The Jewish Week, Tribute issue by rich waloff

Retirement Living: Senior living communities adjust to Covid. 20-page special supplement

Museum director Claudia Gould

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Jewish Museum Faces Its Own Reckoning On Diversity

Abe Foxman’s Next Act: Helping Needy Survivors

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The Jewish Week Turns a Page Paper suspends its print run after 50 years.

Stay Tuned, Stay Connected The story of the Jewish community continues. Gary Rosenblatt Editor at Large

he very first e-mail I received after The Jewish Week posted its announcement that the print edition was going on hiatus at the end of July was from a longtime devoted reader I know and admire. It read simply: “How do you expect us to read it on Shabbat?” Of course, I empathize with the gentleman, and the many oth-

ers who were upset to receive the news. You didn’t have to be a Sabbath observer to look forward to holding and reading The Jewish Week on the weekend. My many years at the paper have been a labor of love, and the loss of the print edition, at least for now, feels like losing a friend. But looking back on the last 27 years, I take pride in having been part of an effort — risky, but I believe vital — to both cover the Jewish com-

continued on page 26

Last Words: An Ode to Print CLOSING A CHAPTER • Scenes from a long Broadway run 6 • Jewish Week staffers look back 10-17, 29 • 25 years of impact stories 18 • Jonathan Sarna on the paper’s history 22

Editorials 24 Opinions 26

Arts Guide 30 Sabbath 31

Small moments in back-page essays tell a big story about what a community newspaper can be. Robert Goldblum Managing Editor

former colleague of mine — we used to joke, gallows-humor style, that we were the last generation of print journalists — told me a classic newspaper story some years ago. It was back when the internet was beginning its marauding run through American newsrooms and laying waste to newspapers’ advertising revenue. We may have seen the writing on the digital wall, faint at that time, but enough to make the story all the more poignant. The tale involved my colleague’s friend, a loyal subscriber to the paper we were working for at the time, the Baltimore Jewish Times, and to the

metropolitan daily in town, the storied Baltimore Sun. The woman said that she not only liked the feel of a newspaper in her hands, ink smudging the tips of her fingers, but she loved to hear the “thump” at the door when the paper was delivered as the sun was coming up. For those of a certain nostalgiasoaked generation, that “thump” — solid, tactile, substantial — contains within it the log-splitting whine of the lumberyard and the keyboard pecks and righteous yawps of reporters and editorialists and the drone of the pressroom and the rumble of the delivery truck over city streets and rural lanes. In April 1997, the Red River, which runs right through Grand Forks, N.D.,

continued on page 38

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

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TH E N EW YO R K

Jewish Week

VOL. 233 NO. 5, July 31, 2020

Richard Waloff PUBLISHER

Andrew Silow-Carroll EDITOR IN CHIEF

Gary Rosenblatt

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IN THE BEGINNING

braham Foxman, the former national director of the Anti-Defamation League, is coming out of retirement with an ambitious goal: to raise $28 million to feed Holocaust survivors during the pandemic. Foxman will lead the national initiative for the Met Council, the social service agency and the largest distributor of kosher food to New Yorkers living in poverty. Since early April, the organization has been delivering groceries to more than 1,200

Holocaust survivors every week through a partnership with Uber. But with the number of Holocaust survivors in the United States estimated to be around 75,000, that’s not enough. So now the organization is trying to raise enough money to feed 10,000 survivors for a year in New York and across the country. Foxman said he didn’t anticipate taking on a new project at 80. But with time running out to help survivors, he felt it was too important to

‘Teach Me, Fix Me’: Comic Nick Cannon’s Road to Repentance

“I am asking to be corrected from your community, give me books, teach me, I am an empty vessel, an empty broken vessel,” he said. “Teach me, fix me, lead me.” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, left, talks with Nick Cannon But Cannon did on an episode of his online “Cannon’s Class” show. not directly disavow SCR EEN SHOT F ROM YOUTU B E the anti-Semitic ick Cannon wants to make it rhetoric of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, whom Cooper mentioned reclear — he’s ready to repent. In a nearly two-hour discus- peatedly as the source of the conspiracy sion with Rabbi Abraham Cooper of theories he said Cannon was “parroting.” On a recent episode of “Cannon’s the Simon Wiesenthal Center posted on YouTube Tuesday, the comedian, ac- Class,” Cannon discussed anti-Semitic tor and rapper traversed several topics: theories — including the idea that “ZionHe apologized again for making anti- ists” and “Rothschilds” have “too much Semitic comments on his online show; power” — in a conversation with rapper spoke about his study of multiple reli- Professor Griff. Cannon also praised Fargions and his religious father; and ex- rakhan and claimed that Black people are changed philosophies of forgiveness and the “true Hebrews.” ViacomCBS cut ties with the TV host evil with Cooper. “I didn’t do this to … ‘Oh let’s show and actor in the wake of the statements. the world we can work together.’ I did Fox allowed him to keep his job as host this from a place of sincerity,” Cannon of the show “The Masked Singer” after said in the talk, which makes up the latest he issued an official apology statement. Jewish Insider reported that Cannon edition of his show “Cannon’s Class.” During the spirited discussion, Can- visited the Wiesenthal Center’s Museum non said that he is going to visit Jeru- of Tolerance in Los Angeles on Monsalem at some point and hinted that he day. Cannon also donated money to the is “studying the Torah daily.” He also center, which is dedicated to spreading said he has read Bari Weiss’ recent book awareness about the Holocaust. Gabe Friedman/JTA “How To Fight Anti-Semitism.”

A volunteer packs groceries at the Met Council’s warehouse in Brooklyn. At left, Abe Foxman. COU RTESY OF M ET COU NCI L

pass up. “This has to be a priority because the lifespan of the people we’re talking about is shortening,” he said. “I think we should have done more, and we’re doing it now.” For Libora Engelsgteyn, 86, the packages have been a lifeline. She and her sister, Yevgeny, have family that live in New York, but they’re unable to visit frequently. For the two

sisters, who were born in Ukraine and survived the Holocaust in Siberia, the packages they receive from the Met Council and the calls they get from their Met Council-assigned social worker are a lifeline. “We so appreciate of the organization,” Engelsgteyn said. “It’s very helpful, it’s really good and really fresh, we cook everything ourselves.” Shira Hanau/JTA

Israeli Diplomats Help Tahini Brand Avoid a Dip in Sales

he Arab Israeli owner of a trepreneurs and a breakthrough for popular tahini brand is facing businesswomen in the Arab society a boycott for donating to an — has made a lot of important conLGBTQ rights group. But thanks tributions towards promoting mito some friends at Israel’s Ministry norities in Israeli society, especially of Foreign Affairs, dozens of Is- within the Arab community,” Peleg raeli diplomats in the country and said in a statement. around the world have purchased more than 600 pounds of the tasty sesame paste to support Julia Zaher, who owns Al Arz tahini in Nazareth. Al Arz tahini is distributed globally, with its adherents including the well-known Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi. Zaher made a “significant” donation to the Aguda Julia Zaher with her Al Arz tahini. T WIT TER rights group to create a hotline for Arabic-speaking LGBT Israelis. After Aguda tweeted appreciation in Arabic and Hebrew on July 1, conservative Muslim clerics in the Galilee called for a boycott of her brand. Galit Peleg, the former consul for public diplomacy in New York, has been The packages arrived last week friendly with Zaher for years and at the MFA office in Jerusalem. enlisted dozens of diplomats to Some will remain in Israel, with the make a group purchase of the popu- rest sent to diplomats in the United lar sesame paste. States, Tokyo, Singapore, Taiwan “Julia — aside from the fact that and Uzbekistan. she is a role model for female enMarcy Oster/JTA

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

Abe Foxman Helps Met Council Feed Hungry Shoah Survivors

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

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Write On for Israel An Evening with Natan Sharansky

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Join us for our next Public Forum, a virtual book launch for “Never Alone: Prison, Politics, and My People,” with the authors, Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy. September 14 at 6 p.m., in partnership with UJA-Federation. Watch the thejewishweek. com for details.

The Jewish Week’s two-year program for top high school students is excited to start its 19th year this fall with the Class of 2022. More than 40 students from Jewish day schools, public schools and private schools will come together to learn about Israel and the Middle East and prepare for leadership on campus. For more information (and to apply for the remaining few spots) go to www.writeonforisrael.com

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IN THE BEGINNING

The institution’s role in this fraught moment, amid layoffs, furloughs and calls for more diversity. Claudia Gould Special to The Jewish Week

e are living through challenging times. The Jewish Museum, along with other museums, cultural centers and public spaces, has been closed to the public since mid-March due

Thank you ALL

for your dedication, expertise and hard work! Your efforts and the newspapers will be missed by many. JEWISH WEEK STAFF Amy Sara Clark Andy Silow-Carroll April Zion Arielle Sheinwald Arlene Bienenfeld Caroline Lagnado Miller Cathy Zimmermann Clarissa Hamilton Dan Bocchino Dani Shetrit Dara Goldstein Edwin Mateo Filomena Gindy Gary Rosenblatt Gershon Fastow Hannah Dreyfus Janice Hwang Jeremy Uliss Jonathan Mark Jordan Silver Joshua Freedman Lily Weinberg Mark Schnitzler Rob Goldblum Rochelle Stolzenberg Ruth Rothseid Sandee Brawarsky Seth Yedwab Stephanie Leone Fischetti Steve Lipman Stewart Ain Suzanne Puchalsky Thea Wieseltier

News Steps: A Post-Covid Community the Covid-19 pandemic. While we cannot yet give an exact date, the museum is working toward reopening in the fall. I can say for sure that when The Jewish Museum reopens, the way we operate will not be the same. In

Claudia Gould. WI LL R AGOZZI NO

Installation view of “Constellations” in “Scenes from the Collection.” The Jewish Museum, NY. Photo by: Kris Graves accordance with government and public health guidelines, we will be instituting health and safety protocols to allow visitors to enjoy coming to the museum with peace of mind. We will limit the number of visitors to support social distancing best practices, and attendees will be asked to purchase their tickets online in advance for specific dates and times. These measures will allow us to limit points of contact between visitors and staff. At all times, visitors will be required to wear masks in the building. We are also increasing our cleaning protoClaudia Gould is the Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director of The Jewish Museum in Manhattan.

cols and reviewing our ventilation systems. Things may feel very different. But we hope that one thing won’t change: that The Jewish Museum can be a place for our audiences to engage with art. We aspire to be a refuge where our visitors can connect with and learn about the diversity of Jewish culture and experience across time and place, and where they can spend precious time with friends and family. It is our hope that our safety measures will help alleviate the stress that may come with an outing after a long period of self-isolation. We are all craving connection — to others, to our shared humanity and to the

Continued on page 8

NJ JEWISH NEWS STAFF Abbey Meth Kantor Gabe Kahn Jed Weisberger Johanna Ginsberg Lauri Sirois Lori Brauner Nancy Karpf Nancy Greenblatt Shira Vickar-Fox Steve Weisman

Rich Waloff

Associate Publisher, 1994-2019 Publisher 2019-2020

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

Jewish Museum Faces Its Own Reckoning

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

The Jewish Week

NEWS Robert Goldblum Managing Editor

Scenes from a Long Broadway Run From The Jewish Week’s perch five floors above Times Square, memories of 1501.

Note: The coronavirus pandemic, a five-monthlong gut punch and counting, wreaked havoc with our business model and forced us to let go of our Times Square offices.

he Art Deco, wedding-cake-shaped building The Jewish Week has occupied since 1993, the year Gary Rosenblatt took over as editor and publisher, has storytelling in its bones. 1501 Broadway, an iconic edifice like the nearby Brill Building, home to the pop music hit makers of the early 1960s, was the headquarters of Paramount

The Jewish Week Turns a Page Pictures. And it housed the Paramount Theatre, where in the late 1940s smitten bobby-soxers used to line up and scream for Ol’ Blue Eyes. A few generations later, beginning in 1997, MTV began broadcasting from 1515 Broadway, just across 44th Street from our offices. Every afternoon around 4 p.m., “Total Recall Live” with host Carson Daly, began filming. A gaggle of preteen and teenage girls would squeeze together on Times Square under MTV’s window. When a boy band like N’Sync would appear, the high-pitched shrieks would pierce our offices. There were similar screams of “We love you, Carson” on a regular basis, prompting one of our editors to ask, “Since when do young girls get so excited about Johnny Carson?” They were only-in-New York sightings and the squeals provided a new and distracting soundtrack as we rushed to get the paper out on Tuesday nights. n year after MTV opened its studio, Times Square provided more drama — and threw our newsroom into a panic, on deadline day. New York City was in the middle of a building boom in the rah-rah ’90s. On the morning of Tuesday, July 21, part of the 48-story elevator tower of the Conde Nast building tore loose from the 700foot structure and crashed into the Woodstock Hotel on 43rd Street, killing an elderly woman resident. Businesses in Times Square were evacuated and the Square was closed off. The New York Times, located around the corner, saved us; they were generous enough to give us access to a spare room on one of their lower floors and supplied us with computers. We moved our production operation there and somehow — miraculously — we got the paper out that night. n e’ve had our fair share of politicians come to the office and sit for interviews. Gov. Mario Cuomo arrived with an aide who was carrying an unexpected object: a wooden plank, something more suited

Home base: 1501 Broadway, once the headquarters of Paramount Pictures and The Jewish Week’s address for three decades. F LICKR to a strict tutor at a 19th-century boarding school than a legendary politician. This one, though, had the insignia of the State of New York on it. Turned out the governor was having chronic back problems and the plank was placed on the seat for support; he sat ramrod straight on the board throughout the interview. He must have had other boards because at the end of the interview he handed it to Rosenblatt, who held onto it for years in his office as a souvenir. Mayor Rudy Giuliani was in for an interview in the late 1990s. He was taken into Rosenblatt’s office, which had windows facing the Square. He surveyed all the new construction taking place in Times Square — economic development flourished in his years as mayor and cranes, people would say, were the official birds of New York City. Then Rudy quipped to the editor, “Do you want to trade offices?” Hillary Clinton, then the first lady, impressed some of us as extremely sharp and well briefed when she came to the office in 2000 during her U.S. Senate race against Rep. Rick Lazio (she spoke knowledgeably about the ambulance service Hatzalah, of all things). But it was her demeanor after the interview that caught the attention of the paper’s

non-editorial department employees who waited around to catch a glimpse of her. Like a star athlete signing autographs long after the game was over, Clinton posed for photographs for everyone who wanted one — and there was a pretty long line. n he Sept. 11 attack fell on a Tuesday, our deadline day. In our corner of the journalism world, it was as if the terrorism that long plagued Israel had hit home here — a gut punch that staggered a nation. We watched the heartbreaking images repeated on an endless loop on television. We could see the black smoke billowing over the city from our windows. An image stays with me: A freelance photographer who had been near the towers when the planes hit came to our office to show us some pictures. His face and white shirt were smudged with soot, his shoes covered in an ash-like dust. He slumped in a chair in my cubicle, staring straight ahead, and handed me the photos. I don’t remember the words we spoke, but his expression — blank, drained, dead-eyed — was the face every New Yorker wore in the days and weeks after the attack. The gripping pictures made it into the paper. The ripped-up front page

continued on page 28

Thank you for your partnership, leadership and journalistic excellence From stories on how universities across Israel pivoted to help in the fight against the coronavirus to a feature on the US patent Jonathan Gershoni received for his Covid-19 vaccine, The Jewish Week brought the best of Israel to its readers.

Thank you for sharing the groundbreaking work coming from Israel When researchers at TAU printed the first ever 3-D heart using human tissue and the Sackler School of Medicine announced breakthroughs in cancer research, The Jewish Week brought the best of Israel to its readers.

Thank you for showcasing the innovation from Tel Aviv University From robots that interact with children and help teach reading to plans for smart cities and innovation in technology and medicine, The Jewish Week brought the news to its readers.

Thank you for being a true partner in helping to bring Tel Aviv University to the New York area.

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News Steps: A Post-Covid Community continued from page 5

broader world. The temporary closing of the physical space of the museum has also provided an opportunity for us to think differently about how we can serve our audiences outside the walls of our galleries, auditorium and classrooms. Our curators and educators have developed a range of programs online — videos, interactive concerts, lectures and art-making classes — that have helped our constituents in new ways. It has been a time of great experimentation

and creativity. We will continue this expanded range of virtual experiences in the year ahead, when social distancing requires us to create new ways of being together, while separated. The extended closure and economic downturn have also presented financial challenges. While our financial fundamentals remain strong, the resulting loss of revenue meant that, like many cultural institutions, we had to act responsibly to protect the sustainability of the institution. The museum reduced its operating budget for the coming fiscal year by 20 percent through expense reductions across the institution. The short-term Paycheck Protection Program loan we received enabled the museum to keep all staff

employed for 12 ½ weeks following closing on March 13. After that expired, we made the difficult decision to reduce staff; 17 positions were eliminated through a combination of layoffs, reduced schedules, retirements and attrition, and front-of-house staff were furloughed. Previously, the museum reduced salaries for staff earning $100,000 or more. The last few months have been marked not only by the worldwide response to Covid-19, but also by a national cultural reckoning on systemic racism. As an institution, and as a group of individuals, The

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internal anti-racism working group to help identify initiatives to move the institution forward.

Jewish Museum has been doing the work of reflecting, educating and finding a path forward to be a proactive contributor to a more just, equitable and inclusive society. Our staff has played an important role in this effort; a group of 28 Jewish Museum staff members sent an open letter to the museum expressing their desire to see the institution “work toward shaping a more equitable workplace and a more active public platform for advancing social change.” We are grateful to our staff for their dedication and have formed an internal anti-racism working group to help identify and prioritize initiatives to move the institution forward. As public institutions, museums have a responsibility to be engaged in public discourse and to respond seriously to this watershed moment. As an art museum striving to foster cultural understanding, and as a special touchstone for Jewish people of all backgrounds, we have a special role to play in standing against the scourges of white supremacy and anti-Semitism in our society and around the world. We aspire to live up to that role. As we open our doors, we also hope to widen the tent. I am grateful to The Jewish Week for asking our thoughts on “next steps” in this unique moment in time. These are the ideas that will inform those steps for the museum: being a place to reconnect; finding the inspiration to reinvent and find new paths forward; and recommitting ourselves to be a force for good in the world. We hope that you will join us in exploring these ideas — whether when we open our doors in a few months, or whether you choose to explore The Jewish Museum from home through our online programming. n

At this moment of transition, we honor The Jewish Week and celebrate your historic role chronicling and helping shape our New York Jewish community over so many decades. We look forward to the expansion of your digital coverage; may your reporting, analysis, and insight remain a vital resource for Jewish New York for many decades to come.

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

MAY YOU GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH.

THE JEWISH WEEK TURNS A PAGE: STAFF WRITERS REMEMBER

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

In honor of our dear friend,

Ruth Rothseid,

Team of Eccentrics

The Jewish Week reporting crew had its share of characters but somehow stayed glued together.

and her cohort and mentor,

Rich Waloff,

and their team, for two decades of meaningful work. Anita Friedman Iris Cohen

Jewish Week staff writers and editors Stewart Ain, left, Adam Dickter, Toby Axelrod, Gary Rosenblatt, Robert Goldblum and Larry Cohler-Esses posing with writing awards from the American Jewish Press Association in the early 1990s.

Larry Cohler-Esses Special to The Jewish Week

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et’s face it. Journalism harbors more than its fair share of oddballs. I should know. Back in the 1990s, I was one of them. Nevertheless, The Jewish Week hosted me, and several others — and as a result produced some of the most consequential journalism in New York. Consider: It’s 4 a.m. on Times Square. Even the hookers have gone to bed. (This was before Mayor Rudolph Giuliani ran them and all the porno film theaters out of the neighborhood and turned the place into a Disney movie set.) But I’m up. I’ve been working on some investigative piece, barely noticing that everyone, including the cleaning staff, has left. To get me through these nights, I’ve napped on the couch in the office of my editor, Gary Rosenblatt; even brushed my teeth in the men’s room across the hall. But in this case, I’m not the oddball. That would be staff writer Steve Lipman, who greets me as I finally Larry Cohler-Esses was an investigative reporter for The Jewish Week from 19932000 and again from 2005-2008, breaking a number of major stories from city politics to the Mideast.

walk out the door at 4:30 a.m. to take the uptown No. 1 train home; he’s just walking in to start his “day” — before day has even come. What kind of journalist starts his workday at 4:30 a.m.? One of the main reasons I went into journalism was that reporters generally don’t have to even show up until 10 a.m. One of The Jewish Week’s virtues back then, and through the years of Rosenblatt’s tenure, was its willingness to accommodate both of us, our schedules and the office’s other quirky figures. The women reporters back then, including Toby Axelrod, Jennifer Friedlin, Carolyn Slutsky, Julie Wiener and Tamar Snyder, did their jobs well and kept to normal schedules. My male colleagues? A different story. There was Stewart Ain, a reporter who seemed to have somehow wandered off the set of Billy Wilder’s “The Front Page” and into the fifth-floor office on Times Square. Ain pounded out copy faster than a speeding bullet. His existence in 1994 seemed impossible. I swear I think I once heard him call out, “Hello, sweetheart, get me rewrite!” Jonathan Mark was a kind grizzly bear in person. In his writing, he could sniff hypocrisy a mile away. If it was you he smelled, woe betide your fate

continued on page 31

11 The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

THE JEWISH WEEK TURNS A PAGE: STAFF WRITERS REMEMBER

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

The Most Poignant of Newspaper Beats Covering Holocaust survivors from here to Ukraine.

Stewart Ain Staff Writer

or the last 33 years, the New York Jewish Week has given me a front-row seat — both literally and figuratively — to major events in the Jewish world both here and around the world. It has allowed me to interview several Israeli prime ministers, including Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres, Yitzchak Rabin and Yitzchak Shamir. Over the years, I have traveled to Israel numerous times, including with such political leaders as then-New York City Mayor David Dinkins and then-Gov. George Pataki. I have also seen the amazing work of Jewish organizations in Israel, including UJA-Federation of New York, and reported on cuttingStewart Ain was a staff writer for the paper from 1987 to 2020.

edge medical and scientific discoveries. Closer to home, my position has permitted me to cover virtually every Democratic and Republican National Convention since 1984, leading to memorable interviews with countless political leaders, including Ohio Sen. John Glenn, Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro. For many years I covered the activities of UJA-Federation of New York and showcased its humanitarian work in many areas, such as: aid relief for natural disasters throughout the world and in the United States. Among them articles about Superstorm Sandy and the devastating impact it had on synagogues, JCCs and individual families on the South Shore of Long Island. In each of these tragedies UJA-Federation of New York was always there providing assistance. But perhaps the most poignant stories I have written have been about the plight of Holocaust survivors — their hard-

Stewart Ain interviewing former New York Sen. Al D’Amato during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. M ERYL AI N scrabble living conditions, reparations and hard-fought attempts to recover property lost in Europe, including bank accounts and insurance claims. In addition, I have reported on the work of the Conference on Material Claims Against Germany and its efforts to convince the German government of survivors’ increasing needs for financial help as they age. After the Swiss banks agreed in 2000 that survivors and their heirs would receive the bulk of a $1.25 billion settlement as global compensation for secretly hoarding unpaid bank accounts of Jews killed in the Holocaust, I flew to Switzerland to report on reaction there. Then I flew to the Ukraine and Israel to speak with survivors living in poverty and ask them how they planned to use the money they would receive from the settlement.

I still vividly remember an elderly woman who lived alone in a wooden shack without running water. When I asked her what she did for water, she picked up two buckets, walked down the road to a water pump, filled them and then carried them back to her hut. My picture of her carrying the buckets of water landed on the front page of The Jewish Week. I have interviewed hundreds of survivors over the years, most recently Fred Terna, who, at 96, is one of the oldest survivors of Auschwitz. And I have reported on the many Holocaust museums in this country and how they are using modern technology to retell the unspeakable that was perpetrated by the Nazis as they murdered 6 million Jews. I toured the Terezin Nazi concentration camp in Czechoslovakia (with a group from UJA-Federation) and found it void of feeling. Terna, who was interred there for two years, told me he returned shortly after the war. “It was a make-believe place by then,” said Terna, who is a painter. “The reality was gone, the people were gone and very fortunately, the prisoners who survived left carrying their memories.” I have spent a career documenting those memories, and in that way exposing them to light and not letting them fade from history. It was a newspaper beat both bitter and sweet. ■

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THE JEWISH WEEK TURNS A PAGE: STAFF WRITERS REMEMBER

Hailing the New Yorkers Who Cross Over In a balkanized Jewish city, the bridge builders stand out to a veteran reporter. Steve Lipman Staff Writer

hen I served as the editor of the Buffalo Jewish Review back in the 1970s, it’s no exaggeration to say I knew the head of every prominent Jewish organization there, the rabbi of every synagogue, the notable Holocaust survivors and the men and women who had interview-worthy life stories. Sometimes, on a day off, I would drive to the office of some rabbi or honcho, unannounced, walk in and ask, “What’s new?” That’s how I found out what was taking place in the Jewish community, or what was planned, beyond the paragraphs of a press release. In a small community (Buffalo had 26,000 Jews when I was working there; now there are about 10,000), it’s easy to passively hear the important Jewish news. In the locker room of the JCC; at services of the dozen or so congregations; at community events that are probably the only major ones scheduled for that evening; or even jogging in the city’s famed Delaware Park, where the machers and regular folks would trod the same paths. That’s almost impossible here, the Jewish community being too big, too spread out. I’ve visited countless Jewish neighborhoods and towns with sizable Jewish populations in Greater New York, conducted probably thousands of interviews and learned about myriad programs, but have never achieved the degree of familiarity that someone working for an “out of town” Jewish publication can easily do. I have written hundreds of stories, jaunted around the world on behalf of The Jewish Week, met members of the Jewish community of various theological and political stripes. As a journalist, particularly a general assignment reporter for the major Jewish weekly in the country’s Jewish capital, you get to see the best and worst of Jewish life. You get to see selfless and self-absorbed people. You get to report on good initiatives in action, and some What-were-they-thinking? ones. You meet people with whom you become

Steve Lipman was a staff writer at the paper from 1983 to 2020.

Ruth Messinger, who shepherded the American Jewish World Service into a big player in the community. WI KI M EDIA COM MON S

friends, and some who do not recognize you the next time you cross paths. If Jews are known to be a tribal people, New York Jews are defined by their neighborhoods. Or their self-definition of Jewish observance or identity. I lose count of how many committed, educated people I have met who had never met, had never heard of — and probably had no interest in establishing a relationship with — like-minded people who lived in another neighborhood or shared a slightly different orientation. The people who break out of that narrow mold are those who stand out. People like the late Rabbi Chaskel Besser, of the Ronald Lauder Foundation, who came from an intensely Orthodox background but had an infinite interest in the wider world and treated everyone he met, non-Jews and non-Orthodox Jews, with a higher degree of respect. Or the Satmar women who would volunteer to bring kosher meals to patients at hospitals around the city. Or Danny Levine, owner of the sadly departed J. Levine Books & Judaica store, who would serve every customer on an equal, non-judgmental basis. Or Ruth Messinger, a former city official who shepherded American Jewish World Service from a minor player in the Jewish firmament in the city to superstar status, pulling in people from all walks of Jewish life. Or Alexander Rapaport, chasidic founder of the network of kosher soup kitchens and pantries, who distributes food, for which he spends nearly every free hour raising money, to anyone in need. The city is full of such people. Unlike in Buffalo, I did not get to know every worthy — and noteworthy — Jew in New York. But I get to know some of the best. ■

‫‪The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020‬‬

‫‪15‬‬

‫השלימו את‬ ‫טופס מפקד‬ ‫האוכלוסין ‪2020‬‬ ‫עוד היום‪.‬‬ ‫מפקד האוכלוסין ‪ 2020‬סופר את כל מי שמתגורר בארה"ב‪.‬‬ ‫השלימו את טופס מפקד האוכלוסין עוד היום כדי לעזור לנו להבין איך כדאי‬ ‫להקצות מיליארדי דולרים לצורך מימון מרפאות‪ ,‬שירותי חירום ושירותי חינוך מדי‬ ‫שנה במהלך עשר השנים הבאות‪.‬‬ ‫השלימו את טופס מפקד האוכלוסין באינטרנט או באמצעות שליחה בדואר‪.‬‬ ‫כדי ללמוד כיצד‪ ,‬בקרו באתר‪2020census.gov/he :‬‬

‫‪2020CENSUS.GOV/he‬‬ ‫ממומן על ידי לשכת מפקד האוכלוסין של ארה"ב‪.‬‬

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

The author (in red dress) during a recent Rosh HaShanah candlelighting with her two children, Ben and Ella, her mother, Rita Clark, and sister, Melissa Clark. At right is her niece.

THE JEWISH WEEK TURNS A PAGE STAFF WRITERS REMEMBER

A Newspaper Fuels a Jewish Connection

COU RTESY OF AMY CL AR K

From covering a community to becoming a deeper part of it. Amy Sara Clark Special to The Jewish Week

For The Jewish Week’s deep commitment and integrity to journalism, and representation and support for the full spectrum of Jewish life and community in New York, we offer our thanks and gratitude.

was lucky enough to work at The Jewish Week twice: as a part-time copy editor from 2003 through 2005 and again from 2013 until this past March. I left the first time after graduating Columbia Journalism School to work in the secular press. I worked for daily papers and national and local news websites, but no other place had the same vibrancy and warmth of The Jewish Week’s newsroom. The paper had that vibe that many of us went into journalism for: the banter and political discussions, the debates about semicolons and serial commas and the eager participation when someone called for help finding a better adjective or shorter headline. In some of the places I worked, people worked in cubicles and discussion was discouraged. At one, people only communicated through instant messaging. Some came close to The Jewish Week, but couldn’t compete with the avuncular presence of staff writer Steve Lipman, who had a drawer full of tea, cough drops and other remedies he would offer at the slightest sniffle. When I returned to the paper I wasn’t surprised to see most of the same people still there. It’s a hard place to leave. I also came to treasure other aspects of working at The Jewish Week. Having grown up a secular-Zionist, lapsedReform, cultural Jew, covering so many different types of Jewish communities and working with colleagues ranging from chasidic to secular was a valuable education. Whatever my question there was always someone happy to give me an impromptu lesson. One of my first lessons was that there isn’t a hierarchy of Jewishness. I had always seen Jewish authenticity as falling on a declining spectrum from chasidic to secular. After starting work at the paper I was motivated to join my neighborhood (and former childhood) Reform synagogue and began to understand that being Reform doesn’t mean you’re less Jewish than the Orthodox, but rather that you have a different philosophy of what it means to be Jewish. Working at The Jewish Week was a constant reminder of the benefits of becoming involved in Jewish life. Soon after my return to the paper, my family began having Shabbat dinners. Next we joined the synagogue. When the kids were old enough we enrolled them in Hebrew school. I joined the Torah discussion, which was followed by

THE JEWISH WEEK TURNS A PAGE

Jerome A. Chanes Special to The Jewish Week

icha? How could this have happened?! This week, the print publication of our venerable New York Jewish Week will come to an end. Eicha? The slow but ineluctable demise of print journalism is well documented. The late New York Times media critic David Carr was predicting years ago the death of the newspaper as we know it. Two of the country’s fine newspapers — the Seattle Post Intelligencer and the Denver Rocky Mountain News — went under within months of each other in 2009. Numerous papers serving small-town markets have died. The Forward, after some troubled years, ceased print publication a few years ago although it continues online. Eicha? How could this have happened? In a world of heroes and villains identifying a single villain is dicey. A shaky economy, exacerbated by the corona pandemic, which killed our kid-friendly services. The kids embraced Judaism even more quickly than I did. I’ll never forget coming home one Purim to find them, then 4 and 5, in costume waiting to join the celebration. Little did I know that, after a brutal kindergarten year of bouncing between public and charter schools, I would end up sending my children to an Orthodox day school. Luria Academy of Brooklyn is pretty progressive, but it is definitely Orthodox. Although I initially wasn’t happy about the kids spending so much time on Judaics, the Montessori philosophy and low student-to-teacher ratio won out. When I heard them praying in Hebrew I was truly glad they were gaining the tools to live a Jewish life. Working at a Jewish paper had other perks. Nearly everyone in the Jewish world I called was happy to help. Especially in education. At secular papers, it was near impossible to speak to anyone besides a spokesperson and visiting schools was forbidden. Some Jewish schools were equally inaccessible, but most allowed me to observe classes and talk to teachers. Principals gave me tours and interviews. When Covid-19 forced schools to switch to remote learning, I saw the day schools really shine. The schools I talked to were teaching live interactive classes on Zoom for most, and sometimes, all of the day while many parents of students at secular public and private schools told me their children had some online class time, but mostly independent work. I was unjustifiably proud of the Jewish day schools’ achievement. When I interviewed for the staff writer position seven years ago, I told then-editor and publisher Gary Rosenblatt that one of the perks of working at The Jewish Week is that it “keeps me in the Jewish community.” That proved true. ■

advertising during these past crucial months; the decline of a dedicated readership, with a concomitant dearth of support — these are obvious. Nor did the organized Jewish community in New York step up to the plate to organize a rescue effort. This week Jews around the world ushered in the fast of Tisha b’Av with the chanting of the Book of Lamentations, mourning the destruction of

two Temples in Jerusalem and Jewish catastrophe throughout the ages, and recalling the resilience of Jewish peoplehood in the face of catastrophe. The first word of Lamentations sums it up: Eicha? How could this have happened? ■ Jerome Chanes has been a Jewish Week contributor for nearly three decades.

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The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

A Lamentation for the Printed Page

THE JEWISH WEEK TURNS A PAGE

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

Twenty-five Years of Stories That Packed a Punch Scoops, in-depth reports, exposés: A timeline of some of The Jewish Week’s most important articles. Looted Nazi gold bars like these ended up at the Federal Reserve Building in Manhattan, below. YOUTU B E

“The Bandito Affair.” Adam Dickter had another big scoop in the 1998 election season — and it too involved some, shall we say, impolitic language. This time it came from Republican incumbent State Attorney General Dennis Vacco, who was in a tight race against his Democratic challenger, Eliot Spitzer. In an interview with Dickter at The Jewish Week of-

of what turned out to be $40,000 of their charity’s funds to Hikind personally to cover his kids’ tuition to a private school, family trips to France and Israel, and expenses for political campaigns. The charity also provided seemingly vague jobs to a number of Hikind’s relatives and friends. Hikind was indicted as a result of this story, but was ultimately acquitted of having received corrupt funds from the council. Council officials, on the other hand, were found guilty of having corruptly provided Hikind with these same funds — by the same jury.

2000 1996

1998

n September, staff writer Stewart Ain revealed exclusively that Nazi gold was believed to be stored at the Federal Reserve in Lower Manhattan, possibly containing the gold fillings pulled from the corpses of Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Ain had discovered that recently declassified documents stored in the National Archives in Washington revealed that gold stolen by the Nazis from the central banks of European countries they occupied had been discovered by Allied forces after the war and had been shipped to London and New York. During the fall of 1996, Ain also reported exclusively on the contents of the declassified documents, such as the degree to which the Nazis looted the diamonds of France, Holland and Belgium to finance the war. And he traveled to Switzerland to report on Swiss bank accounts and life insurance policies that went unclaimed by Jews killed in the Holocaust. He interviewed poor survivors in the U.S. and flew to the Ukraine and Israel to interview survivors living in poverty there to illustrate how the $1.25 billion Swiss banks Holocaust settlement would benefit them.

“The Putzhead Affair.” In the race for U.S. Senate, three-term Republican incumbent Al D’Amato, the brash politician known as “Senator Pothole” for his focus on local issues, was locked in a tight race against Brooklyn Rep. Chuck Schumer, a Democrat. A few weeks before Election Day, Jewish Week political writer Adam Dickter reported that at a closed-door breakfast with

Chuck Schumer Al D’Amato Jewish leaders, D’Amato denounced Schumer, who is Jewish, as a “putzhead.” The Yiddish vulgarism, an indication of the rough-and-tumble nature of New York politics, made headlines in The New York Times and the tabloids and put D’Amato on the defensive. “It was a defining moment,” said former Deputy Mayor Abraham Biderman. The campaign “never really turned in his favor again. Schumer was able to maximize the fact when D’Amato denied saying it.” The Washington Post headlined its story, “The Gaffe Heard Round N.Y.,” and quoted pollster John Zogby saying the vulgarism hurt D’Amato badly.

fices, Vacco, in a discussion about the death penalty, said researchers into the effectiveness of capital punishment “don’t stand outside a bodega” asking “the bandito if he would have killed someone if there was no death penalty.” His use of the Spanish words was taken as a swipe against the Hispanic community. Pundits believed the gaffe turned the tide of the race in Spitzer’s favor. After winning the AG’s race, Spitzer went on to become governor, eventually resigning in disgrace when his assignations with prostitutes were uncovered. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, dedicated in 1993 and opened to general acclaim, found itself wracked by internal dissension and pulled into the raging vortex of pro-Israel politics. By year’s end, an executive director was ousted and the appointment of a scholar to a key position was scrubbed after fierce opposition from right-of-center Jewish groups. Reporting by longtime Jewish Week Washington correspondent James Besser played a role in both events.

1999 Jewish Week investigative reporter Larry Cohler-Esses exposed Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind’s funneling of state money to Brooklyn’s largest Jewish community council (the Council of Jewish Organizations of Boro Park) — and the council officials’ simultaneous funneling

A series of investigative reports in The Jewish Week, beginning in June 2000, marked a watershed in Jewish media coverage of rabbinic sexual abuse. Editor Gary Rosenblatt revealed that Rabbi Baruch Lanner, a top official in the Orthodox Union’s NCSY youth movement and a charismatic yeshiva principal, physically, sexually and emotionally abused scores of teens

Rabbi Baruch Lanner TH E AWAR EN ESS CENTER

in his charge for three decades — “an open secret in Orthodox circles.” As a result, when two young women came forward with allegations of recent abuse, Lanner was arrested, tried in a New Jersey court and convicted in 2002 of sexually abusing his two former students. Sentenced to seven years in prison, he was released in 2008 and given four years probation. The award-winning coverage sparked controversy in the Orthodox community, criticized by some for violating the prohibition against lashon hara (spreading gossip), and praised by many for shedding light on child abuse. A number of Jewish organizations soon enacted measures to protect vulnerable youth.

Jonathan Pollard WI KI M EDIA COM MON S

2002 Washington correspondent James Besser wrote a widely reprinted investigative report on the Jonathan Pollard spy case — the human tragedy of a life wasted and a family thrown into crisis, but also an examination of what the ongoing controversy over his incarceration revealed about a still insecure and increasingly fragmented American Jewish community. The conclusion offered a prediction that proved accurate throughout the remaining 13 years of Pollard’s incarceration: “For the organized Jewish community — sympathetic to his plight as a fellow Jew in trouble, unsympathetic to many of the arguments that have been made in his name — the controversy will go on.”

2006 Israel correspondent Michele Chabin broke new ground in the increasingly fraught relationship between Israel and the diaspora by reporting that Israel’s Chief Rabbinate was no longer accepting the authority of many Orthodox rabbis in the diaspora — a move that threatened the status of thousands of converts and others. Since then, Chabin has written dozens of articles exposing the Chief Rabbinate’s treatment of diaspora Jews, and set a standard for reporting on the diaspora-Israel relationship.

2008 In 2008, The Jewish Week began a search for the next generation of Jewish leaders. Taking a cue from Jewish mysticism — which says that 36 humble and righteous ones, the Lamedvavniks, hold up the world — the paper launched the “36 Under 36” section. Over the years, more than 400 young people, acting on

were committed to a diverse, multicultural, open-minded and inclusive Jewish community. The 36ers are leaving us all in good hands. As the Romantic poet John Keats wrote, “On our heels, a fresh perfection treads.”

2011 Jewish Week investigative reporter Hella Winston published a series in 2011 that touched on some of the major institutions in the strictly Orthodox community and their role in the issue of child sexual abuse and how it is handled. They included Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services, the Borough Park Shomrim patrol and a powerful religious court in the heavily charedi town of Lakewood, N.J. The Lakewood story (“In Lakewood Abuse Cases, A Parallel System Of Justice”) detailed the inner workings of an influential religious court as it tried to adjudicate sensitive allegations of sexual abuse and revealed the kinds of intimidation faced by families who sought to bring allegations of abuse to secular law enforcement. Two of Winston’s pieces on Ohel (“Abuse Case Tests Ohel’s Adherence To Reporting Policy”) and a followup (“Ohel Campaign To Bolster Image Questioned”) chronicled the story of a young mother who suggested she had abused her 5-year-old son and focused on how the agency had handled that disclosure. The series also shed light on the role played

by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office (“News Of Abuse Arrests Hailed, Questioned”) in keeping the issue of sexual abuse in the shadows — in particular its policy at the time of not identifying members of the Orthodox community who had been arrested and charged with sexually abusing children.

2013 In a three-part investigative series headlined, “Haredi Schools Reap Millions in Federal Tech Funds,” associate editor Julie Wiener and Hella Winston reported on alleged improprieties by school administrators handling funds for the federal government’s E-rate program; the program supports the purchase of technology equipment and internet service by schools and libraries. The series documented how a community that had often railed against the internet pulled in more than $30 million a year in E-rate funds for its schools. Following FBI raids at charedi yeshivas and technology vendors in Brooklyn and Rockland County, seven Orthodox defendants eventually pled guilty to one count of a conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

2015 In an investigative story headlined, “Don’t Know Much About History: Inside the Battle to Improve Chasidic Education,” Jewish Week reporters Amy Sara Clark and Hella Winston, together with WNYC Radio, probed claims from inside the chasidic community that English, math, science and history instruction at many Brooklyn yeshivas did not meet minimum state standards. The story coincided with the launch, for the first time, of an investigation by the city Department of Education into claims of substandard secular educa-

Naftuli Moster of the nonprofit Yaffed has led the fight for better secular education in Brooklyn yeshivas. J EWI SH WEEK

tion at 29 yeshivas. The Jewish Week story, a 5,500word expose in the paper and a four-part series on the radio, was a finalist for a prestigious Deadline Club (Society for Professional Journalists) award.

2018 The #MeToo movement burst into the Jewish community in earnest at the end of 2017. Staff writer Stewart Ain detailed what clergy at the liberal Jewish denominations called “pervasive” harassment by men at their congregations. The story picked up steam in a June 2018 Jewish Week opinion piece by Brandeis sociologist Keren McGinity headlined, “American Jewry’s #MeToo Problem: A First-Person Encounter.” The piece detailed what McGinity believed to be unwanted advances made to her at a conference of a prestigious Jewish organization by “an older, married man” who was senior to her in the field. A few weeks after the piece appeared, McGinity (and five other women who came forward) confirmed widespread suspicions to staff writer Hannah Dreyfus that the man in question was leading sociologist Stephen Cohen; Cohen expressed “remorse” FOR his actions and resigned from his posts at Hebrew Union College and the prestigious Berman Jewish Policy Archive at Stanford. Dreyfus also detailed accusations of a pattern of unwanted sexual advances against women by philanthropist Michael Steinhardt. She revealed that Steinhardt’s name was removed from a list of Hillel International’s board of governors (he was a major funder of the college group) after a high-ranking Hillel employee lodged allegations against him. The organization eventually put into place enhanced protections against sexual harassment. n

19 The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

their Jewish values and transforming the Jewish community, have joined the ranks of 36ers. They’ve been an eclectic crew — spiritual leaders, artists, environmentalists, educators, social entrepreneurs, do-gooders of all stripes. If you thought millennials were self-centered, the 36 Under 36 section abused you of that notion. Here were young people thinking globally and acting locally, and they

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22 The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

A Jewish Newspaper Changes Direction, but Not Its Mission The Jewish Week’s switch to all-digital is a sad but necessary response to an industry crisis. Jonathan D. Sarna Special to The Jewish Week

ewish newspapers have been printed in New York every week since America’s first English-language Jewish weekly, The Asmonean, began publication on Oct. 26, 1849. “Knowledge is Power,” the pioneering paper proclaimed on its masthead. It looked to unify American Jews and to provide them with what

The Jewish Week Turns a Page they needed to know to be both better Americans and better Jews. Edited by a New York Jewish businessman named Robert Lyon, The Asmonean billed itself as “a family journal of commerce, politics, religion and literature devoted to the interests of the American Israelites.” It was livelier, bolder and more diverse in its subject matter than most other 19th-century American Jewish newspapers. It took as its model the best family journals of the day and lived on for nine years until Lyon’s death. By then, a new Jewish weekly newspaper had appeared in the city: The Jewish Messenger, edited by Rev. Samuel M. Isaacs of Congregation Shaaray Tefila and his children. It pledged to be a “messenger of good tidings,” and devoted itself “to the interests of our coreligionists, the Jewish religion, Jewish intelligence and literature.” It took pride in reporting, after a year of publication (1857), that nothing “derogatory to the character and good name of Israel” appeared in its pages, that it had refused to “meddle in politics” and that it continued to promote the “old established institutions of our forefathers.” While hardly lively, the newspaper was dependable and, insofar as possible, unobjectionable. It ran for 45 years. The Asmonean and The Jewish Messenger reflected opposite views on what Jewish journalism should be. The Asmo-

New York state law mandates that all contracts for prearranged funeral agreements executed by applicants for or recipients of supplemental social security income or medical assistsance be irrevocable. These firms are owned and operated by a subsidiary of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas 77019. 713-522-5141

Jonathan D. Sarna is University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University. His many publications include the article on “The American Jewish Press” in the “Oxford Handbook of Religion and the American News Media.”

nean looked to emulate the lively canons of general journalism, provided multiple takes on contested issues and committed itself above all to the pursuit of truth. The Jewish Messenger felt that a newspaper should above all serve as a bearer of “good tidings,” avoided controversy, promoted established institutions and, in general, portrayed the Jewish community at its best. Both views live on in Jewish journalism to this day. For a time, back when newspapers were privately owned and made money, readers voted with their pocketbooks as to which model of Jewish journalism they preferred. At the turn of the 20th century, four different local Jewish newspapers competed for English-speaking readers in New York. The highbrow American Hebrew, founded by young Jewish revivalists looking to “stir up our brethren to pride in our time-honored faith,” saw itself as the Jewish community’s newspaper of record. It published a wide range of articles and opinions, and was known as “one of the leading conservative organs of Judaism in America,” though liberal writers were welcomed as contributors. The saucy Hebrew Standard, characterized by the Jewish Encyclopedia as “the first attempt at the issue of a cheap, popular Jewish newspaper in the English language,” was irreverent and pro-Orthodox; it appealed to the masses. The Jewish Messenger continued to offer “good tidings.” The Hebrew Journal, of which no copies apparently survive, focused according to an early historian, on “society matters.” Over the ensuing decades, many Anglo-Jewish newspapers merged or disappeared. Anti-Semitism partly explains why. As fear stalked the Jewish community and conditions deteriorated both domestically and abroad, newspapers became frightened to report to English-language readers news that reflected badly on the Jewish people. They worked hard to promote an image of consensus and sobriety, lest they unintentionally play into the hands of Jews’ enemies. While no shortage of controversies and scandals took place — witness the fierce debates over Zionism, the tactical debates over how best to respond to anti-Semitism or the many scandals connected with Prohibition violations — these largely went unreported. Pru-

A New Era

he 1967 Six-Day War, depicted at the time as a “watershed in contemporary Jewish public affairs” and “a turning point in American Jewish consciousness,” sparked a new era in Jewish journalism. Within three years, a vibrant Jewish student press had sprung into existence, featuring 20 lively college Jewish newspapers (and about double that number just a year later). They featured critical, investigative and irreverent articles about the Jewish community, totally different from what had become Anglo-Jewish journalism’s customary fare. Even The New York Times took notice. “A Jewish student press, reflecting what has been called ‘a new Jewish consciousness’ has arisen on college campuses in North America,” it reported in 1971. It summarized the themes that united these papers under four headings: (1) “rejection of the anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian stand of much of the New Left”; (2) “a profound concern for the status of Jews in the Soviet Union and a cry that more can be done for them”; (3) “a contempt for what is parodied as the ‘chopped liver and mahjongg’ culture of adult Jews”; and (4) “an insistent demand for a shake-up in the priorities served by ‘the Jewish Establishment’.” Against this background, in 1970, New York’s Jewish Week first appeared on newsstands. It billed itself as “New York’s New Jewish Newspaper,” and its full name (reflecting several previous mergers) was The Jewish Week and American Examiner. Nothing

The copy of the front page of The Asmonean, the first English-language weekly, which began publication in New York in the fall of 1849. N EW YOR K P U B LIC LI B R ARY DIGITAL COLLECTION

about it was nearly as avant-garde as the Jewish student press. The new paper, like so many other Anglo-Jewish weeklies around the country, was privately owned and its editor, Philip Hochstein, was long past the age of retirement. Still, he understood that “the times were a changin’.” In 1972, Hochstein hired a 25-year-old graduate of Yeshiva University to the staff of the paper; his name was Gary Rosenblatt. “I was about 40 years younger than the next youngest editor on staff at the time,”

Rosenblatt later recalled. “I got to cover just about every story that involved getting out of the office.” He left in 1974 for the Baltimore Jewish Times, where he was editor for 19 years. Following Rosenblatt’s departure and a series of financial challenges, The Jewish Week underwent a full-scale makeover. Eleven major leaders of the New York Jewish community recreated it as “a high quality not-for-profit Jewish newspaper to cover all aspects of the Jewish community.” The new mandate was to cover the broadest spectrum of Jewish ideas and points of view. The Jewish Week won funding from UJA-Federation and was henceforward sent out to all donors of $50 or more — at its peak, more than 100,000 households. That made the paper one of the highest-circulation Jewish weeklies in the diaspora and “the central source for news for and about the Jewish community of New York.” The unstated background to the paper’s makeover may have been the Watergate scandal (1972-74) that drove Richard Nixon from the presidency. That raised the status of America’s journalists and crowned them as the guardians of American values. Crusading young investigative journalists like Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein at the Washington Post were joined by “New Journalists” who integrated literary techniques, passion and advocacy into their writing. In time, these kinds of investigative and “new” journalism shaped Jewish journalism as well. In 1982, Phillip Ritzenberg, formerly assistant managing editor of the New York Daily News, became publisher and editor of The Jewish Week. “My view was that the paper had to be a contemporary American

continued on page 28

The Academy for Jewish Religion Celebrating our accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools Warmly congratulates The Jewish Week as we all move forward into the future

Passionately Pluralistic AJR ordains Rabbis and Cantors Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies Dual semikha in our Kol-Bo program Streamlined Rabbinic Ordination for ordained Cantors

Students on-site and off-site study together in real time.

FOR INFORMATION:

Contact Cantor Lisa Klinger-Kantor lklingerkantor@ajrsem.org

23 The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

dence dictated what appeared in the pages of the AngloJewish weeklies; they focused on the unobjectionable. That is why the great Jewish leader Rabbi Stephen S. Wise derided them as “weaklies.”

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

The Jewish Week

OPINION EDITORIAL

Jewish Media Foster Essential Conversations

hen rabbis want to remind us of the power of debate and diversity in Jewish life, they cite the famous dispute between the schools of Shammai and Hillel. In the Talmud, both schools loudly insist that Jewish law, halacha, should be interpreted according to their views. In the story, the Divine Voice interrupts their argument, saying “Eilu v’eilu divrei Elohim Chayim” — These and these are the words of the Living God — that is, even contradictory ideas, if expressed in good faith, can be worthwhile a n d h o l y. O f course, there are limits, and often someone has to be right, which is why the Divine Voice adds, “and the halacha is according to Beit Hillel.” The notion of holy debate is eroding in a culture that prefers partisanship to compromise, and insists the middle ground is for losers or sellouts. This erosion is compounded by politicians who would rather win than actually solve the problems they were elected to address, and by the self-righteous who would rather cancel the Shammais of the world. Meanwhile, our consumption of media becomes an experiential feedback loop, with algorithms that reinforce who we are and what we believe by mining, and narrowing, our choices and interests. The Jewish world is hardly immune. Too many of us, as groups and individuals, retreat into a “filter bubble” of like-mindedness. There are fewer ecumenical forums for exchanging ideas with those with whom we might disagree. Like

ideologically narrow cable outlets, too many synagogues have become places to reinforce our prejudices. Shammai and Hillel rarely meet, let alone debate. What is the solution to this cognitive isolation? Perhaps immodestly, we suggest that the Jewish media are, or can be, places where Jews can meet across ideological, denominational, age and gender lines. Places where you don’t have to agree with everything you read or hear, but can appreciate the sincerity of those who think differently than you do, and even learn from their counter-arguments. The best Jewish media outlets stake out this place, which is neither “common ground” nor the squishy “middle”; instead, it is a public forum, where all people of good faith and civil bearing are welcome to share their ideas without being shouted down. A diverse Jewish public forum has always been hard to sustain, as you can tell by our decision, beginning next week, to put the print edition of The Jewish Week on pause as we look for a more economically sustainable model. Some Jewish organizations, like UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Funders Network, understand the value of a diverse Jewish media, and have been quietly building support for new models and funding streams. We have confidence in these efforts. The alternative is too grim to consider: a community whose members only talk to people with whom they agree, and who stop hearing the Divine Voice in the other.

Shammai and Hillel rarely

meet, let alone debate.

LETTERS I’m Going to Miss My Shabbat Read

The Jewish Week has been arriving in my mailbox each Thursday or Friday for 36 years, so I will miss curling up on the sofa to have a good read on a quiet Friday evening and Shabbat. But it’s necessary to keep up with the changing times or risk fading away. I don’t enjoy a digital read but hope to continue my subscription anyway to support Jewish news.

I ask only that if in the future print can work again, The Jewish Week will reconsider. Good Shabbos. Shirley Rodkin

A Digital Experience Vs. ‘The Real Thing’

As The Jewish Week transitions to a primarily online medium, it is a bittersweet moment for us loyal, weekly readers (and supporters). I look forward to continued great writing, valuable updates and fascinating insights on Jewishrelated news, politics, culture, etc. The essence of the newspaper will be preserved. But the shift is a troubling sign of the changes our world is experiencing. Similar to a flower, Torah scroll or hand of a loved one, the digital experience can’t replace holding the real thing. Hopefully we’ll be able enjoy it again very soon! Barry Kanner Riverdale, Bronx

President Trump Enables Far Right Anti-Semites

Re: “Jewish GOPers Face a Dilemma: How to Sell Trump to Other Jews,” July 24: If I saw these Jewish GOPers, I’d tell them they are traitors to U.S. Jews and to Jewish ethics, as well as to the Constitution. Where is their concern about the fact, not theory, but fact that the incumbent of the White House undermines the safety and security of all Jews living in the U.S. by being a blatant enabler of far right-wing anti-Semites? As for ethics, is there a commandment or a moral/ethical principle this individual hasn’t violated? I love Israel, and would be thrilled, post Covid-19, to again visit the country and long-time friends. My reality, however, is that I live in the country that my parents emigrated to, and thus were fortunate enough to escape the Shoah, which claimed the lives of too many of their respective family members. Now I have to live in fear of the federal government sending agents to act against its own people in the manner of the countries my parents escaped from. At the same time, I have to worry which shul, or other Jewish institution in the U.S., will be the next Pittsburgh, or Poway, because anti-Semites feel emboldened by the occupant of the White House. Sol Sturm Fresh Meadows, Queens

We Jews Are Not Single-Issue Voters

Jewish GOPers cannot sell Trump to other Jews because the vast majority of us are sophisticated, values-driven and educated voters. We will never vote for the president because of his bigotry, attacks on democratic institutions, love of murderous dictators and attacks on democratic leaders of allied nations, gross unfitness for the job including his terrible response to the pandemic, attacks on healthcare legislation, lack of any empathy, narcissism, support of white nationalists, etc. Moreover, Jewish GOPers ignore the fact that Jews are not single-issue voters. And those of us who care about Israel (despite Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his policies) understand that by enabling Bibi’s worst policies and instincts, President Trump is perhaps the greatest threat to Israel’s existence as a democratic Jewish state. On the other hand, Joe Biden is a life-long friend of Jews and Israel and is running to heal and rebuild a more just America, while Trump’s whole campaign is designed to sow division and appeal to Americans’ fears and hatreds. Marvin Ciporen Brooklyn

Know Your Allies From Your Enemies

President Trump never said that white supremacists are decent folk (“Charlottesville Was the Unmasking of the ‘Wartime President,’” July 3). In fact, he condemned racism and anti-Semitism in clearer and stronger terms than his predecessor, Barack Obama, ever did. Unlike Obama, Trump never prayed for 20 years in the church of a rabid antiSemitic, anti-white, anti-American reverend. He never posed with the rabid anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan. As for Black Lives Matter, their Marxism and anti-Israel views are written into their constitution. If you want to help clear up obstacles to civil rights that you feel still prevail, then work with the NAACP or the Urban League on condition they condemn clearly and specifically all forms of anti-Semitism in their community and the BLM organization. Samuel K. Mark West Hempstead, L.I.

EDITOR’S COLUMN

The Bari Weiss affair overshadows the solid, necessary work of telling hard truths.

n the Venn diagram that is my professional world — journalism, Jewishness and New Yorkiness — the redhot overlap belongs to Bari Weiss, until recently a writer and editor on The New York Times opinion pages. Before coming to The Times in 2017

Andrew Silow-Carroll

as a putative “contrarian” voice, Weiss, now 35, cut her teeth on pro-Israel activism and Jewish journalism. When she announced her resignation earlier this month, it was a sensation among journalists, but also among Jews on the right and the left. The Jewish right reviles The Times’ Israel coverage. They lamented the loss of what they consider one of its few pro-Israel voices (Weiss, the author of a recent book on anti-Semitism, claimed that her colleagues mocked her for writing too often about Israel) and a bulwark against political correctness. In her scorching public resignation letter, Weiss accused her bosses and colleagues of liberal groupthink. Her liberal Jewish critics have accused her of sloppiness, hypocrisy and disingenuousness, saying she promoted discredited conservative ideas under the guise of free speech, blurred distinctions between antiSemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric, and sought to “cancel” writers with whom she has tussled. From where I sit, rarely did the things she write and commission deserve the at-

tacks she attracted (only among New York Twitterati, many suggest, would her centrist views be seen as far right). Even when I disagreed with Weiss, I looked forward to reading her. I’d rather argue animatedly over something she wrote than nod with boredom over someone I always agree with. But she courted and welcomed controversy, and often her words and assignments seemed calculated to provoke exactly the reactions she now decries. The Weiss affair is tied up in current debates over “wokeness,” free speech, liberalism and, in Weiss’ case, gender and Israel politics. But one thing her resignation is not about is the “death of American journalism,” despite people’s efforts to portray it that way. “Journalism” is not the latest social media argument over this or that op-ed or tweet and whether it should have run or been written. Journalism is rarely what they are doing on cable news after 8 p.m., when panels of like-minded people agree to agree. The New York Times’ opinion section is journalism, of course, but only of a singular, if highly influential, kind. Like the paper itself, it tends to overshadow the more typical work of the thousands of reporters, editors and broadcasters who are trying to provide us with the diet of information that is essential to a healthy, functioning society. So what’s journalism? It’s the small-town reporters who write up “the day’s events, hold officials accountable and capture those moments — a school honor, a retirement celebration — suitable for framing,” as Dan Barry recently put it. That these reporters are disappearing is a bigger blow to our democracy than the resignation of a celebrity pundit. Journalism is the solid,

There is life — and great reporting — beyond The New York Times’ opinion section. dogged investigative work being done by nonprofits on everything from toxic chemicals in the environment to the opioid crisis to what it means to live on the minimum wage. Journalism is about gaining access — for us, the citizens — to a massive federal database on coronavirus cases, and describing what it reveals about racial inequalities, as The Times did earlier this year. Journalism is exposing a government’s typically misleading statements, as Vox did in determining that U.S. Park Police did indeed use tear gas to disperse a crowd protesting outside the White House. Journalism uncovers the true story behind a Republican president’s complex and deceptive finances (again, The Times) — and behind a Democratic-led city’s failed efforts to help its Black residents deal with the pandemic (The Washington Post, in an exposé about its hometown). It’s the kind of storytelling that makes you take an interest in something — through delightful writing and deep reporting — that you never, ever thought you’d care about. In other words, every issue of The New Yorker. And at the risk of brag-

ging, it’s the deeply knowing ethnic reporting done by my indefatigable colleagues at The Jewish Week, whether it is exposing sexual abuse in our community, chronicling the American-Jewish response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or helping readers find essential services and solace in the midst of a global health and economic crisis. That’s not to say every medium is firing on all these cylinders every day. Mistakes and biases sometimes creep into news stories, or newsrooms don’t always treat their staff as they should. But journalism is essential to our reeling republic. Luckily there are lots of good people still in the game, going out there and finding the facts and shining light in dark corners. They do their jobs well, and often without fan-

fare, and sometimes at great risk to their own lives, and we are a better society for it. Don’t let Twitter tell you any different. n he July 31 issue of The Jewish Week will be the last in print while we explore our options, digital and otherwise, going forward. To all the readers who have written to mourn the loss of print, I’ll say this: I agree with you. But given our growing deficit and shrinking revenues it would have been irresponsible to continue publishing a print edition. We will use our hiatus to create a new model that will satisfy our loyal readers and find new audiences as well. In the meantime, thank you for supporting a storied Jewish newspaper, and welcome to the next chapter in Jewish journalism. n

The Word Is What Endures David Wolpe

or nearly 30 years, I have been writing the “Musings” column of roughly 200 words each week for The Jewish Week. In time, these columns went out electronically as well, titled “Off the Pulpit” and now appear in The Times of Israel. The Jewish Week is going digital, so this will be the final column to appear in an actual “paper.” This week leads up to Tisha b’Av. (Wait, there is a connection here!) The Musings destruction of the Temple forced the Jews to transcend the physical message. We had to contend with the destruction of our central structure and recognize that the word could outlast any building. In our history, therefore, the message has taken many forms: stone tablets, papyrus, scrolls, books and now pixels. Each change is a loss but also a reminder: the word is what endures, not the shape in which it is crafted or housed. The Psalmist (Psalm 137) cries, “How shall we sing a new song in a strange land?” But we have sung in every land over this vast globe. We will miss the actual Jewish Week paper, but while venues change nothing will stop us from talking, arguing, singing, preaching and praying. Note: I want to express my deepest appreciation to Gary Rosenblatt and Rob Goldblum, who shepherded the column for all these years.

Rabbi David Wolpe is spiritual leader of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. His latest book is “David: The Divided Heart” (Yale University Press). Follow him on Twitter: @rabbiwolpe.

The Jewish Week n www.thejewishweek.com n July 31, 2020

What Journalism Is, and Isn’t

OPINION

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

Jewish History Unfolding in 800-Word Chapters

n putting its present format on hiatus and going to a strictly digital one,

Thinking Aloud The Jewish Week is following the route of many newspapers, and we cannot turn back the clock.. But oh, what a lovely run it had in print, this newspaper of the Jewish community, this marketplace of ideas and activities shared and analyzed. I Francine Klagsbrun is the author most recently of “Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel.” She signs off from her Jewish Week column, “Thinking Aloud,” with gratitude and fond memories.

Rosenblatt

continued from page 1 munity of New York and help build and sustain it. And I am ever grateful to have worked closely over these many years with a talented and caring staff, led by managing editor Rob Goldblum and associate publisher (and most recently, publisher) Rich Waloff, with the generous, encouraging support of The Jewish Week’s board of directors. We s a w t h e p a p e r ’s role as being an integral part of the community, not just looking in from the outside. In that spirit, we launched a range of educational projects with an emphasis on Jewish engagement. Projects like Write On For Israel, Fresh Ink for Teens, The View From Campus, The Jewish Week Forums and The Conversation have touched thousands of lives, and every effort is being made to assure that they will con-

became part of the marketplace in 1993. Soon after Gary Rosenblatt took over as the paper ’s editor and publisher, he invited me to write a monthly opinion column, and I have done so ever since. Now, as I look through my files of columns, I see history unfolding, on both a personal and communal level. In the personal realm, on March 15, 1996, I wrote about the death of my mother at the age of 94. She was “too young to die,” in spite of her advanced age, I said, arguing that the death of an elderly parent can be especially wrenching, because that person has been with us from before we can remember and well into our own midlives. One

tinue. As an independent newspaper, our mandate called for honest, in-depth reporting, sometimes casting light on issues that some would have preferred to remain in the shadows. I often wrote about my own struggles to be both a loyal member of the community and an independent and sometimes critical voice. Along the way, I learned to accept that almost any issue we advocated for would be criticized by those who disagreed. Most strikingly, our reports on rabbinic sexual abuse over the years brought awards and praise from some quarters while being attacked by others as displaying an anti-Orthodox bias. I always thought that such work — seeking to protect children from those who would harm them — was in keeping with, rather than in violation of, Jewish values. But our commitment has always been to give voice to all sides.

Francine Klagsbrun

Let’s raise a glass to what was and what will be. reader was relieved, she wrote me, because she had thought she was alone in those feelings; another that she’d been raised by an elderly aunt, and although the aunt had died 10 years

Gary Rosenblatt

Like the community itself, The Jewish Week is at a critical juncture now, with an uncertain future. We mirror, inform and sustain each other — the community and its journalistic voice.

earlier, this woman still “talks” to her every day. On a happier note, two years later, I celebrated my daughter’s graduation from medical school. “My daughter, the doctor,” I wrote, and then repeated the words, pleased to be able to overhaul decades of “My son, the doctor” boasting. A proud mother wrote to say that her elder daughter had graduated from Harvard and her younger from Yale. Although they hadn’t gone to medical school, she thought I’d like to know about them. Sure, I replied, l e t ’s a p p l a u d w o m e n ’s many achievements. In the societal sphere, I find a column from January 2000, speculating on the dire Y2K predictions

that had preceded the new century. Do you remember Y2K craziness — the warnings that some vast computer crashes were going to turn the world upside down in 2000? It never happened, as we know. The column also highlighted predictions for the 21st century, including technological advances that would revolutionize every aspect of life. What no one predicted was that 20 years later a pandemic would upturn life as we know it, with technology lagging behind. No one predicted either that a year into the new century, on Sept. 11, terrorists would destroy New York’s twin towers. My column that month condemned the “evil” of the

I’m confident that The Jewish Week’s allegiance to the highest journalistic values and a deep commitment to community-building will continue under Andrew Silow-Carroll as it has during his 10 months as editor. His leadership in providing daily, vital coverage of the Covid crisis in recent months speaks to his instincts as both journalist and citizen. What saddens me deeply, though, is the financial reality that can no longer sustain a weekly print edition. I’ll miss the exciting challenge of weekly deadlines, the buzz of the newsroom and, most especially, the skills, diversity and personalities of loyal colleagues and friends no longer there, the victims of major downsizing. Every effort was made to keep the print edition afloat; for now, it’s not possible. But the commitment to tell the Jewish story remains. It is one that continually requires

new modes of transmission — from the stone tablets Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai to the pages of our ancient texts, and from books and newspapers to the computers and personal devices we carry with us now. Those of us who grew up with and came to love the experience of holding a newspaper in our hands have come to realize that print media, and especially community newspapers, have been disappearing at a frightening rate across the country in recent years. Revenue sources like local and classified advertising have cratered, and according to a recent article in The Atlantic, “fewer than one in six Americans subscribe to a local newspaper, in either print or digital form.” Like so many other media companies, The Jewish Week was in trouble even before Covid hit. But the economic impact of the pandemic was dramatic and had an air of final-

Klagsbrun

eceded the newterrorists and praised the greato you remem-ness of the city, with its many imraziness — themigrants. “It’s not surprising,” I hat some vastwrote, “that the song on everyc r a s h e s w e r eone’s lips, ‘God Bless America,’ urn the worldwas written by a Russian Jewish wn in 2000? Itimmigrant … Irving Berlin, who p e n e d , a s w egot his start on New York’s Tin e column alsoPan Alley.” A reader sent me a predictions forcopy of old sheet music for “God ntury, includingBless America.” I loved it. ical advances Of course, most of my columns revolutionizedealt with Israel and Jewish comct of life. Whatmunal matters. In an August 1994 dicted was that ter a pandemic urn life as we ith technologyity. The cost of paper, printing and postage had already become hind. predicted eitherprohibitive. And then, starting in r into the newMarch, businesses were closed; n Sept. 11, ter-events were canceled; there was ld destroy Newlittle to advertise in our paper. The in towers. Myoptions became stark: go digital or at month con-go home. e “evil” of the Amidst this sobering reality, we all know that challenges also present opportunities. And Jewish history is one long lesson in adaptation, creativity and resilience. As we observe the Fast of Tisha b’Av (July 30), the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, marking the destruction of the Holy Temple, one can only imagine the sense of utter despair and defeat among the remnants of an ancient people decimated by war. How could Judaism survive without the majestic structure in Jerusalem believed to contain God’s spirit on earth? Yet our sages faced the reality of the dire situation and came up with a solution that has lasted thousands of years. In place of animal sacrifices in the Temple, they instituted prayer — a completely portable and accessible form of personal and communal worship — that sustains us today. Let me be clear: I’m not trying to compare the loss of Judaism’s holiest site to going without the print edition of The Jewish Week. But the point is that our people have always found a way to find a way. And the current crises — medical, economic and communal — call for creative responses. Fortunately, since 1997 The Jewish Week has had a free, robust website that now contains far more content than the print edi-

piece, I called Yitzchak Rabin, then Israel’s prime minister, a “hero of our times” as he went about making peace with Jordan a year after having shaken the hand of his longtime enemy, Yasir Arafat, on the White House lawn. In 1995, a year after that column, Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, and a year after that, with Benjamin Netanyahu now prime minister, I wondered in a column how different Israeli history might be had Rabin lived. I still wonder. Columns concerning the struggles of agunot, women chained to unwanted marriages, and of Israel’s Women of the Wall — both

issues not yet resolved — crop up regularly in my files. But so do laudatory ones about the great progress Jewish women have made. And now a female chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary! If I were to write one more piece about women, that would be it. With each book I completed, I wrote about going “on the road,” promoting that book to Jewish audiences throughout the United States. There were mishaps I described — like the time I discovered a huge cockroach in my hotel bed and sat up on a chair all night, terrified, or the time the sleek lim-

ousine sent to pick me up turned out to be an off-duty funeral car. But overall, wherever I went, I found Jewish community members warm and welcoming, and I felt privileged to meet them. For more than a quarter of a century I have also felt privileged to write for this newspaper and its many readers. I have felt privileged to work with two extraordinary people, editor Gary Rosenblatt and managing editor Robert Goldblum. Now as The Jewish Week moves on to another existence, let’s raise a glass to what was and what will be. Farewell and l’Chayim. ■

tion and is constantly refreshed. If you haven’t already, I invite you to read www.thejewishweek. com as we strive to expand and deepen our coverage. (And you can always print out stories before Shabbat.) The story of the Jewish people has never been stagnant. It’s a dynamic saga with twists and turns, triumphs and tragedies, and more questions than answers. In the almost-half century I have been reporting on contemporary Jewish life, there have always been those who view the trends of American Jewish life with alarm. They fear for its survival, pointing to the increasing assimilation among the masses and disenchantment with Israel among many of our youth. But there are others who see renewed energy coming from both a revival of engagement among young Jews committed to social justice through the lens of tikkun olam as well as the dramatic growth of charedi Orthodoxy. T h e J e w i s h We e k h a s b e e n covering these generational struggles, and much more, as our people have grown more diverse and complex. As the voice and chronicler of the New York Jewish community, seeking to cover and connect its divergent parts, we’ve given increasing attention in recent years to gender issues, LGBTs, Jews of color, the growing divide between young American Jews and Israel, and more. Like the community itself, The Jewish Week is at a critical juncture now, with an uncertain future. We mirror, inform and sustain each other — the community and its journalistic voice. I’m hopeful

that the emerging iteration of The Jewish Week will continue to enlighten and engage — sometimes enrage, and on a good day, inspire — today’s readers and future generations in the world’s greatest Jewish city. I encourage you to stay tuned and stay connected.

The story of the Jewish people goes on, and with your help, The Jewish Week will continue to find ways to tell it. ■ Gary Rosenblatt was editor and publisher of the paper from 1993 to 2019.

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Farewell, 1501 continued from page 6

conference room, where hundreds of bottles of kosher wines from all over made it to the printer on time. Some of the world were carefully wrapped us couldn’t get home that night. in shiny silver paper with numbers ■ affixed for the blind tasting. The he Jewish Week did some hardswirling, sniffing and spitting of the hitting reporting over the years oenophile judges (the spit buckets but it could be a very heimish were emptied by staffers) were odd place. Whenever someone in the editosights, to be sure, in a newsroom. rial department needed a Yiddish phrase ■ defined, they’d head right over to the final memory: Jews being desk of our beloved longtime receptionthe People of the Book, the ist and den mother, Helen Gertz. Helen, office was flooded with a who died in 2006, was an inveterate torrent of titles from publishers large craftswoman with the crochet hook, and small. Week after week, the piles and most of the children of Jewish Week near my desk would grow. Many of staffers have a sweater or bootie or scarf the books (maybe most) related to she lovingly created. And she had a deep the Holocaust — a seemingly endknowledge of Yiddish and always gave less stream of memoirs, histories, us just the right translation, with just the novels, graphic novels, photo books, right inflection. But only after giving us academic and scholarly works. Wila look that said, You didn’t know that? liam Faulkner said about the history■ haunted American South, “The past fter the Great Recession of is never dead, it’s not even past.” The 2008, a new phrase began to Holocaust books in our office were a be heard around The Jewish constant reminder of that. If a Jewish Week offices, a corporate-seeming newspaper is anything, it’s a conbuzz phrase we probably would have tinual dialogue, week after week in edited out of a story as a vague eupheits pages, of the Jewish past talking mism: “revenue stream.” And so in a to the Jewish present, the beauty and bid to bolster sagging ad sales, assothe burden of Jewish history leanciate publisher Rich Waloff came up ing its weight on us today. For most with The Jewish Week Kosher Wine The cover of The Jewish Week that appeared the week of 9/11. of three decades we carried out that Guide and The Jewish Week’s Grand Starting in 2009 (and continuing until this year), a dialogue from our stage on Broadway, Kosher Wine Tasting at City Winery. (Both rode panel of wine experts would descend on the paper’s which seems only fitting. the wave of an industry garnering critical notice.) offices in the early spring and set up shop in our Farewell, 1501. ■

Sarna

continued from page 23 newspaper whose content happened to be Jewish,” he recalled to Jewish Week culture editor Sandee Brawarsky in 2003. Ritzenberg hired new journalists, brought in Wolf Blitzer (then with the Jerusalem Post) to offer regular reports from Washington, added essays and opinion pieces reflecting divergent views, modernized production and design and garnered multiple awards for The Jewish Week from both the New York Press Association and the American Jewish Press Association. Refusing to serve as “a communal drum major,” he helped redefine for the paper’s readers what “responsible Jewish journalism” meant. Ritzenberg departed in 1993, becoming one of the country’s premier experts in newspaper design. To succeed him, The Jewish Week brought back Gary Rosenblatt, who in the meantime had turned the Baltimore Jewish Times into one of country’s best Jewish newspapers and been a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. During his 26 years at the helm of The Jewish Week, Rosenblatt further expanded the definition of “responsible Jewish journalism.” He produced a series of memorable investigative articles that placed the problem of sex abuse on the Jewish communal agenda; encouraged and mentored scores of young journalists; deepened cultural coverage; oversaw the development of The Jewish Week’s website and broadened the paper’s com-

munity outreach in myriad ways.

A Digital Revolution

till, “the times were a changin’.” The digital revolution upended every American newspaper’s business model, driving lucrative advertising (including profitable classified and personal ads) to the internet, making a great deal of news available for free and perilously raising the average age of print readers as young people fled to the web. According to a 2019 study, more than one-in-five newspapers in the United States shut down in the previous 15 years, and the number of journalists working for newspapers dropped by half. The Jewish Week was not immune to these forces. In addition, the number of subscribers, and the subsidy, received from UJA-Federation declined because, as The Jewish Week’s longtime board chair, Lawrence A. Kobrin, explained in his autobiography, Jewish philanthropy “began to focus primarily on major donors” and the number of smaller contributors to the umbrella philanthropy declined. That led “to an ongoing diminution in donor subscribers,” whose numbers shrunk by more than half, greatly reducing the newspaper’s circulation. The coronavirus pandemic greatly accelerated the digital revolution. People of all ages learned to negotiate Zoom, and a host of online media have reported large subscription increases. At the same time, local advertising collapsed once stores, restaurants, entertainments

and public events shut down. Though readership rose during the pandemic, newspaper revenues have sharply fallen. One analyst described the current situation for America’s newspapers as an “extinction-level crisis.” The Jewish Week’s decision this month to place its print newspaper on hiatus serves as a sad but necessary response to this crisis. Canada’s leading Jewish newspaper, The Canadian Jewish News, has already shut down. Jewish weeklies across the world likewise stand imperiled. The Forward, the English-language successor to the revered Yiddish daily, discontinued its print edition in 2019. Closures, mergers and digital makeovers are inevitable. “The print model has been broken for a number of years now, compounded, quite honestly, by a lack of Jewish engagement,” The Jewish Week’s current editor in chief, Andrew Silow-Carroll, told The New York Times. “Maybe that’s an easy way of saying we have an older readership that isn’t being replaced. And the way to find those readers, I think, is online, which is a reason I thought a move like this was inevitable.” One hopes, as this new chapter in the history of New York Jewish journalism begins, that The Jewish Week’s twin commitments to “responsible Jewish journalism” and “to cover all aspects of the Jewish community” continue. Print newspapers may be doomed, but the proclamation on the masthead of The Asmonean back in 1849 stands as true today as when it first appeared: “knowledge is power.” ■

The Jewish Week

29 The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

THE ARTS On the Culture Beat…

Chronicling the novelists, poets, playwrights and artists whose expression frames the Jewish story. Sandee Brawarsky Culture Editor

or some months, I wore the glittering large ring passed along by author Bel Kaufman, the granddaughter of Sholem Aleichem, to her friend, novelist Ann Birstein, who shared it with me. The three of us would meet for lunch THE from time to JEWISH WEEK TURNS A PAGE time, and it was so much fun to watch them laugh together. Wearing the ring tied me to generations of great writers and Jewish humor. Now, it almost feels like the most appropriate way to reflect back on 27 years of covering culture for The Jewish Week would involve long lists and gratitude — the names of the many creative types who shared their back stories with me and spoke of their hopes, their inspiration, their sense of how some aspect of Judaism, however defined, was expressed through their work. I so appreciate the candor, the originality, the passion for fine work and, in many cases, the friendships that ensued. In this great city, the culture beat is vast; everyone has a story. I got to ride around with one of the last Jewish cabbies and watch the world’s most celebrated Bukharian dancers perform in a Queens public library. The Jewish Week has been an amazing calling card to extraordinary encounters. I had a first-row seat to watch careers evolve and take off, like those of novelists Julie Orringer, Dara Horn and Nathan Englander, and artist Hanan Harchol. Gary Shteyngart gave his first public reading in advance of the publication of “The Russian Debutante’s Handbook” at a Jewish Week event honoring New York writers soon after 9/11. In the early years, I both chaired and attended many panels of (then)

young Jewish writers talking about what characterizes Jewish writing. Now those writers are mostly middle aged and older, and still the questions about borders and identity linger. The best definition I’ve heard was offered by novelist Rebecca Goldstein, who said that something about being Jewish has to matter on the page. For several years, I had the privi-

The author with the acclaimed Israeli novelist and playwright A.B. Yehoshua at a coffee shop near his home in Givatayim, Israel. BAR RY LICHTEN B ERG

The author moderating a Jewish Week literary forum with Andre Aciman and Lucette Lagnado. M ICHAEL DATI K ASH lege of editing a monthly magazine of ideas for the paper called Text/Context, where we offered a mix of scholarship and journalism, and we sought out original art to fit themes like Community, Leadership, The Other and Prayer. The cover of the issue focused on Books featured a striking sculpture made out of books by Israeli artist Jack Vano, alongside a quote from 15thcentury philosopher Abravanel, “What is written lasts forever.” In addition to my affection for New York City, I became something of a specialist (and admirer) of Jews of the South, an unexpected detour as the only thing Southern about my own heritage is having grown up on the South Shore of Long Island. The Jewish Week hosted a conversation between Eli Evans, the great historian and poet laureate of Southern Jewry (“The Provincials: A Personal History of the Jews of the South”) and the

Sandee Brawarsky covered arts and culture for the paper from 1993 to 2020. Her long-running column was called “Bookmarks.”

Academy Award-winning screenwriter and playwright Alfred Uhry (“Driving Miss Daisy”), where 700 Southern transplants to New York City (both real and honorary) showed up. I then went on to travel with Evans and Uhry — both New Yorkers now — to Atlanta, Kansas City and other cities to tell true tales of the Jewish South. Always preferring to meet people face-to-face, I’ve done interviews in cafés all over city, other people’s kitchens, the backstages of theaters, the diamond exchange, dance studios, Central Park, newsrooms at other papers, Jerusalem gardens and at least one mikvah. In person, there’s greater opportunity for revelation — and the unexpected. And I was a witness to beloved writers and artists in their final years. I miss conversations with Elie Wiesel, Sherwin Nuland, Lucette Lagnado, Aharon Appelfeld, the painter Nathan Hilu and most recently, and very sadly, William Helmreich, who died of Covid. Helmreich walked every block

of New York City and brought me to parts of New York City I had never seen before. I think often of photographer Leni Sonnenfeld, who worked until her death at 96 and told me, “Life doesn’t end at a certain age. I don’t want to leave this early. Not yet. I always think of what I want to do next.” There’s a blogger who once wrote that the only book I didn’t like was “Mein Kampf,” and while he didn’t mean it as a compliment, I took it as such. I chose to write about books I liked, that I wanted to share with readers. Even if I didn’t love everything, I found things to praise and always respected how much goes into the creative process. Close readers of my column would tell me that they detected my lesser enthusiasms. I often write in the quiet of very late night, and I have had the good fortune of a great editor in the mornings. I’m grateful too to our readers, many of whom I’ve been pleased to meet at book events, concerts and in line at Fairway. There are regrets too: for all the great books we had no space to cover in The Jewish Week, for the performances missed and exhibits unseen, and especially for not hearing the voices behind them. If there is a connecting thread between the novels, memoirs, poetry, works of history, paintings, photography, theater and the people I have found compelling, it’s an attentiveness to the moment, in some works a taste of the holy. Culture is about storytelling, and I savor the role of listener and reporter. The last time I saw Grace Paley, she said, “I have always liked this being Jewish business. It’s meant something to me.” I’d say the same about the business of writing about talented Jews. n

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

ARTS GUIDE VIRTUAL CINEMA: ‘MY POLISH HONEYMOON’ “My Polish Wedding” is a comedy/drama about a young Parisian couple with Jewish origins visiting Poland for the first time. During what is technically their honeymoon, they will attend a memorial ceremony for the Jewish community in Adam’s grandfather’s village, which was destroyed 75 years ago. Anna is hoping to discover more about her own family’s history, which has always been a mystery. — Streaming Friday, July 31-Friday, Aug. 7. Q&A with the filmmaker is Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1 p.m., Israel Film Center. Register for an account at israelfilmcenterstream.org. $12 to stream the film; the Q&A is free.

TH E HAM PTO N SYNAGOGUE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL: ‘ S TA N D I N G U P, FALLING DOWN’ Drive-in movies are a new Sunday evening ritual in the tradition of the Hampton Synagogue’s Jewish Film Festival, now in its 18th year. Order a variety of food options in advance at beachbakerycafe. com. This Sunday, Aug. 2, the festival will screen Matt Ratner’s comedy “Standing Up, Falling Down,” starring Ben Schwartz as a struggling comedian forced to move back home to Long Island and Billy Crystal as his new friend, an alcoholic dermatologist. RogerEbert.com calls the film “genuinely funny” and says, “With a movie like this, chemistry is key, and ‘Standing Up, Falling Down’ has got it.” On Aug. 9, there’s Albert Dabah’s “Extra Innings,” based on the true story of a boy caught between his baseball dreams and his loyalty to his Syrian Jewish family. — The festival runs Sundays through Sept. 6, 8:30 p.m., The Hampton Synagogue, Francis S. Gabreski Airport, Sheldon Way, Westhampton Beach, thehamptonsynagogue.org/ summer-2020-drive-in-movies/. To register, call Danielle (631) 288-0534 ext.10.

NATAN S HAR ANSKY & RABBI RICK JACOBS: PRISON, POLITICS AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE A month before the release of his new book, “Never Alone,” reflections on the journey he’s traveled from Soviet Gulags to the rough-and-tumble of Israeli politics and then to the leadership of the Jewish Agency, Natan Sharansky will join us for an online conversation moderated by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism. — Monday, Aug. 3, 5 p.m., Virtual Streicker, emanuelnyc.org/streickercenter/upcoming/. Free.

HAMPTONS TRUNK SHOW For more than a dozen years, UJA-Federation has presented the Hamptons Trunk Show, where hundreds flock to shop, connect and raise money for UJA. This year, the show is a virtual experience that UJA promises will rival its big tent event. As always, a percentage of proceeds will benefit UJA and, this year, its response to the ongoing needs created by Covid-19. Each morning at 11 a.m., the show will feature a live segment with trendsetters from the fashion world. — Monday, Aug. 3-Thursday, Aug. 6, UJA-Federation of New York. Register for free at ujafedny.org/event/view/ hamptons-trunk-show.

BOOK LAUNCH: ‘MY CAPTAIN AMERICA’ Join author Megan Margulies in an online conversation with Rachel Manley to celebrate the publication of her memoir of her grandfather, “My Captain America.” Joe Simon was a comic book writer, artist, editor and publisher who created memorable characters such as Captain America, the Boy Commandos and Fighting American. Margulies weaves her story growing up on the Upper West Side with the life and career of her adored and spirited grandfather. — Tuesday, Aug. 4, 7-8:30 p.m., Shakespeare & Co., shakeandco.com. Free.

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God’s i to com Promise to pray verse st A scene from the roots journey dramady “My Polish Wedding,” which streams beginning Friday, July 31. M EN EM SHA F I LM S SARAH MASLIN NIR: ‘HORSE CRAZY’ “As a Jew, a daughter of immigrants, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, growing up in New York City, I came to the [equestrian] sport as an outsider, and that really plagued me,” New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir told Horse Illustrated magazine. “So much of my compulsion to be the best at it — and to be deeply part of it — was about passing and assimilating.” Nir will appear in an online discussion about her new coming-ofage memoir, “Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal,” with best-selling author Mary Roach. — Thursday, Aug. 6, 7-8 p.m., Books Are Magic, booksaremagic.net. Free.

VIRTUAL CINEMA: ‘THE KEEPER’ “The Keeper” tells the incredible true story of Bert Trautmann, a German soldier and prisoner of war who, against a backdrop of British post-war protest and prejudice, secures the position of goalkeeper at Manchester City, and in doing so becomes a football icon. His signing causes outrage to thousands of fans, many of them Jewish. But Bert receives support from an unexpected direction: Rabbi Alexander Altmann, who fled the Nazis. Bert’s love for an Englishwoman helps carry him through. — Streaming Friday, Aug. 7-Friday, Aug. 14, with a Q&A with the filmmaker on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 1 p.m., Israel Film Center.

‘BEYLE100’ Join a special online concert celebrating the 100th birthday of Yiddish songwriter, poet and singer Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman (1920-2013), an NEA National Heritage Fellow. The program, conceived by Binyumen Schaechter and organized in conjunction with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, will feature many of the Yiddish world’s leading contemporary performers who were influenced by SchaechterGottesman, from Alicia Svigals to the duo Sveta Kundish and Patrick Farrell. The Yiddish actor Shane Baker will serve as emcee. — Sunday, Aug. 9, 1:30 p.m., YIVO, yivo. org/Beyle100. Free.

DENNIS ROSS AND MARTIN INDYK: IS THERE ANY LIGHT LEFT AT THE END OF THE MIDEAST TUNNEL? Two-state solutions, onestate solutions, settlements, annexations — negotiations from Geneva to Camp David have all come to naught. Two of America’s most experienced diplomatic specialists in the Middle East, Ambassadors Dennis Ross and Matin Indyk, will discuss where we’ve been, where we are and whether there’s anywhere left to go to find peace. Richard Salomon, active in Commanders for Israel’s Security, will mod-

Va erate the online discussion. — Monday, Aug. 10, 6:30-8 p.m., Virtual Streicker, emanuelnyc.org/streickercenter/ upcoming/. Free.

THIS ISRAELI LIFE: M E H E R E TA B A RUCH-RON IN CONVERSATION WITH KARIN LAGZIEL Mehereta Baruch-Ron came to Israel as a child from Ethiopia without knowing how to read or write. Eventually she became a contestant on the reality show “The Ambassador,” went on to serve as deputy mayor of Tel Aviv and ran for Knesset under the Meretz party. Baruch-Ron will talk about those events and what came in-between in an online conversation with Karin Lagziel. — Monday, Aug. 10, 12:30 p.m., 92Y, 92y.org/event/this-israeli-life. Free.

SH I ELA N EVI NS WITH JUDY GOLD Longtime president of HBO Documentary Films and now head of Documentary Films of MTV Studios, Sheila Nevins is also known for telling it like it is: about being a woman drowning in a sea of testosterone, an older woman in a culture where being over 30 is a sin and how the fortunate turn aging into courage. Culling stories from her best-seller, “You Don’t Look Your Age ... and Other Fairy Tales,” Nevins will make you forget that you’ve been housebound for way too long. She will appear in an online conversation with comedian, actor and writer Judy

Gold. — Monday, Aug. 11, 6:30-8 p.m., Virtual Streicker, emanuelnyc.org/streickercenter/upcoming/. Free.

THE FABULOUS RACHEL BROSNAHAN: ‘THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL’ Prim Jewish mother by day, crass comedian on the stages of Greenwich Village clubs by night —the real Midge Maizel, Rachel Brosnahan, appears for an intimate online conversation about the critically acclaimed Amazon series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” that won seven Golden Globes, three of them for her. Moderated by SiriusXM’s Jessica Shaw. — Monday, Aug. 17, 6:30-8 p.m., Virtual Streicker, emanuelnyc.org/streickercenter/upcoming. Free.

‘THE BOOK OF RUTH: MEDIEVAL TO MODERN’ The Joanna S. Rose Illuminated Book of Ruth, measuring nine inches tall and an amazing 18 feet long, is an accordion-fold vellum manuscript of the biblical book about King David’s great-grandmother. It was designed and illuminated by New York artist Barbara Wolff over two years, 201517, and is presented online alongside 12 other manuscripts that also illustrate the story of Ruth but date from the 12th-15th centuries. — Through Oct. 4, The Morgan Library & Museum, themorgan.org/exhibitions/book-ofruth. Free.

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Moses Teaches Us Something New

aetchanan — and I entreated God emphatically at that time.” Moses has already been informed of immutable decree: He would not be permitted plete his mission by bringing Israel into the ed Land. Nevertheless, Moses felt encouraged y for the decree to be rescinded. But as this tates, his request was rejected. The Ishbitzer (Rabbi Parshat Mordechai Yosef Leiner, aetchanan 1801-1854) asks why Moses mentions this epiwhen seemingly his prayer was turned down. eader tells his followers about his failures? it embarrassing? I Kings, Hezekiah is visited by the prophet Isaiah sickbed and told to “set his affairs in order.” A entence had been pronounced against him for and the next. And, the prophet adds, such a judgs irrevocable. (According to Talmud, as soon as rd this, the king leapt out of bed and told Isaiah moralizing and get out.) Hezekiah then turned the wall, pointedly ignored Isaiah, and prayed. A us tradition from an even higher spiritual authority royal line of his grandfather, King David — held en in the face of death, one should never stop g for God’s mercies, which overturn every decree. at Hezekiah’s “wall” stands for, says the Ishis the “chambers of the human heart,” the barriput between ourselves and God. God is moved zekiah’s pleas and grants him 15 more years, which he became a model ruler. ses did not get such a positive response: gh already! Pray to Me no more about that!” mban tells us that God’s answer to Moses “at me” was in fact positive. Moses offered two

a Gottlieb is a writer and lecturer. Her book, “The of God: A Jewish Book of Light,” is available as a edition on Amazon.com. Her talks on the weekly eading may be found on YouTube.

prayers: one, a personal request to I wrapped myself in entreaties for enter “the good Land.” The other divine mercy,” the Shem Mishmuel expresses his concern that the (Rabbi Shmuel Bornsztain, 1855people not become lost like sheep 1926) says that this powerful wave without a leader, to which God of emotion breaks down barriers of responded: “Command Joshua.” self and is directed toward loved What became of Moses’ dearest reones or even something beyond. quest, we are left to wonder. While he seems to ask for someA superficial understanding of thing for himself, Moses was actuthis parasha’s title may suggest that ally demonstrating for the people a Moses, reflecting on his fate with way to deepen their relationship with irony, resorted to a pun. The root God throughout the generations. The Freema Gottlieb of the Hebrew word “vaetchanan” Talmud tells us there are 10 forms of is “chen,” or grace, mercy; it also But when all else fails, one’s Casting oneself prayer. means pure freedom or nothingness. only recourse, like a child or a begon divine mercy gar, is not to rely on one’s merits but Forty years previously, God had hardly liberated Israel from slav- creates openings to fall back on God’s mercy. What ery and given the Torah when the appeals to the Omnipotent above all nation proceeded to worship the for mercy to enter. is “chen,” composed of pure altruGolden Calf. While they were unism. der sentence of death, their leader basked in God’s faBy wrapping himself in this prayer for grace, Movor. Moses had “chen,” a certain charm, as did Esther, ses demonstrated that casting oneself on divine mercy of whom it is told, “Because she asked for no favors creates openings for mercy to enter. A good thing to before going into the king, she touched the hearts of remember anytime, but especially on Shabbat Naall who saw her. Because she asked for nothing, she chamu, when, in so brief a period, we have passed elicited divine grace.” from the destruction of both Temples on Tisha b’Av In mid-career, Moses intervenes on the nation’s to a “time of favor.” ■ behalf, ready to put his life on the line to save them from destruction. If God does not extend to the entire RiveRside nation the same sympathy He feels for His favorite, MeMoRial Chapel For Moses says, “Blot me out of Your book.” (Exodus, 212-362-6600 Generations RiversideMemorialChapel.com A Symbol of 32:32) To which God essentially replies: “I will be Jewish Tradition. gracious to whom I like and love whom I want.” The tacit understanding is that this person is Moses, and Shabbat Shalom forgiving Israel is for his sake. Candlelighting, Readings: Fast-forward to the present parasha, and the situCandlelighting: 7:54 p.m. ation seems entirely changed. Now that the nation Torah reading: Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 and Joshua are moving on without him, does Moses’ Haftorah reading: Isaiah 40:1-40:26 resort to this form of prayer, called Tachnunim, serve as poignant recall of lost influence? Indicating that the Shabbat ends: 8:56 p.m. verb in this case is reflexive — Vaetchanan — “And A subsidiary of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, TX 77219 713-522-5141

plished this. Even stranger, he still has his genial mien. For me, he was an encourager nued from page 10 and gentle critic for any idea I might come receiving end. His word processor to him with. If not for Rob, I would never s Gatling gun. At the same time, have found myself out in the Rockies, writing features, Jonathan’s skill as traveling the Western Range in Montana smith could make stories sing like and Idaho, talking to the heads of extremPolitically, he was way to my right. ist, often anti-Semitic militia groups; or in Jonathan saw you as an honest Moscow covering the emergence of Russia t-shooting reporter, politics were from the Soviet Union and the re-election ant. He was your biggest booster campaign of President Boris Yeltsin. st friend; hard to imagine now, in Then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, who was running for a U.S. Senate seat Like I said, we had our eccentricities. in New York, during an interview at The Jewish Week. From left, Robert ghly polarized age. But they were excellent journalists. When am Dickter was the quiet, stolid Goldblum, Stewart Ain, Clinton, Gary Rosenblatt and Adam Dickter. Gary Rosenblatt retired as editor last year, His grasp of city politics and the after leading The Jewish Week for 26 years, al relationships behind them was Times Square and rarely saw each other. I sent him a note that said, “As per Pirke opedic. He was a workhorse, willing to take And then there was Rob Goldblum — the zookeeper Avot, you raised up many disciples; maybe more than y job that needed to be done, even if it was of this menagerie. We didn’t call him that, of course; we anyone in Jewish journalism. And for your having done d — or beneath — his job title. Adam is the called him the managing editor. It is Rob who has, since so, the world will be a better place for many years after gue that never failed to express his personal 1993, presided over the newsroom, handed out the you have left The Jewish Week.” n to me in regular cards, calls and notes about assignments and read pretty much every line of copy That is true, also, of The Jewish Week itself, no vails as the father of two special needs chil- that went into each week’s newspaper edition. He still matter what its future turns out to be, in print, online ven years after we had both left the office on has his eyesight. I remain unsure as to how he accom- or beyond. ■

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1096 FRANKLIN AVENUE LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/22/20. Office: Bronx County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 3445 Grace Avenue, Bronx, NY 10469. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

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160 BOOTH LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/04/20. Office: Nassau County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 214-05 39th Avenue, Bayside, NY 11361. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

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2XR, LLC filed Arts. of Org. with the Sect’y of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/27/2020. County: Westchester. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: The LLC, 3505 Hill Blvd, Ste F, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598. Purpose: any lawful act. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 534 ROWLINSON DR LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/16/20. Office: Nassau County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 37 Fox Place, Hicksville, NY 11801. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 82ND CORNER LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 6/15/2020. Office in NY Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC whom process may be served.\~ SSNY shall mail process to 461 Columbus Ave., NY, NY 10024, which is also the principal business location. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 BOBO AND CHICHI MEDIA LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/18/2020. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Scott Herder, 302 10th St., Apt 1, Brooklyn, NY 11215. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 CORTSIDE, LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 4/24/20. Off. Loc. : Richmond Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served & shall mail proc.: c/o Michael Cortese, 17 Madera Street, Staten Island, NY 10309. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

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EDL GROUP, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/08/20. Office: Nassau County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 152 Forest Avenue, Locust Valley, NY 11560. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Fast Track Tax LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 3/11/2020. Cty: Bronx. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to 3934 Pratt Ave., Bronx, NY 10466. General Purpose JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 HARRIS MAY LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/18/20. Office: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 4 The High Road, Bronxville, NY 10708. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 JR Bullard, LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 6/12/2020. Cty: Bronx. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to 103 Washington Ridge Rd., New Milford, Ct 06776. General Purpose JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

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MONSTROUS CREATIONS LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/26/2020. Office loc: Bronx County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 2458 Arthur Avenue, Bronx, NY 10458. Reg Agent: U.S. Corp. Agents, Inc. 7014 13th Ave., Ste 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Formation of 1618 TAYLOR AVENUE LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 2/12/20.Office location:New York SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.SSNY mail process to 220 E 42nd St, Fl 29, New York, New York, 10017.Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Formation of 41 BAYCREST, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/11/20. Office location: Nassau County. Princ. office of LLC: 36 Overlook Rd., Locust Valley, NY 11560. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of F 44TH ST L SSNY on Kings SSNY whom proce SSNY mail Street, Broo lawful purpo JW 6/26 7/3

Notice of F Arts. Of Org 20.Office loc agent of L against it m process to Brooklyn, N purpose. JW 6/26 7/3

Notice of Fo of Org. filed (SSNY) on New York C agent of L against it Office addre mail a copy LLC is: Cor 90 State St NY 12207 Address of 6 Sunnysid engage in an JW 6/26 7/3

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ormation of AFVH LLC. Arts. d with Secy. of State of NY 07-01-2016. Office location: County . SSNY designated as LLC upon whom process may be served. The Post ess to which the SSNY shall y of any process against the rporate Filings of New York t Ste 700, office 40 Albany, 7. The Principal Business the LLC is: 41-09 48 St Apt de NY 11102. Purpose: To ny lawful act or activity. 3,10,17,24,31

Formation of AJT HOLDING Of Org. filed with SSNY on ffice location: Kings SSNY agent of LLC upon whom ainst it may be served SSNY ss to 8 Catherine Street Suite York, New York, 10038. Any ose 3,10,17,24,31

Formation of ANDY PASCAL LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with 6/04/20.Office location: Kings g. As agent of LLC upon ess against it may be served process to 722 President Brooklyn, New York, 11215. purpose. 3,10,17,24,31

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Notice of Formation of AP MECHANICAL LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/12/13. Office location: Westchester County. Princ. office of LLC: 5 Warehouse Ln., Ste. 160, Elmsford, NY 10523. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Adam Pipcinski, 534 Manhattan Ave., Thronwood, NY 10594. Purpose: Any lawful activity. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of AR HOLDINGS I LLC. Arts .Of Org. filed with SSNY on 5/15/20.Office location: Westchester SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail process to 555 Saw Mill River Road Yonkers, New York, 10701. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of BIG C VENTURES LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 06/01/20.Office location: Kings SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served SSNY mail process to 247 Seeley St, Brooklyn, New York, 11218. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of BOTTLENO30 LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 05/21/20.Office location: Kings SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served SSNY mail process to 416 Kent Ave, # 2105, Brooklyn, New York, 11249. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of BREAD PATCH LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 3/13/20.Office location: Kings SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served SSNY mail process to 188 Carlton Avenue #2, Brooklyn, New York, 11205. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Formation of ESNY-KFBRONX, LLC. Arts .Of Org. filed with SSNY on 05/28/20. Office location: Bronx SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail process to 80 State St. Albany, New York, 12207. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of ET NUTRITION PLLC.Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 02/13/20.Office location: Kings SSNY desg. as agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served.SSNY mail process to 516 Classon Ave., #4c, Brooklyn, New York, 11238.Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of EVERGREEN CURLS, LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 03/26/20. Office location: Westchester SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail process to 129 Iroquois Road, Yonkers, New York, 10710. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of FRAIMAN FAMILY LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 09/06/06.Office location: Kings SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served SSNY mail process 247 Seeley Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11218. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of FRIENDS OF FRANCO LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/11/20. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 302 N. 3rd Ave., Highland Pk., NJ 08904. Purpose: Any lawful activity JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

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Notice of Formation of PRAY FOR SPRING LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/05/20. Office location: Bronx County. Princ. office of LLC: 140 Casals Pl., Apt. 33B, Bronx, NY 10475. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, Attn: Randy Wilkins at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity for which limited liability compaines may be organized under the Limited Liability Company Law of the State of New York, as amended from time to time. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of RM IMPROVEMENTS LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 4/29/20.Office location: Kings SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served SSNY mail process to 1420 Avenue P 4A, Brooklyn, New York, 11229. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of SAM 219 LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 07/26/18.Office location: Kings SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served SSNY mail process to 183 Wilson Street, Suite 185, Brooklyn, New York, 11211. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

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Notice of Formation of SB Residential LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/22/20. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Simon Baron Development LLC, 757 Third Ave., 17th Fl., NY, NY 10017, Attn: Matthew Baron. Purpose: any lawful activities. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

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Notice of Formation of SH SOURCING, LLC.Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 5/28/20.Office location:New York SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.SSNY mail process to 106 Central Park South Apt 25e, New York, New York, 10019.Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

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tylerantiquesny@aol.com Notice of Formation of HAWTHORNE HOME LLC.Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 04/07/20.Office location:New York SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.SSNY mail process to 15 West 34th Street, 7th Floor, New York, New York, 10001.Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of formation of NINE CASTLES NY LLC. Art. Of Org. filed with the Sect’y of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/01/20. Office in Nassau County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 580 Irving Pl Baldwin, NY, 11510. Purpose: Any lawful purpose JW 6/26 7/3,10,27,24,31

Notice of Formation of HJ2B HOLDING LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 5/29/20.Office location: Kings SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served SSNY mail process to 8 Catherine Street, New York, New York, 10038. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Formation of OTHOS LLC.Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 5/22/20.Office location:New York SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.SSNY mail process to 60 Riverside Blvd Apt 1607, New York, New York, 10069.Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Formation of KARISTOS LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 3/02/20.Office location: Kings SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served SSNY mail process to 79-81 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, New York, 11205. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Formation of PANGEA CULTIVATION, LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 01/30/20.Office location: Kings SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served SSNY mail process to 80 State St., Albany, New York, 12207. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of formation of LH&NOW LLC. Art. Of Org. filed with the Sect’y of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/19/20. Office in Westchester County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 1870 Pleasantville Rd Briarcliff Manor, NY, 10510. Purpose: Any lawful purpose JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of LITTLE FISH MARKETING LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 4/29/20.Office location:New York SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.SSNY mail process to 1 Irving Place, Apt V7c, New York, New York, 10003.Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Formation of PEAK BODY MEDICAL, PLLC.Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 02/07/20.Office location: New York SSNY desg. as agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served.SSNY mail process to 211 E 51st St, New York, New York, 10022.Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE ASSOCIATES OF NEW YORK AT CAREMOUNT, PLLC. Arts .Of Org. filed with SSNY on 4/16/20.Office location: Westchester SSNY desg. As agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail process to 360 North Bedford Road, Mt. Kisco, New York, 10549. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Formation of SHPFP DM LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/18/20. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 233 Broadway, 11th Fl., Email: tms@shoparc.com, NY, NY 10279. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of STELLA D’S CLOSET LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 6/03/20.Office location: Richmond SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail process to 64 Bowling Green Place, Staten Island, New York, 10314. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of The Law Offices of John F. Baughman, PLLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/10/20. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 108 Millpoint Rd., Kitty Hawk, NC 27949. Purpose: to practice the profession of Law. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of TIDAL CONTRACTING LLC. Arts .Of Org. filed with SSNY on 05/29/20.Office location: Westchester SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail process to 23 Apple Lane, Briarcliff Manor, New York, 10510. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Formation of TKS\\G.S. LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/15/20. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 270 W. 39th St., Ste. 1001, NY, NY 10018. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Apparel showroom services. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

35 The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

WANTED TO BUY

Notice of Formation of VECSJA LLC. of Org. filed with SSNY on 5/26/20.Office location:New York SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.SSNY mail process to 228 E 62nd Street, New York, New York, 10065.Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

36 Arts.

Notice of Qual. of . Auth. filed with SSNY on 03/24/20. Office location: New York. LLC formed in DE on 02/11/16. SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail process to 130 West 30th Street, 17b New York, New York, 10001. Arts. of Org. filed with DE SOS. Townsend Bldg. Dover, DE 19901. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Qual. of EDGEBROOK ASSOCIATES LLC. Auth. filed with SSNY on 06/05/20. Office location: Westchester. LLC formed in DE on 04/02/07. SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail process to: 444 Madison Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, New York, 10022. Arts. of Org. filed with DE SOS. Townsend Bldg. Dover, DE 19901. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Qual. of NATURALLYOU WESTCHESTER LLC. Auth. filed with SSNY on 03/03/20. Office location: Westchester. LLC formed in DE on 01/31/2020. SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail process to: C/O Terry Turner 31 Sawmill Lane, Greenwich, Connecticut, 06830. Arts. of Org. filed with DE SOS. Townsend Bldg. Dover, DE 19901. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 Notice of Qual. of SURROUND VENTURES I LP. Auth. filed with SSNY on 05/15/20. Office location: New York. LLC formed in DE on 02/08/19. SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail process to: 149 Fifth Avenue, 9th Floor New York, New York, 10010. Arts. of Org. filed with DE SOS. Townsend Bldg. Dover, DE 19901. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Qualification of MANE GLOBAL CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/16/20. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/18/20. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Lowenstein Sandler LLP, Attn: Peter D Greene, Esq., 1251 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10020. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Qualification of NORTHWAY FOREST ENTERPRISES LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/09/20. Office location: Westchester County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/01/20. Princ. office of LLC: Mark Lippmann, 176 Clayton Rd., Scarsdale, NY 10583. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of State of DE, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Qualification of ONPEAK CAPITAL LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/06/20. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/14/20. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Jeffrey Bullock, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Qualification of 114 EAST 25TH VENTURES, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/15/20. Office location: Nassau County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/09/20. Princ. office of LLC: 333 Earle Ovington Blvd., Ste. 900, Uniondale, NY 11553. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Qualification of XN LP Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/16/20. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/17/18. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with State of DE, Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Qualification of AHAC DECO SUB, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/15/20. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/05/20. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of DE, Div. of Corps., The John G. Townsend Bldg., PO Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Any lawful activity. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

otice of Formation of 526 E LAUNDROMAT LLC. Arts .Of Org. filed with SSNY on 05/07/20.Office location: Westchester SSNY desg. As agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail process to 526 Main St, New Rochelle, New York, 10801. Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

Notice of Qualification of Bell Sound NY LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/15/20. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/09/20. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o National Registered Agents, Inc., 28 Liberty St., NY, NY 10005. Address to be maintained in DE: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts of Org. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secy. of State of DE, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activities. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

PAFIMA ENTERPRISES LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 6/4/2020. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 197 Coligni Ave., New Rochelle, NY 10801, which is also the principal business location. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

PLANET PROPERTY LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 6/12/2020. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 24 Kingston Ave., West Harrison, NY 10604, which is also the principal business location. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

QMOJJ, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/17/20. Office: Nassau County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 127 Bedell Street, Hempstead, NY 11550. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 RED OAK LANE, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/01/20. Office: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 23 Carleton Avenue, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 RENEGADE BOOKS, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 6/5/2020. Office in NY Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 434 Sixth Ave., 6th Fl, NY, NY 10011, which is also the principal business location. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 ROHN RIGHT-SIZING LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/18/20. Office: Nassau County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 189 Bedell Avenue, Hempstead, NY 11550. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 SOUND PERFECTION LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/18/20. Office: Nassau County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 6 Arbor Lane, Merrick, NY 11566. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 T.J.FEY ENTERPRISE, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/05/20. Office: Nassau County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Trevor J Fey, 437 Ocean Avenue, Massapequa Park, NY 11762. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 TC AUTO SALES LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/01/20. Office: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 700 Waverly Avenue, Mamaroneck, NY 10543. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 THE JEWELRY SOURCE LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/16/20. Office: Nassau County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Manvi Golcha, 130 Sampson Avenue, Albertson, NY 11507. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 UNIFIED FRONT MINISTRIES LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 2/26/20. Off. Loc. : Bronx Co. United States Corporation Agents, Inc. designated as agent upon whom process may be served & shall mail proc.: 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 VETERAN’S ESSENTIAL TRANSPORTATION SERVICES LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 4/29/20. Off. Loc. : Bronx Co. United States Corporation Agents, Inc. designated as agent upon whom process may be served & shall mail proc.: 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31 PLATINUM PROVISIONS LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/15/20. Office: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 47 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 104, White Plains, NY 10601. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. JW 6/26 7/3,10,17,24,31

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continued from page 1 overflowed its banks in terrifying fashion. The 500-year flood touched off devastating fires in downtown Grand Forks, home to the Grand Forks Herald newspaper. Residents scattered. A makeshift newsroom was created. Somehow, and heroically, as the river raged and the fires burned, the staff of the Herald managed to get a newspaper delivered. “Thump.” The headline on April 21, biblical in its sweep, was memorable: “Come Hell and High Water.” The Herald won a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its reporting during the catastrophe. Its publisher, Mike Maidenberg, said, “We heard, by virtue of the fact that the newspaper was around, the community was still around. That was remarkable.” So if you’re up at the break of day at the end of this week, the thump at the door this time around — an awful but increasingly frequent sound in

flaps open on all sides. We’ve had our share of big stories over the years, and shined a light into some dark places in the community. But it’s the small, close-to-theground stories that get at the fabric of the Jewish community and help reveal what a community newspaper can be. When Gary Rosenblatt and I came to the paper in 1993 from Baltimore, we carved out a regular space for these intimate, personal stories — an essay slot we called the Back of the Book, the last word, so to speak, in a given week’s paper. Down through the years on the back page, Susan Josephs wrote honestly and exasperatedly of her travails, before the era of swiping right and swiping left, as a 20-something single Jewish woman in the city. In often funny and bittersweet columns, Orli Santo walked a razor’s edge between her identity as a transplanted Israeli and an American raising Jewish-Israeli-American children; she opened a rare window on Israe-

Rifka Rosenwein and family.

years in her “Homefront” column, Rifka rendered in exquisite detail the life of a 30-something Modern Orthodox mom and her family making their way in suburban Teaneck. From her perch on the Upper West Side, Elicia, in a column called “All She Wrote,” sketched the promise and the peril of raising a liberal, obser-

Elicia Brown and family.

American journalism these days — is the sound of this newspaper suspending its print run after 50 years. The paper you hold in your hand (though it arrived through plague rather than flood and fire) is an attempt — one made week after week after week — to encapsulate and wrap a set of loving arms around a rowdy, divisive, ideologically split but occasionally unified Jewish community. It may be the only such place where that community comes together — to hug and to brawl. We’re Abraham’s tent,

lis living in New York. Ted Merwin roamed far and wide in his “Culture View” column, from the deli and all its overstuffed Jewish symbolism to the Broadway stage, whose Jewish stories moved him to the core. Merri Ukraincik wrote lyrically about Jewish time and Jewish ritual and Jewish memory in a family-centered column where the past and present constantly rub up against each other. Two writers came to define the Back of the Book — Rifka Rosenwein and Elicia Brown. For seven

vant Jewish family where assimilation lurked just outside its door. Faced with cancer diagnoses, both Rifka and Elicia bravely shared their struggles, in memorable fashion, in the back page slot. There was humor, there was sadness, there was the fear of the unknown and always, there was the well-turned phrase — two writers at work crafting sentences right to the end. Rifka died in 2003; she was 42. Elicia died in 2017; she was 48. One Back of the Book essay has stayed with me for years, both for

its poignancy and for what it may say about the power of a community newspaper. The writer, with the help of a Jewish senior outreach group, befriends an elderly man who had become estranged from his family and was living out his last years alone. They meet for months, the writer coming to learn something of the man’s past and to understand his bitterness. One day, the writer comes for his regular visit and is told the old man has died, and he eventually finds out that, with no family, the man is buried in potter’s field on Hart Island. A sad ending, for sure, but the bonds that grew between the two men somehow dulled the loss. Not long after the piece appeared, a rabbi, moved by the story, contacted the paper. He wanted to give the man a proper Jewish burial, and so with permission the man was disinterred and taken to a Jewish cemetery on Staten Island. A group of rabbinical students recited prayers and, according to custom, shoveled dirt — “thump” — into the new grave. The old man was home. And so, we’re closing up a home, the one that has existed for all these years in these ink-stained pages. “Soul to soul our shadows roll,” Bob Dylan sings, “and I’ll be with you when the deal goes down.” Well, the deal has gone down for the print edition of The Jewish Week; thanks for being with us for what was a good, long run. But we’re not homeless. Join us at our new website, where the next chapter of The Jewish Week will roll on. The digital tent flaps are rolled up and open on all sides. Cross the threshold — don’t you hear the “thump”? — and welcome back home. n Robert Goldblum was the paper’s managing editor from 1993 to 2020.

39 The Jewish Week ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ July 31, 2020

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