the melbourne jewish report - june 2022 edition

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VOL. 69 Tuesday, 21 June, 2022 / 22 Sivan 5782

Fostering a closer Jewish community

The Queen and the Jews p8

THE RABBINATE’S CHANGING FACE p4

ELEVATING THE JEWISH SOUL p5

10 JEWISH INVENTIONS

p13

DOG DAYS

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Living with intention the day. Holding your breath or short, shallow breathing high in the chest are

ANNE-MARIE ELIAS

indicators of stress and anxiety.

How often have you found that you set goals for your health and wellbeing and either not followed through or gave up? New Year’s resolutions fall into this category. You may have heard about SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely) goal setting. Here’s an example if you follow the SMART principles: The goal could be set at walking three morning a week (specific) at 7am. It is measurable using a pedometer. It is achievable because it fits into your schedule. It is realistic because after a period of inactivity the exercise is a walk, not a run and you are not starting to do so daily. It is timely because you are committing to a start date and putting that into your calendar. For some people goal setting is like doing homework. It needs to be done but you hate it and therefore you procrastinate, thereby causing unnecessary anxiety. It may be more helpful to live life with intention. An intention is a guiding principle for how you want to live. Intentions are mental states in which one commits to a course of action. The action plan is the content and the commitment is the attitude. I recommend that health and wellbeing intentions include variety.

9. Meditate. Even a five-minute daily meditation session (formal or informal e.g. in the shower) can aid wellbeing. 10. Take the time to chill out. 21st century living is indicative of busy, busy syndrome. Take the time to relax. 11. Sleep and re-energise. Practice good sleep hygiene. If sleep is elusive then find techniques to rest your mind and body. 12. See the light. Make sure that you get enough natural light. Open those blinds and curtains. 1. Add some spice to your life. “Boring” results in complacency and engagement in unhelpful thoughts and behaviours. Ensure that you include excitement to propagate healthy behaviour that gives you an adrenaline and dopamine boost, which is pleasurable, nourishes and lifts mood. 2. Moments of Movement. Any form of movement aids wellbeing (physical and psychological), so walk, swim, dance, go to a gym or find some other mode of activity. 3. Nourish your brain and body. Food is not only energy and fuel for our bodies, but also our brains. Eating well is a key to managing wellness. 4. Smell the roses. Spend time outside and delight in the aromas of nature. Science informs us that time in nature calms our body,

quiets our mind, helps to dispel troubling and traumatic memories, and enhances our mood. 5. Become masterful with one new habit at a time. When making change, do so progressively. When we try to upend too many things at once it can be overwhelming and set us up for failure. 6. Creativity. Use your mind in creative ways and “no” I am not saying become a professional artist or published writer. 7. Live in the moment. Remember to stay focused in the present, instead of spending countless hours ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. 8. Breathe. Start your day by breathing deeply and regulate your breathing during

Light exposure is good for our mood. 13. Talk it out or write it out. Let go of worrying thoughts. Either find another person to talk with or create a journal to write these things down. There is truth in the adage that a problem shared is a problem halved. 14. Gratitude. Start a gratitude journal or be aware of consciously being grateful on a daily basis. 15. Sustainability. The new buzz word can be applied to ourselves. Living with intention ensures that we can sustain a wellbeing regimen. Anne-Marie Elias is a psychologist in clinical practice for 25 years.

Fact and belief YERACHMIEL ISACOWITZ I would like to address a common misconception. It is said that science is fact and Torah is belief. Whilst there is some truth to this assertion, it doesn’t present the whole picture. Firstly, we need to understand the meaning of the terms fact and belief. It is safe to say that as humans we can’t have a complete knowledge of anything. Our interaction with the world is through our senses and intellect, both of which can be fooled. All our knowledge, including scientific, is based, at some level, on belief. An example of this is knowing with certainty the age of the universe and its inhabitants. Scientists use carbon dating, or the movement of stars to determine what they believe to be true. But the stars may not have always moved at the same rate, nor were all

Photo: https://www.123rf.com necessarily formed at the same time, so

Hashem

scientific belief can be questioned.

resemblance to primates is due to the

There are four levels of creation –

from

the

earth.

So,

our

fact that we share atomic makeup.

mineral, plant, animal and human. Each

Modern science is almost exclusively the

is more advanced that the level before it.

study of the physical world. Torah is the

According to the Oral Torah, only

study of truth, including the physical world.

humans

were

directly

created

by

Scientific research is about uncovering

facts. Torah research, no less vigorous, sophisticated or accurate, is about uncovering truth. Truth is incontrovertible. Scientific fact is only fact as long as the model upon which it is based is correct. Time and increased knowledge can change facts. Each of the Thirteen Tenets of Faith of Maimonides start with the words: “I believe with full faith.” Belief here is emunah (faith), which is rooted in the word eim (mother). It is the kind of complete faith a baby has in its mother. Through learning and tradition, Jews have complete faith that the Torah is God-given and true. Science asks “can we do it?”, philosophy questions whether we should do it, whilst Torah asks “may we do it?”. Only the third question leaves the answer with the One who created the universe. Yerachmiel Isacowitz is an independent Torah educator. E: risacowitz@optusnet.com.au W: torahconcepts.com FB: The Mem Channel

The imperfect world has perfect dimensions. The perfect world has no dimensions torahconcepts.com

The Mem Channel

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the melbourne jewish report | June 2022

CO NS I D E RE D

OPINION

The changing face of the rabbinate

NOMI KALTMANN COURTESY: TABLET MAGAZINE As more Orthodox women, LGBTQI Jews and people of colour get ordained, rabbis reflect an increasingly diverse community In North America, Rabbi Sandra Lawson had endured a gruelling process of applying and interviewing for numerous jobs at many different inclusive synagogues but had not yet been successful. However, after months of hard work, her final application really felt promising. As she edged closer to the finishing line, Lawson began seeing herself in the role she had applied for. As a queer, Black convert who had served in the military before being ordained through the Reconstructionist movement, she was used to shattering expectations of what “Jewish clergy” looked like. Still, the job was not to happen. The synagogue – which was presenting as inclusive and openminded – ultimately informed Lawson that they “could not hire a Black rabbi.” This was the last straw for Lawson. “I only apply to progressive places and when the last congregation I applied to would not hire me, I was angry, hurt, and frustrated,” she said. “If I couldn’t get a job there because people couldn’t get over my colour, who was going to hire me?” With the feelings still fresh from this rejection, Lawson founded a community organisation called Kol HaPanim. “I wanted to create a community that speaks to people of colour,” she said, “so that it normalises people of colour being rabbis and cantors in the Jewish community.” This organisation is helping to break down stigma and runs communityfocused activities, including monthly Shabbat services and events, as well as activities led by people, like Lawson, who identify as Jewish people of colour. “Most of my congregants are not Black, but they are going to hear a Black, Asian or brown person leading the service,” Lawson said. “This will help make it become normalised in the Jewish community and help to reduce racism, as their expectation of what a Jewish rabbi looks like changes.” In January 2021, she was also named the first director of racial diversity, equity and inclusion in the Reconstructionist movement. Lawson is part of a new wave of rabbis coming from diverse backgrounds and actively helping to change the perception of what an American rabbi looks like. Over the past decade there has been a monumental shift, with the establishment of Orthodox female rabbinical schools as well as greater interest and enrolments in many rabbinical schools from traditionally marginalised communities. Many of these students and rabbis are helping to educate people on the diversity of the Jewish community, by being appointed into positions of leadership. As a result, the rabbinate is becoming increasingly diverse. “Judaism has evolved over the centuries,” said Lawson. “As our society becomes more accepting of queer people and newer faces entering the rabbinate [like Orthodox women] and more members of the LGBQTI community, you will see greater

representation in leadership because the American Jewish community accepts these people as leaders.” Among North American clergy students, perhaps one of the best known rabbinic fellowships is the Wexner Graduate Fellowship/ Davidson Scholars Program, which provides a generous financial stipend, mentorship opportunities, and an alumni list that has included some of America’s most prominent rabbis. Last year, the 33rd cohort of the fellowship reflected the increasing diversity of the American rabbinate. Out a total of 16 fellows, at least six belong to emerging groups that symbolise the diversity of people joining the rabbinate, namely Orthodox women, Jewish people of colour and members of the LGBQTI communities. Jericho Vincent, a 2021 Wexner recipient who identifies as nonbinary, preferring the pronouns them and they, is a writer and lecturer. Vincent has enrolled in Aleph, the Jewish Renewal rabbinical school and thinks that the diversity of people seeking careers in the rabbinate is a natural shift. “Some people seem to have a hard time acknowledging it, but the Jewish community is varied and made up of many different segments,” they said. “There are Jewish people of colour; there are Jews who are members of the LGBTQI community; certainly not all people identify as cisgender males.” The trend may be recent, Vincent said, but it has “ancient” roots: “The Jewish community has never been homogenous. We have written different sects and people out of the mainstream narratives. They never made it into the canon,” they said. “Today, as part of the new wave of rabbis joining the rabbinate from diverse backgrounds, we are coalescing and growing stronger and doing a tikkun. We are saying it is our inheritance and we all have a right and responsibility to engage with Judaism.” According to Vincent, “it is an exciting time to be joining the rabbinate, as people are stepping up to fill the gaps of representation in our community. Many of our people need spiritual leadership

and these new voices emerging have firsthand exposure to many of the issues that will affect their congregants.” As one of the Wexner fellows, Vincent will enjoy activities with a supportive cohort of rabbinical students. Stefanie Zelkind, the director of the fellowship, said last year’s selection process was particularly competitive, with an especially large and diverse applicant pool. “The fellows’ commitment to exercising leadership in the North American Jewish community is, we believe, a cause for hope and optimism at a time when we need it more than ever.” Another emerging area reflecting the shift in the American rabbinate is the increase in women seeking out careers as Orthodox female rabbis. When Yeshivat Maharat was founded in 2009, with the ordination of Rabba Sara Hurwitz, there was fierce backlash from some segments of the Orthodox community but also a growing sense of excitement that new roles for Orthodox women seeking positions as clergy were finally beginning in a new era. Rabba Rachel Kohl Finegold was part of the inaugural class of ordained women that graduated from Yeshivat Maharat in 2013. Today she works at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal, where she gives classes and sermons, officiates life cycle events and offers spiritual care, in addition to being responsible for all youth and education programs at the synagogue. “The arrival of women in these religious leadership roles has been made possible by a confluence of factors,” Kohl Finegold said. These include the gradual opening of doors to deep text learning, the many manifestations of female Orthodox leadership, the encouragement of male allies and the boldness of women willing to see themselves in these roles. When Kohl Finegold entered the rabbinate there were fewer than 10 ordained Orthodox women globally. These days, the number is closer to 100. Her rabbinical school, Yeshivat Maharat, allows graduates to

pick their own titles, with many opting for rabbanit or rabba. Another rabbi reflecting the changing faces of the American rabbinate is Mike Moskowitz. Ordained in ultra-Orthodox yeshivas in Israel and America, Moskowitz still dresses in traditional Haredi rabbinic garb, complete with a black hat and beard. He held a variety of roles in the Orthodox community, including synagogue and campus rabbi and worked as a classroom rebbe and Talmud teacher in an ultra-Orthodox community. However, he started speaking out in favour of LGBTQI and trans rights when someone close to him transitioned. The pushback from his Haredi community was swift. He lost his job and livelihood. For a while he was even unemployed, before he was appointed as the scholar-in-residence for trans and queer Jewish studies at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, a nondenominational LGBQTI synagogue in New York. Moskowitz says that due to his unique background and affiliation with the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, as well as his activism, he attracts people from ultra-Orthodox communities who pepper him with questions. “A lot of ultraOrthodox guys who are struggling with their gender and sexual identity reach out to me to ask advice,” he said. “I also receive ‘off-the-record’ referrals from ultra-Orthodox rabbis and even rosh yeshivas from Haredi communities. The rabbis reach out and ask if they can send people, often young boys who are struggling with sexual or gender identity, to me.” According to Moskowitz, “it turns out, lots of young people who are exploring their gender identity or sexuality have similar questions to straight people. They just need to feel safe and be able to find someone they can trust to advise them on relationships and dating.” This story originally appeared in Tablet Magazine (tabletmag.com) and is reprinted with permission.

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Forging a positive future

UIA Since February, we have witnessed the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe since WWII. Tens of thousands of Jews have been displaced, not just from Ukraine, but from Russia, Belarus and other former Soviet Union (FSU) countries too. Many seek refuge in Israel. Our strategic partner, The Jewish Agency for Israel, continues to work tirelessly on the frontline, rescuing thousands of Jewish refugees. Our global UIA family has generously provided financial support to assist with this emergency operation. More than 18,000 immigrants have already made aliyah from the FSU. That represents 86 per cent of all olim so far this year – a 424 per cent increase over the same period in 2021. The majority of immigrants (9,431) arrived from Ukraine, 10 times the total in 2021. A total of 8,052 new immigrants came from Russia, 479 from Belarus and 370 from other FSU countries. These olim are currently being supported in Israel through absorption services and programs provided by Keren Hayesod-UIA (KH-UIA) in partnership with The Jewish Agency. Many more are expected. In addition, over the past few months, more than 85,000 calls from Jews in

Thanks to UIA Australia, Jewish Ukrainian refugees are arriving in Israel these countries have been fielded through The Jewish Agency for Israel assistance hotline. Four hundred buses have taken thousands of refugees out of Ukraine to one of six border crossings for processing before they made aliyah. Eighteen facilities at six border crossings have accommodated in excess of 2,000 refugees daily while their paperwork was processed. Moving from the emergency phase to long-term planning requires substantial funding to address demand. KH-UIA

is proud to be part of this operation and is continuing to focus on providing these olim with the tools to ensure they become productive members of Israeli society. This is evident through the plethora of absorption programs and services provided. These include Hebrew classes, fast tracking professional qualifications, mentoring services and integration support. Successfully integrating and empowering these olim is paramount to ensuring they find meaningful

employment opportunities in Israel. KH-UIA is assisting them in seeking employment across different sectors through special training programs. The Jewish Agency – in partnership with local municipalities and businesses – has created a new online resource focused on connecting new olim to training and employment. At the request of the Prime Minister’s Office’s, KH-UIA is also helping 2,500 young people that have fled Ukraine, Belarus and Russia through a six-month program. Many of them are professionals and the focus is on converting their skills to ensure a successful transition. KH-UIA is grateful for the generosity of its supporters that enable it to perform its life-saving work. This emergency campaign is in addition to the daily work of the organisation. That includes supporting 6,000 at-risk youth, 7,000 elderly Holocaust survivors, 11,000 MASA participants and hundreds of lone soldiers and single mothers. The war in Ukraine and the increased influx of olim requires more funding. As the end of the financial year approaches, please consider donating at uiaaustralia.org.au/donate-now For updates on how the UIA is supporting new olim, follow the organisation on Facebook and Instagram (@uiaaus)

Elevating the Jewish soul RABBI YAAKOV GLASMAN AM Three years ago, St Kilda Shule launched an ambitious project to provide free Judaism classes to people wanting to convert to Judaism. Its purpose was to remove some of the financial burden associated with conversion classes and to create a sense of camaraderie and support between candidates. Following the success of the pilot, St Kilda Shule's board decided to continue the program, so the free, weekly workshops are now a permanent fixture. Highly sought-after educator David Solomon has been the course coordinator from the get-go. Although designed for those converting, the classes have also been well attended by Jews seeking to update their knowledge. There are many not afforded a rounded Jewish education earlier in life who would dearly love to become more engaged with their Judaism.

Some attendees have been graduates of Jewish day schools but, with the passage of time, seek to refresh their understanding of practical Judaism. The course emphasises the fundamentals of Judaism. Students are not simply taught facts, but are given the foundational tools of Jewish literacy. It’s a serious undertaking. The Shule invests significantly in the program and students are expected to commit for a full year. The most remarkable part of the workshops is the sense of community they engender. New relationships are forged, which carry on well after the year’s final class. The Torah commands us to love the convert, for, ultimately, we all converted at Sinai. Some of us are born to Jewish mothers and some of us need to convert through the Halachic process, but it is a uniformity of purpose and sense of togetherness that drives us.

End the financial year with a mitzvah and support the People of Israel today! Donate at uiavic.org.au/donate-now or contact UIA on 9272 5533 or info@uiavic.org All contributions of $2 and over are tax deductible

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Yoni Glatt’s JEWISH SPELLING BEE How many common words of five or more letters can

you spell using the words letters inof the5hive? Every letters answer can How many common or more must use the centre letter at least once. Letters you spell using the letters in the hive? Everymay answer be reused in a word. At least one Jewish word will use all seven letters. must use the center letter at least once. Letters may Proper names and hyphenated wordsword are not allowed. be reused in a word. At least one will use all 7 Score 1 point for each answer and 3 points for a lettersJewish-related and have aword direct Jewish connection. that uses all 7 letters. Rating: 6=Good; 9= Excellent; 11= Genius

Proper names and hyphenated words are not allowed. Score 1 point for each answer, and 3 points for a Jewish related word that uses all 7 letters. Rating: 9=Good; 17= Excellent; 25= Genius

CANDLE LIGHTING TIMES Friday, Jun 24, 2022

4:51 pm

Shabbat ends, Jun 25, 2022

5:52 pm

Friday, Jul 1, 2022

4:53 pm

Shabbat ends, Jul 2, 2022

5:55 pm

Friday, Jul 8, 2022

4:57 pm

Shabbat ends, Jul 9, 2022

5:59 pm

Friday, Jul 15, 2022

5:02 pm

Shabbat ends, Jul 16, 2022

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Yoni Glatt has published more than 1,000 crossword puzzles worldwide, from the LA Times and Boston Globe to The Jerusalem Post. He has also published two Jewish puzzle books: "Kosher Crosswords" and the sequel "More Kosher Crosswords and Word Games". ANSWERS PAGE 10

Here is a list of some common words (Yes, we know there are more words in the diction that can work, but these words are the most common): Jewish Answers- TRADITION, ORDINATION. Other words: ADORATION, RADIATION, ADDITIO RADIATOR, DONATION, DONATOR, RADIANT, ANDROID, TORNADO, ORDAIN, INDOOR, INRO DOODAD, TORRID, INDIAN, ADROIT, RADAR, TRIAD, RONDO, RADII, RADIO, DONOR, DRAI ARDOR, DROIT, ADORN, DINAR, NADIR Questions/comments- email Yoni at koshercroswords@gmail.com ‘

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the melbourne jewish report | June 2022

JUD AIC A

QUIZ

RABBI DAVID FREEDMAN This month’s Judaica Quiz, created and shared by Rabbi David Freedman, will have readers weaving and winding through all-things-Jewish. Your knowledge will be tested on subjects as diverse as Torah, Israel, pop culture, sport, history, music and more – all constructed via a Jewish lens. Thank you for the positive feedback, it really makes this endeavour a true pleasure to present. Make sure you have a copy handy for your Shabbat table, together you’ll have fun and learn so much too – the best combination! 1. The blessing known as Birkat Ha’ilanot is said when we see what natural feature? 2. Identify the type of geographical feature where Moses was buried? 3. Which organisation was formed (technically for the second time) by former nurse, Dr Meshulam Levontin in 1930? 4. In the event that the President of the State of Israel is abroad, which of the following serves in the acting role as President: a) The Prime Minister b) The Speaker of the Knesset

Test your knowledge c) The Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces d) All of the above? 5. According to the Bible, the fringes of a tallit should be composed of which two colours? 6. Which athlete won 7 gold medals, all in world record time, at the 1972 Munich Olympics? 7. The 5th century BCE documents known as the Elephantine Papyri came from:

11. Name the only two African countries which voted for partition in the UN vote on Palestine in November 1947. 12. Place the following kings in their correct chronological order: King Herod, King David, King Ahab. 13. The Jewish month of Tammuz falls in which season in Israel? 14. What do the following people have in common? David Gruen, Moshe Shertok and Levi Shkolnik?

Good luck. Enjoy. Hopefully, learn something new about your Jewish heritage and tradition. a) Egypt b) Israel c) Babylon? 8. Associated with the Ziegfeld Follies and born Fannie Borach: a) What was her stage name? b) What was the name of the 1968 movie about her life? 9. Who created Seinfeld? 10. Which is the only biblical heroine described as an Eshet Chayil – a Woman of Valour?

15. The Ohel Leah Synagogue, named after Leah Sassoon, is found in which former British colony? 16. What is the meaning of the name Deborah: a) Deer b) Lion Cub c) Bee 17. Israel’s second largest airport is known as the Ramon Airport. Where is it located? 18. Emanuel Goldenberg and Issur Danielovitch became famous

Hollywood actors. By what names are they better known? 19. According to archaeologists, Jericho is the oldest city in the world with over 20 layers or settlements unearthed. Is it approximately 5000 years old, 9000 years old or 11,000 years old? 20. For what are the following Jewish Australians well-known? a) Harry Seidler b) Sir Peter Abeles c) Jessica Fox d) David Helfgott 21. What was the name of Rabbi Akiva’s wife: a) Sarah b) Rebecca c) Rachel, or d) Leah? 22. The JE, a work of 12 volumes, was compiled in the first decade of the 20th century; the EJ, a work of 16 volumes, in 1972. What do these abbreviations refer to? 23. Where is the centre of the diamond industry in Israel? 24. Which American Jewish record producer created the ‘Wall of Sound’? 25. In which book of the Bible would one find the following: ‘The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD’: a) The Book of Psalms b) The Book of Job c) The Book of Lamentations?

ANSWERS PAGE 10

Empowering young leaders AUSTRALIAN FRIENDS OF SHAARE ZEDEK More than 170 youth leaders from seven Zionist organisations across Australia and New Zealand attended a training webinar last week to prepare youth leaders to respond to eating disorders in winter camps. The Australian Friends of Shaare Zedek in collaboration with the Australian Zionist Youth Council introduced Dr Toni Pikoos (pictured), clinical psychologist and postdoctoral researcher, to address concerns about the issue and outline practical strategies. Eating disorders in teenagers can occur when families and carers least expect them. Responding appropriately and accessing the right help remain critical challenges that can have profound implications. Dr Pikoos said about nine per cent of Australians will experience an eating disorder some time in their lives. Further, nearly a third of adolescents engage in disordered eating in any given year, a figure that is increasing. “Madrichim are in an important and privileged position. Young people may develop trust to share their concerns and anxieties with them. The madrichim may notice negative body image or disordered eating at weekly meetings or on camps, Dr Pikoos said.

“Given how common eating concerns are, some leaders may be experiencing these issues themselves, want to know how to navigate them and act as strong role models for their chanichim,” the doctor said. Shaare Zedek’s Adolescent Medicine Service treats teenagers with severe eating disorders and works to educate parents, schools and medical professionals to identify the signs and intervene early to save lives. After the webinar, participants were invited to register for four additional workshops to support them as positive role models. The AFSZ is also launching an eBook on the subject, titled “The Langauge of Seeking Help”. Written by Jaimee Krawitz, a counsellor with the lived experience of an eating disorder, it is a culturally sensitive educational resource for parents and caregivers. The book draws on input from and the expertise of stakeholders in Australia and Israel. It will be translated into Hebrew and Arabic for distribution at Shaare Zedek for patients who present to the clinic. The chair of AFSZ, Dr Allan Garfield says the organisation is dedicated to saving lives in Israel. “Shaare Zedek Medical Center represents medical excellence, ethics and compassion. We want to share the innovation and compassion as well as support meaningful health promotion initiatives in our local community, Dr Garfield said. To support AFSZ activities, please go to www.shaarezedek.org.au

This EOFY please support our work

Shaarezedek.org.au Help light up the lives of our teenagers in Israel and Australia

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the melbourne jewish report | June 2022

CO NS I D E RE D

OPINION

The Queen and the Jews

DR YVETTE ALT MILLER COURTESY AISH.COM With Queen Elizabeth II having recently completed her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Dr Miller takes a look at her tumultuous relationship with Jews. Over three quarters of Britons report feeling admiration and approval for the Queen. In fact, a recent survey found that the most popular dream in Britain is having tea with the monarch. On her 90th birthday, in 2016, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, then Britain’s Chief Rabbi, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, spoke for many when he said that “the respect she has shown for all religions has enriched our lives.” In her 70 years on the throne, her Royal Highness has provided encouragement to many, including her nation’s Jews. Here are six little-known facts. Childhood “Heil Hitler” Gaffe One of the major plot elements in The Crown is the alleged Nazi sympathies of Elizabeth’s uncle, King Edward VIII, who reigned for less than a year in 1936. (He abdicated to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson. She was a divorcee and at the time the Church of England didn’t allow the monarch to wed someone who’d been previously married.) Rumours have long swirled that Edward and Wallace – who took the titles Duke and Duchess of Windsor – sympathised with the Nazis in the lead up to World War II. There’s plenty of evidence that the rumours do have some substance. In her 2008 book Edward VIII, biographer Frances Donaldson notes that in 1937, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor visited Hitler at his holiday home and Edward saluted Hitler throughout their stay. After World War II, the Allies found evidence of a top-secret German project nicknamed “Operation Willi”, which was about overthrowing Edwards’s successor (and Queen Elizabeth II’s father) King George VI and reinstalling Edward on the throne. It seems that the pro-Hitler feelings of some of her relatives influenced a very young Queen Elizabeth. In 2015, Britain’s newspaper The Sun released a private royal family video of a seven-year-old Elizabeth, along with her younger sister Princess Margaret, her mother Queen Elizabeth and her uncle Edward VIII performing Nazi salutes. When the video came to light, Queen Elizabeth was said by the Palace to be “livid” and emphasised her extreme youth in the video. At age seven, back in 1933, she could hardly have been aware of how vile it was to make a Nazi salute. Her Mother-in-Law Saved Jews During the Holocaust The third season of The Crown features a Greek-speaking, tough talking nun. Shockingly, that nun was Queen Elizabeth II’s mother-in-law, Princess Alice of Battenberg. Even more surprisingly, The Crown never explores Princess Alice’s heroism during the Holocaust, when she saved Jews by sheltering them in her home in Nazi-occupied Athens. It’s an amazing story that ought to be known. Born in Windsor Castle in 1885, Princess Alice was Queen Victoria’s great granddaughter. She was deaf – a fact

that the royal family hid – and learned to lip read as a child. Historians have speculated that this might have made Princess Alice more sensitive to other people who were different from the mainstream. When Alice’s brother Edward was crowned King Edward VII in 1902, one of the guests at his coronation was a dashing Greek prince named Andrew. The two fell in love and married. Alice moved to Greece where she had four children: three daughters and a son, Philip (Queen Elizabeth II’s husband). The family was riddled with dysfunction. Alice’s husband became a dissolute playboy and eventually moved away. Her three daughters all became ardent supporters of Hitler and each one married a senior Nazi. Only her son, Prince Philip eschewed Nazism and spent time with Jewish friends and his British relatives. When World War II broke out, Prince Philip volunteered for the British navy and battled Nazis with distinction. Princess Alice resisted in more secret ways. Remaining in Athens, she invited the Cohens, a distinguished Greek Jewish family, with whom she and her husband had long been friends, to hide in her house. Rachel Cohen, her daughter Tilde and her son Michel moved in with the princess. The apartment was small and located just yards from Athens’ Gestapo headquarters. Once, Princess Alice was even brought in for questioning, but she refused to divulge the fact that she was sheltering Jews in her home. After the war, Princess Alice founded an order of nuns. She returned to London in 1967 and died there in 1969. She requested that her remains be interred in Jerusalem and in 1988 they were buried on the Mount of Olives. In 1993, Princess Alice was declared Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem. Prince Philip travelled to Jerusalem for the ceremony, where he planted a tree in his mother’s memory.

Queen Elizabeth II Hired Jewish Mohel to Circumcise Prince Charles Queen Elizabeth II hired an Orthodox Jewish mohel to circumcise her son, Prince Charles. Rabbi Jacob Snowman (1871-1959) was a London mohel of great renown and it’s said that the Queen was impressed with his skill and experience. The tradition of British royals to ask Jewish mohels to circumcise their sons goes back to King George I, who was born in Hanover, Germany and reigned from 1714-1727. Back in Germany, some aristocratic parents hired Jewish mohels and George I brought the custom with him to England. Years later his great great granddaughter, Queen Victoria, hired Jewish mohels to circumcise all of her sons. She is said to have believed that her family tree went directly back to the biblical King David. Coincidentally, Queen Elizabeth’s mohel Rabbi Snowman had another royal connection: his younger brother Emanuel Snowman was chairman of Britain’s renowned Wartski jewellery dynasty, which sold wedding rings both to Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and to Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge. British Jews pray for the Queen every Shabbat It’s a Jewish custom around the world to recite a prayer on Shabbat for government leaders. In Britain, this means praying for the welfare of Queen Elizabeth II and her family. British Jews ask God to “preserve the Queen in life, guard her and deliver her from all sorrow.” The prayer goes on to ask that the Divine “put a spirit of wisdom into her heart and into the hearts of all her counsellors”. The Queen has never visited Israel Despite travelling all over the world, Queen Elizabeth II has never made an official visit to the Jewish State. Over the long decades of her reign, this has come to be seen as a painful omission by some British Jews.

However, in 2018 the Queen’s grandson Prince William did make such a visit and in 2000 Prince Charles represented Britain at the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem. (He’d visited Israel several times before, but never before in an official capacity.) While her son and grandson might have warmed to the Jewish State, it’s unclear exactly how Queen Elizabeth II feels about it herself. The Queen made troubling remarks on an official visit to Jordan in 1984. Shown a map of the disputed West Bank, which has been in Israeli control ever since the Six Day War in 1967, Queen Elizabeth called it “depressing” and described Israeli planes flying in the West Bank as “frightening”. On that visit, she also laid a wreath at a memorial to Arab soldiers who died attacking Israel. The Queen Departed from Royal Protocol to Listen to Holocaust Survivors While Queen Elizabeth II seems notably cool towards the Jewish state, when it comes to Britain’s Jews recent years have found her conciliatory. The royal family has shown a particular interest in the welfare of Holocaust survivors of late. On January 27, 2005, the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Queen Elizabeth hosted a group of Holocaust survivors in St James’s Palace. Notably punctual, on this occasion the Queen threw protocol out the window. As she mingled with the survivors, one of her aides informed her that it was time to wrap up the event. Instead, the Queen continued to talk, to listen and to reassure, a fact recounted by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, who was present. In January 2022, Prince Charles commissioned a series of portraits of Holocaust survivors. He explained that “as the number of Holocaust survivors sadly but inevitably declines, my abiding hope is that this special collection will act as a further guiding light.” The portraits are to be displayed in Buckingham Palace.

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the melbourne jewish report | June 2022

AROUND

T H E

COMMUNITY

Dress up

PANADA BOUTIQUE Panada Boutique at 1202 High Street, Armadale has become a Melbourne institution – a “go to” place for fashion conscious women who are looking for something special. The Jewish Report spoke with proprietor Emelia Stockdale. How long has Panada Boutique been around? My mother started Panada Boutique in 1989 in Hawksburn Village, when Hawksburn was just banks, a nursery and a handful of antique stores. She felt there was a gap in the market for high quality clothing that was specifically made for women in their 40s and over, like herself. I speak of clothing that was modern yet timeless, that could take you from lunch to that special occasion and everything in between. Tell me what is special about the boutique. We have an extensive range to choose from, but only order a limited number of each size, which means you won’t see someone in the same outfit walking down the street or across the room at a function. We also pride ourselves on our customer service as the happiness in and success of your attire is the best advertising we can get. We have staff on hand to help you select the items that make you look your very best.

Emelia Stockdale Has the business changed in more than 30 years? Apart from moving from Hawksburn to High Street, Armadale in 2010, we also went online during the lockdown in 2020. This has been great for our customers who live interstate and in regional Australia, as well as for those who can’t make it in easily or just want to have a sticky beak before coming in. What types of clothing do you carry? We carry predominantly German clothing from Gerry Weber, Luisa Cerano

PANADA

and others, along with beautiful knitwear from Italy and France. Everything that makes it onto our racks is there because of its beauty and the quality of its workmanship. What is the size range you stock? We stock from size 36-46 German, which equates to Australian 8-18, with size 6 and size 20 in select styles. Who are your typical clientele (demographic, age etc.)? Our clientele ranges from 30 to 100 and we love nothing more than when

mum and daughter walk out beaming … both with their pink bags in hand. What is big for winter this season? This season is a play on textures, like beautifully soft angora knits and machine washable vegan leather with lovely gentle colours such as mauve, teal and mineral blue that pair easily with navy, charcoal or black. As always there’s much to select from, with help always at hand to ensure you leave feeling excited and inspired.

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the melbourne jewish report | June 2022

CO NS I D E RE D

OPINION SHELDON KIRSHNER

Israel’s undeclared war against Iran is intensifying. In the past month, Israel has carried out a series of attacks against Iran and Iranian interests in Syria, Iran’s chief Arab ally. Iran, in turn, has threatened a harsh armed response. On May 22nd, Israel assassinated a top-ranking officer of the Quds Force, an arm of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. Two days earlier, Israel inflicted significant damage to the main runway at Damascus International Airport, causing Syria to suspend all flights. Iran uses the airport to deliver weapons and missile technology to the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which fought a war with Israel in 2006. Iran’s visceral hostility toward Israel is boiling over, but it goes back decades. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, which resulted in the overthrow of the proWestern Pahlavi monarchy, Iran has singled out Israel as one of its prime enemies. In the years since, Iran has repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction, funded and supported proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, and entrenched itself militarily in Syria, Israel’s long-time foe. By way of response, Israel has bombed Iranian and Syrian facilities in Syria hundreds of times. The shadow war pitting Israel against Iran escalated considerably after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement in 2018. From that point forward, several significant developments occurred. The Iranian regime continually violated the provisions of the landmark accord. Israel doubled down on its covert campaign to sabotage Iran’s nuclear facilities. The Israeli Air Force began launching still more raids against Iranian military sites in Syria. With the installation of a new Israeli government last June, Israel sharpened its tactics against Iran. “The past year has marked a turning point in Israel’s strategy against Iran,” said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. “The State of Israel has recently begun operating against the head of the octopus of terrorism and not only against its many arms, as was done in the past few decades. The days of immunity, in which Iran harms Israel and promotes terrorism through its proxies in the region while remaining unharmed itself, are over.”

Judaica quiz answers 1. Blossoming trees 2. A valley. (Many may answer a mountain – this is incorrect. The Torah says that he ascended Mount Nebo to see the land, but this is followed with the words: “And he was buried in the valley in the land of Moab over against Beth-Peor.) 3. Magen David Adom (MDA) - Israel's national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service 4. b) The Speaker of the Knesset 5. Blue (Hebrew: Techelet) and white

Israel’s undeclared war with Iran is escalating

The runway of Damascus International Airport being repaired after recent Israeli air strikes “We are operating all the time and everywhere and will continue to do so,” he added. This is essentially the message that Bennett delivered to Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, at a meeting in Jerusalem earlier this month regarding Iran’s nuclear program, which Israel vehemently opposes. Charging that Iran has “crossed a number of red lines” in the last four years, Bennett noted that it has enriched uranium to a menacing level of 60 percent, far above the permissible level. “Israel cannot accept and will not accept such a situation,” he said. “We maintain our freedom of action against Iran’s nuclear program as much as necessary – with or without an agreement. We don’t just say it, we implement it.” In accordance with this philosophy, Israel has upgraded its military plan of action should it decide to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites from the air. Israel has fitted its fleet of F-35 fighter jets with state-ofthe-art equipment, so they can fly to Iran without mid-air refuelling. And Israel has integrated a new, one-ton bomb into the arsenal of weapons carried by the F-35, a stealth aircraft capable of evading radar detection. Israel has continued to assassinate Iranian officials connected with the Quds Force and Iran’s nuclear and military programs.

Since Israel’s assassination of Sayyad Khodaie, a senior Quds Force commander killed in Tehran last month, Iran has accused Israel of having poisoned two Iranian scientists. They were reportedly involved in Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. Ayoob Entezari, an aeronautical engineer, worked for a military research center. Kamram Aghamolaei, a geologist, worked on projects related to airplane turbines and missiles. Iran claims it is striking back at Israel. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the former commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, said on June 15th that Iran is dealing ongoing “blows” to Israel. “The Zionist regime and its officials know better what blows they have received from the Islamic Republic so far, some of which are still in progress,” he said, noting that many of its operations must be kept confidential. According to Israel, Iran has attempted to kidnap and kill Israeli tourists in Turkey. Over the past fortnight, the Israeli government advised Israelis not to visit Turkey. Then, less than a day after Thailand thwarted Iranian attempts to target Israeli travellers, the commander of Iran’s ground forces, Kiumars Heydari, threatened to destroy two major Israeli cities. “For any mistake made by the enemy, we will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa,” he said, in a reference to plans by Israel to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities.

6. Mark Spitz 7. a) Egypt 8. a) Fanny Brice b) Funny Girl, starring Barbra Streisand 9. Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David 10. Ruth 11. South Africa and Liberia 12. King David, King Ahab and King Herod 13. Summer 14. They were all Prime Ministers of Israel who had Hebraized their names - David Ben Gurion, Moshe Sharett and Levi Eshkol 15. Hong Kong 16. Bee

17. Eilat 18. Emanuel Goldenberg became Edward G. Robinson, and Issur Danielovitch became Kirk Douglas 19. 11,000 20. a) Architecture b) Aviation c) Olympic slalom canoeing d) Pianist 21. c) Rachel 22. The Jewish Encyclopaedia and The Encyclopaedia Judaica 23. Ramat Gan 24. Phil Spector 25. The Book of Job

The following day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh warned that any Iranian response would take place in Israel rather than in a third country. Iran’s anger may have been additionally stoked by recent Israeli air strikes which heavily damaged a terminal building and the main runway at Damascus International Airport, which has serviced Iranian cargo planes transporting weaponry and precision missile technology to Hezbollah, a close ally of Iran. “As a result of these damages, incoming and outgoing flights through the airport were suspended until further notice,” the Syrian Transportation Ministry said in a terse statement. As one Israeli pundit observed, Israel’s strikes are intended as a warning to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime that if these Iranian flights do not stop, Syria’s international airport could come under further attack. Certainly, Russia – Syria’s chief ally – is displeased by what has happened. On June 10th , the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the “vicious practice” of Israeli air strikes on civilian infrastructure, saying they were “provocative” and “in violation of the basic norms of international law.” On June 15th, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov reprimanded the Israeli ambassador in Moscow, Alexander Ben-Ziv, over Israel’s air raids. Complaining that Israel disrupted the flow of humanitarian supplies to Syria, which is embroiled in a civil war, he demanded that it should respect Syria’s territorial integrity. In 2015 Israel and Russia – which controls Syrian air space – signed a deconfliction agreement designed to prevent accidental clashes between Israeli and Russian aircraft. But since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, Israel has found itself increasingly at odds with Russia over its air offensive in Syria. Given Israel’s bitter conflict with Iran, Israel will most probably continue to target Iranian bases in Syria, Russian protests notwithstanding. Sheldon Kirshner is a journalist in Toronto. He writes at his online journal, sheldonkirshner.com

Spelling bee answers Jewish answer: B’TAYAVON. Here is a list of some common words (yes, we know there are more words in the dictionary that can work, but these words are common to today’s vernacular): ABBOT, BABOON, BANANA, BATBOY, BATON, BATTY, BONBON, BOOTY, BOTANY, NANOBOT, TABOO Questions/comments

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email

koshercroswords@gmail.com

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the melbourne jewish report | June 2022

RABBINIC

THOUGHT

Forging a path Hashem and the Israelites”. The Talmud deduces from this that one should not only have a clear conscience, but also act in a way that does not elicit suspicion from the general observer. However, if one only worries about the way in which one presumes others perceive them, one is being dishonest. As a generation whose parents and grandparents only knew slavery and were constantly assessed by their slave masters, psychologically it makes sense that they were unfit to enter the Land of Israel. This generation therefore had to die out entirely before their descendants could become the masters of their own destiny. So it is that when one tries to guess what others think of them and acts based upon that, that they become slaves to an unfortunate fate. On the other hand, when one allows themselves to master their own course, they are able to forge their own future.

RABBI DR BENJI LEVY How does one assess oneself? Do we look at ourselves in the mirror or try to project an appraisal through the eyes of another? The answer to this question may be found in parshat Shelach’s episode of the scouts, a famous account that we read in the Torah around this time. The scouts were “all distinguished men; heads of the children of Israel were they” – the most honourable of leaders. Thus, the obvious question is where did they go wrong in speaking badly about the land? Perhaps their error was that they speculated as to how others observed them, rather than carrying on with their reconnaissance mission. This is apparent in a strange verse when the scouts describe the great size of the Canaanites and say “we were like grasshoppers in our eyes and so we were in their eyes!” Their insecurity lay in and was revealed through their imagined self-assessment, via the outlook of the Canaanites. Since they saw themselves as but puny insects, much smaller and weaker than the inhabitants of Canaan, they presumed that the locals perceived them as such and they allowed this perception to transform their reality. Perhaps this was the source of their

negative review of the land, as their specific timidity clouded their general judgment. When starting any venture, the psyche in which one approaches the task can frame its execution. For example, when one is competing in a sport, a team will have lost the game from the getgo if it does not believe it can beat the opposition, as its self-esteem defines its

attitude and direction. The same was true of the scouts, whereby they had convinced themselves that they were incapable from the beginning. Many explain this fear as a lack of faith in God, but as a consequence or at its source it may have shown a lack of self-esteem, that is a lack of faith in themselves. Later in the Book of Numbers, Moshe declares “you shall appear clean before

Rabbi Dr Benji Levy is the founder of Israel Impact Partners, which provides philanthropic advice and support to leaders across the globe and Keshev, which offers mental health services to individuals and groups. He was previously the CEO of Mosaic United and Dean of Moriah College. He shares his thoughts at www.RabbiBenji.com and on social media @Rabbi Benji

Do you have what it takes to be a presenter? Do you have program ideas? Are you studying journalism and want to upskill? Are you interested in the technical side of radio? J-AIR has a position for you. Just send some details about yourself to info@j-air.com.au and we’ll get back to you. J-AIR is Australia’s ONLY Jewish community radio station, broadcasting on 88FM In Melbourne and on the world wide web.

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the melbourne jewish report | June 2022

CO NS I D E RE D

OPINION

The EU’s Jerusalem charm offensive

MELANIE PHILLIPS COURTESY: JWIRE.COM.AU People dining last week on the terrace at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel were surprised to find at the next table Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. Given the EU’s long-standing hostility towards Israel, it was a bit like spotting Amber Heard knocking back the tequila with Johnny Depp in a Los Angeles bar. That may be unfair to von der Leyen herself, who was described later that day by Israel’s prime minister, Naftali Bennett, as “a great friend of the Jewish people and a great friend of Israel.” She had certainly come to Israel on a charm offensive. In a speech at Ben-Gurion University, where she was awarded an honourary degree, she said: “I have put the fight against antiSemitism and fostering Jewish life in Europe at the core of the European Commission’s agenda. Our democracy flourishes if Jewish life in Europe flourishes, too. Throughout the centuries, the Jewish people have been ‘a light unto the nations.’ And they shall be a light unto Europe for many centuries ahead.” So, she pressed all the right buttons about the Jewish people. The real reason for her trip, however, was panic. As a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the EU has boycotted Russian natural gas. This has left its energy supplies seriously depleted. Until the war, Russia was supplying some 40 per cent of the gas that Europe consumes. Now that Israel has emerged as a major player in the energy market, the EU is desperate to import Israeli gas to keep the lights on this coming winter. Last week, it signed a deal that will see Israeli gas sent to Egypt, where it will be liquefied and from there shipped to Europe, where it will be changed back to gas. Von der Leyen also gushed over the planned pipeline from Israel to supply Eastern Mediterranean gas to Europe (a project from which the Biden administration has withdrawn American support). The EU is even siding with Israel in a row with Lebanon over Karish, Israel’s major northern offshore gas field, which Brussels agrees lies in Israeli, rather than Lebanese territorial waters. Also paying a visit to Jerusalem last week was Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi. He, too, was in search of alternative energy supplies to replace Russian gas. He, too, had honeyed words for the Jewish people. Speaking at a Jerusalem synagogue, he said his government was “committed to strengthening the memory of the Holocaust and to fighting against discrimination of all kinds against Jews.” So, does this mean the EU is now changing its attitude to Israel? Until now, it has been hostile. It promotes the Palestinian narrative that seeks to delegitimise Israel through lies about its “illegal” settlements and alleged Israel Defence Forces’ aggression. It funds NGOs devoted to harming and destroying Israel. In an aggressive move

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh receives the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in the West Bank city of Ramallah on June 14th, 2022. Photo: Flash90 in 2015 against Israeli “occupation” of the disputed territories, it started to label products from the “West Bank.” Despite all the warm words in Jerusalem, there’s no sign that this EU hostility is about to ease. For on the same day that von der Leyen was kissing up to Bennett, she stood alongside Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh in Ramallah and announced the transfer to the Palestinian Authority of some 214 million euros (about $224 million). This money had previously been frozen because of the incitement against Israel in Palestinian schoolbooks. Now it’s been unfrozen, even though the incitement remains. Earlier this month, the commission dismissed Israeli documentation showing that six Palestinian NGOs were acting on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; it then resumed funding them. So much for von der Leyen’s pledge to “put the fight against anti-Semitism at the core of the European Commission’s agenda.” The Europeans are playing the double game so familiar in the West – pledging support for the Jewish people while empowering Israel’s mortal enemies. Now the global energy crisis is producing a further double game – supporting Israel when it supplies the Europeans with essentials, while abandoning Israel in its defence against its existential foes. This twin track has long been the strategy of both Britain and America. They maintain deep ties with Israel over military and intelligence cooperation along with mutually beneficial trade links, but at the political level, they undermine Israel’s security and promote the Palestinian narrative of lies and distortion. In part, Western leaders support the Palestinians through left-wing, “anticolonialist” ideology and through ignorance. There’s also a significant

measure of fundamental, institutionalised anti-Jewish prejudice. But there’s also something even more twisted. The British and Europeans in particular resist acknowledging that anti-Semitism is the motor of Palestinian aggression because of a neuralgic obsession arising from the collective guilt they feel about the Jews. They refuse to acknowledge the protean nature of anti-Semitism throughout history, morphing from theological to racial to national, because their own culture was so deeply involved in this bigotry. They pay pious lip service to Jews murdered in the Holocaust. But in order to pretend that their own culture had nothing to do with how they died, they present Israeli Jews as a different breed altogether. While the Jews murdered in the Shoah are depicted as passive and powerless, Israeli Jews are presented as militarily powerful. Because they have power, it is assumed they cannot be victims. Since the Palestinians are viewed as powerless, it’s assumed, in turn, that they must be victims of the Israelis. Palestinian anti-Semitism must be denied because that would instead turn Israeli Jews into victims. That must be resisted. For casting Israeli Jews instead as oppressors, thus erasing the unbroken line of anti-Semitism from antiquity to the Palestinians, gives the Europeans a free pass in their minds over the victimisation of the Jews in the Holocaust, in which they feel at some deep level complicit. In this respect, another remark by von der Leyen was as revealing as it was jarring. “Europe and Israel are bound to be friends and allies,” she said, “because the history of Europe is the history of the Jewish people.” This was an extraordinary thing to say. The history of the Jews in Europe is one of centuries of murderous persecution, mass conversions, hideous pogroms, and eventually, the Holocaust.

Historically, Europe was the epicentre of anti-Semitism and was described by Israel’s first prime minister, David BenGurion, as “the graveyard of the Jewish people.” Yet von der Leyen implied instead that Europe had always been bound together in friendship with the Jewish people. No less startling was that Bennett chose to agree with her. “You said Israel and Europe are bound to be friends and allies because the history of Europe is the history of the Jewish people. I could not agree more,” he said. Was Bennett choosing to accept her revisionism in the interests of better relations with the E.U.? His eagerness for such a development is understandable. But no Jewish leader should ever connive at sanitising Jewish persecution. Was von der Leyen deliberately ignoring these unpleasant facts for the purposes of diplomacy? If so, that doesn’t inspire much confidence. If Europeans can’t acknowledge the crimes against the Jewish people in the past, they won’t be able to acknowledge the crimes being committed against them now or in the future. The Europeans come and make nice with Israel’s government when they need what Israel has to offer them. They rely on Israel to do their dirty work for them in fighting off the Iranian regime. But when it comes to acknowledging their obligation to defend and protect Israel against the enemies of the Jewish people and of civilisation itself, we shouldn’t hold our breath. Melanie Phillips, a British journalist, broadcaster and author, writes a weekly column for JNS. Currently a columnist for The Times of London, her personal and political memoir, “Guardian Angel” has been published by Bombardier, which also published her first novel, “The Legacy”. Go to melaniephillips. substack.com to access her work.

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the melbourne jewish report | June 2022

J E W S

ABROAD RIVKA RONDA ROBINSON COURTESY: AISH.COM Morris Michtom, a Brooklyn sweet shop owner and his wife, Rose, created a stuffed toy bear in honour of former US president Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. It all began when Roosevelt went on a hunting trip in 1902, but failed to locate a single bear. His assistants reportedly cornered and tied a black bear to a tree for the American president to shoot. A big game hunter, according to the National Park Service Roosevelt refused to kill the bear because it would be unsportsmanlike. A political cartoonist turned that fateful trip into satire. When the Michtoms saw the cartoon they decided to create a new toy and call it “Teddy’s Bear.” Their invention was wildly popular. Meanwhile, across the ocean, a German family named Steiff created stuffed toy bears with shoe-button eyes and an embroidered nose.

2. Yakity-Yak Talking Teeth Thank another Jewish inventor for providing lots of laughs with his YakityYak Talking Teeth. In the 1940s an ad for a false-teeth holder called a “tooth garage” amused Eddy Goldfarb. He imagined a pair of dentures chomping, sputtering down the road and parking in its proper place. That image inspired Goldfarb to create a wind-up toy known as chattering teeth. When his gag chompers debuted in 1950, the packaging read, “Amazing! They Walk, They Talk, They’re Alive!” Even as a youngster in Chicago, Goldfarb was inventing toys and crafting action figures from the cardboard inserts in laundered shirts.

10 Jewish inventions 3. Sam Born, The Candy Man The novelty business also appealed to a sweet maker born in 1891 who received his education in Berdichev, Ukraine, at the city’s rabbinical school. When Sam Born’s family moved to France, he landed a sweet job in a candy store and learned the business. In 1910 Born emigrated to the US and was responsible for many innovations. These including the technology to produce chocolate sprinkles, known as Jimmies and the hard chocolate coating used in Eskimo Pies. Born was given the keys to the city of San Francisco in 1916 for inventing a machine that mechanically inserted sticks into lollipops. It was called the Born sucker machine. He began to manufacture sweets in 1923, naming his company Just Born because the products were so fresh. His company created Mike and Ike, Hot Tamales and Peanut Chews, earning him a spot in the Candy Hall of Fame.

4. The Ballpoint Pen Laszlo Biro, a Hungarian/Argentine inventor, came up with the idea for the modern day ballpoint pen. He worked as an editor for newspapers in Hungary and had a problem with ink from fountain pens, which smudged and took a long time to dry. He noticed, the ink in newspaper printing presses didn’t smudge and dried quickly. He tried putting the same ink into a fountain pen, but couldn’t get it to flow into the tip. So, Laszlo Biro worked with his brother, a chemist and developed a new tip with a ball that moved freely in a socket. The Biros presented the first working ballpoint pen at the Budapest International Fair in 1931.

5. Instant cameras Edwin Land, cofounder of the Polaroid Corporation, made it possible for pictures to be taken and developed almost immediately. In 1947, he demonstrated the Polaroid Land Camera, which could produce a finished print in 60 seconds. Land’s photographic process soon found many applications in business, science and the military. Before he died in 1991, the New Englander had received more than 500 patents for his innovations in light and plastics.

6. Word-processing computer Pioneer Evelyn Berezin was born in New York in 1925 to Jewish immigrants from Russia. She designed the first true word-processing computer. She also developed the first automated airline reservation system. United Airlines put her invention into service in 1955. According to the Computer History Museum, it served 60 cities throughout the United States with a one-second response time and with no central system failures in 11 years of operation. Berezin received her BA in physics from New York University in 1945 and an Atomic Energy Commission fellowship for graduate study there in 1946. Her interest in physics stemmed from reading her brother’s science-fiction periodicals. 7. Mobile phones Credit engineers at Motorola’s Israel research and development centre for coming up with the original cell-phone technology. According to ISRAEL21c, “from the tool that guards your mobile identity to a new keyboard solution, Israeli expertise keeps your phone from getting bigger, yet staying cutting edge.”

8. Video games Who can believe that video games already have been around for 50 years? Ralph Baer, whose family fled Germany just before World War II, helped pave the way for the game systems we know today. The Jewish engineer began to investigate how to play games on a television in 1966. Then, he and two colleagues created several test units. The result was the Brown Box, a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system. Baer licensed it to Magnavox, which released the design as the Odyssey in 1972.

9. Camera phone Remember life before smartphones and selfies? Baby Boomer Philippe Kahn does. He was born in Paris in 1952 to Jewish immigrants of modest means. His mother was a Holocaust survivor. The arrival of his daughter in 1997 triggered the birth of a new technology. Kahn wanted to take a picture of the baby and send it to friends directly from the hospital. While in the waiting room, he succeeded. He fired up his computer, wrote some lines of codes, synchronised them with his Motorola mobile phone and digital camera, and created the world’s first camera phone. 10. Google As computer science graduate students at Stanford University, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, now Silicon Valley billionaires, developed Google. Page envisioned a world wide web search engine that could rank hyperlinks based on how often other pages linked them. Brin helped turn the idea into PageRank, the algorithm foundation of Google Search. The product went live on Stanford’s network in 1996.

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the melbourne jewish report | June 2022

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Dog days

DANIEL RABIN SENIOR RABBI CAULFIELD SHULE Recently, several members of my congregation have lost their beloved pets. Some were unsure whether this was something they could or should discuss with their rabbi, or whether Judaism could offer any wisdom to them at such a difficult time. I shared the sentiments I express below with them. I hope they offer some comfort and perspective to others who have also seen their pets pass away. The loss of a pet can be extremely painful and heartbreaking, especially so as, more often than not, they have been part of a family’s life for many years. Globally, billions have benefited from the loving companionship of a dog, cat or other animal or bird. Is there a Jewish approach to grieving the loss of a pet? I remember someone asking me if they could buy a burial plot for their dog. If you have never owned a pet, this question might seem strange, but I understand the seriousness of what they are asking. My family grew up with six loyal dogs roaming around our home and garden, so I know the incredible impact pets, and especially dogs, can have on a family. One of them was Rocky, a miniature Maltese poodle who spent over a decade by my side. I was

studying abroad, attending my first year at Yeshivah, when he passed. The news of his death was very difficult to take. I was deeply saddened. I reflected on his unbridled love. His tailed wagged every time I walked into the room. He was one of my best friends during my school years. So, how does Judaism respond? There is a distinction between human life and

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animal life. In Jewish tradition, there is a very defined process for grieving the loss of a human life. This can be extremely helpful when it comes to coping and moving forward. There is no prescribed procedure for animals. That is not to say that we don't value their lives or mourn their passing. Kabbalah does mention the souls of animals, even if they are different from ours.

As Jews, we are not obligated to mourn our animals as we do our people, but there are many beautiful ways to commemorate their passing, which can be therapeutic. Writing a poem or essay about what your pet meant to you and sharing this with others is one idea. Also, consider keeping a leash, a bowl or a toy that belonged to your pet. Better still, frame a favourite photograph and display it prominently. Take our pets’ example and try to make others’ lives better. Learn from the fact that they were always excited to see us and how it almost seemed as if they were living every moment as though it were their last. Emulating this way of living is a profound way to honour and remember them. When you were feeling down, they could simply lie next to you or sit on your lap and the fact that they were there provided comfort and happiness. There are times when those suffering or struggling just need to know that someone is there for them. No words are needed. At the core of your relationship with your pets is reciprocal and deep-seated love and appreciation. Is anything better than that? What a wonderful code to live by and to appreciate just how special your companion animal has been.

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the melbourne jewish report | June 2022

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Pleasure-seeking pearler

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY BY ALEX FIRST The Picture of Dorian Gray is an extraordinary triumph of talent and theatricality. It is the very finest of entertainment involving a handsome young man and a portrait that becomes a mirror to his soul. The play shines a spotlight on a world obsessed with youth and beauty. Dorian Gray is painted by his friend, artist Basil Hallward who is infatuated with his attractiveness. Through Hallward, Gray meets Lord Henry Wotton, an aristocrat who believes in pursuing hedonism. Gray is sold on Wotton’s life view. He is concerned that while his picture will remain youthful, he will age and his looks will fade. Gray makes a pact to sell his soul so that it is the painting that will weather and not him. That enables him (devoid of immediate consequences) to pursue a libertine and sinful life. Originally written by Oscar Wilde in 1890, the novel has been skillfully adapted, condensed and modernised by Kip Williams, who also directs. The Picture of Dorian Gray showcases the sublime skills of Eryn Jean Norvill, who

Photo: Daniel Boud plays 26 characters in a captivating, tour de force outing. It is just her on stage for two hours without interval together with the crew and collectively they elevate the spectacle to the truly breathtaking. Norvill seamlessly switches personas,

time and again, while she is captured live on several video screens by up to five camera operators, all dressed in black. Hats off to video designer David Bergman. As she discards one wig and costume for another and yet another (credit to

scenic and costume designer Marg Horwell), typical backstage crew – also dressed in black – are there with her to help the transition. Sets too – at least one of which is quite large – appear and disappear in seconds. Puppet theatre also plays a part. All seems to be done effortlessly. I can scarcely imagine the amount of preparation that must have gone into perfecting the frequent movement. The choreography is outstanding. Norvill is the unmistakable face of all this artistry and it her star that shines the brightest. She acts alongside herself in different guises frequently. As Dorian Gray she talks and interacts with the other characters quite conversationally … and to top it off she also narrates. I have not seen anything of the sort before. What transpires is awe-inspiring and redefines what is possible in a theatrical space when performers are matched with technical genius. Prepare to be mesmerised. I am still applauding. The Picture of Dorian Gray is on at the Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, until 31st July, 2022.

If the shoe fits … RODGERS + HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA BY ALEX FIRST So, you think you know the Cinderella story – the one about the poor “servant” to the evil stepmother and her taunting stepsisters? Well, think again, for the creatives behind the musical have shaken things up, even if the essence of the tale remains unchanged. “Yes”, Cinderella still gets to go to the ball and catch the eye of the Prince, but “no”, the Prince doesn’t go from house to house to see whether the errant shoe fits. And there is more to one of the stepsisters in this adaptation of the classic yarn. The production includes liberal lashings of good humour and romance, magic and delight. Cinderella is good clean family fun, with plenty to satisfy adults as well as children. In this case, a fox and racoon become coach drivers. The leads are wonderful and the chemistry between them is noteworthy. Shubshri Kandiah is quite the revelation as Ella – her crisp, clear and melodic vocal tone a sheer delight. Incidentally, just why she is “labelled” Cinderella is explained as part of the narrative arc. Ainsley Melham capitalises upon the self-deprecating humour associated with his character, Prince Topher and backs that up with a strong singing voice.

Photo: Ben Fon Silvie Paladino sparkles as “Mad Marie” and the Fairy Godmother. She enjoys some big moments. Todd McKenney is flawless as Sebastian, the manipulative attendant to the Prince, a role he milks to crowdpleasing effect. Matilda Moran grabs the latitude given to stepsister Gabrielle and impresses.Bianca Bruce nails “entitled” and “mouthy” as fellow stepsister Charlotte. She proves to be a scene stealer. Tina Bursill is gifted some choice evil lines as Ella’s brutal stepmother (called Madame by her natural offspring) and makes them count.

Daniel Belle showcases his depth in delivery as Lord Pinkleton, the man who delivers Royal proclamations. Josh Gardiner gives a deliberately amusingly nervy performance as the frustrated commoner and do-gooder with designs on Gabrielle. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s music and lyrics are very easy on the ear. Worked into the storyline is stunning, seamlessly choreographed, dancing. Rich costuming, including beautiful gowns, by William Ivey Long are among the visual highlights.

A number of the “transformations” in character looks are jaw dropping. The sets (by Anna Louisoz) and props transport us to the magical world that has traditionally been associated with the fairy tale. Directed by Mark Brokaw, with musical direction from Simon Holt, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella is enchanting, uplifting and most enjoyable. In short, it is a great night of entertainment. Cinderella is playing at the Regent Theatre until 22nd July, 2022.

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the melbourne jewish report | June 2022

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Change behaviour

RABBI GABI KALTMANN ARK CENTRE We recently (27th May to 3rd June) celebrated National Reconciliation Week. It is not for nought that Australia is known as The Lucky Country. Notwithstanding complaints, our healthcare system, opportunities for success, weather and landscape are enviable. But Aboriginal Australians have missed out on much of this prosperity. Many would argue it has come at their expense. Reconciliation Week focuses on what can be done to tackle the unfinished business of reconciling with the indigenous community. It is a time for us to learn about Aborigines’ rich history and culture and how we can contribute to a more vibrant, inclusive country. The week is marked the same time each year for very good reason. On the 27th May, 1967 Aborigines were recognised in the most successful referendum held in Australia. Ninety per cent voted to create government powers to recognise indigenous persons in law and count them in the Census. An historic wrong was overturned, making way for the start of a new era

From left: Jewish community activist Abe Schwartz, indigenous elder Uncle Herb Patten and Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann

of mutual recognition and respect. Another important day on the calendar was the 3rd June, 1992. That was when the Mabo decision was brought down in the High Court. Eddie

Mabo successfully challenging the concept of “terra nullius” (land deemed to be unoccupied or uninhabited). In Judaism, there is a concept of recognising wrongdoing and

apologising before one can move on and seek forgiveness. This is known as doing “Teshuvah” (repenting for any prior transgressions). The famous 12th century Jewish scholar Maimonides outlined the four most important steps in order to apologise and do Teshuvah, namely: 1. Acknowledge your mistake and ask for forgiveness. Without that, the critical step towards making amends has not been taken. 2. Express remorse. That means showing regret. 3. Do everything in your power to correct the transgression. 4. Show the person wronged that you intend to change your behaviour. When examining these principles, we can see that we are still far from fully reconciling with Aboriginal Australians. National Reconciliation Week is a time to reflect, to think about things that we could do differently. It is also a time to acknowledge the historic wrongs that led Aboriginal Australians to experience such suffering and difficulties. As Jews, we are part of an ancient culture and religion. We can appreciate the way history moulds and forms us. As the oldest continuous culture in the world, indigenous Australians are no different. During Reconciliation Week, we stand with them and work to right the wrongs and gain forgiveness.