O pinion
Netivot and Sdot Negev are a
tribute to Israeli perseverance
BY STEVEN ROSENBERG
WHEN PEOPLE WHO are
familiar with the great state
of Israel think of the nation’s
border towns, terms such as
high-tech, education, advance-
ment, construction and prog-
ress don’t readily come to
mind. For decades, these terms
have only been used to describe
Israel’s major cities: Tel Aviv,
Jerusalem or Haifa. Israel’s
border towns are usually seen
as rural villages, where educa-
tion is not always prioritized
and oftentimes young people
bringing Philadelphians to
this region, as have past chairs
before him.

I was fortunate to be able
to spend time last week vis-
iting with the mayor of Sdot
Negev, Tamir Idan, along with
his staff and members of the
Partnership2Together teams.

Every time I’m in this region,
I am reminded of the commu-
nity’s amazing resiliency, its
people’s creativity and their
incredible fortitude. This area
sits within what is known as
the Gaza Envelope: Just a few
miles from the Gaza border and
just a few yards from the border
fence, Sdot Negev and Netivot
are in danger each and every
day. Living life under siege
from Hamas rockets and Friday
demonstrations every week has
become the new normal. Bomb
shelters sit on almost every cor-
ner, next to bus shelters, outside
of playgrounds and schools that
have been rebuilt to be actual
bomb shelters, enabling chil-
dren to remain in place when
the sirens roar.

host Broadway shows.

These people are true heroes.

Mayors Idan and Yehiel Zohar
are building and creating a
magical place. They lead their
communities with strength
and humility while they con-
tinue to live, farm (right up to
the border fence with Gaza),
pray and send their children to
school each and every day. The
community continues to grow
and flourish, and I’m grateful
for the chance to have seen this
evolution firsthand.

During my visit, I also
had the opportunity to meet
with some local heroes, as
the Jewish Federation’s Israel
Representative, Tali Lidar, set
up time for us to meet with
the firefighters who deal with
the kites, balloons and other
contraptions now turned into
weapons and burning valu-
able land, damaging build-
ings and vehicles and even
killing wildlife in Israel. But
even in the face of extreme
danger, the work continues,
families continue to grow and
KVETCH ’N KVELL
Setting the Record Straight on ZOA
MY DEAR FRIEND Ari Fuld, an American-Israeli father of
four and ardent fighter for Israel, was recently murdered by a
Jew-hating Arab (“Organization Calling Out Hill Should Look
in Mirror,” Jan. 17). In my moment of excruciating grief and
horror that Arab terrorists were again murdering innocent Jews
by knifing, shooting and ramming cars at them, I tweeted an
epithet specifically against Ari Fuld’s murderer — not all Arabs.

Yet a critic condemned me for my verbal outpouring of grief and
misery over losing my great friend and ally.

The same letter writer also criticized me for questioning
actress Natalie Portman’s wisdom after she received Israel’s
prestigious $1 million Genesis Prize, then defamed Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as racist and falsely bashed
Israel for violence and abuse of power, and mistreatment of
and atrocities against Arabs. Portman also falsely stated that
Israel was created as a haven for refugees from the Holocaust.

In fact, the movement to re-establish Israel occurred long before
the Holocaust. Knesset member Oren Hazan demanded that
Portman be stripped of her Israeli citizenship, while I only ques-
tioned her wisdom.

The critic then referenced a mainstream Jewish umbrella
group’s warning to ZOA about our tone. ZOA’s substance and
facts were admittedly accurate. The real issue was that ZOA
criticized ADL for promoting the anti-Semitic Israel-bashing
BlackLivesMatter and J Street, which promoted anti-Israel UN
resolutions; ADL’s lobbying against state anti-BDS laws; and
ADL accusing pro-Israel friends of Islamophobia. ZOA also
criticized National Council of Jewish Women and HIAS for
defending Israel-hater Linda Sarsour. ZOA responded to the
umbrella group’s warning that in an era of frighteningly rising
anti-Semitism on campuses, in the media and in Congress, ZOA
must strongly and boldly speak the truth.

Morton Klein | Merion Station
Next time you’re in Israel, I recommend you hop on the high-speed
train from Tel Aviv to spend a day in Netivot. You will be amazed at
what you will see and your perception of Israel’s border towns will be
forever changed.

don’t matriculate to the army.

However, the towns of
Sdot Negev and Netivot are
leading the charge to change
the perception of Israel’s
border communities. The
Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia, through the
Partnership2Together program
of the Jewish Agency for Israel,
has been fortunate to have
Sdot Negev Regional Council
and Netivot as sister cities to
Philadelphia. Our chair, David
Gold, has done incredible work
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM The people of these com-
munities have used ingenu-
ity and creativity to build a
beautiful place where con-
struction is rampant; cranes
are everywhere. Public gath-
ering spaces are being built
and being activated, and tech-
nology is at the forefront of all
that they do. This particular
trip allowed me to see the
new movie theater showing
first run films and the state-of-
the-art performing arts center
with a stage large enough to
creativity abounds.

Next time you’re in Israel,
I recommend you hop on the
high-speed train from Tel Aviv
to spend a day in Netivot. You
will be amazed at what you
will see and your perception
of Israel’s border towns will be
forever changed. l
Steven Rosenberg is the chief
marketing officer of the Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia
and the publisher’s representative
of the Jewish Exponent.

JEWISH EXPONENT
Vivid Memories of Vilna Shul
Reading your recent article about the Vilna Congregation on
Pine Street brought back vivid memories from my childhood
in the 1920s and 1930s (“Historic Vilna Congregation Closes
for Renovations,” Jan. 10). My grandparents, Samuel and Rachel
Malerman, and then my father, Bernard Malerman, owned
Malerman’s Hebrew Bookstore. Until the 1960s, when the city
forced my father to move the store, it was located at 504 Pine St.,
across the street from the synagogue.

When I was young, my grandmother would send over gefilte
fish and challah to the congregation every Friday morning. Even
after she died in 1947, my father continued the tradition. What
a sense of community that showed, especially when my family
attended a different synagogue. l
Marilyn Malerman Hindin | Philadelphia
Statement From the Publisher
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published in the Jewish Exponent are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect
the views of the officers and boards of the Jewish Publishing Group and/or the Jewish
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JANUARY 24, 2019
17