JANUARY 19, 2023 | 26 TEVET 5783 CANDLELIGHTING 4:47 p.m. Reconstructionist Rabbinical College’s Rabbi Alex Weissman RETURNS TO HIS SPIRITUAL ROOTS Page 9 Jewish Exponent PHILADELPHIA Publisher & Chief Executive Offi cer Craig Burke cburke@midatlanticmedia.com Associate Publisher Jeni Mann Tough jmann@midatlanticmedia.com EDITORIAL Editor | Andy Gotlieb 215-832-0797 agotlieb@jewishexponent.com Staff Writers Jillian Diamond, Sasha Rogelberg, Heather Ross, Jarrad Saff ren ADVERTISING Account Executives Alan Gurwitz, Robin Harmon, Karina Ingram, Pam Kuperschmidt, Jodi Lipson, David Pintzow, Sara Priebe, Sharon Schmuckler, Samantha Tuttle, Sylvia Witaschek MARKETING Audience Development Coordinator Julia Olaguer 410-902-2308 jolaguer@midatlanticmedia.com CREATIVE Art Director | Steve Burke Graphic Designers | Ebony Brown, Lonna Koblick, Frank Wagner, Carl Weigel Digital Media Coordinator James Meskunas 7605 Old York Road, Melrose Park, PA 19027 Vol. 135, No. 42 Published Weekly Since 1887 BUSINESS Accounting Manager Pattie-Ann Lamp 410-902-2311 plamp@midatlanticmedia.com accounting@midatlanticmedia.com Senior Accounts Receivable Specialist Grace Hagan ghagan@midatlanticmedia.com Accounts Receivable Specialist Sarah Appelbaum sappelbaum@midatlanticmedia.com Main Offi ce: 215-832-0700 editor@jewishexponent.com 215-832-0797 circulation@jewishexponent.com 215-832-0700, ext. 1 sales@jewishexponent.com 215-832-0700, ext. 2 classifi ed@jewishexponent.com 215-832-0749 Legal Notices legals@jewishexponent.com If you’re having problems receiving your Philadelphia Jewish Exponent in the mail, and live in an apartment or suite, please contact our circulation department at 215-832-0700, ext. 1, or circulation@jewishexponent.com. 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The Jewish Exponent reserves the right to revise, reject or edit any advertisement. 2 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT Connect with us: inside this issue Local 5 Many local events to recognize International Holocaust Remembrance Day 6 Jewish leaders among those protesting proposed Chinatown arena 7 JEPP to expand security training program in 2023 YOU PLAN FOR EVERYTHING EXCEPT THAT ONE CERTAINTY Opinion 10 Editorials 11 Opinions Feature 16 UN exhibit remembers when world ignored stateless Jewish refugees Community Start the new year off right by helping your family and checking these off your 2023 goals: 26 Calendar 22 Obituaries 24 Synagogue Spotlight In every issue 4 Weekly Kibbitz 8 Jewish Federation 9 You Should Know 15 National Briefs 20 Arts & Culture 21 Food & Dining 27 Around Town 27 Social Announcements 25 D’var Torah 28 Last Word 29 Classifieds CONTACT OUR CARE TEAM TODAY OUR CEMETERIES SERVE ALL FUNERAL HOMES AND OUR FUNERAL HOME SERVES ALL CEMETERIES laurelhillphl.com Bala Cynwyd | Philadelphia 610.668.9900 On the Cover 9 RRC Rabbi Alex Weissman returns to his spiritual roots. 5 M any local events to recognize International Holocaust Remembrance Day 6 J ewish leaders among those protesting 16 U .N. exhibit remembers when world proposed Chinatown arena ignored stateless Jewish refugees JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 3 Weekly Kibbitz A revival of “Parade,” a musical about the 1915 lynching of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank, will arrive on Broadway this spring, following a successful seven-performance run last November. Ben Platt, the Jewish Tony-award winning actor who originated the title role in the Broadway hit “Dear Evan Hansen,” will star as Leo Frank. Micaela Diamond will play Frank’s wife, Lucille. Both actors performed these roles in the show’s New York City Center run, which received strong notices. Director Michael Arden will also return. With songs and a book written by Jason Robert Brown and Albert Uhry, the musical opened on Broadway for a short run in 1998. The musical won Tony awards for Best Book and Best Score. “Parade” centers on the real-life story of Brooklyn- born Frank, who managed a pencil factory in Atlanta where, in 1913, the body of 13-year-old Mary Phagan was found in a cellar. Despite very little evidence, Frank was found guilty of her murder and sentenced to death. In 1915, when his sentence was commuted to life in prison, he was kidnapped by an armed mob and lynched. The case at the time immediately attracted rampant and sensationalized press, both reinvigorating the Ku Klux Klan and inspiring the founding of the Anti-Defamation League. In addition to centering Frank’s strained marriage, the show examines the topics of antisemitism and white supremacy — issues many noted were timely amid worries about rising anti-Jewish and anti-Asian hate in New York and elsewhere. “This show is all about not only antisemitism, but the failure of the country to protect lots of marginalized groups, and we’re all feeling that really intensely right now,” Platt told The New York Times in October. While critics have often wondered if “Parade” would ever attract audiences with its serious message and grim on-stage events, the New York City Center performances garnered widely positive reviews. Wrote Ben Windman in amNY, “on the strengths of the casting, score and storytelling, this makes for a gripping and thrilling production.” “Parade” will begin previews at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 W. 45th St.) on Feb. 21 and open on March 16. — Julia Gergely/New York Jewish Week Leo Max Frank (1884-1915) FOREST HILLS / SHALOM MEMORIAL PARK Do You Have a Plan for the Future? Why Pre-Plan Today ? • Make sure your family knows your fi nal wishes • R eveile ruoy devol seno orf m gnivah ot m eka hguot decisions and from any unexpected fi nancial burdens • Give real peace of mind for you and your family NEW MASADA V MAUSOLEUM Call us today to speak with a Family Service Professional and receive your FREE Personal Planning Guide. Forest Hills Cemetery/Shalom Memorial Park 25 Byberry Road Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 215-673-5800 NEW COLUMBARIUM & PRIVATE ESTATES 4 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT Samuel Domsky General Manager Brent Lanzi Family Service Manager Bain News Service via Wikimedia Commons ‘Parade’ Revival Stars Ben Platt as Jewish Lynching Victim Leo Frank local International Holocaust Remembrance Day Events in the Philadelphia Area International Holocaust Remembrance Day Shabbat Service and Performance The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History is hosting a documentary screening on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Jarrad Saff ren | Staff Writer Photo by Barry Halkin/Halkin Photography Courtesy of "Rebuilt from Broken Glass" O n Jan. 27, 1945, the Soviet Union’s Red Army liberated Jewish prison- ers from the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. The day marked the beginning of the end of the Holocaust, as many other camps were liberated in the months leading up to the end of World War II later that year. Sixty years later, to acknowledge the anniversary, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution declaring Jan. 27 to be International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The resolution “urges member states to develop educational programs that will inculcate future generations with the lessons of the Holocaust in order to help to prevent future acts of genocide,” according to its text. In Philadelphia, various organizations are trying to do their part. Here’s a list of some remembrance events that they are holding this year. Rebuilt from Broken Glass Thursday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History General Admission: $16 Gratz College and the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall are screening the documentary “Rebuilt from Broken Glass,” based on the memoir by Voorhees, New Jersey, resident and Holocaust survivor Fred Behrend. Behrend will be there to take questions after the screening along- side director Larry Hanover. Then They Came For Me: The Legacy of Martin Niemoller Thursday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. On Zoom The Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Jewish Community Relations Council are hosting a talk with Professor Matthew Hockenos of Skidmore College in New York State about his book on Niemoller, “The Pastor Who Defi ed the Nazis.” According to an email from the foundation, Niemoller was “an early supporter of the Nazis” who became “a fascinating example of the capac- ity for change, growth and personal refl ection.” Subscribe to the mailing list on Holocaust survivor and Voorhees, New Jersey, resident Fred Behrend philaholocaustmemorial.org to fi nd the Zoom link for the event in the latest edition. I Remember Friday, Jan. 27 at noon On Zoom The Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council, the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation and 3G Philly are hosting a conversation with Rabbi Adi Rabinowitz Bedein, a Holocaust educator from Israel, according to a Jewish Federation email. “The memory of the Holocaust is facing a serious challenge as it must remain both relevant and personal, so that the younger generations will keep it alive,” the email said. A link can be found on the Jewsish Federation’s website at jewishphilly.org. “At a time when antisemitism and extremism are both on the rise, remem- bering the atrocities of the Holocaust and its victims must not be forgotten lest we be doomed to repeat it even more,” said Michael Balaban, the presi- dent of the Jewish Federation. “Jewish Federation is off ering two discussions to help remember those we lost and what we can learn from the Holocaust.” Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel KI’s adult and teen choirs will join with the adult choir of Or Hadash to perform the music of Theresienstadt. The Nazi-imposed Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia became known later on for its remarkable story about Jewish prisoners who created, played and danced to music during their captivity. Richard Bank, a “second-generation speaker,” as he’s described on a fl yer for this event, will also give a talk at KI on Jan. 27. The Brandywine Singers Perform James Whitbourn’s Annelies Sunday, Jan. 22 at 4 p.m. at Christ Church Christiana Hundred in Wilmington, Delaware Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. at Kesher Israel Congregation in West Chester Admission: $25 As a recent Kesher Israel Facebook post explains: “Annelies is a 75-minute chamber choral work for soprano soloist, choir and instrumentalists. The libretto is compiled and trans- lated by Melanie Challenger from ‘The Diary of Anne Frank.’ ‘Annelies’ is the full forename of Anne Frank, now commonly referred to by her abbrevi- ated forename.” Both performances are to commem- orate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, according to the same Facebook post. Yom HaShoah, Israel’s national holiday commemorating the Holocaust, comes annually in the spring on the 27th of Nisan according to the Hebrew calen- dar. This year, that date falls on April 17 and 18. Several institutions in the Philadelphia area are planning events for that day as well. It is often referred to as Holocaust Remembrance Day. ■ jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 5 local Jewish Leaders Protest Development of Proposed 76ers Arena by Chinatown Sasha Rogelberg | Staff Writer 6 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT Jewish organizers tabling on 10th and Arch streets on Christmas, protesting the construction of 76 Place near Chinatown a group to “grow leadership in Asian American communities to build our neighborhoods and unite against oppression.” According to Jonathan Waldman, a white, Jewish Chinatown resident married to a Chinese American woman and co-founder of the Concerned Citizens of Chinatown Association, the construction of the arena would gentrify the neighborhood, driving out residents and businesses, some of which have existed in the neighbor- hood for generations. Rabbi Linda Holtzman, a spiritual leader of the Tikkun Olam Chavurah, led a menorah lighting, drawing paral- lels between the “small but mighty” Maccabees who fended off the ancient Greek army and the protesters of the 76 Place construction. “It was a group of people who saw something that they were deeply upset about, didn’t sit back quietly, and stood up and spoke out,” Holtzman said. “So on the eighth day of Chanukah, it’s so very important as Jews to stand up and say, ‘No, we’re speaking out, too. We’re not letting this happen.’” The Christmas day protest of 76 Place wasn’t the first time the construction of the arena was deemed a Jewish issue. On Oct. 21, NACS members and Photo by Joe Piette Photo by Ted Lieverson O n Dec. 25, Jewish Philadelphians flocked to Chinatown for more than just dim sum. A group of demonstrators, many of whom were Jewish, brought signs, a larger-than-life dreidel and electric menorahs to the Friendship Gate at 10th and Arch streets, protesting against the construction of the 175,000-square- foot, $1.3 billion 76 Place. The proposed 76ers arena would occupy the Market East district, replacing part of the Fashion District Philadelphia mall and Greyhound station on Market Street between 10th and 11th streets, ending less than a block from Chinatown. “Let’s save our Chinatown, pa-rump-pa dim sum,” protesters sang to the tune of “Little Drummer Boy”. According to organizer Debora Kodish, about 200 people stopped by the table at 10th and Arch to learn more about the protest or express support. “It just seems really important that we hold on to this, maybe the last large remaining community of color in Center City, Philadelphia,” Kodish said. “We need everybody to stand up for Chinatown,” she continued. “We don’t want people in Chinatown to feel like it’s just their small battle because it affects all of us.” The group of Jewish protest- ers has dubbed themselves the No Arena in Chinatown Solidarity group (pronounced as “naches,” the Yiddish word for “pride” or “satisfaction”). They are part of a coalition of groups, many led by Chinatown residents and Asian American leaders, protesting against the development of the arena. “It’s a form of predatory develop- ment for the city writ large, but for Chinatown, it would absolutely destroy the community,” said Debbie Wei, co-founder of Asian American United, Rabbi Linda Holtzman (left) at a protest against the 76 Place construction on Oct. 21 other demonstrators gathered outside of Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall to protest while the Jewish Federation Real Estate group hosted its 10th annual Legends and Leaders event inside, honoring Jewish Federation co-chair and JFRE founder David Adelman, who is also the chair of 76 Devcorp, the development group behind 76 Place. “People have the right to free speech; they have the right to protest. They have the right to disagree with our plan,” Adelman said of the protest. “I just hope it’s based on a premise of solid foundation of truth.” According to Adelman, the plans for 76 Place would not interfere with Chinatown and only supplant the now-defunct entertainment center. “We’re utilizing existing infrastructure and placing something there,” he said. Adelman acknowledged that previ- ous development projects, such as the Vine Street Expressway, which cut Chinatown in half, were detrimental to the neighborhood. He also addressed Philadelphia Chinatown protesters’ concerns that the development of 76 Place would result in a similar fate to that of Washington, D.C.‘s Chinatown, whose Capital One Arena gentrified the area and displaced Chinatown’s immigrant residents. Unlike the Vine Street Expressway and Capital One Arena projects, 76 Place is not a result of eminent domain, meaning that, according to Adelman, the project will not displace residents. Adelman also plans to invest in afford- able housing and increased security in the neighborhood. He said 76 Devcorp has met with 25-30 groups of 20-200 people, most of which are Chinatown residents or other concerned parties. “I want to be cognizant of the facts and always listen to concerns,” he said. “That’s why we’re unveiling this project eight years in advance.” Still, Chinatown residents are concerned about the implications of the arena’s construction, which is slated to last six years. “The crowding, the pollution and dust and debris and the traffic for six years — that will be in Chinatown for sure,” Waldman said. He predicts that Chinatown as residents know it will be gone in the next 10-15 years anyway. With the construction of 76 Place, Waldman worries the neighborhood won’t last the next six. ■ srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com local JEPP To Expand Security Training Program in 2023 Sasha Rogelberg | Staff Writer Courtesy of Rebecca Ash T he Jewish Emergency Preparedness Project class of 2022 has gradu- ated. Now the organization is looking for its class of 2023. JEPP, a Philadelphia-based nonprofi t providing security training to faith-based organizations, has opened applications for its 2023 cohort. In 2022, 12 organi- zations in the Philadelphia area, such as synagogues, summer camps and schools, completed the training. “We’re building a culture of prepared- ness,” JEPP CEO Yoni Ari said. “We are focusing mainly on crisis management and human behavior,” he continued. “We found that many Jewish organizations are investing a lot of time and money on security means — on hardening cameras, lawyers, et cetera — but nobody’s investing time on human behavior.” Created at the end of 2021 by President Sherrie Savett and Vitaly Rakhman, JEPP aims to provide a broader and more thorough concept of security, address- ing medical emergencies and natural disasters in addition to hate crimes, bomb threats or active shooters. The nonprofi t draws on the Talmudic principle, “All of Israel are responsible for one another,” according to a press release, meaning that communities must be committed to taking care of one another and their members. In 2022, funding for JEPP came from $150,000 in donations as well as smaller grants, which helped subsidize the cost of the training for participating organiza- tions. JEPP is looking to increase grant funding in the coming year. JEPP hopes to not only expand its training to 30 organizations but also reach organizations outside of the Philadelphia community in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware. During its 30 hours of training for participants, JEPP gives an evaluation of an organization’s campus, helps to design a customized set of procedures and conducts drills and exercises with staff members. Kaiserman JCC staff members participate in a team exercise during a JEPP training. While training last year’s cohort, Ari, who has more than 20 years of security training, found that despite organiza- tions having the physical materials to address emergencies, staff members were unaware of how to operate them. In one instance, synagogue staff were not properly trained in how to use a defi brillator in case of a heart attack. In the fi rst phase of training, JEPP works with an organization to take stock of the measures and procedures in place. “It’s both hardening of equipment, but more learning to use what they have in the best and most effi cient way,” Savett said. In many instances, according to Savett, while having technologies can help keep people safe, communication and clear procedures are an equally big piece of the equation. If students have to evacuate a school building, how do staff eff ectively communicate with each other to carry out a plan? If it’s cold outside, how can teach- ers make sure students are prepared to brave the weather with winter coats? Preparedness requires a written plan, as well as point people to eff ectively execute the plan. “It starts with forming a crisis manage- ment team. Somebody has to know that they’re in charge of a crisis,” Savett said. “And there has to be coverage all the time — not just when a school is in session — because there are special events all the time at unusual times.” Staff members need to know emergency contacts and how to perform a lockdown before an emergency happens. JEPP’s training often goes hand-in- hand with funding and infrastructure provided through the commonwealth’s Nonprofi t Security Grant Program, but the two address diff erent aspects of security needs. Last year, the Kaiserman JCC in Wynnewood, a three-time recipient of Pennsylvania’s NSGP, was among JEPP’s 2022 cohort. “We were, through the generosity and investment of the state, able to invest in physical infrastructure that helped make the Kaiserman JCC a more secure environment,” Kaiserman JCC CEO Alan Scher said. “The JEPP program was a learning endeavor.” The yearlong JEPP training helped the JCC staff consider how to best use their enhanced security as well as connect more of their staff to updated emergency procedures. After a fi ve-year trend of increas- ing antisemitism, according to the Anti-Defamation League, as well as physi- cal threats to Jewish spaces, such as the Colleyville, Texas, hostage crisis in January 2022, security continues to be of greatest concern to Jewish organizations. “Ensuring that emergency procedures, safety and security is top of mind in our muscle memory … this is critical,” Scher said. “It’s top priority.” Applications for JEPP’s 2023 cohort can be found at forms.wix. com/f/7008204234743087213. ■ srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com EXTRA, EXTRA, Read All About It! Philadelphia Jewish Exponent Readers Enjoy Digital Magazine!! The Philadelphia Jewish Exponent digital magazine is the same version as our print version. If your preference is to read content digitally, DON’T MISS OUT! It’s EASY to get your digital magazine every week. SIMPLY subscribe with your email address. Sign up today at: jewishexponent.com/econfirmation/ JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 7 A Step in the Door: Getting Involved in the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia Passionate about community, but don’t know where to start? The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia brings concrete ways to get involved with like-minded peers. There are many opportunities to connect – whether through shared interests or common life stages. Each group has meaningful programming, leadership and philanthropic opportunities, and curated missions. Want to get involved but don’t see the right group? Contact the Jewish Federation’s Director of Affinities and Volunteer Engagement Marni Davis at mdavis@jewishphilly.org. Neighborhood Groups Women of Vision Who should join? Anyone living in Greater Philadelphia can participate in a Kehillah (Hebrew for “community”), which includes: Bucks County, Buxmont, Center City, Chester County, Delaware County, Lower Merion, Northeast and Old York Road. Opportunities: Family-friendly programming, Jewish holidays celebrations, hands-on volunteering, curated missions and educational classes. Goal: Bridge geographic areas to create inspired Jewish communities and offer programming and enrichment for all ages. Who should join? Self-identifying Jewish women and girls. There are various lifetime membership levels. Opportunities: Advocacy and educational programs. Members can also vote on strategic grantmaking to benefit Israel and Greater Philadelphia. Goal: Impact the lives of self-identifying Jewish women and girls across generations and geographic boundaries through social change and social justice. NextGen Who should join? People in their 20s, 30s and early 40s. Opportunities: Volunteering, giving societies, leadership programs, social events and mission trips around the world. Goal: Connect leaders and philanthropists looking to give back while building community. Jewish Federation Real Estate (JFRE) Who should join? Real estate and industry related professionals. There are JFRE and Young JFRE membership options available. Opportunities: Unique professional gatherings and social events, private tours of new properties, Young JFRE mentorship program, and members’ only events. Goal: Advance real estate careers while advancing the community. Women’s Philanthropy Who should join? Women of all ages. Opportunities: Leadership development, social events, networking programs, travel experiences, volunteering and giving societies. Goal: Engage women in the fulfilling work of supporting the Jewish community in Greater Philadelphia and around the world. Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) Who should join? Civic-minded individuals interested in advocacy and public affairs. Opportunities: Educational programs, advocacy initiatives and mission trips in Greater Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Washington, D.C. and Israel. Goal: Create a network that amplifies the Jewish voice on a local and national stage for public policy while advancing a just and pluralistic society. Mission Who should join? People looking to broaden their horizons and discover Jewish culture around the globe. Opportunities: Highly curated trips, introductions to local community members, and first-hand experiences as to what the Jewish Federation is doing to meet the challenges Jews are facing around the world. Goal: Provide a unique sense of purpose through immersive travel experiences that encompass social justice, community- building and the investment of a secure Jewish future. Learn more about these options and their giving opportunities at jewishphilly.org/get-involved 8 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT YOU SHOULD KNOW ... Rabbi Alex Weissman Courtesy of Reconstructing Judaism Jarrad Saffren | Staff Writer R abbi Alex Weissman remembers walking into the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote for the first time. It was November 2010, and he was a 27-year-old Tufts University graduate who had held a few jobs with community and service-minded organizations, like the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies & Training in New York City. But while Weissman knew he was intellectual (he graduated magna cum laude from Tufts, a school with an 11% acceptance rate), Jewish, spiritual, queer and progressive, he did not feel like he had found his place yet. That changed when he started looking at the art on the walls at the RRC and meeting its faculty and students. The art, as the Wynnewood native recalled, was unlike any he had seen before in a Jewish space. It was not just a bunch of portraits of “Eastern European Chasidic men,” he said. He saw colorful images that “celebrated our liturgy,” that marked each day of creation and that celebrated Jewish union organizers from the 1920s. “It’s a vibrant recognition of the wide range of tradition that our people hold and not a very narrow view,” he said. And the people, well, they just welcomed him with “love and care,” Weissman remembered. Now, the ordained rabbi wants to do the same to new RRC students like his younger self. In the summer of 2022, the Germantown Jewish Centre member took a job as the director of RRC’s mekhinah program for mentoring “emerging religious leaders,” accord- ing to the rabbi’s profile page on the college’s website. The 39-year-old is also serving as the school’s director of cultural and spiritual life. He spent six years working toward his ordina- tion at the RRC in 2017 and now, after almost the same amount of time away, he is back. “This is a position I could see myself being in for a very long time. And that felt very compelling to me,” he said. “I’m almost 40. It’s good to feel more rooted.” The RRC program is designed to get students out into the Jewish world and, during his time in rabbin- ical school, Weissman learned from rabbis who still shape his approach to the job today. He worked at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in NYC, Temple Shalom in Newton, Massachusetts, and the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia. He also shadowed rabbis when he was not working in a formal position. Rabbi Adam Zeff of the Germantown Jewish Centre showed Weissman that he could be “serious and grounded but also playful and funny.” Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Beit Simchat Torah in New York gave sermons that taught the student “how to speak to people in ways that are deeply rooted in Torah and also relevant to the current moment.” And Rabbi Vivie Mayer, Weissman’s predecessor at the RRC as director of the mekhinah program, showed him what it meant “to give myself over to the tradition,” the rabbi said. “To not only be an active participant in shaping it to but to be shaped by it,” he added. As he learned from those spiritual leaders, Weissman grew into one himself. And upon graduation, he became one as the senior Jewish educator at Brown University Hillel for three years. In 2020, he moved on to dual roles as the spiritual leader at Congregation Agudas Achim in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and as the director of organizing at the nonprofit T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. But when Weissman saw the opening at the RRC, he knew he had to apply. “It feels full circle in that way, from first walking into the building and now coming back and, yeah, being home again,” he said. The rabbi has the job he wants in the place he wants to work; he is married to his husband of four years, Rabbi Adam Lavitt; he is a member of a synagogue in his neighborhood; and he is back in the area where he grew up. Now he’s ready to do his job. “In my role as instructor, my hope is to give students access to our long, complicated and beautiful tradition,” Weissman said. “And my role directing cultural and spiritual life is to foster belonging for students in ways that build them up, that nourish their souls, so they can do the same for the people they serve.” ■ jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 9 editorials ‘Judicial Reform’ in Israel A ccording to new Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the plan presented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to redefi ne the authority of Israel’s Supreme Court and to revamp the process for appointment of Supreme Court judges is part of a broad and orderly plan for “judicial reform,” and is a good thing. According to opponents, the plan is nothing less than a threat to democracy in the Jewish state and an orchestrated eff ort to neuter the country’s independent judiciary. The judicial reform plan, if implemented, will signifi cantly limit the Supreme Court’s ability to review laws and strike them down. It will also increase the involvement of politicians in selecting judges. In the words of Israel’s Chief Justice, Esther Hayut, the plan will “deal a fatal blow” to the independence of judges and will limit their ability to serve the public. Hayut warned that the plan would “change the democratic identity of the country beyond recognition.” There is good reason for concern. Under the fi rst part of the plan, a simple majority of Knesset’s 120 members will be able to override almost any Supreme Court ruling regarding the validity of a Knesset law. The only exception would be in the rare instance where all 15 judges of the Supreme Court agree that a law should be blocked. In that case, the ruling cannot be overridden. In all other cases, a fi nding of invalidity can be overridden. Under the second part of the plan, the sitting government would appoint a majority of the members of the panel that selects new judges, changing the balance of the selection committee, which currently only has a minority of government appointees on the panel. Proponents argue that judicial reforms are necessary in order to address an overactive and unelected judiciary that holds unreasonable power over legislative decisions of democratically elected Knesset members. They argue, as did Levin, that the changes are “essential to the existence of democracy and [to] restoring the public’s faith” in the judicial system. Faltering faith in the court comes from the three factions that comprise the new government. Settler activists bristle under court rulings that prohibit or restrict the building or expansion of settlements in parts of the territories. Ultra-Orthodox Jews resent court interventions that interfere with their conservative way of life or fail to uphold religious mandates. And the increasingly rightward-leaning Likud faithful want to assure that the courts will not get in the way of Netanyahu continuing as their leader and pursuing their agenda. Judicial reform in furtherance of a political agenda is problematic. We join those critical of the “judicial reform” charade. The proposed changes will weaken Israel’s primary check on government overreach and threaten to uproot the whole notion of judicial independence. Orderly government requires an independent process for the review and evaluation of government action. If all it takes is 61 Knesset votes to override a ruling that fi nds legislation enacted by the same 61 Knesset members to be invalid, the whole review process will become a lame, toothless exercise. ■ W e have seen a steady rise in antisemitic activity domestically and around the world. The boldness of the physical and verbal attacks is chilling. While it has been comforting to hear words of support, commitment and promised action from government at all levels, we need more than soothing words. We need tangible steps and results. There is an opportunity for the Biden administration and Congress to do just that with respect to funding for the State Department’s Offi ce of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism in the 2024 budget. The antisemitism envoy, Holocaust scholar and longtime Emory University professor Deborah Lipstadt is a well-known personality and voice in the fi ght against antisemitism and Holocaust denial. Deborah Lipstadt Last week, a bipartisan group of House members asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken to increase the future. It comes just as the new House Republican department’s funding request for the Special Envoy’s majority has rediscovered fi scal conservatism after Offi ce from $1.5 million in 2023 to $2 million in 2024 — a two decades of borrowing to pay for tax cuts and 33% increase, but less than a rounding error in the State growing government programs in both Republican Department’s budget. and Democratic administrations. House Speaker Kevin The State Department and Congress should embrace McCarthy (R-Calif.) wants to cut planned 2024 spending this request. It will be money well spent. And it will for government services back to 2022 levels. That could demonstrate that lawmakers and the administration are doom any extra support for Lipstadt’s offi ce and would willing to go beyond soothing rhetoric and fund a practical also prompt signifi cant cutbacks in a whole host of way to respond to a growing global problem. government services. This bipartisan ask, however, faces an uncertain Another problem is that Lipstadt’s offi ce does not deal 10 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT with domestic antisemitism, which is a continuing and growing threat to our community’s safety and peace of mind. Jan. 15 was the anniversary of the hostage-taking crisis at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. Now, a year later, according to the recently issued Anti-Defamation League survey of “Antisemitic Attitudes in America,” American Jews are increasingly insecure and frightened. Among the report’s disturbing fi ndings: A whopping 85% of Americans believe at least one anti-Jewish trope. That’s up from a previously upsetting 61% in 2019. And more than 50% of those surveyed believe at least one antisemitic trope. In addition, some 39% of respondents believe that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the United States. Lipstadt and others have pointed out that societies undergoing stress often resort to blaming Jews. That seems to be the case in this country, and it concerns us. We need meaningful and real responses. Last month, the Biden administration announced the creation of an interagency group to combat antisemitism. We said at the time that the eff ort requires strong leadership and urged the administration to make such an appointment. Some have suggested that Lipstadt’s portfolio be expanded to include domestic antisemitism. Whatever choice is made, it should be done quickly and be recognized as a serious challenge to antisemitic activity. ■ Photo courtesy U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Antisemitism Continues Unabated opinion Responding constructively and effectively to Israel’s new government Martin J. Raffel Tuna salmon / AdobeStock T The special U.S.-Israel relationship is based in significant part on common strategic interests. But it has always been rooted more deeply in “shared values,” especially the commitment to democracy. These shared values now appear to be in grave jeopardy. he Israel-American Jewish relationship is severely challenged these days by the new Netanyahu-led government in Jerusalem. This government includes ministers inspired by the hateful ideology and politics of the late Meir Kahane. It has a stated policy agenda, which could threaten the country’s democratic structure of checks and balances by stripping the Israeli Supreme Court of its independence and undermining the delicate relations between the country’s Jewish and Arab citizens. The minister in charge of “Jewish identity” and an important segment of Israel’s educational system is a proud homophobe. Also, the government plans to disqualify for state recognition all non-Orthodox conversions in Israel. And, to top it off, the new government is poised to increase Jewish settlement in the West Bank to an extent that achievement of a negotiated two-state outcome becomes all but impossible. Israel cannot continue to control the lives of millions of stateless Palestinians in perpetuity and remain a full democracy. That is why polls show that most American Jews oppose settlements and favor the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside Israel. In other words, this Israeli government is abhorrent to a sizable majority of American Jews. So, what are we to think and do? First, do not walk away. It took two millennia of horrific persecution and a 20th-century genocide until we, the Jewish people, finally managed to reconstitute ourselves as a sovereign nation-state in our ancient homeland. Our commitment to Israel must be unbreakable. If anything, this is a time to intensify our engagement with Israel. Second, the Netanyahu government was elected fair and square, and the wishes of Israel’s voters must be respected. That said, do not conflate the Netanyahu government with the state of Israel. Don’t let anyone get away with the accusation that criticism of Israel’s policies is anti-Israel, any more than criticism by Israelis and other foreigners of our policies is anti-American. To criticize from a place of love is not only your right; it’s an obligation. Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, not only its citizens. That includes us. Third, look for ways to express yourself constructively and effectively. Get involved with those American Jewish organizations that reflect your values. Some criticize Israeli policies even as they work to strengthen Israel’s security, including through active support of the two-state outcome. Yes, it is clear this outcome won’t be achieved anytime soon. But many steps can be taken in the meantime to preserve conditions that, hopefully, will make it possible in the future. Also, directly support organizations in Israel that fight for democracy, pluralism and human rights. You also can have an impact as an individual. Write a personal email or letter with your feelings about what’s happening in Israel and send it to the Israeli consul general in New York City, at the consulate with jurisdiction over Philadelphia. If he receives a large number of communications, rest assured that the message will get back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem. Fourth, share your opinions openly and honestly with elected officials, especially members of Congress. Let them know that they will not be seen by most in our community as anti-Israel if they, too, voice criticism of Israeli policies. Here it gets a little tricky. Some in Congress, I suspect a very small number, may want to exact a tangible price for Israeli government policies that conflict with U.S. values and interests, including even reducing our military assistance. Punishing the Israeli government for its actions is not the way to go. It will only feed the forces of extremism in Israel. Moreover, Israel’s very real enemies in the region – such as Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas — need to recognize that while we may criticize, America’s fundamental support for Israel’s defense continues to be rock solid. Fifth, pay special attention to the young American Jewish generation. Surveys consistently show that emotional attachment to Israel is weakest among this population. That is understandable. They are furthest removed from the Holocaust, Israel’s birth and the epic struggles for survival. Young Jews are in need not only of enhanced education about Israel; they also must be provided with a safe environment to raise all their questions and concerns candidly, without fear. That is especially necessary during this period of strain in Israel-American Jewish relations. Sixth, recognize that there are critics of Israel who do not come from a place of love for the Jewish state. Much ink has been spilled on the controversy surrounding BDS – boycott, divestment and sanctions. Do I believe some who advocate the boycott or sanction of Israel do so in good faith with the intent to affect its policies? I do, even as I also think such a path is misguided. But we need to guard against those who use BDS as a tactic to undermine Israel’s core legitimacy as a Jewish state. This problem is most acute on college campuses. The special U.S.-Israel relationship is based in significant part on common strategic interests. But it has always been rooted more deeply in “shared values,” especially the commitment to democracy. These shared values now appear to be in grave jeopardy. We can hope for the best but need to prepare for the worst. ■ Martin J. Raffel is former senior vice president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the agency’s lead professional on Israel. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 11 opinion Israeli Democracy May Not Survive a ‘Reform’ of its Supreme Court O Alex Lederman n Dec. 29, Israel swore in Benjamin Netanyahu’s sixth government. The Likud leader became Israel’s prime minister once more, and one week later, Israel’s long-anticipated judicial counterrev- olution began. In the Knesset on Dec, 4, newly minted Justice Minister and Netanyahu confidant Yariv Levin unveiled a package of proposed legislation that would alter the balance of power between Israel’s legislature and its Supreme Court. At the core of this plan is a bill to allow the Knesset to override the Supreme Court. Levin’s proposals — which almost certainly have the immediate support of a Knesset majority, regardless of Levin’s assurances that they would be subject to “thorough debate” — would pave the way for Israel’s new government to pass legis- lation that curtails rights and undermines the rule of law, dealing a blow to Israeli democracy. The dire implications of this proposed judicial reform are rooted in key characteristics of the Israeli political system that set it apart from other liberal democracies. Israel has no constitution to determine the balance of power between its various branches of government. In fact, there is no separation between Israel’s executive and legislative branches, given that the government automatically controls a majority in the parliament. Instead, it has a series of basic laws enacted piece- meal over the course of the state’s history that have a quasi-constitutional status, with the initial intention that they would eventually constitute a de jure constitution. Through the 1980s, the Knesset passed basic laws that primarily served to define state institutions, such as the country’s legislature and electoral system, capital and military. In the 1990s, there was a paradigm shift with the passage of two basic laws that for the first time concerned individuals’ rights rather than institutions, one on Human Dignity and Liberty (1992) and the other on Freedom of Occupation (1994). These laws enshrined rights to freedom of movement, personal freedom, human dignity and others to all who reside in Israel. Aharon Barak, the president of Israel’s Supreme Court from 1995 to 2006, argued that these laws consti- tuted a de facto bill of rights, empowering the court to review Knesset legislation and to strike down laws that violate civil liberties, a responsibility not explicitly bestowed upon the court in the basic law pertaining to the judiciary. In 1995, the Supreme Court officially ruled that it could indeed repeal legislation that violates the country’s basic laws, heralding an era of increased judicial activism in Israel in what became known as the 12 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT “judicial revolution.” The court has struck down 20 laws since, a modest total compared to other democracies. The judicial revolution of the 1990s shifted the balance of power in Israel’s political system from one of parliamentary sovereignty, in which the Knesset enjoyed ultimate power, to one in which the legislature is restricted from violating the country’s (incomplete) constitution. Israel’s Supreme Court became a check on the legislative branch in a country that lacks other checks and balances and separations of power. As a result of these characteristics, the Supreme Court serves as one of the only checks on the extraor- dinary power of Israel’s 120-member Knesset — which is why shifting that balance of power would have such a dramatic impact on Israel’s democracy. Levin’s proposed judicial overhaul includes several elements that would weaken the power and independence of Israel’s Supreme Court. The plan includes forbidding the Supreme Court from deliberating on and striking down basic laws themselves. It would require an unspecified “special majority” of the court to strike down legislation, raising the threshold from where it currently stands. Levin has also called for altering the composition of the selection committee that appoints top judges to give the government, rather than legal professionals, a majority on the panel. It would allow cabinet ministers to appoint legal advisers to act on their behalf, rather than that of the justice ministry, canceling these advisers’ role as safeguards against government overreach. Should a minister enact a decision that contravenes a basic law, the ministry’s legal adviser would no longer report the violation to the attorney general, and would instead merely offer non-binding legal advice to the minister. The pièce de résistance is, of course, the override clause that would allow the Knesset to reinstate laws struck down by the Supreme Court by 61 members of Knesset, a simple majority assuming all members are present. The sole restriction on this override would be a provision preventing the Knesset from re-legislating laws struck down unanimously, by all 15 judges, within the same Knesset term. This plan’s most immediate result would be the effective annulment of the quasi-constitutional status of Israel’s basic laws. If the Knesset’s power to legislate is no longer bound by basic laws, these de facto consti- tutional amendments no longer have any teeth. There are no guardrails preventing any Knesset majority from doing as it wishes. Most crucially, the Knesset that would once again enjoy full parliamentary sovereignty in 2022 is not the Knesset of Israel’s first four decades. Shackling the Supreme Court is essential to the agendas of the new government’s various ultra-right and ultra-religious parties. For example, the haredi Orthodox parties are eager to re-legislate a blanket exemption to the military draft for their community, which the court struck down in 2017 on the grounds that it was discriminatory. They also have their sights on revoking recognition of non-Orthodox conversions for immigrants to Israel, undoing a court decision from 2021. The far-right, Jewish supremacist parties of Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, meanwhile, see an opportunity to deal a decisive blow to an institution that has long served as a check on the settlement movement. They hope to tie the court’s hands in the face of oncoming legislation to retroactively legalize settlements built on private Palestinian land, which are illegal under Israeli law. But this is only the beginning: Neutering the authority of the court could pave the way for legal discrimination against Israel’s Arab minority, such as Ben-Gvir’s proposal to deport minorities who show insufficient loyalty. The timing of Levin’s announcement could not be more germane. The Knesset recently amended the law to legal- ize the appointment of Aryeh Deri, the Shas party leader who is serving a suspended sentence for tax fraud, as a minister in the new government. The Supreme Court convened the next morning to hear petitions against his appointment from those arguing that it is “unreasonable” to rehabilitate Deri given his multiple criminal convictions. Levin’s proposals would bar the court from using this “reasonability” standard. The Israeli right has long chafed at the power of the Supreme Court, which it accuses of having a left-wing bias. But a judicial overhaul like this has never enjoyed the full support of the government, nor was Netanyahu previously in favor of it. Now, with a uniformly right-wing government and Netanyahu on trial for corruption, the prime minister’s foremost interest is appeasing his political partners and securing their support for future legislation to shield him from prosecution. In a system where the majority rules, there needs to be mechanisms in place to protect the rights of minori- ties. Liberal democracy requires respect for the rule of law and human rights. Yariv Levin’s proposals to fully subordinate the Supreme Court to the Knesset will concentrate virtually unchecked power in the hands of a few individuals who effectively control what the Knesset does. That those individuals were elected in free and fair elections is no guarantee that the changes they make will be democratic. ■ Alex Lederman is a policy and communications associate at Israel Policy Forum. opinion Why I’m Not Sure I’m Right A iStock / Getty Images Plus / Ljupco Rabbi Michael Rose Knopf s a new far-right government takes power in Israel, a debate among Jewish Americans has erupted about what it means to be “pro-Israel.” This is not new. Even before the First Zionist Congress convened over 120 years ago, there were multiple competing visions of what a renewed Jewish homeland could and should be. Debate, of course, is deeply Jewish. Jewish holy texts celebrate diverse perspectives and productive disagreement. However, in recent years, there has been a concerted effort within the American Jewish community to define “pro-Israel” in the narrowest possible terms, casting as inherently “anti-Israel” individuals and organizations like J Street that publicly criticize Israeli policies and Israeli leaders, thereby silencing and even ostracizing legitimate critics. In light of our people’s history of persecution, and Israel’s role as a place of refuge and security for a people perpetually threatened, many supporters of Israel fear that public criticism gives ammunition to those who seek Israel’s destruction, especially at a moment of rising worldwide antisemitism. But casting liberal Jewish critics of Israeli policies as “anti-Israel” is not only contrary to Jewish values but also contrary to Israel’s own best interests. Those who circle the wagons in times like these by denying the legitimacy of criticism and critics often seem to fail to consider that Israel’s leaders, and the people that elect them, are, like all of us, fallible; and those imperfect leaders can act in ways that, even with the best of intentions, jeopardize the survival of the state. For example, Israel’s new government has advocated for policies that undermine its independent judiciary and that threaten the equal rights of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, non-Orthodox Jews, non-Jewish citizens and other minority groups. These policies alarm many liberal Jews, especially in the Diaspora, not only because they are antithetical to Israel’s founding principles and our understanding of Jewish values, but also because they raise serious concerns about how Israel as we know it can survive if it ceases to be a true democracy. Similarly, the new government has pledged to expand Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Many Israeli military and security experts have repeatedly warned that the settlement enterprise threatens Israel’s long-term security and survival as a Jewish democracy. Many of us criticize policies like these as de facto annexation of the territories Israel captured in 1967. But we do so not because we seek to undermine Israel’s security, and certainly not because we are “anti-Israel.” To the contrary: because we love Israel, we fear policies like these undermine Israel’s founding values and even threaten its survival. For as long as I can remember, Israel has been an inseparable part of my Jewish identity. I loved it before I made my first pilgrimage as a teenager, when I first kissed the ground of the tarmac at the old Ben-Gurion airport. I spent some of the best and most formative years of my life in Israel. I first met and fell in love with the woman who became my wife while we were living in Jerusalem. Beloved family members and some of my most cherished friends call Israel home. As a Jew, I believe Israel is essential, and I shudder to envision a world without a Jewish state. As a rabbi, there is little I love more than helping Jews deepen their relationships with the land, people, and state of Israel. Watching Israel being led in a direction that I believe is both antithetical to Jewish values and dangerous to its long-term survival has propelled my involvement in organizations like J Street, which expresses its loving commitment to Israel by opposing actions that it sees as harmful and advancing policies that it believes to be beneficial. I am proud to partner with others who believe that uncritical support can cause harm, and that loyalty can sometimes require opposition. I do not believe, however, that those who disagree with me are “anti-Israel.” Any of us can be wrong, and that’s exactly the point. We can interpret the same facts differently without assuming the other is approaching the issue in bad faith or with malicious intent. Throughout history, the Jewish people have been enriched by a culture of impassioned but respectful debate. In the coming year, I pray that we recognize more than one way to express our love for Israel and more than one vision for what Israel ought to be. The global Jewish community and state of Israel are strongest when we disagree without questioning one another’s loyalties. ■ Rabbi Michael Knopf is spiritual leader of Temple Beth-El in Richmond, Va. The views expressed here are solely his own. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 13 opinion Learning Hebrew Brought Me Closer to Judaism — and Alienated Me From Israel S Joel Swanson peaking to the media in the United States before and after his latest election as Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu reassured American Jews and other supporters of Israel that their widely expressed fears of the undem- ocratic nature of the new Israeli governing coalition were overblown and would not, in fact, come to pass. Netanyahu told the New York Times that he was still at least notionally committed to a peace deal with the Palestinians and told journalist Bari Weiss that policy would be determined by him, and not cabinet ministers like the self-described “proud homophobe” Bezalel Smotrich and convicted crimi- nal Itamar Ben-Gvir, or the haredi Orthodox parties. Then he returned to Israel and promptly tweeted, “These are the basic lines of the national govern- ment headed by me: The Jewish people have an exclusive and indisputable right to all areas of the Land of Israel. The government will promote and develop settlement in all parts of the Land of Israel — in the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan, Judea and Samaria.” Netanyahu was asserting absolute Jewish sovereignty over the entirety of the West Bank, with no room for Palestinian statehood — as those politi- cians want and as his many American Jewish critics feared he would do. That last tweet, despite reflecting the official position of Netanyahu’s newly inaugurated government, did not attract nearly as much attention in U.S. media as Netanyahu’s previous press tour. Because unlike Netanyahu’s fluent English-language interviews with numerous American press organizations, this tweet was in Hebrew — a language in which only 22% of American Jews possess an even minimal degree of fluency. Like many non-Orthodox American Jews, I was once one of those other 78%. I was brought up attend- ing a Reform synagogue, and I learned how to read enough Hebrew phonetically to have a bar mitzvah ceremony, reciting my Torah portion by rote memori- zation. I learned the aleph bet, and a few basic words here and there, but not much more. If I read Torah or Talmud at all, it was entirely in English translation. But unlike many non-Orthodox American Jews, I became interested in learning Hebrew as an adult, as part of a broader interest in learning more about Jewish history, and I enrolled in courses starting in college to study Biblical, Mishnaic and modern Hebrew. Eventually, after years of study, I enrolled in 14 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT a doctoral program in Jewish history at the University of Chicago, where I had to pass a rigorous Hebrew proficiency exam as a prerequisite to advance to doctoral candidacy status. In many ways, this should have made me an ideal American Jew. After all, numerous commentators have opined on the need for more American Jews to learn Hebrew, to bring us closer to both Israeli Jewish culture and Jewish history as a whole. As one Israeli educator stated, “Once you have Hebrew, all Israeli culture can be injected into your life.” A wide array of American Jewish philanthro- pists and charities have identified funding Hebrew language education for American Jews as a priority. They should see someone like me — who went from knowing barely enough Hebrew to get through my bar mitzvah to now reading Haaretz each day in Hebrew — as a success story. Israeli Jewish politicians often spoke in different terms in English and in Hebrew, tailoring their appeals for different audiences. Netanyahu’s recent sojourn to the United States is only one example. Take Ayelet Shaked, who sounded moderate notes to English- speaking audiences on a trip to Britain, while also telling Hebrew audiences that the “Jewish” character of Israel should supersede the notion of “equality.” Of course, there’s nothing inherently wrong with code-switching. Politicians of all kinds do that. But the fact that some Israeli politicians think they have to sound more moderate in English than in Hebrew is telling. And when I opened myself up to what some Israeli politicians say in Hebrew, such as when Netanyahu falsely spread allegations of Arabs stealing votes in the last Israeli elections, something he did in Hebrew and not in English, or when new coalition partner Itamar Ben-Gvir put up a billboard A wide array of American Jewish philanthropists and charities have identified funding Hebrew language education for American Jews as a priority. Except that this call for more American Jews to learn Hebrew often comes with an embedded polit- ical assumption: that if more American Jews learned to read and speak Hebrew, we would feel more closely linked to Israel and reverse the declining support for Israel among young American Jews. There’s even a claim that American Jews do not have the right to criticize Israel without being able to follow Israeli political discussions in the origi- nal language. Daniel Gordis of Shalem College in Jerusalem complained that left-wing American Jewish journalist Peter Beinart should not be taken seriously as a commentator on Israeli affairs, as Beinart apparently “cannot read those [Hebrew] newspapers or Israeli literature until it is translated.” The assumption is clear: If American Jews do not know Hebrew, we cannot be connected to the state of Israel, nor can we truly understand the Israeli politics we might wish to opine about. If we learned Hebrew, one Israeli-American advocate wrote, we would “be more united and support Israel in spectac- ular ways.” Except that in my case, the exact opposite happened. As I learned more Hebrew, I saw how reading, “May our enemies be gone” in Hebrew next to the pictures of three Israeli left-wing politi- cians, two Palestinian and one Jewish, it opened my eyes to a lot of aspects of Israeli politics that some American Jews would rather not hear. So yes, it would be good for more American Jews to learn Hebrew. It would be a positive step for more American Jews to engage more heavily with Jewish culture and history. I certainly have no regrets about my time spent studying Hebrew. But we should be honest about what the effects of that Hebrew language education would be. It might not be to simply make more American Jews “defend Israel” against its detractors. It might mean a more honest engagement with Israeli politics as they truly are, rather than how they are presented abroad to English-speaking audiences. And for some of us, that might even push us further away. ■ Joel Swanson is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago, where he studies and teaches undergraduate courses on modern Jewish intel- lectual history. He is working on a dissertation on Jewish alienation in early 20th-century France. nation / world Tennis Champion Dick Savitt Dies at 95 Dick Savitt, the Jewish tennis champion who won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships in 1951, died Jan. 6 at 95 at his home in New York, JTA.org reported. He was the fi rst Jewish athlete to win either tournament. Savitt won both champi- onships in 1951 when he was only 24. He was the second American man to win both competitions in the same year. Dick Savitt at the Wimbledon Championship The New York Times ranked him on July 6, 1951, in London the No. 1 player in the world. That same year, the 6-foot-3 righty also reached the semifi nals of the U.S. National Championships and the quarterfi nals of the French Championships, now called the U.S. Open and French Open, respectively. Savitt became the fi rst Jewish athlete to appear on the cover of Time Magazine on Aug. 27, 1951. In 1952, Savitt retired from tennis. He returned part-time to competitive tennis a few years later and in 1961 won gold medals in men’s singles and doubles at the Maccabiah Games in Israel. Savitt is a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Number of Russian Jews Down Sharply in Last Decade, Pre-Ukraine War Census Reveals Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images via JTA.org An exodus of Jews from Russia since President Vladimir Putin invaded neighboring Ukraine has drawn widespread attention over the last year. But according to statis- tics released recently by Russia’s statistics bureau, the country’s Jewish population had fallen sharply long before the tanks began rolling, JTA.org reported. The statistics, published last month by Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service, showed that just 82,644 people identifi ed themselves as Jews on the national census, conducted in 2021. In contrast, Russia’s previous census, conducted in 2010, showed nearly 160,000 people who identifi ed as Jews or belonging to related groups — suggesting a decline by more than half over the last decade. During the same period, Russia’s total population grew by 3.5%. The numbers don’t account for the mass exodus of Russian Jews since the onset of the war in Ukraine, estimated to be more than 20,000 in the fi rst six months after the invasion. The exodus suggests that Russia’s Jewish population could total fewer than 60,000 people. First 7-Eleven Opens in Israel Israel has its fi rst 7-Eleven convenience store, Globes reported. The store opened on Dec. 11 in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Center, a year after Electra Consumer Products announced a 20-year franchise agreement with the U.S.-based convenience store chain. By the middle of 2023, seven more stores are scheduled to open, most of them in Tel Aviv with one in Hod Hasharon. Thirty stores are set to open by early 2024. The Tel Aviv store will sell about 2,000 products, including 80 that are 7-Eleven brand products made in Israel. International brands such as Slurpee also will be available. ■ — Compiled by Andy Gotlieb FREE ESTIMATES PERSONALIZED SERVICE SENIOR DOWNSIZING DECLUTTER / HOARDING CLEAN OUTS ALL ITEMS SOLD, DONATED, OR REPURPOSED RESPECTFUL OF HOMES WITH ACCUMULATIONS OF 30+ YEARS JOLIE OMINSKY OWNER SERVING PA, DE, NJ JOCSERNICA@YAHOO.COM 610-551-3105 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 15 feature " U.N. EXHIBIT REMEMBERS " When the World Turned Its Back on Stateless Jewish Refugees Andrew Silow-Carroll | New York Jewish Week via JTA I n 2017, Deborah Veach went back to Germany, looking for the site of the displaced persons camp where she and her parents had been housed after World War II. They were in suspension between the lives her parents led in Belarus before they were shattered by the Nazis and the unknown fate awaiting them as refugees without a country. To her dismay, and despite the fact that Foehrenwald was one of the largest Jewish DP centers in the American-controlled zone of Germany, she found barely a trace. A complex that once included a yeshiva, a police force, a fi re brigade, a youth home, a theater, a post offi ce and a hospital was remembered by almost no one except a local woman who ran a museum in a former bath house. “It was sort of an accident of history that we were there in that particular camp in Germany, of all places, with no ties, no extended family, no place to call home,” said Veach, who was born at Foehrenwald in 1949 and lives in New Jersey. Now, “they renamed it. They changed the names of all the streets. There is nothing recognizable about the fact that it had been a DP camp.” Veach is part of a now-aging cohort of children born or raised in the DP camps, the last with a fi rsthand connection to the experience of some 250,000 Jewish survivors who passed through them at the end of the war. To make sure memories of the camps survive them, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the United Nations Department of Global Communications have staged a short-term exhibit, “After the End of the World: Displaced Persons and Displaced Persons Camps.” On display at U.N. headquarters in New York City since last week and through Feb. 23, it is intended to illuminate “how the impact of the Holocaust continued to be felt after the Second World War ended, and the courage and resilience of those that survived in their eff orts to rebuild their lives despite having lost everything,” according to a press release. Among the artifacts on display are dolls created by Jewish children and copies of some of the 70-odd 16 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT A group of children from the Jaeger Kaserne DP camp in Germany read a Yiddish newspaper in an undated photo. newspapers published by residents, as well as photographs of weddings, theatrical performances, sporting events and classroom lessons. ‘The task of rebuilding their lives’ The exhibit is “about the displaced persons themselves, about their lives and their hopes and their dreams, their ambitions, their initiatives,” said Debó rah Dwork, who directs the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at the Graduate Center-CUNY, who served as the scholar adviser for the exhibition. “There’s no point where the residents of these DP camps were just sitting around waiting for other people to do things for them,” she told the New York Jewish Week. “They took initiative and developed a whole range of cultural and educational programs.” As early as 1943, as the war displaced millions of people, dozens of nations came to Washington and signed onto the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Authority. (Despite its name, it preceded the founding of the United Nations.) After the war, the British and U.S. military were in charge of supplying food, protection and medical care in hundreds of camps throughout Germany and Austria, and UNRRA administered the camps on a day-to-day basis. Early on, Jewish Holocaust survivors — some who suff ered in concentration camps and others who had escaped to the Soviet Union — were put in DP camps alongside their former tormentors, until the United States agreed to place them in separate compounds. Unable or unwilling to return to the countries where they had lost relatives, property and any semblance of a normal life, they began a waiting game as few countries, including the United States, were willing to take them in, and Palestine was being blockaded by the British. Abiding antisemitism was not the only reason they remained stateless. “Jews were [accused of being] subversives, Communists, rebels, troublemakers and the world war quickly gave way to Cold War, and with it, the notion that Hitler had been defeated and what we have to worry about is the Communists,” David Nasaw, author of “The Last Million,” a history of the displaced persons, told the New York Jewish week in 2020. In 1948 and 1950, Congress grudgingly passed legislation that allowed 50,000 Jewish survivors and their children to come to the United States. The rest were eventually able to go to Israel after its independence in 1948. The U.N. exhibit focuses less on this macro history, which includes what became another refugee crisis for the Palestinians displaced by Israel’s War for Independence, than on life in the DP camps. “The exhibition illustrates how the displaced persons did not shrink from the task of rebuilding both their own lives and Jewish communal life,” said Jonathan Brent, chief executive offi cer at YIVO, in a statement. ‘History keeps repeating itself’ Among those rebuilding their lives were Max Gitter and his parents, Polish Jews who had the perverse good luck of being exiled to Siberia during the war. The family made its way to Samarkand, in Uzbekistan, where Gitter was born in 1943. After the war ended, his parents returned to Poland but — repelled by antisemitism — sought refuge in the American zone in Germany. They spent time in the Ainring DP camp, a former Luftwaff e base on the Austrian border, and at a small camp called Lechfeld, about 25 miles west of Munich. “I was there until we came to the United States when I was 6½, so I have some very distinct memories and some hazy memories,” said Gitter, emeritus director and vice chair of the YIVO board. One story he hasn’t forgotten is how his father and a friend were walking through the camp when they came upon a long line of people. “They were from the Soviet Union, so they knew that when there’s a line that it might be of interest.” It turned out to be a line for the lottery that would allow them to get into the United States under the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. The family came to the United States in 1950 to “pretty shabby lodgings” in the Bronx before his father bought a candy store and moved to Queens. Max went on to attend Harvard College and Yale Law School and became a corporate litigator. Gitter’s brother was born in one of the camps. The exhibit includes a poster depicting the population increase between 1946 and 1947 at the Jewish DP center Bad Reichenhall. The birthrate in the camps has often been described as evidence of the optimism and defi ance of the survivors, but Dwork said the truth is somewhat more complicated. “There was a very high birth rate among the Jews in DP camps. This is the age group of reproductive age, at 20 to 40,” she said. “However, this image of fecundity hides what was rumored to be a signifi cant abortion rate, too. And women had experienced years of starvation. Menstruation had only recently recommenced. So many women, in fact, miscarried or had trouble conceiving to begin with.” “There is no silver lining here,” she added. “People live life on many levels. On the one hand, DPs look to the future and look with hope; at the same time, they carry tremendous burdens of pain and suff ering and trauma, and trepidations about the future.” Veach, a member of the YIVO board, hopes visitors to the exhibit understand that such trauma is hardly a thing of the past. “I think the real lesson is that history keeps repeating itself,” said Veach, growing emotional. “Basically, we have DPs on our border with Mexico; you have DPs from Ukraine. I don’t think people realize the repercussions for these people who are trying to fi nd a place to live. These are good people who are just placed where they are by history.” Gitter, who like Veach will speak at an event on Jan. 24 at the United Nations marking the exhibit, also hopes “After the End of the World” prods the consciences of visitors. “A lot of the countries, a lot of places, including the United States, would not accept Jews after the war,” he said. “The issue of memory, the issue of statelessness, the issue of fi nally there was some hope for the Jews in their immigration to Israel and the United States — that part of the story also needs to be told.” “After the End of the World: Displaced Persons and Displaced Persons Camps” will be on view Jan. 10 to Feb. 23 at the United Nations Headquarters (405 E. 42nd St., New York, N.Y.) from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entrance to the United Nations Visitor Centre in New York is free, though there are require- ments for all visitors. See the United Nations Visitor Centre entry guidelines. ■ Dolls & Classroom: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research Reaing Newspaper: U.N. Archives Dolls made by stateless Jewish children residing in a DP camp near Florence, Italy, known as “Kibbutz HaOved,” with help from funds provided by the Joint Distribution Committee. The dolls are attired in local costumes based on the districts of the Tuscan city of Sienna. Children’s classroom; Aschau DP camp, 1946-47 A chart by artist O. Lec depicts the natural population increase of the Jewish Center Bad Reichenhall; Germany, 1946-1947. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 17 camps Summer Camp Offers a Break for Campers and Staff Alike Julia Melo Camp Lee Mar • Fun traditional summer camp activities • Academics Scan Me! • Speech and language therapy • Daily living skills • Teenage campers enjoy social dancing every week with an end-of-summer “Prom” • Optional trips during the summer • Exceptional facilities featuring air conditioned bunks and buildings • Junior Olympic heated pool • Caring Nurturing Staff 7 e 1 as s o t n! S July 5 - August 11, 2023 Please visit us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. And so much more! 2023 Dates: June 24 – August 7 Visit our new website www.leemar.com Winter Office: Camp Lee Mar Ph: 215-658-1708 Fax: 215-658-1710 Please visit us on On YouTube you can view parents and campers talking about their experiences at Lee Mar. 18 • Lee Mar LIFE (Living Independently Functional Education) Program. The unique feature of our LIFE Program is that it incorporates everyday living skills into a personalized daily program. We have a fully functional apartment specifically for this program with a large kitchen, washer and dryer, two bathrooms, a living room and bedroom. JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT On YouTube you can view parents and campers talking about their experiences at Camp Lee Mar. Academic Enrichment Field Trips Hands-on Learning Team Building Interested? Secure your spot today! enrollment@pathwayschool.org 610.277.0660 | pathwayschool.org ven before the pandemic began, children (and people in general) already spent hours a day at their desks. This solitary lifestyle has grown through virtual and remote learning, streaming networks and endless video games, even videos of other people playing video games. But our brains are more active when we are active ourselves. Play, extracurricular activities and summer have always been seen as a “break.” In reality, these occasions can be the most active learning times for children. When I started working for my family’s child-care business, Kids After Hours, I was 16, and it seemed like a fun place to work after school. Our tagline, “It’s Always Time for Fun,” means we are a very fun place not only for children but for staff as well. It goes beyond simply having a good time. This notion that breaks are superflu- ous misses the incredible mental health benefits that come from play. When we first opened after the pandemic forced business closures, we could see the dramatic impacts social interactions, outdoor experiences and play had on children’s confidence. Over just a few days, we watched children go from reserved and isolating to building friend- ships, embracing openness and trying new experiences. Last year was my family’s first summer opening up Red Barn Ranch Camp. It was always my parents’ dream to open their own camp location, and it has been incredible to be a part of developing a camp from the ground up. We want to make the most of the summer “break” by creating amazing experiences for the children and staff in our program. Through providing various activities such as swimming, maneuvering climb- ing walls, flying down zip lines, building friendships through our sports programs, riding ATVs and go-karts, as well as creating art through multiple media, we Photo by Julia Melo E can help all children fi nd something that breaks them out of their shell and intro- duces them to something new. Red Barn Ranch has been a passion project for my entire family. We have spent hours meticulously planning our facilities. Every detail of Red Barn Ranch has been discussed and debated by my family to create the perfect summer camp location. It’s important to my family that we create a camp that embod- ies fun, exploration and building social connections. Camp allows children to reconnect with friends, themselves and nature. It gives children the opportunity to take what they have learned throughout the school year, connect it to hands-on experiences and expand on their learn- ing in ways they can’t in a classroom setting. As we have been develop- ing our camp program, we have been incredibly mindful of creating experi- ences that can build communities among our campers. From building confi dence in our high ropes course, building friendships through our sports programs and going beyond cookie-cutter art projects, every aspect of camp has something children can take with them for the rest of their lives. Summer camp is not a break from learning. It is learning. It’s a chance to have children turn off the screens of their virtual lives, go out, have experiences and make wonderful memories. ■ Looking for a place where children can gain more independence, tolerance, teamwork & friendship Come join our family at Golden Slipper Camp Overnight camp for children ages 7-15 Julia Melo is the accreditation and curriculum director of Kids After Hours, a before- and after-school care program that operates in 26 locations through Maryland, and the program coordinator of Red Barn Ranch Camp. ACA Accredited Daily sports, arts, pool and lake activities Located on 300 acres in the Pocono Mts. Embracing Jewish values AkimD / AdobeStock 2 Summer Sessions (3.5 weeks each) www.goldenslippercamp.org 610-660-0520 Register Online Today SUMMER IS ‘S’MORE’ FUN AT CAMP! Exciting News about the Summer Camp Scholarship and Grant Process Save on the cost of summer camp this year! One Happy Camper for first time overnight campers New this year: A sibling policy Deadline: Rolling Need Based Camp Scholarship/Financial Aid New this year: Simplified application process! Apply for Jewish Federation assistance directly through desired camp. Deadline: Varies by camp Funds are awarded on a rolling basis. Apply early to secure your financial support. Learn more: jewishphilly.org/camp JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 19 arts & culture Jewish Bizarre Podcast Ashley Zlatopolosky A new podcast is taking listeners down a rabbit hole of bizarre Jewish history. Released in November, the “Jewish Bizarre Podcast,” a new project from Reboot, a Jewish arts and culture nonprofi t and development platform (rebooting. com), explores little-known pockets of Jewish history that are strange, mysteri- ous and often downright shocking. In fact, podcast host Eddy Portnoy calls it a “Jewish Atlas Obscura of histor- ical material.” “It’s the strange corners of history that most historians don’t deal with,” he said, “and that most people don’t even know about.” The “Jewish Bizarre Podcast” is the inaugural podcast of the new Reboot Presents Podcast Network, which features top idiosyncratic Jewish person- alities. It’s produced by executive produc- ers David Katznelson and Noam Dromi and engineered by Jonathan London. This new podcast features Portnoy, academic adviser for the Max Weinreich Center and exhibition curator at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, as one of three co-hosts who join ranks to discuss the Jewish bizarre. Podcast hosts also include Tony Michels, professor of Jewish American history at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, and Jessica Chaffi n, writer, comedian and host of the popular podcast “Ask Ronna.” Together, they explore the strangest corners of Jewish history. The Topics Not Taught in Hebrew School Episodes are released weekly and tackle everything from how an 1875 murder changed the perception of Jews forever, to false messiahs and wrestling rabbis, to even Jewish stereotypes such as nose shape and how that impacted the world’s view on Jews. While all episodes are unique in their own way, Portnoy, who is based in Harlem, says one of the most bizarre is about the Tonsil Riots of 1906, which the podcast dives deeply into. “In 1906, on the Lower East Side, 50,000 Jewish mothers rioted because their children’s tonsils were taken out in public schools,” Portnoy, 57, explained. “It was really a major uproar and it’s an unusual moment in Jewish history.” This story, Portnoy said, is represen- tative of the “Jewish Bizarre Podcast” as a whole. “It’s one of the ones that I fi nd appealing and exciting because it reveals aspects of Jewish life that very few people know about,” he continued. Portnoy said each podcast episode was researched extensively and that listeners can expect a mix of humor, seriousness and, of course, very shock- ing stories. “The historical aspect is serious, but it’s dealt with in a lighthearted manner,” he said. “Tony and I bring the content, but Jessica draws it out in really clever and humorous ways.” Discussing stereotypes in particular, Portnoy said, has become more important than ever given the recent rise in public Podcast hosts Portnoy, Jessica Chaffi n and Tony Michels antisemitism, even if those stereotypes are approached from an edge of humor. “Stereotypes aff ect Jews adversely,” he said, “and especially now that’s really come to the forefront and become very problematic.” Learning More About the Bizarre To help listeners better understand each episode, the “Jewish Bizarre Podcast” has released an episode guide that includes defi nitions for key terms, pho- tographs, newspaper clippings, artwork and additional visual resources and links for reading. Episodes drop weekly and can be found on major podcast listening platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Listeners can also fi nd them on the Reboot website. Following its release of the “Jewish Bizarre Podcast,” Reboot Presents will soon release top episodes from previ- ous Reboot podcasts, including “The Kibitz,” “Kasher v. Kasher,” “Closening” and “In Quarantine with Steve Bodow” as other new content is in production. The “Jewish Bizarre Podcast” episode guide includes “Only Murder in the Shtetl,” which explores a famous murder; “Jewish Anarchists and the Yom Kippur Balls,” which discusses how young Eastern European Jewish immigrants discovered anarchism; and “The Tonsil Riots and other Jewish Uprisings,” which dives into the strangest Jewish riots. Episodes also include “Jewish Geniuses, Idiots and the Greatest Mohel,” which explores the age-old question of whether there really are more Jewish geniuses; and “The Strange World of Nosology and the Jewish Shnozz,” which debunks the long-running stereotypes surrounding Jews and nose shape. Throughout the episodes, podcast hosts discuss what it ultimately means to be Jewish and share their personal stories that relate to Judaism’s most bizarre topics. “The reception for our topics has been pretty strong,” Portnoy said. “There’s defi nitely interest there.” ■ Ashley Zlatopolsky is a writer for the Detroit Jewish News, where this fi rst appeared. 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I did not use the chef’s recipe precisely for numerous reasons — none of which involved a notion that I was improving the James Beard Award winners’ technique. I did not have matzah meal, so I used panko. I did not have his recommended hawaij spice blend, but a Google search revealed that the Israeli seasoning is a mixture of the spices listed below, so I created a makeshift version. I also used an “oven-fry” technique to avoid standing over a hot skillet and marinaded the chicken to optimize the fl avor. We served this dish with a simple green salad — arugula, shredded carrots and shaved raw beets, dressed with a mustard vinaigrette. My daughter and her friend said the meal “slapped,” which is, apparently, very high praise from Gen Z. Here’s what I did: Chicken and marinade: 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, sliced horizontally into thin cutlets 2 lemons 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon black pepper ¼ cup olive oil Photos by Keri White T Serves 4 Coating: 2 eggs 1 cup plain panko ¼ teaspoon turmeric ¼ teaspoon ground coriander ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper ½ teaspoon ground cumin 2 tablespoons oil for cooking plus cooking spray Dressing: ⅔ cup tahini Juice of 2 lemons ¼ teaspoon salt 1 clove garlic, crushed Cold water To serve: 4 loaves pita 1-2 tablespoons za’atar Mix the chicken and marinade ingre- dients together, and let them sit for 2-24 hours. Heat your oven to 425 degrees F, and place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven to heat. While the oven heats, prep the schnit- zel: In a large, shallow bowl, lightly beat the eggs. In another shallow bowl, mix the panko and seasonings. Dredge the chicken pieces in the egg, then the panko mixture, and place them on a plate. When the oven is at temperature, remove the cooking tray and coat it with oil. Place the chicken pieces on the hot tray, then spray the tops of the chicken with cooking spray. Place the tray in the oven, and bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown, crispy and cooked through. While the chicken cooks, make the dressing: Mix the tahini, lemon juice, salt and garlic. Add the cold water, a bit at a time to achieve a consistency that is spreadable but not too thick. When the chicken is done, assem- ble the sandwiches — sprinkle the chicken with za’atar. Schmear the pita with tahini, add the chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, avocados, pickles, et cetera and more za’atar, if desired. ■ Keri White is a Philadelphia-based food writer. Nominate someone for the class of 2023 Do you know someone who should be considered for the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame? We are looking for athletes, coaches, media personalities, or anyone closely involved in the Philadelphia sports scene for the Class of 2023. Visit www.PhillyJewishSports.org/Nominations to fill out the Nomination Form Questions: info@phillyjewishsports.org JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 21 obituaries BRODER LAWRENCE “Larry”, December 28, 2022, age 75. Devoted Father of Laine Broder (Gary Lehnert) and Heather Broder. Beloved Brother of Marilyn Webster (Donald). Also survived by many nieces, nephews and extended family. Contributions in his memory may be made to Old York Rd Temple- Beth Am www.oyrtbetham.org or to Second City Canine Rescue www.sc- crescue.org The light he brought into our world will be forever missed. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com COUZENS RICHARD M., January 9, 2023, of Margate City, NJ, formerly of Yardley, PA. Beloved husband of Carole (nee Orloff); loving father of Dori (Dave Gasman) Neave, Shawn (Shoshana) Couzens and Yakov (Nili) Couzens; cherished grandfather of Jacob Couzens, Andrew (Nayhamar) Neave, Tzadok Couzens, Esti (Moshe) Palatnik, Sarah (Jon Turek) Couzens, Moishe (Peninah) Couzens, Rachel Neave, Rebecca Couzens, Rivka (Yosef) Snyder, Joseph Couzens, Bracha Couzens, Dovid Couzens and great grandchildren Ahuva Palatnik, Rina Palatnik and Temima Snyder; devoted brother of Jeffrey Couzens. Services were held January 10, 2023. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Richard’s memory may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. JOSEPH LEVINE & SONS www.levinefuneral.com GOLDHAMMER JOEL S., 85, of Elkins Park, PA, passed away peacefully on January 5, 2023. Joel is survived by his beloved wife Evelyn (nee Steinberg); loving children Elaine Goldhammer (Anthony Pascale), Hilary Goldhammer (Marc Erickson), and Bruce Goldhammer; and adoring grandchildren Ella, Aaron, Douglas, Serena, and Vivian. Born in Pittsburgh, Joel received an electrical engineering degree from Carnegie Tech University, followed by a law de- gree at George Washington University. While in Washington DC, Joel met the love of his life, Evelyn, whom he quickly wooed with his white Triumph convertible. Joel and Evelyn moved to the Philadelphia area where he had a fulfilling law career protecting the intellectual property of inventors and designers. Despite the rigors of his work, Joel always made time for fami- ly, friends, and leisure activities, espe- cially tennis and skiing. As the father of a son with Down Syndrome, Joel became an advocate for people with disabilities, serving many years on the boards of Jewish community-based non-profits. Once retired, Joel fur- thered his intellectual endeavors and athletic pursuits and deepened his re- lationships with family and friends. A dedicated, loving father, grandfather, provider, friend, and husband, he will be deeply missed. Contributions in his memory may be made to Jewish Learning Venture, https://jewishle- arningventure.org; 261 Old York Rd. #720, Jenkintown, PA 19046. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com GOODMAN MERTON ALVIN on January 6, 2023. Beloved husband of Rhoda (nee Finkelstein); Loving father of Todd Goodman (Renee), Jay Goodman (Maxine Mann), and Matthew Goodman (Jodi); Devoted grandfather of Ross (Emily), Lance, Samantha, Mallory, Blake, and Ryan. Contributions in his memory may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com GOODMAN PHILIP - January 9, 2023. Husband of Eleanor (nee Brodsky) and the late Adele (nee Keer). Father of Michele (Alan) Goldberg, David (Barbara) Goodman and Andrea (Michael) Gildar. Grandfather of Eliana and Nina Goodman. Contributions in his memo- ry may be made to Congregation Beth El, 8000 Main Street, Voorhees, NJ 08043. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com HALPERN STEVEN on January 7, 2023. Beloved husband of Debra (nee Dugan); Loving father of Isaac Halpern (Lilliam Sanchez Mora) and Justin Halpern (Kimberly); Loving stepfather of Cara Rosenfeld (Ryan Bindrim) and David Rosenfeld (Jennifer Cohen); Dear brother of Kathy Levin; Adoring grand- father of Juliana, Natalie, Bernardo, Jordan, and Chloe. Also survived by his beloved dog Murphy. He was a graduate of Wharton School of Business at Univ. of PA and was a successful business owner and real estate investor. Contributions in his memory may be made to Lewy Body Dementia Assoc., www.lbda.org GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Lee’s memory to the Ellen C. Myers Memorial Fund at Tufts University. Please make your check payable to Trustees of Tufts College. In the check’s memo section or on a cover note, designate your gift to the Myers Memorial Prize Fund. Mail to: Tufts University P.O. Box 3306 Boston, MA 02241-3306 JOSEPH LEVINE & SONS www.levinefuneral.com ROTMAN KORN WALTER on January 11, 2023. Husband of the late Marlene. Father of Scott Harvey Korn (Audrey Kleeman) and David Korn (Shara Aranoff). Grandfather of Harrison, Nathaniel and Leora. Contributions in his mem- ory may be made to the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science, 220 S 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, www.michaeljfox.org GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com MELZTER HELENE “Cookie” (nee Presser) passed peacefully on Friday January 6, 2023. She graduated from West Philly high 1953. She had many ac- complishments including being a self- less volunteer of 25 years at PRMH. She enjoyed 66 years of marriage to Ronald Meltzer. She is survived by her daughter Paula Meltzer (and her beloved partner Howard Garonzik), Her granddaughter Allison Berlant and her cherished great-granddaugh- ter Isabella Broderson. The light she brought into this world will be missed. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com MYERS LEE on January 12, 2023. Wife of the late Robert L. Myers. Mother of Andrea Shorin (Richard), Ken Myers, and the late Ellen Myers. Grandmother of Emily Nachbar (Jordan), Rebecca Shorin, Sam Myers, and Alex Myers. PERLOFF ROBERT “Bobby”, 90, of Ventnor, New Jersey and formerly of Northeast Philadelphia, died peacefully Sunday January 8, 2023. Bobby was adored by his many friends in Philly, down the Shore and in the record business. He loved talking to people to find out what they were about and looked forward to regular Thursday dinner with the guys. He would wake up every day and look at the ocean from the window of his condo. He loved all kinds of music, the Eagles, the Sixers, Villanova basket- ball, sending bitmojis for every holiday, playing tennis and holding court on the Ventnor Boardwalk in front of the Oxford. He was a regular bike rider on the Boardwalk and on his exercise bike, which he rode for two hours a day (40 songs, three minutes each). He was the longtime general manager of Universal One-Stop in Philadelphia, buying from the major record compa- nies to sell to the smaller mom and pop stores. For years, he and his friends in the record industry would gather monthly at the Tiffany Diner to joke and relive the memories. He is survived by his daughter, Sue Perloff; brother-in-law Malcolm Segal; grand- children Joshua, Hannah, and Shira; nieces Tracy Kaplan (Chuck); Ellen Family owned and Operated since 1883 22 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT Mass (Ellis), Wendy McGarry, and Jill Wolfson. He was a great uncle to Rob (Lia), Jamie, Liam, Jacob, Pearl, Cara, Sean, Brianna, Alex (Lucy) and Gwen (Cori). He is predeceased by his wife, Geraldine “Gerry” Perloff (nee Segal), and his son, Jay Perloff (Michele). Contributions in his memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Memorial Sloan Kettering. ROTH-GOLDSTEINS’ MEMORIAL CHAPEL www.rothgoldsteins.com IRVING - Passed away on January 9, 2023, after recently celebrating his 93rd birthday. Beloved husband of Norma (nee Weinberg); Loving fa- ther of Harris Rotman (Angela) and Frank Rotman (Jody); Adoring grand- father of Jillian and Sophia. A gradu- ate of Temple Univ. and the Univ. of Pennsylvania, he was a dedicated teacher for almost 35 years at Central High School in Philadelphia. A passion- ate lover of opera, all music classical and silent films, he shared his interests by running several opera and silent film groups. Upon his retirement, he perfected his talent of painting water- colors, many of which grace the walls of friends and family. Contributions in his memory may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com RUBEN GLADYS JOY SOLOMON, 97, known to her friends as Gigi, orig- inally of Philadelphia PA, widow of Manuel Ruben, died peacefully in her sleep Sunday, December 18, 2022. Memorial services will be scheduled in the spring at Haym Salomon Memorial Park in Malvern, PA. Gladys was born December 24, 1924, daughter of the late Albert Solomon and Paula Zuckerman Solomon. Her older broth- er Edwin Solomon (Dec.) nicknamed her Gigi, as he was too young to say Gladys. In the 1960s and 70s she owned her pre-teen and teen clothing store, The Gigi Shop, at Haverford and City Line. In the early 90’s she moved to Boca Raton, FL and later to Thousand Oaks and Palm Desert, CA. She spent her last few years living in Charleston, SC. Gladys is survived by her son, Richard B. Ruben (Elizabeth) of Charleston, SC; son-in-law, Robert Myer of Los Angeles, CA; three grand- children: Jeremy Myer, Michael Ruben (Karlee) and Kelsey Davis (Jason); and great-granddaughter, Lavender Davis. She was predeceased by her daughter, Randy Myer; and grandson, Cory Myer. In lieu of fl owers, memo- rials may be made to The Greater Philadelphia Chapter of ALS, 321 Norristown Road, Suite 260, Amber, PA 19002 and/or the Alzheimer’s Foundation. A memorial message may be sent to the family by visiting our website at www.jhenrystuhr.com. J. HENRY STUHR FUNERAL HOME www.jhenrystuhr.com. ZAUMKOENIG DORA (nee Hirsh) passed away on January 12, 2023. Wife of the late Eli Zaumkoenig and the late Emanuel Adelman. Survived by cousins and friends. Graveside services were held Sunday January 15, 2023. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Association of Holocaust Survivors - 3101 Portofi no Point – Apt. O-1, Coconut Creek, FL 33066. GOLDSTEINS’ ROSENBERG’S RAPHAEL-SACKS www.goldsteinsfuneral.com May Their Memor y Be For a Bless ing Th e Philadelphia Jewish Exponent extends condolences to the families of those who have passed. To receive our weekly obituary eletter visit www.jewishexponent.com/enewsletter Jewish Exponent PHILADELPHIA jewishexponent.com • 215-832-0700 Our family is here for you when you need us most, for funeral and pre-planning needs. PHILADELPHIA CHAPEL Carl Goldstein Supervisor 6410 N. Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19126 SUBURBAN NORTH CHAPEL Bruce Goldstein Supervisor 310 2nd Street Pike Southampton, PA 18966 ROTH-GOLDSTEINS' MEMORIAL CHAPEL Stephen Collins NJ Mgr. Lic No. 3355 116 Pacific Ave Atlantic City, NJ 08401 215-927-5800 For Deaf or Hard of Hearing: 267-331-4243 GoldsteinsFuneral.com Caring. Committed. Compassionate. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 23 synagogue spotlight B eth David Reform Congregation opened in 1943 as “the fourth Reform temple in the Philadelphia area,” according to its website. Through 37 years in Philadelphia’s Wynnefi eld neighborhood and then its fi rst two-plus decades in suburban Gladwyne, the synagogue grew its membership base, bought a building and expanded that building to “properly accommodate the current membership” between 2010 and 2012. This is the typical story arc for a Reform temple in the Philadelphia region. But today, as many other area synagogues lose members, Beth David is still growing. Senior Rabbi Beth Kalisch and Cantor Lauren Goodlev said the membership base has increased since the pandemic started to a little more than 300 house- holds. The synagogue also has 30-40 people at weekly hybrid Shabbat services, 90 religious school students and 15 bar and bat mitzvahs per year. The rabbi and cantor are quick to say that they are not as big as some other local Reform synagogues, which gives them a lower number to maintain. At the same time, growth is growth, and people are attracted to this “synagogue in the woods,” as the leaders refer to their tree-shaded property. Kalisch and Goodlev believe that people come because the temple is “joyful”; because it found various ways to stay together during COVID, includ- ing High Holiday video messages; and because in 2018 it started developing “Shema groups” that gather people based on life experiences and interests. “It’s a joyful place where people can learn about themselves and be themselves,” Kalisch said. According to Kalisch, Beth David’s new member demographics include young families, empty-nesters and retir- ees. Some young families joined for the religious school, she acknowledged, and for the after-school programs that the 24 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT Rabbi Beth Kalisch and Cantor Lauren Goodlev Beth David congregants painted the windows for Chanukah. synagogue off ers for preschool students (though it does not have a preschool). And some empty-nesters and retirees joined because they attended a virtual service during COVID and discovered that they wanted a synagogue in their lives again. But to a large degree, Kalisch and Goodlev said, people are becoming congregants because Beth David is a place where they can connect and have some fun. There are “Shema groups” for art appreciation, suburban singles dining out, empty-nesters, social justice, aging, people who adopted dogs during the pandemic and people who are exploring Judaism. They meet at the synagogue on Vaughan Lane, in people’s homes and, in the case of suburban singles dining out, at restaurants. Through COVID, too, these groups connected online, and that remains an option. People can come together around anything, according to Goodlev. And in most cases, these groups are created by congregants. The rabbi and cantor may provide questions to get people think- ing, but then the members take over. “It’s something really special about Beth David that keeps us going,” Goodlev said. As the cantor explained, “People want to connect. People want to have these points of connection.” And as members build these cohorts and develop relation- ships, they become like “little families.” Maybe on Chanukah they get together one night to light candles together. Perhaps when someone has a death in the family, the other group members comfort that person. Instances like this have already happened, Goodlev said. The rabbi and cantor got this idea from megachurches with thousands of families. In those communities, there is a need to form smaller communities, too, because you can’t know everybody. But what Kalisch and Goodlev discovered was that they could work in synagogues as well, even ones that are a little smaller than normal. “It’s been beautiful,” Goodlev said. This is not to say that Beth David is no longer emphasizing the bigger, more institutional activities traditional to synagogues. It just hired a new direc- tor of religious education in Rabbi Elisa Koppel, who is bringing “such great life and energy to our religious school,” Goodlev said. On special Shabbat evening services, 100 people may show up. And in recent years around Election Day and then Thanksgiving, congregants helped Pennsylvania residents register to vote and access meals and desserts. But Beth David is not just a Reform synagogue anymore. It’s a place to practice your religion, help the wider community and connect with others. “Beth David is a really inclusive place,” Kalisch said. “There’s not just one way to be Jewish.” ■ jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com Photo by Jill Cooper Jarrad Saff ren | Staff Writer Photo by Justin Kerr Beth David Reform Congregation in Gladwyne Keeps Growing d’var torah Put Aside Our Diff erences Rabbi Gregory S. Marx I Parshat Vaera n Parshat Vaera, God speaks to Moses and self-identifi es as Adonai. God continues to say that the divine appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by a diff erent name, El Shaddai, and that God was not revealed to them as Adonai. It was only later that God is referred to by the tetragrammaton, God’s four-let- ter name, yod-hay-vav-hay, which we pronounce as “Adonai.” So, why would God need to say that to Moses and, furthermore, why the need to proclaim the unity of the divine despite being called by diff erent names? I suspect that the ancient ancestors were a diverse community; some must have referred to God by one name, I asked myself why was that statement necessary? Our friendship transcended politics. Our relationship was deeper than Republican or Democrat. But somehow there was a concern that our friendship might be jeopardized because of the divisive politics of today. One of our greatest challenges today is antisemitism. It is our modern-day Pharaoh. It is high time we recognize our unity, just as God reminded Moses of the divine unity despite “knowing God diff erently throughout the ages.” It is high time that we put away our polit- ical diff erences, as well as our religious ones and stand shoulder to shoulder against the rising hate and heat of antisemitism of our time. Further in Exodus, God says, “I have heard the moaning of the Israelites and I have remembered my covenant.” 6:5 We do so in the deeply held belief that we cannot confront hate alone, nor can our allies. We must seek partners with whom we can stand and, likewise, who will be there for us. My synagogue, Beth Or, marched with the members of Bethlehem Baptist Church following the shootings in a North Carolina church as they came to pray with us following the attacks in Pittsburgh and Poway. Finally, and most importantly, we must stop being our own worst enemies and sniping at each other because we are a diverse community; enough with the attacks that you are “too liberal,” “too extreme,” not “red enough” or “too progressive.” We have always had our diff erences, as our Torah portion indicates, but God told Moses that if you are to successfully confront evil in the form of Pharaoh, we as a people must stand as one. The time before the Exodus demanded unity of purpose and community. Likewise, today, as we confront another formidable foe, the time for unity amidst our diversity is now. ■ Rabbi Gregory Marx is the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen. The Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia is proud to provide diverse perspectives on Torah commentary for the Jewish Exponent. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not refl ect the view of the Board of Rabbis. We must stop being our own worst enemies and sniping at each other because we are a diverse community. while others identifi ed God diff erently. They saw in the diverse names diff erent characteristics, traits and capabilities. For some, God was the presence of justice in the face of evil, while for others, God off ered mercy in the face of sin. God was worshipped by a diverse community. Moses, about to confront the most powerful person in the ancient world, Pharaoh, needed to know whom he was representing. So, God reminds Moses of the unity of the divine and of the community that adorates Him. We live in a time when we are confronted by a multiplicity of challenges. We are a varied community with diff erent perspectives and under- standings of God, as well as politics. Just recently, I was speaking to a friend of mine, who is a rabbi, and she told me, as we began the conversation, “I just wanted to tell you, I’m a Trump supporter.” No matter what transpires, or how we act or believe or practice, God will be with us. Suff ering transcends divisive- ness. We are all one as we confront hate. The antisemite does not care if a particular Jew keeps kosher or not. The Jew-hater couldn’t care less if a Jew is a Democrat or a Republican. We are one. I suggest that we need to do three things to confront antisemitism. First, we must not be afraid to call hate out when we see it. We must not shrink from the challenge of calling out the haters, even if it strengthens the hand of those who hold us in antipathy. Second, we must build alliances with other like-minded people. We are a tiny minority and need friends in high places as well as in the common marketplace. I am pleased that our community has continually endeavored to build bridges and relationships that force us to stretch. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 25 calendar JANUARY 20–26 F RIDAY, JA N UA RY 20 family for Shabbat services starting at 9:15 a.m. and a learn, lunch and shmooze afterward with Rabbi Grife. For more information, contact shul president Shelly Schwartz at office@mbiee.org or 215-635-1505. 8339 Old York Road, Elkins Park. ‘HIDDEN’ VIDEO PREMIERE Musicians and songwriters David and Jenny Heitler-Klevans will premiere the video “Hidden: The True Story of Ruth Kapp Hartz” at 7:30 p.m. over Zoom. Tickets are $15. The video features Hartz telling her story of being a hidden child in France during World War II. For more information, contact david2kind@gmail.com or 215-782-8258. MON DAY, JAN . 2 3 MAHJONG GAME ‘INDECENT’ The Players Club presents “Indecent,” a play that follows the real-life events surrounding the Broadway debut of Sholem Asch’s ‘The God of Vengeance.’ The production runs until Jan. 21, with the final performances starting at 8 p.m. For more information, contact president@pcstheater.org or 610-328-4271. 614 Fairview Road, Swarthmore. FRIDAY, JA N . 20 PARSHA FOR LIFE Join Rabbi Alexander Coleman, a Jewish educator and psychotherapist at the Institute for Jewish Ethics, at 9 a.m. for a weekly journey through the Torah portion of the week with eternal lessons on personal growth and spirituality. Go to ijethics.org/weekly-torah- portion.html to receive the Zoom link and password. MUSICAL KABBALAT SHABBAT Join Beth Sholom Congregation’s Rabbi David Glanzberg-Krainin, Cantor Jacob Agar and the band at 6 p.m. for a musical Kabbalat Shabbat. The community is welcome to attend. Call 215-887-1342 for information. 8231 Old York Road, Elkins Park. INLIQUID EXHIBIT InLiquid’s Ursula Sternberg: Daydream is a celebration of the career of Philadelphia-area artist, the late Ursula Sternberg, whose life and career spanned many mediums and multiple 26 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT continents, taking her from Nazi- occupied Germany to Elkins Park. This exhibit runs through Jan. 21 and is open from noon-6 p.m. 1400 N. American St. #314, Philadelphia. ‘LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS’ Walnut Street Theatre presents Jewish playwright Neil Simon’s “Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” a comedy running until Feb. 5. Start times and ticket prices vary. 825 Walnut St., Philadelphia. Melrose B’nai Israel Emanu-El Sisterhood invites the community to join our weekly mahjong game at 7 p.m. Cost is $36 per year or free with MBIEE Sisterhood membership. For more information, call 215-635-1505 or email office@ mbiee.org. 8339 Old York Road, Elkins Park. T U E SDAY, JAN . 2 4 BINGO WITH BARRY Join Barry at Tabas KleinLife for an afternoon of bingo at 12:45 p.m. on Jan. 24 and 25. Free parking and free to play with snacks available on Jan. 25. For more information, call 215-745- 3127. 2101 Strahle St., Philadelphia. WE D N E SDAY, JAN . 25 SISTERHOOD STUDY PROGRAM ‘THE CEMETERY CLUB’ The Congregations of Shaare Shamayim’s Rabbi Sandi Berliner will teach a class on “Words of Wisdom from Jewish Ethics” as part of the Sisterhood Study Program at 10 a.m. on every Wednesday in January and the first two Wednesdays in February. For further information, call the synagogue office at 215-677-1600. 9768 Verree Road, Philadelphia. SATURDAY, JAN . 2 1 ENTERING THE MISHKAN Three Jewish widows meet once a month for tea before going to visit their husbands’ graves in “The Cemetery Club,” a production of Colonial Playhouse. The show opens Jan. 20 at 8 p.m. and runs until Feb. 5. For more information, contact Kate Sapsis at ksapsis@gmail.com. 522 W. Magnolia Ave., Aldan. LUNCH AND LEARN Join the Melrose B’Nai Israel Emanu-el In this three-part series, starting at 10:30 a.m., Congregation Kol Ami and Rabbi Jennifer Frenkel will look at our Shabbat prayerbook, Mishkan T’filah, its design and use, including opportunities for personal and communal prayer and reflection. Register at kolaminj.shulcloud.com/ event/enteringmishkanjan2023. Questions? Email AdultEd@kolaminj. org or call 856-489-0029. INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM Introduction to Judaism at Congregation Kol Ami is an engaging, multi-session course for anyone who wants to gain a deeper understanding of Jewish life, from Nov. 2-March 8 at 7-8:30 p.m. No charge for congregants. $180 per device for non-congregants. For more information, contact Ruth Scott, director of community engagement: ruth@kolaminj.org. 1101 Springdale Road, Cherry Hill, New Jersey. TH U RSDAY, JA N . 26 YIDDISH SHMOOZE GROUP If you’ve got the chutzpah, get off your tuches and join Congregation Kol Ami for casual conversations and programs in Yiddish. Yiddish Shmooze Group will meet on Zoom from 10:30-11:45 a.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month, through June. Register: kolaminj.shulcloud.com/event/ yiddishgroup. CANASTA GAME Ohev Shalom of Bucks County Sisterhood invites the community to a weekly canasta game from 1-3 p.m. Open play is $4. Call 215-968-6755 for more information. 944 Second Street Pike, Richboro. 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Discover a local Jewish artist creating secular, musical theatre and Jewish music. Songwriter Rory Michelle Sullivan is celebrating 10 years of intentional artistic practice at Howl at the Moon Philly at 7:45 p.m. Check in under “Rory Michelle Sullivan” when you arrive for free admission, line privileges and drink specials. For more information, contact liveitstudios@gmail.com or 856-607-2183. 258 S. 15th St., Philadelphia. ■ Courtesy of Amy Schrager Courtesy of Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties around town 2 3 4 Courtesy of Debbie Zlotnick Photo by Costello Photography 1 Courtesy of Stephanie Hampson social announcements 1 Jon Rosky of Corsi Associates donated more than 20 backpacks to the Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties. 2 Americans for Ben- Gurion University raised more than $300,000 at its annual tribute brunch to honor dedicated 3 Federation Housing leaders of the Delaware and Philadelphia chapters. residents enjoyed an afternoon of refreshments and a concert by pianist Eugene Varshavsky. 4 Temple Sinai in Dresher hosted the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs’ man and youth of the year event for the Middle Atlantic region. 5 Jerome Goldberg, Chana Brenner, Shelley Geltzer and Lina Stavropolsky celebrated their January birthdays at the birthday party for active adults at KleinLife in Northeast Philadelphia. 5 BAT MITZVAH Margaux Sylvia Kanter Margaux Sylvia Kanter became a bar mitzvah on Jan. 14 at Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel in Philadelphia. Margaux is the son of Gregg Kanter and Sheri P. Rosenberg, z”l, the brother of Markus and Maurice, and the grandson of Seymour and Rhoda Kanter of Philadelphia and Markus, z”l, and Ann Rosenberg of Dallas. Margaux is a seventh grader at Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy. His interests include gymnastics, swimming, cooking, art and reading. Photo by Bunk 1 JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 27 last word Jenny and David Heitler-Klevans J Sasha Rogelberg | Staff Writer enny and David Heitler-Klevans’ music has found its way to Europe and back on multiple occasions. Shortly after they began dating at Oberlin College in 1986, David Heitler-Klevans would send tape recordings of him singing to Jenny Heitler-Klevans while she was studying abroad in Denmark. Jenny Heitler-Klevans would send the cassettes back to David Heitler-Klevans with harmonies recorded over his melodies. The couple — dubbed “Two of a Kind” — have played together ever since. Most recently, their endeavors took them to France to visit the relatives of Jenkintown resident Ruth Kapp Hartz, who survived the Holocaust as a hidden child. The couple, both 56, met Hartz through David Heitler-Klevans’ mother, as they were both French teachers. Since 2019, the couple has worked on a musical about Hartz’s life. They took their musical knowledge and rusty French from their Cheltenham home to France, learning the survivor’s story and playing a concert at an event commemorating the Shoah’s hidden children. The musical has a complete script and a score of about 30 songs. “There’s so many movies and books and things about the Holocaust, but each new one carves out some new territory,” David Heitler-Klevans said. “This story and its focus on rescuers and resistance and allies and its location in France — I think there’s a number of things about it that are quite different.” Jenny Heitler-Klevans also shares a personal connec- tion with Hartz’ story. Her great-aunt Irene, before spending her adult life in the United States, escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto, fleeing to Paris, where she also hid until the end of the war. “It’s not exactly the same story,” she said. “But there’s some definite connections.” On Jan. 21, the duo will premiere “Hidden: The True Story of Ruth Kapp Hartz,” a video documentary about the survivor’s life, as well as the plans for the forthcom- ing musical adaptation of her life, over Zoom. The video premiere will also launch the couple’s 28 JANUARY 19, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT fundraising efforts for the musical, which they plan to host a staged concert reading of in May at Abington Friends School. “It’s definitely been a reach,” David Heitler-Klevans said. “It’s definitely pushed us to do a lot of different kinds of songwriting and scriptwriting.” Since making performing their full-time careers in 1996, the Heitler-Klevans have released 12 albums, 10 of which are for children. Though they still create adult music through their quartet Acoustic Blender, they are members of the Children’s Music Network and perform for children at local libraries, schools and summer camps. David Heitler-Klevans grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, learning to love music from his amateur musician father who made a living as a psychotherapist. His parents were involved in the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s and ’70s, and the protest songs from his childhood carried through to his pursuit of a degree in music composition at Oberlin. David Heitler-Klevans met Jenny Heitler- Klevans — in true Oberlin fashion — at the co-op house where she lived. The two shared an art history class and grabbed breakfast before walking to the lecture together. Growing up in State College, Jenny Heitler- Klevans was involved in her synagogue and youth group; her rabbi had a deep love of music. Jenny Heitler-Klevans fell in love with the melody of “Hava Nagila” and started piano lessons as a child, which carried through to college. Her childhood dance performances led to musical auditions at Oberlin. “I never pictured myself becoming a musician professionally,” Jenny Heitler-Klevans said. “And then when I met David, we started singing together. We did some other things before we eventually decided to go full time into music, but it’s been a great ride.” While David Heitler-Klevans taught music after college, Jenny Heitler-Klevans pursued a master’s degree in public health, but playing music together in their spare time was always a priority. Around the time they had their twin sons in 1995, music gigs started becoming a bigger commitment than their day jobs. The couple wanted to have more flexible schedules to spend time with their babies. “I said ‘Well, why don’t we just, for a year, try doing this?’” Jenny Heitler-Klevans said of being full-time musicians. One year has turned into almost 30. For the past three decades, the Heitler-Klevans have worked to find the balance of being a couple, parents and colleagues. The development of “Hidden” is a benchmark of their success. “Jenny is pretty much the only person that I feel 100% comfortable about collaborating with creatively,” David Heitler-Klevans said. “Because we know each other so well, and we’re able to really take the best of what both of us do and combine that in different ways over the course of the years in different projects.” ■ srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com Photo by Jason Kramer PRESERVE SURVIVOR STORIES THROUGH MUSIC SEASHORE SALE LOVE where here you L LIVE HHT Office 609-487-7234 #1 IN NEW JERSEY FOR LARGE TEAM SALES VOLUME *RealTrends 2021 9211 Ventnor Avenue, Margate 8017 Ventnor Avenue, Margate 9313 Ventnor Ave, Margate www.HartmanHomeTeam.com NEW PRICE! OCEAN CITY $659,000 CHARMING & WELL MAINTAINED 3 BEDROOM, 2 BATHROOM HOME ON BAY AVENUE! NEW PRICE! 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Call Safe Step 1-833-437-1428 PET SERVICES PETS : Use Happy Jack® Seal N Heal® on dogs, cats & horses to close wounds with a bitter taste. Allow healing. At Tractor Supply & Better Farm & Garden Stores. (Distributed by Florida Hardware (800) 241-6542) LEGALS Villeda Construction Inc has been in- corporated under the provisions of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988. Caregivers Contimuum has been in- corporated under the provisions of the Pennsylvania Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1988. Semanoff, Ormsby, Greenberg & Torchia, LLC 2617 Huntingdon Pike Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 CELESTIAL HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES INC. has been incor- porated under the provisions of the Pennsylvania Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1988. ESTATE OF ANGELA HOWARD, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County, PA. LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the un- dersigned, who request all persons hav- ing claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the dece- dent to make payment without delay to LAMONT HOWARD, ADMINISTRATOR, c/o Daniella A. Horn, Esq., 2202 Delancey Pl., Phila., PA 19103, Or to his Atty.: DANIELLA A. HORN KLENK LAW, LLC 2202 Delancey Pl., Phila., PA 19103 ESTATE OF ANNA M. ZIMMIE, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County, PA. LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to ANNA McGILL, EXECUTRIX, 67 Vanderveer Ave., Holland, PA 18966, Or to her Atty.: Mark J. Davis Connor Elder Law, LLC 644 Germantown Pike, Ste. 2-C Lafayette Hill, PA 19444 ESTATE OF ASTER TECHENE METIKE, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia, PA. Letters of Administration on the above estate have been granted to the undersigned. All persons having claims against or indebted to the estate should make claims known or forward payment to, Sisay Beshah, Administrator, c/o John R. Lundy, Esq., Lundy Beldecos & Milby, PC, 450 N. Narberth Ave., Suite 200, Narberth, PA 19072. ESTATE OF CARLOS HUMBERTO RAMOS, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County, PA. LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make pay- ment without delay to JECEL KAYLYN RAMOSSEXTON, ADMINISTRATRIX, c/o Bradly E. Allen, Esq., 7711 Castor Ave., Phila., PA 19152, Or to her Atty.: BRADLY E. ALLEN 7711 Castor Ave., Phila., PA 19152 ESTATE OF CORNETHA MACKEY, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County, PA. LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment with- out delay to DARRYL J. MACKEY, EXECUTOR, c/o Daniella A. Horn, Esq., 2202 Delancey Pl., Phila., PA 19103, Or to his Atty.: DANIELLA A. HORN KLENK LAW, LLC 2202 Delancey Pl., Phila., PA 19103 ESTATE OF DANIELLE N. RODIER, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to KATHRYN KRMPOTICH, Executrix, 82 Strathaven Dr., Broomall, PA 19008 ESTATE OF DAVID EUGENE WARD, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to CONSTANCE Y. MACK, EXECUTRIX, c/o Adam S. Bernick, Esq., 2047 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, Or to her Attorney: ADAM S. BERNICK LAW OFFICE OF ADAM S. BERNICK 2047 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19103 ESTATE OF ETTA MAE TIMMONS, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County, PA. LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to MELODY HARTBAUER, EXECUTRIX, c/o Arthur G. Krevitz, Esq., 4230 Bensalem Blvd., Bensalem, PA 19120, Or to her Atty.: Arthur G. Krevitz, Krevitz & Associates, P.C. 4230 Bensalem Blvd. Bensalem, PA 19120 ESTATE OF FANIA LIBMAN a/k/a FANYA LIBMAN, FAINA LIBMAN, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to EMIL LIBMAN and MICHAEL G. LIBMAN, EXECUTORS, c/o Nicole B. LaBletta, Esq., 200 Bar Harbor Dr., Ste. 400, Conshohocken, PA 19428, Or to their Attorney: NICOLE B. LABLETTA LABLETTA & WALTERS LLC 200 Bar Harbor Dr., Ste. 400 Conshohocken, PA 19428 ESTATE OF GEORGE JOSEPH CURETON, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment with- out delay to MARVIN DANDRIDGE, ADMINISTRATOR, 3751 N. Bouvier St., Philadelphia, PA 19140, Or to his Attorney: MARK S. HARRIS 920 Lenmar Dr., Blue Bell, PA 19422 ESTATE OF HERBERT CATALANO a/k/a HERMAN J. CATALANO, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to CHRISTOPHER L. CATALANO and JAMIE A. CATALANO, EXECUTORS, c/o D. Keith Brown, Esq., Two N. State St., P.O. Box 70, Newtown, PA 18940, Or to their Attorney: D. KEITH BROWN STUCKERT AND YATES Two N. State St. P.O. Box 70 Newtown, PA 18940 ESTATE OF JANE CHIDSEY, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County, PA. LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons hav- ing claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to GAYE ANNE GALASSO, ADMINISTRATRIX, c/o Daniella A. Horn, Esq., 2202 Delancey Pl., Phila., PA 19103, Or to her Atty.: DANIELLA A. HORN KLENK LAW, LLC 2202 Delancey Pl., Phila., PA 19103 ESTATE OF JOHN FRANCIS RUTH a/k/a JOHN F. RUTH, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without de- lay to DONNA M. GILLE, EXECUTRIX, 7822 Lister St., Philadelphia, PA 19152, Or to her Attorney: MARK J. DAVIS CONNOR ELDER LAW, LLC 644 Germantown Pike, Ste. 2-C Lafayette Hill, PA 19444 ESTATE OF JOHN W. EVANS, III, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia, PA. Letters of Administration on the above estate have been granted to the undersigned. All persons having claims against or indebted to the estate should make claims known or forward payment to, Wendy Evans, Administratrix, 2879 Angus Rd., Philadelphia, PA 19114 or to their attorney Andrew I. Roseman, Esquire, 1528 Walnut St., Suite 1412, Philadelphia, PA 19102. ESTATE OF JOSEPHINE GIORDANO, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County, PA. LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to PAUL DiFILIPO, EXECUTOR, c/o Daniella A. Horn, Esq., 2202 Delancey Pl., Phila., PA 19103, Or to his Atty.: DANIELLA A. HORN KLENK LAW, LLC 2202 Delancey Pl., Phila., PA 19103 ESTATE OF JOYCE LOIS GILBERT a/k/a JOYCE GILBERT, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment with- out delay to CHARLES A. J. HALPIN, III, ADMINISTRATOR, The Land Title Bldg., 100 S. Broad St., Ste. 1830, Philadelphia, PA 19110, Or to his Attorney: CHARLES A. J. HALPIN, III The Land Title Bldg. 100 S. Broad St., Ste. 1830 Philadelphia, PA 19110 ESTATE OF JUANITA LANCIT a/k/a JUANITA WRIGHT, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to EDDIE B. LANCIT, ADMINISTRATOR, c/o Stephen M. Specht, Esq., 2332 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19145, Or to his Attorney: STEPHEN M. SPECHT GREEN & SCHAFLE, LLC 2332 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19145 ESTATE OF KAREN C. HUMBERT, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia, PA. Letters of Administration on the above estate have been granted to the undersigned. All persons having claims against or indebted to the estate should make claims known or forward payment to, Faith Stallings, Administratrix, c/o John R. Lundy, Esq., Lundy Beldecos & Milby, PC, 450 N. Narberth Ave., Suite 200, Narberth, PA 19072. ESTATE OF LAWRENCE M. HERMAN, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia, PA. Letters Testamentary on the above estate have been granted to the undersigned. All per- sons having claims against or indebted to the estate should make claims known or forward payment to, Robert Herman, Executor, c/o Hope Bosniak, Esq., Dessen Moses & Rossitto, 600 Easton Rd., Willow Grove, PA 19090. ESTATE OF MARY CZECH HUNT, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County, PA. LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without de- lay to STEPHEN E. HUNT, EXECUTOR, c/o Robert S. Levy, Esq., 1204 Township Line Rd., Drexel Hill, PA 19026, Or to his Atty.: ROBERT S. LEVY COOPER SCHALL & LEVY 1204 Township Line Rd. Drexel Hill, PA 19026 ESTATE OF MARY H. PALESTINI, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia, PA. Letters of Administration on the above estate have been granted to the undersigned. All persons having claims against or indebted to the estate should make claims known or forward payment to, Jane McHugh, Administratrix, c/o Hope Bosniak, Esq., Dessen Moses & Rossitto, 600 Easton Rd., Willow Grove, PA 19090. ESTATE OF MARY WASHINGTON a/k/a MARY WASHINGTON- MITCHELL, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION CTA on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment with- out delay to ANDREW A. MITCHELL, ADMINISTRATOR CTA, c/o Nicole B. LaBletta, Esq., 200 Barr Harbor Dr., Ste. 400, Conshohocken, PA 19428, Or to his Attorney: NICOLE B. LaBLETTA LaBLETTA & WALTERS LLC 200 Barr Harbor Dr., Ste. 400 Conshohocken, PA 19428 ESTATE OF OTTILIE LADEN, DECEASED. Late of Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, PA LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to SCOTT M. LADEN, DREW M. LADEN and ROBERT J. CAMPBELL, EXECUTORS, c/o Robert J. Stern, Esq., Two Bala Plaza, Ste. 300, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004, Or to their Attorney: ROBERT J. STERN ROBERT J. STERN LAW, LLC Two Bala Plaza, Ste. 300 Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 ESTATE OF RITA A. WENDERWICZ, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment with- out delay to LAURIE VERBINSKI, EXECUTRIX, 401 E. 80th St., Apt. 34D, New York, NY 10075, Or to her Attorney: JOHN SLOWINSKI SLOWINSKI LAW 3143 Knights Rd., Bensalem, PA 19020 ESTATE OF SONDRA BARON a/k/a SONDRA D. BARON, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County, PA. LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment with- out delay to HOWARD M. SOLOMAN, ADMINISTRATOR, 1760 Market St., Ste. 404, Phila., PA 19103, Or to his Atty.: HOWARD M. SOLOMAN 1760 Market St., Ste. 404 Phila., PA 19103 ESTATE OF WALTER J. WATSON, DECEASED. Late of Philadelphia County, PA. LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment with- out delay to HOWARD M. SOLOMAN, ADMINISTRATOR, 1760 Market St., Ste. 404, Phila., PA 19103, Or to his Atty.: HOWARD M. SOLOMAN 1760 Market St., Ste. 404 Phila., PA 19103 Fictitious Name Registration Notice is hereby given that an Application for Registration of Fictitious Name was fi led in the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on October 12, 2022 for Wire Wood & Stone at 646 Shoemaker Lane, King of Prussia, PA 19406. The name and address of each individual interested in the business is Mary S. Sharpley at 646 Shoemaker Lane, King of Prussia, PA 19406. This was fi led in accordance with 54 PaC.S. 311.417 Fictitious Name Registration Notice is hereby given that an Application for Registration of Fictitious Name was fi led in the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on October 13, 2022 for O Sea Adventures at 1701 Loney St. Philadelphia, PA 19111. The name and address of each individual interested in the business is Preston Paton at 1701 Loney St. Philadelphia, PA 19111. This was fi led in accordance with 54 PaC.S. 311.417 WANTED TO BUY ANTIQUE & FINE FURNITURE Paintings & Sculptures HOME SERVICES GOLDEN HARMONY HOME CARE Independence while at the same time improving their quality of life by helping them remain in the comfort of their own homes. 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