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Holocaust Claims Priorities Scored

BRETT M. RHYNE
Jewish Journal Staff

Hundreds of Holocaust survivors living in Massachusetts are being denied the necessities of life due to the misplaced priorities of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, argue several Bay State Jewish organizational leaders.

“Funds that are vital to very needy and sick Holocaust survivors have been taken away,” says Izzy Arbeiter, president of the Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston. “Those funds have been given to programs that the American Jewish community would paid for anyway.”

“The Conference has allocated over $85 million in non-Holocaust-related programming,” adds Rick Mann, president of the New England Holocaust Memorial. “I would never dream of taking money out of the hands of a needy survivor to do that.”

At issue is the decision of the Claims Conference in the last seven years to divert 20 percent of $430 million in discretionary funds — $86 million — away from welfare programs for survivors to educational and archival programs.

In eastern Massachusetts, the Claims Conference funds Hakalah, a joint program of Jewish Family Service of the North Shore (JFS), Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Boston and Jewish Family Service of Metrowest. Hakalah provides survivors with emergency financial assistance, homecare subsidies, reparations and restitution assistance and casework.

On the North Shore, 76 new cases appeared in 2001 and 50 new cases appeared in 2002, “mostly from the former Soviet Union,” according to JFS Chief Executive Jon Firger. He estimates 883 new cases across the region in the past year.

“Every year we’ve run out of funds and had to go back to the Claims Conference for more,” he says. “When you think that there’s billions of dollars out there and we have to struggle to help people pay for their basic needs, you can see why people are upset.”
“Out of 2,500 survivors locally, two to three hundred of them are needy,” Mann notes.

The Claims Conference is comprised of 24 Jewish organizations from around the world. Since its establishment in 1951, the Conference has allocated $600 million throughout 67 countries, the bulk of which has gone to meet the social service needs of survivors, but some of which has funded Holocaust education, research and documentation.

Arbeiter, a 78-year-old Auschwitz survivor, wants all the money to benefit the living, not document the dead. “The money should be distributed fully to meet the needs of Holocaust survivors,” he argues. “In 10 to 15 years there will be no more survivors, and then the Claims Conference can use the money for anything they want.”

Mann agrees. “If our priority is to take care of the living, how can we look ourselves in the mirror if we don’t do that?”
Mann first learned of the plight of the underserved when Arbeiter and fellow survivor Steve Ross approached him last September. Mann brought the issue to Bay State Jewish organizations like the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Community Relations Council.

From that meeting came a “Resolution on Care for Needy Holocaust Survivors,” which was adopted by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the national organization of Jewish community relations groups, in February 2003.

In regards to Claims Council allocations, the resolution asserts: “As long as Holocaust survivors living anywhere in the world are lacking basic needs, including food, shelter, medical care or any other form of assistance now or hereafter deemed necessary to allow them to live out the remainder of their lives in comfort and dignity, any and all Holocaust Related Funds... shall be promptly disbursed to or on behalf of such Holocaust survivors in order to meet such needs.”

At an AJC-Greater Boston chapter executive board meeting June 4, Mann squared off with Rabbi Andrew Baker, a vice president and executive committee member of the Claims Conference.

“We’re going to have needy survivors until they’re all dead,” Rabbi Baker told The Journal. “There’s a lot that could be done that we don’t have the resources to do.”

Rabbi Baker, who also works as AJC director of international Jewish affairs, notes that, with revenues from the sales of formerly East German properties recently released, the Claims Conference now has between $700 million and $1.2 billion in discretionary funds. “A relatively small portion of that is allocated to critical matters like research and education,” he says.

Such documentation is a Conference priority for two reasons, Rabbi Baker argues. “In order for survivors to receive payments, there has to be documentation,” he says. “Oral history and developing archives are time-sensitive processes, as well.”

Arbeiter remains unassuaged. “Please don’t divert funds from the needy, the hungry, the poor,” he implores. “They suffered enough in their lives — it’s better people in their 80s and 90s don’t have to beg. Let them live in dignity."

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Banes Raise Big Money for Israel Bonds with a Little Help from Their Friends

GARY BAND
Jewish Journal Staff

SALEM — When Ralph Kaplan asked Richard and Tami Bane if they would lend their name to help Israel Bonds raise $1 million, they had their doubts. But with some help, the Banes and some generous members of the North Shore community accomplished that and then some.

Fundraising efforts up to and including the annual North Shore Reception at the Kernwood Country Club on May 29 generated an estimated $3.2 million in Israel Bonds sales.

Though he offered no comparison to past event takes, Executive Director of Israel Bonds in Boston Jonathan Lang said the amount raised this year was “very, very big.” Dozens of events similar to the North Shore Reception are held throughout Greater Boston every year. And together with those held around the world, an estimated $1.3 billion is annually deposited into the Israeli Treasury. More than $26 billion has been raised in investment capital in 52 years.

“This is the only opportunity people have to write a check directly to Israel,” Lang said.

The Salem event, attended by over 200 friends and supporters, honored the Banes with the Israel Unity Award, and welcomed Ido Aharoni, Spokesman and General Consul for Media and Public Affairs for the Consulate General in New York, who spoke briefly on the situation in Israel.

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When a Good Rabbi Happens to a Local Congregation

BRETT M. RHYNE
Jewish Journal Staff

PEABODY — Noted author Rabbi Harold Kushner considers Temple Ner Tamid’s David Klatzker the quintessential rabbi.

“This is what a rabbi does,” Kushner told Klatzker’s enthralled congregation. “He forges people from disparate backgrounds into a single organism. He helps them find the holiness in everyday life.”

Rabbi Kushner, most well known for his book, When Good Things Happen to Bad People, addressed 180 people at a June 1 dinner celebrating Klatzker’s fifth anniversary as Ner Tamid’s spiritual leader.

The two rabbis have been friends since 1983, when Klatzker worked as an associate rabbi under Kushner at Temple Israel in Natick. They also share roots in Reconstructionist Judaism, both having attended Dr. Mordechai Kaplan’s seminary in Philadelphia.

Kushner praised Klatzker for acting on Kaplan’s “two most important ideas: “the centrality of community for Jewish people” and “the potential holiness of everyday beings.”
“One of the most fundamental tenets of Jewish faith is that anything God created is potentially holy,” Rabbi Kushner said.

“We were a people before we were a faith,” he said. “Out of the shared experiences of slavery in Egypt, being freed from that slavery and wandering in the desert for 40 years, came our religious faith. Our religion rested on community.”

“When the center of gravity is on community and not on belief,” Rabbi Kushner said, “You can have a congregation of people who differ theologically.” In this way, “we are more like a family and less like a political or ideological organization.”

Rabbi Klatzker, 52, hails from Los Angeles. His doctoral dissertation, written at Temple University, considered American travelers to the Holy Land in the 19th century.

In 1985, Rabbi Klatzker was one of two New England Conservative rabbis to visit refuseniks in Russia and Lithuania. “Those were the bad old days,” he said. “In Vilnius, we were detained and interrogated by the KGB. We were told if we continued meeting with Jews, we would be expelled. The courage of the refuseniks was remarkable — they would be followed, their houses bugged. In one family’s home, we had to write notes to each other, because we couldn’t speak out loud.”

Klatzer attended Reconstructionist Rabbinical College but joined the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly 15 years ago. “Even as a Reconstructionist, I felt myself to be more traditional. Rabbi Kushner is also a product of the Reconstructionist movement; Harold and I have talked a lot about Mordechai Kaplan.”

Rabbi Klatzker and his wife, attorney and Jewish educator Randy Katz, have three children: Micah, 18, Judah, 14, and Meira, 10.
Several speakers lauded Rabbi Klatzker.

“The most exciting part of working with your rabbi is on the North Shore Rabbinical Council,” said Rabbi Howard Kosovske of nearby Temple Beth Shalom. “He brings to the table a calmness, a sense of reason. We have enjoyed such Jewish and intellectual growth in the five years he has been here.”

“Rabbi Klatzker is a talented and gifted rabbi,” said Ner Tamid Rabbi Emeritus Abraham Morhaim. “He is uniquely prepared to achieve the goal of making this a Jewish community of action.”

In his response, Rabbi Klatzker noted, “I’m not the same rabbi you hired five years ago. I’ve learned a lot from you. The rabbi-congregation is not always what is expected, but it can be marvelous.”

“I’m going to feel the vibes of this evening for many years to come,” he said. “Thank you for these five years to serve you, to learn from you. I hope to continue for many years to come."

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Local Job Seekers Prepare for Long Search

MARK ARNOLD
Jewish Journal Staff

SALEM — They meet every other Thursday to swap stories, hints, leads. Most of all, they meet to recommit to The Search.

The Search unites 10 job seekers at this meeting of what is known informally as the Employee Network Group. They are nine men and one woman, all white collar, some with advanced degrees. Like an increasing number of today’s educated jobless, they have been without steady jobs for periods ranging from several months to more than two years. It’s a fluid group; membership shifts from session to session.

Two people have found work since Jon Firger, Chief Executive of Jewish Family Service (JFS), set up the group in late March, after a networking meeting for the jobless run by the Jewish Professional & Business Association of the Federation.

How do they go about The Search? What sacrifices are they and their families making? How are their spirits? The Journal was allowed to attend a recent meeting of the group in the hopes that publicity might humanize their situations and aid members in their job search.
The members represent a range of ages (mid-thirties to mid-sixties) and disciplines, a mixture of Old Economy and New — almost all displaced by economy-induced personnel cutbacks with little warning. Most have exhausted their unemployment insurance.

James Cohen worked in materials management for Partners HealthCare; Jeff Eulow was in inventory control at Digital Equipment, which became Compaq, which became Hewlett-Packard when he lost his job. Michael Minzer was an advertising sales manager for electronics publications. Steve Rosenfeld is a mechanical engineer with a background in manufacturing; Joel Weingarten a program marketing manager in the software industry; Mark Mulgay, a former state legislature staffer; Larry Buxbaum a marketing communications manager; Ed Caplan a financial and accounting manager; Howard Caras, a computer programmer and analyst.

Firger runs the sessions — in the conference room of the Jewish Federation of the North Shore — with a mixture of sympathetic counsel and tough love, a carryover from his training as a social worker. He is quietly supportive and empathetic as each one describes his job-seeking efforts. But he nudges them to set and follow stretching goals from one session to the next, reminding them what they committed to accomplishing last time, if they have forgotten.

JFS pays for three counseling sessions for each member at Jewish Vocational Service in Boston. There, they get advice on constructing a winning resumé, tailoring it as needed, building a network of helpful contacts, and conducting positive job interviews. They also are tested to identify their strengths, which can ideally be used to open up new career paths. Their coach at JVS is George Zeller, a 20-year employment adviser, who helps prepare them to land a job.

In the current economic climate, that’s not easy. Says Zeller:

“The big difference now is that people are out of work longer than anytime before in my experience. It used to be rare for someone to be looking for six months or a year. Now, with fewer job opportunities, candidates have to do networking more than before.”

Zeller advises job seekers not to go into an interview asking for a job. “If you do that, and the employer says ‘no,’ then the interview is pretty much over,” he says. “What you have to do is develop long-term relationships. You find out what they’re looking for, get some names of other contacts from them, ask for feedback on how you conduct yourself. Forming relationships means that when something pops up, they will see you as a potential candidate.”

Agrees Firger: “It’s an employers’ market these days. They can take their time making a personnel decision. They know they’re not going to lose you to another offer.”

All the members at this session report trimming their lifestyle to accommodate reduced incomes.

To make ends meet, several have temporary jobs: as a retail sales clerk, driving a shuttle bus. Some do occasional consulting or volunteer their services if no one will pay for them.

To keep motivated, “you need to keep a balance in your life,” observes Buxbaum. “Putting goals on a sheet of paper works for me because once I’ve written them down, I have to go after them.” “You need to have a routine and stick to it,” adds Rosenfeld, whose own routine includes daily meditation. Mulgay’s includes daily minyan sessions. All report frequent rides on an emotional roller coaster.

The group is open to any job seeker in the community. For information, or to learn more about one of the job seekers, contact Jon Firger at 978-741-7878, or email him at jfirger@jfsns.org.

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JEWISH JOURNAL STAFF

The Jewish Community Center of the North Shore is negotiating to sell 16 acres of land from Camp Simchah, its 112-acre summer day camp in Middleton. Two prospective buyers, a private developer and a social service agency, are bidding for the parcel, which is now not in use, according to Center Executive Director Sandy Sheckman. A deal is expected to be completed this summer.

Sheckman emphasized that the operations of the camp will be unaffected by the sale. “Camp Simchah will continue its long tradition of Jewish camping on the North Shore, with no interruption in programs and services,” she said, “not this summer nor future summers.”

The land is being sold at this time “to maximize the use of our assets,” according to Sheckman. Some of the proceeds — expected to be in excess of $1.5 million —will go to retire the Center’s deficit. .

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Looking Beyond the Summit: Does Peace Have a Chance?

LESLIE SUSSER

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A double dose of optimism and skepticism led up to this week’s summit at the Red Sea resort of Aqaba, but what really matters is what comes next.

Hardened by past failures, Israelis and Palestinians alike recognize that there is still a long way to go, and a lot that could still go wrong after President Bush’s June 4 meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas.

There are, for example, still dozens of warnings of planned terrorist attacks, and a new round of suicide bombings could quickly derail a reactivated peace process.

And even if the parties are able to make the first moves Bush is asking of them, they will encounter major problems down the road: Will they be able to agree on the final size of the Palestinian state, on the extent of its sovereignty, on Jerusalem and the refugee question? And what about the rejectionists on both sides? Will the Palestinians have the power to collect illegal weapons held by Hamas and Islamic Jihad? Will Israel be able to dismantle settlements?

In other words, can Abbas face down the fundamentalists and can Sharon deal with the settlers?
One far-right Israeli Cabinet minister, Avigdor Lieberman of National Union, warns that “any attempt to dismantle settlements will lead to civil war.”

Despite all the questions, there was a fresh breath of optimism in the air this week.
Israeli generals are talking about the end of the nearly three-year-long Palestinian uprising. Palestinians are delighted by Sharon’s unprecedented use of the term “occupation” and are looking forward to the occupation’s end. And most importantly, both sides have been sobered by what they see as the American administration’s newfound determination to put an end to the long conflict between them.

Indicative of the new mood, the Israeli stock market, sluggish during the intifada years, has been skyrocketing.
The Aqaba summit, designed to jump-start a new peace process, was first and foremost a statement about the degree of American commitment.

Bush, who had carefully kept his distance from the treacherous Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is now making clear that he intends to play an active role and to exert heavy pressure wherever necessary.

On Monday, Bush vowed to “put in as much time as necessary” to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace. Bush made his comments in France before leaving for the Middle East, where he attended a summit in Egypt with Arab leaders on June 3 and the next day met with Sharon and Abbas in Jordan.

At the meeting with leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the Palestinian Authority at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Bush said Israel “must deal with the settlements.” Israel must “make sure there is continuous territory that the Palestinians can call home.”

These comments appeared to back up statements he made in late May, when he assured the French newspaper Le Figaro that he would have no compunction about pressuring Sharon.

“If I were afraid to make the decisions necessary to move the process forward, I wouldn’t have gone on this trip to the Middle East,” he declared.

A few days earlier, in a private conversation at the White House, Bush was reportedly asked how he could be sure Sharon would go along with him and make the necessary concessions. “Because he owes me,” the president replied confidently.
Indeed, Sharon has a lot to thank the American president for.

The American-led war in Iraq removed a major strategic threat to Israel; the United States allowed Sharon virtually a free hand in fighting Palestinian terror; and in the run-up to Israel’s acceptance of the American-inspired “road map” to peace, Bush gave the green light for a billion-dollar defense deal under which Israel is to supply India with state-of-the-art Phalcon air-mounted radar systems.

At Tuesday’s summit, Arab states agreed to Bush’s request to back the road map.

The president is also asking Egypt and Jordan to send ambassadors back to Israel as soon as there are tangible signs of progress.
At the Aqaba summit on Wednesday, both Sharon and Abbas made far-reaching commitments: Abbas announced an end to the armed intifada against Israel.

“We will spare no effort, using all our resources, to end the militarization of the intifada, and we will succeed,” he declared. “The armed intifada must end and we must resort to peaceful means in our quest to end the occupation.”

Sharon came out strongly in favor of Palestinian statehood, and promised to start removing what he called “unauthorized” settler outposts.

“It is in Israel’s interest not to govern the Palestinians, but for the Palestinians to govern themselves in their own state,” he averred.
And he added that Israel was fully aware of the Palestinians’ need for contiguous territory on the West Bank for that state to be viable.
Bush carefully listed the major commitments made by both parties, and made it clear that he would hold them accountable.

“These leaders of conscience have made their declarations today in the cause of peace,” he said. “We expect both parties to keep their promises.”

The president also named John Wolf to be special U.S. Middle East envoy to help implement the road map. A team headed by Wolf, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for nonproliferation, was slated to arrive in the Middle East following the summit.

As far as he went in condemning terror and violence against “Israelis everywhere,” Abbas failed to commit to the notion of Israel as a Jewish state.

Abbas, meanwhile, has said it will take weeks before Palestinian security forces are in a position to keep the peace.

Still, the Palestinians have at least three reasons to achieve and maintain a cease-fire:
• the weakness of the post-Iraq Arab world;
•Sharon’s planned security fence, which would leave them only small truncated areas of the West Bank if they don’t cut a deal soon; and
• the fact that a triumphal George Bush is ready to lean on Israel. If the Palestinians keep the cease-fire, and Bush pressures Israel to make major reciprocal moves, Sharon could be the one leader strong enough to make concessions and carry the country with him.

Leslie Susser is the diplomatic correspondent for the Jerusalem Report..

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Features

A Magical Journey With Papa

LEO LIEBERMAN

When I was a child, going on a Sunday outing was a special event — especially if Papa had the day off, which didn’t happen often. Days before, Papa would announce, “This Sunday, I won’t have to work, so we can have the morning together and give your Mama some time to herself.”

Mama looked pleased because then she would have the whole morning to “straighten up,” which meant doing the laundry (and there were no washing machines), dusting and polishing and cleaning. And rearranging the dishes so that there would be more room in the cabinets, and polishing the silverware and.... You get the picture, a morning to herself, without me underfoot to complain, “I’m bored. What can I do?”

One time Papa said I should eat a good breakfast because we were going on a real hike. I managed to finish my hot cereal and drink my glass of milk even though I couldn’t wait to get started. And then Papa took me by the hand after Mama told me to wear my warm sweater so that I wouldn’t catch a chill. And so we left the house and walked toward Claremont Park (zoo) going up one narrow street and down another. But then came the wonderful part. As we walked, Papa began to say that we were going on a trip to Africa— and The Bronx was miraculously transformed. The trees on the streets became exotic jungle foliage and the tenements were transformed into native huts.

Every so often Papa would point me in a direction and say, “Look at that herd of elephants over there.” And we kept very still so as not to frighten them. Or we would see a flock of wild and exotic birds overhead winging their way across the native terrain.

And as we entered the park, we marveled at the wild beasts drinking so peacefully at the water hole and Papa explained to me in a soft voice about all the ways of the wild animals and he held my hand tight as I pressed against him, assuring me that I need not be frightened. All was under control and I was safe. And indeed I was. I learned about the rain forests and the special plants that grew in the jungle and about the animals that came to feed and were not disturbed by civilized man who came to hunt them.

And Papa told me about the people who inhabited the land, how they lived in simple huts, how they grew their own food. And once in awhile we spotted a group of “natives” in the distance, dressed in their ceremonial robes. But we did not approach them because we didn’t want to interfere with the special rites that they were performing.

But together Papa and I walked, hand in hand, millions of miles away from where we lived, taking in the strange sights and sounds. We continued this safari until I began to get hungry and reluctantly we retraced our steps. Taking a slightly different route, in the distance we spotted our apartment house and climbed the three flights to our apartment where Mama had prepared lunch for us. We washed our hands first (of course) and then sat down to a plate of hot vegetable soup and fresh bread and butter. And while we ate, Mama asked if we had a good morning and I said that it was the best.

A few years later, I asked Papa to retrace that special journey with me and something terrible happened. The tenements were just old tenements and the park was just a quiet park. The birds were just sparrows and pigeons and there were no exotic animals or natives in ceremonial dress.

Something had happened and Papa couldn’t explain what had taken place. It was a world that had vanished, a world that I had been part of and had shared for a short time with Papa. And I suppose that I should be grateful for that.

Excerpted from the book, Memories of Laughter and Garlic: Jewish Wit, Wisdom, and Humor To Warm Your Heart, by Leo Lieberman ($12.95, www.comteqpublishing.com). Leo can be reached at features@comteqcom.com.

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JTA News Briefs

Bush Meets Arab Leaders

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Meeting Tuesday with Arab leaders in Egypt, President Bush said Israel “must deal with the settlements.” Israel must “make sure there is continuous territory that the Palestinians can call home,” he said at the meeting at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik, with leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the Palestinian Authority. Arab leaders at the summit endorsed the “road map” for peace.

According to Israel Radio, the meeting was delayed after Arab leaders refused an American appeal to agree to normalize ties with Israel. Arab leaders did, however, agree to crack down on terrorism and funding for terror in their countries. Bush also said a “few terrorists” cannot be allowed to prevent a political settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. The U.S. president was slated to meet Wednesday with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers in Jordan.

‘Road Map’ Envoy Named

WASHINGTON (JTA) — John Wolf was named a special U.S. Middle East envoy to help implement the “road map” for Israeli-Palestinian peace. A team headed by Wolf, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for nonproliferation, was slated to arrive in the Middle East following Wednesday’s summit with President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Wolf is relatively unknown, and has little experience in the Middle East conflict, according to reports.

Israel Frees Prisoners

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israeli army freed some 100 Palestinian prisoners Tuesday as part of conciliatory gestures toward the Palestinians. The prisoners released Tuesday included the longest held detainee, Ahmed Jubarah, also known as Abu Sukar, who spent 28 years in jail for his role in a 1975 refrigerator bombing in downtown Jerusalem that killed 13 people and wounded 70 others. Also released was a PLO executive committee member, Taiser Khaled.

U.S. Troops Raid P.A. Offices

JERUSALEM (JTA) — U.S. troops raided Palestinian Authority offices in Baghdad.
Several Palestinians were arrested and weapons were seized during the May 30 raid, and soldiers reportedly ransacked the building. The raid occurred in a part of Baghdad where a U.S. soldier was recently killed.

Israel to Get Shtetl Museum

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A “living history” museum that recreates the world of the shtetl had its groundbreaking in Israel. The Shtetl Museum, opened on June 1 in Rishon le-Zion, will focus on Jewish life in Eastern European communities. It will recreate the world of the shtetl, complete with a market, homes and schools.

Members of ‘Lost Tribe’ Arrive in Israel

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Some 50 members of the Bnei Menashe community in northeastern India arrived in Israel on Tuesday. After the community members, who say they are members of a lost tribe of Israel, complete the conversion process, they will be granted new immigrant status, Israel Radio reported. Some 700 members of the community have immigrated to Israel, the report said.

Paper’s Cartoon Causes Uproar

NEW YORK (JTA) — Readers of the Chicago Tribune are complaining about an editorial cartoon they see as anti-Semitic. The cartoon, which appeared last Friday, depicts President Bush laying down dollar bills in front of a heavyset man with large nose and Star of David on his jacket. The man, who is meant to be Ariel Sharon, says, “On second thought, the pathway to peace is looking a bit brighter.” The Tribune’s ombudsman, Don Wycliff, said he agrees that the cartoon reinforces anti-Semitic stereotypes.

Bush Visits Auschwitz

NEW YORK (JTA) — President Bush visited the site of the Auschwitz death camp. Bush and his wife, Laura, spent more than an hour and a half Saturday touring the camp in Poland where 1.5 million people were killed by the Nazis, 90 percent of them Jews.

The Bushes walked through a gas chamber and laid wreaths at both Auschwitz and nearby Birkenau.

“The sites are a sobering reminder of the power of evil and the need for people to resist evil,” Bush said.

First Lady to Attend Exhibit

WASHINGTON (JTA) — First Lady Laura Bush is to attend the opening of a new Anne Frank exhibit at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum this month.

Sources tell JTA the first lady will attend the June 11 opening at the Washington museum, and that President Bush will host a dinner for his “friends in the Jewish community” at the White House that evening.

The new exhibit includes new diaries, photo albums and other writings of the famous teen-aged Holocaust victim that have never before been seen outside the Netherlands.

She’s a Mystical — and Rich — Girl

NEW YORK (JTA) — Madonna reportedly is funding a new building for the London Kabbalah Centre.
The singer, who in recent years has become a student of Jewish mysticism, and her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, donated nearly $6 million to help the center move into a 10,000-square-foot building. Madonna also is writing a series of children’s books based on kabbalistic parables.

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Arts & Entertainment

Budapest Artist Captures Jewish Experience

RUTH E. GRUBER
BUDAPEST (JTA) — A huge portrait dominated the main room of Hungarian painter Laszlo Feher’s most recent exhibition, a major show held this spring at a leading Budapest gallery.

It was a close-up, hyper-realist rendition of a somber-looking man leaning forward, gazing intently out of the picture — and wearing a black yarmulke on his slightly balding head.

The portrait is of the writer Gabor T. Szanto, a modern Orthodox Jew who is editor in chief of the Budapest Jewish monthly Szombat.
“It is not just a painting of my face,” Szanto told JTA. “In the painting Feher somehow incorporated his own feelings about my Jewishness, about his Jewishness — perhaps about the changes that took place in the 1990s, and even perhaps his feelings about Jewish fate in general and 1,000 years of Jewish history.

“Maybe,” he added, “that’s why I look sadder than I really am.”

Jews, Judaism and the often tragic sweep of Jewish experience in Central Europe permeate the work of Feher, who, at 50, is one of Hungary’s most prominent contemporary artists.

“Judaism imbues my life,” he said in an interview with JTA. “It’s what I am. It’s how I feel. My community is the Jewish community — that’s where I feel my best.”

A short, dark-haired man with a broad smile and black beard, Feher began to explore Jewish issues in the late 1970s, in an attempt to assert and define his own personal and artistic identity.

It was a provocative choice with a deliberate message. At the time, Jewish life in Communist Hungary was oppressed, Jewish themes were considered taboo subjects and memory of the Holocaust was marginalized.

“In the 1970s, it was a closed society here,” he told JTA. “I painted abandoned Jewish cemeteries.”

One of these early Jewish canvases, from 1979, shows a toppled tombstone whose carved Hebrew inscription is almost obscured by shadows and undergrowth, symbolizing both the annihilation of Jews in the Shoah and the repression under the communist regime.
In paintings like this, art historian Eva Forgacs wrote in a book about Feher, “it seems as if the past were not over and the present were not alive.”

Another canvas, from 1982, is a huge, meticulous and surprisingly haunting depiction of a crumbled sheet of matzah. The painting, which measures more than 6 feet by more than 4 feet, is titled “Diaspora.”

The broken matzah served as a powerful metaphor for the shattered and demoralized state of Hungarian Jewry.

“In focusing and enlarging a ritual object,” Forgacs wrote, “Feher has imparted a ritual significance” to his work.

The Jewish references in Feher’s work are both explicit and symbolic.

His paintings include still life arrangements of Jewish ritual objects, portraits of Jewish individuals such as Szanto and scenes incorporating rabbis, Jewish symbols or people at prayer.

Many others make oblique reference to Jewish experience by dealing with memory, alienation, separateness and the legacy of the past.
Feher frequently employs transparent figures drawn in outline, situated like ghosts — or memories — against background scenes that are either realistic or flat black or colored spaces.

A canvas from 1992, called “The Prayer,” depicts the chalk-white outline of a boy wearing a yarmulke, seated against a black background in a synagogue pew and under a clock with Hebrew letters running backward, instead of numbers, to mark the time.

The centrality of Jewish imagery in Feher’s work — and of Judaism itself in his life — is all the more remarkable because Feher was not born Jewish.

The son of a teacher, he grew up in a small town near Budapest. As a small child, he developed a mystical belief in God that soon developed into a deep commitment to Judaism.

“I have felt that I was Jewish since I was 10 years old,” he told JTA.

Feher formally converted to Judaism when he was in his 20s. Today he is an active member of the Budapest Jewish community, and he and his family lead a committed Jewish life.

“It is really fantastic how Jewish life and Jewish education in Hungary have flourished since 1989,” he said.

Feher’s two children attend Budapest’s Ronald S. Lauder Javne Jewish day school, one of a number of Jewish institutions that have opened since the fall of communism.

Feher’s teen-aged son, David, speaks Hebrew, regularly attends services and has won prizes for Jewish studies.

“We brought the children up to be proud of being Jewish,” Feher said, “to be brave and open about being Jewish. We are not from the

Holocaust generation, and we should not let fear get into our genetic make-up.”

Feher feels that the continuation of Jewish life in the Diaspora is as important as Jewish life in Israel, but he also feels deeply linked to Israel, where his wife has many relatives.

His first visit to Israel, at Passover three years ago, made a profound impression on him and led to a cycle of paintings about the Jewish state that formed the basis of an exhibition.

“The trip was a Bar Mitzvah present for our son,” he said. “It was a very emotional experience.

“I had been dreaming of making such a trip for years and felt mentally very prepared,” he said. “But then, when we landed, it was unbelievable. I got off the plane, and immediately felt something surge from the depths of my soul. I love this country, Israel.”

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Israelis Get Pinch of Stardust

GIL SEDAN

DALIAT AL-CARMEL, Israel (JTA) — Away from the big city tumult, residents in this quiet Druse village on Mt. Carmel in the Galilee are enjoying a dose of stardust.

Richard Gere, a movie star and a gentleman — not to mention a political activist — dropped in for a visit and told a select group of Jews, Arabs and Druse that perhaps religious leaders should take the reins of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Gere came to Israel at the invitation of his friend Bernie Glassman, an aeronautical engineer and mathematician who has become a Zen Buddhist. Glassman is founder of the Peacemaker Circle, a global, multifaith network combining spiritual practice and social action.

Gere’s “emotional explorations” have taken him from Zen to Tibetan Buddhism, which brought him close to the Dalai Lama and have made him a prominent voice in the United States for the Tibetan freedom movement.

Perhaps, Glassman and Gere thought, they might harness their spiritual resources to resolve the seemingly endless conflict between the Holy Land’s warring parties.

On Monday, the two came to the residence of veteran Druse peace activist Sheik Ali Birani to talk peace — or rather, to listen to a seemingly endless barrage of peaceful messages.

Gere spent most of the meeting listening politely, then admitted that it was still not quite clear to him how he could contribute to “positive solutions.”

All agreed that it’s crucial to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The problem is that none of them has the answer for how to do it.

Bar-Deah suggested that the problem of Jerusalem should be resolved by religious leaders who could work out a formula satisfying the aspirations of all religions, and Gere quickly praised the idea. He, too, shares the feeling that the most effective way to achieve peace is “through meetings like this one” and political dialogues among religious leaders, “in the spirit of the Dalai Lama.”

Everyone nodded in agreement — then rushed to stand in line for a group photo with Gere, who had to inform his fans that there would be only “one more, absolutely final photo until the end of the day” — which, alas, was followed by another photo, and yet another and another.

Gere was the second mega-star to visit Israel in a week. Singer Whitney Houston came last week “on a spiritual visit” as a guest of the Black Hebrews in Dimona and resolved to come back in the fall to film a Christmas special.

The visits coincided with dramatic developments in the peace process — Israel’s acceptance of the “road map” peace plan and the preparations for Wednesday’s summit meeting in Aqaba, Jordan. Though few Israelis took the visits as the light at the end of the intifada tunnel, certainly it was a refreshing change from the time when celebrities struck Israel off their itineraries, either for security reasons or to make a political point.

Indeed, Prince Assiel, a representative of the Black Hebrews in the United States, said Houston came to “promote tourism to Israel.” But both stars were careful not to make any binding political statements.

Of course, the problem with such visits is the partial image the visitor gets. One could get the impression from the visit in Daliat al-Carmel that all Jews and Arabs are devoted to peace, and only a handful of political leaders are blocking their way.

“All the people here are involved in action for peace between Jews and Arabs in Israel,” Tamir told Gere, “but we are also working hard on dialogues with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.”

For a moment, Gere threw Tamir off balance when he asked whether she trusted Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s commitment to peace.
Tamir, one of the founders of Peace Now and a strong critic of Sharon, did not want to belittle the Israeli leader before an international celebrity. She merely warned that the peace process still faces plenty of obstacles and urged Gere to help build stronger support for the Israeli left within the American political community.

“American support for the Israeli left has eroded in recent years,” she complained.

Gere made no promises.

In contrast, Hassan Amer, from the Arab village of Kafr Kassem, told Gere he was concerned about the poor image of Arabs in American films.

“Don’t always portray the Muslims as the evil guys. You should stress our role as human beings,” he said.

Reluctant to speak on behalf of the entire movie industry, Gere assured Amer that he had neither starred in such movies nor even watched them.

Gere insisted on refraining from political statements, but ended the meeting with an optimistic tone: “I know from physics that out of a total mess of conflicting powers, something positive can come out. I believe this could be the case here.”

During his two day-visit, Gere met twice with a selected group of Israeli businessmen and was scheduled to meet Tuesday in Ramallah with representatives of the Palestinian film and theater industry.

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Singles

The Manners Maven: Taking Guesswork Out of Guest Invites

JODI R. SMITH
Special to the Jewish Journal

Dear Maven,

I am a single, 27 year old man about to embark on the wedding season circuit. I have six weddings I am attending this summer. Three invited me with a guest, the other three did not. Did the second set forget to write “and guest” on the invitation? When do I get to bring a guest? What is the deal?

— Single Stud

Dear Single Stud,

With wedding invitations, as with all invitations, only those listed on the envelope are invited to the event. The official etiquette line is that those who are married, engaged, living together (not just roommates) or having a significant relationship with another individual are invited as a couple. After that, it is up to the bridal couple to decide if single guests are invited alone or not.

The general rule of thumb is that if there are going to be a good number of singles of both genders in the same age range, then guests are invited solo. If, however, the vast majority of the guests are arriving as couples, then the singles are invited with a guest. As a single, you should look forward to those events you are invited to solo because weddings are a fabulous place to meet potential romantic partners. For further information, you should call the bride to find out who else is on the single list to see if you want her to arrange an introduction!

And remember, with weddings, it is best to send the gift to the bride in advance. Wedding gifts brought to the event can be misplaced or broken. Enjoy the social season .

– Jodi

For answers to your etiquette emergencies, email the Manners Maven at editor@jewishjournal.org.
© 2003 Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting. All rights reserved.

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Editorial

Israel Chooses Option Four: A New Bid for Peace

After more than two years of avoidance, President Bush has injected himself
directly into the Israel-Palestinian conflict, hosting a summit June 4 at the Red Sea
resort of Aqaba in Jordan for Israeli Prime Minster Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. His vision of “two states, living side by side, in peace,” reiterated there, lies at the heart of the road map that sets forth the steps that could lead Palestinian self-rule in 2005.

Certainly, those steps are strewn with obstacles. But some major hurdles have already been overcome: Sharon got Washington to repudiate Yasser Arafat, who is, after all, the elected leader of the Palestinian people; in their place now stands Abbas, whom the Israeli leader considers a moderate. It’s clear that, while he had his own motives for invading Iraq, Bush’s lightning fast war to overthrow Saddam Hussein also removed a serious threat to Israel’s security.

By Washington’s calculation, it then became Israel’s turn to pay the piper. This Sharon did, first by declaring — to the consternation of many in his government and beyond — that it did not serve Israel’s interest to continue — and here he used language that Israeli officials have long resisted — “the occupation” of Palestinian areas. And finally, he declared at the end of the Aqaba meeting his support for establishment of “a democratic Palestinian state fully at peace with Israel.” He added, in a clever twist, that that state (and not Israel) should become the Palestinian homeland for Arab refugees seeking a “right of return.”
For his part, Abbas called for an end to the “armed intifada” and atacks on Israelis “wherever they may be.” That includes settlements and outposts, which will become prime objects of contention when negotiations begin in earnest.

Israel really has only four options for dealing with the Palestinians. It could evict them and invoke the wrath of the world; it could incorporate them into the existing Jewish state, but that would be demographic suicide given the Arab growth rates; it could continue the current situation, with its huge cost to the Israeli and Palestinian economies and its huge toll of human suffering on both sides. Or it could join in a new initiative for peace with a new prospective partner (Abbas), under the watchful eyes of a sympathetic U.S. president, with strong international backing.
Cynics on one side think Sharon’s choice of the fourth option is merely a tactical ploy to gain sympathy while he works behind the scenes to maintain the status quo. Cynics on the other side make exactly the same argument about Abbas.

We hope both sets of cynics are wrong. More than hope, we pray that Sharon — arguably the strongest Israeli leader since Ben Gurion — and Abbas, still untested, will prove themselves to be courageous leaders, who, weary of war and destruction, will strive to make a breakthrough for peace that will benefit both their peoples, and the world.

MARK ARNOLD
Jewish Journal Editor/Publisher

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Local Columnists

Keeping Israeli Children Not Only Jewish but Safe

DOV BURT LEVY
Jewish Journal North of Boston

Children Jewish” is not just an inspiring motto for the Jewish community north of Boston, based upon Robert Lappin’s dream and financial contributions to our community.

Lappin gets my Kol HaKavod (all honor) for being the champion of his dream, which means complete passion, dedication, intelligence, leadership and time, time, time, to the task. If you don’t believe me, read about Martin Luther King, Bill Gates or Hyman Rickover. It is never easy.
“Keeping our Children Jewish” has given rise to real operating programs of education for children and teachers, positive involvement for interfaith families, and events, including visits to Israel, to instill Jewish pride in our children.

I now raise a complementary, but no less daunting, mission: “Helping to keep our Israeli children safe and Jewish.”

I don’t want to shock you, but the Zionist vision of the Jewish people becoming a normal nation on their own land has come true. We are the farmers, police and professors. But our ranks also include lawbreakers and those who mistreat kids.

The rights of children — what they need to grow up safe and protected — are crucial to their development as mature adults. But, if our kids are not protected in a Jewish state, then their humanity, and perhaps especially their Jewishness, are likely to be demeaned and denied.

Safe and protected. First thoughts are of terrorist bombs and shootings that have killed hundreds of Israeli children. Tragically, those children are gone; nothing will bring them back.
I think now of the living. Among them are kids who have been physically, emotionally or sexually abused, by parents or other adults. They include children whose schools do not function as required by law so that students can grow intellectually and socially to the best of their ability.

Israel, like most countries, has institutions like courts or police or government offices where children are caught in red tape and legalese and need to be helped by someone protecting their rights. I mean all the psychoses and misdemeanors and felonies that hurt kids.

With all Israel’s accomplishments — and they are many — come all the human failings found everywhere.And everything is made more difficult by the dislocation inherent in the mass immigration that we love, and by the 55-year-old war that we hate.

While the majority of Israeli children make it to age 18 with no extraordinary threats or deprivations, many —too many — need outside help and advocacy to insure protection and justice. Children’s issues also need political and bureaucratic advocacy.

Enter here: The Israel National Council for the Child (NCC), with a staff of 26, including my daughter, Elizabeth, and dozens of volunteers working in every corner of Israel, for every Israeli kid of every religion and background.

Its director, Yitzhak Kadman, is a world-class champion for this child-defense agency, which operates in the tough Israeli milieu using many of the best American advocacy values. For example, it takes no government money so as not to have to compromise when confronting government institutions.
Through the NCC’s efforts since 1980, children’s rights moved to a much higher place on Israel’s national agenda. Many thousands of individual kids have been helped with problems that will anger you because they happened and make you happy about the resolution. Most important, legislation or other community actions often followed to insure that other kids were protected.

Robert Lappin and Yitzhak Kadman would like each other. Both men operate with enormous passion, determination and creativity, without fear or to curry favor.
To be continued next issue…

Dov Burt Levy is a Salem, MA based columnist. He can be reached at dblevy@columnist. com..

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Maimonides on the Spin Cycle

ELLEN GOLUB
Jewish Journal North of Boston

“Not to belabor the laundry issue, or to disrespect Maimonides, but I humbly suggest that we change the menu on Shavuot,” I declare to my confused family.

“Huh?” The kids are clueless.

“No cheese blintzes for Shavuot. No ice cream. Just a nice, hearty steak,” I offer.

“Mmm. Steak!!” croons Alex.

“No blintzes?” mourns Zoe.

“But we always have milchiks for Shavuot,” says Yoni.

“Because the Torah is milk and honey to your tongue,” chimes in Reb Frannie, who thinks she can educate her foolish mother. “Milk and honey represent the giving of the Torah.”
I sometimes wonder why HaShem chose to give the Torah to this argumentative, stiff-necked people.

“Exactly my point,” I patiently explain. “When HaShem gave us the Torah, Rashi says we responded ‘like one man with one heart.’ We were all there standing at Sinai. Remember? And with one voice we said, ‘Naaseh Venishma’ (We will do and we will understand).”

“You want us to have only one voice?” Yoni is irate. “And you think you’re God?” A nation of commentators produces such children.

“And why would you dis Rambam (Maimonides)?” my younger son pouts. “You’ve got a real attitude problem, Mom.”

I ignore the insurrection. I place a bottle of detergent on the table, next to a bin overflowing with soiled clothes. Alex is quick and intuitive. He bellows like a wounded moose, “Not laundry, No! Not laundry!”

“A brief d’var Torah (commentary) ,” I say, “and the introduction of the 614th commandment.”

Both my girls shout, “But there are only 613!”

“Actually,” I tell them, “Maimonides perpetrated a fraud on the Jewish people. When he counted all the mitzvot in the Torah and came up with 613, he forgot to include the one to do laundry.”

At last they shout in one voice, ‘like one man, with one heart,’ as Rashi says. “There’s no mitzvah to do laundry in the Torah!”

I am coming to the end of my Omer. I have found the Sinaitic prevarication, the ultimate mis-interpretation, the big lie, the cosmic rip-off. No wonder the mountain shook.

“Sh’mot (Exodus) 19:10,” I announce, like a TV preacher. “And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their garments.’”

“Your point?” one of my heathens shouts.

“My point,” I explain, “is that like the first mitzvah of peru ur’vu (Be fruitful and multiply), the laundry mitzvah is given in the masculine plural. All such mitzvot are binding upon men. Yet somehow, when the Rambam was making his list, he left it off.”

“‘Appoint judges. Blot out Amalek . Say Sh’ma twice a day. Rest on the Sabbath.’ But where’s the laundry mitzvah and why did he leave it out? In the shadow of Mount Sinai, all the Israelites washed their garments and then ‘came not near a woman.’ Hah! In pasook (verse) 15 it is even implied that the people who did the laundry are the same people who came not near a woman, which to me sounds like the guys were at that time following God’s directions and doing their own laundry.”

The children are contemplating melting me into a Golden Calf. I can see it in their eyes. “Don’t you see?” I plead, “The feminization of the Torah and Shavuot — the milk and honey — it’s all a scam to get women to do the laundry.”

“You want Dad to do the laundry?” Fran asks in disgust. “Remember when he turned all my clothes pink?”
“I want,” I say firmly, “for the jig to be up. I want this nation of priests to accept their mitzvot. I am serving fleish (meat) on Shavuot because I am unmasking the truth about this holiday. There is a 614th mitzvah, and because it is time-bounded, because it must be accomplished “on the second day” before God descends from Mount Sinai—therefore the girls are automatically free from doing it.”

I am proud of my d’var Torah. I feel I have just liberated half the Jewish people from bondage. I have put Maimonides into the spin cycle. And you know that mountain in my laundry room? I can feel it shaking.

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Slice of Life

We’re Not So Different from Our Neighbors

PHYLLIS DINERMAN
Jewish Journal North of Boston

Life would be boring if we all lived and worked by the same rules. Perhaps that is why they say that variety is the spice of life.

We all worship differently. Jews have three (or more) denominations: Orthodox, Conservative, Reform. Christians have Catholics and Protestants, and within Protestants, too many denomimations to count.

But some idiosyncrasies are common to almost every home.

How many of us have a junk drawer? Among Jews, a lot of us have a drawer with yarmulkes from every affair we ever attended. Each one is a different color, and each one says, “From the Bar Mitzvah of Yankel So and So, 1982?” Why are we saving these?

How many of us have a collection of Passover Hagaddahs? Each book is different in size and content. I still have the blue Maxwell House Hagaddahs. When you read from the the Hagaddah at the Seder, everyone is reading from a different book. Everyone is reading a different portion on a different page at the same time. No one knows where the leader is reading in his Hagaddah.

How many of us have four or more menorahs, and an extra mezzuzah hidden somewhere in one of our kitchen or diningroom drawers?

Don’t tell me you don’t have magnets of every size and description on your refrigerator door? They keep falling off whenever you open and close the door. And pictures of the children and grandchildren? They cover the surface of every table and wall in our home.

Let’s return to the infamous junk drawer. In that drawer, I’ll bet there are coupons galore; coupons for toilet paper, paper towels, aluminum foil, and some things we don’t even need or use. I’ll bet the majority of coupons have reached expiration date. There are paper clips strewn all over the drawer, and a dozen pens and pencils that we can never find when we’re on the telephone and we need to use one at that moment.

Slips of paper with phone numbers? We don’t even remember to whom the phone numbers belong. Are they numbers of important doctors or restaurants? Who remembers? Are there scissors in that junk drawer? A piece of gum? A lifesaver? Two cent stamps? Stamps with letters on them that we don’t even remember the denomination of the stamp. And definitely, we have keys; at least two or three. We don’t even know to what locks they belong.

God forbid, someone should touch something in that drawer. “That’s my drawer. Get your own drawer.”
No matter what religion you are, your home is no different from the home next door or to the home in the next town. You see, we’re not all that different. No matter how and where we believe and pray, we all share the same shtick!

@Phyllis Dinerman 2003. Phyllis Dinerman is a resident of Marblehead and Boynton Beach, FL. She may be reached at phyllis@dinerman.com

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Op-Ed

The Courage to Work for Peace

JONATHAN FREINDLY
Jonathan Friendly is the national editor of Jewish Renaissance Media

In September 2000, the Palestinians, under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, plunged off a plateau of tranquility and progress into an abyss of violence. On Sunday, June 1, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s cabinet voted to throw them a lifeline.

Israel’s approval of the road map steps toward a permanent peace between the Palestinians and the Jewish state is a remarkably generous step and one that we hope Israel will not live to regret. If — and a mighty big if in view of past Palestinian behavior — the new administration of Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas does actually crack down on the terrorists of the West Bank and Gaza, progress will be possible.

Sharon deserves full credit for both sense and statesmanship. As a patriot and a general, he promoted the settlement movement. As prime minister, he has developed the strategies that have allowed the Israeli military to check much of the potential violence. Now, he is proposing to step back, substituting a diplomatic activity for the “facts on the ground” of Israel’s settlement expansion and presence in terrorist hotbeds.

A lifelong hawk, Sharon was remarkably blunt about the move: “You may not like the word, but what’s happening is occupation. Holding 3.5 million Palestinians is a bad thing for Israel, for the Palestinians and for the Israeli economy. We have to end this subject without risking our security.”

That pragmatic assessment is right on target. It is not acceding to terrorism to recognize that Israel can do no better than hold its own economically and socially until the Palestinians retreat from violence. If saying the words “Palestinian state” make it possible for Abbas to do what he must, then Israel is saying those words — which, of course, it was willing to say before the intifada began 32 months ago.

President George W. Bush also deserves credit for his willingness, at long last, to put himself visibly behind the process of bringing these historic antagonists together. He has wisely rejected the advice of those who said that he should not become entangled in a peace process with no assured outcome. Now he is correct to build on his demonstration in Iraq of America’s military might to back up his diplomatic goals. History would not forgive him if he sat on his hands.

He must be unrelenting in his pressure on the Palestinians to respond to Israel’s brave move with the actions that the road map demands they take to curb their own apostles of violence. He must also address the continuing reluctance of the Arab states to recognize Israel’s right to exist within secure borders. It is disgraceful, for example, that Egypt would balk at allowing Sharon to come to a meeting with Bush and Abbas in Sharm el-Sheik or that the Saudi Arabian leaders continue to spurn Jewish leaders when their own crown prince has proposed pan-Arab recognition of the Jewish state.

There is no guarantee that the road map process will advance even to the charted endpoint of Phase I. That depends on what the Palestinians and their Arab allies do next and what Israel consequently feels secure doing in response.

So we accept the start of Phase I with deep skepticism. But we also cherish something we haven’t felt for 32 months — a smidgen of hope.

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Beyond the Bush Visit to Auschwitz

LEONARD FEIN
Leonard Fein usually writes from Boston.

They saw the hair, and the suitcases, and the prostheses. They saw the tallitot and the shoes. And at the wall between the barracks, the President laid a wreath.

I remember the hair, mountains of hair in a glass case, and over there, in the corner, a braid: one person. And I remember the shoes: Here, near the front, one wooden shoe: a Jew from Holland. And the suitcases, names chalked on every one: look long enough and you will see your name.

And oh do I remember the wall, the wall of death as it is called, against which some 40,000 people — mostly, we were told in 1973 when I visited Auschwitz — professors and intellectuals from Cracow. “That was the good way to die at Auschwitz,” our guide told us. And I, myself a professor in those days, felt as if I’d been punched in the stomach, so when the UJA Young Leadership group that I was accompanying went on to the next barracks/ exhibit, I stayed behind. When they emerged, a friend came to me and said, “You must go into that one. Go to the second floor.” So I did, alone.

Until then, all the exhibits had been enormous, all in glass cases perhaps 10 feet deep, 15 or 20 feet long, and the wretched remains displayed within them piled waist-high. Combs and brushes in one, eyeglasses in another, and all those others, the ones President Bush and his wife saw June 1, according to the AP dispatch datelined “Oswiecim, Poland.”

But here, on the second floor of the barracks, was an exhibit just coffee table size, a glass case in which you’d perhaps expect to find medals, or old photographs, or first-day issue stamps, but what you in fact were seeing in this glass case, and would forever weep when remembering: babies’ pacifiers.

So, Auschwitz. Of which the president, correctly, later said, “With every murder a world was ended.” He is, of course, not the first to say that, but it is well-worth saying, and often, lest we become inured to murder, it becomes routine, so often do we read of it, so frequently is it (thanks to CNN) on display in our living rooms. It is not yet, and may it never be, a “ho-hum” thing, but it threatens to become a “tsk-tsk” thing. Car bomb in Jerusalem? Thirteen dead? Shame. But we’ve seen the wreckage and the rescuers so many times before. What else is new? No. Thirteen worlds were ended.

It is a strange thing to be president: When one leaves Auschwitz, one is asked to sign the guestbook. In the case of Mr. Bush, the words of his message had been written before he was given the book to sign. I suppose if you’re the president, you get not only speechwriters but also guestbook signers, ones with very nice handwriting. The president did, however, in his own handwriting, add two words to the rather formulaic inscription that had been earlier written in his name: “Never forget.”

Never forget: It is almost as if the president is on his own March of the Living. From Poland, after stops in St. Petersburg and Evian, on to not-quite Israel, at long last to intervene on behalf of peace.

The March of the Living is an international program that brings Jewish teens from all over the world to Poland on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Rememberance Day, to march from Auschwitz to the death camp at Birkenau, thence to Israel for Yom HaZikaron, Israel Memorial Day, and Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. In the words of its sponsors, “The goal of the March of the Living is for these young people to learn the lessons of the Holocaust and to lead the Jewish people into the future vowing Never Again.”

I have problems with the March; teens are too easily manipulated, and just as the tradition teaches that one must be at least 40 to study Kabbala, so also dealing with Auschwitz requires a level of maturity that is simply not there for teens. I’m troubled with the facility with which we move these children “from ashes to rebirth.” And I have great trouble with “Never Again,” a worthy slogan that tells you what to avoid but says nothing at all about what you might embrace.

And yes, I also have trouble with the words of the president, for the success of whose intervention in the Israel-Palestine conflict I fervently pray. I am grateful for his reminder that “with each murder, a world was ended.” I am sure his tears were real. I am sure he really meant “never forget.”

But I am equally sure there is much he does not remember, much perhaps he does not know. Does he, for example, know that the dead of our war in Iraq, not yet counted, perhaps forever countless, not murdered but dead all the same, that with each of their deaths a world was ended? Does he recognize anything of himself in the words of Abraham Lincoln to then-president James K. Polk: “Trusting to escape scrutiny by fixing the public gaze upon the exceeding brightness of military glory, that attractive rainbow that rises in showers of blood — that serpent’s eye that charms to destroy — he plunged into war.” Never again?

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Letters/Commentary

Thanks, 'Journal,' for ‘Pride’ Issue

Many thanks to Mark Arnold, to Debby Coltin, to Bob Lappin, as well as to all the staff and volunteers of the North Shore Jewish Federation, as well as all behind the scenes whom you included in your articles (May 23) describing the planning and successful execution of so many wonderful ideals and ideas. Thus do we become a community of “builders of Jewish pride.”
I’m sure there are many in the community who will give a loud “amen” to Mr. Lappin’s search for methods to stem the tide of assimilation. My one regret is that due to my advanced age, I am not able to join in at least one of the fields so that I could taste the feeling of success that so many are now experiencing. What I can do is pray that our great God continues to give all who are serving in these efforts a heartyYasher Koach (congratulations). I pray that you and all who join you in the future will be blessed with excellent health, strength, and courage.

Cantor Morton S. Shanok (Ret.) Peabody

Thank you, Journal, for your hard work and thorough coverage in the Jewish Pride issue, May 23. It is through efforts like yours that the community at large is made aware of all the wonderful programs being offered as well as the goals and effectiveness of the programs. Thanks again for recognizing the efforts of our entire Jewish community.

The Staff, Jewish Federation
of the North Shore
Salem

Programs are Crucial

My feeling aout the progams aimed at “keeping our children Jewish” (May 23) is that they are crucial, considering the loss through intermarriage. It is imperative to instill pride in our children about being Jewish. God bless Mr. Lappin for his dedication to this cause.

Jean Sherman
Saugus

Lappin’s Impact on Christian Relations

I was delighted to see The Journal (May 23, Page one) highlight Bob Lappin’s many contributions to the Jewish community. He is an extraordinary human being of great sensitivity and caring for others. Nearly 25 years ago, Bob extended his Jewish hand of friendship to me, something I will never forget. As a Christian friend of the Jewish community I can say I know few people who have done more over the years to strengthen Jewish life, education and awareness than Bob Lappin.

But there is another dimension to Bob Lappin (perhaps not emphasized for space considerations in Mark Arnold’s fine feature story). It concerns Bob’s many valuable contributions in the often nettlesome area of Jewish-Christian understanding. Here is a man who truly cares that Christians and Jews learn from each other. Bob is concerned about eliminating the myths and caricatu