xt7crj48sv5j https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7crj48sv5j/data/mets.xml Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass Kentucky Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass 2008-05 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, May 2008 text image Shalom, May 2008 2008 2008-05 2025 true xt7crj48sv5j section xt7crj48sv5j  

  

MAY 2008

 

NISAN-IYYAR 5769

 

Local Israelis
hopeful about future
of Jewish State

Lexingtonians’ loyalty to homeland

still strong
§ ¢ 4

By Erik A. Carlson

On his fourth birthday, Moshe Elitzur and his family
moved to the Jewish homeland. Just two weeks later, on
May 15, 1948, he witnessed the homeland's Independence
Day as the state of Israel was formed.

“I think to this day it was the most glorious day," Elitzur
said of the event (70 years ago. ”It was a very, very hard
time but you cnultl {L‘t‘l lltul things were being dune and

it was clear to everyone that you’re
building a new future. Nobody even
thought it was hard, it was so hard
that nobody even thought it was
hard. It was clear that you’re building
something extraordinary."

Elitzur and his wife, Shlomit, are
among a handful of Israelis living

in Central Kentucky as the country
they call home, served in the military
for, and maintain citizenship in, cel—
ebrates 60 years.

”By any comparison (Israel) is the
biggest success story in the 20th cen-
tury,” Moshe Elitzur said—regarding
other nations that formed in the same
era—in quality of life, development,
and technologv.

     
 
 

—0 CAMPAIGN NEWS —
2008 Community Campaign is rolling

 

Keep the flame alive: celebrate our Jewish future

##§

The Annual CKJF/UJC Community Campaign is the
engine that allows our community to provide services
locally, in Israel, and around the world. It is our way to
be an active contributing part of the larger world of the
Jewish people.

From the encampments in Addis Ababa to the distribu-
tion of food packages in the former Soviet Union to pro-
viding for services to break the cycle of poverty in Israel,
we benefit communities around the world. From facili-
tating the participation of our youth in Israel programs

and summer camps to providing for
such organizations as the Leisure
Club, Camp Shalom, Jewish Family

Services, and so many more, we

benefit individuals here and abroad.
Your contribution every year does,
literally, a world of good.

The Community Campaign so far
stands at $59,000, with an average
see Campaign, page 12

 

Central Kentucky Jewish Federation
1050 (hinoe Road - Suite 302 - Lexington, KY 40502

Change Service Requested

Non»Profit Org.
US. Postage

PAID

Lexington, KY
Permit it 719

 

 

 

 

 

Sixlunul and Moshe l lilzur

 

Avi Bear, a Cynthiana resident who was born on the
Mediterranean coast's Sdot—Yam Kibbutz at the ruins of
Caesarea, believes the character of the people who found-
ed Israel and the hardships they endured primed the
country for success. .83 H U. I. , ,

YOm Ha’atzmaut
program at Keeneland
marks Israel’s 60th

Walk the Land event - June 1

§§§

The Afikim Foundation, in solidarity with Karen
Kayemeth Lelsrael, has undertaken a global project,
”Celebrate 60! Walk the Land," to foster support of the
cherished homeland of the Jewish people. More than
100 Jewish communities worldwide from Los Angeles to
Helsinki will hold one-mile walks between May 4 and
June 2. Our community will take its part in this celebra-
tion on June 1.

Vinyl murals depicting Israeli sites plus ”Walk the Land”
T—shirts, water bottles, and sling bags will unify walkers
worldwide. Registrants will be part of a drawing for ten
free tickets to Israel.

Clips of all participating communities' walks will be
made into a Video. So be sure to bring your camcorder
and send us footage to include in the video; we’d also
love to add it to our library.

You will receive detailed information by mail, through
your organizational bulletins, and in emails. Please call

CKJF if you have any questions, and to register for the
walk. fi

 

 

 

  

IN THIS ISSUE

Yom Hashoah: Remembering our heroes ................... 3
Be a part of Camp Shalom’s 40th birthday celebration! ........ 3
President‘s Message ................................... 4
Local businessman has roots in Jewish community ............ 5
From the Executive Director ............................. 6
Third Opinion ........................................ 7
The Lighter Side of Lexington Life ........................ 7
Ask a Rabbi ......................................... 8
Camp Gesher turns 4 .................................. 9
Yom Ha’atzmaut at the other end of the world .............. 9
Israel 21c: Israel fights world’s oil addiction by going green. . . . iO
Sheri Sable named HUC/JlR Director of Development ........ 12
Israel 21c: Those Walled In ............................. 15
History of the Israeli—Palestinian Conflict » Part XXVlll ........ 16
Resolution on the Israeli—Palestinian peace process ........... i8
B’tayavon .......................................... 20
Lexington Chapter of Hadassah ......................... 2i
Lexington Havurah ................................... 2i
TAl ............................................... 22
OZS ............. . ................................. 23
Around the Community ............................... 23
Community Calendar ................................. 24

 

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: shalom©jewishlexington.org

MAY 2008, VOLUME XV, ISSUE 3
Linda Ravvin, President
Daniel Chejfec, Executive Director
Jana LaZur, Activities Director
Tamara Ohayon, Staff Associate

SHALOM COMMITTEES
Editorial Board
Ruth Paley, Editor-in—Chief
Mary Helene Rosenbaum, Editor/Administrator
Marcia Blacker
Judy Levine
Advisory Board
Elissa Brown, Gail Cohen, Angie Ornstein,
and Rose Rita Wurmser

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Erik A. Carlson, Kathy Feinberg, Ted Friedman, Barry Leff,
Reda Mansour, and Hanna B. Smith,

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.

@2008 by Central Kentucky Jewish Federation

2 I May 2008 Shalom

The June/July issue of Shalom will be
published in early June. If you have an

event in July you wish to have publicized,
the deadline for that material is May 9.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

     

 

 

 

j 3 . 7’“
WRITERS WANTED ’ Ammo" I’m" V
_ _ grandparents,
Shalom depends on the community for its (1 t d t
material. If you are interested in writing an -parents, an S u en 5
account of a meeting or interviewing a per— . . _
son of interest to the Jewish community, or we want to publish any origi-
have anything else to share with our readers, rial writing produced by our
please email Mary at Di-lFR@Bardstown.com community’s elementary and
high-schooI—age children. If
/ \ you’re proud of something
a is written by one of our kids.
Tikkun Lexington either fiction or non—fiction,
STEWART HOME SCHOOL please email it to
VlSITATION SCHEDULE: Dl-lFR@Bardstown.com.
A S
Paents Weekend “’7 a—

 

Mav16-4=°° P-m- —
The Stewart Home, located in Frankfort,

/\
Kentucky is a residential school for Sfl/l/[fl/fl' B[[%l[
c/

individuals with disabilities. It is renowned
throughout the country for the high quality
of care given to the students, and attracts We welcome lnpUt from
people from all across the country. Tikkun every individual and every

Lexington brings celebration to the Stewart group in the community. But
Home’s Jewish students by honoring for the sake of shalom bay/“t

Shabbat and Jewish holidays. It is a very ace m the house .8888
special evening for all who participate, (pe )’ p

volunteers and students alike. appoint only one person
from your organization to
”sixti'd‘eré Please call Jana at (859) 268-0672 - -
ififi or email jana@jewish|exington.org aCt as llalson t0 the paper.

\
C
”t“ bimemtmm / —

If you are not receiving Jewish weekly email and would like to, please
send your name and email address to ckif@iewishlexington.org

 

 

       

‘J‘X‘Fed'rebb - I
1% Central Kentucky Jewrsh Federation
e"tr-litre“ ‘
CKJF President CKJF Board
Linda Ravvin Judy Baumann Jennifer Miller
Elissa Brown Lowell Nigoff
A Executive Committee Ronit Eres Linda Noffsinger
Michael Grossman, Vice President Dav'd Feinberg Angie Ornstein
Pat Shraberg, Secretary Rose Garden Ricki Rosenberg
Robert Grossman, Treasurer Odette Kaplan K36 Schennberg
Ruth Paley, Member-At-Large Mimi Kaufman David Wekstein
Marty Barr, Immediate Past President David Levine Carole Wilson

 

Shalom Deablm
Deadtine for articles for the June/July Shalom is May 9.

Email articles to di-ifrebardstownxom.
Articles submitted in hard copy should be double-spaced.

 

 

  

Yom Hashoah:

Remembering our heroes

Holocaust survivor Oscar Haber, 98, to bear witness
§ O O

On Sunday, May 4, the Central
Kentucky Jewish Community will
come together at Ohavay Zion
Synagogue to mark the anniversary
of the beginning of the Warsaw
Ghetto Rebellion. The day was
chosen by the Jewish community

to commemorate the lives of those
who were killed by the Nazi murder
machine, and to salute the bravery
of those who stood up against the
Germans to say “Enough.”

This yea r's program will include a
video presentation on Jewish resis-
tance during World War ll. There
will also be a testimony from Oscar
Haber, a local Holocaust survivor and
a member of Ohavay Zion as well as a
longtime community volunteer.

During the program, we will
acknowledge the winners of the
2008 Emilie Szekely Essay Contest
on the Contemporary lessons of the
Holocaust. This is an annual writing
contest open to all students in the
Fayette County Public schools.

At a time when the lessons of the
Shoah appear to be forgotten, when
the genocide in Darfur and European
anti—Semitism are taken for granted,
when anti—Jewish and anti—lsrael bias
are on the rise even in our country,
when many claim that the Holocaust
is a myth, it is important to highlight
the memory and the lessons of World
War II.

Join us for this commemoration

of 6,000,000 Jewish and 4,000,000
non-Jewish innocent lives. Honor
the bravery of the Warsaw Ghetto
fighters Mordechai Anilevicz, Tzivia
Lubetkin, Altek Zuckerman, and so
many others who stood for freedom
and dignity against all odds.

The date is May 4, the time is 7:00
p.m., the place is Ohavay Zion
Synagogue at 2048 Edgewater Ct.
near the corner of New Circle and
Alumni Drive. The program is open
to the public. Join us. it»?

 

 

 

YOM HA' SHOAH

 

Central K entuclry Jews/7 Community
Holocaust Remembrance Day

Observance
Sunday, May 4 at 7:00 p m

This year's program will be held at
Ohavay Zion Synagogue

The observance will inc/ode a video presentation on JeW/sn
resistance during WWII, acknowledgement of the 2008 Emil/e
Szeke/y Essay contest Winners, and testimonia/ from Oscar
Haber, a community member and Holocaust survivor.

Sponsoring organizations

B'nai B'rith, Stanley Rose Lodge
Central KY Jewish Federation
Lexington Chapter of Hadassah

Jewish Student Organization/Hillel

This program is open to the general public.

The Lexington Havurah
Ohavay Zion Synagogue
Temple Adath lsrael

 

 

 

40th birthday celebration!

Recalling past fun, building new memories to be
part of special two-week program
o + o

By Kathy Feinberg, Director, Camp Shalom and Camp Gesher

Camp Shalom celebrates its first 40
years this summer with an especially
fun-filled two weeks. Camp will be
held from July 28 to August 8 at the
Bluegrass Christian Camp. Our staff
will greet our new and returning
campers in bright tie-dye T shirts
and give each camper a tie-dye
Tshirt on Monday morning.

We will learn and participate in the
games, songs, projects, and sports
that campers in 1968, 1978, 1988,

and 1998 did. Each day of camp

will focus on one of these years. We
will also have lots of fun doing new
activities so that our campers in 2008
can make their own camp memories.

Elissa Brown is returning as assis-
tant director for the fifth year. She
will oversee shiur each day as well as
many other projects and activities.

Please check the next issue of Shalom,

 

where we will feature all of our fan~
tastic staff for 2008, many of whom
have returned for several years.

There are three groups at Camp
Shalom: Ofarim for campers ages 4-
5, Tsofim for campers ages 6-8 and
Chalutzim for campers ages 9-10.
Ofarim will be lead by Rachel Heller,
Tsofim’s leader is Seth Westerman
and Chalutzim’s leader is Asher
Finkel. Our group leaders are all col-
lege students and returning staff who
are experienced leaders and wonder-
ful role models. Rachel has worked
at Camp Shalom for eight years, Seth
for seven years, and Asher for four
years. ..

Each day of camp will feature
music, swimming, water games, art,
Hebrew, storytelling, sports, shiur,
and more. Campers ages 6 to 10
will pick a chug on the first day of

I will do for an hour Monday t rou

Thursday. Chugim include cooking,
art, sports, teva, and more. Campers
will also participate in a mitzvah
project.

On August 8, campers will have a
Shabbat experience followed by our
traditional camp—wide Maccabiah
games, which include track and

field and water competition and the
popular staff relays, where we turn
the tables and campers cheer on
their counselors! At the close of the
day Camp Shalom will have an open
house for families of campers that

fittjoy specie; programs and Eirtlitfay we at camp
- andafistz‘ve dinner at town. Watcflfin’ dktaifis.

slie s ow.

As you are making your summer
plans please save July 28 to August

8 for Camp Shalom. Come and be

a part of our 40th year. If you have
not received a brochure, please call
Jana at (859) 268—0672 or go online at
wwwjewishlexingtonorg and fol-
low the links for Camp Shalom. You
can also meet some of our staff and
register in person at the June 1 Yom
Ha'atzmaut celebration at Keeneland
race course. We will be available from
10:00 am. to 2:00 pm. We hope to see
you there. 2::

. CW mam 40th;
AWKW CMra/téorv
‘ 0 Today, flugust 8

O
O
O
O
O
O
C
O
3

May 2008 Shalom |

 

 

 

 

 

  

President's Message

Linda Rawin

 

There are two signposts marking the road of Jews within the last cen-
tury: the Shoah, or Holocaust, and the establishment of the modern
State of Israel. As Jews, we are collectively traveling that road; it leads
from persecution to attempts at annihilation to survival and to triumph
of spirit. Every year we travel that road again symbolically, as a com—
munity, as we observe Yom Hashoah and celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut.

 

The centuries have not always dealt
kindly to Jews—we have been per—
secuted almost everywhere we
have settled. We have been scorned,
reviled, and restricted in our liveli-
hoods and in our living areas. We
have been like the plants that are

eling back and forth throughout the
world, seeking that one place where

 

One would think that the world
would have learned the lessons
by now. Instead, we find that we
have apparently learned very
little. We keep seeing similar, if
“me“ for “5' "wandering Jews": “3"“ smaller in scale, ethnic strife and
genocides occurring even now.

world would have learned the les-
sons by now. Instead, we find that
we have apparently learned very
little. We keep seeing similar, if
smaller in scale, ethnic strife and
genocides occurring even now.

Please join in the com—
munity observance of Yom
Hashoah, which this year
will take place at Ohavay
Zion Synagogue on Sunday,
May 4 at 7:30 p.m. Honor
the memory of those who
did not survive the Nazis,
and show respect for those
who fought them and

 

we would find acceptance and peace. ___—.——-———-— those who survived.

Two thousand years of persecution and hatred culminated in the Shoah.
The attempt by the Nazis, supported by collaborators throughout Europe
and beyond, to permanently solve the “Jewish problem” was the result. The
world has not seen, either before or after, such a massive, deliberate, system-
atic destruction of a people. Six million Jews died. There were, in addition,
millions of other people who also perished. Some died through the awful
circumstance of war, and many because they were also singled out for ”spe-
cial treatment" by the Nazis. There are multiple lessons to be learned from
studying the past: lessons about the futility of hatred, the greed of man,
and the importance of freedom and free thought. One would think that the

 

2008 CKJF/ UJC Community Campaign

Benefactors Event
Saturday, May 10, 2008
8:00 p.m.

at the home of
Joe and Ricki Rosenberg

"($9

    

Keynote Speaker
Sophie Ambrose

Searching for
Jewish Connection,
Finding it in Israel

You will have the opportunity to
make. your pledge. to the
2008 Community Campaign.
Minimum expected gift:
$125 per individual and $23.50 per couple
Contact Daniel Chejfec for moreinformation or to RSVP.
(859) 268-0672 or ckjf@jewishlexington.org

(ng FEderé ,
a 2900 W 1;, W hem, (
‘ i

 

\“ ()
C” ‘4‘ W J (4%
80%; item” m w W

 

 

 

4 I May 2008 Shalom

Just four weeks later, on Sunday,
June 1, we will celebrate the 60th
birthday of the State of Israel. Born
after the years of the Holocaust out
of the remnants of the Jewish world,
its existence is a modern miracle. A
Jewish state in our biblical home-
land, the only democracy in the
Middle East, is not only surviving
against all odds but thriving in the
midst of her enemies. As John F.
Kennedy said, ”Israel was not created
in order to disappear—Israel will
endure and flourish. It is the child
of hope and the home of the brave.
It can neither be broken by adver-
sity nor demoralized by success. It
carries the shield of democracy and
it honors the sword of freedom.”

In Israel, in the midst of preparation
for Yom Ha’atzmaut, there is a pause
in the rhythm of the country. It is
Yom Hazikaron, the Israeli Memorial
Day that takes place the day before
the celebration of Israel’s birthday.

It has a very different atmosphere
from that felt in the United States.
For 24 hours all entertainment ven-
ues—movies, nightclubs, and the
like—are closed in honor of those
who have given their lives for their

country and for Jews everywhere.
There are two times during the
observance that the entire country
comes to a halt: once at 8:00 p.m.

‘ on the Erev and once again at 11:00

the next morning. A siren sounds
throughout Israel and everything
stops. There is no movement any-
where—not on the streets, not in the
factories, not at the fields. All traffic
stops; people stand at attention right
where they are—even in the middle
of the streets. The siren sounds for
two minutes each time and hom-
age is paid. Every Israeli knows and
understands the sacrifices that have
been made over the years so that the
birthday celebration can take place
the following day. It is a bittersweet
element, one that makes the implica-
tion of Yom Ha’atzmaut even more
significant. ”Israel has created a new
image of the Jew in the world—the

‘Ifiiage‘uf’sW

tual people, of a people that can fight
with heroism." (David Ben Gurion)

Join the local festivities at Keeneland
on June 1 from 10:00 am. to 2:00 p.m.
as we symbolically walk the land of
Israel in solidarity as a people. By
that time, we will have had addition-
al opportunities to contribute mon-
etarily to our CKJF/UJC Campaign
at our Benefactors event on May 10
and our Pacesetters event on May

18. Our Campaign provides essential
support to nonpolitical programs

in Israel, help to Jews around the
world, and multiple local programs.
We should rejoice in Israel’s accom-
plishments and in our own as we
come together as a community, both
to remember and to celebrate. fix

THINKAHEAD...

The June/July issue of Shalom will be published
in early June. If you have an event in July you
wish to have publicized, the deadline for that

material is May 9.

 

 

 

 

  

“I always want to give back to the community, and I feel
a special bond with the Jewish community,” says Gene
Hieger, Non Profit Donation Program administrator and
commercial sales and leasing manager at Green’s Toyota
in Lexington. Hieger has initiated a plan whereby each
car purchased through Green’s ad in Shalom (at the bot-
tom of this page) will result in a $100 donation to CKJF.
This initiative fulfills a long-felt need of Hieger’s to con-
nect with his roots through his father, who was a Jew
raised in Poland.

Originally from Miami, Hieger and his wife, Joyce, came
to Lexington in 1983 looking for a safe environment in
which to raise children where they could continue their
church affiliation. “My wife was a beach bunny, though,”
he says. ”She came kicking and screaming. But we both
grew to love this area, and our two sons—who are now
in college—were raised here.”

Another Lexington connection was a former associate of
Hieger’s in the construction business He continued in
that line of work for some time, but, he says, ”It eventu-
ally started taking a toll on my body, so I ’retired’ early.”
His next venture was in the freight business. He worked
for DHL for 14 years. During his time as a carrier for
DHL, he happened into the CKJF office and asked to be
put on the mailing list for Shalom.

When the shipping company bought Airborne and per-
sonnel changes were in the wind, he shifted to reading

 

Local businessman has roots in Jewish community

Green’s Toyota program offers donations to CKJF
e + 4

meters for UK. But his wife reminded
him, “You’re a born seller, like your
father before you.” That insight
brought him to Green’s Toyota five
years ago, while his lifelong com-
mitment to giving to the community
led him to direct their innovative
donation program. His personal con-
nection to the Jewish community
sparked the inclusion of CKJF in the
list of beneficiaries.

The Heigers' neighbor for many years
was Rabbi Jon Adland, formerly of
TAI. He and Adland never talked
business, he says, but their conversa-
tions did reawaken his interest in

his Jewish roots. Another factor was
his wish to honor the memory of his
father, who was a philanthropist and
community activist.

“Dad’s grandfather sneaked people
out of Poland; two of my great aunts
died in gas chambers; knowing that
makes me feel even more compelled
to do something to help this com-
munity," he says. As for his father,
”No man on earth would say a mean
word about Dad; I could be in any

 
    

Gene and Joyce Hieger

 

trouble, and he could lift me up with a word. If I could be
an eighth of the man he was, I would be a great human
being.”

“Mom is 89,” he continues, “reared in the U.S.: the great-
est woman you’ll ever meet, life of the party, an absolute
lover of people. Her Italian heritage and Dad's Jewish/
Polish origins complemented each other—close family,
social ties... you might say Italians are on one side of the
stream, Jews on the other side, but it's the same stream.
Eating, being joyful, clinking glasses together, how can
you be sad? That’s what life is about.”

For more about the Green’s Toyota Non Profit Donation
Program, visit http://www.greenstoyotadirectcom/
ExternalViewPage.cfm?pageid=77583&pagetype=26&
featureid=-1 fix

 

 

Make c: lasting difference in your Jewish community. Buy 0 car.

Tho-mks to Gene Hieger of Gre

Toyota, you eon do both.

    

May 2008 Shalom | 5

  

From the Executive Director
Daniel Chejfec

The roast and the pan
+ + +

A woman one day decided that in spite of how tired she
was after working all day, she would cook her husband
a great pot roast just like the one her mom used to make
for her dad. She did just that, and surprised her hus—
band when he came home. After the meal, the husband
confessed that it was the best pot roast he ever had. He
asked, however, ”Honey, while I fully appreciate your
efforts and enjoy your cooking, I need to ask you: why
do you cut both ends of the pot roast?” The wife thinks
for a minute and answers, ”I don’t know, that is the way
my mom used to do it; I think it does
have something to do with the taste,

the taste.” So the three generations
go to see the eldest, and pose the
same question: “Bubbe, why do you
cut both ends of the pot roast when
you cook it?” to which Grandbubbe
answers, ”Because if I don’t cut them,
it does not fit in my roasting pan.”

Many times we go about life cutting
the ends of the pot roast without
knowing why, and very often that
happens when it comes to why we
do the things we
do as Jews. I want

 

but let me ask her when I see her
tomorrow.”

The next day, the woman met her
mother and asked her ”Mom, why
do you cut both ends of the pot roast
when you prepare it?” Mom respond—
ed, ”I don’t know, Sweetie, it is just

The Palestinian leadership, on the
other hand, continues to oppose
the existence of Israel because that
is what their parents did, without
understanding the reasons past
generations of Palestinian Arabs
had for opposing or hating Jews.

to focus on one
possible applica-
tion of the story:

Why support
Israel?

Some will say,

 

the way you bubbe used to make it.
I think it has something to do with
the'way the juices flow during the cooking, but let us go
see her and ask her." They both went to see Bubbe and
posed the same question, to which Bubbe answered, "I
don’t know, your grand-bubbe used to make it that way,
so there must be a reason, probably something about

”Because God
gave the Jews the
land and it is ours, so my rabbi and
the Torah tell me.”

Others will say, ”Because Israel is
the most wonderful opportunity for

Jews to live up to our messianic
dreams of a just society."

Others will say, ”Because of
all that the Jews achieved in
Israel.”

 

Others will say, “Because we cannot let another
Holocaust happen. Israel is the haven for Jews fleeing
from persecution.”

But if we go ask Grandbubbe, that is if we refer to the
documents of the First Zionist Congress and the writ-
ings of the early Zionist thinkers, the message is much
simpler: Since Jews could not go back to the ghetto, nor
were they accepted in European society, the only solu—
tion was to build a society where Jews would be in con-
trol of their own affairs.

When we look at the realities of Israel today and the
challenges it faces, it is important to remember why

those who built it thought it was necessary. If Jews are to
be in control of their own affairs, they must be a majori—
ty in that State, and if they are to be able to live freely as
Jews in any way they want to be Jews, that society must
be a democratic one. The leaders of the early days of the
State thought that democracy was a socialist society and
today we might think differently, but the bottom line is

see Roast, page 10

At Toyota South, expect us to go

"Beyond your Expectations"

ON THE BY-PASS
AT 4-MILE ROAD!
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6 | May 2008 Shalom

At The Corner Of
Four Mile Road 8: The By-Pass

(859) 624-1313 Richmond
1-800-688-6968

www.5cionsouth.net

 

 

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Third Opinion

Stanley Ned Rosenbaum, PhD

 

Maybe war IS peace!
+ + +

The slogan “War Is Peace” is famous-
ly featured in George Orwell’s 1984
as a state-sponsored truth that keeps
citizens constantly on their toes. He
meant the book as the most pointed
of satires, turning the English lan-
guage on its head in support of that
most awful of human activities,
armed warfare.

Orwell died in 1950 so he didn't see
the development of a Palestinian
”nationality” and its commandeer-
ing by a government that publicly
declares its intention to destroy a
neighbor, Israel.

Everybody realizes that Israel,
though much stronger, cannot sim-
ply annihilate the Palestinians or
“drive them into the sea” as they
would Israel, if given a chance. Israel
can’t absorb them either, much less
the generations of their descendants
so the creation of a Palestinian state
would seem the best of a bad lot of
options.

the UN, would make treaties with
other states, such as China, North
Korea, and Iran, and effectively
forestall Israel from the incursions
after rocketeers and their supporting
infrastructure that it has made from
time to time. Such a state would be
able to import dangerous offensive
weapons, too. Think about this: if
Yassir Arafat’s Fatah, the party that
now controls only the West Bank,
could try sneaking 50 tons of arms
into a country with no diplomatic
protection from its ”friends,” how
much more so the present Hamas
government or a future government,
one with ties to Al Qaeda? (And

this is entirely plausible, as both are
Sunni.)

Jews are commanded to ”seek peace
and pursue it,” but how to do this
with an enemy sworn to our destruc-
tion? Could it be that Israeli military
actions are deliberately designed

to provoke

still a feeling that peace was just around the corner.
After all, Arabs with Hadassah hospital cards that
they had not been able to use for 20 years showed
up at the hospital. And they were treated.

 

But the euphoria faded, the opportunity lost, as
several subsequent chances for peace have been. There may be too much suspi-
cion on both sides now for anything positive to happen. . ..

 

Palestinians,
as the recent
incursion into
Gaza did, to
call off their
”truce” and

Jews are commanded to “seek
peace and pursue it,” but

how to do this with an enemy
sworn to our destruction?

are.

 

return to the
sort of random attacks that will keep
peace forever at arm’s length?

It reminds me of the lovers (l) on
John Keats’ Grecian Urn. They’re t-h—
a-t close, but, being figures painted
on pottery, they’ll never touch.
Transposing into the key of politics,
a constant state of agitation will pro-
duce casualties and damage on both
sides, but nothing like the scale we
would see if there were a real war
between countries with comparable
armaments. The bloody stand-off
with Hezbollah 'n Le -a ion

a; ;. 0W3 sraemig
expect from an armed Palestinian
state defended by treaties with states
in and outside the region.

The tragedy in all this, beyond the
carnage, is that a Mideast at peace
and in harmony could become a
major player on the world stage with
oil and Dead Sea mineral wealth to
lift the lot of all its inhabitants, even
the poor wretches who have been
languishing in refugee camps since
1948.

I first went to Israel shortly after the
State turned 20. At that time, right
after the Six Day War, there was

 

 

Aside from Orwell, my favorite literary hero is the much-
maligned German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. He
went insane in 1888 and I think what drove him nuts was
the gap—which he so clearly saw—between what mankind
could become and what, in his day, we still were. And still

War Is Peace. It’s enough to drive anyone crazy. IO!

Stanley Ned Rosenbaum, PhD (Brandeis), is an adjunct professor of Hebrew at UK and
professor emeritus of Judaic Studies at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Perm. The title of
this recurring column is drawn from the old chestnut, ”Two Iews, three opinions.”

 

The Lighter Side of Lexington Life

Wife of the Year Award

§++

By Ted Friedman

I want to nominate my wife, Fran, for
a “Wife of the Year Award.” She may
of guts.

Last winter, as I threw a bag of

trash into the Dumpster, I helplessly
watched my keys following the same
path. What to do? I measured the
size of the Dumpster door opening

against my size and athletic ability,
and came up short on both counts.

My last resort was my wife. Fran was
able to climb in without a problem.
Standing up and actually retrieving
my keys, however, was a big problem
for my petite spouse.

In one corner, wedged between boxes
and trash bags, were the keys. In the

other corner were several empty five—
gallon paint cans.

Fran stood on th