THE CHICAGO JEWISH NEWS March 20-26, 2015/29 Adar 5775 www.chicagojewishnews.com One Dollar GETTING PAST POLLARD As David Cohen becomes CIA’s No. 2, Jews appear to have smoother sailing at security agencies Skokie school district and Jewish observance Larry Layfer on making sacrifices today Researchers look at Asian-Jewish couples Bringing Judaism to Vail 2 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 Talking to Asian-Jewish researcher couple Helen Kim and Noah Leavitt By Julie Wiener JTA Helen Kim and her husband, Noah Leavitt – Whitman College professors who met as grad students in the social sciences department at University of Chicago – are the leading, and virtually only, experts on AsianJewish intermarriage in the United States. The two – she’s KoreanAmerican, he’s Jewish – recently spoke by phone from Walla Walla, Wash., where they live with their 6-year-old son Ari and 3-year-old daughter Talia. This interview has been condensed Gracious Living in the Heart of Chicago At Park Plaza, our residents enjoy elegant living in luxury apartment rentals. Amenities include carpeting, modern kitchen appliances and newly remodeled bathrooms as well as weekly housekeeping, free satellite TV and all utilities, except telephone. But it’s the lifestyle with complimentary round trip chauffeur services, 12 daily activities, live music and movies that make the difference. We make it comfortable, so our residents can call it home. and edited. You’ve published two studies on Asian-Jewish families: the first focusing on couples, the second on grown children of Asian-Jewish parents. What do you see as the most significant findings? Kim: The most significant thing about both talking with the couples as well as the kids is that these families are definitely creating Jewish homes and raising their kids as Jews … The concern always raised with intermarriage is about Judaism disappearing. That’s definitely not happening for the couples and the adult kids that we’ve talked to. But isn’t that because couples and individuals with stronger Jewish ties are more likely to volunteer for a study about Jewish-Asian families? Leavitt: When we selected couples, we tried to select from as wide a diversity of feelings about Judaism as possible. We made some choices to look for people who may have had weak attachments. We weren’t looking for particular kinds of Judaism or levels of attachment to Judaism. Any idea how many Jewish-Asian households there currently are in the United States, or what percentage of Jews who intermarry marry Asians? Kim: We don’t. The U.S. Census is barred from collecting religious identification information, and among Jewish researchers, the collection of racial demographics is just beginning. In five years we might have that information, because the Cohen Center at Brandeis is starting to collect that. To what extent do your findings reflect your own experiences as an Asian-Jewish couple? Kim: There were definitely some similarities. One of the things our interviewees talked about was feeling like they didn’t really know how to transmit a sense of Asian ethnicity. Whereas the Jewish piece, regardless of what their atta chment or experiences with Judaism were like in the past, they always talked about feeling like there was a synagogue or JCC or Hebrew school they could go to. Those issues certainly play out in terms of our family. I haven’t converted, but I’m totally on board [with giving the children a Jewish upbringing], like a lot of the people we interviewed. I know a lot about Judaism, it’s a cultural milieu I feel comfortable in, in part because I grew up with a lot of Jews. Doing the Jewish piece is perhaps easier because there is a Jewish community even in a place like Walla Walla. We have a Reform synagogue. We have Sunday school every month. We do a lot of Jewish practices in the home. Not so much for the Korean piece or the Asian piece. It’s harder, because often there isn’t the same type of community with a critical mass or organizational structure. Was your marriage a source of conflict within your extended families? Kim: No, and in terms of the couples that we interviewed, there was very little conflict. The way couples explained that [lack of conflict] was their perceived cultural similarities [such as a shared emphasis on family, education and achievement]. Leavitt: In addition, there was an absence of traditional stressors. We really didn’t have in the couples people who had a strong religious identity that was a significant alternative option or challenge to Judaism … When we interviewed adult kids, they reported very few instances where parents had conflicts over religion, they didn’t describe debates about which things the family should do. In your recent study, you asked people who’d grown up with an Asian parent and a JewSEE ASIAN ON PAG E 1 5 With delicious kosher meals, exercise classes, social activities, and much more, our residents thrive in a vibrant, care-free environment. Call to arrange a visit and see how senior living is meant to be! Pri startces in at g $ 1,750 6840 N. Sacramento Avenue, Chicago www.park-plaza.org Y 773.465.6700 (Yehuda) Talia Kim-Leavitt, Helen Kim, Ari Kim-Leavitt and Noah Leavitt. (JTA) 3 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 Hillel again taking heat over limiting Israel debate By Anthony Weiss JTA Hillel President Eric Fingerhut’s decision to withdraw from the upcoming J Street conference has again drawn Hillel into conflict over the boundaries of acceptable criticism of Israel. Some two years after the Open Hillel movement emerged to challenge Hillel International’s guidelines for Israel activities, which prohibit campus chapters from hosting speakers that support divestment from Israel or deny its right to exist, the organization is under fire again for toeing a line on Israel that some see as alienating to liberal Jewish students. J Street blasted Fingerhut’s decision to back out, with Sarah Turbow, the director of the liberal lobby’s campus arm, claiming the Hillel leader had chosen to please his donors instead of engaging thousands of students. But even within Hillel, several current and former directors said that Fingerhut’s decision is part of the organization’s general rightward drift on Israel and its growing deference to the demands of major supporters. “I think that as the American Jewish community turns further and further to the right, Hillel has simply kept pace with it,” said Rabbi James Ponet, who became director of the Yale Hillel in 1981 and served as university chaplain prior to starting a sabbatical in 2014. “When I entered Hillel, its fundraising was quite minimal. It’s become a major fundraising organization.” Ponet said that as a university-focused organization, Hillel’s mission should not be to police the boundaries of acceptable criticism of Israel but to expose students to a wide variety of views. Refusing to speak to J Street, Ponet said, is not in keeping with that mission. “Hillel in that sense, to my sadness, has abdicated or abandoned an understanding – if it ever had it – of higher education,” Ponet said. The latest fracas began when Fingerhut announced that he would not appear at the J Street conference because of “concerns regarding my participation amongst other speakers who have made highly inflammatory statements against the Jewish state.” Asked which speakers Fingerhut had in mind, Hillel’s chief administrative officer, David Eden, named Saeb Erekat, the longtime chief Palestinian negotiator who had recently compared Israel to the Islamic State, or ISIS. The explanation raised eyebrows in many quarters. While Erekat indeed has a history of making inflammatory state- ments, both Israel and the U.S. State Department have long dealt with him in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. And according to J Street, Erekat’s presence at the conference was made public three days before Fingerhut accepted an invitation to address members of J Street U there. Hillel officials denied that Fingerhut knew about Erekat’s plans to attend, but the organization subsequently appeared to walk back its original explanation. “I don’t want to pin it down on one specific issue,” a Hillel spokesman said when asked if Erekat’s presence was the impetus for Fingerhut’s withdrawal. Asked if the organization had bowed to donor pressure, the spokesman said the decision had been made in consultation with the “full range” of Hillel stake- holders and did not foreclose the possibility that Fingerhut might engage with J Street in the future. “Eric sought counsel from across the full breadth of the political spectrum of Hillel leadership and there was broad, broad consensus that now was not the time,” the spokesman said. Jeremy Brochin, who served as Hillel director at the University of Pennsylvania for 23 years before his retirement in 2010 and publicly criticized Fingerhut in a Facebook post last week, said that he had spoken to several current and former Hillel directors who were uncomfortable with the decision. “Our role is to engage students and to help students in their Jewish growth and on their Jewish journey,” Brochin said. “That conversation would be CHICAGO’S JEWISH COMMUNITY NEEDS YOUR HELP. A Jewish Voice for Peace organizer tabling at the first Open Hillel conference in Cambridge, Mass. (JTA) challenging in both ways – we would challenge students and they would challenge us.” Arinne Braverman, executive director of the Hillel at Northeastern University, said her campus is in the midst of debating a resolution to divest from Israel and Fingerhut’s stance set an inspiring example for her students. 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It is YOU who will help decide how many people in our community will be helped this year. A private family foundation continues to provide us with a matching grant fund initiative. For more information, visit our website or call 847-674-3224. Groups interested in volunteering contact our group coordinator at [email protected] No pre-registration is required to deliver Passover food packages. MAOT CHITIM OF GREATER CHICAGO 7366 N. Lincoln Avenue, Suite 301/Dept. JN Lincolnwood, IL 60712 [email protected] Follow us on Joel H. Schneider, President www.maotchitim.org Joellyn Oliff, Executive Director 2015 4 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 Contents Jewish News ■ The bat mitzvah whose celebration in Copenhagen ended abruptly after the shooting death of a volunteer synagogue guard was feted in Israel. Hannah Bentow, 13, in Jerusalem had a ceremony and a dance party for girls and women with a DJ. The celebration of Bentow’s bat mitzvah at the central Copenhagen shul, or Krystalgade Synagogue, had been put off a year due to the year of mourning for her grandmother. The teen reportedly had said to her mother after the shooting attack by an Islamist fanatic that killed guard Dan Uzan, “I wish I didn’t have a bat mitzvah, and then Dan would still be alive.” ■ The Israeli army’s chief education officer recommended that rabbis no longer be allowed to speak at swearing-in ceremonies for recruits. The recommendation by Brig. Gen. Avner Paz-Tzuk was revealed when a screenshot of an undated letter that Paz-Tzuk sent to Maj. Gen. Hagai Topolansky, who heads the Israel Defense Forces’ Manpower Directorate, appeared on the internet. The letter comes amid a polarizing debate within Israeli society about the role of religion in the public sphere in general and especially in the IDF, which has traditionally been regarded as the country’s melting pot. Recent walkouts by troops who, for religious reasons, refused to attend ceremonies featuring women’s singing have been decried by secular Jews as evidence of radicalization. “I believe it is flawed that the central figures in the ceremony, alongside the unit commander, are the corps rabbi and the unit rabbi. The ceremony is not religious and there is no reason for it to appear religious,” Paz-Tzuk wrote. Paz-Tzuk recommended canceling all public functions for rabbis at swearing-ins, proposing that one of the recruits’ commanders, instead of the rabbi, reads from the Bible. “The rabbinate does not have exclusivity over the Bible,” he wrote. “There is no reason for a rabbi, of all people, to speak at a swearing-in ceremony for the IDF and the state,” he added. ■ A former leader of Russian Jews said he would like to hang prominent Ukrainian Jews “until they stop breathing.” Yevgeny Satanovsky, who served as a president of the Russian Jewish Congress in the years 2004 and 2005, made the assertion about Joseph Zissels, leader of the Vaad Association of Jewish Communities and Organizations of Ukraine, and Igor Kolomoisky, a Jewish billionaire who is the governor of the district of Dnepropetrovsk in eastern Ukraine. During a radio interview for the Govorit Moskva station, Satanovsky, who currently heads the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies in Moscow, said he would like to kill both men because he said they maintain that Stephan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist who during World War II collaborated with the Nazis and later fought against them, is not responsible for the death of Jews murdered by men under his command. “A significant number of Ukrainian officials, he said, “out of cowardice, stupidity, or from general meanness says that ‘Bandera didn’t kill any Jews.’ On this, allow me to reiterate: When and if there’s way to do this, then I will hang Kolomoisky and Joseph Zissels at least in Dnepropetrovsk in front of the Golden Rose Synagogue until they stop breathing.” ■ The jury has been seated in the trial of a Syracuse, N.Y., physician accused of murdering his wife. Dr. Robert Neulander, 63, has been charged with second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. His wife, Leslie, was found dead in the shower of the family’s home in 2012, but the death initially was ruled an accident. Neulander, who was released on $100,000 cash bail following his indictment in June, has denied the charges. Both Neulanders were active in the local Jewish community. In questioning potential jurors, defense lawyer Edward Menkin emphasized that Neulander had no motive to kill his wife. Jurors were also questioned about their ability to view graphic photos, presumably of the victim, and whether such images might affect their neutrality. The Neulanders chaired the Jewish Federation of Central New York’s annual campaign in 2012. Leslie chaired fundraising events at the Syracuse Hebrew Day School in DeWitt and Robert played a key role in the expansion of the local Jewish community center. Their four children attended the Syracuse Hebrew Day School. ■ Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat did not die of poisoning, a French prosecutor said. The prosecutor told the French news agency AFP that French experts found that Arafat was not poisoned, despite rumors to the contrary. Arafat’s widow, Suha, had filed legal action in July 2012 asking French authorities in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre to look into claims that her husband was poisoned. JTA THE CHICAGO JEWISH NEWS Vol. 21 No. 24 Joseph Aaron Editor/Publisher 6 Torah Portion Golda Shira Senior Editor/ Israel Correspondent 7 Arts and Entertainment Pauline Dubkin Yearwood Managing Editor Joe Kus 8 Passover Food 10 Cover Story Staff Photographer Roberta Chanin and Associates Sara Belkov Steve Goodman Advertising Account Executives 12 The Maven Denise Plessas Kus Production Director Kristin Hanson 14 Death Notices Accounting Manager/ Webmaster Jacob Reiss Subscriptions Manager/ Administrative Assistant 15 Community Calendar Ann Yellon of blessed memory Office Manager 16 CJN Classified 18 By Joseph Aaron www. chicagojewishnews .com Some of what you’ll find in the ONLINE version of Chicago’s only weekly Jewish newspaper DAILY JEWISH NEWS For the latest news about Jews around the world, come by everyday and check out what’s making headlines. ARCHIVES Look back at articles from the past, including recipes, Torah portions, Joseph Aaron’s column and more. 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But after one of his nine siblings took up the post of Chabad emissary in Aspen, Colo., Mintz began making the trek to the Rockies to help out on holidays. He soon found himself drawn to the mountains of western Colorado – not, like so many others, for the skiing, but for the potential for Jewish outreach. Located midway between Denver and Aspen, and home to the second-largest ski resort in the United States, Vail was chock-full of vacationers, retirees and ski bums – many of them Jews ripe for outreach. At the time, the only synagogue in town, B’nai Vail, did not hold regular Shabbat services. Nearly a decade since he moved to Vail in 2006 (following another older brother who opened a Chabad center in s Denver suburb in 2004), Mintz says skiing gives him the emotional fuel for his Jewish outreach work. He’s on the snow about once a week, often with his kids and sometimes with his wife, Doba, who wears a skirt over her ski pants. “Skiing with your family is one of the most powerful experiences in all of life,” Mintz, 33, said. “You’re in your own domain, nothing can get in your way. You’re with your kids on the top of the world. Wow. We did it. What are we doing next? What are we going to fulfill?” Many of the challenges Mintz faces are familiar to Chabad emissaries, or shluchim, the world over. He’s both rabbi and fundraiser, program director and spiritual leader, sexton and caterer. It’s tough getting a minyan – the quorum of 10 men required for Orthodox prayer. He struggles to instill in his kids a strong Hasidic Orthodox identity while balancing their need for a healthy social outlet in a place with practically no other religiously observant Jews. But Mintz has come up with some unique responses to these challenges. A techie working with Mintz created an automated “minyan maker” program that allows visitors to sign up for potential weekday services on Chabad of Vail’s website and receive automatic notification if 10 men or more commit to coming. Mintz has shared the technology with a handful of other Chabad centers. Morning minyans are held at Chabad’s rented space at Vail Run Resort. Afternoon minyans usually meet near a Starbucks shop, and worshippers come in their ski boots. Vail doesn’t have a kosher restaurant, so Mintz employs a full-time chef to cook meals vis- itors can order for delivery to their hotel or condo. The service, which provides doublewrapped entrees so consumers can warm up their food without fear of non-kosher contamination, generates a modest profit. And then there’s the skiing. The eldest of Mintz’s three kids, 6-year-old Isaac, spends several hours a day studying in an online school for the children of Chabad emissaries. But he gets in-person socialization by ice skating and at ski school, where he takes lessons twice a week. Hanging out with non-Jewish peers has also taught the boy a valuable skill, Mintz says: The ability to stick to his Jewish commitments even when tested with, say, the offer of non-kosher pizza at a friend’s birthday party. “It doesn’t even bother him that he can’t have the pizza,” Mintz said. “That discipline you give them, they become masters of themselves. He’s capable of overcoming this.” Plus, Mintz noted, the other kids’ families by now are familiar with their dietary restrictions and are respectful of them; they always make sure to have kosher snacks on hand. Some of the Jews who end up at the Chabad seek it out, but many discover it by accident when they spot Mintz on the mountain. Though he hardly stands out in his ski gear, the tzitzit ritual fringes that hang over Mintz’s snow pants are a dead giveaway. Mintz says that being a Dovid Mintz, the Chabad rabbi in Vail, Colo., works the phone trying to corral a minyan on a powdery morning at one of North America's most popular ski towns. (JTA) shaliach in Vail is like a dream come true. “We’re pumped to be here. We have that excitement, energy and motivation that we want to be here, fulfilling the rebbe’s shlichus,” or mission, he said. “This is who we are, this is what we embody. And then you get the skiing, and that’s a bonus.” THE ISIDOR AND ROSE WAGNER INSTITUTE FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT OF THE JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CHICAGOLAND JEWISH HIGH SCHOOL THE LAND OF ISRAEL Land of Longing, Land of Promise Sunday, April 19–Monday, April 20, 2015 Chicagoland Jewish High School Join us for this rare opportunity to study intensively with JTS’s renowned faculty and fellows: PROFESSOR ARNOLD M. EISEN, Chancellor, JTS DR. 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MONTROSE Mon. - Sat. 10-6 Closed Sun. 2553 W. NORTH AVE. Mon. - Sat. 9-5:30 Closed Sun. www. chicagojewishnews .com The Jewish News place in cyberspace By Lawrence F. Layfer Torah Columnist Torah Portion: Vayikra Leviticus 1:1-5:26 “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say to them: when any person brings an offering unto the Lord … ” (Leviticus 1:2) Rabbi Pinchas Peli tells a story about three brothers. Each inherited a different gift from their father: the first a pair of binoculars that could see around the world, the second a magic carpet that flew anywhere in seconds, and the third an apple that, when eaten, allowed one wish. One day the first brother looked across the sea and saw a gravely ill princess whose father the king promised riches and his daughter’s hand for anyone who could save her. He told his brothers and together they took the second brother’s magic carpet to her kingdom, where the third brother gave her his apple. Eating it, she made her wish to be healed and so it occurred. Rabbi Peli asks: who gets to marry the princess? The first brother claimed that without him there is no knowledge that she was ill; the second that without him there was no way to reach her; and the third that without his apple none of the rest was of any use. Rabbi Peli does not give an answer to the riddle, but notes that “a clue to the right answer is to be found in today’s Torah portion, Vayikra, dealing with sacrifices.” The rituals of animal sacrifice have become foreign to the modern mind. With the desert Tabernacle and its heir, the Temple in Jerusalem, lost to us, the sacrifices offered are no longer a current part of Jewish life. However, they can still remain relevant. The key is in the Hebrew word for sacrifice, “korban,” from the root “karov,” suggesting a closeness, or attachment, to some one or some thing. Unlike other sacrificial cults of the ancient world that saw such offerings as an appeasement to their gods, the sacrifices of the ancient Israelites were to be a gift from themselves for G-d, out of a need for absolution or in gratitude for blessings given. The rabbis rescued the essence by replacing sacrifices with prayer Lawrence F. Layfer and acts of kindness, for in Proverbs (21:3) it is taught: “Charity and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifices.” The buildings may have changed, but the sense of personal commitment remains. According to Rabbi Simon Shkop, the definition of holiness, a major focus of the book of Leviticus, is to give to others, and in doing so emulate G-d who does everything for the benefit of His creatures. He states: “Included in G-d’s commandment ‘you shall be Holy’ is that all our work and toil should benefit the community, in imitation of G-d, for all gifts and blessings are given by G-d to the individual as a custodian who is duty-bound to share these gifts.” Sacrifice is an act of love. Rabbi Sacks, in his book on Vayikra, states: “The entire biblical understanding of sacrifice is that it is an answer to the fundamental existential question of humanity in the face of the infinite we offer something in our possession, our power, our will, our self-sufficiency, we engage in a symbolic act of renunciation.” He considers the sacrifice of giving some of what we have received a primal act of love. Therefore the solution to Rabbi Peli’s riddle is that neither the brother with the binoculars nor the brother with the magic carpet sacrificed anything of their selves, as, despite their participation they still retained in full measure their father’s gift to them. Only the third brother, who gave his one wish away to help another, represents the underlying meaning of the sacrifice G-d expects of us. It is customary to start the learning of young children on this Torah portion. Honey is placed on the first letter, in order that Torah should always taste sweet in their mouths. Instead, we will start our newest additions with a different kind of “sweet” letter, written many years ago and stored away for in hopes for a time such as this. It reads: “Dear Grandsons: Your father’s bar mitzvah portion was Vayikra, the first in the book of Leviticus. The story concerns the sacrifices brought to the Temple, sacrifices man offered to G-d. Although it is difficult for us these days to understand animal sacrifices, there may be another way to understand this practice of the ancients of the Jewish faith. The Talmud describes that there are places where Heaven and Earth touch, and paints the picture of these places as windows. Through these windows people offer their sacrifices to Heaven, and Heaven responded by blessing the offering. “These are special places, and the Temple in Jerusalem was one of them. But where do we find these places in today’s world? The answer is that we create them. For your grandmother and I, we created one when we offered our best in raising your father, and your aunts, placing our efforts in the window of Heaven, and receiving as a blessing on our offering the chance to see you both here today. But you will both need to eventually take some responsibility for yourselves. You will need to begin to look for these windows, these connections between Heaven and Earth, and find your own sacrifices to offer. If you do this well, spend your life looking to help others, and share with them how beautiful a life of giving can be, then you too may see Heaven accept your sacrifice, and like this Torah portion suggests, Heaven may return that offering to you with a blessing for a sweet and fulfilling life. And that will make us all, your family, very blessed to have had a part in it.” Lawrence F. Layfer M.D. is vice chairman of medicine at North Shore University Health System, Skokie Hospital. The definition of holiness, a major focus of the book of Leviticus, is to give to others, and in doing so emulate G-d who does everything for the benefit of His creatures. 7 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 Arts & Entertainment Jefferson Airplane and Judaism By Gabe Friedman JTA grandmother, would have been an Orthodox Jew, but that’s not how it played out. My dad was in the service during the Second World War, so I grew up with my grandparents a lot – and everything in their world was completely Jewish. I just didn’t know much about the religion. They either spoke Hebrew, Yiddish or Russian, espe- cially when they didn’t want us to know what they were talking about – which worked really well by the way. And your great-grandfather was a Torah scribe? In Ellington, Conn., there’s a shul that one of my great-uncles helped design when he was 15. And my great-grandfather Shmuel actually – I don’t know the correct word for this – but he actually scribed the Torah himSEE JEFFERSON TIME MAGAZINE “THIS DEFINES DREAM CASTING.” BROADWAY.COM CHARLOTTE D’AMBOISE JARROD EMICK TONY ROBERTS Rodgers and Hammerstein’s STARRING STEVEN PASQUALE and LAURA OSNES All-star cast directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford and conducted by David Chase OPENS APRIL 10 New Lyric Opera production generously made possible by The Negaunee Foundation, an Anonymous Donor, Robert S. and Susan E. Morrison, Mr. and Mrs. J. Christopher Reyes, Liz Stiffel, Mrs. Herbert A. Vance and Mr. and Mrs. William C. Vance, and Jim and Vicki Mills/Jon and Lois Mills. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s CAROUSEL. Music by RICHARD RODGERS. Books and Lyrics by OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II. Based on Ferenc Molnár’s Play “Liliom,” as adapted by Benjamin F. Glazer. Original Dances by Agnes de Mille. ON TICKETS FROM JUST $29! “THE BEST MUSICAL OF THE 20TH CENTURY.” DENYCE GRAVES MATTHEW HYDZIK JENN GAMBATESE Jorma Kaukonen, who played guitar in classic rock bands Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, has just released “Ain’t In No Hurry,” his first solo album since 2009. While Kaukonen’s guitar skills are legendary, few people know that he bought his first electric guitar by cashing Israel Bonds he received from his Jewish grandmother. On the eve of Jefferson Airplane’s 50th anniversary, the 74-year-old Kaukonen, who lives in Athens, Ohio with his wife, a Jew-by-choice, talked about his Jewish family roots, the Torah scroll his greatgrandfather worked on and why so many blues guitarists are Jewish. This interview has been condensed and edited. So you’re half Jewish and you didn’t really have a Jewish upbringing, but I’ve read that if things went differently you could have been Orthodox? Interestingly enough, my father’s parents came over from Finland in the 1800s and my mother’s came over from Russia. So I’m Jewish on my mother’s side, which of course makes me Jewish. But my grandparents were a really interesting pair of people. My grandmother was a very, very secular Jew, even though she was a lifelong member of Hadassah and all that kind of stuff. And my grandfather, had he not been married to my LYRICOPERA.ORG | 312.827.5600 LONG LIVE PASSION PAG E 1 6 8 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 Passover Food Adding elegance to seder meals – and it’s easy By Shannon Sarna JTA I am not one of those people who looks forward to Passover each year. I dread it. I love my carbs and I absolutely loathe the constant cooking and dishwashing that somehow always accompanies the holiday. Since my husband and I started hosting our own seder each year for my family and our close friends, we have worked on an array of Passover-friendly dishes that are so good, we eat them all year. This has greatly improved the quality of our hol- iday. Now if only I could find someone to wash my dishes all week. These recipes are easy, elegant and a little different from the delicious but humdrum chicken soup, brisket and kugel. And with two nights of seders, sometimes you need something a little different to keep the seder menu interesting. switching out gefilte fish for bitesized croquettes topped with salmon roe. Not a fan of caviar? Use smoked salmon instead. You can make these during the year and substitute panko bread crumbs for the matzah meal. You can also serve these for a dairy meal and add some sour cream, Greek yogurt or crème fraiche on the side. Dill Horseradish Potato Croquettes With Salmon Roe Ingredients: 4 large Yukon gold potatoes 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1 tablespoon horseradish 1 to 2 teaspoons dried dill 1/2 cup vegetable broth Gefilte fish is one of those dishes that is truly an acquired taste. For some people, the taste is simply never acquired. It’s hard to change traditions, but try 1/2 cup olive oil 2 eggs Matzah meal 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper Preparation: Peel potatoes and place in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, approximately 15 minutes. Drain water and immediately place potatoes into a ricer or food mill. Add oil, vegetable broth, dried dill, horseradish, salt and pepper to potatoes and mix until smooth and seasoning is even throughout. Add 1 egg and mix again. Begin forming patties by packing potatoes lightly into balls and FRESH PRODUCE, DELI, MEATS and EUROPEAN IMPORTS We carry t llaarrggest se We carry t he he lecctitoionn est sele o of fooodfsfo d s orr your f o r y ofu Rosh Hash PassovearnD ahin Din nn eerr!s! Watch for our upcoming Passover food specials! 4034 W. Dempster Skokie, IL 60076 Phone: (847) 933-0900 Fax: (847) 933-9147 then flattening them with palms of hand. Place on a platter and put in the refrigerator for a few hours or up to 24 hours. After patties have finished chilling, beat the other egg with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Place matzah meal in another bowl and add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix. Dip each potato patty into egg, then matzah meal. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over mediumhigh heat. Fry croquettes 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Allow the croquettes to cool slightly before topping with salmon roe and fresh dill if desired. Makes 2 dozen. Braised Lamb Shanks With Dates and Raisins Ingredients: 4 lamb shanks 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 heaping teaspoon sumac 1 heaping teaspoon cumin 1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika Olive oil 1 large onion 3 garlic cloves 1 teaspoon fennel seed 2 cloves 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water 1 1/2 cups red wine 1/2 cup golden raisins, soaked in warm water 30 minutes 1/2 cup dates Fresh parsley and cilantro (optional) Preparation: Combine the salt, pepper, sumac, cumin and paprika in a small bowl. Cover lamb shanks in dry spice rub and place on a platter covered in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Place raisins in a bowl of warm water. Heat a few tablespoons olive oil in a large oven-safe pot or Dutch oven over mediumhigh heat. Sear shanks on all sides until brown. Remove from pan. Add onion and garlic and sauté, scraping the “good bits” from the bottom of the pan. You can deglaze with a little bit of the broth. Cook for 7-8 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add tomato paste, clove, fennel seed and cinnamon; continue cooking for another few minutes. Add stock, wine, dates and drained raisins (discard water) and bring to a boil. Put the lamb shanks back in the pot and reduce heat to low, or place into a 275° oven. Braise for 2 1/2 hours. Serve with CONTINUED O N N E X T PAG E 9 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 CONTINUED F RO M P R E V I O U S PAG E fresh cilantro and parsley, if desired. Serves 4-6. Kale, Apple and Roasted Beet Salad gar or salad dressing of your choosing. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4-6. Chocolate Raspberry Torte With Pecan Crust Ingredients: Ingredients: 3 cups chopped fresh kale, stems removed 2 medium beets 1/2 apple, diced 1/4 cup chopped candied walnuts 1/4 cup dried cherries or cranberries Olive oil Balsamic vinegar Salt and pepper Preparation: Preheat the oven to 400 °. Wash and dry the beets. Place in tinfoil and roast in oven for 4560 minutes, or until soft. Allow to cool. Remove the outer peel of beets using hands or a vegetable peeler. Cut beets into bite-sized pieces. Place chopped kale in a large salad bowl. Add beets, apple, candied walnuts and dried cherries or cranberries. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vine- For the crust 1/4 cup margarine or butter 1/2 cup pecans 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt For the filling 8 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup margarine or butter (1 stick) 1 teaspoon instant espresso 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon vanilla 5 eggs 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup strawberry or raspberry jam Powdered sugar for dusting (optional) Preparation: Preheat oven to 375°. To make the crust: Melt the 1/4 cup margarine or butter in the mi- crowave at 20-second intervals. Place the pecans, salt and sugar in a food processor fitted with blade attachment and pulse until you have coarse- looking crumbs. Add melted margarine/butter and pulse 1-2 more times. Press mixture into an 8- or 9-inch springform pan. Bake 7-8 minutes. The crust may look a little funny, bubbly or like it is ruined. But this is totally fine. Set aside. To make the filling: Place the chocolate chips and margarine in medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Whisk in cocoa and espresso. Cool 10 minutes. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar in large bowl on high speed until thick, about 6 minutes. Fold in chocolate mixture slowly. Then fold in raspberry jam, but don’t mix too much. Pour batter into prepared crust. Bake torte until dry and cracked on top and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist batter attached, about 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 1 hour (center will fall). Using an offset spatula or butter knife, carefully separate torte from sides of pan. Remove outer ring of springform pan. Dust with powdered sugar if desired. For Passover, a clergy couple’s vegetarian seder menu Vegetarian food brought Cantor Jenna Greenberg and Rabbi Josh Ginsberg together. The two met as students at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, when a classmate organized a singles dinner at a kosher vegetarian restaurant in Chinatown. Greenberg had become a vegetarian in her teens, Ginsberg in his 20s. Now married, they offer a kosher-forPassover seder menu that suits their fast-paced, vegetarian lifestyle – and keeps their children happy. Instructions: Peel, boil and mash potatoes. Add remaining ingredients to create the gnocchi dough, adding additional potato starch in case the dough is too sticky. Fill a 4-6 quart pot with cold water and bring water to a boil. While the water is heating, form small patties out of the gnocchi and then carefully slide them one at a time into the boiling water. When the gnocchi rise to the top of the pot, they are ready – use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pot and place them in an oiled baking dish. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and bake at 375° for 10-15 minutes to melt the cheese. Potato Spinach Gnocchi Tomato Sauce for Gnocchi This delicious dish, created by the couple’s friend Susan Finston (author of “Dining in the Garden of Eden”) is a creative pasta alternative for Pesach. Ingredients: 2 - 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or other cooking oil 1/2 cup chopped onion 1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1/4 cup parsley, chopped 1 bay leaf 2 cans crushed or stewed tomatoes 1 small can tomato paste By Marshall Weiss The Dayton Jewish Observer Ingredients: 2 pounds potatoes 1 1/2 cups potato starch 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 teaspoons salt 1 pound cooked, finely chopped spinach (frozen or fresh) 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg Optional: 1 cup ricotta cheese for richer gnocchi Reserve: 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese Instructions: Heat oil in sauté pan, add onion and garlic and cook on low heat until translucent. Add parsley, bay leaf, tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a low boil and then turn heat down and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes. Eggplant Parmesan This is a favorite dish yearround, even with matzah meal as the breading! Ingredients: 2 large eggplants, sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces Salt, for sweating eggplants 4 eggs, beaten with a fork 3 cups matzah meal 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 jars pasta sauce (any variety) 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese Instructions: Preheat oven to 350°. Sweat eggplant slices, sprinkling salt on them and allowing time for the moisture to come out; rinse and wipe the eggplant slices. Coat eggplant slices with beaten egg, then bread with matzah meal. Sauté coated eggplant slices in oil until lightly brown on both sides. In a 9-inch by 11-inch ovenproof dish, layer pasta sauce, then eggplant and top with cheeses. Repeat, finishing with cheese. Bake until the cheese melts and turns golden in spots, about 30 minutes. The future is in your hands. Meet Mark Lis, a current Ida Crown High School senior enrolled in Yeshiva University for the coming year. Mark is coming to Yeshiva University for the countless opportunities with top Roshei Yeshiva and world-renowned faculty. With 150 student clubs, 16 NCAA sports teams and hundreds of activities, lectures and events throughout campus, YU has something for everyone. #NowhereButHere www.yu.edu | 212.960.5277 | [email protected] www.yu.edu/enroll 10 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 GETTING PAST POLLARD As David Cohen becomes CIA’s No. 2, Jews appear to have smoother sailing at security agencies By Ron Kampeas JTA WASHINGTON – David Cohen’s path to second in command at the Central Intelligence Agency is, in many respects, a typical one in Washington. A seasoned Ivy League lawyer who began his career defending the right of religious groups to display menorahs on government property, Cohen was the Obama administration’s top Iran sanctions official as the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. But in other respects, the 51-year-old Cohen’s ascent to deputy director is less typical. A number of Jews have long alleged that they hit speed bumps in the American security services, their careers in some cases temporarily obstructed over security clearance questions. For others, accusations of espionage based on ties to Israel, however remote, have driven them from their jobs following home raids and round-the-clock surveillance. Two federal employees – Adam Ciralsky, a CIA lawyer who was investigated in 1999, and David Tenenbaum, a civilian army engineer whose home was raided by the FBI in 1997 – uncovered evidence that they were targeted because they were Jewish. Ciralsky learned that his distant relationship to Israel’s first and long dead president, Chaim Weizmann, and the fact that his father had purchased Israel Bonds were held against him. Tenenbaum was deemed suspicious in part because he spoke Hebrew even though it was helpful in performing his official duties as a liaison to Israeli counterparts. Ciralsky and Tenenbaum each filed suit against their respective agencies, both of which ultimately admitted that the men were victims of religious discrimination. Ciralsky quietly dropped his case in 2012. Tenenbaum’s case is ongoing. Jewish leaders said those incidents, along with the most notorious case of a Jewish government career run aground – the Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for passing on state secrets to Israel – are now fading from David Cohen memory. In their wake, they said, the outlook for Jews at the highest levels of the American security apparatus are improving. Abraham Foxman, the national director of the AntiDefamation League, said that complaints to his organization of bias against Jews in government have diminished nearly to zero in recent years. “The problem related to Pollard and the stereotype of dual loyalty,” said Foxman, whose group until two years ago provided diversity training to the CIA. “I would say we have mostly overcome the residual issue of trust of Jews in intelligence issues.” Jewish-Americans have been working in American intelligence since the days of the CIA’s predecessor, the World War II-era Office of Strategic Services. Their skills were in demand in part because so many were recent immigrants, or were the children of immigrants, and were familiar with European languages and customs. Some Jewish agents enjoyed long careers in U.S. security agencies with nary a hiccup. A smaller number have risen to its upper echelons. John Deutsch served as CIA director for 17 months in 1995-96, the second Jew to hold that position. James Schlesinger, who was born Jewish but converted to Christianity as an adult, served as CIA director for several months in 1973. Another David Cohen was the agency’s deputy director of operations in the 1990s. The number of Jewish security personnel who have hit roadblocks is not clear. Lawyers who represent security personnel denied the clearance necessary for advancement say they have fielded dozens of complaints from Jews. Mark Zaid, a Washington attorney who specializes in government and intelligence matters, said the security issue his clients most often face has to do with relatives overseas, which prompts worry from federal authorities about their susceptibility to pressures from foreign governments. Israel presents a special challenge, he said, because of the closeness of its alliance with the United States and the country’s reputation for “aggressive” espionage stemming in part from the Pollard case. “You suspect the Russians of wanting your wallet, so you stay a foot away,” Zaid said. “The Israelis, you hug, but you don’t know if they’re picking your pocket.” Sheldon Cohen, another lawyer who handles security clearance cases, said he has won every Jewish case he has taken. Like Zaid, he said he was likelier to hit a brick wall representing clients from Muslim countries. Sheldon Cohen said he has lost a number of those cases. “More scrutiny is given to countries that are not on the best relations with the United States than countries that are on good relations with the United States,” said Sheldon Cohen, who has been working on security clearances since 1964. One reason David Cohen may have avoided such pitfalls is that he rose up through the Treasury, a relative latecomer to the intelligence game, but which has become one of the busiest intelligence hubs in the government. The department that Cohen headed there, the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, has existed only since 2004. His immediate predecessor, Stuart Levey, also was Jewish. Mark Dubowitz, the director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank that has worked closely with Treasury on Iran sanctions, said Cohen represents a new brand of intelligence professional who uses the international financial system to track and punish America’s enemies. “There’s a real lineage of these Treasury professionals who took Treasury from an institution that was a minor player on national security to what is now being described as President Obama’s favorite noncombatant command,” Dubowitz said. The CIA did not consent to an interview with Cohen, but noted its director’s statement welcoming him to the agency. “David brings a wealth of SEE COHEN ON PAG E 1 1 Buzzed by planes, sporting toupees: The ups and downs for Jews in the security services By Ron Kampeas JTA WASHINGTON – David Cohen, who was recently named deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is not the first Jewish-American to reach the agency’s upper ranks. John Deutch headed the agency for a short period in the mid-1990s. But Jewish community professionals familiar with the American security community say his ascension is a sign that the past scrutiny of Jewish intelligence staffers is abating. The best-known case is that of Jonathan Pollard, the former Navy analyst who was sentenced to life in 1987 for spying for Israel. But other lesser known cases show how the American government has been overzealous at times in its scrutiny of Jewish staffers. Adam Ciralsky, a CIA lawyer who had his security clearance revoked in 1999, sued the agency. In depositions, Ciralsky discovered that he was under suspicion in part because his father had purchased Israel Bonds and because of a distant relation to Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, who by then had been dead for decades. In documents first reported in 2012 by the Daily Beast, it was revealed that a polygraph test administrator had referred to Ciralsky as a “little Jew bastard.” In other documents he was referred to as a “rich Jewish employee with a wealthy daddy.” Ciralsky dropped the case in 2012. Now a journalist who writes and produces films about the military and the Middle East, Ciralsky would not comment for this article. But Neal Sher, a lawyer and former director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who represented Ciralsky at the outset of his case, said the CIA’s attitude betrayed a fundamental misconception of how American Jews relate to Israel, with some investigators seeing routine pro-Israel acts like buying bonds as inherently suspect. “It exposed in certain Adam Ciralsky quarters in the intelligence community and in law enforcement [that] there is this deeply seated mistrust of American Jews,” Sher said. In some cases, the very skills attracting the government to a staffer were later used against him. In 2008, the Pentagon inspector general found that David Tenenbaum, a Jewishly observant engineer whose Hebrew led the army to assign him to work with Israeli counterparts on protecting armored vehicles, was the target of an investigation sparked by suspicions based on his faith and ethnic background. Tenenbaum told the Washington Post then that the very trips to Israel he undertook for the U.S. Army led to the suspicions. “The same reason they hired me, they suspected me,” he said. Tenenbaum, who is writing a book about his case, declined an interview, but his website describes the 1997 FBI raid on his home. “The investigation began with a raid of the Tenenbaums’ home during Shabbat and resulted in the confiscation of the children’s music and coloring books,” it says. “The entire Tenenbaum family was placed under 24-hour surveillance, and Dr. David Tenenbaum made the headlines of the local newspapers where he was labeled a spy.” Mark Mallah, a former FBI special agent, became an outspoken opponent of polygraphs after an anomaly on a test in 1995 led to accusations, never SEE SPIES ON PAG E 1 1 11 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 Cohen CONTINUED F RO M PAG E 10 experience on many of the issues that we focus on as an agency and I look forward to his insights, expertise, and energy as we address the growing number and diversity of national security challenges facing America today,” John Brennan said. Cohen is from Boston and in high school became friends with Jamin Dershowitz, the son of Harvard professor and well- known Israel advocate Alan Dershowitz. “He practically lived in my house,” said Alan Dershowitz, who recalled having Cohen’s family over for Passover seders. Cohen and the younger Dershowitz, who is general counsel to the WNBA, are still close. Alan Dershowitz recommended Cohen to his alma mater, Yale Law School, and then for his first job working for the prominent Washington attorney Nathan Lewin, where he battled civil liberties groups who challenged the display of meno- Spies CONTINUED F RO M PAG E 10 borne out, that he had unauthorized contact with foreign officials. That triggered an FBI raid of his home and agents interviewing his friends and family. “Following the search and for about two months afterward, I was under surveillance twenty four hours a day, seven days a week,” he wrote for an anti-polygraph website. “For at least a week during that time, a small airplane circled above our home every morning, then buzzed above me wherever I went.” Mallah quit the bureau in 1996 after being cleared. No one ever told him which foreign officials he was suspected of contacting. In an email interview, Mallah said he believes the main driver of the investigation was the FBI’s refusal at the time to acknowledge the flaws in polygraph tests. But he believes there was a Jewish dimension as well. “My being Jewish provided additional impetus and focus to the investigation,” Mallah said. “I believe that in the wake of the Pollard situation, they probably believed, or at least suspected, that there were other Pollards out there and they did not want to get burned twice. So better to trample on any notions of due process, fairness, even objectivity in running the investigation than to risk being burned again by another Jew with perhaps questionable loyalties.” Shamai Leibowitz, a contract linguist for the FBI, was sentenced in 2010 to 20 months in prison for sharing classified documents with a blogger. The judge in the case said the material was sensitive enough that even he was not privy to exactly what Leibowitz, a grandson of the Israeli philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz, had disclosed. Richard Silverstein, who publishes the Tikkun Olam blog and is sharply critical of Israeli policies, told The New York Times in 2011 that he was the recipient of the documents and that the leaks had to do with U.S. eavesdropping on the Israeli Shamai Leibowitz Embassy. The tapped conversations included talks with pro-Israel activists, diplomats and at least one member of Congress. Silverstein said Leibowitz leaked because he thought the embassy’s bid to influence the Iran debate in the United States was improper. Leibowitz, who now works at a suburban Maryland synagogue, vehemently denies Silverstein’s account. His disclosure, Leibowitz said in a June 2013 blog post, was prompted by concerns “that the FBI was abusing the rights of U.S. citizens.” “The FBI were illegally violating people’s privacy and to my understanding they were breaking the law,” Leibowitz said. “What I revealed about the FBI was similar to what Edward Snowden revealed about the NSA. For obvious reasons, I cannot get into details. I revealed this information only because I could not in good conscience keep silent, and I thought the public had a right to know.” Noah Cohen for decades was active in Washington’s Orthodox community, volunteering with the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Orthodox Union, the National Council for Synagogue Youth and the Hebrew Academy day school. He also worked for the CIA, and to this day his son, Abba Cohen, the Washington director of Agudath Israel of America, does not know in what capacity. “There was no work talk at dinner and I didn’t know any of his work friends,” Abba Cohen said. Noah Cohen was proud of his work with the agency, which started during World War II rahs on public property. “He is very consciously Jewish,” Lewin said of Cohen. Alan Dershowitz said Cohen is adept at bringing people together on an issue, calling him a forceful advocate for the Iran nuclear talks favored by the Obama administration but which many in the pro-Israel community treat with skepticism. “He combines likability with smarts and tough-mindedness,” Dershowitz said. “The kid from Boston became the No. 2 man at the CIA.” when he was hired by its predecessor, the Office of Strategic Services, because of his fluency in German. He also spoke Hebrew and Arabic. “He looked like he belonged in the library,” the younger Cohen said. “He was scholarly, thoughtful and analytical, and extremely interesting. Just not the athletic, suave, martinidrinking type you see on TV.” Cohen said his father was proud of his employer. “He was a big supporter of the CIA and its work,” especially during the 1960s when there was heightened criticism of American involvement in overseas conflicts. “He was a big defender of the things they needed to do. He was convinced if everyone knew what they did, they would feel as he did.” His father observed Shabbat and holidays and never complained of any discrimination, Cohen said. He would use vacation time for Jewish holidays, a common practice before the government grew more accommodating of religious practice. He decided not to take an overseas tour, perhaps stymieing his career, because he and his wife wanted to guarantee their children a Jewish education. Occasionally a tidbit would come out. One trip overseas was canceled, Cohen recalled, because of a rash of kidnappings of diplomats. Another time the elder Cohen told the family that he found a way to attend services on Shabbat in whatever country he was in. He would read the papers and occasionally complain that what had crossed his desk on Tuesday labeled as top secret would appear in the newspaper on Wednesday. Noah Cohen retired in 1971 at 54 and subsequently revealed a few more details, like the time he returned early from Central America because his cover was blown. Or the midnight call to quickly get to a safe house in Washington. He also showed the family pictures taken overseas when he was in disguise, including a toupee, false mustache and false mole. He also had a sense of mischief. “My mother told us he once came home in disguise,” Abba Cohen said. The future is in your hands. Meet Miriam Libman, a current Yeshiva University senior. Miriam will be graduating with a degree in accounting and will begin her career at Ernst & Young in the fall. She is among the 90% who are employed, in graduate school—or both—within six months of graduation.* With nearly double the national average acceptance rates to medical school and 97% acceptance to law school and placements at Big Four accounting numbers speak for themselves. #NowhereButHere www.yu.edu | 212.960.5277 | [email protected] *Career Center Survey, 2013/2014 www.yu.edu/enroll 12 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 THEMaven IN F Chicago Jewish News CHANGE OF CALENDAR… ■ Last June, when Skokie School District 219, which includes Niles North and West high schools, published its new school calendar, a group of Orthodox Jewish parents noticed something that concerned them. Graduation was being held during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, on Sunday, May 24, and prom on the preceding Friday night, May 22. Orthodox Jews would not be able to attend either. As soon as they discovered the fact, they contacted school officials to see if they could change the dates, according to Rachel Blumenthal, one of three mother/daughter pairs who have met several times with district officials. Graduation was held on a weekday in past years, she said. “We contacted the head of diversity and the principal,” Blumenthal said. “We got a message from the principal saying they would look into it. We never heard from the diversity lady.” Blumenthal and her daughter, Miriam, were among the parents and students who attended a school board meeting, then met with District Superin- tendent Nanciann Gatta again in January. “We felt extremely disrespected and ignored,” Blumenthal said of the meetings. “Their answer is they will host another graduation for our kids on Tuesday. That is separate but not equal. I don’t understand what the refusal of changing it is.” She estimates four to six students will not be able to graduate with their classmates nor attend their prom. Miriam Blumenthal, 17, said her friends can’t believe she’s not going to prom and will have to attend a separate graduation ceremony. “I would rather graduate with my entire class,” she said. “The alternative doesn’t sound like nearly as much fun as it could be.” Jim Szczepaniak, community relations director for District 219, told Chicago Jewish News that district officials were aware of Shavuot but “when the question came up, we did ask a number of members of the Jewish faith and several people said it was a minor holiday.” Graduation was previously held on a Tuesday, which was a hardship for many working families, he said. “By the time the calendar got published over the summer, 700 parents at Niles West and 600 at Niles North had put on their calendars that graduation was going to be Memorial Day weekend. They had notified families and people from out of town,” he said. Another contentious issue for some parents involved an earlier-than-usual starting date for the two high schools – the second week in August. “High school students that attend (Jewish) camps like (Camp) Ramah, (JCC Camp) Chi or (B’nai B’rith) Beber (Camp) will miss the first week of school,” a parent said. She did not want her name used because she is involved in other issues with the school board, she said. Szczepaniak said the earlier starting date meant that students could take their first semester finals before winter break, and that all classes would receive more instructional time. But the earlier starting date “has created a logistical nightmare for families with children of different ages” because Skokie elementary schools don’t start until two weeks after the high schools, the Skokie woman said. She said she emailed board members five times about these issues and didn’t get any response. One board member told her members had never been CONTINUED CUS Rabbi Yosef and Sara Moscowitz of the Bucktown Wicker Park Chabad break ground for “The City Mikvah–Mei Daniel” a mikvah being built in memory of Rabbi Daniel Moscowitz, the former director of Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois. O N N E X T PAG E Danziger Kosher Catering Keshet recently held its annual Rainbow Banquet, celebrating 33 years of service to individuals with developmental disabilities. Pictured at the event are longtime Keshet volunteer Natalie Penner with guest speaker actor Edward Asner. “The Ultimate in Kosher Catering” Exclusively available at many of Chicago’s & South Florida’s throughout the metropolitan area. Call for an updated and complete listing of available locations. Chicago South Florida Glatt Kosher 3910 W. Devon Avenue " #$%'$!$$ ! ()#$%'$!$ $'*+,-/ " #'5%''55 242(,,' ()#'5%''5 www.danzigerkosher.com Trustees of the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago spent a week in Israel learning, advocating and addressing the issues that challenge Jewish women and girls today, and meeting with women from all sectors of Israeli society. 13 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 CONTINUED F RO M P R E V I O U S PAG E taught how to access their emails, she said. “I understand Skokie is not predominantly Jewish any more but I feel no young Jewish families will want to live here. It is not an attractive place for a young upwardly mobile Jewish family to be. We didn’t even get a public apology” from school board members, she said. At a recent meeting with district officials, “not a lot happened,” Blumenthal said. “We aired our grievances, but clearly they are not going to change graduation. With prom, they were not aware that Friday night was an issue,” she said. She said officials told her that in future years they will schedule prom for Saturday night, not Friday. Although Blumenthal said “the fight was not for nothing because of (the change) in future years, we did not get an answer as to why they felt it was impossible to change graduation a year ago. They don’t understand the whole concept of Shabbos. We told them our children felt completely disrespected.” Ariel Shoffet is one student who feels that way. She said she is not Orthodox but all her closest friends are. She will go to the regular Sunday graduation, but won’t go to prom because none of her friends will be able to go. She was among the students who met with district officials earlier. “They seemed sympathetic but I don’t think they understand how it affected us. We didn’t get an apology JEWS IN THE NEWS… ■ Generations executive director Rabbi Yosef Cohen received the Kesher Shem Tov Award from Yeshiva Ohr Boruch -The Veitzener Cheder. Generations assists Jewish public school students and their families make the transition from public schools to Jewish day schools. ■ Colin Silverman, a senior at Stevenson High School, was elected as Grand Aleph Godol (International President) of the International Order of BBYO. In this role, he will be a part of a ten-member teen board that will help chart the organization’s vision for the coming year and provide leadership and support to teen leaders in local communities throughout the BBYO system. ■ Gabriella Cooperman was 5 years old when she witnessed the difference that therapeutic horseback riding made for Danielle, her younger sister with special developmental needs. “I saw how wonderful and magical horseback riding therapy could be,” said Cooperman, now 14. “So when I heard that there were kids who needed the therapy but couldn’t afford it, I knew I wanted to help.” With her mother’s assistance, the 5-year-old decided to set up a lemonade stand at an intersection near her Highland Park home to raise the $500 necessary to send a young girl to a one-week therapeutic riding camp at Equestrian Connection, the riding center and stable where Cooperman’s sister also received her therapy. But Cooperman quickly realized that just selling lemonade might not be enough to Colin Silverman meet her goal, so she decided to include some homemade cookies, too. Nine years later, Cookies for Charity is a yearly, weekend-long fundraising event that has raised more than $47,000 for Equestrian Connection. “Every year I’ve doubled my fundraising goal and it’s become an annual tradition in the neighborhood,” Cooperman said. “People come to socialize, and even our mayor comes out as well.” from them,” she said. Not going to prom “is upsetting,” Shoffet said. “It’s something a girl dreams about her whole life and comes senior year and you don’t want to go because none of your friends will be there with you.” Szczepaniak, meanwhile, the district official, noted that district schools are closed on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as well as on Good Friday and the Muslim holiday of Eid. “We very much value the cultural diversity of our families,” he said. “We continue to make an effort by observing religious holidays in our school calendar. Our board is determined to send a message that we respect and cherish religious and cultural diversity.” Pauline Dubkin Yearwood Typically scheduled for the weekend after school starts, she recruits about 30 of her friends to help sell lemonade, water bottles and two kinds of homemade cookies: a nut-free sugar cookie and a signature Heath Bar Crunch chocolate chip cookie. At last August’s Cookies for Charity event, Cooperman said they stopped counting after selling 6,000 cookies and 1,000 glasses of lemonade. Cooperman, a freshman at Highland Park High School, said she will continue to plan a Cookies for Charity event every year through the remainder of her high school years. After she graduates, she hopes to pass on the fundraiser to someone else to run. “The biggest lessons that I have learned from Cookies for Charity is that working hard is the greatest award ever and it’s a great feeling to help others,” Cooperman said. “I hope that I am inspiring other youth to support the idea of tikkun olam and making another person’s life better.” The future is now. Enroll today. YU enables you to grow and deepen your understanding of—and commitment to— Jewish life at a top-tier college while discovering your passions, championing your beliefs and forming lasting friendships. With student programs across our campuses and across the world, YU takes a global approach to learning, education and values, creating a full college experience. A YU education is not out of reach. More than 80% of students received help with tuition last year, with over $45 million in Picture yourself at YU. #NowhereButHere. www.yu.edu | 212.960.5277 | [email protected] Gabriella Cooperman, left, with a girl whose therapeutic horseback riding she has sponsored at Equestrian Connection for the past four years. (JTA) www.yu.edu/enroll 14 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 Death Notices ‘Hebrew Hammer’ Al Rosen, Cleveland Indians all-star and ‘53 MVP (JTA) – Al Rosen, the slugging Cleveland Indians third baseman who was the American League’s MVP in 1953, has died. Rosen, a four-time all-star who was known as the “Hebrew Hammer,” was 91. He played for the Indians from 1947 through 1956, including for the ‘48 World Series champions – the last time Cleveland won the title. No Indians player has been named Most Valuable Player since Rosen, who retired after the 1956 season, at 32, suffering from a back injury from a car accident a year earlier. Rosen was given his nickname because he was a former amateur boxer, a sport he reportedly picked up after being beaten up in his neighborhood, where he was one of the few Jewish boys. His boyhood idol was Detroit Tigers’ first baseman Hank Al Rosen Greenberg, who famously refused to play on Yom Kippur. “We lost a cherished member of the Indians family,” said Larry Dolan, the father of Indians owner Paul Dolan, in a statement from the team. “Watching Al play was a true joy and something Indians fans of our generation still cherish.” The team’s president, Mark Shapiro, added, “He was an inspiration to us all and had a special presence, strength and intellect. His fierce competitive nature and toughness was legendary.” Following his on-field career, Rosen worked in the front offices of the Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees. As president and general manager of the Giants, he won the Sporting News Executive of the Year in 1987 and thus made baseball history – the only person to win MVP and Executive of the Year. Still Directing! Mitzvah Memorial Funerals 630-MITZVAH (630-648-9824) Names you have trusted for decades... Still here to serve you when needed I.Ian “Izzy” Dick Seymour Mandel In December of 2014 Izzy and Seymour celebrated their 91st and 80th birthdays respectively. This make them the two oldest practicing and most experienced licensed Jewish funeral directors in the state of Illinois. Izzy and Seymour serve the families that call them through Mitzvah Memorial Funerals. 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(Formerly with Piser) William Goodman Funeral Director, Homesteaders Insurance Agent (no longer with Goodman Family Funerals) Ian “Izzy” Dick Oldest licensed Jewish Funeral Director in the State of Illinois Lawrence “Larry” Mandel If you have already made pre-arrangements elsewhere you can switch to us. In most cases we will refund your family thousands of dollars. 4th generation Jewish Funeral Director, Homesteaders Insurance Agent (Formerly with Piser) 847-778-6736 We also offer pre-arrangements and fund through Homesteaders Life. Find out why Mitzvah Memorial Funerals was entrusted to direct more than 800 funerals since opening. www.comparemitzvah.com *Guarantee is on base price of funeral plan including services, casket and miscellaneous items. Not included in this are the cemetery charges, vault and cash advance items. 500 Lake Cook Road, Suite 350, Deerfield, IL • 8850 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, IL 630-MITZVAH (648-9824) • www.mitzvahfunerals.com Robert M. Davis. Beloved husband of Esta. Cherished father of Dr. Steven Davis and Marla and Dr. Craig Davishoff. Adoring grandfather of Levi and Bennett Davishoff. Dear brother-inlaw, uncle, great-uncle, and friend to many. Arrangements by Mitzvah Memorial Funerals. Isadore Friedman, age 89, beloved husband of the late Margot, nee Sommer. Cherished father of Alan Friedman and Faye Minkow. Adored grandfather of Bradley and Dawn Minkow. Dear brother of Harry (Bertha) Friedman and the late Leo, Irene, Bessie and Milton. Fond brother-in-law of the late Lotte (survived by Al) Gruen and the late Edith (Al) Tureck. Contributions in Isadore’s name to the charity of your choice would be appreciated. Arrangements by Mitzvah Memorial Funerals. Isadore Goldberg, age 94. Loving brother of the late Dorothy Goldberg, Sam (Lillian) Goldberg and Martha (Reuben) Lipsky. Dear uncle of the late Barbara Schley, Sheri Horn and Rhonda (sur- vived by John) Gerchikov. Fond great-uncle of Louis (Ashley) and Brantley Gerchikov and Mark (Darlene) Schley. Dear cousin to many. Arrangements by Mitzvah Memorial Funerals. Lila Letchinger, nee Wenig, age 93 Beloved wife of the late Irving R. Letchinger. Cherished mother of Annalee Letchinger (David Hoppe), Ed Letchinger (Ruth Landis) and Jonathan (Laura) Letchinger. Devoted grandmother of Rafael and Eve Bratman (Joel Rothschild), Sasha Letchinger, Dara, Daniel and Ethan Hoppe, Jacques and Ava Letchinger, and great-granddaugher Nora Bratman. Dear sister of the late Leonard (survived by Iris) Wenig. Fond aunt of many nieces and nephews. A popular book reviewer and performer, she graduated with an M.A. from Northwestern University’s School of Speech. Arrangements by Mitzvah Memorial Funerals. Lillian Motew, nee Gross, passed away at the age of 104 surrounded by her family and longtime caregiver. Beloved wife of the late Dr. Max Motew. Cherished mother of sons Stuart Motew (partner-Cheryl Ehrenkranz), Allen (Marna) Motew and the late Dr. Martin (Jeanne) Motew. Devoted grandmother of Dr. Stephen (Sara) Motew, Kenny (Jill) Motew, Michael (Annie) Motew, Jeffrey (Pov) Motew, Matthew (Loren) Motew, Melissa Motew and great-grandchildren Charlie, Henry, Louie, Max, Emily, Zev, Asher, Simon, Ben- jamin, Sam, Maeve and Molly. Lillian loved her many cousins and friends. Lillian adored her sweet “granddoggie” Loulou. Heartfeld thanks to loving caregivers Regina Koska and Mellie. Lillian was a Chicago school teacher and did vounteer braille work for the visually handicapped. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Lillian’s name to NA’AMAT, Philip H. Cohen Institute for the Visually Handicapped (Rodfei Zedek), or the Anti-Cruelty Society-Chicago would be appreciated. Arrangements by Mitzvah Memorial Funerals. Richard A. Sherman of Chicago and Deerfield, beloved husband of Beverly, devoted father of Derreck (deceased), Amanda and Bradford. Navy veteran of Vietnam War. Donations to a veterans organization of your choice. Sylvia Zelinsky, nee Snow, beloved wife of the late Robert Zelinsky. Loving mother of Roger Zelinsky, Dean (Suzi) Zelinsky and Glenn Zelinsky. Cherished grandmother of Tyler, Paige and Brandi Zelinsky. Adored sister of Joseph (Paula) Snow, Roslyn Snow and the late Robert H. (the late Rosemae) Snow, Katherine Snow, Judith (the late Louis) Yesnick and William (the late Thelma) Snow. Dear Aunt, Cousin and friend to many. In lieu of flowers, remembrances to Midwest Palliative & Hospice CareCenter, www.carecenter.org, would be appreciated. Arrangements by Mitzvah Memorial Funerals. 15 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 Community Calendar Asian CONTINUED F RO M PAG E 2 Sunday ish parent what advice they’d offer for Asian-Jewish couples with children. What did they say? Leavitt: They over and over said that they would encourage parents to provide as much as possible of everything. They weren’t worried about the conflicting or contrasting strands of their background, and they said, “Make sure you’re giving kids as many options to understand what they’re about, because they’ll be more confident.” Sometimes there’s parental anxiety about confusing kids, but the people we interviewed said, “Give it all to us, because we can sort it out.” Your latest study is called “Funny – You Don’t Look Jewish.” Did the people you interviewed hear this a lot? Kim: A number of the kids look [racially and ethnically] ambiguous to a casual observer. A woman we interviewed talked about how people can always tell she is “somewhat Asian or something ethnic” and that they are always “shocked” when they find out she is Jewish, something that feels weird to her because she feels more strongly about her Jewish identity than her Asian identity … A lot of people felt their Jewish identity was called into question because they didn’t look like what people think Jews in this culture look like. The couples were very attentive to the racial presentation of their kids, especially when they had more than one kid and they presented differently and were treated differently based on that. One of the things that happened was the kids responded to not being guessed for who they are to developing a conscious cultural identity about being Jewish. Your research is based on interviews with very small, selfselected samples – 22 people for the latest study, 37 couples for the earlier one. To what extent can we generalize from your findings, and if we can’t, what contribution do they make to the field? Kim: No qualitative researcher would ever make the claim with such a small sample size that one could generalize the findings to the whole population. The beauty is getting a lot of the details and seeing patterns in enough individuals to say, “Well a lot of people tend to talk about X, Y and Z.” The vast majority of Jewish demographic studies looking at intermarriage are quantitative, but these in-depth, rich kinds of data – what do these marriages look like? – that kind of quantitative research has a harder time getting at. Monday March 22 Congregation B’nai Tikvah presents Emory University Professor Deborah Lipstadt speaking at its annual JUF event. 10:30 a.m., 1558 Wilmot Road, Deerfield. (847) 945-0470. Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center presents staged reading of “In Their Voices” by actors from Writers Theatre. 1:303 p.m., 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie. Free for museum members and with museum admission. Reservations required, ilholocaustmuseum. org/events. Temple Beth Israel Sisterhood hosts Women’s Seder. 2-5 p.m., 3601 W. Dempster, Skokie. $5 suggested donation. RSVP, tbiskokie.org or (847) 675-0951. Congregation Beth Judea presents 9th annual Passover Wine Tasting with opportunity to order wine at discount. 3-5 p.m., Route 83 and Hilltop Road, Long Grove. $10. lneiman@beth judea.org or (847) 6340777. StandWithUs Chicago presents “Orchestra of Exiles” followed by Q&A with director Josh Aronson. 4 p.m., Northbrook Court AMC, 1525 Lake Cook Road, Northbrook. $15 advance; $20 door. [email protected]. Ezra-Habonim, the Niles Township Jewish Congregation presents Amy Stoken, Chicago regional director of the American Jewish Committee, speaking on “The Rising Tide of AntiSemitism.” 6:30 p.m., 4500 W. Dempster, Skokie. Reservations, (847) 675-4141. Continuum Theater hosts 2015 Midwest Jewish Play Writing Contest with actors reading from three new plays and audience voting for their favorite. 7 p.m., Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, Chicago. $10. continuumtheater.org or (800) 838-3006 ext. 1. March 23 Lubavitch Chabad of Northbrook presents pre-Passover seminar, “Discover the Night of Freedom,” through the lens of Jewish mysticism. 8-9 p.m., 2095 Landwehr Road, Northbrook. RSVP, [email protected] or (847) 564-8770. Congregation Beth Judea presents Lonnie Nasatir, regional director of the AntiDefamation League, speaking on current state of anti-Semitism. 8 p.m., Route 83 and Hilltop Road, Long Grove. bethjudea.org or (847) 634-0777. Wednesday March 25 Congregation Beth Judea presents Rhonda Wehner of Midwest Palliative and Hospice Care Center speaking on Jewish perspectives of hospice and palliative care. 8 p.m., Route 83 and Hilltop Road, Long Grove. [email protected] or (847) 634-0777. Thursday March 26 Meyer Kaplan JCC hosts Emergent Theatre Company’s production of Neil Simon’s “Last of the Red Hot Lovers.” 7:30 p.m., also Fridays and Saturdays, March 27-April 17 and 2 p.m. Sundays. 5050 Church St., Skokie. $20 adults, $10 seniors and students with ID. Tickets, emergenttheatre.org or (773) 729-7924. Congregation Beth Shalom presents Jeremy Bash speaking on “The War on Terrorism: Insights from 4 Years at the CIA and the Pentagon.” 8 p.m., 3433 Walters, Northbrook. (847) 498-4100. Friday March 27 Lubavitch Chabad of Northbrook hosts pre-Passover community Shabbat dinner featuring Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin speaking on his journey “From Reform Sem- inary to Chabad Emissary.” 6:15 p.m., 2095 Landwehr Road, Northbrook. $22, $9 child. RSVP required, chabadnorthbrook.com or (847) 564-8770. Smithsonian Channel airs one-hour television special “Siege of Masada.” 8 p.m., also 9 p.m. Sunday, March 29, and 7 and 10 p.m. Monday, March 30. smithsonianchannel.com. Saturday March 28 Beit Yichud hosts Shir Share Shabbat: A Pilgrimage of Consciousness. 10 a.m., 6932 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. info@beityichud. org. Debbie Sue Goodman and friends present an Evening of Comedy and Spoken Word. 7:30-9 p.m., Let Them Eat Chocolate, 5306 N. Damen, Chicago. (773) 334-2626. Sunday March 29 Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center shows film “Defiance” followed by discussion with Laurie Hasten, whose grandmother was saved by Bielski brothers. 12:30-3:30 p.m., 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie. $15, $10 museum members. Reservations required, ilholocaustmuseum.org/events. Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois presents Ava Cohen speaking on “Cluedin: The Stories are in the Details.” 2 p.m., Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook. (Meeting facility opens at 12:30 p.m. for research and questions.) jgsi.org or (312) 666-0100. JCC Chicago presents “Bring Passover to Life!” with nutfree charoset bar, music, crafts, relay races and a swim in the “Nile River.” 24 p.m., Bernard Weinger JCC, 300 Revere Drive, Northbrook. $25 family. [email protected] or (847) 763-3603. Continuum Theater presents staged reading of Jonathan Gillis’ “Close to Home,” personal struggle of an Israeli soldier, followed by discussion and refreshments. 7 p.m., B’nai Yehuda Beth Sholom, 1424 W. 183rd St., Homewood. $10. continuumtheater.org or (800) 838-3006 Ext. 1. Wednesday April 1 Beit Yichud presents “Counting the Omer: Meditation Workshop.” 7:309:30 p.m., 6932 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. $5 suggested donation. [email protected]. Saturday April 4 Temple Beth Israel presents annual “Share-A-Seder.” Bring hard-boiled, peeled eggs and kosher for Passover matzah, wine and/or grape juice for your family. 6-9 p.m., 3601 W. Dempster, Skokie. $32 adults, $10 ages 2-12. Reservations, tbiskokie.org or (847) 675-0951. Temple Judea Mizpah hosts Congregational Community Seder. 6-9 p.m. 8610 Niles Center Road, Skokie. $40 members, $44 non-members, $20 ages 8-12. Reservations required, [email protected] or (847) 676-1566. Beth Hillel Congregation Bnai Emunah holds CommUNITY Second Night Passover Seder led by Rabbi Anne Tucker and Cantor Pavel Roytman. 7:30 p.m., 3220 Big Tree Lane, Wilmette. $55 adults, $45 children, (free for ages 12 and under.) Reservations required, (847) 256-1213. Friday April 10 Congregation Beth Judea hosts Passover Shabbat dinner and service. 6 p.m., Route 83 and Hilltop Road, Long Grove. $28 adult, $15 ages 6-12, $6 age 5 and under. For non-members add $3 to price. RSVP required, bethjudea.org or (847) 634-0777. 16 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 Jefferson CONTINUED 7 F RO M PAG E self. When I was up there seven or eight years ago, my mom’s last living first cousin was still alive, and she said “Would you like to see the shul?” Now I just happened to have a yarmulke in my pocket. I put it on and she goes: “You’re such a good boy.” I’ll never forget that. We went in and they had a number of Torahs, and there was a small one that my great-grandfather had done. You spent so much time on the road with Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Was there anything religious or spiritual going on while you were on the road all those years? I didn’t really discover my Jewish identity in a concrete way until my wife converted about a decade or so ago. Were there spiritual things? Sure, because many people of my generation were questioning things in a way. And interestingly enough, think about how many Jewish guys were blues guitar players – whether they were electric guys like Mike Bloomfield, or guys who did everything like Dave Bromberg? There were so many of us who were of Jewish heritage who fell into that type of music. When my wife converted, the rabbi suggested that even though I had a bris when I was a kid that I was never really exposed to any of this stuff, largely because, I realize now, of my grandmother’s vocal antipathy. So I went through the whole [conversion] process with my wife. We studied biblical Hebrew and all that kind of stuff. As a result I’ve become very involved in our community, which is organized around what happens in the school [Ohio University]. Interestingly enough, 70 miles away in Huntington, W. Va, there is a large synagogue. So as a result of my wife getting involved in this, I did too, and one time we were invited to come down by Margot Leverett, the great klezmer artist, and my friend Barry Mitterhoff, who plays mandolin with me. We went down and I remember we went to the synagogue – and I’m sure this isn’t the only time it’s happened, but it’s the only time it’s happened to me – this guy came out with a cowboy hat on and boots, and he looked at me, put his hand down and said “Shalom, y’all.” That’s how they do it in West Virginia sometimes. So with Jefferson Airplane approaching its 50th, are you guys on good terms? Yeah, we are. Obviously with a big thing like a 50th anniversary, people wonder whether some of the guys would like to put the band back together again. Grace [Slick] doesn’t sing anymore, so that means that’s really out of the question. We’d like to do something. We don’t know what that is, whether it’s just wandering around and yakking on talk shows or something like that. Maybe having some acoustic guitars and playing some songs and talking. How has your relationship to Judaism changed since your wife converted? When I was finding my Jewish roots when my wife was converting, and when I spoke to the rabbi, one of the things that always came up for me, even when I didn’t think about it, was that I felt very comfortable in the context of a Jewish milieu. I don’t live in a Jewish context most of the time because that’s not how my world works, but whenever it happens, I feel like I’ve come home. One of the things that I re- HOME IMPROVEMENT Aspen Fence Company (847) 549-8619 www.aspenfence.net As owner and president, I want to welcome you to Aspen Fence Company. With over 30 years of experience in the fence and deck industry I assure you that customer satisfaction is our number one priority. Our well-trained, professional installers offer reliable and courteous workmanship on every project. A large part of our success has been through the many referrals from our satisfied customers both residential and commercial. 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(269) 208-8083 www.southhavenrentals.net Recycle this paper 17 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 By Joseph Aaron CONTINUED F RO M PAG E Specialized 18 enough, even as Carson’s show accounted for 20 percent of NBC’s profits. And then there was Henry Bushkin, his lawyer, who he totally trusted to handle his business affairs for decades, until he discovered that Bushkin was enriching himself at Johnny’s expense (see what I mean about lawyers?) And finally, and worst of all, was Joan Rivers. Johnny gave Rivers her big break, promoted her career and even appointed her the first permanent guest host of the “Tonight Show.” Her thanks for all that? She jumped to Fox to compete against Johnny and didn’t even have the decency to let him know about it before it was publicly announced. Silverman, Bushkin and Rivers. Jews all. The show, of course, did not even once mention their Judaism, but I was very well aware of it and very ashamed by their behavior. It always makes me so sad to see Jews, especially prominent ones, behave in such unJewish ways. Then there was something that made me very happy. I don’t know if you watched President Obama’s speech in Selma on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, but if you haven’t seen it, I strongly urge you to do so. It was beyond eloquent, was stirringly beautiful and very much reminded me of why I was so inspired by him in 2008 and why I have been so disappointed that he hasn’t employed his gift for soaring rhetoric more often during his administration. The speech not only reminded me why I like him so much but reminded me of how good he has always been, how sensitive he has always been to the Jewish people. One line in his speech really jumped out at me. In listing some of the incredible people who have made America such an incredible country, he said this: “We’re the immigrants who stowed away on ships to reach these shores, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free – Holocaust survivors, Soviet defectors, the Lost Boys of Sudan.” Holocaust survivors, Soviet defectors. Jews. It made my spine tingle with pride that in his uplifting speech he made a point of mentioning these special Jews who have meant so much to this special country. Thank you, Mr. President. And then there was something that really amazed me, something that got totally lost in all the news about Israel’s election, Hillary’s email account, the Iranian nuclear negotiations and the bizarre murder confession of Robert Durst on HBO. By the way, you know Durst is Jewish, right? Yet more shanda for the Jews. In any case, the story that amazed me and that I wish had gotten more attention was the fact that Israel opened its first embassy in Lithuania. Yes, Lithuania. The country that was once known as the Jerusalem of Europe, the country that was home to a large Jewish population and to some of Judaism’s greatest yeshivas and rabbis, most notably the sainted Vilna Gaon, one of the greatest Jewish scholars ever. A country that turned on its Jews with a viciousness virtually unmatched during the Holocaust, murdering almost all of its Jews, destroying virtually everything Jewish about the country. I visited the capital of Vilnius about 20 years ago, went to the famed Jewish quarter which was totally devoid of any trace of Judaism, except for the indentations in many doorposts where mezuzahs used to hang. If in 1945 anyone would have said there would soon be a Jewish state and that one day that Jewish state would have an embassy in Lithuania, they would have thought you were insane. But that is exactly what has happened. Israel now has an embassy and an ambassador in Lithuania. “Flying a flag here in Vilnius carries a special significance. This is a country which is a cornerstone in Jewish heritage, where some of the great Jewish thinkers came from,” Dan Ushpizin, a senior Israeli diplomat said during the ceremony marking the opening of the embassy. Jews today like to whine and moan about how bad things are, when in so many ways in so many places, Jews have it better than ever, Jews are more accepted and protected than ever. Even in places that were such dark places for Jews not so very long ago. 70 years ago, Lithuania wiped out its Jewish community. Today there is an Israeli embassy in Vilna, the city where the Vilna Gaon once lived. We need to not lose sight of these miracles, this great news that we are seeing with our very eyes these very days. Finally, please permit me a personal note. I am bursting with joy because of the upcoming wedding of my one and only niece Ilana (I also have nine nephews). Ilana is a very special young woman, kind, smart, giving, gracious, caring, very devoted to the Jewish people, very committed to living a Jewish life and to helping others. She is simply a beautiful neshama. And so I want to wish her my sincerest blessings on her wedding, and wish a hearty mazel tov to my brother Maury, who I love very much and who has been there for me in such important ways so many times, and to my sister in law Ora. May Maury and Ora have much nachas from Ilana and her new husband, and may Ilana and her new husband, Chanani, live a long and happy life together, always lovingly being there for each other and joyfully building a Jewish home together. Mazel tov! Dementia Care You can take a much-needed break, knowing your loved one’s daily needs are being met by a professional team that can keep them engaged. Mitch Abrams Managing Director Helping the whole family, who are now living with dementia Call us to schedule a free evaluation. ; Caregivers with intensive training and experience www.TheHomeCareSpot.com (847) 480-5700 ; Activities based on social history, hobbies ; Help with daily living needs ; Interactive, engaging care experience The Chicago Jewish News gratefully acknowledges the generous support of RABBI MORRIS AND DELECIA ESFORMES 18 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 By Joseph Aaron Sad, happy, and amazed www. chicagojewishnews .com The Jewish News place in cyberspace Well, it looks like I will have Bibi to kick around for a few more years. Good for me, not good for the state of Israel or the Jewish people. There’s a lot I could say about the nauseating election campaign Israel just went through, which truly brought out the absolute worst in the candidates, and a lot I could say about the tactics Bibi used to appeal to the worst instincts in people, to scare people, his racist rant on election day designed to get Jews to get out and vote because so many Arabs were doing so, his paranoid allegations that foreign money and foreign governments were conspiring to bring him down, but I’ll let it go for now. We all have earned and could use a Bibi break. Just one quick comment before we move on. You can tell Israel is a Jewish country because of something Bibi did in the last days of the campaign that you would never see an American politician do. As the campaign wound down, it appeared Bibi’s party was not going to do as well as it needed to, in some measure because voters were gravitating to other right wing parties. Which is where Bibi employed that old Jewish standard, namely guilt. In American politics, the theory is that people like to vote for a winner. And so no matter how you are doing, you always say things are looking great and you’re heading for victory. Bibi instead went on a TV blitz to say it looked like he was going to lose, that he wouldn’t have the votes he needed. It ain’t looking good, he said, and so if you want him to win, you better act accordingly. He didn’t assume the pose of a winner, as would every American politician, but rather of a potential loser – thus guilt tripping people to vote for him. As it turned out, it was a brilliant move and resulted in Bibi’s party getting several more seats than all the polls had projected. Jewish guilt working in the Jewish state. Who’d have thunk it? Anyway, as I say, let’s take a Bibi breather and look at some other things. First, something that made me very sad. I am very selective in what I watch on TV, not because I’m one of those fake elitists who snort at anyone who watches TV, and not because I’m so religious as to be afraid of TV or think not watching it somehow makes me holy, but rather because I like to watch things that I enjoy, that give me a sense of escape. I used to, for example, love to watch “The Good Wife.” But no more. Now I can’t bear to watch it. Why? Because it’s about a law firm, about lawyers and about politicians, and shows how craven, unfeeling, uncaring, manipulative, lying and twisting most of them behave most of the time. I find watching it very disillusioning because I believe it to be so accurate. You see all these smooth talking politicians with all their spin and game playing, and you see all these welldressed attorneys doing anything to win, their penchant for hurting people, all so they can get their big fees. Truth is I’ve dealt with many lawyers in many capacities during my life and career, and with the exception of but one, I have indeed found them to be uncaring, unfeeling manipulators willing to twist words, do anything as long as it benefits themselves. I know I’ve just offended all the lawyers out there, but I’d be happy to cite chapter and verse and name names of all those sadly Jewish lawyers I’ve known who prove the points “The Good Wife” makes. All, as I say, except for the one I found to be kind, caring and honorable. Sorry, I guess I veered off into a bit of a tangent there. My point was that I am very selective in the TV shows I watch, but one I almost always like is “American Masters” on PBS which takes in depth looks into the lives of artists and entertainers. I was surfing YouTube, which somehow manages to find shows it thinks I will like without me asking, which I must admit I find intrusive and weird. But the fact is most of the time the shows YouTube picks for me I do like. Recently it offered me an “American Masters,” biography of Johnny Carson. It was absolutely fascinating. How he went from Nebraska to one of the biggest stars in TV was mesmerizing, and especially fascinating was how his mother never ever had one good or kind word to say to him. He spent his whole life trying to win her approval and never did. Anyway, since I always notice the Jewish angle of everything, I was very aware that in his career, Johnny was betrayed by three people – all Jews. When Fred Silverman took over as chairman of NBC, one of the first things he did was berate Johnny for not working hard SEE BY JOSEPH AARON ON PAG E 1 7 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 19 20 Chicago Jewish News - March 20-26, 2015 Prepare for Passover meat prices effective: Now through Sunday, April 12, 2015 Items and Prices Valid At These Participating Stores While Supplies Last produce romaine leuce $ 1.50 lb flat leaf parsley $ fresh Lake Superior whitefish fillets 11 $ 1 ea lb Empire kosher chicken breast horseradish root 2 Lbs. • Frozen $ 3.75 $ 15 grocery click of the week Kedem juice Season sardines 64 Oz. varieties 3.75-15 oz. varieties $ $ 3 $ 2 Paskesz 8 oz. Jellies or Rebecca & Rose 4 oz. 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