibrant democracy, America is a permanent work in progress. The same holds true for Israel.

Loving Israel as I do, though, doesn’t mean overlooking its shortcomings, including the excessive and unholy intrusion of religion into politics, the

marginalization of non-Orthodox Jewish religious streams, the dangers posed by political and religious zealots, and the unfinished, if undeniably complex, task of integrating Israeli Arabs into the mainstream.

But it also doesn’t mean allowing such issues to overshadow Israel’s remarkable achievements, accomplished, as I’ve said, under the most difficult of circumstances.

In just 65 years, Israel has built a thriving democracy, unique in the region, including a Supreme Court prepared, when it deems appropriate, to overrule the prime minister or the military establishment, a feisty parliament that includes every imaginable viewpoint along the political spectrum, a robust civil society, and a vigorous press.

It has built an economy whose per capita GNP exceeds the combined total

Busted: Knesset member Tibi exposes Israel’s greatness

By Isi Stein, January 23, 2014

O

n Monday, January 20, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was suddenly interrupted while addressing ministers of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. I would have expected all parties in attendance to display some level of statesmanship, especially considering the important circumstance surrounding this speech: The Prime Minister was the first Canadian leader to ever speak in front of the Knesset.

Prime Minister Harper spoke eloquently of the strong bond between Canada and Israel, chastised those who refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and condemned groups who obsess over singling Israel out on the world stage.

But as Harper dismissed claims of Israel as an apartheid state, exposing the charge as “veiled” anti-Semitism, Arab Member of the Knesset Ahmed Tibi rose up and began yelling erratically at Harper, in what appeared to be a mix of Arabic, Hebrew and English.

It was his second outburst in an hour, the first of which had been directed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu only moments earlier. Tibi accused Israel of apartheid, which, if it were a legitimate claim, would have forbidden him from speaking in the first place.

Tibi, a former adviser to the archterrorist Yasser Arafat, and several of the 11 other Arab members of the Israeli Knesset, actively work through both actions and words to vilify one of the greatest and morally-conscious nations on earth. They portray Israel as an “occupier,” they incite hatred against Israeli civilians, and have personally participated in terrorist acts against the same country that they should theoretically be protecting.

In 2010, Haneen Zoabi, the first Arab woman to serve in the Knesset, provided a clear snapshot of the true intentions of some of these ministers.

MK Zoabi gave credibility to those looking to soil Israel’s reputation by participating in the infamous flotilla incident, organized by the IHH, a radical, Islamist, Turkish terror group, which poses as a humanitarian relief fund. The operation allowed Zoabi and her comrades to sail toward the Gaza Strip, with plans to break a barrier that Israel had set up as a means of ensuring that no weapons fall into the hands of terrorists. After the captain’s refusal to heed Israel’s warning to turn back, IDF soldiers boarded the vessel, armed with paintball guns, in order to minimize civilian casualties. The soldiers were quickly wounded by the “activists” who were armed with knives and metal rods.

Though MK Zoabi was able to fool the world, bringing worldwide con-

demnation to Israel for trying to protect its sovereignty, Ahmed Tibi was unable to do the same. In a clearly uncalculated and unintentional move, MK Tibi exposed Israel for what it really is: a democracy, which grants rights to all its citizens, regardless of religion, color or race. If Israel were not a democratic state, it would not allow a figure like Ahmed Tibi to vocally condemn the State of Israel, time and again, based on unfounded claims, as he attempted to do on Monday.

Tibi’s ideology also reemphasizes a point of great concern, namely, that Israel is too tolerant. Expressing various viewpoints is important, but not when one of the viewpoints compromises Israel’s safety. ‎The world has for too long used the Palestinian issue to cover up their hate for the Jewish people and these ministers are using their titles in the Israeli government, as representatives of the State of Israel, as a cover for their dangerous intentions.

Israel will continue to promote political representation for every group, regardless of their religion, culture or race. But it must crack down on individuals, regardless of affiliation, who do not accept, and who work against, the very ideals that the country stands for.

Of late, two decisions by the Elections Commission, which would have disqualified Minister Zoabi from running in parliamentary elections, were shamelessly overturned by the Israeli Supreme Court. We can be sure that members of Israel’s right wing will, justifiably, continue with their attempts to disqualify ministers like Zoabi from future elections.

As Mr. Harper asserted in his speech, criticism of any government, especially one which is democratic, is welcomed. But when Israel is consistently singled out by those who ignore concerns of substance, like the slaughter of hundreds of thousands in Syria (including scores of Palestinians), there is clearly a double standard at play, one rooted in an interest far beyond that of equal rights.

After yelling at Prime Minister Harper, Ahmed Tibi charged out of the room along with his associate, MK Taleb a-Sana. If only this exit were their last.

This article originally appeared in the Algemeiner (www.algemeiner.com).

Isi Stein, a New York native, is a recent graduate of the University of Miami, where he earned a Bachelors of Business Administration. He served as president of the Chabad Student Organization at the University and worked tirelessly to strengthen Israel’s image on campus. He can be reached at isi@ steink.com. Follow him on Twitter @ Isi_Stein.

of its four contiguous sovereign neighbors – Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

It has built universities and research centers that have contributed to advancing the world’s frontiers of knowledge in countless ways, and won a slew of Nobel Prizes in the process.

It has built one of the world’s most powerful militaries – always under civilian control, I might add – to ensure its survival in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood. It has shown the world how a tiny nation, no larger than New Jersey or Wales, can, by sheer ingenuity, will, courage and commitment, defend itself against those who would destroy it through conventional armies or armies of suicide bombers. And it has done all this while striving to adhere to a strict code of military conduct that has few rivals in the democratic world, much less elsewhere – in the face of an enemy prepared to send children to the front lines and seek cover in mosques, schools and hospitals.

It has built a quality of life that ranks it among the world’s healthiest nations and with a particularly high life expectancy, indeed higher than that of the U.S. It has built a thriving culture, whose musicians, writers and artists are admired far beyond Israel’s borders. In doing so, it has lovingly taken an ancient language, Hebrew, the language of the prophets, and rendered it modern to accommodate the vocabulary of the contemporary world.

It has built a climate of respect for other faith groups, including Baha’i, Christianity and Islam, and their places of worship. Can any other nation in the area make the same claim?

It has built an agricultural sector that has had much to teach developing nations about turning an arid soil into fields of fruits, vegetables, cotton and flowers.

Step back from the twists and turns of the daily information overload coming from the Middle East and consider the sweep of the last 65 years. Look at the light-years traveled since the darkness of the Holocaust, and marvel at the miracle of a decimated people returning to a tiny sliver of land – the land of our ancestors, the land of Zion and Jerusalem – and successfully building a modern, vibrant state against all the odds, on that ancient foundation.

In the final analysis, then, the story of Israel is the wondrous realization of a 3,500-year link among a land, a faith, a language, a people and a vision. It is an unparalleled story of tenacity and determination, of courage and renewal. And it is ultimately a metaphor for the triumph of enduring hope over the temptation of despair.

For more information, visit www.ajc. org.

On Monday, March 17, AJC West Coast Florida will honor David Harris with its Human Relations Award. See page 11A for more information.

Opinions and letters printed in The Jewish News of SarasotaManatee do not necessarily reflect those of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, its Board of Directors or staff, or its advertisers.

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28A

March 2014

FOCUS ON YOUTH

Why should your child have a Bat or Bar Mitzvah celebration?

Education Corner

By Rena Morano

I

have six brothers, and I remember the excitement that surrounded each Bar Mitzvah. I watched proudly as each was called to the bimah to chant his Haftarah, and I took great pleasure in aiming bags of candy and throwing them from the women’s balcony of our shul. I learned the Torah and Haftarah blessings by listening to my brothers practice. I have three sisters, and it never occurred to any of us that we should or could have a similar celebration.

Change has been gradual but consistent since the first American Bat Mitzvah in 1922. Today’s girls no longer have to be satisfied with being spectators at their brothers’ achievements. I’ve mentored many students as they’ve prepared to become a Bat or Bar Mitzvah. They have been boys and girls twelve or thirteen years of age, the customary ages for this celebration, older teens, and men and women from their thirties into their eighties, making up for a lost opportunity in their youth, or rededicating themselves to their Jewish identities. Some have been proficient readers of Hebrew; others

weren’t able to read aleph, bet. Some studied with dedication; others required a great deal of encouragement.

Some had the support of families; others undertook this on their own. Some were from traditional Jewish families; others from interfaith or other nontraditional families.

Jews mark the beginning of spiritual and mental adulthood with the time of intense preparation for the Bat or Bar Mitzvah ceremony. In my role as mentor, I have learned that the months of preparation are more important than the culminating ceremony.

Some students delight in unpacking the deeper meaning of a Torah text.

Some work to master the chanting of the reading. Some have to overcome the natural shyness to not only speak, but to sing in front of an audience of expectant family and friends. All must learn to prioritize their increasingly busy lives – school, work, sports and other activities – in order to devote a significant amount of time to this endeavor. All of this requires effort and, for some, struggle. The effort and the struggle (moderated by caring mentors and family) result in a beautiful growth in maturity, increased self-confidence, and a deep sense of satisfaction at having successfully passed through a time of coming of age in their own eyes and the eyes of the community.

On the other hand, I have also witnessed youngsters who withdrew on

the verge of celebrating their Jewish adulthood. Most of them are left with a sense of incompleteness and selfdissatisfaction. Some come back years later to prepare for an adult Bat or Bar Mitzvah. Some talk wistfully about what they started and didn’t finish.

Why do I believe so strongly that it is essential for today’s Jewish youth to dedicate themselves to a time of study and reflection culminating in a Bat or Bar Mitzvah ceremony?

People have always intuitively understood the need for ceremony, especially one that marked the coming of age of an adolescent. A coming-of-age ceremony told the community that the youngster was no longer a child. The desire to prove to the world, “I’m not a child anymore!” is a deep-rooted need in today’s youngsters, as well. In the absence of a coming-of-age ceremony endorsed by the community, a child will create his own. As a teacher of high school students, I can tell you that those are often at best non-productive, and at worst self-destructive.

I think it is a mistake when parents decide to let their child choose whether or not to pursue a Bat or Bar Mitzvah ceremony. Consider how many things are not a child’s choice: karate, tennis, gymnastics, drama, baseball, music lessons, horseback riding and other activities that parents pay for and for which they demand commitments from their children. As parents, we require many

things from our sometimes reluctant children because we know they will be valuable to them in later years. We spend the first eleven or twelve years of our children’s lives teaching them the how and the why of doing mitzvot so that they can continue in this practice for the rest of their lives. Yet, there are children who are not allowed to miss a tennis lesson, but who are permitted to opt out of the learning that will bond them to the Jewish community and give them a spiritual foundation that will last all of their lives.

I have had some students who were so enthusiastic about becoming a Bat or Bar Mitzvah that they didn’t require an adult’s watchful eye. To be honest, most young students are not like that.

Given the choice, they’d rather be with their friends, sleep late, watch TV or play. But there is no mistaking the look on their faces when they step down from the bimah and realize, to their astonishment, that they did it! The hours of work have resulted in the admiration of their parents and relatives, the approbation of the congregants, and the respect of their peers. But most importantly, as they conclude the ceremony that marks their coming of age, they stand up straighter, walk more confidently, and are ready to embrace the further challenges of life.

Rena Morano is the Service Leader and Education Director of Congregation Ner Tamid in Bradenton.

Taglit-Birthright Israel expanding eligibility to young adults who visited Israel previously

Sponsored by

New program goes into effect with enrollment for summer 2014.

T

aglit-Birthright Israel is expanding its program eligibility to now include those young adults who had previously visited Israel as part of a peer trip when they were younger.

The organization said the reason for the change in policy was based on an educational assessment that those who may have visited as a teenager would gain a significantly greater understanding and attachment to Israel through the Taglit-Birthright experience as a young adult.

Beginning with the summer 2014 registration that opened on February 19, applicants between the ages of 18 and 26 who had made a prior visit to Israel on an organized peer trip before they reached the age of 18 may now apply. The organization estimates that the expansion will allow thousands more to benefit from the Taglit-Birthright Israel program. To register, visit www.

BirthrightIsrael.com.

“I am delighted that the TaglitBirthright Israel steering committee supports the decision that every young Jew is entitled to an educational tour of Israel,” said Taglit-Birthright Israel

CEO Gidi Mark. “I believe that the decision will strengthen the ties between Israel and the Diaspora, and will provide tens of thousands of young Jews the knowledge needed in their efforts to present a positive image of Israel to the world.”

Taglit-Birthright Israel offers the gift of a free, 10-day trip to Israel for Jewish adults between the ages of 18 and 26. The trip aims to strengthen each participant’s identity as a Jew; to build an understanding, friendship and lasting bond with the land and people of Israel; and to reinforce the solidarity of the Jewish people worldwide.

Taglit-Birthright Israel has sent more than 350,000 young Jewish adults to Israel from more than 64 countries and from all 50 U.S. states, including students from nearly 1,000 North American college campuses.

Attendees are immersed in an active educational experience that includes visits to Jewish historical sites, history museums, Holocaust remembrance sites, the Western Wall, arts and culture programs as well as touring, hiking, discussions, social events, camel and

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jeep rides in the desert, and more. The trip focuses on three main areas: the narratives of the Jewish people, contemporary Israel, and the formative values of Judaism.

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nership with the Government of Israel, thousands of individual donors and private philanthropists, and Jewish communities around the world through The Jewish Federations of North America, Keren Hayesod and The Jewish Agency of Israel.

Participants in the Federation’s Bob Malkin Young Ambassadors Teen Leadership Program and March of the Living Mission who traveled to Israel before turning 18 are now eligible for Birthright.

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2014 College sCholarships APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED jfedsrq.org/scholarship.aspx APPLICATION DEADLINE APRIL 10th For more information, contact Andrea Eiffert at 941.552.6308 or aeiffert@jfedsrq.org

THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE. THE POWER OF COMMUNITY. Klingenstein Jewish Center 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL 34232 941.371.4546 • TheJewishFederation.org

29A March 2014 FOCUS ON YOUTH

March 2014

29A

An amazing leadership experience

By Camryn Cohen

A

s Freshmen Representative of United Synagogue Youth (USY), I was recently given the amazing opportunity to attend Regional General Board Weekend (RGBW), a leadership training convention that occurs annually. Every year, a young leader is given the opportunity to attend this convenCamryn Cohen tion and learn about what they can do to help their USY chapter. I was accompanied on this in-

credible experience by Sydney Hanan, SRQUSY’s former president, current Programming Vice President and board member of the Hanegev (Regional) General Board. Sydney has been to many conventions before, as this is her third year in USY. However, for me, this was my first convention.

At first I was a little unsure of what to expect and was, in fact, quite nervous. However, once I got to the convention all of my worries disappeared.

Everybody welcomed me with open arms and was so nice. I made so many amazing friends that I will have for the

after Havdalah was over, everybody said “Shavua Tov” and hugged each other. And by everybody, I mean everybody! It truly was an amazing experience.

I would like to give special thanks to Temple Beth Sholom. If it were not for the congregation, I would never have been given this amazing experience. Hopefully, in the future, I will be able to attend many more conventions.

But for now, I cannot wait to help inspire others to join USY and become a part of our amazing Jewish community.

rest of my life. In addition, I also acquired incredible leadership skills. This convention inspired me to be excited about USY and I want to make a difference. Also, in the following years, I would like to be on the SRQUSY board and even become president and/or join the sub regional/regional board!

One of my favorite memories from RGBW was Havdalah and the subsequent events. I think it was in that moment that I fell in love with USY. As we were singing, I looked around and realized that every single person was just like me in so many ways. Then

Youth groups light up Temple Beth Sholom

By Jessica Zelitt

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he Youth Group Shabbat at Temple Beth Sholom was a wonderful way to kick off 2014 with Chalutzim, Kadima and USY. Twentyfour members of these groups participated in services, and the congregation loved to see the young people at the synagogue so involved. The service was almost entirely Jessica Zelitt planned and led by youth. We met months in advance to choose our favorite tunes from camp and youth group conventions to put together a fun and lively service that

everyone would enjoy. Highlights of this service included a D’var Torah given by Kadima President Sy Schimberg and a guitar played by Youth Director Amber Ikeman.

Following the service, the congregation and youth group members enjoyed coming together for an Oneg Shabbat that was fun and energetic.

Three wonderful members of our Youth Commission – Lael Hazan, Lauren Cohen and Phyllis Weitzner – generously donated their time to bake desserts for the oneg, and provided beautiful decorations and a candy bar. We were so grateful to have their support and that of the rest of the Youth Commission

These are the ways we remember

By Reb Ari Shapiro

ventually we come to the final cided to collect six million tabs from gate, the final closing. The trail cans. One tab for each Jewish soul that ends, leaving behind only memperished during those horrible years. As ories of steps taken, leaps tried, grace a result, the Tabs for Souls Holocaust achieved and shared. How do we honor Remembrance Program was born. this final gate? With tears and stories, Each successive class has continwith memories and love, ued this project and with food and friends, and currently more than with silence.

327,000 tabs have The seventh-grade stubeen collected. In ordents at Temple Sinai are der to reach our goal remembering and fulfillwe are now asking ing these four virtues of the the public to join us Jewish tradition. in this important enEach year, the students deavor. Please save participate in an in-depth the tabs from your study of the Holocaust. In own cans of soda, part, the class learns about cat food, beer and the Nazi government and its soup. Please also atrocities and the important ask your friends to members of that regime. In do the same and ask addition, the youngsters lisrestaurants that you ten to the stories of many frequent and organisurvivors and compare their zations to which you Some of the 327,000+ tabs own lives with those of the belong for their help collected at Temple Sinai speakers’ when they were as well. as part of the Holocaust Remembrance Program the same age. Our annual Tabs can be trip to the Florida Holocaust Museum mailed or delivered to Temple Sinai in St. Petersburg and viewing the movReligious School, 4631 S. Lockwood ie Paper Clips rounds out the course.

Ridge Road, Sarasota, FL 34231.

Three years ago the class expressed For additional information, call Sue a desire to create and participate in a Huntting, Religious School Director, at memorial project. The youngsters de941.924.1802 or me at 617.680.9107.

E

Camp Gan 2014 Session 1: Animal Planet June 2 - June 27 Session 2: Fun & Fitness July 7 - August 1 Religious School students Ethan Blumenstein and Danny Gardi count tabs

Need to reach the editor of The Jewish News?

Send an email to jewishnews@jfedsrq.org.

Also Enrolling For The 2014-15 School Year!

Growing Minds, Strengthening Bodies, Nurturing Souls

and the temple so that we could have the kind of Shabbat experience we wanted and knew we would enjoy.

For more information about Cha-

lutzim, Kadima or USY at Temple Beth Sholom, contact Amber Ikeman at aikeman@templebethsholomfl.org.

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Klingenstein Jewish Center, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL 34232 Amber Ikeman, Youth Engagement Coordinator 941.343.2106 • aikeman@jfedsrq.org

30A

March 2014

FOCUS ON YOUTH

Temple Emanu-El, Federation invite young families to “Strawberry Fields Shabbat”

Y

oung Jewish and interfaith families are invited to celebrate Shabbat in the strawberry fields at “Strawberry Fields Shabbat” – a special strawberry-picking Tot Shabbat sponsored by Temple Emanu-El and The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee on Saturday, March 15 at 10:00 a.m. Attendees will enjoy a picnic breakfast of bagels, cream cheese and juice; age-appropriate Shabbat songs, blessings, movement, and a story with Rabbi Brenner Glickman; free playtime outdoors; and

the opportunity to pick fresh strawberries. This special event is designed for families with children up to age 6, but all are warmly invited.

The inaugural “Strawberry Fields Shabbat” at Hunsader Farms was among the highlights of Temple Emanu-El’s Tot Shabbat program last year, and we are delighted to partner with the Federation in sponsoring this wonderful event once again.

RSVPs to Temple Emanu-El’s Tot Shabbat Chair, Rabbi Elaine Rose Glickman, at 941.379.1997 or elaine-

Sponsored by

glickman@comcast.net are required by Thursday, March 13. The strawberry field where the event will take place will be determined just a few days in advance, depending on weather and picking conditions. Information and directions will be provided when you RSVP. We hope to see you among the strawberries at “Strawberry Fields Shabbat!”

Hana and Alaya picked strawberries at last year’s “Strawberry Fields Shabbat”

“Jog Your Feet, to the Panther Beat”

T

emple Beth Sholom Schools’ annual Jog-a-Thon fundraising event holds an illustration contest for the team shirts. This year the prize went to fourth-grader Seth Smith for his comical illustration of a panther with the slogan “Jog Your Feet, to the Panther Beat.”

It was a family event at this year’s Jog-a-Thon. Not only did the parents pull on their sneakers, but many of the TBSS graduates arrived ready to run and support the younger students.

The event began with the preschoolers toddling their way around the track – most likely their first sporting event in their school lives. Each class competed for the most laps as there were prizes awarded for the quantity of laps run. The morning ended with the middle school students racing toward the finish line of their final TBSS Jog-aThon. Many of the middle school students have been with TBSS since preschool and have run the track each year for this fundraising event. Congrats to them on their victory run!

Stacey Aabel (2nd from right) and her family – current eighthgrader Brooke and her brothers, both former TBSS students

The Bermudez family enjoying the festivities before their run

The Cohens came to support their fifth-grade student, Kaila, on her bid to run the most laps

Rich traditions at Paver Religious School

F

or the educators at Paver Religious School, the instruction of history is a sacred duty. History is demonstrated to the students by reliving events, such as a Seder. They are taught the megillot and five books of the Torah, attend temple, celebrate holidays, and are shown a good example by watching adults study the Torah.

Children hear what we say, but they do what we do. Two holidays in a period of six days – Shabbat Shirah and Tu B’Shevat – happened in the halls of Paver on Sunday, January 12.

The students learned why Shabbat Shirah has a special name. The birds were fed to thank them for their beautiful chirping as they accompanied the Jewish people for forty years in the desert and for eating the manna that was scattered outside on Shabbat by some re-

bellious Jews. Everyone would know for sure that Shabbat was truly a day of rest and no work, as going out and gathering the manna would have been considered labor.

The students painted bird feeders and scattered birdseed around the Temple Beth Sholom campus. Since Tu B’Shevat is a time for planting, each child planted parsley, which will be nurtured at school until Passover, when it will be ready for the seder plate.

The students also conducted a Tu B’Shevat Seder and ate the fruits that are grown in Israel and drank the juice of both white and red grapes.

If you would like more information about Temple Beth Sholom’s Paver Religious School, please call Dr. Gerry Nussbaum at 941.955.8121.

APRIL 5TH, 2014 ~ 7:00–8:30PM Turtle Beach Pavilion, 8918 Midnight Pass Road Free; RSVP required (online) TheJewishFederation.org/events.aspx Join the community at the Turtle Beach Pavilion for an evening of music, dancing and familyfriendly fun! Together we will enjoy crafts, singing and dessert as we observe Havdalah (a beautiful ceremony marking the end of Shabbat and the beginning of a new week).

Melanie Green and Graycen Schwartz

Hannah Levison and teacher Andrew Noune

“FOCUS ON YOUTH” PHOTO OF THE MONTH

Havdalah

on the Beach Questions? Contact Amber Ikeman at 941.343.2106 or aikeman@jfedsrq.org

The Klingenstein Jewish Center 580 McIntosh Rd., Sarasota FL 34232

Sasha Drapkin and Jada Gorn had fun together at the family Tu B’Shevat celebration sponsored by Temple Emanu-El and The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee at the Sarasota Children’s Garden on January 18

31A LIFE CYCLE

March 2014

March 2014

ANNIVERSARIES th

th

55 Israel & Elva Abroms Temple Sinai 55th Martin & Julie Salzman Temple Beth Sholom 50th Richard & Ruth Goldman Temple Sinai 45th Clement & Rosalind Hopp Temple Emanu-El 40th Ernie & Ardis Freedman Temple Emanu-El 40th Gary & Sandy Kravitz Temple Sinai

35 Dr. Robert & Nancy Oppenheimer Temple Emanu-El 30th Aubert & Sandra Coran Temple Sinai 25th Stacey & Rob Edelman Temple Beth Sholom 25th Matthew & Thao Ross Temple Sinai 15th Lisa & Daniel Cooper Temple Beth Sholom 10th Nadine & Todd Anderson Temple Emanu-El

B’NAI MITZVAH

Eva Bayer

Sam Zelin, son of David & Bonnie Zelin, March 1, Temple Beth Sholom Benjamin and Marla Sax, son and daughter of Dr. David & Brenda Sax, March 8, Temple Emanu-El Eva Bayer, daughter of Stuart & Stacy Bayer, granddaughter of Max Bayer, of blessed memory, and Daryl Bayer, March 29, Temple Emanu-El

IN MEMORIAM Frieda (Frizzi) Bauer, of Sarasota, formerly of Switzerland and New Rochelle, NY, Jan. 4 Mildred Finkelstein, 92, of Sarasota, Jan. 23 Julius Green, 94, of Sarasota, Jan. 14 Cornell Jaray, 91, of Carlsbad, CA, formerly of Sarasota, Jan. 11 Bernice “Me Me” Weissberg Kramer, 83, of Sarasota and Cliffside Park, NJ, Jan. 25 Maria Kron, 98, of Sarasota, Dec. 18 Evelyn “Evie” Plait (nee Schain), 84, of Sarasota, Jan. 8 Leanore E. Scott, 90, of Philadelphia, formerly of Sarasota, and Wilmington, DE, Aug. 22 Gerald “Jerry” Sellman, of Sarasota and Baltimore, MD, Dec. 25 Jack Yonker, 89, of University Park, formerly of Philadelphia, PA, and Bethesda, MD, Jan. 8

It has been our honor to serve Sarasota’s Jewish Community for over 10 years

Palms-Robarts Funeral Home & Memorial Park

Sarasota-Manatee Chevra Kadisha

31A

During times of need for generations Jewish members of the Sarasota community have turned to Toale Brothers.

TAHARA admin 941.224.0778 men 941.377.4647 women 941.921.4740 1050 S. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota, FL 34237

Please submit your life cycle events (births, B’nai Mitzvah, anniversaries) to jewishnews18@ gmail.com.

Photos are appreciated; please email as JPGs at 300dpi.

Advertise in The Jewish News and reach an established and powerful demographic of over 9,000 homes in Sarasota-Manatee. Call Robin Leonardi at 941.552.6307

Trust 100 Pre-Arrangement Center Locally Owned & Operated by the Toale Family www.ToaleBrothers.com

Gerry Ronkin

Jewish Family Coordinator Office

941-955-4171 cell

941-809-5195

“A Place of Natural Beauty” Honoring all traditions in the Jewish Community The Garden of Abraham offering, Upright Monuments, Flat Markers & Benches

Private Family Estates available David L. Stasney Pre-Need Specialist “serving the Jewish Community Since 1998”

Skyway Memorial Gardens 5200 US Hwy 19 North Palmetto, FL 34221 (941) 722-4543 www.skywaymemorial.com

170 Honore Avenue, Sarasota FL 34232

(941) 371-4962

Sarasota’s first and only Funeral Home/Cemetery Combination

Orthodox – Conservative – Reform & Non-Affliated Jewish Gardens –Tahara Room – Unveilings As your local Dignity Provider we offer many benefits to our Jewish families.

www.PalmsMemorial.com

SHA LOM BA BY Families who are expecting or have recently celebrated the arrival of a baby can receive a Complimentary Gift Basket, which includes special baby items and a helpful resource guide for our Jewish community.

REGISTER YOURSELF REGISTER A FRIEND QUESTIONS? Contact Amber Ikeman P: 941.343.2106 E: aikeman@jfedsrq.org

TheJewishFederation.org

March 16-18, 2014

New Orleans

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The RichNess OF Jewish Music, FOOd, ARTs & culTuRe

TribeFest is an entertaining, interactive and educational celebration that will draw over 1,500 Jewish young adults (ages 22-45) from across North America. TribeFest will reflect the vibrant setting of its host city, New Orleans, offering meaningful, fun, and top-quality content. Through presentations by dynamic leaders in politics, entertainment, music, art, food, religion and other aspects of Jewish life, TribeFest will offer attendees many ways to connect to their own Judaism and how they see themselves as part of the community.

The PJ Library program supports families in their Jewish journey by sending Jewishrelated books and music on a monthly basis to children for free.

Sponsored By:

Karp Family Foundation

Wanna go?

Follow us at facebook.com/pjlibraryofsarasota

Contact Jessi sheslow at 941.343.2109 or jsheslow@jfedsrq.org to discuss the details.

Visit the Federation website to sign up!

TheJewishFederation.org Questions?

Contact Amber Ikeman 941.343.2106 or aikeman@jfedsrq.org

www.TheJewishFederation.org

JFedsRq

32A

March 2014

ThE rETUrN Of ThE ViOLiN SUNDAY, MArch 16

4:00 PM

Federation Campus

TUESDAY, MArch 18

3:00 PM

Federation Campus

friDAY, MArch 21

10:30 aM

Kobernick House

march

DiSOBEDiENcE

16-21, 2014

SUNDAY, MArch 16 7:00 PM

Federation Campus

MONDAY, MArch 17 7:00 PM

$10

Temple Sinai

Single Ticket BEThLEhEM

$54

MONDAY, MArch 17

Festival Pass

3:00 PM

Federation Campus

includes one screening of each film

ThUrSDAY, MArch 20

7:00 PM

Federation Campus

$72

Patron Pass

includes one screening of each film with reserved seating

gOD’S NEighBOrS

OpENiNg rEcEpTiON

MONDAY, MArch 17

Sunday, March 16, 2014 @ 6:00 PM Please join us for the Opening Reception in the lobby of the Beatrice Friedman Theater between the 4:00 PM matinee of the Return of the Violin and the 7:00 PM showing of Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story.

7:00 PM

Federation Campus

ThUrSDAY, MArch 20 3:00 PM

Federation Campus

fiLM DiScUSSiONS A post film discussion will take place after most screenings.

ThE jEwiSh cArDiNAL TUESDAY, MArch 18

7:00 PM

fOr TicKETS Or MOrE iNfOrMATiON ViSiT

Federation Campus

wEDNESDAY, MArch 19

12:30 PM

www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival.aspx

Lakewood Ranch Cinemas

7:00 PM

or call 941-552-6304

Temple Beth Israel

ArTicLE Of hOpE wEDNESDAY, MArch 19

EVENT SpONSOrS

3:00 PM

Temple Beth Israel

7:00 PM

Lakewood Ranch Cinemas

JewiSh club of lakewood ranch

20 14

941.371.4546 • TheJewishFederation.org The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, The Klingenstein Jewish Center, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL 34232

People of the booK

• March 10, 2014 • 7:00 pm thank you to our event sPonsors!

Featuring Robert Edsel author, Founder & President oF the MonuMents Men Foundation riverview high sChooL, 1 ram way, sarasota as a thank you to our donors, your ticket is Free with a minimum gift of $36 (individual) or $72 (family) to the development efforts of the Jewish Federation of sarasota-Manatee.

RSVP: www.jfedsrq.org/events.aspx see the MaJor Motion PiCture in theaters now

Presented in PartnershiP by

Celebrating Jewish Life in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Israel and the World FEDERATION NEWS

Serving our community since 1971!

Published by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee www.jfedsrq.org

March 2014 - Adar 5774

Volume 44, Number 3

Jewish Happenings sunday, march 2

saturday, march 1 SRQUSY Game Show/Trivia Night

Chabad Men’s Club breakfast and presentation

All Jewish high school students are welcome to come have some pizza, hang out and play games from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota. Cost: $5 for members; $8 for nonmembers. RSVP to Amber Ikeman at aikeman@ templebethsholomfl.org.

Chabad Men’s Club “Club 770” invites all to attend a delightful breakfast at 9:00 a.m. at Chabad of Sarasota, 7700 Beneva Road. Following breakfast, Dr. Isaac Barpal will present “The Internet: Past, Present and Future.”

Prior to his retirement, Dr. Barpal served as Chief Technology Officer for Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Allied Signal. This event is open to both men and women. Cost: $7 for Club 770 members; $10 for nonmembers. To RSVP or for more information, call 941.925.0770.

“American Musicals of the 20th Century” The Congregation for Humanistic Judaism invites to you hear Carole Kleinberg, Associate Artistic Director for Plato Arts, who will present “Come on Along” – video clips of scenes from groundbreaking American musicals of the 20th century. She will discuss how they contributed to or changed the direction of musical theater. She will also comment on which of these were written, composed and/or produced by Jews, and touch on how important Jewish influence was to the Broadway Theater of the earlyto mid-twentieth century. In Sarasota, Carole has co-produced the groundbreaking Kaleidoscope Musical Theater Workshop, managed the Access to the Arts program for students for the Asolo Repertory Company, and was the former Artistic Director for Banyan Theater Company. The event begins at 10:30 a.m. at Unity Sarasota, 3023 Proctor Road. Free for CHJ members, $5 for nonmembers. For more information, call 941.929.7771 or visit www.CHJ-sarasota.org.

Art by Grandmas (and Grandpas) Artistic creations in various media will be displayed indoors and outdoors, including photography, paintings, sculptures, jewelry and crafts. Spend the day experiencing the beauty of Sarasota’s accomplished Jewish artists’ pieces and admiring the creative spirit of Jewish elders. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the artworks will be used to fund the year-round advocacy services the Al Katz Center provides, without cost, to Holocaust survivors and other elders in distress and need throughout the nation.

The event takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 713 South Orange Avenue, Burns Square, Sarasota. For more information or to RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

21st Annual Celebration of Imagination The 21st Annual Celebration of Imagination - Vintage Vegas: Casino Night - to benefit the Temple Beth Sholom Schools will take you back to the Roaring ’20s. Don your finest attire and enjoy an evening of food, wine and fun at 7:00 p.m. at Michael’s On East, 1212 East Avenue South, Sarasota. Tickets are $100 per person. Please visit www.tbssfamily.org/ celebration or contact Kristina Engelsberg at kaengelsberg@gmail.com or 941.954.2027 for more information.

Temple Sinai Community Humanitarian Award Gala Temple Sinai is hosting its first Community Humanitarian Award Gala with Anne Weintraub as honoree. Anne is a founding member of the Band Weintraub law firm and has served on numerous non-profit boards and committees in the area. The evening consists of silent and live auctions, a plated dinner, the award presentation, and entertainment with dancing at The Francis at Louie’s Modern beginning at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $150 and reservations are due now. Call 941.924.1802.

pen Now oston in Bo

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March 19th 8:45am - 3:30pm

hITs The

road

$55 Per Person all Inclusive

• Transportation • Docent Tour of Dali Museum Including Andy Warhol Exhibit • Admission • Lunch

rsVP requIred No Refunds After March 7th To register or for more information visit www.jfedsrq.org/events.aspx or contact Jeremy Lisitza: 941.343.2113 / jlisitza@jfedsrq.org

NEVER KNOWINGLY UNDERSOLD!

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Klingenstein Jewish Center 580 McIntosh Rd., Sarasota FL 34232

TheJewishFederation.org 941.371.4546

2B

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

March 2014 monday, march 3

tuesday, march 4

Torah Tots

“Women of Valor, Their Stories and Songs”

Join other parents, grandparents and caregivers as we explore the child’s world through story, song, cooking, crafts and circle time. Torah Tots encourages multi-sensory experiences that stimulate emerging language, motor development, socialization and bonding between parents and child.

Explore child rearing from a Jewish perspective, participate in group activities and learn Jewish customs that will enhance this unique time in your toddler’s life in these formative years. Torah Tots runs from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. at The Chabad House, 5712 Lorraine Road, Bradenton.

Suggested donation: $6. For more information, contact Rabbi Mendy Bukiet at 941.752.3030 x3 or info@chabadofbradenton.com.

GulfsidePalm ORT proudly presents Rosalie Leon, who will perform “Women of Valor, Their Stories and Songs,” a Jewish storytelling, guitar and vocal performance, at 1:30 p.m. on the Federation Campus, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Learn about famous women in history, all sharing a common factor – their strength and their talent. Rosalie will share their journeys with you, in story and song. Members and guests are invited at no charge. For more information, call Kim Sheintal at 941.302.1433.

Miniversity - 1800s Europe and America This course covers “Classical, Russian, Gypsy, Yiddish Influences on Modern Jazz.” Session I (March 3): Nationalism and the Jewish World: Put the Shtetl to the Metal; Session II (March 10): Yiddish in Hollywood; Session III (March 17): The Yiddish Radio Project. Classes in this 3-part series begin at 2:00 p.m. at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Cost: $5 per class (free for TBI members). For more information, contact the TBI office at info@tbi-lbk.org or 941.383.3428.

Rosh Chodesh Society – Your Reason For Being Join Chanie Bukiet for the fifth of seven classes in RCS’s latest course: A Reason to Celebrate.

This course looks to illuminate our lives though the Jewish holidays. Uncovering Your Personal Mission – A Lesson from Queen Esther, will be the theme of this class.

Refreshments will be served. The class begins at 7:30 p.m. at The Chabad House, 5712 Lorraine Road, Bradenton. $75 per course; $15 per class; textbooks included. For more information, contact Rabbi Mendy Bukiet at 941.752.3030 x3 or info@chabadofbradenton.com.

wed-thu, march 5-6 Estate/Rummage Sale Support Temple Emanu-El Religious School while finding incredible items at incredible prices! The items donated for Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood and Brotherhood’s third annual Estate/Rummage Sale fill multiple storage units and include indoor and outdoor furniture, electronics, kitchen supplies, appliances, toys, collectibles, tools, sporting equipment, shoes and clothing, dishes, china, books, DVDs, fabulous tchotchkes and much more! The community is enthusiastically invited to check out the merchandise – and the bargains – at Temple Emanu-El (151 McIntosh Road, Sarasota) from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. both days. All proceeds support the religious school.

Sponsored by Temple Emanu-El’s Brotherhood and Sisterhood. For more information, please call 941.893.5071.

Stay informed throughout the month. Sign up for the Jewish Federation’s Enewsletter at www.TheJewishFederation.org.

A POWERFUL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

wednesday, march 5 JLI – “To Be a Jew in the Free World” Sponsored by

“To Be a Jew in the Free World: The Struggle for Identity in Modern Times” is the new six-week Jewish Learning Institute course. What is the price tag of freedom, affluence, and the escape from anti-Semitism? The course examines the personal and religious struggles of individuals and communities as they faced the challenges of changing times – stories that provoke debate and shed insight into what it means to live as a Jew today. Cost: $74. The course takes place on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. at Chabad of Venice, 2169 S. Tamiami Trail.

For more information, contact Rabbi Sholom Schmerling at 941.493.2770 or rabbi@chabadofvenice.com.

Interesting Lives presents Ruth Ades

HOLOCAUST, GENOCIDE AND TOLERANCE EDUCATION

MANY INSPIRING SPEAKERS TO CHOOSE FROM INCLUDING:

The Holocaust Speakers Bureau offers teachers a unique opportunity to expand their students’ classroom experience. A large number of Holocaust survivors who reside in this community are willing to come into your classroom and give their eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust. Also, a group of second generation survivors vividly recount their parents’ stories of survival. Also, of great interest are speakers who were hidden children, those saved through the “Kindertransport”, resistance fighters, refugees, as well as World War II camp liberators.

HILDE MANDEL PAUL MOLNAR RIFKA GLATZ MARK SOLENT HENRY TENENBAUM

All speakers are authentic to their respective experiences and feel a strong commitment to bring an awareness of the consequences that result when evil is allowed to flourish. They feel privileged and grateful to live in this wonderful country where their voices are being heard.

For booking contact: Carolyn Kaplan, Speakers Bureau Coordinator 941.362.4440 • kaplan112@comcast.net PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

Ruth Ades, recently honored as the Sisterhood of Temple Beth Sholom’s Light of Torah, will speak about her career as a “professional volunteer.”

She and her husband, Alan, have been active in the local and regional Jewish community in both New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Sarasota. In the 1970s they were very involved in the freeing of Soviet Jewry, meeting with high-profile Jewish refuseniks in the Soviet Union, and have traveled the world as Jewish leaders. All are welcome to come and hear about Ruth’s participation in the making of Jewish history. This free event begins at 1:15 p.m. in the Band/Desenberg Chapel at Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota. For more information, call Arlene Hamburger at 941.921.2554.

L’Chayim Here’s “to Life” on tHe GuLf Coast Committed to the Jewish Community for more than 15 years, Stacy is passionate about real estate and strives to build ever-lasting relationships based on exceptional service, uncompromising values and a strong work ethic.

Stacy Hanan, Realtor 941.266.0529

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For questions contact: Orna Nissan, Director, Holocaust Education and Israeli Programs 941.552.6305 • onissan@jfedsrq.org www.TheJewishFederation.org

StacyHanan@michaelsaunders.com

1801 Main Street | Sarasota, Florida 34236 | 941.951.6660

JEWISH HAPPENINGS 3B March 2014 thursday, march 6

March 2014

3B

friday, march 7

Community Health Fair

Brandeis General Meeting and Reception

The Community Health Fair is hosted at Kobernick House (1951 North Honore Avenue, Sarasota) and developed in collaboration with Sarasota Memorial Health Care System and other community health service providers and vendors. Free and open to the public, the Health Fair runs from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. SMH nurses provide free blood pressure check, cholesterol and blood sugar screenings (requires 10-hour fast). No appointment necessary. Other healthcare services include acupuncture, aromatherapy, audiology, Doctor’s Choice and Help at Home, Jewish Family & Children’s Service of the Suncoast, Lincare Durable Medical Equipment, Lion’s Club, massage therapy and more. RSVP to Elaina Mand at 941.225.8369 or emand@kobernickanchin.org.

The Brandeis National Committee (BNC) of Sarasota will hold a General Meeting at 10:30 a.m. on the Federation Campus, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. The event is free and open to the public (men and women).

Richard Russell, Executive Director of Sarasota Opera, will speak about its history, an important economic driver of our community. A reception for new and prospective members will be held at noon. This will be an opportunity to learn about the Brandeis mission and meet local members.

Light refreshments will be served and attendees will receive the benefit of a new-member-only 15-month membership. For more information about the meeting or BNC, call Audrey Lourie at 941.927.1900; for new-member information, call Joan Magiot at 941.346.7013.

12th annual Mah Jongg and More

Rhythm and Jews rocks Temple Sinai

Mah Jongg and More, the 12 annual Women of Temple Sinai event, begins at 10:00 a.m. with a continental breakfast at Temple Sinai, 4631 S. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota. Play the day away and enjoy a catered lunch, homemade surprises, door prizes and more. Bridge and canasta players are welcome, too. Cost: $25 per person. Call Rae Ellen at 941.751.5340 to see if space remains as this event often sells out fast.

Temple Sinai (4631 S. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota) presents its popular Rhythm and Jews Service at 6:00 p.m., preceded at 5:15 p.m. with a Welcome Reception. Accompanied by The Bruno Trio on drums, a bass and synthesizer, Rabbi Huntting and Chazzan Abramson (on guitar) create an upbeat fusion of Israeli, Chasidic, American and Middle Eastern sounds that delight young and old alike. Blessings and singing for all March birthdays is a festive way to start the month. For more information, visit www.templesinai-sarasota.org.

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Sephardic Musical Heritage The rich Sephardic culture is woven into Israeli life across the board, but is virtually unfamiliar to many American Jews. Join the Al Katz Center for the third of a six-month series on an enlightening journey through centuries of time and multiple continents to learn about and experience the depth and breadth of Sephardic Judaism. Despite having been scattered to the far corners of the globe, Sephardic Jews have preserved their rich musical heritage, which is lively and vibrant. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. at 713 South Orange Avenue, Burns Square, Sarasota. Cost: $7 per adult; $3 per student; healthy kosher refreshments included. For more information or to RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

N’shei Chabad Women’s Rosh Chodesh Society N’shei Chabad Women invites all women to attend the Rosh Chodesh Society, featuring a talk entitled “Your Reason for Being - Uncovering Your Personal Mission - Lessons from Queen Esther.” As we gear up for Purim festivities, women are encouraged to attend and uncover a deeper understanding of the Purim story. From discussing Esther’s mission, we can gain focus on our personal missions in life. We thank Chabad’s First Lady, Anne Stein, for underwriting the course.

Refreshments including hamantaschen will be served. The event begins at 7:15 p.m. at Chabad of Sarasota, 7700 Beneva Road. Cost: Rebbetzin Circle members, free; N’shei Women members, $10; nonmembers, $12.

To RSVP or for more information, call 941.925.0770.

TGIF at Chabad Join Chabad for a fabulous Friday night service followed by a delicious Kiddush of kugels, fish, salads, challah and more! An exciting children’s program will take place during services with incentives and prizes.

Everyone is welcome to this free event at 7:00 p.m. at The Chabad House, T O PRoad,SBradenton.

ALES 5712 Lorraine For more information, contact Rabbi Mendy A Bukiet at 941.752.3030 x3 E or info@chabadofbradenton.com.

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fri-sun, march 7-9 A Weekend in the Shtetl

4.2.14

Baila Miller, Scholar-in-Residence, and a native Yiddish speaker, will take us on a journey through the shtetls of the Pale of Settlement to the streets of modern New York. Using multimedia presentations, Ms. Miller, a well-known local presenter of fine arts, music and literature programs, will show how Yiddish life, language and literature have developed from the “mameloschen” of the Middle ages to a 20th century Nobel Prize.

Explore Yiddish culture and tradition through story, song, food, film and fun. Everyone is welcome at the Jewish Congregation of Venice (600 N. Auburn Road) to meet Baila Miller at Friday night services, then join her for Saturday morning and afternoon programs, with complimentary lunch included, and view Eve Annenberg’s award-winning film Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish. Conclude the weekend at a continental breakfast with Baila “in the shtetl” Sunday morning. No prior knowledge of Yiddish is necessary; all Yiddish expressions used will be translated into English. Admission is free to all events, but please call Sharon Napshin, Weekend Chair, at 941.377.6523 for reservations and more information.

April 2–April 27 TIME MAGAZINE ”THE BEST PLAY OF 2012, HANDS DOWN.” This funny and moving masterpiece looks at how two outsiders find their way in the world today. 21-year-old, Leo has just bicycled 4,000 miles from Seattle to the West Village apartment of his grandmother, Vera. When his overnight sleepover turns into an extended stay, Vera’s surprising political views collide with Leo’s carefree hippie lifestyle and the two become a veritable odd couple. Slowly, Leo begins to reveal the mysterious events of his journey and the two discover the narrow line between growing up and growing old.

TO PURCHASE TICKETS

www.asolorep.org

5555 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

Fashion show by

SPONSORED BY

donate.ncf.edu/events • 941-487-4800

4B

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

March 2014 saturday, march 8

monday, march 10

Purim Masquerade Ball

People of the Book featuring Robert Edsel

Sponsored by

Co-chairs Edie & David Chaifetz, Julie & Dr. Joshua Green, and Bunny & Mort Skirboll are looking forward to bringing our community together for an enchanted evening of dinner, dancing and “Purim-shpieling” in honor of Esther & Robert Heller, Graci & Dennis McGillicuddy, and Patti & David Wertheimer. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, 1111 Ritz Carlton Drive.

Cost: individual tickets start at $250; after-party tickets start at $50. For more information, please contact Ilene Fox at 941.343.2111 or ifox@ jfedsrq.org.

sunday, march 9

Author, producer, founder and president of the Monuments Men Foundation, Robert Edsel will speak about his book, The Monuments Men, which tells the story about the recovery of the priceless works of art stolen by the Nazis. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. at Riverview High School Auditorium, 1 Ram Way, Sarasota.

Free with minimum gift of $36 (individual) or $72 (family) to the 2014 development efforts of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee. For more information, contact Len Steinberg at 941.552.6301 or lsteinberg@ jfedsrq.org. To register, visit www.jfedsrq.org/events.aspx.

tuesday, march 11

“Hollywood and the Nazis”

Club Fed - A Senior Chavurah

By popular demand, Bob Toplin returns to Temple Emanu-El to offer fascinating, provocative information and insight on the topic of Hollywood moguls and the Nazis. The author of Reel History and an expert on cinema and culture, Dr. Toplin is a sought-after speaker noted for his views on the portrayal of history through film. The community is welcome to this stimulating afternoon, which is sponsored by Temple Emanu-El’s Adult Education Committee. The event begins at 2:00 p.m. at Temple EmanuEl, 151 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Cost: $5. Please email Adult Education Chair Beth Salzman at bethanny2@comcast.net with your reservation.

Sponsored by

Join us for Kicking the Bucket List, an opportunity to meet leading professionals to discuss important life decisions, and why the sooner the better for you and your family. The guest speakers are Robert P. Scheb, Esquire; Bruce S. Udell, Estate Planning; Vicki Bartz, Tidewell Hospice; Jeffrey Rosenthal, Palms-Roberts.

This free event takes place from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Jerusalem Room in The Arthur & Beatrice Michaels Cultural & Activity Center on the Federation Campus, 582 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. To RSVP or for more information, contact Jeremy Lisitza at 941.343.2113 or jlisitza@ jfedsrq.org. To register online, visit www.jfedsrq.org/events.aspx.

YAD Happy Hour

Presenting the Florida premiere of

Join Sarasota-Manatee’s Young Adult Division (ages 22-45) for drinks and networking from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Louies Modern, 1289 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota.

For more information, please contact Jessi Sheslow at jsheslow@jfedsrq.org or 941.343.2109.

Voices of the Holocaust Mon, April 28TH @ 7:30PM

Mitzvah Knitting Group at Temple Emanu-El Are you a knitter or crocheter interested in using your talent to brighten the lives of others while making new friends? If so, please come to the Mitzvah Knitting Group sponsored by Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood at 10:00 a.m. at 151 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. We gather monthly to craft and socialize, and our beautiful handiwork has been donated to new parents as well as needy families in Sarasota-Manatee and in Israel. Bring your needles or crochet hook and a favorite pattern – we’ll supply the yarn and great company! There is no cost to attend. For more information, call Judy Sauertieg at 941.349.5260.

Gloria Musicae collaborates with the Sarasota Jewish Chorale, Sarasota Young Voices, Booker High School Music & Dance Programs, SarasotaManatee Dance Alliance and the Chroma Quartet in this multimedia production. We celebrates the proud defiance of the human spirit in the face of adversity through this dramatic and poignant cantata.

Sponsored by: Clair Johnson, the Tourist Development Commission of Sarasota County and The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

“Lunch with the Rabbi” returns to Lakewood Ranch By popular demand, one of Temple Emanu-El’s signature programs returns to Lakewood Ranch. All are welcome to this special session of “Lunch with the Rabbi,” an hour-long program of friendly socializing and stimulating conversation with Rabbi Brenner Glickman. Attendees are asked to bring a brown-bag lunch; delicious homemade dessert is provided. This free event begins at noon at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, 8175 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. (north of University Parkway). For more information, call 941.371.2788. Please note that the regular monthly installment of “Lunch with the Rabbi” will be held at Temple Emanu-El on Wednesday, March 12 at noon.

Sheridan Seyfried, Composer Elizabeth Weil Bergmann, Choreographer Joseph Holt, Artistic Director and Conductor

TO PURCHASE TICKETS VISIT www.VanWezel.org

DERMATOLOGY

Sponsored by

Rabbi Harold’s book/movie discussion group Temple Beth El Bradenton’s Rabbi Harold Caminker is launching a monthly book/movie discussion group. The subject, as the title suggests, could be one or both subjects. The topic will always have an interesting theme. It may just be a good book or interesting movie that calls for sharing. This month’s topic is the book and movie The Book Thief. If you have seen the movie or read the book, or just want to see how we work, join us at 1:30 p.m. at Temple Beth El Bradenton, 4200 32nd Street West. There is no sign-up required and everyone is welcome. For more information, please call the temple office at 941.755.4900 from 9:00 a.m. to noon, Tuesday through Friday.

“Al Jolson – Great Musical Jews: Their Lives & Times”

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The stage of musical Jews contains extraordinarily-talented men and women, often from impoverished backgrounds, who rose to the heights of public acclaim by inspiring and entertaining the world. Each one of these accomplished Jews has given immeasurable pleasure to diverse cultures hungry for beauty and melody. The accomplishments of Al Jolson are described in the third class of a six-month course covering the beautiful music of Jews that transcends the bounds of age, race, nationality and religion. Join us at 2:00 p.m. at the Al Katz Center, 713 South Orange Avenue, Burns Square, Sarasota. Cost: $5 per adult; $3 per student; healthy kosher refreshments included. For more information or to RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

Robert Wagner with Liz Smith The legendary actor and bestselling author takes a nostalgic look back at Hollywood’s golden age – the mythic figures, the legendary stars, the houses and haunts of the elite. The event begins at 8:15 p.m. at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Cost: $5 (free for TBI members). For more information, contact the TBI office at info@tbi-lbk.org or 941.383.3428.

Stay connected at www.jfedsrq.org

JEWISH HAPPENINGS 5B March 2014 wednesday, march 12

March 2014

5B

friday, march 14

“The Righteous Among Us”

“Jewish Comfort Foods: Purim Favorites”

Kobernick University presents Rabbi Barbara Aiello, who explores the lives of selfless people such as Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg.

Discuss how and why ordinary people achieve extraordinary things and learn how to apply their lessons to our own lives. Free and open to the public, this class takes place on Wednesdays, March 12, 19 and 26 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at Anchin Pavilion, 1959 North Honore Avenue, Sarasota.

RSVP to Elaina Mand at 941.225.8369 or emand@kobernickanchin.org.

Judaism and comfort foods are inextricably intertwined from antiquity through the present. The Al Katz Center is committed to the principle of feeding the body and Jewish soul with healthy kosher foods, in order to enhance Jewish identity and safeguard human health. Recipes are provided and exchanged. Vegetarian and vegan options are always available. The comfort food experience can be very relaxing, motivating and healthy.

Enjoy good food, good music, and good conversation in an aesthetic setting. Join us at 11:30 a.m. at 713 South Orange Avenue, Burns Square, Sarasota. Cost: $7 per adult; $3 per student. For more information or to RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

thursday, march 13 Confluence: Israel Art Show Sponsored by

The Jewish Federation of Sarasota Manatee is collaborating with Art Center Sarasota (707 N. Tamiami Trail) in the area’s first exhibition showcasing art by emerging and established Israeli artists in different mediums such as painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, woodwork, video, jewelry and embroidery. The exhibition runs from March 13 to April 25. For more information, visit www.artsarasota.org.

SaBra Chapter of Hadassah meeting Dislike those hearing aids? Here’s a news flash: We hear with our brain.

Barbara Chertok, Programming Vice President, will present important health information about one of the five senses most of us take for granted.

Members, Associates and friends are all welcome to this meeting, which begins at 11:30 a.m. on Federation Campus, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota.

A light lunch will be served. RSVP by March 10 to Nancy Mizrahi at 941.923.1790 or nmizrahi2@gmail.com. For more information, contact Lee Ruggles at 941.924.1338 or lruggles.sabra@gmail.com.

Jewish Women’s Club Join us for mah jongg or challah baking. Whether you’re a novice or an expert, you will have the opportunity to learn and have fun with the activity of your choice! Sample delectable desserts and discover the history of the Jewish heroine Esther. Cost: $12 for JWC members; $15 for nonmembers. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. at Chabad Jewish Center, 2169 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice. For more information, contact Rivka Schmerling at 941.493.2770 or rivka@chabadofvenice.com.

Send your Jewish Happenings to jewishnews@jfedsrq.org

Brandeis Shabbat Service The BNC Sarasota Chapter invites the community to worship with us at 6:00 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 4631 South Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota.

We will join Rabbi Geoffrey Huntting and Chazzan Cliff Abramson in welcoming Shabbat. The Welcome Reception begins at 5:15 p.m. The Reform service consists of traditional and non-traditional music, and BNC members will be participating. This service is open to everyone. For more information, contact Sara Benesch at 941.925.1516 or BNCSRQ@gmail. com.

saturday, march 15 Purimpalooza at Temple Sinai Join us on the “other side of the pond” for “Shushan: The War Years.”

The evening will begin at 5:15 p.m. with a Welcome Reception and 1940s Big Band music, followed by Havdalah and a Purim service and Shpiel “live” from the BBC and accompanied by The Bruno Trio. Dinner and movie trivia will follow. Temple Sinai is located at 4631 S. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota. For dinner pricing and reservations, please call 941.924.1802. For more information, visit www.templesinai-sarasota.org.

Improv Chabad Come and celebrate Purim in a joyous manner while hearing the Megillah and laughing along with comics from our very own community. The fun begins at 8:45 p.m. at The Chabad House, 5712 Lorraine Road, Bradenton.

Cost: $10. If you are interested in performing a comedic routine, or for more information, contact Rabbi Mendy Bukiet at 941.752.3030 x3 or info@chabadofbradenton.com.

6B

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

March 2014

Attention Bridge PlAyers The Bridge Group meets Thursday afternoons from 1:00-4:00 pm on the Federation Campus (582 McIntosh Road). Open to intermediate and advanced bridge players.

For more information, call Bob Satnick at 941-538-3739.

Interfaith

Passover Seder

6:00 - 8:00 PM

LEADERS Rabbi Howard Simon Pastor Joey Mimbs MUSICAL DIRECTORS Cantor Marci Vitkus Pastor Randy Burt

$36/adult, $18/under 12

Eight Over 80 Sponsored by

TABLE SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR $540 (includes 10 tickets and reserved seating; $180 deductible)

A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES

BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-435-7352 WITHIN THE STATE. OUR REGISTRATION NUMBER IS SC-00449. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.

PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

The Return of the Violin (65 minutes) is a thrilling documentary about the fate of the Stradivarius violin that was stolen from the brilliant, celebrated violinist, Bronislaw Huberman, while he was performing on stage at Carnegie Hall in 1936. Prominent Sarasota Orchestra cellist Abe Feder will be joining us for the post-film discussion. The screening begins at 4:00 p.m. in the Beatrice Friedman Theater on the Federation Campus, 582 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Cost: $10-single ticket; $54-Festival Pass (includes one screening of each film); $72-Patron Pass (includes one screening of each film with reserved seating). For more information, contact Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 or jnew@jfedsrq.org. For complete information and tickets, visit www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival.aspx.

Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story (104 minutes) is a gripping drama about Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux at the time of Hitler’s invasion of France. Robert Jacobvitz, Founder of the International Committee for the Commemoration of Dr. Aristides de Sousa Mendes will be joining us for the post-film discussion. The screening begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Beatrice Friedman Theater on the Federation Campus, 582 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Cost: $10-single ticket; $54-Festival Pass (includes one screening of each film); $72-Patron Pass (includes one screening of each film with reserved seating). For more information, contact Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 or jnew@jfedsrq.org. For complete information and tickets, visit www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival.aspx.

MICHAEL’S ON EAST

TICKETS

Movie: The Return of the Violin

Movie: Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story

Thursday March 27, 2014

Registration opens February 1, 2014

sunday, march 16

For more information, please contact Jessi Sheslow at 941.343.2109 or jsheslow@jfedsrq.org

March 14–April 19

The Jewish Housing Council Foundation’s second annual Eight Over 80 event celebrates our seniors’ legacy of leadership, philanthropy and commitment to enhancing our community and our world. Funds raised help support life-enriching programs for seniors in Kobernick House, Anchin Pavilion and Benderson Family Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Honorees are Herman Frankel, Ed Kalin, Florence Katz, Alisa & Ernest Kretzmer, Lee Peterson, Sally & Sam Shapiro, Sally Yanowitz, Jeanne & Robert Zabelle. Event co-Chairs: Margot & Warren Coville and Irving Bashevkin. Tickets start at $125 and sponsorships are available. The event begins at 10:30 a.m. at Michael’s On East, 1212 East Avenue South, Sarasota. RSVP to Iris Starr at 941.377.0781 x124 or istarr@kobernickanchin.org.

Jewish War Veterans meeting Join Sarasota Co. Post 172 Jewish War Veterans of the USA at its monthly meeting in the Youth Lounge at Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota. Breakfast with lox and bagels begins at 9:15 a.m. The business meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will include a discussion about the JFCS Operation Military Assistance Program and other volunteer opportunities. The planned speaker is Lt. Col. (Ret.) Lee Kichen, a past commander of the Post, who will talk about the newest veteran benefits as well as highlights from his 20+ years in the Army. For further information, contact Stuart Krupkin, Commander, at 941.342.3413.

Purim Carnival

“A thrilling theatrical achievement” – New York Post

Temple Beth Sholom’s annual Purim Carnival features a costume contest, dancing, games, food and many children’s activities. BeTheMatch, a professional Bone Marrow Registry, will be testing adults ages 18-44. The carnival takes place from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota. For more information, call 941.955.8121.

Purim and Music Party Join us from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. for the Whole Megillah, Purim Celebration and Music Game. Enjoy an afternoon of Purim fun, a “Name That Tune” show, groggers, singing, foot-tapping and refreshments. Costumes optional. The event takes place at the Jewish Congregation of Venice, 600 N. Auburn Road, Venice, FL 34292. Cost: $6 for members and $8 for nonmembers. RSVP and payment required by March 11. Send your check, payable to JCV, to the above address, and write “Purim and Music Party” on the memo line, or call 941.484.2022.

“From Madrid to Marrakesh” Join us at this Jewish Genealogical Society of Southwest Florida meeting featuring Sabrina Silverberg. We will learn about the Jews of Spain and the Middle East, enjoy hearing about Sephardic delicacies, and participate in an interactive activity. The lecture will cover many obscure topics such as mysticism, taboos and superstitions. We will explore the exotic sounds, tastes and sights of Sephardic and Levantine Jewry. Everyone is welcome to this free event, which begins at 1:00 p.m. at Kobernick House, 1951 N. Honore Ave., Sarasota. For more information, contact Kim Sheintal at 941.921.1433 or klapshein@aol.com, or visit http://jgsswf.org/.

based on the novel by John Steinbeck Adapted by Frank Galati Directed by Michael Donald Edwards

ASOLOREP.ORG 941.351.8000

Winner 1990 Tony Award Best Play

sponsored by

ASOLO REPERTORY THEATRE

Purim Festival Come and drink, eat and be merry at our annual Purim Festival sponsored by the Temple Beth El Bradenton Men’s Club. There will be a Megillah reading, costume (young and not so young) contest, barbeque (hamburgers, hot dogs and all the trimmings), and dancing to the sounds of the MelodyBooth Orchestra. The event takes place from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Temple Beth El Bradenton, 4200 32nd Street West. Cost: $10 for adults; $5 for children under the age of 12. For more information, please call the temple office at 941.755.4900 from 9:00 a.m. to noon, Tuesday through Friday.

SUNDAY, march 16

n nex

ued o contin

t page

JEWISH HAPPENINGS 7B March 2014 sunday, march 16 Grand Purim Party Have you thought about how you will celebrate Purim in a meaningful and fun way? We have the answer to your question. Celebrate Purim in France! Once again, Chabad is hosting the annual Purim Around the World, and this year we’ll be stopping off in France. Join us for a joyous party, celebrating the miracle of Purim against a backdrop of the Eiffel Tower.

Enjoy delicious French food and atmosphere, a multimedia presentation, masquerade (optional), fun entertainment, an exotic dog show, and a children’s program running simultaneous to the adult program. The event begins at 4:00 p.m. at 406 Shamrock Blvd., Venice. Cost: $18 per adult, free for children 3-12. For more information, contact Rabbi Sholom Schmerling at 941.493.2770 or rabbi@chabadofvenice.com.

March 2014

BLacKtroupe

West coast

theatre

By Loften Mitchell apr 9-MaY 11, 2014

Purim in the Palace Enjoy Chabad of Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch’s Purim in the Palace at The Chabad House (5712 Lorraine Road) with a Persian-themed dinner (vegetarian available), a treasure chest of fun for the entire family, magical and comedic entertainment, masquerade, Megillah reading, hamantaschen and lots more. This program is open to all ages and begins at 4:30 p.m.

Cost: $15 per adult and $10 per child (3-12) for pre-paid admission.

Payment at the door is $20 per adult and $15 per child. CHS students come free! Seating is limited, so please reserve early by contacting Rabbi Mendy Bukiet at 941.752.3030 x3 or info@chabadofbradenton.com.

7B

PAID FOR IN PART BY SARASOTA COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAX REVENUES

Get tIcKets NoW! 941-366-1505 WBttsrQ.orG

inform

Purim in Israel Chabad of Sarasota invites all to attend a Purim in Israel event, which will feature an Israeli-style dinner of falafel and shawarma. In addition, participants will enjoy tasting a variety of Israeli wines, squeezing their own orange juice, and taking pictures at the Kotel. The Megillah will be read at 4:30 p.m. prior to the event, which begins at 5:00 p.m. at 7700 Beneva Road. Cost: $12 per adult, $8 per child 3-10, $35 per family, $50 event sponsor. Advance reservations are required. To RSVP or for more information, call 941.925.0770.

“Name That Tune” SaraMana ORT invites you to a fun-filled evening of music and food as professional “Name That Tune” DJs, Nancy & Barry, test your knowledge of popular tunes, performers and lyrics. Attendees at each table compete as teams, which makes an enjoyable evening for both experienced and novice participants. There are prizes for winners as well as door prizes. A light dinner will be provided by Michael’s On East. Everyone is welcome from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. at Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Avenue, Sarasota. Cost: $26 per person. Reservations must be received by March 8.

Send a check, payable to ORT America, to Syd Weinstein, 5133 96th Street East, Bradenton, FL 34211. For more information, contact Phil Recoon at ringtail10@aol.com or Larry Mandel at larryofliberty26@gmail.com.

One World Gala

EngagE www.SarasotaLovesIsrael.com The Robert & Esther Heller Israel advocacy Initiative • Get the facts about Israel • Learn how to respond to anti-Semitism • Advocate to local government and media

“Fighting anti-Semitism and the movement to delegitimize israel.”

Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva SPRING SEMESTER 2014

Join us for the One World Gala at Michael’s On East (1212 East Avenue South, Sarasota) as the Sister Cities Association of Sarasota presents its coveted “One World” International Award to two area “exceptionals.”

Linda Rosenbluth, Individual Award Recipient, sights a need and creates an effective response. Her role in enhancing international understanding and respect is exceptional – being instrumental in Tel Mond, Israel, becoming a Sarasota Sister City. The Organization Award goes to Embracing Our Differences, an organization encouraging the strong bonds of understanding and respect. Tickets for this black-tie-optional gala are $150 per person.

The cocktail reception begins at 6:30 p.m.; dinner and awards take place at 7:30 p.m. For details, call Sister Cities Association of Sarasota “One World Gala” co-chair William Wallace at 941.378.0085.

This course is text-based and will cover the Book of Joshua along with commentary and midrash. Joshua is Moses’ successor and leads the Hebrew people into the Land of Israel fulfilling a dream and a promise after forty years of wandering in the wilderness. How Canaan was conquered and settled by the twelve tribes is the main theme of the first book of the Bible to follow the Pentateuch. Students are required to bring a Tanach-The Holy Scriptures with the new modern English translation by the Jewish Publication Society (JPS).

For a continuously updated calendar, visit www.jfedsrq.org.

This course will teach tidbits of Talmud aimed at students who have little or no background in Talmudic studies. Course content includes the history of the development of the Oral Law (Talmud ,which is comprised of the Mishnah, Gemorah and commentaries); How the Talmud is organized; traditional methodology of study; and importance of Talmudic thought and direction as Judaism evolved over the last 25 years. All materials included.

Community Yom HaShoah Commemoration

THE MODERN JEWS’ RELATIONSHIP TO ISRAEL

Please join US in remembering those who perished in the Holocaust.

Sunday, April 27, 2014 @ 2pm Temple Beth ISRAEL, LONGBOAT KEY

A community-wide commemorAtion honoring those who lost their lives during the holocAust.

For more information, please visit TheJewishFederation.org 941.371.4546

THE BOOK OF JOSHUA

Tuesdays Starting March 4 – 9:30 AM – 10:40 AM (Eight Weeks)

A TOUCH OF TALMUD: HISTORY, METHODOLOGY & IMPORTANCE Tuesdays starting March 4 – 10:50 AM – Noon (Eight Weeks)

Mondays starting March 3 - 4:15 PM – 5:15 PM (Eight Weeks) In a rapidly changing world, Israel comes under constant verbal attack in the international arena. Its physical existence is constantly challenged as well. Why? Whether it is anti-Semitism parading around as anti-Israel sentiment, or successful propaganda

by Israel’s enemies, the negativity in the media seems to outweigh the praise due for Israel’s contribution to high technology, scientific discovery, and the advancement of civilization. Many Jews themselves are vacillating in their own support of the Jewish state. We’ll discuss the nature of the relationship of individuals, communities, polities and institutions.

WHAT VALUES DO WE WANT TO PASS DOWN TO CHILDREN? Fridays Starting March 7 - 10:45 AM – 11:45 AM (Eight Weeks)

Will our children and grandchildren pass down Jewish culture to their offspring? That is the common discourse today at many dinner tables, seders, parties, in synagogues and Jewish organizations. While the recent Pew Survey showed that large numbers of Jews both exist and identify as Jews, what will they pass on to their children that might be lasting and enduring? What values do we want to see preserved in successive generations?

All courses are $50 Classes are held on the Campus of the Jewish Federation, 580 McIntosh Rd. in Sarasota. To register or seek more information, please contact Marden Paru, Dean and Rosh Yeshiva; at 941.379.5655 or marden.paru@gmail.com. Please make checks payable to the Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva and mail to Marden Paru, 2729 Goodwood Court, Sarasota, FL 34235.

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS: The Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other schooladministered programs.

The Sarasota Liberal Yeshiva is a 501(c)3 non-profit agency. It is funded, in part, by a grant from The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.

8B

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

March 2014

monday, march 17 Movie: Bethlehem Bethlehem (99 minutes) is an engrossing, award-winning drama that reflects the conflicts and pressures that both Israelis and Palestinians confront within their respective societies – and how the best of intentions and motivations can become muddled and distorted by the ever-evolving circumstances at play in the region. The screening begins at 3:00 p.m. in the Beatrice Friedman Theater on the Federation Campus, 582 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Cost: $10-single ticket; $54-Festival Pass (includes one screening of each film); $72-Patron Pass (includes one screening of each film with reserved seating). For more information, contact Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 or jnew@jfedsrq.org. For complete information and tickets, visit www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival.aspx.

Movie: God’s Neighbors

MARCH

4th, 11th, 18th & 25th at 10:30am Desenberg Room

.

Rachel Dulin’s Bible Series The Bible is not a history book. It also did not rise in a vacuum. To understand its message we have to be aware of the social, spiritual and historical background upon which it rose. In this lecture series we will direct our attention to history and the Bible. We will look at the historical time of the Judges period, King David, King Ahab and Queen Esther in order to understand the text and its unique message.

$30 for Series Register: www.jfedsrq.org/events.aspx Questions?

Contact Orna Nissan at 941.552.6305 or email onissan@jfedsrq.org

God’s Neighbors (102 minutes) is a powerful, provocative, yet surprisingly tender feature film about the conflict between Orthodox and secular in one Israeli community, Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv. The screening begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Beatrice Friedman Theater on the Federation Campus, 582 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Cost: $10-single ticket; $54-Festival Pass (includes one screening of each film); $72-Patron Pass (includes one screening of each film with reserved seating). For more information, contact Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 or jnew@jfedsrq.org. For complete information and tickets, visit www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival.aspx.

Movie: Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story (104 minutes) is a gripping drama about Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux at the time of Hitler’s invasion of France. The screening begins at 7:00 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 4631 S. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota. Cost: $10-single ticket; $54-Festival Pass (includes one screening of each film); $72-Patron Pass (includes one screening of each film with reserved seating). For more information, contact Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 or jnew@jfedsrq.org.

For complete information and tickets, visit www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival. aspx.

Fifty Shades of “J” Dinner and a Movie Klingenstein Jewish Center 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL 34232

TheJewishFederation.org

Sponsored by

Join us for dinner and a movie in conjunction with The Jewish Film Festival. The buffet dinner begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by a screening of God’s Neighbors. Both take place on the Federation Campus, 580 McIntosh Road, Sasasota. Cost: $18 per person (reservation for dinner required). To RSVP or for more information, contact Jeremy Lisitza at 941.343.2113 or jlisitza@jfedsrq.org. To register online, visit www.jfedsrq.org/events.aspx.

JFCS Holocaust Survivors Support Group Sponsored by

All area survivors and their spouses are invited to a Purim Luncheon – a gathering of fun and food. If possible, please bring a box of macaroni and cheese to donate to the JFCS Food Pantry and to serve as your grogger. Purim masks provided. The event takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at JFCS, 2688 Fruitville Road, Sarasota. This is a multi-agency event sponsored by JFCS of the Suncoast, Inc., Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services, The Jewish Federation of Sarasota Manatee and the Claims Conference of Germany.

To RSVP or for more information, contact Jan Alston at 941.366.2224 x172 or jalston@jfcs-cares.org.

AJC 2014 Spring Award Dinner AJC will honor David Harris, AJC’s Executive Director, with its distinguished Human Relations Award, and AJC Regional Vice President Gerri Aaron with its Legacy of Leadership Award. David Harris has been described as “the consummate Jewish Diplomat of our time” and has been honored by governments worldwide. Gerri Aaron is an extraordinary role model who has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to helping others.

Dinner Chairs are Larry and Debbie Haspel, and Matt and Lisa Walsh, and the Honorary Chair is Bea Friedman, all of whom are past AJC honorees.

The event takes place from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. at Michael’s On East, 1212 East Avenue South, Sarasota. Sponsorships start at $1,000. Please contact Brian Lipton at 941.365.4955 or liptonb@ajc.org for further information.

GIVE YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH POTENTIAL. ADVERTISE WITH

Robin Leonardi 941.552.6307 rleonardi@jfedsrq.org www.TheJewishNews.org

ADVERTISING DEADLINES APRIL ISSUE MAY ISSUE JUNE ISSUE JULY ISSUE

February 28 April 1 May 1 May 29

JEWISH HAPPENINGS 9B March 2014 tuesday, march 18 Movie: The Return of the Violin The Return of the Violin (65 minutes) is a thrilling documentary about the fate of the Stradivarius violin that was stolen from the brilliant, celebrated violinist, Bronislaw Huberman, while he was performing on stage at Carnegie Hall in 1936. The screening begins at 3:00 p.m. in the Beatrice Friedman Theater on the Federation Campus, 582 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Cost: $10-single ticket; $54-Festival Pass (includes one screening of each film); $72-Patron Pass (includes one screening of each film with reserved seating). For more information, contact Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 or jnew@jfedsrq.org. For complete information and tickets, visit www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival.aspx.

Movie: The Jewish Cardinal The Jewish Cardinal (90 minutes) is an award-winning feature about the amazing life of Jean-Marie Lustiger, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, who maintained his cultural identity as a Jew even after converting to Catholicism at a young age, and later joining the priesthood.

The screening begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Beatrice Friedman Theater on the Federation Campus, 582 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Cost: $10-single ticket; $54-Festival Pass (includes one screening of each film); $72-Patron Pass (includes one screening of each film with reserved seating). For more information, contact Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 or jnew@jfedsrq.org.

For complete information and tickets, visit www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival. aspx.

March 2014

9B

Savory@Night and The Savory Street

International Classics with an adventurous Twist!

10% OFF Your entire check!

Breakfast or Lunch with this ad Mon-Sat Exp. 07/31/2014 Breakfast: Mon-Fri 8:30 am to 12:00 Sat & Sun All Day 8:30 am– 2:30 pm Lunch: Every day 11:00 am to 2:30 pm Dinner: Tue-Sat 4:30 pm to close Serving wine and beer

941.312.4027 Check our website for our Menu, Specials and Holiday Events Orange at 4th, Sarasota Rosemary District www.thesavorystreet.com

CONFLUENCE: ISRAEL

JFCS Transitions Support Group Sponsored by

The death of a spouse, significant other or life partner is perhaps the most difficult experience that one can have. Once the initial intense period of grief has subsided, how do you recreate your life and go on? This group is an opportunity to be with others and stay connected socially. The group will meet from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the JFCS Main Campus, 2688 Fruitville Road, Sarasota. No fee, but preregistration is required. Contact Beverly Mishkin at 941.366.2224 x119 or bmishkin@jfcs-cares.org. The Transitions Support Group is sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.

Ladies Lunch & Learn Join Chanie Bukiet for a Lunch & Learn from noon to 1:00 p.m. at The Chabad House, 5712 Lorraine Road, Bradenton. Feast on a delicious lunch and learn Tanya, psychology of the soul, based on the Kabbalah. No cost.

For more information, contact Rabbi Mendy Bukiet at 941.752.3030 x3 or info@chabadofbradenton.com.

JFCS Mind Set Classes Classes meet from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from March 18-27 at JFCS, 2688 Fruitville Road, Sarasota. Mind Set Classes offer an organized approach to everyday living and provide activities to stimulate memory and thinking. The cost is $40 for the four sessions over two weeks. Pre-registration is required and pre-assessment may be required. Contact Glenda Pinkston at 941.366.2224 x131 or gpinkston@ jfcs-cares.org.

The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee is collaborating with Art Center Sarasota in the area’s first exhibition showcasing art by emerging and established Israeli artists in different mediums such as painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, woodwork, video, jewelry and embroidery.

The exhibition runs from March 13 through April 25, 2014, with an opening reception for the public on March 13, 5-7pm.

www.artsarasota.org Presented in partnership with

Presented as part of

Miniversity - Jerome Kern, the Remarkable Music Man Learn about and sing along to the music of the multi-sided composer Jerome Kern, acknowledged by his fellow composers as the foremost songwriter of the 20th century. Kern created dozens of Broadway musicals and Hollywood films in a career that lasted more than four decades.

Presented by musical historian Carol Kaufman, this class begins at 2:00 p.m. at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Cost: $5 (free for TBI members). For more information, contact the TBI office at info@tbi-lbk.org or 941.383.3428.

New Year - New Friends at Kobernick House

Kobernick House residents Len Gumley and Frances Robinson

New Year Special

1/2 OFF The Federation

Blog

www.FederationBlog.org

Join the Jewish Conversation!

Sarasota’s only rental senior community offering a full continuum of care: • Independent Living • Assisted Living • Secure Memory Care • Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation

Administrative Fees for all apartments in beautiful Kobernick House

To learn more or take a tour, call Esther: 941-225-8369. kobernickanchin.org | 1951 North Honore Avenue | Sarasota, FL 34235 Sponsored by Sarasota-Manatee Jewish Housing Council, Inc., Kobernick-Anchin-Benderson operates on a non-discriminatory basis for admissions, services and employment.

Assisted Living Facility # 8951 • Skilled Nursing Facility # 130471046

10B

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

March 2014

wednesday, march 19

WE HAVE A LOT TO SAY

Movie: The Jewish Cardinal The Jewish Cardinal (90 minutes) is an award-winning feature about the amazing life of Jean-Marie Lustiger, the son of PolishJewish immigrants, who maintained his cultural identity as a Jew even after converting to Catholicism at a young age, and later joining the priesthood. There are two screenings today: 12:30 p.m. at the Lakewood Ranch Cinemas, 10715 Rodeo Drive, Lakewood Ranch, and 7:00 p.m. at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Cost: $10-single ticket; $54-Festival Pass (includes one screening of each film); $72-Patron Pass (includes one screening of each film with reserved seating). For more information, contact Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 or jnew@jfedsrq.org.

For complete information and tickets, visit www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival. aspx.

WANT TO DISPLAY THE JEWISH NEWS IN YOUR OFFICE OR BUSINESS?

Robin Leonardi, Account Executive: 941.552.6307 • rleonardi@jfedsrq.org

THE paSSOVEr SEdEr SURVIVaL GUIDE A FREE, fun, and interactive session that will prepare parents who are new to Judaism to celebrate Passover in a meaningful way.

Friday, april 4 9:30-11:30am

Movie: Article of Hope Article of Hope (54 minutes) is a moving documentary about the untold story of Colonel Ilan Ramon, a fighter pilot and son of Holocaust survivors who became the first and only astronaut from Israel. The film’s director, Dan Cohen, will be joining us for the post-film discussion. There are two screenings today: 3:00 p.m. at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key, and 7:00 p.m. at the Lakewood Ranch Cinemas, 10715 Rodeo Drive, Lakewood Ranch. Cost: $10-single ticket; $54-Festival Pass (includes one screening of each film); $72-Patron Pass (includes one screening of each film with reserved seating). For more information, contact Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 or jnew@jfedsrq.org. For complete information and tickets, visit www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival.aspx.

Club Fed Hits the Road

@ The Jewish Federation Sponsored by

Join Club Fed, a Senior Chavurah, from 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., for a docent tour of the Dali Museum, including the visiting Andy Warhol exhibit. The cost of $55 includes transportation, admission and lunch. To RSVP or for more information, contact Jeremy Lisitza at 941.343.2113 or jlisitza@jfedsrq.org. To register online, visit www.jfedsrq.org/events.aspx.

Learn About The Seder And How Passover Is Celebrated As A Family

RSVP Required: www.jfedsrq.org/events.aspx

NCJW meeting with Flora Oynick

Questions? Contact Flora Oynick at 941.343.2114 or foynick@jfedsrq.org

urns Ret

The Klingenstein Jewish Center 580 McIntosh Rd., Sarasota FL 34232 941..371.4546 • TheJewishFederation.org

SPECIAL THANKS TO PRITCHARDS PIANOS

Keyboard Conversations®

WITH

JEFFREY SIEGEL

American pianist Jeffrey Siegel’s concert-withcommentary format in which lively, captivating remarks precede virtuoso performances of piano masterpieces.

Tuesday, April 1: MISTRESSES & MASTERPIECES

Works of passion, love, and longing inspired by “significant others” in the lives of Brahms, Schumann, Chopin, and Liszt.

8:00pm in the Beatrice Friedman Theater on the Federation Campus, 582 McIntosh Road, Sarasota.

Tickets: $36

Please visit www.jfedsrq.org/keyboard.aspx or call Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 to purchase tickets.

PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Klingenstein Jewish Center 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, FL 34232

www.TheJewishFederation.org

National Council of Jewish Women, Sarasota-Manatee Section, invites you to hear guest speaker Flora Oynick, the Engagement Ambassador at The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee. This is a new post at Federation, and Flora will give us an insider’s view. There will be an interactive discussion about issues and opening the doors of communication that the Jewish community would like to see in Sarasota-Manatee. Light refreshments will be served, and there is no charge for this event, which begins at 1:00 p.m. on the Federation Campus, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Members and nonmembers are welcome. Reservations are needed by March 13. To make a reservation or to find out more about NCJW, please call the 24-hour hotline at 941.342.1855.

Idelson Library Film Matinee Series - Brothers For 25 years, Dan has been working on a secular kibbutz in Israel. His estranged brother Aaron is a New York-based attorney and Torah scholar.

The two men reunite when Aaron comes to Israel to defend the rights of Yeshiva students who refuse military service. Questions raised by the legal case in this 2008 film mirror the divisions between secular and religious life in contemporary Israel. Adeline Silverman will lead a Q&A session after the screening (116 minutes; Hebrew with English subtitles), which takes place at 1:15 p.m. at Temple Beth Sholom, Madeline L. Sainer Social Hall, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota. Cost: $3 for members and $5 for nonmembers. Refreshments, including popcorn, will be served. The film is co-sponsored by the Israel Support Committee and Men’s Club. For more information, call the temple office at 941.955.8121.

Miniversity - Challenges to Reform Judaism This fall saw the release of two significant publications – The New Reform Judaism: Challenges and Reflections by Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan, and The Pew Survey on Jewish Americans, prepared by the Pew Research Center. Taking these two resources into consideration, what will our synagogues and other communal institutions look like in the face of changing values and demographics? Join Rabbi Richard L. Klein at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, March 19 and 26 at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Cost: $5 per session (free for TBI members). For more information, contact the TBI office at info@tbi-lbk.org or 941.383.3428.

Chabad of Sarasota Gala Chabad of Sarasota will be holding its 19th Annual Gala and will be honoring Dr. Barry and Anne Stein. Barry serves as Chabad President, while Anne is the First Lady, and both are involved in several community endeavors, including Dedicating the Barry & Anne Stein Youth Center at Chabad and sponsoring March of the Living opportunities for area teens through the Jewish Federation. Other achievements and sponsorships include A Taste of Chanukah, Comedy Central at Chabad, N’shei Chabad Women’s Rosh Chodesh Society, and the Chabad Building & Endowment Campaign. The gala is a wonderful tribute to an amazing and inspirational couple. Please consider acknowledging the Steins by attending the gala, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at Michael’s On East, 1212 East Avenue, Sarasota. Cost: $150 per person. To RSVP or for more information, call 941.925.0770.

140 kosher characters

twitter.com/jfedsrq

JEWISH HAPPENINGS 11B March 2014 thursday, march 20

March 2014

11B

fri-sat, march 21-22

Movie: God’s Neighbors

Temple Emanu-El Scholar-in-Residence

God’s Neighbors (102 minutes) is a powerful, provocative, yet surprisingly tender feature film about the conflict between Orthodox and secular in one Israeli community, Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv. The screening begins at 3:00 p.m. in the Beatrice Friedman Theater on the Federation Campus, 582 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Cost: $10-single ticket; $54-Festival Pass (includes one screening of each film); $72-Patron Pass (includes one screening of each film with reserved seating). For more information, contact Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 or jnew@jfedsrq.org. For complete information and tickets, visit www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival.aspx.

Temple Emanu-El proudly welcomes this year’s Peck Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Stephen Berk, Professor of Holocaust and Jewish studies at Union College. Dr. Berk has served as Scholar-in-Residence at congregations around the country and on trips to Russia, Spain, the Caribbean, Western and Eastern Europe, and Israel. He is acclaimed for his vast knowledge not only of the Holocaust and Judaica but also of Russia and Middle Eastern politics. Dr. Berk will speak during Shabbat services on Friday at 7:30 p.m., and give another lecture on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. These free events are open to the community and take place at Temple Emanu-El, 151 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. For more information, please call event chair Wendy Barnet at 941.894.3112.

Movie: Bethlehem Bethlehem (99 minutes) is an engrossing, award-winning drama that reflects the conflicts and pressures that both Israelis and Palestinians confront within their respective societies – and how the best of intentions and motivations can become muddled and distorted by the ever-evolving circumstances at play in the region. The screening begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Beatrice Friedman Theater on the Federation Campus, 582 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Cost: $10-single ticket; $54-Festival Pass (includes one screening of each film); $72-Patron Pass (includes one screening of each film with reserved seating). For more information, contact Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 or jnew@jfedsrq.org. For complete information and tickets, visit www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival.aspx.

JFCS Bereavement Support Group Sponsored by

This group meets from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Thursdays from March 20 through April 24 at JFCS, 2688 Fruitville Road, Sarasota. Cost: $36 per person for the six-week session.

For more information, contact Beverly Mishkin at 941.366.2224 x119 or bmishkin@jfcs-cares.org. The Bereavement Support Group is sponsored

by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.

Miniversity – Seder Secrets Rabbi Jonathan R. Katz will share fascinating dimensions of the Haggadah of which most Jews have little knowledge. Uncover the Haggadah’s double and triple meanings, myriad teachings and unique elements. The class will infuse your observance of Passover with many new insights. Join Rabbi Katz at 2:00 p.m. on Thursdays, March 20 & 27 at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Cost: $5 (free for TBI members). For more information, contact the TBI office at info@tbi-lbk.org or 941.383.3428.

I

NY

September 7-10, 2014

THE MARRIOTT MARQUIS TIMES SQUARE SAVE THE DATE for The Jewish Federations of North America’s 2014 International Lion of Judah Conference! Join the most dedicated, passionate and philanthropic women in the world as we gather for three inspirational days of learning and sharing.

We Are. We Can. We Do.

To learn more about being a Lion of judah or attending the 2014 conference, please contact Ilene Fox at 941.343.2111 or ifox@jfedsrq.org.

Observer Media Group Is Proud To Sponsor The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

2013 Local Media Association *

North American

Newspapers of the Year TWO YEARS I N A ROW! You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.

For daily news, features, photos and videos visit:

12B

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

March 2014

T H E J E W I S H F E D E R AT I O N O F S A R A S O TA - M A N AT E E

purim

Masquerade ¢

Ball¢

WHO’S bEHIND THE MASk?

6:30 IN THE EvENINg SATuRDAy MARcH 8, 2014 THE RITz-cARlTON SARASOTA

HONOREES: EsthEr and roBErt hEllEr GraCi and dEnnis MCGilliCuddy Patti and david WErthEiMEr

cO-cHAIRS: EdiE and david ChaifEtz JuliE and dr. Joshua GrEEn Bunny and Morton skirBoll SPEcIAl MuSIcAl PERFORMANcE by: Maria WirriEs

PuRIMSPIElER: adaM ratnEr froM florida studio thEatrE

Todah Rabah!

2014 PuRIM MASQuERADE SPONSORS PuRIM SPONSOR

QuEEN ESTHER SPONSORS

MAgAzINE SPONSOR

Edie & david Chaifetz Esther & robert heller

MORDEcHAI SPONSORS

Gerard daniel Ellen & Joel fedder friedman family Julie & dr. Joshua Green susan Milman Gail & skip sack

SHuSHAN SPONSORS

Betty schoenbaum Bunny & Morton skirboll nancy & raymond swart hannah & dr. norman Weinberg Patti & david Wertheimer

karen & tommy Bernstein debbie & dr. larry haspel lisa kates & richard laBrie susan & randy Mallitz Graci & dennis McGillicuddy drs. allison silver & hardy schwartz

gROggER SPONSORS

Genie & les aberson Barbara & Gary ackerman ruth & alan ades dr. rebecca & richard Bergman Marsha & harry Eisenberg ilene & Michael fox helen & len Glaser roz Goldberg & alan Bandler alyson & rubin hanan sandra & dr. lewis hanan stacy & Benjamin hanan

rebecca & richard hopkins Me-Me* & Bob kramer Judy & hesh kulman Joan & dr. Bart levenson linda & norman lipson sandra & neil Malamud rachel Mann the Mazur family foundation Gila & dr. Michael Meriwether nelle Miller naiditch family foundation

flora & dr. Guillermo oynick alfred rose sheila & Jules rose law office of andrew W. rosin, P.a. irene & Marty ross sally & sam shapiro Michael shelton & Jeremy lisitza susan B. & Jack steenbarger lois stulberg naomi & Bruce Wertheimer

Sponsors as of Feb 4, 2014

* of blessed memory sPonsorshiP oPPortunitiEs availaBlE: ContaCt ilEnE fox at 941.343.2111 or ifox@JfEdsrq.orG

JEWISH HAPPENINGS 13B March 2014

March 2014

friday, march 21

13B

sunday, march 23

Movie: The Return of the Violin

Purim Pandemonium

The Return of the Violin (65 minutes) is a thrilling documentary about the fate of the Stradivarius violin that was stolen from the brilliant, celebrated violinist, Bronislaw Huberman, while he was performing on stage at Carnegie Hall in 1936. The screening begins at 10:30 a.m. at Kobernick House, 1951 N. Honore Ave., Sarasota. Cost: $10-single ticket; $54-Festival Pass (includes one screening of each film); $72-Patron Pass (includes one screening of each film with reserved seating). For more information, contact Jennifer New at 941.552.6304 or jnew@jfedsrq.org. For complete information and tickets, visit www.jfedsrq.org/filmfestival.aspx.

Celebrate the spirit of Adar and enjoy some Purim fun at this fabulous carnival! There will be plenty of excitement and enjoyment for all ages, including a climbing wall, bounce house, dunk tank, inflatable slide, face painting, games and prizes. Try your luck at the 50/50 raffle and silent auction. Lunch and homemade desserts – including lots of homemade hamentaschen – for everyone. All proceeds benefit Temple Emanu-El Religious School. The carnival takes place from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 151 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. Free admission; nominal fee for attractions and food. For more information, call 941.371.2788 or email teers@sarasotatemple.org.

“Holocaust and Other Jewish Sites in Latvia and Lithuania: My Photo Experiences” This poignant photo essay will bring you to the famous and less famous Holocaust and Jewish sites that will linger in your memory for years to come. Our presenter, JoAnn Goldwater, is both an accomplished genealogist and photographer, who has traveled the world in search of traces of her personal family history and landmarks of Jewish history. She will share with us the detailed insights that only a historical eyewitness would recall.

Join us at 10:30 a.m. at the Al Katz Center, 713 South Orange Avenue, Burns Square, Sarasota. Cost: $12 per adult; $5 per student; healthy kosher brunch and study materials included. For more information or to RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

Presentation by Michael Hirsh Michael Hirsh spent over a year researching and writing his newest novel which focuses on the sex trafficking of young girls in Southwest Florida.

Early on he discovered that most people are under the impression that the girls are brought here from foreign countries. In actuality, the vast majority of young girls forced into prostitution are American. Hirsh, a member of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, has been a lifelong journalist. He has produced documentaries and specials for ABC, CBS, PBS and HBO, winning the Peabody Award and multiple Emmys in the process. Hirsh has written six non-fiction books, including the New York Times bestseller, Terri - The Truth, written with Michael Schiavo. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. at Unity Sarasota, 3023 Proctor Road. Free for CHJ members, $5 for nonmembers. For more information, please call 941.929.7771 or visit www.CHJ-sarasota.org.

2013-14

GOLDEN GATE $500,000+ Anonymous Beatrice Friedman Esther and Robert Heller Gertrude Jais* Jerry Lavin* Beatrice and Arthur* Michaels Robert Michelson* Sally and Sam Shapiro Sylvia G. and Robert M. Zell*

ZION GATE $250,000-499,999 Sylvia and Joseph Bloom* Sylvia and Gershom Cohn* Lois and Willard Cohodas Helen and Len Glaser Rita and Herbert Gold* Edna Rogers* & Jonas Kamlet* Lawrence S. Klotz* Hope Leuchter Daniel Logan* Olga O. Schwartz* Susan Shimelman Marvin Wolf

JAFFA GATE $100,000-249,999 Anonymous Marcia Abel Barbara Ackerman Rebecca and Richard Bergman Mandell (Bill) Berman Barbara and Donald Bernstein Jacob Carmen* Edie Chaifetz Ellen and Joel Fedder Jacqueline Siegel Frascella Joshua Green Julie Green Sylvia and Daniel Hamberg Sandra & Lewis Hanan Kates Foundation Renee Irene Katz* Alisa and Ernest Kretzmer Josh Leuchter Audrey Lucow Marjorie E. Meyers* Frank Paul* Flori Roberts Betty and Bert Rosen Irene and Martin Ross

Cantorial Concert with Chazzan Cliff Abramson Join us for an Eclectic Cantorial Concert 3:30 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 4631 S. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota. Chazzan Cliff Abramson is the area’s first ordained cantor. He will present a program of liturgical music, operatic arias and songs in several languages, including Italian and Ladino.

Additional musicians including cellists, violinists, clarinetists and mandolin players as well as the Sinai Singers will enhance the experience. Chazzan earned his first graduate degree in theatre from New York University in 1985 and has performed on stage, film and television. Dinner follows the concert. Dinner and concert is $30 per person; concert only is $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Call 941.924.1802 for dinner reservations.

Club Sholom honors Howard Tevlowitz The Temple Beth Sholom Men’s Club will pay tribute to its “Man of the Year,” Howard Tevlowitz, Executive Director of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee. Club Sholom will feature a gourmet kosher dinner catered by Michael’s On East, entertainment by the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, and International Jewish Music by Freylekh. The event begins at 5:00 p.m. at Temple Beth Sholom, Madeline L. Sainer Social Hall, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota. Cost: $100, with $35 being tax-deductable. No credit cards, please. For more information or to become a sponsor, please contact Paul Rabin at 941.927.0901 or paulconslt@aol.com.

Excellence in Foot and Ankle Care

Foot & Ankle Care for the Whole Family • 6 Highly Trained Doctors • Serving Manasota 30+ Years • Same Day Appointments • Friendly Staff / en Español

We would like to recognize and thank those who have made the most personal and thoughtful gift of all: a commitment to The Jewish Federation through a will, trust agreement, prepaid life insurance policy or other estate planning vehicle.

Paulette and Martin Samowitz Barbara Saphier Betty and Herbert* Schiff Betty Schoenbaum Claire Sischy Lois and David* Stulberg Naomi and Bruce Wertheimer Geri and Ronald Yonover

LION’S GATE $10,000-99,999

Herbert Angel* Sidney Bernstein* Ruth Bregman* Patricia E. Burnes* Karl Ebner* Seymore Fenichel* Martha and Joseph Forman* Gitta Frankl* Leda Freedman* Roz Goldberg Grace and Sam Gorlitz Ruth and David Gorton Sheila and Erwin Horwitz Ruth and Jerome Kapner* Robert Kaufman* Elizabeth and William Karbell Litt* Herbert Karol* Raena Korenman David Leavitt* Claire M. Levin Edith Becker Lilienfeld* Sandra and Neil Malamud Mehler-Lublin Family Suzanne and David* Lutkoff Harvey Mendelow* Gladys Mittleman* Majorie and Nelson Newmark* Molly Nierenberg* Ethyl C. Ornstein* Marguerite and Joseph Persky* Ernest Rice* Susan Rosin Marjorie* and Earl Sharff Golda Sands Sharon* Rose and Rabbi Albert Shulman* Sondra and Judge Marvin Silverman* Ned F. Sinder* Helen A. Sobin* Salli Struble* Thea Becker* Trust Gertrude Willens*

The Legacy Society includes Bequests, PACE/LOJE Funds, Scholarship Funds, and Restricted Funds. Please contact Martin Haberer at 941.552.6303 if you have made a bequest in your will, insurance policy, or retirement fund OR if we happened to have missed you. *Deceased The Klingenstein Jewish Center, 580 McIntosh Rd., Sarasota FL 34232

941.371.4546 TheJewishFederation.org

WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

BACK: Dr. G. Harte, Dr. S. Handley, Dr. P. Baldinger, Dr. R. Berkun FRONT: Dr. C.J. Addison, Dr. R. Katz

Sarasota

941.360.9300 |

Cortez Foot & Ankle Specialists CortezFootAndAnkle.com

Bradenton 941.758.8818 |Parrish 941.776.5199

How Far can a DoLLar go TowarD making a DiFFerence in THe Lives oF women & cHiLDren?

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD. The Women’s Giving Circle, or Ma’agal Nashim, is a group of passionate and caring women in Sarasota-Manatee who are committed to making a difference in the lives of women and children in need or at risk.

Ma’agal Nashim is a place for women to explore how we can make a difference, become role models for our families and discover how leadership and philanthropic passions can build a stronger world for women and children.

YOU wILL BE pART Of THE pROCEss. YOUR VOICE wILL BE HEARD.

To become a member or for questions: Contact Ilene Fox at 941.343.2111 or ifox@jfedsrq.org TheJewishFederation.org

14B

JEWISH HAPPENINGS

March 2014

Trust Your Eye Care to

The area’s largest ophthalmology practice: • Murray Friedberg, M.D. • Pooja Khator, M.D.

Specialists.

• Cataract Surgery and Lens Replacement: Crystalens®, Toric™ and ReSTOR®

• Robert Edelman, M.D.

• Allison Menezes, M.D.

• Macular Degeneration

• Scott Silverman, M.D.

• Jeffrey Davis, M.D.

• Eric Berman, M.D.

• Anita Shane, M.D.

• Glaucoma Care

• Robert Sambursky, M.D.

• LASIK Surgery

monday, march 24 Business Networking Event Sponsored by

Come and see what everybody’s talking about! Our last business networking event was such a smash success, we’re doing it again. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cash bar.

Enter to win an advertising media package in The Jewish News or a $25 gift certificate to The Savory Street Café. The event takes place from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at The Savory Street Café, 411 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota.

Cost: $10 admission payable in advance. Space is limited and an RSVP is a must by March 20 to jnew@jfedsrq.org or 941.552.6304. To register online, visit www.jfedsrq.org/events.aspx.

iWitness workshop for middle/high school educators Schedule your appointment today. Call 366-4777 YourEyeDoctors.com 1427 S. Tamiami Trail • 2020 Cattleman Rd., Ste. 500 • 8340 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Ste. 280

The JeWISh FederaTIon oF SaraSoTa-ManaTee InvITeS You To a

Young Adults HAppY Hour Join us for a happy hour of Young Jewish Adults between 21-45 years old. network and schmooze! no rsVp required, just show up!

Tuesday March 11Th 5:30-7:30pm

Louies Modern

1289 n Palm ave, sarasota, FL For more information about the Young Adult Division, please contact Jessi Sheslow: 941.343.2109 or jsheslow@jfedsrq.org

Sponsored by

During this workshop, teachers will be introduced to the use of testimony across content areas and introduced to iWitness as an extension and complement of Echoes and Reflections through a hands-on lab session. The workshop runs from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. on the Federation Campus, 580 McIntosh Road, Sarasota. RSVP to Orna Nissan at 941.552.6305 or onissan@jfedsrq.org or online at www.

TheJewishFederation.org/events.aspx.

The Story of the Jews Simon Schama’s The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words 1000 BC-1492 AD (a new book and television series, soon to air on PBS) takes us all over India, Spain, Oxford, Syria, Paris, Cairo and beyond to show how Jews everywhere lived not as a people apart, but as a vital force in any society they joined, inspiring and being inspired by everything around them. The event begins at 8:00 p.m. at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Cost: $5 (free for TBI members). For more information, contact the TBI office at info@tbi-lbk.org or 941.383.3428.

tuesday, march 25 Cteen “Express Yourself” Cteen is a Jewish teen club that compacts exhilarating fun and meaningful projects into a program that’s thrilling and uniting. Cteen events happen at least monthly, but the moments last a lifetime. Let freedom ring! Rise above addictions and let yourself take wing, shedding your exterior while crafting a peel-less watermelon out of ice cream. This month’s humanitarian focus: Homeless and Partners with Feeding America. This free event begins at 7:30 p.m. at Chabad of Venice, 2169 S. Tamiami Trail. For more information, contact Rivka Schmerling at 941.493.2770 or rivka@chabadofvenice.com.

wednesday, march 26 Book review at Temple Beth Sholom

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Now accepting a limited number of new patients. Call today to learn how life can be simply healthier. 941.953.9080

Marty Cohn will review a new controversial, best-selling book, entitled My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel, by Ari Shavit.

Shavit uses interviews, historical documents, diaries, letters and family stories to explore the tensions present in Israel today from both national and personal perspectives. This free event is open to the public and begins at 1:15 p.m. in the Band/Desenberg Chapel of Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota. For more information, call Arlene Hamburger 941.921.2554.

thursday, march 27 Interfaith Passover Seder Sponsored by

Please join us for our first ever Interfaith Passover Seder. Leaders are Rabbi Howard Simon and Pastor Joey Mimbs. Music by Cantor Marci Vitkus and Pastor Randy Burt with singers from Bethel CME Gospel Choir. Commemorate freedom from slavery with food, friends and music! The Seder takes place from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Michael’s On East, 1212 East Avenue South, Sarasota.

Cost: $36/adult, $18/under 12, table sponsorships available. Must RSVP to Joan Hanley at 941.343.2115 or online at www.TheJewishFederation. org/events.aspx.

SaBra Chapter of Hadassah luncheon Everyone is invited to the “Remember-the-Donor-Luncheon?” which begins at 11:30 a.m. at Michael’s On East, 1212 East Avenue South, Sarasota. The guest speaker is Debbie Friedman, National Board member, Development Division. A program of Yiddish music will be provided by Rhonda Liss. For more information, contact Lee Ruggles at 941.924.1338 or lruggles.sabra@gmail.com.

The Doctor Is In. Always.

Brad S. Lerner, MD Louis M. Cohen, MD 1921 Waldemere Street, Suite 814 Sarasota, FL 34239 LernerCohen.com

941.953.9080

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JEWISH HAPPENINGS 15B March 2014

March 2014

friday, march 28

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“Good News Jews: Defense” Come to the Al Katz Center for a kosher brunch and to learn about current Jewish contributions to the world in military defense. Surrounded by enemies totaling over 500 times its size, Israel is at the cutting edge of defense technologies, including the Iron Dome rocket defense system and various flying, floating and rolling robotics systems. Be informed and inspired by the achievements of the Jewish People in ensuring “Never Again.” Join us at 10:00 a.m. at 713 South Orange Avenue, Burns Square, Sarasota. Cost: $7 per adult; $3 per student; healthy kosher refreshments included. For more information or to RSVP, call Beverly Newman at 941.313.9239.

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sunday, march 30 The Hidden Children Holocaust Memorial Service This memorial service is dedicated to the children of the Holocaust.

Featured speaker Suzanne Vromen escaped Nazi occupation in Belgium and fled with her family to Belgian Congo during the war. Some families were not able to escape and left their children with non-Jewish friends and neighbors who often provided them with new identities and raised them as Christians. Vromen’s book Hidden Children of the Holocaust is available on Amazon and some copies will be available for her to sign at the service.

A musical tribute to children who perished in concentration camps will be presented by the Sarasota Jewish Chorale and Jubilate!, who will be performing a set of poems written by children in Theresienstadt. The poems were found after the war and set to music. Admission is free and everyone is welcome to this event which begins at 3:00 p.m. at the Jewish Congregation of Venice, 600 N. Auburn Road. For more information, call Joel Kreiss at 941.492.3597.

Dinner and a Movie at Temple Sinai

15B

Become a suBscriBer Today! contact Kim Mullins at 941.552.6300 or via email kmullins@jfedsrq.org. or visiT: http://www.jfedsrq.org/jewishnews.aspx

Read the current and previous editions of The Jewish News online at www.jfedsrq.org.

Shanghai Ghetto is the third film in a series of four Dinners and a Movie at Temple Sinai (4631 S. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota). Dinner at 5:00 p.m. features cuisine from China. The film follows dinner and the evening culminates with an engaging discussion with Rabbi Geoff Huntting. This is the third year for this popular dinner, documentary and discussion series from the collection of Dr. Sam and Ina Gross. Cost: $25 for temple members, $35 for guests. To RSVP, call Janet at 941.388.9624 or visit www.templesinai-sarasota.org.

tuesday, april 1 Keyboard Conversations® returns with Jeffrey Siegel Sponsored by

Keyboard Conversations® is primarily a concert; each work on the program is performed in its entirety.

As the significant plus, Jeffrey Siegel will speak briefly and informally to the audience before performing each composition, illustrating with a few pertinent musical examples from the keyboard. Mr. Siegel’s third and final performance this season is entitled, Mistresses and Masterpieces: Loveinspired music by “significant others” in the composer’s personal life.

Poetic, fiery, impassioned music of Brahms, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt and others. The event begins at 8:00 p.m. in the Beatrice Friedman Theater on the Federation Campus, 582 McIntosh Rd., Sarasota. Tickets start at $36.

To RSVP or for more information, visit www.TheJewishFederation.org or contact Len Steinberg at 941.552.6301 or lsteinberg@jfedsrq.org.

thursday, april 3 Music Makes Community Sponsored by

Presented by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, in partnership with the Rabbinical Association of Sarasota-Manatee and area religious institutions, Music Makes Community features the Sacred Service (Avodath Hakodesh) by Ernest Bloch. World-renowned choral director Matthew Lazar from New York and Israel will conduct, and Jason Stearns of the Metropolitan Opera will serve as baritone soloist. Fifty of our area’s finest professional instrumentalists and a festival choir will accompany Stearns. In the second half of the concert, Maestro Lazar will conduct an inspiring cantorial section of works for choir and cantorial soloists, highlighting our area’s talented cantors: Cantor Jeff Weber, Cantor Deborah Jacobson, Cantor Cliff Abramson and Cantor Riselle Bain. The final section of this unique evening will be Bima to Broadway, including selections from Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, and George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. The concert will close with a performance of Rhapsody in Blue. The performance begins at 8:15 p.m. at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets for the performance are available at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall box office, www.vanwezel.org or 941.953.3368.

ConneCt with your Jewish Community facebook.com/jfedsrq

Music Makes Community

EXCLUSIVE NEWSPAPER SPONSOR

THURSDAY, APRIL 3 @ 8:15 PM Join us for Jewish music for the next generation sung by a community festival chorus and orchestra led by world famous choral director, Matthew Lazar and the Metropolitan Opera’s Jason Stearns, featuring “The Sacred Service” of Ernest Bloch and interdenominational soloists performing selections from popular Broadway musicals.

MATTHEW LAZAR CONDUCTOR

JASON STEARNS BARITONE

VAN WEZEL PERFORMING ARTS HALL 777 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL

A Celebration of Jewish Music for Sarasota-Manatee TO PURCHASE TICKETS VISIT

www.VanWezel.org

16B

March 2014

“WE ARE HERE TO MAKE ANOTHER WORLD.” W. EDWARDS DEMING

At Gulf Coast Community Foundation, we focus on what matters most to this community.

Feeding hungry families. Helping homeless students stabilize their lives. Training workers for real jobs that local businesses need to grow. Investing in vital arts groups that create a measurable economic benefit—and an immeasurable emotional one.

In all of this and more, no one is more active— proactive even—than our donors. Contact us to learn how Gulf Coast can help you remake our community through your philanthropy.

TOGETHER WITH OuR DONORS, WE TRANSFORM OuR REGION THROuGH bOLD AND pROACTIvE pHILANTHROpy.

941.486.4600 | GulfCoastCF.org

Here are a few of the initiatives through which Gulf Coast and our donors are transforming our region.

Contact us to learn how you can get involved.

HOMELESS CHILDREN IN SCHOOL

FEEDING HUNGRY FAMILIES We connect bright ideas with the right resources to launch new businesses.

AN INITIATIVE OF