April 2012 - Jewish Federation of New Mexico

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Volume 42, Number 4 Published by: The Jewish Federation of New Mexico • New Mexico’s Center for Jewish Philanthropy Nissan/Ayar 5772 April 2012 

Jewish Federations Shocked 

at Terror Attack in France 

The Jewish Federations of 

North America is shocked and 

outraged by the tragic terror attack 

on a Jewish school in Toulouse. 

On March 19, Mohamed 

Merah killed a teacher, Rabbi 

Jonathan Sandler, his two children 

Gavriel, aged 6, Aryeh, aged 

3 and Miriam Monstango, aged 8, 

daughter of the school principal. 

Kathy Manning, chair of 

JFNA’s Board of Trustees stated, 

“We at Jewish Federations are 

devastated by the terrible news 

Acclaimed Israeli Choreographer 

Bar Roggel to Visit New Mexico 

This April, New Mexicans will 

have a chance to see the work of 

an acclaimed Israeli choreographer. 

Bar Roggel will travel here for 

a cultural exchange involving collaboration, 

creation, outreach and 

performance. 

Roggel will be in residence 

at Albuquerque’s Keshet Dance 

Company beginning April 9. This 

residency is part of a cultural exchange 

program integrating Albuquerque’s 

sister cities relationship 

with Rehovot, Israel. 

To continue the exchange, Keshet 

will send one dancer along 

with Artistic Director Shira Greenberg 

to Rehovot for three weeks to 

facilitate master classes, collaborate 

to create new choreography, 

and explore new outreach opportunities. 

“Bar represents the new vanguard 

of Israel modern dancers,” 

says Shira Greenberg, founder 

and artistic director of the Keshet 

Dance Company. “We’re tremendously 

fortunate to have the opportunity 

for her to perform and 

teach in New Mexico.” 

Roggel was born in Jerusalem, 

Israel and has lived in Rehovot, Israel 

since age 11. She is a graduate 

of an attack on Jewish school children 

in France. 

We send our deep and heartfelt 

condolences to the families 

of the victims, while wishing a 

speedy recovery to the injured. 

At the same time, we embrace 

the entire Jewish community of 

France and stand with them at this 

very diffi cult and tragic time.” 

Jewish communities across 

the globe, including in North 

America, are stepping up their 

security procedures. 

Bar Roggel 

of the dance department at Thelma 

Yellin, the National High School of 

Arts. Roggel studied with the Israel 

Ballet and the San Francisco Academy 

of Ballet, and participated in 

the Batsheva Excellence Project. 

From 2008-2012, she served in 

the Israeli Defense Forces’ International 

Cooperation Unit, and she is 

currently an independent dancer 

and choreographer. 

While in Albuquerque, Roggel 

will collaborate with Keshet’s repertory 

dancers and Artistic Director 

Shira Greenberg. Her work will 

be presented in Yom Ha’atzma’ut 

(Israeli Independence Day) celebrations 

across the state of New 

Mexico along with two world premiere 

works created by Greenberg 

and Vladimir Conde Reche, professor 

of dance at the University of 

The bodies 

of the victims of 

Monday’s shooting 

at a Jewish 

school in Toulouse, 

France, 

during their joint 

funeral service 

in Jerusalem, 

March 21, 2012. 

Photo by Uri 

Lenz 

According to JFNA’s CEO 

and president, Jerry Silverman, 

“Words cannot describe the shock 

and outrage - and deep mourning 

- that result from a terror attack 

that is specifically directed at 

children. We have long known 

that Jews can be targets of vicious 

attacks wherever they are in the 

world. And it is clear, that even 

today, in 2012, that statement 

remains true. Jewish Federations 

stand with the Jews of France at 

this time of sorrow.” 

New Mexico. 

Roggel’s work in New Mexico 

is sponsored by the Jewish Federation 

of NM, Keshet Dance 

Company, the Albuquerque Sister 

Cities Foundation and the Ronald 

Gardenswartz Jewish Community 

Center of Greater Albuquerque. 

Performances will be held at 

the Taos Academy for Dance Arts 

on Sunday, April 22 and at Moving 

People Dance Center in Santa 

Fe on Tuesday, April 24. In Albuquerque, 

Keshet will be joined by 

Mayor Berry and students from 

Solomon Schechter Day School 

for a free, community-wide Yom 

Ha’atzmaut performance on the 

evening of Thursday, April 26 at 

Sandia Preparatory School in Albuquerque. 

Roggel will also be working 

with students and community 

members at various locations 

across Albuquerque, including the 

University of New Mexico’s Dance 

Department, Hillel at UNM, Solomon 

Schechter Day School, Valley 

High School, and Sandia Preparatory 

School. 

This international exchange 

can become a springboard for discussion, 

education and cultural 

See KESHET on page 3 

Just Another Normal, 

Surreal Day 

Boaz Fletcher 

Link Correspondent, Jerusalem 

Wednesday morning. My 

daughter’s kindergarten class is 

going to be making matzot today 

for the holiday. The kindergarten 

teacher has promised each and every 

one of them that their Abba and 

Ema will be eating the matzot they 

made at the Seder. 

Why am I waiting in front of a 

bakery before 8 in the morning? 

Right, the kindergarten teacher 

asked me to help. I have a pickup 

truck. Perhaps that makes me special. 

Beep, beep, beep, beeeeeep. 

The hourly chime marks 8 a.m. 

Digital watches around me, including 

my own, acknowledge their 

rough synchronicity. 

The news comes over the pickup’s 

radio. Top of the news is the 

funeral of the four Toulouse murder 

victims to take place in Jerusalem. 

The French foreign minister 

is here. Meanwhile, in France, the 

police have apparently surrounded 

the house of the suspect. No real 

details yet, except that he is suspect. 

The double doors to the bakery 

open and two of the workers push 

out a metal cube on wheels, trailing 

an electrical cord tail. They are 

headed in my direction. I guess this 

is why my pickup is so popular. 

“What’s this?” I ask them. 

“A pizza oven,” says the shorter 

one. 

“But we’re not making pizzas, 

we’re making matzot. For 

Passover. Unless the rules have 

changed about pizza on Passover 

and nobody told me.” 

“This is what the boss said,” 

says the shorter one. Apparently 

the other one is mute. 

Together, the three of us hoist 

it onto the bed of the pickup truck 

and tie it down. 

“Behatzlacha (good luck).” If 

you were expecting the taller one 

to speak, you’ve just been disappointed. 

The drive to the kindergarten 

takes about 10 minutes. Waiting 

outside the gate is a man I recognize 

as another father. I untie the 

oven and what previously took 

three men to lift comes down with 

only two doing the work. So the 

mute is the brawn, and the short 

guy the brains. Just like in the movies. 

8:30, the half-hour news update 

is on the radio. News about 

the funerals in Har Hamenuchot in 

Jerusalem. The police request that 

drivers stay away from the area if 

they don’t need to be there. 

Together we roll the oven up 

the ramp to the door of the kindergarten. 

Fortunately, there is a ramp 

to accommodate stroller pushing 

up to the door. Unfortunately, it’s 

a single door. The oven is not going 

through. So back down the 

ramp with the oven. There is a gate 

that opens to the back. A little bit 

of man power over a few steps and 

the gravel and the strewn shovels 

and buckets and we find ourselves 

at the back of the kindergarten. 

Inside is a man in a hat and a 

beard (the beard is attached to the 

man, the hat comes off, I suspect) 

explaining to the children about 

matzah and how it is made. 

He shows them special flour 

that was specially stored, water 

that was specially put aside over 

night, and special tools such as 

rollers, spatulas, and what looks 

like a pizza knife (!) with spikes (!). 

I don’t really understand why water 

needs to “rest” overnight. It doesn’t 

ever seem to do much. Given the 

choice it will always flow downhill. 

Lazy. 

Beep, beep, beep, beeeeeep. Is 

it really 9 o’clock? More news on 

the radio. The announcer cuts to the 

presidential residence where the 

president is addressing the French 

foreign minister in French. The radio 

announcer apologizes for not 

being able to translate the French 

words of a Hebrew-speaking president. 

Fortunately, he doesn’t have 

to. A woman’s voice with a slight 

French accent in Hebrew translates 

for the rest of us who aren’t Frenchspeaking 

presidents. 

The French foreign minister 

speaks of his sadness and the close 

relationship France has with Israel. 

He does this in French, so I need to 

trust the woman’s voice. 

Cut back to the studio and the 

announcer tells us that now the 

suspect in Toulouse has a name: 

Mohamed. Imagine that, a man 

who shoots little Jewish girls in 

the head is named Mohamed. It 

boggles the mind. He may have 

even gone to an Al Qaeda summer 

camp to learn those very special 

Jihad skills. Seems the French police 

had him in mind for the recent 

murders of French soldiers in the 

area, and then decided he wasn’t 

their guy. 

The rabbi comes to see us outside, 

takes one look at the oven 

and delivers his verdict. “Oy.” 

“Oy?” 

“Oy. It’s not clean. We need to 

clean it.” 

Now I know how one cleans a 

pizza oven for Passover. Not a skill 

I ever thought I would need. Good 

thing I’m not wearing anything that 

can’t be thrown away. However I 

now know how to use a blowtorch. 

And I also now know that there are 

rabbis who bring blowtorches with 

them, for just such an eventuality. 

We plug in the oven to heat it. 

Temperature is critical. The whole 

matzah operation can take no more 

than 18 minutes from the time the 

See SURREAL on page 5

2 The New Mexico Jewish Link A Service of the JewiSh federAtion of new Mexico April 2012 

Yom Ha-SHoaH 

One Thousand Bones toward One Million Bones 

The Placitas Holocaust Remembrance and Genocide Awareness Group 

By Doris Fields, Ph.D. and Avi 

Kriechman, M.D., Placitas 

Can you imagine being nine 

years old and moving from place 

to place, hungry and scared for 

your life? 

Can you imagine that you are 

six years old searching for food 

and a safe place to hide for you 

and your two younger siblings? 

Can you imagine watching 

your mother, father, brother, and 

uncle murdered in front of you 

by marauding rebels, and then 

watching your home burned to 

the ground? 

These are the fierce vessels of 

genocide. 

Far too many of us are unaware 

of the degree to which genocide 

WEST SIDE 

is being perpetrated throughout 

the world today. Genocide is not 

inevitable. Each of us can take action 

to address genocide, by simply 

increasing our own awareness, 

then and helping to raise 

awareness about it. 

Members of the Placitas Holocaust 

Remembrance and Genocide 

Awareness Group, founded 

by Doris Fields and Gail Goldstein, 

have been taking important 

steps to make a difference. Over 

the past two years, Placiteños 

have been learning more about 

genocide and mass atrocities, including 

the Holocaust in Germany 

during World War II and ongoing 

genocides around the world, 

including in Bosnia, Rwanda, and 

Sudan. 

PJ Library Reaches 100 

New Mexican Jewish 

Children 

Good News! PJ Library in 

New Mexico now has over 100 

participants receiving free exciting 

books monthly. 

These books, appropriate for 

children from six months to five 

years old, have Jewish content 

and a guide to support the specific 

traditions and values found 

in each book. They are free to all 

who qualify, but anyone who desires 

may contribute so that more 

families can receive books. 

Donations may be sent to 

Jewish Federation of New Mexico 

or Congregation B’nai Israel earmarked 

for PJ Library. 

This pioneering effort is supported 

by the Jewish Federation 

of New Mexico, Congregation 

B’nai Israel and the Harold Grinspoon 

Foundation. Betty Harvie 

coordinates the program as a 

member of the board of Jewish 

Federation with staff assistance 

from Sherry Roy. 

All children living in New 

Mexico, under age 5 with at least 

one Jewish parent are invited to 

enroll at PJLibrary.org. 

ANDREW MADVIN 

SPECIALIZING IN CUTS, 

COLOR AND COLOR CORRECTION 

CALL LA BELLA SPA AND SALON, 

WEST SIDE LOCATION 

FOR AN APPOINTMENT. 

899-5557 

10126 Coors Blvd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114 

www.LaBellaSpaSalon.com 

The Placitas Holocaust Remembrance 

and Genocide 

Awareness Group will hold its 

third annual event at the Placitas 

Community Library on April 21, 

2012, beginning at 2:00 p.m., 

coinciding with the National Holocaust 

Remembrance Day (Yom 

HaShoah). 

The event will include a film 

clip about the Holocaust and 

genocide around the world and 

a candle lighting ceremony honoring 

those who have died as a 

result of genocide. The Collin 

Room Exhibit for April features 

photographs taken in locations 

where genocide or other atrocities 

have been perpetrated, including 

Auschwitz, Dachau, and 

Manzanar. These images have 

been contributed by Tom Ashe, 

Doris Fields, and Laura Robbins. 

During the past year, several 

members, including these writers, 

By Tori Lee 

Link Correspondent, Santa Fe 

Recently taking up her post as 

interim pastor at St. Bede’s Episcopal 

Church in Santa Fe, Reverend 

Nicolette Papanek brings to her 

vocation interesting connections 

to the Jewish community. 

She grew up in a mixed-faith 

household. Her mother, Winifred, 

was a Congregationalist. Her Austrian 

Jewish father was the internationally 

recognized designer Victor 

Papanek, an advocate of socially 

and environmentally sustainable 

product design decades before 

such thinking became widespread. 

A man thoroughly engaged 

with how people in different cultures 

adapt the natural environment 

to suit their needs and desires, 

he was specifically intrigued 

by how indigenous societies such 

as the Navajo and the Inuit (Alaska) 

adapted to their physical environment. 

Reverend Papanek grew up 

in a house full of people from all 

over the world, people of different 

ethnicities and different religious 

backgrounds or no religious tradition 

whatsoever. 

Growing up, Reverend Papanek 

heard stories of her grandparents 

and other relatives of the Ho- 

collaborated with the One Million 

Bones Project. It is a collaborative 

art installation whose mission 

“is to create a visible movement 

that will increase global awareness 

of these atrocities while 

raising the critical funds needed 

to protect and aid displaced and 

vulnerable survivors.” 

To this end, members of the 

group and more than 80 Placiteños 

have helped to make clay 

“bones” for the project, fabricating 

more than 600 so far. Each 

“bone” generates funds for the 

project. Our goal is to make 

1,000 bones for the third annual 

event on April 21, 2012 at the 

Placitas Community Library and, 

ultimately, for the spring 2013 

bone lay of one million bones on 

the National Mall in Washington, 

D.C. 

There is one more bone making 

session planned for April 6, at 

locaust era. Her paternal grandfather 

owned gourmet food shops in 

Vienna. Though he claimed to be 

officially Lutheran, he lies buried 

in the Jewish cemetery in Vienna. 

The Holocaust necessitated construction 

of complicated personal 

identities. 

Many relatives were forced to 

flee Austria. One such relative was 

Ernst Papanek, Austrian educator 

and well-documented rescuer 

of Jewish children. He ran afoul 

of Third Reich authorities initially 

for his support of outlawed political 

opposition parties. After a two 

year exile in Czechoslovakia, Ernst 

Papanek fled to France where he 

worked for the Organisation de 

Sante et de l’Education (OSE), an 

organization funded by Russian 

Jews to smuggle Jewish children 

out of Germany. 

OSE leased rural estates 

throughout France and turned 

them into boarding schools for displaced 

Jewish children. Ernst Papanek 

was director of at least one 

OSE school until he was forced to 

flee to the United States in 1940. 

Mr. Papanek continued to work 

with war orphans through the Children’s 

Aid Society and as director 

of child welfare programs of 

the Unitarian Service Committee. 

When Jewish war orphans were 

the Placitas Community Library, 

from 12 noon until 4 p.m. Clay, 

tools, and instructions will be 

available for anyone who would 

like to make a clay “bone.” The 

Senior Center van will be bringing 

interested seniors to make 

bones and view the exhibit at 

12. Everyone is encouraged to 

stop in and make “bones” for 

the project. Refreshments will be 

served. 

Finally, those who would like 

to help lay the 1,000 bones outside 

the library on April 21 are 

encouraged to wear all white, in 

honor of the people who have 

died. This annual event, as those 

in the past, promises to be artistic, 

educational, inspiring, emotionally 

moving, and uplifting. We 

encourage all to come and bring 

friends and family. 

Contact Doris Fields at (505) 

867-5340 for more information. 

Episcopal Priest with Ties to Holocaust Hero 

Reverend Nicolette Papanek 

brought to the United States after 

the war, he designed comprehensive 

social service programs to address 

their profound psychological 

needs. 

Ernest Papanek wrote an account 

of his Holocaust era activities, 

Out of the Fire, the royalties 

from which Reverend Papanek 

donates to the United States Holocaust 

Memorial Museum in Washington, 

D.C. 

Readers with information on 

Ernst Papanek’s Holocaust era activities 

are requested to contact the 

writer through the New Mexico 

Jewish Link.

April 2012 A Service of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico The New Mexico Jewish Link 3 

Yom Ha-SHoaH 

Holocaust Remembrance Day 2012 Unites Generations 

Special program shares memories of the final generation of Holocaust survivors with high school students. 

By Ann Powers 

NM Holocaust & Intolerance 

Museum 

It’s been nearly 70 

years since the Holocaust. 

For some, that 

seems like a lifetime 

ago. For the survivors, 

the horrors of Nazi 

Germany remain real 

and ever present in 

their memory. 

Yom HaShoah, or 

Holocaust Remembrance 

Day, is a day 

we remember the victims of the 

Holocaust, commemorating its 

martyrs and survivors. This year’s 

Albuquerque observance will address 

the importance and power 

of passing the stories of the final 

generation of Holocaust survivors 

to the next generation. 

Genocides are woven into the 

fabric of modern history -- from 

the slave trade and the mass murder 

of Native Americans, to the 

Holocaust, and recent atrocities in 

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic 

of Congo. Yom HaShoah’s 

focus is to ensure that the Holocaust 

is not forgotten. It seeks to 

stop the terrible violence that often 

comes from hate and intolerance, 

particularly atrocities directed 

against any group of people, 

simply based upon their ethnicity, 

religion, gender, race, sexual orientation, 

etc. 

The program entitled “A Continuum 

of Remembrance” unites 

Albuquerque Holocaust survivors 

with Albuquerque and Rio Rancho 

high school students. It is a 

unique and powerful opportunity 

for high school students to connect 

with some of the last living 

Holocaust survivors. 

Renee Firestone 

New Mexico Human Rights 

Projects designed the program 

and is collaborating with the Holocaust 

and Intolerance Museum 

of New Mexico to bring 

it to the community. It is 

sponsored by the Jewish 

Federation of New Mexico 

and New Mexico Human 

Rights Projects. 

“The project has allowed 

students to hear 

first-hand the stories of 

survivors and their messages 

of inspiration and 

courage,” said the New 

Mexico Human Rights Project’s 

Executive Director Regina Turner. 

“It’s hard to believe, but the truth 

is that these youth are the last generation 

to bear witness to the tragedies 

of the past from those who 

suffered. These young people are 

now entrusted with this knowledge 

with the hope that they will 

pass it on to future generations.” 

The program will be held on 

Sunday, April 22, 2012 from 1:30 

– 3:00 p.m. at the Holocaust and 

Intolerance Museum of New Mexico, 

located at 616 Central Ave. 

SW, in Albuquerque. 

The keynote speaker for the 

event is Renee Firestone. During 

the latter part of World War II, 

when only 19 years old, Firestone 

was imprisoned for 13 months in 

the infamous concentration camp, 

Auschwitz-Birkenau. Most of her 

family was murdered. 

“To save the future we must 

tell our stories and give voice to 

the six million Jews who couldn’t 

make it,” said Firestone. “We must 

teach our children to respect life 

and love, not only ours, but of all 

others.” 

Firestone is an international 

speaker and leader in social jus- 

tice and Holocaust education. A 

founding lecturer for the Simon 

Wiesenthal Center’s Educational 

Outreach Program, Los Angeles, 

Firestone was a trainer and interviewer 

for the Survivors of the Shoah 

Visual History Foundation. She 

was featured in Steven Spielberg’s 

The Last Days, which received the 

1998 Academy Award for Best 

Feature Length Documentary in 

2007. Firestone also had a cameo 

role in the inspirational film Freedom 

Writers. She is the honorary 

adviser for the New Mexico Human 

Rights Projects. 

Firestone has conducted workshops 

for educators entitled “Human 

Rights and Genocide” and 

has lectured at the annual convention 

of the California Council 

for Social Studies. She has been 

the subject of countless television 

radio and print media interviews 

regarding the Holocaust and its 

contemporary implications. 

“I get thousands of letters from 

children all over the world about 

what they have learned and they 

tell me not to worry that they will 

remember the stories,” said Fire- 

The Origin of the Final Solution Examined at 

Congregation Albert Breakfast 

By Peter Weinreb 

A few days before Yom Hashoah, 

Holocaust Remembrance Day 

(April 19), Congregation Albert 

Brotherhood’s monthly breakfast 

presents Sheri Metzger Karmiol, 

Ph.D. speaking about “The 

Wannsee Conference- 70 Years 

Later.” The breakfast is Sunday, 

April 15 at 10 a.m. at 3800 Louisiana 

Blvd. NE, Albuquerque. 

Karmiol will discuss how 15 

high-ranking representatives from 

the German government and the 

Nazi Party met at a villa in Wannsee, 

near Berlin, on Jan. 20, 1942. 

Historians considered that the 

Wannsee Conference was when 

the German hierarchy devised 

the plans for the Final Solution. 

Some now dispute that finding as 

too simplistic. The conference’s 

70th anniversary is a fitting time 

to discuss both the conference 

and its legacy as the site for the 

Final Solution. 

Karmiol is adjunct professor in 

the University Honors Program at 

UNM. She has taught Holocaust 

Studies at UNM since 1997, and 

in summer 2006, 

she received a 

Silberman Fellowship 

to study 

at the U.S. HolocaustMemorial 

Museum in 

W a s h i n g t o n , 

D.C. She currently 

teaches 

classes that focus 

on community issues 

of prejudice 

and intolerance. 

The breakfast’s 

regular cost is $10 for 

Brotherhood and Sisterhood 

Professor Sheri Metzger Karmiol 

Jessica Avila and Simone Nunez speak with Holocaust survivor Raya 

Kovensky. 

members and $12 

for all others. The 

event is paired 

with Congregation 

Albert’s annual 

blood drive, 

who donors enjoy 

breakfast for free 

(see page 8). 

Please make 

reservations by 

Wednesday, April 

11 by calling 883- 

1818 ext. 3203, 

and leaving your 

name, telephone, and number of 

persons attending. 

stone. “We survivors, we will no 

longer be here. But we are getting 

through to some of the young 

people.” 

Some of these young people 

include Jessica Avila and Simone 

Nunez, both juniors at Amy Biehl 

High School. Through a humanities 

course, they have been learning 

about the Holocaust, recording 

survivors’ experiences and 

volunteering at the museum. They 

say the overall experience has 

KESHET from page 1 

engagement. It marks the beginning 

of an annual festival bringing 

Israeli artists to New Mexico to 

changed their lives. 

“We see life in a different 

way now,” explained Avila. “Racial 

hatred is unacceptable and 

we need to stop it by starting 

small and letting the community 

know.” 

The young women will give 

a presentation at this year’s Yom 

HaShoah event. 

“The Holocaust generation is 

getting older and it is definitely 

important for younger generations 

to learn about this, and the 

signs of hate and intolerance to 

prevent racism, sexism and all 

of this from happening,” added 

Nunez. “You need to fight for 

what you believe in, and the first 

step is broadening the scale of 

information out in the world. It’s 

up to our generation now.” 

In addition, the children’s 

choirs from the Solomon Schechter 

Day School and Congregation 

Albert will perform and a reception 

will follow the program. It is 

free and open to the public. For 

more information, contact Regina 

Turner at (505)730-1060 or 

Ann Powers at (505)315-9966. 

foster engagement on many levels 

-- secular, religious, political and 

artistic. 

Choreographer Bar Roggel performs with Keshet Dance Company 

Date and Time Location Cost 

Sunday, April 

22, 1:30 pm 

Tuesday, April 

24, 6:30 pm 

Thursday, April 

26, 6:00 pm 

Taos Academy for 

Dance Arts, 

2 Las Colonias Road, 

Taos, 87571 

Moving People Dance 

Center, 

1583 Pacheco Street, 

Santa Fe, 87505 

Sandia Prep School 

Theatre, 

532 Osuna Road NE, 

Albuquerque, 87113 

$10 for members of the 

Taos Jewish Center, $15 for 

non-members 

Free 

Free 

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• Carpet, hardwood, stone, tile, vinyl, recycled rubber, etc. • 

• Wholesale prices, direct from manufacturers • 

• Installation services for all products • 

• Showroom • References available • 

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(505) 294-4170 • e-mail: emindlin@comcast.net • www.call eddy.com 

Member of Congregation Albert since 1981


By Aaron J. Hahn Tapper 

SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) – 

Pundits have been pointing fingers 

since a recent poll found that 50 

percent of Mississippi and Alabama 

GOP supporters said they believe 

that President Obama is a Muslim 

(with approximately another 40 

percent in both states saying they 

are unsure). 

Some accuse Republicans 

of attempting to raise questions 

about Obama’s Christian identity. 

Republican presidential candidate 

Rick Santorum insists he has said 

repeatedly that Obama is a Christian. 

But in January, during a town 

hall event in Florida, Santorum did 

not correct a woman who said that 

Obama “is an avowed Muslim,” 

responding to her false statement 

by saying that he agreed with some 

of the things she said. A few weeks 

later, in February, the Pennsylvania 

Republican referred to the president 

as adhering to a non-Christian 

faith -- “some phony theology, not 

a theology based on the Bible.” 

Santorum later argued that he was 

suggesting Obama’s religion was 

secularism. But many observers 

weren’t buying it. 

An editor at The Atlantic, David 

Graham, criticized the poll itself, 

arguing that simply asking the question 

ends up perpetuating the “pernicious” 

claim that the president is 

a Muslim. 

Implicit in all of these arguments 

is that there is something 

wrong with adhering to Islam. And 

on this front, Obama and his aides 

are not much better than the president’s 

opponents. 

This latest turn in the 2012 presidential 

election plot line underscores 

a widespread yet underlying 

Islamophobic societal trend 

that noticeably has been around 

since the last presidential campaign. 

During the 2008 campaign, 

the false gossip ranged from the 

extreme -- Obama has secret ties 

to al-Qaida! -- to the benign, such 

as his having chosen to be sworn 

into Congress using a Koran. 

Then and now, the Obama 

campaign has actively dismissed 

all such claims, even ones that 

aren’t particularly negative. In 

2007, then-campaign spokesman 

OpiniOn 

President Obama is not a Muslim (not that there’s anything wrong with that) 

Robert Gibbs referred to claims that 

Obama is a Muslim as “malicious 

and irresponsible charges.” 

One of the 2008 Obama campaign 

election websites stated: “Lie: 

Senator Obama was sworn into the 

U.S. Senate using the Koran. Truth: 

Barack Obama was sworn in using 

his family Bible.” 

As former Secretary of State 

Colin Powell once asked, “What if 

he is? Is there something wrong with 

being a Muslim in this country?” 

Would something be wrong if 

Obama had been sworn in using 

a Koran, as was U.S. Rep. Keith 

Ellison (D-Minn.) in January 2007? 

The answer should be no. But 

the president and his supporters 

make it seem otherwise by treating 

the “Obama is a Muslim” claims as 

both insults and accusations that 

need disputing. 

Religious identity is important 

to Americans, especially those 

running for the highest office in the 

land. This is a genuine concern for 

supporters of Obama just as it is for 

those behind Mitt Romney, who is 

seeking to become the first member 

of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 

Saints to be president. 

The crux of this particular 

prejudice, however, is not based 

in wanting to know what Obama’s 

religion is but wanting assurances 

about what his religion is not. Much 

of this likely stems from an American 

populace that is still dealing 

with the trauma of the Sept. 11, 

2001 attacks, which were carried 

out by violent Muslim extremists 

with the implicit guilt by association 

tied to all followers of Islam. 

By repeatedly insisting that 

Obama is not now nor has he 

ever been a Muslim, the Obama 

campaign and the White House 

deliver a problematic message to 

the world, including the Muslim 

American minority -- 1 percent of 

America’s population, according 

Publisher: Jewish Federation of New Mexico 

(JFNM), 821-3214 

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

Contributors: Rabbi Deborah Brin, Schelly Talalay Dardashti, Cate 

Dixon, Doris Fields, Boaz Fletcher, Rabbi Arthur Flicker, Avi Kriechman, 

Tori Lee, Rich Lieberman, Carol March, Ann Powers, Naomi Sandweiss, 

Paula Amar Schwartz, Peter Weinreb, Natanella Zafrani 

Production: Christine Carter, Envision Graphics 

Wire service: Jewish Telegraphic Agency 

Advertising manager: Anne Grollman, 348-4472, 

fax 821-3351, E-mail: anne@jewishnewmexico.org 

Advertising deadline: The 15th of the month preceding 

to the Pew Forum on Religion and 

Public Life -- and the 1.6 billion 

Muslims living outside the United 

States. The message: At the very 

least, Muslims are unfit to be president. 

And it’s not just the denials. At 

one event in Detroit during the 2008 

presidential race, the Obama campaign 

moved two Muslim women 

wearing headscarves away from 

the podium and out of the sight of 

the cameras. Throughout that campaign, 

Obama spoke at numerous 

churches and several synagogues, 

but never once at a mosque. 

Yes, in 2009 Obama gave a 

widely watched speech in Egypt, 

the largest Muslim majority country 

in the Middle East, in which he 

cited many verses from the Koran, 

thereby showing respect to the 

Islamic tradition. Yes, Obama’s 

administration has sent out statements 

to Americans and non-Americans 

alike honoring annual Muslim 

holidays. Yes, in an interview with 

CNN’s Larry King, responding to 

the satirical cover of The New 

Yorker tying him and his wife to 

Osama bin Laden and black militancy, 

he said that this “is actually 

an insult against Muslim Americans 

... sometimes I’ve been derelict in 

pointing that out.” But Obama also 

added, “I wasn’t raised in a Muslim 

home and I pledge allegiance to 

the flag ...” When did these things 

become mutually exclusive? Why 

the mixed messages? 

Obama’s administrative staff, 

supporters and even some of his 

opponents continue to echo the 

mantra that Obama is a practicing 

Christian. Instead the main message 

should be that it does not matter if 

Obama were a Muslim. 

When his campaign in 2008 

said it was a “smear” to be called 

a Muslim, when his campaign and 

administration aides today fail to 

stress that there would be nothing 

Asking More of Our Media: Nonie 

Darwish’s Lecture as Case Study 

By Cate Dixon 

Albuquerque 

Journalists know better than 

most the effect that the choice of 

words has on the message. And 

sometimes, information that is ignored 

or inadvertently left out of 

an account is as important as that 

which is included. Choice of words 

and decisions as to what information 

to include may also be an 

indication of bias on the part of a 

reporter or media source. 

So what is the intelligent, interested 

reader (or viewer or listener) 

to do? 

Recent reports in the Albuquerque 

Journal of an incident that occurred 

at a lecture by Nonie Darwish 

on the UNM campus present 

a case in point. It seems that Astrid 

Galvan, the Journal staff writer, was 

not present at the event, so was unable 

to record her own first-hand 

account. In the first article pub- 

publication. 

Address: The New Mexico Jewish Link 

5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE, Alb., NM 87109 

Submission Policy: Letters to the editor, articles, or other information 

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and not the opinions of The New Mexico Jewish Link, nor of its 

wrong even if he were a Muslim, 

Obama is perpetuating the notion 

that there is something wrong with 

having a Muslim identity. Would 

false rumors that a politician were 

Jewish be considered an insult? 

What about being a Hindu or a 

Sikh? 

During the 1940s, Nazi propagandists 

attacked Charlie Chaplin 

-- his film “The Great Dictator” 

mocked Adolf Hitler -- for being 

Jewish. Chaplin was a Christian, 

but he never denied the charge 

because he believed that to do so 

would play into the hands of anti- 

Semites. 

Why hasn’t Obama taken such 

an approach? He’s had more than 

three years as president of the 

United States to stand loud and firm 

about how problematic it is to use 

the label “Muslim” as a pejorative. 

The television sitcom “Seinfeld” 

dedicated an episode to this 

sort of liberal hypocrisy, with Jerry 

and George denying being gay 

lovers followed by a quick “not 

that there’s anything wrong with 

that” with each denial. The sitcom 

was mocking the insincerity of 

those who preach acceptance of a 

minority group but display revulsion 

when mistakenly confused as 

a member of that group. 

Ideally, perhaps, the president 

would follow Chaplain’s lead. 

But if he and his aides are going 

to make a point of responding to 

claims about his religion, the least 

they could do is give us some Jerry 

and George. Even a “not that there’s 

anything wrong with that” would 

be an improvement. 

(Aaron J. Hahn Tapper is the 

director of the Swig Program in 

Jewish Studies and Social Justice 

at the University of San Francisco 

and the co-executive director of 

Abraham’s Vision, an educational 

organization working with Jews, 

Muslims, Israelis, and Palestinians.) 

lished about it [“Clash Erupts at 

UNM Lecture,” February 25, 2012] 

it appears that she did what any reporter 

would have done when investigating 

after the fact. She interviewed 

people on both sides of the 

confrontation who had been there. 

So far, it was acceptable standard 

journalism. 

However, would good journalism 

have led Ms. Galvan to ask 

some relevant questions? 

See DARWISH on page 10 

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by the Jewish Federation of New Mexico, that focuses on 

Jewish life in New Mexico. It is committed to seeing Jewish life 

thrive.” — Since 1971 

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Founder of Israel Gay Youth Visits Albuquerque 

Link Staff Report 

A pioneer in LGBT rights in Israel 

visited Albuquerque recently. 

On March 19, Avner Dafni, 

founder and executive director of 

Israel Gay Youth (IGY) spoke at the 

University of New Mexico. His 

lecture was held at noon in the atrium 

of the Student Union Building, 

as hundreds of students walked by, 

looking for lunch. 

At first, most of the chairs were 

empty, but as Dafni spoke, increasing 

numbers of students sat down 

to listen. Dafni remarked that this 

was just like one of his youth centers. 

When they first open, they are 

mostly empty, but after a bit, more 

and more young people appear. 

Israel Gay Youth provides assistance 

and support to young people 

ages 15-23. The organization has 

over 40 centers in 25 cities for 

young people to meet, do homework, 

play music, and informally 

socialize in a safe environment. 

The groups are divided by age. 

According to its website, IGY 

seeks “to instill a sense of belonging 

among all participants, who 

learn they are not alone … This 

process fosters a sense of empowerment, 

motivates social activism, 

and develops young leadership.” 

IGY also has a program for 

youth who are at high risk of falling 

into homelessness, drug abuse, 

and prostitution, whose needs are 

much more intensive. Dafni works 

with a paid staff of three and dozens 

of volunteers across Israel. 

In addition to providing direct 

services to young people, IGY advocates 

for national policy change. 

Last year, the organization helped 

a lesbian woman adopt the biological 

child of her partner – a first in 

Israel. 

Gordon Bronitsky brought 

Avner Dafni to New Mexico, and 

the visit was sponsored by Congregation 

Albert, Jerry Ginsburg, 

and American Veterans for Equal 

Rights. Dafni’s talk at UNM was 

also co-sponsored by the university’s 

LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, 

transgender, and questioning) 

Resource Center. 

Most audience questions at the 

university were related to the Israeli-Palestinian 

conflict. When asked 

if IGY worked with Arab communities, 

Dafni replied that it was very 

difficult. There are two Arab gay 

advocacy organizations in Israel, 

one in Haifa and one in Jerusalem, 

yet neither will engage with IGY. 

Despite this, IGY’s policy is to continue 

to “reach out our hand.” 

Dafni explained that the more 

conservative the community, the 

more risk LGBT youth encounter. 

He said that it was simply too dangerous 

for Arab young people to attend 

the IGY centers. Occasionally, 

they will get phone calls, but that is 

generally the extent of the interaction. 

Young people from conservative, 

religious Jewish communities 

also face the threat of family violence. 

Dafni told the audience that 

during his trip to the US, one young 

letteR to tHe eDitoR 

I was present on Feb. 23 for 

Nonie Darwish’s speech at UNM. 

The views she expressed were neither 

pro-Israel nor anti-Muslim. 

The core tenet of her speech, as 

well as her books, are against jihad 

and sharia law, which allows and 

encourages the rape, torture and 

“honor killings” of women. 

She left Egypt and converted 

from Islam to Christianity to escape 

the violent abuse of women that 

she was speaking about so passionately. 

The Students for Justice in Palestine 

have been involved in many 

other campus protests around the 

country, often leading to disruption 

and violence. This well-organized 

disruption got the result they were 

looking for - angry reaction and 

widespread publicity. 

While I don’t condone the 

Link Staff Report 

In response to concerns raised 

by the Jewish Federation of New 

Mexico and representatives of 

Congregation Albert and Congregation 

B’nai Israel, the Board of 

Directors of the New Mexico Conference 

of Churches voted by consensus 

at their March meeting to 

decline co-sponsoring a “Friends 

of Sabeel Conference on Justice 

and Peace in Palestine and Israel” 

scheduled for September in Albuquerque. 

The NMCC’s participation was 

sought by local anti-Israel activists. 

pushing and shoving that took 

place, I fully understand the peaceful 

crowd’s reaction to the protesters. 

To be very clear, this was no violent 

attack against the protesters, 

as many news organizations and 

bloggers have suggested. Yes, people 

were pushed and shoved and 

yelled at, but at the same time, the 

protesters were throwing things, 

yelling obscenities and pushing 

back. 

The entire confrontation could 

have been avoided if the protesters 

had taken their turn at the microphone 

during the question and answer 

period. 

However, that would not have 

served their express purpose of disruption, 

attention and sympathy. 

Jeffrey Paul, 

Albuquerque 

NM Conference of Churches Declines 

Co-Sponsoring Anti-Israel Conference 

Sabeel, a controversial Palestinian 

Christian organization 

based in Jerusalem with support 

groups in the United Kingdom and 

North America, is a driving force 

behind the global anti-Israel Boycott, 

Divestment and Sanctions 

movement, with a history of rejecting 

Israel as a Jewish state. 

According to the Anti-Defamation 

League, it is not unusual 

for Sabeel conferences to feature 

speakers who make charges of Israeli 

racism, oppression, and human 

rights violations, often promoting 

boycott and sanctions ef- 

See CHURCHES on page 6 

man tried to attend an IGY meeting, 

but was followed by his father 

and uncle, who attacked and beat 

him before he was able to walk 

through the center’s doors. 

Despite the danger, Dafni sees 

increasing numbers of young people 

from religious backgrounds 

who attend IGY centers as a way to 

gain support and help. 

As Avner Dafni’s lecture concluded, 

he was asked: “Does your 

group work against the occupation? 

Do you stand in solidarity?” 

Dafni referred to the gay pride 

flag’s many colors, and said diplomatically, 

there are “many opinions 

and that’s fine.” 

For more information or to 

make a donation, visit www.igy. 

org.il and click on the link at the 

very bottom of the home page labeled 

“English.” 

SURREAL from page 1 

special well-rested water is added 

to the special flour, until the matzot 

come out of the oven. 

The rabbi divides the children 

into groups of 8. There are 31 children. 

A prime number, but kindergarten 

kids don’t know about 

primes yet, or even division so they 

don’t notice that one group is a bit 

short. Ah. The teacher joins the last 

group. 

The kids each get a small bowl 

with a pre-measured amount of 

flour, and a plastic cup with a premeasured 

amount of water. On the 

count of “3-2-1!” they pour in the 

water and gleefully knead the mixture 

into dough, having fun wiping 

Gordon Bronitsky (second from left), Avner Dafni (center), and 

Alma Rosa Silva-Banuelos (second from right) surrounded by members 

of UNM’s LGBTQ Resource Center after Dafni’s March 19 talk. 

Photo courtesy of Gordon Bronitsky. 

their hands on their plastic aprons, 

each other, their noses (did that kid 

just pick his nose and then…? Ew.). 

Now it’s time to roll the dough 

into a flat disk (my daughter is totally 

ignoring me – so immersed in 

dough!). The rabbi comes to each 

one with his spiky-pizza-cutter and 

makes rows of small holes in the 

dough. One kid’s creation ends up 

on the floor. No problem for the 

kid, he just picks it up and starts 

it again. Remind me not to go to 

Seder at their place. 

In the background, the radio 

alternates between the funerals underway 

and the situation with the 

terrorist in France. This is all hap- 

pening now. A gun battle in one 

place, tears in another, and glee at 

playing with dough right in front of 

me. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. 

Round matzot-to-be get flipped 

into the oven for baking. They 

come out a few minutes later looking 

like hard, crispy, over-baked 

round pitot. Just like Yetziat Mitzraim. 

Once cooled, back into the 

little hands of their little makers, 

who can’t help but munch on their 

Passover creations. So much for the 

Seder. 

Not far from here four funerals 

are underway.


By Naomi Sandweiss 

Link Correspondent, Albuquerque 

In many families (my own 

included) introducing a new Haggadah 

is as controversial as the 

Texas school board adopting a new 

science curriculum. 

Nathan Englander and Jonathan 

Safran Foer’s New American Haggadah 

is the latest contribution to 

the field. It has been quite a year 

for both novelists. Foer’s Extremely 

Loud and Incredibly Close is recognizable 

for its film adaption and 

Englander’s just-released What We 

Talk About When We Talk About 

Anne Frank is at the top of everyone’s 

reading list. But how does the 

team fare as editors and translators 

of the ultimate Jewish narrative? 

Visually and structurally, the 

New American Haggadah is innovative. 

A timeline spans the volume; 

participants encounter Passover 

history, step-by-step, as the seder 

unfolds. The inclusion of the time- 

PaSSoVeR 

A New American Haggadah 

line is effective, participants recalling 

both the Exodus and its long 

commemoration. Spare letterform 

illustrations by Israeli artist Oded 

Ezer correspond stylistically with 

the timeline. 

The First American Haggadah 

was published 175 years ago. 

Although the authors of the 2012 

New American Haggadah argue 

that their edition is simply a reference 

to where the book originated, 

rather than to its contents, the New 

American Haggadah could not 

have been published in any other 

time or place. Where else would 

Rabbi Arthur Flicker 

Congregation B’nai Israel 

Albuquerque 

Passover is one of our most 

special holy days. 

Most of the Jewish community 

does not attend synagogue on 

Shabbat. Most of the Jewish community 

does not study Torah on 

Shavuot or build a sukkah on Sukkot. 

Yet, statistics tell us that well 

over 90% of the Jewish community 

will observe Passover in one 

way or another. For some, it may 

be only buying a box of matzah. 

For others, it may mean completely 

scrubbing the house, changing 

dishes, and carefully observing the 

rules of chametz. 

Passover is our holiday of freedom. 

We celebrate the miracles 

brought by God to liberate our ancestors 

from Egyptian bondage, to 

bring us into the desert, to give us 

seder participants find mention 

of the Arab Spring, Soviet Jewry, 

Martin Luther King, Jr., abolitionists, 

or the Bush administration’s 

decision to go to war in Iraq? 

As might be expected of novelists, 

the lyricism of the seder text is 

noteworthy. Even the order of the 

seder reads like poetry. Throughout 

the volume, the authors explore 

textual subtleties in alternative 

readings positioned alongside traditional 

text. For instance, “And they 

saddled us with punishing work” is 

further explained as, “They were 

exchanging labors, foisting tasks for 

the big on the little, and tasks for 

little on the big. It was a grinding 

work without end, born not only 

from wanting to enslave them, but 

in the hopes of grinding down their 

hearts.” 

In addition to the seder itself, 

commentary pages are inserted 

throughout the volume. Some of 

the commentary is serious and 

introspective, tackling meaty philosophical 

questions. If you are game, 

other sections lend themselves to 

discussion. While some of the questions 

seem intentionally provocative. 

“Can a tradition that presents 

a G-d who suffered himself… 

find no better answer than the label 

Torah and to take us from slaves to 

a nation of free people. 

Yet, as we know, freedom is 

not free. Every day, thousands of 

men and women, sons and daughters, 

mothers and fathers, serve our 

country in far away places, defending 

us and assuring our opportunities 

for freedom. They pay a very 

high price so that we can enjoy the 

freedoms of life in America. 

Jewish freedom also is not free. 

The opportunities we have as Jews 

in Albuquerque – the Federation, 

the JCC, Solomon Schechter Day 

School, Jewish Family Services, 

the ADL, the Historical Society, 

Hillel, New Mexico Holocaust 

and Intolerance Museum, and 

our synagogues, provide services, 

programs and assistance to Jews 

throughout the state of New Mexico. 

Through these agencies, our 

Jewish communities have chaplain 

care, education, defense of 

of wicked?” or “Is the Haggadah 

telling us to get up right now from 

this table and find a hungry person 

to feed?” Ultimately, the authors 

challenge participants to contemplate 

big questions and reflect on 

modern Jews’ imperative to bring 

“everyone out of Egypt.” 

When reading other commentary, 

one gets the distinct feeling 

that Foer and Englander haven’t 

quite decided if they would like 

a seat at the adult or the kiddie 

table. The two turn the parable of 

the four sons on its head when they 

introduce the four corresponding 

parents, noting that the “one who is 

unable to inquire has had too much 

wine and should be excused from 

the table.” 

Curiously, while modern in 

most respects, the volume retains 

some old habits. G-d is referred 

to only in the masculine. Despite 

this oversight, the New American 

Haggadah retains a freshness 

will enliven any seder table, 

ensuring that the commemoration 

is much more than going through 

the motions. 

New American Haggadah 

edited by Jonathan Safran Foer, 

translated by Nathan Englander 

Little and Brown, 2012, $29.99 

Remembering the Price of Our 

Freedoms on Passover 

CHURCHES from page 5 

forts as punishment for what they 

see as Israel’s “apartheid” policies. 

Sabeel’s founder and head, Anglican 

priest Naim Ateek, has a history 

of employing rhetoric perceived 

as anti-Semitic. 

“The board’s decision not to 

co-sponsor the Friends of Sabeel 

Conference was based on how 

highly we value our relationship 

When I snorkel the Red Sea, I have a card 

It identifies the fish by shape and markings; 

clownfish, parrotfish, lionfish and butterfly, 

snapper and grouper and eel. 

I want a card like that to help me 

Identify Haredi; Lubavitch, Satmar, 

with the Jewish Federation and 

members of the Albuquerque Jewish 

community,” said the Rev. Dr. 

Donna L. McNiel, executive director 

of the NMCC. 

Sam Sokolove, executive director 

of the JFNM, praised McNiel 

and the NMCC board for their 

decision. “The New Mexico Conference 

of Churches deserves our 

Haredim 

civil rights, social programs and 

religious services. 

While these services are open 

and available to all, like all freedoms, 

they are not free. Someone 

makes a donation. Someone is 

volunteering. Someone is paying 

a price so that the Jewish community 

can have the services it wants 

and needs. 

As we share in the mitzvah 

of matzah and retell our story of 

freedom, let us remember that 

freedom is never free. From the 

men and women defending our 

country, to those who are answering 

phones as volunteers, to those 

who are raising the funds needed 

to help all in our community – 

people are paying the price for our 

freedoms. Let us remember them, 

thank them and where possible, 

join them in assuring that our freedoms 

as Americans and our blessings 

as Jews continue. 

deepest appreciation for the sensitivity 

they have demonstrated,” 

he said. 

In a letter to the Jewish Federation, 

McNiel stressed that the 

NMCC is eager to actively pursue 

interfaith opportunities for 

dialogue on issues related to the 

Israeli-Palestinian conflict with 

Jewish and Muslim partners. 

Bratslaver and Ger. 

I want to watch and know who it is I see. 

Who has white socks, who a fur hat, 

whose side curls grow to shoulder length, 

and whose trousers reach the floor. 

©Paula Amar Schwartz


By Tori Lee 

In this really the question to ask 

about Passover? 

How did a holiday originally 

celebrating the journey from slavery 

to the freedom of personal accountability 

become so identified 

with hyper-punctilious observances 

of food purchases and preparation, 

dishwashing and house 

cleaning? 

I know you are thinking this is 

written by a woman whose kitchen 

in only minimally kosher at 

best and whose cooking is an affront 

to human decency. Guilty on 

both counts. 

But the question remains. 

What holiday of freedom are we 

actually celebrating when people 

spend days cleaning house and removing 

all vestiges of hametz or 

leavened foods? 

Some transfer temporary own- 

ership of all remaining hametz 

products to a non-Jew or to a rabbi 

by filling out a Mechirat Hametz 

form, readily available online. A 

convenient note on the site instructs 

me to remove the bag of 

dog food from the kitchen for the 

duration of Passover lest the kibble 

somehow render the kitchen unkosher. 

Then I am directed to eight 

pages of instructions for koshering 

the kitchen and its utensils, 

excluding of course the George 

Foreman grill if I owned one, and 

the pasta maker, which I do own 

but have no clue how to use. 

The instructions carefully note 

that using a blowtorch to kosher 

the broiler and the range top, 

though a recommended procedure 

may damage the appliances 

or set fire to the house. What kind 

of mitzvah is this? 

Historically, Passover has been 

ReflectionS 

To Blowtorch or Not to Blowtorch? 

a very widely observed holiday. 

Today, more than 60% of American 

Jews indicate they will celebrate 

the holiday in some fashion. 

Even during the Holocaust, Jews in 

the concentration camps observed 

Passover. But such observance 

posed a halakhic dilemma. Should 

Jews, already existing on the edge 

of starvation, give up their bread 

ration for a week? The answer 

from the rabbis was unequivocally 

no. Eat bread and live. A group 

of Dutch rabbis in Bergen-Belsen 

in 1944 composed a prayer to be 

recited while eating bread during 

Passover. 

“We are not masters of our 

own fate and our lives are in danger. 

Therefore we are ready and 

willing to keep the mitzvah ‘So 

that you shall live by them’ (Lev. 

18:5) and not die because of keeping 

the mitzvot. Therefore we are 

commanded to do what we must 

Memories of Passover 

By Rich Lieberman 

Link Correspondent, Albuquerque 

As our people were held in 

bondage and worked beyond the 

capacity of human beings, the 

taste of freedom started a ground 

swell. 

Under the tyranny of Pharaoh 

and fear of providing food and 

protection for their families, the 

children of Israel strived towards 

independence. Albeit a rather 

large struggle ensued, but ultimately, 

we all know of their success. 

As we participate in the seder, 

we are told by the rabbis to remember 

the struggles of our brothers 

and sisters of old. To actually 

encounter the yoke put upon their 

necks as they seek and stumble for 

freedom. 

At this time of the year, my 

memories go back to Passover and 

having the traditional or morethan-traditional 

seder at my grandmother’s 

house. My grandmother 

was a wonderful cook. Upon 

entering her home the smells of 

chicken soup, brisket, gefilte fish 

and many succulent items cooking 

remind me of our families together 

and another year of the Haggadah 

reading. One treat was pop (soda), 

it was the only time of the year we 

had orange, strawberry, grape and 

lemon lime flavors served to us. 

This was larger than a treat. However, 

let us not forget the special 

addition in the chicken soup of 

the small yellow chicken eggs and 

chicken feet. 

All eating and cooking items 

were changed from everyday use 

and were made “kosher l’ Pesach” 

(kosher for Passover). 

Two members of our family 

went overseas for WWII, but only 

one came home, and this also was 

a remembrance every year. 

I was too young to ask the four 

questions, so an older cousin did 

the honors. For me as a child, it 

was a most wonderful evening. 

The first couple of seders I attended 

I fell asleep before the festive 

meal was served. My grandfather 

read every page of the Haggadah. 

I would wake lying in my 

father’s arms on the street car on 

the way home, and I enjoyed the 

meal the next day. My brother was 

very young, and I don’t think he 

ever ate a seder meal at my grandmother’s 

house. 

The children, for the most part, 

sat at the smaller table to right of 

the adult table. It wasn’t bad for 

me, but my older cousins never 

made it to the adult table. As time 

moved on and relatives passed 

away, my grandmother became 

unable to handle the chores associated 

with Pesach. So ended 

many years of seders at my grandmother’s 

house. 

As years moved on, I ran my 

own seder with my wife, two 

daughters, family and guests. I 

did not read the entire Haggadah 

as my grandfather did, but I did 

cover the important and meaningful 

parts that explained the plight 

of our people. All in my family 

agreed on what was to be read. 

MADELINE DUNN 

Associate Broker 

Cell: 505.980.2505 

Direct: 505.857.2345 

My family loved our seders as everyone 

participated. 

Once the girls started Hebrew 

school, they were the ones to 

ask the four questions and took a 

meaningful part singing and joining 

in the rituals. As they grew, 

they helped their mother cook and 

prepare the seder table. 

I am a lucky man, my mother 

was and my wife and daughters 

are wonderful cooks, especially 

in order to remain alive; thus by 

eating hametz we will be keeping 

Your other precept ‘Be ever 

so careful with your life,’” (Deut. 

4:9). [Translated by Shira Schmidt] 

With profound gratitude that I 

live in circumstances of my own 

choosing, I question how best I 

should observe this holiday of personal 

freedom and responsibility. 

Perhaps I would be better served 

to kosher my self rather than my 

kitchen. Sweep out the cobwebs 

and dead thoughts from the recesses 

of my soul. Burn negative 

attitudes and behaviors I should 

not have allowed to take up residence 

in the first place. 

It is worth noting that kosher 

preparations for Passover do not 

have to be an all or nothing proposition. 

Interior disposition, the 

intention to integrate the Passover 

lessons of courage to forsake solid 

ground, and endurance despite 

making chicken soup and knadlach 

(matzo balls). 

Memories of Pesach will never 

end, they will grow with each new 

family member who will retell 

their memories of their grandparents 

and their parents and their 

family to their children. May it go 

on forever. 

A Sweet Passover to all 

Ah Zissah Pesach 

hardship can certainly serve as 

markers of faith in divine promises. 

That may be the first step 

on the journey towards authentic 

freedom. 

I wish you all an intentional 

and very kosher Passover.


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Jewish Family Service 

of New Mexico 

Wishes You... 

Eminent Southwest historian Dr. 

Stanley Hordes will be honored by 

the New Mexico Jewish Historical 

Society on Sunday, April 29, 2012, 

at 2:30 pm at the Jewish Community 

Center of Greater Albuquerque, 

5520 Wyoming Blvd., NE. 

An internationally known historian, 

Dr. Hordes is widely recog- 

UPCOMING 

EVENTS 

EVENTS 

EVENTS 

EVENTS 

Southwest Historian Dr. Stanley Hordes to be Honored 


When Gary Singer’s new 

photography exhibit, “Capturing 

Memories- Landscapes, Wildlife, 

Mine and Yours,” opens on Friday, 

April 6, it will be special. 

It is a one-person show, which 

is an honor for any artist, and the 

exhibit is at The Artistic Image, 

312 Adams SE, Albuquerque. 

Gallery owner Bob Laetare formerly 

worked for Kodak, and Laetare’s 

strong connections to the 

photographic community make 

Singer’s selection by this venue 

nized for his work on the boundaries 

of Jewish identity. His work on 

crypto-Judaism in New Mexico has 

brought that experience increasingly 

to light in recent decades. He 

is a widely sought speaker across 

the United States 

Among those present to honor 

Dr. Hordes will be Dr. Seth Kunin, 

noteworthy. 

The exhibit includes Singer’s 

recent group of photos printed on 

canvas as well as those on paper. 

Printing on canvas conveys a feeling 

of fine art and permanence. 

Singer employs a printing shop 

whose work is of the high quality 

he demands to transform his photos 

into indelible memories. 

Singer specializes in wildlife 

and landscape photos. He photographs 

here in New Mexico, 

in national parks throughout the 

West and in locations overseas. 

He has exhibited at Albuquerque’s 

Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Arts and 

Humanities of Durham University 

in England; Dr. Seth Ward of Religious 

Studies at the University of 

Wyoming; and Dr. Roger Martinez 

from the University of Colorado. 

Hordes’ work with crypto-Jewish 

and Sephardic traditions will 

be recognized in a performance 

New Photos, New Print Technology, and 

New Gallery for Gary Singer’s Exhibit 

If you think the game of Mah 

Jongg is strictly a woman’s game, 

think again. 

Lonely widower, Sidney Weinberg 

lives alone in his Upper West 

Side Manhattan apartment. His 

wife Mildred has recently passed 

away and he has become somewhat 

of a recluse and depressed. 

One day he receives a DVD in 

the mail, addressed to his deceased 

wife on “How to Be a Champion at 

Mah Jongg” as his wife was an avid 

player. Feeling this is a sign from 

his dearly departed, he sets out to 

convince his three, die-hard, poker 

playing buddies to switch to the 

more feminine game of Mah Jongg. 

It is then that the fireworks 

begin. 

Having played New York, 

Atlanta, Los Angeles and Phila- 

Gardenswartz Jewish Community 

Center and the New Mexico Arts 

& Crafts Show. The new Presbyterian 

Rust Medical Center in Rio 

Rancho selected two of his images 

for their community room. 

The exhibit will run from April 

6 through May 26 during gallery 

hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 

Monday through Saturday. An 

opening reception will take place 

on the evening of April 6 and an 

encore reception on the evening 

of May 4. Contact The Artistic 

Image at (505) 554-2706 for more 

information. 

delphia to rave reviews, the play, 

written by Richard Atkins with dramaturgy 

by Tony Award winning 

playwright and Las Cruces resident, 

Mark Medoff, arrives at the 

Adobe Theater from June 1- 24, 

directed by Mr. Atkins, the playwright. 

Some of the reviews have 

said, “equal parts tearful and cheerful, 

the poignant matching the hilarious 

step-for-step, encapsulating 

comedy and drama, relationships 

and conflicts, and life and death 

of Ladino music by Consuelo Luz 

and Vanessa Paloma. 

Dr. Noel Pugach, professor 

emeritus from the University of 

New Mexico, and Jim Mafchir, 

president of the New Mexico Book 

Association, will be discuss Dr. 

Hordes’ work and influence. This 

event is free and open to the public. 

Hit Jewish Comedy, “The Men of Mah Jongg” comes 

to the Adobe Theater in June 

Annual Blood Drive at 

Congregation Albert 


Congregation Albert’s Brotherhood 

holds its annual blood 

drive on Sunday, April 15 from 

approximately 9 a.m. until 

12:30 p.m. at 3800 Louisiana 

Blvd. NE, Albuquerque. 

United Blood Services will 

collect blood for use in cancer 

treatment, trauma care and surgical 

procedures. 

Donors will receive a free 

breakfast at the monthly Brotherhood 

Breakfast the same 

morning in appreciation of their 

good deed that will have lasting 

benefit. 

A congregant at last year’s annual blood drive and breakfast. 

Gary Singer 

with four guys around a gaming 

table is definitely special!” 

The play opened at the East 

Mountain Centre for Theatre 

last April to sold out houses and 

a rave from the Albuquerque 

Journal. Jamie Farr from M*A*S*H 

is flying in to Albuquerque from 

California to see the play as he is 

dying to perform it in New York. 

For tickets, go to www.adobetheater.org 

or call the box office at 

(505) 898-9222.


By Rabbi Deborah J. Brin 

Nahalat Shalom is celebrating 

some big blessings that were recently 

bestowed upon our North 

Valley congregation. 

This year, we became the grateful 

recipients of a major financial 

gift, a new playground is sprouting 

in our back yard, and we are 

welcoming new members into our 

family. And it’s only April. 

Our gift came in the form of an 

anonymous donation of $100,000. 

It will be invested in a permanent 

fund that will provide annual earnings 

to our synagogue. It’s called 

L’dor Vador fund -- from Generation 

to Generation -- with good 

reason. It will mean an even more 

stable future for our children and 

their children. 

UPCOMING 

EVENTS 

EVENTS 

EVENTS 

EVENTS 

Nahalat Shalom Celebrates Its New Blessings 

At the same time, one of our 

longtime congregants, Loey Cohen 

Kirk, is making her dream come 

true by kicking off construction of 

a new playground, designed by 

Nahalat member Shary Adams and 

her friends, Damian Velasquez and 

Carl Manning. The playground will 

include a stage, swings, shaded 

sandbox, climbing structure and 

basketball hoops. Our children 

hope to break it in this month. 

In both cases, donors have 

challenged the congregation to 

raise matching money, so we will 

soon be launching a fund-raising 

campaign to bolster our new fund 

and help pay for the playground. 

But first ... a party. 

Nahalat is celebrating these 

blessing with a gathering from 7-10 

p.m. on April 14. It will be an artists’ 

Come Learn Israeli Folk Dances at Nahalat Shalom! 

From novices with two left feet 

to professional dancers who’ve 

done it all, this series of classes 

is for you. 

Beginner- to intermediate-level 

Israeli folk dance classes will 

be offered in the Congregation 

Nahalat Shalom sanctuary on four 

consecutive Monday evenings, 

starting April 30. Classes will 

begin promptly at 7:15 p.m. and 

will end at 9:15 p.m. The other 

dates are: May 7, 14 and 21. 

No matter what your level of 

experience, you will take away 

something special from these 

classes. You will add dances to 

your repertoire week by week 

and in no time, you will be able 

to spend an entire evening having 

fun and getting great exercise. 

No partner is necessary. We 

will mostly be learning circle and 

line dances. 

A Script-in-Hand Production of Parted 

Waters on April 22 

Parted Waters by Robert F. 

Benjamin, an official New Mexico 

centennial event, is an absorbing 

and humorous “identity play” 

about three generations of New 

Mexico Hispanics grappling with 

crypto-Judaism. 

Javier (age 50) rejects the 

family’s secret Jewish heritage 

and hides it from his adult son, 

Miguel. However, Javier’s father, 

Reynaldo, embraces the family’s 

secret religious tradition and strives 

to transmit the legacy to Miguel 

over Javier’s objection. Miguel’s 

political opponent is Phyllis Goldstein, 

whose estranged daughter is 

his campaign manager. An unintended 

slur by Miguel during a political 

debate with Goldstein gives 

Reynaldo the opening. Reynaldo’s 

revelation nearly destroys the family 

as the truth comes spilling out 

in this heartwarming drama about 

a little-known Jewish subculture. 

This play is suitable for adults and 

teens. 

Teatro Paraguas Studio of Santa 

Fe will stage the script-in-hand production 

of Parted Waters. Teatro 

Paraguas, New Mexico’s foremost 

theater for new works by New 

Mexico playwrights, is the proud 

producer of three official centennial 

events, including Parted Waters. 

See www.teatroparaguas.org 

for information about these and 

their other events. Argos MacCallum, 

artistic director, will perform 

Reynaldo, and the show will be 

directed by acclaimed Santa Fe director, 

Fran Martone. 

Parted Waters is a commissioned 

play of the Arizona Jewish 

Theatre Company (Phoenix), 

where it premiered in March 

2009. This was soon followed by 

productions in Albuquerque and 

Santa Fe. 

It’s also had staged readings in 

Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Clearwater 

FL, El Paso, Prescott, Sedona, 

and Los Alamos. 

Barry Gaines, noted Albuquerque 

theater critic, reviewed both 

the Albuquerque and Santa Fe 

performances in which he says, 

“Parted Waters is a carefully constructed 

yet sweetly simple tale.” 

This program will occur on 

Sunday, April 22 at 12 p.m. at 

Congregation Albert, 3800 Louisiana 

Blvd NE, in Albuquerque. It 

is sponsored by the congregation’s 

Adult Education Program and its 

Sisterhood. Tickets are $5 each 

(with students and military free). 

To reserve at ticket, call 883-0306 

or email megan@congregationalbert.org. 

Classes will be taught by Kathleen 

Lowry. She has been teaching 

Israeli folk dancing weekly in 

Santa Fe for the past decade and 

has many years’ experience with 

the international folk dance community 

in New Mexico. She studied 

for decades with several wellknown 

folk dance teachers in Los 

Angeles before moving to Lamy, 

New Mexico, to raise her family. 

Class fees: $20 for the entire 

series of four classes paid in advance 

or $7 per single class. 

On Sunday, April 15 th at 10 

am, we will gather to hike the 

Pino Trail. 

Be sure to bring water and a 

snack. This is a 4.5 mile, moderate 

hike. The Pino Trail is a 

beautiful setting, and one of 

the most popular trails in the 

Sandias. We will pass the Pino 

Spring and view the rocky western 

face of the Sandias. 

Directions: Take Tramway, 

showcase, in which our many talented 

members can show off their 

stuff, featuring a debut appearance 

by the rabbi team of Rabbi Ovadia 

Debrinsky and Rabbi Gedalia Mintrowitz. 

We are inviting our own 

members and the many friends of 

Nahalat Shalom who support us in 

so many ways. Please join us for 

this celebration. 

Drop-ins welcome. 

Advance payments may be 

made by using the “donate” button 

at www.nahalatshalom.org; 

mailing a check to Nahalat Shalom, 

3606 Rio Grande Blvd NW, 

Albuquerque, 87107, or dropping 

off a check at the synagogue 

(call 343-8227 to ensure the office 

is staffed). 

For more information, send an 

e-mail to Michelle Vogler at michellevogler1@gmail.com 

or call 

Congregation Nahalat Shalom. 

Calling All Singles: Hike the 

Pino Trail with the JCC 

north from Academy, and turn 

east on Simms Park Road leading 

to Elena Gallegos Park. 

Once inside the park, there is a 

small fee to park. Take a right at 

the pay station, and follow road 

to middle parking lot. We hope 

to see you there! For more detail, 

contact Robyn Weiner at 

the Jewish Community Center 

(505) 348-4518 or robynw@jccabq.org.


Santa fe 

Shabbat Across America at Congregation Beit Tikva 

Tori Lee 


As they have for the past seventeen 

years, members of Congregation 

Beit Tikva in Santa Fe gathered 

on March 2 to celebrate Shabbat 

Across America, a nationwide 

program to bring all denominations 

of Jewish congregations together to 

celebrate Shabbat. 

Every single congregant interviewed 

stated how important it is 

for small Jewish congregations like 

those in Santa Fe to be part of an 

event that brings together hundreds 

of congregations across the country 

to share the same Sabbath prayers, 

sing some of the same Sabbath 

songs, to demonstrate a strong devotion 

to the Jewish faith. 

Long-time Beit Tikva member 

Gail Rapoport remarked that “celebrating 

with thousands of Jews 

all doing the same thing heightens 

my devotion and makes me feel 

extremely proud to be Jewish.” She 

also remarked that Congregation 

April 7, 2012 at 6:00pm 

On the Menu 

vegetarian chopped liver 

gefilte fish 

soup with matza balls 

hard boiled eggs 

matza & charoset 

roast chicken, vegetables 

desserts 

Cantor Michael Linder 

Beit Tikva boasts some “seriously 

good cooks. It’s hard to beat one of 

our potlucks.” 

Congregation Beit Tikva was 

honored by Shabbat Across America 

two years ago for fifteen consecutive 

years of participation. A participant 

since the beginning of the program, 

Congregation Beit Tikva was at one 

time the only congregation in New 

To make reservations, fill out the form below and mail it with your check payable to: 

Congregation B’nai Israel Second Seder, 4401 Indian School Rd NE, 87110 

YES!! I/We look forward to enjoying a Seder dinner with friends and family! 

Name(s) ________________________________________________________________________________ 

Please reserve seats for __________ adults (12 and older) at $32.50 each (members), 

or $35 (non-members), __________ children 5 - 12 at $14 each, and __________ children under 5 (free). 

If possible I/we would like to sit with the 

________________________________________________________ family. 

Enclosed is my check for $ _______________ 

RESERVATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED ONLY UNTIL Tuesday, April 3, 2012 

Mexico to participate. Congregation 

Past President Reggie Klein observed 

that the congregation continues to 

participate because “uniting with 

Jews all over the country in many 

different kinds of synagogues, not 

just Reform, strengthens us. We also 

make a point to invite non-members 

to join us for the event.” 

Congregation Beit Tikva has been 

blessed with the services of Cantor 

Michael Linder for the past 25 years. 

He presented a delightful evening of 

well known Shabbat songs including 

such standards as “Hine Ma 

Tov,” “Lecha Dodi,” “Hava Nagila,” 

as well as “Mamele,” the perennial 

Yiddish tear jerker describing mama 

lighting Shabbos candles. 

Cantor Linder considers Shabbat 

Across America services to be very 

meaningful “because Jews all over 

the country celebrate Shabbos like 

one great big family,” a sentiment 

echoed by congregant Janice Siskin, 

DARWISH from page 5 

For instance, what were the 

subject and content of Ms. Darwish’s 

lecture? What was the purpose 

of the Israel Alliance in inviting 

her to speak? What compelled 

the Students for Justice in Palestine 

to stage a disruption? Were they 

demonstrating against the Israel Alliance, 

or the advertised subject of 

the speech, which was “Why the 

Arab Spring is Failing: How Israel is 

Involved”? If that is so, did they object 

to the idea that the Arab Spring 

may not be a success, or did they 

object to any reference to Israel? 

What did the demonstrators hope/ 

expect to accomplish? 

Recognizing that print space 

is limited, it might not have been 

possible to report the answers to all 

these questions, but there is not a 

hint that they were asked. A picture 

taken from a video posted on You- 

Tube includes a caption that seems 

to accept the interpretation put on it 

by the person who captured the images. 

Someone viewing the video 

Rabbi Martin Levy and Cantor Michael Linder bless the challah at the 

beginning of Shabbat Across America at Congregation Beit Tikva in Santa Fe 

who attends services because “this 

amazing congregation feels like my 

family.” 

In his Torah teaching during 

the celebration, Rabbi Marvin Levy 

compared instructions about the ner 

without the provided caption might 

wonder who was being “attacked,” 

by whom, or if anyone was, as it 

is mostly a jumble of men’s trouser 

legs, and shows very little actual interaction. 

Ms. Galvan’s description of 

Nonie Darwish as: “an author 

known for her critical views of Islam,” 

and as a “vocal opponent of 

the religion” might have come only 

from the protesters. A quick Google 

search reveals that Ms. Darwish is 

considered by some to be a human 

rights activist, whose emphasis is 

on the rights of women and minorities 

in the Middle East. 

The Journal report of a student 

protest rally some days later on 

March 9 is less objective. The full 

article heading is “Students Protest 

Campus Violence: February 

Attack Prompts Rally.” The words 

“violence” and “attack” are what is 

called “loaded language.” 

Dictionary definitions of both 

indicate physical force with an 

tamid, the continual light in front 

of the Torah Ark, to Shabbat observance. 

Both continually remind Jews 

of the importance of tradition and, 

by strength in numbers, encourage 

shared participation in that tradition. 

intention to injure, and most people, 

upon reading them, receive a 

mental image consistent with that 

understanding. Simple face-to-face 

confrontation and even pushing are 

not usually acts envisioned when 

hearing or reading “violence” or 

“attack.” 

Again, since Astrid Galvan 

seems not to have been present at 

the lecture, how could she write, 

as fact, that the Nonie Darwish lecture 

was “a recent violent incident 

on campus,” and that “students 

were attacked by members of the 

audience”? According to the article, 

UNM said that nobody was 

seriously injured. Was there, on 

the part of anyone, an intention to 

injure? 

The bottom line is that, whether 

we get our news from print or electronic 

media, the Albuquerque 

Journal or the New York Times, Albuquerque 

TV stations or NPR, we 

need to use both eyes, both ears, 

and ask a lot of questions. 

Temple Beth Shalom Seeks 

Social Justice Director 

Temple Beth Shalom (TBS), 

Santa Fe’s oldest Jewish congregation, 

is seeking an individual to 

work within TBS and the greater 

Santa Fe community to implement 

and expand a comprehensive social 

action agenda. 

Strong leadership, social action 

and community organizing 

background, as well as experience 

in grass-roots advocacy and volunteer 

organizing. Energetic, friendly 

and self-directed with excellent 

people, communications, computer 

and organizational skills. 

College degree in related field 

preferred. Half-time contract position 

to start immediately. 

Submit letter of interest and 

resume, indicating application for 

Social Justice Director position, no 

later than April 5, 2012 to: 

Social Justice Director 

Temple Beth Shalom 

205 E. Barcelona Road 

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 

e-mail: info@sftbs.org


Santa fe 

Eco-Kashrut and the Ethics of Passover 

By Tori Lee 


During preparations for Passover, 

many Jews quite naturally 

turn their attention to matters concerning 

food. Is what we consume 

ritually kosher for Passover? 

In many instances, such a question 

carries a straightforward yes 

or no response. In the short term, 

such responses are sufficient. 

But in the longer-term, what 

we consume, whether ritually 

satisfactory or not, how much we 

consume, and the circumstances 

of production in our consumer society 

raise enormous ethical and 

environmental questions. 

Eco-kashrut, an expansion of 

tradition kosher halakhah, provides 

a framework for longer-term 

consumption questions. Coined 

by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi 

back in the 1970s when Earth 

Day observances were just beginning, 

eco-kashrut invites Jews to 

re-think ritual obligations from a 

much more earth-centered perspective. 

In its simplest form, eco-kashrut 

invites mindful consumption, an 

awareness of how our food choices 

have an impact on our communities 

and on our planet. 

Malka Drucker, founding rabbi 

Congregation Beit Tikva will 

hold its annual Second Night 

Passover Seder on Saturday, April 

7 at Quail Run, 3101 Old Pecos 

Trail. All are welcome to join us 

for a beautiful service led by Rabbi 

Martin Levy and Cantor Michael 

Linder, followed by a complete traditional 

meal with a main course 

of brisket or a vegetarian option. 

The festivities begin at 6 p.m. Price 

for adults is $65 and $20 for children 

ages 6-12. There is no charge 

for children under 6. Seating is 

limited. Reservations are required. 

For reservations and further infor- 

of Hamakom in Santa Fe, is an advocate 

of eco-kashrut. In her writings 

and teachings on eco-kashrut, 

she draws connections between 

kosher consumption and environmental 

sustainability. 

“Eco-kashrut is not merely a 

matter of what we eat,” writes 

Drucker. “It involves conscious 

decisions about how we produce 

or acquire what we consume. Part 

of the consideration of the kosher 

status of food products is whether 

they are grown and produced in 

environmentally sustainable ways 

that do not harm the next generation’s 

ability to provide for its own 

needs.” 

Within the framework of 

eco-kashrut, in addition to ritual 

standards determining fitness for 

consumption, one should ask if 

the kosher products are locally 

produced so as to reduce the carbon 

footprint involved in bringing 

them to consumers. 

Are the products organic, 

grown without the use of harmful 

pesticides that pollute the environment? 

Are they grown using 

efficient methods that conserve 

soil and water? Are livestock for 

human consumption raised under 

humane conditions? Is it even 

possible to have kosher food products 

that are not vegetarian? Eco- 

Rabbi Malka Drucker of HaMakom 

Passover and the 92nd Street 

Y at Congregation Beit Tikva 

mation call (505) 820-2991. 

On Thursday, May 3 at 6 p.m., 

92nd St. Y Live at Beit Tikva will 

feature Madeleine Albright, former 

secretary of state and US ambassador 

to the United Nations. Albright 

will discuss her new book Prague 

Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance 

and War 1937-1948. 

These 92nd Street Y Live programs 

are part of the Eleanor and Richard 

Brenner Educational Series. Tickets 

are priced at $10 each at the 

door. For more information, visit 

the congregation’s new web site at 

www.beittikvasantafe.org. 

kashrut moves ethical and ritual 

considerations as far as the food 

chain as possible from the finished 

product. 

As Rabbi Drucker points out, 

“eco-kashrut widens our focus 

of attention to include concerns 

about social justice. Our patterns 

of consumption affect our communities 

and the planet.” In terms 

of social justice, we need “to 

insure that agricultural workers 

who plant, harvest and prepare 

products kosher for consumption 

at the JCC 

are paid a living wage. We need 

to insist they have access to adequate 

housing, medical care and 

collective bargaining processes.” 

According to the tenets of ecokashrut, 

any product that involves 

exploitation of humans, animals 

or the natural environment is, by 

definition, not kosher. 

Eco-kashrut encourages us to 

be mindful of all we consume, 

well beyond questions about 

food. 

We need to be mindful of how 

Save the Date! 

Sun, 6/24, 10:30 am – 1:00 pm. Scalo’s Brunch with Champagne/Mimosas and more! 

Join us for a memorable morning fi lled with friendship, fun and fashion! The JCC Summer 

Fashion Event will celebrate the latest in professional, casual and fi tness clothing, accessories, 

hairstyles, make-up and more. 

Bring your mom, daughter, granddaughter, sister and friends while being treated to a special 

ladies’ brunch catered by Scalos, and viewing models attired in fashions by: 

White House/Black Market and Runway Apparel. LuluLemon Athletica will demonstrate 

their unique line of fi tness wear in action with models showing yoga and pilates moves! 

Shopping opportunities, gift bag giveaways and other surprises are in store for you! 

Ticket $36 per person includes scrumptious Scalo’s catered brunch, mimosas, gift bag with 

coupons and pampering treats and more! 

Proceeds from this event will benefi t JCC Jewish Cultural and Arts programming. 

For more information about Sponsoring opportunities contact Phyllis Wolf, JCC Program 

Director, 348-4500. To register, visit www.jccabq.org or contact Robyn Weiner, 

JCC Cultural Program Coordinator, at 348-4518. 

The JCC is a benefi ciary agency of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico 

the energy we use is produced. 

Are coal-fired generating stations 

kosher given the tremendous environmental 

harm they inflict on 

surrounding communities? Is nuclear 

power eco-kosher? Is it kosher 

to continue to drive a large 

SUV when hybrid vehicles are 

readily available for purchase? In 

sum, eco-kashrut invites is to integrate 

our spiritual and environmental 

responsibilities, our concerns 

for Passover and Earth Day, 

as we move through our lives. 

JCC of Greater Albuquerque • 5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE Albuquerque NM 87109 • 505.332.0565 • www.jccabq.org


Se Habla Yiddish? 

By Tori Lee 


Such a question just might 

arise in Santa Fe. 

The new Yiddishkeit group 

under the direction of Rhea Bertelli 

met recently at HaMakom. 

Twenty Yiddish enthusiasts shared 

their experiences with the “mammaloschen” 

(mother tongue). 

Many have memories of hearing 

Yiddish spoken or sung in the 

home when they were young. 

HaMakom Hazzan Cindy 

Freedman evoked memories, and 

a tear or two, when she sang her 

version of the Yiddish lullaby “Rozhinkes 

mit Mandlen.” Other participants 

shared memories of listening 

to very local Yiddish radio 

stations while growing up in New 

York City. Many of these radio 

broadcasts have been preserved 

by the Yiddish Radio Project. 

Florida Atlantic University holds 

a large archive of Yiddish music. 

Many of these holdings are available 

for download to listen to, to 

sing along with, and to share with 

other Yiddish enthusiasts. 

Rabbi Malka Drucker gave a 

brief talk on Yiddish and Yiddishkeit 

and its importance in 19 th and 

early 20 th century Jewish America. 

All participants agreed they 

would like to enjoy more Yiddish 

in their lives. One participant 

summed up the group’s intention: 

“to bring Yiddish alive through any 

and all modalities.” Participants 

expressed an openness to learn/ 

relearn Yiddish through songs, listening 

to historical Yiddish radio 

broadcasts, reading short stories in 

a mixture of Yiddish and English. 

One participant suggested 

participants write brief memoirs 

about their own connections with 

Yiddish. Another participant suggested 

baking favorite deserts from 

Yiddish recipes. Many participants 

shared Yiddish words and phras- 

A Gallery of Giving 

presented by Jewish Family Service 

If you want to attend the best fundraising 

event of 2012, then “A Gallery of Giving” 

is the one for you!” says Michael Gemme, 

Executive Director for Jewish Family 

Service of New Mexico. 

Held once again at the Albuquerque Museum 

of Art and History, “A Gallery of Giving” is 

scheduled for Sunday, April 22nd “ 

from 6 to 9 PM. 

The evening will begin with wine and appetizers 

while bidding on amazing items at the silent 

auction. Then on to a delicious gourmet buffet 

dinner catered by the Cooperage, while JFS’s 

favorite internationally know performance artist, 

David Silverman hosts the incredible live auction. 

You can preview some of the items 

at the JFSNM website. 

The “Grant a Wish” portion of the event will 

focus on a new program –“Honey-do Home 

Helpers” – a new “Handyman” service that 

provides assistance with moving, yard work, light 

maintenance, and home repair projects. Other 

festivities include a “Bounty of Blessings” raffl e, 

the “Wall of Wine”, and more! All proceeds 

raised will benefi t over seventeen programs and 

services that are offered to New Mexico families 

and seniors in greater Albuquerque and Santa Fe. 

“JFS is one of the few agencies that offers a 

wide variety of assistance to seniors in the area”, 

says Michael, “we are so proud of the work 

we do and it’s constantly refl ected on the 

faces of those we serve!” 

Tickets may be purchased for $90.00 each, or 

$850 for a table of 10. 

For details contact JFSNM at 505-291-1818 or 

check the website at www.jfsnm.org. 

JFSNM is a benefi ciary agency of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico. 

Santa fe 

es, which triggered wide-ranging 

and hilarious discussions of their 

meaning and remembered usages. 

A flood of childhood remembrances 

poured forth. 

Anyone interested in learning, 

reviving or reliving Yiddish 

in word, song or food is welcome 

to attend the monthly meeting, as 

is anyone who wants to embrace 

“ein bissel Yiddish.” Meetings are 

tentatively scheduled for the last 

Sunday afternoon of the month. 

Please contact Yiddishkeit organizer 

Rhea Bertelli, rheabert@ 

yahoo.com, for additional information 

Members of the newly formed 

Yiddishkeit group in Santa Fe enjoy 

a moment of fun at the group’s 

inaugural meeting at HaMakom. 

America during the Holocaust 

A s p e c i a l Y o m H a S h o a h 

screening of the documentary 

Against the Tide will take place 

5:30 p.m. on Wednesday April 18 

at the Center for Contemporary 

Arts in Santa Fe. The screening is a 

co-presentation of the HaMakom 

Jewish Film Festival and CCA. 

There is no admission charge, 

although reservations are recommended. 

Against the Tide tells the little-known 

story of Peter Bergson, 

a Jewish activist, and the conflict 

that erupted in the American 

Jewish community over the best 

means to rescue the European 

Jews trying to escape the Holocaust. 

The more successful Bergson 

became in attracting support from 

important non-Jewish members 

of Congress and Hollywood 

personalities such as Ben Hecht, 

Edward G. Robinson and Paul 

Muni, the more threatened and 

Steven Khoury (center), pastor 

of Calvary Jerusalem Ministries 

in the neighborhood of 

Beit Haninah, visits with John 

Sandager (left) of Bridges for 

Peace and Sam Sokolove (right), 

executive director of the Jewish 

Federation of New Mexico. On 

March 11, Khoury, who grew 

up in Bethlehem, visited Albuquerque. 

He was invited by Yad 

B’ Yad, the Jewish Federation 

of New Mexico, the Holocaust 

and Intolerance Museum of New 

Mexico, and the New Mexico 

Human Rights Projects. 

resentful Jewish establishment 

leaders became. Only the ultra 

Orthodox Vaad Hatzala worked 

with him. Through a never before 

seen 1977 interview, Bergson 

gives a first-hand account of what 

occurred. The film is a reminder 

of the attitudes of President 

Roosevelt and his senior advisors, 

the voices that spoke out loudly 

and those that did not, and the 

rise of anti-Semitism at home. 

Rabbi Malka Drucker will 

lead a discussion about this 

thought-provoking documentary 

at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 21 

at St. Bede’s. Against the Tide 

is directed by Academy Award 

Winner Richard Trank (Winston 

Churchill, Walking with Destiny) 

and narrated by Dustin Hoffman . 

To make reservations for the film 

and/or discussion, go to www. 

hamakomtheplace.org or call 

505.992.1905. CCA is located at 

1050 Old Pecos Trail. St. Bede’s 

is located at 1601 St. Francis 

Drive at the corner of San Mateo 

in Santa Fe. 

HaMakom’s Jewish Film 

Festival is supported in part by 

a grant from Jewish Federation 

New Mexico. 

Pastor Steven Khoury Visits New Mexico 

Please support our advertisers! They make it possible to 

bring you the Jewish Link and need our support.


Genealogy Conferences Offer News, Inspiration 

The genealogy conference season 

has begun. 

Each event is a great opportunity 

to meet “household names” in 

the field, hear them speak, learn 

about new resources, meet old 

friends, make new ones, and connect 

with people who may be researching 

the same surnames and 

places that appear in your own 

family history. 

Whether it is a local event (see 

below for several right here in 

New Mexico), in California or in 

France, each is a way to receive 

help from experts on your research 

problems. 

In February, we were at the exciting 

RootsTech in Salt Lake City 

(attended by about 4,300), and I 

spoke on Sephardic research (London, 

UK) at the popular Who Do 

You Think You Are? LIVE! family 

By Tori Lee 


Tracing 

the 

Tribe 

By Schelly 

Talalay Dardashti 

African-American composer 

William Grant Still (1895-1978) 

had only a tenuous connection 

with Judaism, having married a 

Russian Jewish woman, Verna Arvey, 

the author of the present volume 

under review. 

The couple was more interested 

in spiritualist teachings than 

in mainstream religious practices. 

Both were involved in political 

organizations deemed suspect by 

the U.S. government during the 

McCarthy era. They were also a biracial 

couple at a time when this 

was much more problematic than 

is the case today. 

All these reasons combined 

to cause Mr. Still and his musical 

compositions to drop mostly out 

of public view. His music remains 

unjustly neglected, unknown by a 

wider musical audience, unheard 

and unappreciated. This is a pity. 

For Mr. Still’s musical composi- 

history show, attended by more 

than 15,000 people. 

I will speak at the Albuquerque 

Family History Expo on April 

13-14. (For more detail, see http:// 

familyhistoryexpos.com/albuquerque.) 

This is the first year that Family 

History Expos will hold one 

of their many events here on our 

home turf. Check out the agenda 

and speakers, and join us, if you 

can. Bennett Greenspan, founder/ 

CEO of FamilyTreeDNA.com is the 

keynote speaker and will present 

two additional programs. 

In June, I’ll speak at the Southern 

California Genealogical Society’s 

Jamboree (June 8-10) and the 

Genealogical Society of Hispanic 

America in Santa Fe (June 15-17). 

The annual International Jewish 

Genealogy Conference (visit 

http://iajgs.org) will be in Paris, 

tions are wonderfully evocative of 

America folk music, Negro spirituals, 

jazz rhythms and improvisations 

of the likes of the early Duke 

Ellington. Mr. Still is a prototypical 

American composer. 

William Grant Still was born in 

Mississippi, a mere generation after 

the end of the U.S. Civil War. 

Displaying interest and talent at an 

France (July 15-18), followed by 

the Society of Crypto-Judaic Studies 

(July 22-24) conference, back 

here in Albuquerque. 

NMJHS Genealogy Workshop 

Report 

The New Mexico Jewish Historical 

Society’s first all-day workshop 

was held Sunday, March 11, 

at Congregation Albert, with attendees 

coming as far away as Las 

Cruces. Our Santa Fe workshop is 

being rescheduled to early June, so 

look for more information on the 

date. 

The workshop was memorable, 

and not only for the surprise 

morning snow – I spent 15 

minutes clearing off the car! Our 

participants were enthusiastic, and 

Nancy Greenberg, Chris Mueller 

and I spoke on a range of topics, 

from immigration, census records, 

social media, and Sephardic research. 

The format allowed for 

good participation, we had lunch 

together, and enjoyed a delicious 

afternoon coffee break. A big 

thank you to Congregation Albert’s 

wonderful staff (Tammy, Megan 

and Rachel) for all their hard work! 

Attendees completed evaluation 

forms, providing useful information 

for future workshops. 

early age, Still used music to keep 

his soul intact through the worst 

of legalized segregation and Jim 

Crow discrimination. 

In One Lifetime is not a critical 

academic biography of its subject. 

Rather, it is a very human portrait 

of a man written by his wife and 

professional collaborator, concert 

pianist Verna Arvey. She discusses 

Chris Mueller (left) and Nancy Greenberg speaking at the NMJHS 

genealogy workshop 

Topics vying for first place 

were genealogy for beginners, genealogy 

databases (intermediateadvanced) 

effective strategies, advanced 

US immigration and Eastern 

European genealogy research. 

Also on the list: British-Irish-Scottish 

genealogy research and advanced 

census records. Write-in 

suggestions included learning 

routes to ports in Eastern Europe 

and Hungarian research. 

Mr. Still’s numerous professional 

accomplishments within the context 

of their life together as musicians 

and parents of two children. 

Mr. Still’s professional musical 

accomplishments are as numerous 

as they are significant. His opera 

“Troubled Island,” explores the 

tragic history of Haiti and was the 

first opera composed by an African-American 

to be performed by 

a major opera company, the New 

York City Opera. A second opera, 

“Bayou Legend,” was broadcast on 

PBS. 

In 1936, Mr. Still conducted 

the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 

concert, the first African-American 

to conduct a major American orchestra. 

Mr. Still twice received the 

prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship 

for his musical compositions, 

of which at least 150 survive. 

In addition to four operas, several 

dozen orchestral works on 

themes in modern American history, 

choral works, chamber music 

pieces, solo piano and organ 

By the time we were finished 

and the car loaded, we were back 

to warm, sunny weather! 

For more information on the 

New Mexico Jewish Historical 

Society, visit http://nmjhs.org, or 

write to me at genealogy@nmjhs. 

org, to be placed on the mailing 

list. If you have a “brick wall” 

problem you’d like to solve, send 

the details and we’ll try to assist 

you. 

A Neglected, Prototypical American Composer: William Grant Still 

Twelve New Mexicans 

Attend AIPAC Policy 

Conference 

From March 3 through March 

6, more than 13,000 pro-Israel 

activists -- including 12 New 

Mexico representatives from Albuquerque, 

Santa Fe, Los Lunas, 

Las Cruces, and Clovis -- attended 

the American Israel Public Affairs 

Committee (AIPAC) 2012 Policy 

Conference in Washington DC. 

The 2012 conference was the 

largest in AIPAC history, featuring 

addresses from President Barack 

Obama, Israeli Prime Minister 

Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israeli 

President Shimon Peres. The conference 

was dominated by discussion 

of the threat of a nuclear 

Iran. 

During the conference, New 

Mexico representatives met with 

the state’s congressmen and senators. 

They asked elected officials 

to help prevent Iran from acquiring 

nuclear weapons capability, 

and requested their support of 

the US-Israel Enhanced Security 

Cooperation Act of 2012, and the 

full foreign aid bill. 

New Mexico delegates 

visit with Senator Jeff 

Bingaman 

Stacey Carson 

of America- 

Israel Racing 

with a NAS- 

CAR vehicle 

celebrating 

the friendship 

between the 

United States 

and Israel 

works, Mr. Still also composed the 

stunning “Afro-American Symphony,” 

a tour de force of 20 th century 

American musical themes. All of 

Mr. Still’s musical compositions 

are well in keeping with the classical 

tradition, with an early 20 th 

century twist. His orchestrations 

are lush and melodic. He had little 

use for 20 th century atonal or postmodern 

music. His compositions 

are eminently playable and singable. 

There must be a musical ensemble 

in New Mexico willing to 

bring Mr. Still’s compositions back 

from obscurity. Readers interested 

in the possibility of a public performance 

of any of Mr. Still’s composition 

are urged to contact the 

reviewer via the New Mexico Jewish 

Link to obtain copies of a documentary 

about Mr. Still and recordings 

of his music, also included in 

the review package. 

Arvey, Verna. In One Lifetime. 

(Fayetteville, Arkansas: University 

of Arkansas Press, 1984). 

Seth Gardenswartz and Robert 

Efroymson talk with Democratic 

National Committee Chairwoman 

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

14 The New Mexico Jewish Link A Service of the JewiSh federAtion of new Mexico April 2012


Viewing Israel through the Perspective of an Olah Hadasha 

By Natanella Zafrani 

Link Correspondent, Jerusalem 

Editor’s note: Albuquerque 

resident Natanella Willcoxon immigrated 

to Israel in December 

2011 (and changed her last name 

to Zafrani). The following article 

describes her experiences as a 

new immigrant. 

On March 9, the 

head of the Popular 

Resistance Committee, 

Zuhair al-Qaisi, 

was killed in an IDF 

strike in Gaza. 

In the following 

days, about two hundred 

rockets were 

launched into Israeli 

territory. 

While falling 

rockets from Gaza 

are not a recent issue 

for Israel, it is a new challenge for 

Israel’s olim (immigrants). It has 

been interesting for me to see the 

reactions of olim to the current security 

situation, and to ask them 

about their experiences. 

Anyone who makes aliyah to 

Israel does so knowing that there 

are security concerns and potential 

threats associated with living 

here. Even so, in the last few 

years, it has been calmer and security 

has not been the primary 

concern for the majority of potential 

olim. 

However, many of them (particularly 

those in the south) have 

Natanella Zafrani 

come to realize that they are 

vulnerable to recurrent threats. 

As such, it is not surprising that 

the general feeling has been noticeably 

tenser within immigrant 

communities than in other communities. 

Several people from my ulpan 

(Hebrew program) were in the 

south this past week when the 

rocket fire begun. One friend told 

me that she was on a 

public bus near Ashkelon 

when a rocket 

fell. 

The bus driver received 

an alert from 

the military and ordered 

everyone off 

of the bus and told 

them to kneel on the 

ground. As they knelt 

on the ground, she 

recalled seeing the 

flash of light from the 

rocket and the resounding sound 

of its impact. 

Hearing my friend’s story 

brought me back to the summer of 

2010 when I was studying at the 

Hebrew University. 

One weekend towards the end 

of the summer I decided to travel 

to Eilat. My first morning there I 

awoke to a panicked telephone 

call from my father, telling me 

that several Katyusha rockets had 

landed in the center of the city, 

very near to where I was. It was an 

alarming experience, and it made 

me realize how close we are to 

such threats on a regular basis. 

When at home with my family, 

we talk about the Israeli-Palestinian 

conflict and its implications 

on our lives. We are concerned by 

it, but in some ways feel that the 

recent attacks are just more of the 

same, more of what Israel has had 

to deal with for decades. People 

in Israel have become skilled at 

dealing with difficult situations, 

and living life in the meantime. 

For most of this week in southern 

Israel, many institutions were 

closed. Haaretz reported that over 

200,000 school children were 

missing their studies as a result of 

the rocket fire. 

Despite the inconvenience of 

the disruption of daily life, there 

is also a feeling of triumph as the 

nation has witnessed the exciting 

success of the Iron Dome. It 

is the IDF’s latest missile defense 

system, designed to find and destroy 

missiles entering Israeli territory. 

Though it does not stop 

every rocket from exploding, it intercepts 

many of them, and steers 

them away from populated areas. 

Unsurprisingly, the word on 

the street is that the IDF is seeking 

to acquire many more systems just 

like it. Presently, the Iron Dome 

only operates in the south, leaving 

Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and the 

majority of northern Israel vulnerable 

to rocket and missile attacks. 

What strikes me most during 

this time is the how different it is 

to be here during heightened situations 

as apposed to being in the 

United States. 

JFS Recognizes the Exemplary Service of Edward Yepez 

By Carol March 

Jewish Family Service, Albuquerque 

Edward Yepez, senior administrative 

assistant for the Jewish Family 

Service (JFS) of New Mexico 

has received the biannual Bronze 

Bagel Award for exemplary service 

to the organization he has served 

for eighteen years -- longer than 

any other current employee! 

Edward is the “go to” person at 

JFS, with an intimate knowledge of 

all our programs, services, people, 

and where to find everything from 

office supplies to the keys to rarely-used 

cabinets. 

Everyone depends on Edward’s 

experience, knowledge and compassion 

for our clients to keep the 

office running smoothly. 

Edward is described by his 

colleagues as “flexible,” “a cooperative 

team player,” “always 

ready to step in and help our clients,” 

“friendly and respectful,” 

“kind,” and “an important asset.” 

Everyone at JFS is grateful for the 

calm resourcefulness that Edward 

brings. 

When asked about his favorite 

part of his job, he stated, “I enjoy 

my work and the great people at 

JFS, but my favorite thing is when 

I talk to a client and help them to 

Jonah Isaac Katz was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico on February 13, at 

six pounds, ten ounces, and 21 inches long, much to the delight of his 

parents, Andrea and Howard, and his big brother Elijah. Jonah’s father, 

Howard, is the president of Congregation Beth El and board member of 

the Jewish Federation of New Mexico. 

feel better about their situation, 

when I can assist them in getting 

the help they need. When I help a 

needy family to get an emergency 

food box, and watch them drive 

away, their happy faces stay with 

me.” 

Edward was born from New 

Mexico and grew up in both Albuquerque 

and the Bay Area in 

Northern California where he finished 

school. He was working for 

a publishing company in Walnut 

Creek, California in 1988 when 

he decided to move back to Albuquerque 

to be close to his family. 

He loves the ocean and visits 

the California coast between San 

SimcHaS 

Jacob Alexander Millen, son 

of Drs. Leverett and Dana Millen, 

will be called to the Torah as a bar 

mitzvah on April 21 at Congregation 

Nahalat Shalom. Rabbi Deborah 

Brin and Cantorial Soloist Beth 

Cohen of Congregation Nahalat 

Shalom will officiate accompanied 

by Cantor Faith Steinsnyder 

of New York City. Jacob’s proud 

grandparents are Harriet and Alan 

Schultz of Tucson, Arizona and 

the late Dr. Hyman and Mrs. Rose 

Millen, of blessed memory (z”l). 

Jacob is a 7th grader and honor 

roll student at Lyndon B. Johnson 

Middle School. Like his grandfather 

before him, Jacob plays the 

clarinet. He participates in both 

jazz and intermediate band at 

Officers’ graduation ceremony at the IDF base in Mitzpe Ramon in 

February. The quotation comes from Judges 7:17, “Look to me, and 

thus will you do.” Photo courtesy of Jacob Klaven. 

When I was there, it was possible 

to distance myself from what 

was happening, and now that I’m 

here the events affect my every 

day life. In some ways it is easier 

to be in Israel, not having to deal 

with the situations I faced in university 

with anti-Israel groups and 

hostile rhetoric in class. 

On the other hand, it is disconcerting 

to hear about the difficult 

opposition on campuses that my 

friends deal with at home. Clearly 

anti-Israel sentiments are on the 

rise globally, and knowing this 

Diego and San Francisco as often 

as he can. The photo shows Edward 

with his cat Celestine who 

recently passed away after living a 

Jacob Millen Bar Mitzvah 

school, and enjoys science, social 

studies, math, and literature. In his 

spare time, Jacob likes to watch a 

good movie or play, but he loves 

being with his friends and family 

the most. 

Jacob is proud of his Jewish 

heritage and often talks with his 

friends and parents about tikkun 

olam and social justice. 

His mitzvah project concerns 

education and outreach about 

wolf recovery efforts in New Mexico. 

This stems from his love of 

animals and the inspiration that 

he received from his Torah portion, 

Shemini. Jacob is excited that 

family and friends from all over the 

U.S. will help him celebrate becoming 

a bar mitzvah. 

makes me nervous about the future 

at times. Like me, many others 

in my ulpan class are beginning 

military service this year, and 

the situation is uncertain. 

Despite the challenges, there 

is no place I’d rather be. 

To live in the center of Jewish 

life, to have so many new experiences, 

and to be near family and 

friends, makes it all worthwhile. 

Israel is such a special place to 

live and to make a contribution. 

Every day that I spend here, I feel 

surer of this than the day before. 

Edward Yepez with his cat Celestine, of blessed memory. 

long and happy 18 years. He and 

his partner recently adopted a dog 

named Zoe, and they enjoy taking 

her for walks in the foothills.


Professional Services 

Directory 

ACUPUNCTURE 

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

Center for Holistic Health, 505-298-7371 

Acute & Chronic Disorders & Injuries 

9412 Indian School Rd. NE, 

Albuquerque 87112 

AT TORNEYS 

Jon A. Feder 

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

Cert. Specialist: Divorce & Family Law 

Trained collaborative divorce attorney 

Most experienced NM family law fi rm 

AT TORNEYS 

Mark S. Jaffe, 242-9311 

The Jaffe Law Firm 

320 Gold SW, Suite 1300 

Personal Injury, Civil Litigation, 

Consumer Rights 

BRIS 

Gwenn Robinson M.D. - Mohelet 

Certifi ed by 

the Berit Mila 

Board of Reform Judaism 

821-2985 

DENTISTS 

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

Practice Limited to Endodontics 

(Root Canal Therapy) 

10409 Montgomery Pkwy NE, Suite 100 

Albuquerque, 87111, 291-8630 

HOSPICE CARE 

PHYSICIANS 

David Bernstein M.D. 

724-4300 

Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery 

New Mexico Orthopaedic Associates 

201 Cedar St. SE, Albuquerque, 87102 

RE AL ESTATE 

HERE’S TO YOUR NEXT DUNN DEAL 

(505) 980-2505 • (505) 828-1000 

www.MadelineDunn.com 

Madeline Sells 

NM Homes 

VACUUM & SEWING 

Abbey Lane 

9800-6 Montgomery Blvd., 323-4465 

Quality Miele & American-made Riccar vacuums. 

Elite Baby Lock sewing machine dealer. 

Repairs and supplies for all brands. 

APPS 

Stone Design 

Makers of Twittelator 

The Ultimate Twitter Client 

http://stone.com 

http://twittelator.com 

AT TORNEYS 

Jeffrey Diamond Law Firm 

Personal Injury, Social Security Disability 

Albuquerque Offi ce: 881-6500 

Carlsbad, Roswell, Odessa, TX Offi ces: 

1-800-722—0927 

AT TORNEYS 

Lynn Yael McKeever, Esq. 

Resolving and Preventing Problems 

Wills, Trusts, Estates, & LLCs 

www.lynnmckeever.com 

505-991-1948 

CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS 

Jon Bell CPA MACCT “The Tax Maven” 

Tax preparation • Business consulting 

Incorporations • Reasonable, fi xed fees 

Call for complimentary consultation 

jonbellcpa@gmail.com • 505-385-3535 

DENTISTS 

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

Pediatric Dentistry - Infants, Children & Teenagers 

4620 #C Jefferson Lane NE 

Albuquerque, NM 87109 

888-3520 

HOUSEKEEPING COMPANION 

Meeting the housekeeping needs of seniors. 

Trust us! 

Call Ginger at 348-4483 for a free consultation 

PLUMBING & HE ATING 

Steward’s Plumbing, Inc. 

293-3360 

“When Extra Care is Needed” 

All types of plumbing, heating, and sewer work 

www.stewardsplumbing.com/web 

RE AL ESTATE 

Pam Ashley 

505-345-2000 

Full service realty since 1973 

Ashley and Associates Ltd. 

217 Claremont NE – www.pamashley.com 

THER APY 

BRENDA N. SUSMAN, LMFT 

3904 Carlisle, NE, Ste D 

Albuquerque, NM 87107 

Phone: 505 934-4120 

VALIDATION AND CHANGE 

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY 

ARCHITECTS 

Lee Gamelsky Architects P.C. 

Lee Gamelsky AIA, LEED AP 

Architecture • Planning • Interiors 

Residential • Retail • Medical • Offi ce 

Sustainable • Inspiring Design 

505.842.8865 - lee@lganm.com 

AT TORNEYS 

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

Representing select clients 

in complex family law matters 

Cert. Specialist: Divorce/Family Law 

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

lgtfamilylaw.com 

AT TORNEYS 

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

Peacock Myers, P.C. 

Intellectual Property Law Services 

Technology Commercialization 

201 Third Street NW, #1340, Albuquerque 

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 

HANDYMAN 

MIKE MENDEZ 

Carpenter - Cabinet Maker 

Handyman 

Remodeling - Repairs - Renovations 

Small Jobs Welcome 

884-4138 

OPTICAL 

Muller Optical,Inc 

Full Service Eyewear 

9000 Menaul NE(Menaul at Moon) 296-8187 

Specializing in Complex Prescriptions 

Custom Glasses for Diffi cult Vision Problems 

PROSTHETIC • ORTHOPAIEDIC APPLIANCES 

Samuel Weisberg Prosthetics 

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

Sports Related Braces, Custom Fabrication 

1018 Coal Ave. SE, ABQ, NM 87106 

248-0303 FAX 248-1611 

SALON & SPA 

Andrew Madvin 

Hair Designer 

cutting edge 

Styling • color 

Color Correction 

Westside • 10126 Coors Blvd. NW, Alb., NM. 87114 

505.899.5557 • www.LaBellaSpaSalon.com 

ART & FR AMING 

Weems Galleries and Framing 

Always the Best Art – Always the Best 

Prices! Representing 200+ Artisans 

Montgomery & Louisiana 293-6133 

Plaza Don Luis – Old Town 764-0302 

AT TORNEYS 

Richard P. Jacobs 

881-4388 

Personal Injury, Automobile 

Accidents and Wrongful Death 

4004 Carlisle Blvd. NE 

Suite D, Albuquerque, NM 87107 

AT TORNEY 

Sanford H. Siegel 

Board Certifi ed Specialist 

Divorce & Family Law 

505-884-0022 

www.sanfordsiegelfamilylaw.com 

COUNSELORS • THER APY 

Bonnie G. Miller, M.A. LPCC 

Counseling, Art Therapy, and Sandplay for 

Children, Adolescents and Adults 

Medicaid and most insurances accepted 

101 Hospital Loop, NE, Suite 215, ABQ 

505-270-9458 • bonniegmillerpc@gmail.com 

HE ALTH & BE AUT Y 

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

Zerona: ZERO PAIN ZERO RISK 

6 40 min. sessions. 

I know, because I did it myself. 

Janice F Moranz, MD • 505-880-1920 

$300 OFF WITH THIS AD 

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 

RE AL ESTATE 

Talia Freedman, Realtor 

Signature Southwest Properties 

505.332.8838 Offi ce 

505.263.7892 Cell (Preferred) 

TaliaFreedman@aol.com 

www.ABQ-Realty.com 

SPAS 

Betty’s Bath & Day Spa, 505-341-3456 

ABQ’s only soak, relaxation & wellness spa 

Offering massage, facials 

& restorative treatments & products. 

Instant on-line gift certifi cates available 

www.bettysbath.com 

For rates and information on how your business can join the professionals 

on these pages, contact Advertising Manager Anne Grollman at 

505-348-4472 or email her at anne@jewishnewmexico.org 

Logos or photos can be added to Professional Directory ads. 

The ad size is 2.4” wide x 1.125” tall, which includes the category header. 

Please keep artwork simple for clarity, and artwork will be sized accordingly to fit the ad space available. 

Prices remain the same and you can make changes to an existing contract.

April 2012 - Jewish Federation of New Mexico

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