The Jewish Chronicle July 19, 2012

‘BY ANDREW GOLDSTEIN

Staff Writer

Before the start of the baseball gameon a muggy Sunday afternoon, a chant of“One, two, three, ’Dice” was heard whenthe Pittsburgh Allderdice baseball teamran onto the field.

But one of the Allderdice playersshouted “Yisrael!” instead, as his teamran onto the field.

That’s because his team was gettingready to play the Israeli National HighSchool baseball team in an exhibitiongame at the Allderdice field in SquirrelHill.

The Israeli National team is in

Pittsburgh this week for a tournament inFreeport. They will travel to George-town, Del., to play in another tourna-ment next week.

The Israeli team, who all receivedgreen and white Allderdice T-shirts as agift from the Allderdice team, won 15-9,behind a four run second inning and asix run fifth inning.

“I was very impressed with how theyperformed; they played good fundamen-tal baseball,” said Aryeh Klein, headcoach of the Israeli team. “[Allderdiceis] a very good hitting team and we keptthem for the most part in the park, so Iwas very happy with that.”

Sam Cogan, a 15-year-old member of

the Israeli team who played shortstopthe entire game, was equally impressedby his team and encouraged about howthey performed.

“We did very well today; I think that ifwe keep it up we can win a lot of gamesin the tournament,” Cogan said.

Cogan helped his team by getting onbase four times. He singled, was hit by apitch and walked twice.

The victory came just hours after theIsraeli team arrived in Pittsburgh. Formuch of the team, it was their first timein the city.

“We just arrived like three hours ago

JULY 19, 2012 tammuz 29, 5772 Vol. 56, No. 10 $1.50

Metro

Reese:

No longer an Islander

Page 4

Times To

Remember

Pittsburgh, PA

BUSINESS 12/CLASSIFIED 11/OBITUARIES 14

OPINION 6/REAL ESTATE 13/SIMCHAS 10

KINDLE SABBATH CANDLES:8:27 p.m. DST.SABBATH ENDS: 9:32 p.m. DST.

Conservativeheksher canexpand koshermarket, rabbis sayBY TOBY TABACHNICK

Staff Writer

When Avi Olitzky, a Conservative rab-bi, moved from New York to Minneapo-lis in 2008, he quickly became frustrat-ed with the relative dearth of kosher of-ferings in the Twin Cities. The optionshe did find — a dairy café, a meat deli, akosher market and a couple bakeries —were costly and limited.

“I began to explore the scenariohere,” said Olitzky, who is the juniorrabbi at the 1200-family Beth El congre-gation in St. Louis Park, Minn. “I cameto the conclusion there was no move toexpand the kosher options in town.There was a split between those think-ing it was unnecessary, and those think-ing we don’t have a community to sup-port it.”

What Olitzky found, though, was thatboth opinions were “erroneous,” hesaid.

The proof is the success of Olitzky’sMSP Kosher, a free of charge, koshercertification organization that the rab-bi founded in 2010 as an alternative tothe Orthodox-run Twin Cities Commu-nity Kashruth Council.

Olitzky launched MSP Kosher, “notwith the goal of breaking the Orthodoxmonopoly [on kosher supervision],” butto lower the cost of kosher food, to in-crease the quantity of kosher food, andto create transparency in kosher certifi-cation in the Twin Cities, he said.

While historically, local kosher certi-fication agencies in most cities havebeen run by Orthodox rabbis, moreand more Conservative rabbis arestepping up to the plate in order to ex-pand kosher dining options for theircommunities.

Please see Kosher, page 5.Please see Baseball, page 13.

Israeli baseball team plays exhibition game against Allderdice

One, two, three, ’Dice

Chronicle photo by Ohad Cadji

Yehuda Joffe, age 16, from Bet Shemesh, Israel

BY LEE CHOTTINER

Executive Editor

In the future, Jeffrey Halpern believescatching cancer in its early stages couldbe as simple as breathing into a tube. He’s so sure of it, in fact, that he plans

to spend 20 months in Israel researchingthe procedure.A Squirrel Hill native and post-doctor-

al student at Case Western Reserve Uni-versity in Cleveland, Halpern, 31, is therecipient of a Fulbright Scholarship,which will enable him to study cancerscreening at Technion-Israel Institute ofTechnology in Haifa, beginning Jan. 1,2013. He will be working with chemical en-

gineering and nanotechnology profes-sors there to develop an existing screen-ing procedure, which involves electro-chemical censors to detect later stages

of cancer in patients.Halpern and his mentors at the Tech-

nion hope to modify those censors to at-tract chemical biomarkers from early-stage cancer, which doctors could har-vest by having patients take a breath testin their offices.If successful, the procedure could not

only detect early-stage cancer, but alsohelp doctors determine what kind ofcancer it is.“I’m hoping to take it to the next lev-

el,” Halpern said. He added, “There isthe potential of distinguishing betweenvarious types of cancer.”A son of Bill and Robin Halpern, Jef-

frey Halpern grew up in Squirrel Hill,and attended Colfax School, ReizensteinMiddle School and Allderdice HighSchool. He has a bachelor’s degree anddoctorate from Case Western Reserve inchemical engineering.

He is in his second year of post-doc-toral research at Case Western Reserve,funded by a training grant from the Na-tional Institutes of Health, working withHorst von Recum, a professor of bio-medical engineering. Specifically, he

has been evaluating and developingdrug delivery systems that use molecu-lar interactions to control the rate ofrelease.Halpern, who was awarded a Lady

Davis Fellowship for the 2012-2013 aca-demic year, was one of 1,100 U.S. facultyand professionals selected through theState Department and the J. WilliamFulbright Foreign Scholarship Board ofthe for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Pro-gram this year.He and his wife, Abigail, have a 2-

year-old son, Raphael.

(Lee Chottiner can be reached [email protected].)

Metro2 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JULY 19, 2012

Researcher to continue work in IsraelBreath test could detect cancer, Pittsburgh native, Fulbright Scholar says

Jeffrey Halpern CorrectionJacob David Sternberger graduated

summa cum laude from Dickinson Col-lege. Due to a typographical error, thehonor was not correctly reported in theJuly 12 Jew’colades column.

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JULY 19, 2012 — 3

METRO

The Annual Jewish Commu-nity Day at Kennywood Park will takeplace Sunday, Aug. 19. Tickets will beavailable soon at Murray AvenueKosher and Creative Silver andWines (Premier Wine Pittsburgh), on acash-only basis at both sites, oronline at bit.ly/PVnp3n using the promocode JEWISH819Kosher food by Mordy’s Cafe will be

available in pavilion 4.

BBYO has selected Pittsburgh as thehost city for IMPACT: Pittsburgh, threedays of service, advocacy and Jewishvalues, from July 29 to 31. The BBYOPanim Institute is sponsoring the event.Twenty-nine Jewish high school stu-

dents, who are teen leaders in their re-spective communities, will do hands-onservice, learning how to make an impacton their community and apply their lead-ership skills to effect lasting change. The teens will also have the opportuni-

ty to learn about Pittsburgh, visiting theDuquesne Incline and the Carnegie Sci-ence Center.The program will kick off at La Roche

College in the North Hills. Olivia Benson,youth policy manager for PittsburghMayor Luke Ravenstahl, will address theyouth leaders Monday and proclaim July29 to 31 as “BBYO IMPACT: PittsburghWeek in the City of Pittsburgh.

Seventeen Jewish women’sfoundations— 14 in the UnitedStates, including the Jewish Women’sFoundation of Greater Pittsburgh, andthree in Israel — are pooling resourcesto bring social change to women andgirls in Israel.Recent acts of illegal exclusion and

discrimination against women in theJewish state have spurred this action. Under the name, The Jewish Women’s

Collaborative International Fund, thefoundations have awarded a two-year,$150,000 grant to Itach-Maaki, the leadorganization of Bringing Women to theFore: A Feminist Partnership — a collab-oration of eight women’s organizations inIsrael. Each participating foundation commit-

ted to $10,000 over two years — $5,000per year — according to Judy GreenwaldCohen, executive director of the JewishWomen’s Foundation of GreaterPittsburgh.The grant will be used to promote gen-

der equality and women’s rights in Israeland minimize gender gaps on many is-sues through large-scale social and me-dia campaigns.“The project is a direct reflection of

our organization’s core values anddemonstrates the power of women’s col-lective voices,” Cohen said in a preparedstatement.The mission of the Jewish Women’s

Collaborative International Fund is toraise awareness about concerns af-fecting women and girls in the Jewishand broader Israeli community, suchas gender disenfranchisement anddiscrimination. One example is the Orthodox school-

girl in Bet Shemesh who was harassedand intimidated by a group of extremistsin January. The incident generated me-dia coverage, which spotlighted involun-tary segregation of men and women insome public places.Such practices have taken place de-

spite condemnation by rabbinic leaders.

The Israeli Supreme Court also has out-lawed them. The plight of Jewish women whose

husbands refuse to give them a get — aJewish divorce — has also been broughtto the forefront.

A study on individuals aged 25and over was conducted on a small crosssection of the population in southwesternPennsylvania (an area with high propor-tions of older adults) with the goal of ex-amining how attitudes toward the agedaffect growing old. Researcher Jacob B. Steinhaus ex-

plains in his manuscript how peopleview the biological, psychological andsocial cultural conditions of aging anddiscusses the consequences of ageism(a process of systematic stereotypingagainst aging Americans and a person’schronological age). Individuals residing in southwestern

Pennsylvania were randomly adminis-tered a survey questionnaire created byErdman B. Palmore. “The Facts on Ag-ing Quiz” (Palmore, 1988) is intended todemonstrate the many misconceptionsabout aging and is used as a stimulus toprovoke discussion of growing old andattitudes toward old adults. Using Palmore’s survey study, Stein-

haus measures the percentage of onehundred participants residing in south-western Pennsylvania who hold posi-tive/negative attitudes toward the agedand contributes newly found informationto Palmore’s research. To learn additional information about

Steinhaus’ research, contact him [email protected].

Poale Zedeck Sisterhood willhold three summer Wednesday din-ners from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in thesynagogue’s Schwartz Social Hall.The first one, a fish fry, will beWednesday, July 25. Call 412-421-9786 for more information.

Leigh Totty of Bethel Park HighSchool, one of 13 middle and high schoolteachers and Holocaust center personnelfrom nine states, is participating in TheJewish Foundation for the Righteous’(JFR) 2012 European Study Program inGermany and Poland. The program includes visits to concen-

tration camps, ghetto sites and Holocaustmemorials. Through the visits and lec-tures, these educators will gain a deeperunderstanding of the complex and tragichistory of the Holocaust. The Jewish Foundation for the Right-

eous, created in 1986, provides financialassistance to non-Jews who risked theirlives and the lives of their families torescue Jews during the Holocaust. To-day, the JFR supports more than 750aged and needy rescuers in 22 countries.

Jewish Family & Children’sService’s Career DevelopmentCenter will offer job seekers 18 work-shops in August. Some of the workshops include: Pitts-

burgh Business Times, Aug. 6; the Art ofNetworking, Aug. 13; Advanced Inter-viewing, Aug. 15; Life Coaching Session:Creating a Positive Sustainable Lifestyle,Aug. 16; and Transitioning to Success,Aug. 21, and more. Monthly LinkedIn forBeginners, LinkedIn Advanced, AARPWorkSearch 40+, Networking Club andJob Seeker Support group workshopswill also be held. Registrations may be completed at

career developmentcenter.org/calendar.Call 412-422-5627 for more information.

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4 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JULY 19, 2012

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For Dylan Reese, coming to Pitts-burgh was an easy decision. The Up-per St. Clair native, a defenseman re-cently acquired by the Penguins, willhave the chance to make the PenguinsNHL roster and play in his hometownfor his childhood team.When Reese laces up his skates for

the Penguins, he will be one of onlyfour players from western Pennsylva-nia ever to play for the local team.But Reese will be the first Jewish

one from the area. “It’s a great honor for sure, I’m just

happy it worked out,” said Reeseabout being the first Jewish Pitts-burgher to play for the Penguins. “Ihaven’t put too much thought in it, tobe honest, but it is what it is.”The Penguins went after Reese soon

after free agency began July 1, and heaccepted their offer that day.“There were a few other teams in

the mix,” Reese said. “I didn’t reallywait too long in free agency; I mademy decision two hours in, and a lot ofthat was based on talking with thestaff. It just seemed like the right fit.”Reese sees himself as a puck moving

defenseman who can help the team onboth sides of the ice. That is an impor-tant job in the system that the Pen-guins play.

“I thinkmy gamesuits theP e n g u i n sstyle. Theyhave a greatoffense andI considermyself apuck mover,and a puckr e t r i e v e rand a guywho is goodat movingthe puck tothe forwards,”Reese ex-plained. “Withthe firepower that the Penguins have Ithink my game fits the mold for thetype of defenseman they’re lookingfor.”Reese signed a one-year, two-way

contract where he could be shifted be-tween the Penguins NHL and minorleague roster. Using his abilities tofeed players such as Sidney Crosbyand reigning NHL Most Valuable Play-er Evgeni Malkin could give Reese thechance to regularly be placed on theNHL roster.This will be the first time that Reese

will have the opportunity to play for ateam that is expected to win. After be-ing drafted by the New York Rangersin 2003, Reese bounced around severalteams in the American HockeyLeague, the NHL’s highest minorleague level.“I haven’t really played for many

winners in the minors and at the NHLlevel,” Reese said. “Here in Pitts-burgh, it’s [a team] expected to winevery night and a team that competesfor a Cup year in and year out.” Reese got his first chance to play in

the NHL with the New York Islandersin the 2009-2010 season. In 74 NHLgames, Reese has 17 points includingthree goals, according to the Islandersofficial website.Born in 1984, Reese and his family be-

longed to Temple Emanuel in MountLebanon, where he had his bar mitzva.Reese grew up watching the Penguins

and saw them in their glory days in theearly 1990s. The Penguins teams thatwon two Stanley Cups motivated him toplay hockey, he said.Other Pittsburghers to play for the

Penguins include Ryan Malone, BillThomas and Nate Guenin. Jewish play-ers that have played for the Penguinsare Brett Sterling, Trevor Smith andJustin Duberman.“[The Penguins] are no doubt the rea-

son I started playing, and it’s amazing tothink that I’ll be playing for my child-hood team,” he said.Though Reese decided to come to the

Penguins because he thought it would behis best opportunity to get the most playingtime, coming home is an added benefit.“It’s awesome to think that I could be

playing in front of family and friendsevery night,” Reese said. Playing for a familiar audience, along

with a chance to win, is a possibility thathas Reese elated. “I think that it’s really exciting to

know that not only are you playing withsome of the best players of the genera-tion, but if all goes well and the teamplays well you have a really good shot atwinning a Stanley Cup,” he said.

(Andrew Goldstein can be reached [email protected].)

Upper St. Clair native laces up for Penguins

islanders.NHL.com

Dylan Reese

“It’s awesome to thinkthat I could be playing infront of family andfriends every night,”

Buy, Sell, Trade in the Classifieds, Call Donna 412-687-1000 Support our advertisers, tell them you saw their ad in The Jewish Chronicle

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JULY 19, 2012— 5

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Olitzky’s MSP Kosher began its workwith the certification of Sebastian Joe’sIce Cream, “one of Minnesota’s realgems,” Olitzky said, noting that the icecream maker was “invested in thecause,” and made “a lot of seriouschanges” in order to gain the certifica-tion of MSP.“Their sales went up exponentially,”

Olitzky said, “and they credit it withgoing kosher.”Since then, MSP kosher has certified

several establishments around theTwin Cities, including a kosher hot dogstand at Target Field, which Olitzkysaid could only afford to becomekosher because of MSP’s policy not tocharge for certification, and becauseMSP allows it to remain open on theSabbath and on Jewish holidays.“We got some flack in the press be-

cause it is nonglatt,” Olitzky noted,“but it’s kosher. It is open on Shabbatand yom tov, but we go in the nextmorning and blowtorch the grill. Weknow that with the arrangement wehave, they can’t substitute innonkosher products, but on the slightchance they do, we blowtorch.”Olitzky stressed that his goal in form-

ing an alternative to the Orthodox-runTwin Cities Community KashruthCouncil was simply to provide morekosher options in town.“We’re not making any money on this

— it’s a collaboration of communityrabbis,” Olitzky said. “My real goal wasto increase the options. It wasn’t aboutbreaking a monopoly; it was aboutbreaking a de facto moratorium. I don’teat out in nonsupervised restaurants,so on a personal level, I wanted moreoptions. I’m not someone who feels Ineed to shoulder my way in just be-cause I’m a Conservative rabbi with aConservative voice. For me, it’s notabout monopoly, it’s about expansion.”Likewise, Conservative Rabbi Jason

Miller founded Kosher Michigan in2007 in order to offer more kosher op-tions in the Jewish community of MetroDetroit, where kosher certification pre-viously had been dominated by its Or-thodox Vaad Harabbonim. Miller nowcertifies some 30 businesses as kosher,including bakeries, spice companies,and ice cream parlors, and overseeskosher catering for Michigan StateUniversity.Having an alternative kashrut certi-

fication agency brings many advan-tages to a community, Miller said. “It brings the cost of kosher food

down significantly. When there is a mo-nopoly, there is price gouging, and it’snot good for anyone,” he said. “Thegoal is to provide some competition tolocal certification without loweringstandards, to make it easier to manu-facture kosher food, and to create moredining options for those who keepkosher.”Miller entered the world of kosher

certification as the year-round rabbiand kosher supervisor of TamarackCamps, a large Jewish camping agency. “Once I started doing that, business-

es began calling me,” he said. “Somewere not certified kosher because theycouldn’t be — the owner was Jewish,but Reform, or open on Shabbat, andthe Vaad wouldn’t certify them. Therewas a kosher butcher that was certifiedby the Vaad, but there were too manyrestrictions. They had to pay a

mashgiach $15 an hour, even if theywere closed. They couldn’t keep thekeys to their own establishment.”While the food these businesses were

providing was indeed kosher, the busi-ness owners found it difficult to meetother requirements of Detroit’s Vaad—such as closing on Shabbat — and con-tacted Miller. “There really aren’t any differences

in standards [between Kosher Michi-gan’s supervision and that of Detroit’sVaad],” Miller said. “The subtle differ-ence is that I am more eager to certifyJewish-owned businesses open on theSabbath.”To do so, a document is created that

sells the business to non-Jews duringthe 25 hours of the Sabbath. “This is adocument used by the Orthodox aswell,” Miller said, “although they areless apt to do so.”While Miller’s certification agency is

growing, Conservative kashruth super-vision is not accepted by the Orthodoxcommunity in Detroit, according toRabbi Doniel Neustadt of the DetroitVaad Harabbonim.“It causes confusion,” Neustadt

wrote in an email to the Chronicle.“Many people are unaware of the intri-cacies of kashruth supervision and as-sume that all kashruth agencies arecreated equally. They are not. Kashruthis not only about kosher ingredients,it’s also about a kosher process, andonly a professional, Orthodox agencycan provide that.“It [a Conservative kashruth certifi-

cation] is partially beneficial for thosewho are looking for the most basic, ele-mentary kashruth standard, such as notallowing pork.” Neustadt wrote. “It isuseless for anyone who cares about thecomplete picture of the laws ofkashruth.”And therein lies the difficulty. If a

kosher certification by a Conservativerabbi is not acceptable to the majorityof people who keep kosher — i.e., theOrthodox — what’s the point?Rabbi Joel Roth, professor of Talmud

and Jewish Law at The Jewish Theo-logical Seminary, and rosh yeshiva ofthe Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem,is a renowned expert on kashruth, andhas taught training sessions in koshersupervision for Conservative rabbis.While he sees circumstances where aConservative certification has its place,he is reluctant to endorse it as a pro-ductive challenge to an established Orthodox certification in a givencommunity.“Whenever I taught those [kosher

supervision] courses with others, wemade the point of saying the purposeof the course was not to put you incompetition with the Orthodox, but togive supervision where it is lacking orin your own shul, or especially in acommunity where there is no supervi-sion,” Roth said. “If we’re talkingabout a community that doesn’t haveOrthodox supervision, and a Conser-vative rabbi wants to supervise a bak-ery so that Jews can have pareve chal-la and bread, I think that’s commend-able. It’s a great mitzva if the commu-nity has no kosher supervision.“But if a restaurant in my community

— where there are established kosheradvisory institutions — contacts me, Ithink I need to tell them it’s a bad busi-ness decision to seek my supervision,”he continued. “The Orthodox won’t eatthere. If he (the restaurateur) says,‘I’m doing it out of principle, and not toexpand my business,’ then I will [su-pervise him], but I warned him. But if

he thinks my supervision will enhancehis business, I’ll tell him, regretfully,it’s not. Most Conservative Jews, re-grettably, are not worried about koshersupervision.”One potential downside with multiple

certification agencies in any givencommunity is “a lack of consistency, anda little bit of chaos,” said Rabbi RobertRubin, former head of the ConservativeRabbinical Assembly Mid-Atlantic Re-gion Vaad Hakashrut. “It can get confus-ing to clients, synagogues and caterers.”The Rabbinical Assembly set up its

own Conservative regional kosher su-pervision agency in the Mid-Atlantic re-gion about 40 years ago, Rubin said, andit operated until last year.“There was a need at the time,” Rubin

said. “ And it grew. We had about 15 ven-dors. We were involved in kosher super-vision for some time. Forty years ago orso, there was a pretty large Conservativecommunity [in the Philadelphia area],and it was a more natural fit. Today thekashrut world has changed, and gottenmore complex.”And so kashrut supervision in that re-

gion is now, for the most part left to theOrthodox. “We realized over time it was a bigger

project than we could handle,” Rubinsaid.Conservative rabbis did not really en-

ter the world of kashrut supervision un-til the 1990s, said Rabbi Paul Plotkin,chair of the subcommittee on kashrut ofthe Rabbinical Assembly’s committee onJewish law and standards. “When I was at seminary as a student

in the early ’70s, there wasn’t a lot oftime allotted for training in kashrus su-pervision,” Plotkin recalled. “The atti-tude was, ‘don’t worry about it, the Or-thodox will handle it.’ But by the timethe ’90s came, I came to see there wereall kinds of times Conservative rabbiswere called to do supervision, but manyof them didn’t have the practical train-ing. So I argued for a number of yearsthat we had an obligation to teach ourcolleagues who were called on forkosher supervision.”In 1990, the Rabbinical Assembly ran

its first kosher supervision-training pro-gram. Eighty rabbis came from all overNorth America to take the four-daycourse.“It proved what I’d been saying,”

Plotkin said. “There was a need and ademand for it.”The purpose of the training was to

teach Conservative rabbis how to super-vise kashruth operations when there was

not an Orthodox alternative in a givencommunity. “In the ’90s, Chabad didn’t have the

footprint it has now,” Plotkin said, “so ina lot of towns, the Conservative rabbiwas the most traditional rabbi in thearea. That’s how it started. It was neverthe idea that this would be a big, nationalthing, and I don’t think it ever will be. Ifyou want to produce a product, and sellit all over, I am not doing you a favor byhaving you hire me. Most people won’taccept me in the market you want to useme. If everyone will eat O-U, and 10 per-cent will eat Plotkin, why use Plotkin?”Plotkin currently certifies two facili-

ties: a Dunkin’ Donuts, and Ben’s Deli inBoca Raton, Fla. Unlike many koshercertifiers, Plotkin does not charge forhis services, but instead does it to “en-hance life for my community,” he said.

He was contacted by the owner ofBen’s, Ronnie Dragoon, after Dragoonsaw an article Plotkin wrote for UnitedSynagogue Review, in which he arguedagainst the imposition of more stringentkashruth standards that work to limitkosher options. “I wrote we should have a new certifi-

cation: K-E, for ‘kosher enough,’ ” hesaid. “There is a segment of the popula-tion that wants to make more rules, andmake keeping kosher more costly.They’ve blackballed everyone else, withthe attitude that ‘if you don’t rise to mylevel, we won’t take you seriously.’ If wecontinue this, we will have less and lessfood, at more and more outrageousprices.”Plotkin agreed to certify Ben’s, al-

though Rangoon already had an Ortho-dox certification. Even so, it took Ran-goon three years to work through all thechanges Plotkin insisted upon before theConservative rabbi would certify Ben’sas kosher.Rangoon has maintained the Orthodox

certification alongside his certificationfrom Plotkin, in order to satisfy an Or-thodox clientele that will not rely solelyon a Conservative rabbi.“I have had an increase in business

with Rabbi Plotkin, because he is verywell known and respected in SouthFlorida,” Rangoon said. “But I’d be lessthan candid if I said I’d be comfortablewith only a Conservative heksher, be-cause I know some Orthodox peoplewouldn’t be comfortable with it. ButRabbi Plotkin is at least as strict as theOrthodox rabbi.”

(Toby Tabachnick can be reached [email protected].)

Kosher:Continued from page 1.

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OpinionOpinion6 — THE JEWISH CHRONICLE JULY 19, 2012

A great public tragedyIn describing the Israeli protesterwho set himself on fire at a Tel Avivdemonstration Saturday as the victim

of “a great personal tragedy,” IsraeliPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahumay have missed the mark.It was not a “personal tragedy,” as Ne-

tanyahu said; but a public tragedy — themost extreme and disturbing kind — in-tended to send a message to the powersthat be in Israel. Moshe Silman, 57, of Haifa, doused

himself with gasoline and set his bodyon fire Saturday night during a demon-stration in Tel Aviv to mark the one-yearanniversary of the start of social justiceprotests last summer.In a letter he left behind, Silman, who is

being treated at Sheba Medical Center forthird-degree burns over 80 percent of hisbody, attacked Netanyahu and FinanceMinister Yuval Steinitz for “the humilia-tion that the weakened citizens go

through every day, taking from the poorand giving to the rich.” He reportedlyowed money to the Tax Authority and tothe National Insurance Institute of Israel,but his payments ballooned over proce-dural errors and lost court cases. Anyone who thought this kind of thing

could never happen in Israel must nowreconsider. Please note, we’re not pre-dicting a wave of Israeli protestors opt-ing for self-immolation, but Israelis, in-cluding Israeli political figures, are def-initely concerned.In tweeting about the episode, former

Kadima party leader Tzipi Livni saidSilman is not the only person to reach“the most difficult level of despair.” In-deed, Ynet reported that a man armedwith a bottle of inflammable liquidwalked into a cell phone store in Ariel aday after Silman set fire to himself andthreatened to do the same because hecould not pay a 20,000 NIS debt. A

security guard stopped him.The PM has ordered all relevant min-

istries to look into this case. In addition,the Tel Aviv municipality issued a direc-tive Sunday requiring a permit for pub-lic demonstrations like the one Saturdaynight, according to the Association forCivil Rights in Israel. It’s not clear if thePM’s order and the Tel Aviv directiveare related, but responding to this self-immolation by tightening controls onpublic expression would definitely bethe wrong way to go. People don’t set themselves on fire in

public for personal reasons, as the primeminister suggested. They do so to lodgepublic protests that cannot be ignored.We have seen what such protests can doto governments elsewhere. We’re notsaying the same will happen in Israel,but if we ignore Silman’s protest, or ca-sually dismiss it, then we do so at ourown risk.

NEW YORK — Israelis call him byhis affectionate nickname, Bibi, butfew speak of him with warmth.There is no alternative political

leader on the horizon, but that doesn’tmean he’s popular at home.Even though he is not known for his

integrity, he is widely trusted with pro-tecting the fate of his people as Israelfaces the threat of extinction from a nu-clear Iran.Serving his second tenure as prime

minister, controlling 94 of the Knes-set’s 120 seats, with no serious rival tosucceed him, Benjamin Netanyahu, 62,remains a mystery — the most en-trenched yet least liked of Israeli lead-ers, a brilliant orator and maven whenit comes to solidifying political power,but still an unknown in terms of whathe intends to do with it.Armchair psychologists have theo-

rized for years that Netanyahu couldnot make peace with the Palestinians aslong as his father, Benzion, was alive. Anoted historian on the Jews of Spainand Revisionist Zionist, the senior Ne-tanyahu expressed strong distrust ofArabs.He died this spring at the age of 102.With a single word, Netanyahu the

son dismissed recently the notion thathis father influenced him politically.“Psychobabble,” he told journalist

David Margolick, whose lengthy,trenchant Vanity Fair profile of Bibi,“The Netanyahu Paradox” (July), de-scribes the Israeli leader as both hiscountry’s “strongest and weakest

leader in memory,” wavering betweena confident statesman “seeking immor-tality” and an unsure politician “seek-ing survival.”Netanyahu can be charming when

the occasion arises but he can also beicily distant — I’ve seen him up closeboth ways. He is basically a loner, dis-trustful of the media and fellow politi-cians, who are equally wary of him.Some liberals still blame him for toler-ating the right-wing vitriol that led tothe assassination of Prime MinisterYitzchak Rabin.But even critics grudgingly note that

he has helped Israel weather the eco-nomic crisis far better than most coun-tries, spurred high-tech business andkept the country out of military entan-glements. Some say he has learnedfrom his first tenure as prime minister,from June 1996 to July 1999, and is lessarrogant now, a better listener.One thing is certain: With the threat

of a nuclear Iran looming, Washingtonloath to become involved in anotherforeign war, much of the Mideast inchaos, and tensions between secularand religious Israelis at a flashpoint, noone thinks Netanyahu has an easy job.While many would like to see him ini-

tiating policies, particularly in break-ing the stalemate with the Palestinians,he told Margolick that he sees his pri-mary role as securing Israel’s futureand avoiding “major pitfalls.”One has the impression that on the

Palestinian front, the prime minister isrunning in place, churning rhetoricallybut taking little action. Maybe that’shis plan. It’s hard to tell, though justabout everyone I spoke with during myrecent visit to Israel has a theory.While Netanyahu gets little credit for

risking his credibility as the leader ofLikud in publicly endorsing a two-statesolution to the Palestinian conflict, fewbelieve that he has serious intentions ofactively pursuing that goal. His sur-prise move in bringing Kadima into his

coalition in May was a brilliant way ofshoring up his political power andavoiding early elections. But it tookaway his excuse for not pursuing peacetalks more aggressively — the claimthat religious parties could walk awayfrom his coalition and bring him down.If he really believes in the two-state

solution — and that the longer the de-lay, the greater the chance of the Pales-tinians opting for the waitinggame/one-state solution — why is henot taking the initiative and pressingfor negotiations, or taking steps tocounter the Palestinian belief that Is-rael just wants to expand its West Bankpresence?With Egypt and Syria in deep disor-

der, Netanyahu has chosen to keep Is-rael out of the limelight, no doubt awise move. But at last month’s IsraelPresidential Conference in Jerusalem,veteran Mideast negotiator DennisRoss cautioned that Israel should notremain a passive bystander in the re-gion. The status quo in the Mideast isdangerous, he said, and he suggestedIsrael seek to revive peace talks withthe Palestinian Authority, improve re-lations with Turkey and help createsafe havens for Syrian refugees.On the domestic front, Netanyahu is

seeking to find a delicate political bal-ance in resolving the crisis over the is-sue of haredim serving in the army andIsraeli Arabs performing national serv-ice. After a series of fits and starts, in-cluding canceling the committeecharged with forging a new law by theJuly 31 deadline, the prime ministerseems to have reached an agreementwith Shaul Mofaz, the leader of Kadi-ma, who had threatened to lead his par-ty out of the coalition it just joined ifNetanyahu did not make good on hispledge to make the army system moreequitable.If achieved, the new law would be an

historic breakthrough in bolstering

What does Bibi want?

GaryRosenblatt

Please see Rosenblatt, page 13.


OPINION

Work for peaceLast week’s editorial titled “Water-

shed Moment” was indeed that. Thediscourse about the PresbyterianChurch (USA), their General Assem-bly and the commissioners who votedin it reached a new low, using lan-guage that is just as extreme and irre-sponsible as that of the anti-Israel ac-tivists behind the divestment, boycottand apartheid resolutions.To say that there is a cancer in the

PC (USA) is inflammatory and un-called for in response to a process thatultimately opposed divestment, large-ly in response to and out of respect forJewish concerns.

The author rightly asserts that thecommissioners who opposed divest-ment did not speak out as loudly aboutboycott. Divestment from companieswhose products are used by the IsraelDefense Forces, such as HP, Caterpil-lar and Motorola, whose goods are allpart of the security apparatus whichaims to reduce terror attacks in Israel(in addition to its supporting role inthe territories) is one thing. Support-ing the economy of the West Bank set-tlements, whose continued growthmakes the likelihood of a two-state so-lution look less and less viable is an-other. The vast majority of Ameri-cans, Jewish and Christian want to seethe two sides reach an agreement thatfacilitates the formation of two statesfor two peoples, living side by side inpeace. It is time that we take controlof the discourse away from the ex-tremists on both sides and let our voic-es be heard.The battle with our Presbyterian

neighbors is over for now, but will re-play in two years when the PC (USA)meets again. Couldn’t we use thistime to everyone’s advantage by find-ing a way to work for peace that doesnot divide us from our longtime alliesand partners in this church and thevarious others that are struggling withthe same issues? The PresbyterianChurch voted to invest in peacefulpursuits that promote coexistence.There are many Israelis and American

Jews who are doing just that throughlocal, national and international or-ganizations working for peace. Justone local example: Pittsburgh AreaJewish Committee (PAJC) LifeTrustee Mark Frank is working withBill Strickland, the visionary behindthe Manchester Bidwell Corporation,to build a career training center fordisaffected Israeli Arabs and Jewswith a focus on the arts in Akko, Is-rael. They need money to make ithappen and would welcome supportfrom any Jews or Christians who careabout peace in the Holy Land.The editorial concludes by stating

that the “growing anti-Semitic senti-ment” in the church will cause ir-reparable harm to Jewish-Presbyterianrelations “if nothing changes.” Ir-reparable harm will come from un-founded accusations such as that, actu-ally. And yes, something does need tochange. What needs to change is thesilence of the majority of AmericanJews and Christians who know that Is-rael must remain a democratic, Jewishstate and that the occupation is an exis-tential threat to that end. The onus ison the rest of us to distance ourselvesfrom the extremists within our own re-ligious community and act accordingly.Only thus can we hope to avoid fightingthis same battle repeatedly.We cannot keep our heads in the

sand and our fingers in the dyke forev-er; we must stand up for the two statesolution — for Israel’s sake and ourown.

Deborah FidelMarshall Dayan

(Deborah Fidel is executive director ofPAJC; Marshall Dayan is president ofPAJC.)

Editorial rebutted I was most grieved to read the July 12

Jewish Chronicle editorial, which de-clared “There is a cancer in the PC(USA)” and “growing anti-Semitic senti-ment within the church,” and by the car-toon which declared that in the PC (USA)there is “growing anti-Israel sentiment.”While I personally reject divestment

as a strategy for Middle East peace, Iwelcome the debate about strategies fora solution to the stalemate in the lands,which we all claim to be holy, and rejectthe accusation that such conversation iseither anti-Semitic or anti-Israel. Thewriter, while pointing to the PC (USA)could just as easily have inserted the

Letters to the editorWe invite you to submit letters for publication. Lettersmust include name, address and daytime phone number;addresses and phone numbers will not be published.Letters may not exceed 400 words and may be edited forlength and clarity; they cannot be returned. Mail, fax ore-mail letters to:Letters to the Editor via e-mail: [email protected]

Address & Phone: The Jewish Chronicle5915 Beacon Street, 3rd Flr.Pittsburgh, PA 15217(412) 521-0154

Web site address: www.thejewishchronicle.net

Please see Letters, page 9.

JERUSALEM — The Jewish peoplehave perfected a new weapon in our cri-sis arsenal, a weapon guaranteed to mar-shal the prerequisite quota of fear andconcern needed to fuel Jewish commu-nal life — demography.As a people, we have replaced vision with

crisis as the central force and motivation foridentity, philanthropy and unity. We havefound amongst the plethora of demographicstudies an inexhaustible gold mine. We nowhave an unending source to feed our fear.As the so-called “ever-dying people,” we

can bask in statistics, which either point toaccelerated assimilation, lack of affilia-tion, intermarriage, alienation, decreasedcommitment and distancing from Israel,or the ever-increasing size of the ultra-Or-thodox community, be it in Israel or NewYork City with the crisis to the Jewish fu-ture that such a growth may portend.If the numbers aren’t sufficiently

alarming, then we can combine twogroups, for example, such as Arabs andHaredim, in order to achieve the desiredgloomy prediction of a non-Zionist ma-jority in Israel in the very near future.

While some demographers benefithandsomely from the demography of fear,I do not mean to attack the messenger. De-mography can play an invaluable role inempowering, shaping and guiding the vi-sion of our people. The problem lies nei-ther in the demographers nor in demogra-phy per se, but in its crisis celebration,which is manipulating Jewish social life.At its core, the purpose of demography

is to alert us to shifts in the status quo andto new currents within our individual andcollective identities, so that we can adaptand respond effectively and intelligently.The demography of fear, however, worksin the opposite direction. It paralyzes andcreates a sense of helplessness, as theJewish community or Israel are portrayedas forever spiraling out of control into aself-destructive future of differing forms.As the ever-abused child of history, itseems that without an ongoing dose of fearwe cannot arouse from our slumber, seeourselves or connect to our reality.We are not an ever-dying community. We

are, however, an ever-changing one. Theone consistent feature of Jewish life is thatJudaism is a source of disagreement, ratherthan cohesion — that whatever boundarieswe pick in order to define our core identitywill invariably be crossed before they eventake hold. The primary defining feature of21st-century Jewish life is that the differ-ences are more extreme, and the crossingof boundaries more accelerated.Jewish identity does not begin with a

system of values or practices but with a

commitment to a particular people andcollective identity. As a result, a new con-vert must first declare, “Your people is mypeople,” before they declare, “Your God ismy God.” In every generation, identitywith the Jewish people carried with it dif-fering baggage. For much of our historythis baggage entailed persecution, dis-crimination, and alienation from the sur-rounding political and religious communi-ties. To be or become a Jew required oneto internalize the reality of Jewish collec-tive identity, to carry its burdens and chal-lenges on one’s shoulders as one partici-pated in the journey of Jewish life, andcontributed to its growth and value.While some of the old challenges still re-

main, we face new ones, challenges of iden-tity, continuity, and moral and spiritual ex-cellence. But our response must remain thesame. Who the Jewish people are is not aneutral question of statistics but a blue-print for the parameters of my loyalty. Tolove the Jewish people means not merely tosave them from impending death but tomake room for them around the table intheir ever-changing personas. As a mem-ber of a people, I must accept that who theJews are also shapes what Judaism is, evenif that Judaism may differ from my own.

Who the Jewish people are is not a crisisor a tragedy or a “cancer” growing in ourmidst. It is simply who we are, the identity ofmy community without whom I am not “I,”without whom there is no meaning to Ju-daism. In theory, I might fantasize about be-longing to a different team or a different

team makeup. That fantasy, however, canonly impact my work, not my loyalty.Who we are is not necessarily whom we

ought to or can be. And in the open mar-ketplace of ideas, we can all strive toshape who we will be. The great benefit ofdemography is that it allows different vi-sions and ideas to tailor their educationalstrategies to maximize their potential ef-fectiveness in shaping our future.We don’t need a demography of fear; we

need a demography of aspirations and re-sponsibility. For example, if one is con-cerned about a Jewish community, whetherin North America or Israel, with an ever-shrinking number of liberal voices and inwhich Jewish seriousness is carried by anever-growing, financially disadvantaged,and insular Haredi population, instead offear and despair one must get to work. Pes-simism is a luxury that we cannot afford.We need to marshal our talent to create adifferent reality, to remove self-destructivepolicies, and through the power of ideas of-fer an alternative and compelling vision, allthe while never succumbing to demoniza-tion, delegitimization, and bifurcation.In demography we find an ally who places

a mirror before us, teaching us what is. AsJews, our task is neither to mourn the pres-ent nor hold on to it; our task is to hold on toour loyalty to our people and to a vision of itsfuture, to dispel despair and get busy.

(Rabbi Donniel Hartman is presidentof Shalom Hartman Institute and direc-tor of the Engaging Israel Project.)


OPINION

Guest Columnist

RABBI DONNIELHARTMAN

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WeJews, Christians, Muslims, and unaffiliated individualswho followed the public discussion about the boycott andtargeted divestment resolutions at the General Assembly of thePresbyterian Church USA would like to express our shock at thelanguage and tone taken by The Jewish Chronicle of Pittsburgh inits July 12, 2012, editorial titled “Watershed moment.” Among usare both proponents and opponents of the boycott and divestmentresolutions, including some who spoke publicly and forcefully forand against those resolutions. However, we are united in our feel-ing that by stating that "there is a cancer in the PC (USA)" and by

misrepresenting those in the General Assembly as exhibiting a“growing anti-Semitic sentiment” the editors have crossed the dan-gerous line that separates debate from incitement. We are deeplyconcerned that the language used by the authors will have a harm-ful effect on the relations and trust between various religious com-munities in Pittsburgh and beyond. We call on all JewishCommunity leaders in Pittsburgh to make this indeed a“Watershed moment” by publicly denouncing the July 12th edito-rial and re-asserting their commitment to a civil and mutuallyrespectful debate between all communities in Pittsburgh.

The demography of fear

name of almost every Protestant Chris-tian denomination in the United States;for most of our traditions are wrestlingwith similar issues. Many of our denominations have

made great strides in coming to gripswith our anti-Jewish attitudes, teachingsand liturgies since the Shoa and VaticanII’s Nostra Aetate (Declaration on theRelation of the Church to Non-ChristianReligions). We have renounced supers-essionism (the belief that Christianity isthe fulfillment of biblical Judaism, andtherefore that Jews who deny that Jesusis the Jewish Messiah fall short of theircalling as God’s Chosen people), andseek to be in dialogue about our respec-tive religions and common ancestry. But,we also wrestle with how best to “ac-company” our Christian siblings in theMiddle East, particularly in Israel andthe Palestinian territories. Thus, we of-ten have heated discussions about di-vestment, positive investment and em-bargos against products from the settle-ments. Just because my own Evangeli-cal Lutheran Church in America reject-ed divestment as an accompanimentstrategy on behalf of our Christian kinand in the name of peace, doesn’t meanthat we are free of the “cancer” of whichthe editorial writer accuses. Denominational meetings, like the just

concluded Presbyterian General Assem-bly and Convention of the EpiscopalChurch or the ELCA Assembly, whichwill be in Pittsburgh next August, arenot the best places to discuss the finepoints of controversial issues. Nor arehastily convened conversations by theJewish community just a few weeks pri-or to such gatherings to tell their side tothese groups helpful either. In both cas-es we end up talking at each other, in-stead of with and to each other.Trust and mutual respect are fragile

commodities; they take a great invest-ment of time, energy and listening to es-tablish and maintain. Before we lob theaccusations of “cancer,” “anti-Semitic” or“anti-Israel” at any of our Abrahamic kin,let us find a way of investing in consistent,intensive conversation among our diverseChristian, Muslim and equally diverseJewish constituencies about that whichmakes for peace with justice for all resi-dents of those lands we call holy.

Pastor Don GreenPittsburgh

(The author is executive director ofChristian Associates of SouthwestPennsylvania.)

(Editor’s note: Upon further consider-ation, the Chronicle regrets its use of theword “cancer” in the July 12 editorial.However, we must continue to stand byour references to the words “anti-Semit-ic” and “anti-Israel” to describe certainactions and statements at the GeneralAssembly. Israel was accused of “ethniccleansing,” which is tantamount to geno-cide. And the apartheid resolution,which was clearly false, as church lead-ers ultimately determined, would havedemonized the Jewish state, and provid-ed a powerful weapon for Israel’s ene-mies. Nevertheless, it attracted consid-erable support at the G.A.)

More is expectedAfter several readings of the editorial,

“Watershed moment” (July 12), I cannotget past the following sentence that endsthis column. “If nothing changes to cor-rect growing anti-Semitism within thechurch ...” How have you come to suchan untrue, dishonest and inflammatoryconclusion? The central issue for many who fol-

lowed, as well as participated in the PC(USA) convention was how to end the 45-year occupation of the West Bank by Is-rael, and how to end the Israeli settle-ment enterprise that threatens to over-whelm what land remains for the cre-ation of a viable Palestinian state. Politi-cal pressure, either from within Israel orfrom the United States or European

Union, has not slowed down the seizureof Palestinian lands by Israeli settlers, of-ten done with the encouragement of thecurrent Israeli government or done ille-gally and in defiance of Israeli law.A recent statement made by the Levy

Commission, charged to look into the legalstatus of the West Bank, stated that thereis no “occupation” at all. Do you think anyWest Bank Palestinians were interviewed?What was the point of such a commission? Political and diplomatic efforts have

failed to resolve this conflict. Few nonvi-olent tactics remain. One of those is aneconomic boycott of goods manufac-tured in West Bank settlements, apply-ing serious and sustained economicpressure on the settlements. Why is thisbeing called “growing anti-Semitism” byyou? Because this boycott is aimed at Is-

raelis? If American citizens unlawfullytook Mexican lands to create settle-ments and we protested that, would webe anti-American? I reject the charge of anti-Semitism lev-

eled at the PC (USA). As a Jew who hasbeen involved in the struggle for peaceand justice for both peoples, I believe wemust, as a community, stop labeling everycriticism of Israel as anti-Semitic to avoidany serious public discussion of the issue.As a newspaper of this Jewish community,The Jewish Chronicle has a responsibilityto raise the level of discussion, not resortto cynical and cheap stereotyping. This isnot journalism. It’s propaganda. Many inthis community expect better from you.

Richard FoxSouth Side


OPINION

Letters to the Editor:

Continued from page 7.

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Weddings

Simon/Ruland: Huvvy and MeyerSimon are happy to announce the mar-riage of their daughter, Beth Dana, toJoshua Ruland, son of Roberta andRichard Ruland, in Pittsburgh at theFairmont Hotel Dec. 31. Rabbi ElliotBurk officiated.The bride was attended by her sister

and matron of honor, Freada Jaffe, aswell as her cousins, Kim Snyder andShaina Schachter and friend, IrisBaron. Her nieces, Emily Jaffe, Miran-da Simon, Jennifer Jaffe, Claudia Si-mon, Alexandra Jaffe, Sloane Simon,and Danica Simon, completed herbridal party. Ring bearers wereMatthew Simon and Jackson Ruland.Josh was attended by his best man, Jef-frey Sukach, and his brothers, Jonathanand Christopher Ruland.The couple spent their honeymoon in

Chile.Beth received a bachelor’s degree

from the University of Chicago, a mas-ter’s degree from New York University

and a law degree from Washington Uni-versity in St. Louis. Josh received bothhis bachelor’s and law degrees from theUniversity of Michigan.Beth and Josh are practicing attor-

neys in New York, where they reside.

BirthsFrank/Molliver: Michal Frank and

Derek Molliver happily announce thebirth of their daughter, Sarah Yuval,May 5/13 Iyar. Grandparents areMalke and Ivan Frank of Squirrel Hill,Saralynn Clark of Baltimore and thelate Mark Molliver.Sarah is named in loving memory of

her maternal great-grandmother, SonyaWinerman Frank; and to honor her pa-ternal grandmother, SaralynnClark. Her parents’ love for nature isgiven to Sarah in her middle name, Yu-val, the Hebrew word for a stream.

B’nai MitzvaDanielle KateBrand, daughterof Lisa and Jef-frey Brand ofMurrysville, willbecome a batmitzva Saturday,July 21, at TempleDavid in Mon-roeville. Grand-parents are Tony

and Kathy Palmer of Swissvale andWilliam and Shirley Brand of SquirrelHill.

If one were to choose among thegreatest benefactors of humanity, LouisPasteur would certainly rank at the top.He solved the mysteries of rabies, an-thrax, chicken cholera and silkwormdiseases, and contributed to the devel-opment of the first vaccines. But in thebeginning, he was ridiculed for his theo-ry that diseases were caused by factorsthat were invisible to the eye. It was abattle to gain acceptance for this theorybecause many people would not believethat which they could not see.

In the past 200 years, science andtechnology have made us far more hum-ble regarding that which we cannot see.We now know that we cannot see theoverwhelming range of light that makesup the spectrum; we cannot detect theinvisible particles that comprise the ma-jority of the matter in the universe. Youcannot see the atomic particles thatmake up the newspaper you are read-ing, or even the waves, which transmitimages and voices to your computer andsmart phone. But we have come to be-lieve in and rely upon the invisible.

In our parsha we read about a warwith Midian. Jewish soldiers returningfrom war brought back cooking utensilsamong the spoils. The Torah reports,“… Eliezer the Priest said to the Sol-diers who were going to war, ‘This is the

teaching which Hashem commandedMoses … everything which was usedwith fire shall be purified with fire.’ ”This verse is one of the sources for a lawof kashrus. A pot or a knife used fornonkosher food must be kashered be-fore it is used to cook kosher food.

But wait! The verse has Eliezerspeaking to “… Soldiers who were goingto war.” The soldiers he was addressinghad just returned from battle! Perhapsthe “war” referred to here is not thephysical battle, which they had just con-cluded. Perhaps there was still a battleto wage within themselves: An internalbattle to accept that there was an invisi-ble component affecting the apparentlyclean vessels taken from the Midianites.Perhaps some of them had yet to fight abattle to accept that an invisible, spiri-tually damaging component had to bekashered before the vessel could beused.

Sometimes as Jews we also struggle tobelieve in things our eyes cannot verify.But we have an advantage! Science andtechnology have accustomed us to ac-cept that there is an entire universe ofparticles and waves and bacteria thatare invisible to the eye, and are veryreal. Some of these “invisibles” can beof great benefit; some can cause illnessor even death.

The Torah is a window into a worldthat is often invisible and very real. It isa handbook teaching us which actionsand objects are of great spiritual benefitand which can cause spiritual illness.

(This column is a service of the GreaterPittsburgh Rabbinic Association.)

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OPINION/CDS

national unity and easing widespreadresentment toward haredi men, whohave been allowed to substitute govern-ment-subsidized Torah study for mili-tary service.Surely the Netanyahu legacy will be

judged, though, by the outcome of theIranian nuclear threat, an issue theprime minister has spoken about — of-ten as a lone voice — for many years.Finally, in recent months he has suc-ceeded in getting the West, and espe-cially Washington, to focus on it with

urgency. And though personal relationsbetween Netanyahu and PresidentBarack Obama remain strained, thepresident has come around, for themost part, to the Israeli position thatcontainment is unacceptable and thatIran must not be allowed to have a nu-clear bomb.The remaining questions concern

timing, the value of further negotia-tions with Tehran and whether or not,in addition to stringent economic sanc-tions, military action is required.The clock is ticking now in terms of

weeks and months, not years, and theNovember elections in the UnitedStates are a pivotal time for Israel aswell.

With Mitt Romney coming toJerusalem soon to bolster his positionwith Evangelical Christians and right-of-center American Jews, much will bemade of the warm relationship and nat-ural alliance between the presumptiveRepublican candidate and the Israeliprime minister.But heads of state don’t get to pick

their fellow world leaders; their re-spective constituents do.Will Netanyahu attack Iran before

the November elections, based onIran’s steady nuclear progress, favor-able weather conditions for an attack,and the concern that a re-elected Oba-ma will be more difficult to sway? Orwill he hold off and let the tightened

sanctions play out, hoping for a friend-lier partner in the White House and toavoid a cataclysmic confrontation withIran and its surrogates?So far Netanyahu has been more a

man of words than of actions. The fu-ture will determine if that holds, andwhich is the wiser course in dealingwith the Palestinians and Iran. Thequestion for him now is not “whatwould his father say?” but what will hedo?His country’s fate is in his hands.

(Gary Rosenblatt, editor and publish-er of The New York Jewish Week, canbe reached at [email protected].)

Rosenblatt:Continued from page 6.

and on the way from the airport it seemslike a wonderful city,” said Yaron Erel,manager of the Israeli team, of his initialreaction to Pittsburgh. “The people arevery friendly.”

Fourteen players age 16 and undermade up the Israeli team. Families paysome $4,000 for their children to takethe trip. “We have one player from the north,

we have one player from the south bor-der with Gaza, we have players from TelAviv, from all over,” Erel said. Players for the Israeli team are select-

ed out of a league of nine teams in Is-rael. Players have to go through an

enrichment program and tryouts tomake the team.The games the Israeli team will play

in the United States serve as a warm upto the Maccabiah Games in 2013. Congregation Beth Shalom Men’s Club

provided food for the players and coach-es after the game. Another game between Allderdice and

Israel is expected to take place thisweek, likely Friday afternoon at the

Allderdice field, but the details are sub-ject to weather and the availability ofsome Allderdice players with commit-ments to teams in other leagues. Thecommunity is invited to attend the gamefree of charge.

(Andrew Goldstein can be reached [email protected].)

Baseball:Continued from page 1.

BERGER: On Saturday, July 14,2012, Tillie C. Berger; beloved wife ofthe late Louis J. Berger; mother of Mar-shall (Myrna) Berger and Sandra(Richard) Yurko; sister of the late IdaShore, Rose Rosenthal and Belle Kauf-man; loving Nanny of Samra (Leonard)Savioz and Kenneth Berger; great-grandmother of Baela and Remi Savioz,Ariana and Alyah Berger; also survivedby nieces and nephews. Special thanksto her caregivers. Services and inter-ment were private. Arrangements byRalph Schugar Chapel, Inc., 5509 Cen-tre Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15232.www.schugar.com

FELDMAN: On Tuesday, July 10,Frank Feldman, 70, of Pittsburgh, wasborn in McKeesport Jan. 17, 1942, andis the son of the late Ben and Bobbe Ca-plan Feldman; survived by son JoshuaAlpert of Portland, Ore.; granddaughterLucy Alpert; brother Steve (Gail) Feld-man of Miami; sister Lisa (Ron) Brill ofAtlanta; and many loving nieces andnephews, cousins and countless friends.He was a retired information technolo-gy consultant and was a member ofTemple B’nai Israel. His noble life willforever be remembered and blessed bythose whose lives he touched. Serviceswere held at Temple Cemetery, CenterStreet, Versailles Borough. Arrange-ments by Strifflers of White Oak.

FRIEDLANDER: On Thursday,July 12, 2012, Dr. Myron Friedlander;beloved and cherished husband of Ber-nice (Kaufman) Friedlander; belovedfather of Bari (Larry) FriedlanderServello of Monroeville, Elyssa Fried-lander Ferraro of Shaler Township; andJaime Friedlander Varsha of Florida;beloved son of the late Mr. and Mrs.Benjamin Friedlander and son-in-law ofthe late Ben and Ruth Kaufman; broth-er of Eileen (late Larry) Bondy and thelate Leonard, Warren, Howell and Mur-ray Friedlander; brother-in-law ofCheryl Kaufman, Gloria and MarylinFriedlander; beloved grandfather ofGarrick, Parker and Mason Servello,Alec Sauers, Stephanie and Julie Var-sha; also survived by many nieces,nephews and great nieces and nephews.Services were held at Ralph SchugarChapel, Inc.; interment PliskoverCemetery. Contributions may be madeto a charity of the donor’s choice.www.schugar.com.

GROBSTEIN: On Sunday, July 15,2012, Charles Grobstein; beloved hus-band of 58 years to Saundra Lois Grob-stein; beloved father of Debbie (Marc)Haber, Robert (Janet) Grobstein andEllen (Tom) Clancy; brother of Earl(Sonia) Grobstein and Lenny (Elaine)Grobstein; grandfather of Jeff (JaimeWhareham) Haber, Eric Haber, Davidand Jason Grobstein, Ryan and Bren-dan Clancy; great-grandfather of Lil-liana Haber. Graveside services and in-terment were held at West View Ceme-tery of Rodef Shalom Congregation.Contributions may be made to Friend-ship Circle, 5872 Northumberland St.,Pittsburgh, PA 15217; American CancerSociety, 320 Bilmar Drive, Pittsburgh,PA 15205; or Autism Society of Pitts-burgh, 4371 Northern Pike, Mon-roeville, PA 15146. Arrangements byRalph Schugar Chapel, Inc., 5509 Cen-tre Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15232.www.schugar.com

LAZAR: On Thursday, July 12, 2012,Elias Lazar; beloved husband of the lateAnna Lazar; beloved father of Arthur(Shirley) Lazar and Richard (Marlene)Lazar; grandfather of Nathaniel, Geof-frey and Michael Lazar; also survivedby cousin Miriam Simon and specialfriend Francis. Services were held atRalph Schugar Chapel, Inc.; intermentPoale Zedeck Memorial Park. Contribu-tions may be made to Yeshiva School ofPittsburgh, 2100 Wightman St., Pitts-burgh, PA 15217. www.schugar.com

VIXMAN: On Friday, July 13, 2012,Larry (Lawrence) Vixman; beloved sonof the late Sam and Minnie Vixman;beloved father of Stacey (Michael) Zay-ac, Lonni Vixman and Phillip (Rachel)Vixman, all of Pittsburgh; brother ofMarilyn Kramer of Pittsburgh; Grand-father of Marley, Emma and Olivia Vix-man, Brooke Zayac, Taylor Reilly andthe late Julian Reilly; uncle of Markand Scott Kramer. Services were held atRalph Schugar Chapel, Inc.; intermentBeth Shalom Cemetery. Contributionsmay be made to a charity of the donor’schoice. www.schugar.com


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HEDY CAPLAN ..................GERTRUDE MITCHELDOROTHY CHAJSON.................ROBERT PLATTJOSEPH COHEN .....................HERBERT COHENPAULINE DOBKIN..................FRANK SUSSMANMR. & MRS. ALBERTEDELSTEIN ..................MORRIS & IDA F. LINDERFRANCES FREED..............WILLIAM CONGRESSELINOR & IVAN GOLD ..........MILDRED “MITZIE”

GOLDBRUCE GOLDBERG .............................IDA ROTHGAY & ALVINGOLDSTONE.......................DIANE GOLDSTONEEDITH GRINBERG.......................MEYER & TOBY

GRINBERGBETTY HALPERN ................SYLVIA GOLDSTEINMARILYN NEUWIRTHHERRON.............................HAROLD NEUWIRTHARLENE KAIZER............................ETHEL PERENLEONARD KOPELSON .........FRANK KOPELSONSANFORD LEFKOWITZ.....SAMUEL LEDERMANROBERTA & MARVIN LEVINE MORRIS LEVINERACILLE LIGHT.................BENJAMIN OLENDERIRENE LOUIK .................................HARRY LOUIK

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RIEMERDONNA ROSEN ..............................SAM ROSENESTELLE ROSENFELD ....SAMUEL ROSENFELDROBERT ROSENSTEIN .....HARRY SILVERSTEINHERBERT SHAPIRO......................BEN SHAPIROJANET SLIFKIN ......................MALCOM SLIFKINJUDY & JOELSMALLEY .............................REUBEN STEWARTDR. SANFORD TOLCHIN.......RUTH & LEONARD

TOLCHINPAUL WEINER ...............................RAY WESOKY

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SUNDAY, JULY 22: FRANK BURNSTEIN, RAE DANOVITZ, CHARLES GOLDBERG, LOUIS HARRIS,MOLLIE LAPPIN, ANNA LEVENSON, HARRY LEVINE, NATHAN LEWIS, HARRY W. LIEBMAN, SOL ROSEN-BLUM, DAVID SCHMOOKLER, RUTH REBECCA SHERMAN, MEYER SILBERBLATT, HARRY SILVERMAN,RUTH WELTMAN, ELIZABETH YOUNG.MONDAY, JULY 23: SAMUEL FARGOTSTEIN, CELIA FLANSBAUM, EDWARD R. GLUCKSON, HILDAGOLDSTEIN, DAVID LEE GREENFIELD, MARTIN M. KRAMER, JESSIE W. LEVENSON, RUTH GRINBERG LIN-COFF, DOROTHY S. POLLOCK, MARGARET RACUSIN, JOSEPH H. SIMON, WILLIAM S. WINER, BRINA GIT-TEL ZWERLING.TUESDAY, JULY 24: A. DAVID BROUDY, JOSEPH COHEN, ROSE CRAMER, BESSIE RINI GLASS, DR.ABRAHAM D. GOLDBLUM, SOPHIA GOLDSTEIN, ROSE A. GREEN, MORRIS L. KAUFMAN, 6HELEN S. LUP-TAK, GERTRUDE MITCHEL, ALVIN J. MOLDOVAN, BENJAMIN OLENDER, ELI RACUSIN, HARRYRAPOPORT, RAE ROSENTHAL, ROSE SMITH, IDA VOLKOVITZ, PHILIP WEKSELMAN.WEDNESDAY, JULY 25: HARRY ADLER, MINNIE BASKIN, MOLLIE R. BENNETT, MARVIN B. BERN-STEIN, HANNAH BROMBERG, IDA CANTOR, ALICE ROSE COHEN, ROBERT CONGRESS, DOROTHYCRUTCH, SOPHIA FREEDMAN, LEO GERNSBACK, HELEN HANDELSMAN, DORA KAUFMAN, SARAHKLEINERMAN, GIZELLA KRAUSE, DAVID LEVINE, MOLLIE WOLFE MARCUS, CELIA MORGAN, ANNA G.ROSENTHAL, JOHN SCHWARTZ, SAUL STEIN, IRENE WEITZMAN,.THURSDAY, JULY 26: LT. RICHARD STANLEY ACKERMAN, JACK NEVILLE BERKMAN, MYERBROSTOFF, BEN COWEN, JAMES J. GLUCK, REBECCA GOISNER, LEONARD KLEVAN, SAMUEL MAYSELS,JACOB MELNICK, ROSE PAUL, ETHEL R. PERER, BERNARD A. PRICE, MOLLY SCHWARTZ, LEAH SHAPIRO,MAX L. SIEGLE, LARRY TRACHTENBERG.FRIDAY, JULY 27: JUDA BIRNBAUM, LILLIAN BRODY, SARAH COHEN, PAULINE DAVIS, NATHANFISHMAN, SAMUEL MATTHEW GOLDEN, MEYER HANDMAKER, ANNE LEVINE, ETHEL LINDER, IDA MAN-DEL, MAURICE L. MORITZ, BERNARD MURSTEIN, JUDITH ASHINSKY ROSEN, MARTHA SCHWORTZ,JACOB SHEFFLER, JACK SHERMAN, SIDNEY SIEGMAN, MOE STRUMINGER, HAROLD LEIGHTON WIN-KLER, LILLIAN ZIMMERMAN.SATURDAY, JULY 28: FRYMA MAETE BERENSTEIN, HERBERT COHEN, BEATRICE GALLER,CHARLES J. GOLDBERG, IRWIN LEVINSON, EVA CORN MAKLER, ABRAHAM RECHT, SOPHIA WEINERMANSANDS, ELEANOR J. SLINGER, HARRY WEISBERG, BESSIE ZEFF.

A closer lookJennifer Olbum got more than she

bargained for when she signed up forthe Jewish Federation of GreaterPittsburgh’s Centennial Mega Missionto Israel.Shortly after registering, she and her

husband, Robin Wertkin, learned thattheir son, Eli Allswede, 20, who madealiya last year and entered the IsraelDefense Forces Tank Division in Febru-ary, would receive his black beret in aceremony at Latrun (a memorial site forthe tank division) while Olbum, Wertkinand their younger son, Eric Wertkin,were to be in the country.“It was just a fluke,” Olbum said, but

it was also an opportunity they couldn’tpass up.So they excused themselves from the

rest of the mission on June 22 to be atLatrun when Allswede and his brigadeentered the compound after the tradi-tional 30-kilometer march.She recalled watching some of the sol-

diers pray following the long trek.“There were these soldiers just

drenched [in sweat] putting on theirtallit and davening,” she said. “It was somoving … it’s such a human army.”Eric marched alongside his older

brother for the last kilometer.That evening, at the mission’s Shabbat

dinner, 450 people — mostly

Pittsburghers — came together. CherylMoore honored Allswede with a shortrecognition speech, and the group stoodcheering “Mazel Tov” for him.“It was great having Pittsburgh em-

brace him on an important day,” Olbumsaid. “And I really appreciate it.”

Eli Allswede

JAA takes part in White Housediscussion on senior servicesBY ANDREW GOLDSTEIN

Staff Writer

Vice President Joe Biden spoke forabout 30 minutes on Monday to a group ofsome 100 nationwide representatives forsenior services in the White House.Biden shared personal stories about his

parents care as they aged and about theirdetermination to maintain independence.Some of the topics discussed hit home

with the audience. For some, they notonly work in the business, they have hadsimilar personal experiences to Biden.“I think on a personal level we can all

relate to what the issues are with help-ing manage seniors in our lives,” saidDebbie Winn-Horvitz, president andCEO of the Jewish Association on Aging.Steve Halpern, chair of the JAA

board, joined Winn-Horvitz; both wereinvited to the meeting.“The ability to be able to have interac-

tive discussions with some of the key de-cision makers in Washington is of signif-icant value to health care providers,”said Winn-Horvitz.The White House holds briefings on

leadership issues weekly. Issues involvingseniors have now become so prominentthat they have held two meetings in thepast 30 days on the topic.While some of the key figures spoke —

but did not answer questions, includingBiden — the meeting was set up in a di-alogue format. A panel took part in a dis-cussion with the audience.“At the core of yesterday’s conversa-

tion, was the state of Medicaid andMedicare. At JAA, 60 percent of ourrevenue is coming from government re-imbursement from Medicare or Medi-caid,” said Halpern.The 60 percent of the revenue ac-

counts for $19 million per year.“It’s fair to say that not only our

lifeblood but the relationship that we haveto 60 percent of over 500 patients and fam-ilies served are impacted by the govern-ment deliberations around Medicare andMedicaid and how those will move going

forward,” Halpern said.Halpern added that the Obama adminis-

tration is focused on managing Medicareand Medicaid expenses because they are asignificant amount of government spend-ing, but at the same time, the administra-tion wants to preserve them.“They’re focused on dignity for seniors,

and they’re focused on creating retire-ment security for seniors,” Halpern said.“The Republican version of the budgetthat’s been introduced hurts some of thatby threatening to substantially reduceMedicaid and overhaul Medicare.“It was a great opportunity for us to hear

that in a much more intimate setting, butalso reinforce for ourselves because ourentire business model at the JAA and theJewish Community Senior Living Servicesdepends entirely on where this whole con-versation’s going,” Halpern said.

(Andrew Goldstein can be reached at [email protected].)

JAA photo

Steve Halpern, chair of the JAA board,with JAA President and CEO DebbieWinn-Horvitz in Washington, D.C.

The Jewish Chronicle July 19, 2012

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Transcript of The Jewish Chronicle July 19, 2012