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BREAKFAST FOR ISRAEL 2019

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11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Keynote Speaker
Ambassador Ido Aharoni
Israel’s Former Consul
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Master of Ceremonies
Zev Brenner
Jewish radio host
Opening Remarks
Mohammed Hameeduddin
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Guy Caspi
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2 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019


Israeli restaurant named best in the U.S.
● Zahav, an Israeli eatery in Philadelphia, won the
James Beard Foundation award for outstanding
restaurant.
The 2019 winners of the prestigious award were
announced last week, during a ceremony in Chicago.
Jewish chefs Michael Solomonov, a native of Is-
rael, and Steve Cook founded the restaurant, whose
name means “gold” in Hebrew, in 2008. Zahav’s
website describes it as “a modern Israeli restaurant
that brings the authentic flavors of Israel’s cultural
heritage to Philadelphia.”
The pair, who also own the restaurant group
CookNSolo, won the foundation’s best book award
for “Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking,” in 2016.
Solomonov won the best chef award the next year.
Solomonov’s parents moved the family to Pitts-
Beetles invade Israel, but ministry says let them be
● Hordes of large black
beetles have invaded
Israel, descending upon
homes and leaving
a foul stench in their
wake.
The Environmental
Protection Ministry
confirmed that people
are finding lots of bugs
in many communities
around the country.
Dr. Leibele Friedman
of Tel Aviv University
identified the creatures
as the common Calo-
soma olivieri, which grow up to 1 inch in length, a
ministry statement said.
The beetles are not harmful, don’t transmit dis-
eases, and are beneficial to agriculture because of
their appetite for smaller bugs, so Israelis are being
not to use pesticides against them.
JS-3*
Page 3
burgh when he was a child, but he returned to
Israel for a short time when he was in his teens. His CONTENTS
younger brother, David, joined the Israel Defense NOSHES .........................................................4
Forces and was killed on Yom Kippur in 2003. BRIEFLY LOCAL ........................................22
After the tragedy, Solomonov noted in the 2017 COVER STORY ...........................................24
documentary “In Search of Israeli Cuisine,” he be- JEWISH WORLD .......................................28
came more interested in cooking foods that reflect- OPINION ..................................................... 34
ed his Israeli heritage, and moved away from his HOME DESIGN ..........................................40
classical European training. THE FRAZZLED HOUSEWIFE ............. 42
“Attaching myself to the country and the culture CROSSWORD PUZZLE .......................... 42
and the food are things that have kept me going,” D’VAR TORAH .......................................... 43
he said. CALENDAR ................................................ 44
Last year, Jewish author Michael Twitty won the OBITUARIES .............................................. 49
foundation’s award for best book for his memoir CLASSIFIED ADS ..................................... 50
on African-American Southern food. REAL ESTATE.............................................53
JOSEFIN DOLSTEN / JTA
PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT: (USPS 275-700 ISN 0021-6747)
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Foreign countries subscriptions are $75.00.
But the beetles are The appearance of an advertisement in The Jewish Standard
notoriously poor flyers, does not constitute a kashrut endorsement. The publishing of
a paid political advertisement does not constitute an endorse-
they do careen into peo- ment of any candidate political party or political position by
ple, and they do stink. the newspaper or any employees.
The insects tend to The Jewish Standard assumes no responsibility to return
unsolicited editorial or graphic materials. All rights in letters
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the evening, land on the as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright
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ing place, and usually reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from
the publisher. © 2019
die within a few hours.
The pestilence, which
comes on the heels of a Candlelighting:
much less icky butterfly Friday, May 10, 7:44 p.m.
migration, is expected
to end soon as the Shabbat ends:
weather turns hotter af- Saturday, May 11, 8:49 p.m.
ter what has been a particularly rainy winter.
There also have been reports of more moths this
spring than usual. For convenient
The ministry told exterminators not to spray with- home delivery,
out a permit. Essentially, they’re saying that we can call 201-837-8818 or
work it out. TIMES OF ISRAEL bit.ly/jsubscribe
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 1O, 2019 3
 JS-4

Noshes
“Anyone who is a collector of that stuff?
Don’t bother showing up.”
— Jeff Schwarz, responsible for selling thousands of props and
costumes from the now-finished Amazon series “The Man in the
High Castle,” set in a world where the Nazis won World War II.
Items with swastikas were not for sale.

WOMEN CONMEN:

‘Hustle’ is really
a remake’s remake
“The Hustle” time” and “Scoundrels,” ple new wines in the Lily Tomlin will host
stars Anne and DALE LAUNER, Napa Valley but end and appear as two of
Hathaway and 66, who co-wrote up re-examining and her famous “Laugh-
Rebel Wilson as female “Scoundrels.” Working rediscovering their In” characters. Jewish
scam artists who team alone, Launer wrote decades-long friend- stars appearing include
up, in the words of the the great comedy ships. The actresses BILLY CRYSTAL, 71,
publicity release, “to “My Cousin Vinny.” playing the friends TIFFANY HADDISH,
take down the dirty The new team writer include “SNL” veterans 39, BRAD GARRETT,
rotten men who have is JAC SCHAEFFER, — MAYA RUDOLPH, 59, JON LOVITZ,
wronged them.” TIM 41, a woman who was 46, RACHEL DRATCH, 61, JEFF ROSS, 53,
BLAKE NELSON, 54, hired to turn the funny 53, Tina Fey, and Amy NATASHA LEGGERO,
has a large supporting conmen into conwom- Poehler (who also 45, and MICHAEL
role — third billing — as en. Schaeffer’s father directed). Much of DOUGLAS, 74.
Tim Blake Nelson Aya Cash
Portnoy in the film set is Jewish. the movie was filmed GEORGE SCHLAT-
to open May 10. But I made a boo-boo in the Napa Valley in TER, 88, the creator
there are no details out in my last column. California and there of “Laugh-In” and a
about his role yet. “POMS,” starring Diane are a lot of jokes about co-producer of the
The words “dirty rot- Keaton as a retirement Napa, wine-tasting, 50th anniversary show,
ten” may ring a cine- community resident and tasting menus. also appears on stage.
matic bell for you. “The who forms a senior JASON SCHWARTZ- Schlatter grew up near
Hustle” is a female cheerleading squad, MAN, 38, appears in St. Louis, went to col-
remake of two earlier opens on May 10, not one of those tast- lege in California, and
movies. You may re- May 3 as I wrote. RHEA ing scenes. then became a Holly-
member “Dirty Rotten PERLMAN, 71, co-stars. Poehler told the wood agent. In the ear-
Scoudrels,” a 1988 film Wine Spectator that ly 1960s, he morphed
in which Steve Mar- Big Bang’s finale the film is loosely into a producer of TV
tin and Michael Caine is a two-parter based on an actual specials and series. A
Natasha Leggero Miguel Sapochnik
played conmen who The series trip that she and some journalist friend who
team up to fleece finale of the will marry in one of ters whose stories other women took to recently did a phone
a rich heiress. You hit sitcom “Big series’ final episodes. If frequently are inter- Napa. She said: “We interview with Schlat-
probably don’t know Bang Theory” airs on so, we will probably connected. Three did all get together ter told me that he
that “Scoundrels” was Thursday, May 16, at 8 see Raj’s father, a Jewish cast members for Rachel [Dratch]’s sounded “really spry.”
based on “Bedtime p.m. on CBS. It’s a recurring character. have appeared in the birthday one year in Congrats to MIGUEL
Story,” a 1964 movie in two-part hour-long Raj’s father is played first two seasons and wine country. We did SAPOCHNIK, 44, for
which Marlon Brando show. I liked “Big by BRIAN GEORGE, return this season: have dance parties in directing “The Long
and David Niven were Bang,” one of the most 66, who was born in DAVE FRANCO, 33, the living room and Night,” the spectac-
the con artists. Jewy shows on TV. Israel, the son of Iraqi/ who plays Jeff; MARC have kind of teary con- ular HBO “Game of
When a film is a The show’s creator Indian Jewish parents. MARON, 55, who plays versations in the hot Thrones” battle-heavy
re-make, like “Hustle,” (CHUCK LORRE, 66) is Jacob; and AYA CASH, tub, and go into the episode that premiered
the practice is to give Jewish, as are four of Over on Netflix 36, who plays Sherri. deep end as most fe- on April 28. Sapochnik
screen credit to the the main cast mem- and HBO “Wine Country” male friendships do.” is the go-to guy for big
writers of the earli- bers (MAYIM BIALIK, The third and is an original Netflix Last March, a 50th battle episodes and
er version(s). “Hus- 43, KEVIN SUSSMAN, final nine-epi- film that premieres anniversary “Laugh-In” I expect the episode
tle” credits include 48, MELISSA RAUCH sode season on Friday, May 10. It special was filmed, live, that premieres May 12,
STANLEY SHAPIRO and SIMON HELBERG, of “Easy” begins on is a comedy/drama at a Los Angeles the- which Sapochnik also
(1925-1990), an Os- both 38). I suspect that Netflix on May 10. It is about six very dif- ater. The tape of the directed, to be another
car-winning writer who Raj, the Indian-Ameri- a dramatic anthology ferent female friends special will premiere action-laden wow.
co-wrote both “Bed- can main character, series about charac- who set out to sam- on Netflix on May 14. –N.B.

Want to read more noshes? Visit facebook.com/jewishstandard California-based Nate Bloom can be reached at
Middleoftheroad1@aol.com

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10, 2019

Local
The normalization of bias
Statistics and insight both show trend toward increasing anti-Semitism
JOANNE PALMER
T
he news is grim. There’s no
getting around that. Yes, it
could be grimmer, but still it’s
just not great.
According to Alexander Rosemberg
(and no, that’s not a typo; he is from Ven-
ezuela, and its naming conventions dic-
tated the m in the middle of his name),
the Anti-Defamation League’s director
of community affairs for New York and
New Jersey, local reported incidents of
anti-Semitism recently have begun to
trend upward.
“Despite the fact that we are looking
at a nominal drop in incidents from 207
last year to 200 this year across New Jer-
sey, there has been a rise toward the end
of the year,” he said. “After Pittsburgh.”
Pittsburgh has come to be short-
hand for the murders of 11 Jews and the
wounding of seven more in the Tree of
Life synagogue in that city on October
27. The killer was a white supremacist
fueled by anti-Semitism.
The rise in reported incidents that Mr.
Rosemberg was talking about was 76 per-
cent. He’s not sure, however, if it was a
rise in actual incidents, or that people
chose to report them. “Often we find
that there is a sticks-and-stones attitude
toward run-of-the-mill slurs shouted in
the street,” he said. Words won’t harm
them, the recipients of those insults think.
“So we don’t know what to attribute that
spike to, but it’s reasonable to think that it
was happening all along and now people
find more reason to report it.
The New Jersey county that reported
the most anti-Semitic incidents was
Bergen, with 36. In Rockland, “we are
talking about underreporting,” Mr.
Rosemberg said. “In 2017, we counted
12, but we were able to count only four
in 2018.” If that were an accurate count,
that would be marvelous, but it is more
likely, in that tense county, that inci-
dents were not called in.
Reports come from a number of
sources, he explained. “Direct calls from
complainants, federations and JCCs, and
law enforcement and government part-
ners. There is a myriad of sources.”
Most online hatred does not figure
into these counts, he added. “We only
count that as anti-Semitic if it targets
specific groups or people. We have a
separate count for online hate.” Even in
the physical world, some kinds of hate
6 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
JS-6*
aren’t counted as anti-Semitic even if
that is the intent behind them. “White
identity statements, like flyers from
Identity Evropa,” the white supremacist
group that both the ADL and the South-
ern Poverty Law Center classify as a hate
group, and that generally is considered
as part of the alt-right,
“doesn’t use specifically
anti-Semitic tropes, but
anyone who is Jewish who
sees them understands
that it is a threat. We all
know what the threat of
white supremacy means,
but they are purposely
being covert. They speak
more about the possibility
of genocide for the white
race, but everyone who is
a member of a minority
group knows what that
Alexander Rosemberg
means.”
Those flyers — those “propaganda
episodes,” as the ADL called them — are
aimed at recruiting new members.
Using the most current data, from
2018, “We have seen 41 of these epi-
sodes” — of flyers from alt-right groups
— “across New Jersey, and 67 in New
York State,” Mr. Rosemberg said. “Only
a fraction is counted as anti-Semitic. In
the others, the threat was implied rather
than expressed.
“A lot of these propaganda efforts are
happening in and around campuses and
schools. Rutgers saw a lot of these flyers.” three in New Jersey.”
Mr. Rosemberg described what he
called “the Princeton hoax.” In 2019, an
alt-right group hung posters at the Ivy
League school advertising a rally; no one
showed up for it, as its conveners had
planned, but it drew about 400 counter-
protestors. “That gave the group legiti-
macy,” he said. “They now apparently
had the power to do that, and to provoke
all that attention.
“There, groups put a poster up and
take a picture of it and publish it in social was walking — my understanding is that
media.” That amplified it.
“There were 61 anti-Semitic incidents
in K-12 schools in New Jersey in 2017; in
2018 that went up to 63, and 29 of them
were after October 27. In New York, we
saw an increase of 39 percent on college
campuses in 2018.”
What has the effect of President Don-
ald J. Trump’s comments about there
being “very fine people on both sides”
after the “Jews will not replace us”
chants and the murder of counterpro-
testor Heather Heyer in Charlottesville
in 2017 been?
“We historically have tracked the per-
centage of Americans who hold anti-Se-
mitic attitudes, and that number has
remained roughly the same,” Mr. Rosem-
berg said. “That averages
about 12 to 14 percent.
“What has changed is
that society had a much
better check on those
attitudes. The zeitgeist —
and I am speaking about
it coming from leaders
from the left and the
right and in between —
was that it wasn’t okay to
come out publicly with
those things.
“But now the rhetoric
has made it possible for
these things to be unchecked, and so
you have people who are emboldened to
come out and say them and act on them.
“That’s what we call the normalization
of bias. Attitudes and biases that become
unchecked become speech, and if that
is unchecked it becomes action against
property or persons.”
There also has been an increase in
the number of anti-Semitic assaults; the
numbers are low but they are going up.
“There has been a 55 percent increase in
anti-Semitic assaults in New York State,”
he said. “There were 17 in New York and
There is something important to
remember, Mr. Rosemberg added. “We
often can lose sight of this, but these
are not just numbers. Behind each of
these incidents, there is someone who
is being hurt. There is someone who
is being made afraid of doing certain
things. And this disrupts the entire
social dynamic.
“We heard of a case yesterday, on the
Upper East Side of Manhattan. Someone
this person was wearing religious garb —
and no one touched them but they were
verbally threatened for the mere fact of
being Jewish.
“Nothing really happened, in the
sense that nobody was really hurt. But
these words shake the recipient up, to
say the least, so the recipient goes home
and has a conversation with the family,
and in turn the family gets shaken up.
“It is a ripple effect. So now you have
people who are afraid to walk around
in their neighborhood because they are
obviously openly Jewish.”
Abraham Foxman of Bergen County
worked for the ADL for 50 years; from
1987 to 2015, when he retired, he was its
head, and now he is its national direc-
tor emeritus. He was born in Europe, a
hidden child, brought up as Catholic by
the former nanny who saved him, later
reclaimed by his parents, brought back
to Judaism with love, and then brought
to the United States, again with love.
He and Mr. Rosemberg see the world
in much the same way. Things are not
as good as they were, but they are
under control.
It is a ripple
effect. So
now you have
people who are
afraid to walk
around in their
neighborhood
because they
are obviously
openly Jewish.
“I am still an optimist,” Mr. Foxman
said. “America, after Israel, still is the
safest country for Jews anywhere in the
world. Having said that, I do have to say
that the situation now is serious, but it
is not critical. Over the years that I have
been involved in the ADL, we have tried
to tell the American Jewish community
that anti-Semitism still is out there.
“There is a significant component of
the American society that is seriously
infected by anti-Semitic tropes and
stereotypes.
“The good news is that the anti-Sem-
itism is latent,” he continued. “There-
fore, our major responsibility and chal-
lenge is to make sure that it continues
to be latent. We always worry about the
flashpoint that will take it from latency
to being active. So throughout the years,
we as a community have built a firewall,
a policy of containment with all kinds of
elements that could contain it.
 JS-7

Local

“Anti-Semitism is a disease,” he said. “A
virus. We have been relatively successful
in the last 50 years in keeping it latent.”
Switching metaphors, “there have
been a whole series of elements that
managed to keep it in the sewer, and to
keep the covers on.
“But what is it that has worked for us?
“First, memory. In the early years, the
memory of Auschwitz. The memory of
the Holocaust. That worked. It wasn’t
100 percent, but it did keep many peo-
ple from acting out.
“Because of that memory, we devel-
oped a consensus of civility, a consensus
that it is okay to be a bigot in your heart
and mind, but it is not okay to act it out.
If you act it out in America, you will pay
the consequences for it. Those conse-
quences might not necessarily be legal,
but if you are in politics you won’t go far.
“And then there was the media,
which exposed and shamed and edu-
cated. And we developed coalitions
with all kinds of other groups, so we
didn’t stand alone and they didn’t
stand alone. There were taboos. Politi-
cal correctness was not a panacea, but
it was about decency and civility.”
And then there was Israel. “Israel pro-
vided part of our firewall, because Israel,
as a sovereign state, provided us with an
insurance policy,” Mr. Foxman said.
“People took note of all those things,
and they were part of a firewall that basi-
cally kept us okay.
“But I have to remind you that the
ADL put out a book in 1964, called ‘Dan-
ger on the Right,’ and we put out the
annual report of anti-Semitic incidents.
We have been telling the community for
years that there is a virus out there, and
we have to take it seriously. Be aware of
it. Don’t be paralyzed by it, but know
that it is there. Know that we have to be
vigilant and knowledgeable.” And that
message didn’t come only from the ADL,
he added; it also came from the Amer-
ican Jewish Committee, the America
Jewish Congress, and many other Jewish
organizations.
So far, so good. “So none of this
that’s going on now should come as a
great surprise,” Mr. Foxman said. “But
people don’t want to live with fear.” So
they ignored the ever-present but invis-
ible dangers.
“But now, in the last few years, the
firewall has been dissipating,” he contin-
ued. “The memory is less and less. Civil-
ity I believe has been hurt by our pub-
lic discourse, and also by the internet,
which makes communication imper-
sonal. People don’t talk to each other as
much; they talk past each other, anony-
mously and in code.
“Taboos have been destroyed by
Trumpism and by politics. It’s okay to
say terrible things in public about every-
body and anybody now.”
What Mr. Foxman calls the “new
lack of civility, the lack of respect, the
breaking down of taboos is very seri-
ous,” he said. “Part of the struggle
against extremism is the use of the
bully pulpit, using it for unity, respect,
dignity, decency.
“That bully pulpit is gone, and if any-
thing it lines up on the other side. The
atmospherics coming from the other
side are so sad. We have to fix it with-
out them. Anyone who acquiesces to
this tone, to the lack of civility, from the
leadership is part of the problem.”
And then there’s Israel, which used to
be such a shining asset.
“Israel has been converted from
an asset to a liability, and now it has
become a legitimizing platform to be
used against Jews,” Mr. Foxman said.
“This is our new reality.”
How to fix it? “The challenge for us is
to rebuild that firewall so that the things
that can be put back together can be
put back together Some things probably
can’t be.
“After 9/11, we struggled with finding a
balance between security and civil liber-
ties.” Who’s we? “Both Jews and Ameri-
cans in general; we Jews are a bit more
sensitive and more involved in these
issues. We feel it a bit more because we
are more concerned about security.” The
Patriot Act of 2001 shows that struggle,
he suggested. “The balance isn’t perfect,
and we occasionally have to readjust.”
Now, the internet and social media
present the next battleground in the
struggle between security and civil liber-
ties. “We need to find a balance between
First Amendment freedom and civility,”
Mr. Foxman said. “For many years, plat-
form providers would say that there is
nothing we can do about it, because of
the algorithms. We know now that a lot
SEE BIAS PAGE 20

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JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 7


Local
Frisch and
the food truck
Bergen County students fund treats
for IDF soldiers at the Gaza border
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN
This is a feel-good story that starts in a
Paramus Jewish high school and ends on
an Israeli army base.
The first link in the chain of events was
the Frisch School’s annual Chanukah
charity fundraising competition, which
raised a record $20,000 in pledges.
The student tzedakah committee,
Kahal, had voted to give the proceeds
to the Lone Soldier Center in Memory
Lone soldier Rina R. at her spontaneous birthday party on base.
8 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
JS-8
of Michael Levin. This Jerusalem-based
organization provides supportive ser-
vices to some 7,000 IDF soldiers whose
parents either live overseas or are absent
or dysfunctional.
In March, Frisch’s assistant princi-
pal, Rabbi David Goldfischer, turned
the collected funds over to Andi Flug
Wolfer, the executive director of the U.S.
Supporters of the Lone Soldier Center.
At the beginning of April, Ms. Wolfer
learned of an immediate need that the
The Lone Soldier Center food truck heads out
to a base at the Gaza border on April 4, 2019.
A soldier enjoys a hot dog from the food truck made possible by a donation
from the Frisch School.
donation could cover with money it had of renting a food truck to bring edible
left over. cheer to soldiers in the field on Yom
Menachem Katz, the center’s director Ha’atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day,
of operations for the Jerusalem district, May 9.
was starting to look into the possibility Mr. Katz found a business that rents
 JS-9

Local

out food trucks for NIS 10,000 (about
$2,777) per day. But when the business
owner heard the truck was for lone sol-
diers, he refused to take any money.
“Money is for the pocket, but good
deeds are for the soul,” he told Mr. Katz,
adding that his family had “adopted” a
female lone soldier.
But he also urged Mr. Katz not to wait
until May. This was April 2, a week after
seven residents of a Tel Aviv suburb were
wounded by rocket fire from the Gaza
Strip. Soldiers stationed near the border
were on high alert, and another round of
fighting was a distinct possibility.
The owner told Mr. Katz, “Every-
body’s on the border, so go now. I want
you to take a truck down to Gaza.”
Oren Hason, CEO of the Lone Soldier
Center — and, coincidentally, a 2004
Frisch graduate — agreed that “giving
the soldiers something they’d really
enjoy instead of eating the same eggs,
cottage cheese, and bread” could be a
good morale booster and, of course, it
would not be limited to lone soldiers.
“When the country is about to go to war,
soldiers are sometimes eating very basic
stuff,” he said.
Even without the rental expense,
however, the center needed money to
buy the food, gas for the truck, and per-
sonal gear to distribute to troops arriv-
ing at the Gaza border.
“When soldiers transition to a new
base they might not have all the equip-
ment unpacked and available right
away,” Mr. Hason said. “Also, we can give
them items that may be higher quality
than the army can provide.”
With no time to waste, Mr. Hason
talked to his local fundraising chair-
woman, who called Ms. Wolfer in New
Jersey. Ms. Wolfer arranged to transfer
the funds donated by Frisch right away.
It was agreed that whatever money
remained after the food-truck project
would go toward buying Passover food
vouchers for needy lone soldiers.
“What started as a grassroots initia-
tive by a group of students in New Jersey
ended up supporting young men and
women halfway around the world con-
fronting a tense and unpredictable situ-
ation,” Ms. Wolfer said.
Mr. Katz quickly made the rounds of
Israeli merchants and received 65,000
shekels’ worth of such items as G-Shock
watches, Leatherman multi-tools, and
flashlights “at an insane discount.” He
also got discounted premium hot dogs
and beverages from a supplier he knew.
At that point, Mr. Hason phoned the
seven residences sponsored by the Lone
Soldier Center, asking if any of the 121
soldiers in those houses wanted to come
along to visit their friends.
One house mother told him that a
resident of hers, Rina R., a lone female
combat soldier from Florida, had just
learned that instead of having the week-
end off to celebrate her birthday, she
would have to stay on base because of
the tense situation.
On April 4, Mr. Hason, proudly wear-
ing his old Frisch soccer jersey, headed
a convoy down toward Gaza. There was
the food truck, driven by the son of the
generous renter and powered by a gen-
erator the man got for them when the
truck’s own generator proved faulty.
There were volunteers — including an
off-duty lone soldier — in private cars
piled high with backpacks and T-shirts
to hand out.
“We drove down toward Gaza and
stopped at Rina’s base and all of a
sudden we’re throwing a massive birth-
day party,” Mr. Hason recalled. “There
are 200 soldiers dancing with Rina,
and I’m throwing out Leathermans and
G-Shocks like I’m Oprah. We turn on
music, roll out AstroTurf, and set up
chairs. Everybody is going nuts. I cannot
describe the amount of simcha there.”
After two hours, the convoy spon-
taneously headed to a base just 1,000
meters from Gaza. The commander
wouldn’t let them enter, but he allowed
them to set up outside the gate and
he brought out soldiers who had just
returned from a mission, still in combat
gear. More than 300 troops enjoyed the
food, music, and giveaways.
“We were there to lift spirits and that’s
exactly what happened,” Mr. Hason said.
He sent videos and photos of the day
to Frisch. “Everyone was so touched,
partly because they saw a Frisch jer-
sey but mostly because they could see
where their money went.”
Over the years, many Frisch alumni
have served as lone IDF soldiers and
some now are in service, according to
Kahal’s co-chairs, Rebecca Ciment and
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Local
What was wrong with them?
Tenafly JCC talk looks at Leopold, Loeb, and the ‘trial of the century’
JOANNE PALMER
I
t didn’t start as the trial of the century (the
20th century, that is) — there were other
compelling ones before it. (Stanford White
and Evelyn Nesbit, anyone?) And it didn’t
hold that title for very long; that was in 1924. The
century wasn’t even one quarter over; O.J. was
way in the future.
But the question of why — why did these two
extremely privileged, very smart (or at least in
their own estimation) young men, Nathan Leop-
old and Richard Loeb, kidnap and murder Bobby
Franks? They had nothing to gain except the
thrill of committing what they thought would be
the perfect murder.
What was wrong with them?
Over the 95 or so years since the two men
committed murder and soon were caught, tried,
convicted, and imprisoned, their story has fasci- Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb
nated people. They’ve been the subject of nov-
els, nonfiction works, movies, plays, and a great deal
of scholarship.
On May 16, Dr. Paul Clemens, a longtime history pro-
fessor at Rutgers, will talk about the case at the Kaplen
JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly. (See box.)
Part of the reason that the story was so fascinating
was that in in the summer of 1924, “not much else was
happening,” Dr. Clemens said, but the appeal went far
beyond the vacuum it filled. Part of it was the horror
— how did these two guys who seemed to have every-
thing go so wrong? — and part of it was the strength of
the argument against capital punishment made by their
very famous trial lawyer, Clarence Darrow.
Leopold and Loeb grew up in Kenwood, a very Jew-
ish neighborhood on Chicago’s south side. Both were
rich; Leopold was the son of German Jewish immi-
grants, and Loeb’s father had been a vice president of
Sears Roebuck. Both did very well in school and had
notched impressive lists of academic accomplishments;
both went to the highly prestigious University of Chi-
cago and graduated early.
And both seemed to be morally deficient.
“These two young men were under 21 when this
starts,” Dr. Clemens said. “They are college graduates
at this point, and they plan a perfect murder that will
outwit everyone. They will get a handsome ransom for
a kid whom they’ve already killed.
“What makes it so sensational is that they have
picked him out at random,” he continued.
The plan hadn’t started that way. Leopold and Loeb
had a list of characteristics their victim had to fit. Num-
ber one was that he had to be a boy. “Then they con-
templated killing one of their siblings and blackmailing
one of the family.” But no. Instead, “they decided to do
it at random. The victim was just in the wrong place at
the wrong time. He was a young man at the school that
one of them had gone to. They knew each other.” Four-
teen-year-old Bobby Franks was Loeb’s second cousin,
and they’d had tennis lessons together. But he hadn’t
been the pair’s first choice that day.
“The first person they tried to get into the car turned
around and walked away, so they got the second one,”
10 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
JS-10
Bobby Franks
Dr. Clemens said. Because Bobby Franks knew Loeb,
“they were able to get him in the car with them.”
After they lured him in, Leopold and Loeb killed Bobby
— using a chisel, and then binding and gagging him until
he suffocated. Then they defaced his body to slow down
its identification, and they hid it in a railroad culvert.
They sent his parents a ransom note, they cleaned the
car, and in the following days “they actually spent some
time supposedly ‘helping’ reporters figure out what had
happened,” Dr. Clemens said. “One of them befriended
one of the reporters.” But their plan didn’t work very
well. “They did not collect a ransom. At almost every
point in the story, they did something that a
master criminal would not have done. Each
mistake that they made helped the police
eventually nail them and charge them.
“There were clearly guilty, and they both
confessed.”
So what was wrong with them? “A lot of
the trial was about that,” Dr. Clemens said.
“The most important part of the history of
the trial is that their parents decided to hire
Clarence Darrow, who was a great oppo-
nent of the death penalty.” Darrow was a
famous lawyer and great orator; he went
straight from the Leopold and Loeb trial
to the Scopes trial, where he debated the
question of whether it was legal to teach
evolution. That trial was memorialized for
the public in the play “Inherit the Wind.” In
Chicago in 1924, he headed a team of law-
yers who represented both Leopold and
Loeb, who were tried together.
“Darrow decided to plead them guilty, skip a jury
trial, and throw them on the mercy of the court,” Dr.
Clemens said. “The judge was fairly liberal, and the plea
was to not have them executed. That in a way tricked
the very tough prosecutor, Robert Crowe, who saw this
as a hanging case. He was convinced that they would
That argument wipes
out all sense of
responsibility. They
shouldn’t get the
death penalty
because like all of us
they did what they
were conditioned
to do.
pay the ultimate penalty. They had confessed, they did
it for ransom, they didn’t need the money.
“They were not insane according to the legal defini-
tion. They knew what they were doing was wrong, and
they did it anyway.”
Perhaps two of the most famous films based on the
case, both fictionalized retellings of the story, were
Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rope,” in 1948, and “Compulsion,”
in 1959, based on Meyer Levin’s 1956 novel. “Compul-
sion” starred Orson Welles as the Clarence Darrow-like
attorney. “The character makes a very famous plea in
that movie,” Dr. Clemens said. “It is an incredible scene.
He sort of gets right what Darrow said.”
It might not have been necessary to have Darrow
make that speech in real life, Dr. Clemens said. “He
could have made a modest statement, and the judge
could easily have said that these youths are going to get
life imprisonment, not death, because that is what we
 JS-11

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held responsible for what they did.
“That argument wipes out all sense of responsibil-
ity. They shouldn’t get the death penalty because like
all of us they did what they were conditioned to do.
“Darrow was saying that there is no such thing as Ever since there’s been an IDF
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brought in alienists, as psychologists were called at
the time; Crowe fumbled as he cross-examined them.
In the end, Darrow won. Both men were imprisoned
for life; Richard Loeb was killed by another inmate
at Joliet when he was 30; Nathan Leopold eventually
was released from prison, got married, moved to
Puerto Rico, and died of natural causes at 66.
So why did Dr. Clemens become so immersed in
this case? On the surface, it’s not a logical move. He is
a colonial historian, specializing in 17th and 18th cen-
tury American history. But he minored in law, and
took some law-school courses as he worked toward
his doctorate at the University of Wisconsin at Madi-
son. When he got to Rutgers in 1974, he met another
historian, Dr. Warren Susman, who asked him “if I
wanted to teach famous trials with him.”
Put together two historians, and what do you get?
The rest is history.
They taught the course together; Dr. Susman
died in 1985, and Dr. Clemens often still teaches the
course, but even after all this time and attention so
many people have devoted to Leopold and Loeb, he
still can’t say exactly why they did what they did. So
the fascination continues.

Who: Dr. Paul Clemens

What: Will talk about “Leopold and Loeb —
The Trial of the Century” at the JCC U
When: On Thursday, May 16, at 10:30 a.m.
Where: At the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades,
411 East Clinton Ave., Tenafly
Magen David Adom has been saving lives since 1930, some 18 years
What else: After Dr. Clemens’s talk and a lunch before Israel became a state. We take immense pride in being Israel’s
break, Columbia Law School’s Jess Velona will national emergency medical service and in supplying the blood and
present “Great Speeches of the 1960’s — From medical care for the soldiers who have ensured Israel’s existence.
Kennedy to King” Join us in celebrating Israel’s independence on Yom HaAtzma’ut.
How much: The two sessions, which end at Save a life in Israel. Support Magen David Adom at afmda.org/yomha
2 p.m., JCC members $35; nonmembers $42. or call 866.632.2763. Saving lives. It’s in our blood.
For more information or to register:
Call (201) 408-1454 or go to
jccopt.org/adult-lectures-and-learning.

JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 11

 JS-12

Local

Brandon and the Rubin Run

Tenafly JCC’s annual event attracts wide range of athletes to fund special services
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

Brandon, 18, lives in Bergen County

and is training for the New York City
Marathon in the fall. On Mother’s Day,
May 12, he’ll join some 1,000 other
expected participants in the 38th
annual Rubin Run, stepping off on the
Tenafly campus of the Kaplen JCC on
the Palisades.
Proceeds from this USA Track and
Field-sanctioned fundraiser will go
toward the JCC’s Guttenberg Center for
Special Services, which offers programs
that help Brandon, his older brother,
Justin, and more than 850 other chil-
dren, teens, and adults to become pro-
ductive, healthy, and engaged members
of the community.
The JCC’s director of special services,
Shelley Levy, said that Brandon was five
years old when his parents first enrolled
him in the center’s Sunday Fun Day and
Camp Haverim programs for children
and teens with intellectual and develop-
mental delays and autism.
Every Tuesday after school, Brandon
attends Project PALS (Promoting Activ-
ities and Life Skills), a Guttenberg Cen-
ter program in which eight teenage boys
practice a range of essential life skills
that include cooking, personal care, Brandon enthusiastically runs with Achilles supporters.
and wellness, and enjoy such activities
as music and swimming. for people in New York City who want to moms receive a rose as they cross the equipment such as ramps, evacuation
“Brandon is a superstar,” Ms. Levy participate in the Rubin Run.” finish line. Outdoor activities for chil- chairs, hydraulic lift chairs for our pool
said. “He is a smiley, happy, well-ad- Named for the late Leonard Rubin, a dren and free babysitting are offered on — anything we need to furnish our pro-
justed all-around teenager who attends past president and founder of the JCC, race day at the JCC. grams and camps to support their inclu-
the business academy at the Alpine who established this community-wide This year’s main Rubin Run spon- sive nature,” she added.
Learning Group, a pre-eminent school athletic event to encourage and promote sors are the Kaplen Foundation, BSe- The fundraisers have made possible,
for individuals with autism. He works at healthy living, the race will feature three cure, Englewood Health, the Rubin and for example, the purchase of 20 iPads
AMC Theater with his job coach and has options: an 8-kilometer trail run through Rubach families, the North Jersey Media to enable participants to develop com-
worked in offices, so he is totally capable the Lost Brook Preserve, a 10k run, and Group, the Jewish Standard, and Dr. munication and organizational skills;
in data entry, budget development, and a 5k walk/run. Praeger’s Sensible Foods. and Apartment 101, a model apartment
spreadsheets.” “The Rubin Run exemplifies every- “This is one of two major fundraisers devoted to life-skills development. “We
Athletics are where Brandon really thing we stand for at the JCC,” the JCC’s that we do every year at the JCC to sup- use these funds also to support our fam-
shines, she added. He “swims like a fish” chief executive officer, Jordan Shenker, port individuals with disabilities at our ilies financially through scholarships,”
and is a member of the New Jersey chap- said. “It brings our community together center,” Ms. Levy said. “What is unique Ms. Levy said. “The financial burden on
ter of Achilles International, a nonprofit on a very special day, acknowledges the about the Rubin Run is that it is open these families is huge.”
devoted to empowering people with importance of fitness and healthy life- to the entire community, not only JCC Brandon’s family includes his older
all types of disabilities to participate in styles, and raises significant funds to members. In my mind, this event rep- brother, Justin, who has significant
mainstream running events. In March, provide enrichment and professional resents what is best about our JCC and autism and cognitive challenges, and
Brandon completed his first New York guidance for people of all ages who are our values and mission statement: It is their younger sister, Katherine, who has
City Half Marathon. differently abled so they can attain the a combination of chesed, tikkun olam, volunteered in Camp Haverim.
“Brandon and many other teenagers support and comfort they deserve in an and mitzvah” — kindness, improving the “The family literally grew up here and
and young adults attending programs inclusive and accessible environment.” world, and good deeds. we have a close relationship,” Ms. Levy
here at the JCC are also members of Trophies will go to the top three male “It welcomes people from all sectors said. “They see this place as their home
Achilles,” Ms. Levy said. “Achilles NJ will and female winners in each age cat- of our community and the funds we away from home.”
be a major presence in this race to the egory, and all children under 10 who raised are allocated for us to become For more about the Rubin Run, go to
point where the New York Road Runners finish the race will receive a medal. In a more accessible community cen- jccotp.org/rubinrun, call (201) 408-1404,
Club is donating transportation services honor of Mother’s Day, all participating ter through the purchase of adapted or email rubinrun@jccotp.org.

12 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019

 JS-13

In 1948, Israel and the Jewish people had the sympathy of the world, excepting the Arab states and a few other hard-line
anti-Semitic countries. After Israel survived its War of Independence, and certainly years later by the end of the Six Day
War, Israel had few allies left besides America. But, as Golda Meir aptly described the new model for Jews, "I prefer to
stay alive and be criticized than be sympathized."

Through the last remarkable 70 years, Israel has had the moral, economic, and diplomatic support of the United States.
Much of that support comes from America being the greatest national force for good in world history. This support is
reinforced by an American populace who believe that the survival of Israel is vital both as a symbol of our shared values
and our religious beliefs. Zionism is an American right to be practiced by Christians, Jews and others.

Americans have the extraordinary privilege to engage personally with their legislative leaders. If the sole source for
information on Israel in our country was the national media, we would likely see a much more negative light cast by our
leaders on the Jewish Homeland. Fortunately, groups like NORPAC, composed of citizen advocates, regularly meet and
speak with Members of Congress and can better inform our representatives of the facts and context of issues regarding
Israel and the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

So, just how important is the NORPAC Mission to Washington?

NORPAC has become the largest and most active Political Action Committee that is dedicated to improving U.S.-Israel
relations, and serves a different - albeit complementary - function than other important pro-Israel groups, such as AIPAC
(which is a public affairs committee).

Our Mission to Washington is the second largest Pro-Israel Mission to DC and the most intensive having individual
meetings with Members of Congress. Our membership is second to none among grassroots advocates in their knowledge
of the issues and their ability to accurately communicate those issues to our country's legislators.

Aside from the many legislative initiatives our Mission has been instrumental in convincing Congress to pass, there can
be no overestimation of the importance of showing up. Members of Congress take notice of those who take extra effort to
come down to make their issues heard. A personal e-mail to congress counts like 10 voters, a phone call counts like 100
voters, and an actual visit to DC counts like 10,000 voters.

At a time when some Members of Congress can express their anti-Semitism without shame or censure, our participation
in the political process is all the more vital.

At a time when many political leaders are visibly frightened to forcibly face down hatred of Jews, our going to Washington
is compelling.

Israel is currently at war, as it has been on and off for the last 70 years. We are asking you to take one day to personally
meet with Members of Congress and make the case for Israel.

Show your children, family, friends, yourself, and Hashem that you are willing to join in this effort to ensure the support of
America for the Jewish Homeland, and to remind our leaders of our rights as Americans to be proud, Zionist Americans.

Sign up by May 12th online at www.norpac.net, email contact@norpac.net, or call 201-788-5133.

Laurie Baumel, PhD, David Steinberg, Trudy Stern Allen Friedman Jeff Schreiber
Mission Chairs Mission Talking Points Chair Mission Logistics Chair

Ben Chouake, MD
NORPAC National President

JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 13

 JS-14

Local

40 years later…
Former Israeli Supreme Court justice talks history in Englewood
Larry Yudelson

I
t’s August 15, 1992, and Elyakim
Rubinstein is in an airplane, fly-
ing back to Israel from Washing-
ton, D.C., where he met with Pres-
ident George H. W. Bush. Mr. Rubinstein
is cabinet secretary to Israeli Prime Min-
ister Yitzhak Shamir.
And he notes the date.
It is exactly 50 years since most of his
father’s family was massacred and bur-
ied in a mass grave by Nazis in Belarus.
“And here, 50 years later, I’m with the
prime minister, representing the Jew-
ish independent and proud state,” Mr.
Rubinstein said last week.
Mr. Rubinstein, an attorney, served
the Israeli government for nearly half
a century as peace negotiator, cabinet
secretary, and Supreme Court justice.
He is speaking in Englewood on Sun-
day, under the auspices of Touro Uni- Elyakim Rubinstein, left, holds open the Israel-Jordan peace treaty for Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to sign as
versity, where he is a visiting professor. President Bill Clinton looks on during the 1994 ceremony.
(See box.) On Wednesday morning, he
will speak with juniors and seniors at the One difference between the Israeli know how to quote the Quran, they see that you have
Frisch School in Paramus. Supreme Court and its American counter- respect for their culture, for their religion, for their roots.
Mr. Rubinstein, 72, retired from the part is that Israel has a mandatory retire- It reflects on their attitude. It definitely has been helpful.”
Supreme Court two years ago. An Ortho- ment age: 70. In his Englewood talk, Mr. Rubinstein will look back at
dox Jew, he is proud of his role in bring- Another is that the 15 justices, usu- the Camp David negotiations, which culminated in the
ing traditional Jewish jurisprudence, or ally meeting in panels of three, not only accords that Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyp-
mishpat ivri, into the Israeli legal system. hear appeals from lower courts, but also
“Israel is a Jewish and democratic receive petitions challenging govern-
state, so the Knesset’s law is the law ment decisions. This results in Israeli
of the country,” he said. But Jewish
law can be brought in as precedent in
high court justices having “a workload
which is by far bigger. The U.S. Supreme
One shouldn’t lose
court rulings. Court takes something like seventy hope. Before Sadat
His final decision as a Supreme Court
justice concerned how much room pris-
Elyakim Rubinstein cases a year. We have something like
eleven thousand.”
came to Jerusalem
ons should allocate to each inmate. “In this particu- Because its task is to oversee the government on nobody knew he was
lar case, I wrote a lot on the attitude of Jewish law to
prisons and prisoners, going back to talmudic texts
behalf of citizens, “the court is sometimes controver-
sial. Human rights, civil rights cases come straight to the
going to come. We
and responsa in the later centuries,” he said. “It is supreme court.” were surprised to a
very relevant to our current lives. Our ancient cul-
ture and legal bookshelf should have an input into
Mr. Rubinstein’s family includes lawyers. His wife, Mir-
iam, was a senior lawyer for the deputy state attorney.
great extent.
our jurisprudence.” Their oldest daughter, who has died, was a human rights
Just last week, the deputy chief of the Israeli prison lawyer dealing with asylum seekers. He has a son-in-law tian President Anwar Sadat signed on September 17, 1978,
authority called to let him know that the regulations who is a lawyer in the government. leading to the peace treaty with Egypt that was signed the
implementing his decision had been finalized. But his own entry into law and, thereafter, government following March.
“It’s a real revolution in the prison authority,” he came about by happenstance. “The good news is that it’s been sustained for these 40
said. “It makes you, as a justice, very satisfied.” “I finished high school young and did my undergrad- years,” Mr. Rubinstein said. “After 30 years and five wars
uate degree before the army,” he said. After graduating, with Egypt and a lot of casualties and a lot of pain, we had
he still had one year left before joining the army. “I was this major strategic change,” Mr. Rubinstein said.
reading a book on the campus of Hebrew University. Two “I remember being in the airport in Israel five years
friends who had just finished the army were passing by. after Camp David. There was a minister from our gov-
But as far as the They said they were going to register for the law school. ernment who originally opposed Camp David. He said,
I said, ‘I’ll join you.’” ‘Look, although I opposed it, if we sustain it for 15 years
strategic part of His undergraduate studies, in Arabic and Hebrew it will be worthwhile.’
peace, the security linguistics and philology, proved useful when he was a
peace negotiator, first as chief of staff to Foreign Minister
“Thank God, it has been 40 years. The quality of
the peace is not what we were hoping for, in terms of
aspect, thank Moshe Dayan at Camp David. human relations, visits, cultural exchanges, and so on.
God it’s holding “In negotiations, respect — honor — is a very major pil-
lar,” he said. “When the other side knows that you know
But as far as the strategic part of peace, the security
aspect, thank God it’s holding and it’s okay. At the end
and it’s okay. their culture, know their language, know some poetry, See Rubinstein page 29
14 Jewish Standard MAY 10, 2019
 JS-15

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JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 15


Local
From a Ridgewood interfaith service to Treblinka
Local rabbi reflects on the Holocaust and divisive current events
RABBI NOAM MARANS
This is the talk Rabbi Noam Marans gave
for Yom HaShoah at the West Side Presby-
terian Church on May 1.
T
he Holocaust was unprece-
dented and unimaginable. Its
magnitude and vileness defy
any comparisons.
But when a Jew — Lori Gilbert-Kaye,
of blessed memory — is murdered and
others are injured by yet another vio-
lent white supremacist as they attend
services in Poway, near San Diego, a few
days before Yom HaShoah, Holocaust
Remembrance Day, it is impossible not
to think that this is how it all started,
more than 80 years ago. As the Poway
congregation’s heroic rabbi, Yisroel
Goldstein, said, “It was just 70 years ago
during the Holocaust [when] we were
gunned down like this.”
But we are not in Germany. This is not
the 1930s. Then, nearly all governments
were complicit. Today, nearly all govern-
ments react responsibly. Then, civil soci-
ety and religious leadership stayed quiet
or worse. Today, they can be counted
upon to speak out. Then, Jews were not
easily able to defend themselves. Today,
a cornerstone of Jewish identity is “never
again.” Never again will we be powerless.
There is a Jewish State of Israel and we are
still living in the most hospitable place for
Jews in all of diaspora Jewish history, the
United States of America.
Anti-Semitism is on the rise, not only
in Europe but here as well. There are
more hate crimes against Jews than
against any other faith group. The fre-
quency of assaults against Jews simply
because they are Jews is now at a fright-
ening level. Jews on college campuses
are feeling vulnerable. Since we met to
remember the Holocaust last year on this
sacred day, the worst attack against Jews
in American history took place at a Pitts-
burgh synagogue, leaving 11 murdered
Jews and an indelibly rattled American
Jewish community, with armed guards
at services and public events.
And yet we are sitting here together
for the thirty-third time, at the incom-
parable Ridgewood Interfaith Holocaust
Remembrance Service. Christians, Jews,
and other faith-adherents collectively
asserting that we have an obligation to
Rabbi Noam Marans of Teaneck has been
the director of interreligious affairs at the
American Jewish Committee since 2010;
for 16 years before that he led the Temple
Israel and Jewish Community Center
in Ridgewood.
16 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
JS-16*
From left, Dr. Zvi Marans, Nina Kampler, Rabbi Amy Roth, and Rabbi Noam
Marans stand outside the gates of the Treblinka death camp in Poland.
observe Deuteronomy’s call — “Zakhor,
lo tishkakh” — remember, never forget.
We are living in an age when Christianity
is no longer overwhelmingly silent as it
was during the Holocaust, an age when
the most visible religious leader on the
planet, Pope Francis, regularly describes
anti-Semitism as a sin. In March, when
the organization I represent, the Amer-
ican Jewish Committee, AJC, met with
the pontiff, he said, “I stress that for a
Christian any form of anti-Semitism is
a rejection of one’s own origins, a com-
plete contradiction.”
On Saturday evening, hours after
the attack on Jews at prayer in Poway,
it was a local Presbyterian Church that
hosted the first of many vigils in recent
days, a heartfelt outreach demonstrat-
ing that many have learned the lessons
of history. Just yesterday, the secretary
general of the Muslim World League, Dr.
Mohammad Abdulkarim Al-Issa, visited
AJC to announce an AJC-Muslim World
League partnership that will include his
January 2020 visit to Auschwitz with
AJC on the 75th anniversary of the liber-
ation of that infamous Nazi death camp.
Al-Issa will be the most senior Islamic
leader to visit Auschwitz. He said, “The
heinous attacks in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl-
vania, in Christchurch, New Zealand,
and most recently in Sri Lanka compel
us all to unite and stand up against those
who want to divide us.”
This is how a survivor, Vera Laska,
described the Auschwitz the pope will
visit in her book, “Women in the Resis-
tance and the Holocaust,”:
“The crown of perverted imagination,
the feather in the cap of the master build-
ers bound on efficient extermination,
with an assembly line leading from freight
trains through gas chambers, to cremato-
ria going full blast night and day, in sun
and fog…. The fires of the crematoria
soared without letup twenty-four hours a
day. At times, the chimneys cracked from
overheating and had to be reinforced with
steel bands. Inside, their walls were cov-
ered with human fat, inches deep. When
the gas chambers and crematoria could
not handle the volume, people had to
dig their own graves, undress … and be
machine-gunned; or their bodies were
tossed from gas chambers into ditches
and incinerated on pyres in the open air,
permeating our nostrils with the stench of
burning flesh and bones.”
As a Jew who came of age in the
shadow of the Holocaust, I have reg-
ularly visited Holocaust sites, those
simultaneously desecrated and holy
places where my people were mur-
dered. Four months ago, my brother Zvi
and I and our wives — that’s Zvi’s wife,
Nina Kampler, and my wife, Rabbi Amy
Roth — visited Bialystok, Poland, where
many of my father’s family were born
and flourished. After arriving in War-
saw, we stopped at the Treblinka death
camp. Treblinka is a horrific place where
tens of thousands visit annually, but on
December 26, 2018, it was just the four
of us alone in the snow-covered vast-
ness, adding to the emotional power
of this horrific place where three quar-
ters of a million Jews were exterminated
between July 1942 and October 1943.
Before the Soviets liberated Treblinka,
the Nazis tried to destroy all incrimi-
nating evidence and bulldozed the gas
chambers, crematoria, and camp. In its
place today is a very meaningful memo-
rial with 17,000 stones of different sizes.
Seven hundred of the stones bear the
names of Jewish communities. One of
the larger stones has the name Bialystok,
where my family once thrived. I have
visited Treblinka three times, and that
Bialystok stone, my stone, brings me to
tears again and again. We chanted the El
Malei Rachamim, the traditional Jewish
memorial prayer for the dead, the four
of us, alone with the souls of our people.
About 90 minutes later we were in Bial-
ystok, a once vibrant exemplary Jewish
community that today is a Jewish ghost
town, like so many in Eastern Europe. At
its peak, Bialystok was 75 percent Jewish.
Tens of thousands from Bialystok were
murdered in Treblinka and other camps.
Many others were murdered in mass kill-
ings in and around Bialystok.
My father’s aunt, three first cousins,
and an infant son of one of the cousins
were murdered when a former employer
revealed their hiding place outside Bialy-
stok. That murdered infant had the same
Hebrew name as my father, Avraham Dov.
They were named for the same ancestor,
my father’s grandfather Avraham Dov
SEE RIDGEWOOD PAGE 18

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Lag BaOmer Seminar
WITH RABBI REUVEN KIMELMAN
How did Lag BaOmer become so important?
Wed, May 22, 8:15 pm, Free and open to the
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KIDS
Looking for a Hebrew after
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JS-17
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IAC CELEBRATES
Yom Ha’atzmaut
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Come celebrate Israel’s 71st birthday
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VISIT jccotp.org
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JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 17
 JS-18*

Local

Ridgewood from the history of this church, West

FROM PAGE 16
Marans, the infant’s great grandfather. To
this day, my 90-year-old father regularly
reminds us that he carries that name,
and that someday there will be new Avra-
ham Dov Maranses, carrying on the same
name and the same legacy.
Today there are only five Jews left in
Bialystok, but there are many memori-
alized Jewish sites and cemeteries. The
largest of those cemeteries once had
more than 30,000 tombstones, includ-
ing those marking the resting places of
my father’s grandparents, Avraham Dov
and Sarah Chenke Marans. Due to des-
ecration and neglect only 3,000 stones
remain, and even fewer stand in their
original location.
Remarkably, one of the standing
stones memorializes the grave of one of
my great uncles. With the help of mul-
tiple scholars of Jewish cemeteries, we
found it, the grave of my father’s Uncle
Yankel Marans. We will never forget and
will always be inspired and sustained by
our visit to this lone identified ancestral
grave that recalls so much that was lost
and moves us to continue on.
A Jew cannot be in Poland without
experiencing overwhelming sadness.
In 1939, Poland was 10 percent Jewish.
Ninety percent of Polish Jewry was mur-
dered during the Holocaust, three mil-
lion souls, approximately one-sixth of
world Jewry. Half of European Jewry
and one third of world Jewry perished
in the Holocaust. Polish Jewish civiliza-
tion, one of the greatest in Jewish his-
tory, was destroyed.
This Holocaust requires a response.
And you have created and sustained
one of the most unique and power-
ful responses to the Holocaust here in
Ridgewood. This Ridgewood response
to the Holocaust is inseparable from
the history and transformation of this
community and is also inseparable
The grave of Yankel Marans, the
uncle of Rabbi Marans’ father.
18 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
Side Presbyterian Church, within
which we remember and vow tonight,
“Never again, not for my people, not
for any people.”
For me, this is deeply personal. In
1987, the local Ridgewood United Meth-
odist minister convinced an initially
reluctant me and the Roman Catholic
monsignor to inaugurate this interfaith
Holocaust remembrance service. There
were more survivors then, and under-
standably, not all of them were support-
ive. It was very hard for some, especially
survivors, to process the idea that we
would memorialize the six million in a
church every other year, as has been the
practice for this service, since its found-
ing — every other year at the synagogue
and every other year at a church.
This was not an easy path. After all,
Christianity’s collective negative atti-
tude toward Jews and Judaism was a
primary cause for anti-Judaism and
anti-Semitism over two millennia, lead-
ing to violence, pogroms, blood libels,
destruction, and mass murder perpe-
trated against Jews. Could a church
possibly be an appropriate place for
Holocaust remembrance?
It is true that Christianity had
become self-reflective since the Holo-
caust, acknowledging the role Christian
ideology had played in setting the stage
for the Holocaust and the acceptance of
the destruction of European Jewry by
too many Christians who were perpe-
trators or passive bystanders. The inau-
guration of this service here in Ridge-
wood required courage from many
people, a courage that has lasted and
taught us for more than three decades.
It is based on a simple but profound
premise: If we are to create a world
where the Holocaust and other geno-
cides are to be prevented, we must do
so not only as Jews but also as Chris-
tians, Muslims, people of all faiths,
believers, and non-believers. And we
must do it not only in a synagogue but
also in a church.
Here in Ridgewood there is added
poignancy to interfaith Holocaust
remembrance because here we person-
ally experience two important truths
beyond the horror of the six million
murdered Jews: 1) Not all the victims of
the Nazis were Jews. 2) Many risked their
lives to save Jews.
As many of you know well, this was
the home church of Ridgewood’s famous
Varian Fry, the first American and one
of 27,000 worldwide honored by Yad
Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Remem-
brance Center, as Righteous Among the
Nations. Varian Fry was one of the rare
human beings who took great risks to
save Jews during the Holocaust. Sent
by the Emergency Rescue Committee
to France, Fry assisted approximately
Rabbi Noam Marans, right, and his brother Zvi stand by one of
the stones memorializing the grave of a Holocaust victim in
Bialystok, Poland.
four-thousand people; one-thousand of
them were smuggled out of France in var-
ious ways. Among the Jews Fry helped
to save were several well-known figures,
such as Hanna Arendt and Marc Chagall.
In this context, I also want to remember a
Temple Israel member, the late Catherine
Taub, who spearheaded proper recogni-
tion of Varian Fry in this community.
This is also the home church of Frank
Schott, who often lights the seventh can-
dle in memory of the many other victims
of the Nazis, beyond the six million Jews.
Frank and I met during the early years of
this service. Frank’s life is a story of the
indiscriminateness of hate and the power
of a human being to survive and flourish.
Hate is an equal opportunity offender.
If you hate Jews, your hate will not stop
there. And if you hate other groups, you
eventually will hate Jews. Frank was born
to a Jewish father and Christian mother
and he was raised as a Christian in Ger-
many, but he and his family members
were demonized, pilloried, enslaved, and
even murdered as Jews. Frank is here, as
he often is at this service, testament to his
commitment as Ridgewood’s living Chris-
tian witness.
Our greatest challenge in Holocaust
remembrance is the inevitable disap-
pearance of the survivors, the eyewit-
nesses. Thankfully, many of their stories
have been captured in oral histories,
like the powerful videos that are con-
tinuously screened at the Holocaust
Museum in Washington and elsewhere.
When this service was inaugurated,
all the candle lighters were survivors
themselves. Today it is mostly the chil-
dren and grandchildren of survivors,
who carry their own burdens from this
diabolical history. We will have to work
harder and harder to sustain Holocaust
remembrance now that the survivors are
relatively few in number.
As we move further from the Holo-
caust our responsibility only grows, our
responsibility to make history come
alive, so that the lessons of the Holocaust
are not forgotten.
On this Holocaust Remembrance Day,
we must acknowledge that we are living
in the most divisive moment of our lives
here in America. We have been inun-
dated with attacks on houses of worship
and the murder of parishioners around
the corner and around the world — syna-
gogues, churches, mosques, gurdwaras,
and others. Loose tongues and social
media have unleashed aberrant destruc-
tive ideologies. Hate, as it always does,
has led to violence.
We have a responsibility as people of
faith. As human beings. If our society has
a disease, we need to be its cure. These
words on the outside wall of the entrance
to the U.S. Holocaust Museum echo that
sentiment: “Here we will learn that each
of us bears responsibility for our actions
and for our failure to act. Here we will
learn that we must intervene when we
see evil rise.” We must intervene when
we see evil rise. That is my prayer for all
of us this evening. It is the least we can do
in remembrance of the victims we mourn
today. Yehi zikhram barukh. May their
memory be for a blessing.
 JS-19

JEWISH FEDERATION OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

is pleased to introduce the

Lion of Judah Memorial Fund

This fund was created to perpetuate support to Jewish Federation
in memory of special women in our lives.

ELAINE PHILLIP RONNIE COHEN

mother of CHERYL PHILLIP mother of LAURI BADER

SYLVIA TAUB KATE MILLER

grandmother of JUDY TAUB GOLD grandmother of TINA LIEBERMAN

ESTHER ADLER IDA WOLFIN

grandmother of JUDY TAUB GOLD grandmother of JAYNE PETAK

RENEE BAUMAN HALPERIN JEANNETTE STERNBERG

mother of JOELLE HALPERIN mother of KAREN SCHARFSTEIN

FANNY LEAH LEWIS NAOMI (NIKKI) GANSL

mother of
mother of EVAN & FRANCIE GANSL
GEOFFREY & KAREN LEWIS
and DONNA & EVAN WEINTRAUB

MAXINE WEINSTEIN
mother of FLORENCE KENT SPINRAD
JODI HEIMLER and BETH WAKS grandmother of ROBERTA ABRAMS

GRACE MILLER CAROLE FLEISCHMAN

mother of LAURA FREEMAN grandmother of DANA ADLER

ETHEL POTOLSKY RUTH KRONGOLD

grandmother of DANA ADLER mother of CAROL SILBERSTEIN

FERN ROSENSWEIG ANNE MINTZ

mother of RON ROSENSWEIG grandmother of DINA BASSEN

RENEE KISSLER
FLO ABRAMS mother of GLENN & DONNA KISSLER,
grandmother of BARRY & STEPHANIE KISSLER,
ROBERTA ABRAMS SHARON & MARC GOLDSTEIN

“Her children rise up, and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her…
let her works praise her in the gates.”
~ Woman of Valor

To memorialize a special woman in your life Jayne Petak

please contact Robin Rochlin Endowment Foundation, Chair
201-820-3970 | robinr@jfnnj.org

Jewish Standard MAY 10, 2019 19

 JS-20*

Local

JFNNJ trains educators on anti-Semitism awareness

Representative from Rockland’s Holocaust museum will lead workshop
LARRY YUDELSON broader questions of implicit bias and Ms. Noveck said the federation works

H
ow do you stamp out anti-Semitism?
It seems like an impossible task.
One answer is this: One teacher at a
time. Each teacher, after all, influences
several classrooms.
With that in mind, the Jewish Federation of Northern
New Jersey is partnering with the Holocaust Museum and
Center for Tolerance and Education in Suffern to present
an anti-anti-Semitism training program for middle school
and high school educators next week. (See box.)
“It’s important to find a way to educate the educators
who are sharing their views with the next generation,”
Ariella Noveck said. Ms. Noveck is the director of the
federation’s Jewish Community Relations Committee.
“Anti-Semitic acts are occurring all over the world,” she
continued. “It’s happening in our backyard.”
The Rockland Holocaust Museum began training
teachers about anti-Semitism and bias a year and half ago
when it hired Abigail Miller as its director of education.
“This year, since September, we have run in excess of
100 programs,” Andrea Winograd, the museum’s execu-
tive director, said. “Many schools come to us proactively,
because they are concerned by what they see happening
in neighboring communities or on the news and want to
head off any any problems. We also receive many calls
from schools wanting to help address something that
has occurred, like a swastika graffiti or something of that
sort.”
The North Jersey federation’s first program with
the Rockland museum for educators, held in March,
was a success. That program trained teachers in the
racism. Next week’s program goes fur-
ther: “This is about how teachers can
address anti-Semitism in their class-
room, either proactively or reactively
as needed,” Ms. Miller said.
“We define and try to begin to under-
stand anti-Semitism, as well as its con-
nections to other types of bias and
racism,” Ms. Miller said. “We look at
the historical context of anti-Semitism,
especially the events surrounding the
Holocaust and World War II, as well as Abigail Miller
contemporary anti-Semitism. We bring
in examples of lesson plans, resources for them to use
in the classroom right now. The goal is to address what is juveniles. You don’t hear about the conclusion of the case.”
happening in schools right now.
“Many teachers are lacking the historical context
to understand anti-Semitism. Many don’t understand
how anti-Semitism has presented itself historically, so
sometimes contemporary manifestations are able to slip
under the wire. They don’t understand why something
connects to historical anti-Semitism. Accusations of dual
loyalty is one example.”
About 50 people attended the March training, includ-
ing many school superintendents.
Ms. Miller’s presentation included a theoretical
discussion of how bias works, as well as immediately
practical matters.
“We learned about the different kind of problems that
can be reported,” Ms. Noveck said. “Most of the time, if
you think it should be reported, it should be. We were
encouraged to always report.”
with school superintendents when
there’s an episode of anti-Semitism in
their schools. “We help them when
something goes awry in their own school
district. We’re here to support them con-
tinuing their education in how to deal
with these situations.”
Ms. Noveck said that anti-Semitic inci-
dents in schools often involves juveniles.
“Our goal is not to harm them. We
want to help them move forward in their
lives, and eradicate the hate,” she said.
“A lot of time it’s juveniles acting out for
one reason or another. Swastikas on the wall are done by
She said the federation is working to bring anti-preju-
dice programs into public school systems.
“We would love to see a program put in the curriculum
to teach about bias and hate,” she said.
What: Addressing Anti-Semitism
Through Education Training
Who should attend: Middle school
and high school teachers and educators
Where: Jewish Federation of Northern
New Jersey, 50 Eisenhower Drive, Paramus
Taught by: Abigail Miller of the Holocaust Museum
and Center for Tolerance and Education in Suffern
When: Wednesday, May 15, 4 to 6 p.m.
Register: jfnnj.org/training

Bias
FROM PAGE 7
can be done, like Facebook just removing
Alexander Jones, Louis Farrakhan, and Milo
Yiannopoulos. This is a major challenge for
us, finding that balance.
“The internet is a superhighway and some
people travel it anonymously, like they’re
wearing Klan hoods.” He cited the mur-
derer who invaded the Chabad synagogue
in Poway and starting shooting, killing Lori
Gilbert-Kaye and injuring three others. “He
breaks the old rules,” Mr. Foxman said. “His
family seems decent. He doesn’t belong to a
hate church. His anti-Semitism comes from
the internet.
“They are not killing Jews out of love of
Jesus. It comes out of a white supremacist
hatred that he sucked out of the internet. It
is a different kind of lone wolf. It used to be
that the hate came from the environment.
Now someone can sit in a room and push
buttons and infuse himself with hatred.”
What can we do?
“Because of this administration and its
focus” — the Trump administration has
decided to go after jihadist terror groups
instead of splitting its focus between
20 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
such organizations and white suprema-
cist groups, even though most terrorist
crimes in the United States have been
committed by white supremacists — “we
have to increase our focus on right-wing
groups,” Mr. Foxman said. “Twenty-five
years ago, we pushed legislation against
paramilitary groups. They are still out
there, and they are beginning to surface
again, as they have on the border. We
have to focus on them.
“‘Never again’ was not a guarantee,” he
said. “It was an aspiration. We need to be
vigilant about it. Just remembering that it
happened before is not enough to make it
not happen again.”
But there’s a risk on the other side of that
as well. “If we overdo our security aware-
ness, we may accomplish ourselves what
the anti-Semites want to accomplish,” Mr.
Foxman said. “We need to be serious about
our safety and security, but not to the point
where Jews are afraid to go to synagogue, or
afraid to have our students go to day school
or yeshiva or Talmud Torah. We can’t be
afraid to the point where we are afraid to
send them, because that would give Hitler a
posthumous victory.”
Frisch
FROM PAGE 9
Hanna Karben.
“Students know many people
who are lone soldiers, so they
really connected to this cause,”
said Rebecca, a senior from Engle-
wood. “We raised more this year
than Frisch ever has.”
Hanna, a senior from Pomona,
explained that each class decides
on its own way to raise funds,
and the class that garners the
most pledges wins a prize. She
was pleased that the money went
toward the Passover vouchers,
food truck, and personal gear.
“It felt powerful to make a dif-
ference and know we are helping
people,” she said.
Ms. Wolfer said that the U.S.
Supporters of the Lone Soldier
Center in Memory of Michael
Levin hosts a flagship event for
Yom Ha’atzmaut in New York City.
“The concept of the food truck
resonated so much that this year
the funds raised at this event will
go toward sending another food
truck to soldiers,” she said.
Mr. Hason added that the orga-
nization is looking into buying
its own food truck. “Hopefully
we’ll be able to go to more bases
and when lone soldiers’ families
visit, they can come with us and
hand out the things themselves,”
he said.
While the IDF was not sent into
Gaza this time around, ongoing
violence at the border is a tough
situation for the troops.
“It’s easy for lone soldiers from
the U.S. to lose sight of their goals
and to forget why they enlisted
in the IDF in the first place,” Ms.
Wolfer said. “When they receive
small expressions of gratitude
from students and communi-
ties back home, it’s a powerful
reminder that can help give them
a much-needed push forward.
 JS-21*

Local

Yom HaShoah in the community

BARBARA BALKIN.

The Lustigers, Silbersteins, Sorschers/Wartelskys,

George Sturm of Englewood, second from right, a Temple
Emeth member, spoke about his family memories of Kristall-
nacht at the May 5 Yom HaShoah memorial at Temple Emeth
in Teaneck. A service in the shul’s garden followed. With him,
from left, are Rabbi Steven Sirbu, holding the shul’s Holocaust
Torah, religious school student Olivia Reynolds, and educator
Dora Geld Friedman. 
More Yom HaShoah coverage
continues next week
Felice Stoke, Strausses, and the Cohen, Malca/Reis
families were among the candle-lighters as nearly
1,000 people attended the Holocaust commemora-
tion sponsored by the Jewish Community Council
of Greater Teaneck. Congregation Beth Sholom’s
Tzipporei Shalom Children’s Choir and Jonathan
Rimberg performed musical tributes. Toby Levy,
inset, who survived the Holocaust as a hidden child,
was the keynote speaker. Arline Duker and Rabbi Dan Rosen of the Frisch School
read the names of victims who were related to local families.

The JCC of Paramus/Congregation Beth Tikvah’s

HAROLD LERMAN FUND FOR
ISRAEL EDUCATION AND ENGAGEMENT
holds its 4th annual event

Welcoming Ambassador Dennis Ross

Ambassador Ross played a leading role in shaping U.S.
involvement in the Middle East peace process for more
than 12 years, working with the administrations of
Free
presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He was
community a special assistant to President Barack Obama and to
event! Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He is now the William
Davidson Distinguished Fellow at the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy, and he has written many
books on the peace process.

SUNDAY, MAY 12, 6:15 PM

JCCP/CBT, East 304 Midland Ave., Paramus, NJ
(201) 262-7691 or JCCParamus.org
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 21
 JS-22*

Briefly Local

Columnist to address JNF women’s meeting features

Migdal Ohr dinner dinner, boutique, and speaker
American Friends of Migdal Ohr holds its annual gala dinner Jewish National Fund Israel campaign made
on Tuesday, May 14, at CNVS in Manhattan. Cocktails are at 6 offers “The Power of in May, up to $1 million,
p.m., the dinner and program follow at 7. Pulitzer Prize-win- Women,” a special Women will be matched, thanks
ner Bret Stephens, the guest speaker, will discuss “Speaking for Israel celebration at to the generosity of
Up at the New York Times.” Benjamin Krasna, deputy head Rain on Thursday, May 30, donors Lynne Merriam
of Mission at Israel’s Embassy in Washington, will give the in Teaneck. It will include and Shelly Shor Ger-
opening remarks. For information, call (212) 397-3700 or go a strolling dinner and the son. Ruth Pomerantz is
to MigdalOhrUSA.org. Bret Stephens “Chic Shuk” boutique at chair of the Northern NJ
7:30 p.m.; the program Women for Israel and
begins at 8:30. Jenna Gutmann and
Montebello centennial brunch Siggy Flicker of Tena-
fly, a relationship expert, Siggy Flicker JNF
Debbie Rogoff are the
evening’s co-chairs.
The Montebello Jewish Center is hold- $25 for children under 13. The shul is at motivational speaker, tele- Rain is at 399 Water
ing its commemorative 100th anniver- 34 Montebello Road in Montebello. For vision personality, and author, is the St. For reservations, go to JNF.org/
sary gala brunch, honoring a number of more information, call (845) 357-2430 or guest speaker. Ms. Flicker is the daugh- NJpower, email JNF’s northern New
longtime congregants on Sunday, May go to montebellojc.org. ter of a Holocaust survivor, Dr. Morde- Jersey director, Jacqueline Yehudiel,
19, at noon. It costs $75 for adults, and cai Paldiel of Fort Lee. at JYehudiel@JNF.org or call (973) 593-
Every donation to the Women for 0095, ext. 823.

Delaware senator is Norpac guest;

Washington mission to follow
The Kazmir family will host
Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) at
Rabbinical College of America
a Norpac pro-Israel private din- will honor two at foundation gala
ner on Sunday, May 19, at 6:30 The Rabbinical College of America
p.m., in Closter. The evenings’s will hold its annual National
co-chairs include Esther and Ben Founders’ gala on Thursday, May 16,
Chouake, Deborah and Michael at the Robert Treat Center in New-
Blumenthal, and Monique and ark. It will honor Zygmunt Wilf, a
Mort Katz. longtime trustee of the college, and
Norpac hosts its annual Mis- Tammy Snyder Murphy, New Jer-
sion to Washington on Tuesday, sey’s first lady, for their longtime
May 21; registration is open until leadership, care, and service to the
May 12. Nearly 1,000 people Dr. Ben Chouake, left, and Senator Chris community at large.
will participate in the import- Coons (D-Del.) Courtesy Norpac According to the dean of the
ant day of U.S.-Israel relations Rabbinical College, Rabbi Moshe
advocacy with members of Congress. year’s talking points about pressing leg- Herson, “In the course of close to
Mission attendees are bused (or can islation on U.S.-Israeli concerns. They 50 years, I watch with amazement
use their own transportation) to Wash- go back home in early evening. Partici- how this generation are following in Honorees Zygmunt Wilf and
ington in the morning, and go to a brief pants can register online at norpac.net. the footsteps of their parents, con- Tammy Snyder Murphy. Courtesy RCA
plenary session at the Warner Theatre Glatt kosher meals and bus transporta- tinuing their great work for the good
with presentations by congressional tion from New York and New Jersey is of the community, for the good of the students of varying ages, and a wait-
leadership. Afterwards, they go to their included. country, for the good of Israel and the ing list of hundreds more, whom we
assigned groups — usually with four to For more information or to RSVP, Jewish people.” were unable to accommodate for lack
six others — and meet with members of email Avi at Avi@NORPAC.net or call Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, global of space. All our programs are in need
Congress and their staff to discuss this (201) 788-5133. director of Chabad shluchim place- of expansion to meet growing needs.
ment, added, “There are 700 rab- The Rabbinical College also serves as
binical students, many from the Rab- Chabad headquarters for the State of
binical College, who were not sitting New Jersey, with 59 Chabad centers
GLUTEN FREE, NUT FREE KOSHER BAKERY! at their parents’ seder. They went throughout the state in all 21 counties,
Coconut Bars • Brownies • Chocolate Chip Cookies • Linzer Tarts out to over 400 communities that serving the needs of the community.”
do not have rabbis, little towns from The dinner comes shortly after the
Mother’s Day Ukraine to New Zealand, to conduct horrific attacks committed against Jew-
is this Sunday, May 12 the seder. Who would believe that in ish synagogues and facilities in Califor-
Thailand there would be 7,000 peo- nia, Pennsylvania, Israel, and across
Give her a SWEET GIFT! ple at seders — many of them Israeli the world. Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein,
4 Varieties of Special Cakes backpackers who have come there to the brave leader of Chabad of Poway,
Place your order by Friday May 10 for May 11 Pickup find themselves?” is a graduate of the Rabbinical College
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22 Jewish Standard MAY 10, 2019

 JS-23*

Briefly Local

Schechter students gain fresh insights

during their two-week visit to Israel
Solomon Schechter Day School’s
class of 2019 kicked off its nearly two-
week trip to Israel with a visit to Neot
Kedumim, a 625-acre recreation of the
biblical landscape, set between Jerusa-
lem and Tel Aviv. Students experienced
For the last 13 years, the Solo-
mon Schechter Day School of Ber-
gen County has taken its graduating
eighth graders on the two-week Israel
Encounter, which serves both as the
culmination of students’ Schechter
immersive hands-on program,
students develop deeper connec-
tions to Israel that extend beyond
the classroom. The subjects about
which they have read in books,
studied in school, and seen on the

the ambiance of the life of the Bible,
gaining a greater appreciation for the
labor of their ancestors and applying
team-oriented solutions to modern
challenges. One of the day’s highlights
was sheep and goat herding.
education and as a powerful introduc-
tion to the next step of their Jewish and
Zionistic journey.
Since the program’s inception
in 2006, Schechter has sent about
600 students to Israel. Through the
Courtesy Schechter
news come to life, enabling them
to more intensely connect to Jew-
ish culture and heritage. It is these
experiences that students take with
them to their high schools, college
campuses, and into adulthood.

Remembering
Lori Gilbert-Kaye
Ever since there’s been an IDF
protecting Israel, there’s been
an MDA ensuring their health.
Valley Chabad

Candles are lit before a special Shabbat

Friday night dinner to honor the life of Lori
Gilbert-Kaye.

Teens from Valley Chabad, pictured above, gathered

in Woodcliff Lake for a traditional Shabbat dinner and
memorial on May 3. Lori Gilbert-Kaye was murdered
when a terrorist entered the Chabad in Poway, Califor-
nia, during Passover services. The teens spoke about
her life and committed to doing mitzvot — good deeds
— in her memory.

Magen David Adom has been saving lives since 1930, some 18 years
Courtesy GRJC

before Israel became a state. We take immense pride in being Israel’s

national emergency medical service and in supplying the blood and
medical care for the soldiers who have ensured Israel’s existence.
Join us in celebrating Israel’s independence on Yom HaAtzma’ut.

Kindergarten, first- and second-graders and Save a life in Israel. Support Magen David Adom at afmda.org/yomha
their families mark Shabbat at the Glen Rock or call 866.632.2763. Saving lives. It’s in our blood.

Jewish Center with a special candle lighting in

her memory.

Jewish Standard MAY 10, 2019 23

Cover Story
Security for all students
TeachNJ, TeachNY
work toward goal
of state funding for
day school safety,
STEM, and more

N
JOANNE PALMER

ext week, TeachNJ will host Governor

Phil Murphy at its annual dinner; he’ll
give the keynote address to the orga-
nization at the Newark Museum.
That’s not bad for a four-year-

PHOTOS COURTESY TEACH COALITION

old group that advocates for public
money for private schools. In fact, it’s impressive. It’s
also not accidental, according to the founding and exec-
utive director of its parent group, the New York-based,
Orthodox Union-affiliated Teach Coalition, Maury Lit-
wack of Teaneck.
If the group were not broadly based, non-combative,
respectful of public schools and the faith-based schools
of people of other faiths and of Jews across the religious
spectrum; if it were not specific about the funding for
which it advocates, which is for security, textbooks,
school nurses, and STEM education; if it were not
advocating along with other groups but instead acting
against them, then it would not have succeeded, Mr.
Litwack said.
He started working on the idea of an organization like
Teach in 2013, he said; he’d come to the OU, where he
worked on “governmental affairs work on the federal
side in D.C.,” from a career in Washington, working
first for two members of Congress and then as a Wash-
ington lobbyist for Miami Dade County. That year, he
convened a meeting of representatives of a dozen Jew-
ish day schools, “everyone across the spectrum from
yeshivish to modern Orthodox to Solomon Schechter,”
he said; there also was someone from the “Sephardic
community in Brooklyn.” The idea behind the meeting
was that “at the time, New York State housed more than
100,000 day school kids.” The state already gave the
schools money for “busing, nursing, and textbook aid,
but there was no history of consistent increases” as the
number of students grew.
“There was a real concern that to combat the tuition
crisis in day schools, which had grown year by year, the
government would have to play some role in providing
more services and benefits,” Mr. Litwack said.
“The meeting was to form an organization that
would do three things. One, it was to be a single-issue
advocacy organization. The issue was Jewish education.
What the AARP does for seniors, or AIPAC does for the
pro-Israel community — that’s what we would do for
Jewish education.
“Number two was to work together. All the schools
24 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Dist. 36) speaks as TeachNJ’s director, Josh Caplan, stands by.
would show up together and present a united front. At
the time, there were a few individuals who were lobby-
ing in Albany, or in city politics, but they were not nec-
essarily representative of the whole community.
“Three was that we would approach the issues in
a completely different way than they had ever been
We started having a
lot of success with
this model, because
we were approaching
and advocating with
elected officials.
approached before. That means that we wouldn’t be
advocating for things like vouchers, which were anath-
ema to the teachers union. And we wouldn’t be advo-
cating in a way that would take money away from the
public-school system, or to fight with it. We weren’t
part of any school-choice activities.”
It was an intriguing idea, and a powerful one. “At the
end of that meeting, six schools formed the organiza-
tion,” Mr. Litwack said. The names of some of those
founding schools since have changed; then, they were
Manhattan Day School, North Shore Academy, Solo-
mon Schechter School of Long Island, Westchester Day
School, SAR, and the Yeshivah of Flatbush.
“We started having a lot of success with this model,
because we were approaching and advocating with
elected officials,” Mr. Litwack said. “One of the first
wins we got was for security funding per pupil in
New York State in 2014, and when we got that funding
elected officials started to look at us as real advocates
for what was at that time about 12 percent of the edu-
cation in the state.” That number includes all nonpub-
lic schools, he explained; secular private schools and
religious schools run by all faith groups, mostly Jewish,
Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim.
He likes to stay away from the term “private
school,” Mr. Litwack said, because that term makes
it sound like the students are wealthy and entitled.
“We have kids who can’t afford school without schol-
arships,” he said. “It is not entitlement. It is part and
parcel of our heritage.”
New York State also passed what Mr. Litwack called
“groundbreaking legislation,” providing funding for
security and also for STEM education. STEM is science,
technology, engineering, and math; they are all objec-
tive, fact-based subjects that have nothing to do with
religion. “Whether a child goes to a public or a non-
public school, the state can make an economic invest-
ment in their education. It can make sure that they have
a 21st-century STEM education, and funding it is not
anathema to people who argue that they don’t want to

pay for children’s religious education.
“It resonated with local and state officials.”
In the 2015-16 school year, New York State allocated
about $25 per child for security funding. “That was a
great allocation,” Mr. Litwack said. “And then you start
to see the operations build and grow in a serious way.
“The model needs active involvement from parents
and the schools. You can come up with the best policy
and the best relationships with elected officials and you
can hire the best lobbyists, but at the end of the day, if
you don’t have the people, you are done. You are toast.”
Also, he added, the spending is audited; the state
makes sure that it is spent for the reasons it was allo-
cated. If not, once again, they would be toast.
Once it proved so successful in New York, Teach
officials started to look over the Hudson. “In 2015, we
started TeachNJ to replicate the success in the New Jer-
sey area,” Mr. Litwack said. Its director is Josh Caplan
of Teaneck, and a staff works with him.
There also are Teach organizations in Pennsylvania,
Florida, Maryland, and California; this year, another
group opened in Ontario. Each has its own director.
Because it already had a track record, “the first meet-
ing in New Jersey was very different than the first one
in New York,” Mr. Litwack said. “Twenty schools signed
up immediately, and the federation” — that’s the Jewish
Federation of Northern New Jersey — “signed up and
invested money in it as well.”
From the start, parents were active. “In the last few
years, we have seen historic increases in funding in
New Jersey,” Mr. Litwack said. “Our organization has
encouraged the community to make their voices heard
by showing up in Trenton and testifying, by showing up
in meetings with local officials in dozens of local offices,
and by making thousands of phone calls.
“All that activism and all that involvement is why the
state of New Jersey passed legislative funding to provide
$150 per child in security funding.
“We have been asking for security funding increases,
nursing funding, and technology funding. We want to
see the state of New Jersey replicate what New York has
done so successfully in the STEM program,” he added.
Mr. Litwack is thrilled that the dinner, meant to be
the first of an annual series — before this, the yearly
fundraising meetings were breakfasts — will feature
Governor Murphy. “That’s a testament to who we are
and what we are trying to do,” Mr. Litwack said. “It is
an opportunity for the community to thank him for his
work, and to show why as Jewish day-school parents we
make sacrifices for Jewish education. Why we send our
kids there. Why that is so important.”
Mr. Litwack’s feelings for TeachNJ are both theoreti-
cal and concrete; he has four children, and they’re all
in Ben Porat Yosef in Paramus.
“We also are extremely proud of the fact that as an
organization we are a leader in security funding, not
just in New Jersey but around the nation during this dif-
ficult time,” he continued. “As an example of that, last
week Governor Newsom of California announced a $115
JS-25
million security allocation to protect synagogues and
day schools, among other nonprofits. Teach California
was instrumental in advocating for that. So whether it is
$150 per child in New Jersey or security guards in New
York or in California after the tragedy in Poway, we are
proud that we not only are advocating for Jewish edu-
cation but providing security to our community in our
time of need.
“So when you see all this, it is not a surprise that the
governor is coming to speak to us. It is not surprising
that we are a success. We are building a movement for
our kids and our grandkids, and I believe that it also is
good for the state of New Jersey, and for New York state,
and really for any state.”
And, he said, this is not limited to Jews. “We had
stood side by side with others, whether on the steps of
City Hall in New York or in front of our schools in New
Jersey with Catholics and Muslims, calling for more
safety funding for our kids.
“That is a testament to how we operate. We don’t
want this funding to be going only to our kids. We want
it to go to every kid.”
What about the separation of church and state?
Is it right for state funds to go to private religious
institutions?
Yes, Mr. Litwack said. Just think about how it really
works. “I believe that the state should invest fully in
our public-school kids, but our finances do not oper-
ate like that.
“The state of New Jersey has hundreds of millions
of dollars that it spends on tax credits for corpora-
tions and businesses. If we are going to have a genuine
conversation about this, don’t tell us that the $150 per
child, which at the most is about $22 million, is where
we are going to find the money to plug the holes in edu-
cation funding.
“The state literally is spending money in all kinds
of places where you could make the argument that it
should go instead to public education.
“It is a disingenuous argument that the state can plug
the holes through this funding. When you look at the
state budget, you look at the incentives they offer cor-
porations, you see that there are a lot of other places
where we can make that argument.”
Instead, look at it this way.
“This is what the Jewish community is capable of
doing — having all the schools working together with
the OU, with the federation, hosting an extraordinarily
progressive governor who will be talking about how we
can educate every child in New Jersey.
“To me, that is a dream.”
In keeping with its goal of working with all Jews on
Jewish education, the Teach Coalition also works with
Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools, whose mem-
bers come from across the Jewish spectrum.
Twenty schools belong to TeachNJ, and it is sup-
ported by two federations — the one in northern New
Jersey and the Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jer-
sey, which convers Monmouth and Middlesex counties.
“We believe that federation money can be bet-
ter leveraged to help the school system through this
effort than it can be through other methods,” Jason
Shames, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northern
New Jersey, said. “Federation has been a leader in this
since Day One. We have been giving TeachNJ $50,000
a year, and that is why we say ‘leverage,’ because of
the state reimbursements for things that we believe
that every student in New Jersey should be eligible for
— security, textbooks, nursing, nutrition, and STEM.
“It’s based on a per-capita rebate, like a credit from
Trenton.” There are about 6,000 day-school students
in the area, he said. “So if you do that math, divide
Assemblywoman
Valerie Vainieri
Huttle (D-Dist. 37),
center, watches as a
Ma’ayanot student
and her teacher,
Reyce Krause, work
on coding.
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 25
 JS-26

Cover Story

$50,000 by 6,000. That is pennies.
But if our money and our efforts at the
state level result in an increase to the tax
reimbursement to the school, there is an
exponentially greater impact.”
What about the church/state debate?
“Look, we are not being disrespectful,
but I think that when we talk about Jew-
ish continuity, which is our mission,
we felt that the overriding desire to
help the days schools out is primary,”
Mr. Shames said. “We think that in Ber-
gen County, about 40 percent of the
kids in K through 12 go to Jewish days
schools. It’s one of the highest rates in
the country.
“Public schools have been receiv-
ing this from the state forever. Jewish
families already are paying exorbitant
funding to schools, so it seems reason-
able that some of it should come back
to them.
“If you do the homework, you see
that compared to Pennsylvania and
New York, we get pennies on the dol-
lar in terms of what private-school kids
get from Albany and Harrisburg. When
we first started this project, New York
was giving back $900 per kid, and New
Jersey was giving back about $100. It was
a great divide.
“And we still have the highest prop-
erty taxes in the country,” he added.
Sixty-five schools belong to TeachNY;
they include ASHAR in New City.
(ASHAR is more formally known as the
Adolph Schreiber Hebrew Academy of
Rockland.)
David Katznelson is ASHAR’s exec-
utive director. “TeachNY assists us in
identifying and applying for different
grants that are available,” he said. “In a
nutshell, that’s what they do for us. The
landscape is full of grants and opportu-
nities. They help us identify which ones
are appropriate for us.
“For the whole group, they advocate
on behalf of institutions like ours, so
that we can recognize and obtain our
fair share of government opportunities
and programs.”
Like other schools, Ashar can use the
help. “As a small institution, we wouldn’t
know half of what’s out there,” Mr.
Katznelson said.
Although TeachNY’s main purpose
is to help with funding, it also provides
the school’s students with an education
Maury Litwack
in how the government works, and how
they as citizens can lobby its officials.
“We have taken our kids on trips to
Albany, which is an education in itself,”
he said. “We’ve sat in House sessions
and met with lawmakers.”
Sarit Perry of Englewood has an
11-year-old and a 9-year-old at the Sol-
omon Schechter Day School of Bergen
County in New Milford. She’s been active
with TeachNJ.
“It’s trying to get funding for all pri-
vate schools,” she said. She’s lobbied
for it; “I went with a leader of a Muslim
school. The issue that concerns her most
is security, for all kids, in all schools.
She’s particularly aware of the similar-
ities between the security concerns of
Jewish and Muslim schools. The Muslim
representatives said that her schools
also are constantly under threat,” she
reported. “With the help of TeachNJ, we
were able to get money for security.”
She felt the need to advocate because
“I was tired of standing on the side and
just constantly having more and more
fees tacked onto our tuition for security.
And when this organization started, I
had the opportunity to get involved.
“They paired me up with Eliana Pin-
tor Marin,” a Democratic member of
the state’s General Assembly who rep-
resents New Jersey’s 29th District, cen-
tered around Newark. “She’s on the bud-
get committee, and I usually meet her in
Trenton.”
One of the things Ms. Perry has
learned through her advocacy work is

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JEWISH
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the importance of voting.
“When I meet with assembly mem-
bers, they make it clear that they want
to talk to voters,” she said. “It is irrele-
vant who you vote for, but if they are
talking to someone who hasn’t gone into
a voting booth for year, they are talking
to someone whose voice doesn’t count.
“If you don’t vote, your voice just
doesn’t doesn’t count.”
Chaim Book of Teaneck is the president
of the board of Torah Academy of Bergen
County in Teaneck. “I think that TeachNJ
is working really hard to establish good
relationships with legislators and with
Trenton, for the benefit of our entire com-
munity, and certainly for the Jewish day
schools,” he said. “And we already have
seen the rewards of those efforts.”
The first benefits TABC has reaped
have been for security. “It’s been phe-
nomenal for us,” Mr. Book said.
Beyond that, “TeachNJ is hard­working,
and they’re looking out for the interest of
the entire faith community, not just the
Jewish community,” he said. “That’s a
really important thing.”
“I am what they call an active parent,”
Yehuda Brum of Fair Lawn said. His
MOTHER’S DAY, SUNDAY, MAY 12
supporting individuals with special needs
KAPLEN JCC on the Palisades
JS-27
Cover Story
Who: TeachNJ
What: Holds its first annual dinner
When: On Wednesday, May 15, at
6:30
Where: At the Newark Museum, 49
Washington Street
What else: Governor Phil Murphy
will speak
How much: $200 per person /
$360 per couple / $1800 and up to
join Host Committee
For reservations: Email teachnjdin-
ner@teachcoalition.org, call (201)
-655-9948 or go to teachcoalition.
org/nj/dinner
bill-signing when the governor signed
the security grant,” he said. “It’s the
usual activist thing, getting involved.”
From left, TeachNJ’s grassroots director, Renee Klyman; the Teach Coalition’s Why? “Because I think day-school tui-
political affairs director, Daniel Mitzner; New Jersey’s education commission- tion is one of the most pressing issues in
er, Dr. Lamont Repollet; and TeachNJ’s director, Josh Caplan, stand together the Orthodox community,” he said. He
on January 8 as the Nonpublic School Security Bill is signed. wants to “make sure that day-school par-
ents are treated in the same way as other
daughter is a first grader at the Rosen- soon as they’re old enough. He’s gone to parents, to make sure that the taxes we
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700 rockets, 240 intercepts, 4 dead

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TEL AVIV — After last weekend’s fighting between
M o Hamas and the Israeli army, some Israelis have
raised questions about the strength of their coun-
try’s missile defenses.
Over the course of the weekend, Hamas and Islamic
Jihad launched nearly 700 rockets at Israel from
Gaza, killing four people and injuring more than 200.
According to Haaretz, of the 690 rockets launched
from Gaza, Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system
Tilapia
Florentine intercepted 240.
The number of unintercepted rockets and Israeli
fatalities sparked inquiry about the effectiveness of
Iron Dome, and whether Hamas and Islamic Jihad
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Hamas was quick to declare that it had achieved vic-
tory, overwhelming Israeli defenses with concentrated
barrages of projectiles.
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ing great losses and destruction to the enemy.”
The number of Israeli civilians killed in the two-day
conflict was only one fewer than during 2014’s Opera-
tion Protective Edge, a struggle of nearly two months,
when Palestinian factions lobbed more than 4,500
projectiles at Israeli cities.
At the time, the Israel Defense Forces said that its
Iron Dome batteries had managed to knock down 90
percent of the rockets within their coverage zones —
a rate of success disputed by some critics. The IDF
claimed a similar level of success this time, too, telling
reporters that it had achieved an 86 percent kill rate
and that only 35 projectiles landed in populated areas.
Speaking with the Jerusalem Post, however, Maj.
Gen. Yaakov Amidror, a former national security
adviser and retired head of the Military Intelligence’s
Research Department, said that Iron Dome had gaps
in its coverage, especially when it came to short-range
rockets landing within a few kilometers of the border.
“We don’t have enough time to intercept it,” he said.
Amidor also said that Iron Dome wouldn’t have
helped the driver of a car hit by an anti-tank missile
near Kibbutz Yad Mordechai on Sunday. The driver
was killed. “From the point of view of the system, this
was an open area without people,” Amidor said. “We
don’t intercept such rockets.”
A former deputy military intelligence chief, Brig.
Gen. Meir Elran, said that while “Iron Dome has
SEE IRON DOME PAGE 30

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Rubinstein
FROM PAGE 14
of the day, it’s good news.”
So too is the fact that the peace accord he helped
negotiate with Jordan has held up.
Mr. Rubinstein recalled that at Camp David, it wasn’t
clear that there would be an agreement “almost until
the last moment. We weren’t sure the agreement was
going to happen.”
A Friday night Shabbat dinner with Prime Minister
Begin was another highlight of the 13-day conference.
“He made Kiddush. He made me say Motzi. He had
this Jewish aura about him. For instance, when we
signed the agreement, he put on his yarmulke and
said ‘Shir Hama’alot,’ the whole very moving chapter
of Psalms.
“In the last days of the conference, President Carter
was working on the text with Aharon Barak, who was
then just finishing his tenure as attorney general and
was later chief justice, and with an Egyptian negotia-
tor. Barak would come to the delegation and get Begin’s
view. It was a kind of ridiculous exercise. There were
something like 23 drafts on the table.”
As a civil servant rather than a politician, Mr. Rubin-
stein worked for leaders of different parties. As cab-
inet secretary, “I worked with Shamir and then with
Rabin,” he said. (Yitzhak Shamir was prime minister
after Begin.)
Formally, as cabinet secretary, “you prepare the
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 JS-30
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Jewish World
SK IN DAY
AT
N EI L K L
CA
MP S
Iron Dome
FROM PAGE 28
proven to be an effective means of sav-
ing lives, which also improves the flexi-
bility of decision makers in Israel,” it is
clear that the system as now constituted
cannot provide Israel with sufficient
protection if there is a wider conflict.
In an article published by the Insti-
AY C A
D @ its bM P tute for National Security Studies in Tel
Aviv several weeks before the outbreak
est
of hostilities, Elran warned that “the
number of available batteries (some
operated by reservists) cannot suffice
as a response to the threat, even one
characterized by sporadic fire against
the Israeli depth. In a full-scale con-
REGISTER TODAY AT flict the [Iron Dome] system would be
required to cover primarily military
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LUNCH, SWIM & TOWEL SERVICE INCLUDED there would be gaps in the system’s
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TRANSPORTATION, EXTENDED CARE &
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The IDF has been beefing up its sys-
tems. The army has reportedly been
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working on improvements to Iron
Dome intended to deal with just the
kinds of barrages used over the week-
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Join Usin celebrating
short-range projectiles used to target
communities along the Gaza border.
In mid-April, the IDF concluded an air
defense exercise combining its Iron
Dome and Patriot missile batteries.
the Promise of Israel Overall, the presence of Iron Dome
has allowed Israel additional flexibility
in choosing when it wants to escalate
conflicts. The system reduces the need
to send infantry troops into Gaza to stop
missile fire against population centers.
Annual Gala
Despite this weekend’s death toll,
Iron Dome acquitted itself well, Times of
Israel military correspondent Judah Ari
Gross said. The higher than usual level
of civilian casualties can be attributed
Sunday, June 2, 2019 to a combination of bad luck, the inten-
sity of the barrages, and Hamas’ use of
New York City heavier rockets with larger payloads.
Such projectiles can intensify the dam-
HONORING age when they do get through.
HIS EXCELLENCY “In one barrage, they fired 117 rockets
Ron Dermer toward Ashdod. One got through. Is that
overwhelming the system?” he asked.
AMBASSADOR OF ISRAEL
“You can say, yes, it is — especially as
TO THE UNITED STATES
that one killed an Israeli civilian — or no,
AND THE COURAGE OF
that’s a 99.1 percent success rate.”
UCLA PROFESSOR The missile that did get through
in Ashdod killed Pinchas Menachem
Judea Pearl Prezuazman, a 21-year old American
citizen who was hit while running for
cameragala.eventbrite.com
camera.org
www.thejewishstandard.com
30 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
cover. Even with a high level of inter-
ceptions, with enough metal flying,
some are bound to get through, Gross
said, adding that it was unclear exactly
how the IDF had calculated its claimed
86 percent interception rate.
Uzi Rubin, one of the pioneers of
Israel’s earliest attempts at missile
defense, said that based on the pub-
licly available data, it appears that the
Palestinians “tried to tax the system as
much as they could, but the system as
a whole held well.”
“Eighty-six percent is not much less
than the 90 percent during [Operation
Protective Edge], and remember this
time most of the fire was concentrated
on the area around Gaza, which is short
range and harder to defend,” he said.
Israel doesn’t rely on just the Iron
Dome to keep its citizens safe. Phone
apps warn of incoming missiles, and
bomb shelters and safe rooms are ubiq-
uitous, if not always well-maintained.
In his article, Elran suggests that “exist-
ing plans for improving public and pri-
vate shelters should be implemented in
other parts of Israel.”
Elran also urged the Home Front
Command and municipal leaders to get
on the same page when it comes to clos-
ing schools and opening public shelters,
“issues that continue to be disputed.”
Residents of southern Israel had dif-
fering opinions as to the effectiveness
of the IDF’s missile defenses.
Raymond Reijnen, a Dutch immi-
grant whose house in Kibbutz Nahal Oz
was hit by a rocket as he hid in its bomb
shelter with his wife and children on
Saturday, said Iron Dome’s effective-
ness has been exaggerated.
“Everybody thinks [it’s] great, but
every mortar they fired at the kibbutz
landed and didn’t got intercepted,”
he said. “Iron Dome is a bandage
to keep the people feeling safe and
protected. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a
great system, but its capabilities are
highly overestimated.”
On the other hand, Adele Raemer,
who lives in of Kibbutz Nirim on the
Gaza border, said she did feel safer
than in previous escalations. “We’ve
only had Iron Dome for about a year,”
she said. “As a resident, I do feel more
protected now that we have it.”
Asked for comment, the IDF said that
it was unable to provide information
on Iron Dome’s performance or how it
calculates interception rates because it
was short-staffed due to Tuesday eve-
ning’s Yom Hazikaron, or Memorial
Day, commemorations.
JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY
 Jewish World

How Trump’s ‘religious freedom’ changes

are heartening some Jews and rattling others
RON KAMPEAS
WASHINGTON — President Donald
Trump’s definition of religious freedom
is being welcomed by many Orthodox
leaders and rattling more liberal Jewish
leaders.
Some of the administration’s pro-
posed new rules aim to protect health
care providers who say certain proce-
dures violate their religious conscience,
including abortion, assisted suicide, and
other end-of-life issues.
The changes would reverse eight
years of Obama administration policy,
which sought to expand access to birth
control, abortion, and medical services
for women and LGBTQ people. Con-
servatives say the policy put govern-
ment restrictions on what they deem
are expressions of their faith. The new
directives, welcomed by the religious
right, lay bare divisions within the Jew-
ish community.
Orthodox Jewish groups have wel-
comed the reversals.
“The Trump administration has
made significant strides in several
important areas of religious freedom
particularly as they relate to the Jewish
community,” said Rabbi Abba Cohen,
the vice president for government
affairs at Agudath Israel of America,
an umbrella body for charedi Ortho-
dox Jews. Cohen delivered a prayer of
thanks last week at the National Day of
Prayer at the White House.
The liberal Jewish streams and Jewish
civil rights group are expressing pro-
found concern about church-state sep-
arations meant to protect Americans
from the dictates of religion.
“Where religious freedom claims
are pitted against important civil rights
claims, the administration has done sig-
nificant damage,” said Rabbi David Saper-
stein, the director emeritus of the Reform
movement’s Religious Action Center and
the ambassador-at-large for international
religious freedom under Obama.
Not all of Trump’s policies have
aroused liberal ire. Saperstein credits
Trump with “rigorous” enforcement of
protections for federal employees.
Here are some of the Trump admin-
istration policies that are dividing —
and occasionally uniting — the Jewish
community.
Observing holy days
“Earlier this week, I took action to
ensure that federal employees can take
paid time off to observe religious holy
days,” Trump said last week at the White
House prayer day. For decades, federal
employees have had the right to ask for
religious holidays off, but the Trump
administration toughened up the pro-
cess for the administrators, favoring the
employee making the request.
Employees now have a year to make
up time taken for holy days through over-
time. Until now it varied from agency to
agency, and there might only have been a
window of a few weeks. And now admin-
istrators must explain rejections in writ-
ing. That gets across-the-board kudos.
Agudath Israel-led efforts to make holy
day allowances less vague have long
had the backing of civil liberties groups,
including the Reform movement’s Reli-
gious Action Center.
Most policies ostensibly apply only
to federal employees, but Cohen noted
the rollover effect to state and local gov-
ernment, as well as to the private sector,
where employers often look to federal
government policies for guidance.

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Jewish World

“It’s become a way of keeping Jews Orthodox professionals do not want

out of the neighborhood,” Cohen said.
The federal government has become
much more aggressive in assisting
local Jewish communities in disputes
with recalcitrant local authorities,
Cohen said, for instance in conven-
the government forcing their hand.
Halacha, or rabbinic law, often dif-
fers with the medical status quo when
it comes to issues like resuscitation,
removing a respirator, and brain death.
“The technology is exploding,” he

CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES

From left, Pastor Marilyn Rivera, Rabbi Abba Cohen, Karen Pence, and Vice
President Mike Pence participate in a National Day of Prayer service in the
Rose Garden at the White House on May 2, 2019.
Zoning synagogues
Another Trump initiative earning across-
the-board Jewish praise involves houses of
worship.
Last year, then-Attorney General Jeff
Sessions told the Orthodox Union that he
was launching training for federal pros-
ecutors to assist houses of worship that
have made claims under the Religious
Land Use and Institutionalized Persons
ing meetings between federal officials
and local communities to brief them
on their rights.
Matters of conscience
“Just today, we finalized new protec-
tions of conscience rights for physi-
cians, pharmacists, nurses, teachers,
students and faith-based charities,”
Trump said last week.
The president was referring to rules
that would allow medical workers and
institutions to opt out of assisting in
Act passed in 2000. procedures that violate their religious
Cohen said that local zoning authority tenets. These include abortions, pro-
violations of the Religious Land Use Act cedures related to gender transition,
have proliferated in recent years, with some and end-of-life procedures.
local officials baldly saying that they do not Liberal women’s groups, LGBTQ
want Orthodox Jews in their constituencies. groups, and civil libertarians are
Denying permits to build or expand syna- alarmed by many of the expansions.
gogues has been especially onerous for the “The Department of Health and Human
Orthodox, who must live within walking Services is supposed to stand above
distance of their synagogues. the fray in terms of discrimination,”
said Nancy Kaufman, who is wrap-
ping up her tenure as the CEO of the
National Council of Jewish Women. “It
has become a vehicle for making sure
KIN SUMMER our religious rights are not respected.
TS
It’s appalling — the idea that anyone
A
NEIL KL
said. “It creates all kinds of areas of
conflict and difficulty for health care
providers for doing or not doing things
based on their convictions.”
This takes the
(wedding) cake
Much of the Trump administration’s
effort to overturn Obama administra-
tion policies takes place in the courts.
Famously, the Trump administration
sided in the Supreme Court with a Col-
orado baker who refused to provide a
cake for a same-sex wedding in a case
known as Masterpiece Cakeshop v.
Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
Last year, the high court ruled in favor
of the baker.
“The refusal to provide services to
people in public accommodations and
in commerce should never be based on
the status of a person in civil rights law,”
Saperstein said. “If people can make
religious claims in their businesses not
to serve gay marriages, they can do so
against intermarriages, against Jewish
or Hindu or Catholic marriages.”
Orthodox groups praised the Master-
piece ruling at the time, saying it served

CAM

involved in a patient’s care could use as a precedent that would curtail any
their own beliefs to dictate services.” government attempt to ban religious
PS

She is particularly galled by the practice — for instance, circumcision.

idea that the protections extend to
institutions. “Individuals have con-
ALL CA MP S sciences,” she said. “I didn’t think
NOW OP EN TO corporations did.”
THE PUB LIC ! The Orthodox Union’s Washington
director, Nathan Diament, suggested
that the liberals’ objections are
Government money
Diament started off his praise of
Trump administration policies with a
cause that he has championed: extend-
ing disaster aid to houses of worship.
For years, rules meant to keep fed-

O V A T
IN@N its bes I O N exaggerated. For one thing, he said,
the rules are based on federal laws
passed in the 1970s that already exist
eral dollars from going to religious
causes kept the Federal Emergency
Management Agency from deliver-

t
in many states. For another, they do
not apply to emergency procedures,
allowing patients the time to find pro-
viders who would be willing to carry
out the procedure.
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32 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
ing aid to synagogues, churches and
other religious institutions. “We advo-
cated to the Obama administration to
reverse FEMA’s policy against syna-
gogues and other houses of worship
to rebuild after natural disasters,” Dia-
mant said. “The Obama administra-
tion refused to reverse it. The Trump
administration saw that as hostile and
discriminatory; they reversed it.”
Saperstein said funding religious
expression was a slippery slope.
“The last thing we need in America
are sectarian entities competing with
each other for government money or
religious symbols placed in public set-
tings or religious prayers in public set-
tings,” Saperstein said. “We’ve been
spared the bitter sectarian divisive-
ness that has plagued so many other
countries.” JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY
 Jewish World

The Dvash-Banks family.

State Department
appeals decision
granting citizenship
to child of Jewish
same-sex couple
MARCY OSTER

The U.S. State Department has appealed a federal

district court decision that overturned its denial
of citizenship to one of the twins born to a Jewish
same-sex couple.
Andrew Dvash-Banks, an American, and Elad
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R.C.B.C
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for “highly personal details” about the conception
of the twins, leading the men to leave the consulate
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JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 33

Editorial
Cruelty and Seth Rich The New York Times
called for Roseanne’s

T
here is a great deal of cruelty in the world.
I write this on an exuberant midspring
who worked for the Democratic National Commit-
tee; he was from Nebraska, came from a loving
firing, but refuses to
day. The flowering trees are at peak pink- family, was young, smart, and enthusiastic, and fire a hater of its own

and-white beauty, there are still occasional
splashes of holdout bright yellow forsythias, the
tulips are a Pantone display, and the trees bloom
with tender baby almost florescent green little
leaves. Very soon it will turn overwhelmingly green,
and the light will gild it to some wild only-in-nature
color. So yes, there is much beauty in the world.
But also there is cruelty. Red-in-tooth-and-claw
stuff, yes, of course, but also gratuitous, human-
made, jaw-dropping, purposeful cruelty.
Try to imagine, if you have the stomach for it,
that your child has died.
I can assure you that unless you have experi-
enced that nightmare, you cannot imagine the feel-
ing. You cannot imagine the depth and blackness
and soul-deadening silence of that feeling, and if
you think you can, you’re wrong, and you’re lucky.
Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that somehow
you can imagine it.
Then imagine that someone tells you that your
child is not really dead; in fact, you never really had
that child in the first place. It’s all made up. Or imag-
ine that someone says that yes, your child is dead,
but he had been a sneak, a spy, and a liar, killed by
the creeps he’d entangled his no-good self with.
And then imagine those stories magnified and
amplified by social media and the conspiracy theo-
rists who lurk and howl there.
Sounds ridiculous, right?
But it seems to be a new thing.
Think of Alex Jones of Info Wars, who has made
a fortune selling nutritional supplements and con-
spiracy theories. He told his followers that the kin-
dergarteners slaughtered at Sandy Hook were not
dead. Had never lived. Had not been born. Had
not been shot and killed. And some of his crazier
followers not only believed him but felt it neces-
sary to act on that knowledge. So parents of some
of those little dead kids were stalked and harassed
by people demanding birth certificates and death
certificates, calling them names, spitting at them,
threatening violence.
Or turn your attention to the Mueller report.
One of the least savory stories in the compilation
of jaw-dropping stories is the one about Seth Rich.
Remember him? He was a young Jewish staffer
was discovered dead on the street near his Wash-
ington, D.C., home in the summer of 2016. He
was killed in the middle of the night. His murder
wasn’t ever solved, but the police said that they
thought it was likely to have been a mugging done
terribly wrong.
Some right-wing political influencers, though —
chief among them Alex Jones, Sean Hannity, Rush
Limbaugh, and Newt Gingrich — thought other-
wise. They went after Mr. Rich as the person most
likely to have given the Democratic Party’s hacked
emails to Wikileaks. The timing made it possible;
everything else that everyone knew about Seth
made it impossible.
The accusations gutted his parents, who had to
deal not only with their son’s murder but also with
the accusations aimed at him; he was dead and
couldn’t defend himself, and they were alive but
barely, hobbled with grief.
In a little corner of the Mueller report, though,
we can read this:
“WikiLeaks and Assange made several public state-
ments apparently designed to obscure the source of
the materials that WikiLeaks was releasing.” Assange
went after Rich, because his dead body was there; he
“implied falsely that he had been the source of the
stolen DNC emails,” Mueller wrote.
He wasn’t.
It was important to Assange that it not seem as
if Wikileaks knew anything about the source of
the material that it obtained and dumped online.
That’s bad — but that’s Assange. But to do that to
the parents of a dead son is the kind of casual cru-
elty that seems endemic in public life these days.
It’s small scale; one family, one dead kid, one set of
bereaved parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and
close friends. So what, right?
But each one of us is the whole world. Each one
of us counts. We each matter. Cruelty matters. Not
exploiting people in grief matters.
I am extremely grateful to Robert Mueller for
proving that Seth Rich was not guilty. That does
not bring him back to life, but at least it allows his
parents to grieve him properly, and maybe, some
springtime, maybe not this springtime, at least look
outside and see the light. —JP
O
n 29 May 2018, Roseanne Barr, the single big-
gest television star in America, sent an offen-
sive tweet.
Even as she explained that she was impaired
by Ambien, that her intent was to oppose the Iran deal
rather than cause Valerie Jarrett personal offense, and to
protect Israel, many considered the tweet highly racist.
Roseanne paid for the tweet with her job. All who know
Roseanne know she is no racist, which is not an excuse for
the tweet but rather a statement that it was out of character.
Days later Roseanne apolo-
gized, cried bitterly over her
error, expressed contrition and
remorse, and begged for for-
giveness. She did all of those
things together with me on a
one-hour podcast we recorded
that was listened to by hun-
dreds of thousands of people.
Still, she was fired.
Rabbi Worse, the beloved show
Shmuley she’d built for decades went on
Boteach without her, the character she’d
created and played crudely
killed off in a drug overdose.
On the very day of Roseanne’s firing, the New York Times’
chief television critic penned an op-ed gloating in ABC’s
decision to fire its single biggest star. In it, he wrote this:
“The battle against bigotry is not just about bigots. It’s
about those who reap the benefits of ignoring bigots, and
still think they should be able to call themselves good peo-
ple. When an institution like ABC takes a stand — in prime
time, where people notice it — that matters.”
Eleven months later, the tables have turned. Now, it’s the
Times that’s been scandalized. But the outcome could not
be more different.
Last week the New York Times’ international edition ran
a cartoon that was so blatantly anti-Semitic I literally had to
wipe my eyes to believe it.
The opinions expressed in this section are those of the authors,
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other staffers. We welcome letters to the editor. Send them to
jstandardletters@gmail.com.

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34 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019

 Opinion

The cartoon depicted an apparently increased, they finally succumbed to

blind President Trump clad in blackout pressure and offered an apology. They Why I am keeping
sunglasses and yarmulke. Leading the also offered an explanation. “Because of
American president was Israel’s Prime a faulty process,” the Times admitted, “a my subscription to
the New York Times
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was single editor acting without adequate over-
blessed with — get this — the body of a sight downloaded the syndicated cartoon
dog. Unlike most dogs, however, who and made the decision to include it…”

F
have a nametag hanging from their col- So that was the apology. We, the Times,
lar, this one had a Star of David clasped are incompetent. We have no proper over- or years, friends have been Holocaust — should be supported,
to its neck. His face was featured with the sight of editors making earth-shattering trying to convince me to especially in an era of increased
two essential elements of any anti-Semitic decisions. We’re the most famous news- stop reading the New York polarization, where facts give way to
depictions of Jew: a bent nose and black, paper in the world, but we’re a mess. Times. polemics. While anti-Semitism is on
vacuous eyes. But a tremendous statement of Usually they are outraged by its the rise, the Times committed itself
Just in case one might believe this to accountability! unfair treatment of Israel. Some- to “stand in opposition.” Admitting
be an attack on Israel — and not Jews as a Till today, the Times, which advocates times they are reacting to the overly its silence through the 1930s and
whole — Trump was depicted with a tradi- transparency and seeks to expose any- sympathetic treatment of Israel’s 40s, The Times wrote that “that fail-
tional Jewish skullcap on his head, a reli- one guilty of bigotry, refuses to identify adversaries. ure still haunts this newspaper.” A
gious item that has everything to do with the employee. The editor who chose to These past couple weeks we talked self-reflective and self-critical ethos
the faith we call Judaism and nothing to do broadcast this case of textbook anti-Sem- about anti-Semitism. The Times is a laudable editorial culture.
with the country we call Israel. itism has not been named. And that per- talked about its own anti-Semitism. It I do not deny that the Times is
The idea behind the cartoon was the son has not apologized. That editor has printed a rebuke, issued statements imperfect. I find myself quite frus-
most hateful feature of all. Trump, the car- not expressed remorse and contrition. The of apology, and then ran trated with a particular
toonist would have you believe, does not person has not, unlike Roseanne, begged a lead editorial about the bent of a story on cer-
support Israel for the many clear strate- for forgiveness. poor decision to include tain days. Sometimes
gic, economic, or idealistic reasons Amer- And still, that person has not been fired. a cartoon that appeared I defend my friends’
ica has for doing so. To the anti-Semite, if Quite unlike the case of Roseanne Barr, in its international edi- criticisms of any given
somebody doesn’t hate Jews, it’s because however, here there is no logical expla- tion showing the presi- article on any given
the Jews control them. The Jews, after all, nation as to why this person would not dent of the United States day, and other times I
are behind everything. be fired. as blind and being led by let it go.
This wasn’t needle-eye bigotry, the kind If the editor didn’t know how offensive Benjamin Netanyahu, But I am keeping my
that has to be inferred or explained. This the cartoon was, he or she probably lacks who was personified as subscription.
was clear-cut and easily identifiable, the the historical and political acumen to be a Jewish dog. The pres- Rabbi Dr. I have spent more
kind of hatred that leaps off the page and picking cartoons for the New York Times. ident is wearing a kip- David J Fine time in my life reading
latches to your face. If they do know how offensive the car- pah, indicating that he the New York Times
Elsewhere I have written that the car- toon was, then he or she is an anti-Semite. has fallen under the than any other work of
toon should have been published not in Either way, the Times would be wise to let spell of the sinister-looking hound. literature, with the possible excep-
the New, but the Old York Times. Because them go. While some, including the cartoon’s tion of the Pentateuch. While I in no
old York in England was the site of one But there’s a more important point. To author, have argued that there was way intend to attribute any element
of the grisliest mass murders of Jews make it, I’ll borrow some words. no anti-Semitic intent to the draw- of sanctity to the paper of record, I
in all of medieval times. Anti-Semitism “The battle against bigotry is not just ing, the Times conceded that the car- do start my day with it religiously. As
was spreading like wildfire throughout about bigots. It’s about those who reap the toon was “appalling” and “obviously I feel when I read the Torah, I rarely
Europe in the 12th century, heated in benefits of ignoring bigots, and still think bigoted.” The Times’ editorial was am surprised by what I read in my
large part by the vile rhetoric of the Cru- they should be able to call themselves criticized in turn for specifically call- morning paper. I already know what
sades. Then, on March 16, 1190, the entire good people.” ing out President Trump for “prac- happened. I read an article online if
Jewish community of York was massacred The Times needs to take a stand and fire tice[ing] a politics of intolerance it is timely or grabbing, knowing that
— wiped out in full — in a tower where this editor — in Prime-Time, when people for diversity” although it did note it will appear on my driveway the fol-
they had attempted to escape. William of notice it. that the president did “condemn” lowing morning. And yet when I see
Newburgh depicted the annihilation and That — and only that — will matter. the cartoon the Times published. an article in print on the following
those who carried it out as indulging in Or, the Times can change its editorial While the Times’ editorial did say day, I find myself sometimes think-
slaughter “without any scruple of Chris- outlook and its views on people who make that “both right-wing and left-wing ing about things differently.
tian conscientiousness.” I lived in the U.K. mistakes. I said from the outset that ABC politicians have traded in incendi- My children do not understand
for eleven years. The slaughter of York’s should not fire Roseanne but rather allow ary tropes, like the idea that the Jews why I continue to insist on reading
Jews is remembered till today. her to repent. I do not believe in “one secretly control the financial system articles from an actual printed paper
It was hoped that New York — a new city strike and you’re out.” The Times should or politicians,” they failed specifi- when everything is on my phone.
in the new world, though named after the name the editor in question, have them cally to mention examples of left- But for those of us who begin our
old one — would be a city of refuge for the apologize sincerely for the error, declare wing voices such as the controversial day with the ritual walk down the
Jews. New York City would go on to have that the newspaper is doing a deep and statements of Congresswoman Ilhan driveway to pick up the paper, is
the largest Jewish population of any city wide-ranging review of systemic preju- Omar (D-Minn.). Special mention there any need for a rational expla-
in the history of the world. But the city’s dice against Jewish interest and Israel, was reserved for the president. nation? Just as in synagogue we roll
leading publication, and the newspaper ever since they buried reporting about the But I am keeping my subscription scrolls of parchment to the parashah
of record, seems to have decided that it’s Holocaust 75 years ago, and seek the com- to the New York Times. of the week, we seem to hold on to
time to claw back to the spirit of old York. munity’s forgiveness. A paper of record that can admit antiquated technology for such ritu-
Amidst sweeping condemnation, the And if they repent and change — but to poor decisions — both its mistakes als of reading.
Times at first did not apologize. They did really change — we should be prepared to today and its silence during the SEE FINE PAGE 37
acknowledge that the cartoon “included forgive.
anti-Semitic tropes” — but, still, they Dr. David J. Fine is the rabbi of Temple Israel and Jewish Community Center in
wrote even that off as nothing more than Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is the author of Ridgewood and president of the New Jersey Rabbinical Assembly. He holds a
an “error of judgment.” “Judaism for Everyone.” Follow him on doctorate in modern European history and is an adjunct professor of Jewish
As the international opprobrium Twitter @RabbiShmuley. law at the Abraham Geiger and Zacharias Frankel colleges at the University of
Potsdam in Germany.
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 35
Opinion
This is how we heal
W
hen the offer to write
op-eds for the Jewish
Standard fell into my
lap like manna from
heaven, the timing could not have been
any more perfect.
It was early 2014, and I was in the
beginning stages of starting Refa’enu, a
nonprofit organization that, via commu-
nity outreach, would educate the Jewish
community about depression and bipo-
lar disorder, and that would
help support those affected
by these mood disorders. I
knew that if the goal of the
organization was to educate
and reduce stigma in order
to help people, I sure needed
to put my money where my
mouth was. To go all in.
I decided that it was about
time to use the personal expe- Dena
riences that I had encoun-
tered as someone living with
mental illness. When I wrote that first
op-ed, “I have bipolar disorder,” I was
frustrated by the silence more than any-
thing else, and here I was given a plat-
form to harness that feeling in a positive,
productive way.
“Let’s do this!” That’s what I was try-
ing to say.
I wasn’t the first person to take a step
in that direction, and I knew I wouldn’t
be the last.
One of the first people I spoke with
when I was forming Refa’enu was Rabbi
Nati Helfgot of Congregation Netivot Sha-
lom in Teaneck, who wrote an article in
Jewish Action in 2001 about his personal
experiences with depression. From my
perspective, Rabbi Helfgot is one of the
pioneers in addressing mental health in
the Jewish community. He certainly was
an inspiration to me and my decision to
come out, so to speak, about my own
experiences. I’m positive that he has
inspired others, as well. It’s about one
voice calling out to another, and that to
yet another, until in time a trail becomes
a path becomes a road becomes an
ever-widening road upon which more
and more people may travel.
Currently, there are throngs of peo-
ple in the local Jewish community who
have been walking that road, speaking
up and reaching out to the public with
their own personal experiences and
with projects and organizations focused
on mental health.
The Mental Health and Addiction
Dena Croog is a writer and editor in Teaneck and the founder of Refa’enu, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to mood disorder awareness and support. Learn about the
organization and its support groups at www.refaenu.org, or email dena@refaenu.org
with questions or comments.
36 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
Symposium this past Sunday at Yeshivat
He’atid in Teaneck, co-hosted by Com-
munities Confronting Substance Abuse
and Refa’enu, is one recent example
of community efforts to educate about
mental health and illness and in the pro-
cess to help stamp out stigma. Lianne
and Etiel Forman, who founded CCSA
in 2018 in response to their daughter’s
battle with addiction and their fami-
ly’s struggles around her illness, are a
welcome addition to the
organizations and indi-
viduals who have been
on a similar journey.
I try to draw knowl-
edge and inspiration from
all those who I’ve come
across in the years lead-
ing up to Refa’enu’s for-
mation until now. Here
Croog are some of them.
Elijah’s Journey, a
nonprofit focused on
suicide awareness and prevention in
the Jewish community, was founded in
2009. Its founder, Efrem Epstein, also
is one of the first people with whom I
spoke when I was forming Refa’enu. I
liked how Efrem and I were of the same
mind, that awareness was an integral
part of reducing stigma and giving peo-
ple strength and encouragement to seek
help. It has been encouraging to see
how Elijah’s Journey has collaborated
with other organizations in the mental
health arena—Refa’enu included—with
the belief that we are stronger together
than we ever can be alone.
Or, as I frame it, we’re all traveling
down the same road together.
One national organization, Active
Minds, has made its way into some nearby
Jewish schools. Active Minds is a national
nonprofit that empowers students to
advocate for mental health awareness
and education for their fellow classmates.
It was formed in 2003 and currently has
more than 450 chapters nationally.
Yeshiva University’s Counseling Cen-
ter has an Active Minds chapter that
hosts an annual student-run “Stomp Out
the Stigma” event. At their event in Feb-
ruary of this year, students from the YU
community spoke publicly about their
experiences in dealing with psycholog-
ical challenges like post-traumatic stress
disorder, depression, obsessive-compul-
sive behaviors, suicidal thoughts, and
eating disorders. Active Minds has chap-
ters in high schools as well.
Similarly, Solomon Schechter West-
chester High School held an Open
Minds Summit this past November,
where Refa’enu led a session about peer
support.
Refuat Hanefesh, formed in 2016,
is another nonprofit dedicated to
decreasing stigma surrounding mental
illness via conversation and education,
while providing a safe place for those
affected to seek support and advice.
Among its resources is an online sup-
port room with threads on various
topics and concerns. It also has live-
streamed conversations with men-
tal health professionals and lay peo-
ple about mental health topics. Their
next live stream, this Sunday evening,
May 12, will be a talk with Matis Shul-
man, MD, titled “The Jewish Approach
to Happiness & Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy.”
Mental health education and destig-
matization also comes in the form of
film documentaries. Recently, there
have been numerous local screenings of
“Angst”—a documentary chronicling the
effects of childhood anxiety—including
at Yeshivat He’atid in Teaneck, Yeshivat
Noam in Paramus, and the Kaplen JCC
on the Palisades in Tenafly.
And in 2017, Congregation Beth
Aaron in Teaneck hosted a screening
of “Here One Day” by Kathy Leichter—
an emotionally candid film about a
woman (Ms. Leichter’s mother) coping
with mental illness, her relationships
with her family, and the ripple effects
of her suicide on those she loved.
As each person speaks openly about
his or her own experiences, the path to
destigmatization grows ever wider and
easier for the next person to follow.
One person who certainly has been
a source of strength to others is Ruth
Roth of Teaneck, who lost her son, Jon-
athan, to suicide almost seven years
ago. Ruth has spoken openly about
her experiences, both in print ( Jew-
ish Week, Kveller, Times of Israel) and
in person—which, in turn, has helped
many others feel comfortable in reach-
ing out to her for peer support as well
as practical information and resources.
Ruth recently created “Jonathan’s Fel-
lowship,” in which YU students who
struggle with mood disorders speak
to small groups of yeshiva high school
students. Ruth co-led breakout sessions
at both the Solomon Schechter sympo-
sium last November and the Mental
Health and Addiction Symposium on
May 5. Her next stop is as a panelist this
Tuesday evening, May 14, at an event at
Congregation Shearith Israel in Manhat-
tan, titled “Smash the Stigma: A Jewish
Communal Conversation on Suicide
and Depression.”
I cannot stress enough the power
of peer support. There are many local
peer support groups and programs for
people affected by mental illness and
substance abuse. It has been my expe-
rience as a peer support group partici-
pant as well as a trained facilitator that
peer support groups are an invaluable
resource for people who have a mental
health disorder as well as for their fam-
ily members.
CCSA recently started a group for
family members of loved ones suffering
from addiction or struggling with sub-
stance abuse. The group meets regu-
larly every other Wednesday and is facil-
itated by professionals who specialize in
addiction.
Project Ometz, founded in 2017 as a
project of Congregation Bnai Yeshurun
in Teaneck, offers peer-to-peer support
with “parent mentor volunteers” who
share their knowledge, based on personal
experience raising a child with mental ill-
ness. Recently, Project Ometz has part-
nered with Jewish Family & Children’s
Services of Northern New Jersey and is
providing support groups for parents of
children with mental health challenges.
Chazak Together is a recently formed
grassroots group, led by Ellie Rothstein
of Teaneck, that is for parents of chil-
dren who have emotional and behav-
ioral issues.
Chazkeinu, formed in 2016, is a peer
support organization for Jewish women
with mental health challenges. (I wrote
about Chazkeinu in these pages in August
2016, soon after it had formed.) Its main
project is a phone group that “meets”
twice a week, on Mondays at 9 p.m. EST
and—catering to international callers—on
Wednesdays at 1 p.m. EST. Guest speak-
ers are either women sharing their per-
sonal experiences with mental health,
degreed mental health professionals,
or rabbis; each talks for about 20 min-
utes, and an open, moderated Q&A with
dialed-in participants follows.
“Strength to Strength” (S2S), at the
Kaplen JCC in Tenafly, is a profession-
ally led support group that was initi-
ated in 2012 by Jeffrey Berman, MD,
FASAM, in collaboration with mem-
bers of the Bergen County Jewish com-
munity. The support group, which Dr.
Berman facilitates, serves parents of
young adults who have substance use
and mental health disorders.
I have come across other mental
health resources that cater to the Jew-
ish community. Among them is Shal-
vah, an Orthodox Jewish track within
SEE CROOG PAGE 39

I’VE BEEN THINKING
Who knows two?
I
f there were one mitzvah you
observe that you could do away
with, which one would you choose?
For those with a yen for lobster, again? Everything?!?”)
a desire to eat in a three-star Michelin or
four-star New York Times restaurant, or an
urge to partake in the specific
culinary delights of a particular
city or country when you’re on
vacation, kashrut might be the
choice. For others, who would
like to enjoy, on a long sunny,
summer Saturday afternoon
(after shul and kiddush, of
course), attending a ball game,
finding bargains at a mall, or
lounging on the beach, some Joseph C.
Shabbat stringencies might be Kaplan
high on the list.
But one Jewish law that I’ve
actually heard observant Jews say they
would gladly do away with if they only
could is yom tov sheni shel galuyot — the
additional day that Orthodox and Con-
servative Jews outside of Israel add on
to the three Pilgrimage holidays (Pesach,
Shavuot, and Sukkot).
In addition to the added yom tov days,
yom tov sheni has impacted in other ways
on holiday observance outside Israel. The
most well-known is the second seder,
part of the woof and warp of diaspora
Joseph C. Kaplan, a regular columnist, is a long-time resident of Teaneck. His work also
has appeared in various publications including Sh’ma magazine, the New York Jewish
Week, the Baltimore Jewish Times, and, as letters to the editor, the New York Times.
Letters
OCD is a bully; fighting
stigma is fighting back
Thank you for your article “Fighting
Stigma” on May 2. I am a middle-schooler
and I have Obsessive Compulsive Disor-
der (OCD). The stigma that is described
in the article affects me, which is why I
am uncomfortable signing my name to
this letter. I have to keep this letter anon-
ymous because I am embarrassed and
scared of what the public will think.
My doctors always describe OCD as a
bully. OCD bullies my brain by intruding
with fears. It then asks for my “lunch
money,” strange things I feel like I have
to do, called compulsions. When some-
one is getting bullied, the victim appreci-
ates allies to help them fight the bully so
they do not have to give the bully their
“lunch money.” I am lucky to have many
allies: my parents, psychologist, and
doctor. But I am always aching to talk
Jewish observance while an oxymoron
and often completely non-understand-
able to many Israeli Jews. (“You do it all
In my experience, Americans who have
made aliyah (as well as those American
modern Orthodox Jews
who, when celebrating
Pesach in Israel, follow the
Israeli holiday schedule)
often revel in the fact that
they’re already on their
Chol Hamo’ed tiyul (outing)
or watching a champion-
ship basketball game on TV
(as happened to one of my
daughters during her gap
year), while we’re reciting
maggid, eating a matzah/
marror sandwich, or sing-
ing chad gadyah for a second time.
Indeed, one of my brothers-in-law,
who made aliyah almost 17 years ago, still
makes sure to note, in his annual family
Pesach email wishes, where he will be for
the (emphasis singular) seder that year.
(Yes, Monty, we know.)
But is it really better to have only one
seder instead of two? Or celebrate one
less day of these holidays? The answers
to those questions seem as cloudy as my
lenses were before my recent cataract
to someone my age who is dealing with
similar issues. Because of the stigma, no
one is willing to talk about these issues;
they keep them deep inside.
It is horrible to have a mental illness,
but even worse fighting alone, due to
feeling embarrassed and ashamed.
Therefore, until we can eliminate
stigma, I am asking our community to
develop a way for me to meet other kids
with similar issues so we can share our
strategies for fighting our anxiety disor-
ders and not feel alone.
Anonymous
Say ‘Thank you’
to police officers
On Wednesday, May 15, flags across the
United States will be flown at half-staff
in recognition of Peace Officers Memo-
rial Day and in memory of all those law
enforcement officers who have lost their
lives in the line of duty for the safety and
protection of others.
surgery (maybe for a future column).
In an email I received from a friend on
Pesach, he segued from overly generous
comments on my last column to ques-
tions, both halachic and sociological,
about Americans who participate in a
second seder when they’re in Israel. (No,
Steve, you didn’t give me the idea for this
column. It was already in the writing-in-
my-head-while-walking-to-shul stage.)
One of his sociological points was that
women (and it’s still usually women)
deserve a break from second seder prepa-
rations. Indeed, there’s certainly no gain-
saying that the exhausting and exhaustive
effort put into Pesach and seder prepara-
tions reflects, like marror, the avdut (slav-
ery) and not the ge’ulah (redemption)
aspects of the holiday. In our house in
past years, this resulted in some of those
overworked women participating less
actively in the first seder because it was
simply too difficult to stay alert after two
or three all-nighters in the kitchen.
However, while concern to ease these
overly draining efforts is a valid and
thoughtful idea, it doesn’t end the discus-
sion, because sometimes the second seder
can be somewhat curative. That is, it is
often the second seder — after everyone
has an opportunity for a refreshing yom
tov afternoon schluff — that truly engages
and elicits full participation from all. And
personally, having two sedarim made it
possible for my recently married daugh-
ter and her husband to spend one seder
As time goes on, a police officer’s daily
work and career become more difficult
and complicated. We need to look no fur-
ther than the daily news to read, hear and
see that. Please take a moment to reflect
on the past, present and future sacrifices
of these men and women.
Next Wednesday, or on any day, when
you see a police officer, please take a
minute to say “thank you” and let them
know that you value their service and
commitment as they protect and safe-
guard our rights and property each and
every day. Both you and they will be
happy that you did.
Yitz Stern, Teaneck
Weak response
from Israel
While I am not knowledgeable about
the tactics and the strategy that led
to this most recent truce between the
rocket-firing Hamas and the Israeli gov-
ernment, I, along with apparently the
Opinion
with us in Teaneck and one with his par-
ents in Englewood (it’s good to be young
and able to walk between the two), thus
making our wonderfully easy relationship
with our new mechutanim even easier.
These types of tradeoffs can be found
in the other holidays as well. In the dias-
pora, both of the last two days of Sukkot
have very distinct tones. The first, Shmini
Atzeret, is more somber, as exemplified
by the recitation of the memorial Yizkor
prayer; the singing of Teffilat Geshem,
whose nusach (melody of the liturgy)
is similar to that of Yom Kippur Ne’ilah
(thanks to R. Yosef Adler for clarifying
that); and the chanting of the often cyni-
cal and depressing Kohelet (Ecclesiastes)
if there is no Shabbat Chol HaMo’ed. The
next day, Simchat Torah, has a strikingly
different character; a period of joy, as its
name connotes, with lively singing, exu-
berant dancing with the Torah scrolls,
and, perhaps, an added lechaim or two.
When these two days are joined into
one as they are in Israel, though, with
their clashing natures and hakafot running
almost straight into Yizkor, there’s a disso-
nance. It’s difficult for many, I’ve been told,
to truly appreciate the individual qualities
and nuances of each of these very different
holiday periods, as we do here.
Shavuot has a practical problem. Many
observe the time-honored custom of cel-
ebrating the giving of the Torah by stay-
ing up all night studying Torah. I too have
SEE KAPLAN PAGE 39
majority of Israelis, was not pleased with
the arrangement. Not only did it dictate
an end to Israeli retaliatory air strikes
against the leaders of Hamas, but addi-
tional fuel was supplied to the terrorists
in Gaza, as well as a grant for an exten-
sion of boundaries for fishing.
After over 700 rockets being fired
into Israel, resulting in four deaths
and the wounding of dozens of Israelis
and the destruction of buildings, there
should have been more than a gen-
tle slap on the wrist for this criminal
action. The Israeli public is right to be
dismayed at the weak response of Israel
to the murderous attacks of Hamas and
Islamic Jihad.
The obvious question is would an
alternative Gantz Blue and White gov-
ernment have acted differently? I would
have hoped so as indicated by recent
statements from Gantz.
Nelson Marans, Manhattan
SEE LETTERS PAGE 38
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 37
Opinion

Thinking about civil rights in the Deep South

W
hen the Jewish Council of Public
Affairs, the national hub of the com-
munity relations network, represent-
ing 125 local Jewish Com-
munity Relations Councils and 17 national
Jewish agencies, announced that it was
putting together a civil rights mission just
after Passover, I read the flyer and itiner-
ary and immediately jumped up and said
“YES!”
The purpose of the mission was to re-en-
gage the Jewish community in the mod-
ern-day civil rights movement, focusing
on criminal justice reform. Simone
As a child growing up in Savannah, Wilker
Georgia, in the 1950s and 1960s I lived
firsthand with the two-tiered system sepa-
rating whites from African Americans — separate water
fountains for white people and “colored” people, sepa-
rate waiting rooms in doctor’s’ offices for white patients
and “colored” patients. The schools were segregated,
and so were the beach and the theaters and any other
gathering places. And let’s not forget the buses, where
only the white people could sit up front. That was busi-
ness as usual.
Everyone in my family owned a store — clothing, fur-
niture, groceries, you name it — and they all served the
African American community, mostly on the west side
of town, almost exclusively. The customers called my
dad, “Mr. Sidney.” Even my little 4 foot 6 inch grand-
mother had a dress store, and this was way before
women’s lib. I had no idea that people didn’t work six
days a week. So, against this backdrop, why would I
want to go on this mission, when I supposedly believed
that I had seen it all and lived through the changes that
took place in the South?
I simply felt as though it were my moral obligation
to see where the historic changes and advances in the
civil rights movement had taken place. It could just be
that I’m getting older, and I’m trying to squeeze in as
much as possible. But I do know that I felt compelled
to make this journey, and in doing so, to see if there is
a possibility of doing good in the world as
we move the JCPA agenda forward.
Age does not matter if you want to do
a mitzvah.
The mission started in Atlanta, at the
National Human and Civil Rights Museum.
The group took a walk on Auburn Avenue
and visited the King Center neighborhood
and tomb. Then it was on to Montgomery
and the Rosa Parks Museum, followed
by the National Museum for Peace and
Justice, sometimes called the Lynching
Museum, which is backed by the Equal
Justice Initiative. This was the day of the
museum’s first anniversary. Inspired partly by the Holo-
caust Memorial in Berlin, the museum is dedicated to
the victims of white supremacy; 800 weathered steel
columns hang from the roof. The day ended in Selma
where we heard from Sam Walker, who was a “foot
soldier” under Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the
other leaders of the civil rights movement. As a school
child he was beaten and arrested as he participated in
demonstrations after school.
Then we marched as a group across the Edmund
Pettus Bridge to remember Bloody Sunday, which took
place on March 7, 1965, when armed police attacked
and brutally beat civil rights movement demonstra-
tors with horses, billy clubs, and tear gas as they were
attempting to march to the state capital, Montgomery.
Our trip concluded at the new Birmingham Civil
Rights Institute in Birmingham. And in Freedom Park,
across from the 16th Street Baptist Church, we met with
the singing Reverend Calvin Wallace Woods, Sr., who
had been on the marches with Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., and had been beaten along the way. His faith in God,
and his unassailable belief that God was watching out
for him and he had nothing to fear is what kept him
moving forward.
I left with a renewed wonder in the power of Dr. King
to convince others that non-violence was the way to vic-
tory and that calling attention to the civil rights move-
ment on a national level was what was needed to push
the federal government into action.
Now that I am back in New Jersey, I wonder what can
I do to make things better in today’s society for civil
rights. I think that the current relationship that Jews
have with the African American community is different
from that relationship in the 1960s. We cannot simply
rely on the past. Is it OK to say that I am proud of my
son, Dov Wilker, who is the executive director of the
American Jewish Committee in Atlanta and its black/
Jewish coalition? And I also know that there are organi-
zations and synagogues in our area that are working on
civil rights programs, too.
The success of the civil rights movement in the 1960s
demonstrates the power of words, faith in God, and
determination of man. There are so many themes on
this mission that reminded me of the Jews and the
Holocaust. I’m thinking. I’m thinking about why Jews
must care and act. I’m thinking of what to do next. After
this mission, criminal justice reform is on my personal
agenda. Now I feel that we, as Jews, can and should
move to enhance our present relationship with the Afri-
can American community and discuss their needs with
them as we attempt to move issues that impact all of
us, such as criminal justice reform, forward together….
Simone Wilker of Washington Township, who recently
retired as the owner of AlphaGraphics, has served as
a board member of Temple Emanuel of the Pascack
Valley; she and her late husband Bernie chaired the
synagogue’s move from Westwood to Woodcliff Lake.
She now splits her time between Atlanta and New Jersey.
She’s been involved in many Jewish organizations, such
as Hadassah, JCRC, JNF, and AIPAC.

Letters
FROM PAGE 37
Impeach Barr
After watching Attorney General
William Barr testifying before Con-
gress, I found it disgraceful and
shameful that the Attorney General
of the United States would speak dis-
honestly with misleading answers.
How shameful to listen to the
head of the United States Depart-
ment of Justice and chief lawyer of
the United States Government, in
his four-page summary of Robert
Mueller’s report, omit information
and only furnish fragments from
the report.
Mueller’s report laid out ten
instances in which Trump possibly
obstructed justice. The letter that
Mueller wrote to Barr stated that his
summary “did not fully capture the
context, nature, and substance of
this Office’s work and conclusions.”
38 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
Mueller urged Barr to release the
unredacted materials to Congress.
Barr referred to Mueller’s letter as
“snitty.” He also said, “it was prob-
ably written by one of his staff
members.”
Is this the way for an attorney gen-
eral to speak? How disgusting!!
The Congress has the right to see
an unredacted copy of Robert Muel-
ler’s two-volume report.
The attorney general’s role is that
of the guardian of the public interest
and Barr has shown his misplaced
loyalty to a lawless, lying president.
He is not Trump’s personal attor-
ney. He is the attorney general of the
American people.
William B. Barr, in trying to exon-
erate Trump, has shown he is not fit
for this job and should be disbarred
or impeached.
Grace Jacobs, Cliffside Park
Fine
FROM PAGE 35
Every morning I brush my teeth.
Every morning I recite my morning
prayers with tallit and tefillin. And
every morning I retrieve my New York
Times. I understand that the literary
body that makes up the Times is writ-
ten over a varied period and is contrib-
uted by different authors, reaching its
codified form only after multiple lay-
ers of editing. Sometimes I look at the
small print that reveals the multiple
voices. When some reporting is done
from one location and another from
somewhere else I sometimes will break
down the original components in my
mind, imagining what was contributed
from Jerusalem and what from Wash-
ington. More often I am content with
the resultant composite text, accepting
the work of the editors.
Sometimes I am bothered or
angered by the text. Sometimes I
wrestle with it. Did the original author
mean something else? Or did the edi-
tor repair an even more troubling
viewpoint? Some mornings I resign
myself as I acknowledge that at least
on this or that question, which may be
of great importance to me, my news-
paper just does not speak for me. At
other times I am in awe of the ambi-
tious vision and epic accomplishment
of the work.
The way we read The Times is at
least in some ways comparable to
the way we read the Torah. The com-
parison I am proposing is not one
of quality, and certainly not one of
genre. My point of comparison is the
self-reflective experience of reading.
In both cases, we read looking to rec-
ognize our own voices within the text.
When we discover our voice, we feel
self-validated. When we encounter
dissonance, we are uncomfortable
and pained. That’s a worthy process.
 Opinion

Immigration: Extraordinary or not?

That is the unfashionable question!

E
xtraordinary. It’s not a word that we see a lot the O is broken into different categories — the O-1A,
of these days. And yet anyone who works in
fashion encounters the extraordinary daily.
That’s because the industry’s
ranks are filled with singularly talented
creative professionals who come from
around the globe to work in a variety of
jobs. All of them face the same challenge:
Immigration. And in most cases, their way
in is through the O visa, which is reserved
for foreign workers with demonstrably
“extraordinary ability.” While the path to
establishing this ability always has been
something of a challenge, we are seeing Michael
trends in immigration that have made Wildes
obtaining an O visa harder than ever,
threatening not only careers, but the rep-
utation of the United States as the first destination for
the world’s best and brightest.
When Congress introduced the O visa under the
Immigration of Act of 1990, it was effectively codify-
ing the impossible. That’s because the central premise
of the O visa is that it is possible to identify “extraor- unprecedented level of pushback from immigration
dinary” talent through the receipt of a major award
like a Nobel Prize or an Oscar, or by satisfying specific
evidentiary criteria. That ability can be boiled down
to regulatory arithmetic may seem anathema to the
American concept of individuality, but that’s exactly
how United States Citizenship and Immigration Ser-
vices — also known as USCIS — determines who may
(or may not) enter the country to work because they
are extraordinary people.
Because the elements of the extraordinary are dif-
ferent for, say, a data scientist and a footwear designer, for Evidence,” is often labored, inaccurate, and
which recognizes extraordinary ability in the sci-
ences, business, athletics, and academics, and the
O-1B, reserved for the arts. Both require
a foreign worker to submit evidence that
satisfies three categories from a specific
list (eight for the O-1A, six for the O-1B).
While the O-1B criteria are intended
to be representative of the kind of evi-
dence indicative of meaningful achieve-
ments in creative professions, such as a
history of starring roles in distinguished
productions or magazine articles that
have run in major publications about
the applicant, there is still a burden to
establish that an alien truly has achieved
distinction in the field that places them
“substantially above” what is ordinarily encountered.
At least, that’s how things used to be.
In recent years, immigration attorneys who regu-
larly secure visas for creatives like fashion designers,
models, and photographers have experienced an
authorities. Evidence that previously met the regula-
tory standard now is frequently disqualified through
narrow technicalities, or in some cases simply ignored.
Industry standards also are routinely disregarded,
such as when an itinerary showing three years’ worth
of contracted employment is required, even though
short-term engagements are common throughout the
fashion industry. The reasoning behind these chal-
lenges, typically communicated by USCIS after an
application is submitted via the dreaded “Request
frustratingly terse.
What does this mean for the future of fashion? In
the short term, it means delays in the issuance of visas
as attorneys scramble to adjust to trends in review by
USCIS. Long term, it could lead to widespread disen-
franchisement, with creative talents deciding that the
bar to entry to the United States is too high, and so
skipping New York and Los Angeles in favor of cities
like Paris or Shanghai.
All is not lost, though. As the tides change politically,
we undoubtedly will see new approaches and ideas for
immigration, particularly as it applies to extraordinary
people. Immigration attorneys also are adapting, and
we increasingly are using the same kind of creative
skills displayed by our clients to present compelling
stories that can overcome bureaucratic cynicism.
Ultimately it will come down to the industry itself to
decide what — and who — it wants to look like. Fashion
is more than just sartorial contrivance. It’s a mode of
communication, a means of creative expression, and
a cultural force that touches every aspect of the arts.
It’s also a multibillion-dollar industry that is made up
of some of the most talented and influential people in
the world.
With time and effort, we can show the world that
America is a home for the extraordinary, no matter
where they come from.
Michael Wildes is the mayor of Englewood and the
author “Safe Haven in America: Battles to Open the
Golden Door”. He is a former federal prosecutor and an
adjunct professor of immigration law at the Benjamin
N. Cardozo School of Law in Manhattan and a member
of Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood.

Croog
FROM PAGE 36
SOBA College Recovery’s substance
abuse program. Shalvah, based in New
Brunswick, offers Jewish addicts treat-
ment without compromising their Jew-
ish values and halachot.
Finally, the last organization that
I will mention here (though there
certainly are many more) is Relief
Resources, a nonprofit founded in
2001 that offers referrals to mental
health resources based on each indi-
vidual’s needs and challenges.
And then I go back to Refa’enu.
What I have witnessed with Refa’enu’s
peer-led support groups—which meet
the first and third Tuesdays of the
month in Paramus—as well as with
the Mood Disorders Support Group of
New York, where I received my facili-
tator training, is that the peer support
group model works. It does exactly
what it’s supposed to do. It’s a forum
for one person to support another,
without any judgment or shame. It’s a
place where a person can feel heard,
noticed, and understood.
People have come to me asking if
there are any peer-led mood disor-
der support groups of the same kind
where they live, groups that cater
to the Jewish community. And I feel
frustrated because I don’t know in
which way to steer them.
But now, recently, having seen
how this road to mental wellness
works, I’ve decided to keep with this
image of an ever-widening road. So
that when the next person asks me
if I know of a support group in their
area like the ones Refa’enu provides,
instead of shaking my head and
lamenting that I don’t know of any,
I’m going to look at them enthusias-
tically, veer off in a new direction,
and say: “Hey! Let’s create one!”
How fortunate I am to be involved
in this movement, one footstep
among many who are, collectively,
paving the way towards mental well-
ness. With each new traveler, our
confidence to march on only grows.
Join us.
Kaplan
FROM PAGE 37
warm memories of joining in this magnif-
icent tradition in my younger years. But
I also remember that when I did so, the
first day of yom tov was pretty much of a
blur until I caught up on my sleep.
Not a serious problem in America,
with a second day in which to have fam-
ily meals with everyone together and
fully awake, learn some Torah with a
clear mind and open eyes, and enjoy a
piece (or maybe even two) of cheese-
cake. But without a backup day, Shavuot
can descend into haziness, with some
of its flavor — spiritual and culinary
— diminished.
Notwithstanding these issues, were I
to spend any of these holidays in Israel, I
would, as all of my daughters did, follow
the Israeli timetable — for many reasons
and with the halachic imprimatur of my
congregational rabbi. But while in earlier
years I was quick to join the bandwagon
of those who would easily vote out yom
tov sheni on this side of the Atlantic,
I’m much less sanguine about that now,
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 39
more deeply appreciating the benefits
while understanding the deficiencies of
both manners of celebration.
For me it comes down to that well-
known acronym — TNSTAAFL. Never
heard of it? Simple: there’s no such
thing as a free lunch. And there really
isn’t. In our case, some pay, for exam-
ple, for that extra family tiyul with
missing their grandkids’ divrei Torah
and songs that didn’t make it into their
one and only seder, and others pay
for those delicious grandkids’ addi-
tional participation at a second seder
by having the possibility of a dreaded
three-day yom tov when Shabbat is
sometimes tacked onto the two days
of diaspora yom tov.
TNSTAAFL is true, of course, in so
many other aspects of our lives, whether
career, family, neighborhood, or politics,
to mention some of the more obvious
ones. But since lunch often is delectable,
let’s not forget to enjoy its deliciousness
even as we remember that there will be a
bill to pay at the end of the meal.
Just be sure not to overpay.
Home Design
More than Don’t you forget about me
4117,000 likes.
The things in your home you should
Like us on be cleaning regularly but probably aren’t
Facebook.
CHRISTOPHER CROWN
It’s out in the open, and everyone can
facebook.com/ see it. People can tell whether you
JS-26
did a spring-cleaning job that merely
jewishstandard hit the high points or you actually
prepared your home for the warm
months. From clearing out stale win-
ter dust and air to finding those hid-
den dirty spots and overfilled cab-
inets, a proper spring-cleaning can
rejuvenate a house, make hosting
guests easy, and uplift spirits. Done
haphazardly, however, a surface-level
clean, though saving you time, creates
more lingering chores in the long run.
Here are some of the most hidden
bang-for-your-buck cleaning jobs.
Dusting and vacuuming
In a 2016 article on his website, celeb-
rity doctor Andrew Weil states that a
dusty home has a substantial impact on
health. Weil cites an article in the jour-
nal Environmental Science & Technol-
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compounds, such as phthalates, which
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and cause hormone disruption, envi-
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ated with reproductive system toxicity,
and flame retardants, which can hinder
nervous system health. Many of these
compounds come from the plastic, fab-
ric and tile surfaces in our homes that
we don’t even think about cleaning.
On her blog, I Dream of Clean, Chris-
tine Satterfield notes some often-over-
looked tasks:
-Dust crown molding and baseboards.
-Dust and wash light fixtures and lamps.
-Dust ceiling fans.
-Vacuum or wash window curtains.
-Wash window blinds.
WaterWorks is a full-service pond and water feature aquatics company. From the design -Dust bookcases.
and installation of new ponds, to refurbishing an existing pond, WaterWorks does it all! -Wipe down and vacuum furniture.
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-Change air/furnace filter.
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residential or commercial properties. Kitchen
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40 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
Hoey, a contributor to Taste of Home
magazine:
-Clean oven. Try citrus, baking soda
and vinegar for a deep clean.
-Wipe drawers and shelves in refrig-
erator and freezer.
-Defrost freezer.
-Discard old or expired food in pantry,
fridge, and freezer.
- D e g re a s e c a b i n e t d o o r s a n d
backsplash.
-Dust top of high surfaces, includ-
ing fridge, microwave/range hood,
cabinets.
-Deodorize and degrease the kitchen
drain with salt.
-Wipe baseboards.
Often-forgotten tasks
Satterfield highlights some of the most
forgotten boxes on the household
spring-cleaning checklist. Although
these might not be essential to hosting
your first spring party, they will most
definitely pay off in the long run:
-Touch up wall paint.
-Condition leather furniture.
-Replace batteries in smoke detector.
-Schedule chimney sweep.
-Schedule termite or pest control
maintenance.
-Wash dining room table linens.
-Clean shower curtain and liner.
-Empty washing machine drain pump.
-Disinfect doorknobs and light switch
plates.
Decluttering
No amount of polishing and dusting
matters if your house is filled with
“stuff.” Many households will focus
so heavily on merely cleaning the sur-
faces in their home that they won’t
take an honest assessment of all the
junk on the cabinets and in the draw-
ers. In an article for MakeSpace, an
online resource for minimalist liv-
ing, contributors recommend enact-
ing several rules to help amplify the
effects of your spring-cleaning:
-Go through all your belongings, even
the boxes in the garage and attic,
and ask yourself, “Did I use this last
year?” If not, donate it.
-Take out all duplicates and extras.
Have t wo of the same thing?
Donate. Have 30 of the same cups
but your dining room table only
seats 12? Donate.
 Home Design
Sandi M. Malkin, LL C
-During that full scan of all your possessions, ask a fol-
low-up question: “Does this item bring me joy (or
Interior Designer
enough utility to create happiness)?” If not, donate it.
(former interior designer of model
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to-think-of but easy-to-notice surfaces, and remem-
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JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 41

Kosher Crossword
“SPLIT THE DECK” BY YONI GLATT
KOSHERCROSSWORDS@GMAIL.COM
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: MANAGEABLE
Across
1. Funny Garrett
5. Funny Maron
9. Gladden
14. Actor Malek
15. Make, in Hebrew
16. “Fiddler” star
17. IAF star
18. Many a Yaakov, in America
20. Total sons of Abraham
22. Crocodiles on Noah’s Ark
23. ___ Rock (parody group)
24. Israeli footwear
25. “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” star
26. Seder cups
28. Wedding blessings
32. Anatomical eggs
33. Lewinsky confidante Linda
35. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Hank
36. Gounod opera about a soul-seller
37. Sterling of “This Is Us”
40. Poker instruction...or another title
for this puzzle
42. Plays really loudly
44. Elizabeth and Bob
45. Baby ___ choy
46. They’re memorized
47. Ben Yehuda and King George:
Abbr.
50. Shelomzion (Salome), for one
53. Saul was Israel’s first
54. Capital of Bolivia
56. “Check it out”
57. Venue
58. Books of Mishna
61. Patriarchs in Judaism
63. Terms for Netanyahu
64. Lost tribes
65. Ballade’s concluding stanza
66. Seizes suddenly
67. Descartes the thinker
68. Blacken
69. Dentist’s directive
70. The Concordes, when they flew
The solution to last week’s puzzle
is on page 51.
42 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
Down
1. 1997 title role for Depp (with
Pacino)
2. She ran a Yericho inn and married
Yehoshua
3. Pioneering pilot Earhart
4. Mustard option
5. “Miss Mary” on the playground
6. Pose
7. “Diff’rent Strokes” actress Charlotte
8. Body-raising exercise
9. Basic beliefs
10. Lehmann or Lenya
11. “... all that were strong and ___
for war” (2 Kings 24:16)
12. Kind of truck
13. “Turn to Stone” rock grp.
19. Clear plastic overlay
21. Swimmer with a long snout
26. Eel or a 21-Down, e.g.
27. Chose to participate
29. Toyota car that sounds like a
Verizon service
30. “Charlotte’s Web” author’s mono-
gram
31. One of the Bobbsey twins
34. Grooves to get stuck in
36. Some protesters consider
it murder
37. Kind of cabbage
38. Chasidic branch
39. Kin of aves.
40. Marble or meltaway, e.g.
41. Abbr. for many a synagogue
42. Patio party, for short
43. Grumpy Grant
46. Compares
47. Outpourings
48. What some scouts scout
49. Heroic poet Hannah
51. John of song
52. Like a perfect game in baseball
53. ‘50s war zone: abbr.
55. Alternatives to Dells
57. Schindler document
58. Prepare, as a table
59. “Not ___ million years!”
60. “Sweet” Roman numeral?
62. “Tell-Tale Heart” author’s initials
63. Org. with a Most Wanted List
The Frazzled Housewife
Where are my clothes?
T
he scene takes place in
L aGuardia Airport. The
weather is rainy and mis-
erable. A group of people
stands around Carousel E in Terminal
B. Then the buzzer sounds and the car-
ousel starts moving. One by one, the
suitcases appear. All shapes and sizes,
all different colors and
textures, all filled with
precious and not-so-pre-
cious belongings. Clothes,
shoes, perhaps jewelry or
photos. Souvenirs to com-
memorate a special trip
or work papers that still
need to be looked over or
filed. All of these things Banji
wanted by the people Ganchrow
waiting for them.
Kids are running
around, parents are looking harried
and exhausted. Businessmen look impa-
tient. The hour is late because the flight
was delayed. And the carousel goes
round and round. Bags are lifted off of
the belt. Carried out to waiting cabs or
cars. Strangers help strangers lift their
luggage off before it passes them by.
The crowd starts to thin out. Slowly
but surely the carousel comes to a
halt and a metal gate comes crashing
down over the entrance to the belt. The
buzzer sounds again, and there is quiet.
All of the suitcases, duffle bags,
strollers, and car seats are with their
rightful owners. Families are on their
way home to unpack, do laundry, set-
tle into deep sleep and happy dreams.
Other travelers might have connecting
flights or have flown to New York City
for a vacation.
But there still are two people stand-
ing in front of Carousel E in Terminal
B. These two people are tired, but also
still basking in the glow of a wonderful
weekend. A weekend that was spent
celebrating the bar mitzvah of a friend’s
son. The friend has been a friend for
more than two decades and was a
bridesmaid at the wedding of the two
people who are still standing in front of
Carousel E in Terminal B. They spent
a weekend in Atlanta, embraced by
southern hospitality and southern food.
Cheesy grits — still not sure what a grit is probably should have tipped the lady
and was too scared to taste it, but it sure in Atlanta who took his suitcase in the
does sound southern. The two people
are staring at the carousel, wondering
why it has stopped moving when they
still haven’t retrieved their lone black
suitcase, the one that has a pink ribbon
tied to one handle and an NCSY orange
luggage tag on the other handle.
The two people stare at the belt, will-
ing it to continue to move. They look at
the steel gate that has remained firmly
in its place. They touch the steel gate to
confirm that it is, indeed, steel. And that
it is, indeed, not moving.
The two people stand there for a few
minutes looking at each other. “I don’t
think our suitcase is coming out,” one
said to the other. “This is why you never
pack your tefillin in your suitcase,” one
said to the other. “Um,
what are we supposed
to do now?” one asked
the other. The two peo-
ple see a man wearing
an official-looking vest.
“Excuse me, our suit-
case did not appear with
everyone else’s. What are
we supposed to do now?”
one asked the man in the
official-looking vest. “I
personally took all of the
bags off of the plane and put them on
the belt. There were no other bags left.
Go report it to the office,” the man in
the official looking vest said to the two
people with no suitcase.
So off to the back of Terminal B went
the two people, where they asked the
woman behind the counter where their
lost suitcase was. She typed in the num-
ber that was on the boarding pass that
belonged to one of the two people with
no suitcase. “It appears that your suit-
case is still in Atlanta,” the woman says
with much authority. “But we are not
in Atlanta,” one of the two people with-
out a suitcase responds. “That is true,”
the woman responds. “But for some
reason, your suitcase is still there. The
computer cannot tell me why it is still
there, but it is still there.” Then she con-
tinues to type something. “It looks like
there are a lot of flights tomorrow. We
will get your suitcase and then deliver
it to you,” the woman assures the two
people, who still have no suitcase.
It is tomorrow and the lone black
suitcase still is homesick and alone.
The two people are still waiting for its
safe return, but are fully aware that it is
just a suitcase and there are much more
important things in life, like spending
a weekend in Atlanta with wonderful,
special friends. They also are aware that
one of the two people with no suitcase
first place. But we won’t go into that
right now……
Banji Ganchrow of Teaneck is hoping
that by the time you read this, her
suitcase will be back in Teaneck,
unpacked and put away. If not, there will
certainly be a part two to this column
where husband #1 is in really
big trouble….

WANT TO INCREASE YOUR
TORAH KNOWLEDGE?
D’var
Join fellow Bergen County professionals and study with an experienced teacher
Kedoshim: Waiting for the fruit
I
feel a special connection to this
week’s Parasha because it was
the one I read on my bar mitz-
vah. Year in and year out, every
time we reach this week’s Torah read-
ing, I remember back to what it felt like
to stand in front of the community for
the first time, to look out and see friends
and family eagerly awaiting my next
move, and to know that this event (hav-
ing a bar mitzvah) was just one more
small step on a great journey.
JS-43*
Torah
at Paramus Torah Partners!
grows on newly planted trees does not
taste good and is therefore not fit for
offering to God or for human consump-
tion. However, I believe that there is a
different, and much more powerful,
lesson to be learned from these verses.
We know that agriculture is a long-term
proposition — people who are here today
and wandering off to a different place
tomorrow do not typically plant crops.
People who plant crops are people who
plan on sticking around for a while.
read a midrash (rabbinic
interpretation of the Torah)
about an old man planting
a fig tree. Hadrian (Roman
Emperor, second century
CE) saw this and could not
understand why the old man
was planting the fig tree, as
it was nearly impossible that
he would be alive to eat the
fruit of this tree. The man
replied to Hadrian, “If I am
Each one of us plants our
metaphorical trees, nurtur-
ing relationships and ideas
along the way. As a great
educator once told me, we
have no idea what fruit may
grow from the trees we plant
each and every day. We may
only find out (if we ever do!)
Rabbi Joel years afterward. But like
Pitkowsky that old man in the midrash,
Congregation Beth someone planted for him

Paramus Torah Partners is open to men of all ages who would like to study
No clothing I wore that day still fits Fruit trees take even more time than worthy (if I should live long Sholom, Teaneck, years ago, and so he plants
me. My very first suit was too short on most other forms of agriculture. Do you enough) then I shall eat from Conservative for the next generation.
me just a few weeks after the big day, know where you’re going to live five the tree, and if not, then just What kind of seeds are you
and within several years I outgrew years from now? Would you be able to as my ancestors worked for planting? What types of fruit

one-on-one or in groups with experienced individuals free of charge.

the wonderful tallit (prayer shawl) my me, so too do I work for my descendants,” would you like to leave for the next genera-
mother made for me to celebrate the meaning that if the old man did not eat tion? Parashat Kedoshim was introduced to
occasion (don’t worry, I still have it!). from the tree himself, then the next gener- me in the early 1980s when I was preparing
One item from that day has never grown ation surely would do so. for my bar mitzvah, and it has yet to reveal

There is no commi tment

Someone
arequi
I who
red. Come as often as you? would like.
old and has not once lost its shine: this Someone who plants a fruit tree takes all of its wondrous fruit to me. Perhaps
W
amazing Torah reading. T
ANT O Y NCREASE the long view, understands that OURmost of one day it will. Or, perhaps the choicest
Parashat Kedoshim contains an plants fruit what is important in life cannot be accom- fruit will be saved for the next generation.
T
tree takes the
extraordinary collection of mitzvot, K
ORAH NOWLEDGE plished in one day or even one year. Shabbat Shalom.
stretching across all categories of life: rit-
long view,
ual, business, behavior toward the poor

understands
and disadvantaged, and so much more.
Many of these mitzvot are connected to
that most of
specific moments in life, moments that Want
WANTToTOIncrease
INCREASE YYour
OUR
what is
come upon us and call for a reaction W T I Y ANT O NCREASE OUR

140 Arnot Place, Paramus, NJ

T
Torah
ORAH K
Knowledge?
NOWLEDGE ?
and we are presented with an opportu-
important in
nity to choose. We can either choose a
path of holiness (from where the Para-
T K ? ORAH NOWLEDGE
life cannot be
sha gets its name of Kedoshim) or we
accomplished
can choose to not infuse our lives with
Join fellow Bergen County professionals
in one day and
holiness. The choice is ours.
or study with an experienced teacher
One mitzvah from our Torah read-

ateven one Torah

Paramus year. Partners!
ing in particular speaks to me. Leviti-
cus 19:24-25 teaches us the following,

Monday to Thursday 8:15- 9:30 P.M. (Followed by Maariv at 9:30)

“And in the fourth year all its fruit shall
be set aside for jubilation before the
Lord; and only in the fifth year may you
use its fruit, that its yield to you may be
plant fruit trees in your backyard, lend-
ing an air of permanence to where you
live now and telling yourself, and those
Joinincreased:
fellow I the Bergen
Lord am Your God.”County professionals
around you, that you have planted roots and study with an experienced teacher
Paramus Torah Partners is open to men of all ages who would like to study
These verses teach us that we need to
wait until the fourth year before we can
(likeat
the trees themselves)?
Paramus Torah Partners!
In addition to this understanding
one-on-one or in groups with experienced individuals free of charge.
make an offering of fruit to God from about permanence, there is another

201-591-5255 or Info@paramuskollel.org for more information

the produce of these trees, Paramus
and we have Torah
layer to thisPartners is open
meaningful mitzvah: plant- to men of all ages who would like to study
There is no commitment required. Come as often as you would like.
to wait until the fifth year
one-on-one or in groups with experienced individuals free of charge.
before we’re ing a fruit tree is a way to illustrate the
There is no commitment required. Come as often as you would like.
allowed to eat any of the fruit. value of caring for a future genera-
It is possible that this140mitzvah Arnot
grew tion. In Vayikra Rabbah (early rabbinic
Place, Paramus, NJ
out of an understanding that fruit that midrash on the book of Leviticus), we Join fellow
Join fellowBergen
BergenCounty
Countyprofessionals
professionals and study
study with
withananexperienced
experiencedteacher
teacher
140 Arnot Place, Paramus, NJ
Monday to Thursday 8:15- 9:30 P.M. atatParamus
Paramus Torah Partners!
Torah Partners!
(Followed by Maariv at 9:30)

201-591-5255 or Info@paramuskollel.org for more information

More than 411,000 likes.
What? Paramus
ParamusTorah
TorahPartners
Partners isis open
open to men
men of
of all
allages
ageswho
whowould
wouldlike
liketotostudy
study
Like us ontoFacebook.
Monday Thursday 8:15- 9:30 P.M. (Followed
one-on-oneor
one-on-one
Thereisisno
There
oriningroups
noby
groups with
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commitment
commitment
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experienced individuals
required. at 9:30)
required. Come
Come as
individualsfree
asoften
oftenas
asyou
freeofofcharge.
youwould
charge.
wouldlike.
like.

Where? 140Arnot
140 ArnotPlace,
Place,Paramus,
Paramus, NJ
NJ

201-591-5255 or Info@paramuskollel.org
When?for more
Monday
Monday information
to Thursday
to Thursday
8:15- 9:30 P.M.
8:15- 9:30 P.M.
(Followed by Maariv at 9:30)
(Followed by Maariv at 9:30)

facebook.com/jewishstandard Contact: 201-591-5255

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or Info@paramuskollel.org for more information

JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 43

Calendar
she has created, Standard, Tenafly East 304 Midland
Friday  8 p.m. Members of
Temple Israel & Jewish
Nature Center, and
NorthJersey.com.
Ave. (201) 262-7691 or
JCCParamus.org.
MAY 10 Community Center will 411 E. Clinton Ave.
Shabbat in Closter:
join RCBI for the oneg
Shabbat. 475 Grove St.
(201) 408-1404,
rubinrun@jccotp.org,
Monday 
Cantor Israel Singer or synagogue.org. or jccotp.org/rubinrun. MAY 13
and Adam Kohane
perform favorite Yom Ha’atzmaut
songs, including Saturday  in Emerson:
some from their MAY 11 Congregation B’nai
new CD, during Israel celebrates Israel
services at Temple Shabbat joint learning Independence Day
Emanu-El in Closter, program in Teaneck: with music and Israeli
7 p.m. Also May 17. Congregations Rinat food after 9 a.m.
180 Piermont Road. Yisrael and Beth services. The Solomon
(201) 750-9997 or Sholom hold their fifth Schechter Day School
templeemanu-el.com. annual joint learning of Bergen County’s
program, “Living in choir will perform, Bella Abzug
diaspora: Home or and the men’s club
Exile?” at Rinat Yisrael, will sell Mother’s Day Bella Abzug program:
5-7:15 p.m. Source plants and flowers. Dumont historian Dick
materials in Hebrew 53 Palisade Ave. Burnon gives a video/
and English. Group (201) 265-2272 or lecture, “Bella Savitzky
discussions led by bisrael.com. Abzug: Feisty New
Rabbis Josef Adler York Congresswoman,”
and Joel Pitkowsky. Celebrate Israel in at a meeting of the
Refreshments. 389 Tenafly: The Jewish Senior Activity Center
West Englewood Federation of Northern at the Kaplen JCC
Cantor Paul Zim Ave. (201) 833-2620 New Jersey and the on the Palisades in
or cbsteaneck.org/ Kaplen JCC on the Tenafly, 11:15 a.m. 411
Shabbat in Fort Palisades offer the
event/community- East Clinton Ave.
Lee: The JCC of Fort community-wide
learning-2019.html. (201) 569-7900 or
Lee/Congregation family-friendly Israeli jccotp.org.
Gesher Shalom holds American Council
“Kabbalat Cabaret”
MAY Temple Emanu-El of Sunday  “Celebrate Israel @71”
after 7 p.m. services.
Closter welcomes MAY 12 celebration with food Tuesday 
16
Cantor Paul Zim trucks, Israeli music, MAY 14
will be joined by Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Mother’s Day Israeli
Mitchell Shedlarz on
trumpet and vocals
chief medical brunch, children’s
activities, activities
and by keyboardist correspondent for “Good with the Israeli Scouts,
Mitch Schechter. Morning America” and “ABC and more at the JCC,
Jewish and Hebrew
selections, music by
News,” who will talk with Rabbi 411 E. Clinton Ave.,
11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Jewish composers, David-Seth Kirshner on “Life (201) 408-1427,
including “Hatikvah,” After Suicide,” 7:15 p.m. Free, but jccotp.org, or
in honor of Yom
Ha’atzmaut. Hors reservations are required. (201) CelebrateIsraelFestival.
org.
d’oeuvres, wine, 750-9997 or templeemanu-el. COURTESY JCCOTP
Book discussion in
finger foods, com/drjenniferashton. Benefit run in Tenafly: Israel’s future:
Tenafly: As part of
desserts. 1449 The Kaplen JCC on Ambassador Dennis
Anderson Ave. the “One Book One
the Palisades hosts Ross, who played a
(201) 947-1735 or Community” project
or towel. 53 Palisade the annual USTF- leading role in shaping
sponsored by the
geshershalom.org. Shabbat in Emerson: Ave. Reservations, authorized annual U.S. involvement in
Jewish Federation of
Rabbi Debra Orenstein (201) 265-2272 or Rubin Run, a family- the Middle East peace
Shabbat in Closter: Northern New Jersey,
and certified yoga bisrael.com. friendly community process for more than
Rabbi David S. Widzer Rabbi Jordan Millstein
teacher Andrea Collier race, with 8K trail 12 years, working with
and the sisterhood of leads a discussion on
lead participants as Shabbat in run, 10K run, 5K run/ the administrations
Temple Beth El lead this year’s selection,
they incorporate yoga Ridgewood: walk, and a new of presidents George
service celebrating Jonathan Rabb’s
poses and Jewish Reconstructionist health expo. Race day H.W. Bush and Bill
the role of women in “Among the Living,” at
mindfulness into the Congregation Beth registration available. Clinton, speaks at
Jewish life, 7:30 p.m. Temple Sinai of Bergen
traditional service at Israel has a “Synth Lead sponsors include the JCC of Paramus/
221 Schraalenburgh County, 7:30 p.m. It
Congregation B’nai Pop” service led by the Kaplen Foundation, CBT for its Harold
Road. (201) 768-5112 or will include the history
Israel, 7:30 p.m. Wear Rabbi Leiah Moser, Englewood Health, Lerman Fund for
tbenv.org. of Jewish Savannah
comfortable clothes with prayers set to the Rubin and Rubach Israel Education and
and its historic Reform
and bring a yoga mat synthesizer music families, the Jewish Engagement, 6:15 p.m.

44 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019

 Calendar

synagogue, Mickve Center for Tolerance for the CSI Scholar Israel of Ridgewood’s fling” with outdoor
Israel. Light southern and Education in Fund of the JCC of monthly “Dessert & games, live music, a
Jewish dessert. Chaired Rockland County Fort Lee/Congregation Discussion” in lieu of bounce house, and
by Liz Pearl and welcomes teachers Gesher Shalom and a service, at a private lunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Roberta Weiss. 1 Engle and educators to its sisterhood. The home, 7 p.m. Location 30 Hinchman Ave.
St. (201) 568-3035 or “Addressing anti- series opens with information, rcbi@ (973) 696-2500 or
eduk850@gmail.com. Semitism Through “What Went Wrong syngaogue.org. shomreitorahwcc.org.
Education Training” at in the Middle East?”
Israeli music in Film in Franklin Lakes:
Closter: Temple
JFNNJ headquarters,
4 p.m. 50 Eisenhower
and continues May
30. Refreshments,
Saturday  Temple Emanuel of
Emanu-El of Closter Drive. JFNNJ. 12:15 p.m.; speaker at MAY 18 North Jersey screens
welcomes Friends org/training or Larry Shafier 12:45. 1449 Anderson “Almonds and Raisins,”
of the Israel Defense (201) 820-3946. Ave. (201) 947 1735. Shabbat in Emerson: a documentary of the
Forces Musical Talking about golden years of Jewish
Sportswriter Neil
Ensemble in concert, Yoga & Torah in retirement: Larry cinema, 2 p.m. Popcorn
Amdur will speak at
7:30 p.m.180 Piermont Closter: Temple Shafier and Michael and ice cream. 558
Congregation B’nai
Road. (201) 750-9997 Emanu-El offers “Yoga Visconti discuss “The High Mountain Road.
Israel during services
or templeemanu-el. & Torah,” a holistic Retirement Red Zone” (201) 560-0200 or
led by Rabbi Debra
com. workout that stretches at Congregation Beth tenjfl.org.
Orenstein, 10 a.m.
the mind and body Aaron in Teaneck,
Mr. Amdur was with
Southern Jewish food while connecting 8:15 p.m. 950 Jewish trivia in
the New York Times
in Hoboken: As part spiritually with Torah Queen Anne Road. Ridgewood:
and also co-authored
of the “One Book One teachings, song, (201) 836-6210 or Reconstructionist
books with Arthur
Community” project and prayer featuring www.bethaaron.org. Congregation Beth
Ashe, Chris Evert, and
sponsored by the instructor Shari John Daly Olympic champion Israel offers a pop
Jewish Federation
of Northern New
Brooks and Cantor
Israel and Bruria
Thursday  COURTESY CHABAD Vincent Matthews. quiz-style game of
Jewish Jeopardy at
MAY 16 53 Palisade Ave.
Jersey, Moishe Singer, 10:30 a.m. The story of a Jewish (201) 265-2272 or Temple Israel & Jewish
House Hoboken has 180 Piermont Road. skinhead: John Daly, bisrael.com. Community Center,
a southern Jewish (201) 750-9997 or a former neo-Nazi, 3 p.m. Led by RCBI
cooking gathering, templeemanu-el.com. shares his life story Women’s song circle members Chrissi
7:30 p.m. Based fighting hate, at the in Teaneck: Join a O’Donnell and David
on this year’s book Chabad Center for z’mirot song circle Volin. 475 Grove St.,
selection, Jonathan Jewish Life in Upper for women only at second floor. rcbi@
Rabb’s “Among the Passaic County in the Jewish Center synagogue.org or
Living.” Location Wanaque, 7:30 p.m. of Teaneck, 4 p.m. synagogue.org.
information, text 815 Ringwood Ave. 70 Sterling Place.
(704) 907-5803 or email JewishHighlands.org or Email Womens­
moishehousehoboken@
gmail.com. For Susan Kapp
(201) 696-7609. Zmirot+owner@
groups.io.
In New York
upcoming events, COURTESY JHF
go to Moishe House
Hoboken on Facebook. Rabbi Brian Leiken Parkinson’s support Sunday  Saturday 
in Rockleigh: The MAY 19 MAY 18
Essence of prayer: Rockland mental Jewish Home Family
Rabbi Mordechai Shain health program continues a monthly ASL-Shabbat Across
kick-off: The support group for
Tal Brody in Wyckoff: America in NYC: Town
of Lubavitch on the
Rockland Board of American-Israeli
Palisades begins a those with a diagnosis & Village Synagogue
Rabbis and Rockland basketball player Tal
new six-week course, of Parkinson’s Disease, in Manhattan holds
Jewish Family Brody is the guest
“With All My Heart,” their families, and an ASL-interpreted
Service introduce for the Distinguished
exploring the art of caregivers, with Rock Menachem Begin Shabbat service,
its new Lo Levad Speaker series at
prayer and spirituality, Steady Boxing at PHOTO PROVIDED 10 a.m. 334 East 14th
(you are not alone) Temple Beth Rishon
8 p.m. 11 Harold St., the Jewish Home at St. (212) 677-0368V,
program, for shuls and Menachem Begin’s in Wyckoff, 10 a.m.
Tenafly. (201) 871-1152 Rockleigh, 10:30 a.m. www.tandv.org, or
Jewish institutions, leadership: Herzl Entry fee includes a
or chabadlubavitch. At 11, Susan Kapp, Bram at bramweiser@
in conjunction Makov, chair of the 1-hour Q&A session
org. MS, RD, Jewish Home usa.net.
with mental health Menachem Begin with the All-Big
at Rockleigh, will
awareness month, at Heritage Center and Ten & All-American
Wednesday  discuss “Nutritional
basketball player,
MAY 15
the Rockland JCC,
7 p.m. Rabbi Brian
Considerations for
Those Living with
former chief of staff to
Prime Minister Yitzchak who now is Israel’s Singles
Leiken of the Temple Shamir, discusses Goodwill Ambassador.
Parkinson’s Disease.”
585 Russell Ave.
Brunch/lecture/ Beth Sholom in New
City will speak. 450
Refreshments. 10 Link
Drive. (201) 750-4234
“The Attack on the
Osirik Nuclear Reactor Reservations, Thursday 
trip: The Dor L’Dor (201) 891-4466, MAY 16
group at Congregation West Nyack Road, or email parkinsons@ and the Leadership
West Nyack, N.Y. Values of Menachem gonen@bethrishon.
Ahavath Torah in jewishhomefamily.org.
(845) 354-2121, ext.142. Begin” for the adult org, or bethrishon.org. Widows and
Englewood hosts a
brunch and talk about education committee widowers meet:
Second generation Lag B’omer Movin’ On, a monthly
the 9/11 Memorial and at Congregation Rinat
survivor talk: Dr. in Emerson: luncheon group for
Museum in Lower Yisrael in Teaneck,
William Reszelbach Congregation B’nai widows and widowers,
Manhattan, then a 8:30 p.m. 89 West
discusses “What Israel hosts a spring meets at the Glen Rock
trip to the memorial Englewood Ave.
Is It Like to be a barbecue, with Jewish Center, 12:30
site for a docent- (201) 837-2795.
Child of Holocaust vegetarian options, p.m. 682 Harristown
led tour. 240 Broad an inflatable slide,
Survivors?” at the Road. (201) 652-6624
Ave. Reservations,
(201) 568-1315,
Englewood Public Friday  games and prizes, or email arbgr@aol.
Library, 7 p.m. 31 Engle MAY 17 10:30 a.m.–noon., after com.
dorldor@ahavathtorah. the Hebrew school’s
St. (201) 568-2215 or Mordechai Kedar
org. moving-up ceremony.
englewoodlibrary.org. COURTESY JCC OF FORT LEE Celebrating Shabbat: 53 Palisade Ave.
Anti-bias/diversity Rabbi Leiah Moser
(201) 265-2272 or
training in Paramus: The Middle East: leads an informal
Scholar Mordechai bisrael.com.
The Jewish Federation discussion about the
of Northern New Kedar begins a series, weekly Torah portion
“Insights into the Picnic in Wayne:
Jersey and the at Reconstructionist Congregation Shomrei
Holocaust Museum Troubled Middle East,” Congregation Beth Torah has its “spring

JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 45

Calendar
Learn about bike caravan in Israel
An information session for the Alyn’s
20th anniversary Wheels of Love bike
ride is set for Tuesday, May 14, at 7 p.m.,
at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in
Tenafly. The event, which includes six
riding routes and a hiking option, is set
for November 10 to November 14, with
on- and off-road routes through north-
ern Israel. Attendees will learn about
the ride, hear from past riders, and if
they’re ready, they can register. There
will be free T-shirts, swag, and registra-
tion incentives.
bergenPAC, Englewood Health
team up to present a spin on ‘Rent’
The Performing Arts School at bergen-
PAC in Englewood has partnered with
Englewood Health to present free pro-
ductions of “Rent — The Musical: Con-
cert Version” in recognition of National
Mental Health Awareness Month.
“Rent,” which won a Tony award for
best musical and the Pulitzer Prize for
drama in 1996, was a pop cultural phe-
nomenon with songs that rock and a
story that continues to resonate with
audiences. The musical, set in Manhat-
tan’s East Village, is about falling in love,
finding your voice, and living for today.
Directed by Alexander Diaz and with
musical direction by Ben Boecker, the
performances feature local actors and
will be held at Englewood Health, 350
Engle St., Englewood, on May 17 and
May 18 at 7 p.m. and on May 19 at 2 p.m.
Audiences will get to hear from Engle-
wood Health’s behavioral health experts
about addiction and mental health
issues facing the community today,
the support and treatment resources
46 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
PHOTOS COURTESY ALYN
The ride raises money for the children
at Alyn Hospital, the only rehabilitation
center in Israel that specializes in treat-
ing children and adolescents with both
congenital and acquired disabilities.
The team of dedicated doctors and ther-
apists works tirelessly to return the chil-
dren to their families and communities,
empowered to live as independently as
possible.
Fo r m o re i n fo r m at i o n , go to
NJ.Event.Wheels-of-Love or email
friends@alynus.org.
available, and how everyone can work
together to reduce the stigma that sur-
round them.
Englewood Health is dedicated to
educating the community and offering
resources that help combat discrimina-
tion and negative perceptions toward
people with mental illness. At the end
of 2018, Englewood Health opened
the Gregory P. Shadek Behavioral Care
Center at 25 Rockwood Place, featur-
ing a dedicated care team of psychia-
trists, licensed clinical social workers,
an addiction specialist, and associated
health care professionals. Collaborating
with existing nonprofit and governmen-
tal agencies, the team is creating educa-
tion and prevention programs to pro-
mote healthy lifestyles for children and
adults in the local community.
For more information, call (201) 482-
8194 or email education@bergenpac.
org. For more information about behav-
ioral health services at Englewood
Health, call (201) 292-1400.
Woodcliff Lake shul will offer
comprehensive study of Judaism
Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley in
Woodcliff Lake offers Judaism 101, a new twice-
monthly yearlong class for shul members and
the larger community. The course, taught by the
synagogue’s Rabbi Loren Monosov, follows the
curriculum of the Miller Introduction to Judaism
program at American Jewish University.
The course is for non-Jewish partners raising
PHOTO PROVIDED
Jewish children, people who want to convert to
Judaism, anyone who wants a refresher course
in Judaism, and in general everyone who is inter-
ested in learning more about Judaism. Topics
include Jewish history from creation to modern
times, the Jewish lifecycle from birth to death, Rabbi Loren Monosov
Shabbat and holidays, biblical and rabbinic texts, prayer and God, Israel and the
Hebrew language, rituals and kashrut, and tikkun olam (repairing the world).
Students who are interested in converting to Judaism can take this class; it possi-
bly could result in a conversion with Rabbi Monosov. The class begins Tuesday,
May 21 at 8 p.m., and continues through March. For more information, email
rabbimonosov@tepv.org.
Program will put the spotlight
on Rockland museum’s workings
The Holocaust Museum and Center for on the importance of preserving his-
Tolerance and Education in Suffern tory, learning how to handle historic
offers “Get to Know Your Local Holo- documents, and how the Holocaust
caust Museum,” hosted by Julie Gol- Museum inherited its collection.
dring, on May 16, at 12:30 p.m., in the For more information, call (845) 574-
second floor of the Library Media Cen- 4099, email amiller@holocauststudies.
ter. The program includes discussions org, or go to holocauststudies.org.
Maine trip planned by NCJW
The Jersey Hills section of the National
Council of Jewish Women is sponsor-
tours of Portland and Kennebunkport,
a show at the Ogunquit Playhouse, a
ing a tour of southern Maine. The four- harbor cruise, and a visit to factory
day, three-night trip runs from July 22 outlets. For more information and res-
through July 25 and costs $599 per ervations, call Linda at (973) 393-3779.
person, double occupancy. It includes
Daniel Gortler and Daniel Guedes.  COURTESY JEWISH MUSEUM
Pianist and violinist to perform
at Manhattan’s Jewish Museum
Manhattan’s Jewish Museum will pres- Mozart Camargo Guarnieri on Thurs-
ent Israeli-American pianist Daniel day, May 16, at 8 pm. For more infor-
Gortler and Brazilian violinist Daniel mation, go to TheJewishMuseum.org/
Guedes performing the music of Lud- calendar or call (212) 423-3337. The
wig van Beethoven, Edward Grieg, Jewish Museum is at Fifth Avenue and
and contemporary Brazilian composer 92nd Street.
JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 47
Jewish World

Eurovision 2019: What the song contest

is all about, and why it’s being held in Israel
JOSEFIN DOLSTEN

I
t’s glitzy. It’s kitschy. It’s like a musical Olympics
or “American Idol” on steroids.
Welcome to the Eurovision Song Contest, an
annual pageant in which all of Europe (and some
of its neighbors) send national representatives to com-
pete for the best forgettable pop song and most unfor-
gettable outfits.
The competition is huge in Europe and beyond, yet
many Americans know little about it. And this year it is
being held in Tel Aviv. We break down the music fest for
you — including why Israel is a part of it and the contro-
versy about this year’s contest.

What is Eurovision?
Founded in 1956, the Eurovision Song Contest is a
musical competition mainly for European countries.
Though there’s no cash prize, the 42 countries that
compete take it quite seriously. Some 186 million view-
ers tuned in for last year’s finale.
Each country holds its own internal contest to pick
its act for the general competition. All the countries
then get together for a series of televised rounds, cul-
minating in a glam-filled finale featuring performances
by the top 26 entries.
Since 1973, competitors have been able to sing in any
language — previously they could sing only in one of
their country’s official languages — and most entrants
today perform in English.
Each country is given points to award an entry;
countries cannot vote for themselves. After the perfor-
mances, viewers vote on their favorites by phone or on
a mobile app. Those votes make up 50 percent of each
score — the rest come from a professional jury. The
country with the most points wins the contest.
In lieu of prize money, the winning country gets to
host the competition the next year. For the winning art-
ists, it’s an opportunity for exposure, though many of
them end up as one-hit wonders.
Why is Israel in the Eurovision?
Participating countries must be members of the Euro-
pean Broadcasting Union. Though the organization is
made up mostly of European countries, it’s not limited
to the continent. The Israel Broadcasting Authority was
a member from 1957 to 2017, when it shut down and
was replaced as a member by the Israeli Public Broad-
casting Corp. Cyprus, Armenia, Morocco, and Australia
are among the other non-European competitors.
Since joining the contest in 1973, Israel has won
four times, placing it in a fourth-place tie with the
Netherlands for the most wins. (Ireland is in first
with seven.) The Jewish state took home its first gold
in 1978 with Izhar Cohen’s version of “A-Ba-Ni-Bi,” a
song about childhood love sung in Hebrew pig Latin,
then followed up the following year with the sunny
“Hallelujah,” which went on to become a Jewish clas-
sic. Israel won again in 1998 with “Diva,” a poppy ode
to female beauty sung by the transgender star Dana
International.
Last year it snagged the top prize with Netta Barzilai
performing “Toy,” a quirky pop hit that features cluck-
ing chicken noises over looped vocals and English lyrics.
The logo of the Eurovision Song Contest is displayed during the 2019 national selection show, in Kiev,
Ukraine, on February 23, 2019.
Where in Israel is the
contest being held?
The 64th edition of Eurovision will be held at Expo Tel
Aviv, in the city’s north.
This will be the country’s third time hosting. Israel
declined after the 1979 victory, citing financial con-
straints. Israelis were overjoyed with Barzilai’s win last
year, as it ended a 20-year drought.
The Israeli government at first had insisted on hold-
ing the contest in Jerusalem — the host country typ-
ically has the event in its capital city — but relented
eventually following the controversy over the U.S. rec-
ognition in 2017 of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and a
subsequent fear of boycotts. Tel Aviv also is Israel’s
secular cultural capital.
This year, singer Kobi Marimi will represent Israel
with the song “Home,” a heartfelt ballad about self-dis-
covery and homecoming.
What’s the controversy all about?
Europe’s pro-Palestinian left has made it a priority to
boycott Israel. Only days after Israel won, two Irish EU
representatives called for boycotting the Jewish state.
In Iceland, more than 27,000 people signed a petition
calling for a boycott of the event, but the country’s
national broadcaster said it still would participate. A
group of 50 British artists, including Peter Gabriel and
Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, also signed a letter to the
BBC urging the broadcaster to ask that the contest be
held elsewhere.
But Israel has its share of defenders, too, among them
the pop queen Madonna, who will be performing at
STR/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
the contest. Last week, more than 100 artists — among
them Sharon Osbourne, Gene Simmons, and Stephen
Fry — denounced the calls to boycott. And earlier this
year, France’s contestant said even death threats would
not deter him from performing in the Jewish state.
There was conflict, too, over what day to hold the
competition. The Shalva Band had to drop out of the
competition to represent Israel because some of its
members are Sabbath observant and thus would not be
able to participate in the contest’s final dress rehears-
als on Friday night and Saturday. The finale is held on
Saturday evening.
And there are security issues. Hamas and Palestinian
Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of rockets into Israel over
the weekend, and the Israeli army retaliated with air-
strikes in Gaza. By Monday morning, however, a cease-
fire was in place and it appeared that the situation had
largely returned to normal.
Despite the various issues, Israelis are excited about
the Eurovision festivities.
“In terms of excitement, the level is only second to
Mount Sinai,” joked Eytan Schwartz, CEO of the tour-
ism initiative Tel Aviv Global.
How can I watch it?
Viacom’s Logo channel aired the finals last year in
the United States and brought in 74,000 viewers, but
the company isn’t broadcasting it this year. However,
American fans need not despair: Eurovision will be
livestreaming the contest on its official YouTube channel.
The semifinal will be held May 14-15, and the finals
on May 18. All shows begin at 10 p.m. Israel time (3 p.m.
Eastern time in the United States). JTA WIRE SERVICE

48 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019

 Obituaries

Stanley Berenzweig Arthur Kronenberg

Stanley Berenzweig, 98, died May 6.
Predeceased by his wife of 71 years, Doris, née
Broder, last year, he is survived by children, Marc,
Mona, Gail, Evan, and Elyce; 9 grandchildren, and 6
great-grandchildren.
Donations can be made to the Jewish Family & Chil-
dren’s Services of Northern New Jersey. Arrangements
were by Louis Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.
Manuel Erb
Arthur Kronenberg, 88, of Hackensack, formerly of
Washington Township, died April 18.
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60’s vinyl records.

Tyler Antiques ANS A

Prefer classic rock.
Also buying concert
• Established by Bubbe in 1940! • Over 25 years courteous service to tri-state area posters from the
We come to you ❖ Free Appraisals ’50s & ’60s
tylerantiquesny@aol.com Shommer Please email James at
Call Us! Shabbas JLJComm@aol.com
201-894-4770 201-861-7770 ❖ 201-951-6224
or call 201-403-4834
and leave a message.
Shomer Shabbos www.aadsa726@yahoo.com Bergen County resident.

50 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019

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52 JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019
 JS-53

 Real Estate & Business

Announcing the Benzel-Busch bergenPAC

FORT LEE - THE COLONY
concert series
Benzel-Busch Motor Car has announced the 2019 Motor Car is America’s premier automotive dealer-
Benzel-Busch Concert Series at Bergen Performing ship, representing Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Sprinter, and
Arts Center in Englewood. smart brands with dealerships in Northern New Jersey
Kicking off the series is classic rock legend and Harriman, New York, serving New York City and
Chicago. Rock icon Joan Jet will set the stage on the Tri-State area. Benzel-Busch is where luxury lives
fire with her performance the same way she did within your reach.
recently at the WWE. Paul Anka will play some of
his countless hits. Toto will perform the almost
two-year-long 40 Trips Around The Sun Tour with
20 final shows in North America, bergenPAC being
Sophisticated and stylish, this striking gut renovated, 2 bedroom,
one of those stops. Then it’s the return of the vir-
2 bath, apartment has been designed for easy living and
tuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman, who will again
entertaining. Sunrises over the GW Bridge with direct NYC views
command attention with his outstanding classical
performance on November 16.
Now Selling Valencia Sound from windows and terrace, spectacular sunsets plus panoramic
views from the second terrace make this highly sought after layout
The Benzel-Busch Concert Series will allow a gem on the high-rise market. $849,900
all guests to engage with the latest 2019 vehicles
prior to taking to their seats. Guests can see the Allan Dorfman
all-new A-Class Sedan featuring the futuristic Mer- Broker/Associate
cedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) infotain- 201-461-6764 Eve
ment system or see the 2019 new GLE exhibiting 201-970-4118 Cell
CALL 201-585-8080 Office
the iconic Mercedes-Benz design while remain-
TODAY Realtorallan@yahoo.com
ing true to its character as an off-roader. The new
design idiom embodies Mercedes-Benz philoso-
Houses, BUY • SELL • RENT
phy of sensual puritycondos, and rentals
with modern in active adult,
luxury. in active adult, country club, and beachside in
country club, and by the beach
More shows in are
Bocaadded to the
Raton, Benzel-Busch
Delray Con- Beach BOCA RATON, DELRAY BEACH, BOYNTON BEACH
Beach, Boynton and the surrounding communities
cert Series throughoutandthe year, so please
surrounding continue
communities
to visit bergenpac.org for new performances. Advantage Plus
601 S. Federal Hwy • Boca Raton, FL 33432
The Benzel-Busch dealership has been fam-
ily owned for nearly half a century Benzel-Busch
Elly & Ed Lepselter
(561) 302-9374 Happy Mother's Day
OPEN HOUSES
SUNDAY, MAY 10
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1500 Palisade Avenue, Fort Lee
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Apt. 22E Gut renovated, turn-key 2 br/2bth with stunning views
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• SURFSIDE • PORTO VITA
Luxury building with excellent service and amenities including
• AVENTURA • THE POINT 24 hr doorman and concierge, pool, gym, Shabbat elevator
• SUNNY ISLES • WILLIAMS ISLAND and much more. Very near Houses of Worship and NYC 28 Clairmont Dr. $749,900 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
transportation. Great for Entertaining! Beaut Maint. Dbl Dr, Skylited Ent, LR/DR w/Sldg Drs to Lg Party
• MIAMI BEACH • FISHER ISLAND Deck. Grnte Kit/Brkfst Nook. 4 BRs, 2.5 Updated Baths. Huge Fam Rm/Fplc. Game Rm
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Jewish Standard MAY 10, 2019 53
 JS-54*

Real Estate & Business

Bergen Community College’s Phi Theta Kappa honor society wins awards
Bergen Community College’s Phi Theta
Kappa honor society chapter, Alpha
Epsilon Phi, has earned an institu-
tion-record 23 honors at the organiza-
tion’s annual convention in Orlando,
Florida, including the international and
regional “Most Distinguished Chapter”
awards, thus making Bergen’s chapter
number one in the world.
“Bergen is proud of our PTK chap-
ter and its accomplishments on the
regional, national and international level
as a testament to our students’ dedica-
tion, leadership, and commitment,” Ber-
gen Vice President of Academic Affairs
William Mullaney said.
It marks the first time in PTK history
that a chapter from the Middle States
geographical region, which covers New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary-
land, and Washington, D.C., won the
award, according to Angie Goldszmidt,
Bergen’s PTK adviser.
“Winning the most distinguished
chapter award has been a surreal expe-
rience and exceeded the goals we have
had for the program,” Goldszmidt, of
Cresskill, said. “I am incredibly proud
of our students, not only for the awards
they received, but particularly for
the exceptional work they have done
this year.”
Also at the international conference,
Bergen student Jenna Santacroce, of
Saddle Brook, was elected as the 2019-
20 division 1 vice president, Phi Theta
Kappa international officer. Santacroce
is the fifth Bergen student to serve as
a PTK international officer in the past
four years.
To earn the most distinguished chap-
ter award, the chapter created two
projects for consideration of merit:
one where students collaborated with
administrators, faculty and counselors
to create a new curriculum for students
who declared an undecided major;
in the second, students worked on a
double-blind undergraduate research
study aimed at analyzing the cognitive
effects of autonomous sensory merid-
ian response media using electroen-
cephalographic brainwave monitoring.
Using EEG machines, students focused
on measuring the short-term effects
on anxiety in comparison to classi-
cal music.
“Their projects truly redefined student
activism and undergraduate research
opportunities,” Goldszmidt said.

‘Sweat’ at the Black Box in Teaneck Englewood dance party

“Sweat” finds the heart-
beat of America with the
story of a group of factory
workers whose friend-
ship is tested as they
explore issues of loyalty,
finances, and race. Win-
ner of the 2017 Pulitzer
Prize, “Sweat” is hailed as
“…passionate and neces-
sary…a masterful depic-
tion of the forces that
divide and conquer us…”
“Sweat” communicates its
points with minimal fuss A scene from “Sweat.”
and maximum grit. Along
with the rage, despair and violence,
there’s humor and abundant humani-
ty…a cautionary tale of what happens
when you don’t know how to resist”
(Time Out NY). Black Box Performing
Arts Center’s production is directed by Teaneck, NJ 07666.
Matt Okin and features the talents of
Kymbali Craig, Michael Gardiner, Alex
Hughes, Kirsten Lewis, Kentrell Loftin, able at www.blackboxpac.com. Group
Arthur Pogh, Ellen Revesz, and Lau-
rence Wallace. “Sweat” is sponsored in
part by Fairleigh Dickinson University.
“Sweat” plays Thursday-Saturday at
8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. until May
19 at the Black Box Performing Arts Cen-
ter 200 Walraven Drive. ( just off Pali-
sade Ave., GPS: 290 Walraven Drive),
Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for
students/seniors.Tickets are now avail-
rates for 10 or more are available by call-
ing (201) 357-2221. Tickets can also be
The Holy Name Medical Center
purchased at the venue.
Foundation recently held its 22nd
Annual Spring Fashion Fling for MS
at the Glenpointe Marriott. Chris
for everyone set for May 18
As part of the Art Walk in Englewood’s
Depot Square on Saturday, May 18,
Age-Friendly Englewood will host an
“All-Ages Dance Party,” which is free
and open to the public.
Well-known DJ Scott Reddin, who is
a former council member and execu-
tive director of Southeast Senior Cen-
ter, will spin Hip Hop, Salsa, Rock ‘n
Roll, Oldies and everything in between
to entice people from 2 to 102 to come
out and dance.
The Art Walk, featuring art of
many media by professional artists
as well as from students at all Engle-
wood schools, runs from 1 to 5 p.m.
The dance party is scheduled for 3 to
5 p.m.
“Both the Art Walk and the Dance
Holy Name annual Spring Fling
raises nearly $240,000
for MS Center
of the Holy Name Medical Center
Foundation. “We are deeply grateful
for the continuous and generous sup-
port of our donors, which enables the
Party are great ways to bring the
Englewood community together and
have a great time,” says Janet Sharma,
coordinator of Age-Friendly Engle-
wood. “An age-friendly city is great for
people of all ages.”
Age-Friendly Englewood is a com-
munity-wide project that is working
to ensure that residents of Englewood
can age-in-place in their homes and
in the community with dignity and
independence. Age-Friendly Engle-
wood seeks to help the community
become more livable for people of
all ages, with particular attention to
the rapidly growing number of older
adults. An age-friendly community is
one that is a great place to grow up
and grow old.

Jimmy J
J
Cimino, WNBC-TV meteorologist, MS Center to set the standard for out-

once again served as honorary chair-
person, Meredith Vieira acted as hon-
orary MS ambassador, and Lord and
Taylor at the Fashion Center provided
im
im
standing care to the MS community.”
Donations made to this event
directly support a full spectrum of
services tailored to meet the medical

the Junk Man the wardrobe. More than 575 guests

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL
WE CLEAN OUT:
Basements •Basements
Attics • Garages • Fire Damage every year and remains committed
Construction Debris • Hoarding Specialists
Construction
WE RECYCLE
CALL TODAY FOR A FREE ESTIMATE
attended the event, which raised
and emotional needs of each individ-
ual patient in an environment that the
the
nearly $240,000.
“Holy Name Medical Center serves
RESIDENT
enhances healing and supports cutting
edge clinical research.
nearly 2,000 people living with MS WE
For more information on the Holy
•
Name MS Center, please Att call (201)
to ensuring they continue to receive 837-0727. De
today’s most promising therapies and To learn more about giving oppor- W
CALL
innovative treatment strategies,” said
TODAY
tunities, please contact the Founda-

201-66•1845-600-5941
- 4940
Holly Schepisi, vice president of devel- tion at (201) 833-3187 or foundation@
201-661-4940 opment at Holy Name and president

We do not transport solid or hazardous waste

201- 6
holyname.org.

We do not trans

54 Jewish Standard MAY 10, 2019

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www.MironProperties.com JEWISH STANDARD MAY 10, 2019 55