CT Jewish Ledger • November 20, 2020 • 4 Kislev 5781

Friday, November 20, 2020 4 Kislev 5781 Vol. 92 | No. 47 | ©2020 $1.00 | jewishledger.com

‘Valley of

Tears’

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JEWISH LEDGER

| NOVEMBER 20, 2020

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We Know Things Are Different This Year...

But One Thing Remains Constant: Whether It’s Across the Table Or Across The Country...

It’s Togetherness That Counts...

However You Family...

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INSIDE

this week

CONNECTICUT JEWISH LEDGER | SINCE 1929 | NOVEMBER 20, 2020 | 4 KISLEV 5781

9 Around CT

15 & 16 Briefs

17 Crossword

18 Bulletin Board

18 Torah Portion

19 & 20

Standing Against Hate................. 5 When several antisemitic incidents hit the campus of UConn in quick succession, students – Jewish and non-Jewish – raise their voices and took action.

Lessons Learned............................ 5 Parents at a D.C. Jewish day school raised concerns when they learned that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump weren’t complying with the school’s COVID-19 protocols. So the Kushner children packed their book bags and went elsewhere.

In Conversation with.................... 8 Alan Zweibel talks about his life as a comedy writer and his poignant and funny new memoir, Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier.

Obituaries

21 Business and Professional Directory

22 Classified

OPINION.................................................................................10 Will Joe Biden forge his own path and stop the Iranian nuclear race?

Or will he enable a dangerous situation to worsen? Ambassador Danny Danon is optimistic that the new president will construct his own path based on strength and principle.

Election 2020.......................................................................11 What’s so Jewish about President-elect Joe Biden’s new Chief of Staff Ron Klain? We’re here to tell you.

CANDLE LIGHTING ON THE COVER:

In the new 10-part Israeli mini-series Valley of Tears, which premiered last week on HBO Max, Israeli filmmakers bring to life the 1973 Yom Kippur War – a 19-day conflict that took Israel by surprise and nearly destroyed the country. So traumatized were Israelis who lived through it that most found it too painful to talk about –until now. PAGE 12 jewishledger.com

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UP FRONT

CONNECTICUT JEWISH LEDGER | SINCE 1929 | NOVEMBER 20, 2020 | 4 KISLEV 5781

Students take action after spate of antisemitic incidents hits UConn Storrs campus

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TORRS – Three separate antisemitic incidents occurred in the month of October in a University of Connecticut residential complex in Storrs.

On Oct. 7, “The Third Reich” was written on a white board affixed to the door of a student’s dorm room. Later in the month, in the same building, a student reported seeing a swastika carved on a wall near an elevator in the same building. And, lastly, Chanukah and Kwanzaa decorations were vandalized on a holiday display bulletin board in the same complex.

The acts of vandalism were investigated by the police, but so far no suspects have been identified.

In response to the incidents, the office of Residential Life worked closely with the students personally affected, and a discussion on antisemitism was held in the residential building where the vandalism took place.

UConn Hillel began a #StandingUpAgainstHate campaign in which Hillel members spoke about their own experiences with antisemitism and provided education to fellow students about antisemitism and how to combat it.

Still, while UConn’s administration did have some communication with members of Hillel following the incidents, administrators did not condemn, nor address the antisemitic acts with the entire student body.

On Oct. 25, UConn Hillel students launched a petition to address that oversight, which resulted in a letter signed by 311 students that was then sent to the office of UConn President Thomas Katsouleas.

“Previously, the UConn administration has been swift and strong in responding to other such acts of hate on our campus,” the letter stated, citing a July 23rd message addressing the University’s response to anti-Black racism, in which Katsouleas and UConn Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Franklin Tuitt, “eloquently stated jewishledger.com

Ivanka Trump & Jared Kushner pull their kids from a DC Jewish school

BY STACEY DRESNER

W

BY RON KAMPEAS

that teaching and learning is what we do best as a university: ‘Through education and scholarship we address the needs of our students to understand and contextualize the world around us, empower them with that knowledge, and address the misperceptions that underlie bias and bigotry.’”

“As a Jewish community, we are left wondering why these actions have not warranted the same response,” the Hillel letter concluded.

“The UConn administration that so adamantly, and appropriately, addresses and condemns hate towards other communities on campus needs to equally address and condemn the hate towards UConn’s Jewish community,” said the letter, asking Katsouleas and other administrators to condemn the antisemitism and share details with of the entire UConn community.

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE

ON NOV. 9, THE 82ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEGINNING OF KRISTALLNACHT – AND IN LIGHT OF RECENT ACTS OF ANTISEMITISM AT UCONN – MEMBERS OF UCONN HILLEL WALKED AROUND THE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT UNION TO TALK WITH FELLOW STUDENTS ABOUT ANTSEMITISM.

ASHINGTON (JTA) – Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump pulled their children out of a Jewish day school in Washington, D.C., two weeks before Election Day and three weeks after an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in and around the White House.

The couple’s children had attended the Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School of the Nation’s Capital since moving to Washington in 2017 after Donald Trump, Ivanka’s father, became president. Their three kids started a different school, the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy in suburban Maryland, on Oct. 19.

“They withdrew from the school,” a spokesperson for Milton, as the school calls itself, said Wednesday in a statement.

A source close to the family said they withdrew because Berman offered more in-person classes during the pandemic. Jared Kushner said in August, amid national debate about whether schools should reopen, that he would send his children to school in person if he could. Berman switched to mostly in-person during September and October after opening virtually, according to its website.

But three parents of children attending Milton, which is switching to fully indoor, in-person classes next week, said the withdrawal came after parents raised concerns that Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and top aide, and Ivanka Trump, his daughter and also a top aide, were seen at events not complying with the coronavirus protocols that Milton demanded of its parents.

The protocols, which the Jewish Telegraphic Agency obtained, are based on Centers for Disease Control CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE

(COURTESY UCONN HILLEL)

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UConn

Ivanka

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

On Oct. 30, Katsouleas, Tuitt, and Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Carl Lejuez sent a letter to the entire campus community.

“Our University is committed to an environment that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Recent reports of a series of antiSemitic incidents on our Storrs campus undermine that goal. We denounce in the strongest terms acts of violence, hate, and intimidation aimed at members of our Jewish community,” the letter read in part.

“These recent reports were all acts of physical damage to property, including swastika graffiti. These are undeniable symbols of antisemitism that elicit painful reminders of the Holocaust among our Jewish students, faculty, and staff. These acts and other discriminatory acts this semester are deeply upsetting and leave a scar on members of our community whose beliefs or identities are targeted.”

In an encouraging move, UConn’s Student Government in early November approved it’s own antisemitism legislation.

“They initiated legislation to strengthen the university’s anti-bias policy and to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism as an institution,” Hillel Director Edina Oestreicher told the Ledger.

The legislation was passed by the full student government on Wednesday, Nov. 11. It will now head to senior UConn administrators.

“I’m feeling really hopeful and inspired by students and that all they did,” Oestreicher added. “[UConn’s student government] initiated it, they wrote the legislation, they moved it forward very quickly and felt very strongly that the university needs to take a stronger stand.

And this was coming from non-Jewish students so it’s really heartening to have allies across campus, particularly in leadership roles in student government.”

Hillel is now working with the office of Residential Life and the Dean of Students’ office, as well as the Anti-Defamation League, to create a student panel

program on antisemitism to be held the week of Nov. 30.

“I think the theme of it is really going to be to help students understand the impact of antisemitism – what it’s like to be a victim. Then we’re going to go from there to helping students understand their rights and responsibilities; how not to be a bystander, but to stand up and report things and be there as allies for their peers,” Oestreicher said.

Hillel is also working with the Office of Residential Life to provide training to student residential advisors (RAs) and professionals on how to handle antisemitism and antisemitic acts in student residences. Training is expected to begin in January.

Oestreicher praised the students involved in Hillel and UConn’s student government for their response to the acts of antisemitism at their university.

“Obviously this has been very unfortunate but I tend to look at the silver lining in all of this and I have been very heartened by the student activism,” she said. “They took the lead in communicating with the president and prompting him to respond in the petition, and in writing this legislation. Seeing students take an active role in wanting to create a more inclusive community is really inspiring to me, not just as a Jew but as an administrator.

“I think there will be stronger policies and protocols as a result to this, and that’s a good thing for our community.

I also believe we’re going to be able to have more opportunities to do training and education for professionals and for students. And there is strengthening of relationship between Hillel students and senior administrators that didn’t exist before. The stronger relationship and greater understanding of Jewish students on campus and their experiences is a really positive thing.

“Looking at the long view,” she concluded, “I do think there’s some good things that will come out of these challenging times.”

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JEWISH LEDGER

| NOVEMBER 20, 2020

guidelines and ask families to avoid gatherings off campus where social distancing is not practiced or masks are not used.

“Students and families are expected to adhere to any and all social distancing guidelines and mask requirements while not on campus to minimize the risk of contracting COVID-19 as well as reducing the risk of exposing employees and/or MILTON’s students to COVID-19,” one passage relevant to parental compliance says. “To help reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure at the School, the School asks all families to limit their attendance at large public or private gatherings, events, and other activities to those where social distancing can be maintained and guidance regarding masks is followed. Families and students should avoid hosting or attending large gatherings where proper social distancing measures are not feasible.”

The protocols were in place in late September when the lack of masking and distancing at White House and Trump campaign events became a major public health issue.

One parent said a breaking point was the Sept. 26 ceremony at the White House nominating Amy Coney Barrett for the U.S. Supreme Court to succeed the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Kushner and Ivanka Trump were not reported to be at the event, but at least 11 guests later tested positive for the coronavirus, including the president and others whom the couple encountered in the following days.

That included Sept. 29, when Ivanka Trump traveled to Cleveland for the debate between her father and Joe Biden. Trump’s family disregarded orders set by the Cleveland Clinic to wear masks throughout the debate.

Photos showed Ivanka Trump watching the debate with no mask.

“There was concern for the safety of children because it was very clear the Kushner parents were violating public health recommendations,” said the mother, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because her employer bans interactions with the media.

Another inflection point, the mother said, came days later on Oct. 2 when Donald Trump announced that he had contracted the coronavirus.

She said the school would not tell the parents whether the Kushners had informed the school of the last day of contact between the president and his grandchildren. (Trump also declined to make public the date of his last negative

FOUR CHILDREN OF PRESIDENT SIT IN THE AUDIENC

(CRED

COVID-19 test.)

“At the same time of rising cases in the states and children going back to school, we were seeing the Kushners violating quarantine requirements,” this mother said.

Milton is split now between remote and in-school learning. Of special concern, said the first mother, was that the Kushners’ youngest child was in pre-kindergarten, which was indoors. (Classes for older children were held outdoors.)

Ivanka Trump says she’s pro-life “Masked, but indoors, and there are the Secret Service, who are with the children,” she said. “That was also a concern.”

The first parent said that as of next week, most Milton classes would be indoors three to four days a week. The Nov. 16 return to almost total in-person schooling has been known since before the Kushners’ withdrawal.

That parent and a third with knowledge of the situation – who have no relationship with each other – said the school tried to work out a compromise with the Kushners with the understanding that the couple needed allowances in their capacity as senior governmental aides who also were in senior positions in Donald Trump’s jewishledger.com

T DONALD TRUMP -- FROM LEFT, ERIC, IVANKA, TIFFANY AND DONALD JR. -CE AT THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE IN CLEVELAND, SEPT. 29.

DIT: MELINA MARA/THE WASHINGTON POST VIA GETTY IMAGES)

reelection campaign. There was no agreement in the end.

Berman Academy also asks parents to adhere to COVID compliance, including limiting inessential travel, wearing masks and avoiding hot spots.

Avi Berkowitz, a close aide to Jared Kushner who is also the administration’s top Middle East peace negotiator, said the idea that COVID-19 rules had led to the family’s departure from the school was inaccurate.

“The Kushners protect the privacy of their children and won’t engage in idle gossip,” he said.

The family’s withdrawal came just weeks before the election to determine whether Donald Trump would serve a second term. It is unknown whether they plan to remain in Washington or return to New York City now that Joe Biden has won, though the president continues to claim election fraud and has not conceded.

Join our email list for the latest updates!

Contact Howard Meyerowitz howardm@jewishledger.com 860.231.2424 x3035 jewishledger.com

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Conversation with Alan Zweibel

Emmy Award-winning comedy writer discusses his funny and poignant new book at the New Haven JCC virtual book fest, Nov. 19

BY JUDIE JACOBSON

A

lan Zweibel launched his comedy career by selling jokes for seven dollars apiece to the last of the Borscht Belt standups. Then one night, despite bombing on stage, he caught the attention of Lorne Michaels and became one of the first writers at Saturday Night Live, where he penned classic material for Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and all of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players. From SNL, he went on to have a hand in numerous landmark series, from It’s Garry Shandling’s Show to Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The recipient of multiple Emmy and Writers Guild of America Awards for his work in television, Zweibel also collaborated with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award– winning Broadway play 700 Sundays and won the Thurber Prize for American Humor for his novel The Other Shulman.

Zweibel will discuss his memoir, Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier, at the Book Festival in Your Living Room hosted by the Jewish Community Center of Greater New Haven on Thursday, Nov. 19, 8-10 p.m. on Zoom.

In his new memoir, Zweibel takes readers through his long career in the comedy-writing business, weaving together his own stories and interviews with friends and contemporaries, including Larry David, Richard Lewis, Eric Idle, Mike Birbiglia, Sarah Silverman, Judd Apatow, Susie Essman, Dave Barry, Rob Reiner, and more.

And, of course, his good friend of 45 years, Billy Crystal, who wrote the book’s foreword and with whom he cowrote and coproduced the upcoming film Here Today that stars Crystal and Tiffany Haddish.

This interview has been edited for clarity and space concerns.

JEWISH LEDGER: Tell us about growing up Jewish. Did your Jewish background influence your career in comedy?

ALAN ZWEIBEL: It was first generation suburbia. My grandparents came over from Europe. My parents’ childhood was in Brooklyn. And then they were able to buy a house on Long Island. It was a really fun time. There were still vestiges of my grandparents that we kept in my house; we kept kosher etc.

When I first started out in this career, I was writing jokes to stand-up comics who

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worked in the Catskill Mountains, and they were Jewish, and “700 Sundays” which I did with my friend Billy Crystal, that’s just loaded with Jewish things; and I just completed a movie with Billy that will come out sometime after the first of the year and that he stars in with Tiffany Haddish, and there’s a bar mitzvah scene, so you know…

It’s who I am and I never fought against it.

I was surprised to read in your book that you got your start with the Borscht Belt comics. What did you learn from them that helped you in your career?

I wrote for all these comics at the point that those who were going to be big stars had already moved out to California, so I was pretty much left writing for the other guys who were left behind. It was my first introduction out of college.

I learned about adaptability. Many of the Catskill comics I wrote for are still alive, they’re in their 80s and still performing.

They have weathered the storms or the changes in comedy. And they’re still making audiences laugh a lot with the same jokes and the same senses of humor.

Can you give us an example of a joke you wrote for a Catskill comic?

For example, I wrote a joke about a Hasidic orgy, it was really unusual because it was men on one side of the room and women on the other.

You’ve worked with many comedians.

But you’ve also worked with actors who are not comedians. For example, in your book you talk about writing a sitcom for the late Farah Faucet and Ryan O’Neal.

Is it more difficult to write for somebody who’s not a natural comedian?

Those two people you mention were hard to write for because they weren’t funny.

I’ve been really lucky, because everyone else I’ve written for or with has been funny and I do write with other writers who don’t perform. I write a lot with Dave Barry, for example, who is a Pulitzer winner. He’s fun to collaborate with.

If somebody is funny the same way you are. It’s a lot easier because the process becomes social. And so you build off each other you know, it’s like any, any relationship. If you, if you have a

| NOVEMBER 20, 2020

friend who makes you laugh, you’re funny with each other. And it’s the same thing professionally.

But if you’re writing for somebody who doesn’t have a sense of humor it’s a little harder. A lot harder. They don’t contribute anything really. But the hope is that they’re good enough and they can adapt and see the humor in what you’re writing and bring their own talents to it.

So many of you friends are stand up comedians did you ever consider becoming a stand-up comic?

No, I like writing too much. I mean I speak all over the country and I go on talk shows and that’s fun for me, but I never wanted to do stand-up. I don’t know if I had the talent to be a stand-up comedian, but I never considered it. I just like writing too much.

The book has an instructive tone to it.

What is one of the main lessons you would like aspiring comedy writers to take away from it?

It’s this, and I know this sounds sort of generic, but if I can do it, they can do it. I talk about being a kid on Long Island, the oldest of four children, and nobody else did what I did. My mom and dad were really supportive; they knew that I liked writing.

My mother was the one who actually ran into a Catskill comic when he was playing in Lake Tahoe. I was just out a college. She said to him “My son wants to be a writer.”

So he gave her his name and number and I started writing for him, and then I started writing for other Catskill comics. So she got the ball rolling.

There are lots of lessons to be learned [in the book], but I think the big one is, if you have a dream, persevere; don’t let anybody tell you “oh you know what the odds are of making it,” or “do you know how many people want to do.” You have this one life, so pursue what you think will make you happy without the influence of naysayers.

Is there anybody who you would like to – or would have liked to – write with but haven’t?

That’s a good question. I’ve been really lucky, I mean I wrote for Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks and most of my heroes. I wish

I was old enough to have written for Jack Benny and others of the older generation.

Of the people who are around today, I would like to write with Sarah Silverman.

And, you know, I would love to work with Woody Allen.

But, as I said, I’m pretty lucky. I’m happy to say that I’ve gotten to meet and write with the majority of my heroes.

What will you talk about the New Haven JCC’s Nov. 19 event?

Basically, the book. It will be very anecdotal; it’ll be very funny. I think it will be very relatable for people of all ages. I’ll take them on this journey. I’ll tell them about the hits and also the misses. I also will probably read a very funny but solidly negative review that Roger Ebert once gave me.

I talk about my close friendship with Gilda [Radner]. About when she got sick and how humor helped her survive. And how she made her last appearance on the show I co-created called “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show.”

I act as a tour guide, sort of like taking the audience through the different eras of comedy, but there will be poignant moments too, because I have two major people in my life dying – Gilda and Garry Shandling – and they were very dear to me.

I talk about the loss of a friend and how comedy helped me get through it.

Tickets to hear Alan Zweibel speak the JCC of Greater New Haven’s virtual film festival on Nov 19 at 8 p.m. are $11. For more information, contact Scott Cohen at scottc@jccnh. org.

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AROUND CT Local residents with developmental disabilities receive wheelchair van, with a little help from their friends WEST HARTFORD – When the Jewish Association for Community Living (JCL), a nonprofit that assists people with developmental disabilities, needed to purchase a new wheelchair van, philanthropists granted its wish through their funds held at the Jewish Community Foundation.

“We asked our Donor Advised Fund holders to help defray the cost of JCL’s wheelchair van and they ended up funding the entire cost of $53,000,” says Michael Elfenbaum, vice president of grant programs at the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford.

The new lift-equipped wheelchair van provides daily transportation of residents at JCL’s homes to medical appointments, community events, grocery shopping and other errands.

“Replacing our eight-year old wheelchair van was at the top of our wish list and we could not have done it without Donor Advised Fund grants from the Jewish Community Foundation,” says Denis Geary, JCL’s executive director. “We are so thankful for their support.”

The Jewish Community Foundation’s Donor Advised Fund holders support several vital programs and services for JCL residents on a year-round basis.

“Grants from the Foundation’s generous donors have made a tremendous impact on the lives of our residents,” says Geary. “They are receiving rental assistance and adaptive equipment such as walkers, which are not always covered by insurance,” he continued.

“The grants also provide therapeutic horseback riding lessons and music therapy, giving our residents with a much-needed outlet to express themselves and enjoy time with their peers.”

The Jewish Community Foundation publishes for its fund holders a Community Wish List Newsletter, which features

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a round-up of important projects that nonprofits hope to launch but need financial assistance. Fund holders recommend grants from their funds to their favorite nonprofits in Greater Hartford and around the world.

JCL’s wheelchair van was one of eight projects fully funded through The Jewish Community Foundation’s Donor Advised Funds. Others include: a new fence for COVID-19 related safety for the Mandell Jewish Community Center; Mental telehealth services technology; and new computers and network servers for Jewish Family Services; a strategic planning consultant and digital recording tools for virtual exhibitions for the Jewish Historical Society; and an educational program about Jews and Superheroes at UCONN Hillel.

BAR MITZVAH JETHRO EHRLICH, son of Grant and Elizabeth Ehrlich, will celebrate his bar mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 21, at The Emanuel Synagogue in West Hartford.

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NOVEMBER 20, 2020

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Opinion

The U.S. president-elect must heed the lessons of history when managing Iran

EDITORIAL Stacey Dresner Massachusetts Editor staceyd@jewishledger.com • x3008 Tim Knecht Proofreader

BY DANNY DANON

(JNS) One of the most crucial issues on the table for the Middle East is Iran. It is very likely that this will be one of the first briefings President-Elect Joe Biden receives when he enters the White House.

Biden has previously stated that he plans to rejoin the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the Iran nuclear deal–and “strengthen and extend it.” He says that he is going to continue on the path of a nuclear-free Iran, and that he will “make an unshakable commitment to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.”

What remains to be seen is which approach he will take on this issue. Will he forge his own new, independent path and stop the Iranian nuclear race? Or will he enable a dangerous situation to continue and worsen?

The Biden team seems to suggest that more moderate, diplomatic efforts, coupled with a revival of the deal, will halt the danger of Iran’s imminent access to nuclear weapons. They present a case that indicates their leadership will not give Iran a free ride. However, the overriding fear is that the moment sanctions are lifted, the Iranians will have all the nuclear access they need.

One cannot ignore that according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran was breaking the agreement from its inception–violations that the deal’s signatories pushed under the radar.

It seems highly unlikely that Iran will, a

second time round, simply agree to U.S. demands. Even if it does, it is questionable, at best, that they will not covertly disregard them, given their blatant disregard for the original agreement and subsequent remorseless breaches.

Nor can one ignore that Iran was actually made better off by the deal. Its nuclear infrastructure was kept intact, and it proceeded to advance nuclear research.

Simultaneously, Iran was due to benefit from the “sunset clause,” which stipulated that by 2025, only a bit more than four years away, the restrictions will start to disappear, providing Iran with unfettered access to nuclear weaponry.

This must not be allowed to happen.

Appeasement of one of the most dangerous countries in the Middle East – one that routinely calls for the destruction of Israel and America – can only lead to disaster.

The new reality is that the structure of the Middle East now rotates around the region’s approach to halting the progression of a nuclear Iran that was triggered by the JCPOA. It resulted in widespread concern among the region’s states, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudia Arabia.

The single advantage that emerged is that it brought together Israel and the Middle East’s moderate Arab countries, and led to the recent U.S. brokering of the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, shortly to be followed by Sudan, all of which envisage a new Middle East and new opportunities.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SHAKES HANDS WITH THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, BARACK OBAMA, AND THEN-OUTGOING VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, DURING THE 58TH PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION AT THE U.S. CAPITOL BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D.C., JAN. 20, 2017.

(CREDIT: U.S. MARINE CORPS LANCE CORPORAL CRISTIAN L. RICARDO VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

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Vol. 92 No. 47 34 JHL Ledger LLC Publisher Henry M. Zachs Managing Partner Leslie Iarusso Associate Publisher Judie Jacobson Editor judiej@jewishledger.com • x3024 Hillary Sarrasin Digital Media Manager hillaryp@jewishledger.com

It is critical to mark these lessons of recent history. We can quickly grasp from Iran’s reactions to the initial JCPOA, breaching it on numerous occasions despite its very advantageous terms, that its extremist government is not moved by “nice” words. Strong and decisive action is what has proven to be effective and necessary.

We have seen that the “maximum pressure” sanctions made it far more challenging for Iran to fund international terrorism and acquire its dream of a nuclear weapon. Tough measures have also gone a very long way to debilitating the terrorist groups operating from Iran due to a severe lack of funds. This, in turn, has weakened the hold that the dictatorial regime has on its own people. If we continue on the current path of harsh restrictions, Iran will have no option but to end its hostile activities.

President-Elect Biden’s intentions are upstanding. He believes that he can correct and contain Iran’s violations through diplomacy. It is paramount for him, however, to take note of the highly unusual unified voice emanating from the region, from Israel and from the Middle East’s moderate Arab nations, all of which are in the line of fire.

Biden’s relationship with Israel extends as far back as 1973, when he met thenPrime Minister Golda Meir. He called it “one of the most consequential meetings I’ve ever had in my life.” Biden witnessed Israel fighting for its survival, and understands the challenges it and the wider region face.

He is to be congratulated on his electoral victory in the earnest hope that, as America’s new president, he will demonstrate his innate understanding of Israel and the Middle East, and recognize the beneficial outcomes and far-reaching vision of recent regional developments.

There is room for optimism that he will construct his own path of strength and principle.

Ambassador Danny Danon served as Israel’s 17th Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Minister of Science and Technology and Deputy Minister of Defense.

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jewishledger.com

ELECTION 2020

DC veteran Ron Klain appointed Biden’s chief of staff

BY GABE FRIEDMAN

(JTA) – President-elect Joe Biden made his first key appointment on Wednesday night by choosing Ron Klain, a close confidant and veteran Washington insider who is open about his Jewish identity, to be his White House chief of staff.

Klain, who was raised in a Jewish family in Indianapolis, has experience in the role: He served as chief of staff for Biden when he was vice president in the Obama administration, and in the same role for Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton years.

Klain drew praise as Obama’s “ebola czar” for his handling of the disease’s outbreak in 2014.

Here’s what you need to know about him

His Jewish background Klain, 59, grew up in Indiana, the son of a father who worked as a building contractor and mother who was a travel agent. He celebrated his bar mitzvah in 1974 at his childhood congregation, Beth-El Zedeck – a synagogue still operating in Indianapolis that’s affiliated with both the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Reconstructionist movement.

But his bar mitzvah had some added stress: As Jewish Insider reported Thursday, Klain has talked about how his mother became ill right before the rite of passage, leading to its postponement. That meant Klain had to learn a new Torah portion.

Klain has said his Jewish identity was formed in part by being different from most of his peers.

“I grew up in Indiana, with a decent-size Jewish community, but we were a distinct minority,” he told The New York Times in 2007. “Not having a Christmas tree was very much part of our Jewish identity in a place where everyone else did.”

Klain has kept in touch with the congregation and appeared in a video talking about the COVID-19 pandemic with the Beth-El Zedeck rabbi in April. (The rabbi, Dennis Sasso, pointed out that Klain “became bar mitzvah … twice, as you know by now!”)

In the video, Klain compared the plague of the firstborn from the Passover story to an infectious disease, and the Jews who were commanded to stay in their homes during the plague to people today being told to socially distance.

“Klain continues a presence with the Indianapolis Jewish Community with visits to his synagogue, regular speaking engagements, and attendance at local Jewish holiday gatherings with his family,” jewishledger.com

the synagogue said in a statement Thursday.

When he married Monica Medina – a non-Jewish attorney who has served in multiple federal government roles, such as deputy under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere – he insisted that they raise their children Jewishly (they would have three). Their compromise, as Klain noted in The Times article about balancing Jewish and Christian family traditions during the winter holiday season: celebrating Christmas for her.

The one catch: They wait to put up a Christmas tree until after Klain’s mother visits the family in December.

His career Klain has worked with lawmakers on Capitol Hill for decades. After graduating from Harvard Law, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Byron White, then served as an aide to Rep. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat who is now a senator. Klain was involved in both of Bill Clinton’s presidential campaigns and worked for him as president, including as associate counsel, where he helped the late Jewish icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. In 1995, Gore named Klain his chief of staff, a role he would hold until 1999.

In 2004, Klain worked on the presidential campaign of Wesley Clark, a former Army general with Jewish heritage who won the Oklahoma state primary for

the Democratic nomination before dropping out to endorse John Kerry.

Biden tapped Klain as his chief of staff in 2008, a position he held until 2011, when he left the White House for a private sector job.

“As my chief of staff in the White House, Ron has done an exceptional job of building my team, implementing my direction on top priorities, and providing invaluable counsel,” Biden said at the time. “He has also played a key role in establishing the strong, positive relationship that exists between my staff and the President’s team.”

The Times noted that Klain is known for having “steady nerves” and “a fierce wit.” CNN said he has also become “the go-to operative for debate preparation for Democratic candidates dating as far back as Bill Clinton.”

His specialty Beyond being a D.C. power player, Klain boosted his reputation in 2014 as Obama’s ebola czar, successfully helping stem the deadly outbreak before it could spread widely throughout the country. The U.S. had four total cases and only one death from the disease that killed thousands in Africa.

“Ron has lived, more than anyone else, the stresses that a dangerous pathogen puts the nation through,” Christopher Kirchhoff, who worked with Klain during the ebola crisis, told Stat News. “He’s been one of the

voices that, even after he left the position of Ebola czar, has been most forceful in articulating what the nation needs to do to better prepare.”

What this means On paper, Klain was an obvious choice for Biden, who is known to reward his longtime loyal confidants. But the pick also emphasizes how serious the president-elect is about his efforts to make getting the coronavirus pandemic under control his top priority. “[Klain’s] deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what I need in a White House chief of staff as we confront this moment of crisis and bring our country together again,” Biden said in his statement announcing his choice.

As The Times and others wrote Klain, who will fill out Biden’s close circle of staff, also will be pressured to follow through on Biden’s promise to make his administration diverse enough to “look like the country.”

For his part, Klain seems aware of that pressure. In a tweet Wednesday night, he said he looks forward to assembling a “talented and diverse team in a BidenHarris WH.” Middle East policy is not Klain’s area of expertise, but when he weighs in, he usually criticizes the conservative Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

JEWISH LEDGER

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‘VALLEY OF TEARS’

NEW ISRAELI HBO SERIES REOPENS THE SEARING

BY GABE FRIEDMAN

(JTA) – In an early episode of “Valley of Tears,” the Israeli miniseries about the 1973 Yom Kippur War that debuted in the U.S. on HBO Max on Thursday, a main character grimaces as he falls awkwardly against a rock toward the end of a tense battle sequence. There’s no blood on his uniform, so it’s apparent that he must have hurt himself in the tumble.

During filming, life imitated art: The actor Aviv Alush, who plays the heroic Yoav, broke his ribs against the rock.

“The actor jumps up and he starts to scream, he’s like ‘Ah, ah!’ And we film it, and he says ‘No, it’s for real!’ And we’re like ‘Yeah, it’s for real!’ And we keep on shooting,” said director Yaron Zilberman.

“We had that [type of] thing several times.

We call it the gods of cinema.”

Meticulous realism was central to the production, which is being touted as the most expensive in Israeli history, and is currently breaking Israeli viewing records.

Israelis are “very neurotic as an audience and will always check every small detail,” said co-creator Ron Leshem. Before writing, he and co-creator Amit Cohen studied Israeli army lingo and thousands of soldier testimonies. They also found and rehabilitated tanks that were actually used

in the war with the help of Israel Defense Forces technicians, who outfitted them with new engines.

“I’m so envious of the people who have so much free time to dive into checking if this kind of candy bar was already available [back then],” Leshem said on a Zoom call from his home in Boston. “They’re obsessed.”

“Most families have some story – it’s a brother, it’s a sister it’s an uncle, it’s a father, we all have these stories. As the Holocaust is to Jewish people as a whole, this war is to Israel.”

–Yaron Zilberman, director But Zilberman, Leshem and co-creator Amit Cohen also felt an unprecedented level of pressure in bringing to life a war that had both traumatized so many Israelis and had never been portrayed on this kind of cinematic scale. They say the show, which has been airing in Israel for weeks, has already succeeded in “opening the wound”

of the war – a phrase all three used – and helping families begin to reckon with their repressed experiences of it. Cohen, who like the other two says he has been deluged with texts and online responses about how accurately the show has depicted the war, calls it a kind of “national therapy.”

“Every year there are new documentaries, or you have special editions in the newspaper with interviews and exposes bringing new stuff. But nothing has the same visceral effect that this show has,” Cohen said on Zoom from Los Angeles.

The Yom Kippur War was Israel’s worst military disaster, bringing the country to the brink of destruction only six years after the 1967 Six-Day War, which established Israel as the region’s premier military power as it dispatched forces from Jordan, Syria and Egypt in a matter of days. The opening of “Valley of Tears” contains newsreel and other footage meant to convey how elated Israeli society felt after that win.

But by 1973, Israel’s army had become relatively complacent – something the show drives home through one of its main characters, an intelligence wiretapper named Avinoam, who pleads with his commanding officers, to no avail, to prepare for a surprise attack.

“VALLEY OF TEARS” (“SHA’AT NE’ILA”), THE KAN-PRODUCED, HBO MAX-PURCHASED TV SERIES ON THE YOM KIPPUR WAR. (SOURCE: YOUTUBE/SCREENSHOT)

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JEWISH LEDGER

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SHAVAR TABOCH, RIGHT, PLAYS AV AN INTELLIGENCE WIRETAPP (COURTESY OF HBO MAX)

“The reason is people were euphoric,” Zilberman said. “In six days [in 1967], Israel almost tripled its land! You say, ‘Wow our superiority is so major’ … The country felt that the Arabs will never try again.”

The war gets its name from the fact that Egyptian and Syrian forces began their attack on the Yom Kippur holiday, when much of the country was fasting and praying. They quickly made threatening advances over Israel’s borders. And though Israel would eventually repel them to reach a ceasefire, both sides suffered heavy casualties. Israel’s pre-tense of military invincibility, and Israelis’ feelings that their country was finally secure, was shattered.

“Valley of Tears” focuses on three days of fighting in the Golan Heights, the disputed region of northern Israel bordered

by Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. It follows a diverse slate of characters trying to survive the chaos that unfurls: Avinoam, the shy and awkward “tapper” who has a pet hedgehog; Yoav, a daring soldier who unexpectedly bonds with Avinoam; Dafna, a female officer who is more jewishledger.com

G WOUNDS OF THE YOM KIPPUR WAR

Shining a light on Niva Shaul – the only female soldier killed in the Yom Kippur War

BY MOSHE WEISSTUCH

IMRI BITON, LEFT, AND OFER HAYOUN AS ALUSH AND MARCO IN “VALLEY OF TEARS.” (COURTESY OF HBO MAX)

VINOAM, PER.

competent than her male counterparts but gets sidelined because of sexism; Meni, a playboy journalist (played by Israeli star Lior Ashkenazi) trying to find his son; and soldiers Marco, Alush and Melakhi, three members of the Israeli Black Panthers, a protest movement partly inspired by the American group of the same name but focused on social and economic equality for Sephardi and Mizrahi immigrants.

The diversity is intentional, as the creators aimed to capture a “wide lens” view of Israeli society at the time, to represent how the entire country was affected.

“Most families have some story – it’s a brother, it’s a sister it’s an uncle, it’s a father, we all have these stories,” Zilberman said. As the Holocaust is to Jewish people as a whole, this war is to Israel, he said.

The creators have personal connections to the war too – for Zilberman, one of his sisters lost her “soulmate, a major love,” in combat. The Avinoam character is partly inspired by Cohen’s father, who was in the same intelligence unit and broke down in tears while watching Avinoam’s pleas go jewishledger.com

unanswered, because he had tried the same thing during the war. Leshem’s father, who worked with computers in the army and became a reservist afterwards, was yanked from his life as an accountant with a young daughter to fight.

Leshem, who has worked with HBO before to adapt his teen drama series into “Euphoria,” noted that there have been a few fictional depictions of the war over the years, including a couple of novels, but nothing as all-encompassing as this.

It took him and Cohen 10 years to get it fully financed, and the responsibility felt massive: “You’re choosing, in a sense, who will be remembered,” he said.

The filming process, which took place in the actual Golan Heights, wasn’t easy either. Filming stopped for three weeks at one point because fighting in Syria got too close to the set. Acquiring all of the tanks – which involved trying, unsuccessfully, to import some from the U.S. (where “people have a tank in their backyard and they’re selling it on Craigslist,” Leshem noted) – was an ordeal. One of the tanks broke down

in the middle of a scene. And the shooting schedule was grueling. Zilberman said at times he managed only 10 hours of sleep in a week as they tried to film as much as possible in a day to stay within their budget.

He and his crew learned how to sleep for 15 minutes at random intervals.

“You don’t feel like you took a shower [at night] because the moment after you’d be back in the trenches,” Zilberman said. “You got the adrenaline. You know you are doing something that you have to give everything you got in order to get it right.”

JEWISH LEDGER

(Israel Hayom via JNS) Despite the buzz, some viewers have lamented that the new 10-part TV series “Valley of Tears,” titled “Sha’at Ne’ila” in Hebrew, all but ignores the role of women during the Yom Kippur War. One such woman was Niva Shaul, who was among the 2,673 Israeli troops killed during the fighting.

Shaul was born in Mishmar Hanegev, a kibbutz in southern Israel that her parents helped found. “She was a quiet girl that always got her way, but did so quietly,” her mother said after the war in a special memorial film. “She loved to dance and sing, her friends loved her and she knew how to listen and dispense advice,” her mother continued.

In 1968, Shaul started serving in the Israel Defense Forces as a stenographer. During her service, she also met her partner, Benny, who was an aircraft maintenance technician, and following her discharge, they moved to central Israel. She would later start working at a travel agency that catered to tourists in Israel. “They were looking to move into a new apartment, but then the war broke out,” her mother said.

During the war, she was called into reserve duty because she had the much-needed telecommunications training. On the third day of the war, she joined a convoy that went toward the southern front in the Sinai. After arriving at the main IDF headquarters in Refidim, the convoy was attacked by a squadron of Egyptian MiGs “She told me they were about to get married and fixed me a chocolate sandwich, and then the bombing began,” recalled Yair Yam, who served on the battalion she was embedded with during the war. She was laid to rest in her kibbutz, leaving behind two parents and two sisters. She was posthumously promoted.

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jewishledger.com

Briefs Mike Pompeo: US will sell $23 billion+ of arms to UAE (JTA) – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally notified Congress on Tuesday, Nov. 10 that that the U.S. plans to sell $23.4 billion of arms to the United Arab Emirates, spurring the Senate to call on the State Department to ensure that the sale will not “diminish Israel’s qualitative military edge” in the region. The UAE stands to be the only other country in the Middle East besides Israel with certain advanced military technology involved in the sale, including the F-35 stealth fighter jet.

The Senate Appropriations Committee included language on the sale in its 2021 spending bill, adding that whatever is sold should not add to “vulnerabilities to U.S. military systems and technology vis-a-vis the Russian Federation and [the People’s Republic of China],” The Hill reported.

The arms package has been negotiated in the wake of Israel’s recent peace deal with the UAE. Before the peace agreement was finished, rumors swirled about a possible sale and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to it.

Late last month, Netanyahu dropped his objections. Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner pledged in September to “do what we can” with the deal to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge, a standard that was codified in a 2008 U.S. law.

Jewish Democrats have opposed the sale. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz wrote in a Miami Herald op-ed that the F-35 has “unique capabilities that should be reserved only for Israel’s use.”

HBO adapts ‘Oslo,’ Tony Award-winning play about peace accords, into film (JTA) – HBO has begun production on a film adaptation of “Oslo,” the Tony Awardwinning play about secret meetings before the Oslo Accords that nearly brought peace between Israel and the Palestinians in the 1990s. The film, which will air next year, stars Andrew Scott (of “Fleabag” and “Black Mirror”) and Ruth Wilson (“The Affair,” “Mrs. Wilson”) as the Norwegian husband and wife diplomats who arranged covert negotiation sessions between Israelis and Palestinians through back channels. Steven Spielberg and Marc Platt (father of Ben) are among the executive producers.

Because of plausible deniability – contact between Israelis and the PLO was illegal –not even Israel’s foreign secretary at the time, Shimon Peres, was at first informed of the talks. The initial Israeli participants, two university professors, put their careers on the line to take part. Mona jewishledger.com

Juul and Terje Rød-Larsen shepherded the group, pleading with and prodding the distrustful negotiators to continue.

Eventually the frosty feelings between them grew warmer and the two sides hammered out an important agreement called a Declaration of Principles.

This is not the network’s first telling of this story. Two years ago it offered “Oslo Diaries,” a documentary that resulted only in the sadly premature awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin was assassinated in 1995 by an Israeli gunman.

A number of Israeli actors are involved in the project as well: Sasson Gabai (recently of Broadway’s “The Band’s Visit”) and Itzik Cohen, Igal Naor and Salim Dau (all of “Fauda”). J.T. Rogers, the playwright, wrote the screenplay, and it is directed by Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher.

Netanyahu signs vaccine deal, says Pfizer CEO is ‘proud’ of his Jewish heritage (JTA) – Israel’s government has signed an agreement with the Pfizer pharmaceutical company to acquire 8 million doses of its vaccine. The announcement came days after Netanyahu said in a video address that Israel would be able to sign a deal with Pfizer in part because the company’s CEO, Albert Bourla, told Netanyahu he is proud to be Jewish. “Albert Bourla is very proud of his Greek heritage and of his Jewish heritage, from Thessaloniki,” Netanyahu said. “After this conversation, which was very productive and very practical, I’m convinced we will complete the contract with Pfizer.”

Pfizer announced on Nov. 9 that latestage trials of its vaccine were more than 90% effective. The pharmaceutical giant’s vaccine still needs to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, along with Israel’s equivalent agency.

“We must all continue to keep the directives and the rules until the arrival of the vaccines, and even afterwards,” Netanyahu said Friday. “If we continue to work together with the same caution, responsibility and unity, we will be among the first in the world to successfully exit the coronavirus crisis.” Netanyahu said that the vaccine should begin arriving in the country in January.

Netanyahu won’t treat Biden any differently from how he treated Trump (JTA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Tuesday, Nov. 10 that for him “there is no difference if it’s a Republican or Democratic administration.”

“What I see before my eyes is not Democrats and not Republicans. It is just

the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a speech to Israel’s Knesset, the Associated Press reported. “I am committed to stand behind the interests that are crucial to our future and our existence and this is how I will continue even with the next American administration.”

Netanyahu thanked Donald Trump for his robust support throughout his presidency during a speech before a vote ratifying the country’s recent peace agreement with Bahrain. He also congratulated Joe Biden on his presidential victory, and in his speech applauded Biden for pledging to support the peace deals that the Trump administration helped broker between Israel and two other neighboring Arab states.

Netanyahu mentioned that he has shared two “unforgettable” moments with Biden, according to the Times of Israel – a conversation after Netanyahu’s father died in 2012 and a long phone call after Biden’s son Beau died in 2015.

“There are things that are above politics and above diplomacy,” Netanyahu said.

While former President Barack Obama’s relationship with Netanyahu was strained, Biden worked to bridge divides between the two leaders’ diplomatic teams as vice president. “There was a lot less public drama involving Biden,” a source close to the former vice president told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last month.

Reports are swirling that as president Biden will seek to reenter the Iran nuclear deal, an agreement that Netanyahu despises, claiming that it boosts a regime that calls for Israel’s destruction. Netanyahu did not comment on the Iran deal in his speech Tuesday.

Israeli judoka Inbar Lanir wins gold at European Championships (Israel Hayom via JNS) Israeli judoka Inbar Lanir is the European Judo Champion in the under-23 category, having won a gold medal on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Lanir wasn’t the only Israeli on the podium at the event: Maya Goshen won the silver medal.

Women’s team coach Shani Hershko said, “Gold and silver at the same championships, Inbar Lanir is the European champion, it’s just amazing! To get to two final rounds in the European championships and to win gold is amazing, exciting, a historic achievement for the women’s team and the Judo Association!”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tests positive for COVID-19 (JTA) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he has tested positive for COVID-19. Zelensky, who is Jewish, made the announcement Monday on Twitter, adding that he is feeling well and continuing

to work in confinement. “There are no lucky people for whom #COVID19 does not pose a threat,” Zelensky wrote. “Despite all the quarantine measures, I received a positive test. I feel good & take a lot of vitamins.

Promise to isolate myself, but keep working.

I will overcome COVID19 as most people do. It’s gonna be fine!” Zelensky, 42, is among a number of world leaders who have contracted the virus, including President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Festival of best Israeli documentaries goes digital, with special track in English (Israel21C via JNS) The National Library of Israel’s sixth annual Docu.Text Film Festival is going digital, with a special track for English-speaking international audiences.

The festival, running through November 25, features award-winning documentary films, Q&A sessions, and an array of special events. All film screenings are available for streaming by purchase only, while the events are free of charge and open to the public with only Zoom registration required.

Top recent Israeli documentary films to be screened include: “Black Honey, The Life and Poetry of Avraham Sutskever,” followed by a glimpse of archival treasures from the legendary Yiddish poet held at the National Library of Israel and the National Library of Lithuania.

“The Jerusalem Dream,” a personal story of Ethiopian immigration to Israel.

“The Wonderful Kingdom of Papa Alaev,” a colorful look at one of Tajikistan’s most famous musical families, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.

“Picture of His Life,” a retrospective with renowned Israeli underwater photographer Amos Nachoum, https://www.israel21c.org/ the-photographer-who-swims-with-sharksand-polar-bears/ followed by a Q&A with Nachoum.

“You Only Die Twice,” a suspenseful thriller of stolen identity and a charged meeting between descendants of Jews and Nazis, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.

“Golda,” the story of Golda Meir’s term as prime minister, followed by a talk with Dr. Michal Asaf Kremer.

The Docu.Text Film Festival is produced in collaboration with the Docaviv Film Festival. International Docu.Text is part of “Gesher L’Europa,” the National Library of Israel’s initiative to share stories and connect with people, institutions and communities in Europe and beyond. This article was first published by Israel21c.

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Celebrity chef Alton Brown apologizes for Holocaust joke (The Jewish Journal via JNS) Alton Brown, an American television personality and chef, apologized on Wednesday, Nov. 11, for tweeting a joke about the Holocaust.

After issuing a series of since-deleted tweets speaking out against U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Brown tweeted, “Do you think the camp uniforms will be striped, like the ones at Auschwitz or will plaid be in vogue?” This tweet has also been deleted.

One Twitter user said in a reply, “Depends on what you’re worth going in,” prompting Brown to respond, “I have no gold fillings.”

The Nazis had removed gold teeth and fillings from Jews at the concentration camps. Brown’s “gold fillings” tweet remains has not been deleted. Additionally, Brown wrote, “F*** you” in response to someone who told him to “take it easy.”

Following a backlash from the Auschwitz tweet, Brown issued an apology. “I apologize for the flippant reference I made to the Holocaust in my tweet last night,” he tweeted. “It was not a reference I made for humorous effect, but rather to reflect how deeply frightened I am for our country. It was a very poor use of judgement and in poor taste.”

The StopAntisemitism.org watchdog didn’t buy the apology. “@altonbrown

is sorry he got called out for his vile #Holocaust rhetoric,” they wrote. “And the only thing he’s trying to do with his ‘apology’ is save his multimillion-dollar @FoodNetwork @Discovery contract.”

On the other hand, David Teicher, chief content officer of the digital marketing firm Brand Innovators, thanked Brown for his apology. “As the grandson of a [H]olocaust survivor and huge fan of yours, I appreciate that,” he tweeted. “Many of us were hurt and offended, for me, it was difficult to reconcile with my long-standing respect and appreciation for your work. [W]e are all fearful of the division and hate in this country.”

Brown is the host of the Food Network’s “The Good Eats: The Return,” the sequel series to “The Good Eats.”

The Food Network did not respond to the Jewish Journal’s request for comment.

This article was first published by the Jewish Journal.

IsraAID Guatemala brings relief in wake of Storm Eta (Israel21c via JNS) Israeli humanitarian aid agency IsraAID has launched an emergency response in Guatemala following Tropical Storm Eta, which has killed more than 150 people and affected the lives of some 200,000 residents of the Central American country. IsraAID’s locally based team arrived in Alta Verapaz, among the

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| NOVEMBER 20, 2020

worst-affected areas, on Nov. 9. They immediately began offering psychological first aid, medical support, relief items, hygiene kits and water filters. IsraAID has had a permanent team on the ground in Guatemala since the 2018 Volcán de Fuego eruption, which caused significant damage across the southern area of Escuintla.

Eta first made landfall in neighboring Nicaragua on Nov. 3, before moving slowly throughout the region, bringing heavy rains, flooding, and mudslides. Tens of thousands were evacuated from their homes and more than 7,000 are in temporary shelters.

Said CEO Yotam Polizer, “Amid the current global pandemic, the recent storm creates a double disaster for Guatemalans.

For the 7,125 displaced persons that have been sheltered in 86 centers, maintaining social distancing and regularly washing hands can be challenging. Our team will provide hygiene kits and other sanitation supplies to minimize the spread of the virus.”

Founded in 2001, IsraAID has responded to crises in 54 countries. This article was first published by Israel21c.

Christiane Amanpour invokes Kristallnacht in comparing Trump’s lies to the Nazis (JTA) – CNN’s Christiane Amanpour invoked the anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogroms in comparing President Donald Trump’s dishonesty to the Nazi “attack on fact.”

Amanpour made the comparison on Thursday, Nov. 12, in the introduction to her show, “Amanpour,” which CNN calls its “flagship global affairs interview program.” ”This week 82 years ago, Kristallnacht happened,” Amanpour said in the monologue. “It was the Nazis’ warning shot across the bow of our human civilization that led to genocide against a whole identity, and in that tower of burning books, it led to an attack on fact, knowledge, history and truth. After four years of a modern-day assault on those same values

by Donald Trump, the Biden-Harris team pledges a return to norms, including the truth.”

Amanpour came under fire for the analogy on Twitter. “Despicable. @ camanpour compares verbal fact checking of a POTUS to a Nazi pogrom in which dozens of Jews were murdered,” the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council, a small group representing haredi Jewish interests, wrote on Twitter.

Amanpour has not responded to the criticism. Comparisons between contemporary politics and Nazi Germany have been considered beyond the pale by Jewish groups.

In a first, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit West Bank settlement (JTA) – Mike Pompeo is planning to visit an Israeli West Bank settlement, the first time a secretary of state will have made such a visit. For the visit during the Trump administration’s lame-duck period, he has chosen a settlement that is home to a winery that created a special label in his honor. The visit, planned for next week, will take Pompeo to the Israeli settlement of Psagot, near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, according to Axios. The visit comes roughly a year after Pompeo annulled a longstanding State Department legal opinion declaring settlements illegal.

It also comes after the release earlier this year of the Trump administration’s IsraeliPalestinian peace plan, under whose terms Israeli settlements would be annexed to Israel. Psagot is not part of the three settlement blocs that, in earlier rounds of peace negotiations, were widely expected to be annexed to Israel.

Pompeo was also the first secretary of state to visit the Western Wall in eastern Jerusalem with Israeli officials, which is also in territory much of the world considers occupied by Israel. This year, he gave a speech at the Republican National Convention delivered remotely from Jerusalem. Pompeo will also be visiting the Golan Heights, an area that, like the West Bank, Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War. But unlike the West Bank, Israel formally annexed the Golan Heights, a move recognized by the Trump administration last year.

OU works with Ritz-Carlton Manama to facilitate kosher food (JNS) Beginning this month, the RitzCarlton Hotel in Manama, Bahrain, will become the first hotel in the kingdom to offer kosher certified food through the help of Orthodox Union (OU) Kosher, the world’s largest kosher certification agency.

Following the signing of the Abraham Accords, a surge in interest in visiting the kingdom has come from Jewish business and leisure travelers in Israel, North America and Europe.

“The Abraham Accords has opened new destinations for kosher travelers in the Gulf that have never existed before,” said OU Kosher CEO Rabbi Menachem Genack. “Because of our global resources, our team is able to handle requirements for certifications anywhere in the world, including the Gulf, which is why our certification has been so sought-after in this region.”

OU Kosher is consulting with the hotel on establishing a new kosher kitchen to be overseen by OU Kosher certifiers.

Additionally, it is helping the hotel identify jewishledger.com

a kosher culinary team member who will serve as a mashgiach, or kosher supervisor, when kosher meals are prepared on the premises.

“The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain prides itself on providing an elevated luxury experience for our guests at every touchpoint during their stay; in particular, their dining experience. Bahrain is unique as it already has an indigenous Jewish population and since the recent normalization of relations, we are seeing a greater interest from Jewish and Israeli travelers, and we want to be able to provide kosher food for those who prefer this option,” said general manager Bernard de Villèle.

THE KOSHER CROSSWORD NOV. 20, 2020 “Apt Anagrams”

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Ice Cube to speak at ZOA’s gala (JTA) – Ice Cube, Jon Voight and Miriam Adelson are just a few of the speakers set to headline the annual gala of the Zionist Organization of America in December. The dinner will be held virtually. Ice Cube, the rapper and actor known for being a member of the pioneering 90s rap group N.W.A. and for having a subsequent acting career, struck up a friendship with ZOA president Morton Klein this summer after he tweeted images that many deemed antisemitic. Klein spoke to the rapper about the incident and the two struck up an unlikely friendship. “He called me Mort,” Klein told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency at the time. “He told me to call him Cube.”

That friendship has now borne fruit, with the rapper set to appear as a featured speaker at the annual ZOA dinner. Jon Voight, another actor who has in recent years become an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump, will also speak at the event. Other speakers include Miriam Adelson, the wife of Republican donor and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, and David Friedman, the United States ambassador to Israel.

Even before this summer, Ice Cube had a fraught relationship with the Jewish community. He is a staunch supporter of the antisemitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and was accused in 2015 of ordering his entourage to beat up a rabbi. Some of his rap lyrics, including ones aimed at N.W.A.’s former Jewish manager Joseph Heller, have been called antisemitic.

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ANSWERS TO NOV. 13 CROSSWORD

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SHABBAT DINNER TRADITIONAL DAIRY LUNCHEON DELI SANDWICH PLATTER DINNER MENU

Across 1. 51-year-old Paul who’s aged incredibly well 5. Makes like Saturday afternoon, in a sense 9. Israeli brigade 14. Great uncle of Ephraim 15. Ball game for equestrians 16. A Mrs. Trump 17. We had some oily SUFGANIOT and watched the ___ 19. Synagogue locale 20. Apportion 21. Son of Ner, in the Bible 22. Portrayer of Kurtz and Corleone 25. My Israeli uncle always ___ at the same SHULCHAN each day 28. Controversial congresswoman,

for short 29. Kroger alternative 31. Funny Barinholtz 32. Article in many a hip-hop title 33. Techies, say 35. Challenge 37. World Series runner up 38. The kids were driving me crazy on EREV SHABBAT and I finally snapped and said “___!”

41. Complain (about) 43. Sister of Hades 44. “The View” host or a parsha 47. Hot drink dispenser 48. Pavement goo 49. Nebuch on “The Simpsons” 51. “___ Einai” 52. After all the foolish things the Israelites did in BAMIDBAR you

could say Moses was one ___ 55. Munchie in a brownie, perhaps 57. Actors James and Scott 58. Ballot roster 60. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Baylor 61. The Old TESTAMENT is where G-d made many a ___ 65. Big name at The Hershey Company 66. Output at The Hershey Company, for short 67. 49-day period in Judaism 68. Eppes ___ 69. Jewish advisor to Tony (Soprano) 70. Teen youth org.

Down 1. Whistle blower 2. Country where Bruce Lee was born, for short 3. Who ___ Nation: New Orleans Saints fans 4. “A League of Their Own” coach Jimmy 5. Literary postscript (Var.) 6. He performs with The Edge 7. “Arrested Development” surname 8. ... ---..., in Morse code 9. Just a bite 10. “Malkeinu” preceder 11. One way to spell an Adar treat 12. No way to run a country?

13. Di and dah’s partner

18. Not really new 21. Poser 22. Tefillin or tallit holder 23. Sturgeon eggs 24. Wear for some lightly injured athletes 26. Inflatable life-saver 27. Syllables of laughter 30. Adjective modifier 34. Jennings who got crushed on “Jeopardy!” by IBM’s Watson 36. Flying prefix 37. Waze way: Abbr.

39. Biblical king and a sea captain 40. Remove by erosion 41. British mother 42. Future predictors of the past 45. The Sun Devils of the NCAA

46. Stereotypically unsanitary animal 48. Bully Biff of sci-fi 50. What some people incorrectly call a wearable Apple product 53. Build up 54. “Bird ___ Word” 56. What many gentiles confuse a citron for 59. Land along the Mekong 60. Limey’s “present” 61. NYU or YU 62. Letters in Einstein’s equation 63. “Dr. Mario” and “Duck Hunt” platform 64. Give it a go

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BULLETIN BOARD JTConnect Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie Bake, Nov. 22 JTConnect invites Jewish teens in grades 8-12 to help bake 100+ pumpkin pies to donate to local soup kitchens for their Thanksgiving meals. Pie baking will kick off with a virtual event on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 4 p.m., and is open to all teens.

Sign up by Friday, Nov. 13 to bake 1, 2 or 3 pies and you’ll receive an email regarding where to pick up your ingredients – multiple pick-up spots in West Hartford, East of the River and Simsbury.

The Nov. 22 Pie Bake will begin with some words of inspiration and a first hand account from an individual who has experienced homelessness and benefitted from one of the organizations who will receive the pies.

Then bake your pies! Bake alone or join a Zoom breakout room with your friends – it’s your choice. When your done baking, drop off your pies at one of several locations. Pies will be distributed to soup kitchens on the following Monday.

Questions? Email Cara at cara@ jtconnect.org

Lectures at the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies All lectures in this year’s Bennett Center for Judaic Studies at Fairfield University are virtual and free of charge. Registration required at fairfield.edu/bennettprograms.

For information: bennettcenter@fairfield. edu or (203) 254-4000 x2066.

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 8 p.m.

“Flint’s Fight for America’s Children,” with guest speaker Dr Mona Hanna-Attisha, pediatrician, public health advocate, whistleblower on the Flint, Michigan water crisis. Ticket required. Co-sponsored by Open Visions Forum.

Thursday, Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m.

“Cotton Caitalists: American Jewish Entrepreneurship in the Reconstruction Era,” with guest speaker Michael R Cohen, PhD, Stuart & Suzanne Grant Chair in the American Jewish Experience Tulane University. FREE webinar.

The Mandell JCC Virtual Book Festival All the following Zoom Webinar Author Talks are followed by Q&As. Presented in partnership with the JCC Literary Consortium. For more information, visit mandelljcc.org/bookfestival.

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JEWISH LEDGER

Nov. 18, 8 p.m.

Michael Ian Black, author of Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son Cleo Stiller, author of Modern Manhood $11/ticket; $32/ticket and copy of either book; $50/ticket and copy of both books.

Nov. 19, 8 p.m.

Michael J. Fox, author of No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality, In conversation with author Harlan Coben. $36/ticket and copy of book.

Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m.

Ina Garten, author of Modern Comfort Food, In Conversation with Michael Ian Black, comedian, actor, and author $45/ticket and copy of the book.

Museum of Jewish Heritage to host annual benefit, Dec. 2 The Museum of Jewish Heritage–A Living Memorial to the Holocaust will honor Howard and Elyse Butnick and their family at the organization’s annual Generation to Generation event, to be held on Zoom, Wednesday, Dec 2, at 7 p.m. The virtual event also will include an interview with third-generation Holocaust survivor and Michael Zegen, a star of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, by Tablet Magazinedeputy editor and Unorthodox podcast co-host Stephanie Butnick. The klezmer-rock band Golem will perform.

The event may stream live at mjhnyc. org., and on YouTube, and Facebook. For reservations, visit https://mjhnyc.org/ generation-to-generation.

Hartford’s own Sophie Tucker the subject of book talk, Dec. 8 Lauran Rebecca Sklaroff will discuss her new book, Red Hot Mama: The Life of Sophie Tucker, on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. The virtual Zoom talk is hosted by the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford.

The “First Lady of Show Business” and the “Last of the Red Hot Mamas,” Sophie Tucker was raised in Hartford and became a star in vaudeville, radio, film, and television.

A gutsy, song-belting stage performer, she entertained audiences for 60 years. Lauren Sklaroff, associate professor of history at the University of South Carolina, will talk about her recent biography, which places Tucker in the context of American cultural history.

Register at https://jhsgh.org/tucker/

| NOVEMBER 20, 2020

TOLDOT

T

BY RABBI SHMUEL REICHMAN

hings are not always as they seem. Everyone has a story, much deeper than a surface glance reveals. Similarly, every object and occurrence in the physical world is laced with layers of deep meaning. We must choose to peer beyond the surface in order to discover these layers.

In Toldot, Rivka (Rebecca) gives birth to Jacob and Esau. Her pregnancy is extremely difficult, with the two fetuses struggling violently within her. The commentator Rashi (Bereishis 25:22) cites the famous midrash which describes the battle that transpired between Jacob and Esau in the womb. Whenever Rivka passed a place of Torah study, Jacob was drawn towards it, and whenever she passed a house of idol worship, Esau was drawn towards it. Jacob desired the spiritual and Olam Habah (the world to come), while Esau desired the physical and Olam Hazeh (the physical world).

This was the cosmic battle that took place within Rivka’s womb.

The problem with this “battle” is quite obvious. If Jacob wanted the spiritual and Esau desired the physical where is the point of contention? They can simply each take what they desire, without any need for argument or disagreement.

There’s nothing to fight over. What, then, was the fight between Jacob and Esau about?

Ikar and Tafel In order to understand the depth of this battle, we must understand the concepts of ikar (primary) and tafel (secondary).

“Ikar” is the inner essence and the main entity; the tafel is what enables the ikar to flourish. For example, the ikar of an orange is the inner fruit, while the peel is the tafel, as it protects and enables the fruit. The same principle applies to a person; the ikar of a person is the neshama, the self, the mind and soul.

The body is the tafel, as it enables the soul to exist in this world, to learn, grow, and expand. This is the ideal relationship between the spiritual and physical world – the spiritual is the ikar, and the physical the tafel. The physical world is meant to enable, to reflect and express, the spiritual.

The ideal is for the tafel (that which is secondary and lower) to perfectly and loyally reflect the ikar (the inner spiritual essence); for the body to faithfully reflect the truth and depth of the soul, for the physical to be a loyal vessel, fully reflecting its spiritual root. The body is

meant to be the vehicle which carries the soul though the world.

The goal is a beautiful but nuanced balance, where the physical is used to reflect something higher, the spiritual.

In this perfect balance, the wisdom and ideas of Torah become one with you, and you express that inner, spiritual depth through the physical. This is why almost all the mitzvos are accomplished through physical actions! And this was the very battle between Jacob and Esau, a battle of perception, a battle of ikar versus tafel.

Jacob vs Esau The truth is that both Jacob and Esau wanted both the spiritual and the physical. This was the root of their battle.

Jacob wanted to use the physical as a vehicle for the spiritual, as a tool to fully utilize and actualize spiritual potential.

Esau, in contrast, wanted to use the animation of the soul, but merely as a means to indulge in the the physical.

Essentially, Esau flipped the ikar and tafel. corrupting their ideal relationship; he viewed the physical as ikar (primary) and the spiritual as tafel (secondary), a necessary medium for experiencing the physical world.

Esau did not wish to use the physical to reflect anything higher than his own selfish desires. He tried to focus on himself and his own ego instead of reflecting something higher. Just as he refused to reflect anything higher, he did not wish for the physical world to reflect any higher truth.

A Life of Ikar Esau distorted the ideal relationship between ikar and tafel, valuing only the physical, limited surface, and cutting it off from any higher reality.

Jacob teaches us the true purpose of the tafel, using it as a means towards perceiving and experiencing the ikar. He bequeathed the legacy and responsibility of building deeper and more empowering perceptions of the physical world.

The physical is not an end in itself – it is meant to serve as a vehicle for transcendent, spiritual, conscious living.

This is the battle we face on a daily basis, a battle of perception. Let us be inspired choose empowering paradigms, to peer beneath the surface, to experience the infinite within the physical.

Rabbi Shmuel Reichman is an author, educator, and coach who has lectured internationally on topics of Jewish thought and Jewish medical ethics. Contact him at ShmuelReichman.com. jewishledger.com

OBITUARIES

Rabbi Dovid Feinstein, renowned Jewish legal authority, was 91

BY SHIRA HANAU

(JTA) – Rabbi Dovid Feinstein, one of the most prominent haredi Orthodox rabbis in the United States, has died. He was 91.

The son of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, one of the preeminent Jewish legal authorities in the United States for much of the 20th century, Feinstein served as the head of the Mesivtha Tiferes Yerushalayim on Manhattan’s Lower East Side from the time of his father’s death in 1986 until his own passing on Friday, Nov. 6. He also served on the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah, the rabbinical council connected to Agudath Israel, an umbrella organization representing ultraOrthodox communities.

Though the Orthodox community on the Lower East Side has shrunk over the years as Orthodox communities in Brooklyn and other cities became more prominent, Feinstein continued to be a sought-out Jewish legal authority.

“He was a dyed-in-the-wool East Sider. He was very much a man of the neighborhood,” said Jonathan Boyarin, a professor of Jewish studies at Cornell University. Boyarin spent a year studying at Feinstein’s yeshiva and chronicled the place in his recent book, Yeshiva Days: Learning on the Lower East Side.

Feinstein was born in Luban, which was then part of Russia and now Belarus, and came to the United States as a child in the 1930s. His father became head of the yeshiva at Mesivtha Tiferes Yerushalayim when the Lower East Side was a center of Jewish life in New York City, bringing together Orthodoxy, Yiddish secularism and radical Jewish politics in one cramped neighborhood. The elder Feinstein was considered one of the foremost Jewish legal experts and a communal leader in the United States until his death.

After his father died, Feinstein took over as head of the yeshiva. By that time, the Jewish community of the Lower East Side had already begun to decline, though it remained a draw for those shopping for Jewish food and books. Over time, though, the community dwindled further as large Orthodox families decamped for more spacious parts of the city or to newer communities in New Jersey.

Today the yeshiva has an outpost on Staten Island in addition to the Lower East Side building, and many students travel to study at the yeshiva from their homes in jewishledger.com

larger Orthodox communities elsewhere in the city or New Jersey.

“It gradually became a smaller institution as the Orthodox population of the Lower East Side declined,” Boyarin said.

Still, Feinstein continued to be known as a foremost Jewish legal expert.

“During his lifetime, he certainly was the foremost figure,” Rabbi Dr. J. David Bleich, a professor of Jewish law and ethics at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, said of Feinstein’s stature in the world of Jewish legal decision-making.

Asked what made Feinstein such a prominent figure, Bleich answered simply: “Pure knowledge.”

“He was very much self-effacing, he didn’t seek the limelight,” Bleich said. “The limelight chased him. Rav Dovid managed to get away from the limelight.”

Feinstein also departed from his father’s manner in that he issued few written opinions, instead answering Jewish legal questions orally.

“It’s very clear that he was reluctant

to issue written psak [responsa] in most cases because he didn’t want his psak in a particular case to become precedent for cases where the situation might be different and even he might have ruled differently,” Boyarin said.

Hundreds attended Feinstein’s funeral, which began outside the yeshiva on East Broadway. In Israel, where he was buried, thousands attended his funeral. Two people were arrested at his funeral there, according to The Times of Israel.

Orthodox organizations mourned Feinstein’s death.

“There are no words. We are reeling,” Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel, said in a statement. “Rabbi Feinstein was a true ‘manhig hador,’ leader of our generation, and ‘posek hador,’ halachic authority for the generation. The entire Jewish world has suffered a terrible blow with his death.”

The Orthodox Union also issued a statement.

“In addition to assuming his father’s

RABBI DOVID FEINSTEIN

(COURTESY OF AGUDATH ISRAEL)

role as head of the yeshiva, Rav Dovid was relied upon by the Torah community to succeed his father as a preeminent source of Halachic wisdom,” the O.U. said. “He provided a clear, steady and confident voice of Halachic guidance to innumerable individuals and institutions within the community.”

Kristallnacht survivor Beatrice Israel was strong supporter of Holocaust education Beatrice (Theise) Israel, 92 years of age of Lauderhill, FL, formerly of West Hartford, died Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. She was 92.

Born Beate Theisebach in GrossenLinden, Germany, she was the widow of Kurt M Israel z”l and the daughter of the late Bernhard and Henriette (Simon) Theis. She experienced the horrors of Kristallnacht.

After moving to Hartford with her family, Israel attended the Arsenal School and, later, the Henry Barnard Brown School and Hartford High School. In1943, she became an American citizen and changed her name to Beatrice. Her parents – who had changed their last name to Theise – were among a group of German Jews and Holocaust survivors who founded Congregation Tikvoh Chadoshoh, which years later would merge with Newington’s Congregation B’nai Sholom

to become B’nai Tikvoh-Sholom. Over the years, she served as president of the congregations’ Sisterhood and later in life celebrated her bat mitzvah there.

She met her husband Kurt Israel z”l, a survivor of Auschwitz, at a Chanukah party at Tikvoh Chadoshoh. They married in 1948. Together with partners, they established Hartford Kosher Caterers, opening a banquet hall in East Windsor called Imperial Caterers. They also catered many civic events, including the Greater Hartford Open, where she had the honor of serving a prime rib dinner to President Gerald R. Ford when he visited to Hartford. O As a Holocaust survivor, he took great pride in speaking to students and educators about her experience as a child growing up in Germany. She would end each talk by telling her audience how

great it is to be an American, and sharing her philosophy that hate has no place in the world and loving one another is most important.

She was a strong supporter of Voices of Hope, an organization that is a leader in Holocaust education.

Bea Israel =s survived by her sons, Jeffrey Israel and his wife Patricia of Bristol, and Steven Israel and his partner Sharon Snowiss of Alpharetta, Ga.; her grandchildren, Jonathan Israel of Bristol, Matthew Israel and his wife Gina of Antioch, Ill, Alana Funderburke and her husband William of Del Ray Beach, Fla, and Kyle Israel of Atlanta, Ga; her greatgrandchildren, Ava and Domenic Israel of Bristol, and Scarlett Israel of Antioch, Ill.,and two nephews and their families.

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OBITUARIES

Jeffrey Kaimowitz, former curator of the Watkinson Library at Trinity College, dies at 78 Jeffrey Hugh Kaimowitz, 78, of West Hartford, died Nov. 9, surrounded by his family, including his wife Llyn Kaimowiz and his son Simon.

Raised in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., he was the son of William Louis Kaimowitz and Ruth Sarah (Greenfield) Kaimowitz. His father co-owned a construction and development company started by his grandfather, a Polish-Jewish immigrant.

Kaimowitz earned a BA from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD from the University of Cincinnati. At both, he majored in Classical Languages, Latin and Greek, and studied under some of the most renowned classicists and archaeologists of the time. He was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and won prestigious Fulbright and Woodrow Wilson Fellowships. He also spent a year in Greece at the American School for Classical Studies.

After teaching Latin for several years at Miami University in Ohio and later at Trinity College in Hartford, he obtained a position in the Spencer rare book and manuscript collection at the New York Public Library (NYPL), where he put his background in language, including a reading

knowledge of many European languages, to good use.

He loved the world of rare books and enjoyed sharing his knowledge through various articles, still used by scholars, about items in the Spencer collection. While at the NYPL, he earned a Master of Library Science degree at Columbia University, following which he took a position as curator of the Watkinson Library, the rare book and scholarly research library of Trinity College, where he remained until his retirement 32 years later. At the Watkinson Library, Kaimowitz developed plans to make it stronger and more comprehensive.

He constantly searched for manuscript collections that would offer students rich, fresh fields for their own research. He also built up book holdings that rounded out topics in need of greater depth, and began topical collections that offered reference material for modern scholarly concerns.

As he built the library, he also shared the library. He reached out to faculty to introduce them to the library’s collection and thereby greatly increased the number of classes that were taught in the library, supporting a wide variety of topics. He

invited in outside speakers for programs that were open to students and the general public alike. He created exhibitions of library holdings that demonstrated how the books told stories about important topics in history, such as Renaissance religious movements or South American revolutions, and wrote catalogs that became reference works for library users.

He also engaged in several personal projects on his off hours. Most notably, he created a highly praised translation of Odes of Horace, published by Johns Hopkins Press, that captured the meter and emotional experience of the odes, while also using his own poetic skills to capture their beautiful language.

A learned man, he read widely in history, art, and world cultures, including Jewish history and culture. He read Latin and Greek over breakfast every morning, except for Saturdays when he read the Bible in Hebrew, and he studied and read Classical literature with several friends.

Kaimowitz loved nature and hiked with family and friend in parks throughout the U.S. and many other countries. He and his wife, Llyn, shared many other hobbies,

including book design and printing on their home printing press, listening to music from the Middle Ages to modern orchestral music, with subscriptions to the Hartford Symphony and the Hartt Chamber Series, and reading together aloud. In the past year, he and his wife read Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, a work of incredible power and humanity. He greatly loved travel, especially planning trips that allowed him to go off the beaten path and get to know people of other cultures. He visited many countries around the world and most of the United States.

He was extremely humane, charitable, good-natured, and ethical.

In addition to his wife and son, he is survived by his sister Carol Kaimowitz of New York City and Essex, Conn., and his brother-in-law and sister-in-law Ralph and Francene Conrad of Norton, Ohio.

Memorial donations may be made to the Kaimowitz Family Fund at The Emanuel Synagogue, 160 Mohegan Drive, West Hartford, CT, 06117 or to the New Israel Fund, www.nif.org.

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BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY COMPUTER TECH

Innovate|Simplify

Professional IT Consulting Upgrade home|office equipment Networking Home Theater Website Design Photo and Music consolidation Security Cameras

DRUM LESSONS

PRIVATE DRUM INSTRUCTION All ages and levels

CHRIS BONITO

860.748.0004

860-301-7019 • www.searobintech.com

BA Music Performance 20+ years private instruction • References available

ENERGY

HOME CARE

MASONRY

For maintenance on your fuel oil or natural gas heating or cooling system, call:

We offer quality, loving in-home care services for families like yours.

S-1 303418 • HOD 0000962

Office: 860.728.5431 • Cell: 860-558-5948 40 Woodland Street (Rear), Hartford, CT 06105 www.deitchenergy.com

CALL US FOR OUR FUEL PRICES SERVING CONNECTICUT SINCE 1910

MATH TUTOR

Specializing in Dementia/Alzheimer’s INDEPENDENCE • COMPANIONSHIP • TRANSPORTATION LIVE-IN CARE • MEAL PREPARATION • HOME MAKING NURSING ASSISTANT CARE • SPECIAL CARE

Marcia Loving Care

Home Care Agency 860.461.0556 • marcialovingcare.com

23 Bidwell St., East Hartford, CT • Open Mon.-Fri. 9-5

D & M MASONRY Chimney Repair Specialist

CELLARS WATERPROOFED / PATIOS / WALKS New • Bluestone • Rebuild Brick • Pointing • Concrete Foundation Cracks Repaired Servicing All Your Masonry Needs Since 1994 Service • Reasonable Rates • Free Estimates • Fully Insured

860.930.2536 • Dan Messina

PEST CONTROL

ROOFING

Online Math Tutoring College and High School Prep Teacher Praxis Certification Medical calculations (RN, LPN)

One-on-one sessions $75 Per Hour Contact: mathtutordamoreonline@gmail .com SNOW REMOVAL

SNOW West Hartford Only

860.666.9999 naturalchoicelawncare.com jewishledger.com

WITH ZAMAN ROOFING

You’re in Good Hands

Emilio N. Polce (860) 432-9444 • Fax (860) 432-7559 PEST CONTROL 109 Strawberry Lane • Manchester, CT epolce@ecochoicepest.com www.ecochoicepest.com

n Roof Replacements n Roof Repairs n Gutters n Exterior Carpentry

Call to schedule your free estimate today.

860.977.8042

www.zamanroofing.com

TAX PREPARATION

Daniel S. Levine, CPA Certified Public Accountant

Individual and Business Tax Preparaion Low Reasonable Rates

860.729.6036

email: dansethlev@cox.net Willing to travel to residence JEWISH LEDGER

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CLASSIFIED

LOOK for these MAGAZINES in your INBOX!

To Place An Ad: PH: 860.231.2424 x3035 • Fax: 860.231.2485 Email: howardm@jewishledger.com

The Jewish Ledger assumes no responsibility for the product and services advertised

TRENDING

CELEBRATIONS • JUNE SENIOR LIVING • AUG.

MARCH JUNE SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

FOR SALE OR SEASONAL RENTAL

Caregiver - Willing to care for your loved ones overnight - Excellent local references Avoid nursing home or hospital in light of Covid 19. Call 860550-0483.

New England Jewish Academy in Greater Hartford - Preschool aide to assist our two dynamic lead teachers - Wonderful children and supportive environment - Hours are 11:005:00 M-TH, 11:00-4:00 on Friday’s with the exception of winter when Friday hours are 11:00-2:20. We are also looking for an art teacher who can work one full day each week. Please email your resume to zsilver@ sigelacademy.org.

FOR SALE- Delray Beach condo.

Over 55 community. Furnished one bedroom. Fabulous meal plan in dining room. Daily social activities & amenities. Gorgeous community, great location. Rare opportunity. $38,500. Call 215740-1165.

Tricia’s Cleaning Service - Residential & Commercial Detailed cleaning for Home & Office - For Free Quote call 860477-8636.

BLACK FRIDAY GIFT GUIDE: NOVEMBER

Kosher NEW ENGLAND

MARCH

Polish certified nursing assistant.

Twenty years experience in hospitals, nursing homes and private home settings looking to help your loved ones. Please call 860-803-6007.

Certified Home Care Aide - Live-in - HHA Certficate Experience with dementia, stroke, alzheimer’s - Driver’s License - References - Lydia 718- Home Health Aide - Two Years 864-7600.

Experience - Reliable - Livein seven days. References Mikael Poreshi - Remodeling & available, negotiable rates. Call Painting - 860-978-2505 - miki.

Kwasi 774-253-5479. pori87@gmail.com.

Driver available for shopping & Home Health Aide - Companion errands in the greater Hartford available for live in/live out Mon. area. Reasonable rates, senior - Fri. Valid driver’s license. Over discount and references 15 years experience. Excellent available. Call Ira 860-849-0999.

References. Call 860-796-8468.

Caregiver looking for full time CNA - 8 Years Experience live-in job - HHA/Precursor CNA Reliable - Own Car - Live-in 24/7 - 12 Years experience - Friendly, - Negotiable Rates - Please call outgoing, dependable - Please Tina 860-461-8692. call Janet at 412-527-9285.

Compassionate Elder Companion - Driver & Cook Beth: alifeofplantsandart@gmail. com.

P.C.A. - HHA Caregiver - 17 Years Experience - Available Live In or Live Out - Five Days a Week - Car Available - Have References - Please Call K.B. 860-796-8468.

All Things

JEWISH

Nurse (LPN, Male). 2 Years Experience in long term care.

4 Years Home Care as CNA and Nurse. Seeks Private duty.

Reliable, honest, hardworking.

860-656-8280.

CONNECTICUT September

Caregiver for your elderly loved one available Thursday evenings to Sunday evenings. Kosher experience, stellar references.

Monica - 347-486-0911.

MASSACHUSETTS December For more information on advertising in these magazines, call Donna 860.833.0839 or DonnaE@jewishledger.com 22

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NURSE SEEKING POSITION: GETTING BETTER TOGETHER! Adult care only. Live-in, days or nights and weekends.

Responsible and dedicated caregiver with medical education. Leave message: 860-229-2038 No Text Please.

CNA with 25 years experience, reliable car, live-in or hourly.

References available, and negotiable rates. Call Sandy 860-460-3051.

REAL ESTATE

For lease- Boca Raton, FL. Fully furnished 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo with kosher kitchen in beautiful Century Village. First floor, parking, pool & club house. Call Mike 561-654-4221.

WANTED TO BUY

Third Generation Jeweler - Gold & Diamond Buyer - Is Buying All Gold Jewelry - Sterling Silver Flatware Sets - Diamonds Over 2 Carats - Fast Payment Contact - mitchellrosin@gmail. com.

Collector looking to purchase coins and currency, silver, copper, and gold. No collection is too small. Will travel. Call 860951-5191 paprfred@aol.com.

TUTOR

Accounting & Math Tutor Retired College Accounting Teacher Will Tutor at Your Home - Call For Appointment 860-402-1201.

FOR SALE

Motorized KD Smart Chair rarely used - excellent condition - Call or text 203-710-0615.

CHAUFFEUR, WEST HARTFORD will drive you to New York, Boston, New England tristate area. Reasonable rates.

References. Call Jeff 860-7124115.

Have something to sell?

Have something to rent?

Have a service to promote?

Reach our highly qualified readers by placing your display classified ad in our digital issue with a LIVE link to your website!

Contact Leslie 860.231.2424 or leslie@jewishledger.com jewishledger.com

CT SYNAGOGUE DIRECTORY To join our synagogue directories, contact Howard Meyerowitz at (860) 231-2424 x3035 or howardm@jewishledger.com.

BLOOMFIELD B’nai Tikvoh-Sholom/ Neshama Center for Lifelong Learning Conservative Rabbi Debra Cantor (860) 243-3576 office@BTSonline.org www.btsonline.org BRIDGEPORT Congregation B’nai Israel Reform Rabbi Evan Schultz (203) 336-1858 info@cbibpt.org www.cbibpt.org Congregation Rodeph Sholom Conservative (203) 334-0159 Rabbi Richard Eisenberg, Cantor Niema Hirsch info@rodephsholom.com www.rodephsholom.com Jewish Senior Services Traditional Rabbi Stephen Shulman (203) 396-1001 sshulman@jseniors.org www.jseniors.org CHESHIRE Temple Beth David Reform Rabbi Micah Ellenson (203) 272-0037 office@TBDCheshire.org www.TBDCheshire.org CHESTER Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek Reform Rabbi Marci Bellows (860) 526-8920 rabbibellows@cbsrz.org www.cbsrz.org

COLCHESTER Congregation Ahavath Achim Conservative Rabbi Kenneth Alter (860) 537-2809 secretary@congregationahavathachim.org EAST HARTFORD Temple Beth Tefilah Conservative Rabbi Yisroel Snyder (860) 569-0670 templebetht@yahoo.com FAIRFIELD Congregation Ahavath Achim Orthodox (203) 372-6529 office@ahavathachim.org www.ahavathachim.org Congregation Beth El, Fairfield Conservative Rabbi Marcelo Kormis (203) 374-5544 office@bethelfairfield.org www.bethelfairfield.org GLASTONBURY Congregation Kol Haverim Reform Rabbi Dr. Kari Tuling (860) 633-3966 office@kolhaverim.org www.kolhaverim.org GREENWICH Greenwich Reform Synagogue Reform Rabbi Jordie Gerson (203) 629-0018 hadaselias@grs.org www.grs.org

Temple Sholom Conservative Rabbi Mitchell M. Hurvitz Rabbi Chaya Bender Cantor Sandy Bernstein (203) 869-7191 info@templesholom.com www.templesholom.com HAMDEN Temple Beth Sholom Conservative Rabbi Benjamin Edidin Scolnic (203) 288-7748 tbsoffice@tbshamden.com www.tbshamden.com MADISON Temple Beth Tikvah Reform Rabbi Stacy Offner (203) 245-7028 office@tbtshoreline.org www.tbtshoreline.org MANCHESTER Beth Sholom B’nai Israel Conservative Rabbi Randall Konigsburg (860) 643-9563 Rabbenu@myshul.org programming@myshul.org www.myshul.org MIDDLETOWN Adath Israel Conservative Spiritual Leaders: Rabbi Marshal Press Rabbi Michael Kohn (860) 346-4709 office@adathisraelct.org www.adathisraelct.org

Paid Advertisers

NEW HAVEN The Towers Conservative Ruth Greenblatt, Spiritual Leader (203) 772-1816 rebecca@towerone.org www.towerone.org Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel Conservative Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen (203) 389-2108 office@BEKI.org www.BEKI.org

ORANGE Chabad of Orange/ Woodbridge Chabad Rabbi Sheya Hecht (203) 795-5261 info@chabadow.org www.chabadow.org

Orchard Street ShulCongregation Beth Israel Orthodox Rabbi Mendy Hech t 973-723-9070 www.orchardstreetshul.org

Congregation Or Shalom Conservative Rabbi Alvin Wainhaus (203) 799-2341 info@orshalomct.org www.orshalomct.org

NEW LONDON Ahavath Chesed Synagogue Orthodox Rabbi Avrohom Sternberg 860-442-3234 Ahavath.chesed@att.net

RIDGEFIELD Congregation Shir Shalom of Westchester and Fairfield Counties Reform Rabbi David Reiner Cantor Debora Katchko-Gray (203) 438-6589 office@ourshirshalom.org

Congregation Beth El Conservative Rabbi Earl Kideckel (860) 442-0418 office@bethel-nl.org www.bethel-nl.org NEWINGTON Temple Sinai Reform Rabbi Jeffrey Bennett (860) 561-1055 templesinaict@gmail.com www.sinaict.org NEWTOWN Congregation Adath Israel Conservative Rabbi Barukh Schectman (203) 426-5188 office@congadathisrael.org www.congadathisrael.org NORWALK Beth Israel Synagogue – Chabad of Westport/ Norwalk Orthodox-Chabad Rabbi Yehoshua S. Hecht (203) 866-0534 info@bethisraelchabad.org bethisraelchabad.org Congregation Beth El-Norwalk Conservative Rabbi Ita Paskind (203) 838-2710 Jody@congbethel.org www.congbethel.org

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Temple Shalom Reform Rabbi Mark Lipson (203) 866-0148 admin@templeshalomweb.org www.templeshalomweb.org

SIMSBURY Chabad of the Farmington Valley Chabad Rabbi Mendel Samuels (860) 658-4903 chabadsimsbury@gmail.com www.chabadotvalley.org Farmington Valley Jewish Congregation, Emek Shalom Reform Rabbi Rebekah Goldman Mag (860) 658-1075 admin@fvjc.org www.fvjc.org SOUTH WINDSOR Temple Beth Hillel of South Windsor Reform Rabbi Jeffrey Glickman (860) 282-8466 tbhrabbi@gmail.com www.tbhsw.org SOUTHINGTON Gishrei Shalom Jewish Congregation Reform Rabbi Alana Wasserman (860) 276-9113 President@gsjc.org www.gsjc.org

TRUMBULL Congregation B’nai Torah Conservative Rabbi Colin Brodie (203) 268-6940 office@bnaitorahct.org www.bnaitorahct.org WALLINGFORD Beth Israel Synagogue Conservative Rabbi Bruce Alpert (203) 269-5983 richardcaplan@sbcglobal.net www.bethisrael/wallingford. org WASHINGTON Greater Washington Coalition Rabbi James Greene (860) 868-2434 admin@jewishlifect.org www.jewishlife.org WATERFORD Temple Emanu - El Reform Rabbi Marc Ekstrand Rabbi Emeritus Aaron Rosenberg (860) 443-3005 office@tewaterfrord.org www.tewaterford.org WEST HARTFORD Beth David Synagogue Orthodox Rabbi Yitzchok Adler (860) 236-1241 office@bethdavidwh.org www.bethdavidwh.org Beth El Temple Conservative Rabbi James Rosen Rabbi Ilana Garber (860) 233-9696 hsowalsky@bethelwh.org www.bethelwesthartford.org Chabad House of Greater Hartford Rabbi Joseph Gopin Rabbi Shaya Gopin, Director of Education (860) 232-1116 info@chabadhartford.com www.chabadhartford.com

Congregation P’nai Or Jewish Renewal Shabbat Services Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener (860) 561-5905 pnaiorct@gmail.com www.jewishrenewalct.org Kehilat Chaverim of Greater Hartford Chavurah Adm. - Nancy Malley (860) 951-6877 mnmalley@yahoo.com www.kehilatchaverim.org The Emanuel Synagogue Conservative Rabbi David J. Small (860) 236-1275 communications@emanuelsynagogue.org www.emanuelsynagogue.org United Synagogues of Greater Hartford Orthodox Rabbi Eli Ostrozynsk i synagogue voice mail (860) 586-8067 Rabbi’s mobile (718) 6794446 ostro770@hotmail.com www.usgh.org Young Israel of West Hartford Orthodox Rabbi Tuvia Brander (860) 233-3084 info@youngisraelwh.org www.youngisraelwh.org WETHERSFIELD Temple Beth Torah Unaffiliated Rabbi Seth Riemer (860) 828-3377 tbt.w.ct@gmail.com templebethtorahwethersfield. org WOODBRIDGE Congregation B’nai Jacob Conservative Rabbi Rona Shapiro (203) 389-2111 info@bnaijacob.org www.bnaijacob.org

Congregation Beth Israel Reform Rabbi Michael Pincus Rabbi Andi Fliegel Cantor Stephanie Kupfer (860) 233-8215 bethisrael@cbict.org www.cbict.org

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