| The Jewish Journal Archive | |||||||||||
| June 17- June 30, 2005 | |||||||||||
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Local
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Local StoriesSouthern Exposure: On the Bus from Atlanta to Whitwell Gary
Band WHITWELL, TN — Let me tell you about these kids. From Cohen Hillel Academy in Marblehead and Whitwell, TN. About the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, and the hallowed ground of a middle school in southern Tennessee. “It began as a lesson about prejudice; what happened next was a miracle,” the Paper Clips poster reads. Indeed it was. What began as a voluntary after school Holocaust class, taught at the Whitwell Middle School by eighth grade teacher Sandra Roberts in 1998, inspired a paper clips collection drive aimed at visualizing the number six million; and, like the people of WWII Norway who wore them on their lapels to protest the Nazis’ decimation of their country’s Jewish communities, to condemn intolerance in all its forms. Two million clips — symbolizing the deaths of individuals, families and communities of Jews and others deemed undesirable by the Third Reich — were donated by people around the world in less than a year. And less than a year after the Washington Post picked up the story, the number of donated clips neared 30 million. An authentic German rail car built in 1917 that transported innocent victims to their deaths was painstakingly acquired, shipped and driven to Whitwell in November 2001, refurbished, set upon tracks, and filled on either glass-enclosed side with 11 million clips and a suitcase full of letters to Anne Frank. And now, on this sacred site where it will stand forever, plants, flowers, mosaics and sculptures of butterflies, and a second memorial containing another 11 million clips, surround the railcar. Before the award-winning documentary film Paper Clips was released in 2004, the school welcomed about 250 visitors a month to this solemn and celebrated space. But in the last year, that number has grown to more than 700. As part of their study of the civil rights movement, 23 Cohen Hillel Academy eighth graders — together with teacher Karen Madorsky and her husband Jerry, Upper School Principal Ken Shulman, and teachers Pamela Aranov and Rebecca Katsh — traveled to Atlanta June 6 for a four-day tour of Jewish and civil rights landmarks, before heading three hours northwest for a much-anticipated visit to the Whitwell Middle School. I joined them on their last day in Atlanta where together we visited the MLK Center and the house where the famed civil rights leader was born, before getting on the bus at 2 p.m. for the ride to Tennessee. Having so profoundly touched and affected untold numbers of people, and because the film was so moving to me, all three times, I was nearly as thrilled as the Hillel kids to see for myself the place and meet the people where Paper Clips began. As the yellow school bus rolled toward Whitwell along gently sloping hills bordered by open fields of grazing cattle and enclosed on all sides by the fragrant Smoky Mountains, I felt we were on some kind of spiritual journey, at the end of which we would meet people who held secrets and wisdom they would soon share with us. And watching the kids, I think they felt that way too. “The
most pressing and persistent question is: What are you doing for someone
else?” Dr. King said. “It’s amazing how our little school has changed so many lives,” said Kaiti, a blond Whitwell High School tenth grader in front of the railcar under soupy gray skies. After eating some pizza at the wooden tables outside the mid-dle school, Kaiti, along with fellow tenth graders Tavis and Samantha, and another classmate who conducted the tour of the railcar, Principal Linda Hooper and teacher Sandra Roberts welcomed us into the school library to talk and look over some of the 40,000 letters the school has received since the project began seven years ago. Only around 100 have been negative. The Whitwell kids, like kids everywhere, had trouble verbalizing the effect the project has had on their lives. But while Kaiti and Tavis held court and the rapt attention of the white polo-shirt-clad Hillel kids, I spoke with the woman who made this all happen. “I don’t think teachers ever understand how far education reaches,” Roberts said. “But this project has taken my students to levels they never thought they could reach. It’s all about creating something, taking pride and ownership, being involved in something so large. These kids have gotten to travel all over the country, see places and meet people they never would have otherwise. It has had a profound and life-changing effect on many of them in terms of the way they look at other people and the world.” The invisible lines of connection made to Whitwell, TN, by individuals and communities around the country and the world are too numerous to count. And while I imagine that the warm southern hospitality shown to all visitors makes everyone feel welcome, the bond between Hillel and Whitwell seems especially strong. Not only were the kids talking and sharing with each other soon after they met, exchanging emails and invitations to come visit, and barely able to tear themselves away when it was time to go, like the trees in Israel, this relationship seems likely to keep growing. “Were these kids any different from you?” Karen Madorsky asked the Hillel kids on the bus back to Atlanta. “No” said a blond eighth grade girl with a smile as broad as the Smoky Mountain range. Malden businessman David Ganz, who inspired the Hillel kids to honor the Whitwell residents in some way, flew Roberts, Hooper and some kids up for a celebration in Belmont May 5, and will again bring Hillel and Whitwell together when he picks Hooper up in Chattanooga and flies her in his private jet to Boston so she can be Hillel’s graduation speaker June 22. When they first met May 5, Hillel eighth grader Melissa Kornfeld said the Whitwell people felt like family. “I’m just so excited to see them again and see all the things in person that we saw in the movie,” she said soon after crossing into Tennessee. “You never really know people until you sit down and talk to them,” said Batya Rubenstein. What are the dangers of not knowing people different from you? Not being exposed to people of different races and religions? “If you don’t know, you just listen to and maybe believe what you’re told,” said Gavin Frisch. “But it could be racist or prejudice and you could think that way your whole life.” In the Volunteer State that brought us Elvis, jazz and BBQ, but also the KKK, a new light shines within and out from this region. Stereotypes have been dispelled, minds changed and expanded, and new friendships made. And thanks to the dedication of their teachers, and the attention their work has brought to this small town, many doors are opening to a new generation of concerned and dedicated kids. May they be blessed with the courage to continue changing the way we all think about one another. Plan Set to Close ‘Leadership Gap’ Mark
Arnold There’s a leadership gap in the North Shore Jewish community. Synagogue after synagogue, agency after agency complain that they don’t know where their future leaders will come from. People, they say, aren’t stepping up to the plate. Too much dissension, too many competing activities, two-income families with little discretionary time, lack of commitment — all these are cited as reasons for the growing leadership gap. There is no simple solution, but part of the answer may lie in a new leadership development program, outlined June 9 by management consultant Carl Sloane at a meeting of the North Shore Jewish Community Leadership Council. The council is composed of the lay and professional heads of all the Jewish agencies and synagogues on the North Shore. Twenty-four people attended the session. The response was enthusiastic. Nowhere is the need for new leadership more evident than at Federation, which is currently looking for someone to succeed President Debby Ponn, whose term ends in September; Women’s Division, now headed by retiring Cheryl Levy, and the annual fund-raising campaign, now being run by a “campaign cabinet” in the absence of a campaign director and the one-to-three lay leaders who usually share fund-raising responsibilities. In beginning his presentation, Sloane — chair and CEO of the global consulting firm Mercer Management Consulting and professor emeritus at the Harvard Business School — said leadership development can help make the North Shore a much stronger and more unified Jewish community. The program he outlined — already implemented at the Combined Jewish Philanthropies in Boston — is less a training program than a team-building experience with leadership as its focus. There are three elements to the program: extensive consultation to understand the issues and culture of each participating institution and to customize the content of the second element: a three-day facilitated retreat for current and identified future leaders, held in a secluded environment, where both leadership and Judaic content will be emphasized. Teams of six or eight people from each participating institution — most of them board members and their professional counterparts — will attend the retreat together for what Sloane called “a profound experience for learning and bonding.” Synagogue and agency teams will have the same core curriculum but they’ll meet at separate retreats to explore their own issues and make follow-up plans. The third element is extensive post-retreat consultation with each participating organization to implement “the change agenda identified and planned for at the leadership development retreat,” he said. In presenting the case for this approach, Sloane emphasized that there can be no effective change without strong leadership. “If you don’t want to change, you don’t need leadership. You just need management,” he said. The process he outlined should, he added, produce “re-energized and confident institutional leadership teams, eager to use their new understandings, tools, and skills for formulating and implementing consultative and lasting change.” Merritt Mulman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of the North Shore, has been a prime mover in seeking leadership development training for the community. He heartily endorsed the Sloane program. “Many of our institutions have dysfunctional leadership now,” he said. “You know it and I know it. This program can help elevate the discussion and help transform the community.” He urged the members to go back and sell the program to their boards. Sloane said he is donating his own time to the initiative and that other costs should be manageable. It is expected that the cost of participating in the retreat will be about $500 per attendee. Federation will pay half of that, according to Mulman, with synagogues and agencies that choose to participate picking up all or part of the remainder. The first retreat is planned for the week of November 20. It is too early to tell which institutions will participate. Sloane ended his presentation with this quote from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The
Way I See It
Mark
Arnold I’ve been struck recently by the realization that when the current generation of Holocaust survivors dies, not many years from now, there will no longer be first-hand reports on the Holocaust. Does it make a difference? We can experience the Holocaust vicariously, of course — through thousands of books, many of them eyewitness accounts; through vivid, heart-wrenching movies such as Schindler’s List, through photo exhibits; art work by kids and adults; and by television documentaries. But hearing the stories from someone who lived through it — is it really different? That was one of the questions on my mind the other day when I paid a visit to Austin Prep School in Reading to hear the life story of Sonia Weitz, retold — for perhaps her thousandth time — to 100 Catholic junior high students. I was there to watch the reaction of the students — all seventh and eighth graders — to Sonia’s tale. How, I wondered, would Catholic kids, 12 to14 years old — consumed with television, baseball, and the seductive sights and sounds of summer — react to an experience so foreign to their own? Weitz is a trim and tiny dynamo, with straight pulled-back hair and dangling earrings, a self-deprecating sense of humor and a fiery sense of social justice. More than 60 years ago, she was just entering her teens when she and her sister Blanca, two years older, were plucked from their home in Krakow, Poland, and sent to the first of five concentration camps on a meandering voyage that almost killed them. Of 84 members of her extended family, only Blanca and Sonia lived to tell the tale. Her presentation began with a 22-minute videotaped interview, in which she matter-of-factly recounts the story of her life up until 1945. She also reads some of her poems, kept in a diary that was destroyed by the Nazis, recreated from memory after the war. The poems are shattering, particularly the one about how she sneaked into the men’s barracks at one camp, found her father and for what she knew would be the last time she saw him, danced with him to the strains of music from a youth playing a harmonica. After the video, she talked about a secure middle-class life at home before the war; about life in the camps, suffering from dysentery, the smell of burning bodies, seeing dogs tear people’s limbs, a body swinging from a tree, 16 days in a sealed cattle car, living on snow or raw potatoes, and about the infamous winter death march where people tripped over the fallen bodies of those who couldn’t take the cold or the hunger. Then came the questions. “Why don’t you have a tattoo on your arm?” “In Poland we had identity cards instead.” “How did the Nazis know you were Jewish?” “The identity cards included your religion.” “Why didn’t your family escape to Israel?” “There was no Israel then.” “What was the toughest part of growing up without parents?” “Growing up without parents.” “Is the word ‘Jew’ offensive?” “Not unless used in a defamatory way.” “Were any soldiers nice to you?” “I don’t remember a single act of human kindness from soldiers or guards, including the women; one of the women beat me.” “Did you ever want to die?” “Yes, but I always believed, and you should too, that tomorrow will be a better day.” The kids were quiet, intent. You could see them struggling to process this information, relate it to things they knew. Here was someone who had plumbed the deaths of hell at their own age – and survived to talk about it. And to spread hope. She warned against being a bystander, urging the kids to speak up against playground bullies, bigots and anyone making ethnic slurs. “That’s how it starts,” she said, “by not speaking up when you know something is wrong. “If you care,” she concluded, “you can make it better.” Community Sendoff to Israel-Bound Youth Jewish Journal StaffThe numbers are up again: 118 North Shore youths were given a resounding community sendoff June 8, as their parents, other relatives and friends — 350 in all — gathered at Temple Beth El, Swampscott, to wish them well. A total of 35 of the youngsters will spend three weeks in Israel and Eastern Europe, where they will meet up with a like number of Israeli youth to tour the cities of Warsaw, Kracow, Budapest, Brno, and Prague. The others will travel to Israel, either on the Y2I (Youth to Israel) program, which the community has been offering for more than 30 years, or on other approved Israel travel trips. All the travel is paid for by the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation in partnership with the Jewish Federation of the North Shore. This is the first time in five years that Federation is offering the popular community summer trip to Israel. Highpoint of the sendoff was a performance by Israel Scouts, a group of 17-year-olds chosen from thousands of Israeli applicants to sing and dance their way in Jewish communities across the U.S. as unofficial ambassadors for their government. Rabbi David Klatzker of Temple Ner Tamid in Peabody blessed the local teenagers and stressed the importance to their development as mature Jews of the travels they are about to undertake. “In the future, when we recite the words ‘Next Year in Jerusalem,’” he said, “they will take on a deeper, more personal meaning for each one of you.” Southern Belle Explores Modern Jewish Orthodoxy in Her Novels Susan
Jacobs Tova Mirvis, author of two contemporary novels with modern Orthodox Jewish characters, spoke at Temple Emanu-El in Marblehead on June 2. The event, which drew approximately 100 local women, was hosted by LSM Hadassah and Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood. Mirvis
published her first book, The Ladies Auxiliary, in 1999. The
Outside World, published in 2004, recently came out in paperback. Both
novels draw from the author’s experience growing up Orthodox in
Memphis, TN. “With The Ladies Auxiliary, I was inspired to write a Jewish version of Madame Bovary. The Outside World began as a story about idealized notions of marriage, and evolved into a story about two different Jewish families brought together by marriage,” explains the writer. Mirvis particularly enjoyed developing the character of Bryan Miller in The Outside World. “I loved dealing with the phenomenon of a character that goes to yeshiva in Israel, ‘frums out,’ and returns to New Jersey more observant than his family,” she said. In both books, Mirvis explores the themes of religious tradition, conformity, assimilation, zealotry, and ritual. When queried about writers she personally admires, Mirvis named Phillip Roth, whom she believes “really captures the American Jewish experience.” Mirvis is currently working on her third novel, which is still untitled. It deals with the themes of motherhood, anxiety, and the contrast of city dwelling versus suburban life. She hopes to have it published by the end of the year. Rabbis Protest CHA Dropping of Temple Rule Mark
Arnold The North Shore Rabbinical Council is protesting a decision by Cohen Hillel Academy’s Board of Directors to drop its long-standing requirement of synagogue membership for prospective students. For many years, the North Shore’s only Jewish day school has required membership in a synagogue as a condition for enrolment at the school. But in a letter to local synagogue rabbis May 2, school President Howard Abrams, M.D., and Head of School Robert E. Tornberg said the board had decided to remove the requirement. “At times it is a stumbling block to enrolment for prospective families and has proven to be difficult to monitor and enforce,” they said. The letter emphasized that the school would continue to “strongly encourage synagogue membership” and wants to remain partners with synagogues “in promoting Jewish learning and living.” But the school has seen membership decline from a high of 274 students in the 2000-2001 school year to 207 this year, and is struggling to reverse the trend. President Abrams told the Journal: “We can’t say how many families have been put off by the rule but we know it’s an impediment in some cases.” The
school, located near the Jewish Community Center in Marblehead, is struggling
to maintain its appeal to families amid rising costs, increased competition
from other private schools, and competing demands on household income.
The cost of a CHA education is now more than $13,000 a year (tuition and
fees). In its response to the Abrams-Tornberg letter, the Rabbinical Association expressed “enormous disappointment” with the board’s decision. “It is ridiculous [to say] synagogue membership stands in the way of families enroling their children in Hillel,” they argued. “The truth is that every synagogue in this area offers reduced rates to those who can not afford full membership.” They noted that some Hillel families pay little or no dues as a result. The rabbis said it was “outrageous” that they had been left out of the discussion that preceded the board action, and they asked the school to reconsider its decision. The letter was signed by Rabbi David Klatzker of Temple Ner Tamid, Peabody, association chair; and endorsed by Rabbis Myron Geller of Ahavas Achim, Gloucester; Jonas Goldberg of Sinai, Marblehead; Howard Kosovske of Beth Shalom, Peabody; Lee Levin of Shalom, Salem; David Meyer of Emanu-El, Marblehead; Neal Loevinger of Temple Israel, Swampscott; and Edgar Weinsberg of Beth El, Swampscott. In a response to their protest, CHA’s Dr. Abrams wrote back that two Rabbinical Association members —Steven Rubenstein of Temple B’nai Abraham, Beverly, and Goldberg — were “directly involved in the debate.” Both opposed the change. Abrams said the school would continue to track synagogue membership of its families “as an indicator to consider revisiting this issue in the future.” Bibi to Challenge Sharon? Leslie
Susser JERUSALEM
— Everyone in the Israeli political establishment knows it’s
only a matter of time before Benjamin Netanyahu challenges Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon for leadership of the Likud Party and the country. Though Netanyahu denies rumors that he intends to resign soon as finance minister to protest Israel’s upcoming Gaza Strip withdrawal, he has stepped up his criticism of the plan, and some pundits are saying the former prime minister is preparing the ground for a leadership bid in the next few months. The resignation rumors were triggered by Netanyahu’s determination to push through major economic reforms ahead of the withdrawal, scheduled to begin Aug. 15. Netanyahu’s denials haven’t dampened the rumors. The speculation is that as soon as the reforms are passed, Netanyahu will resign and devote himself full-time to challenging for the party leadership. He will be able to argue that he left the Treasury only after accomplishing what he set out to do, and that his resignation was over a matter of principle, pundits say. The looming Likud leadership struggle has exacerbated tensions between Netanyahu and Sharon, as well as between Netanyahu and other leadership hopefuls including Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. The disquiet at the top comes as the Likud is under fire for alleged corruption, with even Sharon and his sons under suspicion. Netanyahu, the pundits say, may feel that the next few months could be the best time for him to make his bid. In early June, Netanyahu announced that he would vote against the withdrawal plan when it comes to the Cabinet for final approval. He cited recent comments by the Israel Defense Forces’ outgoing chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya’alon, that the pullout likely will be followed by more and worse Palestinian terror. “It will be interpreted by the Palestinians as Israel fleeing in the face of terror. Their conclusion will be that terror works, and that will encourage more terror,” Netanyahu declared. Comments by influential figures like Netanyahu and Ya’alon seem to be having an effect on public opinion, as surveys taken in recent weeks show a dramatic fall in support for the withdrawal. The latest poll, published last week in Yediot Achronot, showed 53 percent in favor and 38 percent against the plan, compared to 69 percent for and 25 percent opposed in February. That trend could encourage Netanyahu to make his leadership bid. According to Ma’ariv political analyst Ben Caspit, Netanyahu and his close confidants discussed the resignation scenario a few months ago. No decision was taken at the time, but Netanyahu’s recent conduct has fueled speculation that he intends to step down soon. The clue for political observers, including some of Sharon’s top advisers, was Netanyahu’s insistence that separate pieces of legislation on banking and income tax reform, which normally would require a considerable amount of time, be passed in the next two months, and that next year’s budget be passed in the Cabinet by the end of July, a month earlier than usual. “Many political players have warned Sharon recently that Netanyahu is preparing a political ambush and does not intend to stay in the government much longer,” Caspit writes. Given Sharon’s inherent distrust of Netanyahu’s motives, relations between the two have been strained for months. An attempt at reconciliation in March at Sharon’s ranch failed. Netanyahu’s relations with other prospective Likud leaders — especially Olmert, who often speaks for Sharon — aren’t good either. During a public clash in mid-May over the future of public broadcasting in Israel, Olmert accused Netanyahu of deliberately manipulating budget figures and said he was unfit to be prime minister. Netanyahu aides retorted that Olmert had grown desperate because he was “so unpopular in the Likud that his political career is probably over.”.
Manners
Maven Jodi
R.R.Smith This mindset helps me to search for the positive. A few months ago I attended a presentation on humor in the workplace. I readily admit I was very skeptical about attending. The presenter’s bio was all over the map. He had been a restaurateur, stand-up comic and now, in his latest incarnation, a motivational speaker. After a resounding recommendation from a woman I trust, I registered for the program. That night the room was packed. Dinner was dreadful, but the room filled with anticipation as the speaker took the stage. He told a few stories, did a bit of his act and then moved on to audience participation exercises. The first volunteer was brought to the front of the room for a game where she needed to think on her feet. It was very slow going at first, but then she caught on. Towards the end, she came to an abrupt halt. Her face started to flush, her eyes began to dart back and forth, and she was shifting her weight from foot to foot. Sensing her discomfort, I offered some help. The speaker’s reprimand was swift and fast. He immediately turned on me. “Did she ask for your help?” he roared. “No,” I replied while surveying the room for exits. Next he turned to the woman sternly said “Did you need her help?” “No,” came the tentative reply. “I would have come up with the next line…eventually,” said the woman. The game resumed and then concluded. The woman took her seat. My brain was racing. I have always thought offering help was the polite thing to do. Was I wrong to offer my assistance? The question, “Did she ask for your help?” was ringing in my ears. Driving home, I was still thinking about the speaker’s question, but with an entirely different reference than the evening’s entertainment. For over two years I had been volunteering with an organization to help resolve an ongoing issue. The committee was comprised of volunteer and organizational members. It was tough work and progress was unbelievably slow. The volunteer committee members and I all wondered why the organization was having such difficulties. The organizational committee members would agree to benchmarks and goals, but rarely completed their deliverables. At each meeting, the committee would strain forward and the organization would reluctantly commit to the next phase. Most of the volunteer committee members just stopped attending meetings. I kept plugging along. But I was tired and discouraged. During my drive home, a small light of recognition was flickering in the back of my brain. Perhaps the organization did not want the committee’s help? Suddenly the organizational committee members’ behavior made so much sense. Though they would verbally agree to items in the meetings, their hesitant and inconsistent follow through revealed so much more. Another committee meeting was on the calendar. Armed with this newfound perspective, I decided to look for clues that the organization really did not want help. The next meeting was similar to those in the past; the only difference was my new outlook. It became clear that while the committee volunteers were more than willing to help, the organization did not want help. After the meeting ended, one of the highest ranking organizational members actually made an off-hand comment to me, making light of the committee’s work. The small light of recognition was now a huge, glaring spotlight. While most volunteer committee members left the meeting feeling frustrated, I felt freed. The organization had not asked for help in this area. The committee was established as a board directive and clearly lacked buy-in from the staff. I was wasting my time continuing to volunteer for that particular committee. The next morning I tendered my resignation from the committee and found I no longer felt tired or discouraged. I felt light. And best of all, without those meetings on my calendar, I now had time to devote to committees, organizations and causes who really did want my help. Remember that just because one volunteer opportunity does not work out, don’t stop volunteering. Just be sure that no matter where you volunteer your time, they have asked for help. Book Serves as A Primer on Lynn and the Law Richard
Chandler From the Chicken House to the Court House, by Bruce N. Sachar.AuthorHouse, Bloomington, IN, 2004, 296 pages. The Chicken House of the title refers to the family business, Singer Poultry. In an earlier time, Mama and Bubbe would never have purchased a chicken lying dead in a show case. No, poultry was fresh killed. The Macy’s and Gimbel’s of the poultry business in Greater Lynn were Singer’s and Bluestein’s. Bruce Sachar is a member of the extended Singer clan. Unlike today, when the tractor-trailer pulls up to the backdoor of the supermarket, there existed an earlier prototype of vertical integration. The family was involved in every step of the process of delivering the chicken to mama or her butcher. Since Christmas and Chanukah coincided, supply was imperative. Attorney Sachar describes trips through New England in howling blizzards. Arrival at the farm meant rounding up and crating the fowl. The load would be tied down with frozen hands and ropes. Did crates fall off on highways? Of course. Upon arrival in Lynn, the crates were unloaded into the store. Then began the mind-numbing process of preparing a dressed (clean) chicken. Work, law school, and marriage. A work ethic that would be hard to emulate by today’s youth. The upside is that, unknowingly, Attorney Sachar was in a position to view Jewish Lynn in its heyday. Summer Street was its hub and Singer Poultry was in its midst. The author describes the bakeries, butcheries, food stores and cast of characters familiar to anyone who lived there in that time. This was an era before spin doctors and public relations. The courthouse portion of the book revolves around a murder trial. Using that trial as an anchor, Attorney Sachar spins the tales of his life as an attorney in a series of flashbacks. It
was as a tank officer in Germany that Bruce Sachar first got a taste of
the law. He was asked to defend enlisted men in court martials. His career
choice was made. Boston College Law School and then the practice of law
followed. The murder trial itself concerned an Albanian immigrant who shot his business partner, a fellow Albanian, at their business establishment in Cambridge. The preparation for trial, the anguish of the attorneys for the defense and of the families, and the trial itself makes an engrossing tale. Not being a professional author, Attorney Sachar is of the school that it is better to put more in than to leave more out. Nevertheless, the diligent reader will be rewarded with the tale of an interesting life (the early years) and a glimpse of Jewish urban life that no longer exists. Should you be a contemporary of Mr. Sachar who lived through that era, it is must reading. It can be purchased at Waldenbooks in Swampscott or at authorhouse.com. Richard Chandler, an attorney, was a guidance counselor at Lynn English High School for 30 years. He grew up in the Lynn described by Bruce Sachar. He can be reached at chanric2003@yahoo.com. The Reality of the March of the Living Michael
Levy Editor’s note: Last issue, Leonard Fein’s column “Reflections on the March of the Living” asked whether this American teenage program visiting Polish concentration camps ought to be ended or changed. Coincidently, on the same day of our publication, Israeli high school senior Michael Levy presented his experiences on a similar program for Israeli high school students at the first Kissinger Family Reunion in Bad Kissingen, Germany. Levy’s talk, printed below, adds to the important debate. The beginning of the journey was easy. The 80 Israeli students from my Mevasseret high school just outside Jerusalem landed in Poland and we found a beautiful country with developed cities and people nice to us. After two days, we thought this is too easy. Everything was like a regular field trip abroad until our teacher came to us on the third night and said, “Guys, tomorrow is Treblinka!” We were all worried. Treblinka was crazy. You go into a totally quiet forest and suddenly get to the middle; one square kilometer without trees. This was a death camp! Here were murdered thousands of my people, people from my family. Nothing there except a big monument. Even though the Nazis destroyed everything, everyone feels the death camp. The next day was Majdanek, my toughest hours of the journey. This death camp stands only one mile from the city of Lublin. People live next to the camp, it is madness. At the end of the war, the Russians troops, moving quickly west, stopped the Germans from destroying evidence. Almost everything is left, and I mean everything! We saw cabins that held the Jewish prisoners, the showers, barbed wire fences, gas chambers and the crematorium. The toughest experience of my life and I’m almost crying. After the crematorium, I saw one of the biggest monuments in Poland, the Ash Mountain, four tons of ash left from Jews killed and burned in the place. For comparison, one person’s ashes fit in a soda can. Asher, the Holocaust survivor who had joined us, stood in front of me. He was the one who had escaped Auschwitz. I was the one who broke down and cried. Instead of me encouraging him after all he went through, Asher was holding me. In the ceremony that followed, the students sang Hatikva so loud that I think it was heard in Jerusalem. Even the Polish security guide had tears in his eyes. The rest of the trip was hard, exciting, emotional, funny, and even fun. Almost every adjective would fit the journey. With Polish school kids, we cleaned a Jewish cemetery and had another ceremony. We met a Polish woman who saved two Jews during the war. We saw the Plashov work camp where the movie Schindler’s List was based, including the Schindler factory where 1000 Jews were saved. We visited ghettoes, local Jewish cemeteries and synagogues in Warsaw, Krakow and Lodz. We prayed with local Jews on Sukkot evening in Warsaw’s main synagogue, and visited mass graves dug by Jews before they were shot. Each night we moved to a different hotel and also saw the cities as tourists. The day before we left was supposed to be the toughest part of the trip. We were all tired and exhausted arriving at Auschwitz and Birkenau. Auschwitz, the work camp, is like a museum. There is an entry fee and exhibits. Birkenau, the infamous death camp, three miles from Auschwitz, is where 1.25 million Jews were killed. This day was clear and sunny, and for some strange reason it was not as difficult as we expected. Maybe we had already reached the limit of our emotions. Later, we rode a bus to the airport. We could hardly keep our eyes open. We boarded the plane, fell asleep and woke up in Israel. We descended from the plane with pride. We Jews survived the Holocaust, we live to protect Israel, the country that belongs to us. A few crazy terrorists won’t beat us. Israel is the only real home that will always be home for Jews. This was a journey I will remember my entire life. My conclusions from the trip will not be forgotten: first, our country is more important than anything. Second, we can never allow something similar to happen to Jews ever again. Third, we must never ignore similar crimes against others, never sit aside. Still, I know such horrors are happening now. In Sudan hundreds of thousands are killed by the Muslim majority; in North Korea people are killed in gas chambers for resisting the communist leader; in Rwanda, tens of thousands are being killed. We must, as Jews, Israelis, and decent people of the world, find a way to stop these killings. Michael Levy graduates Mevasseret High School this month and enters the Israeli Army in November. He will visit Salem in September-October and may be contacted at dblevy@columnist.com Bea Zide Susan
Jacobs Effervescent Bea Zide of Peabody has more energy than most people half, or even a quarter her age. The 80-year-old dynamo, who has dedicated her life to helping others, is a regular fixture at Temple Ner Tamid’s preschool. At the other end of the spectrum, she also volunteers at Peabody’s Torigian Community Center, escorting seniors to their doctors’ appointments. “My four-year-old daughter Halle attends preschool at Temple Ner Tamid,” says Andie Merkowitz of Peabody. “Bea comes once a week to read to the children. The kids run over to hug her and fight to sit in her lap, and she gives each child personal attention and treats. Many of the kids don’t have older people in their lives that they see often. Bea serves as an example to them that older people are kind, loving, interested in them, and interesting to listen to,” she adds. “There’s nobody like her,” agrees Barbara Hayes, a preschool teacher at Ner Tamid. “She has more energy than 10 of us put together. The kids adore her, and the preschool really appreciates her. I’ve worked here for 13 years. Bea is here every Tuesday. She always comes with hugs and cookies.” “All my children and grandchildren are grown, so I really enjoy spending time with the little ones,” admits Zide, who has two daughters, a son, and four grandchildren. The spry octogenarian is devoted to doing a mitzvah-a-day. “When my son Arnold was 22, he had a diving accident. He broke his neck and almost died. He underwent three operations, and the doctors told me that only one percent survive this type of accident. When he lived, I was so grateful that I told myself I would do something for others every day for the rest of my life. Happily, I am able to do something every single day,” says Bea. Zide herself had an unhappy childhood. Terribly underweight as a child in East Boston, the family had fresh goat’s milk delivered to help fatten her up. When Bea was just 31⁄2, her mother died suddenly. Shortly thereafter, Bea contracted typhoid fever, which was traced to the goat’s milk. Her father was told to prepare for another funeral. Since the disease was highly contagious, Bea was isolated from other children. She spent four months at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, and was then sent to live in the country with an aunt for another year. Although she lost all her beautiful red hair, she survived the ordeal. She recalls, however, that her early years were sad and lonely. Since she never wants other children to feel that way, she volunteers at the preschool and acts as a pen pal to local children. Besides working with kids, Bea demonstrates a commitment to many worthy Jewish causes. Approximately 45 years ago, she and her husband Bill, now 90, helped found Temple Ner Tamid in Peabody, raising more than $10,000 to purchase the land the temple was built on. Over the years she has been very active at the temple, running its annual food drive and rummage sale. A Life Member of Hadassah who has served on its board, Zide has raised money for Israeli Bonds and was given the Light of Torah Award in 1995 by the Women’s League. She was honored by Jewish Family Service as an Everyday Hero in 2002. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she spent many years writing letters, meeting with politictians and running rallies to help get refuseniks (including nine family members) out of Russia. Her persistence paid off, and the families were ultimately released. Most immigrated to Israel, although one cousin, Mikhail Gaingerish, came to Brookline with his wife Mira and their young son Roman. She recently attended Roman’s wedding. Of all her accomplishments, Bea says she is most proud of founding the Massachusetts Arthritis Foundation. She was inspired to do this 48 years ago after her son Arnold was stricken with rheumatoid arthritis at age 61⁄2. Giving up her job as a bookkeeper, she threw herself into fundraising. After establishing the foundation, she served on its board for 25 years. Today,
the mentally sharp and physically active 102-pound Zide stays fit taking
aerobics classes three times per week. An avid walker, she has participated
in an eight-mile cancer walk for the past 14 years. She still drives,
and recently planted a flower garden in her front yard. To relax, Zide
enjoys oil painting. She takes a weekly art class at the Senior Center,
and her home is filled with her original works. She also enjoys reading,
watching TV and doing puzzles. Calculating Retirement Distributions the Easy Way Thomas
T. Riquier There’s a new and simpler way to calculate required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your retirement accounts. The IRS generally requires you to withdraw RMDs from your Traditional, SEP or Simple IRA each year once you turn age 701⁄2. RMDs from Roth IRAs are not required during your lifetime. You’re also required to take RMDs from your employer plan accounts, such as 401(k) and profit sharing plans. Those distributions generally begin when you turn age 701⁄2 or when you retire, whichever is later. To help you save for retirement, the government offers a number of incentives. A major one is that tax-deductible contributions you make to your retirement accounts are allowed to grow tax-deferred. In other words, you don’t have to pay taxes on the money you’ve put into your IRA, 401(k) or other retirement accounts until you withdraw it. Here’s an example: Brian is a retired 401(k) participant who will turn 701⁄2 on March 31. His daughter, Susan, is the beneficiary on his account. On December 31, 2004, the ending balance was $262,000. To calculate his RMD for this year, he divides $262,000 by his life expectancy factor of 26.5 years. His distribution amount: $9,886.79. Everyone who is eligible to take RMDs will use the new calculation. However, if you’ve named your spouse as the only beneficiary on your account and he or she is more than 10 years younger than you, then you need to use the joint life expectancy factors in the IRS Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table to calculate your annual distributions. Another example: Jessica is a 72-year-old IRA owner. Her husband, Jeff, is the sole beneficiary on her account. Jeff is 60 years old. On December 31 of last year, Jessica’s ending account balance was $262,000. To calculate her RMD for this year, she divides $262,000 by the joint life expectancy factor of 27.0 years. Her distribution amount is $9,703.70. You need to calculate RMDs for all of your accounts. If you own more than one IRA, you can withdraw your required minimum directly from each, or you can combine your RMDs and withdraw the total from only one. Besides
being far less complicated than in the past, using the new calculation
will probably result in smaller distributions. You can keep more of your
savings growing tax-deferred and stretch your payments over a longer period. Check to be sure you are currently using the latest IRS table issued in 2002 and not the old table. This will save you from withdrawing too much and paying more income tax than is necessary. This means that more is left in your retirement plan and therefore is more security for your spouse and/or children. Thomas T. Riquier is a CFP®, CLU, CSA and president of The Retirement/Financial Planning Center, Inc., Danvers. People in the News
Arts & EntertainmentNSMT’s FAME Bristles with Energy and Fun Mark
Arnold FAME , the Academy award winning movie that became an Emmy award-winning TV series and later a musical stage sensation, opened at the North Shore Music Theater May 31 for a three-week run. In this in-the-round production, as on Broadway, it is a show bristling with youthful energy, brilliant choreography, and good old fun. The story of a group of 1980s performing-arts high school students in New York, their hopes fixed on stardom, would provide for lively entertainment under any circumstances. The show has terrific music (think: “I’m Gonna Live Forever….” ), creative sets, costumes, and talented singers and dancers, some of whom also play a variety of musical instruments. Standouts include violinist Dennis Moench, who plays the one identfiably Jewish student, Schlomo Metzenbaum; Eric Anthony as the black ghetto youth Tyrone, and Gerard Salvador as Jose Vegas. Though a few of the voices are a bit shrill, on the whole this is another in a string of excellent NSMT productions. In addition to the professional cast, NSMT has assembled a youth ensemble of talented amateur performers from 10 area communities, who weave in and out of the production seamlessly. With book by Jose Fernandez, lyrics by Jacques Levy, and music by Steve Margoshes, FAME — conceived and developed by David de Silva — has clearly stood the test of time. It remains as lively and contemporary a musical in this production as it did in its original cinematic version of 1980. FAME, the Musical, through June 19, at North Shore Music Theater, 62 Dunham St., Beverly, MA 01915. Tickets $30-$63 at box office, 978-232-2700 or www.nsmt.org. Like Mother; Like Daughter Susan
Jacobs The Israeli film Or (My Treasure), which premieres in Boston on June 23, is a stark portrait of a tender yet grim mother/daughter relationship. Ronit Eskabetz, a well-known Israeli actress and director, plays the role of Ruthie, a still-attractive 40-year-old who spends most nights in skimpy garb strolling the streets of Tel Aviv hunting for tricks. During the day, the depressed woman lounges around the dingy flat she shares with her teenage daughter, Or. She pays the rent by periodically seducing the landlord, Shmuel. Dana Ivgy delivers a convincing performance as Or, an industrious girl who takes care of her mother while juggling school and work in a small restaurant. Or desperately wants her mother to leave her life of prostitution, She gets her a job as a cleaning lady for an upper class woman. Unfortunately, Ruthie is unable to “clean up” her life, and before long she is back on the street where she is subject to humiliation and attack. Although Or has fallen in love with the affable boy next door, the boy’s mother discourages the relationship because of Or’s pedigree. Disillusioned, the girl takes a hard look at her options in life. When Shmuel is no longer interested in obtaining the rent in his usual way from Ruthie, Or is tempted to follow in her mother’s footsteps. She pays Shmuel a visit. The process proves so easy that Or is soon converted. Yet instead of walking the street like her mother, the teen becomes a high-paid escort. Without judgment, the film explores the issue of prostitution, as well as who protects who when the traditional mother/daughter relationship is turned around. Although Or and Ruthie share a rough life, they also share an intimate bond. The film expertly captures the gritty realism of their existence. At 100 minutes, the film is a tad long. Tighter editing and less long, drawn-out still sequence shots would add more sizzle to this otherwise penetrating drama. The film is ably directed by Keren Yedaya, whose previous short films addressed feminist social causes. This is Yedaya’s first feature film, and she plans to use proceeds to help construct a halfway house for women tying to get out of prostitution. Or (My Treasure), which won Camera d’Or at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, is in Hebrew with English subtitles. It will be screened seven times at the Museum of Fine Arts from June 23 - July 3. For times, call 617-369-3306 or visit www.mfa.org/film. Editorial Invitation to Help Plan Community’s Future You’ll see a half-page advertisement on page 2 of this issue headlined “Help Build Community.” It invites everyone to attend a public meeting June 27 at 7 p.m. in Peabody’s Temple Beth Shalom to learn about Project Solel and find out “how you can become involved in this critical effort.” Project Solel (Hebrew for “pathfinder”) is an ambitious initiative to, as the ad says, “design our Jewish community’s future.” Many people have trouble understanding that concept. Look at it this way: We have lots of Jewish institutions (examples: two community centers, a Federation, historical society, this newspaper, day school, summer camps, synagogues). And we have lots of Jewish people, some of whom — maybe 50-60 percent — take advantage of programs and services offered by one or more of those institutions and the rest of whom don’t. Now, those institutions can continue to do what they do and serve those they serve. Or they can try to find out what services and programs people want and need and then refashion themselves, if necessary, to better serve the community in the future. Project Solel is a systematic effort to identify how people’s needs are changing and suggest ways the community, and the institutions, can change to meet them. To learn more — and decide whether or not to become involved — we urge you to attend the session. On Those Charges of Bigotry It stings to be accused of bigotry. Two angry letters on this page accuse the Journal of being anti-Catholic for running letters in past issues, one from a Journal Board member, that were critical of the Catholic church. The original letters criticizing the church were both in response to our laudatory coverage of the legacy of late Pope John Paul II, which included two page one articles, an editorial, and an Op-Ed column by another Board member headlined: “John Paul II: Not Just Historic, But Heroic.” For the record, it’s our job to run letters from readers. We edit them for length, libel and good taste; it isn’t our job to omit them if we don’t like what they say. Board member letters and articles in the future will carry a disclaimer that the writer’s views don’t necessarily reflect our own or those of our Board. Even so, as Jews, our sensitivity to how people write about us should make us more sensitive in the future to how we allow others to be portrayed in our pages. — Mark R. Arnold Reversal of Misfortune: Ukrainians Charge Jews with War Crimes
“Ukrainians Want Jews Probed on War Crimes”. That headline from the May 13 Forward sounded bizarre to me, considering that 900,000 of the Ukraine’s 1.5 million Jews were annihilated during World War II. The Forward’s report continued: The Ukrainian-Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s research director, Lubomyr Luciuk, requested Canada’s Justice Department investigate and punish four Jews who allegedly committed atrocities, including murder, against Ukrainians during the last years of World War II. I asked Sol Littman, former head of Canada’s Simon Wiesenthal Center, and author of two books about Ukrainian, Lithuanian and German participation in the Holocaust (War Criminal on Trial: Rauca of Kaunas (1998); and Pure Soldiers or Sinister Legion: The Ukrainian 14th Waffen-SS Division (2003)), what these allegations and demands for punishment of Jews mean. His reply follows. People familiar with the tactics of the Ukrainian-Canadian Civil Liberties Association are not surprised by Lubomyr Luciuk’s accusations against four Russian and Ukrainian Jews who migrated to Canada in recent years. We recognize the accusations as an effort to embarrass Canada’s recently appointed Justice Minister, Irwin Cotler. Your American readers may not know that Cotler is anOrthodox Jew and was Natan Sharansky’s lawyer in the dark days before the Soviet refusenik was released. A former president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, a law professor, a civil liberties lawyer, Cotler has received numerous awards for his statesmanlike briefs. One of Cotler’s outstanding achievements was his representation of the Jewish community before a government investigation of World War II war criminals who had migrated to Canada, a task he performed with judicious dignity. Opposing him was an array of lawyers representing various Ukrainian organizations —including the Ukrainian-Canadian Civil Liberties Association — who argued that there were few, if any, Nazi war criminals in Canada. They insisted that any attempt to identify them was an attack on the good name of Canada’s large Ukrainian community. Cotler won the battle; the Commission of Inquiry found there were enough war criminals of various ethnic origins in Canada to merit the creation of a special prosecution unit to bring them to justice. While Luciuk and his cronies nursed their wounds, they continued sniping at the government’s efforts and at the Jewish community. By naming four elderly Jews as war criminals, Luciuk tries to discredit Cotler and at the same time ignite a war between the Ukrainian and Jewish communities. He revives the old anti-Semitic epithet of “Jew-Bolshevik.” His efforts are unlikely to succeed. In
the years since World War II, the Jewish and Ukrainian communities have
grown closer together. On a recent visit to Winnipeg, one of the centers
of Ukrainian and Jewish settlement, I noted the large number of Jewish
and Ukrainian names on the letterheads of corporations, law firms, accountants,
medical clinics, and hospital staffs. As for the four whom Luciuk has accused, I investigated two of them years ago in my role as Simon Wiesenthal’s Canadian director. (The other two names are unfamiliar to me.) Joseph Riwash is an honorable man who helped hunt down Nazi war criminals after the war and has written openly about his adventures. Nahun Kohn denied his participation in the events in an article that appeared about five years ago. In any event, Canada’s Special War Crimes Unit examined their cases long ago and no charges were forthcoming. This Canadian story, like so many in the United States and around the world, shows how close to the surface are issues about WWII. And, in my judgment, likely to continue. Smarter Than Your Average Bear
Thank you, Henry Harpending, for reminding everyone that Ashkenazi Jews are significantly smarter than the average population. How did we get that way, you ask? A 40-page paper by the University of Utah anthropologist tells us. Forget the environmental theory. That Jews were essentially bi- and tri-lingual since Bar Kochba; that they sharpened their minds by studying Torah doesn’t seem to be the issue. Nor do we have the devoted Jewish mother to thank, as in “Shimmy, don’t forget to practice your violin, sweetheart.” Even Jewish wit, Jewish humor, the acerbic irony of our self-reflection can’t be credited — though never has there been a people more chronically verbal, psychoanalytical, or driven to push the edge of the envelope. It seems that our effervescent IQ — at times an entire standard deviation above the mean — comes from accountancy and the various medieval professions in which our fore parents thrived. Denied the ownership of land and the ability to enter into a feudal contract, the Jews of Northern Europe self-selected for intelligence. Those who succeeded financially by having a higher intelligence and the ability to achieve a higher income also had more surviving children — because they could afford to. And in each generation — for up to 40 generations — Ashkenazi intelligence crept up .8 points on the scale. Which explains, why three per cent of the U.S. population wins 27 per cent of the Nobel Prizes in the sciences in the United States; why more than half of professional chess champions are Jewish; why Jews are more successful and prominent than their gentile (and Sephardic) counterparts, rising like cream in milk, to the top of every profession, every scale of measurement, devised by our culture. The New York Times reported on Dr. Harpending’s findings, as did The Wall Street Journal, Ha-aretz, and every other media outlet. But long after the dust settles on this report, whether it is proven to be accurate or another random volley in the eugenics debate, its effects will linger. Everybody who reads it will remember not its veracity or falsehood, but its thesis: Generally, .04 percent of the general population has an IQ of over 140 points, a “genius” IQ, yet among Ashkenazic Jews, that number is 2.3 percent. In response, Anti-Semites around the globe will be tripping over each other and running to spread their racial hatred in blogs and websites. Already, Googling “Jewish success” can turn up enough Jew-hating mythology to rattle the cage. In response to Dr. Harpendin’s findings, parents will be running to test the theory, to have their children’s intelligence evaluated. (My ten year old is already begging for an IQ test.) A new round of neuropsychological testing and theorizing will mesmerize a population already over tested and over diagnosed. But perhaps, of all the negative outcomes of this announcement, the worst will be among American Jews who already feel omniscient about their lives and communities. We are a brash and ignorant lot, by and large: notoriously secular, proudly successful, unflinchingly independent, thumbing our noses at authority, creating the creeds that we call modern Judaism. Yet, if we’re so smart, how come none of us can articulate what Judaism actually is? Are we a people, like a nation or a race? Do we share common ideas about God, food, education, or social justice? With our prodigious intelligences, we can’t even come to a common decision about who is a Jew and what part of Eretz Yisrael we should live on. Maybe we need just a longer span, with that .8 points increasing every generation, before we are smart enough to figure it all out. Celebrating My Own Jewish Idol on Father’s Day
Anyone
who knows me can guess the person I would select as my Jewish Idol.
While I admire some of the better-known Jewish heroes like scientist
Albert Einstein, diplomat Henry Kissinger, producer Steven Spielberg
and the legendary leader Golda Meir, I cast my vote for Herbert P. Feinstein
as my Jewish Idol.
While 98% of the Journal readership has no clue to the identity of Mr. Feinstein, a few may remember him as the proud owner of the Apple Basket in Beverly who often polished macintosh apples on his flannel shirts. He may have sold you a ripe honeydew melon or a head of iceberg lettuce. If you took the time to have a conversation with him, you would have been impressed with his knowledge of current events and his passion for fruit and vegetables. He loved rum raisin ice cream, halvah and a good corned beef sandwich. I
was one of the lucky few who got to know Mr. Feinstein very well.
Sweeter than the cherries he sold to help pay for my private schooling
and college education, my father was one of the last of the great
mensches. On Father’s Day, we usually take a brief reprise to give dad a big hug and a bad tie, but it’s really all the other days in between that matter. Although my father did not make any grand scientific discoveries, craft diplomatic treaties or produce a Hollywood Oscar-winning movie, he was my own personal hero because I knew I was the apple of the fruit man’s eye. I urge all fathers to celebrate their sons and daughters not only on Father’s Day, but the other 364 days as well. They are the real gift to you and your time to them.
Editor’s Note: The Journal received the following letters in reaction to the announcement that Editor-Publisher Mark Arnold has submitted his resignation as of July 1. Since Mark Arnold assumed the post of publisher, the Journal has been an exemplary community newspaper. The news has been straight, lively, and often penetrating in its choice of subject. The opinion pages offered ample forum where philosophic and political differences could be brought to mind and explored. And it seems the Journal has also enjoyed a significant improvement in its financial standing. I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job than Arnold has done. What a shame to lose him. The Board would be amiss if they did not find some way to keep him on the job. William
S. Wasserman
Mark Arnold will surely be missed. What a wonderful job Mark has done. Under his editorship the Jewish Journal achieved unprecedented journalistic professionalism. Mark’s editorials were sharp and right to the point. There was never a wasted word. That man can really write. The local and international news were incisively handled. Under Mark’s tutelage “All The Jewish News Fit To Print” was published. We wish you good luck in finding a man or woman equal to Mark in integrity, knowledge, experience and fairness. Sandy
and Sel Kanosky
I was surprised and disheartened to learn of Mark Arnold’s exit from the paper (June 3-16). Since coming to the Journal, he has transformed it into a publication that addresses a broad, diverse community, in an intelligent, entertaining, and responsible way. As a human being he has always been accessible, responsible, thoughtful and all in all an enormous boon to this community. It is hard to imagine what might have driven him out of a position he is so very fit for.
Judith Black
Real,
honest, conscientious leaders are few and far between. It is for this
reason we are saddened by the resignation of such an outstanding editor
and publisher of the Jewish Journal newspaper, Mark Arnold. His position
of leadership has raised the importance and value of the Jewish Journal
to a prize-winning newspaper. George
and Gabrielle Eisenberg On Rabbi Weinsberg My husband and I were members and supporters of TempIe Beth EI for nearly 30 years. We were shocked and dismayed when we heard that Rabbi Weinsberg would not be asked to remain as rabbi of the combined congregations, especially in view of the fact that Rabbi Loevinger did not ask to stay. By the time the new congregation is up and running, there will be only a few years before Rabbi Weinsberg can retire gracefully. I cannot imagine that in the long run this would make a difference in the success of the “new” congregation. The explanation given by the Implementation Board, while lengthy, does not in any way justify their decision. It is not too late to correct a sorrowful mistake in judgment. Jane
C. Weiss B’resheit Committee Erred I am writing in response to the reaction of the B’resheit Committee in the Journal (May 20 – June 2) to my original letter discussing Rabbi Weinsberg’s clerical leadership at Temple Beth El. At the outset, I also thank the Journal for serving as the forum to post these opinions, and also to the B’resheit Committee for the attempt at defending their decision concerning the rabbi’s future. The B’resheit Committee’s response does nothing to define their purpose involving Rabbi Weinsberg’s future except to discuss a need for change. The Committee in no way has discussed what about Rabbi Weinsberg’s style of leadership would make him an ineffective candidate to fulfill the requirements of the pulpit of the new congregation. The B’resheit process, it is noted, “was designed to build a new community and not create deeper divisions between the two communities.” Hypothetically, this is akin to a process of a “congregational utopia.” The B’resheit observation I quote, on the subject of the retention of Rabbi Weinsberg, is baseless and without merit. The B’resheit Committee likewise says that “much of the public is misinformed on the details of our agreement with Rabbi Weinsberg…” Yet, I find it quite hard to even fathom that a division would exist between the two original congregations absent some factual basis which truly reflects the sentiments of the congregants as it relates to Rabbi Weinsberg’s continuation of service. To try and speak on behalf of an entire congregation with respect to their feelings absent something substantive such as the result of an election or opinion poll has no value. Russell
S. Grand Editor’s
Note: Readers continue to write in defending or condemning the May
7 conference, “Peacemaking in Israel/Palestine”
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