The Jewish Star Independent and original reporting from the Orthodox communities of Long Island VOL. 8, NO. 25 JUNE 19, 2009 | 27 SIVAN 5769 www.thejewishstar.com GET OUTTA TOWN INWOOD CAMPUS A RELIGIOUS EXCHANGE OU fair highlights Jewish communities Bnot Shulamith gains zoning approval The Kosher Bookworm Page 3 Page 6 Page 8 IN MY VIEW Tuition by Iran is not a the nickel democracy Internet toolbar will help fund Jewish education BY MICAH D. HALPERN BY YAFFI SPODEK mericans have been duped, An easy opportunity to help your school raise hoodwinked by mainstream money may be only a mouse-click away thanks to a new media, fed false hope and pro- fundraising venture from the Orthodox Union. A vided with erroneous informa- For every single click on the OU’s Education Fund tion. Toolbar — scheduled to launch in the next few weeks I need to set the record straight. — a corporate sponsor will donate five cents to the OU Iran is not a democracy. Education Fund, which will be distributed to yeshivot Because the Iranians use the and day schools around the coun- terms and adopt the trappings of try. democracy, does not make it a democ- “Our goal is to send the tool- racy. Because the American media bar to every Jewish home in would like Iran to be a democracy, America,” said Rabbi Saul Zucker, does not make it a democracy. Because director of the OU’s recently the White House developed department of day school and educational services. wishes for a Image courtesy Joe Klein “The toolbar gets loaded onto democratically Yetta, a Holocaust survivor briefly overcome with grief, during an interview in the documentary run Iran, does your desktop and it costs the user “Surviving Surviving,” prepared as a class assignment by HAFTR eighth grader Joe Klein. not mean Iran is nothing. When you access the Rabbi Saul Zucker a democracy. Internet through the toolbar, for The Iranians every click, our sponsors will went out to vote, donate a nickel to the OU education fund.” but their votes Surviving surviving Though five cents may not seem like a substantial did not count. amount of money, other organizations using a similar ”Just because The only vote First the Holocaust, then poverty arrangement have generated as much as $600,000 a that counts in month in tool bar usage, Zucker noted. All of the money the people of Iran is the vote BY MALKA EISENBERG 30,000 in the United States, live at or near will be distributed to schools based on a specific formula Iran and the of The Supreme the federal poverty level, said Elie Rubinstein, for allocation, divided into three distinct categories. Leader, the Helen G. survived Auschwitz and Men- executive director of Blue Card, Inc. Although Twenty percent of the money will be available as an Western world Grand Ayatollah gele's experiments on twins and grew up in poverty has been a problem among survivors Khameini. And an orphanage in the United States, but the since the war’s end, “the issue of needy Holo- See TUITION, Page 7 were duped this the Grand Aya- agony of those years haunts her still. When caust survivors is not often on the radar time, it does tollah has poverty threatened to make her homeless and screen,” said Rubinstein. “They are isolated declared that hungry, The Blue Card, a financial aid organi- and basically forgotten. In the Jewish commu- not mean that Mahmoud zation for Holocaust survivors, helped with nity we don't talk about needy Holocaust sur- Who won, anyway? Ahmadinejad her mortgage and food. See SURVIVING, Page 9 democracy will retains his posi- Helen's case is not an isolated one. One See select local election results never find its tion because of fourth of all Holocaust survivors, about online at www.thejewishstar.com “divine involve- way into Iranian ment.” Challeng- ing that edict is politics.“ tantamount to challenging Allah. Local shuls on high alert There is no questioning the Tightened security follows shooting at Holocaust museum word of the Grand Ayatollah. Accord- ing to Iranian law The Supreme BY YAFFI SPODEK nizing the severity of the security Leader is the real and true leader. It is threat, nor is he being overly cautious he who has the final say on all matters Rabbi Anchelle Perl of Chabad of in addressing it. religious and political. The president Mineola was not surprised to receive a “The risk is only going to increase is merely his mouthpiece. phone call from the local police over time, and is not going to go So how could the Western press department last Wednesday afternoon, away,” warned terrorism expert Micah portray the charade perpetrated in reassuring him of extra security mea- Halpern. “You can't bury your head in Iran as a democratic election? The fix sures being taken to protect his build- the sand and assume it will.” was in from the outset. ing, just hours after an elderly gunman Although James T. Von Brunn, the There was a reverse, almost a per- fatally shot a security guard at Wash- D.C. gunman, was a “lone wolf” work- verse, democratic model that evolved ington D.C.'s Holocaust Memorial ing alone, Halpern said, shuls and in Iran around this election. It seemed Museum. other Jewish institutions, especially as if there were four actual candidates. “Security is paramount in gener- those in New York, remain vulnerable In actuality, there were 400 wannabe al,” Rabbi Perl said. “We have been to attacks. candidates and only four made it toughening up security after what hap- “Jewish synagogues, schools and through the vetting process conducted pened in Riverdale, and even before camps are what we call soft targets –– by the Supreme Council which is con- that, Chabad centers around the coun- easy to attack because they don't trolled by The Supreme Leader who try were making proactive efforts since move, as we saw in Riverdale last Photo by Andrew Vardakis Mumbai.” month,” Halpern explained. “Terror- See VIEW, Page 5 Coincidentally, on that same ists, even lone wolves, try to find HALB visits The Jewish Star places that are easy to hit.” Wednesday, Chabad of Mineola was HALB’s SPICE Enrichment Program visited the offices and printing plant of holding a meeting to discuss “how we In the wake of last week's attack, The Jewish Star to learn how the newspaper is produced each week. The Micah Halpern is a social and political are going to revamp our whole securi- the Nassau County Police Department commentator and, most recently, the ty system,” Rabbi Perl said. “Our build- is also stepping up surveillance and enthusiastic and well-mannered group was led by program coordinator Bina author of THUGS. He maintains the ing is going to be under watch 24/7.” taking other precautionary measures. Krieger (back row, left) and several parent chaperones. Micah Report at www.micahhalpern.com Rabbi Perl is not alone in recog- See SHULS, Page 3 That’s Life............................................................................2 Calendar...............................................................................6 Candlelighting: 8:10 p.m. ■ Shabbat ends: 9:21 p.m. Inside Opinion .................................................................................4 Classified .............................................................................8 Shabbat Torah reading: Parshat Shlach 11530 PRST STD PERMIT NO 301 GARDEN CITY NY US POSTAGE PAID PAID US POSTAGE CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED CHANGE SERVICE 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530 City, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden 287110 2 The Jewish Star June 19, 2009 THESE BAGELS MEAN BUSINESS Discover how to keep your business healthy and prosper in this economy at The Kosher Business Breakfast™ Dear That’s Life, work is going on, which obvi- with Woodmere Boulevard. 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