(Editor’s note: This is a response to a guest column by Katja Edelman headlined “Bibi, can you hear me” published in the Dec. 19 issue.)

As a citizen of Israel, resident of Jerusalem, I thank you for your voluntary service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). You have earned the right to criticize Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, even from a distance, now that you are back on Morningside Heights.

You take the prime minister to task for his coddling of the settlers and for “turn[ing] Israel into something unrecognizable from the outside.” You ask him to “honor the legacy of the great Nelson Mandela and be the kind of leader who takes risks for the people and nation he loves.”

Indeed, the mark of the great leader is the willingness to take risks; but it is also the ability to know when to take those risks. Furthermore, in a democracy, the prime minister must not only weigh the international consequences of his actions but also the impact that his policies will have on the citizens of his country.

Israel is a democracy and nothing is simple in a democracy. The decision-making process in a democracy, and especially in Israel, is convoluted, loud, quite often too open and subject to many competing pressures. As the only democracy in the region, Israel’s open processes are subject to much second guessing. How much easier would it be for Prime Minister Netanyahu if he did not have to worry about the maintenance of his ruling coalition, the next election or comments from abroad?

What may be perceived as an incoherent Israeli policy on settlement construction when viewed solely from the single perspective of those outside of Israel, may be a rational second-best policy when the domestic perspective, and hence, the need for balance, is thrown into the equation.

Take the makeup of the current ruling coalition. The recent election for Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, was primarily contested over domestic social and economic issues. The ruling coalition, which consists of doves and hawks who hold diametrically opposed views on settlement policy, was stitched together to deal principally with the domestic challenges currently facing Israel. Were the prime minister to take bold action and develop a coherent policy on the settlements and settlers, as you urge, he would lose his current coalition in favor of a coalition that would support his settlement policy but would not be able to move on the more pressing domestic issues.

And now is not the time to do that, since Israel does not have a genuine partner for peace.

President Mandela had a negotiating partner who shared his goal of ending apartheid. By freeing the imprisoned Mandela, South Africa’s last apartheid president, F.W. de Klerk, demonstrated, through action and not just word, that he was willing to work with Mandela to reach their shared objective. The current Palestinian leadership has not sent any signals that it is willing to live in peace with a Jewish state or coexist with Israel. Palestinian maps continue to exclude Israel and their schoolbooks make no attempt to educate Palestinian children for peace or coexistence with Israel. Under such circumstances, how can we ask the prime minister to take the risk and make the hard decisions on a settlement policy that could very well create fissures in the political and social fabric of Israel?

The fact that the current round of negotiations with the Palestinians consists of two separate negotiations that require two conflicting negotiating styles also makes Israel unrecognizable from the outside.

On the one hand, the prime minister is negotiating with the Palestinians as if he were in an old-fashioned Mideast bazaar. In such a non-rational negotiation, one stakes an extreme opening position, sticks to the maximalist position and does not offer to show his or her cards unless reciprocated.

On the other hand, Israel is simultaneously negotiating with the United States in a rational give-and-take over what Israel should be offering the Palestinians, with the “outside” expecting an Israeli position that is logical, internally consistent and will lead inexorably to the final outcome. This bifurcated negotiation is the reality that you say is unrecognizable from the “outside.”

What is tragic about the current situation is that polls show that a large majority of Israelis would give up sizeable chunks of land in the West Bank for a genuine peace with the proper security arrangements. Katja, you want Prime Minister Netanyahu to essentially act like Mandela and take risk. A genuine peace is, however, dependent on Netanyahu’s having a de Klerk to his Mandela.

Jacques J. Gorlin held senior positions in the State and Treasury Departments and served as senior economic adviser to Sen. Jacob K. Javits (R-NY). He subsequently was president of the Gorlin Group for more than 25 years before moving from Washington, D.C., to Israel in 2011.

For many years, Super Sunday has been a cornerstone of the Jewish Federation’s Annual Campaign. Recently, however, many people have shied away from both volunteering and answering the phone. Deserved or not, the perception exists that the Jewish Federation does not value all levels and kinds of giving.

We have listened.

Whether it’s more hands-on volunteer opportunities you are seeking, or if you’re wondering if your “small” gift matters, this year, my Super Sunday co-chair Jeremy Applebaum and I have re-imagined Super Sunday in an effort to assure you that the Jewish Federation deeply values all gifts of time, talent and treasure. That is why Super Sunday is offering a number of ways to participate this year.

Give Time

Fight hunger at one of our three community service projects, or drop off non-perishable food for our JFS Food Pantry project. Barrels for food collection are in the front entryway of the Jewish Community Campus.

Post #supersundaykc on any of your social media outlets on Feb. 2. For each post, we get $1, and every dollar is important. Furthermore, if we reach 500 posts, we’ll quadruple our money, receiving $2,000 for a few seconds of your time. We definitely need everyone’s help with this … wherever and whatever you are doing that morning.

Give Community

Enjoy delicious New York bagels and kosher pastries, JCC’s Alef Bet Café smoothies and a good time with friends at our Super Sunday Open House! You’ll also have the opportunity to get a quick picture of yourself on our red carpet, and learn more about where your Jewish Federation dollars go.

Give Sweat

Once you’ve completed your workout at the JCC on Feb. 2, come up to the lobby, log your minutes at our Open House (10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) and enjoy a nosh. Generous donors will turn your workout minutes into a cash donation for Super Sunday.

In addition to your gift of time, we realize — and are extremely thankful for — the many of you who make donations of all amounts to support the more than 75 programs that Jewish Federation funds each year, programs that sustain and enhance Jewish life at home and around the world.

Whatever the size of your gift, we want each of you to understand how powerful your gift to the collective becomes. Together, we become a force to be reckoned with, reaching more people than we could individually. So, if you think your gift is too small, or worse — unimportant — to Jewish Federation, think again. “Small” gifts are the heart and soul of Federated giving.

If everyone in Kansas City gave, think of the impact. Bagel Bash, our annual party for young Jewish people in Kansas City is a perfect example of the power of the collective:

This year, for the first time ever, the 250 attendees of Bagel Bash donated $5 to Jewish Federation as part of their ticket price. Through this effort, we collected $1,250 in one evening. That’s $1,250 that will go a long way toward feeding the hungry right here in Kansas City.

If each of those 250 people gave $100, (approximately $8.33 per month, and roughly the equivalent of two coffees from Starbuck’s each month) all of a sudden, they have raised $25,000. That’s no small change.

Finally, if those same 250 people pledged $365 to the annual campaign (just $1/day), that small but powerful group of people will have raised more than $90,000! The math is compelling. We have strength in numbers. This is the whole point of federated giving — giving to the collective, increasing your impact. More importantly, federated giving allows everyone the opportunity, regardless of the size of your gift, to do the mitzvah of tzedakah.

I hope you will join us this Super Sunday.

I hope you will join us in person at the Super Sunday Open House, or on social media with your tweets, Instagram pics and Facebook posts. I hope you will join us by fighting hunger at our community service projects, or by logging your fitness minutes. And finally, I hope you will join us in the privilege of helping Jewish people … everywhere, everyday.

For more information about Super Sunday, go to jewishkansascity.org/supersundaykc, or call the Jewish Federation directly at 913-327-8100.

A board member of Jewish Federation, Tracy Shafton is the co-chair of Jewish Federation’s Super Sunday. She is also chair of Jewish Federation’s Engagement and Leadership Development Committee and co-chair of the Israel Together mission. Tracy and her husband Alan live in Overland Park with their two children.

(Editor’s note: This message, written by Rabbi Scott White, was originally published in Congregation Ohev Sholom’s weekly email blast to the congregation on Monday, Jan. 20.)

(Monday night) was to have marked the opening at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters of an exhibition, “People, Book, Land — The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People to the Holy Land.” But last Tuesday (Jan. 14), UNESCO canceled the exhibition in the wake of protest from the Arab League claiming that “the exhibition could create potential obstacles related to the peace process in the Middle East.”

Why are we not surprised? After all, in 1975 the U.N. adopted a resolution equating Zionism with racism. It stood on the books for 16 years. Just one example of many when that august body singled out Israel, while turning a blind eye to real atrocities being committed in various countries belonging to its club.

What is not to be expected, however, is for our own country to jump on the bandwagon. Yet, here is a segment from a State Department letter rescinding U.S. sponsorship of opening night. “At this sensitive juncture in the ongoing Middle East peace process, and after thoughtful consideration with review at the highest levels, we have made the decision that the United States will not be able to co-sponsor the current exhibit during its display at UNESCO headquarters.”

Read it and weep.

Every Sunday morning after I finish my first of a tri-daily visit to my lovely wife Zelda, who lives in Park Meadows Memory Care, I go to my favorite Hen House on 118th and Roe for my enjoyable coffee and $6 New York Times. Incidentally when I was a kid growing up in New York the daily Times was 3 cents and 25 cents on Sunday.

This particular Sunday, Dec, 1, 2013, was the fourth day of Chanukah. This year Chanukah was very significant to all Jews since Chanukah and Thanksgiving don’t coincide that often. It was personally very significant to me because it was the 35th anniversary of my heart attack in 1978 when I was 58 years old.

As I was leaving the Hen House and placing my groceries into my car an elderly man, Donald Boresow, approached me and said, “Do you remember me Mr. Reiz? When I was a 12-year-old kid I had you as my Sunday school teacher at the Beth Shalom Synagogue. You have not changed a bit. I’m 79, so you must be in your 80s.” I chuckled as I am 93. Donald mentioned that he has 51 grandchildren, an unusual accomplishment.

This encounter with Mr. Boresow reminded me of Ida Rose “Skipper” Feingold. Skipper had many accomplishments, including founding the Beth Shalom preschool whose alumni numbered thousands of adults in this area. When Zelda and I were married on Dec. 29, 1946, and after return home by train from our seven-day honeymoon from Excelsior Springs, Skipper was pregnant with her first child, Anita Goldsmith. Skipper asked me if I would do her a favor and substitute as the teacher in her Sunday school class at Beth Shalom temporarily until she gave birth in February 1947, which was only one month away.

I accepted and was terrified since I had never had any previous teaching experience and saying no to Skipper was simply never an option. That one month of substituting became 18 years of teaching at Beth Shalom. My Israel Coins and Stamps class was popular and jam-packed with pupils like Donald Boresow. Hundreds of people who went through my classes are now in their 70s and 80s. Some of these students are no longer with us, including Joan Vigder Greenberg, who unfortunately passed away about a month ago.

It would be almost sinful if I didn’t mention Raffy Arbisser, our beloved principal. When I began teaching in 1947 he paid me 50 cents a week. My top salary was $12.50 per session. The acme of my teaching career was in 1950 when I was awarded a silver cup for Best Teacher of the Year.

The third person in this triangle as I call it is Dr. Daniel Scharf. As I mentioned earlier I had a heart attack when I was 58 years old. At the time I drove myself to the emergency room at Menorah Medical Center, which at that time was located on Rockhill Road in Kansas City, Mo. A very young doctor with dark hair performed a relatively new procedure on me and discovered that I had some blocked arteries but no heart damage. Upon my discharge I was told to exercise daily and watch my food intake. This is advice that I continue to follow faithfully every day and to which I attribute my longevity.

Last October I happened to go to St. Luke’s South for a cardioscan. While I was there a nurse overheard a conversation I was having with another nurse about Dr. Scharf. Dr. Scharf happened to be in the building and, after he was informed of the conversation, he asked to see me.

It would be an understatement to say that my meeting with Dr. Scharf was most enjoyable. I jokingly asked him what happened to his dark hair and he countered by asking me why I was two inches shorter. It was a short, but priceless meeting.

I have enjoyed this trip down memory lane and would enjoy hearing from others of you who are former pupils. Please consider calling me at 913-730-3466 or sending me a note at 6077 W. 107th St., Overland Park, KS 66207.

Andy Reiz is a retired general contractor. His three adult sons and their wives (David and Pam, Nathan and Nancy, and Joel and Lana) also live in the area. His daughter Miriam and her husband Bill live in Israel.

Last September Therese Park wrote a column in the KC Star describing what she learned in the summer of 1950 as 9-year-old in Pusan, Korea, during the start of the Korean War. Due to the war, the government ordered all private home owners to open their homes to refugees. All of a sudden, Ms. Park’s home housed additional families. Ms. Park’s mother decided to start a “sewing circle,” in order to give the additional women a pleasant, constructive activity. Her mother allowed her to sit on these lessons as well. Often times, conversation included comments about husbands, children’s behaviors, challenges with money, how to extend the food rations, etc. Everything discussed during the sewing circle stayed amongst the women ... no one passed judgment on any one or any comment.

Almost buried in the article’s paragraphs she wrote about a woman staying in their home whose husband beat her regularly. He chose to do this when they were alone, and he never hit her where bruises showed. The sewing circle ladies wanted her to leave him, even helped her devise a plan, but the woman replied, “He always finds me.” Just one day later the couple left, and Ms. Park’s mother never heard from the woman again. She always regretted she didn’t do more to protect her and possibly save a life; she feared the worst scenario.

Therese Park’s article wasn’t about domestic abuse, but rather what she learned sitting at the feet of adults, and the sacredness of female time together. Yet it was that one paragraph that resonated with me, due to my work at SAFEHOME, Johnson County’s only domestic violence shelter. How many of us hear comments we don’t quite understand, maybe said lightly, maybe in jest, possibly as an afterthought? Then we wonder, what does that mean? Is it someone reaching out? Is it someone wanting us to ask “Are you okay? Are you safe?” Then, later, we regret taking no action.

Therefore, in 2014, I encourage you to take action and live without regrets. If you think someone needs help, especially with matters relating to abuse, call SAFEHOME’s hotline, 913-262-2868. Finding help and ensuring safety represent acts of Kiddush Ha-Shem, sanctification of God’s name. If you are more comfortable asking me questions or want information concerning resources, call me at 913-378-1518. Let this new year help each of us to evolve into careful listeners, concerned human beings, and pro-active friends.

Before I close, I want to thank Ray Davidson and B’not Lev BBG for the wonderful outreach they did on behalf of SAFEHOME at the Jewish Arts Festival in October. Ray generously donated proceeds from Frieda’s Challah sales, and B’not Lev members distributed purple ribbons and information about SAFEHOME. Caring people make such a difference!

Susan Lebovitz is SAFEHOME’s Volunteer Manager along with being the Jewish Community Outreach Coordinator on Domestic Violence, funded by the Flo Harris Foundation.

Tu b’Shevat, the New Year for the trees observed on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, is being celebrated this week in Israel and all over the Jewish world. Here in Kansas City, we celebrated the holiday with many different events.

I remember celebrating Tu b’Shevat as a child on the kibbutz. For Israelis Tu b’Shevat is an important holiday as our connection to Israel is through the earth. We planted trees in our boots and coats and ate hot soup and fruits. Growing up on a kibbutz allowed me to see those trees grow and experience that natural process first hand. My dad tells me that all the trees on the kibbutz were planted on Tu b’Shevat by kids since the day they settled on the hill in the western Galilee. I’m very fortunate for having that unique experience of watching the tree I planted grow, blossom and bloom. And I’m even more fortunate for being able to do that in Israel and enjoy the fruits of the land, the seven species (“A land of wheat, and barley, and vines; of fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey.”).

Tu b’Shevat is one of what we call the “mitzvahs of the land” (the commandments of the land of Israel) that are only possible when one lives in Israel. Although the tradition of planting trees on that day is actually a late custom going back to the Zionist movement in the beginning of the last century in Israel, there are some laws that go back to biblical times. The Shmita, (Sabbatical year) that falls every seven years according to Jewish law, is another one of those Jewish laws regarding the land of Israel. The Shmita involves all farmers leaving their fields and allowing the ground to rest, letting the poor or any person take what they want and the cancellation of debts.

Although these two commandments are connected to the land of Israel, they should be lessons for the way we live our lives today. Tu b’Shevat is a time for us to celebrate nature and appreciate the great things we receive from it. Today, Tu b’Shevat is also an opportunity to change the way we look at the world around us and treat it better. The Shmita year is a time to put our work aside (in those days agriculture was the main trade for most people) and concentrate on our family and our community. Today, we can’t really leave our jobs every seven years but we can take that opportunity to invest more in ourselves and the people around us.

Like many laws, holy days, customs and ceremonies in Jewish tradition, Tu b’Shevat can have a profound meaning for our lives beyond eating fruits grown in Israel. I hope many of you enjoyed feasting on the seven species (and drinking some delicious Israeli wines), but I also hope that you took the time to recognize the beauty of nature and the privilege of being able to celebrate a holiday connected to the Land of Israel and the modern State of Israel.

Yahav Barnea is the Israeli Emissary of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City.

A joyous celebration

It was our pleasure hosting over 50 young professionals at our house on Tuesday, Dec. 3, to celebrate Chanukah. A big thank you goes to the Community Kollel of Kansas City for organizing this great event. There were members from almost every synagogue in Kansas City eating, singing, and lighting the candles together. May we all merit to celebrate the festival of lights together as one Jewish nation for many years to come.

Roy and Ariella Ben-Aharon

Overland Park, Kan.

I moved to Israel because I love living here. Some people feel it is courageous, some are confused as to why I would want to leave the United States, and some feel a mixture of both. I do not think it was courageous. I moved to Israel because it is where I want to be; it is where I feel the most free to be myself.

That is not to say that life in Israel is easy. There have definitely been ups and downs. One thing that made my transition easier was that I studied in Beer Sheva for three years, and so I already had a network of friends. I also have family who I became close to during my studies.

When I arrived, I moved in with a former roommate from my time at Ben-Gurion University, who had an extra room in a three-bedroom apartment. Within hours of my arrival three of my friends came to visit. They brought me balloons, assembled my bed, arranged my room, and took me to dinner. I had not previously met the third roommate, but when she came home from work and I went to shake her hand she gave me a hug and kiss and said, “We’re roommates now, roommates hug. Welcome to Israel!” We got along so well that we moved in together when we left the first apartment due to renovations.

Finding a job was difficult, but that seems to be a common concern across the globe. There are plenty of websites to help olim find work, but most of the openings are in marketing, IT and sales. To work in the fields in which I am interested I need a much higher level of Hebrew. I was fortunate in that Nefesh B’Nefesh sent my resume out and a wonderful consulting firm for non-profit organizations contacted me. In February I will be working there for a year. Though finding a job was difficult, one thing that never failed to amaze me was the willingness of Israelis who I met for the first time to, upon hearing about my job search, pull out their phone and call their friends in an attempt to find me a job.

The time I miss home the most is during the holidays. The year before I left Kansas I went on a holiday craze. I drove my family insane insisting that every holiday be spent at home with our traditions and our dishes. I wanted to make sure I fully reveled in the holiday traditions of my childhood before I went off into the unknown.

I have learned to make new traditions. We hosted a Thanksgivukkah dinner complete with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, latkes and sufganiot. Despite the craziness of the day (the store did not have our pre-ordered turkey, but my roommate found one via Facebook; our stove ran out of gas, but our neighbor let us use hers; our sink developed a leak, but the landlord fixed it; we didn’t have a pan large enough for the turkey but small enough for the oven or a baster, but my boyfriend rigged up some contraptions that did the job) we had an amazing time with great food and great friends.

Thanks to technology, I find that I can also hold on to some old traditions, too. Though I moved to a Jewish country, most of my friends do not light Chanukah candles. I sadly resigned myself to lighting them alone, but then one night I had an epiphany. I was video chatting with my Mom and realized that we could light the candles together! There was a slight sound delay, but we were able to sing the prayers together just like at home. It made Chanukah much more special.

There are things about the United States that I miss. Aside from family and friends, I miss not having to fight my way onto the bus or yell at people to get things done. I miss Target and Costco. I miss decent customer service and general politeness. But there are things about Israel that I would not trade. There is something in the atmosphere and in the people that allows you to be who you are and have no fear of exploring and trying. There is a freedom and confidence here that just cannot be found elsewhere. Israelis live life with a passion and a drive that is amazing and exhausting.

I am American. The United States is my home. But through all my life in Kansas and all my years in New Jersey, I never felt a sense of belonging like I do in Israel. Something just clicks. When I exit Ben-Gurion airport and get to wherever I’m going, be it Beer Sheva or Tel Aviv, I feel right. I feel like this is where I belong. It is hard to explain — it is something that can only be felt.

Life in Israel is non-stop. Things are constantly happening all around. There are struggles, and there are parties. And I am a part of it, every second of every day.

This month Lara M. Portnoy will celebrate the first anniversary of making aliyah. She is the daughter of Ellen and Jay Portnoy, who are members of Kehilath Israel Synagogue.

Tribute to Camp Gan Israel

I am 12 years old and I have attended Camp Gan Israel since I was 5 years old. Actually I can’t remember when I didn’t go to camp CGI.

I love going to camp and prefer camp to vacation. I love that we don’t just stay in one place because we go on trips to arcades or other fun places every other day.

Rabbi Morgenstern and Simmy always make everyone feel welcome, no matter how religious you are. It’s a great way to learn to love Judaism and have fun at the same time. I never miss winter or summer CGI. It’s the best kept secret in Kansas City. I love CGI camp!!!!!!

I just want to publicly say thank you for all you do and thanks to all the other families that help take care of the counselors from out-of-town.

Rochelle Adamous

Overland Park, Kan.

A ‘thank you’ to The Chronicle

On behalf of Beth Shalom Sisterhood, we would like to express our appreciation for the wonderful publicity you gave us for our new fundraiser, “A Nite at the Movies.” The event was held the evening of Dec. 24, and it was a great success.

We raised funds for both our synagogue and community projects. Because of your publicity, we had almost a full house. Everyone who attended had a great time “schmoozing” and seeing an excellent movie, “Saving Mr. Banks.”

Thank you again.

Beverly Newman

President Beth Shalom Sisterhood

Linda Lessner, Chair of “A Nite at the Movies”

And our hardworking movie committee