WE WELCOME HUDSON COUNTY TO OUR COVERAGE AREA!

MR. GOTTHEIMER GOES TO WASHINGTON page 6

JCC BOMB HOAX SHOWS VALUE OF GOOD NEIGHBORS page 8
A CALL FOR HOPE ON INAUGURATION SHABBAT page 10
SIX ISRAELI TV SHOWS STREAMING THIS WINTER page 41
JANUARY 13, 2017
VOL. LXXXVI NO. 15 $1.00

NORTH JERSEY

86

2017
7

THEJEWISHSTANDARD.COM

Bayonnes rabbi
with a plan
Rabbi Dr. Abraham Unger was Gilda Radners
bar mitzvah boy. Now hes a musician,
urban planner, professor, and leads
Congregation Ohav Zedek. page 16

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Page 3
The great American kabbalistic novel?
What if kabbalah is real, and that
therefore the deep structure of the
primordial Torah underlies not only
the book of Exodus but also American
history? What if there are real live
angels, who know everything except, as
per the Talmud, the ancient language of
Aramaic?
Thats the premise of the novel
Unsong, in which the modern world
of science and technology was cracked
open in 1968, when the Apollo
8 spacecraft collides with the
crystalline sphere separating
Earth from Heaven.
Yes, the medieval notion of
the earth at the center of the
universe was correct. What
seemed like the accurate
findings of centuries of atheistic
science was only the result of an
angel trying to remake creation
on the basis of mathematics
an effort that this novel tells us
began to crumble in the Nixon
administration.
This history is explicated
in flashback chapters (some
ranging as far back as the
Tower of Babel). Other chapters
expound on kabbalah, including
talmudic stories of Rabbi
Akiva and original observations. For
example: Did you ever notice that
Moses, who freed the Israelites, was
married to Tzipporah, whose name
means bird, and that Lyndon Johnson,
who passed the Civil Rights Act, was
married to a woman called Lady Bird?
A coincidence, you say? Nothing is ever
a coincidence is the novels recurring
refrain.
The books central action takes place
in the present day, where a oncetechnological society has been remade
with the new technology of Divine

Before long, UNSONG is after him,

and the chase is on.
I wont reveal the ending of the book
because it hasnt been published yet.
Unsong is web novel, with author
Scott Alexander, a psychiatrist and
blogger, uploading a chapter or two
each week at unsongbook.com. An
active community has grown up around
the novel, with people contributing
annotations, speculations, and fan art.

computer-generated list of random

syllables to see if any are in fact divine
names with power. Any names thus
found of course become the property
of his corporate employer.
He is a member of the Unitarians, an
underground group that believes the
Names of God should be the property
of all humanity. Members share this
forbidden knowledge with each other.
Aaron accidentally discovers a new
name of God one powerful enough
to make him think that he can take over
the world.

Lady Bird johnson, left, and Moses, played by Charlton Heston. ARTISTS RECONSTRUCTION

Israeli army to lessen pot penalties

Good news for Israeli soldiers worrying about going one toke over the
line: The line has been redrawn at five
smokes of the evil weed.
The IDF traditionally has been
tougher than civilian courts on offduty marijuana usage, but now its
modifying its policy.
Now, soldiers caught with any illegal drugs face a court-martial and
a month in prison. This gives them a
criminal record, which is a drag on
post-service employment.
Under the new plan, Haaretz
reported, off-duty soldiers caught
smoking pot off base instead will be
put on probation, which includes required drug tests and good behavior.
The military prosecutors office
said the IDFs longstanding hardline
war on drugs takes between 40 and
50 percent of the resources of the

As with all serialized fiction, theres

the risk that it wont be completed and
readers will never learn how it ends.
On the other hand, at least so far the
ride is worth it. Where else can you see
Isaac Bashevis Singer lead the forces of
Marxist Lurianism against the forces of
Hell invading the Soviet Union? Or the
Lubavitcher rebbe animate the Statue of
Liberty into a demon-defeating golem?

names. The many names of God each

conveys a unique power invisibility,
teleportation, the summoning of winds.
The names, of course, are copyrighted,
and their unauthorized use is subject to
violent policing by the United Nations
Subcommittee On Names of God,
or the UNSONG. The plot concerns
Aaron Smith-Teller, whose degree in
kabbalah is going fallow as he works
as a technical drone, reading from a

LARRY YUDELSON

Candlelighting: Friday, January 13, 4:33 p.m.

Shabbat ends: Saturday, January 14, 5:37 p.m.

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call 201-837-8818 or bit.ly/jsubscribe

CONTENTS
countrys military police intelligence
and has not proven effective.
The use of drugs on base will continue to be prosecuted.
This comes as Israel seeks to assume a leading role in the burgeoning medical cannabis industry.
Light up nation, anyone?
LARRY YUDELSON

NOSHES ...............................................................4
BRIEFLY LOCAL .............................................. 15
COVER STORY .................................................16
JEWISH WORLD........................................ 21
GALLERY .......................................................... 32
OPINION ...........................................................34
ARTS & CULTURE ...........................................41
CALENDAR ...................................................... 42
OBITUARIES ....................................................44
CLASSIFIEDS ..................................................46
REAL ESTATE..................................................48

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JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 3

Noshes

In Nazi Germany, intelligence organizations

killed millions of Jews.
Forward reporter Josh Nathan-Kazis on Twitter, after President-elect
Donald Trump twice compared U.S. intelligence agencies to those
of Nazi Germany on Wednesday.

THE EDDIE FACTOR:

Judaisms pull
on Carrie Fisher
In a 2008 interview
with the San
Francisco Jewish
paper, CARRIE FISHER
briefly opened up about
her relationship with
Judaism. She said that
early memories of her
father, the late EDDIE
FISHER, singing in
synagogue had a big
effect on her. She added
that she and her then-16year-old daughter, Billie
Lourd, often attended
Friday night services and
Shabbat meals with
Orthodox friends. Carrie
told the paper: Theres
such a loveliness to
lighting candles and
saying what youre
grateful for that week. Its
beautiful. Billie, Carrie
said, had more exposure
to Judaism than any
other religion.
Certainly we could not
call Carrie a practicing
Jew (even in the eyes of
Reform Judaism), but
Judaism seemed to call
to her more than any
other faith, including the
Christian faith her mother
lightly raised her in. Its
pretty clear to me that
her attraction to Judaism was based at least
in part on her longing to
be closer to her father. It
was not just memories of
him singing in synagogue
in the just-aired HBO
documentary film Bright
Lights, Carrie says that
she developed her wit at
a very early age, and that

it grew out of a frustrated

desire for her father to
stick around more.
But, Eddie, whose biggest hit, ironically, was
Oh, My Papa, never was
a mensch as a man or
as a father, and he and
Carrie really never had a
good relationship after
her parents divorced. (By
the way, its a myth that
ELIZABETH TAYLOR converted for Eddie. She did
so on her own, and in her
own way remained a Jew
until she died and Taylor
meticulously planned her
Jewish funeral.)
I wasnt surprised that
Carrie and her mother
didnt have joint funerals.
Debbie was a Christian
believer and Carrie was
not, and so it would have
been awkward. Carrie
was cremated and her
funeral/memorial service
was held at her home on
January 5, a day before
her mothers funeral. It
was a secular celebration
with the Jewish flavor
provided by the guests
and the theme music.
I estimate about half the
125 guests were Jewish.
They included RICHARD
DREYFUSS, 69, BUCK
HENRY, 86, GWYNETH
PALTROW, 44, and
STEPHEN FRY, 59 (who
was one of four people,
including Carries daughter and Meryl Streep, to
deliver a eulogy).
Streep, who played
Carrie in the film version

Carrie Fisher

Eddie Fisher

Norman Lear

Bonnie Franklin

Stephen Tobolowsky

Pamela Adlon

of Postcards from the

Edge, led the guests in
singing Carries favorite
song, Happy Days Are
Here Again. Appropriately, it was written
in 1929 by two Jews,
JACK YELLEN and
MILTON AGER (the father of the late journalist
SHANA ALEXANDER).
By the way, like Streep,
Carrie had a surprisingly
good singing voice. In the
Bright Lights documentary, there is a clip of her
belting out Bridge Over
Troubled Waters when

she was 15, a decade before she would marry its

composer, PAUL SIMON.
She also does a great imitation of BARBRA STREISAND singing a Funny
Girl number.
Finally, well all get
to celebrate Carrie
again when Star Wars:
Episode VIII opens this
December. Fisher completed filming her part
before she died.
Remember One
Day at a Time, the
1970s sit-com
produced by NORMAN

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4 JEWISH
STANDARD

LEAR, starring the late

BONNIE FRANKLIN as
the single working mom
of two teen daughters?
Well, Lear, now 94, and
others, have rebooted it,
with some changes. The
first 13-episode season
began streaming on
Netflix on January 6.
The family now is
Cuban-American. The series centers on Penelope,
a recently separated former military mom who is
raising a teen daughter
and a tween son, with
the aid of her old-school

Cuban-born mom and

her building manager.
(Oscar-winner Rita Moreno plays the grandma.)
Veteran character actor STEPHEN
TOBOLOWSKY, 65, plays
Dr. Berkowitz, a widowed
doctor whom Penelope
works for. She keeps
his office in order and
sometimes his personal
life, too because, as
the media notes say,
Dr. Berkowitz is often a
sweet disaster. Its also
hinted that Berkowitz
may become Penelopes
mothers love interest.
Tobolowsky still is
best remembered as the
pushy insurance salesman in the film Groundhog Day (1993). But
hes compiled a huge
rsum since then. In the
last few years, he has
guest-starred as Jack
Barker, the short-lived
head of the Piped Piper
Company on Silicon
Valley, and he plays the
frequently seen Principal
Ball on The Goldbergs.
Postscript: Tobolowsky
had a big recurring role
on the Showtime series
Californication, as a
rich guy who chased a
married woman played
by PAMELA ADLON,
now 50. The first season of her critically acclaimed FX series, Better Things, can now be
streamed on demand via
FX. She created Things
N.B.
and is its star.

California-based Nate Bloom can be reached at

Middleoftheroad1@aol.com

Discover.
benzelbusch.com
1/5/17 3:30 PM

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Local
First days in D.C.
Josh Gottheimer, newly sworn in, reflects on his room for maneuver
JOANNE PALMER

plans through their mid-20s.)

But the idea of repeal and delay
There are some things that you think
instead of repeal and replace
you can imagine and then you go
the idea that the Republicans
there and its more and bigger than
could repeal Obamacare but
you had imagined, because you
delay implementing another plan,
couldnt quite imagine that much,
which they have yet to devise,
that big, or that real.
instead of repealing it to replace it
Josh Gottheimer of Wyckoff was
with another, theoretically a more
sworn in as the representative for
efficient and cheaper one is not
New Jerseys 5th Congressional
something that I think we can do.
District on January 3. Hed fought
My grandfather used to have a
a hard and occasionally ugly camgreat saying. He said, Complain
paign against his opponent, Scott
but with a solution. To just throw
Garrett, the Tea Party Republican
it away, without any certainty
whose courtly, even pacific manner
about what youd be replacing
belied a strongly right-wing governit with, would have an abysmal
ing philosophy. Mr. Gottheimer, a
effect on the marketplace. The
former Bill Clinton speechwriter,
marketplace needs certainty.
FCC staffer, and Microsoft execuAt Microsoft, when Obamacare
tive, campaigned as a centrist Demhappened, the amount of planning
ocrat, in favor of choice, equal pay
that went into it, just for benefits,
for equal work, clear air and water,
was immense. And thats true for
eased regulation, lower taxes, and
businesses of all sizes. The market
as some of these items make clear
cant sustain the uncertainty.
Josh Gottheimers family surrounds him as he is sworn in. From left, Janie Press, Donald
bipartisan work on the many issues
Anti-Semitism has been more
Gottheimer, Bradley Tusk, Representative Gottheimer, Marla Tusk, Speaker Paul Ryan, Gabriel
that should unite rather than divide
visible during this election year,
Tusk, Nadine Tusk, Jeff Shapiro, and Emily Gottheimer. His children, Ben and Ellie, are in front.
the two parties.
and on far higher levels, than
While his wife, lawyer Marla Tusk;
has been the case for decades.
Although every new member of ConOn Wednesday, the House voted on
his father, and his sister sat in the gallery
The climate, including what we as a culgress most likely is overwhelmed by the
ture decide is acceptable, has changed.
a bill condemning the United States
his mother, who is not in good health, was
majesty and weight of the new task when
Mr. Gottheimer was barraged by antiabstention from the bill, which hinged
not up to the trip, which saddened Mr. Gottheimer greatly his two children, Ellie 7,
the new class is sworn in, and although the
Semitic messages during his run for
on Israels support for settlements.
and Ben, 4, accompanied him to the floor.
form and ritual of that swearing in has not
office. Unfortunately, it continues to be
There were a lot of people lobbying
I was able to sit with both of them on my
changed over the last eight years, this is a
a problem, he said. As Jews, we know
on both sides of that issue, Mr. Gottheimer said. I went to a dinner on
lap on the House floor, he marveled. Ben
brand-new world that Mr. Gottheimer is
that it never has gone away. You see it
Tuesday where the vice president spoke,
doesnt quite understand it he underfacing. Neither he nor his colleagues have
with BDS the boycott, divestment, and
stands the basics, but he doesnt really
and I sat next to someone who was trying
any time to adjust to it, though. You have
sanctions movement on campus, and
understand it Ellie is completely plugged
very hard to convince me to vote against
to build a staff, your team, and also immethen I think that U. N. resolutions like this
diately begin to read the bills that are given
in. Shes fascinated. She always asks me
that bill. And I spent a bunch of time on
one further reinforce the problem.
to you to vote on, he said. There was a
what happens each day.
Wednesday calling fellow freshman and
Anti-Semitism and Israel are not the
procedural bill on Tuesday. That was the
Its really incredibly humbling and overencouraging them to vote for the bill.
same issue, but they are related, he conwhelming, Mr. Gottheimer said. You just
tinued. When the president turns his
day after the swearing-in.
On Wednesday, 342 members of Congress voted for it, and only 80, all of them
dont really realize, until you are there, raisback on Israel, and uses the U.N.
This week, Mr. Gottheimer was named
ing your hand, the enormity of the responsiDemocrats, voted against it; a few DemI believe in a two-state solution, but
to the House Financial Services Commitee.
bility you have been given. And thats when
ocrats also abstained. That means that
one of the challenges is that to get there,
Mr. Gottheimer also made good immediately on his pledge to consider each
you also really realize the honor that the votmany Democrats including Josh Gotthere have to be talks between two parers have given to you.
theimer voted for it.
ties, and who is the other one? Hamas?
vote separately, not along party lines but
And then there is no time to find your
Mr. Gottheimers stand on another
Hezbollah? And there has to be a prereflected against the campaign promises
condition on the Palestinians part to
way around. You have to dive right in.
contentious issue, Obamacare, which
he made, which of course are based on his
abandon its stated desire to see the end
On Monday, he was back in the disthe Republicans have vowed to kill, has
consistent centrist philosophy.
trict, at a press conference in Teaneck,
of Israel. So there are certain steps that
been consistent, he said. There are
And on Wednesday, I voted against a
with Bill Pascrell, the Democrat who rephave to be taken. So I dont necessarily
aspects of Obamacare more formally
regulatory bill. I was one of four Demoresents the neighboring 9th District, to
crats to do so, but I ran on a platform sayalways agree with what Netanyahu is
known as the Affordable Care Act that
ing I was in favor of lower taxes and less
announce the beginning of the SAFER
doing or saying, and certainly, like a lot of
need to be fixed, and in a significant way.
unnecessary regulation.
grant program. SAFER stands for StaffJewish people, I disagree on certain tacAnd other parts of it previous condiing for Adequate Fire and Emergency
tions, 26-year-olds we have to keep.
tics, but I fundamentally believe that the
Mr. Gottheimer also has been steadfast on his support for Israel, and he was
Response, and the two congressmen
(He was talking about some of ObamU.N. is not the place to settle any of this.
acares most well-loved provisions, which
not convinced by fellow Democrat John
were there to urge local fire departThe U.N. has been pretty clear about
ments to apply, he said.
did not allow insurance companies to
Kerrys defense of the United States decihow it feels about Israel. It hasnt taken
sion to abstain on what was seen as an
Part of my job is to call around to all
reject people who already had developed
any time on Syria, or whats been going
anti-Israel vote in the United Nations in
the mayors to let them know about the prohealth problems, and allowed parents to
on in Turkey, or other powder kegs
gram and help them apply for it, he said.
late December.
keep their children on their insurance
around the world, but it has the time to
6 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017

Local
keep denouncing Israel. Thats why I was
so appalled by the vote.
Any discussion of the resurgence of
anti-Semitism in the United States inevitably winds around to the presidential election, the influence of Breitbart, the rise of
Stephen Bannon, and the ever-growing
presence of online anti-Semitic trolls and
increasingly of their real-world occasionally
gun-toting white supremacist counterparts.
Stephen Bannon will be President Donald
J. Trumps chief strategist a newly created
position once Mr. Trump is sworn in. Mr.
Bannon is just one of Mr. Trumps appointees. Congress will have to approve many of
them, but some, like Mr. Bannon, who will
be working in the White House, is not subject to such approval. Many of the nominees
are controversial.
I have not made a lot of public comments on appointments, because I want to
hear them testify, but I have commented
on Bannon, Mr. Gottheimer said. I know
what Breitbart is its a website that basically functions as central institution for the
white supremacist movement, often called
the alt-right.
A lot of the comments on Breitbart are
deeply disturbing. I know that there are
a lot of people out there who say thats
not Bannon who say that Bannon is not

anti-Semitic but it is unsettling.

I am hoping that President-elect Trump,
who appears to be supportive of Israel, will
stand up for Israel, but I am confounded by
an appointment of Bannon. I know that I
have friends who tell me that Bannon isnt
really anti-Semitic, but I know that a lot of
what I have read on Breitbart and a lot of
what I faced personally came from that
alt-right community.
What about Russia, and the intelligence
communitys message that our elections
were hacked? A lot of people, even on
the right, are standing against the incoming administration and standing by the
intelligence community, Mr. Gottheimer
said. It is critically important that we
stand by the intelligence community, and
the men and women who put their lives
on the line every day to protect us. They
might not have a perfect record, but they
always have been perfectly clear that they
are not partisan.
Mr. Gottheimer has a background in security, at the FCC and at Microsoft, he said.
Russian meddling is an enormous threat
to our national security, he said. We cant
take it lightly. Not for a second. And I plan
to dig into it.
So how can he be bipartisan in an
environment that seems to be as deeply

I am hoping that President-elect

Trump, who appears to be
supportive of Israel, will stand up
for Israel, but I am confounded by
an appointment of Bannon.
divided as any within living memory? I
can tell you that the transition was done in
a bipartisan way, Mr. Gottheimer said; his
photo, with his family standing joyously
with the Republican speaker of the house,
Paul Ryan, at his swearing in, makes that
clear. And I already have had a bunch of
conversations and Ive already made some
friends on the other side of the aisle.
Im very involved with groups like
No Labels the nonprofit organization
headed by former Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-Independent,
and Jon Huntsman, a Republican who was
the governor of Utah, he said. Last summer, Mr. Lieberman came to Teaneck to
endorse Mr. Gottheimer.
My experience so far is that there are
certain bright lines that I will not cross,
which are not something you discuss at
the table things like choice, or standing
by first responders, or veterans, or family
leave, or equal pay. Things like that. There

are no discussions about those things. But

there are other things, like tax reform and
infrastructure, which will be on the table.
On those things, we can find agreement
in the middle. And things like lowering
taxes or cutting unnecessary regulation,
which would be helpful to business here
we really can find common ground, and
solve problems.
So, despite everything, Mr. Gottheimer
remains hopeful. Given this climate, Im
sure that we will have areas of fierce partisanship, but I am hopeful that we can
find places where we can work together,
he said.
He has a message for his constituents.
My office door is open, he said. And its
not just to the Jewish Standard readers,
but writ large. I really feel that a big part
of my job is being on the ground, to take
calls from everyone, on everything, from
fixing potholes to questions about social
security to Israel.

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 7

Local

Bomb hoaxes test security procedures

JCC staff, police, and neighbors rise to the occasion in Tenafly
LOIS GOLDRICH
Mondays bomb threats directed at
more than a dozen Jewish community
centers in the United States and some
Jewish schools in London demonstrated several things. Hate is alive and
well, preventive security measures matter, and we truly are blessed when we
have good neighbors.
The Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in
Tenafly, which received one of these
threats, issued a statement following a
thorough sweep of the building, during
which no explosive devices were found.
A bomb threat was called into the
JCC at around noon, Jordan Shenker,
the JCCs chief executive officer, emailed
in a prepared statement. Emergency
response procedures were immediately initiated. The authorities swiftly
responded, investigated, took appropriate security measures, deemed the
threat not credible, and the JCC safe.
We understand that this happened at
16 other JCCs along the east coast and
multiple other organizations around the
country and in Europe today and are
thankful that all threats were hoaxes.
Members, staffers, nursery school students, and other visitors at the Tenafly
JCC were evacuated to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Theologian, which is next door to the JCC. The
evacuation went smoothly. It was a very
cold day on Monday, barely breaking 20
degrees, and some of the nursery school
children were rushed out so quickly that
they had to leave their coats behind.
Chief Robert Chamberlain of the
Tenafly Police Department issued a
statement as well.
On Monday, January 9, 2016 at
approximately 12 p.m., the Tenafly
Police Department received a report
of a phone call that was made to the
Kaplen Jewish Community Center on
the Palisades that stated a bomb was in
the building. Jewish Community Center representatives along with security personnel immediately initiated
emergency action plans. Tenafly Police

The scene outside a JCC in Miami Beach, Fla., after a bomb threat was received
on Monday.
JNS.ORG/YOUTUBE

Father Peter
Zougras

Joshua Cohen

Officers responded immediately to the

facility while Tenafly Fire Department
and Tenafly Volunteer Ambulance
Corps members responded in a standby
capacity. The Bergen County Sheriff s
Department Bomb Squad responded
and searched the building with Tenafly
officers. After a thorough search of the
facility failed to locate any explosives,
the building was deemed safe to resume
operations .The matter is under investigation, and anyone with information
about the incident is asked to call the
Tenafly Police Department Detective
Bureau at 201-568-5100.
The other JCCs in the United States that

confronted bomb threats are in California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland,

South Carolina, and Tennessee. The
affected London neighborhoods are
Roehampton, Ilford, and Brent. Nothing suspicious was found in any of those
places.
David Posner, director of strategic
performance at JCC Association of
North America, who works closely
with local JCCs on security, thanked
federal and local law enforcement
for their quick and thorough response,
noting that JCCs continue to work with
them, as they do all year long, to ensure
the continued safety of JCC members
and all those who participate in JCC
activities, as well as the safety of JCC
buildings.
We are proud of our JCCs and grateful for their professional staff, who in
the face of threatened violence today,
responded quickly, calmly and professionally by implementing well-practiced
evacuation procedures and ensuring
that no one was harmed.
The JCC Association has a partnership
with the Secure Community Network,

which focuses on security for Jewish

institutions throughout North America
and has an ongoing relationship with
the Department of Homeland Security.
The agencies are working together to
determine the source of the calls that
the JCCs received on Monday.
Joshua Cohen, director of ADLs New
Jersey region, said his organization
is deeply concerned about the bomb
threats. Mondays incident hit very
close to home, he said, adding that it
came on the heels of a similar incident
in Monmouth County last week, where
a threatening call was made to a Jewish
nursery school.
Were working closely with the Jewish community and law enforcement,
he said. Noting that no explosives have
been found at the targeted sites, he said,
I commend law enforcement in New
Jersey for their expeditious response
to these incidents. Its important to
respond and to investigate them.
Threats like this are not new to the
Jewish community, he added. Excellent preparation is the key to a good
response. While bomb threats are
not always credible usually they are
designed as a scare tactic, to cause fear,
panic, and disruption they must be
taken seriously.
Mr. Cohen said that security is a longterm process that cant be deployed
only when there is a bulletin or an
advisory alert. Organizations, he said,
must review their security guidelines
on a regular basis and think of ways to
improve them. Every staff member
must know the proper security procedure, he said. These incidents are a
reminder to review [the guidelines] and
make sure everyone knows them.
He said that his office regularly
reaches out to JCCs and other Jewish
organizations in the community, providing them with resources and reminding
them about best practices.
The unfortunate reality is that any
religious institution may become a potential target, he said. They have a responsibility to protect themselves. While he

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Local
does not know the Tenafly JCCs specific security
plan, it sounds like they followed their procedure,
evacuating the building, calling law enforcement,
and conducting a sweep. Clearly there was a plan.
Mr. Cohen said the FBIs 2015 hate crime statistics showed that Jews still are attacked more than
any other religious group. While there has been a
spike in bias incidents targeting Muslims, Jews are
still the number one target in the country.
The ADLs audit of anti-Semitic incidents for
2015 showed that New Jersey ranks third in attacks
against Jews, trailing only New York and California.
And, Mr. Cohen said, we know that for every incident reported, many go unreported. Anyone who
would like the ADL to advocate on their behalf in
the face of anti-Semitic incidents, should remember that we cant do anything if we dont know
about it, he said.
Father Peter Zougras, religious leader of the
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Theologian, said that when he received a phone call from
the Jewish institution telling him that there was an
emergency and that they had to send people over
to shelter there, he told them to come immediately.
It was a cold day
We didnt find out until later what happened,
he said, but he did note that traffic was backed
up tremendously and that the police were very
good, quick, and helpful.

We have a strong
relationship with
the JCC. Theyre
wonderful people.
Were all one family,
Gods children. We
didnt ask what the
problem was.
FATHER PETER ZOUGRAS

We have a strong relationship with the JCC,

Father Zougras said. Theyre wonderful people.
Were all one family, Gods children. We didnt ask
what the problem was.
It was a case of neighbor helping neighbor, he
added, pointing out that the two facilities often
use each others facilities and have built a path
between the two buildings so that anyone going
back and forth doesnt have to go out on the street.
Father Zougras estimated that his church took
in some 300 people, 200 of them children. They
waited there until their parents arrived to take
them home. The children, he said, understandably
were confused, and at least one young child told
her mother, I was so scared, he said.
Children are smarter than we think, he said.
They knew something was wrong. We took them
in and tried to make them comfortable.
Everyone did a great job, he continued. We
need to help one another in this world. We should
be filled with love, especially with children. Its
truly what we were put on earth to do.
And the JCC was extremely grateful, he added.
People called and personally thanked us. They
would do the same for us.

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Local

A call for hope

Members of faith communities to join for uplifting, politics-free service
JOANNE PALMER
Sometimes its necessary to try to make the political
apolitical, or at least nonpartisan.
Its particularly necessary when partisanship is as
high and the feeling in some communities of being
stuck through the heart is as strong as it is this election season.
As the culmination of a campaign that was full of
surprises, shocks, unanticipated turns, stirred passions, and brand-new styles of electioneering (hello,
Twitter!) comes with the inauguration of this countrys 45th president, Donald J. Trump, next Friday,
just as many faith communities will be rejoicing,
many others are beginning to look for ways to begin
healing.
And the more apolitically they can do it, they think,
the better.
On erev Shabbat thats the evening of Friday,
January 20 Rabbi Adina Lewittes of Shaar Communities, the Rev. David Horst of the Central Unitarian
Church in Paramus, and Meryem Teke of the Peace
Islands Institute will welcome anyone who is interested to what they call Inauguration Day Shabbat
Gathering of the United Faiths of America.

This program was born out of my feeling that

without being partisan, Inauguration Day should not
pass without some kind of communal affirmation of
the values that we hold sacred, both as Jews and as
Americans, in order to make sure that this country
continues to embody a commitment to dignity, freedom, and justice for all, Rabbi Lewittes said.
This will not be a political event, but it will bring
together different faith communities who all feel that
the last 18 months to two years took a dramatic toll
that tore through so much of the fabric of our communities, and undermined the progress that we
all worked so hard to build, she said. The kind of
American society that we dream of for ourselves, our
children, and our grandchildren.
This is our way of participating in the call toward
unity. The call toward healing. The call toward hope.
Although it will be on a Friday night, Rabbi
Lewittes, who lives in Closter, will not lead a full Shabbat service. Instead, I will offer Jewish teaching, Jewish music, and ritual inspired by Shabbat to create this
sacred space, she said. I may make Kiddush there,
as part of creating attention and focus, and bringing
the sweetness of hope.
The Kiddush itself makes reference both to the

SACRIFICE
NOTHING
10 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017

Umair Khan

Rabbi Adina Lewittes

Rev. David Horst

Local
joy of creation and the story of liberation and
its sacrifices. It sanctifies the time and space
where we gather, and roots it in both pain
and possibility.
Each of the religious communities represented will offer something from their
own traditions to create a sacred space, she
added.
Rabbi Lewittes hopes that her daughter,
Nomi Tannenbaum, a junior at the Heschel
School in Manhattan and chair of the interfaith club there, will speak as well, and we
hope to have some local or regional leaders
join us, she added.
Most importantly, its a chance to build
relationships, not on the leadership or institutional level but on the personal level, where
things happen. Toward that end, building
on a concept shes seen elsewhere, she will
Who: Members and leaders of at least
three faith communities, including
Shaar Communities, will gather for
What: Inauguration Day Shabbat Gathering of the United Faiths of America
Where: At the Central Unitarian
Church, 156 Forest Avenue, Paramus
When: On Friday, January 20, at 7 p.m.
For more information: Email shaarcommunities2@gmail.com

ask people to come to the service with their

names and email addresses written on slips
of paper. There will be three baskets in the
room, one for each faith community; if they
are interested in participating, people will
put their names in the basket for their own
communities, and pull out a name from
another basket. Then theyll write to each
other; if theyre lucky, a real relationship,
built on shared interests and acknowledged
differences, can grow.
Although the meeting is for members of
faith communities, among the groups welcomed by name are atheists. I feel very
strongly that as a Jewish leader, it is my
responsibility to create inclusive opportunities, Rabbi Lewittes said. I would never limit
my sense of commitment only to those who
have some kind of theological basis to their
commitment to Judaism or social action.
Rev. Horst is pleased to join with Rabbi
Lewittes. The evening will be in his church,
which is centrally located, in Paramus.
Because it is Unitarian, moreover, it is free
of all religious symbols, so our sanctuary is
neutral space, he said.
Like many progressive religious communities, we are struggling with the question of
what we do now, given the drastic change in
the national political scene, he said. How
do we continue to bear witness? To speak up?

To stand up for our values? Which are also

democratic values. We have been looking for
opportunities, so when I met the rabbi, it was
perfect.

Its a chance
to build
relationships,
not on the
leadership or
institutional level
but on the
personal level,
where things
happen.
The religious community in Bergen County
is very diverse, Rev. Horst said. There are
Christians, Muslims, Jews, an active Bahai
community, Hindus...
And as religious people, one of our first
principles is to honor the inherent worth and
dignity of every person. That is a pretty tall
order. So here is how I approach it I can

say that, and yet speak out against racism,

misogyny, hate. I would say that there are no
deplorable people but racism, sexism, and
religious bigotry all are deplorable.
Without overlooking the real differences in
religious tradition we all pray differently,
he said I think that there is a common
prayer that we can find and speak authentically from our own traditions, each of us from
our own place of faith. We can find a commonality of strength and purpose.
He also is moved by the idea of sanctuary, Rev. Horst said. The idea of sanctuary
as a place and as a metaphor is very powerful. When I interact with Muslims, I say, We
stand with you. That means a lot. I know
that for the Muslims who come, this will be
a place of safety, where they are respected
and cared for. We need to stand in solidarity with them at the moment, they seem
to be the most targeted group in the country.
Simply gathering in safety and acceptance is
powerful.
Umair Khan is going to give the keynote
talk at the service. A newlywed lawyer, he
lives in Manhattan, the son of immigrant
Pakistani parents, and the brother of one sister teacher and three brothers one a
doctor, and two in medical schools. (I was
the disappointment, he joked.)
SEE HOPE PAGE 49

ACHIEVE
ANYTHING
JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 11

Local

Play ball! (in Israel)

Former Bergen County guys set up a field of dreams in their new home
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN
American Jews who move to Israel accept
that some norms will change.
Weekends, for example, will shift to Friday and Shabbat from Saturday and Sunday. And their kids are more likely to play
ball on a soccer pitch or a basketball court
than on a baseball diamond.
Nevertheless, many immigrants with a
strong affinity for the great American pastime have assured it a small but growing
niche in the Jewish homeland. In 1986, they
founded the Israel Association of Baseball.
Now, about 800 registered players, ranging in age from age 7 to 55, and some 200
coaches, managers, umpires, and directors
are involved in six leagues throughout Israel
under the auspices of the IAB.
But with just five baseball diamonds in
the whole country only one of which is
on par with a typical American high school
ball field many of IABs 80 teams have
had to make do with less than ideal playing conditions.
Now, fans and players have something
to cheer about, as a group of former Bergen County residents is spearheading the
construction of a baseball complex in Beit
Shemesh, a city of 104,000 residents 19
miles west of Jerusalem.
Beit Shemesh (also transliterated Bet
Shemesh) is home to one of the largest
English-speaking populations in Israel,
and it boasts some 13 baseball teams ranging from Little League to adult. Some
of the key people involved in IABs Beit
Shemesh Baseball nonprofit organization
are immigrants (olim, in Hebrew) from
northern New Jersey.
Beit Shemesh is a town of many olim
from the USA, many of whom arrive with
children looking for something familiar,
something that gives them confidence.
Baseball is that outlet for many of them,
Jordy Alter said.
Dr. Alter made aliyah from Fair Lawn in
2005 and is heading the ball field project
with fellow Fair Lawn expat Dr. Aron Saffer, who made aliyah in 1997.
Dr. Alter said that Beit Shemesh Baseball has been renting five soccer fields
in nearby towns to accommodate Friday afterschool games for more than 150
Beit Shemesh players, from 7 to 17 years
old. The youngest participants play in an
amphitheater with a 25-degree slope.
This new complex will offer the opportunity for our children to be able to play on
a proper field, he said. They will not be
limited to playing just on Fridays, and we
will be able to accommodate many more
players and better serve underprivileged
residents who cannot travel out of the city.
Not only locals will benefit. Dr. Alter
predicts that Beit Shemesh will become a
12 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017

Dr. Jordy Alter speaks at the groundbreaking for a baseball complex in Beit
Shemesh, Israel.
DAVID GREENSTONE

Local kids line up to get autographs of Team Israel players at the groundbreaking for the baseball complex.
AVI WENER

destination for baseball in Israel and envisions the facility abuzz with baseball, softball, and special events throughout each
week. And although English is the lingua
franca of baseball in Israel, more native
Israelis are getting interested as well.
Over the past three years, officials from
IAB and the Jewish National Funds Project
Baseball assisted Beit Shemesh Baseball in
its successful bid to win a 25-year agreement from the city to build, maintain, and
control its own baseball complex.
The plan for the project includes a
regulation-sized field for adults and two
smaller fields for teenagers, in addition to
batting cages, dugouts, lights, and stands.
Beit Shemesh Baseball is working to raise

nearly $1 million to complete construction

by the fall of 2017.
Ten Jewish Major League Baseball players and their families, who were in Israel
before they were to compete as part of
Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball
Classic in South Korea in March, were
guests at an official groundbreaking ceremony on January 6. The athletes were
mobbed by blue-shirted Beit Shemesh kids
eager for autographs.
Geoff Rochwarger, an active member
of Beit Shemesh Baseball who made aliyah from Teaneck in 2006, says the sport
was part of growing up in America for him
and many others, and it gives migrs a
needed feeling of familiarity.

As we moved to Israel, acclimation to

a foreign country with new cultures was
quite challenging, especially for parents,
who for the most part are not fluent in
Hebrew and have the responsibility of integrating their families into a new world,
Mr. Rochwarger said. Baseball and
sports in general as a comfort activity
has helped serve as a conduit facilitating a
smooth aliyah process.
But theres more to it, he continued.
Baseball helps teach skills that are necessary for adults to manage in an adult world.
In addition to discipline and structure, baseball builds teamwork skills necessary for
communication between peers, an attribute
that will prove quite useful in Israel for the
army and later in the professional world.
Dr. Alter agrees. Many parents appreciate the fact that baseball is a game of discipline and structure, something that many
of these kids require in life, he said. I
have been coaching in Israel for 11 years
and I have had several players who would
be termed troubled youth, and I believe
the structure of baseball has helped many
of these kids. The fact that they can excel
at something is often the tipping point that
gives them the confidence they need in
other aspects of their lives.
Mr. Rochwarger anticipates that the
baseball complex will give Beit Shemesh,
and greater Israel, a public-relations boost.
It will serve as further proof to the outside world that Israel is populated by normal people and regular children, he said.
They play and work together, as they do
in every other country.
Another former Teaneck resident active
in Beit Shemesh Baseball is Marc Chass,
who played on Israels Maccabiah softball
teams in 2001 and 2009, and on the Beit
Shemesh softball team from 1998 to 2014.
His father, baseball writer Murray Chass,
was inducted into the Baseball Hall of
Fame in 2004.
Why is it that American Jews have such
an affinity for baseball?
In addition to all of the physical and
emotional skills it helps build in our children, we were taught early on, in the summer camps and leagues that formed our
introduction to the sport, that to be successful was not only defined by the highest
score at the end of the game, Mr. Rochwarger said.
Our interactions with our teammates
on the field regardless of good plays,
dropped balls, and strikeouts were fostered early on with the understanding that
kindness to people was above all the most
important lesson to be learned. This trait
parallels one of the key foundation principles in the Jewish faith of loving thy neighbor, which in turn facilitates a greater love
and appreciation for God.

Local

My mother, kugel, and me

6 eggs, separated, at room temperature

1 navel orange, peeled
1 cup sugar
2 cups sour cream
1 cup orange juice
1/4 pound butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. salt
1 pound semi-broad noodles, cooked according to
package directions, drained and rinsed in cold water.
Orange preserves

A difficult relationship can

be sweetened by baking
and sugar. (Lots of sugar.
And sour cream.)
NANCY GERBER
My mother and I had trouble sharing our
thoughts and feelings with each other.
One way we connected, however,
was through our mutual love for sweet
foods, particularly kugel, one of the bestloved comfort foods in Jewish traditional
cooking.
Recently I found my mothers recipe for
orange noodle pudding, on a page she had
photocopied from a Hadassah or Sisterhood cookbook. The headnote to the recipe, contributed by one of the members,
reads, This is my favorite kugel. When I
do not have to worry about the fat-free and

Orange Noodle Pudding

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the egg whites into peaks and set aside.
Place the orange in a blender and blend well. Add the rest of the ingredients,
except the noodles and preserves, and blend well. Place the cooked noodles
in a large bowl. Add the orange mixture and mix well. Fold in the beaten egg
whites. Pour into a large oven to table 9 x 12 serving dish and bake for 45 min.
Spread with orange preserves and return to oven till bubbly, about 15 min.

Nancy Gerber embraces her mother,

Trudy Frankel.

sugar-free guests, this is the kugel I prefer

to make. At the top of the page, in her signature graceful script, my mother wrote
the words sour cream, even though its

Nancy Gerber, a writer, lives in West Orange, but she grew up in River Vale, where her
mother, Trudy Frankel, lived in the same house for 50 years, from 1958 to 2008. The
Frankels belonged to Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley, first in Westwood, in Woodcliff
Lake; it was in the Westwood sanctuary that the shuls rabbi, Andre Ungar, officiated at the
wedding of Nancy Frankel and Robert Gerber.

Yield: 8-10 servings.

listed as an ingredient, as if she needed to

remind herself why the pudding was so
rich and delicious. The recipe also called
for six eggs, a cup of sugar, and a glaze of
orange preserves.
The pudding was divine, with thick layers of golden sunniness.
My mother liked to serve this kugel to
guests, but she also baked it from time to
time on Sundays, to accompany the bagels

and lox we had for lunch after Hebrew

school. My father didnt much . It was
something we enjoyed together. It was her
gift to me.
My mother spent the last eight years of
her life in dementia facilities, first in River
Vale, then at the Jewish Home in Rockleigh. She lost her ability to speak and
understand language. She was respected
SEE KUGEL PAGE 49

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JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 13

Local

Oasis in the city

Local supporters help renovate Eshkol Museum in Jerusalem
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

14 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017

Leon Sokol
TAL PESSES

Shared spaces are todays savvy answer to

the high costs of real estate, renovation, and
building maintenance. And while we usually think of shared spaces in terms of coworking complexes such as WeWork, two
Israeli institutions have put a new spin on
this efficient concept with help from supporters in New Jersey.
On December 20, Russell and Nina Rothman of Hackensack were in Jerusalem for
the opening of the Levi Eshkol Museum and
Gardens, once the official residence of Israeli
prime ministers David Ben-Gurion, Levi Eshkol, and Golda Meir.
Mr. Rothman is co-chairman of American
Friends of the Society for the Protection of
Nature in Israel, which raised a large portion of the funds needed to renovate the 1933
structure, whose two upper floors and courtyard have now become the Jerusalem Community Branch of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI).
Israels largest and oldest environmental
organization, in search of new Jerusalem
headquarters since 2012, plans to create a
hub for social environmental activities with
an ecological pool and a living wall covered
in locally sourced greenery.
The house is in the Rechavia section of
Jerusalem, a very beautiful neighborhood,
Mr. Rothman said, after his return home from
Israel. When we last visited the house two
years ago, it was abandoned and neglected,
and the grounds were a mess. Today, it
resumes with its original splendor and the
grounds are beautiful; a true oasis in the
heart of the city.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony began with
a tour of the building, followed by speeches
from Eshkol family members and dignitaries
including Israels President Reuven Rivlin,
Jerusalems Mayor Nir Barkat, Labor Party
leader Isaac Herzog, Jerusalem Affairs Minister Zeev Elkin, and Sara Netanyahu, who
was representing her husband, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speakers noted that the buildings new
dual purpose makes sense because Mr. Eshkol, prime minister from 1963 until his death
in 1969, was a champion of environmental
and urban planning issues.
President Rivlin spoke fondly of Eshkol,
and said that he had a long history with the
house as well, Mr. Rothman said. When he
was a kid, he and his friends used to play soccer in the yard, and he remembers Mrs. BenGurion running out to scold them and chase
them away while her husband napped.
Golda Meir used to serve homemade cake
to members of her cabinet during meetings
held in the kitchen, which has been restored
to its early 1970s look.
Mr. Rothmans connection with ASPNI,
the American branch, goes back to that same

Above, the
courtyard
of the newly
renovated Levi
Eshkol Museum
and Gardens in
Jerusalem.

Left, the library

and resource
room at the
Eshkol Museum.

decade. After completing a masters degree

project at the University of Minnesota on
the subject of lone wolves, he came to study
wolves in Israel with the help of Dr. Heinrich
Mendelssohn, then head of zoology at Tel
Aviv University.
Mendelssohn was one of the founders
of the SPNI, and one of the most interesting
men I ever met, Mr. Rothman said. He connected me with the SPNI, which oversaw a
network of field study centers throughout
the country, and I parked myself at one in
Hazeva, down in the Negev.
(Side note: Dr. Mendelssohn was the official zoologist accompanying a supposed
bird-watching trip actually a clandestine
reconnaissance mission to the Negev led
by young Shimon Perski in 1944. Dr. Mendelssohn spotted an eagle nest and suggested
that the future president of Israel adopt the
Hebrew word for eagle, peres, as his Hebraicized surname.)
In 1986, when the ASPNI was founded
in New York, Mr. Rothman readily agreed
to join its board. He remains passionate
about spreading recognition of SPNI in the
United States.
He now shares the ASPNI chairmanship
with Leon Sokol, an attorney from Teaneck

who manages the New Jersey practice of the

Cullen and Dykman law firm and serves on
the boards of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey and its endowment foundation, the Jewish Home at Rockleigh, and the
Jewish Home Family.
Mr. Sokol took a pivotal role in raising
about $1 million from American donors
toward the renovation of the past prime ministerial residence. The project was led by the
Yad Levi Eshkol memorial fund.
Levi Eshkol, in my opinion, was the
second greatest prime minister after BenGurion, Mr. Sokol said, citing Mr. Eshkols
foresight in establishing the national electric
grid and the decisions he took during the
1967 Six-Day War.
Mr. Sokol was helped in his fundraising
task by his friend State Senator Bob Smith of
Piscataway, chairman of the New Jersey Senate Environment Committee.
Several years ago, at my request, Bob
joined as an honorary member of the ASPNI
board, Mr. Sokol said. He is a strong supporter of Israel, having traveled to Israel with
his wife, and took a second trip with the
ASPNI board to Israel two years ago. During
that trip, we both inspected the former prime
ministers home that eventually became the

Nina and Russell Rothman

Levi Eshkol Museum before construction

had started, and were able to determine the
extent of renovations needed and the plans
for renovating the building.
The two men approached developers,
personal friends, and clients, sharing their
enthusiasm about the importance of creating
the Levi Eshkol Museum and SPNI hub. The
Joseph and Cheryl Marino Family Foundation
of River Edge was among the local donors.
The newly reopened house features a
ground-floor interactive exhibition in English, Hebrew, or Arabic on the life story of Mr.
Eshkol, who managed the Six-Day War from
the buildings home office.
While the museum allows for an exclusive
look into Israels history, the social-environmental activism and conservation work being
implemented under the same roof by SPNIs
Jerusalem Community Branch ensures the
future of Israels nature, said Iris Hann, the
organizations newly appointed chief executive officer.
It is our hope that local residents, students, and tourists from around the world
take advantage of everything that this unique
educational and cultural site has to offer.
To learn more and plan a tour, email international@spni.org.il.

Briefly Local
Bris Avrohom dinner February 12
Bris Avrohom of Fair Lawn will host its
third annual community gala on February 12. The party, set for the Terrace in
Paramus, will celebrate the Jewish Russian community of northern New Jersey
and honor Avital and Max Borin, Renat
and Alen Mamrout, and Rina and Yoni
Mazor. Rabbi Yosef Y. Jacobson is the
keynote speaker, and music is by the

Chony Orchestra.
Bris Avrohom of Fair Lawn serves
a large community of families from a
range of Jewish backgrounds and affiliations across northern New Jersey.
For information, call (201) 791-7200,
email office@JewishFairLawn.org, or go
to www.JewishFairLawn.org/Gala.

JCC to give tips on aging in place

Jewish Home dedicates new space

Englewood, a coalition of more than

50 nonprofits, houses of worship, civic
organizations, and offices of city government that work together to help older
adult residents of Englewood age in
place with dignity and independence.
For information, call (201) 4106645, email agefriendlyengle wood@gmail.com, or go to www.
age-friendlyenglewood.org.

COURTESY SINAI

The Jewish Home Assisted Living

in River Vale dedicated a newly
expanded communal space
that will be used for residents
activities, for events, and as a
synagogue.
Pictured top, from left, are the
Jewish Home Familys president
and CEO, Carol Silver Elliott;
Rabbi Dr. Ari Korenblit, and
two residents dancing the Torah
scroll to its new ark. Right, JHAL
resident Arnold Klein attaches a
mezuzzah to the entrance.

The Kaplen JCC on the

Palisades presents Aging
in Place, a program for
seniors, on Tuesday, January 17, at 10:30 a.m., at
the Englewood Public
Library.
Marlene Ceragno, the
program and caregiver
services coordinator for
senior services at the
Kaplen JCC, will showcase programs offered
at no cost at the JCCs
Senior Activity Center.
They include musical
performances, lectures, current events
and exercise programs, caregiver support groups, and the JCCs Montessoriinspired Adult Day Program for people
with dementia.
Ms. Ceragno also will talk about the
JCCs hot kosher lunch program and its
low-cost transportation service from
nearby towns.
This program is sponsored by the
Englewood Library and Age-Friendly

Students visit a firehouse in Mount Carmel.

COURTESY BCHSJS

Young Leadership group returns

A delegation of 13 American students
who participated in a yearlong Young
Leadership course, sponsored by Partnership2Gether of the Jewish Federation
of Northern New Jersey and hosted at
the Bergen County High School of Jewish
Studies, just returned from a weeklong
mission to Israel.
The students spent the week with their
Young Leadership counterparts from their
sister city of Nahariya, who hosted them
in their homes. Together, the teenagers

toured Jerusalem, Rosh Hanikra, the Lebanon border, Acco, and the Golan Heights.
They also visited a firehouse in Mount Carmel, where they heard about the recent
fires, met with children from the Tapuz
Absorption Center, and participated in
pre-army training with Nirim, a school for
troubled teens.
The group spent its last day in Tel
Aviv visiting Independence Hall and the
Michael Levin Lone Soldier Center and
had dinner at the Sarona Market.

Chanukah light from Sinai student

Sinai student Chaya Ziporah Jachter,
right, shown here with her sister Atara,
lit the candles in the menorah at the
Shops at Riverside in Hackensack on
Chanukah. Chaya Ziporahs parents,
Rabbi Chaim and Malca Jachter, are

honorees at the Sinai Schools annual

benefit dinner on February 26, during which the school will recognize the
Jachters contributions to Sinai and the
entire community.

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 15

Rabbi Dr. Abraham Unger in the sanctuary

of Congregation Ohav Zedek in Bayonne

COVER STORY

Growing in Bayonne
Rabbi Dr. Abraham Unger talks about the city, his shul, and his unusual path to them

Joanne Palmer
abbi Dr. Abraham Unger
is so extraordinarily wellrounded that its amazing he doesnt bounce.
It is of course not a
physical thing Rabbi
Unger is trim and handsome but his list
of accomplishments is so varied, and the
worlds they touch are so wide-ranging,
that it is impossible not to marvel.
Does this sound hyperbolic? Rabbi
Unger is an actor with credits in commercials, television, and three feature films;
hes a classical guitarist, arranger, and
composer; he holds a Ph.D. in political science and is a tenured associate professor
at Wagner College on Staten Island, where
he teaches urban planning. And oh yes,
16 Jewish Standard JANUARY 13, 2017

hes also a pulpit rabbi, new to Congregation Ohav Zedek in Bayonne, where he
plans to help revitalize an already growing community. And his background and
skills, he firmly believes, position him
uniquely for that task.
Rabbi Ungers own story starts in Bay
Ridge in 1968, but he has roots in Hudson
County. His maternal grandmother, Molly
Safier, had a big brother, Shloimeh it
became Sam once he came to this country who was born in 1869. He is the oldest figure in the family, legendary, almost
mythological, Rabbi Ungar said. In fact,
he is known in family lore as Uncle Safier,
never the less formal Uncle Sam. He was
the carrier of the family name. He had
a big paper plant in Jersey City, and he
lived in Hoboken, Rabbi Unger said; hes
not sure what the plant was called, but he

Rabbi Unger is
an actor with
credits in
commercials,
television,
and three
feature films.
knows it was destroyed in a fire at some
point, probably in the 1930s.
Uncle Safier embodied the entrepreneurial spirit. He came from Galicia, and
started the business in Jersey City because
of the transportation opportunities it

offered the Lackawanna Railroad was a

transportation hub, and the rivers offered
yet more shipping lanes, his descendant
the urban planner said. The products he
made were thick, industrial-grade wrapping and waxed paper, unglamorous but
necessary.
He was responsible for bringing over
many relatives; now he has hundreds of
descendants, from Lakewood to Brooklyn, Rabbi Unger said. And he remained
observant. He was the founding treasurer
and gabbai of the United Synagogue of
Hoboken, which now is Conservative but
then was Orthodox. It was an old-style
synagogue then; the men would go to shul
in top hats on Shabbat mornings, he said.
His name is on the plaque outside the
sanctuary, dated 1915.
Thats particularly interesting to Rabbi

Cover Story

Unger because United Synagogues rabbi,

Robert Scheinberg, is an old friend; the
two were in the Columbia University-based
Jewish a cappella group Pizmon together.
Rabbi Ungers parents, Sherwood and
Myra Unger, both have deep roots in
Brooklyn, Sherwood in Crown Heights
and Myra in Bensonhurst. They were
and still are observant Orthodox Jews.

I remember
meeting Kirk
Douglas, and the
first thing he said
to me was Have
you learned your
haftorah yet?
They were and still are also active lovers of the arts. Sherwood Unger, a broker
at Morgan Stanley, is a serious connoisseur
with a deep knowledge of music and a particular love of opera, his son reports, and
Myra Schiffer Unger, a retired teacher, also
performed, and designed arts curricula for
Lincoln Center.
Both Abe and his sister, Judy, who is
now an L.A.-based actress, loved to perform. As a kid, I loved to dress up and put
on shows at Thanksgiving and Pesach, he
said. We would put on plays at home.
We wrote scripts and memorized them.
His parents approved. I was shy as a
kid, and my folks thought that it would
help bring me out of my shell. His father
worked with someone who knew someone who knew an agent, and soon Abe
was working.
He went to the Professional Childrens
School in Manhattan, which allows its students the flexibility to take jobs and work
their academic schedules around them.
Most of his work was in commercials,
and he stresses that there is no reason that
someone who is Shabbat-observant cannot have a thriving career in commercials.
Commercials dont film on weekends!
he said. Its not hard at all. All you have
to do is get off early on winter Fridays.
He also was careful not to audition for
jobs that would be made around the holidays. Most films dont shoot on weekends
either, he added; its only live theater that

Abraham Unger plays the bar mitzvah boy, seated to the left of his parents, Gilda Radner and Kirk Douglas, with Bill Murray
at the mic as the entertainer in an iconic Saturday Night Live skit, first aired on February 23, 1980.

conflicts with Shabbat and holidays.

Rabbi Unger made about 100 commercials and three feature films as a principal that is, with a speaking part during this period, including the Bad News
Bears Go To Japan. I was the kid with the
yarmulke, he said.
When he was 12, going on 13 exactly
bar mitzvah age Rabbi Unger played a
bar mitzvah boy on Saturday Night Live.
Kirk Douglas played his father, Gilda Radner was his mother, and Bill Murray was
the entertainment.
It was fun, he said. I remember meeting Kirk Douglas, and the first thing he said
to me was Have you learned your haftorah
yet? I remember that I wore a velvet kippah
with silver trim. Very 70s. And Gilda Radner
was smart and quick and kind. My grandmother came with me, and she was very
sweet with her. Very nice. They all were.
And I did all this while learning
Gemara, he added.
While he was in school, Rabbi Ungers parents made sure that his Jewish
education continued. Rabbi Jay Miller,
who taught honors Talmud at Ramaz,
a beloved, creative, and idiosyncratic
teacher, who Rabbi Unger loved, separately taught both him and his sister Talmud. He was an educators educator,
Rabbi Unger said. He would puff on
Camel cigarettes he chain-smoked
and ashes would fall in his beard, and he

Rabbi Unger also appeared in the Bad New Bears Go To Japan. Hes standing,
second from left, next to the coach, played by Tony Curtis.

would say Abe, read the Gemara.

He was an old-school teacher, a tremendously creative mind, and he knew
the Western canon intimately.
So Abe Unger was living two lives the
performing life and the Jewish one but

they never felt like anything other than

one complete and happy one, he said. I
didnt have friends at school who were
missing things on Friday nights or learning with a private rebbe with a big black
velvet kippah, but I had my music and my
Jewish Standard JANUARY 13, 2017 17

Cover Story
art and my acting, and I thank God that
my parents were wise enough and open
enough to let us pursue it.
I always thank my parents for having
the foresight to say If thats what you love,
go do it.
Rabbi Unger feels strongly that the arts
and a religious life are good for each other.
Art requires discipline; it demands the
same kind of close, rigorous attention to
detail that Jewish text study demands. In
fact, often it is exactly the same kind of
text study.
There has to be rigor involved, he said.
When you are really involved, when you
practice every day, you are disciplined and
focused. And when you are thoroughly
involved in your study, of text or of music
or of any other art, it is a great forum
for kids to explore themselves. Thats
because close study of traditional texts
demand that each student bring something new to it. A hiddush, he said. You
are supposed to interpret it anew. You are
the new link in the chain.
I encourage Jewish day schools to provide substantial arts programming, both
for discipline and creativity, he said.
After high school, Rabbi Unger went
to the Manhattan School of Music for his
undergraduate degree. He majored in

Rabbi Unger majored in classical guitar at the Manhattan School of Music.

classical guitar, which is his passion.

It was a conservatory program, he
said. That discipline that he so valued in
his art was an integral part of the schools
approach. The school taught academics as
well as performance, and each student had
to pass formidable juried performance trials to move on to the next year. Rabbi Unger
graduated in 1988. He was 19 years old.

After a few years as a musician, arranger,

and songwriter and then a seemingly
abrupt shift to an internship doing political
analysis at Lehman Brothers I realized
how much I loved learning, Rabbi Unger
said. The intellectual side grabbed me.
I loved the study of religion and politics. I was reading it for fun music and
acting was my work so I decided to

pursue academic work in political science.

I went for a masters degree, took a short
break, and then went for a Ph.D. in political science, with a specialty in urban economic policy. He did his graduate work
at Fordham. It is a Jesuit institution, so it
had that close analysis of text and followed
the traditional canon, he said. I felt very
comfortable there.
Rabbi Ungers dissertation was on the
politics of gentrification in New York City,
and specifically on business improvement
districts and public/private partnerships.
It has been turned into a book, Business Improvement Districts in the United
States: Private Government and Public
Consequence.
While I was in graduate school, I kept
on learning privately, Rabbi Unger said.
I spent some time at the Telz-Stone Kollel in Israel, outside Jerusalem, to seek
ordination, and they also recognized me
at the same time as a marriage officiant
chutz laretz outside Israel. I really
wanted that.
I kept on learning because I love to
learn, and the text is alive for me, as a living text, he said. I could see Rabbi Akiva
arguing with Rabbi Ishmael. The idea of
creating thinking, of being a contributor
to the tradition, was the same as it was

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Cover Story
at Fordham, and the same as being an
interpretive artist. It was all seamless. I
just kept on learning.
My father taught me that an educated
Jewish person just keeps on studying
throughout his life.
Rabbi Unger got smicha in 2000; in
2007, he became Rabbi Dr.
The idea of practicing as a rabbi
became increasingly close to me, he
said. He began doing community service, and then, with his ordination,
went on the staff of the White Street
Synagogue in downtown Manhattan.
(Its since had its name changed to the
Tribeca Synagogue.) The rabbi comes
from the Mir Yeshiva, but its also very
diverse for a mainstream Orthodox shul,
with people from all over, he said. I
enjoyed it.
Rabbi Unger also set up a nonprofit
grouped called the Mosaic Colony, an
artist-in-residence program that provided artists with the chance to teach
art to day school students, and of course
gave the students an arts education.
Our jewel in the crown was a teen filmmaking program, he said. Students at
schools like SAR and Ramaz were making feature films they had to be on Jewish topics. The faculty had to be people
making a living in their fields. Some of
them were well known.
The 2008 financial meltdown was
very hard on Mosaic. The program is
basically hibernating now. Rabbi Unger
would love to be able to find funding that
could wake it up; it would be ready to
go, he said. We have the equipment, the
studio space, the curriculum. We could
reboot it quickly.
In 2008, Rabbi Unger started working
at Wagner College, a wonderful small
liberal arts school. It comes out of the
Lutheran tradition, although it is no longer affiliated, and that means that it has
a tradition of service and is respectful
of faith communities. It also has one

of the best theater arts programs in the

country, and the students who graduate
from it get work in their fields, he said;
he is not sure why so few people outside
the arts community know that.
Rabbi Unger now is tenured as an
associate professor of government and
politics. He also is the campus rabbi,
and he is Hillels rabbi as well. He also
publishes; hes particularly proud of having written the entry on Jewish philosophy in the latest edition of the Catholic
Encyclopedia, and he has finished a new
manuscript, God and the Global City: A
Jewish Public Theology. He even has a
publisher for it Lexington Books.
So with all this going on in his life
Rabbi Unger also is the single father of
10-year-old identical twins, Ari and Rafi,
and newly engaged to Deborah Lupkin
and a comfortable home in Hoboken,
what is he doing in Bayonne?
Hes in Bayonne, Rabbi Unger said,
because the urban planner in him is
excited about the possibilities, the Orthodox Jew in him is excited by the community, and the rabbi in him is excited
by the chance to grow a fairly small but
enthusiastic congregation in a city thats
always had a Jewish life and now is seeing it expand.
Bayonne never declined, he said; its
not dangerous and never was. Its not
scarred or even graffiti-marred. But it
has been overlooked. This should be
the way station for young Jewish families, he said. Theyre 20 minutes from
Teaneck or Elizabeth, where there are
day schools and dazzlingly huge selections of kosher food. There are Conservative and Reform synagogues in town,
as well as Ohev Zedek, and the Bayonne
JCC has arts and culture programs, and
early childhood classes. And theres the
Jewish Learning Project, an outreach
program that meets at the Conservative
shul, Temple Emanu-El.
We have the infrastructure. We are

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Bayonnes old Maidenform building is being converted into housing called

Silklofts.
Jewish Standard JANUARY 13, 2017 19

Cover Story
not isolated in Bayonne.
The potential for growth in Bayonne is
not restricted to the Jewish community.
For an urban planner, there is nothing as
exciting as being here, at the very threshold of growth, Rabbi Unger said. Bayonne has the infrastructure. When you
look for a gentrifying community, you look
for certain features. You look for a walking
commercial retail strip.
We have one. We have Broadway. Its
one block up from the synagogue about
2 1/2 miles. And its woven to major arteries and transportation. About every couple
of blocks, parallel to Broadway, there is a
stop for the light rail that goes to Jersey
City, Hoboken, and the PATH to Manhattan. And we have roadways that can get
you to the Holland or Lincoln tunnels to
Manhattan in 20 minutes. And when the
Bayonne Bridge is open its undergoing
major construction now, and is open only
some of the time it can get you to Staten
Island in 15 minutes or less.
Not only do we have transportation,
and a walkable retail area, we also have a
combination of urban and suburban living, he continued. There are new Manhattan-style buildings, with doormen, just
like in Hoboken and Jersey City and downtown Brooklyn. And there also is nice

suburban housing stock, with backyards,

so people with children can move here.
We are starting to see pockets of coffee
shops and art galleries. Its just beginning
its not systematic yet, but you see it.
What is systematic is the residential
development, he said. I dont think that
the developers are part of any kind of formal consortium, but they all are choosing
to put their buildings parallel to the light
rail stops.
There also is some renovation; the old
Maidenform building is being converted
into lofts, called SilkLofts.
The city traditionally has been home to
many ethnic groups; historically its been
Polish, Irish, Italian, and Jewish families,
Rabbi Unger said. Some of their descendants are still here. You have solid ethnic
enclaves. Some of his congregants, in fact,
come from those Jewish families.
Now, the city is starting to attracts
DINKS couples with double incomes
and no kids yuppies, singles, and maybe
a few families with small children. The goal
is to have about 3,000 to 5,000 people
come over the next few years. About 50
percent of the new housing stock is studios and one-bedrooms, clearly meant to
attract people getting priced out of the city
or Jersey City or downtown Brooklyn.

New and renovated housing stock is appearing throughout Bayonne.

Rabbi Unger also is enthusiastic about

his shuls future. Although he is strongly
Orthodox, and he is proud of Ohav Zedeks
membership in the Orthodox Union, he
says that the shul welcomes everyone, and
is proud of its diversity. Its a small, homey
place, in an old building that housed a
church, and its dark wood and lived-in feel
are welcoming. It offers a youth group for
toddlers during Shabbat morning services.

Rabbi Unger is proud to report that his

sons run it, and there are enough toddlers
to keep them busy.
For now, Rabbi Unger will continue to
live in Hoboken he stays in an apartment close to the shul for Shabbatot and
chaggim but who knows? Maybe someday maybe someday soon Bayonnes
urban charms will pull the urban planner
in full time.

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Jewish World

Rebuke of U.N. shows

a House divided over
meaning of pro-Israel
RON KAMPEAS
WASHINGTON Repsresentatives Ed
Royce and Eliot Engel are that Capitol
Hill rarity: a Republican and a Democrat
who truly have each others back.
And nothing unites Royce (R-Calif.),
the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee,
and Engel (D-N.Y.), its top Democrat, like
support for Israel.
Not simply Israel Royce and Engel
take their cues on the issue from the
mainstream pro-Israel community,
led by the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee.
Right now, that means keeping the
United Nations out of the PalestinianIsraeli conflict, period, while backing a
two-state outcome as the best and most
likely solution.
So, like battle-hardened buddies, the
two lawmakers stood together last week
to face a roiling Congress as they sought
to embody those principles in a nonbinding resolution: condemning the U.N.
Security Council for its anti-settlements
resolution last month and by implication, the Obama administration for
allowing it through while upholding
the goal of two states, a Jewish, democratic state living side-by-side next to a
demilitarized Palestinian state in peace
and security.
The measure passed, but the obstacles Engel and Royce overcame to get it
through demonstrate the erosion of a proIsrael consensus in Congress. Royce faced
down a right-wing agitating for a retreat
from U.S. endorsement of two states,
and Engel grappled with a left wing that
seeks more room to criticize Israel.
Royce, in an interview on the eve of
the vote, spoke with a confidence borne
out with the overwhelming 342-80 vote
on January 5: Two states would remain
U.S. policy, he said, and the focus going
forward, with a Trump administration
and a Republican Congress, would be
to make sure the world knows that the
blame lies more with the Palestinians
than it does with Israel.
If the president-elect is willing to
work with Congress as I think this new
administration will be, we can focus on
this issue of [Palestinian] incitement,
Royce said, citing plans to cut funds
unless the Palestinian Authority stopped
payments to the families of imprisoned terrorists.
His partys right has made it clear that
they no longer favor a two-state solution,
and the most recent Republican Party
platform removed references to the idea.
Nonetheless, two states would

How Royce and

Engel each
faced dissent
within his
respective party
is a telling
signal of whats
in store for proIsrael activism
going forward.
remain U.S. policy as long as Israels
government embraced it, Royce said.
A two-state solution has long been
the policy of the U.S. government and
more importantly Israels government,
he added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
says he remains committed to two states,
although some members of his Cabinet
say the idea is outmoded or they never
supported it in the first place.
Among Democrats, Engel won, but
by a narrower margin than a resolution
favored by AIPAC: 109-76, with party
leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn.),
a candidate to lead the Democratic
National Committee, voting against it.
Ellison explained that the resolution
makes the goal of a two-state solution
less achievable, and charged that the
Republicans were more interested in
attacking President Obama in his last
weeks as president.
How Royce and Engel each faced dissent within his respective party is a telling signal of whats in store for pro-Israel
activism going forward.
Royce, backed by his leaders, crushed
a bid by conservative Republicans to
remove two-state language from
the resolution.
Representative Steve King (R-Iowa),
a Tea Party congressman who was one
of the first to endorse Donald Trumps
candidacy, advanced an amendment to
strike any mention of two states from
the resolution.
Royce got the Rules Committee to
kill the King amendment before it even
came to the floor. On Thursday, before
the vote, Royce ceded his right to introduce the resolution on the floor to
Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the
House speaker. The overall effect was to
SEE REBUKE PAGE 22

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 21

Jewish World
Rebuke
FROM PAGE 21

signal that the big guns in the party were lining up behind
AIPACs agenda and its commitment to two states, and
to bipartisanship.
Our historic alliance with Israel transcends party labels
and partisan bickering, Ryan said. We see that bipartisanship right here on the House floor today in condemning this anti-Israel resolution.
Engel, by contrast, delivered a mixed message. He stood
by the resolution he co-authored with Royce while simultaneously agreeing to back an amendment introduced
by Representative David Price (D-N.C.), and backed by J
Street, AIPACs left-wing rival. Prices amendment would
have removed language blaming the Obama administration and placed more emphasis on the two-state solution.
As Engel no doubt expected, Royce had the Rules Committee nix it along with Kings the day before the vote.
On the night before the vote, Engel sounded torn
between the two versions, fluctuating between the outrage he felt toward the Obama administration for abstaining on the U.N. Security Council resolution and not
exercising its veto power, and his attraction to the more
positive message in Prices amendment.
Im a supporter of the two-state solution and I was outraged by the U.S. lack of a veto in the United Nations, he
said. While we have a reference to the two-state solution
in our amendment, the one Price is doing talks mainly of
a two-state solution.
When I look at the whole issue, Im always in favor of a
two-state solution. I have never deviated from a two-state

22 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017

Representative Ed Royce, with IDF soldiers, at the opening of a tunnel that the Israeli army detected and
destroyed a quarter mile from Gaza in 2014. 
COURTESY OF ROYCES OFFICE

solution. What I resent is that when negotiations fail, people blame Israel.
Engel attached his name to Prices amendment, and so

an odd scene played out on the floor on the day of the

vote. Usually the main sponsor of a piece of legislation
calls on other lawmakers who support it to speak on its

Jewish World
behalf, while a House member is
chosen by the opposing partys
leadership to decide who should
speak against it. When a resolution has bipartisan support, the
lead sponsors take turns asking
members of their party to speak.
On Thursday, Royce directed
Republican traffic in support and
Engel led the Democrats but he
also ceded some control to Price,
who in turn solicited speeches by
Democrats who shared his opposition to the resolution.
Thus there was a three-way
debate on the merits of the resolution and of Prices amendment
although it was now moot and on what
it means to be pro-Israel.
Each speaker included a declaration
of affection for Israel and an expression
of commitment to its alliance with the
United States.
For Royce and Republicans, the
emphasis was on the nefariousness of
the United Nations and the recalcitrance
of the Palestinians. Engels Democrats
stressed upholding the U.S.-Israel alliance and preserving the two-state
option. Price and the Democrats who
backed his amendment focused on saving Israel from its government.
In this period of great geopolitical
turmoil and uncertainty, we must reaffirm those fundamental aspects of our
foreign policy, including our strong and
unwavering support for Israel, while also
demonstrating to the world that we are
committed to a diplomacy that defends
human rights and promotes Israeli and
Palestinian states that live side by side in
peace and security, a formulation that
has characterized our countrys diplomacy for decades, Price said.
There was even a brief fourth argument, calling itself pro-Israel, voiced by
Representative Louis Gohmert (R-Texas),
in favor of removing two-state language.
I cant vote for the resolution when
we are advocating what Joel 3 says will
bring judgment down upon our nation
for trying to partition Israel, he said, citing a biblical warning of divine judgment
on nations that try to divide up the land
God gave to the Jewish people. Gohmert
was one of four Republicans who voted
against the Royce-Engel measure.
The outcome allowed all the competing visions, save perhaps for Gohmerts,
to claim victory. AIPAC applauded the
resolutions passage, saying the RoyceEngel resolution reiterates congressional support for direct, bilateral IsraelPalestinian negotiations resulting in a
two-state solution that resolves all final
status issues.
J Street said the robust Democratic
turnout for Prices amendment, which
the liberal Jewish Middle East policy
group backed, underscored the inroads
it had made.
A very significant portion of the

Each speaker
included a
declaration of
affection for Israel
and an expression
of commitment to
its alliance with
the United States.
Democratic Party is saying that there is
no longer going to be a go-along-to-getalong approach for every single policy
and worldview for the sitting government of Israel, Jeremy Ben-Ami, J
Streets director, said in an interview
just before the vote. He correctly predicted that 70 or so Democrats would be
opposed to Royce-Engel.
AIPACs influence is not under immediate threat. Among those in the House
who declined Prices entreaties and
backed the Royce-Engel resolution bill
were Jewish progressives like Jamie
Raskin of Maryland, Jerrold Nadler of
New York, David Cicilline of Rhode
Island, and Jared Polis of Colorado. King,
the Iowa Republican who had tried to
remove the two-state language, ultimately voted in favor, too.
In the Senate, meantime, where AIPAC
is backing a similar resolution, the two
lead Republican sponsors, Marco Rubio
of Florida and Tom Cotton of Arkansas,
just months ago had declined to sign
an AIPAC-backed letter to Obama urging him not to take action because it
included references to two states. Now
they are on board with the concept.
But the divisions are not disappearing.
Price is reintroducing his amendment
as a separate resolution. King has legislation in the pipeline saying the House
rejects the two-state solution, explaining that the approach has failed to
result in a secure environment for either
Israel, a free country, or the Palestinians,
who are led by Islamists and autocrats.
Representative Jan Schakowsky
(D-Ill.), once an AIPAC stalwart and
now a headliner at J Street conferences,
offered a contrasting vision of pro-Israel.
In her remarks during the debate, she
called the U.S.-Israel bond unbreakable and the two-state solution the
only way Israel can continue as both a
Democratic and a Jewish state while
declaring that the United States must be
willing to tell its friends in Israel that the
building of settlements is an obstacle to
achieving that goal.
I stand here as a proud Jew and someone who, throughout my entire life, has
been an advocate for the State of Israel,
she said, and I am standing here to
oppose the Royce-Engel resolution.


JTA WIRE SERVICE

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 23

Jewish World
BRIEFS

Correction for the Guide to Jewish Life

Israeli security cabinet orders

IDF to raze home of terrorist

Fair Lawn

Temple Beth Sholom

(Traditional Conservative
Affiliated with USCJ)
40-25 Fair Lawn Avenue
Fair Lawn, New Jersey 07410
Tel.: (201) 797-9321
Fax: (201) 797-3212

E-mail: office@tbsfl.org
Website: www.tbsfl.org
Rabbi: Alberto Baruch Zeilicovich
Cantor: Ted Prosnitz
Nursery School Director: Debbie Lesnoy
Nursery School E-mail: nursery@tbsfl.org

Israels diplomatic-security cabinet approved several

security measures in the wake of the Jerusalem truckramming attack that killed four Israeli soldiers and
wounded at least 16 Sunday.
Israeli government ministers voted unanimously to
order the Israel Defense Forces to raze terrorist Fadi
al-Qanbars home in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber. Members of the terrorists
family will not be able to meet with relatives who live
in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and his body will
not be returned to his family for burial.
Al-Qanbar a 28-year-old father of four had a
criminal record, but had no known ties to any terrorist group, although he recently posted several proIslamic State comments on his Facebook page. AlQanbars cousin said that the terrorist had been very
upset by recent reports that the U.S. was considering
relocating its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying the move would spark a war.
After the deadly attack, Israeli police and the Shin
Bet security agency raided al-Qanbars home in Jabel
Mukaber and detained his wife, parents, and two siblings for questioning. 
JNS.ORG

Four soldiers are buried

after truck-ramming attack

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The four Israeli soldiers killed in Sundays truck-ramming terror attack in Jerusalem were laid to rest Monday in separate ceremonies across Israel.
The victims were Lt. Yael Yekutiel, 20, from the
central Israeli city of Givatayim; cadets Shir Hajaj, 22,
from the Jerusalem suburb of Maale Adumim and
Shira Tzur, 20, from Haifa; and 2nd Lt. Erez Orbach,
20, from Alon Shvut, southwest of Jerusalem.
Orbach, who was a dual Israeli-American citizen,
was laid to rest at a cemetery in Kfar Etzion. Tzur was
born to American parents.
Shira was a remarkable girl, invested, a guide in the
[Israeli] scouts. Everyone regarded her as an exemplary
graduate an outstanding girl, a social leader and also
emotionally sensitive to justice and injustices, said
Mandi Ravinovich, the director of the school system
that Tzur attended, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The funeral for Hajaj took place at Jerusalems Mount
Herzl cemetery, while people gathered to mourn Yael
Yekutial in Tel Avivs Kiryat Shaul cemetery.  JNS.ORG

Israel cuts $6 million

in U.N. funding to protest
the anti-settlement vote
Israel announced that in an act of protest, it will
suspend about $6 million in funding to the United
Nations in protest of the recent U.N. Security Council
vote that condemned Israeli settlements.
The Israeli government explained that the decrease
in the countrys $40 million in total funding for the U.N.
symbolically represents a cut to the portion of the U.N.
budget that is allocated to anti-Israel bodies, including
the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights
of the Palestinian People; the Division for Palestinian
Rights; the Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices; and the Special Information
Programme on the Question of Palestine of the U.N.
Department of Public Information.
It is unreasonable for Israel to fund bodies that
operate against us at the U.N., Israeli Ambassador to
JNS.ORG
the U.N. Danny Danon said. 

Jewish World

President Barack Obama holds Kylie Schmitter, 4, to light a menorah as

Kylies sister Lainey looks on during a Chanukah reception at the White
House in 2013.
ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES

For black Jews, Obama

represented an America
of multiple identities
BEN SALES
On Election Day 2008, Marcella White
Campbell remembers her 4-year-old
son playing in front of the TV, repeating
the name of the man who soon would
become the first African-American president of the United States.
He was running around and rolling
the name Barack Obama on his tongue,
said Campbell, managing editor of
Bechol Lashon, a group that advocates
for Jews of color. I remember looking
at him and thinking, this is this biracial
man who may be president of the United
States. Hes trying to get around this
moment and figure out what it means to
him. I couldnt even imagine how exciting it would be for my kids.
Obama made history as the first black
president, but for African-American
Jews, that was only the beginning of his
resonance. Several African-American
Jews said that eight years of having the
son of a black man and a white woman in
the White House showed them that living with a hyphenated identity doesnt
make you any less American.
It helps you to imagine what it means
to be American in a different way, said
Yavilah McCoy, founder of Ayecha,
another advocacy group for Jews of
color. The fact that there was a president that viscerally embodied the idea
that you can both have an ethnic and
cultural identity and be American and
a leader of the American people, while
holding those things to be true, I think
as American Jews, it is a model for us.
But while some African-American Jews
felt hopeful watching Obamas administration, others doubted that the underlying

MaNishtana, a black Jewish writer,

doesnt feel that racial tensions in
America improved under Obamas
administration. COURTESY OF MANISHTANA

currents of racism in America would dry

up or disappear. Shais Rishon, a black
Jewish writer who goes by the pen name
MaNishtana, remembers that when
Obama walked onstage to declare victory
in 2008, he was afraid that the presidentelect would be assassinated.
I knew he wasnt going to be any
worse than any other president, Rishon
said. But I also knew there wasnt much
he could do by himself to fight the tide of
what had come before.
Jewish Americans long have grappled
with the significance of their dual identities and how each affects the other. For
SEE BLACK JEWS PAGE 26

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 25

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African-American Jews,
that struggle contains yet
another dimension. Campbell said that not only does
she identify with Obama
personally, she has felt compelled to defend him as a
black person in Jewish conMarcella White
texts and as a Jewish person
Campbell, managing
in black contexts.
editor of Bechol
There have been times
Lashon, a group
when someone says Barack
that advocates for
Obama is really bad for
Jews of color, said
Israel, and I guess I feel more
Obama showed that
put on the spot than someAmericans could
one else might feel by that in
live with multiple
the sense of needing to back
identities.
him up, she said.
COURTESY OF CAMPBELL
American Jews at large
voted for Obama twice
in large numbers. But Jewish leaders frequently have
opposed his actions on Israel, including signing an
agreement with Iran last year that they said fell short of
curbing its nuclear program, and last month allowing
the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution
criticizing Israel. MaNishtana, who is Orthodox, remembers feeling hurt when synagogues he attended edited
their prayers for the country, removing any well wishes
for the president.
But when reflecting on Obama, African-American Jews
interviewed by JTA focused more on his significance for
the black community. Several pushed back on the idea
that he should have spoken out more forcefully on issues
affecting black Americans, questioning how much difference it would have made and appreciating that he worked
to be a president for all Americans, regardless of identity.
Given that his job is so hard, are there some things
he could have come out and said earlier? Yes, said Jared
Jackson, who heads Jews In All Hues, which helps Jewish
organizations be more attentive to diversity. But would
it have stopped, you know, the killing of unarmed black
and brown men and women, and trans [people]? I cant
really say.
The reflections of some black Jews have changed with
the election of Donald Trump, who has promised to undo
Obamas legacy and who won office after a campaign that
included statements targeting minorities. They worry that
the Trump presidency could erase or counteract Obamas
message of inclusivity.
Part of the narrative we were teaching them during the
2008 election was what this was showing was that America is changing, Campbell said of her kids. We believed
that at that time and we told them that. The past eight
years culminating in the 2016 election has left us wondering: Is that true? Did we lie to them?
But no matter what comes, African-American Jews
who spoke to JTA all said they would remember Obamas
years fondly, as a time when they felt represented in the
White House.
Rabbi Capers Funnye, head of the International Israelite Board of Rabbis, an African Hebrew Israelite body,
also is Michelle Obamas cousin. He remembers standing a few rows back in a crowd some years ago watching Obama greet voters. When Obama reached Funnyes
section, he called out the rabbis name, surprising Funnyes relatives.
One cousin said, Damn, the president can pick you
out of a crowd? Funnye recalled. I said, Yeah, I know
JTA WIRE SERVICE
him and he knows me.

Jewish World
BRIEFS

Israeli researchers develop new system

to diagnose sleep apnea via smartphone
Israeli researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed a
new system to help diagnose obstructive sleep apnea while patients are still
awake, using their smartphones.
Weve developed technology that
could help diagnose OSA and sleep disorders in a convenient way, said Dr. Yaniv
Zigel, head of Ben-Gurion Universitys
Biomedical Signal Processing Research
Lab and Professor Ariel Tarasiuk, Ph.D.,
head of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Unit
at Soroka University Medical Center in
Beer-Sheva. The audio-analysis application can record speech signals from
awake subjects. Now, we will be able to
get a fast, OSA severity estimation without an overnight sleep study.
Under the current method of diagnosing OSA, patients must undergo polysomnography to record brain waves,
blood oxygen level, heart rate, breathing, and eye and leg movements overnight. The new system does not require

contact sensors, however, and it can be

installed onto a smartphone or other
devices that use microphones.
The software analyzes speech while
the patient is awake and evaluates overnight breathing sounds.
OSA effects roughly 3 million people
a year in the United States. Symptoms
include snoring, restlessness, and daytime sleepiness or fatigue.
Researchers already have tested the
new system on more than 350 subjects.
We are excited about this non-contact
sleep tracking system, which does not
require patients to wear uncomfortable
monitoring equipment on their body,
said Prof. Tarasiuk. This application
can also be very useful for CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine
users who want to check the effectiveness of their sleep apnea therapy.
The researchers are moving forward
with commercial applications for the
JNS.ORG
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Michigan becomes latest state

to pass anti-BDS legislation
Michigan has become the latest state to pass legislation
aimed at combatting the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
The bipartisan legislation, HB 5821 and 5822, was
passed by both the House and Senate in December
and signed by Governor Rick Synder Tuesday. The bill
prohibits Michigan from contracting with businesses
that boycott a strategic partner of the United States.
State agencies may not enter into a contract with a
person to acquire or dispose of supplies, services, or
information technology unless the contract includes
a representation that the person is not currently
engaged in, and an agreement that the person will not
engage in, the boycott of a person based in or doing
business with a strategic partner, the bill said.
These bills protect the states economy from efforts
to restrict trade with Israel, a goal of the BDS movement. The move by Michigan was praised by pro-Israel
organizations.
These bills protect Michigans citizens from the
devastating economic impact that would result from a
boycott of Israel. This legislation is good for the future
prosperity of the state, the nation and Israel, said
Peggy Shapiro, Midwest director of StandWithUs, a
pro-Israel educational and advocacy organization.
Josh Block, CEO of the Israel Project, said that Michigans passage of the bill ensures that holding Israel to
a double standard would not be tolerated.
Id like to extend my thanks to Michigan for standing beside Israel and refusing to look the other way in
the face of prejudice, Block said.


JNS.ORG

Israeli legal rights group sues

Twitter over role in attacks
by ISIS in Europe
The Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center, a Tel Aviv-based
legal rights organization, filed a lawsuit against Twitter
over the social media giants alleged role in aiding and
abetting Islamic State in attacks in Paris in November
2015 and in Brussels in March 2016.
Shurat HaDin filed the lawsuit on behalf of the families of victims of those attacks.
This is the first lawsuit to document Twitters key
role in the rise of ISIS to become the most feared terrorist organization in the world, and to detail how ISIS
used Twitter specifically in connection with two of the
worst terror attacks in Europes recent history, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of Shurat HaDin, said
in a statement.
Among social media platforms, Twitter has most
brazenly refused to cut off its services to terrorists, taking the position that the tweets must flow even if it
means assisting in mass murders, she said.
The victims described in the lawsuit include Alexander Pinczowski, 29, and his sister Sascha Pinczowski, 26, who were killed by an Islamic State suicide bomber at the Brussels Airport in March 2016,
as well as Nohemi Gonzalez, 26, who was killed by
Islamic State as part of the coordinated Paris terror
attacks in November 2015 that killed 130 people. The
victims families claim Islamic State uses Twitter as a
weapon of terror, including through bots, special apps
and hashtag highjacking to inflate its image, recruit
members and grow into the most-feared terror-ist
organization in the world.


28 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017

JNS.ORG

Jewish World
Netanyahu vows to follow Congress efforts
to repeal or change the U.N. resolution

Israeli security forces uncover Gaza smuggling

that used household appliances as cover

Less than a week before the January 15

Mideast peace conference convenes in
Paris, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu vowed to follow the U.S.
Congresss decision to act to repeal or
change the recent United Nations Security Council resolution condemning
Israeli settlements.
Netanyahu said at his weekly cabinet
meeting in Jerusalem that his government is making a very great effort to
prevent another Security Council resolution that harms Israeli interests.
U.S. House Resolution 11, passed in a
342-80 vote January 5, condemned the
U.N.s December 23 anti-settlement resolution as a one-sided effort that is an

A joint operation by Israels police, military,

and the Shin Bet security agency uncovered
a network of Palestinian smugglers who
were using common household devices to
smuggle goods into the Gaza Strip that were
destined for Hamas.
According to Shin Bet, the smuggling network brought in hundreds of cameras placed
inside washing machines, televisions, and

obstacle to peace, while also criticizing

President Barack Obamas administration for refusing to veto the resolution
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Jewish World

This ex-journalist runs

a Twitter account at
the Auschwitz museum
CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
OSWIECIM, POLAND Long before he moved here to
become the spokesman for the Auschwitz museum and lead
its social media effort, Pawel Sawickis life was intricately connected to this sleepy town near Krakow.
A Warsaw-area radio journalist, Sawicki used to visit
Oswiecim when he was a boy, on vacation to stay with his
grandparents and play with his cousins, who had moved to
the town shortly after World War II.
When he was 10, Sawicki learned that Auschwitz was an
epicenter of the Nazi genocide against the Jews. He gleaned
the details from a book about the camp that he found in his
grandparents home.
Most people visiting Oswiecim, especially from outside of
Poland, are shocked to discover theres a town next to the
former German Nazi camp, the memorial which they come
to visit, Sawicki said. For me it was somehow the other
way around.
That realization, he said, sparked an interest that led him
here a decade ago as a reporter and it consumes him to
this day.
This initial connection to the history of Auschwitz was the
beginning of a constant presence in my life that kept sending me to look for more information, said Sawicki, 36, who

began working at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in 2007.

Sawicki has encyclopedic knowledge
about Auschwitz, which he has shared
in countless articles, guided tours,
and several radio and video documentary productions.
But the advent of social media has
highlighted another role fulfilled by
his office: as a shield protecting the
memory of victims against rampant
abuse online, he said.
A case in point was Sawickis intervention on Twitter last month, when
Pawel Sawicki shows journalists the lab of the Auschwitz-Birkenau
museum. 
PHOTOS BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
he called out Kurt Schlichter, a columnist for the conservative news site
about Pope Francis visit in July and exposing Schlichter
Townhall, for writing that Jewish supporters of Barack
to withering criticism.
Obama and John Kerry would have made a fine helper
This reach and intense reaction demonstrate the reaat Auschwitz.
sons for Sawickis careful consideration on whether to
After some deliberation, Sawicki decided to tweet
intervene, he said.
Schlichters message on the Auschwitz memorial account, adding: The tragedy of prisoners of
In some cases, such actions risk offering a platform
Auschwitz and their complicated moral dilemmas
to abuse, thereby amplifying it, he said. But exposing and correcting such behavior can have a positive
which today we can hardly comprehend should not
effect that sometimes justifies this risk. But its always
be instrumentalized.
a fine balance.
With 40,000 likes and retweets, it became the memorials most retweeted message ever, topping the one
The overwhelming rejection by Twitter users shows

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Pawel Sawicki guides journalists through the so-called central sauna of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

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Jewish World
that calling Schlichter on his words was the right
move, said Sawicki, whose office once was the pharmacy for the SS troops serving in Auschwitz.
But he does not engage Holocaust mockers and
deniers as a matter of policy.
Sawicki also has demanded corrections from journalists who apply the word Polish to death and concentration camps built by Nazi Germans on Polish soil;
doing so is a felony in Poland. And the museum will
seek apologies or corrections from those who note
that the camps are in Poland without adding that they
were built under Nazi occupation.
But much of the museums online activity is to
highlight positive examples of online engagement
with Auschwitz, in Polish, German, English and other
languages. There are regular this day in history
tweets, links to articles, comments from recent visitors (Where was man? asks one), and news articles
referring to Auschwitz and Holocaust commemoration. Last week, there were photos of the camp
under a blanket of snow with the message: New year
brought snow which changes the landscape of the historical site.
On the ground, the museums task is to safeguard
the buildings and environs and to gather, study, and
publish evidence on German atrocities. But online,
our main goal is to provide education on the scale
of the crime and what made it possible, Sawicki said.
The Nazis murdered more than 1.1 million Jews at
Auschwitz, as well as 70,000 non-Jewish Poles, 25,000
Roma, and some 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war.
Our social media policy is an extension of our
guidelines as an institution, but it is developing week
by week because weve never had such direct interaction with so many people, Sawicki said. Its a chance
to educate people from all corners of the world, many
of whom will never be able to visit the memorial.
But abuse online also is a growing problem.
Amid a renewed wave of interest in the Holocaust in
recent years in films, books, and other media, as well
as in visits to the museum it registered a record of
more than 2 million entries last year the instrumentalization, trivialization, and denial of the Holocaust
has been growing as well, Sawicki said.

Its a chance to
educate people from
all corners of the
world, many of whom
will never be able to
visit the memorial.
Its a daily, fast-changing challenge, he said.
At the museum, Sawicki navigates the institutions
470 acres with certainty, demonstrating an intimate
knowledge of almost all aspects of life and death
here. Unlike some visiting guides who resort to pathos
or sanctimony, Sawicki, wearing a colorful scarf that
his mother-in-law made for him, shares in an informal
but precise manner illustrative facts and anecdotes
that he has spent a decade collecting.
At the Death Wall, an execution site that is located
in the yard adjacent to Block 11 in Auschwitz I, Sawicki
dryly explains to a group of journalists that there
was sand mixed with sawdust around the wall. It was
designed to drain blood.

Some testimonies mentioned that an adult male bleeds

about two liters [67 ounces] when shot, so on days with
dozens of executions this place was quite literally soaked in
blood, he said.
Sawicki once interviewed a survivor who recalled laughing at the sight of a fellow prisoner wrestling free from under
cadavers that had collapsed on him from a cart. SS guards
also laughed. Such testimony illustrated to Sawicki the complexities of surviving at Auschwitz, but also the amazing
human personal strength that doing so required, he said.
While most of the hundreds of thousands of people who
visit Oswiecim annually likely associate it with death and
horror rather than a town with 900 years of history, for
Sawicki it also is the place where he started a family with his
wife, Agnieszka. Their son, Wojtech, attends kindergarten
near here.

For Sawicki, the towns dark history is no impediment to

loving it.
It has always been a second home to me, and now it is
even more so, said Sawicki, who grew up in the quiet Warsaw suburb of Nowy Dwr Mazowiecki. We have to accept
these aspects of history in Poland and strive to make a better future.
Agnieszka, however, has had a tougher time acclimating,
because shes a real city person, a Warsaw girl who needed
some time to get used to the different pace, Sawicki said.
The couple have told their son neither about the Holocaust nor about his fathers workplace except to say that its
a museum.
We dont want to introduce it before hes ready to take
it in, Sawicki said. So were kind of waiting for him to ask
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Jewish World

Non-Jewish Poles don kippahs to protest anti-Semitism

CNAAN LIPHSHIZ

n a quiet Thursday evening, Caf Foksal

in central Warsaw suddenly filled up with
about 50 people wearing kippahs.
The event was unusual for a city with very
few observant Jews and an insignificant number of Israeli
tourists. What made it exceptional is that almost none of
the yarmulke-wearers was Jewish.
It was the latest twist in a media storm that has brewed
around Caf Foksal since a bartender was accused of antiSemitic behavior toward two patrons, who allegedly were
ejected for discussing Israel.
The New Years Day incident, which surfaced originally
in an unsigned post on the Gburrek blog, was amplified
in the mainstream media and on social networks. Amid
counter-allegations that the complainants provoked the
bartender with anti-Christian rhetoric, the affair highlighted the polarization between liberals and conservatives that is dividing Polish society. It also was the latest
public rejection by a critical mass of people of any form of
hate speech, anti-Semitic or otherwise.
Led by Ryszard Schnepf, a former ambassador of
Poland to the United States, the kippah wearers journalists, activists, and others came to Caf Foksal aiming
to defuse the tensions stoked by the medias publication
of the allegations, which the bartender claims are false.
Before the delegation arrived, hundreds of people
joined a Facebook group calling for a boycott of the cafe
over the unverified and hotly disputed charges of
anti-Semitism.
Hundreds more joined a rival Facebook group vowing
support for Caf Foksal, whose management categorically
has denied the anti-Semitism accusations. They claimed
the patrons were tossed for engaging in anti-Christian hate
speech about the Virgin Mary while under the influence
of alcohol.
The media, including the prestigious daily Gazeta
Wyborcza, were sucked into the ensuing debate. Thats
what prompted Schnepf to organize the kippah-wearing
expedition, in a bid to show that Jews were welcome at
Caf Foksal and that anti-Semitism is not tolerated in Polish society.
It was friendly and fun, Schnepf wrote on Facebook
about his visit to the controversial cafe, where he was photographed wearing a kippah. Thats how you do it, for
tolerance and friendship.
Caf Foksals management also expressed its satisfaction with the event, sharing a picture of it on their Facebook page.
A very nice evening in the company of dozens of terrific men and woman wearing kippahs, they wrote.

A man wearing a kippah takes part in a silent march

last November in Berlin to commemorate the 75th
anniversary of the 1938 Kristallnacht pogroms.

CARSTEN KOALL/GETTY IMAGES

Thanks for a nice initiative against those who would divide us.
It was a positive spin amid the bad publicity that followed the
publication Tuesday of the unsigned blog post, which offered
an account of what happened at the 24-year-old pub on New
Years Day.
The unnamed writer, who said he was 32 and never had been
involved in a brawl before this incident, wrote that the bartender asked him and a friend not to talk about Jews after the
bartender overheard the two discussing Israel.

The bartender turned out to be an anti-Semite, the blogger wrote.

After they refused to leave the bar, security threw them
out. Police arrived half and hour later, taking no action, the
blogger added. The post did not say whether the blogger or
the friend was Jewish.
But the bartender and management told the media that the
two patrons reacted rowdily after she asked them not to use
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Editorial
Everythings
up to date in
Hudson County

he cities in Hudson County are starting to rise

again. And so are the Jewish communities there.
Yes, we know, weve heard that a lot, and somehow it never seems to happen. But now and now
is the last few years, not just right now this second it seems
to be real.
Look at Hoboken, so bursting at its tight little square-mile
seams that it seems as if its worst problem is parking. How can
anyone go there if you cant leave your car anywhere? But the
housing stock is charming, like a small, far-west, increasingly
hipster Brooklyn. And if you can park, then most certainly you
will be able to eat well there.
Then theres Jersey City, much bigger the states secondbiggest city with its bustling waterfront, growing yuppie
population, astonishingly diverse demographics, and increasingly interesting, often ethnic stores and restaurants. Its gone
far beyond its storied but unsavory past and is poised to
explode with growth.
Both those cities have synagogues that either have flourished already or are primed to boom soon.
And now, theres Bayonne, its northern neighbors seemingly more staid cousin. It too is growing, as Rabbi Abraham
Unger of Congregation Ohev Zedek tells us in this weeks cover
story.
We know that gentrification can be a problem, because
often it pushes people who can afford only low rents entirely
out of the cities in which their entire lives have unfolded. Like
so much of life, city revival is a trade-off. But Bayonne has
been stable, Rabbi Unger who is not only an Orthodox rabbi
but also a city planner tells us. As its industrial base changes,
some of its old buildings are being renovated for trendy housing (or at least for housing that its developers hope will seem
to be trendy). In other places, small buildings are being
replaced by apartment buildings, complete with doormen
and other conveniences. It offers suburban housing, a walkable shopping district, affordable prices, and quick access to
bigger cities, including the big one, New York.
It also has a JCC and three synagogues one Orthodox, one
Conservative, and one Reform. Something, in other words, for
just about everyone.
This growth is particularly exciting for us at the Jewish Standard because our newspaper started in Jersey City in 1931. We
joined the exodus from the city in the 1960s, but part of the
papers heart remained there, and were thrilled to go back.
As youll see in an announcement in this weeks paper, we
plan to make the paper available in Hudson County every
week, and we plan to do the same in Rockland County.
Hudson Countys growth makes us all very happy. We look
forward to hearing stories from its cities, and to sharing them
JP
with you.

Jewish
Standard
1086 Teaneck Road
Teaneck, NJ 07666
(201) 837-8818
Fax 201-833-4959
Publisher
James L. Janoff
Associate Publisher Emerita
Marcia Garfinkle

Editor
Joanne Palmer
Associate Editor
Larry Yudelson
Community Editor
Beth Janoff Chananie
About Our Children Editor
Heidi Mae Bratt

thejewishstandard.com
34 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017

KEEPING THE FAITH

Islamophobia:
This time, blame the victim

hat is hateful to you, do not do

phenomenon, introduced into the Arab world by
to your neighbor, Hillel said. Christian Europe in the late 19th century for political
Thats the whole Torah. The rest
reasons. Islam hadand hasnothing to do with it.
is commentary.
In fact, if ever there were two people who should
Yet for every rule, there is an exception. Much as I
be living side by side in peace and cooperation it is
despise the despicable canard about anti-Semitism the Jew and the Muslim. History proves it.
that we Jews bring it on ourselves nevertheless I do
When the Muslims ruled Babylonia, the exilarch, the
believe that Islam is, in large part at least, to blame
leader of the Jewish community there, was treated as
for Islamophobia.
a king by the caliph. The caliph sat the exilarch next to
That Islamophobia is growing in the world is tragic, him on a throne of his own, and ordered everyone
but understandable. Radical elements within Islam
Muslims included to stand and salute whenever the
have poisoned the ways in which non-Muslims view
exilarch entered their presence.
Islam and its followers, no matter who
Just over a millennia ago, Muslims and Jews
they are and how they live their lives. It
fought and died side by side against the
is bordering on accepted wisdom that all
barbarous Crusaders. When Islam rose to
Muslims are terrorists until proven othconquer Spain in the eighth century, the
erwise. Islamophobic rhetoric, a staple
Jews were its chief allies. Muslim fighters
throughout Europe for many years, now
would capture an area, put the local Jews in
flows easily from the top down among
charge, and move on to the next battlefield.
our soon-to-be leaders in Washington.
The Muslim conquest inaugurated
Islamophobia is nothing new to the Jewwhat in Jewish history is known, admitish world. The blame for that is not on the
tedly somewhat exaggeratedly, as the
Rabbi
wars between Israel and the Arab states
Golden Age of Spain. Two people in
Shammai
but on the murderous attacks by ordinary
particular were responsible for that era:
Engelmayer
people on targets all too often populated
the caliph Abd al-Rachmn III and Chisdai ibn Shaprut, the caliphs personal
by children and other innocentspizza
physician. Chisdai was given control of trade in and
parlors and discotheques and schools. Last Sundays
murderous attack in Jerusalem is but the latest exam- out of the caliphate, and acted as prime minister and
ple ( just as the December attack in Berlin adds to the
foreign minister, albeit without the title.
worlds fear of all things Muslim).
With the caliphs help and blessing, Chisdai turned
It usually is wrongheaded to blame the victim, but
Muslim Spain into a major center of Jewish culture
the blame for Islamophobia, among Jews and among
and learning on virtually every level.
the rest of the world, must rest in large part on Islam
Then there was Ismail ibn Nagrela-Shmuel Haitself. First, there is the encouragement and even
nagid. He was a rabbi, a Talmudist, a renowned halachist, a grammarian, a linguist, and a poet and for
financial support Muslim Arab governments gave (and
at least two decades in the early 11th century, he also
some still give) to terrorists. Second, and perhaps
more important, there is the timidity within the nor- was the power behind Granadas throne and chief
mative Islamic religious establishment to openly and
of staff of the caliphs army, often leading Muslim
persuasively challenge the misinterpretations and mis- troops into battle.
representations of Islamic teachings that enable terrorFor sure, Islam has a triumphalist view of Judaism.
ist cells to enlist martyrs to their cause.
(Islam, the view holds, came along to set us back on
It only makes matters worse when thousands of peo- the proper path to God.) Judaism, on the other hand,
ple turn out in the Arab street to celebrate the murder views Islam as a sister faith, not an idolatrous one.
of Jews, as happened in Gaza last Sunday evening. The
The [Muslim] Arabs are in no way idolators, Maimonides, the Rambam, wrote, adding, Regarding
impression given is that all Arab Muslims, at least, are
the unity of God, they have no mistake at all. (See
anti-Semitic because Islam itself is anti-Semitic.
To be sure, there is a strong anti-Semitic strain
his Letter to Ovadiah the Proselyte.)
in the Muslim world today, but it is a relatively late
Rambam held this belief despite having experienced in his youth the horrors of radicalization that
Shammai Engelmayer is the rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel
grew out of Islams triumphalist attitude. He neither
of the Palisades in Cliffside Park.
blamed all Muslims nor Islam itself for the radicals

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Opinion

Creative renewal the norm in Israel

bad behavior. In his adulthood, he moved confidently in the Islamic world and was the trusted
physician of the Sultan al-Fadil, son of Salahadin.
Later halachic decisors reflect Rambams opinion.
The Majorcan-born leader of Algerian Jewry in the
early 15th century, Rabbi Shimon bar Tzemach (the
Rashbaz), for example, echoed the Rambam when he
wrote, Muslims are not idol worshipers. (See Tashbatz [Teshuvot of Shimon bar Tzemach] no. 3:133.)
Rabbi Shalom Mordechai Shvadron (the
Maharsham, or the Breziner Rav), a 19th century
halachic authority, permitted a mohel to circum-

Islamic law (shariah)

derives from a written
document (the Koran),
much as halachah
flows from the Torah,
and is similarly based
on an oral tradition of
scholarly interpretation
(the hadith).
cise Muslim children for the same reason. (See Teshuvot Maharsham, no. 7:93.)
To be sure, there is much about Islam that differs
from Judaism, but not when it comes to the basics.
Islam espouses a moral and ethical code, with
a concept of repentance and a Day of Judgment.
Islamic law (shariah) derives from a written document (the Koran), much as halachah flows from
the Torah, and is similarly based on an oral tradition of scholarly interpretation (the hadith). There
also exists a huge body of responsa literature, with
clear roots to the Babylonian Gaonates responsa. It
maintains a strict dietary code.
How sad, then, that Islamophobia is so pervasive
among Jews. How much sadder that Islamophobia
is becoming acceptable generally.
How much sadder still that the reason for this is
the failure of normative Islam to combat the radicals on the only battleground that matters: in the
mosques and the madrasas.

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.

fter a period of relative calm

while all eyes were trained on
the U.S. elections, Israels supporters are back to a state of high

female representation. To change that,

WePower closely examines municipal elections, identifies potential candidates, provides them with the mentoring, skills, and
anxiety.
other support to help them win, and then
The U.S. abstention on the U.N. Security
engages them to ensure their own success
Councils history-denying resolution, Secreand that of others. The specificity of their
tary Kerrys blustering reproach, and fears
program should be a model for our own
of what the Paris conference or President
efforts.
Lori Fein
Obamas last acts may bring have renewed
The mission events addressing Arab-Jewish relations were mixed. A meeting with
concern about Israels international standing. Internally, renewed terror threats, loss of
senior PLO leader Saeb Erekat made clear
life in this weeks truck ramming, and celebration of such
his conscious choice to maintain a false narrative blaming Israel for all Palestinian problems (including invokacts by the Palestinian public continue to raise tensions.
ing the apartheid canard) rather than engage available
As an antidote for apprehension, nothing beats moving
resources to improve Palestinian lives. How disheartening
our eyes away from the headlines and examining Israeli
that some things never change.
society, where creative renewal is the norm. Since biblical
Others, though, are not as stuck in the past. We could
times, the history of our people is a case study in survival
through adaptation, and this cultural tradition is exercised
daily in our homeland of Israel. When I traveled there
recently as a representative of the Jewish Federation of
Northern New Jersey, on a mission sponsored by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the differences I saw were
especially stunning.
Change is everywhere in evidence. Many are physical:
modernized layouts of ancient cities and construction
of brand new ones, new modes of transportation bringing people closer together and opening possibilities for
human connection, security barriers built and removed.
Similarly, cultural changes abound, from the evolving possibilities for women and immigrants, to legal and social
gains for religious pluralism, to growing efforts to build
bridges of understanding that give hope for peaceful resolutions to age-old challenges.
The mission provided a forum to view how Israeli partners support and promote positive change in a kaleidoscope of ways. Certain experiences made a particularly
deep impression on us. A day spent focusing on Syrian
refugees carved eternal grooves in our souls. For years,
Israeli troops have brought severely injured Syrians over
not help but be impressed by the newly constructed town
the border to be treated in Israeli hospitals at Israels
of Rawabi, which is reminiscent of a Disney park in its perfect details and marketing. Palestinian developer Bashar
expense, for the most part via secret operations that were
Masri has poured hundreds of millions into creating this
made public only recently. At Ziv Hospital in Safed, Dr.
city, complete with subsidized housing prices, so that a
Michael Hararis stirring emotional account of the medical and social issues involved in treating a largely pediatric
better life is accessible to more people.
population was surpassed only by the tour of the intenBehind the beautiful facades, issues remain. His comsive care unit, where we witnessed firsthand the mangled
panys ongoing boycott of Jewish products from across
and missing limbs of this long wars young casualties, and
the green line has not shielded him from charges of collusion and normalization. Palestinian Authority has
learned the boundary-pushing innovations Israeli surgeons have found to preserve limbs that standard protocol
withheld resources and support because Masri worked
would have them amputate.
with Israeli authorities and vendors on the project. Rawabis empty apartments and unpopulated streets tell the
This gut-punch was complemented by a briefing from
tale of Palestinian Authority leaders missing an opportuthe lieutenant colonel in charge of the program along
nity to elevate the lives of their population and to work
the Syrian border, which served as a master class in the
for true coexistence.
complicated political, military, financial, and logistical
We can only hope the new year will bring progress to
stars that must align for this humanitarian mission to
this enduring challenge.
take place. Israels commitment to the effort despite
For now Israels friends can simply applaud the ever
these hurdles exemplifies the twin Israeli ethos of overcoming impossible odds and serving as a light unto
humane and evolving society our people has created in
nations, which is necessary now more than ever, in Syrthe brief blip of history since modern Israels establishias darkest hour.
ment. We should be so grateful to live in these times.
We spent another inspiring evening with Michal Yudin
While there is more to achieve, even a short visit to
of WePower, an Israeli nonprofit that trains and supIsrael makes abundantly clear that change is possible,
ports women to become leaders in business and politics.
and that the Jewish people never will give up on improving the world to reflect our eternal ideals.
Israel may have had a woman as the head of state, and
women as fighter pilots, years before the United States
Lori Fein is the director of the Jewish Community Relations
did, but there, as here, the road to full equality is still
Committee of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.
under construction.
She can be reached at LoriF@JFNNJ.org.
Elected political positions are particularly lacking in

Israels commitment to
the effort despite these
hurdles exemplifies the
twin Israeli ethos of
overcoming impossible
odds and serving as
a light unto nations,
which is necessary
now more than ever, in
Syrias darkest hour.

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 35

Opinion

Where do we come from? Where are we going?

And other questions from an Israeli henhouse

he rooster hurled himself at

my ankles, spurs first, with
the full force of his weight
behind them, a feathery bolt of
vengeance.
The Leghorn was a big bird, an avian
giant, his beak as high as my hip. I went
sprawling onto the slatted floor.
Cursing, I yanked up the leg of my overalls. His yellow claws had opened three
bloody gashes on my shin. From a few feet
away, the rooster glared at me through a
beady golden eye, comb trembling, bracing himself for another run.
Like everyone else I knew in the small
modern Orthodox community in Chicago,
I belonged to the socialist youth movement called Bnei Akiva, a childs version
of Nili Hapoel Mizrachi. Mostly, our version of socialism boiled down to running
groups on Saturday afternoons or working
for no pay in sleepaway camp. All this was
meant to prepare us for the glorious zenith
of religious Zionism, moving to Israel.
And, like everyone else I knew, I signed
on to spend my gap year on kibbutz. It was
an easy choice. Ever since Id read about
Dick and Jane visiting their grandparents
farm, Id wanted to be a farmer. Some of

my friends volunteered to work in the

orchards, some were in irrigation, some
milked cows. A lucky few inseminated
turkeys. A bevy of young women worked
in the childrens house. When the labor
coordinator told me Id been assigned to
the henhouse, I was delirious with joy.
Each morning, I rolled out of bed when
it was still dark out. By six a.m., I was
already waiting for my ride in front of the
still-shuttered kibbutz dining room. Gathered around a vat of leftover chocolate
babka with the other farmers, I fortified
myself with a cup of muddy Turkish coffee before swinging up onto my supervisors ancient tractor. I braced myself
against the wheel cover as we roared off,
chugging along through the fields as a hazy
orange sun peered over the horizon. My
destination was an old fashioned and lowtech hen house the lul a lone screened
structure built high off the ground, set
against a background of waving purple cotton. It was hot and smelly in summer and
cold and damp in winter.
Most of the time I loved my job. But right
now I was facing an angry, territorial Foghorn Leghorn. Hed flung himself at my
knees for three days running, and I was

tired of it.
Steadily, I moved along the
Hanging from the handle
rows of nesting boxes. Some
of the cart was a long, slenwere empty. Some held three
der metal rod with an angled
or four warm brown eggs. To
crook at one end. Passing it
separate the Leghorns from
behind the rooster, I coaxed
the Rhode Island Reds, the
his legs out from under him.
barn was divided into five
Carefully gripping him by his
lofty rooms, sectioned off by
scaly yellow feet I didnt
walls of chain link fencing.
Helen
want to hurt him, I just
Chickens strutted with slow
Maryles
needed to show him who
pomp and dignity or scurShankman
ried across the slatted floor,
the alpha chicken in this hen
stirring the dust with beating
house really was I calmly
wings. A few broody chickens remained
continued collecting eggs. Not so tough
in the boxes, and Id slide my hand under
when youre upside down, are you, I said
their breasts, as warm as down comfortconversationally. After finishing my tasks,
ers. At least once a day, a hen would feroI released him. He skulked off, pausing for
ciously attack me, her weapon a pointed,
a brief moment to fluff his feathers.
needle-sharp beak. I couldnt really blame
Each morning, the hens bustled over
her. If a featherless giant in striped overalls
to surround me, bombarding me with a
and an ugly hat tried to steal my children,
flurry of insistent, alarmed clucks. Their
Id be furious, too.
round yellow eyes were glassy and expressionless, but their throaty voices rang with
I often wondered what the chickens
anxiety. When the feed conveyer started
were trying to tell me. Some days, the tone
up with a mechanical clank, the flock
of their gabbling sounded like a warning.
waddled off to eat their breakfast. As the
Other days, they seemed to be peppering
henhouse settled into a maternal, soothing
me with questions. If they could speak,
hum, I plucked a purple egg crate from the
would they have sounded more like children did you bring me a present? Or
stack and began hunting for eggs.

The U.N. disqualified

he United Nations has long disqualified itself as a legitimate

body to enact any resolution that
condemns Israel.
Security Council Resolution 2334,
adopted in December 2016, continues the
hateful fiction that Israel deserves harsher
condemnation than any other country.
Never mind that Israel is home to a free
press, an independent judiciary, open elections, and respect for human rights. False
characterizations of the Jewish state have
been enabled by repressive regimes as well
as by presumably enlightened democracies.
It is time to end the charade.
The U.S. failure to cast a veto permitted
the resolutions adoption. But its enactment also placed a spotlight on flaws in the
resolution, and on U.N. bias against Israel
in general.
The December resolution says that the
eastern part of Jerusalem which contains
the Jewish Quarter of the Old City (including the Western Wall of the Temple Mount)
is Palestinian territory. Accordingly, Jewish
settlement activity there constitutes a flagrant violation under international law. So
adding a bedroom in a housing area where
Jews have lived and prayed for centuries is
illegal? You need not be a fan of unbridled
36 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017

settlement expansion to appreciate the

absurdity of this notion.
The Obama administrations abstention
drew harsh criticism from Israelis across
the political spectrum, as well as from mainstream American Jewish organizations. Both
branches of Congress repudiated the resolution. The House declared that the abstention undermined longstanding U.S. policy
to oppose anti-Israel resolutions, reversing
decades of bipartisan agreement.
Sadly, expressions of anti-Israel bias in
the world organization have become habitual. In 2015, for example, the U.N. General
Assembly adopted 20 resolutions castigating Israel and only three that criticized other
countries. The 20 resolutions variously condemned Israel for damaging electrical and
water systems in Occupied Palestinian Territory; called on Israel (the only country
named in the resolution) to accede to the
Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear
Weapons; affirmed the right of Palestinians
displaced in 1967 to return to their homes;
deplored Israeli violations of Palestinian
human rights; declared that Israeli settlements, including in East Jerusalem, are
illegal; expressed concern that the Golan
Heights remains under Israeli military occupation; reiterated support for efforts to end

the Israeli occupation, and

authoritarian states to support
determined that Israeli laws,
some or all of the resolutions.
jurisdiction, and administraA partial list of supporters
tion in Jerusalem are illegal
included France, Germany,
and null and void.
the United Kingdom, China,
The bias against Israel
Cuba, Russia, Qatar, Saudi
was expressed not only by
Arabia, and Venezuela.
the volume and variety of
The hypocrisy is astonishing. Israel was being judged
the criticisms but the size
Dr. Leonard
by regimes with indisputably
of the resolutions majoriA. Cole
ties. Most were supported by
worse human rights records,
more than 150 of the U.N.s
and those regimes were
193 member states. Opponents typically
joined in their denunciations by leading
included about a half-dozen members,
democracies.
including the United States, and another
The Obama administrations failure to
small group would abstain.
veto 2334 drew a backlash that, ironically,
Similar imbalances occurred in other U.N.
could prompt mitigation of the U.N.s hypocrisy. A glint of the possibility arose from
agencies. None is more striking than in the
three revealing behaviors.
Human Rights Council. The HRC is a body
First, Israels relations with Arab states
of 47 states elected by the General Assembly
continue to improve, even as Israeli-Palestinand ostensibly is responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights
ian issues remain unresolved. Israel has diplomatic ties to Egypt and Jordan, which have
around the globe.
been strengthened by common security
On a single day, March 24, 2016, the HRC
concerns. Similarly, shared worries about
adopted six resolutions naming many purported Israeli transgressions, ranging from
threats from Iran have led to informal, if
abridgement of Palestinian social and culoften secret, cooperative arrangements with
tural rights to construction of the security
other Sunni Arab states, including Saudi
barrier that prevents terrorists entry into
Arabia. These countries appear increasingly
Israel. Several democracies joined with
receptive to an accommodation with Israel.

Opinion

These chickens may be indulging in a cackle fest, but what really is on

their minds?
ELIZABETH PRATA
like elderly ladies at a resort: Excuse me,
young lady, what time does the tea room
open?
The timbre of their collective fretting still haunts my dreams. What if we
humans, in our hubris, had underestimated their intelligence all along? What if

their anxious clucking meant: Excuse me,

have you seen my egg? It was medium size,
and light brown. Im sure I left it in that
nest box right there. Can you help me find
it? Or: Can you get that damn rooster to
stop jumping on my back? He wont take
No for an answer.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, strides to his weekly

Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on December 25, 2016, in the aftermath of
the U.N. vote.
DAN BALILTY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Second, firm interventions by Prime Minister Netanyahu and an anticipated Trump

administration proved at least partially effective. Egypt had been scheduled to introduce
Resolution 2334 for a Security Council vote.
After calls from President-elect Trump and
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Egyptian
President al-Sisi postponed the vote indefinitely. Belatedly and on short notice, other
countries submitted the resolution, which

was adopted 14-0 with one abstention. Still,

Egypts policy reversal demonstrated the
potential effectiveness of pressure from a
future Trump administration.
Third, criticism of the U.S. posture regarding the resolution came from unexpected
sources. Not only did bipartisan congressional majorities express disapproval, so did
some of Americas closest allies. British Prime
Minister Theresa May rebuked Secretary of

Perhaps chickens wax philosophical: O

Keeper of the Cart, Great Collector of Eggs,
are there many Supreme Beings like Yourself or are You the only One? Are we alone
in the universe? Is there more to life than
this chicken coop? What is it like on the
other side of this window screen? Is this
all there is?
At the end of the summer, I bid a reluctant farewell to my flock and returned
home for college. I was surprised at how
much I missed being Queen of the Hen
House. The song of a barn full of contented
chickens communicated with something
buried deep in my city girls soul. It took
me a long time to grow accustomed to sitting behind a cramped desk, scratching
out pages of notes as professors strutted
and preened in front of the class. In my
courses on anthropology, sociology, philosophy, and nineteenth-century continental literature, we debated lifes great questions: Who are we? Where do we come
from? Where are we going? Do we have
any control over our own fates? Are we
alone in the universe? Does God exist? If
so, does He walk among us, or is He somewhere far away, watching? I only started
paying attention when I realized that these
were the same queries I attributed to the
chickens, when I still lived among them.
Under this burden of clothing despite
our variegations in plumage and politics,
wealth, religion, and education we are

State John Kerry for his disparagement of

Netanyahus governing coalition. She rejected
Kerrys attack [on] the composition of the
democratically elected government of an
ally.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull criticized the U.N. resolution as onesided and deeply unsettling. Vivian Bercovici, Canadas recent ambassador to Israel,
unsparingly described Americas failure to
veto the resolution as a betrayal of Israel.
The confluence of these circumstances has
heightened the chances that forceful U.S.-led
action could deter countries from further participating in anti-Israel bias. After the Security
Council decision, a furious Netanyahu limited
ties with embassies of the 12 countries that
voted for the resolution and with which Israel
has diplomatic relations. This could also be a
step for a U.S. administration that wishes to
right a moral wrong.
As a superpower, the United States also
could employ more biting incentives toward
unbiased treatment of the Jewish state. Beginning with a pronouncement of displeasure
with an uncooperative country, actions could
advance to downgrading bilateral relations,
business exchanges, and policy cooperation.
In the end, financial penalties could be levied
including the denial of financial aid and trade
opportunities, and withholding dues to the
U.N. and its uncooperative agencies.
Of course, not every action by any state

Perhaps chickens
wax philosophical:
O Keeper of
the Cart, Great
Collector of Eggs,
are there many
Supreme Beings
like Yourself or are
You the only One?
all pretty much the same. Like the hens,
we seek answers. Like the hens, we belong
to a flock, where we try our best to fit in.
We, too, want to know where our next
meal is coming from, and a safe, comfortable nest where our young will be safe.
We, too, want to know that we are not
alone, someone cares about us, and there
is life beyond this big, lofty coop.
Helen Maryles Shankman of Teaneck is
an artist and writer. Her work appears in
many fine journals, including The Kenyon
Review, Gargoyle, Jewishfiction.net, and
Cream City Review. Scribner recently
published her second novel, In The Land
of Armadillos.

The confluence
of these
circumstances
has heightened
the chances that
forceful U.S.led action could
deter countries
from further
participating in
anti-Israel bias.
is beyond criticism. But the U.N. has proved
itself entirely unfit to render judgment about
Israel. Every fair-minded country should
declare recognition of this reality and refuse
to heed all such resolutions until the UNs
selective discrimination is ended.
Dr. Leonard A. Cole of Ridgewood is an
adjunct professor of emergency medicine
and director of the program on terror
medicine and security at the Rutgers New
Jersey Medical School.
JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 37

Opinion

Small things matter big time

his past Yom Kippur, the gabbai

of my shul was able to get me to
do something that my father was
never able to.
Let me explain.
As in most shuls, mine has a break on Yom
Kippur between Musaf and Mincha, during
which time many people go home for a short
nap. This year, during Shacharit, the gabbai
told me that he was honoring me with the
first aliyah at Mincha. (Im a kohen.) And since
Yom Kippur Mincha begins immediately with
the Torah reading, I had to be back in shul
exactly on time.
While I am usually punctual for services,
for years I had declined my fathers entreaties
on Yom Kippur in this regard, and extended
the break just a bit to catch a few extra winks.
This year, though, I was there on time
indeed, a few minutes early.
But my punctuality is not the point of this
story. When I ascended the center bimah
for my aliyah, I glanced over the mechitzah
at the almost completely empty womens
section to see that my wife and daughters
had given up their rest to be present for
my kibud. Unexpected, unnecessary and
touching. And it brought to mind another,
more than six-decades-old shul story, when
as part of a youth Shabbat I, a 7-year old,
led the adult services for the initial Birchot
HaShachar. Not, mind you, all of Pesukei
DeZimrah, just the first five minutes of the
very first introductory prayers. Then, too,
I looked up at the womens section before

beginning and saw one woman sitting in an

otherwise empty balcony. My mother.
We all know of the very real sacrifices parents make for children, and adult children
often make for parents. We know of parents
taking second, and even third jobs in order to
provide a proper education for their children;
giving up time with spouses, friends, and their
own leisure activities to ensure that their children receive the out-of-school enrichment
and sports programs they desire; sitting up all
night, or spending weeks on end in hospitals,
with sick children. And Ive only skimmed the
surface. We also know of adult children who
sacrifice career advancement, family, vacations, and just time to unwind at the end of
a hectic day in their over-programmed and
complicated lives in order to assist their aging
parents in healthcare and other geriatric
issues.
Why, then, did the actions of my wife,
daughters, and mother, relatively minor
though heartwarming, resonate so strongly
with me?
One answer can, I believe, be summed up
in three words: small things matter.
While they may not take the place of the
large things, the significant, serious, timeconsuming, difficult, and often expensive
efforts we feel responsible for and undertake, they too can touch the heart. It may
take only a few short minutes to pay a shiva
call that we dont really have to go to, but it
can bring comfort. Letting a fellow shopper
with a few items go ahead of you and your

overflowing cart can brighten

one Shavuot, the last Yom Tov
a day. Small things matter.
before the first yahrzeit for my
Every Monday in the New
father, when I left the sanctuYork Times theres a column
ary before the ritual began and
called Metropolitan Diary,
crossed paths with another
which contains readers perkohen, who had just entered
the sanctuary after washing his
sonal stories about living in
hands. He immediately realized
or visiting New York City. And
why I was going in the opposite
almost always there is one
Joseph C.
direction and said, We miss
about something sweet that
Kaplan
you. I look forward to duchanhappened to the contributor
decades earlier, which the writer still rememing with you on Rosh Hashanah. It didnt take
five seconds, but it was comforting. And not
bers with great fondness. Nothing earthonly do I still remember it more than 10 years
shattering, just a small kindness, a pleasant
later, I try to say something similar to other
remark, a helping hand. Yet these small interkohanim in like situations.
actions were indelibly etched in memory, to
Small things matter, and they can be
be recalled with warmth and affection years
paid forward.
later. Small things matter.
And yet. In rereading my small things matAnd because they matter, they can, and
often are, paid forward. The young man who
ter analysis, I realize it may be wrong because
saved 10 minutes in the store because someI may be using incorrect criteria. Perhaps the
more accurate way to assess our actions is not
one let him cut the line may be more disposed
to measure them by the time, effort, or money
to assist an older woman in the parking lot as
expended, but to evaluate them by the effect
she struggles to unload her packages from her
they have on others. And using that metric,
cart to her car. The mourner to whom you
perhaps there are no small things just large
paid the unnecessary shiva call may more
things and larger ones. To bring any comfort,
readily spend a few minutes visiting his nextease, consolation, tranquility, contentment,
door neighbor, who is recuperating from an
or joy to the soul of another is inherently not
operation. And the child who was the recipia small thing. Its an essence of our humanent of small sacrifices by her parent (in addition to the many large significant ones) often
ity. Its a part of us that exemplifies the tzelem
will become the parent who does the same for
elokim that we all posses.
her children, and the adult child who does so
It does truly and deeply matter but its
for her parents.
not a small thing.
Another personal example. When I was in
aveylut, one of the hardest religious restricJoseph C. Kaplan, a regular contributor, has
been living in Teaneck and practicing law in
tions for me was not being able to join in
Manhattan for many years.
Birchat Kohanim on Yom Tov. I remember

A Holocaust survivor on President Obama, gratitude, fear, lies

ERIC MAYER

y name is Eric Mayer. I am

an 88-year-old Holocaust
survivor, born in Worms,
Germany, the oldest Jewish community north of the Alps. Its synagogue, burned down on Kristallnacht,
celebrated its 900th anniversary in 1934.
Worms is also where Rashi taught and
interpreted the Five Books of Moses.
I am a fiercely Jewish American citizen
who arrived in this country at the time of
an onslaught of repression, demagoguery,
anti-Semitism, and character assassination.
As a new immigrant from France in 1947, I
was unnerved by the comparison to what I
and hundreds of thousands of Jews, socialists, Freemasons, gypsies, Communists, and
liberal clergy had experienced in the early
days of the Hitler regime. It frightened this
19-year-old Jewish immigrant. The lies, false
accusation, vilifications, and intimidations
were not as in my schooldays in Germany
they were not violent but the objective
was the same. Lies and innuendos threatened and ruined the lives of many.
In the 1930s, Germany did not have an
Edward R. Murrow. Nor does the United
38 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017

States today.
When, in 1947, we my surviving brother
and sister learned that my mother was
gassed in Belzec, I said to myself that I will
fight racism, religious intolerance, character assassination, blacklisting, arbitrary
laws, anti-Semitism, and the spreading of
lies about nationals, groups, or individuals. From Der Strmer in Germany to the
pages of La Croix in France and then to
the news releases of the House Un-American
Activities Committee, the lie as a weapon
proved to be ever more powerful and
accepted. Demagogues used the big lie as a
potent and controlling weapon. I never want
to stand by silently, no matter what the big
lies origin or mouthpiece, no matter what
individual or group, whatever its standing,
rank, affiliation, or origin, not in the name
of a popular leader, in the name of a cause,
and least of all in the name of God.
I hope you understand how lies and innuendos get fabricated and spread, how people
who are blind to the truth accept and magnify the distortion of truth, how zealotry, the
worship of a false doctrine, or the hatred of
peoples, races, or the implementing of their
doctrine, their coveting other peoples lands
and resources, involving the process of a

God-given blessing, help those lies spread.

This brings me, with the greatest of pain, to
a very contemporary manifestation of all of
the above. The pain is now so much greater,
as it involves some of my Jewish brethren.
Unfortunately, some might downplay the seriousness of what I say here.
It concerns the innuendos, insults, denial
of proven facts, and charges of anti-Semitism
hurled at my president, President Obama, the
twice-elected president of the United States,
who was given a resounding vote of confidence by American Jews in both elections.
How then could it all be happening? It is the
result of a love of power, prejudice, or lack
of courage on the part of most of the leaders of major American Jewish organizations?
One could attribute it to political factors, the
hope of favors to be gained from the new president for allowing the uncontrolled stream of
untruths about the outgoing president. Or is it
the nefarious involvement of the opponents of
the true ideals of Zionism, to which they pay
lip service but are no longer committed to?
My past, first in Nazi Germany and later
in Vichy France, and my years during the
McCarthy era, have taught me that before
the bullets come the words. Character
assassination is the precursor to physical

assassination. Remember Rabin!

So I conclude with an appeal to these same
Jewish leaders I exclude the ADL whom I
dare to take to task. Please follow our teaching. Right the wrong. Honor this president.
Honor him for correcting past wrongs when
he decorated the survivors of Jewish soldiers
who were denied their medal because of the
anti-Semitism during World War II. Honor this
president for coming to the aid of Israel with
the Iron Dome defense. Honor this president.
Do not diminish him.
Honor him for providing more military
aid to Israel than any previous administration has done since the founding of Eretz
Yisrael. Honor him for his genuine friendship to our people during the eight years
of his administration, in the face of the
unrelenting pressure from special interest
groups, here and in Israel.
You must stand up for what is right and
true. The majority of United States citizens of the Jewish faith will stand squarely
behind you.
Eric Mayer, who lives in Wayne, has been
involved in a large number of Jewish, Israeli,
and American nonprofit organizations and
has sat on the boards of many of them.

Opinion

The tide slowly turns against Iranian terror

glimmer of hope
in the fight against
Iranian-backed
terrorism shone
forth from Argentina during
the final days of 2016.
A federal appeals court
ruled that former President
Cristina Fernndez de KirchBen Cohen
ner will face a new investigation over allegations that
she and her close colleagues
made a secret pact with the Iranian regime over the
probe into the July 1994 bombing of the Asociacin
Mutual Israelita Argentina. Thats the AMIA, the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.
Eighty-five people were murdered and hundreds
were wounded that day, when a truck packed with
primitive explosives rammed into the AMIA building. But the perpetrators of the atrocity, the Iranian
mullahs and their Hezbollah auxiliaries, have escaped
justice for more than 20 years. Under Kirchners government, the most tangible outcome of the probe into
the bombing was to produce its 86th victim: federal
prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was found dead in his
Buenos Aires apartment on January 18, 2015 the day
before he was due to unveil a lengthy, painstakingly
researched complaint against Kirchner over her collusion with the Iranians.
Kirchner was defeated in last years presidential
election, and under her successor, Mauricio Macri,
there have been constant hints that the question of
justice for both the original AMIA victims and Nisman himself is on the agenda once more. Specifically,
Macri promised not to challenge a court ruling that the
accommodation reached with the Iranians formally
described as a Memorandum of Understanding was
unconstitutional, and he promised that there would
be a proper investigation into whether Nismans death
was a suicide or, as is far more likely, an assassination.
Since Argentina is saddled with a notoriously corrupt judiciary, its hard to predict definitively whether
the hoped-for progress will be made in the coming
year. Much depends on which judge is appointed to
handle the AMIA case. Some of the judges who served
under Kirchner may well be guilty themselves of collaborating in the Nisman cover-up, but there also are
others being considered for the renewed investigation
who are more independent-minded.
As we await the next developments, its important
to remember how we got to this sorry juncture. One
of the key influences on Kirchner was the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Riding the wave of
an oil price boom in the early 2000s, Chavez joined
the pantheon of left-wing dictators with loud mouths
and wide appeal. His policies were defined by shortterm social welfare programs in some of the countrys
poorest towns and cities; oil subsidies to his Cuban
friends, worth at least $7 billion a year, and a shrill
foreign policy founded upon both anti-Americanism
and anti-Zionism.
Under Chavez, anti-Semitism, which until then had
not been particularly significant in Venezuela, surged
through the media, through both attacks upon Israels
legitimacy and the lampooning of opposition leader
Henrique Capriles, a devout Catholic who nonetheless
proudly acknowledges his Jewish heritage. As a result,
many of Venezuelas Jews have sought refuge in Israel
and other countries.

A federal appeals court recently ruled that former Argentine President Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner
will face a new investigation over allegations that she and her close colleagues made a secret pact
with the Iranian regime over the probe into the July 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in
Buenos Aires.
PRESIDENCIA DE LA NACIN ARGENTINA VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Nisman also was the

target of direct Iranian
threats. Hence the
suspicion, as yet unproven,
that Kirchner ordered his
assassination, or at least
acquiesced in it.

At the same time. and not by coincidence, Venezuelas relations with

Iran also surged. There were at least
two significant outcomes from that
relationship.
First, Iran, along with Hezbollah and its allies, massively boosted
its fundraising, criminal activities,
intelligence, and terror-planning
operations throughout Latin America. Second, Chavez used his influence on Kirchner to undermine Nismans investigation into Iranian culpability in the AMIA
bombing, which already had led Interpol to release
five red notices for the Iranian suspects, some of
them diplomats at Tehrans embassy in Buenos Aires.
Nisman also was the target of direct Iranian threats.
Hence the suspicion, as yet unproven, that Kirchner
ordered his assassination, or at least acquiesced in it.
Out of that triangle Kirchner, Chavez, and the Iranian regime only one still stands strong. Kirchner
has been utterly discredited and eventually may find
herself in prison. Chavez is no longer with us, and the
Venezuela he bequeathed to his successor, Nicolas
Maduro, has collapsed into criminality, political thuggery, and chronic shortages of basic food and medicine; what once was one of the wealthiest countries in
Latin America now has more in common with Zimbabwe under the dictatorship of Robert Mugabe.
In contrast, Iranian power continues to rise,
cemented by an alliance with Russia, a dominant military position in Syria, and the political collusion of the

Obama administration. (Shamefully, that same administration didnt even stop to consider the moral turpitude of abstaining on the recent U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334 condemning Israel, even though
Irans Venezuelan allies were among its sponsors.)
Hence the importance of real progress, and soon, in
the Nisman case. Argentinas courts once again are in
a position to convict the Iranians for the unpunished
crime of the AMIA bombing. Doing that will generate
momentum to take on Iranian-backed terror globally,
from Buenos Aires to Gaza, and from Aleppo to Kurdistan. If Irans allies in Latin America can crumble, after
all, then so too can its allies elsewhere. The pain they
JNS.ORG
have caused, though, never can be undone.
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.
JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 39

Gallery
1

n 1 From left, Jacob Herman, 8, Penina

Kirscher, 15, Liam Leibowitz, 10, and
Yehoshua Danzger, 7, competed in the
kids division in the annual Teaneck
latke-eating contest at Noahs Ark.
n 2 Josh Lipowsky, contributing writer
to the Jewish Standard, third from
right in white hat, was this years adult
champion in the annual latke-eating
contest. This years event was held
at Noahs Ark in Teaneck on New
Years Day, the last night of Chanukah.
Photos courtesy Brenda Sutcliffe

n 3 Ron Rosensweig, center, chair of

the Jewish Federation Community
Relations Committee, lights a candle
at Bergen Countys annual menorah
lighting ceremony as Rabbi Mordecai
Kanefsky of Bris Avrohom, left, and
James Tedesco, Bergen County Executive, watch. Courtesy Federation

n 4 Bris Avrohom of Fair Lawn offered

Chanukah Night Live, a party for
adults. Rabbi Mendel Zaltzman, left, lit
the Grey Goose menorah with Alex
Buz of Ridgewood. Courtesy Bris
Avrohom

n 5 New Jersey Governor Chris

Christie lit the shamash candle at a
fifth-day Chanukah ceremony in the
Trenton Statehouse. Mark Levenson,
N.J. Israel Commission chair, and
Rabbis Shmuley Boteach of
Englewood and Steven Pruzansky of
Teaneck also attended. Courtesy
Chabad

n 6 Olivia Hausman and Rabbi Ken

Stern of Congregation Gesher
Shalom/JCC Fort Lee were among the
congregants and leaders who lit the
Fort Lee menorah in the center of
town on the first night of Chanukah.
Courtesy Gesher Shalom

n 7 Temple Beth El of Northern Valley

held its 20th annual 101 Menorahs
Shabbat on December 30. A festive
oneg with sufganiyot followed.
Courtesy TBENV

40 Jewish Standard january 13, 2017

Arts & Culture

6 Israeli TV shows to binge-watch now
LIOR ZALTZMAN

s the people on the next season

of Game of Thrones might
say, Winter is here.
That means its time to
get under the covers and engage in the
national pastime of binge-watching TV
shows. Since Netflix pioneered the streaming model in the late 2000s, other streaming services, like Hulu and Amazon Prime,
have been popping up regularly. They
have relatively affordable streaming subscriptions and lots of viewing options.
Theres something really comforting
about putting on a good show whenever
you want and just relaxing or you may
want to consume an entire series obsessively, in one sitting.
If youve already worked your way
through HBO Gos offerings and seen
every Netflix Original, consider an offering from the Jewish state. Israeli TV has
improved markedly over the years.
Though Israel may be small in size, it has
plenty of fodder for great TV: wars, terrorism, religious tensions.
These six shows draw on the inherent
drama that just comes with being Israeli.
Some are funny, some are painfully suspenseful, some are even terrifying but
theyre all worth watching.

Fauda (Netflix)
Fauda means chaos in Arabic and
thats precisely what the series shows. Its
based in part on the Israeli army experiences of creator and star Lior Raz when
he served in the Duvdevan Unit, which is
famous for its undercover operations. The
shows main character rejoins his old unit
in an effort to capture a notorious terrorist. As he goes deep undercover and the
operation progresses, reality gets muddier, and it becomes hard to differentiate
the hero and the villain. Jacob Kaplan of
Jewniverse wrote that it is the Israeli equivalent of The Wire. I tend to agree.

Hostages (Netflix)
Hostages, or Bnei Aruba in Hebrew,
generated a great deal of buzz even before
it came out. In fact, an American adaptation of the show came out three weeks
before the original Israeli show premiered.
Despite its all-star cast (Toni Colette, Dylan
McDermott, and Tate Donovan), CBS canceled Hostages after one season. The
original Israeli series an international
success stars Ayelet Zurer as a successful surgeon, wife and mother of two, who
is about to get the gig of a lifetime she is
scheduled to operate on the Israeli prime
minister. However, the night before the
procedure, masked men break into her

Clockwise, from top, cast and scenes from Mossad 101, Fauda, and Hostages

home and take her family hostage. The

only thing they want is to make sure the
prime minister does not survive his operation. This is a melodramatic nail-biter,
with stunning performances from the
entire cast. Hostages was made for binge
watching. Youre going to have a hard time
taking your eyes away.

Mossad 101 (Netflix)

Mossad 101, or HaMidrasha, also is
about an intelligence unit but its not
what youd expect. I suppose it is meant to
be an action drama, but theres something
delightfully ridiculous about it. Think
Quantico meets Police Academy. The
series features some of the handsomest
Israeli actors around, including Aki Avni,
Yehuda Levi, Itai Tiran, and Omer Barnea, so if good-looking guys make a show
for you, theres that. And if laughter is
the way to your heart, Mossad 101 also
stars one of Israels best comedians, Hana

Laszlo, as well as the legendary Israeli

actor and singer Yehoram Gaon. The
show is about an unorthodox (and fictional) training course for Mossad agents.
The course starts with 13 trainees, including one with MS and some immigrants
from countries like Iran and Brazil, along
with the wife of an assassinated Mossad
agent. Looking for an oddball show? Try
this one.

Srugim (Amazon Prime)

Considered by some viewers to be an
Orthodox version of Friends, this series
revolves around the lives of a group of
single religious men and women living in
Jerusalem. Srugim is a frank, moving,
and sometimes hilarious look into the
dating lives of young religious people in
Israel, with all of its challenges and pressures. It broaches a breadth of topics, from
losing faith to divorce to feminism and
even homosexuality. All three seasons are

on Amazon Prime, so get cozy and settle

in with this one.

Mekimi (Amazon Prime)

Mekimi is a fascinating show based on
an autobiographical story of the same title
written by Noa Yaron-Dayan, a former TV
and radio personality who joined the Breslov chasidic sect. In the series, Alma is
a young radio and TV star who feels disconnected from her wildly successful life
surrounded by artists and creative types.
She meets Ben (played by the Israeli singer
Muki) when he moves into her shared
apartment and falls for him. Ben, a film
student and surfer, seems lost. On a trip
to the Sinai with their friend Brener, a fellow wild surfer who is turning religious,
Brener gives Ben a book by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. So begins Bens love affair
with religion, which at first tears him
and Alma apart, then brings them back
SEE ISRAELI TV PAGE 44

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 41

Calendar
Friday

Sunday

JANUARY 13

JANUARY 15

Nursery school open

house in Tenafly:
The Leonard & Syril
Rubin Nursery School
at the Kaplen JCC
on the Palisades
has an open house,
9:30 a.m. 411 E. Clinton
Ave. (201) 408-1436 or
eyurowitz@jccotp.org.

Saturday
JANUARY 14

Concert in Wayne:
The YMCA of Wayne
begins a new Backstage
at the Y series with a
performance by the Hit
the Roof Band in the
Rosen Performing Arts
Center, 11:45 a.m. The
Metro YMCAs of the
Oranges is a partner of
the YM-YWHA of North
Jersey. 1 Pike Drive.
(973) 595-0100.

Yiddish music in
Franklin Lakes: Temple

Shabbat in Teaneck:
Temple Emeth holds a
Shabbaton exploring the
themes of Let There Be
Water by Seth M. Siegel,
this years JFNNJ One
Book One Community
book selection. Torah
study, 9 a.m.; services
at 10:30, where Rabbi
Steven Sirbu will
incorporate themes from
Siegels book; lunch
at noon; ending with
a discussion Water
and Environmental
Peacebuilding in Israel
by Dr. Shahar Sadeh of
Columbia University.
1666 Windsor Road.
(201) 833-1322.

Emanuel of North Jersey

plays a recording of
the Folksbiene Yiddish
Theaters American
Treasures concert, 1 p.m.
Ice cream and popcorn.
558 High Mountain Road.
(201) 560-0200 or www.
tenjfl.org.

Film in Paramus:
The JCC of Paramus/
Congregation Beth
Tikvah shows The Kings
Speech, 3 p.m. Optional
deli dinner follows the
movie. East 304 Midland
Ave. Dinner reservations,
(201) 262-7691.

Life with children:

Concert in Closter:
Temple Beth El of
Northern Valley offers
MusicLAB (Live at
Beth El), a new series
underwritten by Whole
Foods Market. The
first concert features
the Jazz Passengers,
8 p.m. Bucky Pizzarelli
performs on March 4. 221
Schraalenburgh Road.
(201) 768-5112 or tbenv.
org/musiclab.

Joanna Faber, daughter

of award-winning author
Adele Faber, offers a
hands-on workshop
based on the best-selling
books How To Talk So
Kids Will Listen and
Listen So Kids Will Talk
by Adele Faber and
Elaine Mazlish at the
Chabad Center of Passaic
County, 7 p.m. 194 Ratzer
Road. (973) 694-6274.

JANUARY 17
Baseball and Moe
Berg: Dumont historian
Dick Burnon presents
a talk, Espionage,
Baseball and Moe Berg,
at a meeting of REAP
(Retired Executives and
Active Professionals)
at the Kaplen JCC on
the Palisades in Tenafly,
10:45 a.m. It includes
excerpts from the film
Jews and Baseball: An
American Love Story.
411 E. Clinton Ave.
(201) 569-7900 or www.
jccotp.org.

Snack packing in
Teaneck: Volunteers will
pack 500 child-friendly
healthy goody bags
for the Center for Food
Action at a meeting
of the Bergen County
section of the National
Council of Jewish
Women at Temple Emeth
in Teaneck, 12:30 p.m.
Light refreshments.
1666 Windsor Road.
(201) 385-4847or www.
ncjwbcs.org.
Rabbi Aaron Katz leads a
Spanish-language class,
Judaism 101, focusing
on history, philosophy,
and Jewish culture, at
Congregation Bnai
Jacob in Jersey City,
7 p.m. 176 West Side Ave.
(201) 435-5725 or www.
bnaijacobjc.com.
Rabbi Dr. Laibl Wolf
of Australia describes
How to Lead a StressFree and Meaningful
Life at Lubavitch on
the Palisades in Tenafly,
7:30 p.m. 11 Harold St.
(201) 871-1152, ext. 500,
or chabadlubavitch.org/
laiblwolf.

JANUARY 18
Mickey Marcus lecture
in Tenafly: Dumont

Jewish Center of Teaneck

holds its first Leaves of
42 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017

Israeli cantor and

Broadway star Dudu
Fisher debuts a
concert on NJTV,
Sunday, January 15, 8 p.m., before
a public television concert that
will be aired in March. It also can
be seen on WLIW21 on January
22 at 7:30 p.m., and on Channel
13 in February. Dudu Fisher
in Jerusalem is distributed by
American Public Television and
presented by WPBT, Miami.

JAN.

15

ELYA PRODUCTIONS

the 1966 Kirk Douglas

film Cast a Giant
Shadow, at a meeting
of the Senior Activity
Center at the Kaplen
JCC on the Palisades,
11:15 a.m. 411 East Clinton
Ave. (201) 569-7900, ext.
235 or www.jccotp.org.

How to de-stress:

Wednesday

Book discussion: The

with Ms. Ziskel and

pianist James Rensink
and featuring the
Tchaikovsky Violin
Concerto, followed by a
pre-Shabbat oneg with
wine at cheese at 6:45.
221 Schraalenburgh
Road. (201) 768-5112 or
www.tbenv.org.

Tuesday

Judaism 101 in Spanish:

Joanna Faber

Jazz Passengers

Faith book club with

a discussion of Marilyn
Robinsons novel Lila,
8 p.m. Discussion led by
Professor Sarah Rindner,
who teaches English
literature at Lander
College for Women
and has taught English
at Maayanot and SAR
high schools. 70 Sterling
Place. (201) 833-0515 or
jcot.org.

historian Dick Burnon

talks about Mickey
Marcus: American Hero
During the 1948 Israeli
War for Independence,
including excerpts from

Lauren Hersh
Lecture on human
trafficking:
Internationally
recognized gender
violence expert Lauren
Hersh discusses
Its Impacting Our
Children Its On
Us To Be Plugged
In, for the Jewish
Federation of Northern
New Jersey, 7 p.m., at
JFNNJ headquarters
in Paramus. Wine and
cheese served. 50
Eisenhower Drive. Andi
Lewittes, (201) 820-3930,
or www.jfnnj.org/
humantrafficking.

Thursday
JANUARY 19
Jewish traditions in
interfaith connections:
Temple Emanuel of
the Pascack Valley in
Woodcliff Lake continues
its Keruv: Keeping in
Touch Series series
with a discussion,
Mama Drama: Jewish
Mothers, led by Rabbi
Leanna Moritt, at the
shul, 7:30 p.m. The
program was developed
by the Federation of
Jewish Mens Clubs to
help couples, parents,
extended families, and
synagogues deal with
interfaith relationships
and marriage. 87
Overlook Drive.
(201) 391-0801 or keruv@
tepv.org.

Friday
JANUARY 20
Shabbat in Closter:
Temple Beth El offers
a guest artist Shabbat
service led by Rabbi
Beth Kramer-Mazer and
Cantor Rica Timman,
featuring violinist Yulia
Ziskel of the New York
Philharmonic, 7:30 p.m.
Mini-concert at 6 p.m.,

Cantors Mark Biddelman, left, and

Ilan Mamber
Shabbat in Wyckoff:
Temple Beth Rishon
holds Shabbat Tzavta
(Shabbat together), its
semi-annual folk-rock
service, 7: 30 p.m. Its led
by Cantors Ilan Mamber,
Mark Biddelman, and
Summer GreenwaldGonella and Rabbi Lois
Ruderman, with Jane
Koch on keyboards and
vocals, Mark Kantrowitz
on bass guitar and
vocals, and Larry Eagle
on drums. Dessert and
coffee. 585 Russell
Ave. (201) 891-4466 or
bethrishon.org.

Shabbat in Washington
Township: Temple Beth
Or holds Shabbat Hallelu,
a family musical service,
7:30 p.m. 56 Ridgewood
Road. (201) 664-7422 or
www.templebethornj.org.

Saturday
JANUARY 21
Movie night in Jersey
City: Rabbi Aaron
Katz asks you to pick
your favorite Academy
Award-winning movie
to be screened at
Congregation Bnai
Jacob in Jersey City,
6:30 p.m. 176 West Side
Ave. (201) 435-5725 or
www.bnaijacobjc.com.

Bingo/ice cream:
The JCC of Paramus/
Congregation Beth
Tikvah offers its annual
family bingo with prizes,
snacks, and make-yourown sundaes, 7 p.m.
East 304 Midland Ave.
(201) 262-7691 or www.
jccparamus.org.

Calendar
Casino night in Wayne:
Shomrei Torah holds
a casino night, 7 p.m.
Admission includes a
glass of wine or beer,
dinner, dessert, and
play casino money.
Prizes. 30 Hinchman
Ave. (973) 696-2500 or
office@ShomreiTorahwcc.
org.

and grandparents,
10:15 a.m. 56 Ridgewood
Road. (201) 664-7422 or
www.templebethornj.org.

Book club in Paramus:

The JCC of Paramus/
Congregation Beth
Tikvah talks about
The Glass Castle
by Jeanette Wells,
10:30 a.m. Refreshments.
East 304 Midland Ave.
(201) 262-7691.

Concert in Wayne:
The YMCA of Wayne
continues a new
Backstage at the Y
series with A Tour of
World Flutes with
Tereasa Payne in the
Rosen Performing Arts
Center, 11:45 a.m. The
Metro YMCAs of the
Oranges is a partner of
the YM-YWHA of North
Jersey. 1 Pike Drive.
(973) 595-0100.

Sunday
JANUARY 22
Family program in
New Milford: Solomon
Schechter Day School of
Bergen County continues
Sundays at Schechter, a
community-wide Jewish
themed interactive family
series, with renowned
ventriloquist Jonathan
Geffner and his gang of
characters, 10 a.m. The
Madcap Meshugeneh
Puppets will perform
their acclaimed show,
Mish Mash! which
showcases Jewish
values, stories, and
songs. 275 McKinley
Ave. (201) 262-9898, or
www.ssdsbergen.org/
schechter-rocks.

Toddler program in
Washington Township:
As part of the shuls
Holiday Happenings
program, the sisterhood
of Temple Beth Or offers
a Tu bShvat-themed
program with music and
creative crafts for 2- to
6-year-olds, with parents

Rabbi David Fine

Interfaith dialogue
series: Passionate
Centrism, a new Sunday
morning lecture series
based on Rabbi David
Fines new book of
the same title, begins
at Temple Israel &
JCC in Ridgewood,
10:30 a.m. 475 Grove St.
(201) 444-9320.

Dogs and cancer

research: The United
Synagogue of Hoboken
hosts a Book Brunch
about The Vital Role
of Dogs in the Search
for Cancer Cures with
author Arlene Weintraub,
10:30 a.m. The book
offers an inside look at
dogs in cancer research
and the many studies
meant to help both dogs
and people with the
disease. Brunch. 115 Park
Ave. (201) 659-4000.

In New York
Sunday
JANUARY 15

Torah & More for women

and men, indoors at
Citi Field Convention
Center in Queens,
8:45 a.m.6:15 p.m. The
30 speakers will talk
about the future of
Orthodox Jewry; topics
include halacha, Tanach,
hashkafa, and Israel.
Speakers include Dani
Dayan, consul general of
Israel; Rabbi Menachem
Genack, Rabbi Yonason
Sacks, Rabbi Eli Mansour,
Mina Glick, and Rabbi
Shalom Rosner. Free
parking; kosher food, and
childrens programming.
Register at ou.org/citi.

Singles
Thursday
JANUARY 19
Widows and widowers
meet in Glen Rock:
Movin On, a monthly
luncheon group for
widows and widowers,
meets at the Glen Rock
Jewish Center, 12:30 p.m.
682 Harristown Road.
$5 for lunch. Next
date, February 16.
(201) 652-6624 or email
Binny, arbgr@aol.com.

Rabbi Eli Mansour

Day of Torah and more:
The Orthodox Union
sponsors the Day of

Federation combines
fun and fundraising
Left, Barnert
Brass. Above,
Ariana Gates
 COURTESY TI&JCC

Cabaret night lineup

to unfold in Ridgewood
Temple Israel & JCC presents its third annual Cabaret Night
on Saturday, January 21, at 8 p.m. The evening will feature
performers from Glen Rock, Fair Lawn, Ridgewood, and
surrounding towns. They include the Barnert Brass, singer/
songwriter Ariana Gates, the Ridgewood Bollywood Dancers,
Macaroon 5 (the house band of the Glen Rock Jewish Center, playing hits from the 1950s to the 1980s), the NJCS Vocal
Ensemble, storyteller Pam Grant, and Di Fir Kashes (the Fire
Catchers), a 1960s to 1990s folk-rock band.
Admission includes entertainment, hors doeuvres, wine,
beer, and dessert. The shul is at 475 Grove St. in Ridgewood.
For information, call (201) 444-9320 or email cabaret@
synagogue.org.

Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey holds

its annual Super Sunday fundraising/family fun
day event on Sunday, January 29. The day begins
at 9:30 a.m., with a childrens character breakfast
with Chase and Belle, Israeli-style fun and games
with northern New Jerseys shlichot (Israeli emissaries), NJY Camps program, Camp-A-Palooza
with activities, and an interactive program by
Music Together of Northern NJ.
The family event, chaired by Jennifer Margolis, is
at Yeshivat Noam, 70 W. Century Road in Paramus.
Volunteer/donate/sign up to make calls. (201) 8203956, or www.JFNNJ.org/supersunday.

Relay for Life hosts

annual drive opener
The American Cancer Societys Relay for Life of
Paramus holds its annual kick-off on January 19 in
the East Brook Middle School Cafeteria at 7 p.m.
The evening will include food, Disney-themed
events, and the opportunity to register for the
annual June fundraising event, which attracts more
than 1,000 participants.
The snow date is January 26.
For information, go to www.relayforlife.org/
paramusNJ.

Rabbi will advise

on stress reduction
Rabbi Dr. Laibl Wolf discusses Jewish Mindfulness and Meditation
How to Lead a Stress-Free
and Meaningful Life at
Lubavitch on the Palisades
in Tenafly, on Tuesday, January 17, at 7:30 p.m. Rabbi
Rabbi Dr. Laibl Wolf
Wolf, an Australian, is the
author of a best-selling
book, Practical Kabbalah, and has lectured in more
than 500 cities around the world for the last 30 years.
He will offer suggestions on how to neutralize anxiety and worry, live consciously, and transform the way
you think and feel. LOTP is at 11 Harold St.
Registration required; call (201) 871-1152, ext. 500, or
go to chabadlubavitch.org/laiblwolf.

Havdalah program
centers on families
Valley Chabad in
Woodcliff Lake
will host Saturday Night Alive,
a Havdalah program for young
families and children, on Saturday, January 21,
Children at a previous
at 6:30 p.m. The
Chabad arts and crafts
new program, a
event.
musical celebra
tion of family
VALLEY CHABAD
and the mystical
Havdalah ceremony, features food, storytelling, candle braiding, and spice bag crafting.
The program is open to all families with children,
regardless of affiliation. For information, email Hindy
Drizin at hindy@valleychabad.org.

bergenPAC to ring
with Motown sound
The Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood
presents So Good For The Soul: A Tribute to the
Music of Motown on Saturday, January 21, at 8 p.m.
The show, a nonstop high-energy trip down memory lane, is performed by a cast of eight veteran entertainers and their band, including former members of
the Jones, Main Ingredient, and the Marvelettes. It
also includes Broadway performers who had leading
roles in Dream Girls, Your Arms Too Short to Box
With God, Porgy & Bess, and Showboat.
BergenPAC is at 30 North Van Brunt St. in Englewood. Go to www.ticketmaster.com or call bergenPACs box office at (201) 227-1030.
JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 43

Art & Culture/Obituaries

Carl Hess

Carl J. Hess, 97, of Fort Lee

died January 8.
His wife, Rhea, ne
Silberstein, and a son,
David, survive him.
Arrangements were by
Eden Memorial Chapels,
Fort Lee.

Stanley Cord

Stanley H. Cord of River

Vale, formerly of White
Plains, died January 3. He
worked with his wife in
the familys mens clothing
business in White Plains.
Predeceased by his
wife of 71 years, Ruth,

he is survived by his
children, Paul ( Janet),
Larry (Carlene), Arline
Frankel (Herb), and Ellen
Dember (Andrew); nine
grandchildren, and two
great-grandchildren.
Donations can be made
to the Employee Holiday

A scene from Prisoner of War

Israeli TV
FROM PAGE 41

together. This short series is incredibly

moving and unique give it your undivided attention.

Prisoner of War (Hulu)

How can anyone write about Israeli
TV shows without bringing up this
one? Prisoner of War (Hatufim,
in Hebrew) is the original Israeli TV
series that Showtimes wildly successful
Homeland is based on. The series follows the life of two captured Israeli soldiers who are returned to Israel after 17
years in captivity in Lebanon, along with
the remains of a third soldier who was
captured with them. Prisoner of War
chronicles their attempts to readjust and

reintegrate into Israeli society and deal

with the trauma of captivity. But after a
military psychiatrist finds discrepancies
in the two soldiers stories, an investigation is launched and thats when things
get really interesting. In many ways, the
series is quite different from its American
counterpart. There is no strong female
protagonist a la Claire Danes; instead, the
show deals with a sort of broken macho
pride that comes with being captured
and having to reintegrate. The cultural
differences between the United States
and Israel where prisoners of war have
a more prominent place in society give
the original version a much different feel.
Nonetheless, Prisoner of War is just
as excellent as the American version
JTA WIRE SERVICE
maybe even better.

Left, the cast of

Srugim. Below,
a scene from
Mekimi.

YOUVE SPENT YOUR LIFE CARING FOR THEM

Help your family one more time

Pre-planning your funeral allows you the time needed to make important
decisions regarding your funeral options. It makes your personal wishes known.
The Jewish Memorial Chapel funeral directors will lead you through the
pre-arrangement process and be attentive to your every need. They will answer all
your questions and never pressure you into making uncomfortable decisions.
We are a Shomer Shabbos facility and uphold the highest standards of Jewish
law pertaining to funerals. Contact us for our free brochure at 973-779-3048.

841 Allwood Road Clifton, NJ 07012

973-779-3048 Fax 973-779-3191
www.JewishMemorialChapel.org
Vincent Marazo, Manager
NJ License No. 3424

COMMUNITY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1921 NON_PROFIT

A Traditional Jewish Experience

Pre-Planning Specialists Graveside and Chapel Services

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
Obituaries are prepared with
information provided by funeral homes. Correcting errors is the
responsibility of the funeral home.
44 JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017

327 Main St, Fort Lee, NJ

201-947-3336 888-700-EDEN
www.edenmemorial.com

Obituaries
Fund at Jewish Home for
Assisted Living, River Vale.
Arrangements were by
Louis Suburban Chapel,
Fair Lawn.

Lori Kane

Lori Donna McNamara

Kane, ne Schreiber,
51, of New City, N.Y.,
formerly of New Milford,
died January 2.
A University of Miami
graduate, she worked
at the Journal News in

Rockland County.
She is survived by
her husband, Jonathan,
parents, Shelly and Charles
Schreiber, children, Molly,
Sadie, and Lily McNamara,
and a brother, Mark
Schreiber.
Donations can be sent
to the American Cancer
Society or Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center.
Arrangements were by
Louis Suburban Chapel,
Fair Lawn.

Fred Buff
Fred Buff of Rockville, MD, formerly of Paramus,
died January 9, 2017. Born 1921 in Krumbach,
Germany to Julius and Emma (Krailsheimer).
Loving husband of 72 years to Lotte (Neuburger).
Father of Gary (Leni), Janice Balin (Robert),
and Alan (Pat). Grandfather of Jason, David,
Daniel, Michael, Andrew, Joel, and Noah; Greatgrandfather of 6. Pre-deceased by his sister, Anne
Krantz. Fred and Lotte lived in Paramus from
1950 until moving to Maryland in 2014 to be closer
to family. Fred was an avid and award-winning
gardener, tennis player, and lover of classical
music. Fred and Lotte traveled the world and filled
many albums with Freds photos.
Fred (Fritz) boarded the MS St. Louis in 1939
on an ill-fated voyage from Germany to Cuba.
Upon revocation of the passengers visas, the ship
with 900+ Jewish emigres was turned away from
Cuba and the US and returned to Europe. Four
European countries took in the passengers and
Fred disembarked in Brussels, Belgium. In 1940,
he finally emigrated to New York. In his 80s, Fred
spent countless hours speaking to middle and high
school students bearing witness to the Holocaust.
He translated and published his on-board diary,
Riding the Storm Waves. A veteran of the US
Navy (1944-46), Fred served on an LSM in the
Pacific Fleet. He married Lotte in 1945 before
shipping overseas.
Fred became an executive at General Foam
Corporation which was eventually sold to Tenneco.
In 1969, he was appointed President and General
Manager of Tennecos Foam and Plastics Division.
Retiring in 1977, Fred began an entrepreneurial
second career as founder of Tek-Pac, which later
merged into Mercury Foam. Fred continued as
General Manager of Tek-Pac into his late 70s.
Fred was a graduate of the Harvard Advanced
Management Program (1969). Fred and Lotte
were charter members of the Jewish Community
Center of Paramus, where he served as President
(1974-76) and founder of the Board of Governors.
He was a member of the Jewish War Veterans, a
supporter of the Jewish Federation, and a fervent
supporter of the State of Israel. Funeral services
were held at the Jewish Community Center of
Paramus. Arrangements were by Gutterman
Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors, Hackensack
NJ. Memorial donations may be made to a charity
of choice.

Bruce E. Rosenbaum
Bruce E. Rosenbaum, 75, of Fort Lee, formerly of
Bayonne and Jersey City, died December 30.
He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean
Conflict where received a medal for leading
convoys through mine fields to retrieve deceased
soldiers. He was an administrative assistant to
the funeral director at Eden Memorial Chapels in
Fort Lee. He began working for the Wien family at
Wien & Wien Funeral Home in Jersey City in 1959
at age 18 and continued to work for the Wiens
until he got sick two weeks ago, never taking a
sick day. When he broke his ankle, he insisted on
answering phones from the hospital. He was also a
member of Congregation Gesher Sholom/JCC of
Fort Lee. Cousins survive him.
Arrangements were by Eden Memorial Chapels,
Fort Lee.
Paid Obituary

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13-01 Broadway (Route 4 West) Fair Lawn, NJ

Richard Louis - Manager
George Louis - Founder
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1924-1996

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Paterson, NJ 07502
317 Totowa Ave.
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Sandra Schweibel

Robert Schoems Menorah Chapel, Inc

Sandra Kurlander Schweibel, 79, of Tenafly,

New Jersey, formerly of Williamsville, New York,
passed away on January 6, 2017. Beloved and
devoted wife and partner for 60 inseparable years
to Gerald, loving mother of Robin and Alan Miller
and Howard and Michelle Schweibel. Adoring
grandmother of Danielle and Robert Garcia, Benji
and Melissa Miller, Douglas, Darren, and Drew
Schweibel, and besotted great-grandmother of Lily
Garcia; dear sister of Norman Kurlander and his
wife Nancy. Beloved and cherished by numerous
other family members and friends. She will be
missed by those whose lives she enriched with her
genuine kindness, warmth, love of family, and
larger than life spirit.
Services were on January 8, 2017 at Temple
Emanu-El of Closter. Burial followed the service
at Beth El Cemetery, Paramus, New Jersey. If you
would like to make a donation in honor of Sandra
Schweibel please contact the Kaplen JCC on the
Palisades and contribute to the Sandra and Gerald
Schweibel Endowment Fund, The Jewish Home at
Rockleigh, Englewood Hospital Medical Center, or
Temple Emanu-El of Closter.

Family Owned & managed

Paid Obituary

Jewish Funeral Directors

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201.843.9090

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Veterans are Honored Here

We are committed to celebrating the significance of lives that
have been lived, which is why we have always made service
to veterans and their families a priority.
We assure that all deceased veterans have an American
Flag and a Jewish War Veteran Medallion flagholder placed
at their graves at the time of interment. Our Advanced
Planning service has enabled us to expedite military
honors, when requested, because the need for the
documentation is immediate and it is part of the pre-need
protocol. And if requested, an American Flag may drape the
casket at a funeral service.
We have also established an Honor Wall of veterans names,
and it is a part of our Annual Veterans Memorial Service.

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800-522-0588

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800-322-0533

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ALAN L. MUSICANT, Mgr., N.J. LIC. NO. 2890
MARTIN D. KASDAN, N.J. LIC. NO. 4482
IRVING KLEINBERG, N.J. LIC. NO. 2517
Advance Planning Conferences Conveniently Arranged
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Paid Obituary

JEWISH STANDARD JANUARY 13, 2017 45

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Meal Plan Available
Daily Activities Programs
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Crypts For Sale

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Situations Wanted

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caregiver with 7 years experience looking for live-out position.

Speaks English. Drives. References upon request. Call Martha
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chha with many years experience

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own car. 314-484-7344

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seeks 5 to 7 days position. Live-in
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Situations Wanted

CHHA Certified Nurses Aide/Long

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CHHA to care for elderly. Live-in or

live-out. Pleasant! 12 years experience! References! Drives/own car!
201-580-0300

Sanctuary Abraham & Sarah, Paramus, N.J. 2 in tandem crypts

available. More info call 303-8685791

(201) 837-8818

COMPANION: Experienced, kind,

trustworthy person seeking part
time work. Weekends OK. Meal
preparation, laundry, housekeeping. Will drive for doctors appointments; occasional sleepovers. 973519-4911
elder CARE, mature, nurturing
companion, nursing skills, medical
experience. Will do cooking, shopping, daily routine. Live your life
call Shida 973-333-7878

experienced
BABYSITTER
for Teaneck area.
Please call Jenna
201-660-2085

A PLUS

Limo & Car Service

The most reliable and efficient service

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Our professional and courteous team works together for you.

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Car Service

Cleaning Service

veteran/college graduate
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Antiques

WE BUY
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Shomer Shabbos
46 Jewish Standard January 13, 2017

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Chapter 3 Offers retirement age
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our lives. Whether formally retired or still active in the workplace, this is a chance to make
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201-837-8818

Jewish standard January 13, 2017 47

Real Estate & Business

BrighTap takes first place in GENs Startup Open

Smart water meter sensor monitors quality and consumption;
entry tops more than 1,000 startups from 100 countries
Viva Sarah Press
BrighTap, an Israeli-made smart water
meter sensor that monitors water quality
and consumption, recently took first place
in the 2016 Startup Open competition, run
by the Global Entrepreneurship Network
(GEN).
BrighTap, a product made by BwareIT,
is an Internet-of-things (IOT) meter that
can be attached to any standard water
tap, pipe, or hose and helps users enjoy
cleaner water while reducing their water
bills. The tap meter provides water quality
information, and tells the user how much
water is consumed powering itself by
the water that runs through it. The products display shows real-time data and also
stores it for tracking through a monitoring
system.
The company topped more than 1,000
startups from 101 countries. Through the
Startup Open competition, the Global
Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) recognizes the top promising young firms that

have yet to raise any outside capital from

angel investors, venture capital firms, or
other formal sources of seed funding.
As digital advances disrupt traditional
industries across all sectors and throughout different countries and economies
entrepreneurs are at the forefront of
these changes, working to solve critical
problems, said Jonathan Ortmans, president of Global Entrepreneurship Network.
BrighTap is an excellent example of how
a young firm has the potential to make a
lasting impact on the world around them.
BwareIT was co-founded by CEO Konstantin Berezin, who has a background in
consumer electronics and environment
solutions experience, along with Ariel
Drach, the chief technology officer, and
Alex Sudak, the chief operations officer.
As the first place winner of the Startup
Open competition, one person from the
startups founder team will receive free
airfare and accommodations to the Global
Entrepreneurship Congress in Johannesburg, South Africa, March 13-16.

BrighTap was also featured by CNBC

as one of 10 of the Worlds Hottest Startups of 2016, along with fellow Startup
Open finalists Boltt Sports Technologies
(India), Cookies and Cookies (Colombia),
Freshy (Malta), Karz (Israel), Marini Naturals (Kenya), meetHere (US), OneTest

Diagnostics (UK), OpenWater (India) and

QEYE (Egypt).
In 2014, BreezoMeter from Haifa took
the grand prize for their application that
measures real-time air quality and provides health recommendations to its users.
Israel21c.org

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48 Jewish Standard JANUARY 13, 2017

Real Estate & Business/Local/Jewish World

Hope

Poles

from page 11

from page 33

Mr. Khan is also a member of the Shalom Hartman

Centers Muslim Leadership Initiative, a program led
by Yossi Klein Halevi and Imam Abdullah Antepli. The
initiative takes young and youngish Muslim American
leaders to Israel to understand Judaism and Zionism,
he said. They teach us about the Jewish faith and tradition not just in the abstract, but to think about it in
the context of society and the world today.
It was wonderful, he said. We are engaging with
the Hebrew Bible, and learning, studying, doing critical reading of text. There is a lot of that in my own faith
tradition. We talked about the historical stuff, and also
related it to modernity and the challenges of today. It
really was incredibly valuable.
Going to Hartman and studying about Judaism
made me a better Muslim. It has made me want to
study more. It has enriched my life.
Valuing diversity as he does, and with his Hartman
background fresh in his mind, Mr. Khan was glad
when Rabbi Lewittes asked him to speak. I think
that the reality is that our community and our nation
are going to have to face and is facing a slew of challenges, he said.
He is less guarded in talking about those challenges.
The fact that someone who disparages the disabled,
who disparages people of other faiths and other traditions, who has made the most lewd and disgusting
remarks about women we would not accept that
from anyone in normal society, he said. People
would be fired for saying such things. For that person
to become president, without any record of accomplishment it goes to a deeper ill in our society, and
I think that it will take a lot of time to work on that,
and to heal.
The election jarred him into doing more to help
others, Mr. Khan said. Hes doing pro bono work for
undocumented aliens. When God has blessed you
with certain abilities, not to use them when you can,
when you should, is wrong. We have to have a little bit
of soul-searching within ourselves. We know from our
traditions of those before us who lived under suppressors, but yet they persevered.
We have to accelerate our own good works. If you
are a teacher, an actor, a lawyer, a doctor, or if you
work in a convenience store, find something that you
are passionate about. Volunteer in a school or at an
afterschool program. Advocate at the local or state or
federal level.
Turn it into a catalyst to reinvigorate yourself,
he added.

hate speech against Catholics and were told to leave the

establishment.
Jonny Daniels, founder of the From the Depths group,
which works on Holocaust commemoration and Polish-Jewish
relations, said that he interviewed the bartender, and she told
him that the two were using profanities about the Virgin Mary.
After she asked them to refrain, they pelted her with small
objects, including peanuts, the bartender said.
I wasnt there so I dont know what happened, but this
doesnt seem to me like a straightforward case of an antiSemitic incident, Daniels said.
Anti-Semitic incidents are relatively rare in Poland, which is
home to some 20,000 Jews, according to Michael Schudrich,
the countrys chief rabbi. But such incidents receive massive
attention in a country where anti-Semitism is a sensitive issue.
Approximately 90 percent of Polands 3.3 million Jews were

TM

JTA Wire Service

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from page 13

and well cared for by the dedicated staff, but it was

heartbreaking to see her, a woman who had been
president of Temple Emanuels Sisterhood in the
late 1960s, whod been active in the Friends of River
Vale Public Library, a woman whod loved books and
words. There was no way for me to reach her, not
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food. My mother, whod always loved sweet foods, had
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murdered during the Holocaust. The vast majority were killed

by Nazi Germans. Thousands of courageous Poles, including
Schnepfs mother, saved Jews. But a small minority of Poles
joined the killing, massacring several thousand Polish Jews at
the least.
On Thursday, Adam Abramowicz, a lawmaker for the ruling
Law and Justice party, who is not Jewish, reportedly said he
wrote to Warsaws chief of police demanding the release of the
report on the Caf Foksal incident.
If the accusations the blogger made against the bartender
are correct, then the employee, and perhaps the establishment, should be legally accountable for discrimination,
Abramowicz said he wrote in the letter. But if accusations are
false, then the accusers are answerable for defamation and
making a false deposition, he added.
Until then, What really went on there remains unclear,
Daniels said. But what is clear is that when it comes to antiSemitism, Polish society is anything but indifferent.

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Jewish Standard JANUARY 13, 2017 51