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FEBRUARY 14, 2020 | 1 9 S H E VAT 578 0 | VO L. 1 00 | NO. 1 8 | CANDLELIGHTING | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 5 : 38 P.M.
Something Beautiful ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor, Jewish Press omething beautiful happens when community comes together! Please join us for a luncheon and moderated discussion with author Yvette Manessis Corporan and entrepreneur Mindy Corporan. Hear the story of how these remarkable women, although not Jewish themselves, have had their lives forever altered by anti-Semitism. The event will take place Tuesday March 3, at the Champions Club, 13800 Eagle Run Drive. We will start with a Patron Reception at 11 a.m. The doors will open at 11:30 a.m. and the program runs from noon to 1:30 p.m. The community-wide event is chaired by Kelly Kirk and Stephanie Petsalis and will honor Zoë Riekes and Peggy Payne. In her book, Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Manessis Corporan tells a story that begins in Greece during World War II and takes us to Kansas City in 2014. Yvette’s grandmother, Yia-Yia, grew up on the small Greek island of Erikousa. Yvette describes a childhood full of Greek family, transplanted to the United States, summers spent back in Greece with endless cousins and aunts and uncles; she paints a vivid picture of what it was like to grow up Greek during the latter part of the 20th century: “It was always a feast. Yia-Yia and Papou loved nothing more than to have a house full of family and friends, eating and drinking, talking and laughing. The vinyl banquette against one wall made the room look like a saloon, always packed with visitors who would slide in and over to make See Something Beautiful page 2
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Kindergarten Roundup is coming Page 4
Kirk Douglas, iconic movie star that reconnected with Judaism Page 9
Yvette Manessis Corporan
You are going to crave this easy Israeli quiche Page 16
REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles
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Ken Freed to speak at B’nai Israel
Birmingham hires Danny Cohn as Federation CEO
and the Caribbean, as well as several HOWARD KUTLER On Friday Feb. 14, B’nai Israel will tours in the Middle East and Africa. After leaving the Los Angeles Times host Ken Freed. Freed began reportin 1996, he briefly ing as an Associated worked as a staff writer Press staff writer in for the Omaha World1963. After seven years Herald before being as an editor in West named to endowed Virginia, New York and chairs of journalism as Washington, D.C, he the University of Caliwas assigned to be fornia-Berkeley and at diplomatic corresponOhio University. In dent covering three 2000, he was named to presidents and secrethe faculty at taries of state. After a Lebanese-American year as a Neiman FelUniversity-Beirut and low at Harvard, he Ken Freed special editorial advijoined the Los Angeles Times as a foreign correspondent in sor to the Daily Star, Beirut, a position 1978, serving first in Iran, then South he holds to this day. In 2014, he beAmerica, Canada, Central America came a founding editor of the Weekly Observer in Kampala, Uganda. Upon returning to the United States, he served as a consultant for the International Crisis Group in Haiti. Ken Freed graduated from Central High School and the Universities of Nebraska and Oklahoma and did his post-graduate studies at Harvard and the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Don’t miss what is certain to be a very engaging presentation! See Ken Freed page 2
The Birmingteams at Zeno ham Jewish FedGroup in eration is Chicago, IL and honored to anStrata-G in nounce the selecCincinnati, OH. tion of a new Most notably, Chief Professional Danny led the deExecutive Officer, velopment and Danny Cohn, efexecution of Allfective March 8. state FoundaDanny has more tion’s Purple than 18 years of Purse Initiative to experience as a raise funds and strategic leader in awareness surmarketing, operarounding domestions, fundraising, tic violence and branding, public financial abuse. relations and soDanny also Danny Cohn cial media for inbrings a deep list tegrated marketing agencies and of lay leadership non-profit experinational foundations. ence to the BJF position. He reDanny comes to the Birmingham launched The Ben Gurion Society community most recently from at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Omaha, Nebraska where he was Di- where he successfully engaged a rector of Marketing and Communi- large group of new young adult cations for Arbor Day Foundation. donors. He was also the Board While there, he developed two na- Chair of the Anti-Defamation tional annual programs that netted League, Plains States Region, where revenue of over $1 million. Prior to he was responsible for raising funds his move into the non-profit arena, to support ADL nationally and also Danny led integrated marketing See Danny Cohn page 2