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Fostering a closer Jewish community

VOL. 55 Friday, 9 Aug 2019 / 8 Av, 5779

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ALIZA’S PLACE

PAGE 3

A MEZUZAH FOR PAGE 13 JOSH

CONQUER YOUR CRAVINGS PAGE 19

A Musical Journey at

Leibler Yavneh College

P: 9568 3499 ungarmetals.com.au

PAN AM MACCABI GAMES PAGE 20

UNGAR METALS

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community

Hummus, Hebrew and the Holyland UIA, ZFA & ZV

Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA), Zionism Victoria (ZV) and the United Israel Appeal (UIA) are delighted to be collaborating for a special event with Israeli leading culinary journalist and TV personality Gil Hovav. Gil is visiting Australia later this month for the Sydney Jewish Writer’s Festival and his trip to Melbourne is being facilitated by ZFA in conjunction with the Embassy of Israel, supported by the Pratt Foundation.

Gil comes from one of the most respected families in the Jewish world: he is the greatgrandson of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the reviver of the Hebrew language; the grandson of Itamar Ben-Avi who began modern Hebrew journalism; and the son of Moshe and Drora Hovav, ”founding members” of Israel’s modern day public radio.

With an eminent career in journalism, TV and as an author, Gil has contributed to the changing landscape of Israeli cuisine from one of basic traditional foods to one of desirable decadent dining. Accordingly, he began his career as a restaurant critic, moved on to become a newspaper editor, and was involved in creating, producing and presenting some of Israel’s most popular TV food shows. These include “Pepper, Garlic and Olive Oil”, “Captain Cook” and “Going to the Market” which later turned into bestselling cookbooks.

He has published three best-selling novels relating to his family’s colourful history, interspersed with humour and emotion. He lectures around the world on various topics including “Wartime Cooking in Jerusalem”, “My Great (and short) Grandfather Eliezer Ben Yehuda” and “Being Gay in Israel Today.”

Gil leads cooking demonstrations and seminars focusing on Israeli cuisine, combined with his unique personal stories and we invite you to join him for “Hummus, Hebrew and Holyland” at Beth Weizmann on Thursday 29 August, 10.15am. Tickets are $25, including morning tea and can be purchased at www.uiaaustralia.org.au Gil will also be speaking at an event hosted by ZFA and ZV on Wednesday 28 August, 7.30pm at Beth Weizmann together with Gil Troy on “Zionist Ideas.”

Contact ZV or ZFA for further details.

Celebrating 600 episodes of The Shtick THE SHTICK The Shtick is celebrating a triple milestone this month – its 600th consecutive episode, completing 57 Seasons of The Shtick on C31 Melbourne, as well as uploading 1,600 videos of the show to YouTube.

Produced by Henry Greener, The Shtick is a showcase of community events, information and entertainment for the Jewish and non-Jewish community. The show aims to educate, enlighten, inspire and entertain its devoted, loyal viewers.

After 15 years of dedicated work to create and maintain a positive image of our vibrant, pro-active community on freeto-air television and online, Greener is still keen to keep going – at least until the end of this year when he hits the mystical, mitzvot-related number of 613 episodes.

Greener’s mission has been to capture Jewish life on video for posterity, to act as a historic document, with the ultimate aim of compiling, cataloguing and archiving this work for future generations to be informed, educated, fascinated – and, of course, entertained!

Besides the 300 hours of episodes of The Shtick, Greener has video footage that he has been taking for 20 years of events, happenings and Melbourne Jewish life in general.

“We have no other media outlet that goes out to the wider community, which makes The Shtick an important portal, considering all the antisemitism and antiIsrael vitriol that unfortunately pervades the mainstream press,” said Greener.

“Particularly with the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre and other antisemitic

August 2019

Another Successful Mission To Israel UIA

In June 2019, a group of 23 people embarked on what could perhaps be described as an adventure of a lifetime.

The adventure was a UIA Victoria tour to Israel. This was no ordinary tour. The itinerary was full-on and was very diverse in activities.

UIA is the pre-eminent fund-raising organisation for Israel, with money being raised for both immigration and absorption activities, helping Jews in distress make Aliyah and then settling the immigrants over a period of time.

The tour visited several UIA projects, including an Amigour facility that aims to give the elderly immigrants, most of whom are Holocaust survivors, a place in which to enjoy their elderly years. The highlight at Amigour was a concert by residents, followed by an opportunity to visit the apartment of one resident, a retired professor who is still actively writing in his 90’s.

The tour also visited a Youth Futures project, a project that offers mentoring and counselling and general guidance. The tour participants sat and talked with young, disadvantaged youth, learning about the diverse range of projects on offer, all fully supported by UIA funds raised.

The tour was more than just UIA projects.

The group toured north and south, visiting high-tech sites, watching how Israeli ingenuity is changing the face of Israel and the wider world. The group went to a diverse range of business enterprises, including technology relating to autonomous driving,

handedly taken more children’s lives than any other birth defect, and although surgery is often the critical factor to saving a life, in many developing countries around the world it isn’t always available.

The Shtick is broadcast twice weekly on C31 Melbourne, and online anytime on YouTube. Participation as a guest, member, subscriber or sponsor is always welcome.

UIA runs several tours each year to Israel. If you are considering a trip to Israel, there is no better way to gain an Israel immersion experience.

Hear more at our information night on Tuesday 10 September, 7pm. To register, call UIA on 1300 ISRAEL (1300 477 235).

The choir at the UIA supported Amigour project

An abundance of delicious snacks, herbs and spices at Machane Yehuda

Ethan Singer completes Australian Outback Marathon and raises over $15K for Save a Child’s Heart Congenital heart disease has single

attacks, which have squarely put the safety and status of our community in the spotlight, we need a positive media presence more than ever.”

“That is truly what the show is all about.”

Greener is proud that the program has been a platform for the Jewish community to showcase so many of its intelligent, talented and hard-working people, who are making a difference in the numerous fields in which they are involved: “Our huge pool of high achievers, innovative business people and artists in every field need to be nurtured and exposed to the wider public, which may only be possible via the opportunities afforded by appearances on The Shtick.”

Greener is now working to keep The Shtick going at least until its 613th episode, which is due at the end of 2019 – or even until June 2020, when a decision will be made about the closure of broadcaster C31 Melbourne.

vision assistance and more.

And in between all of the activities, the participants undertook much sightseeing, especially in and around Jerusalem, walking through the Old City and even visiting a centuries old Crusader tattoo parlour in the Old City. Our guide spent much time explaining the history of the area, including the opportunity to view Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives on our final day, just prior to the closing lunch in the company of the newly appointed World Chairman of Keren Hayesod - UIA, Mr Sam Grundwerg.

Save a Child’s Heart (SACH) is an Israeli based Humanitarian program dedicated to performing life saving cardiac surgery on children from around the world and training medical personnel from these countries to have the competence of delivering quality care within their home communities.

Sydney

local,

Ethan

Singer,

has

chosen to dedicate an unbelievable 42 km marathon run around Uluru to saving a child’s life. He embarked on the ‘Australian Outback Marathon’ just last week, raising crucial funds in the hope that his efforts will be enough to pay for life-saving surgery.

Ethan has become a local hero, successfully raising over $15,700 for Save a Child’s Heart, a much needed contribution that has given a very worthy family the hope they’ve been searching for.

The inspiration for Ethan’s journey around Uluru was found when he volunteered with Save a Child’s Heart in Israel back

in 2015, and what kept him going despite the challenging sandy terrain, was his dream of saving a child’s life.

“I was very fortunate to spend a day volunteering at its base centre in Holon as part of Israel By Choice program. Since then, the children treated at SACH have always had a very special place in my heart”.

Ethan’s tireless persistence and dedication has not only fulfilled his own dream of saving a child’s life, but has in turn given the opportunity to a very special child on the other side of the world, to dream as well.

To date, Save a Child’s Heart has saved over 5000 children from 61 different countries and continues to expand with a new hospital said to be completed in 2020 in Holon, Israel.

Hopefully, Ethan’s inspiring story encourages others to get involved in Save a Child’s Heart’s Australian community and if it has inspired you, please contact Hannah Wollan, Australian SACH CEO, at hwollan@ saveachildsheart.org.au with an expression of interest - there is always someway to help or dona today at https://donate.mycause.com.au/ charity/23622

community

August 2019

Aliza’s Place YOW MOTORCYCLE TOURING CLUB SAM BLUMENSTEIN

As a child I looked at my mother’s forearm.

I would ask her in Yiddish, “mume voos is doos off darn hunt?” ...meaning, “mummy what is that on your arm?”

Like all survivors of Auschwitz, the Nazi tattoo applied to most inmates who were destined to work before ultimately being murdered, was designed to de-humanize particularly, but not only Jews.

This tattooed number and symbol was a permanent reminder that would always remain with them. Tormenting most of them throughout their lives.

Fast forward to 2014 when I was fortunate enough to have lived long enough to finally make my only trip to Europe accompanied by good friend Sol Leski. The difference of course was that we shipped our motorcycles to England from Australia and from there rode to France, Belgium, The Netherlands, across Germany and into Poland. We found the places and even the homes where our families lived in Poland and indeed the camps like Treblinka, Majdanek and Auschwitz where the vast majority of them were murdered just for being Jewish.

With the rise of antisemitism today, to even greater levels than 1938 in Europe, most thinking Jews know only too well that anything is possible again. Fighting back by standing firm in the face of antisemitic attacks is vital to ensure perpetrators know we will no longer accept this situation.

Such an event occurred right here

in suburban Melbourne recently with a disgusting graffiti attack on a Jewish owned cafe/restaurant in the suburb of Chadstone.

A small family business run by Aliza and Alan Chuvaly was emblazoned with swastikas and references that the Holocaust was a lie.

This was only a few weeks ago.

In fact I heard about this while listening to a local Jewish radio station (J-Air) Friday afternoon program called Shabbat Shalom, hosted by Morris Kline and Lily Steiner. They had invited Aliza and Alan on the program and what I heard made me angry, very angry.

Being Jewish means…

RABBI MEIR RABI Some years back I was on a business trip with my non-Jewish associate, Terry.

We arrived at JFK airport in New York and were waiting for the driver Terry had carefully arranged beforehand.

After some lengthy waiting and failed phoning, we had pretty much concluded that possibly a major planning error or probably a major mess-up had interfered with Terry’s meticulous planning.

Either way, we were emotionally and physically charged with the differing and somewhat conflicting emotions and sensations of being tired after our long flight from Melbourne.

So, what can we do? It came as no surprise, at least in hindsight, that I should spot a fellow Jew in the large space of the airport who, after excusing myself from Terry whilst he was still fiddling with his phone, I approached and began a conversation with. It went something like this: “Shalom. My name is Meir Rabi. I have just arrived from Australia and I and my associate are in a bit of a pickle.”

Of course, Benny, as he immediately insisted I address him, interjected with: “Are you from Melbourne or Sydney?

Do you know ‘So and So’? Shalom to you indeed. Do you want a ride into Manhattan? I’d be happy to assist you.”

It wasn’t quite in that order or clarity, but I’m sure you get a feel for the conversation.

This part so far is not surprising - for us at least; but what did surprise me was Terry’s response when I advised him that I

had arranged a lift into Manhattan, to our hotel. He was incredulous.

“What do you mean? Did you make that arrangement with the fellow you were talking to? Do you know him?” And on and on he went.

Terry just could not believe that I did not know Benny, and that we had only met then and there for the first time in our lives. He could not process two strangers meeting, with nothing more than a common religious belief to link them, and yet be able to instantly form a bond and establish a rapport that so brazenly broadcast warm and trusting friendship.

Terry later told me that when he observed me chatting with Benny in the airport, we looked like two old long-lost friends dusting off, polishing up and continuing some old discussion we had left off some time back.

What seemed so unsurprising, ordinary and normal to me was, from another’s perspective, a completely baffling and indecipherable experience. How does one meet a complete stranger and yet engage them almost immediately in a friendly and personal fashion?

In a nutshell, it seems we crave friendship and sharing. Being Jewish contributes to having a shared heritage linking us to one another, though I believe we are much more than just a group who share a common religious foundation.

We are known as BeNey Yisrael - the Sons and Daughters of Jacob.

We are a family.

I had felt the same anger entering each of the Nazi death camps in Poland.

These people did not deserve to be targeted by degenerates and cowards like this who have had their miniature brains convinced that hating Jews is not only acceptable but important. Moreover, taking the physical step of defacing someone’s property or business in order to let them know they are hated because they are Jews is indefensible.

I am part of a local Melbourne Jewish Motorcycle Club called Yidden On Wheels.

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We have around 60 regular members but there are many more Jewish and non Jewish riders who ride with us occasionally and visa versa. Our biker grapevine is very effective.

After a text message to our members and to some of the other bikers in our circle we rode down in force to Aliza’s Place for breakfast last Sunday morning to let them know we cared. To let them know they are not alone.

To let them know that we stand with them and fully support their right to carry on their business free of malicious, disgusting threats by gutless bullies.

This is not the Australian way and will not be tolerated. The key here is to act and not just talk the talk. The old adage “action speaks louder than words” was never more true than last Sunday when our group arrived for a wonderful fress, in a wonderful atmosphere of support for the Chuvalys and a common purpose expressed by all our riders both Jewish and non Jewish.

The glue that joined us that day was the same emotion I felt when I rode my motorcycle around the now paved roads in Majdanek, right up to the crematoria...anger!

On Sunday at Aliza’s Place it was anger that fools like this plastered the Chuvalys place of business with hateful graffiti. We don’t need any reminders by low forms of amoeba like this that anti semitism is alive and well in many parts of the world. But right here in Melbourne we are happy to deal with it head on so the perpetrators realise they will always have insurmountable obstacles to overcome and ultimately won’t succeed with promoting their hatred.

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community

August 2019

Elyezer Shkedy and Lior Suchard to headline JNF’s Annual Campaign Dinners JNF Former Head of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) and CEO of EL Al, Major General (Res.) Elyezer Shkedy, together with world renowned Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard, will appear exclusively in Australia at JNF’s Annual Dinners in early September.

Prior to serving as CEO of El Al, Shkedy served as the fifteenth Commander of the IAF, culminating a distinguished career as a fighter pilot and in several command positions.These include heading up the Iranian Command, tasked with coordinating Israeli military operations and intelligence gathering against that country and its proxies. During his service, Shkedy played a pivotal role in a number of complicated missions, many of which remain classified and led the IAF through the second Lebanon War. In 2007, Shkedy was tasked with one of the most important operations ever assigned to the IAF, the strike on a Syrian nuclear reactor, known as Operation Outside the Box. The destruction of the Al-Kibar nuclear facility constitutes one of Israel’s most important and sensitive military-strategic achievements this century.

Lior Suchard’s performances have earned him international acclaim as the world’s leading mentalist, entertaining sold out audiences around the globe and appearing

L-R: Lior Suchard & Elyezer Shkedy regularly on top rating TV shows, such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Late Show with James Corden. His dedicated following includes many A-list celebrities, business and political leaders and a broad cross section of society. Suchard recently performed at the Eurovision Final in Tel Aviv in front of a television audience of almost 1 billion people.

Gil Troy headlines ZFA plenary 2019 THE ZIONIST FEDERATION OF AUSTRALIA HAYLEY HADASSIN The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) is delighted to announce that Professor Gil Troy will be the guest speaker at our Plenary Conference which will be held in Sydney on Sunday 25 August 2019.

Gil Troy is an eminent political historian, a renowned author, media contributor, commentator and contemporary Zionist thinker. Professor Troy is a compelling speaker who will bring nuance, challenge and inspiration to the conference audience.

Troy’s latest book: The Zionist Ideas has garnered exceptional reviews and, as Daniel J. Roth of the Jerusalem Post says: - ”(The book) takes a comprehensive approach to unpacking the challenges modern Zionism faces, while simultaneously expanding on the virtues of Jewish self-determination.”

Natan Sharansky puts it eloquently in the foreword: - “Gil Troy demonstrates that we now live in a world of Zionist ideas with many different ways to help Israel flourish as a democratic Jewish state. A revived Zionist conversation, a renewed Zionist vision, can help create a Jewish state that reaffirms meaning for those already committed to it, while addressing the needs of Jews physically separated from their ancestral homeland, as well as those who feel spiritually detached from their people. How lucky we are to have this new book, filled with old-new ideas, Theodor Herzl style, to guide this important and timely conversation.”

Professor Troy also serves as the Chairman of Education of Taglit-Birthright Israel and has a regular voice as an Op

JNF National CEO Dan Springer commented that “building upon the strong momentum of previous JNF dinners, we decided to mix it up this year, bringing together one of Israel’s most popular military heroes with one of its most internationally celebrated entertainers, for a memorable night of miracles. The 2019 campaign, in support of Kadesh Barnea

EVENT DETAILS: Event with Gil Troy and Gil Hovav in Melbourne Weds 28 August, 7:30pm Beth Weizmann Community Centre Topic: “The Zionist Ideas” - a conversation with Professor Gil Troy and Gil Hovav.

Tickets are free but please book: https://zv.iwannaticket.com.au/

For more information or to book, please contact JNF Victoria on 1300 563 563 or at www.jnf.org.au

Lily Is High on Life

LILY STEINER

Ed contributor to numerous publications worldwide. His articles range from views on Taglit-Birthright, Zionism to Politics, and particularly Israeli politics.

Troy promises to challenge and inspire with his passion and intellect and will be speaking at a series of events hosted by the ZFA in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

The ZFA Plenary Conference will bring together over 120 leaders of the Jewish community from across Australia for a day of discussion, deliberation and interaction, setting the Zionist agenda for Australia for the coming year. Professor Gil Troy’s presentations will no doubt promote open and vigorous discussion on the future of our relationship, as the Australian Jewish community, with Israel, Jewish identity and Zionism.

on the Egyptian border, will continue JNF’s work to grow pioneering communities in the Negev, in realisation of Ben Gurion’s vision.”

Suchard and Shkedy will headline JNF’s Annual Campaign Dinner in Melbourne on September 5.

What do you still want to do with your life ? I don’t care if you’re 8 or 80, I believe you are happier and healthier and so much more fun to be around while you are still pursuing your dreams or even little niggles of things you would still like to do in life. I’m excited to be one of J-Air’s newest programs that inspire and include.

Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn a new language, or even just make more time for friends and family. Have you been in a job that is not really satisfying, for way too long ?

Every week I interview ordinary people, who are actually extraordinary, as I ask about what motivates them to do the things they do, and how they feel about the things that have happened to them in their lives.

I believe that just by changing your attitude, you can change your life. Start to believe you can do things, and you will see things start to change around you.

In 1990, I went to Los Angeles for a 6 month vacation. The last thing I said before I left was ‘I am not going to get involved in any of that New Age rubbish everyone in L.A. seems to be on about. Well, here I am back after 26 years, and very happily ‘full of it’.

I started going to different synagogues on a Saturday morning, and found the rabbi’s sermons fascinating. They were making the Torah portion for the week, totally relevant to today, and bringing in Kabbalah. When I started reading the ‘New Age’ gurus, they were actually using the

same concepts as the Rabbis, so yes, I got pulled in like Alice into the rabbit hole.

Being back in Melbourne, after 26 years in L.A. is different. Not better, not worse, just different.

People are the same all over the world. It just takes a little love, respect and kindness to make us feel better, and I wanted to spread a little more of that, so the idea of Lily Is High on Life started to take shape.

I really am very positive and happy most of the time, and wanted to share that. With a little insight, people do start to think. The real secret though is it really is much more about how we feel, than what we think.

Spend more time with kids and animals, they really put a smile on your face.

How to tune into Lily Is High On Life: if you are in Melbourne, 7-8pm every Wednesday night on 87.8FM; or stream it globally or listen as a podcast at www.j-air.com.au.

Lily Steiner, and guest Simon Starr

community

August 2019

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Fertility preservation at Shaare Zedek for a healthy future AUSTRALIAN FRIENDS OF SHAARE ZEDEK INC MIRIAM PACANOWSKI At the heart of every Jewish Simcha is the desire for a healthy future. And after experiencing challenges, the joy of life’s milestones is especially meaningful.

Australian born and trained Dr Jordana Hyman works as a senior consultant in IVF at Shaare Zedek Medical Centre Jerusalem.

Her work includes helping young women with cancer preserve their fertility and look forward to a healthy future.

Jordana says, “I am an Australian born and trained doctor, living in Jerusalem and working in Shaare Zedek Hospital. I made aliyah with my husband and daughter after finishing university and internship.

“We settled in Jerusalem and I started residency in obstetrics and gynaecology in Shaare Zedek.

“I now work at Shaare Zedek as a senior consultant in IVF. This work involves a mix of procedures (egg collections and embryo transfers) clinics, treatment planning, and academic research.

“The IVF unit in Shaare Zedek is amazing, the staff are very dedicated and passionate about their work and it’s a great work environment.

“One of my passions is working with oncology patients to provide fertility preservation treatment, which involves freezing eggs or embryos for future use

before a woman or girl begins chemotherapy, which may render her infertile in the future.

“Shaare Zedek’s Oncology Department, especially young women with breast cancer, has rapidly expanded in recent times. As a result, we have a lot more women being referred for fertility preservation.

“I was always interested in obstetrics and gynaecology, but the focus on IVF came later. About halfway through my residency I had a rotation in IVF and from very early on in the rotation I felt it clicked and I had “come home”. I am blessed to be a mother to my amazing children, and I think it motivates me to want to help every woman and couple struggling with challenges of fertility.

Sometimes, Jordana meets women who have babies after enduring chemotherapy.

When this happens, she says “It’s a really amazing experience to see the fruits of our work, especially after everything these women have been through.

“It is very, very rewarding. I feel very blessed to have such meaningful and rewarding work and to be able to contribute to the future of our people.”

Australian born and trained Dr Jordana Hyman is helping women with cancer preserve their fertility at Shaare Zedek so that they can look forward to a healthy future.

Find out more at: www.shaarezedek.org.au

Merkos’ Winter Warm Ups a huge success MERKOS WOMEN July’s Merkos Women’s Winter Warm Ups Learning Program was an enjoyable and enriching opportunity for all the girls who took part.

The program explored Chasidus, Halacha and stories throughout Jewish history, plus a component of selfdevelopment, taught in practical and relevant ways. The program was led by a variety of teachers with vast knowledge, whom the girls felt comfortable to ask many questions to and engage in discussion with.

The overall learning was closely linked to the week’s parasha about the para aduma, the red heifer. This was an interesting topic where the girls learnt about different types of mitzvot, the strength of merit and the power of teshuva in changing one’s life and creating a new journey for a person.

There was also a visit to a Mikvah for some out of the classroom learning.

It was overall an uplifting experience which provided new insights, inspirational talks and farbrengens and expanded the girls’ knowledge in a welcoming, inclusive and comfortable environment.

The girls were surprised by the luxury of the accommodation. Even though the living is in a ‘dorm style’, the rooms are large and easily fit three beds, there are multiple bathrooms in the house and loads of space to chill out. During free time, the house had many books to read, or the girls could simply chat with friends, or even go out shopping!

The girls also appreciated the delicious

daily, freshly-cooked meals and enjoyed the challah bake on Friday in honour of Shabbos. The Shabbos experience was beautiful and meaningful, ending with a heartfelt seder nigunim and stories.

The program concluded with a concert by the very talented singer and guitarist Zahava Pinson.

“I ended up at Merkos because I was open to trying new experiences and learning,” said Amanda Pollak, a Winter Warmers participant.

“The week in Melbourne, out of Sydney and out of my comfort zone, gave me the ability to reflect on the person I am and where I want to be in the future.”

“I feel that the experience has given me a new appreciation for my Judaism, a better understanding of Jewish history, the power of mitzvot and prayer. I found every class enjoyable and I have met some lovely people along the way.”

“There is no pressure to become more religious and there is no right or wrong question. On the program I listened to some inspirational stories from people in the community, did some singing and had a wonderful Shabbat.”

“If you are looking for an opportunity to learn, grow, laugh and meet some new people, then Merkos is definitely worth a try!”

Merkos Women’s Winter Warm Ups Learning Program will run again throughout August and September. For more information phone 0407 018 613, or visit www.merkoswomen.com.au

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community

August 2019

Warming ourselves without warming the globe JEWISH ECOLOGICAL COALITION (JECO) SHARON FLITMAN Winter is here… and not just to Game of Thrones. And heat-seeking has returned to the forefront of many minds.

Unfortunately, many means of self-warming are also means of changing the climate.

While fossil fuels remain our primary power source, turning on heaters whenever it gets a bit nippy is simply not sustainable.

Remember that we are here to take care of G-d’s creation, not to exploit and destroy it. As Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah puts it, ‘When G-d created Adam … G-d told him: …

Do not corrupt the world, for if you do, there will be no-one to set it right after you’.

Fortunately, producing lots of emissions through heating is not the only way to keep warm. Here are a few hot tips to help save the world and save money.

Hot tip #1: Layer up Do you turn up the heating when you could just put on an extra jumper? This makes neither sense nor cents. Power costs increase 5-10% for every 1◦C increase on the thermostat.

Layer up with a woolly jumper, warm pants, snug slippers and even a beanie to stay cozy while cutting your power costs.

Hot tip #2: Keep it contained If winter woollies are not enough, ask yourself how much of your house actually needs to be heated. Instead of roasting every room, can you switch it on only in the room/s you’re using? Even a house-wide ducted system has vents that can be closed off. Closing internal doors can keep the heat from leaching out into vacant areas.

Hot tip #3: Don’t dissipate… insulate!

Without adequate insulation, heaps of your heat seeps out through windows, ceilings and walls. To help keep the heat inside, consider: • Foam strips to seal gaps around doors and windows • Door snakes to prevent chill at entrance ways • Drawing curtains at night • Pelmets over windows • Checking your insulation • Installing double-glazed windows.

Hot tip #4: Pump it up Reverse cycle air conditioners (aka heat pumps) are a smart alternative to coal, gas and oil heating. Rather than independently generating heat, they pump it in from outside

– even on really chilly days. This uses only about a third of the energy required by the gas/coal/oil counterparts.

Heat pumps can also provide hot water, also using only about a third of the energy of a standard electric hot water heater.

Hot tip #5: Catch some rays Australia has more sunshine per square metre than any other continent1, and rooftop panel prices have dropped by 58% over the past 6 years despite reduced government rebates2.

Solar panels pay for themselves within 6 years or less in Melbourne and even faster in sunny Sydney. With the average cost for a 5kW system being $5,100 - what are you waiting for?

This winter, you’ve got the power to really

ramp up the Tikkun Olam. And really, it’s a win-win - saving the planet and your finances in one fell swoop.

And best of all? You’ll feel good… warm both inside and out!

References 1Geoscience Australia and ABARE (2010). “Australian Energy Resource Assessment” Canberra: Geoscience Australia 2 https://www.choice.com.au/homeimprovement/energy-saving/solar/ articles/solar-panel-payback-times For more sustainability tips see www.jeco.org.au

Communal connection in an age of disruption ELI VAYN We live in an age of disruption – when people are connected to technology around the clock, yet also experience intense disconnection from other human beings.

In many areas, our life options are incomparable to those of previous generations.

Our decision-making processes too have altered significantly.

These factors have had a significant effect on our communal institutions, and our community’s schools are at the coalface of these changes.

When selecting schools for their children, millennials are often influenced by a range of factors that have serious implications for educational institutions.

Parents are approaching school selection for their children in similar ways to other consumer decisions: in many cases, there is less brand loyalty, there are numerous options, and parents are scrutinising the value they are receiving for their school fee dollar.

At the same time, the need for communal connection is stronger than ever before.

How then should our schools respond in order to remain viable, thriving institutions?

At a recent community event, I presented my case for an appropriate solution.

I believe that in order to attract new students, retain existing students, and for past students to succeed, schools need to adopt a dual approach.

First, there needs to be an overarching

sense of values and community within a school.

Secondly, in serving a millennial parent body, schools must adapt their strategic approach to suit the new world in which they operate. In an age of data driven analytics, schools need to analyse enrolments in terms of identifying patterns and opportunities in order to be more effective in attracting new students.

In marketing, we look at conversion rate optimisation and test new approaches.

Similarly, in attracting and retaining students,

we need to test various approaches in order to increase enrolments.

We need to apply analytical techniques such as lead conversion rates to understand how many of our schools’ past alumni are sending their own children to their school.

And it is here that I believe there is most opportunity for change in our community.

I believe that one of the most powerful strategies a school can adopt in order to secure its future is to ensure that emerging graduates remain connected to their school communities.

This will have the dual benefit of ensuring the success of both the school and their alumni.

Just as universities invest in communicating with their alumni, our schools also need to retain the connection with their graduates, as those graduates advance through their careers and lives.

Each school has thousands of past students who have diverse experiences and skills. Past students should continue to connect as they progress through the stages of their lives. We need to utilise technology to strengthen the human connection of our community.

Examples of this are LinkedIn and Facebook groups for school alumni which can draw past students together and provide powerful networking opportunities.

Alumni from our schools share many experiences and values. If we draw on these connections and continue to support our students long after they leave the school, everyone benefits.

In this age of disruption and change, we need to draw on the best of data driven analytical techniques, but we also need to intelligently work on promoting human connections.

This will ensure a thriving, committed and successful future for our community.

Eli Vayn was 22 when he raised six figures for a personal start-up called CONNECT US IN, connecting students to small businesses. His consulting company, Vayn Enterprises, provides business strategy and student coaching services

community

August 2019

AJA 2020 Vision Israel Tour AUSTRALIAN JEWISH JONO VANDOR

7

ASSOCIATION

The Australian Jewish Association and Israel News Talk Radio have partnered to create a special tour, a refreshing and genuine Israel experience that enables you to side-step the fake news and view Israel with perfect clarity on the 2020 Vision Israel Tour.

The 2020 Vision Israel Tour will highlight ancient and modern military history, current security strategies, as well as common sense politics and policies within the miracle that is the Jewish homeland. The tour will connect you with local residents, security and military experts, rabbis, commentators and political figures.

The tour includes staying in the only Jewish hotel in the Shomron, visiting Ramat Trump [Trump Heights] in the Golan, walking the recently opened Pilgrim Road to the Temple Mount and receiving exclusive briefings from Israel security experts and other commentators during dinners and on the tour bus.

We will also experience some of the best in Israeli cuisine and wines and will visit an Israeli distillery in the Golan. Breakfasts, dinners, accommodation, entry fees are included in the tour price.

On the tour you will travel with some special people: Dr David Adler is the president of the Australian Jewish Association. He has a medical degree from the University of NSW, where he also received the medical faculty prize for general proficiency and leadership.

Ross Nichols, Jono Vandor, Rabbi Tovia Singer He is the former Deputy Medical Secretary of the Australian Medical Association, a role which provided him with an excellent background in policy and advocacy.

David is also an active member of Sydney’s orthodox Jewish community.

He writes frequently on political issues, is a highly sought out speaker at Jewish community events, and a regular guest on radio and television programs. He is known to be outspoken on issues affecting the Jewish community and is a staunch advocate for Israel.

Tamar Yonah is the owner/manager of Israel News Talk Radio. She is known for her no-nonsense delivery style which brings passion, humour, and fire to the mic. She has been a vocal beacon of light since beginning a prolific career in radio. The “Tamar Yonah Show” continues to be Israel’s most popular English language radio talk show.

Tamar served in both the Israeli Army and the Air Force, and then became an advocate and activist for the Jewish State.

In addition to the tour\’s primary hosts, Jono Vandor, a proud member of the AJA and INTR crew, co-hosts the INTR

radio show “Israel On My Mind” with Ross Nichols, a vice-president of United Israel.

They, together with the author of Let\’s Get Biblical, Rabbi Tovia Singer of Outreach Judaism, have conducted multiple Israel tours together.

The 2020 Vision Israel Tour, 17-25 March next year, will be an experience you will never forget. The tour web page provides more information, itinerary, costs and a link to book now for the Early-Bird Discount, but hurry, this is a small group tour and tickets are limited!

Jewish Women - Hear us Roar NCJWA

“Do girls really do better in same sex schools?”

“Do women have to act more like men to succeed in the workplace?”

“Sex role stereotyping, isn’t it time it ends?”

At the upcoming NCJWA conference, “Women Unlimited”, you will hear from experts in their field and have these and other questions answered.

The National Council of Jewish Women of Australia’s (NCJWA) four-yearly national conference will be held in Melbourne this September, centrally located in the Caulfield Park Pavilion.

The 2-day conference, entitled Women Unlimited, focuses on women’s break out achievements as innovative leaders, in the workplace and the community. It will also explore the barriers and solution to issues such as gender equality, sex role stereotyping, as well as provide essential networking and mentor opportunities.

The conference really promises something for all – starting off proceedings with the Keynote speech on gender stereotyping by Melinda Tankard-Reist – author, media commentator and advocate.

Melinda is best known for her work addressing sexualisation, objectification, harms of pornography and violence against women.

A special panel discussion will be held on the Sunday of the conference, allowing teachers, girls and mothers all to attend, to

discuss the heated topic of whether girls really can do anything.

For the professionals there is a session on the challenges facing women in business – with a stellar line up of panellists who represent major corporations including Amazon and Australia Post.

Other fascinating topics will be covered, including the Status of Women in Israel, and

changes to Women in Leadership in both the broader and the Jewish community.

Amongst all the serious discussion there is also time for some lighter entertainment, including a performance by the Yavneh Girls Acapella Choir and some other surprise fun activities!

Sunday night will be a grand dinner at Chadstone Shopping Centre kindly hosted

by Gandel Philanthropy in the stunning

Gandel Gallery. Guest tickets are available for purchase. To close the conference on Monday night there will be a tour of the Justin Art House Museum (JAHM) where Leah Justin will speak and light refreshments will be served.

For a full list of the speakers and the program for the conference, please see the website at ncjwa.org.au/ conference2019

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community

August 2019

Remembering the Jewish ‘white Zulu’ TALI FEINBERG Clegg died on recently at the age of 66, after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Ziona Levin, who grew up across the road from Clegg’s aunt, recalls him being “different from most of us. His dad wasn’t around. He was at his aunt [where he was most exposed to Judaism] a lot. He was part of my childhood along with his sister.”

“He was proud of his Jewishness, and he wrestled with it at times,” says his close friend of 35 years, Anthony Chait. “Once, when performing at Sydenham Shul in 2008, he quipped that ‘in the first instance I’m a Zulu, then a Jew’, but he never forgot his Jewish identity, and never hid it or suppressed it.” After this performance, singer Choni G and Rabbi Yossy Goldman went to Clegg’s home to affix a mezuzah with an African casing that they gave him as a gift.

Clegg came from a humble background.

Born in Britain in 1953, his Jewish mother took him to Israel, Zimbabwe, and Zambia before they settled in South Africa. He grew up in Yeoville with his family struggling financially at times, says Chait. Decades later, when Chait accompanied Clegg on tour in Australia, he was approached by a man who asked to meet the musician.

It turned out that when Clegg matriculated from Yeoville Boys High, his family couldn’t afford the blazer needed for the ceremony, so this same man, now Dr Andy Garfagnini, had lent him his blazer. “Johnny was so humbled, and remembered immediately,” recalls Chait.

He says Clegg’s mother, Muriel, was a jazz singer, and the musical gene was definitely passed down to her son Johnny, and later to his son Jesse. “As a teenager, Clegg accompanied his crime reporter stepfather to the townships, and encountered the city’s Zulu migrant workers’ music and dance,” says Chait.

“He was really an activist with a guitar – he could quite easily have gone into politics, but music was his preferred language, and his tool for stirring the social conscience,” says writer Gus Silber, who interviewed Clegg over the years.

“Discovering aspects of traditional Zulu migrant-labour culture enabled me to create an African identity for myself,” said Clegg in an interview with Howard Feldman on ChaiFM in 2017. “It was a very intense journey for me. I discovered Zulu street guitar music when I was 14. I realised it was a unique genre of guitar music, like the blues in America. I thought, ‘This guitar style exists only here, and I want to learn to play it.’ It gave me an amazing window into another life.”

In the ChaiFM interview, Clegg said his mother would say, “the Zulus have stolen you away from me” as he spent all his time with them, even being arrested in a hostel when he was 15. But Clegg was smitten, searching for

an African identity, and his place in this world.

Under the tutelage of Charlie Mzila, a cleaner who lived around the corner from him, Clegg mastered the Zulu language, and the maskandi guitar and isishameni dance styles of the migrants. He formed the band Juluka with Sipho Mchunu. After their song Scatterlings of Africa became a smash hit, Clegg had to decide if he was going to follow the path of an anthropologist or a musician. “It was a fork in the road,” Clegg said in the ChaiFM interview.

Jewish youngsters at King David Linksfield were introduced to Clegg’s musical prowess when a then Grade 11 pupil, Alain Soriano, organised for Juluka to perform at a King David School Battle of the Bands. “It was 1981, and I wondered how it would be received,” says Soriano, who had seen Clegg perform at venues around Johannesburg. “Juluka had just become a full band, and people had no idea what they were about to hear. It completely threw them for a loop, and the crowd went so wild, I had to beg Johnny to do an encore.”

Another King David pupil at the time, Gary Rutstein, remembers this performance, saying “raw energy rippled, creating a sound wave and cultural sonic boom which awoke us all and became part of our lives through thick and thin”.

Writer, researcher and media commentator Arthur Goldstuck was the South African

correspondent for Billboard music magazine during the 1990s. “Every encounter with Johnny was memorable. It started at Wits [the University of the Witwatersrand] when this offbeat anthropology lecturer was invited to give a guest lecture to our psychology class.

Even in that dry academic setting, he was captivating, and his enthusiasm infectious,” he recalls.

“As a music journalist in the 1980s and 1990s, it was a privilege to get to know him,” says Goldstuck. “On one occasion, I went with him to the home of another pioneering musician, Paul Clingman, where Sipho Mchunu was living ‘illegally’, pretending to be a gardener because he was barred by the Group Areas Act from living in a white suburb. The interview was inspiring and sobering, highlighting their struggle not only to make music together, but simply to be friends.

“Possibly the strangest memory of that day was giving Johnny a ride from his home to Sipho’s in my first car, a beaten-up old Beetle, because he didn’t have a car at the time. For me, the memory symbolises the extent to which his rise to fame was never easy, and the extent to which his humility was always a defining character,” recalls Goldstuck. “This was when the Universal Men album had already shaken up South African music, and Johnny and Sipho were iconic figures, but had not yet become

NEW : ONLINE SUBMISSION FOR CONTENT 4 Log onto - thejewishreport.com.au 4 click on Submit Article in the top right hand corner 4 follow the prompts and submit the article You will receive an email confirming submission Any problems or queries please contact Bindi Bettman on prepress@melbournejewishreport.com

international stars.”

Clegg’s record-breaking and award-winning musical career followed, including his crosscultural band Savuka selling more than a million copies of its debut album.

“It’s a cliché, yet true to say that his music transcended human and musical barriers. But it wasn’t merely that he crossed over genres and political obstacles. He infused his crosscultural vision with a powerful sense of pride, hope, and love,” says Goldstuck. “It was no accident that so many people adored Johnny and Sipho: they spoke to the deepest of our most positive emotions.”

Clegg was declared a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 1991, an order of merit that recognises significant contribution to the arts. He also received an Order of the British Empire, and Chait remembers that he was not entirely comfortable with all the pomp and ceremony.

In 1993, Savuka’s last trademark album was nominated for a Grammy Award for best world music album. Clegg’s alma mater, Wits University, conferred on him its highest honour, the degree of Doctor of Music honoris causa, saying that, “Johnny Clegg’s life and productions give meaning to the multiculturalism and social integration South Africans yearn for.”

In 2007, he won the Art Award at the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards, and a few years later, he returned to present awards.

Two weeks ago, the national executive council of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) unanimously chose Johnny Clegg to be the recipient of the Rabbi Cyril and Ann Harris Human Rights Award at its upcoming national conference in November. Sadly, that award will now be given posthumously. SAJBD National Chairperson Shaun Zagnoev says that the board’s decision was motivated by “the bold, innovative, and in many ways unique role” that Clegg played in furthering the cause of democracy and human rights in South Africa.

Chait says that his friend always remained hopeful that he would beat pancreatic cancer, buoyed by the positivity of his medical team.

He did rounds of chemotherapy until the end, but in many ways accepted that his “crossing” was imminent. Chait says Clegg decided his final resting place would be Westpark Jewish Cemetery where his mother is buried.

Speaking to the SA Jewish Report in December 2018, Clegg reminded readers that they could always find him through his music.

“All artistic and cultural expression elevates our sense of self, and puts us into a different quality space. This can be momentary, or last a lifetime, like a life-changing book or a song that captures a moment in the listener’s life, and presents it back in a new way, forever linking them to that time or moment.”

First published in South African Jewish Report on 18 July 2019

August 2019

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international

200 immigrants celebrate their arrival in Israel ELIANA RUDEE (July 18, 2019 / JNS) Israeli leaders welcomed more than 200 new immigrants (olim) from France, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Russia on Wednesday at a festive reception at BenGurion International Airport.

Kicking off this year’s “season of aliyah,” in which thousands of new immigrants from all over the world arrive in Israel during the summer months, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Israel Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, and the Keren Hayesod-United Israel Appeal held the welcoming ceremony for the olim.

Among those who departed Flight 100 from France were 80 Parisians who planned on settling in Jerusalem, Netanya and Tel Aviv. The youngest on the plane was just 2 months old, with the oldest, 79. Of the new immigrants from France, 35 children will join the Israeli education system this fall.

French brothers Gabriel, 16, and Netanel Zeitoun, 17, told JNS that they are making aliyah “for their future.”

Netanel, who will be participating in a Masa program in Jerusalem before joining the Israeli Defense Forces, said “we both think that if making aliyah is going to give us a lot, we have to give back to the society that accepts us and gives us so much.”

Passengers on the plane also included Brazilian and Argentinian singles participating in the Jewish Agency’s aliyah program for young adults. From the airport, the group departed to Jerusalem, where they will participate in intensive Hebrewlanguage study classes (ulpan) for several months, and then begin employment and higher education programs in Israel.

Ary Korenvais, a 31-year-old computer engineer from Buenos Aires, said he is excited to “start a very nice, new life” in Israel. He will be enrolling in Ulpan Etzion in Jerusalem to learn Hebrew.

“I feel at home in Israel,” he told JNS. “I have family from both sides there. People are nice, and it’s a better place for high-tech and data science.”

Carolina Hidalgo, 28, from San Juan, Argentina, said she has “always felt more Israeli than Argentinian,” especially after living in Israel for four months with her family when she was 12.

“I fell in love [with the country],” she told JNS. Hidalgo will be enrolling in Ulpan Etzion in Jerusalem and hopes to pursue a career in acting.

“I’m looking forward to expanding my mind, learning and being more spiritual,” she said.

‘There is something special about Israel’ At the same time, another 80 new immigrants came in from Russia, mostly from Moscow, including a year-old baby and 25 schoolchildren.

Most of these families plan to settle in Tel Aviv, Ashdod and Rishon Letzion.

Olga Pasechnik, who will move to Rishon Letzion from Moscow with her husband and three children, decided to immigrate to Israel after “learning about Jewish culture and discovering in ourselves a strong Jewish identity.”

“I’ve always wanted to get to Eretz Yisrael [‘Land of Israel’]; it was my dream,” she told JNS. “Russia is Russia, but there is something special about Israel.”

Concurrently, seven new immigrants arrived from Venezuela as part of a continuation of the mass exodus of Jews fleeing a country that has seen violence, a failing economy, lack of food and protests against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

According to CAMERA’s Daniel Kosky, “AntiSemitic language was often used by the former President [Hugo Chávez] to deflect from criticism of the country’s financial situation. This antiSemitism convinced many Jews to flee the country but the recent crisis has continued the trend.”

Kosky noted that “the current Jewish population of the South American country is now just 9,000, compared to 25,000 in 1999,” with the majority of Jews leaving for Israel or the United States, particularly Florida.

Deborah Silvera made aliyah with her 14-yearold daughter from Caracas, citing economic and security conditions that “wouldn’t allow us to stay.”

While she maintained that the Jewish community in Venezuela’s capital city is “great,” the doctors are “the best,” and “there are good people there,” she told JNS that “it’s hard to be there—food is expensive, you can’t grow a business there, it’s dirty, and it’s dangerous to be out on the street past 7 p.m. or even while you’re on the phone.”

“The president doesn’t like Jews; he is proPalestinian,” added Silvera.

Despite Venezuela’s dangerous streets and anti-Semitic leaders, said Silvera, “I don’t come to Israel because I have no other choice; I’m choosing to go,” she said. “I love Israel, and finally, it’s our country.”

Welcoming them at Ben-Gurion International Airport on July 17, 2019. Credit: Eliana Rudee.

Carolina Hidalgo, 28, from San Juan, Argentina, said she has “always felt more Israeli than Argentinian,” especially after living in Israel for four months with her family when she was 12.

“I fell in love [with the country],” she told JNS. Hidalgo will be enrolling in Ulpan Etzion in Jerusalem and hopes to pursue a career in acting.

“I’m looking forward to expanding my mind, learning and being more spiritual,” she said.

‘There is something special about Israel’ At the same time, another 80 new immigrants came in from Russia, mostly from Moscow, including a year-old baby and 25 schoolchildren.

Most of these families plan to settle in Tel Aviv, Ashdod and Rishon Letzion.

Arrivals of all ages are starting new lives in Israel. Photo by Eliana Rudee.

According to CAMERA’s Daniel Kosky, “AntiSemitic language was often used by the former President [Hugo Chávez] to deflect from criticism of the country’s financial situation. This antiSemitism convinced many Jews to flee the country but the recent crisis has continued the trend.”

Kosky noted that “the current Jewish population of the South American country is now just 9,000, compared to 25,000 in 1999,” with the majority of Jews leaving for Israel or the United States, particularly Florida.

Deborah Silvera made aliyah with her 14-yearold daughter from Caracas, citing economic and security conditions that “wouldn’t allow us to stay.”

While she maintained that the Jewish community in Venezuela’s capital city is “great,” the doctors are “the best,” and “there are good people there,” she told JNS that “it’s hard to be there—food is expensive, you can’t grow a business there, it’s dirty, and it’s dangerous to be out on the street

past 7 p.m. or even while you’re on the phone.”

“The president doesn’t like Jews; he is proPalestinian,” added Silvera.

Despite Venezuela’s dangerous streets and anti-Semitic leaders, said Silvera, “I don’t come to Israel because I have no other choice; I’m choosing to go,” she said. “I love Israel, and finally, it’s our country.”

Silvera and her daughter will move to a Jewish Agency-subsidized absorption center in Ashdod, where it is her hope that “my daughter will flourish in Israel, where she can be like a child— developing, learning and eventually get married.”

Joining the ceremony to greet the new arrivals were an additional 200 people—young adults, ages 18 to 35, who recently arrived from 27 countries, and who are participating in special programs for new immigrants sponsored by the Jewish Agency, and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration.

Also welcoming those departing El Al airlines were chairman of the Jewish Agency Isaac Herzog; Minister of Aliyah and Integration Maj. Gen. (Res.) Yoav Gallant; Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef; and Sam Grundwerg, world chairman of Keren Hayesod-UIA. As the primary organization fostering aliyah and absorption, the Jewish Agency has brought more than 3 million immigrants to the Jewish state.

Herzog expressed his joy and excitement of the new immigrants who “will soon begin a new chapter of life in their historic home.”

In the coming months, he noted, “the Jewish Agency plans on welcoming thousands of additional olim to our absorption centers throughout Israel and will assist their integration into the mosaic of Israeli life.”

Jewish Identity excluded from Identity Politics MATTHEW M. HAUSMAN, J.D. A recent survey by the Jewish Electorate Institute indicates that 71% of registered Jewish voters disapprove of the way President Trump handles anti-Semitism and 73% feel less secure since he took office. Clearly, many associate him with bigotry in spite of his staunch support for Israel, warm relationships with Jewish colleagues and family members, and policy of challenging Jew-hatred at the United Nations and around the globe.

Though Jewish Democrats can disagree with Mr. Trump’s politics, personality, or confrontational style, he has no known connections to anti-Semitic or anti-Israel organizations, churches or ideologues – unlike

Barack Obama, whom they pronounced “good for the Jews” despite a questionable background that would have disqualified any Republican in their eyes. Curiously, they expressed little concern when thousands of anti-Semitic acts and hate-crimes were committed, and violent assaults against Jews nearly doubled, during Mr. Obama’s presidency.

The fears voiced by Jewish Democrats regarding Mr. Trump’s supposed bigotry seem disingenuous considering their party’s tolerance for anti-Israel advocacy and progressive anti-Semites. And in advocating a partisan agenda that impugns Israel’s national integrity and rationalizes ancient stereotypes as political expression, they betray heritage, tradition, and common sense. Many define themselves through identity politics, but the identity they assert is not really Jewish. Instead, they espouse a grievance-based platform that glorifies radicalism, devalues Jewish history, and fosters hatred against their people and

ancient homeland.

Democratic Party membership today includes BDS activists and classical conspiracy theorists who are not shy about pushing their anti-Israel agenda, and yet liberal Jews continue sitting in the same tent. They were ambivalent during the 2016 election cycle as party radicals burned Israeli flags, and they remain so today when Congressional Democrats spew hateful or ignorant rhetoric.

True, some expressed outrage when Ilhan Omar asserted classical stereotypes against Jewish organizations, Rashida Tlaib questioned the allegiance of pro-Israel legislators and claimed Palestinians gave “safe haven” to Holocaust survivors, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asserted the Israeli “occupation” myth and praised anti-Semitic British politician Jeremy Corbyn. But their umbrage was shortlived, and there was no outcry when Democrats stripped a House resolution of language solely and specifically condemning anti-Semitism.

Party leaders have only compounded the problem by labeling as racist, Islamophobic, or misogynistic those who criticize House Reps.

Tlaib, Omar, Ocasio-Cortez and others for such egregious comments.

Though liberals accuse Trump of prejudice, today’s epidemic of Jew-hatred began under Obama, who pandered to antiSemitic progressives and validated the BDS movement. In contrast, claims of pervasive conservative bias have been exposed by surveys indicating far less Jew-hatred – and far greater support for Israel – among Republicans than Democrats. Consistent with these findings, Congressional voting patterns reflect solid support for Israel from House and Senate Republicans. Conversely, there is no dispute that anti-Israel movements, programs, and events (e.g., BDS, Israel Apartheid Week) are endorsed by Democrats, progressives, and CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

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August 2019

international

Jewish Identity excluded from Identity Politics

has far different priorities. Likewise, though the Reform and Conservative movements elevate “social justice” over traditional observance, Islamists, but spurned by conservatives and most Israelis question their relevance. And Republicans. whereas Americans believe that excoriating Those who accuse Trump of anti-Semitism Trump and adulating Obama are Jewish are hard-pressed to corroborate their claims. mandates, Israelis tend to disagree. In fact, His relationships with Jews and Jewish many appreciate Trump’s admiration for Israel institutions over the years have been positive, and stance against global anti-Semitism, but and his treatment of Israel exemplary. In wonder how US Jews could have supported contrast, Barack Obama had a troubling record Obama despite his relationships with Israel that Jewish Democrats simply ignored. He haters, apologetic views on radical Islam, and sat in the pews of Jeremiah Wright’s church apparent disdain for the Jewish State. More for twenty-two years, reportedly hobnobbed fundamentally, many are baffled that American with members of Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam Jews would trade ancestral loyalty for political in Chicago, counted among friends and causes that are extraneous to or inconsistent colleagues people like Rashid Khalidi and with traditional Judaism (e.g., transgender Edward Said, and treated Israel and Prime activism, Palestinian advocacy).

Minister Netanyahu disrespectfully throughout As observed by the late Prof. Daniel J. his presidency.

Elazar more than twenty years ago, most The tendency of liberals to ignore Democratic non-Orthodox Israelis, whether identifying as anti-Semitism suggests they are not serious traditional or secular, incorporate observance about confronting it. If they were, they would into their lives to varying degrees. And while make a priority of denouncing bigotry on the left some might not oppose official recognition as conservatives have done on the right since of liberal Judaism, “except for a minuscule the 1990s. Their obsession with phantom handful, they do not seek it for themselves nor Republican prejudice stems from their flawed do they respond to it positively,” he wrote then, understanding of Jewishness as progressive noting further: “It is not just that the religiously metaphor and endorsement of ideologies that Orthodox Jews in Israel have not found contravene traditional Judaism as authentically satisfaction in those two diaspora-originated Jewish. The resulting absurdity is exemplified movements [i.e., Reform and Conservative], by their reluctance to condemn Democratic but, perhaps especially, neither have the bigots the way ish Jews have denounced religiously moderate traditional or secularist Corbyn and the Labour Party. They prefer to Jews.” (“Why Reform and Conservative blame Republicans for anti-Semitism – much Judaism have Not Worked in Israel,” www. of which comes from the left – over putting their jcpa.org/dje/articles2/whyreform.htm.) Though own house in order. not all Israelis are stringently observant, most Jewish progressives cannot tolerate Trump’s seem to accept the validity of Jewish tradition. relationship with Netanyahu, whom they These observations are no less relevant despise, but this disdain reflects the projection of today, as American liberals and their their political values onto an Israeli society that movements have distinguished themselves by FROM PAGE 10

(a) seeking to impose sociopolitical standards on Israel that most Israelis find irrelevant and (b) promoting causes that many believe threaten their country’s sovereignty and Jewish character. Nothing illustrates this more than the liberal American propensity for dialoguing with Islamist front groups posing as moderate, supporting organizations like J Street, and legitimizing Palestinian national claims that negate Jewish history – all while demanding that Israel kneel before the altar of progressivism.

Not surprisingly, many Israelis reject liberal Judaism for its ethical relativism as much as its lenient ritual orientation.

Unlike their Israeli counterparts, US Jews seem to suffer from identity erosion influenced by declining observance, substandard Jewish education, and the sacralization of liberal politics. Though many claim their Jewishness requires them to reject Trump, they conflate identity with secular ideals that defy Jewish tradition. Liberals can dislike Trump for any reason or none at all, but they cannot claim their disdain is Judaically-mandated. Nor can they ignore how Trump has reversed his predecessor’s course of demeaning Israel, enabling Islamic radicalism, empowering Iran, and whitewashing leftist anti-Semitism.

Jewish history is replete with examples of those who rejected heritage and community.

During the Hellenistic period, many emulated Greek culture and repudiated their ancestors, while during medieval times some accepted baptism and sought to lead others astray.

The apostate Nicholas Donin in 1240 denounced the Talmud to Pope Gregory IX, inflamed Dominican ire, and instigated public disputations and Talmud burnings. Similarly, Johannes Pfefferkorn in 1509 advocated expelling Jews from German lands, kidnapping

and baptizing their children, and burning Hebrew texts. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many joined European radical movements, abandoned Judaism, and discouraged education and observance.

Whereas yesterday’s apostates renounced religion and culture, today’s progressives claim fealty to tradition while falsely equating Jewish identity with non-Jewish priorities. They misuse terms like “tikkun olam” and “Mussar” to imply Judaic authenticity, though doing so only illustrates their distance from tradition. True tikkun olam involves the promotion of societal harmony through Halakhic observance, while authentic Mussar calls for ethical character development through Torah study, mitzvah observance, and personal introspection.

Neither promotes ideals that are alien to Judaism.

Many American Jews today know little of their heritage and attempt to fill the gaps with agendas that bear no resemblance to the Judaism of their ancestors. Though Jewish voters can certainly support any policies their consciences may dictate, tradition does not require them to be liberal Democrats – or conservative Republicans.

As for President Trump, they can support or oppose him for any reason. But they cannot claim that hatred for the man reflects Jewish virtue – and certainly not in light of his support for Israel and condemnation of global antiSemitism. Nor can they oppose him based on dubious claims of prejudice, especially when they ignore or excuse flagrant anti-Semitism within the Democratic Party. Whatever moral authority they claim to possess is only diluted when they condemn Jew-hatred where it doesn’t exist but grant a pass where it does.

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11

schools/shuls

August 2019

Gurewicz Early Learning Centre - Orientations and PJs! YESHIVAH - BETH RIVKAH COLLEGES

The Gurewicz Early Learning Centre (GELC) at Yeshivah – Beth Rivkah Pre-Schools were pleased to see so many kinder children dressed in their bedtime best for National Pyjama Day! An initiative of The Pyjama Foundation, this novel day raises funds to support children in foster care and GELC was pleased to be part of it and encourage GELC families contribute to this worthy cause.

YBR Pre-Schools holds regular Orientation sessions - with children enrolled to begin kinder in 2020 enjoying stories, songs and craft at this month’s session.

These introductory events help familiarise children with the kinder environment, surroundings and teaching staff in the year before they begin and this month’s installment was another great success.

For enquiries regarding YBR Pre-Schools or Creche please contact our Parent Liaison, Michelle Blutman, on 9522 8222 or email michelle.blutman@ybr.vic.edu.au.

Artificial Intelligence Finalists from Beth Rivkah!

YESHIVAH - BETH RIVKAH COLLEGES Year 9 students participating in the extension Beth Rivkah Scholars Program were thrilled progress to the State Final of the 2019 AI for Good Challenge, which took place in late July 2019. This Australia-wide competition required students to design an artificial intelligence idea to solve a world problem, to which the capable team of Beth Rivkah students

A Musical Journey LEIBLER YAVNEH COLLEGE KATIE WESTON The idea of ‘story’ is central to our reality.

We grow up hearing stories from our parents and grandparents, watching them on TV, reading them in books, and then eventually, we hope that one day we will get to live some stories of our own. These stories shape who we are, what we believe in, and the way we interact with the world that surrounds us.

The stories we are exposed to, the stories we learn to love and hate, pave the path for the stories we live.

In April, the talented students of Leibler Yavneh College presented a double-bill of two very different but uniquely ambitious and cherished musicals. The Lion King Jr and Songs for a New World. For 4 months, students worked tirelessly working through auditions, rehearsals, revisions, runs and refinements. They learned best practices of the huge process that is putting on two musicals. Pushing themselves with difficult music, choreography and subject matter, the cast excelled, all the while exhibiting such love and support throughout the process.

What an absolute treat it was for the entire Yavneh community to watch these younger students take on demanding lead roles with skill, confidence and growth. Our junior cast navigated themselves through The Lion King’s themes of responsibility, courage, belonging, family tradition and pride, friendship and finding one’s true calling. The show was a feast for young performers to thrive in. Students rehearsed with beloved movie characters, perfected traditional African/Zulu language libretto and worked with stylised puppets and animal costumes.

No wonder we had such an overwhelming

number of students at auditions!

The Lion King also lended itself to involve every student at every skill level, including those assisting backstage with costumes, makeup, lighting, props and stage crew.

Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World, premiered in London in 2001. It presents us with situational vignettes of ordinary people throughout history, all on the cusp of something unknown, a decision, a moment before clarity – the answer is waiting in a new world.

Whilst not as well known as The Lion King, it has been an absolute game-changer in the contemporary music theatre genre. Not only did it bring an utterly gorgeous score and lyric, but it challenged our Year 7, 8, and 9 kids (and our audiences) to step out of their comfort zones with what they thought a musical was meant to look and sound like.

We were all so incredible proud of both our Junior and Senior cast who trusted us to guide them through this musical journey fostering their self-confidence, talent, camaraderie and sense of achievement.

developed an app which would provide crucial medical history to first responders and paramedics to enable faster and more accurate treatment of victims at the scene.

Finalists from 8 schools gave an oral presentation to a judging panel, and the Beth Rivkah team were named this year’s Victorian Runners-Up in the Years 7-9 category. Mazel tov to the girls on their innovation, engaging presentation, and fantastic achievement.

Discover the Yavneh Difference.

Missed Open Day? Book a private tour The best way to get to know Yavneh is to experience our beautiful school for yourself. Limited places are available for enrolments in 2020 but filling up fast.

Don’t miss out!

For your chance to enrol, please contact 9528 4911 or email n.eckstein@yavneh.vic.edu.au yavneh.vic.edu.au

Living Judaism today. For tomorrow.

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Yorta Yorta Beyachad challenges Scopus students MOUNT SCOPUS The Mount Scopus Yorta Yorta Beyachad (together) program is run in partnership with Stand Up: Jewish commitment to a better world. Year 9 students elect to take part in the eight month program which challenges them to better understand Australia’s First People and culminates in an experiential learning experience on a four day trip to Yorta Yorta County, which includes Echuca, Barmah and Shepparton.

In preparation for the trip students undertake workshops with guest speakers, learning about Indigenous history, culture and current affairs. They explore Aboriginal Dreaming and Lore, learn about the Frontier Wars, hear from a survivor of the Stolen Generations, explore views on contemporary challenges such as the responses to the National Anthem and Australia Day and debate government policies such as the controversial Northern Territory Intervention and the Mabo Decision.

Students learn about the Yorta Yorta Community and Cummeragunja in great depth, including the role of Uncle William Cooper and the Aborigines Advancement League. Their learning extends beyond the classroom with a tour of Melbourne’s CBD through an Aboriginal lens, including a visit to Bunjilaka - the First Peoples’ exhibition at Melbourne Museum.

The trip to Yorta Yorta Country enables students to meet Aboriginal speakers from all walks of life, from Elders, young people and kinder children. Students visit the community

organisation Ganbina (youth education and employment services) for a cultural exchange with a young participant from their leadership program. They compare and contrasted the similarities and differences between their Jewish experience and that of Aboriginal people living in the area. They discuss the challenges they face and how they work to overcome them. A highlight for students was the cultural exchange with Fallon Harris, a Yorta Yorta woman who works in Aboriginal services, who discussed the challenges of racism and keeping her community strong. This led Scopus students to reflect on their strong Jewish identity,

Register now for the Scopus Experience for entry into Year 7, 2021

The new Sephardi Rabbi Bookings are essential

We invite current Year 5 students from other schools to sample Scopus. Join us for the day Scopus Values on Thursday 31 October, 2019.

Visiting students will experience a range of Excellence Holistic activities at Scopus as well as join with our in Learning Development current Year 5 students.

For further information, on the enrolment process, fee assistance or to register your interest, please contact Enrolments, on 9834 0070 or admissions@scopus.vic.edu.au.

Jewish Identity

fostered by their school and community.

The rationale for the trip is the historical connection with Uncle William Cooper, the Aboriginal elder who took a stand by petitioning the Nazi Government following Kristallnacht in 1938. Students engaged with his legacy by visiting the murals and statues that commemorate and celebrate him and other key Yorta Yorta activists in Shepparton.

Students had the honour of meeting Leonie Drummond, great granddaughter of William Cooper and sharing their understanding of his legacy with her. They also visited the Cummeragunja Community, Uncle William’s final resting place. Students’ Jewish and

Australian identities were challenged and deepened through the trip as they visited the site of the former Shepparton synagogue and the orchard of the Silversteins, the last Jewish orchard in the city.

In Echuca, the group participated in an indigenous dance workshop with Narjic Day and the children from Berrimba Bush Kinder.

They learnt about the role of community organisations such as Berrimba in engaging Aboriginal children in their culture through play, language and dance. They visited the Barmah forest, learning about the Aboriginal connection to and protection of the land through a tour from Greta Morgan from Parks Victoria. They also toured the historically significant Mooroopna flats, guided by Elder Uncle Reuben.

The experience was eye-opening for students, prompting them to consider their understanding of their nation and ways to work toward creating a more just society for all Australians.

Community and Service

www.scopus.vic.edu.au

RABBI PESACH STEINBERG When people hear that I have become the new Rabbi at Sasson Yehuda Sephardi Synagogue, the first question on everyone’s lips – in a quizzical tone – is, “But are you Sephardi?”

My answer, “No, I’m Jewish”. (I am in fact Ashkenaz) The second question is, “So, are you going to eat rice on Pesach?”

Probably not. Let my tenure get to Pesach and then we’ll cross that bridge!

To set things straight, I am the co-rabbi with Rabbi Benji Kessly. Rabbi Benji is there for shabbat, shiurim and halachic questions. I am there for most other times, mainly for pastoral work, events, activities and fundraising.

Rabbi Benji and I get along really well, and in conjunction with President Joanne Levy, I think we make a really good team. We are working closely together to see the Sassoon Yehuda Synagogue and community grow and prosper.

I want to share an initial thought about my work.

I write this article during the 3 weeks prior to Tisha B’Av, and this time is intended generally to be a time of mourning to commemorate the loss of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (First and Second). This took place about 2,000 and 2,500 years ago.

What is particularly interesting and related to my appointment in regards to the 3 weeks is that most people do not realise that the Ashkenaz-Sephard division really only goes back about 500 years: the main focus being the expulsion of Jews from Spain (Sephard is derived from Sfarad, i.e. Spain).

In my first few weeks I have visited many of the original founders of the Synagogue in their homes. The most pointed aspect that I have

noticed is actually how Holocaust-centric my Melbourne Jewish education has been.

Wow, there are so many other stories to tell.

This is not at all to belittle or even compare the place in our hearts and history for the Holocaust and survivors – G-d forbid.

But the stories I have heard from Casablanca, Alexandria, Cairo, Corfu, Isfail, Baghdad, Persia, Bombay, Singapore, Shanghai, and many more, have been a wakeup call to me of the important Jewish history that I have missed out on learning about.

Soon we will start some Sephardi-style daily lunches at Sassoon Yehuda Synagogue. I will make it a point to have monthly interviews of our Sephardi treasures in our community, so we can all hear their story. I invite you along!

We have lots of other exciting innovations coming up at the Sassoon Yehuda Synagogue, in particular related to life-cycle events.

Wishing you all well for the upcoming High Holidays! All Sephardim, please call to book your seats!

Rabbi Pesach Steinberg (pictured left) is a rabbi at Sassoon Yehuda Synagogue. He can be contacted at pesach@sephardvic.com

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August 2019

King David Students - Jerusalem Old City tour guides KING DAVID SCHOOL YOEL BENN Throughout Term 3, Year 6 students explored the question ‘How can we bring the old city of Jerusalem to life in the classroom?’. To answer this question, students were instructed to create, develop and facilitate an authentic tour of the Jerusalem old city. Students worked in groups to create a tour company that had expertise in one of the Quarters of the Old City.

This project-based learning opportunity saw students become inquisitive and passionate about their Quarters and their subsequent buildings, culture, religions, food and music. Each lesson, students researched, questioned and created.

They physically built the structures of their Quarter and thought deeply about the experience their future tour participants would experience. The term culminated in an afternoon where each group facilitated their tours for all students and staff in the Senior School.

It was amazing to see students consistently engaged and passionate about the richness and complexities of Jerusalem’s Old City.

A Mezuzah for Josh

ARK CENTRE GABI KALTMANN

When Josh Burns MP was accused of not being a proud Jew by another Jewish candidate running for the same seat of the very jewishly populated seat of McNamara because he didn’t have a Mezuza on the door post of his office. The community leaders and Rabbis spoke out in defense of the Mount Scopus graduate that recently became the youngest Jewish members of parliament.

Josh extend a invite to his long term friend and Rabbi of the Ark Centre Gabi Kaltmann to join him in Canberra for his induction

speech and proudly hang a Mezuzah on his office door.

Accompanied by about 60 well-wishers and fellow MPs, including federal member for Cowen Dr Anne Aly, Josh and Rabbi Gabi attached the Mezzuzah. Rabbi Gabi explained to the small crowd of well-wishers the importance of a Mezzuzah and how it symbolizes faith in G-d’s protection.

With cheers of L’chaim to Josh, and a small simcha dance of Siman Tov, the youngest MP in Parliament stands in good stead to continue being a strong community leader while undertaking his important role in Canberra.

It’s where I...

belong

L-R: Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann, Dr Anne Aly and Josh Burnes

Discover King David Book a Discovery Tour:

www.kds.vic.edu.au or email admissions@kds.vic.edu.au

Modern

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Thinking

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Judaism

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schools / shuls

August 2019

From Seeking Help to Helping Others ST KILDA HEBREW CONGREGATION Three years ago a St Kilda Shule member and young mother of two, Nicole LewisJacobs, fell ill and was hospitalised for some time. During that time she received much needed help and support for her and her family, including cooked meals. When she recovered she decided to turn her negative experience into a positive one and started a soup kitchen to help the less privileged in the community.

Nicole and other volunteers began gathering regularly in the Shule’s kitchen to prepare tubs of soup and distribute them to crisis centres, emergency housing and people who have taken ill. Recently, the group made 125 tubs of delicious and nutritious soup in one session, which were delivered to recipients who were deeply appreciative.

“I feel so proud to be part of the incredible St Kilda Shule community” Rabbi Yaakov Glasman said, “It’s all about people helping people and it’s something we as a community do really well thank G-d”.

The Shule named the initiative “Allon’s Soup Kitchen” after the late Allon Furstenberg o”bm, a young man who passed away tragically a few years ago. Allon was a fabulous cook who loved cooking for others and was genuinely one of the most caring and giving souls on the planet, which is why it was felt most appropriate to name the soup kitchen in his memory.

Since word got out about this initiative of kindness, others in the community have

L-R: Paul Topol, Gerry Bullon, Nicole Lewis-Jacobs, Shelley Weisler, George Erlichster, Evelyn Erlichster, Tracie Sternfeld and Rabbi Yaakov Glasman joined the enthusiastic volunteer group to lend a hand to this worthy cause.

“I think Nicole has done a fantastic job of raising awareness and driving this most important project and we are hopeful it will go from strength to strength in enriching the lives of those in the community who may be

feeling vulnerable or may be in need” Rabbi Glasman said, “At the end of the day we are all one community and we all need to care for each other as our holy Torah teaches us”.

St Kilda Shule has initiated a number of important projects in recent years which are aimed at helping others and continues to

seek new and meaningful ways to do this, as well as seeking to engage volunteers in the community.

Anyone wishing to become involved in Allon’s Soup Kitchen is encouraged to contact St Kilda Shule for further details.

Wendy and Peter Pan at Scopus MOUNT SCOPUS COLLEGE Join Wendy, John and Michael Darling, as they travel to Neverland for one ‘awfully big adventure’ in this witty and poignant adaptation of the beloved classic Wendy and Peter Pan. See the lost boys, pirate fights and the fairies you know and love. Featuring a

cast of Scopus students from Years 9-12, it’s the perfect show for children who have grown up, and those who haven’t!

Running at under an hour and a half, Wendy and Peter Pan is playing at the Besen Family Performing Arts Centre at Mount Scopus College, August 12-15. Tickets on sale now at scopus.vic.edu.au/tickets

Chumash and Rashi Presentations Entertain YESHIVAH - BETH RIVKAH COLLEGES Performances at both Yeshivah and Beth Rivkah Primary have delighted audiences of parents, grandparents, family and fellow students. Year 1 Yeshivah and Beth Rivkah Chumash Presentations thrilled audiences with entertaining displays of newly acquired knowledge, a medley of songs, and students were presented with their very first Chumash, which they proudly accepted and have begun using in class as they embark on their journey of learning Torah.

For the boys a creative hands-on interactive craft activity rotation has been incorporated into their Chumash celebration, allowing students and their families to work together to create keepsakes from the event.

The annual Rashi Presentation was a highlight for the Year 3 Beth Rivkah students once again.

They performed a series of delightful plays and songs conveying the knowledge they have gained and joy in beginning to learn about Rashi and the formation of Rashi script.

August 2019

school/shul

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The Early Years Count At Bialik BIALIK At Bialik, there is a strong focus on providing a full, rich educational and social experience for early-Primary aged students. Daphne Gaddie, Head of Bialik’s Reggio Emilia inspired ELC, says, “In the early Primary school years at Bialik, the emphasis is on nurturing the whole person in all aspects of students’ development – emotional, spiritual and as lifelong learners.”

Throughout Primary School, Bialik students are given a solid Jewish education.

For the Preps and Year 1s in the ELC, Kabbalat Shabbat and other joyous festival occasions are celebrated as a group, and often the students are joined by their families for these events. Students in Years 2-6 gather together weekly for a vibrant communal Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony, which includes music, singing and brachot.

Hebrew is part of the Bialik student’s daily experience, with each Prep and Grade 1 class having a dedicated Hebrew-speaking assistant, and as the students progress through the Primary School, it is made accessible to all levels of ability.

Bialik has a pluralist ethos and all expressions of Judaism are welcomed and honoured, but there is the recognition that in order to make informed choices about their future affiliations, the students need solid foundations. They learn Birchat Hamazon, the Shema, Modeh Ani, brachot, traditional rituals and the parasha of the week.

Ensuring that students will be prepared for the future, the College uses seamless

integration of technology, giving the Prep and Grade 1 students in the ELC the opportunity to produce their own blogs, podcasts and practice coding. The Year 1 ‘Explore Committee’ gives young, inquisitive minds the chance to investigate, observe and report on interesting projects. As they progress through the years, students experience hands-on technology as it continues to be integrated through many of their activities. They have access to a Makerspace – the place where they can pull things apart, put things together and improve and develop their ideas and designs. Some areas that are explored in the Makerspace include circuits, programming, 3D Printing and gaming. A Primary Robotics Club has

also been added to the line-up of lunchtime activities during which students collaborate in an enriching and inspiring environment, using LEGO to personalise and program all sorts of robotic creations.

Wellbeing is recognised as a tremendously important part of the Bialik education.

The much-loved Dogs for Life program has brought service dogs into the Primary environment to work closely with the students, giving them tools to navigate their emotions, relationships and build empathy.

There is a dedicated Primary wellbeing coach who runs programs that enhance students’ conflict resolution skills and give them age-appropriate training that builds their emotional intelligence. Both the lower

and upper Primary levels have dedicated sports and PE staff and creative and artistic endeavours are not separate from other learning, but run through all the different aspects of schooling.

Leadership, resilience and independence are fostered in a variety of ways. A series of thrilling camps for Years 3 and above are carefully planned to have a multitude of educational and personal-growth benefits.

During the various camps over the Primary years, students will learn to cook for themselves under the stars, sleep in tents, participate in challenging physical activities and learn to work as a team. Students from the Secondary school mentor the Primary students in formal and informal class settings, as well as join them for camps. Mentoring, without a doubt, leads to character building and confidence for our young students.

Furthermore, in Year 5, every single student becomes a leader in the Manhigut program.

Students pick portfolios that they are best suited to and spend an entire year learning the responsibilities and character traits of great leaders.

Karen Friede, Head of Primary, says, “The beauty of a Bialik education is that everything is learned from a Humanist point of view, allowing for ‘choice and voice’. We value every individual household’s beliefs and aim to develop students who are resilient, thoughtful and well rounded.”

Bialik’s state-of-the-art Creche is now open! To book your personal tour, contact Melanie on 03 9822 7982.

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August 2019

A Psychological Glimpse into Tisha B’Av

ZIPPORAH OLIVER O.A.M. M.A.P.S.

“To everything, there is a season... A time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” writes King Solomon (Kohelet, chapter 3).

Sorrow and grieving are part of normal life, as is joy. The cycles of the Jewish calendar provide rich opportunities to express our feelings and to develop insight which contributes to psychological wellbeing.

Even though Tisha B’Av is recognised as the saddest and seemingly lowest point in our year, it is simultaneously invested with tangible hope and positivity. This dichotomy is at the core of Judaism. No matter how dark the situation is, within its’ essence is contained an approaching regeneration.

I will share just a few psychological glimpses into Tisha B’Av and the period of The Three Weeks.

The Three Weeks culminate with the fast of the 9th of Av. This is the allocated time of national mourning for the destruction of the two Holy Temples and the subsequent exiles from our homeland. This period involves an extensive diminution of overt expressions of joy. This Three Weeks period also involves the practice of laws and customs associated with mourning. On Tisha B’Av, in order to physically connect with our grief, we sit on low chairs; we don’t wear leather shoes and we adopt the demeanour of an ovel, a mourner. All these observances are relevant on both a national and a personal level.

Tradition states that the Messiah will be born on Tisha B’Av and he will build the

third and eternal Holy Temple, and he will lead the Jewish People out of the current exile to the land of Israel once and for all.

Thus, the dichotomy of extreme grief which is inexplicably linked to extreme joy is contained within Tisha B’Av. A key psychological approach in Judaism holds fast to the hope that in the darkness of suffering and challenge, there is always a potential of a bright future ahead. This knowing is enshrined in Halacha (Jewish Law), for on Tisha B’Av the prayers are those which are said on a Yom Tov (no Tachanun), on a joyous festival. Even though the Redemption has not yet materialised, still we behave as though it has occurred. It is a concrete manifestation of the belief that Tisha B’Av will soon change from a day of intense mourning to a Yom Tov of intense joy. This capacity to hold loss and grief conjointly with hope and joy has been a key support for our nation through a blood-soaked history of oppression and suffering. Through times of oppression, we have responded with courage, scholarship, humour, music, poetry and inspiration, and we have steadfastly maintained our Jewish identity. This resilience is attested to by our continued existence as a nation without living in our homeland for so much of our history.

In psychology today, much research focuses and yearns to identify the ingredients that foster the capacity for resilience. SA Satici (2016) found “significant links from psychological vulnerability and resilience to subjective wellbeing through hope.”

When an individual is faced with loss, grief and trauma the potential capacity for resilience can be enhanced by an ability to maintain hope, which is driven by a belief system that gives meaning to the suffering.

Victor Frankl developed his profoundly positive psychotherapy of Logotherapy from his experience in the depths of the nightmare of the concentration camps in Europe.

Having meaning can support individuals to survive challenge and suffering. Whilst in the darkness, the capacity for positive meaning can drive a resilience focussed on survival.

Certainly, as a nation, we have done this and Tisha B’Av is our annual reconnecting with the dichotomy of loss and grief inextricably linked to the hope of salvation.

Taking the lessons from Tisha B’Av, and tangibly acting on it with the observed laws and customs, creates a powerful, holistic reinforcement of the link between suffering, hope and resilience.

There is a poignant story told by Elie Wiesel of how hope saved his life. He recounted that one day, he and his fellow

Yeshiva students were feeling crushed by the extreme suffering in Auschwitz. They noticed a queue of Russian soldier prisoners who had found a stash of rat poison and were lining up to take some and to thereby end their suffering. Elie and his friends decided this would be the way to end their suffering, and they joined the queue for the rat poison.

An old chassid observed the situation and moved nearby and began softly singing “Ani Maamin”. Elie Wiesel recounts that slowly one by one the boys left the queue. No words were spoken, and Elie later acknowledged that this man saved his life.

In the Holocaust, the Yiddish words, “Mir vellen iberleben” (we will live through this) often drove a superhuman resilience. Even as they marched, sometimes even to their death, it is well-documented that many sang “Ani Ma’amin” (“I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah and even if he tarries, still I believe”).

Even though Tisha B’Av commemorates what is in so many ways a lowest point, still the inextricable connection to hope guides us to psychologically apply Tisha B’Av’s messages to our personal struggles and to pursue resilience. This reassures us that even though the deeper meaning of our challenge may currently be concealed, still as Jews we hold to a belief that there is a positive element contained within the challenge and “Mir vellen iberkimmen” we shall overcome, which is a statement of our resilience.

If you would like to contact Zipporah feel free to call on 0438 345 770 or visit www.zoliver.com.au.

You Could Make This Place Beautiful

BY JOANNE FEDLER ‘It is hard to work out what makes sense anymore, isn’t it?

I know I’m not the only one trembling at the idiocy, greed and self-interest of our politicians and those in power, as we stumble onwards, losing species daily, adding more and more carbon to our world, robbing our children of a future.

I am distracted from writing my new book by news of children held in detention, refugees self-immolating on Manus, whales washed up on shores, ravaged from the inside by plastic. And those are just the headlines on any given day.

Just breathe. Go for a swim. Read a poem, I self-soothe.

I find I have to turn away intermittently from the media lest I get crushed by it all.

Humans were not meant for this level of bombardment; this torture of always-beingin-the-know.

I’m about to try hibernate for some weeks to finish writing my new book, The Sabbatical.

I’m afraid of all the terrible things that will happen while I’m not looking – which must be the height of some inflated omnipotent fantasy (that things will fall apart while I’m not on watch, as if I have any control over any of it… ) Before I do, I wanted to share a story that

always gives me strength and faith to keep working for a better world, even when it seems pointless and hopeless.

It’s the story of the 100th monkey, which I love because it reminds me that we don’t need everyone to make a change, just enough people to tip the scales. Many years ago, I rewrote the 100th monkey story as the introduction to a book I began (and didn’t finish).

Here is my version: The year is 1952.

On the island of Koshima, scientists were, as they had been for thirty odd years,

observing the native Japanese monkeys in their wild habitat.

As scientists do, they had to fuck with nature.

They dropped sweet potatoes in the sand to see what the monkeys would do with them.

The monkeys liked the taste of the sweet potatoes, but it was clear, they didn’t enjoy the dirt that stuck to them.

In comes Imo. A female (naturally), who took her sweet potatoes to a nearby stream, washed them, and was satisfied. Sweet potatoes taste so much better without dirt

on them. She taught this technique to her mother. Her friends and playmates soon learned to do the same and they taught their mothers and friends.

The monkeys slowly taught one another to wash the potatoes, and the scientists watched. Between 1952 to 1958 monkeys who came into contact with those who had learned to wash their potatoes, began to wash them too.

Then something happened.

It was not a small thing.

On a certain autumn day, when a critical mass of potato-washing monkeys had been reached, suddenly every single monkey on the island began to wash his or her potatoes – whether taught or not.

What is even more startling is that colonies of monkeys on neighbouring islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama also began to wash their potatoes.

Did you get that?

It means that when a certain critical number achieves a particular awareness, this new awareness creates a new reality.

This reality is communicated at an energetic level.

In other words, when enough of us get it right, that’s when things will change.

Only then.

Joanne Fedler is an internationally bestselling author of 10 books, writing mentor and publisher. She runs writing retreats all over the world and has three signature online writing courses for aspiring authors.

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August 2019

A Tangled Web of Intrigue OPHELIA (M) ALEX FIRST I thoroughly enjoyed the modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s Ophelia, in which she is painted as a strong willed, moral and virtuous woman in a court full of vipers.

She first enters the Queen’s orbit as but a child. The monarch admires her pluck and takes her in as a lady in waiting.

Although the Queen “cleans her up”, her spirit will not be tamed.

Ophelia thinks nothing of throwing off her finery and taking a dip in the river near the castle.

Whilst she is not popular among her fellow female attendants, Ophelia has learned to read (her brother taught her, even though women are forbidden from entering the library) and as a result the Queen prevails upon her to do just that for her one night.

Mind you, the Queen’s choice of reading matter is rather salacious, not the religious text Ophelia was expecting.

The Queen, though, is a troubled woman in more ways than one and relies upon a potion from a purported witch who resides well outside the castle grounds to put her to sleep at night.

She sends Ophelia to that sorceress to collect the drug and the more she does so, the more Ophelia learns about and from the woman, who bears a striking resemblance to the Queen.

Nothing if not intelligent and resourceful, Ophelia also catches the eye of the Queen’s son, Hamlet, but the path to true love is far from a straight forward one.

When the Queen’s power-hungry brother assumes the throne, the obstacles will be greater than ever. In fact, both Hamlet and Ophelia are in mortal danger.

I was totally captivated by Daisy Ridley’s strong performance in the lead, as Ophelia has to find a way through all the manipulation, betrayal and subterfuge that is taking place around her.

It is quite clearly Ridley’s movie. Hers is the driving force, while Naomi Watts assumes the twin roles of the Queen and the witch.

Clive Owen is cast as the Queen’s dastardly brother, who cares for naught but satisfying his own desires.

George MacKay is Hamlet, all het up about extracting revenge.

Semi Chellas, who produced The Romanoffs’ TV series and co-wrote one episode takes writing credits, adapting Lisa Klein’s book.

My Grief Story AMANDA GORDON

I lost my mum more than eighteen months ago, after a two year period during which she deteriorated such that she was rarely lucid, could not get out of bed, and seemed to spend the day in her own head, unable even to listen to music or watch a screen. It was tragic to see such a vibrant, intelligent, curious, active woman reduced to this.

Even though I knew she was never going to recover, and indeed that she had no quality of life at all, (except on those rare occasions when she responded to a visit by a grandchild or great grandchild and

appeared to be joyful), her death hit me in unexpected ways. I kept functioning, did not become overwhelmed by sadness, but her absence was in my mind. She did visit me in dreams – not always kindly, though she seemed to be finding a way to have her say. There were times that I would have loved to share with her or to confide in her, and I still get a shock when I look in the mirror and see her there.

However, I’m writing this some fifteen months after her death. It is timely to reflect back, because over the last couple of months I’ve felt differently again. It is as if she was in my head all the time for three years, as I went about my daily business.

I knew she was dying and then I knew she was dead. It wasn’t as if I was fooling myself.

And now she’s still there, in my head, but in a less intrusive and non-distressing way. I have forgiven the way she treated me

Australian Claire McCarthy, who wrote and directed The Waiting City in 2009, is in the director’s chair and makes sure we all know there is more than a little rotten in Shakespeare’s Denmark.

when she was ill – I had known that she didn’t mean it, but when she was alive it still hurt me when she was mean, as I was only doing my best to support her. It is only now, though, that I can think of that time and not be hurt. It makes it easier to bring her back into my thoughts, knowing that I can recall both the good and the bad times without falling in a heap. I can now identify with her again, without feeling undermined, and smile when I am told how much I look like her.

Grief is a strange creature. As a psychologist I have dedicated much of my career to supporting people who are grieving and am well aware of how everyone has to grieve in their own way. I know that it is a lonely business, even when we have people who love and support us.

I have helped people tolerate themselves and their feelings, and supported them through the darkest times.

Never mind that the language has been updated, a new generation can surely appreciate a new take on a classic.

Rated M, Ophelia scores a 7½ out of 10.

I have been blessed in my own life – to have never lost a loved one until now. I am a grandmother who until fifteen months ago had both my own parents, as well as my parents-in-law in my life.

Yet as a psychologist, I am now even more blessed. I have been able to experience grief of my own and grow through the process, just as so many of the people I have worked with over the years have done. I am confirmed that we come through the tunnel and the sun feels warm on our skin again, the smiles and laughter become untarnished, yet we don’t forget.

Our hearts have been broken and the scar remains. For me, it feels like I am in a new stage in my life, and the scar is a support now, rather than a pain.

Amanda Gordon is a psychologist and the Clinical Director of Armchair Psychology, based in Edgecliff, Sydney.

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18

lifestyle

August 2019 news

Children In Their Own Bed! THE SLEEP COACH CHERYL FINGLESON Whilst many families remain happy to co-sleep with their children at all stages of development, others find that it’s not restful or sustainable.

I would like o share some simple tricks and strategies to help parents getting their children to sleep in their own bed and stay in their own bed all night.

It is crucial that parents establish a routine that will put a stop to the late night migration and the spare-bedroom-musicalbed-palaver that so many households face.

Here are ten easy tips to cope with the transition: 1. Talk it through before hand Explain to your child (in age appropriate language) what will happen when they wake and come into your bed in the middle of the night. Let them know, clearly and gently, that they will be helped back to their own room 2. Play it out Try role playing the scenario with your little one. Choose a calm, daytime moment to “pretend” that it is night-time and let them pull the covers on them self. Explain that this is what is going to happen from now on, regardless of the time of day or night.

3. Consistency is key Routine is very important for young children. Consistency and lots of patients is the key to succeed.

Like most big changes, it can take time, allow a week or two for the change to take effect. If your son or daughter throws a tantrum and ends up back in your bed don’t change your plan, walk them straight back to their bed.

4. Let them play in their room during the day A child’s bedroom often becomes a night-time only venue if all they do there is sleep. This can lead to them associating it with being alone or being in the dark.

By allowing them to spend an hour or so in there a day, they’ll begin to relax and associate it with positive things. Make sure you spend daylight quality time in there together.

5. Listen to your child Listen to what your child says when you put them to bed. They will tell you why they are coming to your room. Try not to have any negative talks. Always have happy chats or read a happy book before bedtime.

If your child says it is too dark, get a night light. Soothing nightlights can be a big help

for anxious children who are scared of the dark. If thy prefer the door open that is ok.

6. Their bed and your bed Explain to your child that their special big bed belongs to them and mum and dad are not allowed to sleep in their bed. Mum and dad have their own bed and they CANNOT sleep in their bed.

Don’t be tempted to let them sleep in your bed in the early morning (even for a cuddle), young children can not tell the time and they will start coming to your bed earlier and earlier.

7. Remain calm and be supportive For some little ones, the first few nights alone in a big bed might induce a bit of separation anxiety, or even some rather upsetting tantrums. In these emotional moments children don’t readily process instruction or rational thought and so you don’t need to say much. “I’m close,” or “you are safe,” are simple and supportive words that you might try as you remain close by.

8. Make sure you take care of yourself as well Believe it or not, this like any major milestone in your child’s life can have an impact on the parents and carers too.

I advise my clients to take charge of their children’s wellness and embrace good sleep habits. Teaching little ones to stay in their own bed is a common struggle amongst parents. It is important to know that some tantrums at bedtime, night waking and wanting to come into your bed are all normal behaviour. It is the adult’s response that can change the outcome. If you feel stuck and you are looking for some sleep solutions, there are professionals available if you need help to cope with this critical milestone.

Cheryl Zzz For more sleep tips and advice, please visit: www.thesleepcoach.com.au Please like our facebook page: www. facebook.com/thesleepcoach Cheryl Fingleson is a paediatric sleep consultant. As a mother of two, she knows only too well the feelings of agony and desperation when you have a child that struggles to settle and sleep. She doesn’t believe in leaving babies or children to cry it out, nor in the practices of controlled crying. Her gentle approach is to empower parents with the right tools and techniques to teach their babies and children to go to sleep calmly, happily and independently.

SHABBAT AND FAST TIMES DATE

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Friday, 9 August 2019 Saturday, 10 August 2019 (Fast of Tisha B’Av ) Friday, 16 August 2019 Friday, 23 August 2019 Friday, 30 August 2019

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6:20pm

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#Bne Showcaimitzvah Initiati ses Our ve Commun ity 2014 / 13

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19

lifestyle

August 2019

Can You Conquer Your Cravings?

ARLENE NORMAND Science says Cravings are defined as ‘strong desire for a particular food’ – as opposed to general hunger, when any type of food will fit the bill. When they hit – and many of us experience them frequently – cravings can seem like an unstoppable force. This is all perfectly normal, with research showing that as many as 97% of women and 68% of men experience food cravings. Females between 18-35 have been found to be particularly susceptible. The big question is why? There is no answer. Certain physiological and hormonal factors have been shown to have a role, and then there are psychological aspects to consider. Then there is the fact that, for some people, exposure to environmental cues is enough to trigger a craving.

Whatever, don’t fall for the myth that it is your body’s way of telling you it needs something.

Researchers from all over the globe have debunked that theory, finding that a nutritional deficiency is not necessary for a food craving to be present (which is probably why we crave chocolate rather than something good for us, like beans or carrots. So what is really to blame?

Craving is a habit, not Hunger Less than 40% of cravers say they are actually hungry when a craving strikes. On the habit side of things, researchers have found that when food cravings take place, they activate a part of the brain called the caudate nucleus, which is instrumental in habit formation. What that means is that we learn to associate certain foods with certain situations, which explains why we crave popcorn as

soon as we step into a movie theatre – even if we’re stuffed from just eating dinner. It is habit.

People completely underestimate how much their environment impacts on their behaviour.

We are very influenced by our environment and also by foods that evoke happy memories.

Beat it by: Keeping a food diary, noting down what you eat, in which situations, with which people and how you were feeling at the time is a good start. It will help you develop an awareness of the fact that, for example, you tend to eat chocolate whenever you are in front of the television, and awareness is the first step in making a change. Consciousness of eating habits, encouraged by diary keeping, is associated with lower consumption of high fat snacks. Once you have figured the triggers, don’t rely on willpower to overcome them or you may be setting yourself up for failure. Instead you may need to change your routine. Physical locations are some of the most powerful cues to behaviour. Actually changing the environment is a better tactic than just relying on willpower alone to overcome a craving.

You are under stress Most of us have been here – craving chocolate (or anything) as a result of stress.

It has been proves that stressful situations can indeed make people opt for high fat, high sugar snacks, rather than healthier food options. Stress caused by events like arguing with a colleague, friend or family member, was enough to cause people to eat more inbetween snacks. But stress is not the only emotion capable of causing cravings – when another group of researchers monitored two groups of people, one watching a happy feel good movie and the other watching a ad movie, they found that those in the second group consumed 36% more popcorn as a result. Even your gender can influence which emotions spark cravings. While women are more likely to crave a particular food when they are depressed or sad, it is when men are

happy that their cravings usually escalate.

Beat it by: Finding other ways to deal with your emotions. Once you have recognised which emotions might be triggering your cravings with the help of a food diary, try to add some other coping mechanism to your repertoire, so you have got things to turn to other than food when you experience emotions which typically cause you to eat. So what is the best coping mechanism to choose? Exercise. Just a simple 15 minute walk was sufficient to significantly reduce food cravings for chocolate.

You are Dieting It seems that old saying about wanting what you can’t have is true. Researchers have found that people deprived of chocolate experience more food cravings than unrestrained eaters and are more likely to subsequently eat the craved food when they are finally exposed to it. It gets worse for those people cutting carbs in an effort to lose weight. Women who were asked to cut carbs for three days reported stronger food cravings, which then translated into them eating 44% more kilojoules from carb-rich foods on the fourth day.

Beat it by: Work out how to incorporate your food of choice into you diet, without letting it get out of control. Practice portion control. Allow your self a little piece of chocolate each day, enough to satisfy your craving – in terms of long term success it is much better than trying to go cold turkey. Don’t try to blind eye your cravings.

You Think Too Much And mainly about the food in question.

Research has shown that even when environmental or emotional cues aren’t present, just thinking about the food you love is enough to spark a craving. Mental imagery is a key element in sparking a food craving, but the better our ability to recall and imagine the food, the stronger the urge to eat it in real life.

Beat it by: Thinking about something else – sounds simple and it works. If that doesn’t

work try sniffing some peppermint. Research in the US found that people who were regularly exposed to a peppermint aroma were better able to ward off those daily slumps that cause us to seek out a sugar hit. Avoiding these cravings equated to eating at least 11500 less kilojoules a week! Reason enough to keep some peppermint close by.

Addictive food The food you eat could be addictive. If the object of your desire is heavily processed then you might have an addiction on your hands.

That is because these foods I cause blood sugar levels to spike sharply - a ‘rush’ that seems to stimulate the same areas of the brain involved in nicotine addiction.

Beat it by: Trying to make smarter snack choices the next time a craving hits is the key.

There is no point in fooling yourself that a celery stick will do the trick if what you really want is a bar of chocolate. But you can be clever by choosing a snack that has a similar taste and texture, but less kilojoules. So if it is chips you are craving, pop some plain popcorn and add a bit of salt. Or make a hot chocolate drink or a chocolate ice block which has the flavour but takes a longer time to consume. And of course fruit is a much healthier way than lollies to satisfy a craving for something sweet. A sweet trick to ward off that after lunch snack attack is to chew gum.

Sleep has a lot to do with it! Poor sleep affects the hormones that control appetite.

While leptin, the hormone that is responsible for telling the brain there is no need for food, decreased with lack of sleep, ghrelin, which flicks the switch to let the body know it is food time increased. And not only do you want more food, but you crave food that is high both in kilojoules and carbohydrate – biscuits, chocolates, cakes, chips, pasta.

Humanity prevails in the wake of evil COME FROM AWAY, AT COMEDY THEATRE ALEX FIRST Inspired by fact, what a magnificent feel good show, one that restores your faith in humanity in the wake of evil the likes of which the world had previously not known.

Moving, uplifting, humorous, energetic and melodic, I defy anyone not to be in raptures about Come From Away ... because it really is that good.

Who would have thought anyone could turn such a dastardly deed on its head and create something so positive and theatrical?

The story is set in Newfoundland, an island off the far northeast coast of Canada, after the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks.

As a result, for the first time, American airspace was shut down and 38 commercial aircraft carrying 6,579 passengers from 92 countries were diverted to this sleepy hollow, population 9,651 (and four traffic lights).

Ill-equipped to handle the deluge, led by the Mayor of Gander, the citizens of Newfoundland rallied and found a way through.

When they landed, those on board the planes had no idea what had just happened.

When they found out, like the rest of the world, they were deeply shocked and just wanted to get home … but they couldn’t for five long days.

In the meantime, the townsfolk went way beyond the call of duty to lend a helping hand and by so doing entrenched Newfoundland into the psyche of all who inadvertently found their way there.

Amongst the chaos, Newfoundland became an unexpected safe haven, which the weary travellers took to heart.

Sure there was tension, distrust, fear and heartbreak, but there was also overwhelming good will from the locals, which won out.

In the story, love is lost and found and new life-long friendships forged ... all in the

space of just a few days that changed those involved.

I should mention that the musical’s unusual title comes from the fact that Newfoundlanders refer to those not born on the island as “Come From Aways”.

To create the show, Canadian writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein (who are responsible for the music, lyrics and book) went straight to the source.

They travelled to Newfoundland for the 10th anniversary of that fateful week.

Further, they collected hundreds of hours of interviews that they distilled into the 100 minutes that constitutes the production.

Come From Away, which debuted on Broadway in February 2017, went on to claim the Tony Award for Best Direction.

The 12 performers on stage for its Australian premiere in Melbourne sing and act up a storm, accompanied by eight equally special musos.

Each of the cast members shares the limelight, assuming multiple characters.

All are terrific, with Richard Piper as multiple Mayors, Zoe Gertz as the first female captain of an American Airlines aircraft and Kolby Kindle as a bloke who evolves as a result of his experience, foremost among them.

The simple set (Beowulf Boritt is responsible for scenic design), with revolving central stage and trees on either side, serves the storyline well.

The songs, which number 15, are rousing and poignant.

Directed by Christopher Ashley and choreographed by Kelly Devine, Come From Away moves along at pace and leaves you feeling buoyant.

It has been quite brilliantly conceived and executed and is playing at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne until 27th October, 2019.

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sports

August 2019

Australia’s Medal Haul at the Pan American Maccabi Games MACCABI

The warmth and hospitality of the Mexican Jewish Community embraced the 138 members of Australian Maccabi Delegation with open arms. Hitting the ground on 3rd of July, the delegation entered pre-camp to begin training at altitude in preparation for the games which began on 5th of July and ran for two weeks.

With a delegation aged 14 to 87 years old, the multi-generational team was led by Head of Delegation Barry Smorgon OAM, under the expert management of General Manager Sam Gamsu, Giselle BerlinskiDeputy General Manager-Juniors, Simone Cohen- Deputy General Manager Open/ Masters/Supporters and Sport ManagerLaurence Miller.

The team left Australia ready to compete at the highest level in their range of sports.

The opening ceremony brought the patriotic Australian spirit to the forefront with rounds of the familiar Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, chant out in force. The team was led by Captain Barry Carp, (Masters’ Swimming champion who went on to win 5 gold medals).

The Mexican Community showed off their various sporting and community facilities during the games including the Centre Deportivo Israelita, known as the CDI. The largest Jewish sporting facility in the world,

which hosted many of our teams and where much of the success took place.

Mixing with the 3,800 athletes from 23 nations proved to be a culturally immersive experience enjoyed by all, with the ritual activities of swapping uniforms and pins taking place, akin to a marketplace for memorabilia.

Our team enjoyed the sites, culture and history of Mexico through the activities arranged by the organising committee and in their limited free time, including the Aztec pyramids, the ballet and various markets.

Shabbat was celebrated in the Sephardi tradition at the magnificent Beit Moshe Synagogue in Polanco, followed by a memorable Sephardi dinner.

The hard work and dedication of our athletes was rewarded with 51 medals, in one of the smaller of the delegations to compete at the games. Finishing fourth of the medal tally, Australia, as always continued to punch above its weight and deliver medal winning performances that will endure.

Maccabi Australia look forward to continuing the tradition of taking a strong team to the Maccabiah Games in 2021, less than two years from now in Israel, with the Pan American Maccabi Games a prelude to these games and by all accounts an indication of the sporting talent that lies within the community and our proud nation.

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