See Page 55
$1.00 WWW.5TJT.COM
INSIDE
MindBiz
Esther Mann, LMSW 30
Thirteen Times Two
Rabbi Avi Shafran 34
Bureaucracy
Hannah Reich Berman 40
Bold And Brave
Hindy Lieberman 53
A Whole New Start
Shani Goldner, CDN 62
Dr. Bernard Lander and Alan
Kadish, M.D. See Page 44
NY Times columnist
William Safire, 79.
See Page 20
Red Shul wins world series.
See Page 42
CANDLE LIGHTING
Oct. 2 – 6:17 PM
Oct. 3 – 7:19 PM
VOL. 10 NO. 2
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
BY LARRY GORDON
Threats And Promises
It had been, no doubt, a phys-
ically and emotionally exhaust-
ing few days in New York for
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu. It was Thursday
night, at the tail end of that
rather triumphant and diplomat-
ically sterling week, just before a
police and Secret Service escort
would drive him to JFK in
Queens for his trip back to Israel,
that Bibi, as friends and col-
leagues affectionately call him,
said farewell and expressed
Continued on Page 8
NO FREEZE HERE
BY SAMUEL SOKOL
In Mitzpe Avichai, a small out-
post located near Kiryat Arba in
the Hebron Hills, a new dwelling
is being constructed for a soon-
to-be-married couple. This first
home, however, is not a house in
the traditional sense, nor is it a
caravan typical of development
towns in Judea and Samaria. It
is, in fact, a sukkah.
The Netanyahu government,
under pressure from the Obama
administration, has enacted
what is being termed a tempo-
rary ban on new construction in
Kosher Comes To Costco
The introduction of glatt kosher meat and poultry at the Five Towns
Costco has captured the fancy of local consumers. Above, a scene from the
recent Kosher Feast Market Place at Costco. See Story, Page 26
14 TISHREI 5770 !jna dj OCTOBER 2, 2009
BUILDING UP TO THE HOLIDAY
PhotoByEstaGordon
(AFP/Getty Images/Michael Nagle)
Jonathan and Steven Litton of Buildmysukkah.com erecting just one of
the hundreds of sukkahs they’ve put together in the Five Towns and
surrounding areas. After next week’s holiday, they are going to be busy at
work taking them down, but let’s not think about that yet.
Chag sameiach!
HEARD IN THE BAGEL STORE
Judea and Samaria. In response
to the building freeze, Rabbi
Dov Wolpe of the Ha’Matteh
My Sukkah
L’Hatzolat Ha’Am V’Ha’Aretz BY LARRY GORDON to that old sukkah. I think it was
organization has joined forces either given away or just rotted
with Hebron activist Baruch When Sukkos was just a yom in the unused garage in the back
Marzel and National Union MK tov—before it was an industry— of my childhood home in
Michael Ben-Ari to establish the we had to annually confront the Brooklyn. After my father
Sukkot LaNetzach initiative. ordeal of putting up our sukkah. passed away nearly 20 years ago,
“Sukkot LaNetzach” can be Reflecting on the type of sukkah that sukkah saw its last days in
translated as either “sukkot for we used to put up and contrast- the sun (or the shade).
victory” or “sukkot for eternity.” ing that with the sukkah stand- I have to admit that, now as I
The goal of this project is to ing today in my driveway, it is think back, I really admired that
encourage revenants through- clear that while some things not-so-little temporary edifice
out Judea and Samaria to build have changed little, other things and immensely enjoyed those
have changed a great deal.
Continued on Page 18 I’m not sure what happened Continued on Page 12
Shuvah FEAR OF
Lectures FASTING
Part 3 Another Mother’s Musings
BY RABBI YAIR BY PHYLLIS J.
HOFFMAN LUBIN
In the previous two issues of Yom Kippur has ended—now
the 5TJT, we interviewed mem- what? Where do we go from
bers of America’s greatest gener- here? It’s a question that plagues
ation—those who came of age me every year. And here we are
during the Second World War again.
and witnessed the destruction My pre-Yom Kippur fear is
and subsequent rebuilding of always “What if I just can’t do
the Jewish nation. They saw it it?” What if I can’t take the
all, touched us all, and, most stress of not eating and I have
importantly, led us through it to break my fast? Or what if I
all. They were our rabbis. eat by mistake? Maybe as I
Continued on Page 15 Continued on Page 14
Sukkot LaNetzach
Continued from Front Cover
sukkot of enduring and solid construc-
tion to serve as additions to already exist-
ing structures. It is a symbolic gesture for
the most part, but it is hoped that it will
also assist families living in cramped con-
ditions who have been denied permits to
expand their homes.
Rabbi Wolpe played a significant role
in organizing opposition to the 2005
expulsion of the Jewish communities of
Gush Katif. He is known for his national-
istic views and is currently closely affiliat-
ed with the National Union party.
In the weekly newsletter Eretz Yisrael
Shelanu, produced by HaMatteh
L’Hatzolat HaAm V’HaAretz, Rabbi Wolpe
wrote, “As a practical act and to make a
symbolic start . . . we suggest that all res-
idents of Judea and Samaria and
Benjamin build a sukkah forever this
year—meaning a sukkah that is a massive
construction, that will become a perma-
nent room in the home.”
The rabbi continued, writing, “Dear
residents, do not be afraid of arrests; don’t
18 October 2, 2009 5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES
give in to the terrorism of the Special
Patrol Unit [Yassam]. Remember: We
overcame Pharaoh; we will overcome
Obama as well. We overcame the decree
of the White Paper; we will also over-
come the decrees of Shimon, Ehud, and
Bibi. To Hashem will be the salvation!”
According to Itamar Ben-Gvir, parlia-
mentary aid to MK Ben-Ari, the builder of
the five most permanent sukkot will be
eligible for a 1,000-shekel prize. The prize
money serves more as a way of generat-
ing publicity than as an actual incentive
for building. A typical sukkah, temporary
and flimsy, costs about that amount. A
permanent structure, as envisioned by
Wolpe, Marzel, and Ben-Ari, would cost
many times the prize money awarded.
Ben-Gvir said that the purpose of the
Sukkot LaNetzach project is to send a
message to President Obama that Israel is
not the 51st star on the American Flag, but
rather a sovereign nation that can build
on its own land without restriction.
Tzurnatan Durani is currently engaged
in the construction of the Mitzpe Avichai
sukkah. The building measures 12 meters
by 6 meters (40' x 20') and is described as
being constructed of solid wood. Durani
stated that both water and electricity
hookups are being connected. Inner par-
titions are being constructed to create
walls and, after the end of the Sukkot hol-
iday, Durani says that the s’chach will be
removed and replaced with a proper roof.
From pictures we obtained of the site,
it appears that the sukkah is being laid
upon a concrete foundation.
Mitzpe Avichai was established one
year ago in memory of Avichai Levi, a
young victim of terror, killed in a terror
attack at the Bet Chagai junction in 2004.
The outpost has been demolished mul-
tiple times since its establishment, the
last incident occurring two months ago.
There are currently two families and
three single men living in Mitzpe Avichai.
More people want to move into the
community, Durani commented, but
there is a limit to how much they can
build at one time.
Yaron Kilav, a veteran of the hilltop-set-
tlement movement originally from
Hashmonaim, is due to move into his
new home during the course of the holi-
day. He will be getting married in two
months and hopes to bring his new bride
into the sukkah as well. When asked his
opinion of the Sukkot LaNetzach initia-
tive, he replied “Kol ha’kavod to them. It’s
a great idea. It will really help. They
should continue like this.” Kilav

explained that it will not be off-putting to
his wife to live in a sukkah, as she has
already spent a number of years in out-
posts and is used to such conditions.
Residents of the outpost have
expressed the sentiment, common to all
outposts, that if the army comes to destroy
their work, as has already occurred, they
will rebuild as many times as necessary.
Rabbi Wolpe explained his reasons for
establishing Sukkot LaNetzach as fol-
lows: The Jewish people “should not be
enslaved to the anti-Jewish government,
allowing Arabs to build as they please in
Israel, while prodding the Jews to the
ghettos, to the final deportation from
their land.”
According to a recent report in the
Jerusalem Post, Supreme Court Justice
Photos By Tzurnatan Durani
Hanan Meltzer stated that “the question
is whether the attitude towards illegal
construction by Palestinians is the same
as it is towards Jewish settlers. Is there a
difference in the order of priorities?”
Meltzer answered in the affirmative and
went on to say that illegal Arab building
must be treated the same by the authori-
ties as “illegal” Jewish construction.
Wolpe also stated, “Start actually build-
ing, adding rooms and building in all parts
of Judea, Samaria, and Benjamin. The Land
of Israel is ours, and every Jew received the
land from G-d and as an inheritance from
our ancestors . . . no nation, including the
Hebrew-speaking government, has the
power to rob us of our land and hand it
over to killers. Therefore, we must build . . .
despite the decrees.” ❖
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES October 2, 2009 19