HEADLINES | 7
SPECIAL SECTION | 14
GREAT AZ CHALLAH BAKE
ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS
More than 200 women and girls gathered in Scottsdale on Nov. 10 to make challah
Arizona’s unique circumstances require multiple interventions
NOVEMBER 18, 2022 | CHESHVAN 24, 5783 | VOLUME 75, NUMBER 5
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Camp Swift taught Judith Giller-Leinwohl to ‘give her all’
Identity, memorialization and the dangers of ghettoizing: ASU Jewish Studies’ conference explores ‘Jews in Italian Musical Life’
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MALA BLOMQUIST | MANAGING EDITOR
here’s a poster that hangs in Camp Swift’s office that reads: “Camp Swift is my favorite place in the entire world. It has taught me compassion and how to truly give my all to an experience. Thank you for making me, me.” The poster holds special meaning because the words were written by Judith Giller-Leinwohl, a volunteer who “had a natural gift of making you feel like you were the most important person in the room,” said Lori Berman, Swift Youth Foundation president of the board. “Judith touched all of our hearts and lives. I will miss her hugs, her laugh and her friendship. We will continue to honor Judith in all we do at Swift, remembering how she gave her heart and soul to all of us and the difference she made in so many lives. Judith’s love and devotion to Swift is insurmountable. Her tattoo with the logo on her arm said it all.” Judith’s father, Malcolm Leinwohl, said that Judith had tattoos on her forearms that represented the causes she was passionate about and one of the first ones she got was the Camp Swift logo. “I think when she was in the hospital so many times, and for so many hours in the emergency rooms, when a hip or a shoulder would dislocate, I think it was a conversation piece, it was something to give her strength that she could get back to her community organizations,” he said. Judith suffered from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome for most of her 30 years. This syndrome is a group of disorders that impact connective tissues supporting the skin, bones, blood vessels and other organs. Malcolm said defects SEE CAMP SWIFT, PAGE 2
SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER
alamone Rossi composed modern dances, sonatas and Italian love songs for the entertainment of Francesco IV Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Italy, in the early 17th century. Rossi’s music was well-known and well-loved. Several of his 313 compositions were so popular they had to be reprinted. The Jewish composer spent his days working in opulence, immersed in the dominant Italian Catholic culture, but at night he went home to Mantua’s Jewish ghetto, where every Jew, no matter how admired for their craft, was forced to live behind gates that closed shut after dark. Rossi was one of 2,325 Jews living in Mantua in 1612, representing approximately 4% of the city’s total population — roughly the same percentage of Jews who live in Greater Phoenix. Joshua R. Jacobson, Northeastern University professor of music and director of choral activities, painted the picture of Rossi’s world. He called him a “bi-cultural Jew,” a participant in Catholic culture who was able to maintain his Jewish identity and literacy, during a talk at Arizona State University Jewish Studies’ international conference on Sunday, Nov. 6. “‘Let the Lord Inspire a Concert’: Jews in Italian Musical SEE ‘JEWS IN ITALIAN MUSICAL LIFE’, PAGE 3
Cantor Sharon Bernstein of Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, in San Francisco, together with her husband, professor and curator Francesco Spagnolo, pose for a photo in Beth El Congregation. They were both presenters at ASU Jewish Studies’ conference, “‘Let the Lord Inspire a Concert’: Jews in Italian Musical Life, 1450 to the present.” COURTESY OF DANIEL STEIN KOKIN
What’s trending in bat mitzvah dresses? Bling and color are today’s favorites in bat mitzvah trends. See page 18 COURTESY OF DAVID STUCK
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Biden congratulates Netanyahu on his win A Jewish museum exhibit features the Palestinian Borges’ love for Israel and Jewish culture on display at National Library of Argentina exhibit — and is told to expect more normalization deals flag. Some visitors wonder if it belongs.