The Annual Meeting will celebrate local Jewish organizations and congregations with the premiere of a video that highlights the achievements of the past year and showcases programs that have reached the entire community.

“We are proud of what our organizations and congregations have accomplished in the last year—and of the good they do every day,” said Federation CEO Shep Englander. “We want to honor them for their integral role in building our vibrant community.”

In addition, 36 volunteers from throughout the community, having been nominated by their agencies, organizations and congregations, will be honored at the Annual Meeting for their dedication and hard work. A full list of volunteers, including each individual’s organization, photo and quote, can be found on the Jewish Federation’s website. Community members are encouraged to attend the event to show support for their organizations and congregations and applaud each one’s chosen volunteer.

Another focus of the meeting will be to celebrate the work of volunteers and professionals from throughout the Jewish community. The Robert V. Goldstein Volunteer of the Year Award will be given to Beth Guttman, past president of the Jewish Federation and current Federation and Jewish Foundation board member. The Goldstein Award is given to the individual who best exemplifies a lifelong commitment of leadership to the Jewish community; who has a history of broad and dedicated service to the Jewish Federation as well as other organizations or congregations; and who sets an example of leadership for others to follow.

The Jewish Federation will also pay tribute to two premier communal professionals. Danielle V. Minson, the Federation’s Chief Development Officer, will receive the Harris K. & Alice F. Weston Senior “Avodah” Award, given to professionals with 10 or more years of experience in their field. Sarah Ganson, Program and Engagement Associate at Cincinnati Hillel, will receive the Weston Junior “Avodah” Award, given to professionals with five or fewer years of experience.

New or re-elected Federation board members for the 2013 – 2014 year — Dr. David Bernstein, Nina Croog, Mike Dattner, Suzette Fisher, Cindy Guttman, Ronnen Isakov, Tovah Kirschner, Michelle Rothzeid, Scott Samuelson and Mark Sass — will be officially nominated and voted into office.

Cincinnati 2020 has brought the community together to develop a vision for the future — of Cincinnati in the year 2020 as a model community that attracts, retains and meaningfully engages individuals and families with its breadth and quality of Jewish life. It continues to encourage community-wide collaboration to create the programs and projects necessary to achieve that vision. Annual Meeting attendees will learn about the concrete progress that has been made so far and get a preview of future projects.

Jewish Federation President Andy Berger said, “At last year’s Annual Meeting, we helped you imagine what Cincinnati would look like in the year 2020. This year, we will show you how we’re turning that vision into reality.”

A choir of boys from both Cincinnati Hebrew Day School and Rockwern Academy will kick off the Annual Meeting by leading the audience in the singing of the national anthems of the United States and Israel.

A dessert reception, with dietary laws observed, will be held immediately following the Annual Meeting. The event is free and open to the public; advance registration is recommended, as seating is limited. For more information and to RSVP, visit the Federation on the web.

Ariella Cohen and David Wise

The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati is proud to announce that young adult giving to the 2013 Cincinnati’s Community Campaign has increased 21 percent from 2012. A total of 200 young adults, ages 21-45, have made a gift to this year’s Campaign. Thirty-one donors have made new gifts this year.

This success is largely due to the leadership of the two Young Adult Division (YAD) Campaign Chairs, Ariella Cohen and David Wise.

Jeff Blumental, YAD director, said, “It’s been a pleasure working with Ari and David on my first Community Campaign. Their passion and commitment to the community is evident in the success they’ve already achieved with this year’s Campaign.”

Ariella Cohen sits on the Mayerson JCC board and Rockwern Academy’s marketing committee, in addition to serving on the YAD board and the committee for the Federation’s Ben-Gurion Society. She is a member of the Adath Israel Sisterhood and a supporter of Chabad Jewish Center. Cohen is currently enrolled in the Wexner Heritage Fellowship program—an intensive, two-year Jewish leadership course. She lives in Amberley with her husband, Andy, and their three children.

Cohen said, “Being one of the YAD Campaign Co-Chairs has helped me realize that the future of our Jewish community will be well supported by committed, dedicated leaders and young people. The ‘L’dor V’dor’ (from generation to generation) saying rings true for our community, and I am thankful to be one among many following in the footsteps of the leaders who have helped pave the way for our community so far.”

David Wise is a business owner and an active member of the Cincinnati Jewish community. He dedicated seven years to the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, receiving recognition in his last year as the recipient of the Warren J. Heldman Memorial Award as Big Brother of the year. He has served on the local board of the Jewish National Fund, as well as on the Federation and Rockwern Academy boards. But Wise’s greatest passion was his four years of service to the community’s March of the Living delegation, leading teens on an inspiring journey to Poland and Israel. He was a proud recipient of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s Allen A. Cowett Leadership Award for his work in building this program. He is married to his high school sweetheart Sarah; they live with their three children in Montgomery.

“There is no asset of our Jewish community more important than our young leadership,” said Wise. “Because of this critical importance, I was truly honored to be asked to help contribute to the YAD campaign. What I have seen first-hand is a group of intelligent, philanthropic and enthusiastic young leaders who really ‘get it.’ They successfully chaired the Super Sunday phone-a-thon and generously contributed to the campaign, which should give all of us an enormous amount of hope for the future.”

The funds raised through the annual Community Campaign go to programs that care for, connect and educate Jews in Cincinnati, in Israel and around the world. These programs work to reduce poverty and isolation, create an engaged community, assure our Jewish future and support Jewish communities worldwide.

Carol Silver Elliott

Carol Silver Elliott, President and CEO of Cedar Village Retirement Community in Mason will be speaking this month at a conference in China devoted to sharing best practices about the retirement industry around the world.

Carol Silver Elliott, President and CEO of Cedar Village Retirement Community in Mason will be speaking this month at a conference in China devoted to sharing best practices about the retirement industry around the world.Elliott will be the only American to address the China Aging Industry Summit Forum in Shanghai. The annual conference is billed as an international gathering of aging industry practitioners and a platform for international cooperation.The conference is being organized by a collection of Chinese agencies and associations involved in elder care.More than 500 people representing 300 organizations, including those in the Chinese government and private sector, are expected to attend.During her May 19 presentation, Elliott will be representing LeadingAge, an association of 6,000 U.S. nonprofits focused on improving the way Americans grow old. It promotes adult day services, hospices, senior housing, nursing homes and related services. Elliott is a LeadingAge board member.“Each time we have the opportunity to share and to learn from others, our perspectives grow,” she said. “The knowledge I will gain through this experience will most certainly be useful to Cedar Village and those national organizations with which I am very involved, including LeadingAge.“I’m looking forward to some lively dialogue with my colleagues in China about the state-of-the-art in older adult services in the United States,” she continued. “Their questions may provoke new thoughts for me, and I hope my experience and presentation will be informational for them.”Elliott is planning to give a comprehensive overview of the American retirement system, including nursing homes, assisted living and independent living. She’ll talk about the trend toward “aging in place” with older adults receiving more support services in their homes, the expansion of hospice and rehabilitation services, challenges with funding and changing population demographics. In addition, she will explain initiatives to improve care for people with dementia.The conference is being organized as China struggles to confront challenges in caring for its aging population.“Socially responsible and economically sustainable retirement is becoming a great concern,” the organizers wrote in the conference program.Chinese traditionally care for their aging relatives at home. But the rapidly rising number of older adults and other societal pressures are prompting China to make changes.

The JCC Senior Center is the only senior center in Greater Cincinnati that is accredited by the National Institute of Senior Centers, a unit of the National Council on Aging, and meets their nine standards of excellence, including community collaboration, mission and quality of facility. Under the leadership of Tsippy Gottlieb, the JCC Senior Center has received many local and national awards of excellence.

“We are very honored that the Adams Classic is recognizing the JCC Senior Center. We are proud to serve the needs of so many. This event will allow us to continue to support and enable seniors to stay healthy while living independently in their community,” said Tsippy Gottlieb.

JCC Senior Center programs and services include specialized transportation, many wellness and socialization programs, daily onsite nutritious lunches, as well as Meals on Wheels and ShalomPhone daily assurance calls for homebound seniors.

The JCC Adams Classic offers entertainment for everyone—18 holes of golf with two tee times, a tennis open, a new Mah Jongg tournament, a delicious course of caterers dinner featuring local chefs, and a raffle with large ticket prizes including a seven-day Florida vacation and a large HD flat screen television.

“We are excited to add Mah Jongg to the JCC Adams Classic this year. With so many people playing this popular game, it seemed like a perfect fit. It is a great opportunity for Mahj groups to compete in a tournament and support their community,” said Mildred Schwartz, Mah Jongg committee co-chair.

Additionally, there will be prizes for the top finishing teams and top individuals in each event. Golfers will have a chance to win a Rolex in a hole-in-one contest. Tennis players can win private tennis lessons and all Mah Jongg participants will receive a Spanx gift card.

The schedule includes two golf tee times: 8 a.m. and 1:15 p.m.; an afternoon tennis open at 2:30 p.m.; and a Mah Jongg Tournament of Tiles at 1:30 p.m. A casual lunch is offered for golf and tennis players, and everyone is invited to the Course of Caterers Dinner and raffle at 6 p.m. Those who do not wish to play in any of the tournaments can support the JCC by attending the dinner reception and/or purchasing raffle tickets. Raffle winners do not have to be present to win.

For more information about the JCC Adams Classic, to register, buy raffle tickets or volunteer, see the Mayerson JCC contact information in the community directory of this issue.

This picnic, which is an annual event, is among the key events of the year for the men of the Wise Temple Brotherhood. As an organization that prides itself on being devoted to providing a service and social outlet for the men of the congregation, the brothers look forward to hosting this event for the Wise Temple students, families and faculty.

In addition to the delicious array of food options, the brothers provide the children with a variety of carnival games. Students will have the opportunity to play and win prizes. Some children will have to be lured away from the games to eat lunch. The picnic seems to be a fitting finale for the school year and sets the stage for an enjoyable summer break for all.

The service will begin with instrumental music during Kabbalat Shabbat. Gayna Bassin (violin), Jeff Gushin (mandolin), and Claire Lee (flute and keyboard) will help give the service a rousing start.

Rabbi Gershom Barnard, spiritual leader of Northern Hills, observed, “For many years, Northern Hills Synagogue has used the first Shabbat evening service of each month to recognize and congratulate couples whose wedding anniversaries occur in that month. The anniversary service has been a way of sharing nachas within the synagogue community. In 2010, Bobbi Handwerger and Sandy Spitz, who were, at the time co-presidents of Sisterhood, came up with the idea of raising this recognition to a new level, celebrating love and marriage by spotlighting couples who were celebrating “significant” wedding anniversaries. Thus began the Quintessential Marriage Celebration, in which we congratulate couples whose wedding anniversaries end in “5” or “0” – 5, 10, 15, etc. This year, Bob and Temmy Hessel and Alexey and Emma Serota celebrate their 60th wedding anniversaries, and Ron and Sandy Richards celebrate their 55th. Arnie and Bea Horowitz, who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on May 30, are sponsoring the gala Oneg Shabbat following services.”

For more information, please contact the Synagogue office.

On the eve of World War II, over 50,000 Jews lived in Salonika. The community, with a rich cultural heritage as a center for Sephardic Jews, was decimated by the Holocaust, and has a population of only about 1,300 today. But efforts are ongoing to preserve this historic cultural legacy.

This topic is very personal for Dr. Schneider, a Cincinnati pediatrician, as she is a descendant of Salonikan Jews. She grew up in Cincinnati, and received her undergraduate degree at Indiana University and her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati.

“HaZaK” is an acronym, with the letters standing for the Hebrew words “Hakhma” (wisdom), “Ziknah” (maturity) and “Kadima” (forward). The HaZaK programs are for adults 55 and older, and are open to the entire community. In addition to members of Northern Hills, many attendees have come from the Jewish Community Center, Cedar Village, Brookwood Retirement Community, and throughout Greater Cincinnati.

There is no charge for the program and lunch, but donations are greatly appreciated. Please RSVP to the Synagogue office by Monday, May 20th. For reservations or more information, please call Northern Hills Synagogue.

New York City is a fantastic fusion of different nationalities, ethnicities and cultures and has been home to many millions of Jewish people for nearly 430 years. Guests will have the chance to mix and mingle with other YPs from Greater Cincinnati and around the region, while enjoying a sit-down Shabbat dinner with all the trimmings, including some of the most popular ethnic flavors made famous in Manhattan, including an Italian pasta bar, Latin and Asian entrees and Jewish deli desserts to top it all off. There will be a cash bar and the event is dressy casual.

New York City Shabbat is the second in Access’ United States of Shabbat dinner series, which features many of the iconic tastes and traditions of our country’s many unique cities. The first was Cincinnati Shabbat, which took place at the historic Plum Street Temple and included an optional service just for YPs beforehand in the spectacular sanctuary led by Rabbi Lewis Kamrass and featuring Wise Temple’s Shir Chadash band.

“Our Shabbat Dinner Series is a huge hit,” explains Rachel Plowden, Access’ program coordinator. “Last year we offered the Got Shabbat dinner series in which we showcased the food and culture of a wide variety of different countries, including Israel, Italy, Mexico, India, Russia and others. Our constituents really enjoy winding down their work week together in a warm, friendly atmosphere, and there’s no better way to do that than at a Shabbat dinner with friends from all over the region,” she adds. “More than 250 YPs from Cincinnati and cities such as Columbus, Louisville, Lexington and Indianapolis attended our Cincinnati Shabbat this past November and we’re expecting even more to participate this time around.”

There are still some spaces available for the New York City Shabbat event. However, it is expected to fill up. It is free with advance reservations, and open to Jewish young professionals, 21-35 from Greater Cincinnati and from around the region. Non-Jewish significant others are always welcome. Reservations are mandatory and will be given on a first come, first served basis.  Access is an initiative of The Mayerson Foundation and offers four to six programs a month designed to help Jewish young professionals get connected to one another and to the Jewish community. Most programs are completely free or deeply subsidized. To RSVP, or to learn more about this event, please consult the Community Directory listing in this issue for Access’ contact information.

Courtesy of Maxine Dovere Julius Berman, pictured, chairman of the board of the Claims Conference, said alleged fraud at the Claims Conference amounted to “phony evidence” provided for claims of eligibility for Holocaust compensation. The fraud lasted for about a decade-and-a-half and allegedly deprived Holocaust survivors of more than $57 million, according to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

By Maxine Dovere

JointMedia News Service

NEW YORK – More than three years after the discovery of fraudulent activity at the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (“Claims Conference”), which continued for about a decade-and-a-half and deprived Holocaust survivors of more than $57 million, former Claims Conference Director of Hardship and Article 2 Funds Semen Domnitser and two co-conspirators on Wednesday were convicted on charges of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

During the course of a prolonged investigation that began in 2009, 31 people – including 11 employees of the Claims Conference – were criminally charged and arrested in the conspiracy. Twenty-eight defendants pled guilty. U.S. v. Domnitser et al., the case against the three who pled innocent – Domnitser, Oksanna Romalis, and Luba Kramish – had started April 8 at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse in New York City. Sentencing is set for Sept. 10.

Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement Wednesday that the verdict against Domnitser, Romalis, and Kramish, which came after half-a-day of jury deliberations, means not just the three defendants were guilty, but that “all 31 people who played roles in the theft of $57 million dollars intended to benefit victims of the Nazi genocide – one of the darkest chapters in all human history – have been convicted.”

“We said we would not stop until we brought to justice those who committed these unthinkable crimes and today our objective was accomplished,” Bharara said.

The original indictment in this case said the defendants for more than a decade “knowingly approved nearly 5,000 fraudulent applications,” thereby diverting more than $57 million in funds that were intended for Holocaust survivors, in exchange for kickbacks. The Claims Conference, the designated administrator of reparations paid by the German government to Holocaust survivors, oversaw the funds in question.

“Outrageous,” Julius Berman, chairman of the board of the Claims Conference, has told JNS. “A fraud, no question… The arrangement with the German government is that they will pay [Holocaust reparations to] every individual who can prove presence in a qualifying situation… The qualifications were clear. Qualifications had to be met; the fraud was that there was phony evidence for the claims of eligibility.”

But that fraud – which U.S. Attorney Bharara said had been going on since the German government began paying pensions to Holocaust survivors in 1994 – was not revealed until 2009, following the Claims Conference’s appointment of Greg Schneider, a new executive vice president who replaced the departed Gideon Taylor.

Schneider had been a high-level Claims Conference employee since 1995, generally responsible for overseeing the claims process. Upon discovering the fraud – which involved doctoring birth certificates, passports and other documents needed to provide acceptable documentation for reparations claims – during a November 2009 internal investigation, Schneider and the Claims Conference brought the situation to the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Among those now on trial is Domnitser – the former Claims Conference Director of Hardship and Article 2 Funds – who worked for the organization from 1993-2009, until he was terminated following the discovery of the fraud.

Schneider’s investigation revealed 4,957 fraudulent claims for one-time hardship payments of about $3,600 each, totaling about $18 million, and 658 fraudulent pension claims totaling $24.5 million.

After the verdict on Wednesday, Berman said in a statement, “Those who perpetrated this unthinkable fraud enriched themselves by abusing the historic effort to obtain a small measure of justice for Holocaust victims.”

Martin Stern, an Israeli citizen born in England, whose mother escaped Germany during the Holocaust and whose wife’s family survived World War II in Scandinavia, told JNS that the Claims Conference has been lax in its surveillance of the reparations application process. “The [Claims Conference] staff was told [by the German government] to ‘get us people… find us names,’” Stern said. “There was a demand to find more and more claimants.” Stern said Germany “signed more and more agreements to pay survivors, and the Claims Conference needed to find more and more survivors who did not exist.”The indictment against the Claims Conference employees stated that during one month, one employee typically approved applications for Holocaust reparations in just a few days, whereas other caseworkers generally spent at least 60 days reviewing an application before approving it. Schneider has indicated his investigation and eventual discovery of the fraud was sparked by the realization that certain applications were processed with unusual speed, rather than the normal period of several months.In December 1999, the U.S. and German governments agreed to a $5.2 billion settlement that Germany would pay to resolve all Holocaust-era slave and forced labor claims by survivors against German companies, and the Claims Conference has administered Germany’s reparations payments to the survivors. Attorney Sam Dubbin, who has worked on behalf of Holocaust survivors in Florida, told JNS that the entire current system for compensating survivors is flawed and that there should have been “no individual settlement.”“The Jewish community should have offered survivors three things: home care and assisted living insurance, Medicare supplement, and funeral insurance so survivors could live with dignity and not be a burden to their children,” Dubbin said.  He added,  “We made a mistake for all survivors by not going that way.”Defendant Esfira Bas, who has admitted to processing 60 fraudulent reparations applications, became a witness for the U.S. government during the trial. Bas was not a Claims Conference employee and agreed to cooperate in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence, according to facts cited in court during her testimony. “The recipients all knew they were not eligible,” Bas said in court. “Some were born after the war.” Bas noted that advertisements promoting the program were placed in Russian-language newspapers. Bas said she collected documents, even from those she knew to be clearly ineligible for reparations, and passed them to a person named “Fainia.” For her part in the scam, Bas said she received $9,000.Bas stated in court that she has provided all the information available to her to the FBI and other U.S. government agencies. She stated she “had no contact” with the applicants and acted “because they gave money back” to her. When asked if she considered how her part in perpetrating the fraud would affect Holocaust survivors, she responded, “I did not think about it.”

Daniel Libeskind’s design, of Studio Daniel Libeskind in New York City, was chosen by the committee, whose members include representatives from government, the arts and the Jewish community.

Libeskind’s proposal features a plaza-like limestone pathway that leads the viewer to two vertical rectangular forms made of brushed stainless steel. A story from an Auschwitz survivor is embossed upon the two forms, which sit at an angle to one another and are separated by a slight opening, guiding the viewer’s eye skyward, eventually resting upon a cut-out form of a bisected hexagram (six-pointed) star. The cut-out provides a direct view of the sky (bypassing the buildings of downtown Columbus). Along the path is a graduated stone wall that also serves as a seating area. Engraved into that wall is an inspirational quote that honors the death camp liberators.

Libeskind was born to Holocaust survivor parents in Postwar Poland and became an American citizen in 1964. He has designed major cultural, commercial and residential projects around the world, including the master plan for the World Trade Center, the Jewish Museum Berlin, the Military History Museum in Dresden and the Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge in Covington. He is considered one of the industry’s most influential thinkers and among the world’s leading architects.

He and semi-finalists Ann Hamilton and Jaume Plensa were chosen on the basis of their prior work and visited the capitol on March 12. There, they toured the Statehouse grounds, learned about the history and structural demands of the space, asked and answered questions and were then given six weeks to submit their proposals to the committee.

The artists were asked to create a proposal for a piece that will serve as a permanent memorial in remembrance of all victims of the Holocaust (1933 – 1945) and those Ohioans who participated in the liberation of the death camps during World War II. The memorial should provide enlightenment on man’s inhumanity to man and inspire people to think and act differently in the face of discrimination, hatred, anti-Semitism and genocide. The memorial will be an economic development for the region.

“The process developed by the Ohio Arts Council worked very well. We had three excellent presentations by internationally renowned artists and there was thoughtful discussion following the presentations,” said Ginger Warner, co-chair of the Holocaust Memorial Artist Selection Committee and vice chair of the Ohio Arts Council board.

“Although the decision to pick one was difficult, after serious discussion the committee quickly agreed upon the selection of Studio Daniel Libeskind. His proposal best fulfilled the project’s mission and also provided the best opportunity to educate the public on man’s inhumanity to man.”

The decision will now go before the Holocaust Memorial Site Committee and the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board for approval.