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“Oppenheimer,” the hotly anticipated Christopher
Nolan biopic about the Jewish nuclear physicist who
developed the atomic bomb, will include another
familiar Jewish face when it opens this summer:
Albert Einstein.

A new trailer for the drama, released this week,
includes a brief glimpse of the scientist’s unmistake-
able visage, as rendered by the Oscar-nominated
Scottish character actor Tom Conti. Underscoring
the gravity of the bomb’s development, this Einstein
has foregone his usual cheery demeanor and is
instead wearing a grave frown.

It seems appropriate for the film, which tracks J.

Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) as he and the
other members of the Manhattan Project race to
develop the bomb by constructing the Los Alamos
Laboratory in New Mexico in the mid-1940s. Oppenheimer and his team of scien-
tists tested the weapon there before it was eventually dropped on the Japanese
cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the waning days of World War II, killing more
than 110,000 people.

As the legend goes, the scientist initially heralded the bomb’s successful
test run by quoting from the Hindu text Bhagavad Gita: “I am become Death,
destroyer of worlds.” He would eventually come to regret his creation, telling
President Harry Truman he had blood on his hands.

Einstein’s role in the bomb’s development is often overstated, yet still notable.

According to the American Museum of Natural
History, when the physicist and Jewish refugee of
Nazi Germany learned that German scientists had
succeeded in splitting the uranium atom in 1938,
he urged then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
to speed up development of nuclear weapons in
the United States. His fear was that the Nazis might
develop the bomb first, in part building on his own
scientific equations. Einstein was later barred from
participating in the actual Manhattan Project as his
left-leaning politics were enough to deem him a
security risk.

As soon as the bomb was dropped on Japan,
Einstein reportedly was devastated and came to
regret even his small role in pushing Roosevelt to
develop it.

Several other Jewish figures from the atomic age will make appearances in the
historical drama, including U.S. Atomic Energy Commission chair Lewis Strauss
(played by Robert Downey Jr.), Manhattan Project physicist Richard Feynman
(Jack Quaid), hydrogen bomb developer Edward Teller (Benny Safdie) and
nuclear physicist Isidor Isaac Rabi (David Krumholtz).

“Oppenheimer” will open in theaters on July 21. Nolan, a filmmaker known for
his grandiose style in blockbusters like “The Dark Knight” and “Inception,” shot
the entire film in large-format IMAX cameras to add to its epic scale. It will be his
second WWII history, after 2017’s “Dunkirk.”
Screenshot via Universal Pictures via JTA
In ‘Oppenheimer’ Trailer, the Atomic Bomb Is Born — and Einstein Weeps
The sportswear giant Adidas has decided to sell off its
West. remaining inventory of sneakers from Kanye West’s Yeezy
Shortly after dropping West, Adidas — which was founded
brand and donate the proceeds to charity.

by Nazi Party members — announced a $1 million, four-year
The decision comes roughly seven months after Adidas
partnership with the ADL designed to educate athletes about
cut ties with West in the face of mounting pressure due to
antisemitism and other forms of bigotry.

his stream of antisemitic comments. Adidas’ sales of the
The ADL praised Adidas’ plans but told JTA that the
rapper’s sneakers had accounted for 10% of the company’s
company hasn’t said if the ADL will receive a donation from
annual revenue last year, or roughly $2 billion. That decision
the Yeezy sales. The organization added that it was not advis-
left Adidas with $1.3 billion of unsold Yeezy inventory in its
ing Adidas on where to direct the sale proceeds.

The Adidas logo is pictured on a
possession. “This is a thoughtful and caring resolution for the unsold
building on July 14, 2022.

During the company’s annual shareholders meeting in
merchandise,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a state-
Germany, where Adidas is based, CEO Bjørn Gulden pledged that the money would ment. “Ye’s antisemitic remarks and abhorrent behavior have resulted in real-world
go “to the organizations that are helping us and that were also hurt by Kanye’s acts of antisemitic hate. Any attempt to turn the consequences of his actions into
statements.” something that ultimately benefits society and the people he has hurt is most
Gulden did not elaborate on which organizations the proceeds would be directed welcome.”
to, nor if any of them would go to Jewish or anti-hate groups. In response to a request
Adidas had agonized for months over how to deal with the Yeezy merchandise, at
for comment, Adidas shared Gulden’s comments from the board meeting but did not one point considering simply burning it. That idea was nixed by Gulden. “Burning is
say which charities it would be donating Yeezy sales to.

not the solution,” he told shareholders.

Jews were the target of West’s comments last fall. West, who now goes by Ye,
But the company’s Yeezy woes aren’t over yet. Adidas still faces a lawsuit from
promised to “go death con 3 on Jewish people,” professed admiration for Hitler and investors who allege executives knew about West’s “extreme behavior” for years
bragged that he could say antisemitic comments and Adidas would not drop him. In and didn’t end their partnership quickly enough. Last year, amid West’s antisemitic
November, the rapper dined with former President Donald Trump and Nick Fuentes, comments, reports emerged that West had openly admired Hitler for years and
a prominent antisemite, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

wanted to name one of his albums after him.

Following his comments, statements such as “Kanye Was Right” became a rally-
As for West himself, he recently announced that he no longer hated Jewish people
ing cry for antisemites. According to the Anti-Defamation League, 59 antisemitic after watching Jewish actor Jonah Hill in the 2012 comedy film “21 Jump Street.” ■
incidents that took place from Oct. 11 through the end of 2022 directly referenced
— Andrew Lapin | JTA
4 MAY 18, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Daniel Harvey Gonzalez/In Pictures via Getty Images via JTA
Adidas Says It Will Sell off Yeezy Shoes and Donate Proceeds



local
‘Outpouring of Support’ Helps Temple
Judea Stay on Central Bucks Property
Jarrad Saffren | Staff Writer
Photos by Jarrad Saffren
D riving up to and then walking
into Temple Judea on a
weekday in May, you will
notice a synagogue that feels very
much alive. Parking spots are filled.

The sound of laughter echoes up from
the bottom floor of children in the
Small Wonders preschool.

The only Reform shul in central Bucks
County feels alive because it is … at
least for now … at least for another year.

At the end of February, a Jewish
Exponent Synagogue Spotlight article
discussed how in 2023 and ’24 the
community would “fight for its life.” A
decline in membership from almost
200 households to 150 had made
Temple Judea’s Furlong property too
expensive to maintain. Synagogue
leaders were considering a sale by the
end of 2024.

But in the months since, “an outpour-
ing of support from past and present
congregants,” as an email from the
synagogue describes it, has allowed
the temple to extend its lease on life
through June 2025. Small Wonders,
which has 158 preschool students, many
of whom are not temple members, will
also begin paying rent on July 1, accord-
ing to Sheryl Milstein, the school’s direc-
tor. A benefactor bought the school, but
the synagogue will still absorb certain
costs like office management.

“It’s really been overwhelming,”
synagogue President Len Saffren said
of the support.

One family in the congregation
offered to pay the balance of outgo-
ing Rabbi Sigal Brier’s salary. Another
congregant, Noel Weiss, whom Saffren
had only met once before, asked the
president if he could use his construc-
tion company to take over maintenance
free of charge. Saffren estimated that
Weiss’ largesse will save the temple
between $50,000 and $60,000.

One donor accounted for about
Temple Judea of Bucks County
half the money that Temple Judea
received. But Saffren said almost
25 former members and 20 current
members gave in the range of $1,000
to $10,000 each.

Benefactors expressed a similar
feeling: They wanted a Jewish commu-
nity to exist in central Bucks County.

Saffren heard from many people about
antisemitism in the Central Bucks School
District. In 2021, a group of district board
members were slow to condemn antise-
mitic comments expressed at a board
meeting. Board members also made
exaggerated comparisons between
COVID masking and Nazi Germany
policies. In 2023, district leaders made
a librarian at Central Bucks High School
South take down a poster showing
a quote from Holocaust survivor Elie
Weisel about combating hate. They later
apologized and allowed the librarian to
put it back up.

“There was talk in the community
that Temple Judea was not going to
survive. It was out there,” Saffren said.

“There’s part of our culture and
our history that needs to be passed
From left: Temple Judea’s President Len Saffren and
incoming President Noel Weiss
along to our families,” Weiss added.

Weiss joined the synagogue before
COVID because his daughter told her
parents one day that she “identified
as being Jewish,” the dad recalled.

Weiss’ mother is Episcopalian, and he
was raised that way, but his father is
Jewish. The incoming president’s wife
is Catholic, and they had been raising
their daughter in that tradition before
she expressed her desire to connect
with Judaism.

After that, Weiss talked to some
friends in the community, learned of
Temple Judea and attended a Shabbat
service. “It felt comfortable,” he said.

But he became motivated to get more
involved after hearing about antisemi-
tism in the school district, both from his
daughter and on the news.

“It struck me inside,” he said. “I feel
that I’m able to do something, then I
really want to do it.”
Weiss’ goal is to keep the synagogue
going beyond June 2025. His vision
starts with the life cycle events that
Jews still depend on synagogues to
organize. But he knows that those
events alone are not enough to
convince residents to walk through the
doors each week.

That’s why he’s starting “Club
Judea,” a social club offering gather-
ings and community service oppor-
tunities. Group leaders are already
planning a family barbecue night, a
parents’ night out and Jewish cooking
lessons, according to the email from
the temple. A recent wine and cheese
night drew 25 people, Saffren said. He
hopes to hold these types of events
once a month.

“To make the synagogue a place
where people come besides services.

It’s a way for people to develop
connections and friendships. That’s
the way you maintain membership,”
Saffren said. “Too many people join
synagogues in a transactional way.

They join when the kid’s 8 or 9,
they pay their fees, the kid gets bar
mitzvah’d and the transaction’s done.

We need them to think of it as an
ongoing relationship.” ■
jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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