AUTISM MEMOIRIST TO SPEAK IN TENAFLY page 6

REMEMBERING THE HOLOCAUST IN RIVER EDGE page 8

BONDING THROUGH BOOKS IN HACKENSACK AND TEANECK page 10
RUTH MESSINGER IS COMING TO CLOSTER page 12
THE RESISTABLE RISE OF BENJAMIN NETANYAHU page 33

APRIL 14, 2017

VOL. LXXXVI NO. 28 $1.00 86 2017
7

NORTH JERSEY THEJEWISHSTANDARD.COM

From the Reich to the Raj

Uncovering the story of

German refugees in India
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Teaneck, NJ 07666
page 14
1086 Teaneck Road
Jewish Standard
2 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017
 Page 3
A brush with the Omer
l Leave it to Judaism to feature a ritual that manages If youre the sort of Jew who spends every
to last for a full seven weeks while being eminently, evening at synagogue services, you have
and irritatingly, forgettable. decent odds of making it: The congregation
Yes, were thinking about counting the Omer, the recites the count every night. But if youre
49 days of ritual timekeeping (Day One, Day Two. not at synagogue, how do you remember?
Day 49) that begins the second night of Passover Hence, the opportunity to sign up for
and ends on the eve of Shavuot. The simple count- email and text reminders.
ing, preceded by a simple blessing, commemorates But those who tried to walk the path
the interval between the offering in the ancient Tem- of counting the Omer know that the very
ple on the day after Passover of an omers worth of first step can be treacherous, since the first
barley (an omer being between two and four liters) nights recitation Today is Day One of the
and the offering of loaves of wheat on Shavuot by Omer is recited toward the end of the
counting the days between them. second Passover seder. Doze off after only
What gives the ritual its challenge, its thrill, and its three cups and youve missed it! You better
annual brush with existential angst is the requirement hope you remember before the end of the
that you not skip as much as one day if you want to next day. customized toothbrushes imprinted with the motto:
recite the blessing (thank God for commanding us So: Congratulations to Rabbi Adam Starr of the Brush. Floss. Count Omer. And thank you to Green
concerning the Omer count.) Forget one night sure, Young Israel of Toco Hills in Atlanta, who brilliantly Orthodontics, also of Atlanta, which paid the bill.
you can count the next night, but no blessing for you! paired the Omer with another nightly ritual, and bought Larry Yudelson

Pop goes the Omer But seriously, folks

l Bubbles and not just for adults.
l Well confess. Weve never
brushes may be bril- Nor does the book
approached the nightly Omer
ritual with eager anticipation.
liant, but Jews are the leave it strictly to rab-
Theres been the omnipresent people of the book. bis. Each days combi-
FOMO (fear of missing Omer). The genre of Omer- nation of personality
Theres been the satisfaction of counting books dates traits is illustrated with
remembering to do the mitz- back just more than a quotes from people
vah, and the smug satisfaction 20 years, to Rabbi ranging from Albert
on those years we made all the Simon Jacobsons Einstein to Arnold
way to Shavuot without missing 1996 The Spiritual Schwarzenegger.
a day. Guide to Counting the So take the fourth
But anticipation? Yearning? Omer. Rabbi Jacob- day of the Omer,
Now, thanks to Josh Rosen- son, a Chabad Ortho- counted this year on
berg of Philadelphia, we can dox rabbi, based his Friday night, April 13.
approach the Omer with an ea- work on the chassidic Day four of week one
gerness thats practically addic- teaching that the days and the is, in kabbalistic terminology, net-
tive, that will make the inability weeks of the Omer count corre- zach she-be-chesed, or victory
to count only one day at a time spond to seven different kabbalis- within kindness. What does that
positively painful. Easy as eating only one potato chip. tic sefirot, or aspects of God and mean? She illustrates the idea with
Because when it comes to pop- When Josh posted this on Face- that each of the sefirot corre- a quote from popular childrens
ping bubble wrap, how can you stop book, he quickly discovered a de- sponds as well to an aspect of the author Rick Riordan: But remem-
at one? mand. He put the original file online human personality. ber, boy, that a kind act can some-
Yet that is the challenge of his at http://bit.ly/omerbubble for those The result is a mystical yet ac- times be as powerful as a sword.
home-made Omer chart, formed by who want to print their own. He cessible, practical 49-step journey Rabbi Gavrieli teaches: Some-
printing a chart of days, carefully promised to hand deliver to friends. through the human personality, thing that seemed impossibly
calibrated to fit behind a sheet of half- But beyond that, broader produc- refining and perfecting your emo- difficult can sometimes be turned
inch bubble wrap. tion presented a problem, he said: tions and behavior allowing you around into an opportunity for un-
Each night, you mark the Omer by The irony is that its not entirely obvi- to grow and better cope with lifes expected growth and good.
popping that days bubble. ous how to protect these if I were to daily challenges and the expan- And she gives a gentle assign-
That days, and no more. ship them... Larry Yudelson sion of a numerical ritual into a ment, suitable for the middle
spiritual one. school children her book is targets:
More recently, there have been As you go through your day, look
several other guides to count- for an event, a story, a picture or
For convenient home delivery, ing the Omer, including one from experience to share tonight in
call 201-837-8818 or bit.ly/jsubscribe a Reform rabbi, published by the which you found kindness, creativ-
movements CCAR Press. ity, and ultimately triumph.
Now theres one from a Con- The book bills itself as a way to
CONTENTS
PUBLISHERS STATEMENT: (USPS 275-700 ISN 0021-6747) is
published weekly on Fridays with an additional edition every
October, by the New Jersey Jewish Media Group, 1086 Teaneck
servative rabbi, Lea Gavrieli, that start meaningful conversations
Noshes4 Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666. Periodicals postage paid at Hackensack, takes a more family-friendly ap- between parents and children. No
briefly local 13 NJ and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes
proach. Counting the Days: Grow- guarantee, of course, that your
to New Jersey Jewish Media Group, 1086 Teaneck Road, Teaneck,
cover story14
jewish world20
NJ 07666. Subscription price is $30.00 per year. Out-of-state sub- ing Your Familys Spirit by Count- children will take to it. But as they
scriptions are $45.00, Foreign countries subscriptions are $75.00.
oPINION 26 The appearance of an advertisement in The Jewish Standard does
ing the Omer starts from the say, you cant find out if you dont
dvar torah 31 not constitute a kashrut endorsement. The publishing of a paid assumption that counting is fun for try. You can count on that.
political advertisement does not constitute an endorsement of any
THE FRAZZLED HOUSEWIFE 32 candidate political party or political position by the newspaper or kids and that personality growth is  Larry Yudelson
crossword puzzle 32 any employees.
ARTS & CULTURE 33 The Jewish Standard assumes no responsibility to return unsolicit-
calendar34 ed editorial or graphic materials. All rights in letters and unsolicited
obituaries 37 editorial, and graphic material will be treated as unconditionally
assigned for publication and copyright purposes and subject to
Candlelighting: Friday, April 14, 7:17 p.m.
classifieds 38
gallery40
JEWISHSTANDARDs unrestricted right to edit and to comment
editorially. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without
Shabbat ends: Saturday, April 15 8:19 p.m.
real estate41 written permission from the publisher. 2017

Jewish
JewishStandard
Standardmarch 3, 2017 3
april 14,
Noshes
Take any forsaken city in the
world, you have a McDonalds
and a Chabad house.
New York public relations specialist Ronn Torossian, as quoted in Politico.

AT BAT:

Tribe members
in the majors
The following is a beating favorites Korea,
list of Jewish Taiwan, and the Nether-
players on a major lands.)
league team roster as of SCOTT FELDMAN, 34,
opening day (April 1). All pitcher, Cincinnati. Like
these players (save the Breslow, Feldman has Alex Bregman Craig Breslow
last one, below) have at pitched for many teams
least one Jewish parent and has struggled for the
and dont identify with a last two seasons. Like
faith other than Judaism: Breslow, he planned to
RYAN BRAUN, 33, out- pitch for Team Israel, but
fielder, Milwaukee. A six- opted out when the Reds
time All-Star, Braun came offered him a one-year
back in 2016 after two contract late in January.
previous subpar seasons. IAN KINSLER, 34,
He batted over .300 and second base, Detroit.
Jake Tapper
hit 30 homers. This 4-time All-Star team
ALEX BREGMAN, 23, member really hit in
infielder, Houston. He 2016, smashing 28 hom-
made his major league
debut last July, and hit a
ers and setting a new
Tiger season record (8) Scott Feldman Joc Pederson Five mensches
respectable .265 after a
slow start. His family be-
for lead-off homers. Hes
also a great fielder. ter this year, with stints and her violent husband,
came back
longs to the oldest syna- JOC PEDERSON, 24, at first base. Perry. In the last two The original three-part Netflix documentary series,
gogue in New Mexico, outfielder, Los Angeles Reasonable people episodes, Reisman
Five Came Back, is good enough that its worth sub-
where Bregman had his Dodgers. A streak hitter, can differ whether to in- becomes an important
bar mitzvah. he has great stretches clude Ty Kelly, 28, a Mets character who sagely scribing for one month just for it. The title refers to
CRAIG BRESLOW, and long slumps. In infielder who played for advises Celeste on how five Hollywood directors who put patriotism ahead of
36, pitcher, Minnesota. 2016, he hit 25 homers Team Israel this year. His to save her life. I hope career and enlisted in the army or navy to make films
Another bar mitzvah but only batted .246. On mother is Jewish; but he Weigerts sterling for and about the armed forces during WWII (Frank
boy, Breslow has played opening day, 2017, he hit was raised more Catholic performance quickly Capra, John Ford, John Huston, George Stevens, and
for many teams. He hit a a grand-slam homer than Jewishand he now leads to meatier roles WILLIAM WYLER). Prominent contemporary direc-
rough patch in 2016 and the first Dodger to do so seems unsure where he for her.
tors narrate the interwoven stories of the five (STEVEN
was sent to the minors. since 2000. He played stands religiously. I spoke to her in 2006,
The HBO 7-part not long after she got an SPIELBERG, 70, does Wyler; LAWRENCE KASDAN,
He pitched for Team Is- for Team Israel in 2013.
rael last September and KEVIN PILLAR, 28, series Big Little Emmy nomination for 68, does Stevens, and so on).
helped it qualify for the outfielder, Toronto. An- Lies, which ended playing Calamity Jane Theres a lot of Jewish-related content in the series.
World Baseball Classic. other bar mitzvah boy, on April 2, garnered in Deadwood, and she The most, logically, comes in the Wyler segments. He
Minnesota offered him Pillar overcame a slow great reviews and big said she was hoping to won the Oscar three times for best director and risked
a major league contract start and ended up hav- ratings. If you did see it, land enough good indie his life to make perhaps the best WWII documentary,
shortly before the Classic ing had a good 2016 sea- its probably still resonat- film roles to have a ca- Memphis Belle. But I know that part of the pleasure
tournament began, so son at-the-bat. Hes also ing with you. If you didnt reer like Catherine Keen-
in viewing a bio-series is the revelations that come as
he had to opt out of the a great fielder. see it, you should. The ers. Now shes probably
tournament competition DANNY VALENCIA, 32, third episode introduced too old for that path you watch the series. So, suffice it to say theres a lot
last March. (Team Israel infielder, Seattle. A good ROBIN WEIGERT, 47, as but with so many new more interesting and kvell-worthy stuff about Wyler and
stunned everyone by hitter, Valencia, who was Dr. Reisman, a therapist streaming outlets a the other directors. (One footnote: director ANATOLE
making it to the tour- bar mitzvah, will prob- who begins treating series starring role could LITVAK, discussed in the series, also enlisted. Its not
neys second round, after ably be a designated hit- Celeste (Nicole Kidman) be in her future. N.B. mentioned that he was Jewish.) N.B.

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

Discover. 2017
CONSUMER
SATISFACTION
2017

AWARD

Mercedes-Benz Dealer in:

NEW JERSEY
28 Grand Avenue, Englewood, NJ 07631 benzelbusch.com

4 32042
JEWISH STANDARD1 APRIL 14, 2017
Discover_StripAd.indd 3/8/17 9:41 AM
Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 5
Local
Living with autism
Mother talks about her family at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly
JOANNE PALMER
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is
unhappy in its own way.
Leo Tolstoy told us that in Anna Karenina, almost
150 years ago. Its treated as received wisdom, but
when you think about it you realize that actually it
doesnt mean very much.
There is no such thing as two families that are alike;
there is no such thing as a family that is so untouched
by disease or history that it always can be called happy.
(There might be families unhappy all the time, and in
similar ways; luckily we need not go there now.)
When Liane Kupferberg Carter and her husband,
Marc, started their family, they made the same general
assumptions most of us middle- or upper-middle-class
New York metropolitan area Jews make, about how
they would have children, who would go on to excel
in school and friendship, and then at college, and then
have stellar jobs, and then marry and raise their own
spectacular children.
Of course, those assumptions always get a bit bat-
tered, but for many of us the basics remain.
Its different if one of your children is autistic, as Ms.
Carter learned. The depth and ferocity of the love is the
same, but the assumptions get turned on their heads.
In her memoir, Ketchup Is My Favorite Vegetable: A
Family Grows Up With Autism, which she will discuss
at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly on Sun-
day, April 23, to mark the end of Jewish Disabilities and
Inclusion Month (see the box for more information),
Ms. Carter explores her familys life, their growing
understanding of autism and how their sons, Mickey,
who has autism, and Jonathan, who does not, grew,
and she also looks at some of the politics surrounding
the condition.
The Carters gradually learned that their younger
son, Mickey, had autism; they saw troubling signs,
particularly his slow speech acquisition, but were far
more comfortable ascribing it to any number of other, less
scary sounding conditions. Once they realized that it was
autism, however, they devoted themselves to getting the
best possible services for Mickey, while trying to ensure
that Jonathans life was as steady as possible. Its a hard
balancing act, and Ms. Carter is forthright as she describes
some of the problems she and her husband encountered.
Mickey is now 23, and the world he and other people
with autism face has changed a great deal since he was
a baby, when he was 2 years old and was kicked out of
our temples nursery school, Ms. Carter said. It wasnt
that he did anything bad. He wasnt stealing Legos. He was
Who: writer and advocate Liane Kupferberg Carter
What: will talk about her memoir, Ketchup is my Fa-
vorite Vegetable
Where At the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades, 411 East
Clinton Ave. in Tenafly
When: On sunday, april 23, at 11 a.m.
Why: to conclude the JCCs recognition of Jewish dis-
abilities and inclusion Month
And: its free and open to the community
6 Jewish standard aPriL 14, 2017
Liane Kupferberg Carter with her
son Mickey.
very sweet and very sunny, but he
didnt have any language, and he
didnt sit still when the teachers
talked. He wasnt paying attention.
It was easier to ignore him. He
wasnt even in the school picture.
And he wandered off thats very
common with kids with autism.
He could take off, and they didnt notice. It was scary and
dangerous and hurtful.
At one point, we took him for speech evaluation, and I
told the nursery school director that Mickey had just been
diagnosed with speech and language disorder. And she
said to me, Is that all it is?
It was so hurtful. Maybe she just meant that it was a
relief good, thats all it is but thats not how I heard it.
And the next year, she told us not to come back.
That story encapsulates much of the hurt and worry
parents of young children with autism can feel. They
dont know exactly what they are dealing with, they know
their child is different from other children, they know its
their job to protect their child but theyre not sure how, or
against what. And the rest of the world isnt exactly being
unreasonable either no one knows what theyre deal-
ing with, or how best to help.
When Mickey first was diagnosed, the Carters tried
frantically to help, and found themselves falling for
scams. There are many theories about what causes
autism, some of them coming from a genuine need
to understand it, and others from the genuine need
to separate desperate parents from their money. The
more sunlight on autism, the better, she said.
And no, vaccines do not cause autism. That is a thor-
oughly debunked hypothesis, she said, and not vacci-
nating children is unwise and dangerous. Mr. Trump
appears to be an anti-vaxxer, and I am afraid that he is
fanning the fear, but the idea never died out. I still hear
people bring it up.
And I can understand it, she added. When you are
desperate, and you dont have answers, you want to
blame something. That is human nature. And when the
possibility of autism being caused by vaccination first
was brought up, it made sense to investigate it.
And it was investigated, and there were no links.
Absolutely no links.
But the controversy still rages.
The desire not to look at autism or other special
needs is changing in the Jewish world, Ms. Carter said.
Shes been on the board of Matan the orga-
nization that works toward inclusion,
calls itself the national voice in Jew-
ish special education, and is run by
Dori Kirshner of Closter for a long
time, she said. I think Im the only
parent who has been on the board
consistently for this long. Most of the
other people on it are educators, spe-
cialists in special education, and I am
a bit of an outlier, but I bring the par-
ents voice to the discussion.
She thinks that Matan has helped. I
know that my own temple, in West-
chester County, has gotten a lot bet-
ter, she said. In the beginning, they
didnt know what to do with us. Almost
20 years ago, the word inclusion was
on almost no ones lips. Nothing was
done out of malice. We just werent on
the radar. But as I became more com-
fortable in the community, and started
meeting like-minded other special-needs moms, I learned
that we all had stories.
Eventually, we sat down with our rabbi, Rick Jacobs
who now heads the Reform movement as president of the
Union for Reform Judaism but then was her congregational
rabbi and we said that a lot of us are in crisis every day,
and no one here is meeting the needs of our families.
To his credit, he was a tremendous listener. All of
us cried, but he really absorbed everything we had said
to him, and then he created an inclusion task force. Its
an ongoing effort we have things like prayer books in
Braille, and having someone sign the service. Its about
being more inclusive to everyone across the life span. We
are purchasing mezuzahs to go on doors at wheelchair
height. We have come a long way in 20 years.
 Local

Ms. Carter writes about Mickeys bar
mitzvah, which made him happy and
brought the congregation to tears of joy;
the party afterward was a release into
healthy, age-appropriate fun.
Mickey was educated in a good pub-
lic school district; his parents had to be
eternally vigilant and often they had to
fight, but they were helped by dedicated
teachers and administrators. Much of Ms.
Carters book describes her run-ins with
the system, with figuring out what Mickey
should learn how much academics, how
much life skills, with whom, by whom, for
what end and also the ways in which it
helped her and her family. Now, though,
the situation has changed. After high
school, you go over the cliff, she said.
The world of adult disability services is
very different than in school.
In school, everyone who works with
your child is a professional. It is a vocation.
People have degrees, and most of them are
in it for the right reasons. They are very
dedicated, and you are entitled to appro-
priate education.
Once you turn 21 in New York differ-
ent ages in different states, but all around
there you go from that to vocational day
programs where the staff are paid $10 an
hour, and they need only a high school
diploma or GED, and no special training.
Turnover is high. We have been finding
that a lot of the programs out there are glo-
rified baby sitting, or taking them to the
mall to walk around and eat in the food
court. It is disheartening.
He is in a program now that is accept-
able, but they are looking into alternatives,
Ms. Carter said.
The political climate also is unnerving,
she said. People are afraid that the Trump
administration will strip IDEA thats the it helps her deal with her situation. I hesi-
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
that the new secretary of education, Betsy
DeVos, said shed not heard of and
defund public schools. People are worried
about Medicaid being slashed. They also
are worried about the general climate of
incivility, to understate it. They are worried
about the presidents history, starting with
his mocking the disabled reporter. For
now, though, these are abstract worries;
there are no specific cuts to special educa-
tion programs in Mr. Trumps skinny bud-
get, at least as far as she knows, she said.
Mickey still lives at home. He shows no
interest in moving out, his mother said.
Some of the people in his program have
moved out, but he says to me, Mom, I
dont want to live with staff. I just want to
live with you. I dont know how we will
deal with this one.
Im not ready for him to move out, and
neither is my husband and you do hear
horror stories about group homes, and
that fuels my fear but I also know that it
would be for the best to establish him in a
safe living situation now, because we wont
be here forever. It would be better to do it
now than when we are old and decrepit.
Ms. Carter is a writer, and she finds that
cably bound up in who they are and the way
tate to say that it was therapeutic, because
if writing is only therapeutic then you
havent done your job, she said. It was
excruciating to work through.
I had taken really good notes over the
years, and saved the emails, so it wasnt
difficult to reconstruct the mechanics, or
what words were, she said. But to reread
the words it was excruciating, but also
cathartic. It was a balance.
And I wanted to be respectful of every-
one in the family. Especially as Jonathan
got older, I made a promise to have noth-
ing in print before he saw it first. Not only
in this book but in anything I wrote.
Even with the familys approval, writing
can be dangerous. Once, I really put my
foot in it, Ms. Carter said. I wrote a piece
in the Huffington Post seven year ago, and
at the end of it, I called autism the enemy.
That was the phrase I used.
I got a lot of heat for it. A lot of angry
emails. And I did come around to seeing
it that way. There are people on the spec-
trum who are fairly high functioning a
term I hate, but its the one we use in the
sense that they are verbal and well able to
express themselves.
They feel that their autism is so inextri-
that they are wired that to say that autism is
the enemy is to say that they are the enemy.
I would never use those words today. I
would have written that piece differently.
I titled it A Call For Civility because there
was such a war going on, and I was saying
I hate to quote Rodney King, but really I
was saying Cant we all get along?
Next Sunday, Ms. Carter will talk about
the need for better inclusion in the Jewish
community. Shell also talk about how I
got from there to here. About the whole
journey of pain and devastation, and mov-
ing from that to acceptance.
And even happiness. I really do feel
that we have a normal family in many
ways, Ms. Carter said.

OPEN
DURING
PASSOVER

BEST PRICES ON
KOSHER WINES AND PASSOVER SPIRITS

Wishing You a Happy Passover

201-530-WINE (9463)
247 DeGraw Avenue, Teaneck
Sun 12-10 pm Mon-Sat 10 am-10 pm
winelandnj@gmail.com
Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 7
Local

Painting butterflies
River Edge library offers Butterfly Project for Holocaust remembrance
Abigail Klein Leichman

To honor a child murdered in the Holocaust, come and

paint a ceramic butterfly at the River Edge Library on
April 24.
To understand the significance of that art project,
you first will watch a documentary, NOT the Last But-
terfly, about the Butterfly Project, a nonprofit orga-
nization that grew out of a 2006 initiative at the San
Diego Jewish Academy. Its goal is to have 1.5 million
ceramic butterflies painted and displayed, in memory
of the 1.5 million children killed by the Nazis and their
collaborators.
Butterflies have come to symbolize those young vic-
tims because of the poem The Butterfly by Pavel
Friedman, one of 15,000 Jewish children and teens
interned in the concentration camp-ghetto Terezin/
Theresienstadt. (Paul later died in Auschwitz.) The
poem is included in several compilations of draw-
ings and writings by Theresienstadt children between
1942 and 1944, including the 1959 book I Never Saw
Another Butterfly, titled after a line from Pavel Fried-
mans poem.
The 2016 documentary was co-produced by Joe Fab
and former Paramus resident Cheryl Rattner Price to
spread the word about the Butterfly Project. In the
film, Theresienstadt survivor Ela Weissberger one
of only 10 percent of the children interned there who
lived to tell the tragic story describes how an artist
and teacher in the camp-ghetto helped the imprisoned
children express the trauma of their experiences through
the arts.
The Butterfly Project sells kits, each containing 36 small
ceramic butterflies for painting or glazing, colored glazes
(or acrylic paints for people who do not have access to
a kiln), paintbrushes, and 36 photo cards describing the
lives of individual children who died in the Holocaust.
The River Edge librarys adult services librarian, Jen-
nifer Kelemen, explained that this will be the sixth free
Holocaust remembrance program she has organized at
the library in partnership with the River Dell Chapter of
Hadassah, the River Edge Cultural Center, and Friends
of the River Edge Library. The sponsors cover all costs,
including licensing the documentaries and logos, and in
this case also the butterfly kits.
These programs are geared to adults since New Jerseys
schools have mandated Holocaust education, but the pro-
gram this year is also appropriate for children because its
a hands-on experience, Ms. Kelemen said.
The idea of screening NOT the Last Butterfly along
with a butterfly-painting activity originated with Wendy
Salkin, co-president of River Dell Hadassah.
Cheryl Rattner Price, cofounder of the Butterfly Project in
River Edge, painted this butterfly.
I had seen the film at the JCC in Manhattan, and it
really touches your heart and brings out insightful ques-
tions and comments, Ms. Salkin said. People in all differ-
ent countries, of all different religions, have painted but-
terflies. It really brings communities together in memory
of those who were lost and gives them an understanding
in a concrete way.
The film most recently was screened in our area at the
April 4 JCC Rockland Jewish Film Festival.
Ms. Kelemen expects the program to be inspirational to
everyone who participates in it.
The Holocaust is a tough subject, and I was looking for
something that could give some hope at the same time,
she said. Youll sit and take time to meditate on what you
just saw in the film, and be inspired during the painting
portion to focus on the children and honor their memory.
She points out that a public library is neutral ground,
not like a temple or Jewish community centers. This can
help people from all backgrounds and not only from
River Edge feel more comfortable participating.
Whereas butterflies produced from the kits ordinar-
ily are affixed permanently to a wall or other display
It really brings
communities
together in memory
of those who were
lost and gives them
an understanding in a
concrete way.
area, those made at the library will be on exhibit for
a month because the library lacks permanent space
for them.
Even a temporary display raises understanding
and awareness, said Ms. Kelemen, who is looking
into an installation space for the butterflies some-
where else.
Holocaust documentaries screened at the River
Edge Library as part of this series, begun in 2012,
include Only a Number, produced by Steven Besser-
man; Paper Clips, coproduced by Joe Fab; We Are
Still Here by Evan Kleinman of Rockland County;
Two Who Dared, co-produced by Ken Burns, and
Prisoner of Her Past by Howard Reich.
In past years, the films have been accompanied by
a personal appearance by the producer or an introduc-
tion by Dr. Michael Riff, the director of the Gross Center
for Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Ramapo College. I
contacted Cheryl Ratner Price, and she is excited we are
doing this, though unfortunately she cant join us, Ms.
Kelemen said.
She finds documentaries to be effective in engaging the
community. Our job at the library is to inform and edu-
cate, she said.
What: The Butterfly Project, a Holocaust remem-
brance program co-sponsored by River Dell Hadassah,
Friends of the River Edge Library, and the River Edge
Cultural Center
Where: River Edge Public Library, 685 Elm Avenue
When: Monday, April 24, 7-8:30 p.m.
For more information: Call (201) 261-1663, ext. 4; go to
www.notthelastbutterfly.com; or email thebutterflypro-
jectnow.org
Admission: Free and open to the public, including the
screening and butterfly painting

Suffering with Chronic Disease, Pain or Long-Term Conditions?

Learn positive strategies for adddressing common issues in a
supportive and nurturing environment.

Temple Avodat Shalom, 385 Howland Avenue, River Edge

Tuesdays beginning April 25th 7:30pm - 9:00pm

To RSVP or to receive more information please contact Paula Rozner at 201-978-2529 or email paular@jfcsnnj.org

8 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017

 Its Time to RE- sTOCK your Pantry!
for Breakfast...
(Frozen) 60-ct., Any Variety

Eggo Waffles Snack Favorites...

7.9 to 16.2-oz. box,
Any Variety

ShopRite
Limit 4
Per Variety 899 1.00 1/2 Price Sale! Cookies &
Regular Retails: 4.29 to 6.79 ea.
9 to 18-oz.
box/bag/pkg.

Instant Oatmeal Sale Retails: 2.14 to 3.39 ea. Donuts

1 2$ 6
8.8-oz. box, Any Variety, Nabisco

79
5 $2
1.1-oz., Kettle or Sea Salt
belVita Breakfast 2
MUST
BUY
Additional
or lesser
Gefen
Biscuits
quantities
Limit 4
for
Popcorners
will scan at

for
3.19 ea.
Offers

3 $7
10 to 16-oz. bag, Any Variety

Pick Payonly... Pick Pay

Discount will
WITH YOUR WITH YOUR MUST
3
be applied
when you buy Rold Gold BUY
Additional
or lesser

Pretzels

)
quantities

for
)

)
)
in increments Limit 4 will scan at
2.50 ea.
only. Less
each Limit 4 Offers. ofor3additional
Offers
each only...

2 $5
Limit 4 Offers.
Discount will be applied when you buy in increments of 3 only. items will scan 8.25 to 9-oz. bag (Excluding Food Truck Favorites
Less or additional items will scan at $2.49 each. 6 to 10.4-oz. box, Any Variety at $2.99 each. & Kettle) Any Variety, Original or Ridgies

14.5-oz. box, Apple Strawberry Raisin Bran Crunch, 1-lb. 2-oz., Corn Flakes, 15
to 18-oz. (Excluding Touch of Fruit Raisin) Any Variety, Frosted Mini-Wheats, 11
Kelloggs Nutri-Grain Bars Wise Potato Chips for
21 to 22-oz. box (Excluding Seasonal) 12-ct., Any Variety
to 11.4-oz. (Excluding SMores) Chocolate or Double Chocolate Krave, 18.7-oz.,
Raisin Bran, 18.2-oz., Raisin Bran Crunch or 13.5-oz., Raisin Bran with Cranberries Kelloggs PopTarts 9.25 to 9.75-oz. bag

Kelloggs Cereal 4.4 to 7.38-oz. tot. wt. pkg., 5 to 6-ct., Any Variety, Crisps or
(Excluding Light) Any Variety

Kelloggs Special K Bars Doritos

Tortilla Chips
RE- sTOCK for Lunch... 2 $6
16.3-oz. jar (Excluding Reduced Fat Creamy) Super Chunky or Creamy

ShopRite Peanut Butter

2-lb. jar, Grape Preserves or for
ShopRite Grape Jelly

1
5.5-oz.

Wacky Your 25 .14 Pick Payonly...

)
)
5-oz. can, In Oil or Water
Mac n Choice! Limit 4
Per Variety
WITH YOUR
each

Cheese
Discount will be applied when you buy in

Chicken of the Sea

increments of 3 only. Less or additional

.99
24-oz. loaf (Where Available) Any Variety

1
items will scan at $2.50 each.

1
Limit 4 Offers.

Solid White
Tuna
00 .37 Arnold
Country Bread
99 5-oz. bag, Any Variety
Snyders Wholey
Limit 4
Per Variety Cheese Crackers
4.5 to 12-oz. pkg., Any Variety

RE- sTOCK for Dinner...

Stella Doro Snacks

12-oz. to 1-lb. box (Excluding Gluten Free,

Organic, Whole Wheat, Egg Noodles,
Kitchen Essentials... 1-lb., 5-oz. box
Jumbo Shells & Lasagna) Any Variety

ShopRite Pasta 15.25 to 19.5-oz. box (Excluding Delights, Angel Kelloggs

Corn Flakes Crumbs
Food & Premium Cupcake) Any Variety
24-oz. jar (Excluding Organic) Any Variety
Betty Crocker Cake Mix
ShopRite Natural
399
15.25 to 16.5-oz. box (Excluding Limited
Edition Velvets, Signature, Decadent, Angel
Pasta Sauce Food & Gluten Free) Any Variety of Classic

28 to 29-oz. can, Crushed, Puree, Sauce, Whole Peeled

Your Duncan Hines Cake Mix

.69 1 239
or Diced (Excluding Organic & Imported Italian)

49
Choice! Your Choice! 12-oz. pkg.
ShopRite Tomatoes ShopRite Chocolate
6.25 to 7.25-oz. box, Twists N Cheddar, Shells N Cheddar or

ShopRite Macaroni & Cheese Limit 4

Per Variety
.60 Limit 4
Per Variety
Baking Chips

2 99
5-lb.
15-oz. can, Chick Peas, Red Kidney, Canellini, 5-lb. bag,
(Frozen) 46-oz. pkg., 18-ct. Small White, Pinto, Pnk, Small Red, Roman Regular or Unbleached Gefen High
Macabee ShopRite ShopRite Gluten Flour
Pizza Bagels Beans Flour

6 5 3 1 2 7
$
4-oz. Cube, In the Dairy Dept.

99 $ 5
99 Red Star
MUST
BUY
Additional
or lesser

Limit 4 1.00 Limit 4

Offers for
quantities
will scan at
.67 ea. Dry Yeast for

2 $3
16-oz.

4 5 199 1
6-oz. box, Chicken or Turkey 32-oz. carton, Any Variety 16-oz.
Gefen
ShopRite
Stuffing Mix
$ ShopRite Organic
Cooking Stock
Gefen
Barley
09 Chulent Mix for
for

1
16-oz., Store Baked Multigrain,

1
15-oz. pkg. of 6, All Varieties,

2 49 99 59
Muffin Tops or 12-oz., pkg. of 6 Sourdough, Roasted Garlic or

Store Made SAVE Store Baked SAVE Hot Stuff

Muffins
UP TO
2.10 Croissants 1.00
Italian Bread
Prices, programs and promotions effective Sun., April 16 thru Sat., April 22, 2017 in ShopRite Stores in NJ, North of Trenton (excluding Ewing, Hamilton Square, Hamilton Marketplace, Pennington and Montague, NJ and Rockland County, NY), including
E. Windsor, Monmouth & Ocean Counties, NJ. Sunday sales subject to local blue laws. No sales made to other retailers or wholesalers. We reserve the right to limit purchases of any sale item to four (4) purchases, per item, per household, per day, except
where otherwise noted. Minimum or additional purchase requirements noted for any advertised item exclude the purchase of prescription medications, gift cards, gift certificates, postage stamps, money orders, money transfers, lottery tickets, bus tickets,
fuel and Metro passes, as well as milk, cigarettes, tobacco products, alcoholic beverages or any other items prohibited by law. Only one manufacturer coupon may be used per item and we reserve the right to limit manufacturer coupon redemptions to
four (4) identical coupons per household per day, unless otherwise noted or further restricted by manufacturer. Sales tax is applied to the net retail of any discounted item or any ShopRite coupon item. We are required by law to charge sales tax on the
full price of any item or any portion of an item that is discounted with the use of a manufacturer coupon or a manufacturer sponsored (or funded) Price Plus Club card discount. Not responsible for typographical errors. Artwork does not necessarily
represent items on sale; it is for display purposes only. Copyright Wakefern Food Corp., 2017. All rights reserved.

Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 9

Local
Bonding through books
Reading buddies change lives; Bergen Reads organizes them
Larry Yudelson
Wouldnt you want to have someone
hanging on to your every word for
half an hour?
Thats how Ruth Camins describes
the appeal of being a reading buddy
for Bergen Reads, the literacy pro-
gram of the Jewish Federation of
Northern New Jersey. Bergen Reads
sends volunteers there are about
150 of them into nine elementary
schools in Hackensack and Teaneck
to spend an hour a week reading with
children who need help in learning to
read.
Ms. Camins and her husband,
Rubin, started volunteering as read-
ing buddies several years ago. She
had been a childrens librarian in
the Oradell public library. But she
stresses that you dont have to be a
trained professional to help the chil-
dren learn how to read.
All you have to do is like children
and like to read, she said. The chil-
dren love to read to somebody and
with somebody.
The volunteers work for an hour
every week, splitting the time
between two children. Each works
with the same two children through-
out the school year.
Bergen Reads is the one-on-one
time the children need because they
dont necessarily get it at home,
Ms. Camins said. Its sitting there
while the child reads, saying Do you
understand that word? or What a
funny thing! It means so much to the
children to sit down and read with
somebody who cares. They have our Nilene Evans Chase and her reading buddy at Hackensacks Fairmount School
whole attention for half an hour.
The kids are great. They became our kids. We always
brought them something for Christmas and when we went
to California we brought them back something from the
desert, she said.
Although the program demands very little from volun-
teers, Ms. Camins said, its rewards are great. It really is M. Hillers Elementary School, where the Camins volun-
an hour of your time and the travelling once a week, she
said. Most of us, particularly those who are retired, can
spare that very easily.
Ruth and Rubin Camins will be honored on Thursday,
April 20, at a ceremony called Bonding Through Books, a
celebration of Bergen Reads. It will take place at the Nel- read a story he had chosen from the public library to my
lie K. Parker School in Hackensack and will feature com-
munity leaders from Hackensack and Teaneck as well as
What: Bonding Through Books, a celebration of Ber-
gen Reads
When: 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, April 20
Where: Nellie K. Parker Elementary School, 261 Maple
Hill Drive, Hackensack
RSVP: jfnnj.org/books
10 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017
school principals, teachers, family members of the stu-
dents, and volunteers and members of the Jewish Com-
munity Relations Council of the federation, which is orga-
nizing the event.
Dina Heerema teaches first grade at Hackensacks Fanny
teer. Rubin Camin volunteered in her classroom, until he
had to stop this year because of his health. He has been
nothing but a gift, Ms. Heerema said. Hes an amazing we get back so much more than we give, she said. We
reader.
Before taking aside his students for tutoring, he would
entire class and then talk with them about it.
As a tutor to the individual students, his assignment was For some, the reading skills arent bad but the vocabu-
to read them stories, help them understand the story,
give them a love of reading.
Ms. Heerema would pick students who are struggling
with comprehension, or hesitant about reading, or kind
of a little afraid of it and because of how much he loves As
reading, I know he can help them overcome it.
First grade is crucial for students, she said. If they
dont embrace reading in first grade, theyre not going
to embrace it. Rubin Camins is an
amazing person, she added. Just
the way he reads brings the stories to
life. He makes it so concrete for their
students.
I love Bergen Reads. I love the fact
that they offer that service to us as
teachers and students. The fact they
have people who care enough to vol-
unteer their own time is amazing.
So who should volunteer?
If you love to read and you love
to share your love of reading with
All you have
to do is like
children and
like to read.
The children
love to read to
somebody and
with somebody.
children, do it! she said. If you
dont have that passion to see the
little sparkle in a childs eyes when
they understand what theyve read,
or their mouth open wide when they
listen to you read if that does not
give you Goosebumps or make you
smile, dont bother.
Barbara Selman is co-chair of the
Bonding Through Books program.
She has been a Bergen Reads Read-
ing Buddy for seven years. I just
keep coming back every year. I love
it, she said.
The name of the event is Bonding Through Books
because thats what its all about.
I come home after my first session of each new school
year and my husband says, I know what youre going to
tell me: You have the greatest kids, the cutest kids, the
sweetest kids.
I think every Bergen Reads volunteer will agree that
meet with these children who for whatever reason are
behind with their reading skills. For some of the children,
it may just be because they come from Spanish-speaking
homes and no one can help with their reading at home.
lary is not there. For others, who knows. They need help
with their reading, and its holding them back on every
subject.
Thats where the students are when they start the year.
a volunteer, you get to see the success as they are
tested during the course of the year, Ms. Selman said.
The teachers tell us those kids are seeing success.
And there is the matter of bonding, and the other ways
 Local

Womens Philanthropy

invites you to join us at our

2017 Annual Spring Luncheon

Wednesday, May 17 | Rockleigh Country Club | Rockleigh, NJ
10:15 am | Registration and Raffle
11:00 am | Program
12:00 pm | Lunch and Raffle drawing

e
e
d Featuring

. Jill Kargman
n Helaine Hyman-Rosen and her reading buddy at Author, Writer, Actress and Star of Odd Mom Out

o Hackensacks Fairmount School

d of helping it brings. We are told in our training not Honoring

. to ask too many questions, she said. Dont pry into

their life. But these kids share a lot with their reading
buddies.
The teachers have a very full plate. Its a room
full of kids. When you have a one-on-one with the
child, sometimes reading buddies notice something
that helps.
Some reading buddies have discovered theres not Lauri Bader Jodi Epstein Merle Fish Donna Weintraub
enough food at home and the child needs to be on the Womens Philanthropy Womens Philanthropy Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Shining Star
Past President Past President Award Recipient
special lunch program and given a breakfast at school.
There are other reading buddies who discover that
maybe part of the reading problem is that the child Spring Luncheon Co-Chairwomen Womens Philanthropy Co-Presidents
has a vision problem. Sharry Friedberg Samantha Gabriel Andrea Strahl Dana Post Adler Geri Cantor
Ms. Selman said that the connection between the chil-
dren and their adult reading buddies goes both ways.
Last week, I was invited to one of my kids dance Cover charge for lunch is $100 (price of lunch reflects our actual cost). In addition, there is a minimum
performance at school, she said. I got to meet her gift of $180 to attend which supports Jewish Federations mission of caring for people in need locally,
family members. You find out the children go home in Israel and around the world. | Dietary Laws observed.
and share as much about the reading buddies with www.jfnnj.org/sl | For more information call 201-820-3953
their families as we do with our families. You feel you
become a part of their lives and you want to give as
much of a positive impact as you can. We have some
Orchid Sponsors
former students who will say, Ill never forget my
reading buddy in second grade, and I still remember
what he said to me or what she taught me.
I dont know of any reading buddy who has tried it
once and didnt come back year after year, she said.
If youre interested in volunteering, you dont have JS-1*

to wait for the new school year to learn how to do it.

Sometimes we will have a reading buddy who
CONSIDERING RECONCILIATIO
RESTORING SEPHARDI
REMEMBERING WITH
REVIVING LEVYS JEWISH
N page 6
STORIES page 8
KNISHES page 10
ROOTS page 37

JANUARY 6, 2017
VOL. LXXXVI NO.

THEJEWISHSTAN DARD.COM
14 $1.00 86 20177
Sign up for the
Jewish Standard daily newsletter!
NORTH JERSEY

has to stop in the middle of the school year and we

may need someone to fill in, Ms. Selman said. Or
a teacher may find theres another student who can Visit www.thejewishstandard.com and click on
use help.
To volunteer, email Beth Figman, the Jewish Fed- SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY
eration of Northern New Jerseys director of volunteer Making

JewishStandard
N E W J E R S E Y R O C K L A N D
resource services, at bethf@jfnnj.org, call her at (201) books
Englewood artist Irmari
makes volumes explode
Nacht
and expand page 22

820-3947, or go to www.jfnnj.org/bergenreads.
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Teaneck, NJ 07666
1086 Teaneck Road
Jewish Standard

Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 11

Local
Despair is not a strategy
Ruth Messinger says synagogue leaders can help achieve social change
Lois Goldrich
Ruth Messinger has a new job not so different from her
old one, but with a new title and a new focus.
After 18 years heading the American Jewish World Ser-
vice she served as its president from 1998 until July 2016
she has passed the baton to Robert Bank, AJWSs execu-
tive vice-president.
But she is not leaving the organization she worked so
hard, and successfully, to grow. As the groups inaugural
global ambassador, Ms. Messinger will continue to engage
rabbis and interfaith leaders to speak out on behalf of
oppressed and persecuted communities worldwide.
Ms. Messinger is no stranger to big jobs. Before she took
on her role at AJWS, she devoted 20 years to public service
in New York City, serving as both a city council member
and as Manhattan Borough President. But she is particu-
larly proud of her accomplishments in the area of advo-
cacy and social change.
She will speak about this work and what synagogues
can do to help bring about social change on April 29 at
Temple Emanu-El in Closter. In a talk called Whats Jew-
ish about Global Social Justice? the former AJWS presi-
dent will explore how AJWS turns Jewish values into
global impact.
On its website, AJWS defines itself as a community of
Jewish global citizens fighting for a better world. Through
its grants, the group provides financial support to 450
local advocacy organizations in 19 countries in Africa,
Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean that are working
to end poverty and advance the rights of some of the poor-
est and most oppressed people in the world. At home,
AJWS mobilizes its supporters to persuade the United
States Congress and the president of the United States to
adopt policies and laws that improve the lives of people in
the developing world.
The Jewish teachings guiding its work are the impera-
tive to repair the world, or tikkun olam; donating money
to achieve justice, or tzedakah; believing in the inherent
dignity of every person, or tzelem elohim; understanding
that international human rights law is part of the global
response to the Holocaust and promises a better world
for all; and furthering the work of earlier generations of
Jewish activists for justice and equality.
Ms. Messingers accomplishments have been widely
recognized. She was named one of the 10 most inspiring
women religious leaders of 2012 by the Huffington Post,
the sixth most influential Jew in the world by the Jerusa-
lem Post, and was listed annually on The Forwards For-
ward 50 for nearly a decade. In addition, she sits on the
State Departments Religion and Foreign Policy Working
Group, co-chairs the Sub-Working Group on Social Justice,
and is a member of the World Banks Moral Imperative
working group on extreme poverty.
And yet, she insists, much can be done on the local level
to further the work of international development.
The likelihood is that we have an administration choos-
ing to ignore human rights issues, she said in an inter-
view. If we dont pay attention to human rights, it will
come back to haunt us. On the subject of land use and
land abuse, she said, there is little protection for small
farmers around the world. This will create new pressures
for migration, ultimately affecting our national security.
We live in a global universe, she said. With that comes
global responsibility. While no one congregation or com-
munity can do everything, despair is not a strategy. But
12 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017
being able to move from working with $3 million to $36
million a year this from a leader who launched cam-
paigns to end the Darfur genocide, reform international
food aid, stop violence against women, end land grabs,
and respond to natural disasters around the globe.
She felt as if I had a lot to learn every day about what
goes on in the world the dimensions of the problems,
Ms. Messinger said. One of the things she learned was the
extent to which people are organizing to fight back, the
Our government
should adhere to
international
standards of human
rights in their giving
of aid and in their
diplomatic efforts.
grassroots activism. Through her organizations in-coun-
try consultants, we found groups to work with in the 19
countries to which AJWS has provided assistance.
Pretty consistently we find groups already fighting
their own battles to end poverty, she said.
Ruth Messinger Jeff Zorbedian Ms. Messinger spoke of a fierce belief, reinforced by
Jewish values, that assumes people on the ground know
the situation should be part of the discussion, she said, best their own vision of justice. Were helping to create a
asking, What does the Jewish faith and Jewish texts say civil society to be able to do advocacy, she said, noting
about that? that in addition to working with countries following natu-
Contributing funds is one way to help, she said, noting ral disasters, her group has been concerned with the sta-
that giving money is not an idle activity. How people con- tus of women and girls, including child marriage, natural
tribute and think about charitable works is part of being resource rights, and environmental justice.
an effective citizen motivated by Jewish values. But, she Our government, she said should adhere to interna-
tional standards of human rights in their giving of aid and
in their diplomatic efforts. Theyve threatened to cut 20
percent in foreign aid, she said, although such aid con-
As the groups stitutes less than one percent of the total federal budget.
Ms. Messinger is hopeful that people will come to hear
inaugural global her speak. The point is there are new challenges with this
ambassador, Ms. administration, she said. We have to think strategically
and identify issues that individuals and congregations can
Messinger will continue work on. She also said that while AJWS traditionally has
to engage rabbis and made Passover readings available on its website, AJWS.org,
this year the organization has compiled a Haggadah, Next
interfaith leaders Year in a Just World, downloadable from the site.
to speak out on While much of her work concerns the international
arena, Ms. Messinger who is married to Andrew Lach-
behalf of oppressed man and has three children, eight grandchildren, and two
and persecuted great-grandchildren is also active in her own Manhattan
shul, the Society for the Advancement of Judaism.
communities
worldwide. Who: Ruth Messinger
What: Will deliver a talk, Whats Jewish about Global
stressed, there are always other activities. Pick your Social Justice?
issue. Whether someones concern is the lack of respect
When: On April 29 at 9 a.m.
for womens bodies or mistreatment of the LGBT commu-
nity, synagogue members can track these issues and share Where: At Temple Emanu-El, 180 Piermont Road,
Closter
their concerns with others.
Ms. Messinger said she is particularly proud of grow- For more information: Call 201-750-9997 or go to
ing an extraordinary organization with an amazing staff, www.templeemanu-el.com
 The group
is with an
Englewood
Police
motorcycle
officer, one of
the few female
motorcycle
officers on the
force.
Courtesy JFNNJ

Dr. David Pelcovitz, Rabbi Yaakov Neuberger, and Peggy Danishefsky

 Courtesy Project Sarah

Project Sarah breakfast

Project Sarahs eleventh annual break-
fast will be on Sunday, April 30, at 9:30
a.m., at Congregation Keter Torah in
Teaneck. (Sarah stands for Stop Abu-
sive Relationships at Home.) It will
benefit Jewish Family Service and Chil-
drens Center of Clifton-Passaic.
Dr. David Pelcovitz, who holds the
Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus chair in
psychology and education at Yeshiva
Universitys Azrieli Gradate School of
Jewish Education, is the guest of honor.
Rabbi Yaakov Neuberger, who is the
senior rabbi of Congregation Beth Abra-
ham in Bergenfield and rosh yeshiva at
YUs Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological
Seminary, will receive the rabbinical
support award.
Peggy Danishefsky, the founder of
the Mothers Day gift baskets program,
is honored with the volunteer recogni-
tion award.
The shul is at 600 Roemer Ave. For
information, go to www.projectsarah.
org, email m.wellikoff@jfsclifton.org,
or call (973) 777-7638.

The group also visited religious school students at Temple Emanuel of the
Pascack Valley in Woodcliff Lake. Here they are with third graders at a
model seder. Courtesy TEPV

JFNNJ brings Nahariya teens to the area

Last week a group of Israeli high
schoolers from Nahariya visited their
American counterparts. They trav-
eled to area schools and interacted
with hundreds of students. Highlights
included a visit with the Israeli delega-
tion at the United Nations, packing and
sorting food at the Center for Food
Action, and touring the Englewood
Police Station for an understanding
of how first responders perform their
duties similarly to the way Israeli
first responders perform theirs.
This young leadership delegation is
sponsored and organized by the Jewish
Federation of Northern New Jersey. It
consists of 13 Israeli high school students
from three schools in Nahariya, JFNNJs
Israeli sister city. The students were here
for seven days, visiting schools, doing
community service projects and meet-
ing their American peers.

Norpac invites Rep. Gottheimer

Judy and Bob Cook, Arthur Sinensky and Debbie Oremland, and Edmondo and Miyako
Schwartz will welcome Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-Dist. 5) to a Norpac meeting
on Thursday, April 20, from 7:30 to 9 p.m., in Englewood. For more information or to
make reservations call (201) 788-5133 or email Avi@NORPAC.net.

Temple Emeth
donates to Mazon
Every year since 1999, some of the pro-
ceeds from the mishloach manot program
at Temple Emeth in Teaneck have been
donated to Mazon: A Jewish Response to
Barbara Balkin

Hunger. This year, with Mazons This Is

Hunger truck in the shuls parking lot,
Rabbi Steven Sirbu, right, presented a
donation to Rabbi Joel Pitkowsky of Con-
gregation Beth Sholom, also in Teaneck.
Rabbi Pitkowsky sits on Mazons board. Temple Emeth congregant Judy Fox helps coor-
dinate the program.

Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 13

Cover Story
Finding home
The little-known story of India
as a refuge for Ashkenazic Jews
MEYLEKH VISWANATH
M
Introduction
any people know the
story of how large
numbers of Jews flee-
ing Hitlers henchmen
found refuge in Shang-
hai or in Bukhara.
Few, however, know
that India, too, provided refuge for many
Jews during the Second World War. Dr.
Margit Franz of the University of Graz, who
recently presented her work at a confer-
ence in New Delhi on the art, culture and
heritage of the Jews of India, called Sherei
Hodu, is working to bring India into the
field of exile studies. India, she says, has
not been recognized as a host country for
exiles, although it has provided refuge for
refugees over many centuries.
Those refugees include the Jews who
came to India at various times in its history
(the Cochini Jews and the Bnei Israel) and
the Parsees. The Jews probably came as
early as 2,000 years ago (though the dat-
ing is unclear), while the Parsees fled Iran
and Islam about 1,000 years ago.
But Dr. Franz is not talking about
those groups. Her specialty is the
14 Jewish standard aPriL 14, 2017
German-speaking refugees who escaped
to India.
Professor Anil Bhatti and Professor
Johannes Voigt published their pathbreak-
ing study, Jewish Exile in India 1933-1945,
in 1999. Then, conventional wisdom was
that there had been only about 1,000 Jew-
ish World War II refugees in India. How-
ever, building upon the work of Professor
Bhatti and Professor Shalva Weil, Dr. Franz
has concluded that there were at least
about 5,000 Jewish refugees who made
their home in India during the war years.
It is not easy to count all those who came
to India, Dr. Franz says. For one thing, not
all Jewish refugees identified themselves
in that way; for another, India was not a
single country in those days. Not only
was there British India, there were many
princely states as well. But through pains-
taking research, however, Dr. Franz has
tracked many of those Jews who came to
India to find asylum.
How the refugees got to India
Most of the people who sought refuge in
India had exceptional skills, Dr. Franz says.
India had a large population of unskilled
people so there was no room for more
unskilled hands. People who had special
skills were more likely to obtain visas. Of
course, it was the British authorities who
decided who would get visas and who
would not.
There also were Indian groups who
did not want to allow Jewish refugees
into India. Dr. Shimon Lev, who did com-
parative research on Indian and Zionist
national movements at Hebrew University
(and who also spoke at the New Delhi con-
ference) points to Subhash Chandra Bose,
an Indian freedom fighter who was presi-
dent of the Indian National Congress from
1897 to 1945. In 1938, Bose blocked the
passage of a resolution sponsored by Jawa-
harlal Nehru, who later became Indias
first prime minister, to welcome Jewish
refugees who could contribute to Indias
progress. That stipulation that immi-
grants had to contribute to Indias progress
most likely was a concession to get the
resolution passed; at other times Nehru
fought hard to obtain visas for Jewish refu-
gees on humanitarian grounds. All of this,
further, happened before the extent of the
Holocaust had become known.
Once the war had started, though, it was
the British who made the decisions. Indi-
ans views did not matter much to them.
Rulers of princely states nominally were
able to make their own decisions, but in
fact, the British had to approve them. The
British controlled the princely states for-
eign policy, so no Indian princely state
controlled any port. As a result, at the very
least, a British transit visa was required for
entry into India.
German Jewish refugees in India were
interned together with German Nazis, Dr.
Franz learned. There were many Germans
in Bombay and Calcutta, so Jews were put
in the intolerable situation of sharing close
quarters with their erstwhile tormentors.
With the beginning of the war, in September
1939, all Germans were considered enemy
aliens, she said. In October, the British set
up a committee to distinguish between true
refugees and Nazi spies. Most of the refu-
gees were released by the end of 1939, but
there was a second wave of internment in
May and June 1940, when Hitlers attacks in
Europe were particularly successful.
Women refugees, Dr. Franz noted, were
in a very peculiar position in India. In
other countries, such as in Britain, they
got jobs as housekeepers, tailors, and
Four Eastern European sisters and their families in India.
teachers. There were few such jobs avail-
able for women in India, although there
were some teaching jobs. Mostly, though,
welfare. Another woman set up a factory
Christian Poles. From Teheran, they went
women who worked had special skills,
and even those jobs were limited mainly
to Bombay and Calcutta. One woman,
Lotte Eisenstaedt, worked for the Maha-
raja of Bikaner as a specialist on childrens
to manufacture bras. It employed many
people.
None of this was easy. When the war
started, the British shut down all German
businesses, including large companies like
Siemens, AGFA, Kores, Scholl, and IG Far-
ben, which mainly employed Nazis. But
after 1940, the British allowed legitimate
refugees to restart their businesses.
Kindertransports to India
India also figured in two different Kinder-
transports. The Teheran Children was a
group of about 1,000 Polish Jewish chil-
dren, mainly orphans, who fled first to the
Soviet Union and then were permitted to
travel to Teheran, along with some 116,000
by land to the Persian Gulf and thence to
Karachi, Pakistan (which then was India)
and on to the Egyptian city of Suez. The
children then crossed the Sinai Desert by
train and arrived at the Atlit refugee camp
Jewish standard aPriL 14, 2017 15
Cover Story

Art collector Rudolph von Leyden, above center and at far right, with Indian and non-Indian friends.

in northern Palestine in February 1943. Many of them were in the arts. Elise
The second group of children, which Braun worked on promoting the Montes-
again consisted mainly of Polish Chris- sori approach in music and Liesl Stary
tians, actually spent a fair amount of time was a Viennese piano virtuoso. Walter
in India. This group of about 1,000 chil- Kaufmann was a composer, conduc-
dren travelled overland in two convoys tor, musicologist, and educator. Born
from the Soviet Union through
Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan,
and thence to India proper.
B o t h t h e s e g ro u p s we re
expelled from the Soviet Union,
Among the Jews
and if it had not been for the were some mainly
Kindertransports, may have
been shipped to Siberia, as were
Austrians who
other Polish refugees to the Soviet were famous in their
Union, both Jews and non-Jews.
These Polish children were wel-
own fields, or
comed in two different camps developed new areas
around October 1942. One was
set up by the Maharaja Jam Saheb
of expertise in India.
of Nawanagar at Balichadi, about
500 miles northwest of Bombay. The in Karlsbad, Bohemia, he wrote books
other, established by the Maharaja of Kol- on the ragas of North India and of South Hilde Holger Boman-Behram, an Ashkenazi Jew, established a dance school in
hapur, was at Valivade, about 240 miles India. Hilde Boman-Behram, ne Holger, Bombay.
southeast of Bombay. Dr. Anuradha Bhat- established the School of Art for Modern
tacharjee told these childrens stories in Movement in Fort, Bombay, and was an out in 1933, first went to England and then Others were experts in the medical field.
The Second Homeland: Polish Refugees expressionist dancer, choreographer, and to India, where the maharaja of Baroda Richard Weingarten was the chief medical
in India, published in 2012. dance teacher. Rudolf von Leyden was a appointed him the director of the Baroda officer of the princely state of Bikaner. Drs.
Twelve of the Balachadi contingent were progressive art promoter, collector, and Museum and Picture Gallery. He also was Fritz Donath, Josef Tauber, Max Scheck,
Jewish children. The Jewish Agency ulti- critic, and a member of the prestigious the maharajas personal art consultant and Alfred Hollositz worked with him. Dr.
mately brought them to Haifa; they arrived Lalit Kala Academy. He also organized from 1934 to1939. Georg Politzer, an Austrian Jew and a radi-
on April 24, 1943. Rabbi Elias Shor chaper- exhibitions and published papers about Several of the Jewish refugees were ologist, helped Maharaja Bhupinder Singh
oned them from Mumbai to Israel. ganjifa, a variety of Indian playing cards architects. Viktor Lurje was a consult- of Patiala start an x-ray institute in his state.
A June 27, 2012 JTA article reports a that has 96 cards in eight suits of 12 cards ing architect of the maharaja of Jodhpur. Another interesting story is that of
fascinating interview with Zygmunt Man- each. Sometimes the cards are made of Hans Glas, a Viennese architect, went to Alfred Schafranek and Alfred Wachsler,
del, one of these 12 children. The Jewish precious materials, such as ivory, mother- Calcutta in 1938 and was befriended by the who both were expert in woodworking
Agency lists the names of the 11 other chil- of-pearl, or tortoise shell, sometimes they dancer Hilde Holger. Otto Konigsberger, a and in making plywood. They got visas
dren: Edmund Erlich, Paula Gilert, Avra- are encrusted with jewels, and sometimes nephew of the famous physicist Max Born, with help from Kundan Lal Gupta of Lud-
ham Magnushever, Fima Kaufman, Cyla they are painted exquisitely. was appointed chief architect and plan- hiana, a city in Punjab.
Rozengarten and the siblings Ilona and Kitty Shiva Rao, ne Verstndig, and ner to Mysore state in 1939. He designed The story began when Kundah Lal went
Janusz Goldlost, Roza and Rachel Hoch, Dr. Ernst Cohn-Wiener also were involved Bangalores town hall and Bhubaneswars to Vienna for medical treatment and met
and Eliza and Maria Spalter. with the arts. She, along with noted Indian town plan, and he did some town plan- Schafranek, who had a sawmill in Geder-
cultural activist Pupul Jayakar, launched a ning for Jamshedpur, the brainchild of the sdorf, Austria. By that time, though, the
Who were the refugee Jews? national program for handicrafts and han- industrialist J.R.D. Tata. After Indian inde- Nazis already had taken over Austria and
Among the Jews were some mainly Aus- dloom development in 1952 and was vice pendence he became director of housing begun what they called the Aryanization
trians who were famous in their own president of the All India Handicrafts for the Indian Ministry of Health from 1948 of Jewish property. Soon, they imprisoned
fields, or developed new areas of exper- Board. Ernst Cohn-Wiener, who taught art to 1951, working on resettling people dis- Alfred and his son, Bruno.
tise in India. history in Berlin until the Nazis forced him placed by partition. Kundal Lal moved quickly and was able

16 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017

 Cover Story

to procure visas not only for the Schaf-
ranek family but also for their friends, the
Wachslers. If not for his help, they certainly
would have perished in the Holocaust.
Schafranek, Wachsler, and their fami-
lies joined Gupta in Ludhiana, and they
helped him in his woodworking business.
With Schafraneks help, Gupta imported
parts of a sawmill from Gedersdorf Lud-
hiana, Punjab.
The final story is about Alfred Rosenfeld,
who is commemorated with a memorial
stone in the Chinchpokli Jewish cemetery
in Mumbai. He had emigrated to India from
Germany before the war and was already
a British citizen when war broke out. He
worked tirelessly to help new Jewish refu-
gees. His son, Peter Roland, remembers
that his father would ask Jewish refugees
to be very circumspect and would recom-
mend that they not speak any German. It
would be better to speak only English, he
would tell them, because many of the Eng-
lish people in India were not too happy at
the arrival of Jewish refugees.
An article by a Walter Bergwerk in the
May 2011 Journal of the Association of Jew-
ish Refugees, which can be found online,
recounts a seder for Jewish refugees in
Bombay. Bergwerk is a Viennese Jew; he
This plaque honors Alfred Rosenfeld.
and his parents got to Bombay on August
24, 1939, nine days before war broke out.
He wrote: (t)here were several hundred
German and Austrian Jews in India, many
of whom had come some time earlier to
fill senior medical, commercial or tech-
nical posts. Some of the established resi-
dents were quite prosperous and tried to
help the more hard-pressed recent arrivals
by forming the Jewish Relief Association.
Clearly all of these Jews must have stayed.
Bergwerks father organized the seder,
but he notes that Rosenfeld must have
been the moving spirit behind it. The local
Baghdadi community seemed to have
helped out a lot; the seder was held in a
Baghdadi school and the bill for all of it,
including the wine, was paid by Sir Victor
Sassoon, a prominent Baghdadi Jew.
I asked Dr. Franz how she came to study
German-speaking refugees in India. She
started laughing, and explained that even
though she had trained as a historian, she
had done her Ph.D. on the consequences
of the commercialization of the neem tree,
which is native to India and is used as an
ayurvedic herb, as well as consumed as a
food. This took her to the United States
and the Netherlands. Eventually she went
to India, planning to study the biodiversity
movement.
Once she was there, the Austrian ambas-
sador showed her a sheaf of documents
about German-speaking Jewish refugees in
India and asked her to look into them. This
was the beginning of her interest.
She has written a book called Gateway
India: German-Speaking Exile to India
between British Colonial Rule, Maharajas
and Gandhi. The book is in German but it
is being translated into English.
Dr. Franz feels there is still a lot of work
to be done. Up to this point, she has sim-
ply followed the trail of individual Jewish
refugees and tried to discover the circum-
stances of their stay in India. She thinks
that what needs to be done next is to ana-
lyze the data, to see if there are any pat-
terns, and to better understand the circum-
stances of the arrival of Jewish refugees in
India, as well as their experiences there.
She also noted that although many of
the refugees left India after the war, many
others stayed. On the one hand, the British
were not keen to have them stay. On the
other, their home countries Austria and
Germany did not want them back.
Many of the Jews who stayed married
Indians. Their descendants are totally
Indian today, and many of them would like
to learn more about their roots. Some get
in touch with Dr. Franz for help she men-
tioned a woman in Baroda and a man who
now lives in Canada but whose refugee
mother stayed on in India. Dr. Franz also
noted that Austria just now has elected a
liberal president, Alexander van der Bel-
len, a member of the Green Party, and that

FIRST ANNUAL
Are You or a Loved One
Challenged with a Health Crisis?
A Chronic Condition?
Cant Find the Right Services?
Find the Connection You Need!
SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 2017 FREE
ADMISSION!
12-5 PM | Hilton Hotel, 650 Terrace Avenue, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
Over 130 Health Care,
Support Service, and Social
THE BERGEN COUNTY CARE FAIR Service Exhibitors
All Day Workshops
is the Largest Fair of its Kind Ever to Take Place
Transportation to and
in Bergen County. The Fair is for Seniors, Children, from the Fair
Families, Veterans, those with Disabilities,
all Income Levels, Everyone!

BERGEN COUNTY CARE FAIR Learn more at www.bergencarefair.org or call 201.336.7240

or email info@bergencarefair.org
The Health Care Providers. The Social Service Resources. All in One Place.

Thank You to Our Leadership and Partnership Sponsors to Date:

Bergen County Executive James J. Tedesco III and the Board of Chosen Freeholders

Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 17

 Cover Story

Austrians are more open to come to terms

with their troubling history.
But more than anything, Dr. Franz wants
people to know about the role of India as a
haven for refugees.

The story of Dilsher Virk

I met Dilsher Virk at the Shirei Hodu con-
ference. With his light-colored eyes and
imposing build, he cut a fine figure. Dr.
Franz already had pointed him out to me
as the descendant of one of the Jewish ref-
ugees, so I knew who he was. Still, when
he told me his name, I was a bit taken
aback. Dilsher is a typically Punjabi name
and effectively means Lion-Hearted. A
handsome, lion-hearted Jew with such a
classic name!
Dilsher didnt think his story would be
interesting to American Jews since he was
not a practicing member of the faith, but I Dilsher Virk Mady Martyn, center, at home in a sari.
assured him to the contrary. I got to talking
with him and found out some details of his was 5, and her mother had to fend for She was barely 17; after she turned 17, she go back to Austria. At that time, there was
background. His mother, Hermine Speck herself and for her young daughter. She got grudging permission to marry him. In no immediate risk from the Nazis in their
(later known as Mady Martyn after her moved to the small mountain village of 1935, they moved to Dehradun in north small village
second marriage, which followed Dilsh- Hofgastein, south of Salzburg, where she India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. But in 1938, Hermines brother, Robert,
ers fathers death) was born in Vienna in ran a kurhaus a spa house. Dilshers Hermines mother, Helene, went to India was arrested and sent to Dachau and then
1918. Her mother, Helene Reiner Speck, father, Sardar Bahadur Uttam Singh, came with her daughter they took a steam- to Buchenwald, where he died in 1943, the
was Jewish; her father, Robert Speck, was to visit Hofgastein, and Mady fell in love ship through the Suez Canal thinking year Dilsher was born. By then, there was
Catholic. Hermines father died when she with this dashing Punjabi Indian engineer. that if things didnt work out, they would no question of Helene returning to Austria.

mother's day
sunday

K
A
PL
may 14

EN
JC
C
on
th
eP
ali
sa
de
s

Supporting individuals with special needs early bird

discount
register online at jccotp.org/rubinrun* until 4.14
come for the run, stay for the We thank our 2017 lead sponsors for race details & to make your donation online:
fun kids activities + lite bites jccotp.org/rubinrun
Register to run, form a team &
THE KAPLEN FOUNDATION
For sponsorship information please contact:
fundraise! For more information,
email rubinrun@jccotp.org.
THE RUBIN FAMILY Michal Kleiman at 201.408.1412 or
mkleiman@jccotp.org.
*Please arrive early. Giveaways while supplies last.

KAPLEN JCC on the Palisades TAUB CAMPUS | 411 E CLINTON AVE, TENAFLY, NJ 07670 | 201.569.7900 | jccotp.org

7 18 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017

 Cover Story

Although Hermine was halachically
Jewish, she was brought up in her fathers
Catholic faith and never thought of herself
as Jewish. She did not practice any Jewish
customs. She was not, however, a strict
Catholic, and in later life she had no aver-
sion to going to a Hindu temple or a Sikh
gurdwara. She spoke German and French
no Yiddish but Dilsher remembers that
the language at home was English. She
did help Dilsher with his school German.
He later on went to Vienna to work as an
apprentice in diesel engine manufacture,
where he learned spoken German.
Helene Speck, Dilshers maternal grand-
mother, split her time between her daugh-
ters home in India and the Reiner fam-
ily in the United States. She died when
Dilsher was 14. Dilsher went to school in
Ajmer and Jaipur, then went to Dehradun
to study at the Doon School, and then at
Imperial College in London. He is now a
software engineer in Canada, where he
lives with his wife and children. Theyre
mostly agnostic.
The Story of
Priya Paul Singh
The story of Priya Paul Singh starts at
the beginning of the twentieth century,
when her grandmother, who came from a
French Sephardic family, the Myers, had to
flee anti-Semitism. The locals accused her
family of practicing witchcraft. Somehow,
Priyas grandmother got separated from
her family and had to hide in the sewers.
Somehow, she found herself on a boat to
Plymouth in England, and eventually she
made her way by ship to Bombay, which
she expected would be a safe haven.
On board that ship, she met an Anglo-
Indian, Edward Martin, who operated a
coal mine in Jharia, now in Jharkand State
in North India. She married him, and
thus became Mrs. Martin. In time, in 1916,
Sheila Therese, Priyas mother, was born
to the Martins in Bengal. Sheila studied at
Lady Hardinge Medical College in Delhi
and also served in the Indian Armys medi-
cal corps before she met and married Bal-
want Singh Paul, a Sikh lawyer who had
studied at Lincolns Inn in London.
Dr. Sheila Singh Paul went on to become
a Fellow of the Royal College of Physi-
cians in the U.K. and was a pioneer in
pediatrics in India; in fact, she was the
first women pediatrician there. She was
founder and director of a large childrens
hospital in New Delhi and also taught at
Lady Hardinge Medical College. While she
experienced no discrimination in India,
she did have a harrowing experience dur-
ing her travels in Europe.
She went to Edinburgh in 1943 to
study medicine. While she was there, she
decided that she would go to France to
look for her parents family. She did find
them, but she and they were caught
and sent to a concentration camp. Fortu-
nately for her, her British Indian passport
saved her but the rest of her family died.
She never went back to Europe after that.
Instead, she stayed and worked in India as
an Indian, wearing a sari. She was proud
to be an Indian.
Although Sheila grew up in an envi-
ronment without any Jews, she consid-
ered herself fully Jewish and brought her
daughter, Priya, up to be Jewish as well,
teaching her to say Psalm 23 The Lord
is my shepherd, I shall not want. She also
kept Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement
in her own fashion, and tithed from her
income as an expression of her Jewish
faith. In fact, she gave her daughter Priya
a Jewish name, Ruth, which she uses to
this day, along with her more Indian name.
Priya studied communication in Delhi
before she went on to make a name for
herself in Indian television. In 2003 she
wrote, directed, and produced a feature
film, The Perfect Husband, which was
shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Next,
she embarked on a corporate career
and then, in 2008, she had a life-changing
experience.
Priya and her son went to the Taj Coffee
shop for their regular weekly outing. This
was the day that the Taj was attacked by
Pakistani terrorists, who simultaneously
stormed the citys Chabad House and killed
more than 150 people in several attacks.
Priya and her son remained hidden under
a table in the dark for hours, until they
were rescued. Since then, she has been
involved in various human rights causes
and other endeavors to counter terrorism.
As far as her Jewishness is concerned,
Priya is part of the local Bnei Israel Jew-
ish community. She goes regularly to the
synagogue and commemorates all the Jew-
ish festivals as well as the Sabbath. She has
raised her son, Daivik, in the Jewish faith
as well, and has given him a Jewish name,
David, in addition to his Indian name.
Though living in India, she and her son live
a Jewish life, reading from the Psalms daily
and keeping away from prohibited foods.
As she says, culturally we are Indian with
Israel in our heart.

Great Rate and a Bonus on Each 1-Year Anniversary --

with Your Choice of Passbook or Statement Savings!

BONUS Savings Account BONUS**

0.75 $2,500 minimum to earn stated rate

% PLUS
APY*
0.25
On each 1-year anniversary of account opening
%
Visit us today!
U N DAY 75 Route 59, Monsey Town Square
NS
OPE ROM (Evergreen Kosher Market Center)
F
M - 1PM Anita Levine, VP, Branch Manager 845-425-0189
9A

Established 1863 Member FDIC

www.applebank.com
*For the Apple Bank BONUS Savings account, interest earned on daily balances of $2,500 or more at these tiers: $2,500-$24,999: .75% Annual Percentage Yield (APY), $25,000 and up: .75% APY. There is no interest
paid on balances of $0-$2,499. APYs disclosed effective as of March 7, 2017. APYs may be changed at any time at the Banks discretion. There is a minimum of $2,500 required to open the Apple Bank BONUS
Savings account. $2,500 minimum daily balance is required to avoid $10 monthly maintenance fee. Fees may reduce earnings. Funds used to open this account cannot be from an existing Apple Bank account.
Maximum deposit amount is $3,000,000 per household. **Special bonus feature: A .25% simple interest rate bonus will be paid on each anniversary date of account opening on the lowest balance for that year
(anniversary date to anniversary date). No bonus is paid if the account balance is less than $2,500 on the anniversary date. Additional deposits during a given anniversary period do not affect the bonus interest
payment. Deposits made to the account on any anniversary date will be used to calculate the lowest account balance for the next anniversary period. The bonus interest is calculated on the lowest balance on
deposit from one anniversary date to the next anniversary date. Simple interest rate bonus is subject to change at any time after first anniversary date of account opening. Hypothetical example of how bonus
works: Assume an account is opened on January 12, 2017 for $50,000. A $10,000 withdrawal is made on July 12, 2017. No other withdrawals are made prior to the January 12, 2018 anniversary date. The low bal-
ance is now $40,000, so $100 in bonus interest will be paid on January 12, 2018.

apple bk - JEWISH STANDARD - PASSBOOK-STATEMENT-BONUS - EFF DATE 3-7-2017.indd 1 Jewish Standard APRIL 14,3:27:08
2/27/2017 2017 PM19
Jewish World

Its Jew vs. Jew as a conservative pols

popularity rises in Rio
Marcus Moraes

RIO DE JANEIRO A few days after they read from the Pass-
over Haggadah about how God split the Red Sea waters, Bra-
zilian Jews have never felt so split between right and left.
At the center of the divide, although hardly in the Moses
role, is Jair Bolsonaro, a 61-year-old conservative lawmaker
who appears to be as pro-Israel as he is anti-gay and pro-law
and order.
Bolsonaro, a member of the Social Christian Party, is
appealing to socially conservative voters, even as he alienates
the center and left with harsh anti-LGBT rhetoric.
Although not yet among the top candidates for president in

2018, his popularity is surging across the country, but mainly in
Rio de Janeiro state, which he represents as a member of what
some consider Brazils most conservative Congress in 40 years.
Like evangelical and deeply conservative politicians in the
United States, Bolsonaro is divisive among Jewish voters, who
tend to be socially liberal but want their representatives to be
strongly pro-Israel.
My heart is green, yellow, blue, and white, Bolsonaro said
to an audience of 400 at the Hebraica club in Rio on April 3, in a
reference to the Brazilian and Israeli flags. He won big applause
as he hailed the Jewish state for its power and social welfare
system, saying it should inspire Latin Americas largest nation.
Meanwhile, outside the club, nearly 150 mostly Jewish
Hebraica
Jewish protesters stand outside an event featuring Jair Bolsonaro at the Hebraica club in Rio on April 3.
activists including many teens and 20-somethings partnerships and quotas at universities.
wearing the blue uniform of the Hashomer Hatszair Jew- It is extreme levity to preach the use of yellow stars
ish youth movement protested Bolsonaros appear- in a political event, Israels honorary consul, Osias Wur-
ance. The crowd yelled shameless Jews and fascist man, said. It is the most stupid and fratricidal way to
Jews in unison at the club gate. Rios most establish- trivialize the Holocaust.
ment Jewish institution, Hebraica was founded in 1957 We do not need enemies. We have them within our
by Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe. community. What a downfall! These sick-minded people
It is deplorable that a Jewish youth movement such have to be isolated from the healthy Zionist youth. They
as Shomer, funded by Israel, offends other Jews with invade the memory of our 6 million innocents.
cursing and slurs, Hebraica Rio president Luiz Mairov- The president of the Brazilian Israelite Confederation,
ich said. Its unacceptable. I have never seen that in the countrys umbrella Jewish organization, took a more
my life: a Jew cursing another Jew. It was a case of anti- neutral tone to the talk and the protests.

S aam m yyss Semitism among Jews. We will listen to everyone. Those The talk generated, as expected, division and confu-
S m m same people who booed today will clap tomorrow. sion in the Jewish community, Fernando Lottenberg said.
Some protesters wore yellow Stars of David with We support the political debate and believe it is always
words like women and gay. During a TV debate in necessary even more at this moment of dramatic develop-
2003, Bolsonaro told a far-left congresswoman, Maria ments in national politics. However, we defend that it has
North Jerseys Premier Italian do Rosario, I would never rape you because you dont criteria and be always guided by balance and pluralism.
North Jerseys
Steak, Seafood Premier
& Pasta Italian
Eatery
Steak, Seafood & Pasta Eatery deserve it. Critics have also accused Bolsonaro of Our community has a great diversity of thought.
Join Us every tuesday only
and
Join thursday
MondayUs
lobster
and
Steak
lobster
every
and
special,
thursday
Night
for the
tuesday
Wednesday
for
special
special,
any
thestyle $22.95
any style also
$19.95
only
ONLY
$19.95
homophobia and racism for his opposition to same-sex The imbroglio with Bolsonaro started when he was
disinvited last month from a speaking event at the
Hebraica club in Sao Paulo after some 3,800 leftist activ-
And dont
Tuesday andforget
Thursdayevery
Monday
And
Our
are
Call
are
and
dont forget
famous
Delmonico
Monday for and
Wednesday
seafood every
Steak
Wednesday
details
special
Nights
ONLY
$22.95 $19.95
also
$19.95
3493212-01
napoli
3493212-01
ists signed an online petition.
Days later, the Rio club invited Bolsonaro; more
ComeDelmonico
Come byMon.
by SteakSat.,
Mon.through
through Nights
Sat., only
ONLY 5/17/13
napoli than 33,000 online supporters had backed a petition
4:00-6:00pm
4:00-6:00pm
Come by for our
forthrough
Mon. awesome
our awesomeSat.,$21.95
early
early bird,
bird,
4:00-6:00pm
with drink
with drink
early
complete
complete
bird, complete meal
meal
for our awesome only
meal $19.95
$19.95
subite
5/17/13
canali/singer
subite
canali/singer
welcoming him. Though the two clubs are both called
Hebraica, they operate independently.
These protests have a historic importance, Michel
with drinkfor it for the last 20 years and
You asked carrol/BB
now Gherman, a historian and academic at the Hebrew Uni-
You its
askedhere!
forChef
it forSams Basil20Vinaigrette
the last years and carrol/BB
This ad is copyrighted by North
versity in Jerusalem and Rio de Janeiro Federal Univer-
nowHouse Dressing
ChefisSams
nowBasil
bottled to go. Jersey Media Group and may not
its here! Vinaigrette be reproduced in any form, or
This ad is in
replicated copyrighted by North
a similar version, sity, said. This level of secession and dispute is unprec-
House Dressing
Bring this
Bring thisAd inis now bottled to go.
Ad Jersey Media
without Group
approval
be reproduced
Jersey
fromand may not
North
in any form, or
Media Group.
edented since the 1950s.
inBring
to receive
to receive
this Adain a
replicated in a similar version,
without approval from North
Still, he added, I dont think it exceeded the limit of
Free
Free Bottle
Bottlea
Jersey Media Group.

tomin.
receive
$40
violence. It became aggressive at moments, but thats
min.Free
$40Bottle
purchase
purchase part of the game.
Last year, Gherman supported Marcelo Freixo, a
min. $40 purchase
Expires
Expires 4/28/17
6/30/13 human rights activist with the left-wing Socialism and
Freedom party, or PSOL, in his unsuccessful bid for Rio
Expires 6/30/13
NJMG NJMG

116 Main Street, Fort Lee Jair Bolsonaro is a deeply divisive figure among mayor. PSOL is known for its harsh anti-Israel platform
116 201.947.2500 and rhetoric. Some PSOL members accused Shimon
3493212-01

Main Street, Fort Lee Brazilian Jews. Udo Kurt

www.inapoli.com
201.947.2500
3493212-01

www.inapoli.com
WE OFFER REPAIRS 1245 Teaneck Rd.
AND ALTERATIONS
We want your business and we go the extra
Teaneck
TALLESIM CLEANED SPECIAL SHABBOS RUSH SERVICE mile to make you a regular customer 837-8700
20 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017
 Jewish World

Peres, Israels former president and prime minister, of
genocide days after he died. In 2009, other militants
burned the Israeli flag in a street protest.
It is fundamental that the large society is aware that
the Jewish community is pluralistic, Gherman said. But
polarization is not healthy. We lack leadership to bring up
a true debate. Today, its a tragedy.
For Gherman, who has served as Hillel Rio coordinator
and more recently as Jewish culture coordinator of Eliezer
Max, a community Jewish day school, the fact that Jew-
ish youths who grew up in leftist youth movements have
been fighting for their place in the Jewish community is
something new.
Guilherme Cohen, one of the new young leaders, used
milder terms than the protesters to evaluate the demonstra-
tion. Criticized for being affiliated with PSOL, he said the
messages conveyed during the Monday protest went too far.
In such a protest, excesses naturally happen, he said.
I dont consider fascist everyone who listened to Bolso-
naro. Calling everyone shameless Jews was a mistake,
Hebraica
Jewish magazine still in operation, Menorah, interviewed
Bolsonaro last month on his TV show.
In a democratic regime, protesting is the right action
to the one who disagrees, said Gomlevsky, a former presi-
dent of the Rio Jewish federation. But if I had been there
and someone had called me a Jew without shame, all hell
would break loose. I do not accept this coming from a non-
Jew, and definitely not from a Jew.
Shomer and [Habonim] Dror youth movements are
linked to dying parties of the Israeli left, whose envoys
receive high salaries to brainwash the children whose par-
ents still value this type of proposal.
Hashomer Hatzair has roots in Israels socialist Zionist
movement; it works closely with Habonim Dror, its former
rival. Members meet regularly to talk politics, socialize,
plan social action, and promote their visions for Israel.
Victor Grinbaum, founder of the influential 5,000-mem-
ber ArtiSion online debate group, agrees that their leftist
politics are out of step with the pro-Israel mainstream.
The leftist movements are anachronistic remnants of
youth movements abroad must refrain from local politics.
On the other hand, she said, youth movement mem-
bers are citizens of their native country and are naturally
entitled to have their own opinions on domestic and for-
eign policy issues. The choice is in their hands.
As Gherman said, more and more young Jews have been
taking an interest in politics. For instance, they have been
taking a growing number of seats at the biennial elections
for the Rio Jewish federations board of advisers. Five
young leftists were among the 36 board members in 2014.
Two years later, following an overhaul that reduced the
size of the board to 18, they held eight seats.
Jewish young people also were among those on hand at
the Rio Hebraica to hear Bolsonaro, whom they refer to by
the nickname Bolsomito, from the word myth or legend.
With more than 4 million Facebook followers, Bolsonaro
was the top vote-getter among 46 congressman elected
from the area in 2014, and he won his sixth consecutive
term in 24 years. His three sons, also politicians, have been
photographed wearing T-shirts with messages in Hebrew.

but that was not bottom line, it was a protest against the
invitation.
It was positive to show that the Jewish community does
not embrace a fascist, there is resistance mainly among
the youth, added Cohen, who was assaulted by a Jewish
official for carrying a Palestinian flag during a pro-Israel
street demonstration years ago.
Ronaldo Gomlevsky, editor-in-chief of Brazils oldest
an era that has been outdated for decades, he said. They
had their importance in the early days of Israel and the
Jewish community organization in Brazil, but today they
are a mixture of summer camp with scouting, sprinkled
with an ideological brainwashing that is similar to that
practiced by the Hitler Youth.
Revital Poleg, the Jewish Agencys representative in
Brazil, said that Israeli envoys who sometimes work with
At their Passover seders, Brazilian Jews said Next year
in Jerusalem. For many thats a reality mainly for young
singles, and for families who worry about limited job and
career prospects under Brazils faltering economy. A
record number of nearly 1,000 Jews are expected to make
aliyah in 2017 following last years 700 emigrants and
another 500 in 2015. Before that, the annual average had
tended to be under 200. JTA Wire Service

T his Spring at Brightview.

CONGREGATION BETH SHOLOM
THE RABBI BARRY SCHAEFFER SPRING SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE Bright Life!
Rabbi Shai Held
President, Dean and Chair of Jewish Thought of Mechon Hadar
Created With Love, for Love: Judaisms Vision of Human Life
SHABBAT APRIL 28-29
Friday, April 28
6:45 pm - Kabbalat Shabbat followed by Dinner and Lecture:
Turning Suffering Into Love: Creating an Alternative to Egypt
Dinner $18/CBS members $20/non-members
Saturday, April 29
9:00am - Shabbat Services with Dvar Torah
1:15pm - Lecture: What Does the Good Life Look Like? Compassion and the Heart of Independent Living: Its the carefree
Jewish Spirituality retirement youve dreamed of! At Brightview,
Lecture followed by Dessert Reception Dessert $5/CBS members $8/non-members
Let Your all you have to do is what you want to do.

Life
For details and to register, go to www.cbsteaneck.org Deadline Sunday, April 23

Dr. Daniel Kurtzer Bright Assisted Living: Highly trained

associates provide the care you need.
Professor, Middle East Policy Studies; Princeton University
Former US Ambassador to Israel and to Egypt
Six Days in June, Fifty Years Later: The 1967 War and its Legacy
Shine Wellspring Village:
at Bergen Countys Premier Compassionate professionals
MAY 7 7:00PM
deliver our highly specialized
Lecture followed by Dessert Reception $5/CBS members $8/non-members Senior Living Community dementia care program in
a secure, state-of-the-art
Shimon Attie neighborhood.
Internationally renowned visual artist
Sites Unseen: Igniting and Challenging Memory
MAY 15 7:30 PM
This program is generously supported by the Call Cindy or Mary to
Alfred and Rose Buchman Endowment for the Visual Arts schedule your personal visit.
201.479.9437
396 Forest Avenue Paramus, NJ 07652
www.BrightviewParamus.com

Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 21

Jewish World
The USS Porter fires a Tomahawk missile at a Syrian military airfield in the Mediterranean Sea on April 7. 
Why Israelis are happy about Trumps
missile strike and why they should be wary
Ron Kampeas
WASHINGTON Israels government
and pundits are unabashedly pleased by
the missile strike ordered by President
Donald Trump early Friday on the Syr-
ian airfield from where Tuesdays deadly
chemical attack is believed to have
been launched.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put
out a statement out at 6 a.m. local time
unusually early just to make clear he
fully supports the strike.
In both word and action, President
Trump sent a strong and clear message
today that the use and spread of chemical
weapons will not be tolerated, he said.
Trump ordered the launch of 59 Toma-
hawk missiles on the airfield in northern
Syria believed to be where a sarin attack
killed at least 72 civilians, including many
children. The missile attack, Syria said
in reports that could not be confirmed,
killed nine civilians including four chil-
dren and six troops, and caused exten-
sive damage.
Here are some reasons why Israelis are
backing the strike and some reasons why
it might not be so simple.
The moral imperative
Images of children gassed a few hundred
miles north of Israel hits close to home for
a country where the helplessness that Jews
22 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017
faced against the Nazi genocide remains a
defining national characteristic.
There was a genuinely strongly felt
moral issue, and that was something that
Israelis felt across the political spectrum
when the pictures emerged of people
killed in the chemical attack, given the
Jewish peoples history of being gassed in
the Holocaust, said Daniel Shapiro, who
until January was the U.S. ambassador to
Israel and still lives there.
Israelis in just days have raised hun-
dreds of thousands of shekels for the vic-
tims; fundraisers have explicitly invoked
Holocaust imagery.
No Jew can stay silent as children are
being gassed in the streets of Syria, Israel-
Gives says on its web page.
The sheriff is back in town.
Israelis were frustrated by the Obama
administrations hesitancy in confront-
ing Assad.
In 2013, President Barack Obama said
the use of chemical weapons would trig-
ger an attack. But when Syria crossed
the line, instead of launching an attack,
Obama coordinated a deal with Russia
under which Syria would divest itself of
its chemical weaponry. It now appears
clear to the United States and its allies
that Syrias divestment was more fraud
than fact.
While campaigning for the presidency,
Trump appeared to want an even further
retreat. Until last week, his sole concep-
tualization of Syrian President Bashar
Assad was as an ally in combating Islamic
State terrorists. That was an embrace that
Obama, however feckless his chemical
weapons retreat was, forcefully rejected.
Trump officials said last week that they
were ready to reverse stated Obama
administration policy that any resolu-
tion to the Syria conflict must include the
removal of Assad.
That concerned Israelis most promi-
nently Defense Minister Avigdor Liber-
man who were concerned that a resur-
gent Assad would allow Israels deadliest
enemies, Iran and its Lebanese proxy,
Hezbollah, a foothold on Israels border
with Syria.
Over the three days after the sarin
attacks Trump did a 180 on Assad My
attitude toward Syria and Assad has
changed very much, the president said
the day after the chemical attack and so,
commensurately, have Israelis warmed
to Trump.
American leadership is once again
credible, Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, until last
year the director of policy at the Israeli
Defense Ministry, told Israel Radio. When
you use nerve gas against a civilian popula-
tion, the message is clear.
In his praise for Trump, Netanyahu said
the message should resonate as far as Iran
Ford Williams/U.S. Navy via Getty Images
and North Korea. The prime minister and
his government continue to see the 2015
nuclear deal that Obama negotiated with
Iran, trading sanctions relief for a rollback
of Irans nuclear program, as a license
for Iran and its proxies to continue its
regional interventionism.
Israel hopes that this message of
resolve in the face of the Assad regimes
horrific actions will resonate not only in
Damascus but in Tehran, Pyongyang and
elsewhere, Netanyahu said.
Andrew Tabler, a fellow at the Wash-
ington Institute for Near East Policy who
spent years in Syria, said in a media call
that the chief concern for Israel and
Americas Sunni Arab allies was what was
baked into the nuclear deal: That Iran
could use rump governments in Iraq and
Syria to shoot people into the region into
submission while the principal U.S. con-
cern was sustaining the Iran deal.
Whats not predictable
1. Do Israeli jets still get to take out poten-
tial threats without triggering a Rus-
sian response?
An ally of the Assad regime, Russia
was furious at the missile attack and sus-
pended its deconfliction agreement with
the United States one under which the
two nations give each other prior notice
of any military action, particularly from
See missile page 24
upcoming at Kaplen JCC on the Palisades
Community Supported Agricultral
healthy eating for less than $25 a weeK
Join us and meet our farmer, Ken, to launch the 2017
season with a discussion about organic farming and
backyard composting.
Wed, Apr 26, 7 pm, Free and Open to the Community
Buy a share in a local farm and receive 8-10 varieties of
fresh organic produce for 22 weeks. Full and shares
available, as well as shares of fruit, free-range eggs,
maple syrup and more. Registration Deadline: May 25
Season: Jun 6-Oct 31
Visit us online for details or email Marilyn
at myeshua@jccotp.org.

Bronx Art Deco Bus Tour

with award-winning guide and author
anthony robbins
Bronx roots or not, youll enjoy a full day of Art Deco
architecture. Besides the many wonders on the Grand
Concourse, well see the Park Plaza apartments, Noonan
Plaza & more. Lunch on your own on Arthur Avenue.
Contact Kathy at 201.408.1454; No refunds.
Mon, Apr 24, 9:30 am-4 pm, $65/$80

Yom Hashoah
To observe Holocaust Remembrance Day, join us
for a moving ceremony organized by the Israeli
Scouts, followed by a screening of Steal A Pencil For
Me, a compelling documentary about the power
of love and the ability of humankind to rise above
unimaginable suffering.
Sun, Apr 23, 6:30 pm Ceremony;
7:30 pm Film Screening,
Free and Open to the Community

FILM kIds aduLts

Top Films You May Have Missed thurnauer chamber music series presents
Yiddish Concert
the matchmaKer (israel, 2010) An Interactive Childrens Concert free concert & luncheon featuring the

An award-winning coming of age film. A teenage For ages 4+ Klezmer connection

boy in Haifa is hired to do background checks
for a matchmaker who is an enigmatic Holocaust
survivor. As he learns the mysteries of the human
heart, both of their lives are changed forever. Film
followed by an optional discussion with LA film
director/producer Tommy Garber.
Mon, Apr 24, 7:30 pm, $7/$10, Coffee and light
snacks
Upcoming: May 15Sideways (USA, 2004)
Have fun through music, acting and storytelling with
violin, double bass, piano and two improvisational
actors. YOU, the audience, will create a story to
accompany the Duo for Double Bass and Violin by
Giovanni Bottesini! With Sharon Roffman, violin;
Nathan Farrington, double bass; and Anna Polonsky,
piano, and actors, Diane Davis and Rami Vamos.
Sun, Apr 30, 1 pm, $10 member/$12 public
Each year, the JCC hosts two annual concerts featuring
the best in Yiddish entertainment through the generosity
of Mickey Taub, who established the Esther & Julius Adler
Semi-Annual Yiddish Concert Series Endowment
in memory of her parents.
Call Helene 201.408.1451 to reserve tickets.
Wed, May 10, 11:30 am, Free
to register or for more info,
visit jccotp.org
stay in the Know! liKe us on
facebook.com/KaplenJCCOTP

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades taub campus | 411 e clinton ave, tenafly, nJ 07670 | 201.569.7900 | jccotp.org
Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 23
 Sandi M. Malkin, LL C Jewish World
Interior Designer Missile
(former interior designer of model from page 24
rooms for NYs #1 Dept. Store) the air, so theres no risk of an inadver-
tent clash.
Russia has a similar arrangement with
For a totally new look using Israel. Does that go by the wayside? As
your furniture or starting anew. recently as last month, Israel sent jets
into Syria to stop the smuggling of Syr-
Staging also available ian arms to Hezbollah.
Gilad, speaking on Israel Radio, said
973-535-9192 he was confident that Russia would con-
tinue to allow Israel to act.
I dont think theres any threat
on Israeli action as long as it is in the
defense of Israels interests, he said.
2. Is Israel more of a target than before?
Israels most potent threat is Hezbol-
lah, which has positioned tens of thou-
sands of missiles throughout Lebanon
since the last Hezbollah-Israel war in
2006. Israeli brass believes Hezbollah
could be positioning itself for another
Israel war, if only as a pretext to draw
attention away from Syria, where its alli-
ance with Iran and the Assad regime has
taken hits.
Hezbollah called the missile strike an
idiotic action that was in service
to Israel and predicted that it would
increase tension.
3. Russias mad? But wait, we
like Russia.
Netanyahu has gone to great lengths
to cultivate Russia, in part because Israel
sees Russia as the likeliest agent to bro-
74thANNIVERSARY
74th ANNIVERSARY ker a final status deal that would keep
74thGHETTO
WARSAW ANNIVERSARY
UPRISING Iran and Hezbollah as far as possible
WARSAW GHETTO
WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING
UPRISING
74th ANNIVERSARY from Syrias southwest, where Israels
WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING border is.
He endured a tongue lashing from
Russian President Vladimir Putin just
for intimating that Syria is responsible
for the chemical attack. (Russia insists
there is no proof yet.)
The closeness of Trump and his team
to Russia in Washington, increasingly
seen as a burden, as it engenders a string
of scandals is seen as a plus in Israel,
where it was hoped Trump would lever-
age his friendship with Putin as a means
of containing Assad, Hezbollah and Iran.
Israel still sees Trump as a deal-
maker with Russia, and they want to
know if Trump drives a wedge between
YIZKOR Remembrance
YIZKOR Remembrance Service Service Russia and Iran-Hezbollah-Syria, David
Makovsky, the Ziegler distinguished fel-
forforthethe 6,000,000JEWISH
6,000,000 JEWISHMARTYRS MARTYRS low at the Washington Institute, said in
YIZKOR
YIZKOR
Sunday,
Sunday, April Remembrance
April Remembrance
23,23,20172017/ /27 27Nisan
Nisan Service
Service
5777
5777
an interview.
Fattah al-Sisi, lavished praise on Trump
just this week was less than enthusias-
tic about the strike.
Egypt affirms the importance of
sparing Syria and the Middle East the
dangers of crisis escalation in order to
preserve the safety of the nations that
comprise it, its Foreign Ministry said
Friday, according to Al-Ahram. We
see the necessity for swift action to end
the armed conflict in Syria to preserve
the lives of the Syrian people through
a commitment by all Syrian parties for
an immediate cease-fire and a return
to negotiations under the aegis of the
United Nations.
Egyptian unhappiness could hamper
Netanyahus bid to use Egypt as a con-
duit to new peace deals with other mod-
erate Arab states.
Sisi sees Assad rightly or wrongly
as part of the battle against Islamic
extremism, said Shapiro, who is now a
senior visiting fellow at the Institute for
National Security Studies in Israel.
Theres also the more traditional
Egyptian value of not wanting to see
any foreign intervention in an Arab
state lest it be directed at Egypt, he
said. And Egypt has in recent months
gone a bit closer to the Russians, and
Russians have participated in coun-
ter ISIS operations in western Egypt.
That creates some potential tensions
between Egypt and its strategic part-
ner Israel and Sisi and his new friend
Donald Trump.
5. Its open-ended which means,
duh, we dont know how it will end.
Tabler cautioned against seeing long-
term consequences because of a single
strike; no one knows yet where Trump
will take U.S. involvement.
This strike is not the same as the inva-
sion of Iraq in 2003, he said.
Israel initially was supportive of the
U.S. action in Iraq, but soon grew appre-
hensive as the Bush administration
neglected increasing threats from Iran
and its war radicalized Sunni Arabs in
the region.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sug-
gested that the strike was a one-off.
I would not in any way attempt to
extrapolate that to a change in our pol-
icy or our posture relative to our military
activities in Syria today, he said.
That did not assuage concerns among

forforthe
the 6,000,000 JEWISH MARTYRS 4. That Sunni alliance thing Democrats and even some Republicans
6,000,000
Jewish
Jewish
Community
Community JEWISH Center of
Center
East 304 Midland Avenue, of MARTYRS
Paramus, New
Paramus
Paramus
Jersey
its complicated in Congress, who called for consultations
Sunday,
Jewish
Sunday, April
Community
April
East 23,Avenue,
23,
304 Midland
Photo Exhibit 2017
Center
2017
3:30 //27
Paramus,
pm ~ Program27 Nisan
Newof
Nisan
4:00 pm 5777
JerseyParamus/
5777
The conventional wisdom in Wash- with Congress before any further action.
ington after the attack is that Trump has Our prior interventions in this region
Congregation
Jewish Community Beth of
Center Tikvah
Photo Exhibit 3:30 pm ~ Program 4:00 pm
Paramus
Keynote
Jewish Speaker: Dr.
Community Mordecai
East 304 Midland Avenue,Center
Paramus, Newof
Paldiel
Paramus revivified the U.S. profile in Israel among have done nothing to make us safer,
Keynote Speaker:
Topic: Jews Dr. Mordecai
Rescuing Jews
East 304 Midland Avenue, Paramus, New Jersey
Paldiel
Jersey
the United States Sunni Arab allies. and Syria will be no different, said Sen.
Photo Exhibit 3:30 pm ~ Program 4:00 pm
Topic: Jews Rescuing Jews Except as much as Assad is despised Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Photo Exhibit 3:30 pm ~ Program 4:00 pm
For information call Dr. Wallace Greene 201-873-3263
among Sunni Arabs, both for his belong- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said on
KeynoteFor Speaker: Dr. Greene
information call Dr. Wallace Mordecai
201-873-3263 Paldiel
Sponsored by the HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL COMMITTEE
ing to the secretive Alawite sect and his Twitter: Im deeply concerned the
Keynote Topic:
Speaker:
Jews Dr. Mordecai
Jews Paldiel
of the JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNTIL of
Rescuing JEWISH
Sponsored by FEDERATION OF NORTHERN
the HOLOCAUST MEMORIALNEW JERSEY
COMMITTEE
of the JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNTIL of alliance with Shiite actors like Iran and strike in Syria could lead the U.S. back
Topic: Jews
For information Rescuing
call Dr. Wallace Jews
JEWISH FEDERATION OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY
Greene 201-873-3263 Hezbollah, direct U.S. intervention is not into the quagmire of long-term military
Sponsored by the HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL COMMITTEE
For information call Dr. Wallace Greene 201-873-3263
Sponsored by COUNTIL of necessarily popular. engagement in the Middle East.
of the JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS
JEWISH
JEWISH
Sponsored
FEDERATION
FEDERATION OFOF NORTHERN
NORTHERN
by the HOLOCAUST
NEW JERSEYS
NEW JERSEY
MEMORIAL COMMITTEE
Critically, Egypt whose leader, Abdel  JTA Wire Service
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL COMMITTEE of the
of the JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS
JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE COUNTIL of
JEWISH FEDERATION OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

24 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017


Israelis respond to Syrian
chemical attack with donations
Andrew Tobin
TEL AVIV In response to the alleged
chemical attack in Syria last week, Israe-
lis have donated hundreds of thousands
of shekels to help children and others
caught in the conflict raging on their
northern border.
As Israel maintains a policy of nonin-
terference, giving money has been a way
for people here to respond to the brutal
six-year civil war. Donations have spiked
since the release of a video seemingly
capturing the gruesome aftermath of the
attack, which killed at least 82 people,
including many children.
Just Beyond Our Border, a volunteer
fundraising group that popped up in
December to send supplies to Syrian chil-
dren, has raised more than 115,000 shek-
els ($32,000) and counting in the past
few days. Overall, the group has received
almost 1.5 million shekels ($411,000)
from about 8,000 donors since Decem-
ber. It initially hoped to bring in just
600,000 shekels ($164,000).
The response has been amazing,
Yoav Bakshi-Yeivim, one of about a
dozen founders of the group and a Jeru-
salem City Council member, said. Our
campaign is just a drop in the sea, but its
made people feel they can do something
and not just watch. I think if countries
around the world had campaigns like
this, we would make a big difference.
Bakshi-Yeivim, whose grandmother
survived the Holocaust, said the group
chose its latest fundraising target in
honor of the 1.5 million children killed
by the Nazis.
Meanwhile, IsraelGives, an online
donation organization, in a few days
has exceeded its initial goal of raising
200,000 shekels ($55,000) thanks to
more than 900 donors. The group has
pledged to send medical aid to Syrians
through Israel Flying Aid, which is also
Just Beyond Our Borders partner.
No Jew can stay silent as children
are being gassed in the streets of Syria,
its fundraising page reads. We can-
not sit back any longer and watch the
Jewish World
Hassan Dallal, a
survivor of the
chemical attack
in Syria, receives
medical treatment
at a hospital in Idlib
on April 5.
Mohammed Karkas/
Anadolu Agency/
Getty Images
horrors play out. We need to act, and
here is a way.
Arik Marmorstein, the co-founder of
Mimoona, the popular crowd-funding
platform on which Just Beyond Our Bor-
ders launched its campaign, said the
effort would soon be the countrys most
successful ever.
You dont see campaigns like this,
Marmorstein said. People want to RESERVE BY APRIL 25!
donate. Its obviously related to the Holo-
caust, with Yom Hashoah coming up.
Yom Hashoah, which remembers the
Holocaust will fall on April 23 this year.
And geographically its happening so
close to us, he added.
g
Since it happened, Israeli media has
d
been full of talk about attack on the rebel-
held village of Khan Sheikhoun, which
has provoked worldwide outrage and
Bonding Through Books
calls for action. And the video showing
people, including children, gasping for
breath and foaming at the mouth has A celebration of
been widely circulated on social media,
e n Re a d s
eliciting horrified comments.
The United States, Israel, and other
countries have blamed Syrian Presi-
Be r g
o
dent Bashar Assad for the attack. He
has denied responsibility. The U.S.
responded to the attack Thursday night
with a missile attack on a Syrian airfield.
Israeli leaders welcomed the move, but
the country has seen little upside to inter-
vening itself, even as nearly half a million
m
Thursday, April 20, 2017 g |7:00 pm
gm
people have been killed and 12 million
displaced by the war. An outright vic- Nellie K. Parker Elementary School
tory by either Assad or the myriad rebel 261 Maple Hill Drive, Hackensack
groups fighting his regime likely would
threaten the Jewish state. Nor has Israel Dessert reception RSVP at jfnnj.org/books
g
accepted Syrian refugees, though it has
treated thousands of the wars wounded.
In an interview published last week, Honoring the hundreds of volunteer Reading Buddies who have
g
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman mentored thousands of students and enriched our community.
m
condemned the murderous chemical Come see success and how we all achieved it.
weapons attacks on citizens. But he said
the world, not Israel, must be expected g
to respond.
Why do we need to take the chest-
nuts out of the fire? he said This is
the responsibly of the international
community.
See donations page 39
o Jewish Federation
OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY
Questions? Email DavidS@jfnnj.org or call 201-820-3944
Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 25
Editorial
The
Truth Regardless of Consequences

Trump removes the stain

halfway point
S A
o now were well into Pesach.
The seders are over, the last dishes washed,
the last pots scrubbed, the last matzah
crumbs from the marathon dredged up. (And
thats a good thing; theyre nasty to sit or step on.) Now
the task of moving all that stuff back to where it stays
during the year stares dully at us.
And now its spring. The flowering trees are budded,
all pale pinks and purples, and the other ones are all
baby green fuzz. Flowers are shooting up with wild
abandon. Its getting hotter out.
Maybe by the time you read this, April the Pregnant
Giraffe will have had that calf. (For those of you who
have not become addicted, Aprils a giraffe at the Ani-
mal Adventure Park in upstate New York, near Bing-
hampton, whose pregnancy has been streamed live
since February. Giraffes, it turns out, have very long
pregnancies 15 or 16 months and Aprils been on
the verge of having her baby, on camera, for a very long
time. Those of us unfortunates who are addicted spend
a long time staring at our screens as the long-necked,
full-bellied giraffe sashays across it, still pregnant.)
So now what?
Now, as we count the omer, and move toward Sha-
vuot, we think about the extraordinary year that we
have lived through. We hope that the unlikely alli-
ances, which often have blossomed into friendships,
remain; that the lawn signs reminding us not to hate
take root. There is much to fear as we move forward,
but we hope much to gain as well, if we just listen to
each other.
Were struck by the story about the Bergen Reads
program, which sees older, mainly retired Jews come
to read with public schoolchildren in Teaneck and
Hackensack. Real relationships develop; it could be
noblesse oblige but its not. Its genuine affection. Even
love. Thats what happens when two people two
people very different in age, background, history, and
social standing, and with very different amounts of
time ahead and behind them really pay attention to
each other.
It goes with the story about people with autism. Peo-
ple with autism can off-put or even frighten those of us
who have developed more typical. (Not that anybody
isnt odd if you look closely. Were all weird, and each
one of us is sui generis. Weird in our own very special
way.) But look more closely, go past your fear, and you
see another human being.
Maybe thats part of what we learn from Pesach. Look
past the matzah crumbs. Dont make assumptions.
Talk. Look. Listen. Learn. Thats where freedom is. JP
of American inaction in Syria
merica needs unity. And if we cant unite
around the United States finally taking action
after Arab children are gassed, then nothing
will bring us together.
For those who waited four long years to see the
United States reclaim its moral mantle as leader of the
free world and protector of human rights, news that
President Donald Trump struck at the Syrian tyrant
Assad is electrifying. I am well aware that many in
America object to Trump. But is there a higher calling
for a president than to stop mass murder, and should
we not salute bold leadership when it sends a message
that genocide will not be tolerated?
Just think for a moment how the Jews of the concen-
tration camps of Europe would have felt had they seen
American bombers punishing the Nazi soldiers for oper-
ating gas chambers at Auschwitz. Sadly, those bombers silence? And who among us has not felt shamed and
never came and till today historians debate how a moral
man like Franklin Roosevelt could have stayed his hand
against Hitlers machinery of death.
Who among us has
seen the images of
dead Arab children
in Syria over the last
few days and not felt
shaken to our core
at the grotesque
injustice?
I am well aware that the crime of the Holocaust is
unique and brooks no comparison. But poison gas is
poison gas. And America had a moral and righteous
responsibility to strike at the air force that dropped
that poison gas. To see the Syrian air base smoldering
in ruins is to believe that perhaps there is a small sem-
blance of justice in the world after all.
And how prescient that Trumps attack on Syria
came on 7 April, the day of the commemoration of the
Rwandan genocide, where nearly one million people
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is the author of 30 books, including his most recent, The Israel Warrior. Follow him on
Twitter @RabbiShmuley.
were hacked to death in three
months in 1994, while the U.N.
largely withdrew its peace-
keeping forces and the world
didnt lift a finger to save
them.
Who among us has seen the
images of dead Arab children
in Syria over the last few days
and not felt shaken to our Rabbi
core at the grotesque injus- Shmuley
tice? Who among us has seen Boteach
the frothing at the mouth of
innocent men and women,
attacked by Assad with Sarin
gas, and wondered how the world can stand by in
humiliated by our own impotence?
For all those who are objecting to Trumps missile
attack, I ask you, Have you lost your moral compass?
Its 2017 and people are still being murdered by poison
gas with the world watching in silence.
And now, finally, the United States rises to the occa-
sion and shows that human life has value. Those who
devalue it will suffer enormous consequences. Kill
babies and you will be killed. Murder men, women,
and children and we will hunt you down to the ends
of the earth. So you better think twice before you fire
gas canisters.
As a man who worships God I am well aware that I am
not God. We are not all-powerful. We are not omnipo-
tent. We cannot punish every unrighteous iniquity. We
cannot strike at every bloody fiend. But we can punish
the worst offenders so that others take heed. And the
use of poison gas against civilians has proven to be man-
kinds foremost abomination. If gassing children is not
evil then the word has no meaning.
This past November Donald Trump won the elec-
tion. But it wasnt until his attack against Assad that he
became the leader of the free world.
As an American and as a member of a people who
were gassed to death for three years at a rate of 10,000
per day, I offer my gratitude to the president for having
elevated the value of life in Syria, where more than half
a million have already been murdered while the world
stood by in silence.
President Obama betrayed himself and hi s

Jewish
Standard
1086 Teaneck Road
Teaneck, NJ 07666
(201) 837-8818
Fax 201-833-4959
Publisher
James L. Janoff
Associate Publisher Emerita
Marcia Garfinkle
thejewishstandard.com
Editor
Joanne Palmer
Correspondents
Warren Boroson
Advertising Coordinator
Jane Carr
Production Manager
Jerry Szubin
Founder
Morris J. Janoff (19111987)
Associate Editor
Larry Yudelson
Lois Goldrich
Abigail K. Leichman Account Executives
Graphic Artists
Deborah Herman
Editor Emeritus
Meyer Pesin (19011989)
Miriam Rinn Peggy Elias Bob O'Brien
Community Editor Dr. Miryam Z. Wahrman Brenda Sutcliffe City Editor
Beth Janoff Chananie Mort Cornin (19151984)
Advertising Director International Media Placement
About Our Children Editor Natalie D. Jay Editorial Consultant
P.O. Box 7195 Jerusalem 91077
Heidi Mae Bratt Max Milians (1908-2005)
Classified Director Tel: 02-6252933, 02-6247919
Janice Rosen Fax: 02-6249240 Secretary
Israeli Representative Ceil Wolf (1914-2008)
Editor Emerita
Rebecca Kaplan Boroson

26 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017


administration debased American values
by allowing genocide in Syria with abso-
lutely no response. Worse was his ambas-
sador to the United Nations, Samantha
Power, who had earned a global reputa-
tion for calling out previous American
government officials as bystanders to
genocide only to become one herself.
The nadir of the Obama administra-
tion was December, 2016, when Aleppo
was pulverized by bombs and President
Obama, with nothing to lose politically,
still did nothing to stop the carnage. At
the U.N. he orchestrated a condemna-
tion of Israeli settlements at the Security
Council while Arab children faced death
d from the skies.
The world will never forget his passivity
in the face of such horrors.
? The real sin of government officials like
Susan Rice is not allegations of unmasking
that currently pervade the news but rather
- her allowing 1,400 Arab civilians to die of
a chemical gas attack by Assad on August
l 20, 2013, and then, as national security
, adviser, to take no action. America is the
light of liberty and the beacon of democ-
racy. Those words ring hollow when Amer-
ica witnesses mass murder in silence.
President Trump has helped restore
- America to its human-rights luster and
Arab life to the claim of infinite value that
is the birthright of every child of God.
Trump is often accused of racism and
- is said to be especially hostile to Mus-
t lims. But the world will never forget that
when Arab children were gassed to death
- one president decided that he would not
spend weeks debating with Congress
whether America must protect them. He
stunned the world with his bold and deci-
sive action.
And in so doing he reminded us all of
f the biblical injunction demanding human
action in the face of murder. First in Gen-
esis when God says to Cain, The blood of
thy brother cries out from the earth, and
later in Leviticus in the most famous anti-
genocide commandment of all: Thou shalt
not stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor.
The opinions expressed in this section
are those of the authors,
not necessarily those of the newspapers
editors, publishers, or other staffers.
We welcome letters to the editor.
Send them to
jstandardletters@gmail.com.
Opinion
Slavery and freedom
A
pril is a giddy time for those who love Passover, poetry,
and Shakespeare: the month ushers in the holiday,
National Poetry Month, and the Bards birthday.
As I scrape a years worth of detritus off of my
kitchen shelves and layer aluminum foil over my stovetop, my
mind wanders to Shakespeares sonnet on slavery. Sonnet 57 is
a favorite, because its one of the best odes to the passive-aggres-
sive in all of us. Shakespeare tells the young man to whom he
addresses the sonnet that he doesnt mind at all waiting for his
friend to spend time with him, and of course he doesnt sit and
watch the clock until the young man reappears. And theres no
question that Shakespeare isnt jealous of whomever his friend is
spending his time with. Take a look:
Being your slave, what should I do but tend
Upon the hours and times of your desire?
I have no precious time at all to spend,
Nor services to do, till you require.
Nor dare I chide the world-without-end hour
Whilst I, my sovereign, watch the clock for you,
Nor think the bitterness of absence sour
When you have bid your servant once adieu;
Nor dare I question with my jealous thought
Where you may be, or your affairs suppose,
But, like a sad slave, stay and think of nought
Save, where you are how happy you make those.
So true a fool is love that in your will,
Though you do any thing, he thinks no ill.
Helen Vendler, one of the foremost poetry critics today, notes
that the poem relies on this passive-aggressive stance, repeating the
words no and nor, to reveal that what the poet is doing is all the soon as he has made his first choice, then the opportunities facing
things he says he isnt. He is watching the clock, the hours without
the young man do seem to drag on forever, and he is obsessing
over who the young man is with when not with the writer. In short,
the Bard is in fact a sad slave to the young man, and the rhym-
ing couplet at the end of the poem explains it all: Love is a fool, it
makes slaves of us, so that no matter what a beloved may do, the
lover remains constant. Because hes Shakespeare, he also poeti-
cally, whimsically, but somewhat sadly too, plays on his name at the
This is the illustration of the enslaved people shacked together in a coffle singing Hail Columbia in 1839.
end: his Will[iam] will remain true
no matter what the young man does.
What makes this poem appealing
is that at first it appears light, almost
careless, but then it becomes more sin-
ister, as we realize that Shakespeare is
enslaved by his feelings; ironically, he
is without Will. Vendler points out
that the slyness of the sonnet rests in
the fact that though Shakespeare is Tikvah
bound to and employs the terms of Wiener
slavery, he also breaks those terms by
expressing himself in a passive-aggres-
sive way. The negative language introduces what he really feels,
and it gets us and presumably the young man to envision how
Shakespeare is spending his time as he waits for him. Whats beguil-
ing about Shakespeare, particularly in his sonnets, is his awareness
of the psychological states, many of them quite negative, danger-
ous, and destructive, in which he places himself. Self-awareness is
crucial to ending an enslavement to harmful behaviors.
As I wash out cabinets and clean out my pantry, finding and dis-
carding matzah meal from last years Passover, I think about Morah
Nachama Leibowitzs analysis of Pharaohs behavior in the Exodus
story. Commentaries have puzzled for centuries over the idea that
God would harden Pharaohs heart. One of the tenets of Judaism is
that humankind has free will, so why does it seem as if God removes
that free will from the Egyptian ruler? Morah Leibowitz cites Mai-
monides explanation that Pharaoh habituated himself into evil.
She writes:
At the beginning . . . man is free to choose any path of action he
desires. He is afforded equal opportunity to do good or evil. But as
him are no longer so evenly balanced. The more he persists in the
first path of his choosing, shall we say, the evil path, the harder will
it become for him to revert to the good path. . . . In other words, it
is not the Almighty who has hampered his freedom . . . . He has, by
his own choice and persistence in evil, placed obstacles in the way
leading back to reformation.
My colleague Dr. Shira Weiss, who introduced this explanation to
See Freedom page 31
Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 27
Opinion

Lets keep anti-Semitism out of the World Baseball Classic

I
have been a diehard fan of both base-
ball and the New York Yankees ever
since my father started telling me tales
of the greatness of Don Mattingly and
Bobby Meacham in the early 1980s.
I admit, as much as I love my father, as I
look back I still have no idea what he saw
in Bobby Meacham. Nevertheless I was
hooked.
While my beloved Yankees always have
provided me with a saturated dose of New
York pride, it wasnt until Israels Cinderella
run in the World Baseball Classic that our Jew-
ish baseball pride had an outlet.
Frankly, given that Israel was not even
expected to qualify for this international tour-
nament (it never had qualified before), given
that it had been ranked #41 in the world,
and given that even after the team somehow
barely survived the qualifying round it was
listed at 200 to 1 odds of winning, its chances
at the World Baseball Classic, played from
March 6 to March 22 this year, did not much
supersede spring training in garnering our
attention.
What is incredibly disturbing, however,
is that just as the world of Jewish baseball
fans like me began recognizing that as we
were watching Team Israels defeats of the
Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, and Cuba Didi Gregorius until he was
we were watching history, anti-Israel rhetoric injured and had to leave
once again managed to force its way into the the team, is predominantly
picture. made up of players from the
As I continued to sneak glances at my former Dutch colonies in the
phone, looking for updated reports of games Caribbean.
played in different time zones throughout I am aware of the rules that
our east coast late at night, the press cover- govern player eligibility for
age began to be increasingly critical of Team the World Baseball Classic. I
Israel. The New York Times provided one of am aware of how every team Michael
the opening salvos, declaring, For all the around the globe is formed Cohen
teams surprising success, critics contend that by taking its own countrys
Team Israel is essentially a bunch of Ameri- unique advantage of the rules
can ringers. That was followed by articles provided. I am, however, also aware that
such as that produced by Newsy, which made what Team Israel has done in building its
sure to lead with: Team Israel took advan- roster is no different from what any other
tage of an unusual WBC rule. To play for a team in this global competition did, and it
team, you only have to be eligible to be a citi- is in no way in violation of the prescribed
zen of that country; you dont actually have to tournament methodology as currently
be a citizen. And since anyone whos Jewish constructed.
can be granted Israeli citizenship, any Jewish What I do not understand is why most
ballplayer can play for team Israel no mat- press reports about Israels legitimately
ter where they live. shocking success in this years competi-
As a Yankee fan, I am very well aware tion feel the obligation to remind read-
of the fact that our star reliever, Dellin ers repeatedly about what they called
Betances, played for the Dominican team the real makeup of Team Israel. Granted,
although he was born and raised in Wash- in most articles that I have seen there is
ington Heights. I know that Team Neth- the documented caveat that Israel is play-
erlands, which starred Yankee shortstop ing entirely by the rules. Still, some of the
coverage, led by the New
York Times, seems to insinu-
ate that Team Israels success
was based on a loophole,
rather than on timely hitting
and quality pitching.
I grant you that the discus-
sion every three years before
the World Baseball Classic is
littered with players of many
heritages or national rela-
tionships struggling to figure
out which of their respective
families of origin to make proud. I grant
you that this incredibly liberal set of quali-
fication regulations may be far from opti-
mal. But if the competition that Israel faces
is set by the same standards that ensure a
level playing field for all, why the double
standard about the Jewish state?
I am incredibly proud of Team Israel.
I hope that this beloved game of mine,
which has struggled to gain a foothold in
the consciousness of the Israeli general
public, now will have another chance to
succeed in the Holy Land. I do believe that
as the World Baseball Classic eligibility
rules allow, any Jew should have the right
to play under the banner of the Jewish

Wanting to be free
Spartacus: All men lose when they die and all
men die. But a slave and a free man lose differ-
ent things.
Tigranes Levantus: They both lose life.
Spartacus: When a free man dies, he loses the
pleasure of life. A slave loses his pain. Death is
the only freedom a slave knows. Thats why hes
not afraid of it. Thats why well win.
Spartacus (1960)
Not only Trumbo but many other artists as
well now would be free to work and live their
lives as they wished.
It is interesting that both Preminger and
Douglas were Jews. Could the paramount
importance of freedom imparted in the Exo-
dus have had some part in their willingness to
risk their own careers?
How many people are blessed to be free,
demanded that Iran release just for speaking out about
him. Levinson disappeared the Castros repressive gov-
in March 2007, after travel- ernment. Recently, he was
ing to Kish Island in Iran. He detained for more than 24
is believed to be in Iranian hours. According to 14yme-
hands, but the countrys lead- dio, Cubas first independent
ers deny knowledge of his very digital media outlet, Fer-
existence. That is an inter- rer said, I spent more than
esting assertion, because we six hours in an office with a

V
iewers who have seen Sparta-
cus, the movie produced by
and starring Kirk Douglas, know
that the slaves fought hard but
ultimately lost the battle against the Roman
Republic. Thousands of slaves were crucified
along the road, according to the movie. The
battles and carnage were not manufactured
in Hollywood but instead based on the real
Spartacus, who led an unsuccessful slave
rebellion in the Third Servile War (73-71 BCE).
The premiere of Spartacus led to
renewed freedom for its writer, the
immensely talented Dalton Trumbo, who
had worked under a pseudonym since being
blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Trumbo
finally would see his own name listed in a
films opening credits again. Kirk Douglas was
told that his career would be over if he used
a blacklisted writer openly. He did it anyway.
That same year, Otto Preminger also would
credit Trumbo for the film Exodus. The
blacklist was broken.
to live as they want, and to be able to speak
out as they wish? Sounds pretty simple, right?
Unfortunately, we live in a time in which so
many are not free, whether because they are
ruled by a tyrannical government or because
they are held captive.
Thus, on this holiday I am especially grate-
ful for being born an American Jew, as both
of these identities are steeped in the love of
freedom and the primal need for liberty.
However, I am ever cognizant of the fact that
freedom usually involves conflict because too
many people want to oppress others. Perhaps
Passover is the time for us to look beyond our
own story and begin to take action to help
those that are being silenced through impris-
onment, torture or other forms of repression.
Yes, Syria is a focal point, but painfully,
there are countless other people who also
need our support.
Why dont we begin with an American,
Robert Levinson? In February 2016, the Sen-
ate passed a resolution that recognized him
as the longest-held American hostage and
now know that Iran has tried Martha
to use his possible release for Cohen
concessions from the United
States. Many people believe
that Levinsons release should have been part
of the negotiations over the Iran deal, nego-
tiations that led to other American hostages
being freed but not Bob.
The FBI now has a reward for Levinsons
rescue its set at $5 million and his fam-
ily recently filed suit against Iran under
the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. To
keep updated, add @Help Bob Levinson to
your twitter account and call your repre-
sentatives regularly to ask what they are
doing to bring Bob home. Stand up against
any American money being sent to Iran,
and against U.S. businesses making deals
like the one being reviewed now with Boe-
ing. Bobs life should be worth more than
filling any companys coffers.
And what about Jose Daniel Ferrer,
leader of the peaceful Patriotic Union of
Cuba? Jose spent years in Castros prisons
guard. Then they put me in
a cell where you could have
filmed a horror movie for the
amount of blood on the walls
of someone who had been cut. Ferrer
was just one person who was arrested that
night. In fact, he said that from Novem-
ber 2015 to date, there have been more
than 140 raids of the homes of members
of the organization. The confiscation of
personal belongings ranged from aspirin
to computers and hard drives. Accord-
ing to many dissidents, the repression
has only increased since the softening of
Cubas relations with the United States.
And too many times arrests have been
fatal. This past February, Afro-Cuban
Hamell Santiago Mas Hernandez, a
healthy 45-year-old member of the Patri-
otic Union, died less than a year after he
was sent to one of the most brutal Cuban
prisons. According to the Wall Street Jour-
nals Mary Anastasia OGrady, His real
crime was advocating for a free Cuba

28 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017


Team Israel players line up for the national anthem before to their World Baseball Classic game against
the Netherlands in Tokyo on March 13.
peoples homeland. To those in the world and the media
who continue to single Israel out for unfair criticism, I
say, either check the runs, hits, and errors of all teams
equally, or dont bother keeping score.
Play ball!
while black. There are few more lethal combinations.
The black Cuban is supposed to show gratitude to the
revolution to sustain the myth that he has been elevated
4 by communism. The grim reality is the opposite, but
heaven help those who dare to say so.
t Tragically, there are too many stories to tell about the
violence against Cubans to report here but Google
our own Senator Menendezs speeches on the state of
human rights in the island paradise, especially since
n the warming of relations between our two nations.
e Or listen to Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen talk
e about reversing President Obamas post November
s election termination of the wet foot, dry foot policy
r that enabled Cubans who touched U.S. soil to stay here.
t With oppression only increasing since our upgrade of
relations with Cuba, shouldnt we consider changing
course before too many businesses become part of the
s Raul Castro social suppression machine?
And there are too many others, from Venezuela to
China, who are imprisoned, impoverished, and mur-
dered for the sin of wanting liberty. The famous, erudite
n writer Lillian Hellman, who also was blacklisted during
f the McCarthy era, said, For every man who lives with-
out freedom, the rest of us must face the guilt. I dont
n think we need to be guilty, but we must be aware of both
n the individuals and the nature of the governments they
a live under. Fake news to the contrary, not all govern-
ments are the same, and if we believe in the sanctity of
e each human life and their right to be free, then we must
n demand that news covers these stories regularly. Mak-
ing sure that our government leaders always demand a
l visit with dissidents during official visits to those nations
a that incarcerate political prisoners should be standard
Opinion
Matt Roberts/Getty Images
Michael Cohen of Englewood is the eastern regional director
of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. He represents his citys
second ward on Englewoods City Council, and he belongs to
Congregation Ahavath Torah there.
Kirk Douglas in Spartacus
procedure. Theres more to be done, but this would be
a good start.
Moses was talking about the Jewish people when he
said, Let my people go. In recent years, we and our
fellow Americans, with leaders like Senators Henry
Jackson and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Representa-
tive Charles Vanik, internalized this battle cry when we
fought to open the gates so Russian Jews could leave the
Soviet Union. Wouldnt it be something if we repeated
this by fighting relentlessly for all those who are suffer-
ing, because they just want to be free? Somehow, I think
Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger would agree.
Martha Cohen is an award-winning producer and creative
executive. She lives in Fort Lee with her husband and son.
Letters
Smurfette scandal was manufactured
After reading Female Smurf removed from posters in
Haredi Orthodox neighborhood in Israel by Josefin Dol-
sten on March 28 on the Jewish Standard online, [EDI-
TORS NOTE: It also ran in hard copy on page 3 on March
31] I was quite disturbed by what the article said. This arti-
cle originally was printed in the Haaretz newspaper, a left-
wing leaning media outlet in Israel. Something just didnt
seem right. Why would a company promoting a film put a
poster in a Haredi Orthodox neighborhood when clearly it
is rare that those living in Bene Brak even own a television
or computer let alone go to see movies in a movie theater?
This just seemed absurd.
So I did a little investigating of my own. My niece,
Hadassah Schwarz, who works in the media and research
department of the Israel Press office in Jerusalem, was
given the following information from Benyahu Yom-Tov,
a media consultant for the Drug and Alcohol Authority in
Israel. Through his job as a media consultant, he received
the press releases from Forum Film about the Smurf
movie. Mr. Shem Tov was the person who contacted the
Bene Brak City Hall to find out whether there were any
complaints about the films poster for the Smurf movie.
Basically, as my niece explained the situation, this Smurf
matter was a public relations stunt done by Forum Films
to promote their movie. It appears that the movie sales
from the movie were less than expected in Israel. So they
came up with a brilliant plan. Lets promote the Smurf
movie with posters of the female Smurfette front and cen-
ter and place them in Bene Brak. Their thought was that
the Bene Brak population would be so angry about this
poster that the free publicity they would receive from this
would make others outside of Bene Brak go see the movie.
What Haaretz didnt mention, and was confirmed by the
Bene Brak City Hall, was that there wasnt a single com-
plaint from the population that lives in Bene Brak. To fur-
ther the sham, Forum Film removed the poster with the
Smurfette and instead used its other poster, with just the
three male Smurfs. This caused the media to ride the hate
wave and created the headline as you put online: Female
Smurf removed from posters in Haredi Orthodox neigh-
borhood in Israel.
I thought you would like to get the truth out about this
situation. Its pretty useless to ask Haaretz to retract the
article but I would hope that you would at least publish
my letter to the editor in the hope that others will read this
and learn the truth.
Dr. Elaine T. Yaffe
Englewood
More womens voices, please
Oh, if Letty Cottin Pogrebin were a regular contributor to
the Standard! The feature about her, How To Be A Holy
Troublemaker by Lois Goldrich (April 7), barely scratches
the surface of her remarkable life and career. She pub-
lished a memoir, Deborah, Golda and Me; Being Female
and Jewish in America, in 1991; it remains a genuine inspi-
rational work. Sadly, the Standard lacked enough space
to detail Ms. Pogrebins firsthand experience, now repeat-
ing itself, of what happens when a blossoming womens
movement is confronted with anti-Semitism. Her memoir
covers this and other challenges. A must read especially
when the road toward progress gets tough.
In contrast, the Standard now gives weekly space to a
June Cleaver throwback. Perhaps the Standard could send
Banji Ganchrow on assignment into a much wider world.
Shes a gifted writer.
Keep up the good work on introducing more womens
voices into the Standard editorial pages . More. More.
More.
Robin Katz
Palisades Park
Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 29
Opinion

Ken Livingstone: Enabler of evil

I
ve written many times
about the anti-Semitism
that continues to plague
the British Labour Party
once a noble party of both
opposition and government
that has now, under its far-
left leader Jeremy Corbyn,
become a laughably ineffec-
tive opposition with little Ben Cohen
hope of attaining government
leadership.
One key reason for that involves the scandals around
open expressions of anti-Semitism from party activists
and leaders alike, discrediting the party among voters in
general and forcing Jewish members to leave what once
was their natural political home in droves.
The anti-Semitism row returned this week, when the
party announced that it is merely renewing the suspen-
sion of Corbyns close friend and ally, former London
Mayor Ken Livingstone, rather than expelling him out-
right for the vile falsehoods he promoted in an inter-
view with the BBC. There, he claimed that Hitler had
supported Zionism before he went mad and launched
the Holocaust.
Across social media platforms, Jewish and non-Jewish
supporters of the Labour Party expressed outrage. You
can keep Ken, said one tweet, Im done. Other state-
ments implored the dissenters to stay and fight. Its
the anti-Semites who should leave, not us, declared
another tweet.
The partys refusal to address Livingstones offense Ken livingstone WoRLD eCoNoMIC FoRUM

properly comes not because of some bureaucratic error

or a genuine inability to understand the problem. It hap-
pened because Corbyn and his clique of fanatics agree
with Livingstone that, as he put it in a recent fawning
interview, Basically, anybody who has criticized Israel,
ends up being called anti-Semitic.
But what counts as criticism of Israel is very gen-
erously defined. Talking about the influence of Jewish
wealth in the U.K., stoking blood libels against elected
Israeli leaders, repeatedly spitting in the face of the Jew-
ish community by comparing Zionism with Nazism, cur-
rying favor with Islamist terrorists like Sheikh Yusuf al
Qaradawi and anti-Semitic dictators like the late Hugo
Chavez in Venezuelaall of these monstrosities amount,
in Livingstones mind, to mere criticism of Israel.
In a 1946 essay, George Orwell wrote that while British
anti-Semitism rarely takes violent forms, it is ill-natured
enough, and in favorable circumstances it could have
political results. That speaks volumes about todays
Labour Party. In the same essay, he said, People will go
to remarkable lengths to demonstrate that they are not
anti-Semitic. That, too, speaks volumes about Labour.
You only need to recall the insipid internal inquiry
into anti-Semitism in 2016, which conceded that there
is an occasionally toxic atmosphere toward Jews in
the party, and which employed the well-worn tactic of
recruiting a Jewish academic and virulent critic of Israel,
in this case Prof. David Feldman, to provide appropriate
political cover.
There is a broader point to be made here, and it is
intimately connected to Labours steady drift to the left.
a red line over chemical weapons attacks by the Syrian
regime only to erase it a few days later, the American
climb-down was ably supported by a vote against mili-
tary intervention in the British parliament. In spear-
heading a move that bolstered Syrian dictator President
Bashar al-Assad, former Labour leader Ed Miliband and
his anti-war lieutenants like Livingstone and Corbyn
ended up smeared with the blood of hundreds of thou-
sands of Syrians.
Here is Livingstone the great defender of Palestine
speaking about possible British involvement in Syria
in November 2015: We cannot put British troops on
the ground because they are too discredited after Iraq
and Afghanistan. But we should look to countries like
China. I think China would jump at the opportunity to
be involved because it would bring them on to the global
stage. Theyve got millions of troops.
Livingstone made these ludicrous comments after
being charged by Corbyn with the task I really am not
making this up of reviewing Labours defense policy.
So let there be no misunderstanding about his conclu-
sions: After insulting the armed forces of his own coun-
try, he recommended that the troops of a genocidal
communist dictatorship be sent to Syria as what?
Neutral peacekeepers? Guarantors of the survival of
Assads regime? If its the latter, the dimwitted Living-
stone should have realized the Chinese were not neces-
sary, as his Russian, Iranian, and Hezbollah friends were
already doing the dirty work of keeping Assad in power.
And now, almost three years after Obamas secretary
mouth, and other ill effects associated with these illegal
weapons.
The attack, ultimately made possible by Russian and
Iranian backing for Assad, led President Donald Trump
to shift away from his position of accepting that Assad
remain in power, warning, These heinous actions by
the Assad regime cannot be tolerated, and launching 59
Tomahawk missiles against it. Of course, it remains to be
seen what else Trump will do, but he has recognized the
profound moral challenge contained here without the
irritating qualifiers of the previous U.S. administration.
That is far more than can be said for a dictators stooge
like Livingstone who has denounced Trump, in an arti-
cle for a rigidly Stalinist newspaper called the Morning
Star, as a threat to the whole world.
Livingstone is too insignificant to be a threat to the
world. But throughout his career, he has faithfully sup-
ported the dictators and terrorist murderers who have
inflicted untold suffering, and has resolutely opposed
any effort to bring them down. He has, in short, been
an enabler of evil.
This shouldnt mean that others opposing action in
Syria should be tarred with the same hideous motiva-
tions driving Livingstone. Equally, it shouldnt escape
our notice that there is a transparent link between the
promotion of anti-Semitism and the support for dicta-
torships disfiguring so much of the political left. Living-
stone cannot recognize evil because, perhaps, he is evil
himself. Nobody of any political persuasion should fol-
low his example. JNs.oRG

The partys disturbing behavior is reflected not just in its
deny-and-excuse response to anti-Semitism at home, but
in its adoption of a similar stance toward grave human
rights abuses abroad.
Nobody exemplifies this pattern more than Ken Liv-
ingstone. In 2013, when President Barack Obama drew
of state, John Kerry, told us the worst of Assads chem-
ical weapons arsenal had been removed peacefully, we
are again looking at sickening images of the victims of a
gas assault in the town of Khan Sheikhoun. As I write, 85
people are reported dead and hundreds more are said
to be suffering from sickness, vomiting, foaming at the
Ben Cohen, senior editor of TheTower.org and the Tower
magazine, writes a weekly column on Jewish affairs and
Middle Eastern politics. His work has been published in
Commentary, the New York Post, Haaretz, the Wall Street
Journal, and many other publications.

30 Jewish standard aPriL 14, 2017

 Dvar Torah
Pesach:When God throws us a bone

O
n the intermediate Sabbath of
the Pesach festival, we devi-
ate from the weekly cycle of
Torah readings to read a selec-
tion from Exodus 33 and 34. The passage
in our Torah follows shortly after the cre-
ation of the Golden Calf and its subsequent
destruction by an enraged Moses. As Moses
ascended the mountain for forty days and
forty nights to speak personally with God
and receive the tablets containing the com-
mandments, the Israelites became anxious,
fearful, and felt abandoned. They created
something tangible that they thought would
provide them with hope that they were not
alone. The Israelites took a drastic step of
building an idol and worshipping it.
But why read this passage on the Sabbath
during the Pesach festival? Thinking beyond
the idea that Exodus 34 contains a mention
of Pesach in its description of the festival
calendar, the opening verses of Exodus 34
focus on a concept of second chances. God
says to Moses, Hew for yourself two tablets
of stones like the first ones; I will write upon
the tablets the words that were on the first
tablets, which you broke (Exodus 34:1).
Even though the Israelites actions led
Moses to shatter the tablets out of anger
and frustration, there is a sense of forgive-
ness that emanates from our text, a sense
that the text is providing the people with a
second chance, another opportunity. God
could very easily have chosen to abandon
the Israelites after their latest transgression,
but the Torah reminds us that God is wait-
ing for them to recognize their errors and
turn back to God. This message, that God
is waiting to welcome us back, holds true
not only during Pesach, one of our peoples
most magnificent celebrations, but also on
a daily basis.
A similar idea is found in the Haftarah
portion for this Shabbat. The prophet Eze-
kiel finds himself placed in the midst of a
valley filled with dry bones. God invites
Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones so that
the bones come to life. God then explains
that these bones represent the House
of Israel, bones that say, Our bones have
become dried up, our hope is lost (Ezekiel
37:11). Here, God reminds the bones that
hope is never lost, that God will breathe
life into them, and bring them back to their
land. Much like the Torah such an opportunity.
portion, with its notion of Nineteenth century commen-
second chances, here in tator Rabbi Samson Raphael
the Haftarah, when hope Hirsch reflects on the actions
appears to be lost, our tra- of the Israelites that lead to the
dition reminds us that Gods creation of the second set of
presence is with us, giv- tablets. He writes, Since the
ing us strength, guiding us, people has broken the Law, the
nurturing us, inspiring us to people must now hand to God
keep going forward. Rabbi Paul the blank tablets, with the hum-
A loving, hopeful, gentle Jacobson ble request that the old Law be
notion from a passage not Temple Avodat inscribed upon the new tablets
Shalom, River
read during the festival of Edge, Reform
by the finger of God (Hirsch
Pesach affirms this point. In Chumash, p. 347). As we retell
the book of Deuteronomy, our ancestors journey from
we read, Even if one of your exiles should Egypt this season of Pesach, as we remem-
be at the end of the heaven, God, your God, ber and celebrate their ultimate redemp-
will gather you together from there and tion, we partner with God in a process of
will take you from there (30:4). It does not rededication, not only to our tradition, but
seem to matter how far we may fall, how to one another, and to the world around us.
distant we may be, how much we might be God is always giving us chances to rededi-
in need of a second chance, another oppor- cate ourselves to the quest and sacred tasks
tunity, a moment which allows us to begin in front of us. We may even want to say, per-
again. Our tradition emphasizes that God haps God is the force that is always willing
is present with us, waiting to take us back, to throw us a bone, or more than that, be
waiting to embrace us, and continue guid- the helping hand that we so often need and
ing us, if only we would avail ourselves of crave in our lives.

Freedom
from page 27
me, provided the example of an addict who
at first might have chosen to smoke, drink,
or use drugs, but then became unable to
break free of that behavior. And we also can
turn to Shakespeare for an illustration of Mai-
monides theory, in the character of Mac-
beth, a loyal nobleman of the Scottish king
who kills the king and then has to keep killing
to retain the throne. He becomes so inured to
murder and evil that he recognizes I am in
blood stepped in so far that should I wade no
more,/Returning were as tedious as go oer.
He likens the blood he has spilled to a river
he has waded into, and has ventured so far
deeply into crossing it that he cannot return.
Shakespeares besotted lover, though will-
less, seems positively benign when compared
with these more evil examples.
But, of course, on Passover were also
focused on what it means to be an actual
slave, not only a person tethered to her own
faults and potentially destructive habits.
Over the course of the past school year, Ive
given myself a racism curriculum. It began
over the summer, when I read Colson White-
heads Underground Railroad, at the same
time that I had assigned Rebecca Skloots
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to
a class of juniors for summer reading. Like
any graduate of the American school sys-
tem, I knew about slavery, and of course I
had taught racism in America for decades.
But for some reason the two works struck
a chord, and I was soon done with Harriet
Beecher Stowes Uncle Toms Cabin
which strangely Id never read! and Fergus
Bordewichs Bound for Canaan, which was
a source for Whitehead when he wrote his
novel. The premise of Underground Rail-
road is that the railroad is an actual train line
that takes escaped slaves to different places
and times, where they confront racism in dif-
ferent forms.
Im now reading The Half Has Never
Been Told: Slavery and the Making of Ameri-
can Capitalism by Edward Baptist, and as I
unnecessarily decide to do spring cleaning in
my childrens rooms theyre too old for me
to worry that theres bread in their rooms,
but Im cleaning anyway; why not? I find
myself remembering a vivid image from Bap-
tists book. Its of a slave coffle being taken
down to Georgia. Black men were chained to
black men; black women pregnant and not
were chained to other black women.
Baptist writes:
The same heavy iron stringer now joined
[Charles] Ball [a slave who was sold down to
Georgia, away from his wife and family] to
the other thirty-two men. . . Then, for the last
step in the process, the blacksmith took two
bands of iron, put them around Balls wrists,
and pounded down bolts to fasten the mana-
cles. He attached the manacle on Balls right
wrist by a short chain to the left manacle of
the next man on the neck chain. The two of
them would have to walk in step and next to
each other. . . . Ball sat stoically, but on the
inside, his emotions ran . . . wild: I wish I had
never been born. I want to die. I cannot even
kill myself because of these chains.
As Baptist poignantly writes, The coffle-
chains enabled [slave traders] to turn feet
against hearts, to make enslaved people
work directly against their own love of self,
children, spouses; of the world, of freedom,
of hope. Just as each time you examine the
Holocaust and wonder how it could have
happened, each time you read another story
of slavery, you boggle at how a country osten-
sibly founded on liberty could sanction it.
Slaves were aware of the irony: in 1810, a
coffle marching past the steps of the Capi-
tol building saw congressmen taking a cigar
break and began singing the patriotic song
Hail Columbia, a moment captured in an
illustration in 1839.
Obviously slavery is on our minds a lot this
season. You can start with the jokes about the
enslavement of those mostly women who
are making the holiday, but in truth, as I clean
and freshen the house my husband and I own
in a lovely and crime-free neighborhood, as I
feel grateful for the family and friends who
have flown in for Passover and with whom
we will share meals, I know that Ive been
born in a very fortunate time and live a very
privileged life.
Theres a psychology to cleaning. It makes
us feel lighter to throw things away, it makes
us feel good to air out our homes and have
them look neat and clean. In Judaism, weve
attached that ritual to one that has resonated
deeply not only among our co-religionists but
all over the world. The freedom to be in pos-
session of your own things, including your
own person, is one that cannot be taken for
granted.
Shakespeare, and indeed the character of
Pharaoh, remind us that sometimes enslave-
ment comes from dark forces within our-
selves, while the history of American slav-
ery recalls the ugly and barbaric practice we
commemorate on our holiday. Identifying
with both has been useful for me, as I spray
Windex on my windows. We have a responsi-
bility to see ourselves as if each one of us has
individually exited from Egypt.
The process of preparing for Passover
helps us reach that goal. It reminds us that
we all have a will that bends toward God
and toward man; the arc we create when we
remember to be thankful were not slaves is
between the One who liberated us and others
who yearn for either psychological or physi-
cal freedom. Lets help them get it.
Tikvah Wiener of Teaneck will open the Idea
School, a Modern Orthodox co-ed high school,
in Bergen County in fall 2018. She is the
co-founder and director of the I.D.E.A. Schools
Network and chief academic officer at Magen
David Yeshivah High School in Brooklyn.

Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 31

The Frazzled Housewife
It starts with a giraffe
I
have been addicted to
April the giraffe.
For those of you who
have no idea who I am
talking about, April is a preg-
nant giraffe in an animal park
somewhere in America. She
is very, very pregnant and
is being filmed on Facebook
live. At any given time, hun- Banji
dreds of people are watch- Ganchrow
ing this poor pregnant giraffe
pace the confines of her pen.
We are all just waiting to see the miracle thing is possible. And this year is pretty spe-
of a giraffe giving birth.
Why? I can only assume that is has
something to do with feeling hopeful for a
miracle. People make random comments
like, God bless you April, get some rest.
And then there are the naysayers, Dont
you folks have anything better to do?
Dude, clearly you are addicted to April
too, or you wouldnt be commenting. And
then fights break out in the comments. It
is actually quite hysterical.
Some folks think that this a social exper- it was a small all-womens institution.
iment and that April isnt pregnant at all.
She did look thinner one day than she had
the day before, but maybe the baby just
shifted positions. Giraffes can be pregnant
for about 15 months. 15 months. That is
more than a year. (I am so smart.) Man,
do I feel bad for April. I was two weeks late in full makeup with my three piece suit and
with son #1 and I was going bonkers. Poor
April. If I had been on Facebook live for
those weeks that I was late, my audience
would have had the pleasure of watching a
250-pound 25-year-old eat tuna melt, piz-
zas, and Entenmanns Marshmallow Iced
Devils Food Cake. They would have heard
me talking to my unborn son, saying
things like, Cmon kid, dont you want to
meet me? Now that is entertainment.
Speaking of son #1, I had another When
did I get so old moment. He is now an
umpire for TBO the Teaneck Baseball
Organization. An umpire. He is now the
guy that all of the crazy parents yell at
when their kid gets a strike or an out or a
whatever they can get that is penalizing in
baseball. My kid is now that guy.
Wasnt it just yesterday that I was the
crazy parent storming first base? (Well,
I was the crazy parent yesterday, but it
wasnt at first base, it was probably just in
my kitchen.) Wasnt it just yesterday that
son #1, in his 60-pound glory, was made the
catcher because his coach was like 6 foot 4
inches tall, and poor son #1 was afraid to
say no? His catchers gear weighed more
than he did! I think that was yesterday.
Nope, it wasnt. And now he is the proud
owner of a TBO-issued clicker, which
records the balls and strikes. He is a man.
Does this mean I have to go to his games
and make sure no crazy parents abuse him?
That probably would not end well.
And speaking of baseball (see how seam-
lessly I am going from topic to topic?),
32 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017
spring is finally here! The
grass is growing, the birds
are chirping, the gosh-darn
woodpecker is hammering
away at my siding, and the
New York Mets are back in
action. Hope springs eternal
as every Mets fan knows,
you just gotta believe! You
gotta believe that this will
be the year we win the pen-
nant. Hey, if the Cubs could
do it after 108 years, any-
cial. It is my 25th college reunion (another
seamless segue). It is also husband #1s
25th college reunion. (Yes, we went to the
same college. Yes, we knew each other. No,
we didnt start dating until 2 years later.)
When I originally got the Save the Date
in the mail, I thought it was for someone
else. Twenty-five years since I graduated
college? How is that possible? Where did all
that time go? I loved college. I was able to
take advantage of so many things because
(Husband #1 went to the boys division of
the college, just to be clear.) I was on the
newspaper, the yearbook, drama society (I
played a very distinguished gentleman in
The Importance of Being Earnest. My col-
lege boyfriend had a hard time seeing me
Hope springs
eternal as
every Mets fan
knows, you just
34. Natalie Portman achieved it at a
gotta believe!
You gotta
believe that this
will be the year
we win the
pennant.
mustache, but that is for another column.)
It was amazing. And it was 25 years ago.
But look at all I have to show for it. I
spend hours watching a pregnant giraffe,
I have a son who is old enough to be an
umpire, and I am still hopeful that this will
be the year of the Mets. See, I just brought
that all together.
May your spring bring hope, beautiful
flowers and miracles. You cant ask for
more than that.
Banji Ganchrows children have accused
her of not always being able to focus on one
thing. She apologizes that this column has
proven their point, but hope you enjoyed
anyway!
Crossword
Play Time By Yoni Glatt
koshercrosswords@gmail.com
Difficulty Level: Easy
Across
1. Spray that can stop a ganef
5. Fashion label in a Lauren Weisberger
book...and David Frankel film
10. Bowies widow who was in a Star
Trek film with Shatner
14. Levin and Glass
15. ___ up (wasnt so machmir)
16. Lcha follower, in a Friday night song
17. Fitting nickname for King Solomon
19. Sinful son of Judah, in Genesis
20. ___ were a rich man...
21. Monster thats also a girls name
in Hebrew
22. Rabbi Carlebach of song
24. Possible name of a world made from
Paskesz and Elite products
27. The staff of Moses might have
become one
28. Outside spot for a schmooze on
Shabbat (in Brooklyn)
29. Shofar source
31. Number of times Moses split a sea
young age
38. Israeli airline
39. Need for 11-Down
42. Like eating on Yom Kippur
43. Vikings owner Wilf
44. Dead Sea Spa sounds
45. David Frankel, of Lauren
Weisbergers 2003 novel
47. Jerusalem to Amman dir.
48. ___ Beta Kappa (Honor Society of
Benjamin Cardozo)
49. Title for Heschel or Boteach
53. John who played Sulu in Abrams
Star Trek
55. Thunderbolt or Solomon
59. #1 Beach Boys hit parodied at
Krusty the Clowns Wet n Wild
Bar Mitzvah
62. He lives with Larry on Curb
Your Enthusiasm
63. Sheket!
64. Alternative to Slicha bivakasha
65. 17, 24, 42, and 55-Across & 11 and
41-Down, categorically
68. Bring on (like Balak of Balaam)
69. Berts pal whos been on
Shalom Sesame
70. Wilders ___ Like It Hot
71. Like a yenta
72. Little brother of Yehuda and Shimon
73. Baldwin who played Jack Ryan
before Harrison Ford
The solution to last weeks puzzle
is on page 38.
Down
1. Makes like Baldwin doing Trump
2. Predecessor of Abbas
3. Adelsons The Venetian, e.g.
4. Crown Heights time zone: Abbr.
5. Some might thank G-d after escap-
ing it
6. City in central Israel
7. Heritage of 53- Across
8. Where the lions did not eat Daniel
9. Amplifies (like Pharaoh to the Jews
work load)
10. Worshipping them is 42-Across
in Judaism
11. The Hebrews had one over water
during the first plague
12. The first man
13. El ___ (weather phenomenon that
can answer the prayer of Geshem)
18. Exodus land
23. Classic tref
25. Measures at Mount Sinai Hospital
26. What willow branches do
30. Biblical measurements
32. Be a nudnik
33. Samuels teacher, in the Torah
35. Baruch ___ ....
36. Medium for Howard Stern
37. AKA in the WSJ
38. B___ Hashem (with G-ds help)
39. Daniel ___ Kim, actor on Lindelofs
Lost
40. Malcolm played by Jeff Goldbloom
in Jurassic Park
41. Some security folk for 38-Across,
more or less
46. Big ape coming to the Jerusalem
Biblical Zoo
48. Drink with a heart logo that might
be drunk on Rosh Hashana
50. Pepto-___ (it can help with shilshul)
51. Jonathan Larsons Rent was based
on this opera (with La)
52. Daka echad
54. Like a studio apartment in the
Old City
56. Judah Maccabee often made clever
ones before battle
57. Like Elie Lichtscheins Middle Grade
Horror podcast
58. Literally, a pursuer in Jewish law
59. Madeline of Blazing Saddles
60. Indian state where Howard
Metzenbaum was a Senator?
61. What Moses did to all but one of
G-ds commands
66. What the Menorah was made of,
en Espanol
67. Palindromic king in the Bible

Ben
Nitai A biography
considers
Netanyahus
essential good-
enough-ness
Jonathan E. Lazarus
A
s Benjamin Netanyahu navi-
gates his way through a fourth
tour as prime minister of Israel
and comes within hailing dis-
tance of David Ben-Gurions record tenure
in office, two salient facts emerge about
his polarizing and persistent leadership:
(A) he seems noticeably less esteemed
by Israeli constituents than a leader
should be (not that recent Israeli leaders
have been all that estimable; indeed, could
anyone be in the current climate?) and (B)
he seems noticeably less esteemed by his
shadow constituents in the United States
when they consider how the lone steward
of democracy in the Mideast should com-
port himself.
There probably is a C. And its that hes
been consistently underestimated by the
parties to A and B. In short, Benjamin
Netanyahu seems to embody the perfect
porridge of Mideast politics: not too hot,
not too cold, just right; a blend of survival
and resilience in a vocation and location
where both are in short supply.
To put a point on it, hes not particularly
admired in either geographical sphere, but
he is extremely valued; hes not noticeably
inspiring or risk-taking, but he is aggres-
sively nimble as a fundraiser and political
infighter; hes not ideologically progres-
sive, but hes not regressive enough to
cause outright consternation in the thicket
Arts & Culture
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a news conference in Jerusalem
last month.
of Israeli politics. Every Netanyahu down-
side seems to uncork an upside.
In his modest but helpful deconstruc-
tion of the prime ministers career, The
Resistible Rise of Benjamin Netanyahu,
Neill Lochery plumbs the Netanyahu phe-
nomenon. Spanning pre-Oslo through the
election of 2015, Dr. Lochery, a profes-
sor of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean
studies at University College, London,
There is no room
for nuance in his
narrative of
survival, either for
himself or for the
state of Israel.
traces Netanyahus trajectory of winning
elections (with one blemish) while leaving
a campaign trail littered with fear-based
politics and pandering appeals.
Lochery structures the book, the first
such purported study of the prime minis-
ter published in English, with nine decisive
and chronologically unfolding moments in
the Netanyahu saga. But even more telling
is the brief listing in the preface of ten fear
factors Netanyahu has repeatedly sounded
Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90
for different sectors of the electorate.
There is no room for nuance in his nar-
rative of survival, either for himself or
for the state of Israel.
Perhaps this obliquely hints at the
Resistible Rise portion of the title.
But rather than generating opposition
or rejection, Netanyahus predictabil-
ity and familiarity seem to breed only
content with the electorate. And its a
content that Israelis, after two intifa-
das, Hamas and Hezbollah insurgen-
cies, global boycotts, a leaderless PLO,
bombings, and the existential threat of
Iran, choose to live with for the foresee-
able future.
Netanyahu is virtually a man with
two countries, feet firmly planted in
each, but without corresponding trac-
tion befitting either. A substantial num- DNA from his father, Benzion, a Revision-
ber of Israelis complain that he is too soft ist Zionist who died an unreconstructed
and too Americanized, while a significant
group of American Jews chafe at his rigid-
hard liner at 102.
His flawless English, complete grasp of
ity and, well, Bibi-ishness (best summed American politics, and proper lineage
up as dissemble and delay; code for deal- served him well during a Likud party
ing with the Palestinians). apprenticeship as a deputy envoy at the
These competing criticisms attach to the Israeli consulate in D.C. and then ambas-
first prime minister who was born in inde- sador to the U.N. from 1984 to 1988. The
pendent Israel but who completed high old leaders, Eastern Eurocentric in the
school in the United States. Netanyahu extreme, regarded the newcomer with
grew up something of a hybrid, billing suspicion, if not outright contempt. And
himself as Ben Nitai when he resided along he was impatient, not willing to work the
the East Coast, studying architecture at chairs or bide his time.
MIT and becoming a financial consultant. Netanyahu hit his stride during the Gulf
But he inherited his ideologically wired See Netanyahu page 39
Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 33
Calendar
april The newly formed Hobart Trio violinist
Kathleen Butler-Hopkins, cellist Joseph
30
Kimura, and pianist Iris Perry plays
chamber music in Lambert Castle in
Paterson on Sunday, April 30 at 5 p.m.; doors open
at 4:15. The concert is hosted by the Passaic County
Historical Society. The trio is based in the William
Paterson University music department and the
musicians have performed in orchestras across Europe
and the United States. 3 Valley Road. lambertcastle.org
or (973)247-0085.
Friday
april 14
Shabbat in Hoboken:
The United Synagogue
of Hoboken hosts a
Passover Shabbat
dinner for young
professionals and
services, 7 p.m. 115 Park
Ave. (201) 659-4000 or
hobokensynagogue.org.
Saturday
april 15
Shabbat in Closter: The
mens club of Temple
Emanu-El participates
in all parts of a special
service at the shul, 9 a.m.
180 Piermont Road.
(201) 750-9997 or www.
templeemanuel.com.
Passover film in
Hoboken: Streits Guide to Jewish
Matzo and the American
Dream is screened at
a Passover program at
34 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017
Water program in Shabbat in Closter: Commemorating
Mahwah: Temple Beth Temple Beth El holds Yom HaShoah in
Haverim Shir Shalom services featuring the Paramus: The Jewish
sponsors Let There Be Shabbat Unplugged Federation of Northern
Water, a program in Band, members of New Jersey marks the
conjunction with Jewish the congregation, and 74th anniversary of the
Federation of Northern klezmer clarinetist Marty Warsaw ghetto uprising
New Jerseys One Laskin, 7:30 p.m. 221 at the JCC in Paramus/
Book One Community, Schraalenburgh Road. Congregation Beth
noon. The shul will (201) 768-5112. Tikvah. Photo exhibit at
collect PBA-free water 3:30 p.m.; program at
bottles to be donated 4. Dr. Mordechai Paldiel
to Oasis: A Haven for is the guest speaker.
Women and Children. East 304 Midland Ave.
280 Ramapo Valley Road. Dr. Wallace Greene,
(201) 512-1983 or www. (201) 873-3263.
bethhaverimshirshalom.
org. Commemorating Yom
HaShoah in Jersey
Blood drive in Teaneck: City: Congregation Bnai
Holy Name Medical Jacob and Temple Beth-
Center holds a blood Eric A. Goldman, Ph.D El, both of Jersey City,
drive with New Jersey and United Synagogue
Blood Services, a Shabbat in Teaneck: of Hoboken, host a
division of New York Film scholar and critic Yom HaShoah service
Blood Center, 2-8 p.m. Dr. Eric Goldman is the at CBJ, 4 p.m., with
718 Teaneck Road. Rabbi Louis J. Sigel guest speakers and
(800) 933-2566 or www. scholar-in-residence musical accompaniment.
nybloodcenter.org. at Temple Emeth, 176 West Side Ave.
speaking on The Jewish
(201) 435-5725 or
Bingo in Emerson: Experience Through
Congregation Bnai Cinema. After services
bnaijacobjc.org.
Israel has bingo with at 8 p.m., he will discuss Commemorating Yom
pocketbook prizes Hollywood and Its HaShoah in Cliffside
and a tricky tray, Jews; during Saturday Park: Congregation Beth
7 p.m. 53 Palisade Ave. morning Torah study Israel of the Palisades
(201) 265-2272 or www. at 9 a.m., hell address hosts a Yom HaShoah
bisrael.com. The Coming of Age of service, 6:30 p.m.
American Jewry: 1945- Holocaust survivor
1960. After services at
Friday 10:30 and kiddush lunch,
Miryam Suserman is
the guest speaker.
april 21 at 1 p.m., he will talk 207 Edgewater Road.
about The American (201) 945-7310 or shul@
Jewish Story through cbiotp.org.
Cinema. At breakfast
the United Synagogue of series, The Great Guide on Sunday at a 10 a.m.
Hoboken after Havdalah to Jewish Practice, at
at 8:15 p.m. A discussion
with filmmaker Michael
Temple Israel & JCC in
Ridgewood, 7:30 p.m.
hell discuss The Shoah
Through the Lens of Singles
Cinema. Reservations for
Levine follows. Kosher The discussion is How
for Passover snacks. the End of Shabbat
kiddush lunch and bagel
breakfast. 1666 Windsor
Thursday
(201) 659-4000 or Can be the Beginning April 20
Road. (201) 833-1322 or
hobokensynagogue.org. of a Shabbat Practice www.emeth.org.
Seudah Shlishit and
Widows and widowers
Monday Havdalah for Families.
Series continues May 17 Sunday meet in Glen Rock:
Movin On, a monthly
april 17 and June 21. 475 Grove april 23 luncheon group for
St. (201) 444-9320 or widows and widowers,
www.synagogue.org. Tour in the Hudson meets at the Glen Rock
Eli Beer Valley: The Gomez Jewish Center, 12:30 p.m.
Thursday Shabbat in Closter:
Foundation for Mill House 682 Harristown Road.
in Marlboro, N.Y., offers $5 for lunch. Next date,
april 20 Eli Beer, founder/
half-price admission May 18. (201) 652-6624
president of United or email Binny, arbgr@
on guided tours all day,
Hatzalah emergency aol.com.
starting at 10 a.m. The
response humanitarian
Gomez Foundation for
organization in Israel, is
the scholar-in-residence
Mill House preserves the
300 year-old Gomez
Thursday
at Temple Emanu-El. April 27
Rabbi Aaron Katz Mill Housethe oldest
During services at 7 p.m.,
standing Jewish dwelling
Lunch and learn: Rabbi he will discuss United Seniors meet in
in North America. 11
Aaron Katz leads a Hatzalah: How Volunteers Orangeburg: Singles
Mill House Road, off
discussion on current Drop Everything to Save 65+ of the JCC Rockland
9W. (845) 236-3126 or
topics over lunch at a Neighbor. On Saturday, meet for dinner at
Gomez.org.
Congregation Bnai Movie series in Tenafly: during services at 9 a.m., Hogans Diner in
Jacob in Jersey City, The Kaplen JCC on the his topic will be United Commemorating Yom Orangeburg, N.Y., 6 p.m.
noon. 176 West Side Ave. Palisades concludes as One: United Hatzalah HaShoah in Emerson: Individual checks. 17
(201) 435-5725 or www. the JCC Us Signature Making a Difference Congregation Bnai Dutch Hill Road. Gene,
bnaijacobjc.com. Daytime Film School During a Time of Need. Israel marks Yom (845) 356-5525.
series with The White A dessert reception HaShoah (Holocaust
Ribbon, 10 a.m., with with a question and Remembrance Day),
Wednesday commentary by Dr. answer session follows. 10 a.m. The program
April 19 Eric Goldman, author, 180 Piermont Road. includes testimony
YU adjunct professor, (201) 750-9997 or www. by congregants and
and founder/president templeemanu-el.com. a candle-lighting
of Ergo Media. Kathy, ceremony. 53 Palisade
practice: Rabbi Jacob
(201) 408-1454 or Ave. (201) 265-2272 or
Lieberman leads a
jccotp.org. www.bisrael.com.
hands-on adult education

Celebrate Israel Parade set for June 4
This years 53rd annual Celebrate Israel
Parade is set for Sunday, June 5. As
always, the route goes up Fifth Avenue
from 57th to 74th streets.
The parade, one of the largest in New
York City, runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
More than 30 floats with musical per-
formers, 15 world-class marching bands,
and 40,000 marchers will entertain hun-
dreds of thousands of spectators for the
largest celebration of Israel in the world.
Several Israeli music artists and
BEST OF THE YEAR
Calendar
app.com
guests will be at the parade, including
this years honorary grand marshal,
the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, as BROADWAY PREVIEWS
well as Jewish U.S. Olympic gold med-
alists and American athletes scheduled BEGIN APRIL 4
TRUTH
to compete at the upcoming Maccabi
Games in Israel.
The parade will be held rain or shine.
For the latest information on the parade,
go to celebrateisraelny.org, follow on
Twitter, @celebrateisrael, or go to the
Facebook page: Celebrate Israel Parade.

Trauma of the Holocaust

In commemoration of Yom HaShoah, the adult education
committee of Teanecks Congregation Rinat Yisrael pres-
IMMIGRATION
ents therapist Dr. Irit Felsen, who researches the traumatic
results of the Holocaust, on Sunday, April 23, at 8 p.m. She

LOVE
will discuss The Effects of the Holocaust on the Children
of Survivors: A Tale of Courage.
Dr. Felsen is an adjunct professor at Yeshiva Univer-
sity and a researcher with the Yale University Trauma
Study Group, and was the clinical coordinator of services
for Holocaust survivors at the Jewish Family Services of Dr. Irit Felsen
Metrowest. For information, call (201) 837-2795.  Photo Provided

Wyckoff shul plans mitzvah day

Temple Beth Rishon is hosting its annual
Mitzvah Day event on Sunday, April 30.
TBR is partnering with Alzheimers New
Jersey and Jewish Family & Child Services
of Northern New Jersey to raise funds
and support for Alzheimers New Jer-
sey and the JFCS Wolff Caregiver Center.
The day kicks off at 9 a.m., with registra-
tion, a brief presentation, a group walk,
buffet breakfast, and activities. Collec-
A PROVOCATIVE NEW PLAY WITH MUSIC
tion boxes will be in the lobby for dona-
tions of music CDs, word and Sudoku
CELEBRATING JEWISH CULTURE
puzzles, and non-perishable food items.
Monetary donations for the partner-
ing organizations will be accepted. For
information, call (201) 891-4466 or go to
bethrishon.org.

Hatikvah concert April 22 at the JCC

The Hatikvah Show, a multi-
media concert by award-win-
ning pianist Astrith Baltsan,
is performed on Saturday,
April 22, at 8:45 p.m., at
the Kaplen JCC on the Pali-
sades in Tenafly. The show,
which marked its 300th per-
formance, tells the story of
PHOTO BY CAROL ROSEGG

Israels national anthem. For

information, call (201) 569-
7900 or go to JCCOTP.org or
hatikva.eventbrite.com. Astrith Baltsan Photo Provided

A NEW PLAY BY DIRECTED BY

Camp Veritans to hold open house PAULA REBECCA

Camp Veritans in North Haledon will
hold a spring open house for new camp
families on Sunday, April 30, from 1 to 3
p.m., at the camp, at 225 Pompton Road.
The event will feature family-friendly
activities, including arts and crafts, and
there will be food. Camp tours will be
VOGEL TAICHMAN
offered and administrators will be on
hand. The rain date is May 7. Call (973)
956-1220 or email Carla@CampVeritans.
com. If you cant make the open house, IndecentBroadway.com Telecharge.com / 212-239-6200
call the office for a personalized tour.
CORT THEATRE 138 W 48th St, New York

Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 35

Jewish World

Why are these seders

different from all other seders?
Christians throughout the U.S. adopt Passover tradition
Rich Tenorio

BOSTON While the majority of Amer-

ican Jews sit down to a seder this Pass-
over as usual, they might not be aware
that many Christians will hold seders of
their own.
Some of the latter will present both
the traditional Jewish narrative and the
importance of the holiday to Christianity.
Others combine the two narratives into
one, in which Jesus Christ stars as the
paschal lamb.
It emerged out of a more contempo-
rary understanding of the Jewish roots of
Christianity, the Jewish roots of Jesus, said
Alan J. Avery-Peck, the Kraft-Hiatt profes-
sor in Jewish studies at the College of the
Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. A
desire to get a better handle on the expe-
rience of what Jesus would have had in
his earthly moments of the Last Supper, a
Passover seder.
The Christian seders are taking place
across the U.S. this week heading into Good
Friday (April 14) and Easter Sunday (April
16). They include relatively small events, as
well as large-scale extravaganzas such as
The Road to Redemption on Easter week-
end near Charlotte, North Carolina.
Its one of the largest Passovers ever Michael Rood gives the pitch for one of his Passover celebrations. YouTube

done on the planet, said organizer

Michael Rood. There are some very large
Orthodox get-togethers, but this is a whole
weekend. Were running at 620 people.
Rood is a Messianic Jew someone who
calls himself a Jew and believes that Jesus
is the son of God. He is the leader of what
is described as the worlds largest Messi-
anic congregation.
I love to tell the Passover story, Rood
said. People are on the edge of their seat.
People are at the table weeping.
Rood and fellow Christian leaders are
preparing matzah, wine and Haggadahs
for seders. At some Jesus is a guest; at
others, he is at the head of the table. And
while the Last Supper occurred two mil-
lennia ago, Christian seders are much
younger. Avery-Peck places their genesis
within the past 20 or 30 years.
He notes they occur mainly within the
evangelical church, which tries to be
more experiential, more Bible-oriented,
[where] Jesus actions, experiences and
roots become significant.
At Calvary Church, an evangelical con-
gregation of about 3,000 in Santa Ana,
California, Pastor Matt Davis tries to con-
nect the Old and New Testaments, as he
calls them.
We sit around the table and go through
the Haggadah and all the elements
Alan J. Avery-Peck
represented, said Davis, who was born
into a Jewish family and is now a Messi-
anic Jew. Its fun. Well teach them some
Hebrew. I have some atomic horseradish
to give my Gentile friends. I give them an
extra helping. Its one of my favorite
moments.
We walk through the significance.
What were trying to find is Jesus. Where
is Jesus evidenced in this Passover meal?
he said.
When Davis blesses the unleavened
bread for his capacity audience of sev-
eral hundred, he notes the Hebrew word
lechem.
Jesus body came up from the earth
lechem, Davis said. Jesus is the bread of
life. Jesus was born in a town called Beit
Lechem Bethlehem, the House of Bread.
Some Christian seder leaders have writ-
ten their own Haggadahs. That includes
evangelical pastor Jeanne Nigro, who did
so in preparation for her event in Plano,
Texas, on April 12.
What I teach is two, two and a half
hours, said Nigro, who also preaches on
CDs, on TV, and in her book, Unshaken.
Ill stop at each point and teach the Cup
of Sanctification, what it reveals about
how God sees you The Cup of Redemp-
tion, what it says about your worth to God.
The matzah bread is pierced, striped,
without leaven, she said. Jesus was with-
out sin. His body was pierced, striped,
bruised. We look for symbolism. Jesus in
the Passover. And what Passover reveals
about God, His character, and Jesus as the
Messiah. Nothing is a coincidence.
Roods Road to Redemption has been
going on for several years. It is a multiday
event that begins on April 14 with partici-
pants making their own matzah.
I have constructed four gas-fired sahjes
[ovens] like the Bedouins in Egypt to cook
flat bread, said Rood, who has lived in
Israel for the past 19 years. Over 600 peo-
ple make their own matzah for the seder
the following evening.
The Saturday seder itself is a grand
occasion, he said. Usually, I take four
hours to tell the story. We do not use a
traditional Haggadah. Every year, I make
it different.
Last year, Rood wrote a one-man play
about one year after the death and resur-
rection of Yeshua, the Messianics name for
Jesus. This year, the theme will be 100 years
later, after the destruction of the Temple,
just before the Bar Kochba rebellion.
Actors will wear ancient mythical gar-
ments, he said. Well step out of Amer-
ica, out of modern Israel, strip away 1,900
years of traditions to what they would have
been doing in the scriptures, what was
Passover to them back in the first century.
Other seder experiences might seem
more familiar to Jews.
The Rev. Skip Wachsmann leads an
See Christians page 39

36 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017

 Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel, Inc
Obituaries Jewish Funeral Directors
Family Owned & managed
Generations of Lasting Service to the Jewish Community

Serving NJ, NY, FL & Our Facilities Will Accommodate

Haviva Khedouri was active in many organizations including Hadassah, Throughout USA
Prepaid & Preneed Planning
Your Familys Needs
Handicap Accessibility From Large
Haviva Khedouri, 75, of Cliffside Park, died April 5. Womens American ORT, and Jewish National Fund. Graveside Services Parking Area
Born in Tel Aviv, she was a member of Congregation Predeceased by her husband of 68 years, Michael, Gary Schoem Manager - NJ Lic. 3811
Beth Israel of the Palisades in Cliffside Park. and a daughter, Bette Stone, she is survived by
Conveniently Located
She is survived by her husband, Lawrence; children, children, Elliot (Barbara) of Florida, Fredric of Texas, W-150 Route 4 East Paramus, NJ 07652
Eliahou of Livingston and Nicole Fine of Los Angeles; Bonnie Olivenbaum (Kenneth) of Margate City, and 201.843.9090 1.800.426.5869
and three grandchildren. Sharon Kozinn (David) of River Vale; son-in-law
Arrangements were by Eden Memorial Chapels, Lewis Stone of Florida; nine grandchildren, and five
Fort Lee. great-grandchildren.
Arrangements were by Jewish Memorial Chapel,
Gorny Funeral Service Inc.
Gerry Lysogorsky Clifton. 1-862-354-8596 or 973-919-4570
Gerry Lysogorsky, 75, of Paramus, died April 4. WE SPECIALIZE IN
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, he was self-employed Marion Schipper GRAVESIDE SERVICES
in the import/export industry. Marion Carol Schipper, ne Shapiro, 90, of Edgewater, COST-CONSCIOUS AND
He is survived by daughters, Yana of Paramus and formerly of Cranford, died March 30. RESPECT FOR TRADITION
Yelenea of Franklin Lakes; and a brother, Vladimir of She was a retired education professor at Jersey City
Old Tappan. State College.
FREE CONSULTATIONS
Arrangements were by Eden Memorial Chapels, Predeceased by husbands Eugene Hausman and www.gornyfsinc.com
Fort Lee. Edgar Schipper, she is survived by children, Amy 240 Mount Prospect Ave. Newark, NJ 07104

Hausman of Colorado and Gary Hausman of New York John M. Gorny, Manager NJ Lic #3563

Annette Ofsowitz City, and two grandchildren.

Annette Honny Ofsowitz, ne Cimmet, of Sarasota, Donations can be sent to Southern Poverty Law
201-791-0015 800-525-3834
Fla., formerly of Clifton and Passaic, died March 30. Center or Planned Parenthood. Arrangements were by
She and her husband were founding members of Eden Memorial Chapels, Fort Lee. LOUIS SUBURBAN CHAPEL, INC.
the Clifton Jewish Center and Hillel Academy. She Exclusive Jewish Funeral Chapel
Sensitive to Needs of the Jewish Community for Over 50 Years
Serving NJ, NY, FL & Israel
Graveside services at all NJ & NY cemeteries
Prepaid funerals and all medicaid funeral benefits honored
Always within a familys financial means
13-01 Broadway (Route 4 West) Fair Lawn, NJ
Brief Richard Louis - Manager George Louis - Founder
NJ Lic. No. 3088 1924-1996
JCC suspect traded millions in Obituaries are prepared with
bitcoin on dark net, probe reveals information provided by funeral homes.
Correcting errors is the responsibility
Israels Rishon Lezion Magistrates Court Thursday
of the funeral home.
remanded a 19-year-old Israeli-American hacker from Ash-
kelon to police custody for an additional 12 days. It marked
the suspects third remand since his March 23 arrest as part
of an FBI investigation into allegations that he phoned in
bomb threats to Jewish institutions primarily JCCs in the
U.S., Australia and New Zealand earlier this year.
The Christopher Family
The case has seen significant developments in recent serving the Jewish community
days, as investigators analyzing the suspects computer dis-
covered he had traded millions of dollars in bitcoin digital
since 1900
currency on the dark net. Police believe the suspect used
the dark net to sell drugs and forged passports, drivers Paterson Monument Co.
licenses and other identity papers. Authorities are now MAIN BRANCH
Paterson, NJ 07502 Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
investigating the parties who paid for his services. 317 Totowa Ave. 681 Rt. 23 S.
In a previous hearing, the teens attorney argued his 973-942-0727 Fax 973-942-2537 973-835-0394 Fax 973-835-0395

actions were influenced by autism and an inoperable TOLL FREE 800-675-0727

www.patersonmonument.com
brain tumor. JNS.org

A Traditional Jewish Experience We continue to be Jewish family managed,

knowing that caring people provide caring service.

Pre-Planning Specialists Graveside and Chapel Services GUTTERMAN AND MUSICANT

Barry Wien - NJ Lic. No. 2885
Frank Patti, Jr. - NJ Lic. No. 4169
Arthur Musicant - NJ Lic. No. 2544
Frank Patti, Sr. Director - NJ Lic. No. 2693
327 Main St, Fort Lee, NJ
201-947-3336 888-700-EDEN
www.edenmemorial.com
JEWISH FUNERAL DIRECTORS
800-522-0588
WIEN & WIEN, INC. MEMORIAL CHAPELS
800-322-0533
402 Park Street, Hackensack, New Jersey 07601
ALAN L. MUSICANT, Mgr., N.J. Lic. No. 2890
MARTIN D. KASDAN, N.J. Lic. No. 4482
Advance Planning Conferences Conveniently Arranged
at the Funeral Home or in Your Own Home
GuttermanMusicantWien.com

Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 37

Classified
Help Wanted Situations Wanted Situations Wanted
(201) 837-8818
Cleaning Service Plumbing
Messenger (S Kearny, NJ) veteran/college graduate APL Plumbing & Heating LLC Get results!
PT/FT. Pick up mail and docu-
ments. Must have own transporta- DAUGHTER seeks employment in telephone
sales. 25 years experience in pur-
A POLISH CLEANING WOMAN
- Homes, Apartments, Offices-
Complete Kitchen &
Advertise on
FOR A DAY, LLC Bath Remodeling
tion. Flexible hours, unlimited earn- chasing and marketing of diverse 15 years experience, excellent
ing potential. Start immediately. products. Proven success in gen-
this page.
references. Boilers Hot Water Heaters Leaks
Call Tony 201-470-3615 erating new business through Affordable rates! EMERGENCY SERVICE
building strong relationships, senior
Situations Wanted LICENSED & INSURED Izabela 973-572-7031 Fully Licensed, Bonded and Insured

201-837-8818
buyer of toys, hobbies, hard goods NO JOB IS TOO SMALL!
CARING, reliable lady with 20 FOR YOUR and bulk toys. Honest, hard work-
er. email:yendisid@optImum.net
201-358-1700 Lic. #12285
years experience/excellent referen-
ces/drives,. experience in kosher PROTECTION
home. Available from 2pm. Also Personals A Team of Roofing
available nights only at $10/hr. Call Handpicked Polish Women
201-741-3042 Certified Home JOIN US! Clean
CERTIFIED Home Health Aide
Health Aides
Hourly - Daily - Live In
Chapter 3 Offers retirement age
women the opportunity to stay
Apartments
Homes Offices
ROOFING SIDING
HACKENSACK GUTTERS LEADERS

with over 20 years experience. Re-

liable, honest, courteous. Excellent NURSE SUPERVISED connected and engaged with
peers to share information,
Experienced References Free ROOFING
OOFING Roof
references. Own car. Available im-
mediatey. Call Sadie 201-952-8985
Creative skills and knowledge relevant
and enriching for this stage of
201-893-2145 Estimates CO. Repairs
companionship INC.
CHHA to care for elderly. Live-in or
live-out. Pleasant! 12 years experi-
interactive,
intelligent
our lives. Whether formally re-
tired or still active in the work-
place, this is a chance to make
Handyman 201-487-5050 83 FIRST STREET
HACKENSACK, NJ 07601
ence! References! Drives/own car!
201-580-0300
conversation & new friends, hear speakers on
a variety of topics and enjoy
Your Neighbor with Tools
social outings Car Service
dinner. Home Improvements & Handyman
chha with 20 years experience, Downsize Meetings are the last Wednes- Shomer Shabbat Free Estimates
excellent references, FT live-in.
Reliable, dependable and loving.
Coordinator
Assist w/shopping,
day of the month at 5:30 pm,
Rudys Restaurant,
Over 15 Years Experience
Adam 201-675-0816 A PLUS
Limo & Car Service
Call Freda 203-444-8447 Hackensack, N.J. Cost is $27.
errands, Drs, etc. For further information and to Lic. & Ins. NJ Lic. #13VH05023300
chha, 5 years experience with be put on our email list, please www.yourneighborwithtoolshandyman.com
Alzheimers and other conditions, Organize/process call Susan 201-343-8374 The most reliable and efficient service
excellent references, live-in/out, re- paperwork, Natalie 201-265-2087 at all times for your transporation needs.
liable and caring. Yonette 917-615- bal. checkbook, Home Improvements Our professional and courteous team works together for you.
3293 bookkeeping Serving the Tri-State Area, New York and Bergen County
BESTof the BEST
BH

Resolve medical
Cleaning & Hauling
COMPANION/Nurses Aide/Care-
giver. Flexible hours. Days/Nights, insurance claims Home Repair Service EWR $39 LGA $42 JFK $59
live-in/out. Reliable. Excellent ref-
erences. I live in Bergen County. Free Consultation RICKS SAME DAY SERVICE Carpentry Painting
Tolls, parking, wlt, stops & tps are not included Extra $7 Airport Pickup
Prices subject to change without prior notice. Price varies by locations.
201-838-4829 CLEANOUT, INC. Decks
Locks/Doors
Kitchens
Electrical
Fuel surcharge may add up to 10% Additional charge may be applied to credit card payment

COMPANION: Experienced, kind, RITA FINE RUBBISH REMOVAL Basements Paving/Masonry 201-641-5500 888-990-TAXI (8294)
trustworthy person seeking part Bathrooms Drains/Pumps Visit us online at: www.apluslimo1.com E-mail: apluslimo@earthlink.net
time work. Weekends OK. Meal 201-214-1777 We clean up:
Attics Basements Yards
Plumbing Maintenence
preparation, laundry, housekeep- Tiles/Grout Hardwood Floors
ing. Will drive for doctors appoint-
www.daughterforaday.com Garages Apartments Antiques
General Repairs
ments; occasional sleepovers. 973- Established 2001 Construction Debris
519-4911
Residential Dumpster Specials NO JOB IS TOO SMALL
HOME Health Aide who is easy to 10 yds 15 yds 20 yds
24 Hour x 5 1/2 Emergency Services
Shomer Shabbat Free Estimates
Sterling Associates Auctions
get along with is seeking job to
care for elderly. Live-In/Out. Expe-
Experienced woman seeking
employment to take care of elderly.
201-342-9333 1-201-530-1873 SEEKING CONSIGNMENT AND OUT RIGHT PURCHASES
rienced! References! Speaks Eng- www.rickscleanout.com
lish. 201-218-3335
Very reliable, own transportation, Sculpture Paintings Porcelain Silver
live in/out 347-640-8129
SENIOR CITIZENS 10% OFF Jewelry Furniture Etc.

Antiques TOP CASH PRICES PAID

201-768-1140 www.antiquenj.com
info@antiquenj.com
Antiques Wanted We pay cash for 70 Herbert Avenue, Closter, N.J. 07642

Modern Furniture & Art FREE APPRAISALS TUESDAYS FROM 12-2

IN OUR GALLERY. CALL FOR APPOINTMENT.
WE BUY Judaica Art
Oil Paintings Silver
Oil Paintings
Porcelain
Bronzes Porcelain Solution to last weeks puzzle. This weeks puzzle is
Bronzes Silver on page 32.
Oriental Rugs Furniture
Chinese Porcelain Art
Marble Sculpture Jewelry
Jewelry & Costume Jewelry
Tiffany Items Chandeliers
Men & Women Watches
Chinese Art Bric-A-Brac
Other Antiques
Tyler Antiques ANS A
Established by Bubbe in 1940! Over 25 years courteous service to tri-state area
We come to you Free Appraisals
tylerantiquesny@aol.com Shommer
Call Us! Shabbas
201-894-4770 201-861-7770 201-951-6224
Shomer Shabbos www.aadsa726@yahoo.com
38 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017

Donations
from page 25
I am not prepared to be the shmuck
that the whole world pisses on. The world
should take responsibility instead of just
saying it will.
Most Israelis seem to agree. Even activ-
ists working on behalf of Syrians caught
in the war did not see Israeli interven-
tion as part of the solution. Yossi Saidov,
the spokesman for the Israeli anti-racism
group Tag Meir, said Israelis know the
Netanyahu
from page 33
War, when his telegenic ease and com-
pelling sound bites mesmerized CNN
viewers around the world, especially in
the States. His focus remained on Israel
but his gaze went global. He hired a key
Republican operative from the United
States and took aim at Likud leaders
(David Levy and Ariel Sharon) and, ulti-
mately, the premiership.
Results came relatively fast. Lochery
attributes Netanyahus razor-thin victory
over Laborite Shimon Peres in 1996 to a
superior debate performance reminiscent
of Kennedy besting Nixon. But he presided
over a disappointing first term and subse-
quently lost to Ehud Barak. His years in
the wilderness proved profitable as both
a freewheeling finance minister under the
Sharon government and as an entrepre-
neur and motivational speaker.
Though far from a fan, Lochery con-
cedes Netanyahus stunning political
savvy and doggedness in reclaiming the
Christians
from page 36
evening seder for 75 people at Lord of Life
Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas, using a
Jewish Haggadah.
We stand in solidarity with our Jewish
brothers and sisters with that ceremony,
Wachsmann said. I think, for us at least, it
invites us to journey outside our own faith.
Its very easy for Christians to get caught
up in that, because its our way, this is the
only way.
To the northeast, near Dallas, Pastor
Drake Torp-Pedersen leads seders for
almost 200 people at Terrell Bible Church,
a nondenominational Protestant congrega-
tion. Torp-Pedersen studied the Old Tes-
tament and Semitic languages at Dallas
Theological Seminary, and spent one year
in graduate school at the Hebrew Univer-
sity of Jerusalem.
We try to be more like Jesus time when
the Temple was still there, Torp-Pedersen
said. We have lamb I suppose Sephard-
ics do as well.
And, he said, I address the Jewish
backgrounds of the church whenever its
appropriate. Our Bible is from the Jewish
people, our Messiah is from the Jewish
people I teach both books. Its a natural
geopolitics of getting involved in Syria,
Israels historic enemy, a country with
which it has fought many wars, would just
be too complicated.
We understand that if we try to get
involved in the civil war, it will be a politi-
cal problem, he said. All the world could
turn against us. But seeing dying children
is horrible, especially when they are dying
from gas. It is happening just a few kilo-
meters from our border, and we believe
something should be done, just as Jews,
premiership in 2009 and in two elections
since. But despite lengthening service, no
reservoir of good will or affection seems to
coalesce around him; he has evoked noth-
ing like the loyalties engendered by his
predecessors. He never will be endowed
with the eponymous qualities of a Ben-
Gurion; or the earthy, endearing appeals
of Golda Meir and Menachem Begin; or
even the eventual gratitude and mellowing
the country showed Shimon Peres.
Martyrdom in the mold of Yitzhak Rabin
is reserved for his older brother, Yoni,
the commander and lone casualty of the
Entebbe raid. Netanyahus own IDF ser-
vice as a captain in an elite unit making
raids deep into Syria and Sinai during two
wars and being wounded several times
in the process was eventful enough, but
his military boss at the time, Rabin, didnt
think him suited for higher rank.
Official investigations of his dealings,
his admission of an extramarital affair,
and his wifes oft-scrutinized influence
seem only to bring out the Teflon qualities
thing to point out.
A lot of times, Gentile Christians are
willfully ignorant, sometimes even sur-
prised by the connections between Juda-
ism and Christianity. Its something I try
pointing out for interfaith understand-
ing. The thought of anti-Semitism from a
church is completely bizarre when were
reading about all we owe to the Jewish tra-
ditions out of which the church grew.
Pastor Mark Day of the Cross Life, a char-
ismatic Baptist church in El Dorado, Arkan-
sas, says the seder held at his church, led
by Messianic Rabbi Curt Landry, was his
first experience with Jewish ritual.
Before the Christian seder, he said he had
zero experience with any Jews.
This year, Nadine Epstein, the editor of
Moment magazine, issued a public call for
Jews to invite non-Jews to a seder.
If as many Jewish families as pos-
sible invite an average of two non-Jews
to a Seder this year, Epstein wrote in an
online column, some 6 million non-Jews
will be able to experience a seder this
year and at the very least taste traditional
Passover foods and learn of their signifi-
cance not to mention gain invaluable
insight into Jewish values and under-
stand the connection Jews feel to the
Jewish World/Arts & Culture
we expected America to try to save us dur-
ing the Holocaust.
I think these are the strong feeling
among Israelis, he said.
Indeed, at a December protest orga-
nized by Tag Meir, the focus was on calling
for the United States and Russia to find a
solution. Among the hundreds of Israelis
who formed a human chain between the
two countries embassies in Tel Aviv, it was
hard to find anyone who thought the Israeli
military should get involved in Syria.
of a Ronald Reagan. However haltingly,
Netanyahu keeps reinventing himself as
the indispensable go-to guy of Israeli gov-
ernance. He continues to pocket elections,
either directly for prime minister (since
jettisoned) or as a coalition chief, blithely
shifting positions (always rightward) while
collecting or discarding new partners as
someone else might replenish the contents
of a refrigerator.
I resisted reviewing The Resistible Rise
of Benjamin Netanyahu until after his ini-
tial White House meeting with President
Donald Trump on February 15. I needed to
compare his tense, tendentious interaction
with President Barack Obama to his behav-
ior with a new chief executive who is con-
siderably less polished and well versed in
diplomacy and policy than his predecessor.
Which Netanyahu would show up? The
lecturer, ready to recount a history of the
Jews, as he did for a remarkably restrained
Obama? The opportunist, fresh off a Knes-
set victory to retroactively claim West
Bank land for legitimized settlements?
land of Israel.
Epstein wrote that the invitations would
help combat rising anti-Semitism.
Interfaith seders have become a tradi-
tion of their own.
Generally, they are viewed positively
in Jewish and Christian communities,
Avery-Peck said. In Boston, there is a
diplomats seder with all of the different
representatives from countries in the Bos-
ton diplomatic corps. Its a seder experi-
ence where they reflect on freedom as
important to all of us.
Avery-Peck said that in forums such as
campus chaplains offices, interfaith sed-
ers are viewed as a very positive, authen-
tic sharing of Jewish experience, history,
and ritual with non-Jews.
Its an opportunity to share values they
connect to religious freedom, freedom
from slavery, mutual acceptance, he said.
However, he added, The greater level
of questioning and some criticism is when
Christians hold their own seders apart
from actual Jewish involvement.
It would be viewed as impolite if I, as
a Jew, have a model baptism or ceremony
for some reason. There is some criticism
of Christians taking over the seder its
almost supersessional, he said.
Im doing the only thing I can because
Im feeling a bit powerless in this entire
ordeal, a demonstrator who gave his
name as Lior said at the time. We have to
do something. So I donated some money.
Im standing here.
Im not sure if it means something, or
if it has the potential to change anything.
Asked why he did not protest the Israeli
government in Jerusalem, Lior said, What
can we do, send our army into Syria? That
makes no sense. JTA Wire Service
Or the supplicant, salivating at the pros-
pect of possibly exceeding the unprec-
edented amount of military, intelligence,
antiterrorism, and economic aid his coun-
try received during the Obama era?
Netanyahus smile broadened as Trump
gave him a virtual pass on a two-state
solution and cautioned him only mildly
on the expansion of West Bank settle-
ments. Although the Iran nuclear deal
wasnt mentioned and a decision to move
the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem was put
on a back burner, you could almost hear
Netanyahu exhale.
At least with this president, he wouldnt
have to make an end-run speech before
Congress. Nor would he feel pressured to
choose a vision for the state of Israel,
binary or otherwise. The resistible rise of
Benjamin Netanyahu would, in all likeli-
hood, continue unabated.
Jonathan E. Lazarus is a former editor at
the Star-Ledger and a proofreader for the
Jewish Standard.
Ironically, hundreds, if not thousands,
of Christians across the United States are
doing just what Epstein recommended
participating in the Jewish Passover ritual
through Christian seders. And while
these seders may not be recognizable to
Jewish audiences, their leaders speak pos-
itively about Jews and Israel.
I dont think many Christians have
an understanding that Jesus was Jewish,
Nigro said. We created our version of
Jesus and God. We see the Old Testament
as being old, obsolete, not in effect any-
more. It grieves my heart.
God is the same yesterday, today, for-
ever. His word in the Torah is eternal
God revealed himself first to and through
the Jewish people. Jesus [was revealed] to
and through the Jewish people. We need
to understand our roots. Its not we ver-
sus them.
Quite the opposite for Davis, the Messi-
anic Jewish pastor at Calvary Church. He
says he is just as much of a Jew as I have
been I believe more so.
His family celebrates Shabbat together
and we love the Jewish people, he said.
We support the Jewish community. We
love the nation of Israel. Were Zionists.
Times of Israel
Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 39
Gallery
1

2
n 1 The Friendship Circle of Passaic County held a yoga class led by Shirley Veale
for moms and their special needs children. Other classes will be on Sundays, April
23 and May 21, at the Chabad Center of Passaic County in Wayne. Courtesy FC

n 2 The Glen Rock Jewish Centers gimel class held a mock wed-
ding, complete with chuppah, reception, and the Jewish tra-
ditions surrounding a real wedding. Courtesy GRJC

n 3 Religious school students at Shomrei Torah in Wayne en-

gaged in a program with Murray Spiegel, co-author of 300
Ways to Ask the Four Questions. Courtesy Shomrei Torah

n 4 The eighth National Russian Shabbaton was held at the Crown Plaza
Hotel in Stamford, Conn. Participants included Rabbi Mordechai and Shter-
ney Kanelsky, executive and associate director of Bris Avrohom in Fair Lawn.
Sofa Landver, Israels Minister of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption, pictured
center, was a guest speaker. Participants came from seven countries and 16
states; approximately 100 guests were from Bris Avrohom. Courtesy BA

n 5 Rachel Dewan led a

4 morning of Jewish Yoga
at Temple Emanuel of the
Pascack Valley in Woodclff
Lake. It was sponsored
3 by the shuls religious
school. Courtesy TEPV

n 6 Temple Beth Tikvahs

Rabbi Meeka Simerly, Can-
tor Charles Romalis and
its ritual committee intro-
duced the congregation
to its new siddur, Mishkan
TFilah, during services
on March 31. A cake repre-
senting the new book was
served at a festive oneg
Shabbat. Courtesy TBT

5
6

40 Jewish Standard april 14, 2016

 Real Estate & Business

Friedberg Properties Holy Name hosts BANK-OWNED PROPERTIES

wins achievement award
Friedberg Properties received the Momentum Club
Award presented by Leading Real Estate Companies
of the World, a global community of the highest qual-
ity independent real estate firms. The ceremony took
place during the LRE Conference week, a series of
events that drew an audience of 2,000 real estate pro-
fessionals from 25 countries.
The Momentum Club acknowledges members that
dramatically improve their companys outgoing refer-
ral performance based on an increase in closed trans-
actions resulting from client introductions made to
other affiliates throughout the network.
Friedberg Properties is the Northern New Jersey
representative of LeadingRE. With five convenient
Bergen County locations in Alpine, Cresskill, Engle-
wood Cliffs, River Vale, and Tenafly, Friedbergs
nearly 200 professional sales associates are avail-
able to assist in all real estate needs. Many of them
are fluent in a variety of languages and all are highly
qualified and knowledgeable. As a member of Lead-
ingRE, Friedberg Properties provides a quality real
estate experience, global marketing reach and access
to top real estate professionals in virtually any mar-
ket worldwide.
For more information about Friedberg Properties
fashion show for High-Return
MS Center on April 30 Investment
Opportunities
The Holy Name Medical Center Foundation invites you Ringwood
to participate in its 20th annual Spring Fashion Fling BANK OWNED
$ 529,000
to benefit the MS Center on Sunday, April 30 at the
Glenpointe Marriot. The afternoon luncheon includes GARDEN STATE HOMES
25 Broadway, Elmwood Park, NJ
an auction and fashion show, with chic styles provided
by Lord & Taylor at The Fashion Center. Chris Cimino, Martin H. Basner, Realtor Associate
WNBC-TV meteorologist, will serve as the honorary (Office) 201-794-7050 (Cell) 201-819-2623
chairperson and Meredith Vieira, journalist and talk
show host, will serve as honorary MS ambassador.
To learn more about becoming a sponsor, attend-
ing the event, purchasing an ad in the journal, mak-
ing a donation, or donating a prize for the auction
contact the Holy Name Medical Center Founda- Happy Passover
tion at (201) 833-3000, ext. 3899, email futterman@
holyname.org, or visit holyname.org/springfling.
TEANECK BY APPOINTMENT
TM

& Associates, please visit FriedbergProperties.com.

More than 408,000 likes.

Like us on Facebook. W Englwd Area. Col/50' x 132' Prop. LR open to DR, Den, .5 Bath,
Ultra Isle Eat in Kit, Fam Rm/Bth & Sldrs to Patio. 2nd Flr Master
BR/W-I Clst & Priv Ultra Bth. 2 Addl BRs + Bth. 2 Zone C/A/C &
Heat. 2 Car Gar. $490s

facebook.com/jewishstandard CLOSTER MAGICAL $890,000

High on the East Hill is custom built colonial w/very generous rooms, family room
w/fireplace opens to deck, large eat-in kitchen, 1st floor guest suite w/separate
entrance, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, secluded property w/
beautiful trees & plantings adjoins park-like farm.

ALPINE/CLOSTER
TENAFLY RIVER VALE ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS TENAFLY CRESSKILL
Orna Jackson, Sales Associate 201-376-1389
Let Us Finance Your 894-1234
768-6868 666-0777 568-1818 894-1234 871-0800

House Purchase
Direct lender FORT LEE THE COLONY
2 to 3 day approval C Club Area. Totally Updated In & Out. Thru Hallway to Lg LR,
Closings within 30 days Gorgeous Isle Kit/Quartz Cntrs open to Din Rm. Super Master Suite/
Vault Ceil/Laund/New SS Bth. 3 Addl BRs & 1.5 more Addl Bths.
Northern NJ Appraisers Fam Rm, Bsmt, Gar. 2 Zone HVAC. $660s

FHA loans w/55% debt ratio ALL CLOSE TO NY BUS / HOUSES OF WORSHIP /
HIGHWAYS / SHOPS / SCHOOLS
Credit scores as low as 580 For Our Full Inventory including
A FABULOUS LIFESTYLE AWAITS YOU Details & Pictures, Visit our Website
24 hour concierge Valet parking Movie theater www.RussoRealEstate.com
State of the art health club with indoor and outdoor pools (201) 837-8800
Close to everything And more
3 BR 3.5 Baths. High floor. Hardwood floors
throughout. Laundry. $559,900
Larry DeNike Daniel M. Shlufman 3 BR 2.5 Baths. Total renovation. Master bath with Sign up for the
President
MLO #58058
Managing Director
MLO #6706
jacuzzi and steam shower. All new windows. $665,000 Jewish Standard daily newsletter!
ladclassic@aol.com dshlufman@classicllc.com Wishing you a happy, healthy Passover
Visit www.thejewishstandard.com
Classic Mortgage, LLC Allan Dorfman
and click on SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY
Broker/Associate
Serving NY, NJ & CT
201-461-6764 Eve
25 E. Spring Valley Ave., Ste 100, Maywood, NJ 201-970-4118 Cell
JewishStandard
N E W J E R S E Y R O C K L A N D

201-368-3140 MLS 201-585-8080 Office

www.classicmortgagellc.com #31149 Realtorallan@yahoo.com

Jewish standard aPriL 14, 2017 41

Real Estate & Business
bergenPAC Performing Arts School showcased talent at gala
When the lights went down, the stars came
out at the Raise the Curtain gala at bergen-
PAC on Sunday, April 2. The fundraiser for
The Performing Arts School at bergenPAC
featured its students, alumni, faculty, and
board members, many of whom have gone
on to grace the stages of Broadway and
beyond.
After a VIP reception in the Drapkin Caba-
ret & Lounge, which included a silent auc-
tion and dessert and beverage bar, it was
time to raise the curtain and start the show.
Emceed by Broadway veteran Kelli Rabke
and the schools creative director and an
accomplished performer Alexander Diaz,
SELLING YOUR HOME?
Call Susan Laskin Today
To Make Your Next Move A Successful One!
BergenCountyRealEstateSource.com
2017 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.
An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.
J
immy
the Junk Man
RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL
WE CLEAN OUT:
Basements Attics Garages Fire Damage
Construction Debris Hoarding Specialists
DUMPSTERS AVAILABLE
CALL TODAY FOR A FREE ESTIMATE
201-661- 4940
We do not transport solid or hazardous waste
42 Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017
the audience was treated to a variety of sing-
ing and dancing that showed the depth of
talent and artistic offerings at the school.
In addition to Rabke and Diaz, some of
the featured performers included Scarlett
Diaz, a young actress who starred in the
national tour of Shrek the Musical, actor
Anthony Crouchelli, an alumnus and for-
mer school faculty member, and opera
singer Becky Hinkle, the schools manag-
ing director.
The bergenPAC Chamber Chorus, directed
by Jeffrey Bryant and accompanied by Dar-
ius Frowner, performed Circle of Life and
Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Cell: 201-615-5353
The beyondDANCE Ensemble pre-
miered an original piece choreographed
by Tyce Diorio, celebrity choreographer
of the hit show So You Think You Can
Dance. They also performed two origi-
nal numbers by Artistic Director Roberta
Mathes, a Latin jazz piece and a soul-
ful modern Jazz number. The preteen
Ensemble dancers performed a lyrical
piece from Finding Neverland.
Rebecca Sonia, a Tenafly native and
alumnus who is now a dance and theater
teacher at the school, performed Forget
About the Boy from Thoroughly Modern
Millie with some of her students.
Yeshiva University launches
online masters degree
in enterprise risk management
Yeshiva University will offer a masters
degree in enterprise risk management
through its Mordecai D. and Monique
C. Katz School of Graduate and Pro-
fessional Studies. The 30-credit, fully
online program will equip graduates to
steer their future employers through an
increasingly unpredictable world to suc-
cessfully achieve their goals.
Enterprise risk management is key
to survival, as businesses and orga-
nizations more and more frequently
are confronted with the unthinkable,
said Andrew Boyarsky, the programs
director and a veteran of emergency
preparedness and response scenarios
that range from humanitarian aid pro-
grams during the Yugoslavian civil war
to deployments for Hurricanes Irene
and Sandy in New York City. Whether
youre working for a governmental
organization dealing with a water qual-
ity crisis in Flint, Michigan; running the
Olympic Games in Rio Di Janeiro with
the threat of Zika; a financial institution
facing constant cybersecurity threats; or
working for a major cell phone manu-
facturer whose project turns out to have
a huge design flaw, enterprise risk man-
agement skills are imperative to keep
your company on track toward their
strategic objectives.
The masters program at YU will pre-
pare students to tackle strategic and
operational risks to their future employ-
ers in addition to the insurable threats
traditionally associated with risk man-
agement. As such, courses will provide
students with an arsenal of skills in areas
that range from financial risk modeling,
quantitative and qualitative decision-
making, and project management, to
cyber security, emergency manage-
ment, and crisis communication.
To give students a true feel for what
they may encounter on the job and
Seeing the audience enjoy these
incredible performances was so reward-
ing for everyone here, said Dominic
Roncace, president and CEO of bergen-
PAC. We have so many talented indi-
viduals who have developed their pas-
sions at our Performing Arts School and,
thanks to their hard work, are finding
remarkable success as they continue to
pursue their dreams.
Registration is now open for the
schools summer programs, which
include musical theater, dance, early
childhood programs, and Hip Hop
Explorer Summer Camp.
expose them to cutting-edge issues,
classes will be taught and informed by
leading practitioners and thinkers in
the field, including risk managers from
organizations such as FEMA, Deutsche
Bank, the New Jersey Office of Home-
land Security, Bloomberg and Apple
Leisure Group. In addition, students will
have the option to take courses that will
prepare them to become a Risk Man-
agement Society Certified Risk Manager
(CRMP), a highly respected industry
credential.
Part-time and full-time tracks are
available to help early and mid-level
professionals balance the program with
career opportunities, which span indus-
tries as diverse as information technol-
ogy, transportation and logistics, allied
health and pharmaceutical, consumer
products, government, and large NGOs
and financial services. YUs location in
the heart of New York City will also ben-
efit students, granting them access to
leaders in global practices of enterprise
risk management.
Demand for risk management spe-
cialists with a strategic, enterprise-
wide mindset is steadily growing glob-
ally as organizations increasingly face
an unpredictable and complex world,
said Dr. Paul Russo, university vice
provost and dean of the Katz School.
Large organizations long-term suc-
cess depends on their ability to plan
for and manage risks and to recover
from unforeseen disasters. Now more
than ever, risk managers are key to any
organizations success, as they mitigate
the magnitude and likelihood of nega-
tive outcomes associated with risks and
help their organizations determine the
potential upside of new initiatives.
For more information or to apply, visit
https://www.yu.edu/katz/programs/
graduate/ms-risk.
 The Art of Real Estate
Ruth Miron-Schleider
Broker/Owner
We wish you and all your loved ones
MIRON PROPERTIES A Very Happy and Sweet Passover!
TENAFLY TENAFLY TENAFLY TENAFLY
J SO J CO BR
SO UST LD SO UST NT IL
LD ! LD EM LIA
! ! PO NT
RA
RY
!

8 WOODLAND PARK DRIVE 30 OXFORD DRIVE 1 KNICKERBOCKER ROAD 27 SUFFOLK LANE $1,398,000

ENGLEWOOD ENGLEWOOD ENGLEWOOD ENGLEWOOD

EA E
CO HI ST VI XQU LIS JUS LIS JUS
CT IS TE T TE T
LO LL OR IT D! D!
NI IA E
AL N!
!

493 WHITEWOOD ROAD $998,000 140 LYDECKER STREET $988,000 234 CEDAR STREET $1,740,000 160 LINCOLN STREET $2,985,000

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS

SO SO EX CO
LD LD CO TRA SO MIN
! ! NS OR ON G
TR DI !
UC NA
TIO RY
N!

35 KARENS LANE 48 VAN NOSTRAND AVENUE 9 CAMBRIDGE PLACE $2,118,000 301 BOLZ STREET $1,380,000

TEANECK TEANECK TEANECK TEANECK

SO SO SO J
LD LD LD SO UST
! ! ! LD
!

368 WINTHROP ROAD 580 OGDEN AVENUE 750 RIVER ROAD 203 CARLTON TERRACE

FORT LEE FORT LEE FORT LEE FORT LEE

J SO SO J
SO UST LD LD SO UST
LD ! ! LD
! !

NORTHBRIDGE PARK, #5-F THE PALISADES, #2507 THE COLONY, #12-L ATRIUM PALACE, #10-P

Contact us today for your complimentary consultation!

T: 201.266.8555 M: 201.906.6024
Ruth@MironProperties.com
www.MironProperties.com/NJ Jewish Standard APRIL 14, 2017 43
 M FRES
R
H
FA

PRODUCE

WE HAVE SPEEDY DELIVERY!

EMAIL ORDERS@THECEDARMARKET.COM
FOR ALL THE INFO!