Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle 5-28-21

May 28, 2021 | 17 Sivan 5781

Candlelighting 8:23 p.m. | Havdalah 9:31 p.m. | Vol. 64, No. 22 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org

Jewish Federation rallies in solidarity with Israel

NOTEWORTHY LOCAL A tradition of respect

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Pittsburgh students in Israel react to current crisis By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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recent antisemitic attacks in Los Angeles, Montreal and New York. Tree of Life Rabbi Jeffrey Myers sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” before Federation Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer Brian Eglash spoke about Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls. More than 4,000 missiles fired by the terrorist organization Hamas had injured and killed Israeli citizens, regardless of their religion, Eglash said. “Jewish Pittsburgh and the Jewish Federation have always stood with Israel,” he continued. “Today, more than ever, as our brothers and sisters face an endless barrage of missiles.” Eglash also discussed Federation’s

arah Hertzberg was told to expect tension in Jerusalem. Seminary instructors had cautioned her that Yom Yerushalayim — an Israeli national holiday marking Jerusalem’s reunification, which fell this year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — was often fraught with heated activity. So when Hertzberg, a Squirrel Hill resident currently studying in Israel, arrived at Sacher Park adjacent to the Knesset on May 10 for celebrations, she was already on guard. But not for rocket fire. Red Alert, a phone app providing real-time notifications of rocket, mortar or missile fire into Israel, was “going off constantly” during the conflict between Israel and Gaza in the days following Yom Yerushalayim, but has since quieted, said Hertzberg, 19. A May 20 Egyptian-brokered ceasefire remained in effect as of press time. Hertzberg’s seminary, Midreshet Tehillah, restricted students from visiting Jerusalem’s Old City due to safety concerns, but Hertzberg, who is based four miles west of the Old City, isn’t scared, she said. In fact, rather than returning to Pittsburgh early, Hertzberg has extended her stay in Israel for an additional week. “I feel a lot safer than if I was anywhere else in the world,” she said. The rocket fire is “horrible, but at least I feel safe walking down the street and looking like a Jew,” she continued. “I know that other people don’t have that luxury right now.” Speaking with friends on college campuses and across the United States has reminded Hertzberg of the value of being in Israel. “I know that the people I’m with don’t hate me and they don’t want me to die,” she said. It’s not like “walking around the streets of New York, where people are getting yelled at or there’s rioting. It’s so awful in so many other places.” Benji Marcus, 18, expressed similar

Please see Vigil, page 14

Please see Israel, page 14

White Oak’s B’nai Israel buries books, looks to future Page 2

LOCAL A champion of the underdog Judge Eugene Strassburger dies at 77 Page 3

LOCAL Getting to know:

 About 75 people gathered in the parking lot of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to express solidarity with Israel on May 21. Photo by David Rullo By David Rullo | Staff Writer

A Touro valedictorian Yaakov Saxon Page 7

bout 75 people gathered several hours before the start of Shabbat on May 21 in the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s parking lot to demonstrate their solidarity with Israel. The rally, dubbed “We Stand with Israel: A community Vigil for Peace,” was held just hours after a ceasefire was declared between Israel and Hamas, and was sponsored by Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council. Several speakers from across the local Jewish community addressed the crowd, as did the Federation’s Foundation Scholar, Rabbi Danny Schiff, from Israel via video. David Sufrin, the Federation’s board chair, welcomed those in attendance. He spoke of his support for Israel and his disgust with

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Headlines White Oak’s B’nai Israel buries books, builds community

p Rabbi Howie Stein and congregants bury books.

p B’nai Israel book burying service

— LOCAL — By David Rullo | Staff Writer

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dozen members of Temple B’nai Israel braved the midday heat on May 23 to mark a transition for the congregation. The White Oak Reform congregation gathered at its cemetery in Versailles to bury old prayer books, damaged tefillin and other Jewish items. But unlike several other congregations in the Mon Valley that have performed similar rituals, B’nai Israel isn’t closing and wasn’t meeting to perform one final act as a congregation. Instead, as Rabbi Howie Stein noted, the rite pointed to the stability of the temple. “We have new books that we use,” Stein said prior to the service he developed for the event. “We continue to pray and study and use the texts. This is a sign that we are moving forward.” B’nai Israel purchased the Reform movement’s High Holiday prayer books,

“Mishkan T’shuvah,” last year, completing a process begun in 2015 when the congregation purchased the “Mishkan T’filah” siddur. The two texts replaced the previously used “Gates of Prayer” and “Gates of Repentance” prayer books. Joel Kaufman, the congregation’s ritual chairman, said the tradition of burying books and other Judaica no longer in use isn’t preformed as often as it once was, but nonetheless, “it’s the custom. It’s intended to show honor to our sacred texts.” The congregation collected over 70 boxes and bins of items to be buried in the cemetery surrounded by tombstones — not only of those marking the graves of members of B’nai Israel, but also the neighboring Orthodox Gemilas Chesed Synagogue, the defunct Tree of Life in McKeesport, unaffiliated community members, as well as shuttered congregations in Glassport and Clairton. Ron Kendal, B’nai Israel’s cemetery chair, can recount the families, including his own relatives, buried in the cemetery. And the loose membership patterns of the area’s

tightknit Jewish community are reflected in the cemetery: When one synagogue closed, the next generation would attend services at a neighboring congregation. Despite the loss of population experienced in the Mon Valley and surrounding communities, B’nai Israel still counts close to 100 families as members, though some of those members now live out of state. Stein was hired by B’nai Israel in 2020. The rabbi said he wanted the service he created to have an optimistic tone because, even though books are being buried in a cemetery, it isn’t a funeral. “There should be an element of hope,” he told participants, “that this is just an element of the history of our congregation.” He opened the service, which included readings from the Talmud, Tanakh and Psalms, by asking participants what books they would enter a burning building to save — making a distinction between the sacred and the mundane. The readings he selected for the service focused “on the significance of the books,” Stein said.

Photos by David Rullo

After the readings, congregants filled the grave with the prayer books and other Judaica and helped to shovel dirt over the items. Stein concluded the brief service by reciting the Rabbis’ Kaddish, a prayer he said was more hopeful than the Mourners’ Kaddish. Prior to the service, several members of B’nai Israel helped to ready the cemetery’s tombstones for Memorial Day by putting new American flags on the graves of deceased veterans, a task they perform each year. Kaufman said the congregation had recently gathered for a socially distanced, outdoor picnic, providing an opportunity for members to meet Stein — their first in-person event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The book burying service was their first in-person service. “It was so wonderful to see members of the congregation,” Kaufman said. “We’re a very close congregation. There’s a lot of care here, which is why I joined and stayed.”  PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines ‘Champion of the underdog,’ Judge Eugene Strassburger has died at 77

his brother regularly attended Pittsburgh Steelers home games from the early 1970s until about six or seven years ago. By Justin Vellucci | Special the Chronicle While Strassburger “was always a good person,” his brother said, “he had udge Eugene Strassburger “did what an edge to him — he was intellectual, he was right — always,” said Pennsylvania was an academic.” Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer. He also was very accomplished in the judi“His writing was brilliant and his thinking ciary. Beginning in 1978, Strassburger served was brilliant, and yet he was very much on the Allegheny County Court of Common a man of the people,” Baer Pleas in the Family Court and the told the Chronicle. “He was Civil Court, including as admina supporter of women, back istrative judge and calendar when it wasn’t popular. Gene control judge. He clerked for was a fierce supporter of them Pennsylvania Supreme Court and a fierce supporter of the Justice Henry O’Brien and LGBT community. ended his legal career only “I hold him in the greatest recently after 10 years on the regard,” Baer added. “I think I’m state’s Superior Court. good at what I do, and Gene is “Judge Strassburger — he was part of the reason for that.” so bright and so appropriate, Eugene “Gene” B. Strassburger Eugene Strassburger careful, really good, solid work Photo courtesy of III, a third-generation Pittsburgh Phyllis Kitzerow all the time,” said retired state lawyer and beloved judge whose Superior Court Judge Maureen work both on and off the bench supported Lally-Green. “When I think of him, I think women and the marginalized, passed away of some of the finest people I know in the law May 17 at his home in Oakland, surrounded practice. He knew what the right thing was to by family. He was 77. do and he did it the first time.” Strassburger was born Nov. 28, 1943, to Lally-Green and Strassburger fielded Jane and Eugene Strassburger, Jr. — and complaints decades ago about how some to a family whose law firm, Strassburger legal professionals were treating their female McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky, dates back to colleagues and were founding members the turn of the 20th century in downtown of the bar association’s Women In Law Pittsburgh. He grew up in Squirrel Hill, committee, which grew through the years. graduated from Linden Elementary School “He always worked to address the situaand Shady Side Academy, and attended Yale tion, to correct the situation and to advocate University and Harvard Law School. about it so it became a teachable moment,” Strassburger met Dr. Phyllis Kitzerow, his Lally-Green said. wife of 43 years, at a party that neither had Judge Stanton Wettick, who served alongwanted to attend, Kitzerow recalled. They side Strassburger on the Allegheny County went on to have three children — David, Ellen Court of Common Pleas, said Strassburger and Zach — two of whom followed their fami- often reviewed Wettick’s draft opinions ly’s path into law. Grandchildren followed. before they were finalized. Strassburger was a very protective husband “I had better opinions because of Judge and father, Kitzerow told the Chronicle. Strassburger,” Wettick said. “He was a “He always wanted to solve the problems straight shooter and the lawyers recognized that anyone might face,” she said. “He would him as a straight shooter. The things he did worry about us and, when something went were within the bounds of what a good, wrong, he’d always be calmer than me. He neutral jurist would do. And he treated those was wonderful at dealing with a crisis. I will who came before him with fairness.” miss that a lot.” At 29, when still in private practice, The family has been affiliated for many Strassburger became one of the youngest years with Rodef Shalom Congregation, attorneys to argue a case in front of the U.S. whose focus on social justice also informed Supreme Court. He argued — and won — Strassburger’s work, friends said. Pittsburgh Press v. Pittsburgh Commission Strassburger was recently hospitalized but on Human Relations, a decision holding that opted to have hospice care at home because gender-segregated want ads discriminate on he wanted to see his family, who could not the basis of sex. He also taught courses at visit him in the hospital due to COVID-19 the University of Pittsburgh Law School and restrictions. A day before he died, Duquesne Law School, and represented the Strassburger met his 10-day-old grandson, city of Pittsburgh in important zoning and Elior, for the first time. milk pricing cases. His brother, attorney E.J. Strassburger, Both inside and outside the court, described him as “intense, no matter where Strassburger was an unabashed feminist at he was. And he was very competitive — he a time when some of his peers hadn’t yet was involved in many, many fantasy [sports] come to the same conclusions, and he found leagues, some of which he was commis- a terrific partner in Kitzerow, a sociologist sioner. He did research and used to come who also describes herself as a feminist. with notebooks about who he was going to “It’s been something that we shared draft. He was very into sports.” Please see Strassburger, page 15 Strassburger golfed regularly, and he and

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Headlines East End’s B’nai Israel to become mixed-income housing in 2022 — LOCAL — By Justin Vellucci | Special to the Chronicle

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arry Werber grew up on Hays Street near the border between Garfield, East Liberty and Highland Park, and just a stone’s throw from Congregation B’nai Israel — where he went to Hebrew school. And sang in the children’s choir. And, later, the adult choir. And where his brother was married. And where his son, now 53, became a bar mitzvah. “The East End was my home,” said Werber, who now lives in Stanton Heights. “And B’nai Israel was my home away from home.” About six years ago, Werber took an “old Jewish Pittsburgh” tour and got to go inside the now-vacant B’nai Israel, which, after closing in 1995, was briefly revitalized as a school. “We literally cried on each other’s shoulders — it was such a mess,” Werber recalled. “Nobody had bothered to take care of it. The beautiful ceiling they had, parts of it were decaying. The benches where we sat were dirty. The walls were peeling. We cried quite a bit. To watch and see how it deteriorated was a very sad time for us.”

 Beacon Communities plans to create affordable housing in the former B’nai Israel synagogue.

Beacon Communities hopes happier times are ahead for B’nai Israel. The Boston-based developer has announced it is spearheading an $18.5 million “adaptive-reuse project” that will transform the site into a 45-unit, mixed-income housing community. Honored by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s “Innovation in Design” award in 2019, the all-electric building will be designed to use minimal energy, with rooftop solar panels to offset energy consumption, the developer said.

Beacon Communities plans to begin construction at the site “immediately,” the firm said, with a grand opening planned for fall 2022. Applications for housing will be available in summer 2022. Those involved with the project also hope to repurpose the former sanctuary through fundraising efforts into a multi-use space focusing on performing and visual arts. The historical elements of the structure will be restored and preserved, while natural construction techniques will be used to create an environmentally

Rendering provided by Beacon Communities

sound space, the developer said. Sara Stock Mayo and Alyson Bonavoglia, along with the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp., are the community activists working to develop what they’re calling the “Rotunda Collaborative.” “We’re thinking about, ‘What do we want this neighborhood to be? What ways can we come together, through the arts?’” said Mayo, who has described the rotunda as “awe-inspiring.” Please see B’nai Israel, page 15

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Headlines New gene therapy helps Squirrel Hill resident manage hemophilia

Sohinki said he didn’t want to “miss out” on life’s joys but there were always costs. After riding a zipline, he required an infuBy Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer sion because of harness-related injuries, and following four hours on his feet at an amuseor the first 10 years of his life, when- ment park, he had to spend the rest of the ever Lewis Sohinki got a small cut, or day in a wheelchair. suffered even minor injuries, extreme “My ankles were the size of my measures were required. Born with hemo- head,” Sohinki said. philia B, Sohinki remembers The repeated need for blood long hospitalizations and transfusions and plasma countless infusions. required Sohinki to undergo “I would go to the ICU regular HIV and AIDS testing. and would have heavy hands He said that he’s contracted on me,” he said. other diseases “and battled But with a new gene therapy through them,” and lost reladesigned by Pfizer, things tionships in the process. are looking up. Now married with chilHemophilia B is a rare dren, Sohinki calls his wife genetic disorder caused by a his “hero” and credits her with Lewis Sohinki missing or defective clotting  unconditionally accepting and credits gene protein known as factor IX. therapy, family and supporting him. As a child, Sohinki routinely medical staff with Hemophilia B has been part went to the hospital for treat- improving his life. of Sohinki’s story — even when Photos courtesy of Lewis others haven’t realized it — for ment — involving injections Sohinki of factor IX — and when he as long as he can remember, was 10 he learned how to self-infuse at but on May 12, his narrative changed when home. Being able to mix and inject a clot- the Squirrel Hill resident and clinical therating factor improved Sohinki’s lifestyle, but pist received a gene therapy procedure at the the disease was never far from his thoughts. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He brought two doses of medicine in his Designed to introduce genetic material into backpack wherever he went, and packed cells to compensate for missing or non-funcanother five doses in his luggage when trav- tioning factor IX, the hour-long injection eling on an airplane. was followed by seven hours of observation “Even if I was going to a friend’s house, the and weekly blood draws. medicine was going with me,” said Sohinki. Sohinki said changes are already noticeAnd early on, before the science progressed, able: Whether it’s walking his dog, or “I also had to bring ice packs to keep the increasing his exercise routines, small injumedicine cold.” ries have healed on their own and infusion Sohinki, with the support of his family and hasn’t been necessary. numerous medical professionals, learned to Sohinki hopes others with hemophilia adapt to his diagnosis. There were points B will take advantage of the new therapy, where he kept away from certain situations and said the researchers and physicians because of the inherent risks, but he grav- who’ve improved his life so many times itated toward sports as a teenager. And have done so again. though contact was potentially dangerous, “These scientists and doctors are amazing Sohinki nonetheless embraced it. Despite people,” said Sohinki, “I’m extremely the chance of home plate collisions, he appreciative.”  PJC played catcher for his baseball team, and as a Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ basketball player he never shied from taking pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. elbows or from other physical play.

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Calendar Submit calendar items on the Chronicle’s website, pittsburghjewishchronicle.org. Submissions also will be included in print. Events will run in the print edition beginning one month prior to the date as space allows. The deadline for submissions is Friday, noon. q FRIDAY, MAY 28 Join Moishe House Pittsburgh for a backyard Shabbat dinner. Enjoy Thai food and a bonfire. Registration is capped at 10 people. Say Shabbat prayers at 8:30 before wrapping up at 9. facebook.com/moishehouse.pittsburgh q SUNDAY, MAY 30 Join Congregation Beth Shalom for an Epic Yard Sale. Skip from house to house for a fun day snapping up bargains. DVDs, toys, home décor, furnishings, jewelry, Judaica and more. Proceeds benefit the congregation’s youth department. 9 a.m. Map out your route at BethShalomPGH.org/YardSale

Rosh Hashanah, a tractate of the Talmud about the many new years that fill out the Jewish calendar at Monday Talmud study. 9:15 a.m. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org. q TUESDAY, JUNE 1 What is the point of Jewish living? What ideas, beliefs and practices are involved? Melton Course 1: Rhythms & Purposes of Jewish Living examines a variety of Jewish sources to discover the deeper meanings of Jewish holidays, lifecycle observances and Jewish practice. Cost: $300 per person, per year (25 sessions), includes all books and materials. For more information and to register, visit foundation.jewishpgh.org. Join Classrooms Without Borders for a weekly book discussion of “When Time Stopped” by Ariana Neumann with Dr. Josh Andy. Neumann will join the discussion on June 1. Free. 4:30 p.m. classroomswithoutborders.org

Join a lay-led Online Parashah Study Group to discuss the week’s Torah portion. No Hebrew knowledge is needed. The goal is to build community while deepening understanding of the text. For more information, visit bethshalompgh.org.

Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh for a gathering to oppose antisemitism. The event is a response to the more than 400% increase in antisemitic incidents in the U.S. Join elected officials, community leaders and interfaith leaders at 6 p.m. at the City County Building, 414 Grant Street. No registration required.

q MONDAY, MAY 31

q WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2

Join Temple Sinai for “Making Our Days Count with Rabbi Karyn Kedar (via Zoom).” Rabbi Kedar will discuss the period between Passover and Shavuot, called the Omer. She will teach seven spiritual principles for the seven weeks of the Omer: decide, discern, choose, hope, imagine, courage, pray. These principles can offer a path from enslavement to freedom, darkness to light, constriction to expanse. 7 p.m. templesinaipgh.org

Chabad of the South Hills presents “This Can Happen,” a new JLI class. Join them as they demystify the Jewish idea of a perfect world and discover a practical path for reaching it in our lifetime. Try the class for one week for free. For more information, go to chabadsh.com or call 412-344-2424.

q SUNDAYS, MAY 30; JUNE 6, 13, 20, 27

q MONDAYS, MAY 31; JUNE 14, 21 Join Rabbi Jeremy Markiz in learning Masechet

q SUNDAY, JUNE 6 The Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh invites you attend “Friends All-Around” at the Highline on the South Side. The event will celebrate 15 years of friendship and honor the graduating class of 2021.

In-person and virtual options available so you can celebrate your way. 5 p.m. For more information and to register, visit one.bidpal.net. q MONDAYS, JUNE 7, 14 Throughout our history, Jews have never shrunk from a good argument and we have had plenty of them — from the moment we got out of Egypt until today. In the course Top Ten Disputes, Rabbi Danny Schiff will take a close look at the top 10 disputes of Jewish history. How did they start? What made them so contentious? And how were they ultimately resolved? Five sessions for $25. 9:30 a.m. For more information and to register, visitfoundation.jewishpgh.org/top-ten-disputes. q THURSDAY, JUNE 10 Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Young Adult Division for a drive-in movie at Highmark Stadium’s West River Lot. Eat, drink and laugh from the safety of your car. $18 per person. RSVP by May 26. 7 p.m. jewishpgh.org/celebration q FRIDAY, JUNE 11 Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Young Adult Division and One Table for their first inperson Game Night Shabbat event since the start of the pandemic. 6:30 p.m. jewishpgh.org/event q SUNDAY, JUNE 13 Eleanor Roosevelt Hadassah presents “An Afternoon of Broadway Entertainment.” Broadway stars Nick Cartell and Jennifer Dinoia will entertain online by performing their favorite songs and sharing stories from and about their careers, followed by a question and answer session. 4 p.m. $36 general admission, $54 mezzanine, $72 orchestra. hadassahmidwest.org/ RooseveltBroadway q TUESDAY, JUNE 15 Rodef Shalom’s Jewish Pittsburgh History Series will feature a presentation by Jeff Suzik, director

of the Falk Laboratory School. His topic will be “Falk Laboratory School and the Falk Family’s Transformative Commitment to Progressive Education in Pittsburgh.” 7 p.m. Free. rodefshalom.org/jewish-history-series q WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16 The Pittsburgh chapter of Hadassah and Hadassah Greater Detroit Wellness Wednesday presents “A Delicious Therapeutic Experience” with Julie Ohana, culinary art therapist 11 a.m. Register by Monday, June 14. hadassahmidwest.org/GDWW2021. q THURSDAY, JUNE 17 Jews have never desisted from addressing tough problems. In this year’s CLE series, Rabbi Danny Schiff will dive into “Tense Topics of Jewish Law.” Each topic raises significant concerns in our contemporary lives. With CLE/CEU credit: $30/session or $150 all sessions; without CLE/CEU credit: $25/session or $125 all sessions. 8:30 a.m. For more information, including a complete list of topics, visit foundation.jewishpgh. org/continuing-legal-education. q THURSDAY, JUNE 24 Hadassah Chicago-North Shore invites you to a virtual summer concert, “Let Us Find Peace,” presented by Lori Ann Powrozek. 11:30 a.m. Register by June 22 for this free online event at hadassahmidwest.org/CNSconcert. Join the Jewish Association on Aging for Broadway Under the Stars Drive-In, a live, virtual concert by Mandy Gonzalez, Broadway star of “Hamilton” and “In the Heights.” Safe-distance parking. Bring your own lawn chairs. Drive-in style food, soft drinks and dessert served (dietary laws observed). 21 and older, BYOB (per PLCB). Drive in or view at home. Proceeds benefit the care and services provided by JAA to our community’s seniors. Lot opens at 6 p.m.; program begins at 7 p.m. jaapgh.org/events  PJC

Pittsburgh author recounts move from Israel to Squirrel Hill

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orit Sasson felt like she existed between two worlds when she relocated from Israel to Pittsburgh. “Sand and Steel: A Memoir of Longing and Finding Home,” documents Sasson’s move back to the United States after making aliyah to serve in the Israel Defense Forces and living on a kibbutz with her husband after her discharge from the military.

“It deals with a kind of homelessness as an Israeli expat feeling untethered, knowing my roots but at the same time feeling very far from home,” she told the Chronicle. The memoir continues the story Sasson began in her first book, “Accidental Soldier: A Memoir of Service and Sacrifice in the Israel Defense Forces.” “Sand and Steel” recounts Sasson’s move

to Squirrel Hill on the recommendation of a friend who told her life in the Pittsburgh neighborhood was as close to that on the kibbutz as she would find. “That really helped psychologically because I was coming on a one-way ticket,” Sasson said. While life in Squirrel Hill was not “communal” like life on a kibbutz, the neighborhood did provide “community,” she said.

The book recounts Sasson’s time of adjustment and she said it will help people realize home is everywhere they feel and think it is. “Sand and Steel: A Memoir of Longing and Finding Home” is available to preorder now at mascotbooks.com.  PJC — David Rullo

Here’s the scoop: The new Bruster’s is kosher

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here’s a new kosher ice cream shop in town — just in time for summer. The Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh’s kosher supervision agency, recently announced that Bruster’s Real Ice Cream shop on Browns Hill Road has been certified kosher. “We are working with the owner to develop a list of products that are parve or dairy equipment,” wrote Rabbi Daniel Wasserman of the Vaad on a Facebook post. “We hope to have that list in the next couple of weeks.” Bruster’s ice cream is made fresh in each of its stores, and at least 24 different flavors are offered daily, according to Bruster’s website. Its menu includes ice cream cakes and pies, freshly baked waffle cones and milkshakes. Frozen yogurt, sorbet and non-dairy flavors made with coconut milk are also available.

6  MAY 28, 2021

Founded in 1989, there are currently about 200 independently-owned Bruster’s shops in 22 states, Guyana and South Korea. Several Bruster’s stores in Georgia are also certified kosher. Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday through Thursday, and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays. According to Wasserman, Saturday hours may be extended to 11 p.m. in the coming weeks. “All products should be considered dairy Chalav Stam and Pas Palter,” Wasserman wrote on Facebook. Chalav Stam refers to milk that was not supervised by a mashgiach but is assumed to be pure and from a kosher animal. Pas Palter refers to baked goods produced in a non-Jewish bakery with kosher ingredients.  PJC — Toby Tabachnick

 The new Bruster’s Real Ice Cream shop on Browns Hill Road is certified kosher.

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Photo by Maureen Kelly Busis

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Headlines Getting to know: Yaakov Saxon — LOCAL — By Adam Reinherz | Staff Writer

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n good days, going to work can feel like a bank heist for Yaakov Saxon: While masks, duffle bags and getaway cars aren’t part of his everyday life as a cybersecurity specialist, there’s still a rush. “You get to break into things, and you get to do it legally,” said Saxon, 29. The former Squirrel Hill resident and current Floridian is an information security engineer for North American Bancard, a credit card processing company. Saxon accepted the position several months ago, but has been dabbling in the field of cybersecurity since high school. As a student at Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh, Saxon once figured out how to access the server of an electronic learning product used at his Jewish day school. Realizing he’d discovered a defect in the digital resource, he reached out to the company’s CEO and shared the product’s weakness. That correspondence resulted in a letter of recommendation for college and deepened Saxon’s interest in cybersecurity. Now, Saxon, as valedictorian of Lander College for Men — one of Touro College and University System’s undergraduate programs

 Yaakov Saxon

Photo courtesy of Touro College

designed primarily for Orthodox Jews — is preparing to address his peers and faculty in a commencement speech at the May 30 virtual graduation ceremony. Cybersecurity is “fun stuff,” Saxon told the Chronicle. “One of the basic ideas is you’re

This week in Israeli history — WORLD — Items provided by the Center for Israel Education (israeled.org), where you can find more details.

May 28, 1964 — PLO is established

A 400-delegate Palestinian National Council convened by Jordan’s King Hussein in Jerusalem establishes the Palestine Liberation Organization with Ahmad Shuqayri, a former lawyer from Acre, as the chairman.

May 29, 1911 — Poet Leah Goldberg born

Poet Leah Goldberg is born in Königsberg, Prussia, now Kaliningrad, Russia. She begins writing poetry around age 12 and is a published writer before she moves to Tel Aviv in 1935.

May 30, 2009 — Ex-President Ephraim Katzir dies

Ephraim Katzir, Israel’s fourth president, dies at 93 in Rehovot. Born in Kiev, Katzir made aliyah at 9 and became a scientist. Starting in May 1973, his term included the 1973 Yom Kippur War and Anwar Sadat’s 1977 visit to Israel. PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

May 31, 1665 — Shabbetai Zevi declares himself Messiah

Scholar Shabbetai Zevi declares himself the Messiah after meeting with a mystic, Nathan of Gaza, who reinforces Zevi’s longtime delusions. Arrested by Ottoman officials in 1666, Zevi converts to Islam to avoid execution.

June 1, 1948 — First convoy uses Burma Road

The first convoy of 17 trucks takes the Burma Road, built along a mountain animal trail, to bring relief to besieged Jerusalem. By the end of June, the road is delivering 100 tons of supplies per night.

June 2, 1980 — Jewish Underground bombs Palestinian officials

looking to find the flaws in the security of your own company’s systems. You want the good guys to find the problems before the bad guys do.” These preemptive cybersecurity measures often involve setting up systems of logging

and monitoring or maintaining visibility. “You want to know what’s going on, so if you get hacked you can respond in an appropriate fashion,” Saxon said. Pulling from themes he will share at commencement, Saxon said that graduates are in a transitional period — preparing to harness skills they have learned and beginning to use them after college or yeshiva. “It’s appropriate to look at the needs of the outside community and determine how you can participate and help,” he said. Saxon, who spent nearly a decade in yeshiva while attending college part-time, knows he can contribute to the larger society and is eager for life’s next stages. Heading south to Orlando, Florida, and beginning a new job couldn’t have come at a better time, he said. He and his wife, Shaina, and their two toddlers, had quickly outgrown their New York City apartment. The pandemic made clear it was “good to have some space,” he said. And although Orlando isn’t Pittsburgh, there are advantages to living in either comparably sized city — it just depends on a person’s preference. “Some people like it cold,” he said, “and some people like it hot.”  PJC Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

A warm embrace from a caring community

The Jewish Underground carries out its first terrorist operation, placing bombs on the cars of West Bank Palestinians. The mayor of Nablus loses both legs, and the mayor of Ramallah loses one leg.

June 3, 1974 — Rabin first becomes prime minister

After defeating Shimon Peres for the Labor Party leadership, Yitzhak Rabin succeeds Golda Meir to become Israel’s fifth prime minister when he presents his coalition government to the Knesset.  PJC

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

MAY 28, 2021  7

Headlines Jewish Federation partners with Sacred Spaces to help safeguard area youth — LOCAL — By David Rullo | Staff Writer

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hira Berkovits believes every child has the right to feel safe and to always be protected. “They deserve to not just feel it, but to be protected when they walk in the door of our Jewish organizations,” said Berkovits, the president and CEO of Pittsburgh-based Sacred Spaces. The nonprofit’s mission is to build healthy Jewish communities by partnering with Jewish institutions to prevent and respond to sexual abuse and other abuses of power. To help Pittsburgh youth feel secure, Sacred Spaces has partnered with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to offer a new program, Aleinu: Safeguarding our Children, to youth-serving Jewish organizations in the region. The program was created after several organization approached Sacred Spaces to see if they could expand their safeguarding efforts and serve as models for organizations throughout the country, according to Rabbi Amy Bardack, director of Jewish Life and Learning for the Federation. “We spent the last year laying the

p Shira Berkovits Photo provided by Shira Berkovits

groundwork,” explained Carolyn Linder, senior manager of Jewish Life and Learning. “We wanted to create public awareness, we wanted to test the waters, we wanted to know where the organizations were, what their needs were before we took a deeper dive.” To understand the Jewish community’s needs and to gauge interest in additional abuse-prevention education,

I n - Ho m e Care S e r v i ce s

Federation conducted five webinars open to different audiences. “The first one was community-based,” Linder said. “Anyone could participate: clergy, educators, parents, lay leaders, etc. We did another specifically for parents, another for professional staff at the Jewish youth organizations and their leadership.” The Federation also worked with Sacred Spaces to create a survey to help understand the community’s needs. Through its research, the Federation found that the community wanted more resources and support for deeper, longterm efforts to help strengthen safeguards against child abuse. As a result, Pittsburgh Jewish organizations will comprise the third Aleinu cohort in the United States, joining New York City and Chicago. Linder calls Aleinu “a multiyear change initiative.” Those organizations participating will learn the 10 best practices to safeguard youth from abuse, said Berkovits. “Each of the best practices can be accessed through a web platform,” she said. “They can move at their own pace and access videos, online resources, everything they need. An implementation toolkit, if you will, to take

these practices and bring them to life.” There also will be three trainings during which Berkovits and her team will teach the underlying principles of the best practices. Those taking part in the program will be able to reach out to Sacred Spaces and request specific, additional help or resources where needed and will have coaching sessions with an expert consultant. “It’s really in this peer-to-peer learning environment that the best practices, the principles, the research come to life,” Berkovits said. Funding for the program is provided by the Federation and a grant from its Steel Tree Fund. The subsidies cover 75% of the program’s participation costs for the five-to10-member cohort. “It is our hope that the agencies that participate in Aleinu feel empowered to adopt best practices in safeguarding children from abuse and appreciate having their colleagues in the cohort to turn to for ongoing support in this difficult work,” Bardack said. Organizations interested in applying to be a part of the Pittsburgh cohort can do so at jewishpgh.org/aleinu.  PJC David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

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Headlines — WORLD — From JTA reports

In UK, Hamas-Israel ceasefire hasn’t slowed the spike in antisemitic incidents

Acts of antisemitism in the United Kingdom continued to rise, despite the ceasefire in hostilities between Israel and Hamas that had triggered the outbreak there and beyond. At least 267 incidents of antisemitism have been reported in 17 days — an increase of over 500% compared to the previous 17 days, the Community Security Trust security group told The Jewish News of Britain. CST said 151 of the incidents have come after May 20, when the ceasefire was announced. In Borehamwood, a town north of London, the mezuzahs of two Jewish families were vandalized and destroyed this week, The Jewish News reported. Prior to the ceasefire in Londonderry, a city in Northern Ireland, graffiti was spray-painted on the entrance of a Jewish-owned business, the Belfast Telegraph reported. A high school principal in Leeds in northern England told students in a video message that Palestinian flags can be seen by Jewish students of Allerton Grange High School as a “call to arms” and “as a message of support for antisemitism.” Later, the principal, Mike Roper apologized in a statement: “I am deeply sorry that a particular example BrainHearing DementiaFIN_Eartique IJC used […] has caused such upset.” 9/14/20

Mark Ruffalo apologizes for calling Israel’s actions in Gaza a ‘genocide’

Film star Mark Ruffalo apologized on Twitter for using the term “genocide” to describe Israel’s actions in the recent military conflict, saying it is being “used to justify antisemitism” around the world. Ruffalo publicly tweeted in the early days of the conflict that Israel should be hit with sanctions until they “free the Palestinians.” “I have reflected & wanted to apologize for posts during the recent Israel/Hamas fighting that suggested Israel is committing ‘genocide’. It’s not accurate, it’s inflammatory, disrespectful & is being used to justify antisemitism here & abroad. Now is the time to avoid hyperbole,” his full statement read. Jews and Jewish sites and institutions around the world have been hit by a wave of antisemitic attacks in the wake of the fighting. Gatherings across Europe have turned violent, and assaults and synagogue vandalism were reported across the U.S. Ruffalo was far from the only celebrity to harshly criticize Israel’s actions during the conflict. Pop star Dua Lipa has defended her critical comments, which were called out in a full-page New York Times ad. But since the uptick in antisemitism, several celebrities, many of them Jewish, have spoken out against the phenomenon, urging people to come out in solidarity with Jews. “There is so much disinformation about Israel being spread and it is getting people 4:28 PM Page 1TV star Debra Messing wrote. hurt, ” Jewish

“There are videos from all over the world, including the US, of crowds of pro-Palestinian protesters attacking, beating, kicking, using pipes as weapons against Jews. It’s horrifying.”

NYC public school principal criticized for urging staff to support Palestinians

The principal of a Brooklyn middle school apologized to her staff after sending an email calling on them to support Palestinian liberation — even as some of them did not think an apology was necessary. Amanda Bueno, who heads M.S. 136, emailed teachers and administrators amid the fighting between Israel and Hamas, urging them to take action. The letter included several options, including attending a vigil and calling on government officials to place sanctions on Israel, according to the New York Post, which broke the story. Public employees in New York City are prohibited from using their roles or education department resources to engage in political activity, and Chancellor Meisha Porter criticized Bueno publicly. Shortly afterward, Bueno sent her staff an apology email, the Post reported. “As the Principal of a diverse school community who is committed to social justice causes and human rights concerns, I want to apologize for using school email to strongly communicate my personal views and not being as inclusive and mindful of other perspectives as I could have been,” Bueno wrote. “It was not my intention to inflame

tensions on this sensitive issue. I apologize for any added hurt, anger, or misunderstanding my email may have caused.” Some Jewish staff members had complained to the Post about the letter, and Jewish elected officials from the area publicly criticized it. (M.S. 136, located in the Sunset Park neighborhood, enrolls few if any Jewish or Palestinian children.) But some school staff members appear to be siding with Bueno — and raising questions about whether the school district is applying its rules barring political activity evenly. “The email that Amanda sent out does not require an apology,” said a note signed by “A group of MS 136 staff members” that someone identifying herself as a staff member posted to Twitter in response to Porter’s statement. The note emphasized that Bueno did not make any demands of her staff and said Bueno routinely shares resources with staff members as part of the school’s efforts to “celebrate all cultures and religions.” Finally, the note raised questions about how Porter’s reprimands can coexist with her commitment to “undoing the systems of injustice” that affect city students. “How can we — as teachers, leaders, and humans — solve and dismantle injustices if every time someone takes a ‘side,’ they are reprimanded?” the note said. The city said Bueno’s email had been referred to a special investigator tasked with looking into misconduct by school employees. That office has the power to fine employees or recommend that they be demoted or even fired.  PJC

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MAY 28, 2021  9

Opinion The hope for peace Guest Columnist Rabbi Danny Schiff

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fter 11 days in which 4,300 rockets rained down on Israel’s citizens in a barrage of unprecedented intensity, the ceasefire has finally ushered in a period of calm. But calm is not peace. In Israel, most people sense that nothing has really changed, and that the war against Hamas is far from over. It is a difficult, grinding war

in which Hamas effectively forces Israel to kill innocent civilians in the process of defending the Jewish state from terrorists. The deaths of Palestinian innocents horrify Israelis. And that is why the IDF — to its enormous credit — goes to such lengths to minimize civilian casualties. We can be sure of this: If put in the same impossible circumstances as those that Israel confronts in Gaza, no nation would conduct itself more ethically than Israel. But Israel doesn’t only aspire to have the most ethical military in the world. Israel longs for that day when it will not need a military at all. It is not by accident that the words of the prophet Isaiah are inscribed opposite the U.N. building in New York: “…

nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” That’s the Jewish vision for how the world ought to be. Millennia ago, Jews pioneered the idea that when it comes to relations between nations, coexistence must replace conquest — the “dignity of difference” must supersede “death to the enemy.” When will we finally be able to beat those swords into plowshares? In May 2011, after a previous Israeli confrontation with Hamas, the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks addressed Britain’s House of Lords. Said Sacks: “We who pray for peace understand by that word a state in which I recognize your right to exist, and you recognize mine. That is what peace minimally means.”

It was true then and it remains true today. Israel has continuously reiterated that not only do the Palestinians have a right to exist, but also a right to govern themselves, and to chart their own destiny with security. But there is no hint of reciprocity from Hamas. Hamas has consistently refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist, and its spokesmen continue to advocate violence against Jews. Just this Monday, Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar made no attempt to conceal Hamas’ intentions when he was interviewed by Sky News. Asked directly, “Does the State of Israel have the right to Please see Schiff, page 11

My fellow Americans, your silence is deafening Guest Columnist Brian Burke

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uring a time of growing anti-Asian hate, civil society organizations, businesses, political leaders and individuals have rallied against this evil phenomena and in support of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. As LGBTQ rights come under attack in state legislatures and individuals continue to face discrimination because of who they love or how they define themselves, people of good conscience have pushed back to fight homophobia and transphobia. Sadly, this activism seems to end when Jews are the target of the hatred. The Jewish experience in America is unique in Jewish history. Jews have had periods of relative safety and prosperity in other diaspora communities over the past 3000 years, but nothing compares to the overall feelings of safety and comfort the overwhelming majority of Americans Jews have felt. Yes, we have faced the oldest hatred even in the country that has by and large been a

pretty good place to be a Jew. From quotas in school admissions to employment discrimination, the inability to join certain social clubs or being scapegoated for the economic ills of the day, Jews have not been immune from hatred since the earliest communities were established in the 13 colonies. Antisemitism has manifested itself in physical attacks on Jews, synagogues and Jewish institutions. Nevertheless, antisemitism in the United States has not been systemic, widespread, or, at its most evil, genocidal in the same manner as it has been across Europe and the Middle East. Yet, let me be abundantly clear: Jews have largely not experienced discrimination and racism in the same ways as some other minority groups in this country. (There are Jews of all races and ethnicities. I am only talking about the community as a whole, not the experiences of individual Jews). We were not enslaved, subject to segregation and Jim Crow laws, and still having to face systemic racism in the criminal justice system and across other parts of American society and culture. We were not the victims of deadly attacks by U.S. troops and forced onto reservations in drastically smaller numbers compared to the years prior to European colonization

and westward American expansion, and still dealing with the consequences of those events and decades of social and economic neglect. We were not forced into internment camps simply because of our ancestry, fetishized or blamed for a deadly pandemic. However, that does not matter. I have no interest in feeding into pointless arguments about “oppression olympics.” No, American Jews have not, generally speaking as a community, faced the same challenges and hardships as African Americans, Native Americans or Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. So what? Why does that matter when we are under attack on streets across this country? Solidarity after the horrific events of Oct. 27, 2018, was and continues to be greatly appreciated. It was easy to stand with us after the worst antisemitic attack in American history. I guess it’s a lot harder now when we are “just” beaten and harassed during times of active conflict in Israel. These recent spates of attacks and incidents are based on countless antisemitic tropes. Targeting Jews because of anger about what is going on in Israel is antisemitism. Calling Jews who support Israel Nazis, or claiming Zionism is Nazism, is antisemitic. Saying Jews killed Jesus is antisemitic. The list goes on. Today’s antisemitic hate does not just

come from far-right white supremacists. Allegedly “woke” progressives jump on the anti-Israel bandwagon, project American concepts of race and power onto a geopolitical conflict halfway across the world they know nothing about, and deny Israel’s right to exist. Thugs draped in Palestinian flags and keffiyehs yell hateful slurs and attack Jews walking in Manhattan and eating sushi in southern California. Condemnation and calls for action by the president, vice president and leading figures in Congress are welcome steps, but nearly everyone else is MIA. Where are all of the social justice warriors? Why isn’t fighting antisemitism part and parcel of contemporary activism, alongside efforts to dismantle systemic racism, push back against despicable attacks on Asian Americans and countless other issues? My fellow Americans, we Jews see and hear you loud and clear. Your silence is deafening.  PJC Brian Burke is a Pittsburgh native and 2019 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where he studied political science, history and Jewish studies. In college, he was involved with Hillel and the David Project, holding several leadership positions including president of the Pitt Hillel Jewish Student Union in 2018.

Future rabbis partly right, mostly wrong on Israel Guest Columnist Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie

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ith a ceasefire finally in place, it is time to look closely at what almost 100 future American rabbis and cantors have said about the hostilities that have been devastating Gaza, Israel and the West Bank over the last several weeks. In a public letter to the Jewish community, published at the height of the war and reported on in the JTA (published in the Chronicle’s May 21 issue), the rabbisto-be and cantors-to-be from a half dozen non-Orthodox seminaries have expressed 10  MAY 28, 2021

exceedingly harsh criticism of Israel and the American-Jewish community. This letter is good news in some ways but exceedingly bad news in others. It is well-intentioned, brimming with a passion for justice, and is right on many things. Its authors should be applauded for its urgent tone, demand for human rights for Palestinians, condemnation of threats to annex the territories and impatience with the hypocrisy of Israeli leaders and inaction of their American-Jewish supporters. Israel, the letter says, must cease subjecting the Palestinians to indignity and violence, and be held accountable for its policies. And American-Jewish institutions must work for justice for Palestinians. It calls on American Jews to redirect their philanthropy in more equitable ways and vote for politicians who will use their power to “regulate and redirect” government

dollars to promote a peaceful future. The good news about the letter is that it conveys the pain and dismay that many young American Jews feel about Israeli policies, especially during the Netanyahu years. While its language is at times extreme and it says some things that I would never say, its fundamental message to Israel’s leaders is: “You have been asking us to explain and justify your policies to ourselves, to our families, to our friends, and to the world, but we are simply unable to do so.” And who can blame them? I think of the questions that I have for Netanyahu, who is completing 12 consecutive years as Israel’s prime minister: Why the endless settlement building and the creeping annexationism? Why the neglect of minority groups and the periodic dabbling in religious hatred?

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Why the support for fanatics Ben-Gvir, Avi Maoz, and Bezalel Smotrich, who sit in the Knesset spouting bigotry and contempt for Arabs? Why the tolerance for the thuggery of hilltop youth in the territories and for crime and violence in Arab communities in Israel? Why claim Jerusalem is “unified” when its Arab residents lack full rights and Israeli citizenship? Why the push for a nation-state bill that was certain to offend every non-Jewish Israeli? And on and on. I have been involved in Israel and Zionist affairs for four decades, and I cannot answer even one of these questions. Surely it’s no surprise that young Jews, mostly in their 20s, are similarly perplexed, Please see Yoffie, page 15

PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

Opinion Social media gets ‘ethnic cleansing’ wrong Guest Columnist Amit Shimshi

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s a first-generation tzabar — Jew born in Israel — my abba (dad) grew up eating Ghormeh sabzi and tahdig, speaking Farsi with his parents and learning Arabic from his neighbors. My Eema (mom) learned to cook my great-grandmothers’ recipes for kibbeh, t’beet, and mutabbaq. She learned Arabic from her father’s proudly Zionist, 10-sibling Iraqi family, who fled from their land and property in Iraq to seek safety and religious freedom in Israel. While my immediate family now lives in Pittsburgh, many of my loved ones still reside in Israel. Over the last few weeks, my text messages told stories of friends and family in Israel running for cover in bomb shelters. At the same time, my social media feeds showed anti-Israel Instagram posts by celebrities like Bella Hadid garnering millions of likes and shares. Hadid’s posts claim that Israelis are driving the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and that Israel is an apartheid state. As a Middle Eastern

Schiff: Continued from page 10

exist?” al-Zahar replied, “No.” Hamas is not representative of all Palestinians. But surveys show that, had the canceled Palestinian elections gone ahead, Hamas would have likely prevailed across the Palestinian territories. It follows that if peace minimally requires a recognition of the right of the other to exist, peace is not yet close. Despite this gloomy reality, it would be shortsighted to conclude that all is hopeless. Here’s why: If you step away from the social media perspective that acknowledges no history and offers no context, there’s something worth noticing about some of

(Mizrahi) Jew descended from Iraqi and Iranian Jewish refugees, my background is a visible refutation of the backward narrative permeating social media. My grandparents were born in Iraq and Iran, which they fled in the 1940s and 1950s to break free from Jewish persecution infiltrating Arab countries. In Iraq, Nazi propaganda and the Palestinian Mandate fueled many anti-Semitic acts as early as the 1930s. Unshared on Instagram is my Mizrahi Jewish family’s stories of displacement from Iraq and Iran, which do not conveniently fit into a viral infographic. Also unshared is the exile of hundreds of thousands of Jews from Arab countries, their lived experiences of religious discrimination, and refuge in Israel. While the Holocaust in Europe was a genocide, the persecution against Jews in Arab countries was, definitionally, ethnic cleansing. During the mob pogrom, or Farhud, of 1941, about 180 Jews were killed in the city of Baghdad, where my maternal grandparents were born. Soon after, my grandfather’s elementary school started a Hitler Youth program. My great-grandmother recalled her children being forced to wear black shirts to match those of the Nazi Youth. Escaping religious persecution, my maternal

grandfather convinced his parents to leave Iraq before anti-Semitic acts escalated. Most of Iraq’s Jewish population fled in the early 1950s after the Denaturalization Act forced Jews to emigrate to Israel and renounce their Iraqi citizenships. Today, the Jewish population of Iraq has dwindled to fewer than five people. In Iran, Jews also left their land to escape religious persecution. After Israel’s War of Independence, anti-Jewish sentiment became prevalent. My paternal grandparents immigrated to Israel in the early 1950s, along with one-third of the Iranian Jewish population. In the same land where Megillat Esther unfolded, fewer than 9,000 Jews live today. My identity is shaped by my grandparents’ Middle Eastern ethnicities. My grandfather, a Palmach soldier, risked his life and labored the land to have a chance at prospering in the then-young state of Israel — and I, his first grandchild, could have a chance at living true to my Iraqi Jewish roots. Almost a century after my great-grandparents were uprooted from their ancestral homes, I cook their foods on Shabbat mornings — and my best friends love sabich; I listen to their music in memory of my grandmother, Evelyn, who adored the singer Umm Kulthum; and I instinctively answer

to “Amitjoon,” a Persian word of endearment. I commemorate the hardships my grandparents endured on their journey to Israel, in founding and fighting for a Jewish state where they could be equals and their descendants could be safe. Jews were ethnically cleansed from Arab countries before World War II when Instagram didn’t exist, and standing up for the marginalized was not a societal virtue. Israel’s existence allows my family to keep our Mizrahi Jewish traditions alive. And yet, walking the streets of San Francisco in 2021, I do not wear my Star of David necklace for fear of being singled out. Israel defends itself from terrorism so that Jewish people can have a home where they are safe from persecution and where they are safe from Hamas, which calls for the destruction of our small-but-mighty Jewish state and the annihilation of Jews in Israel and abroad. For that, I am thankful that I am Israeli and I pray for peace. I pray for a more accepting world, where Jews can thrive without fear, in Israel, Pittsburgh and beyond.  PJC

those who played smaller roles in the events of the last couple of weeks. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was brokered by the Egyptians. That’s right, the Egyptians. The “we’ll drive you into the sea” Egyptians with whom Israel fought four bloody wars until Egypt recognized Israel’s right to exist in 1979. In the mid-20th century, Egypt was Israel’s archenemy, and nobody expected that to change. Now Israel has a four-decades-old peace with the Egyptians and trusts Cairo’s diplomats to act as mediators. The UAE, which used to describe Israel as “the enemy of Arab countries” but last year signed onto the Abraham Accords, did not flinch. The de facto Emirati head of state, Mohammed bin Zayed, declared the willingness of the UAE to “explore new paths to

de-escalate and achieve peace.” And then there’s the Germans. Visiting Israel while Hamas rockets were landing, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed that Israel has the right to defend itself against “massive and unacceptable attacks.” Germany’s solidarity, Maas continued, “is not limited to words. As long as there are states and groups that threaten Israel with destruction, it must be able to protect its inhabitants. Germany will continue to make contributions to ensure that this remains the case.” The Germans. If you had told someone eight decades ago that German leaders would deem it utterly “unacceptable” to attack a Jewish state, they would have been incredulous. In recent memory, some of the most

implacable foes of the Jewish people — those who once envisaged a world without Jews — have changed dramatically. Recognizing our right to exist, they decided to make peace. To say that it can’t happen again would be to contravene the plain evidence of Jewish history. Peace always remains possible. “The entire Torah,” wrote Maimonides, “was given in order to make peace in the world.” Indeed it was. And that is why we must be as diligent and determined to seek opportunities for peace as we have been to protect the innocent from harm. Our Jewish mandate demands nothing less.  PJC

Amit Shimshi was born and raised in Ramat HaSharon, Israel. She moved to Pittsburgh with her family in 2008 and later attended the University of Pittsburgh. She now resides in San Francisco, California.

Rabbi Danny Schiff is the Foundation Scholar at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. He lives in Jerusalem.

I really enjoyed the article “Nonagenarian camp liberator meets son of inmate” (May 21), and especially the 97-year-old soldier’s story of the inmates who were able to punish the Nazi guard. Thank you for sharing that newsworthy piece. I’m a native Pittsburgher, out for over 45 years, but I love to read the Chronicle!

Lives Matter?” Where are the leaders of the Jewish community standing up for its members? Wake up! Speak out! Every life matters or no lives matter. Give up the fear that makes us afraid to defend ourselves, fretting that our own defense somehow aligns us with evil. This notion is dangerous nonsense. Contact your congressional representatives. Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar have no problem spouting antisemitic tropes. Sen. Chuck Schumer is MIA. Surely there are some among our elected officials who are willing to condemn antisemitism. Make your voices heard. If we don’t, then others might take our silence for acceptance that, somehow, “Hitler was right” — as BBC journalist Tala Halawa recently tweeted.

Rabbi Dovid (Crouse) Rosenberg Scranton, Pennsylvania

Georgia Atkin Pittsburgh

— LETTERS — Praise for article on WWII liberator

Stand up against antisemitism

After reading the article on the rallies showing support for or opposition to the current crisis in Israel (“Community reacts to Operation Guardian of the Walls,” May 21) my reaction was, “Wake up!” This crisis should not be accepted as a rationale for the antisemitic attacks we are seeing in America. In L.A. last week, a car caravan sporting Palestinian flags stopped near an outdoor café. Members of the caravan threw bottles at diners, chanted “death to Jews” then stopped their cars. Men got out, demanded to know who was Jewish and assaulted those who said they were. Similar scenes of violence took place in New York City over this past weekend. Where is the outcry from government officials? Where are the lawn signs proclaiming “Jewish PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

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The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh recognizes and thanks all current members of the MAIMONIDES SOCIETY for their support of the Federation’s Community Campaign. Member listing updated as of April 2021 • Dr. Jennifer Pennock, Chair

Membership is open to any healthcare professional who contributes a minimum of $1,800 to the Community Campaign. ANONYMOUS (6) DENTISTS Endodontics Dr. Jeffrey Parker General Dentistry Dr. Rachel K. Eglash DDS Dr. Norman Feldstein Dr. Thomas Holber Dr. Herbert Meyers Dr. Ingrid Smiga Dr. William Z. Spatz Oral Surgery Dr. Marvin A. Dash Dr. Sarah Davies Dr. Marty Eichner Dr. Eric R. Smiga Orthodontists Dr. David Pechersky* GENERAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Ms. Laura Ellman, Social Worker Margaret L. Fischer, Occupational Therapist Steven S. Hausman, Consultant Mrs. Judith Lewandowski, Nurse Dr. Sheree Lichtenstein, Pharmacist Mrs. Nikol Marks, Physician Assistant Betty Sue Rich, Pharmacist Dodie Roskies, Management Mrs. Cathy Schuster, Social Worker PHYSICIANS Allergy Dr. Barry Asman Dr. Robert Gorby Dr. Richard L. Green Dr. Ronald A. Landay* Dr. Macy I. Levine Dr. Lawrence Weber Anesthesiology Dr. Michael Kentor Cardiology Dr. Jared W. Magnani Edward Szabo MD, MS, FACC Cardiovascular Medicine Dr. Lawrence N. Adler Dr. Jeffrey S. Garrett Dr. Lewis Kuller Dr. Rodney Lipman Dr. Saul Silver Dr. Albert Treger Chiropractic Medicine Dr. Edward Leefer

Cosmetic, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Dr. Dennis J. Hurwitz Dermatology Dr. Douglas Kress Emergency Medicine Dr. Jennifer Brandeis Dr. Andrew Reibach Endocrinology Dr. Jennifer Pennock Endocrinology/Metabolism Murray B. Gordon MD, FACE Family Practice Dr. Geoffrey Camp Dr. Robert Green Dr. Barry G. Segal Dr. Barry Tenenouser Gastroenterology Dr. Marcia Mitre* Dr. Sharon R. Roseman Robert E. Schoen MD General Surgery Dr. Charles Lebovitz Geriatric Medicine Dr. Emily Jaffe Dr. Fred H. Rubin Hematology/Oncology Elana J. Bloom MD Hospitalist Dr. Leslie Hope Bondy Infectious Disease Dr. David Lee Weinbaum Internal Medicine Dr. David Brillman Dr. Martin Fenster Dr. Gary Fischer Dr. Morton L. Goldstein Dr. David Harinstein* Dr. Jorge Lindenbaum Chaim (Marc) Oster, MD* Dr. Bruce Rollman Dr. Jennifer Rudin Dr. Jamie Stern Dr. Lee M. Weinberg Dr. Adrienne Young Dr. Erica Zimmerman Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Dr. Jonathan Weinkle Nephrology Dr. David J. Levenson Dr. Paul M. Palevsky Dr. Allen Wolfert Neurology Dr. Richard B. Kasdan Stuart L. Silverman MD, FAAN Dr. Lawrence Wechsler Dr. Richard A. Weisman

Neurosurgery Dr. Peter Gerszten Nutrition Dr. Barbara Weschler Obstetrics/Gynecology Dr. Judy Balk Dr. Mark Caine Dr. Stan Denver Dr. Daniel Edelstone Dr. Dean Pollack Dr. Deanna Love Rutman Oncology Dr. Adam Brufsky Dr. Robert Gluckman Dr. Samuel Jacobs Dr. Stanley M. Marks Dr. Sheryl Simon Dr. Norman Wolmark Ophthalmology Dr. David Baker Dr. Bernard Doft (Retina)* Dr. Norman L. Edelstein Dr. Andrew W. Eller Dr. Marc E. Hoffman Dr. Scott Portnoy Dr. Janis E. Reed Dr. Jose-Alain Sahel Dr. Michael P. Schneider Dr. Edward M. Sorr* Orthopedics Dr. Marshall Balk Dr. Arnold Broudy Dr. Yram J. Groff Dr. Robert G. Liss Dr. Allan Tissenbaum Otolaryngology Dr. Joseph Turner Pathology Dr. Robert Swedarsky Pediatric Infectious Diseases Marian G Michaels MD, MPH Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology Dr. Michael Wollman* Pediatric Radiology Dr. Kerry Bron Dr. Lynda L. Flom Pediatrics Dr. Rachel Berger Dr. Nancy Brent Matthew A. Keller MD Dr. Kenneth Levin* Dr. Sheldon R. Levine Dr. Ellen Mandel Dr. Deborah R. Moss Dr. Keith Somers Physical Medicine Dr. Marc Adelsheimer Dr. Michael Boninger

Dr. Paul Lieber

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Dr. Milton J. Klein Psychiatry Dr. David Brent Gail A. Edelsohn MD* Dr. Marc Hertzman Dr. Stuart Hirsch Dr. Martin Lubetsky Dr. Loren H. Roth Dr. James Schuster Dr. Robert Slayton Psychology Dr. Susan G. Berman Kress Dr. Marsha Marcus Pulmonary Disease Dr. Peter D. Kaplan Radiation Oncology Dr. Russell Fuhrer* Dr. Kristina Gerszten Radiology Dr. Richard Daffner Dr. Emanuel Kanal Dr. M. Leon Skolnick Rheumatology Dr. Burton H. Pollock Stress Management for Mental & Physical Health and Longevity Dr. Bruce S. Rabin Urology Dr. Benjamin J. Davies Dr. Jay Lutins VETERINARIAN Dr. Anthony Pardo RETIRED Dr. Richard Finder Dr. Elaine Gelb Dr. Marcus Gottlieb Dr. Robin G. Hausman Dr. Richard L. Kalla Dr. Howard Lang Dr. Marvin H. Levick Dr. Richard Paul (Pediatrics) Dr. Allan B. Schachter Anna Lisa Silberman Dr. Jon B. Tucker * Indicates new member

To join the Maimonides Society, contact Roi Mezare at 412.992.5230 or rmezare@jfedpgh.org

12  MAY 28, 2021

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The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh recognizes and thanks all current members of the CARDOZO SOCIETY for their support of the Federation’s Community Campaign. Member listing updated as of April 2021 • Ruthie Goodboe, Chair • Maxwell Briskman Stanfield, Step Up Chair

Membership is open to any attorney who contributes a minimum of $1,800 to the Community Campaign. Contact Alexis Polakoff at 412.992.5237 or apolakoff@jfedpgh.org about our Step Up Program for burgeoning professionals in the legal field. AINSMAN LEVINE LLC

David I. Ainsman ALCOA, INC

Catherine Garfinkel* ALLEGHENY COUNTY

Jason W. Manne

ANGEL INVESTMENT VENTURES

Neal Pollon

AR BUILDING COMPANY

A. Richard Nernberg THE BEGLER GROUP

ECKERT SEAMANS CHERIN & MELLOTT LLC

Sandy Garfinkel* Nancy Rackoff Greg Weingart EISNER LAW, PC

Ken Eisner

FELDESMAN TUCKER LEIFER FIDELL LLP

Adam Falcone

FINGERET LAW

ROBERT O LAMPL LAW OFFICE

Robert O Lampl

LANGE FINANCIAL GROUP, LLC

James Lange Matthew Schwartz

Celia Liss

LAW OFFICE OF DAVID P. SIEGEL

POINT PARK UNIVERSITY

David P. Siegel

LAW OFFICES OF ALAN H. FINEGOLD

BERNSTEIN-BURKLEY, PC

FIRST CAPITAL CORPORATION

BILKEYKATZ INVESTMENT CONSULTANTS, INC.

FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP

Robert S. Whitehill

Steven D. Irwin James D. Silverman

FRANK, GALE, BAILS, MURCKO & POCRASS, P.C.

PAUL J. LEVENTON & ASSOCIATES, PC

FRIEDMAN & FRIEDMAN

LIEBER HAMMER HUBER & PAUL, PC

Jerry Katz

BLOCK & ASSOCIATES

Bev Block Marcie J. Solomon

BUCHANAN INGERSOLL & ROONEY PC

Adam Diaz Jack J. Kessler Howard Kline

BUNDE & ROBERTS P.C.

Reid Roberts

CAMPBELL & LEVINE, LLC

Stewart B. Barmen Frederick N. Frank Anonymous

FRISCHMAN & RIZZA, P.C.

Craig Frischman GEFSKY LAW

H. Arnold Gefsky GIANT EAGLE

Mark Frank Stanley Levine Philip Milch

Joshua E. Shapira

CLARK HILL PLC

GOLDBERG, PERSKY, & WHITE PC

Raymond N. Baum Joshua Farber James K. Goldberg COFAL PARTNERS, L.P.

Anonymous

COHEN LAW GROUP

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Harry S. Cohen

COZEN O’CONNOR

Peter J. Ennis Gregg Kander

CURRY ROBY & MULVEY LLC

GOLDBERG KAMIN & GARVIN

Robert J. Garvin

Howard M. Louik

GOLDBLUM SABLOWSKY, LLC

Anonymous Philip A. Goldblum Steven Sablowsky

GOLDFARB POSNER BECK DEHAVEN & DREWITZ

David Posner

THE GRAIL LAW FIRM

Efrem Grail

GREENFIELD & KRAUT

Stanley W. Greenfield Gayle Kraut

PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC.

Jeremy Feinstein Richard Klein Natalie C. Moritz

Ann Begler

Terry A. Lerman

Charles Perlow

LAW DEPARTMENT, CITY OF PITTSBURGH

Ilene Fingeret Jay Fingeret

Robert S. Bernstein

PERLOW INVESTMENT CORPORATION

Sr. Magisterial District Judge Hon. Nathan N. Firestone PREMIER, INC

Alan H. Finegold

Samuel Kline

LEECH TISHMAN FUSCALDO & LAMPL

RAWLE & HENDERSON LLP

Paul J. Leventon

Julie N. Friedman REED SMITH LLP

David R. Cohen Ronald G. Hartman Brian Himmel* Paul M. Singer REPAIR THE WORLD

Zack Block

James B. Lieber Margie H. Lieber

ROSS DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

LOVETT BOOKMAN HARMON MARKS LLP

ROTHMAN GORDON PC

Mark Bookman

LUTTNER FINANCIAL GROUP LTD.

Meyer S. Grinberg

MICHAEL P. MALAKOFF, PC

Michael P. Malakoff

MARCUS & SHAPIRA LLP

Estelle F. Comay Richard I. Halpern Bernard D. Marcus James F. Rosenberg Daniel Shapira

MARGOLIS EDELSTEIN

Miles Kirshner Charles H. Saul

MARKOVITZ DUGAN & ASSOCIATES

Robert S. Markovitz

McGUIRE WOODS LLP

Alan B. Gordon

METZ LEWIS BRODMAN MUST O’KEEFE LLC

Anthony J. Ross

Louis B. Kushner Sandra R. Kushner SAUL EWING LLP

David R. Berk Jeffrey W. Letwin SCHIFFMAN FIRM, LLC

Carl R. Schiffman Roni S. Schiffman

SCHNEIDER DOWNS & CO., INC.

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SCHREIBER REAL ESTATE

Brian C. Schreiber

SEDGWICK CLAIMS MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.

Edward Russakoff

EDGAR SNYDER & ASSOCIATES

Jason Lichtenstein Richard Rosenthal Michael Rosenzweig Edgar M. Snyder

SHEAR FAMILY FOUNDATION

Andrea Kline Glickman

Matthew Teplitz

Barry Friedman* David S. Horvitz Shanan Shriber

HOWMET AEROSPACE INC.

MEYER, UNKOVIC & SCOTT LLP

SQUIRREL HILL HEALTH CENTER

Scott Seewald

Maxwell Briskman Stanfield*

Susan Friedberg Kalson

Mark Baseman James B. Brown David Kalson Lawrence M. Lebowitz Clifford B. Levine Jonathan Schmerling William R. Taxay

JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER PITTSBURGH

MEYERS EVANS LUPETIN & UNATIN LLP

STEINER & BLECHMAN, LLC

DICKIE, MCCAMEY & CHILCOTE PC

CAROLE KATZ ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Robert S. Richman

DEFOREST KOSCELNIK YOKITIS & BERARDINELLI

Mindy J. Shreve

DENTONS COHEN & GRIGSBY PC

Steven W. Zoffer*

DUANE MORRIS LLP

Jeffrey Spear Randal M. Whitlatch

GUYASUTA INVESTMENT ADVISORS, INC.

Daniel Brandeis Katie Warren Metosky Sharon W. Perelman

Gregory Unatin

JOSH STEEL COMPANY

NEW DAY FAMILY LAW, LLC

James Joshowitz

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David Ehrenwerth KOZUSKO HARRIS DUNCAN

Stanley Barg

MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP

Elizabeth S. Goldberg Beth H. Boroumand*

OGLETREE, DEAKINS, NASH, SMOAK & STEWART, PC

Ruthie L. Goodboe

PAPERNICK & GEFSKY, LLC

Alan Papernick Stephen M. Papernick

SPILMAN THOMAS & BATTLE, PLLC

Bryan S. Neft

William L. Steiner

STEPTOE & JOHNSON, PLLC

Adam S. Ennis

STONECIPHER LAW FIRM

Eric A. Schaffer

STONEWOOD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

J. Kenneth Moritz

STRASSBURGER McKENNA GUTNICK & GEFSKY

UNION REAL ESTATE COMPANY

Jan Levinson

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

Alan A. Garfinkel

WALNUT CAPITAL PARTNERS

Michael A. Goldstein Todd E. Reidbord

THE WEBB LAW FIRM

Frederick H. Colen

ZUNDER AND ASSOCIATES

Michael Zunder

Anonymous (1) Alan L. Ackerman Lyn C. Ackerman Louis Anstandig Lauren Baldel Jack L. Bergstein Robin J. Bernstein Michael E. Bleier Dr. Jennifer Brandeis Richard J. Brean Magisterial District Judge Daniel Butler Deborah Comay Carl B. Frankel Judith L. Friedman Stephen A. Glickman Louis S. Gold Theodore Goldberg Martin E. Goldhaber Howard Grossinger Amy S. Himmel* Velma B. Hirsch Thomas Hollander Lewis N. Hyman Barbara Zimmer Kann James E. Kopelman Carl Krasik Lawrence F. Leventon Thomas Lippard Alan London Ira R. Mazer Sandra Metosky* Donald I. Moritz Daniel B. Muessig K. Sidney “Casey” Neuman Stephen I. Richman Harvey E. Robins Lawrence J. Rosen Bryan Rosenberger Karen Ross Robert G. Sable Alan J. Scheimer Shelley Segal Mark S. Shiffman David L. Smiga Lynn J. Snyderman Amy R. Spear Marilyn R. Swedarsky Gene and Toby Tabachnick David Tannenbaum Eva Tansky Blum Dodi Walker Gross Charles E. Wittlin Paula Zunder * Indicates new member

Sanford Aderson Gerri Sperling David A. Strassburger E.J. Strassburger

To join the Cardozo Society, contact Alexis Polakoff at 412.992.5237 or apolakoff@jfedpgh.org

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MAY 28, 2021  13

Headlines Vigil: Continued from page 1

financial support for Israel, emphasizing that aid is offered just hours after an attack. Rabbi Seth Adelson of Congregation Beth Shalom said he was addressing the crowd as both a Zionist and the father of an IDF soldier. He called for communication between the two sides. “Now is not the time for rest,” Adelson said. “Now is the time for talk. It’s time for bold leadership in Israel; brave, genuine leadership among the Palestinians who can see their way to a better future instead of cynical murderous tyranny.” Congregation Poale Zedeck Rabbi Daniel Yolkut expressed his hope for Jews in Israel to put their children to bed without the fear of rockets, and that Jews around the world could find peace in their own neighborhoods. Still, he said, “as the ceasefire takes effect in Israel, shalom — peace, such a central concept — remains elusive.” Temple Sinai Rabbi Keren Gorban drew

Israel: Continued from page 1

sentiments. “I’m personally more concerned for American Jews,” said Marcus, a Pittsburgher studying at Yeshivat Lev HaTorah in Bet Shemesh. Marcus was in Jerusalem on May 10 dancing, attending parades and celebrating the Israeli national holiday when he had to seek shelter from Hamas rocket fire. Still, his thoughts are primarily with Jewish communities within the United States, he said. There has been a “dangerous and drastic surge” in antisemitism in the U.S linked to the fighting between Israel and terror groups in the Gaza Strip, according to the Anti-Defamation League, and violent antisemitic incidents have occurred throughout the country, including in Los Angeles, New York, Illinois and Florida. “I love America and Pittsburgh, but it’s not something I want to come back to,” Marcus said. Aaron Kraut, a student at Yeshivat

 Mike Roth rides his bike in Israel.

14  MAY 28, 2021

comparisons between her relationship as a child with her little brother and the dynamic between Hamas and Israel. The difference, she said, are the millions of lives affected by the rivalry between the two. “Millions of people who just want to live their lives in peace and safety bear the consequences of these fights,” she said. “Millions of Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians are terrorized.” Naomi Kitchen, a senior at Allderdice High School, who will be joining the IDF following graduation, spoke powerfully of the antisemitism teenagers are experiencing online and on various social media sites. The Jewish teen said a friend of hers called Israel an “apartheid state” and “colonialist.” “The voices spreading these lies are abundant and very loud,” Kitchen said. “It’s important now, especially now, that we counter these lies.” Schiff spoke of the necessity for peace and of the work Israel has done to secure peace in the region. He recalled the words of the priestly benediction, “that beautiful series of blessings that culminates with the prayer that peace

should be established in our time. Let this be a Shabbat of shalom. Let it be a prelude to an age of shalom.” Myers closed the rally singing “Hatikvah.” The Federation event came 11 days after the start of Israel’s latest conflict with Hamas, and followed two community rallies organized by other groups. Several members of the Pittsburgh Jewish community took to social media to complain of the timing of the rally, the language used to promote the event and the location — Federation’s parking lot, instead of a more visible spot in Squirrel Hill. Anat Talmy, one of those who expressed concern with some of the details of the rally, said she was pleased in the end that the vigil took place. “I’m very happy,” Talmy said. “I would have rather it be on a Sunday when more people could come to a place where people could actually see us. I would rather it be in the Jewish community, and the hour is not great, but this is better than nothing.” Laura Cherner, director of the Federation’s Community Relations Council, said Federation was responding

to the community’s desire when it organized the rally. “The community of Pittsburgh wanted to be together and offer support,” Cherner said. “I think it’s a perfect way to enter into Shabbat, to reflect and show solidarity with Israel.” Cherner noted that antisemitism has been on the rise since the start of the conflict, and urged the broader community to listen to Jews when they express concern over certain words or phrases used online and in social media. “If the majority of the Jewish community is saying it’s antisemitism, then the broader community needs to listen,” Cherner said. “I think it’s important to use your activism responsibly.”  On Saturday, May 24, an “Emergency Rally for Palestine” was held on Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park. It’s promotional material carried the slogan: “From the River to the Sea Palestine will be free,” a rallying cry for the end of Israel as a Jewish state. PJC

Sha’alvim near Modi’in, said being in Israel during the current crisis provides insights and experiences he can’t get in Pittsburgh or anywhere else. While visiting friends in Modi’in, sirens sounded and Kraut, a graduate of Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh, was forced to retreat to a nearby bomb shelter where he was joined by his friends, as well as a stranger. “We all stood together and talked,” said Kraut, 19. “It’s an experience you only really find in Israel — where in a situation with dangerous rockets flying, people get together by accident and you create a new friendship.” Mike Roth, 37, who holds a doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University and is doing postdoctorate work at both Tel Aviv University and Harvard’s department of public policy, said his Israeli neighbors provide a barometer of sorts. “I kind of look to the Israelis to see how scared I should be,” he said. Roth, who returned to Pittsburgh for a vacation with family and friends just as the ceasefire took hold, said there have been myriad reactions to the fighting: Depending on the amount of rocket fire, “the experience has varied wildly from region to region.”

In Tel Aviv, there were people who returned to cafés hours after the first missiles were fired from Gaza while others remained home. “A lot of people headed north to avoid the tension and the fear of the rockets,” Roth said. Levi Shusterman, a student mentor at Chabad Chazon Eliyahu in Tel Aviv, said there has been a “different feel in the air” recently. “The last week it has actually been quiet,” Shusterman said. “The week before we had sirens in the middle of the night. Obviously it was very frightening to have to put on clothes, run down to the bomb shelters and hear the Iron Dome exploding the bombs above us.” But Shusterman, 20, said the recent fighting has inspired some people to connect spiritually. The number of people wanting to stop on the street and lay tefillin with him has more than doubled, said the Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh graduate. While the conflict has brought some people together, it is also a constant reminder of differences. “Tel Aviv is a very diverse city,” Shusterman said. “We have neighbors who are Arabs. We

see them on the street, on the buses, there are cashiers who speak Arabic and turn to us and speak in Hebrew. They have equal rights in Israel itself, and they are perfectly safe in our communities even though we may not be safe in their communities. They can walk around in Tel Aviv openly and not have a fear of being harassed or attacked. But every time I plan a trip, I have to make sure I don’t go somewhere where I’m in danger.” This is part of a narrative that’s lost in most news reports and social media feeds, said Marcus. “The world media doesn’t seem to either comprehend the situation or generally doesn’t support Zionism,” he said. “I’m not sure what their agenda is. And it’s not to take away from the Palestinian people, who are suffering, but a lot of that has to do with their government and the terrorist organizations controlling their lives. The Palestinians are people like us, who want to live their lives, and make a living and have a family, and they can’t do that.” PJC

Photo by Tal Rozow

 Sarah Hertzberg in Eilat

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David Rullo can be reached at drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Hertzberg

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Headlines Strassburger: Continued from page 3

and was important to us,” Kitzerow said. “He championed the underdog and was dedicated to family law. That was very important to him. “He was fond of correcting men who used the term ‘girls,’” she added. “He ruffled some feathers for that.” Strassburger also worked to protect women in abusive or difficult family relationships. While administrative judge of the Family Division in the Court of Common Pleas in 1990, he developed the first specially designated space in court for Protection from Abuse, or PFA, plaintiffs. In 1993, he went a step further, creating a PFA coordinator position in family court, the first such attorney position in the state. These actions eventually led to the creation of a PFA unit, which has been

B’nai Israel: Continued from page 4

“We want to keep the space as intact as possible,” she said. “We’re planning to keep the bima, the ramping along the side, and the stained glass.” In the meantime, the consultants are commissioning eight artists to develop original works that can be displayed along temporary fencing at the site, Mayo said. This would be similar to the fencing and artwork currently installed outside the Tree of Life building. Beacon Communities leadership is beaming about the project. “We’re excited and proud to redevelop this historic Pittsburgh landmark into highquality homes and community gathering

Yoffie: Continued from page 10

and indignant that the Jewish state and its leaders appear so detached from their most deeply held Jewish values and beliefs. And now for the bad news. I can understand and accept occasional intemperate language from idealistic young Jews who believe, as do I, in a Judaism rooted in social justice. But while I can make allowances for most of what is said, I am far less accepting of what is not said. And what is not said by these 100 soon-to-be rabbis and soon-to-be cantors is very troubling indeed. There is barely a hint in the letter of a love for Zion, or a reference to Zionism’s essential tasks. “The Jewish heart is in the holy land,” said Yehudah Halevy, meaning our hearts as well. Would it have been so difficult to reference that love in unequivocal terms or assert that there needs to be a place where Jews can walk down the street without fear of attack? And more serious still: While there is a comprehensive critique of Israeli policies, the letter does not contain a single reference to the actions of Hamas or to the plight of Israeli civilians. These are the people who, throughout the period of Hamas’ rule, have been fleeing to shelters, avoiding as best they can the indiscriminate shelling of innocents PITTSBURGHJEWISHCHRONICLE.ORG

identified as a “model program” by the state Supreme Court’s Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness. His judicial opinions also reflected these stances. In 1991, Strassburger wrote one of the first judicial opinions in Pennsylvania applying a law that domestic violence must be considered in custody decisions. When Strassburger wasn’t on the bench, he served on the boards of Persad Center and the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. “He was a tireless member of our board for 12 years and we were honored to have the benefit of his knowledge, compassion, wisdom and guidance at our domestic violence organization,” said Lorraine M. Bittner, chief legal officer for the Women’s Center and Shelter. Attorney Carol McCarthy often appeared before Strassburger in family court in the Court of Common Pleas in Pittsburgh. “He became the star of family court,”

McCarthy said. “He was smart, he was thorough and he ran his court with the highest dignity — and was funny, too.” McCarthy called Strassburger and Kitzerow “the world’s good people. There’s no other way to describe them.” Mary McKinney Flaherty, who became an attorney in 2005 and moved back to her native Pittsburgh about 10 years ago from Washington, D.C., never appeared before Strassburger. But she still feels close to him; McKinney Flaherty chairs the Women in the Law Division Council that grew out of the committee he helped form. “He really advocated for and wanted a system for people reporting a bias,” McKinney Flaherty told the Chronicle. “What he did was create a space and a system so women could be believed.” “By the time I started, things had changed and they had changed for the better and that’s because of Judge Strassburger and people like

him,” McKinney Flaherty said. “He advocated through the Bar Association for people who were marginalized, when it wasn’t popular.” Chief Justice Baer and Judge LallyGreen both stressed that Strassburger had a big heart. Once, the husband of one of Strassburger’s young law clerks passed away in his 30s — and the clerk died shortly after, leaving two orphans to be raised by their grandparents, Baer recalled. Strassburger not only called the family regularly and spoke with the children; he sent them gifts for their birthdays and during holidays. “He took care of them for 20 years,” Baer said. “I know nobody else who would do that. He was an outstanding guy.” “He’ll live a long, long time,” Lally-Green said, “in the memories of countless people in countless walks of life.”  PJC

space for the neighborhood,” said Michael Polite, the developer’s executive vice president. “This project exemplifies our mission to make a difference in our residents’ lives and build vibrant communities.” Beacon secured funding for the B’nai Israel project through a mix of state, local and private funding sources. The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) provided financing through a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocation, first mortgage loan and other funds. Local construction and permanent gap financing were provided through the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh ($1.2 million) and the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh ($1 million). Private equity topping $12.35 million was raised by RBC Community Investments, LLC, through the syndication of the tax credits, which were purchased by BNY Mellon. BNY Mellon

also provided construction-period financing of $8.7 million. “We’re pleased to see this important Pittsburgh building be preserved and transformed into affordable housing,” said PHFA Executive Director and CEO Robin Wiessmann. “Even better is the fact that the revitalized building will be super energy efficient, which benefits the residents and, of course, the whole planet. This development is an example of thoughtful redevelopment that provides a model for other affordable housing developers to emulate.” Congregation B’nai Israel first opened in 1920 and attendance there boomed as many Jews moved from the Hill District into parts of Pittsburgh then deemed “East End suburbs.” In the 1970s, the congregation’s membership began to decline as the Jewish population moved further into neighboring

suburbs, and in 1995 the B’nai Israel builidng closed, and the congregation merged with Beth Jacob, becoming Adat Shalom Synagogue near Fox Chapel. Malke Frank remembers B’nai Israel well. She was never a member of the congregation, though she attended services with family members who were, and she was married there on July 26, 1964. She also served as the principal of the congregation’s Hebrew school from 1986 to 1990. Frank said the new construction “is great for the building to continue its legacy.” “I’m glad it’s being redeveloped,” she told the Chronicle. “I’d hate to see the building torn down and I’m glad it’s being multipurposed and community-based.”  PJC

in which Hamas so delights. The letter makes frequent references to tears but is missing any element of compassion for their fellow Jews, terrorized and traumatized for almost 15 years. Every death of a Palestinian civilian rends the heart — every single one. But Hamas missiles falling on Jewish civilians are not, as some would have it, an unfortunate inconvenience; they are a terrifying threat. This omission is stunning. The only explanation is from Frankie Sandmel, a rabbinic student at the non-denominational Hebrew College, in the JTA story. While not claiming to speak for the group, Sandmel states that “…as an American Jew who has never lived in Gaza or the West Bank, I don’t feel like I have ground to stand on to try to influence how Palestinians respond to oppression.” But it’s a non-answer, and in a moral document, it is a gaping moral fudge. The heart of Torah’s moral doctrine is that there is no such thing as selective morality. Jews cannot study moral teachings and profess to take them seriously, and then exempt themselves, or the Jewish state, from the moral precepts that bind us all. That is the point of the letter, and the reason for its power. But it works the other way. Neither Jews nor anyone else can excuse Hamas — or any other Palestinians — from normal standards of moral judgment. To do so is to patronize them and to separate them from humanity.

To the Palestinians, and to Hamas in particular, we must say: Enough. Yes, the Palestinian people are hurting. Yes, Palestinians are suffering. And we know, too, that there are Palestinians who yearn for peace. But no more excuses. Bloodshed is unacceptable. Terror is unacceptable. Firing missiles from launchers near civilian homes and schools is unacceptable. To suggest otherwise is to remove yourself from the moral universe inhabited by civilized people everywhere. To include these points in the letter would not have weakened it in any way. To the contrary, the letter would have been immeasurably strengthened. And there is one other point that deserves mention. As noted by Tomer Persico, an Israeli scholar now teaching at UC Berkeley, Israel’s sins in the letter are largely framed as matters of Israeli racism (“racist violence,” “apartheid”). It is natural enough that American Jews are, at this time, especially sensitive to concerns about racial prejudice, given the profound problems of racism that afflict American society. Nonetheless, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not now, and has never been, primarily a conflict about race. It is a conflict of competing nationalisms with religious overtones, and to present it in racial terms fundamentally misrepresents what it is about. Surely it is not too much to expect young progressive Jews in positions of leadership to know the difference.

Was the middle of the conflict the best time to send such a letter? Probably not. And the priority now, in my view, is to be sure that the ceasefire is respected and the immediate humanitarian crisis in Gaza is addressed. But then, all parties must turn at once to the complex issues of reconciling Israelis and Palestinians, both within Israel and in the territories. And Palestinian sins absolutely do not exempt Israel from the need to act. And I repeat: Israel’s hands are not clean. Bibi Netanyahu and the right-wing sycophants that surround him have led Israel astray. Israel needs a new government that will seek out peace; an American government that will insist on peace; and an American-Jewish community that will not settle for rhetoric but will demand concrete steps toward peace. It is my wish that all American Jews will participate in this agenda, and that their rabbis and cantors will encourage them. The students who wrote the letter will soon be numbered among these religious leaders. My hope is that they will continue their work for peace, but that additional letters that they might write will be more constructive, more balanced and more just.  PJC

PITTSBURGH JEWISH CHRONICLE

Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

Justin Vellucci is a freelance writing living in Pittsburgh.

Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, a writer and lecturer, served as president of the Union for Reform Judaism from 1996 to 2012. This piece first appeared on The Times of Israel. MAY 28, 2021  15

Photos by Jessica Grann

Life & Culture

Piyaz: A simple summer salad — FOOD — By Jessica Grann | Special to the Chronicle

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n Israel and throughout the Mediterranean Basin, salads, or salatim, rarely contain lettuce. Some are raw, and some are cooked — like matbucha or Moroccan carrots. Either way, I love them because they keep well in the refrigerator. Every day you can have a little of this and a little of that, and they add to the meal. I make a different salad almost every day so that we always have a healthy and flavorful assortment. Piyaz is a perfect summer salad. It’s much healthier than potato or macaroni salad, full

of protein and is so easy to prepare. My recipe calls for canned cannellini beans, so it can be thrown together in a few minutes. If you make it a day ahead, the beans will have a chance to marinate, but it also tastes wonderful just after you prepare it. Prep time is less than 10 minutes. Piyaz

Serves 6-8 as a side dish Ingredients: 2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained 1 large beefsteak tomato, diced 1 ½ cups chopped parsley Half a red onion, sliced thin

Juice of half a lemon or more to taste 3-4 tablespoons olive oil ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt or sea salt ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper Diced green bell pepper (optional)

Rinse and drain the beans in a colander, placing a paper towel over the top to help them dry. Or, if you have the time, simply let them sit in the colander to dry before you chop up the vegetables. Transfer the beans to a mixing bowl, add all ingredients and stir well before serving. Feel free to cover with plastic wrap and let the flavors marinate for a few hours or overnight. This also makes a great vegetarian main dish if served with hard boiled eggs. It’s

very refreshing in the warmer months either way. Enjoy! A note about Aleppo pepper: I love this pepper because it has a slightly smoky flavor and a tiny bit of kick — it is not as spicy as cayenne pepper. My usual brand was sold out, so I purchased something new. I almost ruined a holiday of meals because the new jar was twice as spicy. I will be changing the amounts of Aleppo pepper in my recipes going forward, and suggest that you may add more to your taste. In my recipes written before May of 2021, I suggest halving the amount written and adding more if you feel the recipe needs it.  PJC Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.

Find a Retirement Lifestyle to Simplify and Enjoy Life

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Eileen Jacobs in her Providence Point home.

rovidence Point is Pittsburgh’s premier retirement address and, as a Life Plan Community, it is designed for the way you live now with the added peace of mind you want for your future. Just ask active Mt. Lebanon resident Eileen Jacobs. Eileen found that maintaining her home and yard was becoming a burden. She wanted to simplify her life and make more time for the things she enjoys. She talked with friends who live at Providence Point and attended a few events. When a 1,492 sq. ft. Lancaster floor plan became available, Eileen knew it was meant to be. The hot housing market made selling her home easy. With a copy of the floor plan and paper cut-outs of furniture, she configured her new apartment to feature her favorite belongings. As her move took shape, the pandemic was worsening, but that didn’t stop Eileen. Things she decided not to keep quickly sold on line, and soon she was ready to move. Eileen says that living at Providence Point has made it easier to remain social and continue doing things she loves, like volunteering for the Mt. Lebanon Library Book Cellar, walking with friends at the nearby JCC, and joining Providence Point’s Needlework Club. According to Eileen, her apartment is warm and inviting and just the right size, plus it offers stunning views of the Chartiers Valley area and beyond.

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Life & Culture Surviving former Nazis give their ‘Final Account’ in new documentary — FILM — By Andrew Lapin | JTA

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here is a remarkable scene toward the end of the new documentary “Final Account,” a collection of eyewitness testimonies of the Nazi regime from elderly Germans and Austrians who remember it (and, to various degrees, were part of it). In the sequence, a former Waffen-SS officer sits down with a group of students in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee — the site of the infamous Wannsee Conference, where Nazi officials met in 1942 to map out the parameters of the Final Solution. The officer, Hans Werk, speaks of the tremendous shame he feels for himself and his country to have orchestrated the genocide of 6 million Jews. When Werk is challenged by a young German nationalist — an anonymous right-winger obsessed with “protecting the Fatherland” and sick of hearing about “shame” from his elders — the former Nazi fires back, recounting Jewish friends and neighbors of his who had assumed they were also part of the Fatherland, until they were marched off to the camps. The true Nazi ideology was not patriotism, he says, but hate. “Do not let yourselves be blinded!” he shouts. The film itself has the same aim in mind. “Final Account” is the result of more than a decade of interviews conducted by British documentarian Luke Holland, who discovered his Jewish heritage as a teenager upon learning that his mother’s family had been murdered in the Holocaust. Holland tragically died last year shortly after completing the film; it now lives as his final account, too. There is a workmanlike quality to “Final Account,” which is made up almost entirely of contemporary interviews with former Nazis, mostly conducted in cozy apartments and retirement homes. Naturally there are many fewer eyewitnesses left alive today than there were four decades ago, when the French-Jewish filmmaker Claude Lanzmann interviewed scores for his landmark 10-hour documentary “Shoah.” Lanzmann could talk to high-ranking SS officers, including some who oversaw the death camps. By contrast, Holland’s interview subjects were largely children or teenagers at the time. Many of the anecdotes in Holland’s film revolve around the subjects joining the Hitler Youth as kids or watching their parents support the Nazi Party. A few worked at the camps, or the train stations that led prisoners to them, but their own accounts seem to conveniently distance themselves from the actual murders. Some continue to deny the genocide ever took place. These occasional denialists feel more like sideshows to the film’s main goal — and they might be committing a crime on camera, since both Germany and Austria have outlawed the practice of Holocaust denial. By and large, most of the interviews in

p An interview subject from “Final Account”

Many of the anecdotes in Holland’s film revolve around the subjects joining the Hitler Youth as kids or watching their parents support the Nazi Party. A few worked at the camps, or the train stations that led prisoners to them, but their own accounts seem to conveniently distance themselves from the actual murders. “Final Account” focus on the language of culpability: when (or if) one’s presence within an evil regime constitutes being a perpetrator of its aims. “We didn’t support the party, but we liked the uniform,” one subject says, conjuring the comic images of exuberant Nazi children in “Jojo Rabbit.” Others remember the odd-yet-mundane details that allowed them to build an everyday life around the atrocities taking

place in their name, like a former nanny who remembers taking her employer’s kids to their local concentration camp — to say hi to their mom at her place of work. Holland is never seen on camera, but the fluent German speaker occasionally prods his subjects from offscreen to acknowledge their participation in crimes against humanity, much as Joshua Oppenheimer did to architects of the Indonesian genocide in “The Act of Killing.” Together, Holland,

Photo Courtesy of Focus Features LLC

Oppenheimer and Lanzmann all form an unsettling lineage of Jewish filmmakers who have felt compelled to confront genocide participants face-to-face on film. “Final Account” doesn’t have quite the same revelatory feel as its predecessors in this genre — the film rarely breaks through the surfaces of its subjects’ accounts to dig at whatever their emotional truth might be. Maybe there isn’t any: One of the overarching messages is that populations can follow hateful ideologies blindly, even blandly, if they feel acceptable enough to the masses. But there are moments that wrestle with deeper questions. The Wannsee scene, in which one generation of German seems incapable of passing on his personal and historical shame to the next, invokes not only the past but also the future of Holocaust memory. Their conversation is in anticipation of a world in which we have no more “final accounts.” When that does happen, and there are no more eyewitnesses left, how are we to continue the lessons of “Never Again”? What forms of education and vigilance will keep us from becoming once again “blinded” to the past? It’s a question that has haunted the last century of Jewish life — and, by necessity, must also haunt the next. “Final Account” opened in movie theaters on May 21.  PJC

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MAY 28, 2021  17

Celebrations

Torah

B’nai Mitzvah

The lessons of the menorah Evan Bradley Sirota will become a bar mitzvah on May 29, 2021, during a virtual service at Beth El Congregation of the South Hills. Evan is the son of Toby and David Sirota of Upper St. Clair. Evan’s grandparents are Phyllis Sirota of Pleasant Hills, and the late Bernard Sirota, and the late Dorothy and Ira Trosky. Evan plays volleyball and drums and serves as student council secretary at Fort Couch Middle School.

Mikayla Alexis Feder, daughter of Larry and Jeniffer Feder, will become a bat mitzvah during Shabbat morning services at Adat Shalom on Saturday, May 29, 2021. Grandparents are Frances Feder, the late David Feder, Eileen Edelstein and Elliott Edelstein.  PJC

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Rabbi Jeffrey Myers Parshat Beha’alotcha Numbers 8:1 – 12:16

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n Parshat Beha’alotcha, God continues the meticulous details of the final element of the portable sanctuary: the menorah. It was to be crafted from a solid piece of gold hammered into the shape that God prescribed, but it was not the type of menorah that we think of today. In today’s world, when one utters the word “menorah,” most people think of the Chanukah menorah. The number of branches on the Chanukah menorah number eight plus one for the shammash; there are seven in total on the menorah in the portable sanctuary, or mishkan. But that is not the most distinguishing characteristic of the mishkan’s menorah: It was oil-burning, unlike most chanukiyot that hold candles. The lamps were affixed to the tops of each of the branches and regularly refilled with oil to keep burning. Of all the texts throughout the Torah that detail the construction of the mishkan and its appurtenances, the menorah is mentioned most frequently. We find instructions for its construction (Exodus 25:31-40), its lighting (Exodus 27:20-21; 30:7-8; 40:4 and Leviticus 24:1-3), its formal construction (Exodus 37:17-24), and in this week’s portion, we find instructions on how to mount the lamps and the details to do so.

Why might the menorah receive far more attention than any other appurtenance of the mishkan? What is so significant about the menorah that it deserves such frequent attention? The menorah is to be created from a solid piece of gold that is hammered into its final shape. Imagine the efforts of a singular goldsmith to create such an incredible object. Perhaps the Torah might be teaching us that if we recognize the effort necessary to create a beautiful menorah to grace the mishkan and provide light, there is an equal, if not greater, effort necessary of each of us to hammer away at our essence, to create something beautiful that graces the world and provides light through the performance of mitzvot and our individual efforts to be the best possible selves we can be. God endowed Bezalel and Oholiab with the wisdom and knowledge to work all means of materials in the construction of the mishkan and its appurtenances. Each of us has been gifted with a Divine spark and the teachings of the Torah, the tools that enable us to hammer away to create something remarkable. May God guide each of us to create something as magnificent as the menorah, and may we illuminate and beautify all that we touch.  PJC Rabbi Jeffrey Myers is the rabbi/hazzan of Tree of Life Congregation. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association.

What makes a great father? Celebrate yours in print

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oes your dad deserve more than a tie this Father’s Day? If so, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle wants to hear from you. Tell us, in 200 words or less, what makes your father special, and it may be included in our June 18 issue. Submissions should be sent to drullo@ pittsburghjewishchronicle.org and should include a picture of your dad along with the

Chai

name of the person who took the photo. Please type “Father’s Day” in the email subject line and include an attached Microsoft Word file — no handwritten submissions will be accepted. Include your name, your father’s name, your phone number and email address. All submissions must be received no later than June 11.  PJC — David Rullo

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Obituaries ADELSHEIMER: Harry Adelsheimer, age 85, of Pittsburgh. On May 20, 2021, we lost our beloved Papa. He was the rock of our family and taught us that the most important values in life are love, laughter and family. He will be missed most by his sons Gregg Adelsheimer (Pamela Aranson Adelsheimer), Marc Adelsheimer (Jamie Stern), and daughter, Lynne Adelsheimer Goldstein, along with his eight loving grandchildren: Andrew (Amanda) Adelsheimer, Jeremy Adelsheimer, Eric Adelsheimer, Hannah Adelsheimer, Rachel Adelsheimer, Jacob Adelsheimer, Alex Goldstein and Sara Goldstein. He was born in Schermbeck, Germany, to Henny and Arthur Adelsheimer. His family fled from Germany and created an incredible life in Pittsburgh. Graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in business, he then began his career in the retail world as a buyer for Kaufman’s Department Store. He was very proud of Lintons, the women’s clothing store he owned and operated in Squirrel Hill for over 40 years. Here he devoted his time and love as he outfitted many women in the city and retained his loyal employees for years. He was a very influential leader in the Squirrel Hill business community. His passion for golf was not only based on the sport but the quality of time he got to spend with his buddies. He was an active member of Westmoreland Country Club as well as Boca West Country Club in Florida. He loved his annual golf outing with his seven closest friends as well as a few special trips he enjoyed with his sons. His warm personality made everyone around him feel welcome. He lost the love of his life, Carol, our Muggy, just one year ago. During their 61 years of marriage, they had an amazing life together. Side by side, they truly had a storybook romance for the ages. Their lives revolved around raising their three children and later in life, their focus became spending time with their eight grandchildren. Annual family vacations to Beach Haven, New Jersey, as well as traveling with their children and grandchildren meant the world to them. Harry always instilled in every one of his family members the importance of togetherness. He was the ultimate patriarch to all. His family is defined by his legacy, and he will truly be missed by everyone that knew and loved him. Graveside services and interment were held at Homewood Cemetery, Star of David Section. The family requests that donations be sent to the Jewish Community Center of

Greater Pittsburgh, 5738 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com BERKOVITZ: Phyllis Berkovitz died peacefully on May 19, 2021. She was born in Pittsburgh in 1933. Phyllis graduated from Peabody High School in 1950, married her husband Jack, and moved to California to attend UCLA. One year later, her father died in Pittsburgh. Phyllis and Jack moved back to Pittsburgh to raise her 13-year-old brother Murray and remained in Pittsburgh for the rest of her life. Phyllis graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh and went on to a career as a teacher and later administrator for the Pittsburgh Board of Education. She was dedicated to her students and maintained lifelong relationships with several of them. Phyllis also developed a keen interest in yoga many years before yoga became popular. She became a celebrated yoga instructor and taught for almost 50 years. She also trained other teachers. Another of her passions was bridge, and she was a highly accomplished player, a life master for many years, and a member of the bridge community. Other interests included classical music, art, literature and science. The most wonderful thing about Phyllis, though, was her devotion to her family and friends. She was a remarkably caring person, who accepted family, friends, and students into her home when they needed a place to live and offered assistance in all ways that she could. Her loving and generous spirit is impossible to capture in words, and she will be missed greatly. In addition to her husband Jack, Phyllis is survived by her daughter Darlene Berkovitz (Robert Zinn), her grandchildren Andrew Zinn and Eleanor Zinn, her brother Murray Goldman (Marg Goldman), nieces Lisa Van Nostrand (Thomas Van Nostrand), Amy Dyson, (Peter Dyson), Aida Berkovitz, Trista Berkovitz (Stephen Pegors), beloved great-nieces and nephew, cousins and dear friends. Graveside services and interment were held at Homewood Cemetery. Donations can be made to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra or the Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com

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THIS WEEK’S YAHRZEITS — Sunday May 30: Sylvia Barmen, Barney B. Dobkin, Stanley Flansbaum, Belle Goldman, Saul Goldstein, Fanny Kurfeerst, Jacob Landay, Max H. Leib, Esther Littman, Joseph Morantz, Max R. Morgan, Geraldine Sadowsky, Jennie Santman, Margery L. Selkovits, Helen P. Suttin, Bertha Weisberger Monday May 31: Casper Alman, Leah Bloom, Louis Bowytz, Mary Segal Eger, Sadye Klee Gardner, Oscar Green, Sarah Haltman, Rae Kreger Hepps, Rose Kramer, Jack Kenneth Kruman, Shirley F. Levenson, Joseph Pickholtz, Hyman Shapiro, Mollie Silverblatt Tuesday June 1: Edith S. Adler, Sarah Bass, Benjamin Block, Usher Z. Cohen, William Congress, Suzanne Dolgin, Hyman Elovitz, Louis Fienberg, Ida Leah Hurwick, Cheri Glick Jak, Dorothy Levine, Jessie Levine, Fannie Lipsich, Dr. Theodore Lundy, Dorothy Glickman Mandelblatt, Ernestine L. Rosenfield, Erwin Lawrence Rubenstein Wednesday June 2: Hyman Berkowitz, David J. Cohen, Lawrence Stephen Fisher, Ada Gilles Frank, Herbert S. Goodman, Rae Horovitz, Milton Klein, Rebecca Leff, Sarah Mollie Lewis, Louis Meyers, Harold Middleman, Abraham N. Miller, Rose Morgan, Molly Moskovitz, Rae Rader, Harry Recht, Ben Sussman, David Howard Weis Thursday June 3: Rachel Americus, Isadore Becker, Clara Bluestone, Florence Fredericks, Esther Lang Glick, Julius Goldberg, Rose Goldstein, Fannie Goltz, Goldie Graff, Rose Azen Horewitz, David Rosenfield, Libby Silberblatt, Rae Solomon, Phillip Weiss, Morris Zinman Friday June 4: Howard J. Friedman, Benjamin Horne, Julie Katzman, Minnie Reich, Ida S. Segal, Nathan Shaer, Ethel Silver, Irene Feldman Weiss Saturday June 5: Nathan Baum, Frank Bennett, Della B. Berman, Marine Private Alan Bernstein, Sarah Bernice Fine, Judith Friedberg, Ike Friedken, Ida S. Frieman, Samuel Gordon, Milton Samuel Horowitz, Morris I. Lieberman, Isaac Lincoff, Janet Gutkowska Mirow, Sara Pollack, Barney Snyder, Bertha Weinberg

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Obituaries Obituaries: Continued from page 19

LEYTON: Hope Calman Leyton, age 95, on Sunday, May 23, 2021. Preceded in death by her parents Bess and Allan Calman, and her sister Marjorie Calman. She is survived by her three children, Miriam Leyton of Pittsburgh, Steven Leyton (Terri) of Clayton, Missouri, and Robert Leyton of Pittsburgh; four grandchildren, Andrew Smith (Allison), Mollie Glazer (Jason), Elizabeth Samson (Benjamin) and Emma Lehman (Travis) and five great-grandchildren. A lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, Hope was a beloved mother and grandmother whose life was marked by compassion, integrity and a strong curiosity about the people and the world around her. She attended Taylor Allderdice High School and the University of Pittsburgh, graduating from college in 1946 before it was common for women to earn post-secondary degrees. After raising her family, Hope returned to the University of Pittsburgh, earning a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling in 1970, and worked as a counselor in the Pittsburgh Public Schools before retiring in 1990. Retirement gave Hope the opportunity to pursue her many passions. She

traveled the world, often to exotic locations and regularly attended concerts, plays and lectures. Hope maintained countless friendships and made volunteering a priority. She worked in the archives at Rodef Shalom Congregation — where she was a lifelong member — and on many progressive political campaigns. Above all, Hope was a loving and devoted mother and grandmother (or “Nannie,” as she was known). She was her happiest when surrounded by family. Her apartment in Oakland was the heart of the family, where she hosted everything from large holiday meals to grandchildren who were home from school. She will be missed by all. Private graveside service and interment at West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. Memorial contributions may be made to Rodef Shalom Family Center, 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 or a charity of the donor’s choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com ROBINSON: Jeffrey Robinson, on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. Jeffrey is the beloved husband of Jackie Robinson; adoring father of Lilly Robinson; treasured and beloved son of Racelle Robinson Goldstein and the late Stephen Robinson and the beloved step-son of Dr.

Morton L. Goldstein. He is the cherished brother of Michael S. (Lorri Ziegler) Robinson, Cathy (Jason) Auerbach, and Charles (Andrea) Goldstein. Jeffrey is also survived by nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Jeffrey was an attorney with his own private practice, Robinson Law Group. He was a loving and devoted father and treasured his active involvement in his daughter’s extracurricular activities. He was an avid golfer, loved scuba diving, skiing and traveling with his daughter and his friends. Graveside services and interment were held at Homewood Cemetery. Contributions in Jeffrey’s memory may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated. schugar.com WOLKOWICZ: Howard Wolkowicz, 64, of Monongahela passed away May 9, 2021. He was born Sept. 29, 1956, the son of Hermann and Lillian Weiss Wolkowicz. Howard was a 1974 graduate of Ringgold High

School and attended the Culinary Institute of Pittsburgh. Howard was a devoted member of the former Congregation Ohav Shalom of Donora and former Temple Beth Am of Monessen. He attended most services and volunteered to be the Hagbah lifter of the Torah. He was a U.S. Army reserve veteran and a past president of the Arroas Haymakers Association of New Eagle. He was very devoted to his parents and sister. His father, Hermann, was a Holocaust survivor and a veteran of the U.S. Army Tenth Mountain Division. Howard was very proud that his father was awarded the Silver and Bronze Star Medals. Howard enjoyed going to army reunions with his father. As a young man, Howard was afflicted with diabetes and suffered many complications. He did volunteer work for sick people in the community. Howard’s survivors include his sister Marta Wolkowicz-Brant, girlfriend Alberta, friend William Carson and many other friends and relatives. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his stepmother, Miriam Wolkowicz. Funeral services were held at the Frye Funeral Home Inc. of Monongahela conducted by Rabbi Lenny Sarko of Greensburg. Burial was in Ohav Shalom Cemetery, Carroll Township. Online condolences may be made to the family at fryefuneralhome.com.  PJC

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Community t Joe Herbick, Clubhouse director, with signs in hand

Mental Health Action Day Jewish Residential Services joined more than 1,300 organizations, brands, government agencies and cultural leaders on May 20 to participate in the inaugural Mental Health Action Day, driving the conversation from mental health awareness to mental health action.

p Members of the Sally and Howard Levin Clubhouse, a program of Jewish Residential Services, blanketed the city with signs encouraging mental health action.

u  Dave Goldberg, Clubhouse member, places a sign in Squirrel Hill. Photos courtesy of Jewish Residential Services

Flower bouquet, no vase needed

p Mike and Laura Hodes stand near Krause Commons.

Ready, Set, Inject

p Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh Pre-K students Eshed Blumenfeld, left, and Adam Raphael make Mother’s Day flower projects with glue and crafts. Photo courtesy of Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh

p Mara Svoboda and daughter Sylvia Svoboda participate in the Community Day School COVID-19 vaccination clinic for eligible students ages 12+ on May 16. The clinic was held at Community Day School in partnership with Rite Aid. Photo courtesy of Community Day School

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Macher and Shaker

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Jeffrey H. Finkelstein, president and CEO of Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, is the 2021 recipient of the Bernard Reisman Award for Professional Excellence and the commencement speaker for the Hornstein Class of 2021. Established by Hornstein alumni and colleagues of Bernard Reisman, Hornstein director between 19691994, this award is presented each year at the Hornstein commencement to a professional who has demonstrated innovative work and significant leadership as well as “a commitment to the standards of excellence, Jewish commitment and sensitivity to others as reflected by Bernard Reisman in his work.” MAY 28, 2021  23

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