Shabbat Shalom, Gesher Shalom!

Saturday 4/6	Morning Service 9:30 am Minha , S'uda Shlishit (3rd Shabbat Meal), timely topic, Maariv and Havdalah 6:30 pm
Thursday 4/11	Rabbi's Class "Talmud & Tangents" 10:30 am Visiting Scholar Marty Schneit : Irving Berlin an American Institution 12:30 pm
Friday 4/12	Bible Class 11:30 am Pre-Passover Dinner & Musical Service RSVP Required 6:00 pm

Warning! The Seder is 1 week from next Friday (April 12)...Do you really want to cook that evening?
Let us cook for you!

This organization sponsors and subsidizes the Jewish Group Homes:

Podcast: The Rift Between American and Israeli Jews

The rift between American and Israeli Jews grows daily. How did this happen ? Wasn't Israel an issue of consensus in the American Jewish community until just recently? Wasn't Israel the rare cause that could unite Jews across the political and denominational spectrum? My friend, Daniel Gordis believes that this growing divide is decidedly not about what Israel does. It is, rather, about what Israel is. He argues that the two largest Jewish communities in the world are animated by different attitudes about the purpose of Jewish life, and what it takes for the Jews to prosper. It is these fundamental differences (not the policies of the Netanyahu government or the Chief
Rabbinate) that are the true cause of the widening rift between the Jews of Israel and the United States.

You may have heard that Auschwitz Artifacts will be going on a world tour to educate about the Shoah... First stop will be the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan, and we will be going "On the Road" in July. An iconic railroad car was just delivered and installed outside the Museum; you can watch a time-lapse video of it here.

AIPAC and the Democrats (from JTA's Ron Campeas)

Reports of the death of the alliance between AIPAC and Democrats were premature.

With the exception of Bernie Sanders, Democratic candidates for president did not heed MoveOn's call to boycott the group's annual conference last month. The lobby, rather than gunning for the party's neophyte and voluble left, has been engaging in outreach to progressives.

And, timed for the conference, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee even pulled out of its hat a solution to a liberal-conservative divide that had seemed intractable: A congressional resolution condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel, initiated by members of both parties and endorsed by a range of Jewish groups from center right (StandWithUs) to left (J Street).

The nonbinding resolution will likely get the vast majority of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate on the record against BDS, a major and long awaited win for the lobby.

Torah Rea ding 655, 930, 380 Haftarah 1291

TAZRIA

This morning's Sidra opens with the laws of confinement following childbirth. Biblical law deemed women to be "ritually unfit" after giving birth. At the conclusion of this period, the mother was enjoined to bring a burnt offering and a sin offering, and she could then resume normal activity.

The laws dealing with leprosy, and the restrictions placed upon lepers, follow somewhat logically. Anyone with a skin disease was also considered to be ritually unfit, and a period of confinement was imposed upon the individual by the priest, who examined the afflicted individual at regular intervals. These passages demonstrate most convincingly that the priests' role extended beyond the precincts of the Sanctuary and the domain of the sacrificial cult.

HA-HODESH

From the second Torah scroll we read a passage from Chapter 12 of Exodus which proclaims the importance of the month of Nisan-the month in which Passover and the exodus from Egypt took place. This portion is always read on the Shabbat preceding the beginning of the month of Nisan, or on Rosh Hodesh Nisan itself, if it falls on Shabbat. It is one more reminder of the approach of Passover.

Tonight: Evening service at 7:00 p.m.

Tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m.

Join us for Hallel and a preview of Passover melodies-and one of those rare occasions when we read from 3 Torah scrolls!

Tomorrow afternoon at 6:30 p.m.

During Seudah Shlishit we will read and refute an op-ed that appeared into days' New York Times:

We Are Too Weak to Stop Israel

For Palestinians, it doesn't matter who wins the election there next week by Raja Shehadeh, a Palestinian lawyer and writer.

This Week's Yahrzeit Observances

We hope that our weekly listing of yahrzeit observances will serve 2 purposes:

1) To remind those who have the yahrzeit for a second time, much closer to the date of the actual observance

2) To alert friends and acquaintances that someone they know is observing a yahrzeit. We hope that you will show them your support by joining them at our minyanim, and helping to assure that Kaddish can be recited with a minyan

Susan Davis will be observing yahrzeit for her mother, Eleanor Davis on Friday evening, April 5th

Ann Schaer will be observing yahrzeit for her father, George Gilsenberg on Friday evening, April 5th

Alfred Strauss will be observing yahrzeit for his aunt, Paula Kuhn on Friday evening, April 5th

Adrian Osian will be observing yahrzeit for his father, Alexandru Osian on Friday evening, April 5th

Hennie Ostrower will be observing yahrzeit for her brother in law, Milton Kartzmer on Sunday evening, April 7th

Stephen Whitman will be observing yahrzeit for his grandson , Andrew Jeremy Marrara on Sunday evening, April 7th

Mary Rettig will be observing yahrzeit for her sister, Jennie Ciquera on Sunday evening, April 7th

Jill Rosenberg will be observing yahrzeit for her father, Alfred Alan Daitch on Monday evening, April 8th

Rhea Hess will be observing yahrzeit for her brother-in-law, Lothar Hess on Tuesday evening, April 9th

Jerome Margolin will be observing yahrzeit for his brother, Solomon Margolin on Tuesday evening, April 9th

Hilde Straus will be observing yahrzeit for Husband of , Werner Straus on Wednesday evening, April 10th

Helene Polinsky will be observing yahrzeit for Father of , Jacob Newman on Thursday evening, April 11th

Joan Alter will be observing yahrzeit for Mother of , Libby Karp on Thursday evening, April 11th

Important Reads

His Name is Etched in My Mind: ZACHARY BAUMEL...and I am sharing everything that I can find/read about the return of his body with you:

37 Years Later, Israel Recovers Body of Soldier Killed in Lebanon War

IDF Soldier Baumel Buried Yesterday

No Stone Left Unturned

Russia appears to have put its own people in harm's way for another country's humanitarian cause

Prime Minister's Statement on Return of Zachary Baumel's Body

Russia's Role in Return of Fallen Soldier

20 sets of remains arrive in Israel after two years of work; Moscow facilitated operation initiated in Israel by Lieberman; only match so far is Baumel

Russian Military and the Syrians Found Body of Missing Israeli Soldier, Putin Says Alongside Netanyahu

Behind the Retrieval of the Israeli Soldier's Body

From the FIDF

"WE NEVER LEAVE A SOLDIER BEHIND"

Dear Friend,

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) is sharing an emotional moment in IDF history: yesterday after 37 years, the remains of Sergeant First Class Zachary Baumel z"l, who had been missing in action, have been rightfully returned to his family to be buried in Israel.

Baumel was one of three soldiers declared missing during the battle at Sultan Yaaqoub on June 11, 1982 during the First Lebanon War. Despite the time that has passed, the State of Israel and the IDF did not cease in their efforts to bring the soldiers home, and recently carried out several operations to locate them.

This momentous accomplishment demonstrates the Spirit of the IDF in action, the official code of ethics to which all IDF soldiers are committed. The code recognizes the supreme value of human life above all else and dictates that IDF service men and women conduct themselves with utmost courage, even when risking their lives, to leave no soldier behind - whether or not alive.

I can assure you that the State of Israel and the IDF will continue to do all that needs to be done to return the remaining missing soldiers to Israel and their families.

It is an honor and a privilege to support a military with such strong morals and code of ethics. May the memory of Sergeant First Class Zachary Baumel be for a blessing and may his family find a measure of comfort and peace.

We continue to pray for the return of the remaining missing soldiers.

Maj. Gen. (Res.) Meir Klifi-Amir
National Director and CEO

16 Jewish Camps Get Grants to Increase Accessibility for Campers and Staff with Disabilities Ramah makes up 25% of recipients

In Brazil, a Rabbi Opens the World's First Summer Camp for Descendants of Forcibly Converted Jews Yeshiva Camp brings youths from some of Brazil's poorest villages for two weeks of cultural and spiritual enrichment in one of Sao Paulo's most prestigious quarters.

In Mallorca, Descendants of Jews Forced to Hide Their Faith Now Run the Community

Amid growing interest in the bloody past of the Spanish island, converts to Catholicism are returning to Judaism.

Once the religious courts in Israel get over their knee -jerk predisposition to take the man's side, and side with a woman, justice can be served...albeit slowly:

Jerusalem Woman Finally Gets a Jewish Divorce After her Husband is Fired from Job and Jailed
2,600-Year-Old Seal Bearing Name of First Temple-Era Official Discovered in Jerusalem

As Pope Visits Morocco, Tiny Jewish Community Looks on with Quiet Pride

Despite Brexit Woes, Theresa May is a Hero to Many British Jews

The End of Oslo Is an Opportunity

The old peace process on Israel-Palestine had long ago run aground. It's time to rethink.

Israel

The Knesset Election is Next Tuesday

MERCAZ Olami is a great organization that you never heard of. It is the Zionist/Political arm of the Masorti Movement (I have encouraged you to vote for the MERCAZ slate in previous WZO elections).

On their website they provide you with an incredible resource to help Jews from all around the world understand the players, parties, and politics of the upcoming Israeli parliamentary elections.

To Register click here.

click image to register

The first part of this essay saddens and infuriates me; the second part I largely disagree with:

I'm An Arab Citizen of Israel. I'm Boycotting the Election

Israel's Arab Parties Aren't All the Same

Benjamin Netanyahu wants to portray all Israeli Arab politicians as an existential threat. If his opponents are wise, they'll distinguish among them and pave the way for a winning coalition.

Can an Archaeological Dig Change the Future of Jerusalem?
7 Immigrants Awarded Prize for Major Contributions to Israel
Israel Discovers 2,000-Year-Old Jewish Village in Greater Jerusalem
Archeologists Unearth Second Temple Era Beersheba Town

During the excavation, archeologists found the earliest appearance of a menorah in art

How to Make Trump's Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan Work

Fitch Affirms Israel's A+ Credit Rating

Research Finds Israel Has World's Healthiest Diet

Israel Working to Contain Deadly Cholera Outbreak in Mozambique after Devastating Cyclone

Haredi Teen Who Threatened to Kill Leader of Conservative Movement in Israel to Be Prosecuted

BDS / Anti-Semitism / anti-Zionism

I spoke about this very topic some weeks ago...it feels like it's open season on Jews from all quarters. This is from todays' NYT:

Anti-Semitism Is Back, From the Left, Right and Islamist Extremes. Why?

Responding to Anti-Israel Hate with Love University of Houston pro-Israel students respond to anti-Israel hate with love

Brazil's President Says Nazis Were Leftists Following his Visit to Yad Vashem

When Mokgomole visited Israel for the first time and asked an Israeli airport employee for the "Blacks-only bathroom." He was surprised to receive a silent stare in response

South African Activists at University of Michigan Talk Apartheid, Arab-Israeli Conflict How their views changed

A JTA Reporter Encounters Anti-Semitism on the Streets of New York Some reflections on being called a "f***ing Jew bastard" by a homeless man.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown Says Labour Party Has "Let Down" British Jews

Jeremy Corbyn blamed 'Zionist lobby' for blood libel cleric Raed Salah's expulsion from the UK

Justice Wecht Breaks Judicial Silence on Anti-Semitism

Ilhan Omar's Ineffective Advocacy for Palestinians

Omar Lashes Out At Pelosi, Netanyahu For AIPAC Jabs

Australian Greens Level Anti-Semitic Charges of Genocide

French Students Film Themselves Urinating at Offices of Jewish Student Group

Pitzer College Student Senate Calls for College President's Removal over Israel Study Abroad Program Editorial: A Disturbing Vote at Brown University

Brown University President Rejects "Polarizing Calls for Divestment" over Israel

Gaza Conference by Duke and University of North Carolina Sinks Academia to a New Low

He Built a Holocaust Memorial by a Far-Right Leader's Home. Now He's Under Investigation

State Department to Fund Programs Against Rise of Anti-Semitism Abroad

The Palestinians

Gaza "Collaborators" Making New Lives Inside Israel

Now this is a crime:

8 Year Olds from Gaza Sent Across Border Fence Carrying a Knife

Palestinian Authority Should Be Held to Account for Violating Children's Rights https://www.jns.org/submission-to-un-urges-rights-for-palestinian-israeli-children-subjected-to-hamas-abuse/

What It's Really Like for Palestinians at the Israeli Checkpoints

An Israeli photographer shares a firsthand look at the border crossings.

How Palestinians Are Fleeing Lebanon

Gazans Wounded in Border Riots Wonder What It Was For

Palestinian Electricity Bills to Israel Are Piling Up

After One Year of Gaza Protests

The Great March of Return, What Went Wrong?

PA to Pay 50 Percent of Salaries for Second Month

PA Stops Referring Palestinian Patients to Israeli Hospitals

Iran / Syria / Hezbollah

If the US Defense and State Departments don't in whose hands these drones will wind up, all they have to do is to ask me!

U.S. Delivers 6 Drones to Lebanese Army

The Trump Administration Is Making Hezbollah Stronger

" If the United States follows through on this plan to inflict collective punishment on Lebanon over Hezbollah, the results are likely to be the opposite of what administration officials intend."

'Syrian Bride' Illustrates Consequences of Israel's Occupation of Golan Heights (and NPR Podcast)

Iran Was Building an Underground Nuclear Test Site

UN Watchdog Inspects Tehran Site Flagged as Suspicious by Israelis - But Possibly Too Late

Hi-Tech

Beresheet made the NYT today!

Israel's Beresheet Lunar Lander Moves Into Moon Orbit

Photos of the Dark Side from Beresheet

Israeli Lunar Spacecraft Completes Another Maneuver, Takes New Photo of Earth
more on beresheet

Israeli Cardiologist Performs 'First-In-The-World' Emergency Heart Procedure Israeli Technology Gives Sierra Leone Schoolchildren Clean Water

Beijing Airport Selects Israeli Radar Technology to Protect Runway

Pop Culture

Maxwell House is Offering a "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" Haggadah

The limited edition has handwritten notations by Rachel Brosnahan's character as well as faux wine stains.

Not quite sure where to put this:

Jewish Comedian is Top Vote-Getter in First Round of Ukraine's Presidential Election

Bruce Pearl Coaches Auburn to its First NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four

The leader of the U.S. squad that won the 2009 Maccabiah Games gold guides the Tigers to their first national semifinals.

San Diego Jewish Academy Breaks World Record for Sandwich-Making

Eden Dersso Is the Changing Face of Tel Avivâ's Hip-Hop Scene

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR OUR SYNAGOGUE AND THE BOROUGH OF FORT LEE!

The JCC of Fort Lee/ Gesher Shalom will be marching in the Memorial Day parade this year! If you are a war veteran or a synagogue member who wants to show your support then Sign up to March in the 2019 Fort Lee Memorial Day Parade on May 27th! email Iris Coleman and let her know that you plan on attending as shirts for the synagogue will need to be purchased. Thank you in advance!

BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy at Ramah in the Rockies

Do you know a young adult struggling to find their path in life? Ramah is working to address mental health and wellness within the Jewish community. BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy is our answer. Following a successful pilot season last year, BaMidbar is open for year-round enrollment.

Music
Yoav Eshed Trio Millionaires
Israeli Jazz
Guitar, Yoav Eshed - Bass, Tamir Shmerling - Drums, Daniel Dor
Sunday, April 7th | 8:00 pm
The Brooklyn Commons 388 Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, NY
Yoav Eshed Trio is an exciting musical journey featuring guitar, upright bass and drums, including storytelling jazz musicians from Israel with an innovative playing and exciting sound featuring the Award-winning guitarist Yoav Eshed, Daniel Dor (Avishai Cohen, Kurt Rosenwinkel) on Drums and Tamir Shmerling (Terri Lynn Carrington, Myron Walden, Gretchen Parlato) on Bass

Music
Piano Solo
Guy Moskovich, piano
Sunday, April 7th | 9:30 pm
The Brooklyn Commons 388 Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, NY
Guy Moskovich (born August 1st 1996) is a rising star jazz pianist and composer from Israel, currently residing in New York City. He is performing regularly on the international jazz scene where he is considered a rising star, having played at the Red Sea Jazz Festival, Beit Ha'amudim jazz club in Tel Aviv, The Jazz Gallery in NY York and with regular performances in Europe. Tonight, Guy will be playing songs from the great American songbook next to his original compositions.

Music
Keren Ann
The City Winery
Tue., April 9th, 2019 | 8:00 pm
Doors Open at 7:00 pm
City Winery New York City
Keren Ann is an artist, singer-songwriter but also an artist who's songs have been sung or performed by such eclectic and international artists : David Byrne, Iggy Pop, Luz Casal, Rosa Pasos, Anna Calvi, Jane Birkin, Henri Salvador ou Françoise Hardy. In parallel of her records and numerous tours, she works on original soundtracks for films (La femme la plus assassinée du monde by Franck Ribière, among others) but also for theater or contemporary danse (Collaborations with choreographs Sharon Eval or Damien Jalet). Bleue is her 8th solo album.

Cabaret
Yael Rasooly with Daniel Rein
Cafe Sabarsky
April 11th | 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Cafe Sabarsky @ Neue Galerie
The richly decadent world of the 1920s and 30s in Berlin and Paris is on dazzling display in this performance by renowned artist Yael Rasooly, who will tell the stories of the backstreets and alleys, as well as the glamour and exuberance, in the final years of the Weimar Republic. In Rasooly's debut performance at Café Sabarsky, audiences will enjoy tales of longing, grief, love, passion, resilience and dreams, all delivered through what the New York Times calls her "inspired wackiness."

Music
Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players
violin, Asi Matathias -piano, Roman Rabinovich
Monday, April 15th | 2:00, 7:30
Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
Roman Rabinovich, piano - Asi Matithias, violin - Diana Cohen,

violin - Cong Wu, viola- David Requiro, cello - Vadim Lando, clarinet
Ferruccio BUSONI Suite in G minor
Moritz MOSZKOWSKI Suite in G minor Op. 71
Anton RUBINSTEIN Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 99

Gil Shaham by Luke Ratray
Evgeny Kissin
Mike Burstyn by Mariella Productions
Music
From Shtetl to Stage: A Celebration of Yiddish Music and Culture
Migrations: The Making of America Festival, Russian and Eastern European Jewish Migration
Mike Burstyn, Vocalist
Evgeny Kissin, Pianist - Gil Shaham, Violin
Monday, April 15th | 8:00 pm
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
From Shtetl to Stage celebrates the journey of Yiddish culture from Old World to New through music, song, poetry, and humor. A company of extraordinary Yiddish talent-as well as stars of the classical, film, and theater worlds-mix chestnuts from the Yiddish theater and folk song repertoire with Yiddish-tinged vaudeville, art song, classical music, and klezmer in a program that explores how Eastern European Jewish culture interacted with and contributed to American culture at large.

Music
Israeli Chamber Project
Baruch Performing Arts Center
violin, Daniel Beard - viola, Guy Ben-Ziony - cello, Tony Rymer
clarinet, Tibi Cziger - piano, Assaf Weisman
April 16, 2019 | 7:30 pm
Rosalyn and Irwin Engelman Recital Hall, Baruch Performing Arts Center
Mozart/André: Clarinet Quartet in E-Flat Major (arr. Violin Sonata K. 380)
Yinam Leef: Triptych
Bartók: Contrasts, Brahms: Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 60
Formed in 2008, the Israeli Chamber Project's mission is to bring top-notch chamber music performances to both urban and rural venues in its native country as well as around the world. Whether performing in a remote kibbutz, an Arab town, the bustling metropolis of Los Angeles, or the intimacy of New York City's Baruch Performing Arts Center, the ICP has earned high praise from the media and enthusiastic accolades from audiences.

JCC of Fort Lee/Congregation Gesher Shalom

1449 ANDERSON AVE. FORT LEE NJ 07024 MAIN OFFICE: (201)-947-1735