Beth El Hosts Gathering in Support of Refugees and Immigrants
LA JOLLA, California (SDJW) — Congregation Beth El will host a “San Diego Jewish Community Gathering In Support of Immigrants and Refugees from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2.
Participating organizations include the Anti-Defamation League of San Diego, Jewish Family Service of San Diego, Jewish Federation of San Diego, the Liechtag Foundation, Hillel of San Diego, San Diego Rabbinical Association and the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego.
A spokesperson said the event is designed for Jewish community members “to demonstrate their support of immigrants and refugees” as well as “to show solidarity and promote meaningful action.”
Religious and community leaders will address how Jewish values and traditions can make an impact.
“Topics will also include immigration, the refugee vetting process and peronal stories of perseverence,” according to the spokesperson.
Congregation Beth El is located at 8660 Gilman Drive in La Jolla.
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American Society for Yad Vashem opens Los Angeles office
LOS ANGELES (Press Release) – The American Society for Yad Vashem (ASYV), established in 1982 and dedicated to advancing Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem, has opened its first permanent office outside of New York City in Los Angeles, it was announced by Ron Meier, ASYV Executive Director.
“For many years, we have known that we have a dedicated group of donors and friends in the Los Angeles area,” Meier said. “Deepening our relationships with them is a high priority. We believe the efforts of a superbly qualified staff, working with a well-established constituency and developing new friends and supporters will significantly contribute to the growth and development of Yad Vashem for future generations.”
William S. Bernstein has been named Director of Institutional Advancement, ASYV Western Region and will lead the Los Angeles office, located at 11911 San Vicente Blvd., in Brentwood, (424-273-4460.) He is joined by resource development, marketing and public relations professionals, Brooke Spencer and Donna Elyassian.
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Fate of Buczacz, Ukraine, subject of UCSD Holocaust lecture Feb. 13
LA JOLLA, California (Press Release) — For centuries Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews lived side-by-side in the East Galician town of Buczacz. The German conquest of the region in 1941 transformed a site of co-existence into a site of genocide. By the time the Soviets liberated the town in 1944, the entire Jewish population had been murdered by the Nazis, with ample help from local Ukrainians, who then also ethnically cleansed the region of the Polish population.
In this talk on Feb. 13 in the Seuss Room of UCSD’s Geisel Library, Omer Bartov explores the dynamics of this instance of horrifying communal violence, illuminates its reasons, and discusses its erasure from local memory. One of the world’s leading authorities on the subject of genocide, Bartov was born and raised in Israel and studied history at Tel Aviv University and St. Anthony’s College, Oxford.
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Tifereth Israel to participate in World Wide Wrap
SAN DIEGO (SDJW) — Conservative Jewish congregations throughout the world, including Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego, will participate on Super Bowl morning, Feb. 5, in the “World Wide Wrap,” in which members and visitors are encouraged to put on tefillin for morning prayers.
Members of the Tiferth Israel Synagogue Men’s Club will teach Torah School students and others how to put on the tefillin (phylacteries) and the prayer to say while doing so.
Elsewhere, according to Irwin Harris who chairs World Wide Wrap for the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, “the Beth Yeshurun Brotherhood, a stone’s throw from the location of the SuperBowl in Houston is inviting Jewish fans in for the weekend to Wrap with them on Sunday on morning before the game.”
“A group from the FJMC will have breakfast with members of the Cuban Jewish Community and then participate together in the World Wide Wrap at the Patronado in Havana,” he said.
“The Jewish Community of Berlin is taking part in the Wrap for the first time,” Harris added.
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Susanne Geshekter Smith, former executive director of Temple Emanu-El, dies
SAN DIEGO — Susanne Geshekter Smith, wife of Robert Smith and devoted Executive Director of Temple Emanu-El for 20 years, has died, Temple Emanu-El has announced.
The funeral service will be held on Friday, February 3 at 10 am in the Sanctuary at Temple Emanu-El, followed by burial at El Camino Memorial Park, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road, San Diego. Afterwards there will be a meal of condolence back at Temple Emanu-El.
Shiva minyanim will be held at the home of Robert Smith,Saturday & Sunday evenings at 7:30 pm. Call the temple for the address.
Memorial contributions may be made in honor of Susanne Geshekter to support the research of Dr. Stephen Forman, City of Hope, 5090 Shoreham Place #212, San Diego, 92122
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Preceding culled from news releases and other sources by the staff of San Diego Jewish World.