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The Westchester Jewish Council's
WE-stchester
Comm-UNITY
Connection
April 7, 2026 20 Nisan 5786
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Greetings!

We hope you’re enjoying a meaningful Passover holiday.
As spring unfolds, our community calendar is incredibly filled with a variety of opportunities to connect, reflect, and celebrate together. We don’t want you to miss a moment, so please read on.
In this week's newsletter, you’ll find ways to honor victims of the Holocaust at the annual Westchester Yom HaShoah Countywide Commemoration on Tuesday, April 14 at noon in partnership with the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center; to celebrate extraordinary local volunteers at the annual Julian Y. Bernstein Distinguished Service Awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 28; and to engage with Israel with our community shlicha and shinshinim at the annual Yom HaZikaron ceremony and Yom Ha'Atzmaut celebration. Full details within.
Don't forget to sign up for the Rachel Goldberg-Polin Book Launch. Join UJA Westchester and the Westchester Jewish Council on Thursday, April 23rd to hear from Rachel about her new book, When We See You Again. Space is limited.
There’s so much more to explore, so please visit the full community calendar at www.wjcouncil.org and start planning your spring with us.
Be part of the connection. We hope to see you at many of these upcoming Council-sponsored and partnered programs.
We will see you in your inbox next Thursday, April 16.
Moadim L'Simcha/Happy Passover!
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Michael Mittelman, President
Elliot Forchheimer, CEO
Lori Kurlander, Communications Manager
WESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL
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HERE WHEN YOU NEED US - YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW:
Since 1975, the Council has connected our Jewish community to:
Each other, to Israel, to our elected officials and
to our brothers and sisters from other faiths and ethnic groups
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(The Council is financially supported by donations from individuals,
dues from 120 member organizations and generous financial support from UJA-Federation.)
| | UPCOMING COUNCIL PROGRAMS | | |
Get Ready: Our Annual Julian Y. Bernstein
Disntiguished Service Awards Ceremony Is on April 28
| | We invite you to join us on Tuesday, April 28th to celebrate this year's Distinguished Service Awards honorees, each of whom has an amazing story to share. Details can be found below and on our website. | |
Spotlight on the Julian Y. Bernstein
Distinguished Service Awards Honorees
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STEVEN EIGEN
Steven Eigen has been a dedicated member of Scarsdale Synagogue–Temples Tremont and Emanu-El for more than two decades. Over the course of his membership, Steven has made significant contributions by serving in multiple leadership roles. For more than fifteen years, he has served as treasurer and a member of the Board of Trustees. Steven’s proudest accomplishment was being the first winner of the Synagogue’s Mensch Of The Year.
In his professional life, Steven serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Central National Gottesman Inc. Steven was previously awarded CFO of the year in Westchester County, and he was also awarded International Business Student of the Year by the Westchester Business Council.
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RONA STERLING
Rona, always interested in working with children, earned her N-6 certification and a Masters in Reading. Rona has taught at Woodlands Community Temple, Westchester Reform Temple, and Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester, where she helped expand the nursery program and became Assistant Director. Helping to set up a preschool at Sinai Free Synagogue (SFS), she quickly found a home away from home. She became Religious School Board Chair, and with co-leader Barbara Korner, created the “Beresheet Bunch”—an interactive program for 3- and 4-year-olds with caregivers, now in its 34th year. Rona keeps college students connected by sending Hanukkah and Purim care packages.
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DAVID MALCHMAN
David Malchman, a recent immigrant from the Jersey Shore to Westchester, has a long history of dedication to Jewish life and community building.
A member of Shaarei Tikvah in Scarsdale since 2022, he quickly sought ways to connect with his new community. David became involved in synagogue activities, bringing his love of tefillah, and West African percussion, to services.
After a friend was killed in Ofakim on October 7 and his son struggled with PTSD from his IDF service in the 2010’s, David reshaped his focus. He discovered “Run 4 Their Lives,” an initiative to raise public awareness about the hostages in Gaza and the families awaiting their return. In November 2023, David launched a Westchester chapter—the 30th in a movement that ultimately reached more than 250 communities worldwide.
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LORETTA LONDON
Loretta London grew up inspired by her mom and grandmother, women who modeled love, honor and respect for all people. She is the co-founder of “Healing the Children,” a charity that sends teams of medical professionals to provide care for children in developing countries and has served more than 200,000 children. Since retiring six years ago, Loretta has focused on community service with her husband, Dr. Roger London. During COVID, they partnered with Gullotta House to create a Free Community Food program that has provided and served more than 300,000 meals and has secured over $350,00 in grants. They also helped organize the delivery of more than 2,000 COVID vaccinations in the Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow community and at Temple Beth Abraham (TBA).
| | UPCOMING PROGRAMS AND HELPING ISRAEL | |
WESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL'S
SECURITY AND SAFETY UPDATE
“Repetition Reinforces Retention and Recall”
| | For more information about the Westchester Jewish Council's Security Roundtable initiative, contact security@wjcouncil.org. Working together we are all safer. | | WESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL ROUNDTABLES | | |
Westchester Jewish Council
Upcoming Community Roundtables
(The Council thanks the hundreds of people who dedicate time to attend our Roundtables - a signature initiative of the Council, often sponsored with wonderful partners from among our member organizations)
Synagogue Presidents - Wednesday, May 6
Security - Thursday, May 14
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An Evening with Professor Stephen Berk: Antisemitism: Past and Present
Tuesday, April 14, 2026 • Doors open at 7:15 pm
Antisemitism is the world’s oldest and most persistent hatred. Not because Jews change, but because antisemitism continually mutates to fit the prevailing ideas of the time — repackaged again and again like old wine in new bottles.
To better understand how these changes have appeared across history — and why they matter today — join UJA Westchester to hear from Stephen Berk, professor of Holocaust and Jewish studies at Union College.
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Rachel Goldberg-Polin Book Launch
Thursday, April 23, 2026 • Doors open at 6:30 pm
Our greater community stood in solidarity as Rachel Goldberg-Polin turned unimaginable pain into fierce advocacy for the return of her beloved son, Hersh, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, and later murdered by Hamas.
Join UJA Westchester to hear from Rachel about her new book, When We See You Again. Rachel will discuss some of her book's major themes, including intense grief, love, loss, devotion, and faith.
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UJA Westchester Annual Celebration Wednesday, May 13, 2026 • 6:30 pm
Celebrate our community’s support for UJA and help us honor Karen and Ed Friedman for their deep commitment to the Jewish community and recognize Kim Goldberg and Lauren Shalem as the recipients of our Young Leadership Award.
| | A SMALL SAMPLE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING... | | |
CONDOLENCES:
We are saddened by the loss of Sonia Kuper z"l, mother of Martine Fleishman, Council Honorary Director and mother-in-law of Stanley Fleishman.
MAZEL TOV:
County Executive Ken Jenkins announced Reverend Kym McNair as Director of Faith-Based Initiatives. We look forward to working closely with Rev. McNair
| | SOME QUICK MEDIA/COMMUNITY LINKS | | |
Westchester Jewish Council
925 Westchester Avenue, Suite 200, White Plains, NY 10604
914-328-7001 | info@wjcouncil.org | www.wjcouncil.org
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For information regarding submissions, please contact Lori Kurlander
The next Community Connection will be published on or about April 16, 2026
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