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VOLUME XI, NUMBER 20 OCTOBER 18, 2018 resigns as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. BY JOSEFIN DOLSTEN AND been an unwavering champion of truth, sistently earning the loudest plaudits at RON KAMPEAS principled realism and integrity within the the annual American Public Affairs NEW YORK (JTA) – Nikki Haley, the United Nations,” Ivanka Trump said on Committee policy conference. U.S. envoy to the United Nations and a Twitter. “Jared and I are grateful for her “Her departure was unanticipated “strong defender” of Israel in the world friendship – a true blessing in our lives!” and took the pro-Israel community by body, will leave her post by the end of Haley was considered a star in the surprise,” Matt Brooks, the Republican this year. center-right pro-Israel community, con- See “Haley” on page 8 President in an Oval Office appearance with Haley on October 9 praised the former South Carolina gov- ernor and said that about six months ago, The 2019 UJA Campaign she told him that she was ready to leave Nikki Haley (Photo by Drew Angerer/ Dear Friends, by the end of this year. “She’s a fantastic Getty Images) As this year’s 2019 UJA Campaign person, very importantly, but she’s also co-chairs, we are asking you to help our somebody that gets it,” Trump said. Trump earned international respect by people – wherever they may be in the Haley, a moderate on Trump’s foreign delivering on his warnings, including on world. It is not really a question of how policy team, had a “warm relationship” Iran and Israel. “They get it when the pres- much you contribute to the Campaign, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ident says he means business,” she said. but your act of giving and your recog- Netanyahu, who frequently praised her for “If you look at the anti-Israel bias and the nition that you consider yourself to be criticizing what she saw as bias against strength and courage the president showed a part of our family. the at the U.N. in moving the embassy” to . Your financial commitment will The most consequential actions she She especially praised Jared Kushner, enable us to write the next chapter in David and Rhonda Fallk took had to do with Israel: She pulled out Trump’s Jewish son-in-law. “Jared is a Jewish history – a history that has always of UNESCO, the United Nations cultural hidden genius that no one understands,” reflected itself in the caring of one Jew UJA Campaign in the memo section. affiliate, and pushed for the defunding she said. Haley recently joined Kushner in for another. Alternatively, if you wish to make of UNRWA, the agency that administers shaping his Middle East peace proposal, Please be part of this critical effort. your gift online, go to the Federation assistance to Palestinian refugees and which no one outside the small team has If you wish to make your 2019 UJA website at www.jewishnepa.org. their descendants. She threw a party for seen. “It is so unbelievably well done,” gift by mail, please direct it to the Fed- We hope each of you had a wonderful countries that did not vote to condemn the she said of the proposal. eration as follows: Jewish Federation of High Holy Day season this year. United States for recognizing Jerusalem Ivanka Trump, Kushner’s wife and Northeastern Pennsylvania, 601 Jefferson David and Rhonda Fallk, co-chairs as Israel’s capital. Trump’s daughter, returned the compliment Ave., Scranton, PA 18510. Indicate 2019 2019 UJA Campaign Haley at the Oval Office event said on Twitter. “She is a bold reformer and has Nazis’ aerial photography is helping map and preserve Jewish cemeteries BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal – Jews for LUBLIN, Poland (JTA) – When generations buried their dead atop a mound German air force pilots took aerial pho- that in 1941 stood on the town’s northern tographs of western Ukraine in 1941, margins. But after the murder of the area’s they did it to help Nazi Germany defeat 10,000 Jews during the Holocaust, the for- the Soviet Union in a war that saw the est adjacent to the cemetery was allowed genocide of six million Jews. But in a to swallow it up, leaving exposed only twist of fate, the German government has a few dozen headstones. Fragments of recently started funding an effort that uses others used to lie in piles on the shoulders the photographs to identify and preserve of the potholed asphalt road that snakes Jewish cemeteries. along Buchach’s Torgova Street. The effort, in which the Luftwaffe -ar The forest’s progression and the de- chives are only one of several ingenious struction caused to the headstones – locals tools, began in 2015 with the establishment throughout Eastern Europe steal them of an organization called the European to use as sharpening stones or building Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, or ESJF. material – complicated efforts to map the The largest-ever international project of its cemetery. The Luftwaffe aerials show its kind, ESJF has since fenced more than 100 See “Cemeteries” on page 12 Jewish cemeteries in seven countries on a modest annual budget of approximately $1 million. Federation And in Eastern Europe, fencing Jew- ish cemeteries is “not as straightforward as it may sound,” according to Philip Jewish communities in Eastern Europe are struggling to maintain crumbling on Facebook Carmel, a British former journalist, the heritage sites from the prewar era. (Photo by ESJF) The Jewish Federation of Northeast- organization’s CEO since its creation. ern Pennsylvania now has a page on Even determining the location of such That’s where the Luftwaffe aerial they were accurate enough to help us Facebook to let community members graveyards can be challenging in towns photographs enter the picture, Carmel identify some Jewish cemeteries right know about upcoming events and keep with entire Jewish populations that were said. “Obviously they were taken to before the destruction.” connected. murdered and cemeteries plundered for help the German war effort,” Carmel In the western Ukrainian town of Bu- construction material and then stolen said of the prints and negatives that he chach – the birthplace of Jewish Nobel for development. pulled from German state archives. “But Prize laureate Shmuel Yosef Agnon and Candle lighting October 19...... 5:57 pm INSIDE THIS ISSUE October 26...... 5:47 pm Tom Breslauer tribute At the movies News in brief... November 2...... 5:38 pm Temple Israel of the Poconos In an Argentine film, a Holocuast Arson balloons hit Jerusalem and PLUS will present a movie tribute to survivor leaves his home to find Tel Aviv; Qatar sends fuel to Gaza Opinion...... 2 Holocaust survivor Tom Breslauer. the man who saved him. over Abbas’ protests; and more. D’var Torah...... 8 Story on page 3 Story on page 6 Stories on pages 11, 13, 15 Book Review...... 12 2 THE REPORTER ■ OCTOBER 18, 2018 A MATTER OF OPINION Visions from another generation On September 25, 1916, in the midst many of whose descendants continue a new generation. As such, the continuity been taken hostage by the PLO and flown of what was then referred to as “the to hold leadership positions in this of Jewish life here, in Israel and around to Entebbe, Uganda. When it was over, war to end all wars” – long before the community. These leaders and their the world now rests upon us. two passengers and the sayeret matkal slaughter of two-thirds of European contemporaries now rest peacefully in Remember what it was like for leader, Yoni Netanyahu were dead, but Jewry and the birth of the modern state Providence, Dalton and Dunmore ceme- Jews when there was no Jewish state, because of their sacrifice, hundreds of our of Israel – the first Annual Meeting of teries, but in their time, their vision and when even one Jew was considered too people survived. the Jewish Federation commitment built the institutions that many, when the nations of the world Now, fast forward 25 years to October of Scranton convened became the forerunners of Scranton’s closed their doors to our people. Now, 28, 2001 – barely a month after 9/11. Our under the chairman- more than ever, we have a 2001 Israel Mission participants visited ship of its president, responsibility to those who Mt. Herzl, Israel’s military cemetery. Samuel Samter. FROM THE DESK OF THE will follow in our footsteps After paying our respects at the grave of He began his ad- to ensure that Masada shall Theodore Herzl, we walked through rows dress with the fol- EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR never fall again. and rows of thousands of small white lowing words: “The MARK SILVERBERG As students of history, marble gravestones marking the final Talmud tells us that we know very well that we resting places of those who died so that he who saves one are the barometers of the Israel might live. life is considered as Jewish Community Center, Jewish societies in which we live. The Jewish We stopped in front of one nondescript if he had preserved the whole world. Family Service Agency and the Jewish people have been like a cultural surfboard grave in the middle of a long row of white As Jews, and most especially as Jew- Home of Eastern Pennsylvania. throughout history, riding the crest of marble stones. It was Netanyahu’s grave. ish leaders, that is our responsibility. Many of the founders who came to the world’s civilizations – rising as they One member of our Mission asked our This Federation was established as a Northeastern Pennsylvania to build their rose, falling as they fell, from Babylon Israeli guide why Yoni’s gravestone was concerted communal effort, the pur- lives here more than a century ago (and, to modern times – but always rising to so ordinary. “After all,” he said, “Yoni pose of which is to care for the sick, in the case of Honesdale, two centuries new and even greater levels of human Netanyahu is a hero.” the handicapped, the widow and the ago) barely spoke English. Yet, despite achievement. If we have learned anything The Mission guide looked at him and orphan; to relieve temporary distress; antisemitism, despite what must have from our past, it is that as it has gone with replied quietly: “Because everyone who to rehabilitate families; to find em- been difficult financial circumstances, democracy, so it has gone with us – and lies here is a hero.” ployment for those willing and able they were able to educate their children, as it has gone with us, so it has gone with At moments such as these, we solicit to work; to furnish personal service to care for their poor and indigent, keep democracy. If pain and suffering could funds for millions of our people in Israel those in need; to provide educational our traditions alive, build synagogues ennoble, then truly the Jewish people and around the world who cannot plead opportunities for our children; to guide and Hebrew schools, establish a Hebrew could challenge the aristocracy of any their case to you. If they could, they the immigrant and help him understand Free Loan Association, build a YMHA nation on this earth. So we must never would, but that is my job. I ask on their America and become a useful citizen and leave sizable endowments to ensure take our freedom for granted. Nor must behalf. It is a small price to pay. Israel is of the land of his adoption. In a word, that Jewish life would continue long after we ever take the existence of the Jewish sacrificing its children, so that ours will it aims to do what man should do for their time. state for granted, especially today when have a Jewish state. man, in a simple and human way.” They are no longer with us. Now it’s there are those who proudly proclaim So, in asking for your gift, I ask it This statement was endorsed by the our turn. their messianic duty to “wipe Israel from for our community, for our people, for founders of the Scranton Jewish com- If there are to be thriving Jewish the face of the earth,” who deny the first Israel and on behalf of the founders of munity – people like Jacob Brandwene, communities in Northeastern Pennsyl- Holocaust yet state their intention before our respective communities who believed Israel Greenberger, Jacob Harris, Leon vania in the years to come, it will be an uncaring world to bring on the second. that leaving a legacy to ensure Jewish Levy, A. B. Cohen and Jacob Nogi – because of us – because of our collective I want to close with a brief story – part continuity was of paramount importance vision, our collective will, our collective of which you may know and part of which to their lives. Let us remember what they endowments and our collective annual you may not. On July 4, 1976, while we achieved and sacrificed for us, and why UJA gifts for our people and for Israel. were celebrating our Bicentennial, Israeli we owe them so much. It is our vision that matters today. As commandos, under cover of darkness, flew Mark Silverberg’s editorials and President Kennedy said in an era long 4,000 miles under enemy radar to rescue articles have been archived at www. “ The Reporter” (USPS #482) is published bi-weekly by the since past, the torch has been handed to 248 passengers, mostly Jews, who had marksilverberg.com. Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania, 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, PA 18510.

President: Douglas Fink Executive Director: Mark Silverberg I believe this Palestinian teenager Executive Editor: Rabbi Rachel Esserman Layout Editor: Diana Sochor BY STEPHEN M. FLATOW Hezbollah terrorist leader Hassan Nasral- including the other kinds of “resistance” Assistant Editor: Ilene Pinsker (JNS) – Ahed Tamimi, the Palestinian lah. That’s right, Hezbollah – bombers of in which Palestinians engage: knives, Production Coordinator: Jenn DePersis teenager jailed for assaulting an Israeli the Jewish community center in Buenos guns, bombs. Advertising Representative: Bonnie Rozen soldier, says she supports violence against Aires, murderers of hundreds of Ameri- Tamimi has never explicitly condemned Bookkeeper: Kathy Brown Jews and seeks the destruction of Israel. cans, hijackers of TWA flight 847. That’s stabbing, shooting or bombing Jews. And I believe her. right, Nasrallah, the Holocaust-denier she never will. Because she believes in OPINIONS The views expressed in And I believe that groups such as J and virulent antisemite. Tamimi thanked stabbing, shooting and bombing Jews. editorials and opinion pieces are those Street, which have defended Tamimi and Nasrallah profusely for boosting “not Her words: “Every type of resistance.” I of each author and not necessarily claimed that she is nonviolently resisting just my morale, but the morale of many believe she means it. the views of the Jewish Federation of “the Israeli occupation of the ,” people,” and wished him a happy holiday And what is “this occupation” to which Northeastern Pennsylvania. owe the Jewish community an apology for (Eid-al-Fitr). Tamimi refers? Again, she made it very LETTERS The Reporter welcomes refusing to believe her. In an interview with the French televi- clear to the France24 interviewer. He letters on subjects of interest to the When Tamimi was arrested last Decem- sion station France24 on September 17, asked her how she can justify slapping Jewish community. All letters must be Tamimi was asked if she had any regrets an Israeli soldier. She replied: “These signed and include a phone number. ber for assaulting an Israeli soldier, the about publicly praising Hezbollah. “No soldiers are occupying my country – Jaffa, The editor may withhold the name Jewish left leaped to her defense. J Street upon request. President Jeremy-Ben Ami wrote an op- absolutely not,” she declared, pointing out Haifa, Akko.” ADS The Reporter does not necessar- ed arguing that Israel has been “illegally that Nasrallah “stands against the United Those parts of “occupied Palestine” ily endorse any advertised products taking over” the land of her village, and States and Israel, so I agree with him on are not in the “West Bank.” They are and services. In addition, the paper her assault of the Israeli soldier “results this particular point.” nowhere near her village of Nabi Saleh. is not responsible for the kashruth of quite naturally… from the human impulse The France24 interview was revealing They are within pre-1967 Israel. Tamimi any advertiser’s product or establish- to resist injustice against one’s community in other ways, too. could not have been clearer. She was ment. and family,” he wrote. Look at this exchange: saying that she considers all of Israel to DEADLINE Regular deadline is two The J Street web site posted an essay by Interviewer: “You are calling for a be “occupied territory.” weeks prior to the publication date. a Washington, DC, rabbi named Hannah peaceful resistance.” It takes a certain kind of hubris (some Goldstein, declaring that that she “can Tamimi: “I call for a people’s resis- would call it racism) to say that Palestinian FEDERATION WEBSITE: understand why” Tamimi’s father sent her tance, of any kind. To me, it’s important girls should not be believed – to pretend www.jewishnepa.org and her siblings to throw rocks at Jews for the people to be able to choose how that they don’t mean what they say when HOW TO SUBMIT ARTICLES: since “under occupation, their opportu- they would like to resist against this occu- they support violence against Jews and Mail: 601 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, PA nities are limited” and “putting children pation. To me, there are different manners the destruction of Israel. 18510 [or allowing them to put themselves] in to fight this occupation. To each his own. I call on Ahed Tamimi’s Jewish E-mail: [email protected] harm’s way for the sake of greater change Some may choose poetry; others slapping defenders to believe her words, and to Fax: (570) 346-6147 seems worth the risk.” a soldier; others might choose throwing apologize to the Jewish community for Phone: (570) 961-2300 But as soon as Tamimi finished her jail stones or drawing. I respect every type trying to deceive us about her beliefs sentence, she began issuing statements of resistance.” and intentions. HOW TO REACH making it clear that for her, the issue is She specifically refused to say that she Stephen M. Flatow, an attorney in New THE ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE: not the village’s land, but rather the very supports “peaceful” actions. She specifi- Jersey and the father of Alisa Flatow, who Phone: (800) 779-7896, ext. 244 existence of Israel. And far from being cally said she supports assaulting Israeli was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored E-mail: [email protected] some kind of Palestinian Gandhi, she soldiers and “throwing stones” – mean- Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. His SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: supports terrorism and terrorists. ing, trying to stone Jews to death. She book, “A Father’s Story: My Fight for Phone: (570) 961-2300 In an interview with a Lebanese televi- also specifically said that she “respects Justice Against Iranian Terror,” will be sion station on August 22, Tamimi praised every type of resistance” – obviously published later this year. OCTOBER 18, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 3 COMMUNITY NEWS Movie tribute to Tom Breslauer, Holocaust survivor and advocate for peace On Sunday, October 21, from 1-3 pm, Temple Israel memory of the lectures and lessons he offered continued be sensitive to differences and to embrace humanity as of the Poconos will present a movie tribute to Holocaust to advocate inclusion of all people for each generation. an entirety. Never hate anyone. You don’t have to love survivor and peace advocate Tom Breslauer. He dedicated his life to his family, his community and everyone. Respect the differences in people.” Breslauer began his life in Europe as a Jew and was to public education for the next generation. The short movie will be presented at Temple Israel imprisoned as a young man in Hamburg, Germany, “Thousands of children and adults have been mesmer- of the Poconos, 711 Wallace St., Stroudsburg. “Light and sent to a Nazi concentration camp. He later was ized listening to Breslauer speak about his personal life refreshments and and conversation will follow, regarding liberated as a survivor of the Holocaust. Upon arriving history and the manner of living one’s life as a result of living our lives incorporating the life lessons Breslauer in the United States, Breslauer mastered the English his experiences,” said organizers of the event. “Breslauer taught all of us who were touched by him directly,” said language and established himself as a businessman. In always emphasized harmony as the path to live with the organizers of the event. 2009, when Breslauer passed away in Stroudsburg, the people around you in your life. Not to be passive, but to For further information, call the temple at 570-421-8781. Bais Menachem Youth Development Program to celebrate 20 years on Oct. 21 Bais Menachem Youth Development Program will out of school, engaging in self-destructive behaviors and the broader community, which is considered vital for celebrate its 20th anniversary on Sunday, October 21, with often struggling with addiction and mental health. “All their growth as young adults: giving back, doing acts a gala dinner at the Woodlands Inn in Wilkes-Barre. The students are treated with love and acceptance as they of kindness and serving a useful role in the lives of occasion’s honorees are Dr. Matt Berger, Rabbi Pinny rebuild their Judaism, receive formal or informal coun- others. Some of the many community service roles Levitin and alumnus Avi Mogilevsky. Author Rabbi seling, career training and internships, and are prepared students fill are visiting the sick and elderly, assisting Joseph Telushkin will deliver the keynote address. to receive their high school equivalency diploma,” said See “Celebrate” on page 4 Established in 1998, Bais Menachem has provided a a yeshiva representative. home and a fresh start to Jewish youth ages 14-22 who are Bais Menachem has always viewed itself as a com- economically impoverished and in crisis, having dropped munity organization. Students are involved in serving DEADLINES The following are deadlines for all articles and Rabbi to discuss homosexuality and Judaism photos for upcoming Reporter issues. The Weinberg Judaic Studies Rapoport returned to England, where he held several DEADLINE ISSUE Institute at the University of posts, including head of the Leeds Kollel, minister in Thursday, October 18...... November 1 Scranton will present a lecture by Birmingham and head of the Birmingham Rabbinic Thursday, November 1...... November 15 Rabbi Chaim Rapoport of Lon- Board. Rapoport was appointed as a member of the chief don on “Homosexuality: A New, rabbi’s cabinet and advisor to the chief rabbi on matters Thursday, November 15...... November 29 Yet Traditional, Perspective.” It of Jewish medical ethics in 1998. THursday, November 29...... December 13 will take place on Tuesday, No- vember 6, at 7:30 pm, in Loyola Science Center 133, the PNC For information Auditorium. The lecture will be on advertising, followed by comments by Dr. please contact Charles Pinches presenting a Bonnie Rozen at Rabbi Chaim Christian perspective. 1-800-779-7896, Rapoport Rapoport attended the Yeshivot ext. 244 or of Manchester, Gateshead, Torat Emet in Jerusalem bonnie@ and the central Lubavitch Yeshiva in New York. After thereportergroup.org receiving his rabbinic diploma, he joined the Kollel community in Melbourne, Australia, where he pursued post-graduate studies and officiated and lectured. In 1989,

Join us at the Lake Naomi Clubhouse for a wine tasting fundraiser to benefit Congregation B'nai Harim Saturday, November 3 - 7pm • $49.00 per adult all inclusive

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• Please return this portion with payment • Payments can be made to Congregation B'nai Harim, PO Box 757, Pocono Pines, PA 18350 by 10/27. Any additional questions, contact Lisa Spector at 609-707-4764 or [email protected].

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Enclosed please find payment of $ ______for (# of reservations) ÊCheck out the Federation’s new, updated website at www.jewishnepa.org or find it on Facebook 4 THE REPORTER ■ OCTOBER 18, 2018 Sukkot celebrated at Temple Israel of the Poconos

L-r: School Principal Deb Smith, Rabbi Benyamin Melman and teacher Shawna Blake explained the rituals of the holiday of Sukkot to the students. Sukkot is a week- Multi-generational synagogue members gathered to erect a sukkah at Temple Israel long Jewish holiday celebrating the gathering of the harvest and commemorating of the Poconos on September 22. All who participated were offered a breakfast of the protection God provided for the children of Israel when they left Egypt. Sukkot handmade French toast, coffee and juices. Temple Israel of the Poconos includes is celebrated by dwelling in a foliage-covered booth (known as a sukkah). all families raising Jewish children and calls itself “one congregation, multiple voices from 6 year old to 99 year old members.” Grandparents, parents and children celebrate holidays together as an active Jewish community.

Continued from page 3 Celebrate At left: Max, a third generation with funerals and burials, volunteering at rather it is custom built for each student, member of the Cahn family, helped various community organizations, such as providing what they need to become the erect the sukkah at Temple Israel of the Jewish Home, and staffing community person they need to become.” the Poconos on September 22. and holiday events. The gala will commence at 5 pm with Director Uri Perlman describes Bais a reception on the Woodlands’ indoor/ Menachem’s transformation over 20 years outdoor patio, followed by a dinner ban- “from being a program initially looked quet at 7 pm and a dessert buffet at 8 pm. skeptically upon by most, to a highly To place an ad in the 20th anniversary sought-after yeshiva whose methods commemorative journal or to make dinner and approach are being recognized and reservations, visit www.baismenachem. incorporated by yeshivas worldwide. Bais com/dinner, call 570-970-2480 or e-mail Menachem is not a school for 60 students, [email protected].

L-r: Abigail, Tobias, Zivah and Skye (last names withheld upon request), young students of the Hebrew school, celebrated the holiday of Sukkot with their lulav and etrog in the sukkah at Temple Israel of the Poconos.

Effective please immediately, send note! all articles and ads to our new E-mail address, jfnepareporter@ jewishnepa.org.

JewishEffective Federation immediately, of NEPA please send all articles & ads to our new E-mail address, [email protected].

Facebook ® is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc OCTOBER 18, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 5 AN URGENT MESSAGE FROM THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA

WONDERING WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP? DONATE NOW! Thousands of members of the Jewish communities of North and South Carolina as well as many Jewish institutions, agencies and synagogues in those states have been aected by Hurricane Florence.

Although the number of Jewish families and individuals whose homes have been devastated is yet to be determined, there is no doubt that many families in these aected areas have sustained catastrophic damage and will require our assistance.

As of September 21st we know that Temple of Israel and Congregation B’nai Israel in Wilmington and Temple B’nai Sholem in New Bern (both in North Carolina) have already sustained significant damage and many members of the Jewish communities from those cities as well as from Myrtle Beach (in South Carolina) remain displaced.

The Jewish Federation of Raleigh (being the closest Federation to those coastal communities) and the Raleigh Jewish Family Service agency will be the central point of intake for aected families.

Their lives hang in the balance. As Jews we must do our part in relieving their suering as we have always done when faced with national catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Sandy (2012) and Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria (2017).

Immediate aid is needed to help these communities get back on their feet. Afterwards, rebuilding and strengthening resilience can take years. We must be there for them. HELP US HELP THEM! Please donate… Tax-deductible contributions should be made out and sent to the…. Jewish Federation of NEPA 601 Jeerson Avenue, Scranton, PA 18510 (MEMO: Hurricane Florence Relief Fund)

The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) has also set up a donation page for donors who wish to contribute cash or make contributions through their credit cards. Here is the link: https://www.jewishfederations.org/Hurricane-Relief-Fund-2018. Note however, that with additional hurricanes anticipated during this hurricane season, JFNA has incorporated language that allows it to help victims of any hurricanes that make landfall this 2018 season.

Thank you for your generosity. 6 THE REPORTER ■ OCTOBER 18, 2018 In this Argentine film, a Holocaust survivor leaves home to find the man who saved him in WWII BY CURT SCHLEIER a wider national release. The film tells the story of (JTA) – When the Argentine-Jewish filmmaker Pab- Abraham Bursztein, a Holocaust survivor who leaves lo Solarz was 5 or 6 years old, he asked his grandfather Argentina to find his savior, who hid him in a base- if he was Polish. On the phone recently, in heavily ment following World War II. Bursztein is played by accented English, he described his grandfather’s reac- Miguel Angel Sola, an Argentine actor whose career tion. “He gave me a very dead face,” Solarz recalled. dates back to the 1970s. “My father said that [Polish] is a very bad word, and In the film, Bursztein is on his last legs, almost I don’t want to [talk about] it with my grandfather literally. One of them, which he nicknames “tsores,” again. My grandfather never wanted to talk about his or “troubles” in Yiddish – may need to be amputated. life in Poland.” Meanwhile, his family wants to put him into a retire- Solarz’s grandfather didn’t spend time in a Nazi ment home, sell his house and divide up his things. concentration camp, but he left his native Poland While cleaning out his closet, a maid discovers a in the 1930s as conditions worsened for Jews. He suit that Bursztein, a tailor, made to fulfill a pledge settled in Buenos Aires and, over time, heard stories to the boy who saved his life after the war. Without from the local Jewish community and the occasional telling anyone, Bursztein buys a ticket to Europe to news report about survivors who wanted to return to find him. their roots and thank Righteous Gentiles who saved Bursztein is a humorously stubborn curmudgeon, Pablo Solarz, right, wrote and directed “The Last their lives. yet strangers on his journey – it includes stops in Suit.” He is pictured with actor Manuel Angel Sola. That return narrative became the genesis of Solarz’s Madrid and Paris – ignore his often nasty behavior to (Photo by Outsider Pictures) “The Last Suit,” a Jewish film festival favorite that befriend and help him. It’s a tribute to Sola’s nuanced opened in and Los Angeles prior to performance: He somehow convinces those around met. Gail has her father’s concentration camp number him that there’s more to him than the surface bluster. tattooed on her arm to keep his memory alive, but There’s also his tearjerker story that makes it hard even that does not move him to seek a rapprochement. to hate him. The plot line raises too many unanswered questions In flashbacks we see the immediate aftermath of and slows the film. the war and a young, gaunt Bursztein struggling to Making the film changed his life, Solarz told JTA. walk while trying to reach his family’s home in Lodz Growing up, he learned about Polish figures such as – only to find himself turned away by its occupant, Chopin and Paderewski and could not understand his a former employee at his father’s business. But the grandfather’s hatred of an entire nation. “I thought my man’s son, a former friend of Bursztein, defies his dad grandfather was crazy, and that it was impossible for an and takes Bursztein into a basement room and nurses entire people to be antisemitic,” he said. him back to health. But shooting scenes in contemporary Lodz neigh- This is the man Bursztein now seeks, not knowing borhoods, including the ghetto where his grandfather whether he is still alive 70 years later or even if the once lived, and seeing several graves with his last name neighborhood still exists. deeply moved the filmmaker. His research for the film The film is affecting, but not perfect. Bursztein’s included studying the ways that the Nazis were “able to daughter Gail had fled to Madrid a decade ago, kill 11,000, 12,000 people in the same place in the same when the pair became estranged. In need of cash, day, leave everything clean and be able to do the same he visits her, but it is unclear why he let her go in thing the next day.” Manuel Angel Sola appears in a scene from “The Last the first place, or how he can so easily ignore the “That wasn’t the first Holocaust,” Solarz said, “and Suit.” (Photo by Outsider Pictures) granddaughter he sees on a staircase, but has never it won’t be the last.” OCTOBER 18, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 7

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DAVID & RHONDA FALLK. CO-CHAIRS OF THE 2019 UJA CAMPAIGN THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! 8 THE REPORTER ■ OCTOBER 18, 2018 D’VAR TORAH Living in a hierarchical society BY RABBI RACHEL ESSERMAN, EXECUTIVE a child with Abraham, but still remain a voiceless and EDITOR, THE REPORTER GROUP powerless maidservant. Lech-Lecha, Genesis 12:1-17:27 That’s not what happens: Hagar conceives and comes Commentators from ancient to contemporary times to “despise” Sarah. She sees herself as better than her have been distressed by Sarah’s treatment of her maid- mistress and, worse, makes that known publicly. If a hi- servant Hagar in parashat Lech-Lecha. Hagar feels so erarchical society is to work, then everyone must remain oppressed that she runs away to the wilderness – some- in their appropriate place. Otherwise chaos will occur thing that would have been very dangerous for any – meaning that those lower in the hierarchical order will woman on her own, let alone a pregnant one. People try no longer assume they must obey their masters. When to explain away Sarah’s behavior, but it doesn’t seem to disciplining Hagar, even to the extent of making her bother Abraham, who gave her permission to treat Hagar life so miserable that she seeks to escape the household, however she thinks appropriate, or the angel of God, who Sarah is asserting her right as the most important woman speaks to Hagar in the wilderness and tells her to return in the extended family. Abraham approves because he’s home and “submit to [Sarah’s] hands.” not willing to break societal strictures. Even the angel So, while commentators have difficulty with Sarah’s of God has no problem with Sarah’s behavior, although behavior, the Torah does not. Why? To my mind, it’s the angel does offer Hagar a vision of a better future. because the Torah recognizes the fact these women live The reason this section bothers many contemporary in a hierarchical society and it is the duty of those higher American Jews is that we no longer live in the same type in the hierarchy to make certain everyone remains in their of hierarchical society. In fact, the reason many immi- appropriate place. When Hagar shows publicly that she grants came to the United States was to break through now “despises” Sarah because she is pregnant and Sarah the class and caste rules found in other countries. The is not, that broke societal rules and had to be punished. idea of the self-made man is the exact opposite of a To better understand what occurred, it’s necessary person who lives in a society where their status at birth to review what took place between the women. Sarah foretells the path of their entire life. Even among fam- has been unable to conceive and gives her maidservant ilies, children no longer feel the need to follow in their Hagar to Abraham so she “will be built up” (meaning parents’ footsteps, but seek to make their own way in have a family) through Hagar. We see something similar the world. So, while today we might cringe at Sarah’s in the story of Jacob, Leah and Rachel. Each of Jacob’s treatment of Hagar, we should also understand that she wives give him their maidservants so they can have was acting in the way her society demanded: keeping more children (in Leah’s case) or any children (Rachel’s order within her household and the world. choice since she had not yet conceived). The two wom- My thanks to Rabbi Barbara Goldman-Wartell and en – Zilpah and Bilah – are voiceless in the Jacob story, the members of the Temple Concord Saturday Torah and we know almost nothing about them. This was how Study group for inspiring me to see this parasha in a it was supposed to work with Sarah: Hagar would have different light.

Haley Continued from page 1 Jewish Coalition CEO, said on Twitter. “Stunned and Republican Jewish donor class that fetes her pro-Israel shocked by the surprise resignation of @nikkihaley as credentials and has never been wholly comfortable UN Amb. She was a consequential and impactful force with Trump. at the UN.” At least one hawkish pro-Israel voice was unabashed She was the rare Trump Cabinet official who earned in making that wish. “Thank you @nikkihaley for your praise from Democrats. “I want to thank Ambassador remarkable service,” Mark Dubowitz, the director of the Haley for her willingness to express moral clarity to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said on Twitter. world and to President Trump, and promote American “We look forward to welcoming you back to public values and leadership on the global stage, even when service as president of the United States.” she lacked the backing of the White House or State De- Separately, an ethics watchdog, Citizens for Respon- partment,” Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a pro-Israel sibility and Ethics in Washington, criticized Haley the leader in the party, said in a statement. week of October 9 for accepting $24,000 in private Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a flights last year to her home state of South Carolina from statement thanked Haley “for leading an uncompromising a businessman friend. struggle against the hypocrisy of the U.N. and for the truth and justice of our country.” Haley downplayed reports of tensions between her and Trump. Born to immigrants from India, she comes from the wing of the Republican Party that favors a robust interventionist foreign policy, while Trump is an isolationist. Haley condemned another senior aide who favored foreign policy interventionism and expressed opposition to Trump in an anonymous op-ed in The New York Times Israeli artist exhibit in September. “If I disagree with something and believe Yeshiva University Museum in New it is important enough to raise with the president, I do it,” York City will hold the exhibit “Hey, Wow! Haley wrote in her own op-ed in The Washington Post. The Art of Oded Halahmy” until December “And he listens. Sometimes he changes course, sometimes 16. The exhibition features the mixed-media work he doesn’t. That’s the way the system should work.” of New York and Jaffa-based artist Oded Halahmy, The Washington scuttlebutt at the time was that Haley an international artist with roots in Iraq and Israel. published the op-ed to squash rumors that she had written Halahmy’s sculptures span from expressive abstrac- the original anonymous op-ed in the Times. It may have tion to simple figuration. His work is said to reflect backfired; there were reports that Trump resented even the complex history of Jewish heritage in Babylonia, the notion that his top staff disagreed with him. and celebrate the notion of homeland. “Hey, Wow!” Haley backed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, another explores themes originating in a Hebrew song writ- pro-Israel interventionist, during the 2016 presiden- ten in Iraq. The artist riffs on Hebrew letter forms, tial primaries. blending the languages of modern artistic practice In her appearance with Trump, she again denied am- and of his ancient culture heritage. President: Merle Turitz bitions of mounting a 2020 primary challenge against For more information, visit www.yumuseum.org/ Contact number: 570-421-8781 Trump. “No, I am not running in 2020,” she said. exhibitions or contact the museum at [email protected]. If she changed her mind, Haley could tap into a org or 212-294-8330.

9:30 Mon. pm OCTOBER 18, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 9 An Israeli singer in Amsterdam creates the world’s first Ladino pop album BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ grandmother’s nickname for her. AMSTERDAM (JTA) – Wandering the ornate streets “Ladino was something of a forbidden language at of the city of Fes in northern Morocco, Noam Vazana our home,” Vazana said. To her father, a Fes native, it heard several men singing a tune so familiar that it made represented the opposite of fitting into Israeli society, she her stop in her tracks. Vazana, a successful 35-year-old explained. But hearing the melody in the Moroccan city Israeli musician living here, was visiting her ancestors’ reminded Vazana of how her grandmother would sing to country of birth for a performance at the Tanjazz festival her in Ladino anyway, including “one time that she and in Tangier when she heard the tune. She began following I were peeling beans in the kitchen,” the singer recalled. the men through alleyways to a square where hundreds The Ladino album is part of a growing musical of locals were singing that same Arabic-language song scene that came into its own about 20 years ago thanks at a street party. to young Sephardic artists, many of them from Israel, She could neither recognize nor understand the lyr- who like Vazana reconnected with their roots through ics, but the melody was woven into some of her earliest music. Notable artists from that scene include perform- childhood memories: It featured in a song that Vazana’s er-composers like Yasmin Levi, daughter of the late Noam Vazana wrote her upcoming album “Andalusian late grandmother used to sing to her regularly in Israel researcher of Sephardic culture Yitzhak Isaac Levy, Brew” in Ladino. (Photo by Asaf Lewkowitz) in Ladino, the dying Jewish-Sephardic language. and Mor Karbasi. Both deploy their powerful voices For Vazana, the experience was the start of a journey to showcase the operatic melodrama typical of many spoken often play compositions that combine ancient to study her roots and her grandmother’s language and traditional Ladino numbers. and contemporary elements. culture. It also was the trigger for the creation this year Preserving Ladino music in all of its authentic glory The themes treated in the new tour and album reflect by Vazana of what several experts in the field say will be is a difficult task – and many believe an important one – even more poignantly Vazana’s attempt at modernizing the first album in many years entirely comprising newly because of the relative paucity of historical recordings. Ladino music. One track is a passionate but humoristic written or newly composed Ladino songs for adults. After the Holocaust and the creation of the state of tribute to the virtues of the eggplant, complete with The new album, which has yet to be recorded in full, Israel, the vast majority of the Jews of the Mediterranean cooking tips. But other songs are more risque. One gives is coming out under Vazana’s stage name, Nani – her basin left for Israel and beyond. The exodus meant that voice to a transgender woman who becomes a man to Ladino went from being a living, breathing language make her son-less father proud; another adapts the al- spoken by half a million people to a dying dialect spoken legedly homoerotic poetry of the 11th-century philosopher mostly by a graying population of immigrants in Israel Shmuel Hanagid. and a minority of Turkey’s 15,000 Jews. A former trombone player and member of the Israel Vazana said that she cares about preserving Ladino. Air Force and orchestras, Vazana She is currently giving a European tour of traditional shows off her skills as a musician as well as a singer in Ladino songs with a modern twist, titled “Andalusian the “Andalusian Brew” show. With her powerful voice Brew” – the same title as her upcoming album, which and confidence playing the piano, parts of the concert will contain only newly composed numbers. feel like an unlikely fusion between the music of pop But her take is anything but ethnographic. Instead innovator Vanessa Carlton and one of the great Ladino of trying to re-create Ladino music authentically, in the divas of the 20th century, Rosa Ashkenazi. new album she attempts to adapt it to modern times, One of her songs, “A Second Skin” (“Una Segunda leaving listeners to imagine a world where Ladino and Piel),” which will be on the new album, concerns an Noam Vazana performed at the Tanjazz festival in its music were allowed to evolve like other Spanish and ancient Sephardic custom called “La Mortaja” in which Tangier, Morocco, on September 14, 2017. (Photo Portuguese variants such as Canarian Spanish, Creole middle-aged people were wrapped in shrouds and given courtesy of Vazana) or Galician. Radio stations where these dialects are See “Ladino” on page 10

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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 10 THE REPORTER ■ OCTOBER 18, 2018 Oldest-ever inscription of “Jerusalem” found on pillar BY JNS STAFF Levi believes the column and inscription date back village is situated on a 200-acre plot, likely in order to (JNS) – A pillar from the Second Temple period to 100 B.C.E., and belonged to or was built with mon- accommodate the needs of hundreds of thousands of bearing a three-line inscription was unveiled at the Israel ey from Hananiah son of Dodalos – Dodalos being a pilgrims who would ascend to the Temple three times a Museum on October 9, the earliest stone inscription of nickname used at the time to refer to artists, based on year during festivals, as well as the 50,000 residents of the full modern Hebrew spelling of “Jerusalem.” the Greek myth of Daedalus. Levi said the column was the city at the time. “Hananiah son of Dodalos of Yerushalayim [the located in a Jewish village, but that it was found in a The column is currently on display at the Israel Mu- way the ancient Jewish city is written in Hebrew ceramic construction workshop used by the Tenth Ro- seum in the Second Temple period exhibit. today]” was discovered during a salvage excavation man Legion – the army that would eventually destroy Though this is the first inscription of its kind in stone, earlier this year of a large Hasmonean Period Jewish Jerusalem and exile the Jews – evidently being reused the full spelling of Jerusalem has been seen before, in- artisans’ village near what is today’s western entrance in a plastered wall. cluding on the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were written as to the city. There is a disagreement among experts as to whether early as 400 B.C.E. In an interview with The Times of Israel, Israel Antiq- the word “Yerushalayim” was etched in Aramaic or uities Authority archaeologist Danit Levi said when her Hebrew. While bar is the Aramaic word for “son,” the team alerted her to the find, she could not believe that Aramaic pronunciation of Jerusalem was “Yerushalem,” the word “Yerushalayim” could be on an ancient pillar, whereas the word in the inscription was written “Yerusha- and that it must be graffiti. When she saw the “expertly layim,” just like in Hebrew. chiseled” Hebrew lettering in the 31.5-inch tall column, The artisan village was located near a natural source she dusted it off and began to read. for clay, water and fuel, along a main artery leading to “My heart started to pound, and I was sure everyone the Temple, which, as noted by IAA’s Jerusalem Region- could hear it. My hands were trembling so badly I couldn’t al Archaeologist Dr. Yuval Baruch at the event, is still properly take a picture,” she said. in use today as a roadway to the Old City. The artisan

Ladino Continued from page 9 a mock funeral – often after becoming grandparents University of Washington, told JTA that when it comes or retiring. to newly written music albums in Ladino, he is aware “It looks very macabre at first, but actually the cere- only of two featuring children’s songs: the 2016 “Ora mony is not about death at all but about rebirth,” Vazana de Despertar” by Sarah Aroeste and another compilation said. “You come to grips with your mortality, but at the released recently in Israel titled “Yeladino.” same time you shed the shroud and symbolically your Benavides has not seen Vazana’s tour, but said he is troubles away with it and begin a new phase in life.” not sure about some of her interpretations of the sources In preparing the tour and album, Vazana studied she studied under his instructio – including the allegedly Ladino culture and poetry with Jonathan Benavides, homoerotic Hanagid poem. “It is true that homoerotic the chairman of the Jewish community of the Dutch [poetry] was written in 12th-century Spain by some po- city of Leiden. Benavides is also among a handful of ets,” Benavides said. “But I’m not sure you can say that Ladino language teachers in the Netherlands, whose Shmuel Hanagid did that.” centuries-old Portuguese Jewish community used to be More broadly, though, Benavides said he has limited one of the world’s greatest Sephardic . faith in any project that explores Ladino in a secular “To my knowledge, so far there have been no Ladino context, as Vazana appears to be doing. “It’s not that music albums made up of with newly written songs Ladino is a religious language. It’s not,” he said. “But and melodies,” Benavides told JTA. “There have been it was part of a world, of a community, defined by the The oldest discovered inscription of “Jerusalem” recently terrific albums with traditional Ladino works.” Jewish religion. And when you examine it outside of that found to date, unveiled in October. (Photo by Danit Devin Naar, a professor of Sephardic studies at the context, well, you’re looking at half the story.” Levy, Israel Antiquities Authority) 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. OCTOBER 18, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 11 NEWS IN BRIEF FROM THE U.S. From JTA University of Michigan apologizes to students refused Pompeo says Trump administration will leverage aid to letters to study in Israel Syria to remove Iranian troops The University of Michigan has apologized to two students who were refused letters Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Trump administration’s goal is to remove of recommendations for study in Israel by lecturers citing their support for boycotting the Iran and its proxies from Syria, and it will use assistance to Syria as an incentive Jewish state. In a letter on Oct. 9 to the campus community, the president and provost to make it happen. That formula is likely to disappoint Israel, where security and addressed two recent Israel-related controversies at the school. “We have apologized government officials have held out for a more forceful U.S. role in evicting Iran and to the students themselves and worked to ensure that they have everything they need Hezbollah, its allied Lebanese militia, from Syria after seven years of civil war. Iran to complete their applications,” President Mark Schlossel and Provost Martin Philbert and Hezbollah backed the Assad regime in repressing the uprising, costing as many wrote, adding that the university “strongly opposes a boycott of Israeli academic insti- as 500,000 lives and creating millions of refugees. Pompeo told the Jewish Institute tutions.” The message also addressed a university lecture that featured a speaker who for National Security Affairs at its annual conference on Oct. 10 that a Trump ad- compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. Schlissel and ministration goal was a “peaceful resolution to the Syria conflict and a removal of Philbert said they were “sorry students were hurt by this experience.” They also said the all Iranian and Iranian backed forces in Syria. ...The onus for expelling Iran from image was “on a single slide among nearly 200 other slides” and that the lecture had not the country falls on the Syria government,” Pompeo said. “If Syria does not ensure singled out Israel. On Oct. 9, the Detroit News reported that the university disciplined the total withdrawal of Iranian troops it will not receive one single dollar for recon- John Cheney-Lippold, the lecturer who first denied the recommendation for a student struction.” Syria’s government has not received any money from the United States to study in Israel. The tenured American and digital studies associate professor will not for years, if not decades, instead relying on Iran and Russia, so it’s not clear what receive a merit raise during the 2018-19 academic year and will not be permitted to leverage U.S. assistance would provide. Pompeo’s statement suggests that for now take his scheduled sabbatical in January or any other sabbatical for two years, accord- the Trump administration has eschewed a military effort to oust Iran’s forces, or even ing to a letter signed by Elizabeth Cole, the interim dean of the university’s College exerting pressure on Russia, the preeminent power in Syria, to force out Iran and of Literature, Science and the Arts. He could also face additional discipline, up to and Hezbollah. Russia has indicated that it will go no further than keeping Iranian troops including dismissal, if a similar incident occurs in the future, Cole wrote in the letter 60 miles from Syria’s southwest border with Israel, which has said that a continued dated Oct. 3, the newspaper reported. “Your conduct has fallen far short of the Univer- Iranian presence in Syria is unacceptable. There are also longstanding laws against sity’s and College’s expectations for how LSA faculty interact with and treat students,” U.S. money going to the Assad regime. It’s not clear how the Trump administration Cole wrote.”This letter is a strong warning that your behavior in this circumstance was would circumvent these were the Assad regime to accept the offer, nor is it clear how inappropriate and will not be tolerated. In the future, a student’s merit should be your the weakened Syrian army would oust Iran and Hezbollah. Pompeo said the United primary guide for determining how and whether to provide a letter of recommendation. States would defend Israel’s right to act in Syria to contain Iran. “We’ll stand up for You are not to use student requests for recommendations as a platform to discuss your its right to target Iranian backed targets in Syria,” he said. Also appearing at JINSA’s personal political beliefs.” Cheney-Lippold’s case has been referred to a local attorney annual conference were top officers from all branches of the U.S. military, Israeli who is an expert on the topic of censorship, the newspaper reported, citing Radhika Ambassador Ron Dermer, and top foreign policy Republicans in the Senate, including Sainath, a Palestine Legal staff attorney who is advising him. There has been no word Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. on punishment in the more recent case. Man sets fire and draws devil outside Michael Bloomberg registers as a Democrat, fueling synagogue speculation of presidential run Police arrested a Northern California man the week of Oct. 11 who set a small fire Michael Bloomberg announced that he has registered as a Democrat, fueling specula- outside a synagogue in Modesto and drew a devil on the sidewalk. Brett Bisnett, 37, tion that he will challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. The of Modesto, could be charged with vandalism to a place of worship and arson for his Jewish billionaire businessman and three-term New York mayor made the announcement attack on Congregation Beth Shalom. Bisnett reportedly told officers that the drawing early Oct. 10 in a post on Instagram. In June, Bloomberg reportedly said at a fund-raiser in permanent black marker was a devil and “God told him” to draw it, according to that he’s “revving up” for 2020. CBS reported in June that he was considering a run for the local CBS affiliate. He also was shown on surveillance video pulling plants out president in 2020. He has said he will “take a look” at a presidential campaign after the of the ground on the synagogue property. He set the fire using a small teddy bear, the midterm elections, The Washington Post reported on Oct. 10. Bloomberg, 76, considered Sacramento Bee reported. Independent runs for the White House in 2008, 2012 and 2016.

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ÊCheck out the Federation’s new, updated website at www.jewishnepa.org or find it on Facebook 12 THE REPORTER ■ OCTOBER 18, 2018 BOOK REVIEW Fathers and sons BY RABBI RACHEL ESSERMAN Lysander, his youngest son from his first quandary is the nature of his relationship has never had a good relationship with his There are novels that I refer to as read- marriage, who wanders aimlessly through to Lysander: will Millard make his son father and it doesn’t help that he is mak- er-friendly. While these works may look life. Millard hopes that he can set his son understand why he should change his life? ing a mess of the business Georg started. at difficult topics – for example, suicide or on a better path during one last lunch, What is interesting is how little time Millard Emma, who works as a lawyer, wants Ben autism – they usually offer pleasant, simple although he doesn’t want to reveal that spends thinking about the effect of his suicide to take full responsibility of Jonah now that solutions to complex issues. This leaves this will be the last meal they share. on his family. In fact, he’s more concerned they are separated, and Ben has difficulty readers feeling good about the novels and In fact, Millard plans to make his last about who will take over his position at the rising to the task. To complicate matters, themselves because they aren’t forced to day just like any other day – that is, except hospital. What is clear is that the ending will Georg dislikes the idea of Jonah moving consider that many problems don’t have for helping a woman he’s fallen in love leave some readers surprised and unsettled. away from home, although Ben tries to happy, easy answers. An antidote to these with also commit suicide. There is one While “Millard Salter’s Last Day” fo- explain why Jonah’s life will improve works can be found in two recent works: great difference: Delilah suffers from a cuses on one father and son relationship, at the residential school. Ben must face “Millard Salter’s Last Day” by Jacob M. terminal disease and wants to die before there are two at the core of “Shtum.” not only the tribunal that will determine Appel (Gallery Books),which focuses on she becomes totally dependent. The two The title of the book is the Yiddish word Jonah’s fate, but his own life decisions, suicide, and Jem Lester’s “Shtum” (The met when Millard agreed to work with for quiet or silence. It refers to narrator including whether the choices he makes Overlook Press), which offers a portrait Compassionate Endings, an organization Ben Jewell’s relationship to Georg, his are motivated by selfishness or love. of a family dealing with an autistic son. that helps terminally ill patients choose how father, who refuses to speak about his “Shtum” is heartwarming and heart- Underlying the subject matter of both and when they die. In addition to his visit life in Eastern Europe before he moved rending, in addition to being sad and funny works are the problematic relationships to Delilah and lunch with his son, Millard to England, and to his 10-year-old autistic at the same time. The author is brutally between several sets of fathers and sons spends time with patients and colleagues. son, Jonah, who can’t speak. Ben and his honest about what life can be with an that may never be satisfactorily resolved. He’s been very careful not to let his fam- wife, Emma, are at a breaking point in their autistic child who has no special skills. In Appel’s novel, Millard Salter con- ily and friends know of his decision: he’s marriage. The two want Jonah, who is not Jonah raids kitchen cupboards, leaving a siders his 75th birthday the perfect time renewed magazine subscriptions, prepaid toilet trained and can be violent when he mess, and smears his feces across walls to end his life. Although he’s not ill and dues to his club and even requested an doesn’t get his way, to go to a residential when his diaper is not changed. When still works as the head of a psychiatric de- absentee ballot. What surprises him is school that will offer him the type of frustrated, he self-hurts or lashes out at partment in a hospital, Millard dreads the how he feels as his birthday approaches: environment in which he might thrive. those near him. Yet, it’s clear that Ben slow decline of old age. He spends the day “Rather than fearful, or even reluctant, However, the local authorities have to deeply loves his son, just as he loves his looking back at his life – thinking about he found himself resigned – as though, to approve the move, which costs more than father, even though they find it difficult – his family, his first and second marriages, paraphrase the High Holiday Amidah, his sending him to a local school. To increase if not impossible – to communicate with and his four children. Although Millard’s name was already inscribed on the casualty the chance of Jonah getting the help he each other. Lester’s novel is an excellent first wife is still alive, his second wife died list inside the Book of Life.” needs, Ben and Emma separate, with Ben look at the harsh reality and the deep, after a difficult illness. The majority of his The question becomes whether Millard and Jonah moving in with Georg. emotional connections found in families children seem settled – that is, except for will actually end his life. A secondary That situation is less than ideal. Ben touched by autism.

Cemeteries Continued from page 1 borders clearly, explained Carmel, who Adventists in its Christian cemetery, to stop last year oversaw its demarcation. It is now burying them atop older graves at a disused set for fencing later this year, complete Jewish cemetery, Carmel said. with retaining walls. When it comes to halachah, or Jewish ESJF recently began using engineering law, ESJF is strict in observing its rules drones that can map a Jewish cemetery in on burial, Carmel said. But whenever a fraction of the time and cost that a team possible, he said, the organization tries to of surveyors would require. compromise, keeping with its view that Fencing is crucial, Carmel said, be- local partnerships are the only guarantee cause it prevents further damage. While it for the organization’s long-lasting impact. neither helps restore damage nor prevent “The cemeteries we fence, they are not people who are determined to get in from being guarded,” Carmel said. “Ultimately, climbing the fence, “It shows ownership, the only way of making sure these places it indicates interest and it vastly reduces don’t get destroyed is to get the local the chance of vandalism,” he said. population to think of their local Jewish Jewish communities in Eastern Europe cemetery as part of their own heritage.” are struggling to maintain crumbling One success has been in Frampol, heritage sites from an era when the local Poland, where dozens of schoolchildren Jewish population was many times greater joined ESJF’s fencing and cleanup of than it is today, as are activists working Photographers captured a ceremony at a Jewish cemetery in Frampol, Poland. the local Jewish cemetery. Another is the to preserve Jewish cemeteries. But ESJF (Photo by ESJF) story of Katy Kryvko, a 17-year-old high is the best-funded and first international school student from the Ukraine village effort of its kind, active in an area with construction of apartments atop two for- government decided to bankroll ESJF, of Derazhne, located about 100 miles well over 10,000 Jewish cemeteries in mer Jewish cemeteries in Gomel. And in according to Carmel. As a rule, ESJF does north of Buchach. Two years ago Kryvko, various degrees of risk. And it is by far the Lithuania, the government is ignoring an not get involved in cemeteries featuring who is not Jewish, contacted ESJF about most transparent, as per stringent reporting international outcry over its plan to build a legal or territorial dispute, like the ones a Jewish cemetery behind her home that demands by the German treasury. a conference center on what used to be in Klimontow, Gomel or Vilnius. “Our the local children used as a playground. Whereas the bulk of the damage to one Vilnius’ largest cemeteries, which the objective is to fence as many Jewish “I was shocked when I realized that Jewish cemeteries happened during World communists razed. cemeteries as possible in as little time as kids are playing literally at the cemetery,” War II and under communism, they are About a quarter of all Jewish cemeteries possible for the lowest cost,” Carmel said. she told JTA. “I didn’t understand why it still being degraded today at an alarming in Eastern Europe were destroyed during the Instead of duking it out with local au- was neglected and nobody cared about it.” rate due to unregulated construction and Nazi and Soviet periods, according to Rabbi thorities and developers, ESJF tries to find Her interest in the cemetery led Kryvko to vandalism. Early in October, the con- Isaac Schapira, the Israel-based founder and compromises. On a recent project, ESJF study the tragic history of the region’s Jewish struction of a state-funded sports complex chairman of the ESJF board. “Most of those even purchased a small and cheap plot of land population, and to ESJF, which cleaned it in the town of Klimontow, Poland, was that have remained lie neglected principally in a small Ukrainian town so it could serve up and fenced it last year. “It’s so important completed atop what activists say was because their communities were wiped out as a Christian cemetery. It was the simplest for me because I know that I’m the only one a disused Jewish cemetery. Last year, a in the Holocaust,” he said. way of getting the local Orthodox church, person who can save the cemetery,” she said. judge in Belarus cleared the way for the This is also the reason the German which did not want to bury Seventh-day “I mean, who can take care of it.”

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OCTOBER 18, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 13 NEWS IN BRIEF FROM ISRAEL From JTA Russia will not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over Golan, Israeli army destroys mile-long Hamas tunnel used to target foreign minister says southern Israel Russia’s foreign minister said on Oct. 10 that his country will not agree to recognize The Israeli army destroyed a tunnel built by the terrorist group Hamas that crossed Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights unless it is approved by the international from Gaza into Israel. The tunnel, nearly a mile long, originated in the Khan Younis community. Sergey Lavrov was responding to the call by Prime Minister Benjamin area of the central Gaza Strip and stretched more than 200 yards into Israeli territory. Netanyahu of Israel to accept his nation’s presence on the Golan Heights, which Israel It branched off in several places to connect to the network of Hamas tunnels under took from Syria in 1967 during the Six-Day War. “Today we see what is happening Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said on Oct. 11, and was equipped with power and over the border – Iran’s attempts to establish a military presence and the aggression telephone lines. The IDF said in a statement that it was the 15th tunnel that it has located of terrorist fanatics. We will continue to stand strong and determined against all of and destroyed in the past year, part of a network of Hamas tunnels designed to enable these,” Netanyahu said on Oct. 9 at the dedication of a synagogue at the Ein Keshatot the terrorist group to launch attacks on southern Israeli communities. The tunnel was archaeological site on the Golan Heights. “Israel on the Golan Heights is a guarantee located several months ago, according to the IDF, but the timing of the destruction was for stability in the surrounding area. Israel on the Golan Heights is a solid reality based decided in coordination with other operational considerations. The IDF also studied on ancient rights. Israel on the Golan Heights is a fact that the international community the tunnel and its connection to other Gaza fighting tunnels inside the Strip. The IDF must recognize, and as long as it depends on me the Golan Heights will always remain spokesman’s office said in a tweet that Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, invested under Israeli sovereignty because otherwise we would have Iran and Hezbollah on the some $3 million worth of cement and electrical equipment, as well as hours of labor shores of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). I know that President Putin understands my into the tunnel. “Today, we can say we have newly improved technological means for commitment to the security of Israel, and I know that he also understands the importance the discovery, location and thwarting of tunnel activity,” said the spokesman, Brig. Gen. that I ascribe to the Golan Heights, that we all ascribe to the Golan Heights and to the Ronen Manelis. “The Hamas terrorist organization continues to invest considerable re- heritage of Israel.” Netanyahu announced earlier in the week that he would meet soon sources in establishing infrastructures aimed at harming Israeli citizens. This economic with Putin. Lavrov, appearing before reporters in Moscow, said that Russian President investment, which comes at the expense of the well being of residents, is a sign for the Vladimir Putin recognizes the importance of the Golan for Israel. Still, he said, “The Strip’s inhabitants that their regime prefers to invest in terror rather than in other things.” status of the Golan Heights is determined by the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council. Hours before the announcement of the destruction, on the morning of Oct. 11, the Iron Changing this status bypassing the Security Council, from my perspective, would be Dome missile defense system was activated, causing Code Red rocket sirens to sound a direct violation of these resolutions.” Relations between Israel and Russia have been in several Israeli communities located near the border with Gaza. The army said the strained since the accidental downing in September of a Russian surveillance plane system was triggered accidentally and that no rockets had been fired from Gaza at Israel. by Syrian anti-aircraft fire in the area of an Israeli airstrike on a facility of the Syrian Arson balloons land in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv suburb armed forces. Fifteen Russian troops were killed in the incident, which Russia blames on Israel. Russia accused the pilots of the Israeli F-16 fighter jets of using the Russian Balloons rigged with incendiary devices were discovered in Jerusalem and a Tel Ilyushin IL-20 airplane as a shield against the Syrian anti-missile system. In response, Aviv suburb. A woman discovered the balloons on Oct. 11 in the Valley of the Cross, Russia said it would transfer to Syria its sophisticated S-300 missile air defense system. located near Israel’s , or parliament building in the heart of Jerusalem. She brought them to her next stop and called police. Security officials have called on the JNF: Thousands of acres of forest land destroyed in six months public not to touch the devices and immediately call police. On the same day, an More than 3,000 acres of forest in the Northern and Western Negev desert have been incendiary balloon was discovered in the coastal city of Bat Yam, a suburb of Tel damaged by arson attacks from Gaza. Marking six months since Palestinians in Gaza Aviv. The latest balloons follow a day after a balloon carrying an incendiary device began sending incendiary balloons and kites over the border toward southern Israel, Keren landed in Jerusalem’s upscale German Colony neighborhood. This comes on the heels Kayemeth L’Yisrael-Jewish National Fund reported on Oct. 10 that some 3,279 acres, a of a similar arson balloon discovered in the courtyard of a home in the West Bank total of 12,270 dunams, of forests have been damaged by fires caused by the attacks. An- settlement of Givat Zeev, located just north of Jerusalem. The week of Oct. 5, an other 4,000 acres of farmland also have been destroyed by the fires. KKL-JNF firefighting incendiary balloon landed on a highway near the Modi’in industrial zone in central teams have been on call around the clock to quickly detect and respond to the ongoing Israel. It has been six months since Palestinians in Gaza began sending incendiary fires, the group said in a statement. The most damage has occurred in the Beeri and Kisu- balloons and kites over the border toward southern Israel as part of March of Return fim forests in the Western Negev, and forests near the city of Sderot and Kibbutz Lahav protests. The balloons being discovered in central Israel are believed to be copycat in the northern Negev. On Oct. 8, KKL-JNF’s Board of Directors allocated 100 million efforts on the part of Palestinians in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. shekels, or about $27.5 million, for projects to help the Gaza border area communities.

ÊCheck out the Federation’s new, updated website at www.jewishnepa.org or find it on Facebook 14 THE REPORTER ■ OCTOBER 18, 2018

October 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 (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 *)

OCTOBER 18, 2018 ■ THE REPORTER 15 NEWS IN BRIEF From JNS.org the next day at a highway service station near the town of Aschaffenburg.” The United American Jewish baseball players to make for States applauded the move. “The scale of this plot, which involved arrests of numerous suspects across Europe, including in Belgium, France and Germany, reminds us that Israeli Olympic team Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” said U.S. Secretary of Ten American-Jewish Major League and Minor League Baseball players are be- State Mike Pompeo in a statement. “This plot also lays bare Iran’s continued support ginning the process of making aliyah the week of Oct. 15, in order to be eligible to of terrorism throughout Europe. We support our European allies in exposing and play for Israel at the 2020 Olympic Summer Games. Participants in the Olympics countering the threat that Iranian-backed terrorism poses around the world.” must be citizens of the countries which they represent for at least a year prior to Qatari-bought fuel arrives in Gaza to the ire of Abbas pre-Olympic trials, but they can have multiple citizenships. Half of the players making Fuel purchased by Qatar arrived in Gaza through Israel on Oct. 9 in an effort to solve aliyah played for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic last year, reaching the power shortages, but the delivery drew criticism from the Palestinian Authority, which quarterfinals: , a retired minor leaguer; and objected to relief being provided to Hamas-controlled Gaza. Six trucks carrying 450,000 from the Independent League; , a Baltimore Orioles minor leaguer; and liters of fuel crossed through Kerem Shalom, with at least one making its way to the central Gabe Cramer, a Kansas City Royals minor leaguer. Others are Jon Moscot and Zack power station in Gaza City. The fuel was part of a $60 million fuel donation from Qatar. Weiss, Major League Baseball free agents; Eric Brodkowitz, a former college play- According to reports, the P.A.’s objections to Gaza receiving resources, due to its control er; Jonathan de Marte, who plays in the Independent League; and Jeremy Wolf, a by a rival, has resulted in some areas of Gaza receiving just four hours of electricity a day. retired minor league player. Eight of the players are . Due to their ages, none The new delivery will add several hours per day to the electricity ration for approximately of the players will be drafted into the Israeli Defense Forces. The Israel Association six months. Fatah and Hamas have long experienced friction. The antagonism came to a of Baseball, which says the number of Israelis playing baseball rose by 25 percent head in 2007, when a short civil war in Gaza resulted in Hamas taking control of the western in the past two years, is planning to build two regulation-size fields this year: one in land strip situated between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. Fatah retains control Beit Shemesh and one in Ra’anana. of the P.A., which occupies territory in Judea and Samaria on the eastern side of Israel. Israeli startup named first international winner of U.S. Representatives of P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas expressed outrage over the humanitarian cyber-security grant aid, saying all supplies to Gaza should be approved by them. “Any international financial aid to the Gaza Strip should be through, or with the coordination of, the [Fatah-led] Pales- The United States Department of Homeland Security has awarded a grant to Israeli tinian government,” spokesman Rami Hamdallah told Al Jazeera, saying it was necessary cyber-security startup Morphisec to develop cyber-security defense solutions for virtual to “preserve Palestinian unity.” However, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem from Gaza desktop systems, according to an announcement on Oct. 10. Morphisec will become said the deliveries had to be made “through the United Nations because of the vacuum the first international business to receive a grant from the DHS Science and Technol- left by the P.A.” In recent months, the P.A. has slashed the budget to Gaza in a bid to bring ogy Directorate’s Financial Services Cyber Security Active Defense Technologies Hamas to its knees, including pay cuts to public workers by as much as 30 percent. Israeli category. It will work through the U.S. body’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program officials expressed concern that a P.A. withdrawal of $96 million could lead Hamas to attack to continue development on its patented Moving Target Defense-base cyber-secu- Israel as a way of gaining legitimacy with its constituency in the wake of a humanitarian rity system to prevent attacks on financial institutions such as ransomware, viruses, crisis, and that the spark in violence could also ignite increased terrorist fervor in Judea file-less attacks, persistent threats, and zero-days. The global virtual infrastructure and Samaria. “Abbas is strangling them economically and they lash out at Israel,” Israeli software market is expected to almost triple by 2023 to $15.3 billion. Morphisec was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told press in his office on Oct. 9. He also said that founded just four years ago, starting out at JVP’s Cyber Lab incubator in Beersheva, if Hamas attacks Israel, “the price they will pay will be very great. ...I am not looking to and has since raised more than $20 million in funding, including from venture-capital launch unnecessary wars. But if there is no alternative, you wage war with all your strength.” firms JVP, OurCrowd, GE Ventures and Deutsche Telekom. According to a report by Start-Up Nation Central, Israel comes second only the United States in the amount of Iran joins global initiative to combat terrorism; loopholes investments made in the cyber-security industry in 2017. Israel received 16 percent for Hamas and Hezbollah of the world market, totaling $815 million. Looking to avoid further international sanctions, 143 out of 268 Iranian lawmakers Bashing Israel, UNESCO also calls tombs part of voted on Oct. 7 to join a global initiative to end terrorist funding, including loopholes for “Occupied Palestinian territory” groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Known as the “Combating the Financing of Terrorism,” the international convention “involves investigating, analyzing, deterring and preventing The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization PX Com- sources of funding for activities intended to achieve political, religious or ideological goals mission of the Executive Board voted on Oct. 10 to adopt a pair of “decisions” titled through violence and the threat of violence against civilians,” according to the online site “Occupied Palestine,” which call the ancient and Matriarchs Investopedia. However, this development is unlikely to cease Iran’s role as the world’s in , and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem integral parts of “Occupied Palestinian leading state sponsor of terrorism. “Both opponents of the bill and foreign-media reports territory” and slam Israel for “other measures aimed at altering the character, status failed to recognize that the bill carves out exemptions for the specific purpose of facili- and demographic composition of the Occupied Palestinian territory,” like building a tating funds to support Hamas, Hezbollah and other groups designated abroad as terrorist security fence. Decision 28 and Decision 29, which were sponsored by Jordan, Leb- organizations,” according to Saeed Ghasseminejad, Toby Dershowitz of the Foundation anon, Egypt, Morocco, Qatar, Oman and Sudan, took just minutes to pass, and called for Defense of Democracies. “To that end, the bill excludes ‘struggles against colonial Israel an “occupier,” accusing Israel of “army violations against Palestinian universities dominance and foreign occupation’ from its definition of terrorism,” they added. “The bill and schools,” and expressing disapproval of Israeli archaeological work in the eastern even acknowledges it will not fully comply with clause 1.b in Article 2 of the CFT, which part of Israel’s capital, Jerusalem. Some analysts called the decisions a continuation prohibits any act ‘intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian, or to any of a longtime anti-Israel policy at UNESCO, which included resolutions rejecting other person not taking an active part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict.’” The Israel’s connection to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. “The jihad uses UNESCO as United States is scheduled to slap its second round of sanctions on the regime on Nov. 4. a legitimate face in their mission to delegitimize the Jewish people’s rights to the land of Israel, so they can continue their war against us,” said spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron Yishai Fleisher. “This is nothing but national-identity theft.” Yet some officials found a silver lining in the decisions, stating that they were actually indicative of a compromise between Israel, the Palestinians and Jordan since they were To get Federation updates via email, intended to be voted upon as resolutions, but instead were passed by a consensus as a non-binding annex, an accomplishment Israel has celebrated in the past as a diplomatic rregister on our website success. UNESCO’s Executive Committee has included similar text in previous years. But new UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay, France’s former minister of cul- ture and the daughter of a Jewish family, has said to be dedicated to depoliticizing the www.jewishnepa.org body and took a role in preventing the decisions from becoming resolutions. Despite the softening, Israel will still be exiting the body in December along with the United States, until “UNESCO ends its bias against Israel, stops denying history and starts standing up for the truth,” according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Pledge or Donate Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon responded by saying, “This is further evidence – for anyone who did not understand why the United States and Israel online at withdrew from UNESCO – that again proves that UNESCO is a body based on lies and biases, and is deliberately acting against us. The State of Israel will not be a member of an organization that is trying to rewrite history and willing to be manipulated by our www.jewishnepa.org/donate enemies.” The United States withdrew from UNESCO last year. Germany extradites Iranian official to Belgium Germany announced the extradition on Oct. 9 of 46-year-old Iranian official -As ewish Federa the J tion sadollah Assadi, who worked in disguise as a diplomat, to Belgium to face trial for on ’s e u ma his role in a thwarted Iranian terrorist plot to bomb a political rally in France on June yo il re lis 30. The rally in suburban Paris was attended by some 25,000 Iranians opposed to the A t? Iranian regime. Also in the crowd was former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, We send updated announcements and special who is currently U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer. “A Belgian special unit stopped the couple in their car in Brussels allegedly before they could carry out event details weekly to those who wish to receive them. the attack,” according to Radio Free Europe. “German police arrested the diplomat Send Dassy Ganz an email if you would like to join the list. [email protected]

For information, contact Bonnie Rozen at 1-800-779-7896, ext. 244 or [email protected] ÊCheck out the Federation’s new, updated website at www.jewishnepa.org or find it on Facebook 16 THE REPORTER ■ OCTOBER 18, 2018