COVERING
THE BASICS
NEVER FORGET
Local author Ronit Treatment writes a book
about Jewish festivals.

APRIL 8, 2021 / 26 NISAN 5781
PAGE 22
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM — WHAT IT MEANS TO BE JEWISH IN PHILADELPHIA —
$1.00 LOCAL
Series Examines
Legacy of
Sen. Joe McCarthy
Anti-Semitic innuendo a part of
the Red Scare.

Page 6
FILM Film Asks ‘Why
Be Jewish?’
‘American Birthright’ has
local connection.

Page 21
Volume 133
Number 52
Published Weekly Since 1887
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
DR. RACHEL LEVINE made history
on March 24 when she became the fi rst
openly transgender federal offi cial to be
confi rmed by the Senate.

After a 52-48 vote, the former
Pennsylvania health secretary will serve
as assistant secretary for health in the
Department of Health and Human
Services. “When I assume this position, I will
stand on the shoulders of those who came
before — people we know throughout
history and those whose names we will
never know because they were forced to
live and work in the shadows,” Levine, 63,
told Th e New York Times.

Levine gained public attention as
the leader of Pennsylvania’s COVID-19
response and became the face of the health
campaign by regularly holding press brief-
ings. As assistant secretary for health, she
will help lead the federal response to the
crisis. A cohort of campers play at JCC Camps at Medford in 2020.

Courtesy of Sara Sideman
Summer Camps Plan
2021 Safety Protocols
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
ALTHOUGH THE SECOND summer of
the pandemic is approaching, Rabbi Joel
Seltzer knows this camp season will be
diff erent from the last.

“Last year was entirely occupied by the
question of, ‘Can we have camp safely?’
Whereas this year, the entire year has
not been a question of can, but how,” the
executive director of Camp Ramah in the
Poconos said.

Last year, Ramah was one of many
sleepaway camps in Pennsylvania that
canceled its season due to the health risks
of COVID-19. Now, updated facilities and
stringent safety protocols are helping these
organizations plan to welcome kids back.

See Levine, Page 16
See Camps, Page 17
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Page 4
76 Several Jewish
candidate seek
judicial posts.

ng 19
Here Comes
the Judge
c e
LOCAL Levine
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