August 8, 2025 | 14 Av 5785
Candlelighting 8:08 p.m. | Havdalah 9:09 p.m. | Vol. 68, No. 32 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
Jewish pride shared, tributes paid at JCC Maccabi Campus Games Opening Ceremonies
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Safety skills for seniors
Self-defense in the South Hills LOCAL
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Pittsburgh rabbi’s home targeted by anti-Israel vandal
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Celebrating culture and tradition
Rabbi Daniel Fellman’s sign in support of Israel was recently vandalized. In the last two years, he’s had to replace the sign nearly two dozen times after it was stolen.
Israel Day at EKC
Photo courtesy of Daniel Fellman
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WORLD 'A shell of himself'
Jewish teen athletes join social media influencer Montana Tucker to dance on Aug. 4 during the Opening Ceremonies of the JCC Maccabi Campus Games. Photo by Adam Reinherz By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer
A Update on hostage Evyatar David
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EDUCATION Back to School
Special section
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night of speeches ended in dance. By design, nearly 2,000 teenage Jewish athletes at the JCC Maccabi Campus Games fulfilled the promise of former hostage Mia Schem, who upon release from Hamas captivity declared, “We will dance again.” Those words, which Schem inked on her arm with the date Oct. 7, 2023, were referenced by social media influencer Montana Tucker during her address to attendees of the Opening Ceremonies of the JCC Maccabi Campus Games. “From the Maccabees who fought for our freedom thousands of years ago, to our grandparents who survived the Holocaust, to every single one of you standing here tonight, all of us in here are living proof of that spirit,” she said. Those who’ve come here are doing so “not just to compete, but to connect and celebrate and to show the world that Jewish spirit is stronger than ever, and that
we are people who dance again.” Tucker’s remarks, delivered inside the University of Pittsburgh’s Petersen Events Center in Oakland on Aug. 4, were among a series of speeches imploring more than 3,000 participants to both promote Jewish joy and embrace the spirit of the Maccabi Games. Established in 1982 as a North American Olympic-style sporting competition, the JCC Maccabi Games are the signature summer event for young Jewish athletes, according to Barak Hermann, president and CEO of the JCC Association of North America. Since its inception, nearly 500,000 youth have participated in the Games, he said. Samantha Cohen, senior vice president of JCC Maccabi, described her own experience 25 years ago as a British tennis player embarking on her first Maccabi experience. Please see Maccabi, page 16
Fall Arts Preview Coming August 22
Alina / Adobe Stock
By David Rullo | Senior Staff writer
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abbi Daniel Fellman wasn’t surprised to find his “We Stand With Israel” sign vandalized the morning of July 31. It has been a frequent target of attacks. “We’ve had that sign in the yard since the first rally (after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel),” said Fellman, senior rabbi of Temple Sinai. “That was almost two years ago, and we’ve had to replace it 20 to 25 times.” This was the first time, though, a vandal switched the sign with one displaying a different message. Fellman said he had recently placed a new, clean sign in his yard. When he looked at the sign on his way out the door the morning of July 31, he noticed his fresh, unsoiled sign was replaced with an older, dingy sign. In place of the word “Israel,” someone had taped a piece of paper that read “Genocide,” altering the sign to read, ”We Stand With Genocide.” Please see Vandalism, page 16