THE CHICAGO Jeremy Wynes is heading up the new Chicago office

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JEWISH NEWS
THE CHICAGO
January 23 - 29, 2015/3 Shevat 5775
www.chicagojewishnews.com
One Dollar
READY
FOR
2016
Jeremy Wynes
is heading up the
new Chicago office
of the Republican
Jewish Coalition
and hoping to get
Jews here to vote
for the GOP
‘Selma’ and its
missing rabbi
Who murdered
Alberto Nisman?
Rabbi Goldhamer on
G-d and free will
Midwest anti-Semitism 2014
2
Chicago Jewish News - January 23 - 29, 2015
Nisman mystery: Hezbollah, Argentine gov’t fingered in death of prosecutor
By Uriel Heilman
JTA
The mysterious death of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman seems ripped straight out of
a crime thriller.
Nisman – the indefatigable
prosecutor collecting evidence of
culpability in the 1994 bombing
of the AMIA Jewish center in
Buenos Aires, which killed 85
people – was found dead in his
apartment just hours before he
was to present evidence to Argentina’s congress that he said
implicated his country’s president and foreign minister in a
nefarious cover-up scheme.
The charge? That the two
agreed to whitewash Tehran’s
role in the AMIA bombing in
exchange for oil shipments to en-
ergy-hungry Argentina.
Nisman’s body was discovered in his 13th-floor apartment
with a single gunshot wound to
the head.
Officials connected to the
president, Cristina Fernandez de
Kirchner, quickly said evidence
pointed to suicide, noting that a
.22-caliber pistol and spent cartridge were found near Nisman’s
body.
But the suicide theory was
dismissed out of hand on the
streets of Buenos Aires and
among people around the world
familiar with Nisman and his
work investigating the AMIA attack. Instead, they said Nisman,
51, was the victim of foul play.
The suicide theory lost more
ground with the revelation by
the prosecutor investigating Nisman’s death, Viviana Fein, that
no traces of gunpowder were
found on Nisman’s hand. There
also was no suicide note.
“The idea of suicide I think
is nonsense,” Abraham Foxman,
national director of the AntiDefamation League, said.
The investigation of the
1994 bombing – the deadliest
terrorist attack in Argentine history and one of the worst incidents of anti-Jewish violence in
the Diaspora since World War II
– was seen as hopelessly inept
and corrupt until Nisman took
over the case in 2005.
There were no significant
arrests for years after the AMIA
bombing, which was preceded by
the deadly 1992 bombing of the
Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires
that killed 29. After 20 local
men, including 19 police officers,
were put on trial in 2001 on
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Demonstrators at the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires protesting the
death of federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman. The banner at left reads "I
am Nisman. I am the republic.” (JTA)
charges of involvement in the
Jewish center attack, the investigating judge, Juan Jose Galeano,
was caught on video offering one
of the men a bribe in return for
evidence. The case collapsed, the
police were acquitted, and
Galeano eventually was removed
from the case and impeached.
Appointed to take over the
case by then-President Nestor
Kirchner, the late husband of the
current Argentine leader who
had called the handling of the
case a “national disgrace.” Nisman launched a more professional investigation. He traced
the links from the Iranian leaders who ordered the attack to the
Hezbollah operatives who
planned its execution, formally
charging Iran and Hezbollah in
2006. Interpol eventually issued
arrest warrants for six Iranian officials in connection with the
bombing, including Iran’s defense minister at the time,
Ahmad Vahidi. The Islamic Republic denied any connection
and refused to hand over the suspects.
Nisman and his investigating team continued to press forward with their effort to bring
those responsible to justice. He
was slated to present his evidence to Argentina’s congress
the day after his death.
“I’m following the wishes of
relatives and looking for a way to
get them some closure,” Nisman
said. “I cannot give up on ways of
trying to get justice.”
Among Argentina’s 200,000
Jews – the largest Jewish community in Latin America – Nisman,
who also was Jewish, was seen as
a crusading hero.
So who could have wanted
him dead? Many Argentines are
pointing the finger at President
Kirchner. Thousands had gathered outside the presidential
palace to protest Nisman’s death,
with some holding aloft signs
reading “Cristina murderer.” The
hashtag #CFKAsesina – Kirchner’s initials and the Spanish
word assassin – was one of the
top topics trending on Twitter in
Argentina.
In Jewish and Israeli circles,
some analysts speculated that
Nisman may have been killed by
Hezbollah, whose operatives
were fingered for carrying out the
AMIA bombing on behalf of
Iran.
Just hours before Nisman’s
death, several Hezbollah fighters
were killed in an airstrike in
southern Syria attributed to Israel. Among the dead were Mohammed Allahdadi, a general in
the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard, and Jihad Mughniyeh,
son of the late Hezbollah mastermind Imad Mughniyeh, who was
killed in a February 2008 car
bombing in Damascus. Mughniyeh was the one whom Nisman
found had coordinated and oversaw preparations for the AMIA
bombing.
Hezbollah accused Israel of
being behind the airstrike. Israeli
officials, adhering to protocol in
such cases, declined to comment.
Could Hezbollah have
pulled off Nisman’s killing so
quickly after the airstrike in
Syria? It would be uncharacteristic for the Lebanon-based group,
which typically has carried out
its well-planned reprisals months
or years after Israeli attacks. But
some analysts noted Iran and
Hezbollah have sleeper cells that
can carry out operations on short
notice.
Nisman had made several
prescient references to the possibility of his untimely demise, saying, “I might get out of this
dead.”
Rabbi Sergio Bergman, a
Jewish leader and member of Argentina’s congress, called Nisman, who is survived by two
daughters, “victim 86 of the
AMIA attack.”
Argentine-Israeli journalist
Roxana Levinson, whose uncle,
Jaime Plaksin, was killed in the
AMIA attack, said Nisman’s
death was devastating.
“This death is like another
bomb,” she said. “It’s a death sentence for truth and justice in the
AMIA case.”
3
2014 top ten worst anti-Semitic/anti-Israel incidents in the Midwest
Since 2010, the Simon
Wiesenthal Center has released
an annual global “Top Ten Worst
Anti-Semitic/ Anti-Israel Incidents” focusing on incidents in
the mainstream of culture, politics, and religion. For the first
time, the Wiesenthal Center is
releasing a regional Top Ten for
the Midwest.
#1 “Wanted to make damn
sure I killed some Jews before I
died”
Frazier Glenn Cross Jr. a former KKK Grand Dragon, pulled
up outside the Jewish community
center and Jewish Home for the
Aging in suburban Kansas City,
Kansas, just before Passover.
Cross later told a reporter that
he, “Wanted to make damned
sure I killed some Jews… before I
died.” Within minutes, three
people – none of them Jews – lay
dead in the parking lot. In December, Cross, 74, was found
competent to stand trial.
#2 Anti-Irsael rally in
downtown Chicago threatens
annailation of Israel
Last summer’s war between
Israel and Hamas in Gaza
spawned international protest
against the Jewish state in Europe and North America. Two
rallies in downtown Chicago in
July took on a violent and antiSemitic tinge. Protesters were
holding signs with the words “Israel You Will Pay, Your Annihilation is On Its Way” and
placards with Holocaust and
anti-Semitic imagery. Protesters
also demonized all supporters of
Israel by distributing pamphlets
declaring, “Zionism is the Enemy
of Humanity.”
Comparisons between Nazism and Israel were prevalent at
both rallies. There was a display
of an Israeli flag with bloodstained children’s handprints,
calling the Israelis – ‘Nazis’ and
equating the Star of David with
the swastika.
#3 Swastikas & anti-Jewish messages in West Rogers
Park, Chicago
The Far North Side neighborhood of West Rogers Park was
vandalized with anti-Semitic
messages and imagery at the end
of 2014. Graffiti was spraypainted throughout this heavily
Jewish neighborhood, including
a synagogue and multiple garage
doors of private residences. The
messages included swastikas, the
Star of David, and phrases such
as “F*** Yall Jews”.
#4 Chicago public school
anti-Semitic bullying incident
An eighth grade Jewish student at the Ogden International
School, a part of the Chicago
Public School system, suffered
anti-Semitic bullying and taunting for weeks during the school
year before teachers and officials
finally intervened. The harassment escalated quickly from just
a few students to a larger group
who created a team in the online
game Clash of Clans entitled
“Jew Incinerator Clan.”
The description of the team
read, “Heil! Throw Jews into
ovens for a cause. We are a
friendly group of racists with one
goal- put all Jews into an army
camp until disposed of. Sieg!
Heil!” The students used this
game as a catalyst to spread hate
and anti-Semitic sentiments,
quickly gaining the support of
other students.
Despite requests from the
targeted student’s parent, the harassment continued for weeks
without intervention from the
school. Not until the media
picked up the story was some action taken. The bullies received
only a brief suspension, while officials said they would use the incident as a ‘teaching moment.’
#5 Farrakhan delivers ‘Satanic Jews’ speeches across the
Midwest
Nation of Islam leader Louis
Farrakhan’s “Part 2” of his Sav-
iours’ Day address in Chicago on
March 5, included multiple blatantly anti-Semitic screeds.
Among the highlights of the
hateful address: “Satanic Jews…
control everything and mostly
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Jewish News
■ Google Street View returned to Israel three years after it
first photographed the nation’s streets. The Google cars and tricycles, fitted with 360-degree cameras to take panoramic images, will visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and other cities in
order to update the online mapping tool. Google Street View
provides a 3-D view of buildings, landmarks and streets around
the world. The images from Israel were posted on the Internet
in April 2012. Israel’s Justice Ministry set several conditions for
its approval to photograph city streets, including the right for Israelis to request further blurring of residences and license plates.
Israeli officials reportedly had been concerned that terrorists
would use the service to plan attacks in Israel.
■ The family of a Jewish boy killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook
Elementary School massacre is one of two families suing Newtown, Conn., and its school board for alleged lax security. The
parents of Noah Pozner, as well as Jesse Lewis, filed the lawsuit.
It reportedly is seeking more than $15,000 in damages, as is standard. According to the suit, the school board and the town were
negligent in not having classroom doors that could be locked
from the inside and because the school did not have a more secure entranceway, including bulletproof glass on the front windows. The lawsuit also alleges a lack of security in the parking
lot. Noah Pozner, 6, was the youngest victim of the December
2012 massacre. Twenty children and six school employees were
killed when Adam Lanza, 20, forced his way into the school
building and opened fire.
■ Regular synagogue attendance may make you healthier, a
new study indicates. A study of four large American Jewish
urban communities by Baylor University’s Institute for Studies
of Religion found that “adults who affiliate with a Jewish religious denomination and attend synagogue report significantly
better health than secular or non-practicing Jews,” Jeff Levin,
director of the institute’s Program on Religion and Population
Health, said . “People with a strong sense of religious identity
and who participate in their faith seem to do better, on average, than people without an active spiritual life,” added Levin.
The results were consistent across denominations. Whether Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist or Reform, affiliated
Jews reported better health than secular, non-affiliated Jews.
Likewise, Jews who attended synagogue, whether regularly or
less frequently, reported better health than those who never
went.
■ The Austrian government is looking into expropriating
Adolf Hitler’s childhood home. Trying to ensure the house is
not turned into a neo-Nazi shrine, the Interior Ministry may
seize the home if its owner refuses to sell it to the government.
The owner, who has not publicly been identified, reportedly has
turned down past offers to sell. The ministry has rented the
home in the German border town of Braunau for several years
and sublet it to charitable organizations. The house, which
draws neo-Nazi visitors, has stood empty for the past three years
after the owner refused to authorize needed renovations. The
building is listed as a historical landmark and cannot be razed.
■ Oxford University Press has banned references to pigs and
pork in its publications in order to avoid offending Jews and
Muslims. “Many of the educational materials we publish in the
UK are sold in more than 150 countries, and as such they need
to consider a range of cultural differences and sensitivities,” a
spokesman for Oxford, the largest university press in the world,
told the British media. Eating pork is forbidden in Islam and Judaism. Representatives of the Jewish and Muslim communities
told the British media that the ban was unnecessary.
■ An Israeli couple welcomed the birth of their 100th greatgrandchild. Michael Mittwoch, 92, and his wife, Marion, 90,
celebrated the bris of Dagan Raz . They called the new baby and
their other great-grandchildren “our answer to Hitler,” Ynet reported. The Mittwochs were born in Germany and each fled to
England after the Nazis came to power. After World War II they
made their ways separately to Israel and met on Kibbutz Kvutzat
Yavne. They then became two of the founders of Kibbutz Lavi
in the Galilee, and they also were the first couple to be married
there. Their five children live in Israel. The new baby was
named after Maj. Dagan Wertman, 32, a Golani Brigade doctor
who was at officers’ school with the baby’s father and was killed
during Operation Cast Lead at the end of 2008.
JTA
Contents
THE CHICAGO
JEWISH NEWS
Vol. 21 No. 16
Joseph Aaron
Editor/Publisher
6
Celebrations
Golda Shira
Senior Editor/
Israel Correspondent
8
Cover Story
Pauline Dubkin Yearwood
Managing Editor
Joe Kus
Staff Photographer
10
Death Notices
11
Letters
Roberta Chanin
and Associates
Sara Belkov
Steve Goodman
Advertising Account Executives
Denise Plessas Kus
Production Director
12
Community Calendar
Kristin Hanson
Accounting Manager/
Webmaster
Jacob Reiss
12
CJN Classified
Subscriptions Manager/
Administrative Assistant
Ann Yellon
of blessed memory
14
By Joseph Aaron
15
Arts and Entertainment
On the cover: photo by Joe Kus.
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5
Torah Portion
CANDLELIGHTING TIMES
G-d and free will
There is more
than one way
to look at it
By Rabbi Douglas Goldhamer
Torah Columnist
Torah Portion: Bo
Exodus 10:1-13:16
Rabbi Levi Yitzhak, affectionately known as the Berditchever, an illuy (genius) since
childhood, studied hasidut under
the Maggid of Mezritch and
served as a leading rabbi in many
cities culminating with his service as the rabbi of Berditchev. He
was born in 1740 and entered the
next life in 1810.
He has inspired me and continues to inspire me as well as
countless others by constantly defending the people Israel in front
of G-d. He had the courage of
Moses and the insight of Abraham and was constantly defending our people before G-d. His
leading work, “Kedushat Levi,”
is an amazing compilation of
Chasidic insights of the Scripture
readings of the week.
Last week, in our Sunday afternoon Torah class, I was reminded again of Rabbi Levi’s
amazing insight into Scripture
and his ability to inspire each of
his readers to believe that the
Scripture was written specifically
for them. History teaches us that
when the Baal Shem Tov
preached, everyone who heard
him thought that the Besht was
speaking specifically to him; this
was very similar to the
Berditchever. When he wrote a
commentary, you would think he
was writing directly for you, clarifying a problem that has bothered you for some time.
In our Torah class, a student
challenged me vigorously when I
espoused the thinking that every
person has free will, and it is this
free will that G-d has bestowed
upon us that distinguishes us
from the angels. He said to me,
“If, on the one hand, you teach
us that every person has a sacred
purpose, how can this thinking
square off with the free will that
G-d has given us? Aren’t sacred
free will and sacred purpose at
loggerheads with one another?
How can you claim that Judaism
maintains free will when Judaism
also boasts that each one of us
has a purpose or several purposes
to fulfill in our lifetime?”
I responded by saying that
there is no monolithic Judaism;
there are many Judaisms. The Judaism of Maimonides borrows
Rabbi Douglas Goldhamer
the thinking of Aristotle, who
teaches that G-d “is thought
thinking itself.” G-d does not get
involved in the mundane affairs
of the world or this would disallow for the perfection of G-d. If
G-d responds to prayer, and
changes His mind, then G-d is
not perfect any more.
In order to keep the perfection of G-d consistent with his
master’s (Aristotle’s) teaching,
Maimonides resorts to his theory
of angels, calling them sichlaim
nivdalim, “separate intelligences.” The angels are considered intelligences or thought
forms, separate from one another.
He probes this thinking to reconcile free will, prayer and purpose.
Another student asked, “If
G-d created a built-in mechanism within Pharaoh, which
forced him to say ‘no’ to Moses,
and led to the 10 plagues, how
could Pharaoh’s refusal to let the
Israelites free be an expression of
free will?”
Levi Yitzhak resolves the
problem of free will when he articulates two points of view that
G-d embraces to underline and
emphasize G-d’s free will and
human free will in this week’s
Torah portion, Parshat Bo. Our
text this week focuses on the
plagues, particularly the plague of
the death of the first-born, and
how these miracles did not move
the heart of Pharaoh.
“So miracles are
not wondrous at
all since G-d created everything,
it is within the
strength of G-d to
do with them as
He will.”
In Parshat Bo, Levi Yitzhak
offers an interpretation of the
Scripture to teach that there are
two ways from which we might
come to our devotion to G-d.
The text states, “And Moses said,
‘thus says the Lord, around midnight, I will go out into the midst
of the Egyptians ….’” (Exodus
11:4) Levi Yitzhak comments,
“Venireh ki yesh shenei bechinot
… There are two perspectives
from which we understand our
devotion to the Creator. One
comes from our seeing miracles
and happenings where G-d
changes the workings of nature
constantly. When we see this
power, we understand that G-d
rules over all and all of G-d’s
creatures, and we have an obligation to serve Him in great awe.
“The second way is acceptance of what is true, “that G-d
created everything by word of
His mouth. Therefore G-d has
the power to change everything
as well. From this point of view,
there is no significance to miracles, since it is no wonder that
G-d can change nature at will.
We understand clearly that the
blessed Creator created all
being and that ‘whatever
YHVH desires He does in
heaven and on earth.’ (Psalm
135:6) And with all that was
created from them in every moment … and so miracles are not
wondrous at all since G-d created everything, it is within the
strength of G-d to do with them
as He will.”
This thinking is very much
in line with the great medieval
Islamic thinker Al-Ghazali, who
teaches that G-d renews creation
day and night, which is consistent with the liturgy in our traditional prayer book. G-d is not
bound by determinism or beshertism. But He is moved by His
own desire to recreate, working
together with us. We are co-creators with G-d, and this wonderful commentary to our parsha
this week by Levi Yitzhak greatly
inspired my class, who teaches
whatever it is that G-d intends in
any given time is what happens
in our world right now.
Though our world, as Rabbi
Abraham Heschel taught, is full
of wonders, from moment to
moment. Every instant teaches
us and shows us the unfolding of
G-d’s love for us, as He constantly and consistently blesses
us with free will. Levi Yitzhak of
Berditchev was truly an illuy.
Rabbi Douglas Goldhamer is
senior rabbi of Congregation Bene
Shalom (Reform) in Skokie and
president of Hebrew Seminary,
Skokie.
4
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6
CELEBRATIONS
Dear Minna Rae,
With the recent season of
holidays, I received several gifts
that were terrific, but a few that
duplicate what I have. They are
items in perfect, new condition,
but things I just already have or
really can’t use. Is there a way I
can pass them on? I know charitable places are OK, but some
things I feel other people can use.
Overloaded
Dear Overloaded,
What you want to do is
“regift” some things you received.
This can be done, but must be
done VERY carefully. Be certain
the item is in perfect condition.
Double check that there is nothing attached in any way to indicate it was given to you – a
signature, card, price, label, etc.
Pick someone to pass it to
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Good luck.
Dear Minna Rae,
I am trying to start the new
year by organizing my closets.
One thing I am overloaded with
is photographs. I don’t want to
throw them away. Some are in albums, but I got away from doing
that and am loaded with many
since then. HELP!
Pic’d-Over
Minna Rae Friedman
Dear Pic’d-Over,
I know what you mean. I
have some of that problem, also.
One thing I did was, as each
grandchild reached high school
graduation, I gathered all the pics
of them I had since their birth
and made a booklet for them. I
cut and collaged their pictures on
notebook paper, even including
some of the notes that they had
sent, and made a construction
paper cover and back. I just had
it copied at Office Max with
copies for them, their siblings,
parents, grandparents and a few
extra for friends or close relatives.
Another person I spoke to
said she had a box for each child
and grandchild and kept their
photos that way and can give
them to them. A friend said she
made photos each year into calendars for that year and sent
them to family and friends. One
even photographed her new baby
V
each month and used those for
the next year’s calendar that she
sent to the family. One problem
to avoid, always date and list the
subject’s name on the back of
each photo. Don’t keep your
photos in your camera or phone.
Print them out and pass them on
or organize to enjoy.
Dear Minna Rae,
My son seems to be getting
serious with his girlfriend, which
means a wedding may be in the
future for our family. This is new
to me and has not occurred in my
close family since I have been a
mother. Is it still traditional for
the bride’s family to host the
wedding and for the groom’s family to provide the rehearsal dinner? I want to hold up our end,
but not encroach on anything
the girl’s family might feel is their
prerogative. Maybe you could
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Dear Maybe,
Yes, my dear. Some things
are still traditional. But this is
one area that changes all the
time. When the time comes,
some things will become apparent. You will find that nowadays
many young couples are much
older than when the marriage
age was in the low twenties.
Couples today may be older and
in that case have been working a
while and want to use their own
ideas and plans and pay for their
weddings themselves.
Check with the couple how
they want to work this out. Some
want to include both sets of parents to help with their plans and
costs while some adhere to the
old-fashioned expectations. It’s
all up for grabs how these events
are handled these days.
Dear Minna Rae,
My daughter and her husband just recently celebrated a
special anniversary and I can’t
believe what she has told me
about some of the presents she
received. I think she hit every
problem possible in gift-giving
situations. A few have presented
queries we hope you can help
them address. Something very
ugly arrived personally. It can’t
be returned, it’s not from a store
and they can’t bear to keep it.
Another arrived broken and the
packaging doesn’t give an insurance clue. A personal painting
arrived that is from someone who
visits, but they really don’t want
to display it. Not to their taste.
We’ll just ask about these items.
Over-gifted
Dear Over-gifted,
About the “ugly” – have
them thank the giver for their
thoughtfulness and donate it to a
suitable cause. They can at least
get a tax write-off. If something
is broken, thank the giver and
ask if it was insured. If they tell
your daughter no, she can tell
them thanks anyway and she will
take care of its repair (whether
she does or not.) If the artist
friend ever asks about the absence of the display of their gift,
the couple can answer that they
appreciate it, but haven’t decided
yet where they want to hang it.
Hopefully, the giver won’t ask
again, but they can always say
they are still working on it.
Minna Rae Friedman was a
wedding and event coordinator for
over 20 years. Questions can be
submitted to minnarae@yahoo.com
or to Chicago Jewish News 5301
W. Dempster St., Skokie, IL
60077.
7
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8
READY FOR 2016
Jeremy Wynes is heading up the new Chicago office
of the Republican Jewish Coalition and hoping
to get Jews here to vote for the GOP
By Pauline Dubkin Yearwood
Managing Editor
Has the Republican Party
made inroads of support among
traditionally Democratic Jewish
voters?
Jeremy Wynes, for one,
thinks so.
It’s one reason the Republican Jewish Coalition, a national
organization, decided to open a
Chicago office, with Wynes as
the Midwest regional director.
“The organization has been
on an upward trajectory in the
last few years, growing in size and
inclusiveness,” Wynes said during a recent telephone interview.
“There was finally a recognition
that by not having an office between New York and Florida and
Los Angeles, we weren’t getting
the kind of penetration we
needed.”
In addition to its national
office in Washington, D.C. and
the newly opened Chicago office, the RJC has regional offices
in California, Florida, New York
and Pennsylvania.
For now, the Chicago office
consists solely of Wynes, but he
has big plans, especially with a
presidential election coming up
in less than two years.
“We were in some ways giving short shrift to some of these
important states (in the Midwest), presidential battleground
states,” he says. “But they didn’t
want to (open a Midwest office)
if they didn’t have the right person in place. Everything kind of
came together in the runup to
the last election cycle, and they
decided now was the time to
make a move as we look toward
2016.”
Wynes, national RJC leaders
decided, was that person. He
comes to the position with political experience acquired in his
last job, where for seven years he
served as the Midwest political
director for the American Israel
Public
Affairs
Committee
(AIPAC).
A Midwest native, Wynes
was born and raised in the QuadCities area of western Illinois. He
graduated from Illinois State
University and received a law degree from DePaul University.
Married with two children, he
worked as an attorney in private
practice before joining AIPAC.
In his new duties, he’ll be
Chicago based but will cover
nine states, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana,
Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Wynes is quick to note that
the RJC isn’t an unknown factor
to Chicago-area Republicans. A
volunteer chapter has been active for many years under the
leadership of a tireless volunteer,
Dr. Michael Menis. “The
groundwork was laid over many
years” by Menis, Wynes says.
As for Wynes, he wasn’t always a Republican.
“I grew up in a Democratic
home, and I can’t really point to
one ‘aha’ moment when I became a Republican,” he says.
“But to me, national security has
always been a big issue ever since
I really paid close attention to
politics and public policy, and
sometime in the last decade, I
started to take a more open look
at what was happening in this
country.”
After Sept. 11 and the policy debates that followed, “I
eventually realized the Democratic Party was abandoning its
moderate voters and leaders for
the sake of so-called ‘progressive’
leadership,” he says. “Then once
I crossed that bridge, I realized
the Republican Party had more
to say to me on more domestic
matters as well.” He also felt the
Republican Party did a better job
of “standing up for a safe and secure Israel.”
oday Wynes is feeling optimistic: Illinois has a Republican governor and the GOP
has taken over Congress.
“I’ll be covering nine or 10
states from Ohio and Kansas
across the upper Midwest, but
(Illinois) is a big focus, the
largest Jewish community in the
Midwest by far,” he says of the
impact on his job of new Illinois
governor, Republican Bruce
Rauner. “He can hopefully steer
our state in a new direction. He
did well with Jewish voters and
will give them more comfort
with the Republican brand with
his stewardship.”
He admits that there are no
statistics to prove his assertion
(most polls don’t ask respondents
about religion) but says, “My
hunch is that he did well with
T
Jewish voters. Look at the areas
of the state where our community lives – he did better than
Republican candidates have in
the past,” including, Wynes says,
the Chicago suburbs and the
heavily Jewish 10th District,
where the RJC was involved in
campaigning for Rep. Robert
Dold (R.-Ill.), the former congressman who unseated former
Rep. Brad Schneider. Schneider
had beat Dold two years before.
“Gov. Rauner can hopefully
steer our state in a new direction,” Wynes says. “That can
only be beneficial to the Republican Party and the Jewish community. I’m hopeful he will do a
good job and turn things around.
It’s emblematic of why I wanted
to make the shift (to the RJC),
what’s happening in the Midwest, the failure of what folks
have called the blue state model
of governance. Illinois is exhibit
A in that failure.
“In two years, we hope to
give him some Republican state
legislators,” he adds.
Turning to national politics,
Wynes says he believes the fact
that Republicans now control
Congress will “make a significant
difference (to Jewish voters). We
will see that very soon,” he says.
“Mitch McConnell being majority leader changes everything.”
He is speaking specifically
about the so-called Kirk-Menendez bill that would impose deadline-triggered sanctions on Iran
if that country doesn’t agree to a
deal over its nuclear program.
“The bill had 69 co-sponsors
last year and had bipartisan support but was not allowed to come
for a vote because (former Democratic Senate leader) Harry
Reid and the Democratic Senate
killed it out of deference to the
president,” who said he would
veto the legislation, Wynes says.
“The fact that (Reid) is no
longer majority leader means he
can’t completely quash a bill like
that, and that is a very direct result of the Republicans taking
over the Senate,” Wynes says.
“The administration is trying to
conduct negotiations with Iran
to get a deal, and supporters of
the bill believe this would give
the negotiations additional
leverage. The sword of Damocles
will hang over the negotiations
and if the Iranians don’t come to
Jeremy Wynes (photo by Joe Kus).
a final deal, sanctions would kick
in immediately.”
In addition, Wynes says, “It’s
going to be easier to move pro-Israel legislation out of Congress
when Republicans are in control.”
ynes, like other leaders of
the RJC, believes that, in
some quarters of the Jewish community, support for the
Republican Party is growing. Recent Gallup polling backs up that
assertion modestly.
According to a recent Jewish Telegraphic Agency story,
“twice as many Jewish-Americans identify as Democrats over
Republicans, but the GOP has
made strides …” According to
the story, the polling showed 61
percent Jewish support for Democrats and 29 percent for Republicans, gains for the GOP
over 2008, when Barack Obama
was elected to his first term as
W
president and 71 percent of Jewish voters identified as Democratic, 22 percent Republican.
“Jewish support for the Republican Party has climbed, and
there has been a decline on the
other side,” Wynes says. “There
is a greater disparity than among
Americans generally.” He says
exit polls taken after the recent
elections show that Republican
candidates received 34 percent of
the Jewish vote, a 10 percent increase over the last midterm
election.
“Basically the Republicans
have joined market share in the
Jewish community in seven of
the last eight election cycles,” he
says. “What is driving it? A failure of leadership of the current
president. When the leadership
is unpopular you see these kinds
of shifts.”
Jews have historically been
Democrats “for a lot of reasons,”
Wynes says. “Jewish voters care
9
about a lot of the same things
Americans generally care about.
We pay taxes too.” But he believes that today, “a number of
factors have made it ripe for Jewish support for the Republican
Party.”
He lists support for Israel at
the top of the list, which he sees
as being stronger among Republicans.
“In 2012, the Democrats
had to reinsert a plank in their
platform saying that Jerusalem
was the capital of Israel,” he says.
“The Democratic Party has been
taken over by its progressive
wing, and there is more openness
in the Jewish community to take
a fair look at our side. Israel is the
one big consensus issue that has
caused a lot of people to take a
look at the party generally speaking.”
Polling confirms the common wisdom that highly religious
Jews tend to be more Republican
than less religious ones. Wynes
says he believes that’s true across
the board among religious voters,
not just Jewish ones.
“If you break down where
voters live, how religious they
are, their educational level, how
much they earn, if you remove
the Jewish variable, I think Jewish voters tend to look like where
they live,” he says. “Religious
voters tend to be more Republican. That’s consistent across the
board, whether Jewish or not.
The Orthodox community tends
to prioritize Israel to a great extent, and that’s a piece of it as
well.”
When it comes to the 2016
elections, though, Wynes declines to prognosticate as to who
will be the GOP standard-bearer,
even declining to speculate on
whether former candidate Mitt
Romney will run again, as he has
hinted recently.
“It’s too early,” Wynes says.
“Prognosticating at this early
stage of the game is a recipe for
disaster. Our organization has a
relationship with many of the
candidates and we’re not endorsing anybody in the primary. The
bench is deep as we look to 2016.
Even in the Midwest, a number
of governors are rumored to be
(possible) candidates.”
Most if not all of them, he
says, “can make a very good case
for why they should be the Republican standard- bearer, and
most of these candidates are talking about, and share our concerns about some of the failures
within the Obama administration in terms of national security
and Israel. They will speak to
Jewish voters on that level.”
Many of these potential candidates, he believes, stand a good
chance against the presumptive
Democratic nominee, Hillary
Clinton.
“Absolutely they do,” he
says. “If she runs as Obama’s third
term, the GOP has a very good
chance. Her name identity is
through the roof but I don’t see a
Hillary Clinton candidacy as an
inevitable victory. Whoever
emerges is going to have a great
chance running against Hillary
Clinton.”
The former first lady and
secretary of state “is going to
have to stake out specific positions,” he says. “She didn’t run a
very good campaign in 2008. She
didn’t have a lot of fresh things
to say. I don’t see what is going to
be so different eight years later.
She has not improved substantially as a candidate. Her record
as secretary of state is open to a
lot of criticism in our community. I don’t see her as a particularly strong candidate past her
name identification. There is no
inevitability there.”
The 2016 elections loom
large in Wynes’ and the RJC’s
plans for the future.
“We’re the de facto Jewish
outreach arm of the national Republican Party,” Wynes says. “In
the 2012 elections, a lot of things
went wrong on our side, but the
RJC was something that went
right. There was increased market share for the Republicans
within the Jewish community.”
The national Republican
Party, he says, is aware of, and approves of, the RJC.
“Because of the RJC, the impact and growth in the Jewish
community is covered,” he says.
“There is a lot of talk of the Republicans doing better with Latinos, with women. The national
party is focusing on that. They
don’t really have to worry about
our community. We do the outreach for the national Republican Party, turning out more
Republican Jewish voters. That’s
money the national party doesn’t
have to spend. We’ve helped the
party change the competitive dynamic within the Jewish community.”
Historically, he says, there
was a sense that Republicans
could write off the Jewish vote,
“but that’s different now. The
Democratic Party can no longer
take the Jewish vote for granted.”
That message plays into his
task in the Midwest and what
he’ll be doing at least until the
2016 elections, Wynes says.
“My overall objective is to
do that (be the voice of the Republican Party) in the Midwest,”
he says. “Our organization wants
to be at the table when the Republicans decide on their message. We want to be their
representative within the Jewish
community, to strengthen the
Republican Party and represent
the Republican position on these
issues within the Jewish community.”
The important issues, he
says, include national security,
Middle East affairs, Israel and the
economy. “We want to be the organization representing the
party,” he says.
In the Midwest, that means
“identification, recruiting, getting people involved at the local
and national level. We want to
leverage our collective advocacy
efforts in building relationships
with Republican elected officials,
and in raising money, allowing
Republican candidates to get
their message out through our
national PAC and our members.
Elected officials know RJC members are involved in campaigns.”
In a later email, Wynes expanded on and clarified what he
sees as the role of the new RJC
office, writing that “across the
country, the RJC is the singular,
representative voice of the Jewish community to the Republican Party at all levels, and at the
same time the voice of the Republican Party within the Jewish
community. My overall objective
is two-fold: to strengthen the Republican Party through increased
Jewish community participation
in Republican politics, and to
make sure that the Republican
position on issues like national
security, Middle East affairs, and
the economy is represented in
the Jewish community.”
His formula, he wrote, will
first include “identifying and recruiting Jewish Republicans to
get involved with the RJC at the
local and national level so that
we can leverage our collective advocacy efforts and educate
policy-makers within the GOP.”
For the second part of the
plan, he hopes to “build relationships with Republican elected officials and candidates across the
Midwest and in critical races
across the country so that they
value our community’s support
and in turn help advance the issues and policies we care most
about (among them a strong national security, support for our
ally, Israel, and a limited government highlighting pro-growth
economic policies).
“Our members will be involved in political campaigns in
a number of ways beyond the
voting booth – including raising
millions of dollars to help support election campaigns and
through critical grassroots engagement efforts helping get-outthe-vote
for
Republican
candidates.”
“One reason I wanted to
make the switch” from AIPAC
to the RJC, Wynes says, “is that
we are major players at the presidential level. We are building
relationships with members of
Congress.”
The effort is especially important, he says, since the Midwest includes so many so-called
battleground states.
“We have a very focused,
targeted battleground state effort
in the election with Jewish voters,” he says. “Jewish voters who
are advocates in battleground
states are out there, and we want
them to get their friends and
neighbors to vote for the Republican Party. We play significantly
at the presidential level.”
In this effort, “we are going
to speak openly about Israel. You
hope for bipartisanship around
issues you care aboutm but political pressure is often a way to get
With a Republican as Illinois governor in Bruce Rauner, top photo, and
with the Republicans in charge of Congress and Mitch McConnell as
Senate majority leader, Jeremy Wynes believes Jewish voters are more
likely to vote GOP in 2016.
there too. We are going to hold
the other side to account. If the
president does things we think
are detrimental to the U.S.-Israel
relationship, we are going to hold
him and Congress to account.”
he focus is on elections because, he says, “elections
have consequences. The bill
on Iran can move now, and one
of the most pro-Israel things to
T
happen was when the Republicans took control of the Senate.”
He still has hopes for bipartisanship, though.
At AIPAC, he says, “for
seven years I worked in a bipartisan environment, building relationships on both sides of the
aisle. I do believe in and hope we
get back to that point where I
can say support for Israel is the
same on both sides of the aisle.”
10
Midwest
Death Notices
CONTINUED
Sherry Lynn Bloom, age 70.
Devoted daughter of the late
Hyman and Suzanne. Dear
sister of Robert (Christine)
Bloom and the late Frederick
(survived by Lois) Bloom and
the late Marla Katzman.
Fond aunt of Adrienne Cinnamon, Debra (Andy) Merges,
Lori Bloom (John Vyzies),
Steven Bloom, Michael Bloom
and David Katzman and many
great-nieces and nephews.
Arrangements by Mitzvah
Memorial Funerals.
Ilene Cole, nee Sattenstein,
beloved wife of the late
Jerome Cole. Loving mother
of Julie (Marvin) Crone and
Jennifer Cole. Proud grand-
mother of Sophie Crone. In
lieu of flowers remembrances to Woman’s American ORT 3701 Commercial
Avenue, Suite 13 North-
brook, IL 60062 would be appreciated. Arrangements by
Mitzvah Memorial Funerals.
Jeffrey A. Eicoff, age 59, died
Jan. 14. Devoted son of Helene and the late Alvin Eicoff;
dear brother of the late Larry
L. (Charmaine) Eicoff; cherished father of Vanessa (Angelo Maragkakis) and Joshua
Eicoff; loving grandfather of
Adrian Eicoff; devoted friend
and cousin of David Huey; uncle of Leanne and Amber
Eicoff. A Guardian of the
American Technion Society. A
kind and loving man, Jeffrey
will be missed by his loving
family and many friends. In
lieu of flowers, donations
may be made in Jeffrey’s
memory to the Make-A-Wish
Foundation of America.
Arrangements by Lakeshore
Jewish Funerals, (773) 6258621.
Janice R. Gale, nee Rosenthal, age 83. Beloved wife
of the late Rudolf “Rudy”
Getreuer. Cherished mother
of Andrea (Nathan) Gordon.
Sister of the late Richard
(survived by Enid) Rosenthal.
Dear friend of many at
Manor Care of Hinsdale.
Contributions in Janice’s
name to ALS or the charity
of your choice would be appreciated. Arrangements by
Mitzvah Memorial Funerals.
Laura L. Weil, nee Nueske,
beloved wife of Rick Weil.
Loving mother of Chris (Nimi
Patel-Weil) Weil, Jorie (Mike)
McCombe, Zack Weil, and
Gabby Weil. Cherished
grandmother of Bamber Weil
and James McCombe. Fond
sister of Bobby Nueske. Devoted daughter of the late
Robert and Barbara Nueske.
In lieu of flowers remem-
brances to the Animal Rescue
charity of your choice would
be appreciated. Arrangements by Mitzvah Memorial
Funerals.
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3
everybody.” Referring to Jews:
“If they are your enemy, then you
must be somebody.”
#6 University of Illinois
professor – spreading hate in academia
Steven Salaita, an Arab
American professor was hired by
the University of Illinois at
Champaign. Salaita has blamed
Jews for anti-Semitism and has
called for the destruction of Israel
as well as the “de-colonization of
America.”
Originally hired to teach
American Indian Studies, the
school cancelled his contract
after reading Salaita’s rants like
these he made on social media.
“At this point if Netanyahu appeared with a necklace made
from the teeth of Palestinian
children, would anybody be surprised?” About American Jewish
Youth, Salaita declared, “Every
little Jewish boy and girl can
grow up to be the leader of a
murderous colonial regime.”
#7 Annual American Muslims for Palestine conference:
“State of Israel… Is an Illegitimate Creation Born from Colonialism and Racism
The seventh annual American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)
conference was held in Chicago
over Thanksgiving weekend. The
conference is host to many antiIsrael activists and is a leader in
providing anti-Zionist training
and education to the Muslim
community. At this year’s conference, Taher Herzallah, AMP’s national Campus Coordinator
claimed, “The State of Israel is a
lie… Israelis have to be bombed,
they are a threat to the legitimacy
of Palestine, and it is wrong to
maintain the State of Israel. It is
an illegitimate creation born from
colonialism and racism.”
#8 Chicagoland antiMideast peace campaigns
During a student involvement fair at Chicago’s Loyola
University, the Students for Jus-
William Goodman
Funeral Director, Homesteaders
Insurance Agent (no longer with
Goodman Family Funerals)
Ian “Izzy” Dick
Oldest licensed Jewish Funeral Director
in the State of Illinois
Lawrence “Larry” Mandel
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can switch to us. In most cases we will refund your family
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Find out why Mitzvah Memorial
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than 800 funerals since opening.
www.comparemitzvah.com
*Guarantee is on base price of funeral plan including services, casket and miscellaneous
items. Not included in this are the cemetery charges, vault and cash advance items.
F RO M PAG E
tice in Palestine (SJP) protested
a booth set up by the Jewish student organization Hillel advertising Birthright trips to Israel. SJP
was suspended after violating six
campus community standards including interfering with the
rights of others to demonstrate,
harassing other student organizations, and threatening university
members.
At the conclusion of the
2014 spring semester at DePaul
University, there was an increase
in anti-Israel sentiment with the
launch of the campaign “DePaul
Divest,” spearheaded by SJP. The
campaign created an atmosphere
of intimidation and hate towards
students who identify with Israel.
The campaign to delegitimize the
Jewish State via referendum eventually passed with 54% of votes.
#9 Ohio University student
creates ‘blood bucket challenge’
In the wake of the international popularity of the ALS ‘Ice
Bucket Challenge’ in the summer of 2014, Megan Marzec, the
Student Body President of Ohio
University, created a video when
she dumped a bucket of simulated
blood over her head in protest of
the Hamas war in Gaza. The
video calls for the divestment of
the university from relations with
Israel and an end to the ‘Israeli
Occupation of Palestine.’ She is
shown in the video wearing a
shirt that reads “Ohio U Divest
From Israel” and says, “This
bucket of blood symbolizes the
thousands of displaced and murdered Palestinians, atrocities
which OU is directly complacent
in through cultural and economic
support of the Israeli state.”
#10 National Alliance
leader runs for U.S. Senate in
northern Kentucky
A racist, anti-Semitic candidate for U.S. Senate placed signs
around northern Kentucky declaring, “With Jews We Lose.”
Robert Ransdell, a write-in candidate for the U.S. Senate, has a
long history of involvement with
anti-Semitic and racist rhetoric
in the political arena and holds
an open hatred of gays, African
Americans, immigrants, in addition to Jewish people.
500 Lake Cook Road, Suite 350, Deerfield, IL • 8850 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, IL
630-MITZVAH (648-9824) • www.mitzvahfunerals.com
Frazier Glenn Cross Jr., a former KKK Grand Dragon, killed three people outside the Jewish community center in suburban Kansas City,
Kansas, just before Passover.
11
Letters
War and peace
Judging by the epithets –
delusional, unrealistic, loony,
twisting things, wacko, insane –
Joseph Aaron used in his column
of Jan. 9, he was addressing people like me. Throughout my life
– first dedicated to the destruction of the Soviet totalitarian
state and after its demise, to the
service of the Jewish people –
more people called me such
names than I can remember.
Aaron says that “rightwingers” like me should “get on
the right side of history” – funny
expression he borrowed from the
Marxist lexicon – and accept the
idea of Israel withdrawing to
1967 borders with Jerusalem becoming a capital of the so-called
Palestinian state. The situation,
Aaron says, will be forced on us
whether we like it or not. He says
that because there are just too
many Arabs between the Jordan
River and the Mediterranean.
You see, Joseph, unlike you,
I believe that our world is ultimately governed by G-d and just
like it was with the Soviet
Union, the Arabs, who are currently occupying and desecrating
the holy land of Israel, will one
day be gone as well.
Aaron tells us that we
should accept the creation of the
23rd Arab state. Why? So it joins
Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic State,
Iran, and others in their glorious
pursuit of our destruction?
Unlike the so-called rightwingers like me, it is Aaron and
people like him who wallow constantly in self-delusion. People
like Aaron like to promise acceptance of Jews and peace, but
are good only on delivery of war.
Just two examples: “The
minute we leave South Lebanon
we will have to erase the word
Hezbollah from our vocabulary,
because the whole idea of the
State of Israel versus Hezbollah
was sheer folly from the outset. It
will most certainly no longer be
relevant when Israel returns to
its internationally recognized
northern border.” – Amos Oz,
“Try a Little Tenderness,”
Haaretz, March 17, 2000. “The
nightmare stories of the Likud
are well known. After all, they
promised Katyusha rockets from
Gaza as well. For a year, Gaza has
been largely under the rule of the
Palestinian Authority. There has
not been a single Katyusha
rocket. Nor will there be any
Katyushas.” – Yitzhak Rabin,
radio interview, July 24, 1995.
Alexander Gendler
Skokie
words,” I totally agree that Judaism has nothing to fear from
other religions. I think Judaism is
closer to G-d and more complete
than any other religion, so I believe we can learn from them,
and even adopt some of their
compatible ideas, without losing
anything from our essence or
core. Doing so would just make
us stronger and more compelling
and would help us keep some of
our “wandering Jews” who go to
other religions because they
think Judaism is too stagnant or
stale or old-fashioned.
However, I disagree with
Aaron about his subsequent disparaging of the decision of the
United Synagogue Youth to
allow board members to date
non-Jews, which I find inconsistent with the earlier part of his
column. While intermarriage
among Conservatives is 40 percent, among non-Orthodox Jews
in general it is 80 percent. To
paraphrase a recent quote by a
prominent rabbi (the new head
of the Reform movement I
think), the intermarriage horse is
long out of the barn. Rather, we
should focus on making Judaism
so attractive, that our intermarried Jews will want to stay Jewish
and raise their kids Jewish, and
that their non-Jewish spouse will
be more likely to join us as well.
This can be partly achieved
by following my three-step program for tripling the number of
Jews in the years to come: accepting the children of Jewish
men as Jewish, making conversion faster and easier, and having
rabbis officiate at wedding of in-
termarrieds.
Martin Vesole
Author, “The Book of Emet
and Sleeping Truth”
Jewish enemy
France’s recent violence reminds us that anti-Semitism has
been rife throughout history.
Myriad excuses have been proffered. Regardless, if the Jews
leave France, France loses and
will never regain its former status.
There has never been a
country in which Jews have lived
and worked peacefully together
with others, and have left for any
reason, where that country did
not immediately go into decline,
never again regaining its former
status.
Furthermore, the Jews are
the only group in the world that
can claim the following: If one
visits or stays in a Jewish neighborhood, one will never hear,
“You’re in a Jewish neighborhood. Be careful when you go out
tonight; watch your women, your
wallet, your car.”
People of conscience are reminded that this is a crucial time
for Jews to act cohesively to defeat a common enemy, antiSemitism. Such committed,
unified action is paramount if Judaism as we have known it is to
survive, thrive, and perhaps even
to prevail.
Leon H. Hoffman, Ph.D.
Clinical psychologist
Chicago
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12
Community Calendar
Saturday
January 24
Beth Hillel Congregation
Bnai Emunah holds Camp
Shabbat service led by
teens celebrating Jewish
campers, followed by campthemed Kiddush. Wear your
camp t-shirt. 9:30 a.m.,
3220 Big Tree Lane, Wilmette. (847) 256-1213.
Bnai Emunah presents Film
Festival Evening featuring
television episode hosted
by Bill Kurtis on notorious
Jewish gangsters in America followed by discussion.
7:30 p.m., 3220 Big Tree
Lane, Wilmette. $10. (847)
256-1213.
Sunday
January 25
Bnai Emunah Sisterhood
hosts Rummage and Book
Sale. 9 a.m.-1 p.m., also 911 a.m. Monday, Jan. 26.
3220 Big Tree Lane, Wilmette. (847) 256-1213.
Jewish Child and Family
Services holds program on
“Helping our Girls Feel
SPOTLIGHT
SPOTLIGHT
The Sidney & Frances Avner Torah Learning Center of Northbrook
and Keshet present a panel discussion with local experts and Q&A
on “Special Needs in the Jewish Community: Helping Each Other Grow
and Learn” followed by a Resource Fair for families with all types of
special needs. 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, Northbrook Community Synagogue, 2548 Jasper Court, Northbrook. Reservations suggested,
tlcnb.com or (847) 272-7255.
Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning
and Leadership shows new documentary film, “Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes
of Sholom Aleichem” followed by discussion with music critic Andrew Patner. 2 p.m., Sunday, February 8. 610 S.
Michigan Ave., Chicago. Tickets are
$18, $10 Spertus members, $8 students. Spertus.edu or (312) 322-1773.
Good about Being Female.”
Grades 3-5, 9:15-10 a.m.
Grades 6-8, 10:15-11 a.m.
Temple Beth Israel, 3601
Dempster, Skokie. $15, free
for TBI members.
TraceyKite@jcfs.org or (847)
745-5411.
JCC Chicago’s Theater presents “King Artie and the
Knights of the Rad Table.”
Noon and 2:30 p.m., also 7
p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29 and
noon and 2:30 p.m. Sunday,
Feb. 1. Mayer Kaplan JCC,
5050 Church, Skokie. $16
adults, $11 ages 7-12, $6
ages 6 and under. gojcc.org/
theater or (847) 763-3514.
Illinois Holocaust Museum
and Education Center hosts
moderated discussion with
Holocaust survivors of
Auschwitz. 1:30-3 p.m.,
9603 Woods Drive, Skokie.
CJN Classified
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Larry – 847-778-6736
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Both Plots for $6,525.00
Please call Diane
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place your classified ad
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To take advantage of
CJN Classified page
call 847-966-0606.
SERVICES OFFERED
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Free with museum admission. Reservations required,
reservations@ilhmec.org.
Temple Beth Israel presents
Pasta Dinner and Dessert
Auction, fund-raiser for TBI
Youth Israel Scholarship
Fund. 5 p.m., 3601 W.
Dempster, Skokie. $8, $25
household. tbiskokie.org or
(847) 675-0951.
Monday
January 26
Fiedler Hillel at Northwestern University presents Israeli journalist and author
Ari Shavit speaking on
“21st Century Zion: America, Israel and the Challenges of a New Era.” 7:30
p.m., Technological Institute, Ryan Family Auditorium, 2145 Sheridan Road,
Evanston. RSVP shayna.horwitz@u.northwestern.edu
or (847) 491-5717.
Tuesday
January 27
The Renfrew Center, the nation’s first eating disorder
facility and largest treatment network, is hosting an
open house at 5 Revere
Drive, Suite 100, Northbrook,
from 3–7 p.m. Guests can
meet Renfrew’s founder and
president Sam Menaged, as
well as the staff of The Renfrew Center of Chicago.
Tours of the new site will be
provided, along with information on Renfrew’s programs.
Ketura Hadassah holds general meeting featuring author
and design consultant Sallie
Posniak. 12:30 p.m., Mayer
Kaplan JCC, 5050 Church,
Skokie. $3. mortfinkel@hotmail.com or (847) 675-5873.
Spertus Institute for Jewish
Learning and Leadership
shows 1953 television
episode of “This Is Your
Life” featuring Holocaust
survivor Hanna Bloch
Kohner. 7 p.m., 610 S.
Michigan Ave., Chicago.
$18, $10 Spertus members,
$8 students. spertus.edu or
(312) 322-1773.
Wednesday
January 28
North Shore Congregation
Israel and Aitz Hayim Center for Jewish Living present “Election Review” by
Alan Solow, Democratic advocate and former chairman of Conference of
Presidents of Major Jewish
Organizations, and Fred
Zeidman, former chairman
of U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum and leader of Republican Jewish Coalition. 7
p.m., 1185 Sheridan Road,
Glencoe. (847) 835-0724.
Theodore Bikel
Lubavitch Chabad of Skokie
hosts Friday Night Dinner
with Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin
discussing his spiritual journey from Reform Seminary
to Chabad Emissary, after
services. 4:50 p.m., 4059
Dempster, Skokie. $24
adult, $14 child. skokiechabad.org or (847) 677-1770.
North Suburban Synagogue
Beth El presents Musical
Shabbat Celebration followed by Italian dinner and
featuring singing group
Friends of Zamir. 6:15 p.m.,
1175 N. Sheridan Road,
Highland Park. $28 adults,
$17 ages 4-12. Reservations,
cswenson@nssbethel.org or
(847) 432-8900 Ext. 222.
Saturday
January 31
Thursday
January 29
Belmont Village presents
“The Medicare Maze: Navigating the Twists and Turns
of the Medicare System”
featuring speakers Jim Sullivan, president of MedicareAware and Mary Kay
Furiasse, A/Z Health, Trust &
Elder Law, LLC. Noon, 1035
Madison Street, Oak Park.
RSVP (708) 848-7200.
Friday
January 30
Temple Judea Mizpah hosts
Shabbat service featuring
the Kol Simcha Choir followed by potluck dinner. 6
p.m. at 8610 Niles Center
Road, Skokie. (847) 6761566.
Congregation Beth Judea
holds Havdalah Game
Night for families with
pizza, snacks, ice cream following service. 5:45 p.m.,
Route 83 and Hilltop Road,
Long Grove. $5. RSVP
lneiman@bethjudea.org or
(847) 634-0777.
Sunday
February 1
Jewish Child and Family
Services holds program,
“Helping our Girls Feel
Good about Being Female”
for grades 3-8. Temple
Sholom of Chicago, 3480 N.
Lake Shore Drive, Chicago.
Time and more information, AnnLuban@jcfs.org or
(847) 745-5420.
SPOTLIGHT
The Abington of Glenview kicks off its
yearlong 25th anniversary celebration
with an Open House, including hors
d’oeuvres and drinks, from 2-4 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 11, 3901 Glenview
Road, Glenview. RSVP, (847) 729-0000 Ext. 120.
13
By Joseph Aaron
CONTINUED
F RO M PAG E
Worried
about their
14
One of the Jewish leaders at the meeting described Netanyahu’s
call for French Jews to leave their country as “extremely smug” and
“patronizing.” “Imagine if following a terror attack in Netanya, the
French president would arrive in Israel and call on Jews to leave for
France,” he said.
Look, I actually think it would be great if all Jews lived in Israel.
But the real question is why does Israel always have to scare people into
making aliyah? And why basically are the only Jews in the world making aliyah these days those who feel themselves under threat in their
own countries?
As former Israeli president Shimon Peres so wisely put it in reacting to what Bibi did in France, immigration to Israel should be encouraged for positive reasons, not only as a response to persecution
abroad. “I think Zionism is a movement of rebirth, not protest. Why
should I have a negative reason? I have a positive reason,” said Peres.
But Bibi doesn’t do positive, only negative. Which is why he
shamelessly used the deaths of those four French Jews to tell French
Jews they have no choice but to leave France now and move to Israel.
Aliyah by coercion, aliyah driven by panic, aliyah based on fear.
Bibi told French Jews to immigrate to Israel to avoid anti-Semitism and “live secure and peaceful lives.” As Alon Ben-Meir noted in
the Huffington Post, “Netanyahu conveniently forgets that 80 times
more Israelis were killed in Israel by suicide bombers and random acts
of violence in the past 20 years than all Jews killed in Europe by terrorists in the same time period.”
And as Jonathan Zausmer wrote in the Times of Israel, “My
message to the Jews of France is this: Jerusalem is no safer than
Paris… Do we wish to see you here in Israel as citizens of the Jewish
state? Yes we do, as we wish to see an ingathering of Diaspora Jews from
around the world. But know this: you need to do the math. The outrages of terror and war in the last two decades in Israel and the threat
of Islamic fundamentalist violence are as present here as in Paris…So,
if you are fleeing France under the threat of an Islamic tsunami,
urged by the rhetoric of Netanyahu, save yourself the trouble. You are
merely replacing one set of threats with another.”
Their point is that fear is not the reason to make aliyah. Israel is
the reason to make aliyah. Their point is that to approach people in
their moment of trauma to scare them into moving to Israel is beyond
shameful.
But as shameful as that was, it is nothing compared to how Bibi’s
government dealt with those four Jews killed in the kosher supermarket.
For starters, Bibi, knowing it would be politically beneficial to him
to bring those bodies to Israel where he could preside over their funeral, actually pressured the families of two of the victims to agree to
have their loved ones buried in Israel. They did not want that, they
wanted them laid to rest in France near their families. But Israel put
heavy pressure on them to have the burial be in Israel.
At the funeral, while the families delivered heartfelt eulogies for
their loved ones, Bibi gave a political speech, denouncing Islamic extremism and urging the world to confront the violence.
Now get ready for what happened next. After the funeral, the
families of the four dead Jews were presented with a bill for 50,000
shekels, about $12,500, for each burial.
That happened after this happened. As the families themselves
reported, the Yemenite burial society on the Mount of Olives offered
them plots in the ancient cemetery for $17,715 apiece. A member of
the burial society denied the price was that high, saying that, “There
was a price but not that; we gave them a fair offer.”
Problem is that the plots were in a distant and unsafe portion of
the cemetery. After more confusion involving not one, not two, but
three other cemeteries, finally the grieving families were told that another burial society agreed to give them plots at Har Hamenuchot
cemetery – for 50,000 shekels each, 40,000 for the plot and 10,000 for
the burial. $12,500 for each family.
Instead of being embarrassed, one burial society official was very
proud of their behavior, noting “in the meantime we buried them
without first getting the money; they deserve it, they were murdered
because they are Jews.”
Take that in for a moment. Four Jews massacred while shopping
for food for Shabbat, just because they were Jews, and their families
are first coerced into bringing the bodies to Israel, and then, after Israeli politicians use the funeral to make political speeches, the families are presented with a bill.
May you be comforted among the mourners of Zion and
Jerusalem. Now pay up.
After a public outcry at the insensitivity of it all, the Religious Affairs Ministry announced it would pick up the tab for the families.
But if this is how Jews behave at a time like this, it is every Jew
in the world who pays the price.
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The Chicago Jewish News
gratefully acknowledges the generous support of
RABBI MORRIS
AND
DELECIA ESFORMES
14
By
Joseph
Aaron
Jewish tragedy
www.
chicagojewishnews
.com
The Jewish
News place in
cyberspace
Sometimes, you really got to wonder about Jews.
As you know, two days after the massacre at the Charlie Hebdo
newspaper in Paris, where some Muslims thought it was their sacred
religious duty to be so offended by cartoons of Mohammed that the
appropriate response was to murder 12 people, another Muslim took
over a kosher supermarket and proceeded to kill four Jews, the only
reason being that they were Jews.
Definitively proving that Islam is the most vile religion on the
face of the earth.
I know I started out this column intending to talk about Jews, and
I do plan to do so since that’s kind of my thing, but I do need to take
a minute to say that my fellow liberals need to stop making excuses
for Islam, to end, in the rare wise words of George W. Bush, engaging
in the “soft bigotry of low expectations.”
No, not all of the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims are terrorists. But
a too high percentage are. And a much bigger, unbelievably obscene
percentage of Muslims either quietly endorse what the terrorists do,
or just as bad, say nothing publicly to condemn it.
I truly don’t understand how Muslims do not feel sickened when
their fellow Muslims do things like they did in Paris, when at this moment, Saudi Arabia sentenced a blogger to 1,000 lashes and jailed a
man for filming the public beheading of a woman. There are no excuses, no justifications, no explanations for what happened in that
Paris kosher supermarket, no excuses for why we heard virtually none
of the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims publicly condemn what happened
in that Paris kosher supermarket.
And yes, I still think making peace with the Palestinians makes
sense and that a two-state solution is what is best for Israel, but we’ll
leave that for another time.
Now let me get to the Jews. So there were four Jews murdered in
that Paris kosher supermarket. Something that all Jews all over the
world should mourn, treat respectfully, with dignity.
Which is precisely not what was done.
From the minute they were killed, it was one truly nauseating
thing after another, things that really make you wonder about Jews
sometimes.
For starters, we had the disgraceful behavior of Prime Minister
Bibi who immediately tried to make political hay out of it, traveling
to Paris and telling French Jews to flee their homes before it is too late.
France is no insignificant Jewish community. There are more than
500,000 French Jews, more than 700 Jewish schools in France, synagogues and organizations and shops and a long and impressive history.
And in comes Bibi basically telling French Jews to forget all that and
move to Israel because their lives are in “existential danger.”
Before I go on, I should note I know that I am treading on
touchy territory here. Aliyah is one of those things it is politically incorrect not to be totally and strongly for. Any Jew who dares to say that
not every Jew should make aliyah is asking for trouble. When Muslims see a cartoon of Mohammed, they are ready to cut your head off,
literally. When a Jew hears that you dare say anything not totally in
support of aliyah, they are ready to rip your head off, verbally.
Especially all those ardent aliyah lovers living in the United
States who self-servingly have decided they can “do more to help Israel” by staying here. But think all other Jews should make aliyah.
They’ll be Zionists living in Skokie and Highland Park.
Anyway, Bibi told French Jews they had to make aliyah. Which
didn’t go over so great with some French Jews. “The Israeli government must stop this Pavlovian response every time there is an attack
against Jews in Europe,” said Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the director of the European Jewish Association.
“I regret that after every anti-Semitic attack in Europe, the Israeli
government dispenses the same statements about the importance of
aliyah rather than take all measures ... at its disposal in order to increase the safety of Jewish life in Europe. Every such Israeli campaign
severely weakens and damages the Jewish communities that have the
right to live securely wherever they are,” the rabbi said.
Then there was the meeting with the heads of France’s Jewish organizations that Bibi held in which, according to the Times of Israel, he
“likened the complacency of French Jewry to the state of Jews in Spain
prior to the Spanish Inquisition of 1492…His meeting with the Jewish
leaders was described by participants as “harsh” and “deeply insulting.”
SEE BY JOSEPH
AARON
ON
PAG E 1 3
15
Arts & Entertainment
Movie ‘Selma’ and its missing rabbi
By Susannah Heschel
JTA
The 50th anniversary of the
1965 march at Selma is being
commemorated this year with
the release of the film “Selma.”
The film has triggered controversy for its portrayal of President
Lyndon Johnson as a reluctant
ally of the civil rights movement. That debate is over a contentious sin of commission. But
critics could also fault the film for
a glaring sin of omission – the absence of identifiable Jews and
Jewish clergy, particularly my father, Rabbi Abraham Joshua
Heschel.
Regrettably, the film represents the march as many see it
today, only as an act of political
protest. But for my father and for
many participants, the march
was both an act of political
protest and a profoundly religious
moment: an extraordinary gathering of nuns, priests, rabbis,
black and white, a range of political views, from all over the
United States.
Perhaps more an act of celebration of the success of the
civil rights movement than of
political protest, Selma affirmed
that the movement had won the
conscience of America.
President Lyndon Johnson
had just declared, “We Shall
Overcome,” and congressional
passage of the Voting Rights Act
would come quickly. Thanks to
the religious beliefs and political
convictions of the Rev. Martin
Luther King, Jr., coalitions had
been built, religious differences
overcome and visions articulated
that meshed religious and political goals.
My father felt that the
prophetic tradition of Judaism
had come alive at Selma. He said
that King told him it was the
greatest day in his life, and my father said that he was reminded at
Selma of walking with Hasidic
rebbes in Europe. Such was the
spiritual atmosphere of the day.
When he returned, he famously said, “For many of us the
march from Selma to Montgomery was about protest and
prayer. Legs are not lips and
walking is not kneeling. And yet
our legs uttered songs. Even
without words, our march was
worship. I felt my legs were praying.”
Imagine: My father arrived
in 1940 as a refugee from Nazi
Europe, where all too many
Christian theologians were declaring Jesus an Aryan, not a Jew,
and throwing the Old Testament
out of the Christian Bible be-
cause it was a Jewish book. It
seemed miraculous for him to
discover Martin Luther King, Jr.,
placing the Exodus and the
prophets of Israel at the center of
the civil rights movement.
Marching out of Selma felt
like a reenactment of the Exodus, but in a new way. Not only
were the Israelites leaving Egypt,
the place of enslavement, but
also the Egyptians, because there
was a hope at Selma that white
America was repudiating its
racism. My father had written,
“The tragedy of Pharaoh was the
failure to realize that the exodus
from slavery could have spelled
redemption for both Israel and
Egypt. Would that Pharaoh and
the Egyptians had joined the Israelites in the desert and together stood at the foot of Sinai.”
Of course, the dream that
Pharaoh might join the Israelites
was not realized. Racism in
America remains tenacious, and
its slipperiness means that while
the Voting Rights Act was passed
by Congress and signed by the
president following the Selma
march, the disenfranchisement
of black America continues with
insidious new forms of legislation.
The religious inspiration
that led us to Selma continues,
and the photograph of my father
marching in the front row there
– with King, Ralph Bunche, John
Lewis, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth
and Rev. C.T. Vivian – has become iconic. What a pity that
my father’s presence is not included in “Selma.” More than a
historical error, the film erases
one of the central accomplishments of the civil rights movement, its inclusiveness, and one
of King’s great joys: his close
friendship with my father.
The photograph reminds us
that religious coalitions can transcend and overcome political
conflicts, and it also reminds us
that our Jewish prophetic tradition came alive in the civil rights
movement. Judaism seemed to be
at the very heart of being American.
Yet Selma was also a crossroad for Jews as it was for blacks.
Would we follow the model of
King and my father, of nonviolent liberation from oppression?
Or would we follow calls to violent action, symbolized by the
Black Panthers and the Jewish
Defense League,whose leader,
Meir Kahane, urged Jews to copy
the Panthers and militarize
themselves against anti-Semitism? Both blacks and Jews had
to choose between a path of resentment, rage and violence, or
a path of peace, nonviolence,
persuasion and coalition. The
Marching from Selma: John Lewis of SNCC, an unidentified nun, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Rev. Martin Luther
King, Jr., Ralph Bunche (former U.S. Ambassador to the UN), Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Rev. Fred
Shuttlesworth.
consequences of that choice remain with us to this day.
Few events in history of the
United States are as inspiring as
the march from Selma. Walking
across the Edmund Pettus Bridge
(named for a Confederate general) opened a door, inviting all
Americans to join in unity
against segregation and racism.
Yes, the Selma march was a
protest against forces of destruction and oppression, against legislation and institutions of
bigotry and cruelty. But its mood
was filled with a biblical sense of
optimism that justice would ultimately prevail in the United
States.
Today, Selma represents a
hope for redemption, a hope expressed by the prophets of Israel,
of an era in which bigotry will finally come to an end. For the
Bible, my father taught, the ultimate expression of G-d is not
wisdom, magnificence, land,
glory, nor even love – but rather
justice. Justice is the tool of G-d,
the manifestation of G-d, the
means of our redemption and the
redemption of G-d from human
mendacity.
Would you kill for love? She did.
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