CT Jewish Ledger • October 16, 2020 • 28 Tishrei 5781

ANNOUNCING THE NEW VIRTUAL

We are thrilled to be partnering with the JCC Literary Consortium to bring you the Mandell JCC Book Festival In Your Living Room, a virtual series of author Zoom talks and Q&As.

Kathy Binder & Kathy Fishman - Co-Chairs

Thursday, October 22 | 8:00 pm

Judy Gold

Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All In Trouble

Sunday, October 25 | 8:00 pm

Harlan Coben

The Boy From the Woods

Tuesday, October 27 | 8:00 pm

Nancy Grace

Don’t be a Victim: Fighting Back against America’s Crime Wave

T hursday, October 29 | 8:00 pm

Mike Leven

Can’t Do It Yourself: How Commitment to Others Leads to Personal Prosperity

Sunday, November 8 | 1:00 pm

Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy

Never Alone

Sunday, November 8 | 8:00 pm

Joan Lunden

Why Did I Come Into This Room? A Candid Conversation About Aging

M onday, November 9 | 8:00 pm

Esther Safran Foer

I Want You to Know We’re Still Here: A Post Holocaust Memoir

Tuesday, November 10 | 1:00 pm

A Two-Author Event

Rachel Beanland

Florence Adler Swims Forever: A Novel

K ristin Harmel

Book of Last Names: A Novel

Tuesday, November 10 | 8:00 pm EST

Dale Berra

My Dad, Yogi

We dnesday, November 11 | 3:00 pm

John Grisham

A Time for Mercy

We dnesday, November 11 | 8:00 pm

Cameron Douglas Long Way Home

T hursday, November 12 | 8:00 pm

Jim McCloskey and Philip Lerman

When the Truth is All You Have: A Memoir of Faith, Justice, and Freedom for the Wrongly Convicted

S aturday, November 14 | 8:00 pm

L awrence Wright

The End of October: A Novel

Sunday, November 15 | 3:00 pm

Raffi Berg

Red Sea Spies: The True Story of Mossad’s Fake Diving Resort

Monday, November 16 | 8:00 pm

A riel Sabar

Veritas: A Harvard Professor, A Con Man, and the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife

We dnesday, November 18 | 8:00 pm

TWO-AUTHOR EVENT

Michael Ian Black

A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious)

Letter to My Son Cleo Stiller

Modern Manhood: Conversations

About the Complicated World of Being a Good Man Today

T hursday, November 19 | 8:00 pm

Rachel Bloom

I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are Friday, November 20 | 2:00 pm

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Mimi Lemay

What We Will Become: A Mother, Son, and a Journey of Transformation Sunday, November 22 | 1:00 pm    FOR KIDS!

Melissa Clark

Kid in the Kitchen: 100 Recipes and Tips for Young Home Cooks

We dnesday, December 2 | 7:30 pm

Ina Garten

Modern Comfort Food

INSIDE this week

Going Public 5

This year, the public can vote on the winner of Israel’s prestigious Genesis Prize from among 7 finalists: Sacha Baron Cohen, Barbra Streisand, Justice Elena Kagan, Gal Gadot, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Marc Benioff and Steven Spielberg.

Mob Rule 5

Throngs of Orthodox Jews protesting against New York’s crackdown on gatherings in their neighborhoods turned tense and at times violent. In response, Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio were careful not to utter the words “Jewish community.”

The Jewish Democratic Council of America PAC released a powerful ad last week that juxtaposes the recitation of the mourner’s Kaddish with the President’s recent controversial statements about COVID19. Republicans aren’t pleased.

Pray Tell 10

Should American Jews pray for the speedy recovery of President Trump from COVID19? Rabbis weigh in.

The Chicken Soup Manifesto is not just another cookbook – it’s the James Beard nominated chef Jenn Louis’ ode to beloved chicken soup dishes from around the world. Ess, mamele, ess.

It’s been exactly 70 years this month since Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced the concept of Israel bonds to a group of leaders at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Since that time, more than $45 billion has been invested in the State of Israel from the sale of Israel bonds, a flow of support in good times and bad.

SHABBAT FRIDAY, OCT. 16

Hartford: 5:49 p.m.

New Haven: 5:49 p.m.

Bridgeport: 5:49 p.m.

Stamford: 5:49 p.m.

UP FRONT

VOTE!

As Genesis Prize goes to a vote, its impact on Jewish causes grows

BY LARRY LUXNER

Doron Almog, a former head of the Israeli Defense Forces’ Southern Command, was one of the heroes of Israel’s 1976 hostage rescue operation in Entebbe, Uganda, and winner of the 2016 Israel Prize for lifetime achievement.

But the thing he says he’s most proud of is ALEH Negev-Nahalat Eran, a rehabilitation village he founded in southern Israel for 160 physically and mentally disabled children and young adults. It’s named after Almog’s son, Eran, who was born with severe autism and died in 2007, at the age of 23, from a rare disorder known as Castleman disease.

ALEH-Negev is one of 15 organizations, including nine in Israel, to receive grants derived from the 2020 $1 million Genesis Prize, often described as the Jewish Nobel. Last year’s laureate, Natan Sharansky, chosen in December 2019, donated his prize money to Jewish and non-Jewish groups fighting COVID-19’s spread throughout the world.

“During this pandemic, we cannot do social distancing, but we do need lots of PPE,” said Almog, whose organization received a $50,000 grant. “You cannot keep two meters distance from these kids. You need to hug them, wash them, treat them. A lot of the money we received will go to PPE as well as respiratory equipment and oxygen. We’ve also increased salaries for our medical staff because they’re doing double shifts and there’s more risk.”

This year, for the first time since the inception of the Genesis Prize, the Genesis Prize Foundation has opened up the laureate selection process to the wider public. More than 45,000 people worldwide sent in submissions for over 4,000 nominees, and seven finalists were selected.

Now the public will have a chance to vote on those finalists: actor Sacha Baron Cohen, singer Barbra Streisand, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, actress Gal Gadot, former U.K. chief rabbi

Jonathan Sacks, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Hollywood producer Steven Spielberg.

To cast a vote, visit the Genesis Prize website anytime between now and October 26.

“The Genesis Prize has evolved from an elite, committee-driven process to a more inclusive approach that seeks to engage the entire Jewish world,” said Genesis Prize Foundation President Steve Rakitt. “The voice of the Jewish people from all walks of life, different demographic groups and across generations will now become an extremely important factor in the nomination and selection of our honorees.”

The prize, launched in 2013 and financed through a $100 million endowment, recognizes Jewish individuals with outstanding “professional

accomplishments, contributions to humankind, and pride in their Jewish heritage.” Previous winners have included former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor, actor Michael Douglas, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, actress Natalie Portman and musician Itzhak Perlman. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg received a lifetime achievement award in 2018.

After Bloomberg won the first prize, he announced that he’d donate all the proceeds to charity. All subsequent winners have followed suit, sending more than $16 million overall (other donors often match Genesis Prize Foundation funds) to myriad philanthropic priorities, including fighting

Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn stage protest against New York’s new COVID rules

BY SHIRA HANAU

(JTA) – Protests by Orthodox Jews against New York’s crackdown on gatherings in their neighborhoods turned tense and at times violent Tuesday night, Oct. 6, as throngs of young men demonstrated in the streets of Borough Park.

The late-night protest in a heavily Orthodox area of Brooklyn took aim at new restrictions that would close schools, limit attendance at synagogues services and close nonessential businesses in areas with upticks in COVID-19.

The protestors set fire to a pile of masks, at one point surrounded a city bus that was moving through the area and at another ran a reporter out of the area.

In a particularly violent episode, one man – the brother of Mordy Getz, a well-known Orthodox businessman who was outspoken about the need for masks and social distancing earlier in the pandemic – was beaten so severely by protesters after he took a video of the scene that he was taken to the hospital. Onlookers could be heard calling him a “moser,” one who informs on fellow Jews to the authorities and who some Jewish legal authorities say can be killed as a result, an insult applied to his brother back in April, as he was placed on a stretcher to be taken to the hospital.

The protests laid bare the frustration felt by local Orthodox Jews who are now at the center of the first widespread resurgence of COVID in New York since the spring. Many in the community believe that city and state officials are unfairly targeting Orthodox Jews, who are already vulnerable to antisemitism, in their pandemic response. Local elected officials and community leaders on Tuesday, Oct. 6, vowed to resist the latest rules, through litigation and civil

Protest

disobedience.

“We will not close,” radio host and local celebrity Heshy Tischler proclaimed to cheers from the assembled crowds. Later, he told protestors, “You are my soldiers. We are at war.”

Dov Hikind, the former state Assemblyman who is a leader in the community, said the form the protests took were regrettable.

“I’m ashamed of what happened,” Hikind said. “To raise your hand and touch another person, Jew or non-Jew, to injure someone and have them end up in the hospital, what a tragedy. … If there would have been a protest last night organized by community leaders and elected officials where everyone was wearing a mask, then of course there’s no problem. … There’s nothing wrong with expressing yourself.”

The protests came in response to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement Tuesday afternoon of new restrictions on a large swath of Brooklyn that is experiencing an uptick in COVID cases. His announcement followed a similar one by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who on Sunday, Oct. 4, during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot when Orthodox Jews do not use cell phones or computers, said he would move to close schools on Wednesday, pending the governor’s approval. The governor then announced Monday that he would close the schools Tuesday. (Most Orthodox schools are in fact closed this week for Sukkot.)

In a statement Tuesday evening, local Orthodox lawmakers accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of “a duplicitous baitand-switch.”

“The governor informed Jewish community leaders in a conference call that synagogues in ‘red zones’ would

be permitted to operate at 50%, and he requested community cooperation (which he was assured would happen,” they wrote, referencing a call Cuomo held with Orthodox leaders Tuesday before he announced the new restrictions.

“Outrageously, just hours later, Governor Cuomo announced a draconian return to restrictions that would shutter thousands of New York businesses and limit houses of worship to a maximum capacity of 10 (no matter the maximum capacity of the building).”

A statement from Agudath Israel, an organization representing haredi Orthodox communities, also expressed frustration with the lack of notice given about the restrictions in a call earlier in the day and suggested the new rules might be unconstitutional.

“Governor Cuomo’s surprise mass closure announcement today, and limit of 10 individuals per house of worship in ‘red zones,’ is appalling to all people of religion and good faith,” they said.

They seemed to be considering the possibility of challenging the governor’s new restrictions in court. “Agudath Israel intends to explore all appropriate measures to undo this deeply offensive action,” they said. A federal judge issued an injunction blocking New York State from imposing stricter standards on indoor gatherings at religious services than those imposed on other gathering places, citing religious liberty concerns. Agudath Israel filed an amicus brief in that case.

The protesters in Borough Park were joined Tuesday night by Tischler and their City Council representative, Kalman Yeger, who encouraged the crowd to stand up for religious freedom.

“We are not going to be deprived of the right that we have in America, like everybody else in America, the right to observe our religion,” he said in a video

posted to Twitter by local news outlet BoroPark24.

Tischler also appeared later Tuesday night in Crown Heights, another heavily Orthodox Brooklyn neighborhood where there are no new restrictions but where de Blasio has identified a slight uptick in COVID test positivity rates. Tischler appeared at a Simchat Beit Hashoevah, a gathering on the holiday of Sukkot that is marked by singing and dancing, and addressed the crowd.

“We have a court order, we won, our schools and shuls are open, we will not close,” he said, seemingly referring to a court injunction over the summer issued by a federal judge that blocked New York State

Genesis Prize

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

anti-Semitism, supporting refugees, promoting innovation, improving the lives of individuals with special needs and advancing women’s equality.

When last year’s prize went to Sharansky – the onetime Soviet dissident turned Israeli politician and later head of the Jewish Agency – he initially planned to donate his prize money to projects that support human rights, according to Sana Britavsky, deputy CEO of the Genesis Prize Foundation.

“But when COVID-19 started, Natan generously decided that all his prize money should go to vulnerable populations here in Israel and abroad,” Britavsky said in an interview. “He chose to give to projects that would work for real people, where that kind of help would make a real difference.”

Britavsky added, “The unique partnership between the Genesis Prize Laureates and The Genesis Prize Foundation makes possible this type of philanthropic impact.”

Sharansky said in a statement, “Many people of good will around the world have given generously to help organizations and individuals who have been devastated by COVID-19. I am grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to this humanitarian effort.”

Among the recipients was the European branch of the Jewish outreach organization Moishe House, which subsidizes homes throughout the world that serve as Jewish community hubs for Jews in their 20s. Moishe House is using the funding to expand its volunteer activities in support of isolated, elderly Jews affected by COVID-19 in Madrid, Moscow, Paris and Rome.

“We received this grant to increase the work we do fighting loneliness and isolation,” Alejandro Okret, chief global officer at Moishe House, said in a phone

from imposing stricter rules on religious gatherings than in other indoor venues.

“And here’s the deal, I’m filing a new court order, I’m holding Cuomo and the idiot de Blasio in contempt,” he said. “We will civil disobedience…our amendments, our first amendments, our rights, we will not close our shuls Simchas Torah!”

Other videos circulated of protesters chanting, “Jewish lives matter.”

At one point, protesters set fire to a pile of masks in the middle of a street.

And one photographer trying to capture the scene in Borough Park was videoed being chased and possibly assaulted by a crowd of Hasidic Jews.

interview from London.

When the pandemic hit Italy, Moishe House residents in Rome immediately set up donation points at three supermarkets where they encouraged people to donate food or take whatever they needed. They also launched an effort to record the stories of their grandparents, to keep them engaged and connected with others. In Moscow, Moishe House volunteers made phone calls to isolated elderly people, and delivered them medication. In Paris, participants read for the blind. Genesis Prize grants also went to the Association of Rape Crisis Centers of Israel, which has seen a 40% surge in domestic violence cases during the pandemic; the Weizmann Institute of Science, to help develop a coronavirus vaccine; and to Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering for coronavirus-related research.

The Genesis Prize organization is expecting at least 75,000 people to cast online ballots before voting concludes on Oct. 26. The winner will be announced in early 2021.

If this approach proves successful, Rakitt said, all future laureates will be selected this way.

“It’s a reflection of the way the world is going,” Rakitt said. “For years, the Genesis Prize was modeled on the Nobel and other prestigious prizes. It had a limited number of people who could nominate, and an even more limited number who could select. We want to hear the voices of the Jewish community around the world. That’s why we’re opening up the process.”

This article was sponsored by and produced in partnership with The Genesis Prize Foundation, which aims to foster Jewish identity, inspire Jewish pride and strengthen the bond between Israel and the Diaspora. This article was produced by JTA’s native content team.

Cuomo and de Blasio react – without naming Jewish community

Following a night of unrest in Orthodox Brooklyn neighborhoods over coronavirus restrictions, Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio urged unity but vowed to enforce social distancing and mask-wearing regulations.

Speaking in separate and overlapping press conferences Wednesday morning, Oct. 7 Cuomo, New York’s governor, and de Blasio, New York City’s mayor, both avoided singling out the Jewish community or even using the word “Jewish.”

De Blasio has been criticized in the past for singling out New York Jews who violated regulations, and yesterday, Orthodox leaders accused Cuomo of misleading them regarding the scope of the new regulations. Cuomo also faced backlash on Monday for showing a 14-year-old picture of an Orthodox Jewish event while criticizing recent mass religious gatherings.

“This is about all New Yorkers, and when you look at the communities in Brooklyn and Queens, it’s lots of different kinds of people,” de Blasio said when asked about Orthodox Jews. “We’re talking about two of the most diverse places on earth – Brooklyn and Queens. So within these areas are many kinds of people. We want to protect everyone. This is based on data and science.

The positive test rate in Borough Park on Tuesday was 10.6%, more than 10 times the overall rate of the state. Rising infection rates in those neighborhoods, officials fear, could trigger a second wave of the virus in New York City, which had, until these up-ticks, kept rates low after experiencing a severe outbreak in the spring.

Cuomo blamed the uptick on a lack of enforcement of social distancing regulations by local officials – an implied swipe at de Blasio, with whom Cuomo has a famously acrimonious relationship. New York City

and state put out different versions of new restrictions earlier this week in an attempt to curb a second wave of the virus.

“The reason we’re in this situation now is because the enforcement wasn’t done,” Cuomo said. “We had the rules. It wasn’t enforced in these areas. It wasn’t enforced in these areas because it’s hard to enforce in these areas, because they don’t want to do it.”

He added, “And now we see the infection rate go up and now we see more people go into hospitals from these communities.”

While “red zone” neighborhoods like Borough Park, where case rates are highest, will face strict restrictions. Neighborhoods in “orange” and “yellow” zones face fewer restrictions. The neighborhoods of Crown Heights and Williamsburg, which also have large Hasidic populations, are not included in the color-coded zones, but de Blasio said the city is concerned about their rising infection rates.

De Blasio said the city has 1,200 employees canvassing neighborhoods to notify residents in the zones about the new restrictions, which are set to last at least 14 days, and enforce them. Mass gatherings that congregate in violation of the regulations can lead to fines of $15,000 per day, while fines for not wearing a mask or adhering to social distancing requirements can be as high as $1,000 per day.

De Blasio said that though no arrests were made at the protests Tuesday night, police will not tolerate violence or property damage. He also said that the city will take enforcement of the new regulations seriously.

“We’re going to be enforcing across the board,” he said. “If people refuse to wear masks there will be penalties. Across the board, this is what we’re going to have to do. I understand the frustrations that people are feeling, because no one wants to see us have to go back towards the restrictions that we had in the spring, but unfortunately they are necessary.”

Contemporary Israeli Voices 2020

Thursday

October 22, 2020

8:00 PM

Live online multi-media presentation with Q&A session with the audience

Acting and the Brain's Plasticity

Renowned actress Ayelet Zurer has studied neuroplasticity and the process that occurs in the brain while actors take on different roles and personas. Zurer will speak about her acting in the movies Angels & Demons and Man of Steel, and the discipline required of actors in their commitment to their art.

Ayelet Zurer first garnered the attention of American audiences when Steven Spielberg cast her in the Oscar nominated film Munich. Zurer starred in the worldwide box office hit Angels & Demons and in Man of Steel. Zurer won the Israeli Film Academy Award for her starring role as the title character in Nina's Tragedies. She also won two Israeli Television Academy Awards for Best Actress: one for In Treatment (later adapted by HBO), and for B'nei Aruba (adapted by CBS into Hostages). Most recently Zurer has won acclaim for her role as Elisheva in the Netflix hit TV show Shtisel. Her new show Losing Alice is a psychological thriller on Hot TV.

Sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies

Organized by Dalit Katz, Director

To register for this virtual lecture, please visit our website at civ.site.wesleyan.edu

Free Admission

Open to the Public

AROUND CONNECTICUT

IN THE SUKKAH

Preschoolers at the B’nai Torah Nursery School in Trumbull say the bracha (blessing) over the lulav and etrog in the synagogue’s sukkah.

100+ Jewish cantors and Black ministers release solidarity music video

(JTA) – Three cantors from Connecticut are among more than 100 cantors and Black ministers to release a solidarity music video to benefit a Black music school in Pittsburgh.

The faith leaders – including Deborah Katchko-Gray of Congregation Shir Shalom in Ridgefield, Luis Cattan of The Conservative Synagogue in Westport, and Sandy Bernstein of Temple Sholom in Greenwich – sing the gospel song “Total Praise” in a video directed by the song’s author, Grammy Award winner Richard Smallwood.

“I pray that this will help to inspire, encourage and bring healing to all people everywhere,” Smallwood said in a statement.

The video, which was released last week, is introduced by Pastor Eric Manning of the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Both houses of worship were the targets of deadly shootings in the past five years by white supremacists.

“We want to show solidarity and support with our Black brothers and sisters, and believe our voices can be used to create positive change in the world,” Myers said. “Music is more important than ever.”

The project was organized by the Cantors Assembly, which is affiliated with the Conservative movement, and seeks to raise money for the Afro-American Music Institute.

At the end of the song, Manning and Myers discuss the historic relationship between the Black and Jewish communities in the United States, including Jewish involvement in the founding of the NAACP.

“I think if we can tap back into that same spirit of unity, the same spirit of working together, I believe we can accomplish a lot more in this day and age,” Manning said.

ELECTION 2020

Jewish Democratic Council releases ‘Kaddish’ ad, blasting Trump’s response to COVID-19

BY JACKSON RICHMAN

(JNS) The political action committee of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, JDCA PAC, released an ad on Tuesday featuring the Jewish mourner’s Kaddish in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial actions and video statements about COVID-19 after he returned to the White House on Monday, Oct. 5. The president had spent three nights at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center being treated for symptoms associated with the coronavirus.

The jarring ad features a photo of a stone about to be put on top of a grave marker that already consists of stones on top of it, in accordance with Jewish tradition.

Alongside the Kaddish being recited is audio of Trump’s past statements on the pandemic, such as “It is what it is,” as an increasing number of COVID-19 deaths flash across the screen. To date, more than 7.5 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 with nearly 215,000 recorded deaths as a result of the highly infectious disease.

The ad ends with the word “VOTE” at the conclusion of the Kaddish.

Jewish voters mourn the more than 210,000 American lives lost to COIVD-19.

Our loss is magnified by the knowledge that this tragedy could have been avoided.

President Trump has shown he is incapable of protecting us from this pandemic. We must vote for change.

– Jewish Dems ???? (@USJewishDems)

“The Jewish community is in mourning due to the devastating human loss of from the coronavirus, and many of us are saying Kaddish. Each Saturday, my father and I attended shul together until he contracted and succumbed to the virus a few months ago,” said JDCA chairman and former Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.) in a statement.

“The Jewish community in South Florida, including my own family, has been deeply impacted by this devastating disease. The magnitude of this tragedy could have been avoided.”

Republican Jewish Coalition executive director Matt Brooks told JNS, “This ad does nothing to win over undecided voters; it’s awful. If a voter already feels Trump mishandled the virus, then they’re already voting for [Joe] Biden … couple that with the fact that they aren’t spending any money on it, and it all adds up to a big zero.”

The ad is actually part of a $250,000 ad campaign by JDCA PAC.

Opinion

Should Jews pray for Trump’s health? Rabbis offer their guidance.

(JTA) – When he heard about President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis on Friday, Adam Zemel felt many competing emotions: “fear, confusion, anger, guilt, and yes, satisfaction.”

Writing on Alma, Zemel, a former synagogue administrator and current writing student, said he was comfortable wrestling with his feelings and didn’t feel the need for rabbinic guidance. But our tradition offers a rich literature, and indeed debate, about how and when to pray for government leaders and for the health of those whom we do not like – relevant for the majority of American Jews who are not fans of Trump.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency asked rabbis to share the advice they would give a congregant seeking guidance about how to feel about Trump’s illness. Here’s what they told us.

Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles:

“Judaism teaches we should pray for the sick, not for the sick whom we like, and I am mindful of Pirkei Avot 4:19, not to rejoice in the downfall of one’s enemies. I appreciate the savagery of the political divide, but I hope no matter who is suffering with this dangerous disease, we can pray both that they will heal and also that they will learn from the experience, and grow more open-hearted and compassionate, as we hope for all of us in any trial or tragedy.”

Rabbi Jason Nevarez of Beth Israel of

San Diego:

“My job, as a spiritual leader, is to guide in prayer and model what it means to ‘do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).’ In this moment, I believe our tradition calls for us to lift the anchors of the yetzer hara (evil inclination) which may be present in order to pray for the health of our leaders – in this case, those who serve the American people. Along with our prayers of healing, I pray that our president and other government leaders learn from this moment in order to amplify the seriousness of this pandemic

BY LAURA E. AKINS

with consistent (and necessary) guidelines and messaging meant to save lives.”

Rabbi Emily Cohen of West End Synagogue in New York City:

“Last Thursday, I happened to go to bed early, which meant that I missed the news of President Trump’s diagnosis. As I scanned social media Friday morning, I kept seeing posts from people either celebrating the news or berating others for celebrating. What I wanted to know heading into Sukkot – our z’man simchateinu, time of rejoicing – was how Jewish texts might address the topic of taking joy in the suffering of one’s enemy.

“Being a rabbi, I made a study sheet, asking colleagues on Facebook to recommend texts and peppering screenshots of tweets from today’s sages amidst the traditional sources.

“The short answer? As usual, Torah is divided on exactly the correct approach, but it seems fairly clear that wishing for harm to befall another has the potential to harm the wisher on a moral level.

“We are all capable at every moment of listening to our yetzer hatov or yetzer hara – our instincts for good or for evil. Our sacred texts ask us to choose life. So let’s focus on life – on acting to preserve and improve life for ourselves and for all who

AFTER TESTING POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, PRESIDENT TRUMP LEAVES THE WHITE HOUSE FOR WALTER REED NATIONAL MILITARY MEDICAL CENTER ON OCT. 2, 2020 (CREDIT: DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES)

dwell within our borders. Let’s not sully that choice by diverting energy into wishing for or celebrating somebody else’s brush with death.”

Rabbi Sara Zober of Temple Sinai in Reno, Nevada:

“I had a conversation with a friend, also a rabbi, about whether to include Trump on our congregational Mi Sheberach list, like we included Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Our policy has always been to include anyone a congregant asks to include, and nobody had asked by the time our Friday night list was printed. I also discussed with a colleague the message it sends to those in marginalized communities to put his name on our list, especially when he is so directly responsible for so much suffering (in a way that has made others’ lives needlessly difficult). I didn’t get any real consensus about that one. We do definitely allow congregants to add names as we recite the Mi Sheberach prayer, and somebody did add the president’s name at that time.”

Rabbi Zach Fredman, formerly of The New Shul in New York City:

With the news that Trump had tested positive for COVID, I couldn’t stop myself

Vol. 92 No. 34

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from wishing that the disease works strongly upon him, kills him even. … But is it OK to pray for the death of an evil person? Not just to think about it, but to actively enter a prayerful state and yearn for the disease to end his life in this body, that good may come to so many lives who have suffered on his account?

“Discussing that question with a friend, I was reminded of a midrash that appears in the commentaries on the Book of Esther, where Haman, the fascist villain, is the archetype of pure evil in the Judaic tradition.

“Two variants of the commentary appear. In one, all the trees of the world –the apple tree and the oak, the willow, the cedar, the olive and the palm – come before God and beg to be the vehicle for Haman’s death. They want to be the tree that Haman will hang from. In the other variant of the story, all the trees come before God, the same trees, and none wishes to be the tree upon which Haman will be hung. They don’t want to be proximate to evil, they don’t want to be contaminated by his vileness. In the end of both stories, the thorn bush is chosen to be the tree upon which Haman hangs.

“There are two instincts regarding evil –the desire to destroy it, and the inclination to flee its reign. Both live in us, and both yearnings have their place. If no one comes to fight Hitler, to protest Trump and the Proud Boys, evil thrives. If we come at him untethered to the wisdom that fighting evil carries the risk of being tainted by it, we are already undone. The line between these two yearnings is flimsy as a thorn. And living one without the other does not leave us whole.

“So yes, you can pray for his demise, but you will be changed by that prayer, and maybe not for the better.”

This piece was lightly adapted from Fredman’s email newsletter.

Rabbi Aaron Krauss of Beth El Synagogue in Margate, New Jersey:

“It is more than appropriate for us to to pray for the health and recovery of President Trump. The bracha we recite in the presence of a country’s leader should extend to the leader’s wellbeing, so long as that leader is not clear and present danger. Whether we are pleased with Trump as president or not, he has behaved very favorably to Israel.”

Rabbi Jonathan Singer of Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco:

“We added the president’s name to our Shabbat healing list praying for refuah shlemah for all in our government who are ill with COVID-19. Our clergy team understands that our response as a Jewish

community must reflect our deepest values.

As Hillel said, ‘In a place where there is no humanity, we must yet strive to be humane.’”

Rabbi Mira Rivera of Romemu in New York City:

“At our virtual morning minyan, we prayed for the healing of body and spirit of those who are ill, and that a sincere act of teshuva be their choice moving forward, leading this nation to care for each other – in this moment of national reckoning – by setting an example of wearing masks and practicing social distancing, upholding that the life of all human beings should be preserved. We prayed that all may realize that we are connected in body, soul and breath of spirit.

In the spirit of Berachot 10A, as Rabbi Meir’s wife Beruriah reminded him, we do not pray for the sinners to cease, but for their sins to cease.”

This response was lightly edited for length and clarity.

Rabbi Yosie Levine of The Jewish Center in New York City:

“Irrespective of what they think of our president, every American and every Jew should pray for his well-being. The office of the president is larger than any one person and there are times when personal feelings must give way to national considerations.

“But we pray for more than his recovery. Because penitence is central to our faith, we believe that even those who may have acted badly are capable at any moment of repenting sincerely. In this particular case, it may be too much to hope that a brush with mortality will leave Mr. Trump chastened. He may not return to the oval office having undergone an epiphany about the gravity of this pandemic. And he may not drastically alter his view of mask-wearing. But when it comes to the health and safety of the American people, even the most modest change could save thousands of lives. As we do every Shabbat, we pray that God bless the president and “set in his heart a spirit of wisdom and understanding.” Sometimes a little wisdom can go a long way.”

If you are a Connecticut rabbi grappling with this question and would like to have your thoughts included, please email judiej53@jewishledger.com.

Laura E. Adkins is JTA’s opinion editor and an adjunct professor of journalism at Yeshiva University. She was previously deputy opinion editor at the Forward, and has served as editor of Jewish Insider and an assistant blogs editor at The Times of Israel.

At the Hebrew Center for Health and Rehabilitation, we understand that comfort and familiarity is a key part of the journey to wellness. We also understand that maintaining your religious beliefs and principles is fundamental in continued enrichment of life. Our Kosher meal services allow residents to maintain their dietary requirements throughout their stay with us. At the Hebrew Center, we ensure we follow all principles of Kosher including purchase, storage, preparation, and service.

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Hebrew Center for Health and Rehabilitation One Abrahms Boulevard, West Hartford, CT 06117

sound investment

America’s “war bonds” (now known as savings bonds) just a few years earlier, Morgenthau “brought this option to Ben-Gurion’s attention even before the establishment of Israel in May 1948. BenGurion ultimately adopted the idea and launched the first Israel Bonds campaign in 1951.”

Though the prime minister was at first resistant to the idea – his concern, explains Troen, was that making Israel an investment might water down the philanthropic momentum driving financial support by Diaspora Jewry – “it was only the dire needs of the new state with enormous demands on its inadequate resources for meeting development, immigration and defense needs that persuaded Ben-Gurion to accept Morgenthau’s repeated attempts at persuasion.”

Once launched, early Bonds enthusiasts included American labor unions, most notably during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, along with state and municipal publicemployee pension and treasury funds that have bought up billions of dollars’ worth over the years. And no less than investment maven billionaire and philanthropist Warren Buffett has purchased $5 million worth of the bonds, describing them as “a deserved endorsement of a remarkable country.”

“Golda [Meir] liked to use the line, ‘The day should come when Israel doesn’t need a handout, but the day should never come when Israel is not a good investment.’ ” So says longtime Bonds activist Susan Weikers, who was the first female national chair and currently serves on Bonds’ National Campaign Advisory Council and as treasurer of its international board of directors.

Though she lives in Baltimore, Weikers’ “second life is in Israel,” where for more than a half-century she’s made the trip four or five times annually.

Highlights of her activity with Bonds include sipping tea with Netanyahu in her home and the privilege, due to their last name’s alphabetical proximity, of being seated next to author Elie Wiesel at numerous events over the years.

The next generation: ‘They own this story’

But Weikers’ favorite audience remains not celebrities, but young people.

“They don’t know a world without Israel

and their memories fading from world awareness, they don’t realize what Jewish life was like in 1950, just a few years after the camps were liberated,” she says.

So how does one keep the Jewish passion for Israel alive for the next generation? One of Weikers’ favorite tactics is approaching young adults at events to share stories of Jews, Israel and survival.

“I want them to begin to feel they own this story and this place – that Israelis are our brothers. And, if anyone says anything derogatory, that we need to tell them you don’t insult my brother.”

Indeed, Maimon reports the organization is grooming its next generation of leaders through mentoring, leadershiptraining programs, Israel trips, socialmedia campaigns and events that cater to the young. Other attractors include the affordability (bonds start at $36).

Moreover, whereas other organizations are dealing with shortfalls in the wake of COVID-19, Israel’s Finance Ministry agreed to the request of Israel Bonds to extend its 2020 goal to $1.7 billion, which would be a record high.

The big difference? “We’re an investment,” states Maimon. “The economic forecast, despite temporary setbacks, is

and stronger than other countries so that although the debt is rising due to the pandemic, the ability of the country to repay it is better. And the will of the Jewish people to support Israel is strong, so it’s considered a good investment no matter what.”

As Netanyahu told the celebration audience: “Bonds played a crucial role in the founding years of Israel’s economy, helped make it a free-market economy of first-rate innovators, the startup nation of the world. … The passion for the State of Israel has been with us over the decades in good times and bad.”

One point of particular pride: Never once, even in times of war or recession or intifada, has Israel defaulted on its bonds. “After 70 years, everyone knows we will always stand behind them,” says Maimon. “And there’s no commission, so every penny is an investment in Israel’s strong future.”

In fact, bonds strengthen the bonds between Israel and Diaspora Jews, he notes. “These invisible but powerful ties go both ways. When you invest in something, you always check to see what’s going on with it; it’s important to you. And Israelis know that much of what they have now has been made possible by Jews living very different lives

So, when an Israeli Bond is given for a wedding or new baby or bar or bat mitzvah, “it’s a double mitzvah,” emphasizes Maimon. “You’re buying into the Jewish homeland and giving it as a gift to the next generation.”

For more information on Development Corporation for Israel/ Israel Bonds, visit: www.israelbonds. com or contact Barbara Starr, Israel Bonds representative in Connecticut, at barbara.starr@israelbonds.com or hartford@israelbonds.com.

Photos courtesy of Development Corporation for Israel/Israel Bonds.

Briefs

Homeland Security report: White supremacists the biggest terror threat in US (JTA) – A new report from the Department of Homeland Security names white supremacists as the biggest domestic terror threat in the United States. The Homeland Threat Assessment, released on Tuesday, Oct. 6, details an array of violent domestic threats in the United States. It also notes that, among other qualities, white supremacists are characterized by their hate of Jews, or by “their perception that the government is controlled by Jewish persons.”

The report comes a month after a whistleblower, Brian Murphy, alleged that in writing the Homeland Threat Assessment, he was asked by highranking Homeland Security appointees “to specifically modify the section on White Supremacy in a manner that made the threat appear less severe, as well as include information on the prominence of violent ‘left-wing’ groups.”

In the foreward to the report, Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said white supremacists are his main focus. “I am concerned about any form of violent extremism,” Wolf wrote. “However, I am particularly concerned about white supremacist violent extremists who have been exceptionally lethal in their abhorrent, targeted attacks in recent years.”

Trump frequently stresses what he perceived as the dangers of antifa, a loose network of anti-fascist activists. The word “antifa” does not appear in the Homeland Security report.

According to the report, since 2018, white supremacist extremists have been responsible for more attacks and more deaths than any other ideologically motivated extremists. White supremacists have also conducted half of the sixteen total extremist attacks committed since 2018, killing a total of 39 people. Though not specified in the report, that number presumably includes the victims of the synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh and Poway, California.

Among all domestic violent extremists, “racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists – specifically white supremacist extremists (WSEs) – will remain the most persistent and lethal threat in the Homeland,” the report says. “WSEs have demonstrated longstanding intent to target racial and religious minorities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, politicians, and those they believe promote multiculturalism and globalization at the expense of the WSE identity.”

House resolution condems

QAnon, including for its antisemitism

(JTA) – The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly condemned the QAnon conspiracy theory, citing among other reasons its antisemitism. The nonbinding resolution passed 371-18, with all but one of the no votes by Republicans. The other was Rep. Justin Amash, I-Mich., who routinely votes against declarative resolutions. Reps. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., and Denver Riggleman, R-Va., sponsored the measure, which “condemns QAnon and rejects the conspiracy theories it promotes.” Its preamble says that “many QAnon followers express antisemitic views, and the Anti-Defamation League has said that the movement’s central conspiracy theory includes antisemitic elements.” Conspiracy theories “have been a central driver of antisemitism for centuries,” the preamble adds, “and QAnon conspiracy theories are fanning the flames as antisemitism is on the rise in the United States and around the world.”

QAnon advances a baseless theory that President Donald Trump is seeking to rout a network of pedophiles deep inside the government. Trump has not denounced the theory.

Malinowski has been targeted for death threats by QAnon followers based in part on a false claim that he once advocated for pedophiles. An ad by the National Republican Congressional Committee made the false claim. Riggleman, a moderate Republican, was ousted this summer in a primary by a conservative challenger who made an issue of Riggleman’s support for gay rights. The passage of this resolution will be one of his final acts in his two years in Congress.

A number of Republican congressional nominees have been identified with the theory and one, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, is guaranteed election in her deeply conservative district.

Roman Polanski’s Holocaust saviors named Righteous Among the Nations

(JTA) – Israel is set to honor the couple who rescued Jewish film director Roman Polanski from the Holocaust. A grandson of Stefania and Jan Buchała will accept the medal naming them posthumously as Righteous Among the Nations, a title that Israel confers on non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis, Haaretz reported. The ceremony will take place in Poland next week.

The Buchalas hid Polanski, then 10 years old, from 1943 to the end of World War II after his father smuggled him out

of the Krakow ghetto. Yad Vashem, Israel’s state Holocaust museum, recognized the Buchałas’ actions last year. The couple died in the 1950s.

Last month, Israel also presented the medal to the descendants of four couples in neighboring Lithuania: Stanislava and Juozas Gaižauskas; Palionė and Juozas Sturonai; Petronėlė and Pranas Šimka and Petronė and Vincent Pocius. The ceremony was part of a Sept. 24 conference in the city of Kaunas celebrating the actions of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who, along with his Dutch counterpart Jan Zwartendijk, gave life-saving visas to thousands of Jews fleeing the Holocaust. Zwartendijk, who died in 1976, was also honored at a separate event in The Hague organized on Sept. 22 by the Lithuanian embassy to the Netherlands.

Polanski, 87, has been formally accused of raping a minor in 1977; he has evaded charges by living in Europe for decades.

Foreign ministers of Israel, UAE, Germany visit Berlin Holocaust Memorial

(JNS) Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan visited the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin together on Tuesday, Oct. 6, during their first meeting together in the German capital. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who joined them on the tour of the site – officially called The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe – said during a “The willingness to deal together with the most horrific chapters of history is something that cannot be taken for granted, we know that also here in Germany. But it highlights how serious you are in your efforts for good bilateral cooperation and relations,” said Maas. “This step has also got things moving in the region; Bahrain, which has now also decided to take up diplomatic relations with Israel, is one example. Saudi Arabia, which has opened its airspace for direct flights from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi, is another. This momentum, and the same courage, will help us to create new momentum to overcome the impasse in the Middle East peace process,” said Maas.

Bin Zayed said that in the wake of the Abraham Accords, “the Middle East is witnessing a new chapter on its path towards freedom and peace.”

“I would like to assure you that the opportunities in our region for more cooperation in different sectors exist, in terms of security and also in terms of technology. On an international level, the Emirates is committed, together with its Israeli partners and its German partners, to fulfill this role,” he said.

Ashkenazi thanked his UAE counterpart for his initiative in setting up the meeting,

saying, “I would like to thank your country for the courage and the farsightedness and the vision you have for promoting peace through the peace accords,” he said.

Ashkenazi then turned to the joint visit to the Holocaust Memorial. Their presence there together symbolized the beginning of a new era of hope and peace, Ashkenazi tweeted.

“The three of us stood there in silence and we commemorated the victims, and for the first time in history, a representative – a foreign minister – of an Arab state was present. Together, we promised each other to never forget,” he said at the press conference.

At the press conference, Ashkenazi concluded his remarks by urging the Palestinians to resume peace talks. “I would like to take this opportunity to call on the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table,” he said. “Only through direct negotiations will we be able to find a solution to the conflict. The longer we drag this out and the longer we wait for negotiations to begin, the more complex it will be, and it will be transferred to future demonstrations. They will be faced with a difficult reality.”

US

court: Iran must to pay $1.4 billion to family of former FBI agent

(JNS) A U.S. court has ordered the Iranian government to pay more than $1.4 billion in punitive and compensatory damages to the family of former FBI agent and Jewish American Robert Levinson, who disappeared in 2007 while visiting Iran and working part-time for the CIA. He is believed to have died while in Iranian custody. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled last week that Levinson’s family be awarded $107 million in compensatory damages and $1.3 billion in punitive damages.

“Iran’s conduct here is also unique, given that – astonishingly – it plucked a former FBI and DEA special agent from the face of the earth without warning, tortured him, held him captive for as long as 13 years, and to this day refuses to admit its responsibility,” said Kelly in his ruling. “And his wife and children, and their spouses and children – while keeping Levinson’s memory alive – have had to proceed with their lives without knowing his exact fate. These are surely acts worthy of the gravest condemnation,” he added.

Levinson’s family applauded the judge’s ruling. “This judgment is the first step in the pursuit of justice for Robert Levinson, an American patriot, who was kidnapped and subjected to unimaginable suffering for more than 13 years,” said his family in a statement.

“Until now, Iran has faced no consequences for its actions. Judge Kelly’s

decision won’t bring Bob home, but we hope that it will serve as a warning against further hostage-taking by Iran,” said the family. “We intend to find any and every avenue, and pursue all options, to seek justice for Robert Levinson.”

Tehran has yet to respond to the ruling.

Jewish groups to Congress: Increase security funding for religious institutions

(JNS) Three Jewish organizations joined almost a dozen faith groups calling on Congress to increase security funding for religious institutions.

The Orthodox Union, the Jewish Federations of North America and Agudath Israel of America joined eight other faith organizations to call on Congress to dramatically increase funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) so that synagogues, churches, mosques and other houses of worship, as well as religious schools and other at-risk nonprofit entities, can bolster building security against the threat of attacks.

In its letter to congressional leaders, the interfaith coalition called for quadrupling the annual allocation for the NSGP to $360 million for fiscal year 2021 so that more institutions can be covered under the program. The groups claimed that the program’s $90 million allocation for the past year left the majority of applicants empty-handed.

The NSGP provides grants of up to $100,000 each to nonprofits at risk of terrorist attacks so they may improve building security by acquiring and installing items ranging from fences, lighting and video surveillance to metal detectors and blast-resistant doors, locks and windows. Funding may also be used to train staff and pay for contracted security personnel.

Facebook to ban pages supporting QAnon

(JTA) – Months after beginning to remove QAnon content discussing violence, Facebook and Instagram are now removing all pages and accounts representing the pro-Donald Trump conspiracy theory with antisemitic overtones. QAnon is a false but growing conspiracy theory that alleges that a cabal of liberal, globalist elites sexually abuses children and harvests their blood, and wants to take down Trump. It has been endorsed by Republican candidates for Congress, and Trump has declined to condemn it. Officials say that it is also influencing voters ahead of next month’s election. Scholars of antisemitism say the conspiracy theory is a new version of ageold antisemitic stereotypes regarding Jewish conspiratorial control of world affairs. They also say it echoes the blood libel, the antisemitic conspiracy theory claiming that

Jews use the blood of non-Jewish children for ritual purposes.

Facebook first took action against QAnon in August, when it began removing 1,500 QAnon pages and groups that discussed violence. Now, it will remove all QAnon content, even if it doesn’t explicitly refer to violence. In August, before Facebook began taking action against QAnon, its affiliated groups had millions of members on Facebook, according to NBC. Its content is often created and spread by its adherents, which means that it has subsumed other conspiracy theories and expanded in scope as it has attracted more followers.

“While we’ve removed QAnon content that celebrates and supports violence, we’ve seen other QAnon content tied to different forms of real world harm,” Facebook said in a statement. “Additionally, QAnon messaging changes very quickly and we see networks of supporters build an audience with one message and then quickly pivot to another.”

The action by Facebook comes after a summer in which a coalition of civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, led an advertising boycott of Facebook to protest what they called its failure to adequately combat hate speech.

YouTube removes Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam channel (JTA) – YouTube has removed the video channel of the Nation of Islam, the organization led by Louis Farrakhan. YouTube said it removed the channel on Oct. 2, citing its policies against hate speech. “We have strict policies prohibiting hate speech on YouTube, and terminate any channel that repeatedly or egregiously violates those policies,” said the statement. YouTube said it has removed 25,000 channels for hate speech. Some individual accounts of Nation of Islam members are still up, with tens of thousands of followers.

Farrakhan is a longtime, vehement antisemite who has railed against “wicked Jews,” praised Adolf Hitler, condemned the “synagogue of Satan,” likened Jews to termites and accused them of controlling the U.S. government. He also has a history of homophobia. This past summer, a string of celebrities defended or praised Farrakhan and echoed his antisemitic rhetoric. A July 4 speech in which Farrakhan called Jews the “enemy of God” has been viewed more than a million times, according to the Anti-Defamation League. That month the ADL called Farrakhan the “most popular antisemite in America.”

YouTube has also removed white supremacists from its platform this year, including Richard Spencer and David Duke.

Bennett Center for Judaic Studies

14th Annual Lecture in Jewish-Christian Engagement

“Loving the Jews: Philosemitism and Judaizing in Contemporary Christianity”

Rabbi David Sandmel, PhD, Director of Interfaith Affairs, Anti-Defamation League.

Thursday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m. - free webinar

Co-sponsored with Center for Catholic Studies

Daniel Pearl World Music Days Concert

“Cantor Azi Schwartz in Concert: From Bimah to Broadway”

Cantor Azi Schwartz, Senior Cantor, Park Avenue

Synagogue, NYC; performer, recording artist.

Wednesday, October 28 at 7:30 p.m. - free virtual event

Registration required at fairfield.edu/bennettprograms. For questions, contact the Bennett Center at bennettcenter@fairfield.edu or (203) 254-4000, ext. 2066 See the Full Schedule Here

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