Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 106, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 1, 2013 Page: 2 of 20
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Jewish Herald-Voice
August 1, 2013
Up Close
YAD kickoff to feature the Spazmatics
The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston
expects more than 400 young adults to flock to
Warehouse Live to hear the Spazmatics for the
kickoff of the Jerome Robinson Family Young Adult
Division programming year.
Levi Strauss and Evan Grossman are chairing
the fete, set for 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday, Sept.
7. At kickoff, presented by The Selzer-Katz Group,
UBS Financial Services Inc., young professionals
will have the opportunity to meet friends, old and
new, and learn about the Federation.
“YAD’s fall kickoff really sets the tone for the
upcoming year. It’s a great way to reconnect with
people you have lost touch with or meet new, like-
minded people from the young Jewish community
of Houston,” Strauss said. “Every year, we try
to change up the event just a little to keep the
momentum we are building going.”
Beginning the season with the Spazmatics
should signal to the young Jewish community that
a fun year is in store. YAD’s annual programs
include Casino Night, Mitzvah Day, the Business
& Professional Networking Brunch, Boker Tov at
benjys, happy hours and more.
“YAD is ready to kick off the programming
year with a bang, and what better way to do that
than with the Spazmatics?” Grossman said. “If
you have never seen them before, they are truly an
incredible ’80s and ’90s cover band from Austin.
It is impossible not to have a good time during a
Spazmatics concert. This just shows the level of
programming to expect this year.”
Preregistration is open now through Tuesday,
Sept. 3.
For more information about YAD programs,
contact liana Ellison at 713-729-7000, ext. 335, or
iellison@houstonjewish.org. □
Mendell estate gift finances Yoseftal, Dado library, senior center
Houston’s partnership neighbor-
hoods of Yoseftal and Dado in Petach
Tikvah, Israel, now have a brand new
library and expanded senior room in
the community center, thanks to a gift
from the estate of Miriam Mendell,
through the Jewish Federation of
Greater Houston.
Mendell, who was instrumental
in creating the partnership in 1982,
left $92,000 in her will to Yoseftal
and Dado. Half went to create a new
library in Yoseftal, which was named
in her honor, and half went to expand
the senior room in the Dado matnas
(community center). The city of
Petach Tikvah matched the $46,000
for the Dado matnas 10 times and the
$46,000 for the Yoseftal library seven
times.
“The library is bright and very
modern, with computers open to the
public and shelves of books,” said
Ira Kerem, the Houston Federation’s
community representative in Israel.
“The furnishings are very inviting.
I am sure that Miriam would have
enjoyed the place.”
The expansion of the Dado
matnas includes an outside stairs,
enclosing the roof, a recreation area
and exercise equipment outside.
The more than 30-year partnership
began in 1982, when North American
Federations adopted “sister cities” in
Israel as part of a Jewish Agency for
Israel program, then called Project
Renewal. In addition to supporting
Yoseftal and Dado through grants to
build infrastructure, the relationship
Miriam Mendell in Yoseftal, 1984
has been a way to build stronger
ties with Israel through people-to-
people connections. The now-titled
Partnership 2000 (P2K) continues as
a strong relationship today.
Ted Dinerstein was the first chair
of Project Renewal and worked with
Mendell, who became the second
chair.
“It was a wonderful experience for
those of us who were involved - not
only did we do something good, but it
was fun,” Dinerstein said. “We didn’t
just raise the money, but we controlled
how the money was distributed to the
community, and saw the results, and
we were part of putting those results
into action. Most people don’t get
that opportunity in a charity - to get
your hands in there, make the tough
decisions and see the improvements
in the neighborhood.”
According to Federation senior
vice president of development,
Suzanne Jacobson, “If Ted was the
‘father’ of the project, then Miriam
was the ‘mother.’ For the first few
years both visited the communities
regularly and helped teach the
neighborhoods to organize themselves
through a committee structure.
“While both Ted and Miriam held
many leadership positions throughout
our community, Yoseftal and Dado
captured their hearts and souls,”
Jacobson added.
“I was most touched when I visited
with Miriam late in her life, when
she was living in a one-room full-
care facility. She and her husband,
David, were extensive world travelers
and had built a large collection of
art from around the world. They also
both had received numerous honors
and recognitions from Jewish and
professional organizations,” Jacobson
said. “Living now in one room, choices
needed to be made and she had
space for very few personal objects.
But, on either side of her bed were
plaques and presentation awards from
Yoseftal and Dado, thanking her for
all she had done.”
An opening-day ceremony
was held at the Yoseftal Library
in June, attended by the mayor of
Petach Tikvah, Uri Ohad, who cut
the ribbon; the head of the Yoseftal
Library department; officials from the
municipality; members of the Dado
matnas board; and neighborhood
leaders and residents.
Avigail Nigist, a seventh-grader,
whose family came from Ethiopia,
spoke at the library opening ceremony
about how she had written a letter to
Ohad, signed by 20 of her friends,
imploring him to open the library. She
prefers books to TV and computers,
but had nowhere to go for them. She
had been reading one book a day, but
was running out of books to read.
Shlomo Ivgny, the elected chair of
the Yoseftal neighborhood committee,
explained the need for a library in
Yoseftal.
“We have many new Ethiopian
olim who now live in Yoseftal. Most
of the families have no books at home.
Part of the reason is that they came
from a culture where very few adults
could read or write and almost no
home had a book. Part of the reason
is that books cost money and most
Ethiopian families have to worry first
about paying for food and electricity,
rent or the mortgage before they
can think of books. The library is a
wonderful gift for all these families,
especially their children,” Ivgny said.
“In the library, they can read to their
hearts’ content; take out books and
bring them home; journey to other
worlds; and even get help with their
homework. It is so great to have the
library in this neighborhood.”
For information about the
Federation’s partnership with Yoseftal
and Dado, contact P2K chair Linda
Freedman Block at 713-729-6221 or
lindafreedmanblock@gmail.com, or
Federation director of planning
and allocations, Barbara Bratter, at
713-729-7000, ext. 331, or bbratter@
houstonjewish.org. □
hopes that by bringing teachers and
educators to Israel they will become
passionate advocates for Israel
instilling in their students the same
connection they learned firsthand on
their trip,” said David Barish, one of
Shirley Barish’s sons and president
and CEO of Chair King Backyard
Store.
“The institute will create
sustainable change regarding Israel
education for synagogue religious
schools by underwriting a very
special trip to Israel for principals and
teachers,” said Ellen Trachtenberg,
chair of the Federation’s Shirley
Barish Israel Educators Institute
Committee. “The Barish family and
Chair King are giving a gift to the
entire community by providing the
participants with the knowledge and
passion for Israel, which they can
impart to their students.”
Shirley Barish was a consummate
educator, and Israel education, in
particular, was important to her. She
was the creator of the Federation’s
Yom Limmud - community day of
learning; she led the Federation’s
Houston Pilgrimage to Israel several
times during the 1970s; and she was
a longtime religious school teacher
at Congregations Beth Israel and
Emanu El. She died on Dec. 26, 2011,
at age 85. She was married for nearly
63 years to Marvin Barish, and they
have three children: Jacquelyn, David
and Leon Barish.
“One family or person can make
a difference now and in the future
here in Houston with their vision
and generosity as the Barish family
has done,” Trachtenberg said. “The
benefit is not just to the individual
participants, or even the students,
but it creates a stronger and more
vibrant Jewish community in
Houston.”
The Federation’s Religious
Schools Educators Network
identified the need several years ago
for enhanced Israel education within
the religious schools and the need
was confirmed through additional
assessments last spring. The
Barish family stepped in to provide
additional teacher training to meet
the need. The Federation’s Fund for
the Jewish Future also is supporting
the institute by funding curriculum
materials and professional
development training.
“The Federation has been at
the forefront of providing the best
Jewish life for the Jewish community
of Houston. It has taken the lead, as
a visionary and motivator, to provide
programs that benefit all ages of our
Jewish population,” Trachtenberg
said. “This new initiative is in keeping
with the Federation’s commitment to
strengthen our Jewish identity and to
strongly support the State of Israel.”
Training will begin in early 2014,
with several educational sessions
before and after the trip, along with
networking opportunities.
The trip itinerary will include
professional-development training
based on several specific Israel
curricula, including Jerusalem
OnlineU. Participants will be able
to infuse trip components and first-
hand experiences into their schools
and classrooms.
“The ultimate benefit of this
institute for students in Houston is
that they will become knowledgeable
about Israel and become strong
advocates for our homeland in
an increasingly hostile world,”
Trachtenberg said. “By providing
local religious schools with
educated and passionate teachers,
and an improved community Israel
curriculum, we are sending a vital
message to our students that the
Houston Jewish community cares
about them and their education.”
All Houston Jewish religious
schools can apply to participate in
this program, and individual teachers
can apply to become “community
educators.” The goal is to have
two educators from each school
and several floating community
educators who can offer their
services to schools throughout the
community.
Applications will be mailed to
synagogues in early August, and
community educator applications will
be available online, beginning Aug.
15. Contact Lori Actor, Federation
Israel Experiences coordinator, at
lactor@houstonjewish.org or 713-729-
7000, ext. 329, with questions. The
application deadline is Oct. 1. □
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Samuels, Jeanne F. Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 106, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 1, 2013, newspaper, August 1, 2013; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth544149/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .