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Volume 41, Number 7 Published by: The Jewish Federation of New Mexico • New Mexico’s Center for Jewish Philanthropy AV 5771/ August 2011 

Desecration of Jewish Graves 

Disturbs, Motivates in Las Vegas 

Link Staff Report 

Here’s what’s certain: sometime 

between June 28 and July 

1, thirty headstones in Las Vegas, 

New Mexico’s historic Montefiore 

Jewish Cemetery were overturned 

or destroyed, with neighboring 

Catholic and Masonic sections of 

the cemetery also vandalized. 

Beyond this certainty, only questions, 

anger and sadness remain. 

At a public forum at the First 

United Presbyterian Church of Las 

Vegas held on Sunday, July 17 to 

discuss the issues raised by the 

cemetery destruction, an audience 

comprised of Jewish community 

members, Masons with Chapman 

Lodge No. 2, and representatives of 

local churches - largely from Messianic 

ones – listened attentively to 

a report from Commander Mack 

Allingham, who heads the investigation 

for the Las Vegas Police 

Department. 

Allingham announced that 

persons of interest have been 

identified through his contacts 

and informants, and that the overwhelming 

evidence at present indicates 

that juveniles known to hang 

out at the cemetery committed the 

crime, unmotivated by anti-Semitism 

or hatred against any particular 

group. 

“I don’t see it,” Allingham 

insisted. “We’re getting close to 

making an arrest. (The investigation) 

is going to show that the juveniles 

were just out there creating 

mischief.” 

Although Allingham encouraged 

the audience to be heartened 

by the evidence that this was not 

a hate crime, the pain of violation 

lingered. 

Co-facilitating the forum with 

Pastor Randy Campbell, Rabbi John 

Feldman, a scion of 

the prominent Las 

Vegas Taichert family 

whose parents are 

buried in the cemetery 

and who is a 

member of the Montefiore 

Cemetery 

Association Board, 

stated that although his perspective 

is that the destruction of Jewish 

graves occurred because the Montefiore 

section is the most remote, 

the pain felt within the Jewish community 

is visceral. 

“When it’s a Jewish cemetery 

it’s particularly disquieting because 

we have this longstanding history 

of having had cemeteries that were 

not respected,” he explained, and 

expressed his grief how such violence 

could be visited upon such a 

secluded, meditative area. 

“It’s one of the most peaceful 

places I’ve ever been to, and I’ve 

been to a lot of places,” he said. 

According to the New Mexico 

Jewish Historical Society (which 

annually holds a cleanup of the 

cemetery), the Montefiore cemetery 

was established in 1881, and 

was one of the first Jewish cemeteries 

west of the Mississippi. The 

cemetery served Congregation 

Montefiore, the first Jewish congregation 

in New Mexico which 

dissolved in 1955. 

Marvin Taichert founded the 

Montefiore Cemetery Association 

in the 1980s to care for and clean 

the cemetery. 

Kaaren Caplan Rougeux, President 

of the Las Vegas Jewish Community 

(LVJC) Board, first learned 

of the desecration on July 2nd as 

she attended a Torah study session 

with LVJC Board members Diana 

Presser and Rebecca Weissman. 

“We have been violated,” 

Rougeux wrote later that day to 

LVJC members. “However, through 

this loss, let each of us show up, 

even more fully, to each other and 

to the rest of humanity.” 

Ted Herburger, a member of 

the Montefiore Cemetery Association 

and caretaker of the cemetery 

assessed the damage immediately 

after the discovery. In his report, he 

described headstones that had been 

“toppled and some were thrown 

against a larger stone and damaged 

this way. Some were intentionally 

struck with blunt force thus 

breaking them into several pieces. 

Others were toppled and broke in 

two as the result.” 

“I was totally incensed and hurt 

when I discovered this hateful act,” 

said Herburger. “I don’t understand 

what motivates some people. We 

can speculate but can’t be sure.” 

The Las Conchas Fire 

Evacuates People, Torahs 

By Zelda Glattstein 

When Rabbi Jack Shlachter of 

Los Alamos and his teenage children 

headed to a congregant’s 

surprise 75th birthday party on 

Sunday, June 26, it seemed like 

any other clear, New Mexico 

day. But when Rabbi Jack, son 

Dov, 19, and daughter Orli, 16, 

emerged a few hours later, a thick 

cloud of ominous smoke was 

billowing in the sky. “Frankly, it 

looked pretty bad,” said Rabbi 

Jack. “For people who had experienced 

the Cerro Grande fire, it 

had all the earmarks of a serious 

situation.” 

Later that evening, when 

Rabbi Jack, a full-time physicist 

at Los Alamos National Laboratory, 

received the bulletin that the 

lab would be closed the following 

day due to the fire, he packed 

a few essentials, swung by the 

Los Alamos Jewish Center to pick 

up the three torahs, and headed 

to Santa Fe. Rabbi Jack and his 

family were housed with friends; 

the torahs also stayed with companions, 

on the bimah at Santa 

Fe’s Temple Beth Shalom. 

“For a lot of people it was 

a re-traumatization,” reflected 

Rabbi Jack. Four Los Alamos 

Jewish Center families - along 

with over 300 other Los Alamos 

families - lost their homes in the 

May 2000 fire. On the positive 

side, this go-round people were 

experienced and knew how to 

evacuate and what to take with 

them, said the rabbi. And once 

again, he was moved by the outpouring 

of help from the community. 

“All the Jewish organizations 

in Santa Fe, as well as in Albuquerque, 

responded. It was really 

Lewis Terr, President of the 

Montefiore Cemetery Association, 

Inc. and spokesperson for the community 

regarding the destruction, 

expressed gratitude for how the 

incident has been viewed in the 

wider Las Vegas community. “The 

widespread concern and support 

of the greater Las Vegas community 

is a beautiful thing,” he wrote. 

“I am confident we will all emerge 

stronger. To those whose loving 

monuments to their departed were 

damaged and feel more personally 

violated, I extend my condolences, 

love, and support.” 

The headstone of Terr’s 

sister, Dana, was among those 

damaged. 

In an “Open Letter” to the Las 

The torah scrolls of Los Alamos find 

temporary refuge at Temple Beth 

Shalom in Santa Fe. Photo courtesy 

of E. Ben-Naim. 

fortunate that the magnitude of 

the needs was significantly less 

than that of the Cerro Grande 

fire, and we really didn’t have to 

tap into the offers this time.” 

Los Alamos residents were 

still banned from their town on 

Friday. Temple Beth Shalom - 

with participation from several 

other Santa Fe congregations - 

hosted a potluck Erev Shabbat 

dinner before Friday night services. 

By Sunday, July 3, residents 

were allowed back into 

the smoky town. The Los 

Alamos Jewish Center held an 

impromptu service of thanksgiving. 

Dov Shlachter blew the 

shofar, and the torahs were ceremoniously 

returned to their Los 

Alamos home. In appreciation 

of the hospitality of the Santa Fe 

community, Los Alamos Jewish 

Center is hosting a reciprocal 

potluck. Contact the LAJC at 

www.lajc.org or call 505-662- 

2140 for details. 

Vegas Optic, representatives of 

four Las Vegas churches affirmed, 

“What they have done to one of us, 

they have done to all of us.” 

The forum concluded with 

attendees discussing means to 

prevent such destruction from 

occurring again. Molly Smollett, 

a member of the Las Vegas Jewish 

Community, expressed her grief 

over the destruction and insisted 

that change must come. 

“I’m hoping that it wasn’t anti- 

Semitic. We can call it vandalism, 

disrespect, but there is problem 

here if it is the youth. So, that 

means we have to do something 

in our community with the young 

people and not just discount this as 

vandalism and let it go,” she said.

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 August 2011 

Abayudaya Memories: Steadfast Faith and a Missed Reunion 

By Alan Wagman, Silver City 

I read with interest and chagrin 

the Link story about the visit 

of Abayudaya Rabbi Gershom 

Sizomu to Albuquerque. Chagrin, 

because I did not know the visit 

was going to happen, and interest 

because I met Rabbi Sizomu just 

about twenty years ago. As those 

who read the Link story are aware, 

the Abayudaya adopted Judaism in 

the early twentieth century. 

Their Judaism was largely selftaught, 

with practices based 

upon what they could glean from 

the Bible, rather than Rabbinic 

Halacha, of which they knew very 

little. In the 1930s, they learned to 

read Hebrew from a British engineer 

who was in Uganda building 

a railroad and noticed that some 

of the African workers would not 

work on Saturdays. Otherwise, 

contact with the outside Jewish 

world was sporadic. 

In July 1991, I was working in 

western Uganda as a volunteer 

with Habitat for Humanity. Every 

July, Habitat’s Africa volunteers 

gathered in Nairobi for a weeklong 

retreat and business meeting. 

Although Nairobi was over 600 

miles from my African “home 

town,” it held the only synagogue 

I knew about. So, I made sure to 

davven at the Nairobi synagogue 

on the rare occasions that I got the 

chance. 

On this particular Shabbat, I saw 

two young African men sitting near 

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With the help of volunteers, 

thousands of volumes are finding 

their way to shelves in the library/ 

learning center of the Holocaust 

& Intolerance Museum of New 

Mexico at 616 Central Avenue SW, 

Albuquerque. Located in the lower 

level of the building, the learning 

center is a work in progress. Most 

the rear of the shul. When the 

service ended, I went over to talk to 

them. I learned that they lived near 

Mbale, a city in eastern Uganda, 

and they had come to Nairobi to 

visit the Israeli embassy in hopes 

of getting visas to travel to Israel. 

Their desire was to either find a 

rabbi who would come back to 

Uganda and convert their community 

to Judaism or become rabbis 

themselves so they could perform 

the conversions. We exchanged 

addresses - a long distance telephone 

call between us was impossible 

with the Ugandan telephone 

system- and we agreed that we 

would correspond and that I would 

come visit them. They were very 

happy - I would be the first outside 

Jewish visitor in ten years. 

After the two young men left, 

some members of the congregation 

– which catered to expatriate 

aid workers, mostly Israeli and 

Canadian - came up to me to ask 

what I had been talking about with 

the two young men. I told them, 

and I told them about the planned 

visit. They asked me to report back 

what I saw. They made clear that 

they viewed the two young men 

with mistrust, suspicion, and deep 

doubts about the sincerity of their 

expressed desire to be Jews and 

practice Judaism. 

After I returned home, I 

exchanged letters with my two 

new friends, and we made arrangements 

for my visit. I spent a day 

traveling across western Uganda 

to Kampala, the principal city and 

transportation hub of Uganda, then 

a second day getting across eastern 

Uganda to Mbale. After a night in 

Mbale, I went looking for the abandoned 

gas station where I was to 

meet my Abayudaya guides. 

When we found each other, 

my new friends told me that we 

still had a few hours to go across 

the countryside. We hailed some 

bota-botas and set out. A botabota 

is a “bicycle taxi,” a singlegeared 

bicycle with an extended 

seat. So off we went, each of us a 

passenger on a bicycle. 

After a while, we reached a 

police checkpoint. We all dismounted 

from the bota-botas and 

approached the police officers. 

The officers took our identification 

papers and began asking where we 

were going and why. My friends 

said, “We are Abayudaya, and he 

is with us.” The officer in charge 

asked angrily, “Abayudaya? Why 

do you want to be Abayudaya? The 

Abayudaya killed Jesus.” By this 

time, his two underlings picked up 

on what was happening and began 

circling us, taunting us. 

Finally, they let us go. One 

might say, “No harm, no foul.” 

One might. But I do not have 

words to describe how chilling it 

is to be in a remote area while government 

officials with hands on 

their guns dance around, chanting, 

“Christ killers! Christ killers!” For 

me, it was (I hope) a once in a lifetime 

experience. For my Abayudaya 

friends, it was a part of daily 

life. If I had had any thought at 

all that the folks at the synagogue 

in Nairobi were justified in their 

suspicions, those thoughts were 

long gone. 

When we finally reached the 

outskirts of the Abayudaya village, 

we paid for the bota-botas and 

walked into town. Word of our 

arrival went out, and the people 

poured into the street, overjoyed to 

have a Jewish visitor. Never before 

and never since have I ever been 

greeted by people spontaneously 

of the books, DVDs, and videotapes 

have been donated over the 

past 11 years by myriad persons 

whose interest in the museum is 

as varied as they are. More than 

65 percent of the holdings are 

about the Holocaust, the systematic 

murder of 6 million Jews by 

the Nazis during World War II. 

The remaining materials reflect the 

museum’s other exhibits including 

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bursting into song and dance, just 

because I had arrived. 

I had been wrong about the synagogue 

in Nairobi being the only 

shul I could reach. In the Abayudaya 

village, I found another. This 

one was crumbling, with gaping 

holes in the exterior walls. But 

when it filled with Abayudaya 

for Shabbat worship, the wobbly 

structure was a vessel for brachot 

like none other. 

When I returned to the U.S., I 

tried to find resources to enable 

the Abayudaya to continue their 

progression. I failed, but within 

a year or two they encountered a 

the Native American cultural genocide, 

slavery in America, the “tolerated” 

genocide in Rwanda, and the 

Armenian and Greek genocides. 

Over the past four years, volunteers 

have been cataloguing library 

holdings using ResourceMate, software 

donated by the Weinbaum 

family of Corrales, who also paid 

for the library computer and printer 

being used in the cataloguing 

process. Some furnishings came 

from surplus at Kirtland Air Force 

Base while shelves were donated 

by Rainbow Roadrunners Car Club, 

Henry Seale and Peter Grahame. 

Carpeting was made possible by 

the Enterprise Foundation. 

According to Jerry Small, 

museum board co-president, the 

learning center could be open for 

researchers and students as early 

as August 31. Currently, financing 

for electrical work, enhanced lighting, 

internet access, and a sound 

system is being sought. 

During the year 2010, more than 

5,000 visitors toured the museum. 

Of those not scheduled (as are 

school field trips), 2,611 were 

from New Mexico, 711 were from 

Peace Corps volunteer who had 

better connections than I did; one 

thing led to another; and twenty 

years later I find myself chagrined 

to have missed Rabbi Gershom’s 

visit. 

If you wish to donate to the 

Abayudaya, go to www.bechollashon.org 

and click on the link 

to its gift catalog, or go straight 

to: http://tinyurl.com/Abayudaya. 

Alternatively, donors can 

call Esther Fishman with Be’chol 

Lashon 415-386-2604 or send a 

check made out to the Abayudaya 

to P.O. Box 591107, San Francisco, 

CA 94159-1107. 

Chicano Activist Blasts Jews 

Link Staff Report 

On June 8, Reies López 

Tijerina, the Chicano activist 

perhaps best known for leading 

a 1967 armed raid on the Rio 

Arriba County courthouse, 

culminated a day of honors in 

Las Vegas, New Mexico with 

an anti-Semitic outburst that 

has drawn attention from the 

New Mexico office of the Anti- 

Defamation League. 

While speaking at a forum 

on land grants at Highlands 

University, Tijerina reportedly 

launched into an extended 

tirade concerning international 

Jewish conspiracies. 

That same day, Tijerina was 

awarded the key to the city, 

with the day declared “Reies 

López Tijerina Day” by Mayor 

Alfonso E. Ortiz, Jr. 

Tijerina’s history of anti- 

Semitic pronouncements is 

well documented. In a June 

5 story for the New Mexican, 

Tom Sharpe reports on the 

85-year old activists’ obsession 

with “Jewish money” 

and the Israeli intelligence 

service. 

In Sharp’s article, Tijerina 

is quoted as stating his belief 

that “the Jews stole the name 

‘Israel’ on May 14, 1948… 

Jews had nothing to do with 

the name ‘Israel.’ Nada.” 

Tijerina also asserted his belief 

that “Anglos pushed by Jewish 

money” stole Hispanic land. 

Susan M. Seligman, New 

Mexico Regional Director of 

the Anti-Defamation League, 

has sought a response from the 

Highlands University officials 

who failed to condemn Tijerina’s 

statements. 

“While Mr. Lopez-Tijerina, 

an icon of the Chicano movement, 

should be lauded for his 

land grant activism, his anti- 

Semitic remarks cannot be tolerated,” 

says Seligman. 

“Numerous leaders in the 

Las Vegas community including 

the Mayor who handed 

him the key to the city and 

the President of New Mexico 

Highlands University one 

of the sponsors of the talk, 

ignored his anti-Jewish comments 

and his well documented 

history of anti-Semitism,” 

Seligman continues. 

“Leaders can only be considered 

true leaders when they 

stand up to injustices against 

all people.” 

Museum Learning Center is a Work in Progress 

A view of some of the Holocaust 

Museum’s exhibits. 

36 different states, the District of 

Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and 

113 were from 22 other countries, 

Argentina to Wales.

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

Irving and Hertha Auerbach (z”l) Awarded 

the Jewish Federation’s 2011 Medal of Honor 

2011 has proved to be a historic 

one for the Jewish Federation 

of New Mexico, as a major bequest 

from the estate of Albuquerque philanthropists 

Irving and Hertha Auerbach 

will bring the JFNM’s 2011 

annual campaign above one million 

dollars – a first in the Federation’s 

history, and a key goal of the threeyear 

strategic plan. 

While most of this bequest 

will be used to strengthen JFNM 

reserves, $41,667 will be endowed 

to establish the “Irving and Hertha 

Auerbach Fund for Jewish Identity” 

at the Jewish Community Endowment 

Foundation of New Mexico, 

earmarked for PJ Library, camp 

scholarships, and Birthright Israel/ 

Taglit. 

By Sara Koplik 

Hertha and Irving Auerbach 

On June 21, for the first time, the 


awarded its Medal of Honor posthumously 

to Hertha and Irving 

Auerbach - pillars of our community. 

The text of the following article 

comes from a speech given at the 

JCC/JFNM annual meeeting. 

Hertha (or Hedy, who was 

known as Chavo to her family) died 

in 2007, and Irving (also known as 

Irv, and Isser to his family) died in 

August, 2010. This extraordinary 

couple appeared quite modest and 

unassuming, but they left a deep 

and lasting legacy for all of ‘Am 

Yisrael, and especially the Jewish 

community of New Mexico. 

Irving was born and raised in 

Cleveland; he received a doctorate 

in chemistry from Ohio State 

and worked at the War Research 

Project on OSU’s campus. He 

moved to Albuquerque in 1959 to 

work in Sandia Labs as a research 

chemist, and published many scientific 

studies. 

Hedy’s early life was far more 

difficult than almost any of us can 

imagine. She was born in 1927, in 

Frankfurt, Germany. She and her 

twin brother, Gunther, first attended 

a Jewish day school in Germany as 

they were forbidden from attending 

public school under the Nuremberg 

Laws. Later, they attended a 

Jewish boarding school in Switzerland 

which prepared young people 

for Aliyah, while her parents traveled 

around Europe and the Middle 

East looking for a new home for 

the family. Eventually, they settled 

on Belgium, to be close to family 

members in Germany. However, 

the Third Reich invaded Belgium on 

May 10, 1940, and the safe haven 

instantly vanished. Hedy and 

Gunther were 13 years old. Their 

father fled to southern France, in 

order to find another home for his 

family. The rest of the family then 

followed in a harrowing journey 

across German lines. 

As a teenager, I remember Hedy 

talking about this journey, about 

how they hid in a bus and then in 

a grassy field for hours upon hours. 

Eventually, they made it to southern 

France, and stayed there for a 

time, until the family was betrayed 

by the French and turned over to 

the German authorities. Hedy 

remained bitter about this betrayal 

for the rest of her life. Hedy’s father 

died at Auschwitz or en route, but 

Hedy’s mother was able to save 

herself and her children, through (as 

it is described in her obituary) “chicanery, 

trickery and false papers.” 

They survived the war working 

as slave laborers. Half of Hedy’s 

extended family was not this fortunate, 

and perished in the Shoah. 

A memorial to her murdered family 

members can be found at B’nai 

Israel. 

After the war, Hedy, her brother 

and mother, immigrated to New 

York, where Hedy graduated from 

Hunter College. She learned the 

“art and science of electron microscopy” 

and worked in several laboratories. 

In the mid-1950s, Irving 

met Hedy at the Goodyear Research 

Laboratory in Akron, Ohio. 

The couple married, but under a 

great deal of strain, they divorced a 

few years later in 1958. Irving supported 

his disabled father, mother, 

and young brother, while Hedy 

provided for her mother, who also 

lived with them. After the divorce, 

they did not speak to each other 

until the early 1970s, when Hedy 

received a marriage proposal from 

another suitor. She called up Irving, 

and asked him what she should do. 

He told her not to do anything, flew 

from Albuquerque to St. Paul, and 

proposed to her. She accepted. 

Irving’s brother, Sheldon said that 

although they had had their differences, 

they never lost their affection 

for each other. When they 

married again for the second time, 

Irving was about 50 years old, and 

Hedy was in her early 40s. Irving 

was completely and absolutely a 

devoted husband. 

After her second marriage to 

Irving, Hedy worked at the UNM 

Medical School. During retirement, 

she spent years preparing a detailed 

manuscript of her experiences 

during the Holocaust. The opus 

eventually totaled 468 pages, as 

she pulled up and processed every 

memory of that terrible time. 

Hedy and Irving were devoted 

members of this Jewish community. 

But like the mother in the Solomonic 

tale, they just could not 

choose between Congregations 

Albert and B’nai Israel. Both were 

too precious, and so, they became 

active members of both synagogues, 

attending B’nai one week 

and Albert the next. Irving founded 

B’nai Israel’s library and managed 

their cemetery services. Hedy volunteered 

in that library, cataloguing 

and coding all of its books. She 

taught Sunday School at Congregation 

Albert and was a life member 

and officer of Hadassah. 

My clearest memories of Hedy 

The New Mexico 

Jewish Historical Society 

Wishes You a 

Happy & Historic New year 

came when we had a young Croatian 

student, Vladimir, living 

with us. At 17, he left Croatia in 

order to avoid being drafted into 

the Bosnian War. Hedy was very 

worried about Vladimir, and often 

asked him to visit. She would 

feed him elaborate meals, enquiring 

after his well-being, and that 

of his family remaining in Croatia. 

From the care that Hedy showered 

upon Vladimir, it was evident that 

she always wanted to have children, 

but a doctor advised her not 

to become pregnant. 

Hedy also worried about the 

less fortunate in our community. I 

remember another discussion when 

she talked about seeing hungry, 

homeless people on the street. 

She wanted to cook a full, hot meal 

for them, but she just wasn’t sure 

about the logistics of how she could 

deliver the food. I counseled her 

to keep sandwiches in her car, and 

pass those out instead. 

In later years, the connection 

between Irving and Hertha sweetened. 

Irv took loving care of Hedy as 

her health declined. He was entirely 

devoted to her. Rabbi Min Kantrowitz 

told me that they would hold hands 

throughout services, not severing 

the connection even when one was 

sitting and the other standing. 

Irving was a fixture at B’nai Israel’s 

morning minyan. Even when 

his own health was frail, he attended 

and assisted every burial at B’nai 

Israel. When he turned 90 years 

old, Irv decided that this would be 

a good time to become a member 

of the Chevrah Kadisha. 

I know that many of you remember 

Heddy and Irv. Growing up in 

this community, they were part of 

our lives, a couple we could always 

count upon. Even after their death, 

however, their goodness and their 

profound generosity continue on. 

It is the privilege of the Jewish Federation 

of New Mexico to award its 

Medal of Honor to Irving and Hertha 

Auerbach, of blessed memory. Zikronam 

l’vracha, May their memory 

be a blessing. 

TEMPLE 

BETH EL 

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LAWRENCE P. KAROL 

MEMBER OF UNION FOR REFORM JUDAISM


Opinion 

Creating a Zone for Peace: Another Look at 

the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 

By Diane J. Schmidt 

As the youngest child in my 

own family, who wants everyone 

to make peace, I couldn’t stand the 

arguing. It was one of the reasons 

I tuned out the Israeli-Palestinian 

issue for most of my life. But 

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Member of Congregation Albert since 1981 

now, I feel called upon to love 

the entire mishpocheh, the whole 

family, Jews, Arabs, and Christians, 

despite the craziness. I want everyone 

to stop fighting. But it is the 

fear of not knowing if there is an 

answer, or of not getting the answer 

right that prevented me from saying 

much about the situation. In our 

Reform Jewish American household 

on Chicago’s North Shore 

there was barely a whisper spoken 

about the Holocaust. It wasn’t until, 

as a teenager I saw the black and 

white footage, in the documentary 

film Night and Fog, of bulldozers 

pushing the bodies of mountains 

of Jews into trenches in concentration 

camps, that I really knew anything 

about the Holocaust. 

When I was a little girl, I bought 

a tree for Israel and cherished the 

certificate that said a tree would be 

planted in my name there. The one 

time I visited Israel, in the summer 

of 1969, I walked among the tall 

pines of a cool forest, touching 

them lightly and talked to them, 

saying, my tree is among you. I 

saw the self-assured young Israelis 

rumbling past in military trucks, 

and, I met an Arab elder tending his 

pomegranate trees among ancient 

stones. He held out a fruit to me 

and showed me how to open and 

eat the complex of tiny rubies 

inside. For the next forty years I 

pretty much ignored Israel, safe in 

the belief that all Americans sympathized 

with and supported her 

existence. 

This year, during a chance 

assignment to interview a genealogist, 

(“Jewish Genealogist: The 

Clue Master,” about Schelly Talalay 

Dardashti, NM Jewish Link, January 

2011) she helped me to locate the 

Polish village my grandmother left 

at age five with her parents in 1888. 

Late that night, online, I learned 

that all the Jews living in that town 

in 1939 perished in Hitler’s concentration 

camps. I also found the 

names of my relatives that stayed 

listed in the Yizkor books of the 

Holocaust and saw photographs 

of the young men rounded up in 

the towns square by the S.S. and I 

realized for the first time that I was, 

indeed, a survivor. Had my greatgrandparents 

not left that village in 

Poland, I would never have been 

born. 

Meanwhile, moving to the 

Southwest exposed me to the spirituality 

inherent in Navajo culture, 

which, finally, led me to want to 

learn more about my own. When I 

began to explore the Jewish community 

here, I was astonished to 

learn that some welcomed the 

extremist evangelical movement, 

some of whom would like to see 

Israel’s one-time biblical borders reestablished 

all the way to the Jordan 

River. But it was hearing a guest 

lecture this spring against Israel 

delivered inside a synagogue by a 

Jew who, quivering with awkward 

self-righteousness, mumbled accusations 

like “Apartheid state,” that 

really made me sick. I couldn’t 

believe the hatred I was hearing 

against Israel, especially coming 

from another Jew. 

I was equally dismayed to hear 

this lecturer attempting to twist 

concepts of liberation theology to 

his views against Israel. This was 

personally hurtful to me. I understood 

liberation theology as a 

noble cause in El Salvador when I 

covered the civil war there in 1981, 

and I devoted many years towards 

an investigation into the murders 

of four American churchwomen, 

two of them Maryknoll missionaries 

Ita Ford and Maura Clarke. But 

if the Maryknolls have since then 

retreated from politics in Central 

America, some of them are now 

energized to have found a welcome 

mat at this one tiny edge of the Arab 

world. After hearing that, the evangelicals 

seem to me well, positively 

glowy, if rapturous. 

And, that lecturer’s accusations 

galvanized me to want to 

learn more. I have been surprised 

to learn, (and surprised that I was 

surprised, because I hadn’t realized 

how biased against Israel the 

portrait being painted in the media 

has become and had even unconsciously 

affected me), that Jews and 

Arabs do live together in peace right 

now in one country in the Middle 

East - in Israel. 

I have learned that one-fifth of 

the population of Israel is Arab, 

they are citizens of Israel, they 

have equal voting rights, they are 

members of the Israeli Knesset, the 

Supreme Court, they can serve in the 

army, the civil service, and, as journalists 

can freely criticize the government, 

while this summer Arab 

journalists in Egypt are detained, 

and, in Pakistan, killed. Israel is a 

democracy and a surprisingly open 

society, considering the threats it 

lives under. 

Are the million Arab citizens of 

Israel treated like second-class citizens? 

It seems the answer is yes. It 

also seems that, to some extent, so 

are some of the million Jews who 

were forced out of Middle Eastern 

and North African countries since 

the 1950s. All found a home in 

Israel. 

I want Israel to exist, with secure 

borders, and I want the Palestinians 

to get their own homeland, 

with dignity. I am glad that both 

sides are now talking about a twostate 

solution. I hope that extremists 

will not drown out the middle 

way. The time for negotiations is 

now. It would also take much of 

the wind out of Hezbollah’s sails. 

Otherwise, we are simply looking 

at more war followed by a DMZ 

that won’t please anyone. 

Everyone has their good ideas 

they want to suggest. Well, here is 

mine. If a DMZ is the way things 

unfold, I would like to see some 

of that effort put towards the creation 

of a peace zone, a “PMZ,” an 

enforced, internationally-governed 

middle ground between Israel and 

a Palestinian state, a threshold, a 

playground, a level playing field, 

where a community garden of ideas 

could be given a chance to grow 

over time, over generations. I hope 

this is done now because it can be, 

and not later because it has to be. 

A shorter version of this commentary 

aired during NPRs All 

Things Considered on June 16, 

2011 on KUNM-FM. The audio can 

be heard at www.kunm.org under 

News/Opinions, search Diane 

Schmidt. The text of the audio is 

archived online at Albuquerque 

Judaism Examiner. 

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

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Boaz Fletcher, Candi Gijsbers, 

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Opinion 

Why Israel Cannot Go Back to the 1967 Borders 

By Micha Gisser 

On May 19, while Prime 

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 

was packing his suitcase for a 

trip to meet with the U.S. President, 

Mr. Obama dropped a 

bombshell in a speech on the 

Middle East delivered at the 

State Department. The President 

said that: “The border of 

Israel and Palestine should be 

based on the 1967 lines with 

mutually agreed upon swaps.” 

The next day, following a “constructive” 

discussion behind 

closed doors, the two leaders 

summarized their respective 

positions in front of television 

cameras for the whole world 

to hear and observe. After the 

Prime Minister expressed his 

gratitude to the President, the 

First Lady and America, without 

mincing words, he told 

his host that “Israel cannot go 

back to the 1967 lines.” 

A friend of mine told me 

that Netanyahu was disrespectful 

to the President, as 

the United States has supported 

Israel financially and militarily 

since its birth in 1948. 

Well, suppose I was born in 

1948 and a benevolent uncle 

has been supporting me financially 

since then. Then, one 

day in May 2011, my uncle told 

me that it is time to show respect 

and commit suicide. Of course, 

I would tell my uncle to go fly a 

kite. 

The purpose of this article is to 

explain to friends (and enemies) 

what would be acceptable to Israel 

as defensible borders. To that 

end, I am attaching here a figurative 

map of Israel focusing on the 

West Bank and Gaza. 

A Figurative Map of Israel 

Map Courtesy of Micha Gisser 

Before turning to the map, recall 

that had the Palestinians accepted 

UN Partition-Resolution 

181 passed on November 29, 

1947, they could have borders 

that would be even more favorable 

for them than the 1967 lines. 

In May 1948, with the help of 

five Arab armies they launched a 

bloody attack on Israel. Paying a 

heavy price, Israel defeated these 

armies and the war ended with 

what are now known as the1967 

lines. In 1967, and again in 1973, 

different blends of Arab armies 

launched the Six Day War and 

later the Yom Kippur War to destroy 

Israel once and for all. Israel’s 

current borders, including the 

Golan Heights (not shown), 

West Bank and Gaza, are the 

outcome of these bloody confrontations. 

(The Sinai was returned 

to Egypt as part of the 

peace treaty she signed with 

Israel.) 

Let us look at the map. 

For Israel, returning to the 

1967 lines means, among 

other things, that the eastern 

part of the West Bank would 

be extended all the way to 

the Jordan River - resulting in 

a common border between 

Jordan and the future Palestinian 

state. This solution 

would give rise to two concerns. 

First, another war with 

the “friendly” Middle East 

neighbors is highly probable, 

particularly in the wake of the 

Arab “Spring.” As the map 

shows, the distance between 

the Mediterranean Sea and 

the 1967 border is extremely 

narrow - at one point, a few 

miles north of Tel Aviv, it is a 

mere 9 miles. Given yet another 

war, the temptation to 

cut Israel in two at that spot 

would be irresistible. 

Second, the Israelis learned 

a vital lesson from Gaza. The 

main rationale of disengagement 

from the Strip in September 2005 

was that the Palestinians in Gaza 

were given an opportunity to 

demonstrate what they would do 

with a state if they got one. The 

pity of it all was that soon after 

the Israeli withdrawal the Palestinians 

converted the Strip into an 

Iranian-sponsored Hamas enclave 

that launched a non-stop rocket 

barrage against Israeli civilians. 

So, in any future negotiation with 

the Palestinians, what President 

Obama said about 1967 borders 

not withstanding, if Israel wants 

to survive, it must never relinquish 

the Jordan Valley which is 

akin to the border between Egypt 

and Gaza, used to smuggle rockets 

and military supplies into the Strip. 

As the map shows, in the Jordan 

Valley, a strip of land - a buffer 

zone - between the eastern border 

of the West Bank and the Jordan 

River is retained by Israel. This distance 

should be sufficiently wide to 

enable the Israel Defense Forces to 

stop a massive attack from the east 

and deter smuggling of rockets and 

military supplies across the Jordan 

River. (This idea is known among 

Israelis as the Allon Plan, named 

after the brilliant General Yigal 

Allon who was the commander 

of the Palmach, the striking arm 

of the Jewish Haganah.) 

Finally, the 1967 line cuts 

through Jerusalem, leaving the 

Wailing Wall and the Jewish Old 

Quarter on the Palestinian side. 

This border is unacceptable to 

Israel for many reasons. Most 

important, the rewards for agreeing 

to evacuate Gaza extended to 

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon are 

spelled out in a letter in which 

President George W. Bush laid 

to rest the myth that Israel has to 

return to the 1967 line, implying 

rather return to defensible borders. 

Specifically, as the symbolic map 

shows, the “Jerusalem Envelope” 

containing Gush Etzion, Maale 

Adumim, and other smaller settlements 

must be kept by Israel for the 

security of the Jewish capital. 

In the May 19 speech President 

Obama also said: “As for security, 

every state has the right to 

self-defense. And Israel must also 

be able to defend itself - by itself 

- against any threat.” Mr. Obama 

clearly does not comprehend 

what Mr. Bush did: Israel cannot 

defend itself - by itself - without the 

Jordan Valley and the Jerusalem 

Envelope. 

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Opinion 

Come September: What Will Be? 

By Boaz Fletcher 

The Palestinian Authority’s notification 

of its intention to declare 

itself an independent state and be 

recognized as such at the United 

Nations General Assembly this September, 

if nothing else, has shown 

how well the PA understands how 

the diplomatic game is played and 

how poorly Israel does. 

Palestinian declarations of 

statehood are nothing new, having 

declared statehood quite a few times 

they’re fairly good it at. In fact they 

have more experience than anyone 

else in declaring statehood, except, 

perhaps, for Vanuatu – and Vanuatu 

is a real state, it’s just that nobody 

cares or even knows where it is on 

the map which is why they make so 

many repeat declarations. 

Palestinians certainly have quite 

a few of the trappings of statehood: 

a policing force, trained by the US 

(for the efficacy of US training of 

foreign policing forces please see 

a) Afghanistan, and b) Iraq); an 

impressive number of governments; 

and a marching band, replete with 

the traditional Palestinian accoutrements 

of… kilts and bagpipes. The 

Scottish garb is an ancient Palestinian 

tradition going back as far as, 

well, it must be when those vicious 

Scots occupied Palestine during the 

Scottish Mandate. 

(Apologies to any Vanuatuans 

whom I may have offended. For the 

record Vanuatu seems to be a lovely 

place. It has tropical trees and is the 

161st largest country in the world 

by landmass (Israel is 151st on the 

list), just slightly larger than the Falkland 

Islands, which are definitely 

not occupied by Britain, er, Scots.) 

But deftness with the aerophone 

is unfortunately not one of 

the accepted criteria for statehood 

as defined in the 1933 Montevideo 

Convention (permanent population; 

defined territory; government; “capacity 

to enter into relations with the 

other states”). 

We know that they are really 

good at government, having had 

so many of them, even several at 

once. 

The population is permanent 

since, well, let’s face it, they can’t 

really go anywhere. 

And they have defined a territory, 

although that definition 

changes based upon whom you 

ask. On maps, it looks a lot like the 

151st largest country. 

However, the entry on the Palestinian 

Authority’s official Facebook 

page under “Relationship 

Status” changes frequently between 

“Single,” “In a relationship with 

Hamas,” and “It’s complicated,” so 

we really aren’t sure of their “capacity 

to enter into relations with the 

other states.” 

But let’s conjecture for just a 

minute that the United Nations 

General Assembly suspends its 

blanket impartiality and somehow 

a General Assembly vote to recognize 

Palestine as a state squeaks 

through, what would this mean for 

Israel? 

Nothing, probably. The United 

Nations General Assembly is not 

empowered to add members to 

itself. This can only be done by a 

Security Council vote. The United 

States has already made it clear that 

it will not permit unilateral declaration 

of a Palestinian state and the 

US holds veto powers. 

Israel has publicly pondered 

making unilateral moves of its 

own in response, without specifying 

what those would be, although 

it could be as serious as blockading 

all shipments of tartan to the PA 

which would seriously hamper the 

marching band. 

Why did the PA telegraph its 

intentions so early? Even with the 

classic Israeli refusal to understand 

situations for what they really 

are, Israel still has had time to put 

together a diplomatic strategy and 

act on it. Wouldn’t it have been 

more clever of the PA to have said 

something in a taunting schoolplayground 

voice like “We’ve got a 

secret and we’re not telling?” What 

is it they’re really after? 

The PA knows that it isn’t just 

going to say “please” nicely to the 

UN and get a state. The UN is not 

going to declare war on the State 

of Israel as occupying a foreign 

country, much in the same way 

that the UN did not call for war on 

Iraq when it invaded and occupied 

Kuwait. The UN Security Council 

did say things about Iraq in huffy 

tones and embarrassed it at parties 

until the US had no choice and sent 

in the Marines, and all those other 

people who travel along with the 

Marines. Fortunately the Marines 

got Kuwait back, so they could give 

it back to… Kuwait. 

There is no reasonable diplomatic 

or military scenario where the 

US would send troops to oust the 

IDF from anywhere over the “1967 

Borders” (note to POTUS: you may 

want to refresh your knowledge of 

the differences between “Border” 

and “Armistice Line”). True, there 

are many countries that are openly 

eager to do the job, and quite a few 

of them have tried repeatedly, directly 

or through proxies. I would 

doubt that a Greek/Turkish coalition 

would happen any time soon, 

and the NATO partners from Italy 

and eastward seem quite distracted 

with bombing sand in Libya. 

Does the PA seek to further 

delegitimize Israel? How much 

more can Israel be delegitimized? 

Justin Bieber’s concert in Tel Aviv 

notwithstanding. 

I fear that the PA is deliberately 

setting up a situation for failure 

in order to once again fan the 

flames of violence. Knowing that 

the only battlefield where Israel is 

easily defeated is the one of public 

opinion, they are choosing to take 

their fight there. I can only see as 

far as to what I think they are doing 

tactically, but, again, what are they 

hoping for strategically? 

By Candi Gijsbers 

On June 10, I wrote the following 

letter to the Dean of the 

College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. 

Brenda Claiborne, at the University 

of New Mexico regarding the 

US Campaign for the Academic 

and Cultural Boycott of Israel. I 

have a deep concern about the 

quality of education our sons 

and daughters will be receiving 

at UNM under the tutelage 

of professors with such a strong 

anti-Israel bias and questionable 

interpretations of the historical 

facts and current polemics in the 

Middle East. 

Hello Dr. Claiborne, 

It has recently come to my 

attention that three individuals 

from the College of Arts and Sciences 

have signed as endorsers 

to the US Campaign for the Academic 

and Cultural Boycott of 

Israel. The names of two graduate 

students and Professor Alex 

Lubin (Chair of the American 

Studies Department) all appear 

on the website as supporters of a 

mission statement decrying Israel 

for “illegal possession of the land 

and for Apartheid racial practices 

in its treatment of the Arabs living 

within its borders,” which might 

come as a surprise to the Arab 

doctors, college students, shopkeepers 

and Knesset members 

living in Israel. These individuals 

support the BDS movement 

which stands for boycott, divestment 

and sanction. This website 

trumpets the success of flash 

mobs intimidating store owners 

who import Israeli goods and 

customers who wish to buy them 

and other such practices. 

While these three individuals 

certainly have the right to believe 

as they choose and I support 

them in this right, I am concerned 

as to how these beliefs translate 

into diversity of thought within 

the classroom. The two graduate 

students are both in the American 

Studies program of which Professor 

Lubin is the chair. How much 

influence did he have in shaping 

their political stance? Is there 

adequate diversity within the 

department to balance his anticolonialist, 

anti-Israeli rhetoric? 

While there may be some true 

ideologues championing for the 

rights of the Palestinians, much of 

this movement is just anti-Semitism 

masquerading as something 

more intellectual, enlightened 

and less ugly. 

The Middle East’s history and its 

politics are so very complicated. 

We sit here in the West believing 

we understand it all. There are 

theories and there is reality. Here 

are just a few realities. Just recently, 

the new Hamas representative 

Which of course, is the last 

thing the powers that be in Israel 

are thinking about. 

UNM Professor Supports 

the Academic and Cultural 

Boycott of Israel 

to Tehran, Khalid Al-Qoddoumi, 

stated that it was Hamas’ ultimate 

goal to destroy the Zionist regime, 

no compromise. He further stated 

that Israel “is a cancer and cancer 

must be uprooted.” Another reality, 

Syria and Lebanon and other 

countries where these ‘refugees’ 

have lived for years have treated 

them abominably. They have 

fewer rights than they do in Israel. 

Where are the campaigns against 

those countries’ human rights violations, 

if you care about these 

people and you aren’t motivated 

by anti-Semitism? 

Here’s another reality. Israel’s 

‘Apartheid’ practices have only 

come about due to the constant 

threat of annihilation that they 

live under. A friend of mine’s little 

cousin, Afik, was walking to kindergarten 

in the town of Sderot 

with his mother when the two 

were struck by a rocket launched 

by the Palestinians out of Gaza. 

It was a beautiful morning. They 

lay in the street waiting for help. 

Afik was perfect from the waist 

up, but he was completely gone 

from the waist down, as was his 

mom’s leg. He was four years 

old. It is an insult to what went 

on in South Africa to call what is 

happening in Israel ‘Apartheid,’ 

shame on those with so little intellectual 

honesty to apply that 

term. 

Please, please, Dr. Claiborne 

look into this situation and see to 

it that students receive an honest 

and noble and fair assessment 

of history and that all people 

are treated to a just rendering 

of the facts. And where the Jewish 

people are concerned, we do 

owe them something special. We 

should all be willing to commit to 

one phrase on their behalf, “Never 

again.” 

Shalom, 

Candi Gijsbers 

On July 7, I received the following 

reply: 

Dear Ms. Gijsbers, 

… As you know, faculty at a 

university often engage in activities 

as individuals and have the 

right to express their own political 

opinions that are not necessarily 

a reflection of the views of the institution. 

Professor Lubin assures 

me that he signed the petition as 

an individual and not in his professional 

UNM capacity. In addition, 

he assured me that he did 

not encourage students to sign the 

petition, and that his part in this issue 

does not lead him to influence 

UNM students or discriminate 

against any current or prospective 

UNM students. 

All my best, 

Brenda J. Clairborne 

Dean, College of Arts and Sciences


Opinion 

Let’s Talk About It: Rabbi Hirschfield’s 

Approach to Peace in Israel 

By Ali Littman 

Peace and loss are not mutually 

exclusive. According to Rabbi 

Brad Hirschfield, who spoke at 

the Albuquerque JCC on June 14, 

peace in the Middle East will demand 

deep concessions from Israelis 

and Palestinians. 

As far as determining what to 

give up, that gets a bit more complicated. 

Hirschfield, however, 

will leave that to the negotiating 

table. 

It’s helping people get to that 

proverbial negotiating table that 

Hirschfield focuses on. 

The rabbi, columnist and president 

of the National Jewish Center 

for Learning and Leadership, 

devotes his time to cultivating an 

attitude of cooperation. By promoting 

conversations between 

people from all sides of the Israeli- 

Palestinian conflict, he hopes to 

foster understanding and respect 

between them. While such conversations 

tend to make people 

feel uncomfortable, they may 

also lead to empathy and, ideally, 

compromise. 

The intensity of these conversations 

has escalated over the past 

60 years as peoples’ perceptions 

of Israel have changed, Hirschfield 

said. 

“With the dawn of modern 

Zionism, Israel wasn’t just the 

thing about which we dreamed, 

but the opportunity to build our 

dreams. And that’s compelling,” 

Hirschfield said. “I also think that 

Americans appreciate that there 

may be no country in the world 

that looks as much like the United 

States as Israel. You essentially 

have a nation of immigrants who 

came together to build a rightsdriven, 

open-marketed, society 

with respect for individuals and 

equality of religions. The stuff that 

makes America great is much of 

what makes Israel great.” 

Americans’ affinity for Israel 

The Palestinians: Once Again 

Missing an Opportunity? 

By David Harris, American Jewish 

Committee Executive Director 

Abba Eban, Israel’s late and 

legendary statesman, famously 

said nearly 40 years ago that “the 

Palestinians never miss an opportunity 

to miss an opportunity.” 

He was right. 

Most recently, in 2000, the 

Palestinians, presented with a 

breakthrough two-state plan 

by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud 

Barak, joined by U.S. President 

Bill Clinton, spurned it. Rather 

than offer a counter-proposal, 

they simply walked away, triggering 

a deadly new intifada in 

the process. 

As Clinton recounts in his 

book, My Life, he received congratulations 

from Arafat three 

days before the American leader 

left office. “You are a great man,” 

Arafat told him. “I am not a great 

man,” Clinton replied. “I am a 

failure. And you made me one.” 

In 2005, Israeli Prime Minister 

Ariel Sharon was determined 

to pull Israeli soldiers and settlers 

out of Gaza. He tried to do 

so in coordination with Palestinian 

leaders. But Mahmoud Abbas, 

Arafat’s long-time deputy who 

succeeded him, was AWOL, so 

Sharon went it alone. 

The result was that, for the first 

time in Gaza’s history, local residents 

had the chance to govern 

themselves. Within two years, 

however, Gaza was ruled by 

Hamas, which was more focused 

on Israel’s destruction than Gaza’s 

construction. What might have 

become the Middle East’s Singapore 

more closely came to resemble 

Somalia. 

And in 2008, Israeli Prime 

Minister Ehud Olmert went even 

further than Barak and Clinton. 

Abbas himself acknowledged that 

the Israeli leader’s deal, including 

territorial swaps, amounted 

to the equivalent of 100 percent 

of the West Bank. But there was 

no deal to be had. Once again, 

the Palestinian leadership would 

not embrace the extended hand. 

Unlike baseball, however, the 

rule “three strikes and you’re out” 

doesn’t apply to Israeli-Palestinian 

peacemaking. 

Now Israeli Prime Minister 

Benjamin Netanyahu is saying that 

he, too, fully accepts the concept 

of a two-state solution, is prepared 

to make “painful compromises” 

for a deal, and is open to 

“creative solutions” on Jerusalem. 

Indeed, as a goodwill gesture, he 

took the unprecedented step last 

year of freezing Israeli settlementbuilding 

for ten months, only to 

get nothing in return from the Palestinian 

Authority. 

Actually, it gets still worse. 

Not only will Abbas not sit down 

with Netanyahu, but he has now 

declared that his goal is to circumvent 

direct talks and seek 

UN recognition of a unilaterallydeclared 

Palestinian state. 

That would be a disaster. It 

would not advance the peace 

process. To the contrary, it would 

set it back dramatically. 

After all, a sustainable peace 

deal can only be struck through 

direct talks between the parties 

themselves. If the Palestinians 

think they can create a fait 

accompli by doing an end-run 

and seeking to use the UN as their 

validator, they are wrong. 

The UN does not have the 

power to recognize states, only 

to admit them. And that process 

requires the Security Council to 

recommend membership. The 

United States has already made 

clear, to its credit, that it will exer- 

See OPPORTUNITY. . Page 14 

bodes well for the country’s potential 

for peace, he said. Hirschfield 

encourages people passionate 

about Israel to engage in conversations 

about the Israeli-Palestinian 

conflict with those who harbor 

conflicting viewpoints. 

“When you bring more people 

into the conversation and you 

have more views and you have 

more voices it can get a little loud, 

just like a family,” Hirschfield 

said. “The challenge isn’t to silence 

those voices; the challenge 

is to have an ethic of many voices.” 

Those holding the majority 

viewpoint must be willing to hear 

the minority’s opinions. Meanwhile, 

the minority should voice 

their opinions with a measure of 

humility and modesty, Hirschfield 

said. “It’s also about being willing 

to learn from the minority. Just because 

someone is in the minority 

doesn’t make them wrong.” 

He maintains some guidelines 

for these conversations, however. 

Neither side can promote destruction 

of the other. 

“If people truly care about a 

Palestinian state and Palestinian 

rights, then I suggest they work 

on building that. Pressure brought 

to bear in that direction I can live 

with. In fact, it’s really appropriate. 

But the idea that it’s authentic for 

people to come together around 

the destruction of another nation 

in which they pay no price for its 

destruction, I cannot live with,” 

Hirschfield said. 

The Boycott, Divestment and 

Sanctions movement that advocates 

divestment in Israeli companies 

is an example of a counter-productive 

social movement. 

Calling for the eventual ruin of a 

country’s economy will not lead 

to cooperation, Hirschfield implied. 

However, facilitating a conversation 

between Palestinian and 

Israelis, for example, could potentially 

lay the groundwork for compromise. 

Six years ago, Hirschfield 

organized an event called “Why 

Israel? Why Palestine?” at the University 

of California, Irvine. The 

event, which attracted 800 people, 

sought to highlight students’ 

feelings rather than discuss policies 

or antagonize others. 

“The premise was we are not 

here to solve anything. We are 

here to hear people talk about why 

they love Israel and why they love 

Palestine and what that means to 

them. The hope was if we could 

first connect to our own ‘why’ we 

could get to concrete conversations 

of ‘what’ and ‘how’ with 

a greater understanding of our 

dreams and a greater understanding 

of the expectations of the other 

side,” Hirschfield said. 

At the conference a Jewish 

student who participated in the 

school’s pro-Israel lobby group, 

said to the crowd, “‘I love Israel 

every bit as much as before I came 

today, but I understand people in 

this room that I never talked to 

before and I realize I can do both 

of those things at the same time,’” 

Hirschfield recalled. 

Also at the conference, a female 

Muslim student admitted the 

Muslim Student Association had 

thrown her off the board for attending 

the conference. She said 

she felt happy she attended, however, 

because she realized she did 

not have to be rejectionist in order 

to care about Palestine. 

It’s this readiness to open up 

to others and make sacrifices that 

will eventually lead to progress, 

Hirschfield argued. While the 

losses may be far greater than expected, 

they may make all the difference. 

“Anyone who believes that 

peace will be made without experiencing 

some internal loss does 

not understand peace-making. 

It’s important whatever your position 

is, (you establish) what you’re 

willing to give up and what loss 

you are willing to feel because if 

your answer is none, you are not 

willing to make a difference.”


Santa Fe Jewish Singles Group 

By Peter Merrill 

I serve as the Chair of the Membership 

committee of Temple Beth 

Shalom in Santa Fe. In the spring 

of 2010, I realized that there were 

several independent Jewish singles 

in Santa Fe. One of the wonderful 

parts of the Jewish religion is that 

most Jewish holidays are celebrated 

by families. I realized that there 

were many Jewish singles who left 

their families behind when they 

moved to Santa Fe. As a result, 

they had no families with whom 

they could celebrate the holidays. 

Instead of starting a Temple Beth 

Shalom Jewish singles group, I 

decided to make the group independent 

and not affiliated with 

any of the Jewish congregations in 

Santa Fe. Completely on my own, 

I decided to hold the first Santa 

Fe Jewish Singles Group (SFJSG) 

event at my house. It was called 

a “Schmooze Party” and was held 

on Saturday night, July 10, 2010. 

I sent flyers to all of the congregations 

in Santa Fe asking them to 

include an article about the SFJSG 

and its first event in their e-newsletters 

or written temple bulletins. I 

hoped to see 10 -15 Jewish singles 

at this first event and was pleasantly 

surprised to see 31 people attend. 

It was really great. 

We had a general discussion 

about the SFJSG and decided to 

hold events every three months. 

We scheduled another event on 

October that we called a “Post New 

Year Party” as Rosh Hashanah was 

a few weeks earlier in September. 

About 40 SFJSG members attended. 

At that meeting, our group decided 

to hold events every two months, as 

three months between events was 

too long. On December 11, we 

held a “Chanukah - Latkes Party.” 

At that party, the SFJSG decided to 

hold its events every month instead 

of every two months. Beginning 

in January 2011, we began to hold 

monthly major events, and we also 

meet every Friday night at 9:00 pm 

at Vanessie’s Piano Bar in Santa 

Fe. This allows our members to 

first attend Friday night services at 

their temples and then join us at the 

piano bar. Of course, we attended 

a Passover Seder together. 

I must point out that the SFJSG is 

not a dating service. It is not J-Dating. 

As it is, we have about double 

the number of women in our group 

as men. It is also interesting that 

about 70% of the members are not 

affiliated with any temple in Santa 

Fe or elsewhere. However, a few 

have become affiliated after joining 

the SFJSG. The word got out about 

the success of our group and we 

now have members from Albuquerque, 

Rio Rancho, Placitas, Peralta, 

etc. All of our communications are 

via email as I generally send out a 

weekly “SFJSG Update.” 

Each Saturday, the New Mexican 

includes a “Faith Page” where upcoming 

events for all religiousbased 

organizations are published. 

SFJSG’s announcements are regularly 

included there. It has definitely 

added greatly to our membership. 

I really get a kick out of the women 

who call me requesting to make a 

reservation for the next SFJSG event 

that they read about in the newspaper. 

When I ask them if they are 

Jewish and single, I get the response 

“I am single but I am not Jewish... 

but I really love Jewish men.” I turn 

them down and do not allow them 

to attend the SFJSG event. 

We now have 135 members, 

including members from all five 

major congregations here in Santa 

Fe, and we are growing each month. 

We are very strict on whom we 

allow to join the SFJSG. We allow 

all Jews including temple members, 

the non-affiliated, Crypto-Jews and 

a few who are in the process of converting 

to Judaism. 

I am proud to say that our group 

has become a very large family. 

Now, we celebrate almost every 

major Jewish and USA holiday 

together. Last year, for those who 

did not have anywhere to go, we had 

a Thanksgiving dinner. We went 

out as a group for a Chinese food 

dinner (another Jewish Tradition) on 

Christmas Eve and had a wonderful 

time. We also had a well-attended 

New Year’s Eve Party. Yes, we are 

Jewish, but family is what we are 

all about. Several of our members 

have become good friends and regularly 

get together to socialize, go 

to the movies, go on hikes, shopping, 

etc. I am also proud to say 

that many of the members of the 

Santa Fe Jewish Singles Groups rings in the New Year. 

Photo Courtesy of Peter Merrill 

SFJSG have personally thanked 

me for my efforts in organizing the 

group, as it has made a large, positive 

change to their lives. I must 

also say that although we were not 

established to be a dating service, 

it is possible that relationships may 

form. Personally, I met a women, 

Ruth, at our October event and our 

relationship has become a wonderful 

part of both of our lives. I know 

a few other couples who have also 

formed. Due to these new relationships, 

a special rule was added to 

the SFJSG’s “Rules and Guidelines,” 

entitled “Wishful Thinking.” 

It states that if two members 

of the group should meet at a 

SFJSG event and get married, they 

become “Honorary Life Members.” 

This rule assures our members that 

they can continue to attend SFJSG 

events with the rest of the SFJSG 

family even if they loose their single 

status. 

There are so many singles 

groups in Santa Fe, but there is 

only one Jewish group and very 

carefully, we maintain our Jewish 

identity. Everyone who attends 

our events knows that everyone 

attending falls into one of the categories 

of Jewish members allowed 

to join. We have no membership 

dues, but charge $10 for all of our 

major events. Personally, I feel 

that our success is due mostly to 

the fact that we keep our group 

Jewish. In addition, we really 

enjoy getting together as a large 

extended family to celebrate holidays 

and form relationships while 

making new friends. We just had 

our “First Anniversary Party” on 

July 9. We are all looking forward 

to the continued family relationships 

that we have formed as 

members of the SFJSG. 

Repairing the Breach of Many Generations 

(Isaiah 58:6-14) 

www.ssdsabq.org 

By Sonya A. Loya 

In January 2011, with the help 

of Rabbi Stephen A. Leon of Congregation 

B’nai Zion in El Paso, 

and Albuquerque’s Rabbi Dav’id 

Ritch de Herrera, I was able to go 

study at Midrash Sephardi in the 

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A beneficiary of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico. 

Accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges & Schools 

Old City of Jerusalem. This experience 

allowed me to make connections 

with the Ladino Association, 

Shavei Israel (www.shavei.org), and 

Professor Michael Corinaldi. He 

is a Supreme Court attorney who 

has helped many dispersed Jews, 

including the Ethiopians, the Karrites 

and B’nai Anousim. I also 

met Dr. Shabtai, who is training 

students about dispersed Jewish 

communities. Recently, she made 

a trip to the Amazon to study the 

Anousim in Brazil, a country where 

there may be as many as 35 million 

descendents of Crypto-Jews. This 

experience not only changed my 

life, but has given me great hope 

in seeing unity between the various 

sects of Jews, which can help bring 

the Anousim back to Judaism. 

In December 2009, Rabbi Leon 

passed a resolution at the United 

Synagogue of Conservative Judaism’s 

biennial convention to honor 

the victims of the Spanish Inquisition 

each Tisha b’Av. Leon’s resolution, 

which applies to the Conservative 

congregations, also honors 

the B’nai Anousim who returned 

to Judaism. 

The text of the Resolution 

reads as follows: 

Whereas the holiday of Tisha b’Av 

recalls the very day that the expulsion 

of the Jews from Spain took 

place in the year 1492; and Whereas 

many Jews were forcibly converted 

to Christianity publicly, but continued 

to practice Judaism in secret; 

and Whereas many of the descendants 

of these Jews who are called 

B’nei Anousim have returned formally 

to Judaism today, and many 

are in the same process, 

Now, therefore be it resolved 

that the United Synagogue of Conservative 

Judaism calls upon all of 

its affiliated congregations to formally 

observe Tisha b’Av on an 

annual basis as an occasion to 

educate its members about the 

history and events of the Spanish 

Inquisition regarding the Jewish 

people, and to inform its members 

of the return of the B’nei Anousim 

to Judaism today; and Be it further 

resolved that the United Synagogue 

of Conservative Judaism helps to 

provide programs, speakers, films, 

and other appropriate materials 

for such Spanish Inquisition and 

B’nai Anousim commemorations 

on Tisha b’Av. 

Tisha B’Av is the perfect time to 

mourn the expulsion of the Jews 

from Spain in 1492 and to celebrate 

the return of their descendants. 

My husband, Carl and I were 

married in a civil ceremony on 

Purim, 2011. Our Jewish wedding 

will be on Tisha b’Av, held in the 

Old City of Jerusalem in the courtyard 

of the Sephardi Center. We 

hope to unite our brethren of all 

walks in the Jewish faith. Rabbi 

Leon will officiate the wedding, 

while Rabbi Chaim Richman, 

from the Temple Institute will be 

our witness along with his wife 

Rebbitzin Rena Richman, which 

seems fitting. We will have had 

our 8th Annual Anousim Conference-Tour 

in Israel for Tisha b’Av, 

not just mourning the Temple’s 

destructions, but also bringing 

hope of rebuilding and uniting the 

Jewish people. In spite of what the 

Church did to us for 500 years, we 

are returning to Judaism. Let this be 

an opportunity to turn our mourning 

into dancing. 

For more information about our 

8th Annual Anousim Conference- 

Tour to Israel, please contact Sonya 

Loya at tav_22@yahoo.com.


These Boots 

Were Made 

for Praying 

Lost Tribes and Found 

Communities: An Inaugural 

Speech by JCC President 

Art Gardenswartz 

speaks at the 

“Burn the Mortgage” 

event on 

June 12, when 

enough pledges 

were received to 

allow the JCC to 

pay off the last 

$500,000 of the 

original $2 million 

building debt. 

By Heather E. Shore 

Since becoming the religious 

leader of Congregation 

B’nai Israel in Albuquerque, 

Rabbi Arthur Flicker has given 

up all other kinds of foot wear 

and now only wears cowboy 

boots, year-round. If you 

haven’t looked too closely at 

the Rabbi’s footwear, then you 

may not have noticed that he 

has quite a variety of boots. 

Amongst the twenty pairs 

he’s purchased are three very 

unique pairs. 

About seven years ago, not 

long after Rabbi Flicker joined 

Congregation B’nai Israel, he 

bought his first pair of specially 

made boots. This particular 

pair has a reddish lizard upper 

and displays a hand carving of 

the Congregation B’nai Israel 

logo. These boots are perfect 

branding for the congregation’s 

rabbi. 

The company he bought 

his custom-made Judaica 

boots from is based in El Paso. 

Rabbi Flicker became familiar 

with the company when he 

bought a pair of their boots on 

Ebay. Initially, he had a hard 

time fitting into boots. The 

boots from this company fit 

pretty well, so he looked into 

their made-to-order boots. 

While the size of the boot is 

standard, the Rabbi has gotten 

creative on the upper part of 

the boot. 

This company makes it 

easy to design custom boots. 

All he needs to do is fax them 

a copy of the design he would 

like. They take it from there, 

and the Rabbi gets final approval 

on the boot’s design. 

Rabbi Flicker likes buying 

boots because he feels that he 

“can have fun with boots the 

way you wouldn’t with shoes. 

I mean nobody (no man, most 

likely) is going to go out and 

buy a pair of eel shoes.” He 

then shows off his eel boots, 

also custom-made, that have 

the Albuquerque Police Chaplaincy 

badge affixed to them. 

When working with the 

company on his second pair, 

the design became a little garish. 

Rabbi Flicker told them: 

“you know this is for a rabbi, 

not a big-time wrestler.” The 

end result was a black ostrich 

boot, with three Stars of David 

and the word ‘Rabbi’ stamped 

along the sides of each boot. 

The last pair of Judaicallythemed 

boots Rabbi Flicker 

purchased is also made of 

ostrich. These books proudly 

display the flag of Israel twice 

on each boot. 

“Every time I go to Israel 

these are, of course, the boots 

I take with me,” Rabbi Flicker 

says of his Israeli flag boots. 

And when Israelis see them 

they simply say: “Whoa!” 

Since he purchased these 

last pair of Judaica boots, the 

Rabbi has been having fun visiting 

the El Paso warehouses 

to buy ‘seconds’. Seconds are 

boots that the manufacturer 

deems unworthy to send to retailers, 

boots with some kind 

of flaw. Rabbi Flicker and his 

wife have purchased multiple 

pairs of ‘seconds’ and he says 

it’s like a game to try and find 

the flaw. A game he hardly 

ever wins. 

Over time, the Rabbi has 

replaced all his shoes with 

cowboy boots. When asked if 

that was all he wore now, he 

replied, “Yes. Well, that and 

Naot.” 

Rabbi Flicker enjoys visiting 

El Paso once or twice a 

year and stocking up on ‘seconds.’ 

Buying these shoes at 

such a reduced price lets him 

have fun and flexibility with 

his footwear. He can purchase 

four or five pairs of seconds for 

what he would spend for just 

one pair of custom boots. 

Rabbi Flicker has so many 

pairs of boots that he usually 

saves his Judaica boots for 

Federation, synagogue or Israel 

Bond meetings. A few years 

ago, he wore his Israel boots 

when he went to a dinner for 

the Israel Ambassador at the 

Governor’s mansion. 

Rabbi Flicker hasn’t 

bought a pair of custom made 

boots in a long time, but that 

doesn’t mean he won’t ever 

buy a paid again. “You never 

know,” Rabbi Flicker says, “if 

something stirs my soul.” 

By Art Gardenswartz 

As the new president of the Jewish 

Community Center of Greater Albuquerque, 

I have become re-engaged 

in working on behalf of our community. 

My inauguration gives me a 

chance to reflect on the reasons. 

We have a long history of Jews 

disappearing in New Mexico, reaching 

all the way back to 1510, when 

the second big wave of settlers 

arrived from Spain. It is believed 

that about half of the 2000 immigrants 

were Conversos or hidden 

Jews who did not have the option 

of practicing Judaism or even identifying 

themselves as Jews. For the 

most part, they were permanently 

lost. 

There is the story of Solomon 

Bibo, a German-Jewish trader who 

married a woman from Acoma 

pueblo and became its governor 

in the 1880s. Half a century later, 

many of the post-war German 

Jews were almost embarrassed to 

be Jewish and tried to assimilate as 

best they could. 

I am most reminded by the 

sad story of my cousin Ronnie 

Gardenswartz for whom the JCC 

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is named. Ronnie was born in 

Alamosa, Colorado with Jewish 

parents, but there were almost no 

Jews in his home town. He moved 

to Albuquerque long before we had 

a JCC at age 30, but never found 

himself, as a person or as a Jew. He 

wound up taking his own life at the 

young age of 42. I believe had there 

been a JCC he might have figured 

out who he was. 

Growing up in New Mexico, at 

the beginning, I was also ambivalent 

about why we needed a JCC, 

after all we are so accepted here 

compared to other communities. 

After visiting Israel this past fall, my 

wife Sonya and I realized that the14 

million Jews in the world (approximately 

6 million in the US, 6 million 

in Israel, 2 million elsewhere) are a 

very small percentage of the 7 billion 

people on the planet. Out of proportion 

to our numbers, we have made 

immense contributions to the world. 

We need to stick together because 

we know we will be tested again 

the future, as has happened countless 

times throughout history. Most 

importantly, Judaism gives us and 

our children a sense of who we are 

and the 60 generations that came 

before us. 

The JCC and the Jewish Federation 

represent our entire community. 

I hope by working with Federation 

President Hank Crane, we 

can offer some new and exciting 

events to make all of you want to 

participate in making our community 

stronger and more vibrant. I 

had never lived in a community 

that had a JCC. I am inspired by the 

dedication of leaders who came 

before me. We have a great board 

of directors but we still need community 

help and participation. 

We are lucky to live in America 

and in New Mexico where we have 

the opportunity to be part of the 

melting pot of acceptance, while 

not losing our identity as individuals 

or as a people. It is my belief 

that this is what makes our community, 

our state and our country 

stronger. The JCC is stronger than 

ever with 2,000 household memberships, 

and a family that includes 

the David Cooper Family Enrichment 

Center, the Solomon Schechter 

School, and David Spector 

Shalom House. We intend to 

work hard to improve everything 

we touch.


Chaim Time’s Welcome Back 

Bar-Be-Que 

Chaim Time, the JCC’s program 

for those over 60, will hold a 

Welcome Back Bar-Be-Que on 

Wednesday, August 24. Festivities 

start at 10:30 am with chair 

fitness. At 11 am, there will be 

live entertainment, and at noon 

BBQ chicken or kosher hot dogs 

will be served. Between 1:00 to 

3:00 pm, participants can play 

Mahjong, Canasta, Scrabble, or 

watch a film. The entire program 

UPCOMING 

EVENTS 

EVENTS 

costs $8, and is free to those in 

financial need. Call Robyn at 

348-4518 to make a reservation. 

Transportation is available 

through Jewish Family Service, 

call 348-4476 for more detail. 

JCC Book Fest 

Planned for October 

Between October 20-30, several 

exceptional American Jewish authors 

will speak at the Albuquerque Jewish 

Community Center. Chaired by author 

Lois Ruby, the 2011 Book Fest Committee 

examined the work of more 

than 200 authors on the Jewish Book 

Council’s tour. After comprehensive 

reading, research and discussion, the 

committee invited a handful of engaging 

authors to speak. 

On Sunday morning, October 

23, Stephen Fried will present: 

Appetite for America: Fred Harvey 

and the Business of Civilizing the 

Wild West-One Meal at a Time. As 

much an American success story 

as a story about America itself, the 

saga of Fred Harvey is a captivating 

tale of a man whose life, entrepreneurial 

spirit, innovation, hard work, 

and resilience have become the stuff 

of legend. His family business left 

an indelible mark on our nation’s 

culture and history; to a surprising 

degree, we still live in an America of 

The ninth annual “A Taste of 

Honey” is scheduled for Sunday, 

Feb. 12, 2012 at the Jewish Community 

Center in Albuquerque. Its 

purpose is to bring together local 

Jewish scholars, clergy, and community 

members to explore a rich 

array of issues pertaining to Jewish 

life. Diverse topics will be explored 

in two sets of mini-courses following 

Michael Wex’s keynote address. Wex 

is a prolific author and speaker on 

Yiddishkeit and Jewish humor, whose 

titles include Born to Kvetch, Just Say 

Nu, How to be a Mensch and not 

a Shmuck, and his newest book, a 

Fred Harvey’s making. But just who 

was Fred Harvey? Fried will paint a 

portrait of the man who created the 

hospitality industry. 

On Wednesday October 26, the 

luncheon speaker is twenty-sixyear-old 

journalist Alicia Oltuski, 

the daughter and granddaughter of 

diamond dealers. In her first book: 

Precious Objects: A Story of Diamonds, 

Family and a Way of Life, 

she seamlessly blends family narrative 

with literary reportage to 

reveal the fascinating secrets of the 

diamond industry. From Communist 

Siberia to a Displaced Persons Camp 

in post-World War II Germany, to 

New York’s diamond district, Oltuski 

explores the connection between 

Jews and the industry. 

For more information about the 

2011 JCC Book Fest, please contact 

Phyllis Wolf, JCC program director, 

at 348-4500, phyllisw@jccabq. 

org , or visit the JCC website www. 

jccabq.org. 

A Taste of Honey: Call 

for Course Proposals 

The New Mexico Jewish Historical 

Society Fall Conference 2011 

will be held on October 22 and 23 

in Albuquerque. 

The fall conference will focus 

on the business, professional, and 

community institutions that supported 

the development of Jewish 

life in New Mexico in the twentieth 

century, including the scientific 

and scholarly institutions that 

hired Jewish professionals to come 

to the state (i.e. University of New 

Mexico, its Medical School, Los 

Alamos, Sandia Labs, etc.) and the 

community institutions that supported 

Jewish life here (synagogues, 

the Federation, the Link, the Holocaust 

Museum, ADL, NMJHS and 

others), and businesses (service 

clubs, Chamber of Commerce). 

What is the Jewish history in the professional 

organizations? What has 

been the role of the Jewish institutions 

in supporting community and 

Jewish life? Who have been the 

Jewish leaders in these institutions? 

work of fiction, The Frumkiss Family 

Business. 

Past attendees expressed interest 

in presentations as diverse as: Jewish 

culture; religious ideas and practices; 

Jewish communities around 

the world; Crypto-Jews/Conversos; 

current events; history; humor; Israel/ 

Mideast; food; music; art; Holocaust; 

Yiddish; dance; Jewish life-cycle 

events/holidays, etc. If you would 

like to present a mini-course, information 

is available at the JCC website: 

www.jccabq.org, or contact Phyllis 

Wolf directly at phyllisw@jccabq.org 

or (505) 348-4500. 

NMJHS Fall Conference: 

Call for Papers 

What have been major institutional 

events that have shaped Jewish life 

in New Mexico? 

The deadline for receiving proposals 

for papers, panels, and other 

presentations is August 18, and all 

interested are encouraged to participate. 

Program proposals should 

include the author’s name, title, a 

100 word summary, and an indication 

of A-V or other needs, and they 

can be emailed to hart.gaon@gmail. 

com or send by ground mail to Fall 

Conference Program, NMJHS at the 

JCC, 5520 Wyoming Boulevard NE, 

Albuquerque, NM 87109. 

The conference will be at the 

Doubletree Hotel in Albuquerque. 

Registration material for the conference 

will be available in early 

September and further information 

about that will be available on the 

website. For further information see 

the NMJHS website (www.nmjhs. 

org) or contact the NMJHS (admin@ 

nmjhs.org or call 505-348-4471 or 

505-820-0550).


UPCOMING 

EVENTS 

EVENTS 

Jerusalem Online University Class 

offered to Albuquerque-Area Teens 

Beginning in August, 11th 

and 12th grade students will be 

offered the opportunity to attend 

the 30 session class, Israel Inside/ 

Out, developed by Jerusalem 

Online University. Students will 

take an exciting journey through 

time and discover the fascinating 

history of the State of Israel. An 

interdisciplinary approach utilizing 

online technologies paired 

with in-class lessons provides an 

unparalleled view of both ancient 

and modern Israel. 

Class topics include: Ancient 

History, A State is Born, In Search 

of Peace, International Relations, 

Israel in the Media, and Crossing 

the Line: The Intifada Comes to 

Campus. Online lecturers presented 

during class include such 

notable personalities as Harvard 

Professor Alan Dershowitz, Former 

Israeli Ambassador to the 

United Nations Dore Gold and 

Knesset member Professor Marina 

Solodkin. The class will feature 

cutting-edge films about the history 

of Israel, the peace process, 

and Israel’s global contributions. 

Israel Inside/Out presents students 

with primary documents 

such as the Balfour Declaration 

and the PLO Charter. Students 

will learn, study, debate and advocate. 

Tammy Kaiser, Director 

of Lifelong Learning for Congregation 

Albert says, “I can’t wait 

to bring this program to the Albuquerque 

Jewish community. Jewish 

high school students preparing 

for college, travel or employment 

should know about the history of 

Israel and Israel’s current place 

The New Mexico Anti-Defamation 

League (ADL) will offer a 

teacher training for middle and high 

school educators and administrators 

on its award-winning multi-media 

Holocaust curriculum, Echoes and 

Reflections on August 24 and 25 in 

Albuquerque. Two separate trainings 

will be held from 6-9 p.m. at 

the FBI building at I-25 and Comanche. 

Registration is $10. A complimentary 

copy of the curriculum 

($95) will be given to each teacher 

in attendance, and dinner will be 

provided. 

The award-winning curriculum 

developed by the ADL, the 

USC Shoah Foundation Institute, 

and Yad Vashem, includes everything 

educators need to teach the 

complex issues of the Holocaust to 

today’s students. 

This curriculum unit consists 

of 10 lessons beginning with life 

before the war, taking teachers and 

students through the Holocaust and 

ending with the return to life. The 

unit includes a DVD of over 50 brief 

survivor testimonies that are connected 

to each individual lesson. 

See www.echoes&reflections.org 

for more detail. 

The facilitator will be Ephraim 

Kaye, Director of International 

Seminars at the International 

School for Holocaust Studies at 

Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, the 

world center for documentation, 

on the world stage.” 

This class will be held at Congregation 

Albert on Wednesday 

evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 pm 

beginning August 24. The class 

is open to the entire community 

and is free for all students, including 

all materials, a community-wide 

graduation party, and 

a graduation certificate with the 

opportunity to continue learning 

through additional Jerusalem 

Online University programs. 

This initiative is co-sponsored 

by the Jewish Federation of New 

Mexico, Congregations Albert 

and B’nai Israel. 

To learn more about this special 

opportunity or to register, 

contact Megan at 505-883-0306 

or megan@congregationalbert. 

org. 

ADL Offers Holocaust Training for 

Secondary School Teachers 

Jewish Film Course to 

be held in September 

A Jewish film course will be 

offered by the Institute for Life- 

Long Learning for New Mexicans 

this September. Instructor Donald 

Gluck will show and lead discussions 

about three films. Enemies, 

a Love Story (1989) is Paul Mazursky’s 

adaptation of Isaac Bashevis 

Singer’s novel of Holocaust survivors. 

The Dybbuk (1937) is an exploration 

of Chassidic life and a 

compelling story. It was filmed in 

Poland in Yiddish and has English 

subtitles. In A Serious Man (2009) 

the Coen brothers bring Jewish 

mysticism to 1960s Minnesota. 

The course will be convened on 

Wednesday, September 14, 21, 

and 28 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm 

at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 

9315 Candelaria Road, NE in Albuquerque. 

The cost is $20. For 

catalog or enrollment contact 

LifeLong Learning at (505) 883- 

7370; www.lifelonglearningnmn. 

org; or P.O. Box 66768, Albuquerque, 

NM 87139. Enrollment 

ends on August 26. 

research, education and commemoration 

of the Holocaust. 

Kaye has coordinated and led 

over 250 international seminars 

from over 20 countries in 8 different 

languages on lessons from 

the Holocaust. 

Registration deadline is 

Wednesday, August 17. For further 

information, contact Susan Seligman, 

at sseligman@adl.org or 

505-823-2712. 

Jazz at Nahalat Shalom 

The John Proulx Trio played the “Music of Cole Porter” on Saturday, July 16 

as a part of the Geniuses of Jazz Series at Congregation Nahalat Shalom. 

You know the 

old joke: 

“Put two Jews in a room & 

you’ll get three opinions.” 

Make sure your child has the KNOWLEDGE 

to be part of the discussion! 

CBI Religious School Now Enrolling for 2011-12 

Classes Begin August 28 

New This Fall: Monthly Family Education Day! 

Learn & have fun with your entire family! 

Distance Learning 

Classes for all ages: Pre-K through Confirmation • Comprehensive learning through 

twice weekly program for Alef through Hay • Weekly art/music component 

• Low student-teacher ratio • Reasonable tuition rates • UCSJ affiliation 

Call Rabbi Arthur Flicker at 266-0155 

Visit the Jewish Federation of 

New Mexico Online at: 

www.jewishnewmexico.org


Professional Services 

Directory 

ACUPUNCTURE 

ALLERGY • IMMUNOLOGY • ASTHMA 

ARCHITECTS 

ART & FRAMING 

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ATTORNEYS 

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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 

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Representing select clients 

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Cert. Specialist: Divorce/Family Law 

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The Jaffe Law Firm 

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Personal Injury, Civil Litigation, 

Consumer Rights 

ATTORNEYS 

Lynn Yael McKeever, Esq. 

Resolving and Preventing Problems 

Wills, Trusts, Estates, & LLCs 

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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 

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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 

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

Practice Limited to Endodontics 

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4620 #C Jefferson Lane NE 

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ELDERCARE SERVICES 

HANDYMAN 

HEALTH & BEAUTY 

HEALTHY LIVING/ORGANIZING 

Decades, LLC 

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Small Jobs Welcome 

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Nutrition Counseling, Meal Planning 

Yoga, Fitness, Misc Projects 814-4900 

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COACHING & TRAINING 

Mindy Caplan 

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Lifestyle & Weight Management 

ACSM Certified, over 25 years experience 

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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 

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New Mexico Orthopaedic Associates 

201 Cedar St. SE, Albuquerque, 87102 

PLUMBING & HEATING 

Steward’s Plumbing, Inc. 

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“When Extra Care is Needed” 

All types of plumbing, heating, and sewer work 

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Sports Related Braces, Custom Fabrication 

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REAL ESTATE 

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Full service realty since 1973 

Ashley and Associates Ltd. 

217 Claremont NE – www.pamashley.com 

REAL ESTATE 

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Hospice de la Luz 

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Nurse owned, high quality end of life care. 

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Stone Design 

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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 

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VACUUM & SEWING 

Abbey Lane 

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Quality Miele & American-made Riccar vacuums. 

Elite Baby Lock sewing machine dealer. 

Repairs and supplies for all brands. 

THERAPY 

BRENDA N. SUSMAN, LMFT 

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Albuquerque, NM 87107 

Phone: 505 934-4120 

VALIDATION AND CHANGE 

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY


By Sue Fishkoff 

SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) -- Lisa 

Shimel, who is not Jewish, celebrated 

Christmas with her Jewish 

husband until their first child was 

born; now they’ve added Chanukah. 

Deb Morandi works at Jewish Family 

Services, where she introduces intermarried 

families to Judaism, though 

she is not Jewish. 

Pat Luftman was a committee cochair 

in her son’s Jewish preschool, 

but her Jewish husband was denied 

a board position because the couple 

was intermarried. The Rev. Eleanor 

Harrison Bregman accompanies her 

children and Jewish husband to synagogue 

on Saturday, then goes to 

church the next day on her own. 

A growing number of non-Jewish 

parents in America who have no 

plans to convert are raising Jewish 

children, marrying Jewish spouses, 

building Jewish homes and playing 

active roles in the Jewish community. 

But without plans to join the faith officially, 

their place in the Jewish community 

can be a bit complicated. 

“My husband has never asked me 

to convert, and I feel strongly that I 

won’t, so this is as far as it will go,” 

Morandi, an active member of her 

Reform congregation, Temple Etz 

Chaim in Franklin, Mass., said of her 

synagogue work. 

A decade ago, 31 percent of 

married American Jews had non- 

Jewish spouses, the 2000-01 National 

Jewish Population Survey reported. 

The study, to which there has been no 

national follow-up, also showed that 

one-third of the children born to intermarried 

couples are raised Jewish. 

With most intermarriages involving 

Jewish men and non-Jewish 

women, a lot of non-Jewish women 

are leading Jewish lives in everything 

but name. 

To be sure, there are many 

resources to help them, from national 

groups to synagogue outreach committees. 

But each woman’s experience 

is still a unique path she must 

blaze on her own. 

Morandi, who grew up Southern 

Baptist, says her husband was the first 

Jewish person she really knew. They 

didn’t think about religion until their 

twins were born. 

The family’s decision to create a 

Jewish home “just sort of evolved,” 

Morandi told JTA, because she and 

her husband wanted a sense of community 

and his parents lived nearby 

while hers did not. They joined the 

temple where their friends belonged 

and sent the boys to Tot Shabbat, a 

preschool program. 

“If they choose another path when 

they grow up, that’s fine with us,” she 

said. “We just wanted to give them 

something.” 

Morandi says she feels no pressure 

to convert. Not only are most of their 

friends intermarried, so are many of 

the young families she works with at 

Jewish Family Services in Boston. 

Raising Jewish children is even 

more complicated for a minister. 

Bregman is unlike most non-Jewish 

women raising Jewish children in that 

she actively practices her Christian 

faith. 

She grew up Episcopalian in Savannah, 

Ga., and says she had “a pretty 

literalist view of the Bible” when she 

hit Princeton University. Bregman and 

her future husband, Peter, struggled 

with the faith issue. He wanted her 

to convert, so they took introductory 

Judaism classes and joined a Jewish 

text study group. 

They married in 1999, and their 

Parenting Page 

For Non-Jewish Mothers Raising Jewish Children, 

Things Can Get Complicated 

By Julia Linder Bell 

As parents, we need to be aware 

of how powerful our words are. Do 

you ever stop to think about how you 

choose to communicate with your 

spouse and your children? What we 

choose to say can create joy through 

encouragement and kindness; or 

despair through negative and or critical 

word choices. How we choose to 

communicate with our children can 

become the internal voice that they 

use to express their self-worth. 

The phrase, Avrah Kadabra, illustrates 

how powerful our words really 

are. In Aramaic it means: “I create as 

I speak.” From the beginning of the 

Torah (in Genesis 1:3) we hear the 

words, “Let there be light and there 

was light.” 

Another place where Judaism 

illustrates the magnitude of words is 

in the Talmud. It states: “May God 

keep my tongue from evil, my lips 

from lies. “ (Talmud, Berakhot 17A). 

How often do you catch yourself 

speaking ill of a family member, 

neighbor, friend or stranger? When 

we are insecure, we speak negatively 

of someone else, tell a funny story 

about another which makes them 

look bad while they are not around 

or lie out of convenience and or laziness. 

Unfortunately, these conversations 

are becoming increasingly 

acceptable within our society. 

This type of behavior can be 

passed from parents to children, 

who may replicate these behaviors 

within their own social settings. This 

type of gossiping is known as lashon 

ha-raa. 

Judaism is very specific about the 

term lashon ha-raa (translated as “the 

evil tongue”). This is the practice of 

saying derogatory, deceptive or damaging 

statements that is not motivated 

by a constructive goal. Even honest 

information that can hurt an individual 

or a group is lashon ha-raa, 

provided that the primary intent for 

sharing this information is negative. 

Unfortunately, when lashon 

ha-raa is used, it creates a lack of 

trust within families and communities. 

People realize that their words 

or feelings may be the butt of the next 

joke. They don’t feel safe. This is not 

a healthy feeling. 

I see lashon ha-raa is within the 

schools. During the school year, I 

try to volunteer at our community 

school once a week. There, I observe 

how powerful words can be another 

form of socially cruel or aggressive 

behavior. I see kids using hurtful 

names towards each other or whispering 

about others and looking at 

them. I see friends who are constantly 

ganging up against each other. 

I see adults, teachers and even 

three children received Orthodox 

conversions. All are now studying in 

Jewish schools. Meanwhile, Bregman 

delved further into her own faith and 

was ordained as a United Church of 

Christ minister in 2009. 

“There’s not been much theological 

dissonance,” she told JTA. “I 

worked it out in seminary that we 

each have our own covenants.” 

Bregman says she doesn’t feel 

out of place at Congregation B’nai 

Jeshurun, a popular nondenominational 

synagogue they attend as a 

family in Manhattan. But when she 

attends church alone on Sundays, her 

oldest asks why. 

For Shimel, when her children 

reached school age, she wanted to 

take them to church, but her Jewish 

husband wasn’t comfortable with 

it. The couple enrolled in Stepping 

Stones, a two-year program for interfaith 

couples in Denver, and by the 

end of the course Shimel thought 

she could be comfortable raising the 

children Jewish. Shimel later become 

chairwoman of Stepping Stones; she 

says she’s the first Christian to head up 

a Jewish outreach organization. 

Like Morandi, Shimel says she 

feels no pressure to convert, although 

some people have suggested it. 

“I never felt it was a requirement 

for our family to participate as fully 

as we like in Jewish life,” she said of 

conversion. “There are some things I 

can’t do, but it’s a reasonable compromise.” 

Morandi and Shimel belong 

to Reform congregations, the most 

liberal of the three major Jewish religious 

denominations when it comes 

to ritual roles for non-Jews. 

In both the Reform and Conservative 

movements, individual congregations 

set their own policies governing 

which rituals are open to non-Jews, 

though Reform synagogues tend to 

be more inclusive. 

Typically, non-Jews are permitted 

to do anything that is not a commandment 

-- non-Jewish parents may 

stand on the pulpit during a child’s bar 

or bat mitzvah, for example, but do 

not say the prayer over the Torah. But 

some Reform congregations permit 

non-Jews to take part in every ritual, 

according to Vicky Farhi, lead outreach 

specialist for the Union for 

Reform Judaism. 

In Conservative congregations, 

non-Jews technically may not be 

members, and one must be a member 

to hold synagogue office. But beyond 

that, there are very few “red lines” dictated 

by the movement hierarchy, said 

Rabbi Paul Drazen, special assistant 

to the CEO of the United Synagogue 

of Conservative Judaism. 

“Each congregation reflects the 

community within which it is found,” 

he said. “At the same time, it’s inconvenient 

and confusing.” 

It’s also confusing when synagogues 

don’t set policies, or have one 

and don’t publicize it. That’s what happened 

to Luftman and her husband, 

Henry, an intermarried couple who 

joined their Conservative synagogue 

in Allentown, Pa., 17 years ago. 

Pat, the non-Jewish spouse, took 

a very active role in their children’s 

Jewish education, even teaching in 

the school. Henry, who served on the 

school board and chaired several subcommittees, 

wondered why he was 

never nominated to chair the school 

board or asked to serve on the synagogue’s 

board of trustees. Four years 

ago, the cantorial director explained 

why: His wife wasn’t Jewish. 

“It hurt us so badly and was insulting 

on so many levels,” Pat told JTA. 

principals, standing by and not 

doing anything about these activities 

thereby perpetuating aggressive 

behavior. 

I am often asked by children 

for help when they are experiencing 

verbal aggression. Kids ask me 

to talk to their parents, teachers or 

the person exhibiting mean behavior 

toward them because they need help 

and do not know what to do. 

Mean behavior can become bullying. 

The way to decide if it fits this 

definition is to look at three critical 

ingredients. “The first,” said Scott 

Hirschfield, director of curriculum at 

the Anti Defamation League (ADL) in 

New York, is that the behavior is done 

intentionally.” Next, he continues, 

“there is an uneven power dynamic. 

And finally, the action is repeatedly 

done over time and targets a specific 

person or group.” 

While schools implement “no 

bullying” programs, it seems that 

many people still have not learned 

that key to preventing this hurt is to be 

both compassionate and empathetic 

towards others. Compassion is often 

defined as showing concern for the 

suffering of others, while empathy is 

the ability to understand and sympathize 

with others’ feelings. 

Marji Lipshez-Shapiro, the ADL’s 

Connecticut, regional director of education 

created an anti-bias, anti-bullying 

program called, “Names Can 

Really Hurt Us.” She has dedicated 

her life to bringing awareness to this 

subject. “Names” is a program guided 

by teachers, trained student volunteers, 

and league facilitators, who 

discuss many uncomfortable subjects 

such as: gossip, rumors, physical 

harassment, racism, homophobia, 

depression, drinking, drugs, as 

well as various bullying behaviors 

and their consequences. 

When Lipshez-Shapiro was dean 

of residential life at Connecticut 

College in the mid-1980s, she noticed 

how intuitive kids were about their 

social climate. “Kids are aware of the 

social issues around them,” she said. 

“They can heal and empower themselves 

through their own voices.” 

Here are some tips from the ADL’s 

website for ways to prevent bullying 

among young people. 

The first thing to do is to support 

targets (or kids being bullied) whether 

you know them or not. Sometimes 

this means speaking up right away 

when you see bullying happen, but 

you can also support targets by letting 

them know you are there for them. 

Ask what you can do to help and 

make sure the targets know they are 

not alone. 

Next, don’t laugh when you hear 

name-calling. This is a really easy way 

to be an ally because it doesn’t require 

“And those rules were never written 

down. It was just ‘tradition.’ “ 

Half her community secretly 

wondered why she didn’t convert 

if she was so eager to be part of 

the community, Pat said, while the 

other half thought how wonderful 

it was that she was raising Jewish 

children. 

The couple thought about leaving 

the shul but decided instead to stay 

and change things. The synagogue 

now has written policies about what 

non-Jews and intermarried Jewish 

members may and may not do, and 

those policies are posted on the congregation’s 

website. 

For the Luftmans, it’s now a moot 

question: Pat converted in 2007. 

Emotionally, being betwixt and 

between in the Jewish community can 

be a rough ride, Bregman said. 

“I had a real moment where I 

thought, I can’t do this,” she said. “A 

minister married to a Jewish man? 

In the back of my mind I’d always 

thought that I could convert and 

be what my children are. Getting 

ordained was closing off that possibility.” 

At her child’s second-grade class 

presentation, Bregman says she wept 

while watching the children read 

from the Torah and dance around 

the bimah with their parents. 

“This passing down of the Torah 

to the next generation, I’ll never be 

part of that,” she said. 

But Bregman chose her path and 

is now a chaplain at the Jewish Hospital 

and Home in the Bronx, N.Y. 

She prays in her way and raises her 

children as Jews. 

“I was trying to fit it all in a box 

and I realized, I’ll always be in 

between,” she said. “It’s not an easy 

place to be.” 

Jewish Parenting: Turning Away from Lashon Ha-Raa 

you to actually do anything. By not 

laughing you are sending a message 

that name-calling and bullying is not 

funny and you are not okay with treating 

people that way. The next step 

is to speak up and explain why the 

name-calling is hurtful. 

Third, inform a trusted adult. 

Sometimes young people may need 

additional support to make sure the 

bullying stops. It’s important to tell 

an adult so that this person can be 

an ally to you. This may be a parent, 

a teacher, a guidance counselor or a 

coach; make sure to keep reaching 

out until you get help. 

In addition, tell aggressors how 

it feels to be bullied. It takes a lot of 

courage to tell aggressors how hurtful 

it is to be bullied, but if you do, maybe 

they will think twice before picking 

on someone again. 

You also can get to know people 

instead of judging them. Appreciate 

people for who they are, don’t judge 

them based on their outward appearances. 

In getting to know new people 

you may even find that they’re not so 

different from you. 

Finally, be an ally online; don’t 

forward hurtful messages. Bullying 

happens online too. Forwarding 

hurtful messages is just like spreading 

rumors or gossip in person. If you 

wouldn’t say it in person, don’t say 

See PARENTING. . Page 14

14 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 August 2011 

In Memoriam 

Lara C. Morrow 

On July 13, Santa Fe resident 

Lara Morrow died. Born on February 

7, 1932, the daughter of 

Depression Era migrant farmers, she 

attended thirty-six public schools. 

Hungry for education, Lara graduated 

from the University of Oregon. 

She was Regional Representative 

of the National Endowment for the 

Arts; Executive Director of the Great 

Lakes Arts Alliance; Consultant for 

the California Arts Council and the 

Montana Arts Council; Executive 

Director of New Mexico Arts. Upon 

Lara’s retirement, she served as President 

of the Witter Bynner Foundation 

for Poetry, she was a member 

of the Board of the New Mexico 

Women’s Federation and a member 

of the Social Justice Council at 

Temple Beth Shalom. Lara leaves 

behind her husband, Rabbi Ben 

Morrow of Santa Fe; children: Kim 

Wagner (Ray), Susan Morrow, Jeff 

Morrow (z’l), Heidi Shayla (Ethan); 

five siblings: Georgia Vest (Perry), 

Cherie Fletcher, Bill Cummins (Pat), 

Harry Morrow, Helene Morrow; 

eleven grandchildren; and nine great 

grandchildren. A Havdalah memorial 

service was held at Temple Beth 

Shalom on Saturday, July 16. 

Leah Bell Kellogg 

Rabbi Flicker Attends 

Jewish Federations of North 

America Conference 

Rabbi Arthur Flicker of B’nai 

Israel represented New Mexico at 

the annual conference of the Rabbinic 

Cabinet of the Jewish Federations 

of North America in Washington, 

D.C. from June 14 -16. 

The Rabbinic Cabinet met with 

officials of the State Department, 

members of Congress and representatives 

of the Center for Strategic 

and International Studies 

and the American Enterprise Institute. 

The conference included 

dinner with the Israeli Ambassador 

and a meeting with the Jordanian 

Ambassador. The conference 

included an opportunity to share 

local rabbinic concerns with 

national Federation leaders. 

“There have been a lot of 

questions and concerns about 

the direction of the American 

Jewish Community as well as 

the relationship between Israel 

and the United States,” said Rabbi 

Flicker. “Attending this conference 

was an opportunity to learn 

about actions our Federations are 

taking regarding the former and 

what our Congressional leaders 

believe about the latter. I have 

returned more confident in the 

direction of the Federations and 

with a better understanding of 

what is happening in Washington 

regarding Israel and the “Arab 

Spring.” 

“Another important aspect 

of the Rabbinic Cabinet is that 

it is the only national organization 

in which clergy from all of 

the various Jewish traditions join 

together in prayer, study and discussions. 

It is very important that 

personal connections between 

rabbis of different perspectives 

are maintained.” 

“The Jewish Federation of 

New Mexico is pleased that 

Rabbi Flicker attended the Rabbinic 

Cabinet Conference,” added 

Sam Sokolove, JFNM Director. “It 

is important that we maintain our 

connections to our national organizations 

both for our own learning 

as well as to keep them aware 

that we are out here.” 

US Attorneys Learn More About 

Personal Impact of the Holocaust 

Leah Bell Kellogg (z’l) in Normandy, France, 1945. 

Photo courtesy of Jon Bell. 

Leah Bell Kellogg (nee Waterman) 

died on June 9, at the age of 91. She 

received a bachelor’s degree from the 

University of Saskatchewan in 1940, 

and moved to Los Angeles to work 

as a nutritionist. After attending a 

U.S. Army recruiter’s presentation, 

Leah raised her hand to volunteer 

and was offered a position as a dietician. 

For her military service, Leah 

was awarded the American Theater 

Service Metal; a European, African 

and Middle Eastern Service Medal; 

a WW II Victory Medal; and a Battle 

Star for the Battle of Rhineland. 

In 1943, she was assigned to 

Santa Fe. Leah recalled, “I was met 

in Lamy and driven to the barracks at 

Bruns Hospital. I crawled into bed, 

and when I woke the first thing I saw 

was this great vast openness. It was 

incredibly beautiful, with the Sangre 

de Cristo Mountains in the background. 

I experienced this spiritual 

sensation of ‘Eureka!’ and knew that 

this was the place that I wanted to 

spend the rest of my life.” 

Leah quickly met other Jewish 

families in New Mexico, who welcomed 

her into their homes. One 

of those homes was that of Gerald 

Sydney Bell, whose family owned 

Bell’s Stores. Bell eventually won 

over Leah’s heart – but not immediately. 

“I went on a few dates with Gerald, 

and I liked him, but then I was transferred 

to the Good Samaritan Hospital 

in Los Angeles. He continued to 

send me letters and was upset that I 

didn’t respond. When I did reply, I 

said that we weren’t engaged, so I 

didn’t feel a need to stay in touch. 

Within days, Gerald came to Los 

Angeles and proposed.” 

After their marriage in Canada, 

she returned to Santa Fe and devoted 

her time to her family and her community. 

Leah and Gerald had three 

children, Barbara LaMont, Morris and 

Dano (z’l). 

Leah was fiercely loyal to the 

Santa Fe Jewish Community and 

worked tirelessly in the foundation 

of Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Fe, 

the city’s first Jewish congregation, 

serving two terms as president. She 

was also one of the first people to get 

involved with Hadassah in Santa Fe 

and helped develop a chapter. 

After Gerald passed away, Leah 

married Arden Kellogg and was 

adopted by his three daughters, Audre 

(z’l), Louise and Norma, and their 

families. Later in life, Leah became 

a Bat-Mitzvah and was confirmed. 

Both services were led by Rabbi 

Leonard Helman, who was not only 

Leah’s rabbi, but close friend, mentor, 

and dance partner. 

One of her most important tasks 

was getting the city to build a new jail 

as the previous jail was not adequate. 

Kellogg also helped create the Santa 

Fe Rape Crisis Center. Leah’s daughter 

Barbara explains, “She thought 

that we ought to have a community 

where residents can be safe.” 

Leah was also a charter member 

of the League of Women Voters and 

ardently believed that voting and participating 

in the voting process was 

a responsibility of citizens not to be 

taken lightly. 

Many people will also remember 

Leah as an active writer of 300 letters 

to the editor of the New Mexican. 

Never to outdo herself, Leah became 

involved in the group that founded 

Temple Beit Tikva and served on the 

board as both president and vicepresident. 

Some of Leah’s happiest times 

were spent with her family, in her 

garden, dancing with the Scarlet 

Ladies, playing bridge, and taking 

care of her dogs. Leah was honored 

posthumously as a Santa Fe Living 

Treasure for her significant community 

contributions. 

PARENTING. . from page 14 

it online. It is just as hurtful even 

if you can’t see the other person’s 

face. 

“With so much attention on 

lashon ha-raa, it is important to 

know there are times when we 

do need to speak up,” said Rabbi 

Martin Levy of Congregation 

Beit Tikva in Santa Fe. “Kids will 

often offer important information 

to their friends about delicate 

situations they are going 

OPPORTUNITY. . from page 7 

cise its veto to block this path. 

That leaves the General Assembly, 

where the Palestinians have 

an automatic majority, thanks to 

the Arab League, Organization of 

the Islamic Conference and the 

Non-Aligned Movement. While 

the General Assembly can seek 

to elevate the Palestinian status 

at the UN short of full membership 

and adopt symbolic resolutions, 

it cannot create new facts 

on the ground. 

So, if the Palestinians nonetheless 

pursue this path, what will 

they get? Momentary satisfaction, 

perhaps, at the General Assembly, 

but then there will be no actual 

change -- a sure-fire formula 

for disappointment and unrest. 

Meanwhile, Israel will conclude 

that it has no credible partner on 

the other side and consider unilateral 

steps of its own. And the 

U.S. Congress will be compelled 

to think twice before continuing 

its aid to the Palestinians, which, 

incidentally, the Congressional 

Budget Office recently determined 

to be among the world’s 

highest per capita recipients. 

In other words, if the Palestinian 

Authority is serious about 

a peace deal and the first chance 

in history of sovereignty, then it 

is high time to abandon the unilateral 

strategy, focus on restarting 

talks with Israel based on 

a two-state solution, confront 

head-on the tough issues, and, 

not least, reconsider its ill-conceived 

accord with Hamas, a 

group designated by both the 

European Union and U.S. as a 

terrorist organization. 

No, it is admittedly not an 

easy path, any more than it is 

for Israel, which will be asked to 

take enormous, even unprecedented, 

risks for an agreement, 

given its challenging neighborhood 

and small size -- it was only 

Hidden Child survivor 

Andy Holten with 

United States Attorney 

for the District of 

New Mexico Kenneth J. 

Gonzales on June 13th. 

Holten addressed the 

U.S. Attorney’s offices 

in Albuquerque on Las 

Cruces (via satellite) on 

his childhood experiences 

in Holland during 

the Holocaust. 

through that may be dangerous or 

harmful to them” he said “During 

these times, it is your duty to do 

something to help. You can tell 

your friend, ‘I care about you, 

so I think you should talk to an 

adult about this.’ If they are not 

willing to do so, you should alert 

an adult who can help. 

This is not considered lashon 

ha-raa because it is talk motivated 

by a constructive or beneficial 

goal. It is also very important 

in these situations that you 

feel safe and think about yourself 

as well.” 

Discussing difficult situations 

with a confidante, if you feel it 

will help your situation, is also 

helpful, healthy behavior. In the 

final analysis, if we speak with 

good intentions and kindness, 

we have the power to change 

the world around us. 

nine miles wide at its narrowest 

point until 1967, which for Eban 

evoked “insecurity and danger” 

and, as a result, “a memory of 

Auschwitz.” 

Apropos, the ‘67 boundaries 

reflected nothing more than 

the 1949 armistice agreement 

with Jordan, following the failed 

attempt by five Arab armies to 

destroy Israel at birth. Jordan 

egregiously violated that agreement 

by annexing the West Bank 

and denying Israel access to its 

holiest sites in Jerusalem, thus 

effectively rendering the agreement 

null and void. 

But there is no other way than 

face-to-face talks, at least if the 

goal is peace. Will the Palestinians 

seize this chance, or once 

again prove Eban right on never 

missing an opportunity to miss 

an opportunity? 

For more information, visit 

www.ajc.org.


New Mexico Welcomes Two New Rabbis 

At Temple Beth El in Las Cruces & At Congregation Albert in Albuquerque 

Rabbi Lawrence P. Karol 

joined Temple Beth-El in 

Las Cruces on July 1. He 

has extensive experience in 

Jewish education and communal 

activities, innovative 

worship services, Jewish 

musical creativity and interreligious 

and multicultural 

programs. 

Rabbi Karol was born 

in Kansas City, Missouri, 

where both of his parents 

also were born and raised. 

His father and mother, 

Joseph and Ruth Karol, were 

active for 40 years at Congregation 

B’nai Jehudah in 

Kansas City, teaching religious 

school and serving 

as leaders of Temple auxiliaries. 

Rabbi Karol attended University of 

Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, graduating in 

1976 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal 

Arts and Sciences (with a major in Sociology 

and a minor in Religious Studies). 

He was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish 

Institute of Religion in Cincinnati 

in 1981, and has served congregations in 

Dayton, Ohio for three years as assistant rabbi; 

22 years as rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom in 

Topeka, Kansas; and five years as rabbi of 

Temple Israel in Dover, New Hampshire. 

During his years in Topeka and Dover, 

Rabbi Karol made service to his congregation 

the main focus of his rabbinate. He assumed 

a wide range of responsibilities, including 

director of education, coordinator of music 

for worship, newsletter and e-mail update 

editor, as well as pastoral care and spiritual 

development. He sees himself as an equal 

partner with congregants in enhancing Jewish 

life in the congregation and bringing the best 

of Judaism and Jewish values to the Temple 

community. 

Rabbi Karol’s work in schools, on community 

boards, on state commissions and as 

a major leader in local interfaith organizations 

have been the hallmarks of his service to the 

community. He received awards in Topeka 

from the Brown Foundation for Educational 

Excellence, Equity and Research and the Living 

the Dream organization for his commitment 

Rabbi Lawrence P. Karol 

to creating understanding 

in the community. Wentworth-Douglass 

Hospital 

in Dover, New Hampshire 

presented him with 

the annual Spiritual Care 

Award in 2010. 

In the past eight years, 

Rabbi Karol has become 

known for his musical contributions 

to Jewish life, 

both as a songwriter and 

performer. Many of his 

tunes have emerged from 

Scripture and have found 

an audience in Jewish 

and interfaith settings. He 

has released two compact 

disc recordings of original 

Jewish music, “Two 

are Better Than One” in 

2003 and “A New Beginning” in 2005, and a 

songbook, “One Light Above: The Larry Karol 

songbook” in 2007. He has written many 

more songs that will, hopefully, find their way 

onto a new studio recording. 

Rabbi Karol believes that “the best way 

to be a part of any community is to add your 

own abilities and your knowledge and your 

core beliefs to the societal or congregational 

tapestry.” In presenting his perspectives to 

people of various backgrounds, he has said, 

“For someone to understand my viewpoint, I 

have to present it in a way where people can 

digest it and consider it and ponder it. I have 

learned that this is a wise approach.” 

His wife, Rhonda, is an experienced educator 

of young children who holds a master’s 

degree in Jewish Communal Service from 

Brandeis University. She has taught classes 

in Religious School for over 30 years and, most 

recently, directed the Early Learning Center 

of Temple Israel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 

Their son, Adam, is a 2008 graduate in 

professional music from Berklee College of 

Music in Boston. He currently works as a 

digital media assistant at the Union for Reform 

Judaism in New York City. 

Rabbi Karol and Rhonda look forward to 

getting to know members of Temple Beth-El 

and becoming active in the Jewish and general 

communities. 

Rabbi Harry 

Rosenfeld joined 

Congregation Albert 

in Albuquerque 

on July 1. Originally 

from Cleveland, 

Ohio, he 

received a Bachelor 

of Science in Psychology 

from John 

Carroll University 

in 1976. His education 

continued with 

a Master’s degree in 

Hebrew Letters and 

Rabbinic Ordination 

from Hebrew 

Union College in 

Cincinnati, Ohio 

in 1981 and he is 

currently pursuing 

a Doctor of Jewish 

Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld 

Alaska State Legislature’s 

Teen Pregnancy 

and Parenthood 

Taskforce, 

chair of the Municipal 

Forum on the 

Homeless, on the 

board of Catholic 

Social Services 

of Anchorage, the 

Community Advisory 

Board to the 

Anchorage Daily 

News, as a Mentor 

for the Leadership 

Anchorage 

program and as the 

President of United 

Way of Anchorage. 

He also served on 

the board of the 

Interfaith Council 

Studies degree through Spertus Institute 

of Judaica. After serving as Assistant 

Rabbi in Memphis, Tennessee 

for 3 years, Rabbi Rosenfeld arrived 

in Anchorage in 1984 to serve as the 

Rabbi of Congregation Beth Sholom 

for 16 years. In September 2000, Rabbi 

Rosenfeld was called to the position of 

Senior Rabbi of Temple Beth Zion in 

Buffalo, New York where he served until 

2011 when he arrived at Congregation 

Albert in Albuquerque. 

While in Alaska, Rabbi Rosenfeld 

traveled throughout the state working 

with the congregations in Fairbanks, 

Juneau and Kenai, and individual Jews 

in rural areas. He also served as an 

adjunct professor at Alaska Pacific University, 

and was a guest columnist for the 

Anchorage Daily News. Rabbi Rosenfeld 

was active in the Anchorage Human 

Services Community, having served 

as a member of the Municipal Health 

and Human Services Commission, as 

the Co-Chair of the Municipal Social 

Services Block Grant Allocation Task 

Force. He was a member of the Mayor’s 

Special Taskforce on the Homeless, the 

of Anchorage, which named their 

annual interfaith service award in his 

honor. In 1992, Rabbi Rosenfeld was 

elected to the board of the Pacific Association 

of Reform Rabbis and appointed 

to the Committee on Church and State 

of the Central Conference of Reform 

Rabbis (CCAR). He currently serves 

on the Committee on Contracts for the 

CCAR. In 1994, Rabbi Rosenfeld was 

honored by the Alaska State Legislature 

for his community work against racism 

and again in 2000 for his 16 years of 

service to the people of Alaska. 

While in Buffalo, New York, Rabbi 

Rosenfeld created social justice programs 

including Mitzvah Day – a day of 

caring in the community. Temple Beth 

Zion became the first synagogue in the 

country to expand its Mitzvah Day partners 

to include a church, Westminster 

Presbyterian Church, and two mosques, 

Masjid Nu’man and the Islamic Society 

of Niagara Frontier - Amherst Center. 

Rabbi Rosenfeld currently serves on the 

board of the Jewish Federations of North 

America Rabbinic Cabinet Executive 

Committee. 

Israeli Reality TV: Better than Politics? 

By Boaz Fletcher 

The Fatah/Hamas Reconciliation. 

Is it good for the Jews? 

No. 

Well, now that we’ve covered 

that let’s move on, shall we? 

So let’s talk a bit about something 

more extreme and a new challenge 

to Israeli society: 

Reality Television. Is it an evil 

that has the nation in its grip, or is 

its popularity explained by it acting 

as a diversion from the difficult realities 

we live through day to day? 

C’mon, do you really expect a 

well-reasoned answer from me? 

THE summer show to watch, and 

even those who say they don’t watch 

it actually do, is Kochav Nolad (“A 

Star is Born”). The local version of 

American Idol has a certain charm 

which Israelis can’t resist. It could 

be because of all the singing, since 

Israelis know all the words to all 

the songs ever written in Hebrew, 

and can sing them better than you. 

It may be because everybody is an 

expert music critic (“Did you hear 

that? You call that a falsetto?”). Or 

it just may be that no matter what, 

put 5 Israelis together and give one 

of them a guitar and they’ll start to 

sing. It is a thread that runs through 

all sectors of Israeli society, even if 

not every sector knows the others’ 

songs. It’s a tribal thing. 

Actually, the entire “Reality” 

genre has taken such a strong hold 

of the entertainment scene, to the 

point where the even the news 

industry has noticed. Yes, Reality 

TV has been featured in the news. 

Let me revise that, Reality television 

IS news. 

Israel has been gripped by the 

reality TV phenomenon, from the 

Grandmother of all reality shows, 

Survivor (whose Hebrew title translates 

roughly to “watch hungry 

people in bikinis eat live insects”), 

through homemade concoctions of 

note such as, well, um, I’ll get back 

to you on that. 

We love to take what others 

have done and adapt them to local 

tastes. For example the producers of 

Master Chef (Hebrew title “Master 

Chef”) felt that the abuse heaped 

upon the participants in the original 

just wasn’t right for all the ballabustas 

they thought would apply for 

the show, and so gave it a kinder, 

gentler spin where everyone was 

friendly and helpful, yet the judges 

could still criticize the croque-enbouche. 

Another bonus – Israelis can 

now say “croque-en-bouche”, 

although not very well. 

We have become something of 

Reality Snobs, there are the reality 

shows that we watch, and the ones 

we would never watch. Perhaps this 

is not such a surprise coming from 

a country where each new neighbourhood 

is intentionally built with 

two synagogues – the one I go to 

and the one I would never set foot 

in. 

I’ll make a personal confession 

(can you make an impersonal confession?), 

I have watched some of 

these shows. One that stands out 

is Beauty and the Geek (Hebrew 

title: “Hayafa V’Hachnun” to which 

many foreigners simply reply “bless 

you”) because it’s a show about 

people in bikinis who do not have 

to eat insects, but do need to master 

difficult trivia about such things as 

fashion magazine titles and the 

proper spelling of words greater 

than 5 letters in length. Mostly it’s 

a show that doesn’t take itself too 

seriously and isn’t afraid to make 

fun of everything and everyone. Sort 

of like Israelis. 

Of course in a country where 

total strangers critique the parenting 

performance of other total strangers 

it’s only logical that a show such as 

Super Nanny (Hebrew title: “Super 

Nanny” – funny, you would think 

“Nanny HaSuper”, no?) would be 

popular. Not that anyone listens to 

or learns from the show. The real 

way to watch Super Nanny here is 

to convene a panel of Mothers Who 

Know Better to call out running 

commentary on the poor parenting 

performance of those featured in the 

week’s episode. Sort of like Monday 

Night Football, but not really. 

More people here can name the 

participants in the Big Brother television 

show than can name more 

than 3 government ministers, which 

is the other Big Brother show. 

Come to think of it, I rather like 

the idea of people voting for their 

favorite candidates during elections 

via text. Don’t even need to 

bother to go to the polling station 

or show your ID card, just go 

straight to the beach or the traditional 

election day barbeque and 

text from there. 

I just worry that the only reality 

we will have left is politics. And 

once the politicians are in their 

Knesset seats, you can never vote 

them off the island. 

And the more you watch these 

series, interview after interview of 

people talking about their “strategies” 

for moving ahead by creating 

erstwhile alliances only to 

fool those around them and break 

them later, you can’t help but 

wonder if this is how the world 

really is. 

Especially if you’re wondering 

about Fatah and Hamas.

16 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 August 2011 

Endowments: Our 

Legacy and Our Future 

Simcha 

By Miriam Efroymson 

As a board member of 

the Solomon Schechter Day 

School of Albuquerque, it 

gives me great satisfaction to see 

that fifteen years after its birth, 

SSDS continues its mission of 

offering a comprehensive Jewish 

and secular education from kindergarten 

through fifth grade. 

Inspired by the highest ideals 

and values of Jewish life, SSDS 

- the only Jewish day school in 

New Mexico - offers a place 

where Jewish students can thrive 

in a nurturing, inclusive, community 

atmosphere, and where 

Jewish identity, pride, and a lifelong 

commitment to Judaism is 

fortified. 

Located in a purposely 

designed building at the Jewish 

Community Center campus in 

Albuquerque, SSDS shares extensive 

outside space including a 

pool and a large gym within the 

JCC. 

Tuition is $11,570 a year, and 

SSDS offers a generous financial 

aid program. The applicant 

family submits the financial aid 

request directly to SSDS, which 

includes tax returns and schedules. 

The results are reviewed 

and merited aid is granted. 

Although SSDS annually 

budgets financial aid, to maintain 

the school, outside aid is urgently 

needed. It can be in the form of 

annual donations or endowed 

gifts. 

As for endowed gifts, 

my daughter-in-law 

Jeana recently said to 

me: “You’re alive? What 

a great time to create an 

endowment!” 

Indeed, endowments 

create a permanent 

source of funding 

to support one or more 

of your passions. 

A named endowment 

fund in the Jewish 

Community Endowment 

Fund starts at $10,000, 

Giving starts early in Mimi Efroymson’s family. Grandson Clarence 

donates the contents of his tzedakah box at the Jewish Federation of 

New Mexico. 

but any amount may be added to 

existing funds to support Schechter, 

Hillel at the University of 

New Mexico, the JCC, Federation, 

Jewish Family 

Service, or your 

congregation. 

A $1,000 gift 

to the Jewish 

Women’s Endowment 

Fund will be 

added to an existing 

fund and you 

can honor a loved 

one by having 

them listed among 

the Women’s Fund 

founders. 

An endowment 

is a wonderful place to put windfall 

money that will not repeat 

yearly, such as a bonus or inheritance. 

Recently, I found a letter my 

father-in-law sent my children 

when they were little, recounting 

a living endowment gift his 

grandmother made in 1929. My 

father-in-law was so inspired by 

his grandmother’s example that 

he and his brother endowed the 

bulk of their estates to benefit the 

causes and institutions they supported 

in their lifetimes. 

What will you teach your 

descendents about legacy giving? 

No need to wait: visit jcefnm. 

org. 

Jewish Link 

The New 

Mexico 

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE - WE STILL NEED YOUR SUPPORT! 

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Thank you to our current subscribers who are helping us maintain the only State-wide Jewish publication, 

which unites New Mexico’s Jewish community with news, commentary and education! 

Bonnie Minkus 

married Jayme 

Holmes at Bishop’s 

Lodge in 

Santa Fe on July 

16, with Rabbi 

Deborah Brin officiating. 

Bonnie 

is the daughter 

of Sabra Minkus, 

vice-president of 

the Jewish Federation 

of New 

Mexico. 

Teaching Mammography 

at Sheba Hospital in Israel 

The above picture shows Dr. Michael Linver, his wife Mina Jo, and their 

10-year-old-granddaughter, Margalit at the Breast Imaging Conference. Dr. 

Linver convened this conference for 200 Israeli radiologists and technologists at 

Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer, the largest hospital in the Middle East. From 

left to right, the photo shows Miri Ziv, the head of the Israel Cancer Association, 

Dr. Rachel Brem (in the dark suit) from George Washington University, and 

several well-known Israeli radiologists. On the far right is Dr. Tom Stavros, the 

world’s foremost expert on breast ultrasound. These individuals were the only 

Americans who have taught mammography and other breast imaging methods 

to Israelis in the past 15 years. 

Making Aliyah 

NON-PROFIT ORGN 

U.S. POSTAGE PAID 

ALBUQUERQUE, NM 

PERMIT NO. 492 

TIME SENSITIVE MATERIAL 

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5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE Alb., NM 87109 

Albuqerque native Shara Albert Fromme, her husband Eric, and their children 

Esther, Aliyah, Sophia, Yaakov, and Ephraim arrive in Ben Gurion airport on July 

12 with 254 other North American Olim who have committed to Aliyah.

August 2011 - Jewish Federation of New Mexico

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