JEWISH NEWS
THE CHICAGO
October 31 - November 6, 2014/13 Cheshvan 5775
www.chicagojewishnews.com
One Dollar
JEWISH NEWS
THE CHICAGO
August 22 - 28, 2008/21 Av 5768 ■ www.chicagojewishnews.com ■ One Dollar
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AND THE
On the eve of his historic nomination,
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Chicago Jewish News celebrates two decades
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2014
Interviews with
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governor
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2
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
At 105, ‘British Schindler’
celebrated in Prague
By Jan Richter
JTA
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PRAGUE – A 105-year-old
man known as the “British Oskar
Schindler” – having saved hundreds of Jewish children from the
Nazis – received the Czech Republic’s highest honor.
Sir Nicholas Winton was
flown on a Czech military plane
to Prague, where Czech President Miloš Zeman awarded him
the Order of the White Lion.
Seven of the 669 children he rescued were present at the ceremony, which coincided with the
Czechoslovak
Independence
Day.
“I want to thank you all for
this tremendous expression of
thanks for something which happened to me nearly 100 years
ago,” Winton said after receiving
the award.
Winton was 29 when he first
arrived in Prague in December of
1938. He was planning to go on a
skiing holiday in Switzerland but
changed his plans when he heard
about the refugee crisis in
Czechoslovakia. In the following
months, he organized eight trains
that carried children, the vast
majority of them Jewish, from
Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to
safety in the United Kingdom.
“I’m delighted that so many
of the children are still about,
and they are here to thank me,”
Winton said.
Winton, a baptized son of
German Jewish parents who settled in the United Kingdom in
the early 1900s, worked as a
stockbroker before World War II.
In Prague, he joined efforts by
several other Britons trying to
help the refugees.
“These people were the
guilty conscience some in Britain
had over their country’s role in
the Munich Agreement, and
came to help,” historian Michal
Frankl from Prague’s Jewish Museum said.
Signed in 1938, the Munich
Agreement permitted the Nazis
to annex parts of Czechoslovokia.
“Winton’s crucial role was in
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Nicholas Winton
negotiating permits for the children with the British authorities.
He also found families willing to
take care of them,” Frankl said.
Ruth Halova, now 86, left
Prague on one of the trains,
known as Kindertransports, in
June of 1939, less than four
months after the Nazi occupation of the country. “It was a very
emotional and joyful moment,”
Halova said of the ceremony.
“I’m happy I could shake [Winton’s] hand for all those who
could not be here.”
Also in attendance was Asaf
Auerbach, another child Winton
rescued. Auerbach was 11 in July
of 1939, when he boarded the
London-bound train along with
his brother. “It was very moving
for me when I sat there today,”
he said. “I noticed that even the
president shed some tears.”
The final Kinderstransport
left Prague on Sept. 1, 1939.
However, it was forced to return
because of the outbreak of the
war, and none of the 250 children it carried survived the
Holocaust.
Winton’s story only came to
light in the 1980s, when his wife
discovered lists of names of the
children he rescued from Prague.
In 1988 he met around 80 of
those children for the first time
since the war in an emotional
encounter captured in a BBC
documentary.
In 1998, Czech President
Vaclav Havel decorated Winton;
Queen Elizabeth knighted him
five year later.
Mat j Miná , a Slovak-born
director, made three films about
Winton and his war time efforts
including the 2002 documentary
“The Power of Good,” which
won an Emmy Award.
Miná said that Winton, at
first, “did not want to talk about
himself at all. “It took us several
months to convince him that
those nine months he spent in
Prague was probably the most
important time in his life” the
filmmaker said. “His story is
amazing because he was no James
Bond. He just did what any decent person should have done
but didn’t.”
3
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
While threats to Israel surge, so does Christian Zionism, says Hagee
By Jacob Kamaras
JNS.org
While anti-Semitism in Europe and are on the upswing,
how is American Christian support for Israel trending? Stronger
than ever, says the founder of the
country’s largest pro-Israel organization.
“I can assure you that the
evangelical Christians of America support Israel right now in a
more aggressive mood than at
any time in my lifetime,” Pastor
John Hagee, national chairman
of the 1.8-million member Christians United for Israel (CUFI),
said in an interview.
Hagee’s assessment of the
pulse of Christian Zionism came
one day after 5,000 people attended the 33rd annual “A Night
to Honor Israel” at Cornerstone
Church in San Antonio, Texas.
CUFI’s goal is to facilitate that
same program in every major
U.S. city.
“We want to send the message to the world and to the Jewish people that Christians are
standing up for the state of Israel
and the Jewish people at home
and abroad,” Hagee said. “It’s not
conversation. It’s action.”
While Hagee Ministries fo-
cuses on faith and philanthropy,
CUFI’s mission is different: education and advocacy. Participants of the organization’s
annual Washington Summit visit
their local U.S. Senate and
House of Representatives members to urge the support of Israel.
Hagee cited those lobbying efforts as an example of Christian
pro-Israel advocacy that adds
value to what the Jewish community is already bringing to the
table, since members of Congress
are “not accustomed to gentiles
coming in their office, 75 or 80
of them from their district.”
“Whenever those kinds of
numbers come from your district
and say, ‘We are here to express
our support for Israel and we are
watching what Congress does
with regarding to this specific
thing, because this is great concern to us’—when the numbers
are enough it becomes of great
concern to every person running
for election,” Hagee said.
When it comes to current
pro-Israel causes, addressing the
Iranian nuclear threat is at the
forefront of the evangelical
Christian community’s thinking.
“We’re all sitting on pins and
needles, before November 24th,
waiting for the decision [in negotiations between Iran and the
P5+1 powers] to come down on
Iran’s nuclear bomb efforts, and
we all have this deep concern
that it’s going to be a negative
decision as far as Israel is concerned,” said Hagee. “[We fear
that] America will once again be
very conciliatory to Iran, and let
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dering Christians and decapitating children is one of the most
extreme forms of terror that we
have seen in our lifetime, but as
far as Christians supporting Israel
is concerned, we see it just as a
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Hagee said that Christian
Zionists see the ISIS threat
within the context of the historical persecution of Jews.
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Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Jewish News
■ Israel’s attorney general, Yehuda Weinstein, has called for
an explanation of a proposed order that would prevent Palestinian workers from riding Israeli buses. Weinstein ordered Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon to explain the new guidelines,
which will effectively ban the workers from the buses they ride
to their homes in the West Bank. The new rules, slated to take
effect in December, mandate that Palestinian workers return to
the West Bank only through the Eyal crossing, near Kalkilya in
central Israel, and continue on to their homes from there. Government officials insist that the proposed order was issued for security reasons alone. “The decision will not prevent
Palestinians from going to work and continuing to make a living,” an employee of the defense minister’s bureau told Haaretz.
“No one is stopping the Palestinians from continuing to work
inside Israeli territory and reaching their destinations. The opposite is true. This is purely a security-related matter.” Jewish
residents of the West Bank and their local governments have
waged a vociferous campaign over the last few years to prevent
Palestinians who work in Israel from using Israeli public transportation in the West Bank. Among their reasons, they cited a
lack of room on the buses for Jewish residents of the West Bank
and Jewish female passengers saying that they have been harassed by the Palestinian laborers.
■ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has just as
much right to build in Jerusalem as France has to build in Paris.
Speaking at the opening of the Knesset’s winter session, Netanyahu said Israel “has the full right to build the Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem.” “The French build in Paris, the English
build in London, the Israelis build in Jerusalem. Should we tell
Jews not to live in Jerusalem because it will stir things up?” he
asked. Netanyahu recently recommended that plans for about
1,000 housing units in eastern Jerusalem move forward. Israel’s
Channel 2 news reported that Netanyahu is also in negotiations with right-wing politicians and settler leaders seeking approval for a large West Bank development project, including
2,000 new units, 12 new roads, parks, student villages and renovation of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The United
States condemned the approval of the new housing units in
eastern Jerusalem Jewish neighborhoods. “If Israel wants to live
in a peaceful society, they need to take steps that will reduce
tensions,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
“Moving forward with this sort of action would be incompatible with the pursuit of peace.”
■ U.S. spy agencies hired at least 1,000 ex-Nazis during the
Cold War, a new book reports. According to Eric Lichtblau’s
“The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven
for Hitler’s Men,” excerpted in The New York Times, the CIA
and other American agencies employed large numbers of Nazis
as spies and informants and through the 1990s protected from
deportation and prosecution some who were living in the
United States. Citing newly disclosed records and interviews,
Lichtblau reports that the FBI and CIA knowingly recruited officials who had occupied high positions in Nazi Germany, including some known to be guilty of war crimes. One such spy
was involved in the Lithuanian massacre of tens of thousands
of Jews during the Holocaust; another worked closely with
Adolf Eichmann. Several spies were rewarded with U.S. citizenship. On several occasions, the book notes, U.S. intelligence
officials refused to cooperate with the Justice Department’s Nazi
hunters and urged them to drop investigations for fear of exposing their ties to American spy agencies.
■ A Pakistani university suspended three staff members for
allowing students to exhibit a display about Israeli customs and
traditions. The display, which included Israeli flags and photos
of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was part of a mock
United Nations program at International Islamic University in
Islamabad. Members of several student groups smashed the display’s contents, with some accusing the display’s creators of supporting Zionism. A university spokesman said the school
“strongly condemns” the hosting of the Israel display. Pakistan
and Israel have no diplomatic relations.
JTA
Contents
THE CHICAGO
JEWISH NEWS
Vol. 21 No. 4
Joseph Aaron
Editor/Publisher
6
Torah Portion
Golda Shira
Senior Editor/
Israel Correspondent
7
Election 2014
Pauline Dubkin Yearwood
Managing Editor
Joe Kus
8
Senior Living
10
Cover Story
Staff Photographer
Roberta Chanin
and Associates
Sara Belkov
Steve Goodman
Advertising Account Executives
Denise Plessas Kus
12
Death Notices
Production Director
Kristin Hanson
Accounting Manager/
Webmaster
13
Arts and Entertainment
16
Community Calendar
16
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Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Community Calendar
Saturday
November 1
Congregation Kol Emeth
presents Thornton Wilder’s
“Our Town.” 8:30 p.m.,
also 2:30 p.m. Sundays Nov.
2, 9 and 16 and 8:30 p.m.
Saturdays Nov. 8 and 15.
5130 W. Touhy, Skokie. $25,
$22 for CKE members, $10
students. OldWorldTheatre.com.
Sunday
November 2
Beth Emet the Free Synagogue presents Rabbi Herman Schaalman, rabbi
emeritus of Emanuel Congregation in Chicago,
speaking on “Where is Gd?” 9:30 a.m., 1224 Dempster, Evanston. Registration,
bethemet.org (under adult
education).
Ezra Habonim, the Niles
Township Jewish Congregation Men’s Club hosts
brunch featuring Those
Were the Days Radio Players. 10 a.m., 4500 W. Dempster, Skokie. $12 advance,
$15 door. Reservations,
(847) 675-4141.
North Boundary Hadassah
hosts “Cherish The Children” fund-raiser featuring
luncheon, silent auction,
raffles and entertainer
Matt Walch singing Big
Band standards. 11 a.m.,
Highland Park Country
Club, 1201 Park Ave., Highland Park. $45. Reservations, (847) 205-1900.
American Society of the
University of Haifa holds
first Chicago gala, “Celebrating the Future of Israel” with keynote speaker
Admiral (Ret.) Ami Ayalon
and guest performer David
Broza, with guests including University of Haifa Pres-
ident Amos Shapira and
Board of Governors’ member Michael Traison. The
Standard Club, 320 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago.
$360. [email protected] or
(312) 543-4904.
Central Synagogue of
Chicago hosts Scholar-InResidence Rabbi Peretz
Rodman speaking on
“Knowing What G-d
Thinks, Feeling What G-d
Feels: Judges and
Prophets Reveal Their Secrets” followed by reception. 6:30 p.m., 845 N.
Michigan, Suite 913E,
Chicago. Discounted parking at Water Tower Place
garage. CentralChicago.org
or (312) 787-0450.
tion presents America Recycles Day for clothing, bed
linens, towels and other
home goods (textiles in
poor condition are OK.) 9
a.m.-5 p.m. through Thursday, Nov. 6. 4500 W. Dempster, Skokie. (847) 675-4141.
Jewish Child and Family
Services presents workshop
on “Navigating the School
Environment to Support
Your Child’s Success.” 78:30 p.m., 5150 Golf Road,
Skokie. $15 (adjustable).
RSVP, marsharaynes@
jcfs.org or (847) 745-5408.
November 3
Temple Beth Israel Sisterhood presents ABC-Channel
7’s “The Hungry Hound”
host Steve Dolinsky. 7
p.m., 3601 W. Dempster,
Skokie. $5 suggested donation plus non-perishable
item for the Niles Township
Food Pantry. (847) 675-0951
or tbiskokie.org.
Wednesday
November 5
Tuesday
November 4
Congregation Beth Shalom
holds Holiday Faire. 3-9
Monday
p.m. Also 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 5., 3433
Walters Ave., Northbrook.
(847) 498-4100.
North Suburban Synagogue
Beth El hosts Freelance
Writing Workshop led by
author Amy Sue Nathan.
S E E C A L E N DA R
ON
Ezra-Habonim, the Niles
Township Jewish Congrega-
November 9
Remembrance
November 9, 1938
Kristallnacht
was the beginning of the
HOLOCAUST
The evil crime against humanity.
Throughout Germany and Austria, the
Nazis unleashed an organized program
against the people of the Jewish faith.
View powerful
Kristallnacht testimonials
and performances by
renowned cantors in a
stirring remembrance event at
www.JUF.org/11-9-1938
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Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Torah Portion
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Our first role model
Abraham shows
how important
convictions are
By Rabbi Doug Zelden
Torah Columnist
Torah Portion: Lech Lecha
Genesis 12:1-17:27
Being an observant Jew
sometimes puts me in strange
and awkward situations. One
such experience happened on my
trip to the AIPAC convention in
Washington, D.C. last year. I
wanted to get there on Sunday
morning early enough to get
through security and hear Shimon Peres speak at the convention. I had to leave Chicago
before morning light to do so, so
I figured that when I arrived at
Reagan Airport I would find a
quiet place, put on my tallit and
tefillin and recite the Shacharit
morning prayers.
To my surprise the airport
was bustling; there was not a
quiet place to be found. Having
no choice I donned my tallit and
tefillin and quietly recited my
morning prayers smack in the
middle of the airport terminal
with thousands of people walking
by. It was a bit awkward to say
the least; you can imagine how
many strange stares I received.
What was interesting is that
when I completed my prayers a
couple from Africa approached
me. What ensued was a 15minute conversation where I explained to them the basics of
Jewish prayer and why Jews wear
tallit and tefillin when they pray.
I wondered how many Jews
must have walked by me on that
morning with far less interest in
what I was doing than that couple. At the end of our conversation they asked me if I felt
strange doing what I did in the
middle of the terminal. I responded that when religious duty
calls there is no feeling strange.
To which they answered, “We
admire your religious commitment and conviction.”
This coming Shabbat we
will begin reading the story of
our forefather Abraham, the first
Jew. What made him so special
that G-d chose him to be the father of our nation? What, as the
first Hebrew, does he teach us
about our responsibilities as Jews?
Our Rabbis explain that Abraham reflects the quality of loving-kindness (chesed). He
teaches us the importance of
being kind and compassionate
people, always reaching out to
Rabbi Doug Zelden
help others.
While this description certainly describes Abraham and
obligates all Jews to be kind, it
does not reveal the totality of his
character. In fact there are a
number of stories that seem to
counter this idea. For example in
this week’s parsha, Lech Lecha,
Abraham banishes his own
nephew Lot, telling him that he
is no longer welcome to live in
the same place. Later on, at the
request of his wife, Sarah, he
again banishes Hagar, who is
pregnant with his child. These
hardly seem to be acts of lovingkindness.
To understand the true character of Abraham we must search
a bit deeper. There is a comment
made by Rashi that seems to shed
light on this question. At the end
of chapter 11 in last week’s Torah
Portion, Noach, it introduces us
to Abraham and his family.
There we are told the following:
“These are the descendants of
Terach, and Terach begot Abraham, Nahor and Haran. Haran
begot Lot. And Haran died in
front of his father Terach in the
land of his birth in Ur Kasdim.”
(Genesis 11:27-28)
Our commentaries were
bothered with the statement that
“Haran died in front of his father
Terach.” What does the Torah
wish to tell us in this statement?
Rashi quotes two explanations.
The first is that he died in the
lifetime of his father. The second
explanation of Rashi is based on
a well-known legend in the
midrash (midrash Rabbah 38),
which explains that Terach was
an idol worshipper. In fact he had
a shop where he sold idols. One
day he asked his son Abraham to
tend the store while he was away.
Abraham proceeded to smash all
of his father’s idols, leaving the
biggest one standing and placing
a sack of flower at its feet and a
hammer in its hands.
When Terach returned Abraham explained that a woman
came to offer flour to the idols. A
fight broke out between them and
the biggest idol won the fight,
claiming the flour for himself. The
midrash continues to explain that
Terach, the father, sensing that
Abraham was mocking his gods
delivered him into the hands of
Nimrod the great villain. Abraham then challenged Nimrod,
who thought of himself as a god,
telling him that if he could change
where the sun sets and rises every
day then he too (Abraham) would
worship him. Outraged, the
midrash explains, Nimrod threw
Abraham into a fiery furnace.
The story concludes that a
miracle took place and Abraham
emerged from the fires of the furnace unscathed. But the midrash
doesn’t end there. After delivering Abraham to Nimrod, Terach
turned to his son Haran and
asked him whose side of the situation he supported. He answered
that it all depended on who
would win the battle between
Abraham and Nimrod. When
Abraham emerged from the fire
unhurt Haran went to the side of
Abraham.
Outraged at the betrayal
Terach, their father, delivered
Haran into the hands of Nimrod.
(One thing is for sure, Terach,
according to this midrash, was
not a very good father.) Nimrod
did the same to Haran, throwing
him into the fires of the furnace.
But tragically there was no miracle in store for Haran; the flames
consumed him. This, explains
the midrash (quoted by Rashi), is
what the verse meant by saying
that “Haran died in front of his
father Terach.” It also explains
the end of the verse that states
he died in “Ur Kasdim,” the word
“Ur” meaning fire here. There
you have it, a long and troubling
midrash.
I still have one burning
question on this story. If Haran
sided with Abraham and was
ready to accept monotheism (belief and worship of Hashem, the
one and only G-d) and help
Abraham spread it to the world,
then why was no miracle performed for him? Why was Haran
not worthy to be saved from the
fires of the furnace? What differentiated him from Abraham?
I believe the entire story is a
parable teaching us a fundamental difference between Abraham
and the rest of the people of that
time. In one word the midrash is
telling us that Abraham had conviction. Haran did not but was
ready to jump on the band
wagon. He didn’t have any
strong beliefs that he was ready
to risk his life for. He was an opportunist who was ready to side
with the winner. Not so Abraham. He was a man of deep faith
and conviction. He believed in a
S E E TO R A H
ON
PAG E 1 0
7
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
2014
The race for governor: an interview with Pat Quinn
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn originally assumed the office in 2009
after Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached on corruption charges and
removed from office. Quinn was
Blagojevich’s lieutenant governor.
He was elected to a full term in the
2010 election and is now running
for what he has said will be his final
term if he wins.
Quinn, a Democrat, was born
in Hinsdale in 1948. Originally a
tax attorney with a law degree from
Northwestern University, he served
as an aide to several politicians, including Gov. Daniel Walker, then
began his political career in 1982
when he was elected commissioner
of the Cook County Board of Tax
Appeals. During this time, he created the Citizens Utility Board, a
consumer watchdog organization.
He was later elected state treasurer
and served from 1991 to 1995. He
was sworn in as lieutenant governor
in 2003.
He faces businessman Bruce
Rauner in the current gubernatorial
election. Libertarian Chad Grimm
is also running for the office.
The governor answered questions from Chicago Jewish News
during a telephone interview.
His experience and interaction with the Chicago Jewish
community has been extensive,
Quinn said. He worked closely
with community leaders in building the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center,
named a genocide commission
and appointed members of the
Jewish community to it, and has
worked closely every year with
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago on budget matters, making sure enough funds
are allotted for human services
that benefit the Jewish community.
“The Jewish Federation is
Illinois’ partner every step of the
way,” he said. He has worked
with the agency on hate crime
legislation, which is very important to him, he said.
The agency has also been a
helpful partner to the state in enrolling residents in health care
through the Affordable Care
Act, he said. “It’s important to
make sure that people have
health coverage,” he said, adding
that more than 700,000 Illinois
residents have signed up through
the ACA in the past year.
Quinn noted that in college
at Georgetown University one of
his professors was Jan Karski, a
Polish World War II resistance
fighter and Righteous Gentile
who reported to President
Franklin Roosevelt on the existence of concentration and death
camps. Roosevelt failed to act on
Karski’s intelligence, telling him
Gov. Pat Quinn
that the Allies had to win the
war before doing anything about
the concentration camps.
His professor’s story had a
profound impact on Quinn, he
said, and he has been “committed to the cause,” particularly
Jewish causes, ever since.
“Every member of the legislature who is Jewish is on my
side,” he said. “I was recently at a
gathering for Succot and I was on
Devon dancing with the rabbis”
on Simchat Torah. “Every year
we light the menorah at the
Thompson Center and I participate at the state capital in Holocaust Memorial Day. That is a
very solemn day when we vow
never to forget.”
Quinn has been to Israel
twice and said he is very impressed with the Jewish state. “Its
nickname is start-up nation,” he
said. “Israel is known for its
tremendous entrepreneurial energy and Illinois is one of the
leading states for trade with Israel, both imports and exports.”
On one visit he signed an
agreement between the University of Illinois and Ben Gurion
University of the Negev on water
issues, and also signed a “Sister
Lakes” agreement between Lake
Michigan and Israel’s Lake Kinneret.
“When I went to Tel Aviv, a
city a little more than 100 years
old, I thought about the things
that have happened in Israel in
such a short time,” he said. “I
look at the breadth of history. I
was born in 1948, so I pay close
attention to the history of Israel.
“We need to defend Israel at
all times. They are our demographic ally, our longtime friend.
We need to see that Israel is
safe,” he said.
He has also visited the
Auschwitz site with Fritzie
Fritzshall, a survivor of the camp
and former president of the
Holocaust Museum. The message
he took away from that visit, he
said, is “never forget, always remember, and educate everyone
to the horrors of genocide.”
On other matters, Quinn
said he thinks the most important issue facing Illinois is “the
need to have a fair budget. We
need to invest in education from
birth to college. We also need
revenue to invest in human services. We have to have enough
revenue for health care, human
services, services to help people
with disabilities, education,” he
said.
The latest report on the Illinois economy shows that it created more jobs than any other
Midwestern state and was second
in the country in job creation, he
said.
“If we have more jobs and
more people working, that helps
our revenue situation,” he said.
“If you’re breathing, we want you
working. Every time we can put
people to work it helps our community and our society.”
On the matter of President
Barack Obama’s presidential library, Quinn said he “fervently
hopes” it is in Illinois. (Obama is
reported to be mulling over several sites in the state as well as
some in Hawaii.)
Quinn said he doesn’t plan to
make a pick between competing
sites but “I think the best place
for it would be in Chicago.
(Obama’s) entire political career
was here in Illinois. We want to
work to increase tourism and visitors and this would be very helpful. Last year we had 10 million
tourists, and a presidential library
would enhance tourism and create more jobs,” he said.
He does not believe the state
should provide funding to build
the library – that money should
be privately raised, he said – but
can help with funding for new
roads or additional public transportation, if necessary.
Similarly, he said that after
the Illinois Holocaust Museum
was built he made sure there were
signs on either side of the Edens
Expressway showing where to get
off to visit the museum.
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PAG E 1 4
8
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Senior Living
Amid growing European anti-Semitism, new Jewish museum in Poland ‘reveals hope’
By Ruth Ellen Gruber
JTA
WARSAW, Poland – In a
Europe wracked by fears of rising
anti-Semitism, and in a country
whose Jews were all but annihilated in the Holocaust, a dazzling
new “museum of life” celebrates
the Jewish past and looks forward
to a vital future.
Polish President Bronislaw
Komorowski and Israeli President
Reuven Rivlin jointly inaugurated the long-awaited core exhibit of the POLIN Museum of
the History of Polish Jews, a more
than $100 million complex first
conceived more than 20 years
ago.
“It is not a museum of the
Holocaust, it is a museum of life,”
Rivlin, who was making his first
trip abroad since his election this
summer, declared at the opening
ceremony. “It is the place that
commemorates everything that
is gone and will never return.
And it reveals hope for a different
future.”
Komorowski stressed the
same hopes, declaring that the
museum opening was a historymaking event that bore witness
to Poland’s development into a
democratic state since the fall of
communism.
“One of the central themes
in our drive to freedom was to
put right the account of history
that had been corrupted, manipulated and distorted in so many
ways during the non-democratic
communist era,” Komorowski
said.
Before the Holocaust, some
A view of the reconstructed painted ceiling of the wooden synagogue of Gwozdziec, a key installation in the core exhibit of the POLIN Museum
of the History of Polish Jews. (JTA)
3.3 million Jews lived in Polish
lands. Thousands of survivors fled
anti-Semitism in the postwar period. The fall of communism
sparked a remarkable revival in
Jewish life and identity, but the
Jewish population today is still
tiny, estimated at 15,000-20,000
in a country of nearly 40 million
people.
“We are here!” Auschwitz
survivor Marian Turski, chairman
of the Council of the Jewish Historical Institute, one of the institutional founders of the museum,
said in an emotional speech at
the opening ceremony. “That is
the message: We are here!”
The museum is housed in a
shimmering glass building
erected on the site of the Warsaw
Ghetto facing the dramatic monument erected atop the rubble
left when the Nazis crushed the
ghetto uprising in 1943. Described as a “theatre of history,”
the core exhibit uses state-ofthe-art technology and multimedia installations to narrate 1,000
years of Polish Jewish history.
The exhibition’s eight thematic and chronological galleries
detail the complex ebb and flow
of Jewish life in Poland from the
early middle ages to the present,
including periods of prosperity as
well as persecution.
They recount grand events
but also use letters, diaries, photos and other intimate material
to provide personal viewpoints.
This is particularly notable in the
Holocaust gallery, which narrates
the history through the words
and deeds of the people who experienced it.
Other highlights include the
reconstructed and elaborately
painted ceiling and bimah of the
now-destroyed wooden synagogue in Gwozdziec (in presentday Ukraine) and a painted
animation of 24 hours in the life
of the famous yeshiva in
Volozhin (now Belarus).
But the core exhibit is only
part of the story.
The museum’s impact
“stretches way, way beyond the
building,” said Piotr Kadlcik,
president of the Union of Jewish
Religious Communities in
Poland. “And it’s not about a museum of the history of Polish Jews
– it’s about Polish Jews. History
means past, and it’s not about the
past.”
Hundreds of thousands of
people – Poles and Jews, locals
and foreigners – have visited the
museum in the 18 months since
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O N N E X T PAG E
9
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Senior Living
CONTINUED
F RO M P R E V I O U S PAG E
the building was opened to the
public. Organizers expect a halfmillion or more each year now
that the core exhibit has been
opened.
The museum is part of a
wider movement since the fall of
communism “to reconnect with
the past, including the Jewish
past,” said Dariusz Stola, the museum’s director. “The museum is
the most visible element in this
movement. But without the
broader movement it wouldn’t
have happened.”
This broader movement includes a number of new Jewish
studies programs at Polish universities, new or revamped museums, permanent exhibits and
memorials on Jewish or Holocaust themes in a number of
provincial towns and scores of
grassroots initiatives ranging
from Jewish cemetery cleanup
actions to Jewish culture festivals. This year alone, some 40
Jewish culture festivals took
place in Poland, mostly in places
where no Jews live today.
“The Jewish presence in Polish consciousness is vast, vast,”
said Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, the program director of the
core exhibit. “It means that there
is a kind of inverse relationship
between the numbers of Jews living in Poland and what we call
Jewish presence in Polish consciousness.”
The POLIN museum was
built as a public-private institution, with the Polish government
and the city of Warsaw providing
$60 million for construction and
more than 500 private and institutional donors, many of them
Jewish, contributing $48 million
for the core exhibition.
“Though Europe has seen a
recent rise in anti-Semitism, in
Poland we are seeing a revitalization of Jewish life and culture
that is being experienced by –
and truly driven by – both
Poland’s Jewish and gentile communities,” the San Franciscobased philanthropist Tad Taube,
head of Taube Philanthropies
and the Koret Foundation, said
in a statement.
The two organizations were
the largest private donors to the
museum with a total contribution of $16 million.
“The opening of the POLIN
Museum of the History of Polish
Jews is a game changer that will
break down negative stereotypes
about Poland,” Taube said.
The hope, his statement
added, is that its lessons “will
have ripple effects throughout
Eastern Europe as Poland’s neighbors seek to develop their own
major modern cultural institutions and broader, more inclusive
narratives of their multicultural
histories.”
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Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
20 years
Chicagoland Jewish
High School
Wishes a Hearty Mazal Tov to
Chicago Jewish News
on its 20th Anniversary!
Thank you for your devotion
to the Jewish community!
1095 Lake Cook Road
Deerfield, IL 60015
Chicagoland
Jewish
High School
847.470.6700
www.cjhs.org
A partner in serving our community, supported by
the JUF/Jewish Federation.
www. chicagojewishnews .com
The Jewish News place in cyberspace
By Joseph Aaron
Editor
20 years.
20 years. I truly cannot believe it.
It’s been 20 years, two
decades, since a handful of us set
out to do something no one in
this community had ever done.
Publish a weekly Jewish
newspaper dedicated to the highest ideals of both Judaism and
journalism.
The truth is that for most of
the history of the American Jewish community, Jewish newspapers didn’t care very much about
journalism. They didn’t see it as
their job to do what newspapers
do, namely to act as watchdogs,
to take on controversial issues, to
take provocative stands, to be
objective, to give voice to all
sides equally and fairly.
For most of American Jewish history, most American Jewish newspapers were content to
publish recipes, show photos of
organizational meetings, print
press releases of upcoming events
and that was about it. The old
joke was that Jewish weeklies
should actually be called Jewish
‘weaklies.’ Weak on the journalism.
That slowly began to change
35 or so years ago, just as I was
graduating from journalism
school, when literally one or two
Jewish journalists recognized that
the health of a Jewish community depended to a large extent
on the strength of its weekly
Danziger
newspaper. That may sound pretentious, arrogant even, but
there is a reason the founding fathers of this country put the
guarantee of a free press in the
very first amendment of the Bill
of Rights. The first amendment,
signaling how very important a
free press was to a democracy.
It is just as important to a
Jewish community. Especially
today. And yes, I’ve heard of the
internet.
See the thing about the internet is that it’s good at fast but
not so good at deep. The thing
about the internet is that opinion trumps fact, and that literally
anyone can say anything, no filter. A nut sitting in his basement
in his underwear can produce a
website as attractive as the New
York Times, giving his rants a status they do not deserve, with no
one to edit them. You may think
that’s a good thing, but it’s not.
Editors are there to make sure as
best as they can that every word
of every article is true, that all
facts are correct, that appropriate
context is provided.
But what is most dangerous
about the internet is that people
for the most part only go to sites
with which they agree. Meaning
they only read what confirms what
they already think, only hear
voices that sound just like theirs.
The Jewish community already has too much of that.
Which is why there is so much
Jewish disunity, the Jewish
world’s ticking time bomb.
The biggest problem in the
Jewish community is that Jews do
not have much if any contact
with Jews who are not like them.
Meaning they don’t hear different points of view, don’t see that
you can be a good Jew in a way
different than I am a good Jew,
don’t know what’s going on in
the other parts of the Jewish
community. More and more do
Jews have less and less to do with
each other, contact with each
other.
That’s where a Jewish newspaper comes in. When we cover
a story, we give all points of view,
all sides. And so when our readers read us, they not only read
the voices with which they agree
but the voices with which they
don’t. And that’s vital. For the
only way to respect other Jews is
to listen to them, understand
where they are coming from.
One of the things that has
me made happiest these past 20
years is our Torah column, which
each week looks at the Torah
portion of the week and each
week is written by a rabbi from
another Jewish denomination. I
have been so pleased to hear
from so many Chicago Jews how
much they enjoyed reading a
CONTINUED
O N N E X T PAG E
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Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
CONTINUED
F RO M P R E V I O U S PAG E
Torah column by a rabbi from a
denomination that is not theirs,
how much they learned from it.
And frankly how much they
were surprised by that.
That’s because we have
these misconceptions about each
other, we pigeonhole each other
and because we have so little to
do with each other, we so much
tend to misjudge each other.
These days it’s not “okay” to go a
synagogue that is not of your denomination, and so you don’t
hear from rabbis who don’t share
your piece of Judaism. But in a
Jewish newspaper, you can be
Orthodox and safely read the
Torah column written by a Reform rabbi and you can be Reform and safely read the Torah
column written by an Orthodox
rabbi. And see how much we
have in common, how much
alike we are, despite the prejudices on both sides.
In 20 years, we’ve published
more than 1,000 Torah columns
written by hundreds of Chicago
rabbis. And tens of thousands of
Chicago Jews have benefited from
the learning and wisdom of all
those rabbis, not been excluded
from hearing what those who
don’t share their label have to say.
In 20 years, we’ve published
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more than 1,000 issues with tens
of thousands of stories covering
an incredibly broad array of people and topics, covering the entire gamut of this community,
reflecting all points of view, all
geographic areas, all political positions. It’s the only place in this
community, a safe place in this
community, where all Jews can
connect.
That’s because we are open
to and respectful of all Jews and
that’s because we’re an independent publication, meaning
we are not part of any organization and so not pushing any
agenda, are not confined to pro-
moting ourselves but rather
charged with a mission to promote everyone and everything in
the community.
Being independent is a big
thing and an increasingly rare
thing. There are very few newspapers in the American Jewish
community today that are truly
independent. And it’s no coincidence that the rise in Jewish disunity has taken place during the
decline of Jewish journalism independence.
We are proud, and kind of
amazed, to have made it to our
20th anniversary. I can assure
you it hasn’t been easy, that there
have been many bumps along
the road, some self-inflicted,
some that have come at us from
the outside, for one reason or another. But it’s been 20 years and
here we are, having put out more
than 1,000 issues, having not
missed one week.
I am both amazed and heartened when I sit and look at all
the more than 1,000 cover stories we have done to see just how
many Chicago Jews we have profiled, just how many Chicago
Jewish organizations we have
portrayed, just how many events
we have covered, just how many
SEE 20
Learn
Lead
Inspire
ON
Spertus Institute for Jewish
Learning and Leadership
this year marking our
90th anniversary
wishes a very happy
20th anniversary
to our colleagues at the
Chicago Jewish News!
Amyra W. Henry, LCSW, ACSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
847.380.2591
[email protected]
Spertus Institute is a partner in serving our community, supported by the JUF/Jewish Federation.
How time flies.
My first article in the Chicago Jewish News appeared on February 7, 1997
called Mourning Hebron, almost 18 years ago. For me personally it came at a
time when I began a journey back to my Jewish/Zionist roots. Ever since I have
believed that supporting a Jewish newspaper in Chicago is of the highest
importance especially for the majority which are non-Orthodox three day a
year Jews. I say that with nothing more than a reality that for many years I was
part of. Publishing a newspaper in today’s day and age is difficult and publishing a Jewish newspaper with a multiplicity of opinions is especially challenging. A Jew doesn’t have to agree with everything that is written (we’ll save that
for the day of the Moshiach) but it is important to reflect on the issues we do
agree with as well as the issues we don’t agree with. That has been the magic
that has kept our people’s dream going over the millenniums. Netzach Yisroal
Lo Yeshaker/The splendor of Israel – both our Land of Israel and its most special
people – will not(and has not) deceived.
Am Yisroal Chai!
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE FIRST 20 YEARS
OF THE CHICAGO JEWISH NEWS.
Jack ”Yehoshua” Berger
PAG E 1 7
12
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
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they resent that which works,
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hate Jews are announcing, is if
they wore a button, ‘Hello, I’m
evil.’ That is the way it is. … The
Jews carry the burden of G-d in
history. Even Jewish atheists,
even Jews who hate being Jews,
even Jews who hate Israel – the
anti-Semite doesn’t distinguish.
Zionists went into gas chambers,
anti-Zionists went into gas
chambers, Orthodox Jews went
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Director of Shmira
Jerry Sadoff
F RO M PAG E
3
continuum of the terrorist organizations that have been formed
over the years that have a
covenant to kill every Jewish
person on the face of the earth,”
he said, citing Hamas and
Hezbollah as well as their state
funder, Iran.
Popular radio talk show host
and author Dennis Prager made
a similar point, telling the crowd
at Cornerstone Church that no
matter who is being persecuted,
understanding the battle against
evil is about “understanding the
Jews’ role.”
“How people regard Israel is
a litmus test of their whole values system,” Prager said. “Do
Torah
CONTINUED
F RO M PAG E
8
great ideal and he was ready to
die for it. He was ready to smash
everything false even if it belonged to his father and he was
ready to confront the most evil
and powerful man of his time
even though it could have meant
death. The message of the
midrash is that when you have
conviction you can emerge from
the greatest fire, but when you
have no conviction the fire consumes you.
Abraham is the first Jew because to be a Jew means to stand
for something. It means to have
conviction and to be ready to go
all the way for that conviction.
Abraham teaches us that when
you believe in something then
you have to be prepared to jump
into a fiery furnace to uphold it.
Isn’t this one of the secrets of
Jewish survival? How many Jews
throughout history were ready to
die “Al Kiddush Hashem” for
their beliefs? Are the Jewish people not here today because of the
self-sacrifice of Abraham and all
who followed in his footsteps?
With this in mind donning
a tallit and tefillin in the airport
among thousands of staring
passers-by was really not that big
of a decision at all. May we all
stand by our Torah convictions
and Jewish values no matter
what the circumstance!
Rabbi Doug Zelden is the rabbi
of Congregation Or Menorah (Orthodox) in Chicago and chaplain of
Home Bound Hospice.
13
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Arts & Entertainment
Israel, unseen and on screen
Annual festival
offers ‘big tent,’
many premieres
By Pauline Dubkin Yearwood
Managing Editor
Israel is bursting with untold
stories both past and present.
This year the ninth annual
Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema will tell some of them.
From an Iraqi Jewish woman’s search for her lost father to
a glimpse into the inner lives of
young Israeli army recruits, this
year’s 18 films will offer a look –
dramatic, comedic, factual, farcical – into the country that seems
to have an unending roster of stories behind the story, according to
Cindy Stern, the festival’s executive director.
The festival continues
through Nov. 9 at two venues,
AMC Northbrook Court and
Chicago’s Music Box Theatre,
with a total of 30 screenings. (For
the complete schedule visit .)
Stern notes that 12 are either
world, United States, North
American or Chicago premieres
and that the festival also includes
appearances by a number of directors and producers.
They include top Israeli director Avi Nesher, whose film
“The Wonders” opened the festival on Oct. 29, and Nancy Spielberg, sister of Steven, whose
documentary “Above and Beyond,” showing on Nov. 4, details
the little-known story of the
founding of the Israeli Air Force.
(All films have English subtitles.)
One of the films to watch
for, Stern said in a recent phone
conversation, is a documentary
called “Shadow in Baghdad.”
“It’s the story of a woman
(journalist Linda Abdel Aziz)
who stayed in Iraq longer than
most other Jews, until the early
1970s,” she says. “Her dad was a
prominent lawyer, and one day he
just disappeared. She never knew
what happened to him. More
than 40 years later she was blogging about it and an Iraqi Muslim
contacted her and said, I want to
help you find your father.”
The film details how the two
built trust, then went to Iraq to
retrace the father’s steps. The
filmmaker, Duki Dror (“Incessant Visions”), whose parents
were also Iraqi immigrants, will
be on hand Nov. 2 to discuss the
film, as will Linda Abdel Aziz’s
daughter.
A feature film, “The Dove
Flyer,” about a Jewish teen in
Iraq in the 1950s, covers some of
the same territory form a fictional perspective, Stern says.
“Most Jews in Chicago are
Ashkenazim and don’t know the
story of the story of the Mizrahi
– the Jews that came from Arab
lands,” she says. “It’s kind of an
undertold story. The Jews were
there for 2000 years and had to
leave. We have a documentary
and a feature film on this subject
and that is really educational for
our audience.
“Israeli documentaries are so
good, they play like narrative
films,” Stern adds. “They’re very
engaging and tell wonderful stories. It’s hard to believe they are
true. They are very entertaining
and educational.”
Two special themed nights
also distinguish this festival, Stern
says. Tuesday, Nov. 4 is devoted to
films by and about women. Included are Michal Aviad’s “the
Women Pioneers,” about young
women who came to Israel, mostly
from Russia, to help build a new
state nearly 100 years ago.
“They were very well educated, affluent, idealistic,” Stern
says. “They decided it was really
important to them to assert
themselves as women and to live
in a more egalitarian society.
They wanted to prove themselves. They were feminists before the word was coined. They
worked really hard to build a new
society, have new rights and define themselves as women in a
new way.”
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14
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
2014
Quinn
CONTINUED
Challenger Bruce Rauner
F RO M PAG E
7
Reflecting on the best things
about Illinois, Quinn said the
number one factor is “our people,
the men and women of Illinois,
their skill and education. I recently welcomed home 245 National Guard members who were
serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We have generous people who
volunteer. We have great diversity and we celebrate our diversity. I recently signed a bill for a
marriage equality law. It’s important that we celebrate our diversity. We have people from so
many places. Our diversity is our
strength.”
The second best thing about
Illinois, he said, is “we’re right in
the middle of the country. We
have great transportation –
planes, trains, autos, roads, airports. Also our workforce. Some
of the largest companies in
America are coming to Illinois.
We have a well-educated workforce right in the center of the
country with great transportation.
With two of his recent predecessors having gone to prison,
Quinn said he is not worried
about the same thing happening
to him. “I follow my conscience
and I always do the right thing,”
he said. “I have passed and enforced strong ethics laws. You
have to judge a person by their
lifetime commitment to public
service, which my two predecessors didn’t have,” he said.
Asked why he is more qualified to be governor than his opponent, Quinn said he doesn’t
want to say anything negative
about his opponent, but wants
voters to know that “I had to rescue Illinois from one of the most
dire emergencies we’ve ever had
– two governors in jail, a terrible
recession. We had a huge budget
deficit and I had to get the economy back on track. I have a
record of supporting the Jewish
community and standing up for
Illinois to get us out of hard
times.
“Look at five years ago. Illinois is a lot better off but there is
still more work to do. I want to
partner up with other countries,
especially Israel, that have dynamic economies so that we can
help each other.”
His final words to Illinois
voters, he said, are, “I ask humbly
for their vote. Before I was governor I started a group called the
Citizens Utility Board. It’s the
largest consumer group in the
state and it’s growing stronger.
That’s where my heart is, making
sure to protect everyday people.”
Businessman Bruce Rauner,
an Illinois native, is running for his
first elective office as he challenges
incumbent Pat Quinn for governor of Illinois.
Rauner, a Republican, graduated from Dartmouth College
and earned an MBA from Harvard University. He returned to
Illinois in 1981 and began working at a private equity company,
GTCR, where he later became the
chairman. After retiring from
GTCR he launched a self-financed venture firm, R8 Capital
Partners. He has held numerous
civic offices, including as co-chairman of the Chicago-China Initiative, chairman of Choose Chicago
and of the Chicago Public Education Fund.
Rauner answered questions
by email that Chicago Jewish
News sent to his campaign. Some
of the answers have been edited
slightly for length.
Why should a Chicago
Jew vote for you?
Like everyone in Illinois,
Jewish families are suffering
under Pat Quinn – a 67 percent
income tax hike, runaway property taxes, massive cuts to education, rampant corruption and
silence in the face of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel boycotts. I
want to take Illinois in a new
direction. I will roll back the
Quinn income tax increase,
freeze property taxes, increase
education spending and stand
up to anti-Israel forces in our
state. I am the first candidate in
America to propose divesting
state funds from international
firms that boycott Israel – a
powerful initiative to combat
the BDS movement. While Pat
Quinn has been silent on these
issues, I will always speak out
against anti-Semitism and antiIsrael boycotts.
How familiar are you with
the Jewish communities in Illinois?
My wife Diana and I have
been supporters of the Jewish
community and Israel for years.
As members of Am Yisrael in
Northfield and supporters of
Jewish charities from Federation to Shalva to the Ark, we
have given back to our community. As governor, I’m going to
work closely with the Jewish
communities across Illinois on a
daily basis.
Have you visited Israel? if
yes what were your impressions of the country?
I have. Diana and I took
the kids to Israel a couple of
years ago. We loved it. It was
amazing. Our daughter loved it
so much she decided to live on
a kibbutz in the Negev for a
year after high school. Diana
and I are very pro-Israel – I’m
committed to doing whatever I
can to strengthen our ties with
Israel when I’m governor. That
means expanding trade, sister
city relations, investments in Israel Bonds – and most importantly to me, standing up to the
global boycott movement that’s
been targeting Israel. I believe
we should take a bold step and
divest state funds from any international firm that participates in a boycott of Israel. That
would be historic. Unfortunately, our governor has cowered to anti-Israel voices in our
state. Whether it was staying
silent on Sen. Ira Silverstein’s
resolution condemning anti-Israel boycotts or remaining
silent on recent events at the
University of Illinois, Pat
Quinn has not stood up to be
counted when Israel needed his
support. That’s wrong; that’s
going to change when I’m governor.
What do you think are the
three most critical issues facing Illinois? And specifically
what would you do to address
each of the three?
1) Job creation and economic growth. Instead of improving our economic climate,
Pat Quinn has made job creation harder. Today, Illinois has
the worst job growth rate of any
state in the Midwest. It took
eight months to add a single job
to our economy this year. During that period, twice as many
people gave up looking for work
than got jobs. There is no excuse for that.
My tax reform plan completely eliminates the QuinnMadigan 67 percent tax hike in
four years, resulting in a 3 percent income tax rate and 4.8
percent corporate income tax
rate, just like we had in 2010. It
also modernizes the sales tax,
closes the corporate loopholes
and freezes property taxes. It reduces taxes on work, savings
and investment, which will result in more of each.
2) Investing in education.
Getting a good education
makes anything possible. It allows anyone from anywhere to
achieve the American dream.
My wife and I are passionate
about education and believe it
is the most important thing we
do as a community. That’s why
we’ve devoted so much time
and energy into improving education in Chicago and throughout Illinois.
We want every child to
have an opportunity. Public
charter, opportunity scholarships, magnet schools or traditional – whatever works. A
high-quality education is the
key to economic empowerment,
higher lifetime earnings and a
competitive, world-class workforce.
Unfortunately, Pat Quinn
is failing the children, parents
and teachers of Illinois. He has
bungled the state’s finances so
much that even after hiking
taxes and taking more than $25
billion from Illinois taxpayers
since 2011, he still cut education spending by $500 million.
That’s wrong; I’ll increase education spending.
3) Term limits and government reform. Four of our last
seven elected governors went to
prison. Pat Quinn is now the
subject of two federal grand jury
corruption
investigations.
Meanwhile, investigators report
that illegal patronage hiring
skyrocketed under Quinn. Let’s
face it – Pat Quinn’s no reformer; he was Rod Blagojevich’s chief defender when Rod
was under federal investigation
– and now Quinn’s under federal investigation too.
But we’ll need more than
term limits to clean up Springfield. When I’m governor, we
will end illegal patronage hiring, halt the revolving door of
lobbyists, restrict outside income for legislative leaders, stop
conflicts of interest in the General Assembly, revoke state pensions for convicted felons, shine
light on pork-barrel earmark
spending, stop the gerrymandering of legislative districts and
prohibit political slush funds.
What makes you more
qualified to be the governor
than your opponent? Please be
specific.
After 12 years of Pat Quinn
and Rod Blagojevich, we’ve lost
our way as a state. We have
high unemployment, high
taxes, lost opportunities, deteriorating schools and massive
corruption. We need a new direction. I’m not a politician like
Pat Quinn. I’ve never run for
office – not even student council. I’m a business builder and
an entrepreneur. I grew up in
Illinois and I love this state. My
dad worked for Motorola and
my mom was a nurse. My wife
Diana and I raised six children
here, and we’d like to see Illinois become a great place again
for every family. We are a state
with tremendous potential.
Are you in favor of president Obama building his presidential library in Chicago? If
yes, would you be for the state
Bruce Rauner
helping to provide funding to
make that happen?
I think having a presidential library in Chicago would be
an incredible economic benefit
to Illinois, especially when you
think about tourism. Given the
state of our economy right now,
this project should be funded
privately, not using public
funds. And I’d be happy to contribute personally.
How can you be sure that
unlike most recent Illinois
governors you won’t wind up
in jail some day?
You know, when we were
deciding whether I should run
for governor and we were sitting
around the dinner table when
my daughter says to me, “Daddy
don’t run for governor, I don’t
want you to go to jail.” True
story. But it’s a tragic reminder
that four of our last seven
elected governors went to jail.
Here’s the bottom line: I’m
nobody nobody sent. I can’t be
bought, bribed or intimidated. I
won’t take a salary and I won’t
take a pension. I’m not looking
for a political career or a government paycheck. I have one
agenda – shaking up Springfield
and bringing back Illinois.
What have you learned
about the state that you didn’t
know before the campaign
began?
This campaign has been an
incredible experience to travel
across the state and meet with
voters in every corner of Illinois. I’ve been to 99 of 102
counties. Everywhere I go, I realize more and more how much
unites us as citizens of this great
state and country. Across all
communities, across all political
affiliations, we all share the
same basic goals – a better future for our kids, a booming
economy where everyone can
find a good paying job, worldclass schools and a government
that works to make life easier,
not harder, when it comes to income and property taxes.
15
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
2014
Rematch in the 10th District
Democrat Brad
Schneider
Rep. Brad Schneider, a Democrat, currently represents Illinois’
10th District in Congress. He
pulled off a surprise victory over incumbent Bob Dold in a close race
in 2012. Now the two are facing
each other again.
Schneider, who is Jewish,
earned a degree in industrial engineering and an MBA from Northwestern University. He spent 20
years in a career in business and
management consulting. In Congress he is a member of the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs.
He talked to Chicago Jewish
News about the upcoming election
and the issues he is focused on.
Schneider said a Jewish
voter, in particular, should
choose him because “within the
Jewish community there are two
very strong, important issues.
One is social issues, tikkun olam,
taking care of our neighbors,
making sure the future for generations to come is prosperous and
secure. My work goes back to the
Young Leadership Division at the
(Jewish) Federation, 30-35 years
ago. It’s something I have always
done and been committed to and
am leading on in the House.”
The second reason, he said
Republican
Robert Dold
Robert Dold is a native of the
10th District he seeks to represent.
He holds a law degree from Indiana
University and an MBA from
Northwestern University’s Kellogg
School of Management. Before
running for Congress, he ran Rose
Pest Solutions, said to be the oldest
pest management company in the
United States.
Dold, a Republican, was
elected to Congress in 2010, where
he served on the Committee on Financial Services. He lost to Brad
Schneider in 2012 in a close race.
The 10th District covers parts
of Cook and Lake counties, including many of Chicago’s northern
suburbs, and has a large proportion
of Jewish voters.
Dold recently talked to
Chicago Jewish News about the upcoming election and the issues the
district faces.
Tenth District voters should
choose him over his opponent,
Bob Dold said in a recent telephone interview, because “I’m a
in a recent telephone interview,
“is the strong U.S.-Israel relationship, something I have been
actively engaged in my entire
life. I’ve been a member of
AIPAC since college, 30 years
ago. Even though this is my first
term (in the House) I’ve already
clearly established myself as a
leader in protecting the U.S.-Israel relationship. Other members, both Democratic and
Republican, come to me for a
deeper understanding of the issues,” he said.
“Working with my Republican colleagues I’ve been able to
introduce legislation ensuring Israel’s qualitative military edge,”
he said. “That includes increasing sanctions on Iran so Iran does
not have a nuclear capability and
always ensuring that the U.S.-Israel relationship is strong, steadfast and secure.”
This election differs from the
one two years ago, when he also
ran against Robert Dold, because,
although the issues are very similar, “we both have records now,”
Schneider said. “People can see
who best reflects their values and
priorities, whether it is protecting
Medicare, moving forward with
the Affordable Care Act or the
right for women to make their
own choices,” he said.
“We talked about these issues
last election, and Dold (when he
was in the House) voted to limit
women’s right to make their own
fiscal conservative and a social
moderate, not only on matters
relating to Israel but on things
that matter to the 10th District.
No one believes Washington is
working right now, and they
want people who can reach
across the aisle and break the political gridlock and get things
done.”
This election is different
from the one two years ago because “I’m going to win this election,” Dold said. “Look at what’s
going on. There is a different political dynamic happening. Look
at one term versus one term. (He
and Schneider have each served
one term in the House.) If people actually take the time to look
they’re going to come our way
overwhelmingly. It comes down
to bipartisan leadership. I want
to represent the whole district,
not just one political party.”
The most important issue
facing the district, he said, is
“jobs. The economy is still the
number one issue. People are sitting around their kitchen tables
while the cost of food, gas, education, insurance, everything has
increased. That makes it harder
to raise a family than it did five
years ago.”
Rep. Brad Schneider
choices seven times and voted
200 times against the environment. This time, I’ve worked hard
to protect and secure Medicare
and Social Security for the long
term and make sure we keep our
promises to our seniors. I voted
against the Ryan Plan (a budget
plan that would cut Medicare and
Medicaid and shift other funding
sources) and I voted against the
repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
I am committed to building on
what is strong in the Affordable
Care Act and fixing what isn’t,”
he said.
He said he has a “100 percent” record on reproductive
choice and has been endorsed by
Planned Parenthood and JACPAC, and the Sierra Club has
given him a 100 percent rating
on environmental issues.
Robert Dold
Another important issue is
immigration reform and third is
the cost of education. “We need
to allow people to follow their
dreams, whether it’s becoming a
welder or getting a Ph.D.,” he
said.
Another, he said, is tax reform. “We need a tax code that
works for everyone, not just the
well connected, so we can attract
businesses to the 10th District
and our community.”
In terms of supporting Israel,
“I am an AIPAC guy. My opponent is a J Street guy,” he said.
“That is the difference. It comes
“As they did last time, voters will see that my values and
priorities are a much better fit
with theirs,” he said.
In terms of Israel, “any representative from the 10th District is going to be pro-Israel,” he
said. “The difference is my ability to immediately step into a
leadership role. If I win the election there will be 19 Jewish
members of Congress – the lowest number in decades – and only
a handful of us who have the
depth of understanding and experience to lead on U.S.-Israel issues.”
On another pressing issue,
ISIS, he said “the world is looking to the U.S. for leadership. It
is a clear and present danger not
just to people living with brutality in Iraq and Syria but to the region and the world. It is
imperative that the international
community join together to contain ISIS.”
He said he supported a move
to allow U.S. soldiers to train
Syrians to fight against ISIS, but
“it is the people living in the area
that have to stand up to ISIS.
But I think it’s also important for
the U.S. to provide air support
and other resources to push ISIS
back.”
On the Ebola crisis, he said
he supports efforts to channel
travelers coming from affected
areas to a limited number of airports and to screen anyone at po-
tential risk.
“One of my concerns in general, more broadly, I’ve seen
many efforts to cut our investment in public health, not only
as it relates to Ebola,” he said.
“There are 750,000 hospital-acquired infections in the U.S.
every year, and we need to reduce that number generally. Cutting public health is the wrong
way to do it.”
The most crucial issue facing
the 10th District, he said, is
“growing our economy. I believe
we have to grow our economy
from the middle out. We need to
create avenues of opportunity. In
contrast, Dold supports the Ryan
Plan, a trickle-down, top-down
approach – giving subsidies to
the biggest companies, tax credits to the wealthy and most fortunate and hope it trickles down
to everybody else. That’s in
essence the Ryan Plan.”
Instead, he said, “we should
be growing our manufacturing
base, investing in infrastructure,
closing the skills gap and continuing to invest in education at all
levels. We should be promoting
exports but the Republicans are
trying to kill them.”
“We need to make sure we
keep the commitment to the
next generation,” he said. “Just as
our parents gave us a better future, this generation deserves the
promise of a better future than
what our parents gave us.”
down to holding the administration accountable, speaking out
on the floor when the administration is doing things we disagree with. When (Secretary of
State John) Kerry comes out and
talks about an apartheid state, I
would have been on the floor,
saying, that is unacceptable.
“In the midst of a conflict
with Hamas, the administration
comes out saying we have to approve military munitions to
them. My opponent was not
vocal in opposition. We need a
person to speak out. The world
cannot perceive any daylight between the U.S. and Israel. What
is good for Israel is good for the
U.S. We need to make sure the
world knows there is no daylight.
Some people may be getting the
wrong impression,” he said.
On the issue of ISIS, “it boils
down to leadership and the absence of it. Where is America?
The world is asking. It’s not just
ISIS – the military exercises in
North Korea, Russia with
Ukraine, the genocide in Syria,
Iraq, Hamas in Gaza, Libya.
With all these things that are
happening, we’ve taken our eyes
off the ball,” he said.
“ISIS is a threat. If we take
(Defense Secretary Chuck)
Hagel at his word, it is an imminent threat to our security. We
need to make sure we are rooting
it out. We need to build a coalition so ISIS is dealt with once
and for all.”
As for the Ebola threat, “the
administration was slow in their
initial response,” he said. “You
can see what happened in Dallas,
in New York, see the mistakes.
You can try to rectify it with
flights coming in to Chicago. We
have to put protocols in place, so
population centers know exactly
what should be done and what
the best practices are. I would
not be opposed to limiting travel
visas” from countries where the
Ebola epidemic exists, he said.
His message to voters, he
said, is “the 10th District is a microcosm of the country. We have
a large and diverse population.
We need to end the gridlock in
Washington. Nothing is happening in the country. Get Democrats and Republicans working
together to solve problems. You
have got to have give and take
and negotiations to move things
forward for our country and the
people who are hurting right
now.”
16
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
Film
CONTINUED
F RO M PAG E
13
The film includes plentiful
archival footage and words from
some of the women’s diaries.
After the film Northwestern
University professor Phyllis Lassner will lead a discussion.
The evening will also include Nancy Spielberg’s “Above
and Beyond.” “It’s another untold story about the founding of
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the Israeli Air Force, mostly by
Jewish World War II fighter pilots,” Stern says. “They were recruited secretly, and they all
dropped everything and went.
It’s an amazing story about this
ragged group of guys and the
planes they smuggled in, these
planes that were falling apart.”
The film includes interviews
with some of the pilots who are
still alive and special effects from
George Lucas’ Industrial Light &
Magic, she says. Spielberg will be
on hand to discuss the film.
The next night, Nov. 5, will
be the festival’s first Teen Night.
The main event will be a documentary, “Beneath the Helmet,”
exploring the lives of five young
Israeli soldiers. They’re a diverse
group – male, female, secular, religious, Israeli and a new immigrant, Stern says.
“Why it’s so relevant for
teenagers is that it shows these
new recruits into the IDF.
They’re just 18 years old. Most
kids here are going to college at
that age and they’re being inducted into the Israeli army and
they have to put their lives on
hold.” The five recruits include a
“party girl” from Tel Aviv and a
lone solider, Stern says.
“This really will make kids
here think about their lives, what
matters to them, what they
should be grateful for, what are
the possibilities of what they can
do,” she says.
The evening includes three
other short films. “Broken Branches” follows a young woman as she
listens to her 92-year-old grandmother telling the story of how
she came to Israel, alone, at age 14.
“Mika’s Homecoming,” described
as the Israeli version of “Mean
Girls,” follows a teen who has to
readjust to life in Israel when she
moves back after living in the
United States for several years.
The evening concludes with
“The Dove Flyer,” about a Jewish
teen in Iraq in the 1950s and said
to be the first film ever recorded in
the Jewish Iraqi dialect of Arabic.
Special $5 tickets are available for Teen Night; visit
cficteennight.eventbrite.com.
The festival concludes on
Sunday, Nov. 9 with encore
showings of two films shown earlier in the run, “The Wonders”
and “Magic Men,” and the
Chicago premiere of the documentary “Master Class,” about
special needs adults who make a
film about their two-year experience in an acting studio.
Stern says that when it’s all
over she hopes the festival will
have fulfilled what she sees as its
mission. “We try to build a really
big tent,” she says, “and be inclusive for everybody.”
Chicago Festival of Israeli
Cinema continues through Nov. 9
at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N.
Southport, Chicago and Northbrook Court, 1525 Lake Cook
Road, Northbrook. For show times,
prices and special events, visit israelifilmchi.org.
American Hebrew Academy offers elite,
unique education
The American Hebrew
Academy was created in the fine
tradition of the world’s elite
boarding schools like Eton College, Exeter, Lawrenceville, and
Choate. As a catalyst for the
next generation of Jewish leadership, the Academy provides the
finest educational opportunities
that groom graduates for admission into prestigious colleges and
prominent positions in the Jewish and secular worlds.
The American Hebrew
Academy has surpassed expectations of students and parents
with classroom, athletic, and residential facilities that are second
to none. Located on 100 scenic
lakefront acres in Greensboro,
North Carolina, with a mission
to educate future leaders and enrich Jewish identity, the American Hebrew Academy is the only
International Jewish, college
prep, boarding school in the
world - a concept that is absolutely unique in Jewish circles.
Offering a state-of-the-art environment that fosters academic
achievement and strengthens
Jewish knowledge, the Academy
is home to academically adventurous students in grades 9 – 12
from 26 countries and across the
Calendar
CONTINUED
F RO M PAG E
United States. Its dual curriculum presents a rigorous academic
environment designed for students to reach their full potential.
Faculty hail from around the
globe helping students excel in a
scholastic program that includes
Advanced Placement, college
level and Jewish Studies courses.
In addition to the dual course of
study, experiential learning plays
a major component for students.
With class trips around the
United States and an 11th grade
trip to Israel which lasts for 10
weeks, students are thrust into an
“organic” learning environment.
“Our students learn 24 hours a
day,” says Academy Executive
Director Glenn Drew. “Teachers
serve as mentors, coaches and
friends so whether a student is in
the classroom, in the pool, or at
the lunch table, our learning environment is constant and dynamic.”
A complete learning environment is best seen in the classrooms of the Academy which are
ideal, nurturing intellectual curiosity. Each student receives a
tablet computer, the “Learning
Tables” accommodate no more
than 12 students and interactive
SMART Boards allow students
and teachers to engage in a
multi-dimensional atmosphere
that enhances learning at every
stage.
The 88,000 square foot
Aquatics Center and Sports
Complex provide a holistic educational experience reflective of
a strong commitment to lifelong
wellness. An internationally recognized coaching staff motivate
student athletes to reach their
full potential. Study of the Arts
is a necessary component of
every student’s education and
over 30 arts electives are offered
each year.
At the Academy, values and
leadership skills are enriched by
the culture, customs and history
of the Jewish people. Academy
students graduate thoroughly
prepared for college and ready to
make a meaningful impact in the
world.
Sunday
$25, $18 Spertus members.
spertus.edu or (312) 3221773.
November 9
5
10:30 a.m., 1175 Sheridan
Road, Highland Park. Reservations requested, [email protected] or (847)
432-8900 Ext. 234.
Simon Wiesenthal Center
presents “The Untold
Story: Jewish Refugees
from Arab Countries” featuring Shir Mnuchi, descendant of a Jewish refugee.
Noon, Sidley Austin LLP,
Conference Room 37N11, 1
S. Dearborn, 37th Floor,
Chicago. $18. Pre-registration required, www.wiesenthal.com/wednesdays2014.
Photo ID necessary for access. No walk-ins.
Thursday
November 6
Ezra-Habonim, the Niles
Township Jewish Congregation Sisterhood hosts
“Kvetch As Kvetch Can,”
an evening of viewing Jewish cartoons featuring Ken
Krimstein and dessert reception. 7:30 p.m., 4500 W.
Dempster, Skokie. $5. (847)
675-4141.
Beth Emet the Free Synagogue presents program by
the Chicago Center for Jewish Genetics on hereditary
cancers. 9:30 a.m., 1224
Dempster, Evanston. Registration, bethemet.org
(under adult education).
Illinois Holocaust Museum
and Education Center commemorates 76th anniversary of Kristallnacht with
viewing of “A Voice
Among the Silent: The
Legacy of James G. McDonald” followed by discussion with Dr. Barbara
McDonald Stewart and
filmmaker Shuli Eshel, 1
p.m., and commemorative
candle lighting ceremony
followed by debut of Al
Gruen’s film, “Kristallnacht
Remembered” narrated by
Regine Schlesinger. 3 p.m.,
9603 Woods Drive, Skokie.
Free with museum admission. Reservations required,
ilholocaustmuseum.org/eve
nts.
Spertus Institute for Jewish
Learning and Leadership
presents One Book One
Community kickoff featuring “Old Land, New Land,
Holy Land” with music by
Stuart Rosenberg. 2 p.m.,
610 S. Michigan, Chicago.
Do you know an outstanding
young person who would benefit
from this one of a kind environment? Please call the American
Hebrew Academy at (336) 2177070 or e-mail [email protected].
StandWithUs Chicago hosts
Campus Champions Gala
honoring Janice and Steve
Hefter, with keynote
speaker Brooke Goldstein
and music by Shakshuka. 5
p.m., Highland Park Country Club, 1201 Park Avenue
West, Highland Park. $100
advance, $125 door. Registration, standwithus.com.
Ketura Hadassah hosts
brunch and trip to Paramount Theatre in Aurora to
hear new group, “Under
the Streetlight.” Coach departs 10:45 a.m., returns 6
p.m. Proesel Park, 6856 Kildare, Lincolnwood. $100.
(847) 673-0773. RSVP, [email protected] or (773)
761-6862.
Monday
November 10
Milt’s BBQ for the Perplexed hosts author Yochi
Dreazen speaking about his
new book, “The Invisible
Front: Love and Loss in an
Era of Endless War.” 6
p.m., 3411 N. Broadway,
Chicago. Reservations, (773)
661-6384.
17
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
20
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F RO M PAG E
11
topics we have explored.
20 years is a very long time. And that we have made it this far,
lasted this long, is truly a testament to G-d’s mercy and kindness.
I’m not joking. When I look back at all the obstacles we have overcome, at all the challenges we have faced, at, yes, all the ugliness
and underhanded and slimy tactics that have been thrown at us, I
can only thank G-d that He has allowed us to survive.
I have no doubt I have aged 60 years in these past 20 years. I
must tell you the hardest thing about this adventure has been dealing with those Jews who don’t agree with a position we’ve taken or
who haven’t liked a stand we’ve advocated. And who have decided
it was their noble mission to then do what they could to destroy us.
It’s happened more than once, happened most often during the
peace process, happened in the wake of my calling out the guilty
after the Rabin assassination, happened when we had the courage
to be the very first Jewish newspaper in this entire country to make
public the sexual abuse going on in some corners of the community
and the as shameful covering of it up by spiritual leaders. I am so
proud that we have had the guts to say what needs to be said when
it needed to be said, to not shy away from looking at problems too
long ignored, to not fear criticizing those who deserved it. And proud
that we did all that knowing there was a price to be paid. And yet
each time I must admit I was stunned, stunned that Jews who didn’t
like us telling the truth, who didn’t like us advocating some position
could think it was the right thing to try to hurt us.
But that’s the Jewish world today which is why an independent Jewish newspaper, a newspaper with the courage not to be
cowed, the commitment not to be stopped, is so very important.
The Torah itself teaches us that the truth matters most of all. It
doesn’t shy from telling us about one brother killing another, about
brothers selling a brother into slavery, about how human beings
can be. The Torah is our guiding light.
But while I have the scars to prove Jewish journalism ain’t
bean bag, the fact is that most of the people we have dealt with are
what has made putting out this paper so meaningful and so fulfilling. I can’t tell you how many people and organizations each and
every week ask us to do this story or that. And I can’t tell you how
often, after we’ve done a story, that person or organization tells us
how much positive feedback they got, how much good it did them.
And I can’t tell you how many people constantly tell me how absolutely essential it is that there be an independent newspaper in
this community, a place that serves as a watchdog, that is committed to presenting all points of view, to taking on all issues, to giving equal treatment to all organizations.
We are so grateful for all the positive feedback and all that psychic support. It has let us know what we do matters, makes a difference, has had a real impact. And we are so grateful to all those
who have advertised in our pages, knowing that their message will
be seen and avidly read by loyal readers who trust us, and so give
credibility to those who advertise in our pages. And we are grateful to those who have made donations to our not for profit fully tax
deductible supporting foundation, the Chicago Jewish News Front
Page Council in Memory of Chaim Zvi, which is named for my father, who very much encouraged my journalistic aspirations, who
taught me to read the newspaper every day. Starting of course with
Kup’s Column.
I am always surprised when people say it wasn’t until college or
even after college or even way after college before they decided
what they wanted their career to be, what they wanted to spend
their life doing.
That sure wasn’t the case for me. I have wanted to be a journalist since I was five years old and have never wanted to be anything else. I could not imagine a more exciting, more interesting
way to spend your life than to go places, meet people and come
back and write a story telling others about what your saw, heard
and learned. I feel the same way today and have never ever once
felt otherwise.
I have always believed, and believe it more than ever after putting out the Chicago Jewish News for 20 years, that journalism is
a calling, for it is about bringing out the truth, giving people information, helping people by giving them all sides so they can decide what they think for themselves, inspiring people by letting
them know about people and things they would not otherwise
know about.
One of the questions I am most often asked is how difficult is
it to keep coming up with ideas for stories, ideas for the column I
write each week. In looking back at 20 years of stories, at 20 years
of covers, at 20 years of columns, I am kind of amazed at how easy
SEE 20
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18
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
By
Joseph
Aaron
This week’s colun begins on page 10.
20
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F RO M PAG E
17
it’s been. The Jewish world, the Jewish community of Chicago are
places with so many fascinating people doing so many fascinating
things, with so many worthy organizations doing so many noble
things, that it isn’t hard at all to find what to write about. I must
admit that every time I do what I did recently, namely look at each
of the more than 1,000 covers we have produced, that I get a chill
up my spine, in awe of the diversity and vibrancy of the Jewish people and the Chicago Jewish community.
But while finding story ideas may be easy, putting out a quality newspaper each and every week, 52 weeks a year, for 20 years,
is not easy, if you want to do it right. Yes, you can have an idea for
a story but then comes the hard work, making sure to find the right
people to interview, making sure you cover all aspects of the story,
give all sides, provide the context and the background, find the
right photos and art to illustrate it all.
Journalists care about such things, newspapers care about such
things. And there is no reason Jewish journalists and Jewish newspapers should not as well. But Jewish journalists and Jewish newspapers go beyond that, for we also care about Judaism, about the
Jewish community. We don’t sit up in a tower serving some faceless
mass of readers, we are of the community, in the community, part
of the community and we care about its welfare and its future. We
are objective in our journalism, but not at all objective about our
love of Judaism.
And we very much believe we do our part for the Jewish future,
do our part for its healthy present by providing the best journalism
we can, week in and week out. A Jewish newspaper provides something very unique and special to the community, something that
can be gotten no place else in the community.
Which is why, if you will indulge me, I would like to list by
name the people who work at Chicago Jewish News, whose commitment and dedication is beyond belief, whose talents and creativity are inspiring, who put up with a lot, who don’t make a lot,
but who believe a lot in our mission and our purpose and who know
what a difference good journalism makes.
There is Roberta Chanin and Sara Belkov and Denise Plessas
Kus and Joe Kus and Golda Shira, who have been here every single day for all of our 20 years. There is Pauline Dubkin Yearwood,
who has been here for most of the 20 years. And there is Steve
Goodman and Jacob Reiss and Kristin Hanson who have been here
for many of those 20 years.
That’s it. That small band sells the ads, designs the pages,
writes the stories, handles the subscriptions, takes the photos, operates our website, puts out our annual Guide to Jewish Chicago,
does everything that is required to put out a newspaper each and
every week, 52 weeks a year.
We’ve been doing that for 20 years, for more than 1,000 issues. 20 years that have seen the election of Chicago’s first Jewish
mayor and America’s first black president, seen the earliest Rosh
Hashanah in more than 100 years and seen the only time
Chanukah and Thankgiving fall on the same day for the next
70,000 years, seen the horrific tragedies of the assassination of a
prime minister of Israel and the murder of 3,000 innocents on Sept.
11, seen the joyous occasions of the 50th anniversary of Israel and
the 3,000th anniversary of Jerusalem, seen not so nice Jewish girl
Monica Lewinsky and very not so nice Jewish boy Bernie Madoff,
seen how true is the saying that Jews are news.
We’ve been there for every Jewish event, major and minor, the
last 20 years, and that is thanks to you, to each and every one of you
who have supported us, advertised with us, given us story ideas,
criticized us, praised us, been interviewed by us, but most of all
picked us up and read us.
We have no idea what stories will be out there the next 20
years but we look forward to covering them, to bringing them to
you and to, with you, making this an even better, stronger, healthier, more open, more inclusive, more unified, more Jewish Jewish
community.
19
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
ADVERTISEMENT
Dilemma
A Letter to theAri’s
World
from Jerusalem
Hashem will send in your midst attrition, confusion, and worry, in
your every undertaking …, because of the evil of your deeds….
Hashem will strike you with madness and with blindness, and with
confounding of the heart. … Hashem will lead you…to a nation you
never knew…. You will be a source of astonishment, a parable, and
a conversation piece. … And among those nations you will not be
tranquil, there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; there Hashem
will give you a trembling heart, longing of eyes, and suffering of
soul. (Deut. 28:20-65)
It must be “the occupation,” writes Shavit, as the glitterati swoon over his
book. I can’t remember any other book reviewed with such vigor both from the
Right and the Left. His book, My Promised Land, can be read on several levels
and should be studied for what it says and what it implies. Words are important,
but their interpretation too often gets lost in translation. I reflect on the words of
another Israeli who, coming to terms with reality, had the honesty not to blame
it on the occupation. Speaking eloquently of his dilemma, Yair Lapid, liberal
bon vivant, upset Israel’s “Gray Lady” of the Left, Ha’aretz, when he opined:
While it may be true that the humane thing is to remove the
roadblocks and checkpoints…to enable the Palestinians freedom of
movement in the territories, to tear down the bloody inhumane wall,
to promise them the basic rights ensured to every individual – it’s
just that I will end up paying for this with my life….Petty of me
perhaps to dwell on this point, after all, how important is my life
when compared to the chance for peace, justice and equal rights.
But still, call me a weakling; call me thick-headed – I don’t want to
die. (Arutz Sheva, 9/1/12)
Quintessential sanity, affirming that the world may one day regain hope
for the future.
To be honest, I relish those moments when the words of the narcissists of the
Left, who believe they are above the mundane realities of everyday man,
contradict themselves by admitting to their innermost fears. Ari Shavit, a
journalistic prince and most thoughtful writer, failed for too long to see the
obvious. He was looking so hard to place blame, seeking redemption from his
own personal guilt and that of his great-grandfather, Herbert Bentwich, who
made aliyah in 1897 with a dream that has chased Ari all the days and nights of
his life. But Ari knew that he too was complicit in “the hideous occupation” by
virtue of his beloved high-rises in Tel Aviv, his opulent mansions of Herzliya,
his upscale palaces of culture and his gated communities of Netanya, Caserea,
Haifa, Ashkelon… Hiding in these salons of hubris were his ghosts of guilt, the
haunting reminders of his failure to keep faith with his great-grandfather’s
dreams and with his G-d. Run, Ari, run. And so he has. But even as he basked
in societal comforts of groupthink and his monetary salvation, his magnum
opus, My Promised Land, tells the story that all his running was to no avail. His
great-grandfather’s love is embedded too deeply – and there were always those
moments of truth he sought to evade. Yet every once in a while Ari the WASP
(“White Ashkenazi Supporter of Peace,” page 255) would cast a moment’s
glance in the mirror, and Truth would smile back – in the image of his greatgrandfather. No other title could capture Ari’s personal covenant as precisely as
My Promised Land!
The peace story is also my story. For upper-middle-class secular
Ashkenazi Israelis like me, peace…defined our identity…. Peace
was our religion. … But only when I turned thirty and began
listening seriously to what Palestinians were actually saying did I
realize that the promise of peace was unfounded, …bogged down
by a systematic denial of the brutal reality we live in. … [T]he Left
endorsed the unsound and irrational belief that ending occupation
would bring peace. … The Left adopted the peace illusion… (My
Promised Land, pages 252-254).
Ah, such beautiful words, if only fleeting, the “ peace illusion” is shattered by
the fallacy of his premise. “It must be the occupation!” Reflected in the mirror
was the pintele yid, this great-grandson, standing on the shoulders of the “rigid
and pedantic” Bentwich whose “dominant traits are arrogance, determination,
self-assurance, self-reliance and non-conformity.” Yet Ari also describes him as
“very much a romantic” whose manner is “that of a nobleman.” (pages 6-7) Ari
the romantic is in many ways a chip off the old Bentwich block. Except that
Bentwich, the Jewish bible-thumper, had taken to heart in not-so-jolly London
the words G-d spoke to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses, “I give this
Land to you as an everlasting covenant.” Ari admits that had he met Herbert
Bentwich, “I probably wouldn’t have liked him.”(page 7) You see, Ari’s lapses
with truth won’t last. After all, there were dinner parties to attend and flattering
interviews to grant. The articulate mad hatter had to run to his next affair, for
there was an audience to entertain and blame to place. It couldn’t be the fault of
his infallible Left. They were too sophisticated, too intellectual, too clever.
Gullible, never. Surely not naïve. They had the certitude that distinguished the
refined from the rabble of the settlements, and after all, “It’s the occupation.”
A soul lost in the cleverness of words, he genuflects to the mantra, “It’s the
occupation.” Occupation and the settlers are obviously to blame. If it weren’t
for the occupation and the settlers, the world would be kinder, gentler … philoSemitic. After all, Jew hatred is so passé. “Then we Israelis could live our lives
like Europeans – universalists – no longer living lives of intellectual squalor in
our Israeli ghetto.” Ring out, O Liberty, Equality, Fraternity! …(Well, maybe
not fraternity.) But had Ari lforgotten Bilaam’s blessing? “Behold! [Israel]
is a nation that will dwell in solitude and not be reckoned among the
nations. … How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O
Israel!” Proudly standing behind his secularism, he thought he could run
away…I’m not a settler and I despise the occupation, he pleaded. But the world
followed him, tugging at his coat, grabbing at his sleeves, pulling at the very
fiber of his being. Ari cannot escape the dreams of Great-grandfather Bentwich
or his great-grandfather’s courage and love of the Land. Yes, Ari may smile and
possess a clever wit. He may accept the accolades of the masses who don’t see
beyond his mask, the critics who don’t hear the anxiety in his voice, and his
accomplices who have their own agendas. But it always comes back to Greatgrandfather Bentwich’s haunting smile.
Is Ari a fraud? Not really. Just a bit fearful of the responsibilities of his
heritage that he unwillingly became part of – a uniquely privileged heritage
laden with familial history – a heritage he sometimes wants to escape. Yet his
title bespeaks his truth, My Promised Land. He cries out to all within earshot,
It’s not me! I’m fair; I’m just. I’m sensitive. I’m part of all mankind. I want to
repudiate my great-grandfather, the fanatic, the usurper. Let me be like every
man! His shadow chases him in the moonlight. It is told that Jewish men in
ancient Greece stretched their prepuce—Ari stretches his words – I’m innocent.
It’s the settlers. It’s that damned occupation… Ari knows that behind his
smiling Cheshire cat-like mask he is not innocent. And the haters hated him
even more for his protestations that he is not one of those Jews, because they
know different. Does Ari really believe they believe his lies? For all his efforts
to deceive them and make them out for fools, they hate him even more.
Where can Ari hide? Behind his words at Ha’aretz, for a time; but its
circulation is shrinking. Gideon Levy and Amos Schocken are not amused. He
may soon have to face the truth alone: It’s not the occupation! It’s that smiling
Jew in the F-16; the smiling Jew who discovers that life-saving drug. It’s that
smiling Jew who made the desert bloom – and is building, seemingly against
the odds, the most incredible country in the world. It’s that Jew standing on the
podium accepting another Nobel Prize; and it’s the Jew who is less than a
quarter of one percent of the world population – a mere speck of a people, who
punches well above his weight. It’s the Jew who studies three thousand year-old
writings with devotion and love. It’s that Jew who accepts responsibility for
being “a light unto the nations” and is happy to share his gifts with the world –
triumphant and unafraid of being called “Jew.” It’s the Jew for whom the words
“My Promised Land” evoke nachas. Kafka would be proud.
Ari writes, “I love Mohammed [Palestinian-Israeli attorney Mohammed
Dahla (Mo for short), who Ari explains acquired a national Palestinian
identity at the university (page 315)]. He is smart and engaged and full of life.
He is direct, warm, and devilishly talented. …We hold common values and
beliefs [which Ari doesn’t actually believe]. And yet there is a terrible schism
between us.” (pages 323-324) Yes, the schism between Ari and Mo is a
reflection of Ari’s conundrum of Lydda 1948, a fairytale of sorts, where
Shmaryahu Gutman, the Jewish military governor of Lydda took control of the
Arab population after the battle and confronts the Arab dignitaries:
THE ARAB DIGNITARIES ASK:
“What will become of the prisoners
detained in the mosque?”
SHMARYAHU GUTMAN ANSWERS:
“We shall do to the prisoners what
you would do had you imprisoned us.”
ARABS: “No, no please don’t do that.”
GUTMAN: “Why, what did I say? All I said is that we will do to you
what you would do to us.”
ARABS: “Please no, master. We beg you not to do such a thing.”
GUTMAN: “No, we shall not do that. Ten minutes from now the
prisoners will be free to leave the mosque and leave their homes and
leave Lydda along with all of you and the entire population…”
ARABS: “Thank you, master. G-d bless you.” (page 122)
But what about that massacre – Don’t we need the massacre?!
Mo is Ari’s friend because he is “smart and full of life” but also because he
speaks the truth, even if Ari refuses to hear it. Mo whispers in Ari’s ear, “If the
Palestinians’ rights are not respected and Palestinians’ equality is not
guaranteed [impossible], that will lead to the beginning of the countdown to
the outbreak of Palestinian riots within Israel [your Promised Land]. …
The future is ours. …No matter what tricks you try, you will not be able to
maintain a Western state with a Jewish character here. … We will be your
masters, and you will be our servants.” (page 323)
Yes, as Ari writes, there is indeed a schism. Mohammed understands who he
is and what he demands. With a smile and a cup of tea, his eyes twinkling, his
words may be spoken softly, but they are unequivocal and uncompromising:
We will slaughter the Jews…we will again dominate you, while Ari hears only
what he wants to hear. Lydda is Ari’s fairytale. His friendship with Mo is his
lie. It is not the occupation, dear Ari. Remember, “Israeliness is familyness.”
(page 416) Great-grandfather Bentwich is smiling, with tears of pride running
down his cheeks. His dream has been imprinted on Ari’s psyche, and Ari must
now choose: Will it be the schism with Mo or a great-grandfather’s blessing to
his great-grandson — the miracle of your Jewish Promised Land. Your heart
implores you to make the right choice, Ari.
In memory of my special friend, Rabbi William Z. Novick z”l
Shabbat Shalom, 10/31/14
Jack “Yehoshua” Berger
20
Chicago Jewish News - Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 2014
✑✍❚❁❐❆✿❄❉■❇❂❁▼▲✿❁❂❃❄❅❆❇❈❉❊❋●❍■❏❐❑❒▲▼◆❖◗❘❙❚❀✑✒✓✔✕✖✗✘✙✐✍✝✻✽✼✛✌✎✏
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