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VOLUME XI, NUMBER 9 MAY 3, 2018 How a Jewish civil rights group became a villain on the far left civil rights,” wing racism and for statements targeting Muslims or praising ANALYSIS said Rebecca bigotry. It has far-right demonstrators. Greenblatt recently BY BEN SALES Vilkomerson, released reports urged scrutiny of his pick for secretary of (JTA) – When announced executive di- and statements state, Mike Pompeo, for his anti-Muslim that it would close its U.S. stores for rector of Jew- on far-right ex- activities. one day to conduct anti-bias training for ish Voice for tremist activi- In May, the ADL will take part in the employees, seeking the expertise of the Peace, which ty and filed an Starbucks training, which comes in response Anti-Defamation League seemed unsur- supports boy- amicus brief to the outcry over the arrest of two black prising. It’s the most prominent group in cotting Israel. against the men at a Philadelphia branch of the coffee the country fighting , and it “They tend to Trump admin- giant who were waiting to start a meeting. also opposes bigotry of all kinds. Its web- defend Israel istration’s travel Along with the ADL, the training will also site says it has conducted anti-bias training and its actions. Tamika Mallory, ban. It has con- be led by the NAACP’s Legal Defense in schools, workplaces and elsewhere for There seems Jonathan Greenblatt, national co-chair- vened mayors Fund, the liberal think tank Demos and the 60 million people. to be a double ADL CEO (Photo woman of the Women’s to fight hate and Equal Justice Initiative, a civil rights group. But when far-left activists look at the standard they courtesy of the ADL) March (Photo by Robin opened a center But along with its work on bias, the ADL, they don’t see a civil-rights group. impart on Mus- Marchant/Getty Images in Silicon Val- ADL engages in pro-Israel activism that They say the ADL supports domestic insti- lims and in particular Palestinians.” for Hulu) ley to combat has pit it against groups that share its do- tutions perpetuating racism (like the police) The ADL declined to comment for this cyberhate. mestic agenda. In 2016, the ADL called while defending what the activists call Israeli article, but the positions it has taken in re- Its CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, who out the Movement for Black Lives after oppression of the Palestinians abroad. cent years make it an unlikely target of some came to the ADL in 2015 after a stint at it published a platform accusing Israel of “They have a track record of being se- left-wing organizations. The group has been the Obama White House, has not been shy apartheid and genocide. It has sparred with lective in the way in which they approach an outspoken Jewish voice against right- about criticizing President , the Palestinian-American liberal activist and an organizer of the Women’s March, over her anti-Zionism. th It welcomed the adoption by Congress of the Taylor Force Act, which conditions Scranton Hebrew Day School’s 70 certain American aid to the Palestinian Authority on ending the Palestinian Lib- eration Organization’s practice of paying anniversary celebration on May 6 families of jailed and deceased terrorists. Details have been finalized for the celebrated with a video produced by In conjunction with the recent 18th And as opposition to Israel has become Scranton Hebrew Day School’s 70th An- Abish Seiff highlighting the school’s yahrzeit of Yitzchok Werbin, increasingly common in leftist activist cir- niversary Gala Reception and Dinner, to legacy. The legacy chairman is Dr. former dean and executive director, the cles, the ADL’s talking points supporting be held at the Hilton Conference Center David Horowitz. Junior Congregation/Auditorium will be Israel have made it a target. IfNotNow, on Sunday, May 6, beginning with a re- Guests of honor at the event are Yonah rededicated in his memory. a grassroots group opposing Israel’s oc- ception at 4:30 pm, Mincha at 5 pm and and Miriam Holland, parents of the year To make reservations for the event, call cupation, has staged sit-ins in the lobby the dinner at 5:30 pm. are Dr. Joel and Leah Laury, and alumnus the Scranton Hebrew Day School office of the ADL’s office building. In March, This milestone achievement will be of the year is Dr. Daniel Fink. at 570-346-1576. after the ADL criticized Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and his backers, IfNotNow accused it of downplaying the SPOTLIGHT threat of white supremacy. The left-wing attacks on the ADL Israel’s hottest night out is a chance to sing old gained a wider audience recently when Women’s March co-organizer Tamika Mallory, who recently came under fire songs with 12,000 of your closest friends for supporting Farrakhan, an antisemite, BY ALAN D. ABBEY to create a social choir, full denounced Starbucks for cooperating TEL AVIV (JTA) – I’m of hope and optimism.” with the Jewish group. “So you are aware, not sure where she got this, It’s the kumsitz updated Starbucks was on a decent track until they but our daughter believes for the 21st century, with enlisted the Anti-Defamation League to American Jews imagine Israeli tech, glitz, media build their anti-bias training,” Mallory that Israelis work in the refet savvy and the positive vibes tweeted. “The ADL is CONSTANTLY (cowshed) all day and then we need. attacking black and brown people.” gather for a kumsitz, sitting On April 9, Israeli Pres- See “Rights” on page 6 around the campfire at night ident Reuven Rivlin joined to sing Naomi Shemer songs. Koolulam at a mass singing After our experience at the of Shemer’s “Al Kol Eleh” to Federation recent Koolulam gathering honor Israel’s upcoming 70th in Tel Aviv, I’m inclined to anniversary. A cute video he say her perception is closer made convinced my wife to on to reality than stereotype. get us tickets for the event at The Jewish Federation of Northeast- Koolulam is a year-old Tel Aviv’s basketball arena, ern Pennsylvania now has a page on social phenomenon that has a shed where shouts from Facebook to let community members gathered thousands of Israelis Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball know about upcoming events and keep to sing everything from songs Attendees at a Koolulam event. (Photo by Koolulam via Facebook) fans and the wail of electric connected. by Sia and Imagine Dragons guitars from overseas rock- to Naomi Shemer, perhaps Israel’s greatest to enjoy the feeling of togetherness ers are more common than a mass rendition songwriter. According to its Facebook through a deep communal experience – of a classic Hebrew folk song. Candle lighting See “Sing” on page 12 page, “The project enables its participants our sounds and voices coming together May 4...... 7:45 pm INSIDE THIS ISSUE May 11...... 7:53 pm May 18...... 8 pm Kosher in DC Dispelling myths Israel news in brief... May 19...... 9:02 pm Several restaurants in Washington, A historian’s new book is dispelling A new Hebrew U. medical study; May 20...... 9:03 pm DC, have been certified kosher by some long-running myths spawned Netanyahu delays vote on court PLUS the clergy of Ohev Shalom. by the Kishinev pogrom. “override clause”; and more. Opinion...... 2 Story on page 4 Story on page 11 Stories on page 13 D’var Torah...... 8 2 THE REPORTER ■ M AY 3, 2018 A MATTER OF OPINION “Engaging” millennials is all the rage, but is it the best use of Jewish philanthropy? BY JACK WERTHEIMER In response to these developments, a Younger Jews are also taking the engagement programs to remediate for the (JTA) – Engaging young people in number of the largest foundations with initiative by founding dozens of startups shallow education most have encountered their 20s and 30s, the so-called millennial Jewish interests are investing heavily in designed to appeal to their peers. Often in their Jewish schooling and informal generation, is a high priority for Jewish initiatives designed to kindle what in a with the help of funders, startups meet . philanthropists. Some funders have previous time was described as the “pintele in unconventional spaces, such as clubs, To be sure, local funders are supporting banded together to create new initiatives, Yid,” the little flicker of Jewishness waiting bars, performing art spaces, lofts and Jewish education, as are a few national including free trips to Israel, with the to be lit. The most ambitious – and best- bookstores. They may offer a Friday night foundations, but for the most part the big express purpose of drawing members of known – such effort is Birthright Israel, social gathering, a musical program or dollars are going for millennial engage- this generation into Jewish life. Others the 10-day free trip to Israel. Since its lecture series. Meeting in offbeat venues ment. It’s not as if the field of Jewish have gravitated to the so-called innovation inception in 1999, it has sent more than is part of the allure. education presents no large systemic sector, supporting millennials who dream 600,000 young people from around the Events designed for millennials usually challenges requiring ambitious funding up new programs to entice their peers into globe at a cost nearing the billion-dollar are free or require only a modest admission and creativity. some form of Jewish participation. mark. By virtue of its intensive and immer- fee. Participants attend episodically and The most obvious needs are in the arena But for all the energy and money ex- sive programming, Birthright differs from are treated to programming that is light on of supplementary schooling. Funders have pended on such programs, one question most other programs aimed at millennials. Jewish content and heavy on socializing. shied away from investing in the so-called remains unanswered: Will these efforts Funders have also invested signifi- The rationale, no doubt, is that first you Hebrew school, the vehicle educating the move people from shallow engagement largest proportion of Jewish children, on to actively live a Jewish life or deepen Within a generation, today’s school-age children will become the grounds that the field is diffuse, housed their knowledge? the new cohort of 20- and 30-somethings. Wouldn’t it be wise in synagogues of various denominations What fuels these efforts are surveys and lacking in national operators. All the showing that millennial Jews tend to be to invest in their Jewish education now so as to reduce the more reason, then, for national funders less affiliated with Jewish institutions, need to “re-engage” them when they enter their post-college with the ambition to make a big impact less observant of Jewish religious rituals years? to invest in this educational arena. and more distant from Israel than were Several other large challenges persist: previous generations of Jews at the same cantly in Moishe House, a network of have to attract young people who tend to One is the affordability crisis in Jewish age. Much ink has been spilled to analyze some 58 houses scattered throughout the be suspicious of events that seem “too day schools, which could benefit from new why this might be so, with explanations offering programs geared to Jewish” or too similar to what an older thinking. Another concerns the still too-low focusing either on this generation’s unique millennials. Begun in 2006, Moishe House generation might prefer. As a result, these proportion of Jewish children experiencing historical experiences; the unprecedented subsidizes rents for residents who organize funder-supported efforts must find a way Jewish overnight camp and teen programs disruption in the job market created by new everything from Shabbat dinners and Pu- to move participants from Jewish lite to that could do even more to infuse their technologies that force younger people rim parties to social action activities and something more content-rich, let alone offerings with serious Jewish content. By to chart a new course and thereby extend Jewish study circles. Most participants, demanding, without turning people off – a finding solutions to these challenges, na- their “odyssey years”; and the present notes an observer, “are ‘not Jewish in the fine line not easy to walk. tional funders can make a large difference cultural milieu, which places a high value rest of their lives’ in the traditional sense. One wonders, though, whether these in the education of Jewish children. on individualism, but disdains anything They may not be celebrating holidays episodic and mainly social gatherings will Within a generation, today’s school-age resembling “tribal” allegiances. on their own; they may not be attending lead to lifelong engagement unless partic- children will become the new cohort of 20- Shabbat services at a synagogue... Moishe ipants grow as Jews, deepen their Jewish and 30-somethings. Wouldn’t it be wise House is the surrogate that provides these knowledge, connect with the richness and to invest in their Jewish education now so experiences for them.” complexity of Jewish civilization, and grap- as to reduce the need to “re-engage” them OneTable, still another creation of ple in a meaningful way with their Jewish when they enter their post-college years? funders, works to entice younger Jews identity. Episodic connection is unlikely Jack Wertheimer is professor of

“ The Reporter” (USPS #482) is published bi-weekly by the to attend Friday night Shabbat dinners to educate individuals about how to live American Jewish history at the Jewish Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania, 601 Jefferson hosted by peers. Having drawn positive as Jews, and certainly is not a recipe for Theological Seminary. His report, Ave., Scranton, PA 18510. reviews in such disparate publications as building commitment to Jewish community. “Giving Jewish: How Big Funders President: Douglas Fink Vogue, The Times and BuzzFeed The heavy investment in millennial Have Transformed American Jewish Executive Director: Mark Silverberg News, OneTable has been described as “a engagement, furthermore, usually comes Philanthropy,” was prepared under the social dining app that helps people of all with no comparable funder commitment auspices of the Avi Chai Foundation. Executive Editor: Rabbi Rachel Esserman religious backgrounds celebrate inclusive to improving Jewish education for chil- The views and opinions expressed in Layout Editor: Diana Sochor Assistant Editor: Ilene Pinsker Shabbat meals.” Since its founding, One dren. Which raises the question: Why not this article are those of the author and do Production Coordinator: Jenn DePersis Table has subsidized more than 30,000 educate Jewish youth properly when they not necessarily reflect the views of JTA Advertising Representative: Bonnie Rozen Friday night dinners. are young? That way they won’t need or its parent company, 70 Faces Media. Bookkeeper: Kathy Brown

OPINIONS The views expressed in editorials and opinion pieces are those Israel at 70 – Israeli and Diaspora Jews of each author and not necessarily the views of the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania. are siblings living in very different homes LETTERS The Reporter welcomes letters on subjects of interest to the BY RABBI AVITAL HOCHSTEIN Jews face a more arduous task. Feeling siblings who have broken with old family Jewish community. All letters must be Rabbi Donniel Hartman, who lives in free to innovate when one has moved ways and are meeting new situations at signed and include a phone number. yet works regularly in North back into the home of one’s parents is every turn. Being the majority and having The editor may withhold the name America, likens Diaspora Jews to grown more challenging, she says. Jewish sovereignty are new experiences for upon request. children who have left their parents’ nest I appreciate both metaphors of family Jews, even after 70 years of having a state. ADS The Reporter does not necessar- dynamics. This is an important conver- As we mark our 70th anniversary as a ily endorse any advertised products and created their own space and home and services. In addition, the paper outside the homeland of the Jewish people. sation. Yet I am uncomfortable. The shift state, we have a lot of work ahead of us is not responsible for the kashruth of The beloved grown adult children from understanding the relations between figuring out how, for example, we should any advertiser’s product or establish- still feel at home when they visit their Israeli Jews and world Jewry as one treat minorities ethically and Jewishly. We ment. parents – that is, Israel. Yet they may not between parents and grown children, to must continue asking how an ethical Jew- DEADLINE Regular deadline is two go freely into every room in the house or appreciating them as the relations between ish army should function, how to collect weeks prior to the publication date. feel at ease, even though it is still their siblings, is interesting, challenging and taxes and spend government revenues, ancestral, family home. compelling. But the constraints that Rabbi and many more issues. FEDERATION WEBSITE: Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein of the 14th Koch Epstein describes feel foreign to my Jews in Israel today face new challenges www.jewishnepa.org Street Y in New York spins that metaphor experience as an Israeli. and novel circumstances. But we also have in another direction. She understands While the sibling metaphor is a helpful new tools to use because there exists a state HOW TO SUBMIT ARTICLES: way to understand the realities and chal- with a Jewish majority and sovereignty. Mail: 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, PA the relationship between Jews who live lenges of Jews today, I would flip it: World In their new home, they have the freedom 18510 in Israel and those who live elsewhere E-mail: [email protected] as one of siblings. She prefers a portrait Jewry, not Israelis, are the grown children to innovate, to experiment, and to meet Fax: (570) 346-6147 conveying greater equality between the living in their parents’ home, as indeed, those challenges and circumstances in Phone: (570) 961-2300 two groups. Jews have been living outside Israel, with their own way. Epstein says that Israeli Jews are like no sovereignty and as a minority, for more Rabbi Avital Hochstein is a research HOW TO REACH the children who have moved back into than 2,000 years. fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute THE ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE: their parents’ home, while Jews elsewhere Thus, Jews around the world are in Jerusalem and president of Hadar Phone: (800) 779-7896, ext. 244 are like the children who have set up a living in their parents’ environment and in Israel. E-mail: [email protected] new home. Jews around the world are struggling, often with success, to break The views and opinions expressed in free to create their own new spaces as free from old traditions and ways, despite this article are those of the author and do SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: being in an all-too-familiar environment. not necessarily reflect the views of JTA Phone: (570) 961-2300 they understand them, with no limitations stemming from parental baggage. Israeli Israeli Jews, on the other hand, are the or its parent company, 70 Faces Media. M AY 3, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 3 COMMUNITY NEWS Bais Yaakov High School of Scranton DEADLINES The following are deadlines for all articles and attends Mishmeres Yom Iyun in NYC photos for upcoming Reporter issues. On April 16, the students of Bais Yaakov High School Museum titled “The Miracle of Shanghai.” Attendees DEADLINE ISSUE of Scranton attended the annual Mishmeres Yom Iyun in said “the tour was very informative. Miryam Gordon Brooklyn, NY. Mishmeres is a nationwide program pro- took us through Jewish life in World War II and the Thursday, May 3...... May 17 moting proper speech and improvements in relationships. miraculous story of the Jews escape to Shanghai and Thursday, May 17...... May 31 The girls heard from speakers Miryam Lapides, from eventual liberation.” Thursday, May 31...... June 14 Monsey, NY, and Rabbi Dovid Kaplan, from Jerusalem. Many artifacts donated by survivors and/or descen- Thursday, June 14...... June 28 More than 1,000 girls were in attendance at the Brooklyn dants of survivors were displayed and told the story of location and thousands more watched via satellite. what the Jews went through. “It was educational and Following the Mishmeres program, the girls were giv- inspiring, as well as being part of a very enjoyable day,” en a private tour of the Amud Aish Memorial Holocaust said attendees. JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE NOTES Does testing get on your nerves? BY NICOLE FRIEDMAN, L.S.W. like you are going to faint. Test anxiety may Throughout our lives, we may be challenged be intense enough to cause a panic attack, with different kinds of tests, whether it be in where you feel like you cannot breathe. Test school, such as taking SATs, midterms or finals, anxiety might make you feel angry, helpless or unrelated to school, such as taking a driver’s or disappointed. You might have difficulty exam or a certification test to advance in our concentrating or have a negative attitude about careers. Before taking these types of tests you yourself if you do not pass an exam. might feel light headed, nauseous or have a If you have test anxiety there are many dif- shortness of breath. If you ever experienced ferent techniques you could try to reduce your any of these symptoms before taking a test, anxiety before an exam. One of the most effective you might have test anxiety. ways to decrease test anxiety is to be prepared. Nicole Friedman Test anxiety may occur for many different Studying for an exam about a week or two before reasons. One of those reasons is the fear of failure. Some and avoiding “all nighters” is found to be extremely helpful. of us may feel a high sense of pressure to perform suc- Learning good test taking skills, remaining positive and cessfully on tests and when we do not do as well as we focused can also lower test anxiety. Developing relaxation would like, we might feel devastated or feel like we are techniques such as deep breathing before an exam and get- not good enough. Test anxiety may also take place when ting plenty of sleep along with a balanced diet will further there is lack of preparation and a poor history of taking assist you in decreasing test anxiety. tests. Waiting until the last minute to study and prepare Whether you are a student taking a test toward your degree for a test, or not passing several exams in the past, can or an adult having to take a test for advancement, anyone can lead to an increase in test anxiety. experience test anxiety. Being a little nervous before a test is Those who have a difficult time with test anxiety normal, however, it is when those nerves begin to interfere may have physical, emotional, behavioral and cognitive with passing the exam that extra assistance might be needed. symptoms. Physical symptoms of test anxiety might in- By taking the necessary steps to prepare for your exam, the clude having headaches, excessive sweating, or feeling chances of you passing your test are much greater.

Middle East media watchdog prompts “correction The of the year” on Israel in New York Times Scranton Hebrew Day School’s BY JNS STAFF Internet. “It’s not like in the past, when the correction got (JNS) – The Middle East media watchdog CAMERA buried in a newspaper that was thrown out the next day,” Annual Pre-Shavuos prompted a correction in , which she said. “Nowadays, the correction gets spread far and Special Order Bake Sale Israeli Ambassador Dani Dayan is describing as the wide, which is exactly what we saw with Ambassador is now underway! “correction of the year.” See “Media” on page 13 In a tweet on April 24, Dayan, who serves as the Homemade specialties include: consul general of Israel in New York, highlighted the Potato, Noodle, or Times correction that read: “An article on Sunday about Save The Date Campbell Brown’s role as Facebook’s head of news part- Butternut squash & Yerushalmi nerships erroneously included a reference to Palestinian Sunday, May 6 Kugels actions as an example of the sort of far-right conspiracy SCRANTON HEBREW DAY SCHOOL stories that have plagued Facebook. In fact, Palestinian Cheesecake – dairy and parve officials have acknowledged providing payments to the 70th Anniversary Dinner Lasagna and eggplant parmigiana families of Palestinians killed while carrying out attacks on Israelis or convicted of terrorist acts and imprisoned at the Hilton Conference Center in Scranton as well as other goodies. in Israel; that is not a conspiracy theory.” Reception - 4:30pm • Mincha - 5:00pm • Dinner - 5:30pm Quantities are very limited – “Sometimes, people claim that media corrections Guests of Honor – Yonah and Miriam Holland final order deadline is May 8th. don’t matter because the error about Israel has already Parents of the Year – Dr. Joel and Leah Laury been published,” said CAMERA’s Israel Director Tamar Please call Rachelle at Sternthal, who contacted the daily paper about the in- Alumnus of the Year – Dr. Daniel Fink 570-346-1576 ext. 4004 accurate reporting. “But that’s terribly mistaken. Media Jr. Cong./Auditorium Re-Dedication – corrections accomplish several important things.” In memory of Rabbi Yitzchok Werbin z’l Sternthal noted that in the age of social media, pub- Legacy Chairman – Dr. David Horowitz lished corrections become a permanent record on the

ÊCheck out the Federation’s new, updated website at www.jewishnepa.org or find it on Facebook 4 THE REPORTER ■ M AY 3, 2018 How Washington, DC, got a bunch of new kosher restaurants BY BEN SALES Friedman’s role, however, has led one (JTA) – For years, the nation’s cap- industry expert to reject the kosher certi- ital had only one full-fledged kosher fications. Rabbi Yosef Wikler, publisher restaurant. But n April, that changed. of the monthly Kashrus Magazine, which The clergy at Ohev Shalom-The National covers kosher food and cooking practices, Synagogue, a Washington, DC, Modern At right: Ruth objects to Friedman, a woman, being in Orthodox congregation, have given kosher Friedman (right) with the charge of kosher certification. Unless certification to three vegan restaurants in manager of Khepra’s Raw she steps down, Wikler plans to remove the District (along with two others in the Food Juice Bar, a vegan Herzfeld and Friedman’s local rabbinic suburbs). Leading the effort is Maharat restaurant she and Rabbi organization, the Beltway Vaad, from his Ruth Friedman, a member of the syna- Shmuel Herzfeld recently annual list of kosher-certifying agencies. gogue clergy, along with synagogue Rabbi certified kosher. (Photo Both clergy are members of the Beltway Shmuel Herzfeld. courtesy of Friedman) Vaad, but their certification of the vegan “We have never seen such a positive restaurants is not occurring under the response to anything we’ve done in our Vaad’s auspices. (Char Bar is certified by life,” said Herzfeld. “People are clam- a different authority, the Vaad Harabanim oring for more opportunities and ways of Greater Washington.) to eat kosher. Basically, the job of the “A kashrus agency has to abide by religious leaders of synagogues is to help and Vegaritos are within a couple miles ing food that is healthy and that doesn’t traditional Orthodox procedures,” Wikler our congregants keep Jewish law, so we of Ohev Shalom in northern DC, and mistreat animals more available to me.” told JTA, using the Hebrew noun form felt this is something we could do for the Khepra’s Raw Food Juice Bar is close to Vegan restaurants are a natural fit for of the word “kosher.” “[In] the Orthodox community.” the National Mall. Two more are over the kosher certification because they don’t world, until today, the only people who For more than a decade, DC had only border in Maryland: Sweet and Natural, serve – and therefore don’t mix – meat certify traditional kosher certification one kosher restaurant. Eli’s, a meat deli and Everlasting Life. and dairy products. They also do not are men ordained as rabbis, and that opened in 2003, shut its doors a de- “The most significant reason [to be- serve non-kosher dishes like pork and no one else. Being in charge of a kosher cade later. The same owner opened Char come kosher] was because of the number shellfish, or meat and chicken that wasn’t organization, you have to make Jewish Bar, also with a meat-centric menu, at the of people requiring or asking whether we slaughtered under kosher supervision. And legal decisions which only a rabbi is beginning of the following year. were kosher,” said Baruch Ben-Yehudah, because some vegans take their dietary entitled to make.” Along the way, there have been other who owns Evolve and Everlasting Life, restrictions as seriously as kosher-keeping But Rabbi Moshe Elefant, COO of kosher ventures. Sixth and Rye, a food and affiliates as a Hebrew Israelite. “As a Jews, the restaurants are already used to the kosher certification department at truck launched by the historic Sixth and vegan and as a restaurant with a reputation being sticklers for the rules. the Orthodox Union, the largest kosher I synagogue, ran for several months in for serving healthy food and doing what we But Herzfeld said there are still plenty certifier in the country, said there’s 2011. Another kosher food truck, Brook- can to elevate the eating experience, this of ways for a vegan restaurant to not be no problem with a woman running a lyn Sandwich Co., opened in 2016 and is consistent with what we set out to do.” kosher. Evolve had to change its wine kosher certification operation. “The still parks around town. Nosh, a kosher This is Friedman’s first time heading a menu to only serve kosher-certified wines. one that takes care of the in deli option at George Washington Univer- kosher certification operation. Beyond the Some vegan restaurants also use unko- the kitchen is my wife as well,” he sity, closed in 2012. Soupergirl, serving expanded kosher options, she appreciates sher varieties of wine or vinegar while said. Elefant added that he questioned – you guessed it – soup, salad and sides, the new offerings as a longtime vegetarian. cooking. Jewish law also prohibits some the sustainability of using volunteer, but not entrees, has two locations in the “I think it’s a really interesting process,” foods cooked by a non-Jew – a restriction unpaid kosher supervisors – which city. DC’s suburbs also boast a selection said Friedman, who was ordained at restaurants can circumvent, for example, Friedman and Herzfeld are doing – but of kosher restaurants. Yeshivat Maharat, the first institution to by having a Jewish person light the pilot stressed that he was not commenting on But now, the number of kosher restau- ordain Orthodox women as clergy. “I’ve light on a stove. And kosher laws demand the kosher certification itself. rants in the District where you can sit down been a vegetarian for 23 years and it’s very a closer inspection for bugs in produce Friedman and her colleagues have and order a full meal has tripled. Evolve important to me personally that we’re mak- than many typical restaurants are used to. already had to contend with challenges to “Just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean their qualifications: The Orthodox Union there aren’t issues involved in it,” Herzfeld and Rabbinical Council of America, two Effective said. “We looked at other restaurants and large umbrella Orthodox groups, both please some were difficult to deal with.” issued bans on Orthodox women clergy immediately, send note! The kosher supervisor at Char Bar, who in recent years. But she doesn’t focus on all articles and ads to asked to remain anonymous as he is not the criticism. our new E-mail address, the restaurant’s manager, told JTA he’s not And she and Herzfeld both emphasized worried about the increased competition. that they are doing this as a service to jfnepareporter@ He said the vegan restaurants largely their congregants and local community. serve a different market. “This is afleishig If someone doesn’t want to eat at the jewishnepa.org. place,” he said, using the Yiddish word restaurants, they said, they don’t have for “meat.” “Vegan is vegan. Fleishig is to. “These are not the types of things that fleishig. People who want vegan can have bother me,” Friedman said. “Ultimately, vegan. I seriously doubt it would affect folks are going to choose whether they Char Bar at all.” want to rely on it.” Effective immediately, please send all articles & ads to our new E-mail address, Jewish Federation of NEPA [email protected].

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Send Dassy Ganz an email if you would like to join the list. [email protected] Pledge or Donate online at www.jewishnepa.org/donate M AY 3, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 5 U.S. NEWS IN BRIEF Scranton Reporter 5 x 15 7/8 From JNS.org Wyoming Valley 5 x 15 7/8 U.S. Supreme Court rules against Israeli terror victims in case against Arab Bank The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 24 that foreign victims of human-rights abuses and terror attacks cannot sue foreign businesses in U.S. courts. In Jesner v. Arab Bank, a suit by Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorism in Judea, Samaria and Gaza from 1995 through 2005 against the Jordan-based Arab bank, U.S. justices voted 5-4 that the victims could not use the Alien Tort Statute to make claims against the bank. The 18th-century Alien Tort Statute states that foreign- ers may bring lawsuits in American courts for serious violations of international human-rights laws. The plaintiffs argued that the Arab bank’s New York branch knowingly provided millions of dollars to finance suicide bombings and “mar- tyrdom” payments to reward the families of terrorists who succeeded in killing civilians, keeping accounts for known terrorists and accepting donations they knew would be used for terrorist activity in Israel. The bank denied the allegations and argued that if the court allowed that, such cases would interfere with U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that people or entities Featuring the largest kosher selection of fresh meat, poultry, sued under the Alien Tort Statute must have a real connection to the United States, but did not decide whether businesses could be sued. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dairy, frozen, grocery & baked goods! issued the dissent, stating that the majority opinion “absolves corporations from responsibility” for “conscience-shocking behavior.” –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Durham, NC, becomes first American city to ban police Grocery bb Including a large selection of Kosher Dairy & Frozen items. training with Israel –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Durham, NC, became the first U.S. city to ban its police from engaging in 6.3 oz. 8.8 oz. “military-style training” with police abroad in an effort to block exchanges with Israel. In a unanimous 6-0 vote the week of April 20, the city council “opposes Knorr Osem Toasted international exchanges with any country in which Durham officers receive mil- Falafel Mix Couscous itary-style training since such exchanges do not support the kind of policing we want here in the City of Durham,” said in a statement. The resolution was adopted 2 $ 2 $ after a coalition of groups, dubbed “Demilitarize! Durham2Palestine Coalition,” / 5 –––––––– / 4 which includes the anti-Israel Jewish Voice for Peace that supports the BDS movement, in addition to other Muslim, pro-Palestinian and civil-rights groups, ––––––––––––––––4.2 oz.•Select Varieties ––––––––––––––––– urged its passage in order to prevent any partnership the city’s law enforcement Where Available 12 oz. might enter into with Israel’s military or police. A Durham police spokesman Kedem Manischewitz said that their department has not engaged in any exchanges with Israel and does Tea Biscuits Noodles not have any plans to do so. However, former Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez did spend a week in Israel to undergo training, which he said focused on lead- 5 $ 2 $ ership and preventing terrorism. “None of the training had anything to do with / / militarization,” said Lopez in a news report by Durham’s WRAL-TV. “It was 3 –––––––– 3 about leadership, it was learning about terrorism, and then learning about how ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– to interact with people who are involved in mass casualty situations and how to 14.1 oz. Canister 1 oz. manage mass casualty situations.” Osem Osem Bamba Mini Mandel Snacks 49 ¢ ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––3 –––––––– 89 Meat b Including a selection of Glatt Kosher Fresh and Frozen Beef, Chicken & Turkey. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 11 oz. Meal Mart Beef 16 oz. or 12 oz. Empire Patties $5.99 or 48 oz. Kosher Chicken Sausage $5.79 Meal Mart Ground Empire Kosher Chicken Beef Patties 3 Lbs. or Turkey Franks 99 2 $ –––––––– 17 –––––––– / 5 ––––––––––––––––12 oz. ––––––––––––––––– Empire Kosher 8 Piece Meal Mart Cut-Up Chicken $3.49 Lb. Breaded Chicken Empire Kosher Fresh Nuggets or Tenders Chicken Breasts 49 49 lb. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––5 –––––––– 6 Fish bb Including a selection of Salmon Fillets & Steaks. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––12 oz.•In Wine Sauce 4 oz. or Cream Sauce PICS Smoked Nathan’s Salmon Herring Snacks 99 99 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––5 –––––––– 4 Westside Mall, Edwardsville • 287-7244 1228 O’Neill Highway, Dunmore • 346-4538

Prices effective Sunday, April 29 thru Saturday, June 2, 2018. 6 THE REPORTER ■ M AY 3, 2018 BOOK REVIEW Follies and foibles from the Jewish past BY RABBI RACHEL ESSERMAN Portnoy mentions that he considered “writing the entire monthlies, satirical weeklies and religious dailies – all We tend to look at the lives of our Yiddish-speaking book using YIVO orthography. Bot yu no, meybi its not available on the corner for just a few pennies.” Since ancestors through rose-colored glasses. Of course, all sotsh a greyt aydiya efter ol.” print media was the mass media of the times, many these Jews were upstanding citizens who behaved appro- “Bad Rabbi” focuses on a specific Jewish social Jewish organizations also published their own magazines priately, no matter what the provocation. While the world group, Eastern European Jews, who “had their own or newspapers. may have treated them poorly, they took great care in their unique culture, their own foods, their own folktales, Some papers tried to appeal to a wide audience by dealings with each other. Those of you who don’t want their own music, their own literature – all carried in their including stories about all aspects of Yiddish culture. For to be disabused of this notion should definitelynot read own language, Yiddish. The only thing they lacked was example, communist writers and religiously observant ones Eddy Portnoy’s entertaining and amusing “Bad Rabbi their own country. Or did they? After all, they lived in often found themselves published in the same edition of and Other Strange But True Stories From the Yiddish Yiddishland.” Yiddishland could be located in Warsaw, a paper. The press – and its readers – loved sensationalist Press” (Stanford University Press), which shows just Poland, across the ocean in , or anywhere tales or unusual news, including stories from Warsaw’s how badly some of our ancestors behaved. with a Yiddish-speaking population. The chronicles of Yiddish crime blotter. The stories Portnoy prints run the Portnoy, a senior researcher and director of exhibi- this country were Yiddish newspapers and magazines, gamut from the petty to the serious, including theft, phys- tions at the YIVO Institute, notes that his book is not and there was one for almost every interest: “The Yid- ical assault, prostitution and more. Not every story ended a traditional scholarly monogram, but rather a work of dish press catered to virtually every political and social in an arrest by the police. For example, “Blood-drenched popular history – one that reflects an excellent sense orientation. Everything from anarchist to traditionally Scandal on Account of... Davening” tells of a religious of humor. This is the first time someone’s “Notes on religious – and whatever lay between – appeared on the father who beat his free-thinking son with a stick because Orthography” made me laugh. After explaining his newsstands. Among umpteen others, one could find wom- he wouldn’t attend the synagogue. The son was left a method for phonetically translating Yiddish into English, en’s magazines, socialist literary magazines, vegetarian See “Follies” on page 8

Rights Continued from page 1 Vilkomerson said she was most concerned about the lives, often at the expense of Palestinian lives.” ADL’s policies on Israel, Jacobs said to implicate the ADL giving awards to police departments, as well as The ADL says its programs are about tapping group’s work in Israel for the long legacy of racism accusations that the ADL spied on Muslim civil society Israel’s counterterrorism expertise and giving U.S. among American police departments is unfair. groups in the 1990s. In 1999, the ADL settled a class-ac- law enforcement tools to deal with extremist threats “They have a good reputation of doing these anti-bias tion suit over the spying. facing all groups and houses of worship. Former trainings,” Jacobs said. “The ADL has always understood Anti-Israel activists have also taken issue with an ADL Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez said none of his that fighting antisemitism is inherently tied to fighting program that brings delegations from American police training in Israel involved “militarization,” but dealt racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia.” departments for counterterrorism training with Israeli with “leadership, it was learning about terrorism and Some activists have gotten caught in the verbal security forces. Jewish Voice for Peace has dubbed the then learning about how to interact with people who crossfire. Sophie Ellman-Golan, a spokeswoman for program a “deadly exchange” that encourages police are involved in mass casualty situations and how to the Women’s March, who is Jewish, agreed that the violence against minorities. On April 23, Durham, NC, manage mass casualty situations.” ADL is out of place in the Starbucks training. But she became the first city in the country to bar its officers Other left-wing activists have pushed back on the crit- has also pushed back against those who pointed to the from participating in such programs, adopting a reso- icism of the ADL. Neera Tanden, who heads the liberal group’s presence as evidence for antisemitic conspiracy lution pushed by JVP and pro-Palestinian groups. (See think tank the Center for American Progress, tweeted theories. “No, @ADL_National isn’t the right Jewish org newsbrief on page 5.) that Mallory’s criticism was “outrageous.” to address racism, discrimination, anti-Blackness at @ “The police exchanges are a manifestation of the ways Rabbi Jill Jacobs, executive director of the liberal Starbucks,” Ellman-Golan tweeted. “Also no, this isn’t the ADL identifies itself as a civil rights organization, rabbis’ group T’ruah, said the ADL does valuable work evidence of Jews trying to control Black folks. That’s an but often acts as an Israel advocacy organization,” Vil- in drawing connections between antisemitism and other antisemitic white supremacist conspiracy theory. Finally, komerson said. “They’re absolutely prioritizing Israeli forms of hate. While she disagrees with elements of the white Jews: This isn’t about us.”

Celebrate Israel Parade Join thousands walking down New York City’s Fifth Avenue followed by dinner and shopping in Teaneck, New Jersey Sunday, June 3, 2018 Please contact Dassy at 570-961-2300 x2 or [email protected] for further information or to make your reservation M AY 3, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 7 Celebrating with the State of Israel On its 70th Birthday On Sunday April 15, 2018 the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Scranton JCC presented a magnificent pre-Yom HaAtzmaut event in the Koppelman Auditorium of the JCC. Dan Cardonick, JCC executive director, Leah Laury and Rika Schaffer created a beautiful array of children’s games and activities that were both educational and fun. Children visited cities of Israel with their “passports” and won prizes and an appreciation for the Jewish State. Meanwhile, the delicious smells of bar-b-que wafted throughout the room courtesy of Jake’s Kosher Smokehouse of NYC. Jake and wife, Jennifer, brought a delectable selection of ribs, smoked brisket and chicken as well as high-end lamb and pepperoni beef sausage with various toppings. Jake thanked our volunteers, Jeff Ganz, Sue Severe, Jay Weiss and Shanie Davidson-Dunn for their help in bringing this new addition to our program. The sandwiches were piled high and delicious for everyone to enjoy. Our festival was capped with a performance by Israeli singer Yoel Sharabi. His joyous and varied song selection kept everyone tapping their toes and clapping their hands along with him. It was no surprise that he was given a standing ovation at the conclusion of his show. Thanks go to the Jewish Federation and Mark Silverberg, Executive Director, for sponsoring this memorable Israeli music event.

8 THE REPORTER ■ M AY 3, 2018 D’VAR TORAH Emor – between the mems BY RABBI BARUCH BINYAMIN HAKOHEN in matters of holiness, how much more so are we to be MELMAN, TEMPLE ISRAEL OF THE POCONOS careful with regard to interior blemishes. If we need to Emor Leviticus 21:1-24:23 be careful to discern imperfection on the outside, then Blemishes are a problem. Whether for a teenage girl we should even cast our gaze on what is on the inside, or for a Temple offering, having a blemish is not a good the letters of the Torah seem to be telling us. thing. Sometimes just a scratch or a bruise is enough to But is this a sign of pettiness? Of superficiality? render an offering unacceptable. This might strike us as Absolutely not. Just the opposite. It would be petty and odd. How seemingly superficial. Certainly it would seem superficial toonly look at the outside. The apple may look that we should not be judged by appearances. Character shiny and delicious, but a tiny worm hole may reveal an is so much deeper than that. inner core that is wormy and putrid. Perhaps the Hebrew word can shed some light on But the deepest lesson is this: that the blemish can this question. The word for blemish in Hebrew is mum yet be healed. The letter vav in the middle of the word (pronounced moom). It closely resembles mayim, mum can easily be transformed into the letter yud, just the word for water – mem vav mem, instead of mem by taking a little bit away. No need to add anything. But yud mem. Mayim is compared to Torah, to healing, by thinking about what negativity you can eliminate in to cleansing. Mum is symbolic of rupture, of tearing, your life, it is definitely possible to transform the vav of defect. into a yud, the blemish into a blessing. This teaches us that sometimes you can have the right Anything is possible if we make the necessary changes. framework in place, but the interior, or the substance, is Shabbat shalom! defective. The mems look fine. But what isbetween the ©2018 by Rabbi Baruch Binyamin ben Yisrael mems? In other words, on the outside surface, everything Yehoshua HaKohen Melman seems to be all right. But if you look deeper, you can These words of Torah are written in the holy merit of see the defect. my beloved late father, Israel J. Melman, obm, Yisrael The Torah is not saying we should judge by the out- Yehoshua ben Harav Ya’aqov Hakohen Melman, z”l and side only. What the Torah is teaching is that if we have of my beloved late mother, Esther Melman, obm, Esther to be so careful to make judgments on the “outside” bat Baruch z”l.

Follies Continued from page 6 bloody mess, with the final result being that “medical help not show this world at its finest. When writing about the was called and the boy’s wounds were bandaged” – with criminal cases, he notes that these people “are the two- no one informing the police of the assault. bit nobodies of Jewish history. Essentially unknown, Cultural misunderstandings underlie “The Great Ton- the derelicts who populate the Yiddish crime blotters sil Riot of 1906” in New York City’s Lower East Side, are the unsung heroes of the Jewish underclass, a group when Yiddish speaking mothers thought their children’s that tends to resist documentation.” Those of us who throats were being cut open while they attended school. want to understand Jewish history need to understand What really happened was that doctors from the Board all aspects of that history – the heroic and the nefarious. of Health were performing tonsillectomies on some of “Bad Rabbi” does an excellent job revealing the dark the students. The misunderstanding occurred because, underbelly of Yiddishland. although the parents had been informed, they were unable to read the English documents they’d been given. The New York City Police Department was so disturbed by the women’s behavior, that it stationed police at the school building until the end of classes that year. Fortunately, there was no further rioting. Other chapters feature interesting people and events that may not be familiar to many readers. For example, Portnoy writes about Warsaw’s Miss Judea Beauty Jewish American Heritage Pageant, which took place in 1929; Martin “The Blimp” Levy and his wrestling career; and an intriguing tale of Month new website “Bigamy, Blackmail, and the Radimmer Rebbetzin.” Jewish American Heritage Month, a na- Nineteen newspaper stories featured in a chapter about tional commemoration of the contributions rabbinic courts show that divorce was more common that Americans Jews have made to the fabric than one might think, and a chapter on “Suicide Jews” of United State’s history, culture and society, announced shows the large number of suicides that took place in the theme for the May 2018 celebration: “American Jews Warsaw in the 1920s and ‘30s. Portnoy notes that “there and Music.” A newly revamped website, www.jahm.us, are stretches in which one finds at least one and some- offers interactive content and educational resources to times several suicide reports per day. Not only were Jews facilitate the nationwide engagement around this year’s killing themselves on a regular basis, but also Yiddish edition. First established by presidential proclamation in newspaper readers seemed to love nothing more than a 2006 and renewed every year since, JAHM encourages juicy story with an unhappy ending.” people of all backgrounds to learn about and draw in- This eye-opening view of Yiddishland and our an- spiration from the more than 360-year history of Jewish cestors was fun and fascinating. Portnoy definitely does life in this country. For information on advertising, please contact Bonnie Rozen at 1-800-779-7896, ext. 244 or bonnie@ thereportergroup.org

9:30 Mon. pm M AY 3, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 9

You are cordially invited to the ANNUAL MEETING of the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania Please join us as we elect our Officers and Trustees, celebrate the achievements of the past year, and honor several individuals for their leadership contributions to our community and Klal Yisroel. Thursday, June 7th, 2018, 7:00 PM Linder Room, Scranton Jewish Community Center, 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton A dessert reception will follow the meeting. RSVP to 961-2300 (ext. 4) Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania 2018 Annual Meeting Program Welcome & introductions...... Douglas Fink, Federation President Dvar Torah...... Rabbi Yehuda Salkow, Jewish Resource Center Federation Perspectives...... Douglas Fink, Federation President Presentation of UJA Campaign Awards...... Douglas Fink, Federation President 2018 UJA Campaign Report...... Dr. Joel & Leah Laury, Co-Chairs Committee Recognition...... Douglas Fink, Federation President Nominating Committee Report...... Seth Gross, Chairman Installation of Officers and Trustees...... Rabbi Yehuda Salkow, Jewish Resource Center Closing Remarks Douglas Fink, Incoming Federation President Dessert Reception Proposed Slate of Officers & Trustees 2018 - 2021 Officers* President...... Douglas Fink* Administrative Vice-President...... Esther Adelman* Vice-President...... Elliot Schoenberg* Vice-President...... Eric Weinberg* Treasurer...... Jerry Weinberger, Esq.* Assistant Treasurer...... Dan Marcus*

Assistant Secretary...... Donald Douglass, Esq.* *Officers to be elected at the Annual Meeting Board of Trustees Nominated to serve a 1-year term ending Nominated to serve a 3-year term ending June 30th, 2019 June 30th, 2021* Michael Barber, Pat Taylor Bernstein, Gary Beckhorn, Shlomo Fink, Alan Goldstein, Leah Laury, Bernie Driller, Murray Glick, Jay Okun, Lew Sare, Ann Monsky, Barbara Nivert, Eugene Schneider Barry Tremper and Sue Tremper and Ben Schnessel *Trustees to be elected at the Annual Meeting *Trustees to be elected at the Annual Meeting • Continuing Terms • 3-year term ending on June 30, 2019 3-year term ending on June 30th, 2019 Marian Goldstein Beckhorn, Phyllis Brandes, Joe Fisch, Natalie Gelb, Phyllis Malinov, Mel Mogel, Richard Fine, Alex Gans, Stan Rothman, Ed Monsky and Geordee Grable Pollock Jay Schectman, Anne Silverman and Irwin Wolfson In addition, two positions are designated on the Federation Board of Trustees: David Fallk...... Chairman, Community Relations Committee David and Rhonda Fallk...... 2019 UJA Campaign Co-Chairs The Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania expresses its gratitude to those Trustees whose terms of office will expire on June 30th, 2018. It is hoped that each of them will continue to serve the Mission of our Federation by participating in its many committees, programs and projects. Our appreciation is extended to Susie Blum Connors, Mark Davis, Eli Deutsch, Lynne Fragin, Dale Miller, Larry Milliken, Gail Neldon and Molly Rutta. 10 THE REPORTER ■ M AY 3, 2018

You Lif – You Legac... Wha ’ i You Hear

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Now is the time to take the next step in making it an enduring part of your Jewish legacy. As you plan for the future, think about what your Jewish legacy means to you. And please consider the institutions closest to your heart in your will or estate plan.

Pleas joi th Jewis Federatio o Northeaster Pennsylvani€ i ‚ecurinƒ th futur o th Jewis communit. Please contact Mark Silverberg at 961-2300 or [email protected] for more information. M AY 3, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 11 A historian is dispelling some long-running myths spawned by a notorious pogrom BY SUE FISHKOFF “This event helped shape so much Jewish self-per- Myth No. 2: The Kishinev SAN FRANCISCO (J. The Jew- ception this past century,” he told J. “But it did so much pogrom was sanctioned, if not in- ish News of Northern California more than that.” And much of its lingering impact is stigated, by the tsarist government, via JTA) – There was a time when due to misunderstandings – and also a cluster of forg- with the complicity of the local “Kishinev” was all you had to say. eries – that have shaped the memory of Russian Jewry’s police. Not so, says Zipperstein. The three days of brutal anti-Jewish best-known disaster ever since. We learn so much about The ground was laid and the hatred violence in 1903 in the capital city Russian Jewry from press coverage of Kishinev, and so fanned by a local antisemitic news- of present-day Moldova introduced much gets skewed.” paper run by a Jew hater named the world to a new word – pogrom Myth No. 1: The Jewish men of Kishinev hid in Pavel Krushevan, himself the most – and for years afterward colored fear while their wives and daughters were raped and likely author of the “Protocols of the way Jews and others viewed Steven Zipperstein killed. That’s the story told in Israeli textbooks of the the Elders of Zion.” 1950s, one cemented in the worldview of the prestate “I discovered that the word ‘po- Jewish life in the Russian empire. is a history professor “Pogrom: Kishinev Haganah, itself colored by Hayim Bialik’s poem “In the grom’ was only sketchily used before Soon other names took its place in at Stanford and the Tilt of the lexicon of anti-Jewish horrors – City of Slaughter.” The highly influential work told of History” (Photo mid- to late 1903,” he said. “It was University. (Photo “husbands, bridegrooms, brothers” who crouched “in part and parcel of a larger arsenal of Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Babi Yar. by Liveright by Tony Rinaldo) that dark corner and behind that cask” watching as their words used for riots in Russia, not But Kishinev, even with its “mere” 49 Publishing) dead, echoed as a foreshadowing of the century’s horrors. “virginal daughters... were fouled.” necessarily against Jews.” Steven Zipperstein’s new book, “Pogrom: Kishinev In fact, as Zipperstein came to understand it based on That changed after news of the Kishinev violence and the Tilt of History” (Liveright/W. W. Norton and Co.), his archival work, Bialik’s poem erased much of the truth: spread. “While the term well into 1903 is italicized by does much more than retell a story worth remembering, that there were Jewish men who fought back against the the European press, by 1904-05, it is a term as widely although it does that in what critics call “compelling, marauders who attacked and wounded more than 600 of recognized as the words vodka or tsar,” Zipperstein said. heartrending detail.” their people and destroyed more than 1,000 of their homes “In the West it comes to mean a government-condoned or Through dedicated research in several countries and and businesses. Most were themselves wounded or killed. organized attack on Jews. That’s all the more intriguing as many languages, including a gift of handwritten because the event that led to this understanding, Kishinev, documents from someone considered the most notorious was not organized by the government.” antisemite in late tsarist-era Kishinev, the Stanford Uni- Two portraits of little-known actors emerge from the versity historian shows an early example of the power of pages of “Pogrom: Kishinev and the Tilt of History,” the press, brought to light the story of a San Francisco each worthy of a separate book. First is Krushevan, to Jewish woman considered instrumental in forming the whom Zipperstein devotes an entire chapter. NAACP, built an ironclad case for the true authorship Just about a month before completing his manuscript, of the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” and explained Zipperstein came across a collection of the man’s hand- how the fallout from this tale gave rise to the myth of written documents that had been carried to the United the weak Diaspora Jew that persists to this day. States in the 1990s by a Moldovan Jewish immigrant, And he reveals how much of what is thought to be who obtained them from a mental hospital where Kru- known about the pogrom itself is wrong. shevan’s nephew was incarcerated. This primary source Zipperstein didn’t set out to write this book. He had material bolsters the notion that it was Krushevan him- planned for a larger work on 200 to 300 years of Eastern An illustration of the aftermath of the Kishinev pogrom self who wrote the “Protocols.” Appearing just months European and Russian Jewish history. But the Kishinev in April 1903, published in “L’Assiette au Beurre – The after the massacre, the fake manuscript suggests that pogrom, carried out by a mob beginning on Easter Sunday, Crimes of Tsarism and the massacres of Kishinev.” the extensive press coverage of this “tiny” incident in April 6, 1903, caught his attention early on. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images) See “Pogrom” on page 12

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ÊCheck out the Federation’s new, updated website at www.jewishnepa.org or find it on Facebook 12 THE REPORTER ■ M AY 3, 2018 Sing Continued from page 1 We arrived at the sold-out arena alongside 12,000 he awaited his solo, and the Jerusalem Street Orchestra but my heart swelled and my eyes teared. Jewish Israelis – young and old, religious and secular, was meters away. The crowd erupted in applause, but Yefet didn’t let Ashkenazi and Sephardi. Previous Koolulam events in We sensed the nervousness of co-founder Michal us pat ourselves on the backs. He coached us through Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have focused on cancer patients Shahaf Shneiderman, who runs an Israeli ad agency, as the untidy moments, and we sang it again. And again. I and their doctors, Holocaust survivors and women, and she warmed up the crowd for Koolulam’s biggest event. thought our third take would be our last. It wasn’t. Our even drew a smattering of haredi Orthodox. On February We felt the floor rumble as the charismatic conductor fourth take was better. Our media-savvy group figured 14, Muslim, Christian and Jewish Israelis were invited and musical arranger Ben Yefet, curls and dreadlocks they would edit the best parts from each take into the to Haifa to sing Matisyahu’s hit “One Day” in Hebrew, flying, bounded across the stage in the run-throughs finished product. I was satisfied. Yefet wasn’t. We did English and Arabic; 3,000 people showed up. and implored us to start and stop on his command and a fifth take. We had chosen to stand on the arena’s floor, which to e-nun-ci-ate the lyrics. Throughout, emcees implored us not to take selfies gave us a ringside view. A boom camera swooped Unlike smaller events, where Koolulam moved or post on social media. They urged us to be in the mo- overhead. Singer Shlomi Shabat stood alongside us as participants around and created three-part harmonies, ment and focus on singing, not the meta-level activity the stadium was divided into two groups. It felt like a of recording ourselves. They gave us a moment between camp color war as Yefet implored the Blues to outsing takes to feed our egos and the media beast, and friends the Greens. I sighed with relief when we were told to told me afterward their Facebook and Twitter feeds were Pogrom Continued from page 11 sing the melody, not the harmonies. overrun with clips, snapshots and comments. a neglected corner of the empire is further evidence of Shemer, one of Israel’s first-generation songwriters When we entered the arena, I remarked that this was the global power wielded by world Jewry. Zipperstein and performers, released “Al Kol Eleh” on a 1981 album, a slick event: The production crew wore earpieces; Yefet says this same pogrom gave rise to the enduring twin a copy of which I somehow have. I heard her sing it in wore a “Madonna” (Israeli slang for a cordless mic); canards of the powerless Jew and the all-powerful Jew. Albany, NY, at a sad and haunted performance one day TV-pretty emcees read patter from cue cards. Video and Another portrait features Anna Strunsky, a Jewish after Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995. The title still photographers captured the scripted action from journalist from San Francisco and a graduate of Stan- is translated as “About All These,” or “Over All These multiple angles. If the earlier videos are any sign, our ford University who married a fellow Jewish writer Things.” According to one historian, it was written to video will boast high production values. with similar radical sympathies. It was his New York comfort Shemer’s sister, who had lost her husband. But as my wife said, the emotion, passion and joy apartment that hosted the founding meeting of the The song’s bittersweet lyrics implore us to accept created by this 21st century kumsitz was authentic, hon- NAACP in 1909. the bee’s honey and its stinger. It asks the “good Lord” est and deeply felt. Unlike the singing of a rock star’s This linking of the black and Jewish causes, which to save the houses we live in “from the sudden warlike words back to them, our voices didn’t feed a massive led to a decades-long alliance culminating in the civil thunder,” in a Theodore Bikel translation. Evacuees from ego. Rather, it felt like a modern-day prayer, passionately rights struggle of the 1960s, was – if one can say such Yamit, the town bulldozed in 1982 when Israel returned chanted, enhanced by its nusach (spiritual melody) and a thing – a happy outgrowth of the Kishinev pogrom. the Sinai to Egypt, adopted it as their anthem because of spiritually heightened in a group setting. As news of the tragedy flooded the New York press, it the line “Do not uproot what has been planted.” As we left, spent and hoarse, my cousin said such energized the leftist Jews of the Lower East Side. Eager With the passage of time, the song’s politics have events are not only meaningful, they are essential. to universalize their championing of the underdog, they muted. The lyrics can feel overly sentimental, but they Koolulam isn’t the first to teach mass singing. Cana- began to draw comparisons between Jewish oppression gave me goosebumps as I sang them surrounded by 12,000 da’s Choir!Choir!Choir! recorded a mass singalong of in Russia and black oppression in the United States. others, including Rivlin and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai. Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” in 2016. But Koolulam’s Anti-black lynchings had their parallel in anti-Jewish Yefet drilled the Blue and Green teams through rep- success – from zero to tens of thousands of singers within pogroms, and both were deserving of (progressive) etitions of the refrains and choruses, singing each part a year – taps into Israelis’ need to nourish and cherish Jewish attention. in his lovely, trained voice. Once we were primed, the the hope we have for our chaotic, stress-filled country. Above all, Zipperstein’s book is about the power of the Jerusalem Street Orchestra took the stage, as did Shabat, Koolulam’s slogan is “Singing is Believing.” I chal- media, politics and folklore to shape history and mem- a popular singer primarily known for Mizrahi pop. lenge even the hardest-edged cynics to remain dry-eyed ory. As he writes in conclusion: “The interplay between The lights dimmed, Yefet cued the orchestra, while watching Holocaust survivors, Arabs and Jews, the wealth of readily accessible information regarding Shabat sang the opening line and 12,000 hesitant cancer patients and their doctors, and the multifaceted Kishinev’s massacre – a veritable mountain of data – and voices joined in. We gained confidence through the Israeli public raising their voices in unison. the proliferation of distortions regarding it remains perhaps middle, stopped near where Yefet wanted and waved Alan D. Abbey is media director of the Shalom Hartman the saga’s most profoundly intriguing legacy.” our smartphone flashlights. We finished raggedly, Institute. He lives in Jerusalem. P A C E Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowment Your gift to the Annual Campaign DOES A WORLD OF GOOD. Endowing your gift allows you to be there for the Jewish community of NEPA forever. A Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowment (PACE) is a permanent fund that endows your Jewish community Annual Campaign gift as a lasting legacy. A PACE fund will continue to make an annual gift in perpetuity on your behalf. To determine the amount you need to endow your entire campaign gift, multiply your current annual gift by 20. You can fund your PACE by adding the JEWISH FEDERATION OF NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA to your will, or by making the Federation a beneficiary of your IRA. All contributions to establish a PACE are tax deductible. Let your name be remembered as a blessing. Endowments can be created through a variety of vehicles, some of which do not necessitate funding during your lifetime yet still provide your estate with considerable tax benefits. They also enable you to perpetuate your commitment to the Annual Campaign in a way that best achieves your own personal financial and estate planning goals. Examples Of Ways To Fund Your Pace Gift Are: * outright contribution of cash, appreciated securities or other long-term capital gain property such as real estate * charitable remainder trust * gift of life insurance Using appreciated property, such as securities or real estate, * charitable lead trust affords you the opportunity to eliminate the income tax on the * gift of IRA or pension plan assets long-term capital gain, will in some instances generate a full * grant from your foundation income tax charitable deduction and will remove those assets * reserved life estate in your residence from your estate for estate tax purposes. * bequest

For more information contact Mark Silverberg at [email protected] or call 570-961-2300, ext. 1. M AY 3, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 13 NEWS IN BRIEF FROM ISRAEL From JNS.org the developing fetus, and that pregnant women should not be anxious about limited use First haredi man to serve in Israel’s Mossad agency of acetaminophen or paracetamol to manage those symptoms, as the drug is still safe to use in the short term. “[T]he observed increase in risk was small, and the existing studies For the first time, a young haredi man will perform his National Service in Israel’s have significant limitations,” said Matok. “While unnecessary use of any medication elite Mossad unit, according to the ultra-Orthodox Kikar HaShabbat news site. Never should be avoided in pregnancy, we believe our findings should not alter current practice, before has a member of that community served in Israel’s intelligence, covert operations and women should not avoid use of short-term acetaminophen when clinically needed.” and counter-terrorism service. The unidentified 22-year-old is making history, but will be joined by another unidentified 21-year-old man at the beginning of next year. Though Netanyahu delays “Override Clause” vote after consult with many haredim ultimately receive exemptions from army and national service require- Supreme Court president ments, some choose to perform national service or join religious army units. National Israeli Supreme Court President Esther Hayut convinced Prime Minister Benjamin Civic Service Authority Director General Sar Shalom Jerbi said, “We congratulate the Netanyahu to postpone a vote on a Knesset bill that would enable legislators to override Mossad on opening its gates to National Service volunteers. I have no doubt that this Supreme Court rulings on Knesset laws, saying she would not meet with him otherwise. is just the first part of the volunteers’ security activities in the Mossad, and that the or- The prime minister had invited her to meet on April 23 in advance of the vote, but Hayut ganization will know how to recognize the qualities and abilities of haredi volunteers.” told him she conditioned their talk on the postponement of the vote by at least one week. Ben-Gurion airport to undergo $280 million in upgrades Dubbed the “Override Clause,” the new law would alter Israel’s Basic Law on Human Dig- Thanks to climbing numbers of travelers to the Jewish state, Israel’s Ben-Gurion nity and Liberty, and empower the Knesset to overrule the Supreme Court and re-enact laws International Airport will undergo a billion-shekel ($280,000) expansion program. nullified by the court. The new law is meant to address what supporters view as an activist Israel’s main airport, which fields 90 percent of entries to and exists from the country, and left-leaning political position taken by the court. It is being brought by Israeli Education is expected to experience congestion as it welcomes more than 25 million arrivals and Minister and Jewish Home Party leader Naftali Bennett, in response to the Supreme Court’s departures in 2019, an increase over 2017, which saw 20.8 million transits, and the recent decisions to deem illegal two different laws passed by Knesset to deport illegal Eritrean, estimated 23 million expected to pass through the airport in 2018. To accommodate the Somalian and Sudanese immigrants, compromise agreements between the government and additional traffic, the airport’s main international terminal, Terminal 3, will be renovated citizens living in Judea and Samaria, and plans by the Israel Defense Forces to demolish the to include an additional 36,000 square meters (or nearly 400 square feet) on four floors, homes of terrorists. If passed, the Knesset will be able to reverse court rulings on Knesset and 88 new check-in counters. More than 100 airlines now service Ben-Gurion. laws with a 61 majority vote. Most other laws require only a majority of Knesset members Hebrew U. study: Extended acetaminophen use during voting at any given time. Hayut was expected to tell Netanyahu that she objects to the 61 majority vote. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said he would support the legislation pregnancy increases risk of ASD/ADHD if the required voting majority was raised to 70 Knesset members, but the Ynet news site For the first time, prolonged use of medication containing paracetamol or acetaminophen reported that the court would accept the legislation if it was raised to 80. by pregnant women has been linked to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (or ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (or ADHD) in their children, accord- ing to researchers at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Pregnant women are standardly Media Continued from page 3 prescribed acetaminophen or paracetamol as safe for pain or fever management during Dayan’s tweet about the Times’ correction. discourse across newspapers,” she said. pregnancy. However, new evidence gathered from 132,738 mother-child pairs over It created a social-media uproar.” “CAMERA even leverages these correc- the course of three to 11 years by Dr. Ilan Matok and doctoral student Reem Maarwa Media corrections also act as a deterrent tions across languages: English, Hebrew, at the Institute for Drug Research in Hebrew University Medical Faculty’s School of on future errors. “Editors and journalists Spanish and Arabic.” Pharmacy, in partnership with Dr. Amichai Perlman and Dr. Hagai Levine of Hebrew don’t always enjoy hearing from us,” said Much of CAMERA’s work goes on University and Hadassah University Medical Center, has concluded that acetaminophen Sternthal. “But they often do correct the behind the scenes. “Nearly every day, our and paracetamol have neurodisruptive properties that may affect the development of record and we respect that.” staff are in communication with reporters the fetal nervous system when given in low doses over an extended period. The study, Sternthal said the corrections also as- and editors about factual errors in particular published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, reveals that prolonged exposure to sist the overall media discourse. “Often, news stories,” said CAMERA Executive acetaminophen throughout pregnancy is associated with a 30 percent increase in risk for CAMERA can prompt a correction at, say, Director Andrea Levin. “Sometimes, cor- ADHD and a 20 percent increase in risk for ASD, in comparison to those who did not Reuters because we can point to another rections have lasting impact, preventing take the medication. The researchers were quick to point out that the results should be media outlet which previously corrected the error from ever recurring at that outlet. interpreted with caution. They emphasized that pain and fever have negative effects on the same error. That helps establish factual That’s our goal – lasting improvement.” s on our bus t Join u rip to

Wednesday, May 16 The New York City trip includes lunch (at your choice of one of the fine restaurants near the museum), a guided tour of the museum, and a visit to the outdoor memorial at Ground Zero. Cost for bus and tour - $40.00 ease otat ass a at th uestos a reseratos ÊCheck out the Federation’s new, updated website at www.jewishnepa.org or find it on Facebook 14 THE REPORTER ■ M AY 3, 2018

April 2018

Feature Films *A Tale of Love and Darkness - Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman directs and stars in the emotional and thought-provoking story about Fania, a young wife and mother in war-torn Jerusalem, during the early years of the State of Israel. Stifled in her relationship and weary from the tedium of her new life, Fania creates fantastical stories for Amos, her 10-year-old son, amazing him with tales of adventure and beauty— stories that would influence the boy to become a writer himself. Based on the international best-selling memoir by Amos Oz. Denial - Based on the acclaimed book Denial: Holocaust History on Trial, Denial recounts Deborah E. Lipstadt’s legal battle for historical truth against David Irving (BAFTA nominee Timothy Spall), who accused her of libel when she declared him a Holocaust denier. In the English legal system, in cases of libel, the burden of proof is on the defendant, therefore it was up to Lipstadt and her legal team, led by Richard Rampton, to prove the essential truth that the Holocaust occurred. *Fanny’s Journey- In 1943, 13-year old Fanny and her younger sisters were sent from their home in France to an Italian foster home for Jewish children. When Nazis came to Italy, their caretakers organized the departure of the children to Switzerland. Based on a true story. Hidden in Silence- During the Nazi occupation of Poland,Catholic teenage Stefania Podgorska chooses the role of a savior and sneaks 13 Jewish into her attic. *Loving Leah: A Hallmark Hall of Fame Classic - A handsome Washington, D.C. doctor and a young New York woman fall in love at an unusual time...after they get married. Leah Lever is married to an Orthodox rabbi, Benjamin Lever, whose brother, Jake, is a successful cardiologist and a non-practicing Jew. Jake is stunned when Benjamin dies suddenly, but not as stunned as when he is told that, under an ancient Jewish Law, he is expected to marry the childless Leah to carry on Benjamin’s name. The only alternative is to go through a ceremony where Jake must deny his brother’s existence. For Jake, that’s unthinkable, so impulsively he suggests to Leah that they get married and maintain a secretly platonic relationship. Eager to pursue her own dreams, Leah gladly accepts. Their oversimplified plan to live separate lives under the same roof proves challenging when Leah’s suspicious mother shows up unexpectedly. The harder they try to disguise their “pretend” marriage, the more their appreciation for each other’s worlds grows - and out of understanding, a real love develops. Loving Leah is a heart-warming story. Munich - Inspired by real events, Munich reveal the intense story of the secret Israeli squad assign to track down and assassinate the 121 Palestinians believed to have planned the 1972 Munich massacre of 11 Israeli athletes. ( The Jewish Film Library also owns the movie “Twenty One Hours in Munich” about the massacre at the Olympics). Music Box - In this intense, courtroom thriller, Chicago attorney Ann Talbot agrees to defend her Hungarian immigrant father Mike Laszlo against accusations of heinous war crimes committed 50 years earlier. *Norman - Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere) lives a lonely life in the margins of New York City power and money, and strives to be everyone’s friend. His incessant networking leads him nowhere until he ends up befriending a young but charismatic politician, Micha Eshel at a low point in his life. Three years later, the politician becomes the Prime Minister of Israel. Norman uses Eshel’s name to leverage his biggest deal ever: a series of quid pro quo transactions linking the Prime Minister to Norman’s nephew ,a rabbi, a mogul, his assistant and a treasury official from the Ivory Coast. Norman’s plans soon go awry, creating the potential for an international catastrophe he must struggle to prevent. Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer is a comedic and compassionate drama of a man whose downfall is rooted in a human frailty all too easy to forgive—a need to matter. Remember - Remember is the suspense-filled story of Zev, an Auschwitz survivor who discovers that the Nazi guard who murdered his family some seventy years ago is living in America under an assumed name. The Devil’s Arithmetic - Sixteen year old Hanna Stern was a typical American teenager who ignores her family’s heritage until a mystical Passover seder takes her back in time to German-occupied Poland on an emotional journey of life, death and survival. The Impossible Spy - The story of the life and death of Israel’s most celebrated spy, Elie Cohen. *The Last Butterfly -This World War II drama stars Tom Courtenay as the famous French Mime Antoine Moreau. Ordered by the Nazis to provide ‘the greatest show of his life’ for use as propoganda showing the kinder side of the Nazis as the war draws to a close, Moreau decides to risk everything to tell the world the real truth behind this monumental lie, and although as a mime he is pledged to keep his lips sealed, his voice must be heard. *The Women’s Balcony - Discover Israel’s #1 film of the year! An accident during a Bar Mitzvah celebration leads to a gender rift in a devout community in Jerusalem. *The Wedding Plan - A poignant and funny romantic comedy about love, marriage and faith in life’s infinite possibilities. *The Zookeeper’s Wife - In 1939 Poland, Antonina Zabinska (two-time Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain) and her husband successfully run the Warsaw Zoo and raise their family in an idyllic existence. Their world is overturned, however, when the country is invaded by the Nazis and they are forced to report to the Reich’s newly appointed zoologist (Daniel Brühl). To fight back on their own terms, the Zabinskis risk everything by covertly working with the Resistance and using the zoo’s hidden tunnels and cages to save families from Nazi brutality. Non-Feature Films Above and Beyond - In 1948, just three years after the liberation of Nazi death camps, a group of Jewish-American pilots answered a call for help. As members of Machal- “volunteers from abroad”- this ragtag band of brothers not only turned the tide of the war; they also embarked on personal journeys of discovery and renewed Jewish pride. *Body and Soul: The State of the Jewish Nation - A powerful documentary sets the record straight eloquently and comprehensively. It not only shows the undeniable historical connection between the Jewish People and the Land of Israel, but also succeeds in debunking propaganda, myths and misinformation that have become accepted as truth by many people. Follow Me - The story of the fantastic rescue at Entebbe and the loss of Yonatan Netanyahu (brother of the Prime Minister). The Jewish Film Library also owns an Israeli film about the rescue at Entebbe entitled “Operation Thunderbolt” Hava Nagila (the Movie) - Hava Nagila is a documentary romp through the history, mystery and meaning of the great Jewish standard. *I’m Still Here - Real Diaries of young people who lived during the Holocaust. Jews and Baseball (narrated by Dustin Hoffman) Israel: The Royal Tour - A delightful tour headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and travel correspondent Peter Greenberg. Nicky’s Family - The amazing story of Sir Nicholas Winton who created, on his own, a Kinder-transport in Czechoslavakia saving 669 children from the Nazi inferno. No Place on Earth - The harrowing story of Esther Stermer and her family and friends who escaped extermination by the Nazis by hiding in an underground cave is unearthed by accident when cave explorer, Chris Nicola stumbles upon remnants left behind by the cave dwellers. *Rosenwald - Rosenwald tells the incredible story of Julius Rosenwald, the son of an immigrant peddler who never finished high school, who rose to become the President of Sears. Influenced by the writings of the educator Booker T. Washington, this Jewish philanthropist joined forces with African American communities during the Jim Crow South to build 5,300 schools, providing 660,000 black children with access to education in the segregated American South. The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg *The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers and Soldiers and Peacemakers - A two disc-set based on the international best-seller by Ambassador Yehuda Avner (New films denoted with an asterisk *)

M AY 3, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 15 NEWS IN BRIEF From JTA Iceland parliament committee favors scrapping bill to ban Ten Israeli teens killed after getting caught in flash flood circumcision Ten Israeli teens were killed after getting caught in a flash flood during a hike in A judicial committee of Iceland’s parliament has recommended scrapping a bill a riverbed near the Dead Sea. The 10 youths were confirmed dead by rescue authori- that would ban the nonmedical circumcision of boys. Lawmakers from four parties ties, according to Israeli media reports on April 26. Haaretz reported that nine of the submitted the measure for a vote in March pending a review by the Judicial Affairs deceased were female and one was male. About 25 teens registered for a pre-army and Educational Committee, the local news site Visir reported on April 26. Parlia- preparatory course in Tel Aviv were hiking in Nahal Tzafit on the afternoon of April ment may vote on the bill despite the committee’s objection. The bill, which calls 26 when the flooding began. Some 15 were rescued, mostly unharmed. Apache he- the Jewish and Muslim custom cruel and dangerous, would make Iceland the only licopters were searching the area and divers had prepared to go into the stream to European country where nonmedical circumcision of boys under 18 is illegal. Across find missing hikers. The Ministry of Education had warned schools not to hike in the Europe, the custom is under attack by liberals who find it a violation of children’s area, according to Channel 10 news. “The trip was not reported to us, our situation rights and nationalists who argue it is foreign to European culture. In recent weeks, room was not told in advance and we did not give any permission for such a trip,” international Jewish groups have lobbied Icelandic officials and lawmakers to have the the ministry said in a statement. The trip was not under the auspices of the Education bill scrapped. They argue that a circumcision ban would constitute a death sentence Ministry or the Defense Ministry, the Times of Israel reported. The hikers were all for Jewish community life in Iceland, where 200 Jews live, and set a precedent for 17- and 18-year-olds on a bonding trip ahead of entering the pre-military academy in attempts elsewhere to ban circumcision and thus endanger religious freedoms. The September. Police spokeswoman Meirav Lapidot told reporters before the announce- week of April 20, officials from Iceland’s Government Agency for Child Protection – ment of the dead teens, “We will keep going until we find them all. We are preparing an advisory body whose policy is independent from the government – said it will not for a long night of search-and-rescue operations.” Heavy rain fell in southern Israel support the bill if it is brought to a vote. Separately, in Denmark, a petition favoring on April 25 and April 26, and throughout the country, which is unusual for this time a circumcision ban has received 90 percent of its target of 50,000 signatures. Once of year. Two teens, a Bedouin and a Palestinian, died in flash floods on April 25, that number is reached, the petition will go up for a vote as a draft resolution in the according to reports. parliament. Petition organizers have until August to collect the needed signatures. Czech Republic to begin process of moving its embassy to Parents of Palestinian teen burned alive by Jewish Jerusalem extremists sue his killers for $1.5 million The Czech Republic will appoint an honorary consul in Jerusalem, the first in a The family of a Palestinian teen burned to death in a revenge attack by three Jewish three-step process to move the country’s embassy to Jerusalem. Czech President Mi- extremists is suing his killers in a civil lawsuit. The parents of Mohammed Abu Khdeir los Zeman made the announcement on April 25 at an event in honor of Israel’s 70th are seeing $1.5 million in damages. The criminal case against the three Jewish extremists, birthday. The Czech Foreign Ministry in a statement issued on April 25 confirmed including two minors, ended earlier this year after all of their appeals were exhausted, the move. “The Czech Republic has decided to open in May an honorary consulate clearing the way for the civil lawsuit. According to the lawsuit filed on April 24, “There in west Jerusalem, and before the end of the year a Czech (cultural) center, also in is no doubt there is no adequate compensation for such a needless and outrageous loss west Jerusalem,” the statement said. The third stage would be the moving of the of a young man’s life. This was done with the respondents’ malicious intent to harm embassy, for which no timetable was given. “This step in no way prejudges the final the deceased. They displayed indifference and cynicism in the face of the most horrible agreement concerning Jerusalem,” the statement said. “The Czech Republic fully outcome of all – the death of the deceased in suffering and agony. They also did not respects common policy of the European Union, which considers Jerusalem as the spare the parents of the deceased, who were left with nothing after the death of their future capital of both the state of Israel and the future state of Palestine.” Moving the son.” Abu Khdeir’s charred body was discovered in the Jerusalem Forest hours after embassy to Jerusalem would require the approval of the Czech government. Opened the bodies of three kidnapped Jewish teens were discovered near Hebron. In May 2016, in the early 1990s, the Czech honorary consulate in Jerusalem was closed in 2016 Yosef Ben-David, 31, of Jerusalem, was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years. The due to the death of the honorary consul, the French news agency AFP reported. The names of Ben-David’s accomplices, who were both 16 at the time of the killing, have Czech Embassy has been in Tel Aviv since 1949, though it remained closed during not been released publicly. The accomplices were sentenced in April 2016: one to life the former communist regime in Prague between 1967 and 1990. Zeman said in in prison, the other to 21 years. Following their sentencing, the Khdeir family asked December that he supported the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital Israel’s Supreme Court to order the demolition of the murderers’ homes, as the Israeli earlier that month and said Prague may follow suit, diverging with the position of army does when a Palestinian terrorist is caught. The court rejected the request, saying his country’s Foreign Ministry. too much time had elapsed between the attack and the demolition request.

Each year at this time the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania calls upon members of our community to assist in defraying the expense of issuing our regional Jewish newspaper, The Reporter. The newspaper is delivered twice of month (except for December and July which are single issue months) to each and every identifiable Jewish home in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As the primary Jewish newspaper of our region, we have tried to produce a quality publication for you that offers our readership something on everything from opinions and columns on controversial issues that affect our people and our times, to publicity for the events of our affiliated agencies and organizations to life cycle events, teen columns, personality profiles, letters to the editor, the Jewish community calendar and other columns that cover everything from food to entertainment. The Federation assumes the financial responsibility for funding the enterprise at a cost of $26,400 per year and asks only that we undertake a small letter writing mail campaign to our recipients in the hope of raising $10,000 from our readership to alleviate a share of that responsibility. We would be grateful if you would care enough to take the time to make a donation for our efforts in bringing The Reporter to your door.

As always, your comments, opinions & suggestions are always welcome.

With best wishes, Mark Silverberg, Executive Director Jewish Federation of NE Pennsylvania 601 Jefferson Avenue Scranton, PA 18510 ÊCheck out the Federation’s new, updated website at www.jewishnepa.org or find it on Facebook

16 THE REPORTER ■ M AY 3, 2018

D D ­e Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania presents “My Brother’s Keeper - e 911 of the Jewish People” How the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) is changing the Jewish world Scranton Jewish Community Center Thursday, May 17 at 7pm Given the importance of the work done by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) to assist imperiled and threatened Jewish communities around the world, a special program will be presented on ursday, May 17th at 7:00 PM in the Koppelman Auditorium of the Scranton JCC and will be open to our entire Jewish community - at no charge.

Our guest for the evening will be Shaun Goldstone, Global Development Ocer for the JDC who has participated in JDC’s worldwide international disaster relief eorts in Haiti and Ethiopia and is currently responsible for raising the prole of JDC’s Eastern European and Asian humanitarian and Jewish renewal eorts as well as fostering collaborations between the JDC and its partner organizations.

The program is open to the entire Jewish community and a dessert reception will follow. An RSVP to Mary Ann Mistysyn at either 961-2300 (x4) or [email protected] would be appreciated in order to facilitate food arrangements. We hope you can join us for this wonderful program. Mark Silverberg, Executive Director Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania D D