Ajewish messenger - Jewish Federation of Greater New Bedford

When a child needs an education, a family loses their income
or an entire community is devastated by a disaster, Federation
provides a safety net. It’s a pledge we live by.
We are there to help a distressed family regain their footing.
To rescue and rebuild after a catastrophe. We make sure a
Holocaust survivor isn’t deserted, and that no one who is
disabled is without assistance.
A
jewish
messenger
Tishrei 5775
Fall 2014
T h e J e w i s h F e d e r a t i o n o f G re a t e r N e w B e d f o rd
Israel in Need — We Respond
At home, in Israel and around the globe, we’re seeking
innovative approaches to supporting and nurturing our people
wherever they’re in need. Helping thousands to discover
or reconnect to their Jewish identity wherever there’s a longing.
Your Federation gift enables us to accomplish all this and more.
Give to Federation today.
Visit us at JewishNewBedford.org or call 508-997-7471
Jewish Federation
Of Greater New Bedford
467 Hawthorn Street | Dartmouth, MA 02747
Nearly $15,000 was raised as 45 families in our community responded
to the call to donate above and beyond their annual gifts to the
Federation’s Stop the Sirens campaign. Kol HaKavod.
from the president
FusionPro Text
FusionPro Text
I
have been a board member. I have been interim executive director. And now, as of July 1, I am president of the board of directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Bedford, an
organization that I and my family hold
dear. Thank you for supporting me in
this role. Thank you, Judy Barry, for
passing the baton and leading the Federation in the year prior. I look forward
to a productive year, filled with meaningful programming and opportunities
to engage the community.
I am happy to report that the 201314 Campaign came to a successful
conclusion on June 30, raising more
than $200,000. With these funds, the Federation will
continue to sustain the Jewish community today and
for future generations. Highlights from the past year
include a concert by Shir Ba’ Emek, an Israeli singing
ensemble, at our Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration and annual blood drive; cooking via Skype with Israeli friends
from our SNEC community of Afula-Gilboa; Holocaust programs at the Yom Ha’Shoah
observance and in local classrooms,
supported by curriculum materials and
speakers; a partnership with Coastline
Elderly to help community members in
need; and a collegial relationship with
the Center for Jewish Culture at UMass
Dartmouth and the Bristol Community
College Holocaust Center.
Our Federation is proud to enhance
Jewish life both here and abroad. The
people of Israel, in particular, are close
in thought and deed. Through the Southern New England Consortium (SNEC), Taglit-Birthright Israel and
Israeli Young Emissaries, we strengthen our ties with
the land of our ancestors.
There are times when Israel needs our support more
than others. This summer was one of those times. The
conflict with Hamas in Gaza left many in the surrounding Israeli lands traumatized by the bombs and bomb
shelters. The Jewish Federations of North America
asked that Federation members heed the call for help
by contributing to a Stop the Sirens Israel emergency
campaign. Our members generously responded with
$9,429 in individual gifts, matched by $5,000 of Federation funds, for a total contribution of nearly $15,000.
While the work of healing and rebuilding is ongoing,
Israel will recover in time. I am comforted that our
own contributions will make the process easier.
If you have suggestions or concerns in the coming
year about the work of the Federation, please feel free
to contact me at tucker1300@gmail.com. May the
New Year be a sweet one. L’Shana Tovah U’Metukah.
Ellen Hull
Board of
directors
2014-15
Ellen Hull, president
Martin Lipman, vice president
Marsha Onufrak, vice president
Stuart Forman, treasurer
Amir Cohen, executive director
William Abesh
Kenneth Ackerman
Pearl Bacdayan
Susan Barnet
Andrew Barroll
Jack Belkin
Jason Falk
Deborah Forman
Janet Freedman
Wendy Friedman
Arthur Glassman
Ruth Glicksman
Barbara Gotlib
Rabbi Barry Hartman
Todd Herman
Barbara Kaplan
David Novick
Matthew Philips
Stanley Revzin
David Rosenberg
Susan Siegal
Cynthia Yoken
Cheryl Zeoli
Alan Zexter
ex-officio
Alan Ades
Judy Barry
Paul Chervinsky
David Cohen
Louis Gitlin
Robert Greene
Kenneth Lipman
Peter London
Jeffrey Martin
Judy Pollack
Elliot Rosenfield
Patricia Rosenfield
Michael Russell
Peter Russell
Lillian Shwartz
The Jewish Messenger is published by
the Jewish Federation
of Greater New Bedford
467 Hawthorn Street,
Dartmouth, MA 02747
T -508-997-7471
email - office@jewishnewbedford.org
page 2 | jewish messenger
We Have Come Far
By Dr. Stuart Forman
D
uring my second term as president of the
board, it became clear that our Federation
had to adjust to a new reality. Our resources
were limited; the community was not growing; and
the cost of maintaining our organization was becoming larger in proportion to the amount of programming provided and funds raised.
Federation officers and dedicated volunteers worked together to
respond to the challenge and agreed
to a strategic shift that would turn
the Federation professional leadership into a part-time position model.
When the former executive director
and secretary both announced that
they were leaving for other positions, the timing seemed perfect.
We believed that more qualified
and higher caliber candidates would be attracted to
the positions precisely because they did not require a
full-time commitment. Amir Cohen was hired after
historical value to the archives at UMass-Dartmouth.
These changes helped us achieve the goal of using
more of the dollars raised for charitable and programming efforts and less for operations.
Judy Pollack, Judy Barry and I
served as president of the board while
these changes were being made. Last
year the successful transition was completed.
The process was greatly helped by
Mike Russell, president of the Southern New England Consortium (SNEC).
Under his leadership, our relationship
with Israel and support of its social
agencies has grown. As members of
SNEC, we benefit from the synergy 11
New England Federations bring to the
Afula-Gilboa region.
Thanks go to Ed Siegal who chaired
the finance committee during this process and to Milton Goodman, Charlie Gorfinkle, Barbara Samuels
and Dot Aghai for their work on behalf of Tifereth
These changes helped us achieve the goal of
using more of the dollars raised for charitable
and programming efforts and less for operations.
a thorough search process to serve as the executive
director and he hired Michelle Poirier as secretary –
both working part-time hours.
At approximately the same time, we downsized
our office space and expenses by moving within
the building, meeting Our Sisters’ School’s need
for more physical space. We purged our files and
arranged for the transfer of important papers with
Learning here or abroad?
We support you.
Applications for college scholarships for
2015-2016 will be available January 2015.
To be eligible for a scholarship, the family
of the applicant must be a member of
Federation in good standing.
Grants are available for Jewish teens residing
in the Greater New Bedford area for travel/study
in Israel. These grants are made possible
by the Harvey Friedland Israel Youth Experience
Memorial Fund and the Evelyn Rosen
Youth Israel Travel Fund.
For more information, call (508) 997-7471
or email office@jewishnewbedford.org.
Israel.
During the 2013-14 fiscal year, we’ve become a
better Federation – better positioned to carry out our
focused mission to promote the well-being of the
Jewish people at home, abroad, and in Israel.
We can all be proud of these accomplishments as
we move ahead to fiscal 2014-15 and the challenges it
brings. I’m confident we’re well equipped for them. l
It’s a
date.
Whether you
organize your life
by smartphone or
paper calendar,
be sure to save
the date:
Annual
Blood Drive
Sunday, May 17, 2015
8:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Southcoast Blood Donor Van
Tifereth Israel parking lot
Holocaust Education
and Memorial Committee
2014-15 theme: The Rise of
Anti-Semitism in the World
October 29
Through the Eyes of a Friend (The
World of Anne Frank), a performance in the Zeiterion Performing
Arts Center’s Arts in Education
series
WHERE: New Bedford Whaling
Museum Theater
WHEN: 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM
ADMISSION: $9.00 per ticket
October 31
Light in a Time of Darkness: Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Rescuer
Guest speakers: Dr. Robert Wheeler, professor of history, emeritus,
University of New Hampshire, and
Mr. Robert Jacobvitz, board member, Sousa Mendes Foundation
WHERE: Margaret L. Jackson
Performing Arts Center at Bristol
Community College, 777 Elsbree
Street, Fall River
WHEN: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
ADMISSION:
November 2
The Sousa Mendes Story: The
Road to Recognition:
From New Bedford to Lisbon
Breakfast followed by guest speaker
Robert Jacobvitz
WHERE: Tifereth Israel
Synagogue
WHEN: 10:00 AM
November 9
Killing Kasztner: The Jew Who
Dealt with the Nazis, a featurelength theatrical documentary
Film followed by talk with the
director, Gaylen Ross
WHERE: Tifereth Israel Synagogue, Small Hall
WHEN: 2:00 PM
November 16
Following Kristallnacht in Vienna:
The November Pogrom of 1938 and
Its Impact on Emigration
Lecture and PowerPoint presentation by Professor Ilana Offenberger
of UMass Dartmouth
WHERE: Tifereth Israel
Synagogue, Small Hall
WHEN: 3:00 PM
April 9
Conversation with Holocaust
survivor Esther Bauer
WHERE: Margaret L. Jackson
Performing Arts Center at Bristol
Community College
WHEN: 4:00 PM
April 15
Eluding the Nazis in Occupied
France
Lecture by Sarah Miller and Joyce
Lazarus, sponsored by the Center
for Jewish Culture and the Boivin
Center at UMass Dartmouth
WHERE: Claire T. Carney Library
Grand Reading Room
WHEN: 12:00 - 1:30 PM
April 16
(YOM HASHOAH
REMEMBRANCE DAY)
Nazi Hunter: Simon Wiesenthal:
The Conscience of the Holocaust,
a performance in the Zeiterion
Performing Arts Center’s Arts in
Education series
WHERE: Zeiterion PAC
WHEN: 9:30 A
(school program) and 7:30 PM
ADMISSION: $20/$25/$29
per ticket
April 26
Community observance
of Yom HaShoah
WHERE: Holocaust Monument,
Buttonwood Park
WHEN: 6:30 PM
Speaker Robert Fokos, Holocaust
survivor from Hungary who recently rediscovered his self-hidden
Jewish roots
WHERE: Tifereth Israel
Synagogue
WHEN: 7:30 PM
Passover Appeal
Each year, we tell the story of Passover and celebrate with tradition and food. Each year, we give so that others in need can do
so as well. Thank you for your generous response to the 2014
Passover Appeal, which raised over $3,400 to purchase kosherfor-Passover foods for members of our community.
Passover appeal donors
Betty & William Abesh
Dorothy Aghai
Cecilia Alkalay
Susan Barnet
Rozzy & Norman Bernstein
Myra Besen
Ruth & Bernard Bier
Elaine & Paul Chervinsky
Peggy Fain
Elliott Feinstein
Bonnie Feldman
Steven Finger
Mary & Gerald Franklin
Mathew & Meri Frauwith
Sheldon Friedland
Charlotte Friedman
Wendy Friedman
Mary & Arnold Gellman
Goldie Gitlin
Rosalyn Glaser
Milton Glicksman
Myra Goldberg
Marcia & Ruben Goldstein
Barbara & Aaron Gotlib
Rabbi Barry Hartman
Ruth & Burton Hastings
Wil Herrup
Lois Horowitz
Leanora & Jeffrey Horowitz
Ellen Hull
Lois & George Jacobs
Rabbi Raphael Kanter
Linda Lane
Claire & Fred Levin
Frances & Clinton Levin
Stanley Levine
Rachel & Anthony Lewis
Joanne & David Lima
Martin Lipman
Miriam London
Sophia & Alex Lustikman
Elizabeth Matathia
Anne & Shawn McGuire
David Meltzer
Catherine Michael
Nathan Naftoly
National Council of
Jewish Women
Florence Novick
Edith Pliskin
Judy Pollack
Susan & Bernard Portnoy
Marsha & Stanley Revzin
Roger Rosen
Patricia & Elliot Rosenfield
M.C. Rosenfield
Karan & Alfred Ross
Bernard Roth
Catherine & Michael Russell
Frima & Gilbert Shapiro
Emma & Igor Shovmer
Sue & Calvin Siegal
Louis Silverstein
Paul Solomon
Judith & Robert Sterns
Carol Torres & Robert
Moniz
Iris Wallace
Cynthia & Melvin Yoken
Sandra & Phillip Zeitz
Maura & Michael Zeman
Cheryl & Daniel Zeoli
Anonymous (5)
Ethel & Nathan Kaplan
Passover Relief Fund
jewish messenger | page 11
Holocaust Committee:
A Year to Remember
By Cindy Yoken
F
or over 30 years, the Holocaust Education and these projects were displayed at our annual Holocaust
Memorial Committee, whose membership in- remembrance program. Students in Steve Nowell’s
cludes people of all faiths and backgrounds, class at Roosevelt Middle School again presented skits
has worked to share the story of the atrocities of the at Barnes and Noble in Dartmouth based on their readHolocaust and the lessons learned from it with our ing of Anne Frank’s story.
The Holocaust Monument in Buttonwood Park now
community and local students. This past year, the
committee focused on the theme of “Rescue and Re- has new plants, thanks to the efforts of the Reverend
sistance,” learning about those courageous people, David Lima who was instrumental in contacting Bruce
both Jewish and non-Jewish, who defied prejudice and Duffy, the Southcoast tree warden. Just before our anrisked their own safety to rescue victims during the Holocaust.
In October, the Holocaust Committee
was proud to present a lecture at Tifereth Israel Synagogue by Irene Berman who spoke
about her family’s escape from Norway to
Sweden. Members of the congregation as
well as many Norwegians who live in the
area attended. Irene was born and raised in
Norway. As a young child in 1942, she escaped with her family to Sweden, a neutral
country during World War II, to avoid annihilation. With the help of the resistance, her
family was led to safety. This untold story is
beautifully described in her book, “We Are
Dr. Sharon Delmendo (left) with Cindy and Mel Yoken
Going to Pick Potatoes,” a narrative and remembrance of growing up Jewish in Norway
during World War II, which Irene signed after
nual Yom HaShoah program in April, new plants were
the lecture.
During the winter months, there were ample op- planted along the walkway leading to the monument as
portunities to learn about the Holocaust at several ven- well as two trees in back. Committee members have
ues in the area. At Bristol Community College’s new graciously offered to water the plants for the next two
Holocaust Center, lectures for students and the com- years until they are established.
This year the Holocaust Education and Memorial
munity by Holocaust scholars like Dr. James Young
from UMass-Amherst were offered. At UMass-Dartmouth’s Center for Jewish Culture, Dr. David Kerzer
spoke in February on the Holocaust and the Pope. In
March, the community was invited to Taunton to view
Hitler’s propaganda films with a discussion with Rabbi
Heath following the films.
Several committee members also visited classrooms to teach middle school students about Abe Landau. At Our Sisters’ School, committee members were
invited to speak and share a PowerPoint presentation
with the 8th grade class. Following this visit, the students created their own Holocaust projects. Students
at Durfee High School also wrote poems and designed
beautiful art projects. The students in Pam Cole’s
“Death and Dying” class at Bristol Community College researched people who rescued Jews during the Community members at the Holocaust MemoHolocaust and wrote essays about them. Several of rial Service in Buttonwood Park
page 10 | jewish messenger
Committee educated our students and community on
the amazing rescue that took place during World War
II. In 1938, when it was becoming nearly impossible
for Jews to leave Europe, the Philippines, a country of
more than 7,000 islands, became a haven for a large
number of European Jews fleeing the Holocaust. Over
1,300 people found a home there. These refugees were
known as the “Manilaners.”
Our featured speaker, Dr. Sharon Delmendo, professor of English at St. John Fisher College
in Rochester, New York, spoke at the April
27 Yom HaShoah annual observance on
the subject, “An Open Door: Holocaust
Rescue in the Philippines.” UMass–Dartmouth’s chancellor, Dr. Divina Grossman,
a native of the Philippines, introduced Dr.
Delmendo. This is the little-told story of
the efforts of a trans-Pacific network of
dedicated individuals and organizations
comprising Jews, Catholics, Protestants,
Americans, Filipinos, civilians and government officials that provided at least
1,305 European Jews refuge in the Philippines between 1938 and 1940. Following
the lecture, guests were invited to a dessert
reception sponsored by the Filipino American Community of Southcoast featuring
displays by the Filipino American community and
essays and artwork by students from Bristol Community College, Durfee High School and the Bernard H. Ziskind School of Judaism.
At the memorial service at the Holocaust Monument before the lecture that evening, a crowd gathered to honor and memorialize the victims of the
Holocaust and to pay tribute to Abraham and Frieda
Landau, whose dream it was to have a public monument. We honored the brave soldiers who fought
in World War II, especially those who fought in the
Philippines, as their relatives and the children of Holocaust survivors processed with candles to Tifereth
Israel Synagogue.
The following evening, Dr. Delmendo gave a
military presentation at the Fort Rodman Fort Taber
Military Museum entitled “A Somber and Durable
Tapestry: the Jewish War Service in Bataan and the
Philippine Resistance.”
The Holocaust Committee meets monthly and
plans events to educate students and the community on the Holocaust. Those interested in joining the
committee should contact the Jewish Federation. l
Our Partnership
with Israel
By Michael Russell
Shir Ba’Emek before its performance in New Bedford in May.
T
his has been a very productive and interesting year for our partnership with Afula
and the surrounding Gilboa region. As part
of our membership in the Southern New England
Consortium (SNEC), we continue to build relationships with the people and agencies in the region.
The SNEC Afula-Gilboa partnership has two
primary goals:
1. Building “Living Bridges” between Americans in our community and Israelis from that
region.
2. Supporting crucial social welfare programs in
the region.
In support of the Living Bridge goal, one of
our key activities this year in New Bedford and
in several other SNEC communities was inviting
Shir B’Emek, a choral group, to perform for us.
The members of the group stayed at our homes,
and all who hosted now have new Israeli friends –
many of whom invited us to stay with them when
we next visit Israel. New Bedford is also the pilot
site for the first shared cooking lesson via Skype.
We also had a couple of visits from Young Emissaries from the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts to Tifereth Israel’s Ziskind School. We
aim to increase the Young Emissaries presence in
the upcoming year.
community in low socioeconomic areas
through visual and performing arts programs
for kids
The issue of Jewish identity is at the center of
many discussions about the future of Judaism –
how to maintain our traditions and culture in an
SNEC helps us by building relationships with
Jews in Israel and by letting us see the specific
benefits to programs we sponsor.
The social welfare goal was fulfilled by funding
several programs:
1. The animal therapy program at Beit Singer
Children’s Home
2. The Afula satellite office of the Haifa Rape
Crisis Center
3. The Tarbut movement’s program to build
increasingly assimilated, diverse and complicated
world.
SNEC helps us by building relationships with
Jews in Israel and by letting us see the specific benefits to programs we sponsor.
Continued on page 4
jewish messenger | page 3
Arab-Israeli Conflict
More Complex than Assumed
By Amir Cohen
L
One of 120 Beit Singer students benefiting from animal-assisted therapy
partnership
continued from page 3
In May, along with two other SNEC steering committee members, I visited our region. The Jewish Agency (JAFI) office in Afula planned our three-day itinerary.
We met with the Afula-Gilboa Steering Committee and
visited Beit Singer and also a horse riding therapy program for disabled children not funded by SNEC. We
also had some very interesting discussions with some of
Skype: A Recipe
For Community
the leaders of other partnership regions.
As many of you who follow the weekly community
Bulletin know, Yuval Hameiri, one of the members
of the Tarbut group which we help fund, produced a
short, nonfiction documentary film which he submitted
to the Sundance Film Festival. Of the original 8,161
films submitted in the entire “shorts” category, his won
the shorts documentary award! Along with the Israeli
Steering Committee and our JAFI partners, we were
privileged to view this film with Yuval on my recent
visit. Yuval will be visiting our community on Octo-
Separated by more than 5,400 miles, seven hours and language,
two groups of women came together to share what they had in common: food and faith. On July 10, Ruth Ades, Marsha Onufrak and
Cindy Yoken participated in a cooking lesson with women from the
Afula-Gilboa region of Israel. Communicating via Skype, the Federation team led in the preparation of cheese blintzes with cherry sauce in
Marsha’s kitchen. Cooking at a local community center, the SNECsponsored team in Israel offered instruction in the making of cheese
muffins and carrot salad.
A second session of international cooking class is already in the
works. If you would like to participate in a future cooking lesson and/
or are willing to host, please contact the Federation at office@jewishnewbedford.org. Groups of three to four people are ideal. This is a fun
and fulfilling way to support our mission of strengthening ties between
our community and Israel. Culinary school degrees and toques are not
required; enthusiasm and an appetite for bonding through food are!
page 4 | jewish messenger
A Winner at the Sundance Film Festival
ber 28 and will meet with students and members of the
community at UMass Dartmouth as well as the Federation’s Pace Setters event in a smaller setting.
And, finally, our partnership provides for a guest
house in Kibbutz Yizre’el where you can stay for
free. On your next trip to Israel, please visit our partnership community and enjoy that beautiful region.
You will be welcomed with open arms (and lots of
food). If you have any thoughts or questions or want
to coordinate a visit, don’t hesitate to contact me or
the Federation. l
ast week, an opinion piece on the Arab-Israeli
conflict by Robert Souza, a Suffolk University
graduate student, ran in this paper (“Your View:
Israeli, Palestinian feud not so ancient,” July 14). The
impression left — purportedly supported by facts — is
that Israel is a conquering, criminal power responsible for
most wrongdoings in this conflict and that this conclusion
is supported by “empirical evidence.” I feel a response is
merited.
In the past two weeks, 1,900 missiles have been fired
at Israel from Gaza, bringing the total number fired since
2006 to more than 15,000. In the days prior to Souza’s article, Israel sent nearly 1,000 tons of diesel fuel for power
and transportation, as well as truckloads of goods and
medical equipment to Gaza.
On July 16, Israel accepted an Egyptian-brokered
cease-fire. Hamas responded with a barrage of rockets
and sent terrorists through a tunnel into Israel in an attempt
to murder civilians and perhaps kidnap some for future
bargaining.
Souza tailors his “facts” to make the Arab-Israeli conflict one largely marked by Israeli aggression. He leaves
out Israel’s history since its inception — except the Six
Day War, which he only references as the start of a rapid
Israeli land-grab — because including it would make it
hard to logically agree with his characterization of the
conflict.
Let me fill in the gaps, then. On Nov. 29, 1947, the
United Nations voted to partition the land previously
known as Palestine following the termination of the British Mandate, thereby establishing a homeland for the Jew-
2014-2015
Campaign
KEY
DATES
ish people. Eight Muslim-majority countries — Egypt,
Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and
Turkey — were UN member states at the time. As soon as
British forces left, Jordan joined Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and
Syria in invading Israel with the goal of destroying it while
it was still disorganized and defenseless. They failed. All
except Lebanon tried again in the Six Day War in 1967
and in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Again they failed.
The vast majority of the lands Israel seized in these wars
was later returned, including the oil-rich Sinai Peninsula,
in exchange for peace and official recognition from Egypt.
Souza writes about the terrible living conditions of the
Palestinians, perpetrated by an “oppressive “¦ Israeli occupation” consciously backed by the United States. He then
proclaims that the failure of the peace process aimed at
ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict thus far is entirely
due to Israeli settlements and the exclusion of Hamas from
peace talks, as well as a lack of real American effort. Finally, he suggests that solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
is equivalent to solving the Arab-Israeli conflict, and thus
resolving the former would stabilize the region.
Palestinians today do live in poor conditions, and that
is truly tragic. Israel’s actions on this matter, however,
must be understood from the perspective of trying to protect its own civilians, which every country has the right
and obligation to do. Gaza is a uniquely dangerous threat.
After Israel pulled out in 2005, Gazans elected Hamas
into power. This terrorist organization remains in power
today, using civilians as cover and as political weapons
even as they launch rockets at Israeli civilians. Missiles
have been stored at and launched from schools and hos-
pitals. Children and civilians have been forced to stay in
areas from which missiles are launched, knowing the Israeli military will do everything it can to avoid civilian
casualties.
Israel has twice offered Palestinian leaders deals to
establish an independent state. In 2000, President Bill
Clinton brokered talks between Prime Minister Ehud
Barak and PLO leader Yasser Arafat. A State of Palestine
would have been established in Gaza and the West Bank
with East Jerusalem as the capital. Barak agreed; Arafat
did not, and soon after helped instigate the Second Intifada. And in 2008, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered
Mahmoud Abbas almost 100 percent of the land behind
the pre-1967 borders, again including East Jerusalem.
Abbas rejected the offer.
The notion that solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
would solve the Arab-Israeli conflict seems to be based
on the belief that the Arabs have been fighting with Israel on behalf of Palestinian rights and that they will stop
when Palestinians attain sovereignty and relative prosperity. History suggests otherwise. Between 1949 and 1967,
Jordan and Egypt controlled the West Bank and Gaza,
respectively. Neither offered the Palestinians civil rights,
let alone their own state.
The current round of violence highlights the necessity
for peaceful coexistence. To end this cycle and loss of
life, Palestinians need only recognize Israel’s right to exist, end the targeting of Israeli civilians with rockets and
terrorist attacks and focus instead on building a country of
their own. Toward that end, I am certain Israel would be
happy to help.. l
October 28, 2014
December 31, 2014
Look for a personal invitation in the mail.
Interested in becoming a Pacesetter and
attending this Campaign kickoff?
Call Amir Cohen at 508-997-7471 for details.
If you have not already done so please
send in your contribution today.
Annual Campaign Launch - Pacesetters event
for donors of $500 or more
November 10, 2014
First Annual Campaign community mailing
Your quick response and early pledge
will be greatly appreciated.
Your 2013-2014 Campaign pledge
is due before year end.
June 30, 2015
Campaign Close - Last day to make
a pledge to the 2014-2015 Campaign
We encourage making pledges much earlier.
jewish messenger | page 9
Advocacy
One of the roles of the Federation and its leadership is to represent and speak on behalf of the Jewish community.
At times we speak of holidays and cultural activities but sometimes it requires tough debates and addressing challenges.
In April Stuart Forman and I responded to an article advocating the boycott of Israeli universities.
In July we responded to anti-Israel articles during the war in Gaza. Both appeared in “The Standard-Times” and are featured below.
– Amir Cohen
Boycotting Israel Is
Nothing More Than Bigotry
By Stuart Forman & Amir Cohen
T
he Friday, April 4, edition of The StandardTimes featured two opposing pieces in its Pro
& Con section written by Lawrence J. Haas
and George Bisharat under the heading, “Are groups
promoting a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural
institutions misguided?” Haas voiced his opposition
to the boycott while Bisharat defended this controversial initiative.
Haas has local support. UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman weighed in on this topic in
December when the American Studies Association
made its academic boycott announcement, stating, in part, “Restrictions imposed on the ability
of scholars of any particular country to work with
their fellow academics in other countries ... violate
academic freedom. We urge American scholars and
scholars around the world who believe in academic
freedom to oppose this and other such academic
boycotts.”
Bisharat’s diatribe discrediting Israel as a state
and his support of academic sanctions in last week’s
opinion piece show bias and are consistent with his
well-documented anti-Israel stance, which has been
criticized by university presidents, members of the
ASA and the academic community at large in the
past.
Bisharat wrote, “Israel’s separation wall and
other policies toward Palestinians have prompted
repeated comparisons to South African apartheid.”
What he does not share is how and why the current
state of affairs has evolved.
Israel has been forced to defend itself since 1948. A
country of 700,000 people without a standing military, it
was attacked by Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt upon
news of the United Nations’ approval of the partition of
Palestine. This partition plan granted the Jewish people
a state on a small portion of their ancestral and historic
homeland. In 1967, Israel again fought a war for sur-
targeted Israeli buses and restaurants and thousands of
Hamas rockets rained down on Israeli towns, schools
and businesses.
Bisharat referred to lands “illegally confiscated” and
“ethnically cleansed.” These lands were granted to Israel
by the UN and captured or recaptured in wars for survival. Survival (not apartheid) is also the reason why a separation wall was built between Israel and the West Bank.
One has to hope that it will one day be taken down. The
reality, though, is that suicide bombings have become
very rare since the wall’s completion in 2012.
The land captured in 1967 and 1973, including the
Sinai Peninsula, has long since been returned to
Egypt in a “land for peace” agreement.
vival against its neighbors — and then again in 1973,
when Israel defended itself after being attacked on Yom
Kippur, its holiest day.
The land captured in 1967 and 1973, including the
Sinai Peninsula, has long since been returned to Egypt
in a “land for peace” agreement. Israel also withdrew
from Gaza and dismantled its settlements there and offered 90 percent of the West Bank to a future Palestinian
State, but in return for these gestures, suicide bombers
To assume that academic boycotts will force Israel’s
hand in its political negotiations with Palestinian groups
is not only misguided, but bigoted. Where are the sanctions against other countries accused of human rights
offenses or involved in boundary disputes? This academic boycott is simply part of a global campaign to
delegitimize the Jewish state — and that is simply
unacceptable. l
250 Elm Street, Padanaram Village
South Dartmouth, MA 02748
Telephone: (508) 999-1010 v Fax: (508) 999-5248
annewhitingrealestate.com v steve@annewhitingrealestate.com
Steven D. Mazza, Associate
Cell: (508) 207-5605
page 8 | jewish messenger
UMass-Dartmouth
Center for Jewish Culture
Highlights
I
t has been a rewarding year professionally and personally. It is good to
be back on campus after living in Jerusalem while on leave. It is good, too,
to come back with a deeper understanding of the Women of the Wall and to be
able to teach about this inspiring group’s
history here.
In February, Dr. David Kertzer
visited campus, speaking about “The
Vatican, the Pope, and the Path to Italy’s
1938 Racial Laws.” Dr. Kertzer is the
former provost of Brown University and
is currently the Dupee University Professor of Social
Science as well as professor of anthropology and Italian studies at Brown University. Author of 13 books
and a National Jewish Book Award winner, Kertzer
spoke about his latest book, “The Pope and Musso-
lini: The Secret History
of Pius XI and the Rise
of Fascism in Europe”,
telling the story of Pope
Pius XI’s secret relations with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and
his surprising role in the
development of Italy’s
racial laws. Jews, who
had lived in Italy for over
2,000 years, were deemed
a threat to Italian society
in the years leading up to World War II.
Gal Beckerman, opinion editor at The Forward,
spoke on campus in March. He is the author of
“When They Come for Us, We’ll be Gone: The
Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry” and winner of
the 2010 National Jewish Book Award
and the 2012 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. His book details the
politics and passion that fueled the mass
exodus of Russian Jews in 1989, whose
emigration affected our own community and Jewish communities across the
United States.
I appreciate the continuing support of
the Jewish Federation of Greater New
Bedford, which helps make possible a
stimulating smorgasbord of Jewish cultural programming on campus.l
RABBI JACQUELINE SATLOW
director of the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life
and coordinator of the Center for Jewish Culture at
UMass-Dartmouth
Please Join Us for Lunch
on October 28 at 12:30
In the UMass Dartmouth Library
Grand Reading Room
Special Guest:
Yuval Hameiri
Sundance Film Festival Award-Winning Director
Together we will watch and discuss
his award-winning short film
“I think this is the closest to how the footage looked”
This program is a collaboration between the
Jewish Federation of Greater New Bedford and the Center for Jewish Culture
at UMass Dartmouth and is open to both students
and members of the community.
jewish messenger | page 5
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