Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks Non-Profit Organization Jewish Cultural Center, PO Box 14925 U.S. Postage PAID Reading, PA 19612-4925 Permit No. 2 readingjewishcommunity.org Reading, PA Change Service Requested Enriching Lives Volume 51, No. 6 June 2021 Sivan - Tammuz 5781 ShaloThe Journal of the Reading Jewish Communitym published by0 the Jewish6 Federation2 of Reading/Berks1 Your Federation Supports: Violins of Hope coming this fall Jewish Education Food Pantry By Amanda J. Hornberger Adorned with Stars of David or identified Friendship Circle by tags declaring “we were played by proud klezmers,, the Violins of Hope is a private Chevra collection of violins, violas and cellos Community Shabbat that belonged to Jews before or during World War II. In a unique collaboration of Reading Jewish Film Series community partners, the Violins of Hope exhibit is coming to Reading, in memory PJ Library of those who died in the Holocaust as a Jewish Family Service testament to those who survived. Jewish Federation of Reading and the Jewish Cultural Center Reading Symphony Orchestra are proud Lakin Holocaust Library to present the Violins of Hope exhibit in Reading from Nov. 1-14. The instruments & Resource Center in the collection have been lovingly restored over the past two decades by master Israeli Israel & Overseas violin maker Amnon Weinstein. Weinstein’s Camp Scholarships son Avshi, the curator of the exhibit, will travel to Reading with the exhibit. This will be the Remembrance Service, just to name a few. of the Violins of Hope exhibit in Reading. Israel Trips first time it will be shown in Pennsylvania. More events are being added, and a complete In partnership with our local school districts The instruments all belonged to Jews schedule will be announced this summer. and colleges, the collection will be shared Jewish Community who played them before and during Musical events will be a highlight of the with students throughout Berks County. High School the war, in some cases even in Nazi program and will include performances by Holocaust education teaching trainings concentration camps throughout Europe. the Friends of Chamber Music featuring a will also be offered in coordination with the Emergency Support For Jews enduring utter despair and string quartet performing on instruments ADL’s Echoes and Reflections team and the unimaginable evil during the Holocaust, from the Violins of Hope collection. Berks County Intermediate Unit. Lakin Preschool music offered haven and humanity. On Saturday, Nov. 13, a Reading Our Violins of Hope steering committee Richard J. Yashek Lecture Though many of these musicians were Symphony Orchestra will feature the is committed to using the exhibition silenced during the Holocaust, their voices string section performing on the Violins of as a vehicle for promoting peace and Transportation and spirits live again through the instruments Hope collection. Guest artists will be violin understanding. By fighting antisemitism, that Weinstein has restored. virtuoso Pinchas Zuckerman performing the racism and hate through the stories of Maimonides Society The collection of more than 60 string Bruch concerto and his wife, cellist Amanda these violins and music, we hope to create Your Jewish Legacy instruments will be displayed at gallery sites Forsyth, performing Bruch’s Kol Nidrei. change in our community that lasts beyond at Alvernia University and the Goggleworks. The concert will conclude with Gustav the length of the exhibit. 92ND ST Y Programs A full schedule of community events includes Mahler’s heroic Symphony No. 1 in D Major. We look forward to sharing more details Zuckerman’s appearance is sponsored by about the collection as well as educational Joint Distribution Committee lectures by Avshi Weinstein and Dr. James Grymes (author of a book about this special Jewish Federation of Reading. and informational events in the coming Meir Panim collection), film screenings, Shabbat and Educational opportunities for students months, including opportunities for support Havdalah services and the annual Kristallnacht of all ages are another major component and participation by our wider community. Annual Campaign Jewish Agency for Israel Yemin Orde Come join us at annual meeting; School Education Programs Interfaith Unity Council tickets still available Israel Advocacy By Amanda J. Hornberger Youth Events Tickets still remain for the annual Great Decisions Series meeting of Jewish Federation of Reading on Sunday, June 13, at FirstEnergy Stadium Jewish Community in Reading. Join us as we honor the volunteers who helped Federation adapt Relations Council and adjust to the many challenges COVID Community Holiday Programs brought to our community last year (see list on Page 3). Women’s Philanthropy The meeting will begin at 4 p.m., and Jewish Federations a kosher dinner buffet by Boscov’s will be available from 4:30 to 6:45. Game time is of North America 5:15. Our group will be congregating at the Tower Health Pool Party Deck including the Counseling Services swimming pool, so be sure to bring your suits Leo Camp Lecture and towels! The Pool Deck is located just next to Phunland, which includes a moon bounce, buffet dinner, pool deck and baseball game. will be following federal and state health and Shabbat B’Yachad fast pitch and other games for kids, available Reservations are required by Friday, June safety guidelines. Special travel assistance for an additional cost at the game. Social 4, to [email protected] or 610-921-0624. and accommodations will be available distancing and masks will be required, and only Online registration is available on our for seniors; please call Carole Robinson our group will have access to the Pool Deck. website. to confirm details. We hope community Children 12 and under are free. Anyone Free parking is available at the stadium members of all ages will join us for this fun over age 12 is $5 per ticket for the kosher and nearby lots. The R-Phils organization event! Page 2 SHALOM June 2021 Israel Book Club: ‘Shadow Strike’ By Moisey Schneider shook each airman’s hand. “I trust you and I curtail attempts to destroy Israel. The Bush and Andi Franklin believe in you,” he said. That was a moment administration had legitimate concerns that “Shadow Strike” tells for the first time the the pilots would never forget. a strike against Syria would destabilize Iraq, story of the espionage, political courage, At around 10:30 p.m., four F-151’s took but Israel felt an existential urgency. The military bravery and psychological warfare off from the Hatzerim base and four F-161’s author asks, had Israel not carried out this behind Israel’s daring operation to stop one from the Ramon airbase in the Negev mission, what would the Middle East look t of the worst acts of nuclear proliferation. desert. The planes together were carrying like today? The author shows the power of Israel’s around 20 tons of bombs. To infiltrate Syrian Yaakov Katz asserts that today, Iran military might behind the daring operation airspace without detection, the planes flew stands as one of the greatest threats to Israel n to stop nuclear proliferation by Syria and at an altitude below 200 feet, and the pilots and the global community. The danger is North Korea. The book also reveals Israel’s maintained complete silence. The Syrians underscored by Iranian threats against small diplomatic alliance with the United States. did not even see the planes coming. Satan-Israel and big Satan-USA. These The man responsible for preparing the Within seconds each plane dropped two threats must be dealt with. The U.S. now has e airstrike was Major General Eliezer Shkedi, bombs, nearly 20 tons of explosives, over the opportunity to create the greatest peace the son of a Holocaust survivor. Shkedi felt the nuclear reactor and destroyed it. Each ever in the Middle East by stopping Iran’s an obligation to do whatever it took to prevent plane checked in,and then the lead pilot ambitions, taking advantage of new global Israel’s enemies from having the capability broke radio silence. “Arizona,” he reported realities such as the Abraham Accords and to threaten the very existence of the Jewish back to Tel Aviv, the code word for mission Iran’s current economic weakness to insist people. His father was a Hungarian Jew who accomplished. on a deal that truly makes the region and m managed to jump off a cattle car traveling This book also brings to light Israel’s the world a safer place. Iran must agree to from Budapest to Auschwitz. powerful military and diplomatic alliance a complete and permanent halt to its nuclear Before the operation, Shkedi gathered with the United States. It reveals the many weapons program. p the pilots in the briefing room and told them debates between President George W. The author gives a glimpse into what that their mission was to bomb a nuclear Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and makes Israel unique. It is a complicated reactor in Syria. He said, “It is most important Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. It tells country, threatened like no other, but it takes for the safety and security of the Jewish of the diplomatic and military planning that its role — the preservation of the Jewish o people and the state of Israel.” They were took place in the Oval Office, the prime people —seriously. It is the only country in shocked but did not have time to think about minister’s office in Jerusalem and inside the world that has eliminated two nuclear l it, one of the pilots recalled years later. the IDF’s underground war room beneath threats. As they picked up their helmets and Tel Aviv. These two countries, at that time, As the sage Hillel asked some 2,000 headed out to their aircraft for a last checklist were united in a battle to prevent nuclear years ago,” If I am not for myself, who will e of inspection, Shkedi stood at the door and proliferation, to defeat Islamic terror and to be for me? v A letter of thanks from Yemin Orde graduate The following note was sent to Federation others.