xt79s46h4h1v https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt79s46h4h1v/data/mets.xml Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass Kentucky Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass 2009-03 Newspaper of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass, previously named the Central Kentucky Jewish Association and Central Kentucky Jewish Federation. Published ten times annually. The Federation seeks to bring Jewish community members together through holiday parties, lectures, Yiddish courses, meals, and other celebrations of Jewish heritage and culture. They also host fundraisers and provide financial assistance for Jews in need, both locally and around the world. This collection is part of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass records, 2016ms010. newsletters 2016ms010 English Central Kentucky Jewish Federation Inc Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass records Jews -- Kentucky -- Lexington Jews -- History Shalom, March 2009 text image Shalom, March 2009 2009 2009-03 2025 true xt79s46h4h1v section xt79s46h4h1v SHAL

NEWSPAPER OF THE CENTRAL KENTUCKY JEWISH FEDERATION

MARCH 2009

ADAR-NISSAN 5769

Sar- El experience leaves happy memories, sense of fulﬁllment

Lexington couple volunteers on army

base for second time
0 § §

By Betty Nigoff

\\'hen Lowell and I arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport in
December 2008 on our fourth visit to lsrael, the Israeli
immigration officials asked us where we would be stav—

' ig. \‘xe iust said we would be on an armv base with Sat-
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W war in Lebanon. Today, the program takes vol-

unteers—Jewish and non-Jewish—from all over the world.
In 2008, more than 3,500 people participated. The Sar—El
program provides the IDF with over 440,000 man-hours
per year, work that would otherwise have to be done by
soldiers. Volunteers are vital and always needed.

Volunteers work for one, two, three weeks and longer on
an [DI‘ base :7 a non combat area. They are given tasks
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shine

The Wandering Jews of Camp
Shalom: Where will we go this year?

Camp needs place for week one
+ 9

Throughout history, the trials and tribulations of the
Jewish people have resulted in their being forced to move
all over the globe. Jews have been wandering as long as
anyone can remember. So, it seems fitting that our own
Camp Shalom, sponsored by the Central Kentucky Jewish
Federation, has wandered to many locales within Central
Kentucky. With no land of its own, Camp Shalom must
rent other campsites for the last two weeks of the sum-
mer.

Camp has been held at, among other sites, the Weil fami-
ly’s farm near Paris, Kentucky, at property jointly owned

“What Israel Means To Me”
Essay Contest

Each contestant is to submit an essay on the topic of
”What Israel Means to Me." The Central Kentucky Jewish
Federation hopes that this contest will further strengthen
the ties between our students and the State of Israel.

by the Rosenstein and Caller fami—
lies, and at Temple Adath Israel. For
the past five years it has been at the

Bluegrass Christian Camp. The contest is Open to all Jewish middle and high school

students. The high school winner will receive $250 and

the middle school winner $150. Both winning essays will .
be read at the Israel Independence Day community—wide
celebration on Sunday, May 3 where prizes will be pre-
sented, and the essays will be published in the June/July
issue of Shalom.

This year our wandering continues.
With the ice storm of 2009 also came
the closing of schools which, in turn,
moved back the last day of school
and, with it, the summer schedule.
Bluegrass Christian Camp has been
forced to move their programming,
so they can give Camp Shalom only

Essays submitted by middle school students must be
under 500 words while high school submissions must
be no more than 750 words. All entries must be typed

see Camp, page 25 and double-spaced, or legibly hand-written and double—

s” a mined
,ty ’uolbuuxai

OlVd

abused 'g'n
bio lucidruoN

spaced, and mailed with a cover letter indicating the real
name and school grade of the writer.

Send your sealed envelope with entry to the Central
Kentucky Jewish Federation at 1050 Chinoe Road, Suite
302, Lexington, Ky 40502 no later than April 20, 2009.
Judging will be done by the Shalom staff and winning
essays will be selected by April 24. The authors of the
winning essays will be notified within three days.

Z0501! Ml 'U015U!X9l ' ZOE ellnS ' P903 aOUN) 090i

uoueiapai lls!Mal' bpnwax |Bllu3) All award and prmnotimml monies have been privately funded.

IN THIS ISSUE

Spotlight: Harriet and Leon Cooper ..................... 3
President's Message ................................. 4
Mr. Green comes to TAI .............................. 5
Hadassah to host Casino Night ........................ 5
Campaign income and expense charts ................... 5
Remembrance: Sam and Judith Smith,

survivors and contributors ......................... 6
Third Opinion ...................................... 7
Ask a Rabbi ....................................... 8
JFS: At Your Service ................................. 9
Memoir: That year in Jerusalem ....................... 10
Opinion: Israel and Hamas ........................... 12
Community Relations Committee deals

with timely issues ............................... 13
Israel 21C: New bubble technology targets cancer cells ..... 14
Community celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut planned ....... 15
Purim Reflection .................................. 16
Israel 21C: Israel and California cut world’s largest

solar energy deal ............................... 16
History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict — Part XXXV ..... 19
B’tayavon ........................................ 20
Israel 21C: Israeli animal charity sends aid to Gaza zoo ...... 22
Lexington Chapter of Hadassah ....................... 23
Lexington Havurah ................................. 23
TAI ............................................. 24
Around the Community ............................. 25
OZS ............................................ 26
Community Calendar .......................... . . . . .27

SHALOM

Published ten times per year by the
Central Kentucky Jewish Federation, Inc.
1050 Chinoe Rd., Suite 302, Lexington, KY 40502
Phone (859) 268-0672 0 Fax (859) 268-0775
email: sha|om@jewishlexington.org

MARCH 2009, VOLUME XVI, ISSUE 2

Linda Ravvin, President
Jana LaZur, Activities Director
Paula Clancy, JFS Director
Tamara Ohayon, Communications Director

SHALOM COMMITTEES

Editorial Board
Ruth Poley, Editor-in-Chief
Mary Heléne Rosenbaum, Editor/Administrator
Marcia Blacker
Jane Chaput
Judy Levine

Advisory Board
Elissa Brown, Gail Cohen, Angie Ornstein,
and Rose Rita Wurmser

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Marcia Blacker, Daniel Chejfec, Karen Kloosterman, Abigail Klein-Leichman,

Betty Nigoff, H.D. Uriel Smith, Hanna B. Smith, Bonnie K. Stevens,
and David R. Wekstein

Production Services by Direct Response, Inc.

The editorial staff has the right to edit all articles submitted for publication

in Shalom. The appearance of any advertising in this publication does not

represent a kashruth endorsement on the part of CKJF or any other agency

or organization. Shalom is partially supported by the advertisements
appearing in the paper.

2 I March 2009 Shalom

CORRECTION

The list of Campaign
donors for 2008
should have included
Jonathan and Lisa
Satin, $500. Shalom
regrets the omission.

Judaic Studies Program

On April 6, Amitai Ben-Nun, University
of Pennsylvania, will give the Luckens
annual lecture on Judaism and apostasy.
The program begins at 8:00 p.m. in the
Presidents Room, Singletary Center, UK.

dedicated staff team.

CKJF seeks Executive Director

Federation leadership is seeking an executive who can rise
to the challenges of small Jewish community life while
bringing sophisticated management, community building
and financial resource development skills to the table.
Energy, Jewish passion and commitment to building bridges
within and outside of the Jewish community are as

. important as the business and organization management
skills. Reporting to the president and board of the
federation, the executive will work with a talented and
committed corps of volunteers and a very small but

Send résumé and cover letter to ricki.wasserman@ujc.org.
For a complete position description visit www.ujc.org/jobs.

do together.

#
HADASSAH SEEKING VOLUNTEERS

Please bring us your special interests and talents. All volunteers are welcome! Join a
committee or chair an event. Participate and you’ll see how much fun and learning we

Please contact Evalyn Block, President, at eblock3375@windstream.net, (859) 271-0127 or Lynn
Furness, Vice President, Membership, at mamanewbs@yahoo.com, (859) 873-0328 to learn more

about the opportunities in Hadassah.

We’ll look forward to hearing from you soon.

If you are not receiving Jewish Weekly email and would like to, please

send your name and email address to lexadmin@iewishlexington.org

Ma’s

so (b 9
”mar Ken

CKJF President

Linda Ravvin

Executive Committee
Michael Grossman, Vice President
Pat Shraberg, Secretary

Robert Grossman, Treasurer

Ruth Poley, Member‘At-Large

Central Kentucky Jewish Federation,

CKJF Board
Bruce Broudy Jennifer Miller
Ronit Eres Lowell Nigoff

Linda Noffsinger
Angie Ornstein
Jeremy Popkin
Ricki Rosenberg
Kae Schennberg
Elissa Weinstein
David Wekstein

David Feinberg

Rose Garden

Evelyn Dantzic Geller
Larry Kant

Odette Kaplan

Mimi Kaufman
David Levine

Ski/om Deadline

Deadline for articles for the April Shalom is March 8.
Email articles to di-ifr@bardstown.com.

T'I'TQ‘S’L'ZWE

D‘QHT'HQWE‘LZO

{30!}.

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By Marcia Blacker

Spotlight. Harriet and Leon Cooper

In his book The Joys of Yiddish, Leo
Rosten defines the word balba-

tim as ”persons of high standing,
impeccable repute and responsi-
bility; community leaders.” Meet
Harriet and Leon Cooper.

Chances are you have already met
them (especially if you came to
Lexington after 1958), and spent

a Friday night enjoying a Shabbat
meal, complete with two loaves of
Harriet’s homemade challah. The
Coopers have reached out to new-
comers and natives and annually
host 20 to 25 friends (and likely a
stranger or two) for a Passover Seder
or a post-services Rosh Hashanah
meal. Their home reﬂects the warm
and comfortable way they observe
Judaism, and much of their life cen-
ters around Ohavay Zion Synagogue.

They come by their enthusiasm for
Ohavay Zion Synagogue honestly,
since they watched each of their
fathers' active roles in their respec-
tive synagogues—Harriet’s in
Martinsvdle, Virginia, and Leon's in

M'erer'folk, where most of the members,
including his family, spoke only
Yiddish to him. Leon says, “My first
language was Yiddish; in fact, I'm not
sure how I learned enough English
to get into elementary schoo .”

Harriet graduated from Radford
College and Leon from Virginia
Tech. The DuPont Company had a
plant in Martinsville, and Leon went
to work for them. He and Harriet
had met while they were students,
and renewed their acquaintance.

All went well for one month until
the navy recalled Leon to active
duty. The separation didn’t deter the
romance; the two married in August,
1951, while Leon was on leave. He
served on the carrier USS Midway,
and when his tour was over, the cou-
ple moved to Wappinger’s Falls, New
York, where Leon began working for
IBM. ”It’s near Poughkeepsie,” they
explain in unison. Their children,
Lynn and Ira, were born there.

In the fall of 1958, the Cooper fam-
ily moved to Kentucky when IBM
transferred Leon to its Lexington
facility. They hit the Jewish com-
munity ground running, and joined
028 “within 30 minutes” of their

+++

arrival. The birth of Andy, in 1959,
completed the immediate family unit.

Leon worked for IBM until 1982;

he didn’t retire from engineering,
however. He began a second career
when a surgeon friend asked if
Leon thought it possible to develop
a light to be worn on the head that
would allow a surgeon better vision
in small areas. The friend sketched
an idea on a napkin, and a fiber
optic surgical headlight resulted.
The company formed by that sketch
is now run by the Cooper children,
and sells to markets worldwide.
Leon continues to go to work daily
and is content not to be in charge.

Throughout the years in Lexington,
Leon and Harriet have been involved
in almost every aspect of the Jewish
community: Leon has been presi-
dent of 025 twice and president of
OZS Men’s Club ”for an extended
period,” he is currently on the
search committee for a new rabbi,
he spearheads a group trying to
I‘cinyigoralc a B'nai B'rith lodge,

he has‘served as chair for Israel“ '
Bonds, and both he and Harriet
were instrumental in the formation
of CKJF. In past years, he served
on the board of NCCJ, and was at
one time the commanding officer
of the local Naval Reserve Unit.

Harriet was one of a small group

of women who organized Camp
Shalom. She has been president of
028 Sisterhood several times. She

is a life member of Hadassah, has
served on the board of CKJF, and

has chaired the Women’s Division

of the Campaign twice. Harriet and

a friend went into business in 1968,
running an art gallery until 1976.
Harriet went to modeling school and
was a model for six years. She also
worked for the UK dental school on a
special project for several years. She
and another congregant now run the
025 gift shop, and she can frequently
be found there on Sunday mornings.

This couple—married since 1951,
with three children and six grand-
children—tireless community lead-
ers, exponents of Southern hospi-
tality, continue to give their time
and energy to this community, and
show no signs of cutting back on
their activities. Leon does take a few

Harriet and Leon Cooper: Peerless community leaders

days off at least once a year, when
he and a few friends get together
to visit several baseball stadiums
to see the pros play. These jaunts
started eighteen years ago with
just three men; this past summer it
had grown to ten. ”We had a min-
yan,” Leon reported. Harriet is an
avid reader and bridge player, and
still loves to cook and entertain.

This community continues to benefit
from their leadership, their sense of
responsibility, their willingness to
give—they are, indeed, bulbatim. a

Attention proud
grandparents,
parents,
and
students

Israel
presents

A play by Jeff Baron

Scott Nyitray

Visiting Mr. Cre

Directed by Marcia M. Blacker
Performed by Ed Desiato and

at Temple Adath Israel
on Saturday evening,
March 21, at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets are $25 for general admission, $50 for
preferred seating, $75 for preferred seating
and a champagne reception with the cast
and director following the performance.

Your ticket will include wine, soft drinks, dessert,
and coffee at intermission.

Proceeds to beneﬁt the Temple Adath Israel Sisterhood.

Email Rebecca Young, rsy2@hotmail.com, for more information.

Harriet and Leon Cooper

We want to publish any original
writing produced by our Communi-
ty’s elementary and high—school-age
children. If you’re proud of some-
thing written by one of our kids,
either fiction or non-fiction, please

email it to Dl—IFR@Bardstown.com.

March 2009 Shalom l 3

Linda Rawin

President's Message

On behalf of our Board, I would
like to thank all of you for your
continued generous support of
CKJF and our Jewish community,
especially in these difficult times.
Through both your volunteer and
your monetary commitments you
are what make our community
strong, active, and nourished.

Unfortunately our community, like
other Jewish communities around
the country, is not immune to the
general economic downturn, and we
have seen a significant decrease in
both pledges and collections. CKJF
is facing the reality of diminished
resources while trying to maintain
the same level of outstanding pro-
grams and services. As I am writing
this message, the Budget Committee,
chaired by Bob Grossman as our
treasurer, is meeting again to bring
CKJF’s proposed 2009 budget in line
with our revenues. As is the case
every year, a large percentage of our
donations is received right at the

end of the calendar year (also our
fiscal year) and we work very hard

to estimate as accurately as possible
the total income of our Federation.

We looked closely at the pledged
amounts from 2008 (collections of
those pledged amounts is the basis
for the budget for 2009), which
were already trending down due to
the faltering economy. The Budget
Committee proposed reductions to

Almost half of this shortfall stems
from unpaid pledges! We have, of
course, continued our efforts to try
and collect these unpaid pledges.
This is a very large portion of our
already trim budget; we are scruti-
nizing every area of the budget to
cut costs without sacrificing pro-
gram quality. By the time you read
this message, the Board will have
reviewed, dis—

our budget

for 2009 based

on the? CKJF is facing the reality of dimin-
Prolecuons‘ ished resources while trying to
prever, . .

the shortfall maintain the same level of out-

in donations standing programs and services.
and other

cussed and, I
hope, passed

It is never too
late to send in
an unpaid or

revenues was

much greater than we anticipated.
We also did not anticipate that a
number of commitments and pledges
to our 2008 Campaign would not be
honored. As a result, we have not
yet been able to approve the budget
for this year (I am writing this mes-
sage on Feb. 9) and unfortunately,

it appears that we will need to cut
the budget by about $60,000.

the noodle in your kugel,

It’s the potato in your knish,

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the stufﬁng in your cabbage,
the cinnamon on your rugalah,

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4 | March 2009 Shalom

new pledge.

We will be asking for more of your
involvement as volunteers. We will
be using email more than ever as
our form of communication to cut
our mailing costs. Please make sure
that the CKJF office has your cur-
rent email address. We send out
Jewish Weekly by email every week
with listings of upcoming Jewish
events in Central Kentucky. If we
do not have your email address you
are not receiving this wonderful
service. Some events slip through
the deadline cracks for publicity

in our community organization
newsletters and in Shalom. This is
the perfect way to stay up to date
and also to be reminded of events
that may have slipped your mind.

the 2009 budget.

We are also continuing our active
search for a new executive direc-
tor; the Search Committee, chaired
by David Feinberg, is reviewing

and interviewing candidates. These
candidates continue to be vetted by
Ricki Wasserman, our United Jewish
Communities consultant (UJC is the
national organization of federations).
We have some very strong appli-
cants and we anticipate filling the
position soon. Although we realize
that we have financial constraints,

it has been the consistent feeling

of the Board that a creative leader
with strong outreach and fundrais-
ing skills will be able to guide us
through the lean times to a posi-
tion of greater community strength,
cooperation, and financial stability,

We need to keep in mind that CKJF
is a non-profit organization whose
success depends on volunteer-
ism—both in time and monetary
donations. Together, we can ensure.”
that our community not only
maintains its strength, but contin—
ues to plan and provide valuable
programs and services for our-
selves and our children and, ulti-
mately, our children’s children. $

The CKJF staff needs

YOUR help in the
following areas:

- Taking phone calls

- Word processing
- Data entry
- Developing a newcomers “Welcome” packet

Thank You to all who have offered their time to
assist the staff. We are very appreciative!

Contact Tamara at the CKJF office if you are able to help.
(859) 268-0672 or tamara@jewishlexington.org

Mr. Green comes to T AI

Play to be performed as Sisterhood fundraiser on March 21

++§

Visiting Mr. Green, a play by Jeff Baron, will be performed

at Temple Adath Israel at 8:00 pm. on Saturday, March 21.

Ed Desiato will be Mr. Green, a role he performed for
Studio Players in Lexington in 2001. Ed’s theater back-
ground is extensive. He is originally from New York and
had a featured role on the soap opera The Edge of Night.
He has worked professionally in many parts of the coun—

try and has been involved in every theater group in town.

He is currently active with Balagula Theater at Natasha’s

‘ \
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Ewﬁshion, Jan/r7 & Aacssoriu - Hand-Mada & Eir 7h).

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4" A—Nx “be ,

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Cafe, and recently appeared in the
title role in the play Barrymore.

Scott Nyitray, in the role of Ross, is a
graduate student in theater at UK. He
acted in many productions through-
out college and hopes to work profes-
sionally as a director.

The director, Marcia Blacker, started
acting in high school and college. She
became an active member of Studio
Players 30 years ago, working on
stage and backstage, and twice serv-
ing as the organization’s president.
She directed this play for Studio
Players in 2001.

This is sure to be an enjoyable eve-
ning of theater. Tickets are $25 for
general admission, $50 for preferred
seating, and $75 for preferred seat-
ing and a champagne reception with
the cast and director following the
performance. Refreshments, includ—
ing desserts, coffee, and wine, will
be served at intermission. Watch for
your invitation in the mail or con-
tact Rebecca Young (rsy2@hotmail,
com) for information or reserva-

mance will benefit the Temple Adath
Israel Religious School and other
Sisterhood projects. X3

‘ ' ’tﬁs‘pedm“ ““3""

Hadassah to host
Casino Night

Black Jack! Craps!
Poker! Roulette! This
can’t be Jewish, can

it? Well, yes it can

and it’s all happening
on Sunday March 15, to
benefit Hadassah. So put on your
lucky duds and mosey on over to Temple

Adath Israel at 5:00 p.m., where you’ll find all the action,
including a Mediterranean feast, drinks, and prizes.

But wait, there’s more. You’ll get $10,000 in "casino cash”
for the price of your $25.00 admission and if you go bust,
there’s more available (for a small price, of course).

You’ll be able to parlay your winnings into great items
and we’ll also accept the real kind of cash. Prizes include
Lexington Legends box seats, photography sessions, yoga
classes, a condo in Hilton Head, original art, restaurant
certificates, and much, much more. So don’t be shy. Invite
your friends, corral your neighbors, and get ready to roll
them dice while having a great time.

But seriously, folks, Hadassah is a great cause. Hadassah
Hospital’s medical personnel unselfishly respond to
catastrophes in Israel and around the world. Hadassah
sponsors research that is leading the way to break—
throughs in treating Parkinson’s disease, Multiple
Sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, and macular degeneration.
Both Youth Aliyah and Young Judaea are also important

-/‘ er 2', , , A! , ,fw- 1% , at; :

Remember: Sunday, March, 15, 2009 at 5:00 pm. at Temple
Adath Israel, 124 North Ashland Avenue. Admission is
$25.00 per person. To RSVP call Tamara Ohayon at (859)
420-3925 or email Hadassah at lexhadassah@yahoo.com.
3?

CKJF 2008 Summary of Expenses

(Based on annual budget of $399,400. Actual expenses = $389,480)

Repayment of Investments,
$6,000

UJC Allocations, $60,000
Website, $3,733
Shalom Newspaper, $23,914 ,
Community Activities, $5,3197

Tikkun Lexington, $1,064 ,

Community Relations, $1,982
Camp Shalom, $29,428

Jewish Education, $350

Israel Bonds, $11,002

CKJF 2008 Summary of Income

(Total = $381 ,541)

Israel Bonds, $7.500

Shalom Newspaper, $10,901

Administration, $222

Campaign (does not reflect

Community Activities, $3,706
Camp Shalom, $19,644
Jewish Education, $500

Special Donations, $2,231
Administration, $25,990

Campaign, $311,069

Jewish Family Services,

$7 995 $3,500 donation from

Rosenberg Fund), $16,589

This is the first time in a number of years that CKJF has published pie-charts of our income and expenses. Unfortunately, due to the economic problems affect-
ing almost all of us, the expenditures have outweighed our income by $7939. However, if we include the amount of $3500 from the Rosenberg Fund (transferred
in 2009) to offset the cost of the Thank You Event, then the differential drops to $4439. As in any other year, we have also had some people who paid their pledge
after the end of our fiscal year. We are making every effort to be fiscally responsible and have open Visibility. Next month’s issue of Shalom will have an article
by our treasurer, Bob Grossman, and will outline the scaled-back budget for 2009.

March 2009 Shalom l 5

Remembrance: Sam and Judith Smith,
survivors and contributors

By Hanna B. Smith

During the past year I have reported here about survi—
vors of the Holocaust who are members of the Central
Kentucky Jewish Community. As a child survivor myself
I have wondered what makes traumatized people want to
continue to live, marry and raise families, develop busi-
nesses and careers, and give of themselves to the commu-
nities in which they live.

When I posed this question to Dr. Oscar Haber, one of the
people I interviewed, he told me, realistically, that people
live and raise children in all sorts of conditions. Life, in
essence, is indestructible. Mrs. Sylvia Green took a more
personal approach to this question. Overcoming her own
negative feelings, becoming a productive member of her
community, and raising well-adjusted children were Mrs.
Green’s victory over those who sought to destroy her.

"Hobt m’sh ka moyre—do not give in to fear," I once heard
my father say to a much younger man, also a survivor.

In recounting his arrest and incarceration in a concentra-
tion camp in Czechoslovakia in 1938, my father—in-law,
Sam Smith, mentions the policeman who was detailed to
deliver him to the camp. This policeman first took Sam
to a store and told him to buy warm underwear. Before
handing Sam over to the camp the policeman returned
Sam’s wallet with his money that had been taken away
from him at his arrest. Decades later Sam remembered
the policeman’s kindness with gratitude. I have heard
other Holocaust survivors tell of acts of kindness by total
strangers which they themselves never forgot.

To recognize kindness, to appreciate it and to see the
humanity in others, even in total strangers, is a quality
that keeps people from despair, for it helps maintain the
emotional connection to others that is so vital for human
survival. In my practice as a social worker I found that
clients who only concentrated on themselves usually had
the worst outcome.

Selma’s Catering
5
A fresh approach to fresh food

wwwselmascateﬁngcom

859971-2763
cell 396-4357

Selma Owens ~ Caterer
emall selmacooks@aol.com

SPARE PARTS & EQUIPMENT

60 Years of Service

346 Richmond Avenue
Lexington, KY 40502-1458
(859) 266-2188 or Fax (859) 268-1877

Mitchell Barnes - Owner

6 I March 2009 Shalom

My parents-in—law, Samuel (Sam) and
Judith Smith, embodied this positive
spirit. To honor their legacy I want to
tell their story.

Sam and Judith both grew up in
Czechoslovakia, a country that has
since split into two nations. Sam
was born in Poland but his par-

The Smiths in 2006.

ents moved to Teplice, a city on the
border between the Czech part of
Czechoslovakia and Germany, while
Sam was still a baby. Sam lived in
Teplice until 1938 when he was 24
years old. Judith hailed from Bolesov,
a small town in Slovakia, located to
the north-east of Bratislava.

As a teenager Sam was active in
Jewish youth groups. He joined the
Jewish Scouts and later the ”Blue—
White” (T’chelet Lawn) and ”The
Pioneer" (HeChalutz) youth groups. In
his early twenties Sam was elected to
his district’s committee of the Zionist
Youth Organization. Because of the
deteriorating political situation in
Central Europe, the Zionist Youth
Organization in Czechoslovakia

was trying to prepare young Jews
between the ages of 15 and 25

years for emigration, especially to
Palestine. Sam became one of the
organizers, and he travelled across
Czechoslovakia meeting with Jewish
community leaders to obtain their
support and with the various Jewish
organizations to coordinate their
activities. During these travels Sam
met his future wife, Judith Kucera.

In 1938 Sam realized that he could
no longer remain in Teplice. Teplice
was located in the Sudetenland, the
part of Czechoslovakia soon to be
occupied by Germany. Sam traveled
to Prague, the capital of the coun-
try, and went to the central office of
the Zionist Youth Organization. In
October of 1938 the ZYO sent Sam to
Bratislava to organize Jewish youth in
Slovakia.

, people: Sam estimated that there were a thousand men,

In Bratislava Sam met with various community lead—
ers, rabbis, and youth leaders. He lectured and held
seminars, especially for young people on whom he
impressed the necessity for emigrating. Soon he was
invited to speak to Jewish groups in the provincial towns
as well. In November 1938 the Zionist organizations in
Czechoslovakia held a conference to discuss the politi-
cal situation and to develop plans to save the Jews of
Czechoslovakia. Sam, then a young man of 24 years old,
was invited to the conference to report on his work in
Slovakia.

This conference was followed by a meeting of the repre-
sentatives of the various Zionist organizations in Brno,
the capital of the Province of Moravia. Again, Sam gave
his report and he participated in developing plans for the
emigration of Jews from Czechoslovakia.

After these meetings Sam returned to Slovakia to con-
tinue his work there. Having a free day, he decided to
visit Judith, who lived with her family in Bolesov. There
he was arrested by the Slovakian Fascist (Hlinka) Guards,
accompanied by state police. They searched Sam’s luggage
and confiscated his papers and money.

Sam has left a written account of his arrest, his interroga—
tion by a Hlinka Guard, and his subsequent transport

by car to a forest together with the hazzan (cantor) of
Bolesov and the hazzan’s family. At the forest cars and
vans brought more people. Hungarian soldiers herded the
group through the forest to a farm that had been convert—
ed into a concentration camp.

The farm was unprepared to house a large number of

women, and children. Some of the young people rccog- A
nized Sam, and they became instrumental in organizing

committees to work on improving their lot as prisoners.

Food and medical supplies were scarce, and there was

concern about an outbreak of disease.

Initially this camp was not entirely secured because the
barbed wire fence was not yet electrified. The young,
single people talked among themselves about the pos-
sibility of escape. One cold night Sam and another man,
who spoke Hungarian and Slovak, escaped together and
made their way towards a town named Galanta. Since
Sam spoke neither Slovak nor Hungarian, his partner sug-
gested that Sam act deaf-mute if they encountered others.
Sam followed this advice. Once in Galanta the two men
separated.

The policeman who had transported Sam and the
Bolesover hazzan and his family to the gathering place

in the forest had returned some of Sam’s money to him.
With this money Sam managed to buy a train ticket to
Bratislava. His report tells of his return to Bratislava and
to Bolesov and of the restitution of his papers, money, and
possessions.

Judith, in the meantime, had notified the main office of
the Zionist Organization of Sam’s arrest and transporta—
tion to the concen