| The Jewish Journal Archive | ||||||||||||||||
| July 30 - August 12, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||
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Local
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Local StoriesNew Lease on Life for the NSJCC? Mark
Arnold The future looked bleak for “the other JCC” — the North Suburban Jewish Community Center (NSJCC) in Peabody — when president Greg Ehrlich and treasurer Stu Pergament presented the outlook for the coming year to the Allocations Committee of the Jewish Federation of the North Shore June 6. The two appeared ostensibly to present their annual request for a Federation subsidy to continue the work of their 25-year-old agency. But to the surprise of the committee, they didn’t ask for a subsidy. “We told them we didn’t think we could continue our business model,” recounts Ehrlich, speaking for his executive board. The two explained that the agency didn’t have the money to continue to run their pre-school program — the JCC’s major focus of activity — for another year in the space they lease in the West Peabody Office Park off Lowell Street. Payments owed the landlord, flat revenue projections, large deficits, and declining school enrolment all made the future look grim. “We thought it better to tell teachers, parents, and administrators now rather than possibly have to close down in mid-year, said Ehrlich. What happened next is a lesson in citizen power. They took their grim forecast back to their board of directors, which was getting ready to hold its first meeting since electing six new members. And the board — those six plus 16 holdovers — was incensed. At a four-hour meeting June 22 that ended at 11:30 p.m., the board resolved to try to make a $100,000 difference in operations in three weeks time to maintain and expand center activities. It appears that they succeeded. Three weeks later Ehrlich returned to Allocations and offered figures to show they can improve operations by $100,000 this year to continue the school. They asked for their subsidy and were granted $65,000. The $100,000 goal will be achieved through a combination of donations ($45,000 in pledges from board members and friends), concessions from the landlord, increased enrolment in the school (85 children vs. 72 in early June), increased fund raising ($18,000 vs. an initial estimate of $10,000), and budget cuts. “Without this crisis, it wouldn’t have happened,” says Ehrlich. “This crisis helped us pull together as a team — board, staff, teachers, people in the community. People want and need this place.” The JCC presented a two-year plan for restoring financial viability. “It’s not 100 per cent clear that it’s going to work,” said a Federation leader, “but it’s worth trying.” At the same time, the Federation warned that the JCC must widen its focus, which has narrowed in recent years as its pre-school programs proved popular, then began to decline as the economy dipped and other forms of competition emerged. Child
Care Plus, the centerpiece of JCC life, includes a program for infants
and early toddlers, 3 to 18 months of age, and a program for children
18 months to 5 years. Both programs have been targeted at young families
where both spouses work full time. Most of the children enrolled come from Peabody, Lynnfield, and surrounding communities, but others come from as far away as Newburyport, Rockport, and Malden. The JCC also runs Kids Space, a before and after school dropoff program for working parents, where games and tutoring are offered to elementary age children. In
addition, the center has a long-standing senior program and sponsors a
limited range of youth, family, and holiday activities. “This is a great turnaround story,” says Federation Executive Director Merritt A. Mulman. But he and other Federation leaders have told JCC leaders that to maintain Federation support, they have to return to offering more activities for all segments of the community. “We
got the message loud and clear,” says Ehrlich. “We plan to improve
the quality and breadth of Jewish programming. It’s an important
part of our mission. We’ve never stopped doing some of it, but we
haven’t done enough to build awareness of it.” Others disagree. “A lot of lasting relationships have been built by parents who met each other through the JCC,” says Rich Sokolow of Lynnfield, who spearheaded the pledge drive in the past few weeks. He and others note that the NSJCC has also been a breeding ground for leaders of the larger Jewish community, including Federation President Debbie Ponn and her predecessor, Stephen Baker. 55
Return from Y2I European Adventure Amy
Sessler Powell Returning July 18 from two weeks in Eastern Europe with the Y2I European Adventure, 55 local teens slept off their fatigue. They awoke to reflect anew on their trip. Some said it was about the Holocaust and others thought it was about their Jewish future. Still others said it was about understanding their roles and responsibilities in the larger world. Most agreed that the fourth day of the trip, the day they went to Auschwitz-Birkenau, was the day that all the barriers between the North Shore teens and the 34 Israelis they traveled with broke down. “We did not open up to each other until that day when we helped each other cope with what we had just seen,” said Haley Lehman, 16, of Peabody. Y2I is a year-long program for Jewish teens in the 23 cities and towns served by the Jewish Federation of the North Shore. It is a year of study and community service. For the last three years, the centerpiece has been a fully subsidized trip to Eastern Europe with Israeli teens, though teens can also use the subsidy for a trip to Israel. This year, 55 local teens teamed up with 34 Israelis and 14 counselors for a trip that is designed to bond with Israeli teens on their shared Jewish past. The Y2I trip is subsidized through a partnership between the Jewish Federation of the North Shore and the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation Debbie Frisch, 16, of Marblehead, said her first reaction to the trip to one of the concentration camps was that it was about the Holocaust. “Then, one of the Israelis said it was about the future and marrying Jewish and raising your own Jewish kids and it got me thinking about all of that.” Some teens said that seeing the concentration camps was not immediately powerful to them. Instead, the impact of the full experience hit as they traveled through Eastern Europe and examined the contrast between the rich Jewish life of the past and the nonexistent Jewish communities of the present. “When we got to Auschwitz, the sun was shining, the grass was green and the sky was blue, but it didn’t hit me there and I was not alone,” said Jackie Fishkin, 16, of Marblehead. “Then, we kept going to all these memorials and all these cemeteries and all of the sudden you realize that these were people who died in the Holocaust. That’s when it hit me personally.” Seeing difficult things from the past was made easier by the support from peers, many teens said. Nikolay Bashko, 17, of Lynn found Auschwitz very emotional. “The piles of glasses and hair — this was disgusting and many people started crying. You feel a little stronger with friends all around you.” Bashko also noted how the trips to the concentration camps reverberated as they toured the rest of Eastern Europe, especially some of the huge and ornate synagogues where they are no Jews left to pray. “Whole communities just disappeared. There are no Jewish people to go to temple, just guides to look after the temple.” Allison Gay, 16, of Swampscott, said they shared so much with peers who lived halfway across the world, but who could share their emotions. “After going to so many synagogues and thinking about how much we experienced on the trip, I was able to see that the world is so big that we don’t have to get caught up with the little stuff.” Lisa Janiak, director of Israel programming for the Jewish Federation of the North Shore, said “The night before the trip ended, I was listening to closing discussions from the group. The kids’ reflections really brought home to me why our community invests in this program and why I personally work on this program. I heard them talk about impact of the sights in Eastern Europe, how they feel more Jewish, how they want to go home and celebrate Shabbat with their families and their new understanding of community and the privileges they have as Americans not just from a Jewish perspective from a positive world perspective.” Most of the teens on the trip attend secular high schools and found that they enjoyed being part of a large group of Jewish teens. “It made me comfortable to be Jewish,” said Rachael Higgins of Rockport. Frisch loved getting dressed up and going to services. “Our first Shabbat dinner was in the Jerusalem Restaurant in Budapest,” she said. “The Israelis started songs and they taught us, we taught them and we sang them all in that restaurant that night. It was a really good bonding experience.” Fishkin admitted that she had initially been worried that the trip would be “a lot of Jewish,” but instead the trip showed her how easy it was to be Jewish. “We kept kosher and observed Shabbat for two weeks and did a lot of talking about what it means to be Jewish and the differences between how we observe and how Israelis observe, and there were not that many differences. When we got home, my friends and I said we want to go to Friday night services.” For the third year in a row, the teens on the Y2I European Adventure cleaned a Jewish cemetery from the 17th century that has grown unkempt from neglect. “I was watching the kids, kids who you never thought you would see on their hands and knees getting dirty, really pairing up with other kids to do a good deed form the heart,” said Janiak. “This is not going to look good on college application and they are not forced to do it, but they do it because they understood after being in Europe for 10 days, the Holocaust and the devastation of these communities and their responsibility as Jews in the wider world Jewish community. We were there for hours and they did not want to leave.” Lehman said the trip to the cemetery is a way that teens can feel useful and find their role in remembering the Holocaust. “They tell us to remember the Holocaust and pass on that it happened to our children, but I am 16 so that didn’t feel so useful,” said Lehman. “When I went to the cemetery and recovered the graves, then I felt useful and like I was doing something to remember the Holocaust. That was the best part of the trip.” Confessions of a Good Democrat Gary
Band
Though at times soporific, the attention attracted to the city by the DNC, the people it brought together, and the issues it focused on in and around the well-guarded convention hall, answers the question of its relevance, whatever city should be fortunate enough to host it. For the Jewish community, two important events were held on July 25. One, an anti-terrorism rally and memorial service that drew close to 3,000 people at Christopher Columbus Park, two days before Tisha B’Av and on the tenth anniversary of the AMIA bombing in Argentina. Sponsored by the Israel Project, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, the JCRC, the Conference of Presidents and the Jewish Federation of the North Shore, among others, the speakers — all of whom were directly affected by terrorist bombings in Israel or Argentina — delivered moving and tear-filled testimonies on the lives of those they loved who were randomly killed by unprovoked attacks. The other was a Community Celebration at the World Trade Center. Attended by 2,500 people — including North Shore residents Mark Jaffe, Mark Mulgay, Justin and Ruth Ann Remis and this reporter — speakers included Mayor Thomas Menino, Governor Bill Richardson, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Joe Lieberman and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. While the brief speeches predictably addressed the Mideast and how John Kerry would be committed to Israel, the event showed how politically engaged the Greater Boston Jewish community is and how seriously the Democratic National Committee takes its vote. As I write, one day before Kerry takes the national stage for 60 minutes in prime time, I can only hope his monologue moved beyond the broad brush strokes of his life and ideas painted during the primary season, to a more detailed case for why he should be president. As
this is an opinion piece, I confess that John Kerry is my candidate. As
a now nine-year Massachusetts resident, a registered Democrat, a Navy
veteran (88-93) and an ardent critic of President George W. Bush, I decided
in August not only that Kerry was the man, but that I could no longer
disparage George W. without actively supporting someone I thought could
do much better. Why
do I care? Why should we all care? Why does government at all levels,
especially the guy at the top, matter so much? If the 2000 election taught us anything, it’s that there are in fact significant differences between the Republican and Democrat parties on the major issues. From God, gun control and gay marriage, to taxes, reproductive rights, the environment, and the wars we’re fighting. And while the myth of trickle down economics is largely that, I think trickle down politics is more of a reality. The highest office in the land is not about quid pro quo for corporate supporters, or waging war to settle grudges at the expense of American lives. The guy at the top sets the tone for the country and the world. He should be an example, an inspiration; the smartest, most experienced, articulate and thoughtful person in government. Someone who has served well, in the military, in public service and elected office. As Al Franken quotes the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone as saying: “Politics is not about power. Politics is not about money. Politics is not about winning for the sake of winning. Politics is about the improvement of people’s lives. It’s about advancing the cause of peace and justice in our country and in our world. Politics is about doing well for people.”
Close Encounters of the Israeli Kind Daniel
Postilnik For many of the 55 local teens on the Y2I European Adventure, the fun began with the mifgash, or encounter, with the 34 Israeli teens. The mifgash component of the Y2I trip was developed in 2002 as a way of adding an Israel experience to the European trip at a time when many teens were choosing to travel to Eastern Europe instead of Israel. For Ricki Meyer, 16, of Marblehead, meeting the Israelis redefined the meaning of being Jewish. “When I was on the trip I decided that I identified myself as a Jewish American rather than an American Jew,” she said. Meyer remembers a service in a synagogue in Prague in which the congregation was made up of Czechs, Israelis, Americans, and people of other nationalities. “We all just joined together, we all knew the same prayers, we were all singing. It was amazing.” The mifgash, says David Brook, 16, of Marblehead, “brought me closer with my roots,” and he has realized that all Jewish people are connected. “I know we’re all family now.” Before the trip both groups of teens spent time preparing for the trip and the many things they would see as well as preparing to meet each other through the mifgash, a centerpiece of the experience. “The mifgash is a really effective, creative way to accomplish the goals of enhancing Jewish pride in our kids and at the same time imbuing them with a strong feeling and connection to Israel.” Robert I. Lappin, trustee of the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation that subsidizes the trip in partnership with the Federation. Many of the teens said the lifelong friendships they formed with the Israelis were one of the most valuable benefits of the mifgash. A week after returning from the trip, Meyer is in frequent contact with many of the Israelis by Internet and telephone. “It’s amazing how in two weeks such a strong bond can be made,” she says. As evidence of the lasting connections made on the trip, two Israeli girls from the 2003 trip, Shiri Greenfield and Andy Izsak, spent months planning a three-week long stay in the United States to see their American friends from the 2003 Y2I program. The American teens agreed that the Israelis were full of ruach, or energetic spirit. One Israeli teen brought a guitar and accompanied the rest while they sang songs all throughout each day, songs that most of the Israelis seemed to know by heart. By the end of the trip, the American teens exhibited the same ruach after having learned some of the Israeli songs over the course of two weeks. Bradley Kessel, 16, of Marblehead, fondly remembers comparing his musical taste with an Israeli and instantly falling in love with Israeli music. He described the Israelis simply as “very active and full of life.” “I really didn’t have any idea what the Israelis would be like because I had never had the chance to meet any Israelis my age. But now that I’ve met them, I love them,” Kessel said. The mifgash gave some of the Americans a perspective on Israel different from the one that comes from the media and parents concerned with safety. “Before the trip, I thought Israel was very dangerous,” says Brook, but talking to the Israelis showed him that at times the media makes Israel out to be far scarier than it actually is, and now he seriously considers visiting his Israeli friends. The mifgash made Brook realize how lucky he and the Americans were, and how “our problems really are nothing compared to what Israelis go through.” Armed with this new perspective, many of the American teens plan to travel to Israel either on their own or with the December Y2I trip sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the North Shore. “I do not want to lose touch with these people,” said Meyer. She plans to sign up for the December trip to see her friends, but also to see “how people live in Israel and what it’s like to live around Jews all the time, and just to see the culture of Israel.” Brook realized they had more in common than he expected “To my surprise they were very normal. They were better than I expected. I thought they would be really Jewish, all Orthodox, all eating kosher, but most of them are just like us.” In fact, the most startling difference noted by Bradley was that Israeli girls wore loose pants and Israeli boys wore tight pants. Shaina Volovick, 16, of Swampscott actually expected the Israelis to be more religious than the Americans, but was surprised to find that many of the Americans actually knew more prayers in Hebrew than the Israelis. Many of the Americans were surprised by the similarities in culture with the Israelis and they agreed that the Israelis were friendly and outgoing. “They were so easy to get along with and they were just so much fun to be around,” said Meyer. At the last meeting of the bus groups in Europe, Meyer recalls a number of people sitting against a wall, and she noticed that they were arranged Israeli, American, Israeli, and American. “By the end, it was a true mifgash.”
Federation Provides A Bit More Funds for Agencies Mark
Arnold The Federation’s support of local Jewish agencies will continue at roughly this year’s funding levels, except for the Hillel Hebrew High School program, which will receive an extra 20 per cent, $1,000, for Sunday morning transportation to the Prozdor High School at Hebrew College in Newton. Accepting the recommendations of its Planning and Allocations Committee, the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of the North Shore, meeting July 21, approved allocations totaling $846,148 for 2004-2005. The money supplements other sources of support for eight local agencies and also provides services and programs for young people and adults (See Chart). The total represents 36 per cent of the $2.3 million raised by the Federation in its 2003-2004 campaign. This year’s campaign has a goal of $2.6 million. “We are hopeful that if we reach our goal for 2004-2005, we will have an extra $300,000 to allocate to agencies later in the year,” said Merritt A. Mulman, Federation executive director. Most agencies got a bit more than last year, with the overall total up $7,200, reflecting the disbursement of money that was held in reserve, but not spent, this year. The bulk of the Federation budget is still to be acted on. The Board will meet to consider it on August 11, including funds for Israel, emergency assistance to Jewish refugees, and overhead.
Blaze Temporarily Shuts Down Grossman’s Deli Susan
Jacobs MARBLEHEAD — A fire believed to be arson has seriously damaged Grossman’s Deli and Beach Bluff Liquors on Humphrey Street in Marblehead. The blaze began in the early morning hours on July 23. Investigators believe the fire occurred when cardboard boxes stored outside behind the liquor store were ignited. Another suspicious fire of the same nature occurred around the same time at the Spirit of ’76 Bookstore in Marblehead. According to Barry Grossman, owner of Grossman’s Deli, the fire caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to his kitchen and dining area. Due to Health Department regulations, he must discard all the merchandise inside the store and in the freezers, regardless of its condition. Both stores will be closed for several weeks for repairs and renovations. Grossman promises that the interruption will not affect their ability to fill High Holiday orders. “No one was hurt, and we have insurance,” says Grossman, pledging, “We’ll be back as soon as we can.” The Sportsman Cometh: Swampscott’s Perlow an Example of Dedication Michael
Sidman Walking into the NESN offices directly across from Fenway Park, visitors find a company in the process of moving from an older and smaller location to one with more promise. To see wires hanging from the ceiling and boxes crowding the hallways, it’s hard not to see a metaphor for the hard work that it takes to develop oneself and one’s career. The metaphor becomes all the more evident when Swampscott native Mike Perlow walks in. Perlow, an anchor for NESN’s SportsDesk — a sports news and highlights program that airs every 15 minutes from 5-9 a.m. every morning — knows firsthand the hard work it takes to achieve one’s dreams. Perlow’s love of sports and television came naturally. He attributes it to his father and to both of his grandfathers. While at Swampscott High School, Perlow was active in what is now called the Cable Club, where he and some of his friends hosted a weekly sports talk show called Sports Page. From there, he attended Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications and interned for Channel 7. For
Perlow there was always an inner call to come back to Boston. And in 1992
he found himself at New England Cable News (then a fledgling channel)
where he was a sports and news producer, and helped with the production
of the show “Sports World.” From there he headed to Ft. Myers, Florida, as a weekend sports anchor for WFXT, a Fox affiliate, before returning to Boston in 2002 to do freelance reporting for New England Cable News, where he was offered his current position on NESN. As
much as this was a challenging journey for Perlow, he was never deterred,
and indeed it drove him to try even harder. On top of his career in the sports broadcasting world, Perlow has immersed himself in other ventures. He does consulting for Gotuit Media, a company that specializes in video on demand. As a side venture, he is a career coach/consultant for those trying to make their way into a career in television, an idea he came up with while in Florida. His website is www.getatvjob.com. Though Perlow appears to be on his way to being a well-known sports personality, he does not forget his roots. “I have very driven parents,” he says of Carolyn and Gerald Perlow of Swampscott. Mrs. Perlow is a party planner; Dr. Perlow is a retired cardiologist. “They were always an example to me.” Perlow chuckles remembering when he first told his parents that he wanted to be on TV. They thought he was crazy. Not because they didn’t believe in him but because they knew it was a competitive field. Now they could not be more proud. He calls his family “my biggest fan club” because they have been so supportive and knew he would not quit. One of Perlow’s favorite stories is that of being hired by a man who told him, “I like that you don’t take no for an answer.” Perlow also makes sure to embrace his Jewish culture. He comments that wherever he goes, from Vermont to Florida, he has always bonded with Jewish people around him. While in Vermont, Perlow discovered a small group called the Young Jewish Adult Activities Group, where he met some of his closest friends. Attending services for the High Holidays last year, Perlow could not believe how many people recognized him — a nice reward for his dedication and hard work. He knows that his religion will always be a part of him and his family. To speak with Perlow is to hear a story about what it takes to achieve. But to see him in front of the camera is to believe that there is much success ahead of him. Among his growing joys, Perlow will marry his fiancee, Lori, in August. And for those whose schedules keep them from watching Perlow on NESN, SportsDesk can be found through Comcast’s On Demand. Donor Withdraws Islam Studies Gift Mark
Arnold Almost a year after Harvard University announced it might return a controversial gift because of questions of the Arab donor’s alleged anti-Semitism, the $2.5 million gift has been withdrawn. An announcement July 26 said that representatives of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) informed Harvard that the donor, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, had decided to withdraw the gift, which would have created an endowned Chair: the Zayed Professorship of Islamic Religious Studies at the Harvard Divinity School. The school has been seeking underwriters to advance the study of Islam, and it initially embraced the offer from the sheikh, who is president of the UAE, when it was offered in 2000. Two years later, a Jewish divinity student, Rachel Fish, organized a symposium on global anti-Semitism at the school. One of the speakers, Dr. Charles Jacobs, asserted that the sheikh was the main force behind a think tank in the UAE, The Zayed Center for Coordination and Follow Up, which financed anti-Semitic and Holocaust denial research. Ms. Fish bergan her own research into the Zayed Center and told the Journal that she was able to confirmed Jacobs’ information. She presented her findings to Divinity School Dean William Graham in March 2003. Five months later, after a flurry of controversy, the UAE announced its intention to close the Zayed Center, citing center activities that, it said, “starkly contradicted the principles of interfaith tolerance.” Harvard in turn announced it would put the issue on hold while it reassessed the situation. At the same time the university indicated to representatives of the donor it was seriously considering returning the funds, which had been intended to “to promote a better understanding of Islam...and foster dialogue among the world’s great religions.” The sheikh’s voluntary withdrawal of the funds saves Harvard the embarrassment of having to reject the gift, which it was expected to do next month. The unversity said it remains “strongly committed” to advancing the understanding of Islam, and the announcement said the divinity school is actively pursuing two faculty appointments in the field. Asked how she feels about resolution of the matter, Fish told the Journal, “I think it’s great that the money was taken back.” But she said other universities, including Columbia and Georgetown, have also taken money from Sheikh Zayed. “The issue of universities accepting funds from individuals associated with anti-Semitism still needs to be addressed,” she said.
Democrats: Kerry Better for the Jews Ron
Kampeas BOSTON — Bill Richardson, who chaired the Democratic National Convention here, talked about how John Kerry would salvage a health care system he said President Bush had ruined, how Kerry would preserve abortion rights he said Bush had eroded and about how Kerry would crush the terrorist threat he claimed Bush had mishandled. Then
the popular New Mexico governor and former United Nations ambassador got
around to Israel. Richardson didn’t let it go there — never has a candidate been “more committed to Israel’s security than John Kerry,” he said — but the pass he gave Bush on Israel was all the more remarkable for being addressed to a convention-launching event sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on the eve of the convention July 25. Co-sponsors included the United Jewish Communities federation umbrella organization, the National Jewish Democratic Council and Boston Jewish groups. Democratic officials who deal with the Jewish community say they’ve done all they can to highlight their candidate’s bona fides on Israel, such as his sterling voting record on Israel issues during 19 years in the Senate, his recognition of some Israeli claims to the West Bank, his repudiation of a Palestinian refugee “right of return,” and his swift condemnation of the International Court of Justice’s recent ruling against Israel’s West Bank security barrier. The implication is that those Jews who insist on voting for Bush because of his extraordinarily warm relations are beyond the Democratic pale — but that the time has come to remind voters that from the Democratic Party’s perspective, Kerry’s positions are much closer to Jewish voters on every issue Jews care about. “There’s no difference between George Bush and John Kerry when it comes to a strong U.S.-Israel alliance,” Ann Lewis, a communications director in President Clinton’s White House and an adviser to the Kerry campaign, told JTA. “On every other issue, Kerry will fight much harder for issues supported by the Jewish community, whether it’s housing for the elderly, education, or church-and-state.” Republicans might well challenge the assertion that Kerry is as pro-Israel as Bush. Even so, it might not be an easy fight for Kerry on the domestic issues, given the emphasis Jews place on Israel’s security. “Many women don’t realize the Supreme Court’s role in reproductive choice,” said Marcia Sudalsky, the New York director of the National Jewish Democratic Council. “There’s such a stark difference” between the two candidates, added Sudalsky’s friend Ivy Cohen. “Separation of church and state, a pluralistic society, making education available to all, equality and human rights.” The Democratic Party plans to take that fight to swing states where Jews can make a difference in what is shaping up as a nip-and-tuck election. The party especially values Jewish voters, who are known for voting in greater numbers than the national average, for getting others out to vote — and for donating generously to campaigns. “Do everything you can in your community and your state to make sure every vote is counted,” Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) told Jewish Democrats at July 25 event. “Especially those of you in swing states.” Kerry proxies are poised to blitz Florida in the period between Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah, with the message that Kerry is much closer to the Jews on domestic policy than is Bush. The
2,500 people attending the Sunday night event got a taste of the arguments
to come. Democrats,
Schechter added, “understand that the constitutional imperative of
keeping church and state separate is alive and well.” Another tack the Democrats will take is to emphasize the historic relations between the party and U.S. Jews. “Our roots run deep, our commitment is strong,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the House of Representatives’ minority leader, told the crowd. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), who became the first viable Jewish candidate for president before dropping out of the 2004 race early in the primary season, suggested Jews and Democrats share a “post-Shoah” ethos reflected in Clinton’s intervention in the Balkans and the party’s statements about ending ethnic cleansing in Sudan. “This community believes in social justice,” Lieberman told the crowd, repeating what he tells Jews who ask why they should support Kerry. Such emphases are new after months of a coordinated campaign to shore up Kerry’s credentials as a friend of the Jewish state. Look for a major Middle East policy speech on Israel in the next month, insiders say. “We will, after November, have a president who will actively implement what we need to do,” Clinton said to cheers. “And there is no state that understands that more than Israel.” It was a message that might have appeal. Hours before the reception, more than 1,000 people met on Boston’s waterfront to remind Democrats of Israeli and Argentine victims of terrorism, reading out their names and hoisting their pictures. “Every convention marks the opportunity to create new standards and reset our values,” Nancy Kaufman, director of Boston’s Jewish Community Relations Council, told the demonstrators. “This message that we communicate today is of enormous importance.”
Features Young
Jewish Entrepreneurs Susan
Jacobs Editor’s Note: This is a part of an ongoing series of profiles about young Jewish entrepreneurs on the North Shore. Matt
Friedman How
old are you? Please
describe your business. How
long has it been in existence? What
motivated you to choose this particular career? What
was your training/ education? What
hesitations or concerns did you have when starting your business? What
were some of the hurdles you faced when you first started out? What
are some of the obstacles or challenges that you face now in your business? Has
being Jewish had any influence on your business? What
are your plans for the future? Anything
else? People in the News
Arts & EntertainmentHorovitz “Compromises” His Audience Michael
Sidman In his newest play Compromise, now showing at the Gloucester Stage Company, Israel Horovitz asks his audience to consider the creation and communication of ideas. Take as an example the first time a man broke the four-minute mile record. After the record was broken, everyone suddenly knew it was possible to run a mile under four minutes. Does the information travel through the air? Is there another dimension reserved for information? And, more recently, does that dimension run through the universe of the internet? So begins Compromise, a story about an aging Jewish scientist and his aging black cleaning lady who are both facing moral dilemmas. While the story is intriguing, it falls short. To the credit of Horovitz and director Michael Morris, Compromise is a great showing of heart in a story that could not find a way to weave everything together. From an estranged daughter and alcoholic wife to the new language of instant messaging and lucky lotto tickets, Horovitz tackles issues that are the makeup of our modern lives. The problem is that there is nothing at all new about this play. It seems an attempt to marry A Raisin in the Sun with Proof. There is not nearly enough time in this one play to successfully draw out and resolve the issues that it brings up. Neither the racial conflict nor the pain of a dying mother were believable, and the script tries so hard to make the audience feel these emotions that it becomes melodramatic. Compromise is carried by its featured actor Kevin Daniels, who plays the son of the black cleaning lady and the scientist’s work partner. His acting showed depth, and when he cried, the audience reacted. The scientist, played by Thomas Babson, and his cleaning lady, played by Barbara Poitier, give powerful performances once they hit their stride. At the start of the play, neither actor appeared comfortable with his/her lines, let alone with each other. Babson and Poitier show their acting skills in a scene where they uncomfortably dance together to the radio. It is the highlight of the play. Horovitz put years of revision into this play (it was previewed a few seasons back as promises.com). It is clear why, as he tackles the noble questions of love, family, race, responsibility, modernity and knowledge. Unfortunately, Horovitz seems overwhelmed in this play. The issues are not adequately discussed, and the final resolution is all too convenient. The strongest point of Compromise is the dynamic between Daniels, Babson, and Poitier (sadly Alex Zielke, the fourth character, spends the entire play behind a screen). There is a familial love between the three actors that they keep superbly subtle, which provides the most interesting moments of the play. Compromise could still use some work. Though it is thought-provoking and full of emotion, it tries to confront too many issues and leaves their resolutions bare. Compromise runs through August 8 at Gloucester Stage, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 5 p.m. Ticket prices are $30 for adults; $20 for senior citizens and students. Call 978-281-4433 or visit www.gloucesterstage.org. The Sadness and Humor of Yiddish Life Lee
Rosenthal Classic Yiddish Stories — Edited by Ken Frieden; Translated by Ken Frieden, Ted Gorelick, and Michael Wex. (Syracuse University Press, 2004) 286 pages, $13.97. From the poorest members of Jewish society to the wealthiest, from beggars to hasids, Classic Yiddish Stories provides us with an unsentimental view of Jewish life in Eastern Europe before and after the turn of the nineteenth century. Ken Frieden of Syracuse University, who edited this volume and did much of the Yiddish translation, brings together three classic authors whose work covered the years 1864 – 1917. Sholem Yankev Abramovitsh (1836 – 1917), is represented by two novellas. In The Little Man, Isaac Abraham is on a quest to find “the little man” he sees in the reflection of his mother’s eyes, whom, she explains, is the soul. Fishke
the Lame has so many physical flaws — “a big flat head with
long, flaxen sidelocks, a wide mug, fat lips, crooked, yellow teeth”—
that he isn’t even wanted as a cholera groom. (According to the glossary
at the end of the book, an archaic Eastern European superstition maintained
that a cholera epidemic could be ended by marrying off every single woman
at the cemetery, utilizing every male, including even the severely disabled.) Sholem Aleichem’s Hodel and Chava, from his Tevye stories, are concerned with marrying off the two eldest of his seven daughters. Many will recognize the Tevye of the musical, Fiddler on the Roof, from which these stories were taken. His wry humor threaded through his tearful complaints is perfectly illustrated by the last line of the story about Hodel, whose loss to matrimony he mourns. “Let’s talk about something happier: What’s doing with the cholera in Odessa?” All
of these stories give us the taste and piquancy, the sadness and humor,
of Jewish life of a century ago, not so long past, but perhaps gone forever.
EditorialKerry, the Jewish Vote, and the Election The threatened gridlock on the streets of Boston didn’t happen. Police and firefighters didn’t strike. A feared terrorist attack never materialized. And most of the delegates, officials, guests, journalists, lobbyists, protestors, and others who passed security checkpoints to converge on the cavernous Fleet Center each night for the four-day extravaganza known as the Democratic National Convention July 26-29 went away uplifted. The
coronation of the two Johns — Kerry and Edwards — was accomplished
without a hitch. Now comes the hard part: Convincing Americans to deny
a second presidential term to George W. Bush and return the White House
to the Democrats after a four-year absence. But the real question is whether Kerry can transform himself from the candidate who embodies ABB — anybody but Bush — to a figure of veneration: someone to believe in and trust. For Jews the question is particularly critical because, for all the faults that people can find in Bush’s leadership, it is hard to argue that he has not been good for Israel. Indeed, in the opinion of many Jews, he is considered the best friend in the White House Israel has ever had. It’s no accident that at the annual convention of AIPAC (the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) in June, the Republican president was interrupted by more than a dozen bursts of applause and occasional chants of “Four More Years.” Would
Kerry be as good for Israel? That same AIPAC gives Kerry a 100 percent
pro-Israel rating in the Senate, but not many Jews know it. Not that Israel
is the only issue on which American Jews cast their vote for president;
it’s one of many, but for most, a very important one.
In
a story reminiscent of the grass-roots movement that saved Camp Menorah
in Essex two years ago, parents and friends of the North Suburban Jewish
Community Center (NSJCC) in Peabody have rallied to save the center (See
story Page 1). A new two-year plan aims to restore financial health to
the center, which has increasingly focused its activities on its preschool
center at the expense of addressing a wider range of needs in the greater
Peabody Jewish community. We wish the center well in its efforts to become
a more vital, and succesful, community institution. — Mark R. Arnold Local ColumnistsWhy the Democratic Convention Was Boston’s Big Yawn
The Democratic convention here seems, as I write before it happens, to be Boston’s Big Yawn. Pretty sad, when you think a local boy is to become the presidential nominee. For me, as a kid and as a college student, Boston area political enthusiasm uplifted my spirits with passion, hope and even fun. As kids we got paid a few dollars to work the election; as college students we did it for ideology, without pay. How disappointing are the political participation trends over the past 20 years: voting numbers down; cynicism up. The cost of running for office is way up; the opportunity to challenge and beat an incumbent is way down. Deception and media manipulation are up; trust in politicians and the media reporting them are down. Don’t think I am going to answer the questions of why and how to fix these current trends in this 600-word column; that’s a book, at least. But let’s tiptoe towards it. Young People: Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York, professor and politician, used to regale audiences about how the families of the poor sent one child to a religious order, a second to be a cop, and a third into politics. Today, middle class and poor kids today rarely relate or aspire to politics. (The 2000 presidential election reported only 18 percent of the 18 to 25 year olds voting.) Yes, John Edwards does come from a mill-town working-family. My fear is that he is an anomaly and that most future candidates will be named Bush, Kennedy, Romney, Daley, Rockefeller, and Cuomo; people whose family members preceded them in politics, made the name politically famous, and made fundraising easier. When I was a kid, politicians got some respect and the job was seen as a decent possibility. Sure, we knew that right here in the Boston area at least one politician a year went to jail. Sometimes a governor, sometimes a mayor, often a congressman or councilman. But politicians seemed both famous and strong, people who often helped those in trouble with money or the law. Not that most average citizens asked favors or got largesse, but it was comforting to know that in a jam politicians could help. And money. When it now takes $200 million to run for president, sometimes tens of millions to run for governor, hundreds of thousands to run for Congress, as we used to say in Revere: “fagetaboutit, all you poor shnooks!” There is also the incumbent advantage. The office-holder, with access to enormous political contributions, government-paid printing and mail, name-recognition and gerrymandering, is virtually cemented into office. Usually it takes being a key figure in a murder case (Condit, CA), conviction for racketeering and tax evasion (Traficant, OH), or highway manslaughter (Janklow, SD) to lose a seat. The language of politics can either be uplifting or down and dirty. So far, the Kerry commercials are less than uplifting or memorable. The Bush commercials are downright insulting to his opponents and to the viewer’s intelligence. To think that tens of millions of dollars have already been spent on such foolishness gives me nausea. Here’s hoping that this presidential election campaign and the next 100 days will inform, uplift, and inspire us. Perhaps John Kerry will emerge as an exciting, charismatic speaker with a vision to change a so-far mediocre campaign by both the Kerry and Bush camps. Perhaps the debates will really speak to us and mean something. Perhaps the language of the campaign will go beyond sound bites, spin, and misrepresentation. Perhaps those vitriolic commentators on radio and television, some candidates and their supporters, will realize that bombastic name-calling and character assassination is poison to the democratic dialogue. The lifeblood of democracy is an electoral process that is ideologically combative, debating the important issues, optimistic and hard fought by a healthy majority of citizens. We should be able to vote happily for our best candidate, not the lesser of two evils or the least boring.
A User’s Guide to the Yiddishe Kop
Scientists say it began in the amygdala of the primitive limbic system, buried within the cerebellum. But as evolution turned humankind into its own separate species, this brain structure moved into its current position at the juncture of the frontal and parietal lobes, where it functions as the electrochemical equivalent of the pintele yid. What? Yes, it is no longer a bobbe meitse (story). It is indisputably true. At last, courtesy of MRIs, PET scans, and the thriving field of tomographic imaging, we are able to say conclusively that the Jewish brain — the yiddishe kop — is different from the brains of other humans. For centuries, Jews had speculated among themselves if indeed there was such a thing as a Jewish mind. Proudly and privately, if sometimes painfully, they referred to what they observed as the existence of the non-Jewish, or goyishe kop. “What a goyishe kop,” has been for centuries the most derisive comment one could make about another human being, implying that an individual was short on saychel (the Jewish term for wisdom). Was it possible, as anecdotal evidence seemed to suggest, that the Jews, always over-represented in every field of endeavor, had a biological edge? Yes. Medical science has finally vindicated the anecdotal evidence collected by generations of people who have observed this pintele yid. The pintele yid is now recognized as a known structure in the brain. It is as real a part of the cerebellum as the basal ganglia, or the axons and dentrides astride every neuron. Here I could refer you to mountains of scientific data and a burgeoning literature of medical evidence — but who has the time? Let me give you instead an example, which is always the best way to teach a difficult and potentially conflicted concept. Imagine, if you will, a sharp little nightspot in Soho. Four Jews, a potent Cuban drink called a mojito, and a Zagat rated meal worthy of the Iron Chef. There sat Steve and I, last weekend, with Dorothy and Ken, savoring a delightful summer moment. Recognizing the waitress had an accent, Dorothy politely asked where she was from. “Poland,” came the sweet young thing’s answer. “A little town called Birkenau. Probably you’ve heard of it. My house is actually across the street from Auschwitz, which is now very famous.” Did anyone else get a brain cramp? We locked eyes like a quartet of skydivers falling together through the atmosphere. Dorothy tried not to look horrified. She asked if it was difficult living so close to a historic shrine. “Oh, no,” said our waitress. Indeed Auschwitz is a lovely little place — a great park to hang out in and party with one’s friends. It’s not at all the dismal horror people make it out to be. In fact, she had enjoyed some lovely picnics there recently. A PET scan could have revealed our four pintele yidn, enflamed and engourged. Each of us experienced a throbbing in the head, a sudden jolt, a terrifying epiphany. What had her family done during the war? Were they in the railroad business? Did they not notice what Elie Wiesel has called the “wreathes of black smoke” rising against the silent blue sky. Did they not look out their windows and think, as Nellie Sachs articulated, “Oh, the chimneys!” The young waitress, oblivious to our pain, was sweet and innocent enough. She was describing her home with fairly typical fondness and nostalgia. But it would not have taken a neurologist to discern the sharply arced nerve, the neurochemical reaction, the charged electrical circuitry — the heightened sensitivity — of our collective pintele yid.
Stuff I Never Learned in Hebrew School
“What’s a nice Jewish gal doing in a juror’s box on a criminal trial?” I asked as I was trying to devise a plan for my grand escape. Like many good American citizens called to jury duty, I thought there were only two possible outcomes to my summons: I’d either call the standby number and be excused or I’d spend a couple of hours in a room full of strangers and be sent home. I was so sure of my anticipated dismissal that I didn’t even cancel my haircut appointment or make arrangements for someone to walk my dog. When the judge called me to the stand and asked me a variety of questions, I thought I looked sufficiently dazed and confused to be escorted out of the courtroom. I think I even said, “I get confused a lot,” and capped the comment with a Paris Hilton-like blank stare. The District Attorney and defense lawyer discussed my eligibility and everyone was in agreement: I was in. Now I will not go into the details of this case because both my mother and my children read my column, but let’s just say it was not rated PG-13 or R. I’ll leave it at that. I really had no idea how to handle myself in this situation. First of all, it included a variety of things that are not really my forte, including keeping secrets, not whispering, sitting for long periods of time, paying attention, judging people’s character and — the hardest for yours truly — exhibiting a serious demeanor. I must admit that my inspiration to serve as a juror (not that I had much choice) came from two sources: the judge’s pre-trial pep talk and the serious nature of the case whose outcome would affect many lives. I tried to think about things I may have learned in high school, college or Hebrew school that could guide me to The Truth. The Hebrew alphabet, classes in Jewish heritage, history, and my bat mitzvah portion offered no clues how to come to a verdict. There’s an old Yiddish proverb that says, “Silence is also speech.” I scanned the room to read the faces of the defendant, alleged victim and witnesses. I immediately concluded that I really should wear my glasses if I am going to use this tactic. In truth, I became riveted by the trial and overwhelmed by the realization that I was part of a group that would decide to send a man to jail or back to his family. I spent the weekend going over the details of the trial, trying to sort fact from fabrication and be at peace with my findings. In the end, I was randomly voted off the island and selected as an alternate juror. I did a silent cheer and blew an invisible kiss to heaven. I emerged from my four days as a juror thankful to return to the home I love. The judge had predicted that we would be happy that we served as jurors and he was right. Lessons learned. Case closed. Eyes open.
Vote for Bush Against Terror
Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the evil poster boys of mass murder, are revered and supported by millions of Muslims throughout the world. The stated goal of al Qaeda and its supporters is to kill or convert every infidel — and that means Jews, Christians, Buddhists and anyone else who will not accept Islam’s supremacy. These terrorists are convinced that non-Islamic nations do not have the will or courage to persevere in this struggle, which could last for decades. They believe democracies are weak-willed and ultimately will yield to whatever demands are made on them. Al Qaeda also intends to destroy moderate Muslim governments that want to live in peace with countries that are not Islamic. On entering this war against terrorism, Bush said, “We shall go after the terrorists and the countries that harbor them.” Bush has proven that he is prepared to keep to his commitment to fight terrorism. If Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) were to win this presidential election, would he stand up to terrorism to the same extent as George Bush? I don’t think so. Regrettably, my party, the Democratic Party, now has a strong radical left wing whose members often dominate the party primaries. Those same left-wing radicals have an anti-Israel philosophy, reviling a democratic state that shares the values held by most Americans. Kerry is a patriot who performed heroically in the Vietnam War. Regrettably, he surrendered his philosophical independence to the left wing in the recent Democratic primaries to prevail over the original darling of the radicals, Howard Dean. Kerry owes his nomination in large part to those Dean supporters and to the support of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.). Kennedy sadly demonstrated his loss of any sense of decency with crude attacks on Bush using unacceptable, abusive language. The hatred deliberately stirred by Kennedy against Bush is contemptible and dangerous; it encourages the terrorists with whom we are at war and it incites the crazies in our own country. Now a comment about the war in Iraq. Most Americans understand that few, if any, wars go smoothly. Should we have gone to war with Iraq? I believe the answer is yes. During a daily briefing after Sept. 11, then-CIA Director George Tenet told the president that Iraq had the ability to wage chemical and biological war on the United States. He called the case for Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction a “slam dunk.” Had the president not launched a pre-emptive war against Saddam, and if this madman subsequently had released biological agents in the United States or used poison gas, as he did against the Kurds and Iran, does anyone doubt Bush would have been impeached? But it was Bush who had the courage to take up arms in defense of the United States and our allies. That’s what leadership is all about. A poll released recently by the Washington Post showed that 55 percent of Americans “approve of the way Bush is handling the campaign against terrorism,” and 51 percent said they “trust Bush more than Kerry to deal with terrorism, while 42 percent prefer the Democrat.’’ We also should not forget that Bush, in my opinion, has been the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House. At the U.N.’s Security Council and General Assembly, allies of the United States and others who are indifferent or hostile to our country have conveyed the view that if we end our alliance with Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, they would welcome the United States back into their circle. But Bush has refused to abandon Israel. This
November, we American Jews should remember our friends. We should thank
Bush for his courage in the war against terrorism and for his strong and
consistent support for Israel and democracy. Why America and Israel Need Kerry
NEW
YORK (JTA) — With President Bush’s approval ratings in free-fall,
Republicans are reverting once again to negative campaigning. Among their
tactics is a deliberate effort to disparage and distort the unambiguously
pro-Israel record of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). Nothing could be further from the truth. As an American Jew and lifelong Zionist, I enthusiastically support Kerry in this year’s presidential election. To be sure, the American Jewish community is not and should never be a single-issue constituency. We care deeply about social issues. We are dismayed by the appointment of federal judges who believe the United States is a Christian nation, or who would abrogate a woman’s right to an abortion even if her life was in danger. We care deeply about civil and human rights, at home and abroad. And we believe that our society bears the responsibility to help rather than jettison the less fortunate among us. On all of these issues, Kerry’s views are in harmony with those held by the overwhelming majority of American Jews. Nevertheless, the issue that is and should be of greatest concern to American Jews is the safety and security of the State of Israel. Having followed Kerry’s career for the past two decades, I know that Israel does not have and could not have a stronger or more reliable ally. All too frequently, American political figures begin to utter pro-Israel sentiments only as they embark on a national campaign for public office. Not so Kerry. As he told the Anti-Defamation League’s national leadership conference earlier this year, “For the entire 20 years that I have been in the United States Senate, I’m proud that my commitment to a secure Jewish state has been unwavering; not even by one vote or one letter or one resolution has it wavered. And as president, I can guarantee you that that support and that effort for our ally, a vibrant democracy, will continue.” Kerry not only understood the dire threat of terrorism long before the Sept. 11 attacks made it an American priority, but he steadfastly has rejected any justification for murderous Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians. One clear difference between the Bush administration and Kerry is their reactions to Saudi Arabian anti-Semitism. After terrorists went on a deadly rampage in the Saudi city of Yanbu on May 1, Crown Prince Abdullah announced on Saudi TV that “Zionism is behind terrorist actions in the Kingdom... I am 95 percent sure of that.” At the same time, Prince Naif, the Saudi interior minister, blamed al Qaeda for the attack. Asked about this apparent inconsistency, Prince Naif explained, “I don’t see any contradiction in the two statements, because al Qaeda is backed by Israel and Zionism.” The Saudi government, one of the Bush administration’s closest allies in the Middle East, regularly blames Israel and Zionism for all the world’s evils, including terrorism. One looks in vain for a public condemnation of Abdullah’s offensive remarks by President Bush or his senior officials, a reticence that may well be the result of the Bush family’s long and intimate relationship with the Saudi royal family. In contrast, Kerry unequivocally denounced Abdullah’s “outrageous anti-Semitic comments” and correctly pointed out that they raise “serious questions about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to combating terrorism.” Both the United States and Israel need an American president of vision, moral courage and intellectual depth who thoroughly understands the imperatives of history. Kerry is that man, and for the sake of both nations, we must elect him in November. Palestinians Prepare to Overthrow Arafat
What we are seeing is the disintegration of Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority. It’s been a long time in coming, and the process may still take months or even years — but the process is no longer reversible. When both the Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and the United Nations special envoy to the Mideast Terje Roed-Larsen agree on one word — “chaos” — to describe the mess that the Palestinians are in, they aren’t talking theoretically. Who and what may take the place of Arafat and the P.A. are not predictable. It seems pretty certain that Hamas will have a broader role in the Gaza Strip but not necessarily in the West Bank where “young guard” reformers such as former P.A. Security Minister Muhammad Dahlan are likely to gain more power. It is even possible that the two areas that would have formed the new Palestinian nation may become effectively two enclaves, each dependent on the Arab neighbors, Egypt to the south and Jordan to the east, who have made it clear that they don’t want to have to deal with these shattered populations. Polls say a majority of Palestinians are sick of the corruption and tyranny that defines Arafat’s rule, and perhaps are ready to trade their intifada, which has cost them more than three times as many deaths as the nearly 1,000 they have inflicted on Israelis, for a period of peace. But that does not ensure that they will get what they want. The Arab nations have an unmatched record of ignoring the subdued center in favor of extremist ideologies. Despite getting more aid per capita, $310, than any other nation on earth, the Palestinians are in desperate straits. Much of the aid money goes into the pockets of Arafat’s cronies, leaving the intended recipients to struggle with mounting unemployment, crumbling schools and roads, and hovels instead of homes. The top brass reject criticism — the P.A. response to Roed-Larsen’s remarks was to ban him from the area — sealing themselves off from any meaningful effort to reform and guaranteeing the collapse that is so clearly now under way. The disintegration may or may not prove a benefit to Israel, which is why Ariel Sharon and other Israeli leaders need to continue on a steady and effective course. Continued construction of the West Bank security barrier and the planned withdrawal of the 7,200 settlers from Gaza are necessary actions that the country should take whether the Palestinians want them to or not. A new structure of power on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is likely to require an international presence, meaning Sharon needs to work effectively with the quartet of powers — the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union — to salvage those parts of the road map that still make some sense. Israel will likely need an effective multinational force to make sure that the Palestinians shut down their efforts at cross-border terror. But the world should shed no tears for the coming end of Arafat. He promised his people a nation but he gave them the misery that will prove his undoing.
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