BEHIND NEW JERSEY'S BDS BLACKLIST page 6

SHARSHERET PAINTS THE SCHOOLS PINK page 8

WHAT GOOGLE KNOWS page 10
FRIENDLY TELEVISION ADVENTURES IN FORT LEE page 14

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

VOL. LXXXVII NO. 22 $1.00 86 2017
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Virgin Atlantic removes ‘Palestinian’
from couscous description
● A British airline has removed the
word “Palestinian” from the name of
a couscous grain salad on its in-flight
menu following complaints from pro-
Israel customers.
Virgin Atlantic has faced online
criticism since December, when a
social media user called its staff
“terrorist sympathizers” and anoth-
er called for an Israeli boycott of the
airline for using the term “Palestin-
ian couscous salad,” The Indepen-
dent reported.
The dish recently has been re-
named “couscous salad” and the
airline has issued a public statement
saying it did not intend to “cause of-
fense through the naming or renam-
ing” of the meal, the report said.
The salad in question included
maftoul grains, which are a version
of couscous popular in the Palestin-
ian territories and popularly known
as “Palestinian couscous.” Couscous,
originally a North African dish, also is
popular in modern Israeli cuisine.
On December 23, Twitter user
Dani Williams posted a photo of the
in-flight menu and wrote there was
“nothing like some BDS and delusion
with your salad,” adding that it was
the “last time” the airline gets her
money and dubbing its personnel
“terrorist sympathizers.”
On the same day, Facebook user
David Garnelas posted an image
of the menu to the Israel Advocacy
Movement Facebook group. He
wrote: “I thought this was an Is-
raeli salad… obviously [Virgin Group
founder Richard] Branson showing
his true colors… Israelis must boy-
cott Virgin and Israel must ask for
an explanation. When I complained
the stewardess tried to take back the
menu from me.”
Another online user identifying
as Anthony Den tweeted: “Bear-
ing in mind Jews have lived on the
land you say they now occupy for
over 3,000 years maybe it should be
called Jewish Salad.”
“Our customers’ experience on
board is a key focus and we are
constantly refreshing our food
offerings on our flights,” Virgin
Atlantic said in a statement follow-
ing the renaming of the dish. “We
recently introduced a maftoul salad
on board our flights. It includes a
mix of maftoul and other couscous,
complemented by tomatoes and
cucumber and seasoned with pars-
ley, mint and lemon vinaigrette.
“We were aware that maftoul is
not a widely known ingredient — so
the dish was listed as a ‘Palestinian
couscous salad,’ and later as a ‘cous-
cous salad.’ We’d like to reassure all
customers that our sole intention
was to bring new flavors on board,
and never to cause offense through
the naming or renaming of the dish.”
The airline faced a second round
of online backlash from pro-Palestin-
ian supporters following the change,
with groups furious that it seemed
to “apologize” for using the term
“Palestinian.”
“So Virgin Atlantic apologizes for
using the term ‘Palestinian couscous’
to describe… well… Palestinian cous-
cous on its in-flight menu,” said doc-
toral researcher Ragnar Weilandt.
“You can’t get more Palestinian
cuisine than maftoul (couscous),
national Palestinian dish,” Bassam
Mansour tweeted. “Virgin should not
have caved in to falsification of the
name of the Palestinian cuisine to
please twisted and hate-filled pas-
sengers. Virgin is morally culpable.”
The Ireland Palestine Solidarity
Campaign said that “after an orches-
trated campaign by Zionist groups,
Virgin Atlantic airlines decides that
Palestinian food is offensive. Re-
moves the word ‘Palestinian,’ but
keeps the food. Shameful.”
MICHAEL BACHNER/TIMES OF ISRAEL
Indian drought fuels
British hummus inflation
● British hummus lovers are having to
dip deeper into their pockets to buy the
popular Middle Eastern dish. Prices have
risen 12 percent since the start of 2018
because of a world chickpea shortage,
the New York Times reported.
The price hike has been caused by a
combination of rising U.K. demand for
the spread and shortages resulting from
yet another drought year in the world’s
main chickpea-producing country, In-
dia, which has had to supplement its
supplies by buying the legume, a local
staple, from elsewhere.
The rise, reported by the trade maga-
zine The Grocer, and by the research
consultants Brand View, is way above
Britain’s 2.7 percent inflation rate.
Hummus has become a staple in
Britain since it was introduced in the
1990s and now constitutes an indus-
try worth more than $140 million — up
around 50 percent from four years
Paul McCartney wins Israel’s Wolf Prize
● On the eve of Valentine’s Day, Israel
offered a reminder that the world can
never get enough of silly love songs.
It announced that Paul McCartney is
one of this year’s winners of the pres-
tigious Wolf Prize.
In announcing the winners, Israeli
President Reuven Rivlin said that
“together with the prize committee,
I and many Israelis share the eternal
love for the works of Sir Paul McCart-
ney and the Beatles.”
The Wolf Prize is seen as a precur-
sor to a Nobel, which a quarter of
ON THE COVER: Pamela Fingerhut, “Bible Babes: Miriam Placing Baby Moses in
the Nile,” 2017. Digital montage.
Candlelighting: Friday, Feb. 16, 5:14 p.m.
Shabbat ends: Saturday, Feb. 17, 6:15 p.m.
CONTENTS
NOSHES ...............................................................4
BRIEFLY LOCAL .............................................. 18
COVER STORY ................................................ 24
JEWISH WORLD ............................................ 29
OPINION ........................................................... 36
HEALTHY LIVING &
ADULT LIFESTYLES.......................................41
D’VAR TORAH ................................................ 52
THE FRAZZLED HOUSEWIFE ................... 53
CROSSWORD PUZZLE ................................ 53
CALENDAR ......................................................54
OBITUARIES .................................................... 57
CLASSIFIEDS .................................................. 58
REAL ESTATE..................................................60
Page 3
ago, according to Kantar Worldpanel
research. A 2013 survey of European
food habits found hummus to be one
of the products most often found in
British kitchens.
Because there is a growing inter-
est in healthy eating around the world,
demand for the nutritious spread is ex-
pected to continue rising.
Unlike Indian farmers, U.S. chickpea
growers saw a bumper harvest in 2016
and were expected to do well in 2017 too.
Scientists in Scotland and Ethiopia
are working on the development of a
drought-resistant chickpea.
The hummus shortfall brings into
stark relief the relationships between
changing weather patterns, bad har-
vests, and consumer shortages. Britain
imports nearly a third of its food and is
therefore particularly sensitive to the
effects of climate change elsewhere in
the world. SUE SURKES/TIMES OF ISRAEL
Wolf laureates have gone on to win.
It is offered in a rotating set of fields,
which this year are music, agriculture,
chemistry, physics, and mathematics.
The prize money for the five awards,
which totals $500,000, will be di-
vided among nine winners from five
countries at a special ceremony to be
held in the Knesset at the end of May.
McCartney is expected to be there.
In a statement, the Wolf F ounda-
tion praised McCartney as “one of the
greatest songwriters of all time” with
“an extraordinary wingspan.” JNS
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JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 3
Noshes
COMICS AND COMMENTARY:
‘Black Panther’
a cultural blend
It’s appropriate
that “Black
Panther,” a film
based on a Marvel
Comics’ character, opens
in February, which is
Black History month. The
title character was
created in 1966 by STAN
LEE, now 95, and the late
JACK KIRBY. Lee, who
still is active, is an
executive producer of
“Black Panther.” When
Black Panther (also
known as T’Challa) was
created, he was the first
African character to have
his own comic series. The
comic’s name was
original — the first issue
came out about four
months before the
founding of the famous
Black Panther organiza-
tion. Short synopsis:
T’Challa is the son of the
king of an isolated but
technologically ad-
vanced African country.
When his father dies, he
has to use all his super-
human powers to defeat
the evil foes who threat-
en the lives of his people.
The film’s director is
African American — he’s
Ryan Coogler, who
directed and wrote
“Creed,” the surprisingly
good “Rocky” sequel.
I think it’s worth noting
that this film is an ex-
ample of the best in cul-
tural exchange between
the Jewish and African
American communities.
Yes, there were moments
Want to read more noshes? Visit facebook.com/jewishstandard
4 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018
of cultural exploitation,
but far more often there
was a fruitful relation-
ship. This was especially
true in music, particularly
jazz and rock and roll.
There also were good
guys like Stan Lee, who
gave the black commu-
nity a superhero early
on. Likewise, I was struck
by the fact that three
important African Ameri-
cans saluted NORMAN
LEAR, now 95, at the
recent Kennedy Center
Honors. Comedian Dave
Chappelle, “Black-Ish”
creator Kenya Barris,
and “Black-Ish” TV star
Anthony Anderson took
the stage to recount how
Lear changed the TV
landscape in the 1970s
by creating shows that
had African American
stars, and showed Afri-
can Americans in a good
light (“The Jeffersons,”
“Good Times,” and “San-
ford and Son”). All three
said that these series
inspired them to go into
show business.
Tony award
winner BEN
PLATT, 24, has
signed on to star in “The
Politician,” a new Netflix
comedy series created
by Ryan Murphy. Netflix
already has ordered two
seasons and Murphy is in
talks with GWYNETH
PALTROW, 45, and
BARBRA STREISAND,
75, hoping to land them
as co-stars. “The Politi-
“The name of the camp is
Camp Ben Frankel, not Franklin.”
— Correction to a review of an ethnographic study of a Jewish summer
camp, as discovered and tweeted by Andrew Silow-Carroll
community fell in love
with Raisman when, in
the finals of the floor ex-
ercise event at the 2012
Olympics, she performed
her routine to the music
of “Hava Nagila” and
dedicated her routine
to the Israeli athletes
murdered by terrorists at
the 1972 Olympics. It was
almost like a too-good-
to-be-true movie script
Stan Lee Norman Lear Ben Platt when she won the gold
medal in this event and
the United States won
the team gold medal.
A January 24 profile in
the New Yorker beauti-
fully details how Raisman
is a role model in other
ways. Much of the piece
describes how she’s been
a forceful and articulate
leader in the campaign
to call to account those
who turned a blind eye
as Dr. Larry Nassar mo-
Gwyneth Paltrow Barbra Streisand Brad Falchuk lested hundreds of young
gymnasts, including
cian” is described as a comfortably talks about times. Injuries prevented Raisman. Before leading
comedy, blended with being Jewish. him from competing in this campaign, Raisman
social commentary and A Jewish Olympic 2014. He’s named for his was a U.S. Olympic team
music (giving Platt a athlete I neglect- maternal (Jewish) British leader and a super-
chance to show off his ed to include in grandfather, a WWII kind mentor to younger
great voice). Paltrow’s my last column: ADAM Royal Navy combat gymnasts. In return,
new fiancé, BRAD ROSEN, 33, a British- veteran. His paternal these athletes constantly
FALCHUK, 46, is a American luge athlete, grandfather was a rabbi praise her to the press
frequent partner of was born and raised in and a U.S. Air Force and many fondly call her
Murphy’s — they co-cre- New Rochelle, N.Y., the chaplain. “Grandma Aly.” The New
ated “Glee” and “Ameri- son of an American ALY RAISMAN, 23, Yorker also reports that
can Horror Story.” The father and a British is, of course, the great while “Grandma” “has
Hollywood Reporter says mother. He lives in New gymnast who won three not officially begun train-
Falchuk is co-producing York and has dual gold medals, two silver ing for the 2020 [Toyko]
“Politician.” One cool citizenship. He competed medals, and a bronze Games, she has told the
thing about Platt: like for the U.K. in 2006 and medal in the last two press that Toyko is on her
ALY RAISMAN (see 2010 in the one-man luge Olympic Games. Virtually mind.”
below) he frequently and event, finishing 16th both everyone in the Jewish –N.B.
California-based Nate Bloom can be reached at
Middleoftheroad1@aol.com
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Local
The Copenhagen-based Danske Bank
at center of New Jersey anti-BDS law.
The long arm of the law
Behind the scenes as New Jersey implements anti-BDS legislation
LARRY YUDELSON
O
n the eighth day of Chanu-
kah last year, at a menorah
lighting ceremony in his
office in Trenton, then-Gov-
ernor Chris Christie attacked the anti-
Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanc-
tions movement.
“This is an absolute fraud and
another way to perpetuate anti-Semi-
tism,” he said.
Mr. Christie boasted that New Jer-
sey’s anti-BDS law, which he signed in
August 2016, is “the strictest such law
in the country.”
And he announced that “in the last two
weeks” the law had borne fruit. The state
treasurer divested the state investment
fund from the Copenhagen-based Danske
Bank “because we believe they’re partici-
pating in the BDS movement.”
“We want folks to know we don’t put up
with that,” Mr. Christie said.
The decision to divest from Danske Bank
— the first made under the state’s anti-BDS
law — followed a lobbying campaign by
the New Jersey State Association of Jew-
ish Federations. The campaign includes
letters from Jacob Toporek, the associa-
tion’s executive director, to the director of
the state division of investment, which is
in the state’s treasury department. It also
included Mr. Toporek’s appearance before
the State Investment Council.
Only one thing cast a shadow on the Cha-
nukah-style victory against a delegitimator
6 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018
Chris Christie Jacob Toporek
of Israel: Danske Bank doesn’t actually
boycott Israel.
“Danske Bank does not boycott Israel or
Israeli companies as such, and we do not
take part in the so-called BDS-campaign
targeting Israel,” Kenni Leth, the bank’s
press officer, wrote in an email. “In fact,
Danske Bank is doing business with a num-
ber of Israeli banks and businesses and has
done so for several years.”
Under New Jersey law, however, that
doesn’t appear to matter. That detail in
the law’s wording is part of what makes it
the strictest in the nation, at least regard-
ing state investment decisions. (In some
states, anti-BDS laws reach beyond state
investment decisions. In Kansas, a law
requires that all state contractors assert
that they do not personally boycott Israel
or Israel-controlled territories — a refer-
ence to West Bank settlements. That law
was blocked on First Amendment grounds
last month, after the state’s
Department of Education refused
to hire a teacher who subscribed
to the Mennonite Church call to
avoid “the purchase of products
associated with acts of violence
or policies of military occupa-
tion, including items produced
in settlements.”)
Danske Bank does have a list of
companies that it will not invest
in. The list is based on its social
responsibility investing policy,
with the actual research out-
sourced to ISS-Ethix, a division
of Institutional Share Services. (Ironically,
ISS-Ethix also researches the anti-BDS
divestment list for New Jersey and other
states.)
There are two Israeli companies among
the 25 in which Danske Bank will not
invest.
Others on the list include such well-
known American military contractors as
General Dynamics and Lockheed Mar-
tin Corp. Both companies are on the list
because they are “involved in production
of nuclear weapons.” Lockheed Martin
also is cited for being “involved in pro-
duction of anti-personnel mines and clus-
ter munitions, which is prohibited under
international conventions.”
Opponents of cluster bombs argue that
their use leads to unexploded ordnance,
which then kills civilians after the conflict
ends. One hundred and two countries,
including Denmark, but not the United
States or Israel, have signed a convention
outlawing those weapons. The Israeli firm
Aryt Industries also appears on the Danske
Bank blacklist for its involvement in those
weapons.
Does Danske Bank’s policy of divesting
from Aryt constitute participation with
the global BDS movement, which calls for
divestment from all Israeli companies?
New Jersey’s law bans state investment
in “any company that boycotts the goods,
products, or businesses of Israel, boycotts
those doing business with Israel, or boy-
cotts companies operating in Israel or
Israeli-controlled territory.”
That sentence does not look at a com-
pany’s motives.
Mr. Toporek made that point in a July
letter to Chris McDonough, director of the
investment division of New Jersey’s trea-
sury. The letter challenged McDonough’s
decision not to divest from Danske Bank.
McDonough had argued, in part, that in
not divesting from Danske Bank, New Jer-
sey was following the leads of Florida and
Illinois, which had ruled that the bank did
not boycott Israel.
Mr. Toporek argued that those state poli-
cies did not apply to New Jersey, because
they banned only boycotts that were politi-
cally motivated or discriminatory.
“New Jersey’s law, on the other hand, is
without any qualification,” he wrote.
Eventually, Mr. McDonough passed
the question on to the state attorney gen-
eral. Mr. Toporek doesn’t know what the
SEE ANTI-BDS PAGE 52
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Local
Pink Day at Moriah in Englewood.
When even boys willingly wear pink
Sharsheret’s Pink Day raises awareness, funds to fight cancer in Jewish community
ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN
F
ebruary 7 may have looked like
color war day at many local
schools, but the real reason for
the great abundance of pink was
to raise awareness of breast and ovarian
cancer in the Jewish community, and to
ensure all Jewish children and teens know
there is an address for information, ques-
tions, and concerns about these cancers.
The ninth annual Pink Day, observed in
more than 100 schools, companies, orga-
nizations, and synagogues in the United
States, Canada, and Israel, was sponsored
by Teaneck-based Sharsheret, a national
not-for-profit organization dedicated to
addressing the needs of Jewish women
and their families as they face breast and
ovarian cancer.
“Thousands of students across the world
are marking Pink Day at the same time, in
different ways, and that’s really incredible,”
said Ellen Kleinhaus, Sharsheret’s director
of campus and community engagement.
“In the Jewish community and beyond,
everyone knows someone who has been
personally affected by breast or ovarian
cancer,” Ms. Kleinhaus said. “This year,
we suggested that the schools lead the day
Are you struggling with issues related to your elderly
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8 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018
Pink Day at Frisch in Paramus.
in honor or in memory of someone impor-
tant in the students’ lives.”
Also new this year was a downloadable
Sharsheret Pink Day Tool Kit that gave
participating institutions everything they
needed to make the day a success, includ-
ing a variety of resources, template fly-
ers, social media memes, hashtags, and
the Sharsheret logo. Educational hand-
outs available for distribution included
Sharsheret’s “Fast Facts About Genetics.”
Small group setting. Free to the community.
Call 201-837-9090 ext. 233 for more information
In Bergen County, participants included
Fairleigh Dickinson University, the Jew-
ish Federation of Northern New Jersey,
Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls,
the Frisch School, the Moriah School,
Yavneh Academy, the Rosenbaum Yeshiva
of North Jersey (for the first time), and
Torah Academy of Bergen County.
What later would become global Pink
Day got its start at Torah Academy — an
Orthodox boys’ high school in Teaneck
— in 2006, when admissions director
Donna Hoenig staged a day called “Do Real
Men Wear Pink?” at the school in support
of Sharsheret. Tzvi Solomon, then a fresh-
man, was one of a handful of boys who
dared to show up wearing pink that day.
Mr. Solomon worked with Ms. Hoenig in
succeeding years to expand the project. By
the time he was a senior, all the students
and faculty came to school wearing pink
on Sharsheret Pink Day, raising funds for
the organization by charging $5 a head to
be included in a group portrait. Mr. Solo-
mon also harnessed the power of social
media to turn Pink Day into an interna-
tional phenomenon in Jewish high schools
and post-high school programs in Israel.
“Every school tries to infuse Pink Day
with some meaning, recognizing that
not every story has a happy ending,” Ms.
Kleinhaus said. “By wearing pink and hav-
ing events such as pink bake sales, guest
speakers sharing personal stories, or sales
of gear with the Sharsheret logo, the goal
is to generate conversations.”
At Moriah in Englewood, middle-
schoolers created a wall of hand cut-outs
on which they wrote messages to women
affected by breast or ovarian cancer.
SEE PINK DAY PAGE 11
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Local
Big data is watching you
JCC U talk to focus on the role of googled analysis in social research
JOANNE PALMER
P
eople lie. This is not news.
They lie for all sorts of rea-
sons, chief among them the
need to look good to other peo-
ple or to themselves. They lie to protect
themselves, to protect other people, to
show themselves as the people they would
like to be, or as they know other people
would like them to be.
Given all that, it is no surprise that peo-
ple lie on surveys and to pollsters — and
of course surveys and polls can be only as
accurate as the information they report.
And they lie on social media, all the time,
through their teeth, because there is noth-
ing more important on social media than
a properly curated life.
But there is something that people don’t
lie to.
They don’t lie to Google.
They don’t lie because the only way to
get the information they need is to ask for
it, as clearly and directly as possible. And
they don’t lie because they think no one is
watching.
And that’s only partly true.
Google, as it turns out, can be a shockingly reliable
source of information and predictions. It is also one of the
frontiers where the battle between individual privacy and
the need for data that will improve lives more broadly will
be fought.
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, who grew up in Alpine, went
to high school in Tenafly, where he played on the baseball
team, earned an undergraduate degree at Stanford and
a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard, worked at Google —
and he’s just 35! — and now studies and writes, in outlets
including the New York Times, about big data, will be at
the Kaplen JCC in Tenafly to explore how big data changes
our understanding of the world (and also how it does not).
(See box for more information.)
He’ll be talking about his new book, “Everybody Lies:
Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us
About Who We Really Are.” The impetus for the book,
and for his work since 2011, when he still was in gradu-
ate school, was his discovery of Google Trends. “I became
obsessed with it,” he said; that’s because he realized that it
Who: Dr. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
What: Will talk about big data
Where: At the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades, 411 East
Clinton Ave. in Tenafly
When: On Thursday, February 22, at 10:45 a.m.
Why: For the JCC U’s first session that day
AND ALSO
Who: Dr. Brian Rose
What: Will talk about the Hollywood star system
When: at 12:45 p.m.
How much: $35 for JCC members; $45 for nonmem-
bers for the whole day, which begins with coffee at
10:30 and includes a break for lunch (which is not
included).
For more information: Call (201) 408-1454.
10 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018
is so honest and therefore so revealing. “If you ask people
in Mississippi, where it is hard to be gay, if they are gay,
for a survey, very few people will say yes,” he said. “But
there are the same percentage of searches for gay porn
online from Mississippi as from New York. Online, people
are honest.”
His doctoral dissertation was based on his study of data
he gathered from Google Trends; he examined three areas
— racism, child abuse, and voting behavior. “It’s hard to pre-
dict who will turn out to vote from surveys, but it turns out
that you can predict voter turnout with high accuracy from
searches about how and where to vote,” he said. Neither
people who always vote nor people who never vote make
such searches, he added, but no one has to scramble for that
information. It’s the swing voters who make the difference.
“One of the reasons that Hillary did worse than
expected in the election was because black turnout was
lower than the polls suggested, but there was a huge drop
in searches about where and when to vote” from areas
with large African-American populations, he said. And it
predicted the voter turnout early; “by mid-October, those
searches already had predictive power,” Dr. Stephens-Dav-
idowitz said.
It’s fairly easy to track racism through searches too, he
added. “I am shocked by how often people make racist
searches on Google, particularly searches mocking Afri-
can-Americans. And I also was surprised by the location of
the searches. I thought that they would be concentrated n
the deep South, but there also are high numbers of them
from upstate New York, western Pennsylvania, industrial
Michigan, and eastern Ohio. A lot of places where Trump’s
support was highest.
“Google Trends shows that the searches rise every year
on Martin Luther King Day, by 30 percent. And then they
rose a lot when Obama first was elected; they rose to his-
toric levels. No matter what people were saying publicly, a
lot of people had a racist response to his election.”
Of course, trends and discoveries on Google Trends can
be only relatively historic; the tool itself has been around
Dr. Seth Stephens-
Davidowitz, above,
and the 1999 Tenafly
High School JV baseball
team. He’s second from
left in the bottom row.
only since 2008, and the data it shows has been available
since 2004, Dr. Stephens-Davidowitz said.
Although he is an economist by training, Dr. Stephens-
Davidowitz considers himself to be a data scientist. It’s a
new field, he said; it didn’t exist even as recently as when
he was in graduate school. And it’s a burgeoning one.
To be clear, he said, Google does not provide individual
information. Researchers can tell the geographic area and
the time, but nothing more granular than that. “It shows
you patterns in the aggregate, but it doesn’t tell you how
each individual will behave.” His own behavior is proof of
that. Last weekend, Dr. Stephens-Davidowitz, who also is
a New York Times columnist, wrote a piece about what
data analysis shows about music preferences. It is clear, he
found, that people fall in love with the music of their early
teens. And his favorite song is Bruce Springsteen’s “Born
to Run,” popular well before he was a fetus, much less a
teen, even an early one. “Most people, I think, are more
standard, but I’m an outlier,” he said.
Although the data he searches are anonymous, there
are tensions between privacy and availability, he added.
“You can know the number of searches made, but you
can’t know who made the search,” he said. “Google is sen-
sitive to that. They want to protect users’ privacy, so you
can’t figure anything out about any individual. That data
does exist, but Google is very protective of it, even inter-
nally, because of its sensitive nature.
“People ask if they should even be making Google
searches, and I always tell them that it probably is the
best place to leave your data, because of the company’s
financial incentive to protect its users’ privacy. You want
to be more careful using smaller websites, which have less
money” to spend on protecting data. “The big data com-
panies are the best places to leave your private data.”
There is a moral incentive to share aggregated data,
he said. “There are diseases that can be cured. There are
some diseases that doctors have figured out how to cure
by figuring out their causes, and they have done that by
looking at the places in the world that do and do not suffer

from it.” And they do that by seeing
where searches for information about
diseases and their symptoms originate.
“It would be unfortunate if this informa-
tion couldn’t be made available.”
Take, for example, pancreatic cancer,
which can be cured if it is caught early
enough, Dr. Stephens-Davidowitz said.
“Researchers have looked for symptoms,
searched for and have found really sub-
tle patterns. They have found that if they
search indigestion, followed by abdomi-
nal pain, that is a risk factor, and it was
unknown to the medical community.
That shows the power of the data.
“The question is how do we harness
Pink Day
FROM PAGE 8
They also dedicated the proceeds of
their monthly tzedaka campaign to
Sharsheret.
Several groups held “mini cake wars,”
a pink cake-decorating contest. JFNNJ
held a “Sip and Paint” evening for about
40 women led by traveling art studio
Paint with Me!, and invited Sharsheret’s
director of national outreach, Melissa
Rosen, to speak.
In her talk, Ms. Rosen said that in the
general population, one in 500 people
carries the BRCA mutation that raises
the risk of breast cancer. Among Ashke-
nazi Jews, however, that number is one
in 40. “Every time I share that statistic
with audiences there is an audible gasp,”
Ms. Rosen said.
She explained that the increased
genetic risk for Jews necessitates a
focused way of providing community
education for the Jewish population,
which is one of Sharsheret’s goals. The
organization’s other mission is to pro-
vide support for patients and their fami-
lies from a Jewish perspective.
“Study after study has proven that
patients whose non-medical needs are
met have a better outcome. The mean-
ingful religious and cultural support we
offer really allows people to do much
better,” she said.
Although about 15 percent of the
80,000 women, families, healthcare
professionals, community leaders,
and students in all 50 states served by
Sharsheret (Hebrew for “chain”) are not
Jewish, young Jewish women and fami-
lies are the main target clients.
In addition to Pink Day, Sharsheret
sponsors Jewish community programs
year-round such as Pink Shabbat and
challah bakes — especially during
National Ovarian Cancer Awareness
Month in September and National Breast
Cancer Awareness Month in October.
Pink Day, which happens every Feb-
ruary, is geared to encourage partici-
pants of any age to take charge of their
own health, Ms. Kleinhaus said. On the
Local
this data while protecting user privacy?
“The ideal would be to have scientists
have access to the data, and that user
privacy would be protected. We are try-
ing to find that balance. But if you have
a relative with pancreatic cancer, you
would want Google to have been study-
ing that data.”
Once his talk is over, Dr. Stephens-Dav-
idowitz will have a question-and-answer
period. He’ll be glad to take questions
on any subject, but because the talk is in
Tenafly, there is one subject in particular
that he’d be glad to discuss then. “I hope
someone asks me about my Tenafly
baseball career,” he said.
college level, Sharsheret urges students
to learn about their family’s cancer his-
tory and to turn to the organization if
they have questions.
“Recently there was a student who
started a Sharsheret program at her
college, and later her mother was diag-
nosed with breast cancer,” Ms. Kleinhaus
said. “Because she was already familiar
with Sharsheret, she felt empowered to
speak to her parents and tell them about
our resources, including our seven staff
clinicians, one of whom is a genetic
counselor, available to answer questions.
MA’ALOT MISSION
She herself spoke to our clinicians about
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how she could help her mother while for campers entering 1st - 4th grade)
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highlighted by exciting weekly trips. Programming will include
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Over the years, Pink Day has moti-
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work or psychology. “We’re really seeing MEETING
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California, and Florida. Among its free, Location: Ben Porat Yosef, East 243 Frisch Court Paramus, New Jersey 07652
confidential programs are peer support JS-1*
and online 24/7 live chats with mental
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selors, customized beauty kits, busy
boxes for children, healthcare webinars,
GEARING UP FOR ISRAEL'S 70TH BIRTHDAY IN TENAFLY
RABBI, MOHEL, CANNABIS DOCTOR page 12
JEWISH LEADERS MEET WITH RUTGERS PRESIDENT
MAHWAH AGREES TO ERUV page 14
page 14
FEBRUARY 9, 2018
VOL. LXXXVII NO. 21 $1.00 86
page 6
7
2017
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Local
FIRST PERSON

Educators’ holiday
Ideas School team goes to Boston to learn from innovation there
TIKVAH WIENER

A
mong the pleasures of plan-
ning the Idea School, the Jew-
ish project-based learning
high school opening in Bergen
County this September, is forming a pas-
sionate team of educators who are com-
mitted to lifelong learning for themselves
as well as for the school’s students.
So it happened that our team — Nancy
Edelman, Rabbi Tavi Koslowe, and Rochie
Sommer — headed out to Boston for two
days during what’s known as yeshiva
break. (That’s the last week of January,
when many Jewish day schools have
vacation.)
Our mission was to explore what the
JCDS ( Jewish Community Day School)
Boston and Gann Academy, two innova-
tive Jewish community schools, were up
to, to meet with Tufts University computer
science professor Dr. Marina Bers, to gain
insights into the Hebrew at the Center pro-
gram that Arnee Winshall has created, and
to see what project-based learning looks
like for adults at Continuum, the design
thinking firm where my friend and col- From left, Nancy Edelman, Arnee Winshall, Tikvah Wiener, Rochie Sommer, Tavi Koslowe, and JCDS Head of STEM
league Ken Gordon works. Innovation Jared Matas stand together at JDCS in Boston.
We were not disappointed.
Okay, so the trip got off to a rocky start the gray,’ empowered to use their capac- when they show mastery. children can use it easily.
when rain poured from the skies, causing ity [for understanding and empathy] as Our next stop after JCDS was Contin- Mr. Gordon emphasized to us the role
our car ride to Boston to take six hours. stepping stones to learning and personal uum, where we met Ken Gordon, the com- that storytelling plays in design thinking.
But we were able to test our resilience and growth.” pany’s content, conversation, and commu- It’s not just that design-thinking engineers
grit by persisting through the challenging After Ms. Winshall gave us a tour of nity strategist. The first noteworthy thing want to sell a great product — of course
weather. JCDS, with its impressive exhibits of stu- Ken told us was that he had done a very they do — it’s also that they want the user
Our first stop in Boston was JCDS, a K-8 dent work on the walls, she sat down with 21st-century thing. He had invented his to have an emotional experience, to feel
day school. There, we met with the head of us and had Tal Gale, who works with her, job: when he discovered Continuum was that the product is part of a positive flow
school, Susie Tanchel, who told us about call in, so we could discuss the approach hiring, he found out what it was looking in the their day and creates a pleasuring
JCDS’ core principles. One of them is a to language acquisition that their organiza- for, and then convinced its leaders that he narrative arc.
commitment to students’ ability to engage tion takes. Ms. Gale told us that when you could do even more than what they were Continuum, with its open, innova-
with others with whom they disagree, and teach Hebrew, you really have to decide asking, crafting a job description that tive, and flexible work spaces; its Maker
to be in what she calls “productive disequi- how to create a culture of Hebrew speak- showed them how his talents as a writer Space, where engineers create prototypes
librium.” This is the ability to understand ing, so that the language becomes part of and lover of the humanities could enhance for everything they design; and its cre-
that “you don’t have to be wrong for me to students’ identities. a design thinking firm. ative, collaborative workforce, made up
be right,” Dr. Tanchel said. The approach of Ms. Winshall’s pro- For those new to DT, design thinking is of people with diverse talents, reminded
Ms. Sommer, the Idea School’s head of gram, Hebrew at the Center, allows every a human-centered design process where us of the kind of school we’re working on
STEM, was struck by the multiplicity of school to reach its potential in challeng- experts from different fields form inter- building.
perspectives the school encourages kids to ing kids to become more proficient in disciplinary dream teams. They engage Ms. Edelman, the Idea School’s head of
seek: “In math, there are many ways to get Hebrew language. It does so by using what in what’s called empathy interviewing to humanities, noted that everyone at Con-
to a solution, and this allows many possi- education knows about how language is find out how consumers use a particu- tinuum is “always in the process of iterat-
bilities to be in a room,” she said. “In math acquired, and marking how each student lar product before going through several ing,” and added, “Teachers and students
class, I have students share their different is progressing in four areas — reading, writ- iterations of redesign, so it’s even more need to do that all the time!” Ms. Sommer
approaches and reinforce that the process ing, speaking, and listening. consumer-friendly. Some of Continuum’s added, “Human-centered design takes
is more important than the product. Our group was wowed by a wall in the most famous products: the Reebok pump into account the unspoken but obvious
“This impacts all disciplines in that stu- Hebrew department chair’s office that sneaker, Pampers’ Stages diapers, and Tar- challenges of a situation. The implications
dents learn to appreciate another student’s tracked each student’s level in the lan- get’s iconic shopping cart. in my practice as an educator include tak-
perspective, and each can learn from the guage. Ms. Winshall noted that all students Human-centered design is about get- ing deeper looks at students’ challenges to
other. This is a critical life skill. Dr. Tanchel have the ability to change levels through- ting at what creates an emotionally satis- diagnose pathways to success.” And Rabbi
emphasized that this prepares students to out the year. The school doesn’t wait for fying user experience: design thinking has Koslowe said that after hearing about how
find ‘their way through the world ready to an end-of-year exam. The program is been used, for example, to reimagine the Continuum employees did “ride-alongs”
engage in difference.’ They will not be fear- dynamic, students are matched to texts at MRI experience so it’s less scary for chil- with first responders as they were working
ful of differences but will learn to ‘live in their level, and they move to the next level dren, or to retool an insulin pump, so even SEE HOLIDAY PAGE 59

12 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018

JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 13
Local
Adventures in television — and life
Andy Friendly’s book recalls Bergen County blizzard,
cable TV in Fort Lee, and working with Geraldo Rivera
CURT SCHLEIER
A
sk Andy Fr iendly about
his time in New Jersey and
he immediately mentions
Baumgart’s in Englewood, the
only Asian food/ice cream parlor he says
he’s ever been in.
His memories also include the Engle-
wood carriage house where he lived when
he worked in Fort Lee, from 1990 to 1995,
and a 1995 snowstorm that forced him to
climb out of a window so he could shovel
the front door.
He also remembers the small house in
Edgewater, where he also lived at around
that time.
But it is that employment in Fort Lee
that is most interesting. It dates back to
1990, when he was brought in to invigo-
rate CNBC at night. The network was the
cable business leader during working and
stock market hours, but after the close of
business its ratings became anemic.
Mr. Friendly’s concept was simple, and
in retrospect obvious: talk. The only pri-
metime talk show at the time was Larry
King on CNN. So Andy brought in Tim
Russert, Tom Snyder, Phil Donohue and,
most memorably, Geraldo Rivera, and
gave them and others relatively free reign.
The idea wasn’t an instant success. That
came later, with O.J. Simpson.
“The Geraldo show was struggling to
find its way,” Mr. Friendly recalled in a tele-
phone interview. “The night of the slow-
speed chase, I called him at home. Know-
ing he was a lawyer, I told him you can
explain this to the country. This could be
our Iran hostage story, which put “Night-
line” on the map. They did it every night,
which we did, too.”
Geraldo’s ratings jumped from 0.2 to 1.2,
and that “lifted all boats.”
Mr. Friendly’s success at CNBC was one
Clint Eastwood, Tom Snyder, and Andy Friendly in 1979.
14 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018
Andy Friendly, his wife, Pat, and Geraldo Rivera in Los Angeles in 1994.
of many in an extraordinary career: he
created the first late-late program on net-
work TV, Tom Snyder’s “Tomorrow Show,”
as well as the first episodes of “Entertain-
ment Tonight.” He also shepherded such
programs as “Inside Edition” and “Holly-
wood Squares” while he was president of
the King World production company.
All of this is documented in his new
memoir, “Willing to Be Lucky: Adventures
in Life and Television.”
That Andy would have these adven-
tures seems almost beshert. He was born
the same week in 1951 that the CBS news
program “See It Now” debuted. That
award-winning series featured the leg-
endary newsman Edward R. Murrow and
was produced by Andy’s equally legend-
ary dad, Fred. It broadcast many impor-
tant and memorable documentaries, most
COURTESY ANDY FRIENDLY
famously exposing the dangers of Sen.
Joseph R. McCarthy.
He grew up in Riverdale, in the Bronx,
but not surprisingly, Andy’s earliest mem-
ories involve not his neighborhood but TV.
“I was kind of a studio rat,” he said. “If I
wasn’t in school I was hanging around the
studio at CBS. I’d met people like the great
Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite,
and I was also hanging around with the
editors and cameramen. I had fun, but
they also taught me so much.”
His career started with a boost from
Dad, who arranged an interview for a tem-
porary opening as a researcher for the
WNBC local news operation.
The senior Friendly could be hard nosed
at work — and at home. “He set up the
interview and told me, ‘This is the only
time I’m going to help you — and it’s going
Tim Russert and Andy Friendly at a 2004 luncheon that Mr. Friendly organized;
Mr. Russert talked about protecting freedom of the press.
to be the last time I do it.’”
Andy admits being the son of a lumi-
nary “was a mixed blessing, but mostly
positive. There is a downside to being the
son of a powerful producer and executive
if you want to work in television. Every-
one assumes that the only reason you’re
there making a living is because of your
dad. I had to work harder than anyone
else to overcome that presumption. It
was a motivator.”
Mr. Friendly is still proving his mettle
— with a tip of his hat to Dad. Andy, who
went to Hebrew school and was a bar
mitzvah, is not very religious. “I don’t go
to temple enough, but I do support Jewish
causes and am very dedicated to the plight
of the Jewish people.” Also, there are still
holiday dinners with families where, often,
a letter from dad Fred is read.
The older Friendly was a reporter for
Stars & Stripes during World War II. He
accompanied the 11th Armored Division as
it liberated the Mauthausen concentration
camp. He sent a long and emotional letter
to his mother, recounting what he saw and
what he felt, memories he insisted would
stay with him forever.
Andy Friendly, who is a board member
of Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation
at the University of Southern California,
is hoping to use some of the 300 hours
of testimony from and about the camps’
liberators to create a six-part documen-
tary series.
“It’s a real passion of mine,” he said.
“It’s in development, so I can’t really talk
that much about it. It will tell the story of
the camps not from the survivors’ side,
but from the liberators’, young soldiers
who really had no idea of what they were
getting into.”
It is of course a tribute to Dad and his
letter, and proof that Disney was right. It is
The Circle of Life.
 A L W A Y S A C L A S S I C.

JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 15

barkan classic ad sizes.indd 3 9/4/17 5:02 PM

Local
Screening for Jewish genetic diseases
Fair Lawn student with lipodystrophy urges others to discover their genetic makeup
BANJI GANCHROW
Dena Winchester is a busy second-year stu-
dent at Rutgers University.
This 20-year-old from Fair Lawn gradu-
ated from the Yavneh Academy in Paramus
and then from Ma’ayanot High School in
Teaneck. She is majoring in genetics and
minoring in psychology. Seems pretty aver-
age, right?
This young woman is anything but
average.
She was always thin as a child, but when
she was in sixth grade, Ms. Winchester was
diagnosed with lipodystrophy. The result of
this genetic disorder, in a layperson’s terms,
is when the body is unable to produce fat.
“Luckily, the diagnosis affected little in my
life healthwise, aside from the need to take
injections of leptin — a hormone produced
by fat cells — and some daily pills,” Ms. Win-
chester said. But though her insides were
affected minimally, her outer appearance
made others take notice. It looks as though
she is suffering from anorexia.
“The most major change in my life has
been the social aspect,” Ms. Winchester
said. “People try to sugarcoat the idea
Not right and left
Israeli comedians bring politics to Teaneck — and make it funny
BANJI GANCHROW
Sometimes, when a political situation gets
really bad, you have to find some humor in
it to get you through.
We could use our current political climate
in the United States as a perfect as example
of “If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.”
Israel is another example of this general
principle. Its history — the way all the nations
that surrounded it that had it in for this tiny
country, the War of Independence in 1948,
the Six Day War in 1967, the Yom Kippur War
in 1973 — the David and Goliath theme goes
on and on. None of these wars were funny in
any way, but with the constant struggles and
suicide bombings and missile attacks, Israel
still manages to blossom and remain strong.
And sometimes, again, you just have to
laugh to get through.
Gady Weissbart and Noam Jacobson are
trying to bring some humor to a conflict
that seems to have no end. Their live
show, “Stayin’ Alive: An Israeli Comedy
Show,” which they brought to Congrega-
tion Bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck recently,
is an attempt to entertain and educate
audiences of all religious backgrounds
16 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018
Dena Winchester holds a box from
JScreen, which she urges people to
use to screen for genetic diseases.
that it’s the inside that counts, but unfor-
tunately, appearances count for a lot.
I am certain that if I were placed in an
alternate, more ‘normal’ body, my social
life would be easier, and my body image
would be a bit more positive.
on the history of Israel and its conflicts.
Mr. Weissbart, 39, and Mr. Jacobson, 42,
both were born in Israel; today Mr. Weissbart
lives in Jerusalem and Mr. Jacobson lives in
Tel Aviv. They met 20 years ago, when they
both were in a yeshiva in a settlement called
Otniel. They both were comedians.
The two lost touch, remet, lost touch
again, met again, and eventually realized
that they had chemistry when they worked
together. “Four years ago, we started doing
a radio show together on ‘Galev Israel,’” Mr.
Weissbart said. This satiric show about life
in Israel ran for a year, and during this time,
the two men started working on a stage
show called “B’Shinuy,” which means “in
an unusual matter.”
“This was a comedy show for religious
Jewish audiences,” Mr. Weissbart said.
But as they performed they learned a
great deal about the extensive anti-Israel
movements that flourish around the world,
especially on college campuses, and they
decided that they wanted to fight back. So,
Mr. Weissbart said, “We decided to create
a show that would give outsiders a new
perspective on life in Israel.” They began
this process by getting in touch with World
“Living with lipodystrophy, however, has
given me a lot of wisdom, and has taught me
how to find and utilize my strengths.”
One of these strengths was starting a blog,
“The Skinny Girl,” when she was a junior
in high school. “I mainly began writing it
because while speaking with a friend, I dis-
covered that after two years of friendship,
she had no idea about my lipodystrophy,”
Ms. Winchester said. You never meet a per-
son and say, “Hi! I’m “Dena, and I have this
medical condition that you should probably
know about…
“Although I try to be an advocate for lipo-
dystrophy and rare diseases, I am first and
foremost a human being trying to survive
college (and at the time, high school), and
do not speak about my condition unless
there is specific reason to bring it up, or if
I can find a sneaky way to hint at it with-
out drawing too much attention. The blog
became a great way to speak about my
experiences and becoming an advocate
while maintaining my normalcy in real life.”
Though she’s a college student with lim-
ited free time and so her posts have not
been as regular as they were when she was
in high school, still she keeps posting.
Noam Jacobson, left, and Gady Weissbart tour with Stayin’ Alive.
Mizrachi, a religionist Zionist organization.
“They took us under their wing and found
us a sponsor so we could make it happen,”
he said. “We then brought in a writer/direc-
tor named Sariel Piterman and started
working on the show.”
It took about a year for all of the pieces
to come together. Now, the two comedians
have begun to tour with the show, which
One result of her posts is that she often
receives messages from other people who
also were struggling with body image or
with rare diseases, including but not lim-
ited to lipodystrophy. “Many others were
able to relate to my experiences, opinions,
and thoughts, and I was very glad I could get
the opportunity to reach people all over the
world,” she said.
Her life experiences have led Ms. Win-
chester to major in genetics; she hopes to
become a genetic counselor. Because she
has been treated at the National Institutes
of Health in Bethesda, MD., “my ultimate
dream would be to work in a medical facil-
ity such as NIH or one just as wonderful,”
she said. “But at the end of the day, I want
to become a genetic counselor to help both
individuals and families, and as long as I can
do that, it could be at whichever facility pos-
sible.” With these goals in mind, she looked
online for possible opportunities to enhance
her resume, opportunities that could help
“make me a great geneticist,” she said.
She happened upon JScreen.
JScreen is the most comprehensive,
affordable, and accessible Jewish genetic dis-
ease screening organization in the country.
they perform in Hebrew in Israel and in
English in North America.
“Our target audience includes Jew-
ish communities, students, and even
non-Jews,” Mr. Weissbart says. “Really
everyone.” The show demonstrates, in
satirical, out-of-the-box ways, how Mr.
Weissbart and Mr. Jacobson deal with the
BDS movement, the world media, and
 Sandi M. Malkin, LL C
Coordinated through Emory University’s Department of
Human Genetics in Atlanta, Ga, JScreen tests for more
Interior Designer
than 200 diseases, including those often found in Ash- (former interior designer of model
kenazim, Sephardim, and Persian Jews. It has screened rooms for NY’s #1 Dept. Store)
thousands of people in every state in the country, and
it has identified hundreds of couples who share a muta-
tion and therefore might be at risk of having a child with For a totally new look using
a Jewish genetic disease.
Ms. Winchester thought that bringing JScreen to your furniture or starting anew.
her college campus was ideal. “Rutgers has a huge
Jewish community, and although we had a genetic Staging also available
screening event two years ago, before I attended Rut-
gers, I knew that there were plenty of new students 973-535-9192
who would want the opportunity to get screened,
as well as upperclassmen who may have missed the

LAST CALL!
opportunity then,” she said.
Ms. Winchester got in touch with Hillary Kener, the
assistant director of outreach and marketing at JScreen,
and JScreen provided free screening for 50 students.
The kits, which are available online at jscreen.com, nor-
mally cost $149.00. To take the screening test, you just
spit in the cup that comes in the kit, and put it the pre-

DON’T MISS THIS SALE

addressed envelope. A genetics counselor will call you
within three to four weeks with your results.
“JScreen has made the importance of Jewish genetic

EVERY SUIT IS BEING SOLD AT OR

disease screening a communal issue, and we have

80OFF
always believed that this generation of college students

BELOW COST!
would be the first for whom Jewish genetic disease
screening would be the norm,” JScreen’s founder, Randy

%
Gold, said. “That is why we are so proud of Dena, for
taking the initiative to educate others at Rutgers and to
use her own situation to potentially save a life.”
The screening was held on February 9 at the Rut-
gers Hillel. UP TO

other issues Israelis must face.

For example, in the show, Little Red Riding Hood
faces the media. The wolf eats her grandmother, and the
hunter shoots him, but the reporter knows only about
the hunter’s shot, not the dead-and-eaten grandmother,
and so makes the wolf the story’s hero.
In another skit, set at the United Nations, a delegate
says he has a solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
and then sings “Under the Sea,” positing that watery
grave as a place where Israelis could live in peace.
Mr. Weissbart and Mr. Jacobson have performed Sta-

5 DAYS LEFT
yin’ Alive in London, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia,
and New Jersey. They adjust it to its audience. “But the
message never gets lost,” Mr. Weissbart said. “We just
want the people to understand what we are saying.”
Jack and Carole Forgash sponsored the sold-out per-
formance at Bnai Yeshurun. “We had seen them perform
in Jerusalem when we were there a few months ago,” Mr.
Forgash said. “When Rabbi Pruzansky called us about
helping to bring them to Bnai Yeshurun, we were more
CELLINI
than happy to do so.” CBY member Yoel Fuld, whose
son is in the army in Israel, goes there often. “Coming in
not knowing what to expect, I felt the show was not only OPEN THIS SATURDAY NIGHT*
great entertainment, but the perfect vehicle to educate
audiences about what goes on in Israel, in a non-threat-
FEBRUARY 17th 7:30 to 11:30
ening manner,” he said.
Mr. Weissbart and Mr. Jacobson are thrilled to
*Excluding *Msrp.
re
bring their show outside Israel because they want
Boro Park Sto
everyone to know what an amazing country it is. BORO PARK: FLATBUSH: LONG ISLAND: LAKEWOOD: TEANECK:
“Jerusalem, for example,” Mr. Jacobson said. “Only 5020 13th Avenue 1505 Coney Island Ave. 467 Central Avenue 1700 Madison Ave. 215 W. Englewood Ave.
in Jerusalem can you see a Greek monk buying Turk- 718.972.4665 718.676.7706 516.295.5006 732.987.9480 201.530.7300
ish coffee in the Arab Quarter.” But their true mes- Sunday & Legal Holidays 10 - 6,
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Sunday & Legal Holidays 10-6,
Mon. - Wed. 10-7, Thurs. 10-9, Fri. 10-2
Sunday & Legal Holidays 10-6,
Mon., Tues. & Thurs. 10-7, Wed. 10-9, Fri.10-2
Sunday & Legal Holidays 10-6,
Mon. - Thurs. 10-7, Friday 10-1:30
Mon.-Thurs. 10 - 9, Friday 10 - 2
Closed Saturday & Sunday
sage, according to Mr. Weissbart is, “It’s not a matter
of right or left, it’s a matter of right and wrong.” Due to nature of this sale we will not be offering alterations even with a charge. No phone orders please.

JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 17

Briefly Local

It’s a wrap!
Several local synagogue groups took part in the 18th annual World Wide Wrap spon-
sored by the Federation of Men’s Clubs. The Wrap encourages participating in the
mitzvah of laying tefillin.
The group in
front of 770
Eastern Parkway
in Brooklyn on
Saturday night.
COURTESY LOTP

Shabbat in the Heights
Recently, Lubavitch on the Palisades
hosted “Shabbat in the Heights,” a Shab-
bat experience in the Chabad-Lubavitch
neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
More than 30 adults and 20 children from
the Tenafly community spent Shabbat with
their rabbis and families in the heart of the
Chabad Lubavitch community, including
davening at Chabad Lubavitch world head-
quarters at 770 Eastern Parkway.
Members of the men’s club at Temple Beth Sholom in Fair Lawn gathered in
the synagogue’s chapel. From left are Elliott Melnick, Cantor Ted Prosnitz,
Mark Wertlieb, Bruce Rein, Howard Shultz, Barry Cohen, Jeff Dube, Rabbi
Alberto (Baruch) Zeilicovich, Ricky Stern, Gary Stern, Asher Auslin, Michael
Edelman, Alan Eliscu, Howard Weizman, and Larry Ames.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM

Religious school students at Shomrei Torah of Wayne don tefillin; they also

Glen Rock super callers do this weekly during Sunday school. COURTESY SHOMREI TORAH

Glen Rock Jewish Center members — from left, Dr. Frances Shapiro-Skrobe,
GRJC president Robert M. Weiss, and Jack Linefsky — were among the Super
Sunday volunteers at the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey this year.

Fort Lee congregants go to the U.N.

Rabbi Ken Stern of Congregation Gesher Shalom/JCC Fort Lee led a group of congregants
to the United Nations for the U.N. International Commemoration Day on January 31. Members of Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley participated in the World
Seated, from left, are Alan and Charlene Stern with Nancy Schiff. Iris Coleman, Regina Wide Wrap at their Sunday morning minyan on February 4. PHOTO PROVIDED

Friedman, Rabbi Ken Stern, Hilda Froelke, and Richard Schiff are standing.

18 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018

 Mishloach Manot Purim Gift Baskets
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Also Available Englewood 40 Nathaniel Place

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JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 19

Briefly Local

Moriah to host
annual dinner
on March 3
The Moriah School in Englewood is hosting its 53rd
annual dinner on Saturday, March 3, at Metlife Stadium
in East Rutherford at 8 p.m. Abby and Scott Herschmann
are the guests of honor; honorees are Dana Septimus
and Joseph Feldman (Young Leadership awardee); and
teachers Nini Berger and Shoshi Hason (Rabbi J. Shelley
Applbaum awardees).
Scott Herschmann has been a board member at Moriah
and held leadership positions with Aipac and Norpac.
Abby Herschmann has been on Congregation Ahavath

PHOTOS COURTESY MORIAH

Torah’s finance, religious services, bikur cholim, and com-
munity services committees. She also was a MAP (Moriah Abby and Scott Herschmann and family
Association of Parents) board member at Moriah and is a
past president of Emunah. Scott and Abby both have been
on Frisch’s board, they co-chaired the Moriah golf outing
and the Frisch annual dinner, and they worked with Part-
ners in Torah; they have been honored by both Ahavath
Torah and Sinai Schools. At Moriah, they were the lead
program donors and spearheaded the “Names, Not Num- Dana Septimus, Joseph Feldman, and their family
bers” project. They are the parents of Emily (Moriah ’13),
Julia (Moriah ’15), Sara (Moriah ’18), and Rae (Moriah ’21).
Dana Septimus and Joseph Feldman (Moriah ’96) are the
parents of Aaron (Moriah ’23), Evie (Moriah ’25), Charlie are the parents of Tali (Moriah ’98), Josh (Moriah ’00), and
(Moriah ’27), and Eliana (Moriah ’31). Both Dana and Joe Gavi (Moriah ’06). They have five grandchildren.
have been active community members. At Moriah, Dana Nini Berger Shoshana Hason Shoshana Hason, “Morah Shoshi,” has taught pre-K
is on the lifecycle committee and the MAP board, and she Hebrew immersion at Moriah since 1990. She and her
is the third-grade parent council liaison; she also is the member of the house committee. husband are active in their synagogue, the Fair Lawn Sep-
co-chair of Kehilat Kesher’s youth department. Joe sits Nini Berger, “Morah Nini,” worked in the primary hardi Center, and have three children, Chana, Neer, and
on Moriah’s executive committee and has been involved grades at Moriah from 1980 to 1984. In 1990, she started at Oren, and 11 grandchildren.
with the school’s admissions and young families commit- the middle school; she still works there. She and her hus- For information on the dinner, call Ari Lewis at (201)
tees. At Kesher, he is the adult education co-chair and a band, members of Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck, 567-0208, ext. 393, or go to www.themoriahdinner.org.

NCJW knits
for a cause
PHOTOS COURTESY BETH AARON

Sari and Michael Samuel Marianne Gorlyn and David Goldberg Rivka Herzfeld

Beth Aaron announces honorees for gala

Congregation Beth Aaron of Teaneck will
hold its 42nd annual journal dinner on
Sunday, March 4, at Congregation Keter
Torah in Teaneck. The buffet is at 5 p.m.,
and the program begins at 6:15. An ad
journal will be published in conjunction
with the event.
Marianne Gorlyn and David Goldberg
are the honorees, Sari and Michael Samuel
will receive the Shelly Leffel Service award,
and Rivka Herzfeld will be given the Eitan
Shapiro Young Leadership award.
Marianne Gorlyn and David Gold-
berg joined Beth Aaron in 1999. David
Goldberg was a founding member and
president of the men’s club, a board and
executive board member, vice presi-
dent, and president; he also chaired the
kiddush committee. Marianne Gorlyn
helps with speechwriting, events, and
strategy to improve the quality of life at
Beth Aaron.
Michael Samuel was on the search
committee that hired Rabbi Aaron Roth-
wachs, is the shul’s liaison to Tomchei
Shabbos, picks up food for Shearit ha-
Plate every week, and is an attorney for
Project Ezrah. Sari Samuel, Sharsheret’s
controller, was co-chair for the journal
dinner for many years and has been on
the shul board. She was sisterhood trea-
surer and co-president, and has been on
the Mikvah Association board, and was
instrumental in establishing the Friday
night/Yom Tov mikvah on the Beth Aaron
side of town.
Rivka Herzfeld, a Torah teacher at
Yavneh Academy in Paramus, has been
a lifelong member of Beth Aaron. The
shul always was a central part of her life.
She was a youth leader, hoping to inspire
the youth to connect to Torah and tefil-
lah. She went on to give a Navi shiur to Jane Levine stands with 112 hat and
women on Shabbat afternoons and has mitten sets created by the Jersey Hills
volunteered for committees. section of the National Council of
The deadline for submitting ads is Feb- Jewish Women. The hats and mittens
ruary 17. To make a reservation, go to were donated to first-graders at
www.bethaaron.org/dinner. Haledon School in Haledon.

20 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018

 Join Us This Summer in Jerusalem

Derech Eretz:
Building Character and Building Society
PHOTOS COURTESY MORIAH

How can Jewish principles inform our conversation on the

widening gap between our professed values and our lived reality?

Community Leadership Program Summer Retreat

June 20 – June 27, 2018
Intensive seminar features text study, small group seminars, encounters
with public figures, field trips, and cultural experiences.
Early Bird $1700 (until Feb 28) | Regular $1900
(special rates for groups)

#hartmansummer
For more information: shalomhartman.org/CLP

JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 21

Briefly Local

Marking Tu b’Shvat
Residents of the
Jewish Association
for Developmental
Disabilities (J-ADD)
group home visited
with seventh grad-
ers in the Howard
and Joshua Herman
Education Center at
the Fair Lawn Jewish
Center/Congregation Rabbi Aaron Katz of Congregation B’nai Jacob in Jersey City lead a Tu
B’nai Israel. Together b’Shvat family celebration, featuring music, wine, cheese, fruits, nuts, and
they created Tu other snacks, at Hamilton House in downtown Jersey City. It was supported
b’Shvat projects. by the Shuster family. The shul still holds many programs and services in its
RABBI RONALD ROTH
West Side Avenue building, including lunch and learn and classes in Jewish
philosophy and Hebrew. COURTESY B’NAI JACOB

Rabbi Mordechai Shain of Lubavitch on the

Palisades with honorees Moshe and Limor Alfassi.

Honorees Deborah and Ariel Cohen and family.

Lubavitch on the Palisades gala dinner and auction

More than 300 people celebrated as Lubavitch on the community, which is graduating its first eighth grade
Palisades held its 22nd annual gala dinner and auc- class this year. Lubavitch honored three couples for
tion, “The Small Has Become Great,” on January 7. their dedication — Limor and Moshe Alfassi, Deborah
The evening marked the growth of the Tenafly Chabad and Ariel Cohen, and Taly and Eyal Reggev. Honorees Taly and Eyal Reggev and family.

Calling all artists to exhibit

at JCC’s ‘Israel at 70’ event
The Kaplen JCC on the Pali-
sades Waltuch Art Gallery is
seeking artists, photographers,
and hobbyists of all ages and
backgrounds to participate in
the JCC’s center-wide “Israel
COURTESY BCHSJS

at 70” celebration in April. To

proudly acknowledge Israel’s
70 years of independence, the
Tenafly-based JCC will hold a
series of special events, pro- Hamsas at a market in Jerusalem.  COURTESY JCCOTP

BCHSJS visits Yad Leah volunteer center
Last week, students from the Bergen
County High School of Jewish Studies went
to the Yad Leah Volunteer Center in Passaic.
To prepare for the visit, a clothing drive was
held at school and 20 large bags of new and
gently used clothing were collected. Dur-
ing the visit, Jessica Sosland Katz, a BCHSJS
alumnae who heads Yad Leah, spoke to the
group about the importance of the clothing
as a basic need, as well as a way to enhance
the self-esteem of the person receiving the
clothing. The group then sorted, folded,
and packed the clothing into boxes to be
sent to families in need in Israel.
grams, and activities. A month-
long community exhibition in the Wal- work exhibited on the walls of the JCC.
tuch Art Gallery will showcase the JCC’s Exhibitors do not have to be Jewish to
appreciation for Israel, its people, and its participate. All submissions must be in by
culture and history. March 15 for consideration.
Artwork can be paintings, photo- For more information on gallery exhi-
graphs, and mixed media works relating bitions or submission guidelines, contact
to Israel; the showcase provides a great Nina Bachrach at (201) 408-1406 or email
opportunity for local artists to see their nbachrach@jccotp.org.

22 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018

UPCOMING AT KAPLEN JCC on the Palisades
Celebrate Purim at the J!
Bring your children in their favorite Purim costumes
to enjoy carnival games, inflatable slides and obstacle
course, junior bounce and moon bounce, life-size cartoon
characters, puppet show, cotton candy, prizes and more.
Join the Fun at the
Rubach Family
Sun, Feb 25, 1-4 pm
Celebration opens at 12 pm for families with children
with special needs.

Purim
Suggested entrance donation: $1 per person or
non-perishable food item to be donated to the
Center for Food Action.

Celebration
All ride & game tickets sold on $25 cards for 30 tickets

Thurnauer School of Music presents:

Faculty “Musical Montage” Concert
Join us for an annual celebratory concert showcasing
Thurnauer's distinguished teacher-performers.
For more info, visit jccotp.org/Thurnauer.
Sun, Feb 25, 5 pm, Free and Open to the Community

Photovoice: Photography through

“Jewish Eyes”
WITH GALIT OELSNER AND
GRACE GURMAN CHAN

Explore photography and your Jewish identity.

Learn how artists “speak” through their photos
and how you can communicate your unique
point of view. Student works will be included
in a special JCC exhibition if interested. No
photography experience required.
Teens ages 15 – 18 welcome!
4 Mondays, Feb 26, Mar 5, 12 & 26, 7-9 pm,
$74/$82

ADULTS COMMUNITY ADULTS

Virtual Tour of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art
WITH MICHAEL NORRIS, PH.D
EGYPTIAN ART: An introduction to the
Egyptian galleries of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art that will guide you from the
banks of the Nile to Egypt’s famous tombs
and temples.
PAINTINGS OF THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE:
Get to know the paintings of Frans Hals,
Jan Vermeer, and Rembrandt.
2 Tuesdays, Mar 13 & 20, 11 am-12:30 pm,
$30/$36
Israeli Opera Tenor Yevgeni
Shapovalov Comes to the J!
Well known as Israel’s Pavarotti, Shapovalov,
is an internationally-acclaimed tenor
and virtuoso. His rare vocal gifts delight
audiences worldwide. Join us as he
performs famous operatic pieces and
popular songs in English, Hebrew, Russian
and Italian.
Sun, Mar 4, 8 pm, $35/$39
Purim Seminar
WITH RABBI REUVEN KIMELMAN
Why is the story of Esther one of the four
most unusual books of the Bible?
Wed, Feb 21, 8:15 pm, Free and open to the
Community
TO REGISTER OR FOR MORE INFO
VISIT jccotp.org
STAY IN THE KNOW! LIKE US ON
facebook.com/KaplenJCCOTP

KAPLEN JCC on the Palisades TAUB CAMPUS | 411 E CLINTON AVE, TENAFLY, NJ 07670 | 201.569.7900 | jccotp.org
JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 23
Cover Story
Watersheds
Jerusalem Biennale show, featuring local artists’ work, on display in Riverdale
I
JOANNE PALMER
t’s not particularly easy to get to
the Derfner Museum.
It’s at the Hebrew Home in
Riverdale, in the northern-
most and westernmost part of
the Bronx, the part that feels
not only not like the Bronx but
not like any part of New York City. It’s
all narrow twisty roads and huge beauti-
ful houses and the occasional apartment
tower. In the summer, it’s a luscious green,
and in the winter the bare trees loom,
brown and witchlike.
24 Jewish standard FeBrUarY 16, 2018
The Hebrew Home is at the very west-
ern edge of Riverdale. It’s a vast complex,
with one small, virtually unmarked gap
in the fence that is its only visitors’ gate.
You have to present ID before you drive
in, and then you search, following the
guard’s vague directions — which didn’t
seem so vague when she gave them to
you, but that was then — and eventually
you find the circle you’re looking for, at
the far western end of this place, at the far
western end of Riverdale, at the far west-
ern end of the Bronx.
Then if you’re lucky the gods of park-
ing bless you — if you’re not you drive
around until they are propitiated — and
you find a space and leave your car and
wander through the building until you
get to the museum.
And then you walk in, and oh my.
It’s a small museum, but it’s filled with
light, and its windows open up on the
Hudson. It’s colored with river light.
And with art.
Next to its small but lovely collec-
tion of Judaica, the Derfner now
Joel Silverstein’s “Promised Land,”
2012, acrylic on canvas
is housing “Jerusalem — Between Heaven
and Earth,” the exhibit from the Jewish Art-
ists Salon that was among the exhibitions
at the Jerusalem Biennale last summer.
The show is similar to what visitors saw
in Jerusalem, but there are some differ-
ences, and the change in the light and the
configuration changes it further.
The biennale’s theme was watersheds,
defined in any way that the artists chose
to define it — as a physical thing, a literal
place, the place in a landscape where
water flows to one river or to another, but
not to the same one. Or it could have been
a metaphor for change, for transition, or
for something else about water’s force and
mystery. Or it could have been a metaphor
for time, a kind of sea change. Or, for that
matter, it could have been whatever else
the artist could have chosen. Art is rarely
bounded by literal definitions.
The Jewish Art Salon is headquartered
in New York, although it draws artists from
all over the metropolitan area, the country,
and even the world. Two of its core mem-
bers are local — Miriam Stern of Teaneck
and Joel Silverstein of Mahwah. Another,
Tobi Kahn, lives and works in Manhattan
but often teaches at the JCC (and will offer
a JCC U class in March. We’ll write about it
in a few weeks).
Yona Verwer is the Jewish Art Salon’s
cofounder and executive director. Working
with another artist, Katarzyna Kozera, she
Joel Silverstein
 Cover Story

Miriam Stern’s
“Crusader Bible I,”
2015, digital print
and monoprint
on paper

Miriam Stern

Leah Raab’s “Valley of Tears,” 2016, acrylic on canvas.

contributed a piece — part painting, part

video — about Jonah, the reluctant prophet
who tried to escape God’s demands by
boat, was the cause of dangerous storms,
was thrown overboard by reluctant sail-
ors, swallowed by a big fish, vomited up
onto shore, and remained reluctant if
not actively obdurate throughout his self-
imposed ordeal.
The prophet’s name, spelled and pro-
nounced Jonah in English, is Yonah in
Hebrew. And like the prophet’s life, Ms.
Verwer’s has been “intertwined with
water,” she said. She was born in the
Netherlands, the country that as its name
implies is below sea level. She crossed
the sea to come to New York, where she
now lives. And she was born Catholic; to
become Jewish she had to immerse herself
in the mayyim chayim — the living waters
— of the mikvah. In her piece, “I made the
river the East River, and the whale is a
submarine. The video shows me and my

Beth Krensky’s
“Tashlich,” 2014,
video still.

Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018 25


Please join us for
a celebration in honor of
natan sharansky
as he concludes his tenure as
Chairman of the Executive
The Jewish Agency for Israel
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
six-thirty in the evening
Cipriani 25 Broadway
New York City
WITH SPECIAL GUEST
President George W. Bush
DINNER CHAIRS
James and Merryl Tisch
HONORARY CHAIRS
Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson
For Tickets and More Details
Visit celebratewithnatan.jafina.org
Or contact Renée Gardner at 202.333.4406
sharanskyevent@jewishagency.org
Tickets starting at $1,000
26 Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018
Cover Story
family sort of submerged in the water,
and that morphs into the Hebrew text
of sefer Yonah,” the book of Jonah. “And
then the last frame is me standing on
the shore, in a terrible storm, but unlike
Yonah I don’t get thrown into the water.
“I am redeemed, and standing on the
shore.”
Miriam Stern’s piece, “Crusader
Bible,” is based on the Bible, finished in
about 1250 CE, that the Morgan Library
displayed a few years ago. It is a brightly
colored, glorious work of art that
includes scenes of bloodshed and devas-
tation in lush colors that belie the terror
they depict. “The Crusaders conquered
Jerusalem in order to wrest the holy land
from the hands of the infidel,” Ms. Stern
said. “My work seeks to reclaim those
images, shown from a Christian point of
view, to show a renewed Jerusalem.”
The watershed that her work shows,
Ellen Holtzblatt, “After the Rain,” 2017, oil on paper mounted on panel.
Yona Verwer
Yona Verwer and
Katarzyna Kozera’s
“The Book of Yona 5,”
2017; acrylic paint,
digital painting collage
with augmented reality.
Ms. Stern said, is the movement from
that Christian idea of a demolished, sub-
servient Jerusalem to the Jerusalem of
today, embattled but also the source of
light and life and rebirth, of culture and
diversity and creativity.
Her work uses some of the same
castles, towns, and battling, armored
knights that the original Crusader Bible
used, but hers are deconstructed, rei-
magined, almost unidentifiable. “I have
transformed those elements into a pres-
ent-day midrash,” she said. “They rep-
resent the return of a people from dis-
tant lands back to their homeland, the
State of Israel.”
The show includes works by such well
known Jewish artists as Mark Podwal and
Archie Rand. It also has pieces about
environmentalism, about multicultur-
alism, about colonialism, about desali-
nization; for a fairly small collection, it

touches on a surprising number of themes
either straightforwardly related to water
and watersheds or can be related to water
and watersheds if you squint really hard.
Joel Silverstein is an artist who lives in
Mahwah, where he is active in his shul,
Beth Haverim, but he comes from Coney
Island. And as we all know, you can take
the boy out of Brooklyn, but…
Mr. Silverstein contributed a big piece
to the Jerusalem Biennale, “Ten Com-
mandments and a Question,” a “magnum
opus,” as he put it, 10 feet by 5 feet, “set
in both New York City and Israel,” he said.
“It was the parting of the Red Sea, and it
shows all kinds of characters from all kinds
of sources — movies, magazines, comic
books, traditional art. It included Moses
and Aaron from the movie ‘The 10 Com-
mandments,’ Charleton Heston and Yul
Brynner. I was very happy with it.”
He included the Schechina, the mystical
female aspect of God, in the painting, in
the person of Wonder Woman.
“Ten Commandments and a Question”
is based on the art discovered in the Dura-
Europos synagogue. The shul, unearthed
in Syria in 1932, is “the first fully painted
synagogue. The whole inside is painted.
“People think that there is not a visual
tradition in Judaism, but they are wrong,”
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Cover Story
he added.
Mr. Silverstein’s huge work was set to be
the first piece viewers would see as they
entered the museum for the Biennale.
There were eight spaces that housed art
from around the world. The Jewish Art
Salon’s work was hung at the Hamachtarot
Museum; that’s the Museum of the Under-
ground Prisoners.
“The building had been a Turkish mon-
astery and a Russian sailors’ home, and
then a prison,” Mr. Silverstein said. “The
English ran the prison, and they executed
Jewish and Arab prisoners there. They still
have the hanging room, which originally
had held a wine press, and it still has the
Joel Silverstein’s “Ten Commandments and a Question” is not at the Derfner, but
cells where prisoners were held.
it was at the Jerusalem Biennale.
“It is a spooky place. Really creepy.”
Unlike most of the other Biennale ven-
ues, this one was run by the military, in the back hallway of another museum, named neighborhood is not a tribute to a
and the director did not allow “Ten Com- “sort of like a Jewish hipster venue. cemetery but based on the Dutch word for
mandments and a Question” to hang in the “It was very interesting,” Mr. Silverstein groves. “It is the oldest part of New York
space allotted for it. The show opened just said. “In Israel, that just is the way it is, and City, from the mid 1600s, and it was the
before Sukkot, and he expected charedi I got to see it firsthand.” first community set up for tolerance and
visitors who could not be expected to view “Ten Commandments and a Ques- freedom,” he said. That was very much in
Wonder Woman’s bare shoulders with tion” is not at the Derfner either, but not his mind as he worked.
aplomb, or for that matter with anything because it’s too risqué. It’s simply too big. “Promised Land” is part of a series
beyond pure horror. “I said that I would Instead, Mr. Silverstein is showing another, “based on the Exodus from Egypt, and set
repaint it temporarily,” but no. After some smaller work, called “Promised Land.” in Brighton Beach.
disagreement, the piece was ejected from Mr. Silverstein was born in Gravesend, “In Moby-Dick, Melville said that sailing
that museum, and eventually was hung at the tip of Brooklyn; the evocatively was his Harvard and his Yale. I said that
Motzei Shabbat, March 3, 2018 - 17 Adar 5778
8 PM, Metlife Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ)
DANA SEPTIMUS and JOSEPH MORAH NINI BERGER MORAH SHOSHI HASON
FELDMAN ‘96
Young Leadership Award Rabbi J. Shelley Applbaum, Z”L Service Award
Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018 27
Cover Story

Coney Island is my Egypt and my Israel.”
This piece is “more realistic and less
symbolic and expressionist than my
other work,” he said. “It is a straight
view of the parachute jump from the
beach. I wanted to show what the
immigrants saw when they approached
New York from the harbor.
“The parachute jump is my unsung
Eiffel Tower. I want people to see what
it looked like.”
He’s thinking a great deal about immi-
gration, which is a watershed not only in
the immigrant’s own life, but in the lives
of everyone in the immigrant’s family,
all the way down the generations.
“My grandfather was a draft dodger,”
he said. “He fled the Russo-Japanese
War of 1905. He had stories to tell, sto-
ries about things like swimming across
a river. My grandmother came to New
York with her family, but he came
alone. My mother and father were
first-generation Americans. She was
born in Bensonhurst and he was
born on the Lower East Side. It’s a
typical Jewish American story.
“Just like Israel was the prom-
ised land in the Bible, America
was the promised land for immi-
grants in the aughts and teens and
20s,” he said.
How do his two works — the one
in the Biennale and the one at the
Derfner — relate to each other?
“Reality and fantasy are kind of
flipped, especially for Jewish sub-
jects,” he said. “I like having the
realistic and the mystical side by
side. And the past and the present.
It’s all part of the same mix. That’s
very much part of being Jewish.”

Who: The Jewish Art Salon

What: Presents Jerusalem Between Heaven and Earth
Where: At the Derfner Judaica Museum, at the Hebrew Home in Riverdale,
5901 Palisade Ave. in Riverdale, N.Y.
When: Until May 27; Sundays through Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Alan Hobscheid, “The Boat (from the Yonah series),” 2017, digital print.
For more information: Call 718-581-1596 or go to RiverSpringHealth.org/art
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Jewish Standard
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Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, at the Gulf Cooperation
Council summit at the Bayan Palace in Kuwait City on December 5, 2017.
Why are Jewish leaders
fighting about Qatar?
Here’s a scorecard
rON kAMPeAS
WASHiNGTON — There’s a battle going
on among pro-Israel leaders, and it’s
over Qatar.
It’s like watching ice hockey players
clear the bench for a brawl — but the
antagonists are all on the same team.
The people lining up to praise or
bury the emirate are best known for
sharing the same stages, and often the
same opinions, about their overarching
concern: Israel. But here they are, old
friends at odds over another small Mid-
dle Eastern state surrounded by hostiles.
What’s going on?
Here’s a pocket history — and a
scorecard.
Who’s fighting?
In June, Saudi Arabia spearheaded a
five-nation blockade of Qatar, seeking
to punish the rival emirate for its sup-
port of Islamist groups and its close
relations with Iran, the Saudis’ main
regional rival. Since then, both coun-
tries have been seeking favor with the
United States, with Qatar aiming some
of its charm offensive at Jewish and pro-
Israel leaders.
In recent weeks, some high-profile
Jewish leaders — including Harvard
attorney Alan Dershowitz, Morton
Klein of the Zionist Organization of
America, and Malcolm Hoenlein of
the Conference of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations — have
paid visits to Qatar at the invitation of
its rulers. Other Jewish and Israeli lead-
ers have criticized the visits. On Feb. 9,
Itai Bar Dov, a spokesman for the Israeli
Embassy in Washington, told the New
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York Times, “We do not approve of
these visits by the Jewish organizations
to Qatar.”
Why Qatar? Why now?
Saudi Arabia long has seen itself as the
pre-eminent Sunni Arab state in the Per-
sian Gulf. Its royal family is the guardian
of two of the holiest cities in Islam, Mecca
and Medina. Most of its neighbors have
been content to defer to its leadership.
Most, but not Qatar. The Al-Thani fam-
ily, which has controlled Qatar since Bergen County’s
at least the mid-19th century, long has
chafed at taking instructions from Qatar’s
massive neighbor. Their defiance of the
Luxury Consignment Store
Saudis has led to contradictions: Qatar
was among the first Gulf Arab nations to 20% OFF WINTER SALE
welcome Israeli travelers openly, but it
also backs Islamist groups like the Muslim 720 Anderson Avenue
Brotherhood (although, it insists, not ISIS Cliffside Park, NJ 07010
or al-Qaida). Home to the largest U.S. mili- 201.943.3401
tary base in the region, Qatar also enjoys info@edesignerresale.com
friendly relations with Iran. Qatar, like its www.edesignerresale.com
neighbors, closely controls expression
Tuesday—Friday 11:00AM to 7:00PM
in the country; it also bankrolls the free-
Saturday 10:30AM to 6:00PM
wheeling TV network Al Jazeera.
*most items
When Mohammed bin Salman, the tyro
son of the Saudi Arabian king, was named
crown prince in June, he quickly flexed
his muscles at home and in the neighbor-
hood. Bin Salman has marked territory in more than 412,000 likes.
recent months in Lebanon and Yemen,
and led the blockade of Qatar.
Bin Salman’s manspreading also has Like us on Facebook.
much to do with the election of another
alpha male: Donald Trump. The presi-
dent has signaled he appreciates bold
moves among U.S. allies. (Trump’s son-
in-law, Jared Kushner, is super friendly
with bin Sultan and is perceived in the facebook.com/jewishstandard
see QATAR page 30
Jewish standard FeBrUarY 16, 2018 29
Jewish World

Qatar
from page 29
Middle East as having given the green light
for much of the prince’s recent posturing.)
Not that the Trump administration has
been consistent, exactly. Trump tweeted
support of the blockade in June, even as his
secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, worked
mightily to undo it and last week called Qatar
“a strong partner and longtime friend.”
Since then, both sides, the Qataris on one
and the Saudis and smaller Gulf states on the
other, have been working hard to gain Wash-
ington’s favor. Bizarrely, those who have yet
to recognize Israel formally have focused
most intently on the pro-Israel lobby.
Round 1: America’s lawyer
vs. America’s rabbi
Dershowitz, the constitutional lawyer and
defender of Israel, said his visit to Qatar last
month disabused him of much he had heard
about the emirate and also made him warier
of the Saudis. For one thing, Qatar was allow-
ing an Israeli to compete in a tennis tour-
nament, while the Saudis were keeping an
Israeli chess competitor out. Saudi pressure
to shut down Al Jazeera especially offended
Dershowitz, a free speech advocate.
Qatar denied other offenses, including
backing for Israel’s deadly enemy Hamas.
Dershowitz was skeptical but wanted to
know more before endorsing steps as dras-
tic as a blockade.
“Qatar is quickly becoming the Israel of
the Gulf States, surrounded by enemies,
subject to boycotts and unrealistic demands,
and struggling for its survival,” he wrote in
The Hill on January 12.
That was too much for Rabbi Shmuley
Boteach, the celebrity rabbi who advocates
for Israel and against anti-Semitism as the
head of the World Values Network. In a Jeru-
salem Post column, he wrote that likening
Qatar to Israel is “an absolutely shocking
statement that must be totally and com-
pletely rebutted.” He called Dershowitz, his
one-time debate partner (they teamed up at
Harvard in 2002 against two pro-Palestin-
ian advocates) a “Jewish junketeer” and a
“mouthpiece.” (Boteach used the same lan-
guage — and published much the same col-
umn — in the Jewish Standard on January 19,
in a piece called “Alan Dershowitz peddles
dangerous Qatari propaganda.)
Dershowitz wrote to the Post saying that
Boteach’s column “mischaracterizes what I
actually said and then rails against the straw
man he has deliberately substituted for the
truth of what I said.” On Twitter, Boteach
called the letter a “personal attack.” In fact,
Dershowitz’s letter was to the point and
Boteach was the one using pejoratives
like “junketeer,” but then, yes, Dershow-
itz got personal on Twitter.
“I once made mistake of being in a
debate at Harvard with @RabbiShmu-
ley on my side,” Dershowitz said. “He
screamed and yelled like a child. Hurt
the cause of Israel. I promised never
again to be in debate with him.”
On Monday, the Forward reported that
Boteach had clamored to join the same
Qatar junket, according to the Jewish PR
firm that organized the trips there, but
was turned down when the Qataris came
to the conclusion that he wasn’t (yikes)
influential enough.
Boteach is not quite down — he was on
Twitter Tuesday morning still challeng-
ing Dershowitz to “repudiate his prepos-
terous sycophantic, obsequious, brown-
nosing, & deeply libelous” comparison
of Qatar and Israel.
Round 2: Flack vs. flack
In August, Bluelight Strategies, a pub-
lic affairs firm, began touting a London
conference organized by Khalid Al-Hail,
a Qatari businessman who is one of the
leaders of the political opposition in
Qatar. It was an early sign that pro- and
anti-Qatari forces were seeking influence
among a Jewish audience.
Bluelight is run by Steve Rabinowitz
and Aaron Keyak, long experienced in
repping progressive causes in the pro-
Israel community and pro-Israel causes
among progressives. Bluelight’s work was
not limited to promoting the September
conference to Jews, but Keyak told JTA
Rabinowitz and Keyak also touted an
October conference in Washington that
slammed Qatar, but edged away when
Steve Bannon, Trump’s former top stra-
tegic adviser, was invited as a keynote.)
Muzin is drawing a monthly salary from
Qatar (now $300,000, according to Polit-
ico), and so is more invested long-term
in his assignment. Paying Muzin to be
persistent had dividends — he arranged
for the five and counting pro-Israel lead-
ers, including Menachem Genack of
Englewood and the Orthodox Union and
Hoenlein, to visit the country.
Rabinowitz and Keyak were working
for an individual, and thus not subject
to the stringent restrictions of the For-
eign Agents Registration Act. Muzin must
make public his payments and whomever
he meets with to advance his agenda.
Round 3: Mort vs. Mort
In September, the Zionist Organization
of America dismissed its invitation to
visit Qatar.
“Rather than change any of those
monstrous and evil actions, Qatar may
be trying to create the optical illusion of
Jewish support to moderate their image
by hiring a well-connected PR firm and
by having ‘secret’ meetings with Jewish
leaders — which of course won’t be a
secret, as the whole reason for the meet-
ings may be for the Qataris to point to
them as evidence that the ‘Jews’ (and
thus Israel) don’t view them as enemies,”
ZOA President Morton Klein said in a
release at the time.
Klein soon changed course: He visited

Kosher Market that was certainly part of its strategy—

and of Bluelight’s appeal to Al-Hail.
Then in September, Nicolas Muzin,
an observant Jew and a rising star
among conservative Republicans,
We deliver chicken special
$2399
announced that his own government
and public relations firm was going to
Home, office, 2 roaSTed chickenS make Qatar’s case to the Jewish com-
Temple 1 lB. Side · 1 lB. Salad munity. (A trade publication said his
fee was $50,000 a month.)
DELI · APPETIZING · SALADS · COOKED FOODS “Engagement with Qatar can only be
CATERING · FROZEN FOODS · FRESh mEAT in the best interests of the United States
and the Jewish community, as we cannot
Sunday Feb. 18 - Friday Feb. 23 SPeCiaLS allow Qatar to be ostracized by its neigh-
Meat Dept. Deli Dept. bors and pushed into Iran’s sphere of
influence,” he said at the time.
empire chicken legS ...........$2.49 lB. Sliced Turkey BreaST.. $7.50 1/2 lB. This seemed to set up a partisan cast
1/2 lB. min. to the appeals: Muzin (who has advised
ground chuck (5lB or more) ..$3.99 lB. kaSha VarniShkeS 15 oz.......$6.99 ea. the House Republican caucus, and Sens.
Tim Scott of South Carolina and Ted
chuck filleT STeak (BonelleSS)..$9.99 lB. healTh Salad.....................$4.99 lB. Cruz of Texas), was the Republican rep-
Qatar in January, and yes, it was leaked
to Haaretz. Why did he go?
“At first I refused because of their sup-
port for Hamas and the anti-Semitism
being broadcast on Al Jazeera,” he told
the newspaper. “But over time, I saw
that more and more Jewish leaders were
going there, and I realized that at this
point, they won’t be able to use me for
propaganda because everyone is already
going, but I might use the visit to push
them on these issues.”
Klein subsequently spoke to the Jeru-
salem Post’s Seth Frantzman and clearly
emphasized two things: He was not paid
for the visit; and he did not hold back.
The ZOA put together a 50-page report on
Qatar’s perceived transgressions against
Israel, and Klein said he handed it to
every official he met and had a two-hour
conversation with the emir of Kuwait.

BoneleSS chuck roaST .......$8.99 lB. BBQ chicken ......................$5.99 lB.

resenting Qatar. Keyak, who has worked
for House Democrats, and Rabinowitz, a
SweeT & Sour meaTBallS ..$6.99 lB. veteran of the Bill Clinton White House,
STeak london Broil ...........$9.99 lB. Beef STew ..........................$7.99 lB. were the Democrats repping Qatar’s
antagonists.
UNDER STRICT RABBINICAL SUPER VISION
In fact, while the hirings of Muzin,
Keyak, and Rabinowitz signaled how
67 A E. Ridgewood Ave. seriously foreign actors take the Ameri-
Opp Lord & Taylor can Jewish community, the flacks, in
Paramus, NJ • 201-262-0030 this case, were playing in different are-
Hours: Mon., Tues. & Wed. 8 A.M.-6 P.M.; Thurs. 8 A.M.- 7 P.M.; Fri. 8 A.M.- 4 P.M.; Sun. 8-3; Closed Sat. nas. The Bluelight hiring was a one-off,
We are not responsible for typographical errors · While sUpplies last ahead of a conference. (For a short time,
“Reports relayed to me said I was the
roughest and toughest of all the lead-
ers in presenting the issues,” he told
Frantzman. “Some others were obsequi-
ous and overly warm and overly friendly.
I was forceful and focused.”
Roughest and toughest, but boy did
Klein appreciate those Qatari pajamas.
“The airline had great service,” he
told Frantzman. “They handed out paja-
mas, the softest I ever felt. I wear them
every night.” JTA Wire Service

30 Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018

 “May all our dreams and prayers come true”
n
“‫”שימלאו משאלות לבנו‬
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Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018 31
 Jewish World
T H U R S DAY, MA R C H 8
LAVISH
Briefs
Rivlin, JDC leaders gather to mark
LU NCH ES state of Israel’s 70th anniversary
More than 100 Jewish community leaders
with the American Jewish Joint Distribution
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A day of culinary adventure with guest speaker
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Michael Ferraro, renowned NYC chef and restaurateur.
President Reuven Rivlin at his residence in
Begin the morning with a light breakfast Jerusalem to mark the 70th anniversary of
at the home of Michele & Daniel Ross, the state of Israel and to recognize the orga-
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food for needy Jerusalem Jews at Passover.
“This year Israel is marking 70 years
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Israeli President Reuven Rivlin with
JDC President Stanley Rabin.
of independence, but the JDC has been
standing behind Israel for even longer,”
said Rivlin. “For more than 100 years,
since World War I, you have been a safety
net for our people.”
He added that “your dedication and
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In Israel, the JDC develops social services
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impairments,” said Victor Novack, a pro-
fessor of medicine in the BGU Faculty of
Health Sciences and head of the Canna-
bis Clinical Research Institute at Soroka.
“After monitoring patients 65 and older for
six months, we found medical cannabis
treatment significantly relieves pain and
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minimal side effects reported.”
The study also saw a reduction in opioid
use among seniors. More than 18 percent of
the patients surveyed stopped using opioid
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“While the researchers state their find-
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dependence on prescription medicines,
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All of the patients received a prescrip-
tion from their doctor before going
through with the study. The patients
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bis supplier, with more than 33 percent
using cannabis-infused oil, 24 percent
inhaling therapy by smoking and 6 per-
cent using vaporization. JNS.ORG

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Israel was the world’s second-largest
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Israelis bought products on eBay
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Israelis bought 17 million items via
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The average purchase cost $25.
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“A tail light for a Ford Focus, which
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Israelis bought about 700,000 vehicle
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34 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018
 Jewish World

Israel police
recommend:
Indict Netanyahu
for bribery,
breach of trust
JTA STAFF

The Israel police recommended that Prime Minister Prime Minister Benjamin
Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted on bribery and breach Netanyahu and his wife,
of trust charges in two alleged corruption cases. Sara, leave Israel for
The recommendation, made public on Tuesday eve- Davos last month.
ning, comes after yearlong investigations into the two  AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO

alleged corruption cases.

State prosecutors now must decide whether or not
to file indictments.
Netanyahu, addressing the nation later that evening,
maintained his innocence, saying the recommenda-
tions “cast a dark shadow” and “have no place in a
democratic state.”
“I will keep working for the good of the country, not
for cigars from a friend and not for better media cover-
age,” he said in reference to the accusations.
During his tenure as prime minister, some 15 inves-
tigations have been opened against Netanyahu to
“topple me from power,” he said. The prime minister
said he is sure he will be re-elected in the next national
elections, which are scheduled for November 2019. M A’ AYA N OT Y E S H I VA H I G H S C H O O L F O R G I R L S I N V I T E S T H E CO M M U N I T Y TO O U R
Netanyahu has maintained his innocence over the
course of the investigations, saying on more than A N NUA L S C H O L A R S H I P D I N N E R
one occasion, “There will be nothing because there
M OT Z E I S H A B B AT, M A R C H 10 , 2 0 1 8 | 8 : 3 0 PM | CO N G R EG AT I O N KE T E R TO R A H
is nothing.”
In December, Netanyahu told Likud party support- J O I N U S I N E X PR E S S I N G H A K A R AT H ATOV TO O U R H O N O R E E S
ers at a convention that “there will be recommenda-
tions, so what? Here’s a fact you probably don’t know:

I will keep working

for the good of the
country, not for cigars
from a friend and not M R. S AU L & M R S . D E E N A K A S ZOV I T Z
for better media K E T E R S H E M TOV AWA R D
R A B B I E L I E & D R. M I R I A M B E R M A N
A M U D E I M A’ AYA N OT H O N O R E E S

coverage,” he said in
reference to the
accusations.
Over 60 percent of police recommendations are
thrown out and never result in indictments.”
Netanyahu is at the center of two probes. In one,
known as Case 1000, he allegedly received expensive
gifts from supporters in return for advancing their
D R. N E E R & M R S . LY N N E V E N-H E N M S . S A M A N T H A KU R
interests, including costly cigars and champagne from PA R E N T S O F T H E Y E A R T E AC H E R O F T H E Y E A R
the Israeli-born Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.
In the other, Case 2000, Netanyahu is alleged to have
conspired with Arnon Mozes, the owner of the Israeli
daily Yediot Acharonot, to advance legislation hobbling
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the free and pro-Netanyahu tabloid Israel Hayom bank- or contact Pam Ennis, Director of Development, at 201-833-4307 ext. 265, ennisp@maayanot.org
rolled by American billionaire Sheldon Adelson.
Milchan and Mozes also will be charged.
Police reportedly said that Yair Lapid, head of the Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls
opposition Yesh Atid party, was a central witness in 1650 Palisade Avenue | Teaneck, New Jersey | 07666 | www.maayanot.org
the Milchan case.

JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 35

Editorial
Thinking about Gettysburg
T
he Gettysburg Address is perfect.
It’s short, it’s direct, and it’s profound. It wastes no
words but combines the ones it uses with balance, clar-
ity, and art. There are no weasel words, no bland corpo-
rate speak, no jargon, no euphemisms.
The Gettysburg Address is true, although it also is more aspira-
tional and inspirational than it is historic. The United States was
not quite conceived in liberty, and it was not really dedicated to
the proposition that all men are created equal (even if you ascribe
to the convention that “men” includes women) because it was cre-
ated with the original sin of slavery, the cause of the war whose
bloody effects were underfoot at the Pennsylvania cemetery
where Lincoln spoke.
But of course Abraham Lincoln knew that.
And the Address ends with a demand that we, his listeners — and
by implication their children and their children’s children, down
through history, because it is that important, and because Lincoln’s
understanding of time’s passing is clear — “resolve that these dead
shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have
a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Lincoln’s speech was firmly in the prophetic tradition.
Rabbi Joseph Prouser, who is a student of history and the leader
of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey in Franklin Lakes, has trans-
lated the Gettysburg Address into Hebrew and set it to a haftarah
trope. He chants it once a year, on the Monday of Presidents’ Day,
at Shacharit, after the Torah service. That is the time on Shabbat
and chaggim when the haftarah is read, and the haftarah is a selec-
tion from the books of the Prophets.
So how entirely logical it is that the words of our great national
prophet, Abraham Lincoln, be read in that way, at that time.
It perhaps surpasses logic that the reading is as emotional as it
is. The emotion does not come from Rabbi Prouser, who chants
straightforwardly, letting the short syllables and insistent rhythm
move the strong words forward. It comes from the listeners.
The first time I heard it, to my astonishment, I cried. The second
time, to my surprise, I cried again. By now, I know what to expect.
I bring tissues.
But I cry — and I think I am not alone in crying — not out of senti-
mentality, but because of the power and the beauty and the hope
and the rigorous demands of that extraordinary speech.
Everyone is welcome to the service, where many local
Who: Rabbi Joseph Prouser
What: Will read the Gettysburg Address in Hebrew, set to
haftarah trope, during Shacharit services
Where: At his synagogue, Temple Emanuel of North Jersey,
558 High Mountain Road in Franklin Lakes
When: On Monday, February 19 — Presidents’ Day;
services start at 8 a.m.
What else: Local politicians and dignitaries will be there, and a
light breakfast follows. Everyone is welcome
For information: Call (201) 560-0200.
Jewish Editor
Joanne Palmer
Standard Associate Editor
Larry Yudelson
1086 Teaneck Road
Community Editor
Teaneck, NJ 07666
Beth Janoff Chananie
(201) 837-8818
Fax 201-833-4959 About Our Children Editor
Heidi Mae Bratt
Publisher
James L. Janoff
Associate Publisher Emerita
Marcia Garfinkle
thejewishstandard.com
36 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018
A contemporary postcard imagines the scene at Gettysburg.
politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike, join Rabbi Prouser
in this salute to history and liberty and freedom and memory and
poetry and country. (See box for information about it.)
And as it turns out there’s more.
According to an astonishing story in the Atlantic, in the
1930s, the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal program,
interviewed former slaves, who were quite old by then. Nearly
40 of those thousands of oral histories said that a man had
visited them before the war — most of the time the man was a
peddler or a beggar — had talked to them, and had told them
not to worry. Slavery would end, and soon, he said.
He might trick their white masters, he might cadge a meal from
the big house.
And then, after he’d left, the slaves would find his initials,
or even his name — ABRAHAM LINCOLN — carved or written
somewhere.
There is no reason to think that Abraham Lincoln actually made
these visits, and many logistical reasons to assume that he did not.
But it makes sense to think that Abraham Lincoln, that tall,
brooding, melancholic figure who sits high in his seat in his mon-
ument in Washington, that complicated, sad man who was sur-
rounded by early death — his mother, his fiancée, his son, all those
soldiers, both the Union forces and those young, mistaken, but
still dead Confederates — and whose own death, at the hands of
the mad young actor who soon was dead himself, was early and
unspeakably tragic, because who knows what horrors he might
have been able to spare the country — was the kind of mythic hero
who could be incorporated into folk stories.
The echoes of prophecy are unmistakable as well. The Atlantic
story doesn’t mention this — although it does touch on the Afri-
can folk figure of the trickster — but to the Jewish reader it evokes
images of Elijah the prophet, appearing in disguise to do good or
to make right things that had been wrong.
There is something that feels deeply Jewish about Lincoln.
So Abraham Lincoln, the writer and orator, the politician and
poet, also was a prophet, and Rabbi Prouser is not only forging a
new, powerful tradition, but also expanding on an old one. —JP
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Israeli Representative
Mixing
revulsion with
understanding
of the Polish
Holocaust law
B
ack when I was the Chabad rabbi
at Oxford University, my good
friend Professor Jonathan Web-
ber took me on a tour of Poland.
I had a somewhat negative attitude toward
Polish-Jewish history. I was convinced it was
rife with anti-Semitism, and that Poles had
brutalized the Jews before, during, and after
the war. Jonathan, however, helped me see
that the situation was more nuanced. He
wrote a book called “Traces of Memory,”
with pictures from cities such as Krakow,
Tarnow, and Belz, where he found rem-
nants of Jewish life. He also founded the
Galicia Jewish Museum and has been living
for many years now in Krakow with his wife,
Connie, who heads the Littman Library of
Jewish Civilization. He argued that the Poles
are friends of the Jews, and that Poland has
done an admirable job of remembering the
Holocaust and creating moving monuments
to it.
Later, Jonathan brought Teresa Swiebo-
cka to our Shabbos dinner at Oxford on
many occasions. Teresa was Catholic. She
also was the curator of the Auschwitz
Museum. I was impressed by this non-Jew-
ish woman’s commitment to preserving the
Nazi death camp and explaining the history
of the Holocaust to visitors, who came from
around the world to learn about the horrors
the Germans perpetrated against the Jews.
I had other positive experiences with the
Poles when I visited with members of the
Knesset to commemorate the 69th anni-
versary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and
when I had the privilege to attend President
Trump’s powerful speech in Warsaw last sum-
mer, when he acknowledged the suffering
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is the author
of 31 books, including his most recent,
“The Israel Warrior.” For tickets to the
Champions of Jewish Values Awards Gala
on March 8, go to www.thisworldgala.com.
Founder
Morris J. Janoff (1911–1987)
Editor Emeritus
Meyer Pesin (1901–1989)
City Editor
Mort Cornin (1915–1984)
Editorial Consultant
Max Milians (1908-2005)
Secretary
Ceil Wolf (1914-2008)
Editor Emerita
Rebecca Kaplan Boroson

of the Jews and the Polish people in the
Katyn Forest massacre, the Holocaust,
the Warsaw Ghetto, and the destruction
of the capital city. He recognized the
“deaths of nearly one in five Polish people”
and the “vibrant Jewish population” that
“was reduced to almost nothing after the
Nazis systematically murdered millions of
Poland’s Jewish citizens, along with count-
less others, during that brutal occupation.”
Trump’s address took place in the
middle of my family’s trip to visit sites
in Eastern Europe where the Final Solu-
tion was planned and implemented. It
was an incredibly power-
ful, but also a depressing
experience. In Poland,
where so little of that once-
vibrant Jewish community
remains, I was gratified by
the extent to which the
Poles have gone to pre-
serve the German extermi-
nation camps, to memori-
alize the victims, and to Rabbi
educate visitors about the Shmuley
Holocaust. Boteach
Fast forward to today,
when the Polish govern-
ment has decided to criminalize refer-
ences to “Polish death camps.” It is an
unfortunate and vulgar reaction that
allows the debate over what took place
in Poland during World War II to be
hijacked by extremists. The Israeli gov-
ernment and Jews around the world
have rightly reacted with outrage to the
apparent attempt to whitewash the anti-
Jewish activities of some Poles during
and after the war.
Paradoxically, while the Polish govern-
ment now wants to make clear that the
Germans were responsible for the death
camps, this is not reflected in their mon-
uments. When I first visited Holocaust
sites in Poland with Jonathan 28 years
ago, most of the monuments said Nazi-
Germans. Today, the word “Germans”
has been erased. It is as if this alien civili-
zation came and took over Germany and
perpetrated the Holocaust on these poor
Germans and everyone else and then
returned to their planet.
I do sympathize with the angst of
Poles who resent the association with
the death camps. A few months ago, I
met Polish Prime Minister Mateusz
Morawiecki, who then was the finance
minister, when he visited us at our
home. He said it was unfair to blame the
Poles. The Nazis were to blame. I was
impressed with his sincerity and believe
he had a genuine affection for Israel and
the Jewish people. He agreed, on the
spot, to do a Facebook live discussion of
this issue, which can be viewed on my
Facebook page. I was impressed with his
willingness to speak off the cuff and with
no notes on this very sensitive subject.
The unfortunate reality is that Aus-
chwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Maj-
danek, Sobibor, and Treblinka all were
located in Poland. Those camps killed
90 percent of the Jewish population of
Poland. They were built and run, however,
by the Germans. Moreover, as the Polish
government also rightly notes, three mil-
lion Poles also were killed during fight-
ing and in the camps. At Auschwitz, an
estimated 70,000 non-Jewish Poles were
murdered along with 1.1 million Jews.
It is important to acknowledge Polish
suffering during the war. Unlike many
other Europeans, the Polish government
did not ally or collaborate with Germany.
A government-in-exile opposed the Ger-
mans throughout the war,
and partisans fought them
inside Poland. The Pol-
ish underground helped
the Jews during the War-
saw Ghetto uprising, they
fought together in the for-
ests, and Yad Vashem has
recognized nearly 7,000
Poles as “Righteous Among
the Nations” for rescuing
Jews.
We cannot, however,
ignore that Poland has
a history of anti-Semi-
tism that dates back centuries. Yitzhak
Shamir, a former prime minister of Israel,
famously said, “Poles imbibe anti-Semi-
tism together with their mother’s milk.”
Shamir’s father was murdered by child-
hood friends after he escaped a death
train and sought their help. His sister, her
husband, and their children also were
murdered when they tried to hide in the
home of a Pole who once had worked
for them. Many Poles turned Jews over
to the Nazis; some may have feared for
their lives if they sheltered them, but oth-
ers ratted them out, looted their posses-
sions, and stole their homes. After the
war, Poles massacred Jewish survivors
who returned to towns such as Kielce.
“Of course Poles took part,” former
Polish premier Włodzimierz Cimosze-
wicz told the Polish newspaper Rzec-
zpospolita in reaction to the new law.
He specifically mentioned the “tens of
thousands” of Poles who informed on
Jews or extorted their property. Cimosze-
wicz said that at least 60,000 Jews were
denounced to the Gestapo by Poles.
This does not mean that the Poles as
a nation participated in the Holocaust.
They did not. The Poles were occupied
by the Germans and suffered horribly.
But many individual Poles collaborated,
which is why the law criminalizing dis-
cussion is just plain wrong.
Today, we should acknowledge that
the Germans were responsible for the
death camps and the Holocaust. We
should also acknowledge that millions
of Poles suffered and died at the hands
of the Nazis, that many Poles resisted
the Nazis, that several thousand behaved
righteously and rescued their Jewish
neighbors, and that thousands more
SEE LAW PAGE 40
Opinion
Talking to the wall
1. The Kotel is not the real
issue — religious pluralism
in Israel is
Major American Jews and Jewish organiza-
tions and the Israeli government discussed the
creation of an esthetically pleasing, large area
appropriate for the separate-gender services of
the Women of the Wall and for various non-
Orthodox forms of worship.
This was supposed to have been a done deal,
as we all know, until the Israeli
government welched on it, in
response to pressure exerted
by ultra-Orthodox political par-
ties in its coalition. What made
it especially egregious is that
those same ultra-Orthodox par-
ties’ representatives had signed
off on the original agreement.
Failure to undo this fiasco has
estranged many American Jews Rabbi Dr.
from the State of Israel, espe- Michael
cially when they see their move- Chernick
ments’ leaders, major figures in
American Jewish life who have
deep commitments to Israel, roughed up at
“the Wall.”
By and large Israelis have appeared to be
bystanders to all this. This gives American Jews
the impression that not only is the government
of Israel against them, but that the average
Israeli also doesn’t care about American Jewry
and American Jews’ desire for a connection
with Israel.
This is a misreading of the situation.
A truer reading of it is that many non-Ortho-
dox Israelis, whether traditionally oriented
or secular, feel little or no connection to “the
Wall.” For them it is a national historic treasure gogue because I am not religious, but Ortho-
that should belong to every Israeli, and frankly
to world Jewry, which has been stolen from
Am Yisrael and turned into a charedi-oriented
Orthodox synagogue.
This has happened with the support of the
same government that supports the much-
despised chief rabbinate.
Just as most Israelis have little hope that the total separation of religion and state. In short,
chief rabbinate will disappear anytime soon,
so they feel hopeless about the Wall being
removed from the religious establishment’s
hands and returned to Klal Yisrael in the fore-
seeable future. That hopelessness makes the
majority of Israelis apathetic toward the Wall
and anything that goes on there.
As far as they are concerned it is no more
theirs than it is ours.
So why don’t Israeli Jews make common
cause with American Jews and fight to get the
Wall back?
The answer is: Because Israelis realize that
the root of their issue with the Wall is really
larger than the Wall alone. Rather, it is that
politicized Orthodox Judaism is the official
The opinions expressed in this section are those of the authors, not necessarily those
of the newspaper’s editors, publishers, or other staffers. We welcome letters to the editor.
Send them to jstandardletters@gmail.com.
JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 37
Jewish religion of the State of Israel. This real-
ity impacts negatively on Israelis’ religious
freedom, as a few probing questions will show.
Can you think of any Western nation, which
Israel claims to be, in which citizens cannot
marry simply by going to whatever authority
is in charge of marriages, providing whatever
statements or documents the state’s statutes
require, and having their marital status offi-
cially recorded?
Is there any Western state you
know of in which many citizens
are prohibited from marrying in
their own country and must go
elsewhere for their nuptials?
Where can you find thousands
of people who suffered as Jews in
the country of their origin, but
who, should they die in battle
for their new homeland, will be
prohibited from being buried
in a Jewish cemetery alongside
their fellow countrymen?
Can you think of any country
in which men or women, but
mostly women, can be deprived of a divorce
in the case of an abusive or dead marriage
because of the inaction of the divorce courts?
All the above questions are, sadly, rhetorical
when it comes to Israel. And it is out of fear for
what all this portends for Israel that I am send-
ing up a red flag.
2. Why must American Jews
partner with Israelis for
religious equality in Israel?
It has been claimed that the common Israeli
sentiment is “I don’t attend an Orthodox syna-
doxy is genuine Judaism.” Factually, 65 per-
cent of the Israeli population favors religious
pluralism, meaning equal government sup-
port for the three major religious denomina-
tions in Israel: Orthodox, Masorti (Israeli Con-
servative), and Yahadut Mitkademet (Israeli
Reform). Sixty-eight percent would support
most Israelis, including many modern Ortho-
dox ones, support the kind of Jewish diversity
that exists outside of Israel, or in its place, a
wall between synagogue and state.
American Jews fighting for rights at the Wall
will not succeed in that battle from the distance
of 6,744 miles away unless they enlist Israelis in
that fight. To do so, American Jews must empa-
thize with the indignities many Israelis endure
almost any time they must deal with the reli-
gious establishment. We then must go beyond
that and let them know in tangible ways that
we are their allies in the battle to loosen the
establishment’s stranglehold on many intimate
aspects of their lives. If we don’t, our battle for
SEE THE WALL PAGE 39
Opinion
The baby’s bar mitzvah
T
he bar mitzvah is not just a rite of
passage for the boy; it’s a rite of
passage for his mom, too.
I manage to get to shul at 9:50,
a remarkable feat, considering how my
usual arrival time is 10:30, and there still
are people in my kitchen having coffee. I am
cinched into a sensational black lace dress,
tottering around in pointy shoes with skinny
heels. I’m shivering with excitement. I hope
I don’t fall down.
I glance over the mechitza at Jude, my little
man already taking his place on the bima, a
too-big tallit draped around his shoulders,
bowing his head over the outspread Torah.
Balancing a siddur and a box of tiny organza
bags stuffed with Fruit Gems with which
we will bomb him after his aliyah, I harbor
a moment of panic. The shul is crazy full.
Where will I sit? Fortunately, my sister-in-law
has arrived early enough to snag choice seats.
A kind friend pries the box of candies from
my arms and takes on the task of distributing
them. Gratefully, I slip into a seat alongside
my sister-in-laws, my sister, and my daughter.
Jude dives into the Torah reading, his
voice ringing strong and clear, filling the
room with the words of the ancient, urgent
I’VE BEEN THINKING
How Jews should argue
B
efore I left for my Israeli vacation,
I began following the brouhaha
over the suggestion by a yeshiva
high school that its students send
a thank-you letter to the president for his
decision concerning Jerusalem and a similar
suggestion by a local rabbi to his congregants
from his pulpit. And I was able to keep up
with the discussion of that issue on the East-
ern side of the Atlantic/Mediterranean. (Who
knew that the entire print Jewish Standard
was available online? Well, I should have, but
I didn’t. And now I do.)
As with many things Jewish, I have an opin-
ion about these decisions. I think they were
mistakes. Please don’t misunderstand me.
I’m the proud father of four alumnae of the
yeshiva in question, who’s forever grateful to
it for the wonderful education my children
received. And I’m an admirer of its principal,
whom I’ve known since his brit — which I
attended — and whose father has been a close
friend for, literally (and I mean that literally),
65 years. As for the rabbi, I deeply respect his
erudition and honesty, have been his congre-
gant and student for about 30 years, and pray
that our friendship will continue for many
more years. But on this particular issue I dis-
agree with them, confident that this disagree-
ment will not in any way negatively impact on
our relationships.
But the purpose of this column isn’t to
discuss the substance of this issue, because
there’s really nothing I could say that would
38 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018
tune, the story of Parshat Yitro.
When he hears about the amazing mira-
cles God is performing for the children of
Israel, Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law, comes
from Midyan to see for himself. He advises
Moshe to appoint judges to help govern
the new nation. Not long after this, God
descends upon Har Sinai amidst thunder,
smoke, and lightning, and declares His ten
commandments to the Children of Israel.
But the spectacle is too frightening for Bnei
Yisrael. They ask Moshe to learn the Torah
from Hashem, and then teach it to them.
It’s one of the most dramatic passages in
the Torah, and Jude sings it without hesi-
tation, as if he’s been doing it all his life.
When he breaks for the second aliyah, I
hear a ripple of murmurs from the women
around me. Friends, acquaintances, others I
don’t recognize, whisper their praise for his
performance, their disbelief at the fact that
baby Jude is 13, their congratulations.
My friend’s adorable daughter goes down
the rows, handing out the candy bags. I can
feel the excitement level rising around me.
My heart is thumping. Night after night for
the past eight weeks, I’ve heard my son sing
out these verses, though the journey started
be new or add anything to all the (real and
virtual) ink that’s already been spilled. And
therefore I wouldn’t be saying anything but
for the fact that the Standard’s January 26
issue contained an article about this kerfuf-
fle, and the discussion continued in three
letters-to-the-editor in the next week’s issue.
(And three more in the current one. Page
40.) The third made its arguments — with
which I disagree — in a calm and thought-
ful manner. Jews have been disagreeing for
millennia, and if we are to continue to do
so in the future, this is how we should do it.
Calmly and thoughtfully.
The first, however, while making some
cogent arguments (again, ones with which I
disagree), unfortunately sunk to the level of
referring to “the whining of liberal sore los-
ers,” making a snide remark about a colum-
nist’s “supposed Talmudic knowledge,” and
putting quotation marks around the word
rabbi when referring to a Reform rabbi. The
letter writer referred to Elie Wiesel as his
former professor. Yet I don’t recall that soft-
spoken and eloquent professor ever having
to debase others to make the arguments
that he made so persuasively.
The second letter was the worst. Part of it
responded to the following comment from
Rabbi Ozer Glickman: “ I concur that the U.S.
recognition of Israel as the declared capital
of Israel is long overdue. I believe, however,
that the timing of the letter-writing cam-
paign was unfortunate. It coincided with
a year and a half ago, when
he was just 11. Now, standing
together on the bima, I see my
husband, my father-in-law, and
the bar mitzvah boy. Stationed
near them are my brothers, my
brothers-in-law, cousins, Jude’s
friends. A wall of little boys wait
expectantly for him to finish.
After all these weeks of anxious Helen
preparation, it comes down to Maryles
this moment. Shankman
Jude sings out the last line,
and the room erupts. The bags
of candy sail at him from all corners of the
synagogue, in shimmery arcs of green and
silver. Some hit him, some hit my husband,
while people yell, “Mazel tov!” and the men
on the bima laugh and hug and shake hands.
This is my third, and last, bar mitzvah
boy. Jude is my baby, my wonderful sur-
prise, our missing piece, sheer delight, the
part of our family that we didn’t know we
still needed. He was the happiest, smiliest of insisted that all of our far-flung family mem-
babies, my sidekick, my constant compan-
ion, never complaining, always up for any-
thing, as cheerful about a trip to the grocery Uncle Will sat here too, real old-time New
store as he was about a trip to Target to buy Yorkers, funny, elegant, bright, and gracious.
a new Transformer or Lego set. My baby.
Now he is taller than I am.
At lunch, I float around the social hall,
the commemoration of Martin
Luther King Jr. during an epi-
sode in which the president
was reported to have used rac-
ist speech. Soliciting students
to write letters when many
American citizens are troubled
by apparent racism betrays
a certain tone-deafness that
sometimes afflicts the Ortho- Joseph C.
dox community. It says that we Kaplan
don’t care what someone says
or does as long as they look out
for our interests. That is a terrible message.” days, though it’s not exactly clear what you
The letter writer, after quoting the snippet hate — Torah, mitzvot, observance, Zion-
about timing, wrote: “Seriously! When would
be the correct timing? . . . . Shame on Ozer
Glickman. Shame on self-hating Jews.”
Shame? Self-hating Jews?? SELF-HATING
JEWS?!?! You express disagreement with
someone or something and you become a
self-hating Jew? First of all, what does that
even mean? Literally, I guess it’s a Jew who
hates himself. But since that’s not what it
seems to mean in this context, I’ll assume
it’s simply a sloppy way of referring to a Jew his students at his local shiurim. And as he
who hates things Jewish.
So Rabbi Glickman — a RIETS rosh yeshiva,
parent of five alumni of the high school
whose decision he questioned, grandparent
of a current student, former vice president
of the school’s board, a person who devotes
some of his very limited personal time when
he’s not in the beit midrash or boardroom
to teaching Torah to adults in our commu-
nity (for no compensation, just out of love
of teaching and Torah), and who is invited
through friends and family
and a forest of green and silver
balloons. The tension — will
he learn his parsha in time?
Will he get it right? Will the
caterer deliver the food? Will
we have a place to eat Friday
night? Will our centerpieces
be delivered to the right shul?
Will the out-of-town guests all
have a place to stay? Will we
all have something nice to
wear? Will I somehow acci-
dentally oversleep? — is gone.
Now I can enjoy the party.
But I can’t help it. This bar mitzvah is lay-
ered with the memories of past bar mitz-
vahs, one in 2011, one in 2013. We held
them here, in the same social hall. Many of
my guests are the same. It is the ones who
have changed who are heavy on my mind.
Here, seven years ago, stood a table packed
with family. My bubbly cousin, who in 2011
bers attend, isn’t here, her mind now lost to
a rare form of dementia. My Aunt Helen and
But Uncle Will is gone, and Aunt Helen too
fragile to travel. Here, too, my father sat, with
his brother and the rest of the Maryles side
to lecture to Jewish groups
around the country and as a
scholar in residence in many
Orthodox shuls in America
and beyond (and I can go on
and on) — is really, underneath
it all, a self-hating Jew. Why?
Not because he disagrees with
the president’s declaration —
which he doesn’t — but simply
because he thought the tim-
ing was wrong. How easy it is
to become self-hating nowa-
ism, Israel, Jerusalem? But it doesn’t seem
to matter; say something a letter writer dis-
agrees with no matter how minor, and self-
hating Jew you are.
I admit I’m not completely unbiased. R.
Glickman was one of my first virtual friends
on Facebook, who became an actual friend
as we chatted over drinks at Lazy Bean a cou-
ple of years back, which led to many other
interactions, including my becoming one of
knows well, and as we have discussed many
times, we agree on much and disagree on
probably more — serious Jewish issues, politi-
cal issues, social issues, economic issues. But
always with substance, almost always with
each of us really trying to listen to the oppos-
ing arguments, and perhaps, most impor-
tant, always with respect for the other.
(After writing this column but before
submitting it, I read R. Glickman’s article
in last week’s Standard. In it, he says some

of the family. Dad, who would have enjoyed this so
much, passed away a year and a half ago. Other aunts
and uncles aren’t well enough to travel.
But my daughter, who is newly engaged, brings her
fiancé; my sister brings her young son; my brother
brings his two little girls; my niece brings her chil-
dren; my nephew brings his new baby. Lives may
pass from the world, leaving holes in our hearts, but
new lives are born into it every day, filling them.
Jude speaks, his speech thoughtful, insightful,
funny. Jon speaks, and he is brilliant. I speak, too.
My daughter and her fiancé run a game of bingo.
Full, happy, people begin to drift toward the exits.
And just like that, our last bar mitzvah, which we
began working toward nearly two years ago, gar-
gantuan in our lives, is over.
I wish for my Jude, my lion of Judah, a long and
healthy life. I wish for him success in school, in
friendship, in love, in his career. I wish for him a life
free from worry and care. I wish for him to witness,
and be part of, amazing scientific and technological
advancements. I wish for him a world where leaders
make wise decisions. And while I’m at it, I wish for us
all to live in a world that studies hope, and not fear.
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.”
of the things I’m saying here, though more articu-
lately. Nonetheless, it’s important to me that my
voice be joined with his on this issue.)
That’s the way Jews should argue; not with ad
hominem attacks or snide, nasty, and too often silly
comments, but thoughtfully and respectfully. This
doesn’t mean, of course, that we have to be dispas-
sionate; indeed, I was deeply moved when a friend
once told me that she admired my passion for ideas
and issues. But passion is not the same as attack and
insult. Passion is how you express what you feel,
what you believe in, what touches your soul and your
spirit. It is not how you attack or insult others.
And it is because of this degradation of argu-
ment — a weakness shared by both the right and
the left (where I more often find myself ) — that I
have mainly stopped talking politics. Such talk,
I have found too often recently, results in closed
ears, little mutual understanding, bad feelings, and
harmed relationships.
But not always. I have a friend, as good a con-
servative as I am a liberal, with whom I know I can
discuss such issues and still sit down with him and
his wife at his Shabbat table or mine and continue
the discussion in friendship and without rancor.
Not as whining sore losers, or fascists, or racists, or
self-hating Jews; just two friends who want only the
best for the Jewish people, the state of Israel, and
America, but disagree — sometimes strongly, often
passionately — about the best path to get there.
That’s how Jews should argue.
Joseph C. Kaplan, a regular columnist, is a longtime
resident of Teaneck. His work also has appeared in
various publications including Sh’ma magazine, the
New York Jewish Week, the Baltimore Jewish Times,
and, as letters to the editor, the New York Times.
The Wall
FROM PAGE 37
religious recognition in Israel, like theirs, is as useless as talking
to the wall.
The religious establishment will never be moved as long as
there is a coalition in which the votes of national religious par-
ties, like Habayit Hayehudi (the Jewish Home Party), and the cha-
redi parties, like Degel Ha-Torah and Shas, can bring down the
government.
Unless you are a citizen, there is no way to vote these kinds of
coalitions out. But there are ways to make common cause with
Israelis who are fed up with religious coercion and the arrogance
of many so-called religious people who wield power in the Knes-
set or the politicized Orthodox establishment.
3. How you can partner with Israelis
for religious freedom and equality
I sit on the executive committee of Ruach Hiddush, an orga-
nization of more than 350 rabbis and cantors, members of
every American Jewish religious denomination, that works
as the American partner of Hiddush.
Hiddush is an Israeli organization that has fought for religious
freedom and equality in Israel, primarily through litigation in
the Israeli Supreme Court. Hiddush also polls the Israeli public,
seeking to determine its views on the issue of religion and the
state. These polls have uncovered the fact that the majority of
Israelis, including those who vote for the national religious par-
ties, are hostile to the recently passed Shabbat legislation, which
requires municipalities to close virtually every place of business
and entertainment throughout the country on Shabbat.
Similarly, Hiddush polls have shown that most Israelis oppose
the legislation that gives the chief rabbinate sole control over
what constitutes an acceptable conversion. This law deprives
local chief rabbis from making that determination, which was
the case before this legislation was passed. The conversion
law frequently places the conversions of even Orthodox rabbis
under a cloud if they were performed outside Israel. This has
impeded the aliyah of these rabbis’ converts, the majority of
whom are fully observant, and has jeopardized the conversions
of thousands of Russian Jews, thereby thwarting their full inte-
gration into Israeli society.
I invite rabbis and cantors who do not yet belong to Ruach
Hiddush to consider joining us in the struggle for religious free-
dom and pluralism in Israel. Check out our website at rrfei.org
and join us at rrfei.org/about/registration/.
The overarching body that guides local federations, the Jewish
Federations of North America, has created the Israel Religious
Expression Platform; IREP funds pluralistic NGOs and educates
federation leadership and Israeli thought leaders about the del-
eterious effect of religious coercion on Israeli Jews and on Israel-
American Jewish relations. IREP is seeking to wrest marriage
from the absolute control of the chief rabbinate by creating a
civil marriage alternative in Israel. If you want to support IREP’s
work, get in touch with JFNA or your local federation to find out
how you can help.
The American Jewish Committee has formed the Jewish Reli-
gious Equality Coalition. At first, J-REC’s goal was at first similar
to that of IREP — to work toward civil marriage in Israel. But now
J-REC sees its goal as wresting control of all personal status issues
from the chief rabbinate’s purview and fostering religious plu-
ralism in Israel. J-REC firmly believes that the actions taken and
the words used to demonize non-Orthodox forms of Judaism
in Israel and the diaspora ultimately endangers Israel advocacy
and philanthropy by significant American Jewish leaders and
their constituencies. This in turn has serious potential for erod-
ing Israel’s security for lack of American Jewish support. J-REC’s
coalition includes representatives from all the American Jewish
denominations as well as federations and other Jewish organiza-
tions without religious affiliations.
For information about J-REC, get in touch with the AJC to
get information about how you can advance its work. J-REC’s
Opinion
information and contact number is at www.ajc.org/j-rec.
Statistically, most American Jews still express pride in Israel
and voice a desire to be connected to the Jewish state. They
do not understand why these feelings are not reciprocated. I
would respond to their hurt by saying, “It is the government of
Israel held in thrall by so-called religious parties, not the average
Israeli, which behaves in an unloving manner to you and also to
its constituents.”
Therefore, if American Jews really want to maintain a serious
and loving connection with Israel and its people that will solve
many Wall issues for them and for us, we must help them with
their religious freedom agenda, not only our own.
4. The immediate religious freedom goals
we and our Israeli brethren should
work toward
Let’s work with the organizations mentioned above to find out
how you can help to reach these goals:
To fully integrate halachically non-Jewish Russian émigrés into
Israeli society, they must have reasonable access to conversion.
The chief rabbinate’s application of the most stringent halachic
requirements for conversion has closed off this option for many
Russians, who may in fact be Jewish, to fully normalize their Jew-
ish status. Legislation should either grant recognition to all forms
of Jewish conversion or alternatively provide for the develop-
ment of universal conversion standards agreed upon by all Jew-
ish religious streams in Israel. This actually almost happened
under the Neeman Committee in 1998.
All forms of Jewish religious marriage should be recognized
and registered in Israel, or civil marriage should be accepted as
an alternative. Divorce can remain under the chief rabbinate
for those who want it and should be required legally for those
who marry under the rabbinate’s auspices. Those married civilly
should have access to civil divorce.
Places sacred to world Jewry for historical and religious rea-
sons must be made accessible to all Jews, whatever their beliefs.
Sectarian control of the property of Klal Yisrael is inimical to
the classical Zionist position that Israel is the entire Jewish peo-
ple’s homeland. This means either opening the Kotel to all Jews
solely for private prayer, meditation, and visitation, or creating
separate areas at the historical portion of the Kotel for various
forms of contemporary Jewish communal worship. This was the
case from the late 1960s through the 1980s. There is no reason
except submission to threats to the coalition from non-Zionist
and super-nationalist quarters for the present strife over the
Kotel to exist.
5. For the record
I am an observant Jew and as such fervently wish businesses in
Israel would close their doors on Shabbat, and that places of
entertainment would open them for free. But that should be
of their own volition, not forced by state-sponsored coercion.
I wish that every Israeli Jew would see the beauty of a tradi-
tional observant Jewish life — but through loving and rich Jewish
education that would provide them with understanding of how
deep, joyous, and beautiful traditional Judaism is.
Whatever animus I expressed in this op-ed is not directed
toward Orthodox Judaism, which I treasure, but to its political
use. Religious coercion only makes Orthodox Judaism hateful
in Israelis’ eyes and precludes any desire for them to consider
Torah and mitzvot as a way of life. For this reason, I favor reli-
gious pluralism in Israel over the toxic brew that is state-backed
politicized Orthodoxy, which drives Israelis away from their God.
Regarding amelioration of Israel’s state and religion issues, I
sincerely hope I’m not talking to the wall.
Professor Michael Chernick of Teaneck received his doctorate
from the Bernard Revel Graduate School and rabbinic ordination
from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He holds
the Deutsch Family Chair in Jewish Jurisprudence and Social
Justice at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in
New York; his area of expertise is the Talmud.
JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 39
Opinion
Three responses to Rabbi Rocklin’s op ed
John Stuart Mill knew better
In his thoroughly unconvincing defense of the Orthodox
Union’s ban on female clergy, Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin claims
that separating the sexes in synagogue and maintaining a
male-only clergy comes from a view of women as spiritually
superior to men; that women are “elevated sources of inspi-
ration.” (“Why the modern Orthodox are not always modern:
Understanding the OU’s policy on female clergy,” February 9.)
Many in the Orthodox community will remain uncom-
fortable with the notion of female clergy for the foreseeable
future. But it is astounding that anyone would expect the
tired “women are actually better than men” argument for
inequality to resonate in 2018.
A century and a half ago, in “The Subjection of Women,”
John Stuart Mill made this wry observation:
“They are declared to be better than men; an empty com-
pliment which must provoke a bitter smile from every woman
of spirit, since there is no other situation in life in which it is
the established order, and considered quite natural and suit-
able, that the better should obey the worse.”
David Zinberg
Teaneck
He should try it. (He won’t like it.)
I read Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin’s article with great interest.
The article amounts to little more than a rousing endorse-
ment of the status quo in the modern Orthodox world as
pertains to women. Rabbi Rocklin writes that having women
sit behind a mechitzah or up in a balcony “involves not a
unique lowering of women’s status, but just the opposite — a
unique elevation” and “promotes their spiritual status.” Hav-
ing sat behind mechitzahs and in balconies for many years,
I challenge Rabbi Rocklin to change places with me and see
if he feels spiritually elevated, sitting in an area where he
cannot actively participate in the service, and often cannot
even see or hear it.
I guarantee he will not.
Rabbi Rocklin puts great stock in tradition as that which
keeps modern Orthodoxy viable as a religious movement.
And yet traditions change, as he well knows. One shudders
to think what his reaction would have been when Sarah
Schenirer founded the Bais Yaakov movement, reversing
centuries of tradition regarding the Jewish education of girls
and women.
It is halacha, not tradition, that is the backbone of our reli-
gious and spiritual existence. Halacha has kept us viable as a
people for millennia, and it is robust enough that responsa
already exist dealing with religious observance in space. There
are halachically acceptable ways of truly elevating the role of
women in the modern Orthodox world. All we need are lead-
ers forward thinking and brave enough to advance them, and
not the platitude offered by the likes of Rabbi Rocklin.
Susan Fishbein
Englewood
It’s just mansplaining
In attempting to explain traditional Orthodoxy’s stance on
female clergy, traditional Orthodox Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin
hodgepodges ancient history, the Bible, Greek mythology,
modern sociology, recent statistics, and the de rigueur men-
tion of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
Before concluding, Rabbi Rocklin blames the lack of prog-
ress in creating meaningful education opportunities for
Jewish women on … the people who actually went ahead
and created meaningful education opportunities for Jewish
women. Apparently, the good people who hadn’t created
those opportunities were just about to when those pesky
open Orthodoxers ruined things for everyone.
But on the way to his foregone conclusion — in the Bible vs.
Greek myth section — he overlooks a fascinating interpretation
40 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018
of the traditional Bible commentator par excellence: Rashi.
Rabbi Rocklin contrasts the rescue of Sarai/Sarah from
captivity with that of women in classical mythology; while in
Homer’s world “a mere army of men” fight for a woman, in
the Torah God Himself does so. In both cases, it is implied,
the woman is entirely passive.
Not so, says Rashi. Commenting on the phrase “al d’var
Sarai” (Genesis 12:17), Rashi says that God struck Pharaoh
“at her word (davar). She would say to the angel, ‘Strike!’
And he would strike.” (More than once, according to the
midrash — it seems Pharaoh couldn’t take a hint.)
No mere damsel in distress is Rashi’s Sarah! She wields
Divine destruction, Moses-like, against clueless, presumptu-
ous men in power.
May God give modern Orthodox Jewish women the power
to resist subjugation by the Pharaohs of the world — and the
patience to endure the patronizing mansplaining of well-
meaning Abrahams.
Aryeh Wiener
Teaneck
Three more responses
to thanking Donald Trump
No thanks for Mr. Trump
I am a graduate of Yavneh, the mother of two sabras,
whose sister and family live in Israel, and like my Israeli-
born husband I am a dual citizen. But I live in America,
enjoy the privileges of this country, and take umbrage
with those who applaud the action of Frisch to thank the
president (“Jerusalem, Frisch, and Jewish law,” February
9). They seem to forget that they are Americans. Hebrew
day schools have no business participating in political
action, especially one that would support a president who
has trampled on every institution in America.
Israelis are well aware that Jerusalem is the capital and
don’t need the imprimatur of an American president to
signal that fact. Trump’s interference in American politics
has added yet another burden to any chance for a peaceful
resolution to the Middle East crisis.
I am an American and find that President Trump has
assailed what is dear to me: the free press, a constitutional
right; he has impugned the reputation of the FBI and the Jus-
tice Department; and he has trampled on the reputations of
many honorable people. One need only look at his continual
fabrications, his firings and the resignations of members of
his government, his reputation as to women (which he voiced
himself and then had the audacity to deny) and his snuggling
up to the Russians about whom we know have interfered in
American democratic elections to realize how dangerous is
this man who now sits in the highest office of the land.
What I find particularly discouraging is his attitude
toward immigration. He seems to forget that he is the child
and grandchild of immigrants, is married to an immigrant,
and, if he looks closely enough, will find that America’s
greatness is due in good part to the fact that we have
opened our doors to those who wish for a better life. In
the 1920s America closed its doors; the Holocaust followed
shortly afterward, and freedom was denied to Jews who
wished to escape. (See the story of the St. Louis, a ship
carrying refugees that was forbidden to land in Cuba, and
was then turned back by America.) This president wants
to deny the right to immigrants seeking citizenship that his
own family has enjoyed.
Those of us who remember Mussolini and Hitler find
that Trump has a great deal in common with them. He
should be reminded that he is the president, not a king or
an emperor or a monarch.
Let the students of the Jewish day schools be educated
in scholastics, not be encouraged to participate in political
issues, especially divisive ones.
Sandy Dermon
Fort Lee
Not worthy of praise
As a parent who sent four children to a Jewish day school
in Bergen County, has traveled to Israel several times, and
is all in favor of a strong and secure Israel, I would not be
throwing bouquets at the president for recognizing Jerusa-
lem as Israel’s capital (“Jerusalem, Frisch, and Jewish law,”
February 9). I would be offended and upset if any person
or entity affiliated with my children’s day school advocated
a letter-writing campaign for my children to praise a presi-
dent whose character, conduct, and actions are antithetical
to core values of Judaism.
A president who has been accused by multiple women of
sexual assault, disparages African-American and immigrant
communities, attacks journalists and democratic institu-
tions as “the enemy of the people,” denies global climate
change, and could not figure out the right thing to say when
neo-Nazis and white supremacists marched in Charlottes-
ville is not worthy of praise.
Marc Sapin
River Edge
Thanks, Mr. Trump, for taking action
Regarding Rabbi Glickman’s article on the Frisch letter cam-
paign to thank the Trump administration for moving the
American embassy to Jerusalem (“Politics and the decline
of nuance combine to stalk the Orthodox arena,” February
9), he fails to mention a crucial point — the incredible impor-
tance of expressing gratitude (hakarat hatov) as a supreme
Jewish value.
Gratitude is as much, if not more, about the one express-
ing thanks than the one receiving it. I have no way of know-
ing the motivations of Frisch’s leadership, but I’d like to
believe that it was doing what any Jewish educational institu-
tion should do — teach by example. Rabbi Glickman worries
about the timing and how the campaign would be perceived.
Sadly, each day brings new lows in behavior and words in
Washington, so I fear the timing will never be “right.” Does
that absolve us of our obligation to express our thanks?
Rabbi Glickman invokes Menachem Begin to demonstrate
that we should not thank anyone for something that is right-
fully ours to begin with. I’ll leave it to him and other rabbis
to decide whether Begin’s position represents normative
Jewish law (galacha), but regardless, it simple does not apply
to the present situation. Begin was referring to mere words,
which are all too often empty and meaningless. Indeed, rec-
ognition of Jerusalem and moving the embassy have been
U.S. policy for more than 20 years.
So it is highly significant when an administration (even
one that we find deeply distasteful) finally takes action and
implements that policy. Why? Because facts on the ground
are vastly different than words on a paper. When America
acts it is a moral statement, not just a political one. For that,
all lovers of Zion should be profoundly grateful.
Robert Friedman
Teaneck
Law
FROM PAGE 37
were bystanders, collaborators, and murderers. These are
historical facts that cannot be erased by any law.
By all means, let us all be more sensitive to the feel-
ings of the Polish people when we describe the events
of World War II and let us assign responsibility for the
administration of the death camps on Polish soil firmly
to the Germans. The Polish government, however, also
must recognize that it cannot criminalize the conversa-
tion. The proper redress for its concerns is education,
not legislation. The law should be repealed, lest it put
historians and scholars in legal jeopardy, ruin the prog-
ress made in Polish-Jewish relations, and irreparably
damage ties between Poland and Israel.

Compensation is provided for
thoseawhoheart
How to respond in are eligible. health emergency
W
ould you know what to
do if a man or woman at
your son’s baseball game
went into cardiac arrest?
Would you recognize the signs if you
were having a heart attack? A new survey
by Valley’s cardiovascular affiliate Cleve-
land Clinic reveals that many Americans
aren’t sure.
For example, the survey found that
while slightly more than half of Ameri-
cans (54 percent) say they know how
to perform cardiopulmonary resuscita-
tion (CPR), only one in six know that for
adults the recommended technique for
bystander CPR consists of just chest com-
pressions, and no breaths. Even fewer —
just 11 percent — know that 100 to 120 beats
per minute is the correct pace for perform-
ing these compressions.
In the event of a cardiac arrest, an auto-
mated external defibrillator (AED) — a
lightweight, portable device that deliv-
ers an electric shock through the chest to
the heart — can also be a lifesaver. How-
ever, according to the Cleveland Clinic
survey, only about a quarter (27 per-
cent) of Americans say there is an AED at
Do you have cancer-related
weakness and fatigue?
Go to http://kesslerfoundation.org/breastcancer
for more information on our cancer-related research studies
Go to http://kesslerfoundation.org/breastcancer
for more information on our cancer-related research studies
1199Pleasant
1199 PleasantValley
ValleyWay
1199 Pleasant Valley Way West Orange, NJ 07052
at improving
cancer-related weakness.
their workplaces.
Heart disease is the leading cause of
death among men and women and it is
To find out more about our
vital that the people closest to those in
need know what to do.
“When someone is having a heart
cancer-related research,
attack, especially if someone suffers a
cardiac arrest, time is not on your side,”
said Dr. Gerald Sotsky, director of the
Valley/Cleveland Clinic Affiliation for
contact Chaya Lebovic at
Valley Health System and chair of car-
diac services for Valley Medical Group.
“You can’t always wait for trained first
973-324-3589 or by email at
responders to arrive. Immediate CPR or
use of an AED can mean the difference
between life and death.”
CLebovic@KesslerFoundation.org
The Cleveland Clinic survey also found
that Americans need additional educa-
tion in identifying and responding to the
signs and symptoms of a heart attack
and, in fact, confused stroke and heart
attack symptoms. For example, 59 per-
cent falsely identified sudden numbness
or weakness of the face, arm or leg as a
symptom of a heart attack, and 39 percent
thought slurred speech was a symptom of
a heart attack.
Most of those surveyed knew that
We are seeking breast cancer
survivors ages 40 to 75
for a research study at
Kessler Foundation aimed
at improving
cancer-related weakness.
Compensation is provided for
those who are eligible.
To find out more about our
cancer-related research,
contact Chaya Lebovic at
973-324-3589 or by email at
CLebovic@KesslerFoundation.org
WayWest
West Orange,
Orange, NJNJ 07052
07052
Healthy Living & Adult Lifestyles
pressure/squeezing in the and Vascular Institute, Val-
chest, shortness of breath ley’s cardiac physicians take
and pain in one or both a collaborative approach
arms were typical symp- to patient care, working
toms, but less than half together with the experts
knew that back or jaw pain at Cleveland Clinic to share
and nausea/vomiting can knowledge, expertise, and
also be signs of a heart best practices. Using the lat-
attack. And while most of est technologies and medical
those surveyed know to devices, along with advanced
call 9-1-1 if they are expe-
riencing symptoms of a
heart attack, only 36 per-
Dr. Gerald Sotsky
treatment techniques, the
cardiac experts at Valley can
address a wide variety of car-
cent know that they should chew an aspi- diac conditions. You can view our direc-
rin tablet right away. tory of heart specialists, many of whom
“It is important to listen to your body offer online appointments, at www.Valley-
and, if you think you are experiencing a MedicalGroup.com.
heart attack, call 9-1-1 and chew and swal- The Valley Heart and Vascular Institute
low an aspirin, unless you are allergic to offers a free, comprehensive risk assess-
aspirin or have been told by your doctor ment Cardiac Screening Program for
never to take aspirin,” said Dr. Sotsky. “Even women and men between the ages of 20
if you are not sure of your symptoms it is far and 79. Call 201-447-8535 for more infor-
better to err on the side of caution.” mation or to make an appointment. You
Valley Health System is a regional car- may also request an appointment online at
diovascular affiliate of the Cleveland Clinic www.ValleyHeartAndVascular.Com.
Heart & Vascular Institute — the No. 1 heart Valley also offers CPR training. For more
hospital in the country. information, including fees and the sched-
As an affiliate of Cleveland Clinic Heart ule of classes, call (201) 291-6100.
Discover
at
more ways
to live well
home.
Call for a free consultation
201.750.3077
Do you want to live independently and stay in your
own home? We can help. Whether it’s stimulating
social activities at our Gallen Center, an aide to help
with housework, a care manager to help plan for
the future, or guidance to keep your home safe —
we’re here. Talk to one of our experts today.
A Member of The Jewish Home Family
jewishhomeathome.org
Jewish Home at Home is a not for profit, non-sectarian program
open to all seniors regardless of race, religion or ethnic origin.
JH@H Ad 2k16 CL v2.indd 1 8/26/16
Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 41
2:14 PM
16, 2018
 Dental Care for the Whole Family
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Healthy Living & Adult Lifestyles
Have you forgotten
where you put your keys?
rIcHarD POrtUGal
Y
ou’re late for an appointment.
Actually, you had given your-
self plenty of time, had laid
out your clothes the previous
evening, awoken, albeit complaining
as the alarm clock sounded, and were
ready to leave on time. But where the
hell did you put the car keys? You begin
the search. You look in all the logical
places, then a search of the secondary
areas. Now suddenly you’re late and a
deep panic sets in. In desperation you
spy the unmade bed and toss back the
covers. And there magically, sit the keys,
purring on the sheets like a contented
cat. You have no memory of handling the
keys in the bed or placing them beneath
the covers. They have simply just reap-
peared as if from another dimension.
There is an ill-defined discomfort
that this is occurring more frequently
as the years pass and your age steadily
climbs toward that of your grandpar-
ents. Things seem to mystically disap-
pear, only to miraculously reappear in
another place or time. It is as if you are
living with a nefarious Houdini! And the
frustration, fear and anger that result are
palpable. You feel as if your mind is not
only taking a holiday, but is itself being
misplaced. You are losing your ability to
remember things which were once auto-
matic. There is a very real fear that we
are losing ourselves within the process
of aging. If we cannot remember the sim-
ple things — like where are the car keys
— then what’s next!
Ah, one of the lovely pitfalls of aging —
memory displacement. It is like certain
words, things, or ideas are not in your
mind’s rightful place. They have moved,
just out of reach. At a time in life when
you require your mind to be more coop-
erative, your mind has seemed to reach
its adolescent rebellious stage, refus-
ing to recall your neighbor’s name or
remember your anniversary date.
I mean…is this really necessary? And
more…is this really normal?
Well seemingly, it actually is part of
normal aging — annoying, inconvenient,
worrying, and upsetting — but normal.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
reports in their National Institute on
Aging newsletter that as we age, all parts
of the body undergoe change, includ-
ing the brain. It seems our brains shrink
about 2 percent due to our cells not effi-
ciently retaining water as they did in our
younger days. This especially affects the
prefrontal cortex and the hippocam-
pus. Both areas are important to learn-
ing, memory, planning, and other com-
plex mental activities. Further changes
are noted in our brain’s neurons, neu-
rotransmitters, and blood vessels. This
affects our neural highways and nerve
communication. Simply put, after a fran-
tic search you discover the keys under
the covers and have no idea how they
got there!
So is that it! Are we condemned to
forget, misplace, overlook, be confused
and, in general, feel at times like an
idiot? Absolutely not — you just have to
be more mentally diligent, aware, and
concentrative. Your brain requires a little
help, so do not be stingy in lending that
organ the support it deserves.
Employ the C.A.R. method and Con-
centrate, Associate, and Repeat when
meeting a new neighbor, learning a
different skill-set, or simply where you
are placing your keys. Help your brain
remember by verbalizing aloud to allow
both your auditory and visual senses to
get involved in the memory.
Exercise your brain! Our brains dem-
onstrate plasticity and malleability. The
brain has tremendous capacity to forge
new neural pathways, become more
efficient, and share tasks in different
parts of the brain. It is why stroke vic-
tims can regain movement in affected
areas and memory can be reclaimed.
Just like muscles, your brain can be
stressed through proper cognitive fit-
ness and mental acuity exercises to
encourage and improve its mental
capabilities. We have the bodies and
brains of hunters; they want to be
strong and efficient. So work on speed,
reflexes, and coordination and stress
your brain to multi-task.
Let us not regard misplaced keys as
an indication of oncoming dementia —
it’s certainly better than misplacing the
entire car. As we age, stress your brain
to grow and you will at least remember
why you required the car keys in the
first place.
Richard Portugal is the founder and
owner of Fitness Senior Style, which
exercises seniors for balance, strength,
and cognitive fitness in their own
homes. He has been certified as a senior
trainer by the American Senior Fitness
Association. For further information, call
(201) 937-4722.
HER JOY.

In perfect harmony.
YOUR PEACE OF MIND.

NEXT-GENERATION ASSISTED LIVING

MEMORY CARE IS NOW OPEN

Progressive, personalized care.

Experienced, compassionate people.
True, enduring peace of mind.

Learn more about Bergen

County’s only assisted living
memory care center by visiting
HarmonyVillageParamus.com or
calling 551-276-7200.

Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018 43

Healthy Living & Adult Lifestyles

Graf Center for Integrative

Medicine launches the Rodgers
Serving the Jewish community
Family Meditation Program
of Bergen County for 12 years
New offerings promote mornings, teaches mindfulness using
Serving Serving
thehomethe
JewishJewish community
community breathing techniques and slight move-
All certified health aides healing and wellness
licensed, of Bergen
bonded County
and for for
criminal 12 years ment to reduce the risk of stress-
of Bergen County 13 years through management of related diseases.
background checks
All certified home health aides stress, anxiety, and pain Van Buren explains meditation as
• C ertified home health aides
licensed,
RN supervision bonded and criminal
& coordination “cultivating the art of leaving things
background checks
• Licensed and bonded With the new year, the Graf Center for alone,” training those who practice to
Hourly, live-in and respite care Integrative Medicine at Englewood Hos- acknowledge stray thoughts, stress, anx-
• RN supervision and coordination pital and Medical Center is launching iety, and sadness, but then accept and
RN supervision & coordination
24/7
• H live on-call service
ourly, live-in and respite care The Rodgers Family Meditation Program embrace these feelings instead of fearing
to grow its holistic services and highlight them, ultimately fostering compassion,
• C Hourly, social
Complimentary
omplimentary live-inwork
and respite care the link between traditional medical wisdom, and peace.
services
social work services treatment and mindfulness. “Know that anxiety and pain will
24/7 live on-call service The new wellness program expands come and go naturally,” Van Buren said.
• C oordination of services with
Linkages to other elder care meditation offerings to patients with “It’s just a passing energy like a thunder-
options
other elder care providers
Complimentary social work chronic conditions such as cancer or storm. You can’t do anything about a
services heart disease, as well as to clients in good thunderstorm, you just let it do its thing
health looking to reduce stress, lower and pass.”
blood pressure, and manage pain. Other classes include guided medita-
Linkages to other elder care
1.866.7FREEDOM
201-883-1200 options
(1.866.737.3336)
Among its additions are meditation
for stress, anxiety, and depression,
tion in Spanish, pre- and post-surgery
meditation, and acupuncture for stress
www.freedomhh.com
www.freedomhh.com a class led by Mark Van Buren, mind- and ailments. Additional special offer-
ful living trainer, yoga, and medita- ings include a well-being and weight loss
tion instructor, and a personal trainer, six-session series, and events introduc-

1.866.7FREEDOM musician, and author; and meditation

for stress and pain management, a class
ing Reiki, massage and meditation, and
the healing power of sound.
(1.866.737.3336)
www.freedomhh.com Brightview. led by Jeri G. Kadison, a certified yoga
and meditation instructor.
Established in 2015, the Graf Center
and its team of licensed and certified

Bright Life! Meditation for stress, anxiety, and

depression, held on Monday evenings,
teaches simple meditation techniques
to help relax the body, center the mind,
and build resistance to stress by incor-
porating meditation into the daily rou-
tine to boost mood, and better manage
life stressors. Meditation for stress and
pain management, held on Wednesday
professionals provides evidence-based
services to patients, their families, and
the general community to promote pre-
vention, recovery, and support in a safe,
comfortable environment.
For more information about the Graf
Center for Integrative Medicine and
to register for classes and events, visit
englewoodhealth.org/graf.

Independent Living: It’s the carefree Letter from family member lauds
retirement you’ve dreamed of! At Brightview, Crane’s Mill service, attentiveness
Let Your all you have to do is what you want to do. Do you have a spare minute to read a let- was a retired local police officer and s

Life
ter from a family member? We’ve read it that the overnight Security folks who o

Bright Assisted Living: Highly trained multiple times since receiving, and are work at Crane’s Mill are retired or cur- W
excited to share with you: rent “first responders.” s
associates provide the care you need.
Dear Crane’s Mill Staff, While we offered my dad the option f

Shine Wellspring Village®:

Compassionate professionals
at Bergen County’s Premier
deliver our highly specialized
Senior Living Community
dementia care program
in a state-of-the-art
neighborhood.
Call Mary or Marianne to
schedule your personal visit.
201.479.9437
396 Forest Avenue • Paramus, NJ 07652
www.BrightviewParamus.com
I’ve been delayed in dropping you an
email to thank you for the responsive-
ness of the Crane’s Mill staff when my
dad’s heating system broke down last
Saturday night, right in the midst of this
ongoing abnormally frigid early January
weather that we’ve been having.
When I called Crane’s Mill Security
late last Saturday night, Pete answered
my call and said he’d be over soon with
electric heaters, so as to keep dad’s
apartment safely warm until the system
could be repaired on Sunday morning.
Upon his prompt arrival, we met “Offi-
cer” Pete for the first time…and what a
great guy! We quickly learned that he
to stay at our nearby home that frigid
Saturday night, he was very happy to
a
t
remain safely at home in his own inde-
pendent living apartment at Crane’s o
Mill, that was immediately made com- h
fortable by your staff when his heating f
system failed. We are also very appre- c
ciative of the prompt repair service your a
staff provided when his heating unit was t
diagnosed as defective and replaced first
thing on Sunday morning! s
Learning that Crane’s Mill employs (
first responders on overnight security s
duty gave us great comfort, and then… s
it suddenly and unexpectedly came
into direct play this morning when dad v

44 Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018

 Healthy Living & Adult Lifestyles

Soccer is possible Rabbi Chananya Kanner joins Alaris at the Chateau

after ACL surgery Rabbi Chananya Kanner recently joined the staff of Alaris over Shabbos.
at the Chateau in Rochelle Park. Alaris is a 73 bed sub- Born in Mexico, Rabbi Kanner learned in Israel at
It was a night game and raining lightly when Dennis acute care facility offering after-hospital rehabilitation the Mir for over a decade. He was ordained by Rabbi
Machado planted his foot the wrong way during one of care. Rabbi Kanner serves as community liaison, help- Yitzchock Berkowitz and worked in Jewish education for
the semi-pro soccer games he’s been playing for years. ing Alaris make Jewish patients and their families feel almost ten years.
He felt a sharp pain, heard a pop, and knew he dam- comfortable and welcome. He oversees a Bikkur Cho- “We want to ensure that the religious needs of our
aged his knee. It swelled immediately and he figured lim room with kosher food, and delivery of kosher meals Torah observant population are met,” Rabbi Kanner said.
he tore a muscle, maybe injured a minor ligament. But for patients. A house on the grounds is being outfitted Visit www.alarishealth.com for a full description of
his diagnosis was much more serious — a torn ACL. He with a kosher kitchen and bedrooms so guests can visit Alaris’ facilities and services.
thought his playing days were over.
But Dennis, 32 at the time, couldn’t quite come to
terms with the possibility that he might have to give up
his favorite pastime. He met with three different doctors
to see what could be done. One said he could patch Den-
nis back together but the procedure might have to be
done again. Others told him he should stay off the field.
Then Dennis met with Dr. Raphael Longobardi, a

Your Key to a
board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in
sports medicine and athletic injuries. He is chief of

healthy heart
orthopedic surgery at Holy Name Medical Center.
“He told me he would do this once and that’s it —I
wouldn’t need a second surgery,” Dennis said. “He
relies on science and brought data to show me about
the latest advances in these types of surgeries. He is
well-informed on the best techniques and is willing to
abandon the old when something new comes along to
better help his patients.”

is a FREE Heart Screening

The ACL, anterior cruciate ligament, is one of the
four main ligaments that connects the upper and
lower leg bones. It runs diagonally across the knee and
keeps it stable.
“Everything went so well — Dr. Longobardi, the staff
Prevention is at the heart of staying healthy.
at Holy Name — everyone made sure I understood
what was happening and made me feel comfortable,” This comprehensive and noninvasive
Dennis said. evaluation by a board-certified Advanced
Dennis had his same-day surgery in August and by Practice Nurse helps detect your potential
November he was running five miles at a clip. In Feb-
risk for heart disease so you can take
ruary he was already practicing and never lost any
game time. That was three years ago and he continues steps toward prevention.
to start for his team.
“Dr. Longobardi gives so much attention to detail,” Call 201-447-8535 for more
Dennis said. “He did such a great job I’ve referred information or to schedule
about 10 people to him.”
your screening.
FREE Heart Screening includes:
● A health history
● Blood pressure evaluation
summoned for immediate help whilst in the midst
● Heart auscultation to determine heart rate,
of a medical event that required emergency surgery.
rhythm and presence of murmur
When dad activated the Crane’s Mill emergency call
system in his apartment, once again, it was our new ● Lung auscultation
friend “Officer” Pete who immediately responded ● Peripheral vascular assessment including carotid
and summoned the ambulance that brought him to and peripheral pulses
the local hospital. ● Limited neurological assessment
Dad and our family are now even more appreciative
● Ten-year and lifetime ASCVD risk calculation
of the fact he lives independently at Crane’s Mill. Had
he still been living alone so many miles away from our
family, as he was until recently, we know that his medi-
cal event might not have had such a positive outcome www.ValleyHeartAndVascular.com/Screening
as it did thanks to such prompt emergency action by
the Crane’s Mill staff.
In closing, our family has so many great things to
say about everything and everybody about Crane’s Mill
(down to the local college and high school “kids” who
serve in the restaurant and cafe) from our experience,
so far.
To learn more about Crane’s Mill at West Caldwell,
visit www.cranesmill.org.

Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018 45

Healthy Living & Adult Lifestyles
CEO of CareOne teams with Forever Fit founder
in new venture to strengthen seniors at home or in center
Daniel E. Straus, president and CEO of CareOne, is part-
nering with Dana Cavalea, founder of the Forever Fit Exer-
cise Therapy program and former director of strength and
conditioning and performance for The New York Yankees,
to bring a comprehensive program which blends physical
Rest easy knowing that
your loved one is receiving
the best possible care from our
dementia care experts...
If your loved one suffers from dementia
or related disorders, the Memory
Care Pavilion at the 5-star CMS-rated
Daughters of Miriam Center/The Gallen
Institute is your answer. To better meet
the needs of our community, the Center
has added a second, newly refurbished
floor to the pavilion, creating a safe and
secure home-like environment.
Residents receive 24-hour medical
care in The Joint Commission accredited
facility from nurses and physicians
with the experience and training to
meet their specialized needs. The
interdisciplinary team creates an
individualized care plan for each
resident. Structured activities run
from 8 AM to 9 PM every day to help
maintain residents at their highest
level of function.
With its convenient location and state-
of-the-art services in beautiful, private
and semi-private accommodations, our
new pavilion is the perfect choice.
MEMORY CARE PAVILION AT
(Close to Routes 4 and 17, GSP, NJ Turnpike, Routes 80, 46, & NYC)
Contact us at 973-253-5358
daughtersofmiriamcenter.org · admissions@daughtersofmiriamcenter.org
Daughters of Miriam Center/The Gallen Institute is a Glatt Kosher Facility
Daughters of Miriam Center/The Gallen Institute: Where Innovation Meets Experience
Daughters of Miriam Center/The Gallen Institute is a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.
46 Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018
therapy, strength & conditioning, rehabilitation, and sport pair strengthening initiatives with exercise therapy
psychology to better the community. and is available both in the home and at the cen-
Cavalea is excited to bring his Forever Fit program to ter, making it accessible to the local community’s
the Cupola in Paramus facility and through an in-home senior population. This effective duo will build
program. The program is customized to the participant to health, confidence, and vitality in seniors, allowing
them to age comfortably, with more independence
and functional strength. The establishment of this
program emphasizes the importance of continued
movement, strength training, and fitness to a per-
son’s overall health and well-being.
Forever Fit Exercise Therapy, a proprietary and
revolutionary program, is utilized by a wide array
of people, from the world’s most elite athletes to
active aging adults. The Forever Fit Center provides
a unique, customized training experience in the
comfort of home or at the center. The fitness plans
aim to improve strength and flexibility, increase
bone density and mass, and lower body weight
while reducing resting blood pressure, arthritic pain
and overall fall risk by improving functional strength
and confidence.
“Bringing Forever Fit Exercise Therapy to com-
munity residents of Bergen County New Jersey and
amazing healthcare companies, is truly exciting. We
are looking forward to bringing Exercise Therapy
to the residential homes of seniors throughout Ber-
gen County. It has always been a passion of mine
to deliver the same techniques I have used on elite
professional athletes and deliver them to the senior
population to prevent falls, improve strength, and
increase overall vitality and confidence. Watching a
senior throw away their cane or walker to walk on
their own without assistance is amazing,” said Dana
Cavalea, founder of the Forever Fit exercise ther-
apy program.
The investment in these initiatives exemplifies
Straus’s pledge to provide and encourage healthy liv-
ing through strength instruction to its residents and
the local community. Cavalea, who spent 12 years
as director of strength and conditioning and perfor-
mance for the New York Yankees, including their
To find out how Daughters of Miriam Center
World Series-winning year in 2009, is a consultant
may care for your loved one suffering from
to pro athletes, entrepreneurs, business executives,
dementia, or for a tour of the pavilion, please
workforces and universities on lifestyle strategies to
contact the Admissions Department at 973-253-
reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and most
5358.
importantly improve daily performance and out-
No entry fee is required for admission into any
comes. With Cavalea’s extensive knowledge and expe-
Daughters of Miriam Center/The Gallen Institute
rience in the health and wellness field, participants in
program or facility.
the Forever Fit program greatly benefit from his inno-
We are pleased to accept Medicaid, Medicare,
vative fitness services.
private pay and managed care.
The Forever Fit Exercise Therapy provides one-on-
one strength training in an inviting environment or
even within the confines of the patient’s own home.
Physical therapists will conduct an initial assessment
on each individual to identify their needs and to help
them reach their goals. In just two sessions per week
with a personalized exercise therapist, participants
RS
OF MIRIAM
are able to see great results. Members and residents
TE CE
155 Hazel St. • Clifton NJ 07011 report they have been able to build muscle strength,
GH NT
U E
A
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D
are less susceptible to falls, and feel more invigorated.
TH
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TE
E
L L E N I N S T I TU
GAL
In addition to private sessions, various group pro-
LEN INSTI
5HIGHEST
OUT OF5 STARS
grams are available as well.
QUALITY RATING
MEDICARE
GA
TU
FROM
E
TE
To learn more about Forever Fit at The Cupola,
TH
·
·
A
R
E U
GH
NT
please visit http://www.care-one.com/forever-fit.
CE TE
RS
OF MIRIAM
 Healthy Living & Adult Lifestyles

Valley’s cardiac atrial fibrillation specialists offer

30-minute online consultations for new patients
Physicians at Valley’s Snyder Center for Comprehen- hypertension, sleep apnea, and obesity.” patient evaluation and follow-up. The team is comprised
sive Atrial Fibrillation are now offering online consul- Atrial fibrillation is the most common form of irregular of electrophysiologists and specialists in imaging, cardiol-
tations for new patients residing in New Jersey and heartbeat. It can lead to blood clots and is associated with ogy, pulmonology, nutrition, diabetes education, and stress
New York who are interested in learning more about a higher incidence of stroke and heart failure. Today, more management. The emphasis is on overall health, not simply
the center’s unique and evidence-based model for than 2.7 million people in the U.S. live with AFib, and that treating atrial fibrillation. Navigators and coordinators guide
treating and managing atrial fibrillation (AFib). number is expected to double by 2050. patients through the entire care continuum.
These virtual office visits are video chats through At the Snyder Center for Comprehensive Atrial Fibrilla- Online consultations are up to 30 minutes in length. For
your smartphone, tablet, or computer. You can see tion, patients receive individualized care from a multispe- cost and other details, please visit www.ValleyMedical-
and speak with a doctor using real-time audio and cialty team in a setting that emphasizes comprehensive Group.com/Online.
video technology. This opportunity is presented in
collaboration with SnapMD, one of the largest tele-
medicine companies in the nation.
Consultations are conducted by electrophysiologist
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ology at The Valley Hospital and medical director of
Welcome Home to
the Snyder Center.
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to ensure they are getting the best available treat-
ment for their atrial fibrillation, while also address-
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Jewish standard FeBrUarY 16, 2018 47

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Drug researched to treat
MS, Crohn’s, Alzheimer’s
Israel21c staff
Could one drug effectively treat incurable
inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s,
ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis,
and multiple sclerosis, as well as neurode-
generative maladies such as Alzheimer’s?
Yes, says Dr. David Naor, speaking
with ISRAEL21c at the Lautenberg Cen-
ter for General and Tumor Immunology
in Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical
School, Jerusalem.
All these diseases, he explains, are asso-
ciated with pathological amyloid proteins
that could be neutralized by the 5-mer
peptide Naor has spent the last 10 years
researching and developing with the sup-
port of the university’s Yissum technol-
ogy-transfer company, the Israeli govern-
ment and Spherium Biomed of Spain.
It will take several million dollars to start
clinical trials of Naor’s novel, IP-protected
peptide — a synthetic protein snippet that
significantly reverses the damaging effects
of inflammatory diseases and Alzheimer’s
in mouse models, and restores the learn-
ing capacity of Alzheimer’s mice.
“I believe that within two years we
would know for certain if our academic
product can translate into a therapeutic
drug to combat inflammatory and neuro-
degenerative diseases,” Naor says.
“Once you control the inflammation,
We are all social beings
How a home health aide can reduce isolation
We are all social beings and need inter-
action with others to thrive. Numerous
studies have proven the importance of
socialization and demonstrate that social
networks can lead to improved health
outcomes including increased longev-
ity. Benefits of socialization include bet-
ter sleep, fewer colds, lower blood pres-
sure, and lower heart rates. In addition,
social interaction can enhance mental
functioning while reducing the risk of
dementia and delaying or preventing
cognitive impairment. Social support
throughout our lives makes us feel loved,
cared for and listened to.
Unfortunately, as we age, the opportu-
nities for social support are diminished
and the risk of loneliness increases.
Older adults tend to live alone and as
we age we may outlive our friends and
relatives. The risk of isolation is com-
pounded by limited mobility and the
inability to seek social settings. This iso-
lation can lead to depression and other
hazards to one’s health.
When working with a homecare
agency, clients and their families often
you can control the disease, so our tar-
get is to reduce as much as possible the
inflammatory activity.”
Rheumatoid arthritis
Naor began by studying 5-mer’s effective-
ness in rheumatoid arthritis, which affects
about one percent of the world popula-
tion. Currently, about $30 billion worth
of biologic drugs are sold each year that
effectively control, but cannot cure, rheu-
matoid arthritis and other inflammatory
diseases. Furthermore, these drugs don’t
work in one-third of patients.
The results of Naor’s experiments were
astounding. When mice with collagen-
induced arthritis were treated with 5-mer
peptide, the severely inflamed tissues in
their joints reverted to nearly normal. No
harmful side effects were observed.
Multiple sclerosis and IBD
“Once the rheumatoid arthritis experi-
ment was repeated successfully several
times, we looked at a different chronic
inflammatory disease — multiple sclerosis,
where the inflammation is not in the joints
but in the brain,” says Naor.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most
widespread disabling neurological
condition of young adults around the
world, usually striking between the ages
of 20 and 50. There is no cure, but the
focus on the need for hands-on care and
assistance with running a household.
The role that the aide can play in reduc-
ing loneliness, however, should not be
underestimated. Through regular inter-
action with a home health aide, the cli-
ent can experience some of the gains of
socializing on a regular basis. By being
engaged, clients are able to give and get
emotional, physical, and spiritual sup-
port. Interacting also helps the client to
remain focused which positively impacts
cognitive health. During the winter, the
caregiver comes to your home, reduc-
ing the need to brave the cold in order
to socialize.
Interactions with the caregiver can
include:
• Reminiscing and sharing stories
• Discussing current events
• Learning about the caregiver’s cul-
tural background if it is different than
your own
• Participating in hobbies
The caregiver may also be able to facil-
itate socialization with friends and rela-
tives in the following ways:
 Healthy Living & Adult Lifestyles

Israeli-developed blockbuster drug Copaxone reduces
the frequency of relapses.
Here, too, Naor’s results were noteworthy. Five days
after MS-like disease was induced in mice, 5-mer pep-
tide injections caused a significant decrease in accu-
mulation of inflammatory cells in the central nervous
system and significant reduction in limb paralysis. The
effects were weaker when the disease was more pro-
gressed, but theoretically the peptide could be intro-
attempt. But the Alzheimer’s mice took longer finding the plat-
form every time, due to memory difficulties.
After treatment with 5-mer peptide, the Alzheimer’s mice
regained their ability to learn the location of the platform as
quickly as cognitively normal mice.
“We can restore the memory of the animal. This doesn’t
mean we’re going to cure Alzheimer’s but it does mean we
have to do everything possible to see if our peptide could
be successful where so many other potential anti-Alzheimer
drugs have failed,” says Naor.
The 5-mer peptide appears to prevent the accumulation of
amyloid–beta in the brain. Amyloid–beta clumps are believed
to attract harmful inflammatory cells from the immune sys-
tem, thus enhancing Alzheimer’s disease.
“We can inject 5-mer peptide even after the disease has
started, and it will work,” says Naor. “We don’t yet know if
there is a point of no return when it would no longer work.”
Israel21c.org

duced during a remission phase of MS.

Recently, in collaboration with Dr. Haim Ovadia from
Hadassah University Medical Center, Naor’s lab achieved
another breakthrough by delivering 5-mer peptide via
mouth rather than by injections, with the same thera- Do You Suffer From
peutic effect.
“That means that we may be able to produce pills for
oral delivery rather than to provide the drug by injec-
Chronic Pain and or Illness...
tion,” Naor says.
Spherium Biomed tests of 5-mer peptide in mouse
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• Inviting friends and family to visit.

• If the client lives in a senior building, the caregiver
can escort the client to activities and meals offered by
the residence
• Accompanying the client to activities at the local
senior center or library
• Escorting the client to religious services or the
theater
• Escorting the client to lunch with friends

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• While face-to-face interactions are optimal, care-
givers can help clients stay connected with friends
and relatives by assisting with phone calls,and, if the
client has a smart phone or computer they can Face-
Time or Skype.
These are just a few suggestions for fostering social
interactions and potentially expanding a shrinking
social circle. If you are a family caregiver, use the time
SKILLED
that the aide is with your loved one to optimize your
own social interactions. A strong social network is
good for everyone and can lead to a fuller, more sat-
isfying life.
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Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018 49

 Healthy Living & Adult Lifestyles
 a pt
of  Fily...

(Resident, Lillian Grunfeld with her daughter,

Dir. of Community Relations, Debbie Corwin)

…WHERE OUR RESIDENTS MAINTAIN THE LEVEL OF INDEPENDENCE

THEY DESIRE WHILE RECEIVING THE CARE THEY NEED.

• FAMILY OWNED COMMUNITY Eight Israeli digital health companies demonstrated their products in the
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Come Fe
O Wm
Israel is pioneering
developments for the
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT PROMENADESENIOR.COM world. Which ones will
hit their stride in the
coming months?
on January 23, Israel is prominent in
the global digital health landscape,
with more than 450 active startups
and companies in a variety of digital
health-related fields and more than
700 local and global participants.
In the face of rising costs, an aging

M
population, fragmented care and
Alovedoneisdi
schar
g edfrom t
hehospi
tal
,butst
il
lneeds edication personaliza- wasted resources, digital technologies
del
icat
ecareandprofessi
onalmedi
calsuppor
t..
. tion, personalized dis- are reinventing the way we consume
ease management, and and receive health care by expanding
reducing chronic pain access, improving quality and manag-
NowWhat
? will be the three biggest breakthroughs
in digital health this year, predicts Dr.
ing costs.

Yossi Bahagon, a family physician, Three breakthroughs

AlarisHeal thatTheChat eau global digital health consultant, and
SubAc uteRehabi li
tati
v eCar
eCenter managing partner of OurCrowd Qure, Bahagon explains his three picks
f
orHos pitalAfterCare Israel’s first exclusively focused digital for digital health breakthroughs in
health fund. the near future, noting that there
Digital health is a booming busi- are Israeli startups involved in all of
ness, projected to be worth $230 bil- these areas.
lion by 2020. Medication personalization: “Medi-
Over the course of 2017, investments cine is one-size-fits-all today, even
skyrocketed in hardware and software though each patient has completely
solutions and services — including different DNA and habits. This is going
 Vent ilator  Tracheotomy telemedicine, wearable technology, to change dramatically in the next
Care Care mobile applications, and remote mon- few years.”
itoring sensors — to help healthcare “When one patient comes into my
I VTher apy  Phy si
cal/
professionals and patients prevent clinic he will get a certain treatment
Speech/&
 On- Si
te and manage illnesses and health risks, and a different patient with the same
Occupational
Phy s
icians& 13 Minutesto Teaneck as well as promote wellbeing. or similar disorder will get a different
Therapy7
Spec i
alist
s “Digital health is not about tech- treatment. This personalization will be
daysaweek 17Minutest oEng l
ewood nologies; it’s about creating a different based on analyzing patients’ genetic,
7MinutestoFai r
lawn human experience and quality of care clinical, and physiological data.”
while utilizing advanced technology,” Personalized disease management:
BikurChol im Room 96P ar
kway Bahagon says. “There are already platforms for this
withameni ti
esonpr emi ses Roc
helleP ar
k,NJ07662 “Patient-centric platforms using today but they are not yet seamlessly
Rabbii nRes idence big-data tools to improve quality of personalized to the patient. This will
201.226.9600 care, efficiency and transparency are happen soon.”
Connec twi thRabbiKanner
personal lyat973- 246-2672 at the essence of all the systems being Pain reduction using digital health
developed,” says Bahagon, one of the tools: “In the United States, there is
ShabbosRooms people responsible for Israel’s fully a big buzz about the overuse of opi-
forf ami l
ies digitized healthcare system, a rarity in oids. We see companies targeting the
Kos herFood the world. area of chronic pain reduction using
forr esidentsandv i
sit
or s According to figures from EY advanced digital tools such as aug-
Privat eRoomsAvai l
abl e
30 M i
nu t
edsfr
om Mo
Israel, ns ey Nation Central, and
Start-Up mented reality.”
IATI, which co-sponsored the fourth At the OurCrowd Global Investment
I
nthemi
ddl
eofBer
genCount
y
50 Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018
96Par
kway
Roc
hel
lePar
k,NJ07662
 Healthy Living & Adult Lifestyles
Summit on February 1 in Jerusalem, thousands of visitors
had a chance to try Israeli digital-health technologies in
a demo space dubbed Doctor’s Office of the Future.
People explored DarioHealth’s personalized, pocket-
sized glucose meter coupled with a real-time mobile
app to manage diabetes; ElMindA’s mapping tool for
visualizing neural activity to optimize management of
brain disorders and injuries; HIL Medical’s radically
cheaper and smaller proton-beam laser-based cancer
therapy system; Intendu’s adaptive motion-interaction
brain rehabilitation platform for at-home therapy; Kol-
Gene’s system for connecting clinicians with genetic
labs worldwide; Memic’s internal laparoscopic surgical
robotic system; RealView Imaging’s medical holography
visualization system for medical images; and TytoCare’s
suite of products for simple tele-health examinations
and consultations.
Introducing Israeli digital health
to major stakeholders
As part of the summit, Bahagon and fellow OurCrowd
Qure Managing Partner Allen Kamer hosted a three-day
event for visiting digital health and innovation execu-
tives Dr. Ryan Noach of Discovery Health, Dr. David Stein
of Siemens Healthineers, Valerio Nannini of Nestle, Dr.
Marco D. Huesch of Ping An Group’s Global Voyager
Fund, Andre Crawford-Brunt of Oxford Science Innova-
tion, Haim Regev of Siemens Healthcare Israel and Stavit
Navon of SAP Israel.
Exploring everything from nutrigenomics and
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A panel discussion on the future of digital health
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The visitors were introduced to seven Israeli digital Sami Solaimanzadeh, DMD
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Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018 51
D’var Torah
Terumah: ‘Everyone whose heart is so moved’ reversing affiliation trends.
Nina Badzin, in an influential posting

O
ur Torah portion this week
contains the first capital cam-
paign in Jewish history. God
gives Moses the directions to
build the Tabernacle, the mobile sanctuary
that the Israelites traveled with as they wan-
dered in the wilderness.
To finance this project, Moses is told,
“Tell the Israelites to bring Me gifts; you
shall accept gifts for Me from every person
whose heart is so moved…. And let them
make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell
among them (b’tocham)” (Ex. 25:2, 8). It’s
a voluntary campaign, based on the free
will offering of those who choose to give.
As a congregational rabbi, I have to won-
der if Moses was concerned about a fund-
raising effort based only on voluntary gifts:
Would the people give enough to support
the campaign?
Turns out Moses didn’t need to worry
if the offerings of all whose hearts moved
them would be sufficient for the building of
the Tabernacle.
A few chapters later, the Torah tells us
that the Israelites freely brought so much
material to create the Tabernacle that Moses
on Kveller.com, argues that it can’t be just
actually has to ask them to The same lesson applies about the money; it’s also about the rela-
stop bringing things. “There to our modern setting. The tionships. We need to make a community of
was sufficient material to com- question of financing for real meaning, that demonstrates to people
plete all the work, and more synagogues is very much in how Judaism provides values and joy and
than enough” (Ex. 36:7). (We the air these days. purpose to life. Then today’s generation of
should all have such problems In an era of decreas- Jews will connect, regardless of the financial
in our capital campaigns!) ing congregational affili- model.
Our sages wonder about ation and funding, many Like the Israelites in the wilderness whose
the meaning of such a sur- are wondering what to do. hearts moved them to donate more than
plus, what it might repre- Rabbi David One model that has been their share to take care of their neighbors,
sent, and what we might S. Widzer adopted by a small number it’s the sense of community that truly gives
learn from it. I attribute it to Temple Beth El of of congregations is a system meaning to a congregation.
Northern Valley,
the meaningful connections Closter, Reform of voluntary dues, like the Taking “b’tocham”to mean “within
the Israelites felt for one Israelites’ contributions to them” (instead of the usual “among
another. Though all shared the Tabernacle. No longer them”), the 19th century commentator
the same inclination to give, perhaps based on a family’s or individual’s finan- Malbim observes that the text doesn’t say
those with the means to give more did cial means, or part of a scaled system of “and I will dwell in it,” meaning the Tab-
so with the knowledge that there were dues, these congregations have a “pay ernacle, but rather, “I will dwell in them,”
others who could not. Then their less what you want”model. A report from UJA- meaning the Israelites. We are, Malbim
wealthy kinsfolks would not feel ashamed Federation of New York describes this phe- says, to each build a Tabernacle in our
about their smaller contributions, as the nomenon and provides a roadmap for con- own hearts for God to dwell in. Hearts that
Tabernacle would still be completed. gregations contemplating a change to this are open to the concerns of others, hearts
Viewed in this light, the Tabernacle is a system. Many communities that have tried that compel us to care for others, hearts
sign of the overwhelming bonds of com- this model report increases in both dona- that create a community of meaning and
munity among the Israelites. The fun- tions and membership. bonds of connection — these are truly the
draising was successful because of the But a new dues structure, even one based hearts where God can dwell.
connectedness of the community. on Biblical antecedents, isn’t the only key to This d’var Torah originally ran in 2015.

Anti-BDS territories have been criticised by the U.N., the EU and

FROM PAGE 6
attorney general said, but he believes that he validated
his interpretation of the law and thereby led to Mr.
McDonough’s decision, which was heralded by Gover-
nor Christie.
But while Danske Bank could have been booted from
New Jersey’s portfolio for its beef with Aryt, that decision
alone is probably not what brought the bank under the
state’s scrutiny.
Credit for that likely is due to the second Israeli com-
pany on Danske Bank’s list of excluded companies. That
is Elbit. Danske says on its website that Elbit was excluded
because it is “involved in supplying electronic equipment
in conflict with human rights norms.” Elbit, however, has
been a focus of BDS activists since at least 2009, when
the Norwegian State Pension Fund sold its shares in the
Israeli company. The BDS activists targeted Elbit for its
involvement in the construction of Israel’s West Bank
separation wall.
“We do not wish to fund companies that so directly con-
tribute to violations of international humanitarian law,”
Norway’s Minister of Finance Kristin Halvorsen explained.
In 2010, Danske Bank followed suit and divested
from Elbit.
In a statement on its website, dated 2013 but since
removed — but preserved by the internet archive — Danske
Bank explained that “the occupied Palestinian territories”
was one of the places where it monitored investments.
“The Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian
the Nordic governments,” the webpage said. “According
to standard international law, the settlements are consid-
ered illegal and a hindrance to achieving peace.
“Companies’ activities related to these settlements
are therefore controversial and in some cases represent
a violation of international conventions and guidelines.
Whether there is a violation depends on an evaluation of
the individual companies’ actual activities.”
Danske Bank first was brought to New Jersey’s atten-
tion by the Israeli-American Coalition For Action, the
advocacy arm of the Israeli American Council. The IAC
is an organization for Israeli Americans whose budget
has grown to a quarter of Anti-Defamation League’s in 10
years, with major help from Republican billionaire Shel-
don Adelson. Mr. Adelson has positioned the IAC as a to-
the-right-of-AIPAC pro-Israel organization.
After its initial presentation to the state, IAC reached
out to Mr. Toporek’s organization to follow up.
In the end, the IAC heralded the New Jersey divestment
decision as “a major victory” for its “new and unique ini-
tiative, working closely with state and local governments
to ensure that anti-BDS legislation is implemented effi-
ciently and effectively once it is signed into law.”
For his part, Mr. Toporek said the anti-boycott legisla-
tion was important for New Jersey.
“It’s basically an anti-discrimination piece of legisla-
tion,” he said. “It’s good for the state because it allows
free trading relationships that are in the best interest of
New Jersey.”

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 The Frazzled Housewife
Four funerals and a hockey game
BANJI GANCHROW
S
ocial media has done many
things to society. One of them has me, because it is me writing this, but I
almost completely eliminated the
opportunity or the need to talk to to others. What do you do when some-
a person — to have an actual conversation
using an actual voice. And human con-
tact — a hug, a handshake. The sharing of
a box of tissues or a box of chocolates. I
mean you can totally use social media to
schedule an “in real life” meeting. You can
meet for lunch, meet at the gym — I prefer
the lunch — so the opportu-
nity is there, you just have to
decide if you want to go out
in public. And get dressed in
real clothes, and perhaps, if
you are adventurous, apply
some makeup in order not to
scare the little ones.
But thi s whole con-
cept presented itself in
an entirely different way Banji
r e c e n t l y. A Fa c e b o o k Ganchrow
“friend” suffered the loss
of her father. Through the
years, and only because of Facebook,
was I introduced to this man through
pictures and comments. But the way this
daughter spoke of her father, I felt that
I knew him. I celebrated bar mitzvahs
with him, birthdays with him, holidays
with him. But I never met him. And, as
for his daughter, I only saw her “in real
life” a handful of times — and probably
not more than a one hand worth of times
(which, if you are following along, is five
times. There are five fingers on a hand.)
When she posted to say tehillim for her
father, I sent the name off to my Shaa-
Let’s hope we
are all guided
to make
the correct
decisions, and
for those who
have lost loved
ones, may you
be comforted
by their
memories and
only know from
happier things.
lavim boy and said it myself. I inquired
about his health and prayed, along with,
I am sure, many, many others, that he
had a miraculous recovery. But in the
end it isn’t up to us, and the man, this
incredible father, who I never met, but
felt I knew, passed away.
Remember, I am making this about
cannot imagine that this hasn’t happened
one you do not know and have never met
dies? Do you go to the funeral? Do you
pay a shiva call? Do you do these things
if it is convenient for you and not more
than an hour away? What do you do? The
past few weeks, unfortunately, have been
filled with several funerals. I remember
that a few years ago, some-
one wrote a piece on shiva
calls and who should pay
them. Basically, if I recall
from the piece, the answer
was almost everyone.
But in life, there are
so many shades of gray
— doesn’t that apply to
death as well? I have been
to shiva calls where, I am
convinced, the person
had a shul directory and
would check off people’s
names as they arrived. I have also been to
shiva calls where the person sitting was
as uncomfortable about seeing me as I
was about seeing them. There was even
a time when I asked my rabbi what to do
because I really didn’t know. (I didn’t go
and he said I made the right call. Not get-
ting into the details, so don’t ask.)
In any event, you can’t go wrong by
doing something right. But the right thing
is still up in the air depending on the sit-
uation. That’s why (and here is the shift
in topic, I can only stay depressing for so
long) sports are so easy. Your kid sits on
the bench during his hockey game — do
you have to go? No. Your kid is playing
in his hockey game — do you have to go?
Yes. Are these the correct answers? I have
no idea, because no matter what you do,
you, as a parent, you are usually wrong.
Whatever you say is wrong. Whatever you
wear is wrong… Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
But, again, you can only follow your heart
and do what you think is right. And if your
kid, who normally sits on the bench, ends
up scoring a goal? You just have to hope
that someone has videoed that moment
for you.
Let’s hope we are all guided to make
the correct decisions, and for those who
have lost loved ones, may you be com-
forted by their memories and only know
from happier things.
Banji Ganchrow is very excited about
Camp Overtime…A four day floor hockey
camp for boys going into fifth through
tenth grades. Please go to campovertime.
com for more information. She is not
benefiting from this camp in any way,
shape, or form, she is just hoping to get
a hug from her son for writing about it
She’ll keep you posted.
“PRESIDENT’S DAY” BY YONI GLATT
KOSHERCROSSWORDS@GMAIL.COM
Across
1. The Indiana Jones movies, e.g.
5. Suez Crisis general
10. ___ Major
14. (False) god of love
15. Memorable Mandy (Patinkin) role
16. Bad NBA team
17. Kabbalah follower Kutcher’s favorite
President?
19. Stat. Hank Greenberg leads all Jews in
20. Stat. Ian Kinsler leads all Jews in
21. Common kosher animal, that’s rarely
eaten
22. In working order
24. Like one with the flu
26. The first lady’s favorite President?
28. Juicy tropical fruit
31. Campbell of “House of Cards”
32. Mars, to the Greeks
33. Prime Minister shot serving his coun-
try in 1972, familiarly
36. ‘90s Denver Broncos star
40. Ending for “cash” or “front”
41. Larry David’s (almost) “Fatwa” star
Miranda’s favorite President?
43. Network of “Curb...”
44. Gadot uses one in film, at times
46. It’s worth about 1/25 of a Shekel
47. Work by Judah Halevi
48. Boat in “Jaws”
50. What a dentist does, sometimes
52. Comic Stewart’s favorite President?
57. Play for a yutz
58. Grande of song
59. “As Time ___ By”
61. Wilt
64. TV’s Hoda
65. Where to see the Presidents in this
puz.
68. Falco who had her first film role in
Allen’s “Bullets Over Broadway”
69. Antonym for “absorb”
70. F.B.I. operative
71. Post (mishloach manot)
72. “...just as a man ___ up...” (Duet.
22:26)
73. Many a posted pic of Obama or Trump
The solution to last week’s puzzle is on page 58.
JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 53
Crossword
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: MEDIUM
Down
1. Adds a patch to an IDF uniform, per-
haps
2. One in a million, in Israel
3. Those saying lashon hara
4. Volcano output
5. What Jews do after blessings on wine
and challah
6. Moses displayed it at the Sin of the
Golden Calf
7. Moshe’s father-in-law
8. Back then
9. Cobwebs may be a sign of it
10. Solve, as a mystery
11. The Lubavitcher ___
12. “It’s ___ Rock and Roll to Me” (Billy
Joel)
13. An Israel bond, e.g.
18. As a sluggard would
23. Weeks between Pesach and Shavuot
25. Part of U.N.L.V.
27. Cholent ingredient, sometimes
28. Bucket
29. Tri-State ___
30. Rabin’s middle name?
34. Andes dwellers, once
35. Period prior to 0, in dates
37. Like many G-rated films
38. Famed victim of sibling rivalry
39. HaShoah and HaZikaron
41. Sophia who starred as “Judith”
42. Brit’s “Inc.”
45. Convertible, of a sort
47. Magnum and Jessica Jones, initially
49. “Mad Money” host Jim
51. Geddy Lee’s group
52. Gyllenhaal and Tapper
53. Deteriorate, in a way
54. What it might be difficult for the awk-
ward to do
55. Shrek’s mishpacha
56. “It’s ___!” (“I give up!”)
60. Ballpark figs.
62. Part of Syria, in the Torah
63. Paul’s Kiss mate
66. Friday letters that precede “F”
67. Louis B. Mayer’s co.
Calendar Andy Sorger. Passover
wine orders accepted.
40-25 Fair Lawn Ave.
(201) 797-9321.
Monday
FEBRUARY 19
Presidents Day in
Franklin Lakes: Rabbi
Joseph Prouser of
Temple Emanuel of
North Jersey chants
his translation of the
Gettysburg Address, set
to haftarah trope, during
Shacharit, beginning at
8 a.m.; local officials will
join the congregation.
Refreshments. 558
High Mountain Road.
(201) 560-0200 or www.
tenjfl.org.
Tuesday
FEBRUARY 20
Help in raising
our children: The
Orangetown Jewish
Center continues
“Who We are and
FEB. Bang on a Can and How We Raise Our
the Jewish Museum’s
an hour of fun before will teach “Rituals and
Sunday the carnival opens
to the public. Teens,
Reasons in Jewish Life,”
7:30 p.m.; Art Lerman
FEBRUARY 25 grades 7-12, interested in teaches “The Talmud on
volunteering, can receive Leadership” at 8:40; both
Purim in Teaneck:
Temple Emeth hosts a
community service hours.
411 E. Clinton Ave. (201)
classes through March
20. Ongoing programs
carnival, with games 408-1485. include Torah study,
and prizes, 10 a.m.-noon. Saturdays at 9 a.m., and
Costumes encouraged. Children’s authors also Lunch and Learn,
1666 Windsor Road. talk: Four local Wednesdays at noon,
(201) 833-1322. children’s authors — both with Rabbi Steven
Ariel Bernstein, Andria Sirbu; and Yiddish,
Purim in Emerson: Warmflash Rosenbaum,
Mondays at 10:30 a.m.;
Congregation B’nai Israel Mike Malbrough, and
1666 Windsor Road.
hosts a carnival with Chana Stiefel — will read
(201) 833-1322 or www.
games, prizes, and food, and sign their picture
Emeth.org.
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. books at the Teaneck
Costumes encouraged. Public Library, 1-4 p.m.
53 Palisade Ave.
(201) 265-2272 or www.
bisrael.com.
Crafts, games, and
giveaways. Books for Singles
sale from Curious Reader
Purim in Paramus:
book shop. 840 Teaneck
Road.
Thursday
The JCC of Paramus/ FEBRUARY 15
Congregation Beth
Tikvah and Congregation Tuesday Widows and widowers
Beth Tefillah hold a FEBRUARY 27 meet: Movin’ On, a
carnival with a bouncy monthly luncheon
castle, games, lunch, group for widows and
Rigged presidential
snacks, cotton candy, widowers, meets at the
elections: Dumont
and prizes, noon-2 p.m. Glen Rock Jewish Center,
historian Dick Burnon
Costumes encouraged. 12:30 p.m. 682 Harristown
concludes a two-part
E. 304 Midland Ave. Road. (201) 652-6624 or
lecture, “Four Rigged
(201) 262-7691 or www.
jccparamus.org.
Presidential Elections,” email arbgr@aol.com.
at a meeting of REAP

22
concert season, which
focuses on pioneering
female artists, continues with a
performance by violinist-vocalist
Iva Bittová at 7:30 p.m. 1109
Fifth Ave. at 92nd Street, in New
York City. (212) 423-3337 or
TheJewishMuseum.org.
COURTESY JEWISH MUSEUM
Jacob holds a family
Friday service, 10:30 a.m.-noon,
followed by a kiddush,
FEBRUARY 16 at Hamilton House.
Shabbat in Teaneck:
Supported by the Shuster
family. 255 Brunswick St.;
Temple Emeth offers
building entrance on 10th
musical services with
Street where free parking
the Temple Emeth Band,
is available. Rabbi Aaron
Cantor Ellen Tilem, and
Katz, (305) 607-9062,
Rabbi Steven Sirbu,
rabbiaaron1@gmail.com,
8 p.m. 1666 Windsor
or bnaijacobjc.com.
Road. (201) 833-1322 or
www.Emeth.org. Wine and cheese in
Fair Lawn: Temple Beth
Saturday Sholom’s sisterhood
holds its annual Passover
FEBRUARY 17 wine tasting and sale,
7:30-9:30 p.m. Wine,
Shabbat in Jersey City: cheese, coffee, and
Congregation B’nai desserts; music by
Children — in a Jewish
Context,” 7:45 p.m. 8
Independence Ave.,
Orangeburg, N.Y.
(845) 359-5920, or
theojc.org.
Friday
FEBRUARY 23
Shabbat and Purim in
Teaneck: Temple Emeth
has a Purim spiel with a
James Bond theme, after
Shabbat services, 8 p.m.
1666 Windsor Road.
(201) 833-1322.
Saturday
FEBRUARY 24
Shabbat in Emerson:
Congregation B’nai
Israel offers an engaging
hourlong Shabbat
morning service ,
10:30 a.m., followed by
a Torah discussion over
lunch. 53 Palisade Ave.
(201) 265-2272 or www.
bisrael.com.
(Retired Executives
and Professionals) at
the Kaplen JCC on the
COURTESY JCCOTP
Palisades in Tenafly,
10:45 a.m., with “2000
George W. Bush vs. Al
Gore and 2016 Donald
Trump-Hillary Clinton.”
411 East Clinton Ave.
(201) 569-7900 or www.
From last year’s jccotp.org.
JCCOTP carnival
Café Europa in Teaneck:
Purim in Tenafly: The Café Europa, a social
Rubach Family Purim program sponsored
Carnival is at the Kaplen by Jewish Family &
JCC on the Palisades, Children’s Services
1- 4 p.m. Children, who of Northern NJ for
are encouraged to wear Holocaust survivors,
costumes, will find a
bounce house, slides,
partially funded by the
Claims Conference,
inflatable photo booth, meets at Congregation
games, prizes, life-size Beth Sholom,
cartoon characters, face 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
painting, prizes, life- Kosher lunch and musical
size cartoon characters, performance by the
cotton candy, snacks, Rishon Trio. 354 Maitland
a DJ, Israeli dancing, a Ave. Shari Brodsky,
Purim puppet show/sing- (201) 837-9090, ext. 237,
a-long at 1:30 and 2:30, or sharib@jfcsnnj.org.
and more. Children with
special needs and their Jewish university in
families are welcome Teaneck: Temple Emeth
from noon–1 for games offers its “Mini University
and booths, Purim crafts, of Jewish Studies.”
and other activities for Cantor Ellen Tilem
Sunday
FEBRUARY 18
Singles dinner: The 65+
singles group from the
JCC Rockland meets
at the New Route 304
Diner, noon. All welcome,
particularly if you’re from
Hudson, Passaic, Bergen,
or Rockland counties.
Individual checks. 127
Route 304, Nanuet, N.Y.
Gene, (845) 356-5525.
Friday
FEBRUARY 23
Teaneck Shabbaton: The
Shidduch Project hosts
a “Roaring Twenties”
Shabbaton for modern
Orthodox/machmir
professionals, 25-42,
at Congregation Rinat
Israel. Includes meals
and lodging, Friday
night oneg with cocktail
hour, improv, comedy,
trivia, guest speakers,
musical Havdalah.
Shidduchprojects@gmail.
com or (201) 522-4776.

54 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018

 Calendar

Museum featuring Lodz Ghetto photographs

Photographs that show the horrors and
complexities of life in the Lodz Ghetto
in 1940 — images that the Nazis banned
and were buried for safekeeping and
later retrieved by the photographer —
will be exhibited at the Museum of Jew-
ish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the
Holocaust in Manhattan. Organized by
the Art Gallery of Ontario, the exhibit,
“Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto
Photographs of Henryk Ross,” will be on
display at the museum from February 25
to June 24.
“This extraordinary exhibition is a
unique visual record of the barbarity of
life in the Lodz Ghetto inflicted by the
Nazis, and a testament to Henryk Ross’
heroic and defiant act to record these Excavating Henryk Ross’s buried box of negatives and
individual experiences that will forever documents in the ghetto March 1945. Positive halftone on
be part of the historical record,” said polyester film sheet. The print shows the excavation of the
Michael S. Glickman, the museum’s CEO box containing documents and photographs of life in the
and president. “As an institution com- Ghetto police escorting residents for deportation 1942-1944. Lodz Ghetto from 1940 to 1944.
mitted to telling and preserving first- 35 mm cellulose nitrate negative. PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO.
GIFT FROM ARCHIVE OF MODERN CONFLICT, 2007.
person accounts of the Holocaust, Ross’s
photographs represent personal experiences of global the Red Army liberated the ghetto, 877 Jews remained. 200 of Ross’s photographs, supplemented by artifacts and
significance.” Ross, sometimes hiding his camera in his coat, took testimony and presented in the context of Lodz Ghetto
When Polish Jewish photojournalist Henryk Ross was photographs to record the horrors of life in the ghetto and history. The exhibition offers a rare learning experience
confined to the Lodz Ghetto in 1940, he was put to work to preserve evidence of Nazi crimes. that is also an opportunity to remember and honor the
by the Nazi regime as a bureaucratic photographer for the As liquidation began, Ross buried an astonishing 6,000 victims of Nazi atrocities.
Jewish administration’s statistics department. For nearly negatives near his home — committing to the ground, and A soundscape of audio testimonies from ghetto survi-
four years, Ross used his official position as cover, endan- perhaps to future generations, “some record of our trag- vors sets the stage at the entrance to the exhibition. More
gering his own life to covertly document the lives of others. edy.” Henryk Ross survived, and in 1945 he unearthed his audio testimonies, all from the museum’s collection, are
More than 160,000 Jews were trapped in the Lodz Ghetto work. Almost 3,000 negatives had survived the Polish win- featured throughout the galleries.
— it held the second largest Jewish ghetto population in ter, making his collection one of the largest visual records The museum is at 36 Battery Place in lower Manhattan.
German-occupied Europe — and thousands would be of its kind to survive the Holocaust. For more information, call (646) 437-4202 or go to
deported and murdered at Chelmno and Auschwitz. When Curated by Maia-Mari Sutnik, the exhibit has more than mjhnyc.org.

Saluting women artists in Englewood

YU job fair set for February 27 An exhibition of selected artworks cre-

COURTESY SALUTE TO WOMEN IN THE ARTS

Yeshiva University’s annual Jewish Job
Fair is one of the largest Jewish network-
ing opportunities in the United States.
Organizers expect that many Jewish pro-
fessionals and representatives of dozens
of Jewish organizations will be at the fair,
set for February 27 on the university’s
Wilf campus in Manhattan’s Washington
Heights. Participants can meet with a
variety of Jewish organizations, educa-
tional institutions, and advocacy groups
to learn about the work the organiza-
tions do and opportunities they offer
for employment, as well as on-the-spot
interviews for openings.
The fair is a collaborative effort
between Yeshiva University’s Center for
the Jewish Future, the Azrieli Graduate
School of Jewish Education and Admin-
istration, the Bernard Revel Graduate
School of Jewish Studies, Rabbi Isaac
Elchanan Theological Seminary, and
Wurzweiler School of Social Work.
Azrieli Graduate School also will host
the first “Azrieli HUB: Reconnect, Con-
nect, Recharge” conference before the
fair. Billed as an “unconvention,” the
HUB will convene Orthodox Jewish edu-
cation professionals, Azrieli students,
and alumni to consider and address the
challenges and opportunities that stu-
dents, schools, and families present.
The two-day HUB conference will be
held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Engle-
wood from February 26 to 27. On the sec-
ond day, the HUB will move to the Wilf
Campus in upper Manhattan for the final
segment of the program and the Jewish
Job Fair, which begins at 6 p.m.
Pre-registration to the Job Fair is
open for employers and job seekers. To
book appointments and for instruction
on how to prepare, go to www.yu.edu/
jewishjobfair.
ated by members of Salute to Women
in the Arts is at the Englewood Library
this month. Among the pieces is an
impressionistic work by the late Rose
Hertzberg, an influential New Jersey
artist and a founder of the organiza-
tion. The library is at 31 Engle St. For
information, call (201) 568-2215.
Anderson Cooper
coming to Englewood
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will be the first featured speaker
as northjersey.com debuts its new speaker series, “Dialogues at
bergenPAC,” on Sunday, April 15, at 7 p.m. This series is a part-
nership between North Jersey Media Group and the Bergen
Performing Arts Center. It will bring high-profile newsmakers
into the community for moderated discussions on the impor-
tant topics of today.
The VIP tickets include a post-show meet and greet and
access to the Drapkin Cabaret lounge before the talk. Tickets Anderson Cooper
are available at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling bergen-
PAC’s box office at (201) 227-1030.

JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 55

 Our beloved Arnold Perlman Gold’s departure
from this world has left all his family grieving.
Please know that your warm concern, your
caring visits, and your many
other expressions of condolence
have been a huge source of
comfort and healing to us. We so
appreciate and cherish your acts of
kindness, love and community.

Sandra, Dara, Stephen and Michele, Jeni, Amelia and Brian,

Maggie and Jonathan, and all the grandchildren

56 JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018


Pearl Goldring
Pearl Goldring, née Kupsaw, 92, of Fair Lawn died
February 13.
Predeceased by a son, Bruce, she is survived by her
husband of 74 years, Robert, children, Carol Goldring
( Jay Ferrara), and Ellen Goldring (Sharon Cole), and two
grandchildren.
Contributions can be made to a charity of choice.
Arrangements were by Louis Suburban Chapel,
Fair Lawn.
Michael Hurewitz
Michael J. Hurewitz, 67, of Waldwick, formerly of Fair
Lawn, died February 7. He was a clinical psychologist.
Predeceased by his parents, Dr. Benjamin and
Florence Hurewitz, he is survived by a twin brother,
Steven, of Waldwick, and cousins. Arrangements were
by Louis Suburban Chapel, Fair Lawn.
Obituaries
Martin Seritzeanu
Martin Seritzeanu, 89, of Teaneck, died February 9.
A U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, he was
a member of the Jewish War Veterans of Teaneck, Obituaries are prepared with
Disabled American Veterans of Bergenfield, American information provided by funeral homes.
Legion of Rochelle Park, and VFW of Fort Lee. He
Correcting errors is the responsibility
retired as a mail carrier and worked at EW Williams
Publishing in Fort Lee. of the funeral home.
Predeceased by a sister, Mildred (Charles), he
is survived by his wife of 42 years, Nora, daughter
Karen (David), stepchildren Judith ( John) and Howard
( Joann); sister Thelma (late Gil); and nephews.
Contributions can be made to a charity of choice. Robert Schoem’s Menorah Chapel, Inc
Arrangements were by Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors
Jewish Funeral Directors, Hackensack. Family Owned & managed
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Comedian Marty Allen dies at 95 in Las Vegas 201.843.9090 1.800.426.5869

Marty Allen, the veteran comedian

who was part of the popular Allen
and Rossi duo and was known for
his catchphrase “Hello dere,” has
died. He was 95.
Allen died in Las Vegas on Febru-
ary 12 from complications of pneu-
monia. He is survived by his wife
and performing partner of the last
30 years, Karon Kate Blackwell,
who was with him when he died,
his spokeswoman told the Associ-
ated Press.
His comedy career took off in the
late 1950s and ‘60s when he per-
formed with Steve Rossi. The duo
appeared 44 times on “The Ed Sul-
livan Show”; one of those perfor-
mances was in 1964, and another
was in 1965. They followed the We continue to be Jewish family managed,
Beatles both times. According to Marty Allen performing during a show celebrating his 94th birthday in knowing that caring people provide caring service.
the New York Times’ obituary, in Las Vegas on March 26, 2016. ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES

1964 “Mr. Allen performed a fre- GUTTERMAN AND MUSICANT

netic dance wearing a Beatle wig.”
In 1965, “he ran up and down the
aisles while Mr. Rossi sang ‘She
Loves You’ (its lyrics amended to
‘We love you, yeah, yeah, yeah’
and addressed to the audience).”
The duo also appeared on “The
Tonight Show With Johnny Carson”
and “The Merv Griffin Show.”
The act broke up in 1968, but
Allen and Rossi occ asionally
reunited for shows into the 1990s.
Mr. Allen made hundreds of tele-
vision appearances, including in a
dramatic role on the series “The
Big Valley.” He also was a regular
on “The Hollywood Squares” and
made guest appearances on many
game shows.
Ms. Allen “relied on his physi-
cal appearance to help the com-
edy,” Lawrence J. Epstein wrote
in his book, “The Haunted Smile:
The Story of Jewish Comedians in
America.” “Allen’s wild mane of
hair, his squinting eyes, and his sad
voice nasally delivering his trade-
mark introduction ‘Hello dere’ all
were part of his act.”
He and his wife performed com-
JEWISH FUNERAL DIRECTORS
edy routines in Las Vegas and in
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other places throughout the coun- WIEN & WIEN, INC. MEMORIAL CHAPELS
try until at least 2016. 800-322-0533
Mr. Allen was born — as Morton
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His first wife, Lorraine “Fren- at the Funeral Home or in Your Own Home
chy” Allen, died in 1976. GuttermanMusicantWien.com
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Holiday
FROM PAGE 12
on creating gear and equipment better
designed for them, he began “to think of
how we can create opportunities for our
students to more intimately appreciate
the perspective of others and experience
a pluralism of ideas.”
Day two of our educators’ road trip
began with an early-morning meeting
with the highly accomplished Dr. Bers, a
professor in Tuft University’s computer
science department, as well as in the
department of child study and human
development. Dr. Bers specializes in
STEM and early childhood.
Dr. Bers, who often helps schools cre-
ate Maker Spaces, shared her thoughts on
education and the direction she’d like to
see STEM take in schools. Dr. Bers thinks
play is a crucial part of learning and wants
to see schools incorporate more play into
their curricula, including their STEM pro-
grams. Having the toy-maker Lego get
involved with STEM — with the ready-made
kits the company created — was good, but
now it’s time to go further, just as Hour of
Code was a great way to get the conver-
sation started about programming. Now,
however, it’s time for students to have
courses in computer programming, so
they have deep knowledge of the subject.
As far as Maker Spaces: her advice was to
let kids co-design them. “How do you get
“ Being hungry affects
your appearance,
how you act. When I’m
hungry, I’m not in the
mood for anything.
the Maker Space at the center” of school
and learning? she asked. It shouldn’t be an
ancillary part of the school day or curricu-
lum. It should be the main part.
The rest of the day we spent at Gann
Academy, which has one of the best repu-
tations in the Jewish day school world. We
understood why immediately. From the
moment we entered the school building
and read the quotations on the entryway
wall from Proverbs, Abraham Joshua Hes-
chel, Hannah Senesh, Bob Dylan, and Rita
Levi-Montalcini (a neurobiologist and like
Bob Dylan a Nobel laureate), we knew we
were in a special place.
One of Gann’s most impressive features
is its culture of teacher growth and pro-
fessional development. Jacob Pinnolis,
Gann’s director of teaching and learning
and a co-author of the book “The Power of
Teacher Rounds,” told us about the enor-
mous amount of time and effort the admin-
istration and teachers put into developing
themselves and creating a culture at the
school where “kids do the thinking.” He
told us that by the time teachers finish
the school’s rigorous hiring process, they
know well that they shouldn’t bother join-
ing the Gann team if they aren’t focused
on creating courses and learning units that
empower students do the work.
Rabbi Koslowe said, “I loved that Jacob
identified the two qualities that they are
looking for in an educator: collaboration
and reflection. It made me think how
“ organization working to end hunger
students need to be exposed to and expe-
rienced with those skills in order to grow
up and get jobs that demand it.”
The Gann ethos was everywhere, from
the environmental studies course we
sat in on and the biological behaviors
class we bumped into in the library, to
the Exploration Week exhibit we saw in
a hallway. The exhibit is a map of places
where students have traveled, trips
they’ve taken that not only reflect learn-
ing that they’ve engaged in, but the ethi-
cal, moral, and religious behavior that has
been deepened by their learning. So we
read a reflection about a civil rights trip
to the South where students said kad-
dish at the unmarked grave of two black
men who had been lynched, and another
about what it felt like for students to stand
in the empty chains that once held slaves
who had been brought to America, and
who had called out for help.
Perhaps the most moving part of the
Gann visit was hearing from a group of
juniors in the class of my friend and col-
league, U.S. history teacher Dr. Jonathan
Golden. The students came from pub-
lic, Reform, Conservative, Orthodox,
and ultra-Orthodox elementary schools,
and all had had their belief systems chal-
lenged at Gann. They had been forced
into what Susie Tanchel had called “pro-
ductive disequilibrium” and emerged with
their worldviews deepened. When asked
how Gann was able to accomplish this,
Inspired by Jewish values and ideals,
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JEWISH STANDARD FEBRUARY 16, 2018 59
Local
the students told us they had spent a lot
of time in ninth grade focusing on active
listening and perspective-taking through
open-ended questions.
Ms. Edelman said, “I was moved to tears
by our discussion with the Gann students
about how no matter what their diverse
backgrounds, they grew by going to school
with others who came from different back-
grounds and felt stronger, not weaker, in
their Jewish identities. The school has cre-
ated a truly sacred space for learning, one
of respect and safety, yet one that allows
students to challenge themselves and grow
exponentially.”
Ms. Sommer added that the words of the
head of school, Rabbi Marc Baker, reso-
nated with her. When we met with him, he
told us: “A school has to be willing to take
risks and to fail. . . . When you fight for
hearts and minds you have got to be bold.”
One of the things I love about vaca-
tion and travel is that it opens your mind,
heart, and soul in ways that you never
imagined. Going on an education vacation
added another dimension to traveling. It
showed us that getting ourselves out of
our routine — not only the routine of our
lives, but the routine of our educational
thinking — made us think more expan-
sively about the possibilities for the future,
and about bringing those possibilities not
only to our students, but to our communi-
ties. Let’s all keep traveling on this journey
of learning together.
Real Estate & Business

Toni Musto receives Brightview’s First aging innovation lab

top award as executive director
Toni Musto from Brightview Tenafly was
awarded Executive Director of the Year at
Brightview Senior Living’s annual awards
gala held Wednesday, January 24, in Balti-
more, Maryland.
The senior living community also
received special recognition for Associate
Engagement and Resident Satisfaction,
selected from the communities with the
highest overall scores based on confiden-
tial, online surveys conducted annually by
a third party.
“We have an amazing team at Bright-
view Tenafly, and I am so proud to be part
of this extraordinary group,” said Toni.
“Our associates, residents, and their fami-
lies make Brightview Tenafly an incredible
place to live and work each day.”
Brightview operates thirty-five com-
munities in eight states from Virginia
to Massachusetts.
Denise Manifold, regional vice president
of marketing, said, “Toni is an outstanding
leader who brings her passions to the com-
munity each day. She is tireless in training
and supporting her associates, and has
NVE-3490 1Q Mug Mortgage Ad 5x6.5_NVE-3454 Fall Mortgage Ad 5x6.5 1/24/18 11:15 AM Page 1
successfully mentored a number of asso-
ciates for internal promotions. We are
thrilled for her and so fortunate to have
her as a leader and coach.”
Toni, who joined Brightview in Feb-
ruary 2016, has worked with seniors for
more than 25 years. As a licensed multi-
disciplinary executive director, she holds
degrees in Family Studies and Geron-
tology and a master’s in Public Health
from the University of Connecticut and
Brooklyn College. Toni is also a Certified
Dementia Practitioner, Certified Assisted
Living Administrator, and Geriatric
Care Manager.
Based in Baltimore, Brightview Senior
Living, LLC opened its first senior liv-
ing community in Maryland, Brightview
Bel Air, in 1999. Today, Brightview offers
thirty-five communities in eight states —
Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts,
New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, and Virginia. The commu-
nities include independent living, assisted
living, personal care, and dementia
care options.
opens in Israel at Beersheva
Israel21c staff
Experts pool talent
to address challenges
faced by seniors
with new products
and technologies
Israel’s first Innovation Lab for Healthy
Aging has been launched in Beersheva,
simulating the challenges in the every-
day living environment of senior citizens
in order to inspire solutions.
The new project is backed by a $1.25
million investment and has a part-
nership with Sheba Medical Center
in Ramat Gan to test its approaches
and technologies.
The Innovation Lab for Healthy Aging
is jointly sponsored by the Center for
Digital Innovation (CDI) Negev, Ben-
Gurion University of the Negev (BGU),
the National Insurance Institute of Israel,
the Beersheva municipality, the Joint
Distribution Committee ( JDC), and the
Amal & Beyond Group.
“In 10 years, Beersheva will become
the center of senior citizen-focused
research and innovation,” CDI founder
and CEO Ziv Ofek said.
According to World Bank data, the
percentage of the world’s population
over 65 grew from 5 percent in 1960 to
8.5 percent in 2015.
CDI was founded by Ofek along with
fellow entrepreneurs Sharon Saspor-
tas and Boaz Gur Lavie in collabo-
ration with BGU and the Beersheva
municipality to focus on promoting
and managing digital innovations in
health, welfare, education and smart
cities. The new lab takes of these fields
into consideration.
“When I think about this lab, I think
about my parents and the real chal-
lenges they face,” Ofek said.
“Instead of looking for merely tech-
nological solutions, we went back to
analyze the problem. We developed a
360-degree approach that looks at all
aspects of a senior’s life.”
Not only technological solutions
will be considered but also social proj-
ect ideas such as connecting teenag-
ers with seniors to alleviate loneliness

Warm up to our sweet mortgage rates. Friedberg cites efforts

of Paris Square associates
Friedberg Properties congratu-
lates Donna Scuderi and Susan
Leta, sales representatives in
7-YEAR 15-YEAR 25-YEAR the Pascack Valley office at 213
MORTGAGE MORTGAGE MORTGAGE Rivervale Road, River Vale.
Scuderi and Leta are the
2.800% Rate 3.250% Rate 3.875% Rate exclusive agents for Paris
Square Northvale. This excep-
2.893% APR* 3.301% APR* 3.922% APR* tional community for 50-plus
adults is the perfect match for
maintenance-free living.
The new owners of Paris Donna Scuderi Susan Leta
Square are Alvin Sarter and
Choose from a variety of mortgage options and rates at NVE. Marc Samwick of Northvale Green Construction on Phase 3 has begun
Finding the right mortgage to fit your needs should be quick, easy and LLC. Together they have more then 65 on the two-story townhouses that are
painless — exactly what you’ll find when you work with our Mortgage years of real estate development and architecturally elegant, generously pro-
Specialist at NVE. Plus, our decision makers are local — paving the way financial transaction experience. Sar- portioned, and functionally superb.
to a smooth and hassle-free process from start to finish.
18
87 201
8 ter and Samwick have combined their Special features in this exceptional
Call today at 201-816-2800, ext. 1233, knowledge and experience to create community include state-of-art club-
or apply online at nvebank.com an upscale lifestyle community at Paris house, 30-seat movie theater, fitness
Square for the most discerning active center, billiard gallery, heated outdoor
adult homebuyers. pool, dog run, bocce court, and put-
These dedicated professionals are ting green.
NMLS #733094 committed to excellence and are The onsite office is located at 199 Paris
invested in creating luxurious low main- Ave. in Northvale and is open Wednes-
*APR = Annual Percentage Rate. APR is accurate as of 1/28/18 and may vary based on loan amounts. Loans are for
1-4 family New Jersey owner-occupied properties only. Rates and terms are subject to change without notice. The tenance homes tucked into a peaceful day, Saturday, and Sunday from 1 to 4
7-year loan at the stated APR would have 84 monthly payments of $13.12 per thousand borrowed based on a 20% corner of northern New Jersey. p.m. or daily by appointment. For fur-
down payment or equity for loan amounts up to $500,000. The 15-year loan at the stated APR would have 180
monthly payments of $7.03 per thousand borrowed based on a 20% down payment or equity for loan amounts
The complex consists of one-, two-, ther information or a tour of Paris Square
up to $500,000. The 25-year loan at the stated APR would have 300 monthly payments of $5.21 per thousand and three-bedroom condominiums all call Donna or Susan at Friedberg’s River
borrowed based on a 20% down payment or equity for loan amounts up to $500,000. Payments do not include
amounts for taxes and insurance premiums, if applicable. The actual payment obligation will be greater. Property
with hardwood floors, stainless steel Vale office (201) 666-0777, Donna at (201)
insurance is required. Other rates and terms are available. Subject to credit approval. appliances, granite counter tops, and 664-5540 or Susan at (201) 647-4521. Or
indoor parking. visit ParisSquareHomes.com.
Bergenfield I Closter I Cresskill I Englewood I Hillsdale I Leonia I New Milford I Teaneck I Tenafly

60 Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018

 Real Estate & Business

and depression. monitoring their quality of care;

The new innovation lab is situated in
a fully furnished model home that simu-
lates senior citizens` living environment
and routines.
New technologies and product proto-
types will be implemented in and around
the home to meet challenges such as
preventing falls, alleviating loneliness,
slowing deterioration, treating pain, and
assisting in basic activities like bathing
and toileting.
Startups and innovative projects already
operating in the lab include:
Uniper Care Technologies, a TV plat-
form designed to improve the communi-
cation process between the elderly and
their families;
BetterCare, an application that provides
caregivers at nursing homes and cen-
ters precise information and a means of
Vitalerter, a wireless platform that moni-
tors heart rates and respiratory systems,
providing alerts when identifying potential
falls, infections, depressions, anxieties and
general deterioration;
Healthy.io, a home urine-testing kit pro-
viding test results within minutes, which
are then broadcast to the patient’s physi-
cian using a smartphone camera; Story,
a digital timeline platform designed to
let senior citizens tell their life story and
share it with their loved ones.
BGU President Rivka Carmi, a physi-
cian, serves as chairwoman of the board
of the not-for-profit CDI Negev. Additional
advisers include Dr. Gidon Sahar, director
of cardiology at Soroka University Medical
Center in Beersheva; and Ofir Ben-Avi, for- From left, CDI Negev CEO Ziv Ofek, Amal & Beyond CEO Dalia Korkin, and BGU
merly head of the e-government unit of the president Dr. Rivka Carmi at the Innovation Lab for Healthy Aging launch in De-
Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. cember 2017 at the Advanced Technologies Park in Beersheva.
 Dani Machlis/BGU

WHAT WILL YOU BE TM

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We wish them continued success in 2018!

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Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018 61

Real Estate & Business

Jimmy J
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62 Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Jewish Standard FEBRUARY 16, 2018 63
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