By Penny SchwartzJOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

AMHERST – For the second time this year, high-profile backers of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, known as BDS, spoke at the UMass-Amherst campus, which again sparked controversy over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In response to the Nov. 12 event, UMass Hillel and other student groups that support Israel sponsored their own action, “End Polarization: Promote Peace.” The march attracted more than 100 people. Afterward, a Hillel program included a chance for students to gather social-ly and talk in small group conversations.

The panel discussion, “Criminalizing Dissent: The Attack on BDS and Pro-Palestinian Speech,” featured Palestinian-American activ-ist Linda Sarsour; Cornel West, a prominent Harvard professor on race and a proponent of BDS; BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti, who spoke via Skype from Israel, and others.

It was presented by the Media Education Foundation, a private group founded by Sut Jhally, chair of UMass-Amherst’s communica-tions department, a filmmaker and harsh critic of Israel. It was copresented with the Resistance

Studies Initiative, a program at UMass. UMass Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy

said in a statement, “When outside organi-zations come onto our campus and give a high-profile platform for one-sided and divisive political positions that some view as deeply offensive, they are saying to valued members of our community that they don’t belong. This is the antithesis of our commitment to inclusion, and we will not hesitate to speak out against efforts to divide our campus community.”

Hillel, the AMCHA Initiative (a national orga-nization that combats anti-Semitism on college campuses), and other pro-Israel groups spoke against the talk.

“Many students and members of the UMass community feel deeply upset by the scale, tenor, and dogmatic messages of the anti-Israel events,” said Rabbi Aaron Fine, the campus Hillel’s executive director.

Among the student leaders at Hillel who organized the peace march was Benjamin Alvarez-Dobrusin, a junior from Marblehead who is active in with Student Alliance for Israel and Bridge the Divide, a group that reaches out to non-Jewish student leaders, including the Muslim Student Association.

The Jewish Journal is a nonprofit newspaper supported by generous readers, committed advertisers and charitable organizations. Email subscriptions@jewishjournal.org.

continued on page 13

Lights, Camera, Prayer! North Shore synagogues reach out with online streaming

By Michael WittnerJOURNAL STAFF

Shabbat: Coming soon to a screen near you. New video and audio streaming technologies are making North Shore syna-gogue services accessible all over the world, from Peabody to Texas to Tokyo.

“We know that we have col-lege kids and adult children that have now moved away who want an opportunity to see services; we have handicapped and elder-ly members that would enjoy being able to see a Friday night service that miss being here,” said Jaime Friedman, the execu-tive director of Temple Emanu-El in Marblehead, which began streaming its Shabbat services last spring.

Temple Emanu-El joined a growing number of local Conservative and Reform congregations, including Congregation Shirat Hayam in Swampscott, Temple Ner Tamid in Peabody, and Temple Tiferet Shalom in Peabody that have installed streaming technol-ogy. Though the methods and frequency of use may vary, the motivation everywhere is the

same: inclusion and accessibil-ity.

“If you’ve been going to ser-vices all your life and then all of a sudden you can’t leave your house anymore, one could just say, ‘Get used to it,’ which is what we’ve been saying, or we could say, ‘Well, if this is the next best thing for you, and if we have the technology to do it, then

let’s offer it,” said Rabbi Richard Perlman of Temple Ner Tamid, which began streaming its High Holiday services two years ago and is considering streaming every Shabbat service.

Streaming services are one of the actions listed by the Ruderman Synagogue Inclusion Project (RSIP), a Ruderman Family Foundation

and Combined Jewish Philanthropies joint initiative that grants synagogues $5,000 to become more accessible to all. “When illness and other circum-stances keep congregants away, streaming technology can pro-vide a welcome alternative,” said RSIP manager Molly Silver. “It is an excellent modality that allows members and friends who are

unable to attend in person due to disabilities, health issues, dif-ficulties, or distance to fulfill their worship needs and not feel as isolated.”

This has long been a concern of synagogues. Jonathan Sarna, Brandeis University professor of American Jewish history, said that in order to reach immobile congregants, some synagogues distributed pamphlets of rabbis’ sermons during the 19th cen-tury, and broadcast services over the radio during the 20th.

“The popularity of the [radio services] does seem to me to have laid the groundwork for the idea of streaming services,” said Sarna. “It used to be much more complicated, but the technology has made it so much cheaper and easier than it was just a few years ago.”

Today, that technology is usually a fixed, mounted, high-definition camera placed dis-creetly in the back of the sanctu-ary, or an iPad mounted onto a tripod, as Congregation Shirat Hayam does for smaller ser-vices. Synagogues stream the footage through different ser-vices, including Facebook Live

A recent bar mitzvah streamed at Marblehead’s Temple Emanu-El, allowing Florida relatives stranded by Hurricane Dorian to enjoy the service.

continued on page 13

Another BDS panel ignites pro-Israel response at UMass

Courtesy UMass HillelStudents at UMass-Amherst march in response to a Nov. 12 pro-BDS panel.

JEWISH JOURNALNOVEMBER 21, 2019 – 23 CHESHVAN 5780

VOL 44, NO 7 JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG

On Sunday, Dec. 15 at 10 a.m., Beverly’s Temple B’nai Abraham will host a community educa-tion program, “Documenting and Preserving the North Shore’s Jewish History: An Overview of the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center’s Collections (and How to Use Them).” Temple B’nai Abraham will sponsor the program, along with The Congregation Sons of Jacob

Cultural Enrichment Fund and the Jewish Journal.

This is a free program and the entire North Shore Jewish community is invited. A light breakfast will be provided.

Stephanie Call, the program’s guest speaker, is associate direc-tor for Archives and Education with the Jewish Heritage Center (JHC) at New England Historic Genealogical Society. The JHC

engages historians, genealogists, students, partner organizations, and the general public in pro-grams and research to advance the study of Jewish history, cul-ture, and legacies. It maintains extensive archival collections at its Boston headquarters, as well as online.

In this interactive presenta-tion, Call will provide an over-view of the North Shore collec-

tions available at the JHC, dem-onstrating how to search and access materials pertaining to the history of Jewish families, organizations, synagogues, and businesses. She will showcase stories and photographs from the collections, giving attendees an opportunity to engage with the archival materials.

Between 2013 and 2016, the Jewish Heritage Center of the North Shore (originally the Jewish Historical Society of the North Shore) donated to the JHC 110 boxes of records compris-ing the entirety of the JHCNS’s archival collections, as well as 36 bound volumes of all Jewish Journal editions from 1977 to

2012. To date, the JHC has made over 30 unique collections avail-able for research and has digi-tized and made available online 15 of these collections, with more to come in the future.

The Jewish Historical Society of the North Shore no longer exists. But its founders, the late Nathan and Sophie Gass, and its former members and friends can take satisfaction knowing the historic records they so diligently compiled will be preserved in perpetuity for future generations.

To RSVP, contact Temple B’nai Abraham at 978-927-3211.

THE JEWISH JOURNAL SEEKS A FULL-TIME BUSINESS MANAGER

Duties include: n Maintaining all financial records

n Maintaining subscriber and donor lists

n Recording and analyzing all data

n Preparing monthly and reconciliation statements

Knowledge of QuickBooks, Excel, Access, and other business software is required. Bookkeeping, accounting experience, and a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree is also preferred. Work in a fast-paced, positive environment for a growing Jewish publication. Competitive salary includes benefits.

Email resume to:

Steven Rosenberg, editor and publisher: Rosenberg@jewishjournal.org.

HELP WANTED

Save15%Black Friday SAVINGS!

PLUS free delivery! (Up to $99 value)on everything in the store!

THREE DAY SALEFriday, Nov. 29th thru Sunday, Dec. 1st!

99 Commerce WayWoburn, MA

254 Canal St.Salem, MA

118 Needham St.Newton, MA

www.gardnermattress.com800-56-GARDNER or 978-744-1810*cannot be combined with any other offer. Sale valid through 12/1/19

Three Convenient Locations...

Why shop at stores that sell mattresses when youcan buy from the experts who make the mattresses?

2 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019

North Shore Jewish history event slated for Temple B’nai Abraham

A Passover Seder in Salem, 1916.

By Rich TenorioJOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

BOSTON – November began in memorable fashion for North Shore native and composer Allan Naplan.

On Nov. 2 and 3, Naplan’s piece, “Al Shlosha D’Varim,” was performed by the Handel and Haydn Society Children’s Choir during its annual Every Voice concert, which honors diverse communities within Boston as a way to unite the city through music. This year, the concert celebrated both the African-American and Jewish commu-nities through music, with per-formances at the First Church in Roxbury and the Union United Methodist Church in the South End.

Naplan’s piece, based on Pirkei Avot (“Ethics of the Fathers”), was composed in the early 1990s, and was part of a Jewish repertoire that also included works from Renaissance composers such as Salamone Rossi, an Italian Jewish violinist and composer. African-American compos-ers included contemporary voices such as Zanaida Robles (“Umoja”) and historical char-acters such as Martin Delany, a major in the Civil War who was among the first three black men to gain acceptance to Harvard Medical School, and penned a version of “Oh! Susanna” with antislavery lyrics.

When Naplan – who lives and works in Arizona as executive and producing director of the Arizona Musicfest performance series – was told about the Handel and Haydn selections of works from members of the black and Jewish communities, he said, “I think it’s certainly a natural connection.” He cited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and “the great rabbis of the time, (Abraham Joshua) Heschel, the rabbis who marched (with King), great leaders, march-ing with blacks for civil rights. Tikkun olam (repairing the world) is at the core of being Jewish.”

The following week, on the other side of the coun-try, Naplan opened his sev-enth season with the Arizona Musicfest in Scottsdale, with the featured guest being singer and actress Vanessa Williams. She performed “Colors of the Wind” from the 1995 animat-ed film “Pocahontas,” a song that won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. After Naplan found out that Williams is a global ambassador for the Special Olympics, he learned that Arizona has a unified choir that includes special needs stu-dents, and he brought them to the concert to perform the hit song with Williams, with his own musical arrangement.

From Arizona to Boston, music is Naplan’s world, and it has been ever since his days growing up on the North Shore – first in Peabody, then in Marblehead, where his late mother, Dianne Naplan, was a longtime music teacher at what

is now the Epstein Hillel School. His works, many of which reflect his interest in Jewish music, have sold 1.3 million cop-ies and have been performed in such high-profile venues as the White House and Carnegie Hall – and, tragically, aboard the space shuttle Columbia, when his “An American Anthem” was the wake-up call on the first morning of its doomed 2003 voyage. The crew perished dur-ing reentry into the Earth’s orbit, and among those who died was

Selling a high-end home comes with a unique set of challenges, and finding the right buyer

requires a special skill. There are very few potential buyers out there who can afford to spend millions of dollars on a new home, and many of these high-end buyers are scattered around the globe. So how does a

Luxury Home Real Estate Specialist locate the perfect buyer for your one-of-a-kind home?

Experienced Luxury Home Specialists work primarily through their own multi-national network of relationships that they have developed over their years of serving this exclusive niche market. They stay in regular contact with their clients and are always developing new contacts to broaden their group of sophisticated buyers. Not only do they need to know how to attract qualified buyers, they also need to be able to separate serious buyers from curiosity seekers.

Your Luxury Home Specialist is a highly skilled networker who can search the world with a discriminative eye to find the perfect buyer for your beautiful home.

PHYLLIS LEVINon REAL ESTATE

SIX DEGREES

www.phyllislevin.com phyllislevin@comcast.net (781) 367-8150 website email cell

PHYLLIS LEVINCRS GRI CBR

EXPERIENCE IS THE DIFFERENCEFeel free to call me at SAGAN REALTORS on all aspectsof buying or selling real estate at 781-367-8150.

Feel free to call me at SAGAN REALTORSon all aspects of buying or selling real estate

at 781-367-8150

JUST CALL AND I’LL DO THE REST

www.FreeJewishBooks.com732.660.9988

Are you Jewish and looking for more meaning out of life?Have questions that you are

looking to answer?We provide free Jewish books

for you to discover more about your heritage.

www.chelseajewish.org

201 Captains Row, Chelsea • 617.887.0826 240 Lynnfield Street, Peabody • 978.532.4411

www.chelseajewish.org

ASSISTED LIVING • SPECIALIZED MEMORY CARE Cohen Florence Levine Estates • Florence & Chafetz Specialized Care.

Harriett and Ralph Kaplan Estates.

Here’s to Living Well!

fresh, healthy anddelicious meals

474 Lowell St., Peabody • 978-535-6449 • FAX 978-535-6816Under the strict supervision of the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of Mass.Visit our website: www.levineskoshermkt.com

We Have All Your Holiday FoodsFresh TurkeysTurkey Breast

Boneless Turkey BreastCapons ~ Ducks

Boneless Chicken BreastCornish Hens

LARRY LEVINE’SKOSHER MEATS & DELI

parve

Available Delicacies from TEVYA’S KITCHENRoasted Turkeys TzimmesRoasted Capons Assorted KugelsBrisket & Gravy Assorted KnishesRoasted Potatoes Chicken SoupButternut Squash Chopped LiverStuffing & Much More

oHomemade Pies:

Apple ~ Blueberry ~ Cherry ~ Pumpkin parve

THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 3

The classic story of a Jewish composer with North Shore roots

“From a very early age, I was surrounded by Jewish and classical music,” said Allan Naplan, who grew up in Peabody and Marblehead.

continued on page 10

4 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019

READY TO SHAPE THE FUTURE?

US, TOO.During CJP's year-long community listening tour, we learned that many people across Greater Boston are seeking connection and engagement in Jewish life, but have yet to find their place.

Together with CJP President and CEO Rabbi Marc Baker, we will convene Conversations for Action throughout Greater Boston to find solutions to one vital question: “How can we become a more welcoming Jewish community?”

We hope you’ll be part of the conversation.

Visit cjp.org/joincfa to learn more and register.

For additional information or special accommodations, email communityrelations@cjp.org.

Upcoming conversations:

December 17 — Norwood

January 16 — Boston

February 12 — Danvers

March 2 — Framingham

March 16 — Somerville

April 28 — Waltham

All programs are free of charge and

are accessible to people of all abilities.

Let's transform our Jewish community, together.

By Michael WittnerJOURNAL STAFF

WHAT WAS YOUR JEWISH BACKGROUND GROWING UP?

My dad grew up Jewish and my mom grew up Christian, so to be honest they didn’t want to force any particular faith on me growing up so I didn’t go to any sort of religious schooling, but definitely have come to identify more with my Jewish faith, and we celebrate holidays with very important fam-ily friends every year – Passover and Hanukkah.

And I then went to Brandeis, which was a great way to explore that through friends and peers, and it was a wonderful place that was very accepting of all religions and everything, really, so that was a good place for me, so I had friends of all different backgrounds. I think personally it’s been more of a cultural influence and I’ve definitely come to iden-tify with that more.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE ROLE OF MUSIC IN YOUR LIFE?

I’ve been playing the cello since I was about nine, and both my parents were musicians, so that was always a huge influence. It’s the main part of my life that I spend a lot of my time doing and thinking about even though I’m not playing profes-sionally, it’s been a huge way that I’ve connected to my family and social circles. I played in [what’s now called] the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras in high school and then I majored in music perfor-mance for the cello and anthropology at Brandeis, and sort of combined those two interests in my senior thesis, which was about El Sistema pro-grams in the Boston area. El Sistema is the system of music education in Venezuela that had become really popular when I was in college. From there I went on to a master’s in arts education, and it was really that thesis that sparked my interest in music education, and that led me to my administrative roles. So I’ve sort of shifted around, but I’ve always continued to play.

I’m lucky to be in Boston where there are so many opportunities not just for professionals but

amateur musicians. I’ve definitely done some quartets and things with friends just casually. I was playing with the Dudley House Orchestra, which is the Harvard Graduate Orchestra for many years. I played with the Boston Chamber Symphony, which is sort of a mix of local students and amateurs, and I play with the Me2/Orchestra right now, which is an orchestra with a mission to reduce stigma around mental illness through music.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR WORK WITH A FAR CRY?

I do marketing, development, and box [office] for A Far Cry, which is a self-conducted chamber group. Our main series is in Jordan Hall [at the New England Conservatory], and then we have a local series at a church in Jamaica Plain, and we’ve also been the Ensemble in Residence for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for the last 10 years.

It’s a really interesting group that I’ve been a huge fan of for many years. Their whole mission is to operate as a democracy, so there’s no conduc-tor, and there’s no musical leader – they all serve as a collective artistic directorship. So that means when they’re performing, they’re rotating positions of leadership, so the concertmaster is not the same from one program to the next, and everyone is rotating in different spots, so you’ll be in the back following, and then you’ll be leading multiple times even in one concert.

In terms of programming, they plan all their programming collectively as well, so it’s a really interesting process where each individual “Crier,” as they call each musician, can submit a program to the group and they have what they call the Vault, which is just a PowerPoint presentation with differ-ent programs, and they’ll go back to that vault and continually be submitting new programs to then decide what they want to put on as a group for a given season, and they have to vote, and there has to be a majority. The sorts of programming they do is very wide-ranging. It’s generally in the classical realm, but they’ve done things with folk rock sing-ers, they’ve done things with dance troupes, and it ranges from very old music to very contemporary, so it’s really interesting.

Millennials The

ALI FESSLERHOMETOWN: AndoverAGE: 28CURRENTLY LIVING IN: SomervilleALMA MATERS: Andover High School ’09, Brandeis University ’13, Harvard Graduate School of Education ’14JOB: Marketing and development coordinator for A Far Cry, a Boston-based chamber orchestraFAVORITE FOOD: CheeseFAVORITE MUSIC: The Beatles, folk music, Chris Thile, the Punch Brothers, Edgar Meyer, Goat Rodeo Sessions, and of course, classical musicFAVORITE MOVIE: “Notting Hill”FAVORITE BOOKS: “Catcher in the Rye,” the “Kite Runner” series, and right now I’m reading a lot of Margaret AtwoodFAVORITE TV SHOWS: “Friends,” “New Girl,” “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” “30 Rock,” “Firefly”FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS: Barcelona, ChinaSOMEWHERE YOU’D LIKE TO GO NEXT: PortugalFAVORITE NORTH SHORE SPOT: Rockport, Salem, especially the Peabody Essex Museum – I like going there around the time of Halloween, but not on Halloween.

PROFILEPROFILE GOLD BUG JEWELRYSUZANNE GREEN

Gold BuG Jewelry | 43 AtlAntic Avenue | MArBleheAd, MA 01945MondAy-SAturdAy 11AM-5 pM | 781.639.1150

Discerning North Shore shoppers

have long known the Gold Bug is the place to go for unique, stylish, and stunning fine jewelry sold at least 25% below other stores’ retail prices.

Now celebrating her 40th year in business, owner and Marblehead resident Suzanne Green takes the pulse from trade shows in New York, Las Vegas, and Europe – seeking the right mix of designs for savvy North Shore women.

One customer told us “Suzanne has terrific taste and curates a great collection of beautiful, uncommon, and classic jewelry.”

What makes the Gold Bug special? In addition to its well-presented selection and reasonable pricing, Suzanne has

always been on the tasteful edge of new designs with diamonds, gold, and pearls.

While the majority of her clientele are women, Suzanne says, “more and more men come in asking ‘What would my wife like?’ We’re happy to work with their budget to choose the most beautiful and thoughtful

gifts. I take pride in offering this kind of personalized service.”

For experience, great prices, and expert advice, when it comes to fine jewelry, one of the North Shore’s best resources is the Gold Bug – at 43 Atlantic Avenue in Marblehead – open every day 11am - 5pm, closed Sundays.

Mention you saw this business profile for 15% off!

SUZANNE GREEN

Thursday, November 21 7:00 – 8:30, Peabody

Thursday, December 5 7:00 – 8:30, Marblehead

Thursday, December 12 7:00 – 8:30, Beverly

address upon request

EHS ON TOURCome Curious, Leave Inspired!Meet our Head of School Amy Gold, talk with parents, and hear why students love where they learn.

GRADES K – 8

MARBLEHEAD, MA | EPSTEINHILLEL.ORG | 781.639.2880

THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 5

JOURNALISM MATTERS.Give to the Journal today. Call 978-745-4111 x130,

or visit our website at jewishjournal.org.

By Cary Shuman

SWAMPSCOTT – Stephen Levin spent 42 years in the teach-ing profession. Now retired, the 1967 Chelsea High graduate has more time to devote to one of his favorite hobbies: photogra-phy.

And he’s becoming quite tal-ented at his craft: Levin has been drawing acclaim for his unique looks at everyday scenes.

For the past couple of years, Levin has been hosting exhib-its of his most interesting pho-tographs and he’ll be welcom-ing guests to his newest show – “Abstracts: Ocean, Earth, and Sky” – at the ReachArts Gallery on Burrill Street in Swampscott. His exhibit opened earlier this month.

“I always had a camera – my father (Benjamin Levin) had one of those big, old box cam-eras that you looked through the bottom,” recalled Levin, who grew up on Cottage Street and attended the Shurtleff School. “Now it’s all digital photogra-phy. I use a Leica. It’s a compact camera.” Stephen’s mother was former Chelsea librarian Ceil Barron Levin.

Stephen is excited about the upcoming exhibit that will continue on Saturdays and Sundays (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.), on Wednesdays (6-8 p.m.). There will be a special showing on the day after Thanksgiving. The exhibit will have a closing recep-tion on Dec. 7 (2-4 p.m.) when Levin’s good friend, Ralph Tufo of the Squeezbox Stompers, will perform live music.

Levin’s previous exhibits have drawn numerous viewers and sales. His photos have been sold individually for $90 to $200.

“I just put some photos in the gift shop at the Gallery at LynnArts and my photo of Egg Rock off the coast of Nahant

sold before it even went up on the wall – I was happy about that,” said Levin.

Levin’s solo exhibit will fea-ture abstract photos.

“I took photos at Nahant Beach and other places – my belief is that beauty and art are everywhere,” said Levin. “You can always find color, texture, shape that make art.”

Levin is also giving back to his community through his photo exhibits. “I donate a portion of the proceeds to the Children’s Hospital,” said Levin.

He is humbled by the praise he has been receiving from other photographers for his works.

“People tell me I have a good eye for photography,” said Levin, noting that one of his most popular photographs was one of his dog, Bella, a Chocolate Labrador. “I sold a picture of aprons from Lewes, Delaware.”

Levin said he has fond mem-ories of his days at Shurtleff and Chelsea High School and credits his art teachers for inspiring his lifelong affinity for art and now, photography.

“I always think of my art teachers from Chelsea, Miss Whiting, who used to visit all the elementary schools,” said Levin. “She picked one of my draw-ings to be in a children’s exhibit at the Chelsea Public Library. She always encouraged my art. Mr. (Barry) Poretsky was my art teacher at Shurtleff. In college (Salem State), my mentor was Vito Sammartano.”

Asked about whether he has thoughts of launching a new career as a professional photog-rapher, Levin replied, “I’m just pursuing photography because it’s something that I enjoy doing – and people seem to respond to it.”

This article originally appeared in the Chelsea Record.

Levin’s photo exhibit now at Reach Arts

Stephen Levin’s photo exhibit runs through Dec. 7 at Reach Arts in Swampscott.

Photo: Jonathan GoldingTemple B’nai Abraham’s Grade Three class recently created a poster showing a classroom “family” seated around the Shabbat table. It will be on display at the PJ Library Shabbat Table at Temple B’nai Abraham, Beverly on Friday, Nov. 22.

B’nai Abraham’s Shabbat poster on display Nov. 22

New national data shows hate-crime murders hit a 27-year high; the increase is attributable to the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue massacre.

The Anti-Defamation League called on lawmakers and law enforcement authorities to take action to address the deeply disturbing climate of hate in the United States after newly released FBI data showed that Jews and Jewish institutions were the overwhelming target of religion-based hate crimes last year, as they have been every year since 1991.

In its annual Hate Crime Statistics Act (HCSA) report, the FBI found that total hate crimes decreased slightly in 2018 after three consecutive years of increases. The agency reported 7,120 total hate crimes in 2018, compared to 7,175 in 2017. While religion-based hate crimes decreased by eight per-cent from 2017, nearly 60 per-cent of hate crime attacks were targeted against Jews and Jewish institutions in 2018.

“It is unacceptable that Jews and Jewish institutions continue to be at the center of religion-based hate crime attacks,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. “We need to take concrete action to address and combat this significant problem. We strongly urge Congress to imme-diately pass the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality (NO HATE) Act. By improving hate crime training, prevention, best prac-tices, and data collection, we can stem hate crimes nation-wide.”

For 2018, the FBI reported

that hate crime murders totaled 24, the highest since the FBI began tracking and reporting on hate crimes in 1991. The increase is attributable to 2018 having seen the deadliest anti-Semitic hate crime in American history, when 11 worshippers were murdered in the three con-gregations meeting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Race-based hate crimes were once again the most common type of hate crime, as in every previous year. Nearly 50 per-cent of race-based hate crimes were directed against African-Americans.

Hate crimes directed at LGBTQ individuals increased by almost six percent, including a significant 42 percent increase in crimes directed against trans-gender individuals, up from 119 in 2017 to 168 in 2018.

Anti-Hispanic hate crimes increased 14 percent, the third straight year of increased reporting, which is especially disturbing at a time ADL and others have documented esca-lating anti-immigrant rhetoric and bigotry.

Despite the decline in total hate crimes from 2017 to 2018, a serious reporting gap remains. The FBI data is based on vol-untary local law enforcement reporting to the Bureau. 110 fewer law enforcement agencies participated in the HCSA pro-gram in 2018, failing to report any data, following record-high participation in 2017. In addition, at least 85 cities with populations exceeding 100,000 residents either did not report any data to the FBI or affirma-tively reported zero hate crimes. Alabama and Wyoming reported zero hate crimes for 2018.

“Our nation cannot address crimes that we are not mea-suring. ADL is working with our coalition and other civil rights, education, and interfaith partners to make sure cities report credible data. This starts with training our nation’s law enforcement officers to identify, report, and respond to those targeted by hate violence,” said Greenblatt. “ADL calls on the FBI and Department of Justice to take similar steps with local law enforcement agencies and the courts to address underre-porting of hate crimes.”

ADL has updated its inter-active hate crime map on the Internet with the latest FBI data. The map includes links to every hate crime law on the books in the U.S. and FBI hate crime data from 2004-2018 for states and cities with more than 100,000 residents. It gives users the abil-ity to navigate hate crimes data and laws at the national, state-wide and city level, and breaks out information on crimes against a broad spectrum of tar-geted populations.

The FBI’s findings comple-ment ADL’s annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents for 2018. The audit documented 1,879 criminal and non-criminal inci-dents against Jews and Jewish institutions. ADL’s audit counts non-criminal incidents such as hate speech, flier distribu-tion, and other actions that may not be crimes in the state they occur, while the FBI only tracks hate crimes.

ORTHODONTIST

DR. BUCK WEAVERDR. CARLIN WEAVER

VINNIN SQUARE230 Salem Street, Swampscott, MA 01907781-581-1550 www.weaverortho.com

HOME HEALTH CARE

781-639-4759www.confidentialcareathome.comSpecializing in Home Health Service since 1997

“WHERE CARING COMES FIRST”

HOME CAREThe First Choice for

Loving, Compassionate Home Care on the

North Shore

781.691.5755NorthShore.FirstLightHomeCare.com

Specializing in Companionship, Meal Prep, Transportation, Bathing & Hygiene, Mobility & Toileting Assistance

OPTOMETRIST

Dr. Philip LinskyEye Exams, Contact Lenses,

Fashion Eye Wear238 Humphrey Street, Swampscott

(781) 592-6633Most Vision Plans Honored

HOME HEALTH CARE

For ALL Your Home Care Needs!Delivering Excellence in

Home Care for Over 100 Years!

781-598-2454 www.allcare.org

VNAHospice

Private Services

ASSISTED LIVING AND MEMORY SUPPORT

Cohen Florence Levine Estates617-887-0826

Florence & Chafetz Specialized Care617-887-0826

Harriett and Ralph Kaplan Estates978-532-4411

SHORT-TERM REHAB AND LONG-TERM CARE

Leonard Florence Center for Living617-887-0001

Katzman Family Center for Living 617-884-6766

Jeffrey and Susan Brudnick Center for Living978-471-5100

chelseajewish.org

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

Shapiro-Rudolph Adult Day Health Center | 978-471-5180Chelsea Jewish Aging Life Care | 978-471-5153Chelsea Jewish Hospice and Palliative Care | 617-889-0779Chelsea Jewish Visiting Nurse Agency | 617-889-8744

SENIOR CARE

HEALTH SERVICES

Caregiver with over 20 years of experience looking for

a full-time or part-time job working with elders.

Exceptional references

Call Cynthia at 617-708-6350

CAREGIVER

To advertise in this

Directory, call

978-745-4111

Yes, doctors still make house calls. Care Dimensions’ HomeMD service ensures patients who have difficulty leaving their homes benefit

from personalized medical care no matter where they live - in private residences, rest homes, or assisted living facilities.

The HomeMD service is ideal for patients who may be physically fragile, suffer from memory loss, or are managing complex chronic conditions.

The HomeMD team has years of experience caring for elderly patients.

Caring for you where you live!

HomeMD will begin seeing patients on November 1, 2019. Please contact us to register a patient or learn more about the

HomeMD service.

Introducing

Mark Messenger, MD Kristin Chouinard, NP

Register for HomeMD today: 888-281-0011

Providing primary care services in-home to patients 65 years and older.

6 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019

FBI: Jews were target of most religion-based hate crimes in 2018; ADL urges action

home

At North Shore Medical Center, our first priority is the health and well-being of our neighbors. That’s why we’ve invested in new, world-class facilities designed with our patients and community in mind.

nsmc.partners.org

Committed to getting you

home

At North Shore Medical Center, our first priority is the health and well-being of our neighbors. That’s why we’ve invested in new, world-class facilities designed with our patients and community in mind.

nsmc.partners.org

homeCommitted to getting you

8 Spring Street Marblehead, Massachusetts 781.983.7343 HVWESTHETICS.COM

Skin care is an investment...one you’ll never regret!

Full Service Skin Care and Beauty Practice

ARTS THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 7

By Jules BeckerJOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

Could Chekhov’s Treplev be Jewish? Granted, there may be no actual iron-

clad evidence for this theory. Even so, premier Hub actress Anne Gottlieb, who is playing the troubled hero’s mother, Irina Arkadina, in the Arlekin Players’ current revival of the Russian classic “The Seagull,” mentioned in a recent interview that company artistic director Igor Golyak brought up this provocative possibility during a discussion about Treplev’s back-ground.

In fact, Golyak has told the Journal that, “There is a mention in the script that Treplev’s father was a merchant from Kiev, which is a class a lot of times given to Jews that came from shtetls, and then Arkadina mentions that people were asking what nation-ality is Konstantin [Treplev].” A rumor, he added, suggests that a (Jewish) friend of Chekhov, Isaac Levinthal, was in love with someone, shot a seagull, and then tried to commit suicide but was unsuccessful (details call-ing to mind Treplev). Perhaps these factors help explain why New York director Ari Roth actu-ally had Treplev stage the work’s play-within-a-play as a look at the future of the Jewish people in his 2009 take-off, “The Seagull on 16th Street.”

By contrast, the Arlekin pro-duction sticks to the original 1895 text (first staged in 1896), though also with a Jewish director and some Jewish cast members. Gottlieb – who trained under renowned direc-tor and acting expert Michael Chekhov, holds a bachelor’s degree in English and theater from Brandeis, and studied Shakespeare and Renaissance literature at Oxford – has been very pleased with the Arlekin Players’ approach to the play.

“I’m just delighted, “she said. “It’s highly professional and yet there’s a lot of family feeling and warmth from the immigrants and many Jews involved.”

The veteran actress – who has received awards for performanc-es in “Anthony and Cleopatra” and “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune” – also praised the staging’s process.

“This piece was extremely collaborative,” she explained. “The designers were highly involved in our rehearsal pro-cess. There was much experi-mentation and [attention to] what’s the tone of the play.”

That experimentation and the freshness of this revival come through right from the start. While some have termed the play a tragedy, Chekhov himself considered it a comedy. Gottlieb noted that Chekhov “would see the pathos … the comedy of life. You feel for them [the charac-ters]. We also see them as a little ridiculous.”

Call Golyak’s reading of “The Seagull” a comedy of outsid-ers – emotional outsiders at that. Frustrated, Treplev is by turns amusing in terms of his assumptions about the recep-tion of his future-probing play and haunting as he struggles to reach understanding with Irina. Eliott Purcell captures Treplev’s vulnerability as well as his moments of buffoonish naïveté. Irina Bordian catches budding actress Nina’s fascination with relative formula writer Boris Trigorin, playing with flair and proper caginess by Nael Nacer.

Purcell and Bordian share real chemistry as their rela-tionship evolves. For her part, Irina rates some sympathy as a seemingly fading legend, if not a Russian Norma Desmond. Gottlieb, decked out in a leather jacket, smartly balances Irina’s volatility in volleying insults with Konstantin and her genu-ine feeling for her son.

Director Golyak also success-fully moves between acting roles, most notably catching Chekhov spokesman Dr. Dorn’s wisdom as a kind of insightful onlook-er. He’s given the production a you-are-there immediacy in the intimate Arlekin space, with the-atergoers on both sides of sce-nic designer Nikolay Simonov’s cleverly austere staging area. Jeff Adelberg’s nuanced light-ing reflects the ups and downs of Chekhov’s emotionally pre-carious characters. Occasionally slamming doors add notable moments of farce.

“The Seagull” proves timely no matter what the prevailing dramatic style: traditional, sym-bolic, experimental, or other-wise. The key to Chekhov’s char-acters and their fortunes is an understanding of their human-ity – whether their hopes and aspirations or their despair and frustrations. Golyak and the Arlekin Players strikingly cele-brate the play’s universal power.

“The Seagull,” at the Arlekin Players Theatre, 368 Hillside Ave., Needham, through Dec. 8. For tickets, call 617-942-0022, or visit www.arlekinplayers.com.

Chekhov’s ‘The Seagull’ flies high, with a Jewish twist

Photo: Igor KlimovAnne Gottlieb, Eric Andrews, and Darya Denisova in Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” staged by the Arlekin Players in Needham.

By Michael Widlanski

JERUSALEM – Wars, even small ones, often have impor-tant but unintended conse-quences.

Last week’s mini-war in Gaza, code-named by the Israelis as “Operation Black Belt,” did not erase Islamic Jihad or prevent Hamas from firing rockets at Israeli cities. But it did clarify Israel’s political situation.

Clearly, Israel’s center-left has no chance to form a coalition with Arab politicians, some of whom condemned Israel for the

war rather than the Gaza ter-rorists who

fired 400 rockets into Israel, badly hurting communities in the southern part of the country – where schools and businesses were shut.

Until the war, many media pundits had suggested that Israel’s center-left (44 seats), led by Benny Gantz, could enlist – in some way – 13 Arab par-liamentarians from the United Arab List, along with Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu Party (8 seats) to form a coali-tion.

But the barrage of rockets fired from Gaza showed just how unreal that option was, when Israeli Arab politicians con-demned Israeli attacks on ter-rorist positions as “war crimes.”

“Even if Lieberman comes to an agreement with Gantz, they only have a government on paper,” asserted Dafna Liel, political commentator-reporter for Israel TV Channel Two. She made it clear that such a coali-tion would quickly fall apart.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Lieberman under-scored the folly of trying to link him with anti-Zionist parlia-mentarians. “Make no mistake about it, the United Arab List really is a ‘fifth column.’ There is no doubt about it.”

For months Lieberman has been doing an imitation of Madonna, trying to re-create or reimage himself, pretending to be a kind of rock star in front of flashing lights at press confer-ences. With a big smile plastered on his face, he has enjoyed issu-ing sets of demands, demanding that the right abandon support from the religious parties.

Lieberman also loved pre-tending he could set terms and dictate power to a left-led gov-

ernment or to a broad “united secular coalition” where he, not Gantz nor Benjamin Netanyahu, was the final arbiter. Once an ally of Haredi politicians, he tried selling himself as a secular ideologue. In fact, anyone who knows Lieberman realized that he is a Moldavian-born chess player and student of the Cold War, and a staunch devotee of power politics.

As the backlash grew against local Arab politicians for their anti-war stance, it became something Lieberman could not ignore. He saw that bind-ing himself to a left-Arab coali-tion would be a short-lived affair marking him as a “turncoat” to many Israelis, especially his Russian-speaking base.

Even before Lieberman’s comments, Benny Gantz, head of the center-left Blue and White Party, had scolded the Arab poli-ticians in the Knesset for seem-ing to side with the terrorists attacking Israel.

For Gantz, it has been a dif-ficult time inside his own party. For three weeks he has tried to form a new coalition, but last night he admitted his failure. His biggest problem was that his senior partners, Yair Lapid and Moshe Ya’alon, opposed a unity government composed of Blue and White and the Likud Party of Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces three sets of corruption charges.

Israel Attorney General Avishai Mandelblitt is expected to announce his decision this month to present an indict-ment or to reduce or eliminate charges in the three cases facing Netanyahu. Under Israeli law, an Israeli prime minister can stay on the job until a verdict is deliv-ered in his case.

If there is an indictment against Netanyahu, it could be many months before the case goes to court. Backers of Netanyahu in Likud have sug-gested that he serve as prime minister for a year or so, then recuse himself, while Gantz takes the reins of power for two years. Gantz realizes this may be his only chance to be prime minister.

However, Lapid and Yaalon refuse to sit in the same govern-ment with Netanyahu if he faces charges at all, and the internal strains in Blue and White may even lead to a formal split in the newly formed party – an alli-ance between the three smaller parties led by Gantz, Lapid and Yaalon respectively.

This leaves Netanyahu’s Likud Party and its religious party partners with an improved bargaining position, but Israel is entering unchartered legal terri-tory. Never have two candidates for prime minister failed to form a government one right after the other.

There are only 21 days remaining before new elections would have to be called, and the right still has only 55 of the 61 seats needed to form a coali-tion. The center-left has 44, with 13 seats to the Arabs, and eight seats for Lieberman.

A third round of elections is a strong possibility – a possibil-ity no one wants but which no one seems able to avoid, unless people who cannot stand each other learn how to sit and talk to one another.

Netanyahu and Lieberman have stopped insulting each other publicly, and this might

mean Lieberman might be con-sidering re-joining a rightist coalition led by Netanyahu.

Israel’s enemies – Hamas, Islamic Jihad or even Iran itself – may supply the clarifying moment.

Israel and Iran are now attacking each other directly. Iran’s allies in Syria launched four rockets at Israel this week. Israel responded with dozens of attacks on Iranian rocket posi-tions and compounds inside Syria, killing many Iranian offi-cers and soldiers.

Iran is beset by domestic strife and reports of 200 dead in its cities. It may seek to use ter-rorist proxies in Gaza, Syria and maybe even Lebanon, to dem-onstrate “revolutionary achieve-ments.”

So once again a war – a small one that becomes a bigger one – may lead to unintended conse-quences: perhaps a new Israeli government, as feuding Israelis learn that they need to hang together as a nation even if they do not always love each other.

Michael Widlanski writes from Jerusalem. He is the author of “Battle for Our Minds: Western Elites and the Terror Threat.”

8 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 EDITORIAL

Steven A. RosenbergPUBLISHER/EDITOR

JEWISH JOURNAL

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

In response to last issue’s front page article about anti-Semitism and the headline’s suggested aim to “pursue crimes more vigorously,” doing so is critical, but it doesn’t replace the importance of wider under-standing.

I wrote “Loaded Blessings,” a family saga that alternates between Inquisition-era Spain and modern-day Israel, to com-bat the increasingly hostile climate against Israel and the Jewish people. I supplemented the novel with extensive facts within the fiction section for fur-ther investigation.

What’s at least as concern-ing as a thug posting a hate-ful and dishonest poster in our neighborhood, and adolescents

vandalizing university property with swastikas, is that they are in the company of too many people, often under-informed and good-hearted people, who (unwittingly) join the fight against Jews by denying genuine history and often, in the case of Jews themselves, by overcom-pensating for the hard-earned success of the only Jewish state. At the very least, they all undermine its security and image, a goal cherished by those who seek nothing less than its destruction.

“Loaded Blessings” is a novel that encourages dialogue. It isn’t the solution to the one-sided coordinated aggression against the Jewish people, living on or off a strip of land, a size that is

two-tenths of one percent of the Middle East – but it is a part of a solution and also the prover-bial ladder to those who have become activists before they’ve become entirely informed. It’s not too late to become informed – until it is.

Faith QuinteroMarblehead

Diminishing the effectiveness of hate

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are welcome. Letters must

be signed and include your name, address and telephone number for verification purposes. Email submissions to:

editor@jewishjournal.org, subject “Letters.”

The Gaza War, rockets from Syria, and a third election in Israel

Photo: Flash90A block burns in Sderot, Israel after an Islamic Jihad rocket slammed into the city last week.

Analysis

OPINION THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 9

By David Brinn

Among the many things I knew but didn’t really internalize when I moved

to Israel some many decades ago was having to cope with some life-changing developments:

Learning to deal with the – shall we say – direct commu-nication style of Israelis, the inevi tabi l i ty

of being called up for military service, the lack of solid white tuna in cans, and maybe the most significant: the absence of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving in New England couldn’t be more bucolic – with Rockwell-like images, wonder-ful aromas, and good cheer amid the brisk weather, delec-table traditional food, tons of football, and family together-ness.

Israel in late November is usually still shirt-sleeve balmy, the only football is the kind that Americans refer to as soccer, and for most expat Americans, family is 6,000 miles away. But at least we can still make a tradi-tional Thanksgiving dinner with all the dishes we loved growing up: yams, cranberry sauce, and of course, turkey and stuffing. Or so we thought.

Turns out that back in the pre-Internet and pre-cable TV ’80s, before Israelis developed

a more worldly view of the sur-roundings beyond their borders, Thanksgiving was an unknown entity.

Not only could you not get canned cranberry sauce any-where in the country, procuring a whole turkey was unheard of. This despite Israel being one of the biggest consumers of turkey in the world per capita … but it’s turkey breast, sliced turkey deli, and turkey bones for soup.

Unaware of this, my wife and I went to our local Jerusalem supermarket to buy a “hodu” – a turkey to feed to group of neighbors and friends we had invited to celebrate our first Thanksgiving as Israelis.

“What? You can’t get a whole turkey here, you’d have to order one and it would take weeks to come, if it comes at all,” said the butcher behind the meat counter. He instructed us to go to a particular butcher in the Mahane Yehuda shuk, down a certain alley, and there, per-haps, if we’re lucky, there’d be a turkey with our name on it.

The next day, riders on a par-ticular Egged bus were probably straining their necks gawking at the sight of their fellow pas-senger – my wife – clutching a plastic bag containing a huge, freshly slaughtered turkey with its neck still attached and stick-ing way up in the air.

Obtaining the turkey was an accomplishment, but roasting it proved to be another chal-

lenge. Back then, Israeli ovens were considerably narrower than they are today in order to fit in the compact kitchens in the tiny apartments in cramped neighborhoods. After stuffing the bird, we had to literally stuff it in the oven, mutilating its legs and cooking it at a slant.

Against all odds, that first Israeli Thanksgiving proved successful, with other recent American immigrants enjoy-ing the camaraderie and tastes of their old country. One new friend, a bemused British oleh, somehow jumbled the holiday with the Revolutionary War, and intermittently broke into cho-ruses of “God Save the Queen.”

Despite those dubious begin-

nings, we’ve managed to contin-ue marking that most American of holidays almost every year. The friends have rotated in and out, as they move away or drop out, but they’ve been replaced by family no longer 6,000 miles away – our own kids.

Our Israeli-born chil-dren have learned to love Thanksgiving, even though they don’t really know or care about its origins with the Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock. For them, it’s all about the exotic once-a-year dishes. Just like we only eat gefilte fish on Passover, pump-kin and pecan pie only shows up on our table on Thanksgiving.

Because Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday in Israel, it’s not neces-

sarily celebrated on a particular day. Instead of rushing home from work to hurriedly pre-pare for the feast on Thursday when Americans celebrate, our Thanksgiving feast has evolved into a Friday night Shabbat extravaganza: Kiddush, challah, and sweet potatoes.

We’ve settled into a routine with one family of good friends where we swap hosting every other year and hunker down for a night of eating, and yes, of being thankful.

Most Israelis still aren’t aware of Thanksgiving’s exis-tence. Other Western holidays, with much less universal and more pagan roots, have gained a foothold. Advertising displays in stores and nightclubs tout Halloween and Valentine’s Day themes, but you never see any-one promoting a Myles Standish or John Smith party with a gor-geous orange-brown foliage motif.

But there are signs that we’re not the only ones in Israel cel-ebrating the holiday. It’s gotten easier to buy a whole turkey, although it still usually requires having to order it from the meat counter days in advance.

Across Israel, dinner tables can be heard thanking God with gusto: “Hodu L’Hashem.” But in certain pockets, we’re thanking him for the hodu.

David Brinn is a Jerusalem-based journalist.

The Brinn family enjoys Thanksgiving in Jerusalem.

Letter from Israel

By Jonathan S. Tobin

The atmosphere on North American college cam-puses today is one in

which anything that can be labeled, fairly or unfairly, hate speech or which might make virtually any group feel “trig-gered” or otherwise upset can be banned or otherwise silenced.

But there’s one particular kind of hate speech that is not suppressed or restricted, but openly encouraged, if not hon-ored: anti-Semitism.

Unlike groups that preach prejudice against virtually any minority group or category of sexual preference, Jew-hatred is all the rage in academia lately. What makes this trend even more disturbing is that those who are advocating anti-Semi-tism do so in the name of “jus-tice.”

The activities and beliefs of National Students for Justice in Palestine are the focus of a new study from the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy and their findings constitute a wakeup call for those who foolishly think that the hatred of Jews is only to be found on the far right.

What’s more, NSJP hasn’t just managed to avoid the opprobri-um that is thrown at far less con-troversial and divisive groups in order to shun and silence them; the group has found a comfort-able home at many universities, where they have not only evad-ed censure, but been able to marginalize Jews and support-ers of Israel. NSJP has become a hate group with a hall pass that gives it carte blanche to spread disinformation, as well as ven-omous libels about Jews that

go unanswered by responsible authorities and liberal groups that otherwise masquerade as crusaders against hate.

As the ISGAP report docu-ments, NSJP doesn’t sim-ply advocate for justice for Palestinians. As its foreword rightly notes, Palestinians are as entitled to justice as any-one else. However, this group defines justice for Palestinians in such a way as to make it indistinguishable from the demonization of Jews. Those who advocate various formulas for peace in the Middle East that center around compromises on territory and other issues can say that what they are doing is trying to empower Palestinians without harming Jews or deny-ing them their legitimate rights.

But the NSJP’s conception of justice is not one that calls for a future based on coexistence and mutual recognition. Rather, it is merely one in which the State of Israel ceases to exist and the rights of the Jewish people – to their homeland, to self-deter-mination and of self-defense – are annulled. Their idea of Palestinian nationalism is inex-

tricably tied not to the advance-ment of that people’s interests or culture, but to a century-old war on Zionism and the Jews that must always end in the eradication of the one Jewish state on the planet.

NSJP’s literature and social-media advocacy employs all of the classic forms of anti-Semitic discourse in terms of the demonization of Jews. Using the definition of anti-Semitism promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the study also makes it clear that the NSJP’s mode of discourse routinely crosses into territory in which its goal is not critiques of Israel’s policies, but instead to disparage, demonize and delegitimize Jews, and to deny Jewish history. Their false comparisons between Israel and apartheid South Africa – and particularly those made between it and Nazi Germany – aren’t merely defamatory, they are blatantly anti-Semitic.

Moreover, the conduct of its chapters, which exist at schools throughout the nation, includ-ing some of the country’s most elite institutions, also illustrate

the hateful nature of their cam-paigns, whose goal is to shame and silence Jews who have the temerity to speak up for the rights of their people.

Why does NSJP get away with it? Why is such behavior tolerat-ed and even lauded – New York University gave its President’s Award to its SPJ chapter for its “civic engagement” – by those in power who are usually occu-pied with shutting up those who offend the sensibilities of stu-dents?

The answer is that NSJP’s libels against Israel are fashion-able, while those of other hate groups are not.

The rise of intersectional ide-ology that claims a link between the Palestinian war on Israel and the struggle for civil rights in the United States is widely accepted in academic circles, despite its lack of logic and fal-sification of history.

Others foolishly claim that Palestinian Jew-hatred is dis-tinct from classical anti-Semi-tism because they were wronged by the creation of the State of Israel. The problem with that argument is that Palestinian suffering in their conflict with Zionism rests entirely on their refusal to compromise. Equally important, they not only insist on nullifying Jewish rights, but consistently attack Israel in language rooted in the Islamic tradition of treating Jews as second-class citizens with anti-Semitic tropes thrown in for good measure.

At the root of this problem is the plain fact that anti-Zion-ism cannot be separated from anti-Semitism simply because it seeks to deny to the Jews that which no one – least of all

American liberals – would deny to any other people.

This is confirmed by the fact that NSJP and its BDS agenda don’t target Israel as they do Jews who stand up for it. It’s they who are vilified and attacked, both verbally and sometimes physically by NSJP.

What can be done about this problem?

If universities were to apply the rules it uses on other issues, NSJP would be banned every-where as a hate group. Those who call for consistency on such matters aren’t wrong. But the right course of action isn’t so much to silence Israel’s foes, just as they seek to silence Jews and Zionists. It’s for students and faculty to unite to advocate against hate and to push back hard against those who traffic in anti-Semitism. By letting NSJP get away with pushing anti-Semitic themes without being denounced by authority figures and student bodies, academic institutions are enabling and legitimizing hate. And when that happens, they cannot claim innocence when acts of intimi-dation against Jews by the NSJP occur.

The ISGAP report is a wake-up call not just for Jewish groups, but for those who enable or excuse the vitriol espoused by this group. It’s time to revoke the college hall pass granted by intellectual fashion to those who target Jews and seek to demonize the Jewish state. The alternative is to stand by and watch as a new wave of anti-Semitism sweeps through universities and the nation.

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor of JNS.org.

A hate group gets a college hall pass

Photo: JCPA New York Students for Justice in Palestine marching.

A not-so-traditional Thanksgiving in Israel

Publisher/EditorSteven A. Rosenberg

rosenberg@jewishjournal.org

Associate EditorMichael Wittner

wittner@jewishjournal.org

Business ManagerChet Baker

business1@jewishjournal.org

Director of Advertising & Marketing

Lois Kaplan lois@jewishjournal.org

Senior Account ExecutiveMarcy Grand

marcy@jewishjournal.org

Graphics, Web,Russian Chronicle Editor

Yulia Zhorov yulia@jewishjournal.org

Graphics, Web, ObituariesAndrew Fleischer

andrew@jewishjournal.org

Editorial Cartoonist George Freedman

Board of Overseers Neil Donnenfeld, President Bob Blayer, *Rick Borten,

Beverly Clark, Fred M. Cohen, Susan Garnick,

Marcia Glassman-Jaffe,Cara Hogan, Johanna Matloff,

Lynn Nadeau, Donna Lozow Pierce,

*Howard Rich, *Robert M. Rose,Stephanie Simon, John Smidt, Bradley J. Sontz, Ted D. Stux,

Matthew Swartz, *Selma Williams

*Life Board Members

Past PresidentBradley J. Sontz

Publisher EmeritaBarbara Schneider

The Jewish Journal, ISSN1040-0095, an independent,

non-profit community newspaper, is published bi-weekly by

North Shore Jewish Press, Ltd., P.O. Box 2089, 2 Margin St., Salem, MA 01970. Periodical postage paid at Salem, MA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE JEWISH

JOURNAL, P.O. Box 2089, 2 Margin St., Salem, MA 01970. Circulation to eastern Massachusetts and north of Boston. Member of American

Jewish Press Association and the Salem Chamber of Commerce.

The opinions of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the paper. The Jewish Journal

assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors in

advertisements, but will print in a subsequent issue a retraction and correction of that portion of

an advertisement whose value has been affected. The Jewish Journal does not endorse the goods and services advertised in its pages,

and it makes no representation as to the kashrut of food products

and services in such advertising. The Jewish Journal is

the recipient of a grant from Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Copyright © The Jewish Journal

(All rights reserved).

P.O. Box 2089 2 Margin Street

Salem, MA 01970www.jewishjournal.org

Phone 978-745-4111Fax 978-745-5333

Subscriptions x121 Website admin x172

Press releases: pr@jewishjournal.org

Calendar submissions:calendar@jewishjournal.org

JEWISH JOURNAL

10 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019

THANK YOU FOR DONATING TO THE JEWISH JOURNAL DURING OCTOBER, 2019Jeanette & Allan AblowBarbara Bender AbramsonAudrey & Don Adelman

in honor of our son’s upcoming marriage

Leon Aronson in honor of the Aronson/Keone family

Abe & Barbara AssaSelma & Larry BakerAbraham Baron in memory of

dear wife Ruth BaronLubov Belenky in honor of

my husband Zin BelenkyLeo F. Berman in memory of

my wife Dorothy BermanMarina Berman & Michael

Rachman in memory of Ada Rachman

Lillian Bockser in memory of Alex & son Gary

Helena Book in memory of Joseph Book

Jerry Bornstein & familyHarvey & Carol BrandMarty & Sharon Bregman Celia Brown in memory of

beloved parents Jeannette and Simon Malkin

Edward & Irma BubisDomenic Centofanti &

Rhonda FogelRuth Chapnick in memory of

Louis ChapnikEstelle CohenNeal & Paula Cohen in memory

of George & Etta & Max & Minnie Peckerman

Phil CohenBrenda & Sheldon Cohen

in honor of our grandchildren

Susan Cohen in memory of Bella Coraz

Nancy & Arnie CowanPhil & Eve CutterMarilyn DaneshDavid & Carole DecterJanice Devito in memory of

Hilda and Henry T. BergsonThe Dexter FamilyLinda & Jossef DinismanDorothy Eisenman in memory

of my loved onesHazel Engber & son Robert –

Shanah Tovah to allSelma B. Engler in memory

of my husband Sidney M. Engler

Rosalyn & Jay Esterkes in honor of Jay Esterkes’ 99th birthday

Khava FeksonMark & Sandra Finkelstein in

memory of Lewis Finkelstein & Stanley Finkelstein

Frances FleitLorily & Steve Forman

in memory of Nancy ShragerDr. & Mrs. Robert FreedmanRoberta & Richard Giller

in honor of the marriage of Andrew & Michelle Giller

Donald & Roberta GlusgolEnid GoldStan GoldDaniel A. Goldberg – Yom TovJudith GoldbergAdele GoldmanMarsha & Elliott GoldsteinFrancine Goldstein in memory

of beloved husband Marvin Goldstein

Sema & Henry Goldstein in honor of our 60th anniversary

Jeffrey & Deborah GoldsteinAnatoli GorskiAnnette GreenNatalie Greenblatt in honor of

Al Pica’s 40th birthdayMichael & Arlene GreensteinSusan & James GrossmanSaul GurmanSaul & Betty HellerSally & Carl HookerSusan Jacobs & Andrea Ring –

Happy New YearDonna & Spencer Kagan

in memory of our loving parents

Raisa KaganovichMarcia KaminEileen KaminskyNaum and Nelya Kaminsky

in memory of Yakov & Riva Bedchenko

Gregory & Klara KapilevichEric & Cynthia KaplanBarbara & Michael KatzPeter KaufmanSusan KeitheBarry & Lynn KepnesLeslie KerznerJanice KopelowitzRobert KraussFreda Kravetz

Dr. & Mrs. Jacob KritemanAlice & Charles LeidnerEric LessingerBeverly and Jerry Levenson

in honor of our grandson Sammy’s Bar Mitzvah

Ruth LevinDodie & Erwin LevineBarbara & Joel Levine in honor

of marriage of Libby Levine and Daniel Speicher

Binnie Lewis in memory of Harvey Lewis

Joan C. LewisLois LibermanElaine LitcofskyJudy Lubov in memory of

beloved husband Melvin Lubov

Phyllis LurieSteve MarantzPhillip V. Margolis in memory

of mother & father Ida & John Margolis & wife Sandra Margolis

Beatrice MarlowRonald & Cindy MatloffBurton & Donna MatrossNancy & Herb MillerAron & Galina MirmelshteynJudy & Mel MyerowMr. & Mrs. NewmanJackie & Paul NewmanEdward J. NiermanGalina NizhnikovArlene NymanPamela PierceBeth S. Pinanski in memory of

my son GaryBill & Donna PoiresMr. & Mrs. Stephen I. PolanskyPhyllis B. PotashRon & Shari PressmanN. ReismanLiz & Marty RogosaJames RosenfieldIrwin & Jane RosenstonDavid & Ritta RozenbergDonna & Burt RubinNancy RubinJulia RussellBill and Shirley Salloway

in blessed memory of all our loved ones

Rae SamiljanEleanor SamuelsMeryle & Marvin SandlerLois Sargent in memory of

sister Ruth Katz

Shirley Gann SaundersGeorge SaxeSandra & Neil SchauerFran & Irving SchulmanArnold Schultz in memory of

Anne & Joseph Schultz & Ruth P. Schultz

Carol SegalEtta ShapiroHarvey Shapiro in memory of

beloved wife Eileen - wife, mother, grandmother, sister

Joanne ShapiroRoz ShapiroMark ShohamEthel ShulamMarjorie Simon &

Alan M. RosenfieldAlan & Sheila SimonsMargaret SimonsNancy & Jerry SingerMarc & Julie SlafskyRene SorianoArlene & Jack Stahl in memory

of Sarah LisookRosalyn SteinEvelyn SternEmma & Marty SullawayEric & Ximena TalcofskyMichelle TalismanEli & Muriel TalkovNeil TrainorSonya TuckThe Vandusen familyMarat & Olga VaysmanPeter WaldfogelJoan & Michael Waldman

in memory of Evelyn & Herman White

Joan Wasserman in memory of my husband Bernard Wasserman

Herb & Audrey WeinsteinMyra Weinstein in memory of

Albert WeinsteinBeatrice WenicurSharon West, MDGary P. Wheeler, DDSWendy & Conrad WicksSelma WilliamsMarilyn Winer in memory of

Rosalyn “Honey” SorkinBeth YanofskyBarbara & Joe Younger

And thank you to all our anonymous donors

inaugural Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon.

At the Arizona Musicfest, Naplan has brought big-name talent such as Williams, Neil Sedaka, Rosanne Cash, and even the Violins of Hope, a col-lection of violins rescued from the Holocaust, used in a two-concert series with American-born Israeli Gil Shaham for the performance of Naplan’s “Schlof Main Kind, a Yiddish Lullaby,” which was commissioned for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Yom HaShoah ceremo-ny in 1994.

Naplan is also a cantorial soloist for multiple houses of worship, and in the past has been an opera singer and administrator.

“I feel very lucky, I feel very fortunate. From a very early age, I was surrounded by Jewish and classical music,” Naplan recalled, noting that his par-ents “thought nothing of driving into Boston” to hear the Boston Symphony or “anything of a Jewish musical nature,” such

as the annual Chassidic Song Festival. But after graduating from Brandeis with degrees in vocal performance and musi-cal education and pursuing a career as an educator, he was frustrated by options for Jewish music in the classroom.

“So much of ‘Jewish music’ was tokenism … Hanukkah music,” he recalled.

Naplan channeled his frus-tration into composing works that would benefit the reper-toire, songs that could be per-formed “all throughout the year because of the value musical-

ly, or the value of the context, what the text was,” he said. He looked for inspiration in non-sacred texts because of what he describes as the dilemma of performing sacred music, whether Jewish or Christian, in a public school setting.

“I was very fortunate to develop a catalog that’s been highly embraced by profes-sional and amateur choirs and schools,” Naplan said. “It’s been wonderful, totally unexpected.”

That catalog includes “Al Shlosha D’Varim,” which was first composed about 25 years

ago. Naplan is familiar with the traditional song from Reform Shabbat services prior to the Torah reading. Its lyrics state that the world is sustained by three things: Torah, prayer, and lovingkindness. For this piece, he looked for “a theme that serves everyone, not unique to being a Jewish theme,” and found another version, which stated that the three things that sustain the world are truth, justice and peace, which “obvi-ously has a very wide reach to anyone singing the piece,” he said. “They can speak to any audience and any singer.”

At the Handel and Haydn Society concerts, Naplan’s Al Shlosha D’Varim was performed by the society’s Children’s Choir, with a piano accompanist. Beginning with a solo, the piece shifted to the choir singing in unison before reaching a cre-scendo.

“Music, for me, is something very special,” he said. “It’s always a great unifier. It doesn’t have to be political. Everyone can enjoy and participate. I think it’s real-ly wonderful. I’m touched that they chose to include my work.”

Composerfrom page 3

A choir performs “Al Shlosha D’varim” by Allan Naplan.

n COMPREHENSIVE DENTAL CLINIC:We are able to care for all your oral health needs. Whether it’s as simple as a cleaning and exam or designing the smile of your dreams. Dr. Michael Faynzilberg and his exceptional staff will custom tailor care to each patient with an ethical patient centered approach.

n MODERN DIGITAL APPROACH:No more uncomfortable bad tasting impressions. No more waiting weeks for your new caps (crowns), veneers and restorations to be finished while wearing less esthetic and less comfortable temporaries. Using the latest in digital technology, Dr. Faynzilberg is able to fabricate beautiful same day ceramic restoration in all cases.

n WORLD CLASS COSMETIC CARE:With a full service in house dental laboratory. Dr. Faynzilberg is able to customize your beautiful smile in office. This will drastically lessen the number of visits necessary to achieve the perfect smile you have always desired, while also allowing maximum esthetic satisfaction for each patient.

We work with all private ppo insurance companies.

Dr. Michael Faynzilberg

North Shore Jewish History Event

On Sunday morning, December 15th at 10:00 am, Beverly’s Temple B’nai Abraham will host a community education

program titled Documenting and Preserving the North Shore’s Jewish History: An Overview of the Jewish Heritage Center’s Collections (and How to Use them).

This is a free program and the entire North Shore Jewish community is invited. A light breakfast will be provided.

Co-sponsoring the program with TBA are the Congregation Sons of Jacob Cultural Enrichment Fund and the Jewish Journal (Boston North).

200 E. Lothrop Street Beverly, MA 01915

tbabeverly.org

Stephanie Call, the program’s guest speaker, is Associate Director for Archives and Education with the Jewish Heritage Center (JHC) at New England Historic Genealogical Society. The JHC engages historians, genealogists, students, partner organizations, and the general public in programs and research to advance the study of Jewish history, culture, and legacies. They maintain extensive archival collections at their Boston headquarters, as well as online.

In this interactive presentation, Ms. Call will provide an overview of the North Shore collections available at the JHC, demonstrating how to search and access materials pertaining to the history of Jewish families, organizations, synagogues, and businesses. She will showcase stories and photographs from the collections, giving attendees an opportunity to engage with the archival materials.

Please RSVP to Temple B’nai Abraham, 978-927-3211 ext. 3 office@tbabeverly.org

THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 11

JOURNALISM MATTERS.Donate to the Jewish Journal today.

Visit our homepage at jewishjournal.org, or call 978-745-4111 x130.

By Miriam WeinsteinJOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

GLOUCESTER – Phoebe Potts, director of family learning at Gloucester’s Temple Ahavat Achim and author of a graphic memoir, will soon be adding to her list of accomplishments. For two weekends, starting Nov. 23, she will present a one-woman show at the Gloucester Stage Company.

“Too Fat for China” tells the story of what it took for Potts and her husband, Jeffrey Marshall, to adopt Lemi, a boy from Ethiopia.

Given her background as a comic, artist and teacher, we will learn about the complications of this journey – and by jour-ney, we don’t mean just two round-trip flights to Addis Ababa.

As Potts describes it, she “finds herself sur-prised, disgusted and ultimately resigned to the role she plays as a mid-dle-class white lady in the busi-ness of adopting babies in the U.S. and internationally.”

Her graphic memoir, “Good Eggs,” is a sometimes humorous story about infertility, admitted-ly not an inherently funny sub-ject. The book was good enough to win the praise of comic mas-ter Roz Chast, who called it “completely involving.”

Potts then began a graphic memoir about the next phase in her life – cue the scary music – the adoption process. While working on this narrative, she was chosen as Storyteller in Residence at the Gloucester Writers Center, which allowed her to hone her performing skills.

She says, however, that she has been working on her story-telling skills her whole life.

“It feels like it’s genetic,” she says. “I was raised by journalists. And, if you wanted the warm sun of my parents’ attention, you’d better tell a good story.”

Her 20 years of teaching have also schooled her in how best to get her points across. The theme this year at Ahavat Achim’s Sylvia Cohen Religious School is “The Jewish Story Project.” A hallmark of the school’s pro-gram is helping kids use various media to act out, interpret and learn about Jewish ritual, history and tradition.

As Potts says, “You could say that our entire tradition is based on telling stories.”

The title of her one-woman per-formance came from one of the stranger twists of the adoption road.

After an attempted adop-tion in the U.S. that, according to Potts, “went hor-

ribly wrong,” she and her hus-band tried to adopt a baby from China. Who would have thought that the Chinese had a BMI requirement for prospective parents and that Potts would fail by half a point?

“Ultimately, it’s a successful ending,” she says, in case any-one is worrying.

But that was not a given.“The making of the story is a

way of understanding what hap-pened,” she says, “a way to be in control of the narrative.”

Potts finds that the story-telling genre is very capacious. And it is quite different from stand-up comedy, which she studies and respects. But she finds storytelling “a more holis-tic art experience, because it has pathos in it, too.”

She also appreciates the mixed-media aspect of story-telling.

“Like graphic books are neither art nor writing, but a mixture,” she says, storytelling employs more than just humor. “The jokes should be the sweet-ener in the story. I need the whole landscape of a story for the kind of story I want to tell.”

The show will be presented at the Gloucester Stage Company on Nov. 23, 24 and 30, and on Dec. 1. The last show will be fol-lowed by a reception and con-versation. Visit gloucesterstage.com/too-fat-for-china/.Phoebe Potts

Phoebe Potts to perform one-woman show at Gloucester Stage

Phoebe Potts introducing her graphic novel “Too Fat For China.”

“You could say that our entire

tradition is based on telling stories.”

– Phoebe Potts

Located at Cobb Corner ~ 15 Washington St. Canton, MA 02021

Sunday 7AM - 4 PM, Monday -Thursday 7AM - 7 PM, Friday 7AM - 2:30 PM Closed Saturdays.

Free Parking

Zayde’s Market Where Quality & Kosher Meet

Lisa & Josh Ruboy

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone Turkeys are on the move. Order yours Today! Stop in for all your Thanksgiving needs Homemade Cranberry Sauce, Appetizers, Side

Dishes, Desserts, Wines, Spirits, & more

Scratch Baked Fresh Daily “NEW” Sharonna’s Pita

Every Sunday 12-2PM

Wine and Spirit tasting Stop in and taste before you buy

Sufganyiot Order now for Chanukah

Come see what we have on Sale Sale Prices Good Thru December 06, 2019

See our Website & Facebook page

Zayde’s Thanksgiving Menus

are online Zaydesmarket.com ________________ Zayde’s Market

“The Best Bagel In New England”

Real N.Y. Bagels Fresh Every

Thursday, Friday &

Sunday ____________________

Deliveries just about anywhere

781-828-3530

VINNIN LIQ UO RSVINNIN LIQ UO RS

PERFECT FOR:• Corporate gifts • Holiday party gifts • Yankee swaps• Gift cards• Holiday gift baskets • We deliver

We DELIVER! Please check our website for your area zone.Free delivery locally with low minimums!

THE NORTH SHORE’S PREMIER “HOLIDAY” LIQUOR STORE371 Paradise Road, Swampscott • 781-598-4110 • vinninliquors.com

VINNINLIQUORS

Shop us @ vinninliquors.com

We Deliver!

Your Neighborhood Specialty Food Store:Where Traditional Meets Non-Traditional!

Zayde’s Market

Located at Cobb Corner ~ 15 Washington St. Canton, MA

Sunday 7AM - 4:00 PM, Monday –Wednesday 8AM - 7:00PM, Thursday 7AM - 7:00 PM, Friday 7 AM - 5/6 PM, Closed Saturday.

Zayde’s Market Your Neighborhood Specialty Food Store: Where Traditional Meets

Non-Traditional!

www.zaydesmarket.com 781-828-3530

WE CATER All Occasions

Plain & Simple

Where Quality Matters

Prepared Foods Groceries

Wines-Spirits-Beer

See our specials and sale on our web site and facebook

See our Sales & Specials on our

web site and Facebook. Join Our Blog

WE CATERAll OccasionsPlain & Simple

Located at Cobb Corner ~ 15 Washington St. Canton, MA

Sunday 7AM - 4:00 PM, Monday –Wednesday 8AM - 7:00PM, Thursday 7AM - 7:00 PM, Friday 7 AM - 5/6 PM, Closed Saturday.

Zayde’s Market Your Neighborhood Specialty Food Store: Where Traditional Meets

Non-Traditional!

www.zaydesmarket.com 781-828-3530

WE CATER All Occasions

Plain & Simple

Where Quality Matters

Prepared Foods Groceries

Wines-Spirits-Beer

See our specials and sale on our web site and facebook

See our Sales & Specials on our

web site and Facebook. Join Our Blog

Located at Cobb Corner ~ 15 Washington Street, Canton, MAwww.zaydesmarket.com ~ 781-828-3530

Free parking ~ Closed Saturdays

V EVENT PLANNING V

EVENT PLANNINGAT ITS BEST…For all your Celebration needsComplimentary consultation by appointment

781-631-6603donna.eltouch@gmail.com

Donna Kagan’sElegant Touch

978.535.0770www.CohenProductions.com

COHEN P R O D U C T I O N S

PROFESSIONAL ENTERTAINMENT

& DISC JOCKEY SERVICEHigh-Energy, But Not Over the Top

THE PERFECT VENUE FOR YOUR EVENT

CAFEESCADRILLE.COM/JWJ

CONTACT US AT781.207.9353

781-395-8888 x3

KAPPY’s-ON-CALLMAKES

ENTERTAINING EASY!

To advertise in the Event Planning directory, contact:

lois@jewishjournal.org, marcy@jewishjournal.org,

or call 978-745-4111.

Consider us for your Bar/Bat Mitzvah,

Weddings, Private Events, Special Occasions

978.744.5469 | SalemTrolley.com

12 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019

JERUSALEM – Sixty percent of Israelis oppose the American Jewish community influencing decisions related to religion and state in Israel, accord-ing to a recently-released sur-vey by the Ruderman Family Foundation.

Perhaps even more alarm-ing, 57 percent of Israelis have little or no knowledge of American Jewish organizations and only 9 percent know those organizations well. Of these respondents, 45 percent said they had zero exposure to the organizations’ work, 44 percent said they were rarely exposed to that work, and only 2 per-cent said they were exposed regularly.

The survey was conducted by the Dialogue polling com-pany among 500 respondents from a demographically repre-sentative sampling of Israel’s adult Jewish population. The Ruderman Family Foundation, which works to strengthen the relationship between Israel and the American Jewish commu-

nity, commissioned the survey in order to better assess Israeli public opinion towards various aspects of U.S. Jewry.

Seventy-nine percent of respondents noted they did not actively follow Jewish organiza-tions’ work on any traditional or social media platform. Only 22 percent said they had an excellent or very good under-standing of the differences between the religious streams of U.S. Jewry, with 32 percent reporting somewhat of an understanding and 26 percent little to no understanding.

“The Israeli public openly admits to not knowing enough about the American Jewish community and its organiza-tions. We must work to change this, especially among Israeli leaders and decision-makers. Israel’s relationship with the American Jewish community is important for both sides and affects all areas of life – as this poll showed once again,” said Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation.

New study: Israelis largely oppose US Jewry influencing issues of religion and state in Israel

Karaoke onFridays and

Saturdays from8:30 pm to12:30 am!

ORDER ONLINE AT: www.fantasyislandsalem.com

516 Loring Avenue, SalemTel: (978) 745-1700

Fax: (978) 740-9121

15% OFFLunch with this ad.

Dine-in only. Excludes beverages & tax.

Expires Dec. 1, 2019

Celebrating 35 years!

Receive 20% off on all your favorite Skin Care Products!

EUROPEAN SKIN CARE & MED SPA

DaylesMedSpa.com | 781-631-2090261 Washington Street | Marblehead, MA 01945

JOIN US FOR OUR OPEN HOUSE!December 5th, 6th & 7th | 12:00-5:00pm

Skin & Nail Care | Laser Hair Removal | Massage | Waxing | Makeup & More...

Purchase a Gift Card & receive a FREE Gift Card

Purchase $175

Receive $35

Purchase $250 or more

Receive $50

Purchase $125

Receive $25

Offer expires January 1st.

Always the Lowest Air Fares • Customized Individual & Group Tours Bar Mitzvah Tours & Ceremonies

EASTERN EUROPEIndependent & Escorted Tours

VACATIONS & HONEYMOONSEurope • Far East • The Caribbean • Florida • Arizona • Las Vegas

617-738-0500 • 800-399-8467www.bler.com • info@bler.com

45 Bartlett Crescent Road • Brookline, MA 02446

BLER TRAVEL

CONNIE ZAITCHIKczaitchik@gmail.com

508.284.1876

Silk Painted Chuppahs for your Special Day

COMMUNITY NEWS THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 13

(Temple Emanu-El), Ustream (Congregation Shirat Hayam), StreamSpot (Temple Ner Tamid and Temple Emanuel in Andover) and Open Broadcaster Software (Temple Tiferet Shalom). The footage is available on the syna-gogue website, and sometimes other online platforms, and it is saved and archived once the service is complete. The equip-ment itself can cost thousands, and subscriptions to streaming services cost hundreds per year, though discounts are available through the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Union for Reform Judaism.

Sophisticated hardware and software make services acces-sible and convenient, but also raise questions about both pri-vacy and Jewish law. To avoid liability, synagogues let people know that services are being recorded, and most only direct the cameras towards the bimah.

“We recognize that some peo-ple prefer not to be on video. So we supply advance notice of religious services or events that will be video streamed, and we post a notice on the entrance letting people know where to sit to be on or off camera,” said Rachel Zalvan, president of Temple Tiferet Shalom.

Meanwhile, at Temple Ner Tamid, Rabbi Perlman chose to

let recordings only be available to members who need to request a password in order to view the recordings online, because he felt making the recordings publicly available would both detract from the experience and hurt synagogue attendance.

While Orthodox congrega-tions do not use electricity or modern technology on Shabbat, Conservative and Reform con-gregations can, so recording is permitted. Still, congregations would prefer to spend services praying rather than fiddling with electronic equipment or worry-ing if they’re being filmed from their good side.

“We’re not shomer Shabbos, but eventually we would like to

preset the time when it goes on, but right now we are manually [turning the camera on] each Shabbat,” said Friedman.

Rabbi Michael Ragozin of Congregation Shirat Hayam said the Conservative movement discourages recording for simi-lar reasons, and because even though Jews may be permitted to engage with technology on Shabbat, they should try to keep it to a minimum. “Ideally we have a gentile [turn the equip-ment on], but since we don’t, a Jewish person will press ‘record’ whenever,” he said. “But we decided to fit the needs of peo-ple in the 21st century, this was what would help people con-nect.”

A recording of Kol Nidre at Congregation Shirat Hayam is available on Facebook.

Synagogues reach out with online streamingfrom page 1

He was excited to see a large number of students who don’t want to see divisive rhetoric on campus.

“It struck me how many peo-ple are supporting a message of peace and collaboration,” he said.

The march ended at the Newman Center, where student organizers had set up informa-tional tables, food, and handed out free copies of “Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor,” a book by Yossi Klein Halevi.

Last May, when a simi-lar BDS event took place, a Massachusetts judge refused to ban the event in a legal chal-lenge that argued it was anti-Semitic.

At the time, pro-Israel stu-dents did not organize any pub-lic event to counter the BDS panel, Alvarez-Dobrusin said. The controversy on campus did galvanize other students, and many more began attending meetings of pro-Israel groups, he said.

This time, working with Hillel leaders, students decided it was very important to respond.

“We want to show there is

a whole different community that believes deeply that we can have opposing views,” with-out demonizing the other side, Alvarez-Dobrusin said before the march.

Alvarez-Dobrusin credited his deep involvement with Israel advocacy to his trip to Israel through the Lappin Foundation. Most noteworthy was that his trip was in the summer of 2014, during the extended conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

“It gave me a deeper insight into the contentious geopolitics of the area,” he said.

At UMass, he got involved with Hillel’s Student Alliance for Israel, which focuses on infor-mational programming.

But it’s his work with Bridging the Divide where the challenging conversations unfold, Alvarez-Dobrusin said. The group reach-es out to student leaders in non-Jewish organizations, including the Muslim Student Association and the Arab Cultural Club.

The goal is to build relation-ships on campus, and the group offers free study trips to Israel, including visits to Ramallah, a Palestinian city in the West

Bank, and meetings with orga-nizations that do collaborative work.

“That is the way to build bridges among others who would otherwise feel unwel-come, to build friendships,” Alvarez-Dobrusin said.

Pro-Israel response at UMassfrom page 1

Join your children ages 4 – 10 for an evening of hands-on STEM activities. Engineer a New Year’s Eve ball drop, program robots for Passover, design ships for Thanksgiving, and more!

Pizza and salad will be provided until 6:10. Admission is free and open to the community.

RSVPs greatly appreciated: EHS_stem@epsteinhillel.org or 781.639.2880.

S I X C O M M U N I T Y R O A D | M A R B L E H E A D , M A | E P S T E I N H I L L E L . O R G

EPSTEIN HILLEL SCHOOLTUESDAY, DECEMBER 3RD 5:45 – 7:30 PM

GRADES K – 8

Celebrate STEM through HOLIDAYS IN EVERY SEASON

Temple Ner Tamid Religious School Open House December 8

Sunday School Open House for ages 4-5 (10 – 11:30 a.m.)RSVP to Beth Hoffman at 978-532-1293 with any questions.

368 Lowell Street, Peabodywww.templenertamid.org | www.tamidschool.com

Temple Ner Tamid

Happy Thanksgiving!We will be closed on Thanksgiving Day

SUN-THURS 11:30am-10pm • FRI-SAT 11:30am-11pmLuncheon Specials: MON-FRI 11:30am-3pm

TEL 978-531-3366 • FAX 978-531-3060 • www.suchangspeabody.com

S U • C H A N G ’ SFine Chinese Cuisine

373 Lowell Street • Peabody, Massachusetts

Catering

availableFunctions from 2-200

FABULOUS FALL FASHIONS arriving!

590 Revere Beach Blvd., Revere, MA ~ 781-289-3672By Appointment | Entrance at Rear of House | Major Credit Cards

Extraordinary, Contemporary Clothing for Today’s Woman

Celebratein Style!

CLASSIC & MODERN at the same time!

Sweaters, Tops, Pants and More!

Casual Daytime Wear to Black Tie Party Wear

Selma’sSelma’s

14 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 COMMUNITY NEWS

NOVEMBER 23BOSTON MODERN ORCHESTRA PROJECT: KLEZMER MADNESS The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) presents Klezmer Madness: a one-night-only concert of contemporary music by three composers exploring their Jewish heritage through klezmer music. Featuring guest soloist and klezmer superstar David Krakauer, the program includes the Boston premiere of Matthew Rosenblum’s searing clarinet concerto “Lament/Witches’ Sabbath,” Wlad Marhulets’s “Concerto for Klezmer Clarinet” and Avner Dorman’s “Ellef Symphony” and “Uriah.” A pre-concert talk at 8 p.m. To purchase tickets, go to bmop.org/season-tickets/klezmer-madness, or call 781-324-0396.

GOLDA’S BALCONY Screening presented by the Merrimack Valley Jewish Federation. The Rise of Golda Meir from Russian schoolgirl to American schoolteacher to a leader of international politics as the fourth prime minister of Israel is one of the most thrilling stories of the 20th Century. A rare multi-camera shoot from the Play’s original 2003 run was recently unearthed and kinetically edited. Seating is

limited. Call 978-688-0466 for more information. The prices for tickets begin at $18 for General Admission, and $54 for sponsor levels. Tickets atmvjf.org, 7:30 p.m. Edgewood Clubhouse, 575 Osgood St., North Andover.

J FAMILY: CREATING CONNECTIONS FOR YOUR FAMILY – Bedtime Stories with professional storyteller Judith Black. Presented by the Congregation Shirat Hayam. The J Family Series is a way for families to build community and learn ways in which one can form own Jewish identity as a family and as individuals. Everybody is welcome to join (interfaith, Jewishly connected, not-yet-affiliated, older kids). This program is specially designed for any family constellation with young children, especially ages 5-7, who are looking to continue to build on Jewish experiences from preschool and kindergarten. 6 p.m. Free. The House of the Seven Gables,115 Derby St., Salem.

Looking AheadNOVEMBER 24 Journal Pick

THE GERMAN-JEWISH COOKBOOKPresented by Lappin Foundation. The community is invited to the first in a series of ethnic Jewish cooking programs, “The German-Jewish Cookbook.” Authors Gabrielle Rossmere Gropman and Sonya Gropman will talk about the recipes and history of German-Jewish cuisine. Enjoy recipe samples and a book signing by the authors. Free. 1 - 3 p.m. Temple Ahavat Achim, 86 Middle St., Gloucester.

OR

CH

ES

TR

AL

SE

RIE

S

19BMOP20

B O STO N M O D E R N O R C H E STR A P R OJ E CT | 781.324.0396 | BMOP.org

Klezmer MadnessSaturday, November 23, 2019 at 8pmJORDAN HALL AT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY

This concert shines a spotlight on the struggles, triumphs, and joys of Jewish history and culture through four recent works by three Jewish composers who are making a strong mark on today’s orchestra music. With special guest, clarinetist David Krakauer.

Avner DormanURIAH (2009) and ELLEF SYMPHONY (2000)

Matthew Rosenblum

LAMENT / WITCHES’ SABBATH (2017)David Krakauer, clarinet

Wlad Marhulets

CONCERTO FOR KLEZMER CLARINET (2008)David Krakauer, clarinet

GIL ROSE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Submit your Calendar listings to calendar@jewishjournal.org

300 Salem StreetSwampscott

781.593.6111

One Essex StreetMarblehead781.631.8800

SWAMPSCOTTStunning classic center-entrance 4 bedroom colonial.

Move-in ready and close to Eismann’s Beach, this home is perfect for comfortable living and relaxed entertaining.

Custom designed kitchen. Professionally landscaped perennial gardens with plenty of beautiful outdoor living space.

Come see for yourself! $949,900

saganharborside.com

MARBLEHEADLocated on Marblehead Neck just a few minutes from the Harbor, Beaches, Lighthouse and Yacht Clubs, this home offers a flexible &

open floor plan designed to accommodate all your needs. Artfully renovated with thoughtfulness and planned for today’s living.

Open gourmet kitchen with island, dining area and fp family room with deck overlooking Parker Pond. Serene location!

$1,450,000

GREAT CHOICES!

CALENDAR THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 15

NOVEMBER 24ACT! SOUP-ER SUNDAY Presented by Jewish Teen Initiative. Soup-er Sunday is a high-impact community event run through Jewish Teen Initiative Boston.Teens and parents are invited to prepare homemade meals for families living at the Lynn Shelter Association. Make lasagna, soup and apple pie to share with families who are experiencing homelessness on the North Shore. 12 - 3:30 p.m. More info: jewishteeninitiative.org. Jewish Community Center of the North Shore, 4 Community Road, Marblehead.

NOVEMBER 26GIVING THANKS! Peabody Community Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. 7 p.m. All are welcome. For more information call, Beth Hoffman at 978-532-1293. Temple Ner Tamid – 368 Lowell St., Peabody.

NOVEMBER 30SHULEM LEMMER AND FRIENDS LIVE IN CONCERT Presented by The North Shore Jewish Arts Co-Op and Chabad of the North Shore. Raised in Boro Park, Brooklyn, Shulem’s singular voice has gained widespread attention in the Chasidic community and beyond. Shulem provides an authentic taste of Jewish music and culture with his proud Jewish appearance and style. For more info and tickets, go to nsjewish.com or call 781-581-3833. 6:30 p.m. 151 Ocean St., Lynn.

DECEMBER 1JBM SPEAKER SERIES: ROZ CHAST & PATTY MARX Presented by Jewish Community Center of the North Shore. Roz Chast, renowned cartoonist for The New Yorker, and Patricia Marx, a humorist and staff writer for The New Yorker developed a hilarious program called “An Afternoon of Ukuleles, Cartoons and Conversation” filled with musical parody, amusing anecdotes, and stories. 3 - 5 p.m. Tickets $36 at: eventbrite.com/e/jccns-jewish-book-month-speaker-series-2019-tickets-70628336255 Peabody Essex Museum, 161 Essex St., Salem.

DECEMBER 2ADULT BEIT MIDRASH: Finding Meaning in Our Prayers and Blessings presented by Temple Sinai. Community is invited to join “Liturgical Blueprints: Finding Meaning in Our Prayers and Blessings. 7:30 - 10 p.m. Temple Sinai, 1 Community Road, Marblehead.

SENIOR JAZZ AND LUNCH at the JCCNS. All seniors are welcome to enjoy a live performance by the Insight Band and share a delicious complimentary lunch 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

DECEMBER 3CELEBRATE STEM THROUGH HOLIDAYS IN EVERY SEASON Presented by Epstein Hillel School. Children ages 4 – 10 are invited for an evening of hands-on STEM activities. Engineer a New Year’s Eve ball drop, program robots for Passover, design ships for Thanksgiving, and more. Pizza and salad will be provided until 6:10 p.m. Admission is free and open to the community. RSVP to

EHS–stem@epsteinhillel.org or by calling 781-639-2880. Epstein Hillel School, 6 Community Road, Marblehead.

DECEMBER 4CURIOUS MINDS: CRAZY FOR COLOR! Presented by the Rashi School. Experience the rainbow through hands on experiments. Children ages 2-6 are invited to discover new ways to see colors and invent projects to take home. Older and younger siblings welcome. Snacks will be provided. Advance registration is recommended. To RSVP, register at rashi.org/cm. 1:45 – 3 p.m. Caregivers and grandparents are welcome. For questions, contact Rachel Savage at rsavage@rashi.org or 781-355-7317. 8000 Great Meadow Drive, Dedham.

DECEMBER 5LUNCH & LEARN Presented by Temple Ner Tamid. Study the weekly Parsha with Rabbi Perlman and enjoy a deli sandwich. $5. 12 – 1 p.m. RSVP a must by Monday, December 2 by calling Beth Hoffman at 978-532-1293. Temple Ner Tamid, 368 Lowell St., Peabody.

DECEMBER 6“SKIP THE SERVICE” Family Shabbat Dinner presented by Temple Ner Tamid. $15 per adult; $5 per child – family max - $36. Open to the community. RSVP to Cassie Bruner at cassiebruner@gmail.com by November 22. Prepaid reservation is required. Chanukah Mitzvah – bring a new pair of kid’s pajamas for a child in need. 6 – 7:30 p.m. Temple Ner Tamid, 368 Lowell St., Peabody.

DECEMBER 7DREAMSONG DUO IN CONCERT Presented by Temple Emmanuel of Chelsea. Marsha and Herman Weiss, Voice and Piano, Cabaret Style The American Songbook. 7:30 p.m. $20 suggested donation to benefit the building fund. 617-889-1736, Temple Emmanuel, 60 Tudor St., Chelsea.

DECEMBER 7,8THE NUTCRACKER 28th season of a North Shore Holiday Classic performed by New England Ballet Ensemble with local children in the cast. Dec. 7th - 3 p.m.; Dec. 8th - 2 p.m. Tickets range from $20 - $30. More info at newenglandballetensemble.com. Marblehead Veterans Middle School.

DECEMBER 8TEMPLE NER TAMID RELIGIOUS SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE. Parents and children, ages 4-5 are invited to check the Religious School. 10 – 11:30 a.m. RSVP by calling Beth Hoffman - 978-532-1293. TNT Temple Ner Tamid, 368 Lowell St., Peabody.

FAMOUS FATHER GIRL: A MEMOIR OF GROWING UP BERNSTEIN Presented by Temple Emanu-El. Jamie Bernstein will discuss “Famous Father Girl: A Memoir of Growing Up Bernstein.” A continental breakfast will be served at 9:30 a.m. and the presentation will follow at 10 a.m. A donation of $10 per person is suggested. RSVP at Nancy@TempleEmanu-El.org or 978-373-3861 by Wednesday, December 4. Walk-ins will also be welcome. 514

Main Street, Haverhill, Massachusetts.

SCHMOOZE AND NEWS at the JCCNS. Join us for an invigorating conversation about the biggest news stories of the month. Free and open to everyone.10:30 – 11:45 a.m.

DECEMBER 9ADULT BEIT MIDRASH: Shabbat at Home: Insights and meditations for the blessings around the Shabbat table Presented by Temple Sinai. Open to all. 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Temple Sinai, 1 Community Road, Marblehead.

DECEMBER 11JBM EVENT RESCUE BOARD by Rebecca Erbelding. Rebecca Erbelding, historian at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, pieces together years of research and newly uncovered archival materials to tell the dramatic story of America’s little-known effort to save the Jews of Europe. For more information and to reserve your seats, visit jccns.org. 7 p.m. Jewish Community Center of the North Shore, 4 Community Road, Marblehead.

DECEMBER 12CTeen CHANUKAH FRY FEST Local teens are invited to join Chabad Peabody for a pre-Chanukah party with latkes, donuts and fun. Create care packages for IDF soldiers. 7:30 p.m. RSVP at JewishPeabody.com.

DECEMBER 13GROWING UP JEWISH IN INDIA: A SHABBAT EXPERIENCE WITH SIONA BENJAMIN Presented in partnership with the Jewish Arts Collaborative. Community is invited to an evening about the connections between art, heritage, and history. Using photos that showcase both the history of the 2000-year old Indian Jewish community as well as from her own family album, Siona will talk about her childhood growing up in a Bene Israel Jewish family in multicultural India. 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. $45.00 (Includes Indian buffet dinner). Registration: my.americanancestors.org/1223/1338. More info: 617-226-1226. American Ancestors Research Center, 99-101 Newbury St., Boston.

DECEMBER 14DAVID BROZA WITH HIS CUBAN BAND TRIO HAVANA Boza, one of Israel’s most important recording artists, brings the full spectrum of his work to Temple Ohabei Shalom. $18-$72, 7 p.m. ohabei.org; teev.simpletix.com/e/47795. Temple Ohabei Shalom, 1187 Beacon St., Brookline.

DECEMBER 15CHANUKAH CELEBRATION AT TEMPLE NER TAMID Activities for kids, soufganiot, potato latkes, symbolic candle lighting and more. Open to the community. Bring a can good or a gently used or new children’s book for admission. 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. RSVP to Beth Hoffman at 978-532-1293. Temple Ner Tamid 368 Lowell St., Peabody.

They’re smarter than you think.A1 has the best, most effective methods to get rid of mice, rats and rodents.

800-525-4825www.a1exterminators.com

AT YOUR SERVICE

HOME IMPROVEMENT

978-741-0424 www.A-AServices.com

Buy Local & Become Part Of The Family

WE HONOR ALL APPOINTMENTS • Chris & Barb Zorzy, Owners

Financing Available

★ Nationwide

BAY STATE WINDOW FASHIONS

978-531-9144Now carrying

Ready Made Curtains Selected items 25% OFF

Custom Draperies,

Blinds, Shades & More!

Free Estimates & Installation

86 Tremont Street, Peabody

baystatewindowfashions.com 1.800.CRANNEY • cranneyhomeservices.com

CRANNEY HOME SERVICESElectricalHeatingPlumbing Cooling Drain Cleaning

Visit us today for all of your auto body repair needs.

All insurance companies accepted! MARBLEHEAD218 Beacon St. 781.631.2218 marbleheadcollision.com

SWAMPSCOTT 201 Essex St.781.595.5300

swampscottcollision.com

3/16

781.598.5989www.raffaeleconstruction.com

Kitchens • BathroomsAdditions • Decks

781-631-7555www.precisionremodelingmhd.com

& CONSTRUCTION LLC

To advertise, contact:

Lois: lois@jewishjournal.org

Marcy:marcy@jewishjournal.org

or call 978-745-4111

115 North Street, Salem, MAROOFING • SIDING • WINDOWS • Financing Available

FREE Written Report on Roof/Attic Inspection

That Serves As Your Guide To A Successful Roofing Project! PLUS:

10% OFF up to $1,000

HOME IMPROVEMENT

Buy Local & Become Part Of The Family…

Chris & Barb Zorzy, Owners

www.A-AServices.com/Roofing

KITCHEN & BATH SHOWROOMWholesale & Retail Plumbing & Heating Supplies

55 Alley Street, Lynn • 781-592-0583 • www.bourneufshowroom.comOpen Monday-Friday 9 am-4 pm • Closed Saturdays

16 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019

Leonard Hillman, late of Peabody, formerly of Revere and Delray Beach, Fla., died on November 12, 2019.

He was the beloved husband of Marcia (Holzman) Hillman. Leonard was the devoted father of Francine Cook and her late husband Howard Cook, and Anita Horowitz and her husband Rabbi Bernie Horowitz. He was the dear brother of the late Hyman Hillman and Sidney Hillman. He was the loving grandfather of Justin Cook and his wife Molly, Cara Kepnes and her husband Joshua, Lindsay Weiss and her husband Michael, and Cassie Bruner and her husband Jeffrey. Leonard is also sur-vived by eight great-grandchildren: Ari, Avery, Brooklyn, Jael, Leah, Nya, Kayla, and Meyer.

Services were held at the Torf Funeral Chapel, Chelsea on Nov-ember 14. Inter ment followed in Tifereth Israel of Revere Cemetery, Everett. Donations in Leonard’s name may be made to the charity of one’s choice. Visit torffuneralservice.com for an online guest-book.

Leonard Hillman, late of Peabody, formerly of Revere and Delray Beach, Fla.

Louise Evelyn (Feldman) Radack, of Swampscott, passed away at 89 on November 7, 2019, after a brief illness and a well-lived life full of fam-ily, friends, work, community, and adventure.

Her beloved husband Dr. Alan K. Radack predeceased her in May, 2018. Louise is survived by her children James Radack, Daniel and Jesselyn Radack, Carol and Mark Lev, Laura and Charles Gosse, and Eric Radack; her grandchildren Jacob, Sam, and Tenlea Radack, Phoebe, Sophie, and Cooper Lev, Lily and Emma Gosse, and Ariel and Maiana Radack Krassner; her granddogs Mason, Sir Toby Schnauzer, and Oakley; her sisters-in-law Avis Feldman and Nancy Strauss, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and others in the extended family.

A celebration of her life will be held on Friday, November 29, at 1:30 p.m., at the JCC of the North Shore. In lieu of flowers, dona-tions in Louise’s memory may be made to the Clifton Improvement Association, Marblehead, or the Swampscott Public Library.

Louise Evelyn (Feldman) Radack, 89, of Swampscott

OBITUARY POLICYThe Jewish Journal prints brief notices for free. Biographical sketches up to 200 words cost $100; longer submissions will be charged accordingly. Photographs cost $25 each; emailed photos should be sent as jpeg or tiff files. Submissions are subject to editing for style and space limitations. Obituaries can be mailed, faxed, emailed or hand-delivered to our office. For further information, contact your local funeral home; call Andrew at the Jewish Journal at 978-745-4111 x174; or email andrew@jewishjournal.org.

Philip D. Sevinor, late of Marblehead, entered into rest on November 11, 2019 at the age of 96.

Beloved hus­band of Elaine (Freedman) Sevinor. Devoted father of Marlene G. Sevinor and Ralph W. Sevinor and his wife Stacey L. Sevinor. The loving brother of the late William Sevinor, the late Leo Sevinor, the late Elizabeth Shuman, the late Zelda Rotman, and the late Dorothy Rubin. Treasured uncle to many nieces and nephews. Dear son of the late Ralph and Ida (Davidson) Sevinor.

Philip was born in Chelsea in 1923, the youngest of six chil­dren. At the young age of 20, he joined the U.S. Navy during

World War II. When he returned from the war, he studied architectural design at Wentworth Institute of Tech­nology, where he received his degree. Philip’s father Ralph, who worked in real estate, gave Philip his first archi­tectural opportuni­ty, drafting many of the homes standing

in Marblehead today. Philip had the courage to go back to the U.S. Navy during the conflict in Korea.

After his father Ralph’s pass­ing, Philip remained in the real estate business with his broth­ers. He and Leo co­owned Marblehead Supply from the early ’60s into the ’70s. Philip went on to own and operate

Vinnin Square Hardware with his wife Elaine, until his retire­ment at the age of 82. In 2005, he and Elaine decided to spend more time enjoying the warm weather in Florida. Owning the local hardware store, Philip got to know many people in the community; he was always patient and friendly with every­one, and he always gave his nieces and nephews an oppor­tunity to work at the hardware store.

He was a devoted Jewish man, spending every opportu­nity he could at the shul and supporting the synagogue in any way that he could. Philip was also a dedicated member of the Masons. Philip was a kind and gentle soul. He will be deep­ly missed by his family, friends, and the community that he was such an integral part of.

A funeral service for Philip

will be held on Friday, November 22 at 10:00 a.m., at Congregation Shirat Hayam, 55 Atlantic Ave., Swampscott. Interment will follow at Congregation Shirat Hayam Cemetery, Temple Israel Section, 506 Lowell St., Peabody.

Shiva will be held at the home of Philip and Elaine Sevinor, 48 Sevinor Road, Marblehead

on Friday, November 22 fol­lowing interment until sunset, and will continue on Saturday, November 23 following sun­set until 8 p.m., and Sunday, November 24 from 3­8 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in Philip D. Sevinor’s memory to Congregation Shirat Hayam, 55 Atlantic Ave., Swampscott, MA 01907.

polcemetery@gmail.com(978) 594-4249

www.prideoflynn.org

PRIDE OF LYNN CEMETERY AND CHEVRA MISHNA89 LAKE SHORE ROAD, LYNN, MA 01904

Serving Boston and the Greater North Shore Jewish and interfaith families since 1920.

Compassionate personalized service. Individual and multiple lots available with competitive pricing.

Ask about our pre-planning savings.

No synagogue or temple affiliation required.

Family-owned and operated since 1933

O’ROURKE BROS. MEMORIALS73 North Street, Salem, MA ~ 978-744-0871

ABATE MONUMENTS82 Elliott Street, Beverly, MA ~ 978-922-0517

www.obmemorials.com

“Serving the Jewish Community since 1890”

INDOOR SHOWROOMHUNDREDS OF MEMORIALS

NO SUB-CONTRACTINGIN-HOUSE DESIGN & MANUFACTURING

Workman Circle off Sabino Farm Road P.O. Box 2104 ● Peabody, MA 01960

No Synagogue or Temple Affiliation Required

MapleHillCemeteryPeabody@gmail.com www.MapleHillCemetery.com ● 978-531-0606

Maple Hill Cemetery

Interfaith Section

Jewish Section

The Premier Independent Jewish / Interfaith Cemetery on the North Shore

Two convenient locations servicing families throughout Greater Boston, North Shore, South Shore, Sharon Memorial Park and MetroWest.

Slotnick Monuments232 Fuller Street, Everett, MA 02149617-387-3980Production facility / Sales office / Outdoor display Full service drafting and sandblasting shop

Slotnick’s MetroWest Monuments5 Edgell Road, Suite 1Framingham Centre, MA 01701508-872-1400Corporate office / Sales office / Indoor display

SCMemorial Group

Est. 1910

Drive carefully… We can wait.

www.scsmg.net

OBITUARIES THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 17

Philip D. Sevinor, 96, of Marblehead, formerly of Chelsea

NOTICES

BARON, Jerome S., 83 – late of Peabody, formerly of Cranford, N.J. Died on November 15, 2019. Husband of Lola (Wilensky) Baron. Father of Jason Baron and his wife Samantha. Grandfather of Griffin, Felicity, and Elon. Brother of Hope Fleischer and the late Harriet Malley. (Goldman)

BOCIAN, Neal “Bagels,” 69 – late of Chestnut Hill and Ipswich, formerly of Brooklyn, N.Y. Died on November 11, 2019. Husband of Lori Wolf. Father of Craig and Erica. Brother of Arthur. Uncle of Russel. Stepfather of Erik and Alex Wolf. Papa Neal to grand-kids Julian, Zachary, Gabriela, and Natalie. (Brezniak-Rodman)

COLTEN, David Henry, 84 – late of Peabody, formerly of Delray Beach, Fla. Died on November 16, 2019. Husband of Roberta (Segal) Colten. Father of Rick Colten and his wife Leslie of Beverly, and Debbie (Colten) Ferguson and her husband JC of Harvard. Grandfather of Carlisle, Benjamin, Ella, and Marley. Son of the late Benjamin and Eva (Beich) Cohen. (Stanetsky-Hymanson)

GANS, Libby, 87 – late of Peabody, formerly of West Palm Beach, Fla., and Dorchester. Died on November 7, 2019. Wife of the late Nathan Gans. Mother of William Gans, Ronald Hunter and his wife Jodie, and the late Michael Gans. Grandmother of Jaclyn Gans, Joshua Gans and his wife Jamie-Leigh, Jaidan Hunter, Aubree Hunter, Brandon Hunter, and CJ Hunter. Great-grandmother of Grace and Charlie. Sister of Adele Schackelford and the late Merrill Barber. Daughter of the late Simpson and Matilda Barber and her special friend Ken Burton. (Stanetsky-Hymanson)

GOLDSTEIN, Henry J., 84 – late of Salem, former-ly of Marblehead. Died on November 5, 2019. Husband of Sema Goldstein. Father of Carl Goldstein and his wife Susan and Sandor Goldstein. Grandfather of Danielle, Chad, Zackary, and Noah Goldstein. Brother of the late Judith Kluger. Son of the late Chaim and Clara (Iancovici) Goldstein. (Stanetsky-Hymanson)

Русская Хроника ~ Russian Chronicleрекламно-информационный выпуск, том 44, номер 7

18 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019

In this issue of the Journal’s Russian Chronicle, we print an appeal to readers asking for financial support for the paper.

We feature interesting facts

about Thanksgiving, an obitu-ary on Esfir Leviten, and list important information for WWII veterans.

English Summary

Редактор выпускаЮлия Жорова

yulia@jewishjournal.org978-745-4111 доб. 172

19 Октября 2019 года на 93-ем году жизни скончалась Эсфирь Левитэн.

Эсфирь родилась в Москве. Ее родители были неординарными людьми. Отец Моисей Левин происходил из династии Любавического Раввина Шнеерсона.Он сумел прожить жизнь в условиях советской действительности, не только сохранив в семье еврейские традиции, но и до последних своих дней активно участвовал в деятельности Московской Хоральной синагоги.

Мать, Софья Гендель, закончила гимназию в Казани, оставаясь всю жизнь домохозяйкой, она сумела привить своим дочерям любовь к литературе, музыке, дала им прекрасное воспитание.

Эсфирь с детства проявила музыкальные способности, даже выступала в Колонном Зале Домa Союзов. Свое умение свободно играть на фортепьяно Эсфирь сохранила на всю жизнь, радуя родных и друзей домашними концертами.

Перед самым началом войны Эсфирь приняли в балетную школу.

Однако счастливое время сменилось тяжелыми годами, которые Эсфирь вместе с матерью и старшей сестрой провели в эвакуации в Сибири. Пришлось пережить все: голод, холод, известия о потери близких, нужду и лишения.

После окончания войны семья вернулась в Москву.

Эсфирь успешно закончила школу и поступила на экономический факультет Институтa Народного Хо- зяйства имени Плеханова.

В это же время Эсфирь встретила человека, который

стал спутником ее жизни, Георгия Левитэнa. Участник войны, блестящий офицер, он увез свою красавицу-жену из столицы.

Где только не пришлось побывать молодой семье в первые годы супружеской жизни (Николаев, Дальний Восток, Керчь), пока Эсфирь снова не вернулась с семьей в Москву.

Устроившись на работу по специальности, Эсфирь сделала блестящую карьеру. Начав с должности простого экономиста, благодаря своему высокому профессионализму, она поднялась по служебной лестнице до уровня на- чальника планового отдела Министерства Торговли СССР.

В 1989 году семья Левитэнов эмигрировала в США.

Умная, мудрая, сильная, энергичная, щедрая, жизне-радостная Эсфирь приняла новые условия жизни с оптимизмом и желанием быть полезной.

Ее по праву можно назвать идеальной женой, мамой и бабушкой.

Эсфирь навсегда останется с нами, в нашей памяти, в наших сердцах, в наших мыслях.

Глубоко скорбим.Муж, дети и внуки.

Генеральное консульство России в Нью-Йорке ведет постоянную работу по уточнению сведений о ветеранских организациях и ветеранах Великой Отечественной войны, проживающих в штатах консульского округа.

Сведения о проживающих в штатах консульского округа ветеранах могут быть направлены в Генконсульство по электронной почте: mailny@mid.ru

Обращение к читателям “Русской Хроники”Более 20-ти лет Вы регулярно получаете Jewish Journal,

где раз в месяц публикуется страница на русском языке.Из “Русской Хроники” Вы получаете разнообразные сообщения о жизни

еврейской общины Северного Берега и Большого Бостона, о значимых событиях еврейской истории, о людях нашей общины, о наших детях,

еврейских праздниках и культурных мероприятиях.

Ваши отзывы и рекомендации являются неоценимым подспорьем в нашей работе. Неоцинима и Ваша спонсорская помощь. Ваша финансовая поддержка позволит

продолжить публикацию “Русской Xроники” на страницах Jewish Journal.

Накануне Дня Благодарения, мы выражаем Вам искреннюю благодарность за Вашу поддержку и уверены в Вашем постоянном содействии!

Посылайте чеки на адрес: Jewish Journal, P.O. Box 2089, 2 Margin St., Salem, MA 01970 (с пометкой “for Russian Chronicle”); или позвонитe по тел. 978-745-4111 доб 172 для кредитной карточки.

Зиновй и Любовь БеленькеТатьяна БерестецкаяАлександр и Галина БлюмкиныАлександр и Нелля БрагинскиеЭдуард и Ирма БубисЛеон и Розалия БудиловскиеМарат и Ольга ВайсманРовена ВиникПавел и Наталья ВулихМихаил и Виктория ГолдштейнАнатолий и Людмила ГорскиеБеня и Хана ДодикЛеонид и Ольга ЖерновскиеРаиса КагановичНаум и Неля КаминскиеГригорий и Клара КапилевичИгорь и Женя КригманГалина Кузнецова

Владимир ЛевинАлександр и Анна ЛитвакАрон и Галина МирмельштейнТамара МихляеваМихаил и Валентина НесторЭдуард и Галина НижниковыДмитрий и Людмила НойЭдуард и Елена РазнерДавид и Рита РозенбергПетр и Мира СтолерманБорис и Лия ТабенкиныМарлен и Валентина УскачХафа ФексонСтанислав и Елена ФельдманИлья и Светлана ФрейцисФаина ШтильЛев и Анна ШтульбергИосиф и Алла Эпштейн

Спасибо читателям Русской Хроники за финансовую поддержку странице в этом году*:

*Если Вы посылали дотацию для газеты и не видите свое имя, пожалуйста сообщите нам

Ровно через неделю, 28 ноября, все жители США отмеят один из главных государственных праздников – День Благодарения. Русская Хроника приготовила для вас несколько интересных фактов, о самом душевном дне в жизни Америки.

День благодарения стал государственным праздником в 1863 году благодаря усилиям Сары Джозефы Хейл – писательницы и автора известной песни «У Мэри был барашек» (Mary had a little lamb). Женщина в течение 17 лет писала письма Аврааму Линкольну с просьбой узаконить праздник, и президент согласился. Так когда же праздновать День Благодарения

Праздник, история которого насчитывает уже 200 лет, долгое время отмечался в разные дни. Так, например, первый президент США, Джордж Вашингтон, постановил, что День Благодарения нужно отмечать строго в четверг 26 ноября. Тем не менее, в

1864 году Линкольн поменял эту дату и решил перенести праздник на последний четверг ноября. Казалось бы, все, наконец, устаканилось, но в 1939 году Рузвельт внес и свои коррективы в проведение торжества, когда перенес День Благодарения на предпоследний четверг ноября. Но и это еще не все. Это решение вызывало огромный диссонанс в обществе и привело к разногласию у различных штатов. В итоге, лишь в 1941 году Конгресс Соединенных Штатов Америки закрепил окончательный день проведения праздника – последний четверг ноября.

Ежегодно в честь Дня благодарения проводятся несколько парадов, старейший из которых – Macy’s Parade в Нью-Йорке. Впервые он прошел в 1924 году. В тот день сотрудники Macy устроили парад животных из зоопарка на улицах Манхеттена.

С 1934 года американцы традиционно в этот день смотрят футбол.

Единственными исключени-ями из этой традиции являются дни Благодарения 1939 и 1944 годов, во время Второй Мировой войны.

Существует мнение, что индейка вызывает “пищевую кому”. Зачастую после праздничной трапезы многие люди впадают в так называемую «пищевую кому», симптомами которой являются сонливость и чувство лени. Некоторые люди считают, что причиной этой «комы» служит содержащийся в мясе идейки триптофан, однако единственной доказанной причиной этого удивительного «заболевания» остается переедание.

Ежегодно ко Дню Благодарения продается более 45 миллионов индеек. Согласно статистике, 1/6 часть продаж всех ежегодно продаваемых индеек в США приходится на День Благодарения. Это составляет примерно 45 миллионов птиц, общей стоимостью 5 миллиардов долларов.

721 Main St., MelroseACCESS ORTHOPEDICS Др. Леонид Дабужский, хирург-ортопед, специалист по проведению операций по замене коленного сустава с помощью робота, а также по замене тазобедренного сустава. 721 Main St., Melrose • 781-367-5616 (русская линия)

In MemoriamСамый Американский Праздник

Вниманию участников ВОВ

O’ROURKE BROS. MEMORIALS73 North Street, Salem, MA ~ 978-744-0871

ABATE MONUMENTS82 Elliott Street, Beverly, MA ~ 978-922-0517

www.obmemorials.com

СОТНИ ОБРАЗЦОВ МЕМОРИАЛЬНЫХ ПАМЯТНИКОВ

мы осуществаляем дизайн и непосредственное изготовление памятников

в нашей мастерской без суб-подрядчиков

Обслуживаем Еврейскую Общину Северного Берега с 1890 года

Earlier this month, Samantha Perlman was elected to the Marlborough City Council. Perlman topped the ticket in the at-large race with 3,331 votes. “I feel so proud of the community we’ve built,” Perlman said after the election. “It speaks to what happens when you build rela-tionships.”

Perlman is a graduate of Marlborough High School and Emory University. At Marlborough High School, she participated in school musi-cals and was a facilitator for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. She also spent five years working at New Horizons assist-ed living community throughout high school and college, giving her exposure to the hopes of Marlborough’s older residents and instilling in her the value of hard work.

Perlman is a graduate of the Commonwealth Seminar, MA Citizens Legislative Seminar and FAO Schwarz Fellowship in social impact. In 2019, she graduated from the Institute for Nonprofit Practice’s Community Fellows Program, earning a certificate in Community Leadership and Social Change from Tufts University. She was also selected as a member of the 2019 cohort for Emerge Massachusetts, an organization that empowers women to run for office.

the re�ective designerexperience the vision

Elaine Monaco, IDS, WCAA

Custom professional interior design solutionsfrom one room to your entire home

Elaine direct 781. 424 .1525Showroom 978 . 897 .7767

Serving Greater Boston and The Cape

SAVE THE DATEAnnual Jewish Journal

Honorable Menschions Galawill be held onApril 26, 202011 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Temple Emanu-ElMarblehead, MA

A must-attend; please mark your calendars!

cruise vacations& SO MUCH MORE...

PACKAGES TOURS INSURANCEFLIGHTS HOTELS CAR

www.cruiseshipcenters.com/Beverly

Commodore Plaza 47 Enon Street, Beverly, MA 01915

(978) 712 0900

CALL, CLICK OR COME IN TODAY!

COLD weather is here! Do you have your Winter escape planned yet? We can help! EXPEDIA'S NEWEST LOCATION - NOW OPEN IN BEVERLY

We are your one-stop-shop for a worry-free vacation!

cruise vacations& SO MUCH MORE...

PACKAGES TOURS INSURANCEFLIGHTS HOTELS CAR

www.cruiseshipcenters.com/Beverly

Commodore Plaza 47 Enon Street, Beverly, MA 01915

(978) 712 0900

CALL, CLICK OR COME IN TODAY!

COLD weather is here! Do you have your Winter escape planned yet? We can help! EXPEDIA'S NEWEST LOCATION - NOW OPEN IN BEVERLY

We are your one-stop-shop for a worry-free vacation!

978-750-0100Mon-Sat: 6am - 9pm ~ Sunday: 6am - 8pm

expires December 24, 2019

GIFT CERTIFICATE SPECIAL$10 FREE gift certificate

with the purchase of $50 or more Gift Certificates

PEOPLE THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 19

On Nov. 3, friends of the century-old Vilna Shul, Boston’s oldest immigrant-era synagogue building that serves as a com-munity cultural center and liv-ing museum on Beacon Hill, celebrated the near-completion of a $4 million, year-long ren-ovation. Nearly 50 donors to the Capital Campaign, includ-

ing board members, gathered to affix traditional mezuzot to the doorposts of the new visi-tor center and the original front entrance, and had the opportu-nity to tour the new space. Phase I of the building renovation is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.

Perlman elected to the Marlborough City

Council

Samantha Perlman

Over 300 grandparents and special friends recently shared an afternoon with students and family members at The Rashi School. The day was highlighted by a lively luncheon, meaning-ful classroom visits and joyful Kabbalat Shabbat services.

An annual Rashi School tradition, the K-8 school cel-ebrates the powerful bond between the different genera-tions.

Head of School Adam W. Fischer delivered a warm wel-come at the festive luncheon, followed by Jon Dixon, Philip Wiener, and Peter Dixon, three of the event’s co-chairs. They spoke about the importance of academic excellence, social justice and Jewish values. After lunch, guests joined students in their classrooms to experience

the learning process in action in subjects ranging from art to Jewish Studies to science.

As on every Friday after-noon, students and their visitors

enjoyed a slice of challah and attended Kabbalat Shabbat ser-vices, with a special dance per-formance by the school’s Israeli dance troop, Kesem Katan.

Grandmother Patti Grossman, grandson Ian Grossman and grandfa-ther Louis Grossman

Grandparents and special friends visit Rashi

Vilna Shul marks year-long renovation

Photo: Leah LaRiccia PhotographyDiana Shulman helps hang a mezuzah to the front doorpost with three of her family members that span three generations. Shulman and her family are descendants of two different founding families of the Vilna Shul.

Cohen Florence Levine Estates residents collect hundreds of items for homeless veterans

Photo Credit: Courtesy Kristen DonnellyRuth Kreisman, Ottavia Turner, Charlotte Moses, Joan Goldstein, Ethel Coen and Charlie Kanters with items for veterans.

The Jewish Journal will print your news at no charge: Birth announcements,

engagements, weddings, job promotions, special events

and other simchas.Submissions are subject to editing for style and length.

Send your news to the Associate Editor at

wittner@jewishjournal.org.

Dental Implant Restorations • Prosthodontic DentistryCrowns & Bridges • Inlays & Onlays • Smile Makeovers

Veneers • Teeth Whitening • Dentures

Marblehead’s Premier Prosthodontist

Sensitive care and superb aesthetic results are

the hallmark of our world class prosthodontic practice.

InnovatIve RestoRatIve & aesthetIc DentIstRy

JeffRey R. DoRnbush, D.D.s. 210 Humphrey Street, Suite 103 • Marblehead 781-639-0700 • drdornbush.com • office@drdornbush.com

20 THE JEWISH JOURNAL – JEWISHJOURNAL.ORG – NOVEMBER 21, 2019 COMMUNITY NEWS

Ginny, could you tell me about your upbringing, and some background on your family when you were growing up – such as where you grew up, what your parents did for work, and your major interests as a child?

I grew up in Cohasset. My father was in investment management and banking in Boston, and my mother was an artist and theater devotee who was a founding director of the South Shore Music Circus. I had the same interests as most kids back in the day, before the advent of tightly scheduled play dates and hours spent glued to a screen: playing outside with my friends (especially pick-up baseball) with little or no parental surveillance, riding my bike everywhere, taking care of my pets, learning to ride horseback, idolizing screen stars, and dreaming someday of being a lawyer, after becoming enamored of “Perry Mason” on TV.

Your father was baptized Catholic but ultimately raised Episcopalian, your mother was born and grew up a Mormon, and you were christened in the Episcopal Church. Later, your family was involved in the Christian Science movement. What were your feelings about religion and God as a child?

I didn’t particularly like Sunday school and wanted to belong to a church which, unlike Christian Science, had a choir, communion, and priests like my friends did. I recall as a very young child thinking God wore a light blue robe and had a long white beard! I said nightly prayers because they were expected, but I don’t remem-ber having strong religious feelings. Christmas was an occasion for receiving gifts, Easter a day to dress up.

At what point did you first learn about Judaism, and what attracted you to learn about Judaism?

Growing up in a largely Protestant enclave, I didn’t know many Jewish people. When I attended Wheaton College [then a single-sex school], I made a number of Jewish friends. Some Jewish students held a Passover Seder and invited interested gentiles to attend. It was a lovely evening, definitely a learning experience. That was probably my first exposure to Jewish life. I’ve loved attending Seders ever since. Primarily through ongoing Jewish friendships during the post-college years, there were various aspects of Judaism I found appealing in a peripheral, undefined way, very gradually, during a long period of tribal and spiritual homelessness. I like to say that the winding journey of a thousand miles up Jacob’s ladder began with a single ‘oy.’

What made you want to become a Jew and for-mally convert?

To this day, I ask myself whether I chose Judaism or it chose me. My inclination came into clearer focus after joining the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore in 1996 [mainly for fitness] and later participating in programs like the ADL Interfaith Seder and Jewish

Book Month. I was ultimately invited to join the Board of Trustees, even though I was still only the “token shiksa.” Because of my involvement, and always curi-ous, I decided to learn more about Judaism and signed up for the Lappin Foundation’s Introduction to Judaism course, not seeking to convert but simply to increase my knowledge. Rabbi David Meyer (of Temple Emanu-El, now my mentor, teacher, spiritual adviser, and dear friend) signed on as my rabbinic sponsor.

At the initial session, the rabbi/instructor observed that Jews are God’s partners, that arguing with God is not only permissible but is almost a sacred duty. That was my first eureka moment, when I began to wonder if simply learning about Judaism was not enough. In the past, I had never accepted what to me seemed the blind obedience inherent in traditional Christian doctrine, stubbornly questioning everything and finally losing interest altogether. A close Jewish friend described Judaism as a thinking man’s religion. That also reso-nated with me. So, I officially became a nice Jewish girl in December 2006 in a very moving public Shabbat ceremony.

After your conversion, you had a bat mitzvah. How was that experience?

Beyond special! On a Temple Emanu-El Shabbat evening, I became an adult bat mitzvah in June 2008. I practiced chanting the Hebrew parasha (Korach) from a CD Rabbi Meyer made for me. And Debbie Sudenfield, a real pro, gave me additional guidance and encouragement – via speaker phone. My Torah portion spoke of Moses falling upon his face. That night, I had major shpilkes and prayed I would not do the same, apprehension which quickly disappeared in such a holy place, in the presence of the friendly, loving congrega-tion there to cheer me on.

What do you love about being Jewish, and how has Judaism influenced your life?

Being Jewish has given me the truest sense of belong-ing I’ve ever known, after a lifetime of marching to a dif-ferent (and sometimes lonely) drummer. I metaphori-cally shed shoes that constantly hurt my feet in favor of comfortable slippers. It feeds my hunger to learn. It

answers my spiritual needs. It channels my desire to give to something outside myself. I can happily live in the question, every day. I am proud to be a daughter of Israel. I love the values, the wisdom, the courage, the resilience, the generosity, the humor, the food, the joy, the membership in a “large, contentious, frequently quarrelsome, always emotional and loving extended family,” all of it. After 13 years, it is still a point of honor to say, as did Daniel Pearl before he was murdered, I am Jewish.

Have you been to Israel? Could you describe how you felt in Israel and where you visited?

I traveled to Israel in February 2013 as part of a Temple Emanu-El group led by Rabbi Meyer and an amazing Israeli guide, Irma Zaslansky. Our journey started in the north, on several kibbutzim, in the Galilee and the Golan Heights, moving south to arrive in Jerusalem in time to celebrate Purim, then on to the Dead Sea and Tel Aviv, all with many fascinating stops in between. So many memories crowd my thoughts from this life-changing experience, but two especially stand out. One is the constant awareness of walking on stones, crossing waters, and entering buildings in this land thousands of years old, and seeing highway signs directing travelers to places which had only existed in my childhood mind as fairy tale Bible stories. Nazareth? Caesarea? Jericho? Bethlehem? Really? At the Golan Heights, a battered old army vehicle pulled up next to our tour bus and dropped off a large group of very young Israeli soldiers on a training exercise of some kind. To my shocked older eyes, they were essentially babies, yet the discipline, the look of pride and strength in each face made me think to myself, “Protected and defended by such as these, Israel is going to be just fine.”

You’ve been involved in the Jewish Community Center and Temple Emanu-El and other Jewish organizations. What makes you want to volunteer, and what does community mean to you?

Without our welcoming North Shore community, I would probably still be a searching gentile. Being part of it has brought me most of the warm and loving Jewish friendships I now treasure. There are countless fine Jewish organizations in the U.S. and Israel I do support, many of them already well-funded, but I believe in stepping up to the plate first for our local area agencies, programs, and synagogues which have more limited resources and have a direct connection to our daily Jewish lives. If Jews don’t take care of each other, espe-cially at the community level, who else will?

What’s the future of Jewish America?My crystal ball is foggy right now. At the time of my

conversion, it never occurred to me that the inclu-sion and safety of Jews in America were at appreciable risk, except perhaps from the distasteful but seem-ingly insignificant fringe neo-Nazi types and stubbornly prejudiced snobs.

Assimilation had been so successful that traditional Jewish havens such as synagogues, JCCs, and our own country clubs lost some ground because this accep-tance enabled us to be at home almost anywhere. ADL expanded its hate-fighting mission to include all its forms, not just anti-Semitism. While beneath-the-surface anti-Semitism has obviously always been there, it is currently rearing its ugly head very publicly in the most brazen, dangerous and violent ways imaginable, fueled by those who have fanned the flames of man’s worst instincts and made it OK to say and believe that “Jews will not replace us.”

To the end of my days, I will never understand Jew hatred, where it came from and where it is going. I only know that when I am where Jews gather in any num-bers, I do occasionally feel that little flutter of fear of attack. I am angry and heartsick but also hopeful and convinced we will endure and thrive. Jews have sur-vived much worse, again and again, and as long as we are resolute, vigilant, proactive, and strong, we will not be replaced.

By Steven A. RosenbergJOURNAL STAFF

Virginia “Ginny” Dodge grew up in Cohasset, worked as a tax attorney, and now lives in Swampscott with her husband, Dexter, whose

two sons are Cabot Dodge of Swampscott and Stanton Dodge of Castle Rock, Colo. Their grandchil-dren are Arick and Cody (Texas), John (Swampscott), Bennett, Carson, and Hollis (Colorado), ranging in age from 31 to 2. Ginny served for 10-year terms on the boards of the North Shore Jewish Community Center and Temple Emanu-El in Marblehead. In the past, she has supported and participated in the Anti-Defamation League, Israel Bonds, the Jewish Journal, and Epstein Hillel School activities and fundraisers. She is currently a member of the ADL North Shore Advisory Council.

A A A

Virginia Dodge in the Old City of Jerusalem.

H onorable Menschion: Virginia Dodgeonorable Menschion: Virginia Dodge

Being Jewish has given me the truest sense of belonging

I’ve ever known, after a lifetime of marching to a different (and sometimes lonely) drummer.