WWW.HERITAGEFL.COM YEAR 43, NO. 27 MARCH 8, 2019 1 ADAR II, 5779 ORLANDO, FLORIDA SINGLE COPY 75¢

Editorials ..................................... 4A

Op-Ed .......................................... 5A

Calendar ...................................... 6A

Scene Around ............................. 9A

Synagogue Directory ................ 11A

News Briefs ............................... 13A

Local students from CTeen Altamonte Springs, CTeen Longwood, CTeen Maitland and CTeen South Orlando converge with thousands of teens at the 11th annual CTeen International Shabbaton in New York. They were accompanied by Rabbi Mendy Bronstein of CTeen Altamonte Springs and Rabbi Nissan Zibell of CTeen South Orlando,

Thousands of teens from around the world celebrated Jewish unity, heritage, and pride at the 11th annual CTeen In-ternational Shabbaton. The convention, which drew in over 2600 participants, was the most electrifying and meaningful event to date. From world class guest speakers, to a life changing closing cer-emony with a surprise guest appearance by Adam Neumann, founder of WeWork, CTeen left the teens exhilarated and ready to share their Jewish pride with the world.

The inspirational weekend included

a traditional Shabbat experience in the heart of Crown Heights, the Hasidic neighborhood of Brooklyn; meaningful hands on workshops and lectures about Judaism; and the ever popular Times Square takeover, featuring world re-nowned Jewish popstar, Yaakov Shwekey.

The theme of the historic Shabbaton was I-Matter. The aim of the theme was to empower teens to recognize and use their inherent, true value that is not de-pendent on achievements or status. It is a message that resonated with thousands

Local teens connect with others at the CTeen International Shabbaton

of teens who have found their voices and personal missions through their involve-ment in CTeen.

“There are things that every teenager goes through, but that we rarely talk about. Watching my fellow CTeeners on stage was like a breath of fresh air. Hearing their stories reminded me that I am not alone; none of us are,” shared 12-grader Meira Borsody.

“The Times Square concert was amaz-

By Ben Sales

(JTA)—Israeli Prime Min-ister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to court on corruption charges—he says he’s in-nocent.

Netanyahu was indicted in three cases Thursday pending a court hearing. It’s the first time in Israel’s history that a sitting prime minister faces criminal charges. Oh, and elections are in fewer than six weeks.

What exactly is Netanyahu accused of? How is he defend-ing himself? Does this mean he’ll lose the election?

Who is Benjamin Netanya-hu, and what is he accused of?

Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister for a decade, is up for re-election on April 9. He’s running for his fifth term. He was first elected in 1996 for one term, then returned to office in 2009 and hasn’t left. He leads the right-wing Likud party.

But he could be in trou-ble. After years of investiga-tion, his country’s attorney general charged Netanyahu in three separate corruption cases. Two have to do with Netanyahu buying himself positive press, and the third alleges that he received illegal gifts from a rich donor. The Israeli Police have numbered them Case 1000, Case 2000 and Case 4000. (Don’t worry about 3000—that investiga-tion was dropped.)

Case 1000: Netanyahu is accused of accepting ille-gal gifts from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, including Cuban cigars and pink champagne. The gifts totaled about $200,000. In return, Netanyahu allegedly helped secure a U.S. visa for Milchan and supported a law that would give tax breaks to the billionaire if he moved back to Israel.

Case 2000: Netanyahu is accused of advancing a law that would have hurt one newspaper in exchange for positive coverage from a rival paper. In Israel, the two lead-ing papers are Yediot Achar-onot and Israel Hayom. Yediot is generally anti-Netanyahu. Israel Hayom is almost always pro-Netanyahu—and it’s also

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing cor-ruption charges as he gears up for his re-election.

Bibi’s scandals explained

For the first time ever in our community, two Jewish organizations are coming together to create a unified fundraiser to support both

Alan Rusonik, JAO head of school, practices his gambling game with previous participants of Lady Luck.

Two Jewish agencies unite fundraisers to better serve community

Central Florida Hillel and Jewish Academy of Orlando. The organizations will com-bine forces to host what will be the largest Casino Night and Lady Luck event in Or-lando history. Central Florida Hillel and Jewish Academy of Orlando are both nonprofit organizations supporting students throughout our community

This incredible night out on the town will take place at MLounge (2000 N Orange Ave, Orlando FL 32804) on April 4 at 6:30 p.m. The night will include a Poker Tourna-ment, cocktails, food catered by Arthur’s, casino games, shopping vendors, a silent auction and much more.

The poker tournament grand prize, generously do-nated by Luxury Trips is a fabulous five-star, five-day trip to Spain, including luxury hotel stays, customized pri-vate tours, cooking classes for the discerning palate, and much more. An assortment of sought-after other prizes will

be awarded to the additional nine other final poker tourna-ment winners.

Both CFH and the JAO know the importance of nurturing Jewish communi-ties throughout the ages, from preschool to college, and beyond. Your support of

this event will ensure that Orlando’s Jewish community will thrive, from preschool to college, and beyond. Students that went to JAO are now active students at UCF and Rollins College, and others

free, thanks to funding from the American casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.

Case 2000 alleges that Ne-tanyahu made this deal with Yediot’s publisher: Netanyahu would support a law banning free daily papers—that would hurt Israel Hayom. In return, Yediot would give Netanyahu positive coverage.

Case 4000: Netanyahu is accused of supporting looser regulation of Israel’s telecom giant, Bezeq, in exchange for favorable coverage from a news website Bezeq owns called Walla.

Sounds like Netanyahu really wants positive news coverage.

Allegedly. But Netanyahu and the Israeli press don’t really get along. Like his ally, President Donald Trump, Ne-tanyahu says the local press is out to get him. He accuses the media of being left-wing and dishonest, and likes to use the term “fake news” a lot. He doesn’t translate it: He just says “fake news” while speaking Hebrew.

That’s a big part of his de-fense: Since the investigations began a couple of years ago, he has attacked the media again and again for accusing him of corruption—seeking to depose him in court because he keeps winning elections.

Netanyahu does have a few allies in the media, including Israel Hayom, which has con-sistently supported him since it was founded by Adelson, a Netanyahu ally, in 2007. (Yes, this is the same paper he al-legedly said he’d hurt through legislation. Kind of ironic.)

And this year, as part of his re-election campaign, Adelson launched a pro-Netanyahu TV channel.

How else is Netanyahu defending himself?

Defiantly. Since the in-vestigations began in 2016, Netanyahu has insisted that “Nothing will happen—be-cause nothing happened.”

Bibi on page 14A

CTeen on page 14A

Casino Night on page 14A

PAGE 2A HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019

A few more parties were added to the party list. They include:Walter Goldstein/ Lance Rhodes

March 14, 1 p.m. at Sonata West

March 17, 1 p.m. at Brook-dale Dr. Phillips

March 18, 10:30 a.m., West-minster Towers

March 21, 2 p.m. at Kinnert Apartments

Everyone is welcome to

attend. Special thanks to Cornerstone Hospice for supplying the hamantashen pastries.

For more information about the Purim parties, please call 407-678-9363.

Additional Jewish Pavilion Purim parties

The Congregation Sinai Sisterhood will host their annual multi-denominational Outreach Program on Thurs-day, March 21, starting at noon at 1200 West Broad Street, Groveland, Fla. Wom-en from six local churches along with Congregation Si-nai Sisterhood members will celebrate “The Wonderful and Willful Women Of The Bible.” This special event will feature influences from Miriam, Es-ther, Naomi and Ruth as one, with Hannah, Sarah and the Daughters of Tzlofhad.

Participants from Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church of Clermont, First United

Methodist Church of Cler-mont, Oakland Presbyterian Church of Oakland, Zion Lu-theran Church of Groveland, Iglesia Tercer Cielo of Grove-land and the Bible Study Group of Summit Greens will enjoy this open invitational opportunity to share faith-based empowerment through a diverse education, social networking, community sup-port and personal develop-ment program. Joe and Lynn Goldovitz, spiritual leaders of Congregation Sinai, will be sharing songs and partici-pating in a presentation for this program. Following the Outreach Program everyone

will socialize with a lunch featuring souvlaki and an ar-ray of middle-eastern foods.

For more information about this multi-denominational Outreach Program, contact Sinai Sisterhood President Michele Sobel at GramMi-chele5@GMail.com. For in-formation about Friday night and holiday services, member-ship and special events; call: 352-243-5353. Email info@Congregation-Sinai.org. Visit www.Congregation-Sinai.org. Congregation Sinai is located at 1200 West Broad Street, Groveland, FL 34736. Affordable annual member-ships are available.

Congregation Sinai hosts annual outreach program

Jewish Pavilion CEO Nancy Ludin shows appreciation for Pearls of the Pavilion co-chair Geanne Share with a gift of framed art with the Hebrew word “ahava,” meaning love.

ish Pavilion visits or hosts a program,” she continued. “We give them a hug, a touch, which is so meaningful. We bring them a slice of challah, a little pudding, and we make a connection with the seniors we visit. Because of your gen-erous support, Jewish seniors have not been forgotten.”

The event’s highlight was an intimate private perfor-mance by Orlando Ballet II dancers, made possible by the generous donation of the Orlando Ballet. Orlando Ballet School director Phil-lip Broomhead introduced the sneak preview of two new works, “Arrival” and “In Concerti,” which are in final stages of rehearsal before an upcoming performance.

The Jewish Pavilion hosts a number of entertaining and meaningful events through-out the year and warmly welcomes members of the community to get involved. To learn more about the Jewish Pavilion, visit JewishPavilion.org or call 407-658-9363.

Jewish Pavilion supporters enjoyed a pearl of an event

Federal Correctional facility at Otisville, N.Y.

By Christine DeSouza

I m a g i n e L a w r e n c e Dressler’s surprise when fel-low inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, N.Y., told him that he was mentioned on the Bill Maher show the night before.

“At the time the show aired I was eating gefilte fish and lokshen kugel with fellow Sabbath observant felons,” Dressler posted on his blog (larrynoodles.com), which is about the lives of wealthy, powerful men he lived in close quarters with at Otisville.

“I was honored to be men-tioned on a show that is hosted by a fellow Jew.”

Maher was talking about one of America’s “10 Cushiest Prisons” according to Forbes magazine. Also called a “castle behind bars,” the prison is a low-security campus connected to a 1,200-inmate medium-security complex and houses only 125 inmates—two to a room.

The Otisville prison caught the media’s attention when Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer who was sentenced to three years in federal prison on fraud charges, requested to be placed at the resort-like facility.

Inmates, often referred to as the “gold-chain gang,” have access to free weights and machine weights, boccie courts, horseshoe pits and even soccer. They can watch HBO, Showtime and Cinemax as late as 2 a.m.

Otisville boasts a full-time Chasidic chaplain, daily minyanim, weekly Shabbat services, and kosher kitchen and vending machines in the visiting room. The prison commissary sells yarmulkes for $6 and offers a kosher selection that includes matzo, gefilte fish, rugelach and seltzer.

Otisville’s campus has long been the lockup of choice

among Jewish white-collar offenders, including Sheldon Silver, former lawyer and Democratic Party politician who was arrested on federal corruption charges. Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin—CEO of Agriprocessors, a now-bankrupt kosher slaughter-house and meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa—was sen-tenced for bank fraud, and sent to Otisville but serves in the section relegated for people with longer sentences. Ber-nie Madoff, who received 150 years for his Ponzi scheme, had his request for Otisville denied.

Otisville is known for its well-attended Passover sed-ers. On April 19, about 48 prisoners will observe a seder complete with a Haggadah, kosher-for-Passover chicken, potatoes, and the seder plate. According to Rabbi Men-achem Katz, director of prison programs for the Jewish-outreach Aleph Institute,

Who would’ve thought, a Jewish prison?

the Bureau of Prisons “kind of unofficially” designated Otisville as a prison to meet the needs of Orthodox Jews.

“Once you’ve been at a prison Seder, it’ll never be the same on the outside,” said Chaplain Gary Friedman,

chairman of Jewish Prisoner Services International. “The Haggadah has a line that reads ‘Tonight we are all free men,’ and for the duration of the Seder, they are.”

“For a Jewish person, there is no place like Otisville,” said

Earl Seth David, 54, a former inmate who attended kosher meals, religious classes and weekly Shabbos services in the prison shul.

“As a Jew, there’s no other prison you can get services like that.”

By Lisa Levine

The Pearls of the Pavilion luncheon on Feb. 22 treated some of the Jewish Pavilion’s most generous supporters to a gracious afternoon social affair. Attendees were cel-ebrated as “pearls” because of their yearly commitment of at least $500 to support the Pavilion’s programs, which keep hundreds of Jew-ish seniors in Central Florida living facilities connected to

their Jewish heritage and to the community. To symbolize their value to the organiza-tion, all attendees who were first-time annual donors of $500 or more received a beau-tiful strand of hand-knotted freshwater peacock pearls.

Guests enjoyed a delicious lunch catered by George’s Gourmet Cookies and Cater-ing, featuring panko-encrust-ed salmon filet with bearnaise sauce and capers and basil cream penne Alfredo, and fol-

lowed, of course, by George’s mouth-watering cookies.

The event was sponsored and co-chaired by Geanne Share and Eva Krzewski, who also created the beautiful table decor. As guests enjoyed their meals, Share thanked them for their support of the Pavilion, asking them to imagine a life in which a day’s highlights might be dressing, eating, and playing Bingo. “Now, you can imagine what it means when the Jew-

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(JNS)—U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to comment on last week’s controversial merger between the Jewish Home and the far-right Otzma Yehudit parties ahead of the Israeli elections in April.

“We’re not about to get involved in an election, to interfere in an election of a democracy, Pompeo told

CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sun-day. “Election campaigns are tough. We’ll allow the Israeli people to sort this out, and I am confident that when the election’s over the United States will continue to have a strong, important, very, very deep relationship with Israel that protects the American people and benefits Israel as well.”

Otzma Yehudit, or “Jewish Power,” was formed by follow-ers of the late extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was based in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Last week, the American Israel Public Affairs Commit-tee and the American Jewish Committee condemned the merger.

“The views of Otzma Yehu-dit are reprehensible. They do

not reflect the core values that are the very foundation of the State of Israel,” said AJC in a statement, prefacing that it was compelled to speak out despite its prerogative not to “comment on political par-ties and candidates during an election.”

“The party might conceiv-ably gain enough votes to enter the next Knesset, and

potentially even become part of the governing coali-tion,” added the organization. “Historically, the views of ex-tremist parties, reflecting the extreme left or the extreme right, have been firmly re-jected by mainstream parties, even if the electoral process of Israel’s robust democracy has enabled their presence, how-ever small, in the Knesset.”

“We agree with AJC. AIPAC has a longstanding policy not to meet with members of this racist and reprehensible party,” the latter tweeted.

Despite Israeli Prime Min-ister Benjamin Netanyahu brokering the merger, AIPAC announced that he will ad-dress next month’s annual policy conference in Wash-ington.

Pompeo on Israeli elections: US not getting ‘involved’

Director Guy Nattiv and his wife, film producer Jaime Ray Newman, accept the Academy Award for Best Short Film for “Skin,” Feb. 24, 2019.

(JNS)—Israeli govern-ment officials congratulated Israeli director Guy Nattiv for winning the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film on Sunday—the first Israeli Oscar in 41 years.

“Skin,” a 20-minute movie, focuses on hate crimes and their impact on a skinhead and two young children, one black and one white.

The elated Nattiv ascended the stage to accept his award, telling attendees that “I moved here five years ago from Israel,” adding “Lila Tov, Yisrael!” (Goodnight, Israel!).

“My grandparents are Ho-locaust survivors,” he said. “The bigotry that they ex-perienced in the Holocaust, we see that everywhere

today—in America and in Europe. This film is about education; it’s about teach-ing your kids a better way.” “We dedicate this to our 5-month-old baby, who is sitting at home with my parents watching this,” said Nattiv’s wife and film producer, Jaime Ray New-man. “We hope that you grow up in a world where these things don’t happen because people learn to love and accept each other.”

Israelis screenwriter Sha-ron Maymon also accepted the award, and told Ynet that “it’s exciting to realize a childhood dream and send a message about racism, parenthood and education.

Israeli President Reuven

Rivlin congratulated Rivlin on Twitter.

“Congratulations to Guy Nattiv on winning Best Live Action Short at tonight’s Academy Awards. Dear Guy, all credit for ‘SKIN’ goes to you, Sharon and Jaime Ray, but the movie is a gift to our children and grandchildren and for the future we wish for them,” Rivlin wrote. “Proud to be Israeli! Mazal Tov!”

“This win is another story of the success of Israeli cinema,” said Sports and Culture Min-ister Miri Regev. “Nattiv, the son of Holocaust survivors. Nattiv’s win, for a film about hatred and racism, is an im-portant cinematic chapter in the uncompromising struggle against those who choose

racism as their way of life. I congratulate Guy and all those who were partners in his film.”

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman said Nattiv was “waving a red flag with his film in front of the troubling growth of anti-Semitism in the world. It is more food for thought for Jews around the world that only Israel is their real home.”

The last Israeli film which won an Oscar was the 1979 “Madame Rosa,” which won Best Foreign Language Film for its adaptation of the 1975 novel “The Life Before Us” by Romain Gary.

Nattiv’s full-length film, also titled “Skin,” is based on an 2012 MSNBC documentary about Bryon Widner, one of

Guy Nattiv wins Short Film category, first Israeli to win Academy Award in 41 years

the FBI’s most wanted white supremacists, who changed his ways after meeting a single

mother and her three young daughters. It is expected to be released later this year.

By Ben Sales

(JTA)—Deborah Lipstadt, the prominent Holocaust historian, is resigning her membership in her local synagogue because it be-longs to a movement that defended an Israeli politi-cal deal with the extremist right wing.

Lipst adt belonged to Young Israel of Toco Hills in Atlanta, an Orthodox congregation. The broader Young Israel movement, in a statement Monday to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, defended an agreement be-tween Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jewish Power, a far-right

political party. Critics of the deal note that Jewish Power is led by followers of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, who advocated the expulsion of Arabs from Israel.

“Prime Minister Netan-yahu acted to get right-wing parties to merge in order to meet the threshold necessary to secure a victory in the elec-tion,” read the statement by Farley Weiss, president of the National Council of Young Israel. “We understand what Prime Minister Netanyahu did, and he did it to have min-isters of the national religious and national union parties in his coalition.”

The rabbi of Lipstadt’s synagogue, Adam Starr,

himself condemned the statement in a Facebook post Monday, writing “Not in my name and not in my shul’s name!” But Lipstadt still felt that she could not continue to be associated with the Young Israel movement, despite having fond words for her synagogue and rabbi.

“I cannot be associated with an organization that gives such racism, celebra-tion of violence, and immoral policies a ‘heksher,’” or impri-matur, she wrote in an open letter posted to Facebook Tuesday. “At this time of ris-ing antisemitism, Jew hatred, and prejudice of all kinds, each of us—and not just our spiritual leaders—must

speak out and act individu-ally and collectively. And so I speak out with deep sadness that such a despicable action is given ‘cover’ by people who claim to walk in the ways of the Kadosh Baruch Hu,” a Hebrew term for God.

Lipstadt told JTA Tuesday that she felt a particular urgency to act because her latest book is about present-day anti-Semitism.

“This is a party that has racist views,” she said. “This is a party that condones murder. This is a party that condones the man who committed the largest mass murder in Israel by a Jew. Those are all things that I find despicable, and to say

it’s just politics is really bad.”One of the leaders of Jewish

Power hung a picture in his home of Baruch Goldstein, the Jewish terrorist who killed 29 Palestinians at the Cave of the Patriarchs in 1994.

Lipstadt also condemned Netanyahu for the agree-ment, which saw Jewish Power merge with other right-wing parties in a joint slate for Israel’s upcoming election. The unified slate will give the parties a better chance of getting enough votes to enter Israel’s Knes-set. She said the deal was of a piece with Netanyahu’s recent tendency to cozy up to right-wing nationalist lead-

ers in Europe, like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

“It was sadly in sync with a number of things we’ve seen,” she said. “This was just one more step but this was a dealbreaker.”

Netanyahu defended the deal on Twitter by noting that the Labor Party partnered with non-Zionist Arab par-ties to maintain power in the mid-1990s.

“Such hypocrisy and dou-ble standards from the left,” Netanyahu wrote. “They con-demn a bloc on the right with right wing parties while the left worked to bring extrem-ist Islamists into Knesset to create a bloc... The height of absurdity.”

Deborah Lipstadt quits synagogue after its national affiliate backs Netanyahu’s overture to far-right party

Last week, the Judea Sa-maria Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Israel Education Association came together at Jerusalem’s David Citadel hotel to launch the Regional Development Financial Ini-tiative as part of the Israeli-Palestinian International Economic Forum. It would see Israeli and Palestinian business leaders in Judea and Samaria partner together to advance regional economic opportunities.

Avi Zimmerman, co-found-er of the JSC, told JNS that “the objective is economic development for the region of Judea and Samaria. As we see it, from a capitalist perspective, economic devel-opment is for all parties—all populations living in the area—and through all par-ties. We need to engage the business community, which

needs to become a leader. It’s an area that lives with a great deal of uncertainty. We need to create circumstances that are more conducive to stabil-ity and sustainability.”

Zimmerman highlighted the possibilities of collabora-tion, which include the tech industry, tourism, rehabilita-tion projects, transportation, regional development and plenty of other areas. He ad-dressed the elephant in the room, of course, which is the political aspect of Israeli-Palestinian relations, but said that the emphasis is on busi-ness alone, with the intention of staying away from politics.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman seemed to support this when he ad-dressed the forum. “The politi-cal process will continue,” he said. “We’re hopeful we will make real progress on that in

Eitan Tal

Shown here (l-r): Heather Johnston, founder and executive director of USIEA; Ashraf Jabari, a Palestinian business and community leader from Hebron; and Avi Zimmerman, co-founder of the JSC.

Israelis and Palestinians unite to create economic viabilitythe near future, but it is never a substitute or a means to de-lay the opportunity to provide a better future for the Jews and the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, who are entitled to the very same things that we all want for our families.”

Eli Cohen, Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry, spoke about the government’s commitment to the economic development of Judea and Samaria. “The State of Israel is a country of innovation and technology,” said Cohen during his address at the forum. “There is a term we use called tikkun olam, which means ‘repairing the world.’ We are trying to make the world a better place, and we use technology to make Israel a better place. I congratu-late all those who took part in organizing this important

By Israel Kasnett

(JNS)—With so many new businesses sprouting up in Is-

raeli and Palestinian commu-nities in Judea and Samaria, isn’t it possible to create some form of collaboration between

them to share resources and take advantage of shared op-portunities? That’s what many people hope to achieve. Viability on page 14A

PAGE 4A HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE VIEWS OF HERITAGE MANAGEMENT.

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Everywhere

The Hora dance to the moon

By Mel Pearlman

On Feb. 21, 2019, in collaboration with Space X, NASA, and tracking facilities of other na-tions, an Israeli spacecraft, carrying scientific instruments to add to our knowledge of lunar science, was successfully launched into earth orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

This spacecraft, named in Hebrew, “Beresheet,” meaning “Genesis,” is special. When, not if, it succeeds to soft-land on the moon in April, Israel will be in the company of the United States, Russia and China as the only nations on earth to accomplish this magnificent engineering feat. Pretty good company I would say, given the small size and population of little Israel when compared to the other three nations.

Making this flight even more spectacular is the fact that this will be the first privately designed, financed and built spacecraft ever to have landed on the moon.

The joy, enthusiasm, and sense of pride in Israel and in Jewish communities throughout the world at the successful launch was astound-ing. Once again, Israel has demonstrated that it is a country not to be shunned, but to be emulated if the people around the world are truly serious in advancing human progress, embracing technology, and moving toward a more peaceful globe.

I have taken particular interest in this civilian Israeli project since its inception. It was more than 50 years ago that I, as a young physicist working for the Boeing company at the Kennedy Space Center on the Apollo-Saturn Lunar Program, participated in the very first manned launch to the moon in December 1968. NASA actually asked me to tape an interview in Hebrew with Kol (Voice of) Israel, the Israeli radio station covering the launch, among more than 1,000 members of the news media from around the world.

It brought back memories of the excitement generated by the thousands of on-lookers who came from around the world to witness that launch and the launch six months later that actually landed our astronauts on the moon, in what I believe was the singular greatest scientific and engineering achievement of the 20th century.

The flight path of Genesis to its final lunar

destination chosen by its developers minimizes fuel consumption and maximizes use of the respective gravitational fields of the earth and moon in order to keep payload weight down, making it one of the most efficient and cost effective spacecraft ever designed.

There is an interesting aspect to this flight that gives it a uniquely Jewish characteristic. To accomplish this minimal energy path to the moon, Genesis will circle the earth several times in a Hora-like dance of increasingly larger orbits, finally extending out to approxi-mately 250,000 miles from earth, reaching its farthest point from earth or apogee at a precise point in space where it will be captured by the moon’s gravitation.

The tiny spacecraft will then be pulled into another Hora-like orbital dance, but this time into progressively tighter orbits and close enough to the moon to permit retrorockets to slow its dance and softly land it on the moon’s dance floor.

While there will be no one on the moon’s surface to greet the Israeli spacecraft with song and dance, be assured the words of the traditional celebratory song—sang at wed-dings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and other Jewish simchas—“Simon tov ‘and’ mazel tov” will ring out in Israel and in Jewish communities throughout the world.

We can only hope that most of the world will recognize this worthy accomplishment and scientific contribution of the Jewish state, as well as all its other accomplish-ments and contributions to the world, and give it the recognition and respect it so richly deserves.

In you wish to comment or respond you can reach me at melpearlman322@gmail.com. Please do so in a rational, thoughtful, respectful and civil manner.

Mel Pearlman holds B.S. & M.S. degrees in physics as well as a J.D. degree and initially came to Florida in 1966 to work on the Gemini and Apollo space programs. He has practiced law in Central Florida since 1972. He has served as president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando; was a charter board member, first Vice President and pro-bono legal coun-sel of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Central Florida, as well as holding many other community leadership positions.

By Noah Siegel

(JTA)—The next Israeli government may include terrorists that are barred from enter-ing the United States.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu crossed every moral line for political gain in Israeli politics last week when he brokered a merger of the religious nationalist Jewish Home party with Otzma Yehudit, the racist successor to the Kach and Kahane Chai par-ties, who advocated for the “transfer” of Arabs from Israel and the occupied territories. This completes the near total rehabilitation of Kahanists into mainstream Israeli politics, despite the fact that Otzma’s leader, Michael Ben Ari, has been banned from entering the United States for nearly a decade because of his links to terrorism.

I know this because I made the case for his ban.

In 2009, I was a U.S. Foreign Service officer in Tel Aviv fulfilling a tour in consular services. One of my duties was serving on the “Visas Viper” committee, an interagency working group at the embassy that evaluated individual cases in the country for potential threats to U.S. citizens. The committee consisted of field officers from the major intelligence agencies, including the State and Defense departments, CIA and FBI. With a majority of agency field officers in support at post, the committee generated requests to State Department headquarters. In concert with the other major agencies, Washington would respond with a security advisory opinion—a sort of no-fly list for visas.

As the representative of the consular sec-tion, it was my role to draw up the lists and supporting evidence for each case. The Viper committee would then discuss and adjudicate a ban based on the evidence provided. It was incumbent on the committee to make a strong case, as approval from D.C. was not automatic.

Our meetings focused largely on lists of Palestinians affiliated with Hamas or Islamic Jihad drawn either from the public record or documentation provided by our Israeli coun-terparts. The resulting bans often were well justified—but in some cases we had our doubts. On one occasion, we were unable to honor a scholarship to a student in Gaza because of his loose affiliation with a Hamas youth group.

In the 2009 Israeli elections, Ben Ari was seated as a member of Knesset on the Jewish Union list, despite his well-established con-nections to the late Rabbi Meir Kahane and his Kach party, which was banned in Israel for its racist anti-Arab agenda.

It was important to me that if the Viper committee was able to judge the minor indis-cretions of a Palestinian teenager, we could certainly consider the case of a prominent

Israel’s far-right Otzma party is dangerous

By Stephen M. Flatow

(JNS)—Like most victims of Palestinian Arab terrorism, Avraham Bromberg would have been completely forgotten if not for the persistence of the murderer’s many admirers and financial sponsors.

Bromberg was just 20 years old when he was murdered. The same age as my daughter, Alisa, when she was murdered by Palestinian Arab terrorists in 1995. Avraham was hitchhiking. In those days, all young Israelis hitchhiked. Nobody thought of it as a potentially lethal activity.

A car with Israeli license plates stopped to give him a ride. The driver and his front-seat passenger were Israeli Arabs. Avraham might have noticed that they were Arabs. But so what? After all, most Israeli Arabs aren’t terrorists. But these two were.

Karim Younes and his cousin, Maher Younes, kidnapped Avraham Bromberg, shot

him in the head and threw him into a road-side ditch. Several days later, he died from his wounds. The Younes cousins were caught, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

That would have been the end of the story, as far as the Jewish public is concerned. Some older Israelis might still remember his name. But the number of American Jews who remem-ber Avraham Bromberg can be counted on one hand. And the number of American Jewish or Zionist organizations that have mentioned Bromberg’s name in one of their fire-and-brimstone press releases is zero.

So, Avraham Bromberg would be gone and utterly forgotten if not, ironically, for the Palestinian Authority. Yes, the P.A. regime that is bound by the Oslo Accords to reject terrorism, to disarm and extradite terrorists, to shut them down and outlaw them and imprison them—but instead honors them, praises them and finances them.

The Jews may have forgotten Avraham

Jewish terror victim is remembered, thanks to the killers’ friendsBromberg. But the Palestinians have not forgotten his murderers.

Palestinian Media Watch reports that last week, a ceremony honoring Karim Younes was held at the Palestinian Ministry of Education. That’s right, at the Ministry of Education. Not in some private residence. Not out in the forest. But front and center in the very seat of the Palestinian government.

And who led the ceremony? Not some clerk or secretary or fringe figure, but rather, the Minister of Education himself, Sabri Saidam. As Karim Younes’s mother smiled approvingly, the minister called the gathering “a gesture of loyalty to prisoner Younes and his family.”

Saidam added that he was “conveying the greetings of the Palestinian leadership and the Fatah Central Committee members” to the Younes family. Fatah is chaired by P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas, by the way.

The ceremony was held at something called “the Martyr Yasser Arafat Auditorium.” And Saidam presented the mother of the murderer with a plaque featuring a photo of Arafat. I suppose it was fitting that an event honoring a murderer should be so closely tied to the memory of one of the most notorious mass murderers of the 20th century.

Minister Saidam hailed the murderer Younes as one of “the symbols who have defended the national enterprise.” The ceremony was featured prominently in the official P.A. daily newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida.

A few days earlier, a P.A. university awarded

Karim Younes an honorary certificate, and a program broadcast on the P.A.’s official tele-vision station showed posters glorifying him and presented fawning interviews with the killers’ family members. And last year, Abbas appointed the imprisoned Karim Younes to serve on the Fatah Central Committee.

Not that the other killer, Maher Younes, has been neglected. Not at all! Last year, the P.A. named a plaza after him in the city of Tulkarm. At the naming ceremony—complete with a live band and a march by Palestinian Boy Scouts—the murderer’s mother cut the inaugural ribbon, and P.A. official Isam Abu Bakr declared: “We are proud of this great man, this fighter, this leader.”

How has all this despicable glorification of murderers kept Avraham Bromberg’s name from being forgotten? Simple. Every Israeli or foreign news media report about the P.A. honoring the Younes’ cousins has mentioned the name of their victim.

And so, in a bitter and ironic twist, American Jewish and Zionist leaders may have forgotten Avraham Bromberg, but the actions of his murderers and their cheerleaders have forced his name back into the news—and back into our too-short memories.

Stephen M. Flatow, an attorney in New Jersey, is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. His book, “A Father’s Story: My Fight for Justice Against Iranian Terror,” has just been published.

Jewish public figure who was publicly advocat-ing racist Kahanist policies.

The case was pretty straightforward and supported by everyone on the committee, which I would generally describe as strongly pro-Israel. Ben Ari joined the Kach move-ment in 1979. Kach and Kahane Chai were both designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government in 1997, the same year as Hamas and Hezbollah. Ben Ari has never disavowed Kach and openly considers himself a disciple and devotee of Kahane.

Based on this evidence alone, the embassy’s request for a visa ban was granted. We also explored a separate request for Baruch Mar-zel, another Kach enthusiast running in the election, but a ban was not possible because he was born an American citizen.

Ben Ari himself may be known for his bookish demeanor, but his fellow travelers in the Jewish underground planned a series of assassinations against Palestinian mayors and a school in eastern Jerusalem. They were behind an attempt to blow up the Al-Aqsa mosque in the Old City. Most notoriously, in 1994, Kach enthusiast Baruch Goldstein killed 29 worshippers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The entire movement was outlawed in Israel after it expressed support for the ter-rorist attack.

During his time in the Knesset, Ben Ari was detained by police for defending radical settlers; he incited race riots against African immigrants in South Tel Aviv; and he called for massacres of Palestinians during Israeli military operations in Gaza.

I took a small measure of personal satisfac-tion when Ben Ari was banned entry to the United States in 2012. At the time, Ben Ari marveled that Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was granted entry (for the United Nations) while he was not. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin protested on his behalf, writing in a formal letter to the U.S. ambassador: “As a public official in Israel, a close ally of the U.S., he cannot be recognized as a member of a terror group or be prohibited from visiting the U.S.”

By Rivlin’s logic, Ben Ari is no longer a terrorist simply by virtue of being elected to the Knesset. With Netanyahu’s assistance, he may now go one step further by becoming part of the ruling coalition. Sadly, this says more about the radical right-wing transformation of Israel’s government than it does about Ben Ari. He has been nothing if not consistent.

It is disheartening that as Netanyahu em-braces the likes of Viktor Orban of Hungary and Rodrigo Duterte of the Phillipines, Israeli leaders increasingly adopt their authoritarian and ethno-nationalist approaches. Ben Ari is right when he says that he does not need to rep-

Siegel on page 5A

HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019 PAGE 5A

The Jewish Academy is a jewel in our midst

HERITAGE encourages readers to send in their opin-ions for the Viewpoint column. They must be signed; however, names will be withheld upon request. Due to space limitations, we reserve the right to edit, if neces-sary. Opinions printed in Viewpoint do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the paper.

VIEWPOINT

Letters To The EditorWe are a diverse community and we welcome your

letters and viewpoints. The views and opinions expressed in the opinion pieces and letters published in The Heri-tage are the views of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Heritage Florida Jewish News or its staff. The Heritage reserves the right to edit letters for clarity, content, and accuracy. And respectful of lashon hara, we will not print derogatory statements against any individual.

Please limit letters to 250 words. Send letters to P.O. Box 300742, Fern Park, FL 32730. Or e-mail to news@orlandoheritage.com.

Dear Editor:I am a proud and ardent

Zionist and have dedicated much of my adult life to serv-ing these ideals and advancing these goals because I believe that ultimately this will better serve ALL of Israel’s citizenry, as well as support better rela-tions between Israel and her neighbors.

The recent decision by Prime Minister Bibi Netan-yahu to embrace the racist Otzma Yehudit party along with National Union and the

Jewish Home Party is as repre-hensible as it is condemnable.

If they succeed, this will bring into the Knesset, the inheritors of a racist ideology that was outlawed in Israel and condemned by a growing number of important Jewish organizations in Israel and the U.S. including no less than the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

This kind of thinking has no place in civil society and embracing it in order to win an election is neither an ac-

Otzma Yehudit party unfit to be in Knesset

ceptable excuse nor a goal that will serve the democratic and Jewish ideals that are the TRUE underpinnings of the Jewish nationality enterprise.

These individuals must be vocally opposed at every corner and if Bibi still insists on partnering with these so called “religious parties” (imposters more accurately), and if the Israeli Election Commission permits them to run, then they and the PM must likewise be opposed vociferously and actively for the sake of Am Israel.

Racism, hatred, homopho-bia and support for intimida-tion activities against Pal-estinians are NOT Jewish ideals and while they are being advanced by men who look religious on the outside, their dark hearts and sick and twisted ideologies are in direct contrast with the same Torah they claim to represent. They and their supporters like the PM himself must be stopped by the only means available to a civil society... the ballot box.

Aaron WeilExecutive Director & CEO

Central Florida Hillel

By Lisa Sholk

I have been a part of the greater Orlando Jewish com-munity for 31 years. Over those years, I have served our many community organiza-

tions in many capacities, both as a lay leader and profession-al. As an educator, mother and Jew, I have always had a particular affinity for the Jewish Academy of Orlando, formerly the Hebrew Day

School. And in my continued support of the school, I have returned to a board position, in spite of my empty nest status.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to be in school for some volunteering and I was so moved by what is going on there. Under the leadership of Alan Rusonik, head of school, there is a renewed dedication to Jewish learning and values. From a first grader I did not know, who stopped me in the hall, noticing a boot on my foot for a broken bone, and wished me a speedy recovery, to the third graders working with a special young adult employee from the RAISE program in the art room, I saw

caring children everywhere I went. I felt so excited by the energy and spirit of Monday morning services led by Ru-sonik. All of the children sang prayers with joyous melodies, engaged in Mr. Rusonik’s d’var Torah, and helped lead the services.

Additionally, there has been a movement to celebrate holidays together, both Jewish and secular. Students and staff attended services for the second day of Sukkot at Temple Israel, and Simchat Torah at Ohev Shalom. The students had such an enriched holiday experience. And, the community response was overwhelmingly positive, as having 80 children be a part

of holiday services added renewed joy to the beautiful holiday observance. When it came to MLK day, students came to school to have a groundbreaking ceremony for a Community Kindness Garden, and spent the rest of the day participating in age-appropriate service projects, both on and off of the campus. The infusion of Jewish values into almost every aspect of daily learning is what sets the Jewish Academy apart from all other schools in the Orlando area.

The value of the Jewish Academy often gets over-looked as an answer to the complicated, stressful and often cruel world our children

face every day. It is a place where we can give our chil-dren the ever-important tools they need to be successful in life, both academically and emotionally. I can’t think of a more important start to a child’s long academic life than an educational environment that fosters creativity and curiosity while infusing their daily lives with the incredible joys of being Jewish.

This is why I continue to be an active leader and donor to the Jewish Academy. I urge more community members to come take a tour of the school and see what’s going on. You won’t be disappointed!

Lisa Sholk lives in Long-wood.

By Emily Aspinwall

While the United Nations Interim Front in Lebanon has emphasized Israel’s protec-tion from Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, newfound evidence has demonstrated otherwise. UNIFIL is an inter-national peacekeeping effort created to initiate Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 1978, but has evolved to promote stability within the Lebanese and Israeli govern-ments. However, Hezbollah, an internationally recognized terrorist organization, has

evidently resisted the porous authority of UNIFlL, due to their active construction of elaborate tunnels under the Israeli border.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese-based terrorist organization, is heavily backed by Iran fi-nancially and militarily. While the establishment has made recent strides in obtaining seats in the Lebanese parlia-ment, it is not an accurate reflection of the government. The organization’s violent, Shiite militant attitude not only seeks to terrorize Israel, but the United States and

much of the Western world, as well. Overwhelmingly, Hezbollah’s military contin-ues to increase in influence over Beirut and continues to act as its own separate entity rather than a representation of the Lebanese people who are greatly affected by the organization’s destruction.

While the idea of construct-ing tunnels under Israel’s border may seem harmless, the threat of such actions are a massive threat to Israel’s na-tional security and welfare for Israelis. The border separat-ing Israel and Lebanon, also

known as the Blue Line, has shown to have several tunnels claimed by Hezbollah, which is an immediate violation of UNIFIL regulations and border sovereignty. UNIFIL’s annual budget of $500 million does not appear to alleviate the long-standing conflict within the Israeli-Lebanese border. The threat of these terror tunnels to Israeli society was previously disregarded by the majority of the international community, but further ex-amination and presentation of evidence by the Israeli Defense Forces reveals the true inten-tions of Hezbollah’s operation. Israeli politicians have noted that Hezbollah’s territorial in-trusion into Northern Israel’s border is a blatant violation of the United Nation Security Resolution 1701, which en-tails border sovereignty and protection against intrusion. Notably, Hezbollah has also shown to smuggle weapons and other mechanisms of terror through these tun-nels with the sole purpose of threatening Israeli society. To international dismay, the United Nations allegedly just became aware of this issue, despite it continuing for years. Within these years of continu-ation, the Israeli military can only accomplish so much for national defense, despite UNIFIL’s promises to work with Israel to protect their sovereignty. These tunnels are primarily used as entryways into Israeli territory in order to orchestrate inconspicu-ous civilian attacks through Hezbollah.

On Dec. 4, 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Op-eration Northern Shield, a military initiative to identify and destroy Hezbollah tun-nels constructed under the

border. Operation Northern Shield was completed Jan. 13, 2019. This initiative was Israel’s most recent response to the Lebanese government and Hezbollah’s violations of Israel’s sovereignty, and given the international com-munity’s newborn awareness of the tunnel dilemma, Israel will have to continue gather-ing evidence to sway the UN’s stance in their favor due to institutional bias.

Although the IDF has re-cently discovered nearly four tunnels within the Northern Israeli border in just the month of December, the tunnel tactic is certainly not exclusive to He-zbollah. Similar operations are conducted by Hamas within the Gaza Strip. The UNRWA, a refugee agency for Palestin-ians, discovered a Hamas attack tunnel underneath two Palestinian elementary schools in mid-2017, which was immediately relayed to the IDF. Coincidentally, these elemen-tary schools are UNRWA-fund-ed. Israel’s military comeback is to install explosives within the burrow in order to rid the tunnel of any intruders or harmful devices that may make its way into Israel.

Unsurprisingly, Israel has taken the construction of such tunnels extremely seri-ously, given its imminent threat to the Israeli people living just next to the North-ern and Southern borders. Evidently, the United Nations has not taken these threats as seriously, which is no surprise given their reactions to past events with Lebanon and UNIFIL. One of the IDF’s many responses to the tunnel epidemic is the installation of military robots near these tunnels that not only film inside the tunnel, but also emits an explosive in order to

deter enemy intrusions. Such measures lessen military ca-sualties, in conjunction with providing ample evidence to international organizations to educate the community on the severity of this situation.

Despite UNIFIL’s pledge to reduce belligerency between Beirut and Jerusalem, the interim front has done little to protect Israel’s borders from Hezbollah’s tunnel intrusion. Until recently, this issue has been largely ignored by not only UNIFIL, but much of the developed world. A major rea-son for such recent awareness is Netanyahu’s announce-ment of Operation Northern Shield, which is the official military initiative against these terror tunnels. Overall, Israel has consistently priori-tized the safety and security of Israel as well as maintained open communication with the international community to allow others to gain awareness on this dilemma.

As evidence shows, if the actions of Hezbollah’s tunnel construction and UNIFIL’s inability to deter such actions continues, the relationship between the United Nations and Israel will not improve. The UN should comply with the resolutions made with UNIFIL and be cognizant of relations between Israel and Lebanon and maintain their promise of keeping the peace. However, the future to the end of such animosity is bleak due to the United Nations’ institu-tional bias towards the State of Israel. If the UN fails to ac-knowledge their institutional bias and work with Israel, then relations will fail to improve.

Emily Aspinwall is the vice president of UCF’s Knights for Israel and the campus CAM-ERA fellow for the 2018-2019 school year.

UNIFIL’s failure to halt Hezbollah’s tunnel construction reflects inherent institutional bias

tials under attack, mainstream political leaders have again avoided direct repudiation of Ben Ari and other Kahanists. American institutions, includ-ing AIPAC and the American Jewish Commitee, have spoken out against Otzma Yehudit, but have said nothing of Ne-tanyahu’s courtship of their support. In a close vote Rivlin, who defended Ben Ari against my visa ban, will be in a posi-tion to decide which party is allowed to form a government and whether that coalition will include Jewish terrorists.

The United States has aban-doned many of its own norms

and legal precedents in recent years, and it is unlikely that this administration would admonish our ally for inviting extreme racists into their gov-ernment. Nevertheless, the Kahane movement remains a terrorist organization under both Israeli and American law and should be treated as such. No one affiliated with Kahane belongs in the Knesset or on American soil.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

SiegelFrom page 4A

resent Kahane in the Knesset anymore; his anti-Arab views now have many followers in mainstream political parties.

In recent days, leading Is-raeli politicians and generals, led by Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, have come together to form the Blue and White party with the intention of defeating Netanyahu’s far-right coalition. Netanyahu has characterized this effort as “a new left-wing government, weak, led by Lapid and Gantz, with a blocking majority of Arab parties.”

With their hawkish creden-

PAGE 6A HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019

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36. Not keep up38. Jewish fashion designer40. 600-year-old man on a boat43. Like Larry David or George Costanza45. Exotic green fruit48. Logan who played Percy Jackson49. Responds50. “Which ___ you want?” (choice question)51. A perfect game, compared to a no-hitter52. Awry55. Boathouse supplies56. Hunted animal58. “Full House” actress Loughlin59. Golda Meir’s foreign min-ister Abba60. Baking amts.63. Dagim container64. Jewish org. also known as “The Joint”

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Down1. Australia’s most success-ful band2. What “magniv” could mean3. Queen Elsa’s younger sister4. Not dangerous to health

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MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) Chabad of South Orlando—Monday—Friday, 8 a.m. and 10 minutes before sunset; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 8:15 a.m., 407-354-3660.Congregation Ahavas Yisrael—Monday—Friday, 7:30 a.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-644-2500.Congregation Chabad Lubavitch of Greater Daytona—Monday, 8 a.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m., 904-672-9300.Congregation Ohev Shalom—Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-298-4650.GOBOR Community Minyan at Jewish Academy of Orlando—Monday—Friday, 7:45 a.m.—8:30 a.m.Temple Israel—Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-647-3055.

FRIDAY, MARCH 8Ahavas Yisrael—Kabbalat, 30 minutes before sundown.Jewish Pavilion—Purim parties: Allegro Senior Living, noon; Mayflower, 3 p.m.; Village on the Green, 3 p.m. For more info call 407-678-9363.

SATURDAY, MARCH 9Torah Portion—Pekuday: Exodus 38:21-40:38; Haftarah, I Kings 7:51—8:21.

SUNDAY, MARCH 10Temple Israel and Temple Shir Shalom—MAGAL Purim carnival, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at 50 S. Moss Road, Winter Springs.Jewish Pavilion—Purim parties: Brookdale, 1:15 p.m. For more information, call 407-678-9363.

MONDAY, MARCH 11Israeli Folk Dancing—7:30-8:15 p.m. instruction, 8:15-10 p.m., requests. Cost: Free for JCC members, $7 nonmembers. Info: 407-645-5933.Congregation Beth Am—Mommy and Me class with Cantor Nina Fine, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. $7 per family; free for CBA members Info: 407-862-3505.

TUESDAY, MARCH 12Rohr Jewish Learning Institute—Six-session course on “Crime and Consequences,” at Nate’s Shul, 1701 Markham Woods Rd, Longwood, 7:30 p.m.-9 p.m. 407-636-5994.Chabad of Altamonte Springs, at 414 Spring Valley Lane, 7:30 p.m.-9 p.m., 407-280-0535.Chabad Center of Jewish Life, at 7347 W. Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, 7 p.m.—8:30 p.m., 407-354-3660.Visit www.myjli.com for registration and information.Jewish Pavilion—Purim parties: Palmetto Landing, 3 p.m. For info, call 407-678-9363.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13Rohr Jewish Learning Institute—Six-session course on “Crime and Consequences,” at Nate’s Shul, 1701 Markham Woods Rd, Longwood, 11 a.m., 407-636-5994.Chabad of Orlando, 708 Lake Howell Road, 7:30 p.m.-9 p.m., 407-644-2500.Visit www.myjli.com for registration and information.

THURSDAY, MARCH 14Jewish Pavilion—Purim parties: Encore at Avalon Park, 10:30 a.m.; Sonata West, 1 p.m.; Sonata West, 1 p.m. For information, call 407-678-9363.Congregation Beth Sholom—Rabbi’s Roundtable Discussion Group, 11 a.m. at the Sumter County Administration and Library Building, 7375 Powell Rd., Wildwood.

FRIDAY, MARCH 15Ahavas Yisrael—Kabbalat, 30 minutes before sundown.Jewish Pavilion—Purim parties: Wayman Place, 1:30 p.m.; Siena/Oakmonte Village, 3 p.m.; Atria, 4 p.m. For more information, call 407-678-9363.

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Collage by Lior Zaltzman/JTA

By Lior Zaltzman

When “Green Book” won the Academy Award for best movie, arguably the most coveted prize of the ceremony, “BlacKkKlans-man” and “Do The Right Thing” director Spike Lee stormed to the back of the auditorium and kept his back turned for the entire speech. The gesture culminated a great controversy around the movie, which has been sweeping the awards this season despite some heavy consternation.

“Green Book” has been accused of having a white savior complex, whitewashing racism and being inaccurate to the true story it’s based on, among other things. The movie depicts Antho-ny “Lip” Vallelonga, played by Viggo Mortensen, who is hired to drive around Don Shirley, played by Mahershala Ali (who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe for the role), a virtuoso African-American jazz pianist, as he plays clubs

in 1962’s racist and segregated American South.

The film was co-written by Vallenlonga’s son and largely focuses on his perspec-tive—with which Shirley’s family took great issue. The Shirley family claims that they weren’t contacted or interviewed as preparation for the film, and subsequently the film is told only from the perspective of white people. Looking at the team behind the movie, it doesn’t seem like a wild accusation:

https://twitter.com/ira/sta-tus/1099885809748996097

And not only that, Shirley’s family has argued that the movie is full of inaccuracies, going as far as calling it a “symphony of lies.” In fact, in their acceptance speech, the filmmakers never even thanked Dr. Shirley.

Yet I think it’s fair to say that some people still don’t understand why this movie riles so many people. But one man, Peter Birkenhead, has found the perfect analogy to explain the controversy to those who still don’t get it.

Imagine, he wrote on Facebook in a post that’s now been shared 1.4K times and counting, if a new movie came out about Anne Frank, but that it was focused on the experience and the bravery of one of her saviors, Miep Geis. That instead of the horror Anne and her family went through, the movie focused on “Geis’s dawning realization that, since Anne is so well mannered and refined and cultured, perhaps not every Jew is a sniveling, greedy, termite secretly planning to destroy civilization.”

Feels wrong, right?Or imagine, Birkenhead

urges, that the movie was filled with inaccuracies and poorly researched. What if the people making this hy-pothetical Anne Frank movie “never get in touch with any of Anne Frank’s descendants, or even the Anne Frank mu-seum in Amsterdam. They don’t do much research at all.”

Birkenhead’s post (which really should be read in full) also reminds us that the rea-

By comparing it to Anne Frank, this man nails the problem with Oscar winner ‘Green Book’

son “Green Book” is drawing so much anger is that it’s not an outlier, but yet another film in a continuum of films, like “Driving Miss Daisy,” which depict the same dynam-ics and celebrate white saviors, created from the perspective of white people.

Speaking of “Driving Miss Daisy,” if you still need more clarity on that pop culture legacy, consider listening to this episode of the incredible New York Times podcast “The Daily” (hosted by a super talented member of the tribe, Michael Barbaro) that explores the problem-atic movie.

You might think that

Birkenhead’s comparison and examples are a little exagger-ated; they are not. Racism is a scourge that would’ve been overcome if it were simply about white people just meet-ing people of color and getting along with them. A narrative that applauds a white person for overcoming his personal racism, and that skims and ignores what it means to live with racism every day, is crafted to make white people feel good and comfortable instead of thinking how they may or may not contribute to racism.

You know the saying “some of my best friends are black/Jewish/gay” from someone

who then goes ahead and expresses a racist or bigoted belief? It’s entirely possible for white people to work for, or have people of color, work for them, or even have them as friends, and yet still benefit from systemic racism and hold racist beliefs.

One can enjoy “Green Book”—see it as a well-crafted movie with a talented cast. But it’s important to think twice about the good feeling it leaves you with, especially if you are a white person watching the movie. Maybe compliment it afterward with some Spike Lee movies.

This article originally ap-peared on Alma.

By Ben Sales

NEW YORK (JTA)—An American Orthodox Jewish group is defending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to work with a far-right political party.

It is the first statement by a major American Jew-ish organization defending Netanyahu’s decision. Last week, Netanyahu orchestrated an agreement between the ex-tremist Jewish Power and Jew-ish Home, a religious Zionist party. The merger will increase the united party’s chances of gaining enough votes to enter Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

An array of centrist and lib-eral American Jewish groups and religious movements has criticized the merger as giving legitimacy to a fringe, racist movement.

But the National Council of Young Israel, a traditionalist Orthodox association of 175 synagogues that tends to take hawkish stances on Israeli issues, defended the prime minister’s actions as a matter of political calculus.

Young Israel also noted that the Israeli Supreme Court said in 2015 that a Jewish Power candidate should not be barred from running because of the party’s platform.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu acted to get right-wing parties to merge in order to meet the threshold necessary to secure a victory in the election,” read a statement Monday by Farley Weiss, president of the National Council of Young Israel, to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “We un-derstand what Prime Minister Netanyahu did, and he did it to have ministers of the national religious and national union parties in his coalition.”

The statement stands in contrast to an alphabet soup of major Jewish groups that have condemned Jewish Power—

from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to the American Jewish Com-mittee to the Anti-Defamation League. In a rare instance of criticism of a sitting prime minister, Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Orga-nizations, called the political deal “very disturbing.”

“He obviously has some political calculation that drove him to it, but politics can’t dictate everything,” Hoenlein told The Associated Press, referring to Netanyahu. “You have to take into consid-eration all of the ramifications and all of the concerns.”

With Netanyahu’s interven-tion, Jewish Home agreed to include on its slate in April’s elections Michael Ben-Ari and Itamar Ben-Gvir, self-professed followers of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, who advocated the expulsion of the Palestinians from territories controlled by Israel and a near theocratic state of the Jews. Ne-tanyahu would need the sup-port of successful right-wing parties in addition to his own Likud to form a government.

The Young Israel statement likened Netanyahu’s decision to the 1993 vote on the so-called Oslo II accords, when a left-wing government relied on votes from Arab-Israeli political parties to secure pas-sage of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. That argument echoes one made Saturday by Netanyahu himself on Twitter.

“Such hypocrisy and double standards from the left,” Netanyahu wrote. “They con-demn a bloc on the right with right wing parties while the left worked to bring extrem-ist Islamists into Knesset to create a bloc... The height of absurdity.”

The Zionist Organization of America, a right-wing pro-Israel group, also called the

condemnations of Netanyahu hypocritical. The ZOA state-ment did not discuss the ac-tual positions of Jewish Power, except to say at one point that its critics were engaging in “Nazi-name-calling against Jewish candidates.”

“It is also mystifying that these Jewish-A mer ican groups condemned Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for encouraging small right-wing Israeli parties to merge, so that Israeli voters on the right are not disenfranchised,” the ZOA statement reads, telling other American Jewish groups to “direct their condemna-tion to those who oppose the State of Israel, and are truly racist and reprehensible, and a danger to the Jewish people and the Jewish State.”

The Young Israel statement also contrasts with statements condemning Jewish Power from the Reform and Conser-vative Jewish movements. In Israel, the Modern Orthodox leader Benny Lau condemned the merger, calling it “a vote for the racism of Kahane,” The Jerusalem Post reported. Also, 80 rabbis signed onto a statement by Torat Chayim, an international association of Modern Orthodox Zionist Rabbis, saying that bringing Jewish Power into the govern-ment is “truly a lamentable failure” by Netanyahu.

JTA has reached out to the Orthodox Union and Rab-binical Council of America for comment on the issue. RCA responded that it doesn’t comment on Israeli politics.

Two Democratic Jewish groups, the Jewish Demo-cratic Council of America and Democratic Majority for Israel, both spoke out against bringing Jewish Power into a potential coalition. The Re-publican Jewish Coalition said it has a longstanding policy of not commenting on internal Israeli politics.

US Orthodox group defends Netanyahu’s deal with far-right

PAGE 8A HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019

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FASTSIGNS of Orlando Central team receiving the CEO Circle Award at the 2019 FAST-SIGNS International Convention from FASTSIGNS International, Inc.’s CEO, Catherine Monson (far right). Also pictured (l-r): Doc Ecker, Derrick Ruiz, Kris Lepicier, Kayla Brat-ager, Richard Goldstein and Renee Friedman-Goldstein.

Owned by Renee Friedman-Goldstein, FASTSIGNS® of Orlando—Central, now entering its 33rd year as a business, was recently recog-nized at the 2019 FASTSIGNS International Convention for various achievements. FAST-SIGNS of Orlando—Central received the CEO Circle Award for the third consecu-tive year, which recognizes the top 25 centers with the highest sales volume in the

U.S. and Canada between Oct. 1, 2017 and Sept. 30, 2018. They also received a Mentor Recognition Award, which recognizes a seasoned franchisee who serves as a mentor to a new FASTSIGNS franchisee for the first six months of operation.

“We are excited to be rec-ognized as a top performing center in the FASTSIGNS network of over 700 locations in nine countries worldwide,”

said Renee Friedman, owner at FASTSIGNS of Orlan-do—Downtown. “This award reflects our entire team’s hard work and dedication to helping businesses and orga-nizations solve their visual communications challenges in our community every day.”

FASTSIGNS of Orlando—Central was also recognized for their extensive work with four distinct organizations in the Orlando community as

BUSINESS UPDATEFASTSIGNS® of Orlando—Central

receives recognition and several awards

part of FASTSIGNS’ “Show Us How You Care” philanthropic initiative. Friedman and her team have received this honor for the third year in a row. In 2018, the team at FAST-SIGNS of Orlando actively participated in efforts with Friends of Down Syndrome, RAISE, Big Brothers Big Sis-ters and Curebowl, providing a wide range of products and services to each of the four organizations touched by their philanthropic efforts.

FASTSIGNS of Orlando—Central sponsored the Cin-derella Ball for Friends of Down Syndrome, which is the largest fundraising gala of the year. The FASTSIGNS team attended the event, donated signs, provided signage dis-counts and volunteered their time visiting the campus. The center also stepped in as the first corporate sponsor for RAISE, an organization that provides paid, supported employment at partnering

agencies and transition to employment into the com-munity. The team volunteered time and attended multiple events hosted by RAISE, do-nated signage and provided social media support.

In addition, FASTSIGNS of Orlando—Central became the official marketing and signage partner for Big Broth-ers Big Sisters and donated signs, volunteered time and provided signage and social media support. And finally, the team became a sponsor for Curebowl, an annual American college football bowl game played in Decem-ber of each year at Camping World Stadium in downtown Orlando, Florida. This event is named to promote aware-ness and research of breast cancer, with proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The FASTSIGNS team attended this event as well as providing signage and social media support.

“The team loves working with these nonprofits; it truly makes a difference working for a bigger cause and giving back to our community,” said Friedman. “We especially love when we are able to attend the events as a team and really see it all come together and the impact it makes. There is so much goodwill that comes from giving back to all these wonderful charities that sim-ply can’t be measured. ”

Friedman has been an early adopter and advocate of the Show Us How You Care arena of FASTSIGNS International, Inc. as she has continually spearheaded efforts since to actively make a difference in her community through her business.

“We thank our customers for their support and look forward to further helping companies of all sizes achieve their goals using comprehen-sive signs and visual graph-ics,” Friedman said.

By Israel Kasnett

(JNS)—Israeli Prime Min-ister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to cut a deal with Bayit Yehudi, and its subse-quent temporary union with right-wing political parties National Union and Otzma Yehudit, has created a politi-cal storm, being called “foul” and worse by some. And with others calling it a “reprehen-sible political party with rac-ist roots” and an “anti-Arab group,” a number of Jewish American organizations have come out against the deal involving Otzma, which they consider an extremist and racist party, and which they don’t want to see as part of any possible future government coalition.

Otzma Yehudit is an off-shoot of the late extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane’s former Kach Party, which was banned from the Knesset because of its racist views and push for the expulsion of all Arabs from Israel.

But is the merger as bad as it is hyped up to be?

According to Yonatan Free-

man in the political-science department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, “This is a technical kind of join-up. It’s about the polls, not the policies,” he told JNS.

Freeman explained that this union with Otzma Ye-hudit was a necessary move by Bayit Yehudi because it has been sinking in the polls.

Freeman emphasized that Netanyahu never actually called for Otzma Yehudit to join up with any specific party, but that he simply wanted to unite the right due to a fear that in the upcoming April elections, Israel may see a higher percentage of people voting for parties that may not pass the threshold, which would ultimately be a waste of important, potentially game-changing votes.

Still, not everyone cares about the reasoning behind Netanyahu’s decision.

The Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative Movement, AIPAC, the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defama-tion League, the Jewish Com-munity Relations Council of

Boston and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, among others, have all expressly stated their objections in one way or another against any potential political merger or deal.

The American Jewish Com-mittee angrily wrote that the views of Otzma Yehudit “do not reflect the core values that are the very foundation of the State of Israel.”

The 13 principles that make up the party’s platform show that it’s not entirely what it is being accused of, and that while some of its points are deeply problematic for many, it still represents views held by those who vote for main-stream parties.

Some believe that it may have made more sense to cre-ate a pact with the New Right Party led by Naftali Bennett, but Netanyahu is known to have a longstanding beef with his former chief of staff and, according to some reports, is working to undermine Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked before the elections.

Bennett himself has come out against the deal, saying, “people who see Kahane as a model are unworthy of sitting in the Knesset, but those who undermine Israel are, too.”

Later, in response to the left’s reaction to his comment, he clarified his words and said, “I reject the demand of the left to prevent representatives of Otzma Yehudit from run-ning for the Knesset, while relying on Arab parties that undermine the existence of the state.”

Either way, Netanyahu understood that the fracture within the right has hurt the country for many years, and he realized he needs to unify it in order to counter the new momentum by the Blue and White union by Israel Resilience party head Benny Gantz, the former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, and Yesh Atid Party head Yair Lapid.

‘An attempt to get back in the middle’

In general, American Jew-ish and pro-Israel organiza-tions have stood by Israel’s side

throughout the years without getting heavily involved, if at all, in internal politics. So why now?

According to Freeman, there are two main reasons. The first is that America is now in the beginning stages of a heated election season. And AIPCA, he explained, is con-cerned that the perception of Israel as being too pro-Trump might influence how AIPAC is perceived as well.

“This is an attempt to get back in the middle,” Freeman said of AIPAC.

The second reason, he noted, is that a good number of Israelis are fretting over the separation that exists between the Jewish Diaspora and Israel, and are clamoring for an easing of tensions.

AIPAC sees this as an op-portunity to bridge that divide and get involved in Israeli domestic politics, even in a minimal way.

But according to Freeman, “when push comes to shove, this will not affect [Israel’s] relations with AIPAC,” though it might influence it in two ways. First, the type of discus-

sions and talking points may change. Second, internally in America, there might be a backlash from Jews who don’t agree with all of Israel’s policies.

Jonathan Rynhold, the deputy head of the depart-ment of political studies at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, emphasized to JNS that Netanyahu did this for politi-cal reasons and not ideologi-cal ones.

Rynhold believes that Ne-tanyahu made the move because he is desperate due to a possible a pending indict-ment against him for charges of corruption, as well as the political threat presented by Gantz and Lapid. “The Netan-yahu of five years ago would have decried this [inclusion of Otzma Yehudit] as terrible.”

He firmly believes that the Otzma Yehudit representative will not “have direct influence and probably not even direct representation in the next Knesset.”

Freeman agreed and sought to allay the fears of many, assuring that “they won’t be setting policy.”

Fear over Otzma Party grips left and right, but is it justified?

HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019 PAGE 9A

can be purchased at the following locations:

Scene AroundScene AroundBy Gloria Yousha—Call 407-657-9405 or gloriayousha@gmail.com

ORANGE COUNTYJCC, 851 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland • JCC South, 11184 South Apopka-Vineland Rd., Orlando • Kinneret, 515 South Delaney Ave., Orlando • SOJC, 11200 S. Apopka Vineland Rd., Orlando • Brown’s New York Deli, 156 Lake Ave., Maitland • Most Publix Supermarkets • All Winn Dixie Supermarkets

SEMINOLE COUNTYHeritage News, 207 O’Brien Rd., Fern Park • Barnes and Noble Booksellers, 451 E. Altamonte Dr. Suite 2317, Altamonte Springs & 1260 Oviedo Marketplace Blvd., Oviedo • Bagel King, 1472 Semoran Blvd., Casselberry • Kosher Kats, 744 W. S.R. 434, Longwood • Central Florida Hillel, 4250 Alafaya Trail, Ste. 212-363, Oviedo Most Publix Supermarkets • All Winn Dixie Supermarkets

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Sudoku (see page 14A for solution)

Growing alarm...I recently heard from the Simon Wiesenthal Center and

pass their message along to you:“You and I have watched with growing alarm as Israel has

been targeted by Hamas with a new wave of terrorist attacks, including not only missiles, but also mass riots. Civilians, co-mingled with Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, have repeatedly tried to breach Israel’s international border, with the goal of killing Jews in adjacent areas.

Outrageously, the UN Relief and Works Agency even got in on the act, suddenly closing its 267 schools for two days this spring so that many of their hundreds of thousands of students might join in what Hamas planned would be the bloodiest day of rioting.

Indeed, 62 Palestinians were killed that day, 53 of them were terrorists. It is hard to conceive of a greater example of mass child abuse than that cynical move. (But that doesn’t mean Hamas won’t try.)

It is now confirmed that many of those same students, aged 9-15 years old, have been training in “summer camps” administered by Hamas and staffed by many Hamas supporters who teach in those UNRWA schools.

There exists shocking video of young girls from an UNRWA school filling balloons with kerosene. These are then floated into Israel to start fires that have destroyed thousands of acres of crops and nature preserves.

But the “crowning moment” of the summer activities? Teaching children how to fire military-grade weapons using live ammunition.

The Wiesenthal Center is working with trusted partners in the Middle East to obtain proof that will expose Hamas perfidy (a deliberate breech of faith) in Gaza. The preliminary footage of children wearing military-style uniforms and marching with weapons was alarming enough.

But the specter of youngsters crawling under barbed wire, jumping through rings of fire, and yes, learning how to use machine guns against Israelis is a nightmare scenario that may be too horrible to imagine... but is exactly what Hamas is doing to Gaza’s children.

That is why the Wiesenthal Center is launching a new strategic campaign called “The Gaza Project.” This three-pronged campaign will support the Center’s work to get ac-curate information on the ground... demand that countries

providing aid to the Palestin-ians insist on accountability and transparency... and push UN officials and funders of UNRWA to stop teaching children hate and denial of their Jewish neighbors under the banner of the UN.”

(If you want to learn more about “The Gaza Project” go to www.wiesenthal.com.

PS: The leadership in Gaza claims it has no money to feed its people, no money for electricity, but they do have money to train over 100,000 children to use ammunition and military weapons.On a much, much, MUCH lighter note...

I recently received a gift from a long-time member of

our community, DORIS PINES.Its title is “The Jewish Mother Goose,” modified rhymes

for meshugennah times. From time to time I want to share them, starting now:

LARRY, LARRY QUITE CONTRARY (Mary, Mary quite contrary)Larry! Why be so contrary? Listen to what I’m telling,I think what you’re doing is wonderful. My goodness! I’m

practically kvelling!You’re no alter kocker. In fact, you’re a macher,And I couldn’t be more impressed. You make a nice living,

you’re gentle and giving- Now if only you knew how to dress.

Roth Family JCC, Maitland...On Wednesday, March 13, between 9:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

in Shayna’s Village, there will be a discussion program that is free and open to the community, “You’re Not Alone: Honoring and Preserving Your Child’s Spirit.”

Join us for bagels and coffee as we discuss how to discipline without quashing your child’s spirit. We’ll ponder what to do when... your child doesn’t listen to you; your child throws a temper tantrum; your child won’t play on his/her own; your child won’t share, etc. Karen Duncan will share simple lan-guage and tips to help improve your child’s ability to cooperate while still honoring her opinions and preserving his spirit. To register, email register@orlandojcc.org, visit the Registration Desk in the main lobby or call 407-621-4036. To reach Karen Duncan, phone 407-645-0923.JCC39ers Cinema Sundays...

On March 10th at 2 p.m. in the Senior Lounge, the movie will be “The Death of Stalin.” Refreshments will be available.JCC39ers Meet & Mingle Mondays...

On March 11th at 1 pm in the Senior Lounge, there will be a movie presentation by Sheldon Brook, followed by refreshments.JCC39ers Game Day Tuesday...

Beginning at 1 pm in the Senior Lounge, favorite games like Mah Jongg, Dominos, Canasta, Pinochle and Bridge will be played.

(What? No Poker! That’s all we played on gig breaks when I toured with musicians!)JCC39ers Terrific Thursdays...

On March 14th, attend a Yiddish Circle, beginning at 12:30 pm in the Senior Lounge presented by Victor and Batya Granetstein .A Jewish Pavilion Mensch...

ABE GOLD is truly a mensch... and a talented one at that! He is the author of “Darkness To Light with Hope.”

Abe is a Holocaust survivor who shares his journey of life in a tumultuous period of world history. He discusses his family’s struggles and how they find and hold onto hope in order to survive.

Abe Gold and Nancy Ludin

Doris Pines

NANCY LUDIN, CEO of the Jewish Pavilion, describes Abe as a beam of light. “He is warm, bright, courageous and charismatic. Abe and his wife, SYLVIA, lived in Cascade Heights (formerly known as Chambrel and Brookdale Island Lake) before coming to Allegro Senior Living . He walks around with a smile on his face and a slip of paper in his pocket that is a promotion for his book. The Gold’s are members of Congregation Ohev Shalom.”

(To order a copy, call 888-795-4274x7879 or go to <Amazon.com.> According to Nancy Ludin, “It’s a good read. I felt like I was talking to Abe when I read his story.”Shout-Out...

What a doll! What a kind person! I’m referring to NANCY MORMELO, who is employed at TooJays Kosher Deli in Al-tamonte Springs.

The other day, when she saw me and my friend entering the restaurant, quite upset that my friend was bleeding, Nancy volunteered to help us and she came through with flying colors!

One for the road...Did you know that they played tennis in ancient Egypt?

They must have, because Joseph served in Pharaoh’s court.(Oy! A groaner for sure!)

Construction, Remodels, Additions, Handymandoes most anything

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PAGE 10A HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019

By Christine DeSouza

Tuesday evening, Feb. 26, ACT for America, a national security grassroots organiza-tion, hosted a panel discussion about political Islam and Western culture. Although ACT is also recognized as the largest anti-Muslim group in the U.S. and takes a hardline stance on Islam and immigra-tion, this meeting’s panel-ists—Dr. Jonathan Matusitz, an associate professor at the Nicholson School of Commu-nication at UCF who teaches a class on terrorism; Rev. Bruce Lieske, former chair-man of the Florida-Georgia District Muslim Evangelism Task Force and a retired Lutheran pastor; and Pas-tor Roger Diaz of Fellowship Church in Casselberry, who experienced physical abuse by Muslims as a young man in Trinidad—presented facts about and personal experi-ences with Islam.

The discussion encom-passed the rise of Islam throughout history and its expansion through the Middle East to Persia (now Iraq and Iran) and North Africa. The areas were conquered by military force.

“Islam has never spread by persuasion,” stated Lieske, “but by military force and intimidation.”

Unlike Judaism and Chris-tianity, Islam is a political, militant religion.

Today, Trinidad has the highest rate of Islamic State recruitment in the Western hemisphere. According to

Diaz, it is the No. 1 exporter of ISIS fighters.

From the age of 12 to 19 Diaz faced personal attacks from Muslims, who though lowest in percentage of the population, dominated the community.

“I was beaten, spat upon by Muslims. They were hostile,” said Diaz. “In Israel,” he con-tinued, “Islam is a different caliber. They are more single-minded, hostile and believe the deception that the land belongs to them.”

Matusitz shared that there are 1.8 billion Muslims in the world.

Today in Europe, Muslims comprise about 4.9 percent of Europe’s population.

A Pew Research study revealed that approximately 3.45 million Muslims of all ages were living in the United States in 2017. This means that Muslims made up about 1.1 percent of the total U.S. population. It is estimated that this percentage will double by 2050.

The definition of Islam, Lieske stated, is submission. It does not mean peace. As long as a country submits to the conquering Muslims’ authority, there is peace. A prime example is the Ottoman Empire which was one of the mightiest and longest-lasting dynasties in world history. This Islamic-run superpower ruled large areas of the Middle East, Eastern Europe and North Africa for more than 600 years. In 1453 the Ot-tomans captured the city of Constantinople and renamed

it Islambol, “the city of Islam.” Its modern name is Istanbul. The Ottomans ruled until 1923. In 1915, the Ottoman government began to sys-tematically kill non-Muslims Armenians. About 1.5 million Armenians were killed within a two-year period. With this violent history, why would anyone think that Islam has changed to a peaceful religion in less than 100 years?

Matusitz explained that there are different types of Muslims, using six concentric circles:

• The core are the jihad-ists, those who are willing to die instantly for Allah. They make up only 10 percent or 1.8 million people. He noted that every single terrorist group today is Muslim.

• The second circle is fun-damentalist. The fundraisers and converters. They com-prise 10 percent.

• The third circle are the conservatives. These Muslims do not support ISIS, but do believe in Sharia Law. “These are the wolves in sheep’s cloth-ing,” Matusitz said.

• The fourth circle are the human rights activists, and they accuse America and Israel of all the evils in the world. (“the big Satan” and “the little Satan”)

• The fifth circled are the reformers. They would like to make Islam a peaceful religion.

• The sixth circle are the cultural Muslims. There are about one billion cultural Muslims, representing 60 per-cent of Islam. They are Muslim

Is America’s head in the sand about Islam?

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in name only. However, they will not speak against Islam.

Is there a real threat that Islam will take over America? We have only to look at Eu-rope. Today, Islam is spreading through immigration.

Matusitz shared that in the book “The Strange Death of Europe,” written by Douglas Murray, two factors explain why European civilization will not survive. The first is the combination of mass migration of new peoples into the continent together with Europe’s negative birth rates. The second is what Murray describes as “the fact that...at the same time Europe lost faith in its beliefs, traditions, and legitimacy.”

In his review of the book, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks stated, “Murray weaves a tale of uncontrolled immigra-tion, failed multiculturalism, systemic self-doubt, cultural suicide and disingenuous political leadership. Accurate, insightful and devastating, with applicable lessons for countries on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Today, America is divided. There is uncontrolled immi-gration, multiculturalism, a departure from our tradi-tions and values. Many young people are looking at socialism as an alternative.

Already in Congress, one Muslim representative bla-tantly covered Israel on a map in her office with a post-it saying “Palestine.” Others stand behind the Constitu-tion’s freedom of speech and freedom of religion to further the cause of Islam. Can a Muslim be faithful to the U.S. Constitution and the Koran?

Having this information, what can we Americans, Jews and Christians, do?

“People are in denial,” stated Lieske.

Matusitz raised the ques-tion, “Are people in denial or do they just not know?”

There were some in the audience who until a few years ago didn’t know about the Muslim migration. There are those who want to avoid discussion or thinking about it, and there are those who

deny there is any problem. Many keep silent because they fear being labeled “racist.”

“Nobody says anything. It’s 1938 again,” said Lieske.

“Pastors and rabbis need to wake up,” he continued. “They are silent. They need to talk about the contrast between Christianity and Islam and Islam and Judaism. But they don’t want to lose [church or synagogue] members.”

One attendee encouraged everyone to talk openly with their children and grandchil-dren about being aware of dif-ferent beliefs—be welcoming, but wise about what people tell you.

Finally, pay attention to what is going on in Congress, know the causes people on the ballots are standing for, and vote.

Perhaps there is nothing to worry about. Perhaps America will continue on as she has for almost 300 years. Perhaps America is unconquerable, and all the people who are pointing out the (possible) coming storm are only cry-ing wolf.

Djembayz/Wikimedia Commons

View of the University of Montana campus in Missoula.

(JNS)—For the sixth time since November, anti-Semitic fliers appeared around the University of Montana campus in Missoula, including four times in February.

Discovered on Monday, the latest fliers included an image of a disfigured mili-tary member with a quota-tion from the late former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Ovida Yosef that said, “Goyim were born only to serve us.”

“There is a line that can be crossed, but as for putting out literature that is hateful or untrue, people get to do that because of the free speech amendment,” David Cox, the president of the board of directors at Missoula’s Har Shalom synagogue, told NBC Montana.

On Feb. 8, anti-Semitic fliers were seen on car wind-shields around campus, ac-cusing Jews of weakening both the First and Second

Amendments of the U.S. Bill of Rights.

On Feb. 12, fliers promot-ing Jew hated were discovered around town, depicting a man on a cross, calling him enslaved because of a Jewish tradition.

“This doesn’t just affect the Jewish community; it affects the entire community,” Rabbi Chezy Vogel of the Chabad Jewish Center of Missoula told NBC Montana. “This is one person trying to poison the atmosphere and environ-ment here. I would say don’t let them win. Don’t hide your religion, hide your beliefs now in the wake of this.”

“On the contrary, respond with pride in your religion,” he continued. “Stand up for what you believe in.”

The same day, a Missou-lian reporter tweeted a picture of a swastika and the words “white power” being spray-painted on a building in the area.

On Friday, anti-Semitic fliers were found also on the doorsteps of Missoula residents, featuring a disfig-ured picture of U.S. President Donald Trump with spiked hair with the Israeli flag next to his head, apparently implying a demonization of those support the Jewish state.

“I didn’t know if it was going after specific people in the community,” Crystal Koosman, who is Jewish and a member of Har Shalom, told NBC Montana. “I went out-side, and some of my neigh-bors were outside chatting, and found out that they were all up and down the block.”

No suspects have been found in any of the cases. It is currently unknown if any of the incidents are connected.

Finally, in November, re-cruitment fliers from the white-nationalist group Iden-tify Evropa were found around campus.

Montana college campus littered with anti-Semitic fliers

HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019 PAGE 11A

OBITUARIES Central Florida SynagoguesOrlando Weekday Morning Minyan (Conservative/Egalitarian), services Monday-

Friday 7:45 a.m. (9 a.m.—national holidays); 2nd floor Chapel—Jewish Academy of Orlando; 851 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland. For information call 407-298-4650.

Celebration Jewish Congregation (R), services and holiday schedules shown at www.JewishCelebration.org; 407-479-8377.

Chabad Lubavitch of North Orlando (O), 1701 Markham Woods Road, Longwood, 407-636-5994, www.jewishorlando.com; services: Friday 7:00 p.m.; Saturday at 9:30 a.m.

Chabad of Altamonte Springs (O), 414 Spring Valley Lane, Altamonte Springs, 407-280-0535; www.jewishaltamonte.com.

Chabad of South Orlando (O), 7347 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, 407-354-3660; www.jewishorlando.com; Shabbat services: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. and 10 minutes before sunset; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 8:15 a.m.

Chabad of the Space & Treasure Coasts (O), 1190 Highway A1A, Satellite Beach, 321-777-2770.

Congregation Ahavas Yisrael/Chabad (O), 708 Lake Howell Rd., Maitland, 407-644-2500; www.chabadorlando.org; services: Sunday, 9 a.m.; Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.; Shabbat services: Friday, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Family service, 4th Friday of the month.

Congregation Bet Chaim (R), 181 E. Mitchell Hammock, Oviedo, 407-830-7211; www.betchaim.org; Shabbat services: Friday, 8 p.m.

Congregation Beth Am (C), 3899 Sand Lake Road, Longwood, 407-862-3505; www.congbetham.org; Shabbat services: Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.

Congregation Beth El (C), 2185 Meadowlane Ave., West Melbourne, 321-779-0740; Shabbat services, 1st & 3rd Friday, 8 p.m.; 2nd & 4th Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.

Congregation Beth Emeth (R), 2205 Blue Sapphire Circle, Orlando, 407-222-6393; Shabbat service: monthly, 8 p.m.

Congregation Beth Israel (Rec), Collins Resource Center, Suite 303, 9401 S.R. 200, Ocala, 352-237-8277; bethisraelocala.org; Shabbat service, second Friday of the month, 8 p.m.

Congregation Beth Sholom (R-C), 315 North 13th St., Leesburg, 352-326-3692; www.bethsholomflorida.org; schedule of services on website.

Congregation Beth Shalom (Progressive Conservative), Orange City congregation holds services at 1308 E. Normandy Blvd., Deltona; 386-804-8283; www.mybethshalom.com; Shabbat services: Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.

Congregation B’nai Torah (C), 403 N. Nova Rd., Ormond Beach, 32174, 386-672-1174; www.mybnaitorah.com; Shabbat services: Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.

Congregation Chabad Lubavitch of Greater Daytona (O), 1079 W. Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach, 386-672-9300; Shabbat services Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.

Congregation of Reform Judaism (R), 928 Malone Dr., Orlando, 407-645-0444; www.crjorlando.org: Shabbat services, 7 p.m. 1st, 2nd and 3rd Fridays; 6 p.m., 4th and 5th Fridays; Saturday: 10 a.m.

Congregation Mateh Chaim (R), P.O. Box 060847, Palm Bay, 32906, 321-768-6722.Congregation Ohev Shalom (C), 613 Concourse Parkway South, Maitland, 407-298-

4650; www.ohevshalom.org; Shabbat service, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.Congregation Shalom Aleichem (R), 3501 Oak Pointe Blvd., Kissimmee, 407-935-

0064; www.shalomaleichem.com; Shabbat service, 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month, 8 p.m.Congregation Shomer Ysrael (C), 5382 Hoffner Ave., Orlando, 407-227-1258, call for

services and holiday schedules.Congregation Sinai (C/R), 303A N. S.R. 27, Minneola; 352-243-5353; congregation-

sinai.org; services: every Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Shabbat Service evert Saturday, 10 a.m.Orlando Torah Center (O), 8591 Banyan Blvd., Orlando; 347-456-6485; Shacharis-

Shabbos 9 a.m.; Mon.—Thurs. 6:45 a.m.; Sun. and Legal Holidays 8 a.m.; Mincha/Maariv Please call for times.

Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation/Ohalei Rivka (C), 11200 S. Apopka-Vineland Rd., Orlando, 407-239-5444; Shabbat service, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.

Temple Beth El (R), 579 N. Nova Rd., Ormond Beach, 386-677-2484.Temple Beth Shalom (R), P.O. Box 031233, Winter Haven, 813-324-2882.Temple Beth Shalom (C), 40 Wellington Drive, Palm Coast, 386-445-3006; Shabbat

service, Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.Temple Beth Sholom (C), 5995 N. Wickham Rd. Melbourne, 321-254-6333; www.

mytbs.org; Shabbat services: Friday, 7 p.m.; Saturday: 9:30 a.m. Minyan, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, 10:00 a.m.

Temple Beth Shalom (R), 1109 N.E. 8th Ave., Ocala, 352-629-3587; Shabbat services: Friday, 8 p.m.; Torah study: Saturday, 10:00 a.m.

Temple B’nai Darom (R), 49 Banyan Course, Ocala, 352-624-0380; Friday Services 8 p.m.Temple Israel (C), 50 S. Moss Rd., Winter Springs, 407-647-3055; www.tiflorida.org;

Shabbat services: Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday 9:00 a.m.Temple Israel (R), 7350 Lake Andrew Drive, Melbourne, 321-631-9494.Temple Israel (C), 579 N. Nova Road, Ormond Beach, 386-252-3097; Shabbat service,

Friday, 7 p.m.; Saturday: 10:30 a.m.Temple Israel of DeLand (R), 1001 E. New York Ave., DeLand, 386-736-1646; www.

templeisraelofdeland.org; Friday Shabbat service, 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10:00 a.m. followed by Torah study.

Temple Shalom (formerly New Jewish Congregation) (R), 13563 Country Road 101, Oxford, 352-748-1800; www.templeshalomcentralfl.org; Shabbat services: Friday, 7 p.m.; last Saturday of the month, 9:30 a.m.

Temple Shalom of Deltona (R/C), 1785 Elkcam Blvd., Deltona, 386-789-2202; www.shalomdeltona.org; Shabbat service; Saturday: 10 a.m.

Temple Shir Shalom (R) Services held at Temple Israel, 50 S. Moss Rd., Winter Springs, 407-366-3556, www.templeshirshalom.org; Shabbat services: three Fridays each month, 7:30 p.m.

Traditional Congregation of Mount Dora (T) Mount Dora, 352-735-4774; www.tcomd.org; Shabbat services: Saturday, 9:30 a.m. sharp.

(R) Reform (C) Conservative (O) Orthodox (Rec) Reconstructionist (T) Mehitsa

Along with Jack, her com-puter skills led her to publish the Hadassah newsletter for many years. They were hon-ored as a couple by Congrega-tion Beth Am in September 2013 for their service to the temple community.

Jeri is survived by her husband, Jack; son, Michael Hornreich and his wife, Kitti; grandson, Mark Hall; grand-daughter, Barbara Gritter and husband, Jordan; and her great-grandchildren, Jaxson and Tatum Gritter; as well as many beloved cousins, nieces and nephews, with whom Jeri always stayed connected. Many long-time friends sup-ported her and kept close through weekly Mahjong games and much more.

Jeri was buried in Miami beside her first husband, Mervin Hornreich, and their daughter, Barbara Ann Horn-reich.

On Friday, March 15, 2019, at 11 a.m., a Celebration of Life will be held at Congrega-tion Beth Am, Longwood, for all to share their memories of this woman of strength and compassion.

HOWARD “HOWIE” ROSENFELD

Howard Rosenfeld (Chaim ben Tzvi Hersh), age 72, of Orlando, passed away on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, at Florida Hospital—Orlando. A New York City native, he was born on Nov. 12, 1946, to the late Harry and Sarah Rose Parker Rosenfeld.

He was a high school graduate; later enlisting in the U.S. Army. Prior to his en-listment, Howie married the former Madelyne Shankman on May 14, 1966, in Smith-field, North Carolina. During his military service, Howie served as an MP, earning distinction as a Sharpshooter and Pistol Expert. Following his time in the Army, Howie became a New York City po-liceman. In the early 1970s, he was recognized for saving the lives of 7 people during a robbery.

After their retirements, Howie and Madelyne retired to the Orlando area in 1986. In addition to Maddy, his wife of nearly 53 years, Howard is survived by his son, Scott (Tracy); grandchildren, An-thony and Angelina; and his sister-in-law, Arlene (Dan) Maikisch.

A funeral service was held at Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel with Rabbi Rick Sher-win officiating. Burial was at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell.

In memory of Howard “Howie” Rosenfeld, the family requests contributions to the National Kidney Foundation (www.kidney.org)

Arrangements entrusted to Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel, 640 Lee Road, Orlan-do FL 32810. 407-599-1180 www.bethshalommemorial-chapel.com.NIRA SHEINTAL STEIN

Submitted by her familyNira S. Stein, age 84, of

Maitland, passed away on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, at Advent Health—Altamonte. Nira was born on Feb. 12, 1935, in Tel Aviv, Israel, to the late Solomon and Rosi Fleisher Sheintal.

In 1944 Nira, her parents and her younger brother sailed on the Ile de France,

which had been converted to a troop transport during the War, to the United States. Upon arrival, they lived with Nira’s maternal grandparents in Washington, D.C., until her father began building homes in suburban Maryland. As he became more successful in these endeavors, the fam-ily grew—adding two more children.

In her young teens, Nira joined a youth group affiliated with the Montgomery County (Maryland) Jewish Commu-nity Center, where she met her husband, Arnold Stein. The rest is history!

Arnold and Nira were mar-ried for 64 years and had two children, Larry of Winter Park and Lori (Moshe) of Hod HaSharon, Israel. The family grew to include three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

After moving to Central Florida, Nira tried out her merchant skills at the Con-gregation of Reform Judaism Gift Shop, and then opened The Source, her first Judaic gift shop in Fern Park, near Myron’s Deli. She later moved to Orienta Plaza and ulti-mately to her free standing building on Ronald Reagan Boulevard—across from what is now the SunRail Station. She closed the store in 1998, after nearly 20 years of serving the community.

Having family and friends in Israel, Nira and Arnold made nearly 60 round trips to Israel; owning an apart-ment for about 11 years. They usually made two round trips each year.

In memory of Nira Sheintal Stein, the family requests contributions to MAZON—A Jewish Response to Hunger (www.mazon.org)

Burial was at Palm Cem-etery in Sarasota. A memo-rial service was held at Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel with Cantor Kim Singer of Temple Shir Shalom officiating.

Arrangements entrusted to Beth Shalom Memorial Cha-pel, 640 Lee Road, Orlando FL 32810. 407-599-1180 www.bethshalommemorialchapel.com.

IRA WILLIAM WALDINGER

Ira W. Waldinger, age 68, of Winter Garden, passed away on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, at Orlando Regional Medical Center. A Brook-lyn native, he was born on Feb. 21, 1951, to the late Martin and Esther Dobrow Waldinger. He was a gradu-ate of Hunter College and worked a s an educator with children with special needs. On Sept. 16, 1984, in Hastings-on-Hudson, he married the former Amy Abramson, his wife of more than 34 years who survives him. Following their retire-ments, the family relocated to the Orlando area in 2017.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Waldinger is survived by his sons, Michael Zarchin Waldinger of New York, and Andrew Steven Waldinger of Winter Garden. A graveside service was held at Temple Israel Cemetery, Gotha.

Arrangements entrusted to Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel, 640 Lee Road, Orlan-do FL 32810. 407-599-1180 www.bethshalommemorial-chapel.com.

IDA FREEDMAN Submitted by her familyIda Freedman, beloved wife

of the late Bernard Freedman, passed away on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, at the age of 99 ½ years. She had lived the last six years with her daughter, Paula Streimish, in Fern Park, Florida. Ida and Bernie retired to Sunrise, Florida, where they enjoyed more than two decades of life as residents of Sunrise Lakes. Born and raised in the Greater Boston area, she married Bernie near the end of World War II and raised three children: Paula; Faye, of the Greater Baltimore area; and the late Robert Freedman of Tampa. She also leaves behind five grandchildren—Rebecca, Aaron, Nicole, Matthew and Michael; and four great-grandchildren—Jared, Tyler, Sofia and Annabelle.

While most of her adult life was spent as a wife and mother, her kindness and concern for the people she met was a hallmark of her character. She was a dedi-cated homemaker who could create a banquet for 12 on a moment’s notice or provide enough beach supplies for unexpected summer visitors. As her years advanced, the family decided she should not live alone so at the age of nearly 94 she began her sec-ond retirement living with her daughter, Paula. She enjoyed a new circle of friends and became everyone’s “Mom.”

Although quiet by nature, Ida leaves a very large hole in the tapestry of life of those who knew her and loved her. Zichrona livracha

Services entrusted to Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel, 640 Lee Road, Orlando FL 32810. 407-599-1180 www.bethsha-lommemorialchapel.com

GERALDINE ‘JERI’ LEAVITT

Jeri Leavitt, 87, passed peacefully Feb. 17, 2019, with her family close by. Born to Larry and Bertha Grutman on Aug. 5, 1931, her Bronx roots made her a true New Yorker, a lover of fashion and food. Jeri’s last 23 years were lovingly shared with her hus-band Joseph, “Jack” Leavitt. Their focus ranged from their synagogue, Congregation Beth Am, where they met as widowers, to traveling the world.

An illness early in life led Jeri to a career in nursing. She graduated from Albert Einstein Nursing College in Philadelphia, and progressed to leadership as a charge nurse in hospital administration, and finally as an instructor in Seminole Community Col-lege’s LPN program.

Geraldine ‘Jeri’ Leavitt

PAGE 12A HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019

By Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA)—Even before he was old enough to vote, Justyn Trenner was already a sup-porter of Britain’s Labour Party.

Trenner, now a 54-year-old financial adviser from London, had felt at home there thanks to Labour’s mild socialism and anti-racist agenda. That had made it a favorite for many British Jew-ish voters like him.

But he and other Jews have become politically homeless.

Trenner feels like he’s been driven out of Labour by the proliferation of anti-Semitic hate speech in the party ranks following the 2015 election of Jeremy Corbyn as its leader. Corbyn, far left and anti-Israel, is accused of helping to spread anti-Semitism.

Scarcely better for Trenner are the increasingly right-wing positions of the ruling Conservative Party, which is committed to taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union despite hav-ing no clear strategy with the deadline just weeks away.

Last week, though, Trenner found a new political home: the Independent Group. The new centrist movement was founded by eight former Labour lawmakers who hope to recalibrate the polarized politics in Britain. He wants the Independent Group to do for moderates there what the party of Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, did for their French counterparts in 2017.

“I was thrilled,” Trenner said of the Independent Group’s Feb. 18 creation. “No one knows how this will play out, but I think it’s a de-velopment that could change British politics and give a voice

to a lot of people who had lost it along the way.”

Since its surprise launch by Labour defectors includ-ing Luciana Berger, a Jewish lawmaker who quit the party over anti-Semitic abuse on-line for criticizing Corbyn, the Independent Group has been joined by three Conservative lawmakers.

Constituting the biggest Labour split in decades, the Independent Group’s 11 seats out of 650 in the House of Commons make it the fourth-largest faction there along with the 31-year-old Liberal Democrat Party. The split has further hurt Corbyn’s Labour by prompting another one of its lawmakers, Ian Austin, to leave over anti-Semitism on Friday.

Neil Nerva, a Jewish La-bour politician from the London borough of Brent, shares Austin’s concerns about Labour, which Nerva said has become “institu-tionally anti-Semitic” under Corbyn. But Nerva is staying in Labour for now, he said, at least until his many foreign constituents have more clar-ity on Brexit, which is due to happen next month.

“It’s the overriding priority now,” Nerva said. “There will definitely be a recalibration in Labour after that.”

Another 20 lawmakers are on the brink of leaving La-bour over anti-Semitism and Corbyn’s perceived inaction to prevent Brexit, according to The Guardian. Many of them are seeking Labour support for a second referendum on Brexit. Corbyn had resisted this pressure until the In-dependent Group walkout but announced his support for a referendum on Monday.

Austin, the ninth Labour lawmaker to leave, was joined by David Hirsh, a prominent

scholar and author on anti-Semitism.

“I was just waiting for a time to leave when leaving could have the most impact,” Hirsh, who is not a politician but had been a Labour mem-ber throughout his adult life, wrote about his decision to terminate his membership.

“I have been driven out of my party by antisemites,” he wrote.

Berger, as its highest-profile Jewish member, may attract many Jewish support-ers to the Independent Group. She echoed Hirsh’s sentiment in announcing the split at a news conference with the others who quit Labour.

“This has been a very diffi-cult, painful but necessary de-cision,” she said about leaving. “I have become embarrassed and ashamed to remain in the Labour Party. I have not changed. The core values of equality for all. Opportunity for all. Anti-racism against all. And social justice.”

The 37-year-old Berger, who is pregnant with her second child, is something of a hero for many British Jews regardless of where they stand on Labour.

Although she hails from London’s affluent Wembley area, she has become quite popular in the impoverished Liverpool constituency where she ran for Parliament. She won 79 percent of the vote there in the 2017 elections, a 10-point increase over 2015. Berger, who entered Parlia-ment in the 2010 elections, was Labour’s point person for mental health issues.

An unwavering critic of the British far right, she has spoken out with the same determination against the rise of anti-Semitism among Corbyn supporters, who often conflate Jews with Israel and

propagate conspiracy theories about Jews. As a former chair of the Labour Friends of Israel group, she has been targeted incessantly in such verbal attacks.

Her rebuke for such rheto-ric earned her even more vi-cious harassment by members of her own party. But Berger has not wavered, criticizing Corbyn last year for defend-ing an anti-Semitic mural in London in 2013 that portrayed Jewish bankers playing Mo-nopoly on the backs of black people.

She called a Corbyn spokes-person’s defense of the artist’s right to free speech “wholly inadequate. It fails to under-stand on any level the hurt and anguish felt about anti-Semitism. I will be raising this further.”

Berger has inspired hun-dreds of hate messages on social networks and beyond, prompting police to assign her agents for her own protection at a Labour event last year. On Twitter, a post wished for her death, “so a real Labour MP can take her place.”

The former chief rabbi of Britain, Jonathan Sacks, last year said that Corbyn was an anti-Semite. Corbyn has denied the claim, pointing to his ban of some Labour members over anti-Semitic hate speech—others who spoke similarly were either unpunished or allowed back in—and citing the support he has from some Jews on the far left of the political spectrum.

In 2009, Corbyn called Hamas and Hezbollah his friends. He laid flowers on the graves of Palestinian terror-ists in 2014. In 2015 he said that British-born “Zionists” don’t understand British irony. He has called to boycott Israel and applauded a speaker who called for its destruction.

Berger’s principled stance against such behavior has earned her the admiration of Jews and non-Jews from her left and right.

Daily Telegraph columnist Zoe Strimpel on Sunday called Berger a “brilliant poster girl who Jews can get behind.”

“I may not cleave to Lu-ciana’s lefty lingo,” wrote Strimpel, who is Jewish. But, she added, “I’ve watched her over the years with interest and gratitude, which peaked last week on seeing her bravely—and with fabulous hair—resign from Labour because of an institutional-ized and unstaunched culture of antisemitism.”

Among hard-left Jewish voters, too, Berger commands more respect than others who have fled Labour.

“I think I’m much more sympathetic to her and her views than to other Labour centrists,” said Keith Kahn-Harris, a British Jewish sociologist. He cited Berger’s work on mental health.

More than other members of the Independent Group, Kahn-Harris said, discourse by Corbyn supporters about her leaving Labour “has been particularly venomous precisely because Berger can’t simply be dismissed” as Conservative-light.

For now, Berger’s Inde-pendent Group isn’t even of-ficially registered as a political party. It has not published a manifesto or platform beyond a short, 11-point document that speaks broadly about investing in health infrastruc-ture, national security and bi-lateral relations. Remarkably, it does not mention either Brexit or anti-Semitism.

This vagueness may be necessary as the movement recruits new members, who will be invited to shape its

platform. The new entity does not have a leader, either, presumably for the same reasons.

Despite assets like Berger and growing voter disdain for Britain’s old parties—the Independent Group’s tagline is “Politics is broke. Let’s change it”—the movement is up against a two-party sys-tem that is entrenched in the British constituency-based electoral model. Trenner noted that the Liberal Demo-crats have been vying in it for decades with limited success.

But France’s political sys-tem appeared equally in-hospitable to independent movements before 2017, when Macron’s centrist La Repub-lique En Marche smashed the widely discredited Republi-cans and Socialists, as well as the far right and far left, to make him president and head of the ruling party.

Kahn-Harris does not be-lieve that a meteoric Macron-style rise is in the cards for the Independent Group.

“What could happen is that they win enough votes to become, perhaps with the Lib-eral Democrats, kingmakers in coalition talks,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

In Britain, politicians are not elected directly. Instead, voters elect parties, which at times need to negotiate alli-ances with other parties to form coalitions.

Trenner said “there’s some hope” for the would-be party to pull off a Macron-like upset.

But if the Independent Group merely ends up pre-venting Corbyn from becom-ing prime minister, he said, “then that’s good enough.” That prospect, he added, “for the first time in my life is creating a serious discussion among British Jews about leaving this country.”

In Britain, Labour Party rebels give Jews hope of a new political home

Ethiopians making aliyah.

By Jonathan Feldstein

I’ve been called many things in my life, but never black. Until recently.

I was visiting with a friend who is a black pastor in Chi-cago and at one point he burst out “you must be half black.”

He meant it as a compli-ment, and I received it as such. Since then he’s invited me to speak in his church as an Orthodox American-born Israeli Jew about black Jewish relations later this month, Black History month.

I agreed immediately and enthusiastically. It’s one of the most meaningful and important invitations I’ve ever received.

Unlike my children who were raised in Israel, growing up in the U.S. my identity is unavoidably linked to the legacy of Dr. King and the civil rights movement. I’m proud of the fact that Dr. King himself recognized the unique Jew-ish participation in the civil rights movement. “Probably more than any other ethnic group, the Jewish community has been sympathetic and has stood as an ally to the Negro in his struggle for justice.” (March 25, 1968)

Growing up I never had

many close black friends, but inevitably I was friendly with black people from my diverse public high school and private university. This is not to use the cliché “some of my best friends are black” which, in fairness, was not so growing up. But is the case now.

While I may not have had close black friends growing up, I also never participated in or understood discrimi-nation based on one’s skin color. Part of that is the same inability to understand or ac-cept anti-Semitism. And from a Jewish perspective growing up in America, I understood the common orientation of both Jews who experienced slavery in biblical times and which remains a part of our consciousness, and African-Americans who were enslaved in much more recent times that remains a blight on American history and is a part of their consciousness.

And I am well aware that still today, in America and around the world, Jews and blacks remain discriminated against.

Though I grew up in Amer-ica and spent my first 40 years there, I approach black Jewish relations from a unique Israeli perspective. I will never forget

the conversation I had with my Polish born and very tra-ditional grandmother about the fact that I would happily marry an Ethiopian Jewish woman. For her, this concept was simply foreign.

Sadly, in Israel we have our share of racism as well. However, when I looked at the history of black Jewish relations from Israeli perspec-tive, I am inspired by Israel’s dynamic relationships with black Africa. I hope it will inspire other Jews and blacks to look at this as a positive model for our shared future.

This month, Israel repa-triated the first of what is anticipated to be more than 1000 Ethiopians of Jewish descent. Hopefully this is the beginning of completing the rescue of an ancient black community of Jews, and their absorption at home in Israel.

Personally, it’s no coinci-dence that the same week I at-tend a black church in Chicago, my daughter will participate in a humanitarian mission among the remainder of Ethiopia is Jewish community.

The Ethiopian Jewish com-munity was separated from the rest of the diaspora Jews thousands of years ago. They maintained ancient biblical

The prophetic ingathering and final rescue of Ethiopian Jews

traditions. Because they remained isolated they were not privy to the thousands of years of rabbinic Judaism, and even certain holidays celebrated by the vast majority of world Jewry.

The remaining 9000 people who are awaiting their op-portunity to come home to Israel are largely descendants of Ethiopian Jews who were forced to convert. But in a trib-al society, they were never ac-cepted fully as Christians, and were discriminated against widely as Jews. Because they

are not Jewish according to Jewish law, the time it’s taken to prepare to help these remnants of an ancient Jewish community come to Israel has taken longer.

In the meantime, unlike previous waves of immigration from Ethiopia, these people have moved from their tribal lands, living in temporary com-munities, essentially refugee camps. The difference is that in these communities they are taught Hebrew and rab-binic Jewish traditions as well as learning aspects of modern

society so that when they ar-rive they are more prepared to be absorbed into Israeli society. But Ethiopia is a poor country, and these are the poor of the poor. Profound medical and nutritional needs exist as more than 50 percent of young children are malnourished.

On a very personal level, the airlift of some 15,000 Ethiopian Jews in May 1991 had a profound impact on my life that I will speak about in Chicago. However, seeing the

Ingathering on page 14A

HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019 PAGE 13A

Weekly roundup of world briefs$464 million more paid out to victims of Bernie Madoff Ponzi schemeBy Marcy Oster

(JTA)—Another $464 mil-lion has been paid out to victims of Bernie Madoff’s $19 billion Ponzi scheme, bring-ing the total distributions in the case to more than $12 billion.

The new payout to 880 former Madoff clients began on Friday with checks rang-ing from $429 to $66 million, Bloomberg reported, citing the office of trustee Irving Picard.

The total distributions equal about two-thirds of each allowed claim, Picard said. Clients who suffered certified losses of as much as $1.49 mil-lion will have been paid in full after this 10th distribution, according to the report.

Picard has been working to claw back the fake profits earned by Madoff investors.

Madoff, a Jewish New York-er, and his investment firm swindled billions of dollars from tens of thousands of investors from the early 1970s until his arrest in 2008.

The uncovering of the Ponzi scheme revealed the tens of billions of dollars in fake profit that victims believed they had earned through Madoff. Many prominent Jewish nonprofits also suffered big losses, with Yeshiva University taking a $140 million hit, Hadassah $90 million and Elie Wiesel’s foundation losing $15 million.

In 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies and is serving a 150-year sentence in a North Carolina federal prison. He also was ordered to forfeit nearly $171 billion.Egypt’s president will provide synagogues if a Jewish community re-emerges thereBy Marcy Oster

(JTA)—Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said his government would build syna-gogues and provide services to the Jewish community if there is a resurgence of the community in his country.

Sisi made the statement last week during a meeting with a U.S. delegation, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The delegation was made up of the Anwar Sadat Con-gressional Gold Medal Com-mission, which successfully lobbied to grant the Congres-sional Gold Medal to the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. President Donald Trump signed the bill to grant the highest civilian award bestowed by Congress in December.

The commission members were in Egypt to invite Sisi to attend the ceremony in the fall, when the medal will be presented to Jehan Sadat, the wife of the leader assassinated in 1981.

The commission was founded and led by Ezra Friedlander, an Orthodox Jew-ish consultant and lobbyist from New York.

“President Sisi spoke fondly not only of Egypt’s past vibrant Jewish community, but also said that should there be a resurgence of the Jewish community in Egypt, the government will provide every religious necessity re-quired,” Friedlander told The Jerusalem Post. “He basically said that should there be a

resurgence of the Jewish com-munity, the government will build synagogues and other related services.”

Before Israel declared in-dependence in 1948, about 75,000 Jews lived Egypt. Only a handful of Jews live in Egypt today.Trial of former Nazi SS guard, 95, likely over because of his ill healthBy Marcy Oster

(JTA)—The trial in Ger-many of a former Nazi SS guard, now 95, likely cannot be restarted after it was sus-pended due to his ill health.

Johann Rehbogen is ac-cused of being complicit in the mass murders of several hun-dred prisoners at the Stutthof concentration camp. More than 60,000 people were killed at Stutthof during World War II.

His trial was suspended by the judge in December because Rehbogen was hospi-talized with heart and kidney problems.

On Monday, the Muenster state court said it seems unlikely that the trial will be restarted after a doctor de-termined that he is still unfit to stand trial, The Associated Press reported.

Rehbogen, who uses a wheelchair, was younger than 21 when he worked at the camp between 1942 and 1944 and thus is being tried in a juvenile court in the western German city of Muenster. The trial started in November and only met twice a week on non-consecutive days to accommodate his age and poor health.Palestinians accused of uprooting trees planted in memory of Jewish ter-ror victimBy Marcy Oster

(JTA)—Palestinians are accused of uprooting 50 trees planted in the West Bank in memory of Ori Ansbacher, the 19-year-old woman who was raped and murdered in a forest outside Jerusalem by a Palestinian man.

Jewish settlers who were planting the grove Friday clashed with local Palestin-ians. The Israeli army inter-vened to halt the confronta-tion, Ynet reported.

The settlers said they no-ticed later that the Palestin-ians had uprooted the trees, which were planted between the Gush Etzion settlement of Tekoa, where Ansbacher had lived, and the settlement of Nokdim.

Ansbacher’s body was dis-covered on Feb. 7 outside of the Ein Yael Living Museum, in the Jerusalem forest, where she was working with children for her year of national service.

Arafat Irfaiya, 29, was ar-rested two days later, and he re-enacted the attack and murder for authorities, ac-cording to reports. Forensic evidence found at the scene had tied the Hebron man to the murder.Left-wing group pro-tests Shabbat speech by ex-Israeli soldier at U of Texas ChabadBy Marcy Oster

(JTA)—Members of a Jew-ish left-wing group protested a speech by a former Israeli soldier who spoke following Shabbat morning services at the Chabad Jewish Center at the University of Texas in Austin.

About a dozen protesters from the Austin chapter of IfNotNow sang protest songs and carried signs reading “Occupation is not moral” and “Moral combat? Moral disaster” as they protested in front of the center on Saturday morning.

Chabad Rabbi Zev Johnson charged in a blog post that the protesters took photos and videos of people entering the Chabad, including his young children, encouraged his chil-dren to join their protest, and prevented guests from enter-ing the building. IfNotNow denies his version of events.

IfNotNow in a statement also objected to Chabad characterizing their actions as disrespecting Shabbat.

“We know our actions were only mischaracterized because we spoke out against the Israeli occupation,” the statement said.

“Why is IDF propaganda allowed in our communal spaces, let alone following Shabbat morning services? That is the real outrage here, not a bunch of Jews standing outside the building singing ‘Olam Chesed Yibaneh’ (We Will Build This World with Love),” the group also said in a tweet.

The soldier, Leibel Mangel, an American-born motiva-tional speaker, spoke at lunch following services about visiting Auschwitz with his survivor grandfather, who he said stood up to the SS officer and physician Joseph Mengele during his internment there. He also spoke about his experi-ence of being one of the sol-diers to discover the bodies of three Israeli teens kidnapped and killed by Hamas in 2014, according to Johnson. He also led a discussion about moral-ity in combat.

IfNotNow charges that Mangel “uses the Holocaust as a way to justify the occu-pation. There is no denying the very real trauma that the Holocaust has left on our community; yet, our his-torical trauma should not be exploited to justify the oppres-sion of Palestinian people.”

Johnson said the protest-ers “lied about the what was discussed, and exploited our Jewish community for cheap photos on social media.” Israel ranked 10th healthiest country in the worldBy Gabe Friedman

(JTA)—Israel is the 10th healthiest country in the world—54 spots ahead of the United States.

The Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index, published Sunday, ranked 169 nations based on factors such as life expectancy and access to sanitation and medical care. Countries were penalized for tobacco use and obesity, among other health risks.

Unsurprisingly, the Medi-terranean diet—common in Israel, as well as Spain and Italy, numbers one and two on the list—was noted in Bloomberg’s analysis.

“Mediterranean diet, sup-plemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts, had a lower rate of major cardiovascular events than those assigned to a reduced-fat diet,” says a study cited by Bloomberg.

The rest of the top 10, in order, are: Spain, Italy, Iceland, Japan, Switzerland,

Sweden, Australia, Singapore and Norway.

The U.S. placed 64th, large-ly in part to its high obesity rate. Recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control estimate about 40 percent of the country, or over 93 million citizens, are obese.NYC Health Department urges Orthodox travelers to Israel to vaccinate for measles

(JNS)—The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is urging all Orthodox Jews who plan to make a trip to Israel to vac-cinate their children against the measles virus.

An outbreak of measles believed to be caused by an unvaccinated child who con-tracted the disease in Israel led to 90 confirmed cases in Brooklyn, N.Y., between October and February 2019, a high number attributed to low vaccination rates in the ultra-Orthodox community.

The neighborhoods pri-marily affected were Borough Park and Williamsburg, which had 40 cases each.

Israel’s measles outbreak led to the death of two people, including an 18 month-old infant in 2018.

Assad meets Khamenei in first Iran visit in eight years

(JNS)—Syrian President Bashar Assad visited Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday in Iran, his first trip to the coun-try since the beginning of the Syrian conflict and genocide eight years ago, according to Syrian state television.

The report displayed foot-age of the former meeting with the latter and said that the two allies agreed “to continue cooperation at all levels for the interests of the two friendly nations.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran sees helping Syria’s government and nation as support for the resistance movement [against Israel] and is deeply proud of doing it,” said Khamenei, reported Iranian TV.Hoyer seeks ‘movement’ as House weighs Senate-passed pro-Israel, anti-BDS billBy Jackson Richman

(JNS)—U.S. House Ma-jority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on Tuesday that he hopes to move along a U.S. Senate bill that passed earlier this month and that, if enacted, would impose fresh sanctions on Syria, boost se-curity cooperation with Israel and Jordan, and allow state and local governments the right to punish state or local contractors from boycotting Israel.

The anti-BDS component of the legislation has divided Democrats.

“[House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman] El-liot Engel and I are talking about it, and hopefully, we’ll move something soon,” Hoyer told JNS after addressing a reception hosted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America, featuring Demo-cratic members of Congress, including freshmen such as Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin.

At the event, Senate Major-ity Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused those on the other side of the aisle for making the U.S.-Israel rela-tionship a single-party issue.

“There are people on the

Republican side who are try-ing to make Israel a partisan issue,” he said. “When Israel becomes a partisan issue, it will lose ground.”

“I told [Israeli] Prime Min-ister [Benjamin] Netanyahu that maybe the greatest threat to Israel is the rockets in Iran and in Lebanon that Hezbol-lah has,” he continued. “But probably the second-greatest threat to Israel is losing the young people. And you losing... the left side of the ledger.”Ilhan Omar deletes AIPAC tweets called anti-SemiticBy Marcy Oster

(JTA)—Rep. Ilhan Omar has deleted tweets that Jewish groups and her congressio-nal colleagues called anti-Semitic.

Omar, D-Minn., came un-der fire earlier this month for posting successive tweets suggesting that the American Israel Public Affairs Commit-tee, the pro-Israel lobby, pays politicians to be pro-Israel. Democratic and Republican leaders condemned the tweets as echoing anti-Semitic ste-reotypes about Jews, money and power. The allegation is also false, as AIPAC does not donate to candidates or endorse them.

The freshman lawmaker apologized for the tweets a day later.

Twitter users began to no-tice on Sunday that the tweets had been removed, USA Today first reported. There was no explanation of why the tweets were removed.

“Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar is deleting her anti-Semitic tweets. But deleting tweets doesn’t change that she still supports the anti-Semitic BDS movement to boycott and delegitimize Israel,” Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, tweeted Monday.Pittsburgh Presbyterian seminary’s racial justice summit includes anti-Israel presentationsBy Marcy Oster

(JTA)—Speakers at a sum-mit on racial justice in Pitts-burgh used anti-Semitic tropes and bashed Israel.

The Racial Justice Summit was held at the end of January at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, a graduate theolog-ical school of the Presbyterian Church, the Pittsburgh Jew-ish Chronicle reported. The summit has included anti-Israel presentations at least since 2017, according to the newspaper.

Among the accusations at this year’s summit were that Israel was founded by “a political movement that was conceived by wealthy Jew-ish businessmen in Eastern Europe,” that Zionism is an “anti-Semitic lie,” and that there was no Jewish connec-tion to the land of Israel.

Laura Horowitz, a Pitts-burgh Jewish woman who attended the summit, wrote on Facebook, according to the Chronicle, that she was “angry” that “a roomful of people sat there and watched this Jew hating go on without saying a word.”

In a letter to the Chronicle, the seminary wrote that it was “saddened that this perception (that it facilitates anti-Israel sentiment) persists.”

“The Seminary community

recognizes that if we are going to be one Pittsburgh, everyone must listen and everyone must be heard. We aspire to model the kind of dialogue we want our students to have when divergent political and theological viewpoints arise. In this time in our country, respectful disagreement is especially urgent. Love of neighbor does not always mean agreeing; but it does require honoring others’ humanity,” it wrote.

The seminary also wrote that it “unequivocally rejects all forms of hate speech, racism and egregious activities that will harm others in any way.”Democratic presidential prospect says far-right party in Israeli govern-ment ‘can’t be good’ for US-Israel tiesBy Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA)—Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat who is a prospec-tive candidate for his party’s presidential nomination, said the inclusion of a far-right po-litical party in Israel’s govern-ment would likely adversely affect Israel’s relationship with the United States.

“The ascendance of the far right is always a concern to a lot of us,” Brown told JTA on Tuesday at a reception orga-nized by the Jewish Demo-cratic Council of America when asked about a deal that Israeli Prime Minister Ben-jamin Netanyahu brokered to bring together the Jewish Power, or Otzma Yehudit, and Jewish Home parties in an attempt to shore up his right-wing bloc.

“When I look at their past, it’s a troubling situation,” Brown said of Jewish Power, which has its roots in the racist teachings of the as-sassinated Israeli-American rabbi Meir Kahane.

“I’ll see how it plays out, but it can’t be good for our relationship. It’s his call what he does,” Brown said of Netanyahu, “but I don’t like that he’s doing it.”

Brown has yet to announce but has toured early nominat-ing states.

Last week, Sen. Amy Klobu-char, D-Minn., who is a declared presidential can-didate, denounced Jewish Power without mentioning Netanyahu.Israeli fires on Hamas targets after incendiary balloon damages homeBy Marcy Oster

JERUSALEM (JTA)—The Israel Defense Forces struck several Hamas targets in Gaza in response to explosive balloons sent from Gaza that damaged a home in southern Israel.

The home was damaged on Wednesday when a bunch of balloons carrying an explosive device blew up in the air next to the house.

Palestinians in Gaza last year began sending balloons and kites carrying incendiary devices into Israel, damag-ing thousands of acres of farmland and woodland. They stopped at the end of 2018, but began again earlier this month, sparking more fires and damaging property, along with an uptick in Palestin-ians protesting at the border between Israel and Gaza.

Several Hamas posts in southern Gaza were hit, ac-cording to reports.

PAGE 14A HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019

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IngatheringFrom page 12A

reunification of families of 82 descendants of Ethiopian Jews with their Israeli relatives this week has been heartwarming and inspiring. It’s noteworthy that major funding for their arrival in Israel has come from the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.

Since one of the areas in which Run for Zion is com-

ViabilityFrom page 3A

meeting here. Its fruits will be reaped in the economy through joint action.”

Zimmerman, however, emphasized that he wants to move away from the model of government handouts. “We need to engage the business community. Yes, we need to have further development, but we have to do it because we are strong,” he said. “We have the ability and prerogative to do this ourselves.”

Ashraf Jabari, a Palestin-ian business and community leader from Hebron, who to-gether with Zimmerman is also co-founder of the JSC, told JNS, “We know how to work with our Israeli neigh-bors. We have a strong base of

BibiFrom page 1A

CTeenFrom page 1A

Casino NightFrom page 1A

In a speech following the announcement of the in-dictment Thursday, Netan-yahu didn’t give an inch. He called the criminal proceed-ings a left-wing conspiracy and said he would beat the charges.

“For three years, they’ve gone after us politically—an unprecedented hunting ex-pedition, with one goal—to depose the right-wing gov-ernment led by me,” the prime minister said. “The primary goal is to influence the elections, even when they know this house of cards will completely collapse after the elections.”

But wait—Netanyahu is facing criminal charges. Will he have to step down?

Nope. There’s no law that forces a sitting prime minister to resign if indicted. Plenty of people—including Netan-

are already making their mark in our community as alum of both organizations.

ing!” said Sarah Glasser, who is in ninth grade. “I felt a much deeper connection with my Judaism than I ever have because I was surrounded by so many Jewish teens that were proud of who we are as a nation.”

Fifteen teen speakers shared personal stories of struggle, triumph, and strength in the face of adversity. The stories—ranging from students who fought for Jewish rights at school, dealt with alopecia and subsequent bullying, to teens

mitted to make an impact on and bless Israel is through support of the ingathering of the exiles, and it’s hard to imagine a more remote or exiled community than that of the ancient Ethiopian Jewish community, we have undertaken to establish a special fund to aid with the immigration and absorption of as many of the remaining thousands that we can.

It costs $1.50 a day, or $45 to feed one child an extra meal for an entire month. $9000 to feed hundreds for a whole month.

It costs $1600 to prepare and transport one new Ethio-pian immigrant to begin their lives in Israel.

Please join us, individu-ally or as part of your church or synagogue, to support these needs. We will gladly

share with you details, and how your support makes a huge difference as part of God’s promise to return His people from the four corners of the earth to their homeland. For information please email jonathan@runforzion.com.

When it comes to black-Jewish relations, this is one way that we can all make a difference together.

support in Hebron. The street is with us. There are many businessmen who are ready to work with Israelis.”

Jabari said such dialogue and communication was the only way forward for Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank. “We need to break the fence between Israelis and Palestinians, and to know that there’s no other way but to work together,” he said. “We can’t keep going like we have over 25 years and wait-ing for a political settlement. We don’t have time to wait for politicians.”

The organizers believe that the region is “poised to emerge as Israel’s most innovative economy,” and are enthusias-tic and hopeful about playing their part in this process.

‘The way of the future’H e a t h e r J o h n s t o n ,

founder and executive di-rector of USIEA, told JNS, “The whole idea of this eco-nomic forum is to take what they have done so far in the way of the success with the businesses and showcase that, as well as show the economic outlook of where the future is going.”

She noted that since its founding, the economic fo-rum has had the experts involved, all of whom have “played a part in mapping the economic future for Judea and Samaria.” She was referring to the Milken Innovation Center–Jerusalem Institute, in addition to the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research.

“USIEA has taken the path

of being able to highlight this for the U.S. Congress and the U.S. administration to help them understand what is hap-pening inside this grassroots movement,” she said about her particular role.

Johnston pointed to the Palestinian Partnership Fund Act of 2018 as an example of bipartisan support in both the U.S. House and Senate that supports Jews and Palestinian doing joint business together. The legislation has now been referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

“That seems to be the way of the future,” she said. “Where-as the focus has been focused on the Palestinian economy, now we have a new road of how do we create real peace and prosperity together?”

yahu’s opponents—have said that he should resign for the good of the country. They say a sitting prime minister can’t be tied up in court while he has to run the country. But Netanyahu is standing his ground, and legally, it looks like he’s within his rights. A final hearing, probably after the election, will determine whether the charges go for-ward.

Has this ever happened before?

Yes and no. Netanyahu is the first prime minister to be indicted for corruption—but that’s only because previous prime ministers have resigned before the process got this far. In 2008, Ehud Olmert resigned amid allegations of bribery, even before police recommended that he be indicted. Olmert eventually was convicted and served time in prison.

And in 1977, Yitzhak Rabin

resigned after it became public that he and his wife held illegal foreign bank accounts totaling $10,000. Rabin ran again 15 years later and won. He would sign a historic peace treaty with the Palestinians but two years later be assassinated by a Jewish extremist.

Netanyahu, though, hasn’t backed down, staying in of-fice even after police recom-

mended that he be indicted, and after the indictment came through. That’s never happened before; we’re in uncharted waters now.

What does this mean for the election?

Unclear. Netanyahu is in a tight race with a new centrist party called Blue and White (the colors of Israel’s flag), which has a narrow lead in the polls. And a poll by The

Times of Israel published Thursday says the indict-ment could hurt Netanyahu at the polls, moving some right-wing voters over to his rival.

But here’s where it gets complicated: Even if Netan-yahu wins fewer votes in the election on April 9, he could still win the election. Israel has a parliamentary govern-ment, so what matters is

which party can get a majority in the Knesset, Israel’s parlia-ment, to back them. So even if Netanyahu finishes second, he will stay as prime minister if there is a right-wing major-ity overall—and it’s willing to back him.

So Netanyahu could still serve another term, even under indictment?

Maybe. Let’s talk on April 10.

who lost family members to drug addiction—captivated the crowd, leaving a deep impression on the audience.

Priest turned rabbi, Yaakov Parisi, captivated the teens with his animated story dur-ing Shabbat dinner, sharing his inspiration for living a Jewish life.

P r o f e s s or B i n y a m i n Abrams, who lectures on chemistry at Boston Univer-sity, left an indelible impres-sion on the teens, resolving questions about Torah and science, and inspiring the teens to seek knowledge while living Jewishly.

“The secret of my life and

success is keeping Shabbat,” Adam Neumann shared in a powerful, electrifying sur-prise appearance. “Discon-necting from the world for 25 hours and connecting to something greater than my-self makes me who I am. There has never been a more relevant time in history to celebrate being Jewish. If you come away with one thing today, I hope it’s that you disconnect to connect.”

“Our intrinsic worth is not based on achievements. Every individual can con-nect to G-d, no matter the circumstances. It is because of this connection that every

individual, in any situa-tion, can make a significant difference,” shared Rabbi Mendy Bronstein of Chabad of Altamonte Springs. “That is what CTeen is all about.” Indeed, a brave teenager from the Cteen Las Vegas chapter went up on stage, and shared his inspiring message of finding his self-worth despite constant bullying about his appearance. After his speech, he was surrounded by kids giving him high-fives, hugs, and thanking him for inspir-ing them to be stronger.

“You may find yourself alone, the only Jew in your public school, you may feel

like a minority, but remem-ber: there is no such thing as a small Jew,” shared Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, chairman of CTeen. “I hope you take the energy you gained this weekend and carry it into every aspect of your lives back at home.”

There were four Orlando chapters that joined, includ-ing CTeen Altamonte Springs, CTeen Longwood, CTeen Maitland and CTeen South Orlando.

With over 500 chapters in 23 countries, CTeen creates a nurturing environment where giving to others encourages self discovery. The network’s

mission is to empower tomor-row’s next generation of lead-ers through Jewish education, and by providing a strong Jew-ish network across the globe. Teens develop awareness and confidence, while connect-ing with individuals shar-ing similar experiences and beliefs, becoming an integral part of a group that focuses on building core values and stresses positive character development. CTeen is open to Jewish teens regardless of affiliation.

For more information on future programming for your teen, please contact your local Chabad.

Orlando’s Jewish future is a safe bet with you at our table. We hope you can join us in strengthening our Jew-ish community, and enjoy

an incredible night out on the town.

Tickets and sponsorships can be directly purchased at bit .ly/orlandocasino-

night2019. Couple tickets are also available at a dis-counted price. Those who purchase their tickets prior to March 15 will be entered

to win a $200 gift certificate to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Winter Park. For sponsor-ship opportunities, or for more information, please

contact either Jennifer Wald-holtz, Jennifer.Waldholtz@CentralFloridaHillel.org or Summer Simmons, ssim-mons@myjao.org.

HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019 PAGE 15A

By Sonya Sanford

Schnitzel is one of the ultimate comfort foods. It’s hard not to like a food that is fried and golden brown. Schnitzel is com-monly made from chicken or veal, but you’ll also find vegetar-ian versions made from celery root or, in this case, cabbage.

Any recipe for schnitzel always catches my eye, and I’ve often come across cabbage schnitzel in Russian and Eastern European cooking. Meat in that part of the world could be scarce, and cooks came up with creative solutions for making vegetables taste richer.

Cabbage also often was one of the only fresh vegetables available during the long winter months. Even after immi-grating to the United States with its year-round abundance of all foods, cabbage is still a favored vegetable among families from the former Soviet Union. We ate a lot of it in my own Russian Jewish home: cooked, fermented, in soups or in salads. I especially love cabbage as a meat stand-in for its texture, volume and versatility.

Cabbage schnitzel can be made with boiled cabbage leaves that are folded into envelope shapes that then get battered, coated with breadcrumbs and fried just like a chicken schnitzel. But my preferred style of cabbage schnit-zel requires less work and instead employs a thick batter of shredded cooked cabbage, breadcrumbs and beaten eggs to form the schnitzels. This style of cabbage patty ends up with a schnitzel shape and thickness, golden brown outer layer and crispy edges.

You can serve this unexpectedly rich entrée with a squeeze of lemon and fresh dill for added brightness. Cabbage schnitzel can also be topped with a dollop of sour cream, and I’ve been known to use some hot sauce for heat.

While there are a few steps to this recipe, each one is simple,

the ingredients are few, the cooking time is quick and the payoff is big. Cabbage schnitzel tastes little of cabbage and instead transforms into something savory, caramelized, meaty and satisfying.

Ingredients:1 1/2 pounds cabbage, about 16 cups shredded1/2 small yellow onion3 large eggs1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs/matzah meal1/4 cup all-purpose flourSalt and pepper, to tasteOil, as neededFresh dill, for garnishLemon wedges, for garnish

Directions:1. Start by shredding your cabbage thin. This can be done

with a mandoline, a food processor with the shredding disc attachment, or even with a sharp knife.

2. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Salt the water generously and then add the shredded cabbage to the boiling water. Cook until the cabbage is tender, about 3-4 minutes. Drain in a colander, then allow the cabbage to sit and continue to drain and cool for at least 10 minutes.

3. While the cabbage is cooling and draining, prepare the remaining ingredients. Grate the onion or chop it very fine. Beat the eggs and reserve.

4. Once cooled, squeeze out any excess liquid from the cab-bage and add it to a large bowl. To the cabbage add the onion, beaten eggs, breadcrumbs, flour, and salt and pepper. Stir until the cabbage is evenly and well-coated in the breadcrumb and egg mixture. The mixture should be thick and stick together to be formed into patties. If the mixture is too liquidy, add more breadcrumbs/flour. If you want to taste for seasoning, take a

Cabbage Schnitzel Recipe

small spoonful of the mixture and cook and brown it in a pan before cooking all of the schnitzels.

5. Over medium-high heat, heat a large skillet filled with a 1/4 inch of neutral cooking oil (like avocado or canola). Once the oil is hot, form the cabbage mixture into schnitzel-shaped patties in the pan, about 1/2-inch thick. Cook the patties in batches, so as not to crowd the pan and cause the cabbage to steam instead of brown. Cover the pan with a lid and brown for 3-4 minutes. Lift the lid, carefully flip over the patties (a fish spatula works well for this), cover again, and brown for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the schnitzels are golden brown and crisp on each side.

6. Once cooked, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate or rack to drain some of the excess oil. Serve the schnitzels immediately, garnished with fresh dill and lemon wedges if desired. Serves 4-6.

This article originally appeared on The Nosher.

By Leanne Shor

This article originally appeared on The Nosher.Roasting vegetables is one of the easiest ways to prepare

vegetables, not to mention the most delicious. Roasting at a high heat caramelizes veggies, creating such an amazing depth of flavor and natural sweetness that I find completely addictive.

For these pomegranate roasted carrots with sumac, I coat the carrots in pomegranate molasses before roasting. Pomegranate molasses is a really common ingredient used in Middle Eastern kitchens, and is basically concentrated, reduced pomegranate juice that has thickened and becomes syrupy. It is beautifully tart and sweet and can be found in any Middle Eastern grocery store or online. I also love adding pomegranate molasses to roasted chicken and slow-cooked meats like brisket.

Since this recipe is all about the carrots, the quality of the ingredients is very important. I always go for the smaller car-rots with the tops still attached, if I can find them. They tend to be more tender, less bitter, sweeter and much fresher than the larger variety in the 5-pound bags.

After the carrots have roasted, just before serving, I shower them with lots of fresh herbs like dill, mint and scallions, then generously sprinkle ground sumac all over. Like the pomegran-ate molasses, sumac is another Middle Eastern ingredient that may be new to you. It provides a natural tart, almost lemony flavor that counters the sweetness of the carrots. I finish it

all off with some fresh pomegranate seeds on top that turn a simple carrot side dish into an absolute showstopper.

Ingredients:2 1/2-3 pounds carrots, with the leaves and tops still on1/4 cup pomegranate molasses3 tablespoons olive oil2 teaspoons kosher salt1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper2 tablespoons fresh dill sprigs2 tablespoons chopped scallions1/4 cup chopped mint1/2 cup pomegranate seeds1 tablespoon ground sumac

Directions:1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Peel the carrots, then cut the

leaves and most of the tops off, leaving about 2 inches of the stems.

2. Place the carrots on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, pomegranate molasses and toss to coat. Sprinkle kosher salt and ground black pepper evenly over all of the car-rots. Roast for 30-35 minutes or until caramelized and golden brown on the tops and bottoms. Don’t rush this part!

3. Place the carrots on a platter and sprinkle generously with the ground sumac. Top with freshly chopped herbs and pomegranate seeds. Can be served warm or at room tempera-ture with salads.

Pomegranate roasted carrots with sumac is an easy and impressive side dish

most grocery stores. If you pick them up at a farmer’s market, you might get lucky enough to find some small-sized tender turnips with their greens still attached. Don’t let go of those greens; sautéed with butter and garlic, they’re a delicious side all on their own. Turnip greens can also be used in their raw form, and make a spicy leafy addition to a salad or sandwich.

Pink pickled turnips taste as good as they look. They are salty, vinegary and peppery, and their aromatic acidity helps cut through the richness of crispy fried falafel, grilled meats or spicy foods. I also like them alongside brunch. They are less sour than pickled cucumbers and nicely complement a buttery omelette and fried or roasted potatoes.

You can buy pickled turnips at any Middle Eastern or Persian market, but they are surprisingly easy to make at home. Peeled and cut into small pieces, the turnips go into a jar with some sliced beets. A simple brine of salt, water, vinegar and a few aromatics gets added to the vegetables. Let the turnips hang out in the brine for less than a week, and then they’re ready to go and can last in the fridge for a month. The recipe is simple, the ingredients are minimal and inexpensive, and the finished product adds beauty and tangy brightness to any plate of food.

Ingredients:3 cups water1/3 cup kosher salt1 tablespoon sugar (optional)2 bay leaves1 teaspoon black peppercorns (optional)1 cup white vinegar2 pounds turnips1 small beet2 cloves garlic

Directions:1. Add water, salt, sugar, bay and peppercorns to a pot and

Pink pickled turnips taste as good they lookbring to a simmer. Simmer for 3-5 minutes until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved and the bay and pepper have begun to flavor the brine. Allow the liquid to cool slightly before adding the vinegar.

2. While it’s cooling, peel the turnips and cut them into batons or pieces that are about 1/2-inch thick. If using baby turnips, you do not need to peel them and you can halve or quarter them depending on their size. Peel and thinly slice the beet. Peel and slightly crush the garlic cloves.turnip.

3. Add a few sliced beets to the bottom of a clean mason jar (or jars). Fill the jar with the cut turnip and garlic, and top with a few more slices of beet.

4. Add the vinegar to the cooled water and salt solution. Pour the brine into the jar(s) so that the vegetables are fully covered in the liquid. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns from the brine. Close the jars, and place in a cool dark place for 5 days.

5. After the turnips ferment for 5 days, they are ready to eat. You can refrigerate them for up to a month. Serves 6 cups.

This article originally appeared on The Nosher.By Sonya Sanford

Pink pickled turnips are a fixture of Middle Eastern cuisine, and it’s hard to find a restaurant shawarma plate without them. Their rose-like magenta color makes you forget that these pickles are in fact made from an often overlooked root vegetable. Their seemingly unnatural pink color is not a result of synthetic food colorings, but comes from the addition of red beets that impart their deep-hued color to the white-fleshed turnips as they ferment.

Turnips have a sharp mustardy flavor that is similar in pungency to a radish, and that becomes mellower and sweeter when cooked or pickled. Turnips are usually found tucked away next to rutabagas and parsnips in the produce section of

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PAGE 16A HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019

Panthers and other ethnic militant groups of the era. (Ironically he was styling the JDL after the Black Panthers while using racist sentiment in equating Black Power groups to Nazis.) He called it self-defense; critics called it vigilantism.

Kahane believed his JDL would fight for the “forgot-ten Jew” that the American Jewish establishment had supposedly left behind, and that the JDL would inspire young Jewish men to fight back when they saw what they perceived as anti-Semitism.

Kahane would popularize the slogan “Never again!” (also the title of his mani-festo) long before it became a rallying cry for Holocaust memory and numerous other movements. For Kahane, when another Holocaust came around—and it would, he believed—Jews would be ready to fight back.

Kahane saw the threat to Jews not only from black militants at home in New York, but in worldwide com-munism—remember, this is the Cold War era—and the plight of Soviet Jewry.

Wait, Soviet Jews are in-volved here?

Yes, the Soviet Jewry move-ment was sort of Kahane’s claim to fame in America. And by fame, we mean violence.

In the early 1970s, Kahane led the JDL in a domestic ter-ror campaign of bombings, in addition to civil disobedience tactics (sit-ins, demonstra-tions, harassment) to put pressure on the Soviet Union to allow Jews to emigrate. (Here’s one report in JTA, from 1971, of the firebomb-ing of a Soviet attache’s car.)

In July 1971, Kahane stood trial for violating the Federal Fire Arms Act of 1968, en-tered a guilty plea and was placed on five years federal probation. Two months later, he and his family immigrated to Israel.

Kahane did not found the movement to free Soviet Jewry—the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry was launched in 1964 by New York college students —but Kahane and the JDL raised the profile of the issue in American politics.

Bettmann/Getty Images

Meir Kahane in 1985.

Rabbi Meir Kahane and Israel’s far right, explainedYossi Klein Halevi, a former

member of the JDL who has since denounced the group, explained in an interview, “Kahane’s classic line was ‘It’s time to take the Soviet Jewry issue out of the obitu-ary pages and onto page 1.’ And he did. He put the Soviet Jewry movement on page 1.”

OK, now Kahane’s in Israel. What does he do there?

After arriving in Israel, he soon pivots to Israeli politics, with a brief one-year hiatus in American prisons, when he returns in 1975 and violates his parole.

He founds a political par-ty called JDL-Israel that he quickly renames Kach (“Thus”). He continues with what he knows best: anti-black racism. The first action he takes is related to the Black Hebrew Israelites cult in Di-mona: In October 1971, JTA reported on a Kahane speech about “guarding Israel’s hon-or” against “insults” from the Black Hebrew community.

Soon he moves on to targeting the Israeli-Arab community and Palestinians. In August 1972, Kahane and the JDL distribute fliers in Hebron calling for the mayor to stand trial for his alleged part in the 1929 Hebron massacre.

When does Kahane run for office?

In 1973 Kahane (and Kach) win some 13,000 votes, or 0.8 percent—not enough for a Knesset seat. In 1977 and 1981 elections, the total drops to less than 5,000 votes. But (ominous drum roll please) by 1984, Kach receives nearly 26,000 votes, or 1.2 percent—enough to land Kahane a seat in the Knesset.

First, however, there is some drama. In June of ’84, ahead of the July elections, Israel’s Central Elections Committee votes to ban Kach from participating in the elec-tions. It cites Kahane’s call for deportation of Arab and Druze citizens, and his characteriza-tion of Israel’s Declaration of Independence as a “schizo-phrenic document.” It is, as JTA reports, “the first time in Israel’s history that a Jewish political faction was banned from an election.”

Kahane leads an appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that a political faction can be barred only if it poses a danger to the existence of Israel. He calls the committee’s rul-ing political bias. The court rules that Kach can run.

Whoa. How’d he get elected after all that?

In the lead-up to the ’84 elections, Kahane’s profile in Israel rises. In April 1982, fol-lowing the Egypt-Israel peace treaty—Israel agreed to give back the Sinai in exchange for peace—a group of his followers refuse to evacuate a settlement in Yamit, in the Sinai Peninsula. Some of the more extreme protesters threaten to take their own lives rather than leave.

At the request of Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Kahane intervenes to negoti-ate a resolution to have them evacuate. Somehow this leads to a rise in Kahane’s popular-ity, and also a near-universal condemnation of Kahane by Israeli parties across the spectrum, American Jewish groups and the Chief Rab-binate.

What is Kahane’s plat-form?

Mainly it’s no Israeli citi-zenship for non-Jews and expelling the Arabs from the country and the territories controlled by Israel. He also wanted to ban intermarriage and sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews. A Kach advertisement in May 1981 warns of Jewish women be-ing seduced by Arabs, and proposes prison sentences for “every Arab who has sexual relations with a Jewish woman.”

Kahane also demanded Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount, but the anti-Arab ideology was the major plank.

So what does Kahane do in the Knesset?

Lawmakers immediately move to introduce an anti-racism bill to stop Kahane from using his platform as a means to expel Arabs from the parliament. Mayor Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem tells Knesset members that Ka-hane undermines “the basic moral tenets of the state.” Knesset members also boy-cott Kahane’s speeches. No one wants him there. Except, of course, his supporters.

A month after his elec-tion, Kahane tries to visit an Israeli-Arab village, Umm El-Fahm, to “encourage” its inhabitants to immi-grate. Israeli police block him from entering. Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir calls the “Kahane phenom-enon” “negative, dangerous and damaging,” and Attor-ney General Yizhak Zamir warns Knesset members in November 1984 that it is “shameful, disgusting and dangerous.” Yet Kahane’s mere presence in the Knes-set increases his popularity in Israel, with many feeling like he is speaking a truth that others won’t.

So does he get re-elected?In July 1988, Kahane is

suspended from the Knes-set for threatening an Arab member with a noose. Yes, a noose.

A few months later, Kach is banned from competing in the elections that year. (In 1985, a year after Kach is allowed to run and Kah-ane is elected, the Knesset passed an amendment to the Basic Law, Israel’s not-quite constitution, barring par-ties “engaged in incitement to racism.” This includes Kach.) Polling at the time shows the party winning some 100,000 votes—three or four seats.

In October 1988, Kahane appeals to the Supreme Court, saying “I am neither a Nazi nor a racist.” His ap-peal is rejected and the Kach election ban stands. (Kahane later accuses the Likud of treason, for they are the party that stands to benefit from Kach not participating in the elections.)

What happens to Kahane?In 1990, two years after he

is deemed too racist for the Knesset, he is assassinated by a gunman in New York City posing as an Orthodox Jew.

Is it connected?Not directly—he is shot

dead in New York speaking to a crowd of Orthodox Jews urging them to make aliyah. He is killed by an Egyptian-American and Muslim ex-

tremist, El Sayyid Nosair. Over 5,000 mourners at his funeral carry signs labeled “Never Again!” and “N’kama” (revenge), as well as Israeli flags, and chant “Am Yisrael Chai” (the people of Israel live). (Read JTA’s obituary of Kahane.)

Why does he still matter?His ideas live on. Following

Kahane’s death, Kach split into two factions: Kahane Chai (Kahane Lives), headed by Kahane’s son, Binyamin, and Kach, led by Rabbi Avra-ham Toledano, who later was replaced by Baruch Marzel.

Four years after Kahane’s assassination, the American-born Dr. Benjamin (Baruch) Goldstein walks into the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and opens fire on Muslim worshippers. Goldstein fires more than 100 rounds of bul-lets, killing 29 and injuring 125, before survivors beat him to death.

Goldstein had belonged to the JDL in his youth in Brooklyn and is a devoted follower of Meir Kahane. His terror attack leads the Israeli government to outlaw Kach and Kahane Chai.

So they are outlawed. End of story?

First, the legacy of Gold-stein’s attack is still painful, even 25 years later.

Second, even though Kach and Kahane Chai do not tech-nically exist, there are parties that are their ideological descendants. Most relevant for us in 2019: Baruch Marzel, Michael Ben-Ari and other Kach followers created Jewish Power in 2013.

OK, I’m with you now. Can you explain what went down with Jewish Power and Netanyahu?

We’ve finally made it full circle.

This month, Netanyahu brokered the Jewish Power-Jewish Home deal in an effort to ensure he has enough part-ners in the Knesset to form a ruling coalition. Knesset seats are handed out accord-ing to the percentage of the total vote, but parties must meet a minimum threshold. Individually, Jewish Power would not have crossed the threshold, but as a bloc with Jewish Home it could, en-suring Netanyahu another partner for a right-wing coali-tion. If the combined faction can get five seats, Michael Ben-Ari will make it into the Knesset, as he’s fifth on the list.

Netanyahu defends his overtures to the Jewish Power party as a standard political maneuver, likening it to left-wing parties partnering with non-Zionist Arab groups to form their own coalitions. But the backlash to the move is widespread, especially among American Jews, who think Kahane’s legacy taints Israel’s image abroad.

Even the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which hesitates to interfere in Israel’s internal politics, dit-toes a statement by the simi-larly non-confrontational American Jewish Committee, saying “The views of Otzma Yehudit are reprehensible. They do not reflect the core values that are the very foun-dation of the State of Israel.”

So what does this all mean?Kahane’s legacy is alive and

well in Israel.

By Emily Burack

(JTA)—When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netan-yahu brokered a partnership between the extreme right-wing party Jewish Power, or Otzma Yehudit, and the more moderate right-wing Jewish Home, the late American-born Rabbi Meir Kahane was suddenly all over the news.

Kahane, whose extremist Kach party was outlawed in Israel several years after his assassination in 1990, is the ideological father of Jewish Power. By extending a welcoming hand to the party ahead of Israel’s April elections, Netanyahu was accused of legitimizing Ka-hane’s deep legacy of racism, violence and hatred.

But understanding Kah-ane—and his ideas—goes much deeper than just know-ing that he has a link with Jewish Power.

Who is Meir Kahane?Quick trip through his

childhood: He was born Martin Baruch Kahane in Flatbush, Brooklyn, in 1932, and grew up a member of youth group affiliated with Revisionist Zionism.

Founded by Zeev Jabotinsky in 1925, the Revisionists were the more militant wing of the Zionist movement, insisting its Labor movement rivals were too passive in efforts to establish a Jewish state in all of the land of biblical Israel.

Let’s skip ahead a few de-cades, to 1968.

What happened in 1968?So much!New York City was a racial

and an ethnic powder keg in the late 1960s. In May that year, in the aftermath of a racially charged New York City teachers strike that set African-American parents against a largely Jewish teachers’ union, Kahane and two pals decided to form the Jewish Defense League. The first ad for the JDL appeared in The Jewish Press: “Anti-semitic Black racists are battling for control of cities,” the advertisement claimed. Kahane’s JDL would go on to fixate on supposed examples of black anti-Semitism.

Plenty of Jewish groups battle anti-Semitism. What made the JDL different?

Kahane wanted Jews to embrace “Jewish power,” modeled after the Black

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