ISRAEL EVENTSEvents

 

Israeli Folk Dancing

Mondays @ 7:30-9:30 pm

Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC

6255 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Whitefish Bay

 

Teaching and dancing for beginners is often held from 7:30 to 8:15 pm followed by intermediate to advanced level circle dancing of the newest dances from Israel. Ages 12+. No cost.

 

Email MilwaukeeIFD@Yahoo.com for more information including whether a beginner class is being held on a given week.

 

 

Gilbert Scholar in Residence Weekend with Adam Ciselsky

February 6-8

Congregation Shalom

7630 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Fox Point

 

Over the weekend, founding member of Kibbutz Lotan, Alex Cicelsky, will present on environmentalism and ARTZA. Friday the 6th, services start at 6:45pm, Saturday morning, Torah study is at 9am , and Saturday night, Israeli wine, cheese, and Havadallah starts at 6:30pm. Sat. night's topic is Jewish pluralism in Israel, the role of ARZA and our roles in the upcoming 2015 World Zionist Organization elections.

 

RSVP to Amber@Cong-Shalom.org

 

 

Israeli Falafel Night

February 8 @ 5:30-8:30 pm

Peltz Center for Jewish Life

2233 West Mequon Road, Mequon

 

SABABA!! Enjoy the flavors of the Middle East at Israeli Falafel Night with Israeli Chef, Yaniv Sheinbein! Taste his famous falafel balls, pita, chummus, techina, Israeli salad and burekahs. Enjoy the authentic Israeli experience along with Israeli music! Bring your whole family and invite your friends!

 

Members: $16 per adult, $12 per child
Non-members: $18 per adult, $14 per child

 

Contact Rabbi Moshe at 262-242-2235 or Info@ChabadMequon.org to RSVP.

 

 

Nice or Necessary: The Role of Peace Groups in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

February 9 @ Noon

Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC

6255 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Whitefish Bay

 

A unique opportunity to hear from the US Director Joel Braunold of the Alliance for Middle East Peace ,a coalition of over 70 people-to-people organizations building Middle East peace, cooperation, coexistence and reconciliation on the grassroots level.

 

Co-sponsored by the Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC and the Milwaukee Jewish Federation's Jewish Community Relations Council and Israel Center.

 

Bring your own lunch or purchase food at the caf�. RSVP with Zabrina at ZabrinaT@MilwaukeeJewish.org, 414-390-5724.

  

 

The Growing Threat In the Middle East: ISIS

February 17 @ 7 pm

Peltz Center for Jewish Life

2233 West Mequon Road, Mequon

 

Join for a community lecture by Israeli military intelligence analyst Dr. Mordechai Kedar. He will discuss the Middle East's profound and historic transformation, as well as what makes ISIS attractive to young recruits.

 

Contact Rabbi Moshe at 262-242-2235 x204 or Info@ChabadMequon.org to RSVP.

 


 
KOACH Featuring Amit and Doron

February 19 @ Noon

Congregation Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun

2020 West Brown Deer Road, River Hills

 

KOACH, a senior education program run by the Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC, will feature the Federation's shlichut couple for music and education.

 

Lunch is $8. RSVP by February 16th with Diane Sobel, KOACH Director, 414-967-8258.

 

 

Understanding Next Month's Israeli Elections with Doron Zehavi

February 26 @ Noon

Milwaukee Jewish Federation

Evan & Marion Helfaer Community Services Building

1360 North Prospect Ave,, Milwaukee

 

Learn about the factors at play in Israel's elections on March 17th. Doron Zehavi, part of the current shlichut delegation, will explain which coalitions are coming together for the next ballot and why.

 

Bring your own lunch. RSVP by February 19th with Zabrina at ZabrinaT@MilwaukeeJewish.org, 414-390-5724.

 

 

Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Tal Becker

February 27-28

Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid

6880 N. Green Bay Ave., Glendale

 

Congregation Sinai

8223 N. Port Washington Road, Fox Point

 

CBINT and Congregation Sinai are co-hosting Dr. Tal Becker, principal deputy legal adviser at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and an iEngage Project research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute. He is a senior member of the Israeli peace negotiation team and works on the front lines of many of Israel's most pressing diplomatic, legal and policy challenges. Hi recent book won the Guggenheim Prize for best international law book. Dr. Becker will be at CBINT on Friday night and at Congregation Sinai on Saturday night.

 

To RSVP for Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid, contact Danielle Glass at 414-352-7310, DanielleG.Cbint@Outlook.com


 

To RSVP for Congregation Sinai, contact Jen Friedman 414-352-2970 x110, JFriedman@CongregationSinai.org

 

 

Young Leaders Interested in Israel

Save the Date: March 28-29

Midwest NextGen Conference on Israel in Indianapolis

 

Includes a geo-political briefing by the Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, Roey Gilad, on ways to combat the delegitimization of Israel, workshops on how to talk about Israel in any situation, the US-Israel alliance, and the rise in global Anti-Semitism.

 

For more information contact Rabbi Hannah at HannahG@MilwaukeeJewish.org, 414-390-5764

 

SPEAK THE LANGUAGESpeak

 

Young Adult including College Student, Interested in Learning Hebrew?

First class will be February 15

Email Stefanie Sager, Young Jewish Adults Milwaukee (YJAM), for details about a newly forming group.

 

Modern Hebrew Language Class

Wednesdays @ 7 pm

Pelz Center for Jewish Life, 2233 West Mequon Road, Mequon, WI 53092 

Questions? Email or call Rabbi Moshe Rapoport at 262-242-2235.

 

Chug Ivrit

Fridays @ 1 pm - February 13, March 13, May 8, June 12

Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC, 6255 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Whitefish Bay

An opportunity to practice speaking Hebrew.

Questions? Email or call Zabrina Tamarkin at 414-390-5724.

 

 

TRIPS TO ISRAELTrips

 

Israel: The Arts Tour

April 19-29, 2015

 

Join Jody Hirsh, JCC director of Judaic education & Milwaukee's Artists' Laboratory director, for a ten day trip to Israel focused on unique arts and culinary experiences. Questions? Email or call Jody Hirsh at 414-967-8199.

 

 

Milwaukee Mission 2016

 

As we celebrate 20 Years of P2G people-to-people connections, Milwaukeeans from all over the community will celebrate together in Israel on a trip with options for everyone. Questions? Email or call Rabbi Hannah Greenstein at 414-390-5764.

 

 

CURRENT PERSPECTIVESCurrent

 

News about Attacks against Jews and Jewish Community

 

Jan. 9 - Paris

Paris Jews at odds over where the dead - and living - belong (Ha'aretz)

Perspective: Leon Wieseltier: We Are Hyper Cacher: For French Jews, the choice between France and Israel is no choice at all (The Atlantic)

 

Jan. 18 - Argentina

Who will obtain justice for Alberto Nisman (Times of Israel)

Nisman's death raises questions, suspicions (Miami Herald)

 

Jan. 19 - Argentina

Israeli tourists hurt in hours-long anti-Semitic attack in Argentina (JTA)

 

Jan. 20 - Paris

Jewish boy, 13, assaulted near Paris (JTA)

 

Jan. 21 - Tel Aviv

Palestinian stabs Tel Aviv commuters in terror attack (Times of Israel)

 

Gov. Walker

Scott Walker Likely to Lead Trade Mission to Israel (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

(Our Wisconsin Jewish Conference and the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest have worked with Gov. Walker on this issue.)

 

Possible Joint Invasion of Northern Galilee

Iran and Hezbollah are planning 'imminent' joint invasion of Israel's northern Galilee region according to 'high level intelligence' (Daily Mail)

 

Israeli airstrike in Syria

Hezbollah Says Israeli Helicopter Strike Killed Five Fighters in Syria 

 

Miss Universe controversy

Miss Israel Responds After Miss Lebanon Distances Herself From Joint Photo: It Doesn't Surprise Me, But it Still Makes Me Sad (Algemeiner)

 

Controversy: Netanyahu and the Republicans

Now Speaking for the Republicans: Benjamin Netanyahu (The Atlantic) 

 

FEATURE STORYFeatureStory 
 

By Pnina Goldfarb, Partnership2Gether Chair

 

Partnership2Gether(P2G) is a program connecting some 500 Jewish communities around the world with 46 Israel partnership areas. The Milwaukee Jewish community has been involved in P2G for the last 14 years, partnering with the Sovev Kinneret Region in conjunction with our cluster city partners; St Paul, Tulsa and recently Madison. Through the programming partnerships, P2G has built relationships with young children, school age youth, teens, young adults, professionals, special interest groups and seniors. We have studied, shared our life experiences, explored Judaism, played and laughed together. Furthermore, Milwaukee families continue to maintain these Israel relationships through social media which has then been followed by shared celebrations of life cycle events including births, bar mitzvahs and weddings both in Milwaukee and in the Region.

 

On February 1-4, 2015, the annual, Joint Steering Committee of the Sovev Kinneret Region and the cluster city partners will meet in the Region. The primary purpose of these meetings is to approve program initiatives conceived by each community to be initiated the following year. In the past such programs developed by Milwaukee included such long term programs as the Shin Shinim, Teen Mifgash and School Twinning; professional exchanges such as the Ecological Program and the Medical Clowns, and multiple reciprocal events such as the Social Worker exchange. Funding for these programs are shared by the Jewish Agency through core dollars and each cluster city local Federation.

 

Additionally this year, the Steering committee will go through a strategic planning process which began last year at our meetings in St Paul. The joint committee will also meet with several Sovev Kinneret mayors with the goal of identifying a project that will engage the entire Partnership.   Furthermore, delegates will meet with their respective partner communities of programs that will be occurring between March and August, 2015. For Milwaukee that will be the Ya'ad Shay Shoshany (young leaders) delegation. Lastly, the committee will visit a few highlighted locations that could stimulate ideas for programming. They include Kinneret College, Yad Labanim, Peace Island and Kadoori High School.

 

These annual meetings are open to all those interested. Five representatives, both professional and lay leaders, from Milwaukee will be attending these 2015 meetings. In 2016, the steering committee meeting will again be held in Israel as it will be held in conjunction with the 20th year celebration of Partnership 2Gether.


 

LETTER FROM AMITAmit

 

 

What inspires me to go on Shlichut?

 

Amit Yaniv-Zehavi

 

Last week I was asked to talk about this subject to MJF Board.

 

I realized this was a deep question for me and my answers aren't slogans, they are from the heart.

 

These are the things that inspired me to become your community Shlichah (Israel Emissary):

  • A calling; quest; a dream larger than myself I had to do. Who calls? The Jewish People. Because I feel I belong to a people, larger than Israel & I believe in everyone's right to exist wherever they feel they need to be. Everyone has a role.

  • Experiencing Partnership via P2G, experience living in Israel as well as living in & visiting Jewish communities overseas (South Africa, Hong Kong, London, DC). Believing in Partnership & People to People connections and wanting to help strengthen those bonds. (as Milwaukee has with the Sovev Kinneret region in Israel)

  • Role Models: Former Shlichim I knew from work (Jewish Agency) and my Kibbutz (Tzora). They all had a contagious spark in their eyes.

  • Wanting to make my own imprint, being a creative human being, I see this as an opportunity to bring everything I have done up till now to use (such as community work, youth movement, summer camps, Army service, teaching art workshops, work with all ages, informal education, group leadership)

  • Timing - This was a window of opportunity in terms of my children's ages, before my eldest is drafted into the IDF. Also, my husband, Doron's willingness to take a break from his almost 20 year long career in Hi-tech. Having said all this, we still have to be a bit crazy to leave all our support systems behind, our family, friends, house, cat, jobs, financial stability to go on this adventure without knowing what the future has in store. Still, we knew we had to do it.

  • The Time Capsule effect makes the Shlichut seem less overwhelming. Knowing that in 2-3 years we will all go back home, (while leaving behind a 2nd home).

  • On a personal level for the kids: Obviously, mastering English (which is important for anyone living in Israel, to develop Professionally), Flexibility of personality (gained by living outside of one's comfort zone and having to make an effort to make friends and communicate), expanding one's horizons by travelling and by being exposed to different ways of thinking, behaving and doing things. Realizing that the way we (Israelis) do things isn't the only way, nurturing our souls with new friendships.

  • Connecting to our Jewish roots (so important for secular Jews that grew up on an "all or nothing" approach to Judaism, seeing the many shades that exist here and being touched by how much Israel means to the Jewish community of Milwaukee.

  • Lastly, I believe all Shlichim have the common wish to help Israel be understood and appreciated better, the goal of connecting and engaging people with Israel, being a match maker for the right Israel experience for the individual and bringing a personal and tangible Israel to your doorstep. Thank you for choosing me to do this for you and living my dream.

 

Lehitraot!

 

 

Amit Yaniv-Zehavi

Community Shlichah

 

PS Feel free to contact me at AmitZ@MilwaukeeJewish.org

 

 

ABOUT ISRAEL CENTERAbout

 

The Israel Center, a department of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, serves as Israel's central address in the greater Milwaukee community. Our mission is to create connections between the people of Israel and Milwaukee through cultural, professional, educational and travel experiences. These connections are developed in part through Shlichut and Partnership2Gether, two programs that are made possible through the Milwaukee Jewish Federation's partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel. Learn more.


 

Questions? Email or call Rabbi Hannah Greenstein, VP outreach, Israel and overseas, at 414-390-5764.