September 2011 - Jewish Federation of New Mexico

Jewish Link 

The New 

Mexico 

NON-PROFIT ORGN 

U.S. POSTAGE PAID 

ALBUQUERQUE, NM 

PERMIT NO. 492 

TIME SENSITIVE MATERIAL 

PLEASE EXPEDITE 

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED 

Jewish Federation of New Mexico 

5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE Alb., NM 87109 

Volume 41, Number 8 Published by: The Jewish Federation of New Mexico • New Mexico’s Center for Jewish Philanthropy Elul 5771/ September 2011 

JFNM Allocations Fund 

Crucial Programs 

Link Staff Report 

For the Jewish Federation of 

New Mexico (JFNM), the annual 

allocation process has traditionally 

involved a series of lengthy meetings, 

often heated discussions and 

intense deliberations. 

This past July, however, the 

JFNM board, with the facilitation 

of Jay Rosenblum, president and 

CEO of Sutin, Thayer & Browne, 

was able to complete the entire 

process of allocating $271,581 

during one three-hour meeting. 

“It felt great,” says Hank Crane, 

JFNM president. “Not only were 

we able to make smart decisions 

on behalf of Jewish New Mexico, 

we also managed to fund some 

very exciting new initiatives.” 

According to JFNM Director 

Sam Sokolove, the faster process 

was attributed to informed board 

members who electronically 

received and analyzed applications 

prior to the July board meeting. 

“Our new process assumed 

that the JFNM will continue fund, 

consistent to previous years, the 

‘cornerstone’ beneficiary agencies 

that it has historically supported,” 

says Sokolove. “This reduced the 

time spent deliberating over agencies 

that we are already committed 

to supporting, and allowed us 

Barren no 

more... This 

summer, Hillel 

at the University 

of New Mexico 

received a grant 

from the Jewish 

Federation of New Mexico 

to landscape its backyard. A 

team from Artistic Landscape 

Design and Trees transformed 

a once barren dirt lot into a 

far more 

pleasant 

setting 

for our 

community’s 

students. 

Pictured 

from left: 

Elton 

Turner, team 

leader Pete 

Rodriguez, 

and Gilbert 

Rodriguez. 

to give attention to new initiatives 

and programs.” 

For its cornerstone agencies, 

the JFNM board allocated 

$185,415. In addition to supporting 

core needs such as financial 

assistance for students at the 

Solomon Schechter Day School of 

Albuquerque, operational support 

for the Jewish chaplaincy program 

at Jewish Family Service of New 

Mexico, the New Mexico Jewish 

Historical Society, and Jewish programs 

at the Jewish Community 

Center of Greater Albuquerque, 

the JFNM committed $25,230 to 

World ORT, the world’s largest 

Jewish education and vocational 

training organization, to underwrite 

an interactive smart classroom 

program at the Hodayot 

Youth Village in Israel. 

“This is an opportunity for 

JFNM to invest in a generation of 

young people who deserve better 

educational opportunities and who 

should not be left behind because 

they live in a neglected area,” says 

Jeff Kaye, ORT Chief Development 

Officer. “This is a wonderful gift 

for the students as they start the 

school year.” 

To help increased collaboration 

among Jewish entities in northern 

See ALLOCATIONS. . Page 4 

After Terror Attacks, Rockets From 

Gaza and Worries Over Egypt Border 

By Marcy Oster 

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- After deadly 

terrorist attacks in southern Israel, 

officials in Jerusalem are on alert 

for how Egyptian instability may be 

opening up more avenues for terrorists 

intent on attacking Israel. 

The coordinated attacks north of 

Eilat on August 18, by terrorists who 

crossed over the border from Egypt 

left eight Israelis dead -- six of them 

civilians. More than 30 people were 

reportedly injured in the attacks. 

The attacks “demonstrate the 

weakening of Egypt’s control over 

the Sinai Peninsula and the expansion 

of terrorist activity there,” Israel’s 

defense minister, Ehud Barak, 

said. He added that Israel’s military 

will retaliate against the attacks, 

which he said “originate in Gaza.” 

The attacks led to Israeli airstrikes 

on Gaza and Palestinian rocket 

attacks that continued into Friday. 

On early Saturday morning Hamas 

announced an end to its truce with 

Israel, The Jerusalem Post reported. 

Since the fall of the Mubarak 

regime in Egypt, the Sinai has become 

an increasingly lawless place. Saboteurs 

have repeatedly attacked and 

disabled the gas pipeline that runs 

from Egypt to Israel, and smugglers 

run a brisk trade along the border 

between Egypt and both Israel and 

Hamas-controlled Gaza. 

The attacks came on a portion 

of the border with Egypt protected 

only by a wire fence. Israel said it 

would accelerate efforts to complete 

construction of a high-tech security 

fence along the Egyptian border. 

Israel said that the terrorists came 

from Gaza and infiltrated Israel via 

Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Armed with 

guns, grenades and explosive vests, 

the terrorists ambushed two Israeli 

buses and several private cars traveling 

north of the southern resort 

city of Eilat just after noon Thursday. 

When Israeli troops arrived, the 

terrorists detonated roadside bombs 

they had planted. 

Israeli security forces killed five 

of the terrorists, and the Egyptian 

army reportedly killed two others. 

It is not known precisely how many 

terrorists participated in the attacks, 

and some are believed to have 

escaped. 

Three Egyptian police officers 

were also killed in the fighting, 

apparently mistakenly by Israeli aircraft 

trying to attack suspected terrorists. 

Egypt registered a complaint 

with Israel and demanded an investigation 

into the incident. 

Following the attacks on Thursday, 

an Israeli airstrike on a site in 

Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, killed the 

military commander of the Palestinian 

Popular Resistance Committees, 

Israeli paramedics wheel an injured man on a stretcher at the Soroka 

Medical Center in Beersheba following a terrorist attack in southern Israel, 

near the Egyptian frontier, Aug. 18, 2011. (Dudu Greenspan/Flash 90) 

the group that Israel believes was 

behind the attacks. The airstrike also 

killed five others, three identified by 

the Popular Resistance Committees 

as the commander’s assistants and 

one as a 3-year-old boy, according 

to The New York Times. 

“We have a policy of extracting 

a very high price from anyone who 

causes us harm, and this policy is 

acted upon,” Israeli Prime Minister 

Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday 

as he visited soldiers hurt in the 

attacks. 

Israeli officials also said that 

Hamas would be held responsible. 

Hamas and Popular Resistance 

Committee officials have been 

quoted denying responsibility for the 

attacks, even as they praised them. 

Israeli airstrikes also hit Popular 

Resistance Committee members 

trying to carry out rocket strikes, 

Hamas facilities in Gaza and a Gaza 

power plant. According to the Palestinian 

Ma’an News Agency, 11 Palestinians 

have been killed in Gaza 

by Israeli airstrikes and shelling 

since Thursday’s attacks. 

The Israeli military reported that 

some 22 Grad and Qassam rockets 

had been fired at Israel from Gaza 

on Thursday and Friday. One person 

was seriously injured and another 

moderately hurt after a Grad rocket 

landed Friday in a yeshiva’s courtyard 

in the Israeli city of Ashdod, 

with four others treated for shock, 

The Jerusalem Post reported. 

Thursday’s attacks began with 

an attack on a car and the ambush 

of Egged bus No. 392, which runs 

between Beersheba and Eilat and 

was loaded with soldiers. The driver 

of the car, who survived the attack, 

tried to warn the bus driver of the 

ambush. The bus’s driver managed 

to keep the bus on the road during 

the attack and drove to the nearest 

Israeli army checkpoint while soldiers 

riding the bus reportedly 

exchanged fire with the attackers. 

Passengers suffered light to moderate 

injuries, according to Haaretz. 

Shortly thereafter, a terrorist blew 

himself up using an explosive belt 

by another bus, killing its driver, 

though no passengers were aboard. 

The terrorists also killed four occupants 

in a car, as well as the driver 

of another car. 

When Israeli soldiers arrived on 

the scene, Staff Sgt. Moshe Naftali, 

22, was killed in the ensuing firefight. 

Around 6:45 p.m. terrorists 

killed an Israeli counterterrorism 

police officer, 49-year-old Pascal 

Avrahami, who was patrolling the 

border near the scene of the original 

fighting. 

The names of five of the six 

civilians killed in the attacks were 

released on Friday: They are sisters 

Flora Gez, 52, and Shula Karlitzky, 

54, and their husbands, Moshe, 53, 

and Dov, 58, who were headed to 

Eilat for a vacation, as well as Yosef 

Levi, 52, the driver of another car. 

Levi’s wife, Etie, was injured by a 

bullet in the shoulder and survived 

by playing dead in the car next to her 

husband’s body, Haaretz reported. 

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni 

called for retaliation and said that 

her Kadima Party “will support the 

government when it comes to antiterrorism 

operations and closing the 

border.” 

The White House condemned the 

attacks. “The U.S. and Israel stand 

united against terror, and we hope 

that those behind this attack will be 

brought to justice swiftly,” the White 

House said in a statement.

2 The New Mexico Jewish Link A Se rv i c e o f t h e Je w i s h Fe d e r at i o n o f Ne w Me x i c o September 2011 

A Primer on Palestinian Statehood 

By Uriel Heilman 

NEW YORK (JTA) -- On September 

20, when the annual session of 

the U.N. General Assembly opens, 

Palestinian Authority President 

Mahmoud Abbas is expected to ask 

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon 

to present a Palestinian request for 

statehood recognition to the U.N. 

Security Council. 

The long-anticipated request will 

kick off a chain of events that some 

analysts are warning could result in 

a new paroxysm of violence in the 

Middle East. 

Here is a guide to what might 

happen, and what it might mean. 

What do the Palestinians want 

the United Nations to recognize? 

The Palestinians want recognition 

of the state of Palestine in the 

entirety of the West Bank, Gaza and 

eastern Jerusalem. The West Bank - 

an area controlled by Jordan from 

the end of Israel’s War of Independence 

in 1949 until it was captured 

by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War - 

includes lands on which Jewish settlements 

now sit. Eastern Jerusalem 

was effectively annexed by Israel, but 

the international community views it 

as occupied territory. In total, more 

than 600,000 Jews reside in eastern 

Jerusalem and the West Bank. 

What’s the legal process for 

becoming a state? 

The U.N. Security Council’s 

approval is required to become a 

U.N. member state. The United States, 

which is one of the 15-member council’s 

five permanent, veto-wielding 

members, has promised to veto a Palestinian 

statehood resolution. 

Is there a way for the Palestinians 

to overcome a U.S. veto? 

Not in the Security Council. 

However, the Palestinians still could 

seek statehood recognition at the U.N. 

General Assembly. While a General 

Assembly vote in favor of Palestinian 

statehood would not carry the force 

of law, the passage of such a resolution 

would be highly symbolic and 

represent a significant public relations 

defeat for Israel. 

Is there any benefit short of full 

statehood recognition that the Palestinians 

can obtain at the United 

Nations? 

Yes. The Palestinians already have 

non-member permanent observer 

status at the United Nations, which 

they obtained in 1974. 

This time, the General Assembly 

could vote to recognize Palestine 

as a non-member U.N. state, 

which would put Palestinian U.N. 

membership on par with that of the 

Vatican. While being a non-member 

state wouldn’t give the Palestinians 

much more than they have now 

as a non-state observer, it would be 

another symbolic victory. 

If the Palestinians can get a twothirds 

majority in support of statehood 

in the General Assembly, they 

also could put forward a so-called 

Uniting for Peace resolution. This 

nonbinding, advisory resolution 

could provide legal cover to nations 

wanting to treat Palestine as a state -- 

for example, allowing sanctions and 

lawsuits against Israel to go forward. 

The Uniting for Peace option was first 

used to circumvent a Soviet veto in 

the Security Council against action 

during the Korean War, and it was 

employed during the 1980s to protect 

countries that sanctioned apartheid 

South Africa from being sued under 

international trade laws. 

Why are the Palestinians seeking 

statehood recognition from the 

United Nations rather than negotiating 

directly with Israel? 

The Palestinian leadership has 

eschewed renewed peace talks with 

Israel, either because Abbas believes 

that talks with Israeli Prime Minister 

Benjamin Netanyahu won’t produce 

desired results or because Abbas 

believes he has more to gain by going 

to the international arena -- or both. 

Abbas essentially is gambling that 

the U.N. move will give him more 

leverage vis-a-vis Israel, making it 

more difficult for the Israelis to stick 

to their current negotiating positions 

and establishing the pre-1967 lines 

as the basis for negotiations. 

What tools does Israel have to 

respond to the Palestinian bid? 

Israel’s strategy now is trying to 

persuade as many nations as possible 

-- as well as the Palestinians -- that a 

U.N. vote favoring Palestinian statehood 

would set back the peace track. 

The argument is that it would make 

it less likely that Israeli-Palestinian 

negotiations would succeed, forcing 

Israel to dig in its heels. 

Beyond that, Israeli experts have 

warned, Israel may consider the unilateral 

Palestinian bid for U.N. recognition 

an abrogation of the Oslo 

Accords, which stipulated that the 

framework for resolution of the conflict 

be negotiations between the two 

parties. If the Oslo Accords, which 

provides the basis for the limited 

autonomy the Palestinians currently 

have in the West Bank, are nullified, 

Israel may re-occupy portions of the 

West Bank from which its forces 

have withdrawn, end security cooperation 

with the Palestinian Authority 

and withhold hundreds of millions 

of dollars in tax money it collects on 

behalf of the Palestinian Authority. 

What are some of the other possible 

negative consequences for the 

Palestinians of U.N. statehood recognition? 

Israeli soldiers scuffling with Palestinians during a demonstration near 

the West Bank village of Beit Omar, Aug. 13, 2011. Some analysts have 

warned that a U.N. vote on Palestinian statehood could set off a new wave 

of Palestinian-Israeli violence. (Najeh Hashlamoun / Flash 90) 

The U.S. Congress has threatened 

to ban assistance to the Palestinian 

Authority if it pursues recognition of 

statehood at the United Nations. That 

could cost the Palestinians as much 

as $500 million annually, potentially 

crippling the Palestinian government. 

What’s the plan for the day after 

the U.N. vote? 

It’s not clear. The Palestinian leadership 

doesn’t seem to have a plan. 

The Palestinian public is expected to 

stage mass demonstrations. Israel is 

preparing for a host of worst-case scenarios, 

including violence. 

If the United Nations does endorse 

Palestinian statehood in some form, 

it will be seen as a public relations 

victory for the Palestinians. But in the 

absence of progress on the ground in 

the Middle East, a U.N. vote could 

set off popular Palestinian protests 

against Israel that could escalate into 

another Palestinian intifada. 

No one knows what another Palestinian 

intifada will look like. It’s 

possible that soon after a U.N. vote, 

Palestinians will march on Israeli 

settlements and military positions 

much like Palestinians in Syria and 

Lebanon marched on Israel’s borders 

in mid-May to commemorate Nakba 

Day -- the day marking the anniversary 

of the “catastrophe” of Israel’s 

founding. 

Or a U.N. vote could unleash a 

new wave of violence, with attacks 

and counterattacks that destroy the 

relative calm that has held between 

Israel and West Bank Palestinians 

since the second intifada waned in 

2004. 

The outbreak of violence, 

however, could undermine Palestinian 

interests. In the relative absence of 

Palestinian terrorism in recent years, 

the Palestinians have managed to 

get increased economic assistance, 

established upgraded diplomatic ties 

with nations throughout the world, 

rallied more global support for their 

cause, and seen a considerable rise 

in their GDP and quality of life in the 

West Bank. They don’t want to throw 

that all away. 

That may leave the Palestinians 

and Israel back where they started 

before talk of U.N. recognition began: 

at a standstill. 

Pam Ashley, PhD 

Full Service Realty 

Since 1973 

Ashley & Assoc., LTD 

505.345.2000 

217 Claremont NE 

Albuquerque, NM 87107 

www.pamashley.com

September 2011 A Service of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico The New Mexico Jewish Link 3 

Matisyahu Looks to Bridge the Jewish Gap 

By Sam Sokolove 

If you publish a Jewish newspaper 

and someone asks you to interview 

their friend’s son because he’s 

doing work that may be “interesting” 

to Jewish readers, responding with a 

noncommittal nod may be the wise 

move. 

Regardless, thanks to the efforts 

of Link advertising manager, Anne 

Grollman, last month I spent a few 

minutes chatting with the young man 

Anne knows as Matthew Paul Miller, 

a friend’s son who over the last few 

years has transformed himself into 

Matisyahu, the Hassidic reggae singer 

and cultural phenomenon known to 

millions for his tireless touring and 

electrifying appearances on Late 

Night with David Letterman and 

Jimmy Kimmel Live. 

Since 2004, Matisyahu has 

released three studio albums, two 

live albums, two remix CDs and two 

DVDs of live concerts. Named by the 

Forward as one of the 50 most influential 

Jews in the world for “a following 

that stretches all the way from Crown 

Heights to the pages of the ‘beer and 

babes’ magazine FHM,” the peyos 

By Janet Yagoda Shagam 

The faces were familiar. Among 

them, I could see a cousin’s nose, 

my daughter’s profile, an old 

friend’s smile and even the rainbow 

hat my son wore as a young child. 

All of these faces – and the hat too, 

belong to Russian Jews now living 

in Germany. 

A Sunday afternoon garden 

party at Congregation Bet Shalom, 

located in Göttingen, Germany provides 

a snapshot of the challenges 

of maintaining a Jewish identity in 

this small city. Göttingen is home to 

Georg-August University. Founded 

in 1737, the university boasts of 

having an association with over 45 

Nobel Prize winners. 

In the 1930s, the university became 

the focal point for what the 

Nazis called “Jewish physics.” As a 

result, many Jewish scientists such 

as Leo Szilard, Edward Teller and 

Max Born fled Göttingen for the 

United States and other nations. 

Those who did not leave in time 

were killed. 

Today, Göttingen’s small Jewish 

community is helping recent 

Russian Jewish immigrants adapt to 

life in Germany and rekindle Jewish 

traditions. Till Baeckmann, the congregation’s 

vice-president, says that 

it is often the little things such as 

enjoying Shabbos coffee and cake 

together, that make the biggest difference 

for these congregants. 

The Sunday afternoon garden 

party is a well-attended gathering. 

It is a time to share food, memories 

and sing Yiddish and Hebrew 

songs. As a way of breaking into this 

cohesive group, I announced that 

and kippahdonning 

singer 

has 

seen his 

profile 

rise from 

curiosity 

to a Matisyahu 

musician 

who has earned the respect of 

rappers like Shyne, Waleed Shabazz 

and legendary record producers Bill 

Laswell and Sly and Robbie. 

My seven-year-old daughter, 

however, knows Matisyahu as the 

cool guy who beat-boxed “Hava 

Nagilah” to Oscar the Grouch’s 

Israeli doppelganger, Moishe Oofnik, 

on Shalom Sesame. 

Speaking a week before Matisyahu 

was scheduled to headline 

the Taos Mountain Music Festival, 

I asked the soft-spoken, 32-year-old 

father of three from White Plains, 

N.Y. if being labeled a Jewish icon 

at such a young stage of his career 

was difficult to handle. 

“I guess I don’t think about it in 

terms of a burden, really,” he demurs. 

“It’s a bit of an opportunity.” 

Asked if he foresees his lyrics, 

which are rooted in Torah-true 

themes like injustice, self-determination 

and spiritual liberation, getting 

into more specific areas such as the 

Israeli-Palestine conflict and anti- 

Semitism, he doesn’t see that happening. 

“I’m politicized in the sense 

that’s who I am, and if anyone did the 

work to check out my beliefs, they 

would probably figure it out.” 

“It’s not my purpose,” he continues. 

“I have a way of doing what 

I’m doing, and it’s not by attacking 

politics head-on. It would be ridiculous 

for me to do something like that. 

What I’m doing is so much bigger 

and more important than that, influencing 

or affecting people’s feelings 

about Jews and Israel in a way that 

actually works.” 

He’s less interested in carrying 

the banners of others or the workings 

of communal politics than following 

his unique charge; he admittedly 

has no interest in the contemporary 

Jewish music scene populated 

by performers like Craig Taubman 

and Rick Recht, and had nothing to 

say regarding the heavily publicized 

my father was from Zambrov. A few 

women looked up from their dinner 

plates and said, “Ah, Polski.” Then 

in unison, they continued, “Essen.” 

Conversation was difficult, but 

nonetheless, there was a wonderful 

homey feel to the afternoon. 

The Russian Jews aren’t the only 

new arrivals in Göttingen. Similar to 

the community that prays within its 

walls, the synagogue is also a new 

émigré. Built in 1825, the synagogue 

was located in the nearby 

village of Bodenfelder. However, in 

1937, in an effort to hide the synagogue 

from the Nazis, the building 

became a barn. 

The synagogue located in Göttingen 

itself was destroyed during 

Kristallnacht on November 8, 1938, 

along with so many others. 

More than 10 years ago, the Göttingen 

Jewish community decided 

to build a new synagogue to replace 

the one the Nazis destroyed. Their 

goal was to consecrate the new 

building on the 70th anniversary 

of the Night of Broken Glass. After 

some discussion, they decided that 

giving a new life to the Bodenfelder 

barn was a more meaningful solution. 

The Synagogue Project began 

in 1998. Under the leadership of 

Jacqueline Jürgenliemk, a local psychotherapist, 

the group raised funds 

to bring the small cross-timbered 

building to Göttingen. The farmer 

willingly sold the barn for a symbolic 

fee of a few Euros. 

However, dismantling, moving 

and reassembling the synagogue 

in downtown Göttingen cost more 

than 500,000 Euros. To fund the 

project, the group received reparation 

monies from the German 

government as well as donations 

from private contributors and the 

Evangelical Lutheran and Catholic 

churches. 

Today, Bet Shalom stands in an 

older neighborhood near the center 

of town. Baeckmann proudly states 

the synagogue has a membership 

of more than 170 families, an itinerant 

rabbi, weekly congregationrun 

services and an active Chevra 

Kadisha. 

However, as the majority of 

members are elderly Russians, he 

is worried about the congregation’s 

future. While Baeckmann hopes the 

establishment of a religious school 

will attract younger families, he bemoans 

that the lack of a local source 

demise of his first label, the Jewish 

media start-up J-Dub. Rather, his 

interests are focused on a scene that 

he largely created single-handedly. 

For some academics, Matisyahu 

has come to personify the comfort 

and openness young American Jews 

feel in expressing their Jewishness in 

all sectors of their life, something that 

would have been unimaginable even 

two decades ago. 

Asked whether he thought Jewish 

denominations actually mattered in 

the open and fluid world of American 

Jewry, he responds, “There’s a 

pretty big difference between Reform 

and Orthodox Judaism philosophically, 

so there I would say yes. In the 

old days, within Orthodoxy you were 

either one or the other, a Maggid 

or a Hassid, and they were pretty 

opposed to each other. I don’t think 

that really exists so much today, (that) 

the denominations within Orthodoxy 

are as clear cut. I think there’s more 

a scope of influence.” 

“I personally don’t feel it’s really 

necessary,” he elaborates. “I’m 

not opposed to it either, if it makes 

people really identify strongly with 

one group, I don’t see why that’s a 

Lost and Found: A Trip to Gottingen 

Singing Yiddish and Hebrew songs at a summer garden party for members 

of Bet Shalom in Gottingen, Germany. Photo courtesy of Janet Yagoda 

Shagam. 

of kosher meat makes him and other 

congregants de facto vegetarians. 

For me, the Bet Shalom synagogue 

takes on considerable personal 

meaning. For the past eight 

years, I have taught a writing workshop 

at the Max Planck Institute, 

which shares a close association 

with Georg-August University. I appreciate 

my affiliation with these 

prestigious institutions and enjoy 

working with their enthusiastic students. 

However, I have often wondered, 

“Why me and why here?” 

Now, knowing that people who 

could be part of my family have 

found a safe and welcoming home 

in this city gives a deeper context to 

my journey. 

problem. But I did notice a tendency 

in general -- not just in Judaism, but in 

life -- to identify solely with one thing, 

to box yourself into one specific way 

a life. For me personally, I don’t see 

that as a good thing.” 

As for the impression that his 

music was being welcomed by 

Jews across the spectrum of observance 

and identification, Matisyahu 

expresses his belief that, “The gap is 

becoming closer.” 

“Especially in Israel, there are a 

lot of artists, performers that were 

very secular that recently became 

ba’al teshuvah he says, citing Israeli 

orthodox Jazz saxophonist Daniel 

Zamir as an example. “There are 

a lot of people out there who are 

showing that the gap is not so 

drastic, that you can be religious 

and an artist or musician and show 

how religion and art in general are 

not at odds with each other. You are 

starting to see a lot more acceptance 

from the secular community towards 

religion.” 

Matisyahu concedes that he has 

played a role in this shift. “But I don’t 

need to hear it,” he insists. “That’s 

what I am. That’s who I am.” 

Creative 

Chuppahs 

B y R o z 

Your Wedding Day 

deserves a chuppah 

that is uniquely yours 

Custom handcrafted to 

your specifications 

Prompt, personal, 

and expert service 

Reasonable Prices 

Rosalyn Cohen 

505-892-2911 

413-441-1798 

mroboe@hotmail.com 

Leshanah tovah tikatev ve’ teichatem 

Licensed 

Bonded 

Insured 

KEN NELSON 

Lic.# 368313 

Office: 505.888.2495 

Fax: 505.888.1565 

NELCOconstruction@gmail.com 

Home Repairs & Maintenance 

Evaporative Coolers - Open/Close 

Laminate Wood & Tile Flooring 

Remodeling & Paint 

Doors & Windows 

Handyman 

For All Your Residential Needs!


Statement Regarding Immigration 

Enforcement from the Jewish 

Federation of New Mexico 

As leaders of New Mexico’s 

Jewish community, we react with 

sadness and concern to the recent 

announcement from Governor 

Susana Martínez that she sent letters 

to at least 10,000 New Mexico residents 

ordering them to report to MVD 

to recertify residency in the state, 

identity and identification number, 

in essence having to reapply for a 

driver’s license. Although the Governor 

has stated that the letters are 

going to “foreign nationals,” we 

know that many citizens and permanent 

residents are also receiving 

these letters, as citizens and permanent 

residents could also apply for 

a driver’s license without a social 

security number from 2003-2008. 

Jewish tradition, along with 

many other faiths, teach that we are 

all created B’tzelem Elokim, in the 

image of God, and we are taught 

to always remember that we were 

strangers in a strange land. We are 

told in Exodus and Deuteronomy to 

be kind to strangers, to love them 

and not to oppress them. The Governor’s 

actions, however, are contrary 

to these values. 

The repeated and continuing 

failure of Congress to enact legislation 

to fix our country’s outdated 

and ineffective immigration system 

has spurred surrounding states, and 

local legislators to enact their own 

immigration laws. We only have 

to look to Arizona and the passage 

of SB 1070 to see the chilling economic 

impact in addition to the divisiveness 

and xenophobia that such 

ALLOCATIONS . . from page 1 

policies foment. We need to continue 

to recognize that our laws 

should be respectful of human rights 

and never become a tool for unwarranted 

suspicion and discrimination. 

Given our history as Jews, our community 

knows only too well the slippery 

slope these types of laws could 

take our nation down. 

We are all concerned about 

public safety and issues of fraud, but 

Governor Martinez’s actions to do 

away with drivers’ licenses for immigrants 

is counterproductive. If there 

is a perception that being ordered to 

the DMV may lead to deportation of 

license holders, we may find undocumented 

persons and their family 

members, including US citizen children, 

driven further underground, 

reluctant to report crimes committed 

against them, or to serve as witnesses. 

Locally, immigrant advocates 

are reporting an unprecedented 

level of fear and desperation 

among these individuals and 

families. 

We urge Governor Martínez to 

seek a more pragmatic, sensitive and 

productive solution to this issue. New 

Mexico has a long, proud history of 

passing laws which encourage the 

integration of immigrant communities, 

and we must work together 

to ensure that our policies continue 

to do so. We cannot forget that it 

was not so long ago that many of 

us were also strangers in this great 

nation and that we hoped that our 

neighbors also recognized that we 

are all created B’tzelem Elokim. 

New Mexico, JFNM allocated $3,000 

to the Jewish Community Council of 

Northern New Mexico to sponsor 

a Day of Jewish Learning for Santa 

Fe, Las Vegas and Los Alamos Jews. 

Funds were also committed to Seniors 

Reaching Out, a new eldercare initiative 

of Temple Beth Shalom in Santa 

Fe, and the JFNM continued its historic 

support of the Taos Jewish Center 

with an allocation. 

In addition to the direct allocations 

to agencies, JFNM made an internal 

budgetary provision of $37,000 to 

serve community programs throughout 

New Mexico including: youth 

education via Hillel at the University 

of New Mexico; grants to Jewish 

students to attend programs, and outreach 

to the Jewish communities in 

Roswell, Carlsbad and Las Vegas. 

JFNM also allocated funds to 

Keshet Dance Company for an Israel- 

Albuquerque dancer exchange to 

take place at the Jewish Community 

Center’s 2012 Israel Independence 

Day celebration. 

The allocation process culminated 

a historic year for JFNM during 

which the 2011 campaign surpassed 

First Time Special 

Opinion 

Will You Demonstrate? 

By Sherwin Pomerantz 

$1,000,000 as a result of a bequest 

from the estate of Irving and Hertha 

Auerbach 

The JFNM board voted to apply 

funds from this bequest to pay-off an 

outstanding land repurchase for the 

Jewish Community Center with Presbyterian 

Healthcare, with $83,000 

placed in JFNM reserves. $41,667 

was earmarked to establish the Irving 

and Hertha Auerbach Fund for Jewish 

Identity,with the Jewish Community 

Endowment Foundation of New 

Mexico in support of PJ Library, camp 

scholarships and Birthright/Taglit. 

The clock is ticking before the 

opening of the UN General Assembly 

in New York and the vote a 

day or two after that on Palestinian 

statehood. 

One of my readers asked if 

demonstrations are planned in 

New York during the period of the 

General Assembly to protest the 

drive for statehood by the Palestinian 

Arab leadership? A search of the 

web turned up nothing although I 

hope that will not really be the case 

as the date draws closer. 

Do you remember December 6, 

1987? That was the Sunday when 

over 250,000 people descended 

on Washington from all parts of 

the United States to demonstrate 

on behalf of Soviet Jewry. It was, at 

the time, the largest outpouring of 

support for that movement and was 

timed to occur a day before Gorbachev 

and Reagan were scheduled 

to meet in the nation’s capital. 

The organizers never expected 

that more than 150,000 people 

would participate in the middle of 

winter, yet representatives of over 

300 community groups in the US 

braved the cold and made their 

voices known, insuring that the 

issue of human rights in the Soviet 

Union would be placed on Reagan’s 

“front burner.” 

The members of the American 

community who care about 

values and the respect for the right 

of those of us living here to live fruitful 

lives in the national homeland 

of the Jewish people need to do as 

much this year as well. 

Many of you know that fully 

20% of the US Congress will have 

visited Israel last month. I won’t 

deal here with the propriety of legislators 

leaving their desks when 

the country is in so much economic 

turmoil, as others smarter than me 

have spoken about this. But they 

are here nonetheless and last week, 

at a meeting in Ramallah with 

Mahmoud Abbas, he shared with 

the visiting legislators his vision of 

a Palestinian state, and it was not 

pretty. 

His main point was that if he 

succeeds in creating an independent 

Palestinian state it will have 

no Jewish settlements. In his zeal 

to achieve ethnic cleansing of 

Jews presently living in Judea and 

Samaria, he is speaking about the 

eviction of over 500,000 Jews from 

everywhere over the “green line” 

including Jerusalem neighborhoods 

such as Ramot, Gilo, Ramat Shlomo 

and, of course, the large settlement 

blocs of Gush Etzion, Ma’ale 

Adumim and Ariel. After that, he 

added that if multi-national forces 

were to enforce a future peace, 

those forces could also not contain 

any Israelis, whether they lived in 

Israel or abroad (a bit of moderation 

over his earlier statement that they 

could not contain any Jews). 

So the message is clear. The 

simple fact that Jews might live in 

a Palestinian state is a humiliating 

thing for the Palestinians. Of 

course, if the shoe were on the other 

foot and we said that after a peace 

treaty no Arabs would be allowed 

to live in Israel the world would 

become one ball of fire with anti- 

Israel demonstrations everywhere. 

We dare not blind ourselves to 

the possibility that the real desire of 

the Palestinian Arab leadership is 

not to make peace with Israel but to 

see to our ultimate expulsion from 

this part of the world. 

While I do not believe, and 

certainly hope, that this will not 

happen, vigilance is critical. So 

thinking Americans, Jews and 

non-Jews, should be on the barricades 

in New York in mid-September 

to make it clear to the UN and 

the world that the intransigence of 

the Palestinian Arab leadership in 

not being willing to even come to 

the negotiating table, will not be 

rewarded by a declaration of statehood 

one of whose aims is to make 

the resultant country Judenrein!! 

There must be a demonstration 

that will make Washington in 

December 1987 look like amateur 

night. 

Edmund Burke was right when 

he said “All that is necessary for the 

triumph of evil is that good men do 

nothing.” We need to internalize 

that lesson. 

Sherwin Pomerantz is Director 

of ATID E.D.I. Ltd and New Mexico’s 

Contractor for the NM-Middle 

East Trade Office based in Jerusalem. 

2011-2012 Approved JFNM Allocations 

Agency 

Amount 

Jewish Family Service of New Mexico ............................................................. $67,000 

Israel & overseas ...................................................................................................... $41,815 

New Mexico Jewish Historical Society ...............................................................$6,000 

NM Holocaust & Intolerance Museum ............................................................ $27,000 

Jewish Community Center .................................................................................. $28,600 

Rabbinic and Cantorial Association ....................................................................$1,000 

Temple Beth Shalom ................................................................................................$3,000 

Taos Jewish Center ....................................................................................................$5,650 

HaMakom .....................................................................................................................$1,500 

Creativity for Peace ...................................................................................................$2,000 

Congregation Nahalat Shalom................................................................................. $700 

Keshet Dance Company ..........................................................................................$5,650 

Jewish Community Council of Northern NM....................................................$3,000 

Kol BeRamah Santa Fe..............................................................................................$1,000 

SSDS ............................................................................................................................. $47,000 

Hillel at the University of New Mexico ............................................................ $19,465 

JCEF .................................................................................................................................$2,000 

Youth Conclaves ........................................................................................................$3,200 

Statewide Outreach ..................................................................................................$6,000 

“The Link is a community newspaper, published as a service by the Jewish Federation of New Mexico, 

that focuses on Jewish life in New Mexico. It is committed to seeing Jewish life thrive.” — Since 1971 

Publisher: Jewish Federation of New Mexico 

(JFNM), 821-3214 

Link Staff: Sara Koplik, Ph.D., Sam Sokolove 

Writers: Marcia Torobin, Peter Weinreb, Diane J. 

Schmidt, Shea Fallick, Boaz Fletcher, Meredith Root, Ron 

Duncan Hart, Lyn Berner, Phyllis Wolf, Janet Yagoda Shagam, 

Dorothy Corner Amsden, Sherwin Pomerantz, Deborah 

Brin, Peter Fisk, Tori Lee, Julia Linder Bell, Alexander 

Ellis, Jacob Ellis, Rich Lieberman 

Production: Christine Carter, Envision Graphics 

Wire service: Jewish Telegraphic Agency 

Advertising manager: 

Anne Grollman, 348-4472, fax 821-3351 

E-mail: anne@jewishnewmexico.org 

Advertising deadline: 

The 15th of the month preceding publication. 

Address: 

The New Mexico Jewish Link 

5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109 

Submission Policy: Letters to the editor, articles, 

calendar entries or other information to be considered for 

publication must be typed with return address 

and phone number and signed by the author. 

E-mail submissions are preferred. The editor reserves the 

right to edit or deny publication to submissions. 

Materials sent to The Link will not be saved or returned 

unless accompanied by self-addressed, stamped 

envelope. All letters, readers forums and opinion pieces 

solely reflect the opinions of the authors and not the 

opinions of The New Mexico Jewish Link, nor of its 

publisher, the Jewish Federation of New Mexico. 

These serve as a forum for the New Mexico Jewish 

community and The Link strongly urges 

submissions. Send submissions via e-mail to 

sarak@jewishnewmexico.org or via post to 

The New Mexico Jewish Link, 

5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109. 

Submissions to editor deadline: 

The 15th of the month preceding publication. 

The New Mexico Jewish Link is published monthly with a 

bi-monthly June/July issue for $36 per year 

Postmaster: Send address changes to JFNM, 

5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109. 

306-4080 

Sweet Wishes 

for the New Year 

Anne, Stephen & Maya Grollman 

L’Shana Tova! 

Sam Sokolove, Eva Buchwald 

and Sarea Sokolove


The Summer of Our DisconTent 

By Boaz Fletcher 

I remember a time, not too long 

ago, when a man could pitch his 

tent on a main avenue and not attract 

hundreds of copycats and the 

TV cameras that inevitably follow. – 

Facebook posting, mid-August 

Just How Expensive is it to Live in Israel? 

As the Arab Spring waxed into 

the Arab Summer with a sleepy 

eye on fall, with former presidents 

strapped into moveable beds and 

caged for their own show-trials, and 

with the Syrian army playing war 

games with its own citizens, our 

small corner of the Eastern Mediterranean 

seemed a little too quiet. It 

had been a few months since anyone 

tried to breach a border, a few 

Lebanese soldiers were confused 

by the meaning of cease-fire, and 

here and there were rumblings and 

mumblings about September. 

In a panic, someone realized 

that cottage cheese had suddenly 

become outrageously expensive 

and started a whole protest movement 

dedicated to not buying cottage 

cheese. Labaneh and plain yoghurt 

were unaffected. 

This was soon followed by a 

sympathetic protest movement to 

not buy gasoline – also horrifically 

expensive. This was a hugely successful 

protest for the day it lasted, 

the streets littered with stalled cars 

whose owners were, in any event, 

not on the way to the supermarket 

due to solidarity around the high 

price of chunky, somewhat liquid, 

cheese. Many people rediscovered 

their feet, which perhaps they 

hadn’t seen in a while due to the 

unfathomable quantities of cottage 

cheese they had previously been 

consuming. 

The combination of cheese and 

gasoline fomented discontent. (Any 

other combination of gasoline and 

cheese, well, that’s just gross.) The 

middle class was wondering what 

else they could protest, since the 

middle class, by virtue of its being 

in the middle, has to pay for everyone 

else. 

And then on a hot, muggy, Tel 

Aviv night, someone put up a tent. 

They were tired of paying more 

than a third of their net income in 

order to rent a small apartment that 

had no air conditioning and minimal 

utilities and realized that they 

could, for no fee at all, set up a 

TENT with no air conditioning and 

minimal utilities. And so they did. 

Right in the middle of the pedestrian 

path which cleaves one of Tel 

Aviv’s main thoroughfares and historic 

streets, home of many of the 

country’s elite financial institutions: 

Rothschild Boulevard. 

And they saw it was Good, and 

by the Third Day, others saw it was 

Good as well. So they brought tents. 

Word got around and more people 

brought tents. By this point, it was 

starting to get confusing, so people 

brought couches. They also started 

writing their names on their tents 

since all tents pretty much look 

alike, although their spouses do 

not, and this was a protest movement, 

not a rock festival. Hmm, except 

that it was, as you will soon 

see. 

It is written somewhere that it 

isn’t a protest if no one’s singing a 

protest song. Now, with the proper 

conditions in place – a captive audience, 

padded furnishings, and sultry 

evenings – the rock stars could 

come out. Israeli rock stars, who 

make a decent living and probably 

don’t live in tents, are mostly real 

people just like you and me. Some, 

however, tend to wander the streets 

with guitars slung over their backs, 

just in case they come upon groups 

of people who want to exercise their 

fundamental right to sing-alongs. 

Word got out that music was 

being sung for free which attracted 

more tent-people. Word that there 

were more tent-people attracted 

more troubadours. Word reached 

people in other cities that they 

could stop ripping music off the internet 

and still get it for free if they 

pitched a tent in a park, and it was 

so. 

The Summer of DisconTent 

movement was underway. 

Among the bites of sushi, smoking 

of water pipes, and special song 

dedications by the rockers – who at 

this point were forced to perform 

on stages and not in loungers – 

came suggestions of a Cause. And 

they called it Social Justice. 

And with the words Social Justice, 

out came the politicians. 

There are many things that ail 

the State of Israel, and especially 

its middle class. It is disproportionately 

expensive to live here, relative 

to income and other developed 

economies. The middle class carries 

the brunt of reserve duty, pays 

the majority of both direct and indirect 

taxes (about 50% of the cost of 

gasoline goes to the government), 

pay more than a third of their net 

income in rent or mortgage payments, 

make ends meet (mostly) 

but have no savings, although pay 

less for a cup of good coffee than 

you pay for those dregs you get at 

Starbucks. 

When the politicians of all 

stripes and flavors come out and 

declare their unanimous support 

for the Cause, at least some of them 

must be wrong, and according to 

all of them, it’s the fault of the other 

ones. When nefarious NGOs throw 

in their financial support and quietly 

whisper their agenda in the ears 

of the organizers, the Cause turns 

into a circus, or more aptly, street 

theatre. 

An estimated 350,000 people 

hit the streets all over the country 

on a Saturday night to wave banners, 

chant slogans, listen to really 

expensive rock musicians (not the 

wandering-minstrel kind) play on 

big stages, and wave at the TV cameras. 

Maybe post a picture or two to 

their Facebook profile. 

The Summer of DisconTent will 

play itself out. Come September 

there will be other small things to 

worry about and perhaps bigger 

things as well. The government will 

move some money around to appease 

certain groups, but it won’t 

fall. 

Most people will go home, having 

camped out for free during the 

summer. A few will be left. In some 

months one of the television news 

channels will do a follow up on 

someone who had a few moments 

of public glory. But Rothschild Boulevard 

is not Tahrir Square, there is 

no revolution here, just discontent. 

By Jessica Steinberg 

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- What began 

in Israel in June as a Facebook-driven 

rebellion against the rising cost of 

cottage cheese, then morphed in July 

into tent encampments protesting 

soaring real estate costs, has since 

turned into a full-scale Israeli social 

movement against the high cost of 

living in the Jewish state. 

From Tel Aviv’s tent-filled Rothschild 

Boulevard to marches in 

Beersheva, hundreds of thousands 

of Israelis have participated in one 

protest or another. The movement’s 

targets have expanded from housing 

and cheese prices to everything from 

the costs of child care and gas -- not 

to mention salaries. 

All this begs the question: Just 

how expensive is it to live in Israel? 

A close examination of some key 

metrics show that compared to the 

United States and Europe, Israeli 

costs of living are a mixed bag. Salaries 

are lower, but so are health care 

costs. Consumer goods and services 

costs are nearly double those in the 

United States, and owning a car can 

run about six times as much relative 

to one’s salary. 

So how do Israelis make it? Israeli 

retailers and banks offer easy credit 

on everything from big-ticket items 

like summer vacations to everyday 

purchases like groceries; all can 

be paid in monthly installments. 

The result is that many Israelis are 

perennially in debt and are increasingly 

frustrated by their inability to 

cover costs with their monthly paychecks. 

Here’s a closer look at some of 

the costs of living in Israel. 

Housing 

The most expensive and desirable 

places to live in Israel are in the 

center of the country, where the vast 

majority of the population resides 

and works. 

According to figures from the 

real estate company RE/MAX Israel, 

apartment prices in central Tel Aviv 

run $5,714 to $7,142 per square 

meter. In Jerusalem, the peripheral 

neighborhoods of East Talpiot and 

Kiryat Hayovel offer housing from 

$4,285 to $5,714 per square meter, 

while prices in the tonier neighborhoods 

of Baka, the German Colony 

and Rechavia range from $7,000 to 

$8,571 per square meter. 

That means that in Baka or the 

German Colony, a typical two-bedroom 

apartment starts at $428,571, 

according to Alyssa Friedland, a 

broker for RE/MAX. In the peripheral 

neighborhoods, some of which 

are built on territory captured from 

Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War, 

a two-bedroom apartment runs for 

about $343,000. According to RE/ 

MAX figures, two-bedroom apartments 

in Beersheva, Haifa, Hadera 

and Afula cost between $143,000 

and $286,000. 

Mortgage rates are about 4.5 

percent, according to Friedland, 

but the required down payment is 

usually about 40 percent. 

“Young couples are getting the 

money from their parents because 

they don’t typically have savings like 

that,” she said. 

As the economist Daniel Doron 

noted recently in The Wall Street 

Journal, “A small apartment can cost 

the average Israeli worker 12 years 

in annual salary.” 

See ISRAEL. . Page 6 

Manzano Day School 

Manzano Day School admits students without regard to religion, race, color, creed, gender, 

gender identification, disability, age, sexual orientation or ethnic background. 

Joy in Learning ® Since 1938 

Accepting Applications for the 

2012-2013 school year 

Independent, non-prot 

pre-kindergarten through grade ve 

Bus service available from the Westside 

& NE Heights 

1801 Central Avenue NW | 505-243-6659 

www.manzanodayschool.org 

L’Shanah tovah 

tekatev v’ techatem 

Pearl F. Gross 

Shanah Tovah to all from 

the Gottlieb family. 

Let’s make it a great year. 

Wishing a healthy & happy 

New Year to our New Mexico 

friends and family 

~~ L’Shana Tova 

Jill Bulmash & Linda Friedman 

La Shana Tova 

Sabra Minkus & Family 

Shana Tovah to 

our new community! 

Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld 

& Michele Hope


The Self-Hating Jew 

By Peter Fisk, Ph.D. 

During my days as a graduate 

student in psychology, I can recall, 

in great detail, being invited to lunch 

over at my best friend’s house. He 

wanted me to meet his 80-year-old 

grandmother who had miraculously 

survived five years in Dachau. 

Betty had a soft, beautiful voice. 

We had just been introduced and, 

almost with nonchalance, she started 

speaking about her experiences 

in that terrible place. She talked 

about a man named Gabriel, a Jew, 

who had become a “kapo” (a Jew, 

recruited by the Germans, to do 

their dirty work on fellow Jewish 

inmates). Betty recalled, with tears 

in her eyes, how Gabriel would 

beat any man, woman or child for 

the slightest infraction, committed. 

When doing this, she noted that his 

face radiated a great glee and satisfaction. 

Betty’s question to me was simple: 

what makes a man like Gabriel 

not only detest his fellow Jews, but 

seemingly revel in a perverted euphoria 

in causing them as much 

pain as possible? 

I could not answer Betty right 

ISRAEL . . from page 5 

Salaries 

In Israel, the average salary is 

about $2,572 per month, and the 

average income for a family with 

two wage earners is approximately 

$3,428 per month, according to Israel’s 

Central Bureau of Statistics. 

Teachers and nurses earn abound 

$1,666 a month, making Israeli 

teachers’ salaries among the lowest 

in the world, according to a recent 

report by the international Organization 

for Economic Cooperation 

and Development (OECD). 

Business managers, computer 

engineers and lawyers have some of 

the highest median salaries in Israel. 

A lawyer with five years’ experience 

can make $5,500 to $6,500 

per month, and top associates earn 

about $8,571 per month, according 

to Dudi Zalmanovitsh, who runs 

the Tel Aviv law consulting firm 

GlawBAL. Technology professionals 

are some of the highest paid in Israel, 

with technical writers and software 

engineers earning between $2,500 

and $3,500 a month, and managers 

making upward of $10,000 a 

month. 

Doctors, most of whom work at 

clinics and hospitals, earn $6,000 

to $7,000 a month, unless they also 

away. I did some research, but also 

thought her story through, for understanding 

apparent insanity requires 

patience and, for a moment, 

becoming that person. As I began to 

understand Betty’s story, I noticed 

two separate elements to Gabriel’s 

behavior. The human being can 

and will resort to virtually anything 

to survive if that drive is powerful 

enough. Clearly, this was a motivation 

for Gabriel, but, in my mind, 

that did not explain his perceived 

enjoyment of attacking his fellow 

Jews. 

Was Gabriel a self-hating Jew? 

Can conversion to another religion 

or culture be, in part, a manifestation 

of self-hatred? The answer to 

this question is complex. 

Unfortunately, I believe that the 

answer is an absolute yes. People 

who are born into a religion, culture, 

society or group that has 

known bigotry and prejudice incorporates 

this reality into their psyche, 

their perception of themselves, and 

the world. It can be overwhelming 

to accept being subjected to lifelong 

pain and suffering simply for 

being born into a socially undesirable 

group. 

have a private practice. 

Transportation 

With a tax rate of 78 percent on 

new cars, a lack of competition in 

the import market and high auto 

insurance costs - not to mention 

the price of gas - owning a car can 

be one of the most expensive things 

for an Israeli. 

A Honda Civic, which has a 

sticker price of approximately 

$16,000 in the United States, costs 

$33,000 in Israel. Gas costs more 

than $8 per gallon. 

As most Israelis earn about onethird 

of their American counterparts, 

Israelis may spend more than 

six times as much of their monthly 

salaries on car ownership as the 

average American. 

The alternative - public transportation 

- is cheap by comparison in 

Israel, though the network of mass 

transit is much less developed here 

than in America or Europe. 

A small but growing number of 

Israelis commute by train, but most 

need to take a bus to complete their 

commute. Buses are subsidized and 

therefore relatively cheap. Within 

cities, bus fare costs about $1.51 per 

ride or $65 for a monthly pass. 

Health care 

At this point, there is something 

of a psychological fork in the road. 

Most of us come to terms with ourselves 

and the group or culture into 

which we were born. We identify 

with that group! 

But others of us embrace two 

Freudian defense mechanisms 

known as introjection and identification 

with the aggressor. The essence 

of these defense mechanisms 

unconsciously affords a person the 

ability to assume the behavior of 

their perceived tormentors in the 

belief that “if we become like those 

who hate us, there will be nothing 

for them to hate and we can escape 

having been born into an undesirable 

part of human society.” 

Psychologically, this would explain 

the reason that self-hating Jews 

exist. But a deeper question must be 

asked as well, and that is, whether 

a self-hating Jew hates himself only 

because he is Jewish. 

In order to understand a person 

like Gabriel and his actions, 

one must comprehend that he did 

not only hate himself because he 

was Jewish. He hated himself as a 

human being. He may have even 

hated having been born. We all 

know that life is filled with hardship, 

uncertainty, pain, disappointment 

and disillusionment. For some 

people, this is unbearable. There is 

Israel’s socialized health care 

system is considered among the 

world’s best, and taxes pay the lion’s 

share of costs. Based on figures from 

the National Insurance Institute, the 

health care costs deducted from 

the average paycheck are between 

3 percent and 5.5 percent, estimates 

Dr. Michael Cohen, who 

runs an HMO in the coastal city of 

Netanya. 

With a system of universal 

health care run by private corporations, 

all citizens are entitled to 

the same uniform package. Whether 

self-employed or employed by a 

company, every citizen pays a basic 

health insurance rate to one of the 

four HMOs, which are heavily regulated 

by the government and subsidized. 

For Israelis who need to visit the 

doctor, require fertility treatment or 

visit the emergency room, the extra 

costs are minimal. Medications are 

cheaper in Israel than in the United 

States because they are subsidized 

by the HMOs. 

Many Israelis choose to expand 

their coverage with private health 

insurance that offers more access 

to private care or more comprehensive 

coverage. Private insurance 

only so much hatred a person can 

turn inward. Eventually, it has to be 

externalized. To such a person anything 

he perceives as being part of 

himself is hated! 

If we loathe ourselves, will we 

not project, outwardly, that hatred 

toward someone who represents 

that which we despise in ourselves? 

A Jew who hates his Jewishness has 

identified with his oppressors and 

their stereotypes, and that is where 

safety lies. These individuals do not 

have the ability to love themselves 

despite the external negative forces. 

Another possible depiction of 

Jewish self-hatred is in the anti- 

Israel activism of some members of 

the Jewish faith. Remembering the 

earlier parts of this article, it was 

noted that self-hating Jews, in extreme 

cases, despise anything that 

is remotely Jewish in nature or by 

association. One does not have to 

dig deeply to understand that taking 

a stand against Israel is a logical 

behavioral manifestation of a selfhating 

Jew’s mindset. However, a 

distinction must be made as to the 

essence of such anti-Israel activism. 

If one is simply going to become 

involved in such activism just because 

of prejudice (yes, Jews hating 

other Jews or anything Jewish, is a 

form of prejudice) then this is like 

costs a fraction of what it costs in 

the States. 

“The working poor are much 

better off here because if someone 

gets sick, they still get full hospital 

treatment for what would be 

very expensive in the U.S.,” Cohen 

said. 

Taxes 

Israel is more like Europe than 

America on taxes. The top rate of 

income tax is 45 percent (it was 

50 percent until 2003). The value 

added tax, or VAT, which amounts 

to a sales tax, is 16 percent. That’s 

considered regressive because rich 

and poor pay the same rate. 

The average Israeli pays an 

income tax rate of 20.5 percent. The 

top 1 percent of salaried workers, 

who earn an average of $19,000 per 

month, pays a 40 percent income 

tax rate. The top 1 percent of the 

self-employed - the super-rich who 

gross an average of $121,000 per 

month - pay 26 percent in income 

tax. 

Education 

Education is one area in which 

Israelis pay considerably less than 

Americans. 

Tuition at Israel’s renowned 

public universities is about $2,714 

per year, thanks in large part to government 

subsidies. At Israel’s lesserknown 

private colleges, tuition costs 

about $8,571 each year. Compared 

with other developed countries, 

Israel ranks eighth out of the OECD’s 

26 countries for tuition rates. 

Those paying tuition for Jewish 

day school in America would save 

a bundle in Israel. Public schools 

- whether secular, Modern Orthodox 

or Haredi Orthodox - are free. 

However, parents must pay service 

fees for field trips and special events, 

are responsible for busing costs and 

must pay for books. 

The growing number of semi-private 

schools that offer special pluralistic, 

democratic or religious curricula 

charge annual tuitions ranging 

from $800 to $1,600, and boarding 

a child saying he is not going to do 

as his mother or father has asked 

simply because his parent asked the 

question. The message itself is irrelevant. 

It is the source alone that has 

meaning. I believe this is the same 

dynamic in self-hating Jews’ attitude 

toward Israel. They are likely not to 

find equal culpability with Palestinians 

and extremist Arabs. 

In all fairness, there are a number 

of Jews who deplore what 

can be defined as Israel’s military 

might and occasional posturing. 

Such people also place appropriate 

blame on the Palestinians and 

Arab extremists for perpetuating 

the ongoing carnage in the Middle 

East. Such Jews are not self-hating, 

but rather may object to certain 

Israeli policies on a moral plane. 

Here, the message is relevant. Put 

succinctly, the self-hating Jew opposes 

Israeli actions out of a kneejerk, 

emotional reaction whereas 

the Jew who opposes Israeli policy 

on moral grounds does so out of 

rational thinking, mixed with a 

personal definition of right and 

wrong. 

Like all biased people, the selfhating 

Jew hates the entire group, 

not what they stand for or who 

they are as individuals. 

Peter Fisk is an Albuquerque 

psychologist and writer 

schools charge $3,000 to $5,000 

per year. 

Because the traditional Israeli 

primary school day is short, often 

ending before 2 p.m., many parents 

shell out money for afternoon childcare 

programs or afterschool activities. 

The most expensive part of child 

rearing may be day care for the 

under-3 set. Some day care centers 

cost $630 a month for private toddler 

day care. Once children turn 3, they 

can take advantage of the public 

school system and day care centers 

that charge as little as $257 a month 

for a six-day, six-hour program. 

Food 

Israel’s social protest movement 

began with an investigative 

report by the Globes business daily 

on food prices. Globes found that 

prices for basic food products were 

two to three times higher in Israeli 

stores than in other Western countries. 

An 8-ounce container of cottage 

cheese costs $1.68; a pound of 

hummus costs $4.54; 2 liters of 

orange juice -- in a country that 

exports oranges -- costs $6.54; 2 

pounds of rice costs $1.94; and a 

13-ounce container of Israeli Osem 

soup nuts costs $4.54 -- more than it 

costs in American stores that import 

the soup nuts from Israel. A 6-ounce 

can of Israeli-made sunscreen spray 

can cost approximately $40. 

“Prices have gone above what 

the middle class and weaker classes 

can afford,” said Rami Levy, who 

owns 22 supermarkets nationwide. 

He attributed the rise to Israeli 

supermarket chains that collude to 

set prices. 

“I started my business with 

the goal of selling to my customers 

at wholesale prices,” said Levy, 

who started with a stall in Jerusalem’s 

open-air Machane Yehudah 

market. “I wanted them to be able 

to buy what they needed and still 

have money left at the end of the 

month.” 

La Shana Tovah to 

our community 

Betty & Keith Harvie & family 

Shanah 

Tovah 

From Al Clarfield and Venia Stanley 

Our best wishes 

for a healthy & sweet 

new year! 

Lisa Sellers & John Friedman, 

Shea & Kayla Fallick 

Showers of blessings to 

the Stanleys and staff at 

Casa de Shalom for their 

nurturing care. 

The Wunder Lights 

Happy and Healthy 

New Year to All 

from Temple Beth 

El of Carlsbad


From Personal to Global: Tisha B’Av 

Commemoration in Santa Fe 

By Tori Lee 

The Jewish community in Santa 

Fe observed Tisha b’Av by studying 

sacred text, reading poetry, 

and looking inward. On Erev Tisha 

b’Av at HaMakom, Rabbi Malka 

Drucker spoke on the historical 

context of Tisha b’Av with particular 

emphasis on the destruction of the 

Second Temple in 69/70 C.E. While 

Roman soldiers were the agents of 

that destruction, the reason behind 

the destruction was si’nat chinam 

or baseless hatred of one person 

Greetings 

towards another. 

She then led community members 

in a candlelight reading of Megillat 

Eicha (Lamentations). Rabbi Drucker 

reminded the community that the 

sages recognized the need for people 

By Rabbi Deborah J. Brin 

Every time we come to the end of 

one of the Books of the Torah, we say 

“chazak, chazak, v’nitchazayk” from 

strength to strength, we are strengthened. 

Our Albuquerque Jewish 

community is stronger and healthier 

because of one of its newest organizations, 

the Rabbinical and Cantorial 

Association [RACAA]. 

Meeting monthly, RACAA 

members are convinced that the 

entire community benefits from 

increased communication and cooperation. 

We endeavor to use our organization 

to build a stronger Jewish community; 

to address community concerns; 

to study together and provide 

collegial support for each other. 

RACAA acts as a liaison and representative 

to the larger Albuquerque 

and New Mexico communities as 

needed. 

In 2006, three congregations 

decided to conduct joint Shavuot 

and Selichot services, and its clergy 

members began to plan these events 

together. With a small amount of 

urging on my part, we began meeting 

regularly to discuss issues of mutual 

concern. 

With the support of my colleagues, 

RACAA began officially in 

December 2008. Our initial membership 

consisted of: Rabbi Joe Black 

and Cantor Barbara Finn from Congregation 

Albert; Rabbi Min Kantrowitz 

from Jewish Family Service 

of New Mexico; Rabbi Arthur Flicker 

and Cantor Caitlin Bromberg from 

Congregation B’nai Israel and me, 

Rabbi Deborah Brin, from Congregation 

Nahalat Shalom. 

Our membership has changed as 

rabbis and cantors move into and out 

of our community. It is with pleasure 

that we welcome our three new 

members: Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld, 

from Congregation Albert; Rabbi 

Stephen Landau from the Solomon 

Schechter Day School; and Rabbi 

Paul Citrin, recently retired from 

Temple Beth El in Las Cruces and 

former senior rabbi at Congregation 

Albert. 

We have discussed many communal 

issues, and we will continue to 

NG IN THIS SPACE 

to mourn both personal losses as well 

as national and historical catastrophes. 

Community members shared 

their own understandings of kinnot 

(dirges or elegies) through the poetry 

of Leonard Cohen, a kinnah for Holocaust 

victims written by the Bobover 

Rav, Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam (z”l), 

and a Yiddish song commemorating 

the victims of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist 

Factory fire. 

Always the question to be asked 

is not why did this happen but rather 

what do we learn from our shared 

and personal Tisha b’Av? How 

should we respond to our losses? We 

cannot simply move on, as though 

our mourning is of no consequences, 

but we can move forward. 

On Tisha b’Av, members of Kol 

do so as they arise. For instance, we 

met with the chaplains at UNM Hospital 

and with some of the directors 

at the various funeral homes in Albuquerque 

to ensure that they understand 

and are equipped to respond to 

Jewish religious and cultural issues. 

We talked about how to handle 

indigent burials as well as how to 

best respond to emergency tzedakah 

Happy New Year! 

May you immediately be inscribed and 

sealed for a Good Year and for 

a Good and Peaceful LIfe. 

3620 Wyoming Blvd., Suite 111 


beRamah gathered throughout the 

day to read kinnot and discuss Rabbi 

Dov Soleveitchik’s writings of death. 

Daniel Israel led the study of portions 

of the Shulhan Aruch pertaining 

to the laws of personal mourning 

and how they differ from mourning 

on Tisha b’Av. 

The day of reflection ended with 

community members participating in 

a global Tisha b’Av event sponsored 

by the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation, 

“Mending our Relationships, 

Building Our World.” Noted Torah 

scholars HaRav Yaakov Hillel and 

Rabbi Eli Mansour spoke forcefully 

requests. 

We have put a lot of energy into 

understanding the relationships, 

interactions, roles and functions of 

the various organizations within our 

community, including the Jewish 

Community Center, the Jewish Federation 

of New Mexico, Jewish Family 

Service, Schechter Day School, the 

congregations, and the chavurot. 

Companion Care 

“When you need a hand... 

we’ll be there!” 

(505) 293-5858 www.companioncarenm.com 

Kol beRamah President Daniel Israel leads a Tisha b’Av Talmud study 

session on the Laws of Mourning in the Shulhan Aruch. 

on the consequences of machloket or 

quarrels and the need to seek shalom 

in all one’s relationships. 

Participants were reminded of 

the unprecedented negative consequences 

of machloket including 

the destruction of the Second 

Temple and centuries of exile. The 

conflict between Korah and Moses 

in Numbers 16-17 serves as an 

example of the destructive nature of 

machloket. 

Repeatedly, participants around 

the world were reminded that the 

A Thriving Organization: Rabbinical and Cantorial 

Association of Albuquerque 

We take turns leading a Shabbat 

experience at Schecter, each of us 

meeting with the students several 

times a year. We work cooperatively 

to support each other’s programs, 

such as Congregation Albert’s 

hosting of the Inter-Faith Hospitality 

Network, an organization that houses 

homeless families in local congregations. 

We are currently working 

greatest results in Jewish history 

happened in peace. Humanity’s 

natural state of being is peace. 

Once, humanity was all part of the 

colossal cosmic soul that HaShem 

breathed into Adam at Creation. 

On both the personal as well as 

the global level, the message from 

Tisha b’Av is to seek shalom. Always. 

with JFS to design and develop a ‘shul 

shuttle,’ so that elders can have transportation 

to Shabbat and holiday services 

on a rotating basis. 

I have been honored to serve as 

the founding president of RACAA, 

and it is now my pleasure to turn the 

gavel over, or should I say, ‘baton,’ 

to Cantor Barbara Finn, the new president 

of RACAA. 

MADELINE DUNN 

Associate Broker 

Cell: 505.980.2505 

Direct: 505.857.2345 

Best Wishes 

for a Happy New Year! 

Zensah 

Leg Sleeves 

Compression 

leg sleeves help 

prevent DVT 

and swelling. 

Shanah 

Tovah 

Blessings for a 

sweet and healthy 

$90 plus 7% tax, you can New place Year! a 

- from Betty R. Rosenberg 

Rabbi Min & Marty Kantrowitz 

ew Year’s issue of The Link. 

A Happy and Sweet New 

Year to the New Mexico 

Jewish Community 

Paul, Lou Ann & Kate Malin 

May the year ahead 

be blessed with peace and 

sweet things for us all. 

Zelda and Sydney Danziger 

HAPPY & HEALTHY 

NEW YEAR TO ALL 

FROM 

JONAH, BEN, SUSAN & DAVID MINKUS 

JUDY & RICH LIEBERMAN


Shlomo and the Adobes Klezmer 

Band Performance at the JCC 

By Phyllis Wolf 

If you like Klezmer music, stop by 

the JCC on Wednesday, September 7 

to hear Shlomo and the Adobes. 

The new band was founded by 

Gary Libman (aka Shlomo) who 

decided to perform Klezmer music 

in Albuquerque with his friends. 

All experienced musicians, 

Shlomo and the Adobes includes: 

Gary Libman, clarinet and autoharp 

(Shlomo Adobe), Bruce 

Thomson, fiddle (Toby Adobe), 

Wayne Shrubsall, banjo (Moby 

Adobe), Jimmy Abraham, guitar 

and harmonica (Jacobi Adobe), Erika 

Gerety, vocal and bass (Hot Flash 

Adobe). 

They will perform from 11a.m. 

– 12 p.m. in the JCC auditorium at 

5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE as part of 

the Wonderful Wednesday Seniors 

program. All are welcome to attend 

the concert for $5. Please make your 

reservation by calling 348-4518. 

UPCOMING 

EVENTS 

EVENTS 

Jewish Historical Society’s Conference Planned 

By Ron Duncan Hart 

The New Mexico Jewish Historical 

Society’s fall conference will 

discuss the Jewish experience in 

twentieth century New Mexico and 

the institutions that made it possible. 

From October 21-22, leading 

figures will speak about the impact 

of the University of New Mexico and 

the medical school, Sandia and Los 

Alamos research laboratories, government 

and private enterprise, and 

the development of Albuquerque as 

an important Jewish center. 

In the opening session, Noel 

Pugach and Henry Tobias will talk 

about the continuities and changes 

in the New Mexico Jewish community 

particularly in post-World War 

II. Next, Stan Hordes and a group of 

Jewish elected officials will describe 

being Jewish in state government 

and how government has affected 

the community. 

As the luncheon speaker, Sam 

Sokolove, executive director of the 

Jewish Federation, will discuss possible 

future trends for New Mexico’s 

community. 

In the afternoon, Naomi Sandweiss 

will lead a session on the Jewish 

community in Albuquerque with the 

participation of Michael Sutin and 

others who have had important roles 

in the development of the community. 

The final session will focus on 

the national research labs, Sandia 

and Los Alamos. Rabbi Dr. Jack Schlacter, 

Robert Benjamin, and others 

will examine Jewish involvement in 

these institutions and how that has 

contributed to Jewish life in New 

Mexico. 

A Saturday reception from 5:00- 

7:00 p.m. will honor Naomi Sandweiss 

and her recent book, Jewish 

Albuquerque. The dinner speaker 

will be Sharon Niederman, winner of 

the 2011 Hurst Award and president 

of the New Mexico Press Women’s 

Association. She will draw from her 

experience in journalism to give a 

view of what being Jewish in New 

Mexico means in the present world. 

The conference will be held at 

the Doubletree Hotel in Albuquerque. 

A list of pre-and post-conference 

activities has been developed, 

including the JCC’s Book Fest talk by 

Steven Fried, author of Appetite for 

America. Other options include a 

self-guided tour of Jewish Albuquerque, 

visiting the Holocaust Museum, 

and more. 

For further information about the 

fall conference, go to the NMJHS 

website www.nmjhs.org, write to 

admin@nmjhs.org or call (505)348- 

4471. The registration deadline is 

October 10. 

Contact: 800.664.5646 or enroll 

online www.hadassah.org/100 

Price Valid January 1 - December 31, 2011 

(After December 31, 2011 membership will be $360.) 

New Mexico Crypto-Jewish Dialogue at Nahalat Shalom 

An advanced Kabbalah study and 

meditation group based on the Zohar 

will begin meeting at the Schechter 

Day School in Albuquerque in early 

October. 

The Zohar is the great classic of 

Kabbalistic literature. It is a collection 

of writings including commentary 

on the mystical aspects of the 

Torah. Participants will read from The 

Wisdom of the Zohar: An Anthology 

of Texts. Author Isaiah Tishby provides 

extensive introductions and 

explanations. 

The work should appeal to those 

who want to contemplate large sections 

of the Zohar in depth. Tishby 

arranged the material into a collection 

of more readily comprehendible 

topics that are further sub-divided 

into smaller texts. These smaller texts 

will be used as the point of departure 

for our work each week. 

Members of this lay-led group 

On Sunday, September 11 at 

2:30 p.m., Isabelle Medina Sandoval 

and Diana Bryer will lead 

a discussion about their 20 years 

of collaboration depicting authentic 

creative expression about the 

descendants of Crypto-Jews in New 

Mexico. 

Diana Bryer, accomplished artist 

known for her vibrant colors and 

borders, came to New Mexico in 

1976 from Los Angeles. A descendant 

of Eastern European Jews, 

Diana was drawn to the Jewish 

ambiance of New Mexico. From 

her home in Santa Cruz, she hones 

her artistic talents painting geography, 

nature and people. 

Isabelle’s family originates in the 

Mora Valley, and she is a descendant 

of Crypto-Jewish families. Her 

poetry and writing reflect her ties 

to northern New Mexico. Diana 

designed the book covers for Isabelle’s 

historical fiction books of 

Guardians of Hidden Traditions and 

the sequel, Crypto-Jewish Secrets. 

Isabelle and Diana will discuss their 

collaborations and creative endeavors 

particularly relating to Diana’s 

paintings on Rosa de Castilla, Tres 

Hermanicas, Coquetas, and future 

projects. The talk is co-sponsored 

by Congregation Nahalat Shalom 

and the New Mexico Historical 

Society. 

Wisdom of the Zohar: A New Study, Meditation Group 

will have the opportunity to facilitate 

sessions. However, volunteering 

to facilitate is not a requirement. 

There is an expectation of weekly 

attendance. 

If you are interested in participating 

or would like to learn more 

about this group, please contact 

Reuben Weisz at xyzohar@ymail. 

com (505) 239-3660, or Paula Amar 

Schwartz at amar@swcp.com (505) 

345-8308. 

The New Mexico 

Jewish Historical Society 

Wishes You a 

Happy & Historic New year 

RESOLVE TO JOIN NMJHS 

IN THE NEW YEAR 

WWW.NMJHS.ORG


UPCOMING 

EVENTS 

EVENTS 

HaMakom’s Jewish Film Series 

presents 

By Marcia Torobin 

HaMakom is kicking off the second 

season of its Jewish film series 

on September 18 with Ahead of 

Time, a documentary celebrating 

the 99-year-old journalist-extraordinaire, 

Ruth Gruber. 

With her love of adventure and 

fearlessness, Ruth Gruber defied tradition 

from the moment she became 

the world’s youngest PhD at the age 

of 20 in 1931. 

Ahead of Time tells Gruber’s remarkable 

journey, and the film is the 

directorial debut of noted cinematographer 

Bob Richman (My Architect, 

and An Inconvenient Truth). 

Gruber continued to make history 

throughout her trail-blazing career 

by becoming the first journalist 

to enter the Soviet Arctic in 1935. 

Chosen by Roosevelt, she escorted 

1,000 Holocaust refugees from 

Naples to New York in a secret wartime 

mission in 1944. 

She covered the heart-wrench- 

By Peter Weinreb 

2012 A Taste of Honey: Call for Course Proposals 

ing ordeal of the refugees aboard the 

ship Exodus 1947 with photographs 

that helped change the world. 

The film comes to Santa Fe after 

winning the 2011 Best Documentary 

Award at the Denver Jewish 

Film Festival, the Miami Jewish Film 

Festival and the Palm Beach Jewish 

Film Festival. The New York 

Times called the film “a graceful 

documentary portrait … that illustrates 

just how extraordinary (Ms. 

Gruber’s) life has been.” Diplomat 

Richard Holbrooke said of her: “You 

couldn’t even invent Ruth Gruber … 

not even in a movie.” 

HaMakom’s film series was started 

last year with the help of a grant 

from the Jewish Federation New 

Mexico. The series presents films 

about Jewish culture, history, religion, 

and the arts. Interviews with 

the filmmaker or others associated 

with the film follow each screening. 

Audience favorites last year included 

Yiddish Theater: A Love 

Story, The Life and Times of Hank 

It will be a decidedly New Year 

5772 for Congregation Albert, Rabbi 

Harry L. Rosenfeld and his wife, 

Michele L. Hope. Leading Yom 

Tov services for the first time in a 

new community, Rosenfeld notes, 

brings an extra dimension to the 

holidays. 

“Michele and I are very excited 

about our first High Holy Days at 

Congregation Albert and meeting 

more members of our new, extended 

family,” he said. “To me, a 

new year in a new congregation is 

an ultimate expression of the deep 

purpose of these Days of Awe – reflection 

on the past and a commitment 

to grow toward the future.” 

Rosenfeld and Cantor Barbara 

R. Finn will conduct more than a 

dozen distinct holiday services 

during the four weeks from September 

24 to October 20. While 

the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur 

morning services and the Kol 

Nidre service require a ticket for 

admission, the family services, the 

informal Oak Flats second day of 

Rosh Hashanah and the other holidays’ 

services do not. 

“We deliberately structure the 

family services and the Oak Flats 

service to be musical and very participatory. 

We want to encourage 

The ninth annual “A Taste of 

Honey” is scheduled for Sunday, February 

12, 2012. New ideas for topics 

and all presenters are encouraged to 

submit proposals through November 

4. A pdf proposal form may be 

downloaded from the JCC website 

www.jccabq.org and emailed to phyllisw@jccabq.org, 

faxed to (505) 275- 

1307, or mailed to the JCC, 5520 

Ruth Gruber in Alaska, 1941 

Greenberg, and The Port of Last Resort, 

all of which played to sold-out 

audiences. Continued support from 

the federation has helped make this 

year’s film series possible. 

Ahead of Time screens at the 

Center for Contemporary Arts (CCA) 

Studio in Santa Fe on September 18 

at 3:30 p.m, located at 1050 Old Pecos 

Trail. Advance ticket sale purchase 

is highly recommended. For 

tickets and more information, visit 

HaMakom’s web site at www.hamakomtheplace.org 

or call (505)992- 

1905. 

Truly a New Year at Congregation Albert 

Ahead of Time 

multiple generations to celebrate 

holidays together,” Finn commented. 

“Our Congregation Albert band 

will play at Oak Flats, and our 

youth group will have a role in the 

Havdalah that follows the Neilah 

service on Yom Kippur.” Moreover, 

these three community-oriented 

services take the awareness 

and attention span of younger participants 

into consideration. 

View the full schedule for 

S’lichot, Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat 

Shuvah, Kol Nidre, Yom Kippur, 

Sukkot, Simchat Torah and Shemini 

Atzeret at www.congregationalbert.org/worship/holidays/. 

Learn About the High Holidays with Comunity 

Rabbi Min Kantrowitz 

Each year, as the High Holidays 

approach, Rabbi Min Kantrowitz, 

community rabbi and director of 

the Jewish Family Service Community 

Chaplaincy Program, visits 

the JCC Wonderful Wednesday 

Seniors program to speak about 

the holidays. Though many who 

participate in the Wednesday program 

are Jewish, there are some 

who aren’t. This is an opportunity 

to learn about the traditions and 

customs associated with the High 

Holidays. No prior knowledge is 

assumed, and all individuals (irrespective 

of age) are welcome to 

attend. 

Come share your stories and 

memories or your questions. Apples 

and honey will be served, 

along with an explanation of their 

importance. The presentation will 

take place on September 14, from 

11 am – 12pm at the JCC, 5520 

Wyoming Blvd. NE. There is no 

cost to attend, but please call 348- 

4518 to make a reservation. 

Wyoming Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 

87109. For questions or further information, 

please contact Phyllis Wolf, 

JCC program director, at (505)348- 

4500. 

Cantor Paul L. DuBro 

Joins B’nai Israel for the 

High Holidays 

Guest Cantor 

Paul A. DuBro 

will be the hazzan 

at Congregation 

B’nai Israel’s 

High Holiday services, 

beginning 

Erev Rosh Hashanah, 

Wednesday, 

September 28, 

2011 at 8 p.m. 

A master of 

both synagogue 

music and operatic 

recitative, Cantor 

Paul DuBro 

joins the B’nai 

Israel Choir, Cantorial 

Soloist David Katz and 

Rabbi Arthur Flicker. 

Cantor Paul DuBro is a na- 

Cantor Paul A. DuBro 

tionally-recog- 

nized cantor, a 

member of the 

Cantors’ Assembly 

and the 

American Society 

of Jewish 

Music. He was 

the cantor at 

Shaare Zedek 

Synagogue in 

St. Louis for 

22 years and 

has appeared 

as soloist with 

the St. Louis 

Symphony, 

performed on 

National Public Radio, most recently, 

he was the cantor for a 

Passover Caribbean cruise. 

Temple Beth Shalom wishes you a New Year 

of health and good fortune and invites 

you to join us as we welcome 5772. 

Call 982-1376 for information. 

205 E. BarcElona road, Santa FE

10 The New Mexico Jewish Link A Se rv i c e o f t h e Je w i S h fe d e r At i o n o f ne w Me x i c o September 2011 

A New Fund 

Created 

Jewish Community Endowment 

Foundation of New Mexico 

Chair Erika Rimson signing an 

agreement with Jewish Family 

Service of New Mexico Executive 

Director Michael Gemme 

to create a JFS endowment fund 

with JCEF. 

All of us at the Link 

wish you a 

Happy New Year! 

Our Food Pantry Needs 

Your Help: A Message from 

Jewish Family Service 

You can’t open a newspaper 

or the internet without 

seeing something about the 

debt problems at the federal 

level. Unfortunately, all that 

bad news is affecting us 

here in New Mexico. Due 

to increasing budget cuts, 

many people in our community 

will go hungry without 

your help. We’re finding 

that many food pantries are 

closing their doors owing 

to the inability to keep up 

with increased demand and 

decreased funding. 

JFS just received notice 

that this year’s federal funding 

for the food pantry was cut to 

50% less than last year. 

We’ve also learned that 

federal funding for emergency 

food commodities is being 

drastically reduced, meaning 

less food available for purchase 

from places like Roadrunner 

Food Bank. Without 

this funding and fewer available 

commodities, our food 

pantry will be more dependent 

than ever on donations 

from those in our community 

who can help. 

JFS has been feeding families 

in need in our community 

since 1999, and will do 

everything we can to continue 

providing food for families 

that come to us for help. 

Food donations are always 

welcome, and since we can 

make your food dollars go 

significantly further by getting 

available commodities from 

Roadrunner Food Bank, and 

buying other needed commodities 

in bulk, monetary 

donations are even more 

welcome at this time. To contribute, 

go to www.jfsnm.org, 

call (505) 291-1818, or send 

a donation to JFS by mail, 

5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE, 

Albuquerque, NM 87109. 

On August 7, Creativity for Peace’s young leaders Aya Basheer 

(21, Palestinian living in Israel), Muna Sbouh (19, Palestinian from the 

West Bank), Zoey Roziner (19, Israeli), and Sivan Kedem (23, Israeli) 

spoke in Albuquerque about their peace-making efforts. 

Photo courtesy of Dottie Indyke


Professional Services 

Directory 

ACUPUNCTURE 

ALLERGY • IMMUNOLOGY • ASTHMA 

ARCHITECTS 

ART & FRAMING 

Diane Polasky, MA, DOM, Dipl. Ac., DAAPM 

Center for Holistic Health, 505-298-7371 

Acute & Chronic Disorders & Injuries 

9412 Indian School Rd. NE, 

Albuquerque 87112 

Bruce H. Feldman, M.D., 265-6782 

Board Certified in Allergy, Internal Med. 

Karen K. Nester, PA-C 

Amber L. West, PA-C 

Allergy, Immunology & Asthma Care 

Lee Gamelsky Architects P.C. 

Lee Gamelsky AIA, LEED AP 

Architecture • Planning • Interiors 

Residential • Retail • Medical • Office 

Sustainable • Inspiring Design 

Weems Galleries and Framing 

Always the Best Art – Always the Best 

Prices! Representing 200+ Artisans 

Montgomery & Louisiana 293-6133 

Plaza Don Luis – Old Town 764-0302 

ATTORNEYS 

Jon A. Feder 

Atkinson & Kelsey, P.A., 505-883-3070 

Cert. Specialist: Divorce & Family Law 

Trained collaborative divorce attorney 

Most experienced NM family law firm 

ATTORNEYS 

Jeffrey Diamond Law Firm 

Personal Injury, Social Security Disability 

Albuquerque Office: 881-6500 

Carlsbad, Roswell, Odessa, TX Offices: 

1-800-722—0927 

ATTORNEYS 

Jan B. Gilman-Tepper - 505-246-0500 

Representing select clients 

in complex family law matters 

Cert. Specialist: Divorce/Family Law 

Little, Gilman-Tepper & Batley, P.A. 

lgtfamilylaw.com 

ATTORNEYS 

Richard P. Jacobs 

881-4388 

Personal Injury, Automobile 

Accidents and Wrongful Death 

4004 Carlisle Blvd. NE 

Suite D, Albuquerque, NM 87107 

ATTORNEYS 

Mark S. Jaffe, 242-9311 

The Jaffe Law Firm 

320 Gold SW, Suite 1300 

Personal Injury, Civil Litigation, 

Consumer Rights 

ATTORNEYS 

Lynn Yael McKeever, Esq. 

Resolving and Preventing Problems 

Wills, Trusts, Estates, & LLCs 

www.lynnmckeever.com 

505-991-1948 

ATTORNEYS 

Deborah A. Peacock, P.E. 998-1501 

Peacock Myers, P.C. 

Intellectual Property Law Services 

Technology Commercialization 

201 Third Street NW, #1340, Albuquerque 

ATTORNEY 

Sanford H. Siegel 

Board Certified Specialist 

Divorce & Family Law 

505-884-0022 

www.sanfordsiegelfamilylaw.com 

BOOKKEEPING 

Le Rose Enterprises 

271-2760 

Full charge bookkeeping 

including payroll, 

Business or personal, Bonded 

BRIS 

Gwenn Robinson M.D. - Mohelet 

Certified by 

the Berit Mila 

Board of Reform Judaism 

821-2985 

CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS 

Jon Bell CPA MACCT “The Tax Maven” 

Tax preparation • Business consulting 

Incorporations • Reasonable, fixed fees 

Call for complimentary consultation 

jonbellcpa@gmail.com • 505-385-3535 

CLINICAL COUNSELOR 

DR. LINDA E. FRIEDMAN, L.P.C.C 

(505) 934-2453 

Therapeutic Services on a Sliding Scale include 

Assistance with Concerns Related to the Following: 

• Mental Health, Addiction/Substance Abuse Issues 

• Grief/Loss/Trauma/Relationships/Transitioning Concerns 

COUNSELORS • THERAPY 

Bonnie G. Miller, M.A. LPCC 

Counseling, Art Therapy, and Sandplay for 

Children, Adolescents and Adults 

Medicaid and most insurances accepted 

101 Hospital Loop, NE, Suite 215, ABQ 

505-270-9458 • bonniegmillerpc@gmail.com 

DECORATOR 

sandy schargel interiors 

• Makeovers - Using What You Own 

• Paint Consultations • Real Estate Staging 

480.6610 • sandy@schargelinteriors.com 

www.schargelinteriors.com 

DENTISTS 

Robert Lash, D.D.S., P.C. 

Practice Limited to Endodontics 

(Root Canal Therapy) 

10409 Montgomery Pkwy NE, Suite 100 

Albuquerque, 87111, 291-8630 

DENTISTS 

Rachelle Shaw, D.D.S., P.C. 

Pediatric Dentistry - Infants, Children & Teenagers 

4620 #C Jefferson Lane NE 


888-3520 

ELDERCARE SERVICES 

HANDYMAN 

HEALTH & BEAUTY 

HEALTHY LIVING/ORGANIZING 

Decades, LLC 

505-345-5529, 866-913-5742 

Medical Advocacy and Financial Management 

ASSESSMENTS/PLANNING/OVERSIGHT 

www.decadesgroup.com 

MIKE MENDEZ 

Carpenter - Cabinet Maker 

Handyman 

Remodeling - Repairs - Renovations 

Small Jobs Welcome 

884-4138 

Fat Buster. Lose 3-9 inches in 2 weeks. 

Zerona: ZERO PAIN ZERO RISK 

6 40 min. sessions. $1500. 

Compare at $3000-$4000. 

I know, because I did it myself. 

Janice F Moranz, MD • 505-880-1920 

Practical Support for Home or Office 

Vegetarian Chef, Teacher, Organizer 

Nutrition Counseling, Meal Planning 

Yoga, Fitness, Misc Projects 814-4900 

HOUSECLEANING 

HOUSEKEEPING COMPANION 

MEDICAL SPA 

OPTICAL 

Satisfaction Guaranteed • Regular Service or As Needed 

Call 881-8233 for a Free Estimate 

www.minimaidabq.com Since 1976 

Meeting the housekeeping needs of seniors. 

Trust us! 

Call Brian at 348-4483 for a free consultation 

Victor Mancha, M.D. 

Cosmetic Dermatology Services 

Paseo del Norte & Holbrook 

505-821-9630 www.alluraderm.com 

Muller Optical,Inc 

Full Service Eyewear 

9000 Menaul NE(Menaul at Moon) 296-8187 

Specializing in Complex Prescriptions 

Custom Glasses for Difficult Vision Problems 

PHYSICIANS 

Edward J. Atler M.D., 724-4300 

New Mexico Orthopaedics 

Sports Injuries, Arthritis, Arthroscopy, 

Joint Replacement, Fractures 

201 Cedar SE, Ste. 6600, Albuquerque 87106 

PHYSICIANS 

David Bernstein M.D. 

724-4300 

Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery 

New Mexico Orthopaedic Associates 

201 Cedar St. SE, Albuquerque, 87102 

PLUMBING & HEATING 

Steward’s Plumbing, Inc. 

293-3360 

“When Extra Care is Needed” 

All types of plumbing, heating, and sewer work 

www.stewardsplumbing.com/web 

PROSTHETIC • ORTHOPAIEDIC APPLIANCES 

Samuel Weisberg Prosthetics 

Ultralite, State-of-Art Prosthetics,Biomechanical Orthotics, 

Sports Related Braces, Custom Fabrication 

1018 Coal Ave. SE, ABQ, NM 87106 

248-0303 FAX 248-1611 

REAL ESTATE 

Pam Ashley 

505-345-2000 

Full service realty since 1973 

Ashley and Associates Ltd. 

217 Claremont NE – www.pamashley.com 

REAL ESTATE 

HERE’S TO YOUR NEXT DUNN DEAL 

(505) 980-2505 • (505) 828-1000 

www.MadelineDunn.com 

Madeline Sells 

NM Homes 

SENIOR HEALTHCARE SERVICES 

Hospice de la Luz 

505-217-2490 

Lynnette Wallner RN, Owner/Clinical Director 

Nurse owned, high quality end of life care. 

www.hospicedelaluz.com 

SOFTWARE 

Stone Design 

www.stone.com 

Stone works suite for the Mac 

Design, publish to web & print, bill 

Free upgrades “For Life!” 345-4800 

SPAS 

Betty’s Bath & Day Spa, 505-341-3456 

ABQ’s only soak, relaxation & wellness spa 

Offering massage, facials 

& restorative treatments & products. 

Instant on-line gift certificates available 

www.bettysbath.com 

VACUUM & SEWING 

Abbey Lane 

9800-6 Montgomery Blvd., 323-4465 

Quality Miele & American-made Riccar vacuums. 

Elite Baby Lock sewing machine dealer. 

Repairs and supplies for all brands. 

THERAPY 

BRENDA N. SUSMAN, LMFT 

3904 Carlisle, NE, Ste D 


Phone: 505 934-4120 

VALIDATION AND CHANGE 

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY 

For rates and information on how 

your business can join the 

professionals on these pages, 

contact Advertising Manager Anne 

Grollman at 505-348-4472 or email 

her at anne@jewishnewmexico.org


Precious Objects by Alicia Oltuski; Diamonds, 

Family, and Resilience 

By Diane J. Schmidt 

Alicia Oltuski’s Precious 

Objects, a Story 

of Diamonds, Family, 

and a Way of Life is an 

entertaining and illuminating 

story of the 

diamond trade, emanating 

from her experience 

as the daughter and 

granddaughter of Jewish 

diamond merchants. 

Oltuski, a 27-yearold 

journalist, is a gifted 

story teller, whose book 

resonates all the more 

because it is told from 

first-hand experience. 

In her college writing classes, 

Oltuski began scribing stories about 

her family and the secretive world 

of the diamond trade. With a professor’s 

encouragement, these writings 

evolved into a book-length insider’s 

look at the history of the diamond 

business, which is inextricably tied 

to the Jewish merchants who brought 

their expertise from Europe to New 

York City. 

Saturday, Sept 24 

Community Selichot Service at Congregation Albert, 

9am-10pm 3800 Louisiana NE, ABQ 87110. 

Details: www.congregationalbert.org; 505-883-1818 

Wednesday, Sept 28 

Erev Rosh Hashanah Service, 7:30-9pm 

Thursday, Sept 29 

Dawn Service at Volcano Day Use Area, Petroglyph 

National Monument, 6am 

Rosh Hashanah Children’s Service, 9-9:45am 

Rosh Hashanah Morning Service, 10am-1pm (childcare available) 

Vegetarian Kiddush & Potluck Lunch,1pm 

Tashlich on nearby acequia, 1:45pm (approx.) 

assemble in our courtyard 

Friday, Sept 30 

Hiking & Mikvah in Jemez Mountains for 2nd Day Rosh Hashanah 

(Meet in the lower parking lot of Battleship Rock Picnic Area at 10am, 

OR to carpool, meet in Nahalat Shalom parking lot at 8:30am.) 

Friday, Oct 7 

Kol Nidre Service, 7:30-9pm 

Saturday, Oct 8 

Yom Kippur Children’s Service, 9-9:45am 

Morning Yom Kippur Service, 10am-2pm (childcare available) 

Lay-led topical discussion/study, 4pm 

Yizkor and N’ilah, 5:30-7pm 

Break the Fast Communal Vegetarian Potluck, 7pm 

Everyone is welcome to join us for services and events. 

Our open congregation welcomes interfaith and adoptive families. 

Thus formed 

the worldrenowned 

“diamond district” 

on 47th 

Street, where an 

estimated 90% 

of all diamonds 

bought and sold 

in the United 

States change 

hands today. 

Historically, 

Jews were barred 

from the mercantile 

world in 

Europe, with the 

exception of the 

Jewelers Guild. 

Consequently, many Jews learned 

to cut and polish gems. There was 

added incentive for Jews to put their 

wealth in diamonds. 

As Oltuski expounds, “During 

the Spanish Inquisition and when 

pogroms broke out, Jews needed to 

leave quickly and pack light. Even 

when their old national coinage 

became useless, diamonds were still 

precious in any country.” She continues, 

“The diamond business was 

virtually a paperless world because 

written contracts were too dangerous. 

A man’s promise was safer than 

his signature, and, still to this day, 

trust is the most vital component of 

the trade.” 

The story of diamonds and the 

dealers who handle these precious 

objects becomes allegorical 

in Oltuski’s hands: the diamond, 

the hardest type of carbon formed 

under the greatest stress, is resilient, 

durable, and brilliant, comparable to 

the Jewish people. She concludes, 

acutely, that it is fitting “for a people 

who have faced obliteration so many 

times to make the most resilient material 

on earth their trademark commodity.” 

On the day in August when we 

spoke over the phone about her 

book and the enthusiastic reviews it 

was receiving, the Dow was plunging 

500 points. Naturally, I took the 

opportunity to ask if she thought that 

diamonds might be a good thing to 

invest in right now. Oltuski demurred. 

It wasn’t such a simple question to 

answer. 

Perhaps her best illustration of this 

point is the story of her own grandfather’s 

evolution as a trader. Drafted 

into the Russian army from a town 

on the border of Russia and Poland, 

Now is the 

best time to 

trim trees 

Opa Yankel was put to work on a 

commune in Siberia during WWII, 

helping to grow produce. 

When he and a friend were on 

a train returning to Moscow, they 

spotted a hill of salt left on a train platform. 

The enterprising Yankel quickly 

jumped off the train and poured “a 

whole world of salt down his pants 

and tied the cuffs tightly around his 

ankles with his shoelaces.” 

As they continued their journey 

they came to a salt-less village, where 

he traded the salt for tobacco. Soon, 

he sold the tobacco for rubles. At 

the end of the war, he landed in the 

Displaced Persons camp in Berlin, a 

world Oltuski describes as, “...filled 

with people who had lost everything, 

and so the price of things was fluid. 

After all, trade is what a man needs 

or wants at a particular instant.” 

There, he met a Berliner who had 

rough diamonds he wanted to sell. 

The man agreed to give Yankel one 

diamond on trust to see if he could 

sell it. Yankel had the dull stone polished, 

then he found a Greek who 

was willing to trade him his BMW 

sportscar for the diamond. 

Another man heard about the car 

and wanted it; he offered Yankel a 

thousand pairs of shoes in trade. In 

one day, Oltuski’s grandfather liquidated 

the entire quantity of shoes, 

ending up with a sack of money. 

When the German returned for 

his payment for the diamond, Yankel 

paid him, not with the money he’d 

acquired, but with food he’d gotten 

from the UNRRA: condensed milk, 

honey, and marmalade. 

From these early experiences, 

Opa Yankel had learned the market 

place rules of buying and selling and 

“came out of hell with diamonds in 

his pockets.” Now, sitting down to a 

Friday night dinner in America, surrounded 

by a family even larger than 

he had lost during the war in Europe, 

the story begins again, “A man came 

up to me in the camp and said, ‘Do 

you want to buy a diamond?’ Such 

a simple question, a variation of 

the question he and the men at the 

(Diamond) Club ask each other every 

day, and yet it has changed everything.” 

Oltuski ends her book by acknowledging 

that the process of writing her 

story has brought her a new appreciation 

of the diamond trade, as well as 

of the family secrets she never realized 

she had accumulated, until she 

began to write. 

Author Alicia Oltuski will speak at 

the JCC Book Fest luncheon on Wednesday, 

October 26 at 11:30 am. Tickets 

may be purchased on line at www. 

jccabq.org or by calling 348-4518. 

Non-member ticket rates are: 

$100 each or $300 for 3 or more and $18 each for students and 

Active-Duty Service Personnel 

For those electing to become members of Nahalat Shalom, 

by 12/31/2011, paid ticket costs will be applied to the annual 

pledge. For more information, please visit 

www.nahalatshalom.org or call 505-343-8227 

Services are held at Congregation Nahalat Shalom 

3606 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107 

(East side of Rio Grande between Candelaria and Griegos) 

Parking is limited. Please download the parking map from 

www.nahalatshalom.org to see authorized spaces. 

R Riverside______ 

“Affordable Dignity” 

Funeral Home 

Meeting the Needs of the Jewish Community 

Traditional Service $2695.00 

(includes Tahara Room, shroud, orthodox casket, stationary, candle, Sunday services) 

Charles M. Finegan Funeral Director/owner 225 San Mateo Blvd. NE 

James J. Edwards, CFSP, Senior Director Albuquerque, NM 87108 764-9663


Appetite for America 

by Stephen Fried 

Opens the 2011 JCC 

Book Fest 

By Diane J. Schmidt 

Both newcomers and long-time 

students of the history of the Southwest 

will be delighted to discover 

Appetite for America: Fred Harvey 

and the Business of Civilizing the 

Wild West, by Stephen Fried. 

Fred Harvey came to New York 

from England at 15 and worked his 

way up from washing dishes to creating 

the first restaurant and hotel 

chain across America, along the 

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe train 

line. In doing so, he and his heirs 

managed to shape a whole popularized 

culture of the romanticized 

West that New Mexicans take for 

granted today. 

While managing train ticket sales 

in Leavenworth, Kansas, Fred Harvey 

realized that hungry travelers had 

to leave the relative comfort of the 

Pullman and eat dismal quality food 

in a rush in train station establishments. 

The enterprising Harvey opened 

his first lunch counter, and quickly 

established his trademark good food, 

fast service, and a standard of excellence 

that would make his restaurants 

hugely successful. He was able to get 

fresh food delivered to his restaurants 

by refrigerated boxcars on the AT & 

SF. The restaurant of the recently 

remodeled La Posada in Winslow, 

Arizona reflects some of the glory 

of the early days, serving memorable 

meals unequaled for miles in any 

direction. La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe 

is also part of the Harvey legacy. 

Fried credits the Harvey dynasty 

with bringing millions of people to the 

Grand Canyon, and commercializing 

Native American jewelry. In particular, 

“a cigar-chomping German-Jewish 

immigrant” Harvey employee, 

Herman Schweizer, who ran the 

Harvey House in Gallup, induced 

Navajo craftspeople to produce 

quantities of Native jewelry and art 

for the growing numbers of travelers 

to the Southwest. Eventually, as 

Fried writes, “Schweizer became the 

driving force behind the powerful 

Harvey Indian art business.” 

At the Alvarado depot in Albuquerque, 

a Harvey employee named 

Mary Colter, a member of the Arts and 

Crafts Movement brought out from 

Minnesota, took the items that Native 

Americans were selling on train platforms 

and put them into a museum 

of her own inspiration. Another creation 

was an “Indian village,” where 

Native American employees hired 

through the Hubbell Trading Post 

were to get busy making things when 

trains were stopped at the station. 

Today, parts of the Harvey collections 

can be seen at the New Mexico 

History Museum and the Museum of 

International Folk Art in Santa Fe. 

Fried also tells the remarkable 

history of the Harvey Girls. Originally, 

the Harvey restaurants were 

staffed by African-American men, a 

workforce that had been established 

by George Pullman for his Pullman 

sleeping cars. But when a fight broke 

out among the men who worked at 

a Harvey restaurant, Harvey fired 

them all, and brought in single white 

women from Kansas and parts further 

east. 

This was the first real opportunity 

for many single women to travel 

away from home, with the possibility 

of find a husband out west. Part 

of the contract stated that they had 

to work at least six months before 

getting married. 

The Harvey hotels had an undeniable 

influence on New Mexico 

architecture. Charles Whittlesley, 

a protégé of architect Louis Sullivan, 

designed Albuquerque’s 

Alvarado terminal in the Mission 

Revival style. Mary Colter created 

an American vernacular style for 

the interiors. 

Sadly, despite protests, the 

Alvarado was torn down in 1970. 

The transportation center that exists 

today, built in 2002, mimics the 

Alvarado’s façade. 

The book is as good a read as a 

Harvey meal, includes an appendix 

of Harvey recipes, and is sparking 

a revival of Harvey interest. 

Author Stephen Fried will speak 

at the JCC Book Fest on Sunday, 

October 23 at 10:00 am. A Harvey 

House-inspired luncheon will 

follow at 11:30 am. Tickets may be 

purchased on line at www.jccabq. 

org or by calling 348-4518. 

Free Technology Offered to 

Those with Hearing Loss 

New Mexicans who are deaf 

or hard of hearing can now obtain 

amplified cordless phones or a visual 

alert system at no cost thanks to the 

New Mexico Commission for Deaf 

and Hard of Hearing (NMCDHH). 

The new phones amplify incoming 

sounds and remove unwanted 

and distracted noises, much like a 

hearing aid. They also boost outgoing 

speech up to 15 decibels, making 

communication much easier for 

people who have trouble hearing 

and speaking loudly. 

The visual alert system can 

monitor activity throughout a home, 

including doorbells, telephone and 

videophone calls, children’s cries 

or motion. Upon detection, bright 

flashing lights and large backlit icons 

alert users to the activity. 

New Mexico residents who are 

certified as having any level of hearing 

loss can obtain these resources by 

completing an application, providing 

a copy of a landline phone bill, 

a copy of an audiogram or hearing 

test and a copy of a driver’s license 

or state issued identification card. For 

more information, contact NMCDHH 

at 1-800-489-8536 or http://www. 

cdhh.state.nm.us/TEDP.aspx. 

A warm homelike community dedicated to maintaining 

individuals’ independence, dignity and respect while providing 

the best care in the business 

• Home Cooked, Nutrious Meals & Snacks 

• Professional Care Management 

• Nurse On Staff • Personlized Care Plans 

• 24 Hr Medication Assistance 

• High Staff to Resident Ratios 

• Activites & Musical Guests • Memory Care 

604 Gral Trevino Dr. SE., Rio Rancho, NM 87124 

High Holiday Services 

Congregation Bnai Israel 

High Holiday Schedule 2011 / 5772 

Selichot at Congregation Albert 

Saturday, September 24 

8:00 P.M ............. Community-wide 

Selichot program 

Rosh Hashanah 

Wednesday, September 28 

8:00 P.M ............. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service 

Thursday, September 29 

8:30 A.M ............ Morning Service 

11:00 A.M .......... Jr. Congregation Service 

11:30 A.M .......... Alternative Musaf Service 

(in the social hall) 

8:00 P.M. ........... Evening Service 

Friday, September 30 

8:30 A.M. ........... Morning Service 

Friday, September 30 

6:00 P.M. ............ Shabbat Shuvah Service 

Saturday, October 1 

9:00 A.M. ........... Shabbat Shuvah Service 

Kever Avot 

Sunday, October 2 

12:00 P.M. .......... Cemetery Service at Fairview 

New Location Opening 

Spring 2012 

L’Shana 

Tova! 

Please call for a personal tour of 

our community today 

(505) 715-9649 

Email- casadeshalom@q.com 

Yom Kippur 

Friday, October 7 

6:20 P.M. ............ Kol Nidre Service 

Saturday, October 8 

9:00 A.M. ........... Yom Kippur Service 

11:00 A.M. ......... Jr. Congregation Service 

5:20 P.M. ............ Minchah, Yizkor & 

Neilah Services 

7:10 P.M. ............ Havdalah and Shofar 

7:25 P.M. ............ Break-the-Fast 

Sukkot 

Thursday, October 13 

9:00 A.M. ........... Sukkot Service 


9:00 A.M. ........... Sukkot Service 

Wednesday, October 19 

7:00 A.M. ........... Hoshanna Rabah Service 

Thursday, October 20 

9:00 A.M. ........... Shemini Atzeret Service 

10:30 A.M. ......... Yizkor Service 

7:00 P.M. ............ Erev Simchat Torah Service 


9:00 A.M. ........... Simchat Torah Service 

Congregation B’nai Israel welcomes members, prospective members and the 

unaffiliated in our Jewish Community to attend our High Holiday services this year. 

We feel very strongly that every Jew should have a place to pray and experience the 

High Holidays. Prospective members and unaffiliated however, will need to have a 

ticket in order to attend. The cost of a ticket is $100 each. Ticket costs may be applied 

to a membership. Nobody with financial hardship will be turned away, but still must 

present a ticket. Please contact our synagogue office during regular business hours, 

(266-0155), prior to September 21st. to make arrangements. Free childcare will be 

provided for the High Holiday services.


Oppenheimer’s Two Great Loves (Part One) 

Our Pastrami Sandwich 

is loaded with a 

half pound of Pastrami! 

• We slice 

our authentic 

pastrami daily 

• Catering 

Available 

Let Us Adopt Your Orphaned Alarm System 

Alarm Monitoring from $19.45 mo. 

Why Pay More? 

We 

Service 

Most 

Brands 

Mention 

this ad 

for a 10% 

discount 

Two locations to serve you at 

6125 Montgomery NE, Albuquerque 

505-730-4507 

and Santa Fe at 

648 W. Alameda, Santa Fe 

505-316-6303 

Not valid with any other discounts or promotions 

7 Locations to Serve 

You and Your Loved Ones 

4310 Sara Rd. 

Rio Rancho, NM 87124 

892-9920 



884-1188 

2400 Southern Blvd. 

Rio Rancho, NM 87124 

891-9192 

• Installation 

Scheduled to 

Meet Your Needs 

• Batteries & Parts 

• 24 Hour UL Listed 

Monitoring 

• Security Television 

– Covert 

• Access Controls 

– Fire 

• Central Vacuum 

Systems 

• Intercom Systems 

Free On-Site Estimates or Visit Our Showroom 

881-0001 

By Dorothy Corner Amsden 

The next time you visit Los 

Alamos, stop by the south side of 

Fuller Lodge to admire two new 

statues that were dedicated on May 

19. You can’t miss them as you walk 

along Central Avenue. J. Robert 

Oppenheimer and General Leslie 

R. Groves, life size, stand side by 

side, cast for posterity in bronze, the 

work of Santa Fe artist and sculptor 

Susanne Vertel. 

Together, the two men created 

an army post and scientific laboratory 

in Los Alamos to host the topsecret 

program to end World War II. 

General Groves was put in command 

of the entire Manhattan Project, of 

which Los Alamos was but one of 

several important sites. He handpicked 

the controversial physics professor 

from Berkeley, Robert Oppenheimer, 

to lead the scientific effort. 

In turn, Oppenheimer recruited the 

leading scientists of the time to work 

on the project. 

Oppenheimer is as revered today 

717 Stover Ave. SW 


243-5222 

7601 Wyoming Blvd. NE 


821-0010 

9420 Fourth St. NW 


898-3160 

1100 Coal Ave. SE 


842-8800 

Locations also available in Socorro, Gallup and Farmington 

Dedicated room for Traditional Jewish ritual 

available at our Wyoming location 

Free Monitoring 

Hook-Ups & 

Switch Overs! 

www.thealarmstore.com 


(Across from Walmart) 

License # 27136 

Bonded & Insured 

Locally owned since 1987 

Showroom Hours: Mon-Fri 9-6 and Sat 10-3 

in Los Alamos as he was in 1942, 

when he led the initiative to develop 

“the gadget,” as the atom bomb 

was referred to at the time because 

of security restrictions. He was a 

natural leader who commanded 

respect and allegiance from all who 

worked with him for his brilliance, 

his wit, and his humanity. 

Los Alamos old-timers are unable 

to forgive Edward Teller, a Hungarian 

Jew who worked with Oppenheimer 

in Los Alamos during World 

War II, for testifying before Congress 

after the war that Oppenheimer was 

a security risk, thereby destroying 

Oppenheimer’s career. 

Teller was a brilliant scientist in 

his own right who broke away from 

Los Alamos after the war to create 

Lawrence Livermore Scientific Laboratory 

in California. I remember 

seeing him once at the Los Alamos 

airport early one morning in the 

1980s, a lonely old man, waiting 

for a commuter flight to Albuquerque, 

shunned by the Los Alamos scientists 

waiting for the same flight. 

You will find no statues of Teller in 

Los Alamos. 

Born in New York on April 22, 

1904, to a wealthy, educated family 

with German-Jewish roots, Robert 

Oppenheimer’s genius manifested 

itself early with his interests in mineralogy, 

poetry, and biology. He and 

his younger brother Frank attended 

a private school in New York run 

by the Ethical Culture Society 

where Robert studied mathematics, 

physics, chemistry, history, learned 

Greek, Latin, and French, and honed 

his literary interests. He also found 

an outlet in hiking, rock-collecting, 

and sailing. 

The Oppenheimer family made 

numerous trips to Germany to see 

family during the years that Robert 

and Frank were growing up. In 1922, 

Robert made a summer trip to New 

Mexico, visiting the family of one 

of his schoolmates and exploring 

the Pecos wilderness and the Jémez 

mountains on horseback. 

On one trip, they stopped at the 

Los Alamos Ranch School where 

twenty-five boys from affluent families 

studied and roughed it in the 

ponderosa forests. Oppenheimer 

returned to New Mexico a number 

of times and ended up buying property 

with a cabin in the Pecos where 

he would return for personal renewal 

over the years. 

Socially awkward as an adolescent, 

sensitive, and insecure in 

his Jewishness, he found himself 

accepted among his new friends in 

New Mexico and began to develop 

social skills that would serve him well 

later in his professional career. 

In the fall of 1922, Oppenheimer 

enrolled at Harvard where he studied 

chemistry, physics, and literature and 

formed a few deep friendships. That 

fall, the university decided to restrict 

the number of Jewish students that it 

admitted, which at the time was 21% 

of the student body. He graduated 

summa cum laude in June 1925 with 

a degree in chemistry, then spent 

August in New Mexico. 

Physics was really what he wanted 

to study with Ernest Rutherford at 

Cambridge University in England, 

but he was rejected. Instead, he went 

to Cavendish Laboratory to study 

with J. J. Thomson, who had won 

the 1906 Novel Prize in physics. His 

year in England would introduce him 

to some of the top names in physics 

but prove a difficult experience for 

the still immature 21-year-old, who 

became more and more depressed. 

A vacation in Corsica with friends 

the next summer helped pull him 

out of his depression. 

He returned to Cambridge but 

despaired of ever being an experimentalist. 

One day, he met Niels 

Bohr, the Danish physicist, in Rutherford’s 

office. Bohr’s mother came 

from a Jewish banking family. Nineteen 

years older than Oppenheimer, 

Bohr became a role model and 

inspired Oppenheimer to become 

a theoretical physicist. 

In 1922, Bohr won the Nobel 

Prize for a theoretical model of 

atomic structure that was a breakthrough 

in early quantum mechanics. 

He would be spirited out of 

Denmark during World War II and 

work under Oppenheimer’s direction 

in Los Alamos during the Manhattan 

Project. 

In the spring of 1926, Oppenheimer 

went to study at the University 

of Göttingen, the European 

center of theoretical physics. There 

he met some of the leading scientists 

of the day, some who would 

work with him during the Manhattan 

Project, others who would serve 

German interests. 

Fluent in German, he found his 

stride in his studies and social life. 

He was regarded highly by his professors 

and fellow students. He still 

made time to read French literature 

and write poetry. A year later, he was 

awarded a doctorate. 

Homesick, he returned to Harvard 

for a one-semester post-doctoral fellowship, 

then accepted a teaching 

position at the California Institute 

of Technology in January 1927. In 

1928, he took a year off to improve 

his mathematics in the Netherlands 

and Switzerland, where he studied 

with some of the top scientists of 

his day, including Isidor Rabi, who 

became a close friend. 

Oppenheimer’s health was never 

robust. He smoked incessantly and 

suffered all his life from colitis. He 

had a mild case of tuberculosis while 

he was in Switzerland and had to 

rest from his frantic pace for six 

weeks before he could return to his 

studies. 

Oppenheimer left Zurich in June 

1929 for America. He spent a good 

part of that summer at his ranch in 

New Mexico with family and friends 

hiking and riding horseback. He 

wrote to a friend: “My two great 

loves are physics and New Mexico. 

It’s a pity they can’t be combined” 

[American Prometheus, p. 81]. 

In mid-August, Oppenheimer 

drove to the University of California 

at Berkeley, where he had 

accepted a double appointment 

with Caltech. He had prepared lectures 

for graduate students; instead 

he found himself facing undergraduates 

who had little grasp of quantum 

theory. It took a few years, but eventually 

he became a skilled lecturer 

who patiently helped his students 

understand the difficult material. His 

Berkeley students came to call him 

Oppie. 

Before long, Berkeley, which had 

only offered applied physics courses, 

became the Mecca of theoretical 

physics. Graduate students from all 

over the country came to study with 

Oppenheimer and the experimental 

physicist Ernest Orlando Lawrence, 

who would go on to invent the cyclotron, 

a proton accelerator. The two 

men became close friends. 

Oppenheimer’s work was insightful. 

He was at the forefront of his 

field, leaving his colleagues to work 

out the details of his calculations. 

Some of his most original work was 

done in the late 1930s on neutron 

stars and black holes, which would 

only be taken up years later when 

technical advances made their study 

possible. Brilliant though he was, 

he never won a Nobel Prize, yet his 

command of physics was extraordinary. 

His social life blossomed at 

Berkeley. He learned to charm his 

acquaintances with his conversation 

and wit, his appearance, voice, 

and manners. He had many friends 

among the professors and students, 

some of whom were members of 

the Communist Party. Indeed, his 

wife Kitty was a member. Although 

Oppenheimer never joined the organization, 

his friendships would later 

come back to bite him during the 

McCarthy Era in the mid-1950s. 

… to be continued next month.


You Are What You Are: A Yiddish Parable 

Retold by Rich Lieberman 

Many, many years ago, my grandmother 

told me this story. Of course, 

it was part in Yiddish, and part English. 

However back then everyone’s 

grandparents, and/or parents were 

from Europe, so, Yiddish it was. I had 

to ask my mother, who was very fluent 

in Yiddish to help me with some 

of the rough spots. Every story has 

a moral and this one was no exception. 

The 

deadline for 

submissions to 

the October 

issue of 

the Link is 

September 15 

In a small shtetl, somewhere in 

the Pale of Russia....there was a village, 

populated mostly with Jews. 

This was typical for the times. At 

one time in history, the king of the 

province, declared that, “all Jews 

must abandon their religion, their 

ways, and customs, and switch to 

the King’s way of living, religion 

and doings.” He ordered the Rabbi 

and the elders to his council, and 

told them of his intent. The Rabbi 

and his group were in shock. They 

told him that they would have to go 

back to their village, and talk to their 

people, knowing full well what the 

answer would be; needless to say, 

they were grief stricken. 

Within two days, they were summoned 

back to the King’s chambers. 

The King demanded their answer, 

and when they told him no, they 

were all imprisoned in a dungeon, 

and were told they would remain 

there until they changed their minds. 

So, there they sat, the Rabbi, and his 

group of pious Jews. 

The townspeople tried to visit 

them and bring food, but they were 

turned back, and went home with 

great fear. As time went on, the Rabbi 

and his group kept praying to God 

for a solution to their problem. The 

Rabbi had a drop of snuff left in his 

snuff box - it would be his last dip 

and he tried to enjoy it, but could 

not. 

When he finished, he put the 

empty box in his vest pocket, as was 

his habit. 

The group discussed all the ways 

of getting themselves out of this predicament. 

As the Rabbi kept praying 

and thinking, he noticed a small 

mouse running around the floor, and 

several times the mouse jumped up 

on him. He kept shooing it away, 

however the more he did, the more 

the mouse kept jumping on him. 

Finally, after many times, the Rabbi 

grabbed it and put it in his snuff box. 

He felt this must be a sign from God. 

He closed the box and put it back in 

his pocket. Over the next couple of 

days, he would feed the mouse some 

crumbs, from his own meager food 

ration. As time went by, he lost track 

of the mouse’s significance, but kept 

feeding him. 

Day after day, the King would 

talk to the Rabbi, trying to make him 

see his point. The Rabbi refused to 

bargain with him. He told the King, 

time and time again, that they could 

not do what was asked of them. 

A message was sent to the dungeon 

that the Rabbi and his group 

were to come to dinner that very 

evening to dine with the King and 

his close ones. The Rabbi was confused 

by the offering, and began to 

wonder what plan the King had in 

store for them. 

The banquet hall was set up with 

one very long table, with the finest 

of plates, bowls and silver. They entered 

the room and were amazed at 

the richness that was laid out before 

them. They were escorted to their 

seats. The King made some brief remarks, 

but it always came back to 

the reason that they were all there: 

“Make the Jews change.” Stop believing 

in their God, disavow the Torah, 

close their Shul, abandon their 

ways. 

The Rabbi was asked to state his 

case. He rose to his feet, and said 

that there was no way that he or his 

people could change anything about 

their lives. This was their covenant 

with the Almighty. 

The King was very annoyed by 

his statement, and said he would 

make them understand what he 

wanted. And with that, the King ordered 

dinner to be served. However 

from the Board and Staff 

of the JCC! 

Wishing 

the Jewish 

Community 

a Happy 

New Year! 

before the meal was served, again 

the King stood, and said, if the Rabbi 

could show him, or tell him, why the 

Jews could not conform and abide 

by the new ways, perhaps he would 

lift the decree. 

The Rabbi and his group looked 

at each other, and knew this was it; if 

they didn’t do the convincing, their 

fate was sealed. Then, with great 

bravado, the doors swung open, and 

out came the food, served on silver 

platters. The servers, however, were 

cats dressed in tuxedos, walking upright 

on their hind legs. They started 

to serve soup and rolls, very proper 

like, with skilled style. 

The King rose to his feet, and 

said to the Rabbi, “See Rabbi, their 

whole lifestyle has been changed, 

and I trained them. What do you 

have to say now? Your freedom and 

that of your people are at hand.” 

The Rabbi looked at his fellow 

Jews and they all had fear in their 

eyes, knowing that this was impossible 

to get around, and soon they 

would have to face the fact that life 

would never be the same. 

As the cats continued to serve the 

food, and doing a great job of it, the 

WHOPPORTUNITY! 

10400 San Antonio Dr NE 


Attention home-based artists, 

entrepreneurs, telecommuters, or 

those needing accessory 

living quarters with 

handicapped access! 

Separate 595 sf studio/casita/ 

guest house. Prominent 

location in affluent area! 

5 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 

2 three quarter baths, bright open 

floorplan with views, oversized 3 car 

garage on fenced .55 acre lot. 

Well priced @ $499,500 MLS# 713536 

VIRTUAL TOUR ONLINE 

Rabbi stood up to speak to the King, 

and just as he was about to talk, he 

thought of the mouse in his snuff 

box. He reached into his pocket and 

took it out, and opened the lid. He 

took the mouse out, and started to 

yell, “CATS! CATS! CATS!” and with 

that, he put the mouse on the floor, 

and cats threw their trays and food 

up in the air, and went from their 

hind legs, down to all fours, chasing 

the mouse all over the dining hall. 

It was the sign that they had 

prayed for, God answered their 

prayers. 

The Rabbi looked toward the 

King, and without saying a word, 

the King looked at the Rabbi, and 

said “Rabbi, I respect you, as a man 

of God, and I now see what you 

have meant. You are what you are, 

and I understand now you are what 

you are, and I also see now, how 

your people have lasted so long. 

You have my word to you, that you 

and your people will now have 

your religion, and your house of 

worship and all that you need. You 

have taught me a lesson, Rabbi. You 

are all free, go with my blessings.” 

The Rabbi and the King shook 

hands, and they both went their 

separate ways. 

As you can see, you are what 

you are…and nothing can change 

that. 

This story has stayed with me 

all these years, and it is still a very 

valued one. Thank you for allowing 

me to share this with you! 

TEMPLE 

BETH EL 

OF 

LAS CRUCES 

OURS IS A DIVERSE 

AND GROWING 

JEWISH COMMUNITY 

L’shanah tovah 

tikatev v’taihatem 

from all of us at 

Temple Beth-El 

Check our website 

for our High Holiday 

Services schedule 

WWW.TBELC.ORG 

3980 SONOMA SPRINGS AVE. 

575-524-3380 

RABBI 

LAWRENCE P. KAROL 

MEMBER OF UNION FOR REFORM JUDAISM


We Love What You Do! Holocaust 

Museum Volunteers Thanked 

By Lyn Berner 

Volunteers of the Holocaust 

& Intolerance Museum of 

New Mexico were honored at 

a brunch in the home of David 

and Raya Kovensky on July 24. 

Two of the VIPs were singled 

out for special recognition. Andrew 

Lipman, a board member 

since the museum’s inception, 

recently stepped down after 

many years as president; he remains 

on the board. Rudi Florian 

served as a docent twice 

a week from June 2001 to June 

2011. He and his wife plan to 

move to Colorado. 

All volunteers and board 

members in attendance received 

framed certificates proclaiming, 

“We love what you 

do!” These individuals have 

been the backbone of the museum’s 

outreach program, fulfilling 

the mission to combat 

hate and intolerance and promote 

understanding through 

education. In 2010, they dedicated 

2,500 hours to keep the 

museum open on a regular 

basis. 

Located at 616 Central 

Avenue SW, Albuquerque, 

the museum is open Tuesday 

through Saturday from 11 a.m. 

to 3:30 p.m. There is no charge 

for admission; donations are 

accepted. Join these extraordinary 

folks, and become a volunteer. 

The need for volunteers 

is constant. Call Lyn Berner at 

247-0606. 

Volunteers of the Holocaust 

and Intolerance Museum of 

New Mexico and their guests attended 

a special brunch on July 

24 in the home of David and 

Raya Kovensky. 

Photo courtesy of 

Kris Florian 

CONGREGATIONS 

Chabad of New Mexico 

Traditional, Rabbi Chaim Schmukler 

4000 San Pedro NE, 87109 880-1181, 

www.chabadnm.org. 

Chavurat Hamidbar 

The Fellowship of the Desert 

Traditional/Egalitarian, 505-345-0296 

www.chavurahabq.org 

Congregation Albert 

Reform, Rabbi Howard A. Kosovske 

Cantor Barbara Finn 

3800 Louisiana NE, 87110 883-1818, 

www.congregationalbert.org 

Congregation B’nai Israel 

Conservative, Rabbi Arthur Flicker 

4401 Indian School NE, 87110 

266-0155, e-mail: bnai@cybermesa.com 

www.bnaiisrael-nm.org 

Congregation Nahalat Shalom 

Jewish Renewal/Independent 

Rabbi Deborah Brin 

Cantorial Soloist Beth Cohen 

3606 Rio Grande Blvd. NW, 87107343-8227 

www.nahalatshalom.org. 

Sephardic New Mexico 

In cooperation with the Institute for Jewish 

Ideas and Ideals, NYC, a cultural organization 

supportingdiversity in the Jewish community. 

Advising Rabbi, M.D. Angel Hazzan, 

David Ritch de Herrera 

P.O. Box 37518, Albuquerque, NM 87176 

505-884-4556; e-mail: info@SephardicNM.org 

www.SephardicNM.org 

Rio Rancho Jewish Center 

Conservative 

2009 Grande Blvd., Rio Rancho, NM - 892-8511 

Temple Beth-El of Carlsbad 

1st and 3rd Fridays, Reform Services, 7 p.m. 

1002 North Pate Street, Carlsbad, NM 88220 

575-885-3699; 575-887-1229 

C-Deep: Center for Devotional 

Energy and Ecstatic Practice 

Rabbi Shefa Gold 

P.O. Box 430, Jemez Springs, NM 87025 

505-829-4069, shefa@windstream.net 

www.rabbishefagold.com 

Temple Beth-El 

Rabbi Paul Citrin 

3980 Sonoma Springs Ave., Las Cruces, NM 88011 

575-524-3380 575-521-8111 (fax) 

e-mail: admin@tbelc.org 

www.tbelc.org 

Jewish Community of Las Vegas 

c/o Marshall Poole 

P.O. Box 970, Las Vegas, NM 87701 

505-425-5549, mpoole@usa.net 

www.lvjewish.org 

Los Alamos Jewish Center 

Unaffiliated, Egalitarian 

Rabbi Jack Shlachter 

2400 Canyon Rd., Los Alamos, NM 87544 

505-662-2140 

B’nai Israel of Roswell 

712 N. Washington 

P.O. Box 1153, Roswell, NM 88203 

575-625-9883, 575-622-5814 

Chabad Jewish Center Of Santa Fe 

Traditional 

Rabbi Berel Levertov 

242 W. San Mateo, Santa Fe, NM 87505 

505-983-2000 

www.chabadsantafe.com 

Chavurah Kol HaLev 

Renewal, Andy Gold - maggid 

205 E. Barcelona Rd., upper sanctuary 

Santa Fe, NM 87505, 

505-982-5768, Santa Fe - 247-3797, Alb. 

Congregation Beit Tikva 

Traditional Reform , Rabbi Martin Levy 

P.O. Box 24094, Santa Fe 87502 

2230 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, 87505 

505-820-2991 

www.beittikva.info 

HaMakom 

The Place for Passionate and Progressive Judaism 

Rabbi Malka Drucker, Hazzan Cindy Freedman 

Services and classes at St. Bede’s Episcopal Church 

1601 St. Francis Dr., Santa Fe, NM 

505-992-1905 

www.hamakomtheplace.org 

Temple Beth Shalom 

Reform, Rabbi Marvin Schwab 

205 E. Barcelona Rd. Santa Fe, 87505 

505-982-1376, 505-983-7446 - fax 

e-mail:info@sftbs.org; 

www.sftbs.org 

Kol BeRamah Torah 

Learning Co-op of Santa Fe 

551 W. Cordova Rd., Suite F 

505-603-7972, email@kolberamah.org 

www.kolberamah.org 

B’nai Shalom Havurah 

P.O. Box 161, Taos, NM 87571 

505-737-2878 

Chabad of Taos 

Rabbi Eli Kaminetzky 

208 #C Paseo del Canon, Taos, NM 87571 

575-751-1323 

www.jewishtaos.com 

Taos Jewish Center 

1335 Gusdorf Road, Suite R, 

Taos, NM 87571, 505-758-8615, 

e-mail: tjc@newmex.com, 

www.taosjewishcenter.org 

Congregation Har Shalom 

Serving the Four Corners 

2537 CR 203, P.O. Box 9199, Durango, CO 81302 

970-375-0613 

www.harshalomdurango.org. 

Temple Aaron 

505-445-9026/505-449-9492 

Serves NE New Mexico & SE Colorado, 

Corner of Third & Maple, 

Trinidad, CO


Alexander & Jacob Ellis’ 

Journey to Israel 

By Alexander Ellis 

Thanks to many grants and scholarships, 

including a very generous 

amount from the Jewish Federation 

of New Mexico, I made an incredible 

ma’asa, or journey, to the Land 

of Israel. My name is Alexander 

Ellis, and my experience in Israel 

was nothing less than a life-changing 

one. On the Eisendrath International 

Exchange (EIE) program, I 

lived and learned in Israel for four 

breath-taking months. It is of great 

importance that I share with readers 

just a glimpse of my beautiful adventure 

to the Jewish homeland. 

My brother, Jacob, and I flew to 

Israel, with about 80 other teenagers 

our age in January of this year. 

We unpacked our bags in the Hotel 

Belmont in Kibbutz Tzuba, just 

outside of Jerusalem. We were split 

up into our classes, and started our 

second semester of what was our 

Junior year. 

For about four days out of the 

school week, we spent 3 hours learning 

about Jewish history, 2 and a half 

hours in our respective Hebrew level 

classes, and 40 minutes each for the 

other classes like English, math and 

science. On the days that we didn’t 

go to our physical classroom for 

Jewish history, we took tiyulim, 

or trips, all over Israel. 

When I was asked in an 

interview why I wanted to go 

to school in Israel, I said, “In 

America, you learn about the 

history through mere pictures, 

but on EIE, you can be the one 

to take the pictures.” And it was 

just that. We took everything in 

about the history of Judaism and 

Israel by standing where history 

took place. I never have seen so 

much as I did there. 

Besides the constant trips that 

either would take half a day or a 

full day of learning, there were 

four major trips that really made 

the experience so incredible. 

These trips, which were about a 

week each, were very fulfilling. 

Our first trip was a hike to the top 

of Masada. We, as a unit, climbed 

the mountain in the south at 4 am to 

reach the top at sunrise. We stayed 

there and learned all day about 

what happened there, and the riveting 

story of the people there. Afterwards 

we all went to the Dead Sea 

and truly started to become a closer 

group. 

The second trip was to Poland in 

March. Prior to making this journey, 

we learned a little bit about the 

Shoah. There, we delved into the 

subject like I have never before. We 

saw things that will forever scar me, 

but I believe that they have helped 

me grow as an upcoming adult. 

The way they organized these 

trips were also very well planned 

out. There is nothing more meaningful 

then the flight from Poland, 

where the Jewish population was 

almost completely destroyed, to 

the Land of Israel, where the Jewish 

people fought to rebuild after 2,000 

years of exile. 

The only thing that could come 

close to that trek is possibly Gadna 

- our one week of basic training for 

the Israeli army. There, not only did 

we see what it is like to be an Israeli 

going into the army, but we learned 

extensively about the importance of 

the IDF. This was a very eye-opening 

hands on experience, which was 

both challenging and fun. 

Almost immediately after this 

trip, we, now a family of 80+, did 

a hike from Yam l’ Yam, from Sea 

to Sea, together we hiked from the 

northeast to the southwest of Israel. 

All we had were backpacks with 

some minimal supplies. We camped 

out, made closer bonds, and saw the 

everlasting beauty of Israel. This five 

day journey, of course, was after a 

beautiful time spent sleeping in a 

Bedouin tent, drinking tea and riding 

camels. We constantly were living 

an adventure. 

Besides these incredible 

tiyulim that I am so gratef 

u l t o h a v e l i v e d t h r o u g h , I m a d e 

life-long friends in this program. I 

keep in touch with my new family, 

including the incredible staff that 

made the program possible. In fact, 

in just a couple of weeks, we are all 

having a reunion in Arizona. Going 

to Israel was an unforgettable experience 

with great memories, people, 

and sights. The knowledge I have 

gained will never be lost, and nor 

will the desire to return. 

Brothers Alexander and Jacob 

Ellis at Masada 

By Jacob Ellis 

After months of working, calling, 

and writing, I stepped on the plane. 

Just two weeks earlier, I received 

enough money to send myself on 

NFTY EIE High School in Israel. 

EIE is a four-month program in 

which I spent a semester in Israel, 

taking normal high school classes as 

well as Jewish history and Hebrew. 

I traveled extensively throughout 

Israel, learning about our history 

from Biblical times until present 

day. 

After a long flight, we drove 

down through the Judean Hills to 

where we would be calling home 

for the next four months, Kibbutz 

Tzuba. Eighty-two eager, confused, 

and tired students walked into the 

lobby. Our principal, Baruch Krauss, 

greeted us. We were told that we 

were not tourists, instead we were 

pilgrims on a journey in the Land 

of Israel. We all recited the Shehekianu, 

a prayer for new things and 

new experiences. 

During the next few days, we 

became oriented into our new surroundings. 

We learned about our 

classes, our teachers, etc. It was then 

that we were placed into our Kitot, 

our Jewish history classes. This was 

the highlight of the program. 

On every field trip, and 3 hours 

a day during school, we were with 

our kitah (class). I was put into 

Kitat Arbel, my teacher was Ariella 

Kronish. Har Arbel is a mountain 

in the Galilee region of Israel, and 

Ariella explained to us that it is a 

very clear representation of our 

class. It is a tough climb, but very 

rewarding. Kitat Arbel helped me 

learn everything that I surrounded 

myself in. 

We all had three hours of 

Jewish history a day, and two hours 

of Hebrew, as well as all of our 

general education classes. When 

we were not in school, we traveled 

throughout the country with 

our kitot (classes) learning about a 

certain time period, and how the 

specific area that we were in played 

a part. We took notes in these historical 

places; we hiked rain or shine 

to learn about our history, our land, 

and our people. We averaged about 

four days of school, two field trips (or 

tiyulim), and one community service 

project a week. 

I became deeply involved in 

my learning. I was fascinated with 

the history and the land. I developed 

a passion for Israel, and learning 

more and more about it and our 

people while traveling throughout 

the country intensified my interest. 

Two months into the program, 

we were studying the Shoah, the 

Holocaust. In March, we traveled 

to Poland. We traveled throughout 

the country, and studied the Holocaust 

as well as the Jewish community 

in Eastern Europe. We visited 

two death camps camps, Majdanek 

and Auschwitz II (Birkenau). We 

also visited Auschwitz I. We visited 

the cities of Krakow, Lublin, and 

Warsaw. Throughout the trip, the 

most touching places we visited 

were the Shtetl of Tikocin, and 

where the entire community was 

murdered, the Lepochova forest. 

This trip will always remain in my 

memory, and it helped to solidify 

a new ambition of mine, to make 

Aliyah and join the Israeli Defense 

Force. Coming from Israel to Poland 

was meaningful, but making the trip 

from Poland back to our homeland 

gave me a feeling of incredible 

pride and triumph. 

My passion for Israel grew into a 

desire to join the IDF, and learning 

about how our present state came to 

be helped me to learn about what I 

now want to be a part of. All in all, 

EIE was an incredible life changing 

experience.


Celebrate the High Holidays with 

Chavurat Hamidbar 

The Fellowship of the Desert 

High Holiday Services 

Services are free and open to the public. 

No tickets or reservations are needed. 

All services take place at the UNM Alumni Memorial Chapel, which 

is on campus northeast of University Blvd. and Martin Luther King Jr. 

Ave. (just east of the Maxwell Museum). See unm.edu/campusmap. 

Also see unm.edu/parking for information on parking availability and 

restrictions. Chavurat Hamidbar is not able to assist 

non-members with parking. 

Childcare will be provided for all services. 

Rosh Hashanah 

Wed., Sept. 28 6:30 pm Erev Rosh Hashanah Service 

Thurs., Sept. 29 9:30 am Morning Service 

11:00 am Children’s Service 

Tashlich following Musaf at the Duck 

Pond, just east of the UNM Alumni Chapel, 

at approximately 1:30 pm 

Fri., Sept. 30 9:30 am Morning Service 

Yom Kippur 

Fri., Oct. 7 6:30 pm Kol Nidrei 

Sat., Oct. 8 9:30 am Morning Service 

11:00 am Children’s Service 

5:15 pm Mincha/Neilah (ends 7:15 pm) 

Attention Jewish Teens: 

BBYO Wants You! 

By Shea Fallick 

In December 2009, I went to the 

Hanukah Festival at the JCC. It was 

pretty ordinary at first, but then a kid 

walked up to me and started talking 

about this Jewish youth group called 

BBYO (B’nai B’rith Youth Organization). 

At first, I wasn’t really interested, 

but after a lot of Jewish guilt 

from my mother, I went to an event. 

The moment I walked in, one of 

the BBYO kids pulled me over and 

started talking. I was immediately 

struck by how nice he - and everyone 

else - was. I had never really experienced 

a group of kids like this before. 

Also, the event was a lot of fun! I 

decided to go to another one. After 

two or three events, I was hooked, 

and became a member. After about 

a year in BBYO, I ran for the AZA 

(Aleph Zadik Aleph, the male chapter 

of BBYO) Board, and I now serve as 

the membership director of the New 

Mexico AZA chapter. 

I’m excited about being membership 

director because I want to share 

the awesome experiences I’ve had 

with other Jewish kids. There are a 

number of things that make BBYO 

particularly special. First, kids lead 

the organization. This makes our 

events extremely fun, because we 

know what other teens like to do! 

Also, it teaches us responsibility. 

Another great thing about BBYO 

is that it is split into a boys’ chapter 

(AZA), and a girls’ chapter (BBG, 

B’nai B’rith Girls). These two different 

groups have programs both separately 

and together, much like a sorority 

and fraternity. BBYO is not affiliated 

with a specific congregation, 

which means that all Jewish teens, 

By Julia Linder Bell 

As a mother, I am always trying 

to give our daughter tools that 

will guide her. I want to give her 

confidence, strength, the ability to 

be empathetic and compassionate, 

kind, loving, and have a strong 

sense of self. I want to create an 

abundance of lessons that she will 

BBYO members enjoy hanging out at the JCC. Photo courtesy of Shea Fallick 

whether orthodox or secular, may 

belong. Nevertheless, BBYO offers 

a distinctly Jewish experience. 

AZA, specifically, is based on 

seven cardinal principles, which 

are patriotism, Judaism, filial love, 

charity, conduct, purity and fraternity. 

These principles are not only 

important aspects in AZA, but are 

characteristics that we try to instill 

in our members by the experiences 

we have together. Also incorporated 

into AZA are five programming folds 

(or aspects), which are social, social 

action, education, athletic, and 

Judaic. We incorporate at least one of 

these folds (oftentimes, two or three) 

into each of our events, which helps 

make AZA a well-rounded experience 

for Jewish Youth. 

In addition, BBYO offers incredible 

travel opportunities! Several 

always have within herself. Lessons 

she can go back to and learn 

from throughout her life. 

Thinking about this, I called a 

friend of mine, Rebecca Cohen, 

MPS, (who has been teaching elementary 

school for the past 19 

years and is now offering home 

school classes). I told her I was 

thinking about the concept of self 

esteem and children. She said 

something that sent me on a journey 

inward. “When kids are reminded 

that they have everything 

inside of them to live happy and 

successful lives, they relax and 

become more confident and are 

more able to learn.” “After all,” she 

continued, “children have a natural 

instinct to identify with the truest 

part of themselves, their royal 

self. As we get older we lose that 

instinct.” 

When I was a child, our family 

spent a lot of time together. This 

made me feel special. We always 

ate meals together. My parents 

were both affectionate in different 

ways. This taught me that people 

can show love differently. 

We traveled often. Through this, 

I gained an insight that humans are 

all connected no matter what language 

we speak through our universal 

human emotions. This made 

me feel connected to the world. 

I did not get everything I wanted. 

There were rules about appropriate 

behavior. I had a strong bond 

with my parents, and I liked to 

please them. My parents told me 

that I could accomplish anything, 

if I put my heart and soul into it. 

This made me feel powerful. All of 

times each year, Albuquerque BBYO 

members can meet hundreds of other 

Jewish teens at regional events in 

Denver, Colorado and other cities. 

Attending a regional event was 

one of the most amazing experiences 

of my life. The kids were so incredibly 

nice, and the events were such fun that 

I came away feeling even more happy 

and proud to be a Jew. And it doesn’t 

stop with regional events.... 

BBYO offers summer programs, 

which include trips to Israel, New 

York, Bulgaria, Washington D.C. and 

many other awesome places. 

If you are a Jewish teen in 8 th 

to 12 th grade, and would like more 

information, please contact me at 

canmans.12@gmail.com about AZA 

or Talia at taliaalice@yahoo.com 

about BBG, and join the “Albuquerque 

BBYO” Facebook group. 

Nurturing Your Child’s Divine Spark 

these special gifts helped build my 

sense of self esteem to follow my 

passion to become a writer. 

Judaism holds the concept of 

self esteem in high regard. After 

all, our self-esteem or sense of 

self worth is directly connected to 

God, and the actions of our parents 

as well as ourselves. When 

we look in the Torah we read, that 

God created humans in his image. 

Then God said, “Let us make 

man in our image, in our likeness.” 

(Genesis 1:26). Rabbi Judah Loew 

ben Bezalel (also known as the 

Maharal) was a Talmudic scholar 

and Jewish mystic who lived in sixteenth 

century Prague. He translates 

this verse as meaning: “that 

for splendor clings to his face and 

a divine spark clings to him. This 

is ‘the image of God.’ It is in this 

way that man is unique among all 

creatures, in the splendor and light 

of the image.” (Maharal, Derekh 

ha-Chayyim 3:14) 

Like God, we all have within 

us the attribute of holiness and a 

divine spark. It is with the tools of 

building good self-esteem that we 

are able to connect to this holiness, 

and then continue to find our 

purpose and meaning which lights 

our divine spark. 

But sometimes this is easier 

said than done. As parents, one of 

the most important gifts that you 

can ever give your child is the gift 

of self-esteem. 

The first place you can begin to 

attain the tools of self-esteem are 

within yourself. Children are attuned 

to their parents. Being hon- 

See SPARK. . Page 19


By Meredith Root 

Simchas 

August Family B’nai Mitzvah 

Linda and David August will be 

called to the Torah as B’nai Mitzvah 

on Saturday, October 1 at Congregation 

B’nai Israel. Linda is an employee 

of the Albuquerque Publishing 

Company, and David works for 

HBD Thermoid, which manufactures 

industrial hoses and v-belts. 

Both husband and wife enjoy traveling 

and reading, yet while Linda also 

likes to cook, David prefers shooting 

as his hobby. In their 60s, the couple 

decided to undertake the challenge 

of b’nai mitzvah together, and have 

been preparing all year. David said 

that even though he is 51 years late, 

it is important for him to undergo 

this rite of passage. After his father 

died, David learned that his father 

hid his Jewish heritage from the children. 

Thirty years later, David decided 

to become a Jew-by-Choice, and 

“now I have come back to where 

I was supposed to be.” Linda also 

joined her husband on the journey 

into Judaism, and after a recent genealogical 

search, learned that her 

great-great-grandmother was Jewish 

as well. What was once lost 

now has been reclaimed. The August 

family invites you to their joyous 

occasion. 

Exemplary JFS Employee, 

Connie Johnson 

Tema Milstein Receives 

Fulbright Award 

University of New Mexico professor 

and former editor of the New 

Mexico Jewish Link, Tema Milstein, 

received a Fulbright award to examine 

the challenges, successes, and 

possibilities of sustainable eco-tourism 

practices in New Zealand in 

2012. 

Milstein said, “New Zealand’s 

status as a global eco-tourism destination 

makes it an essential site in 

which to study the seeming disconnect 

between nature tourism experiences 

and resultant increased ecological 

understanding.” 

Her study will focus on cetacean 

eco-tourism and will use a 

culture and communication lens to 

seek clearer understandings of existing 

bridges and barriers between 

eco-tourism and ecological sustainability. 

Milstein, her husband, UNM 

Professor John Carr, and their threeyear-old 

son, Theo Milstein-Carr, 

also recently welcomed their fourth 

family member, Sky Milstein-Carr, 

into the world. 

Every six months, an exemplary 

employee is recognized by the 

staff of Jewish Family Service (JFS). 

Employees submit written nominations 

and the staff member with the 

most nominations is awarded the 

Bronze Bagel. Their name is added 

to a plaque with other winners, 

and they are given a gift certificate. 

Connie Johnson, newly promoted 

to Director of Administration is the 

much-deserving and most recent 

recipient of this celebrated honor. 

Connie Johnson joined JFS in 

April 2010 as the assistant to the 

Executive Director and quickly became 

the hub of the office, as one 

co-worker described it! On the 

Bronze Bagel nomination forms, 

fellow staff members gave glowing 

praise about her leadership, 

dedication, and positive attitude: 

“Connie has transformed processes 

in the office;” “I was so impressed 

by her great organizational 

and motivational skills;” “her great 

disposition and helping with everything 

and everybody;” she “is 

consistently devoted, creative and 

responsible” and “a GREAT employee”. 

Connie said that being 

SPARK . . from page 5 

est and real about your emotions 

will create a healthy view point for 

your kids. It is alright to share that 

today you are not feeling so well 

or yes, mommy and daddy are discussing 

something right now but 

we always make up. 

Another way to promote selfesteem 

is to be full of gratitude. 

Feeling grateful is contagious and 

will rub off on your kids. Make a 

list each day of a few things for 

which you are grateful. This is a 

good way to make room for happiness 

in your life. 

Connie Johnson and daughter Alicia 

recognized by her peers was very 

meaningful. 

Originally from Washington 

State, Connie met Andrew Johnson 

in northern California and they 

married in 1995. After moves to 

New England and Colorado, they 

landed in New Mexico in 2005, 

and pursued their dream of adopting 

a baby. They brought home 

In addition, a general sense of 

happiness will also translate to a 

positive attitude in your kids. Do 

you enjoy what you do? Or are you 

constantly complaining about your 

life, your job or your relationships? 

Is everything about you? To overcome 

this, create positive phrases 

in your mind about your life, work 

and home. 

Take things on. Be a problem 

solver instead of standing on the 

sidelines complaining. 

Life can be hard, but it is how 

we react to different situations that 

beautiful 13-month-old Alisa Xiao- 

Mei Johnson from China in August 

2007. The Johnson family shares its 

home with two tabby cats and two 

aging beagles. They still feel like 

newcomers to New Mexico when 

asking for chile “on the side,” but 

we’re glad they moved here and 

thrilled that Connie is a part of JFS. 

Mazel Tov Connie! 

will translate to how our children 

will solve problems when they are 

out in the world and at home. As 

a writer, I will not get everything 

published but it is all good experience 

for me. 

Creating boundaries for oneself 

teaches kids that it is alright to say 

no sometimes. If you learn how to 

take care of yourself by not over 

extending and carefully choosing 

to do things that you enjoy or 

choosing to do things you do not 

enjoy with a good attitude, your 

kids will follow suit. 

Visit the Jewish Federation of 

New Mexico Online at: 

www.jewishnewmexico.org

20 The New Mexico Jewish Link A Se rv i c e o f t h e Je w i s h Fe d e r at i o n o f Ne w Me x i c o September 2011

September 2011 - Jewish Federation of New Mexico

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?