The New Jewish Voice October 2016
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Non-profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit # 184 Watertown, NY october 2016/elul-tishrei 5776-5777 a publication of United jewish federation of Volume 18, Number 8 Greater Stamford, New Canaan and Darien Coping with Our World Celebrating Tapestry at 13 Today UJF Honors Founders at Annual Evening of Learning Ambassador Kurtzer to Deliver Keynote On Saturday ages and denom- evening, No- inations. Tapes- at Kuriansky Conference vember 19, the try was created By Rebecca Isenstein beginning with a sit-down Stamford Jewish in 2004 through This fall, the Center for dinner at 5 pm and followed community will the professional/ Judaic and Middle Eastern by a keynote lecture by Am- gather at the Jew- lay partnership Studies at UConn-Stamford bassador Dr. Daniel Kurtzer ish Community of then-UJF Ed- th will celebrate its 36 anniver- at 7 pm, titled “Our World Center at 7 pm for ucation Director sary (in Hebrew double chai, Today: Coping with Terror- what has become Ilana De Laney, twice “life”) in conjunction ism, Humanitarian Crisis, and an annual ritual. the JCC and a with the 2016 Louis J. Kurian- State Collapse.” This year marks Ilana De Laney Meryl Gordon committee led by sky Annual Conference. The Since its inception, the the 13th season of UJF Adult Educa- celebration will take place Center has had a dual mis- Tapestry, an evening of adult Jewish tion Chair Meryl Gordon. The first year, See “Coping” on page 2 on Wednesday, October 26, Dr. Daniel Kurtzer learning that brings together Jews of all See “Tapestry” on page 4 Covering Israel and the Another Opening, Another Palestinians Show Hoffman Memorial Lecture to Feature JCC’s Jewish Arts and Film Festival Returns Distinguished Journalist The 15th annual Jewish Arts and Film called “A Centennial Celebration of Jodi Rudoren, deputy and the Palestinians.” Festival of Fairfield County, presented Art.” Included will be works by Sary international editor of The Rudoren became Jerusa- by the Stamford Jewish Community Backer, Charlotte Birnbaum, Sani New York Times, will speak lem bureau chief of The New Center, will return for nine days, from Camner, Francine Funke, Ellen Gor- at the Hyacinthe and Har- York Times in May 2012 after Saturday, October 29, through Sunday, don, Benice Horowitz, Barbara Hotz, old E. Hoffman Memorial 14 years as a reporter and November 6. This year’s festival will Beverly Magida, Robert Selkowitz, Lecture at Temple Beth El, editor at the paper. She pre- be highlighted by screenings of eight Helen Seplowitz, Bracha Silber, Phyllis 350 Roxbury Rd., Stamford, viously served as the paper’s Jewish films from Israel and the U.S., Sinrich, Liron Sissman, Florence Suerig on Thursday, October 27, at education editor, deputy met- Canada and Hungary. and David Sussan. The exhibit opening 7:30 pm. Her topic will be ropolitan editor and Chicago The festival will shine a light on will take place on Sunday, November “Zero-Sum Empathy: What bureau chief. artists rooted in JCC history and the 6, at 1 pm at the JCC of Stamford. A I Learned Covering Israel Jodi Rudoren See “Palestinians” on page 2 local Jewish community with an exhibit See “Show” on page 19 Candle Bits & Pieces JEEP Adult Professional Voices & Lighting 2 6 6 Volunteers 18 Support 19 Views 22 Stamford in the House Team Stamford entered the Webster Bank Arena at the August 7 opening ceremony of the JCC Maccabi Games and ArtsFest, led by local delegation co-chair and basketball coach Brian Kriftcher. Organized by the JCC of Stamford, more than 1,000 community volunteers and nearly 400 host families welcomed 1,574 Jewish teens for a week of athletic competitions and arts workshops. The JCC Maccabi Games and ArtsFest is the largest Jewish youth event in the world. Its mission is to provide Jewish youth with a supportive environment and to foster sportsmanship, creativity and mutual respect in an atmosphere of fun. See page 8 for further coverage. 2 THE NEW JEWISH VOICE ■ OCTOBER 2016 CEO Message Let the Post Games Begin By James A. Cohen The success of the endeavor and the It is indeed apropos to paraphrase Mayor Rahm Like so many of you, I was inspired by inspiration it generated must now be Emanuel and suggest that we should not let this the Maccabi Games and Artsfest, which took leveraged. Personally, I am inspired to do success go to waste. Far too many individuals need place in Stamford this past month. I was more for our community, both at home our help. All of the aforementioned problems have inspired by the dedication of the athletes and around the world, than ever before. solutions, but we need the funds to realize our goals. and artists. I was inspired by the selfless As wonderful as the event was, as fond a We are now approaching the fourth quarter of UJF’s volunteers who helped make the event so memory as was created for the Jewish teens 2016 Annual Campaign. The time to act is now. UJF special. I was incredibly inspired by the team who participated and as great a “high” as we stands poised, as always, to do what needs to be done from Poland, who held their heads up high, might feel, we still face a world fraught with and to help those who need it most, (including our representing a community reborn, which problems. Too many people, Jews and non- recent efforts to support flood victims in Louisiana). had been ravaged by the Holocaust and two Jews, go to bed hungry. Too many people, I hope you have been inspired to do your part in this generations of communist rule. (Some of James Cohen, Jews and non-Jews, go to bed not knowing if effort. We cannot do it without you. you have no doubt been to the Jewish Center UJF CEO they will be awakened by a hostile knock on As the high holidays approach us, let us demon- in Warsaw where these teens gather, thanks to the the door in the middle of the night. And too many strate once again what we can accomplish when we work of UJF’s overseas partner, the American Jewish Jews go to bed at the end of the day having felt little work and strive in unison. With this spirit of com- Joint Distribution Committee.) Seeing a Holocaust connection to our community and to our people to munity and purpose in mind, I wish you and yours survivor escort them in to the opening ceremonies stay a vocal and active part of either. a sweet New Year and inscription in the book of life. was incredibly poetic and deeply moving. Coping Continued from page 1 CANDLE LIGHTING sion: to develop and expand credit courses in all Kurtzer is the S. Daniel Abraham Professor of areas of Judaic studies within the undergraduate Middle East policy studies at Princeton University’s TIMES curriculum and establish a forum for public discourse, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International September 23 ..................... 6:31 pm in courses, seminars and conferences, where both Affairs. Following a 29-year career in the U.S. For- UConn students and community members would eign Service, Kurtzer retired in 2005 with the rank September 30 ..................... 6:19 pm learn and discuss topics of current issues or of Jew- of career-minister. From 2001-2005, he served under October 2 ............................ 6:16 pm ish scholarship with the best and the brightest of George W. Bush as the United States ambassador October 3 ....................after 7:13 pm today’s scholars, writers and policy analysts. Among to Israel and from 1997-2001 under President Bill October 7 ............................ 6:07 pm its guest speakers throughout the past 36 years were Clinton as the United States ambassador to Egypt. the late Chaim Potok and Dr. Irving Howe; political To register for the anniversary dinner and/or the October 11 .......................... 6:01 pm scientist Dr. Shibley Telhami; Ron Chernow, the Kuriansky Conference, or for more information about October 14 .......................... 5:56 pm best-selling biographer (currently of “Hamilton” these or other programs of the Center for Judaic October 16 .......................... 5:53 pm fame); the orator and historian Dr. Howard Sacher; and Middle Eastern Studies, contact the Center at October 17 ..................after 6:51 pm internationally-acclaimed Israeli writer Amos Oz; [email protected] or 203-251-9525. theologian Dr. Susannah Heschel; and Kurtzer, who The Center for Judaic and Middle Eastern Studies is a October 21 .......................... 5:46 pm spoke to a packed auditorium in 2009 and who has recipient agency of the United Jewish Federation of Greater October 23 .......................... 5:43 pm again accepted the Center’s invitation to speak and Stamford, New Canaan and Darien, and is also supported October 24 ..................after 6:41 pm celebrate its achievements. by donations from the community. October 28 .......................... 5:36 pm November 4 ........................ 5:28 pm Palestinians Continued from page 1 November 11 ...................... 4:20 pm Rudoren covered the 2004 presidential campaign, geles City Hall and one in the paper’s Washington following Howard Dean and then John F. Kerry, bureau. In November 2012, Rudoren was included and has written extensively about the Columbine in the “Forward 50,” a list of the world’s 50 most Congregation shootings, the debate over intelligent design, char- influential Jews. ter schools, vouchers and affirmative action. While Formerly Jodi Wilgoren – she and her husband, Mishkan Israel of Easton working in the Metro section, Rudoren was an exec- Gary, combined their last names – she grew up in The First & Only Synagogue utive producer on the multimedia series “One in 8 Newton, MA, where she got her start in journalism at A traditional—warm and friendly, welcoming Million,” which won nytimes.com’s first Emmy Award, The Newtonite, Newton North High School’s award-win- environment—serving Fairfield County since 1945.