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Local Rabbis, Residents Divided on Gay Marriage

GARY BAND
Jewish Journal Staff

Few issues have generated more controversy than the current debate over the legality of gay marriage. Nowhere is the debate more prominent than in Massachusetts, where citizens anxiously await the overdue decision by the Supreme Judicial Court in the case of Goodridge vs. Department of Public Health.

Filed in April 2001 by seven gay and lesbian couples from Boston, Newton, Northfield, Orleans and Northampton, the plaintiffs argue that the freedom to marry the person of one’s choice is protected by the state’s constitution. The case is being litigated by GLAD, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.

The SJC heard arguments on March 4, 2003. It typically rules 130 days later. But due to the gravity of this case, experts believe the court is reviewing other cases such as Lawrence vs. Texas, which overturned a law barring sodomy, and recent legal decisions in Canada
A July 16 Associated Press article stated that Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.) sent a letter to colleagues quoting Vice President Dick Cheney as saying the same-sex marriage issue is appropriately decided by each state, not the federal government.

“I think we ought to do everything we can to tolerate and accommodate whatever kind of relationships people want to enter into,” Cheney said during a vice-presidential debate in 2000. Cheney has two daughters, one of whom is gay.

Because the Massachusetts case could result in legalization of gay marriage in the state and stimulate a paradigm shift for gay and lesbian couples across the country, Republican lawmakers have been feverishly rounding up sponsors for a bill, supported by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), that would ban gay marriage nationwide.

For its part, the Bush Administration is exploring ways to strengthen the Defense of Marriage Act, a bill that gives states the right to not recognize same-sex unions from other states.

Vermont is currently the only state to recognize same-sex relationships as civil-unions, thanks to a law signed by former Governor Howard Dean, Yet, civil union is not the same as marriage, and does not confer the 1,049 federal rights and responsibilities of federal laws related to marriage. These rights include federal health benefits, inheritance, child custody and hospital visitation. There are currently 350 rights for couples in civil unions.

Many faith traditions support the rights of gay and lesbian couples to marry, including the Reform and Reconstructionist movements. While Reform leaders said it took years to get the proper language written, and the movement was split on the issue, at a conference in Greensboro, NC, in April 2000, the Central Conference of American Rabbis passed a resolution asserting the validity of gay marriages.

Reform Rabbi Howard Kosovske of Temple Beth Shalom in Peabody says that he will preside over a gay or lesbian commitment ceremony, which for him is kiddushin.

Kiddushin, according to the Talmud, is the primary reference for regulating marriages. Certain relationships are deemed “invalid” or “inappropriate,” including incest, marriage between a Jew and non-Jew, and marriage between same-sex couples. Leviticus states unequivocally that, “a man shall not lie down with another man.” To countermand it is to depart from what many believe to be at the core of Judaism.

“From the classical side, the term marriage is reserved for unions between a Jewish man and woman, Kosovske said. “But for me, a gay or lesbian commitment ceremony is kiddushin.”

While he has yet to preside over one, he has one scheduled. “I wouldn’t officiate if both parties were not Jewish, but what does being gay or lesbian have to do that? A few years back, people were against blacks going to school with whites.”

Kosovske is very much in favor of civil recognition of same-sex unions or marriage. “Personally, I would love to have state-recognized gay or lesbian marriages,” he says.

Rabbi David Meyer of Temple Emanu-El in Marblehead sees gay marriage as a civil rights issue. He voted in favor of the CCAR resolution, but says, “That stops way short of calling [gay marriage] kiddushin. The resolution states that the commitments of a gay and lesbian couple to one another are worthy of affirmation through Jewish law; but that is a great distinction from kiddushin.

Meyer does, however, support civil recognition of gay marriage. He says he would be willing to do a commitment ceremony — “so long as the language is not that of kiddushin. But to perform a Jewish ritual that expresses the love, the commitment, the holiness that exists in the relationship, that I would be very willing to create,” he insists.

As for political opposition to such unions, the rabbi says, “The predominant opposition comes out of a religious sensibility. The government has no business using religious grounds for determining who is and who is not eligible for marriage.”

Responding to a question about statements from the Vatican regarding gay and lesbian couples adopting children, Meyer said, “In my opinion, and those of the vast majority of my reform colleagues, the adoption of a child by a same-sex couple is a mitzvah of the highest order worthy of celebration and endorsement by the entire community.”

From the Conservative movement, Rabbi Edgar Weinsberg of Temple Beth El in Swampscott has a different take.

“There is a lot of contention among Conservative rabbis on this issue. I am personally conflicted since Judaism has always idealized marriage as a relationship between men and women. However, we need to reevaluate this matter in the light of our current understanding of what it means to enter into a gay, committed relationship.

Rabbi Weinsberg is aware of some 20 conservative rabbis who officiate at gay marriages. And although that is not his current practice, at a time when civil law comes to recognize such unions, he says he is likely to perform Jewish rites of marriage for gay couples.

“There are so many gay people in American society of every religious persuasion that it’s time that clergy everywhere acknowledge their relationship and affirm their full-fledged part in the synagogue or church of their choice,” he said. “I personally know of a couple of rabbis who happen to be gay, whom I respect very highly, yet I am puzzled that my own movement, to date, has not accepted gays into the rabbinical school. I am hoping that policy changes in the future.”

Nationally, Weinsberg says the Conservative movement’s Internal Laws and Standards Committee is weighing whether to review and reconsider the the current prohibition against gay marriage.

Rabbi Yossi Lipsker of Chabad Lubavitch Congregation in Swampscott says, I don’t believe in judging people for the choices they make. If somebody asks me what the traditional Jewish perspective is, clearly, marriage is something between a man and a woman. It’s a very difficult issue. My prayer is that all people find happiness. At the same time, my interpretation of marriage remains the same.”

For their part, local political leadership supports gay marriage. According to an article in the April 12 Salem News, Congressman John Tierney told the Lawrence Eagle Tribune that he “would see no problem if the Supreme Judicial Court decides to legalize gay marriage.”

A recent Boston Globe poll found that a majority of Massachusetts residents support gay marriage, too.

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Summer: Season of Dueling Diets

SHANA KAPLAN
Jewish Journal Staff

Eating diet food is easy. Those Zone bars make a pretty tasty breakfast; the caramel-peanut chocolate covered Weight Watchers bars are delish for an afternoon snack. Healthy Choice microwave dinners actually aren’t half bad, and the Skinny Cow cookie’s and cream bars really hit the spot after a low-fat sandwich from Subway.

Dieting is a different story. It isn’t just about having a Slimfast breakfast bar this morning to compensate for a deep-fried dinner last night, and it’s especially not about starving yourself for a week to fit into that black dress for an upcoming reunion. It’s about changing eating habits for life.

But how do you know which diet is right for you? If you read about them in books or online, they all sound fabulous. How about those liquid diets where you drink a few bottles of some milky orange juice and are guaranteed to drop 10 pounds in five days. It’s true, they may work for shedding pounds, but not only do most of them shed water weight and dehydrate you, but they generally don’t actually remove fat from your body. Others, like Jenny Craig, work only for as long as you eat their small portions of expensive food.

But there are actually a few out there that a lot people swear by. Though each diet is different, the successful ones all involve exercise, permanent changes in the way you look at food, portion control, and awareness of your body. Here are a few of them. Just remember to consult your doctor before starting any diet or fitness regime.

Weight Watchers teaches people how to maintain a balanced healthy diet, which many people do not know how to do. With its easy Winning Points system, and the new FlexPoints system to be introduced in late August, members are given a daily number of points depending on their weight. Each food has a point value based on its calories, fat, and fiber content and members can distribute their points on any foods they like. Assuming they stay within their points range, they should lose weight. Weight Watchers strongly encourages members to allocate a number of their daily points on calcium-rich foods and low or no-point fruits and vegetables, as well as attend weekly meetings, exercise daily, and drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water.

Evidence that Weight Watchers works can been seen by looking at how many people return to again and again.

Jackie Harrison, a registered nurse from Peabody has sworn by weight watchers for years.

“I’ve probably been on and off Weight Watchers probably 10 times in the last 20 years,” said Harrison. “It’s the only time I eat healthy and balanced.” she said. “Instead of waiting to gain 20 pounds, I go back for the support to get on track.”

Harrison is not what one pictures when they think of weight loss — she is a cute and curvy petite size four. “I have less than 10 pounds I want to lose,” she said. “But I haven’t been able to do it on my own. My favorite clothes don’t fit me the way I want them to, and feeling good about yourself is what its all about.”

Meetings, Harrison said, are very important. She said this has been where she found the most support, discovered strategies, recipes, new products, and new ways of looking at food. Harrison said she loves that Weight Watchers can fit into anyone’s lifestyle. Whether they like to eat out, stay home and cook, love ice cream, or live off of fruits and vegetables — it can work. Harrison even did it when she was pregnant, assisted by a dietician to make a safe program. “It is like every other diet has to be — a way of life. It is not a quick fix.”

Temple Beth El secretary Cheryl Levy was dangerously overweight when her doctor told her if she didn’t lose soon, she might not be around much longer. She’d always been heavy, and this was not news to her. But it was her son’s upcoming bar mitzvah that really pushed her to finally take action at age 40.

“I didn’t want to go up on the bima heavy,” she said. Her doctor advised she go through gastric bypass surgery at Salem Hospital as part of an intensive weight loss program. Since the surgery, and through an extensive outpatient exercise and nutrition program, Levy lost 100 pounds in a year-and-a-half. “A lot of people think [stomach stapling] is just a cop out — like I was too lazy to do it on my own — but it’s not. It’s a tool to help you get started,” said Levy.

After the surgery, Levy joined Weight Watchers to help her maintain her weight loss and continue losing naturally and healthily.
“It is a commitment for life,” she said, determined to never let herself go back to the way she was. “A light bulb will go off in my head if I ever start to slip, and I’ll get right back on it.”

A good meeting, a great support system, and exercise are the keys to sticking with the program, said Levy, who walks five miles per day, six days a week and is grateful for her family’s support. “It’s hard though,” she says, “especially because the typically Jewish foods are generally high in points, so you’ve really got to save your points for the special dishes.”

The Atkins Diet is another program that promotes life-long changes. Dieters begin by cutting out virtually all carbohydrates from their daily intake, effectively switching their metabolism to a fat-burning system, rather than a carb-burning system. Slowly and steadily, dieters shed pounds as they gradually add back small quantities of carbohydrates into their diet. Atkins dieters primarily eat high-fat foods that are rarely allowed in calorie-counting diets like eggs, bacon, and steak, and avoid all high carb foods that include all starches as well as most fruits and vegetables.

The Atkins Diet has roused up a great deal of controversy because, for years, nutritionists have been saying a diet high in fat greatly contributes to heart disease and cancers. However, recent studies have shown the diets that are high in saturated fat combined with sugars and other carbohydrates are actually what cause these illnesses. High fat, low-carb diets have surprisingly been known to lower cholesterol and yield healthy rapid weight loss, according to research funded by the Atkins Center.

Journal Board of Overseers Vice-President Carl Goodman knows that the Atkins diet works. After already losing over 25 pounds, and hoping to shed another 20, Goodman said it has been a very positive experience, and he is thrilled with how quick the results have come. It has not been all fun and games, however.

“The first few days were a kick being able to eat all the things everyone says you’re not supposed to,” he said. “But it gets pretty gross and unpleasant having to eat all that fatty food. I drink copious amounts of seltzer.”

Goodman acknowledges it is not a diet that can be done half way, like calorie-counting diets where if you have a bad day or week, you can jump right back in where you left off. “Cheating really throws you off,” he said.

Another fan is Mark Mulgay, who says Atkins is great for someone who wants to control their diet and still eat a little more. In just three weeks, he shed 15 pounds and has been able to maintain that for several weeks.

“It has changed my way of eating,” he said. “I look at carb content now and I feel better as a result.”

One of Mulgay’s biggest obstacles while on the diet has been keeping Kosher. Much of the Atkins diet consists of meat, so he has spent a lot of money at the kosher butcher. Also, though Atkins has a lot of ready-made products available in health stores, most are not kosher. Even reading the labels for non-Kosher ingredients can be deceptive, he said, because some components come from animal by-products.

Marjorie Berger of Beverly admits she is a carb-o-holic.
“That’s all I ate,” she said. In hopes to drop a few pounds, she tried to cut back — but to no avail. “I couldn’t do it, so I joined Atkins for the boost. I wanted to cleanse my body of carbs.”

“The first two weeks, I could eat up to 20 carbs, which is the equivalent of a small apple. I see quitting carbs as akin to a smoker trying to give up cigarettes to quit smoking cold turkey. I was climbing the walls,” she says.

In the last few weeks, Berger began to take advantage of Atkins brand products like meal-on-the-go bars, shakes, and snacks and candies that satisfy her sweet tooth. “I don’t feel deprived anymore, and I am actually starting to enjoy the foods I am eating,” she said.

“Except eggs. I go through a dozen eggs per week — they have no carbs.”

A lesser-known variation of Atkins is the South Beach Diet. It is different than Atkins because it eliminates the total carbohydrate restrictions and encourages eating healthy carbs like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and healthy unsaturated fats such as nuts and certain oils.

For the first two weeks, dieters are forbidden to indulge in starchy foods like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, baked goods, fruits, and alcohol. Dieters are supposed to lose 8-13 pounds in this period. After the two weeks, carbs are reintroduced slowly. The creators say weight loss averages around 1-2 pounds per week, and food cravings disappear. Once the preferred weight is reached, according to the program’s website, “You can then feel free to forget all about the South Beach Diet, as long as you remember to live by its few basic rules.” The diet was originally book-based, but is now available online. Members pay a monthly fee to access the web site’s interactive database of recipes, message boards, and a few other weight loss tools.

Weight Watchers
Check it out: www.weightwatchers.com or call 1-888-3-Florine
What you eat: Anything you want as long as it’s within your daily points.
What you can’t eat: nothing
Results: Slow and steady weight loss. 1-2 pounds per week on average.
Cost: $40 membership fee, plus about $13 per week. Discounts are available.
Perks: No restrictions learn healthy eating habits, fun local meetings, eat good food.
Downsides: not very structured. You can blow your points on just cheesecake if you want.

Atkins Diet
Check it out: www.atkins.
com or but the book Atkins for Life for about $14
What you eat: Low/no-carb foods. Meat, poultry, eggs, cheese, smalls amounts of high fiber vegetables
What you can’t eat: Grains, sugar, fruits, milk, starchy carbs, at first. Then add them back slowly.
Results: Semi-rapid weight loss, lower cholesterol, high energy
Cost: $14 for the book
Perks: Lower cholesterol, tasty Atkins brand products
Downsides: hard to keep over long periods. It’s hard on your liver to process so much fat; you must change your snacking habits- no more popcorn or potato chips.

South Beach Diet
Check it out: www.southbeachdiet.com or buy the book at you local bookseller for about $15
What you eat: healthy carbs like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and healthy unsaturated fats such as nuts and certain oils
What you can’t eat: Starchy carbs at first then add them back slowly
Results: 8-13 pounds the first week
Cost: $29.95 for 6 weeks or about $15 for the book
Perks: gets rid of saturated fats and foods that make you store fat
Downsides: hard to keep over long periods. It’s hard on your liver to process so much fat; you must change your snacking habits — no more popcorn or potato chips.

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Local Group Supports Jews in Recovery

SUSAN JACOBS
Jewish Journal Staff

SALEM — Not all Jewish children from the North Shore suburbs grow up to be rich, successful doctors or lawyers. To the complete dismay of their parents, some become alcoholics or drug addicts. This is what happened to Robin (not her real name).

Robin was an outgoing and popular cheerleader at Swampscott High School. She was raised in a nice Jewish home with two devoted parents and three loving siblings. When she was 21, she began using OxyContin, a narcotic drug approved for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. When that became too difficult and expensive to get, she turned to heroin and soon became an addict.

Robin’s middle-aged Jewish mother Sheila (not her real name) knew nothing about her daughter’s substance abuse, even though she frequently visited her youngest daughter in Lynn. The girl held a steady job and was attending North Shore Community College. Sheila was flabbergasted when Robin confessed that she had a drug problem.

Like many addicts, Robin had unsuccessfully tried to quit using several times. She lost her job and was forced to give up her apartment. At one of Robin’s lowest points, Sheila found her drug-sick daughter crawling on the floor — feverish, vomiting and desperate. Sheila literally picked the 22-year-old up in her arms and carried her to a detox center.

“I thought that in five days, she’d be fine,” said the friendly mother of four. “I didn’t realize it was far from over.” Following that episode, Robin relapsed about 25 more times, which is common among those struggling with addiction.
After getting help for her daughter, Sheila sought help for herself through AL-ANON, a support group for family and friends of alcoholics and drug addicts.

“I was crying a lot. I couldn’t understand how such a thing could happen to our daughter and our family,” said Sheila. “My husband and I were absolutely devastated.”

Drugs were a foreign concept to the middle class family. Although Sheila and her family drank Kiddush wine on Friday nights, they were certainly not alcoholics. They had no context for understanding addiction.

AL-ANON helped Sheila understand that she was powerless to change her daughter’s behavior. She was relieved to find support for the shame and humiliation she felt. But the AL-ANON meetings were held in a church, and as a devout Jew, she bristled when the other participants recited a Christian prayer at the start of each meeting.

When she spoke to members of her temple about her problem, most were empathetic. But she wanted to confide with other Jewish parents struggling with the same issue. She knew about a Jewish support group in Brookline, but it was difficult for her to attend because it was so far away. She was delighted when Rabbi Ilana Rosansky of Temple Shalom in Salem decided to start a local chapter of JACS, a support group for Jews.

JACS Helps Jews

JACS (Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons and Significant Others) was founded in 1979 in New York by a handful of Jewish members of Alcoholics Anonymous and AL-ANON who wanted to add a Jewish dimension to their 12-step recovery programs. The organization has since grown to serve thousands via chapters all over the United States including Tucson, Los Angeles, Denver, Boca Raton, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Las Vegas and Philadelphia, and internationally in Israel, Mexico, Canada, Australia and Brazil.
According to its mission statement, JACS is “dedicated to encourage and assist Jewish alcoholics, chemically dependent persons and their families, friends and associates to explore recovery in a nurturing Jewish environment by conducting retreats and other events that provide support to Jews in recovery, to promote knowledge and understanding of the disease of alcoholism and chemical dependency as it involves the Jewish community, and to act as a resource center and information clearinghouse on the effects of alcoholism and drug dependency on Jewish family life.”

Rabbi Rosansky first learned about JACS in 1996 while in rabbinical school. She was invited on scholarship to attend a JACS retreat, which she found very inspirational. When she arrived at Temple Shalom and discovered that no JACS chapter existed on the North Shore, she was motivated to start one. Her group is sponsored by Jewish Family Service of the North Shore.

Meetings follow the successful 12-Step pattern with some key differences.

“We recite the S’hma and the Serenity Prayer after each meeting instead of the Lord’s Prayer,” says Rosansky. “And we use books written from a Jewish perspective,” she adds. But many aspects of the JACS meetings are the same as other recovery meetings. Participants are guaranteed anonymity, and no judgments or cross talk is permitted. People share their experiences, but they don’t comment on other people’s experience. And active users are not permitted to attend.

Sheila, whose daughter Robin has been sober now for seven months, firmly believes in the power of the 12-step program. “The 12 steps of AA are divinely inspired, not Christian inspired,” she says. “They come from Yiddishkeit originally, and they work if you work them.”

Rosansky agrees. “Asking forgiveness of those you have wronged is one of the 12 steps. It is also part of Jewish tradition. We do it every year on Rosh Hashanah,” she says. “During the month that precedes Rosh Hashanah, the month of Elul, we’re meant to do an internal reckoning or accounting called cheshbon ha’nefesh. We examine how we’ve acted during the year, and recognize who we have wronged. The process of recovery mirrors the annual process of cheshbon ha’nefesh,” she adds.
Meetings are held twice per month at Salem’s Temple Shalom. Currently just a handful of people attend. Rosansky hopes to see the group expand as the word spreads and people summon up their courage to come. She admits that it is hard for Jews to address addiction.

“Jewish mothers in particular have a very difficult time accepting addiction. Step One of the 12 Steps states that we are powerless over the addict or the substance in our lives. As Jewish mothers, we believe that of course we can change people. That’s a hard step to work, and it’s step one,” says Rosansky.

Jews Don’t Become Alcoholics

Although Jews drink ritualistically and socially, one of the most persistent myths is that they don’t have addictions. Yet statistics affirm that chemical dependency, as well as other addictive behaviors, affect Jews as frequently as any other group. Rosansky believes that Jewish clergy need to be more sensitive to this issue. “For Jews who wind up addicts, you have the added problems of people not understanding that this could be a Jewish problem,” she says.

In some instances, the problem actually begins in the synagogue. Rosansky points out that some Orthodox shuls where Jews observe Shabbat all day long have an open bar with no one tending the bar. She has heard stories from Jewish teens in recovery who became alcoholics after having easy access to Kiddush schnapps and wine.

JACS is working to reverse the denial in the Jewish community by:
• Conducting training programs for informing and sensitizing Jewish leaders about addiction in the Jewish community.
• Running an active speakers bureau that sends JACS members to synagogues, schools and youth groups to conduct educational sessions.
• Providing treatment protocols to remove barriers for observant Jewish patients.
• Encouraging synagogues to host 12 step meetings.
• Developing curriculum materials for Jewish schools.
• Collaborating with community organizations to develop effective prevention and intervention programs.

While participation in the Salem JACS group is still small, the Talmud teaches us that “to save a single soul is to save the whole world.” By creating a safe environment for Jews affected by addiction to support each other, Rosansky is doing just that.

JACS meetings are generally held the first and third Wednesday of each month from 7-8:30 p.m. at Temple Shalom at 287 Lafayette St. in Salem. For more information, phone 978-741-4880 x12..

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Chelsea Shul to Celebrate 103 Years of Tradition

GARY BAND
Jewish Journal Staff

Herb Kupersmith of Marblehead is a man who keeps his word. “I promised my mother and grandmother that as long as I’m alive, I will support the shul,” he said of the Chelsea synagogue he attended as a kid and has helped sustain and revitalize as an adult.
Yet Kupersmith downplays his role, preferring to praise those who came before him and kept the traditions alive. He has special praise for Sidney Spiegel, president from 1965-199. “If not for him, there wouldn’t be any Herb Kupersmith. He took over when no one else wanted to and helped it survive.”

In that spirit, Kupersmith has organized a breakfast honoring those who have done so much for this historic house of worship, a shul that still has a minyan everyday and had 155 people attend for Rosh Hashanah.

When the doors open at the Walnut Street Shul at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7., over 200 people are expected to fill the social hall for a traditional Jewish breakfast and ceremony honoring five people whose dedication to the shul has allowed it to remain when 14 of the original 16 temples in Chelsea have closed.

They are: Rabbi Nochum Cywiak, spiritual leader; Murray Brown, temple president; Attorney Morris Karll; Harvey Chet Krentzman; and Herb Savitz.

Many people who today live in Marblehead, Swampscott and Peabody came from Chelsea and have good memories of a community that once had the largest Jewish population outside New York City. The shul is located on a historic road protected by both state and federal law. “For which we get no money,” Kupersmith quips. “But it’s as if God put it in a safe place.”

He remembers how both his mother and basketball coach wouldn’t let him play until he had his bar mitzvah. “Fifty years ago they had to force me to study and prepare. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here talking about the shul today.”

But while he admits that it gets harder and harder to maintain, “a building like this should never be closed,” Kupersmith says. “To see the beauty of the building and be inside the synagogue, it’s something you’ll never see in the United States. For me, the way the shul looks today is a dream come true. The first time I stood on the bima and saw people sitting in my grandmother’s seat, I knew I had accomplished something.”

Kupersmith acknowledges that while “Orthodox is tough,” a few young people have shown an interest in getting involved with the shul, and hopes it will “stand as a memorial to Jewish life in Chelsea.”

He says people think he’s crazy to do the work he does. “I say people have a right to go pray where they want. And to have a place like this that’s 103 years old is a tribute to the people who started it and the people being honored.”

For reservations and information, call Kupersmith at 781-639-5151.

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National News

Pollard to Get Day in Court

EDWIN BLACK

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (JTA) — Sept. 2, 2003 is going to be a big day for Jonathan Pollard: The American Jewish spy is going to get another day in court.

Pollard’s lawyers will have 40 minutes in a federal courtroom to explain why they should be permitted to continue efforts to rescind the life sentence he received 18 years ago for committing espionage for Israel.

Years of tenacious motions by attorneys Jacques Semmelman and Eliot Lauer either have been vigorously opposed by government attorneys or allowed to languish in the court.

Now U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan has granted Pollard and his attorneys — who are working on the case pro bono — a hearing.

Semmelman and Lauer will get 30 minutes to argue why they should be permitted to appeal, the government can take a half hour to respond, and then Pollard’s attorneys will be granted 10 minutes for the last word.

So pivotal is the hearing that the judge has ordered federal prison officials in Butner, N.C., to shuttle Pollard to the U.S. District Court in Washington for the event.

Prison officials said they are uncertain whether U.S. marshals would fly Pollard to the nation’s capital or drive.
“Normally, we drive them for a mere six-hour trip,” a prison spokesman said, “but a high-profile prisoner like Pollard might be flown.”

He added that arrangements would be made for Pollard’s kosher meals.

Despite mounds of legal briefs and well-researched citations, Pollard’s hearing boils down to two issues:

* Was the ex-naval intelligence officer convicted in March 1987 on the basis of a misleading secret 46-page affidavit?
* Was he denied due process by a defense attorney who declined to file a routine appeal after Judge Aubrey Robinson stunned Pollard and threw a crowded courtroom into pandemonium with an unexpected life sentence? The life sentence violated the prosecutor’s plea agreement to not ask for life in exchange for Pollard’s cooperation.

Then-Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger submitted the secret affidavit at virtually the last minute at Robinson’s personal request.
In the affidavit, Weinberger wrote: “It is difficult for me, in the so-called ‘year of the spy’ to conceive of a greater harm to national security.”
The message, backed up with some 20 classified documents, was clear: Give Pollard a life sentence — regardless of the written plea agreement.

Fifteen years later, Weinberger conceded that “the Pollard matter was comparatively minor. It was madev far bigger than its actual importance.”

Pressed on why this was so, Weinberger replied, “I don’t know why — it just was.”

Attorneys Semmelman and Lauer have been filing motion after motion to see the supposedly secret documents so they can adequately appeal.

But their efforts have been denied on the grounds of national security, even though they have been granted the necessary security clearances. Semmelman is a former U.S. attorney. The documents concern sources and methods used two decades ago, before the proliferation of personal computers.

The second question asks whether Pollard was denied due process on account of “ineffective assistance of counsel,” according to the motion.

Pollard’s attorney at the time, Richard Hibey, has been widely criticized for inaction. He failed to object when prosecutors violated the plea agreement and asked for life, failed to call for an evidentiary hearing on Weinberger’s secret affidavit, and then — to the surprise of most observers — declined to file the routine notice of appeal in the 10 days allotted.

For years, Hibey has dodged all questions on his representation of Pollard.

Despite the hearing, there are few prospects for a Pollard release in the immediate future.

Even if Semmelman and Lauer were granted the opportunity to appeal — consistently denied because Hibey failed to file the 10-day notice — it might take another year or two for any decision.

Pollard already has served far longer than the average for people convicting of spying either for enemies of the United States or it allies.

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International News

What Does ‘Cease-Fire’ Mean?

GIL SEDAN

Photo by Brian Hendler/JTA Israeli rescue personnel remove a body from the scene of a Palestinian suicide bombing at a supermarket in the town of Rosh Ha’ayin near Tel Aviv, Aug. 12. A bystander was killed and roughly a dozen people were injured. Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement’s Al-Aksa Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack.

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The suicide bombings that hit Israel August 12 shattered the relative calm that had taken hold in Israel and the West Bank this summer.

How they will affect the cease-fire declared by Palestinian terrorist groups and implementation of the “road map” peace plan is anybody’s guess.

At the least, they certainly indicate differing interpretations of the concept of “cease-fire.”

With the truce now six weeks old, Israel expects the Palestinians not just to halt all terror attacks but to crack down on terrorist groups, which the Palestinians are obligated to do under the road map.

If the Palestinians do not do what they ought to do, it will not be possible to make progress in the process, and at the end of the day the Palestinians might not achieve what they want to achieve,” Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned after the attacks, which killed one Israeli man in the city of Rosh Ha’ayin and a teenager near the West Bank settlement of Ariel.

But Elias Zananiri, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority’s security chief, Mohammed Dahlan, said the terrorist attacks emanated from areas that still are under Israeli security control.

“The Palestinian security forces in the West Bank do not have the ability to do what they are requested to do,” he said.

The Al-Aksa Brigade of the Palestinians’ mainstream Fatah movement claimed responsibility for the Rosh Ha’ayin attack. The Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas claimed responsibility for the Ariel attack.

In response, Israel suspended the release of 77 Palestinian prisoners who were due to be freed Tuesday.

The attacks, which are not believed to be linked, represent the most blatant violation of the cease-fire the terrorist groups declared six weeks ago.

Seven Israelis and 12 Palestinians — excluding suicide bombers — have been killed since the cease-fire took effect on June 29.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the attacks, but P.A. Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said they were provoked by recent Israeli anti-terror raids in the West Bank.

Abbas said he did not consider Tuesday’s bombings a violation of the cease-fire, according to an Associated Press report that cited a Qatari news agency. Hamas appears to feel the same way.

Mahmoud a-Zahar, one of the leaders of Hamas in Gaza, said the organization was still observing the cease-fire but that “the operations are a natural reaction to the Israeli violations of the cease-fire.”
A-Zahar seemed to be referring, in part, to an Israeli operation in Nablus last Friday in which one Israeli soldier and four Palestinians — including two members of Hamas — were killed.

But more broadly, Israel has continued certain anti-terror operations during the cease-fire, arresting some 200 Palestinians even as it released more than 300, Palestinians say.

Israel views the cease-fire as an internal Palestinian affair that does not bind Israel. It says the terrorist groups are using the cease-fire to re-arm, and demands that the Palestinian Authority fulfill its commitment to dismantle the groups.
Until the Palestinian Authority begins to act, Israeli officials said, Israel will continue its anti-terror operations, though they have been toned down significantly since the cease-fire was declared.

Abbas has said he will not confront the terrorists for fear of igniting a Palestinian civil war.

Despite the cease-fire, Israeli security sources say gangs of terrorists have received money from Hezbollah and Iran to continue terrorist attacks. Israeli forces are believed to have foiled at least 10 suicide-bombing missions in the past few weeks.

American officials condemned Tuesday’s attacks. Secretary of State Colin Powell said peace is impossible as long as “people continue to participate in terrorist activities, and we see the response to terrorist activities, which are necessary for self-defense.”
Powell made his comments at a State Department gathering of Israeli and Arab children from the Seeds for Peace conflict resolution camp.

Powell also emphasized that the United States would continue to work with its partners in the “Quartet” — the United Nations, Russia and the European Union — to implement the road map.

For Israeli officials, one thing remained clear: The cease-fire had not removed the need to fight against terrorism.
“This is not the first terrorist attack during the hudna, and we believe it will not be the last,” Israel’s police chief, Shlomo Aharonishky, said of the Rosh Ha’ayin attack, using the Arabic term for a cease-fire.

In Islamic tradition, a hudna implies a temporary truce during which forces are rebuilt for future rounds of fighting.

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Ralph Kaplan Gets an Earful from Israeli Leaders

MARK ARNOLD
Jewish Journal Staff

Ralph Kaplan of Swampscott has been to Israel more than a dozen times. He was there again in late June, on a three-day mission for 50 Israel Bond leaders from the United States. He outranks most of them, having run the North Shore’s Israel bond drive for 30 years. “It’s always a thrill to be there,” he said.

What made the latest trip memorable wasn’t just the meetings with high government officials. The group is high powered enough to always command the attention of Israel’s leadership. Rather, it was what they had to say. Excerpts from the meetings include these illuminating comments:

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: “Israel is committed to peace. The road map is acceptable to us and the 14 points we raised are an integral part of the document. The sequence of implementation is clear. There must be a complete cessation of Palestinian violence, terrorism and incitement and a reform of the Palestinian Authority, including security and financial reforms. Then confidence-building measures by us will ease restrictions on the Palestinian population and we can progress to a more permanent accord. Israel is a peace-seeking country but no next stage will be implemented without the one preceding it having been implemented....We Jews have only one tiny country. We can only rely on ourselves to defend ourselves. If Israel was — God forbid — weak, then all the Jews around the world could not carry on living the life they have now. Israel is your responsibility no less than our own.”

Labor Party Chair Shimon Peres: “The Jewish State has become a state of science. Israel has 77 scientists per 10,000 population compared to 33 in the U.S. Israel is Number One in relative terms in scientific publications and third in new patents and innovations. We are entering a totally new age, the age of nanotechnology (miniaturization). Without Bonds and Jewish support, there would have been no aliyah, no settlement and no security. Now we need your support for the next stage in our development — the stage of science, R&D and nanotechnology.”

Health Minister Dan Naveh: “Throughout the Intifada, Palestinian children have had full rights to treatment in our medical centers. It has happened that a failed suicide bomber has been in hospital near his victims. The Palestinian Authority has stopped paying Israeli hospitals. Despite the debt, we still cooperate with Palestinian hospitals because this is part of the Jewish tradition. I think we care more about the health of the Palestinians than the Palestinian leadership does.”

Bret Stephens, Editor-in-Chief, The Jerusalem Post: “Israel has a prime minister (Sharon) firmly in charge of both government and country, like no one since David Ben Gurion. For the first time in decades, Israel’s government is not beholden to troublesome, irresponsible coalition partners who hobble effective policy. For the first time, Israel is conducting a coherent and positive economic policy, thanks to Binyamin Netanyahu. Its success, so far tentative, is reflected in the rise of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and the strengthening shekel.

Finally, thanks to the Americans, Israel has been relieved of a major strategic burden in the form of Saddam Hussein.”

Minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Natan Sharansky: “A journalist asked me how we can stop the circle of violence as we stood in front of a bombed bus in which 17 people sat lifeless, burned and killed in their places. They murder innocent people while we target awful terrorists. I told this foreign journalist that the circle of violence will go on as long as he asks such questions.”

Ehud Olmert, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Trade & Labor: “We’re seeing the emergence of a steady optimism. Hotel occupancy in Jerusalem is up from 20 percent two months ago to 70 percent today. Israel’s economy will begin to revitalize, overseas investments will return and we’ll emerge form these difficult years into a reality of greater opportunity. In addition to your wonderful efforts for State of Israel Bonds, I want you to help us increase Israel’s exports, our main source of income. You can do this by deciding to spend $X each month on Israeli products in the supermarket and department store at homes. Buy things you need, but buy them Israeli. And if they’re not stocked, ask the store to get them in. For you, this is a small thing. For us, it could make a vast difference.”

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JTA News Briefs

Suicide Bombings Kill 2
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two Israelis were killed and more than a dozen wounded in separate suicide bombings. Yehezkel Yekutieli, a 43-year-old father of two, was killed in a blast Tuesday morning in the Israeli city of Rosh Ha’ayin. Erez Hershkovitz, 18, was killed in an attack near the West Bank settlement of Ariel. The Fatah movement’s Al-Aksa Brigade claimed responsibility for the Rosh Ha’ayin attack, and Hamas claimed responsibility for the Ariel attack. The Palestinian Authority condemned the attacks, but P.A. Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said they were provoked by recent Israeli anti-terrorist raids in the West Bank. He also said he did not consider the attacks a violation of the cease-fire, according to an Associated Press report that cited a Qatari news agency. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon blamed the Palestinian Authority for the attacks, saying it had failed to crack down on terrorist groups.

Israel Stops Prisoner Releases
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel suspended the release of Palestinian prisoners after Tuesday’s suicide bombings. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon halted the release of 77 prisoners after the attacks. (See Above Story) The order to stop the releases came after the prisoners already had been loaded onto buses.

Quiet in Northern Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A tense quiet took hold along Israel’s border with Lebanon. The United States was engaged in intensive consultations with Syria in an effort to prevent Hezbollah from further violence after Sunday’s deadly shelling of the northern Israeli town of Shlomi.
Israel opted for what it called a restrained position, warning Syria that it would respond to further shelling with attacks on Syrian targets in Lebanon.
However, Cabinet Minister Avigdor Lieberman argued Monday that Israel should retaliate immediately. “If the residents of Shlomi sit in shelters, so should the residents of Beirut,” Lieberman said.

Asteroids Named for Astronauts
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Seven asteroids are being named after the astronauts killed on the space shuttle Columbia.
The asteroids, which circle the sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, are being named for the six Americans and one Israeli, Col. Ilan Ramon, who died Feb. 1 when the Columbia exploded on its return to earth from a 16-day mission.
Proposed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the plan was announced Wednesday by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Minor Planet Center.

‘Mein Kampf’ Conviction
PRAGUE (JTA) — A Czech publisher has been convicted a second time for publishing a translation of Hitler’s Mein Kampf without commentary. Earlier this year, the Czech Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that publisher Michal Zitko had supported a movement that repressed human rights. On Monday, however, a district court in Prague found that Zitko had defamed Jews by publishing the book. “It is not necessary to state that Hitler’s book defames the Jewish people or nation. This is known to everyone,” Judge Rudolf Sidlo said at a news conference after issuing the verdict. Zitko received a suspended sentence of 22 months in prison with three years’ probation. He has yet to announce whether he will appeal again.

Nazi Fashion Nixed
NEW YORK (JTA) — A top Hong Kong fashion chain is pulling a new line of Nazi-themed clothing amid protests. I.T. Ltd., the company that owns the chain, put up Nazi banners and flags in its stores this past weekend to advertise the new line of clothes with swastikas and other Nazi symbols, Reuters reported. When Israel, Germany and some consumers complained, the company removed the flags but kept selling the clothing, until the Israeli Consulate in Hong Kong protested.

Babi Yar Memorial Criticized
NEW YORK (JTA) — A group of Russian-speaking Jews in the United States are criticizing a planned memorial at Babi Yar in Ukraine.
The center proposed at the site where more than 30,000 Jews were killed in September 1941 “will do damage to Jewish interests” and “diminish the memory of the Jewish community,” said the group, known as the Save Babi Yar committee.
The objections come after Ukrainian Jewish leader Josef Zissels led protests against the memorial in Ukraine.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which is funding the memorial, said, “The Jewish community of Ukraine is the only legitimate forum for making a decision on the issue of a Jewish memorial near Babi Yar. The Ukrainian Jewish community is comprised of dozens of sovereign and independent Jewish organizations, headed by indigenous Jewish leaders. The overwhelming majority of those organizations support a Jewish memorial near Babi Yar.”

Jewish Agency Cuts Budget
JERUSALEM (JTA) — About 850 workers at the Jewish Agency for Israel and World Zionist Organization agreed to pay cuts, and 50 staffers will be laid off.
Overseas emissaries also will be reduced by about 10 percent, according to Israel’s daily Ha’aretz. The wage cuts range from 1.75 percent to 17 percent, and will last for at least two years.

Bias Incident in Ukraine?
KIEV, Ukraine (JTA) — An Israeli born in Ukraine was reportedly beaten by a group of skinheads in Kiev. The attack on Anton Miromanov occurred on July 30, according to RUJEN, a news service affiliated with the World Congress of Russian-Speaking Jewry.

Donor Busted Over Fish
CAPE TOWN (JTA) — A major donor to Israel’s Ben-Gurion University was arrested for smuggling fish into the United States.
A front-page report in South Africa’s Cape Times newspaper on Arnold Bengis, arrested Wednesday in New York on charges including smuggling South African lobster and toothfish into the United States, highlighted Bengis’ ties to Israel.
Bengis, who has received an honorary doctorate from the university, reportedly has given several million dollars to Ben-Gurion through his support of the Bengis Center for Desert Aquaculture and the Bengis Center for Entrepreneurship and High-Tech Management.

Zuckerman Sexiest Mogul
NEW YORK (JTA) — The past chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations was chosen as New York’s “sexiest media mogul.”
Mortimer Zuckerman, publisher of U.S. News & World Report and the New York Daily News, is one of the “50 Sexiest New Yorkers,” according to New York magazine.
“Mort’s got game as an Upper Eastside bachelor — tan and buff from playing hours of tennis every day,’” the magazine fawns.
Other sexy Jews in the current issue include Paul Rudd, Jon Stewart, Rabbi Balfour Brickner and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

Raoul Wallenberg Feted
NEW YORK (JTA) — Groups around the world honored Raoul Wallenberg on what would have been his 91st birthday. Ceremonies were held in seven cities for the Swedish diplomat, who is credited with rescuing more than 30,000 Hungarian Jews from the Nazis. Wallenberg disappeared soon after the war, and he is believed to have died in a Soviet prison. The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation organized the events, which were held at Raoul Wallenberg monuments in each city. They included a ceremony across from the United Nations in New York, a cocktail reception at the Swedish ambassador’s home in Buenos Aires and an event in Budapest, where Wallenberg’s translator was honored with a medal. The foundation also had asked synagogues around the world to recognize Wallenberg’s birthday the previous Shabbat.

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Tips for College-Bound Jewish (and other) Freshmen

SHANA KAPLAN and
ANDREW MARCHESSAULT
Jewish Journal Staff

In a matter of a few weeks, hundreds of North Shore Jewish teenagers will be off to college, many for the first time. With college comes instant freedom and independence, crazy amounts of free time, practically unlimited food, parties, new people, new culture and new experiences — just to scratch the surface.

There are a few drawbacks too: late night studying, the pounds you may gain from late night pizza, so much reading, sometimes incompatible roommates and having to discipline yourself to get your work done. But overall, the new friends, the individuality, the liberty to choose classes you are interested in and the growing up beat out all the negatives.

Newfound interests and talents miraculously surface overnight, and a sense of self never before seen by the world quickly develops. After four years of high school you finally feel free to take your own path. A business suit, a wedding dress or good old pajamas are all fine attire for class, and you begin to realize that you don’t know half as much as you thought you did. That experience, combined with professors and classes that inspire you like few have done before, will humble you, while feeding your desire to learn more.

There are unimaginable numbers of activities to get involved with on campus, including, on many campuses, lots of Jewish activities. Most schools have both varsity and intramural sports teams, everything from karate to hackeysacking (beanbag soccer). If there isn’t a club for your favorite sport or program, you are free, at most schools, to start one. School newspapers, drama clubs, choirs, teams and tutoring are just a few things that are easy to get involved with. They are also a great way to make friends.

For those interested in a career in writing, a school newspaper may be a great fit. “Rarely will college papers turn kids away,” says Carolina Bolado, Editor in Chief of the Chicago Maroon, the University of Chicago’s student newspaper. Through their various journalism assignments, students also learn more about their school and its surrounding community. “You get in tune about what’s going on around campus,” says Bolado, which can be invaluable to a kid just getting his feet wet.

For those of us who like to talk, order people around, or just put thought to paper, a college theater department may be a great way to tap into some previously hidden talent.

“The theater I did helped me improve as an actor, director and writer,” says Jesse Soursourian of Beverly, who graduated from Wesleyan University this past June. “I gained invaluable experience first hand, from actually doing the thing I was learning about.”

As strange and scary as it may sound, college is one stepping stone from adolescence into the professional world. To help you get there, many colleges offer internships for upperclassmen, where you can work at a job in your field of interest and get credit for doing it.

The largest Jewish organization on most campuses is Hillel (the formal name is a mouthful: Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life (see sidebar). Some students plan to make a beeline for the local chapter as soon as they hit their new campus.

Ethan Pransky, a recent Peabody high grad, is heading to Brandeis in a few weeks and is anxious to get involved with their Hillel chapter. He looked into the program ahead of time so he knows he has Shabbat services, kosher food and social events to look forward to. He also hopes to work with Israel Advocacy groups, and perhaps even run for office within Hillel.

“I want to see how it goes and how I like it,” he said. “If it suits my fancy, I will think about running for the board.”

Aaron Bregman, current president of the Peabody United Synagogue Youth, will be off to Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT. During a recent school orientation, Bregman checked out the school’s Hillel and was pleased with what he saw.

“They seemed to be together,” he said. Bregman said he hopes to be involved culturally and socially more then religiously. “I want to go on a birthright Israel trip, as well as run for a board position.” He also said he is looking forward to mixing with the nearby Yale University Hillel.

Tufts Hillel student president Josh Pressman can now speak of the merits of Hillel after three years of active membership. He credits Rabbit Summit of Tufts with engaging him in Jewish life on campus: “He spoke the language of college students, rather than that of middle-aged and older folk, and I was convinced that he saw Judaism through a lens like my own.” Being active in Tufts Hillel helped Pressman further appreciate being Jewish, and how that could relate to his daily life. “Hillel helps people realize that being Jewish is cool, comfortable and exciting,” says Pressman, “something people rarely are taught when they’re in Hebrew school and other Jewish environments.”

Advice from Journal interns

Here are some tips from two Journal interns —both juniors, one at New York University, the other at the University of Chicago — about how to survive at college:

• Call home once a week.
• Find out about your school’s Hillel — it’s a great way to meet people and stay involved with the Jewish community.
• Bring an electric menorah — candles probably aren’t allowed.
• Matzoh Balls, latkes and brisket all freeze well. If you have a mini-fridge, bring holiday leftovers back to school.
• Get involved in some community service.
• Take advantage of campus diversity: Learn about someone else’s culture.
• Be wary of all-you-can-eat dining halls; the “freshman 10” (pounds) sneaks up very quickly.
• Use the gym.
• Check out the library.
• Take a campus tour.
• Though many professors don’t take attendance, show up to class at least once every 2-3 weeks.
• Take advantage of any free services the campus offers — seminars, lectures, language classes, cooking workshops, etc.
• Never miss a test or hand in a paper late — they are most likely a huge percent of your grade, and you might not be allowed to make them up.
• If you have time, take some fun classes to ease your tough schedule—the History of Baseball or Intro to Photography.
• Keep in touch with friends from home.
• Get everyone’s screen name and email address before you go.
• You plagiarize and get caught, you get kicked out of school—with no refund.
• Bring extra batteries, socks, and underwear.
• If you have a roommate, at least confine your messiness to your half of the room.
• Wear flip flops in the shower.
• Bring a can opener, bowls, and spoons, even if you have a meal plan.
• Ramen noodles and Kraft Easy Mac are essential.
• Do not try to keep rodents as pets—they escape and multiply. They also leave droppings on your pillow.
• Bring a hot pot for boiling water…and lots of coffee, tea, cocoa, and mugs.
• Make friends with your neighbors. You will need to borrow something at some point.

A Brief Guide to Local Hillel Houses
Here is a guide to a few of the local Hillels.

Northeastern University Hillel
What they offer: religious services, Shabbat dinners, social events, community service, kosher kitchen, Judaic library, joint events with other Hillels.

How they’re different: Their close proximity to other university Hillels allows them to accommodate other Boston area students, as well as members of local communities.

What they’re saying: “It basically saved my whole college experience. [When I was a freshman,] I was having trouble finding my niche — now it’s Hillel! At this age, I’m still not quite sure how religion fits in to my life, but when you come here, it’s open ended. Hillel really form-fits to what you are looking for. It’s so easy to get involved — it was a welcoming and relaxed place to go where you guaranteed to have something in common with the people there.”— Rachel Utain-Evans, student president of Northeastern Univ. Hillel.
To find out more: http://www.dac.neu.edu/hillel/ or call (617) 373-3936.

Harvard University Hillel

What they offer: Educational and social programming, religious services, kosher meal plan, outreach committee, community events, study sessions, Talmud study.

How they’re different: They have a big emphasis on community outreach and service, including non-Harvard students.

What they’re saying: “We emphasize pluralism. We reach out to all backgrounds. One doesn’t have to be an observant Jew. There is something for everyone.”—Linda Mulligan, administrative assistant, Harvard Hillel.

To find out more: http://www.hillel.harvard.edu/

M.I.T. Hillel
What they offer: Rich Jewish cultural, religious, and social programming for students and the local Jewish community,
Shabbat service, workshops, debates, Israel trips.

How they’re different: Many activities have a technological twist: i.e.: the Annual Test Tube Menorah Lighting and the Monumental Matzah Competition. Also, they have a separate Hillel for grad students.

What they’re saying: “Our big goal is to equip students to make decisions about life and to engage them with other Boston Hillels and synagogues.”—Adrian Uretski, M.I.T. Hillel

To find out more: http://web.mit.edu/hillel/

Boston University Hillel
What they offer: Rich Jewish cultural, religious, and social programming for students and the local Jewish community including Shabbat service, lectures, workshops, a Judaic library and community outreach

How they’re different: Boasting a huge membership, award-winning Kosher Dining Hall and a new facility for the 2004-5 school year, the

BU Hillel provides amenities of which most Hillels can only dream. One can get involved in Hillel’s own a capella group, Holocaust education classes, or pro-Israel activist groups, in addition to several community service organizations.

To find out more: http://www. bu.edu/hillel, or call (617) 353-7200

Tufts University Hillel
What they offer: An organization fully integrated into campus life, offering community service opportunities, interfaith programs, Jewish education and Judaic services.

How they’re different: Tufts’ Hillel is a “very, very active” group says Jeremy Goldstein, the Administrative Coordinator for the organization.

As the second largest student group on campus, Hillel takes it upon itself to embrace the entire student body; virtually every student will pass through the Hillel Center at some point in their Tufts career.

To find out more: http://www. tufts.edu/as/stu-org/hillel/ or call 617-627-3242.

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People in the News

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Arts & Entertainment

A Tale of Two Teenagers

SHANA KAPLAN
Jewish Journal Staff

In our world, where Israelis and Palestinians know so very little about living in peace, two young women from battling cultures have been able to maintain an unlikely friendship. In their collection of correspondences compiled by Sylke Tempel, We Just Want to Live Here, 18-year olds Israeli Odelia Ainbinder and Palestinian Amal Rifa’i, write about growing up, culture and politics with perspectives that are about as far apart as they can get.

The two youths met in Switzerland in 2000 on a trip sponsored by Peace Child Israel. With the help and organization of Tempel, a Middle East correspondent reporting from Israel, they wrote letters on whichever topics they pleased.

In passionate discussions and debates, the girls speak of everything from Sharon verses Arafat, to world travel, to their own connection with tradition and religion. Many dialogues are politically heated, but are always fair. Each has the chance to state their opinions in response to the other’s letter. No topic is taboo, and they truly do not hold back on any matter.

The magic of this book is for once, the conflict of Israel and Palestinian land is told through the eyes and innocence of youths. Though each girl has her prejudices from what she has observed in the world, their only motivation for peace is peace — not land, not money, not power — just peace. Both wish to coexist and better understand the other side.

It is so important to hear opposing perspectives other than those which we believe or are accustomed to hearing. The girls each explain their positions on issues that most people either can’t explain or never think to question rationally.

For example, Rifa’i explains she in no way supports or condones the actions of suicide bombers, but offers up the rational behind them. She says, since the intifada, “buildings have been destroyed. People are now homeless; sometimes up to 15 people have to share one room. There is no work in the Palestinian areas so they try to get jobs in Israel. But time and again they are turned back by Israeli soldiers. So I cannot blame them if they feel they would rather blow themselves up than just wait to die of starvation.”

Without a doubt, this book will offend many readers because it has a partially anti-Israel mentality. From the Palestinian angle, it justifies certain anti-Semitic actions as products of anti-Arab sentiments. In truth, a vicious cycle.

However without understanding the other side of the conflict, and by making ignorant assumptions, there is little hope to resolve the problem. This book reminds us of the people affected by the conflict that we are so quick to disregard.

Regardless of political, religious or cultural standpoints, this book is a quick and absolute must-read for both children and adults. It hugely broadens the spectrum of what readers think about and gives us hope that with a lot of effort, an open mind and a reasonable amount of idealism, it is possible for Israelis and Palestinians to live in peac..

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Nordia Kay Teaches the Fine Art of Inspiration

STACEY MARCUS
Special to The Jewish Journal

JCC Art Students Work Showcased at 5th Annual Art in the Park Show at Grosvenor Park.

When the phone rang in Stephanie Katz’s Marblehead home, she was surprised to hear the voice of her art instructor Nordia Kay on the other end. “She called to tell me she had a dream about my painting,” says Katz, who joined the art class at the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore six years ago when she and her husband Andrew were new members. Two children and many paintings later Katz, still adores the class and claims Kay is, “the most dedicated teacher I know, a mentor who takes everyone’s work to heart.”

Upon meeting Kay, a sparkling 74-year old gem, it is easy to see why it reads “Firecracker” next to her high school photo from the prestigious Music and Art High School in Manhattan. She is as colorful and enchanting as her painting entitled French Pot with Geraniums that is being showcased along with the works of 25 of her students at the 5th Annual Art in the Park Show at Grosvenor Park.

At the recent opening reception, friends embraced her as she stood in the gallery surrounded by watercolor paintings from her students.

Gorgeous renditions of flower baskets, pots brimming with flowers, shells, birdhouses, snowscapes and flowers spilling on walkways adorn the walls of the gallery. The expression varies but Nordia’s trademark inspiration is imprinted in each painting.

“Nordia is extremely understanding of her student’s needs. She takes an inspiring artist and creates an established artist,” says Debra Gates of Marblehead who just finished two semesters at Nordia’s Watercolor Class at the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore, where she has taught for three decades. “I learned more the first day of class from Nordia than from all the other art classes I’ve taken,” says Gates, who is eager to sign up for the fall semester.

Kay’s passion for art began at the age of 11 when her father took her to the Little Red Schoolhouse in Greenwich Village, where she says she just painted what she saw…villages, streets and bars. Her father, a talented artist who spoke, read and wrote eight languages, had to sell insurance in the post-Depression era, but was supportive of his children’s education in the arts.

After high schol, she attended Queens College and Columbia, where she earned a master’s in art education as well as an invitation to teach at her former high school, an honor typically reserved for educators with 10 years experience. Soon after, Kay married Emanual

“Manny” and moved to Fort Dix where he was stationed. The following years were challenging for them.

“I worked part-time as a substitute for $10 a day and the car died every time I got in it,” Kay remembers. Soon after, they moved to a steel town in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania where Kay taught “every kid in town” from kindergarten through grade 12. “There were no art rooms. I had to bring my own equipment.”

Kay’s signature “wet” style reflects her affinity for water and movement. “Watercolor is so romantic. I love to move my brushes across the water,” she muses.

Kay is enamored with the town of Marblehead where she has won numerous awards at the Marblehead Festival of Arts. She has also received many local and regional honors and is included in many private and corporate collections in the United States and Europe. Her floral paintings were recently displayed in galleries in Tokyo where they received favorable reviews.

“My son sends me the press clippings, but I can’t read them,” she jokes. When it comes to the language of love, who really needs an interpreter?

Art in the Park Show, Grosvenor Park, 7 Loring Hills Avenue. Sale runs through September 8. Open to the public and free. Call 978-741-5700, ext. 13. Watercolor Classes with Nordia Kay, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore, 4 Community Road in Marblehead, 781-631-8330 ext. 114.

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Off-Season: A Fine Duet

ANDREW MARCHESSEAULT
Jewish Journal Staff

Israel Horovitz and Terrence McNally are not only playwrights of legendary status, but also vibrantly active writers who have chosen not to rest on their formidable laurels. Having known each other since they were West Village neighbors in the 1960s, these two “compulsive writers” — as Horovitz refers to himself and his friend — have garnered accolades separately. Yet they have unearthed some of their most magical moments when working in tandem.

The result of one such collaborative effort is currently on display at the Gloucester Stage Company (GSC), the tiny theater in the midst of its 24th, and most successful, season. Making their respective world premieres are two one-act plays, collectively titled Off-Season: A Duet. McNally’s venture, verbosely titled Chatter, Yatter, Flotsom, & Dross or Ted & Tom & Terry & Terri, depicts two gay couples, each co-owners of Key West boarding houses in the lightly-touristed month of August. Horovitz’s Sins of the Mother portrays three unemployed stevedores trying to survive the harshness of a Gloucester December, as well as the emotional brutality unleashed on them by a recently returned townie.

While both plays are clever and sharp-tongued, they are significantly bolstered by the ways in which they are linked. For one, the plays, both of which include four male characters, employ the same four actors, who must undergo significant transformations in jumping from one play to the other. For another, the plays communicate in terms of their themes; loss, desperation, and haunting pasts figure strongly in each. And a third link is, of course, the bond between Horovitz and McNally, who appear to subconsciously relay to one another the importance of presenting social issues, and even what plot points to cover. Their plays are not similar in terms of narrative, yet share the confidence and wit of the two men by whom they are written.

The concept of depicting the playwrights’ respective seasonal homes off-season came about when McNally was commissioned to write a one-act for a Key West fundraiser. He immediately thought of Horovitz, with whom he had collaborated twice before along with their late friend Leonard Melfi. However, for the fundraising event the plays were merely read-through, so they did not take on real life until they were tackled by director Thomas Caruso and a cast of Gloucester Stage veterans. These include Ken Flott, Paul O’Brien, Chip Phillips, and Forrest E. Walter. Fitting in rehearsals between performances of Proof, the GSC’s most recent production, the cast and crew had a mere two weeks to put the entire show together.

This production is a wonderful example of grace under fire, as the actors not only learned two sets of lines, but learned to be two different kinds of people. One of the most exciting things about the show is to see the “complete about-face,” as McNally calls it, of the actors, who also tackled prevalent societal problems in the respective communities: homophobia and gay-bashing in Key West, heroin’s ugly rampage through much of Gloucester.

Much is left unresolved in these two plays, which may disturb some, especially residents of the respective communities. “A work of art that raises questions...,” says Terrence McNally. “Does it have to answer those questions?” Yet, perhaps by simply bringing certain issues to light, the playwright pals can once again hit on some universal truths. “If you can write about Gloucester honestly, and you can write about Key West honestly,” says Israel Horovitz, “then you’ve written about the world.”

Off Season: A Duet .is at Gloucester Stage through August 24. For tickets or information, call the theater at 978-281-4433.

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Chess in the Art of Samuel Bak at the Pucker Gallery

IAN THAL
Special to The Jewish Journal

The game of chess has long provided allegorical material in art and literature, representing war, politics and reason.
It has served to measure humanity against technology, from 18th century automaton to IBM’s Deep Blue.

Samuel Bak has made a career of painting worlds rich with allegory, owing much to the tradition of Breugel, Bosch, and Durur, but his work diverges from them in several important ways. These old masters’ works are filled with didactic representations of sins, virtues and apocalypses, but Bak is a Jew and a childhood survivor of the Vilna Ghetto. He has seen the world come apart again and again. His work is not didactic but questioning, and Bak has frequently posed his questions in terms of shattered chessboards and pieces.

In “Quite Clear” and “As Clear as the Day,” pawns lay across a mountainous landscape dismembered while kings, queens, knights and rooks, damaged yet still relatively intact, hide camouflaged against the rocks, but the chessboard is destroyed and they are deprived of their privileged movements. In “Boards Meeting” though, pawns of many sets, some chipped, some unscathed, are carefully hidden in boxes, perhaps to escape, perhaps to some worse fate. This theme recurs in the hopeful “Hero” and “Packed” where a single pawn is hidden away (or discovered) in a box by either a larger pawn or a winged angelic pawn, recalling Bak’s own survival when his father stole him out of a labor camp in a burlap sack.

The chessboard in “Knowledgeable” is carefully rebuilt on a stack of books and a few shattered dice — the books have been rendered unreadable. In repairing the world, has reason triumphed or has forgetfulness? In rebuilding, is th