O pinion
Reframing ‘Dual Loyalty’
MID-ATLANTIC MEDIA
EDITORIAL BOARD
RECENTLY, NBC NEWS
caused an uproar when they
published a mean-spirited
article online suggesting that
Anne Neuberger, President
Joe Biden’s pick for deputy
national security adviser on
the National Security Council,
would not be able to judge
Israel in a professionally objec-
tive manner simply because her
family foundation is a major
donor to AIPAC. Though
NBC News didn’t use the term
“dual loyalty,” the thinly veiled
accusation was clear.

But why is the assertion
of “dual loyalty” so sensi-
tive? And what is the history
of the ugly accusation? The
notion that Jews are disloyal
to whatever country they live
in is an age-old calumny put to
powerful use in Nazi Germany.

But the idea of Jews as untrust-
worthy, secretive and having
multiple agendas can be found
as early as the Middle Ages.

This long history, which has
often resulted in violence,
explains why, when the charge
of dual loyalty is invoked
against Jews, even obliquely,
the Jewish community and its
member organizations respond
quickly and emphatically, as
they should.

But maybe it’s time to
reexamine the notion of dual
loyalty, and to acknowledge
how it is regularly celebrated
in the context of the great
American experiment.

The United States is a
nation of immigrants. Our
cherished land of opportu-
nity has a larger percentage
of immigrants than any other
country in the world. Most
proudly become U.S. citizens.

Yet they often retain a connec-
tion to the countries they’ve
come from, whether that’s
represented as an Italian flag
keychain, a shamrock button
on a backpack or a map of
Africa sewn onto a jacket. And
we regularly celebrate those
historical connections through
heritage parades, music festi-
vals, food and drink carnivals
— as joyful reminders that
one can be an American, love
this country, be loyal to it, and
still pay tribute to historical
origins. Our
Jewish commu-
nity understands this mix
of influences and identities.

We encourage the sharing of
traditions, whether through a
Russian-Jewish cooking class
or a Yemeni Jewish dance
recital. And, of course, we
have a meaningful connec-
tion to Israel, fostered in
school curricula, synagogues,
family traditions and ventures
like Birthright. These strong
bonds and connections do not
compromise our patriotism.

They complement it — giving
us a broader appreciation of
who we are.

There are, of course,
numerous historical
instances when American
loyalty has been questioned
— from Japanese internments
during World War II to the
demonization of Muslims
following 9/11. But in most
of American life, the appre-
ciation for a culture or nation
of origin is not contextual-
ized as dishonor to the United
States or as a threat to one’s
patriotism. On the contrary,
to be proud of one’s heritage
and grateful to the country
that welcomed immigrants to
safety seems entirely natural
and expected. Yet it is consis-
tently viewed with suspicion
when Jews do it.

We need to find ways to put
Jewish loyalties, which may be
multiple, in the same context as
other diverse American loyal-
ties. Meaningful connection
with one’s history and heritage
is a good thing. It amplifies
our American experience, and
heightens our appreciation
for everything this country
provides to us. l
The Mid-Atlantic Media editorial
board is composed of media
owners and journalists from
Washington, D.C., Maryland and
Philadelphia. Bat Mitzvah Marks a Beginning … and an End
BY GLORIA HOCHMAN
MY COUSINS, Ken and Tracy
Spivack, live a lifestyle-on-
the-fly. My type-A daughter,
Anndee, and her partner,
Elissa, are disciplined and
intentional. Together, those
cousins blended their talents
to create a celebration that
will be carved forever into our
family lore.

Late on a chilly night last
October, Ken tiptoed into the
bedroom of his 12-year-old
daughter, Scout, and asked if
she could be ready for her bat
18 FEBRUARY 18, 2021
mitzvah a little early.

“How early?” she asked.

“Sunday,” he responded.

“You mean four days from
now?’ “Yes. You have a bubbe who
is very ill, and I want her to see
all of her five grandchildren
become a bar or bat mitzvah.

You are the fifth one. I want
her to hear you read from the
Torah. So how about Sunday?”
Scout turned the scenario
over in her mind. She knew that
Sunday was Rosh Chodesh. As
a student at Perelman Jewish
Day School, she had learned
the aliyas for that date when
she was in fourth grade. “I
knew it would be a lot of work,”
Scout said. “But I looked into
my dad’s moist eyes. I told him
I could do it.”
The following Sunday, deep
into the pandemic, 11 relatives
including Scout’s parents,
brother Jacob, sister Dylan,
grandparents Joan and Gerald
Spivack, Uncle Milt and cousins
Erika and Ashlee from Tucson
who were in Philadelphia for a
visit, gathered in the Plymouth
Meeting apartment of Scout’s
grandparents. Her bubbe Joni
left her bed to join those in
the living room. Others —
her cousin Anndee, a journalist
and teacher of creative writing
who is a literate Hebrew reader.

Anndee has led our family
seders and Rosh Hashanah
rituals since her grandfather
passed away 24 years ago. “I
the logistics — working with
Scout on her Torah portion,
preparing a bat mitzvah
booklet, deciding what she
wanted to say in her blessing to
Scout — she called Ken. “I’ll do
it,” she told him.

In a room so hushed you could hear a tissue fold, those who attended
knew they were part of a singular ceremony they would always
remember. grandparents from New Jersey
and Florida, aunts, uncles and
cousins from Arizona — joined
via Zoom.

There was no lavish buffet,
no bouquets of flowers on fine
linen tablecloths, no gowns for
which we had overpaid. There
was not even an ordained rabbi.

Scout had rejected the two
rabbis her father had suggested
— one Conservative, one
Orthodox. Instead, she chose
JEWISH EXPONENT
knew Anndee would do it the
way I wanted it, and it would
all be just our family who made
it happen,” Scout said.

When Anndee heard Ken’s
proposal — “I want to pick
your brain about something
...” — her initial reaction was
the same as that of her younger
cousin. “That’s only four days
from now. Impossible!” The
next morning, after a sleepless
night during which she juggled
“I couldn’t help thinking
about the history of the Jews
celebrating bar mitzvahs in
times of great duress — in the
Warsaw ghetto, during wars,
exiles and displacements,”
Anndee said. “So, in some
ways, we were joining — and
validating — this tradition of
defiantly making it happen
under any circumstances.”
See Hochman, Page 30
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



O pinion
Condemnation of Marjorie Taylor Greene
Needs to Come From Both Sides
BY MOSHE PHILLIPS
WHY ARE SOME right-of-
center Jewish groups finding it
so difficult to publicly condemn
anti-Semitic congresswoman
Marjorie Taylor Greene?
A few, such as the
Republican Jewish Coalition
and the Coalition for Jewish
Values, have spoken out. Herut
too condemns Marjorie Taylor
Greene’s extremism and her
endorsements of anti-Semitic
conspiracies. But too many
others have remained silent.

massacre and various school
shootings were hoaxes.

Just a couple weeks ago,
shortly before the three-year
anniversary of the Parkland
school shooting, a 2019 video
surfaced of Greene confronting
Parkland shooting survivor
David Hogg, who Greene has
called “little Hitler” on Twitter, in
Washington, D.C. Hogg ignored
her, which she said in the video
was because he was a “coward”
getting paid by George Soros —
another Jew at the center of her
conspiracy theories.

Considering how often Jews
have been targeted — and hurt
— by conspiracy-mongering,
you would assume that every
Zionist and Jewish organiza-
tion, from right to left, would
speak out against Greene.

Those on the left have. But not
all those on the right have.

Those in the Jewish
community who claim to fight
anti-Semitism are credible
right condemn her, it matters.

It packs a punch. It shows
that even people who might
agree with her on some other
issues have come to recognize
that she is a beyond-the-pale
extremist. At the end of the day,
anti-Semites don’t make polit-
ical distinctions. They hate all
Jews. To counter them, Jewish
organizations likewise must
take a bipartisan approach of
condemning all anti-Semites.

Is it possible that some
Jewish groups that were sympa-
thetic to President Donald
Trump are silent on Greene
because Trump has praised
her? I hope that’s not the case.

The first responsibility of
leaders of Jewish and Zionist
organizations is supposed to
be to their members and to
the Jewish people, not to a
particular political party or a
particular former president.

The fact that the Trump
When groups on the right condemn [Marjorie Taylor Greene], it matters.

It packs a punch. It shows that even people who might agree with her
on some other issues have come to recognize that she is a beyond-the-
pale extremist.

The silence of other organi-
zations surely cannot be
because of any doubts regarding
Greene’s record of espousing
anti-Semitism, violence and
lunatic conspiracy theories.

After all, that ugly record
speaks for itself — in volumes.

In videotaped diatribes,
tweets and retweets over the
past several years, Greene has
irresponsibly shared conspira-
cies that the Rothschilds started
brush fires in California, railed
against “Zionist supremacists,”
promoted the anti-Semitic
QAnon movement, encouraged
violence against congressional
leaders, and claimed that the
9/11 attacks, the Las Vegas
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM only if they loudly and clearly
denounce hatred when it
comes from all camps, not
just from the camp of their
opponents. Republicans who
only condemn anti-Semitism
from the left are no more
credible than Democrats who
only condemn anti-Semitism
from the right.

It’s not just a matter of
credibility. It’s also a matter of
effectiveness. When groups on the left
denounce Greene, it doesn’t
have much impact. They’re
obviously her
political opponents. Their criticism is
not particularly impressive.

But when groups on the
administration took a number of
pro-Israel actions does not mean
that the Jewish community has
some obligation to follow him in
embracing Greene.

We can appreciate the reloca-
tion of the U.S. embassy to
Jerusalem without embracing
every fringe element on the
American political far right.

We can praise the U.S. recog-
nition of Israeli sovereignty
on the Golan Heights without
subscribing to thoroughly
debunked conspiracy theories
about the recent election. We
can support the reduction in
U.S. aid to the Palestinian
See Phillips, Page 30
JEWISH EXPONENT
KVETCH ’N’ KVELL
Remembering Cantor Wall
WHEN I GRADUATED from Hebrew High at Har Zion
Temple in 1962, my class was each asked to sing a portion of the
Birkat HaMazon. I cannot sing at all.

Cantor Isaac Wall (“Longtime Cantor Isaac Wall Dies at 103,”
Feb. 11) took me aside and coached me through my section.

I will always remember his kindness.

Marilyn Halpern | Philadelphia
Remembering Cantor Karpo
Your piece on my beloved Cantor Karpo (“Longtime Cantor
Sidney Karpo Dies at 93,” Feb. 4) was amazing.

He was a truly remarkable human being. As a six-time past
president of Ner Zedek, I remember arguing with him to sit and
chant and not retire. He said that would be against everything
he believed in.

I still can close my eyes and hear him chant Kol Nidre. There
was only one Karpo.

And, yes, he taught my son for his bar mitzvah and then
performed the wedding ceremony. He and Sylvia danced up a
storm that night.

I had just sent him a birthday card in November and spoke to
him on Yom Kippur.

He will be truly missed.

Maxine Goldman | Northeast Philadelphia
Protect Us From Iran, Love Israel
I read with interest the excellent opinion column by Penn student
Sophia Rodney (“I’m a Student and I’m Afraid of Where My Party
Is Headed,” Jan. 28). I totally agree with everything she wrote.

Anyone who believes that the Iranians will tell the truth about
anything has their head in the sand. They will lie, cheat and
steal to accomplish their goals, one of which is the destruction
of Israel. I do not understand the American Jews who do not
support Israel. Israel started with nothing and through hard
work and brilliance have developed many of the truly great
technological and pharmaceutical advances in the world today.

What has been happening on many college campuses is very
disheartening. Instead of listening to both sides of an argument,
students boycott and prevent speakers they disagree with from
talking. Anti-Semitic acts are common. Jewish students are
fearful of speaking out against them on some campuses. Students,
even misguided Jewish ones, have supported the BDS movement.

We are former Philadelphians who live in Florida. We hear about
campus anti-Semitic acts from our local ADL chapter.

As I approach my 90th birthday, I hope and pray that the
administration in Washington, D.C., comes to its senses and
helps protect Israel and the Jews in America from Iran and our
homegrown anti-Semites. l
Howard Hatoff | Boca Raton, Florida
STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER
We are a diverse community. The views expressed in the signed opinion columns and let-
ters to the editor published in the Jewish Exponent are those of the authors. They do
not necessarily reflect the views of the officers and boards of the Jewish Publishing
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letters to letters@jewishexponent.com or fax to 215-569-3389. Letters should be a
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published. FEBRUARY 18, 2021
19