a JEWISH Volume XIX, Issue XVII I thejewishvoice.org Special Issue: Serving Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts HOME, GARDEN I REAL ESTATE VOICE 7 Heshvan 5774 I October 11, 2013 Communication coach Deborah Grayson Riegel headlining at Zelniker Conference Attendees to learn to balance facts and emotion, inspiration and action BY KARA MARZIALI The Joseph & Leba Zelniker Conference, a program of the Educational Services Depart­ ment of the J ewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, brings outstanding J ewish educa­ tors to the community. Local Jewish schools support the Zelniker Conference and the J STREET 2013: OUR TIME TO LEAD professional growth of their faculties so that teachers and Conference, Gala and Advocacy Day principals can study and learn together. This year 's annual BY ELEANOR L. LEWIS time, Biden's support of the for peace between Israel and the program, scheduled for Sun­ Special to The Jewish Voice current peace negotiations was Palestinians. day, Oct. 27, from 8:30 a. m. to The excitement was palpable worth the wait. This opinion was restated noon at the Alliance, will fea­ He emphasized that the Unit­ by both the Israeli and the ture Deborah Grayson Riegel. as the 2,800 delegates to the Na­ tional J Street Conference in ed States, J Street and others American officials who She will share her innovative all have an obligation to press spoke at multiple sessions strategies for engaging com­ Washington, D.C., awaited the Deborah Grayson Riegel keynote address of Vice-Pres­ for a "just and lasting peace," throughout the Sept. 28 - Oct. munication with her presenta­ because " If not us, who?" He be­ 3 conference - Tsipi Livni, tion, "Strategic Storytelling to ident Joseph Eiden. Delayed because his private discussion lieves strongly that the current Israel's Justice Minister and Engage and Inspire." Jewish tradition - personally turmoil in the Middle East has Chief Negotiator; Ambassador Stories, a rich part of our with Israeli Prime Minister ZELNIKER 114 created the "best opportunity" Netanyahu had gone into over- J-STREET I 21 Dr. Milton W. Hamolsky honored with the 2013 Human Dignity Award A major contributor to hospice and palliative care BY LEE KOSSIN (HHCRI). He has had a long and illus­ gram at Brown University. This program Special to The J ewish Voice trious career in Rhode Island, where he eventually grew into the medical school was the first full-time chief of medicine at that has attracted medical professionals PROVIDENCE - Dr. Milton Hamolsky, MILTON long considered a pioneer within the Rhode Island Hospital. to the state, resulting in the high level medical profession, was honored on Sept. In that position he, along with Pierre of quality care that Rhode Island experi­ HAMOLSKV 24 with the Human Dignity award from Galletti and J. Walter Wilson, helped cre­ ences today. M.D. Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island ate the Master of Medical Science pro- Lincoln girls compete w ith each other while support ing one another. If you want your daughter to be her best and bring out the best in others, then she might be a Lincoln girl. Co-ed: lnfant- K: All-girls: Grades I- I 2 30 I But ler Avenue. Providence. RI 02906 '-i111Hl:11. \,/l\l'lliill'l ;, ' (J I; • I ; I' Ill 401-33 1-9696 • www.lincolnschool.org I __ 2 I October 11, 2013 COMMUNITY The Jewish Voice INSIDE Visit to Rhode Island an eye-opening experience for leaders of Nigeria's Gihon Synagogue Business 34-35 Calendar 12-13 Igbos delighted to see Community 2-8, 12-17, 20-22, 28, so many 30-33, 35, 37-38, 41-43 practicing Jews D' var Torah 37 BY SHAI AFSAI Food19 PROVIDENCE - On multiple HOME, GARDEN I REAL ESTATE occasions during the recent 23-27 Sukkot visit to our commu­ Obituaries 40-41 nity by Elder Ovadiah Agbai Opinion 10-11 and Elder Pinchas Ogbukaa, of Abuja's Gihon Synagogue, Seniors 36, 38-39 the three of us ran into Rabbi Moshe Moskowitz, director of Meor (an innovative approach to Jewish learning) at Brown University. He kept asking if there was time for us to sit down together for coffee or tea THIS ISSUE'S so that he could hear about the elders' Jewish experience in QUOTABLE QUOTE Rhode Island. There almost wasn't time but, finally, on the day before Elder Ovadiah and Elder Pinchas returned to Ni­ "Their job is to look geria, we managed to arrange a rendezvous with the rabbi at •· after Israel. Ours a coffee shop. After buying a round of tea, is to look after Rabbi Moskowitz asked the them." elders what they had hoped to accomplish with their twelve­ day visit to Rhode Island. "The idea was to be able to interact with Jews in Rhode Island, get firsthand information of how the community runs and lay SHAI AFSA/ Pinchas Ogbukaa, left, Mark Trachtenberg and Ovadiah Agbai SHAI I 20 The local expertise your business needs, with the local service your business deserves Taunton North Dighton Bridgewater • Fall River • Westport • Swansea • Somerset Pictured from left to riqht: M,1tthew R. Ledin. Vice President Comnwrci,11 LendinCJ; Joseph T Baptista Jr., President & CEO; Nancy E. Stokes, Senior Vice President Lendin(J; Paul,1 M. Botelho, Vice President Commercial Lending; Anthony Medeiros, Vice President Commercial Lending 1-888-MECHANICS (632-4264) www.Mechanicc; Coop.com i=oic srr= thejewishvolce.org COMMUNITY October 11, 2013 I 3 ECC DIRECTOR SHARES SUCCESS STORY Nicole Katzman credits staff BY IRINA MISSIURO because her son Nathan has Special. to The Jewish Voice been diagnosed with autism. PROVIDENCE - If you walk Katzman laments the fact that through the hallways of the he, unlike her three other chil­ Early Childhood Center, dren, couldn't come to the ECC housed in the Alliance-JCC, because he had so many spe­ you will be impressed. The cial needs. She believes that shiny new floors, donated by Nathan could attend the center the Alliance, together with now because of the therapeutic the brightly painted student childcare that the ECC offers artwork hanging on the walls, through the Department of Hu­ suggest that the center is well man Services. Katzman says, managed. Nicole Katzman "I'm trying to make it better oversees it with deceptive ease. for other families." She co-au­ Katzman, the director whose thored a book called "Nathan infectious laughter often per­ Blows out the Hanukah Can­ meates the premises, runs a dles." Now Nathan is already tight ship yet doesn't take her­ in seventh grade and about self too seriously. to have his bar mitzvah this month in Temple Emanu-El. Katzman emphasizes that the "The expectation is ECC is a therapeutic childcare center, which recently received that every child will licensing from the. Rhode Is­ land Department of Human become an avid Services to help children with learner." special care issues, such as autism. Their teachers, in ad- Two years ago, she joined the dition to the therapist from Parent Victoria Heimer reading a story to the children in the ECC's newly added classroom. ECC after working as director the state who comes in weekly, of PJ Library and Shalom Fam- work with these kids, so that children, who learned how to the center is at capacity with additional classes and finish­ ily. Katzman recalls, "When they can be fully integrated sign so that they could com­ llO kids and many on the wait­ ing degrees . f came here, one of the very into the classroom. municate with him. Katzman ing list. Katzman generously The center currently employs first. things I wanted to guar- To illustrate the success of marvels, "One of the greatest gives credit for the success 28 people, not including the two : ;J,Iitee was that children with ~~:uf ~0c~f:i°~h!f !~:1!F ;~~~ things that I have seen is that of the program to the "amaz­ substitute teachers. Katzman special needs have a fair shot he joined the ECC, he didn't beauty of integration." ing" staff of whom she is very raves about Esta Yavner, who _m llfe, that they _can com?," to a --interactat all. Now he walks Before she became director, proud. The teachers have been is in charge of preschool and program and be mcluded. She d d • •th th the ECC had 64 children. Now working hard to become more secular and Judaic curricula, is passionate about the issue aroun an signs WI o er - the number nearly doubled - educated in the field, taking on ensuring that the ECC is run ECC I 8 It's a one-day fundraising phone-a-thon. A day when·the community comes together to do what's right - to raise money to help those in need and strengthen our Jewish community. Join us on Sunday, November 24 from 9:30am - 5pm and make a difference. Volunteer to make calls with us, if only for an hour. If you can't volunteer, answer the call. For more information about becoming a Super Sunday volunteer, contact Michele Gallagher at 401 .421 .41 11 ·ext. 1 65 or [email protected]. Agency teams are encour9ged to volunteer. Money raised during Super Sunday goes into the Alliance Annual Campaign. In other words, we use it to help people. Instead of focusing on one need, we look at the community as a whole. This way your donation helps the issues you're aware of as well as those that are less obvious, but no less important. Being aware of the growing and changing need in our community and creating solutions to meet them is something in which we take great pride.