H EADLINES
9/11 – Where Were You?
plaque that still hangs in our
offi ces.

Here’s a look at our
ANDY GOTLIEB | JE MANAGING EDITOR
memories of that fateful day 20
For those of certain gener- years ago.

ations, the Nov. 23, 1963,
assassination of President John Gabe Kahn, editor-in-chief
In the early hours of Sept.

F. Kennedy remained indelibly
11, 2001, I was still basking in
on their minds — years later,
the glow of a magical Sept. 10.

those alive then knew exactly
Twelve hours before the fi rst
where they were and what they
plane hit,
I was screaming myself
were doing when they fi rst
hoarse with
several friends at
heard the news.

Madison Square
Garden for a
Th e events of Sept. 11, 2001,
Michael Jackson
concert that
collectively known as 9/11,
was nothing
short of spectac-
mark a similar touchstone for
ular. Not
only did
MJ perform
diff erent generations, although
a slew
of his
biggest hits,
but a
there is some overlap for
wide array
of stars
took the
stage today’s older generations that
throughout the
evening. experienced both.

Luther Vandross was there.

Th e Jewish Exponent staff
did yeoman’s work that day, So was Gloria Gaynor, who sang
redoing the cover on a deadline her timeless anthem, “I Will
day to refl ect the day’s events Survive.” Usher had his own
and cobbling together several rendition of Jackson’s “Wanna
stories. Th at work was honored Be Startin’ Somethin.’” (At the
the following year by the time, I had no idea who Usher
Keystone Press Awards — a was.) Chris Tucker, fresh off his
L OCA L
mega-hit “Rush Hour 2,” did
a couple minutes of stand up.

When Elizabeth Taylor fi nally
introduced Michael, the reclu-
sive singer was accompanied
by Guns N’ Roses guitarist
Slash on “Beat It” and “Black
and White.”
Later Jackson brought up
his brothers, and they sang, “I
Want You Back,” their cheesy
dance moves the same as when
they performed on Th e Ed
Sullivan Show in 1969.

At the crack of dawn the
next morning, I was in my
black GEO Prizm reliving each
moment of the concert with
two friends as we drove back
to Boston, all of us groggy
but still on a high from our
shared seminal experience.

About 45 minutes from home,
my mom called with the news,
and what should have been one
of my greatest memories was
suddenly an ironic prelude to
the worst day of my life.

The cover of the Sept. 13, 2001 Jewish Exponent
Andy Gotlieb
I got off the subway at Fift h
and Market streets, heading
for my job as fi nance reporter
for the Philadelphia Business
Journal. I heard some chatter
on the street that a plane had
hit one of the Twin Towers,
but assumed that it was a small
plane and, thus, while sad,
wasn’t that big of a deal.

When I got to the
newsroom, the TV was on
and footage from the fi rst
tower was airing – only to be
interrupted by news that the
second tower was hit.

We watched in stunned
amazement for a few minutes,
then huddled as we fi gured out
how we would cover this. Not
long aft er that, we were told to
Photo by Andy Gotlieb
go home.

Given our
proximity to assorted historic sites,
“offi cials” — I can’t remember
if it was the Philadelphia Police
Department, city govern-
ment or a national agency
— thought Old City might
be a target because of the
historic and symbolic attrac-
tions and wanted to clear the
area. SEPTA was about to shut
down, so we all hightailed it
home, where I watched things
unfold for the rest of the day.

We were back in the offi ce the
next day, frantically working
any angle that seemed locally
relevant for Friday’s issue. And
9/11 stories dominated every-
one’s coverage for weeks and
months to follow.

See 9-11, Page 17
12 SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
JEWISH EXPONENT
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H eadlines
ISRAELBRIEFS Israeli Swimmer Wins Two Golds, Bronze at
Paralympics; Team Wins Multiple Medals
ISRAELI SWIMMER MARK MALYAR won two
gold medals and broke both his world records at the
Paralympics in Tokyo, JTA reported.

Malyar won the 400-meter freestyle race in the
S7 category and won gold in the men’s 200-meter
individual medley in the SM7 category. He also
captured a bronze in the men’s 100-meter backstroke
in the S7 category.

“I’m happy that I succeeded in getting the result I
want. I’m very tired,” he said. “I didn’t feel that I was
even going that fast, but it worked, and my body is
just about done.”
As of Sept. 2, Israel had captured nine medals.

Malyar’s teammate Ami Omer Dadaon won two
golds and a silver, while another swimmer, Iyad
Shalabi, won two golds. And Moran Samuel earned a
silver medal in rowing for women’s single sculls.

A three-justice panel refused to hear the case. That
means a lower court’s ruling — that the discrimina-
tion against Jews enacted in Morocco during World
War II by Nazi-aligned Vichy France doesn’t qualify
as Nazi persecution under Israeli law — stands.

In that lower-court ruling, the judges agreed that
Moroccan Jews experienced a systemic curtailing of
freedoms, but that Moroccan authorities acted on
their own accord.

If the lawsuit succeeded, it would have meant
estimated payments of $123 million to Moroccan
immigrants. Survey: Half of Israelis Don’t Want to Attend
Holiday Meals with the Unvaccinated
Fifty percent of Jewish Israelis said that they could
forgo High Holidays meals if they knew unvaccinated
people were there, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing
an Israel Democracy Institute survey.

About 43% said their decision wouldn’t be
impacted by the presence of unvaccinated people.

Israeli Supreme Court: Moroccan Jews
Those under 44 were less likely to skip the meal
Ineligible for Holocaust Compensation
Israel’s Supreme Court on Aug. 23 rejected a lawsuit than their older counterparts. In Israel, 94% of those
seeking to recognize Jews who suffered under Vichy race above 50 have received at least one vaccine shot,
laws in Morocco as Holocaust victims entitled to state compared to 77% of those under 50.

Of unvaccinated respondents, 22.4% said they
compensation, JTA reported, citing a Haaretz report.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JEWISH EXPONENT
weren’t against getting vaccinated but hadn’t gotten
around to it. Twenty-nine percent said they were
worried about the vaccine damaging their health, and
21% said they don’t believe the vaccines help prevent
infection. Israel’s First Medicine and Science Museum
Opens in Hadera
Technoda, Israel’s first medicine and science museum,
opened to the public on Aug. 31, The Jerusalem Post
reported. Located in Hadera, it contains 120 exhibits spread
over 1,200 square meters and is one of the world’s
biggest museums.

The museum has the theme of “Diving into the
Human Body” and has exhibits about anatomy,
physiology, diagnosis and pathology, treatment, and
advanced technologies.

Technoda is designed to encourage healthy
lifestyles. “We’ve seen it all around the world: Countries that
prioritize public discourse about medicine signifi-
cantly impact the health of their citizens, while
countries that don’t suffer many failures in this area,”
Technoda CEO Dr. Gadi Mador said. l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
13