25 YEARS OF JERSEY HOSPITALITY FOR ISRAELI VETS page 6

MARILYN HENRY'S BOOKS DONATED TO TEANECK LIBRARY page 12

ISRAELI AUTHORITIES VETO SCHECHTER MINYAN page 18
THE JEWISH STAKE IN THIS YEAR'S TONYS page 41

JUNE 9, 2017
VOL. LXXXVI NO. 36 $1.00 86 2017
7

NORTH JERSEY THEJEWISHSTANDARD.COM

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Aly Raisman is the most famous
Jewish athlete in the world,
according to ESPN
Three Olympic gold medals. Six
Olympic medals in all. Captain of the
victorious 2012 and 2016 U.S. womens
gymnastics teams.
Now Aly Raisman can add one more
accolade to her list: Most famous Jew-
ish athlete in the world.
Raisman, 23, the two-time U.S.
Olympian from Massachusetts, is the
only Jew on ESPNs 2017 list of the 100
most famous athletes worldwide. She
sneaked in at number 99, immediately
below Aussie golfer Adam Scott (not
the guy who plays Ben in Parks and
Rec), and above Mohamed Salah, an
Egyptian soccer player for the Italian
team Roma.
Raisman is one of only eight women
on the list, which includes her U.S. gym-
nastics teammate Simone Biles (#48),
martial artist Ronda Rousey (#16), and
tennis pros Serena Williams (#19) and
Maria Sharapova (#23).
Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese
soccer icon, topped the list. LeBron
James, the basketball superstar now
gunning for another NBA champion-
ship with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was
number two.
Raisman won her first Olympic golds
as an 18-year-old in 2012, and won our
hearts by performing her first-place
floor exercise to the tune of Hava
Nagila. Her adorably anxious parents,
Lynn and Rick, only added to her Jew-
ish charm.
Raisman took home two golds in
2012 for the team win and floor exer-
cise as well as a bronze for the bal-
ance beam. In 2016, she was nicknamed
grandma because she was the teams
oldest member at 22. But age didnt
Page 3
stop her. Raisman won three more
medals that year: a gold for the team Want to buy a Jews old jersey?
win, and two silvers for all-around and If you want to buy this Sandy Kou- best pitchers of all time, but memo-
floor exercise. fax jersey, you might need the salary rabilia from an athletes rookie (or
Raisman will be 26 when the 2020 first full) season is always worth more
of a major league baseball player.
Olympics kick off in Tokyo, but shes than from later years.
Lelands.com is auctioning a Sandy
planning to compete again. If she wins The Lelands auction also includes
Koufax rookie jersey from 1955. As of
two more medals, for a total of eight, a baseball that might have been used
Tuesday morning, the bid was close
shell break the all-time record for U.S. in the 1963 World Series game in
to $200,000, but the auction site es-
women gymnasts. which Koufax, then playing for the
timates that it could sell for as much
ESPN calculated the rankings by Los Angeles Dodgers, beat the New
as $500,000. The auction, which
looking at endorsement money, social York Yankees and recorded 15 strike-
started last month, ends June 30.
media following, and Google search outs. Koufax pitched that gem in the
According to the site, the shirt is in
results. Raisman has a paltry $450,000 series first game, but Lelands can
great condition. Its only noticeable
in endorsement deals (by comparison, confirm only that the ball is from one
blemishes a few moth holes on
LeBron does $55 million in endorse- of the first two games in the series.
the back of the collar and under the
ments), but she boasts 2.2 million Lelands also recently auctioned off
Koufax name, which is stitched on
followers on Instagram and nearly a mil- an extremely rare baseball signed by
the bottom right corner on the front.
lion on Twitter. Jewish player Moe Berg for $35,000.
A Dodgers minor league player got it
She also has excelled outside of the Berg, who played for five teams be-
from Koufax in 1957.
arena. Raisman placed fourth on ABCs tween 1923 and 1939, was a catcher
Though he was only 19 in 1955,
Dancing With the Stars in 2013, and who later became a spy for the CIA
Koufax helped lead the Brooklyn
she can do a mean box jump. (then the Office of Strategic Servic-
Dodgers to its only World Series win,
BEN SALES/JTA WIRE SERVICE es). He spoke seven languages and
with a 2-2 record and a very respect-
able 3.02 earned run average. From once was called the strangest man
there, of course, the Jewish southpaw ever to play baseball.
would go on to become one of the GABE FRIEDMAN/JTA WIRE SERVICE
JS-1*

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M

Last August, we brought you the sto-

ry of Rabbi Micha Odenheimer, whose
organization, Tevel bTzedek, fights pov-
erty in Nepal with help from Israeli and
diaspora Jewish volunteers.
Now, Tevel bTzedek is offering a
journey of tikkun olam in the Hima-
layas, a 10-day trip to Nepal, led by
Rabbi Odenheimer and Yossi Klein
Halevi, who wrote our article as well
as many other things, including the
award-winning book Like Dreamers.
The trip ranges from Kathmandu to
Helping
Nepal
Rabbi Micha Odenheimers
third-world mission page 22
Candlelighting: Friday, June 9, 8:09 p.m.
Shabbat ends: Saturday, June 10, 9:18 p.m.
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remote villages reached only by dirt
roads. Its a chance to discover the cul-
ture of Nepal, delve into the deep con-
nections between Judaism and global
social justice, experience Jewish and
Eastern spirituality, and ponder Israels
place in a changing world.
The trip starts on September 4 and
OPINION ...........................................................34
THE FRAZZLED HOUSEWIFE ...................40
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CALENDAR ...................................................... 42
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costs $2,500, excluding international CLASSIFIEDS ..................................................46
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fice@tevelbtzedek.org. LARRY YUDELSON
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JEWISH
JEWISH
STANDARD
STANDARD
MARCH 3, 2017 3
JUNE 9,
Noshes
BANDAGES, PLEASE:
A woman Mummy
stalks the screen
on Cruise control
The Mummy is
the newest entry
in the procession
of Mummy
movies that have come
out since the 1930s. This
time, though, the
mummy is a woman. She
was unjustly mummified
in ancient Egypt and
awakens in our time in a
very bad mood and
proceeds to wreak havoc
on mere mortals. Nick
Morton (Tom Cruise)
attempts to stop her. The
film was directed by
ALEX KURTZMAN, 43.
Hes written or co-writ-
ten several hits, including
Star Trek (2009). He
co-wrote the story for
The Mummy that
others turned into a
screenplay. His story
co-writer was JENNY
LUMET, 50, the daughter
of the late, great director
SIDNEY LUMET.
RACHEL WEISZ,
47, plays the title
role in My
Cousin Rachel.
Its based on a novel of
the same name by
Daphne du Maurier
(Rebecca). Philip, a
young man, comes to
suspect foul play when
his rich former guardian,
a cousin of his, marries
Rachel, a mutual cousin,
and dies shortly thereaf-
ter. However, Philip
suppresses his suspicions
when, shortly after his
guardians death, he
meets Rachel for the first
time and quickly falls in
love with her. The plot
then turns to one key
Want to read more noshes? Visit facebook.com/jewishstandard
4 32185
JEWISHMBSE STANDARD
Strip Ad_2017.inddJUNE
I can give you a little bit of Luck Be A
Lady in Hebrew
Ben Platt, best actor Tony nominee for Dear Evan Hansen, on Late
Night with Seth Myers, about how he played Guys and Dolls Sky Masterson
at Camp Ramah; he explained that theres no word for lady in Hebrew
before launching into the songs opening lines.
question: Is Rachel a up thereafter. (2) The
murderer who is plan- comedians hang out at
ning to murder Philip, Canters (Jewish) Deli, an
too? LA showbiz institution
By the way, there was for decades.
a 1952 film of the same The Queen of
name starring Olivia Soul, Aretha
DeHavilland, now 100, Franklin, 75, says
as Rachel. Its amazing she winding
that 65 years later shes down her touring
alive to see a remake of schedule after 54 years of
her film. live performances. But
On May 30, she hasnt stopped
Netflix began recording and plans on
Alex Kurtzman Jenny Lumet Sarah Silverman
streaming a new releasing a new album
stand-up special this January that will
starring SARAH feature guests artists
SILVERMAN, 46. She including virtuoso violinist
takes up many topics, ITZHAK PERLMAN, 71.
from the silly (the odd Lebanon banned
habits of squirrels) to the theater showings
very intense (abortion). of Wonder
On June 5, HBO Woman on May
premiered a 31, citing title star GAL
documentary, If GADOTs service in the
Youre Not In the Israeli military and
Obit, Eat Breakfast. support for the Israeli
CARL REINER, 96, is the invasion of Gaza in 2014.
main interviewer, check- Carl Reiner Itzhak Perlman Gal Gadot (Gadot, 32, said then: I
ing in with other very am sending my love and
elderly celebs and asking prayers to my fellow
them how they managed wood comedy club, payoff is experience and (ARI GRAYNOR, 34), a Israeli citizens. Especially
to live so long. Interview- Goldies, which is Goldies sway with talent funny Jewish woman to all the boys and girls
ees include NORMAN modeled a great deal bookers, who can turn from a small Texas town. who are risking their lives
LEAR, 94, KIRK after The Comedy an unknown into a star (Felder is largely mod- protecting my country
DOUGLAS, 100, Betty Store, which was overnight with the right eled after comedian against the horrific acts
White, 95, and, of course, founded by MITZI TV booking (especially ELAYNE BOOSLER, now conducted by Hamas,
Reiners best friend, MEL SHORE, now 86 (the The Tonight Show star- 64.) I think Graynor is who are hiding like
BROOKS, 90. Reiner also mother of comedian ring Johnny Carson). a great talent who may cowards behind women
talks to two remarkably PAULY SHORE, 49). Goldie, we learn early have finally found the and children.)
fit regular folks. Like Shore, Goldie on, is Jewish. (She men- right vehicle to turn her Many Lebanese pro-
An original (Melissa Leo) rules her tions that a relative is into a star. By the way, tested, pointing out that
Showtime series, club with an iron hand. a Holocaust survivor the comedians hang out previous Gadot films,
Im Dying Up She doesnt pay com- and translates a Yid- at Canters (Jewish) Deli, including several of the
Here, premiered ics anything, but she dish record for a young an LA showbiz institution Fast and Furious flicks,
on June 4. The first has a great eye for tal- comedian.) Two Jewish for decades. played Lebanese the-
episode is available free ent and brings comics comedians are promi- Two footnotes: (1) The aters. As I write this, the
on the Showtime along from playing nent characters: Eddie, first episode is rather film is still scheduled to
website. Its set in the her cellar, to, when she a ballsy comic from heavy. Critics whove open in Egypt, Algeria,
1970s and the action thinks theyre ready, the Boston (Michael Anga- seen most of the first and Tunisia.
centers around a Holly- clubs main stage. The rano) and Cassie Felder season say it lightens N.B.
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Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 5

Local
Peace army
Local group hosts disabled Israeli vets; gives much, gets much more
Abigail Klein Leichman

B
efore Ori Grinstein got married
last September, she decided to
make her own chuppah.
As she created the wedding
canopy she worked with the artistic input
of people special to her. That included the
nine Bergen County families with whom she
had become close over the course of a two-
week stay more than three years earlier.
The former Israeli combat soldier
shipped the panels of white fabric to the
families, asking them to decorate them as
they wished. Today, the chuppah has been
transformed into a curtain in her bedroom.
Such is the impact of Zahal Shalom of
Bergen County, now marking its 25th year.
The group hosts disabled Israeli veterans in
local homes for two weeks of touring and
friendship-making.
Our slogan In Our Homes for Two
Weeks. In Our Hearts for a Lifetime is so
true, Scott Krim of Wyckoff said. It sums
up our experience with hosting these amaz-
ing heroes. Mr. Krim is president of Zahal
Shalom Zahal is the Hebrew acronym for
Israel Defense Forces.
On June 15, Zahal Shalom of Bergen
County will celebrate its silver anniversary
with a fundraising gala at Temple Israel Jew-

photos by Joanna Resnick Rosen

ish Community Center in Ridgewood. Israeli
veterans this summers cohort will be there
to speak with guests, and there will be a
silent auction for prizes ranging from wine
to gift certificates.
Mr. Krim said that some members of
the Glen Rock Jewish Center created Zahal
Shalom in 1993. The program has evolved
over time. But the basic premise is the
same: Every year, the Zahal Disabled Vet- Guests and hosts spent a day in Manhattan; their itinerary included Lincoln Center and Times Square.
erans Organization picks 10 Israeli veter-
ans, ranging from their mid-20s to mid-50s, connection with Israel by bringing over from as far south as Eilat and as far north as Park, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Met-
each suffering from a 35 percent disability Israelis. Haifa. This is the first time that they are host- ropolitan Museum of Art, Chelsea Market,
caused, for example, from anything rang- He and his wife, Pam, signed up to be a ing a Druze veteran, but its not unusual for the High Line, Chinatown, and Greenwich
ing from post-traumatic stress disorder to buddy family 10 years ago. But a host fam- a non-Jewish soldier to be part of the group. Village, plus a Broadway show.
more overtly physical issues, to come to ily had to drop out, so the Krims became All of them are involved in rehab activities at Israel Blum, a vice president of Zahal
Bergen County each June. Every participant the primary host for one veteran. It was Beit Halochem centers affiliated with Zahal Shalom who lives in Englewood and is an
is hosted by a family and also has a backup an amazing experience for us and our four Disabled Veterans Organization. IDF veteran, has been involved with Zahal
buddy family. children, he said. One year we had a soldier with such Shalom since 1999. Every year, he treats
The impact is far and wide-reaching, The Krims hosted again the next year bad PTSD that he hadnt left his house for the group to a Moroccan-style lunch at
Mr. Krim said. Its really about having a and then took their first trip to Israel. My three years, Mr. Krim said. When he came his hardware store in Manhattan, where
son Jesse loved it so much that he decided here, he said he hadnt smiled in those three theyre entertained by singing children
What: 25th anniversary celebration of to study abroad for a semester at Tel Aviv years. His wife said he came back a changed from Chabad of the West Side.
Zahal Shalom of Bergen County University last year, Mr. Krim said. Weve person and became a leader at Beit Halo- Basically we give them the time of
been back three times. This April, we were chem. Weve seen time and again that they their lives for two weeks, Mr. Blum said.
When: June 15, 7 to 11 p.m.
joined for dinner at Sarona Market in Tel come here depressed and go back smiling. They come as friends and they leave as
Where: Temple Israel Jewish Aviv by 15 veterans who had been on our This years cohort, touring from June 4 to family. The Israeli veterans also met with
Community Center, 475 Grove St.,
program. They came from all over Israel to 18, has a typically full itinerary. It includes Chief Jacqueline Luthcke of the Ridgewood
Ridgewood
meet us there. lots of sightseeing in New York City Police Department and with students at
How much: $60 per person. Tickets This is the seventh time the Krims are Columbia University, Zabars, Lincoln Cen- Pascack Valley High School. Theyll go
may be bought that evening, but
hosting Zahal Shalom veterans. Theyve ter, a Circle Line cruise, the 9/11 Memorial, shopping at Bergen Town Center and have
reservations are requested by June 10.
opened their home to men and women the Brooklyn Bridge, Washington Square See peace army page 47

6 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017

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Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 7

Local

Caption

Yiddish Soul
Zalmen Mloteks third annual Jewish roots
concert to play in Central Park this week
Joanne Palmer Next week, the sounds coming from the huge

Y
ou could make the argument that just as Jeru-
salem is at the center of the world certainly
our liturgy does you also could say that Cen-
tral Park is at the center, the emotional core, of
New York City.
To play a concert there, outside, at Summerstage, is
a major big deal, a huge accomplishment, an enormous
acknowledgment, an unmistakable honor. Junes perform-
ers include George Clinton, the Metropolitan Opera, and
Elvis Costello.
green-and-brown expanse of woods, streams, Zalmen Mlotek
hills, gardens, rambles, fields, paths, boulders,
overlooks, and vistas, carefully landscaped to look mostly Its produced by the Folksbiene, which is headed by
accidental, the place that functions not only as the citys musician, Yiddishist, musicologist, and impresario Zal-
heart but also as its lungs, will be Jewish. men Mlotek of Teaneck. The Klezmatics headed by the
Central Park will host the third annual presentation of newly honored (and soon to be formerly honored) Sir
Yiddish Soul, a concert featuring the Klezmatics, Zusha, Frank London more about that later will be the house
the Maccabeats, and two well-known Orthodox cantors, band, backing the others as well as performing alone.
Yanky Lemmer of Lincoln Square Synagogue and Chaim The concert is kind of a phenomenon, Mr. Mlotek
David Berson of the Jewish Center, both on Manhattans said. For the last two years, we have brought out several
Upper West Side. thousand people to hear Jewish, cantorial, and chasidic

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8 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017

music. This year, there will be a little less
cantorial music and a bit more emphasis
on younger performers and the younger
audiences they attract. The two cantors,
both of whom draw raves from Mr. Mlotek,
are young themselves, he said, and they
represent two major Orthodox communi-
ties in Manhattan. And both Zusha and
the Maccabeats are young musicians who
draw young crowds.
We wanted a New York base and a
younger presence, Mr. Mlotek said.
The ideas behind the concert have
evolved since it first was conceived, he
said. Originally, I wanted to appeal to
a community of Yiddish speakers that
doesnt come to Yiddish theater or con-
certs. To that end, he made sure that
all the performers were men, and even
today, when you look at a list of the acts,
you see no womens names. But its The Klezmatics; Frank London, second from left, holds his trumpet.
slowly changing.
Zusha which includes Mr. Mloteks son Elisha and
Zachariah Goldschmiedt, both from Teaneck, as well as
Shlomo Gaisin, who is not plays music that its members
prefer not to label but is among other things neo-chasidic,
soul, and folk, as passionately felt by deeply-Jewish-and-
open-to-the-world downtown millennials. Among many
other things.
The Maccabeats is the decade-old a cappella group from
Yeshiva University that has a distinct style each wears a
skinny black tie, white shirt, and dress pants a deeply
Jewish, clever, and engaging sound, an educational bent,
and an Orthodox worldview and a devoted following.
Daniel Kahn of Painted Bird, a Berlin-based band,
entered our heads and stayed there when he reacted to
Leonard Cohens death by posting a video of himself sing-
ing Hallelujah in Yiddish, staring at us through the glass
of the screen, just him and his shining guitar, in a white
shirt and a black vest and a dark background, with sub-
titled translations of his not-literal translation. Its haunt- songs in Yiddish about social justice. Songs of doubt along-
ing and sad and lovely. He too will play at Yiddish Soul.
Its also an opportunity for us to make a statement
about the quality of Jewish music, Mr. Mlotek said. Its
gotten a bad rap over many years, as schlock music, as
wedding music. As not being inventive. We are present-
ing artists who are looking at their material with respect,
using all their artistic background to create new sounds.
Its exciting for us to be able to present their new kind of
expression in Jewish music.
Its our opportunity as Jews to manifest our culture
proudly and to enjoy it, he continued. For all of our
issues with America, for all the problems and the injus-
tices that still exist today, never have the Jews experienced
such a community, and such freedom of expression.
Never before in Jewish history have these outward
manifestations of Jewish culture existed.
Once upon a time, the role of the Yiddish theater was
to help the masses understand American culture. Today,
we see our job as promoting Jewish culture, and making
sure that Yiddish and Jewish culture are heard on the best
possible stages and venues, so that people are aware of its
riches. So that they can be inspired by it.
Frank London plays trumpet for the Klezmatics, and he
is one of the bands most well-known members. He played
at the first two Yiddish Soul concerts, but this is the first new way of playing Jewish music.
time that the band will be there too.
The Klezmatics are 30 years old now. The group has
been central to the revival of klezmer music, and theyve
always maintained the tension between then and now, the
world they not as much inherited as unearthed and the
new one that spreads before them. Its latest album is last
Local
salsa or the philharmonic. And so to play it
proudly and loudly in New York is so much
fun! There is something thrilling about see-
ing thousands of people there, dancing
and having a great time.
One more thing, Mr. London. Whats
this about being Sir Frank?
Its bittersweet, he said. Last year, the
Hungarian government made him a Knight
of Cross, so he belongs to the lowest rung
of the countrys Order of Merit.
It was a great honor, and it is so much
fun to be Sir Frank, he said. Its weird.
I was knighted for my work in providing
both Jewish and multicultural work in Hun-
gary. He has no Hungarian ancestry, but
he has worked in Hungary for many years.
Thats the sweetness, but the bitter
part is there as well. I soon will be ex-Sir
Frank, he said. Since he was honored,
the government took a step even further
to the right, and gave the same knighthood
years Apikorsim on its cover art, the name appears to some really repugnant, anti-Semitic, anti-Roma racists.
spelled out in English and in Yiddish, and translated. It So he is planning on returning the honor.
means Heretics. Then Ill be able to say yeah, I was knighted, but I gave
The Klezmatics are not heretics, but they tease with it. it back, he said.
I think the Klezmatics have always walked this very fine
line which the Folksbiene also walks, although they do
it differently and its really a three-pointed line, Mr.
London said. It really navigates three things being reli-
giously Jewish, being culturally Yiddish, and being cultur-
ally Jewish. Since the culture itself is based on the religion
but has its own separate reality, there are three poles. And
the question of being spiritual and Jewish without neces-
sarily being halachically religious what you see in our
concerts is sort of a reaction to all of them.
We, the Klezmaztics, dont follow Orthodox hala-
cha, but we are totally engaged with Jewish spirituality.
We perform music about faith, about the coming of the
moshiach, and songs based on religious texts, alongside
side songs of faith.
Hes looking forward to playing with the other perform-
ers; both he individually and the Klezmatics as a group
have stayed vital as musicians by doing collaborations,
he said. By allowing ourselves to be put in different situ-
ations and contexts. Hes been working with Cantor Lem-
mer for about five years, he added; together, working with
Michael Winograd, theyve formed a group called Ahava
Raba. The name means much love, great, abundant, heap-
ing love, and its the beginning of a prayer thanking God
for so very much love. Its also the name of a musical
mode, Mr. London added.
Its great when the Klezmatics get to be with someone
like Cantor Lemmer or Cantor Burson, because of their
affinity to the old style of chazzanut. The musical roots of
klezmer and old Yiddish music and the traditional Ashke-
nazic nusach are the same musical roots. The audience enjoys the music at last years Yiddish
Often, when you hear contemporary chazzanut, the Soul concert in Central Park.
accompanying band is not necessarily steeped in the Yid-
dish tradition. But the Klezmatics are; and we make the Who: Zalmen Mlotek of the Folksbiene: National
music that we play with them sound every bit as Yiddish Yiddish Theater
and as Jewish as they make the vocal part sound. That What: Presents Yiddish Soul, the third annual Jewish
allows us to go in a certain direction. Roots-Rock concert
On the other extreme, working with Zusha is finding a When: On Wednesday, June 14, at 7 p.m.
Where: At Summerstage at Central Park; enter the
And then theres playing in Central Park. Its fun, Mr.
park at 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
London said. Its joyous. And to play klezmer in the
How much: Its free
park? This kind of klezmer can be defined in many ways,
he said. This may be a little self-serving, but I think that it For more information: Go to www.nytf.org or call (212)
is real New York music. It is one of the sounds one of the 213-2120, ext. 204.
many sounds of New York. Its right up with listening to
Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 9
10 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017
Daughters of Miriam earns Five Star ranking
N
ursing homes throughout the United States
all have one thing in common: They are
inspected annually by their state health
departments if they receive Medicare and Medicaid
funds. These inspections, along with other quality
indicators, are then used to rate the nursing homes
on a scale of one to five, with five as the highest
possible rating. Daughters of Miriam Center/The
Gallen Institute, located in Clifton, has now joined
the ranks of five-star nursing homes, placing it
among the top facilities in New Jersey.
Daughters of Miriam Center is one
of 365 nursing homes in New Jersey
that are annually inspected and
rated. According to the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services

CMS
(CMS) Nursing Home Compare
Five-Star Quality Rating System,
a five-star rating places a nursing
home in the much above average
category and is the most coveted
rating both for facilities and for CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES
families searching for a safe envi-
ronment for their elderly or impaired
family member.
The New Jersey Department of Health conduct-
ed its annual state survey of Daughters of Miriam
Center in March 2017. The unannounced survey
is carried out by a New Jersey Department of
Health multidisciplinary team of nurses, pharma-
cists, life safety inspectors, and other profession-
als over a one-week period. The team completes
their investigation through visual inspections,
interviews with patients and staff, desk reviews
of medical and administrative records, and direct
observation of procedures and patient care. More
than 1500 federal and state metrics are reviewed
and evaluated. The annual survey provides a
means to assess the quality of the operations and
the care given to patients. Given the standardized
approach, a person can easily assess a nursing
homes performance and compare one nursing
home to other facilities in the state.
Continuing an upward trend that began in
2016 when it was awarded four stars, the Centers
achievements can be attributed, in part, to contin-
uous and ongoing training and education of staff,
as well as the implementation of a cutting-edge
electronic medical record system.
We are very proud of our staff for their hard hospice care, a respite program, and senior hous- shop, there is ample opportunity to engage in
work in achieving this milestone, said CEO ing with supportive services. social activities.
Frank DaSilva. At nearly one hundred years Situated on the campus of Daughters of Mir- Founded in 1921, the Center is a 501(c)(3) not-
old, the Center is one of the oldest nursing homes iam Center/The Gallen Institute, the Esther and for-profit, non-sectarian organization licensed by
in the area and we are pleased that we are being Sam Schwartz Building (Miriam Apartments II) the New Jersey Department of Health, accredited
recognized for the quality care we provide to the consists of 150, one-bedroom apartments with 28 by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of
seniors of northern New Jersey. units specially adapted to make them accessible to Healthcare Organizations, and serves as a univer-
Daughters of Miriam Center/The Gallen persons with mobility impairments. Tenants at the sity-affiliated teaching center.
Institute is a state-of-the-art long-term care and Esther and Sam Schwartz Building enjoy the inde- The Centers mission is to provide quality health
subacute facility providing broad-based services to pendence of their own home while also benefiting care services and housing for seniors in an envi-
seniors. Emphasizing a continuum of care focus, from the community atmosphere created by the ronment which enhances and respects individual-
Center divisions include a skilled nursing facility, many active gathering places. Whether enjoying ized traditions and lifestyles. We work to meet the
a subacute care wing, a dementia care pavilion, a restaurant-style dinner meal in the main dining emerging needs in our community and to advance
a rehabilitation program, a sheltered workshop, hall or a casual lunch at the grill in the coffee geriatric care through research.

Advertorial

Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 11

Local
Justice for survivors was her mission
Her husband remembers restitution advocate
Marilyn Henry by donating her books to Teaneck library
SHAMMAI ENGELMAYER
N
azi. Holocaust. Loot. Repara-
tions. Restitution.
These are not words heard in
most Jewish homes on a daily
basis, but for most of our 23 years of mar-
riage, they were heard every day in our
home, because they were locked into the
very fiber of my wifes being.
And it wasnt just words. It also was
books. Books, most Shoah-related, filled
the shelves in two rooms of our house.
These words and books all played a role in
defining my wifes life.
I recently gave those books to
the Teaneck Public Library in my
wifes memory.
Her name was Marilyn Cohen Henry.
That was the name on which she had built
her reputation as a journalist. After gradu-
ating from Rutgers University and obtain-
ing a masters in statistics from Penn State,
she returned home to St. Augustine, Fla.,
and took a job as a reporter for the Jack-
sonville Times-Union. She quickly rose
to become its wire editor the person
responsible for sorting through and edit-
ing the seemingly never-ending news feeds
from the Associated Press, United Press
International, and Reuters.
For Marilyn, though, living and working
in the northernmost part of Florida (or,
as she often described it, the southern-
most part of Georgia), meant something
was missing: purpose. She took a report-
ing job on the financial desk at Newsday
on Long Island. Soon, she was its night
Egon Schieles 1912 Portrait of Wally Neuzil was instrumental in helping Marilyn
Henry decide to devote her life to Holocaust art restitution.
12 JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017
business editor.
Clearly, she had a promising career at
Newsday, but she still felt something was
missing. She would find it, she believed, by
making aliyah. That is how she got to the
Jerusalem Post.
We met in Jerusalem in September 1988
and were married in December. We were
going to live in Israel, but Marilyn decided
that we had to move back to New Jersey
temporarily, for personal family reasons.
We put our possessions in a warehouse,
and came here. First we moved to Hacken-
sack; a few years later, we made our home
in Teaneck, where I still live.
The transition to New Jersey at first
proved too much for Marilyn, and she
returned to Jerusalem and to the Post
a few months later, but our separation
proved even more difficult. She returned
to New Jersey and took up her new job as
the New York area correspondent for the
Jerusalem Post.
Again, she found purpose still lack-
ing. Covering the Jewish organizational
world, and the goings-on at the United
Nations, simply did not give her a sense
of fulfillment.
She thought she would be a better
reporter for an Israeli newspaper if she
had a better understanding of the Islamic
world, so she began amassing an impres- Marilyn Henry and her husband, Rabbi Shammai Engelmayer, on Masada.
sive collection of books on Islam and
enrolled in a masters program at Colum- adviser, Dr. Peter Awn (she affectionately the time of her death in 2011. She read
bia University for a degree in Islamic his- referred to him as Peter the Great), simi- every one, and kept extensive notes. She
tory. Her thesis, on the Sunni-Shiite rift, so larly urged her to do so. was particularly interested in restitution
impressed the late Dr. Fouad Ajami that he While she still was considering pursu- issues, and in repatriation of Jewish cul-
encouraged her to pursue a doctorate. Her ing her doctorate, she met two men and tural property. She also began making reg-
the direction of her life changed forever ular fact-finding trips to Europe.
Rabbi Israel Miller and Mr. Saul Kagan, Soon Marilyn became recognized as
may their memories be for a blessing. the go-to person for information and
They were respectively the president and advice on Holocaust restitution matters.
the founding director of the Conference on While such words as Nazi, loot, repara-
Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. tions, and restitution now were everyday
Returning to Israel now was put off words in our home, after a while there was
indefinitely, in part because a warehouse another unusual feature: telephone calls
fire destroyed all of our possessions there, from the U.S. State Department, or attor-
and in greater part because Marilyn had neys involved in restitution cases, or from
found her purpose in life: to bring to pub- ambassadors involved in restitution mat-
lic attention the need for complete justice ters, each picking Marilyns brain about
for the survivors of the Shoah and for their one issue or another.
families. She could do that best from her Judah Gribetz, the New York attorney
base in the United States. and special master who prepared the
Immediately after her first meeting with plan of allocation and distribution for U.S.
Rabbi Miller and Saul Kagan, she pro- District Judge Edward R. Korman in the
posed to her editors a change in her job 1996-97 Swiss bank Holocaust restitution
description. She would head the New York suits, said this of Marilyn following her
bureau, but from there she also would death: The journalism profession and the
cover Holocaust-related news from East- Jewish world have lost a shining star at the
ern and Central Europe. Her Jerusalem top of her game.
Post editors agreed. Since meeting her in 1999, I have mar-
Marilyn immediately immersed herself veled at Marilyns wisdom and knowl-
in learning everything she could about the edge of the complex world of Holocaust
Shoah, mainly by amassing yet another restitution, he said. Her more than
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS library of books, numbering over 200 by 100 articles about this lawsuit reflect her
 More than
Local 411,000 likes. Sandi M. Malkin, LL C
unswerving and outspoken commitment to Holo-
Like us on
Facebook.
Interior Designer
caust survivors. (former interior designer of model
In 1997, another event occurred that pushed Mari- rooms for NYs #1 Dept. Store)
lyn even further into the restitution arena. Then New
York District Attorney Robert Morgenthau ordered the
seizure of a painting on display at the Museum of Mod- For a totally new look using
ern Art Egon Schieles famous Portrait of Wally. your furniture or starting anew.
The painting was on loan from the Leopold Museum in
Vienna, and it also had been looted from a Jewish art Staging also available
dealer named Lea Bondi during World War II.
facebook.com/
Many more books soon were added to our grow- jewishstandard 973-535-9192
ing Shoah collection as Marilyn sought to master this
thorny field. She also took a side job as a contributing
editor to ArtNews, and began covering the field of cul-
tural property restitution in a big way.
Morgenthau, who considered Marilyn a friend, later
called her a remarkable person and a great reporter
unequaled in her understanding of the U.S. Jewish
community and its relationship to Israel.
Marilyn was the author of Confronting the Perpe-
trators: A History of the Claims Conference (Vallen-
tine Mitchell), with a foreword by Sir Martin Gilbert
(2007), a contributor to the Encyclopedia Judaica and
Fact:
the American Jewish Year Book. In addition to the
Jerusalem Post, articles by her appeared in the Los
Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Forward,
Israel leads the world in
and Aufbau, and in publications in Germany, Switzer- cyber security, and researchers
land, Britain, and the Netherlands. She also served as
an archivist for the American Jewish Joint Distribu- from Ben-Gurion University
tion Committee.
Nearly 300 people attended a memorial service for
lead Israel.
Marilyn, and heard remarks from Saul Kagan, Rabbi
Andrew Baker of the American Jewish Committee, and
Gideon Taylor of the JDC, as well as two ambassadors
a former U.S. ambassador to Germany and an Israeli
ambassador who was involved in restitution issues.
A restitution conference in Manhattan sponsored by
New York University stood for a moment of silence in
her memory.
There was, of course, yet another aspect to Marilyn
the rebbetzin of what then was known as Temple
Israel Community Center | Congregation Heichal Yis- And you can help, too.
rael in Cliffside Park. The late Donald Rosenberg, a
longtime former president of the shul, said, She did By establishing an AABGU Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA), you will receive lifetime
her job as rebbetzin she tried hard to bring the Tem- income with fixed rates that are among the highest in the country, while helping to
ple Israel community together.
But, he added, she didnt want to be called the reb-
protect Israels virtual borders.
betzin; she wanted to be called Marilyn. Your tax-saving CGA will support Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, including
In fact, she was vehement about it. She did not see
researchers at its Cyber Security Research Center who are working to defend Israel and
herself in the mold of my late aunt Esther Saltzman
or the Teaneck Jewish Centers Aviva Feldman, about its allies from cyber attacks.
whom she wrote a column of high praise.
Her attitude changed while covering an American
Jewish groups mission to Prague. Late on a Friday
Sample Annuity Rates
afternoon, the missions organizers announced a very
non-Shabbat-oriented activity for that evening, after Age 65 70 75 80 85 90
Shabbat would have begun. She protested, saying it
was unseemly for a Jewish organization to hold such
Rate 6% 6.5% 7.1% 8% 9.5% 11.3%
an event. When she was told the activity was appro- Tax Free* 69.6% 72.8% 75.4% 77.9% 81.8% 84%
priate, given the people on the mission, she declared:
Dont tell me Im wrong. Im a rebbetzin. * In the month you use cash to establish a gift annuity, a final calculation is made determining the portion that
Her first email to me after Shabbat said, I cant will be paid to you tax-free.
believe I called myself rebbetzin. From that point
on, she gladly accepted the title, but in its Hebrew For more information or to request a CGA rate illustration, call 646-452-3693,
form, rabbanit.
e-mail newjersey@aabgu.org or visit www.aabgu.org/cga-request
Marilyns tombstone reads, Her people were her
passion; justice for survivors was her mission.
Beyond her work, her legacy is her extensive Holo-
caust library and the more modest Islamic collection.
It is my hope that donating both to the Teaneck Public
Library will inspire others to pick up where she left off. WWW.AABGU.ORG
May her memory be for a blessing.

NJ_CGACyber_NJJS_6.5x9.75.indd 1 5/30/17
JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 4:39 PM
9, 2017 13
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www.tenjfl.org

Emily, left, and Alexa Char in their Woodcliff Lake living room, which doubles
as the staging area for Project Hearts to Homes.

Hearts to Homes
E
DAT

Woodcliff Lake sisters distribute

supplies to low-income new parents
Abigail Klein Leichman Our entire lives weve known there

A
are people in poverty, but seeing that
HE

n entire room of the Char list and knowing they live 10 minutes
family house in Woodcliff from us was totally eye-opening. So we
Lake is piled high with baby- decided we needed to do something
ET

care items, even though the about it.

youngest of the three Char daughters is 15. Emily nodded in agreement. A
This is because Alexa, 16, and Emily, 12-year-old girl asking for toilet paper
SAV

15, pack up plastic laundry baskets
full of basic supplies for distribution
to low-income parents of premature
babies and to single teen moms who
lack familial support.
Play Fore! the Kids Not just a glorified bat mitzvah
and underwear instead of a toy or a cell
phone thats unbelievable. And this is
happening right in our backyard.
The sisters approached Valley Home
Care to determine how best to direct
their efforts. They told us they have at

Golf & Games

project, Project Hearts to Homes is a
501(c)3 nonprofit charity that happens
to be run by two teenage girls.
monday, august 7, 2017 Alexa explains that their father,
Montammy Golf Club, Alpine, NJ Daniel, works at the Valley Hospital in
Ridgewood, where every December
Come play with us to support the JCCs programming, services the affiliated Valley Home Care agency
sponsors a giving tree to match giv-
and camps for children with special needs.
ers with client families who dont have
the means to buy holiday gifts.
Join us for Mah Jongg, Bridge or Canasta. Plus, Mens or Womens Tennis. Families like ours sign up and
receive a list of gifts the family has
Visit jccotp.org/playforethekids requested, and we go out and buy
them and wrap them, Alexa said. In
For information, contact Michal Kleiman at 201.408.1412 or email mkleiman@jccotp.org
2015 we got our list and we saw that
the gifts really werent gifts there
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades were basic necessities like bath towels
taub campus | 411 e clinton ave, tenafly, nJ 07670 | 201.569.7900 | jccotp.org and toothpaste.
least 50 families a month with prema-
ture infants, Alexa said. These fami-
lies are struggling under the burden of
health care costs for their fragile babies.
It took about eight months to get
registered with the IRS and build the
website, Emily said. It was a lot of
work, but in September 2016 our web-
site rolled out and we started collecting
donations through our PayPal account.
Weve gotten about $25,000 so far, plus
a lot of donated supplies.
Theyve made approximately 100
baskets, and counting. There are three
varieties: one for preemies thats filled
with diapers, bottles, wipes, baby
powder, towels, bibs, and tissues;
another, for new parents, containing

14 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017

 Local

such household necessities as deter-
gent, soap and toilet paper, and a fam-
ily package that combines items for
both baby and household.
The sisters had enough resources to
include a second distribution channel.
They chose Zoes Place in Garfield, a Chil-
drens Aid and Family Service facility that
provides supervised housing and other
support services for pregnant teens and
teen moms and their children.
The abundance of resources is the
result of the Char girls proactive style.
They didnt sit back and wait for dona-
tions to pour in. They reached out to
schools, synagogues, and businesses.
Emily, a Dwight Englewood student
and a member of Pascack Valley Bnai
Brith Girls, asked delegates to two recent
Bnai Brith Youth Organization regional
conventions to bring along one or two
items for Project Hearts to Homes. I
spoke to a lot of my peers and its great
to see that they want to know how to be
helpful, she said.
The sisters made a presentation to the
Paramus Rotary Club, which gave them
$100 on the spot and provided valuable
contacts. They spent a couple of hours
walking to area banks seeking support
and didnt give up until they got one
positive response a $2,500 grant from
Valley National Bank. They also received
contributions from Costco and BJs
wholesale clubs.
We buy most of our supplies from Target
we have our own Project Hearts to Homes
account there and once Target found out
why we were buying so much, they donated
a few hundred dollars to us, which was very
helpful, said Alexa, a student at Pascack
Hills High School in Montvale.
Nancy Graves, president and chief
executive officer at Bank of New Jersey
and Bancorp of New Jersey, agreed to
mentor the girls and secured a corporate
donation for them as well. Since she has
so many connections, she is able to help
us in many ways, Emily said.
The sisters sell chocolate bars for $1 at
Lakeland Regional High School in Wanaque,
donating the profits to creating baskets
packaged with the help of volunteers from
Lakeland and their own schools.
Alexa went to a Kehillah Partnership
program to tell sixth- and seventh-grade
religious school students from across
North Jersey about Project Hearts to
Homes, hoping to spark interest from
kids looking for worthy causes to support
Tikkun olam is a huge part
of Jewish community life and
we were brought up to
understand the importance
of giving back to the
community. We were taught
that doing a mitzvah is holy.
for their bar or bat mitzvah.
The girls sold coupons in conjunc-
tion with Lord & Taylors Shop Smart Do
Good fundraising day a couple of months
ago, yielding not only proceeds from pur-
chases made that day but also an addi-
tional $400 from Lord & Taylor for assist-
ing with the event.
And they were nominated for a 2017
Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award.
We didnt win the top prize but we got a
certificate, Emily said.
The best prize, however, is the expres-
sions of appreciation they receive from Val-
ley Home Care and Zoes Place and from
the baskets recipients. Its nice to hear
from people who appreciate our work,
Emily said. Thats our reward, to know
how much we are affecting people.
The sisters in turn expressed their
appreciation for the continual sup-
port of their parents, Felice and Daniel
Char, and their older sister, Ilana. The
family belongs to Temple Beth Or in
Washington Township.
We were born and bred to donate,
Emily said. Tikkun olam is a huge
part of Jewish community life and
we were brought up to understand
the importance of giving back to the
community. We were taught that doing
a mitzvah is holy.
T h e p ro j e c t s we b s i te i s w w w.
hearts2homes.org and the Char sis-
te r s m ay b e re a c h e d at p ro j e c t -
hearts2homes@gmail.com

Y OU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND THE

ANNUAL MEETINGS
Y OU ARE CORDIALLYOFINVITED
THE TO ATTEND THE

ANNUAL MEETINGS
Y OU ARE CORDIALLYOFINVITED
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ANNUAL MEETINGS
OF THE

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Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 15
Local

Aphasia Task Force first of its kind

Senate Majority Leader helps raise awareness of communication disorder
Lois Goldrich

N
ew Jersey Senate Majority Leader Loretta
Weinberg of Teaneck hasnt seen it all, but
shes seen quite a bit.
Ive been around long enough that, fortu-
nately and unfortunately, there are not too many things
to legislate about that I havent seen, said Ms. Weinberg,
who has been a member of the New Jersey Senate since
2005 and a public servant for many years before that.
Speaking about her successful efforts to educate
the senate about aphasia she spearheaded the drive
to name June Aphasia Awareness Month, and more
recently she helped spur the creation of the Mike Adler
Aphasia Task Force Ms. Weinberg said that her mother
lived with aphasia for many years, and that her sister has
the condition now.
My sister was a radio broadcaster, living in Califor-
nia, Ms. Weinberg said. She was with me for a cou-
ple of years. I took her to the Adler Aphasia Center. Ill
always remember what happened on one of the first
days. Mike [Adler] came up to her and said, in his own
slurred speech Mr. Adler had aphasia as well Dont
ever let anyone convince you that you cant improve.
Ill always remember that, she said noting that her
sister, now back in California, took Mr. Adlers words
to heart. There are certain moments in time that stick
with you. That was one of those moments the courage
of this man who had been a hugely successful executive
now devoting these years to helping other people. Mr.
Adler died in 2015 at the age of 91. His wife, Elaine, has Senate Majority leader Loretta Weinberg of Teaneck, left, with Mike and Elaine Adler.
been carrying on the centers work.
Sponsored by Ms. Weinberg and Assemblywoman Val- The Department of Health shall provide professional
erie Vainieri Huttle of Englewood, the task force named and clerical staff to the task force as may be necessary
for Mr. Adler was created to assess the needs of peo- for the task forces purposes, and the task force shall
ple with aphasia and their families, and to ensure that There are certain also be entitled to call upon the services of any State,
adequate support services and information are available
to them.
moments in time that county, or municipal department, board, commission,
or agency, as may be available to it for its purposes.
It is the only state task force of its kind, just as the stick with you. That was Its mission, says the legislation, is to monitor the
Adler center was the first, and, for a while, the only cen-
ter offering support to aphasics and caregivers, Ms.
one of those moments prevalence of aphasia in New Jersey; to assess the unmet
needs of people with aphasia and their families; to iden-
Weinberg said. The legislation passed unanimously and the courage of this tify, and facilitate the establishment of aphasia support
the governor signed it, she added. Seats on the task force
will be filled by professionals or caregivers.
man who had been a groups and other support and informational resources
designed to assist in satisfying the unmet needs of resi-
We want more general recognition, she continued. hugely successful dents with aphasia, and their families; and to provide
This is so widespread, and people dont even know
what they have. Also, its equally important to help
executive now devoting recommendations to the governor and legislature for
legislation or other governmental action that would fur-
get research dollars to find a treatment, and to con- these years to helping ther facilitate the support of people with aphasia, and
tinue providing services to people with aphasia and
their caregivers.
other people. their families.
Ms. Tucker said that many of the items in the mis-
Ms. Weinberg said that as she continued to learn more sion statement can be contracted out to a nonprofit,
about aphasia, she realized that many more people suf- speaks admiringly about its mock trials, musicals, and and, in fact, we are doing many of these items already.
fer from it than she originally thought. It could come advocacy work. She also mentioned the centers store, Ms. Weinberg said the task force legislation was able
from a stroke, or traumatic brain injury, she said. She which sells jewelry made by the members. I used to to get bipartisan support partly because of her long-
recalled an unpleasant incident in the state Senate, tease my sister that she spent more time shopping than time educational efforts she brings some of the cen-
when somebody with a communication disorder came she did in her groups. ters clients to the Senate floor and talks about aphasia
before the Judiciary Committee. Someone on the com- Ms. Weinberg said she works every year to get money every year as she recognizes June as aphasia month. She
mittee went after this person, she said. But when it was for the center in the budget. She has been a supporter of knows, she said, that law enforcement personnel need
time to vote, Ms. Weinberg, together with former state the facility since its inception, having worked for many more information about aphasia, recognizing, for exam-
senator Barbara Buono, who had a relative with aphasia, years with Mike and Elaine Adler on various endeav- ple, that a person may not be able to respond during a
stood up and said that the man in question suffered from ors in the community. She also served for a while on its traffic stop not because they are drunk or uncoopera-
the condition. They stressed that while aphasia impairs board. But now legislators no longer are able to sit on tive, but because they have a speech disorder. Doctors
speech, it does not affect intellect. the board of nonprofit organizations, said Karen Tucker, also need more information, she said, since doctors
Ms. Weinberg said she respects the Adler center not president and CEO of the Adler Center. dont know much about treatment after people have
only because it helped her personally through my tri- Ms. Tucker noted that the new task force, under the passed through the acute phase after a stroke.
als and tribulations, but for the work theyve done. purview of the Department of Health, will receive funds While the creation of the task force is a major achieve-
She has convened several legislative meetings there and for its clerical staff from the department. The bill reads: ment, we need funding, money for research, and

16 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017

 Local
grand re-opening
CELEBRATION
JUNE 16 & 17
ENJOY ACTIVITIES & TASTINGS
She hopes that the TO BENEFIT NY/NJ BAYKEEPER
creation of the task
force will raise
awareness about
aphasia, now that
the condition has
risen to the level of
other governmentally treasures of the
recognized
conditions, such hudson river
as autism. friday 6/16
treatment protocols, Ms. Weinberg said. And its
very frustrating for the caregivers, Ms. Tucker 4 - 9 PM
added, acknowledging these challenges but noting
that she is very proud to be part of the long history
Opening Ceremony with
of getting aphasia raised to the governmental level. Mayor Michael McPartland
Its a first for states, and were the first state in
Dance performances by PEAK PAC
the country to do it, she said. She hopes that the
creation of the task force will raise awareness about Live reggae by Cheezy & the Crackers
aphasia, now that the condition has risen to the NY/NJ Baykeeper Discover Deck
level of other governmentally recognized condi-
with touch tank, shell painting,
tions, such as autism. She hopes as well that this
will guarantee continued state funding for apha- photo booth, prizes and more!

saturday 6/17
sia funding through the state and encourage more
facilities to begin programs.
One positive development, she said, is that the
state health department now will take note of 12 - 5 PM
patients with aphasia when they check in to a hos-
pital. While the department estimates that there Captains Galley Outdoor Food Court
may be 50,000 to 70,000 people with aphasia in Live Caribbean band, AfriCarib
the state, theyll now be keeping statistics.
Plenty of people are living isolated in the com-
Tiny Pirates Cove with face painting,
munity without access to services, Ms. Tucker balloon sculptures & more!
said. Once they leave the health care system,
its more difficult to find out about the services.
We need to look at the full breadth and scope of
needs, she said, adding that while the Adler Center
#SHOPCITYPLACENJ
works to provide social support, connecting people
with aphasia to one another, there also is a need
for housing support and vocational rehab training.
There are people at our center who could prob- FOR THE FULL LINEUP OF ACTIVITIES:
ably work with the right support, and there are
people living in nursing homes who shouldnt be CITYPLACEPROMENADE
there, she said. They should be in an indepen-
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JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017 17

Local

We never had a problem before

Israels rabbinate stops Jewish kids from reading from a Torah scroll
Larry Yudelson

A
group of eighth graders from New Jersey visiting
Israel last month got an unpleasant message from
two kibbutzim they stayed at: Dont let us catch
you praying with our Torah scrolls.
Why couldnt they?
Because, like 90 percent of American Jews, the students
from the Academies at Gerrard Berman Day School in Oak-
land believe that both women and men can read from the
Torah and lead prayers.
Its not that the two kibbutzim that wouldnt share their
Torah scrolls with the Conservative schools students were
Orthodox. But they had been threatened with loss of their
kosher certification from their kashrut supervisors, who are
Orthodox. In Israel, kashrut supervision is a legal monopoly
overseen by the governments Orthodox rabbinate.
The student group could use the kibbutz Torah scroll, they
were told, only on condition that they use with a mechitza
the barrier used in Orthodox services to separate women
from men. The kashrut supervisor would attend to make sure
the mechitza was up.
The leaders of the tour group rejected the offer. Berman
is a Solomon Schechter school, affiliated with Conservative
Judaism, as were the two other schools taking part in that trip:
Solomon Schechter School of New York, based in Manhattan,
and the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford
in Connecticut.
Instead, the students davened without a Torah scroll and
read the days Torah reading from photocopied sheets.
The kids had prepared in advance for reading from the
Torah, Moshe Gold, the director of the Ramah Israel Institute,
said. The institute handled the trips logistics in Israel. Its not
a little thing for them to read the Torah in Israel.
Last year, Conservative groups had no problems using guest
house or hotel Torah scrolls. I dont know if this is a directive
from the rabbinate, or the supervisors acting on their own
initiative, Mr. Gold said.
But an investigative report on Israels Channel 10 last month
showed the situation to be widespread. The broadcast played
several conversations in which a reporter sought to book a
hotel for a non-Orthodox prayer service and was denied, on
the grounds that it would cost the hotel its kosher certification.
The Masorti movement, the Israeli branch of Conservative
Judaism, said it is preparing legal action against the hotels.
The Israel rabbinate, which sets standards for kashrut
supervision, refused to respond to Channel 10.
We never had a problem before, said Benjamin Mann
of Teaneck, who is the principal of the New York Schech-
ter school.
He said that his schools annual eighth-grade trip is the cul-
mination of its Zionist message. We want our students to feel
that the Jewish story thats playing out in the Jewish state is
their story, and that they have a stake in it, he said.
When the Jewish communities theyre connected with are
devalued by the religious authorities in Israel, its a stumbling
block to building the kind of Zionist commitments I want my
students to have, he added.
As he put it in an essay published in the Forward and the
Jerusalem Post: Why would young American Jews feel con-
nected to a country and culture that rejects them?
Mr. Mann said that the educators decided not to explain
why they did not have a Torah scroll for services. We
didnt want to have our students feel diminished or deval-
ued in any way, he said. We wanted to stick to the goals
of the trip.
Solomon Schechter of New York students during their trip to Israel.
Back home after the trip, however, he told his students
what really had happened. He gave them his essay in the
Forward, and showed them the Channel 10 report. He
asked them to discuss their feelings, but also to try to
take on the perspective of the kashrut supervisors who
made the decision.
I want my students to be able to be empathetic and to
have a respect for Clal Yisrael the Jewish people that
was so absent from the mashgichim, the kashrut supervi-
sors, who refused us access to a sefer Torah, he said. I
want my students to understand there will be different types
of Jews in the world, with different religious commitments.
No country is perfect, he said. Even when they dont
treat me like Id like them to. Even as we offer them a cri-
tique, I want them to know Im standing strongly in support
of Israel. Well continue to advocate for whats right for our
religious community, but not allow our commitment to the
State of Israel to be diminished.
In Israel, meanwhile, Rabbi Uri Regev says he too may be
taking this case to court.
Rabbi Regev, who is Reform, heads Hiddush, an organi-
zation that advocates for religious freedom in Israel. The
abuse of authority by the rabbinate and kashrut supervi-
sors is an ongoing story, Rabbi Regev said. They attempt
to force their beliefs and religious convictions in enforcing
other areas of religious observance, not just in assuring the
food is kosher.
In theory, the use of Torah scrolls shouldnt even be an
issue. The rabbinates kashrut division has authority over
food only. Recently, following pressure from Hiddush, the
rabbinate issued revised kashrut guidelines that made clear
that the law authorizes the rabbis to use their discretion only
with regard to food and nothing else, Rabbi Regev said.
This was meant to end the practice of hotels being told
that they could not put up Christmas trees to cater to
Christian pilgrims, or that events in private dining rooms
could not use electricity on Shabbat. But implementation
is another matter altogether, Rabbi Regev said.
He said he recently was involved in a case of someone
who rented a private dining room in the Ritz Carlton in
Herziliya, one of the fanciest hotels in the country, he
said. A family was celebrating a simcha with a Shabbat
lunch and wanted to show a computer presentation.
The hotel originally told the family that it would be fine.
But then they were told that there would be a problem.
The Herziliya kashrut department head had a very
interesting line, Rabbi Regev said. He said, Im aware of
the new rules, but here in Herziliya, out of respect to the
elderly city rabbi, all of the hotels have voluntarily been
keeping the old regulations.
In the end, the projector was allowed on a Sabbath
clock, with a gentile hotel employee as a backup in case
it doesnt work.
Rabbi Regev said his organization is now preparing to
take some hotels to court for not following the new regula-
tions. He said the hotels that refused to provide Torahs to
the Schechter group may be among them.
From his standpoint, its a clear-cut legal issue of dis-
crimination. Theyre refusing to provide the Conserva-
tive group that stays in those hotels with the full service
they provide other Jewish groups, namely the ability to
use the synagogue and the ability to use the sefer Torah,
he said.
Rabbi Regev said that Mr. Manns going public with his
schools experience is a very important development.
More and more people and organizations, including fed-
erations, are not willing to choose the other cheek.
At least one Israeli Orthodox rabbi believes that the
position taken by the kashrut supervisors is ridiculous.
The legal basis in inconceivable, Rabbi Seth Farber said.
Rabbi Farber heads Itim, an organization that often
challenges the rabbinate. A couple of years ago, he said,
he was at an Orthodox bat mitzvah. The plans were for
a womens service where women would read from the
Torah. There were to be no men present. But for the
supervisor in charge, it might as well have been a mixed-
gender service.
See PROBLEM page 47

18 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017

upcoming at Kaplen JCC on the Palisades
NEW! Infant Program
3-12 months
Babies will enjoy our clean and bright space, a nurturing
environment, and a small teacher to baby ratio. Available
from 7:30 am-6 pm.
Space is limited so make sure you schedule a tour today by
contacting Elissa at eyurowitz@jccotp.org or 201.408.1436.
Visit jccotp.org/nursery New !
Infant
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start your summer right with a Jcc membership

Join TODAY and get 1 Month FREE!*

Not just a gym, a wellness Center! Individual, family, youth &
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Take a tour & get a one-week pass for your entire family!
Visit the membership desk, call 201.408.1448, or
email join@jccotp.org.
*Valid through July 5, 2017

Yoga on the lawn

Yoga on the Lawn
with alison miller, robert hoon, John QuirK
& Jill schwalbe
opening meditation with marybeth sigler
Join us for an all level, one-hour class, led by an
awesome team of expert JCC Yoga instructors.
Bring a water bottle, yoga mat, and sunscreen and
spread out on our expansive camp field.
Sun, Jun 11, 9-10:30 am, Free and Open to the
Community
RSVP and purchase raffle tickets to support
Youth Health and Wellness Programs at the JCC
at jccotp.org/yogaonthelawn

music kids music

18th annual sandra o. gold
Founders Day Concert
Join us for this annual, celebratory event, featuring
Thurnauer School of Musics incomparable student
ensembles and honoring Dr. Sandra O. Gold, who had
the vision to create a community music school at
the JCC.
Thur, Jun 15, 6:30 pm, Free and Open to All
Pre-Summer Mini Camps
Looking for something fun to fill the time between
school and camp? Well look no further! Give your
child the gift of fun, laughter and smiles at the JCC!
Register them for Little Dancers Camp for ballet
and hip hop fun, Multi-Sports Camp for fun skill
building, or Camp Shemesh for traditional camp
excitement. Your little ones will also get to enjoy
our fabulous water park and special events such as
field day, beach day, dance party and Shabbat sing.
Ages 3-5, Jun 12-23, 9 am-4 pm
SHIRAH Spring Concert
Join us for Bernie and Ruth Wenflash zl Memorial
concert, Song and Praise, celebrating the vitality of
our musical traditions and paying tribute to the 50th
anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. The
concert also includes a tribute to long-time Shirah
member, Marvin Eiseman, who marked his 90th
birthday this year.
Sun, Jun 11, 7 pm, $20 JCC Members/$16 public/
$10 ages 12 and under

to register or for more info

visit jccotp.org
stay in the Know! liKe us on
facebook.com/KaplenJCCOTP

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades taub campus | 411 e clinton ave, tenafly, nJ 07670 | 201.569.7900 | jccotp.org
Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 19
Briefly Local

Photos courtesy Mark Levenson

Attending the meeting, from left, Leonard Posnock, Lawrence Mandel, Robert Salame, Dov Ben-Shimon,
Howard Bookbinder, Amir Sagie, Mark Levenson, Ofir Akunis, Leonard Cole, former Congressman Herb
Klein, Duvi Honig, Ruth Cole, Cathy Scangarella of Choose New Jersey, Judith Sheft, and Lee Schwartz.

New Jersey Israel Commission briefed by official
Last month, Mark Levenson hosted a meeting of the New
Jersey Israel Commission in his Newark law office. It fea-
tured a presentation by Ofir Akunis, Israels Minister for
Science, Space, and Technology. Mr. Akunis highlighted
initiatives in these areas and the ongoing cooperation
Ginny Wasserman named
between New Jersey and Israel, and gave his view of the
situation at home.
Mr. Levenson, chair of the New Jersey Israel Com-
mission, spoke about the New Jersey-Israel trade
relationship.
Israel Deputy Consul General for New York Amir Sagie,
left, Ofir Akunis, Israels Minister of Science, Technology,
and Space, and Mark Levenson, chair of the New Jersey
Israel Commission stand next to the Empire State Chair,
a project of the WAE center of the Jewish Service for the T
Developmentally Disabled, which Eta and Mark Levenson t
bought for the Eric Eliezer Levenson Foundation for a
Hope. It is now on display at the law offices of Sills r
Cummis & Gross in Newark. p

volunteer of the month

Virginia Ginny Wasserman was named the May 2017 Volun-
teer of the Month by the Bergen County section of the National
Council of Jewish Women.
Ms. Wasserman grew up in the Bronx and worked as a psy-
chotherapist and social worker in a number of community
agencies and education and academic facilities. She retired
from Hackensack Medical Center in 2002, after more than 20 Virginia Wasserman
years as a behavior health clinical supervisor and administrator. Courtesy NCJW

After joining NCJW, she co-chaired the highly successful

Council Trips program, and for the past six years she participated in the human traffick-
ing advocacy program and served on program, study group, and nominating committees.
For information on NCJW BCS and its upcoming programs, go to www.ncjwbcs.org.
Courtesy BCHSJS

Some of last years visiting Israeli teens relax together. Courtesy OH, OH.

Summer host families are sought

BCHSJS graduates a class of 12
The Bergen County High School of Jew-
ish Studies held its annual graduation
at Temple Emanuel of North Jersey in
Franklin Lakes. This years 12 graduates
were Jessica Baer, Camryn Bolkin, Steven
Grossman, Eden Hirsch, Melissa Knopf,
Benjamin Kosiborod, Benjamin London,
Bennett Rosner, Daniel Siefken, David
Stack, Walter Stack, and Benjamin Unger.
Jessica Baer and Benjamin Kosiborod led
the Star Spangled Banner and Hatik-
vah. The schools principal, Fred Nagler,
introduced board members, rabbis, and
congregational principals and highlighted
the schools programs. Alvin Reisbaum,
Temple Emanuels president, spoke about
the synagogues early years in Paterson and
its transition to Franklin Lakes. Rabbi Dr.
David Fine of Temple Israel in Ridgewood,
who sits on the schools board, gave the
Dvar Torah, and school board president
Sy Blechman and senior seminar teacher
Barnett Goldman spoke to the graduates.
The senior academic award for five
years of excellence in studies was given
to Camryn Bolkin, Bennett Rosner, David
Stack, and Walter Stack.
Parents Eve Bolkin and Michel Knopf
were recognized for their volunteer work
at the school. A reception followed.
for Israeli kids affected by terror
A few more host families are needed
for this years Open Hearts, Open
Homes program.
The group was created in 2002 by
the Bergen County YJCC, which then
had its headquarters in Washington
Township. It responded to the needs of
Israeli teens affected by war, violence,
and terror. The teens, whose lives for-
ever were changed through the death
of a loved one, a personal injury, or liv-
ing in constant fear, spend three sum-
mer weeks enjoying respite, home hos-
pitality, and fun with American peers
in a teen travel camp. To date, 450
Israeli teens have participated in the
program.
Host families drop off children
at the YJCC in Washington Town-
ship between 8 and 8:30 each morn-
ing and pick them up there at about
5 p.m. Teens spend the day sharing
activities with a teen group from the
Rockland JCC. This years program is
from June 30 to July 23. Carpools can
be arranged. A few overnights are
planned and there are many extra-
curricular activities on some nights
and weekends.
For information or to volunteer, call
Cindy Mendelaw at (201) 739-2906 or
email her at mendelaw@optonline.net;
email Elana Prezant at Eprezant@yjcc.
org, or go to www.JCCbergen.org/teens.

20 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017

 Briefly Local
Photos courtesy Mark Levenson

Srivki Weisberg
Valley Chabads 100 leadership teens honored at celebration
The Valley Chabad Teen Leadership Initia- River communities in the Initiatives pro- affected them personally. were there. The program is led by Rabbi
tives annual appreciation event was held grams: Friendship Circle, CTeen, Linking Every teen received a certificate and a Yosef and Estie Orenstein under the guid-
at the Woodcliff Lake Hilton on May 15. It Hearts, and Eternal Flame. gift for their volunteering and participa- ance of Valley Chabads executive director,
recognized more than 100 teen partici- Teens representing each of the four tion. Parents, friends, community mem- Rabbi Dov Drizin.
pants from the Pascack Valley and Saddle programs spoke about how the programs bers, and Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi

Sinai to show
student art Brightview.
Sinai Schools and Bear Givers host
Unique Presentations, a student
Bright Life!
art show and auction, on Thursday,
June 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. The show,
in memory of Jocheved Orbach, will
be at the Joseph Kushner Hebrew
Academy in Livingston.
In the five years since Sinai
Schools established its Miranov-
Paley art therapy program, art
therapist Sarah Tarzik has made sig-
nificant breakthroughs with her stu-
dents by helping them create beauti- Discover exceptional senior living
ful works.
The community is invited to the for Mom and Dad
free show and auction, which is
based around works created by Sinai Respectful, customized care
students. Bear Givers, a co-sponsor,
is a non-profit organization dedi- Cultural and social events
cated to empowering children who Inspiring Experienced associates
Lives
have special needs. The artists will
be at the event; attendees can buy
or commission artwork, which will
Bright Luxury amenities
support Sinai. All proceeds will ben-
efit its scholarship fund. for All Our Gourmet meals
Residents Specialized dementia
care neighborhood
This art, created by Sinai
students, will be up for Call Richard or Gina to schedule
auction on June 15. your personal visit.
Courtesy Sinai 201.817.9238
55 Hudson Avenue Tenafly, NJ 07670
www.BrightviewTenafly.com

Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 21

 This classroom is at Rashi, a Reform movement
day school in Dedham, Massachusetts.

Cover Story

Combining,
not homogenizing
Prizmah helps day schools face challenges together across denominational divides
Joanne Palmer also give it form and structure. Many of no way out of it. striking how much the Jewish educational

S
ometimes the world seems as
if its divided into so many little
never-intersecting bubbles that
its coming out of a gigantic plas-
tic wand a crazed giant is waving in the air.
We see the dangers of that separation,
that state of walled-offness, all around us;
in our politics, in our news sources, in our
understanding of the world. We certainly
see it in the Jewish community. Each of the
streams is locked into its own riverbed,
imprisoned, it seems, by the banks that
them come together occasionally at JCCs
and federations, but even there we tend to
stick with our own kind.
Jewish day schools also generally are
shaped by the movements they repre-
sent; there are some community schools
for progressive families, and at times Con-
servative parents send their children to
Orthodox schools and Reform parents to
Conservative ones, but those crossovers
are relatively rare.
Many people despair of this segmenta-
tion even as they continue to live it, seeing
And then there is Prizmah.
The year-old midtown Manhattan-
based organization, whose name in
full, its Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day
Schools appropriately means prism, eral; the other four organizations repre-
was formed from five groups. In alphabet-
ical order, they are PARDES (the Progres-
sive Association of Reform Day Schools),
PEJE (Partnership for Excellence in Jewish
Education), RAVSAK (the Jewish Commu-
nity Day School Network), the Schechter
Day School Network, and YUSP (Yeshiva
University School Partnership). (Yes, it is
world is attracted to acronyms, initials,
and capital letters. There is no doubt a
doctoral dissertation in that.)
PEJE dealt with Jewish education in gen-
sented Orthodox, Conservative, Reform,
and community schools.
Amazingly, the professional and lay
leaders of all these organizations agreed
to merge their bubbles and work together,
with the understanding that they are
stronger together, and with the resolve not
only to acknowledge their differences but

22 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017

 Cover Story

to cherish them as they discover common

needs and work to fill them.
There are about 375 schools that are
members of Prizmah; that includes most
of the day schools in Bergen County.
Prizmah is a startup that is a phenom-
enal model, its new COO, Elissa Maier of
Englewood, said. It sends a powerful mes-
sage about one Jewish community, work-
ing together to serve day schools. The
only similar organization she can think
of, she added, is the Foundation for Jew-
ish Camp (which oddly enough is headed
by Jeremy Fingerman, also of Englewood.)
Prizmahs number one goal is to make
Jewish day school education a priority
across the community, Ms. Maier said. We
want Jewish day schools to be the top choice

It sends a
powerful message
about one Jewish Above and below right, educators work together at Prizmahs annual conference in Chicago in April.
community,
working together
to serve
day schools.
for Jewish parents. To that end, Prizmah
will work with schools in four areas pro-
viding tools to foster educational excel-
lence, to work toward financial viability, to
develop professional and lay leaders, and to
make the case for day schools.
One way to work toward that goal is to
build a network to connect schools across
the country, she added. Network con-
nections are critical to helping people do
their jobs more effectively.
Most day schools face similar problems Elissa Maier
first, most pressing, most unavoidable
among them being the tuition bills they around. And each school has its own Mandel Center for Leadership Excellence. job hes a private investor but I live
present, based on the expenses they must characteristics. At Prizmah, I will be overseeing opera- and breathe this stuff, he said.
pay. But northern New Jersey is unlike Across the country, though, you have to tions, marketing, and finance, she said. Hes a big fan of the way the group mod-
most other parts of the country in that it make the case for why day school. The chal- I will be working on managing the team els cooperation, and hes realistic about
is well stocked with day schools. In many lenge there is when you dont have as large in the office. It is a merged organization, the needs that drove its creation. None of
parts of the country, administrators have a population to feed into the schools, when with people who came from all five of the the five groups were sustainable on their
to scramble for students, whose parents you have a community that is declining in different organizations that make it up. I own, he said. Essentially it became clear
often have to be convinced of the schools size or strength. The challenge is very much will be doing a lot of work building culture that we could save the Jewish community
value. Here, many parents enter the school determined by where you are located. and leadership development. Its sort of a lot of money and get a much better prod-
search pre-convinced, but have to decide All schools need money, however. We a model within a model of cooperation, of uct for the schools by combining them.
which school is best for them. provide guidance and resources to help reaching beyond preconceptions, of real- Each of the organizations had its own
Does that make Prizmah less valuable schools identify sources of funding and izing that the whole is stronger and more strength. We wanted to see the best pro-
here? No, Ms. Maier said. Not at all. There grants, and help them create fundrais- resilient than any of the pieces. grams, which until now had been deliv-
definitely is an environment of competi- ing models that they can work with, Ms. Nathan Lindenbaum of Teaneck has ered only to one stream, being delivered
tiveness, but Bergen County already has Maier said. been active in many local schools hes to them all.
shown that there is value in bringing day Prizmah is open to all schools that focus been president of Moriah in Englewood, For example, YUSP had very effective
schools together for conversation and on both Jewish and secular subjects, she has been and continues on the board of leadership and coaching programs, but
sharing resources. Initially there can be said. Yeshivat Noam in Paramus, and is a trustee only Orthodox schools were taking advan-
a reluctance to come together, but when Ms. Maier has just begun to work at at SAR in Riverdale, N.Y. Hes also a founder tage of them. Similarly, the other move-
we show them the value when it demon- Prizmah; until now she has been at the of TeachNJS, an organization that advo- ments had programs that were not cross-
strates itself that changes. Jewish Federations of North America, cates for state funding for day schools. pollinating. And on top of that, there was
Here, we have a large enough com- where she was the vice president of finan- Perhaps unsurprisingly, he also sits on so much overhead. This way, there are
munity, with enough students to go cial resource development and headed the the board at Prizmah. He does have a day some economies of scale.

Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 23

Cover Story

And then theres the
message underlying the
practicalities.
This model is a great thing
for the Jewish people, Mr.
Lindenbaum said. We can
model cooperation without
homogenizing.
That was a concern that
many people had could we
still meet the unique needs
of the various streams and Nathan Lindenbaum
movements but there is so
much that we have in common in terms
of administration, fundraising, gover-
nance, continuing education, professional
development. There is far more that we
have in common than is unique to each
movement.
This is an example of how the whole
community can work together without
coming up with something bland. Each
movement retains its own identity.
There are many networks a reshet, as in April, in Chicago. We had more than
each one is called representing different 1,000 people there, Mr. Lindenbaum said.
commonalities among member schools.
One of the ways in which ideological,
theological, and philosophical differences
are acknowledged is that some program-
ming and networks are divided by stream,
but that is not the only way but its not rote. Thats clear. acknowledges the implications
to slice and dice differ- Each one says it with passion of those differences for how
ences between schools, Mr. and conviction. The realiza- they define success and what
Lindenbaum said. There tion of that is the essence of they need to do to grow and
are schools in metropolitan Prizmah. Its why it works. flourish, and then we custom-
New York and schools out- Mr. Bernstein lives in West- ize the things we do for them
side here; larger schools and chester County now, but he according to those needs.
small ones. We are able to grew up in London. I am a For example, if you are run-
deliver programs along these day school alum, and there ning a professional develop-
matrices, as well as others. never was any question of ment day in a school, you want
And the more schools you where my kids would go, to make sure that it fits with
have involved, the better first in London and then for Paul Bernstein the schools curriculum and
you are able to do this kind the last six years at Schechter pedagogy. Some schools will
of customization. in Westchester, he said. It is a core part run a more integrated dual curriculum and
A big part of creating the various net- of everything we believe in an incredibly some run those things separately, so what
works is that we can allow educators to good Jewish and secular education experi- you do for training is mindful and respect-
group themselves, so people can reach ence and values, in a school that has been ful of that.
out with ideas and questions to similarly nothing but supportive of their growth. Not all pedagogic choices are neatly
minded and similarly experienced peo- There is a real driving force that unites predictable by religious affiliation, he
ple, he added. day schools across different religious affili- added. It might seem as though the more
The networks work mainly online this ations, he continued. Thats because we to the left in the Jewish world a school is,
is, after all, a vast country but there also are after the same ultimate goal, in terms the more likely it is to have a unified cur-
is a big annual conference. This years was of success. What we are doing is working riculum, but thats not necessarily true.
with the schools, individually and collec- There are some schools to the left that
tively, in achieving success. That means a would run them as separate tracks, Mr.
Paul Bernstein is Prizmahs founding lot of work is shared. Bernstein said. And the balance between
CEO. Realizing that there is more that unites secular and Jewish and Hebrew studies
There is more that unites day schools than divides us, there also is much that depends on individual choices that are
than divides them, Mr. Bernstein said; separates us. We work to create an envi- designed to fit the community. So much
everyone involved in Prizmah says that, ronment that recognizes these differences, for stereotypes. We will meet the school

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 Cover Story

where it is, and help develop programs around those

parameters.
We are open to work with all schools, Mr. Bern-
More than
stein said. A number of charedi schools work with 411,000 likes.
us. Obviously there are many charedi schools that
are organized and operate differently in ways that Like us on
would make their administrators profoundly uncom-
fortable in the more mainstream Prizmah but we Facebook. We offer:
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are welcoming of all who wish to be part of our collec-
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students with special needs. in Gan by
At the conference in Chicago, as at any conference
Our Gan class for children in Kindergarten Tuesday, June 13
Prizmah holds, the sessions that everybody shares
meets twice monthly on Sundays. and receive
are run in a way that is suitable for all audiences, cov- Our curriculum includes instruction $150 OFF
ering subjects that are appropriate for everyone he in conversational Hebrew (Ivrit BIvrit), tuition
said. Everyone talks about financial issues, and lead- prayers, Israel, trips and special programs (member and non-
along with art, music and family education member rate)
ership, and even some aspects of Hebrew and Jewish
studies, particularly the study of the Hebrew language. to enrich our students experiences.
But then we also create space for people to explore To register and for more information about
the subjects that are specific for their affiliations. We tuition fees and curriculum, please contact
have affinity groups for them, so they can work on facebook.com/ office@grjc.org or 201-652-6624.
their own issues. So there will be a yeshiva affinity
group, and one for community schools, Schechter jewishstandard 682 Harristown Road Glen Rock, NJ 07452
schools, and Reform movement schools. They choose 201-652-6624 www.grjc.org
their subjects.
The reality is that there are schools that are growing
and schools that are challenged, Mr. Bernstein contin-
ued. There are rising standards in day schools, which
ultimately helps the general health of the sector but
causes some problems for some schools along the way,
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he didnt add but hinted at. And on top of that, 2008
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No one will pretend that those challenges have
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ing a new chapter for day schools, Mr. Bernstein

concluded. And he has words of praise for the north-
ern New Jersey community. You have a vibrant com-
munity and set of schools, and great examples of
schools, he said. Those that are thriving, and those
that are trying new things, to make sure that education
keeps moving forward. We innovate to improve, and
our schools are as accessible as we can make them.
I salute all the options available in the region. It is a
really good thing something that we could wish for
as well in other communities.
The Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen
County in New Milford is one of the local schools that
has joined Prizmah.
I think it is good for us, because Prizmah is a con-
solidation of all the services and all the programs
and all the expertise and all the resources and the
framework that Jewish day schools may need to be
supported, Ruth Gafni, Schechters head of school,
said. Rather than going to several places if you
need professional development, go here; if you need
financial development support, go there; if you need
development support, go somewhere else rather
than going to all those resources on your own, you
have this consolidation.
But, she added, its also something more. Its not
just regular, ordinary resources that it offers, she said.
Its a consolidation of best practices. That, I feel, is
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Jewish standard JUne 9, 2017 25

Jewish World

Israels government is right-wing

but its taking climate change seriously
Ben Sales
One of Israels strongest condemnations of Donald Trump
wasnt about the peace process. It didnt concern Trumps
broken promise to relocate the U.S. embassy, or his reported
leak of Israeli intelligence.
It was about climate change.
After President Trump announced the United States with-
drawal from the Paris accords, the landmark 2015 agree-
ment to fight global warming, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval
Steinitz joined the chorus of international leaders criticizing
his decision.
Even if theres a 50 percent likelihood that climate
change and global warming are caused by human activ-
ity, it is our duty to act to minimize risks, Steinitz posted
on Facebook last Thursday, the day when Trump made his
announcement. The Paris accords were a rare occurrence
in which the world united save for Syria and Nicaragua
to care for the welfare and health of future generations.
Like the United States, Israel has a right-leaning govern-
ment, with left-wing parties largely limited to protest votes.
The American and Israeli governments appear to agree on
the dangers of extremist Islamism, and their lead-
ers have heaped praise on each other with regard to
everything from military action to economic policy.
But Israels stance on climate change shows that in
some ways, its more like the rest of the world than like
the United States.
After Israel signed on to the Paris accords in 2015,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus speech to his
cabinet sounded like it could have been given by
then-President Barack Obama. Netanyahu called the
accords an important agreement. He acknowledged
the reality of global warming and pledged to combat
it. Enforcing the agreement, he said, demands inter-
national discipline, which is not easy, but for the good
of humanity, I hope that it will be found.

%
To that end, Israel promised to keep greenhouse
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gas emissions at about their current levels through
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2030. Taking population growth into account, the

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plan amounts to a per-capita reduction of green-
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1.25 %
M o st R ate house gas emissions of approximately 26 percent.

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51
Israels plan also included an eightfold increase in

1 .
renewable energy sources, implementing greener

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investing in public transit.

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In supporting the agreement, Netanyahu wasnt an
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 Jewish World

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Abortion in Israel is covered by health insurance and
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profit called Efrat, which offers financial support to
dissuade women from abortion but does not cam-
paign for legislative restrictions.
Netanyahu and Trump may be engaged in a public
love-fest when it comes to combating terrorism in the
Middle East. But as for the future of the planet, Israel is
standing with everyone from Lebanon to Luxembourg
and not with the United States. JTa Wire SerViCe

Nikki Haley blasts UN bodys

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Jewish standard JUne 9, 2017 27

 Jewish World
SAR Academy
SAR High School
congratulate
Rabbi Tully Harcsztark
who has been awarded the
2017 Covenant Award
and recognized as one of the top
Jewish educators in North America

The winners of the Covenant Award are selected by the Covenant

Foundation for leadership and excellence in Jewish education. Rabbi
Tully Harcsztark, SAR High School Founding Principal, is one of three
2017 winners.
President Donald Trump meets with Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad
Under Rabbi Harcsztarks exceptional and visionary leadership, Al-Thani in a hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 21.
SAR High School has become a national model of Jewish  Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Arab countries turning

education. Rabbi Harcsztark introduced the concept of the Grand
Conversation balancing tradition and modernity, promoting a
conversation between Torah and the world. He has nurtured a spirit
of collaborative thinking which fosters a culture of professional
growth for faculty and vibrant learning for students.
SAR High School Dedicated to the Memory of JJ Greenberg zl
503 West 259th Street R iverdale NY 10471 w ww.sarhighschool.org
Youve graduated...
on Qatar. What does
it mean for Israel?
Ron Kampeas
WASHINGTON Five Arab nations cut
their ties with Qatar on Monday, escalat-
ing a long-simmering competition for
preeminence in the region into actions
that could set the stage for war.
Saudi Arabia, which is leading the
charge, has cut off Qatars only land
crossing and what one Saudi-friendly
efforts to roll back Iranian ambitions in
Syria. But it is also a small nation that for
years has sought to appease the loom-
ing giants surrounding it the Saudis to
the south and west, the Iranians across
the Persian Gulf. Qatar shares a gas field
with Iran, signed a security agreement
with the country, and was almost alone
among Gulf states in welcoming the 2015
Iran nuclear deal that Saudi Arabia and

now what? estimate says is as much as 40 percent

of the tiny emirates food supply. The
other four nations cutting all ties with
Qatar are Egypt, the United Arab Emir-
ates, Bahrain, and Yemen.
Meanwhile, Iran is pledging humani-
tarian support for Qatar. Given Irans
propensity for meddling and its relative
military strength, any robust Iranian
assistance to the emirate could unsettle
Contact Dr. Norma Brecker, the region even further.
the Career Doctor, The tensions come as President Don-
ald Trump hopes to align U.S. allies in the
for a free resume review. region including Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
and Israel in a united front to contain
Iran and crush Islamist terrorists.
Whats fueling the crisis, and what
does it mean for Israel?
Its about Iran
Containing Irans influence is the num-
ber one priority for Saudi Arabia. The
oil-producing behemoth has watched
with alarm as Iran has exploited regional
unrest to expand its influence in nations
where the Saudis once had consider-
able sway nations that include Syria,
Contact Norma Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen. The Sau-
REACH OUT: at dis, like Israel, also believe that Iran has
(201) 986-1716 ambitions to become a nuclear weap-
NORMA@MYCAREERDOC.COM ons power.
Qatar houses the largest U.S. airbase
in the region and has contributed to
Israel revile.
Qatar is a small country that survives
by balancing its friends against its ene-
mies and not making clear who are the
friends and who are the enemies, said
Simon Henderson, a fellow at the Wash-
ington Institute for Near East Policy.
Its about the
Muslim Brotherhood
Qatars ruling Al-Thani clan has sup-
ported some of the Islamist movements
that long have roiled the region. It was
especially galling to Qatars neighbors
that precisely in the period following the
September 11 attacks, when governments
in the region were seeking to suppress
the extremist Islamist tendencies that
underpinned the terrorists ideologies,
Qatar continued to help nurture Islamist
movements. Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi especially resents Qatar
for its backing of the short-lived Muslim
Brotherhood presidency of Mohamed
Morsi, whom al-Sisi ousted in 2013.
For years, the emirate has offered safe
haven to the leadership of Hamas, the
Brotherhood affiliate that runs the Gaza
Strip. And in 2014, it joined with Tur-
key in attempting to broker an end to
Hamas war with Israel that would have
been friendlier to Hamas than Israel
wanted. Egypt intervened and helped

28 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017

 Jewish World

Israel impose an end to the war that was more to Isra- happy with the presence of Hamas in the capital of a major
els liking, and that kept Hamas isolated. U.S. ally. On the other hand, he said Israel has been work-

Its about Al-Jazeera
Qatar houses and underwrites Al-Jazeera, the muck-
racking, at times pro-Islamist and generally provoca-
tive satellite television channel that has proven an
irritant to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the other regimes.
Depending on who is talking, Qatars critics hate the
light the network casts on their oppression, or they
are sick and tired of what they see as its agenda-driven
fake news.
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, a UAE-based columnist
for Newsweek, says that the nations effectively block-
ading Qatar want nothing less than for the channel to
be shut down.
Its personal
The father of Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad
Al-Thani, who relinquished power to his son in 2013,
seized the country from his own father in 1995 in a
coup, prompting Saudi Arabia to attempt at least one
Five Arab nations just ing with Qatar since 2014 to keep the Gaza Strip from col-
lapsing into chaos.
pulled off what Israeli And while Israels outward posture toward Iran has been
Prime Minister Benjamin one of confrontation, it appreciates Qatars efforts to mod-
erate the Iranian regime, if only because that could mitigate
Netanyahu has wished the dangers of a regional arms race, said Anthony Cordes-
for years that the West man, who holds the Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies.
would do: Exact a From Israels viewpoint, you have to decide if you want a
painful price on a constant arms race or you want the kind of pressure on Iran
that will moderate it, he said.
nation for flirting with What should Israel do?
Hamas and Iran. Stay out. Stay quiet. Theres no upside to buying in,
Cordesman said.
The best position is to hope that if Israel stays out of this,
when it hosts the World Cup in 2022. The late Shimon Peres, what you will get is a compromise that will, on one hand,
when he was deputy prime minister, in 2007, made a high- put more pressure on Qatar in terms of Islamic extremism,
profile visit to Qatar. particularly the financing of extremists, but it will not freeze
Jonathan Schanzer, a vice president at the Foundation for the situation with Iran as a whole, he said.
Defense of Democracies, said the Israelis have not been  JTA Wire Service

countercoup to reinstall the father. In recent weeks

there have been ugly tit-for-tat exchanges between
partisans of the Qataris and the Saudis over which
clan was more compromised in the distant past
by dalliances with British colonials and (horrors!)
their women.
Also seen by Qatars neighbors as bad form, accord-
ing to the Financial Times: $1 billion paid by Qatar to
Iranian officials and an al-Qaeda affiliate to free 26
members of the ruling clan who had been on a fal-
conry expedition in Iraq. (No word on the status of
the birds.)

Its Trump
Trumps message last month when he visited Saudi
Arabia and addressed regional leaders was twofold:
Lets unite to crush terrorism and contain Iran, and
what you do on your own time is not our business. It
looks like the Saudis were listening.
The Qatari crisis isnt the first time Trumps winks
and nods precipitated trouble. Just days after top
Trump officials said last month they would be okay
with the Assad regime in Syria outlasting the civil war
another break with years of U.S. policy the Syrian
regime allegedly launched its worst gas attack on civil-
ians since 2013.
Trump himself also has made contradictory noises
about Qatar. In a meeting with Al-Thani in Saudi Ara-
bia last month, Trump referred to Qatars purchase of
beautiful military equipment from the United States.
But in a tweet early Monday after news of the Saudi
squeeze broke, Trump wrote: During my recent trip
to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be
funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar
look!

Its good for Israel

Five Arab nations just pulled off what Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has wished for years
that the West would do: Exact a painful price on a
nation for flirting with Hamas and Iran.

Its bad for Israel

Qatar was the only Persian Gulf nation that allowed
Israel to run a semi-diplomatic mission a business
interests section on its soil. That was from 1996 to
2000. Its consistent posture on the boycotts that so
aggravate Israel is that they are counterproductive. It
has hosted Israel at its tennis tournaments and said
that should it win a spot, Israel would be welcome

Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 29

Jewish World

These four women started a Reform congregation in Madrid

MARGARITA GOKUN SILVER
MADRID At the conclusion of a recent
Friday night service at the Reform Jewish
Community of Madrid, the space quickly
transforms from a meeting hall into a din-
ing room.
Several people assemble a long table.
They adorn it with a white tablecloth, place
chairs on both sides, and set two challahs
topped by a cover in the center.
Men and women lay out plates of knishes
The Reform Jewish Commu-
nity of Madrid the only Madrid
congregation affiliated with the
European Union for Progressive
Judaism was founded three
years ago by four women: Yael
Cobano, Ruth Timon, Keren Her-
rero, and Leidy Andrade. Theyre
the ncleo duro, the hard core,
as Timon, the synagogues trea-
surer, calls them. Since 2014, the
congregation has grown from a

MARGARITA GOKUN SILVER

and bourekas, shakshuka and kugel, a Span-
ish tortilla and an almodrote, a Sephardi egg-
plant dish. When the table is set, everyone
gathers around for Kiddush. A monthly com-
munal Shabbat dinner begins.
While such a scene may be typical at Jew-
ish communities across the United States,
in Spain it is something of a rarity. The exis-
tence and evolution of a progressive con-
gregation, as Reform congregations typi-
cally are known outside North America,
is a departure from the citys traditionally
Orthodox-dominated Jewish life. For the
people gathered around the Sabbath table SINAI SchoolsLeslie
its a welcome development, one the Span-
ish capital needed for some time.
Student Art Show and Auction
UNIQUE INSPIRATIONS
gathering of a some 20 regulars to
a viable community of 26 families,
complete with a rabbi, a Torah
scroll, and a host of cultural and
educational events, from Hebrew
classes to book clubs.
Across Europe, there are fewer
than 200 active congregations From left, Yael Cobano, Ruth Timon, Rabbi Stephen Berkowitz, and Zohar Ben-David
practicing progressive forms of participating in the Torah reading at the Reform Jewish Community of Madrid.
Judaism. Just six of them are in
Spain. congregations are in the works, he of Madrids LGBTQ community, people
Spain has been one of our three key added, and he expects a national federa- who come from interfaith families, and
emphases for the last five years or so, said tion of Spanish Reform communities to those at various stages of conversion
and Bear Bergman,
Givers present the immediate past presi- open by the end of this year. have found their Jewish home here.
dent of the European Union for Progres-
sive Judaism. At least four more Reform
UNIQUE INSPIRATIONS Looking back at the congregations
100% of thebeginnings,
proceeds from the sale we found that Jewish
There are about 50,000 Jews in
Spain; 10,000 of them live in Madrid.
of the studentscommunityartwork will benefit life in Madrid didnt fulfill At the time when the ncleo duro
110 South Orange AvenueLivingston, NJ 07039

Come experience the world through our students eyes. SINAI Schools Scholarship Fund.
us, Cobano, the congregations presi- formed, Jewish life in the city
students artwork will benefit SINAI Schools

Come experience the world through our students eyes

Admission is free.
Present

Monday June 8th, 2015, 6:00 8:00 p.m. dent, said. although quite developed for a coun-
RSVP to Kristen@beargivers.org
100% of the proceeds from the sale of the

Come experience the world through our students' eyes

The Avenue, 1382 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666
or call Bear Givers We saw the possibility of a commu-
at 212.224.0140 try that dispensed with its Jews more
Thursday June 15th, 2017
Student Art Show and Auction
In Memory of Jocheved Orbach, ZL

Cocktails and dairy hors doeuvres will be served Children are nity model
encouraged to thats
attend. inclusive, happy, where than 500 years ago was limited to the
you can have a Jewish identity of the main Orthodox synagogue, a handful
Cocktails and hors doeuvres will be served
Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy

and and
Bear Givers is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing joy to the lives of children and adults with the symbolic

Present 21st affect

century, she said, pointing to the of smaller Sephardic Orthodox syna- Present
or call Bear Givers at 212.224.0140

gift of a loveable Teddy Bear. Bear Givers believes that the altruism of some can exponentially the lives of
many. Its programs facilitate an environment where givers are empowered by bringing joy to others and enabling
Reform movement in the United States gogues, Chabad, and the Masorti (Con-
Children are encouraged to attend
Jocheved Orbach Dining Hall

RSVP: Kristen@beargivers.org

young people with special needs, like the students of SINAI Schools, to feel the satisfaction of being able to give

UNIQUE INSPIRATIONS
back to others. www.beargivers.org
and the United Kingdom, as well as to servative) Bet-El congregation.
UNIQUE INSPIRATIONS Bet Shalom, the 10-year-old Progressive
Operating inclusive special education schools for Jewish children Grades 1-12 as well as programs for adults, SINAI
is widely regarded as one of the countrys leading Jewish schools for children with learning or developmental
There was no pluralistic alternative
Jewish Community of Barcelona.
disabilities whose needs cannot be met in a regular education setting. SINAI Schools serves children with a wide
to look at Judaism from other perspec-
Student
Art Art Show
andand Auction
Student Art Show and Auction
6:00 8:00PM

range of disabilities, providing individualized programming, highly specialized services, in-house therapies, and a 1:2
Scholarship Fund

Student Show Auction A large part of that model is egalitari- tives, and especially, the liberal one,
and

teacher-to-student ratio. Each of SINAIs schools is housed in a regular education partner Jewish Elementary or High
School, creating an inclusion experience that is personalized for every single child. www.sinaischools.org
In Memory of Jocheved Orbach, ZL
Admission is free

In Memory of Jocheved Orbach, Z"L

www.sinaischools.org anism and inclusiveness. The founders, Cobano said. Where a womans role
In Memory of Jocheved
Thursday Orbach,
June 15th, ZL
2017
all female, have led the congregation, would be different from what existed
Thursday June 15th, 2017 and women lead Shabbat services. The until now for example women offi-

Thursday June- 8:00

6:00 8:00PM
6:00 15th,
PM2017
communitys members come from Pan-
ama, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina,
ciating at services, a community open
to the society, contributing as Spanish
1

Jocheved Orbach Dining Hall

6:00Joseph
8:00PMKushner Hebrew Academy
Brazil, and Israel. Additionally, members Jews, and open to ideas of social justice,

110 South Orange AvenueLivingston, NJ 07039

Jocheved Orbach Dining Hall
Cocktails and hors doeuvres will be served
Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy
100%Orange
110 South of the proceeds from the sale of theNJ 07039
AvenueLivingston,
students artwork will benefit SINAI Schools
Cocktails Scholarship
and hors doeuvres
Fund will be served
Come experience the world through our students eyes
100% of the proceeds from the sale of the
RSVP: Kristen@beargivers.org
students artwork
or call will
Bear Givers benefit SINAI Schools
at 212.224.0140
Scholarship Fund 11

Admission is free
Children are encouraged to attend
Come experience the world through our students eyes

RSVP: Kristen@beargivers.org
Jocheved Orbach Dining Hall Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy
or call BearSouth
110 Orange
Givers Avenue, Livingston, NJ 07039
at 212.224.0140
1
Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served
Admission is free Children are encouraged to attend
Admission is free
100% of the proceeds from the sale of the students' artwork will benet SINAI Schools' Scholarship Fund
Children are encouraged to attend Members of the Reform community celebrate Israels Independence Day in
RSVP: Kristen@beargivers.org or call Bear Givers at 212.224.0140 Madrids Retiro Park. MARGARITA GOKUN SILVER

30 JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017

 Jewish World

in a sense of wanting a better society for everyone
including the Jews, but not only.
When the congregation first formed, it met in a
small space rented from a local wine shop. We didnt
even know if we were going to be able to pay the rent
that first Kabbalat Shabbat, Timon recalled.
The event was a success, and many more monthly
Shabbat services followed, each accompanied by a
potluck dinner. As the word spread, the congregation
soon outgrew the space and found a home in a build-
ing with flexible hours and a kitchen.
The kitchen plays a crucial role; communal Shabbat
Torah and the rabbi the Reform community of Madrid
remains true to its roots. Women continue to lead services,
its doors are open to those in search of their Jewish origins,
and members are involved in Madrids social justice work.
This last aspect interactions with the citys non-Jews is
somewhat anomalous in Madrid, where Jewish communi-
ties often are seen as closed. The Reform congregation has
participated in an event for refugees at the Madrid Central
Mosque, given presentations to non-Jews about Jewish spiri-
tuality, and has taken part in a collection of groceries for
Madrids food bank. It is also beginning to collaborate with
a restaurant thats helping to feed the homeless.
Members of the congregation cite the inclusivity and the
communal atmosphere as the reasons they joined. My
inclusion in the Reform Jewish Community of Madrid has
a primordial place in my life, Liliana Levy, a community
member, said. Without these experiences, my life wouldnt
be what it is today. Each of its members is essential. Why not
another community? Simply because here I feel at home.
Cobano agrees. Nowadays people want to live their Jew-
ish identity in a more cheerful manner, with more culture,
more knowledge, she said. They come because they see
our community as more friendly, more open like a model
with more of everything. JTA WIRE SERVICE

meals are central to the life of the congregation. Stay-

ing for dinner and sitting down at a table together has
always been connected with us, Cobano said. It
MARGARITA GOKUN SILVER

creates community, family spirit, links, audacious

hospitality.
Eighteen months in, in the fall of 2015, the commu-
nity decided to bring in a rabbi, because text study was
important to the congregations members. And the
community realized that hiring the only non-Ortho-
dox rabbi in Spain would be a draw for those intrigued
by progressive Judaism.
To reduce expenses, the congregation teamed up
with Barcelonas Bet Shalom to hire a full-time rabbi
whom the two communities could share.
With the financial assistance of EUPJ, the congre-
gations found a French-speaking American rabbi
who was willing to relocate to Barcelona from Paris.
Since then, Rabbi Stephen Berkowitz has learned

We saw the
possibility of a
community model
thats inclusive, Help provide a home, love,
happy, where you can and education to thousands
of poor, orphaned, and at-risk
have a Jewish identity children across Israel. Lift them
of the 21st century. from the deepest of despair
YAEL COBANO
to a bright, dignified and
productive future.
enough Spanish to lead services although often
with Cobanos help and he visits Madrid once a Visit migdalohrusa.org.
month. Berkowitz divides his time between the two
communities during the High Holy Days and hes
available for Jewish lifecycle events as well as ongo-
ing pastoral support.
Its a privilege to be a part of the current Jewish cul-
tural and religious revival in Spain, Berkowitz wrote
in an email. It is also a great honor to both teach and
accompany individuals eager to deepen their involve-
ment in the Jewish tradition through the approach
of Progressive Judaism. The Reform Community [of
Madrid] offers a unique community spirit which is
warm, creative and participatory.
The congregation also recently got its first Torah,
albeit on a temporary basis. As part of the EUPJs
Torah-lending initiative, it received the scroll last year.
The community will have to return it in 2018, however,
to make it available for the next small progressive Jew-
ish community.
What happens next? Well keep looking, Cobano
said. We cannot afford a Torah ourselves yet, but per-
haps there is a community out there, either in the U.S. Lighting the way.
or the U.K., that would help and give us one.
Although now more established with both the

AMFO_NJJewishStandard_HalfPageIsland.indd 2 JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017

1/12/17 31
1:01 PM
Jewish World

Ex-army chief warns infighting

is wearing away Israels defenses
Former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz warned last week that Isra- and conflict. The survey found that 50 years after the 1967 them up again, Schueftan
els ability to withstand attacks could be weakened not by outside Six Day War, Israelis both Jews and non-Jews are patri- said. The thing that best
forces, but by the increasing infighting between the groups that otic and optimistic, but they are afraid of terror attacks, defends your house looks
make up Israeli society. though to a lesser extent than they were last year. unstable from the outside,
We have, of course, a challenge with international delegitimi- Former U.S. ambassador Dan Shapiro, who also spoke even though it is the thing
zation, but we have a more important challenge in internal differ- at the conference, noted that in his time in Israel, he has that allows stability.
ences, Gantz said. seen that citizens have to have the ability to sweep up the The professor also
The former military leaders comments were made at a Haifa glass, heal the wounds, and return to a normal life. doubted the ability of
University conference about the institutions new study on the However, according to Gantz, that ability increasingly is Israeli society to come
countrys national resilience its ability to withstand hardship at risk. together, since some parts
As an example, the retired lieutenant general (and, some of the population find
believe, potential politician) brought up a recent meeting Former U.S. Ambassador themselves separated
hed had with a group of former high-ranking officers to Israel Dan Shapiro in from the rest of the coun-
imagine the best kind of people you can in which they his backyard in Raanana, try by what they consider
were on the verge of violent outbursts over the actions by Israel, on March 2, 2017. fundamental, existential
radical elements of the ultra-Orthodox community that  ANDREW TOBIN issues.
have been violently protesting military conscription and Schueftan led the study
attacking uniformed soldiers. on Israels national resilience alongside Gabriel Ben-Dor,
These things that are starting to stir in society, they are head of the universitys National Security Studies program.
poised to become dangerous, he said. The survey has been conducted every year since 2000,
According to Gantz, a shift occurred 50 years ago with the though this is the first time its results are being made public.
1967 Six-Day War, though he admitted the view was based Over 2,000 people were polled, asked to give a score
on anecdotal evidence only. Before the 1967 war, he said, from one to six on topics like how patriotic they felt, or how
Israel was a mobilized society, with everybody generally much they trusted the government or feared terrorism.
working together toward a common goal. A score of six indicated a high level, while a score of one
IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, with binoculars, tours Gantz said that he has seen the rifts in Israeli society grow- indicated a low level. A full report on the survey has not
the Israeli border with Syria on May 21, 2013. ing between religious and secular, right and left, black and yet been released because it was completed very recently,
 TAL MANOR/IDF SPOKESMAN/FLASH 90/JTA white, Arabs and Jews. a university spokesperson said, but the main findings were
The military, Gantz said, is providing an adequate released last week.
defense response to what we are facing. But in an ever- In what the university described as a surprising find,
changing world, he said, Israeli society needs the person- Israeli women were found to be more patriotic, more opti-
S aam m yyss alities and values to stand up to anything. mistic, and more militant than their male counterparts.
S m m As an example of the new threats facing the world, Gantz The level of patriotism among Jewish and Arab women
cited challenges arising from fast-changing technologies, was 4.68 out of a possible score of 6, compared to 4.38
like the hacking attack that brought down the British health- among men; their optimism 4.7 out of 6 was 0.2 points
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Israeli Strategic Affairs Ministry unifies the pro-Israel network
On Sunday June 4, Israeli Strategic Along with civil society initiatives
Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan such as the Act.il application devel-
launched an unprecedented initiative oped by Israeli-American Council
to unify the activity of people around (IAC) and IDC students, we believe
the world who are standing up for that this will be a game-changer in
Israel, and combating the anti-Israel defending Israel online and around
propaganda and de-legitimization the world.
being increasingly spread online. Since its establishment, the
Under the brand 4IL, the Min- Ministry of Strategic Affairs has
istry of Strategic Affairs launched a met dozens of public diplomacy
new website which includes videos, organizations in Israel and around
graphics, articles, and other content. the world, which take an active part
At the same time, the Israeli Amer- in civil pro-Israel activities. These
ican Council and the Interdisciplin- organizations constitute a signifi-
ary Center in Herzliya launched the cant force in the pro-Israel network,
act.il app, which provides simple but and the aim of this campaign is to
effective online tasks for anyone who AlExI RoSENfEld
enhance their activities while pro-
wishes to stand up for Israel. These viding Israels supporters in Israel
tasks take less than two minutes a and around the world with mate-
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, center, and Israeli Strategic
day to complete, but their impact is rials and methods for defending
Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan, right, lead the Celebrate Israel Parade.
wide-ranging. Israel online.
The 4IL global campaign was als during which Minister Erdan presented the The public diplomacy campaign
launched with a series of events, beginning at campaign to the next generation of activists. will be led by Israels former beauty queen,
the annual Celebrate Israel Parade up Man- The campaign, which is being launched si- Titi Aynaw, and actress Ariel Mortman, star
hattans Fifth Avenue. The parade, hosted by multaneously in the U.S. and Israel, and soon of the Greenhouse series, which is cur-
the Jewish Community Relations Council of in Europe as well as in other regions, is aimed rently being filmed for a Netflix adaptation
New York (JCRC-NY) first began in 1965 and at creating an energized online community to in the U.S. A video featuring Titi and Ariel
this year marked the 50th anniversary of the combat the online lies, calls for boycotts, and in the United States and Israel will headline
reunification of Jerusalem. The parade was led the de-legitimization of the State of Israel. the campaign in encouragement to join the
by Minister Erdan and New York Governor The State of Israel, Minister of Strategic movement.
Andrew Cuomo, and was attended by digni- Affairs Gilad Erdan said, is under constant As part of the Ministrys encouragement
taries including Members of Knesset, the may- attack by de-legitimizers working to demonize of civil initiatives in the struggle against
or of Jerusalem, senators and congressmen, Israel online and undermine our legitimacy de-legitimization, a dedicated app was also
alongside some 40,000 supporters of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish People. For be launched in New York. The app, initiated
who painted the avenue in blue and white. this reason I am initiating an international by the Israeli American Community (IAC),
The official launching ceremony took place at effort to unite Israels supporters around the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya (IDC) as
the IACs Celebrate Israel Festival, while 4,000 globe and provide them with a platform that well as Maccabis, was developed with a vision
participants from the Jewish-Israeli commu- strengthens their activities, with tools that will to create an international community which
nity collectively completed the first task of the help all of us fight hatred together, and with can take action online in, real time to defend
campaign dedicated to the city of Jerusalem. resources to spread the truth. As part of the the State of Israel.
The festivities came to an end at the IAC Dor campaign, we will provide Israels supporters The English version of the 4IL initiative can
Chadash Rooftop Party for Young Profession- with videos, graphics, articles, and content. be found at http://www.4il.org.il/eng/.
Advertorial

JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017 33

Editorial
Thoughts on celebrating Israel
Truth Regardless of Consequences

Israel should bomb

E Syrian crematorium
very year the Celebrate Israel parade in Manhattan, was led by our extraordinary chaz-
is oddly different and strikingly simi- zan, Ari Priven, one of those rare men who look

lar. And every year its broken into two
parts the part before, when we wait,
and the part during, when we walk.
Last year it drizzled and misted and poured; we
wore dark wet coats that covered the vivid colors
of the shirts that we are asked (in what I always
find a bit of overreach, because I simply do not
dress that way) to wear.
The year before that, it was hot. The colors were
bright, but we wilted.
So if last year was Baby Bear and two years ago
was Papa Bear, this year was Mama Bear. It was just
right. (It started raining soon after the parade, and
rained the rest of the day, but whatever)
So the walk downtown, like the parade itself,
was glorious. But the thing about getting there, the
thing about the parade itself, the sobering thing, is
how hard it is to get in.
As always, the perimeter of the parade is marked
by concrete barricades and swarms of police offi-
cers. They are there to protect us. I know that. But
the reason that they have to be out in such force
is frightening.
I walk with my synagogue. We were told to meet
on 55th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues at
10:30, to leave at 11 sharp. To get there, you have to
navigate barricades, cordons, and police officers
who politely but firmly ask you where youre going,
who youre going with, and why. Last year, I didnt
think clearly enough, and tried to get in through
Fifth Avenue, which is harder. There were more
barricades on the east side of the parades; had it
not been for my rabbi, whom I ran into in the park,
I might not have been able to talk my way in, even
though I belonged there.
This year, our garish shirts did their magic, and
I got in fairly quickly. I walked from the west side
of the block to the east side, seeing, among other
groups, students from Moriah and the Torah
Academy of Bergen County, as well as Israeli scout
troupes from Tenafly and Fair Lawn.
When you walk, you see spectators and the
groups that wait near you and walk before and
after you, and thats all you see. I saw the float
from the Jewish National Fund, which drew up
alongside us before moving ahead. I saw children
sitting on it, looking a bit ill-at-ease; the small band
on it played Zum Gali Gali over and over again,
and a small girl on the float vigorously and open-
mouthedly chewed gum to its rhythm.
Our group, from Congregaton Bnai Jeshurun
good in shorts. He carried an accordion; his voice
is heavenly, stirring, strong, supple, lovely. He can
and did play accordion, sing, and walk at the same
time.
Behind us, the group from Beit Simchat Torah,
the citys LGBT shul, sang too.
It is a joy to walk up Fifth Avenue, in the middle
of the broad street, with palatial apartment build-
ings and the hugely looming Temple Emanu-El on
the east side and the deep green of the park on
the west. There were fewer spectators than there
used to be maybe because its not so easy to get
in to see it but the ones who were there were
enthusiastic.
There was, as always, the one disgusting part;
the men of Neturei Karta, dressed like charedim
but hurling insults like rage-driven long distance
truckers. They waved their foul signs at us. Next
to them, most of the Palestinian demonstrators
there were just a few seemed to model restraint
(but of course everything is relative).
Most of the guards were New York City police
officers, in their recognizable uniforms, but among
them I also saw it would have been hard to miss
men in black uniforms, carrying what I assume
were submachine guns, with their hands on the
triggers. The cops seemed more or less relaxed;
these guys were staring at the crowd in front of
them or the buildings and park behind them. That
we needed them was terrifying too.
The march is short. It starts at 55th Street and
ends at 74th, with a curt sign that says something
like Route ends here. Stop music now. And so we
made a right turn and were funneled onto the side
street and then to Madison Avenue, with a quick
stop for a group picture of the 50-odd of us and
our banner.
At least in the part of the walk that I see, there is
a huge range of groups, representing the range of
Jewish love for Israel. We all recognize that there
are complexities; the parade is not the place to
display them, although there is never a time to
pretend that they do not exist. Probably my own
group represented at least 50 opinions. Maybe
more, because we all change our minds at least
occasionally.
But the feeling of joy in Israel, in being Jewish,
in being part of this vast, fractious community, in
being on Fifth Avenue, in being in New York, in
being alive it is surprisingly uncomplicated, and
it happens every single year.
J
erusalem I spent the morn-
ing at the Israeli Parliament,
meeting with Israeli mem-
bers of the Knesset and
some government ministers, in
an effort to discuss Syria.
The State Departments rev-
elation, made about three weeks
ago, that Syria is operating a cre-
matorium is shocking and vile.
U.S. satellite photos identified the
crematoria at Syrian President
Bashar Assads Sed-
naya prison. The
killing centers appar-
ently were built to
destroy evidence of
Assads mass murder
of innocent civilians
and political oppo-
nents in Syria, amid
a growing genocide.
Im well aware Rabbi
that Israel has mas- Shmuley
sive security prob- Boteach
lems of its own and
is surrounded by
genocidal enemies intent on its
annihilation. Im also aware that
if Israel were to bomb the Syrian
crematorium, many Arab nations
would see it not as a humanitarian
act but as an act of aggression. Im
also well aware of the fact that so
many people are so anti-Semitic
that no matter what good Israel
does, they still will attack it as an
aggressor.
And still, Israel should bomb
the hell out of the Syrian cremato-
rium and remove it from the earth.
Why? Because we Jews are a
light unto the nations. We taught
the world that murder is the
supreme crime and that no man
may stand idly by the blood of his
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach of Englewood is author of 30 books, including his
JP most recent, The Israel Warrior. Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.
neighbor. We taught the world
that every human being is created
equally in the image of God and
that life is the highest value.
A crematorium operating just
140 miles from the Jewish state in
the year 2017 is abomination. It
cannot stand.
Just over 70 years ago, Frank-
lin Roosevelt failed to bomb Aus-
chwitz camp and other death
camps, allowing the Nazis to
continue to mur-
der millions of Jews
with impunity. If the
phrase Never Again
is to have any mean-
ing, the Western
powers that stand
for moralit y and
against genoc ide
must immediately
bomb the Syrian
crematorium.
Israel is not
absolved of that
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y.
Indeed, its proximity begs for
action.
When I went to the Knesset I
brought with me the Torah scroll
that we wrote in the name of vic-
tims of the Holocaust, the Rwan-
dan genocide, and Elie Wiesel. I
told the lawmakers I met that if
Elie Wiesel were alive, he would
be demanding action from worlds
leaders. He would be horrified
that the pages of major newspa-
pers around the world published
pictures of crematorium and the
world did nothing.
Now, as we approach Elie Wie-
sels first yahrzeit, the responsi-
bility to stop innocent Arab men,
women, and children from being

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34 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017


slaughtered in Syria falls to all of us.
Elies son Elisha was the keynote speaker at our
gala dinner on May 21. I also accompanied Elisha
to Auschwitz for the March of the Living, where
he electrified the audience with a demand that we
finally become our brothers keeper. Twelve thou-
sand young Jews walked down the same paths as
those whose lives were extinguished, whose bodies
and souls were burned in crematoria, and whose
remains floated to heaven.
How many of those who were murdered would
have lived had Roosevelt decided to bomb the
trains to Auschwitz, and the death camp itself? The
allies already were bombing the IG Farben indus-
t trial plants near Auschwitz. What would it have
taken to destroy the crematorium? A single bomb-
t ing run? Two?
Roosevelt, who ultimately defeated Hitler, has
- seen his legacy suffer tremendously for this cata-
- strophic moral omission.
The same is true of Bill Clintons refusal, in 1994,
to bomb the radio antenna from which the Hutu
- were broadcasting and coordinating the annihila-
tion of the Tutsi in the Rwandan genocide. Presi-
dent Clinton ultimately apologized for doing abso-
lutely nothing in Rwanda. But that provides scarce
- comfort to the families of more than 800,000 who
were murdered.
Each genocide is different, and the Holocaust is
a crime that has no parallel in human history. Still,
the words Never Again must mean the same in all
y situations of mass murder.
Hitler was emboldened by the worlds failure to
act after the Nuremberg laws were enacted, after
t Kristallnacht foreshadowed the fate of European
t Jewry, after his explicit declaration of his intent
. to exterminate the Jews, and after learning of the
r Final Solution.
Barack Obama did nothing while Assad terrorized
I and used chemical weapons on his people. Worse,
Obamas failure to enforce his red line embold-
- ened Assad to gas his people again. Recently, while
- being interviewed by John F. Kennedys grandson,
I the former president brazenly claimed that his inac-
f tion in Syria required political courage, as if a fail-
ure to punish the gassing of children is something
that merits applause.
To his credit, Donald Trump took decisive action
- in response to Assads last chemical attack. It was his
proudest moment as president. By attacking Assad
for gassing Arab children, he enforced the red line,
something that Obama refused to do. Now, Trump
- should be equally decisive by sending cruise missiles
- or whatever munitions are required to reduce the
, crematorium to rubble.
But none of this absolves Israel of its moral respon-
sibility to destroy the crematorium, should America
and other nations refuse to take action. Of the Israeli
leaders whom I met at the Knesset, the person who
most understood this was Minister of Agriculture Uri
Ariel, whom we had honored at an evening paying
tribute to Elie Wiesel.
When President Trump came to Israel recently he
was asked to make a mandatory visit to Yad Vashem,
the museum and memorial to the six million Jews
who were murdered in the Holocaust. And during
that visit, just 150 miles away, Syria was and is still
running a crematorium that is an affront to God,
decency, and every Jewish value.
Israel should electrify the world with its total
destruction.
Opinion
The U.S., the fate of liberty,
and the fate of the USS Liberty
T
he Jewish world, together with supporters of the deliberate. Some Americans speculated that the attack was
Zionist dream beyond our communal borders, occasioned by American jamming of Israeli communica-
find ourselves in heady times as we celebrate the tions, or by fear that the Liberty would compromise Israeli
fiftieth anniversaries of the liberation of Jerusa- intelligence regarding the Golan campaign at a point when
lem and the Israeli victories of the 1967 Six Day War. the Jewish states very survival was at stake.
We look ahead with grateful wonder to the coming years Thankfully, the presidents response prevailed, and for
seventieth anniversary of the State of Israels founding. We the most part it has defined historys perspective on the
have much to celebrate and good reason for thanksgiving. attack on the USS Liberty. It is impossible to determine if
Each new day seems to recall further details of perilous, LBJs stated perspective reflects his actual beliefs, or if it is
decisive, and, one might say, miraculous events now half grounded in self-sacrificing and calculated realpolitik (like
a century past. the facts of the incident itself ). The 36th presidents words,
One historic anniversary associated with that remarkable however, speak volumes as to his attitude toward the Jewish
period, however, is far from cause for celebration. On June state: America and Israel have a common love of human
8, 1967, Israeli military forces launched a devastating attack freedom, and they have a common faith in a democratic
on the USS Liberty, a technical research ship belonging way of life. Whatever Johnson truly believed, and whatever
to the United States Navy, in international Mediterranean the facts, he did not allow the attack on the Liberty to derail
waters north of the Sinai Peninsula. The Liberty was torpe- a critical alliance at the height of the Cold War.
doed, strafed with machine-gun and cannon In addition to explanations and apologies,
fire, and set aflame with napalm bombs. The Israel also placed a memorial to the Libertys
attack killed 34 Americans, wounded 171 crew American casualties in its Naval Museum. The
members, and left a hole in the ship 39 feet by plaque lists their names and bears an inscrip-
24 feet wide. It has been reported that a num- tion in Hebrew: We express deep sorrow
ber of Jews, specifically assigned to the Liberty for the 34 friends who died at our hands, in
because of their facility with the Hebrew lan- a battle that was not theirs, aboard the USS
guage, were among the American casualties. Liberty, June 8, 1967... May their memory be
The Liberty incident represents the most a blessing!
perilous moment in the historic, strategic, and The inscription is poignant in its acknowl-
diplomatic relationship between the State of Rabbi Joseph edgement of responsibility (they died at our
Israel and the United States. It also represents H. Prouser hands) and in its description of American
the nightmare scenario for American Jews, as military personnel as friends of Israel. The
citizens both fiercely loyal to the United States assertion that the Libertys crew members lost
and profoundly committed to the Jewish state. their lives in a battle that was not theirs (bkrav lo la-hem),
The causes of the attack are a matter of considerable however, is far more unsettling. It is true that Israel, like any
historical debate and mystery. Israel contacted American sovereign nation, bears ultimate responsibility for its own
authorities immediately after the incident, explaining that defense. It is true, too, that the United States had estab-
the Liberty had been mistaken for an Egyptian warship, lished its official neutrality during the 1967 war, rendering
that it was believed (admittedly in error) to have been shell- the conflict a battle that was not theirs. Yet this phrase,
ing strategic Sinai positions in advance of an invasion force memorializing the lamentable events of 50 years ago, also
designed to flank Israeli forces. Army Chief of Staff Yitzchak conveys a subtle moral indictment. Israels daily fight against
Rabin, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, and Prime Minister terror, against explicit threats of annihilation and genocide,
Levi Eshkol explained that standing orders to attack any are rightfully Americas battle as well. American claims of
unidentified warship in the area had been issued, and that a neutrality in 1967 or in 2017 are not a defense; they are a
series of errors and the fog of war had led to the tragic and statement of moral failure and culpability.
lethal attack on Israels American allies. Israeli authorities This principle was never stated more forcefully or clearly
conveyed abject formal apologies for the attack to the Amer- than by William J. Bennett, former U.S. Secretary of Educa-
ican administration. President Lyndon B. Johnson accepted tion, in his book Why We Fight: Moral Clarity and the War
the Israeli apology and explanation. In fact, he devoted little on Terrorism.
attention to the tragedy in his memoirs, going so far as to Our essential kinship with Israel is a deep-rooted feel-
under-report casualty numbers. ing of linked destinies, a feeling that echoes back to our
Not all Americans were as sanguine about Israeli expres- founding and to the birth of freedom which our fathers
sions of remorse. Rear Adm. Isaac Kidd, senior officer in the identified with the biblical Israelites emergence from the
American Naval Court of Inquiry investigating the attack, darkness of bondage. And I believe it also has to do with an
reportedly referred to the Israelis responsible for the attack understanding, almost religious in nature, that to our two
as murderous bastards. Capt. Ward Boston, senior counsel nations above all others has been entrusted the fate of lib-
of the Court of Inquiry, described the incident as a delib- erty in the world.
erate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire On the anniversary of the attack on the USS Liberty, it
crew. Secretary of State Dean Rusk insisted that Israel had behooves us, too, to contemplate the fate of liberty in the
confirmed the identity of the Liberty, and its American sta- world, as Secretary Bennett so aptly framed the issue. That
tus, fully an hour before the attack, which, he said, evinced battle certainly is ours, wherever it may manifest itself. In
reckless disregard for human life. The official policy of the that continuing battle, neutrality is no virtue.
USS Liberty Veterans Association is to consider the attack as See liberty page 38
The opinions expressed in this section are those of the authors, not necessarily those of the newspapers editors, publishers,
or other staffers. We welcome letters to the editor. Send them to jstandardletters@gmail.com.
Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 35
Opinion
Using water to create a wave of support for Israel
H
ow often have you looked at
the endless torrent of anti-
Israel propaganda and won-
dered how so many people
can believe that nonsense in the face of
Israels miraculous achievements?
If you are reading this column, theres
a good chance that like me, you live in a
semi-perpetual state of awe-filled admira-
tion for the Jewish state. This week, espe-
cially, as we relive the rebirth of Israel
through its seemingly impossible victory
in the Six-Day War, it seems irrational not
to believe in miracles. From decimating
the Egyptian air power in a daring flash of
chutzpah-fueled brilliance Let there be
light! to reuniting the Jewish people with
their beating heart, the Kotel, for the first
time in millennia And behold it was very
good! the wars impact is as wondrous as
the story of creation itself. Is it an accident
it took just six days?
Following the 1967 war, Israel was an
example to the world of overcoming
adversity, leveraging opportunities, and
standing together to defeat any challenge.
Unfortunately, the David-beats-Goliath
story got turned on its head, and in recent
decades Israel has been portrayed as an
aggressor and oppressor. As a result, our
community has focused significant efforts
on fighting anti-Israel and BDS forces on
campus, in the media, and with our legis-
lators. The Jewish Federation of Northern
New Jersey convened the iCAN teen con-
ference, the nations largest such regional
meeting, to prepare teens to understand
and respond to questions with confidence
and pride. Additionally, in cooperation
Dying to get closer to death?
W
hat is the Jewish fascina-
tion with death?
We seem to put a dis-
proportionate amount of
energy toward the notion of memory and
visiting (and re-visiting) places of death.
My loved ones who have left this world are
interred in Michigan. Nary a time passes
that I am near their final resting place
that I do not make a journey to pay my
respects. Often, I make special pilgrimages
just for the occasion.
I am not quite sure why I do it. It is not
to be closer to their presence or memory.
That happens to me intermittently, at the
least expected moment, on any given day
or location. What force drives me there to
that physical space? Does that same force
36 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017
with federations across the state, we suc-
cessfully advocated for anti-BDS legislation
in the New Jersey legislature, achieving
overwhelming support from our senate
and assembly for outlawing state pension
investment in funds that boycott Israel.
The success of these efforts shows the
strength of our community and its support
for the Jewish state.
New Jersey has
newfound water
challenges,
while Israel has a
history of water
experience in
technology and
management!
STANLEY GOODMAN
Our dedication to building support for
Israel requires us not only to defend, but
also to promote it. Earlier this year, the
Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey
was looking to highlight Israel to state leg-
islators during our state legislative advo-
cacy day. Having passed the anti-BDS law
so recently, we wanted to find another
reason to engage legislators meaning-
fully with Israel. Meanwhile, federations
annual One Book/One Community pro-
gram had selected Let There Be Water:
drive me to visit living relatives more?
Why not?
We seem to be preoccupied with death
on more than a personal level. Take a first-
timers trip to Israel as a case in point. Sta-
ples of the visit undoubtedly are Masada,
which is an homage to mass suicide, and
Rabin Square, where the prime minis-
ter was assassinated in 1995. Everyone,
regardless of how short their visit to Israel
might be, makes an obligatory stop at Yad
Vashem, Israels Holocaust Memorial. Why
are we eager to tour death and murder?
To further this point, more Jewish visi-
tors have gone to Auschwitz and Birkenau
then they have visited the synagogues that
are growing today.
Dont think that I am numb to these
Israels Solution for a Water-
Starved World, Seth Sie-
gels best-selling account of
the development of Israels
water resources. Our chair of
government relations, Stan-
ley Goodman, had a brilliant
thought: Why not educate
our legislators on Israeli solu-
tions to water problems New Laura Fein
Jersey faces? Elaborating, he
explained: New Jersey has
newfound water challenges, while Israel
has a history of water experience in tech-
nology and management! Connecting New
Jersey and Israel is basic problem-solving
101! Why reinvent the wheel?
Since March, Mr. Goodman has led the
federations effort to meet with state legis- an offer. As solutions are implemented, a
lators to discuss the many ways New Jer-
sey could benefit by adopting practices
and technologies that have transformed
Israel from a nation of severe water short-
ages to an exporter of water. The exper-
tise that underlies that transformation
already has created productive partner-
ships with Israels neighbors and around
the world, from Africa to China to Califor-
nia. Similarly, New Jersey can benefit from
Israels knowledge. New Jersey has a range
of water concerns, including inefficient
water management (there are some 475
different water authorities in the state),
aging infrastructure, and wasteful usage
leading to shortages, contamination, and
more. Israels existence rests on its ability helped install a system to recycle rainfall
to handle these very problems. Our goal is
to create new opportunities for education
about and partnership with Israel, while
mile markers in history, and
to the significance they hold
for our people. Each of these
moments and countless oth-
ers, all riddled with pain, suf-
fering, and death, shaped the
Jewish community as we are
today, both collectively and
individually.
But is it our focus? Should Rabbi
it be? David-Seth
When a head of state vis- Kirshner
its Israel for 36 hours or less,
and time allows just one visit
outside the traditional handshakes and
meetings with the prime minister, should
that leader lay a wreath at Yad Vashem
or visit a technological start-up that is a reclamation plant in Israel that was
helping our own community.
The response to the fed-
erations advocacy efforts has
been enthusiastic. In meeting
after meeting, our elected rep-
resentatives have expressed
appreciation for our bringing
ideas to help critical problems
our state faces, as well as a
strong desire to consult Israeli
experts and apply Israeli solu-
tions. A number of officials
and their aides attended a dinner with Mr.
Siegel and asked detailed questions on how
Israels innovations might be applied locally.
Although efforts are in their early stages,
simply raising the issue has transformed
conversations about Israel from an ask to
broader audience will grow to appreciate
Israels contributions.
Indeed, this already has begun. In one of
the more inspiring school projects Ive ever
seen, Israeli water innovation was show-
cased in Teaneck as part of a broader proj-
ect sponsored in memory of Jack Flamholtz.
(The Jewish Standard wrote about it in the
May 11 issue, in a story called Let It Rain.)
On a bright sunny May day, a few hundred
public school students at the Hawthorne
Elementary School gathered with legisla-
tors, elected leaders, and members of the
community for an hourlong ceremony to
celebrate the completion of a hands-on
STEM education project, where students
to flush the school toilets and water the
grounds. Many of the officials and commu-
nity members who are so excited to apply
cutting-edge address in cur-
ing cancer?
Which one tells the Jewish
peoples story better?
I suppose that question is
tantamount to defining Juda-
ism as either a people or a
religion, when indeed we are
both. So too when it comes
to Israel we are a country as
much fashioned by our past
as we are working to shape
our future. So why the fixa-
tion on what happened to us,
as opposed to what we are making happen
to the world?
A few years ago, I visited a water

Israeli solutions in New Jersey attended, and
left inspired, knowing they can find ways to
gain access to Israeli expertise.
Through the school project, students
learned the technology and science that
made the system work, as well as impor-
tant lessons in ecology and conservation.
They also could not miss absorbing the fact
of Israels unique attributes and contribu-
tions. The system itself was Israeli designed
and manufactured, complete with cisterns
bearing Hebrew labels from Yevul Mayim,
recapturing 90 percent of Israels waste
water and purifying it for use with irri-
gation and farming. This technology is
being exported to drought-ravaged coun-
tries to help them conserve resources
better. What is painful and fascinating to
me at the same time is that I have never
been back to visit there again. Most of my
friends and colleagues barely even have
heard of it. But I have been to Masada
more times than I have fingers and toes to
count. The same is true for Yad Vashem,
Mount Herzl, and Rabin Square.
Death is fascinating because it is the
unknown and the great equalizer. Deaths
permanence dials into our emotions. But
why do we keep coming back to tell our
story and remind ourselves of our origins
Rain Harvest. Amir Yecheli, the Israeli sci-
ence teacher who designed the system and
offers the blueprints for free, has installed
similar systems in more than 140 schools in
Israel, the United States, and Kenya. As he
spent time with the students explaining how
the system works and training them to oper-
ate it, students got to know an Israeli, some
for the first time. They learned how Israel
developed the technology out of necessity,
and observed the Israeli culture of problem-
solving, determination, and perseverance.
We can never forsake our past. It
might be prudent, however, for us to
devote a similar amount of energy
to our future, and those who are
alive now, as we devote to reflecting
on our past. It could bridge the gap
between the generations.
through the visitation of death?
One of the widening divides between
people who were born before the Yom
Kippur War and those who were born
after has much to do with how we
externalize memory and death. College
They learned how Israel shares its knowl-
edge with needy communities in Africa,
using similar systems to provide the first
clean water some villages have ever seen.
We can expect that these positive lessons
will leave a lasting impact, building broader
understanding of Israel that will endure on
campus and beyond.
Israels ability to overcome incred-
ible challenges and channel them into
sustainable success provides endless
inspiration. As supporters of Israel in
kids today want to be inspired, not
depressed. They want to dream more
than they want to reminisce. That is not
only a result of their age. It has nothing
to do with apathy towards Judaism. It is
about the lens through which different
Opinion
Children from Hawthorne Elementary
School learn about water conserva-
tion; this water tank is part of the
schools new system.  Laura Fein
America, our ability to broaden our base
is enhanced when we not only share
knowledge of these achievements, but
also make them relevant to the needs
of those around us. By combining these
streams, the federations efforts could
unleash a flood of support for Israel that
will grow for years to come.
Laura Fein is the director of the Jewish
Community Relations Committee at the
Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.
generations tell their stories.
Indeed, George Santayana was pro-
phetic when he said those who cannot
remember the past will be doomed to
repeat it. We can never forsake our past.
It might be prudent, however, for us to
devote a similar amount of energy to our
future, and those who are alive now, as we
devote to reflecting on our past. It could
bridge the gap between the generations,
and inspire us to dream more and reach
further for our future.
David-Seth Kirshner is the senior rabbi
of Temple Emanu-El of Closter, president
of the New York Board of Rabbis, and
vice president of the North Jersey Board
of Rabbis.
Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 37
Opinion

Jerusalem is our beacon Liberty un-American to define those battles too

narrowly, or to treat those commitments

M
y mother and
grandparents,
Holocaust sur-
vivors, moved
to Israel after the creation of the
Jewish state.
My aunt was born in Siberia
in 1944 and my mom in Tem-
pelhof, a displaced persons
camp, in Berlin in 1946. The Jason
family settled in a one-bedroom Shames
stone hut in an alley off Bezalel
Street, less than a mile from the
walls of Jerusalems Old City, a place that
was forbidden to them.
My moms family remained in Israel until
they moved to the States in 1956. I was born
in Brooklyn but raised in the Bronx. My
upbringing was quite dissimilar in every way
from my moms. But we did share one thing.
Neither of us would freely pass through the
Old City walls until 1983, when we went on
a family trip to Israel to celebrate my bar
mitzvah.
It was hard, if not impossible, for me to
understand the significance of being able
to walk to the Kotel for my bar mitzvah in
1983. Today, in 2017, some 34 years later, I
totally understand it. Jerusalem had not
been in Jewish hands since
the destruction of the Sec-
ond Temple in 66 CE. Being
able to walk openly as a Jew
within the old walls of Jeru-
salem is something I never
will take for granted.
For many of us, theres
an aura around the Old
City. It calls to you, radi-
ates as a spiritual beacon,
and represents something
thats greater than any of
us. Through the ages, Jerusalem has repre-
sented Jewish unity and hope for a strong
Jewish community.
So many of our ancestors yearned to
walk, pray, and reflect within the walls of
Jerusalem, but they couldnt. We, though,
are fortunate. We can. How different it is
today than it was before June, 1967. I am
often in awe of that fact.
It is my sincere hope that my generation,
my kids generation, and the ones that fol-
low never take a Jewish Jerusalem, our City
of Gold, the eternal holy city, for granted.
Jason Shames is CEO of the Jewish Federation
of Northern New Jersey.
from page 35
Fifty years later, the attack on the U.S.S.
Liberty presents all thoughtful Americans
American Jews among them with a
series of compelling lessons and daunting
challenges:
How critical it is that the president of
the United States be a person of selfless
moral clarity, who is aware of and respon-
sive to the weight that a presidents words
and example carry, especially in times of
conflict and loss of life.
How critical it is that the president of
the United States respond to crises and
set-backs and perceived offenses (per-
sonal and national) out of measured prin-
ciple, nuanced deliberation, and historic
sensitivity, rather than with raw emotion,
egocentric self-interest, or the short-term
gains of political posturing.
How critical it is that American leaders
both civilian and military understand
the sacred trust of safeguarding intelli-
gence provided and secured by our allies.
How critical it is to acknowledge that
Americas allies are many, and conse-
quently our battles are many. In addition
to the state of Israel, the United States has
longstanding mutual defense commit-
ments to 27 NATO allies. It ultimately is
as negotiable or as blunt instruments of
financial leverage. Early American states-
man Henry Clay articulated the principle
in terms particularly resonant on the anni-
versary of the Liberty attack: I prefer the
troubled ocean of war to the tranquil,
putrescent pool of ignominious peace.
More to the point, on this historic anni-
versary, as we contemplate both the fate
of liberty and the fate of the U.S.S. Lib-
erty, we affirm that Israels battle is our
own. We do well to remember Secretary
Bennetts closing words of counsel:
Keeping faith with the people of Israel
in their still unfinished confrontation
with evil is, to me, a species of keeping
faith with ourselves; breaking faith, a spe-
cies of self-abnegation. It is exactly that
simple, and exactly that difficult, and
exactly that consequential.
May all Americans be privileged to cele-
brate Israels 70th Independence Day free
from the fog of war, and blessed with the
principled moral clarity, mutual esteem,
recognition, and support that worthy alli-
ances demand.
Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple
Emanuel of North Jersey in Franklin
Lakes.

Letters

Sometimes email is better
Dear Rabbi Zahavy,
I read with interest your response to Mobile Mitzvah
Man (Dear Rabbi Zahavy, June 2). He wrote that he had
a friend in the hospital to whom he had texted a get-well
message. His wife and you both seemed to indicate that
such a response did not constitute adequate fulfillment of
the mitzvah of bikkur cholim.
I beg to differ somewhat. Nowadays, when someone is
hospitalized, it is because they are very ill and/or in great
pain. As a friendly visitor with the Teaneck Bikkur Cholim
at Holy Name Hospital and the relative of people who have
been hospitalized over the past year, I can tell you that
many people in the hospital dont necessarily want in-per-
son visitors. Being in bed in a hospital gown (not the most
modest clothing), often attached to medical parapherna-
lia, and legitimately often not in the most sociable mood,
many patients would prefer quiet time. Often a text or
email that can be read by the patient or to the patient can
convey the senders wishes just as well. Phone calls/video
calls/Skype can also be less intrusive but just as effective
in letting the patient know that he/she is being thought of.
In-person visits might be more welcome once the patient
is home recovering.
I would recommend always checking with the patient
or a close family member first to find out if an in-person
visitor would be welcome.
Also, check to find out if there is a particular time that
would be best for a visit.
The most important thing is to let the patient and
his/her family know that you are thinking of them and
that you wish him/her a refuah shelayma. How it is
done should depend on the patients comfort level, not
the well-wisher.
Shari Baran
Teaneck
[EDITORS NOTE Rabbi Zahavy responds: I do concur
with you that the patients needs should always come first.
Thanks for your good advice.]
More on Nathan Rapoport
I found it interesting that there was a yahrzeit service in
memory of the sculptor Nathan Rapoport (Yahrzeit ser-
vice will honor sculptor of Liberty Park Liberation monu-
ment, June 2.) It is unfortunate that it was on the same
day as the Salute to Israel Parade. The State of Israel issued
a State Medal in 1995, called Liberation using the statue
in Liberty State Park as the subject matter.
I first saw his work while on Kibbutz Yad Mordechai in
1961. By the water tower of the kibbutz is the larger than
life statue commemorating Modechai Anielewicz, one of
the commanders of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, who the
kibbutz was named after. Many years later I saw the two
monuments at Yad Vashem that are almost identical to
those erected in Warsaw, commemorating the Warsaw
Ghetto Uprising and the The Last March. There are
other large works by him in other parts of Israel.
Mr. Rapoport sculpted many monumental works on
exhibit in Israel as well as Poland and the United States.
Howard J. Cohn
New Milford
Thank you, B.H.O.
Anyone can see at the Jewish Standard needs an enormous
amount of help selecting worthy articles for publication.
Ive read The Five Odd Moments From Trumps Israel
Trip by Joseph Dolstein/JTA wire service in your May 26,
2017 issue. Left wing prejudicial, and asinine are just the
beginning of a list of adjectives that many of us apply to the
material published on page 3 . The focus is on trivia, and the
bias against our President ,Mr. Trump, is obvious. If Mr. Dol-
sten wants to inform your readers of real political events, he
should write about how Mrs. Clinton stole the election from
Bernie Sanders. How about writing that our former Presi-
dent, Barack Hussein Obama thinks that climate change is
more evil that ISI, and that ISIS is a JV team. Why not write
about how B.H.O. started the Affordable Care Act which
is financially killing Americans. How about writing about
how B.H.O. took millions away from Medicare for his A.C.A.
How about B.H.O. freeing the murderous scum and FALN
leader,Lopez Rivera .How about writing about the time that
Obama whispered to Russian Prime Minister Medvedev, Ill
be more flexible after the election. Talk about collusion
and anti-Americanism !!!
Many loyal Americans believe in the Constitution and the
Bill of Rights. Saving this country from the left-wing radi-
cals, Communists, Marxists, and the majority of Democrats
is the number one reason the body of America voted for Mr.
Trump to be our 45 President of these United States.
Richard Jurasin
Barbara Ina Rosen
See More Opinion page 44

38 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017

 camp family
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milies

traditional day Camps | sports | sCienCe | hebrew immersion | hi-teCh

Fine arts | musiC | danCe | drama | early & end oF summer mini-Camps

Families who sign up for Neil Klatskin Summer Camps are eligible for a Camp Family Membership which runs Memorial day-Labor Day. JCC membership
required for Neil Klatskin Day Camps and all sport camps, and for children under 10 years in art, science, Big Idea, dance, and drama camps. The JCC
offers many membership options, call 201.408.1448 for details.

JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017 39

The Frazzled Housewife
Parade 2017
The Final Frontier?
T
here are so many
areas of life that
are timelines.
School for exam-
ple. You start when you are
little, you go through growth
spurts and the joys of puberty,
and you finish when you are
old enough to get married
and start a family. Buying shoes Banji
again, you start when you are Ganchrow
little, you finish buying for size
instead of for sport when your
feet stop growing. That is a timeline mile-
stone. (Some people by shoes for sport. I
am not one of those people as evidenced
by the fake crocs that I have been wearing
for 12 years.)
Unless, of course, you are a pregnant
woman whose feet dramatically increase
in size, possibly to balance out your mid-
dle section, which also grows dramatically
in size but that is for another time.
Another area of life that is a timeline
for where you are in the midst of it all is
the Israeli Day Parade. The parade is actu-
ally a microcosm for so many other things
as well, so let us take a look. I remember
marching in the parade as a little girl.
(when I say little, I actually mean young,
since I was never little.) One year, the
school had us carry umbrellas as part
of a flower theme; of course, that year it
rained, and my mom wouldnt let me par-
ticipate in the parade because she didnt
want me getting wet, which would lead
to me getting sick. Even though we were
holding umbrellas. Oh well. I remember
marching in the parade as a senior in high
school. My friends and I carried the school
banner and we thought we were it. No one
When you get
engaged, you
just have to go
to the parade,
because, well,
you are engaged.
was cooler than we were. Our whole lives
were ahead of us, and we were leading the
charge. Ahh, memory is a funny thing.
That was to be the last year that I partici- forward to!
pated in the parade as a non-spectator. Or
that I ever thought that I was it.
I then went to the parade with my single
friends, scouring the crowd for people we
wanted to see, guys we wanted to meet,
and, of course, avoiding those we wanted
40 JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017
Crossword
I SAW THE SIGN BY YONI GLATT
KOSHERCROSSWORDS@GMAIL.COM
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: MANAGEABLE
to avoid. Because high
school never ends. There
will always be people who
look the other way when
they see you a life lesson
you are taught when it is
happening to you initially
and then you teach your
own children. It is just the
way it is, unfortunately.
Why cant we all just get
along? Who knows.
When you get engaged,
you just have to go to the parade, because,
well, you are engaged. When someone
asks you How have you been? you can
show them your ring.
And then you decide to go as new par-
ents. Why? That I have no answers for. Is it
the love we have for Israel? No, it is prob-
ably an excuse to get out of the house and Across Down
hope the little ones will stop screaming 1. Brother of Rebecca 1. Item in Jacobs dream
in the fresh air. My back still hurts when I 6. What a good IDF soldier keeps under 2. Pique, like (Eves) curiosity
pressure? 3. Product that might soothe aches after
think about that parade when I thought it
10. One of Life, in Eden a long hike in the Golan
would be a good idea to wear son #2 in a 14. Pais or The Boston Garden 4. Shanah, in Spain
baby bjorn, while husband #1 pushed son 15. Small ox often found in crosswords 5. Portman or Wood, for short
#1 in the stroller. Sleep deprivation it 16. Eilat congers 6. Temple figure
does funny things to the brain. 17. Sign on the Holy of Holies? 7. One might get rid of challah crumbs
19. Israels continent 8. Lisa who sings Feel What U Feel
And then your children start marching
20. Did some archeological work at the 9. Maples or Sokoloff
in the parade. And you pack lunch and City of David 10. One might be stacked with sugar
snacks and carry those ridiculous chairs 21. Observe shiva packets and kichel
that come with their own handy-dandy 22. David who briefly coached the Cavs 11. Sign for a Shabbat zone?
travel bag. If you are in a thinner phase, 24. Son of Rebecca 12. Name with melech or sheva
26. Serenity ___! (Seinfeld line) 13. ___ Einai
you walk around so you run into people
28. Director J.J. 18. Gedi preceder
or you are brave enough to walk with your 31. Longtime infielder on Wilpons Mets 23. Judge Judys org.
childs school. Husband #1 was always a 33. Make like Nissim 25. Jared and Ivankas previous hood
big fan of walking with the boys. There 35. Original Jewish priest 27. Tref Lion King animal
he would be, blocks behind the rest of the 36. ___ Haderech 29. Danny on Happy Days with Henry
38. Elviss label Winkler
marchers, waving to the crowds on either
40. ___ Can (Sammy Davis Jr. 30. Upsherin sound
side of him, talking to folks he hadnt seen memoir) 32. David to Jesse
in years. Husband #1 loves the parade, 41. Brandeis practiced it 34. 1994 Jeremy Piven comedy
especially when he finds parking on the 44. Sign for the Jews leaving Egypt? 37. Jordan to Israel, in 1967
street. If he has to put a car in a lot, well, 47. Org. that ranks Nadal and Sela 39. Holy box
48. Heavenly glow 41. Yalda, in Glasgow
he doesnt and then we miss the parade.
50. Word before Tamid or Kodesh 42. Rental from Hertz or Eldan
(He loves Israel, but not if it is going to cost
him $20 extra for driving a minivan.)
51. Yes, in Ariel
53. Bird that might be featured in some
43. Sign for one wrapping tefillin around
a leg?
And then there was this year. Son #3 bris invites 45. Film sch. that rejected Spielberg
was the only member of the family march-
ing in the parade. His old parents scored
55. Sacrificial animal
57. Cultural values
46. Sharon Osbourne, ___ Levy
49. Colonial workers in Jerusalem
tickets in the VIP section so we could sit
61. Susan who wrote In America
63. Moshav work?
today?
52. Higher power?
down and not have to schlep the chairs of
our youth. Son #3 said it was weird to be
65. Raba bar Rav ___ (Talmudist)
66. Monster and Gamliel
54. ___-El (Supermans real name, which
means Gods voice)
marching without any siblings. Husband 68. Award Julianna Margulies has eight
of
56. Like Solomon, compared to
everyone else
#1 and I thought is was weird that we had
70. TV Channel that once aired a #1 hit 58. Levantine dip
so little interest in seeing who was at the by 8-Down repeatedly 59. Those present at the start of
parade. We were just happy that neither 71. Most Israelis services, e.g.
of us needed a bathroom. I guess that is 73. Sign for a fast Torah reader? 60. Grandmas
the next stageahh, something to look 76. Oy! 62. Like many who have cholent
77. Game with Simon 64. Brother of Asher
78. Para ___ 67. Israels isnt very wide
79. Rival of Liebers and Utz 69. Rock genre for David Bowie or Marc
Banji Ganchrow of Teaneck was happy 80. Israeli news site Bolan
that she has been to Israel since last years 81. Brother of 35-Across 71. Kahanes org.
parade. She also hopes that all of her sons 72. Second Temple ___
74. Word before and after for an
will be at next years parade, but, you The solution to last weeks puzzle is 75. Words not said at many Jewish
never know on page 47. weddings

The tribe at the Tonys
NATE BLOOM
T
he 71st annual Tony Awards, given
for excellence in the Broadway
theater, will air live on CBS on
Sunday, June 11, starting at 8 p.m.
Kevin Spacey will host. This year features an
extraordinary number of Jewish nominees
and works with a strong Jewish connection.
The following are confirmed Jewish nomi-
nees in all but the technical categories.
Please note: the best play Tony goes to
the playwright and the plays producers.
The best musical Tony goes to the musicals
producers. The number of nominated pro-
ducers is so large that, with one exception,
just below, I simply cant cover them in this
article. As in my regular column, Jewish
folks mentioned are in capital letters.
Acting categories
Leading actor in a musical: BEN
PLATT, 23, Dear Evan Hansen. Platt,
who became well known to movie audi-
ences as Benji Applebaum in the Pitch
Perfect films, is a favorite to win the Tony.
The fourth of five children, Ben is the
son of MARC PLATT, 60, a leading show-
biz producer. The elder Platt is Tony-nom-
inated this year for producing Indecent,
a best-play nominee. The whole family is
musical and theres a family tradition of
adapting show tunes for family events and
singing them together (including at Bens
bar mitzvah).
It was almost natural for Ben to start
performing professionally as a child and
by age 11 he was in a national touring com-
pany of a Broadway show. Recently, he
told Seth Meyers that he sang the part of
Sky Masterson (from Guys and Dolls)
in Hebrew at Camp Ramah. He treated
Meyers audience to a few verses of Luck
Be a Lady in Hebrew.
Evan Hansen is about a socially awk-
ward teen who tells a big lie to become
more popular, and the ramifications of
that lie. It was difficult, reviewers have
noted, to make a very nervous protago-
nist whose lie exploits a familys grief sym-
pathetic. But, the critics say, Platt rose to
that challenge masterfully. He told the New
York Times: I have had a struggle with
anxiety, always, and as a proud Jew, thats
not a surprising thing. But I dont think I
have as much trouble as he [Evan] does
connecting with people generally I think
Im pretty good at that, and thats Evans
biggest challenge.
Lead actress in a musical: BETTE
MIDLER, 71, Hello Dolly. Critics have
said that Midler practically was born to
star in the title role. This revival is a smash.
Dolly is Midlers return to Broadway
Arts & Culture
Ben Platt
after an absence of almost 50 years. Born
and raised in Hawaii, she moved to New
York in 1965 and quickly landed a big off-
Broadway role. Then, from 1966 to 1969,
she played Tzeitel, the oldest daughter, in
the original run of Fiddler on the Roof.
She told CBS Sunday Morning that she
didnt return to Broadway sooner because
musical shows changed and had became
musical theater. Her love was musical
comedy, and Hello, Dolly is certainly
that. She added that two years ago she
had finished a successful run of her tour-
ing variety musical show and she was look-
ing for a new challenge. Dolly was just
the right challenge.
Midler also told Sunday Morning that
she realized she would be judged against
the original iconic performance by Carol
Channing. So she sought out Channing,
now 96, and, she said, They had a lovely
afternoon together.
S u p p o r t i n g a c t o r, m u s i c a l :
BRANDON URANOWITZ, 30, Falset-
tos. He plays Mendel, a Jewish psychia-
trist, in this revival of a musical originally
staged in 1992. The show is about a Jewish
family and ends with a bar mitzvah near
the deathbed of the bar mitzvah boys
father. Uranowitz says he recalls practic-
ing for his bar mitzvah by singing Miracle
of Judaism, a Falsetto number.
Uranowitz was born and grew up in
West Orange. In 2011, he played the son
of the late FLORENCE GREENBERG in
Baby Its You, a juke-box musical that
had a brief Broadway run. Greenberg was
a Passaic housewife who created her own
record company and discovered the Shire-
lles, a huge girl group, in the 1960s.
Directors
Best director, play: SAM GOLD, 39,
A Dolls House, Part 2, and REBECCA
TAICHMAN, 47, Indecent. Best director,
musical: JERRY ZAKS, 70, Hello Dolly;
RACHEL CHAVKIN, 37, Natasha, Pierre
Bette Midler
& The Great Comet of 1812; and MICHAEL
GREIF, 57, Dear Evan Hansen.
Heres a little more about two of these
directors:
Gold is the resident director of the Round-
about Theater Company, one of Manhat-
tans leading nonprofit theater companies.
Hes married to AMY HERZOG, 41, a Pulit-
zer-nominated playwright (4000 Miles).
Zaks, the son of Holocaust survivors, has
been a leading Broadway musical director
for more than 20 years. He has two hits
now running simultaneously on Broad-
way: Hello, Dolly, and a musical version
of the hit 1993 movie, A Bronx Tale. Zaks
grew up in Paterson.
Best of
The best play and best musical Tonys, as
noted above, are given to the shows pro-
ducers. Here are the Jews, many nominees
in their own right, associated with those
best shows.
Best Revival, Play: The Little Foxes,
by LILLIAN HELLMAN (1905-84); Best
Revival, Musical: Falsettos, music &
lyrics by WILLIAM FINN, now 65, and
book by JAMES LAPINE, now 68; Hello
Dolly, music & lyrics by JERRY HER-
MAN, now 85. Best (new) play: Inde-
cent, by PAULA VOGEL, 65.
Indecent is about the controversy
surrounding the 1907 Yiddish play God
of Vengeance by SHOLEM ASCH
(1880-1957). Aschs play, about a Jew-
ish pimp who seeks respectability by
donating a Torah scroll and marrying his
daughter off to a yeshiva student, was
heavily criticized by many Jews when it
first played New York, and the producers
were convicted of obscenity. The verdict
later was overturned.
Vogel is the daughter of a Jewish father
and a Catholic mother. My sense is that she
was raised mostly in her mothers faith (if
any faith at all). In a video interview, she
said that writing this play put her in touch
with Jewish culture and her Jewish iden-
tity. Interestingly enough, the Tony-nom-
inated director of Vogels play, Rebecca
Taichman, wrote her own play about the
events depicted in Indecent which the
Yale Repertory Theater staged in 2000.
Best (new) musical: Dear Evan Han-
sen, music and lyrics by BENJ PASEK
and Justin Paul, both 32. Pasek and Paul
wrote the lyrics for City of Stars, and
won this years Oscar for best song with
La La Land film composer JUSTIN
HURWITZ, 32.
The duo, who met in college, had earlier
hits, including a Broadway musical version
of A Christmas Story. However, Evan
Hansen is the first show they wrote that
was not based on another source and they
hit a home run.
The riveting story of Evan Hansen was
written by STEVEN LEVENSON, 31, and
hes nominated for best book (script) for a
musical. (Pasek and Pauls score is nomi-
nated for best original score.)
Groundhog Day also is nominated for
best new musical. Its a song-filled version
of the hit 1993 movie, which was written
by DANNY RUBIN, now 60, and the late
HAROLD RAMIS. Rubin is nominated for
best book for a musical.
Finally, in this category, is the unlikely
hit Come from Away by IRENE
SANKOFF and DAVID HEIN, both 40.
They are married and both originally are
from Canada. Previously, they were best
known for the cult hit musical My Moth-
ers Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding. (Its
based on Weins mothers real-life coming
out as an older adult.)
Come from Away takes place in New-
foundland, Canada, right after the 9/11
attacks. Hundreds of planes were forced
to land in Newfoundland and the local
people rushed to aid stranded passengers.
The musicals subtext the moral value of
helping strangers in need gives the show
a contemporary edge. Its both a critical
and audience favorite. (Hein and Sankoffs
score is Tony-nominated for best original
score and the duo are nominated for best
musical book.)
Worthy of Note: Oslo, a best play
nominee, is about the (true) efforts of two
Norwegian diplomats to bring together
Israeli and the PLO representatives for
secret peace talks in 1993. There are
important Israeli characters.
Danny DeVito and Patti LuPone are
nominated for acting Tonys for playing
Jewish characters in, respectively, The
Price by the late ARTHUR MILLER,
and War Paint. Lupone plays cosmet-
ics mogul HELENA RUBENSTEIN
(1872-1965).
JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017 41
Calendar
Friday
JUNE 9
Shabbat in Wayne:
In celebration of its
60th anniversary,
Temple Beth Tikvah
offers the Rocking
Spring concert during
services, 7:30 p.m., with
participation from Rabbi
Meeka Simerly, Cantor
Charles Romalis, Louise
Romalis, Cantor Mark
Biddelman, a five-piece
band, and the temple Dalia Rivkin
choir. Homemade
desserts. 950 Preakness Ice skating fundraiser:
Ave. (973) 694-1616 or Skate for Hope, a
templebethtikvahnj.org. fundraiser for New
Jerseys Center for Hope
Shabbat in Teaneck: and Safety formerly
Temple Emeth s known as Shelter Our
Viewpoints group Sisters features Dalia
hosts its second Pride Rivkin of Teaneck, the
Shabbat celebrating U.S. Juvenile Ladies
gay pride month, 8 p.m. Figure Skating gold
Geneva Musgrave from medalist, at the Floyd
Lambda Legal will talk Hall Ice Arena in
about issues in the LGBT Little Falls, 1:15 p.m.
community. Viewpoints,
a shul committee JUNE Jewish Family and Childrens Services of Northern New (201) 370-9500 or go to
shltros.ejoinme.org/skate.
Jersey will hold its seventh annual Wheels-For-Meals Ride to
11
that celebrates the
diversity of the Jewish Fight Hunger on Sunday, June 11. The ride begins and ends at
community, includes
programs that highlight the Jewish Home at Rockleigh. Join to help raise funds and
the interfaith, interracial, awareness to fight hunger in the community. All proceeds support the
and LGBT communities. Kosher Meals-on-Wheels program and the JFCS Food Pantry. The Jewish
1666 Windsor Road.
(201) 833-1322. Standard is among the many sponsors. Choose from 3, 10, 25, 35, or 50-
mile bike routes. All riders receive a free shirt, patch kit, breakfast, and a From Is That You?
Saturday barbecue lunch. Family fun includes a DJ with music and games, face COURTESY JCCOTP

JUNE 10
Shabbat in Park Ridge:
Temple Beth Sholom
of Pascack Valley hosts
its second annual
Grandparent Shabbat,
10 a.m. Grandparents
are encouraged to bring
their grandchildren
and grandchildren are
encouraged to bring
their grandparents. Child-
friendly kiddush. 32 Park
Ave. (201) 391-4620
or www.temple-beth-
sholom.org.
Victor Weis
Shabbat in Ridgewood:
Victor Weis, executive
director of Israels
Heschel Center for
Sustainability, will
discuss Climate Change
in the Mideast and Its
Relation to National
Security Issues during
kiddush after services at
Temple Israel & JCC in
Ridgewood. 475 Grove
painting, and prizes. For information, call (201) 837-9090 or go to www.
ridetofighthunger.com or www.jfcsnnj.org. Pre-registration closes at 3 p.m.,
on Friday, June 9; walk-in registrants welcome on June 11.
St. (201) 444-9320 or
www.synagogue.org. Sunday
JUNE 11
Gitl Schaechter-
Viswanath Yoga in Tenafly: The
Kaplen JCC on the
Shabbat in Teaneck:
Palisades hosts its
The adult education
fifth annual Yoga on
committee of
the Green with yoga
Congregation Rinat
instructors Alison Miller,
Yisrael in Teaneck
Robert Hoon, John
presents Gitl Quirk, and Jill Schwalbe.
Schaechter-Viswanath, 9-10:30 a.m. Opening
co-editor of the new meditation by Mary Beth
Comprehensive English- Sigler. All levels welcome.
Yiddish Dictionary, Participants should
discussing How a bring a mat, towel, and
revolutionary English- water bottle and wear
Yiddish dictionary came sunscreen. 411 E. Clinton
into being in the 21st Ave. (201) 408-1477 or
century, 6:55 p.m. 389 htal@jccotp.org.
West Englewood Ave.
(201) 837-2795. Garage sale in New City:
The West Clarkstown
Jewish Center hosts a
garage sale, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
195 West Clarkstown
Israeli film in Tenafly:
IAC Cinematec, a
series of Israeli films
with English subtitles at
the Kaplen JCC on the
Palisades, concludes with
Road, New City, N.Y. Is That You? by award-
(845) 352-0017. winning film maker Dani
Ramah scholarship Menkin, 7 p.m. Stuart
run: Ramah Day Weinstock, a director,
Camp in Nyack holds screenwriter, and an
its scholarship run at adjunct professor of film
Rockland Lake State at Columbia University,
Park, 299 Rockland Lake will host. 411 E. Clinton
Road in Valley Cottage, Ave. (201) 408-1427 or
N.Y. At 10:15 a.m., there www.jccotp.org/israeli-
will be a 5K run/walk; at center-special-events.
11, the camper fun run, Muriel Horowitz
and from noon-3 p.m.
Story telling in the Monday
a barbecue, family fun
day, and alumni reunion
Hudson Valley: JUNE 12
Storyteller Muriel
at Ramah Nyack, 303
Horowitz gives two Music lecture in Tenafly:
Christian Herald Road, in
presentations, Sephardic Dumont historian Dick
Nyack. (212) 678-8884
Jewish Tales and Burnon talks about
or RamahNyack.org/
An Ethical Cultural Funny Ladies of the
scholarshiprun.
Education: The Making of Stage and Screen
Martha Gruening, at the at a meeting of the
Hoboken arts festival:
Gomez Foundation for Senior Activity Center
Hudson County Jewish
Mill House in Marlboro, at the Kaplen JCC on
organizations, including
N.Y., 1 p.m. Free tour the Palisades, 11:15 a.m.
HudsonJewish and the
United Synagogue of follows. Refreshments. 411 East Clinton Ave.
The Gomez Foundation (201) 569-7900, ext. 235,
Hoboken, will be at
for Mill House works to or www.jccotp.org.
the festival to meet
preserve the 300-year-
people and hand out
old Gomez Mill House, The Torah: The JCC of
information, 11 a.m.-
the oldest standing Fort Lee/Congregation
6 p.m. The festival offers
Jewish dwelling in Gesher Shalom hosts
food, music, art, and
North America. 11 Mill The Torah in Time:
shopping. Washington
House Road, off 9W. Antiquity with visiting
Street from 8th and
(845) 236-3126 or scholar Eitan Kastner
14th streets. Info@
Gomez.org. for the shuls CSI
HudsonJewish.org.
Scholar Fund program,

42 JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017


8 p.m. Series continues
weekly through June
19. 1449 Anderson Ave.
(201) 947-1735.
Tuesday
JUNE 13
Jews of Harlem: At
a meeting of REAP
(Retired Executives and
Active Professionals) at
the Kaplen JCC on the
Palisades in Tenafly, Gene
Sklar, retired executive
director of the Union
Settlement Association in
East Harlem, talks about
the Jews of Harlem,
11 a.m. 411 E. Clinton Ave.
(201) 569-7900 or www.
jccotp.org.
Carolyn Enger
Pianist in Fort Lee:
The CSI Scholar Fund
of the JCC of Fort Lee,
its sisterhood, and the
Englewood & Cliffs
chapter of ORT America
present a multimedia
performance by Carolyn
Enger. The program
includes parts of her
latest project, The in Paramus, 5-7 p.m.
Mischlinge Expos. 100 West Ridgewood
Refreshments at
12:30 p.m., followed by
the program. The project
focuses on stories of
Mischlinge (half-Jews)
and German Jewish
converts in Germany
before, during, and after
the Holocaust. Carolyns
father and godmother
were Mischlinges.
1449 Anderson Ave.
(201) 947-1735
Judaism 101 in Spanish:
Rabbi Aaron Katz leads a
Spanish-language class,
Judaism 101, focusing Jewish wedding
on history, philosophy,
and Jewish culture, at
Bnai Jacob in Jersey a class on Planning a
City, 7 p.m. 176 West Side
Ave. (201) 435-5725 or
www.bnaijacobjc.com.
Wednesday
JUNE 14
Jewish learning in
Teaneck: Lamdeinu,
a center for Jewish
learning that meets
at Congregation Beth
Aaron, concludes a
series on If I Forget
You Jerusalem taught
by Dr. Elana Stein Hain,
10:15 a.m. Discussion, Is with Parkinsons Disease,
There Holiness Outside
Calendar
Israel? 950 Queen caregivers at the Jewish scholar Eitan Kastner for
Anne Road. Register at
lamdeinu.org.
Home at Rockleigh. Tai
Chi, 10 a.m.; program
the shuls CSI Scholar
Fund program, 8 p.m. Singles
at 10:30. This months 1449 Anderson Ave.
Blood drive in Teaneck:
Holy Name Medical
discussion, Deep (201) 947-1735. Sunday
Center holds a blood
Brain Stimulation for
Parkinsons, is led by
JUNE 11
Announce
drive with New Jersey
Blood Services, a
Linda Byrnes, a DBS
recipient, and Joe In New York Seniors meet in West
division of New York Pagano of St. Jude Nyack: Singles 65+
your
Blood Center, 2-8 p.m. Medical Research. Tuesday meets for a social
718 Teaneck Road.
(800) 933-2566 or www.
Refreshments.
JUNE 13
get-together with
entertainment by an
events
(201) 750-4246 or
nybloodcenter.org. email parkinsons@ exotic belly dancer at the
jewishhomefamily.org. Museum mile festival: JCC Rockland, 11 a.m. All We welcome announce-
The Jewish Museum are welcome, particularly ments of upcoming events.
Blood drive in Teaneck: participates in the 39th if you are from Hudson, Announcements are free.
Congregation Rinat annual Museum Mile Passaic, Bergen, or Accompanying photos must
Yisrael holds a blood Festival, 6-9 p.m. The Rockland counties. be high resolution, jpg files.
drive with New Jersey opening ceremony at Refreshments. 450 West
Blood Services, a 5:45 is at El Museo del Nyack Road. Gene Arkin, Send announcements 2 to 3
division of New York Barrio (Fifth Avenue (845) 356-5525. weeks in advance. Not every
Blood Center, 3-9 p.m. at 104th Street). The release will be published.
389 W. Englewood Ave.
(800) 933-2566 or www.
Jewish Museums Florine
Stettheimer: Painting
Thursday Include a daytime telephone
number and send to:
nybloodcenter.org. Poetry, is the first JUNE 15
major U.S. exhibition
Rabbi Arthur Weiner Widows and widowers

pr@jewishmediagroup.
Marriage and divorce
Friday in more than 20 years
focused on the influential meet: Movin On, a
com 201-837-8818 x 110
class: Rabbi Arthur JUNE 16 American painter. Rain monthly luncheon
Weiner teaches a four- or shine. Free museum group for widows and
session class, Marriage Shabbat in Pompton admissions and outdoor widowers, meets at
and Divorce in the Jewish Lakes: Congregation art activities for children. the Glen Rock Jewish
Tradition at the JCC of Beth Shalom offers an (212) 606-2296 or Center, 12:30 p.m. 682
Paramus/Congregation improvisational and MuseumMileFestival.org. Harristown Road. $5 for
Beth Tikvah, at 2:30 interactive service lunch. (201) 652-6624 or
and again at 8:15 p.m. as part of the shuls email Binny, arbgr@aol.
Classes continue June 21, monthly Lab Shul com.
28, and July 5. 304 East series of experimental
Midland Ave., Paramus. davening with music,
(201) 262-7691. 8 p.m. 21 Passaic Ave.
Rabbi David Bockman,
Alzheimers walk kick- Bockmonides@gmail.
off: Alzheimers New com, (973) 835-4845 or
Jersey hosts a party for www.bethshalomnj.org.
its fall Walk to Fight
Alzheimers with a Shabbat in Teaneck:
networking barbecue at Temple Emeth offers
CareOne at the Cupola musical services with
the Temple Emeth Band,
Cantor Ellen Tilem, and
Ave. (201) 261-6009 or Rabbi Steven Sirbu,
ewinter@alznj.org. 8 p.m. 1666 Windsor
Road. (201) 833-1322 or
www.Emeth.org.
Monday
JUNE 19
Flat Rock Brook COURTESY SIERRA CLUB
Lunch and learn: Rabbi
Aaron Katz leads a Sierra Club picnic in Englewood
discussion on current
topics over lunch at The Sierra Club of North Jersey hosts and food, including kosher selections.
Congregation Bnai its Party to Celebrate Nature, a fam- Paul Kaufman, an authority on environ-
Rabbi Robert Jacob in Jersey City, ily-friendly spring benefit, on Sunday, mental principles and concepts in Juda-
noon. 176 West Side Ave.
Scheinberg June 11, from 5 to 8 p.m., at the Flat Rock ism and GreenFaiths advocacy director,
(201) 435-5725 or www.
bnaijacobjc.com. Brook Nature Center in Englewood. It is among the speakers.
workshop: Rabbi will include a guided nature hike at 4. For information, email buddy.jens-
Author speaking: sen@gmail.com or call (201) 567-4994.
Robert Scheinberg leads Festivities feature a live animal pre-
Teaneck-Hackensack
Hadassah meets at sentation, tricky-tray auction, live music,
Jewish Wedding at
the United Synagogue Congregation Beth
of Hoboken, 7:30 p.m. Sholom in Teaneck
Meet other couples to hear Professor
who will be married
soon. 115 Park Ave.
Richard Rubin, author
of Jewish in America: Join the Paramus Relay for Life
(201) 659-4000 or office@ Living George
hobokensynagogue.org. Washingtons Promise, Paramus offers the American Cancer director of the Valley Health System
1 p.m. 354 Maitland
Ave. Refreshments. Society Relay For Life during the week- Cancer Center.
Thursday (973) 530-3996 or end of June 16 and 17 at Paramus High Online registration is available until
JUNE 15 (201) 837-8157. School. It is a celebration of the year- June 15 and participants also can regis-
The Torah: The JCC of long effort to raise funds for the Ameri- ter at the event. For information, go to
Parkinsons support: can Cancer Society. So far, more than www.RelayForLife.org/ParamusNJ, call
Fort Lee/Congregation
The Jewish Home Family
Gesher Shalom hosts $83,000 has been raised; the goal is the American Cancer Society at (800)
continues a monthly The Torah in Time:
support group for people $150,000. An opening ceremony will 227-2345, press 2; or request Danielle
Middle Ages and Early
Modernity with visiting feature the Paramus Boy Scouts pre- Therese as a Facebook friend for Relay
their families, and senting the flags, and a speech by the updates.
JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017 43
Opinion

Alberto Nisman and Sarah Halimi:

A shared fate of 2 very different Jews

T
his is a story about
the shared fate of
two quite different
Jews.
They were separated from
each other by continents and
oceans. His native tongue was
Spanish, and hers was French.
He lived in downtown Buenos
Aires, in a swanky bachelors Ben Cohen
apartment. She lived in a run-
down suburb of Paris, in a modest flat. He cut a dashing
figure, often being photographed in public and giving
frequent interviews to the media about his work. She
was a kindly, shy widow, loved and quietly revered in
her community for her work as a kindergarten teacher.
She was older than he was. But he died before she did,
at a younger age.
For all these differences, they had three important
things in common. They were proud Jews. They died
because they were Jews. And in both of their cases, that
latter fact has yet to be recognized, let alone acted upon,
by the investigating authorities.
This story is no hypothetical, though its underlying
themes would make for an interesting thought experiment In January 2016, a protest in Buenos Aires marked the first anniversary of Alberto Nismans death.
in any number of disciplines. JALUJ VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

I refer to the real cases of Alberto Nisman in Argentina

and Sarah Halimi in France. For simplicitys sake, Ill dis-
cuss each of them in turn.
Alberto Nisman, it will be remembered, was the Argen-
tine special prosecutor investigating the 1994 AMIA bomb-
ing who was found shot through the head in his apartment
in 2015. For the previous decade, Nisman had been mak-
ing steady progress in identifying and tracking down the
Iranian and Hezbollah terrorists responsible for blowing
up the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires in July 1994,
in which 85 people were killed and hundreds more were
injured. But he kept coming up against roadblocks.
The biggest block of all was the Argentine government
of former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who
thought Nisman knew too much about the secret pact her
foreign minister, Hector Timerman, negotiated with the
Iranian regime in 2013. The pact absolved Tehran of its
responsibility for the worst single anti-Semitic atrocity
since World War II.
Nisman had been due to present a formal complaint
about Kirchners governments dealings with the Iranians
before the Argentine Congress on January 19, 2015. He was
found dead on January 18.
The first investigators Kirchners government appointed
to examine Nismans death clumsily pushed its conclu-
sions toward suicide specifically, with a gun provided to
Nisman by an employee of his named Diego Lagomarsino.
But too much about that scenario didnt compute. For
example, the position of Nismans body when it was
found didnt match that of a suicide. The bullet entered
through the side of his skull, not the temple. The mess left
at the crime scene by the local police made it impossible
to ascertain whether Nisman had been alone in his apart-
ment at the time of his death. And so on.
Nisman looked like the 86th victim of the AMIA
bombing.
agency, the Gendarmeria, which concludes that Nisman
wasnt alone in his apartment when he died. In other
words, the Argentine state may, just may, be about to rec-
ognize more than two years after it happened that
Nisman was murdered.
In Sarah Halimis case, by contrast, nobody doubts that
her death was murder. But as with Nisman in Argentina,
the potential political consequences of her death have
been a source of worry to both the French authorities and
the French media.
Indeed, if you havent heard of Sarah Halimi before
now, that may explain why. Only a few journalists writing
in English, like Marc Weitzman in Tablet, have shed light
on this act of sheer evil, which meant it took a few weeks
even to get noticed.
In brief, this is what happened: Halimi was an elderly
widow, a devoutly Orthodox Jewish woman living in Bel-
leville, a rundown Parisian neighborhood where the Jew-
ish population has declined as the Muslim population has
increased. At 4:25 a.m. on April 4, while the campaign for
the presidential election was in full force, a Malian immi-
grant, 27-year-old Kada Traore, broke into Halimis apart-
ment and beat her with abominable sadism.
The police were alerted to Halimis screams, arriving
to find Traore bellowing Allahu akbar (God is greater)
and Shaitan (Satan) behind her front door. Assuming he
was a terrorist, they radioed for backup which arrived
moments after Traore threw Halimis badly fractured
body out of her third floor window.
Nobody not the police, not the government, not the
centrist French politicians like newly elected President
Emmanuel Macron, not the media wanted to talk about
Sarah Halimi, before or after the election. They certainly
didnt want to identify the murder as a frenzied hate crime
committed by an Islamist, preferring to depict Traore as
Parisian gang in 2006, Sarah Halimis inhumanly pain-
ful death has been followed by an undignified, sleazy
spin exercise about psychiatric evaluations and gang
warfare.
Nearly two months later, though, the atmosphere is
changing, as it has with Nisman. More Jewish leaders are
calling for Sarah Halimis murder to be investigated as an
anti-Semitic crime.
But as of right now, as far as officialdom is concerned,
Alberto Nisman killed himself, and Sarah Halimis murder
was not connected to her being Jewish two profoundly
unsettling misrepresentations of why these two very dif-
ferent Jews are dead.
These misrepresentations dont just mask the facts
of these two cases, but the very spirit behind these
crimes. Nisman was a Jew investigating a terrorist atroc-
ity against a Jewish center; everyone, including the Irani-
ans, threatened the Jew Nisman with death, and thus
it came to pass. Halimi, meanwhile, was a Jew unfortu-
nate enough to be murdered by a Muslim in a country
where public discussion of Muslim anti-Semitism is over-
whelmed even when a Jewish supermarket is the target
of a terrorist attack.
As I said at the beginning, Nisman and Halimi died
in very different circumstances. But they died, funda-
mentally, because they were Jews who attracted the ire
of Islamists the Shia Islamic Republic of Iran in the
AMIA bombing and thus in the Nisman case, and a single
Sunni Muslim delinquent in Halimis. Both cases dem-
onstrate once again that violent anti-Semitism is inte-
gral to Islamist ideology, to the point where its victims
are dehumanized in the very moment of death. We owe
them both of these very different Jewsour voices,
now that they are gone.
JNS.ORG

And then, in November 2015, Kirchner found herself
dislodged from power by the centrist Mauricio Macri.
The wheels of justice began turning slowly again. Now,
in recent days, the Argentine media has begun disclos-
ing details of a forthcoming report from a federal security
the victim of a severe mental illness. They worried that
doing otherwise would give an electoral boost to the far-
right presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen.
And so, like her namesake Ilan Halimi, the young man
kidnapped, tortured and murdered by an anti-Semitic
Ben Cohen writes a weekly column on Jewish affairs and
Middle Eastern politics. His work has been published in
Commentary, the New York Post, Haaretz, the Wall Street
Journal and many other publications.

44 JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017

 Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel, Inc
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Morton Dropkin
Morton Dropkin, 92, of Edgewater,
died June 1 at Villa Marie Claire
Hospice in Saddle River.
He was a U.S. Navy World War
II veteran and retired owner of
textile companies in New York.
He is survived by his wife,
Grace, ne Smith; a daughter,
Robin of Albany, N.Y.; a sister,
Phyllis Kaufmann of Houston; and
two grandchildren.
Arrangements were by Eden
Memorial Chapels, Fort Lee.
Elaine Kadin
Elaine Kadin, 84, ne Levy, of
Paramus, died June 3.
Born in Bayonne, she was a
member of Congregation Mogen
Abraham, now part of the United
Synagogue of Hoboken.
Predeceased by her husband,
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Bonnie Wagner
Bonnie A. Wagner, ne Udin,
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She was an active member of
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Predeceased by her husband,
Barry, she is survived by children,
Fred of Hopatcong, Barbara Russo
( James) of Hamilton Township,
and Marsha of Saddle Brook,
and grandchildren, James and
Gianna Russo.
Donations can be sent to St.
Jude Childrens Research Hospital.
Arrangements were by Louis
Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.
Donna Wright
Donna S. Wright, ne Brownstein,
52, of Lindenhurst, N.Y., died
May 31.
Born in New York City, she was
an optometrist.
She is survived by her mother,
Sharon Brownstein of Queens,
and daughters, Jessica Bober of
Florham Park and Julia Batchelder
of Maine.
Arrangements were by Eden
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Sea of Galilee hits all-time-low recorded water level
Israels Sea of Galilee, also known as the Kinneret, hit
an all-time-low recorded water level in May, prompt-
ing concerns about Israels largest freshwater lake.
According to Israels Water Authority, the Sea of
Galilee lost 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) of its water
level in May, decreasing the level to 9 million cubic
meters (318 million cubic feet), an all-time low since
recording began in 1920.
The situation in the Sea of Galilee has deteriorated
in recent years, as Israels north faces an ongoing
drought. Hydrologists estimate that the water level
will drop by a meter (3.3 feet) before the rainy season
begins in November.
The Sea of Galilee has played a prominent role
in both Jewish and Christian history, with much of
Jesuss early ministry centered around the shores of
the lake, according to the Christian Gospels.
For modern Israel, the Sea of Galilee has played a
key role in providing water for personal and agricul-
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Jewish state to significantly reduce its use of water
from the Sea of Galilee.
Nevertheless, the lack of water flow into the Sea of
Galilee has led to deep concern over the lakes vital-
ity, as the drop in water levels causes the salinity of
the lake to rise, threatening marine life.
The Water Authority said the low level will lead
to further withdrawal of water from the shores of the
Sea of Galilee and to various environmental and eco-
logical phenomena.
The low water level also poses a risk for the Dead
Sea, which receives water from the lake through the
Jordan River, under the terms of an Israeli-Jordanian
agreement. The Dead Seas water levels also have
been dropping by a meter each year.
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46 JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017

 Classified

Solution to last weeks puzzle. This weeks puzzle is
on page 40.
Peace Army
FROM PAGE 6
dinner as a group with host families in Paterson, Frank-
lin Lakes, Wyckoff, and Woodcliff Lake.
The trip includes stops in Asbury Park and Princeton,
as well as three days of touring in Washington. During
that trip, the group will meet with Congressman Josh
Gottheimer (D-5th Dist.).
The $40,000 price tag for each years program is
raised from the Bergen County Jewish community and
a few corporate sponsors.
Ms. Grinstein, now 29, recalls that when she heard
about Zahal Shalom at Beit Halochem in Haifa where
she continues to go weekly for physical and water
therapy for the back injuries and fibromyalgia resulting
from her service in the engineering corps she was a
little wary of the idea of staying with a family of strang-
ers in Fair Lawn. But Barbara and Steven Kiel didnt
remain strangers very long, and Ms. Grinstein also got
close with the other host families during her time in
New Jersey.
This is why she wanted to include them in her wed-
ding to a fellow veteran shed met at Beit Halochem. Sev-
eral of the families even went to Israel for the occasion,
and others sent heartfelt cards of congratulations.
I am still grateful for all they did, and I stay in touch
with them through Facebook and WhatsApp, Ms. Grin-
stein said.

demanding that women who want to immerse without

Problem
FROM PAGE 18
The mashgiach came over and said were not going
to let you do this, Rabbi Farber said. The deal we made
was we found a separate sefer Torah scroll. Its a result of
the kashrut industry going unchecked, and rabbis who
are kashrut supervisors using their power to coerce peo-
ple into adopting their values.
an inspector sign a waiver that they were not following
the rabbis instructions and the waiver must be filed
with the rabbinate.
Itim is pursuing another case that involves four people
who status as Jews is being questioned by the rabbin-
ate. All four had been married through the auspices of
the chief rabbinate a decade or more ago; the rabbin-
ate marries only people of whose Jewishness they were

PARTY Its bad for the future of Jewish life in Israel, he said.
I think it discourages people from coming closer to
observant life, because they resent it so much.
convinced. All four to be clear, married to four dif-
ferent people recently received a letter demanding
they prove their Jewishness or they would be added to

PLANNER He said that on another issue that his group has been
litigating, the religious establishment has been recalci-
trant and avoids keeping its agreements. That issue is
Israels mikvahs, which are government facilities under
the authority of the official rabbinate.
Itim succeeded in getting the rabbinate to stop insist-
ing that a mikveh watch women as they immerse in the
pool. The Jerusalem rabbinate, however, responded by
the rabbinates list of non-Jews. Such a letter is a break
from long-held traditions and came as a shock to its
recipients.
The letters were sent, Rabbi Farber said, after a cousin
came to the rabbinate to get married and didnt have
the right documentation to prove theyre Jewish.
The rabbinate, he added, has no jurisdiction to do
that. Were going to the Supreme Court.

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JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2017 47

Gallery
1 2

3 4

6
n 1. Young families from Temple Emanu-
El in Closter enjoyed face painting, a
petting zoo, and food prepared by Rabbi
David-Seth Kirshner. COURTESY EMANU-EL

n 2. Emma Wiser, left, twins Malayna

and Hayley Leopold, Yossi Heitlinger,
and Michael Braun attend the JCC of
Paramus/Congregation Beth Tikvah He-
brew School graduation. The graduates
received Bergen County High School
of Jewish Studies sweatshirts. Most
already have registered for the He-
brew high school. COURTESY JCCP/CBT

n 3. Rabbi Yosef Carlebach, found-

ing rabbi/executive director of Rut-
gers Chabad House, presented Danny
Danon, the permanent representative
of Israel to the United Nations, with a
leather-bound copy of Pirkei Avot.
Danon was the guest speaker at a
lunch at Manhattans Prime Grill with
Chabad supporters, and community and
student leaders from Rutgers. It was
sponsored by Chabad House at Rutgers
University. COURTESY RUTGERS CHABAD
n 4. At the end of the term, religious
school students at Shomrei Torah in
Wayne played a Jewpardy review
game, using classroom computers and
smart phones. COURTESY SHOMREI TORAH
n 5. Congregation Bnai Jacob in Jer-
sey City welcomed Michael Billy, left, to
Shabbat services. Rabbi Aaron Katz is
pictured with him. Mr. Billy, an LGBTQ
community advocate, hosted the PBS
Emmy Award-nominated series In The
Life and has been a cultural commenta-
tor on HLN and CNN. COURTESY BNAI JACOB
n 6. Rabbi Mordechai Kanelsky, executive
director of Bris Avrohom in Hillside, sec-
ond from left, presented tzedakah boxes
to New Jersey Transit executives. The
gesture was in gratitude for permitting
Bris Avrohom to place menorahs in many
New Jersey Transit venues. With the
rabbi are New Jersey Transits regional
manager, Thomas Clark, left; its executive
director, Steven H. Santoro, and its senior
director, John Leon. COURTESY BRIS AVROHOM

48 JEWISH STANDARD JUNE 9, 2016

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Jewish standard JUne 9, 2017 49

Real Estate & Business

SELLING YOUR HOME?

Students perform at Black Box Summer Rock Musical Theater Intensive

Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30

Black Box p.m. Performances will take place Sunday,
from page 49
Monday, and Tuesday August 6, 7, and 8;
audition technique, and more. All partici- and Sunday and Monday, August 13 and 14.
pants are required to audition and roles are Auditions will be held during the week
chosen specifically for each participant to of June 11 at Black Box Studios home, The
Call Susan Laskin Today
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REMEMBERING HADASSAHS DEBORAH KAPLAN
HATE HAS NO HOME HERE page 8
MEET THE ANNE FRANK CENTERS STEVEN GOLDSTEIN
PURIM PARTYING LIKE ITS 19TH CENTURY ITALY
page 6

page 47
page 12

MARCH 10, 2017

VOL. LXXXVI NO. 23 $1.00 86 7
2017
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The story of Rabbi Shai Held,

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50 Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 Mechon Hadar, which
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CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED in Teaneck last weekend page 22
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Jewish Standard
 The Art of Real Estate
*ENGLEWOOD SHOWCASE*
Ruth Miron-Schleider
Broker/Owner
MIRON PROPERTIES
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Jewish Standard JUNE 9, 2017 51
 CLASS OF 2017

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