Robert Wiener
Hodh ech Chargui
t.me/sellinglegitnokey7919
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Robert Wiener
Integrative gene regulatory network analysis discloses key driver genes of fibromuscular dysplasia - Nature Cardiovascular Research
Abstract Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is a poorly understood disease affecting 3–5% of adult females. The pathobiology of FMD involves arterial lesions of stenosis, dissection, tortuosity, dilation and aneurysm, which can lead to hypertension, stroke, myocardial infarction and even death. Currently, there are no animal models for FMD and few insights as to its pathobiology.
Intrinsic Mechanics of Human Stem Cell Derived Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells Support a Developmental Basis for Aneurysm Localization in Marfan Syndrome
Abstract Marfan Syndrome (MFS), a connective tissue disorder caused by a mutation in the fibrillin-1 gene, occurs in approximately 1 in 5,000 people worldwide. As an important constituent of the extracellular matrix, mutated fibrillin-1 in Marfan Syndrome leads to aortic medial degeneration, aneurysm, and dissection. TGFβ in the matrix, which is controlled by fibrillin-1, is known to cause pathological effects in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) within the aortic wall during MFS.
Going solo
After foray into clergy-sharing, Inna Serebro-Litvak is religious leader at Reform temple in Succasunna It was not always easy for Inna Serebro-Litvak as she sought to fulfill her dream of getting a Jewish education in her hometown of St. Petersburg, Russia. But some 40 years later, she is what she long aspired to be — a rabbi and a cantor. On July 1, she became the religious leader at Temple Shalom Roxbury Reform in Succasunna.
After 30 years, restored Holocaust-era Torah to be read in Morristown synagogue
After 30 years, restored Holocaust-era Torah to be read in Morristown synagogue Debbie Segal was a familiar face at Morristown Jewish Center Beit Yisrael (MJCBY). She was an engaged member of the Jewish community, celebrated her bat mitzvah at Masada, and the rising senior at Randolph High School was to assume the presidency of the congregation’s USY chapter, the youth movement of Conservative Judaism.
Activist Ellen Goldner assumes JSDD presidency
New, larger facility first on list of tasks at social service agency For decades, Ellen Goldner has been an active leader on behalf of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, its predecessors, and other community causes. Now in a new role, she is determined to burst open the “best-kept” secret of the organization she has been chosen to lead. On July 1, she will become president of the Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled (JSDD).
ADL merges NJ and NY offices
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is combining its New York and New Jersey regional operations, bringing the two areas together under the newly named New York-New Jersey Regional Office. The new regional office will serve the entire state of New York plus the 14 counties of northern and central New Jersey. Joshua Cohen, who served as N.J.’s regional director since 2015, left his position on June 11, the day the changes were announced.
Rabbis closely monitor Rep. Lance’s position on DACA
A thaw appears to be developing in a months-long dispute between Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Dist. 7) and six immigration rights activists, including two Essex County rabbis. However, like the recent unseasonably cool weather in the Garden State, the climate remains chilly. On Feb.
Opponents of child marriage protest Orthodox legislator
Naila Amin, who was forced into marrying a 28-year-old cousin in Pakistan in 2003 when she was just 13 years old, said she would have preferred life in the Rikers Island jail to being beaten by her husband every morning and raped by him every night. “I was 8 years old when I found out I was engaged,” she said. After escaping from her parents’ home in Queens, where they had moved from Islamabad, she was placed in foster care until 2005, “when I was forced to go live with my rapist.
For Aphasia sufferers, yoga as healing
Class aims to help ‘release pain’ and improve speech for those dealing with stroke after-effects As sun streamed through the windows of a corner room at JCC MetroWest in West Orange, N.J., in late January, yoga instructor Tami Rager switched on the gentle sounds of new-age music and spoke softly to 15 people gathered in a circle. At her direction, they took deep breaths, chanted and stretched their limbs and necks.
Remembering ‘Newark royalty’
Leonard Strulowitz met Philip Roth for the first time in his Weequahic High School homeroom. Roth had been late to class, so the teacher told him there were no more lockers available and asked the other students if anyone was willing to share with the newcomer. Strulowitz, the only one to raise a hand, and Roth shared the locker that year, “and that is how we became friendly,” he recalled.
Uncluttering grandma’s life
Film on whimsical ‘pack rat’ from Hillside to screen at N.J. film festival Ever since they were young children, Elan and her brother, Jonathan, were driven weekly by their mother, Marilyn Bogarin, from their home in Manhattan to that of their grandmother, Annette Ontell, in Hillside. “Some people go to church every Sunday,” said Jonathan.
Murphy carves out space in ’19 budget for Jewish community
Murphy carves out space in ’19 budget for Jewish community Jacob Toporek was in high spirits. A day after the executive director of the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations met with Gov. Phil Murphy’s newly appointed emissary to the Jewish community, Toporek told NJJN he was “very happy to hear” that the proposed 2019 state budget includes a $400,000 appropriation for Holocaust survivor assistance, as well as $11.4 million in security funds for New Jersey’s non-public schools.
N.J. Jewish community split on embassy move
When the United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, the reaction across the country, and around the world, was mixed. The same could be said about the range of opinions from local Jewish community members. “I am pretty happy about it. It makes the legitimacy of Israel feel more official,” said Danielle Nimrodi of West Orange on Monday as she chatted with friends at the JCC MetroWest in West Orange.
NJ attorney general, a Sikh, feels kinship with Jewish community
Before Gurbir Grewal became New Jersey’s attorney general in January, he was the first Sikh American to serve as a county prosecutor. Tall and bearded, Grewal wears a turban in accordance with his religious beliefs. Although Sikhism has no connection to Islam, American Sikhs are sometimes incorrectly thought to be Muslim. On one recent occasion, Grewal and his 8-year-old daughter were approached by a Caucasian mother and her young son in a Bergen County supermarket.
Historical society to honor activist Thelma Florin
When the Jewish Historical Society of New Jersey (JHS) asked Thelma Florin to be its guest of honor at the organization’s 38th annual Lasting Impressions Gala on Wednesday, May 9, she said “no” — twice. “I was shocked when they asked me to be honored because I felt there were many people who deserved it more than I did,” Florin, a resident of West Orange, told NJJN. Then, she said, Warren Grover, a JHS past president, told her, “‘Thelma, we want someone from our own organization to be honored.
Survivors aim to ‘expand understanding’ through talks at Morris Museum
Survivors aim to ‘expand understanding’ through talks at Morris Museum For four days in May, the Morris Museum will present survivors of the Nazi Holocaust to address area students and members of the general public in order to “expand the compassion and understanding for all who suffered.” Eight survivors in all will appear, two at a time, at the Morris Township museum on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 8 and 9, and on Wednesday and Thursday, May 16 and 17.
Murphy pledges support of Israel at Chabad dinner
Rise in anti-Semitic acts in N.J. can’t be ignored, says Governor Before he took office as New Jersey’s governor in January, Phil Murphy said he and his wife, Tammy, had the “great joy” of visiting Israel five times in the previous three-and-a-half years. On the fourth trip, they brought along their four children. “They had one question when we were leaving: ‘Why can’t we live in Tel Aviv?’” he told some 700 people at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, eliciting laughter and cheers.
Montville committeewoman fighting for political life after offensive post
A Facebook posting by Montville Committeewoman June Witty that likens Democrats to Nazis has angered people inside and out of Morris County, prompting her fellow Republicans to resign. She has refused to step down from the Township Committee, despite strong opposition from the town’s Jewish community.
‘Hollywood just dropped me’
Robert Zuckerman was enjoying a promising career as a photographer hired to take still pictures during the production of major Hollywood films. Zuckerman began working on “Training Day,” the 2001 action adventure starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke — Washington won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role and Hawke was nominated for Best Supporting Actor — then went on to photograph six more of Washington’s films.
Historian: Holocaust denial was ‘first fake news’
After studying art history and classical archaeology at Leiden University in The Hague, Robert Jan Van Pelt’s academic path took a sharp and unexpected turn. Today, Van Pelt is one of the world’s foremost experts in forensic architecture, and he has used his knowledge to teach about the Holocaust and challenge the assertions of its deniers.
Israeli sailor, now of Rockaway, recalls burying Eichmann at sea
When he stepped aboard the Israeli military patrol boat the Yarkon on June 1, 1962, little did Yair Vinderboim imagine that he was about to play a role in a significant episode in the nation’s history. A sergeant major and electronics expert in the Israeli Navy, Vinderboim was in charge of the radar on board the Yarkon as it left Israel’s territorial waters that day. Shortly thereafter, what he recalled as “a small jar” was dropped into the sea in international territory.
Musical archaeologists provide voice for the voiceless
To those who want to prevent the voices of the Jews of the Soviet Union who suffered and died at Russian labor camps from being consigned to historic oblivion, Psoy Korolenko and Anna Shternsis are heroes. With a deep baritone voice and a set of gifted hands on the piano keyboard, Korolenko has helped bring to musical life hundreds of recently unearthed songs written by those forced to work for the former Soviet Union and who faced starvation and death during the years of World War II.
High schooler creates social media tie to Shoah education
As a Jewish 15-year-old with family members who hid from the Nazis in the forests of Poland, Carly Feldstein has been acutely aware of the Holocaust since her early childhood. “Because I am Jewish, I learned about the Holocaust at a young age. I had some relatives in Poland on my dad’s side who hid from the Nazis in the woods for several years — but not all of them survived,” she told NJJN.
Livingston celebrates Israel
As Sheri Goldberg thought about Israel’s upcoming 70th anniversary on April 19, she had a tough choice to make. An ardent Zionist who is active in the Jewish Federation of Greater Metro-West NJ’s Peoplehood Project, which links community members with residents of its Israeli partner cities of Arad, Ofakim, and Merchavim, she had signed up for the project’s trip to Poland, Ukraine, and Israel.
‘Because of your father I am alive’
Robert Bielsky cannot remember a time when he was not aware of his family’s unique place in Jewish history. As one of the sons and daughters of the Bielski brothers — Tuvia, Zus, and Asael — who organized a Jewish combat partisan group and sheltered 1,250 Jews, including women, children, and the elderly, from the Nazis in the forests of Belarus, he learned of their heritage of heroism at a young age.
A start-up summer
Rutgers prof seeks students for course on Israeli entrepreneurship If you are an undergraduate who is curious to visit Israel and study start-ups this summer, Gary Minkoff is looking for you. Minkoff, who teaches entrepreneurship at Rutgers Business School’s Department of Management and Global Business in New Brunswick, is seeking 40 college students to spend June 7 to 17 in Israel, studying its reputation as a “start-up nation” and meeting entrepreneurs from many parts of the country.
N.J. teens lead Newark gun reform rally
As the 19 organizers of the Newark March for Our Lives were assembling on stage at Military Park on March 24, Darcy Schleifstein, a sophomore at Randolph High School, held aloft a color photograph of Alex Schachter, her close friend from summers spent at Camp Echo in Burlington, N.Y. Alex was one of the victims of the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
AJC expands Muslim-Jewish coalition to NJ
Back in the 1990s, when Robert Silverman was serving as a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, he developed a friendly relationship with Osama El-Baz, a diplomat who had accompanied Egyptian President Anwar Sadat on his groundbreaking trip to Jerusalem in 1977. Silverman asked El-Baz how he could have the confidence to join Sadat and board a plane bound for the capital of a country Egypt had been at war with for generations.
Summit Jews, Episcopalians find common ground at interfaith seder
The night of March 22 was different from all other nights at Calvary Episcopal Church in Summit. Because 70 members of its congregation played host to Rabbi Avi Friedman, religious leader of Congregation Ohr Shalom-The Summit Jewish Community Center, who led a seder in the church’s parish hall. Rev. Canon Matthew T.L. Corkern, rector of the church, told NJJN that while some non-Jews consider Passover to be the “Jewish” Easter, it is the other way around. “Easter is the Christian Passover,” he said.
‘A slice of history’
Some eight months ago, Gary Levenston, a 46-year-old psychologist in Boca Raton, Fla., received a genealogy report from ancestry.com. It triggered an interest in his Newark roots and the lives of his great-grandparents, who arrived there at the turn of the 20th century. In researching his family history, he discovered that his great-grandparents played a significant role in the history of Newark’s storied Jewish community.
Jewish teens march for their lives in Newark
For three of the six years Darcy Schleifstein went to Camp Echo in Burlington, N.Y., she was close with Alex Schachter, a 14-year-old freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Following the Feb. 14 massacre at the school, two other Camp Echo friends at Marjory Stoneman called Darcy to tell her they saw Alex’s body on the ground. He was one of the 17 people shot dead that day.
Kushner Cobras win ‘Super Bowl’ of Jewish wrestling
Like two adults clinking champagne glasses in a victory salute, Joey Dresdner and Joseph Wolkoff raised their ice cream sandwiches to toast themselves and the other 14 members of the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School wrestling team. Normally such indulgences would be frowned upon for a group of athletes, but on this late February day, they had a legitimate reason to celebrate with the sugary snacks. After all, they had made history: On Feb.
Music: Bill Charlap, scion of musical family, centers jazz trio
Now 51, jazz pianist Bill Charlap said he cannot remember a time when he was not playing music. As a young child, he would sit down at the keyboard and imitate the tunes he heard his father, Morris “Moose” Charlap, compose for Broadway musicals.
Visual Arts: ‘Art is my life,’ says octogenarian painter
Visual Arts: ‘Art is my life,’ says octogenarian painter Recalling her classmates at the Walden School, which was considered “the most progressive private school in Manhattan,” Judy Targan said, “There were 24 guitars and one paintbrush. The paintbrush was me.” From the age of 1, when she began coloring with crayons, until now, at 86, art has been her single-minded passion.
Prof sees ‘Jewish middle’ threatened by Left and Right
Steven M. Cohen began life in Brooklyn as someone with a “strong Jewish ethnicity and nominally Orthodox affiliation.” Today he defines himself as a “progressive Zionist” and a “moderately observant multi-denominational Jew.” Perhaps he would further define himself as being “in the middle,” a segment of the Jewish population he has most recently focused his research on.
Two former New Jerseyans honored for can-do spirit
Two former New Jerseyans honored for can-do spirit When the cell phone rings, it’s often not mom, a friend, or a co-worker on the other end. For tuberculosis patients in Kenya, the recorded message received several times a day is a reminder to take life-saving medication. Jonathan Rathauser, a former Belle Meade resident who made aliyah in 2016, is the brainchild behind this intervention.
Hatred heats up
ADL: Anti-Semitism on rise in N.J.; state ranks third in U.S. for bias offenses At Rutgers University’s New Brunswick campus, Jewish students demanded the firing of Michael Chikindas, a tenured microbiology professor, after he posted anti-Semitic cartoons and statements on his Facebook page. His situation is under review by the administration.
Efforts to ‘protect the stranger’ bring court appearance
Rabbi Faith Joy Dantowitz of Temple B’nai Abraham in Livingston told a small crowd outside the Westfield Township Municipal courthouse on the morning of Feb. 20: “When there is injustice we need to put our faith into action.” Dantowitz is one of two Essex County rabbis who pleaded not guilty to defiant trespassing after a sit-in at the Westfield office of Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Dist. 7) 15 days earlier. The second rabbi is Elliott Tepperman of Bnai Keshet in Montclair.
Absolving Polish responsibility in Shoah ‘historically untrue’
Though born into a Catholic family in Lublin, Poland, Sebastian Rejak became interested in Judaism when he began studying Christian theology in college. His sharp interest in ancient Israel and contemporary Jewish thought launched Rejak on a career path that pits him at the center of a bitter debate on a recently approved Polish law.
Absolving Polish responsibility in Shoah ‘historically untrue’
Though born into a Catholic family in Lublin, Poland, Sebastian Rejak became interested in Judaism when he began studying Christian theology in college. His sharp interest in ancient Israel and contemporary Jewish thought launched Rejak on a career path that pits him at the center of a bitter debate on a recently approved Polish law.
Business people see ‘high times’ ahead if NJ legalizes pot
They gathered Jan. 25 dressed not in bell-bottom jeans and tie-dyed T-shirts, but in business attire. As they networked together, soft jazz, not psychedelic rock music, played in the background. The venue was not an underground club in Greenwich Village, but the Prudential Hall of Newark’s New Jersey Performing Arts Center. But what they were there to discuss was marijuana — specifically their commercial opportunities if and when recreational “pot” becomes legal in the state.
N.J. rabbis attend human rights mission in Guatemala
Often when a group of American rabbis visit a foreign country, they spend most of their time with the local Jewish community. But the 13 Jewish leaders — including two from New Jersey — who were selected as Global Justice Fellows by the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) didn’t even step near a synagogue during their Jan. 14-21 trip to Guatemala.
On Both Sides Of The Hudson, Anti-Semitism Flares
A disturbing “new normal” — rising levels of anti-Semitism in New York and New Jersey — seems to be stubbornly settling in, one that experts tie to “the divisive state of our national discourse.” That’s one of the main takeaways from the Anti-Defamation League’s 2017 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, which was released this week. It found that the number of anti-Semitic incidents soared by more than 90 percent in 2017 compared to the year before.
N.J. rabbis attend human rights mission in Guatemala
Often when a group of American rabbis visit a foreign country, they spend most of their time with the local Jewish community. But the 13 Jewish leaders — including two from New Jersey — who were selected as Global Justice Fellows by the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) didn’t even step near a synagogue during their Jan. 14-21 trip to Guatemala.
Rabbis arrested at DACA sit-in at Rep. Lance office
Two Essex Country rabbis, two other N.J. clergy, and a pair of immigration rights activists are facing charges of defiant trespassing after a sit-in at the Westfield office of Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Dist. 7). The arrests took place after a rally sponsored by the Jewish Labor Committee, Make the Road New Jersey, Faith in New Jersey, and Bend the Arc Jewish Action. They had come there on Feb. 5 to demand that Lance fully support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) by the Feb.
NCJW considers ‘danger’ of Roe v. Wade rollback
When Natalie Roche’s mother was about to give birth in a New York City hospital, she overheard a police officer warn a woman in the next bed, “We are going to let you bleed to death if you do not tell us who your abortion provider is.” That story inspired Roche to study medicine, specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, and, as an assistant professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, become a staunch advocate of reproductive rights.
Outrage over Trump sparks rally for activism
Before the 2016 presidential election, Elizabeth Meyer was an apolitical “stay-at-home mom” who had worked as a middle school teacher and a radio disc jockey before transitioning to raising her 5- and 7-year-old daughters on a full-time basis. Then on Election Night, she watched the returns as Donald Trump lost the popular vote yet won the presidency by amassing 306 electoral votes over Hillary Clinton’s 232. She distinctly remembers the shock “and great sadness that just hit me in the gut.
Nelson’s Jewish music rooted in black church
‘Prince of Kosher Gospel’ to perform in Summit When he was 8 years old, Joshua Nelson made a discovery that would influence his entire life. Buried within his grandmother’s record collection he found a Mahalia Jackson album which included the song, “Walk in Jerusalem.” “I had heard gospel music before, but it never sounded like that,” he said. Jackson was a devout Christian with a deeply emotional singing voice.
Builder, philanthropist Alan Sagner dies at 97
Former chairman of Port Authority was a founder of modern Livingston, champion of Jewish causes Alan Sagner, a major benefactor of the Jewish community of Greater MetroWest NJ and beyond, and a strong backer of the Democratic Party and other liberal causes, died Jan. 3 at his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He was 97. “He was very philanthropic.
Alan Sagner, NJ developer who backed liberal and Jewish causes, is dead at 97
Alan Sagner, right, with Israeli general Moshe Dayan, at a 1961 United Jewish Appeal dinner in West Orange, N.J. (Courtesy of the Jewish Historical Society of NJ) WHIPPANY, New Jersey (New Jersey Jewish News via JTA) — Alan Sagner, a former chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a major benefactor of Jewish and liberal causes and the Democratic Party, died Jan. 3 at his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He was 97 years old.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Robert
Contact Robert, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack