Jtnews | The Voice Of Jewish Washington - Aug. 7, 2009

vol. 85, no. 16

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Mourners gather in Jerusalem’s Zion Square on Aug. 2 to remember two young Israelis killed in a shooting at a Tel Aviv gay community center the previous evening.

Gay Israelis reeling after shooting attack N.Y. Jewish Week TEL AVIV (JTA) — Amid beefed-up security outside a gay and lesbian community center where two young Israelis were shot and killed, the shock that greeted the attack was replaced by sobriety — and even a sense of opportunity. Gay Israelis said the murders on Saturday night, Aug. 1, in which a masked gunman killed two and wounded about a dozen others before fleeing — robbed them of a sense of security in Tel Aviv’s otherwise gay-friendly cocoon. It also has stoked anger at fervently Orthodox groups in Israel accused of inciting hatred against gays. Etai Pinkas, the founder and chairman of the community center, said that the tragedy, which some have cited as the worst hate crime in Israel’s history, has given Israel’s gay community a “teaching moment.” “We received some focus, unfortunately,” Pinkas said. “And the focus is that we don’t have equal rights. Maybe something will start because of this.” Pinkas is planning a gay solidarity rally for Saturday night in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square consisting of songs and speeches. Activist groups will set up booths to distribute information about Israel’s gay community. A day after the shooting, hundreds of gay and lesbian Israelis marched through central Tel Aviv. Some pointed fingers at the Orthodox Shas Party, whose leader, Eli Yishai, has referred to homosexuals as “sick people.” “Years of continuous incitement by Knesset members, rabbis and public figures have exacted a terrible price,” said Nitzan Horowitz, an openly gay Knesset member from the Meretz Party. “We won’t forget and we won’t forgive.” Shas Knesset member Nissim Ze’ev, who has said that homosexuals would be reincarnated as rabbits, said he received death threats after the attack. Israel’s Chief Rabbinate issued a statement condemning the shooting, as did Shas. Addressing a special Knesset session on the shooting, Public Safety Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch promised to bring the assailant to justice.

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Even though many gay Israelis said they feel less secure after the attack, public reaction has been sympathetic, Pinkas said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and others denounced the shooting. Pinkas said he hoped Netanyahu would send a message to the planned solidarity rally. “It’s a seminal moment,” Pinkas said. “People better understand what the meaning of discrimination and the price of incitement is. Israelis don’t know there is discrimination.” The shooting occurred just before 11 p.m. in the basement club at the center just off of Rothschild Boulevard. The gunman entered the club and began firing randomly as youths dove for cover, said Ori Gil, 26, in an interview with Israeli reporters from a hospital wheelchair. “He didn’t shoot steadily,” Gil said of the gunman. “That was the shock. He aimed everywhere.” Nir Katz, 26, a counselor at the center, and Liz Tarboushi, 17, were killed. Eleven people were wounded, four of them critically. As Tel Aviv is considered unusually friendly to the gay community, the shooting surprised many. The city has the GLBT community center, gay representatives on the City Council, and an annual gay pride parade that draws tens of thousands. At the end of this year’s parade in mid-June, Mayor Ron Huldai presided over an unofficial sunset wedding for same-sex couples on the beach. Israel’s chief of police has cautioned against a rush to judgment before investigators whittle down theories on the possible motive for the shooting. In addition to a hate crime, investigators are checking to see if the attack may have been because of a personal quarrel or even terrorism. There is a gag order in place on the investigation. Red police tape blocked the driveway at the community center two days after the attack. Posters reading “Silence Equals Death” and “Love, Not Hate,” hung along gay pride flags and a flower wreath courtesy of

Leyna Krow Assistant Editor, JTNews Of the 16 candidates vying for four city council spots this year, four of them are Jewish. Considering that Jews make up such a tiny fraction of Seattle’s population, that’s a strong representation. The Jewish candidates boast diverse backgrounds in political and career experiences. All four, however, voiced similar opinions when asked which issues they were most concerned about tackling should they be elected. Transportation, education, public safety, and the economy topped off each candidate’s list. It’s probable that not all will move forward following the Aug. 18 Top Two primary. Position 2 – David Ginsberg When asked why he decided to run for city council, David Ginsberg, a 44-year-old Seattle native and technology solutions architect, gave the same answer as the other candidates interviewed for this article: A frustration with City Hall. More specifically, he said, it’s about a desire to see the city council function in a more cooperative David Ginsberg and efficient manner and to see the city move forward on issues he’s most concerned about. Of course, Ginsberg, who has never run for political office before, readily admits his campaign for the Position 2 seat will be an “uphill climb.” Ginsberg is the only challenger to Richard Conlin. Conlin is not only the incumbent, but also the council president.

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A View from the U M.O.T.: Member of the Tribe Community Calendar Arts & Entertainment National & International News The Shouk Classifieds

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Joshua Mitnick

Seattle City Council ballots have strong Jewish presence

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Allow incentives for donating organs The recent New Jersey corruption scandal shines a light on black market organ sales, and what can be done about them Jeff Stier JTA World News Service NEW YORK (JTA) — The Jewish community in the New York metropolitan area, and to a degree around the world, is grappling with how to respond to last month’s high-profile corruption arrests there. While money-laundering and bribery charges are nothing new, unfortunately, the charges against Levy Izhak Rosenbaum seemed most shocking. He was arrested for conspiring to broker the sale of a human kidney for transplant, a “business” he privately claimed to be in for many years. The American system of organ donations, which forbids any incentives for donation, has created a niche market for just this type of wrongdoing. The statistics are overwhelming. Some 102,640 patients are waiting for an organ

donation in the United States, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. More than 7,000 people died last year while they waited, and over 2,000 have died this year. These deaths are entirely preventable. But the current system, which is based on pseudo-moralistic concerns, actually creates incentives for black markets, rewards only the most wealthy, and punishes the poorest. If morality matters, what could be more immoral than all these unnecessary deaths? Take the recent case of Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple. He traveled to Tennessee, which has a shorter waiting list than other states, when he needed a liver transplant this spring. He did it legally, but t he rich have advantages when it comes to receiving transplants because they can get

on numerous lines and jet to a waiting organ at a moment’s notice. For those who aren’t fortunate enough to game the system one way or another, options are limited. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a relative or some other highly motivated and altruistic donor, there is little one can legally do to improve their chances in the painfully slow race against death. The shortage of organs available for donation from unrelated donors has led to the macabre black market that exists today. Gruesome underground kidney markets are nothing new. National Geographic reported on a poor neighborhood in India known as “kidney village” — residents illegally sell their kidneys for about $800, far less than the $160,000 Rosenbaum allegedly charged. Now it is emerging that Israel also is becoming a black market hot spot. A

whole new industry — transplant tourism — is meeting the needs of the wealthy patients, creating demand. Patients now face a choice between two extremes: Wait for a fundamentally broken system and risk death, or venture into the unregulated Wild West of the black market for organs. There is a better and more ethical alternative. We don’t need to delve too deeply into the black market to see that donated (or purchased) organs have a high value to potential recipients. Yet because of the ban on incentives for donations, a familiar economic principle comes into play: Whenever a product’s price is held below market demand, a shortage ensues. Despite campaigns to increase altruistic donations, organ donations are basically stagnant.

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Come experience a Taste of Temple B’nai Torah and welcome Shabbat as a community

Friday, August 21st ƒ to create a better world through education ƒ

Voices for Humanity 5th Annual Fundraiser Luncheon Recognizing Three Hidden Children from Holland Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 Westin Seattle 11:30am to 1:30pm For more information, call 206.774.2201 or visit www.wsherc.org

“Chappy” Hour - 5:30 pm Ruach Family Service - 6:00 pm Community Shabbat Dinner - 6:30 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service - 8:00 pm Guests are welcome at no charge Temple Members: $10 for Adults $4 for Kids 6-12 Kids 0-5 Free Please RSVP to 425.603.9677 Rabbi James Mirel Cantor David Serkin-Poole Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg

15727 Northeast Fourth Bellevue, WA 98008 www.templebnaitorah.org

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rabbi’s turn

Following the people’s lead

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The Book of Jonah shows how it’s the actions of the masses that often spur leaders to follow suit

Rabbi James L. Mirel Temple B’nai Torah The Book of Jonah (read as the Haftarah on Yom Kippur afternoon) is a constant source of wisdom and insight. Like every great work of literature, it can be read over and over again, always with new discoveries and insights. The narrative is relatively simple. A man named Jonah seemed to be arbitrarily singled out by God for a difficult task: “Go immediately to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim judgment upon it; for their wickedness has come before Me.” Every child knows what happened next. Jonah tried to escape the call. He took the next ship out of town and ended up in the belly of the beast. From the darkness of “the big fish,” he found that no one can escape the call of destiny. Before long he was in Nineveh speaking the message God put in his mouth: “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”

But it’s what came after that never fails to astound. The people of Nineveh immediately got the message. They did repent. But there is a nuance in the story that is ever more remarkable — once the people repented, the King of Nineveh followed suit. “When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his robe, pit on sackcloth, and sat in ashes.” Then the king sent forth a decree that everyone in the city should fast and pray with the hope that God’s judgment will be overturned. Familiar words read and re-read thousands of times over the centuries. In the midst of our own fasting and praying, do we miss the subtle lesson imbedded in the story? The people must repent first, and then the leaders follow. Whether it is the context of our community, our congregations, the State of Israel, or the United States, the people set the moral agenda and only then can the leaders take up the call. As Hillel reflected when confronted with a challenging question of Jewish law: Pay attention to the people, if they themselves are not prophets they are certainly the descendants of prophets. Every community leader eventually learns this lesson. In times of great chal-

lenge, attune your ear to what the people are saying and your eyes to what the people are doing. The wisdom of the king of Nineveh was found in his ability to take the people’s example and follow it, but also to articulate it in a thoughtful and organized response with a clear goal in mind. In Judaism, wisdom resides with the people, not with the leaders.

The leaders show their mettle by their ability to embrace the collective moral insights of the community and to find the means to elevate and inspire. The turning point in the Book of Jonah is not found in the midst of the great fish, but when the king of Nineveh rises from his throne and joins the people in their cathartic act of repentance.

Letters Wedge between peacemakers

The JTNews is the Voice of Jewish Washington. Our mission is to meet the interests of our Jewish community through fair and accurate coverage of local, national and international news, opinion and information. We seek to expose our readers to diverse viewpoints and vibrant debate on many fronts, including the news and events in Israel. We strive to contribute to the continued growth of our local Jewish community as we carry out our mission. 2041 Third Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121 phone 206-441-4553 fax 206-441-2736 E-mail: [email protected] www.jtnews.net JTNews (ISSN0021-678X) is published biweekly by The Seattle Jewish Transcript, a nonprofit corporation owned by the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, 2041 3rd Ave., Seattle, WA 98121. Subscriptions are $39.50 for one year, $57.50 for two years. Periodicals postage paid at Seattle, WA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to JTNews, 2041 Third Ave., Seattle, WA 98121.

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Contrary to Naim Ateek’s assertion, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, (CAMERA), does not believe that he is “worse than Hamas” (“A prophet for peace or a wedge between peacemakers?” July 24). Hamas has killed hundreds; Ateek has killed no one. CAMERA does object, however, to Ateek’s false assertion (published in his most recent book) that Israel has perpetrated a “slow and creeping genocide” against the Palestinians, whose population has quadrupled since Israel’s creation. Ateek’s false allegation serves to justify violence against Israelis and contempt for Israel’s supporters in the U.S. It is not peacemaking. CAMERA also objects to Ateek’s welldocumented use of anti-Jewish polemic from the New Testament to portray modern Israel as an enemy of God. Adam Gregerman, Jewish scholar inresidence at the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, Md., reports that Ateek “presents the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a metaphysical struggle on a cosmic level” and “mythologizes the conflict as a clash between ‘the powers of God,’ on the one hand, and the ‘destructive powers’ and ‘forces of darkness that undermine life itself,’ on the other.” Gregerman continues: “So that his analogy is not misunderstood, he makes this explicit: On one side are the Christians, who, like Jesus, boldly ‘confront evil.’ On the other side are the Jews, who maintain ‘evil structures,’ support the ‘evil of racism,’ carry out the ‘evil of lies,’ and symbolize ‘the spiritual forces of evil.’” CAMERA also laments Ateek’s failure to address the role Muslim theology has played in prolonging the Arab-Israeli conflict. Muslim theology regarding the land and the Jewish people plays a significant, if not dominant, role in fomenting violence against Israel in the Middle East, but Ateek

does not address these subjects in a meaningful way. Ateek’s silence on this issue is odd given that he routinely invokes the teachings of the Hebrew prophets to critique what he regards as primitive Jewish understandings of God. For peace to come, Ateek asserts, extremist Jews must abandon this primitive theology in favor of justice. By way of comparison, Ateek has very little to say to Muslim extremists in the Middle East about their theological beliefs. Why the silence? Dexter Van Zile Christian Media Analyst CAMERA Boston, Mass.

The question mark The fact that your lead story in the July 24 issue, headlined, “A prophet for peace or a wedge between peacemakers?” ends with a question mark is not the only question mark on this overlong two-and-a-half-column agonizing on the guest speaker’s true intentions toward Israel. The fact that the Anglican canon, identified as Naim Ateek, was described as “an activist for Palestinian independence,” eliminated the need for any question mark in the headline. What this extensive report did was to provide the obviously anti-Israel speaker with the JTNews platform. Since the sponsor of the talk was the Kadima Reconstructionist Community, that certainly, to this reader, made a mockery of the question mark. Kadima, while claiming to be so very, very sincere in its lengthy efforts for a Mideast peace, down through the years has yet to show understanding of the facts, or even understand, or comprehend a basic fact of Israeli survival. Somehow it seems to bemoan (kvetch) that Israel insists on defending itself against killers sworn to eradicate the Jewish State. If not against

Israel, then against each other. Nowhere does Kadima ever come up with balanced facts of ongoing rocket barrages or suicide bombing attacks against Israelis. It’s always Israel’s fault. And in a strange outburst of being factual, the Kadima program director reportedly said, “We’re not in the business of trying to defend him.” Gee, thanks. Hence the puzzlement of the huge amount of space and page 1 placement on this nothing story. When will this wide-eyed group stop swallowing the traditional Islamic art of taqiyya? This is the deceptive art of saying one thing in Arabic and another thing in English or French, the old winkand-nod technique perfected by Arafat. Thus the Arab average spokesperson speaks in English of a longing for peace, if only, if only Israel would allow the sworn killers just another chance of making good on their pledges. Want a guess what he would say in Arabic to his grinning listeners? Philip R. Scheier Shoreline

Racism is not a problem I strongly disagree with Gila Orkin’s one-sided column (“Jews should confront racism in Israel,” July 24). Orkin’s depiction of Avigdor Lieberman as an ultra-right-wing nationalist is incorrect. Was it wrong for him to get the 20 percent Palestinian Arab minority that enjoy Israeli citizenship to swear allegiance to the “State of Israel as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state?” As citizens of the U.S. we have to swear allegiance to our country. Clearly Orkin dislikes Lieberman and his party. Lieberman is no racist. His stand against Israel’s enemies is intended to ensure her safety from both internal and external threats.

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Tools of love and forgiveness In anticipation of the High Holidays, a synagogue and a relationship institute combine forces to help heal hurting relationships Janis Siegel JTNews Correspondent “Love means never having to say you’re sorry,” said Ali MacGraw to Ryan O’Neal in the 1970 film Love Story. The line became one of the most famous clichés of the decade. In reality, however, saying you’re sorry and asking for forgiveness can go a long way toward healing all sorts of broken relationships. This year, before the start of the High Holidays, on the evenings of Aug. 25 and Sept. 12, two therapists trained at the world-renowned relationship education center in Seattle, the Gottman Institute, and Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation’s Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum will not only advocate apologies, but offer help in seeking forgiveness. The t wo organizations are teaming up to teach tools for relationshipmendi ng t hat a lso include ma k i ng behavioral changes that can really lead to emotional healing. “Jewish people today are looking for things within their tradition to bring meaning to their personal lives,” Rosenbaum told JTNews. “One of the things about Gottman’s approach is that it dovetails nicely with Jewish teaching and focuses on very small, concrete things you can do to improve relationships, especially communication. We will integrate Jewish text into a session on healing relationships.”

Selichot is the 10 days of daily penitential prayers that lead into Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It is a time when Jews ask God’s forgiveness for those they’ve hurt, as well as the person they’ve offended. In the seminal Selichot prayer, the “AlChet,” Rosenbaum noticed that all of the requests for forgiveness deal with repairing human relationships. That’s when he had an “a-ha” moment to connect the two — Gottman techniques and religious practice. According to Rosenbaum, it’s an opportunity to get in some good communication practice with experts in a Jewish context. The sessions are co-sponsored by Herzl-Ner Tamid and the Gottman Institute, and are free and open to the public. Much of the hard work in fixing relationships really takes place in the Jewish concept of making teshuvah, which literally means to return or repent, said Rosenbaum. The idea is to restore or return a broken relationship to health. “There isn’t as much guidance about this as you would think,” Rosenbaum added. “It’s not just a question of saying you’re sorry to someone, but also if you can do something more specific and change something small about yourself.” Dr. Dave Penner, a psychologist and certified Gottman therapist who has been practicing for 25 years, will co-teach with Rosenbaum the first workshop titled

“Reflection, Renewal and Repair: Improving Our Relationships for the New Year.” “I think people are interested in working out their relationships from within their world view, and that includes their meaning system, their value system, and their faith system, if they have one, and their spiritual viewpoints,” Penner told JTNews. “Gottman’s research is consistent with the biblical view of relationships.” The duo will use biblical couples, like Jacob and Rachel, and Torah texts as examples of how to deescalate arguments between couples. According to the research, said Penner, the first three minutes of any argument between couples determines the outcome of the conflict. Disagreeing partners can approach a conflict with what is called a “softened” startup or a “hardened” or “harsh” startup, Penner said, but only 4 percent of couples achieve successful conflict resolution from a harsh startup. “If you can get a couple to calm down and suspend trying to persuade each other…and approach each other more as allies than enemies, they can work out a compromise,” Penner added. “The climate has to be one of emotional safety.” Penner holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Western Seminary. Co-founded by Dr. John Gottman and his wife, Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman, the institute’s counseling approach is based on 35 years of research with more than

3,000 couples. Although their work seeks to educate them on how to communicate, the Gottmans also train therapists to use their techniques in their practices with individuals, children, and families. For the second session, Dr. Trudi Sackey, a licensed marriage and family therapist since 1994 and a certified Gottman therapist since 2001, will co-teach a session with Rosenbaum called “Turning Toward Each Other.” Sackey will talk about “scenario thinking,” a strategy that encourages each person to see the other’s point of view. “My purpose in working with couples is to help them have the conversations they need to have with one another, thereby, clarifying the meanings of issues that keep couples ‘stuck,’” wrote Sackey, describing her work on her Web site. Rosenbaum has completed two out of three levels of professional training offered at the Gottman Institute, although he is not a therapist. He realized that much of Jewish wisdom deals with righting a single wrong toward our friends, family, or neighbors. But there isn’t as much written about the established and chronic patterns of fighting. “You want to get underneath the argument and figure out what’s really bothering the other person, not what’s going to trigger a defensive reaction” said Rosenbaum. “In the case of Jacob and Rachel, she was infertile, and she said to him, ‘Give me kids, and if not I’m going to die.’ His reaction was, ‘What do you want from me? I’m not God.’ I think they could have used a good marriage counselor. Maybe if they had someone who was trained in the Gottman technique it could have helped them.”

QFC Partners with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Quest for the Cure By Kristin Maas, QFC Public Affairs Director

The pain of losing someone to leukemia hit home for QFC in 1998, when our vice president of operations, Chuck Griffin, passed away after a brave battle against the disease. Since then we have partnered with our local chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Quest for the Cure, supporting blood cancer research and patient services. It is estimated that nearly 140,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma this year alone and that more than 900,000 people are currently living with the disease or are in remission. Leukemia causes more deaths of children and adults under the age of 20 than any other form of cancer. Beginning on August 2nd and running through August 29th, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society will be our Checkstand Charity of the Month. I hope you will consider supporting our local chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by making a donation at any QFC. There are 3 easy ways you can help:

1. Hand the checker a $1, $5, or $10 donation scan card at time of checkout (available at the checkstands). 2. Donate your change in the coin boxes at the checkstands. 3. Designate your 3¢ shopping bag reuse credit for donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society every time you reuse a paper, plastic, or reusable shopping bag while grocery shopping at QFC.

Thank you to everyone who has supported local nonprofit organizations through our Checkstand Charity of the Month Program. Together, in just the first 6 months of this year, we have donated more than $100,000 through this donation program and our customers have reused more than 1 million bags!

* Information and statistics provided by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Kristin Maas is the Director of Public Affairs for QFC. She can be reached at [email protected] or 425-990-6182.

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Barbecue potlucks at Temple Beth Am Temple Beth Am will host two summer Shabbat barbecues in August. Chicken, hot dogs, and veggie dogs will be provided (with all the fixings). Participants are asked to bring either a side dish (last name A-M) or dessert (N-Z). Cost is $9 for adults, $4 for kids 12 and under. To RSVP, contact Alysa Rosen at 206-525-0915 or [email protected]. Fri., Aug. 14 at 6:15 p.m. and Fri., Aug. 21 at 7:15 p.m. At Temple Beth Am, 2632 NE 80th St., Seattle.

Etz Hayim-er Park Clean Up

Courtesy WSJHS

Several of the restored dolls that will be on display at the Washington State Jewish Historical Society’s Dolls for Democracy and Diversity exhibit.

Dolls for Democracy and Diversity On Aug. 18, an opening reception will be held by the Washington State Jewish Historical Society for an exhibit on hand-made portrait dolls of historical figures originally commissioned by B’nai B’rith Women (now Jewish Women International). These 38 dolls of well-known humanitarians were handmade between the 1940s and 1970s by portrait doll artist Cecil Bullard Weeks. Local women used the dolls to teach diversity in area schools. The exhibit will be on display through Nov. 18 but RSVP deadline for the opening event is Aug. 10. At the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art, 1116 108th Ave. NE, Bellevue. Contact 206774-2277 or [email protected] for information.

The Tribe, Temple De Hirsch Sinai’s young adult group, hosts a day of volunteer service to clean up part of Warren G. Magnuson Park. Participants should wear closed-toe shoes and bring a bag lunch. A brief Torah discussion will take place during the lunch break. RSVP to Blakely Lord at 661-492-5383 or [email protected]. Sun., Aug. 9 at 10 a.m. At Magnuson Park, 6505 NE 65th St., Seattle.

Seattle Jewish Young Adult Volleyball Challenge Herzl-Ner Tamid’s young adult group, NextGen, and the Jewish Social Experience Association (JewSEA) are sponsoring the first-ever Seattle Jewish Young Adult Volleyball Challenge. Entry fee is $30 per team, with the net proceeds going to the winning team’s charity of choice. Teams should be made up of 5-6 players. To sign up, visit www.h-nt.org/nextgen/events.php. Sun., Aug. 16 at 11 a.m. at the Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island.

BCMH Summer Barbecue Bash Bikur Cholim-Machzikay Hadath hosts a summer party with food, a vendor fair and games, including their “First Annual Jewish Olympiad.” The entire community is invited to attend. For more information, contact Julie Greene at 206-721-0970, ext. 6. Sun., Aug.

16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. At Bikur Cholim-Machzikay Hadath, 5145 S Morgan St., Seattle.

Free computer classes A trained instructor of the King County Library System will teach three sessions on Microsoft Word and online photo sharing with Flickr. Students must attend all three classes. Contact Roni Antebi at 206-232-7115, ext. 269 to register. Classes will be held Aug. 18 and 25 and Sept. 1 at 10 a.m. at the Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island.

Letters t Page 3 He may not be politically correct, but he speaks the truth as he sees it, unlike Palestinian Arab leaders who engage in double speak. Their goal remains the elimination of Israel by making unacceptable demands on Israel. There is a lot more racism in Arab countries that should concern us. Why make racism a problem in Israel when it does not exist? Racism is not a problem in Israel. Josh Basson Seattle

Firsts A main reason why President Obama nominated Judge Sotomayor for the Supreme Court is that he believed she would be “the first Hispanic appointment to the high court.” In fact, the first Supreme Court justice of Hispanic background was Benjamin Cardozo, appointed by President Hoover in 1932. Like his ancestors, who had settled in America before the Revolution, Cardozo belonged to the Spanish-Portuguese Jewish community of New York. Since he was universally recognized as the greatest American interpreter of the common law, he had no need to toot his own horn regarding his “ethnicity.” Edward Alexander Seattle

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A learning experience The Stroum Lectures of 2009 Jewish Studies is no longer the Jewish Starship Enterprise, “going boldly where no Jew has gone before.” At the University of Washington, as in many other places, Jewish Studies has won its victory in the Academy, and is now recognized as an integral field of study routinely consulted across the various social scientific and humanistic disciplines. One result of this success is that the primary audience for Jewish Studies is no longer the Jewish community, but academics in various fields hoping to illumine their own research questions with insights drawn from the study of the Jews. But this victory in capturing the academic audience has come at the expense of another — the audience of the Jewish community, whose local support and sponsorship over many decades has enabled academic Jewish Studies to command the international academic platform it currently enjoys. Jewish communities invest in events such as the

Martin Jaffee JTNews Columnist With the possible exception of the Seattle Jewish Film Festival, the Samuel and Althea Stroum Lectures in Jewish Studies are the most high-profile “Jewish” event in Seattle’s cultural calendar. But I fear that, after a run of 34 years, they may be in trouble. The problem is neither a lack of qualified lecturers nor a lack of interest on the part of the community. No, the problem, really, is the growing abyss between the reality of Jewish Studies and the expectations of the Jewish communities that support its work.

Stroum Lectures for a basic return: Intellectual stimulation, new perspectives into Jewish thought and history, and perhaps, above all, some insights into the evolving relationship of Jews to the world in which they must plan their personal and communal futures. Too often, it seems, they leave disappointed. This gap between reality and expectation resurfaced this past May in the Stroum Lectures offered by Prof. Yael Zerubavel, a prominent pioneer of “Israeli Cultural-Historical Studies,” who currently teaches at Rutgers. Her announced title, “Encounters with the Past: Remembering the ‘Bygone’ in Israeli culture,” drew an opening night crowd that packed Kane 220 to the rafters. That evening’s lecture, “Bridges to Antiquity,” explored the ways pre-1948 Zionist settlers and post-1948 Israelis of the state’s first generation mined ancient Jewish history for values and cultural models to support the Zionist revolution that created and sustained the new Jewish State. Ever wonder why Israelis are traditionally crazy about archeology? Well, Prof.

, y l i m a F o t y l i m a F m o Fr n o i t a r e n e G o t n o i t a r Gene Join in on this distinctive Northwest Jewish tradition by sending a New Year’s Greeting to friends and family inside the pages of JTNews, our one and only Jewish community newspaper. New to the tradition? Save 50%

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family & friends for the New Year than with a personalized greeting in our Rosh Hashanah issue. And believe it or not, Rosh Hashanah is right around the corner! Order your Rosh Hashanah greeting by August 31st and get a 5% discount. Complete this simple 1-2-3 form and mail it back to JTNews with your payment today. Or call Becky to charge your greeting by phone: 206-774-2238.

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Zerubavel had some surprising and provocative answers rooted in Israel’s need, as a “nation in formation,” for a “usable past.” Despite her lecture’s excellence as an exposition of its topic, it was by most accounts a popular flop. Judging from comments offered to several facult y members, the problem was not what Prof. Zerubavel had to say. The problem appears to have been her delivery — reading out a prepared text dotted with a few too many unexplained technical terms. This would have been a perfectly acceptable presentation at, say, an Association of Jewish Studies conference. But in the Stroum context, it came off to many as “boring” and “pitched too high.” Naturally, the packed house of the first lecture dwindled, on the evening of the second, to a fraction of its former size. And the third lecture, victimized as well by an enormous traffic snafu that tied up the commute from Bellevue, drew an even smaller collection of witnesses. Too bad! For Prof. Zerubavel’s second and third lectures were everything the first was not. In rounds t wo a nd t hree, Prof. Zerubavel came out of her corner right at the bell. With her text firmly planted on the podium, she proceeded to charm the pitifully small crowds with witty, insightful, and mostly extemporaneous reflections on how the collective memory of contemporary Israeli society is built up of layered, nostalgia-tinged images of the distant past of the Jewish people in exile, and of the early decades of Israeli statehood. The overall message? The important history we carry around in us is not necessarily what really happened; rather, it is the way we remember what happened. More importantly: The way Israelis remember their past today have enormous consequences for the future of all of klal Yisrael! Prof. Zerubavel’s tours through the cultural memory of contemporary Israel included stops rarely available to American Jewish tourists. We are familiar, of course, with such stunning sites as Masada and the settlement at Qumran. But who knew, for example, of the plans to create an “authentic shtetl” theme park in, of all places, Rishon Letzion, where families can “return to the past to reexperience the intimate folk culture of the Pale of Settlement?” What? Israeli popular culture is so over romantic Zionism that the shtetl is looking good? The professor didn’t disclose who’d play the role of the pogromchiks, but one can guess! In short, those hardy souls who made it to lectures two and three were offered a wrenching entry into the contemporary Israeli heart and soul often ignored by friends and foes alike, whose interest in Israel is confined to her instrumental role in American foreign policy or shaped by formulas regarding Israel’s responsibility for peace-making in the Middle East. So the real tragedy of this year’s lectures is that a remarkable contribution by a fine scholar will be lost to communal memory. When Prof. Zerubavel’s booklength version of the lectures comes out, it will be designed for the attention of scholars. But the Seattle Jewish community will not have benefited as all of us believe it should have. Things are hardly too far gone to be turned around. But neither can they be neglected! My faculty colleagues and I promise to hold up our end, by stressing to our Stroum lecturers the importance of speaking to a popular audience; but we need all of you, the Jewish community of Seattle and beyond, to hold up yours, by favoring our guest scholars with every bit of your attention!

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Recognized for finding defects Medical researcher wins award for excellence • Also: Retrofitting homes for energy efficiency

Diana Brement JTNews Columnist Northwest Yeshiva High School graduate Matthew Feldhammer is now doing graduate research in biochemistry at the University of Montreal. Recently he was awarded a first place Prix d’Excellence (Prize of Excellence) in all categories by Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center at the University of Montreal for a presentation on his work identifying protein misfolding as the underlying defect in patients with Sanfilippo Syndrome Type C. Around the same time, he and his research group published an article in the Journal of Human Mutation for their work identifying new mutations in this rare genetic metabolic disorder, known scientifically as Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIC. (Similar, but not related to Tay Sachs disease, it appears in Dutch, Ashkenazi Jewish and French Canadian populations that share a history of a high rate of intermarriage generations ago.) “[It] gives me a sense of accomplishment,” says Matthew of the award, and it’s also a nice accolade for “maybe a year’s worth of work. A lot of research ends up not going anywhere, so it’s good that this was published and may be able to help some people.”

Mat t hew actually spent his f irst decade of life in Montreal, moving to Issaquah with his family in 1995, says his mom, Lynn (who works at this paper). She says he didn’t show a strong penchant for science as a teen, but was inspired by a teacher at the yeshiva. He studied Gemara in Israel after high school before returning to Montreal. “I miss looking out my window and seeing Mt. Rainier,” he says, but plans to stay put for now. ••• To begin with, Steve Gelb must have had one of the fastest job turnarounds in this lousy economy. Three weeks after a layoff from a local furniture manufacturer, he had a job as interim executive director of a new non-profit, SustainableWorks, which helps people retrofit — or modify — their homes and small businesses to be more energy efficient. SustainableWorks is part of Sound Alliance, a coalition of Puget Sound-area

religious and educational institutions, trade unions and non-profits dedicated to “organizing for the common good” (www.soundorganizing.org). Temple Beth Am in North Seattle is a member of Sound Alliance and it’s there — as a member of the social action committee — that Steve learned about that coalition. “I was interested in getting more involved in environmental work,” he says, “specifically things to combat global climate change.” When he started to attend Sound Alliance meetings, he learned about SustainableWorks — and his job. According to its mission statement, SustainableWorks, “in conjunction with a wide range of city, county, utility, and other organizational partners will retrofit up to 4,800 homes and small businesses in neighborhoods with high concentrations of moderate income residents in Spokane, Pierce, King, Snohomish, Thur-

ston, Kitsap and Clark counties over the next two years.” A community organizing approach is used, Steve explains (think Saul Alinsky, Barack Obama), by recruiting neighborhood volunteers to host in-home meetings where the retrofitting process is explained. “Those people in the neighborhood become core organizers,” Steve says, and SustainableWorks becomes the general contractor, loan officer, and government rebate processor. Right now, Steve is one of two SustainableWorks employees at Sound Alliance’s office. He’s finalizing a business plan while they wait to hear if they will get some of Washington State’s $14.5 million of federal stimulus money earmarked for community-based residential energ y efficiency programs and related jobs.

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Education is the Road to Peace

Save the Date StandWithUs Northwest Second Annual Luncheon with a keynote speech by Professor Kenneth Stein of Emory University Friday, October 16, 2009 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. sharp!

Courtesy Matthew Feldhammer

Matthew Feldhammer, in his lab, recently won the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center’s Prix d’Excellence for his work on finding misfolding proteins in Sanfilippo Syndrome patients. He hopes both prize and publication will help secure funding for work he does later in his scientific career. In the short term, he plans on pursuing a doctorate in cancer research, then hopes to secure a professorship at a university where he could have his own lab. In addition to school, Matthew and his former roommate have a small catering business called Leftys Catering. You might look for a relationship between biochemistry and cooking, but in truth the roommate went to culinary school and “we were always the ones who ended up working the grill and cooking for everyone” when friends and family gathered, Matthew says. “So we figured, why not turn this semi-professional?” They stick to occasional small jobs and he says it’s “a nice balance.”

Sheraton Seattle Hotel Grand Ballroom Professor Stein is President of the Center for Israel Education and the Director of the Institute for the Study of Modern Israel. The former Executive Director of the Carter Center, he resigned from the Carter Center to protest President Carter’s misrepresentations of Israel, stating, “A former president of the United States doesn’t have special privilege or prerogative to write history and perhaps invent it.”

For more information, please contact StandWithUs Northwest at 206.204.0676 or by email at [email protected] Dr. Stein is an independent scholar; his participation in public functions does not imply any support directly or indirectly for any organization that is represented where he is speaking unless he otherwise so states himself.

Building Positive Honest Relationships to Israel Across Generations

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Generations

Olympic sadness Finding the balance between the games’ political byproducts and the immense effort of the athletes who participate Masada Siegel and Stefanie Zweig JTNews Columnists Generations is an across-the-world e-mail conversation between 30-something writer Masada Siegel and 70-something author Stefanie Zweig.

From: Stefanie Zweig Wed, Aug. 13, 2008, 11:46 p.m. To: Masada Siegel Subject: Olympics Dear Masada, W hy do I watch Oly mpia w it h a touch of sadness? Reason one: Because all the folks march into China and are most keen to forget what China does to t hose who are not on t heir line. The same thing happened in 1936. All nations f locked to Berlin — including the Americans and the Jews — and raised their arms and said “Heil Hitler” — and the concentration camps were already in use, and the benches with signs “not for Jews” had been cleaned — for the duration of the Olympics. Reason two: As I have no homeland to be proud of, I really don’t care who wins a gold medal. In times like this, I am more aware than ever what Hitler did to us. That, too, applies to my grandparents. My one grandfather was murdered by an SS man on a street in Russia; my

one g randmot her was murdered in Auschwitz. The other two had the luck of dying before 1933. Yesterday was a grand day — the little boy, my grand-nephew, crawled faster than ever and, could he say a word, he would tell the world that birthdays are wonderful. This morning I am deserting my book and going to a street market in town. I love buying fruit and vegetables and all things to eat — a leftover of hungry times when we came from Kenya and Frankfurt was all in ruins and the only hope to fill your stomach was an American boyfriend. I was only 14 then and very strictly guarded by a loving, loveable and jealous father. Love, Stefanie

From: Masada Siegel Thurs., Aug. 14, 2008, 8:33 a.m. To: Stefanie Zweig Subject: Olympics Hi Stefanie! Y i kes, t hat ma kes t he Oly mpics and human nature sound quite awful. I like  focusing on the positive. China after all did allow a lot of Jews in during World War II, or so I understand. Plus, I also think the Olympics should be a time to concentrate on people who have dedicated their lives to their sport

and being the best. I swam about 2,500 meters yesterday at practice, and as my leg was cramping up, I kept thinking, “What would Michael Phelps do?” so I kept on swimming! It’s silly — but it inspired me. Also with modern technology today, I was looking on Facebook, and became fans of Michael Phelps and Dara Torres, I also asked them to be my friends.... Can you imagine? Today I got an e-mail from Dara Torres and she became my friend online. She won a silver medal at the Olympics the other day, and at 41 years old, she is competing with women half her age. Modern technology in some ways is making the world a place where we know what is happening right away, and in some cases can hopefully make a difference. I think maybe if  athletes  can  compete with one another and work out and go to practices together, maybe world leaders should see it’s about people, not politics! I can’t  dispute your point about what happened in Germany. You are right, but I guess I would prefer to see the Olympics as a place where positive  changes can be made. We have talked in the past how you don’t feel you have a homeland, and  it still bums me out that you feel that way. I am so proud to be an American... and what’s really funny is that if World War II never hap-

pened, I most likely would have been German! Hugs, Masada

From: Stefanie Zweig Thurs, Aug. 14, 2008, 11:49 p.m. To: Masada Siegel Subject: Olympics Dear Masada, Happy you w ith a homeland and Dara Torres for an online friend. I have, as you know, neither, and I must confess, I am not interested in sports. After eight years in a British boarding school and compulsor y sports and hockey counting more than the ability to read or write, you get sick of the subject. And as for water: I nearly drowned in a well at the age of six. It happened on a farm where my father was applying for a job as a manager, and I was sent out to play with the kids of the boss, all mighty big boys with strong arms and no brains who thought it wonderful to tease a little girl — at least one of them pulled me out of the well and I ran bawling to my parents. Do you think that they comforted me? No, they were very anxious that I had spoiled my father’s chance of getting the job. I had not, but ever after that I hated water. Give my best regards to you parents and take a hug, water lady, from Stefanie.

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n community calendar

august 9 – 25, 2009 The JTNews calendar presents a selection of ongoing events in the Jewish community. For a complete listing of events, or to add your event to the JTNews calendar, visit www.jtnews.net. Calendar events must be submitted no later than 10 days before publication.

Ongoing Friday ■■9:30-10:30 a.m. – SJCC Tot Shabbat Dana Weiner at 206-232-7115, ext. 237 Parents with children ages infant-3 celebrate Shabbat with challah, live music, singing, and dancing in the JCC’s foyer. Free. At the Stroum Jewish Community Center, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■11 a.m.-12 p.m. – Tots Welcoming Shabbat 425-603-9677 or www.templebnaitorah.org This Temple B’nai Torah program for kids ages infant-5 includes songs, stories, candle lighting, challah, and open play. Free. At Temple B’nai Torah, 15727 NE 4th St., Bellevue. ■■12:30-3:30 p.m. – Drop-in Mah Jongg Roni Antebi at 206-232-7115, ext. 269 A friendly game of Mah Jongg. Free for members, $2 for guests. At the Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■12:30-3:30 p.m. – Bridge Group Roni Antebi at 206-232-7115, ext. 269 Bridge playing experience necessary. Coffee and tea provided. Bring a brown bag lunch. Free for members, $2 for non-members. At the Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■ 7:30 p.m. – Meditative Shabbat Services with Rabbi Falcon Bet Alef Office at 206-527-9399 or [email protected] On the first and third Fridays of each month, Rabbi Ted Falcon takes a meditative approach to the central prayers of the Shabbat worship service and provides meditations and spiritual teachings based on the weekly Torah reading. At Unity of Bellevue, 16330 NE 4th St., Bellevue.

Saturday ■■9-10:30 a.m. – Temple B’nai Torah Adult Torah Study 425-603-9677 A discussion of each week’s parshah. No experience needed. Temple B’nai Torah youth room, 15727 NE 4th St., Bellevue. ■■9:45 a.m. – BCMH Youth Services Julie Greene at 206-721-0970 or [email protected] Bikur Cholim-Machzikay Hadath Congregation has something for all ages: Teen minyan, Yavneh program, Junior minyan, Torah Tots, Mommy and Me, and Navi class. Starting times vary. At Congregation Bikur Cholim-Machzikay Hadath, 5145 S Morgan St., Seattle. ■■10 a.m. – Morning Youth Program 206-722-5500 or www.ezrabessaroth.net Congregation Ezra Bessaroth’s full-service Shabbat morning youth program focuses on tefillah, the weekly parshah and the congregation’s unique customs in a creative and fun environment. For infant to 5th grade. At Congregation Ezra Bessaroth, 5217 S Brandon St., Seattle.

■■10:45 a.m.-12 p.m. – Herzl Mishpacha Minyan 206-232-8555 or www.herzl-ner-tamid.org A Shabbat morning service at Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation that meets twice a month and features songs, stories and treats for 2- to 5-year-olds and their families. Meets first and third Shabbat of the month. At Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation, 3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■5 p.m. – The Ramchal’s Derech Hashem, Portal from the Ari to Modernity Rabbi Harry Zeitlin at 206-524-9740 or [email protected] This is the earliest systematic and reliable explanation of Kabbalah, which is grounded in tradition and comprehensible to contemporary, educated Jews. At Congregation Beth Ha’Ari Beit Midrash, 5508 35th Ave. NE, Seattle.

Sunday ■■9 a.m. – Shabbat in Practice Marilyn Leibert at 206-722-8289 or [email protected] An ongoing course taught by Rabbi Yehoshua Pinkus on the Abridged Book of Jewish Law, known as the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. Free. At the Seattle Kollel, 5305 52nd Ave. S, Seattle. ■■10 a.m. – Mitzvot: The Fabric of Jewish Living 206-722-8289 or [email protected] Ongoing course about the philosophical underpinnings and practical implications of the 613 mitzvot. Free. Part of the Seattle Kollel’s “Breakfast Club,” offering bagels , lox, Starbucks coffee and donuts. At the Seattle Kollel, 5305 52nd Ave. S, Seattle. ■■10:15 a.m. – Sunday Torah Study Carol Benedick at 206-524-0075 Weekly study group. At Congregation Beth Shalom, 6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle. ■■1 – 4 p.m. – Shalom Bayit Warehouse Volunteer Work Party Rachel at 425-558-1894 or [email protected] Help organize donated items for survivors of domestic violence and their children. Location provided upon RSVP. ■■7 p.m. – Chanting in the Jewish Tradition Claire Petersky at 425-641-9389 Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue’s chanting group meets on the first Sunday of every month. Lorne Mallin, a Jewish chant leader who studied under Shefa Gold, leads. Requested donation of $5. Percussionists may bring a drum. At Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue, 12351 Lake City Way NE #201, Seattle. ■■7:30-10:30 p.m. – He’Ari Israeli Dancing Ellie at 206-232-3560 or [email protected] or israelidanceseattle.com Seattle’s oldest Israeli dance session. Couples and singles welcome. Call for schedule changes. Cost is $6. At Danceland Ballroom, 327 NE 91st St., Seattle.

Monday ■■10 a.m.–2 p.m. – JCC Seniors Group Roni 206-232-7115, ext. 269 The Stroum JCC’s Seniors Group meets on Mondays and Thursdays for activities and celebrations. At the Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■10 a.m. – Jewish Mommy and Me Giti Fredman at 206-935-4035 or [email protected] Giti Fredman leads a weekly playgroup for Jewish moms and young children. Sponsored by the Seattle Kollel. At the Hiawatha Community Center, 2700 California Ave. SW, Seattle. ■■4:30–6:30 p.m. – Modern Conversational Hebrew Sharron Lerner at 206-547-3914, ext. 3 or [email protected] or www.kadima.org Kadima Reconstructionist Community offers conversational Hebrew classes for students in the 3rd–7th grades. Open to non-members. At Kadima, 12353 8th Ave. NE, Seattle. ■■6:30 p.m. -- Hebrew Reading Crash Course Dovid Fredman at 206-251-4063 or [email protected] Read Hebrew in six classes with the nationally acclaimed Hebrew program developed by NJOP, National Jewish Outreach Program. Free. Seattle Kollel, 5305 52nd Ave. S, Seattle. ■■7 p.m. – CSA Monday Night Classes [email protected] Weekly class taught by Rabbi Yechezkel Kornfeld on topics in practical halachah. At Congregation Shevet Achim, 5017 90th Ave. SE, Mercer Island. ■■7-8 p.m. – Ein Yaakov in English Joseph N. Trachtman at 206-412-5985 or [email protected] Ein Yaakov has been studied since its 1516 publication by those desiring an intro to Talmud through its stories. Free. At Congregation Shaarei Tefilah-Lubavitch, 6250 43rd Ave. NE, Seattle. ■■7:30 p.m. – Torah Scroll Class for Men [email protected] Shemer Berkowitz, a professional Ba’al Koreh, will teach students to read Torah by learning the cantillation marks and the secret of Torah reading. Eastside Torah Center, 1837 156th Ave. NE #303, Bellevue. ■■7:45-8:45 p.m. – For Women Only 206-527-1411 Rabbi Levitin offers classic commentaries on the weekly parshah, Rashi, Rambam and Or HaChaim. At Congregation Shaarei Tefilah, 6250 43rd Ave. NE, Seattle. ■■8-10 p.m. – Women’s Israeli Dance Class Ruth Fast at 206-725-0930 Learn Israeli dance steps in an all-female environment. At the Lakewood/Seward Park Community Club, corner of 50th Ave. S and Angeline St., Seattle.

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Cynthia Williams

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Jewish Federation Offers Diverse Ways to Build Community

Join us as we bring people from all walks of Jewish life together. More at www.JewishInSeattle.org/Get-Connected.

Community Celebration Takes A Humorous Turn “If you like The Producers, Woody Allen and Jerry Seinfeld, you’ll love World of Jewtopia,” explained Sam Wolfson, one of the co-creators of Jewtopia. He puts his personal guarantee on the upcoming performance at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s annual community celebration and campaign kick-off event on September 16 at Benaroya Hall. The show, based largely on the Jewish families and divergent up-bringings of its creators Wolfson and Bryan Fogel, covers the full range of laughably (and unmistakably) Jewish happenings. The need to change tables five times at a restaurant before sitting Comedians Bryan Fogel and Sam Wolfson of Jewtopia with their moms before a taping of The View. down to eat? Check. The freezer so packed with old food it still contains a slice of your grandparents’ wedding cake? Check. Controlling Jewish mothers? Check. They even appeared on The View, with their mothers in tow. Introduced by a non-Jewish friend–who had never known any Jews except Bryan and Sam–the pair immediately bonded over their “crazy” Jewish families and their struggling comedic aspirations (as well as their mothers’ complaining about said struggling comedic aspirations), and set out to write a show. The resulting hit ran in L.A. for a year and a half before transferring to New York, where it enjoyed the longest run ever of an Off-Broadway comedy. The two have expanded the show into a full multimedia experience, World of Jewtopia. Think stand-up comedy with visual aids. This fast-paced, side-splitting show of jokes by Jews, for Jews, about Jews (though the pair swears their best reception was by a Mormon audience in New York) is great for teens on up. As you might have guessed, the Jewish Federation has traded its standard format of dinner and speeches this year for an evening of laughter and a dessert reception (and fewer speeches) in what promises to be the most dynamic (and affordable) kick-off yet. Don’t miss this chance to be part of this Jewish community celebration and see Bryan and Sam in World of Jewtopia–standing proof that not everyone who goes into the arts disappoints their mothers!

Gear Up for Hebrew High

Out and About with Jewish Women

The Jewish Federation’s mission “working to ensure a vibrant Jewish community that is connected locally, in Israel and worldwide” comes alive in the halls of the Stroum Jewish Community Center on Wednesday nights during Hebrew High, or the Community High of Jewish Studies, active in our community for over 37 years. More than 110 Jewish teens attend weekly, and the number one reason for their attendance is…friends and community!

When Women’s Philanthropy Director Anna Frankfort and Chair Shelley Bensussen wanted to come up with new ways to connect local Jewish women, they called volunteers Julie Ellenhorn and Sarah Carr.

Of course, Hebrew High does more than provide a venue for teens to share an Oreo cookie and pretzels; its hallmark is the dedicated, energetic and diverse staff. Rabbis, Jewish educators and passionate adults guide our students from 9th grade through graduation. Hebrew High is the only school welcoming and representing teens from every youth group, synagogue and affiliation (and non) and partners with local youth movements and organizations to truly reflect our community. We wouldn’t be complete without the connection to our Jewish homeland. Our students travel to Israel and receive Hebrew High credit for their participation in semester abroad programs. Many of our classes focus on Israel and we provide educational opportunities for our students to be Israel advocates when they leave our halls and enter college or the greater community. How can we ensure that there is a strong Jewish community and Jewish Federation in the future? Easy. Make it a priority to engage teens in this truly community school, Hebrew High.

use o H n e Op ember 2 Sept

Classe s Septsetart mber 9 Register online today at www.JewishInSeattle.org/HebrewHigh Or call Amy Hilzman-Paquette at 206 774-2237.

The four women had some core principles: create opportunities for women to come together around common interests, without a large amount of time or financial commitment, in non-intimidating settings. Women’s special interest groups were born. Athletic? Try out Bike & Brunch. Artistic or crafty? Drop in to the monthly knitting group at a local yarn store, Tricoter, or meet up with women at a neighborhood art walk. Interested in Jewish learning? Explore teaching with Seattle’s female Jewish educators. These, along with tikkun olam and women’s health, are the six special interest groups in action. True to their goal, there is no bar for entry. There is something for everyone.

Check out the list of events at www.JewishInSeattle.org. Contact [email protected] or 206 774-2226.

Where will you be May 23-June 1, 2010?

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n focus on mercer island

friday, august 7, 2009

JCC hires new CEO The Stroum Jewish Community Center has hired local businesswoman and philanthropist Judy Neuman as its new CEO. The JCC board conducted a nationwide search and considered 40 candidates before narrowing down to Neuman, who currently works as a managing partner for CenterStone Executive Search. She previously worked for the venture capital firm Maveron, which manages more than $800 million in funding. Neuman sat on the board of directors of Jewish Family Service of Greater Seattle for 15 years and led the first phase of that agency’s $30-plus million “Family Matters” strategic and capital campaign. She also sat on the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and led that organization’s community campaign early in the decade. Neuman will officially begin her position the week of the JCC’s annual meeting, which takes place Sept. 10. Stroum JCC board president Lindsey Schwartz said he was enthusiastic about Neuman’s ability to take the agency in a new direction in the Jewish community. “We’re thrilled that she threw her hat in the ring, we’re thrilled that she’s agreed to take the job, and we’re very optimistic about the future of the ‘J,’” he said. A full story on Neuman’s hiring will run in the Aug. 21 issue of JTNews. — Joel Magalnick

Courtesy NYHS

Rabbi Bernie Fox, third from left, Northwest Yeshiva High School’s head of school, holds the shovel with Michael O’Hara, class of 2005, and NYHS business manager Pat Young to break ground on Northwest Yeshiva High School’s new outdoor sport court. To the left are administrator Michelle Haston and board member Maureen O’Hara, with Melissa Rivkin on the right. Construction began July 15 for a multi-sport court that will include six basketball hoops, volleyball marks, and space for other sports and outdoor functions. The court is expected to be completed in time for the start of the 2009-10 school year, with a dedication to take place on Sept. 13.

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A Blessing on beginning school

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For all children entering kindergarten (children do not need to be enrolled in the Frankel Religious School): 10:00–10:45 am: Ceremony of Blessing, craft activity, and sweet treats 10:45–11:30 am: “How to Heal A Broken Wing” A family learning session on compassion featuring a special live guest from Wolftown. This is the first in an ongoing series of programs about “Hands-On Spirituality” for pre-K through 2nd grade families. 11:30 am–12:30 pm: Frankel Religious School Open House for all new students and their parents, as well as anyone interested in learning more about our school. 12:30–1:00 pm: Brown Bag picnic lunch Please register for all or for any part of the program with Education Director Melanie Berman, [email protected].

Enroll your 4 and 5 year olds in Nitzanim (buds) A Sunday morning preschool class At the Frankel Religious School, Herzl-Ner Tamid Hebrew Language Enrichment Focus on “Living Green and Jewish” Connect to other HNT families Enrichment Programs for parents

Classes begin September 13, 2009 Open to all Jewish families (HNT members receive discount on tuition) Limited spaces ~ Enroll now! Contact Education Director Melanie Berman for more information and for registration forms. [email protected] or 206-232-8555 ext. 220.

focus on mercer island

12 jtnews

n friday, community calendar

august 7, 2009

Friday August 14th 12:00pm - 4:00pm Mercerdale Park, 77th Ave SE & SE 32nd St. Courtesy Len Kashner

Dávid Karcsai, right, of Budapest, Hungary stands with Jessica Wilkinson, director of Sports Camp at the Stroum Jewish Community Center in the JCC gym. For the third year, five Jewish teens from Hungary came to work as counselors at the JCC camp while staying with host families in the region. The teens also meet weekly for discussions with Rabbi Josh Hearshen of Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation.

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Ongoing t Page 9

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■■8:30 p.m. – Talmud in Hebrew [email protected] An in-depth Talmud class in Hebrew for men taught by Rabbi Mordechai Farkash. At the Eastside Torah Center, 1837 156th Ave. NE, Suite 303, Bellevue. ■■8:30 p.m. – Talmud, Yeshiva-Style [email protected] This class tackles sections of ritual, civil and criminal law. Be prepared for lively discussion, debate and analysis. Students must be able to read Hebrew and should have had some experience with in-text Torah study. At the Eastside Torah Center, 1837 156th Ave. NE #303, Bellevue.

2707 78th Ave SE, Mercer Island Mon: 9–3

Tues-Fri: 9–6

Sat: 9–4

Sun: Closed

■■11 a.m.-12 p.m. – Mommy and Me Nechama Farkash at 425-427-1654 A chance for parents and kids to explore the child’s world through story, song, cooking, crafts and circle time. At a private address. Call for location. ■■12 p.m. – Torah for Women Rochie Farkash at 206-383-8441 or [email protected] Rochie Farkash leads a group of Eastside women in a discussion of the weekly Torah portion. At Starbucks (backroom), Bellevue Galleria, Bellevue. ■■6:30 p.m. – Hebrew Reading Crash Course Dovid Fredman at 206-251-4063 or [email protected] Learn to read Hebrew in six classes with the nationally acclaimed Hebrew program developed by the National Jewish Outreach Program. Free. At Seattle Kollel, 5305 52nd Ave. S, Seattle. ■■7:45 p.m. – Mystical Understanding of the Hebrew Alphabet Dovid Fredman at 206-251-4063 or [email protected] Discover the mystifying depth and beauty of the Hebrew letters. Free. At Seattle Kollel, 5305 52nd Ave. S, Seattle. ■■7 p.m. – Alcoholics Anonymous Eve M. Ruff at 206-461-3240 or [email protected] Meeting for anyone who has stopped or would like to stop drinking. At Jewish Family Service, 1601 16th Ave., Seattle. ■■7 - 8:30 p.m. – Intermediate Conversational Hebrew Janine Rosenbaum at 206-760 -7812 A course for students with some Hebrew background interested in expanding their conversational skills and understanding Hebrew grammar. $65 plus materials. At Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation, 3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■7:30 p.m. – Weekly Round Table Kabbalah Class [email protected] Men and women join together to explore the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah. At a private home. ■■8:30 p.m. – Jewish Business Ethics Marilyn Leibert at 206-722-8289 or [email protected] An exploration of employee/employer relationships, fiduciary responsibilities, ethical business and marketing practices. $25. Seattle Kollel, 5305 52nd Ave. S, Seattle.

■■9:30 p.m. – Talking to God, Pt. II Marilyn Leibert at 206-722-8289 or [email protected] Shirley Edelstone shares stories to transform personal prayer experience into a divine communiqué. $25. At the Seattle Kollel, 5305 52nd Ave. S, Seattle.

Wednesday ■■11 a.m.-12 p.m. – Torah with a Twist 206-938-4852 Women learn Torah with Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz of the Seattle Kollel. Mercer Island location. Call for directions. ■■11:45 a.m.–12:30 p.m. – Downtown Maimonides Class Rabbi Yehoshua Pinkus at 206-722-8289 A weekly discussion based on Maimonides’s Thirteen Fundamental Principles of the Jewish Faith by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan. Sponsored by the Seattle Kollel. At Tully’s Westlake Center, 400 Pine St., Seattle. ■■1:30 p.m. – Stroum JCC Book Club Roni Antebi at 206-232-7115, ext. 269 Book discussions the first Wednesday of every month. At the Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■3 p.m. – The Mother’s Circle Marjorie Schnyder 206-461-3240, ext. 3146 A program for moms from other backgrounds raising Jewish kids to get support, learn about Jewish rituals, practices and values, and get connected to the Jewish community. Sponsored by Jewish Family Service. Every other Wednesday. At Whole Foods Market, 1026 NE 64th St., Seattle. ■■7–9 p.m. – Teen Lounge for Middle Schoolers Ari at 206-295-5888 Foosball, ping-pong, pool, basketball, arcade games and optional classes. At the Yavneh building at Congregation Bikur Cholim-Machzikay Hadath, 5145 S Morgan St., Seattle. ■■7 p.m. – Beginning Israeli Dancing for Adults with Rhona Feldman Carol Benedick at 206-524-0075 Older teens and all experience levels are welcome. $40 for a five-session punch card. Discount for members. At Congregation Beth Shalom, 6800 35th Ave. NE, Seattle. ■■7 p.m. – Wisdom for Women 14+ Rabbi Bresler at 206-331-8767 or [email protected] Jewish Women ages 14 and up are invited to take part in an afternoon of thoughtprovoking learning, wisdom, and ideas from the Torah. At the Seattle Kollel, 5305 52nd Ave. S, Seattle. ■■7-10 p.m. – Parsha and Poker [email protected] A look at the Torah portion of the week followed by a friendly game of poker with proceeds going to tzedakah. Led by Rabbi Josh Hearshen. At Herzl-Ner Tamid, 3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■7:15 p.m. – The Jewish Journey 206-722-8289 or [email protected] This two-year comprehensive program guides students through the historical, philosophical and mystical wonders of Judaism’s 3,500-year heritage. $360 plus a $36 registration fee. Seattle Kollel, 5305 52nd Ave. S, Seattle.

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n arts & entertainment

friday, august 7, 2009

Now-August 11 Bad Poetry Contest www.myjewishlearning.com/hot_topics/ht/bad_poetry.shtml

The Jerusalem Post Crossword Puzzle

MyJewishLearning.com is hosting a bad Jewish poetry contest. Poems on any topic pertaining to Judaism or Jewish life are acceptable. To enter, submit bad poetry to badpoetry@ myjewishlearning.com by Aug. 11. Winners will be announced Aug. 18 and rewarded with an iPod Shuffle, free music and a rubber chicken.

the arts

By Matt Gaffney

aug. 11 – 22

Thursday, August 13, 7 p.m. The Garden Movie and ice cream www.blackvalleyfilms.com Jconnect hosts an outing to see The Garden, a documentary about a 14-acre community garden in South Central Los Angeles that allows neighbors in one of L.A.’s most impoverished communities to grow their own food. The movie will be followed by a trip to Pretty Kitty Ice Cream for a free scoop, courtesy of Jconnect. RSVP to Robert at [email protected]. At the Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 NE 50th St., Seattle.

Thursday, August 20, 7:30 p.m. Encounter Point Film Encounter Point is an 85-minute feature documentary film that follows two Israelis and two Palestinians who risk their lives and public standing to promote a nonviolent end to the conflict. The movie will be followed by a discussion. Hosted by Kavana. Free. RSVP to [email protected] for location.

Saturday, August 22, 7 p.m. “Schmovie Night!” Dinner and a movie A potluck picnic dinner followed by an outdoor screening of the film Iron Man at the Seattle Center with the Tribe, Temple De Hirsch Sinai’s young adult group. The movie is free, but space is limited. Potluck begins at 7 p.m., movie at 9 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and picnic blankets. RSVP to Nick Barrat at [email protected]. At the Seattle Center Mural Amphitheater, 305 Harrison St., Seattle.

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Across 1 First Jew to perform at the Opry 6 Ernesto Nathan was once its mayor 10 Israeli writer Oz 14 Mountain cats 15 Greek letters 16 Made a sheytl 17 Ari Gold, e.g. 18 Big name in shaving 19 From the top 20 Noted synagogue organization 23 Koch and others 24 Slugger Mel 25 Bit of lashon hara 29 Ending for pluto 32 Common contraction 35 Fashionable “squad” members 36 Book of Ruth name 37 Greenpeace prefix 38 Refuseniks 42 More than -er 43 Winds, sometimes 44 Fallen capital of WWII 45 “The Joys of Yiddish” author Rosten 46 Tons 47 “Kristallnacht” criminal 49 Beastie Boys’ genre 51 Late Night with ___ Stewart 52 Mickey’s boss, 1984-2005 59 He was in charge of many pairs 60 Negev rarity 61 He sang “Do You Love Me?” 63 “Glamour” rival 64 Marty Feldman role 65 Banderas vehicle 66 Thomas Hardy heroine 67 Israel’s is world-famous 68 Can’t sit still

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Down 1 Eilat feature 2 Not-so-Jewish-friendly ruler Chavez 3 It’s counted 4 Rave partner 5 Purim honoree 6 Recites Megillah 7 “The Diary of Anne Frank” character 8 ___ Brothers 9 He sold his birthright 10 Be expecting 11 Jew or Muslim 12 Place for kugel 13 Use a Singer 21 Neil Simon title word 22 “___ I can help it!” 25 Prod 26 “City Slickers” extra, so to speak 27 Some “New York Times” pieces 28 Dolt 29 “Dream Lover” singer 30 David Schwimmer’s “Friends” character 31 Latin I word 33 School, to Wiesel 34 Federation supporter 36 Bright light 39 Get-up-and-go 40 Stern’s org. 41 Bronx feature 47 Louis Quatorze, e.g. 48 Foot part 50 Pays for a workout 51 Hebrews 52 Kind of spy 53 Rechovot is there 54 MIT major, for short 55 Impend 56 Sky sight 57 Uris novel, usually 58 Way to learn Mishnah 59 Court barrier 62 Part of many Southwest place names

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Calendar t Page 12 ■■7:30 p.m. – Parshas Hashavuah [email protected] This class provides an overview of the week’s Torah portion accompanied by Midrashic commentaries, philosophical insight, and practical lessons. Eastside Torah Center, 1837 156th Ave. NE #303, Bellevue.

Thursday ■■9:30-10:30 a.m. – Women’s Talmud Sasha Mail at 206-323-7933, ext. 301 Talmud from women’s perspectives, presented by Rivy Poupko Kletenik. Free. Seattle Hebrew Academy, 1617 Interlaken Dr. E, Seattle. ■■ 12 p.m.–Women’s Ramban on Chumash Marilyn Leibert at 206-722-8289 Discussion of foundational Jewish concepts through the eyes of Nachmanides on Chumash in the Book of Genesis, and an analysis of key Rashis. Must be able to recognize Hebrew letters and want to learn Hebrew grammar. Women only. $25. Sponsored by the Seattle Kollel. At a private home, Mercer Island. ■■6:50 p.m. – Introduction to Hebrew

Candle Lighting Times 8/7/09 8/14/09 8/21/09 8/28/09

8:18 p.m. 8:07 p.m. 7:54 p.m. 7:41 p.m.

August Sunday 9 ■■10 a.m. – Women’s Bike & Brunch Anna Frankfort at 206-774-2226 or [email protected] Women’s Philanthropy Group bike ride — easy, flat routes, approx. 20 miles with a brunch stop midway. Pace will accommodate the group, but will generally be in the 10-13 mph range. Location provided upon RSVP. ■■10 a.m. – Etz Hayim-er Park Clean-up Blakely Lord at 661-492-5383 or [email protected] The Tribe of Temple De Hirsch Sinai hosts a day of volunteer service to clean up part of Warren G. Magnuson Park. ■■4:30 - 7:30 p.m. – Summer Barbecue 206-905-4633 Family barbecue hosted by the Friendship Circle. View Ridge Park, 4408 NE 70th St., Seattle. ■■8 - 10 p.m. – Jews ‘n’ Brews: Eastside Bryan at [email protected] Drinks, free appetizers, and an opportunity

senior living

august 7, 2009

Janine Rosenbaum at 206-760 -7812 Helps students build fluency and comprehension of the prayers of the Friday evening service. $50. At Herzl-Ner Tamid, 3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■7 p.m. – Beginners Bridge Class Roni Antebi at 206-232-7115 ext. 269 or [email protected] An eight-week class to familiarize students with the basic principles of bridge. $60/JCC members, $70/non-members. At the Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■ 7:30 p.m. – Judaism: The Ultimate Journey [email protected] Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum leads a course called “From Slavery to Freedom: Political Activism and Personal Ethics in the Bible and the Age of Democracy.” At Herzl-Ner Tamid, 3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■8:30–10 p.m. – Teen Lounge for High Schoolers Ari at 206-295-5888 Foosball, ping-pong, pool, basketball, arcade games and snacks. At the Yavneh building at Congregation Bikur Cholim-Machzikay Hadath, 5145 S Morgan St., Seattle. to meet other Jewish young adults. Sponsored by Jconnect. At Wilde Rover Pub, 111 Central Way, Kirkland.

Monday 10 ■■1 - 2 p.m. – Current Events Discussion Group Roni Antebi at 206-232-7115, ext. 269 Al Ziontz leads a discussion called “What’s Wrong With Our Politicians?” At the Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island.

Wednesday 12 ■■11:30 a.m. – Daytimers Summer Film Series Leslie Reibman, 206-232-8555, ext. 207 or [email protected] A homemade lunch and a screening of the film The Band’s Visit. At Herzl-Ner Tamid, 3700 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■6:30 p.m. – Class of 2013 Family Dinner Melissa Rivkin at 206-232-5272, ext. 515 or [email protected] Welcoming dinner for the incoming Northwest Yeshiva High School freshman class and their families. At Don and Deanne Etsekson’s home, address provided upon RSVP.

Thursday 13 ■■10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. – Active Seniors Club Annual Picnic Fred Jaffe at 425-746-3814 BYOP (bring your own picnic) and chairs. Soft

senior living

senior living

drinks, chips, nuts, cookies, and fruit provided. At Crossroads Park, 164th Ave. NE and NE 8th St., Bellevue.

Friday 14 ■■6:15 p.m. – Shabbat Barbecue [email protected] Barbecue and potluck. At Temple Beth Am, 2632 NE 80th St., Seattle.

Saturday 15 ■■6:30 p.m. – Poker and Pizza at Hillel Avi at [email protected] Jconnect hosts a night of cards, pizza and soda. At UW Hillel, 4745 17th Ave. NE, Seattle.

Sunday 16 ■■ 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. – Hike to Rattlesnake Ridge Michael at [email protected] A moderate hike with beautiful viewpoints along the way. Meet at UW Hillel, 4745 17th Ave. NE, Seattle. ■■11 a.m. – Seattle Jewish Young Adult Volleyball Challenge www.h-nt.org/nextgen/events.php Volleyball tournament hosted by NextGen and JewSEA. Entry fee is $30 per team, with net proceeds going to the winning team’s charity of choice. Teams should be made up of 5-6 players. ■■11 a.m. – BCMH Summer Barbecue Bash Julie Greene at 206-721-0970, ext. 6 BCMH Summer barbecue with games and a vendors’ fair. At Bikur Cholim-Machzikay Hadath, 5145 S Morgan St., Seattle.

Monday 17 ■■1 - 2 p.m. – Al Ziontz’s Memoir Roni Antebi at 206-232-7115, ext. 269 Al Ziontz shares from his personal memoirs a story titled, “My Partner Robert Pirtle.” Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island.

Tuesday 18 ■■10 a.m. – Free Computer Class Roni Antebi at 206-232-7115, ext. 269 Computer class taught by a trained instructor of the King County Library System. At the Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■5:30 – 8:30 p.m. — Dolls for Democracy and Diversity 206-774-2277 or [email protected] Opening reception for an exhibit on hand-made portrait dolls of historical figures commissioned by B’nai B’rith Women. Exhibit will be on display through Nov. 18. Sponsored by the Washington State Jewish Historical Society. RSVP by Aug. 10. At Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art, 1116 108th Ave. NE, Bellevue.

senior living

Wednesday 19 ■■12 p.m. – Health Talk Roni Antebi at 206-232-7115, ext. 269 Naturopathic Physician Dr. Adam Rinde gives a talk on understanding irritable bowel syndrome. At the Stroum JCC, 3801 E Mercer Way, Mercer Island. ■■6:30 p.m. – SHA Alumni Dinner Sasha Mail at 206-323-7933, ext. 301 The Seattle Hebrew Academy invites alumni, old and new, to a casual summer dinner with Asian flavor. $15 per person. At SHA, 1617 Interlaken Dr. E, Seattle.

Thursday 20 ■■6 - 8 p.m. – Nimble Finger Knitting Anna Frankfort at 206-774-2226 or [email protected] Group for beginning and advanced women knitters sponsored by Women’s Philanthropy in conjunction with the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. Location upon RSVP, Seattle.

Friday 21 ■■7:15 p.m. – Summer Barbecue [email protected] Shabbat barbecue and potluck dinner followed by Ultimate Frisbee. At Temple Beth Am, 2632 NE 80th St., Seattle.

Saturday 22 ■■10 a.m. - 1 p.m. – Walk/Jog/Rollerblade Around Green Lake with Jconnect Jared Brown at [email protected] A jaunt around the lake followed by lunch. Meet at the Greenlake Starbucks, 7100 E Green Lake Dr. N, Seattle.

Sunday 23 ■■10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. – Zoo Day [email protected] A trip to the zoo with the Friendship Circle. Kids should bring a bag lunch. At Woodland Park Zoo, 5500 Phinney Ave. N, Seattle.

Monday 24 ■■6:30 p.m. – Class of 2012 Family Dinner Melissa Rivkin at 206-232-5272, ext. 515 Welcome party for incoming sophomores at Northwest Yeshiva High School and their families. At Robert and Leah Gladstein’s home, location provided upon RSVP.

Tuesday 25 ■■7 p.m. – NYHS Orientation Michelle Haston at 206-232-5272, ext. 12 or [email protected] Meeting for parents of new students at Northwest Yeshiva High School. At NYHS, 5017 90th St. SE, Mercer Island.

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senior living

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jtnews 15

n arts & entertainment

friday, august 7, 2009

The Wagner question Whether one should embrace the undeniable talent of Richard Wagner in light of his overt anti-Semitism is a complicated question If you go: Richard Wagner’s The Ring will be performed at the Seattle Opera from Aug. 9–30 at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St., Seattle. Tickets available by contacting 206-389-7676 or [email protected], or by visiting www.seattleopera.org.

Gary Smith/Seattle Opera

Wotan (Greer Grimsley) and Fricka (Stephanie Blythe) admire their new castle, Valhalla, in the 2005 Seattle Opera rendition of Wagner’s The Ring.

Peter A. Klein Special to JTNews Woody Allen once quipped that every time he listened to the music of Wagner, he got the urge to invade Poland. Woody isn’t alone. Many people can’t hear Wagner’s music without thinking of Nazism and Hitler. Some Jews can’t bear to listen to it at all. Seattle Opera is presenting three complete cycles of Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung on August 9-30. The mammoth four-opera saga of Nordic gods and senior living

heroes has a long tradition here. The Ring is also at the center of the controversy about Wagner. Why does the issue persist, 126 years after Wagner’s death, and 64 years after the fall of the Third Reich? The problem is that Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was both a great composer and a notorious anti-Semite. A half-century after his death, his music and writings became part of the cultural and intellectual foundations of Nazi Germany. And in between, a number of Wagner’s prominent followers and family members contributed to the malignant

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senior living

Live the good life every day of the year The SummiT aT FirST hill, a showcase of retirement living, currently has beautiful one- and two-bedroom apartments as well as a limited number of assisted-living units available for immediate occupancy at competitive market rates. There are no entrance fees. a full complement of services is provided in a traditional Jewish environment. amenities include beautiful common area gathering places, an outdoor terrace, library and more. a stimulating recreational and educational activities program is offered daily, plus scheduled transportation and home care services including an in-home nurse clinic complete The Summit retirement living. The Summit is a part of the Kline Galland Center’s continuum of services, along with The Polack adult Day Center and the Caroline Kline Galland Nursing home. For additional information and tour appointments, call Trudi Arshon-Rosenbaum at (206) 652-4444.

A fAmily of residentiAl And community services supporting Jewish seniors of greAter seAttle

threads of German thought that eventually made the Holocaust possible. Wagner’s anti-Semitism first came to light in the 1850 essay “Judaism in Music.” Several more such essays followed over the next three decades. Wagner’s letters and private conversations (recorded in his wife Cosima’s diaries) are peppered with anti-Semitic remarks. Wagner objected to the Jew’s “disagreeably foreign” appearance and mannerisms. He decried Jewish prominence in commerce, finance and the press. Jewish speech was “a creaking, squeaking, buzzing snuffle.” Even talented Jews could create only shallow artifice, not great art, Wagner claimed, because they had no real connection with European peoples and their languages, and were thus incapable of genuinely expressive song, music, or poetry. He saw Jewish conspiracies against himself and his music, Jews as a force of decay, and Judaism itself as “the evil conscience of our civilization.” senior living

Many Germans of Wagner’s time shared his views. But Wagner’s status as a great composer gave those views greater weight and longevity. Wagner’s anti-Semitism was both religious and cultural. He argued for total Jewish assimilation and conversion to Christianity, through which all Jewish characteristics would, he hoped, disappear. Then late in life, he befriended Count Arthur de Gobineau, who pioneered the concept of a superior Aryan race polluted by miscegenation. Wagner argued with Gobineau over the latter’s racial theories. But in his 1881 essay “Know Thyself,” Wagner crossed the line into racism himself. And when told of a fire in a Vienna theater which killed 900 people, half of them Jews, he remarked: “All Jews should be burned at a performance of Nathan the Wise” (a play advocating religious tolerance). Despite all this, Wagner could be friendly with individual Jews. He genuinely liked and admired conductor Hermann Levi, the son of a rabbi. Yet he suggested that Levi be baptized before conducting the premiere of Wagner’s mystical Christian opera Parsifal. Levi refused, still conducted the opera, and the friendship endured. By the time of Wagner’s death, Wagner-worship had become something of a cult. The Bavarian town of Bayreuth,

u Page 16

senior living

senior living

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The Wagner question t Page 15 home to the composer’s family and to summer festivals of his operas, became a place of pilgrimage for the faithful. Loving the music was only part of it. Many of Wagner’s admirers adopted — or already shared — viewpoints that Wagner expressed in his prolific writings. This included anti-Semitism. Under Cosima’s guidance, Bayreuth became a magnet for Jew-haters and extreme German nationalists. One was the British-born Houston Stewart Chamberlain, who married Wagner’s daughter Eva, and called Hitler “God’s gift to Germany.” Chamberlain’s racism-laced history The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century had great influence on Nazi ideology. Adolf Hitler adored Wagner’s operas. There is much evidence that he saw the world through a lens shaped by the g randiose my t h-telling of Wag ner’s Ring cycle, the revolutionary heroics of Rienzi, and the ritual of Parsifal. Beginning in 1923, Hitler regularly visited Bayreuth. He found a great friend and supporter in Winifred Wagner, wife of the composer’s son Siegfried, who took over the Bayreuth Festival after Siegfried’s death in 1930. Hitler subsidized the festival after coming to power, was a frequent guest of the Wagner family, and became “Uncle Wolf” to the composer’s grandchildren. Hitler used his friendship with the Wagner family to link his image to the composer’s. Wagner’s music is heard in Leni Riefenstahl’s propaganda film Triumph of Will. Nazi mass rallies were staged w ith Wagnerian spectacle in mind, and began, by Hitler’s order, with Wagnerian overtures. Historian William L. Shirer wrote in his Berlin Diaries: “Wagner’s influence on Nazism, on Hitler, has never been grasped abroad.” Hitler himself declared, “To understand National Socialism, you must first understand Wagner.” The Nazis used the music of other Romantic composers, particularly Bruckner (another Hitler favorite), Liszt, and Beethoven. But only Wagner had been a public anti-Semite. Yes, the Nazis appropriated Wagner, but he fit too easily and too well. Which leads us to the fundamental question: Can we separate Wagner’s music from its creator’s odious views? It’s complicated. Wagner’s antiSemitism is a fact. The link between Wagner and Hitler is real. To deny or minimize these inconvenient truths, as education

education

august 7, 2009

some Wagner apologists do, is simply d i shonest . But to hea r on ly Na zism and anti-Semitism in t he music is to miss out on some very beautiful, powerful and important music. Musical associations are a funny thing. Play Rossini’s “William Tell Overture” to anyone my Rozarii Lynch/Seattle Opera age or older, and we Siegfried (Alan Woodrow) meets Fafner the Dragon. i ne v it a bl y t h i n k , “The Lone Ranger.” That’s not what Rossini had in mind, but that the Nazis certainly shared. But it is years of hearing the overture as a radio precisely these “Nazi” values — undyand television theme have cemented the ing hatred, revenge, brute force, absence connection. of conscience and the lust for absolute So it is with Wagner. Those who lived power — that lead to the destruction of during the Nazi period heard Wagner’s Valhalla and the world. And a recurring music as the soundtrack behind Jewish theme in Wagner’s operas, including the descent into non-personhood and the Ring, is redemption through love — not death camps, and Europe’s descent into something Hitler had in mind. flames. Is it any wonder that many of Much has been written about posthem found that music too horrible or sible racist and proto-Nazi messages painful to bear, and conveyed these feelcoded into Wagner’s music, and of antiings to their children? I myself came face to face with this when I reviewed Seattle Opera’s 1985 Gay Israelis Reeling t Page 1 production of Die Walküre, the second of the Ring operas. Act III opens with the Tel Aviv municipality. A trickle of the famous “Ride of the Valkyries.” The mourners lit memorial candles on the st ring tremolos began. The curtain sidewalk entrance to the building’s rose. The Valkyries flew on wired carcourtyard. ousel horses above a stage filled with A f ter k neeling to light a candle, backlit mist. It was a perfect theatrical Yarden, a 22-year-old army medic, said moment. I felt that ecstatic sensation his mother called him Saturday night to one gets in the theater when everything see if he was at the club. is just so right. Then the brass began “I used to come here when I was to play the “Ride” melody, and I began younger. I’m shocked,” he said. “People to cry. say that they don’t know what the reason I felt soiled, unclean. I was actually was, but it was obv ious that it was enjoying the theme song of those who homophobia. This is the first time somemurdered millions. How could I? I have thing like this has happened in Israel.” not had this reaction since, but I’ll never Pinni Altman, an Israeli American visforget it. iting from San Francisco, came with his W hy did I react so strongly? Two life partner and 9-year-old son. Altman of my family members were gassed at said he raised money for the center back Auschwitz. My mother believed that in the 1990s. Wagner inspired the people who did it. It wasn’t so long ago that the gay comWhenever Wagner was played on the munity huddled into one club not much radio in my boyhood home, she switched bigger than a car and feared harassment it off. Even after I spent years learnby police and roughnecks in public areas, ing to appreciate Wagner for the great he said. Now, Altman said, he points to musician he was, those old associations Tel Aviv’s embrace of gays to counter antiremained. Israel rhetoric from the American left. The Ring and its mythology figured “I always thought Tel Aviv was the prominently in Hitler’s vision of German San Francisco of Israel,”  Altman said. glory. And on the surface, the operas seem “You have to go thousands of miles to to glorify some pretty deplorable values find another city that’s as gay friendly. education

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Semitic stereotypes in several of his characters. I don’t find the former convincing, and the latter only occasionally rings true. Today, much depends on how the operas are presented and the characters portrayed. Despite his bigotry, Wagner is simply too great and important a composer to dismiss. His unifying of music and drama in long composed works is a monumental achievement. He took chromatic harmony to its limits, and paved the way for 20th-century music. His orchestrations show a tonal imagination second to none. At his best, Wagner can stir the senses and emotions like no one except Mahler. Consider this: Theodor Herzl was a great admirer of Wagner’s music, and first conceived of creating a Jewish state during a performance of Tannhäuser. On the other hand, a Web search for the terms “anti-Semitism” and “Wagner” brings up a disturbing number of white supremacist and neo-Nazi sites. Wagner is quoted in the online book by James von Brunn, who murdered a guard when he opened fire at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in June. As I said, it’s complicated.

I don’t know if it changes the reality, but it changes the picture in my head. It smashes the bubble.” Israel has repealed anti-sodomy laws and gays and lesbians are open about their sexual identity in the nation’s military. Same-sex marriages are not legally recognized and couples are not always eligible to receive certain social benefits. Mike Prashker, the founder of Merchavim, a group that promotes pluralism among Israeli youth, said that regardless of the shooter’s motive, the attack has highlighted the difficulty of promoting tolerance among Israel’s diverse groups. “We need to do a better job at helping Israelis of all backgrounds feel comfortable with their fellow citizens,” he said. “Ignorant attitudes toward diversity must be delegitimized, whether it’s homophobia or xenophobia.” Avner Berenheimer, who co-wrote Yossi & Jagger, a film about a gay couple in the Israeli military, said the Israeli public has undergone a dramatic change in its attitudes over the past decade. “If it’s a hate crime, then it’s the first major hate crime in Israel since the foundation of the country,” Berenheimer said. “Suddenly we’ve joined all these countries with violence and bigotry against gay people.” education

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Music for a higher power

If you go:

Former rocker finds solace and inspiration in Judaism’s rich teachings Leyna Krow

with the Dan Reed Network, a funk/rock ensemble based out of Portland, Ore. The band broke up in 1993 and since then, Reed has worked as a writer, filmmaker and nightclub owner. But after so many years in the spotlight (or behind the spotlight), Reed felt he needed a break. About five years ago, he decided to take some time off and travel in hopes of re-centering himself spiritually and creatively. In 2005, Reed began what would become a four-year journey by traveling to Dharamsala, India, where he befriended a pair of Buddhist monks who invited him to stay in the guesthouse of their monastery. While there, he studied daily Buddhist prayers, throat singing and meditation, and taught the monks about rock ’n’ roll (one of them, it turns out, was a huge Queen fan). It was also while he was in India that Reed became fascinated with Israel. “[In India], I met a lot of Israelis — a lot of former soldiers. I had read a lot about the conflict, but the more I learned from talking to people, the less I felt like I knew. I wanted to go an see it for myself,” he said. After a year in India, Reed got the motivation he needed to visit the Holy Land. While traveling through Delhi, he befriended a fashion designer from Haifa. The woman asked Reed if he would visit her in Israel. He agreed. “Once I saw Jerusalem, I had no choice but to stay,” Reed recalled. He remained in Israel for three years. Although he was raised in a Christian

Assistant Editor, JTNews Musician Dan Reed may not be Jewish, but that didn’t stop him from spending nine months studying at a yeshiva while living in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood outside of Jerusalem. “I met some of the rabbis in the neighborhood, and they invited me down to check out the yeshiva. So I went. And then I kept going back,” he said. “It was this experience that felt like a great honor, to be invited in.” It was there, in Jerusalem, submerged in a faith with which he’d had little previous contact, that Reed composed the bulk of his upcoming album, Coming Up for Air. The result, according to Reed, is a collection of songs that delve into his personal exploration of faith and selfhood — a radical departure from the music of his youth. “It’s mostly been a realization that music can be more than just something to satisfy me as an artist — it can be a mode of communication between me and audience. And music can release some of the negative energy of the day,” he said. “I find I’m writing songs more about soul searching, not just libido or lost love.” Reed will be performing a solo acoustic show on Aug. 16 at the Triple Door in Seattle. Reed has been w riting and playing music on and off for more than two decades. He began his career in the 1980s education

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Sofia Lindberg

Dan Reed household, Reed said he has long been fascinated by a variety of religious traditions, as well as the people who peruse them. More than anything else, it was the energy of Jerusalem that attracted him to the place. “I just really enjoyed living in a city where 90 percent of people are searching for a connection with God,” he said. “You can feel that in the air. It’s very different from the United States.” The place inspired him not only to study with local rabbis, however. He was also moved to write music. In fact, he relocated his recording studio from Portland to Jerusalem and started work on some new songs with a new sound. It wasn’t just Reed’s musical career that got a jump-start while he was in Israel. His interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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Dan Reed will perform with Manda Mosher Sun., Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Triple Door, 216 Union St., Seattle. Visit www.tripledoor.net for ticket information.

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was also piqued, and upon returning to U.S. he decided he wanted to play a role in the peace process. Today, Reed is a vice chairman of the board for the Middle East Peace Civic Forum, a Washington D.C.-based organization that promotes a two-state solution for Israel. According to Reed, the group’s primary goal is to get people working toward a resolution, be they activists, diplomats, or legislators, together to try and find common ground. “We’re just trying to get people to see eye to eye,” he explained. “We don’t lobby or try to get bills passed.” Now he’s back in the States, living in New York, and devoting himself to music full-time for the first time in more than 20 years. In April, he began a solo tour through northern Europe and the U.S. His Seattle show will be one of the last stops on that tour. Reed said that although both the message and presentation of his music have changed dramatically since he first started the Dan Reed Network, a number of his fans have stuck with him through the transition. “Of course, I do get some e-mails saying, ‘How come you don’t rock anymore? You’re making us think too much, stop it,’” he said. education

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Love, the hard way ‘Adam’ writer-director crafts lovely outsider romance Michael Fox Special to JTNews

If you go:

Finding himself with a free hour in Washington, D.C. not too long ago, Max Mayer visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. He boarded the elevator with the crowd to go to the permanent exhibit, when something unexpected happened. “The last thing, just before they close the doors, they ask, ‘Who here has lost family in the Holocaust?’” Mayer recalls. “I raised my hand. And I realized that I was the only one. I had this sense of shame, and a sense of pride, and a sense of otherness, which I hadn’t felt for a long time.” As a red diaper baby growing up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Mayer hardly felt like an anomaly. Looking back, the veteran theater and television director thinks being an only child had a larger effect. But there was something else that made him feel separate from the great swath of Americans. “For my generation, the identification with the Holocaust made you understand that you were outside, in some way,” he says. The experience of being an outsider deeply informs the central characters in Adam, Mayer’s altogether lovely and touching film about an unusual New York romance between two 20-somet h i ng s. Je w i s h element a r y s c hool teacher Beth Buchwald (Rose Byrne) i s rebou nd i ng f rom a d i sappoi nting break-up, while Adam Raki (Hugh Dancy) has Asperger’s Sy ndrome, a type of high-functioning autism distinguished by extreme intelligence and extreme difficulty reaching beyond the internal world.

If you go: Adam opens Aug. 14 at the Harvard Exit theater, 807 E Roy, Seattle. Call 206-781-5755 or visit www. landmarktheatres.com. Check listings for showtimes.

Julia Griner

Rose Byrne and Hugh Dancy in the Max Mayer film Adam. Despite her attorney father’s opposition to a relationship with a highmaintenance partner, Beth pursues her attraction to Adam. The film doesn’t emphasize her Jewishness, but it’s there if you look for it, and it was fully present for Mayer when he wrote the screenplay. “I think that the sense of not being at the exact center of the society, for all of us [Jews], hopefully encourages a lot of us to be curious about others,” Mayer says in an interview in a downtown hotel the day before a packed screening of Adam in the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. “And have maybe a little bit more compassion or empathy for a sense of outsiderness, a sense of outsideness.” Beth’s parents, played by Amy Irving (who’s Jewish) and Peter Gallagher (who’s played numerous Jewish characters, notably in “The O.C.” and Robert Altman’s The Player), are clearly Jewish, but you

won’t see a menorah or any such bric-abrac in their house. A key subplot involves a complaint brought against Beth’s father, and Mayer confides that — long before Bernie Madoff — he consciously avoided feeding into negative stereotypes. “Honestly, I knew that Beth was Jewish and her family is Jewish, in terms of the outline, in terms of making up the story, long before there was a legal issue in the story,” Mayer explains. “I guess once there was a legal issue in the story, I didn’t really want to bring those things too close together.” A slightly shy fellow in his mid-50s who picks his words carefully, Mayer allows that he may have inherited his artistic inclinations from his mother, an actress with the USO who entertained the troops in Italy and Germany during World War II. “I got very ambivalent signals from her about that,” Mayer says. “She said that

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theater was a dog’s life and I should stay away from it, and also that it was the only thing worth doing. So I was confused, essentially, until I went to college and got involved.” Mayer confides that his mother, whose maiden name was Helen Waren, worked undercover for the Hagana, first while she was still in the USO and after the war when her cover was as a correspondent for the New York Star. She took a boatload of mostly illegal Jews from Genoa to Haifa, and was eventually arrested and held by the British. When she returned in the U.S., she wrote The Buried Are Screaming (1948), with the purpose of raising money for the state of Israel. “She wrote about her experiences in Europe but she couldn’t write about anything that was secret, so it’s less interesting than it could be,” Mayer says. Waren also wrote Out of the Dust (1952), a novel about a kibbutz in the desert. Mayer has his own connection with Israel, forged when he was 13. At the Wailing Wall with his parents, he met a Chassidic boy who was horrified to learn that Max hadn’t become a Bar Mitzvah. “He wrapped me up [in tefillin] and very seriously had me go over the prayers after him, correcting me at essentially every word,” Mayer recalls. “So in some spiritual sense I was Bar Mitzvahed at the Wailing Wall.”

M.O.T. t Page 7 Working his first non-retail or manufacturing job in almost 30 years (although he’s done plenty of business development), Steve says, “ I was in the right place at the right time with the right knowledge,” to get this job, calling it “a path to pursue a passion. “I told [people] it was luck, but it wasn’t…. The lucky part is that the timing worked out for me.” And, as a volunteer, Steve had already demonstrated his skills to Sound Alliance in a direct and personal way. When he’s not getting SustainableWorks underway, Steve enjoys riding his bike, “hypermiling,” going to theater and cooking. He’s been a Girl Scout leader and a baseball coach and served on the Northend Stroum Jewish Community Center board (when they had their own board). He’s also been instrumental in starting a “green team” at Temple Beth Am, where they hope to work on recycling and energy efficiency issues for the congregation. There’s more info on SustainableWorks at the Sound Alliance Web site.

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Engel raps White House on Robinson WASHINGTON (JTA) — A Jew ish Democratic congressman is criticizing President Obama’s choice of Mary Robinson for a Presidential Medal of Freedom. “It think it’s a mistake given Mary Robinson’s bias and statements and actions,” said Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday evening in an interview with JTA. “She personif ies ever y t hing w rong w it h t he United Nations.” Engel, the first Democratic congressman to publicly criticize the administration’s selection, said he didn’t think the White House would withdraw the award because “they don’t want to look like they buckled under to pressure.”

But, he added, “I hope that they would. It’s a poor choice.” Engel joined AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League, the Zionist Organization of America and the Republican Jewish Coalition in criticizing the selection of Robinson, the former U.N. high commissioner for human rights, as one of 16 recipients for the highest civilian honor in the United States. As high commissioner, Robinson presided over the 2001 Durban conference against racism. Jewish groups and supporters of Israel have said that Robinson did not do enough to deter or prevent the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hostility that

occurred at the conference. They also have accused her of being a one-sided critic of Israel both during her 1997-2002 tenure at the United Nations and since. Engel did not think the selection of Robinson, the first female president of Ireland, was meant to send any kind of message about the president’s Middle East policy, but was likely just a “screwup” by the White House. The congressman cautioned, however, that he didn’t want to “blow it out of proportion,” noting that there are “a lot more important things” going on in addition to the Robinson controversy. — JTA World News Service

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W h E R E GREATER SEATTLE Chabad House (Traditional) 206/527-1411 4541 19th Ave. NE Bet Alef (Meditative Reform) 206/527-9399 16330 NE 4th St., Bellevue (in Unity Church) Congregation Kol Ami (Reform) 425/844-1604 16530 Avondale Rd. NE, Woodinville Cong. Beis Menachem (Traditional Hassidic) 1837 156th Ave. NE, Bellevue 425/957-7860 Congregation Beth Shalom (Conservative) 6800 35th Ave. NE 206/524-0075 Cong. Bikur Cholim-Machzikay Hadath (Orthodox) 5145 S Morgan 206/721-0970 Capitol Hill Minyan-BCMH (Orthodox) 1501 17th Ave. E 206/721-0970 Congregation Eitz Or (Jewish Renewal) 6556 35th Ave. NE 206/467-2617 Cong. Ezra Bessaroth (Sephardic Orthodox) 5217 S. Brandon Street 206/722-5500 Congregation Shaarei Tefilah-Lubavitch (Orthodox/Hassidic) 6250 43rd Ave. NE 206/527-1411 Congregation Shevet Achim (Orthodox) 5017 90th Ave. SE (at NW Yeshiva HS) Mercer Island 206/275-1539 Congregation Tikvah Chadashah (Gay/Lesbian) 206/355-1414 Emanuel Congregation (Modern Orthodox) 3412 NE 65th Street 206/525-1055 Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation (Conservative) 206/232-8555 3700 E. Mercer Way, Mercer Island Hillel (Multi-denominational) 4745 17th Ave. NE 206/527-1997 Kadima (Reconstructionist) 206/547-3914 12353 NE 8th, Seattle Kavana Cooperative [email protected]

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K’hal Ateres Zekainim (Orthodox) 206/722-1464 at Kline Galland Home, 7500 Seward Park Ave. S Sephardic Bikur Holim Congregation (Orthodox) 6500 52nd Ave. S 206/723-3028 The Summit at First Hill (Orthodox) 1200 University St. 206/652-4444 Temple Beth Am (Reform) 206/525-0915 2632 NE 80th St. Temple B’nai Torah (Reform) 425/603-9677 15727 NE 4th, Bellevue Temple De Hirsch Sinai (Reform) Seattle, 1441 16th Ave. 206/323-8486 Bellevue, 3850 156th Ave. SE 425/454-5085 SOuTH KING COuNTy Bet Chaverim (Reform) 206/577-0403 25701 14th Place S, Des Moines WEST SEATTLE Kol HaNeshamah (Reform) 206/935-1590 Alki UCC, 6115 SW Hinds St. Torah Learning Center (Orthodox) 5121 SW Olga St. 206/938-4852 WAShinGTon STATE AbERdEEn Temple Beth Israel 360/533-5755 1819 Sumner at Martin AnAcoRTES Anacortes Jewish Community 360/293-4123 bAinbRidGE iSLAnd Congregation Kol Shalom (Reform) 9010 Miller Road NE 206/855-0885 Chavurat Shir Hayam 206/842-8453 bELLinGhAm Chabad Jewish Center of Whatcom County 717 High St. 360/933-4818 Congregation Beth Israel (Reform) 2200 Broadway 360/733-8890

Wo R S h i p bREmERTon Congregation Beth Hatikvah 360/373-9884 11th and Veneta EVERETT / EdmondS Chabad Jewish Center of Snohomish County 2225 100th Ave. W, Edmonds 425/967-3036 Temple Beth Or (Reform) 425/259-7125 3215 Lombard St., Everett FoRT LEWiS Jewish Chapel 253/967-6590 Liggett Avenue & 12th iSSAquAh Chabad of the Central Cascades (Hassidic Traditional) 24121 SE Black Nugget Rd. 425/427-1654 oLympiA Chabad Jewish Discovery Center 1611 Legion Way SE 360/584-4306 Congregation B’nai Torah (Conservative) 3437 Libby Rd. 360/943-7354 Temple Beth Hatfiloh (Reconstructionist) 201 8th Ave. SE 360/754-8519 poRT AnGELES And SEquim Congregation B’nai Shalom 360/452-2471 poRT ToWnSEnd Congregation Bet Shira 360/379-3042 puLLmAn, WA And moScoW, id Jewish Community of the Palouse 509/334-7868 or 208/882-1280 SpokAnE Congregation Emanu-El (Reform) P O Box 30234, Spokane 99223 509/835-5050 www.spokaneemanu-el.org Temple Beth Shalom (Conservative) 1322 E. 30th Ave. 509/747-3304

TAcomA Chabad-Lubavitch of Pierce County 1889 N Hawthorne Dr. 253/565-8770 Temple Beth El (Reform) 253/564-7101 5975 S. 12th St. TRi ciTiES Congregation Beth Sholom (Conservative) 312 Thayer Drive, Richland 509/375-4740 VAncouVER Chabad-Lubavitch of Clark County 9604 NE 126th Ave., Suite 2320 360/993-5222 E-mail: [email protected] www.chabadclarkcounty.com Congregation Kol Ami 360/574-5169 Service times and location can be found at www.jewishvancouverusa.org VAShon iSLAnd Havurat Ee Shalom 206/567-1608 15401 Westside Highway P O Box 89, Vashon Island, WA 98070 WALLA WALLA Congregation Beth Israel 509/522-2511 E-mail: [email protected] WEnATchEE Greater Wenatchee Jewish Community 509/662-3333 or 206/782-1044 WhidbEy iSLAnd Jewish Community of Whidbey Island 360/331-2190 yAkimA Temple Shalom (Reform) 509/453-8988 1517 Browne Ave.

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friday, august 7, 2009

community news

City Council t Page 1 Ginsberg noted he’s already had some success, at the very least, in forcing Conlin to address issues that he might otherwise have avoided. “I have managed to shift the terms of the debate and what my opponent is talking about,” he said. “So for a first-time challenger, that’s a good sign.” Ginsberg sees the major challenges currently facing Seattle as interconnected. For example, he suggests that coupling affordable housing with effective transportation solutions can help to stimulate the local economy by encouraging people to shop where they live. “We should aim to build urban villages that can be connected with transit, the backbone of which should be rail,” he explained. “When you build a rail station, you know it will be there for an indefinite period of time. And if you open a busi-

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ness nearby, you know there will be a certain amount of foot traffic there, which encourages economic development in those places. Areas that are considered walkable are not suffering as much [from the recession] as those that aren’t.” Without a résumé of previous political experience, aside from serving as the 34th Legislative District Captain during the 2008 presidential election, Ginsberg is hoping practical ideas like this will be what it takes to swing the vote in his favor. Ginsberg lives in West Seattle with his partner, Mike, and their 7-year-old twins, Anthony and Anya. They are members of Kol HaNeshamah. Position 6 – Jessie Israel and Marty Kaplan Jessie Israel’s family has been a part of Seatt le’s Sephardic community for a long time — four generations to be exact. “M y g r a ndparents still go Jessie Israel to Ezra Bessarot h,” she said. “They’ve been ver y involved throughout their lives.” Mart y Kaplan also claims a long family history in Seattle, going back more than 100 years. It’s a connection both candidates draw on, and hope will help them in their efforts to unseat three-time incumbent Nick Licata.

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Of course, getting elected to political office in Seattle requires more than just having an influential bubbie. K a pl a n h a s been running his Marty Kaplan own architecture firm for 30 years. In addition, he has served on the Seattle Planning Commission, neighborhood councils, the INTIMAN Theatre board of directors, and the Social Action Committee at Temple Beth Am. Although Israel is only 35 years old (meaning she was just a kindergartener when Kaplan started his business), she too has amassed an impressive résumé of involvement in community planning and finance. She works for King County Parks and Recreation, a position she says prepares her for the realities of a city in a recession. “With the parks, we lost 80 percent of our budget almost overnight,” Israel said. “I was on the team that had to figure out how to keep programs strong with so much less money, and we did it. Unfortunately, that skill set is very much in demand right now.” Prior to joining King County, Israel managed the Center for Women & Democracy at the University of Washington. Before that, she worked as a consultant to help establish neighborhood plans for the Central Area, Eastlake, Denny Triangle, and Wallingford areas. On the international front, Israel spent two years as a volunteer with the Peace Corps in West Africa.

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She said that she chose to take on Licata for Position 6 because “it’s time for a new approach and new energy.” Kaplan was a little more direct in his criticism of the incumbent, however. “After 12 years, Nick really hasn’t provided a lot of leadership on the council. In fact, he obstructed a lot of important things,” Kaplan said. He cited Licata’s opposition to both the plan to replace the Alaska Way Viaduct with a tunnel and the Mercer Corridor project as examples as points of disagreement between the two candidates. Licata has criticized the tunnel as being far too costly and the Mercer Corridor as unnecessary. Kaplan, however, described both as “very important infrastructure investments,” and sees Licata’s anti-growth tendencies as out of synch with Seattle’s needs, particularly when it comes to transportation. Israel voiced similar concerns about finding transportation solutions that are both financially viable and could be put to use sooner rather than later. “We have a huge amount of growth coming into this region — an estimated million and half people in the next 20 years,” she said. “Light rail is great and it’s going to help. But it has taken 40 years to get light rail. We don’t have that kind of time for every project.” Position 8 – Robert Rosencrantz Rober t Rosencrantz is no stranger to life on the local campaig n t rail. This is t he t hird time he has run for city council. He ran for the first time in 2003, then again in 2005. He’s calling Robert Rosencrantz this run his “Third Time’s a Charm Campaign.” What makes him so optimistic about this race? “Timing is everything,” Rosencrantz said. “The council is losing a significant amount of business experience this year. On top of that, this is the most challenging economy we’ve had in a long time.” Rosencrantz claims 25 years of experience working in the realms of affordable housing, finance, real estate, and asset management. He and his wife Terry also own four apartment complexes in Seattle. “We stick to the basics and get things done,” he said of his and Terry’s building management style. Rosencrantz describes himself as a “big-picture vision guy.” And indeed, his aspirations for bringing the city out of its economic slump are ambitious. “We are going to see a fundamental change over next few years in our relationship with energy,” he said. “The ability for a city to bring in those jobs is proportional to the vision of leaders willingness to take it on.” In Rosencrantz’s vision, this means, “transforming the industrial land base into new industry.” Who will redevelop Seattle’s existing industrial spaces and how those projects will be funded, he isn’t quite sure, however. “I see that picture pretty clearly; I just don’t know how we’re going to get there yet,” he said. Rosencrantz’s other pet project, which he’ll make a priority if elected, is to “return power to the neighborhoods,” by way of ordinances that would allow neighborhoods decision-making authority over certain issues such as what to do with the funds generated from parking meters.

August 7, 2009

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Insurance

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Matzoh Momma Catering Catering with a personal touch 206-324-MaMa Serving the community for over 25 years. Full service catering and event planning for all your Life Cycle events. Miriam and Pip Meyerson

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Hills of Eternity Cemetery Owned and operated by Temple De Hirsch Sinai 206-323-8486 Serving the greater Seattle Jewish community. Jewish cemetery open to all pre-need and at-need services. Affordable rates • Planning assistance. Queen Anne, Seattle

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22 jtnews

n

friday, august 7, 2009

viewpoints

Incentives for organ donation t Page 2 This failed status quo is no more ethical than exploring new approaches, which actually could save lives, even if we cannot foresee all the possible downsides. Many innovative plans could help shorten the line for an organ, and they do a better job than the current system of taking incentives into account. As Dr. Sally Satel argues in her book When Altruism Isn’t Enough: The Case for Compensating Kidney Donors, a practical and ethical government-regulated donor compensation system would put the likes of Rosenbaum out of business.

The level of communal guilt voiced — by Jews not involved in the scandal — has reached new levels. The news broke at the start of the Nine Days, a period seemingly reserved for bad news for Jews. This, however, is a time not for selfflagellation but for self-reflection. Perhaps instead of crying about the misdeeds of others, it is a time to look inward and consider how we personally would behave. If your life depended on getting a kidney that wasn’t otherwise available, would you conduct business with Mr. Rosenbaum? Would you prevent one of the 13 deaths today among those in line for a kidney by donating one of yours? Would you do so

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That it is a good deed to save a life, even for compensation, is a Jewish value we should embrace in response to the chilul Hashem, desecration of God’s name, of this crisis. Even the most tightly regulated system that creates incentives for donors would save lives, reduce the shortages that promote the black market and level the playing field by helping all potential recipients, not just those who can afford a trip to Tennessee, Kidney Village or Brooklyn.

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for compensation? Clearly the incentive to save a life isn’t enough, or synagogues would be sponsoring kidney drives alongside their blood drives. It would help to know that according to the halachic authority Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, selling a kidney is not only permissible, it is a mitzvah. Auerbach w rote that “even if the person selling his kidney is poor (and needs the money for himself) or to pay off his debts, since he obtains this money by saving the life of another Jew, he will certainly be doing a mitzvah. This is true even if he would not have donated his kidney only to save life.”

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jtnews 23

n arts & entertainment

friday, august 7, 2009

Break down these walls

If you go:

New Idan Raichel Project album excites, but it also disappoints. Joel Magalnick Editor, JTNews When the Idan Raichel Project came to Hillel at the UW four years ago, I was blown away — and I wasn’t alone. I hadn’t seen so many Israelis since being stuck in a traffic jam in Tel Aviv. Seeing the Project again, this time in their home country of Israel, in 2007 was no less exciting. Their blend of rock with traditional Arabic and North African music had me — and much of Israel — at hello. Raichel, a dred-locked musician whose real talent lies in bringing out the best in the musicians that climb over each other to surround him — nearly 70 in all on his earlier efforts — is probably the closest thing Israel has to a musical superstar these days. The Idan Raichel Project plays three shows at the Triple Door on Aug. 10 and 11. Songs from the Project’s releases, beginning with its self-titled 2002 album (released here in 2006), to 2005’s Israeli release Out of the Depths, wowed me and they’ve created a musical genre that has found fans who might otherwise not be fans of anything Israeli. The wailing horns, the bass grooves, the soulful voices from all corners of the world — I’m breathless just thinking about it. Which is why the Idan Raichel Project’s latest album, Within My Walls, is something of a letdown. Don’t get me wrong: It’s good. But it’s not great. It feels,

Nitzan Treystman

more than anything, like Raichel is trying to be more like Pink Martini, cramming three, four, five languages onto the album. Not that he can faulted for that. He’s been hailed as a world musician, and when he’s producing tracks beyond his native language, the results are stellar. Kicking off the album with “Todas Las Palabras,” which you Spanish speakers can translate as “All the Words,” renow ned Colombian singer Mar tá Gomez shows off the chops that have made her famous in her own country (she’s got four critically acclaimed albums of her own). Also in Spanish, and also sung by Gomez, is “Cada Dia,” “Every Day,” which strips down the instrumental to piano, clarinet and a light percussion, and lets her voice really shine through, to remarkable effect. It’s obvious Raichel has done

his homework in finding his artists for this album, because Gomez, more than any of the other vocalists, sets the tone for Within My Walls. The piano sets a tone as well, particularly for one of the other two female vocalists to grace this recording. Cubanborn singer Maya Andrade, who grew up off the coast of Africa on the isle of Cape Verde, was surrounded by music in her youth and recorded “Ôdjus Fitxadu” — “With My Eyes Shut” — in her island’s native Portugese. Thankfully the liner notes have all been translated into English for us dumb Americans, because I would have been happy to enjoy the music and Andrade’s lovely voice and never realize how sad a song this is: “When I looked at the sky today/ All I could see were stars/ Telling me that you are gone/ Forever my love…. Bearing the sword and the power of longing and pain/ With my soul free in time/ I vow to live with my eyes shut/ And thus keep you with me/ With me….” “Maisha,” sung in Swahili African by jazz musician Somi (though she was actually born in Illinois) was probably what most made me compare this album to just about anything by Pink Martini: Powerful vocals backed up by what could be called a chamber orchestra, though it lacks the brass that got me so excited about the Portland band’s early stuff. My favorite track, however, is the one sung in Arabic, by Moroccan Shimon

The Idan Raichel Project plays the Triple Door, 216 Union St., on Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. and Aug. 11 at 7 and 10 p.m. Visit www.tripledoor.net for tickets and information.

Buskila: “Min Nhar Li Mshiti,” or “From the Day You Left.” The song would sound like any Arabic dirge you might hear blaring from a radio above some Middle Eastern shouk, were it not for Idan’s excellent production behind Buskila’s wailing voice. The song builds to a crescendo before letting itself go, but it is exactly the type of collaboration that got me excited about the Idan Raichel Project in the first place. The liner notes, incidentally, are printed in the original Arabic as well. W hich is why it’s so disappointing that virtually everything else (with the exception of “Nin’al Be’Mabato,” Hebrew for “Locked in His Gaze,”) sounds like something rejected by an ’80s glam band. It’s almost as if Raichel, when writing in Hebrew, felt like he had to play to the lowest common denominator of Israeli Top 40 radio. It’s overproduced, over-electric, and just not that interesting. Perhaps in a live setting, which is where the Idan Raichel Project shines, they can do something that better showcases what Raichel is trying to do, but instead it comes off as an unfortunate counterpoint to what otherwise could have been the Project’s strongest album yet.

Meanwhile, Team SHA pauses to read a little community news during the annual Swedish SummeRun. Please help support local Jewish journalism Whether you read JTNews in print, online, or at mom’s house, subscribing to JTNews is one important way you can help support local Jewish journalism. New subscribers receive a year for $25. Subscribe online at www.jtnews.net, or call us to get started at 206-441-4553.

An annual tradition, Team SHA participated in the SummeRun, an event dedicated to raising money for the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research. What should you do while on your next excursion, near or far? Find a familiar landmark or an interesting site. Snap some digital pictures of yourself or travel companions holding JTNews, and e-mail them to us with a line or two about who and where you are.