Need to Know for May 16

May 16, 2019 JMORE Staff

HONfest (Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Synagogue merger, Ariella Stein, Haifa earthquake and your sexy Baltimore accent

Har Sinai, Oheb Shalom boards approvemerger plan

On theirlong and winding path toward merging, Owings Mills’ Har Sinai Congregation andTemple Oheb Shalom in Pikesville have cleared yet another hurdle. On May 14,the boards of trustees of the historic Reform synagogues voted unanimously toapprove a Letter of Intent to merge. The letter was signed by Kenneth Bell,president of Har Sinai, and Oheb Shalom President Vicki Spira. The merger willbe formally voted on by members of both congregations no later than Sept. 22,according an email sent out to congregants May 15 by a joint task force of HarSinai and Oheb Shalom leaders. “In the coming weeks, we will communicate ourprogress, as well as opportunities to work together to create a vibrant futurefor the new congregation,” the letter read.

Remembering Beth Tfiloh studentAriella Stein

AriellaStein was only 11 when she died on May 9 after battling Ewing’s sarcoma, a rarebut aggressive form of bone cancer, for more than two years. Still, thepositive impact she had on this world will be felt for decades to come.Hundreds of friends, family members and others packed Baltimore HebrewCongregation on May 13 for an hour-long funeral for Ariella. A Pikesvilleresident and sixth grade student at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School, Ariellawas mourned and remembered for her determination to help and inspire otherchildren battling cancer, as well as for her unbridled love for life. Ariellawas first diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in February of 2017 when a tumor wasdiscovered in her right tibia. She underwent 17 rounds of chemotherapy. In Juneof that year, Ariella also underwent a limb salvage surgery in which a portionof her tibia was removed and an external fixator was placed to assist her as anew bone grew in its place. Despite the sickness, long hospitalizations andchemotherapy, Ariella created Ari’s Bears, a foundation established under theauspices of the American Childhood Cancer Organization. The foundation, which shehelped start with her own money, is set up to deliver stuffed bears to childrenin hospitals.

Big 7 Travel ranks sexy U.S. accents

Whether the voice of Pauly D does it for you or you’re more of a Mark Wahlberg fan, it’s true to say that some accents are saucier than others, according to Big 7 Travel. Following sample survey results of a 1.5 million social audience, the company has ranked the sexiest – and least sexy – accents in the country. Believe it or not, Baltimorese – or Bawlmarese in local speak – ranked 18^th. “Baltimore residents will commonly pronounce mirror as ‘mere’ and water as ‘wooder.’ The key feature of the Baltimore accent is identified by a sound change called ‘fronting back vowels,’ where words like goose sound more like ‘gewse,’” according to Big 7. The top three accents were listed as Texan, Bostonian and New York. While Long Islander came in at 50th.

Earthquake centered near Haifa rocksIsrael

Anearthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale was felt throughout Israel. Thetemblor at about 8 p.m. May 15 was centered about 125 miles off the coast ofthe Mediterranean Sea between the northern Israeli cities of Haifa and Hadera,according to Israel’s Geophysical Institute. No injuries or damage have beenreported. Residents of Jerusalem, central Israel and southern Israel reportedfeeling the quake. Last July, a swarm of more than a dozen small butnoticeable earthquakes shook northern Israel near the Sea of Galilee. At leastfour measured higher than 4 on the Richter scale, with some felt as far away asJerusalem. A similar swarm occurred in 2013. The Sea of Galilee is located ontop of the Dead Sea Fault, also known as the Great Rift Valley, which runs fromAfrica to Turkey.—JTA

Met won’t accept Sackler family gifts

TheMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York City announced that it would not acceptnew gifts from members of the Sackler family linked to the company thatproduces Oxycontin, which is accused of fomenting the opioid crisis. Thedecision, announced on May 15 and first reported by the New York Times, followssimilar announcements by the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Tate Museumin London. Also on May 15, the American Museum of Natural History said that ithas stopped accepting Sackler donations. Sackler family members with ties toPurdue Pharma said in a statement that “while the allegations against ourfamily are false and unfair, we understand that accepting gifts at this timewould put the Met in a difficult position.” Sackler family contributions to theMet go back about 50 years, according to The Times. Some members of the Sacklerfamily have been accused of directing their pharmaceutical firm, Purdue Pharma,to mislead doctors and patients about the dangers of the opioid painkillerOxycontin produced by the company.

Swastika — A sign at a protest in New York City, Aug. 14, 2017. (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)

Hate crimesincrease by 20% in Germany

There were1,799 anti-Semitic hate crimes reported in Germany in 2018 – and nearly 90percent of the perpetrators had a right-wing extremist background. InteriorMinister Horst Seehofer introduced the new official figures on May 14. Therewere 7,701 total reported crimes against those perceived as foreigners in 2018,a 20 percent increase from 2017. Anti-Semitic crime increased by the same rateand comprised nearly one quarter of total reported xenophobic incidents. Some39 percent of reported xenophobic hate crimes involved the use of illegaluse of symbols and logos, such as the swastika. “Especially in our country, we haveto stand against this with all our means,” Seehofer told reporters. “It’s very important to me that webring the scale of this into people’s consciousness.”–JTA

Mel Gibson’srep says ‘Rothchild’ movie is ‘completely unrelated’ to Jewish banking family

The film titled “Rothchild,” which will star Mel Gibson, has nothing to do with the Jewish Rothschild family, the actor’s rep said in a statement defending the project. “I feel the need to spare you any embarrassment as I’m told this film is about a fictional family (hence the name ‘Rothchild’) vs the Rothschild family to which you are referring,” Gibson’s publicist Alan Nierob wrote in an email to the Daily Beast May 13. “Completely unrelated to your premise and angle. Hopefully this is helpful to you.” The casting of Gibson — known for a drunken anti-Semitic rant in 2006 and for promoting anti-Semitic stereotypes in his 2004 film “The Passion of the Christ” — as a super-rich character with a name so similar to the banking dynasty at the heart of many global anti-Semitic conspiracy theories had raised eyebrows on social media on May 13.—JTA

Preakness Stakes

Preakness festivities take place this weekend at Pimlico Race Course. Read Jmore’s coverage of the ongoing battle over Pimlico Race Course, the future home of The Preakness Stakes and related issues impacting the neighboring Park Heights community.

JBiz Entrepreneur

Join Jmore for the second annual celebration of Baltimore’s Jewish entrepreneurs June 4 at the Maryland Historical Society. Click here for tickets and more information.

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