A Guide for Jewish Living and Giving in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Highland Beach

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10141618

Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County

9901 Donna Klein Blvd.Boca Raton, FL 33428

Chai Lights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . .11

Country Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

N E W D E M O G R A P H I C S T U D Y U N V E I L E D

Our Community. Our World.

Look Inside!We’ve rolled out our theme forthe 2006 UJA/Federation ofSouth Palm Beach CountyAnnual Campaign. It’s allabout making a differenceboth locally, and worldwide.

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WINTER 2006 A Publication of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County

Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDJewish

Federation ofS.P.B.C.

Principal Gifts DivisionWhen Wilma threw the Federation for a loop, Gloria and Lee Baker helped set things right ... with the largestcampaign gift in Federation history!

Women’s DivisionPut 400 generous Jewish women in a room, stir in scintillating speakers and you’ve got the 2006 annual Lion of Judah (LOJ) Luncheon.

Young Adult Division (YAD)Wine, dancing and comedy, all with a Big Apple beat. It’s NYC3 ... the party of the year!

Jewish Community FoundationToday’s donors are generous, but will their children be? Here’s how Foundation is making sure of it.

Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC)As victims of genocide, Jews would be expected to protest the slaughter in Darfur. Here’s how we’re doing it.

Jewish Education Commission (JEC)JEC marks 10th anniversary as the central resourcefor local Jewish learning

First demographic study in 10 years shows south county Jewsboth older ... and younger

Since Jews in south Palm Beach County were lastcounted in 1995, the population has become botholder and younger, and changes in both directionswill have major implications for the Jewish Federationof South Palm Beach County, officials say.

That was a major finding of a full demographic profile of the south county, conducted byFederation in January 2005, and reported on at a press conference on Jan. 4. It was the first such study in 10 years.

The study was conducted by Dr. Ira M. Sheskin,a University of Miami professor of

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GROWING LOCAL NEEDS AND THREAT OF VIOLENCE WORLDWIDE BECKON US TO ‘DO GOOD’

As we approach the mid-way point of our 2006 UJA/Federation Campaign, I reflect on a story that formerIsraeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak shared with us during our Evenings of Valor event in December. Heremembered an occasion on which an Israeli leader was asked, “In one word, could you tell us how thingsare going in the country?” The leader replied, “Good.” He was then asked, “In two words, could you tellus how things are going?” His reply? “Not good!”

That appropriately reflects our situation here at the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County – andit’s a serious situation indeed. While we are ahead of our fundraising pace compared to last year, wesee the critical needs of our Jewish community growing on an exponential basis, both locally and abroad.

Right here in our backyard, we have seen a sharp increase in the need for social services, especiallyamong seniors, primarily as a result of Hurricane Wilma, which also caused severe damage to ourFederation campus. In Israel, the threat of violence continues to mount in the wake of Hamas’ victory inthe recent Palestinian elections and inflammatory statements by the president of Iran, who just a fewweeks ago referred to the Holocaust as a “myth.” In the former Soviet Union, tens of thousands of elderlyJews are suffering every day without adequate supplies of food, medical care and heating fuel.

Whether things in the Jewish community are “good” or “not good,” it is the nature of our people to “dogood” – something the Federation movement has been facilitating for decades. No other organization comesclose to matching Federation’s ability to provide life-saving and life-enhancing humanitarian assistance tothose in need and to translate Jewish values into social action on behalf of millions of Jews, in hundreds ofcommunities in North America, Israel and 60 countries around the world.

If you have not participated in our campaign in the past, we ask that you do so. If you have supportedFederation in recent years, we ask you to increase your commitment. For many of us, a five or 10 percentincrease in our annual gift probably won’t change our lifestyle. But it might help change the lives ofmany who immediately need our help. We also ask that you consider making a commitment to ourJewish Community Foundation, where you can leave a legacy in your name to last far into the future.

When it comes “doing good,” you have the ability to do it all, to do it all at once, and do it all well, throughthe Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. Thank you in advance of your support and Shalom.

To support the 2006 UJA/Federation Campaign, call (561) 852-3100 or visit www.jewishboca.org.

Chai Lights

FEDERATION OFF ICERSChair

Etta Gross Zimmerman

Vice ChairsSteven Bedowitz

Albert GortzThomas R. Kaplan

Roxane Frechie LiptonDorothy Seaman

Teddy Struhl

TreasurerIra Gerstein

Assistant TreasurerMichael Weinberg

SecretaryWarren Greenspoon

Assistant SecretaryEllen R. Sarnoff

Immediate Past ChairLawrence D. Altschul

President & CEOWilliam S. Bernstein, MSW

FEDERATION/UJA CAMPAIGNVice Chair

Steven Bedowitz

Chair, Women’s DivisionDorothy Seaman

1st Vice Chair Campaign, Women’s DivisionEllen R. Sarnoff

Vice Chair Major Gifts, Women’s DivisionKinnie Gorelick

Co-Chairs, Young Adult DivisionJonathan Louis

Naomi Steinberg

CAMPAIGN PROFESSIONALSVice President, Campaign & Community

DevelopmentJason M. Shames

Vice President, Women’s Division Marla Weiss Egers

Assistant Campaign Director, Affinity Campaign

Mitzi Schafer

Assistant Campaign Director, Principal Gifts

Jennifer Koenig

Welcome to the first issue of “Federation Chai Life.” This new publi-cation is produced by the Marketing & Communications Departmentof the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County.

If you’re interested in underwriting this publication or advertising,please contact the Marketing & Communications Department at(561) 852-3177.

By Steve Bedowitz, Campaign Chair

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Soon after Hurricane Wilma rampaged acrosssouth Palm Beach County, the NationalWeather Service reported that some of thestrongest winds had hit near Glades Road and U.S. 441 in Boca Raton – the precise location of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County campus.

Federation President & CEO William S. Bernsteindidn’t need a weatherman to tell him that. Theevidence was all around him. The initial repairestimates totaled nearly one million dollars indamage... none of it insured.

“We would probably have had to run a deficitbecause of this,” Bernstein says, with the toneof a man who has never run a deficit at Federation,and never wants to. “So the gift felt like a giftfrom G-d.”

The “gift” was a check for one million dollars,unrestricted, meaning it could be used as theFederation saw fit. The largest single gift everreceived for the Annual Campaign came fromBoca Raton residents Gloria and Lee Baker.

Bernstein received the check from the Bakers ata Federation Annual Campaign event. “Myreaction was elation. I was very moved, astound-ingly moved, by their generosity,” he says.

“Bill told us ‘we have close to a million in dam-age,’ so that’s why we decided to give the mil-lion,” the Bakers said simply in reply.

The Bakers point out that their gift was not onlymeant for hurricane repairs. The thoughtprocess that led to it actually began when theybecame aware of “Operation Promise,” aUnited Jewish Communities project with world-wide aims, including resettling oppressedEthiopian Jews to Israel and helping Jews in theformer Soviet Union. The Federation hadpledged $3.7 million, over and above its owncampaign, to support the program.

Bill Bernstein picks up the story.

“[Federation Board Chair] Etta [Zimmerman]and I had several conversations with Gloria, inparticular about the Ethiopian issue andabout caring for the elderly,” Bernstein recalls.“She was very concerned that the Federationmeet its objectives for Operation Promise.”

“We are very concerned,” Gloria Baker says inagreement, “about the Jewish community, notonly here but worldwide.”

Just what kind of people are the Bakers?

One way to know them is from their charitablerecord, which runs 27 lines long on a recentbiography. Those they have helped form agalaxy of some of the world’s great Jewishorganizations, including ORT, Hadassah,American Magen David for Israel, AIPAC andthe Anti-Defamation League, in addition to theFederation movement and several specific build-ing projects in Israel. They are members at thehighest levels of giving at many of these chari-ties, including the Federation’s prestigious PrimeMinister’s Council. Last year the Bakers werespecifically honored by Israel Bonds.

Their philanthropy is not limited to the Jewishworld. The Bakers are also significant contribu-tors to the local community, including BocaRaton Community Hospital and the Boca RatonMuseum of Art. Lee Baker, who spent most ofhis career as an attorney, donates to the localLegal Aid Society, and is one of the benefactorsof his alma mater, Harvard Law School. “BakerHouse” stands on the law school campus as atribute to his generosity.

The Bakers also give of their time. Lee does probono legal work and personally delivers food tothe frail elderly in area senior communities.Both Bakers have been active in Federationsince their arrival in Florida in 1989. “They arevisible, educated members of our Board ofDirectors,” says Board Chair Zimmerman. “Weare blessed that they call our community ‘home.’“

“We are very concerned about needy peoplegetting service,” says Lee Baker. “There are luxurycommunities here, but also a lot of needy people.”

The Bakers explain their charity simply. “We’vebeen lifelong givers,” Lee says. “We have beenfortunate and we cannot ignore those who arein need.”

Both Bakers came from modest means. Leegrew up in Brooklyn and Gloria in Atlantic City,New Jersey.

Much of their success was derived from theopportunities society provided, Lee explains.

“I went to Townsend Harris High School in NewYork,” he says, “one of the best schools in the world. Then, after service in the Marine Corps,

DONOR SPOTLIGHTBOCA COUPLE MAKES LARGEST CAMPAIGNGIFT IN FEDERATION HISTORY

“We are very concernedabout the Jewish

community, not only here, but

worldwide.”ef

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Gloria and Lee Baker

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Principal GiftsBARAK APPEARANCE MAKES FEDERATION HISTORYDecember 14 and 15 were history-making dates for the Jewish Federationof South Palm Beach County.

Never in its 25-year history had theFederation had as high level a guestspeaker as former Israeli Prime MinisterEhud Barak. And never had theFederation received as large a singleunrestricted use donation as thatreceived from longtime supporters

Gloria and Lee Baker … $1,000,000. Federation President BillBernstein said the gift “will go a long way toward alleviating nearly amillion dollars in damage suffered by our campus during HurricaneWilma, damage not covered by insurance.”

History was also made in that the Dec. 15 portion of the eventmarked the premier of the Federation’s new Joshua Society, a recogni-tion level division designed to open high profile happenings such asthe Barak appearance to donors at the $10,000 level, just as “theBiblical Joshua opened a new world for Jews,” said Joshua SocietyCo-Chair and Jewish Community Foundation President Tom Kaplan.

The catalyst for all these developments was “Evenings of Valor,” theorganization’s kickoff event for the 2005-2006 Annual Campaign.FMSbonds, Inc. was the exclusive sponsor of the Evenings of Valor.

The two-day celebration began with Barak’s appearance at a galadinner at St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton, along with associ-

ated private receptions at the homes of Phyllis and Harvey Sandlerand Alan and Jane Cornell. The Sandlers and Cornells served as Co-Chairs for the Prime Minister’s Council and Leadership Gifts Divisions,respectively, while Beth and Joe Mishkin and Selma and Daniel Weissco-chaired for the King David Society.

A second dinner was held the following night, also at St. Andrews, underthe auspices of the Joshua Society. Debra and Larry Halperin and Shirleyand Allan Solomon joined with Pamela and Tom Kaplan as Co-Chairs.

At each affair, Barak first joked with his audiences that, “despite the very non-Jewish name of this country club, I still feel comfortablebecause of the welcoming warmth of this audience!”

He then turned serious as he launched into an intensive analysis ofIsrael’s current political turmoil, predicting that the new Kadima Partywould take the upcoming elections in March 2006. This would, hesaid, ensure that Israel could continue what Barak called “the longmarch” toward a two-states-for-two-nations solution for Israelis andPalestinians. It was a scenario, he said, he himself had proposed duringhis prime ministership in 2001. But “it took five years of a tickingIranian nuclear bomb and a Palestinian demographic bomb,” hesaid, for Israel’s “silent majority” to embrace the two-state concept.

He added that, in a wider perspective, the greatest threats to Israel,and the world, were terrorism and nuclear proliferation by “roguestates such as Iran,” whose leader recently called for Israel to be“wiped off the map.” Iran is a problem for the world, Barak said, andit would be a mistake for Israel to follow a

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Posing with Ehud Barak (center) are Dec. 14 event chairs Jane and Alan Cornell (left),Harvey and Phyllis Sandler, Beth and Joe Mishkin and Selma and Dan Weiss.

Dec. 15 Joshua Society event chairs shown with Ehud Barak and his guest Nili Priell (third and

fourth from left) were Debra and Larry Halperin (left), Tom and Pamela Kaplan and Shirley and

Allan Solomon.

Federation Chair Etta Zimmerman greetsformer Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

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Federation’s new Joshua Society opens a “Promised Land”of opportunities to a wider segment of the community

The Dec. 15 appearance by Ehud Barak officially launcheda new division of the Jewish Federation of South Palm BeachCounty’s Major Gifts Division. Named “The Joshua Society,”after the Biblical figure that led the Hebrews into a PromisedLand of new opportunities, and based on an individual con-tribution from $10,000 to $25,000, the Society will likewiseoffer expanded opportunities for access to high level speak-ers and the uniquely privileged information they bring.Additional speakers and events will be announced as thefirst year of the new society progresses.

“We look forward to the community becoming founding members, and hope they will use thisinformation to take a greater role both as citizens and as Jews,” said Shirley Solomon, a JoshuaSociety event co-chair. “We think this new Joshua we are creating will lead Federation to a placewhere more of us can practice tikkun olam (repairing the world) locally, domestically and globally.”

The Evenings of Valor was exclusively sponsored by FMSbonds, Inc.

For more information on the Joshua Society, call Jennifer Koenig at 561-852-3129.

solitary course in solving it. He called forthe U.S. to join with Europe, Russia andChina in confronting the Iranians.

Despite current troubles, Barak said hewas a long-term optimist about the MiddleEast situation. He predicted that, with thehelp of American organizations such asthe Federation and its overseas partners,Israel would be at “the cutting edge ofnations in education, technology andsocial life within 10 years.”

Barak’s visit was heavily covered in bothelectronic and print local media and thetwo-night event secured $6 million for the2006 Federation/UJA Annual Campaign.“This should be the hallmark for all theevents we do here at the Federation,” BillBernstein said.

CAMPAIGN VICE CHAIR STEVE BEDOWITZ: THE POWER OF PERSUASION

Think about one word that could describe Federation Campaign Vice Chair Steve Bedowitz, and itcould be “persuasive.”

When he worked as a newspaper delivery boy in Brooklyn, to help support a widowed mother, hepersuaded his customers to buy subscriptions, rather than single copies, vastly increasing his business.

When he was in the home sales business in Texas, he set records in persuading buyers that thehomes he was selling were the ones to buy.

And when he decided to devote his energies to home remodeling, and to go out on his own to doso, he built a selling system so persuasive it took his company to $300 million in sales,a publiclisting on the New York Stock Exchange and the top of his field.

Since he retired to Florida in 2000, however, his persuasiveness has been put to use in anothermanner, one especially beneficial to the Jewish community. Under his leadership, the Federationrecorded its first $20 million campaign year in 2004, then promptly beat that record in 2005.Steve is looking for an even better performance in the year to come. The secret to his success? “It comes from focusing your energies and never losing sight of your goal,” he says. His goalsthese days are family and Federation, with a special emphasis on helping Israel.

And when he gets up on that podium, and asks “If you make that extra contribution, will it reallychange your lifestyle, because it certainly will change the life of someone who needs it,” you, too,may find just how persuasive Steve can be.

Principal Gift Recognition Levels

(from previous page)

Beth and Joe Mishkin (left and center) present an award toJimmy Klotz, CEO and Co-founder of FMSbonds, Inc., theexclusive sponsor of Evenings of Valor.

Minimum family contri-bution of $100,000 tothe Annual Campaign

Minimum family contri-bution of $55,000 tothe Annual Campaign

Minimum individualcontribution of $25,000to the Annual Campaign

Minimum individualcontribution of $10,000to the Annual Campaign

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Evelyn Payne of the Women’s Division of the Jewish Federation of South Palm BeachCounty says the waiting list was 100 womenlong. “People begged me to come,” she said,“they were willing to stand, go without lunch,even wait on tables to get in.”

The event causing all this buzz was “JewishWomen of the World,” presented on Dec. 14by the Women’s Division of the JewishFederation of South Palm Beach County. Some335 attended.

The event’s sub-title was “The First AnnualDottie Lipson Educational Journey,” after eventunderwriter and longtime Federation lay leaderDottie Lipson, who has committed to supportingtwo more annual editions of this learningexperience. Event chairs were MarissaHollander and Stephanie Owitz Greenberg.

The purpose of the event was, in Lipson’swords, “to show women here that life is not so simple everywhere, to illustrate the plight of Jewish women elsewhere and to make itclear that we have to care of them.”

The first guest speaker, Mazi Melesa, is anEthiopian Jew whose family was transplantedto Israel by the Jewish Agency for Israel, aFederation overseas partner. She was thenhelped to assimilate into Israeli society overthe course of a decade. Melasa attributed her

success in life to programs the Federationhelps fund. “Everything I am today,” she said,“I am because of you.”

Ukrainian-born Evguenia Kaplan followed,explaining that because Judaism was consid-ered a nationality, not a religion, in the formerSoviet Union (FSU), she knew nothing of herfaith until joining Hillel in college afterCommunism fell. One Hillel activity was toconduct Passover services for families long disconnected to Jewish observance. “Matzoand charoset became the building blocks toreconstruct their faith,” she said.

Kaplan then thanked the Federation for help-ing fund Hesed, an elderly relief program thatassists more than 230,000 poor seniors in theFSU, including Kaplan’s father. “Hesed savedhis life,” said Kaplan.

The final “Jewish Woman of the World” wasTammy Berg, born in North Carolina, buttransplanted to Saudi Arabia when she mar-ried a Saudi national. “They tried to make mean automaton,” she said, first renaming herSamiah, then refusing to call her by anyname. “They call you ‘wife of,’ or ‘mother of,’but women have no individual identity,” shesaid. She also said men have a choice of onlytwo roles in life, care of family or engaging injihad. As she spoke, the audience gaspedaudibly. One woman shivered as though asudden chill had gripped the room.

Berg then related the story she had first toldthe world on TV’s “60 Minutes,” of how, afterreturning to the U.S. and divorcing her husband,the man convinced her to send their three children back to Saudi Arabia for a visit. Hethen refused to let them return to their mother. It took nine years and the intervention ofSecretary of State Colin Powell to rescue onechild. The other two remain, said Berg.

The final speaker was Ruth Messinger, a formerManhattan borough president who is nowExecutive Director of American Jewish WorldService (AJWS), often called a “Jewish PeaceCorps.” She spoke about the role of Jews asglobal citizens in the 21st century and abouthow they can help meet the challenges ofpoverty, oppression, hunger and illness.

Lipson believed that the event that bore hername carried a message about the Federationas well. “Events like this help people under-stand how multi-faceted the Federation is inreaching out around the world,” she said. “Inthis, we can set an example for the world.”

Women’s DivisionWOMEN’S DIV IS ION’S “JEWISH WOMEN OF THE WORLD” DRAWS OVERWHELMING RESPONSE

Event Co-Chairs Marissa Hollander (left) and Stephanie Owitz

Greenberg with event underwriter Dottie Lipson and Women’s Division

Vice Chair Emily Grabelsky.

Event underwriter Dottie Lipson (fourth from left) with speakers

Tammy (Samiah) Berg, (left) Mazi Melesa, Ruth Messinger and

Evguenia Kaplan.

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Palm Beach County became Lion country onJan. 18, but it had nothing to do with thewildlife park of that name. Instead, the refer-ence was to 400 Lions of Judah (LOJ), membersof the elite Jewish women’s philanthropic society,who held their annual luncheon at the PoloClub in Boca Raton.

The luncheon was organized by the Women’sDivision of the Jewish Federation of South PalmBeach County. Event Chairs were Tobee Kaplanand Wendy Pressner. Corporate sponsors werethe Sandelman Foundation, Ivan & Co. Jewelersand FMSbonds, Inc.

LOJ members are a crucial part of the Federation’sAnnual Campaign. Kaplan noted from the podiumthat just those in the room represented nearly $4 million in contributed funds.

The event began with a welcome to 43 newLOJ members, each of whom was presentedwith a fresh rose by the Federation staff. Thiswas followed by a dramatic candle lighting ceremony, conducted by Lion of Judah BellaCohen and Jewish Community FoundationChair Thomas R. Kaplan, in memory of LOJEndowment members who had passed away.

The event’s philanthropic focus was on howFederation helps Jews overseas, particularly inthe former Soviet Union. The first guest speakerwas Russian-born Alina Gerlovin Spaulding,who fixated the audience with the story of her family’s plight. Spaulding’s family had privileged status, she said, due to her father’smembership on the Soviet Olympic ski team …until the day he suffered a serious career-endingaccident. “From the time it took to get him from the top of the mountain to the bottom, they had evicted us from our apartment. That’sbecause he was a Jew who was no longer useful to the government.”

Spaulding went on to tell how the AmericanJewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)brought her family to the United States in 1979.Of 40,000 Jews, they were the only three rescued by JDC that year. The family was givenan apartment in New Jersey and she vividly

remembers weekly visits by what residentscalled “the fine ladies,” who she later learnedwere local LOJ members. “They came in beautifully dressed and perfectly coiffed,” she said. “Then they got on their hands andknees and cleaned apartments for new arrivals.They wanted to be sure we were welcomedwith the same care and dignity they would giveto their own family.”

Spaulding went on to describe her life since shearrived in the U.S, and her current position run-ning a Jewish education program in Moldovaon behalf of the Federation movement.

Spaulding concluded with an emotional state-ment. “Everything in my life, everything, isbecause of you and people like you!”

Event Chair Wendy Pressner saw great value inSpaulding’s address. “When you hear a story likethat,” she said, “it makes you want to give more.”

Following lunch, the focus shifted to Israel andthe Middle East as guest speaker AmbassadorMarc Ginsberg took the podium.

Ginsberg, a FOX News TV commentator andformer U.S. Ambassador to Morocco, expoundedon the situation Israel faces in a post ArielSharon era. “He was the only one with the credentials to make the unthinkable [removingJewish settlers from Israeli-controlled land] intothe inevitable,” Ginsberg explained.

He suggested that Israel may now turn politically to the right, with a “resuscitatedBenjamin Netanyahu.”

Ginsberg’s take on a nuclear Iran was crystalclear: In answer to those urging a diplomaticsolution, Ginsberg says, “I favor surgical military strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites.Anything to stop the nuclear clock.”

Ginsberg, who grew up in Israel, invited thosein the audience to visit and see what Federationhelp has accomplished in the Jewish homeland.“Come see the courage and inspiration yougive to Israelis by their knowing you are with

them,” he said.In concludingthe event, Pressnerannouncedthat morethan$577,000in new moneyhad been raised at the luncheon.(The total was later revised by Women’sDivision officials to be at least $720,000.) “I’m very happy about how it went,” Pressner said.“People need to see where their money goes.”

L ION OF JUDAH LUNCHEON HIGHL IGHTS HELP FOR JEWS OVERSEAS

Co-chair Wendy Pressner, Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, AlinaGerlovin Spaulding and Co-chair Tobee Kaplan.

Jane Kurcsinka of Ivan & Co.Jewelers is presented with a corporate recognition award.

Matthew Zucker of FMSbonds,Inc. receives corporate recognitionaward.

Lions Cindy Nimhauser (left), Nancy Thornton, Judy Levis Markoff,Jeanne Fibus, Roxane Frechie Lipton, Francine Cole and ElyssaKupferberg.

FEDERATION OPENING EVENT

“OPENING EVENT” HIGHL IGHTS FEDERATION’SBENEF IC IARIES

On January 11, the Federation held its “Opening Event,” a major fundraiser, at theCarole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium at Florida Atlantic University.Longtime comics Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara were the headliners, but it was thepeople that Federation help every day who stole the show.

The event opened with a performance by the choir of the Jewish Association forResidential Care (JARC), a Federation beneficiary agency. This was followed by personaltestimonials by an Israeli soldier, a Hurricane Katrina victim, a Holocaust survivor, aJARC resident and a participant in the cancer patient support group coordinated byRuth Rales Jewish Family Service. Levis Jewish Community Center (JCC) and DonnaKlein Jewish Academy are also beneficiary agencies of the Federation. All have beenhelped by Federation funding, and all expressed their gratitude.

The audience appeared particularly touched by the story of Julia Abramovich, an IDFofficer who emigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union with her mother, only tohave her mother die soon afterward. “When I had no family, you took me in, andnow you are my extended family,” Abramovich told the audience. “Without yourhelp, I would not be here tonight.”

Event Chairs Roxane and Michael Lipton and Wendy and Elliot Koolik hosted theaffair. Corporate sponsors were Mellon Private Wealth Management, Proskauer Rose LLPand the Sandelman Foundation.

Federation officials announced that the event was a financial success and that “thetrue stars of the show were those wonderful

people we all help that you heard at the onset,” said President and

CEO Bill Bernstein. “They wereabsolutely brilliant.”

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Event Co-chairs Elliot & Wendy Koolik, IDF Officer Julia Abramovich and Co-chairs Roxane and Michael Lipton.Event sponsors (left to right): Jeff Sandelman of the Sandelman Foundation, Allan Weitzman

of Proskauer Rose LLP and Elyssa Kupferberg of Mellon Private Wealth Management.

The choir of the Jewish Association for Residential Care sings Hatikvah.

Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller perform.

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This might not be your idea of delivery service...

...but for hundreds of area seniors, it’s the difference between eating – and eating as they should.

South Palm Beach County is noted for its fine

dining, but many seniors in our area are happy to

be dining at all. They cannot meet their daily

nutritional needs, either because their income is

too limited, they cannot physically shop for

food, or both. Without someone to care, hun-

dreds face a serious threat of malnutrition.

Someone does care: The Jewish Federation of

South Palm Beach County and its founding benefi-

ciary agency, the Ruth Rales Jewish Family

Service (JFS). JFS hand-delivers truckloads of

groceries and meals direct to the door of seniors

in area developments every week. And all our

volunteers ask in return is a smile.

But help for hungry seniors does not stop

at the county line. Through its overseas partners,

Federation funds “Operation Promise,” in the for-

mer Soviet Union, where nearly 250,000 frail

elderly are fed on a continuous basis. Similar

programs help seniors in other nations as well.

The hungry in our community, and our world, are

crying out for your help. Please give to

Federation today!

TO DONATE ONLINE, VISITwww.jewishboca.org

For more information, please call

561.852.3100

Our Community. Our World. Our Responsibility.

P L E A S E S U P P O R T T H E 2 0 0 6 U J A / F E D E R A T I O N A N N U A L C A M P A I G N

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Federation has announced YAD’s largest fundraiser ofthe season, “NYC3,”which will rock the latter part ofFebruary with a New York City beat.

Billed as “the party of the year,” this celebration ofthe Big Apple comes in three parts—a wine tastingin “SoHo,” dancing in the “Meat Packing District”and then, headlining the evening, the fall-down funnycomedy of hip young Jewish comedian Joel Chasnoff.This rising star has appeared with both Jon Stewartand Gilbert Gottfried nationally and Joel blew awaya packed house last year at the Boca Tov Café.Catch him as his career takes off!

The event will take place Saturday night, Feb. 25, at Pete’s Grande Terrace in Boca Raton.Doors open at 8 p.m. The couvert is $75 a person with a minimum individual gift to Federationof $90. NYC3 committee chairs are Rabbi Amy and Kevin Rader, Sharon and LawrenceShear, Wendi and Todd Lipsich, Robynn and Ira Ginsberg and Tanya and Bill Miller. YADCampaign Events Vice Chairs Marianne Altschul and Glen Golish played an integral role inthe planning of NYC3. NYC3 sponsors are Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, SalomonLaw Center, Steinberg Global Asset Management, Atlas Party Rental, Fringe & Company, KosherMarketplace and Royal Wine Corp. YAD is sponsored by the Sandelman Foundation.

To make a reservation or for more information on this event, call Barbara Diekmann at 561-852-3152 or e-mail barbarad@bocafed.org.

Young Adult DivisionYAD PLANS NYC3 ... THE “PARTY OF THE YEAR!” We’re on a mission from

Federation Young Adult Division officials include Naomi

Steinberg, YAD Co-Chair (left), Sharon Shear, NYC3

Committee member, Marianne Altschul, NYC3 Chair

and Vice-Chair of Campaign Events and Jill Deutch,

YAD former chair and board member.

YAD co-chair Naomi Steinberg and Rabbi Amy Rader (center) visit

with Ethiopian immigrants at Kiryat Yam.

YAD members mingle with Kiryat Bialik dance troupe.

Federation President & CEO, Bill Bernstein (far left) and wife

Ilene enjoy dinner at Yekev Winery with mission participants.

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FEDERATION ANNOUNCES PANTHERS HOCKEYEVENT AS MEN’S NIGHT OUT!

FEDERATION SCHEDULES SUPER SUNDAY FOR MARCH 19!

Great seats! A chance to see the super-hotMontreal Canadiens battle it out on the ice withour home-fave Panthers! Exclusive receptions withan open bar and great food! Even a drawingfor a puck drop, slap shot during the game or aride on the Zamboni! Here’s a chance to enjoythem all. They’ll all be happening at “Men’sNight Out,” a community-wide event of theJewish Federation of South Palm Beach County,to be held on March 2 at the BankAtlanticCenter in Sunrise, home ice of the Florida Panthers.

The Florida Panthers are sponsoring the event,along with the Sandelman Foundation andBarry Kaye & Associates, Inc. Chairs areHoward Kaye, Matt Baker and Craig Donoff.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking this isjust a hockey game. It’s actually a hockeyextravaganza!

Festivities start with a VIP Reception at 5 p.m.

Our VIPs will enjoy a backstage tour of thearena with access to the team, and an exclusive“chalk talk” by Panthers Coach Jacques Martin.

The main reception starts at 6 p.m. Along withrefreshments, it includes autographs by playersand a talk on the business of sports by SunriseSports & Entertainment’s COO Michael Yormark.

Then, at 7 p.m., it’s on to preferential seatingand all the hockey action you can handle.

But the goal of this event is bigger than just net-ting the puck. It’s helping thousands of peoplelocally, in Israel and around the world. So whetherthe Panthers or the Canadiens are the victors,it’s those the Federation helps who really win.

VIP entry requires an $1,800 minimum contributionto Federation, while the main reception requiresa $500 minimum contribution. The couvert is$75, and each donor can bring up to two

teenage sons or grandsons as guests by payingthe couvert for each. Round trip bus transporta-tion from the Federation also is available at anadditional $10 per person.

Oh yes, and regarding the drawing to do a puckdrop or slapshot – the winners will be chosenfrom the first 50 names to register, so take yourshot right now and perhaps we’ll announce yourname and shout, “he scores!” The Zamboni rideis open to teens ages 16 and younger.

To register or for more information, call RachelHarman at 561-852-3120.

If you think that big ol’ football game is a SuperSunday, well, “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Thereal Super Sunday is on its way, set for March19. It’s Federation’s biggest event of the year, aday long phone-a-thon chock full of special events.

This year’s principal sponsor is ISN Wireless(ISNwireless.com) and Sprint together with Nextel.

Most important, this mega-fundraiser is alsoresponsible for raising one of about every $20of the Annual Campaign. Think how many thousands of people that helps, both locally and in Jewish communities overseas.

And it’s the day YOU are the star ... on bothends of the phone. More than 500 volunteers ofall ages make more than 10,000 calls in a single day, asking for pledges. This year’s event,chaired by Rosa & Glen Golish, will consist ofdifferent volunteer shifts made up of professionals,

singles, families (complete with kids’ activities tokeep the youngsters busy while their moms anddads give back), country club and community residents (through the “Community Challenge,”in which volunteers from different communitiescompete for bragging rights and prizes) andthose who are ‘golden givers,’ having supportedthe Federation movement 25 years or more.

We’ll even have a repeat visit of last year’s“surprise hit, the King David Bikers Jewishmotorcycle club. Look for leather and tattoosand a shiny row of chromed Harleys to markevery Jew’s dedication to helping other Jews.

Additonal underwriting for Super Sunday willbe provided by Bank Leumi USA.

For more information or to volunteer, call theSuper Sunday Hotline at 561-852-6014 or visitjewishboca.org for details.

UPCOMING EVENT FOCUS

2005 Super Sunday Co-chairs Emily & Stephen Grabelsky and EttaZimmerman, chair, Federation Board with King David Bikers.

“What does the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County do?”It’s a question we are often asked. Perhaps the easiest way to answer it is by an analogy, a very Jewish analogy...

Just as the Jewish star has a place where all the points share common ground, so does the Federation provide a common resource for the Jewishinstitutions of Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Highland Beach through the UJA/Federation Annual Campaign and the Jewish Community Foundation.And just as there are six points on the star, our resources go toward meeting six great needs.

2 0 0 6 U J A / F E D E R A T I O N

Love of Israel begins with 4,000 of our children taking part in Israelistudies programs created by the Federation’s Jewish EducationCommission (JEC).

Then, through birthright israel and other travel programs, 2,000 areateens have gone on to visit Israel at an age when they form a world viewfor life. The connection is strengthened through Partnership 2000, inwhich Boca Raton has joined with the Israeli city of Kiryat Bialik byexchanging students, teachers, tears and smiles. Meanwhile, area leaders

personally visit the Jewish state on our Missions to Israel, then share theirrenewed faith with the thousands they represent.

Through our support of the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) andJewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), more than 300,000 youngsters havereturned to the Jewish homeland in youth Aliyah groups, and some250,000 have received counseling for social problems and terrorism-relat-ed stress disorders. A thousand kindergartners in vulnerable communitieshave also been protected by security guards our donors helped fund.

What do you say when your college roommate declares, “Israel is aracist state?”

Each fall, area students entering college get the answers at the JewishCommunity Relations Council’s (JCRC) annual Israel/College CampusAdvocacy Forum. More youngsters get an unforgettable lesson iabout anti-Semitism by visiting Holocaust sites in Poland through the March of theLiving program. And still more take part in the JCRC’s annual YomHa’shoah ceremony.

Nor are the victims of anti-Semitism forgotten. Our beneficiary agency,Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service (JFS), administers German reparationspayments to provide vitally needed in-home care to survivors.

Overseas, the Federation works with the American Jewish Committee,American Jewish Congress and the Anti-Defamation League to convinceforeign leaders to crack down on acts of hate.

The most basic need is, simply, food... hot, nourishing and kosher. Morethan 200 area elderly are served right at their doorsteps by Ruth RalesJewish Family Service (JFS) and even more are served by the agency’s“Kosher Konnection” in Delray Beach, while 375 others receive food pack-ages bi-weekly from the Forster Family Kosher Food Pantry. JFS nourishesthe soul as well, through its counseling and case management services,

especially for seniors. JFS CareLink makes referrals for home health aides,transportation, companions and other assistance and monitors those servic-es to ensure the help is working. Meanwhile, overseas, JDC programsfeed and meet other needs for more than 400,000 Jewish elderly in theformer Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

1. Supporting Israel

2. Fighting Anti-Semitism

3. Fighting Hunger and Poverty

Our Community. Our World. Our Responsibility.

C A M P A I G N O V E R V I E W

When hurricanes raked our land and tsunamis hit abroad, Federation dol-lars paid for rescue, recovery and rebuilding. We collected $400,000for Hurricane Katrina victims alone and after Wilma struck, JFS deliveredwater, ice, prescription drugs... and 10,000 hot kosher meals... to sen-iors trapped in their developments.

But every day of the year, the Jewish Association for Residential Care(JARC) provides for developmentally disabled adults while JCC’s Camp

Kavod does the same for children. Hundreds of seniors live comfortablyin Federation-administered, HUD-sponsored housing and 200 adults andtheir caregivers find respite at the Levis Alzheimer and Adult Day CareCenter. And because physical health and culture are also social needs,more than 2,000 take advantage of the JCC’s wellness facilities andanother 16,000 attend JCC cultural programs.

5. Jewish EducationThe flame of Judaism is fueled by education. It turns our children intoJewish children and protects them from the creeping threat of assimilation.It’s the key to our future as a faith and community.

We help support nearly 2,000 Jewish youngsters in day and congregationalschools. That’s one of every six Jewish children in our area. We help traintheir teachers, too, through the Jewish Education Commission’s (JEC) profession-al programs. And because youngsters who start Jewish stay Jewish, some570 preschoolers attend the JCC’s Zale Early Childhood Learning Center,and more than 800 children of all ages participate the JCC’s Ted WeisbergSummer Day Camp.

The Jewish Community Foundation’s Kamsley Endowment Fund programtakes children through adolescence at the JEC’s “One Stop Jewish TeenShop,” while more than 800 adults who never had a Jewish education attendFlorence Melton Adult Mini-School.

Overseas, we participate in educational initiatives in our sister city,Kiryat Bialik, while supporting the educational programs of JDC to teachyoung Jews in the former Soviet Union a religion they were neverallowed to know.

Out of other lands... into Israel. This migration, begun by Moses, contin-ues today. One place it’s happening is Ethiopia. More than 100,000have made the pilgrimage from poverty and persecution to a land thatnot only accepts them, but loves them, for their Judaism. Now,“Operation Promise” will bring an additional 20,000 home. The

Federation is helping fund this effort through our umbrella organization,the United Jewish Communities (UJC). Meanwhile, JAFI, with our support,has resettled more than one million to the land of the patriarchs.

6. Rescue and Resettlement

4. Meeting Social Needs

They sat, six to eight, around a table, andtalked loudly -- some might say argued -- aboutthe best use for a charitable donation of a million dollars. One woman played a Jewishgrandmother whose wish was to place the giftwith the Jewish Federation, just as she’d alwaysdone. Directly opposite, in more ways thanone, another participant played her 22-year-oldgrandchild, who insisted the money go to some-thing called the “Whole Life Spiritual RenewalCenter.” Still others, playing other family membersat different ages, had alternative thoughts onthe donation.

The event was the first Institute on FamilyPhilanthropy held by the Jewish CommunityFoundation, the planned giving arm of theJewish Federation of South Palm Beach County.The event was chaired by Rani Garfinkle. Theexclusive sponsor was U.S. Trust.

Although the role play was not for real, theunderlying issue was: How can generationscome together to create a road map for givinginto the future that all the generations of a familycan feel comfortable with?

It’s an issue of vital importance, said JCF ChairThomas R. Kaplan, adding, “trillions of dollarsof intergenerational wealth transfer will takeplace in the next decade. Any change in givingby the incoming generations can have majoreffect in the charitable world.”

Federation President & CEO Bill Bernstein statedthat the Federation was finding increasing inter-

est in planned giving and endowments by fami-lies. He said that announcements would come in2006 about five or six families who had madesignificant commitments to a planned Federationcapital campaign.

Keynote speaker Lee Meyerhoff Hendler, anationally recognized philanthropist and a trusteeof her family’s fund in Baltimore, put the issueof family giving in a Biblical context. “G-d can’tact alone in our behalf,” she said. One reasonG-d chose Abraham as the first Jew was that “hecould teach his children by his example. Goldcan be used to make a golden calf or as a freewill offering. That’s what freedom is about. Yourgoal is to ensure the well-being of Jews noteven born yet. We keep our history alive by living Judaism in every generation.”

As a result of the role-playing exercise, the par-ticipants learned that, in a real situation, no oneshould be surprised if the eventual compromiseturned out to be different than any one person’ssingular desire. The decision making process isas important as the end result.

Garfinkle stressed that the benefits of achievingunity among the generations of donor familiesoffer a major payback to the Federation, as wellas the families. ”It’s the old story that one genera-tion plants a tree they’ll never sit under and thenthe next one plants a tree they’ll never sit under.”

For more information, call Jill Hagler at 561-852-5015, e-mail jhagler@bocafed.org orvisit www.jewishboca.org.

14

FOUNDATION EDUCATIONAL EVENT HELPS ENCOURAGE PHILANTHROPY …AS A FAMILY

Jewish Community Foundation

The Altshuls, Marianne (left), Eric, Karen and Larry, attended as a family.

Linda Melcer and Jeffrey Abrams of U.S. Trust receive a corporate

recognition award from Event Chair Rani Garfinkle.

15

In October, the Jewish Federation of South PalmBeach County named Thomas R. Kaplan Chair ofthe Jewish Community Foundation (JCF). JCF pro-vides permanent resources to ensure the continuityof Jewish life, programs and services locally, inIsrael and throughout the world. It accomplishesthis goal through development of permanentendowment funds, lifetime gifts, bequests in wills,

trusts and other programs benefiting the Federation, its agencies and theJewish community.

Kaplan is President of Bernstein, Kaplan & Krauss LLC Family WealthManagement, a Boca Raton-based firm specializing in financial andestate planning, life insurance, annuities and asset management. As partof serving the financial interests of his clients, he has developed plannedgiving programs over the last decade that are expected to result in morethan $100 million flowing to such organizations as JCF.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Kaplan comes from a charitable tradition. Hismother founded a not-for-profit day care program, which she still directs.His father, a judge, has worked in many community organizations.

A resident of south Florida for the past 27 years, Kaplan currently livesin Delray Beach with wife Pamela and two daughters. He has served inleadership positions on numerous religious, civic and cultural organizations.He feels highly optimistic about the JCF’s new Institute on Family Philanthropy,which works with families using an intergenerational approach to ensurethat donors’ commitments are continued through their children, grandchildrenand even great-grandchildren.

“The Jewish Community Foundation makes a difference, both now and inthe future,” he says, “by funding critically needed programs and ensuringthat there will be resources available for years to come. For donors whocare about the programs they help fund, this takes that caring to the nextlevel by perpetuating their commitment.”

FOUNDATION LEADERSHIP FOCUS: JCF CHAIR THOMAS R. KAPLAN

PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

UPCOMING EVENTSJEWISH WOMEN’S FOUNDATION COCKTAIL RECEPTION

March 21, 2006, 5:30 p.m. Broken Sound Country Club, Boca Raton

Couvert: $50

Sponsored by: Levitt CapitalManagement

Call: Jill Hagler, 561-852-5015

LION OF JUDAH ENDOWMENTULTIMATE THANK YOU

Thursday, March 30, 2006, 10 a.m.Casa Casuarina (formerly VersaceMansion), South Beach

See adjacent article for details

Sponsored by: Schwimmer-HalperinGroup and Merrill Lynch GlobalPrivate Client

Call: Jill Hagler, 561-852-5015

NEW! HERITAGE SOCIETY/ STAROF DAVID SOCIETY COCKTAILRECEPTION

April 2006

Cocktail Reception to honor those whohave made a commitment to leave alegacy of $100,000 or more.

Call: Laura Sherry, 561-852-3166

22ND ANNUAL SEMINAR FORPROFESSIONALS

Thursday, May 18, 2006, 4:30 p.m.Woodfield Country Club

CPE credits available. The keynotespeaker will be Richard Oshins.

Call: Carolyn Rose, 561-852-3142

The Professional Advisory Committeerecently held a Roundtable Discussion to educate its members on how to incor-porate charitable conversations withtheir clients. The Roundtable Series is co-chaired by Ed Flank, Ted Goodwinand Russell Levy.

This program would not be possiblewithout the generous sponsorship of EricMatheson and Robert Lewis of BernsteinInvestment Research and Management.

For reservations or further information,please call Carolyn Rose, Director ofProfessionals Advisory Relationships, at(561) 852-3142.

Left to right: Steve Belson, Eric Matheson, Linda Melcer, Jeffrey

Schildkraut, David Katzman and David Pratt.

LOJE “ULTIMATE THANKYOU” SET FOR MARCH 30

How can you thank 183 women who havemade the ultimate commitment to the Jewishcommunity by establishing a Lion of JudahEndowment (LOJE)?

At the Jewish Community Foundation’s LOJE“Ultimate Thank You” on March 30 at theexclusive Casa Casuarina, formerly knownas the Versace Mansion, in South Beach.

The day will include a gourmet meal, a tourof the historic mansion and the latest updateon the Israel elections and the future of thepeace process by well- known political insid-er Elliot Chodoff. Bus transportation will beprovided for those who do not wish to drive.

It’s not too late to join this exclusive groupand be recognized at the LOJE Ultimate ThankYou. With a minimum endowment of$100,000 – through a bequest in your will,a life insurance policy, an IRA designation oran outright gift of cash – a gift of $5,000 ormore will be made annually in your name toFederation in perpetuity.

If you are interested in learning more aboutLOJE or “The Ultimate Thank You,” pleasecontact Jill Hagler, Associate FoundationDirector, at 561.852.5015 or jillh@bocafed.org.

16

JCRC Jewish Community Relations Council

JCRC CO-SPONSORS MAJOR RALLY AGAINST GENOCIDE IN DARFUR

David Frim, a Florida Atlantic University studentand interfaith advocate, faced the audience of300. He minced no words. “The Holocaust didn’tstop in 1945,” he explained. “It just moved. ToCambodia. To Bosnia. To Rwanda. And now it’sin Darfur. But you sitting here tells me there’s aredeeming force in society that can stop it now.”

The audience he was addressing had come outfor “Save Darfur: A Community Rally to StopGenocide in Africa,” held on Jan. 26 at theDon Estridge Middle School in Boca Raton. The rally was organized by the Save DarfurCoalition of South Palm Beach County, a jointeffort of 31 organizations, including syna-gogues and churches representing some15,000 area families, as well as political andsocial groups. The rally was co-sponsored bythe Jewish Community Relations Council, thepolitical and social action arm of the JewishFederation of South Palm Beach County, whichmade its services available to the Coalition.

Rally speakers included Cong. Alcee L. Hastings(D-Miramar), a longtime civil rights advocate,and Emily Danciu-Grosso, a Boca Raton studentactive in the Save Darfur movement. Severalprominent clergy also spoke, church and syna-gogue choirs performed and a candle lightingwas conducted to remember victims of genocide.

The keynote speaker was David Rubenstein, topcoordinator of the national Save Darfur Coalition.

Rubenstein narrated an illustrated presentationon the Darfur issue. The genocide, he said, wasthe outgrowth of a long-running civil war in thenation of Sudan in Africa, of which Darfur isthe westernmost region.

Three years ago, in retaliation for rebel activity,Sudan’s central government unleashed a violentband of hired militia called Janjaweed on thepeaceful villagers of the Darfur region in anattempt to clear it of rebels once and for all.Since then, some 400,000 have been killedand 2.5 million made homeless. Hundreds ofvillages have been burnt and countless residentsraped and beaten. Both the United States gov-ernment and the United Nations have officiallylabeled the situation a genocide, but little hasbeen done.

Rubenstein asked the audience to fill outprewritten postcards addressed to PresidentBush, asking that Bush advocate creation of amultinational force to protect the people ofDarfur. “This can be fixed if the President real-izes that the people who elected him care,”Rubenstein said. “We’re going to deliver morethan one million of these cards to the Presidentand Congress. We’re going to move them.” Hisorganization announced earlier in the week thatthey already had commitments from membergroups of the national coalition to collect anddeliver some 407,000 such cards.

Cong. Hastings noted that, “this reminds me ofthe civil rights era. You have the spark to put usin touch with the rest of the world.”

Grosso, whose grandfather is a former mayorof Boca Raton, noted the role of youth in theeffort. “We hold the keys to ending this,” shesaid. “But we need more news coverage. Howlittle there is about people being killed andraped. It’s more important than the latest ParisHilton update,” she said, alluding to the exten-sive media attention conferred on an entertain-ment world celebrity.

And Rabbi Richard D. Agler of CongregationB’nai Israel in Boca Raton, echoed the rally’smotto: “Never again means never again foranyone,” declared Agler. “Murder is evil and

mass murder by government is the greatest evilof all. We must all say, ‘No, no, never again!’“

For more information on the Save Darfur move-ment, log on to www.savedarfur.org or e-mailSaveDarfurSPB@gmail.com. To order postcards,log on to www.millionvoicesfordarfur.org. Youcan also contact JCRC Director Elise Dolgow at561-852-3170 or by e-mail at elised@bocafed.org.

David Rubenstein narrates slide presentation on the Darfur situation.

Candles memorialize victims of genocide.

A Darfur Coalition supporter demonstrates the immediate

need to take action against genocide in this troubled region

of Africa.

17

IOC Israel and Overseas Committee

Boca Raton resident Nina Alexander-Hurst, 22, wanted, as many collegegraduates do these days, to take a yearoff before graduate school, the so-called“gap year.” She also knew that herlong-term career goal was to work asa professional at a Jewish communityorganization. Was there a way to usethat gap year to fulfill her ambition?

“I decided to take a year on, insteadof a year off,” she says. “I applied forthe Otzma program in Israel.”

Otzma (Strength) is a 10-month programof communal service and leadership

training in the Jewish state for recent college graduates, ages 20 to 25.The program is 15 years old.

Nina’s attendance, with the program cost of $11,000 paid for byFederation-provided and other scholarships, began last summer, withthree months spent at an absorption center for new immigrants. “Welived with Jews from India, Argentina and other places,” she says. “Thelanguage problems were great, but we found ways to communicate.”

From there, she was assigned to the small community of Yokneam, nearHaifa, where she would spend the next four months as a part-timeEnglish language tutor at a high school and an aide at a senior center.

Alexander-Hurst’s final three months will be spent in an internship posi-tion with a Jewish institution.

Meanwhile, she has been detailing her Otzma adventures in an internetblog, found at http://ninainisrael.blogspot.com.

For more information on Federation Otzma scholarships, call 561-852-3170or email elised@bocafed.org. For general information on the program,visit www.projectotzma.org.

BOCA 22-YEAR-OLD SPENDS EDUCATION “GAP YEAR” IN ISRAEL

A local reporter lookedacross the conference tableat Negist Mengesha, anEthiopian-born Israeli andcurrent Director-General ofIsrael’s Ethiopian NationalProject (ENP).

“Was this Aliyah differentthan those that camebefore?” he asked, referring

to the migration of thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel over the last 20years, as compared other groups.

“Yes,” Mengesha replied, “it was unique, and highly motivated. In the1984 migration, those who came by way of Sudan had to walk for amonth through the desert. Four thousand did not make it.”

Mengesha was interviewed as part of a visit to the Jewish Federation ofSouth Beach County to promote “Operation Promise,” a project of theUnited Jewish Communities, the Federation movement’s umbrella organi-zation. Among the program’s aims are bringing up to 18,000 Jewsremaining in Ethiopia to Israel, and helping more than 100,000 alreadythere to assimilate fully into Israeli society.

According to UJC, Operation Promise, which also includes help for Jewsin the former Soviet Union, will carry a cost of $160 million over the nextthree years, $100 million of which will go toward the Ethiopian component.Last October, the Federation Board set a target of raising $3.7 millionover the next three to five years, over and above its normal campaigngoals, as its share of the cost of the project.

Mengesha was accompanied by Dr. Dvora Blum, UJC’s Deputy DirectorGeneral for Research and Development, based in Israel. Together, theybriefed Federation leadership and staff on the situation of Ethiopian Jews today.

While individual Ethiopians have shown high achievement, the assimilationof Ethiopian Jews, in general, has gone far too slowly. Seventy percent offamilies live below the poverty line, 40 percent have no wage-earner,and 75 percent of junior high students perform below average in keysubjects at school, with one in four then dropping out of school.

For more information on Operation Promise, contact Federation Israeland Overseas Committee Director Elise Dolgow at 561-852-3170 or e-mail elised@bocafed.org.

VISITORS BRIEF FEDERATION ON OPERATION PROMISE HELP TO ETHIOPIAN JEWS

Nina Alexander-Hurst (left) with Federation

Israel and Overseas Department Director Elise

Dolgow on the Siemens Campus.

Visitors Negist Mengesha (second left) and Dvora Blum are

flanked by the Federation’s Leah Siskin and Richard Jacobs.

18

JECFEDERATION’S JEWISH EDUCATION COMMISSION TO MARK10TH BIRTHDAY WITH SERIES OF COMMUNITY EVENTS For the “people of the book,” as Jews are oftencalled, education is an essential tenet of theirexistence. That has made the Jewish EducationCommission (JEC), which marks its 10th anniver-sary this year, an essential part of the JewishFederation of South Palm Beach County.

“We’re the central resource for Jewish education,”says Dr. Leon Weissberg, JEC Executive Director.“We help day and congregational (synagogue)schools and early childhood centers by offeringprofessional training, curriculum developmentand other services for which they do not them-selves have the resources, and we are involvedin Jewish education for all ages, from earlychildhood to adult learning.”

YEAR-LONG CELEBRATION PLANNED

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, JEC plans ayear-long celebration. In February, the organizationbegan a Scholars-in-Residence (S-I-R) programthat actually occurs in people’s homes. “We’llhave distinguished speakers in 20 to 25 privatehomes,” Helen Cohan, the S-I-R chair notes.“Each host will invite 10 to 20 people to sit andlearn as it says in Ethics of the Fathers ‘makeyour home a place for scholars ... and swallowthirstily in their words.’ We’ll have rabbis, schoolprincipals and teachers speaking. There will beno solicitation, just lots of education.”

The schools that the JEC supports will be part of the celebration. Each school will be asked todedicate one of its major school year events torecognizing the JEC, by, for example, presentinga plaque to a JEC official, Weissberg indicated.Then, in November or December, there will bewhat Cohan calls a “major culminating event.”The JEC is currently thinking of a progressive dinner, with multiple speakers.

None of this will take away from JEC’s normalrun of activities, which include a DistinguishedLecture series, teacher and student exchanges

with Kiryat Bialik (Boca Raton’s “sister city” inIsrael under the Federation’s Partnership 2000program) and the annual Kristallnacht FilmForum, which presents Holocaust-themed moviesduring the anniversary of the 1938 “Night ofBroken Glass” in Nazi Germany.

Also continuing will be JEC’s normal commitmentsto professional development of both early child-hood and kindergarten through 12th gradeeducators through seminars and workshops, itsrecognition of great teaching through the annualGerald Legow Outstanding Achievement inJewish Education and Greenspoon-SteinhardtTeacher Recognition Awards and its localadministration of the Florence Melton AdultMini-School, which has provided hundreds ofadults the opportunity to receive the educationin Judaism they never received as youth.

TEEN PROGRAMS ARE IMPORTANT

Mark Mendel, the chair of the Jewish EducationCommission, points with special pride at JEC’steen programs, noting that some 85% of localJewish teens are unaffiliated, and thus vulnera-ble to the pressures of assimilation. “If we losethem as Jewish teens,” Mendel says, “we losethem as Jewish adults. We cannot afford a ‘lostgeneration’ of Jewish adults.”

To keep teens in the fold, JEC offers “ChaiSchool” after-school classes, some of whichcarry college credit, outreach to the unaffiliatedthrough Jewish forums and clubs in secular highschools and grants for travel to Israel. JEC isalso the local administrator for the March of theLiving program, which transports teens on trips toHolocaust sites in Poland, then directly to Israel.These intensely emotional two-week voyageshave stirred many teens’ interest in their faith.

The recent 2005 demographic study of area Jewshighlights the importance of JEC’s teen programsin that the local adolescent Jewish population

has more thandoubled since thelast study was done in1995, compared to growth of only 13 percentin the overall Jewish population.

STUDY LED TO JEC CREATION

It was the 1995 demographic study that led tothe creation of the Jewish Education Commission.“The study showed a rising young populationeven at that time,” said Weissberg, “plus thecongregational schools were asking theFederation to reconsider what help it was giving them. They wanted us to provide the professional support for what they were unable to do for themselves.”

There also was another, much more ancient reason for the Commission, says Mendel. “Thescriptures tell us, ‘And you shall teach it to yourchildren,’” he says. “This is a commandment,not a choice, to teach our children the princi-ples of Jewish law.” He likens education topassing on the torch, to ensure a Jewish future.“The concept is that all Jews are responsibleone for the other,” he says.

Weissberg says JEC will be a large part of thatfuture. The Commission plans to greatly increaseits outreach to the unaffiliated, to elevate itsinvolvement in early childhood education and tocreate programs that allow the area’s manyretirees to both act as teachers and receive theJewish education they never had time for before.“Retirees are a tremendous resource,” he says.“They should not be relegated to staying home.They can be active and involved role models forJewish education.”

For more information on the Jewish EducationCommission and its 10th anniversary events,call 561-852-3318, e-mail jec@bocafed.org orvisit www.jewishboca.org.

Jewish Education Commission

$250Two months of blood pressure medicine.

$54Three food pantry packages for a senior livingin an adult community.

$390Yearly homecare service for a bed-ridden elderly person.

$1,000One month for a child to participate in a special needs camp.

Donate online today.www.jewishboca.org

Every pledge has a purpose.

20

geography and expert in Jewish communitydemographics. Sheskin has done 38 such stud-ies for Jewish communities nationwide, and didthe 1995 survey here. The data was compiledfrom phone interviews of persons in randomlyselected Jewish households, Sheskin said.

A similar study was simultaneously conductedby Sheskin for the county’s other Federation, theWest Palm Beach-based Jewish Federation ofPalm Beach County. Taken together, the resultsof the two studies present the first ever county-wide profile of the Jewish community.

Results received wide media coverage, includ-ing several front page news stories, reports onall three network affiliate TV stations and distri-bution of the story by a wire service. Sheskinwas told of TV coverage in Connecticut.

SENIORS AND “JUNIORS” BOTH INCREASE

The aging side of the south county story cameinto sharp focus with one key statistic: Whereasa decade ago Jews over age 75 were 29 per-cent of the total south county population ofapproximately 116,000, now they are 40 per-cent of a larger population of 131,300. “Thishas major implications in the need to providesenior services,” said William S. Bernstein,President and CEO of the Jewish Federation ofSouth Palm Beach County.

Reflecting his comment were a number of southcounty sub-statistics, indicating that more thanone of five elderly households contains a health-impaired member, nearly one in five Jews iswidowed and that roughly 19,000 say theyneed in-home health care.

But a real surprise, according to officials, camein the number of Jewish youngsters in southcounty. This figure has rocketed up 102 percentwhile the general population grew only 13 per-cent since 1995, in what Bernstein said was “avery significant trend for the future.”

The studies, and their results totaled, impressedmany with the size and composition of thecounty’s Jewish community, especially in com-parison with those of other cities. Reporterslearned that:

• At 255,550, the total Palm Beach CountyJewish population is the largest in Florida,and fourth largest in the nation, exceededonly by New York, Los Angeles and slightly byChicago. It exceeds the size of Jewish com-munities in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C.,

DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY RESULTS

o read the complete demographic study

and view all of our find-ings, visit our websitewww.jewishboca.org

T

(from front cover)

21

Boston and many other major cities. It hassurpassed Broward and is more than dou-ble the size of Miami, at one time the cen-ter of area Judaism.

• The local Jewish population is dense.Almost one of every two households insouth county, for example, is Jewish. “Toget more densely Jewish, you’d have to goto Israel,” quipped Richard Jacobs,Federation Vice President of CommunityPlanning, through whose office the studywas conducted.

• The Jewish population is becoming morestable. The number of Jewish householdsestablished 20 or more years in southcounty rose from five percent to 23 percent.And belying the common image of southFlorida as “snowbird country,” nearly 80percent of Jews now live in Palm BeachCounty full time, defined as eight monthsof the year or more, further increasing theneed for services.

• A major story in north county is an explosive increase in the Jewish communityin Boynton Beach, which has grown 63percent in the past six years, compared to26 percent in Boca Raton over 10 years.Some 2,000 new Jewish households areestablished in Boynton Beach each year,

Sheskin reported. Boca Raton remains thelargest Jewish community within the county,however, with 76,800 Jews compared to58,600 in Boynton Beach.

• Palm Beach County’s Jewish populationhas the highest median age, nearly 70, inthe nation. In comparison, the median agein Broward County is 59.4 and in Miami,50.7. We also have the smallest averagehousehold size, 1.93 countywide, largelydue to the many elderly Jews living alone.

Our population remains steadfastly interestedin things Jewish. Some six in 10 have had ahousehold member who has visited Israel,and about the same percentage identify them-selves as “extremely/very attached to Israel.”And though synagogue membership is atonly 32 percent, compared to a nationalJewish average of 40 percent, fully 97 percent have taken part in a Jewish activity,including giving to a Jewish charity, in thepast year. Still, there are challenges.Synagogue membership drops with age,averaging 16 percent in the 35 and underage group, Sheskin noted, a sign that assimi-lation and lack of identity continue to be aconcern related to younger Jews.

Almost one of everytwo households insouth county, for

example, is Jewish.

“To get more denselyJewish, you’d have to

go to Israel.”

ef

Polo Club Lion of Judah Outreach

Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County

Hamlet Opening Event

Marcia and Sam Spear, Hamlet Men’s chair.Sponsored by: Citigroup Private Bank

Hamlet Women’s Division Co-chair JoyceNewman, husband Ted Newman and guestspeaker Ted Deutch.

Stanton Bernstein and Jacqueline Bernstein,Lorraine and Dr. Gerry Rosenblatt.

Boca Greens Kick-Off

Five new Lions Susen Grossman, Toby Horowitz,Helen Ross, Lois Wolf and Martha Gaynor.Sponsored by: U.S. Trust

Campaign Chair William Weprin, Event ChairsJoseph & Selma Sitrick, Wendy Gutmann-Kupferof Citigroup Private Bank (Gold Coast’s OfficialSponsor), Major Gifts Chair Florence Brody andCampaign Co-Chair Ann Kelman.

Gold Coast Kick-Off

Host and new Lion Charlotte Robinson, EventChair Diana Stein, new Lion Myrna Skurnick,and Toby Weinman-Palchik.Sponsored by: Citigroup Private Bank

Gold Coast Lion of Judah Outreach

Boca Lago Women’s Chair Lyna Zommick andhusband Joseph Zommick.

Boca Lago Men’s Chair Marvin Rosett and wifeSylvia Rosett.

Guests Florence and Barry Friedberg.

Event Chair Barry Hamerling, Elyssa Kupferberg,Senior Vice President of corporate sponsor MellonPrivate Wealth Management, Federation Chair EttaZimmerman, guest speaker Cong. Robert E.Andrews (D-NJ), Bocaire Women’s Division ChairMarilyn Tulgan and Bocaire Men’s Division ChairNorman Feintuck.Sponsored by: Mellon Private Wealth Management

Bocaire Cocktail Party Campaign Opening Event

Boca Lago Pacesetter

COUNTRY CLUB SCENE

23

If you will it,we can end anti-Semitism... forever.

9 9 0 1 D o n n a K l e i n B o u l e v a r d , B o c a R a t o n , F l o r i d a 3 3 4 2 8 • 5 6 1 . 8 5 2 . 3 1 5 7 • w w w . j e w i s h b o c a . o r g

Anti-Semitism continues to threaten the Jewish people – in Europe, theMiddle East and, incredibly, on our own college campuses. It is thereforevital that we do whatever we can to fight this evil – now and in the future.

You can help by adding the Jewish Community Foundation of the JewishFederation of South Palm Beach County to your will or increasing anexisting bequest.

With the funds you make available, you will not only fight anti-Semitism,you will help support Israel, combat poverty and hunger and build Jewishidentity through education. Your commitment will be felt in our communityand our world for years to come.

Make your legacy a Jewish legacy by including the JewishCommunity Foundation in your will or bequest. Call561.852.3157 for a complimentary Will Kit today.

Contact:Leah Siskin, Executive Director Jewish Community Foundation

J E W I S H C O M M U N I T Y F O U N D A T I O N

which was a major turning point in my life, Iwas able to attend Harvard Law School on theG.I. Bill.” Gloria won a college scholarshipwhich enabled her to attend Douglass Collegeat Rutgers University.

The two met at a party at Harvard. Gloria wasvisiting her brother, a student there. When Leesaw her, he says, “I fell in love with her on thespot, and, on the spot, I said I was going tomarry this girl. And I did!”

“He proposed on our fourth date,” recallsGloria. “We were married on our tenth.” It’s amarriage that has resulted in three children,and no less than 14 grandchildren.

The two have enormous respect for each other.Gloria describes Lee by quoting from a recent

biography on Lincoln by historian Doris KearnsGoodwin. “He possessed an extraordinary abil-ity to put himself in the place of other men, toexperience what they were feeling,” KearnsGoodwin wrote of Lincoln, but Gloria Bakersays, “that is my husband!”

For his part, Lee says of Gloria, “She has deepfeelings for people who need help. She’s a thoroughly good person.” Then he adds, with alaugh, “even when she admonishes me!”

If they agree on how they feel about eachother, they also agree on what giving to charitydoes for them.

“It gives us pleasure to help others, particularlyJews around the world,” says Gloria.

Lee adds, “We hope what we’ve done willinspire others to do the same.”

For more information on contributing to theFederation’s Annual Campaign, contact JasonShames, Vice President, Campaign andCommunity Development at 561-852-3127 oremail jasons@bocafed.org.

To participate in a Federation Planned Giving or Endowment Program, contact Leah Siskin,Vice President and Director, Jewish CommunityFoundation at 561-852-3151 or emailleahs@bocafed.org.

(Continued from page 3) BOCA COUPLE MAKES LARGEST CAMPAIGN GIFT IN FEDERAT ION HISTORY

UPCOMING EVENTSACTRESS-PHILANTHROPIST JANE SEYMOUR TO HEADL INE MARCH 9LUNCHEON ENTITLED “WHAT WOMEN WANT”

DON’T MISS MEN’S NIGHT OUT!

Just what do women want?

Men have been asking that question probablysince Adam first met Eve, but on March 9, agroup of south Palm Beach County Jewishwomen will ask it of themselves ... and withthe help of world-famous actress and humani-tarian and philanthropist Jane Seymour,they’ll try to answer it.

The event will be the annual major luncheonof the Women’s Division of the JewishFederation of South Palm Beach County.

Entitled, “What Women Want,” it will be held at the Broken Sound Country Club inBoca Raton. The chair is Judy Levis Markhoff.Co-Chairs are Tara Baker and Pam Kaye.

Judy is the sparkplug behind the concept. “I was honored when Women’s Division askedme to chair their major event,” she says, “andI was thinking about a theme. Then, at an airport, I saw a woman’s magazine called ‘W.’It made me think about what we women wantin life, and what we are on this Earth for.”

Well, we’re Jewish,” she continues, “so wewant philanthropy, to create legacies, tradi-tions, knowledge, wisdom, health. And it’s allabout keeping family together to have roots,to have a heritage.”

She sees, in the current issue of assimilation,a need for younger women to start thinkingabout these values, so she reached out for aguest speaker who both would attract youngerwomen, she says, and exemplify Jewish values. That search led her to Jane Seymour.

“Jane is the definition of a modern Renaissancewoman,” notes a recent biography, and thefacts seem to back that up. Star of numerousmovies and of TV’s “Dr. Quinn, MedicineWoman,” Seymour also is a noted artist and author, spokesperson for the alternativemedicine movement, tireless promoter of morethan 20 charities and hands-on mother of six.

Attendees are also being asked to writeanswers to the title question with the bestresponses receiving prizes, including a Pippodiamond watch, a two night stay at the BocaRaton Resort & Club and a gift of fine jewelryfrom event sponsor Ivan & Co. Other corpo-rate sponsors include The Adolph & RoseLevis Foundation, Sandelman Foundation,Rafael C. Cabrera, MD, FACS, Mellon PrivateWealth Management and Kaye Scholer.

A $55 couvert per person and a minimum$500 donation to the Federation/UJA 2006Women’s campaign are required to attend.

To RSVP, please call 561-852-3176.

Event Chair Judy Levis Markhoff helped select Jane Seymour

as major speaker.

MEN’S NIGHT OUT – MARCH 2, 2006

SEE PAGE 11 FOR DETAILS SEE PAGE 11 FOR DETAILS

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Sponsored by ISN Wireless andSprint together with Nextel