The Westchester Jewish Council's
Community Connection
October 29, 2020 11 Cheshvan 5781
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Hello!
If you are one who thrives on routine and excitement, you have found the right place this week because it is time for our annual gala reveal. We have three outstanding honorees who we will honor at our 45th Annual Gala (first ever virtual) on January 30. The mystery unfolds below!
This week marked our first event in a new monthly series, as part of our Israel Roundtable, called "Israel Connection". We would like to thank Herbert Block, Executive Director of American Zionist Movement (Council member) for presenting, Danny Schultz, Westchester Jewish Council Board Member for moderating this event and Alicia Post, AZM National Program and Communications Director.
We invite you to join us next Thursday, November 5th for our Israel Honors Day Program. This event is co-sponsored by the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Westchester Jewish Council and UJA. Details and registration can be found within the newsletter.
Finally, a mazel tov is in order to our friend Andi Rosenthal, the winner of last week's member organization quiz. Thank you to the many readers who participated, many before the sun even rose. We are happy to know that the newsletter is something you read before or during your day. Keep on reading and feel free to send feedback to Lori@wjcouncil.org
Stay safe and healthy and remember, clocks fall behind early Sunday morning....
Shabbat Shalom
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Lisa Roberts, President
Lori Kurlander, Communications Manager
Elliot Forchheimer, CEO
WESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL
"HERE WHEN YOU NEED US
YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW"
(The Council is financially supported by donations from individuals,
dues from 136 member organizations and generous grant support from UJA-Federation)
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Please support the work of the Westchester Jewish Council. Your donation makes a difference each and every day. Click here to donate
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DRUM ROLL PLEASE....
WESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL'S
2021 GALA HONOREES REVEAL
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On Saturday night, January 30, we will be gathering virtually at the WJC 45th Anniversary Gala to honor three dedicated individuals who each contribute tremendously to this community and beyond. Just click on each curtain and the honorees will be revealed! MAZAL TOV TO L.R,. H.K.S and M.S.
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WESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL
UPCOMING EVENTS
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ISRAEL'S 2020 HONOR DAY VIRTUAL DELEGATION |
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We invite the community to join our Israeli Heroes, the wounded IDF Veterans, for an Israel Honors Day zoom presentation on Thursday, November 5th at 12pm. We will hear from Major Ofir Anidgar who served in a combat engineering unit which searched for terror tunnels and from Shahaf Segal who served in the special anti-terror unit, Sayeret Golani, as a sharpshooter and a medic. This event is co-sponsored by the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Westchester Jewish Council and UJA.
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You are invited to the
Biennial Night of Music Virtual Celebration
Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 7:30pm
presented by Kol Hazzanim and The Westchester Jewish Council
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Kol Hazzzanim and the Westchester Jewish Council
invite you to the beloved biennial
Night of Music in a virtual format this year.
Please register in advance for this free event:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
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The Annual Westchester/Fairfield County Thanksgiving Diversity Breakfast
will take place virtually on Thursday November 19th.
Event co-sponsors are AJC Westchester/Fairfield and the Westchester Jewish Council.(More co-sponsors to be announced soon.)
We look forward to gathering together (through Zoom) on Thursday, November 19, 2020, from 8:30-10:00 a.m. The event will once again celebrate our diverse roots and shared values with particular focus this year on the theme of “And Justice for All” to recognize and affirm the common value of equality and justice.
This year, we are honoring individuals who have dedicated themselves to ending discrimination and breaking down barriers and prejudices. We are proud to announce this year’s honorees:
1. Catalina Horvak, Building One Community (B1C)
2. Rev. Erwin Lee Trollinger, Calvary Baptist Church
3. Sam Wallis, Yonkers Partners in Education
Richard S. Cohen, former co-chair of AJC’s Interreligious and Intergroup Relations Committee, will be honored with a special award for his commitment and extraordinary efforts in bringing the Muslim and Jewish communities together.
We are delighted that Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet will deliver a keynote address on the topic of “And Justice for All.”
Online registration will open shortly. For more information, contact Jill Friedman, AJC Westchester/Fairfield Associate Director at friedmanj@ajc.org or Pam Goldstein, Westchester Jewish Council Assistant Executive Director at pam@wjcouncil.org.
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Distinguished Service Award Nominations
are Now Open
The Westchester Jewish Council is now accepting nominations from its member organizations for the prestigious Julian Y. Bernstein Distinguished Service Award.
This year’s award celebration will be held virtually on Tuesday evening March 16, 2021.
Nominations are due by Monday, November 9, 2020 and must be submitted using this form. One nomination per Council member organization. If you have any questions, please contact Donna Bartell at donna@wjcouncil.org.
The Julian Y. Bernstein Distinguished Service Award Committee thanks you in advance for your participation!
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WESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL'S
SECURITY AND SAFETY UPDATE
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail" B. Franklin
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As always and per protocol, please report any security concerns immediately to your local Police Department and then to the Council for follow up. Stay alert, prepared and safe.
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WESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL'S
ISRAEL UPDATE
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Thank you to everyone who participated and attended our first monthly Israel Connection presentation.
If you were unable to attend and would like to view the presentation slides, please click here. To learn more about AZM, please visit their website.
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Herbert Block, Executive Director of American Zionist Movement |
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NEXT UP - SAVE THE DATE:
The next event, "The US Election's Impact on Israel" moderated by Nadav Shachmon (Community Shaliach), will be held on Wednesday, November 17th at 7:30pm. More details to follow.
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PROGRAMMING AND EVENTS YOU CAN ENJOY FROM HOME
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Jewish Music Class for Preschoolers on Election Day at 10:00 a.m.
Join Mr. Amichai Margolis of The Leffell School (Council member) for a free Jewish Music Class for Preschoolers this Election Day, Tuesday, November 3. To sign up for this special class that features popular kids Jewish music songs, click here. You will receive a reminder on the morning of the class with the Zoom link.
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Pardes (Council member) presents:
10-Part Series with Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield: How does Halakha (Jewish Law) Work? Can it Change?
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm, EST
This is a 10-part series that will be taught weekly on Halakha, taught by Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield.
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NEWS AND HAPPENINGS FROM MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS |
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Congratulations again to Hebrew Institute of White Plains on their groundbreaking ceremony this past Sunday.
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ReBuild Committee left to right: Paul Orentlichter, Rabbi Chaim & Suzie Marder, Marc Guthartz, Ellen Ungar, Todd Stern, Lisa Gilbert and Michael Weintraub |
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HIWP Co Presidents Doug Hirshon and Kara Olson
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WP Councilman and HIWP Member Justin Brasch, Rabbi Chaim Marder and Mayor Tom Roach |
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This past year has been a challenging one filled with cancellations, adjustments and disappointments for your recent graduate. You may have a child who began their freshman year of college (some in person and some virtually).
If their freshman year is not what they expected, please consider a spring semester in Israel with the Nativ College Leadership Program! This is an opportunity they will not want to miss!
For the first time ever, Nativ will be opening a Spring semester to give college freshmen the opportunity to live in Jerusalem, study at Hebrew University, hike and travel around Israel and create friendships that will last a lifetime!
Nativ is a program of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (Council member)
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WELCOME NEW BUSINESS PARTNER |
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We are a multi-specialty medical group. The physicians at ColumbiaDoctors Medical Group practice in several Westchester County locations include Hawthorne, White Plains, Eastchester, Hartsdale, Mount Vernon, and Scarsdale. Rockland & Orange County locations includes Suffern, Goshen, Monroe and Port Jervis, New York.
The physicians at ColumbiaDoctors Medical Group are specialists in many areas: Congenital Heart Failure, Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiac Catheterization, Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Podiatry, Obesity medicine, Nutrition & Wellness.
Call to make an appointment:
844-311-1234
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UJA-FEDERATION OF NEW YORK IN WESTCHESTER |
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Day Schools: Challenges & Opportunities in the age of Covid
Wednesday, Nov 11 at 7pm
Join us for a panel discussion with Dr. Michael A. Kay of The Leffell School, Rabbi Joshua Lookstein of Westchester Day School, and Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz of SAR High School, moderated by UJA’s Chavie N. Kahn. They’ll share how their school communities have been affected by the pandemic, the challenges they face, as well as the opportunities that have arisen.
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WESTCHESTER JEWISH COUNCIL ROUNDTABLES (ConnecTables) |
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Westchester Jewish Council
Upcoming Community Roundtables
(The Council thanks the hundreds of people that dedicate time to attend our Roundtables-
a signature initiative of the Council often sponsored with wonderful partners from among our member organizations)
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We will be hosting our roundtables via Zoom until further notice.
Some Upcoming Virtual Council Roundtables:
Greening Roundtable - Tuesday, November 10th at 6pm
Synagogue Presidents +1 - Tuesday November 10th, 7:30 pm
Israel Roundtable - Wednesday, November 17th at 7:30pm
Synagogue Executive Directors - Weekly
Marketing Roundtable - coming one day
Contact the Council office at (914) 328-7001 or info@wjcouncil.org for information on these and other Roundtables--a key offering of the Westchester Jewish Council.
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WESTCHESTER COUNTY GOVERNMENT NEWS |
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COUNTY EXECUTIVE GEORGE LATIMER
ISSUES STATEMENT ON
MASK MANDATE IN WESTCHESTER
“I want to start out by thanking Governor Andrew Cuomo for approving our request for a mask mandate in Westchester County’s school districts. Throughout the pandemic, we have experienced first-hand just how much mask wearing, when coupled with social distancing, can help curtail the spread of COVID-19. The County consulted with school superintendents across Westchester, and received solid support for this proposal. All public, private, parochial and charter school students (in grades k+12), along with their educators and staff, will now be required to wear a mask at all times, with the exception of during designated breaks, when eating, during heavy physical exertion, or when a teacher allows them to be taken off. The safety of our children is always our highest priority, and the safety of the adults who are with our children is also our priority. While we may not have reached the peak numbers we are seeing in neighboring counties, our numbers in Westchester are still on the rise, and this mandate is essential to keeping the people of our County safe.”
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It is hard to believe that the elections are a little more than one week away. During this elections season JCPA (Council member) has aimed to provide you with the resources and support you need, and more recently we have focused on preparation for the contested election. We are now preparing for those situations should action need to be taken. We have put together a JCPA webpage #EveryVoteCounts, with resources we have compiled and will keep updated.
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AJC’s (Council member) first-ever State of Antisemitism in America report is now available
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Westchester Jewish Council Teen Organizations include:
Thank you to the Jewish Education Project for working so closely with our Teen professionals and volunteers!
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JBS can be seen live 24/7 on Cablevision (channel 138), Verizon FIOS (channel 798), ROKU and on https://jbstv.org/
The Hudson Valley 211 Helpline is Here
This is a service of United Way of Westchester and Putnam.
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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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The next Community Connection will be published on or about November 5, 2020
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