Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Courtesy of Ruth Ellen Gruber An anti-government demonstration in Budapest, December 2011.

BUDAPEST (JTA) — The debate over anti-Semitism in Hungary has sharpened since the anti-Israel, anti-Jewish and anti-Roma (Gypsy) Jobbik movement entered Parliament two years ago as the country’s third largest party.

Seeking scapegoats and channeling paranoia at a time of severe economic, social and political woes, Jobbik’s lawmakers regularly — and loudly — spout xenophobic, anti-Roma, anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Outbursts in Parliament, in local councils and in the media have demolished taboos and increasingly serve to legitimize hate speech in both private conversation and public discourse.

But for the Jewish community, anxiety over anti-Semitism is only one toxic element of a broader and much more complex national crisis that touches all parts of society two years after the 2010 elections swept the conservative Fidesz party to power.

“The danger is about Hungarian democracy, not about anti-Semitism,” Rabbi Istvan Darvas told JTA.

“Everybody feels the crisis,” said Mircea Cernov, CEO of Haver, a foundation that fights anti-Semitism and teaches schoolchildren about Judaism and the Jewish people. “The financial and economic challenges, unemployment and poverty, social, education and health system crisis, democratic system in turbulence — there is no difference between people influenced by all this.”

With a two-thirds majority in Parliament, Prime Minister Victor Orban and his government rewrote the constitution and pushed through controversial new laws that sharply polarized the country and also drew tough criticism from the European Union and other international bodies.

These included new legislation regulating the media, changing how judges are appointed and reducing the number of officially recognized religious bodies. Three Jewish streams have such recognition.

Other new laws cut social benefits, nationalized private pension funds and even outlawed homelessness.

The government said the new laws were needed to consolidate the legal and judicial system. But critics claimed they contributed to a “democracy deficit” and undermined democratic rights.

Jobbik and other extremists have capitalized on the economic uncertainly and social and political polarization to push a virulently nationalist message that stigmatizes Jews, Roma, immigrants and other minority groups.

Fidesz is not formally allied with Jobbik and has condemned anti-Semitism.

But a defense of Hungarian national honor is one of Fidesz’s platforms. Many Hungarian Jews, who traditionally have gravitated toward leftist-liberal parties, are deeply troubled by appeals to nationalism, even by mainstream parties.

And there is a perception among Fidesz opponents that some of its members may be sympathetic to Jobbik’s more extreme stance. This month, for example, the Israeli ambassador to Hungary canceled an official visit to the town of Eger after an audio recording came to light in which a Fidesz town councilor slammed a prominent actor as a “filthy Jew” with leftist-liberal sympathies.

“Intolerance is growing, radical narratives and voices are powerful, and many people feel that the risk of a greater conflict is real,” said Cernov.

The country, he said, faces a “moral crisis” along with its other woes.

“There are no real credible voices and opinion-influencing figures,” he said. “No role models and no people who can set positive reference points. The lack of a minimum platform of common understanding among all democratic parties and civil groups is the real weakness of the Hungarian society.”

In a recent incident, addressing Parliament just before Passover, a Jobbik lawmaker went so far as to advance the blood libel — the accusation that Jews kill Christian children and use their blood for ritual purposes.

And in a February interview with the London Jewish Chronicle, Jobbik foreign affairs spokesman Marton Gyongyosi called Israel a “Nazi system based on racial hatred,” accused Jews of “colonizing” Hungary and stressed Jobbik’s support of Iran. These developments have ratcheted up the anxiety level for Hungary’s 100,000 Jews, the largest Jewish community in central Europe.

“The gravity of the situation is unprecedented in the past two decades of Hungarian democracy,” Rabbi Shlomo Koves told The Associatied Press. “Although the safety and well-being of Hungarian Jews in their daily life is not physically in danger — or no worse than in any other European country — anti-Semitic public speech has escalated to a point which cannot be ignored by a single decent person.”

Rabbi Andrew Baker, the representative on anti-Semitism to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said it is not simple to gauge the extent and impact of anti-Semitism in Hungary.

Dr. Gary Zola

Dr. Gary P. Zola, executive director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives and professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, has been selected as a 2012 honoree to receive the BRIDGES for a Just Community’s Distinguished Service Citation.

Distinguished Service Citation recipients are honored for their ongoing passion for BRIDGES’ work.

BRIDGES for a Just Community is a human relations organization working to equip people with awareness, skills and opportunities to develop relationships that will engage and transform the Greater Cincinnati/Tri-State region into a more equitable and just community.

Rabbi Zola was selected as an honoree because of his commitment and lifelong dedication to the values of community, justice, respect, inclusion, responsibility, collaboration and integrity. Dr. Zola is a past president of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Coalition and has been a frequent speaker on issues of faith and freedom at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Rabbi David Ellenson, president of Hebrew Union College, said that he is proud that BRIDGES selected his friend and colleague for its Distinguished Citizen Award. “No one could be more deserving,” he said. “Gary has been indefatigable in promoting inter-religious dialogue and tolerance among Christians, Muslims and Jews in the greater Cincinnati community, and no one has been more devoted than he to the cause of racial justice and inclusion.”

“I want to congratulate Rabbi Gary Zola for this well deserved honor,” said Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory. “His commitment to serving our community and commemorating history embodies the values that BRIDGES represents.” Zola has been affiliated with the Hebrew Union College for three decades and, over the years, he has been active in a myriad of local communal organizations including the Jewish Community Relations Council, the American Jewish Committee, the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, the Greater Cincinnati Board of Rabbis, and BRIDGES for a Just Community.

An educator and historian of the American Jewish experience, Zola has frequently been asked to participate in a number of national initiatives relating to American history. From 2002 to 2005, Zola served as the Chair of a coalition of American research centers—the Commission for Commemorating 350 Years of American Jewish History—which was recognized by the U.S. Congress to mark the 350th anniversary of Jewish communal life in North America. In 2006, Zola became a member of the Academic Advisory Council of the U.S. Congress’ Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Doug McDonald, CEO of the Cincinnati Museum Center, noted that, “Gary is a passionate advocate of preserving the stories of history which teach imperative lessons for life today.”

Last spring, President Obama appointed Dr. Zola to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad. The Commission—an independent agency of the Government of the United States of America—is directed by law to fulfill two primary functions:

To identify and report on cemeteries, monuments and historic buildings in Eastern and Central Europe that are associated with the heritage of U.S. citizens, particularly endangered properties, and, to obtain, in cooperation with the Department of State, assurances from the governments of the region that the properties will be protected and preserved.

“Rabbi Zola’s recognition with BRIDGES for a Just Community is a fitting tribute to a man who has worked tirelessly to strengthen community relations in Greater Cincinnati and beyond,” said U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH). “He has played a vital role in encouraging a greater understanding of the Jewish experience and has generously shared his insights to help alleviate and resolve tensions in our community. I congratulate my friend for receiving this prestigious award.”

The other honorees receiving the BRIDGES for a Just Community Distinguished Service Citation include Maria Molina, Procter & Gamble Manager, Latin America Consumer Relations; Mona Morrow, WCPO-TV Community Affairs Director; Dr. Nemat Moussavian; and Dr. Gregory Williams, University of Cincinnati, president.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Courtesy of Temple Beth Emunah Children celebrating Chanukah at Temple Beth Emunah in Brockton, Mass., where children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have special programs to help them study for their bar/bat mitzvah ceremony.

BOSTON (JTA) — On a recent Sunday, Ayla Watson celebrated her bat mitzvah.

Ayla, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other behavioral difficulties, ascended the bimah and recited the Torah reading for Rosh Chodesh, the new month. The service culminated a year of thrice-weekly classes or services at Temple Beth Emunah in Brockton, Mass., and one-on-one tutoring. Ayla learned her Torah portion phonetically and listened to a tape again and again.

“She memorized her whole portion, and she did an awesome job,” said Ellen Watson, Ayla’s grandmother and legal guardian.

Now Ayla, who struggled with several tutors, wants to learn to read Hebrew and trope (the Torah and haftarah chants).

In recent years, as physical adaptations like wheelchair access have become more widespread, synagogues have made strides at including people like Ayla — congregants with emotional, behavioral or mental disabilities. And Jewish organizations advocating for people with disabilities have started to focus on teaching religious schools and synagogues to welcome those with nonphysical disabilities into congregational life.

But there is still a way to go. Synagogues often do not know how to deal with individuals whose behavior can be disruptive. Shelly Christensen, author of “Jewish Community Guide to Inclusion of People with Disabilities,” says stigmas remain for mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and anxiety.

Deborah Gettes, co-chair of the Jewish Special Education International Consortium, a network of special education professionals, says conversations are just beginning about the need for synagogues to become inclusive to people with mental or emotional disabilities in services, youth groups and membership.

“It’s not pervasive throughout the synagogue,” Gettes said. “Welcoming them as congregants, being aware of who are the people with special needs, what are the special needs. … People who have special needs don’t want to be a mitzvah project. They want to be included in the workings of the synagogue.”

Temple Beth Emunah, a Conservative synagogue, opened its special needs program 13 years ago. Students receive one-on-one tutoring in Hebrew language, then join the mainstream Hebrew school. All of the students practice leading services together and work toward reading from the Torah.

The key, says educational director Fran Litner, is “acceptance and kindness” by students and staff.

At the Reform Temple Beth-El in Hillsborough, N.J., the religious school has a separate class for students with developmental disabilities, which this year has three students.

Lisa Friedman, its education co-director, says accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis and extend to adults. For instance, a teenage helper came to a high school retreat to shadow a boy with autism and make sure any special needs were taken care of; a blind high school student has a guide; a congregant escorts a developmentally delayed man living in a group home to services and Shabbat dinners.

“When we know there is somebody that needs something different than what we may be offering, we figure out what that is and ensure we can meet these needs,” Friedman said.

Those synagogues, however, may be the exception rather than the rule.

Rina Pianko, a member of the UJA-Federation of New York’s Caring Commission, has three sons. Her youngest, Gideon, is on the autism spectrum.

While living in Connecticut, Pianko switched from a Conservative to an Orthodox synagogue because the Orthodox shul was the only area synagogue that would allow her son to attend Hebrew school and have a bar mitzvah ceremony.

“It wasn’t easy to access the resources of the Jewish community,” Pianko said. Compared with her experience with her older boys, she said, “there was a real difference in the way the Jewish community welcomed us.”

Jewish institutions such as camps and Hebrew schools did not have the tools or resources to help her son, Pianko says.

Now living in New York, Gideon Pianko, 24, attends services geared toward people with disabilities at Congregation Rodeph Shalom, a Reform temple. His interest in musical theater led a synagogue leader to invite him to attend rehearsals for a synagogue performance of “Damn Yankees.”

In the past decade, his mother said, “There’s been a sea change in how this is looked at. ..It’s not looked as tzedakah [charity] but as something that’s a right.”

Similarly, Judi Roth left an independent minyan in Newton, Mass., after her son, now 23, was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. The minyan had no rabbi, and most individual congregants did not offer to help. She says some minyan members stopped inviting her over for Shabbat because of the difficulty of dealing with her son.

“I don’t think people understood,” Roth said. “I didn’t feel the people in the synagogue reached out to help me much.”

Roth switched to the Orthodox Congregation Shaarei Tefillah, where the rabbi set a welcoming tone for her family. Members took her son to services and encouraged him to lead part of the Shabbat service.

Arlene Remz, executive director of Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, which offers educational services to Jewish children with special needs in the Boston area, says individuals with mental illness often fall through the cracks.

“Mental illness and emotional needs in some ways have been the least acknowledged and least talked about type of special need,” Remz said.

Gateways recently expanded its synagogue b’nai mitzvah partnership for special needs students. Students have tutors or attend small classes through Gateways, then hold bar or bat mitzvah ceremonies in their home congregations.

Gateways is beginning to train religious school staff to teach Hebrew in a “multisensory” way — for example, using color coding or mnemonics.

Sandy Slavet, who works for Jewish Family and Children’s Service in Boston, says many congregations try to be inclusive but don’t know how, for example, to handle a person who interrupts with questions during a sermon.

“Synagogues are trying, but I’m not sure any of us know the best way to do it,” Slavet said.

Gettes cites two main barriers to inclusion for those with physical and mental disabilities: the expense of retrofitting older synagogue buildings to make them physically accessible, and attitudinal barriers where congregants and leaders may acknowledge physical disabilities but not emotional or cognitive ones.

And there are questions about how to communicate inclusivity to others.

While in recent years there has been a greater awareness of the need for inclusion, Christensen says, synagogue officials and congregants fear taking the steps needed. She says they worry about the financial costs of accommodation, about saying or doing the wrong thing or about lowering standards for “typical” students when opening a religious school to kids with disabilities.

Christensen acknowledges there are few easy solutions, particularly when it comes to mental illnesses that result in behavioral problems.

The Union for Reform Judaism, according to Rabbi Edythe Mencher, who consults with URJ congregations on creating caring communities, provides literature and online information about mental health, eating disorders, suicide prevention and depression.

Congregations are urged to partner with mental health organizations, and clergy are encouraged to speak about mental health issues from the pulpit and offer teenagers classes on recognizing depression.

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism’s Commission on Inclusion of People with Disabilities in 2008 published a guide for congregations wanting to be more inclusive.

Yachad, The National Jewish Council for Disabilities, is run by the Orthodox Union and has programs, including Shabbat retreats, for those of all ages. Participants visit communities, interact with their peers and participate in synagogue life — leading prayers, reading from the Torah, or giving a d’var Torah.

Ideally, Mencher says, synagogues can provide a place where people who have difficulty socially can feel welcomed.

“Whether through adult education or programs for preschoolers,” she said, “our effort and work is to extend the message that the Jewish community is for everyone.”

Those synagogues, however, may be the exception rather than the rule.

Rina Pianko, a member of the UJA-Federation of New York’s Caring Commission, has three sons. Her youngest, Gideon, is on the autism spectrum.

While living in Connecticut, Pianko switched from a Conservative to an Orthodox synagogue because the Orthodox shul was the only area synagogue that would allow her son to attend Hebrew school and have a bar mitzvah ceremony.

“It wasn’t easy to access the resources of the Jewish community,” Pianko said. Compared with her experience with her older boys, she said, “there was a real difference in the way the Jewish community welcomed us.”

Jewish institutions such as camps and Hebrew schools did not have the tools or resources to help her son, Pianko says.

Now living in New York, Gideon Pianko, 24, attends services geared toward people with disabilities at Congregation Rodeph Shalom, a Reform temple. His interest in musical theater led a synagogue leader to invite him to attend rehearsals for a synagogue performance of “Damn Yankees.”

In the past decade, his mother said, “There’s been a sea change in how this is looked at. ..It’s not looked as tzedakah [charity] but as something that’s a right.”

Rabbi Laura Baum

The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati will hold its 116th Annual Meeting, Imagine Cincinnati in 2020, on Tuesday, May 22, at 7 p.m., at the Mayerson JCC.

The evening will include a special announcement about the first major project of Cincinnati 2020, the community-wide collaboration to develop a long-term strategic plan with the goal of making Cincinnati a model community and a Jewish destination. The announcement at the Annual Meeting will be the first time the public will hear about this groundbreaking initiative.

Also, as is tradition, two Jewish community professionals will be awarded with Weston Avodah Awards. This year’s “Junior” award recipient is Rabbi Laura Baum, the founding rabbi of the online congregation OurJewishCommunity. Rabbi Baum graduated from Yale University in 2001 and was ordained by Hebrew Union College (HUC) in 2008. While a student at HUC she won the Israel Bettan Memorial Prize for the most creative and imaginative pulpit presentation and the Rabbi Morris H. Youngerman Memorial Prize for the best sermon preached in the HUC chapel during the 2007 academic year. She is currently pursuing an M.B.A. at Xavier University.

The “Senior” Weston Avodah Award will go to Sharon Stern, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s Director of Community Building. As director of community building, Stern is the lead staff member for Cincinnati 2020. Additionally, she oversees and coordinates planning and allocations, organizational development, senior leadership development and agency relations. Prior to coming to Cincinnati in 2004, Stern was with the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh for 19 years. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in education and from the University of Pittsburgh with an M.S. in Information Science.

The Goldstein “Volunteer of the Year” Award will also be given out at the Annual Meeting, to community volunteer Dick Weiland, the founder and president of Richard Consulting Corporation, a public relations consulting agency that provides lobbying and mediation skills to over 60 companies and numerous nonprofit organizations. Weiland is a tireless community activist whose work has enhanced the quality of life in Cincinnati, in the states of Ohio and Kentucky and throughout the nation. Public recognitions named in his honor include the Weiland Room at Talbert House, Dick Weiland Hall at The American Jewish Archives at Hebrew Union College, Halom House’s Weiland/Zeff Home, the Weiland Rosedale Education Center at Kollel and Gate to Mt. Scopus in Israel. He currently serves on more than 30 boards and commissions.

In addition, the service and commitment of volunteers from throughout the community will be recognized. The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati and the volunteers’ nominating agencies, organizations and congregations will honor these individuals’ dedication to moving the community forward toward the vision of Cincinnati 2020: all of us caring for each other, connecting to our community and discovering our Jewish identity.

Cleveland Jewish News

Courtesy of University of California, Berkeley Mitchell Schwartz, a 22-year-old right tackle from the University of California, Berkeley, was drafted by the Cleveland Browns.

(Cleveland Jewish News) — The Cleveland deli scene might see a new patron when Mitchell Schwartz arrives in town on Thursday, May 10, for the Cleveland Browns’ rookie minicamp. The team selected him with the 37th overall pick in last week’s NFL Draft.

“Matzah ball soup or a nice deli sandwich. And of course in the winter, latkes warm you up. I’m sure I’ll eat a lot of everything once the season starts,” Schwartz said from his hometown of Los Angeles as he rattled off some of his favorite Jewish comfort foods.

The Browns hope the 22-year-old right tackle from the University of California, Berkeley will shore up the right side of the offensive line, an area of concern after a disappointing 4-12 season last year.

When Schwartz’s cell phone rang during the second day of the draft on April 27, he said emotions in his house ran pretty high.

“Whenever you get that call you’re not quite sure that it’s going to be ‘the’ call,” he said. “But I picked up the phone and heard the good news. My family reacted a little more intensely than I did. They were jumping on the couch and running around a little. It was awesome.”

Schwartz said he and his brother Geoff, a member of the Minnesota Vikings, were raised in a strong Jewish household.

“We’ve always been in Hebrew school from an early age,” said Schwartz, whose family belonged to Conservative synagogue Adat Shalom in West Los Angeles “We went to temple every year, observed major holidays. We were pretty active, especially compared to some of the friends we had who were Jewish.”

Schwartz followed a similar path to the NFL as his brother, who was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round (241st overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft. Geoff signed a one-year deal with the Vikings on March 31.

Schwartz’s father Lee said that he and his wife, Olivia Goodkin, feel lucky to have two sons in the NFL.

“I guess the best way to say it is, it’s surreal,” he said. “I kvell (take pleasure) when thinking about it. For a dad who’s been a jock his whole life, it’s a real unbelievable situation.

“We stressed family, we stressed being good, ethical people, morals,” Lee Schwartz said of raising his sons. “We stressed the religion and being Jewish. I think it’s just a collection of a lot of things that we as parents try to instill in them, and ultimately it worked out.

Schwartz said he’s looking forward to getting involved in Cleveland’s Jewish community.

“From everything I’ve heard, it sounds like a pretty decent-sized community in Cleveland,” he said. “I’m sure my mom and dad will help me figure it out. I’m plenty confident I’ll be able to find something.”

As for joining a synagogue, Schwartz said he’d play it by ear.

“You kind of have to figure that out as you go,” he said. “Especially during the season, it’s a lot harder to find time for that.”

While he paves the way for the Browns’ running backs and protects the quarterback this season, Schwartz said he won’t forget the influence Judaism has had on his athletic career.

“Judaism teaches a lot of dedication and hard work,” he said. “You don’t go back on your word. You do what you’re supposed to do when you’re told by your superior. I think it’s more the spirit of being a good person in society. If you do those things the right way, you’ll be successful no matter what you do.”

The sacred Zohar teaches that the nation Israel, the Torah, and the Holy One Blessed be He are one. This suggests that the eternal God may be experienced and apprehended through those phenomena which are also perceived to be eternal. Since the covenantal nation Israel is eternal (by Divine oath, Genesis 15) and since the Torah is eternal, Israel, the Torah and God are inextricably linked by virtue of their common eternity.

The land of Israel shares in this feature of eternity. The earth’s perennial cycles of birth, growth, decay, death and rebirth, express a movement of re-generation and renaissance which informs the very nature of the most primitive form of life. There are intimations of immortality in the earth’s movement from life to life: a fruit falls from the tree when it no longer requires the physical sustenance provided by attachment to the branch, and the tree re-births (regenerates) its fruit in the spring. The trees shed their leaves and fruits onto the earth, and when they decompose and merge with the earth, that very earth provides the necessary nutrients for the tree to continue to grow and bear fruit in the future. Plants leave their seeds in the ground, these continue to sprout plant life from the earth after the mother herb has been taken and eaten. And so the cycle of life, decay, death and rebirth is grounded in the eternal, infinite and natural dimension of the earth. In the words of the wisest of men, “one generation passes away and another generation arrives, but the earth abides forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:3).

In a more national sense, it is the Biblical tradition to bury our dead in the earth, and specifically in the land of Israel. The Biblical idiom for death is, “And he was gathered to his nation, or his family,” for if one is buried in one’s homeland, one’s physical remains merge with the physical remains of one’s family members, of those who came and died before as well as of those who will follow in the future.

Furthermore, the land of Israel is invested with a special metaphysical quality which is inextricably linked to Knesset Yisrael, historic Israel. The first Hebrew, Abraham, entered into the Covenant between the Pieces—the Divine mission of a nation founded on the principles of humans created in the image of God and the right of freedom for every individual—in the City of Hebron, and God’s promise of world peace and messianic redemption will be realized in the City of Jerusalem. The Cave of the Couples—Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah—was the very first acquisition by a Jew of land in Israel as the earthly resting place for the founders of our faith. At the very same time, it is also the womb of our future, a future informed by the ideas and ideals of our revered ancestors. “Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children” (Proverbs 17:6).

It is for this reason that the Talmud maintains that only in Israel is there a true and authentic “community” (B.T. Horayot 3)—for only in Israel do we see the footprints of historic Israel, the sweep of the generations, the “common unity” of tradition, from Abraham to the Messiah; Israel formed, prophesied and taught its eternal traditions and continues to live out its destiny within the land of Israel.

Moreover, the eternal Torah is rooted and invested in the very earth, stones and vegetation of the land of Israel. This is true not only in terms of the Biblical covenantal promise which guarantees our constant relationship and eventual return to Israel; it is also true because of the myriad of mitzvot (commandments) embedded in its bedrock, its soil, and its agricultural produce. The seventh Sabbatical year provides free fruits and vegetables for anyone who wishes to take them; the “corners” of the field actually “belong” to the poor every day of the year, and they may come and reap their harvests; tithes from the land’s produce immediately go to the Kohen—Priest-teachers, the Levite Cantors, and the poor who share in the land of the rest of the nation. The land of Israel itself cries out to its inhabitants in the name of God: “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers” (Leviticus 25:23).

Hence God Himself, as it were, becomes inextricably linked —even “incorporated” or “in-corporeal-ized”, if you will—within the peoplehood, the land and the Torah of Israel, the very objects and subjects which express God’s will and out of which our essence and destiny is formed. Indeed, historic Israel, the land of Israel, the Torah of Israel and the Holy One Blessed be He, God of Israel and the universe are truly united in an eternal bond.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone

Chief Rabbi – Efrat Israel

In the beginning, there was actually decent dialogue regarding the JCC or J. Any good discussion will have points with different views and that is healthy. A reply editorial meant to explain something is also appreciated. Unfortunately, there have been some editorials that seem to be nothing but senseless ramblings. These attempts to draw parallels and comparisons make me think most of the author’s time is spent watching SpongeBob or South Park. I understand your need to see your names in print but please try to respect the healthy dialogue that was being had. (I could hardly wait for your responses!)

Sincerely,

Alan Eichner

Cincinnati, OH

Dear Editor,

Liberals, a.k.a. Democrats, tend to say they are only concerned with what’s fair. However, I have never heard or read exactly how they define fair. Is it something like what U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said in Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964), when he stumbled with the definition of pornography: “I know it when I see it.”?

This begs the question: are liberals claiming elitism by saying they might not be able to articulate what’s fair, but they know what’s best for all of us? And because they possess that undefined, secret knowledge of fairness, we should blindly trust that their choices of politicians and bureaucrats will be fair in enforcing fairness?

Webster’s definition of fair/fairness uses such words as equitable, impartial, unbiased, et al. Sure, the liberal could use these words when referring to helping those less-fortunate. But the conservative could also argue “less-fortunate” is subjective and forcing (taxing) others to support such “help” is inequitable, partial, biased, et. al.

Okay, Klein, you say, what’s your definition of “fair?” Fair-enough. Fair is: You may do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t adversely impact me; and I’ll do as I please as long as it doesn’t negatively affect you. In other words, if you want to contribute all of your money to provide “fair” education, health care, employment, etc., to those who haven’t earned these benefits, that’s fine with me. Just don’t try to force me to donate to your doctrine of fairness. Fairness is not fair if it forces someone else to give up what’s fairly theirs.

I exercise my right to carry a concealed firearm for protection, but I wouldn’t dream of making you do so. Say . . . maybe we should use tax money to fight FOR our 2nd Amendment rights rather than against them as the government has been doing? Finally, I believe “fair” is a government that works to reduce its power and size, encourages its citizens to stand by themselves, and supports charitable organizations to tend to the needs of those who are struggling.

I realize I might have offended Democrats by calling them elitists and liberals, but they have portrayed Republicans as beer swilling, gun-toting, bible thumping, redneck heathens. Well, I’m honored to carry my Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership card and I surely enjoy a cold beer on a hot day. I’m not certain what a bible-thumper is, but I believe in G_d, the Ten Commandments and that I am descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – not monkeys. As to being a redneck: the dictionary defines a redneck as a member of the rural, southern, working class. I’m not from the South, but my farm is in rural Brown County and up until I retired six years ago at age 64, I always worked. Heathen? I might have mud on my boots and stains on my bibbers, but I take regular showers and have my hair trimmed neatly at a local shop—where they don’t make me smell all prissy.

Sincerely,

Chuck Klein

Georgetown, OH

Contributing Columnist

Were the New Israel Fund a newly landed Martian’s only source of information about Israel, he’d likely imagine the country as a cross between Saudi Arabia and North Korea.

In the extraterrestrial’s mind it would be a place where women are forced to sit in the backs of buses and the sound of their voices prohibited from being heard. A place where religious extremists eschew democratic values and control the government and national discourse.

Our Martian would be stunned to actually fix his multiple eyes on Tel Aviv’s Rechov Dizengoff — or, for that matter, Jerusalem’s Rechov Ben-Yehuda. He’d be stupefied by the unfettered operation of Reform, Conservative and Messianic places of worship. The Knesset would utterly blow him away.

The NIF’s latest Big Lie took the form of a big ad — a full-color full-pager, in fact — in The New York Times and the Forward. Maybe the latter periodical ran the ad gratis, but the Times charges $175,000 for a color page. Even discounted, it cost the NIF a pretty penny.

Actually, the one it cost is Murray Koppelman, as noted in the corner of the ad. Mr. Koppelman, an Upper East Side money manager, is a major supporter of the group — he has pledged $500,000 in matching donations to it — and is featured on a video the NIF produced.

In the clip, the grandfatherly Mr. Koppelman reminisces about his youth. Shortly after Israel’s declaration of independence, he spent time on two kibbutzim and, after deciding that “I don’t want to be poor,” embarked on what appears to have been a successful career.

During his kibbutz days, though, he recalls visiting Yerushalayim and how “it always distressed me, as I walked through the religious sections of Jerusalem,” to see “these women… walking behind their husbands.” He wondered “what kind of life they lead” and about their inability to “really show what their capabilities were to do better for the world, rather than just to look up to their husbands, who become their god.”

Mr. Koppelman may not be a Martian but he, too, could benefit from a dose of reality — He can start with a visit to my house. His imaginings aside, the organization benefiting from his largesse is using it to renew its batty battle cry that Israel is becoming a theocracy.

The new NIF ad is dominated by a photograph of another ad, on a billboard in Israel. It features a woman’s face but only half of it is there, as part of the ad has been torn off. The large words in the NIF ad ask: “WHAT HAPPENS WHEN EXTREMISM CROWDS OUT EQUALITY AND DEMOCRACY IN ISRAEL?” The word “EXTREMISM” is written in such large type that it takes up an entire line, symbolically “crowding out” all the others. (The damaged ad-in-an-ad was itself posted by an NIF-supported group that opposes “gender separation in the public sphere” and supports a “pluralistic” Jerusalem.)

Although no one can know whether the defacing was the work of religious Jews or those who seek to vilify them (such “proxy” vandalism is not unheard of in Israel), the problem here is vandalism, not impending theocracy. And the solution is to catch and prosecute vandals, not to wax alarmist or besmirch a community.

Likewise, when an individual Jew, whether motivated by religious zeal or lesser stimuli, acts improperly, the problem is that individual—not the larger religious community.

Yes, that community’s democratically elected Knesset representatives seek to maintain the standards of the Jewish mesorah in Israel regarding things affecting the essential integrity and unity of the Jewish people, like issues of marriage and divorce.

And, yes, observant communities deserve respect in things like the routing of traffic on Shabbos away from their neighborhoods, and even by permitting some buses servicing their neighborhoods to offer separate, voluntary, gender-separated seating. But such accommodations of the observant population do not a theocracy threaten. The model here is not Iran, but the Israel of the past 64 years.

It’s painful to recognize, but no less true for the fact: The same sort of intransigent ill will that so many Arabs harbor for all Israelis is harbored by the NIF and its supporters for religious ones.

This column initially ran in Ami Magazine.

Dining Editor

20 Brix Chef Paul Barraco blurs the lines between bland quotidian reality and bewitching culinary conceptions. He’s a perfect match with owner Hunter Thomas whose love of food and wine led him to create Cincinnati’s first combination wine store, wine bar and restaurant focused on matching food and wine so that both are enhanced. Barraco and Thomas both have an impressive array of experience and culinary school credentials. “Thomas wanted to approach wine from a taste profile rather than a region or varietal with the taste designed to go with the chef’s creation. Being able to isolate the tastes in wine and foods and using those to complement the pairings — that’s what we do. We want to create a comfortable setting to enjoy food and wine, where choices are well defined by the menu, and if more information is requested, we can provide it,” General Manager Clay Mitchell explained.

I have dined there many times and have been impressed by the expertise of the staff. Thomas, Mitchell and others are certified sommeliers. I also appreciated the availability of small tastes of wine (two and five ounce portions) as well as bottles and “flights” and the user-friendly accessibility of the wine list. You can make your own choices with helpful information indicating heavier and lighter tastes and hearts denoting their favorites. Talking with Mitchell, I learned that what hurts wine most is exposure to air. “It breaks wine down and you lose the romance and presentation,” he noted. 20 Brix is the third in the city to offer wines on tap — a green technology that reduces the carbon footprint with a reusable stainless steel container and no glass bottle or cork. “It eliminates waste and saves money that can be passed on to customers,” he added. He makes a great “case.” Almost every Tuesday evening, they offer special food and wine pairing dinners with guided tastings. Chef Barraco creates the menu. “This is really where his talents are showcased — it’s food and wine magic,” Mitchell states.

The addition of 20 Brix — in a building with “aged” red bricks crowned with white cornices — to historic, picturesque Milford was highly anticipated by residents who missed a higher level of dining. We were not disappointed (disclosure — I am a delighted denizen). The attractive building with its vine covered wrought iron fenced patio, sheltered by brightly colored umbrellas, nicely complements the casually elegant indoor ambiance with intimate tables and modern artwork. The wine shop fills the entry area, inviting diners to peruse the large collection. A bar with small booths and bar seating is opposite the window-lined dining area.

I began my tasting with a soup from the small plates, soup, starters, salads and flatbreads category. “Locavore” sourcing adds to the fresh flavors that I experienced in the local and wild mushroom bisque. Barraco told me that the oyster “shrooms” came from Chris Walburn up the street who grows both the brown and white varieties. Over 15 mushrooms, including a dried blend mixed with herbs, go into the stock. The soup was topped with a hearty pumpernickel crumble which emphasized its truffle accents and added a texture to the creaminess. Barraco said there’s actually very little cream. The thickness is a result of the “mirepoix” (vegetable melange) reduction. The pronounced earthy tang was highlighted by its dollop of tart, thick yogurt. I’ve had many of his soups and each one is its own little treasure chest. Other listings in this group include fried Nova Scotia smelts, lamb meatballs, mushroom bruschetta, an artisanal cheese plate and salads.

For an entree, diners can choose their acclaimed roasted Scottish Salmon from Loch Duarte, which my husband Steve and I claim as a favorite. Because the quality of the sustainably raised “upscaly” fish (no antibiotics) is so high, it can be served fairly rare. Barraco sears one side creating a crispiness balanced by the tender, juicy flesh, “to emphasize both flavors and textures that work well together,” he related. The “cloak” on the Loch swimmer is a whole grain, white wine mustard crisp. Barraco described my experience well: “You push your fork through the buttery mustard crust on top, then the soft salmon, then the crispy bottom.” At its base is a pistou (Provencal for pounded) of vegetables and herbs which binds together seasonal vegetables including ramps (baby fiddlehead ferns), a sweet, tender taste treat a bit like asparagus married to leeks.

After this palatable pleasure, I was regaled with line-caught Icelandic cod. I didn’t realize that a “day boat fish” means that it’s brought in fresh at the end of the day. The chef explained, “Cod is very delicate so it needs a good crust. I use sourdough bread to get a better texture — more crunch in some places, more butter in others and a more intense mouth feel.” I love “chefy talk.” It is served over an intense onion flavored “coddled” base with an overlay of sautéed cucumber “oars” and microgreens and accents of vivid “smashed” kalamata olives and “labna” like (very condensed) yogurt. It was sweet and flaky (just like me), without the heaviness of sea bass. I may have a new favorite. Other entrees range from uniquely topped pizzas to their classics, such as mac and cheese, fried chicken, a burger with a blend of prime beef and short ribs and other seasonal selections.

Barraco described the menu as “very vegetable friendly. We like to showcase them in ways that aren’t typical.” My vegetable from the “For the Table” category was oven roasted zucchini and cucumber with smoked goat cheese and toasted hazelnuts. The warm cucumber absorbed all the flavors and made it easy to eat my (luscious) greens. Corn pudding, spring peas and fried brussel sprouts are some other choices under this heading.

There is always a wonderful chef’s choice of desserts and Barraco described something he does with doughnuts that you would have to see and taste to believe. He is a cuisiniere with a lyrical list of ingredients, combined with artistic license to create a poem of a meal — a repast you’ll want to repeat. 20 Brix (a measurement used in wine making) offers a full service bar and is open for lunch Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner hours are Monday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m.

20 Brix

101 Main Street

Milford, OH 45150

513-831-Brix (2749)