Spring 2008 B'nai B'rith Magazine

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Israel at 60

Sallai Meridor: An Ambassador’s View Israel: A Different Country than Planned

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M a g a z i n e COVER Package

12 Israel at 60

Living in Israel in the 21st century, one might wonder what Theodor Herzl would think of this modern-day state. The malarial swamps of pre-state Palestine have been replaced by rapidly growing cities with glitzy shopping districts, carefully landscaped parks, and six-lane highways that run between high-rise office buildings and limestone apartment complexes. The nation whose birth defied the odds in a war of independence against invading Arab armies to the north, east, and south has become a regional military superpower. In all likelihood, Zionism’s founder would not even recognize the place. By Uriel Heilman

16 Israel Soldiers On

When Israel celebrated its unexpected and overwhelming victory over its Arab neighbors in the 1967 Six-Day War, Israelis across the political spectrum and Jews around the world greeted the Jewish state’s capture of new territories with great enthusiasm and excitement. However, both the right and left wings of the Israeli political spectrum failed to foresee the demographic, ethical, and security challenges millions of Palestinians would pose, and Israelis failed to prepare for those hardships. By Uriel Heilman

22 Ambassador Meridor Sallai Meridor, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, has had a long and varied diplomatic and civil career, but one that the low-key diplomat has mostly spent out of the limelight. Appointed to his post by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2006, Meridor shares his views on Israel at 60; Cover: Israelis wave the national flag renewed chances for peace in while marching in a Jerusalem Day the region; and the Iran parade near Jerusalem’s Old City. nuclear threat. By Janet Lubman Rathner

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Domestic Abuse

It means “peace at home,” but Shalom Bayit—the concept of Jewish domestic bliss—is a goal that can prove painfully elusive. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5.3 million acts of domestic violence are committed annually against women in the United States, leading to 2 million injuries and 1,300 deaths. Experts say it is difficult to ascertain how many families are caught in the web of domestic violence but note that it is a vastly under-reported problem—for the Jewish community in particular. By Janet Lubman Rathner

29Elder Abuse

There is no cut-off age for victims of domestic abuse. According to information from B’nai B’rith International and the National Center on Elder Abuse, hundreds of thousands of seniors across the country are victims of this type of cruelty. And sometimes, it is family members committing the abusive acts.

spring 2008 By Janet Lubman Rathner

Photo by Kevin Frayer/Associated Press

Being ‘On the Road’ Makes Sense By Moishe Smith, President, B’nai B’rith International

DEPARTMENTS From the EVP 8 Up Front 11

Jewish

Planned Giving 31 Reverse Mortgages 38

Letters to the Editor 46

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Passover Pet Food

While there’s nothing in the Bible about man’s best friend and other companion animals keeping kosher, Passover’s no-chametz-in-the-house rule can give petowners’ pause. That’s because grain fillers, flour, and yeast are standard ingredients in numerous pet-food offerings, whether those pets be dog, cat, bird, or fish. However, boutique pet-food companies are helping petlovers resolve the dilemma Passover presents. By Janet Lubman Rathner

Being ‘On the Road’ Makes Sense

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Point of View

By Moishe Smith, President, B’nai B’rith International

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raveling the world on behalf of B’nai B’rith International (BBI) is the privilege of the international president — and the responsibility. Why is travel so important? It is imperative that we bring the message of our work to B’nai B’rith members, to Jews, and to non-Jews around the world. We also must make foreign leaders and governments aware of our concerns and interests. Although immediate results may not be apparent, we are making an important investment in building a better world for the Jewish and non-Jewish communities of the world. Investment is a key reason I travel as well: to seek financial and philosophical buy-in from members and supporters of BBI. I am on a mission to try to change the BBI culture from an organization based on praiseworthy humanitarian deeds to one that does activist work on the ground, around the world, in support of Israel and Jews everywhere. And for this, you need financial support. Fundraising is the number-one priority on my administrative agenda. I ask people to financially support our organization because I know first-hand the value we bring to the protection of human rights and human freedoms, and the protection of free press and human dignities for all communities around the globe, not only the Jewish community. B’nai B’rith is represented—and respected—in 18 (soon to be 19) countries of Latin America; we are valued by elected officials at the municipal, regional, state, and national levels. They look to us as a valued and accredited member of civil society at 6 Spring 2008

the Organization of American States (OAS), where we were the first Jewish organization to achieve accredited observer status. In November 2007, I attended the annual commemoration of Kristallnacht in Uruguay. The B’nai B’rith auditorium was filled to capacity with 600 people. Senators, congressmen, municipal officers, members of the Jewish community, and, indeed, the sitting president of Uruguay and two immediate past presidents were in attendance. B’nai B’rith Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin eloquently delivered the keynote address to thunderous applause. While there, Dan and I had an opportunity to once again renew the relationship between B’nai B’rith International and Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez Rosas, who reminded us of the strength of B’nai B’rith in Latin America. We also traveled to Porto Alegre, Brazil, a community without the presence of B’nai B’rith leadership for more than eight years. Dan and I were greeted by more than 200 Jewish community members and leaders who attended the gathering to get a briefing from Dan and me. This is the strength of B’nai B’rith in Latin America! Also in November of 2007, I traveled to Mexico, where I had the occasion to celebrate 75 years of BBI history there. The Mexican leadership scheduled three visits for me to meet and talk with government officials. At each meeting, we discussed the need for a Holocaust remembrance program, with the occasion being commemorated at the highest level of government in Mexico City. While there, I asked one of our lay leaders

to schedule fundraising appointments. This, right after he made his gift commitment to me because he understood the need to keep our programs and services alive. And, indeed, at the end of January 2008, I returned to Mexico City when the BBI Holocaust initiative became a reality. This overwhelming attendance by B’nai B’rith leadership and communal leadership is duplicated in many of the countries of Latin America. So, when people ask why I spend so much time continuing to develop relationships with our BBI community on the ground in Latin America, the reasons are clear: The Latin American Jewish community embraces the work of BBI and continues to see that it makes an impact on the quality of life for all people. I know of no other way to create culture change within BBI and support this change than through my travel and outreach to our overseas membership. Everyone in business knows it takes money to make money. In addition, it takes people of vision and hope to change the culture of our organization so we may enjoy vigorous growth over the next 10 years. I have had the opportunity of late to visit Europe, when B’nai B’rith opened a new office in Brussels. We had an attendance of about 200 people at the grand opening celebration, and the accolades paid to us by Israeli dignitaries, and indeed by members of the European parliament, would have made the proudest lodge member kvell with pride. From Brussels, I traveled to Düsseldorf, Germany, where we celebrated 50 years of

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B’nai B’rith history. We met the leadership of B’nai B’rith Europe (BBE). Many of the young and vibrant members expressed enthusiasm for strengthening BBE and increasing Israel activism, fighting antisemitism, and supporting our work in Latin America, while learning first-hand about the BBI global agenda. They are proud to be part of our worldwide organization because of the work we continue to do after 165 years. I travel outside the United States to listen to our constituency, to be an ambassador for our mission, to talk about the need for our brothers and sisters to support B’nai B’rith financially, and to understand we are, indeed, our brother’s keeper. In my humble opinion, we must continue to support our global infrastructure in more than 50 countries around the world.

B’nai B’rith is my passion. Keeping the Jewish community safe and secure is my passion. Keeping Israel free from harm’s way is my passion. I am asking all of you to embrace this new BBI culture and vision, and take the phrase “we are our brother’s keeper” to heart. Let us use it as a model to spread the 165-year legacy of BBI not only to the more than 50 countries around the globe where BBI has members and supporters on the ground, but to the ever-shrinking global community in which we all live. Some may think I should curtail my travel. I’d ask you to give it some thought. Given the task, shouldn’t the international president of B’nai B’rith go where he can make the most significant impact in promoting our mission and helping our world?

Editor’s Note We are dedicating a good portion of this issue to the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel. As she celebrates this milestone in May, it seems appropriate to look beyond the ever-present threat of war and focus both on the Jewish state’s challenges—and accomplishments. In these 60 years, Israel has secured a place among the world’s nations, despite overwhelming security threats. Israel today boasts bustling cities; concert halls and theaters; centers of science, technology, and learning; skyscrapers; a stock exchange; and a thriving nonprofit sector. But Israel also has poverty, failing schools, government corruption, run-down neighborhoods, traffic hassles, drug problems, and crime. Uriel Heilman takes a look at Israel’s past, present, and future, in a story that extols the good, confronts the bad, and examines the Jewish state’s future obstacles, not the least of which being the search for security. In an accompanying piece, Heilman focuses on how the West Bank and Gaza remain Israel’s most vexing obsessions and enduring conundrums—how the Palestinian-Israeli conflict dominates the country’s political

discourse and is the sticking point in Israel’s ties with governments around the world. We also have an interview with Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Sallai Meridor, who sat down with Senior Editor Jan Rathner to share his views on the threat of a nuclear Iran, pressures overcome by—and still facing—the Jewish state, and the pride that should be taken in her accomplishments. In his quarterly column, B’nai B’rith International’s Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin reflects on “Israel at 60,” which he says has always been part of his persona, and shows how critical parts of the Jewish state’s history affected his life. On a different note, Rathner has two stories that examine the proliferation of silent phenomena of abuse in the Jewish community: domestic violence and mistreatment of the elderly. We at B’nai B’rith International congratulate the State of Israel on reaching her landmark, and wish you and yours a Happy Passover. Hiram M. Reisner Editorial Director, B’nai B’rith International

Vol 122, no. 1

Moishe Smith President, B’nai B’rith International Daniel S. Mariaschin Executive Vice President Deborah Auerbach-Deutsch Vice President, Communications Hiram M. Reisner Editorial Director Janet Lubman Rathner Senior Editor Alison Goldstein Assistant Editor Simeon Montesa Art Director Vivian Hayward Graphic Designer Ruth E. Thaler-Carter Copy Editor Harvey Berk Production and Advertising Manager Advertising Office: Fulton Advertising (301) 604-3466 Editorial Offices: 2020 K St., NW, 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 (202) 857-6534 or Email: bbmag@bnaibrith.org Readership: Approximately 175,000 Signed articles represent the opinions of their authors and are not necessarily the view of B’nai B’rith or B’nai B’rith Magazine. Return postage must accompany unsolicited material, for which no responsibility is assumed. Contents ©2008 by B’nai B’rith. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. The B’nai B’rith Magazine (ISSN 1549-4799) is published quarterly (Spring, Summer, Fall, (continued on pg. 9) Winter) by B’nai B’rith, 2020 K St., NW, 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20006, and is indexed in the Index to Jewish Periodicals. Subscription rates: U.S. and possessions, one year, nonmember, $12; Canadian member, $12; Canada non-member, $17; overseas member (outside U.S. and Canada), $36; overseas non-member (outside U.S. and Canada), $48. Members of Hillel and BBYO, $7.50. $5 of member dues goes toward B’nai B’rith Magazine. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and additional mailing offices. Notification of address change should be sent to Circulation, 2020 K St., NW, 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20006, or call 888-388-4224. Please allow six to eight weeks for change. Postmaster: Send address changes to B’nai B’rith Magazine, 2020 K St., NW, 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20006. B’Nai B’rith 7

My Israel at 60 By Daniel S. Mariaschin Executive Vice President, B’nai B’rith International

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his story begins with two items on a mantelpiece: one, a family photo of our relatives in Israel; the other, a little copper locket souvenir of Israel which, when opened, produced an accordion-like series of photos of the Holy Land. To a six-year-old passing the mantelpiece a dozen times a day, these objects were often the subject of immense curiosity. Who were these cousins whom I’d never met, but with whom my mother corresponded, it seemed, on a regular basis? The copper photo locket was interesting, at first, because it was something to open and close. But, as I got older, I would look at the old black-and-white photos of biblical sites in Israel in a bit of wonderment, trying to place them in some kind of context with my Hebrew school lessons. Israel, it seems, was always a part of my persona. In 1956, when I was seven, the Suez Campaign took place. That war became part of our evening table talk, especially—but not only—because of our relatives living in Israel. What a young child remembers! I recall my father reading from a newspaper that “Israel had captured thousands of Egyptian army blankets” and picturing the scene in my mind’s eye. In our house, the French, who had helped finance the Suez Canal, stood tall in those days, as their government, in particular, was closely allied with the Jewish state. My parents were immigrants from Eastern Europe, and they were both solidly

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anchored in Zionism. My father told me that, in his house in a Russian shtetl, there was always a picture of Theodor Herzl, and a Keren Kayemet pushke (charity box) on the mantelpiece. On the evening before his family left for America in 1913, my father told me that he and his best friend pledged “to meet again in Palestine.” My mother had a similar orientation. In 1913, as a young girl, she was chosen, along with a friend, to bring greetings to the opening of the newly built synagogue in Bangor, Maine. In her remarks, she informed the congregation about her youth group, the Young Maccabeans. “Its members,” she stated, “try to enthuse themselves [with] that noble Hebrew spirit which animated the Maccabeans…our purpose is to once more uplift the Hebrew flag without wishing in any way to detract from the greatness of…or our allegiance to, the Stars and Stripes.” For me, like so many others of my generation, the Six-Day War was a defining, personal moment. In May 1967, we watched the drama unfold in slow motion: the removal of United Nations peacekeepers from the Sinai; the closing of the Straits of Tiran by Egypt; the darkening of the geopolitical sky during the drift toward war; and the general feeling that tiny Israel was going to be abandoned by the world’s democracies. We felt good about the fact that our ambassador to the United Nations was Arthur Goldberg, and that President Johnson seemed favorably inclined toward

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Point of View

Israel. But, hearing the venomous speeches of Arab representatives and those in support of them, especially the Soviets, made one wonder about where all of this was leading. On the morning of June 5, I was in the high-school cafeteria, waiting in a knot of friends for classes to begin. Graduation was only 10 days away, and we were all in a pretty jocular mood. My best friend—who had apparently heard the news from the Middle East before leaving for school— came up to me and said, “Boy, you guys are really giving it to the Arabs.” The rest of the day was spent calling my father between classes and listening to the radio in the school office, to get any bit of information about what was transpiring. In the afternoon, I learned that Israel had destroyed the Arab air forces on the ground. It seemed as if my heart pounded for six days. Each evening, the TV was always tuned to the network news and broadcasts from the U.N. Security Council. We watched with pride and fascination as Abba Eban, the most eloquent diplomat of his era, addressed the Security Council, sitting only a few feet from those who were representing Israel’s Arab enemies. His comments were, at the same time, strong and magnanimous. He proposed peace between Israel and the Arabs. Almost from the beginning, those hopes— and that extended hand—were dashed and rejected. The famous Arab “Three Nos”—no recognition, no peace, no negotiations— were declared at a summit meeting in Khar-

Israel at 60

toum led by Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser, in September 1967. That was followed by the War of Attrition between Israel and Egypt, and then, not too long after, by the Yom Kippur War. Along the way, Arab rejectionism and the rise of Palestinian terrorism left in their wake thousands of Israeli casualties, both military and civilian. Recently, we observed the 30th anniversary of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem and the warm welcome he received from Prime Minister Menachem Begin and from all Israelis and Jews, like us, in the Diaspora. The peace with Egypt— albeit cold—and that with Jordan gave us the hope, and expectation, that more of the same could, and would, follow. Indeed, the 1993 Oslo Accords and the “handshake on the White House lawn” suggested a breakthrough in resolving the most contentious of the Israeli-Arab conflicts— that with the Palestinians. Today, 14 years later, we are still waiting. Israelis—despite intifadas and murderous suicide bombings, incitement, and unbridled terror—by an overwhelming majority still favor a two-state solution to the conflict. The Annapolis Conference of 2007 is the latest attempt to bring this about. We must be hopeful—but history, and my natural cynicism, tells me the jury is certainly still out.

h I visited Israel for the first time in 1972, as a graduate student. At my first free moment, I contacted the cousins in the picture on our mantelpiece. They are a real halutz family: kibbutz members who, from their arrival in Palestine in the early 1930s, have suffered the tragedies and experienced the triumphs of so many Israelis. One cousin was killed on the Golan Heights in the first days of the Yom Kip-

pur War; an older brother in a military plane crash died (on his way home to see his ailing father) a year later. They are a talented and cultured family, with a special focus on music and art. I still stay in close contact with the matriarch of the family, my cousin Dalia. I made it a point to visit Israel every year thereafter. I took a job with the American Zionist Federation in 1975 and, a year later, married an Israeli, herself an immigrant from India. My sister and her family made aliyah in 1976. I have been fortunate, working as a professional in the Jewish community for almost 35 years, to visit Israel at least once a year. During that period, I’ve met with most of Israel’s top policymakers. Following what happens in Israel has become part of my daily routine. As many of you do, I often start my day by looking for news from the Middle East. And sometimes, even when I’m not looking, the news comes at me anyway. The frustration that, after so many years, peace has not been attainable grates on us. Even the Annapolis gathering, which should have been a cause for a modicum of optimism, was shaken only days before its opening, when the Saudi foreign minister, ostensibly there to support peace between Israel and the Palestinians, announced he would not even shake the hand of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Two days into the Six-Day War, Eban addressed the U.N. Security Council: “Israel in recent days has proved its steadfastness and vigor. It is now willing to demonstrate its instinct for peace. Let us build a new system of relationships from the wreckage of the old. Let us discern across the darkness the vision of a better and brighter dawn.” What better gift could Israel—and all of us—receive on its 60th anniversary, than the realization of Eban’s vision.

Clarification: In the fall 2006 issue of B’nai B’rith Magazine, the trademarked OK Kosher Certification symbol was used in a photo illustration on page 54 without authorization. We regret this mistake. The Editor.

B’NAI B’RITH INTERNATIONAL International President Moishe Smith Honorary Presidents Gerald Kraft Seymour D. Reich Kent E. Schiner Tommy P. Baer Richard D. Heideman Joel S. Kaplan Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin Honorary Executive Vice President Dr. Sidney M. Clearfield Chairman of the Executive Dennis W. Glick Senior Vice Presidents John R. Rofel Seymour G. Saideman Harold I. Steinberg Jacobo Wolkowicz Treasurer Harold Shulman International Vice Presidents Pablo Sergio Grinstein Argentina Dr. Peter Schiff Australia and New Zealand Matilde Groisman Gus Brazil Rochelle Wilner Canada Leon Cohen Chile, Bolivia, and Peru John Manheim Europe John P. Reeves Europe Arie Bar Zion Israel Leon Birbragher Northern Latin America and the Caribbean Daniel Mermelstein Uruguay and Paraguay

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Up Front

‘Meadow Soprano’ Goes Home to Israel She is indelibly stamped as the über Mafia princess, but, as her recent TaglitBirthright Israel tour participation makes clear, Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s portrayal of Meadow Soprano truly was an act. She’s Jewish. Sigler’s father’s European Jewish family hails from Greece and Romania. Her mother is Cuban and converted to Judaism after meeting him. They raised their thespian daughter in a Jewish home on Long Island, N.Y. Sigler attended Hebrew school and had a bat

mitzvah. Now, with the celebrated HBO show “The Sopranos” relegated to reruns, and the demands of weekly television—at least temporarily—behind her, Sigler, 26, went on a Taglit-Birthright Israel trip. The program, whose mission is to diminish the gap between Israel and Jewish communities around the world, arranges free 10-day tours to Israel for Jewish adults between the ages of 18 and 26. Birthright Israel has seen its popularity soar and said it received 14,000 applicants

for its spring and summer trips on the first day of registration this year. Birthright Israel has doubled its number of trips since casino mogul Sheldon Adelson pledged $60 million to the group in late 2006. Sigler’s trip included visits to the Western Wall and Yad Vashem. She has been quoted as saying her Birthright experience solidified her Jewish connection. For more information on Birthright, please visit www.birthrightisrael.com. Janet Lubman Rathner

Postcards from Jewish Life Past Before there was email, instant messaging, or reliable telephone service, there were postcards. This short form of communication was at its most popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. European and American Jews, like their Christian neighbors, were caught up in the fad of sending notes fronted with images depicting their turn-of-the-century lives. Many of these postcards have survived in private collections, including the 7,000-piece assemblage belonging to Stephanie Comfort of Dallas. In addition to the postcards of Jews at worship, work, and play, Comfort’s collection also includes some that are antisemitic and date from the Holocaust. She said she wanted these postcards because soon there will be no one left who either experienced or knew someone who lived through the most horrific event of the last century. To make sure those times are not forgotten, Comfort displays portions of her collection at her Dallas synagogue, Temple Shalom. Temple members can come and find pictures of their ancestral shtetls and towns, and see for themselves what Jewish life was like, once upon a time. Stephanie Comfort’s postcard collection can be viewed at http://flickr.com/photos/9679871@N04.

Janet Lubman Rathner

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Photo courtesy State of Israel Ministry of Tourism

Israel at 60

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ERUSALEM—Living in Israel in the 21st century, one might wonder what Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, would think of this modern-day state. The malarial swamps of pre-state Palestine have been replaced by rapidly growing cities with glitzy shopping districts, carefully landscaped parks, and six-lane highways that run between high-rise office buildings and limestone apartment complexes. The agricultural pioneers of the era of the Halutzim, who struggled to sow the seeds of the new nation-state, armed with simple hoes, have been succeeded by settlers in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley, who have installed hightech drip-irrigation devices to hydrate hybrid tomatoes for export to markets in London, Paris, and New York. And the nation whose birth defied the odds in a war of independence against invading Arab armies to the north, east, and south has become a regional military superpower with an assumed nuclear arsenal, a crack air force, and peace treaties with two of its Arab neighbors. Agricultural settlements have turned into sprawling cities; the 1948 population of

roughly 800,000 has swelled to more than 7 million. And—perhaps most important of all—the Jewish state has become home to Jews from Russia, other parts of Europe, Iran, Ethiopia, Argentina, Egypt, North America, India, and too many other places to mention. Sixty years on, Israel has much to celebrate, having created a vibrant, diverse, and occasionally bewildering society virtually from scratch. In all likelihood, Herzl would not even recognize the place. “I think Herzl would be so perplexed,” says veteran Israeli journalist Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center, a conservative think tank in Jerusalem, and a contributing editor with the New Republic. “He wouldn’t know in what proportion to be thrilled and disappointed. Israel bears no resemblance to what Herzl imagined— conceiving a Jewish state from the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire.” Herzl envisioned a socialist utopia that would combine the best of European culture and Jewish ingenuity, imagining Jerusalem as the home of both a Palace of Peace, which would arbitrate international disputes, and the Jewish Holy Temple, which would be rebuilt

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Photo courtesy BBI archives

Israel at 60

according to modern, modified specifications. In his famous work, “Altneuland” (“Old-New Land”), Arabs hardly merit mention. Halevi says Herzl would find Israel’s radical Jewish diversity most perplexing. “The East-West mixture, the racial mixture of Israel, Ethiopian culture, Moroccan music—all the elements that make Israel so unpredictable and so interesting are elements Herzl couldn’t conceive of, sitting in Vienna in the beginning of the 20th century,” Halevi says.

A Dream Close to Fulfilled

In many ways, however, Herzl’s dream of a Jewish state has been fulfilled. Israel has secured its place among the world’s nations, even though its leaders bemoan the threat posed by Iran and the demographic threat represented by the Palestinians. Israel boasts bustling cities, concert halls, theaters, centers of science and learning, skyscrapers, a stock exchange, and a thriving nonprofit sector. On the flip side, as a state like any other, Israel also has poor people, failing schools, 1 4 S PRING 2 0 0 8

government corruption, run-down neighborhoods, traffic, drug problems, and criminals. And, after 60 years, Israel still faces basic questions of existence and character most countries resolved long ago: Can the state be both Jewish and democratic? What will the final borders of the country look like? Where, exactly, is the balance between religious and secular, Arab rights and Jewish character, change and preservation, future and history? Sixty years on, the battle for Israel’s soul is far from over. Tel Aviv leftists debate right-wing settlers about whether the final borders of the state should encompass the West Bank or run along the pre-1967 border. Secular yuppies from Herzliya lobby to be able to buy pork products and shrimp in their local supermarkets, while Knesset-sanctioned inspectors slap fines on malls that open on Shabbat. Russian-Israelis say Israeli immigration policies unfairly exclude their non-Jewish relatives, while yeshiva rabbis warn that an influx of foreign laborers and non-Jewish immigrants erodes the state’s Jewish character.

Arab-Israelis from Jerusalem ask why their Palestinian cousins from nearby Bethlehem are barred from visiting them, while a Jew from Chicago can become an Israeli citizen simply by showing up at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv with a letter from her rabbi. These are the growing pains of a state that, 60 years after its founding, still hasn’t quite decided what it wants to be. Eliezer Ya’ari, the Israel director of the New Israel Fund, says the battle for Israel’s soul is between those who want her to be a democratic state like any other and those who want it to be a Jewish state. “There is a constant fight in Israel between the ‘Jews’ and the ‘Israelis,’” Ya’ari says. “The ‘Israelis’ want to become part of the Middle East,” he explained; the “Jews” want Israel to be at one with Diaspora Jewry, rather than of a piece with its neighbors and its own Arab citizens. Yet, even as they struggle with these basic questions, Israelis are continuing to build the state. This, essentially, is how Israel has developed throughout its six decades: Always in a state of emergency, under the threat of

wars or terrorism, with the great questions of society still unanswered, Israelis have forged communities, launched companies, started rock bands, built cities, gone to cafés, and raised their families. This perseverance—the carrying on of daily life, despite all the craziness—is what has sustained Israel for 60 years. “Despite all of the self-criticism that we have in Israel, we can’t lose sight of the fact that Israel is a modern miracle,” says Alan Schneider, director of the B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem. “Israel is the realization of a 2,000-year-old dream [and] has had the stamina to found a society on ancient foundations, including a language, while successfully meeting existential threats throughout its history and absorbing a multitude of immigrants from various backgrounds and building a modern economy.”

Growth and Innovation

One would be hard-pressed to find another country in the world that has experienced as rapid growth over the span of just six decades as Israel. That such growth has occurred amid frequent wars, the constant scourge of terrorism, and other daily challenges has made it all the more remarkable. More than anything else, Israel owes its growth to immigration. The millions of Jews who have come to Israel’s shores—by boat, airplane, and secret missions—have been the lifeblood of the Jewish state. They have created the country’s national institutions; populated its universities; wear the uniforms of the Israel Defense Forces; start its innovative companies; lead its yeshivas; and even work the farms that dot the landscape in the state’s picturesque pastures. Israel’s prime ministers have come from Russia, Poland, and Milwaukee. Even the current generation of political leaders includes some relatively recent immigrants: Natan Sharansky and Avigdor Lieberman are both from the former Soviet Union. Despite the apparent lack of natural resources in Israel—the country has no oil reserves to tap, no verdant breadbasket, limited water, and a relatively small population—Israel has made the most of its greatest resource: its people. Jewish ingenuity has made Israel a center of innovation, from medical breakthroughs to emerging technologies to the marketplace of ideas. Israel at 60, continued on pg. 18 B’Nai B’rith 15

Photo by Uriel Heilman

Jerusalem—When Israel celebrated its unexpected and overwhelming victory over its Arab neighbors in the 1967 Six-Day War, Israelis across the political spectrum and Jews around the world greeted the Jewish state’s capture of new territories with great enthusiasm and excitement. Finally, the West Bank and all of Jerusalem had come under Jewish control—as well as the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights. At the time, few Israelis questioned the wisdom of holding onto these alluring lands, steeped in Jewish heritage and history. However, both the right and left wings of the Israeli political spectrum failed to foresee the demographic, ethical, and security challenges millions of Palestinians would pose, and Israelis failed to prepare for those hardships. Forty years later, as Israel prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary, the West Bank and Gaza remain Israel’s most vexing obsessions and enduring conundrums. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict dominates the country’s political discourse. It’s the sticking point in Israel’s ties with governments around the world. It’s the single greatest drain on the country’s military and security resources, and, most years, it is the cause of the majority of Israel’s 1 6 S PRING 2 0 0 8

military casualties. It affects the country’s morale, economic health, and social cohesion. Many Israelis believe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unavoidable, and that it stems from Palestinians’ lack of acceptance of Israel’s existence. It’s not just that the Palestinians want Jews out of the West Bank, they say, it’s that they want the Jewish state out of the Middle East. The ideological underpinnings of Hamas reject the existence of the Jewish state. As evidence, Israelis cite the persistence of daily rocket fire at Israel from the Gaza Strip, from which Israel withdrew in August 2005. Even if most Palestinians were willing to live at peace with Israel, they note, there are enough militant spoilers out there to ensure that doesn’t happen. Others say the conflict stems from Israel’s restrictions on millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, and that the key to resolving the conflict is handing those territories over to full Palestinian control. But even for this camp, the question is how, exactly, to accomplish that, given the current circumstances: a Gaza dominated by militant Palestinians under the aegis of Hamas; a politically weak, corrupt, and largely illegitimate Palestinian Authority government; nearly a quarter-million Jewish settlers living in the West Bank; and persistent concerns about

the willingness and ability of the Palestinians’ leadership to live peacefully alongside Israel.

BBI Poll Shows Security Worries

Reflecting Israelis’ lack of faith in the possibility of peace with the Palestinians right now, 66 percent of respondents to a recent B’nai B’rith International survey said they oppose a peace deal that would have Israel return to its pre-1967 borders. The survey, of 500 Israelis in January, showed that only 26 percent support a return to 1967 borders. “The findings clearly demonstrate that Israelis are focused on the peace process,” says Alan Schneider, director of the B’nai B’rith World Center in Israel. “While these views could change once an agreement is presented to the public, these results show Israelis right now are not comfortable in light of current security issues.” At Israel’s 60th birthday, there is still no solution in sight to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The vision of Greater Israel basically has been ceded, with even most of the movement’s leadership admitting that holding onto the entire West Bank is unrealistic, for reasons of both security and demography. Aside from the security threat, Israel will not last long as a Jewish state if its population includes the approximately 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank, not to mention the 1.3 million in Gaza. For all but the far right, therefore, the argument today is over how much of the West Bank to hand over to the Palestinians, not whether to yield any of it. Likewise, the vision of peaceful coexistence with the Palestinians has been discredited by the collapse of the era of the Oslo Accords, resulting from the Palestinians’ rejection of the 2000 Camp David peace deal, the launching of the second intifada, and the marginalization of moderate Palestinians. The victory by Hamas—a terrorist group sworn to Israel’s destruction—over the relatively moderate Fatah faction in the most recent Palestinian legislative elections, in January 2006, underscored that transformation. Today, even the most dovish Israelis say the likelihood of a peace deal succeeding is seriously challenged by the political weakness of the Mahmoud Abbas-led Palestinian Authority.

Israel at 60

Another approach—unilateralism—has failed as well, Israeli analysts say. Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000 enabled Hezbollah to strengthen its grip over South Lebanon and build up the threat to Israel. That danger was realized in the summer of 2006, when Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 Katyusha rockets into northern Israel during its 34-day war with the Jewish state. Similarly, Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in August 2005 was followed by Hamas winning Palestinian legislative elections, Hamas routing Fatah from Gaza in June 2006, and a sharp rise in rocket attacks from Gaza on Israeli communities across the border. Most recently, Hamas’ breach of the Gaza-Egypt border in January, foiling Israel’s strategy of isolating the extremist Islamic regime, has made things only more difficult for Israel. At 60, Israel is at an impasse. “This is the first time in the history of the state where no one has any idea, truly, of how to move forward,” says Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center, a conservative think tank in Jerusalem.

peace, and remain hopeful that, one day, peace will come. But in the meantime, they’re getting on with their lives. “Israelis believe in the country. Israelis

believe in Israeli society,” Halevi says. “People continue to be ready to give their lives for this country, which means that most of us believe it’s still a privilege to be here.”

Resilient Despite Corrosive Conflict

Every day of stalemate comes at a price: New rocket salvoes claim more Israeli lives and livelihoods; Palestinian militants smuggle additional arms into Gaza from Egypt; and Jewish and Palestinian settlements in the West Bank become more and more intertwined. Nevertheless, Israel’s resiliency, despite the persistence of this corrosive conflict, is a testament to the strength of the country and its people. The army remains strong, terrorismrelated deaths are down, and Israel is growing in nearly every respect. “There’s been a tremendous resilience in Israel—being able to develop in other areas, while successive governments muddle through in the area of Israeli-Palestinian peace,” Schneider says. “In the economic realm, technology, science, and even diplomacy, Israel’s made tremendous strides in the last 15 years, despite this continuing strife with the Palestinians.” Israelis still wait for the day when their neighbors are ready to live with them in B’Nai B’rith 17

Israel at 60, continued from pg. 15

Photo by Uriel Heilman

Israel has more companies listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange than any other country outside the United States. The world’s leading technology companies, including Intel, IBM, and Microsoft, maintain extensive R&D facilities in Israel. The country has the highest proportion in the world of university graduates per capita. Outside of Europe and North America, Israel leads in the number of patent applications. Israelis invented the video camera that fits inside a pill, giving doctors a new, non-invasive way to view their patients’ insides. Four young Israelis invented the first instant-messaging technology, known as ICQ, which was later sold to America Online. The “disk-on-key”—or flash drive—now used almost universally in place of diskettes, was created in Israel. “Israel has the highest concentration of talent in the world,” says Moshe Kaveh, president of Bar-Ilan University, the nation’s largest educational institution. David Brinn, until recently the Israel director of Israel21c, an organization that disseminates information about Israel beyond the Arab-Israeli conflict, says the Israeli knack for innovation has to do with the chaotic nature of life here. “The innovativeness and the improvisational aspects of Israeli society have really helped,” Brinn says. “It’s a combination of necessity— not having natural resources, like oil—and having to use just your own ingenuity. “It’s about using a Jewish mind,” he says. “We don’t have anything else to work with.” Brinn and others attribute that ingenuity in large part to the army, where Israelis learn at a young age how to adapt and find solutions to life-threatening problems. “Having to react on the fly and do things quickly has…been a real asset,” Brinn says. That ingenuity carries forward later in life, which is partly why Israel has been such a successful incubator for start-up companies. Investors continue to flock to Israel to invest their money in what has become known as the Silicon Valley of the Middle East. “There’s so much vitality. There’s so much creativity,” gushes Halevi, of the Shalem Center. “Israelis are an extremely restless and creative people. We have the second-highest number of high-tech start-ups in the world.

That’s a manifestation of the result of restlessness here. “The thing about Israel is you never know what’s coming next, and the changes happen very quickly.”

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Competing with the Diaspora

With such restiveness, it’s no surprise Israel also has the highest proportion in the world of people who travel abroad. Crammed into such a small country, Israelis often speak of the need to escape—whether for a weekend shopping trip in London, a summer trekking in the Andes, a year at an ashram in India, or a stint at a technology company in California. Sometimes, they don’t come back. Kaveh says this is because, as Israelis become stars in the worlds of high-tech, business, academia, and even entertainment, they often move abroad where there are more opportunities, bigger paychecks, and larger markets. Because Bar-Ilan is a research institution with limited means, Kaveh says he feels this brain drain acutely. “The state almost cannot provide the conditions that exist at labs at other universities around the world. My budget is 10 percent of that of a mid-sized university in the United States,” he notes. The brain drain is not just in academia. Corporate titan Lev Leviev, Israel’s richest man and originally an immigrant from Uzbekistan, announced in December 2007 that he’d be moving to London to be closer

to his business ventures. Yitzhak Tshuva, the Israeli real-estate magnate, spends about half his time working out of New York. Fashion model Bar Refaeli, the longtime girlfriend of actor Leonardo DiCaprio, told Israeli reporters in 2007 she was relocating outside of the country. Israel is at risk of losing its biggest success stories, Kaveh says. On the flipside, immigration to Israel, or aliyah, has slowed to a trickle. This is largely because immigration to Israel always has been dominated by aliyah of necessity: Jews expelled from Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Iran; Holocaust refugees coming from Europe; Jews fleeing the former Soviet Union; Ethiopian Jews in search of a better life. But with 80 percent of the world’s Jews already in Israel or North America—where Jews live freely and mostly prosperously—and the remaining 20 percent in mostly stable countries where the opportunity to emigrate long has been present, the era of mass aliyah movements appears to be over. The remaining form of immigration, aliyah by choice, has had limited success. Even in banner years, the number of immigrants from North America, where the majority of Jews live outside Israel, barely breaks 3,000 people per year. With little chance on the horizon for another major aliyah movement anytime soon, Israel is experimenting with different ways to raise those numbers. Groups like Nefesh B’Nefesh offer cash grants, free one-way tickets, and job-placement aid to citizens interested in immigrating from certain Western countries. The Jewish Agency for Israel recently announced that it is planning a “flex aliyah” program that would offer assistance to Jews interested in aliyah but on the fence about committing to a lifetime in Israel. In 2007, the Israeli government launched a campaign to draw home Israelis who have been living overseas.

Leadership and Vision

Even after 60 years, the question of what Israel will look like 30, 20, or even 10 years from now is not at all clear. In Israel, different groups hold radically different visions for the country’s political future, the relationship between church and state, immigration law, and even the army.

Israel at 60 ing power in the Gaza Strip, Israel has become an increasingly stable, normal country. In 2007, terrorism-related deaths in Israel fell to 13—the lowest level in years. Even during the heavy fire of the 2006 Second Lebanon War, the 4,000 rockets Hezbollah fired at Israel failed to do any lasting harm to Israel’s economy, and there were relatively few Israeli civilian casualties. The question for Israel isn’t so much whether people will be able to live here in 10, 20, or 30 years, but whether they will want to.

Israelis say, particularly the ones that threaten national unity: the religious-secular gap, the Arab-Jewish gap, the rich-poor gap, the right wing-left wing gap. “Israelis are experiencing a crisis of identity and leadership that has led many to question the viability of the state in the future,” says Schneider of B’nai B’rith. “To rebuild this trust, the government has got to do a much better job in providing protection for its citizens, improving education and social welfare, and offering a Zionist vision for the

“Our great shortcoming,” Brinn says, “is that we have had great ideas that have gone by the wayside due to lack of long-term planning or foresight.” If quick reaction and lightning development have been the hallmark of Israeli success—from the business sector, to the army, to building the country from scratch— that lack of long-term planning has been Israel’s Achilles heel. After 60 years of focusing on survival, Israel must now address its internal challenges,

coming decade.” The problem is that the country’s leadership has failed to articulate a coherent political or social vision for the country, often pursuing contradictory paths simultaneously. Even as the government says it is committed to the rights of its Arab minority, some Knesset members support a law that would bar an Arab parliamentarian from becoming prime minister.

Photo by Uriel Heilman

The one thing they all seem to agree on, however, is that the country’s current generation of leaders has failed. One after the other, these leaders have been cast out, some due to political ineptitude, others due to malfeasance. In the last year alone, Israel’s president resigned in disgrace amid charges of rape; the son of a former prime minister was sentenced to prison for fraud but had his term reduced and repeatedly postponed; Knesset members have been convicted of bribery; and the prime minister found himself the subject of no less than five separate investigations. “This is not a generation inspired by our leaders,” says Halevi. “That’s the biggest crisis we’re facing. Everything else is manageable. This is not manageable.” Israel has experienced a major shift in leadership over the last few years. Stewardship of the country has passed from those who played a role in the country’s founding—Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir, and Ariel Sharon—to the generation of those raised in Israel. The question now is whether Israel can successfully make the transition to political maturity, and whether the new generation of leaders can articulate a vision for the country that works. “It’s a country that’s only 60 years old, but I think we’re just coming out of our infancy,” Brinn says. “In a sense, it’s turning the corner. Because of the wars, we haven’t been able to have any long-term planning.” Despite the worrisome headlines in Israel’s daily newspapers about Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program, Hezbollah’s resurgence along the Lebanon border, and Hamas’ grow-

Israel at 60, continued on pg. 42

B’Nai B’rith 19

Passover Pet Food: Keeping Fido Frum By Janet Lubman Rathner

Evanger’s Dog and Cat Food Company, spied her neighbor—having given up on satisfying Passover’s restrictions and given in to her finicky pet’s appetite—feeding the family pooch chametz-laden kibble. At least it wasn’t in the house. Photo by Jan Tyler / iStockphoto

T

he reason for one of Passover’s defining preparations—ridding the house of chametz—is found in the Old Testament: “Unleavened bread shall not be eaten for seven days, and there shall be no leaven seen with you in all your borders. And you shall explain to your son on that day, saying: ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of the land of Egypt,’” reads the Book of Exodus. Or to paraphrase Shraga Simmons, an Orthodox rabbi involved in Jewish outreach— his “Ask the Rabbi” and “Shraga’s Weekly” columns are featured on a number of religious question-and-answer websites such as About.com, Aish. Com, and Beliefnet— during Passover we don’t eat chametz, we don’t own chametz, and we absolutely are not to derive any benefit from chametz. So what to do about Rover? While there’s nothing in the Bible about man’s best friend and other companion animals keeping kosher, Passover’s nochametz-in-the-house rule can give petowners’ pause. That’s because grain fillers, flour, and yeast are standard ingredients in numerous pet-food offerings, whether those pets be dog, cat, parakeet, or tetra. “Although non-kosher food may be fed to animals, there are two primary exceptions: meat/milk combinations and chametz on Passover. These are two types of non-kosher food that a Jew may not ever benefit from in any way,” Simmons says. And as pet-lovers regard pet ownership as a benefit, Passover can create a dilemma leading some Jews to dispatch Muffy to the kennel for the holiday’s duration, to the nonJew living down the street who isn’t bound by the no-chametz rule, or to the garage. That’s where Holly Sher, president of

“I thought, ‘I can help you,’” says Sher. Located in the Chicago suburb of Wheeling, Ill., Evanger’s has been producing highend, filler-free pet food since 1935. Sher and husband, Joel, bought the company from the original owners in 2002 and were seeking to expand the offerings right about the time of the dog-dining-in-the-garage incident. Thanks to that fortuitous sighting, Evanger’s today offers a line of canned foods that carries the endorsement of the Chicago Rabbinical Council. Entrées include duck and sweet potatoes for Spot and

holistic pheasant for Felix, both of which can be served to the family pet in the house during Passover. “This was a way of helping everybody,” says Sher. In Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., concerns about Lola, her rash-plagued Dalmatian, led Martine Lacombe to prepare home-cooked meals in place of store-bought dog food. Within two weeks, Lola’s dermatitis cleared up, which led Lacombe to develop KosherPets in 2001. KosherPets’ product, like Evanger’s, is filler-free, has Chicago Rabbinical Council endorsement, and has a following that extends beyond Jewish pet owners. “We have ‘faithful’ followers who seek a wheat-free diet to circumvent allergy issues, and we have customers who seek a dairy-free diet for the same reason,” Lacombe says. Like their owners, pets are often said to be creatures of habit. Unlike their owners, they don’t understand that a change in routine [read: food] is temporary. What happens when gluten-glutton Skippy is presented with a meal minus the chametzenhanced flavor and texture that he has come to expect and enjoy? How do you explain to your den aquarium dwellers that this week there will be no wheat-byproduct fish flakes for breakfast? Rabbi Simcha Backman, director of AskMoses.com, a free, online, 24-hour Jewish information service, whose children periodically host goldfish, says, “Substitute a better diet; for a dog, maybe table scraps. People should only feed animals what they are eating during Passover.” Unless those pets are goldfish. What do we offer them? “Compressed insects,” suggests the rabbi. “For them, that’s better than a piece of matzo or a knish.”

B’Nai B’rith 21

Sallai

Israel at 60

Ambassador Reflects on Israel at 60 By Janet Lubman Rathner

S

allai Meridor, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, has had a long and varied diplomatic and civil service career, but one that the low-key envoy has mostly spent out of the limelight. Appointed to his current post by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2006, Meridor served as chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the World Zionist Organization (WZO) from 1999-2005. Prior to that, Meridor was treasurer of the Jewish Agency and WZO, and headed the WZO Settlement Division. A soft-spoken and youthful grandfather of four, Meridor, 52, is a Jerusalem native who has lived in the West Bank. However, he believes in the concept of territorial compromise and has supported the disengagement plan for that area. During his tenure as Jewish Agency chair, Meridor focused on developing the Masa initiative, a national effort to bring 20,000 young Diaspora Jews to Israel for participation in a variety of educational programs. Under his leadership, the Jewish Agency also stepped up efforts to help Jews from around the world make successful aliyah and smooth transitions into Israeli society. Meridor was also instrumental in mobilizing a global Jewish emergency campaign in response to repeated terrorist attacks in Israel. Before his arrival at the Jewish Agency, Meridor served as advisor to the ministers of defense and of foreign affairs. He was involved in the process that led to the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991 and took part in negotiations that followed as the representative of the Ministry of Defense. Meridor, a keen observer of unfolding world events, has said that Israel remains watchful of Iran and will consider all courses of action for dealing with that country’s nuclear development plans. He spoke to Senior Editor Janet Lubman Rathner about his views on Iran, as well as Israel at 60—and the future of the Jewish state.

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Photo by Rich Bindell

Meridor

B’Nai B’rith 23

Q:

In your opinion, will the recent Annapolis Summit move the peace process forward? And what needs to be done to follow up? President Bush is talking about a deal. Is that doable now, or is Israel still facing the same enemies that historically have been aiming to destroy it?

A:

We are facing very serious threats surrounding Israel, both from the growing danger of a nuclear Iran and terrorism—be it from Hezbollah in the north or Palestinian terrorism in Gaza, which is led today by Hamas. Luckily, thanks to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces], we have been able to decrease the threat of terror from the West Bank. But still, this is something that our boys and girls have to work on every day and every night, to assure that the level of terror we are exposed to is contained. Having said all that, there is nothing Israel and Israelis want more than peace and having a historic compromise with our Palestinian neighbors and bringing about a situation on the two-state solution; two national homelands for two peoples, living side by side in security, peace, dignity. And we are, against many odds, going to make every effort possible, humanly possible…to try to reach an agreement with the Palestinians and advance toward peace. It will take more than one [side] for this, and it would take, on the part of the Palestinians, the readiness to make a historic compromise. And it will take, on their part, [a commitment] to really build [strength] that would prove to themselves and to the Israeli society that they are able to govern themselves and provide for security as a neighbor. And it could be assisted by a change of attitude by many of the Arab countries who could create an atmosphere that is conducive to peace and supportive of peace in the Middle East. So we, Israel, are going to make—are making—a very serious effort, and we hope that the Palestinians and the Arabs will do the same.

Q:

.,

Does the Hamas-PLO schism make resolving this Israeli-Palestinian situation more difficult?

I do not want to get into internal Palestinian issues. All I can say is that the first effect is that Gaza is totally controlled today by a terror organization that is committed to the destruction of the State of

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A:

Israel. It is obviously not making it easier to bring about a reality of two states living side by side in peace when you have a significant part of the other side run by terrorists and committed to your destruction. So, yes, it made it more difficult [to have] ongoing terror from Gaza. We are talking about close to 800 rockets and mortars in 50 days. There is a bomb or a rocket or a mortar or a shell every 90 minutes. This does not help create an environment of trust and hope for peace. But having said that, we know it is more difficult today. The question is whether it leads you to give up on hope or leads you to try, with open eyes, to work with what you can work with. And this is a strategic decision—not to retire from our efforts to advance peace, and to recognize the reality and carefully but vigorously try to change it.

Q: A:

.,

Is Iran the nuclear threat that it is thought to be? What do you think are Israel’s options in dealing with this country, and do you think Iran’s president speaks for his people when he calls for Israel’s destruction?

Let’s start from the end. I think that we, the Jewish people, cannot allow ourselves not to take seriously the threats made by leaders to destroy the Jewish people. We have had our experiences, and it [would] be utterly irresponsible on the part of the Jewish people to underestimate or play down threats that are made against the Jewish people. Unfortunately, the fact of whether it does or does not represent the Iranian people is almost irrelevant, because the ones who are going to make decisions about Iran’s behavior, Iran being not democratic, are not the people of Iran but the leadership of Iran. And the leadership of Iran is allowing this president to make these statements. If the supreme leader of Iran did not want him to make these statements, we would not have read [them]. So, the alarming thing here is the fact that these statements are being made and could not have been made unless the top leadership of the Iranian state—the mullahs and the supreme leader—would support them...It is a very real threat, not only to Israel and I would say not only to the Middle East; it is a very real threat to the entire free world. If Iran, God forbid, goes nuclear, we would be leaving for our children and grandchildren a very different world, with a regime that is [driven by] hatred, religiously fanatic[al]; a master of terror equipped with military nuclear capacity. Whether they use it directly or indirectly, the consequences for the world could be devastating.

Israel at 60

‘We are facing very serious threats surrounding Israel, both from the Photo by Rich Bindell

Let alone the fact that one can more than assume that, if the Iranians are not stopped, other countries will follow and you [could] have a nuclear arms race developing in this region, with the regimes of different natures [and] the very serious danger that such nuclear military capacity [would create] in the hands of either a rogue regime or non-state actor, like alQaeda or Islamic Jihad or Hezbollah. So, we are talking about, I think, since World War II, the most serious threat that the world [has faced]. We hope that the world will respond responsibly with a combination of diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran to change course and with making it very clear to Iranians that all options are on the table and that, if diplomacy fails, still the world will find a way not to allow them to create this threat for the future of the entire free world. Israel is contributing its own part and is dedicating a lot of our energy in many different ways…to try to prevent this threat from becoming real.

a nuclear Iran and terrorism—be it from Hezbollah in the north or Palestinian terrorism in Gaza.’

., Photo by Uriel Heilman

Q: A:

growing danger of

Israel is turning 60 this year. What are her accomplishments and what issues, both political and social, does she face in the next 60 years?

Well, Israel is an unbelievable, unparalleled success story. You look at the accomplishments in the past 60 years, and you cannot find any example similar: after 2,000 years, having to take in close to 6 million Jews from more than 100 countries [and] build a modern society, a vibrant society; being able to create and develop a very vibrant democracy, in an Sallai Meridor, continued on pg. 44

Capt. Elitsur Trabelsi patrolling Gaza border.

B’Nai B’rith 25

Putting a Jewish Face on a Common, Ugly Truth By Janet Lubman Rathner

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Photo by Andrija Kovac/iStockphoto

I

t means “peace at home,” but Shalom Bayit—the concept of Jewish domestic bliss—is a goal that can prove painfully elusive. “He’d pinch me to get my attention. I had fingerprint marks on my arms,” recalls Amy Robbins Ellison, a Jewish cardiac anesthesiologist, of her husband’s hostile acts in public. Her attorney spouse also exhibited explosive private rages, invariably precipitated by mundane issues: where, when or whether to go out to dinner; when to leave for vacation; when to clean the cat’s litter box. “He’d push me out of bed onto the floor,” she says. “He’d barge into the bathroom and scream at me; about what, I don’t even know.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5.3 million acts of domestic violence, also known as intimate partner abuse, are committed annually against women in the United States. The incidents lead to 2 million injuries and 1,300 deaths. Domestic abuse also occurs against men, but experts say women bear the brunt of, and tend to feel responsible for, the bulk of problems in their relationships. Robbins Ellison says she endured 10 years of escalating, outin-the-open hostility and violence: During a shopping trip to purchase a vacuum cleaner, her husband yanked out clumps of her hair in a suburban New York mall parking lot. Divorced, remarried, and now a resident of Chicago, where she is active in promoting domestic-abuse awareness, Robbins Ellison reflects on why she stayed in the relationship for so long: “Women don’t get married to get divorced. They want to keep the family together. They want to nurture. I always felt I could fix things. Here I was, a physician. I was good at fixing things, or at least fixing some things.”

In the Name of Shalom Bayit

In Jewish circles, where many women are conditioned to take ownership of Shalom Bayit, Robbins Ellison’s decision to stick out a troubled marriage is hardly extraordinary. Experts say it is difficult to ascertain how many Jewish families are caught in the web of domestic violence but note that, for both the community at large and the Jewish community in particular, it is a vastly under-reported problem. Jennifer Roth, case manager at Family Violence Services, a program of Cleveland’s Jewish Family Service Association, notes that “national statistics say one in four women [is] battered,” and adds that the number would be about the same in the Jewish community. But Roth also says the number is probably significantly higher, as federal statistics mostly spotlight physical abuse, while her group focuses on the gamut: “physical, emotional, financial, sexual, verbal.” “That kind of information isn’t usually reported to the police, and a lot of physical isn’t reported either, and that’s where we get a lot of our statistics from,” she says. Taught to believe that they shoulder the bulk of the responsibility for maintaining domestic harmony, Jewish women stay in dysfunctional and sometimes violent relationships two to three times longer than their non-Jewish counterparts, experts say. “I do think that Shalom Bayit contributes. Jewish women feel like ‘this just doesn’t happen in nice Jewish homes,’” says Roth. Deborah Goldstein, clinical director of child and family services at the Jewish Social Service Agency based in Rockville, Md., agrees that domestic abuse is pervasive and entrenched in the Jewish community to a degree that many would not believe possible. “Our statistics indicate that, in the metropolitan Washington area, 7,500 Jewish women may be abused,” Goldstein says. B’Nai B’rith 27

“Shalom Bayit sometimes works against us. To make peace in the home, they’ll capitulate and keep the cycle of abuse going.” A case in point comes from Roth’s files. “Although her husband was charming during their first year of dating, he has always been somewhat possessive and controlling,” reads a report about “Karen.” “At first Karen was flattered…feeling for the first time she really found someone who cares about her whereabouts and what she is doing,” the report continues. “However his allegations that Karen was having an affair and constant checking on her escalated. He forbade her to work and made her drop out of school because he didn’t trust her around others…She didn’t have access to money.” Roth assisted Karen in developing plans for personal safety and financial resources that, today, are helping her live an abusefree and self-sufficient life. But that did not happen without first encountering and overcoming roadblocks thrown up by none other than Karen herself. Even after she reached out for help—the final straw was when her husband accused her of being immodest and wrenched their infant daughter from her arms as she breastfed—Karen hesitated, due to fears of how she would make it on her own and what she perceived as a shanda (shame) for having failed to achieve Shalom Bayit. In metropolitan Washington, D.C., the extent of the problem hit home with Jewish Women International (JWI, formerly known as B’nai B’rith Women), when one of its members was shot Photo by iStockphoto and killed by her estranged husband. The 1988 murder led the organization to make domestic violence awareness and prevention its primary mission. Today, JWI has numerous programs on healthy dating and domestic relationships, and a website with resources and contacts for women in need of assistance. The organization also recently established an interfaith coalition to influence public policy on domestic violence and, every other year, holds a global Jewish community conference on the issue. “After the organization moved toward a razor-sharp focus on domestic abuse, its portfolio programs expanded to include promoting safe and healthy relationships. We knew we had to make the issue up close and personal, which meant…we had to put Jewish faces on the issues,” says Lori Weinstein, executive director of JWI.

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“Creating strong and effective prevention strategies that promote healthy relationships is a key component of our work with Jewish teens and young adults,” she says. “Working with teens as they begin to enter romantic relationships will save countless lives down the road.”

The Chains of ‘Agunot’

Many instances of domestic abuse are not taken into account when statistics are compiled. One example can be found in observant Jewish communities where women known as agunot (chained women) live on the fringes. Agunot have obtained civil divorces, but their former husbands refuse to give them gets, the religious documents that allow them to remarry under Jewish law and move on with their lives. Rachel Bluth, a counselor and journalist who organizes support groups for women trapped in this quagmire, says an interpretation of Jewish marital law makes it possible for a non-compliant ex-husband to engage in all aspects of Jewish life, including acquiring another wife, without giving the first wife a get. Through manipulation of the Heter Maiyah Rabbonim, a document used to dissolve a marriage when the wife is judged to be mentally ill or otherwise incapable of participating in the get process, Jewish men are free to marry again while leaving former spouses in limbo. Many of them do just that, Bluth says. “He will, out of meanspiritedness, revenge, or simply power and control, deny her the get,” says Bluth. “The man will dangle the get if she does not agree to relinquish certain privileges: full custody of the children, power of attorney on accounts, or handing over properties. The woman becomes a virtual prisoner.” She says the agunot crisis is enormous. “We have thousands,” says Bluth, who began meeting once a month with four “chained women” 12 years ago in Brooklyn. Today, she oversees seven groups, with as many as 30 agunot in each, crowding into basements of homes throughout New York City. There they share information on who is a good lawyer; who is a sympathetic judge; where to turn for financial assistance; where to go for Shabbat and holiday meals; where to find good male role models for their children; and where they can still feel like part of the Jewish community. Bluth has also helped establish similar programs in Jewish Domestic Abuse, continued on pg. 40

Photo by iStockphoto

Mistreatment of the Elderly By Janet Lubman Rathner There is no cutoff age for victims of domestic abuse. According to information from B’nai B’rith International (BBI) and the National Center on Elder Abuse, hundreds of thousands of seniors across the country are victims of this type of cruelty. Mirroring domestic violence in general, elder abuse is under-reported. Experts estimate that only 1 out of 14 incidents comes to the attention of authorities. They also say adult children are the most frequent abusers, followed by other family members and spouses. “You’re dealing with the most vulnerable people,” says Rachel Goldberg, deputy director of the B’nai B’rith International Center for Senior Services (CSS). “They may not be capable of reporting the abuse. You’re also dealing with frustration [on the part of the caregiver].” The type of abuse runs the gamut from physical pushing and hitting, to emotional shouting and controlling, to out-and-out neglect. “Sometimes you see that people are doing the best they can, but it’s not an okay solution,” says Goldberg. Money can be a factor in elder abuse, although not necessarily because there isn’t enough to pay for care. In November 2007, Anthony Marshall, the son of philanthropist Brooke Astor, was indicted along with his former lawyer on charges related to their handling of the late socialite’s $198-million estate. Astor, 105, died in August 2007 amid allegations made by her grandson, Phillip Marshall, that his father was siphoning Astor’s fortune, leaving her to live in squalor. Anthony Marshall has denied the charges. Regardless of one’s wealth, there are steps that can be taken to lessen the

likelihood of abuse. “Make your decisions earlier. Plan for retirement and talk about what you want and don’t want. If more would do this, there would be fewer opportunities [for abuse],” says Goldberg, whose department advocates the agenda of Aging in Place. Through this model, people are able to live out their lives safely, independently, and in comfort in their homes. “Aging in Place is a holistic approach. You don’t do it on a wing and a prayer, with no money, no plan. Planning in advance is a more holistic approach.” But even when strategies have been mapped out, abuse happens. “Some of this comes from people being overloaded,” says Goldberg. “We need to take the pressure off the families. We need resources.” To that end, BBI advocates legislation and funding for programs that help seniors live out their golden years in dignity.

f The CSS provides the tangible—housing and practical information on aging— and the intangible—advocacy and national leadership on issues affecting Jewish seniors. BBI, the largest national Jewish sponsor of senior housing in the United States, operates nearly 50 fixed-income and market-rate housing facilities worldwide. BBI brings programs and services to seniors, and gives them the opportunity to take control of their own futures. Through a steady flow of information on topics as far-ranging as Medicare Part D and aging safely in place, to national and international advocacy on vital issues such as income protection and stem cell research, BBI presents a concerned voice for all seniors.

Mirroring domestic violence in general, elder abuse is under-reported. Experts estimate that only 1 out of 14 incidents comes to the attention of authorities. For more information, go to www.bnaibrith.org. To report elder abuse, call 911 and/or the National Center of Elder Abuse – Administration on Aging: 800-677-1116 (www.ncea.aoa.gov).

B’Nai B’rith 29

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Danielle Avidan: Planned Giving, So Others Might Paint

Photo courtesy

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upporting Jewish causes and highlighting the artistic achievements of her late mother are of utmost importance to Danielle Avidan. Through her affiliation with B’nai B’rith International (BBI), she accomplishes both. The Pacific Palisades, Calif., resident designated BBI as a beneficiary in her will. Additionally, to both honor her mother— artist Anna Mireille Abitbol—and enhance the art education for today’s youth, Avidan made a gift to BBI’s Perlman Camp. “I’ve been particularly interested in B’nai B’rith for many years. I’m impressed with the scope of their various and diversified missions all over the world,” says Avidan, explaining why she named the organization in her will. Of the decision to make a separate donation to Perlman Camp during her lifetime, Avidan adds, “I would like to help support the children. We’re going to find a way to show some of my mother’s sketches and paintings, and maybe hire a teacher.” Avidan herself is a woman of numerous accomplishments. A native of Morocco who was educated primarily in France, she spent a number of years working for Revlon-Paris, translating advertising from English to French for its ad campaigns. Later, Avidan returned to the country of her birth to work in public relations for the Hilton Hotel and several airline companies in Rabat. Her career eventually led to relocation to the United States, where she met and married her husband, Bernard Avidan. Following his death in 1994, Danielle resumed her globe-trekking work habits as an employee of several travel agencies. Now retired, Avidan is focused on honoring her mother, who created a plethora of exhibit-quality oils and watercolors under the trying circumstances of being a young Jewish woman raising a child during World War II.

Danielle Avidan

By Janet Lubman Rathner

Her mother was born in Oran, Algeria—at the time a French colony—in 1908. Her penchant and talent for drawing was apparent at an early age, and she went on to attend a branch of the influential Beaux-Arts schools, which have trained a number of Europe’s greatest artists, including Edgar Degas, Eugene Delacroix, and Claude Monet. Abitbol’s technique of mastering light and composition impressed her professors. They encouraged her to submit one of her paintings, “Nature Morte aux Eventails” [“Still Life with Fans”] to the Salon d’Automne, France’s premiere art gallery. “The interaction of color and line shapes, [in] which all elements of representation and association were in place, must have pleased this institution,” says Avidan. “To the surprise and delight of the entire school, the painting was accepted. At 29, Mireille was the youngest exhibitor—quite an achievement for a female artist!”

And Jewish to boot. By the onset of World War II, Abitbol, at the behest of her teachers, was signing her work under the ubiquitous moniker “Mireille Duparc.” “Abitbol was too Jewish-sounding. ‘Duparc’ is like the name ‘Brown’ here,” explains Avidan. Abitbol moved to Morocco, where the political climate was less threatening. However, she was by then also a parent, and she had to reconcile her artistic ambition with the practical. While she continued to paint and exhibit around Morocco, her productivity was tempered by the accounting and sales jobs that economic necessity forced her to take. Later, with her then-grown daughter pursuing her own career in the United States, Abitbol followed in 1975. Well into her senior years, she resumed her Planned Giving, continued on pg. 43

B’Nai B’rith 31

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Reverse Mortgage Option: Be Careful How You Choose By Rachel Goldberg, Ph.D.

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he American dream means different things to different people, but home ownership seems to be a common thread. Sure, in New York City lifelong renting might be routine, but in much of the country, buying a house, townhouse, or condo is what people strive and save for. Those who can’t afford a home of their own still have dreams for their kids. As years pass, many of us find that, while we haven’t had the extra cash to build up huge savings accounts, play the market, or load up our 401k accounts, we have accrued some equity in our homes. This has been especially true in recent years, when the value of homes in many parts of the country went up—way up. So it’s not surprising that with housing prices still relatively high and interest rates still near all-time lows, many homeowners have pulled equity out of their homes by borrowing against the house to pay for everything from home improvements to college tuition, travel, and child-care. Usually this comes in the form of a home equity loan that the homeowner pays back, on top of the original mortgage payment. So to take advantage of this equity, homeowners have to be able to make new payments. This works well for people whose incomes have gone up since they first bought their homes. Reverse mortgages are different. What can you do if you are sitting on lots of home equity but have a lower or fixed income and can’t afford a higher mortgage payment? What if you are retired and your mortgage is paid off and you can’t make a payment on your home equity loan at all? You have an option that you may have heard of: a “reverse mortgage.” It’s called a reverse mortgage because, instead of you making payments and building equity in

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your house, the bank is slowly buying the equity from you. Reverse mortgages are real, viable options, but they aren’t right for everyone. And, especially with a financial decision that involves your biggest asset, it’s important to be careful about investigating your options and potential lenders. According to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured reverse mortgage loans or Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) increased by 26.5 percent from 2006 to 2007. A reverse mortgage lets you take a loan against your house without having to pay it back for as long as you live in the house. There are variations—you can take a lump sum, a monthly payment, or even a line of credit. No payments are required for the rest of your life, unless you move permanently out of your home. And the lender doesn’t just take your house—you or your heirs are still entitled to the proceeds of the sale that exceed the loan (and interest) amount. But not all reverse mortgages or reverse mortgage lenders are created equal. Only some are insured by the federal government—that means that the lender knows if by the time you leave your home it is worth less than what you have borrowed, the difference will be covered by federal insurance. We recommend only pursuing those loans, called HECM loans. A reverse mortgage isn’t right for everybody, and there is a lot to consider. Before you can get a federally backed loan, you have to meet with a qualified counselor to discuss the option and make sure all the details of the loan are revealed to you. Before you consider a reverse mortgage, ask yourself some questions.

1. Are you old enough to qualify, and do you own a home that qualifies? All the homeowners (that is, you and your spouse) have to be at least age 62, and often the older you are the better deal you will get, especially for a reverse mortgage that offers a fixed payment for as long as you live in your home. Most single-family, duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes qualify, as do condos. Some other properties also qualify, but you will need to check carefully. 2. What is the condition of your house? HECM loans require that the house be in good repair, so the bank is less likely to lose money on the deal. You can use the loan to make necessary repairs. 3. Do you have trouble paying bills for yourself, your health care, or the upkeep on your home? Taking a reverse mortgage will deplete the equity you have built in your home, so choosing to do this can have a significant effect on the assets you have at your disposal in the future. Do you need/want the money now more than you anticipate needing or wanting it down the road for future expenses? 4. What is the home’s value? You can only take some of the value out of your house through a loan like this. In some cases, it might be more profitable to sell and downsize, if that works for you, than to rely on a reverse mortgage. 5. Do you want to stay in your home, and are you physically able to do so? A reverse mortgage is not a particularly good idea if you don’t plan to stay in your home for the foreseeable future, so it makes sense to think about whether this is the home that is right for you for the long term. Do you, for instance, want to downsize

sometime soon, or are you interested in moving into a retirement community or an assisted-living facility? You might not want to think about those options just yet, but before you go through the reverse mortgage process it makes sense to look down the road. Does this home make sense for you for the next five years or 10? Would you be able to modify it enough with the proceeds of the mortgage to make it accessible if you should have an

injury or if your needs should change? Would you be able to sell your home easily? If you think you might want to have a different kind of home, selling might make more sense than modifying your home through a reverse mortgage. If you have considered those questions and think a reverse mortgage might be right for you, the next step can be contacting your bank or your local area agency on aging for more information.

For more information about reverse mortgages, visit the following websites: • http://www.aarp.org/money/revmort/ (an AARP site that includes a reverse mortgage calculator) • http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/ hecm/rmtopten.cfm (includes a reverse mortgage calculator and a list of HUDapproved HECM counseling agencies available state by state)

B’Nai B’rith 39

Jewish Domestic Abuse, continued from pg. 28 California, Florida, and up and down the East Coast. “I have seen epidemic proportions [of this crisis] and growth [in groups to help victims],” Bluth says. Why, in this day and age, are there so many agunot? “Women are generally taught with mother’s milk to trust their husbands, to have faith in the marital system, and to understand that [their] husband[s] [are their] partner[s] in life,” Bluth says.

The Push for Anonymity

To try to get a better handle on numbers and reach a broader group of battered women, there are those who offer secrecy when trying to help draw out the abused. “The truth is it’s common. [Domestic abuse] happens to all segments of society—people with means, people with little means; educated, uneducated. It runs the gamut,” says Nechama Wolfson, founder of the Shalom Task Force, which offers programs for creating and maintaining healthy relationships for children and adults at schools, synagogues, and Jewish community centers around the country. Additionally, through a national toll-free, no-caller-ID hotline, the Shalom Task Force—staffed with rigorously trained volunteers—provides resource information to women and families struggling in troubled relationships. Wolfson says this cloak of anonymity is an incentive for those

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seeking answers to issues such as where and how to obtain financial assistance, what shelters offer kosher food, where to find pro bono legal services, or who just want to discuss a partner’s troubling conduct. “They need to check it out. They’ll ask, ‘Am I crazy?’ ‘Is this acceptable behavior?’ ‘Is this within the parameters of okay?’” Wolfson says. Sometimes the “this” encompasses rape, name-calling, and isolation. “There’s a whole list of things going on. You hear yourself say, ‘These are not acceptable behaviors. How do you feel about it?’ And then they have an opportunity to say what it’s like. They’re looking for validation.” Anonymity is vital because if there were any hint of identification, many callers would never pick up the phone, says Wolfson. “People are so worried about caller ID. Everyone has it and [the callers] are embarrassed. They’re ashamed that something like this is happening. They see it as a shanda in the community,” Wolfson says. But what happens once they make the call? Does it signal dissolution of a partnership or marriage? “We are, for most people, a first step. We’re not the end step. We’re along the way,” Wolfson says. “We don’t tell people to break off a relationship. We don’t tell people to leave. We help our callers sort out what they need to do.” She says that, for a very practical reason, hotline volunteers never follow up, choosing instead to encourage callers to stay in contact. “It’s for [the caller’s] own safety. We never know who is [listening] on the other end,” Wolfson says. She adds that putting the onus

on the victims—they frequently do call back—is also a step toward initiating change. “It gives her back control in her life,” she says of the empowerment that comes from simply picking up the phone, an act that, after being subjected to years of abuse, can seem an insurmountable hurdle. “It can take women a long time to get this strength. Often a woman will take it and take it and take it, until she sees that her children are being affected.”

An Unlikely Resource

When caught in an environment where every move— making a phone call, reading the newspaper, perusing the Internet, going for a walk—is monitored by a controlling partner, how does a woman seeking assistance even have the opportunity to find it? In metropolitan Washington, D.C., the answer lies in women’s restrooms at synagogues and Jewish community centers. That is where the Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse (JCADA), a nonprofit dedicated to assisting victims of abuse, posts brochures advertising its services and its own confidential hotline. Sensitivity is key, which is why visitors won’t find these pamphlets near the sinks and towel dispensers. “They’re in the stalls. They are there for privacy,” says Barbara Zakheim, JCADA’s founder. “That way a woman… trying to find somebody to help her can [do so in complete anonymity]. There is no place more private.” Are the flyers making a difference? Like so much about the issue of domestic abuse, it’s difficult to prove. However, it would appear that the discreetly placed leaflets are addressing a need. “No one has actually told me that the information prompted them to act; however, members of my congregation have dealt with this issue and I have been involved,” says Amy Schwartzman, senior rabbi at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Va. She finds it likely that restroom flyers are the reason why some of these women have reached out for help. With more victims of domestic abuse finding access to information about what constitutes unhealthy and dangerous relationships—and how to escape them—is there also hope for, on at least some occasions, turning these situations around and achieving Shalom Bayit? Those who work with both the battered and the batterer say that, regardless of whether the abuse is physical or emotional, Shalom Bayit is not a likely scenario. “They have to pretty much break up. An abusive person doesn’t like to take responsibility. An abusive person has to say ‘I have a problem,’” says Roth. She says she occasionally hears from abusers purportedly making amends, but that those instances are rarely sincere. “Often, they are just going through the motions in an attempt to regain power and control,” Roth says. Schwartzman agrees, but continues to hold out hope. “I’d like to think it is possible,” she says. “However, in the cases that I have worked with, they have all ended in separation and then divorce.”

Calling for help 911 is always the first line of defense, but there are places to call that deal specifically with domestic abuse, many of them accessible 24 hours a day. Below is a list from the organizations contacted for this article. • National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-SAFE (7233) • Jewish Women International: 800-343-2823 (www.jwi.org) • Shalom Task Force: 888-883-2323 (www.shalomtaskforce.org) • Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse: 301-529-0073 (www.jcada.org) • Family Violence Services (a program of Cleveland’s Jewish Family Service Association): 216-378-3406 or 216-292-3999 (www.knowabuse.org) • Jewish Social Service Agency, Rockville, Md., Intake Department: 301-816-2633 (www.jssa.org)

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Israel at 60 Israel at 60, continued from pg. 19

Photo courtesy BBI archives

The government decries the high rate of unemployment and welfare-dependent families among the country’s ultra-Orthodox population, but it has kept in place laws that forbid young ultra-Orthodox men from working if they want to maintain their exemption from compulsory military duty. Israelis complain about Orthodox control of the Chief Rabbinate and of marriage, divorce, and Sabbath-day laws, but the political parties they support— on both the right and the left—refuse to change the status quo. Israel has welcomed hundreds of thousands of non-Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union who qualify for citizenship because they are descended from a Jewish grandparent, but the Jewish state has

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no avenue to enable them to marry Jewish Israelis and no policy for dealing with their non-Jewish relatives who wish to immigrate. Even as Israel negotiates with the Palestinian Authority on the contours of a future Palestinian state, the government continues to fund Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank. The country has moved toward increasing privatization, but not quickly enough for many Israeli-born companies that are relocating overseas to countries with more favorable tax laws. At the same time, the government has cut its investment in the country’s greatest incubators of future leaders—public schools—where class sizes have risen to more than 40 students, underpaid teachers are fleeing the profession, and new curricula are failing to inculcate students with an appreciation for Zionist ideals or Jewish heritage.

Many Israelis say the nation’s public schools, once considered among the best in the world, also are failing to provide the students with adequate math, science, and writing skills. As development in Israel struggles to keep pace with growth, Israel is at risk of sacrificing the quality-of-life elements that make people want to live here: clean water and air, urban green spaces, unspoiled natural parks. These are some of the issues that have Israelis wondering what the country will look like a generation from now. Perhaps contradiction is the only way possible for the Jewish state. After all, what could the Jewish state be other than a place where 7 million people with different ideas and visions all compete to make theirs the future?

Planned Giving Planned Giving, continued from pg. 31 prodigious artistic output and exhibited in Santa Monica. Abitbol died in 1995 at the age of 87. Avidan is now looking for a permanent home for her mother’s oils and watercolors. “My goal is to find a school or Jewish institution for her artwork. I have about 24 of her paintings. While not an artist myself, I have learned—through osmosis I guess—to appreciate [it],” Avidan says. She basks in the knowledge that while

her search continues, thanks to B’nai B’rith and Perlman Camp there are opportunities now for others to develop talent and appreciation for the arts, and Anna Mireille Abitbol will not be forgotten. To make a current gift to B’nai B’rith Camping Services for the 2008 camping season,

please send your gift to B’nai B’rith Planned Giving 2020 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, indicating that the gift is for camp. You can further earmark your gift for Arts, Athletics, or Leadership Training. For more information about opportunities for investing in our Camping programs, contact us at 800-656-5561.

Bequests Making a bequest to B’nai B’rith is an option open to virtually everyone, no matter the size of the estate or the age of the donor. A bequest to B’nai B’rith is the simplest way to assure that the values so important to you will continue to affect others after you are gone. It will perpetuate your commitment to Jewish continuity around the world. The essential first step is the creation of a valid will. No one should be without a will. It is the only way of ensuring that the people and charities you hold dear will be supported after you are gone. A will is the foundation of sound estate planning and allows you to decide how and to whom your estate is distributed. A properly drafted will is essential. Your will should be prepared with the assistance of an experienced attorney and with the utmost attention to detail. Once written, it should be reviewed and updated periodically to be certain it continues to reflect your circumstances and concerns. To remember B’nai B’rith in your will, include the following:B’nai B’rith (tax ID # 53-0179971), a nonprofit charitable corporation organized under the laws of the District of Columbia, with headquarters at 2020 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20006, and its successors forever.

B’Nai B’rith 43

Israel at 60

‘... The beauty of Zionism and, maybe, even in a deeper sense, this is the beauty of Judaism—that, as much as you go forward, the road is never-ending.’

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Sallai Meridor, continued from pg. 25 area where this is a great rarity, under very difficult conditions, with being at war imposed on us; [developing] an economy that is growing fantastically; and a young generation [developing] innovations, which is, again, remarkable—maybe, again, unparalleled—if you compare it to the size of Israel and the challenges that Israel has to face. If you look at every high-tech development in the world, you are quite likely to find an Israeli innovation in it. Also, Israel is a Western society that is maintaining a significant, positive growth rate, which I hope is a reflection of optimism, and a social system that allows Israel to be, at the same time, more advanced [and] self-fulfilling without compromising various needs of family and children. So altogether, I think that anybody who is giving it an objective look—not like mine—will tell you that this is almost a miracle.

Q: A:

.,

And the challenges Israel faces in the future?

We have many challenges facing us. You ask me to look 60 years ahead: I hope that the historic process of the gathering of Jewish people to the land of Israel will continue. I hope that, in 60 years’ time, 60 percent of the Jewish people will live in their homeland rather than today’s 40 percent, with 60 percent in…[the] Diaspora. I hope that we will be able to enlarge the circle of peace and allow our people the very basic right of being able to live in peace, free from the threat of war and terror. I would hope that we will have our economy continue to grow in a way that will make Israel similar to the average OECD [Organization of European Cooperation and Development] country. We are now entering the OECD; we hope that, 60 years from now, we will be in a good place in the middle. We hope that our society will develop in ways [so] that…Israel grows as a Jewish and democratic state, and that we will serve in ways as a [beacon] to the Jewish people and to the nations of the world. We have accomplished a lot and there is much more to accomplish, and this is the beauty of Zionism and, maybe, even in a deeper sense, this is the beauty of Judaism—that, as much as you go forward, the road is never-ending. .,

Q: A:

What can the Jewish Diaspora and B’nai B’rith do to help Israel, both on a social and political level? And does the Diaspora have a right to voice an opinion on how Israel handles its social and political issues?

within the family; [some] things you do not say out of the family. So I would assume that what brings Jews to care so much about Israel is that they feel that Israel is their family. Given that this is where they are coming from, I assume that they want to act in this relationship just as all of us would like ourselves to act within a family setup.

Let me try to deal with both issues. One, Israel is the creation of the Jewish people; it is of, by, and for the Jewish people. This unbelievable achievement of the State of Israel would not [have] been possible if not for the Jewish people. Obviously, friends of Israel helped. Obviously, our greatest friend, the United States of America, was and is essential to the success of Israel. However, it is the creation of the Jewish people. As you look at the people in Israel, who are the Israelis? They are Jews from the Diaspora who made the choice to come and rebuild a Jewish state in Israel. If you look at every element of Israeli society—almost every institution, every building, every absorption of every wave of immigrants— there is hardly anything that we are doing that is not in major partnership with the Jewish people. So we are proud to be of the Jewish people and for the Jewish people, and sharing responsibility with the Jewish people for the future of the entire Jewish people with Israel at its center. Yes, the Jewish people have been a partner and will always be a partner, given Israel what it is. They have a stake in Israel and they have a stake in the character of Israel. And it is theirs like it is mine. On the issue of whether Jews can voice their opinions with regard to certain policies of the government of Israel, I would say first of all, in terms of the basic right to speak, …everybody has the right to say [what they think]. I think that the nature of the relationship and discussion is a discussion within a family. Why do you have a right to [speak]? Because you are a part of my family. I am willing to hear from you because you are my brother or my sister, and you are not just my neighbor or somebody from another town or city. There is a code of behavior here, as you [have] within families. Other things you say in some ways

B’Nai B’rith 45

letters

to the editor

Dear Editor: As usual, I gave priority to reading the winter edition and must compliment you on a marked improvement. It is evident that you are reaching out for new material and contributors, and it is drawing in a much larger group of readers. Although the Paper Clip narrative has been done several times, it is done very well. In addition to the Whitwell [Middle] School, other groups are now awakening to the sad events of a half-century ago. One that recently came to our attention is from another unlikely spot in mid-America. In Fort Scott, Kan., there is not a deli or a shul for miles, but one dedicated high-school teacher inspired his students to research the story of Irena Sendler. They found that she had taken pity on the prisoners in the Warsaw ghetto and managed to smuggle out many sets of documents proving their Polish citizenship. She secreted these in a glass jar and buried it just outside the ghetto. After the war, the jar was unearthed and resulted in saving the lives of many of our people. The students were so inspired that they dramatized Irena’s story in a play titled “Life in a Jar.” The script has resulted in many performances and exhibits in similar towns and has inspired the students that one person can really change the world! We need more ambassadors like the teacher Mr. Conard. People like him and Sandra Roberts [of Whitwell Middle School] are the true heroes of our generation. Please advise if I may be of further help. Respectfully, Alvin M. Saper Skokie, Ill.

yyy

Pride in the National Guard Dear Editor: I thoroughly enjoy B’nai B’rith Magazine. As a member of the National Guard, however, I feel the need to point out an error in David J. Steinberg’s letter published in the Winter 2007 issue.

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Photo by Sandra Roberts

Students Awake to Holocaust

In his letter, he states, “When [the Second Amendment] was added to the Constitution in 1791, there was no such entity as the National Guard.” This is not accurate. We date the founding of the National Guard as Dec. 13, 1636. It was at this time that the Massachusetts General Court directed the establishment of militia units for community protection. The Massachusetts National Guard currently has units who can directly trace their lineage back to these original units. The term “National Guard” was used sporadically for militia forces beginning in 1824 and, in 1916, the term “National Guard” became official as [a] result of the National Defense Act of 1916. We fought in the Pequot War of 1637, King Phillip’s War of 1675 to 1676, and the French and Indian War of 1754-1763, all prior to the establishment of the United States, and we formed the backbone of the Continental Army. At 371 years of age, we are the oldest American fighting force. We predate the Constitution; we predate the Second Amendment. I have been proudly associated with the National Guard for over 20 years and simply could not let Mr. Steinberg’s misstatement pass. Sincerely, Colleen Wheaton El Cajon, Calif.