TRENDING IN OUR JEWISH COMMUNITY

September 1, 2023

Shalom CT!

I couldn't wait to watch, You Are So Not invited to My Bat Mitzvah, a coming-of-age comedy from Adam Sandler. Just fabulous! The banter, the food, the laughter-- who doesn't love to be Jewish like that?

We love to! You

Are SO invited to Our Gala!

We hope to see you on September 7th at Longshore for a night of celebration, information and pure TeeTones fun. We'll be treated to the musical whimsy of the TeeTones, an entertaining vocal group from New York City who sing their special blend of Doowop, Motown, and Soul.

We will fete our wonderful Federation volunteers, Deborah Hochhauser, Anita Chargar and Lauren Zirn, and Paddle Up to help build a library at Blackham Elementary School in Bridgeport and a library in Beit Alfa, Israel. Watch the video about Beit Alfa and get ready to Paddle Up!

You can purchase tickets below!

I wish you a safe Shabbos and enjoy the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Carin Savel

CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County

carin@shalomct.org

Empowering Minds,

One Book at a Time

Join us at the Annual Gala on Sept 7 to make a difference in the lives of students in Bridgeport and in Israel!

Paddle Up at the Gala or Paddle Click here.

We are helping to build critically needed libraries and one click here goes a long way!

Paddle Up Here!

Get Your Gala Tickets

Click Here to Get Updates on Merkaz 2023-2024

Visit our Website

It is with profound gratitude we announce that, after nearly two years of planning, the Holocaust Resource Center (HRC) will open on September 21, 2023. The HRC is located at the Federation.

The HRC is the first, and only, Holocaust Resource Center located in Fairfield County.

Why now? We are living under an alarming threat of Holocaust denial and distortion. The HRC will combat this attempted erasure by actively honoring the history and legacy of the Holocaust survivors of the Greater Fairfield County community by documenting and preserving their stories.

Most importantly, the HRC will educate current and future generations to become the “history-tellers” of our community and to share this critical legacy.

While there are but a few Holocaust survivors living in our community, we are so lucky to have second and third generations of survivors here to keep our legacies alive.

You are invited to attend the opening of the HRC, which will include:

Architecture of Murder Exhibit, narrated by Marlene Yahalom, Director of Education, American Society of Yad Vashem, NYC
Survivor video testimonies
Special Holocaust Mezuzah hanging
Adopt-A-Survivor biographies
Upcoming programs
Upcoming events
Ribbon Cutting

The Holocaust Resource Center is a legacy gift to the greater Fairfield County community and our children. It is sacred work. There are many ways to support the HRC. We hope to see you on September 21.

HRC Opening Reception RSVP

Look who came to visit!

Sara Beitman, our PJ Library Manager, has been on maternity leave since April, and boy, is she missed!

Speaking of boy, Sarah and her husband popped into the Federation for a surprise visit to introduce us to their new son, Jonah. As expected, Stacy Kamisar (soon to be a Savta herself) scooped him up immediately!

Mazel tov on your beautiful son--we look forward to your return!

Why Golda still matters

Golda Meir understood American Jews better than any other Israeli leader.

This JNS article was written by Dan Elbaum, head of North America at the Jewish Agency for Israel and the president and CEO of Jewish Agency International Development.

In a dramatic scene from the new film “Golda,” Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir meets with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Kissinger says, “You must remember that first I am an American, second I am secretary of state and third I am a Jew.” Golda replies, “Henry, you forget that in Israel we read from right to left.”

The release of “Golda” will remind and educate Americans, Israelis and people around the world about the tense days of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, when Israel’s fate hung in the balance. It will no doubt reopen painful debates as the 50th anniversary of that conflict approaches.

As she was in life, Golda is a controversial figure in Israel with admirers and detractors. Yet in America, a land she called home for two decades, her legacy has perhaps never been stronger or more important.

You can read the whole article here.

This week, the Times of Israel posted a letter from:

MATTI FRIEDMAN, YOSSI KLEIN HALEVI and DANIEL GORDIS

Diaspora Jews: Time to take a stand

To our sisters and brothers in the Diaspora:

We are writing to you from Jerusalem in the weeks before the High Holidays, during this time of introspection and self-reckoning, to urge you to join the extraordinary Israeli protest movement that is fighting to save the vision that created this country 75 years ago....

If you are interested in attending learning more, the the writers, the Times of Israel’s Amanda Borschel-Dan, and leaders of the Jerusalem protest are inviting you to a live Zoom webinar on September 4 at 11:00 a.m. ET – a discussion of where events in Israel are going, what they mean for the Jewish world, and what each of us can do. This webinar is co-sponsored by The Times of Israel and SOS – Save Our Shared Home.

If you have a question that you’d like answered on the webinar, Leave your question here, and they'll make every effort to address it.

Ambucycle Update!

Your ambucycle continues to deliver its highly competent medic Yosef Ben Gigi to emergencies quickly and often! Yosef was at his home in the northern city of Migdal HaEmek one recent evening when his communications device squawked. Dispatch was alerting him to an urgent situation some distance away, in the town Komemiyut. He rushed outside, hopped onto your speedy lifesaving chariot, and reached the address of the call in five minutes.

Fearsome Fall

Though this was longer than United Hatzalah’s target time of three minutes, Yosef had been the nearest medic able to respond. He found a 38-year-old woman who had slipped down the stairs in her home from the second floor to the ground. Assessing her condition, he found a probable broken bone in her ankle and foot area. Thankfully, she was not bleeding.

Yosef expertly applied a splint to her foot and ankle and immobilized her to prevent movement exacerbating existing fractures. He then waited about another five minutes until an ambulance arrived. It took her to a hospital for imaging and follow-on care.

While repacking his medic kit, Yosef received another alert. Again, it was some distance away. Enter the star of this emergency medical care situation: your lifesaving Federation’s ambucycle. Yosef reached this scene even more quickly than the previous call.

Kitchen Cut

This patient, a 65-year-old woman, had accidentally cut her finger deeply while preparing food for Shabbat. Blood flowed rapidly from the wound and her makeshift effort to wrap it had only slowed it slightly.

Your mobile EMT quickly applied a proper bandage, thoroughly staunching the bleeding. He reinforced the field dressing and told the woman that this was serious enough to require medical attention. Despite his advice, she declined to leave her house. She thanked Yosef profusely, and insisted she was quite satisfied with his bandage.

Those two incidents took about 40 minutes all told. On your nimble vehicle, Yosef is able to reach many more than two patients every day, including Shabbat.

Greater Fairfield’s Great Impact

Through your carefully considered philanthropy, Greater Fairfield County is accomplishing the remarkable feat of making Israel a safer place to live. Thank you for your support in our mission of saving every possible life in Israel.

With gratitude,

Aryeh

United Hatzalah