Uja Federation Hires New Executive Director
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HamiltonHamilton JJeewwiisshh NNeewwss SERVING HAMILTON WENTWORTH & AREA MAY/JUNE 2001 VOL 15:4 IYAR/SIVAN 5761 Date to UJA Federation hires new Executive Director Remember UJA Federation of to develop meaningful How do you propose to Hamilton has hired a new Jewish identities, spiritual, meet this challenge? Join UJA executive director. Gerald cultural and social that I continue to believe FEDERATION’S Fisher, 52, comes with a embrace and nurture the that the most powerful, long history of involvement needs of young families. most dynamic, most in Jewish communal work. This is especially acute in valuable resources to WALK Born and raised in the an age of unprecedented address these issues are United States, Fisher has levels of inter-marriage. already right within our & BIKE been in Canada since I believe that our midst – our Jewish pursuing graduate studies community, like many volunteers. to KIEV in social work at Dalhousie Jewish communities, needs My first priority will be University in Halifax. to take bold steps to ensure to ensure that our OUR He served as Executive that the State, people and organizational framework COMMUNITY Director of the B’nai Brith land of Israel remain as is a helpful tool and not an Hillel Foundation of deeply motivating forces obstruction to allowing RESPONSE to Metropolitan Toronto, within our personal and our volunteer leaders to HUNGER IN National Director of Gerald Fisher collective consciousness. accomplish their goals. If Community Services for Holocaust, the Some people argue that the framework isn’t right, thE FSU the Canada-Israel establishment of the State you can maintain a we are not going to build Committee and spent 16 of Israel, or any sense of powerful and complete anything. My second SUNDAY years at UJA Federation of exclusion because of their Jewish identity even while priority is to ensure that Greater Toronto in a Jewish identity that likely Israel slips out of sight. I the people already JUNE 3 variety of capacities, affected their parents. disagree. The continuity of committed to the system (RAIN or SHINE!) including director of These were the motivating small groups of non- are involved in the places community development, factors behind the creation Zionist, fervently orthodox that maximize their See page 3 director of human of the most successful Jews notwithstanding, I potential for success and for important resources development fundraising initiatives in believe that erosion of for a sense of real personal and as a senior planning the history of the world. concern for and accomplishment. information associate. Additionally, our identification with Israel is At the same time, I am Fisher’s most recent emerging generation of a “soul-breaking” hoping to cultivate a new position has been as young Jewish leaders is phenomenon that goes generation of local LET MY executive director of the being courted, as never right to the heart of the leadership that can Jewish Federation of Great before, by an ever-growing struggle for a meaningful articulate a genuine PEOPLE Manchester in New range of choices of venue Jewish life in the Diaspora. Hampshire, a community for their non-profit cont’d on p15 go NEVER with a Jewish population involvement. Every one of similar in size to that of the cultural, social and MEANT Hamilton’s. Fisher will be political organizations that A phone call to Kiev moving to the Hamilton never reached out to our LET MY area over the next few parents’ generation is now reveals poignant discovery PEOPLE months together with his competing for the attention It recently came to the attention of Walk/Bike to wife, Anna-Rae Fishman. of our young people and Kiev co-chairs Lester Krames and Susan Roth that a GO In a conversation with the choices are relative of a community member is a beneficiary of the HJN, Mr. Fisher outlined understandably attractive. our community’s fundraising efforts. Ilya Melamed, his vision of what he sees Our ability to sustain the who himself immigrated from the FSU several years as the challenges facing community’s financial ago, found out this information only last Pesach the Hamilton Jewish future will depend, in during a phone call he placed to his uncle in Kiev. The Community and what he large measure, on our hopes to bring to the table. success in first identifying following, in his own words, is Ilya’s story: these new philanthropists In your capacity as and then motivating them A day before Pesach I called my uncle to wish him Executive Director of UJA to recognize the same a happy holiday and find out how he is doing. I live Federation, what do you fundamental obligations in Dundas and he lives in the city of my birth, Kiev. see as the major challenges and opportunities that My uncle Mark Melamed is a 75 year-old pensioner, a that our community is motivated the generosity veteran of the Second World War when he fought the facing? of their parents. Germans for four long years. Following the war, he In hundreds of I know that the I believe that our worked as a bus driver for the City of Kiev until his towns and cities community wants to community, like every retirement. He and his wife are now living on their throughout the address the challenge of Jewish community, must government pension, but they are not able to survive former Soviet Union securing its financial future. find creative and on this income and my uncle has been forced to work elderly Jews are Jewish philanthropies are compassionate strategies as a security guard at night in order to supplement going hungry. facing a huge challenge _ to address the challenges their income. Last year the that of making the of diminishing patterns of During our conversation he mentioned that he Hamilton Jewish transition between affiliation. Every receives food and medical help from Jewish agencies. community raised generations of succeeding generation I mentioned our Walk to Kiev 2001 and his exact $12,000 to provide philanthropists. grows a little further away 4,075 meals to Over the next few years, from the more traditional words to me were "God bless the Jews. Without their needly elderly Jews in excess of 6 billion affiliation patterns of our help we would not survive." He then asked me, in Kiev. This year dollars will be transferred, parents and grandparents. "Please tell the Hamilton Jewish community that Mark our goal is $15,000 nation-wide, from one This includes both Melamed thanks them from the bottom of his heart." Please help us make generation to another. institutional affiliation as This will be the third year that the Jewish Community a world where no Unlike the generation of well as philanthropic of Hamilton has sent funds raised by the Walkathon to Jew ever knows entrepreneurs that affiliation. the Jews in Kiev. The funds that you raise provide hunger....where no developed this resource, In a world that often food, clothing, social support and medical help. Every Jew is without the receiving generation seems driven by the year my family has participated in this event but until food. Participate generally lacks the secularization of all aspects in this year’s Walk that particular phone call I never knew that my own personal memory of the of life, we are challenged & Bike to Kiev. uncle is a recipient of that help. Page 2 The Hamilton Jewish News May/June 2001 - Iyar/Sivan 5761 UJA Federation Hamilton Jewish News POB 7258 MCMASTER JEWISH UJA FEDERATION 1030 Lower Lions Club Rd., Ancaster, Ontario L9G 3N6 StUDENTS TRIBUTE CARDS BY young people and our The Hamilton Jewish News is JUDY SCHWARTZ have all the ways of fulfilling your need for community published 5 times a year by university students, who Thoughtful cards for any occasion sent the same day Hamilton Jewish News Inc. The Jewish Community came out for the evening to and Centre of Hamilton and the welcome this delegation to 648-0605 EXT. 306 Shadowpress McMaster Jewish Student our community. Within a PUBLISHER: Association (JSA) combined short time, the room was JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICES Shadowpress forces to produce a abuzz with serious & THE KOSHER FOOD BANK EDItoR: wonderful evening recently. discussions about the Wendy Schneider The JSA hosted a delegation problems facing Israel and In Memory Of MARTHA SORKIN - Charles & Michele Schndier, Joy Foster, Rick TELEPHONE: of 32 young student leaders how a small Jewish Kwitco & family, Rose Cohen & Phil, Dolly & Ralph Cohen, (905) 628-0058 from Shomron (Samaria) community like ours should Patricia, Alan Eppel & Family, David & Norma Wright, Bea & FAX: for a get-together and dinner. respond. Participants also Chuck Matchen, Harvey & Shelley Waxman, Lily Buchalter & (905) 627-7099 The 32 youth from 17 enjoyed a good game of Alan White, Rabbi & Mrs. Irwin Zeplowitz & family, Bernard & EMAIL: settlements were carefully basketball in the JCC bubble. Moura Wolpert, Phil & Diane Kriszenfled, Bukhman Family, Janet & Moe Blajchman, Neil & Lynda Morris. SAMUEL KLEIN - wendy.schneider@ selected to represent the The barbecue was a huge sympatico.ca Shava Siegel & family. FAIGA MELLOR - Rose Cohen & Phil. diversity of the region, from success, eliciting comments Mother of BARBARA LEbow - Sam & Anna Taylor. DAVI D CIRCULATION 2,000 religious to secular, right that this was the best food FELDMAN - Sol & Brenda Sandberg & family, Shoshana & and left. They have come they had eaten since coming Michael Gladstone, Lou & Yetta Hotz, Robert & Marilyn together to work for a to Canada. Wasserman & family. NORMA BROWN - Carol & Lester Canadian Publications Krames, JSS Kosher Food Bank Committee. GABRILE common goal - to create a The evening ended with Mail Product Sales BUCCELLA - Phil & Daphne Leon.