Going To Israel? See Page 4 See Page 32 $1.00 WWW.5TJT.COM VOL. 11 NO. 29 26 ADAR ll 5771 ghrz, ,arp APRIL 1, 2011 See Page 4 INSIDE L.I. WELCOMES MAYOR OF ITAMAR FROM THE EDITOR Who Is A Jew? David J. Seidemann, Esq. 26 B Y LARRY GORDON E Is For Etiquette Presidential Hannah Reich Berman 38 Double News From The Hills Chanita Teitz 78 Standard A Centennial Kaddish Rochelle Maruch Miller 88 President Obama laid out an impressive argument on Rally For Israel Monday night as he belatedly Larry Domnitch 104 attempted to explain to Americans the nature of the involvement of U.S. military muscle in Libya. There is no Moshe Goldsmith, the mayor of Itamar in the Shomron region of Israel, with his wife, Leah, at the doubt—except amongst some Hebrew Academy of Nassau County on Wednesday. The Goldsmiths also visited Shalhevet and are speaking at the White Shul in Far Rockaway on Thursday, March 31. See Page 62 Continued on Page 10 A FAR ROCKAWAY BOY IN IRAQ HEARD IN THE BAGEL STORE B Y ARYE NISONSON Confronting Addiction They are a family known for BY LARRY GORDON These two occasions plus the SKA joins I-Shine. their hard work and community association of drinking with the See Page 58 involvement. For her part, Mrs. Purim—and the imbibing of celebration of Simchas Torah, Batya Travis has made an indeli- intoxicating beverages that along with Kiddush clubs in ble imprint on the Far accompanies the celebration of shuls, open bars at our bar mitz- Rockaway and Five Towns com- the holiday—has come and vahs and weddings, and the munity with her organizational gone. The next stop along simi- emphasis on drinking as a skills and singing that are show- lar lines is the drinking of four demonstration of machismo, cased before exclusively female cups of wine that is incumbent have landed an inordinate num- upon us at the Passover Seder in Continued on Page 18 Chaplain Ephraim Travis less than three weeks. Continued on Page 12 White Shul Celebrates 89 Ice-Storm THE SEMINARY Insight SELECTION PROCESS Sgt. Sharon Weiss of North RABBI AVI SHAFRAN B Y TALMIDAH X Bellmore. See Page 58 There are surely many stories It starts at the end of 11th that can be told about the chal- grade, when in the midst of lenging winter from which we recuperating from SATs and APs are (we hope!) emerging. Mine is and getting ready for finals, you about as mundane as they begin to hear snatches of con- come. But it came with a lesson, versations. “So do you think I at least for me. would like seminary Y?” or It was the morning after a maybe the more assertive “Oh, I Rabbi Eytan Feiner, Chaim Leibtag, Rabbi Ralph Pelcovitz, and Motti Schwartz at this week’s annual dinner for Kneseth Israel. See Page 62 Continued on Page 32 Continued on Page 35 Rabbi Oppen visits with HAFTR alumni. See Page 69 CANDLE LIGHTING April 1 – 7:01 PM April 8 – 7:08 PM 2 April 1, 2011 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES April 1, 2011 3 FEATURES Around The Five Towns 58 P.O. BOX 690 LAWRENCE, NY 11559 516-984-0079 Classified Ads 90 [email protected] A Clever Title Goes Here [email protected] Mordechai Schmutter 48 LARRY GORDON ESTA J. GORDON Publisher/Editor Managing Editor Daf Yomi Insights R’ Avrohom Sebrow 22 YOSSI GORDON, YOCHANAN GORDON Sales Managers The Dish CHANA ROCHEL ROSS Elke Probkevitz 56 Editorial Assistant Five Towns Simcha SIDI BARON DAVID FOX Marc Mattel 107 DOV GORDON YAKOV SERLE Sales Representatives Insights On The Torah R’ Meir Orlian 46 SHMUEL GERBER MICHELE JUSTIC R’ Ben Tzion Shafier 20 Chief Copy Editor Copy Editor R’ Yanki Tauber 28 CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Letters To The Editor 30 Hannah Reich Berman, Anessa V. Cohen Rabbi Aryeh Z. Ginzberg, Yoni Glatt Luach 19 Toby Klein Greenwald, Rabbi Yair Hoffman Ron Jager, Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky MindBiz Shmuel Katz, Phyllis J. Lubin, Esther Mann Esther Mann, LCSW 43 Rochelle Miller, Rabbi Meir Orlian, Elke Probkevitz Mother’s Musings Dr. Rachael Schindler, Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow Phyllis J. Lubin 50 David J. Seidemann, Rabbi Ben Tzion Shafier Rabbi Avi Shafran, Eli Shapiro, Dr. Ari Sher News From The Hills Samuel Sokol Chanita Teitz 78 ELISHEVA ELEFANT Other Side Of The Bench Staff Graphic Artist David J. Seidemann, Esq. 26 IVAN NORMAN, IRA THOMAS Staff Photographers Puzzle Yoni Glatt 93 FRANKEL & CO. Design & Production Real Estate Anessa V. Cohen 40 TALIYE CORLEY Art Director That’s The Way It Is! Hannah Reich Berman 38 The Five Towns Jewish Times is an independent weekly news- paper. Opinions expressed by writers and columnists are not Tidbits From Israel necessarily those of the editor or publisher. We are not Ron Jager 54 responsible for the kashrus or hashgachah of any product or establishment advertised in the Five Towns Jewish Times. Travel 103 4 April 1, 2011 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES April 1, 2011 5 6 April 1, 2011 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES April 1, 2011 7 8 April 1, 2011 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES April 1, 2011 9 FROM THE EDITOR kinder and perhaps gentler— themselves. Mubarak, to his words “State of Israel.” mitments in Iraq and Continued from Front Cover brought up for questioning or credit, was so motivated by the On the surface, I thought that Afghanistan. Rightfully so, he possibly rudely interrupted. billions of dollars he was able to Mr. Obama’s speech was well said that America was unlike of our coalition allies—that Other dictators in the region, pocket, he even kept a fragile written and articulately deliv- any other country in the world Muammar Gaddafi is a corrupt and he as its leader was not pre- leader who has to be forced out pared to stand by while inno- of office. This should have hap- cents are murdered by their pened a long time ago. Is there something less innocent about own leader or anyone else. The most efficient and thor- While this is a brave and ough solution to the Libya prob- noble stance for Mr. Obama to lem would be the elimination of Israelis under attack than Libyans (who take, it contradicts several posi- Mr. Gaddafi, who certainly qual- tions he has taken in analogous ifies as a murderer and fits the may be supported by Al Qaeda) under situations. As these lines are description of a war criminal. being written, Bashar Assad in He has been complicit in killing Syria is daily having his own Americans as well as the wan- assault from Gaddafi’s forces? people murdered as he cagily ton slaughter of his own people. reshuffles the diplomatic deck. Some members of the coalition, Dismissing his cabinet and however, especially those who appointing new members of his rule some Arab countries, are like Mr. Mubarak in Egypt and peace deal with Israel together ered. He spelled out exactly why government is the closest thing somewhat disturbed by the Mr. Ben Ali in Tunisia, mostly for over 30 years while the other the U.S. was militarily engaged to a political game of three-card notion of having their own minded their own corrupt busi- Arab despots are still having in Libya despite the exhaustive, monte. After all is said and done, despotic rule—albeit somewhat ness while personally enriching trouble with enunciating the debilitating, and ongoing com- it is Assad who hands out the money and other goodies and calls all the shots—literally and figuratively. Just last week, President Obama called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to compli- ment him on the restraint being demonstrated by his govern- ment in the aftermath of the bombing of a bus stop in the center of Jerusalem and 60 mis- siles being shot from Gaza into Israel’s population center. Several were injured by the rockets while there was exten- sive property damage inflicted on homes and businesses over a scattered area in the south of Israel. One missile landed just ten miles from Tel Aviv—so this may be getting kind of serious someday soon. In the bus bomb- ing, Mary Jane Gardner, a British national who was living in Israel, was killed, and six Americans were amongst the more than 30 injured. While the free and democratic world con- demned the bombing, there wasn’t that much outrage in either the U.S. or Britain. After all, their nationals should know better than to be found in such dangerous places. And all this followed by just a few days the savage murder of the Fogel family in Itamar. The move that received more atten- tion than the bombing, the mis- siles, or the killing of the Fogels was Israel’s announcement that in the aftermath of the murders they would authorize the build- ing of 500 new homes in territo- ry that the world still fantasizes will someday be part of a Palestinian state. It was the move that completed the puz- zle, the post facto move to build that explained everything else that preceded it. The more pressing question is why Israel is urged to use restraint when its citizens’ lives are threatened with weapons intended to kill, while Libyan citizens deserve protective mili- tary action that calls for the use Continued on Page 16 10 April 1, 2011 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES April 1, 2011 11 BAGEL STORE dependencies that frequently wreaked havoc with his life This was the first time in three the grandchildren of well-known Continued from Front Cover work in tandem with one before his extended family direct- months that he was alone, and roshei yeshiva, over the last year.