Winter 2008 B'nai B'rith Magazine

B’nai B’rith at 165: See BBT for Our Early History

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Israeli Diplomacy’s Diverse Face

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Join us for a Jewish view of the world you’ve always wanted to explore!

Enjoy specially tailored itineraries.

Meet with local Jewish, BBI, and government leaders.

Masada, Israel Pamukkale, Turkey

Argentina/Uruguay Adventure March 4-15, 2009 Spend Purim exploring this beautiful region, its culture, and its people. See Buenos Aires and experience its Jewish culture. Visit Iguassu Falls and tour historic areas including the bullfighting ring in Colon and Jewish Montevideo, Uruguay.

Israel at 61 April 23-May 3, 2009 Celebrate Israel’s 61st Birthday! Enjoy the sights and sounds of Jerusalem, the wonders of the Dead Sea, and the history of Masada. Visit the Roman theatre of Caesarea, enjoy panoramic Haifa, artistic Safed, see the Golan Heights by jeep, and cosmopolitan Tel Aviv.

Spain–A Jewish Perspective June 3-12, 2009 Explore Spain’s Sephardic Jewish heritage in Segovia, Toledo, and Cordoba. Visit Madrid, enjoy a traditional Flamenco show in Seville, see the oldest bullring in Spain in Ronda, tour the Costa del Sol and the Rock of Gibraltar, and explore the beautiful city of Barcelona.

Israel Jewish Family Tour August 19-31, 2009 Take your family on a journey of a lifetime! Visit sites that will appeal to young and old in Jerusalem and the Old City.

Experience Masada, the Dead Sea, the Galilee, Akko, and Caesarea.

Flamenco Dancer, Spain

European Days of Jewish Culture and Heritage September 6-27, 2009 (tentative dates) Visit local programs in Europe celebrating Jewish culture. More information available soon!

Turkey Jewish Highlights October 18-29, 2009 Visit this cosmopolitan country with thriving Jewish sections.

Tour historic synagogues and modern cities like Istanbul. Take a Bosphorus cruise, see ancient cities like Hieropolis, tour the Temple of Diana, travel to the ancient capital of the Ottoman Empire and experience Izmir’s Jewish life.

olcano, Arenal VRica Costa

Panama & Costa Rica Chanukah Tour December 7-18, 2009 (to be confirmed)

Iguassu Argentina Falls,

Celebrate Chanukah and explore the natural wonders of this region. Visit Panama City and the engineering marvel, the Panama Canal. Enjoy Costa Rica, including the Arenal Volcano, Tabacon Hot Springs, and Tortuguero National Park.

B’nai B’rith international 2009 Mission and travel

The Global Voice of the Jewish Community

For more information, contact the B’nai B’rith international Mission and travel office at 877-222-9590 or visit www.bnaibrith.org and click on Missions and travel.

Ladder Of Leadership Major Giving Levels To Support The Global Work of BBI

B’nai B’rith International President Moishe Smith (right) and Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin (left) congratulate newest President’s Cabinet member, Danny Tartakovski, of Mexico City.

Your leadership and generosity will provide B’nai B’rith International with the philanthropic resources to serve as The Global Voice of the Jewish Community in the fight against anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias, as an advocate for human rights and human freedoms worldwide, as a builder and manager of senior housing and a sponsor for quality of life issues vital to seniors and their families, as a promoter of Jewish identity and continuity through cultural programming, and as activists on the ground providing aid to communities in crisis.

Leadership Circle $5,000 - $9,999

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President’s Council $10,000 - $24,999 All Leadership benefits plus: Invitation to join select Presidential missions and delegations Preferential seating at special dinner honoree events President’s Roundtable $25,000 - $49,999 All Leadership & Council benefits plus: Invitation to President’s V.I.P. reception at annual Policy Conference Access to President and Executive Vice President via “Corporate Hot Line” Private invitation to annual U.N. Delegate Luncheon

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For further information, contact Henry Rosenbaum, Vice President of Development, at 202-857-6520.

winter

B’nai B’rith M a g a z i n e

2008

12 Jews and Adoption

The tenet to “be fruitful and multiply” can be complicated for Jewish women in the 21st century. Jewish families, to a great degree, are postponing parenthood until later in life, with an increasing number turning to adoption as an alternative, according to experts, surveys, and anecdotal evidence. Adoption, however, raises its own plethora of complicated issues for the modern Jewish family.

By Janet Lubman Rathner

23

Israeli Diplomacy’s Diverse Face

Israel’s consul general in Atlanta writes Hebrew poetry and once chaired his BBYO branch. The ambassador to Greece headed the Ulpan Akiva institute for Hebrew language study in Netanya. Neither is Jewish. No longer is the country’s official face abroad exclusively Jewish, white, or male: The consul general in Houston came to Israel from Ethiopia in her teens. Although, the Foreign Affairs Ministry doesn’t keep records of employees’ gender, religious, or ethnic breakdowns, the diplomatic demographic shift is well-acknowledged.

By Hillel Kuttler

35Harvey Firestone

Chicago resident Harvey Firestone, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday, has successfully used his affable personality and gregarious nature throughout his 72 years of service to B’nai B’rith International. During nearly three-quarters of a century, he has made regular involvement in BBI a life priority, forming countless bonds with members and supporters as a fundraiser and friend.

By Rich Bindell

26 Israel’s Desert Frontier

In an age when Israel’s agrarian roots are a distant memory, life in the rural Negev is a throwback. It’s a place where pioneers can establish new settlements untainted by the politicized conflict with the Palestinians and where people still talk about building communities, rather than fortunes. Ultimately, revitalizing the Negev will hinge on whether the movement can succeed in attracting not only highly motivated Israelis, but also those not necessarily predisposed to life in the Negev.

Cornelia Wilhelm, a professor of Jewish history and Judaic scholar at the University of Munich, has written a definitive history of B’nai B’rith’s early years. In an interview, the non-Jewish Wilhelm explains what for her is an unusual topic choice.

By Janet Lubman Rathner

39

BBI Recognizes Israeli Embassy

By Uriel Heilman

page six

36

B’nai B’rith’s Early History

A Heritage of Aid to Cuba’s Jewish Community

By Life Member and Henry Monsky Lodge President Gary Javitch with an introduction from BBI President Moishe Smith

By Rich Bindell

DEPARTMENTS From the EVP 8 Remembering a Colleague 46

Dignitaries and community leaders joined BBI and the B’nai B’rith Chesapeake Bay Region in honoring the Embassy of Israel for the embassy’s important work in the American Jewish community. The event also recognized B’nai B’rith’s 165th anniversary, BBI’s 120-year presence in the Jewish state, and Israel’s 60th birthday.

Editor’s Note 19 Planned Giving 48

Cover photo illustration by Vivian Hayward. Top left photo courtesy of the Greenberg family.

A Continuing Heritage of Aid to Cuba’s Jewish Community

B’nai B’rith Staff Photo

Point of View

By Moishe Smith President, B’nai B’rith International and Gary Javitch Life Member and Henry Monsky Lodge President

I

recently returned from a heartwarming trip to Cuba as part of B’nai B’rith’s Cuban Jewish Relief Project—a worthy endeavor in any year, but this year, by awful coincidence, our trip could not have been more timely.

B’nai B’rith International (BBI) was one of the first humanitarian organizations to hit the ground after the devastating strike of Hurricane Ike. Despite the tragedy, there were signs that life in Cuba had been changing before nature took its dramatic course.

I had not been to the communist island in 12 years and I found the difference between my visits to be unbelievable. Life in Cuba remains very hard, but back then it was noticeable that some people barely had enough food; now, signs of improved lifestyles were everywhere. Of course, the communist system of government remains what it has been for years, and there is probably little chance of change in the foreseeable future. It is what it is.

What also was evident was the impressive work of our Cuban Jewish Relief Project, spearheaded by longtime BBI member Stanley Cohen—what it has accomplished and continues to accomplish, and how it has become such a visible part of improvement in Cuban life—at least within the Jewish community.

Our mission and the work we continue to do with our tzedakah program have really made a difference. We are the organization that is consistently on the ground with leadership. There are other organizations that have been very helpful to the Jewish community of Cuba, but we are the organization that’s consistently been there, year

6 winter 2008

after year, making a difference in the lives of the Cuban Jewish community.

Since the mid-1990s, the project has infused millions of dollars in cash, food, and medicine to the community; has helped rebuild five decaying synagogues and the “Patronato” (Jewish community center in Havana); and aided smaller populations in the provinces.

On seeing all this, my first instinct was to write about my impressions of Cuba. Yet, as the week progressed, I found everyone so engaged with the mission and taking such an interest in what was going on that it occurred to me that I should let someone else lend their voice to the task.

I chose life member and Henry Monsky Lodge President Gary Javitch, who was among many who took copious notes throughout. Here are his impressions, and I thank him for his efforts. vvv

BBI Mission to Cuba Aids Struggling Jewish Community

By Gary Javitch We arrived on the Caribbean island of Cuba just two days after Hurricane Ike slammed the eastern portion of the country.

The northwest quadrant of the state, including the city of Havana, where our plane touched down, received only a glancing blow. The high winds, nevertheless, disrupted power, toppled trees, and knocked down branches throughout the capital city.

And, unbeknownst to our group at the time, the hurricane destroyed more than half of Cuba’s “money crop,” dealing a major

$5-billion blow to the tobacco industry and the already impoverished economy.

The weather damage gave added meaning to our B’nai B’rith Cuban Jewish Relief Project. It also brought into sharp focus the needs of the Jewish community in that country.

Our group of 21, officially licensed by the U.S. Treasury Department, came mostly from New York and New Jersey, but also included B’nai B’rith members hailing from Canada, California, Delaware, Maryland, Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, and Washington, D.C. The trip was a combination religious and fact-finding mission, with ample opportunities to explore the Jewish communities of Havana and the central-west cities of Cienfuegos and Santa Clara.

Undeterred by the hot and very steamy September weather and the occasional lack of electricity, our stalwart group shvitzed its way across the country, fulfilling an important goal: to deliver clothes and needed medical supplies to the often-desperate Jews surviving in the communist state.

We knew we were accomplishing something quite worthwhile as our group took sharp notice of nearly empty pharmacy shelves around Havana and in Cienfuegos.

The poverty also stood out. As part of a “tzedakah initiative” to help Jews living in dilapidated housing, BBI project members divided up into smaller groups and visited a number of residences to assess living conditions.

In one home, our five-person group noted rotten window shutters and broken glass panes that permitted driving rains to soak the walls and floors. Similar problems

B’nai B’rith

M a g a z ine winter 2008

abounded in the Cuban apartments and domiciles that the other groups visited. As we toured the cities, we also observed hundreds of unfinished building projects and rusting scaffolding that scarred the landscapes.

A number of Cubans made this eight-day tour most memorable and quite fulfilling.

Four in particular stand out.

The first was our Havana guide, Cubanborn Raul, 39. Extremely knowledgeable about the history and culture of the island, Raul provided us with insights about the synagogues, cemeteries, people, and politics, and—even though not Jewish himself—about Judaism and the Jewish community.

“Once there were 15,000 Jews in Cuba,” Raul explained. “Their numbers have declined dramatically due to an aging population, the aliyah departure to Israel [and other places in the Diaspora], the nationalization of many [Jewish] businesses under Castro, and the desire to leave a land where religion could not be practiced.

“So, when you go back to where you live, I want you to tell your friends and communities at least these three things,” he urged.

“There are now only about 1,300 Jews in Cuba, almost all in Havana. But they are continuing to keep Jewish life alive. And B’nai B’rith is helping them do that.

“In Santa Clara, for example, the residents are building a synagogue and giving their kids a Jewish education,” Raul continued.

“They are teaching them Jewish folk dancing, and they are caring for the elders. There is a future for Jewish people here.

“A very important thing to keep in mind is that these ‘Jewbans’ [Cuban Jews] need your help,” he noted. “Goodwill alone is not enough. You need to let them know they are not alone nor forgotten. Besides money, they also need Judaic material like tallitim and siddurim.

“Please remember also that even if the Jewish population goes down to one person, there will always be a Jewish presence here. Jews helped found the country, contributed to the business life, and, yes, even helped launch the communist party on the island,” he said.

A second standout was Dr. Rosa Behar, who started the pharmacy at the Beth Shalom Synagogue in Havana.

“You have brought us medicine that we cannot get from the government,” she told us. “We give this to the Jews who come to us in need. They would go without if we did not give it to them. We can never repay B’nai B’rith for all that they do.” She added that non-Jews are not turned away.

Similar remarks came from David Tacher, who is revitalizing the Jewish community in Santa Clara. He and his brother, a gastroenterologist, obtained a building that they plan to turn into a Jewish Community Center. David took us to the local cemetery, a treasure trove of historical information.

There he proudly described the Holocaust memorial displayed inside the entrance to the burial site. David pointed to the upraised hand on the memorial and said, “We are the people of Israel, and we will go forth and we will survive. Never again will we permit what happened in the war.”

In addition to other activities, Tacher presented BBI President Moishe Smith with an artificial plant whose stem was configured with barbed wire as a reminder of the past, and with a flower as a symbol of the community’s rebirth.

Finally, there was Rebecca Langus, who runs a community center out of her house in Cienfuegos and spoke to our group with enthusiasm about the resurgence of the small Jewish community. About 30 people belong to the group; Rebecca spoke proudly about a recent bar mitzvah ceremony.

“Thank you, B’nai B’rith; thank you, B’nai B’rith; thank you, B’nai B’rith,” the synagogue leaders and others recited over and over again. “How could we survive without your help?”

As I reflect on the trip, I realized that when donors make their charitable gifts, they rarely see the beneficiaries, nor do they always hear how the money is actually spent.

Our group, however, was quite fortunate to hear first-hand the personal and heartfelt words of appreciation from the leaders of the groups who received our suitcases and bags filled with apparel and life-saving medicines.

Life is not easy for those living in this communist state. The city is awash in contradictions: Beautiful tourist hotels Point of View, continued on pg. 45

Vol 122, no. 4

Moishe Smith President, B’nai B’rith International Daniel S. Mariaschin Executive Vice President Deborah Auerbach-Deutsch Vice President, Communications & Publisher Hiram M. Reisner Editorial Director Janet Lubman Rathner Senior Editor Rich Bindell Associate Editor Simeon Montesa Art Director Vivian Hayward Graphic Designer Ruth E. Thaler-Carter Copy Editor Theodore Fischer Proofreader Harvey Berk Production & Advertising Manager Advertising Office: Fulton Advertising 301-604-3466 Editorial Offices: 2020 K St., NW, 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 202-857-6681 or 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) (continued on pg. is published quarterly (Spring, Summer, Fall,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.

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B’Nai B’rith 7

Finding Jewish Pride in America’s Pastimes

B’nai B’rith Staff Photo

From the EVP

By Daniel S. Mariaschin Executive Vice President, B’nai B’rith International

M

y lifelong love of sports was rekindled last summer as I carefully scanned dispatches from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and other sources for articles about Jewish athletes en route to the Olympic Games in Beijing. Israel, of course, had the longest list, but there were other Jews of note and consequence.

Sports can offer a much-needed diversion, as the Jewish world focuses on threats from Iran, a possible new Israeli government, general uncertainty in the Middle East and elsewhere, and vexing economic issues.

American swimmers (and Michael Phelps’ swimming teammates) Jason Lezak, Ben Wildman-Tobriner, and Garret WeberGale—and aquatic sport phenomenon Dara Torres—all made their marks at the 2008 Games. The crop of Jewish swimmers carried the torch from Mark Spitz, arguably Judaism’s greatest athlete and one of the most decorated Olympians of all time.

Why was this important to me? In the scheme of things, at first glance, it shouldn’t be. But on second thought, as the “people of the book,” we have many, many accomplishments to be proud of, from science to medicine to culture to…well, so many fields that one can lose track.

Jewish accomplishments in athletics are part of this great ethnic mélange, and, while our numbers may not be preponderant, in many cases our athletes’ performances have been outstanding—and fill one with pride.

Take as an example swimmer Torres, a 41-year-old mother who was given little chance of making the Olympic Games, let alone making a silver-medal showing. Or Phelps’ courageous swimming mates who,

8 winter 2008

though they swam in his shadow, were key to him reaching his record eight gold medals.

Sports have always instilled in me that extra pride in the accomplishments of our people, though, as a participant, I was never quite the superstar. vvv I don’t remember the exact year I became a sports fan—more specifically, a baseball fan—but I’d have to trace it all back to around 1954. We were living in Englewood, N.J. Our next door neighbors were staunch Dodger fans, so I often heard the names Snider, Robinson, Reese, and Campanella.

That spring, my sister, then in the sixth grade, attended a New York Yankees game on a class trip. She brought me back a souvenir, and I was hooked on the Bronx Bombers for life.

After we moved to New Hampshire in 1955, the summer before I entered the first grade, the “Red Sox Nation” was limited to five-and-a-half of the six New England states; Connecticut south of Hartford was Yankee country. You can imagine how much of a fish out of water I was growing up amongst so many Red Sox fans, but I gave as good as I got: The Yankees won pennant after pennant in those years, as the Red Sox struggled in futility.

I was crazy about baseball. In the interest of full disclosure, I wasn’t such a good player. In my four years in Little League, I played right field, and for good reason: It seemed no more than six balls were hit there in a 14-game season. The coaches figured it was a safe place for me.

For me, the real magic was sitting by our old General Electric radio in the kitchen

on summer nights, twisting the dial until the signal of WMGM in New York came in clearly, listening to Mel Allen, Red Barber, and Phil (Scooter) Rizzuto do the play-byplay for my beloved Yankees. I also couldn’t wait for the newspapers, to see the box scores and check on the standings.

So what, you ask, is the Jewish dimension in all of this? Allen plays an important part in this story, because I had heard he was Jewish, and I idolized him. His lilting Alabama drawl, his gentlemanly approach to criticism, and his “How ’bout that!” catch phrase made the game come alive. Since I wasn’t an athlete, I became more a student of the game.

I went to the public library and checked out every book on baseball. I came across Hank Greenberg’s name, but it wasn’t until Sandy Koufax became baseball’s best pitcher that the critical mass of my interest in baseball—and Jews in baseball and all sports—started to coalesce.

I swelled with pride at Koufax’s extraordinary accomplishments. He was a superman and, for my generation, an indispensable element in establishing our positive self-image.

Like Greenberg, Koufax was not religiously observant. But his sitting out a World Series game in 1965 because it fell on Yom Kippur spoke volumes about identity, dignity, and principle.

Aviva Kempner, in her documentary “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg,” and Jane Leavey, in her biography “Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy,” provide the background detail on these two outstanding ball players and the High Holidays.

An anecdote from the classic 1965 Yom Kippur game:

B’NAI B’RITH INTERNATIONAL

With Koufax unavailable, manager Walette High School in Brooklyn, was named ter Alston turned to future Hall of Famer to the All-Ivy League team while attending Don Drysdale. Drysdale, however, pitched Harvard and started at guard for the Bosterribly and, in the third inning, Alston ton Celtics during the 1947–48 season. walked out to the mound to bring in a Jews are involved with sports in a reliever. When he got there, Drysdale said plethora of other venues, from the “sweet to Alston, “Bet you wish I was Jewish.” science” (boxing) to the owner’s suite. Jews In the years leading up to Koufax’s in athletics have been special, as most have decision, I was constantly researching the carried themselves with dignity and respect history of Jews in baseball, seeking to find for both the game and their faith. additional names in a limited category.

Koufax refused to play on Yom Kippur In the pre-Google era, I ferreted out the not because he was religious, but because likes of the Sherry brothers, Larry (who he wanted to set a good example for his played mostly with the Dodgers) and Jewish fans, showing that High Holiday Norm (Dodgers and Mets); White Sox observance should be more important than and Indians pitcher Barry Latman; Mike even the World Series.

Epstein, who played for the Senators and Looking for aspects of yourself in the Orioles; and the great Cubs hurler, Ken giants that walk onto the field of play is a Holtzman. normal part of being a kid. For Jews, we Today’s list contains two of this year’s allhave an extra element as we look for the stars: Boston Red Sox Gold Glove first base- proverbial needles in the haystack, the man Kevin Youkilis and Texas’s hard-hitting chosen few among many. second baseman Ian Kinsler. A few years As someone who was stuck out in right back, the Red Sox—a perennial rival of my field in Little League because the coaches Yankees—had four Jews on its roster. wanted as few balls hit to me as possible, In my search for Jewish sports heroes, I I have always found joy in watching other found I was not alone. Over the decades, people I share a heritage with compete in around the dinner table, at conferences in athletics at an admirable level. far off cities, at what represents the “water It always makes me feel like I’m rooting cooler” in today’s offices, I discovered a for the home team. legion of Jewish kids (now adults) who did the same thing.

A young Dan Mariaschin and some of his It didn’t end with baseball— Little League teammates, circa 1960. professional football was always a challenge, although there have recently been a few of us in the NFL, including Texans quarterback Sage Rosenfels and former Patriots punter Josh Miller. Hockey was also difficult, since there are so few Jewish players. But we always managed to either confirm—or guess— that certain players were Jewish.

Basketball was in a class by itself.

David Vyorst’s wonderful documentary, “First Basket,” highlights many of the early Jewish stars of the game. It was a revelation for me to learn that, in the 1940s, Jews were a dominant force in the college and pro game. I had heard that I had a cousin who was a star basketball player. Only after he passed away did I learn the details: Saul Mariaschin, out of Lafay-

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

Photo by A.J. Bouffard

B’Nai B’rith 9

A Dreidel’s New Spin

By Janet Lubman Rathner

I

n Israel, the game of Dreidel calls for spinning a four-sided top adorned with the letters: nun, gimel, hei, and pei— stand-ins for the Hebrew phrase Nes Gadol Haya Poh, which means “A Great Miracle Happened Here.”

When Dreidel is played outside of Israel’s borders, the geographic switch is acknowledged with an exchange of the letter pei for the letter shin, signifying that “A Great Miracle Happened There.”

For Jennie Rivlin Roberts, a Dreidelinfluenced, minimiracle happened during a 2006 road trip.

Heading home to Atlanta following a visit to relatives in Tampa, Fla., Roberts and her husband, Webb, were discussing ways to enliven Chanukah’s signature game at their approaching annual holiday party.

“Dreidel is so boring. It’s mind-numbing after a few minutes. In fact, whenever we were ready to end our Chanukah party, we found the subtlest way to clear a guest-filled house was to play a round of Dreidel,” Jennie Roberts says. “We thought, ‘There’s got to be a way to make Dreidel more fun.’”

Enter poker.

The husband and wife are card sharks with a particular fondness for Texas Hold’em. They play regularly and are fans of TV’s “World Series of Poker.” And so it was that on that long trip home, “bemoaning the fact that we preferred Hold’em to Dreidel,” Roberts and her husband con10 winter 2008

ceived “No Limit Texas Dreidel.”

This is how the game is played: Players create the best Dreidel “hand” by combining Dreidelhidden “Personal Spins.” The Dreidel “spins” are then combined in a shaker that only the player can see with “Community Spins” that can be seen by all players. Chocolate gelt remains the currency of choice.

No Limit Texas Dreidel proved such a hit at the couple’s party that today it is no longer a Chanukah-only activity at their house.

And, betting there would be interest beyond their immediate circle of friends, the couple created texasdreidel.com to market the game nationally. Their gamble paid off.

Today, a number of organizations that cater to young Jewish adults, such as Young Professionals’ Kesher (YPK) in the Washington, D.C., area, stage No Limit Texas Dreidel tournaments.

“I don’t like games that much, but this one is easy and fun, and there’s not a lot of concentration,” says Rachel Nathan, 27,

a benefits coordinator at the University of Maryland College Park, who was introduced to No Limit Texas Dreidel at last year’s YPK Chanukah party.

Although there is a resemblance to poker, Nathan, who is not a poker buff, says nostalgia for Chanukah festivities of the past, rather than present-day hankerings for Hold’em, is what attracts people to No Limit Texas Dreidel.

“I tried poker a few times and Photo courtesy of ModernTribe I couldn’t follow it. This is easier and fun, and it reminds me of being a child playing Dreidel, but this has a different spin,” Nathan says. “I don’t think most of the players had held a Dreidel for awhile, and I think that was part of the draw.”

Buoyed by the success of their cyberspace endeavor, the couple decided to expand their Internet business still further, creating ModernTribe.com, which offers Judaica geared toward the younger Jewish generation.

A perusal of ModernTribe’s website reveals elephant and donkey tzedakah boxes; CDs from Jewish artists such as Matisyahu; and totes, handbags, and key chains from Israel that are made from recycled tires.

“It’s a lot of fun. I’m having a good time with it,” says Roberts of her e-commerce foray. As for the venture that started it all, in addition to its availability by website No Limit Texas Dreidel is now carried by a number of retail outlets around the country.

Roberts couldn’t be more pleased.

“I feel like it’s a contribution to the Jewish world,” she says. “We all have Dreidels lying around. We might as well make use of them.”

You’ll love Israel from the first

“Shalom”.

TM

Ayellet Beck says “Shalom” with every graceful sweep of her violin bow. She is one of Israel’s extraordinarily talented young musicians. She was born in Jerusalem, studied music at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, then flew to Paris to fulfill her other dream – film study. She returned home, where she felt she belonged, to study film in the Sam Spiegel Film School in Jerusalem. She led the violin section in the young Philharmonic, has been a soloist at major concerts, and has collaborated with many famous Israeli musicians. She hopes to see you soon – at one of her concerts in Israel.

Shalom!

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Ayellet is playing in Beit She’an, spectacular home of 12 civilizations since 4000 BCE. B’Nai B’rith 11

12 winter 2008

Reena Bernards with her family: husband Tom Smerling; son, Amir Smerling, 13; daughter, Talia Smerling, 11; and mother, Ruth Bernards.

Background photo by Getty Images. Family photo courtesy of Reena Bernards.

he tenet to “be fruitful and multiply” can be complicated for Jewish women in the 21st century. Jewish families, to a great degree, are postponing parenthood until later in life, with an increasing number turning to adoption as an alternative, according to experts, surveys, and anecdotal evidence.

Adoption raises a plethora of complicated issues for the modern Jewish family. To wit: There is a dearth of Jewish children available for adoption, which has led to a growing number of non-Jewish children, including those from overseas, being adopted by Jewish families. The result: youngsters with racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds that differ from their adoptive parents—and that can raise inclusion problems—some unique to Judaism.

According to the 2001 National Jewish Population Survey, the latest available, 5 percent of Jewish families include at least one adopted child; experts say the phenomenon has grown even more in the years since.

“Anecdotal evidence indicates that adoption continues to rise in the Jewish community,” says Gary Tobin, president of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, an independent San Francisco-based think tank that studies the issues of intermarriage, conversion, and racial and ethnic diversity.

“For some people, adoption is their first choice when it comes to starting or adding to their family,” says Tobin, father of an adopted African-American son. “For others, they have waited until their thirties or forties to have children, when rates of infertility for both men and women begin to rise.”

The population survey says one in five couples who wait until later in life to have children will confront fertility problems, and at least 25 percent of the adopted children welcomed into the Jewish community come from abroad. “These trends are likely to continue, and so will more and more adoption,” Tobin says.

There are a number of stories key to Judaism where adoption plays a significant role. These include the story of Moses, who, in order to save his life, was given up by his mother and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. When Moses forsook royal life to return to his birth family, his bond with his adoptive mother remained strong.

But despite adoption’s long affiliation with Judaism and assurances that all adopted children who undergo conversion are enveloped by the Jewish community, inclusion is ongoing and evolving with varying degrees of success.

B’Nai B’rith 13

14 winter 2008

By Nicolas Poussin via Getty Images

“There’s midrash [biblical commentary] that [Moses’] birth mother, Jochebed, and the adoptive mother, Bithiah, make friends…

It’s a beautiful story about a birth mother and an adoptive mother working together on behalf of their child,” says Julie Greenberg, a Reconstructionist rabbi in Philadelphia whose five children include two adopted from Guatemala.

“Traditionally, adoption was always a very respected form of building a family and, in fact, when you welcome a baby, there is no distinction made between an adopted baby and a birthed-at-home baby,” she notes. “[But] we all need to address that there is a kernel of internalized racism that tells us that all Jews look alike. It is definitely there, and that will be a barrier for children in feeling a sense of belonging.”

Greenberg sought a way to make it easier to absorb her diverse family into a Jewish communal setting. She joined a synagogue, Leyv Ha-Ir, where she later became the religious leader, because of its mission statement to be “inclusive and accepting of difference.”

Even so, across-the-board acceptance can be a challenge.

“My 11-year-old son will say, ‘They probably don’t think I’m Jewish because I have brown skin.’ He’s very aware of what some people think,” she says, adding that, although he is very comfortable with Judaism, his Latino background is not ignored—nor is the issue of racism.

“It’s important to me that we think of ourselves as a multiracial family. It [racism] is our problem, our family’s issue, our community’s issue. It’s Judaism’s issue, and it is something we all need to be working on,” Greenberg says.

Reena Bernards, of Chevy Chase, Md., a founding member of the Jewish Multiracial Network, whose mission is to build community for Jews of color and multiracial Jewish families, and herself the mother of two adopted biracial children, says she also has confronted the inclusion issue. “We created the Jewish Multiracial Network because there was little else in the community directly serving the needs of multiracial families.”

To further ensure her children’s inclusion, Bernards sends her 13-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter to the Fabrangen Cheder, a parent-taught cooperative Hebrew School located in Silver Spring, Md., which promotes a diverse membership and “embrace[s] people with a multitude of interpretations of Jewish identity, as well as interfaith and interracial families.”

“We wouldn’t just go out and join any Jewish institution. We’re very selective, to make sure there’s a welcoming perspective,” says Bernards. “The issue is racial identity. It’s a major challenge to

integrate these two different parts of themselves.”

When her son became a bar mitzvah, the family incorporated both his religious and racial backgrounds in the service. “He also participated in an African-American rites-of-passage group for boys. It was very meaningful to have this at the same time,” she notes.

Fitting in can be a struggle, particularly when you don’t “look the part.”

“I used to stand in services and worry that, if I didn’t know every single prayer by heart, people would think I wasn’t really Jewish,” says Jessica Radin, adopted as an infant from Thailand.

Raised in Manhattan, Radin, now 32, and a New York City high school history teacher, recalls a childhood in which she felt both cocooned and disconnected—even though she was active in her Reform synagogue’s youth group and president of the Reform North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) chapter in New York City.

Radin felt like she stood out, but for the wrong reasons.

“I’m the only Asian in my family and [was] the only Asian in my synagogue growing up.

I was very welcomed and loved, but you constantly—visibly— have the appearance of an

outsider. I was asked a lot to explain how I was Jewish, why I was Jewish.”

The issue became particularly painful when Radin was 16 and participated in the Bronfman Youth Fellowship program.

Each year, the program picks 26 high school students from hundreds across the United States and Canada to spend five weeks learning about Jewish life in Israel.

“I was not considered Jewish in the eyes of my peers on that trip, and that was stunning and difficult for me,” says Radin. “I remember going to the Wall and I was treated as a tourist when I was there as a Jew to pray. That was very isolating for me.”

Radin would ricochet between the predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish world in which she was raised and the diverse communities of high school and college where she found it easier to blend in. At least initially.

“I felt like I couldn’t win. When I was with my Jewish friends, some of them had somewhat racist or problematic perceptions of people with color—Asians, blacks, or Hispanics—and I would feel out of place because I was the only Asian there. But when I was with my friends of color…some were also anti-Semitic or had misperceptions of Jews. Also, I didn’t know what it was like to grow up in a family of minorities.”

Today, married to a Jewish man and leading a Jewish life, she shrugs off the stares and comments that still come her way. “Now that I’m older, I just think I can’t spend my energy on this,” Radin says.

ul Golin

Photo by Pa

Radin’s experience is not unique. Rabbi Michael Gold, spiritual leader of the Conservative Temple Beth Torah in Tamarac, Fla., and the father of three adopted children, says when it comes to adoption, Judaism is in conflict.

“There are two messages from Judaism that contradict each other. One is that lineage is everything. Your identity is based on your genetic background. The other message is that your true parents are the ones that raised you,” Gold says.

That is why conversion figures so prominently in Jewish adoptions. However, true acceptance from the Jewish community doesn’t always follow, Gold says. In his case, he decided to ease the process and adopt Caucasian and domestically.

“I felt like there were enough issues…without being a rabbi’s kid who came from another ethnicity and country. Today it’s not as unusual. We have more and more people in the Jewish community that don’t look like the Jews used to look,” Gold says. “Acceptance is happening, but slowly. Jewish law is much more liberal than Jews are. Jewish law says Judaism is not a race, but Jews are a little slower, especially when they are talking about who their kids are dating.”

The issue of acceptance is further muddled by the schisms within Judaism.

“You have to recognize that, if you do a conversion with a Conservative rabbi, the child will not be recognized as being Jewish by the Orthodox community,” says Ellen Singer, an adoption therapist at the nonprofit Center for Adoption

Photo courtesy

of Greenberg fam

ily

B’Nai B’rith 15

that by telling her as a child that she had been placed through a Jewish adoption agency, her parents implied that she was born Jewish—when in fact she was not.

She said it was no secret that she was adopted and that, while she felt completely at ease in her home, growing up she was routinely subjected to comments from outside of her family that she didn’t “look Jewish.” LaVigna learned the truth at 31, when she researched her background and discovered that her birth mother was Presbyterian.

“It shook me up a lot. I had been in blissful ignorance and now I looked at myself differently. It’s hard when you’re part of a religion that really emphasizes a lot of this heredity and culture,” LaVigna says.

She says she does not think her parents were being deliberately misleading.

“I think they probably did that because they thought I’d never find out,” she says, adding she believes her parents were trying to raise everyone’s comfort level.

LaVigna has since met her birth mother and also an older sister similarly given up, who by coincidence was also raised as a Jew and who lived for a while in the same apartment building as LaVigna’s family, although no one knew that at the time.

LaVigna’s birth mother was not interested in maintaining contact with either woman, but LaVigna does have a relationship with her sister, whose adoptive family, unlike LaVigna’s, always acknowledged that she came from non-Jewish stock.

While she favors disclosures like this, LaVigna says she knows that, on occasion, such openness can exact a painful price from within the Jewish community.

“Through both my professional and personal adoption network of support groups and friends, I have heard of Jewish adoptees hearing derogatory comments made by older relatives who may not have realized how hurtful they were,” LaVigna says.

However, based on her own struggle for identity, as well as those of the adoptees and their families with whom she works, LaVigna Photo by iStockPhoto

Support and Education (C.A.S.E.), which provides assistance in suburban Washington, D.C., and herself an adoptive mother. “The division between the different movements is already enough of an issue, but adoptive families can be especially vulnerable. To say this child isn’t really Jewish is extremely hurtful to the adoptee and the adoptive family.”

Singer’s daughter, Caucasian and adopted domestically, was converted by a Conservative rabbi. The fact that their child was not born Jewish led the family to lead a more observant Jewish life, Singer says. They followed the laws of kashrut, enrolled their child in a Jewish day school, and became more involved with their synagogue.

“It was much more deliberate because we couldn’t just assume she’d get that feeling through osmosis. Now, at 21, I don’t know what she will do in terms of observance, but I do know that she absolutely identifies with being Jewish,” Singer says.

The whole issue about who is a Jew and proper conversion in general is a very difficult issue, say families who have adopted.

“Nobody wants to have questions raised about the Jewishness of their children,” says Gold. “My own advice to people is to make sure it’s done properly as best as you can and at least the majority of Jews will recognize it.”

Sometimes even in the most loving of homes and where complexions are similar, acceptance and inclusion within the Jewish fold can be lifelong issues for adoptees and their families.

Susan LaVigna, 46, a social worker, psychotherapist, and adoptee who also works for C.A.S.E., says

16 winter 2008

says adopted children need to know what their families know about them.

Singer agrees.

“We never want parents to lie to their kids, but that doesn’t mean they have to overwhelm them with information they are not ready to process,” Singer says. “But, by the time an adult adoptee leaves home, [he or she] ought to know everything that you know.”

Such conversations are ongoing and, as the emerging details can be complicated and painful, it is crucial that the information come from the parents, Singer says.

“Many times, to protect [the adoptee], they don’t share, and the kids, the teens, the young adults learn it some other way and it is much more hurtful and harmful,” Singer says. “Wouldn’t you rather they learn it from the parents they love and trust, who can help them process any kind of difficult information?”

However, adopted children do speculate and ideally should learn about their backgrounds, even if the knowledge brings some grief, Gold says.

“There are going to be issues around the fact that, somewhere along the line, they had a birth parent who could not or chose not to raise them. That’s a real loss,” he says.

“The biological parents are part of who our children are. It is part of their identity and to know that part of yourself is important.”

Gold says connection with one’s birth parents (one of his children has been in touch with hers) can be healthy.

“They can tell you a little bit about who you are. Genetic predispositions can be important. Having said that, their values, their belongings, their sense of ethnicity, everything else comes from the parents who raised them,” Gold says.

Fourteen years after learning her adoption story, LaVigna—devoted wife, mother, daughter, and happily Jewish—still wrestles with the reality that, for the longest time, she was in the dark about her heritage.

“I know it was done with the best of intentions, but it is a constant thought process for me. Being honest is really important.

It makes a huge difference with identity foundation. I think it would be much easier to integrate that part of yourself when you have the truth,” LaVigna says. “This story has evolved in a happy way. We are all very open about this now. I wasn’t born Jewish. I was raised Jewish. I am Jewish. It was meant to be. It’s bashert.”

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By Janet Lubman Rathner

Unable to become pregnant a second time, Ruth Tavor, who had put off having children until well into her forties while she pursued a career in opera, chose the donor-egg route over adoption.

“It’s because of the bond. Carrying [a baby] inside you is completely different,” says Tavor.

“Plus, you have more control. Somebody who [gave] up their child [for adoption]—how did she treat her pregnancy?”

Egg donor waiting lists are long, particularly if there are caveats, and Tavor, an Israeli expatriate living in New York, had one: She wanted the egg to come from a Jewish woman.

“It was nothing about the baby. It was just a level of comfort. I [had] to like the [donor].

I felt more connection to one who was Jewish,” Tavor says.

But just as they typically do not give up their children for adoption, Jewish women—at least American ones—are not inclined to donate their eggs. Tavor concluded that if she wanted a Jewish donor, she might as well focus on Israel. This prompted Tavor and her website designer husband, David Fogel, to take out an ad in an Israeli newspaper.

The flood of responses led not only to the desired second child, but also to a new vocation for Tavor: Jewish/Israeli egg 18 winter 2008

procurement specialist.

At the request of her doctors, who were impressed with the number of Jewish donors she had so readily assembled—a success she attributes to the comfort elicited by her Israeli surname—Tavor opened NY Lifespring LLC in 2002. Today she is aligned with about a dozen fertility clinics up and down the East Coast, as well as in Los Angeles.

Her specialty: finding Israeli women between the ages of 21 and 32 willing to anonymously give the gift of pregnancy to infertile women.

“Israelis are very responsible and very compassionate. They get how important this is,” says Tavor, explaining why she recruits solely from her home country. “It’s a big mystery that I’ve never figured out—why Jewish women here don’t donate.”

Not Unique Tavor’s desire for a Jewish link with the donor egg is not unique. Her clientele—primarily referrals from fertility clinics—hails from all over the United States as well as abroad.

“People come here and they’re almost selfconscious. They apologize sometimes that they care. [But] if you feel more of a connection and it’s accessible, why not? You’re going through enough,” Tavor says.

Tavor charges a commission of between $4,000 and $5,000. Each egg donor receives a compensation of $8,000. As prep and retrieval take place at the designated fertility clinics, clients also cover the donors’ travel expenses. But Tavor, whose screening process includes questions about what compels a woman to become a donor, says money is not the motivator.

“Doing a good deed…is among their most frequently listed reasons for doing this,” she says.

Tavor offered the letter below from a new parent as proof of the mitzvah: “The happiness is indescribable…Where there was no other life, the house is filled with the sounds of crying, laughing, cooing, and, as the baby grows, the happy chaos of toys all over the place; giggling, screaming, and always smiling. The toddler is already speaking words, saying ‘Mommy,’ and ‘Papa,’ and looking up at Daddy and falling asleep on his soft tummy in the evening. That is the stage we are at and hoping to enjoy every step in the future. And you helped.”

According to Tavor, “[Donors] leave a path of light behind them that makes you proud to be part of it. They have the power to make a huge difference in someone’s life and they choose to do it.”

Photo by iStockPhoto

Egg Procurement and the Gift of Life

Editor’s note On Oct. 13, 2008, B’nai B’rith International (BBI) marked its 165th anniversary, and the magazine is kicking off its part in the yearlong celebration by taking a look at our roots.

In the B’nai B’rith Today section, there are several stories that exemplify the core values that inspired 12 men in Sinsheimer’s Café on New York City’s Lower East Side to develop a plan to help Jewish widows and orphans who had no where else to turn, so many years ago.

Cornelia Wilhelm, a professor of Jewish history and Judaic scholar at the University of Munich, has written a book on B’nai B’rith’s early history. The BBI-funded English translation, “German Jews in America: Civil Self-Awareness and Jewish Identity in the Fraternal Orders B’nai B’rith and

www www..ISRAEL ISRAEL

True Sisters, 1843-1914,” is expected to be published in late 2009 or early 2010, by Wayne State University Press.

The book is significant because, as BBI Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin says: “The fact that B’nai B’rith played such a critical role in civil society is extremely important for journalists, diplomats, anyone doing research; and it is important to have this information readily available.” Senior Editor Jan Rathner talks to the non-Jewish Wilhelm about her roundabout path to her scholarly work.

By anyone’s standards, reaching the century-birthday milestone is in itself phenomenal—but even more so when the centenarian in question is still working for a lifelong cause.

Harvey Firestone, who recently cel-

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ebrated his 100th birthday, has successfully used his affable personality and gregarious nature throughout 72 years of service to B’nai B’rith International.

In a society of decreased human interaction, Firestone’s cultivated relationships Editor’s Note, continued on pg. 34

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Readership: Approximately 175,000 B’nai B’rith Magazine cannot guarantee the veracity of advertisements nor accept responsibility for them. B’nai B’rith Magazine does not screen advertisements for compliance with the laws of kashrut. We do attempt to avoid advertisements that would be blatantly offensive to all who observe kashrut. Advertisement in B’nai B’rith Magazine does not imply endorsement by the magazine or B’nai B’rith International.

B’Nai B’rith 21

B’Nai B’ rith The Return

letters

PUBLISH

ED SIN CE

to the editor

B’nai B’rith’s Evolution

The U.N.’s Legacy

Dear Editor: In the midst of Rosh Hashana preparations, and attending to voluminous mail—lodge, professional, and personal—I gave reading of the B’nai B’rith Magazine, a distinguished quarterly, priority attention.

The magazine never fails to inform, advance cultural understanding, and even entertain.

However, my keen interest was drawn to the panoramic institutional overview rendered by Moishe Smith, our B’nai B’rith International (BBI) president. Full of humility, and without false pride considering his own achievements—the first BBI leader from outside the United States—he takes us on a useful travelogue of B’nai B’rith’s evolution, since its founding by a dozen German immigrants to America 165 years ago!

I am impressed that my own multi-decade involvement with the organization coincided with the tenure of some of its more illustrious leaders, some [of whom] I knew: Phil Klutznick, who also served in the cabinet of President Johnson as Commerce secretary; Jack J. Spitzer; Gerald Kraft; Seymour Reich (whom I first heard as a member of Woodside Lodge); Kent Schiner; Tommy Baer—and Richard Heideman; and our own lodge’s Joel Kaplan, who noted my modest contributions during their presidencies.

For nearly a decade, Dan Mariaschin, the executive vice president—the consistent face of B’nai B’rith—has guided initiatives that have made us more nimble [and] effective, and a major player among non-governmental organizations in the international arena.

Bravo, Moishe, for so well walking the path of progress set by your many distinguished predecessors. Happy 60th birthday, Israel!

Happy 165th birthday, B’nai B’rith. Together, may we go from strength to strength!

Sincerely, and with fraternal affection, Asher Matathias Lodge President Long Island Lodge Woodmere, N.Y.

Dear Editor: Dr. William Korey’s otherwise excellent article on the U.N. Human Rights legacy left a gaping hole. He should have taken the opportunity to note that not a single one of the 57 Muslim countries has subscribed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which enshrines the fundamental values of our civilization.

Instead, all 57 Muslim countries created their own Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, which explicitly declares that Islam is superior to all other religions and … that the only source of human rights is Islamic sacred law, the Shariah.

So, it turns out that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not universal at all. The UDHR represents only the values of Western civilization and those other countries [that] later adopted western values.

The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, on the other hand, represents only the values of Islam.

The two declarations of human rights are mutually incompatible, and we should all be aware of that basic fact.

22 winter 2008

Sincerely, Carl Goldberg, Ph.D. Tempe, Ariz.

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FaLL 200 8

Bridging th Jerusalem’s e Past to the Futu re: Cloudy Civ ic Outlook

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Ed Kochth

Overpriced Jerusalem Dear Editor: With regard to your story in the fall issue of the magazine on Jerusalem’s civic future: My name is Shirley Rapoport and I’m a 22-yearold student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I am writing this letter in order to increase awareness of the housing crisis in Jerusalem—in part caused by Jews from the Diaspora—and to offer a solution.

Nearly 20 percent of the apartments in Jerusalem’s central neighborhoods, almost 10,000, are foreign-owned. Most foreign homeowners spend summers and holidays there but live abroad. Their houses in Jerusalem stay vacant most of the year, the neighborhood turning into a ghost town, a target of breaking and entering.

At the same time, Israeli young adults cannot afford to buy a house in Jerusalem because of very high real estate prices, driven up by the foreign house acquirement. Apartments are also scarce on the rental market.

With poor long-term municipal planning, there are no real housing projects for new families. Non-Jewish and non-Zionist populations are increasing, making the city even less tolerant and friendly for the Jewish young adult. Approximately 280,000 Jews have left Jerusalem since 1990, half of them due to outlandish real estate prices.

New-Spirit, a student organization trying to deal with the concerns for the future of Jerusalem, has created the Housekeeping program, enabling foreign homeowners to Letters, continued on pg. 32

Israeli Diplomacy’s Diverse Face A Shift from the Historical Status Quo Israeli diplomats (from left) Deputy Consul General in Houston Belaynesh Zevadia; Consul General in Atlanta Reda Mansour; and Ambassador to Greece Ali Yihya.

Photos courtesy of the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

By Hillel Kuttler

I

srael’s consul general in Atlanta writes Hebrew poetry and once chaired his B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO) branch. The deputy consul general in San Francisco worked for an Israeli police department, the Ministry of Defense, and as an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) political analyst. The ambassador to Greece headed the Ulpan Akiva institute for Hebrew language study in Netanya.

None of the three is Jewish.

Reda Mansour, a Druze, in Atlanta; Ishmael Khaldi, a Bedouin, in San Francisco; and Ali Yahya, a Muslim-Arab Israeli, in Athens are emblematic of demographic changes in Israel’s diplomatic corps.

No longer is the country’s official face abroad exclusively Jewish, white, or male.

Belaynesh Zevadia serves as deputy consul general in Houston, and Elias Inbram is second secretary at the embassy in South Africa—both are Ethiopian Jews. Walid Mansour, a Druze, is ambassador to Peru.

Druze diplomats Raslan Abu Roukou and Walid Abu Haya are, respectively, deputy chief of mission in Nepal and counselor on the Israeli delegation to the United Nations’ (U.N.) Geneva office.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not keep records of employees’ gender, religious, or ethnic breakdowns, but the diplomatic demographic shift is well-acknowledged.

Ministry officials say the change occurred so gradually that no assignment can be said to have marked a turning point.

But officials do note steps several Israeli

foreign ministers took that, in retrospect, were groundbreaking. Moshe Arens recruited Druze in the late 1980s, and Shimon Peres (now Israel’s president) ushered in Arab Israelis in the 1990s. As Peres’s deputy, Yossi Beilin dispatched openly homosexual employees.

Silvan Shalom sought out career IDF officers, including those from minority groups. The current foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, has accelerated the recruitment of women.

“The situation is not what it once was in the 1960s, when the population going into the foreign ministry and government service was more homogeneous. In the 1970s, there was a general awareness in Israeli society of the need to [be] open to different sectors, and that also has affected the foreign ministry,” says ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor.

Those changes, he continues, “go to show what any observer of Israeli society would know: that there’s a growing consciousness of the diversity of Israeli society. We’ve come a long way. There’s recognition of the need to integrate all sectors of society and all branches of government, and—all the more so—the representatives of the government.

“We’re not recruiting people on the basis of color, but candidates do come from different backgrounds, and it’s a welcome development,” Palmor says.

Cynics might accuse Israel of exploiting members of minority groups to score public relations points. Palmor disagrees.

“I don’t think that this does anything: good or bad,” he says of the increased diversity.

“People sometimes around the world can’t

accept the fact that a Muslim can represent Israel, but that’s their problem. Does it change anything if someone has a typically Pakistani name but is a Canadian diplomat? Maybe, for a few minutes, but then you have to work with him. Same thing for Israel.”

Beyond Ashkenazi, Sephardic

Houston’s deputy consul general Zevadia notes that Israel and the United States share legacies of diverse immigration. But, she adds, when Americans think of Israelis, especially representatives of the Jewish state, they expect an Ashkenazi or Sephardi. “They forget that there are 100,000 Ethiopian Jews living in Israel.”

She is one of them. Zevadia is three years into a four-year posting at the Israeli consulate in Houston. She previously served as consul in Chicago for six years and briefly at Israel’s mission to the U.N. Zevadia left Ethiopia for Israel as a teenager, nearly 25 years ago. She comes from a strong Jewish and Zionist background: Her father Geta was a kes (chief rabbi) in the Gondar region of their hometown, Ambover; her brothers Joseph and David preceded her to Israel.

In Chicago and now in Houston, Zevadia has enjoyed appearing at Jewish organizations, synagogues, churches, and colleges to explain Israeli policy and society. She also speaks occasionally before African-American groups.

Zevadia considers herself a symbol—more an example of Israeli multiculturalism than a representative of only Ethiopian Israelis. “I love who I am. I am very proud of whom I am and the country I represent,” she says.

B’Nai B’rith 23

“It’s important for me to represent Israel here, to say that, yes, Israel absorbs immigrants and that many people live in Israel who come from different backgrounds,” she says.

“It’s the same as in the United States.

In Israel you’ll see people with Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Far Eastern, and African backgrounds. Israel is a young country and so many people participate in government life—and that’s good.”

When audiences ask about Ethiopian Jewry, Zevadia screens a film on Operation Solomon, the 1991 airlift of 14,000 people from Ethiopia to Israel. She points to the exodus as an example of “Israeli pride,” she says, but only one of many.

Zevadia is determined to expand Americans’ horizons when thinking of Israel—to draw first perceptions toward Israeli technological advances and culture, “the good things Israel does to benefit the world,” as she puts it. That means scheduling appearances by Israeli artists and musical troupes and highlighting Israel’s worldwide disaster relief missions.

“I represent Israel, so it’s worth taking advantage of [my background],” she says. “I have no problem emphasizing that. Ethiopians are a part of Israeli society and culture, and there’s a need to show it here so that the story gets out and people know.”

The BBYO Druze

Imagine: a young man in Isfiya, a 12,000-resident Druze town near Haifa, becoming a BBYO activist, working as a counselor at American Jewish summer camps, and, at age 35, becoming Israel’s youngest ambassador ever. That is the progression of Reda Mansour’s career.

From seventh grade through the end of high school, Mansour was involved in 24 winter 2008

BBYO, chairing his branch for one year and participating in national leadership programs. The experience exposed him to Israel’s broader society and, eventually, to the world.

“It was very impressive, a great experience in my life, for a kid from the village to go to meetings in Tel Aviv,” says Mansour, who has run Israel’s Atlanta consulate since 2006.

“What BBYO gave me was the connection to other Israeli youth through mutual visits. It also did many projects in the village: fixing public buildings, cleaning the streets, cleaning nature sites,” he adds. “B’nai B’rith was a way to launch my public action from a young age. It was an activity I was involved in for many years. It was my social club. All my friends were there.”

His involvement led Mansour to working at summer camps in Maryland and Vancouver, British Columbia. At the latter, his coworker, a friend from Hebrew University, told Mansour of the foreign ministry’s outreach to Druze. Mansour wrote a letter of inquiry.

He didn’t know what to expect, remembering that, while he served in the military, many IDF units had been closed to non-Jews.

The foreign ministry accepted his application.

“It wasn’t something you aspired to because there was no Druze who was a career diplomat, [although] there were two or three who were political appointees. I think that I’m the first who went out for the course. Each year, 3,000 people try for it and 10–15 are selected,” Mansour explains.

“When I entered, the media gave it a lot of attention. Then I’d get calls from young Druze who heard about it and wanted to know if the foreign ministry was making it such that they could see this as a career path.”

More than that: When Mansour served as ambassador to Ecuador, two members of his extended clan—Walid Mansour and Bahij Mansour—were Israeli ambassadors to Vietnam and Angola, respectively. Two Isfiya natives, including Abu Roukou, later entered the diplomatic corps, leading an Israeli newspaper to dub it “the ambassador’s village.”

Mansour has dealt with those he called the “extreme fringes” in the United States: Jews who objected to his appointments and Arab students who shout “Traitor.” At one San

“The situation is not what it once was in the 1960s, when the population going into the foreign ministry and government service was more homogeneous. In the 1970s, there was a general awareness in Israeli society of the need to [be] open to different sectors, and that also has affected the foreign ministry,” says ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor.

Photo far left: Israel’s Ambassador to Greece, Ali Yihya, with the Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Theodoros Kassimis.

Photo right: Consul General in Atlanta, Reda Mansour, speaking at a Holocaust memorial ceremony at Greenwood Cemetery’s Memorial to the Six Million in Atlanta.

Francisco event (while in the job that Khaldi now occupies), he required a police escort.

Despite such moments, Mansour believes that his background plays well in America because of parallels between the two countries.

“It’s the fulfillment of the Israeli and American dreams to come from a family of farmers, not from a central place, but, because of the access, to a good education, [to] achieve good things and social mobility,” he says. “That is comparable to America: the possibility of advancing through hard work and education. It says something about the quality of our democracy.”

Of helping to open the field to Druze Israelis, Mansour says, “I feel great.” Still, being abroad has been hard because of the tight traditional bonds in Isfiya that are lacking in the diplomat’s life. Maya, at four years old the youngest of his three children, “doesn’t know which is home.”

The Hebrew Teacher

In the early 1990s, Ali Yihya’s friends wanted to know why he was not a diplomat. His reply: “I already am.”

An Israeli-Arab teacher who hails from Kfar Kara in the north, Yihya spent 25 years as director of Netanya’s Ulpan Akiva. He ran across foreigners every day: the adult students who came to study Hebrew and Arabic and learn about Israel and its cultures. Educating tens of thousands of students from all walks of life and more than 100 countries, “you have to be a diplomat,” Yihya says. “I was exposed to the international community.”

Yihya relishes his roles. Speaking by telephone from the embassy office in Athens, Yihya projects confidence in his manner, dignity in his words, and so much enthusiasm for the topic that a conversation he hesitated to have ran 90 minutes and, he said, “could have gone on for hundreds of pages.”

He spoke of being a proud citizen of Israel who stands for coexistence, dialogue, and cultural understanding within Israel and Diplomacy, continued on pg. 45

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B’Nai B’rith 25

26 winter 2008

Photo by Jupiter Images

By Uriel Heilman

I

n a densely packed country with 500 residents per square mile, the road from the Negev’s main city of Beersheva to the tiny town of Merhav Am is a seemingly endless expanse of desert, interrupted only by shrubbery and the occasional roadside Bedouin tent.

Here, the crippling traffic jams that are a hallmark of daily life in central Israel, where more than 70 percent of the country’s 7.2 million people live, are virtually unknown.

Cars on these roads slow down only when a Bedouin shepherd steers his flock across the highway or a herd of wild camels wanders onto the asphalt.

The people who live in the Negev are more familiar with the weekly livestock market and shopping bazaar held at Beersheva’s outskirts every Thursday than with the fashion boutiques that line Tel Aviv’s upscale boulevards.

In the small desert communities scattered around this region, homeowners don’t lock their doors at night, young children play outdoors unsupervised, and nightly desert winds lull residents to sleep.

This is partly what brought Elli and Dalia Rosenberg to the Negev six years ago, when they were looking for a place to start their family. However, it wasn’t just the lifestyle that drew Elli, the eldest son of Canadian immigrants, and Dalia, the daughter of an Israeli father and a Brooklyn-born mother, to the rural Negev.

It was Zionism.

B’Nai B’rith 27

Photo by Uriel Heilman

“We wanted to live in a place where just living has meaning,” says Elli, 33, who grew up in the Tel Aviv suburb of Petach Tikvah. “The Negev in our day and age is a place that answers that requirement. Just living here has significance.”

Having spent part of his army service in the Negev and some time studying in a yeshiva in the development town of Yeruham, about 30 miles from Beersheva, Elli saw his future in this largely rural, littledeveloped part of the country.

He enrolled in medical school at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and, when he and Dalia— a native of Beersheva who was in law school in Jerusalem—decided to marry, they became founding members of a new religious Negev community where they believed they could live out their ideals.

The Rosenberg family, from left to right: Tal, Elli, Ido, Dalia, and Yael, near their home in the Negev.

Situated on a bluff southeast of Beersheva, a few miles from “We discovered that, for 20 years, no new north] are the future of Israel,” says Roni Kibbutz Sde Boker (where Israel’s first prime communities were established and no fresh Flamer, founder of an organization called minister, David Ben-Gurion, lived out blood had come to the Negev with idealthe Or (Hebrew for “light”) Movement that his last 20 years), Merhav Am (originally ism and motivation to start a new initiative tries to entice new residents to the country’s called Halukim) started with just a handunderdeveloped areas. “The Negev and Galilee for the coming generation,” says Flamer, ful of families living in prefabricated homes 32. “We found this fantastic place to live represent 75 percent of the land of Israel and powered by generators, with water hauled in only 30 percent of the population. But it’s 100 and suddenly a few crazy guys at the age of by tractor. percent the future of Israel. This is our motto.” 22 were coming to fulfill a dream. Nobody Elli and Dalia were the 10th couple to knew what to do with us.”

With central Israel becoming ever-moremove in.

Israel’s infrastructure minister at the time, densely populated, anchored by metropolitan “My parents made aliyah, and they gave Ariel Sharon, met with the boys, and he was Tel Aviv and sprawling Jerusalem, a moveup a very comfortable life in North America enthusiastic and encouraging, Flamer says. ment is afoot to bring more Jews to the because they believed in coming to Israel and country’s periphery—the Negev in the south Sharon helped them establish the town, making aliyah; in a sense, I wanted to concalled Sansana. and the Galilee in the north. tinue that,” Elli tells B’nai B’rith Magazine.

“We were like real pioneers,” says Flamer, Families like the Rosenbergs and activists “My mother asked me why I was moving who still lives in Sansana. “Since then, lots of like Flamer and Or Movement co-founder here and I told her, ‘Ima [mother], just like people came to see the miracle that there is Ofir Fisher believe the Negev can be a viable you were a Zionist by coming to Israel, I am still idealism and passion in Israel. The Negev alternative to central Israel. They represent an a Zionist by going to the Negev.” and the Galilee are the tools that create a effort that the Israeli government, American

Why the Negev In an age when Israel’s agrarian roots are a distant memory, life in the rural Negev is a throwback.

It’s a place where pioneers can establish new settlements untainted by the politicized conflict with the Palestinians; where young families can live out Ben-Gurion’s dream of making the desert bloom; and where people still talk about building communities rather than fortunes.

“The Negev and the Galilee [in Israel’s 28 winter 2008

Jewish organizations, and Israeli industry all are keen on seeing succeed.

These are passionate young Jews—eager to actualize the Zionist ideals of building the state, greening the desert, and creating communities infused with Zionist values—who see in the Negev an opportunity to create the kind of societies Israel’s founders envisioned.

In southern Israel, far from the strip malls of Tel Aviv’s suburbs, the Negev is the closest thing to the clean slate many of Israel’s prestate pioneers found when they first came to the Holy Land. It’s what brought Flamer to the Negev with three friends in 1999, to start a new town on a barren desert hilltop.

[bright] light at the end of the tunnel. It is hope for Israel.”

The government has several reasons for developing the Negev. It wants to bring jobs to rural Israel, more evenly distribute the country’s population, and tip the ArabJewish demographic balance in the Negev and Galilee regions—where there are heavy concentrations of Israeli Arabs—more solidly in favor of Jews.

In the Galilee, the government-run Galilee Development Authority and the Jewish Agency for Israel launched a campaign in 2004 to try to draw new Jewish residents to northern Israel by offering discounts on land,

infrastructure support for new buildings, and The Jewish Agency for Israel, and the says. “If you were late from work, your tax breaks. The success of the initiative has American Jewish Joint Distribution Commit- friend could pick up your kid from daycare. been mixed, however. tee run programs for new immigrants, the elPeople would call you to see if you were okay Arab population growth has continued derly, and disadvantaged youth. The formerly if they heard you were sick. It was the small to outpace Jewish population growth in the nomadic Bedouin also are recipients of state things we loved.”

Galilee, and the 2006 Lebanon War—during aid and assistance from nonprofits.

As an exclusively religious yishuv, or which northern Israel came under attack from community—the Negev’s only one between Hezbollah’s Katyusha rocket fire—slowed the Beersheva and Eilat—Merhav Am provided influx of new residents to the region. the traditional Jewish environment the Negev pioneers While the Negev is roughly 60 percent JewRosenbergs sought while being hands off ish, the Arabs who live there—most of them enough to contrast starkly with the religious This massive effort, however, would be Bedouin—also have much higher birthrates. fundamentalism of more politically charged nothing without people like the Rosenbergs.

The government has tried to shore up the religious settlements, like those of the When Dalia and Elli first moved to Merhav Jewish population by encouraging new imWest Bank.

Am, in 2002, it felt like a dream come true. migrants to move there.

“It fit our ideal,” Elli says. “There are lots “It was heaven at the beginning,” Dalia says.

As early as the 1950s, Israel established deof yishuvim in the Negev that were very well“People would do anything for you and for velopment towns. But these communities, indeveloped—Omer, Meital, and Lehavim, each other. It was very diverse, even though cluding Yeruham, Dimona, and Sderot, were satellite towns for Beersheva—but we bewe were all religious families.” not successful. They failed to attract much lieved that, by starting a new yishuv, it could There were some challenges. industry or generate a sizeable middle class, spark new interest and bring more people to In summer, cold water was hard to come and most residents remained mired in poverty the Negev.” by because the punishing desert sun would and largely cut off from the rest of Israel.

Merhav Am grew steadily in its first five heat the water running through the town’s Rather than serving as centers where new years. Trees were planted, pipes were laid unabove-ground pipes. During winter, flash immigrants could develop into Israelis, graduderground, the town was hooked up to the floods would sometimes obstruct the road ally integrating into the rest of Israel and findnation’s electricity grid, and the postal service connecting the tiny town to the highway. ing upwardly mobile paths, the development finally agreed to make a mail stop there.

When residents needed to buy groceries, the towns were neglected and their residents left With outside help, Merhav Am built a closest store was more than five miles away. segregated from the rest of the country. daycare center, kindergarten, synagogue, But the benefits of living in Merhav Am Now, Israel is making a concerted effort to playground, and mikvah. seemed to far outweigh the disadvantages. invigorate the Negev. With the help of AmerAfter a little more than a year, Dalia gave “On the one hand, you had your privacy— ican-Jewish and grassroots organizations, the birth to a daughter, Tal, and, two years later, it didn’t have the [structure] of a kibbutz, government is investing in infrastructure, the couple had a son, Ido. Both children but you always had friends to turn to,” Dalia industry, and communities. were born at Beersheva’s Soroka Hospital, New upscale neighborhoods are Photo courtesy of JNF going up in Beersheva; train service to the city has been upgraded and accelerated; and the southern portion of the Trans-Israel Highway, which will link the area to the rest of the country, is almost complete.

Government-provided incentives are attracting new businesses and hundreds of white-collar jobs. Corporations like Amdocs and Intel are building facilities.

The Jewish National Fund (JNF) is heavily investing over 10 years in Blueprint Negev, a plan to build new communities; improve Beersheva’s infrastructure; invest in the city’s hospital, university, and cultural institutions; and increase employment opportunities. “The whole revitalization of the Negev is to help the whole community and each demographic that lives there,” says Jodi Bodner, JNF’s director of communications.

The Yeruham water purification station, a project of the Jewish National Fund.

B’Nai B’rith 29

where Elli, now a doctor, was getting his M.D.-Ph.D. Dalia worked at a small law practice in Beersheva.

It was, in many ways, an idyllic life. “It was very exciting,” Elli says. “There was a sense of something new, something special.”

If you build it, they will come

Photo by Uriel Heilman

Photo courtesy of JNF

Photo courtesy of JNF

Top: Merhav Am, including the Rosenberg family home.

Photo by iStockphoto

Middle: The synagogue at Merhav Am. Bottom: Laying road near Merhav Am.

30 winter 2008

As professionals, idealists, and Jews committed to the future of the Negev, the Rosenbergs look like the poster couple for the kind of people the Negev champions. But people like the Rosenbergs are the exception.

Of Elli’s medical school class at Beersheva’s Ben-Gurion University, only 10 out of 60 graduates stayed in the Negev, he says. In 1999, Intel opened up a $1.6-billion research-and-development facility in Kiryat Gat, a city about halfway between Beersheva and Tel Aviv. But 90 percent of the plant’s white-collar workers chose to commute from metropolitan Tel Aviv and elsewhere, rather than live in the Negev.

“Part of the problem is that people who have opportunities to offer in the Negev think there is nobody to work for them there, and people who want to live there think there are no jobs to be had,” says the JNF’s Bodner.

It’s a chicken-and-egg problem. Policy planners and grassroots activists agree that the key to development is attracting professionals to the region, but, for that, there needs to be an infrastructure that will appeal to young professionals: everything from schools to transportation to jobs to arts and culture.

In this long-neglected part of the country, the revival is under way.

In late 2004, the Israeli government announced a multi-year $4.7-billion plan to develop the Negev.

Since 1999, the Or Movement has established five new rural towns in the region—one of them is Merhav Am—and has plans to bring 60 groups of pioneers to 60 existing Negev communities. The idea is for the groups—each comprised of 15 or so couples or families—to commit to some kind of community-building project in the Negev, from establishing a business to providing education for special-needs kids to expanding a town’s cultural offerings.

“Each group has its own idea to strengthen the community,” Flamer says. “It gives great energy to the entire enterprise of developing the Negev.”

In Beersheva, the JNF is building a 1,700acre park along an old riverbed that was a toxic waste site until a few years ago. Where nearby

buildings once were constructed to face away from the polluted river, new structures now face the rehabilitated waterway that runs between newly built promenades on either side and culminates in a modest lake. The water comes from recycled sewage and runoff from wintertime flash floods. The JNF is also building an amphitheater, a sports complex, and playgrounds in the city.

Outside Beersheva, the government and private groups are teaming up on revitalization projects in the mostly neglected 1950s development towns like Yerucham, Ofakim, and Dimona. They’re putting in parks, running after-school programs for at-risk youth, and, near Ofakim, building a state-of-the-art residential village for special-needs children.

JNF and Or also are collaborating on a unique project to attract North American Jews to the Negev. Slated to open in 2011, a town, called Carmit, is supposed to be a religiously pluralistic upscale community comprised mostly of English-speakers who are Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox. Unlike most start-up Negev towns, Carmit will launch with permanent housing, rather than mobile homes, and the houses will have central air conditioning and Western amenities.

“It will be a symbol all over Israel,” Flamer gushes. “The impact will be unbelievable.”

Rabbi Asher Lopatin of Chicago is among those who already have signed on to live in the town.

“I had been planning to make aliyah, I was looking for possibilities, and this idea of Carmit looked very exciting,” says Lopatin, spiritual leader of Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel, a modern Orthodox synagogue in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago.

“I really would love to be involved in a pluralistic community in Israel and also to be a community rabbi. This is an opportunity for starting a fresh new community with fresh new attitudes. Carmit is the future of Israel.”

Lopatin has formed a nonprofit organization, the Chicago Israel Philanthropic Fund, whose mission is to take 100 families from the United States to Carmit. The group is working with the Or Movement on a website and marketing packet.

Elli Rosenberg says the Negev already has the key elements in place to attract newcomers—it’s just a question of marketing.

“I think the major problem of the Negev is its image,” he says. “I think, if you’d poll the center of the country, they’d associate the Negev with ‘desert, barren, yellow, empty.’”

Flamer agrees, which is why he’s on a mission to spread the word that the Negev is changing. The Or Movement hosts information centers around the country to recruit Israelis considering relocating, highlighting different options for newly discharged soldiers, students, environmentalists, ultraOrthodox groups, and new immigrants. The centers function as one-stop shops that help with everything from finding employment and housing to choosing a community.

Ultimately, revitalizing the Negev will hinge on whether the movement can succeed in attracting not only highly motivated Israelis like the Rosenbergs, but also those not necessarily predisposed to life in the Negev. People like Lopatin, who acknowledges the Negev isn’t necessarily his ideal locale for a home in Israel, will represent test cases for the Negev revitalization movement.

Will the elements that drew them to the desert—in Lopatin’s case, a uniquely pluralistic community—be enough to keep them there?

Dream vs. reality In Merhav Am, the question of whether the community ultimately will be a success remains open.

Seven years after the town’s founding, permanent housing has yet to replace prefabricated dwellings, and the community has dwindled from its peak of 37 families. In a town designed to house 200 families, so far there are 31, according to the JNF. Though a few new families have moved in, many of the town’s founding members have left.

The Rosenbergs are among them.

It’s not that they gave up on their dream of living in the Negev—the Rosenbergs moved just 10 miles down the road, to the development town of Yeruham, population 9,000—but, they say, Merhav Am changed in ways they didn’t like.

The Rosenbergs had hoped the town would open up and become a mixed religious-secular community, but commu-

nity members voted down an initiative to welcome secular families.

The sense of unity the couple felt in the town’s early years dissipated as many of their like-minded friends left, the style of prayer at the synagogue changed, and the town even changed its name.

Originally called Halukim after a nearby hill, community members elected to change the name to Merhav Am in memory of Rehavam Ze’evi, the Israeli tourism minister and right-wing ideologue who was assassinated by Palestinian gunmen in 2001.

The name change was emblematic of the transformation in the town’s character, Elli says.

“We didn’t expect it to turn into a place that was intolerant,” he says. “I’m not sure where the root of the problem was: the withdrawal from Gaza, a general swing to the religious right. People’s views became more extreme after the disengagement [Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in the summer of 2005].”

“Those new, extreme views were part of why the yishuv transformed to the extent that we didn’t see ourselves living there anymore.”

Whereas once Elli hardly could bear to be away from his beloved community, by 2007 Merhav Am had become a place he wanted to leave. That summer, just before the start of the new school year, the Rosenbergs found a home in Yeruham for rent. Within a week, they had packed up their things and left Merhav Am. In some ways, the Rosenbergs’ move is a sign of the Negev’s viability: Unhappy in one place, they were able to find another community in the Negev that suited them.

Yeruham has the religious diversity the couple was looking for, there is a multiplicity of synagogues to choose from, and the town is, by comparison, more cosmopolitan. There are good schools for the kids, and there’s plenty of community-building work to do.

And, as five-year-old Tal boasts, now the family’s house has two bathrooms.

But it wasn’t easy giving up on the dream of living in a frontier community in the middle of the desert. Dalia, now nursing her third child, daughter Yael, born in early 2008, still gets teary-eyed when she talks of Merhav Am. “When you ask me what I wish today, I wish one day we could go back,” she says, choking back tears. “It was hard to leave.

Maybe one day.”

Ultimately, revitalizing the Negev will hinge on whether the movement can succeed in attracting not only highly motivated Israelis like the Rosenbergs, but also those not necessarily predisposed to life in the Negev.

B’Nai B’rith 31

letters

to the editor

rent to Israeli young adults. This project creates a win-win situation by fostering a vibrant young Jewish presence in Jerusalem while protecting the property of absentee foreign homeowners.

For further details about Housekeeping, please contact Amit Poni, housing coordinator of New-Spirit: poni.amit@gmail.com; 972-54-4775726.

Sincerely, Shirley Rapoport Jerusalem

(continued from pg. 22)

Questioning Kapparot Dear Editor: Thank you for publishing “Questioning Kapparot” by Janet Lubman Rathner in the fall issue of B’nai B’rith Magazine. As Rathner points out, animal protectionists have no quarrel with the observance of the sin-cleansing custom of Kapparot per se.

Our effort is directed solely against the unnecessary use of chickens in observance of a custom that does not require chickens or any other animals to be used.

Most observers swing money or throw bread into the water while reciting psalms and prayers. So-called “chicken-swinging” occurs mainly in ultra-Orthodox communities, yet, in Brooklyn alone, more than 50,000 chickens are trucked in each year for this purpose, and many unused chickens have been discovered abandoned in toppled crates, soaking wet, when the Kapparot ceremony was over.

For years, Jews living in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Los Angeles have urged United Poultry Concerns to do something on behalf of the chickens. Not only are the birds typically deprived of food, water, and shelter in the week preceding Yom Kippur; they are roughly handled during the chicken-swinging/slaughter ceremony itself, and all of this mistreatment takes place in the presence of children.

Accordingly, we are urging rabbis and members of the Jewish community who care about animals to speak out in favor of compassion for the chickens and in opposition to involving them in ceremonies that do not require their suffering and death.

Thank you for your kind attention to our concerns.

Sincerely, Karen Davis, Ph.D. President United Poultry Concerns, Inc. Machipongo, Va.

Publisher’s Statement Title of Publication: B’nai B’rith Magazine Frequency of Issues: Quarterly Publisher: B’nai B’rith International, 2020 K St., NW, 7th floor, Washington, DC 20006 Editor: Hiram Reisner Owner: B’nai B’rith Inc. (non-profit organization) 2020 K St., NW, 7th floor, Washington, DC 20006 Known Bondholders, Mortgages, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 percent or more of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None

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Average No. copies each issue during preceding 12 months

No. copies single issue published nearest to filing date

110905 104512 0 995 237 105744 0 0 657 657 106401 4504 110905 99%

104981 100269 0 998 238 101505 0 0 668 668 102173 2808 104981 99%

As we celebrate the 165th anniversary of the founding of B’nai B’rith International, our roots, our role, our core values remain.

Our members and supporters, in more than 50 countries, make a difference: • Fighting anti-Semitism, intolerance, and anti-Israel bias • Helping communities in crisis

• Working for affordable healthcare • Supporting our seniors

B’nai B’rith: A Part of Your Community

Join us as we move forward, support our goals, and learn more at www.bnaibrith.org.

Editor’s note Editor’s Note, continued from pg. 19 seem to be key to his success. To acknowledge Firestone’s lifetime commitment, BBI honored the centenarian at the Midwest Region Annual Meeting on Oct. 19 in Chicago. Associate Editor Rich Bindell talks to Firestone and others to decipher the drive that has motivated this man for so many years.

Rich also has a story about an event held at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., which lauded the embassy’s work in the Jewish community, B’nai B’rith’s 165th anniversary, 120 years of BBI presence in the Jewish state, and Israel’s 60th birthday.

In continuing to follow Israel’s 60th, we have two articles that reflect rarely dis-

cussed issues. Uriel Heilman explores the possibilities of developing and populating the Negev desert, one of Israel’s final frontiers. Hillel Kuttler talks about the changing face of Israeli diplomacy—being Jewish, white, and male is no longer a requirement.

As to our 165th: The theme of the yearlong salute is “B’nai B’rith International— Meeting the Unmet Needs of Your Community and Your World.”

Through programs, in advertisements, and by providing real examples of how BBI affects the lives of those in our communities, we will communicate our principal values to a broad-based audience in a fresh and innovative manner.

The B’nai B’rith website will include a “BBI @ 165” section. Monthly, a special web section will spotlight issues, pro-

grams, and people. There will be a focus on both young and mainstream leaders.

The basic message is that BBI is an integral part of your community, with a long tradition of service. Many of BBI’s most successful programs have been ongoing for 50 or more years. The goal is to show real activity through programs that demonstrate our basic commitments. These programs include providing help to those who need our service—widows, orphans, the needy, and the elderly.

So, we wish us all a happy 165th and look forward to an even more illustrious future. And all of us at BBI wish you a Happy Chanukah.

Hiram M. Reisner Editorial Director B’nai B’rith International

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Kicking off our 165th

A Century of Life, 72 Years of BBI Service Firestone Feted For Seven Decades of Support

F

or years, B’nai B’rith member and Chicago native William DeWoskin has contributed to B’nai B’rith International (BBI) through the same individual: Harvey Firestone.

It’s safe to say that DeWoskin has placed his trust in a seasoned professional—after all, Firestone not only just celebrated his 100th birthday, he has been fundraising for B’nai B’rith for more than 72 years.

“Although I have never met him, every year he calls me at about the same time to make my contribution,” DeWoskin says. “I always wait for his call, although I receive many solicitations from B’nai B’rith during the year.”

This exemplifies just one aspect of Harvey Firestone’s lifetime commitment to B’nai B’rith. To acknowledge this commitment, BBI honored the centenarian at the Midwest Region Annual Meeting on Oct. 19 in Chicago.

36

“Harvey is one individual for whom B’nai B’rith has made a difference, as you can tell through his story, and he has more than done his share in return,” says Chairman of the Executive Dennis Glick, who presented Firestone with a citation of service from the BBI Board of Governors. “His proactive approach to anything associated with B’nai B’rith has made him a solid asset to his community and to BBI as a whole.”

“Proactive and committed” define Firestone. He moved to the Chicago area in 1931, where he still resides with his wife, Dorothy, who is 96; the couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in September.

Firestone joined Garfield Park Lodge on the city’s west side in 1936, and it didn’t take long before he found his role as a fundraiser. At first, he focused on the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, but eventually turned his

attention to fundraising for the organization as a whole.

Outside of fundraising, Firestone also founded two B’nai B’rith lodges in Chicago— Mission Hills Lodge and Metro Chicago Lodge; was responsible for membership retention and new membership; was the volunteer coordinator for fundraising for the Midwest for 40 years; and has worked on behalf of the B’nai B’rith Foundation of the U.S.

Firestone’s B’nai B’rith Roots To Firestone, his birthplace on New York City’s heavily Jewish Lower East Side bolstered his strong B’nai B’rith connection.

“I grew up about three miles away from where B’nai B’rith was founded,” Firestone says.

Firestone’s full-time occupation honed skills needed to be a successful fundraiser. “I worked as a printing salesman; I had to

40

Photo courtesy of Harvey Firestone

By Rich Bindell

Harvey Firestone, a B’nai B’rith member and fundraiser for more than 72 years, is working on a book about BBI. He recently celebrated his 100th birthday.

learn how to project in order to survive,” Firestone says. “Service is the end result. I used to service my accounts to the nth degree and I’ve done the very same thing with B’nai B’rith. I believe continued on pg. 41

Inside this Issue B’nai B’rith’s Early History BBI Recognizes Israeli Embassy Plaque Commemorates BBI-Hillel Relationship

36 39 40

B’nai B’rith Today

B’nai B’rith’s Early History

Cornelia Wilhelm on Her Definitive Book

By Janet Lubman Rathner

I

t was founded in New York City on Oct. 13, 1843, as a service organization with a mission “to provide service to [Jews] and to humanity at large.”

Today, 165 years later, B’nai B’rith International (BBI) continues to defend human rights, provide global humanitarian relief, help seniors in search of affordable housing, and serve as an advocate for tolerance and diversity.

These worthy endeavors led Cornelia Wilhelm, 43, a professor of Jewish history and Judaic scholar at the University of Munich, and currently Visiting Professor at the Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life at Rutgers University, to write a definitive history of B’nai B’rith’s early years.

“Deutsche Juden in Amerika: Bürgerliches Selbstbewusstsein und jüdische Identitt in den Orden B’nai B’rith und Treue Schwestern, 1843-1914” was originally published in Wilhelm’s native Germany. The BBI-funded English translation, “German Jews in America: Civil SelfAwareness and Jewish Identity in the Fraternal Orders B’nai B’rith and True Sisters, 1843-1914,” is expected to be published in late 2009 or early 2010 by Wayne State University Press.

“It tells in detail another part of our story,” says Daniel S. Mariaschin, BBI executive vice president, in explaining why the organization got involved and why Wilhelm is scheduled to speak at B’nai B’rith’s policy conference in New York City on Dec. 7. “The fact that B’nai B’rith played such a role in civil society is extremely important for journalists, diplomats, anyone doing research; and it is important to have this information readily available.”

36 Winter 2008

Wilhelm, who in addition to being German is not Jewish, developed her interest in B’nai B’rith’s history in a roundabout manner. She recently shared how she came to be an authority on the early days of the “Global Voice of the Jewish People” with senior editor Janet Lubman Rathner.

h h h Janet Rathner -- What is it about B’nai B’rith that is so important that you would write an entire book about its history?

Cornelia Wilhelm -- Well, B’nai B’rith [was] really the first secular Jewish organization, an organization that [was] not tied to a Jewish community—you know, the old European-style kehilla [insular Jewish organization] type. And it’s the first time that there was something not connected to the synagogue… pioneering Jewish identity in public life. Nothing like this ever existed before. It’s something that was really brought about through “modernity”—or let’s call it an “enlightenment”—that changed the whole experience of Jews and the possibilities for Jews. Jews wanted to be emancipated, they wanted to be part of a public life, and the process was very difficult—especially difficult in Germany.

Jewish life had been limited to activity within the old kehillastyle communities. The fact that Jews took on jobs outside such a community was new in the 18th and early 19th century.

They were looking for a platform where they could also be Jews, or continue to be Jews, and live and experience Jewish identity. B’nai B’rith was the only model that could provide such a platform.

Photo courtesy of Cornelia Wilhelm

h h h Q -- Why are you so interested in Judaism?

A -- First of all, I would say I’m interested in Jewish history more than Judaism. I had an interest in the Holocaust that was basically triggered with, or by, an interest in German contemporary history.

And I think it’s very typical for a whole generation of Germans—it has to do with their own definition of national identity; they have to figure out what they can think about their nation’s past.

I then decided to study history at the University of Munich and, within the course of my studies, I had an internship at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988. At the time, the museum wasn’t even a museum yet. It was an office building.

It was very interesting for me because I was studying a topic that I was well familiar with as a student of German history, in an entirely different environment.

And it was a great experience— also a great experience in terms of America. It was the first time I came to America, and it really influenced me on a totally different level. It really was my point of departure for an interest in American history.

And what happened was I came back with a topic for a doctorate that was kind of a connection [between] German contemporary history and American history. It was about Nazi propaganda among German Americans in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s.

And there was really no literature; nothing about it.

And I was particularly interested in B’nai B’rith because B’nai

B’rith was very different. It was an old organization dating back much further than the American Jewish Committee or [anything] else, and it had a different background as a fraternal order.

It almost seemed to be [like] an 18th-century organization and, at the same time, it is well-known [to] people who are working in contemporary history—in 20thcentury history—as an organization that pops up as a target of anti-Semitic propaganda, in the early 20th century in particular, based on the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”

And I stumbled into Jewish history with…B’nai B’rith, and it was a major journey. The whole discussion of the topic really took me right into the formative period of AmericanJewish history.

h h h Q -- You grew up in a Germany that is generations removed from the Holocaust. How does the country educate today’s children about that period?

A -- German education is organized by the individual states, and every state has its different

B’nai B’rith Today nuances, but I think one can say that, in general, [German schools] are very openly dealing with the Holocaust, and [their] own history and failure, so this is a core element of the curriculum. And I think actually that German students are really encouraged to a large degree to be critical about what is presented to them as facts, as a result of the whole Nazi history. They question things. Students here [in the United States] are not as critical about texts, and sometimes they would rather have a simple solution. But I think Germans have noticed that facts are very negotiable. What is told to them as fact is something that is not necessarily the truth.

h h h Q -- They’re skeptical?

A -- Yes, they’re more skeptical. I have a feeling that it comes from their background and culture.

It’s very much enforced in the educational system, and I think it’s a result of that. For example, I learned about the Holocaust at the age of five or six in my religious education class, and it was very confusing for a child that age. It was a shock in a way, because that is not a topic in a family setting, necessarily.

h h h Q -- Getting to your book; you say that the founders of B’nai B’rith wanted to create an organization for Jews that was not affiliated with the synagogues. What was the reason for that? Why did it need to be separate?

A -- Well, neither the American synagogue nor the Europeantype synagogue [community], the kehilla model, really served the needs of modern mobile Jews anymore. You have to remember that, by the beginning of the 19th century, the world of Jews was dramatically changing. The radius of the activity

and engagement in society was totally expanding, and there was also no authority to give them…clear assistance or any help with how to behave in that civil society. There wasn’t always a synagogue, especially in America, and Jews wanted to engage in society. They were told that this was their mission as Jews.

There was also a change in the religious interpretation of Judaism through the Reform Movement, or the emerging Reform Movement, that said, “Yes, we are a chosen people, but we are also an integral part of the human family and, for that reason, we have to engage in society. We cannot be separate from it. The problem is really that we have to maintain the Jewishness, but it has to be a Jewishness that kind of matches the modern world.”

And B’nai Brith was to provide a role model for that behavior, and could also reach out beyond traditional forms of organization. It could reach out to Jews who could not belong to a community, or to a synagogue; who were extremely mobile.

B’nai B’rith provided, in a way, Jewish identity and privacy, as well as directions [for] how to live civil Judaism in society.

h h h

Q -- You say that the fact that B’nai B’rith was modeled on ideals of Reform Judaism in 19th-century Germany assisted its members in becoming fully integrated into American life. Can you explain how this worked?

A -- The key element for this was the lodge as an organizational unit, and lodge life with its ritual, and the commandments the applicant [accepted] upon entry into the order. And the ritual was usually tied to specific ethical behavior. It was key to the process of character formation. [The premise is] that all men are brothers, the sons of one God, and [B’nai B’rith] stressed the fatherhood of God, and the brotherhood of men, which is also the motto of the Reform Movement.

[There was also] a commitment to benevolence, and here it’s important to understand that this is a commitment to active service on your neighbor’s behalf. It’s really brotherly love, an activity that takes your whole personal involvement; it takes a special engagement with the universe, a holistic touch, and it’s…a vehicle to engage in society.

h h h

Q -- Why was it necessary to have an organization like B’nai B’rith? A number of its early members, including the founder, were members of the Odd Fellows, which B’nai B’rith is patterned after. If they were not being excluded, why was there a need to create something only for Jews?

A -- Well, unlike other ethnic groups, Jews in particular saw America as a unique chance to build a completely new identity, and realize the ideals that they had already in mind and developed in Europe—and I refer particularly to the ideals of becoming good citizens and integrating in civil society. America [had] religious freedom, [but] in 1830 there was hardly an organized Jewish community. So they [B’nai B’rith’s founders] noticed that something very special was possible in America compared to the Old World, or elsewhere.

And they wanted to do it right, and this was a real challenge for many of the poor and very inexperienced immigrants. Many came from Bavaria, from the countryside, and they were struggling with bourgeois respectability and with all the requirements that civil society imposed [on] them, and they found that such an organization could help them reach their ideals.

In the beginning, they thought Odd Fellowship would provide such a platform, and they tried to establish an Odd Fellow lodge that was Jewish. That didn’t work out because Odd Fellows, although they allowed ethnic lodges, such as German lodges or French lodges, would not allow a religious group to form a separate lodge. That was against their ideal of tolerance.

But Jews wanted to be among each other, maybe for reasons of privacy, and, as a group, to develop something that would continued on next pg.

B’Nai B’rith 37

B’nai B’rith Today

B’nai B’rith’s Early History (continued from pg. 37)

h h h Q -- Can you discuss some of B’nai B’rith’s early projects?

A -- Well, it [started] the first Jewish libraries in this country.

And it provided intellectual training, [and] training on how to speak publicly. The first library was founded in 1851, and, after that, the B’nai B’rith becomes a key platform for social activity in America’s communities, hospitals, and orphanages. And, in addition, you have to understand that, between 1850 and 1875, there was diversity among Jewish congregations. There were Polish, German, Bavarian, English, Portuguese [congregations]. They fought a lot with each other. It was very difficult to bring about consensus to move on with a major project where everybody could benefit. And it was really B’nai B’rith as an organization that locked out religious conflict.

community. There were religious freedoms, separation of church and state, and it gave immigrants tremendous freedom. In Europe, it was very different. If you look into the first lodge on the continent, which was founded in Germany in 1883, and what needs the B’nai B’rith served in Europe, they were very different needs. There was a polarization between Germans and Jews and great anti-Semitism growing, so B’nai B’rith was successful, but it was not allowed to stretch out into the public political sphere.

It was in America where you could maintain your group identity, and you still can. You can be Jewish; you can be German and American; you can be Spanish and American. It’s the American story that allows you to be one of these groups that are persecuted [elsewhere] and find haven in America. And you don’t have to give that up to become American.

It’s completely different in late-19th-century Germany, [which] was totally exclusionary to other groups [that wanted] to become German.

h h h

h h h

Q -- If B’nai B’rith came about as a means of helping integrate European Jews into American life, why was there interest in establishing B’nai B’rith chapters in Europe?

Q -- Your book says interest in B’nai B’rith membership declined in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which was when many European Jews immigrated to the United States, and that the reason was the perception that B’nai B’rith was a club for the German-Jewish elite. How did B’nai B’rith respond?

A -- B’nai B’rith was a means to help Jews find a place in modern society [in America and elsewhere]. It was not specifically designed to serve as a tool to reach all these goals in America. It just happened that, in America, all this was possible.

There was not really an existent hierarchy, a religious hierarchy in the Jewish community [in America]. There was hardly a Jewish 38 Winter 2008

A -- That’s a complicated question. Actually, by 1880 B’nai B’rith did represent an elite, and also a unique success story of German Jews, most of whom first came to the United States poor

and uneducated. Some of them were [however] intellectuals and became the leadership, but the rank-and-file that arrived in the 1840s and 1850s often came from Orthodox communities in the countryside. German Jews had a unique success story in American history, and B’nai B’rith was instrumental in bringing this about.

But even after B’nai B’rith had become a symbol of this elite membership, it also attracted a large number of people whose main motivation was to belong solely to B’nai B’rith for social stratification or material benefit.

It had great programs, [including] insurance programs that were also attractive. And the original commitment of taking care of each other in case of sickness and so on, which was an act of personal solidarity, was changed in 1874 with the introduction of a compulsory insurance system, which brought about an impersonal automatism,

which destroyed the sense of brotherhood that was originally installed in the order.

It became a looser organization, and some members refused to accept young, often poor, so-called Russian Jewish immigrants. They wanted to maintain that elite image to the outside.

There was a big scandal actually in Chicago in the 1880s, when a group of young Eastern European immigrants wanted to join the lodge, and the Chicagobased district didn’t allow them to join. And, in that situation, the old founders stood up, and the Constitution Grand Lodge [took] jurisdiction over this case.

It changed the jurisdiction of the Chicago District Grand Lodge and stated that it is the purpose of the order to integrate exactly such people, and they stated that they have been poor immigrants originally [themselves], and that continued on pg. 40

Cornelia Wilhelm and students visit Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Founded by Eastern European immigrants, the Orthodox synagogue is one of the oldest congregations in America. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Photo courtesy of Cornelia Wilhelm

best match the needs of that particular group that would perhaps be uninteresting for somebody else. So this is how B’nai B’rith was founded.

B’nai B’rith Today

BBI Recognizes Israeli Embassy For Public Work, Historical Link

By Rich Bindell

D

ignitaries and community leaders joined B’nai B’rith International (BBI) and B’nai B’rith Chesapeake Bay Region in honoring the Embassy of Israel on Sept.

9 for its important work in the American Jewish community.

The Unbroken Covenant, an event that also recognized B’nai B’rith’s 165th anniversary and 120 years of Israeli presence, was held at the Israeli Embassy, in Washington, D.C., and highlighted years of cooperation on issues of importance to the Jewish people and to Israel. Israeli Ambassador to the United States Sallai Meridor expressed gratitude to B’nai B’rith for its strong support of Israel and for the work it continues to do on Israel’s behalf. “[You] share with us the great joy of Israel’s 60th anniversary, but [also] what you are doing, day in and day out, for Jews worldwide, and for the core center, the heart of the Jewish people—the state of Israel,” Meridor said. “Thanks for dedicating your lives to the future of the Jewish people.”

BBI Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin presented Meridor with a photograph of U.S. President Harry S. Truman, B’nai B’rith member Eddie Jacobson, BBI EVP Maurice Bisguyer, and BBI past President Frank Goldman in appreciation of long-standing cooperation.

The photograph captures the moment when Truman declared the de jure recognition of the state of Israel by the United States on Jan. 31, 1949 (de facto U.S. recognition of Israel was on May 14, 1948) and underscores the crucial role B’nai B’rith played in U.S. recognition of Israel’s independence.

“Mr. Ambassador, with appreciation from B’nai B’rith

Photos by Charles Votaw

B’nai B’rith International and B’nai B’rith Chesapeake Bay Region hosted The Unbroken Covenant, which honored the Embassy of Israel for its important work in the American Jewish community. Israeli Ambassador to the United States Sallai Meridor expressed gratitude to B’nai B’rith for 120 years of presence and support in Israel.

International for all that you do...we make this presentation to you on this special occasion honoring Israel’s 60th anniversary,” Mariaschin said.

The Age-Old Bond B’nai B’rith’s connection to Israel took root with the founding of its Jerusalem Lodge in 1888. Leaders of the organization focused on establishing Jewish-Hebrew institutions of education and promoting Jewish settlement in what was then Palestine. Some of the founding members of the lodge made major contributions to Israel’s history.

“This was a very prestigious group in 1888 when it opened its doors,” Mariaschin explained to guests. “Among the members of that lodge were David Yellen, Hebraist, founder of the Hebrew Teacher’s Seminary, community representative, and educator; Ephraim Cohen, local representative of the Ezra Educational Fund; Avraham Moishe Luntz, founder and first director of the School for the Blind and the leading geographer of Israel; Joseph Meyuchas, president of the Council of Jerusalem Jews; and, later on, Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv.”

Eliezer Ben Yehuda, another founding member of the Jerusalem Lodge, considered to be the father of the revival of the Hebrew language, pushed to make it the official language of the State of Israel.

In an effort to install Hebrew as the national language, and a common one for the large numbers of Jews immigrating to Palestine from all over Europe, B’nai B’rith Jerusalem Lodge founded the first Hebrewspeaking kindergarten in 1903, which was immediately filled to capacity with 70 children.

In 1892, B’nai B’rith built the Midrash Abarbanel Library, the keystone of what became the Jewish National and University Library. Members of B’nai B’rith went door-to-door to solicit donations of books for its collection, which eventually included 2,000 volumes from the personal collection of Ben Yehuda.

B’nai B’rith established the Sha’ar Zion Hospital in 1890, which provided medical services to handle health issues of new immigrants. When 35,000 Jews immigrated to Palestine after World War I, B’nai B’rith Jerusalem Lodge created Israel’s first absorption center to provide

shelter until employment was found for the new immigrants.

Perhaps, B’nai B’rith’s most crucial contribution to Israel came when Truman refused to meet with Chaim Weizmann to discuss Israel’s independence in 1948. B’nai B’rith President Goldman contacted Jacobson, a longtime B’nai B’rith member and friend and former Kansas City business partner of Truman’s, and asked him to convince the president to meet with Weizmann. Because of Jacobson’s intervention, Truman changed his mind, met with Weizmann, and eventually extended de facto recognition to Israel, making the United States the first country to do so.

At the 60th anniversary event, Mariaschin promoted B’nai B’rith’s role in the establishment of Israel. “Look, Israel is important to every Jew, and we hope it’s important to a lot of others as well, but…I believe that B’nai B’rith has a special [relationship that] ties us even more closely to the State of Israel,” he said.

BBI Honorary President Kent Schiner greeted attendees in the absence of current BBI President continued on pg. 43 B’Nai B’rith 39

B’nai B’rith Today

Plaque Unveiled Commemorating BBI-Hillel Relationship

By Joel Samen

A

plaque commemorating the relationship between B’nai B’rith International (BBI) and Hillel was unveiled Sept. 8 at Hillel headquarters in Washington, D.C. The event celebrated the two organizations’ historical bond, which focused on fostering Jewish continuity and creating young Jewish leaders.

Soon after Hillel’s founding in 1923, B’nai B’rith adopted the Jewish collegiate organization, helping it gain recognition and establish a foundation on college campuses. BBI supported Hillel until it became an independent entity in 1994.

“The strength of B’nai B’rith has been its volunteers, who over the years have been instrumental in promoting programs for the

good of the Jewish community,” said B’nai B’rith Honorary President Kent Schiner, who attended the event. “Hillel, which started 85 years ago, has become a homeaway from home for the Jewish student and has grown to over 400 campuses. This is another worthwhile service that B’nai B’rith has rendered the community and, over its 165 years, still continues in that same vein.”

BBI President Moishe Smith and Hillel President Wayne L. Firestone unveiled the plaque acknowledging B’nai B’rith and Hillel’s joint commitment to “Engaging, Educating, and Empowering Generations of Jewish College Students.” The event was part of Hillel’s annual board meeting.

During his speech, Smith

Photos by Max Orenstein/Hillel

BBI President Moishe Smith and Hillel Board of Directors Chairman Julian Sandler inspect a plaque commemorating the historic relationship between B’nai B’rith and Hillel. The plaque is on display at Hillel headquarters in Washington, D.C.

touched on BBI’s hope that a new partnership could be forged between the two organizations that would lead into the next

generation. Smith emphasized B’nai B’rith’s commitment to Hillel’s successful future.

B’nai B’rith’s Early History (continued from pg. 38) this is what the order is supposed to do. But, in general, unfortunately, this happened a lot of times, and for many years the order failed to integrate [a] younger and also ethically diverse clientele.

The New York District, which was the original home of the order, lost half of its membership by 1900, and it created a huge membership crisis. Around 1900, there was a president named Leo Levi, who was very conscious about this; he really cared. Under his leadership, the order made a dramatic move and moved the headquarters of B’nai B’rith from Lexington Avenue into the Lower East Side, to be in touch particularly with the Romanian immigrants 40 Winter 2008

that were present there, and the order was actually very successful with this approach.

It’s a very, very touching story, this discussion about how to reach the Eastern Europeans, and it’s about the survival of an order that is dramatically struck by the membership loss. And it’s also, I think, a story about the presidents; how involved they are personally.

h h h Q -- Who are the “True Sisters” in the title of your book and what is their connection to B’nai B’rith?

A -- [Much like B’nai B’rith] the True Sisters made it clear that it was their goal to pave the way

for Jewish women to define a role in the public sphere, outside the synagogue. They organized as an order like B’nai B’rith, which was their role model after they had unsuccessfully tried to join. Basically, they provided the same access to civil society as B’nai B’rith did, but the organization was for women only and this was a conscious decision.

In 1874, the True Sisters were officially pronounced the equivalent of B’nai B’rith for women. This partnership ended in the early 1890s when B’nai B’rith started having its own auxiliaries for women.

h h h Q -- Why do you think B’nai B’rith’s role in the formation of

American Jewish identity has been neglected by the history books?

A -- American Jewish history [is] a very small field. It has only developed as a major field since the 1970s, with the whole movement [of ] ethnic history in American history. And also, the study of an organization [that] stands for, or stood very long for, an all-male elite is in many ways also not trendy for people. So, maybe one of the reasons was that there are very few people who study American as well as European history at the same time, which I think you need to do to understand the whole concept.

B’nai B’rith Today

A Century of Life, 72 Years of BBI (continued from pg. 35) in what I’m selling, and the product is 165 years old.”

And how he says he acquired those skills also strengthened Firestone’s ardent commitment to B’nai B’rith.

As a sophomore at a public high school in New York City, he failed English, his favorite subject. Fearing his academic performance would block him from future opportunities, Firestone sought other education options. “I was despondent,” Firestone says.

That’s when he discovered the Hebrew Technical Institute (HTI) in Manhattan, a school funded in part by B’nai B’rith in the late 1880s, a fact he would learn years later. “B’nai B’rith furnished funds [for] the school to give Jewish boys all over the city of New York an opportunity to learn a trade. I learned woodworking.”

Firestone graduated from HTI in 1928, started working at a silk manufacturing factory, and studied architecture at New York University at night. He lost his job during the Great Depression and left for Chicago in 1931, where, through his sister, he got work as a salesman at a printing company.

While Firestone was living with his sister and her family in 1938, a neighbor remarked, “Have I got a girl for you!” He invited Firestone to synagogue, where, he recalls, “I met Dorothy Kling for the first time and she told me afterward that, in her mind’s eye, I was the one for her,” Firestone says. “We’ve been married 70 years.”

Once settled in his new job, Firestone began coaching in an amateur basketball league that traveled through Illinois and Indiana. It was through people

his behalf from Las Vegas, where she recently retired.

“I’ve been working with Harvey for over 30 years,” says Brown. “He still gets checks [from donors] saying, ‘Keep up with the good work.’ It’s a labor of love for Harvey to work for B’nai B’rith in the capacity that he’s in. His love for B’nai B’rith is almost unbelievable.”

A Model of Good Health, Preserver of History

Louis Orlovsky, past president of the former B’nai B’rith District 6, presents a certificate of appreciation to Firestone for his commitment to B’nai B’rith.

he met on these trips that Firestone connected with Chicago B’nai B’rith, eventually joining Garfield Park Lodge.

“I’ve been raising money for B’nai B’rith ever since I was first a member. The president of the lodge happened to be the honorable Abraham Lincoln Marovitz, who became a Supreme Court justice in the state of Illinois.

He has been my inspiration,” he said.

A Relentless Pursuit of Excellence In a society of decreased human interaction, Firestone’s cultivated relationships seem to be key to his success. “These are people he’s been dealing with for the last 30 years or so,” says former BBI Vice President of Field Services Alan Lessack. “During the course of the year, he addresses and stuffs over 1,000 pieces of mail. Last year, he was responsible for at least $30,000 of fundraising.”

Celeste Brown, former Midwest Region administrative assis-

tant, who helps Firestone with his mailings, says his success is unusual. “Even in hard economic times, I send a mailing out with Harvey’s name on it and he gets at least $1,000 back,” she said.

On the occasion of Firestone’s 95th birthday, Lessack suggested creating the Harvey Firestone Future Leadership Fund (HFFLF) to attract young people, something that Firestone finds crucial to BBI’s future. Funds raised provide opportunities to participate in B’nai B’rith programs, including traveling to conferences and other events.

Lessack explained that, initially, the fund was expected to be a one-shot deal. But Firestone’s commitment to fundraising changed those plans. “He started aggressively soliciting and getting people to commit to a multipleyear promise,” Lessack says.

“About $20,000 has been raised [for the fund] as of today.”

Those who have worked with Firestone are his biggest advocates—Brown still works on

Many in Firestone’s community can’t help but notice his remarkable health and sharp mind at 100 years. “For people who know him and see him, they marvel at him,” says Brown.

“He doesn’t walk with a cane. He doesn’t look like he’s 100 at all.

He’s got the mind of a 40 to 50 year old person.”

When asked if he feels like he’s 100, Firestone is quick to respond: “No, definitely not.

My mind is as active as though I were 70. I still go to regional meetings, and I’m working on my book.”

The idea for Firestone’s book jelled in 1992, when he started to write a brochure on BBI’s history as a promotional tool. This led to “Revisiting the History of B’nai B’rith from Genesis to the Present,” a 300-page book to be published in the near future.

Firestone hopes his B’nai B’rith fundraising legacy will be passed along to the next generation of volunteers, and he is proud of and thankful for having had the opportunity to set a high standard. “Maybe I’ve created an image of my own, maybe not; it all depends on who’s looking at the situation,” he says. “But, for continuity, I’ve been there. I’m happy that I have the ability to do that.”

B’Nai B’rith 41

B’nai B’rith Today

Kurt Simon Honored at 95, Contributes to Unto Program in its 20th Year

By Rich Bindell

B

Holocaust Remem’nai B’rith brance Day. The projInternational ect is coordinated by (BBI) received a substantial contribution Yad Vashem with B’nai for one of its signature B’rith as its North programs from Kurt American sponsor.

Simon of South Bend, Simon was identiInd. The organization fied as a potential honored Simon on his donor by Senior Vice 95th birthday and for his President Harold charitable gift to BBI, Steinberg and his wife, which will be directed to Margie (Simon’s niece), the Unto Every Person who worked with the There Is a Name HoloPlanned Giving departcaust commemoration ment to provide inforprogram (Unto). mation to establish the A 50-year member terms of the gift. of B’nai B’rith and a “Kurt, it has been Longtime B’nai B’rith member Kurt Simon (left) gave a generous contribution toward B’nai B’rith’s long-time supporter your generosity, and Unto program. BBI Chairman of the Executive Dennis Glick (center) and BBI Director of Planned of Jewish causes in the Giving Sharon Metro Roll (right) traveled to South Bend to honor Simon at his 95th birthday [that] of your dear South Bend commucelebration, where they presented him with a plaque.

Tessye, z”l, that has nity, Simon presented enabled B’nai B’rith the gift from Kurt and to enhance and exto Germany to visit for the first perished during the Holocaust.

Tesseye (of blessed memory) pand the outreach of this vital time since his departure.

He left Germany in 1929 and Simon. The contribution will be program,” said BBI President The worldwide Holocaust came to the United States with used to sponsor the Unto HoloMoishe Smith in a letter to memorial project was created to $2 in his pocket. He eventually caust Commemoration program, Simon. “We are deeply thankful perpetuate the memory of the 6 settled in South Bend in 1935, which is now in its 20th year. for your involvement and proud million Jews lost, as individuals, where he started a grocery disBBI Chairman of the Executo have you as a member of the tribution company called Simon through the public recitation of tive Dennis Glick and BBI DiB’nai B’rith family.” their names on Yom Hashoah— Bros. In October, he returned rector of Planned Giving Sharon Metro Roll traveled to South Bend to honor Simon at his 95th birthday celebration. They presented Simon with a plaque ’nai B’rith Internation- Walker’s influence. “June and a book containing photos Walker was a wonderful hual (BBI) mourns the and articles detailing the history man being: passionate about death of June Walker, and funding of Unto.

Israel and a strong advocate chairperson of the Confer“We thought it would be great for close U.S.-Israel relations. ence of Presidents of Major to honor Kurt on his 95th birthShe was highly respected not American Jewish Organizaday and to recognize him for only in the Jewish commutions, who died this summer his very generous gift to B’nai after a long battle with cancer. nity, but around the world by B’rith,” Glick says. “To be with policy-makers and governBBI President Moishe Smith ment officials alike.” After him while he was surrounded called Walker “an inspiraserving as president of Hadasby his family and friends, and tional leader to us all in the sah, last year Walker became Jewish community, and a to thank him personally for his chairperson of the Conferrole model for all to emulate. generosity and support of our ence, an umbrella group of 50 Her hallmark leadership will Holocaust commemoration proJewish organizations. She was be sorely missed.”

Execugram, was very rewarding.” only the second woman to tive Vice President Daniel S. Simon selected the program Photo courtesy of Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations hold the position.

Mariaschin also remembered for his gift because he had several family members who

B

42 Winter 2008

B’nai B’rith Today

In the News Gilinski Named Chairman of CHRPP B’nai B’rith International (BBI) has named Isaac Gilinski chairman of the Center for Human Rights and Public Policy (CHRPP). The Colombian native previously served as president of B’nai B’rith District 23, presiding over 10 Latin American countries, and as BBI international vice president.

“Isaac Gilinski’s longtime service, and the respect he has earned as a leader in B’nai B’rith and in Latin America, makes him an excellent choice to chair the CHRPP,” said BBI President Moishe Smith.

Gilinski, a chemical engineer and former professor at the Universidad del Valle in Colombia, has held many prominent positions, including chairman of the board of Banco Andino and Banco de Colombia.

“His broad interest in global Jewish affairs, and his knowledge of many Jewish communities around the world, will enable him to work closely with us and our staff on so many vital public policy programs in which we are engaged,” said BBI Executive Vice President and Director of CHRPP Daniel S. Mariaschin.

B’nai B’rith Hosts International Terrorism Seminar in Brussels The B’nai B’rith International (BBI) Office of European Union Affairs hosted a program entitled “Terrorism and Europe: Threats and Responses” in Brussels in September.

The event included a luncheon seminar on “Potential Threats to European Security” that featured European Union Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove, NATO Assistant Secretary General Guy Roberts, and George Washington University Director of Terrorism Studies Professor Yonah Alexander.

The panel was moderated by BBI Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin.

Members of the European Parliament Alexander Alvaro, Helga Truepel, Paulo Casaca, Jozef Pinior, and Jana Hybaskova co-sponsored the event, and are among the 44 members of European Parliament who recently signed a resolution calling on the European Union to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

Adam Mouchtar, director of BBI’s Office of European Union Affairs, organized the program.

BBI Attends Regional Anti-Semitism Conference BBI Executive Vice President Dan Mariaschin recently participated in a regional conference on combating anti-Semitism, held in Bucharest, Romania.

The event, attended by representatives from 24 countries, including leading experts on anti-Semitism and members of several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focused on methods that can be used on both governmental and NGO levels.

The event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, the Elie Weisel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania, and the Romanian National Defense College.

Sessions included: “Current Issues Related to Anti-Semitism at the National Level,” “Legislative Measures for Combating Anti-Semitism and the Role of Law Enforcement Bodies,” and “The Role of Education in Fighting Anti-Semitism.”

Mariaschin moderated the closing session.

BBI Recognizes Israeli Embassy For Public Work, Historical Link (continued from pg. 39)

Moishe Smith, who was on a mission to Cuba (see pg. 6).

“On behalf of Moishe Smith, we are very thrilled that we are all together today to be able to celebrate Israel’s 60th birthday and B’nai B’rith’s 165th birthday,” Schiner said.

Richard Heideman, another honorary BBI president, stated, “We gather tonight to recognize, to truly celebrate 165 years of important Jewish history. Establishing hospitals, establishing children’s homes, B’nai B’rith was not only there; B’nai B’rith was on the ground with real, live leadership, doing the important work in the good name of the Jewish people.”

In attendance were representatives from the embassies of Austria, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Turkey, and Ukraine. Benton Mirman, chair of the BBI Delegation to the World Zionist Organization, served as chair of the planning committee for the evening’s programming.

Vice President of Communications Deborah Auerbach-Deutsch B’nai B’rith Today (BBT) is now a special section in B’nai B’rith Magazine. BBT will focus on timely, major issues affecting the members, supporters, and leaders of B’nai B’rith International, including regional success stories, programming, departmental initiatives, events, etc. Strictly regional news will now be covered on our upcoming websites, whose launch dates will soon be announced. If a regional story is newsworthy, timely, and unique, it will be considered for submission to BBT and publication in the magazine.

Editorial Director Hiram M. Reisner Editor Rich Bindell Designer Vivian Hayward B’Nai B’rith 43

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abroad. Representing Ulpan Akiva at such international forums as UNESCO first afforded Yihya the opportunity to promote Israel, particularly its successful absorption of immigrants, he says.

Yihya takes pride in the recognition of his work: becoming, in the late 1980s, the first Israeli Arab to light the famed Yom HaAtzmaut torch on Mt. Herzl; receiving the Speaker of the Knesset’s Prize and the Histadrut Prize for Coexistence; and being named ambassador to Finland in 1995—the first diplomatic posting for an Israeli Arab.

“I see myself, all my life, as a diplomat,” he says. “I’ve been an ambassador three times: from my society to Jewish society, from Jewish society to Arab society, and abroad for all Israelis.

“You have to have confidence in yourself to see the differences between you and others— [that they’re] not less than you, just different,” he continues. “The beauty of the rainbow is the [many] colors; the beauty of life is the different faces. Differences should be respected.

Ignorance is the reason for hatred: You don’t know, you hate.

“I see myself representing Israel in all its parts, all its religions. The State of Israel is a state of such variety. That’s its beauty: Druze, Jews, Arabs. There are always groups that are ‘anti.’ That doesn’t mean that there are no problems, but show me one country in the world where there are no problems. You have to be a good citizen in [any] country.”

When he encounters demonstrators in his travels, including in the United States, Yihya has a ready retort. He calls them “shallow” for seeing the world in black and white while “my country is full of colors.” He said that he is “the first speaker” against extremism and offered an unsolicited denunciation of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for “destroying Islam.” Ahmadinejad, he says, “is not just an Israeli issue but an issue for the world.”

On the other side are the ambassadors of Arab countries with which Israel has diplomatic relations. They tell Yihya, “Your country is smart to appoint an Arab-Israeli to represent it.”

For that, and in realizing that others will follow him, Yihya says, “I just have this wonderful feeling that I opened the gate.”

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sprout 20 and more stories high, just a short distance from homes that may not have seen a coat of paint since the revolution officially began on January 1, 1959, when Fidel Castro was installed in power.

Two economies exist side by side: one for tourists and another for citizens. In this dual environment, a highly educated professor can earn a top salary of 34 pesos a month, while a taxi driver or hotel bellman, for example, can add to his meager income by accumulating multiple tips.

One highly educated woman, an engineer, confided in me how difficult life in Cuba was. Her son became a bar mitzvah the weekend we visited.

She described the years of savings

required to hold the celebration. In doing so, she fulfilled a promise to her late husband.

Trip leader Marc Fleischer, vice chair of the B’nai B’rith Cuban Jewish Relief Project, completing his 15th trip to the island, commented that continuing efforts like this really do make a difference in the lives of the community.

“We do more than provide money to old people,” he noted, referring to the tzedakah project. “We recently brought two torahs to separate communities, donated by congregations in Cleveland and in New Jersey. On this trip, we brought in more than 600 pounds of clothes and thousands of dollars in medicines.

“Above all,” he concluded, “B’nai B’rith also provides hope.”

B’Nai B’rith 45

Remembering a Colleague: Gene Fogel was Dedicated to Senior Housing

By Rachel Goldberg, Ph.D.

I

have written before about the contributions that older workers can make, and the importance of finding ways to keep them in the workforce and prevent discrimination against them. But even though I wrote about it and talked about it, I still didn’t always think about the older workers I work with— until recently.

On Aug. 25, Eugene R. Fogel, 68, who had been with B’nai B’rith International (BBI) for 11 years, died unexpectedly while vacationing in Florida. At B’nai B’rith, Gene devoted himself to working on behalf of older adults as our director of Subsidized Housing.

He was more than qualified for the job, having previously spent 36 years at the Department of Housing and Urban Development managing, crafting, defending, and deciphering the HUD Section 202 program—the largest source of money in the world for low-income elderly housing. He knew more about that program than I will probably ever know—about anything. And even as I worked with him for five years, I didn’t really think about what an example he was.

He was an older worker—a post-retirement worker coming to B’nai B’rith after a full federal career. He was dedicated to his mission, on the clock and after hours. In addition to his work with BBI, he further dedicated his time to older people by working on the board of another subsidized housing facility in D.C., St. Mary’s Court.

Some people in his position would have 46 winter 2008

just coasted through this second career on the basis of having more or less written the book on the Section 202 housing program.

Instead, Gene continued to learn, gaining a new understanding of the program from a resident’s perspective.

After years on the bureaucratic side, he saw what residents and nonprofit sponsors (like BBI) needed and lobbied HUD to make changes to the program he once ran.

Gene was a generous mentor and a wry commentator. He was an example of all the things we know are valuable about older workers, but I didn’t really notice.

He didn’t walk around announcing his age, and that’s part of why I didn’t think about

it. He used to say to Mark Olshan, our 62-year-old boss: “I’m older than you, but younger than dirt.”

And still, he was just Gene.

But really, he was proof of how much you can do in a second career—of how much you can live, give, and achieve after 50, or after 60 (or after 65).

He traveled the world not just to sightsee, but also to work on his mission, sharing his expertise about senior housing in lands as far away as China. He went on the BBI Cuba mission five times and sat for years on the board of the aforementioned low-income facility in D.C. that was about to ask him to come back and do it again! He also served on the board of his condo, and was still quite active in the synagogue he helped found in the 1970s.

Since we have lost Gene, I have been looking for a lesson in this.

Personally, it serves as a reminder to make sure the people you love always know it. But from a professional perspective, I think it reminds me that we all have people in our midst whose amazing work, dedication, and energy go unnoticed.

Obviously, age isn’t the determining factor in much of anything, except it allowed Gene to have years of knowledge I can’t imagine ever replacing. He brought so much to the work we do here. He certainly proved what policy people like me are always saying about older workers.

He knew so much, and gave so much.

He will be missed.

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Planned Giving

A Gift Unspecified, but Welcome

By Janet Lubman Rathner

H

Photo courtesy of Harold Goldberg

arold Goldberg loves interacting [appropriately]. I said, ‘Here’s $5,000 to with people. use as necessary.’ I know this will assist “I’ve always enjoyed working with the continuance of this vital work,” with the public,” says the dentist who, after Goldberg says.

50 years of cleaning, drilling, and filling, is Sharon Metro Roll, director of Planned now in the process of retiring and turning Giving for B’nai B’rith, says all donations his practice over to the very capable hands are appreciated, but those that are nonof his son, Bruce. specific allow for flexibility.

Leaving the world of 9 to 5 behind “Every gift helps B’nai B’rith move formeans this lifelong resident of Baltimore ward, but unrestricted assets allow us the will have more time to devote to B’nai liberty to put the funding where it is most B’rith, in particular the Menorah Lodge, needed. It is important to be able to assess where he has served as treasurer for the past the needs of our programs from year to 20 years.

“I enjoy the membership and the camaraderie, and, in this capacity of treasurer, I have been involved in the various activities of B’nai B’rith and have observed first-hand the necessity of…funds to operate the many facets of [the organization],” Goldberg says.

B’nai B’rith’s legendary relief response to world disasters and emergencies in Israel, its devotion to children’s programs, its confrontation of anti-Semitism, and it efforts to combat assimilation are just some of the reasons why Goldberg and his wife, Sallie, decided to present the organization with an unrestricted $5,000 gift.

While donors can designate which program they want their money to support, the Goldbergs did not want to specify.

“For more than 100 years, B’nai B’rith has been a world leader in many deserving causes. They do a varied program of many causes I support, Harold and Sallie Goldberg made an unrestricted gift to BBI. and I know they will distribute

48 winter 2008

year,” Roll says. “We’ve very grateful to the Goldbergs for their vision and generosity.”

Goldberg says he knows his donation will be invested wisely.

“How can I tell them where the need is?

They’re more knowledgeable than I am,” Goldberg says. “When the need comes up, they can direct. I leave it in their hands [as they] see fit.”

Unrestricted donations of $5,000 or more to B’nai B’rith can, for example, double the pension of 500 older adults in Cuba’s Jewish community; bring an Aging in Place seminar to seniors and their adult children in a specific community; or bring United Nations officials and B’nai B’rith leaders together to help further the B’nai B’rith agenda at the U.N. A donation of $10,000 or more can go far toward improving Israel-Diaspora relations through the B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism program, or can help distribute medications to Latin American countries suffering economic crises; $50,000 or more can be used to build a dual-use bomb shelter in Sderot, Israel, for security and after-school activities.

If you would like more information about making an unrestricted donation to B’nai B’rith, please contact B’nai B’rith International’s Department of Planned Giving at 800656-5661 or plannedgiving@ bnaibrith.org.

Donations may be mailed to B’nai B’rith Planned Giving, 2020 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, indicating that the gift is unrestricted.

How will you say,

“My Time Here Has Mattered” B’nai B’rith can help you do your share of “Tikkun Olam,” or repairing the world. Through our charitable gift annuity program, you have the opportunity to support the programs and causes that are so important to you, partnering with B’nai B’rith to make this world a better place for all people.

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Sharon Metro Roll Washington, D.C. Director, Planned Giving 800-656-5561

Marna Schoen New York Associate Director, Planned Giving 800-656-5561

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1-800-987-8129 510-987-8129 510 3rd Street, Suite 102 Oakland, CA www.doclab.com

Reduce Your Heating & Cooling Costs By Over 50% 5111 ~ Lic.# 522164

Enhance And Protect Your Home With Our Factory Direct Exterior Shading Devices: Awnings, Sunscreens & Rolling Shutters

Fully Retractable Awnings

Best Wishes Israel

FRUITRIDGE SHOPPING CENTER 28 STORES TO SERVE YOU

WHERE SERVICE IS STILL #1

916-451-6992 Corner of Stockton & Fruitridge 5657 Stockton Blvd.

Sacramento, CA

Need Assistance at Home?

When you need a little help…

Let Adventist Private Home Care assist you with your needs.

We specialize in: • Personal Care Attendants • Homemakers/Companions • CHHA/Skilled Attendants • Monthly Supervisor Visits Our services include: • Housekeeping, Meals, Bathing & Errands • Hourly, Nightly & Live-In Available You can reach us 24 Hours a day, 7 days a week.

For more information call:

1-619-426-4662 Ext. 227 Ask for Maribel

- Designer on Staff -

European Rolling Shutters Visit Our Showroom - Open Monday - Friday 8-5, Saturday10-3

408.629.3740

www.ers-shading.com

404 Umbarger Road, Suites A&B ~ San Jose, CA 95111

Greetings To Our Many Friends

Top Designer Eyewear Contact Lenses

323-462-5195

Fax: (323) 462-5180 212 N. Larchmont Larchmont Village

Inc.

The Tenenblatt Family and

ANTEX KNITTING MILLS Match Master Dyeing & Finishing 3750 S. Broadway Place Los Angeles, CA

Bonita, CA Mention B’nai B’rith

San Diego’s System Integrators Access Control • CCT • Alarms • Door Hardware Services • Fire Alarm Systems 4241 Pnderosa Ave. #D, San Diego 1425 Garnet Avenue, San Diego 1727 Sweetwater, #R, National City

www.calcomsec.com (858) 503-7500 800-286-2555

Providing Quality Security Services and Solutions for California

B’Nai B’rith 51

CALIFORNIA

ECKHOFF ACCOUNTANCY CORPORATION

Payroll Services • Tax Planning and Preparation Accounting and Auditing • Computer Installation & Management Services • Financial Planning Estates & Trust Planning • Litigation Support Business Valuation

- 50 Years of Accounting Experience www.eckhoff.com (cpas@eckhoff.com) Contact Michele Hassid Please Mention B’nai B’rith When Calling

415-499-9400

SINCE 1968 M-F 9-7

• • • • •

SALES & RENTAL

Sat - 9-5

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT SICKROOM SUPPLIES SPORTS MEDICINE SUPPLIES ORTHOPEDIC ASSIGNMENT MEDICARE ASSIGNMENT

714-846-0688 562-592-3020

u ] t Huntington Harbour Mall 16881 Algonquin St. H.B.

Please Mention This Ad

145 North Redwood Dr. • San Rafael, CA 94903

PESTEC

IPM PROVIDERS

Mount Tamalpais Mortuary

Bedbugs, Mice, Roaches, Ants, Cockroaches Commercial Sanitation Reports Issued Residential, Commercial, Government & Transportation Pest Control (415) 587-6817 San Francisco

(510) 251-9000 Alameda

(925) 934-2284

(925) 757-2945

Contra Costa County

Contra Costa County

www.pestec.com

Happy Hanukkah Serving the Entire Jewish Community

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich & Mary Christine, Christine & Michael, Jr.

415-459-2500 170 North San Pedro Rd. San Rafael, CA 94903 Congregation Rodef Sholom

Happy Hanukkah

Lunch & Dinner • Private Party Rooms Reservations

Faz

714-529-8333 714-529-2751 240 S. State College Boulevard Brea, CA (57 Freeway at Imperial)

www.lavnrose.com

52 winter 2008

Oakland Jet Center Managing Owned & Charter Jets Since 1963

(510) 569-9622 (510) 635-3173 fax www.kaiserair.com Oakland, CA

CALIFORNIA

KABUL AFGHAN CUISINE TRADITIONAL · AUTHENTIC AFGHANISTAN COOKING AT ITS BEST TAKEOUT AVAILABLE LUNCH MON-FRI · DINNER 7 NIGHTS A WEEK

650-594-2840 u ]

JOHN JACKSON MASONRY Commercial • Industrial BRICK • BLOCK • STONE • GRANITE GLASS BLOCK • MARBLE • TERRA COTTA

5691-B Power Inn Road Sacramento, CA 95824 CA Lic.# 255203 T: (916) 381-8021 NV Lic. #12071 F: (916) 381-1202 E: Jeff@JohnJacksonMasonry.com

JAMES G. PARKER INSURANCE ASSOCIATES THE SOURCE FOR ALL YOUR

INSURANCE NEEDS www.JGParker.com

(559) 222-7722 5377 N. Fresno St. Frenso, CA

UNIVERSAL ART GALLERY

LET US FILL YOUR NEXT

Retail & Wholesale

“Best Framer In Los Angeles”

PRESCRIPTION

- Los Angeles Magazine

Since 1954

www.marinjoesrestaurant.com 1585 Casa Buena Drive Corte Madera, CA 94925

415-924-2081 415-924-1500

Bring this AD and you will receive

25% OFF

on Custom Framing 2001 Lincoln Blvd Venice, CA 90291 (310) 302-8909 www.framegallery.com

WE ACCEPT ALL MAJOR PRESCRIPTION INSURANCE PLANS COMPUTERIZED PATIENT PROFILE SERVICES MENTION B’NAI B’RITH WHEN CALLING SENIOR CITIZENS DISCOUNT

WATERFRONT PHARMACY (209) 463-7777 123 SO. COMMERCE ST., SUITE A, STOCKTON, CA (BEHIND GREYHOUND DEPOT) OPEN MON-FRI: 9AM-1PM; 2PM-6PM CLOSED SATURDAYS-SUNDAYS-HOLIDAYS

SUPERFAST COPYING & BINDING SYSTEMS WE DO IT ALL Full Color Printing COLOR COPIES BLACK & WHITE COPIES

GREAT CUSTOM MADE HAND TOSSED PIZZA • FINE ITALIAN FOOD • CATERING • FOOD TO GO • TV • BANQUET FACILITIES FOR UP TO 40

FULL COLOR POSTER: $6.50 PER SQUARE FOOT Ask forVolume Discounts Binding Digital Output Graphic Design Typesetting

310-452-3352 Fax: 310-452-7662 2358 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA

Senator Sheila Kuehl

Delivery

Wishes you

Sun-Thurs 11a.m.-10p.m.

Fri & Sat 11a.m.-11p.m.

A Happy Hanukkah

818-363-7705 www.thepizzacookery.com 10371 Balboa Blvd. • Granada Hills

B’Nai B’rith 53

CALIFORNIA RESS FINANCIAL CORPORATION 1780 Town & Country Drive, Suite 105 Norco, CA 92860

Mobile Paper Shredding & Recycling

Serving All Of Southern California ON-SITE DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION Est. 1988 • Offices coast to coast • Security-cleared personnel • Shredded in our truck at your location

BRUCE R. BEASLEY

Since 1976

Ralph’s

Sales • Repairs All Makes & Models Patterns & Specialty Threads Authorized Sales & Service

President

Phone (800) 343-7377 Fax (866) 481-2032

u ]

1-800-697-4733

PROFESSIONAL TRUST DEED AND LAND CONTRACT FORECLOSURE SERVICES

Mention B’nai B’rith Receive A Discount

Mention B’nai B’rith when calling

8600 Tamarack Ave., Sun Valley, CA 91352

The Art and Science of Sewing

Sewing School

• Sewing Machine Classes • Sewing Clubs • Kids Classes • Serger Classes • Embroidery • Quilting Classes • Specialties

760-568-2226

73-941 Hwy 111, 1/2 Blk West of Portola In The Heart of Palm Desert, CA

COLORADO

OUTDOOR KITCHEN DISTRIBUTORS INC. “DENVER’S COMPLETE BARBEQUE SHOP”

Suppliers of plaster & stucco materials for over 95 years.

Quality brands at competitive prices. Metal lath, trim items and wire. Plaster & stucco, base and finishes. Tools, additives, elastomeric coatings, synthetic stuccos, and pool plaster.

Everything for the professional.

Ducane, Broil King, OCI Big Green Egg • Broilmaster Natural Gas & LP Grills Bar Stools & Fireplaces & Inserts Patio Furniture & Accessories

303-991-9911

303-623-4455

4401 S. Tamarac Pkwy.

Denver, CO 80237

1711 W. Colfax Avenue Denver, CO

Service & Repair 1-800-903-4352 Fax 972-7470

3388 WEST 1987 SOUTH

Salt Lake City, UT

(719) 475-8585

• State-of-the-Art Spray Booth and Bake Oven • FREE Estimate • FREE Loaner Car • Frame Machine & Measurement System

ONE OF THE LARGEST SELECTIONS OF WATCHES AND CLOCKS IN THE PIKES PEAK REGION

Foreign Car Specialists Porsche, Volvo, Mercedes, BMW FREE Pickup & Delivery Your Insurance Company Knows Us! 36 Lucy St. Woodbridge, CT

SALES & SERVICE

FOR ALL MAKES ANTIQUE CLOCKS RESTORED PARTS MADE FOR OBSOLETE AND FOREIGN CLOCKS

ASK ABOUT

(between Rte. 63 & 67)

AUTHORIZED GUARANTEE SERVICE • FREE DELIVERY ON FLOOR CLOCKS

CONNECTICUT

Trusted Care for the Senior You Care for.

•Companionship

•Medication Reminders

•Light Housekeeping

•Personal Care

•Meal Preparation

•Incidental Transportation

CAREGivers are bonded, insured and trained Each Home Instead Senior care franchise is in dependently owned and operated 54 winter 2008

(801) 972-7400

CONNECTICUT

http://ticktockshop.uswestdex.com “Over 30 Years Experience”

Master Watchmaker #3028 7 N. Circle Dr. Colorado Springs, CO

• BEVERAGE SALES • VENDING SERVICES • SPECIAL EVENTS

FREE IN-SHOP ESTIMATES With Mention Of This Ad

David Mattson

Proud Supporters of B’nai B’rith

THE PEPSI BOTTLING GROUP

Orange 795-1112 Hamden 288-1118 Cheshire 271-8005

homeinstead.com

(203) 397-2909 WOODBRIDGE (203) 387-8069 AUTO BODY SHOP, Fax: (203) 389-4002 INC.

Shoreline Foods

Full Service Meat Market & Deli

• Weddings • Stags • Corporate Events • Bar/Bat Mitzvahs • Funerals • Major Concessions • Delivery

(203) 488-2600 1247 Main St., Branford, CT

CONNECTICUT

KLAFF’S

ANN’S HOBBY CENTER

Stamford Marble Imports Co.

Lighting • Kitchens • Baths Decorative Hardware • Tile & Stone

“We are direct importers from around the world.”

One of the first and largest family-owned design centers in the country — selling an unsurpassed selection of quality lighting, baths, kitchens, decorative hardware, tile & stone.

Gift certificates available.

South Norwalk • Danburg Westport (Lighting only)

203-866-1603

Custom Fabrication & Installation to Architectural Specifications Fireplace Surrounds, Vanity Tops, Kitchen Countertops, Tables & more!

Architects & Decorators are Welcome!

Large Selection of Marble, Granite Ceramic Tile, Natural Stone. (including custom & hand painted tile)

• MODELS: AIRPLANES, SHIPS, ROCKETS TANKS AND CARS - PLASTIC AND WOOD • MODEL SUPPLIES AND SCENERY • MAGAZINES AND BOOKS • DOLL HOUSES AND ACCESSORIES • DIE CAST COLLECTIBLES • R/C CARS PLANES AND BOATS • PINE CAR SUPPLIES Mon.-Sat. 9:30-5:30

u

12 Camp Avenue, Stamford, CT tel: 203.322.5457 fax: 203.329.9873

Klaffs.com

• TRAINS: LIONEL, HO AND N Staffed Lionel Service Station, old trains bought & sold, appraisals prepared, layouts built and wired.

(203) 869-0969

]

405 EAST PUTNAM AVE. • COS COB/GREENWICH, CT

Complete One-Stop Collision Center

Foreign & Domestic Repairs

24 HOUR TOWING

Quality Repairs & Service Guaranteed • Foreign & Domestic, All Makes & Models • Certified Body Men • Mechanical Repairs • Rapid Turnaround Time • Quality Used Cars Bought & Sold • Insurance Forms Expertly Processed • Rentals Available • Insurance Company Recommended and Approved • Windshield Replacement Hours: M-F 8am-6pm 26 Bridge St. • New Milford

Sat Hours by Appointment

860-355-4230

Auto Repair Inc. Preferred Services Since 1972

State Certified Auto Emissions Repair 174 West Center Street Manchester, CT Phil, Jim & Paul Locicero

Family Owned and Operated Since 1972

Tel. (860) 646-5036 Mon-Fri 7:30am-5:30pm

a -1 a u to b o d y w o r k s .tr i p o d .c o m

FLORIDA

DELAWARE

PET BOARDING ALL BREED PET GROOMING

Large air-conditioned indoor-outdoor runs Large Exercise Yards A special room just for cats ONLY Pick-up and delivery 20 MINUTES Pet day care FROM SW FLA INTERNATIONAL Airport shipping and pick-up AIRPORT Boarding For All Pets

ACADEMY KENNELS “Beds & Biscuits Pet Resort” www.academykennels.com

(239) 936-1163

2691 North Airport Rd. • Ft. Myers 33907 (next door to Page Field Post Office)

FLORIDA

Stephen Hornell M.D. Stuart A. Walek, M.D.

DERMATOLOGISTS Board Certified In Dermatology Dermatologic Surgeons

SKIN CANCER SPECIALISTS

Creating Financial Solutions & Prosperity for Our Clients Melbourne, FL Winter Park, FL www.bermanhopkins.com 321-757-2020 Brian L. Nemeroff, Partner

• Skin Surgery • Argon Laser Therapy • Mohs Surgery • Medicare Assignment Accepted

M E L B O U R N E DERMATOLOGY CENTER

321-724-9650

West side of Holmes Regional Medical Center 333 E. Sheridan Rd. Melbourne, FL

B’Nai B’rith 55

FLORIDA

GEORGIA

WOOD WONDERS

CUSTOM FURNITURE & CABINETRY RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL www.woodwonders.info

954-981-1010 3160 Pembroke Rd. Pembroke Pk., FL

Air Conditioning and Heating Sales & Service

Service on All Makes & Models • Heat Pump Specialist CUSTOM MADE INDOOR WEATHER

GA Reg. # CN-006153

GEORGIA

24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE

(912) 201-9822 Toll Free 1-888-612-9822

Billy Cox - Owner

ILLINOIS

CHICAGO’S AUDIO/VIDEO RENTAL

SINC

E 19

66

COMPLETE DELIVERY AND SET UP

• VIDEO PROJECTION • HOTEL & RESTAURANT SHOWINGS • FILM PROJECTION • SLIDE PROJECTION • COMPUTER PROJECTION

A PARKER YOUNG COMPANY

• Fire/Smoke/Water Damage Restoration • Residential & Commercial • Mold & Mildew Treatment • Structure & Content Restoration • Odor Removal

ESSANNAY SHOW IT

851 WEST GRAND AVE., CHICAGO, IL

800.427.6968 Mention B’nai B’rith When Calling

Adams Foam Rubber Co., Inc. Fabricators and Distributors

Flexible Cellular Foam Products To Industry Since 1950

Water Removal Serving Metro Atlanta & Surrounding Counties

(770) 368-1000 Norcross, GA

Design Engineered Protective and Decorative Packaging Custom Sample and Demonstration Case Inserts High Risk Institutional Mattress Cushioning Residential Furniture Cushions and Replacements Voice: 773-523-5252 • Fax: 773-523-0430 Web: Adamsfoam.com

Chicago, IL 60632

To advertise your business in our Mart Sections, call 866-612-4295.

Readership: Approximately 175,000 B’nai B’rith Magazine cannot guarantee the veracity of advertisements nor accept responsibility for them.

B’nai B’rith Magazine does not screen advertisements for compliance with the laws of kashrut. We do attempt to avoid advertisements that would be blatantly offensive to all who observe kashrut. Advertisement in B’nai B’rith Magazine does not imply endorsement by the magazine or B’nai B’rith International.

56 winter 2008

ILLINOIS

Windward Sports Chicago’s Original Board Shop

“Your One Stop Shop”

For Snow Boards, Skateboards, Inline Skates, Surf Boards, Wind Surfers, Swimwear, Snow Clothing, & Accessories, AirTime Snowboards, Skateboards, & Standup Paddle Boards

Best Price Professional Service

Sales – Rentals • All Parts & Accessories

773-248-4970 or 773-472-6868 www.windwardsports.com

3317 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL

Proudly Supporting B’nai B’rith

VERNOF, SCHWARTZ & COMPANY Income and Estate Tax Consulting Auditing and Accounting

312-782-5885 300 South Wacker Dr., Suite 2850 Chicago, IL

Passport Renewal Service

Passport Renewals Visas Legalizations Instant Passport Photos

NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED Perry International www.perryvisa.com

312.372.2711 Fax - 312-372-2715

100 W. Monroe Chicago Monday-Friday 9 to 5

] u

24 HOUR SERVICE

DISPATCH, IN C

Proudly serving over 200 Chicagoland Suburbs since 1975. www.americantaxi.com

• LOW FLAT RATES TO THE AIRPORTS AND DOWNTOWN CHICAGO • 24 HOUR SERVICE 7 DAYS A WEEK • ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED • IMMEDIATE PICK-UP IN YOUR TOWN • AIRPORT RETURN (7-10 MIN PICK-UP) Corporate Preferred Account Programs available:

WWW.AMERICANTAXI.COM

SALES INSTALLATION SERVICE ON ALL BRANDS INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL SHEET METAL FABRICATION

FURNACES AIR CONDITIONERS HUMIDIFIERS AIR CLEANERS BOILERS

815-965-9494

MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY AND MAUSOLEUM Serving The Jewish Community For Over 83 Years (847) 677-4401

„Substantial Pre-Arrangement Savings Now Available‰ 9900 Gross Point Road Skokie, Illinois, 60076

Since 1978

CENTRAL PARK SERVICE, INC.

“Your Dealership Alternative” Complete Auto Repair/Diagnostics Foreign & Domestic

847-869-0076

www.centralparkservice.com 2966 Central St., Evanston, IL Mention B’nai B’rith for Free Safety Check

1-847-673-1000 INDIANA

QUALITY LEASING Your Full Service Leasing Company

CARS + TRUCKS + VANS CRANES + SUV’S + FAXES PHONE EQUIPMENT COPY MACHINES COMPUTERS + TRAILERS

6320 N. GUILFORD AVE. INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46220

317-253-4415

www.qualityleasingco.com

PRO RESOURCES •CLERICAL •SECRETARIAL •DATA WORD PROCESSING • COMMUNICATIONS •LEGAL We Offer Training On All Popular Software Programs

(260) 420 - 2117 1728 SPY RUN AVE. - FORT WAYNE, IN

LAVEN

InsuranceMichiana.com Commercial Coverages Property & Casualty Personal Lines • Long Term Care Group Health • Competitive Rates Online Quotes 2628 S. Michigan St., P.O. Box 2379 South Bend, IN 46680-2379 Phone 574.291.5510 • Fax 574.291.8505 Toll Free 1.800.552.2910 www.insurancemichiana.com B’Nai B’rith 57

IOWA

KANSAS The best things in life are hassle free.

• Guaranteed same-day service • Fully-stocked trucks • Exact quotes • No overtime charges for service partners • 24/7 Emergency service • Family owned and operated • Big enough to handle any size job • More than 30 years experience

CRUISE AND AIR SPECIALISTS • DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL TICKETING • TOURS • GROUP BOOKINGS • CAR RENTALS • HOTELS • RAIL DES MOINES

(913) 888-4BOB

(515) 287-3170

Fast, friendly … finally!

5805 FLEUR DRIVE (ACROSS FROM AIRPORT) 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM • WEEKDAYS 8:30 AM - 12 NOON ON SATURDAYS

SAVE $39

Free Dispatch Fee!

bobhamilton.com

Finest Quality Bronze & Granite Markers & Monuments Hebrew Lettering 17th & Fairlawn Topeka, KS www.mthopecemetery.org

KENTUCKY

LOUISIANA

Ron-Del • Fashion Eyewear • Contact Lenses • Artificial Eyes • Free Hearing Evaluations Mon - Tues 9-6 • Wed - Fri 9-5 • Sat 9-1 - closed 1st Saturday each month -

Floor Service

“Since 1959”

* COMMERCIAL - RESIDENTIAL * WOOD FLOOR REFINISHED AREA WIDE SERVICE “FREE ESTIMATES”

www.lenzoptical.com

(502) 897-0856 4012 Dupon Circle, Louisville Sherwood Buliding

LOUISIANA

Ernest’s Orleans Restaurant “Serving The Finest”

• Open 4:30 PM • DINNER ONLY Tuesday – Saturday – Valet Parking – – All Major Credit Cards Accepted – LOCATED AT 1601 SPRING ST. “ON TOP OF THE HILL” TAKE MARKET ST. EXIT (19A) OFF I-20

(318) 226-1325

1601 Spring St., Shreveport, LA www.ernestsorleans.com

Bank Online At whitneybank.com Refinance Now...

Take Advantage of Historically Low Rates Ask For Bob Leeds (504) 838-4474 Cell # (504) 259-6277 Mortgage Information

(504) 838-6300 Mortgage Rate Line

(504) 586-3549 Customer Service (504) 838-6565 58 winter 2008

Member FDIC

PARRAIN'S SEAFOOD Fine Seafood Dining With An Upscale Casual Atmosphere Open 7 Days A Week

225-381-9922 3225 Perkins Rd. Baton Rouge, LA Perkins Road Near The I-10 Overpass

• STAINING - BLEACHING - PICKLING NO WAX POLYURETHANE FINISH • NEW WOOD FLOORS INSTALLED • OLD FLOORS REPAIRED • WOOD - CARPET - VINYL & CERAMIC SALES • BRUCE • ROBBINS • MANNINGTON • HARRIS • HARTCO • U.A., OWENS FINANCING 90 DAYS SAME AS CASH “Ask For Our References” FULLY INSURED LICENSED CONTRACTOR

] u

737-5460

FAX LINE 738-2694

MONDAY - FRIDAY - 9 AM - 5 PM SATURDAY 9 AM-12 PM 8341 JEFFERSON HWY, HARAHAN, LA 70123

www.ron-del.com

Read past issues of B’nai B’rith Magazine at www.bnaibrith.org.

MARYLAND

• 24-Hr Skilled Nursing • Rehabilitative Therapy • Alzheimers/Dementia Care • Wound Care • Behavioral Health • Palliative Care • JCAHO - Accredited www.potomacvalley.com

301-762-0700 1235 Potomac Valley Road Rockville, MD 20850

Y R OL L S E R PA

MASSACHUSETTS

COMPLETE AUTOMATED PAYROLL SERVICES

A Quality Senior Community

Rockville, MD 301-468-0886 Falls Church, VA 703-891-0148 Bethesda, MD 301-986-0285

ET

AB

C.

Weekday Senior Menu Lunch Monday - Friday Now available - Gluten-Free Pancakes

IN

The First Name in Pancakes

CE

Pancake House

R

VI

Bethesda Magazine Best Breakfast

TE

THE

• Payroll Checks • Depositories • Quarterly & Year-End Filings • Rapid Turn-Around • Direct Deposit • We Also Do Accounts Payable • Bank Account Reconciliation

418 S. MAIN ST. BEL AIR, MD 21014

410-879-1795

Fax # 410-879-5994 www.betterpayroll.com

MASSACHUSETTS

• CONVENIENT TO DOWNTOWN • AFFORDABLE RENT INCLUDES HEAT & A/C • NO FIXED ASSET LIMIT • ALL SEASON SOLARIUM • STUDIO, ONE & TWO BEDROOM APARTMENTS

Since 1933 SERVING: Palmer, Monson, Ware, Warren, West Warren, Belchertown and parts of: Brimfield, Ludlow & Wilbraham • 24 Hour Service for Our Oil Customers • Residential & Business Oil Deliveries • Full Service Department ] u • Installation of Replacement Furnaces & Boilers t

413-283-8356

Corner of Main & Bridge Streets, Three Rivers, MA

Canterbury Towers 508 757-1133 6 Wachusett St. Worcester, MA

B’Nai B’rith 59

MASSACHUSETTS

crossed

sabers

ski & sports

The Best Costs Less At Poirier SUB-ZERO

Sales, Rentals & Repairs Clothing & Equipment Bikes • Watersports • Scuba In Line Skates Ski Bus Trips

508-880-8851 www.skiandsportsonline.com

421 Raynham Plaza At Junction Of Rte. 24 & 44 Exit 13B Off Rte. 24, Behind Friendly’s

DONNA’S CAKES

“CAKES ARE ALL WE DO” Custom Designed Wedding Cakes Corporate Logo & Photo Cakes Children’s, “3-D” & Hand Drawings Braille & Adult Cakes

THE CAKE EXPERTS • WE DELIVER •

617-327-5916

100 Spring St., West Roxbury, MA

“The Straight Answer People”

111 Beaver St., Framingham, MA (508) 872-1119 www.bondedtransmission.com

AUTOMATICS • STANDARDS CLUTCHES • TRUCKS • 4x4’s

BEST WISHES TO B’NAI B’RITH “Over 50 Years of Factory Authorized Service” Visit Our Showroom WE CARRY ALL MAJOR BRANDS

MONOGRAM

NORWOOD

NEWTON

Sales: 617-558-5500 Service: 781-769-2446

Sales and Service 788-769-2446

Hours: Mon & Thur: 9:30AM-8:00PM Tues & Wed: 9:00AM-6:00PM Fri & Sat: 9:00AM-5:00PM Sunday: 12:00PM-5:00PM

FAST DELIVERY • GREAT SERVICE

www.poiriersales.com

SCHLOSSBERG &MEMORIAL SOLOMON CHAPEL

The South Shore’s Only Jewish Family-Owned Funeral Chapel Minutes From Sharon Memorial Park www.schlossbergchapel.com

1-800-828-6993

] 781-828-6990 u 824 Washington St., Canton, MA Opposite Canton Town Hall

Let Our Sushi Chef Come To You!

Corporate or Private Functions Serving 20-1,000 Guests Traditional & Contemporary Japanese Cuisine Sushi • Tempura • Teriyaki

617-542-4311

57 Broad Street Boston, MA www.sakurabanaonline.com

Hours: Mon & Thur: 9:30AM-8:00PM Tues & Wed: 9:30AM-6:00PM Fri & Sat: 9:30AM-5:00PM Closed Sunday

GARY'S DISCOUNT LIQUORS

Lowest Prices On Kosher Wines In Massachusetts

WWW.GARYSLIQUORS.COM 655 V.F.W. PARKWAY, RTE. 1 WEST ROXBURY 617-323-1122 FAX 617-323-6024

Tile & Marble

ORNERSTONE

RETAIL SHOWROOM LARGEST SELECTION

SPECTACULAR SERVICE CONTRACTOR FRIENDLY Granite and Marble Countertops & Vanities

508-230-TILE (8453)

EASTON INDUSTRIAL PARK 15F Plymouth Drive, So. Easton, MA 02375

MICHIGAN Greetings to B’nai B’rith From

Health Call of Detroit

Serving the Jewish Community ....Since 1913

Providing Quality in Home Services for Oakland & Wayne Counties

• Complete Home Health Services • Nursing (R.N., L.P.N. & C.N.A.) • Medical Supplies

1-800-991-9933 60 winter 2008

Alt & Shawmut Hills Chapel 2120 Lake Michigan Dr. N.W. Grand Rapids, MI 49504 616-453-8263

877 94 9 PE T S Boarding . Grooming . Training . Daycare Ask about our airport shuttle!

26245 Michigan Ave / petsuiteretreat.com

MICHIGAN

Rehab helps return you to your life cycle.

When you need physical, occupational or speech therapy, life can shift into a lower gear. We’re here to help you get back up to speed.

Our therapy team will custom-build a program just for you, including aggressive goals and measurable outcomes all under your doctor’s direction. Call for details.

for a b et t er r ec over

y

Danto Family Health Care Center 6800 W. Maple West Bloomfield, MI 48322 248-788-5300

Happy Hanukkah Visit Our New Fudge Kitchen • Kosher Available • Shipping Available • Truffles — 13 varieties • Gourmet jelly beans • Hard candies The Finest Quality Handmade Chocolates

107 E. Liberty Ann Arbor, MI 734-769-7759

SERVING SPORTSMEN SINCE 1958

3100 S. DIVISION AVE., GRAND RAPIDS, MI

SPORTSMEN SERVING SPORTSMEN

FISHING TACKLE • FLYTYING MATERIALS • LIVE BAIT MARINE SUPPLIES • GUNS & AMMO • RELOADING EQUIPMENT CLOTHING • CAMPING • HUNTING & FISHING LICENSES • ARCHERY

GIFT CERTIFICATES

8 AM TO 8 PM MON-FRI SAT 8 AM-5 PM

616-245-9156

1-888-AL-N-BOBS www.alnbobs.com

MINNESOTA

REMEDIATION SERVICES, INC. ASBESTOS • MOLD • LEAD HVAC Commercial Duct Cleaning Interior Demolition Licensed • Bonded • Insured Free Estimates • Insured A-Rated

SERVING THE 5-STATE AREA

763-746-0670 www.envirotechrs.com

We Restore Marble, Granite, Limestone Floors, Counter Tops & Table Tops

Classic Marble Restoration Co. Call Today! 763-784-2483 www.classicmarblerestore.com

industrial • commercial

B’Nai B’rith 61

MINNESOTA

Complete Paint & Collision Repair • Free Estimates • Expert Body Repairing and Painting • All Insurance Estimates Accepted • Certified Technicians

Great Casual Dining On Lake Minnetonka Spectacular Sunday Brunch

(952) 470-1800

Boulevard Collision

685 Excelsior Blvd., Excelsior

6901 Laurel Ave., Golden Valley Minnesota 55426

DIAMOND LAKE PARTY RENTAL

763-595-0006 Monday - Friday 7:30-5:30

Blvd. Collision

Louisiana

After Hours Towing 454-1533 394

• Tents • Canopies • Tables • Chairs • Moonwalk • & More Delivery Available Competitive Rates www.diamondlakerental.com

612-827-5527 5340 Lyndale Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN

Laurel Ave.

MISSOURI

HARTKE NURSERY

• TREES - SHRUBS - ROSES • ANNUALS - PERENNIALS • HOUSE PLANTS - POTTERY • FRESH PRODUCE IN SEASON • LAWN & GARDEN SUPPLIES • LANDSCAPE DESIGN OPEN 7 DAYS & INSTALLATION

314-997-6679

1030 N. WARSON RD. • ST. LOUIS, MO BETWEEN PAGE & OLIVE www.hartkenursery.com harke@sbcglogal.net

HEARTLAND HEALTH • The Cancer Center • The Heart Center Missouri Quality Award Winner • Neurology Top 100 Hospitals for Heart and Orthopedics • Arthritis Services • Orthopedics • The Diabetes Center • Trauma Services • Rehabilitation • Wound Care Program • Mental Health Services • Women’s & Children’s Health Services • General medical & Surgical Services

CUSTOM MOVING

35 Years Experience Licensed and Insured Free Estimates/References

952-461-3265

27626 Pillsbury Ave., Lakeville, MN 55044

NEBRASKA

Oxygen Users, Miss your family?

Get your life back!!!

Oxlife Lightweight American-made oxygen machines produce 3 or 6LPM continuous oxygen.

For home, car, even overseas.

4-year warranty*.

(800) 780-2616 www.oxlifeinc.com

GOENS RENTAL & SALES

HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING

FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1990 • Painting Equipment • Air Compressors • Wood & Brush Chippers • Loaders • Walk Behind Trenchers • Generators • Tables • Chairs • Pressure Washer • Excavators & Trenchers • Scaffolding • Ladders • Carpet Care • Propane Fills

COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL

CITYWIDE DELIVERY & PICK-UP AVAILABLE WWW.GOENSRENTAL.COM

AUTHORIZED SERVICE

SALES - DESIGN - INSTALLATION MON-FRI 7AM-5:30PM • SATURDAY 8AM-5PM Member KC Rental Association Member - Gladstone Chamber of Commerce Member - Northland Chamber of Commerce

HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS

7514 North Oak Traffic Way Gladstone, MO 64118

816-436-4077

(402) 333-2775

10% Off any rental or $1.00 Off any propane refill

11701 Centennial Road, Omaha, NE

Baxter Gardens OF CHESTERFIELD

Landscape, Irrigation and Garden Center

“WHERE QUALITY IS FOREMOST” Since 1971

636 - 532-1033 www.baxtergardens.com

5325 Faraon St., St. Joseph, MO 64506

17259 Wild Horse Creek Road Chesterfield, MO

62 winter 2008

HOMES BOUGHT & SOLD DELIVERED TO YOUR SITE

Please Mention This Ad When Calling

www.heartland-health.com

(816) 271-6000

OTTING HOUSE MOVERS

SERVICE ALL MAKES FINANCING AVAILABLE

24 HR EMERGENCY SERVICE

Enfield’s

There is a dif ference OVER 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE

1st Class License • Insured • Systemic Injection, Spraying & Fertilizing • Bracing Pruning • Arborist Supplies & Tools

i [

FREE ESTIMATES

(402) 289-3248

SERVING 10 STATES WITH MAUGET TREE INJECTION PRODUCTS Elkhorn, NE

NEVADA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Statewide Fire Protection

OINS

OF NEW HAMPSHIRE INC.

24 HOUR SERVICE

• • • • • • • •

RARE C

NEW JERSEY

737-1055

Inspections & Maintenance Emergency Service New Construction Remodeling & Retrofit Design & Consulting Commercial & Residential Over 25 Years in Las Vegas License #26095

3130 WESTWOOD DRIVE

“The finest investment in quality coins, precious metals, integrity and service” Highest Prices Paid

Estates • Collections • Free Appraisal - Call For An Appointment We Will Come To You See Us Before You Decide To Sell

1-800-225-7264 603-673-9311 www.rare-coins.com

LIFE Bonded & Insured

Ocean National Bank Building, 28 Jones Rd., Milford, NH 40 Min. From Boston

SOMERSET PARK PHARMACY A “Good Neighbor Pharmacy”

FREE DELIVERY Charge Accounts Available Most Insurance Plans Accepted Carlton Cards & Gift Department Excellent Customer Service Open 7 Days A Week

732-846-6666

900 Easton Ave., Suite 26 Somerset, NJ (Behind IHOP & Boston Market)

NEW JERSEY

BEAUTY SPA AT THE DERMATOLOGY CENTER

THE PADDED WAGON

Specializing In Fine Arts & Antiques

Local • Long Distance Moving Residential • Commercial Climate Controlled Storage Free Estimates ICC MC 336731

PC NJ 00808

973-335-5055

THE CHELSEA AT MONTVILLE Assisted Living

Caring for our community...

Assisted Living at its finest. www.chelseaseniorliving.com

2 Cranberry Rd., Parsippany, NJ In your time of need you can rely on us

For The Best In Skin, Hair

Serving the Jewish Community as an independently owned and operated funeral home with compassionate, affordable funeral services for over 25 years.

363 GRAND AVE., ENGLEWOOD, NJ 07631

www.TheBeautySpa.com

SAME DAY SERVICE CONVENIENT DRIVE THRU WINDOW

& Body Care Call

201-567-6020

SUNSHINE CLEANERS

NJ Lic. No. 4179

• Cleaning in our plant on premises • Shirt & Laundry Service • Shoe Repair • Drapery Service • Wedding Gown Preser vation • Silks • Leather • Suede • Furs • Complete Alteration Service

313 Second St. • Lakewood, NJ 08701 800-487-2553 • 732-364-0900

OPEN 7 AM-6PM/SAT 8 AM-5PM

Martin Goldstein, Manager NJ Lic. No. 4025

Nesanel M. Rabenstein NJ Lic. No 4621

Eric J. Amyot, Director

www.belkoffgoldsteinfuneralchapel.com

50

609-641-6324

1630 TILTON RD. • NORTHFIELD

Weddings • Bar/Bat Mitzvahs Meetings • Outings Banquet Facilities Up To 400 Guests Seperate Glatt Kosher Kitchen JSOR Supervised Lovely Golf Course View

Contact Arlene Kessler

(732) 922-8200 ext 12 210 Jumping Brook Rd. Monmouth County, NJ www.jumpingbrookcc.com

B’Nai B’rith 63

NEW MEXICO

NEW YORK

STATE OF THE ART FACILITY We Specialize in Repairing: ACURA • AUDI • BMW • HONDA • INFINITI • ISUZU JEEP • LEXUS • MAZDA • MERCEDES • MITSUBISHI NISSAN • SAAB • SUBARU • TOYOTA VOLKSWAGEN • VOLVO and other Fine Imports Scheduled Maintenance

OPEN MONDAY - SATURDAY 8 - 6

1 1/2 blocks East of Siler Rd. on Agua Fria

• Alignments • Electrical Troubleshooting • Clutch Repairs • Mufflers • CV Joints • Tune-Ups • Brakes • Diesel Repair • Struts-Transmissions • Front End Rebuilding

FREE TOWING, Call for Details

SHUTTLE SERVICE

DIAGNOSTIC SERVICE - GENERAL AUTOMOTIVE REPAIRS - FUEL INJECTION SPECIALISTS

Serving Santa Fe For Over 23 Years

2786 AGUA FRIA

471-0326 i [ www.fastsf.qwestdex.com

r

NEW YORK Established 1946

“Hudson Valley Piano Center” Sales - Service - Rentals New/Used Pianos • Acoustic & Digital Pianos • Accessories & Sheet Music - Low Rate Financing -

www.vincitorepiano.com

845-452-4990 748 Main, Poughkeepsie

1-800-303-8462

The Kensico Cemetery

The Kensico Cemetery (Non-Sectarian) and Sharon Gardens (Jewish Faith) are situated in a rural setting with beautiful trees, rolling hills and sweeping lawns in Westchester County. They provide a serene and peaceful resting place not found in many cemeteries today. For FREE color brochure call toll free:

1-888-KENSICO or 1-888-536-7426 P.O. Box 7, Valhalla, NY 10595 Sharon Gardens is a division of The Kensico Cemetery 914-949-0347

www.kensico.org

www.sharongardens.com

Huntington Hills Center For Health and Rehabilitation Experience The Difference!

Riverside

LI Premiere Subacute Specializing in: • Short Term Orthopedic Care • I.V. Therapy • Post Surgical Care • Medically Complex

Memorial Chapel, Inc. Funeral Directors

Resort-Like Accommodations: • Cable TV • Concierge • Interior Garden Coutyards • 5,000 Sq. Ft. Rehabilitation Gym

For Generations A Symbol Of Jewish Tradition THE WESTCHESTER RIVERSIDE MEMORIAL CHAPEL, INC. 21 West Broad Street Mt. Vernon, NY

Our Family Caring For Yours!

400 South Service Rd., Mellville, NY

631-439-3000

Happy Hanukkah

914/664-6800

Glaser Bake Shop Inc.

MANHATTAN 180 W. 76th Street

Family Owned & Operated

(At Amsterdam Avenue)

New York, NY

Since 1909 Victoria Home Has Provided Personalized Care In A Family Like Atmosphere • 24 Hour Nursing Care • Special Care Unit For Alzheimer’s & Dementia • Therapeutic Recreation • Physical, Occupational And Speech Therapy • Limited To 49 Residents

914-941-2450

Since 1902

212/362-6600 This Establishment is a Subsidiary of Service Corporation International 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, TX 77019 713/522-5141

www.riversidememorialchapel.com

25 North Malcom St., Ossining, NY 10562 www.victoriahome.org

Specializing In Cakes and Home-Made Butter Cookies 1670 First Ave. At 87th St. New York, NY

212-289-2562

NORTH CAROLINA

ARISTON FLORIST 110 West 17th Street New York, NY 10011

Featuring the Finest in Floral Arrangements Creative Displays For Homes and All Occasions City-wide Delivery

1-800-422-2747

www.aristonflorist.com

Fax (212) 242-5479

64 winter 2008

We get down to business.

So you can.

• Professional Janitorial Services • Commercial Carpet & Tile Floor

• Complete Cleaning Services • Care For Your Office

ServiceMaster Advanced Building Cleaning The clean you expect.

The service you deserve.

704-588-8980

www.servicemasterabc.com

Call For Free Estimate With Mention Of This Ad Proudly Serving the B’nai B’rith Members of the Carolinas.

OHIO

Shop’Til You Drop Overnight Package $

125

00

Incl.

Tax

~ Your Package Includes ~ • One Deluxe standard room for up to 4 people • $25 Max & Erma’s Gift Card • Shuttle service to/from Holiday Inn Express, Perrysburg and the Levis Commons Shopping Center • Outstanding Breakfast Bar • One in-room movie & popcorn • Use of indoor pool, sauna, whirlpool and fitness center

B UCKEYE S PORTS C ENTER COMPLETE DOWNHILL & SNOWBOARD SHOP SKI SHOP • CROSS COUNTRY RENTAL EQUIPMENT

Ohio’s Largest Selection

FULL SERVICE DEPARTMENT u 24 HR. SKI SERVICE ]

www.buckeyesportscenter.com

BOSTON MILLS

BRANDYWINE

(330) 657-9123 AREA SHOP

(330) 467-2426 AREA SHOP

(440) 285-3634 AREA SHOP

(330) 929-3366 4610 STATE RD.

ALPINE VALLEY

AKRON

Carmen’s

VACUUM & JANITORIAL SUPPLIES Largest Selection in Central Ohio to Choose From -We Install & Service All Central VacsFactory Trained Sales and Service

(614) 846-9915

(614) 864-0190

(614) 761-0199

(614) 882-8400

5520 N. High St. Columbus, OH 43214

9709 Sawmill Rd. Columbus, OH 43065

85 S. Hamilton Rd. Columbus, OH 43213

320 S. State St. Westerville, OH 43081

Shop On-Line @www.carmensvacuum.com or by Phone @ 1-800-886-8227 Sales, Service & Parts For All Makes Over 35 Years Experience M-F 8-6 • Sat 9-4

THE BEST DEFENSE

• Protect business documents, cash & records • Protection against fire and theft • Wide selectio nof safes & files • 24 hour service to customers

MEILINK® 614-882-2236 A Division Of Fire King International

BRUCK SAFE

PERRYSBURG-TOLEDO

C O M PA N Y

10621 Fremont Pike, Perrysburg, OH Ohio Turnpike 80/90 Exit 64 to I-75 South Exit 193

Sales • Installation • Service 108 E. College Ave. Westerville, OH 43081

Ph: (419) 874-3101 Fax: (419) 874-0287 www.hiexpress@bright.net

OREGON

MEMBER CANTON REGIONAL

“COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATION IS OUR ONLY BUSINESS” SALES • SERVICE • RENTALS • LEASING

WALK-IN COOLERS & FREEZERS

QUALITY & DEPENDABILITY– Since 1979

• B&W & Color High-speed Copying • Business & Conference Printing Services • Large Format Printing & Scanning • Shipping & Mailing Services

ANY SIZE OR SHAPE

• Offset Printing • Graphic Design • Bindery Services • Notary Services

1704 SW BROADWAY, PORTLAND, OREGON 97201 Across from Portland State University, off SW Mill. Complimentary parking available.

503.221.1876 • www.clean-copy.com

Kitchen & Bath Remodeling • Professional Design Service Call For Free Consultation With Mention of This Ad.

• Traditional • Old World • Contemporary Visit Our Showroom: M-F 9-5, Sat 9-1

503-245-9989

Thank you for the pleasure of serving you for the past 25 years.

11521 S.W. Pacific Hwy., Portland www.cabunl.com CCB License #61948 WA CABINUI105B9

Ice Machines & Beverage Dispensers

STOELTING

BATCH/GELATO FREEZERS SOFTSERVE/YOGURT FREEZERS

- 24 HR ANSWERING SERVICE Akron, OH Canton, OH

(330) 784-4527 (330) 452-0111

OHIO LICENSE #23897

www.millersrefrigeration.com

OREGON

Official Rolex Jeweler 522 SW Broadway Portland, Oregon

(503) 228-3111 www.packouzjewelers.com B’Nai B’rith 65

OREGON

PENNSYLVANIA

Japanese and American Specialists Toyota - Nissan - Honda - Acura - BMW LEXUS - GM - Ford - Chrysler - Subaru - Mazda

503-224-6106 Fax: 503-224-2707

Shane Courtney

535 NW 11th (Corner of 11th & Hoyt) General Manager Portland, Oregon 97209 Call For Free Estimate With Mention Of This Ad. No Appointment Necessary

PENNSYLVANIA

Kuhn Bros.

Oil Service, Inc.

Commercial & Residential Fuel & Heating Oil Serving New Oxford, Hanover, Spring Grove, East Berlin, Gettysburg, Littlestown Fuel Delivery: 7am-5pm M-F, Sat 7am-12pm

i a

717-624-3200 t 800-343-5167

McCLEES GALLERIES EST. ~ 1845 FINE PAINTINGS PURCHASED & SOLD SPECIALISTS IN 19TH & 20TH CENTURY CONSERVATION - RESTORATION

610-642-1661

343 W. Lancaster Avenue Haverford, PA 19041

MERCEDES BENZ OF DEVON 214 W. LANCASTER AVE. DEVON, PA 19333 www.MBofDevon.com Contact Mr. Phil Miller 610-687-1500 66 winter 2008

HENNING SCALE MODELS INC

100 MODEL TRAINS Buy-Sell-Repair New – Used AUTHORIZED LIONEL SERVICE CENTER Mail & Phone Orders Welcome Open Mon-Fri 10AM-9PM Sat 10AM-5PM Sun 1PM-5PM

(215) 362-2442

128 S. Line St., Lansdale, PA 19446

www.henningscalemodels.com

RITTER PHARMACY PERSONALIZED SERVICE SINCE 1965 RUSSELL STOVER CANDIES • HALLMARK CARDS UTILITIES PAYMENT CENTER • SICK ROOM SUPPLIES PICK-UP OR FREE DELIVERY

MON-FRI 9AM TO 9PM SAT 9AM TO 6PM

610-867-3701

115 W. 4TH ST., BETHLEHEM, PA

Heating • Cooling • Duct Cleaning

Tel: 610-527-7887 Website: www.oliverheatcool.com

TIRE BARON USED TIRE SPECIALISTS FOREIGN & DOMESTIC New Tires With Free Road Hazard Warranty

ALL SIZES IN STOCK

Mag Wheel Experts u • Complete Auto Repairs • Alignment a • Brakes • Inspections • Tune-Ups t “25 Yrs. Serving The Philadelphia Area”

215-537-8333

4165 Torresdale Ave. Philadelphia (4 Blks. North of Erie/Torresdale El-Stop)

Good Food For A Good Price

Call Ahead For Fast Take-Out

Restaurant & Pizzeria Italian Cuisine

215-321-0850

Edgewood Village Shopping Center, Yardley, PA

ITALIAN CUISINE LUNCH AND DINNER

Party Room Available

215-321-9010

1633 Big Oak Road, Yardley (Oxford Oaks Shopping Center Next To Kohls)

215-369-5000

EXPRESS

PIZZA, PASTA & PANINI

Oxford Oaks Shopping Center

Eat In • Take Out • Delivery

www.carluccisitaliangrill.com

1593 Big Oak Rd.• Yardley, PA 19067

TEREMS? A T W BL ING TMEN T O S A PR ER TE P TRE

FREE WATER ANALYSIS

AT TER LL PUM & A •W E S RVICE •W E W L • SE r • SA u LONG’S WATER ] PA TECHNOLOGY, INC. eld, Orefi

PENNSYLVANIA

PROFESSIONAL NURSING SERVICES INC.

KULZER & COMPANY INC Peter R. Kulzer General Appraiser/Broker Commercial – Industrial – Residential • Appraisal • Market Studies • Investment Analysis • Consulting

RN’S - LPN’S - HOME HEALTH AIDES 24 HOUR PER DAY - 7 DAYS PER WEEK COMPETENT COMPASSIONATE CARE MEDICARE CERTIFIED • STATE LIC.

Free In-Home Consultation With Mention Of This Ad.

610-933-9483

SINCE 1951

Service: professionalnursingservices.net Job Opportunities: professionalnursingemployment.com The Commons of Valley Forge East, Valley Forge, PA Serving the Local Community for 31 years!

-1 7 -39 5

61 0

30

412-563-3882 300 Mt. Lebanon Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA

TENNESSEE

RIDDLE VILLAGE

NORTHGATE GALLERY INC.

LIFE CARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY • Spacious independent living apartments • Assisted living services • Skilled nursing facility • Fine dining • Social activities • Pool • Fitness Room

(610) 891-3700

Direct Importers Of European Antiques And Custom Reproductions

www.riddlevillage.com

Full Service Off-Premise Catering Create your own menu with the assistance of our Catering Coordinator from Soup and appetizers to full Meals & Desserts!

WEDDING & ALL OCCASION CAKES

Homemade Sour Cream Pound Cake with Buttercream Icing.

Decorated to Your Specifications!

HENNING’S MARKET

DOGGIE WORLD DAYCARE INC.

We Invite You To Our Spacious Showrooms — Over 22,000 Sq. Ft. of Fine Antiques

DAYCARE & BOARDING Fenced Dog Park For Supervised Dog Play Grooming • Member ABKA

Showrooms Open MON.-SAT. 9 A.M. TO 5 P.M.

Open Everyday

www.NorthgateAntiques.com

Fax 215-238-9136

290 Main St. Meadowbrook Plaza Harlesyville, PA 19438

215-238-7200

Open Everyday 6AM-11PM for more information log on: www.henningsmarket.com

*Present this coupon for 1/2 day of free daycare*

215-256-9533

SHOWROOM —17 FRANKLIN ST., WARREN Free Estimates – Custom Wood Laminate Systems – Bath Accessories Commercial/Residential

401-246-2033 • 800-248-5898 RI Lic 3043

Mention Ad for Special Discount

Email: gallery@northgateantiques.com

858-62 N. 3rd St. Philadelphia, PA 19123

www.doggieworld.net

(615) 221-4341 ]

RHODE ISLAND

Installation • Design & Service

Mia C. Fleetwood Jeff Fleetwood

Over 47 Years Of Proven Experience

1048 W. Baltimore Pike, Media

CUSTOM CATERING

OUR QUALITY EXCEEDS OUR PRICE

1690 Mallory Ln. Brentwood, TN

u

General Shale Brick Building the American Dream Germantown, TN Humboldt, TN Jonesboro, AR Memphis, TN

Oxford, MS

800.281.7524

Tupelo, MS

B’Nai B’rith 67

TENNESSEE

OUTPATIENT CENTERS East

6025 Walnut Grove, Suite 508, Memphis, TN 38120

901-767-LUNG

DeSoto

401 Southcrest Circle, Suite 212 Southaven, MS 38671

662-349-0488

Collierville

1500 West Poplar, Suite 206 Collierville, TN 38017

(901) 850-1170

Taylor’s Rental

TEXAS

FAST FRIENDLY SERVICE

• TENTS • CANOPIES • SMOKERS • CONCESSION EQP. • TABLES • DANCE FLOOR

• • • • • •

JOD/ • Secure Records Storage • Tape Rotation Services • Fast Pickup & Delivery • 24-Hour Access • Document Shredding

CHAIRS CHINA CANDELABRA SILVER LINENS STAGING

Simplified Flat Fee Billing No Exit Fees

(817) 332-5258 220 University Drive Fort Worth, TX 76107

Treating diseases of the chest... where patient care is first

713-849-5988 www.safesite.cc

FARMER’S MARKET

TEXAS

Since 1981

SOUTHWEST HOUSTON

R.L. SAYERS FAMILY

WHOLESALE - RETAIL

1508 W. 35th Austin, TX

512-454-2653 $10.00 Value With Any New Or Transferred Prescription Cash Purchase: $10.00 off prescription price

Long-Term Care and Custom Compounding Specialists Limit one per customer. No cash refund.

State and local restrictions apply. Exp. December 31, 2009

EAGLE TOURS, INC. Wedding Party/Guest Transportation Youth transportation for Bar/Bat Mitzvah activities For Motor coach service to anywhere U.S. and Canada call us today.

972-721-0545 1-800-829-8687 Fax 972-579-1361 www.eagletoursinc.com 1634 E. Irving Blvd., Irving, TX 75060 US DOT 194430

Irving Chamber of Commerce • Dallas Chamber of Commerce Dallas CVB - Dallas BBB • Southwest Motor Coach Assoc.

American Bus Association • United Motorcoach Association

Interested in Jewish Blogging?

Check out the Spring 2009 issue of B’nai B’rith Magazine.

• FRESH FRUITS & VEGETABLES DAILY • FULL LINE OF PRECUT VEGETABLES (Lettuce, Onions, Cabbage, Carrots,

Established 1956

Celery, Etc.)

•FRUIT BASKETS FORALLOCCASIONS SUPPLYING RESTAURANTS - SCHOOLS • WATKINS PRODUCTS COMPLETE SELECTION OF NUTS SPECIALIZING IN CRACKING & SHELLING PECANS (817) 838-8526 (817) 838-8781 FAX (817) 838-7754 “FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED” 5507 E. BELKNAP, FT. WORTH, TX

• • • • •

Custom Wall Mirrors Mirrored Doors Framed Mirrors Shower Enclosures For Your Home Or Business Hours Mon-Fri 8-5 Sat 9-2

713-774-7495

7936 Hillcroft, Houston, TX

DIBBLE’S HOBBIES Since 1955 SPECIALIZING IN MODEL RAILROADING G • O • HO • N • Z

LIONEL • MARKLIN • BROADWAY LTD. LGB • SCENERY • STRUCTURES SUPER-DETAILING PARTS GAMES • MINIATURES • GAMES WORKSHOP MODELS • PAINTS • TOOLS • REFERENCE BOOKS

EMERGENCY & CRITICAL CARE

NORTHWEST BEXAR COUNTY & SURROUNDING AREAS

10am - 6 pm Tues-Sat • Closed Sun & Mon From 410 go South on Babcock 1 1⁄2 Mi. Right on St. Cloud, Left on Donaldson

(210) 735-7721

1029 Donaldson Ave., San Antonio, TX 78228 Mention B’nai B’rith When Calling

d Uniteand t S e W

ALL NIGHT - 7 DAYS OPEN MON-THURS 6PM-8AM FRI 6PM – MON 8AM (24 HOURS ON HOLIDAYS) VISA - MC - AMEX - DISCOVER

210-684-2105 8734 Grissom Road, San Antonio, TX

THE BUYING POWER OF OVER 9000 STORES NATIONWIDE

Featuring Carpet

NORTH

10961 Research Blvd.

512-346-7034

“United We Stand”

CARPET • CERAMIC • HARDWOOD SHEET VINYL • PERGO

Designers on Staf f M-T-W-F 9:30-6 Th 9:30-8 • Sat. 10-4 Financing Available

SOUTH

4006 South Lamar

Brodie Oaks Shopping Center

512-416-9764

CARPET ONE - AMERICA’S LARGEST CARPET RETAILER

68 winter 2008

VIRGINIA

WASHINGTON

A Caring, Non-Denominational, Offering Assisted Living Services • Month to Month Leases • Sponsored By The Catholic Diocese of Richmond • Four Distinct Assisted Living Personal Care Plans • Planned Program Of Activities/Events • Fine Dining Services 5345 Marian Lane, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462 www.marian-manor.com ©Coordinated Services Management, Inc. Professional Management of Retirement Communities Since 1981

757-456-5018

“A gem among local bakeries.”

The Washington Post

All Ingredients Are Natural and Preservative-Free

Call for more information: 703-281-7437 Fax: 703-281-7488 800-387-9319

www.piegourmet.com 507 Maple Ave W., Vienna, VA 22181

HOME HEATING OIL AUTOMATIC DELIVERY • GASOLINE MOTOR OILS & GREASES • PROPANE PREMIUM DIESEL FUEL • BUDGET PLANS TANKS & PUMPS • 24 HOUR SERVICE 14401 Penrose Pl., Chantilly, VA 703-378-4865

• Bar Code Printers • Systems Integration • Data Collection Devices • Labels & Ribbons • Print & Apply Systems • Sheetfed Laser Labels

540-389-3040 1-888-325-2626 www.blancolabels.com 1862 Apperson Drive Salem, VA 24153 Mention B’nai B’rith For 1st Time Discount

www.SouthernStates.com

L’AUBERGE CHEZ FRANÇOIS A FRENCH COUNTRY INN For Reservations

(703) 759-3800 Receptions • Group Lunches 332 Springvale Rd. Great Falls, VA www.laubergechezfrancois.com

WASHINGTON

CORPORATE or PRIVATE OCCASIONS CHAIRS • TABLES • LINEN • CHINA SILVER • GLASSWARE • PARTY TENTS CANOPIES • PAPER & PLASTIC SUPPLIES RENTALS • SALES • DELIVERIES OR TOLL FREE

206-362-3222 1 800-892-2239 1310 N. 131st St. Seattle,WA 98133-7630 www.abbeypartyrents.com

RS AUTO REBUILD INC. Serving Seattle Since 1965

UNITED WE STAND

BODY & FENDER SPECIALISTS

We Deliver The Right Document To The Right Person Right Away!

All Insurance Accepted • All Work Guaranteed Foreign • Domestic • European Luxury

206-323-3112

1265 S. King, Seattle, WA Free Estimate With Mention Of This Ad.

Storage & Retrieval Of Business, Legal & Medical Records WBE Certified

206-328-5688 Locations in Seattle and Lynnwood

B’Nai B’rith 69

WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON D.C.

MEMORIAL PARK FUNERAL HOME CHAPEL • CREMATORY MAUSOLEUM COMPLETE SERVICE IN ONE LOCATION 924 176th E., Spanaway, WA “Family Owned Since 1959”

253-531-6600 AFFORDABLE PREARRANGEMENTS

EMERGENCY

SERVICE

24 HOURS

7 DAYS A WEEK

BEACON

PLUMBING

HEATING & MECHANICAL INC.

“A Local Company With A Plumbing Staff You Can Trust And Rely On”

FREE ESTIMATES ON LARGE JOBS

All Major Credit Cards Accepted

] u

t

References Available Licensed Bonded & Insured Journeyman • Contractor # BEACOMPM01319

Member Better Business Bureau Serving Oregon & Western Washington

Downtown • Queen Anne Ballard

North Seattle, Lynnwood Bothell

206-365-0376

206-720-2040

Eastside, Mercer Island

Renton, Maple Valley, New Castle

Kent, Des Moines, Federal Way, Greenlake

206-749-9275 425-747-0941

425-277-1879

Burien, Tukwila West Seattle

253-854-0182

DO IT YOURSELF & CUSTOM FRAMING

FRAMERS’ WORKROOM SINCE 1981

Conservation Framing Dry Mounting Needlework Blocking Large Selection of Frames & Mats Open Evenings & Saturdays All Work Done On Premises Commercial Accounts Welcome We Cut/You Assemble MON 10AM-5PM TUES-THUR 10AM-9PM FRI 10AM-5PM, SAT 10AM-6PM www.framersworkroomdc.com

202-363-1970

] 4431 WISCONSIN AVE. NW WASH D.C. 20016 u (1/2 Block From Tenleytown Metro)

WISCONSIN

Dinner & Drinks LOCATED AT 10 M ERCER STREET SERVING DINNER FROM 4:30 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT SERVING COCKTAILS UNTIL 2 AM RESERVATIONS (206) 691-3723 VALET PARKING AVAILABLE GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE www.tenmercer.com

ELECTRICAL AND COMMUNICATION CABLING CONSTRUCTION & REPAIRS

architecture + planning + interior design

CALL

(202) 822-8227

Since 1929

262-522-3900

WISCONSIN

A Touch of Sicily

Indoor and Outdoor Café Seating

Lunch Tuesday-Friday 11am-2pm • Thurs-Fri-Sat 10pm-2am Light Menu-Desserts Full menu Tues.-Thurs. 4pm-9pm • Fri. & Sat. 4pm-10pm • Sun. 4pm-9pm www.carinislaconcadoro.com

Italian and Sicilian Cuisine

Dinner • Lunch Italian Buffet &Full Menu Specializing In: Seafood • Pasta • Spiedini • Steak • Veal Reservations Suggested

• Banquet Facility 70 winter 2008

3468 North Oakland

Public Parking - Edgewood & Oakland

(414)

WASHINGTON DC•CHICAGO•DUBAI•INDIANA• ORLANDO•SAO PAULO•SEATTLE•SHANGHAI 722 12th Street NW, Suite 100 Washington DC 20005 John Jessen, AIA, NCARB, IIDA

www.voa.com

Packages Available

Windsor Park Hotel

Near Downtown, on Embassy row. Nestled in a charming neighborhood of majestic homes, regal embassies and tree-lined streets that are a pleasure to behold in any season. Walk to the National Zoo, Rock Creek Park, and Woodley Park Metro.

All the Capital sights are within easy reach.

Moderate Rates • Free Continental Breakfast • 43 Pleasant Rooms with AC, color TV, mini refrigerator, direct dial phones and voice mail.

2 computer stations with wireless internet free to guests.

2116 Kalorama Rd., NW, Washington, DC 20008

202-483-7700 • 800-247-3064 Fax: 202-332-4547 www.windsorparkhotel.com

Look No Further...

Medicare SuppleMent inSurance Don’t wait to find out what Medicare doesn’t cover. Now is the time, during the open enrollment period, to take a look at your Medicare supplement insurance options. Medicare supplement insurance is available to you through the B’nai B’rith Insurance Program and is designed to go hand-in-hand with your regular Medicare coverage.

Please call: 1-800-723-BNAI (2624) or visit us at: bnaibrith.org, to request program information.

This Medigap coverage is available to you through the B’nai B’rith Insurance Program, administered by Selman & Company and underwritten by AEGON companies including: (depending on state of residence) Monumental Life Insurance Company, Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company (state of NY), and Transamerica Life Insurance Company (depending on state of residence and TFLIC in NY only).

Medicare part d At this time, you have another opportunity to enroll in Medicare Part D or switch plans. The B’nai B’rith Insurance Program offers a new service to help you choose a plan with options to meet your personal prescription needs.

You have a choice of many different Medicare prescription drug coverage options and we understand how confusing this can be. *The Transamerica Part D Choice Program, sponsored by B’nai B’rith, is here to make it simple, while still offering you a choice of plans from leading providers. Contact our experts today. They have the tools needed to provide you with plan comparisons and rates.

There are two ways to use this service: by phone or web!

1. Visit our website, www.medsuppinfo.com and enter code: WBNAIBRITH 2. Call us at 1-800-235-9922

* Part D Choice Plans are not underwritten by any Transamerica Companies.

1208HM 7747053

Passover2009

2009

Gourmet Kosher Cuisine Complete Programming Kids, Teens, Adults

2 Resorts

Receive FREE room upgrade.

Book by Dec. 31, 2008

by Kashrus Under Central Florida Kosher Rabbi Shalom Dubov The best Orlando Passover Program there is! Join us for our seventh year in Orlando at The Renaissance Orlando resort at Sea World featuring a $27 million renovation! This AAA 4-diamond resort offers some of the largest guest rooms in Central Florida, as well as proximity to Sea World and complimentary transportation to Disney theme parks, Universal theme parks, and other Orlando attractions.

Call Dave or Nancy

800-944-2283 or 410-653-9369

New Jersey Shore 55 Min. From NYC! Kashrus Under Kehillas Bais Benzion Rabbi Zushe Blech

Call Jay

Matzafun’s eighth outstanding year at the shore. Celebrate with a pampered Passover at Ocean Place Resort & Spa.