Jewish Chronicle - 2008 Pa

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE APRIL 24, 2008

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˛ ˛METRO/NATION˛ ˛

Clinton: Supported by Philly federation Continued from page 1. Greater Philadelphia. She made a surprise appearance at a major federation event and gave an interview to the local Jewish newspaper. During the interview, she praised the efforts of her husband’s administration to boost the Middle East peace process. “I think what we did in the ’90s was beneficial in a strategic way and led to a period where, at times, there were no attacks being made, no suicide bombings and no deaths,” Clinton said. Clinton went on to criticize the Bush administration’s failure to take a more active role. Obama also reached out to the Jewish media, granting a 20-minute interview with JTA. His outreach efforts were boosted by several high-profile representatives, including State Rep. Joshua Shapiro, D-Montgomery County; U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla.; Anthony Lake, a recent convert to Judaism who served as national security adviser dur-

ing the Clinton administration, and Daniel Kurtzer, America’s first Jewish ambassador to Egypt and its first Orthodox ambassador to Israel. In addition to their appearances at various forums, Obama met with 75 Jewish communal leaders last week, at a Philadelphia area synagogue, Rodeph Shalom. During the April 16 meeting with Jewish leaders, Obama sought to further distance himself from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., his former pastor who has spewed venom toward the United States and Israel. He was “my pastor,” not “my spiritual adviser,” Obama said. At another point during the morning, Obama asked his audience “to not base decisions on who to support or not on emails or superficial characteristics or associations that are tangential to who I am or what I believe in.” Many of the concerns raised about him, he said, have been generated by “scurrilous emails,” and by the fact that his middle name is Hussein and that he

Sderot: Children traumatized Continued from page 4. One girl said she had not slept in her own bed in a number of years; instead she sleeps in a room in her home that is more secure. “She feels safer sleeping in the living room,” said Krichevsky. Another girl said she sleeps in her parents’ room. The families stay because of Zionist ideals, and because many of them cannot afford to move. While the school did not have physical damage from the rocket barrages, a home close by had a big hole from an attack. At lunchtime, the group visited a yeshiva, where a new dormitory is being constructed with thick concrete walls, so the students can feel safe enough to go to sleep at night. Later that day at a high school, the mission participants also saw footage, captured by the school’s security camera, of a Kassam landing outside the building and then exploding. No one was hurt by the explosion, but huge chunks of concrete were blasted from the side of the

building. Krichevsky said Sderot residents don’t understand why the Israeli government has not done more to protect them. “The government hasn’t done anything to stop the rocket attacks,” he said. “The first thing they have to provide is safety.” After eight hours of touring Sderot, the mission members were emotionally exhausted. “We needed to breathe,” said Krichevsky, who spent the next day in Jerusalem, before going to the airport for his return flight. He is still digesting his experience, and plans to share it with others. More than anything, Krichevsky, who plans to make aliyah, came away with even stronger Zionist sensibilities than he had previously. “It’s my passion, it’s my heart,” he said. “We’re not running with our tails between our legs. If this is not Israel, then Tel Aviv might as well not be Israel.” (Susan Jacobs can be reached at [email protected].)

Scroll: Unique teaching tool Continued from page 2. Born in Haifa, Israel, Michal Meron was educated in Vienna, Austria, and qualified as an artist at the Tel Hai College of Art in Israel. Her works have been exhibited in North America and Europe in Jewish museums, Jewish institutions and in public and private galleries. Much of her work involves expressing Jewish teachings artistically. “Or L’Simcha is proud to be the first synagogue in Pittsburgh to receive such a beautiful and unique teaching tool to educate and excite our congre-

gation’s youngest minds,” Wein, who is currently in Israel, said in a prepared statement. “We also plan to use it as part of our fund-raising efforts for our education fund.” Though it’s the only Children’s Torah in use in Pittsburgh for now, Diamond doesn’t expect that to last forever. He wouldn’t name any particular school or congregation, but he said he expects other Jewish entities to get their own scrolls before long. (Lee Chottiner can be reached at [email protected].)

is an African American in an era of strained relations between the black and Jewish communities on some issues. “I just want to emphasize I guess what’s in my heart, which is that my ties to the Jewish community are not political,” he said. “There’s a kinship and a sense of shared commitments that pre-

dates my politics and will extend beyond this particular election.” In her interview with the Jewish Exponent, Clinton said that she would have left the church. “We don’t have a choice when it comes to our relatives,” she said, “but we do have a choice when it comes to churches or synagogues.”

Voters: Poll workers pleased with turnout Continued from page 1. The 25-year-old Greenfield resident characterized the mood at the polls as positive, and said that over 50 percent of his precinct’s registered Democrats had voted. He added that the only people who had trouble voting were those who had gone to the wrong polling place, those who forgot to fill out a change-ofaddress form, and a few voters who were registered as Independents and did not realize they were ineligible to vote in a primary. Audrey Glickman, 51, is the secretary-treasurer of VoteAllegheny, a volunteer-run organization of members who provide election advice while watching for disenfranchisement and

fraud in Allegheny County districts. She was the only poll watcher present at the JCC. “What I like to watch here is the functioning of the machines,” she said, adding that fraud can always happen. “In some certain precincts, for example, 80 percent of [voters had] never cast a ballot for president of the United States.” Still, most of those working the polls were glad to see the system working properly. “I’m very excited,” said poll worker Judith Preiss. “We’ve had an amazing turnout.” (Jane Muder can be reached at [email protected].)

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