HEADLINES | 6
SPECIAL SECTION | 12
BBYO
CHANUKAH GREETINGS
Teens connect with Holocaust survivors
Our favorite film and Chinese food pairings
DECEMBER 20, 2019 | KISLEV 22, 5780 | VOLUME 72, NUMBER 7
Chabad opens first Jewish center in south Phoenix ELLEN O’BRIEN | STAFF WRITER
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new Chabad center is coming to south Phoenix, a fast-growing region of the metropolitan area that previously had no synagogues. Rabbi Mendy Rimler and his wife, Sarah, will co-direct the Chabad Jewish Center of South Phoenix. “The first in the area is always a big thing,” said Grant Galas, a local real estate agent who worked closely with Rimler on ideas for the center. The rabbi plans to focus on social and educational programming at the Chabad House, including Jewish classes and youth events and activities in addition to Shabbat services, Shabbat dinners, counseling, visitation and kashering homes. Rimler, the former assistant rabbi and outreach director at Rohr Chabad at ASU, grew up immersed in Chabad life in Melbourne, Australia, where his parents directed a Chabad House. “I was saturated with the concept of looking out for the welfare of every Jew, wherever they are,” Rimler said. “I grew up with the conviction that every Jew deserves to have a sense of family, a sense that they have a community that loves and cares for them.” In south Phoenix, many Jews have felt the need for that sense of connection. Without a synagogue nearby, Galas had to drive around half an hour to get to services in Tempe or Chandler. He hopes the new center will provide his family with a stronger sense of community in their area.
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Jewish and Israel-related groups react to Trump’s executive order on anti-Semitism TOBY TABACHNICK | CONTRIBUTING WRITER AND JACKSON RICHMAN | JNS.ORG
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ewish and Israel-related groups had mixed reactions to U.S. President Donald Trump signing an executive order that requires the U.S. government to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism in responding to “prohibited forms of discrimination rooted in anti-Semitism as vigorously as against all other forms of discrimination prohibited by Title VI” of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The executive order mandates that the U.S. Department of Education investigate anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses in accordance with Title VI of that law. The order was hailed by many mainstream Jewish organizations as a welcome tool in the fight against
anti-Semitism, while some expressed concern that it defines Jews as a nationality and that it infringes on the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The order, however, does not define Jews in any way. Rather it says that Jews may be protected under Title VI if their attackers perceive them to be a race or having a shared national identity. The White House announced the move in a call with members of the media on Tuesday, Dec. 10, and the executive order was signed at the first White House Hanukkah party on Dec. 11. Following Trump’s decision to sign the order, the Jewish Federations of North America issued a statement welcoming it. “The executive order is modeled on language in the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which has benefited from SEE ORDER, PAGE 3
Dreidel squad, roll out! What has 20 sides and can win you all the gelt? Check out Page 14 to get an edge on the competition.
SEE CHABAD, PAGE 2
KEEP YOUR EYE ON jewishaz.com
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ISRAEL
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