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Irena Sendler: the Story of an IncredIble woman

Issue № 4, AprIl 2010 FreeAmerIcA Through The eyes oF New AmerIcANs

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www.citizensmagazine.com№ 4 April 2010

О n September 29, 1941, the Germans shot 33, 700 Kiev Jews in the Babi Yar ravine 10 km

northwest of the city. That day in Kiev, a city with 150,000 Jews of 875,000 residents, a young wom-an, Iryna Khoroshunova, wrote in her diary: «We still don't know what they did to the Jews… all their documents, things, and food are confiscated. Then they are chased into Babi Yar and there... I don't know. I only know one thing: there is something terrible, horrible going on, something inconceivable, which cannot be understood, grasped or explained».

And then, three days later, it be-came clearer:

«Everybody is saying now that the Jews are being murdered. No, they have been murdered already. All of them, without exception – old people, women and children…A Russian girl accompanied her girl-friend to the cemetery, but crawled through the fence from the other side. She saw how naked people were taken toward Babi Yar and heard shots from a machine gun...the shooting of the Jews is a fact. A fact which is starting to drive us in-sane. It is impossible to live with this knowledge. The women around us are crying. And we? We also cried on 29 September, when we thought they were taken to a concentration camp. But now? Can we really cry? I am writing, but my hair is standing on end».

Arkadiy Fridman President, Citizens magazine

and SICC

Lori WeintrobEditor, Citizens magazine and Wagner College professor

Ilya GalakEditor, general manager

Citizens Magazine219 Jefferson AveStaten Island, NY 10306,Phone: (866) 531 4554

Email: [email protected] Department:[email protected]

Remember (Zachor)

Editorial views do not always coincide with the opinion of the authors. We are open for discus-sion and debate. Welcome any opinions and suggestions. Thank you for being with us.

Please send your comments to: [email protected]

Wagner College Academic and Cultural Enrichment Series Presents…

Egon SalmonTurning 15 on the SS.St. Louis:

A Holocaust Tragedy

Monday, April 19th

3:00pm Spiro Hall 4 @ Wagner CollegeIntroductory comments “America and the Holocaust” by Prof. Lori Weintrob, History Dept.

Co-sponsored by Chai Society and Hillel Society of Wagner College and the Staten Island Jewish Community Center (JCC)

The German 29th Army bat-talion had beaten Russian troops and taken over. Some Jews were taken away to work in factories. Others fled. The killings were done by Sonderkommando 4a, 3rd com-pany Waffen-SS, Police Battalion 45 and Ukranian auxiliary police troops.

Over 60 years have passed since the end of the Holocaust but it is not forgotten. On April 11, 2010, throughout Staten Island and the rest of the United States will mark Holocaust Remembrance Day. This commemoration process began with a vote on April 12, 1951, when the Knesset (Israel's parliament) pro-claimed Yom Hashoah U'Mered HaGetaot (Holocaust and Ghetto Revolt Remembrance Day) to be the 27th of Nissan. It honors the nearly six million Jews of all nationalities, Polish, Russian, French, Romanian, Czech, Slovakian, Ukranian, Yu-goslavian, Hungarian, Greek and Italian, murdered by the Nazis and other collaborating regimes – and those who resisted – notably in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising that began

April 19th 1943. The name later became known as Yom Hashoah Ve Hagevurah (Devastation and Hero-ism Day) and even later simplified to Yom Hashoah.

A few days later, from April 15-21, 2011 is the official, seventh an-nual Immigrant Heritage Week. It is celebrated around April 17th, the day in 1907 when more immigrants entered through Ellis Island than any other date in the City's history. Mayor Bloomberg has declared this week for a unique celebration of the vibrant immigrant cultures, heritage, and communities found in every corner of the City. «Immi-grant Heritage Week celebrates our shared immigrant histories, diverse cultures and religions, and the role these play in enriching our City», – said Deputy Mayor for Legal Affairs Robles-Romаn. The weeklong cele-bration will feature over 180 free or low cost events hosted by a number of community organizations in 19 languages in all five boroughs. For more information visit www.nyc.gov/immigrants

www.citizensmagazine.com

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№ 4 April 2010

Irena Sendler: the story of an incredible womanby Louis Bulow

D uring WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as aPlumbing/Sewer specialist.

She had an ulterior motive…She KNEW what the Nazi’s plans were for the Jews, (being German). Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of her tool box she carried, and she car-ried in the back of her truck a Burlap sack, (for larger kids).She also had a dog in the back, that she trained to bark when the Nazisoldiers let her in, and out of the ghet-to. The soldiers of course wanted noth-ing to do with the dog, and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.During her time and course of doing this, she managed to smuggle out andsave 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi’s broke both her legs, and arms, and beat her severe-ly.Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out, and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard.After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it, and reunited the family. Most of course had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes, or adopted.In 2007 Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize…SHE LOST.Al Gore won, for doing a slide show on Global Warming.www.snopes.com

The Holocaust – the system-atic annihilation of six million Jews – is a history of endur-ing horror and sorrow. The charred skeletons, the diabolic experiments, the death camps, the mass graves, the smoke from the chimneys ... In 1933 nine million Jews lived in the 21 countries of Europe that would be occupied by Germany dur-ing the war. By 1945 two out of every three European Jews had been killed by the Nazis. 1.5 million children were murdered. This figure includes more than 1.2 million Jewish children, tens of thousands of Gypsy children and thousands of handicapped children.

Irena Sendler

Yet there were acts of cour-age and human decency dur-ing the Holocaust – stories to

bear witness to goodness, love and compassion. This is the sto-ry of an incredible woman and her amazing gift to mankind. Irena Sendler. An unfamiliar name to most people, but this remarkable woman defied the Nazis and saved 2,500 Jew-ish children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto. As a health worker, she sneaked the children out between 1942 and 1943 to safe hiding places and found non-Jewish families to adopt them.

For many years Irena Sen-dler – white-haired, gentle and courageous – was living a mod-est existence in her Warsaw apartment. This unsung heroine passed away on Monday May 12th, 2008.

Her achievement went largely unnoticed for many years. Then the story was un-covered by four young students at Uniontown High School, in Kansas, who were the win-ners of the 2000 Kansas state National History Day competi-tion by writing a play Life in a Jar about the heroic actions of Irena Sendler. The girls – Eliza-beth Cambers, Megan Stewart, Sabrina Coons and Janice Un-derwood – have since gained international recognition, along with their teacher, Norman Conard. The presentation, seen in many venues in the United

..

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States and popularized by National Public Radio, C-SPAN and CBS, has brought Irena Sendlers story to a wider public. The students continue their prize-winning dramatic pre-sentation Life in a Jar.

Irena Sendler was born in 1910 in Otwock, a town some 15 miles southeast of Warsaw. She was greatly influenced by her father who was one of the first Polish Socialists. As a doctor his patients were mostly poor Jews. In 1939, Germany in-vaded Poland, and the brutality of the Nazis accelerated with murder, violence and terror. At the time, Irena was a Senior Administrator in the Warsaw Social Welfare Depart-ment, which operated the canteens in every district of the city. Previ-ously, the canteens provided meals, financial aid, and other services for orphans, the elderly, the poor and the destitute. Now, through Irena, the canteens also provided clothing, medicine and money for the Jews. They were registered under ficti-tious Christian names, and to pre-vent inspections, the Jewish families were reported as being afflicted with such highly infectious diseases as typhus and tuberculosis.

But in 1942, the Nazis herded hundreds of thousands of Jews into a 16-block area that came to be known as the Warsaw Ghetto. The

Ghetto was sealed and the Jewish families ended up behind its walls, only to await certain death. Irena Sendler was so appalled by the conditions that she joined Zegota, the Council for Aid to Jews, orga-nized by the Polish underground resistance movement, as one of its first recruits and directed the efforts to rescue Jewish children.

To be able to enter the Ghetto le-gally, Irena managed to be issued a pass from Warsaws Epidemic Con-trol Department and she visited the Ghetto daily, reestablished contacts and brought food, medicines and clothing. But 5,000 people were dying a month from starvation and disease in the Ghetto, and she de-cided to help the Jewish children to get out. For Irena Sendler, a young mother herself, persuading parents to part with their children was in it-self a horrendous task. Finding fam-ilies willing to shelter the children, and thereby willing to risk their life if the Nazis ever found out, was also not easy.

Irena Sendler, who wore a star armband as a sign of her solidarity to Jews, began smuggling children out in an ambulance. She recruited

at least one person from each of the ten centers of the Social Welfare Department. With their help, she is-sued hundreds of false documents with forged signatures. Irena Sen-dler successfully smuggled almost 2,500 Jewish children to safety and gave them temporary new identi-ties.

Some children were taken out in gunnysacks or body bags. Some were buried inside loads of goods. A mechanic took a baby out in his toolbox. Some kids were carried out in potato sacks, others were placed in coffins, some entered a church in the Ghetto which had two en-trances. One entrance opened into the Ghetto, the other opened into the Aryan side of Warsaw. They en-tered the church as Jews and exited as Christians. «`Can you guarantee they will live?'« Irena later recalled the distraught parents asking. But she could only guarantee they would die if they stayed. «In my dreams,» she said, «I still hear the cries when they left their parents.»

Irena Sendler accomplished her incredible deeds with the active as-sistance of the church.

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The Warsaw Ghetto


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Continued. Home page 4

«I sent most of the children to reli-gious establishments,» she recalled. «I knew I could count on the Sisters.» Irena also had a remarkable record of cooperation when placing the youngsters: «No one ever refused to take a child from me,» she said. The children were given false identi-ties and placed in homes, orphan-ages and convents. Irena Sendler carefully noted, in coded form, the childrens original names and their new identities. She kept the only record of their true identities in jars buried beneath an apple tree in a neighbor's back yard, across the street from German barracks, hop-ing she could someday dig up the jars, locate the children and inform them of their past.

In all, the jars contained the names of 2,500 children ...

But the Nazis became aware of Irena's activities, and on October 20, 1943 she was arrested, im-prisoned and tortured by the Ge-stapo, who broke her feet and legs. She ended up in the Pawiak Prison, but no one could break her spirit. Though she was the only one who knew the names and addresses of

the families sheltering the Jewish children, she withstood the torture, that crippled her for life, refusing to betray either her associates or any of the Jewish children in hid-ing. Sentenced to death, Irena was saved at the last minute when Zego-ta members bribed one of the Ge-stapo agents to halt the execution. She escaped from prison but for the rest of the war she was pursued by the Nazis.

After the war she dug up the jars and used the notes to track down the 2,500 children she placed with adoptive families and to reunite them with relatives scattered across

Europe. But most lost their families during the Holocaust in Nazi death camps. The children had known her only by her code name Jolanta. But years later, after she was honored for her wartime work, her picture appeared in a newspaper. «A man, a painter, telephoned me,» said Sendler, «`I remember your face,' he said. `It was you who took me out of the ghetto.' I had many calls like that!»

Irena Sendler did not think of herself as a hero. She claimed no credit for her actions. «I could have done more,» she said. «This regret will follow me to my death.» She has been honored by international Jewish organizations – in 1965 she accorded the title of Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem organization in Jerusalem and in 1991 she was made an hon-orary citizen of Israel. Irena Send-ler was awarded Poland's highest distinction, the Order of White Ea-gle, in Warsaw Monday Nov. 10, 2003, and she was announced as the 2003 winner of the Jan Karski award for Valor and Courage. She has officially been designated a na-tional hero in Poland and schools are named in her honor. Annual Irena Sendler days are celebrated

Nazi Genocide

Nazi Genocide

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throughout Europe and the United States.

In 2007, she was nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. At a special session in Poland's upper house of Parliament, President Lech Kaczynski announced the unani-mous resolution to honor Irena Sen-dler for rescuing «the most defense-less victims of the Nazi ideology: the Jewish children.» He referred to her as a «great heroine who can be justly named for the Nobel Peace Prize. She deserves great respect from our whole nation.»

During the ceremony Elzbieta Fi-cowska, who was just six months old when she was saved by Irena Sen-dler, read out a letter on her behalf: “Every child saved with my help is the justification of my existence on this Earth, and not a title to glory,” Irena Sendler said in the letter, «Over a half-century has passed since the hell of the Holocaust, but its spectre still hangs over the world and doesn’t allow us to forget.»

This lovely, courageous woman was one of the most dedicated and active workers in aiding Jews dur-ing the Nazi occupation of Poland.

Her courage enabled not only the survival of 2,500 Jewish children but also of the generations of their descendants.

The Nobel Prize recipient, Holo-caust survivor Elie Wiesel, has dedi-cated his life to ensuring that none of us forget what happened to the Jews. He wrote:

«In those times there was dark-ness everywhere. In heaven and on earth, all the gates of compassion seemed to have been closed. The killer killed and the Jews died and the outside world adopted an atti-tude either of complicity or of indif-ference. Only a few had the cour-age to care ...»

The Holocaust


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№ 4 April 2010

Intellectual and provincialhe primary national pastime of Americans – presidential elec-tions. In those days, when I was becoming an American – in the late 80’s – the pre-election campaign started a year before the election.

By Boris GulkoP s y c h o l o g i s t , g r a n d m a s t e r , chess champion of USSR 1977 & USA 1994 and 1999.

Translated from Russian by Natella Fridman

TAs time passed, it gradually

inflated to two years, leaving the president in office for half a term to concentrate on the major issues. As for the most recent president, campaigning did not stop with his

inauguration. Barack Obama does not leave the television screen. Commentators calculated how many times the president used the pronoun «I» in yet another speech. 40 times or 60? Major theme in his speeches –the personal achieve-ments of Obama.

In a period of continual rise in unemployment, a novel sta-tistical indicator is invented – the number of jobs saved. Proclaim a «modest number» – up to two million. I’m think-ing, all work places, not yet devoured by unemployment may be considered to have been saved by Obama.

The president’s own rating for his first year – «B+». Modest, but with dignity. But really, what is a presi-dential campaign if there is no op-ponent. In a normal campaign, it is necessary to not only to praise your-self, but to drench the competition in mud while you are at it. Finally, the first target appeared. Sarah Palin announced that she plans to fight for the presidency. This resembles the pioneer, who forced the family into a wagon and went to settle, two and a half centuries ago, the Wild West. A person who, in order to feed the family, can catch a fish and shoot a moose. In addition, Palin is good-looking – in an election this is useful. American, as apple pie, as though descended from the pages of Bret Harte or Kupper.

What can stand in the way of such a woman, Obama with a Har-vard diploma? Of course, in today's

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world an African American man is more politically correct than white, but, on the other hand, a woman is more politically correct, than a man. The slogans of the campaign in the last election: Bush is bad; need to change the healthcare system; it’s getting warmer – resounded. Espe-cially this cold winter. It remains – a sophisticated intellect, graduate of two prestigious universities, brought up in the major cultural centers of America – in New York, Boston, and Chicago, up against the pro-vincial, who graduated from a little known college and lives among po-lar bears in Alaska. Prior to making a speech recently, Palin wrote the main themes of it on her palm as a reminder: energy, security, some-thing else. A cameraman was able to get a shot of the cheat-sheet. A White House spokesperson, to ridi-cule Palin in front of the reporters, on his palm wrote: milk, eggs, bread. Suggesting, where is she going, a housewife, to run the state? Indeed, the refined intellectual Obama does not write themes of speeches on his palm, rather he expressively reads from the teleprompter a prepared, by his assistants, speech. Even when speaking to the sixth graders.

What can be considered an indicator of intelligence in mod-ern American politics? Probably, whether a person can prove that the cold winter is evidence of global warming, as Al Gore did in his ar-ticle from February 26 in The New York Times. Obama, of course, also demonstrates such ability. He was asked about Scott Brown’s recent victory of Senator in the Massachu-setts election. «The same strength that led me into presidency, – re-sponded Obama, – led Brown into office. People are outraged, and people are upset. Not only by what happened in the last year or two, but in the last eight years». In oth-

er words, if you avoid getting lost in the timing, outlined by Obama, «people out of agitation with Bush’s presidency elected a republican, Brown».

Obama produced an equal-ly sophisticated response to a question regarding the de-cline in his ratings. «It is better to be a good president for one term, than a bad one for two». The logic of primitive people says that a good president is elected for a second term, while a bad one is sent pack-ing, an intellectual, after all, looks deeper or turns the oth-er cheek.

Obama’s astonishing prom-ise, that his healthcare reform will provide insurance to more people, while maintaining quality and re-ducing cost. The promise is so un-expected, that a columnist Charles Krauthammer called it an affront to our common sense.

American liberal politicians demonstrate a refined intellect with regard to «warm weather». What can a primitive person «gain» from this? Well, go to the beach or take a stroll in the park. Former vice – president and, in the year 2000, nearly the president of the United States, Al Gore received an Oscar for the film about «warm weather», the Nobel Prize and, an estimated one hundred million on successful investments into the fight with this weather. Of course, later it turned out, that all this «global warming» –

a mirage. Actually, not a mirage – tens of billions in grants, the time in-tellectuals spent on … I do not know what …on observation, on thinking about warm weather. Parting with a dream is difficult, and Obama be-gan to speak (instead of warming) of a fight with «climate change». Sounds unconvincing. The climate is changing as long as our planet exists. Solution to the problem was proposed by an intellectual, accord-ing to some research, 9th most influ-ential person in America, Thomas Friedman. In an article in The New York Times from February 17, Fried-man proposed to fight, not with warm, but with «strange weather». A remarkable discovery: if tens of billions were «pissed away» on the fight with warm weather, «strange weather» should cost no less than a trillion!

What is the program of the provincial Sarah Palin? It is very simple. Within the country – reduce expenses and taxes. Even Reagan proved: this leads to economic growth. In international matters – support our friends, such as, Israel. Fight terrorists. «We collect taxes in order to buy weapons and deal with terrorists, not so we can hire lawyers for them», – she declared. Palin believes: all methods must be employed, in order to prevent Iran from developing an atomic bomb.

It seems that Obama may have a difficult task ahead – to win, with help of intelligence, common sense.


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№ 4 April 2010

A Leader from the Center:Congressman Mike McMahon

t a moment when many Americans are «impa-tient with the extremist rhetoric that prevents things from getting

done», – according to Congress-man Mike McMahon the centrist mood of «New Democrats» offers a different and more productive path.

McMahon puts himself in the tradition of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who «spoke to the left and gov-erned from the middle» and Ronald Reagan who «spoke to the right and governed from the middle». McMahon proudly showcases his willingness to cross the aisle when needed and to put first what he calls «the values of my district», that is the 13th district of New York, with

700,000 constituents. And its of-ficial: National Journal Magazine, in its February 26, 2010 issue, rated McMahon as the most centrist member of the House of Represen-tatives.

The Congressman is a friend of Israel and an advocate of good re-lations with such nations as Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan, primarily as a way to ensure our safety, but not least «as a model for the world how we get along». A member of the Transportation and Infrastruc-ture Committee and the Foreign Affairs subcommittees on Europe; the Middle East and South Asia; and Terrorism, Non-Proliferation and Trade, McMahon is regularly involved in making difficult decision about our national security and economic development.

Interview with Arkadiy Fridman and Lori R. Weintrob

A

McMahon Family – The Congressman, holding his dog Scout, with his wife Judy, son Joseph and daughter Julia.

His office is on New Dorp Lane, close to the geographic center of his district which includes all of Staten Island, and the Bensonhurst, Gra-vesend, Dyker Heights, and Bay Ridge neighborhoods of Brooklyn. In a room lined with historic pho-tos of Staten Island and Brooklyn, McMahon met with the editors of Citizens magazine to discuss his ca-reer, policy decisions and leader-ship goals.

Weintrob: Did it impact you to have a mother who was herself an immigrant to America?

McMahon: Yes. For me, the Ellis Island immigration stories were not only in history books. My mother’s family was German but had lived in Riga, Latvia. After World War I, my mother grew up in Bavaria and was there during World War II. My father met her during the Post-War military occupation of Germany. She left soon afterwards with barely more than a suitcase, and travelled via Italy to Canada where she con-tinued to wait for papers to enter the United States. This was not easy for a German, against whom there were prejudices and fears. I’m very sensitive to the impact of discrimina-tion on immigrants. I’m proud to be serving one of the most rapidly di-versifying districts in the nation.

Weintrob: Who were your role models growing up? Why did you decide to run for elected office?

McMahon: I admired my moth-er’s work ethnic and my father’s deep faith. I grew up in Stapleton in a middle-class, diverse neighbor-

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Congressman McMahon at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Huguenot Park-and-Ride expansion. Congressman McMahon secured

approximately $2 million in funds from the Recovery Act for the project, which was one of the first to break ground in New York City. Also in

the picture are Councilman Vincent Ignizio, Assemblyman Michael Cusick, Senator Andrew Lanza, Borough President James P. Molinaro

and Assemblyman Lou Tobacco.

hood, with 6 brothers and sisters. Everyday my father took the ferry to work in Manhattan in the insurance industry.

They have lived over 50 years in the same house.I also admired John and Bobby Kennedy. Their as-

sassinations affected me. In my room, I hung a poster of John F. Kennedy that read: «Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country». I felt the call to public service and served on campaign staffs in high school and college. After law school, while working at a private firm, I served part-time with As-semblyman Eric Vitaliano, Assemblywoman Elizabeth Connelly and Councilman Jay O’Donovan. When O’Donovan’s seat opened up, I decided to run.

Arkadiy: When I look at the current economic agenda, as a former resident of the Soviet Union, I fear that we are heading towards Socialism. What do you think of the administration’s priorities?

McMahon: The current administration is doing a good job on foreign policy and national security. The partnership of the military and the government is cre-ating progress in Iraq and Afghanistan. To those who think we are moving to socialism, I can say nothing is further from the truth. We inherited an emergency, after 10 years of bad policy. Most of the loans we offered have been paid back, AIG are 1/6th paid back. It is not on our agenda to take over either the car, insurance or banking industry. Although I voted against health care,

I am aware that 55% of the health care industry is al-ready government-run with Veteran’s benefits, Medi-care, Medicaid and Federal Employee benefits.

Both FDR and Lyndon Johnson were accused of be-ing socialists, for creating social security and Medicaid, yet we value these programs. We need to continue and

improve the partnership of public and private sectors. We can’t al-low the president’s detractors and extreme rhetoric to prevent us get-ting things done in Washington. A new mood is emerging that is more centrist.

Arkadiy: Should there be a law that prevents the government from spending so much money?

McMahon: We have to worry about the debt and deficit. We have accumulated ten years of spending on war, Medicare part D and tax cuts. But we should not block emer-gency spending which we might need to respond in time of natural disasters or war. The stimulus was one time spending. It made the re-cession less painful than it would have been.

We have returned to «Pay-as-you-go» which the Republicans took away in 2001. We reinstated those rules. In California they can’t

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№ 4 April 2010

raise taxes without 2/3 vote approval. It doesn’t work. People want police, potholes, help with housing, fire department, and if they lose their job, some safety net. But government has to do it efficiently. When I was on the New York City Council, we made hard decisions.

Arkadiy: Government health care may be fine for those with disability or on Medicaid but what about those that choose cable TV or big cars over health in-surance? From Russia what we admired about America was personal responsibility.

McMahon: I agree. And there are some basic problems: patients don’t know costs. Is it more expen-sive to do an MRI here or there? There’s not enough consumer choice. That would be more capitalism. One way to bring down costs is to incentivize personal deci-sions. People should be more involved in having choic-es, even if it’s limiting those steak dinners that could cause high cholesterol.

Arkadiy: I was in the army 17 years. What we need is either to go fast and strong or to get out, then follow with a new Marshall Plan.

McMahon: The problem with just getting out of Iraq is that it would create a platform for Al-Qaeda. Our NATO forces are moving strong with a surge. And in Afghanistan, we secured Marja and are chasing the poppy trade. You’re right if we had implemented a Marshall Plan after the Soviets left Afghanistan, we’d be in a different place today. Now we need a new plan there but also in Yemen and Somalia. We need to be vigilant and control fundamentalism.

We need to build on our relations with Turkey, Azer-baijan, Pakistan and Israel. We need to model for the world how we get along Christians, Jews, Muslims and Hindus. I am a firm supporter of Israel.

Arkadiy: Where do you stand on immigration? In Russia, I waited six and a half years for entry into the

United States. Should we secure our borders?McMahon: We must maintain strong and secure

borders, especially to keep out terrorists. The immigra-tion problem will only be solved through strong and compassionate immigration laws. Illegal immigration strains our health care system and raises cost. And we want to offer stability. I want to initiate discussion with an immigration task force. As a city councilman and now as a congressman, I’ve tried to build bridges—be-tween rich and poor, black and white, those of different religions. The bridge in my district is a metaphor.

Weintrob: What are some of the ways you were able to build these bridges?

McMahon: I worked with the Liberian civic asso-ciation to create a food bank. Our Liberian community is the largest outside Monrovia and as soon as I got to Washington, I worked to extend the Temporary Protec-tion status. Also I worked with the not-for-profit Global Medical Relief Fund which helps children who lose limbs, most recently to benefit children from Haiti who, after operations in Philadelphia, will be recuperating in Staten Island. I’ve supported the rapidly growing Rus-sian– and Chinese-American communities in Brooklyn and Staten Island. Staten Island’s Jewish communities are increasing rapidly and I’ve been involved with the Jewish Community Center.

Weintrob: How is it different serving in the House of Representatives from the City Council?

McMahon: In both cases, I was representing con-stituents in a legislative body and sticking to the values of my district. What’s different is that in the city council I could get into every issue but on the national level I need to make choices. For example, knowing how important

Congressman McMahon, one of the Grand Marshals of 2009’s German-American Steuben Day Parade,

along with the other Grand Marshals.

MEM and parents – Congressman McMahon with his parents.

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transportation and infrastructure is to my district, I have brought in funding to create jobs and improvements in daily life: $100 million to add a lane to the Staten Is-land Expressway, $175 million on the Ferry, and $250 million in subway improvements on the Brooklyn side. I believe in the golden rule that «all politics is local».

Weintrob: What are the top two issues that your constituents call you about?

McMahon: The number one issue now is health care, then the economy.

Weintrob: What’s your vision of Staten Island over the next five years? What would you like to see change?

McMahon: I’d like to see an improved quality of life – from investments in roads, bridges, mass transit and schools and a greater appreciation of the diversity that gives us strength. We should appreciate each other whether our roots are in Europe, Asia, South America or Africa. We can stay proud of our homelands and make our home stronger, so our children have a better life. That is my definition of the American dream: not buying a home but confidence in an improved life for our children.

Weintrob: What advice do you have for new Americans and other Staten Islanders?

McMahon: Do onto others as you would have oth-ers do onto you. Remember we’re all in it together.

Weintrob: What were the three things you did in your first year in Congress that you are most proud of?

McMahon: I’m proud of the first bill I introduced – the Veteran’s Mental Health Screening and Assess-ment Act, which is a bipartisan piece of legislation that seeks to reduce the growing number of veteran suicides by requiring returning service members to participate in mandatory and confidential one-to-one screenings with licensed mental health professionals.

I’m proud of all the solutions I’ve been able to pro-vide to our local transportation issues. I worked with New York State Department of Transportation Acting Commissioner Stan Gee to alleviate the congestion on the Staten Island Expressway. I secured hundreds of mil-lions of dollars to rehabilitate the ferry terminal, projects which will create thousands of jobs and expanding our park-and-rides so more residents can commute to work, thus saving them money and decreasing the amount of congestion on our roads and pollution in the air.

Lastly, I’m proud to have been named most centrist member in the House of Representatives. I have always tried to stay true to the concerns and traditions of the people in my district and I believe that my demonstrated commitment to our district has made me a more effec-tive legislator, who works with Democrats and Repub-licans alike.

Weintrob: What’s your favorite place to spend time on Staten Island?

McMahon: I look forward to being with my fam-ily at home. I am in Washington DC 4-5 days a week, which was a difficult transition at first. My son Joseph is at the University of Notre Dame, but my daughter Julia is still at home. She is now a senior at Poly Prep in Brooklyn and will be going to Dartmouth in the fall to run track. I treasure spending as much time with my children and wife Judy as possible.

Congressman McMahon hosts H.E. George Yeo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Singapore at the Tibetan

Museum on Staten Island. Pictured: Megan Ventrudo, Director of the Tibetan Museum; H.E. Vanu Gopla

Menon, Permanent Representative and Ambassador of Singapore to the UN; Assemblywoman Janele

Hyer-Spencer; The Honorable Judge Judy McMahon; Congressman Michael E. McMahon; H.E. George

Yeo; H.E Chan Heng Chee, Ambassador of Singapore to the US; Ms. Edwina Yeo, daughter of H.E. George Yeo; Mr. Charles Destefano, Member of the Board of

Directors for the Tibetan Museum.

I also look forward to spending time with people from my district, which is not in any one place but a metaphysical place. And of course I enjoy the many ethnic restaurants that make this district unique.

Weintrob: Why do you think you were so popular among voters in the last election?

McMahon: I think people realized that I was an honest person trying to do the best for his hometown. Hopefully they’ll remember that again when they go to the polls this November.


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№ 4 April 2010

Three Michaels: The Molinari Republican Club held a debate between GOP candidates

n Tuesday March 9, 2010, The Molinari Re-publican Club held a debate between GOP

candidates Michael Grimm and Mi-chael Allegretti.

The debate was held in order to showcase the GOP candidates and

where they stand on the issues. The debate was not an adversarial de-bate, but one that stuck to the issues. Michael Grimm showed himself to be a bold decisive leader and was well prepared for the questions. Mi-chael Grimm's background in the Marine's and FBI as well as his law, accounting and small business back-

ground make him a well rounded candidate who has the experience to deal with the issues that face us today. A few differences between the candidates besides their respec-tive backgrounds were on the issues of «Don't Ask, Don't Tell» and Glob-al Warming. Michael Grimm said he is skeptical about global warm-ing considering there are many scientists that are against it and no proof has been brought forward to prove it. Michael Allegretti be-lieves in global warming. This issue also gave rise to the Cap and Trade Bill (or Cap and Tax Bill) that cur-rent Congressman Michael McMa-hon voted for. During a rebuttal in the debate Michael Grimm pointed out that in his role as a Washington Lobbyist for The Climate Group, Michael Allegretti was in favor of the Cap and Trade Bill when it first passed and now he is opposed to it. After the debate we asked many of those in attendance what their reaction was to the debate. Most people felt that Michael Grimm was the strongest candidate.

By Michael Kucher

O

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TOyOTA’S ReCALL – PRIMe exAMPLe Of CORPORATe fAILuTeS

Toyota chief’s words alone are indicative of their general business practices in the United States, Europe, and most other world economies that have a global reso-nance. Business contin-ues to go after short term profits rather than tak-ing a more careful ap-proach today in order to secure themselves in the future and avoid unnec-essary problems that may arise. The funny thing is that problems do arise for those companies that have been looking into short term gains rather than planning for the lon-ger term.

The U.S. banking in-dustry of 2008 has al-ready been torn to pieces by politicians, experts, and scholars. Yet, it is these three groups who are just as big a part in this mess as the compa-

nies themselves. Let’s pick apart each one of these groups and see how they affected the economy and business practices.

Politicians are the ones in charge of setting rules, enforcing them, and bringing to justice those who violate the laws in place. Yet, the lobbying in governments is so great that politicians are tempt-ed to relax regulation and pass laws that favor cor-porate neglect and take responsibility off of those who are responsible for the economic well being of nations and, most im-portantly, of the end users – the consumers. Politi-cians blame and scold corporations for their mis-managements and short-sightedness, while they themselves are in bed with them. And not out of love, but for cash.

Experts are another

By Alexey Sazonov, rt.com

A kio Toyoda, the President of Toyota, ac-knowledged that the company was more lax on the safety standards and focusing more on expansion. How is this relevant

to politics and international relations? This is the biggest indicator and evidence of the business operations in the world. Toyota was expected to grow and grow and grow in the United States and the world market. Share-holders wanted more. They saw it as a growth stock that would provide consistent growth for years. Well, Toyota is paying for their over-ambitious and careless practice.

group who plays a crucial role in corporate irrespon-sibility. News commenta-tors, tabloid writers, and others whose opinions that people and corporations eat up, try to chase their own goals. They want to predict good things, they want to comment on how good a company is doing, and they want to pres-ent things generally in a good light so as to win the favor of companies, people, and secure read-ers and viewers. Yet, once the stuff hits the fan they change on the spot and begin bashing those who they were just justifying to the public.

Scholars are a group that generally challenge mainstream opinions. If they do not challenge mainstream thinking, they find causes for occur-rences. They build com-plex models that attempt to forecast the future or explain relationships be-tween different variables. Companies pay big mon-ey for those who provide forecast models. If a mod-el predicts well for the short term – companies buy the models and use them to justify their pro-jections. However, more often than not scholars who actually put together valid advice and rational models are pushed aside

as their projections and theories contradict the popular thinking and the occurrences of today.

«Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick», – Toyo-da said in the statement. «We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organiza-tion», – he said. «I regret that this has resulted in the safety issues described in the recalls we face today, and I am deeply sorry for any accidents that Toy-ota drivers have experi-enced».

This is a typical corpo-rate statement that neither punishes those, or truly expresses sorrow for the mistakes. Everyone walks away unscathed and without repercussions except for nominal fines and a couple of lawsuits to settle. This is the world today, and only citizens and consumers can bring about the necessary ac-countability that is lack-ing in today’s politics and corporate world.

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What is wrong with trade unions?by Anton Gladchenko, translated by Natella Fridman

U nions are professional associations of workers, which are created in order to protect the economic interests of the workers. The benefits of unions are understandable to most people, as these kinds of associations do not allow employ-

ers to infringe upon the rights of their employees in any way. On a number of occasions, Barack Obama has declared his love of unions.

But are these associations purely beneficial? Is it possible that unions may have some negative aspects that have an impact on the econo-my? Turns out, there are some. In fact, this is what I would like to dis-cuss with you today.

History and essence of unions

The need for unions exists be-cause of the conflicts that arise be-tween employer and employees. During the industrial revolution, conflicts arose from the sudden dis-missals of workers by the capital-ists, who then extended the hours of work days, decreased compensa-tions and did many other naughty things with respect to the employ-ees, simply to make production more effective. Therefore, unions were established specifically in or-der to protect the rights of workers.

The first trade union was estab-lished in 1972. It was the Lancashire union spinners (it’s not surprising that labor unions were first seen in the UK, as the industrial revolution came there first). At the end of the century, unions began to sprout ev-erywhere like mushrooms. Their im-portant and distinguishing feature was that unions did not unite people of a particular company, but rather the workers of a certain profession. The Government did not like this development of labor movements. By 1800, a myriad of laws were

adopted prohibiting trade unions. Such meetings were declared ille-gal.

However, no law could prevent the spread of labor unions and in 1824 the laws were done away with. The unions became an abso-lutely legal form of protection of worker’s rights. Soon, similar as-sociations began to appear in other countries. At this time, there existed two types of unions: the first pursued exclusively the interests of workers, while the latter had a defined politi-cal agenda as well. In Russia, trade unions truly went to work with the creation of USSR.

The unions understood that in order to work effectively they must work together. Therefore, the pas-sage of information between dif-ferent associations had to be well developed. Gradually, the unions began to transform. If in the very beginning they, for the most part, united the workers of a certain profession, they later progressed to unite the workers of a particular industry, such as the American Rail-way Union.

A certain kind of discrimination could be observed within trade unions. Specifically, in the very be-ginning women were absent from the unions. They were unions exclu-sively for men. Once trade unions truly became influential organiza-tions, many employers, while tak-ing advantage of the technological

progress, began to hire women in-stead of men, since they were not any worse at handling the machines, but at the same time, they were not under the union’s protection.

Toward the end of the XIX cen-tury purely female unions began to

www.citizensmagazine.com № 2 February 2010 citizensmagazine

The need for unions exists because of the conflicts that arise between employer and employees. During the industrial revolution, con-flicts arose from the sud-den dismissals of workers by the capitalists, who then extended the hours of work days, decreased compensa-tions and did many other naughty things with respect to the employees, simply to make production more effective. Therefore, unions were established specifi-cally in order to protect the rights of workers.

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appear. The phenomenon became widespread, and in the beginning of the XX century, unions gradu-ally started to coalesce. Now the workers of both sexes were able to quietly become members of a single union. In some countries, for a while, the unions had many problems. This is mainly true of those countries where these associations not only had economic, but political claims as well. And in Hitler’s Germany unions were completely abolished. They appeared only after the end of World War II.

As a result, it was in the sec-ond half of the XX century when the unions began to take the form which is present today. The workers had only economic demands. They completely abandoned their politi-cal claims. Finally, from Japan and

into the world began the expansion of unions now united around a sin-gle company. For example, worker unions of companies like General Motors or Toyota.

Today, unions are quiet a con-troversial tool from the economic point of view. Yes, on the one hand they protect the rights of workers and don’t allow the employer to wreak havoc. They help to ensure that people receive high wages for their work (which seems to be a good thing). The unions simply adore the current US president Barack Obama. But this does not

mean that these kinds of association do not have a negative effect on the economy. We will try to under-stand the possibly negative aspect of trade unions.

The dark side of unionsThe first problem with unions

lays in that they often lead to in-creased unemployment. It’s all fairly simple. When union members are seeking to increase their wages, they increase the costs to the em-ployer. The capitalist does not have more money and is simply forced to hire less people and spend the same amount.

Let’s suppose that an employer has a budget of 1 million dollars. And he’s prepared to use it to pay his factory workers for one year. Every worker earns 35 thousand

dollars per year. Then the em-ployer can provide employment to 28 people. Plus there will be some money left for bonuses. If the union succeeds in increasing the salaries of their workers from 35 thousand to 50 thousand dollars, then imme-diately the situation takes a serious turn. Now the entrepreneur can only employ 20 people. But 8 will be left unemployed.

This is the first problem to which the active work of unions leads. Here, immediately, it’s important to point out that those people who were unable to secure a job (those

8 people), will have a significant impact on the economy. They simply will not be in a position to consume much of what is produced.

The second problem with unions rests in that increases in workers compensations automatically lead to increased cost of production. This leads hikes in prices of the fi-nal product, which many people can simply refuse to purchase. As a result, the employer’s bottom line is significantly lowered. And far from fact is that an increase in price means enhanced quality of the product. It may even be lower than from a company that sells an analo-gous product and does not have its own union. And this can lead to complete downfall of a business.

The third problem with labor unions is that it is not very easy to dismiss an employee who is a mem-ber of the union itself. And this is very bad news. Especially in the case when the company encoun-ters a situation where the worker completes all required tasks, but his work is mediocre. Thanks to the protection of the union, he may very well retain his position. How can the presence of mediocre workers im-pact the activities of a company? In the most radical way, such workers can have a deleterious effect, from the quality of the final product to the timing of its release.

Barack Obama is mistaken. La-bor unions, turns out, are danger-ous associations for the economy. They bring not only positives, but negative aspects as well. To un-equivocally assert that unions are beneficial is wrong, but to treat them as something bad, too is unneces-sary since there are ways in which they are beneficial to our world. It is simply one of those themes in economics, which cannot be viewed from just one point of view. And the arguments between economists and politicians regarding labor unions continue to this day.

www.citizensmagazine.com№ 2 February 2010 citizensmagazine

The problem with unions rests in that increases in workers compensations automatically lead to increased cost of production. This leads hikes in prices of the final product, which many people can simply refuse to purchase. As a result, the em-ployer’s bottom line is significantly lowered. And far from fact is that an increase in price means en-hanced quality of the product. It may even be lower than from a company that sells an analogous prod-uct and does not have its own union. And this can lead to complete downfall of a business.


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№ 4 April 2010

Calvary Chapel MomentsBy Rev. Dave WatsonRev. Dave Watson is the Pastor of Calvary Chapel, a multi ethnic, culturally diverse Church in the community of Mariner’s Harbor where he has served since January of 1990.

T his past year I completed my twentieth year of pastoral ministry here on Staten Island. It is hard to put into words how much has changed about our borough since January 1990. No one though, can seri-ously disagree with the assessment that a lot has changed. In fact, it can be argued that Staten Island has experienced more change over the last two decades than any other borough in New York City.

In addition to the sheer popula-tion growth, we have also seen our borough become more and more ethnically, culturally and religiously diverse. The Latino population and in particular the number of Mexican immigrants has exploded here on the Island. There continues to be a growing Asian population. There is also a strong Albanian presence as well as a rapidly growing Rus-sian community here. The West Af-rican community continues to grow, though at a slower pace. There are, in addition to our many Catholic and mainline churches, Mosques,

Hindu temples and new Evangeli-cal churches popping up in various locations on our Island. Clearly, di-versity is becoming the rule in our borough.

I have often heard it said that New York City is a melting pot with reference to its many cultures and communities. I disagree. I think it resembles more of a stew. We are a soup with many large chunks of different cultures floating around. How should we live in this stew of diversity? How do we tolerate and yet integrate with one another. Let me share a few simple yet important

principles.Principle #1 – Ignorance isn’t

bliss – Being ignorant or uninformed about the culture, ethnicity or faiths of others almost always results in misunderstanding and misspoken words. We need to inform ourselves about our neighbors’ cultures.

Principle #2 – Disagreement doesn’t mean distain – Just because I disagree with what you believe or something you do doesn’t mean I hate you. It simply means I have an-other viewpoint. There may not be a middle ground between our views. Let’s agree to disagree and let’s do

Photos by Thomas Good

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it agreeably, that is to say in a civil manner.

Principle #3 – «To err is human, to forgive is divine» – Seek to be divine. All of us are going to make mistakes, commit cultural fau pauxs, if you will. We will not do the right things at a wedding or funeral. We will say some-thing inappropriate at a gath-ering. Our faiths, customs and practices will inevitably clash. In those cases, relax. Extend to others the benefit of the doubt that you would want extended to yourself, and then move on.

Principle #4 – The «majority rules» cannot be the only rule – I am from the white European culture. It has been the majority on this Island and in this country for a long time. However that doesn’t make me better than the most recent immigrant. In God’s eyes, since we are made in His image, we both have equal value and we both bring something to the table.

Principle #5 – «Hey, how about a little respect?» – Some of our cultures and families have been here for a long time. Certainly, they have not done everything right or perfectly. But they have done much to enable us all to live in an extraordinary land. We live in the greatest country in the world and a place where almost everyone wants to come. The efforts and contributions of those who came before us cannot be discounted and should be respected and honored.

If we follow these simple principles, we can all learn to enjoy and be nourished by the «stew» in which we live.

I’ve always identified with the sub-terranean souls, the underdogs, the ones that needed a helping hand and got kicked in the teeth for it. And so, as a young firebrand, I went into health care, working with the mentally ill.

***25 years ago I was the young su-

pervisor of a locked psychiatric unit. It wasn’t inpatient – it was locked because the patients didn’t respond well to medication and couldn’t func-tion without a lot of staff assistance. Like all health care workers who deal with the disenfranchised, I learned to love these folks who wanted only two things: to live on their own and to have a job. Nothing grandiose about these desires. But of course, many of my patients would never realize their dreams. What most people take for granted. So, many of them had a short term goal – to be accepted as human. Sadly, this dream also proved elusive.

One man, very tall, very ill – a Jew-ish man we’ll call Daniel – lived on my unit. For the most part, his symptoms didn’t respond to medication. But he was harmless, a gentle giant. I liked Daniel although I didn’t know him well. I saw him everyday and he im-pressed me. Despite his suffering – he heard voices that berated him – he found joy in simple things.

One day a small man, very gray and frail looking, came to the unit. It was a stark contrast, father and son. The large Daniel and the small dad. They sat together sharing some can-dies and chuckling occasionally over a small joke. It’s an indelible image for me.

It was a warm day, the day Dan-iel’s father came. And so, midway through the visit he removed his sport coat and he rolled up his sleeves. I walked by the table where father and

son were conversing and as I passed I noticed the numbers. I had never seen Holocaust numbers tattooed on an arm before and it was startling. Partic-ularly as I am German American. I still grit my teeth whenever I think of it.

After the visit I could only marvel at the father’s ability to laugh. Surviv-ing the Holocaust only to see his son stricken with schizophrenia. I have no words to describe the combination of emotions this image elicits – 25 years later.

***Another mentally ill man I knew re-

sponded better to his medication than most of the patients who lived on my unit.

Joseph eventually graduated from a halfway house and lived in an apartment with other patients in re-covery. Joseph lived simply with his one «possession» – a dog. The dog was a friendly little beast named Her-man. A neighborhood girl, a grade-school-age youngster, often smiled at the dog when Herman’s owner took him for a walk. One day the girl asked if she could pet the dog. Joseph was anxious about interacting with people he didn’t know but he said OK. Lat-er that night, the girl’s angry father showed up at Joseph’s home – armed with a baseball bat and accompanied by some like-minded individuals. They beat Joseph so severely that they frac-tured his skull. Several surgeries and a steel plate later the fracture was all but mended. And so, leaving Herman behind, Joseph got on a train and headed upstate. Somewhere north of the city he got off the train and walked into the woods. He sat down and wait-ed to die from exposure. He was too frightened to continue living. The po-lice called to let us know that he had been found dead. I don’t know what-ever happened to Herman.

***When I hear people talk about

how they don’t want the mentally ill to live in their neighborhoods I think to myself that I have never met a mental-ly ill person who would use a baseball bat to crush another person’s skull.

If I could find a way to convey this to the intolerant, to speak out for the least among us, I would do so. I would be shouted down, perhaps threat-ened. But the truth would out.

Portraits of the Self by Thomas Good


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№ 4 April 2010

The Ghanaian Community Speaks up for Health Care!

Yaw Obeng-Aduasare, Teacher and Board member, GCA

– What do you think of President Obama

and his health care plan?– Obama’s election saved America

from going into a ditch. And, it is beyond my comprehension that while Congress has free health care, why should Ameri-cans suffer with no healthcare? What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. The same rights should apply

to every American. People that have cancer in the rich-est country in the world can’t afford the proper care. That should not happen in this country.

– What is your opinion of Obama’s handling of the war?

– The war is something that was pushed on him. He has no choice. There is nothing he can do, the job is not done – it’s a catch 22.

– What do you think about the state of Stat-en Island?

– From my experience there is too much nepotism and not enough openness on Staten Island. When nep-otism reigns, people lack critical thinking. I'm a math teacher at Samuel Gompers High School in the Bronx. I’ve lived on Staten Island 11 years. I would and should be teaching here but it's hard to get a job working in Staten Island schools.

– How do you feel about Staten Island’s youth?

– There are not enough services for young peo-ple and really no place to go. Cromwell center is not enough. The Jewish community is organized and young

kids in that community doing well because they have a center in their own environment. Moreover, they have a sense of community. What we need is a center in the black community that teaches our own history. Youth must feel connected to their community by knowing own history.

– What is your favorite restaurant on Staten Island?

– I'm an international person and go to diverse res-taurants. The Clove is an Indian restaurant I really enjoy eating at.

Emelia Owususekyere, Nurse Assistant – What do you think of Obama and his

health care plan?– My son just graduated college but

I was told I make too much to put him on my healthcare as a nurse assistant at Richmond University Hospital. Obtain-ing healthcare should not be based on how much we make it should be for all. HMO is restrictive. Medicaid patients

get more coverage and care than those who work, the taxpayers. Staten Island has no public hospital, too much favors the rich.

I voted for Obama but I think there are a lot of prob-lems in Washington because of the lobbyists. Money has too much impact in Washington. Politicians don't care enough about integrity. They focus on staying in power.

– What is your opinion on Obama’s han-dling of the war?

– If he allows the troops to leave, America will be

S taten Island’s West African community is estimated by community members to be over 15,000 strong, although others put the number 5,000 strong. 10% are Ghanaians, most of whom arrived in the mid-1990s. At a recent meeting of the Ghanaian Civic Association on March 7th at El Centro de Hospitali-dad in Port Richmond, 55 Staten Island residents came for a monthly meeting. Four of those present, a

teacher, nurse, security guard and wall street analyst, agreed to be interviewed for Citizens magazine.

Interviews by Yirmeyah Beckles

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in jeopardy, at the hands of unfinished business. These people have grown wings and gotten stronger in time. The war, nonetheless, needs to be done as soon as pos-sible. I think Obama is doing the best he can. Republi-cans who want to scratch on everything done and start from the beginning. Work in the progress that has al-ready been made.

– What do you think of the state of Staten Island?

– On Staten Island their is to much division, espe-cially between people that should be allies. You can find tension between African American and new Afri-cans as well as division between other minority groups that should be together as one.

– How do you feel about Staten Islands’ youth?

– To much power is given to the children and less power for the parents. It should be the other way around. A child should be brought up emotionally, spiritually and be balanced. All that comes from the parent.


– Z-One, on Richmond Avenue, has a mix of Ameri-can and Italian foods.

Alfred Tawiah, private security guard –What do you think of Obama and his health

care plan?– I voted for Obama because he

is smart. I think the average American does not take what happens in the gov-ernment serious enough. People should be more aware before having strong opinions and passing judgment on the president as well as operations of the

government.No country has a perfect healthcare system. It’s al-

ways open for discussion. It would be disastrous if we don't have a healthcare bill at all. We can do it, but it is a money issue. What we will get won’t be perfect, but a start is a vantage point.

– What is your opinion on Obama in rela-tion to the war?

– I think we should be in Afghanistan because that's where the instigation came from. The Bush administra-tion did not think far enough into the venture of war. They are responsible for not planning. In Iran, look at the countries around it. It is surrounded by hostile coun-tries. Let diplomacy play its part. Iran is using the threat of nuclear weapons as a bargaining tool. Israel has nu-clear abilities and we have known that for a long time.

But when it is all over, we should stay in Iraq to help rebuild their infrastructure.


– I'm worried about the transportation changes, es-pecially in minority areas where bus services are being cut. I've been here since 1999 in Park Hill where there have been tremendous improvements. It has grown to be a much more respectable area where police have done a good job. I work as a private security guard.

– How do you feel about Staten Island’s youth?

– I don't feel the youth have enough and the little they do have lacks coordination. This is bad for every-one. An idle brain is the devil’s workshop.


– The Staaten. It is s very peaceful and quiet place.

Michelle Opoku, financial representative on Wall Street

Micelle attended Tottenville High School and grew up in West Brighton.

– What is your opinion on Obama’s health care plan?

– I voted for Obama. I think it’s still to soon to expect so much of a change. Because I work on Wall Street I get hit hard with what happens with the econ-omy. However, their have been small

turnarounds, though not what we would like, but all things take time. If he sticks to his plan we should see changes for the better.

On health care, more American need coverage. We are bound in are lifetime to need to see a doctor and that should not be a privilege to select few. Why not explore different options to see how it goes? All Ameri-cans should have healthcare.


– Staten Island is kind of like the lone ranger. A lot of people travel outside of the Island to get recreation. Staten Island needs more to get the community more in-volved. All the other boroughs are well developed and we are on are own. We are always the last ones to get anything and the first to lose something, like the transit system service.


– The last time I ate out was at King Buffet. I don’t really have a favorite restaurant.


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№ 4 April 2010

The Real free Lunch: Markets and Private Property

Milton Friedman (July 31, 1912 – Novem-ber 16, 2006) was an American economist, statistician, and a recipi-ent of the Nobel Memo-rial Prize in Econom-ics. He is best known among scholars for his theoretical and empiri-cal research, especially consumption analysis, monetary history and theory, and for his dem-onstration of the com-plexity of stabilization policy He was an eco-nomic advisor to U.S. President Ronald Rea-gan. Over time, many governments practiced his restatement of a po-litical philosophy that extolled the virtues of a free market economic system with little inter-vention by government. Born in Brooklyn, NY.

«Columbus did not seek a new route to the Indies in response to a majority directive».

«If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a short-age of sand».

«The greatest ad-vances of civilization, whether in architecture or painting, in science and literature, in industry or agriculture, have never come from centralized government».

From the speech given at the opening of the Cato Head-quarters in Wash-ington, D.C., May 6, 1993.

I am delighted to be here on the occasion of the opening of the Cato Headquarters. It is a beautiful building and a real tribute to the intellec-

tual influence of Ed Crane and his associates.

I have sometimes been associated with the apho-rism «There's no such thing as a free lunch», which I did not invent. I wish more attention were

paid to one that I did in-vent, and that I think is particularly appropri-ate in this city, «Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as he spends his own». But all aphorisms are half-truths.

One of our favorite fam-ily pursuits on long drives is to try to find the oppo-site of aphorisms. For ex-ample, «History never re-peats itself», but «There's nothing new under the sun». Or «look before you leap», but «He who hesitates is lost». The op-posite of «There's no such thing as a free lunch» is clearly «The best things in life are free».

And in the real eco-

nomic world, there is a free lunch, an extraordi-nary free lunch, and that free lunch is free markets and private property. Why is it that on one side of an arbitrary line there was East Germany and

on the other side there was West Germany with such a different level of prosperity? It was be-cause West Germany had a system of largely free, private markets – a free lunch.

At the moment, we in the United States have available to us, if we will take it, some-thing that is about as close to a free lunch as you can have. Af-ter the fall of commu-nism, everybody in the world agreed that socialism was a fail-ure. Everybody in the world, more or less, agreed that capital-ism was a success.

The funny thing is that every capitalist country in the world apparently concluded that therefore what the West needed was more socialism. That's obviously absurd…

Free Lunches in the BudgetLet me give a few ex-

amples. The Rural Elec-trification Administration

By Milton Friedman

I am favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for

any excuse, for any reason, whenever it's possible

Governments never learn. Only people learn

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was established to bring electricity to farms in the 1930s, when about 80 percent of the farms did not have electricity. When 100 percent of the farms

had electricity, the REA shifted to a telephone ser-vice. Now 100 percent of the farms have telephone service, but the REA goes merrily along. Suppose we abolish the REA, which is just making low-interest loads to concentrated in-terests, mostly electric and telephone companies. The people of the United States would be better off; they'd save a lot of money that could be used for tax reductions. Who would be hurt? A handful of people who have been getting government subsidies at the expense of the rest of the population. I call that pretty nearly a free lunch.

Another example illus-trates Parkinson's law in agriculture. In 1945 there were 10 million people, ei-ther family or hired work-ers, employed on farms, and the Department of Agriculture had 80,000 employees. In 1992 there were 3 million people em-ployed on farms, and the Department of Agriculture had 122,000 employees.

Nearly every item in the federal budget offers a similar opportunity. The

Clinton people will tell you that all of those things are in the budget because people want the goodies but are just too stingy to pay for them. That's ut-

ter nonsense. The people don't want those good-ies. Suppose you put to the American people a simple proposition about sugar: We can set things up so that the sugar you buy is produced primar-ily from beets and cane grown on American farms or so the sugar in addi-tion comes without limit from El Salvador or the Philippines or somewhere else. If we restrict you to home-grown sugar, it will be two or three times as expensive as if we in-clude sugar from abroad. Which do you really think voters would choose? The people don't want to pay higher prices. A small group of special interests,

which reaps concentrated benefits, wants them to, and that is why sugar in the United States costs sev-eral times the world price. The people were never consulted. We are not governed by the people;

that's a myth carried over from Abraham Lincoln's day. We don't have gov-ernment of the people, for the people. We have gov-ernment of the people, by the bureaucrats, for the bureaucrats.

Economic and Political MarketsOn a more funda-

mental level, our present problems, both economic and noneconomic, arise mainly from the dras-tic change that has oc-curred during the past six decades in the relative

importance of two differ-ent markets for determin-ing who get what when, where, and how. Those markets are the economic markets operating under the incentive of profit and the political market oper-ating under the incentive of power. In my lifetime the relative importance of the economic market had

declined in terms of the fraction of the country's resources that it is able to use. And the importance of the political, or govern-ment, market has greatly expanded. We have been starving the market that

has been working and feeding the market that has been failing. That's essentially the story of the past 60 years.

We Americans are far wealthier today than we were 60 years ago. But we are less free. And we are less secure. When I grad-uated from high school in 1928, total government spending at all levels in the United States was a little over 10 percent of the national income. Two thirds of the spending was state and local. Federal government spending was

about 3 percent of the na-tional income, or roughly what it had been since the Constitution was adopted a century and a half ear-lier, except for periods of major war. Half of federal spending was for the army and the navy. State and local government spend-ing was something like 7 to 9 percent, and half of that was for schools and roads. Today, total government spending at all levels is 43 percent of the national income, and two-thirds of that is fed-eral, one-third state and local. The federal portion is 30 percent of national income, or about 10 times what it was in 1928.

That figure under-states that fraction of re-sources being absorbed

Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much

more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government

Nothing is so permanent as a tempo-rary government program

Most of the energy of political work is devoted to correcting the effects of

mismanagement of government


- 24 -

№ 4 April 2010

by the political market. In addition to its own spend-ing, the government man-dates that all of us make a great many expenditures, something it never used

to do. Mandated spend-ing ranges from the re-quirement that you pay for anti-pollution devices on your automobiles, to the Clean Air Bill, to the Aid for Disability Act; you can go down the line. Essentially, the private economy has become an agent of the federal gov-ernment. Everybody in this room was working for the federal government about a month ago filling out income tax returns. Why shouldn't you have been paid for being tax collectors for the federal government? So I would estimate that at least 50 percent of the total pro-ductive resources of our nation are now being or-ganized through the po-litical market. In that very important sense, we are more than half socialist.

So much for input, what about output? Con-sider the private market first. There had been an absolutely tremendous increase in our living stan-dards, due almost entirely to the private market. In 1928 radio was in its ear-ly stages, television was a

futuristic dream, airplanes were all propeller driven, a trip to New York from where my family lived 20 miles away in New Jersey was a great event. Truly, a

revolution has occurred in our material standard of living. And that revolution has occurred almost en-tirely through the private economic market. Gov-ernment's contribution was essential but not costly. Its contribution, which it's not making nearly as well as it did at an earlier time, was to protect private prop-erty rights and to provide a mechanism for adjudi-cating disputes. But the overwhelming bulk of the revolution in our standard of living came through the private market.

Whereas the private

market has produced a higher standard of living, the expanded govern-ment market has pro-duced mainly problems. The contrast is sharp. Both Rose and I came from families with incomes that by today's standards would be well below the so-called poverty line. We both went to government schools, and we both thought we got a good education. Today the chil-dren of families that have incomes corresponding to what we had then have a much harder time get-ting a decent education.

As children, we were able to walk to school; in fact, we could walk in the streets without fear almost everywhere. In the depth of the Depression, when the number of truly disad-

vantaged people in great trouble was larger than it is today, there was noth-ing like the current concern over personal safety, and there were few panhan-dlers littering the streets. What you had on the street were people trying to sell apples. There was a sense o self-reliance that, if it hasn't disappeared, is much less prevalent.

In 1938 you could even find an apartment to rent in New York City. After we got married and moved to New York, we looked in the apartments-available column in the

newspaper, chose half a dozen we wanted to look at, did so, and rented one. People used to give up their apartments in the spring, go away for the summer, and come back

Only government can take perfectly good paper, cover it with perfectly

good ink and make the combination worthless

The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the

problem

- 25 -


in the autumn to find new apartments. It was called the moving season. In New York today, the best way to find an apartment is probably to keep track of the obituary columns. What's produced that dif-ference? Why is New York housing a disaster today? Why does South Bronx look like parts of Bosnia that have been bombed? Not because of private market, obviously, but be-cause of rent control.

Government Causes Social ProblemsDespite the current

rhetoric, our real prob-lems are not economic. I am inclined to say that our real problems are not economic despite the best efforts of government to make them so. I want to cite one figure. In 1946 government assumed re-sponsibility for produc-ing full employment with the Full Employment Act. In the years since then, unemployment has aver-aged 5.7 percent. In the years from 1900 to 1929 when government made no pretense of being re-sponsible for employment, unemployment averaged 4.6 percent. So, our un-employment problem too is largely government created. Nonetheless, the economic problems are not the real ones.

Our major problems are social – deteriorating education, lawlessness and crime, homelessness,

the collapse of family val-ues, the crisis in medical care, teenage pregnan-cies. Every one of these problems has been either produced or exacerbated by the well-intentioned efforts of government. It's easy to document two things: that we've been

transferring resources from the private market to the government market and that the private mar-ket works and the govern-ment market doesn't.

It's far harder to under-stand why supposedly in-telligent, well-intentioned people have produced these results. One rea-son, as we all know, that is certainly part of the an-swer is the power of spe-cial interests. But I believe that a more fundamental answer has to do with the difference between the self-interest of individuals when they are engaged in the private market and the self-interest of indi-viduals when they are engaged in the political market. If you're engaged in a venture in the private market and it begins to fail, the only way you can keep it going is to dig into your own pocket. So you have a strong incentive to shut it down. On the other

hand, if you start exactly the same enterprise in the government sector, with exactly the same pros-pects for failure, and it beings to fail, you have a much better alterna-tive. You can say that your project or program should really have been

undertaken on a big-ger scale; and you don't have to dig into your own pocket, you have a much deeper pocket into which to dig, that of the tax-payer. In perfectly good conscience you can try to persuade, and typically succeed in persuading, not the taxpayer, but the congressman, that yours is really a good project and that all it needs is a little more money. And so, to coin another aphorism, if a private venture fails, it's closed down. If a gov-ernment venture fails, it's expanded.

Institutional ChangesWe sometimes think the

solution to our problems is to elect the right people to Congress. I believe that's false, that if a random sample of people in this room were to replace the 435 people in the House and the 100 people in the

Senate, the results would be much the same. With few exceptions, the peo-ple in Congress are de-cent people who want to do good. They're not de-liberately engaging in ac-tivities that they know will do harm. They are simply immersed in an environ-ment in which all the pres-sures are in one direction, to spend more money.

Recent studies dem-onstrate that most of the pressure for more spend-ing comes from the gov-ernment itself. It's a self-generating monstrosity. In my opinion, the only way we can change it is by changing the incentives under which the people in government operate. If you want people to act differently, you have to make it in their own self-interest to do so. As Ar-men Alchan always says, there's one thing you can count on ev-erybody in the world to do, and that's to put his self-interest above yours.

I have no magic for-mula for changing the self-interest of bureau-crats and members of Congress. Constitutional amendments to limit tax-es and spending, to rule out monetary manipula-tion, and to inhibit mar-ket distortions would be fine, but we're not going to get them. The only vi-able thing on the national horizon is the term-limits movement…

The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of people cooperate together voluntarily is

through the free market. And that's why it's so essential to preserving

individual freedom


- 26 -

№ 4 April 2010

In the splendid acknowledgement of March 8th, International Women’s Day, the SI JCC presented Russian-American female artists with the beautiful trinity of couture de-sign, operatic vocal and painting. The event that took place on March 7th high-lighted Russian talent and showcased Russian art. The enchanting contralto of Ukrainian-born Lyudmila Fesenko brought the touch and feel-ing of the long-awaited spring. Eclectic mas-tership of Uzbekistani-born Victoria Shishki-na reflected the fragile beauty of the natural world through the eyes of a woman painter. The most breathtaking part of the event was the magnificent runway presentation of Galit Couture line of high fashion gowns, created by remarkably talented couture designers, Ukranian-born Galit Galak and Andre Ivakh. The spring-like blooming power demonstrat-ed by Russian female artists mesmerized doz-ens of the visitor, who were also enchanted by the youngest participant of the fashion show, a 9-year-old Daniela Drakhler, in her fairy flower girl bridal couture.

Galit Couture fashion Show captures heart of Staten Island JCC AudienceGalit Couture718-646-8190www.GalitCouture.us

Phot

os b

y Th

omas

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d

- 27 -


Artist Victoria Shishkina

Jason Galak and Daniela Drakhler

Phot

os b

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omas

Goo

d


- 28 -

№ 4 April 2010

Key dates in Greece's financial crisis:fOLLOWInG IS A TIMeLIne Of evenTS SInCe PRIMe MInISTeR GeORGe PAPAndReOu'S SOCIALIST PASOK PARTy WOn SnAP eLeCTIOnS LAST OCTObeR.

Oct. 4, 2009: Greek Socialists win general election, defeating con-servatives who had been in power since March 2004.

Oct. 21, 2009: New govern-ment sharply revises Greece's 2009 deficit projection to 12.5 percent of GDP, from 3.7 percent earlier in the year, in a report to the EU statistics agency, Eurostat. That estimate is later again revised to 12.7 percent.

Dec. 8, 2009: Fitch ratings agency downgrades Greek debt, a move followed by Standard & Poor's and then Moody's later that month, prompting Greek borrowing costs to soar as investors hammer Greek bonds.

Dec 14, 2009: New Prime Minister George Papandreou an-nounces broad austerity measures,

reducing bonuses in the civil service and announcing cuts in government operation costs. The measures fail to stem the crisis.

Jan 14, 2010: Greek cabinet approves measures to drastically reduce the budget deficit.

Feb. 3, 2010: European Union approves Greece budget pack-age, called the 'growth and stability plan,' but imposes a draconian bud-get inspection system.

Feb. 18, 2010: Government announces plans to set up a par-liamentary inquiry into the alleged misreporting of financial data by

the previous conservative that trig-gered the crisis.

Feb, 24, 2010: A general strike against Greek austerity halts flights and services. Some 50,000 Greek workers take to the streets, police clash with groups of protesters.

March 3, 2010: Greece an-nounces euro4.8 billion worth of painful new austerity measures, cut-ting public sector salaries and hik-ing taxes. Government says it could turn to the IMF for help if the new plan doesn't win EU and market backing.

GReeCe 2010

US government debt is a safe haven the way Pearl Harbor was a safe haven in 1941. – Niall Ferguson

- 29 -


Get up earlier, Germans tell Greeks

F irst Greece was told to sell islands to pay off its debts, now the Ger-man tabloid Bild has reminded George Papandreou of the two

countries' differences.

After call by two German politicians that Greece sell off islands, historic buildings and artworks before receiving aid, the German tabloid Bild has written an open letter to the Greek prime minister George Papandreou:

Dear prime minister,If you're reading this, you've entered a

country different from yours. You're in Ger-many.

Here, people work until they are 67 and there is no 14th-month salary for civil ser-vants. Here, nobody needs to pay a 1,000 euro bribe to get a hospital bed in time.

Our petrol stations have cash registers, taxi drivers give receipts and farmers don't swindle EU subsidies with millions of non-ex-istent olive trees.

Germany also has high debts but we can settle them. That's because we get up early and work all day.

We want to be friends with the Greeks. That's why since joining the euro, Germany has given your country 50bn euro.

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Staten Island YMCA New Americans Welcome Center

The Staten Island YMCA New Americans Welcome Center is a safe haven that provides multilingual information, resources and referrals with a wide array of services including Cultural Orientation, Citizenship Preparation, Job Readiness, and Computer Literacy. The mission of this programming is to enable New Americans self sufficiency in attaining specific desired goals.

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«How are you getting on with your exams?» «Not bad. The questions are easy enough – it’s the answers I have trouble with!»

***Guidance Counselor: «Where do you see yourself in ten years?» Student: «In a mirror...duh»

***A cowboy rides into town on Friday, stays three days and leaves on Friday how does he do it? The horses name is Friday

***Jay went to a psychiatrist. – Doc, – he said, – I’ve got trouble.Every time I get into bed I think there is somebody under it.I get under the bed; I think there’s somebody on top of it.Top, under, under top. I’m going crazy!«Just put yourself in my hands for two years», – said the shrink.«Come to me three times a week and I’ll cure you».

«How much do you charge?»«A hundred dollars per visit».«I’ll think about it».Jay never went back. Some time later he met the doctor on the street.«Why didn’t you ever come to see me again?» – Asked the psychiatrist.«For a hundred buck a visit? A bartender cured me for 10 dollars».«Is that so! How?»«He told me to cut the legs off the bed».

***During a dinner party, the hosts’ two little children entered the dinning room totally nude and walked slowly around the table. The parents were so em-barrassed that they pretended nothing was hap-pening and kept he conversation going. The guests cooperated and also continued as if nothing ex-traordinary was happening.After going all the way around the room, the chil-dren left, and there was a moment of silence at the table, during which one child was heard to say, – «You see, it is vanishing cream!»


- 32 -

№ 4 April 2010

Jewish foundation School of Staten Islandby Rubbi Shlomo Uzhansky

It began March 1, 1954, when the school came into existence in a trial term at the Jewish Community Center. There were 19 children in a pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, led by two teachers and an assis-tant.

As much as the founders had prayed for its success, they weren't yet convinced that the idea of a quality private day school would take hold on the Island, but when a full term opened that September, enrollment had risen, a third teach-er had been added, and there was now an English department and a

first grade as well as the others.By the beginning of 1956, the

school went through second grade. Professional educators who visited praised both the Hebrew and Eng-lish departments and noted that children of 6 were able to read the Bible in perfect Hebrew and trans-late – with understanding – into fine English.

It was clear that a Jewish day school on Staten Island was a via-ble concept. And, with the indicated growth of enrollment, it was time for the school to find permanent quarters of its own. Eventually, in

the foreseeable future, the founders hoped there would be a brand new building to house the school.

Meanwhile, the school would move to its own temporary quarters at 300 Vanderbilt Avenue, Clifton.

At the dedication ceremonies held there, April 8, 1956, the late Max Levy, the school's first presi-dent, and in a very real sense, a pio-neer in Jewish education, noted that the efforts of the JFS were consistent with a tradition that went back to the days of Ezra – some 450 years be-fore the common era--when Jewish schools were established through-out Judea and Babylonia.

Mr. Levy paid the $1.00 a year rent, after which the late Samuel I. Gross, a prime architect of the idea of a day school here, ex-pressed regrets at not having had that privilege. Then he and his late wife made the first pledge toward a

M ore than 50 years ago, a visionary group of parents con-ceived a bold undertaking. They desired to establish a yeshiva for the entire Jewish Community of Staten Island where boys and girls would receive the highest quality

Jewish education combined with excellence in general studies. The result of this noble effort was the Jewish Foundation School of Staten Island.

- 33 -


new building. The deed for the par-cel where the school would be built was donated by the late Abe Solor, a director, who received a bronze plaque in appreciation.

It was in June, 1957, that ground was broken for the first Jewish Foundation School building. By May, 1959, the beautiful edifice was completed. The School, which had begun five years earlier in rented rooms and carried its educa-tional materials in a bus on wheels, dedicated its new building valued at a quarter of a million dollars. The School, located at 20 Park Hill Cir-cle, was named in honor of Samuel I. Gross, with the official name be-ing Yeshiva Tiferes Shmuel Ezra.

The rest, as the saying goes, is history...the growth and develop-ment of the School...its widespread recognition as a producer of what one N.Y.U. professor referred to as «harmoniously educated members of their country and their faith».

In 1991, the school moved from Park Hill Circle to our present site of 7 acres, at 400 Caswell Avenue. The school consists of 25 classrooms, a lunch room, resource rooms, li-brary, computer labs, an infirmary, outdoor fields, basketball courts and playground equipment. The

In our two locations, the Jewish Foundation School’s more than 400 students representing

more than 250 families reflecting the entire Jewish population of Staten Island are served by a faculty

and staff of more than 80 professionals. The Jewish Foundation School’s acclaimed Early Learning Cen-

ter (Toddlers, Nursery, Kindergarten and Primer; ages 2-5) is centrally located at the Young Israel of Staten Island. The Jewish Foundation School’s Pri-

mary Grades 1-3) and Main (Grades 4-8) are located in our recently completed campus at 400 Caswell Avenue (Caswell and Cambridge Avenues) in the

heart of Staten Island.

adjacent building was successfully completed in 2004 and currently houses our spacious and beautiful gym, Beit Knesset, state of the art Science Lab, Financial Office, and 12 additional classrooms.

Our superb facilities are only an outward reflection of the wonderful and proficient teachers who con-tinue our magnificent legacy of ac-complishments and achievements. Walking down the halls, you can still see many familiar faces; Mrs. McDermott is teaching the children of her former students as are Mrs. Cohen, Mrs. Edelman, Mrs. Eisen-berger, Mrs. Epstein, Morah Galila, Mrs. Goetz, Mrs. Kress, Mrs. Siegel,

and many others who have been on staff these past 20 – 25 years.

Today, we are presently housed in two locations, The Jewish Foun-dation School’s acclaimed Early Learning Center (Toddlers, Nurs-ery, Kindergarten and Primer, ages 2-5) is centrally located at the Young Israel of Staten Island and the The Jewish Foundation School’s Primary (Grades 1-3) and Middle School (Grades (4-8) are located in our state of the art campus at 400 Caswell Avenue (Caswell and Cambridge Avenues) in the heart of Staten Island. The Jewish Founda-tion School’s more than 400 stu-dents, representing more than 250 families reflecting the entire Jewish population of Staten Island, Brook-lyn, and New Jersey are served by a faculty and staff of more than 80 professionals.

Jewish Foundation School of Staten Island

400 Caswell AvenueStaten Island, New York

10314

718-983-6042718-370-2591 (fax)

[email protected]

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