UCLA Launches Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience

December 3, 2020 - LOS ANGELES, CA – UCLA has opened North America’s first permanent academic home for the study of music of American Jewish experience. Housed in the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, the new Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience will foster artistic creativity, scholarship, performance and other cultural expression, thanks to a $6.75 million gift from the Lowell Milken Family Foundation.

“The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience will unite the academic and the artistic, showcasing the artists, scholars and educators who reveal to us the authentic voice of our shared humanity and the inexhaustible call toward our noblest self,” said Eileen Strempel, dean of the school of music.

“We are incredibly grateful to Lowell Milken for his generous gift to endow this center, which builds on our latest learnings, establishes a standard of excellence and an enduring infrastructure at UCLA for music of American Jewish experience, and gives us the ability to plan more ambitious initiatives for years to come.” 

The new center is a natural extension of the Milken Archive of Jewish Music, which was founded by Milken in 1990 to record, preserve and disseminate music inspired by more than 350 years of Jewish life in the United States.

“Shaped by Jews from every corner of the globe, who absorbed their host cultures while retaining their Jewish heritage, the archive is as diverse and beautiful as America itself,” Milken said. “From the outset, our vision was to create a living archive making education central to our mission. The partnership with the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music positions the new center as a global leader in the field of music of American Jewish experience.”

The Lowell Milken Center also builds on the Lowell Milken Fund for American Jewish Music at UCLA. That fund’s establishment, in 2017, enabled the school of music to
begin its collaboration with the Milken Archive and build a track record that opened the door to the more expansive center. The fund has produced a diverse calendar of concerts, lectures and projects, ranging from klezmer workshops to large choral and orchestral performances to artist residencies and commissions of new music.

Its inaugural program, “American Culture and the Jewish Experience in Music,” featured the world premiere of the oratorio “David’s Quilt,” along with programs in conjunction with the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies. This co-presented event was part of a three-day conference covering major intersections between Jewish creativity and American opportunity. The conference featured lectures on heritage, innovation, key facets of the Jewish-American musical experience, and Hollywood pioneers.

In March 2020, the Lowell Milken Fund produced the UCLA American Jewish Music Festival, which culminated in the “Titans of Jewish Music” concert in Royce Hall with performances by various UCLA ensembles.

In the first three years of programming, the Lowell Milken Fund partnered with over 12 different Jewish organizations to deliver both academic events and public performances which highlighted the broad range found in American Jewish music, and featured artists from UCLA, Los Angeles and across the world.

Additionally, a partnership with the two national organizations, Cantors Assembly and American Conference of Cantors, enabled UCLA’s Lowell Milken Fund to launch an adult education curriculum, called Stories of Music, designed to engage participants in music of North American Jewish experience.

The Lowell Milken Center is currently producing videos on subjects including the story of “David’s Quilt,” a concert work by 15 composers of different backgrounds and styles, and insights on the scope of music showcased in the UCLA American Jewish Music Festival. The series of videos will be available for viewing on the website of the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience. Once public health conditions allow, the center also plans to hold a concert to celebrate its opening.

“Over the past three years, Lowell Milken has enabled our exploration of the intricate ways in which music reflects and shapes the diverse American Jewish experience,” said Mark Kligman, UCLA’s Mickey Katz Professor of Jewish Music, who will direct the new center. “The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience will expand these efforts at UCLA and into the community, and will enhance the field of American Jewish music on an international scale.”

A graduate of UCLA School of Law, Milken is an international businessman and philanthropist who chairs National Realty Trust, the largest property owner of early childhood centers in the U.S., and London-based Heron International, a worldwide leader in property development. Known for his philanthropy in education, music
and design, he has long supported UCLA and previously gave to establish the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law and the Lowell Milken Family Centennial Scholars Endowed Scholarship Fund for student-athletes.

Milken received an honorary doctorate from Hebrew Union College, and his work through the Milken Archive to preserve Jewish heritage and culture was recognized by the Jewish Theological Seminary on the 65th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

Since 1990, the Milken Archive has engaged an international roster of artists, composers and experts of different faiths and disciplines to share sacred and secular music, much of which was undiscovered or in danger of being lost. Engaging an equally global audience, the Milken Archive has completed more than 600 recordings, 200 oral histories and a series of 50 award-winning albums on the Naxos American Classics label.

About the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience

Established by a gift from philanthropist Lowell Milken and in collaboration with the Milken Archive of Jewish Music, several academic units at UCLA, and dedicated community partners, the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience is dedicated to exploring American Jewish music through research, publications, performance, educational programming and community engagement in Los Angeles and beyond. In 2017, the Lowell Milken Fund for American Jewish Music was established to expand the reach of the Milken Archive and its vast holdings of recordings, scores and historical materials to students, scholars and the public. With the establishment of the Lowell Milken Center, American Jewish music has its first permanent dedicated academic home, allowing it to expand the reach of its exploration, scholarship and performance through academic offerings, public programs, concerts and recordings, and partnerships with community organizations.

The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience at the UCLA Herb Alpert Music school is located on the UCLA campus at 2686 Schoenberg Music Building, 445 Charles E. Young Dr East, Los Angeles, CA 90095. For more information, please visit: https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/lowellmilkenmaje.

Media Contacts

Jeremy Broekman, (818) 212-9201, Jeremy@broekmancomm.com
Lawrence Aldava, (310) 486-8953, lawrence.aldava@schoolofmusic.ucla.edu

   
 

Disclaimer: JRelease is a press release service of AJPA. AJPA does not endorse and cannot vouch for material distributed by this service.

Association for Jewish Studies Launches AJS TV Free Front-Row Access to World-Renowned Speakers

(NEW YORK, NY, December 2) The Association for Jewish Studies (AJS) is launching AJS TV, which offers free online access to select sessions at the upcoming AJS Annual Conference, to be held virtually December 13 - 17, 2020. For over 50 years, the AJS has been the world's premier home for Jewish Studies scholars and scholarship. For the first time, the AJS is excited to share with the public via Facebook Live the breadth and depth of Jewish Studies, from insights into Black-Jewish relations, to Holocaust research, to even a discussion of the rock band Phish. AJS TV gives the public FREE front-row access to world-class speakers from Lonnie Bunch, the head of the Smithsonian Institution, to H. Susannah Heschel, Jewish Studies scholar and daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, all from the comfort of home. The public is invited to attend fifteen conference sessions, featuring lectures, conversations, and performances on wide-ranging topics: Social justice issues, including Black-Jewish relations, antisemitism, and #MeToo Jewish culture, including American Jewish education Jewish religious practice, including the cantorial “Golden Age” History, including the Holocaust in art, blood libel, the Blaustein Ben-Gurion “understanding” Pop culture, including the Jewishness of the band Phish Performances of queer and trans Yiddish drag and burlesque and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion Notable speakers include historians Deborah Dash Moore, Pamela Nadell and Magda Teter; expert in Jewish social justice Marc Dollinger; Afro-Jewish philosopher and activist Lewis R. Gordon; head of the Smithsonian Lonnie G. Bunch III; social scientists Arnold Dashefsky, Leonard Saxe, and Chaim Waxman; and Jewish Studies scholar H. Susannah Heschel. All AJS TV sessions are in English. Registration is not required, although interested parties may also register to receive AJS email reminders for the events. Access to AJS TV is available by going to www.associationforjewishstudies.org/AJSTV. The Association for Jewish Studies is the largest learned society and professional organization representing Jewish Studies scholars worldwide, with more than 2,000 members in 33 countries. The mission of the AJS is to advance research and teaching in Jewish Studies at colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher learning, and to foster greater understanding of Jewish Studies scholarship among the wider public. ### If you would like more information about AJS TV, the AJS Annual Conference, or the Association for Jewish Studies, please contact Amy Ronek at 212-294-8301, x6202 or aronek@associationforjewishstudies.org.

Disclaimer: JRelease is a press release service of AJPA. AJPA does not endorse and cannot vouch for material distributed by this service.

The 28th Annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy On Zoom and YouTube Live!

Jewish comedy on Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant (this year, a virtual one) FEATURING JUDY GOLD, ALEX EDELMAN, & LISA GEDULDIG THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24 & FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25 at 5pm PST (6pm MST/7pm CST/8pm EST) SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2020 at 2pm PST (3pm MST/4pm CST/4pm EST) Info: www.KosherComedy.com Tickets: $25 - $50 (Pay what you want) • www.CityBoxOffice.com/KungPao Partial Proceeds Benefit: • Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Teaching Tolerance” • The Helen and Joe Farkas Center for the Study of the Holocaust PLANET EARTH… Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ — Jewish comedy on Christmas in a (this year, virtual) Chinese Restaurant — is an annual tradition in San Francisco, California. Kung Pao, which has been featured in the NY Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune... is a take off on the tradition of Jews going to a Chinese restaurant and a movie on Christmas. The brainchild of San Francisco-based Jewish comedian, Lisa Geduldig, Kung Pao solves the age-old question, “What are Jews supposed to do on Christmas?” Created in 1993, Kung Pao was the country’s first Jewish comedy on Christmas in a Chinese restaurant show. The event caters to over 2000 people each December, with some people having attended every year. Kung Pao features Yiddish proverbs in its fortune cookies including “With one tuchus, you can’t dance at 2 weddings” which will be available this year through the event web site. Kung Pao has been ordering custom fortune cookies from the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory in San Francisco’s Chinatown since 1994 and continues to support this local business during the pandemic. For the first time in 58 years, the fortune cookie factory had to stop production in March but has since started up again albeit slowly. Due to the pandemic, the 28th Annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ will take place virtually this year, on Zoom and YouTube Live (rather than in a Chinese restaurant). Audiences worldwide will be able to “attend” and will be encouraged to order Chinese take out from their local Chinese restaurants or cook recipes of Chinese dishes (i.e our signature dish Kung Pao Chicken) provided by Kung Pao. Attendees watching the show on Zoom will be able to gather with friends and family in Breakout Rooms one hour before the show. The rooms will mirror the tables traditionally reserved by participants at the in-person event with table names that include Bubbelah, Kvetch, Meshugganah, Barbra Streisand, and Joan Rivers. Feeding the soul as well as the stomach. – New York Times A San Francisco institution. – San Francisco Examiner This legendary event has boasted a Who’s Who of household name Jewish comedians including Henny Youngman, Shelley Berman, David Brenner, and Elayne Boosler. This annual Jewish Christmas tradition spans three days, December 24-26, and will feature Jewish comedians Judy Gold, Alex Edelman, and Lisa Geduldig. (See bios below.) The New Asia Restaurant, Kung Pao Kosher Comedy’s home in San Francisco’s Chinatown since 1997 (the fifth year of the show) and one of the last 2 Chinese banquet restaurants in San Francisco’s Chinatown, is currently operating as a supermarket due to the pandemic while waiting to be able to re-open as a restaurant. This July, a few months into the pandemic, Kung Pao creator, producer, and MC, Lisa Geduldig, introduced her audiences to online comedy shows with the monthly Lockdown Comedy every third Thursday of the month on Zoom, hosted from her mother’s retirement community in Florida where Lisa has accidentally found herself on lockdown since going to visit for two weeks in March. Lisa’s 89-year old budding comedian mother, Arline, has been a special guest each month, performing stand up on the show. In August, the San Francisco Examiner did an article on the duo. Kung Pao Kosher Creator Introduces “Lockdown Comedy”: Lisa Geduldig and Her Mom Stream Standup, with Guests, from Florida. The idea for Kung Pao Kosher Comedy, came about in October 1993, when Geduldig was booked to perform at The Peking Garden Club in South Hadley, Massachusetts at what she imagined would be a comedy club, but upon her arrival she discovered it was a Chinese restaurant. A phone conversation the following day with an old friend (Tobi Sovak) from Jewish summer camp (Camp Hemshekh) about the irony of telling Jewish jokes at a Chinese restaurant led to the idea of Jewish comedy on Christmas in a Chinese restaurant, and a brainstorming session of Jewish, comedy, and Chinese food-related words led to the name, “Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™.” The creation of Kung Pao is a twist on the unwritten law that Jews must go to a Chinese restaurant and a movie on Christmas. Study: “Safe Treyf: New York Jews and Chinese Food” (Treyf means unkosher in Yiddish.) Geduldig appeared in a Canadian documentary, Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas, which aired on Canadian and European TV in December 2017. This year features Judy Gold, Alex Edelman, and Kung Pao creator, Lisa Geduldig.

COMEDIANS’ BIOS:

Judy Gold, Alex Edelman, and Lisa Geduldig

JUDY GOLD has had stand up specials on HBO, Comedy Central and LOGO. She has written and starred in two critically acclaimed, Off-Broadway hit shows: The Judy Show – My Life as a Sitcom (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), and 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother (GLAAD Media Award – Outstanding NY Theater, Drama Desk Nomination – Actor). Judy received rave reviews as Gremio in The Public Theater’s all female production of The Taming of The Shrew for Shakespeare in the Park. She also co-starred in Off-Broadway’s Clinton! The Musical, and Disaster! The Musical. Judy plays the role of Chaya on FX’s Better Things. She guest starred on CBS’ Madame Secretary and on the Showtime series I’m Dying Up Here. She has had recurring roles on Netflix’s Friends from College and TBS’ Search Party. Judy is the host of the hit podcast, Kill Me Now. She has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show. From 1999-2010, Judy was the host of HBO’s At the Multiplex with Judy Gold. Judy also won two Emmy awards for writing and producing The Rosie O’Donnell Show. Judy has made numerous appearances on The View, The Today Show, The Wendy Williams Show, and The Steve Harvey Show. She often pops up on The Food Network, but please do not mention Chopped All Stars to her, or Rachel vs. Guy for that matter. Judy’s newest comedy album, Conduct Unbecoming, and her previous albums, Kill Me Now and Judith’s Roommate Had a Baby are available wherever you get your music. Judy Gold is the author of YES I CAN SAY THAT – When They Come for the Comedians We’re All in Trouble, released this July from Dey Street Books. JudyGold.com ALEX EDELMAN has made numerous TV appearances in the US, Australia, and the UK and has been featured at the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal as a New Face, has appeared on Conan multiple times, and is a staple on those “Comedians You Should Know” type lists. He tours both nationally and internationally and is one of the founders of Jerusalem’s Off the Wall Comedy Club. Alex has opened for comedians Ricky Gervais, Jack Whitehall, Patton Oswalt, Gary Gulman, and a handful of musicians including Beck and San Fermin. In 2015, he travelled to Berlin and Moscow with Eddie Izzard to perform two shows to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Alex’s first show, Millennial – about very traumatic stock photos and young people – won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer, the first show by an American to do so since 1997. The follow-up, Everything Handed To You – about identity and the availability of outlets in airports – was even more acclaimed: selling out its entire Edinburgh run and garnering the second best reviews of any comedy show at the Festival. His third show, Just for Us – which centers on a meeting of neo-Nazis that Alex attended in New York – has cemented his reputation as a writer-performer of impressive ambition and technical skill. In its premiere run at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, it was nominated for a Barry Award for Best Show. In Edinburgh, it earned a Herald Angel Award, a nomination for Best Show, and superlative praise that made it the best-reviewed comedy show at the Festival in a decade. Alex was the Head Writer and Executive Producer of Saturday Night Seder, a star studded 70-minute special, posted on YouTube, that raised $3.5 million for the CDC Foundation (COVID-19) Emergency Response Fund. More than 1 million people watched the initial livestream, which was hosted by Jason Alexander with participants that included Rachel Brosnahan, Idina Menzel, Debra Messing, and Bette Midler. Alex writes regularly for The Atlantic and The Believer, has written and produced documentaries for the US State Department and ESPN’s 30 FOR 30 series, and spent more than a decade working as a speechwriter for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox. He likes ramen and David Foster Wallace. AlexEdelmanComedy.com LISA GEDULDIG is the creator, producer, and MC of Kung Pao Kosher Comedy. Before the pandemic, Lisa had been running a monthly decade-long comedy show at El Rio in San Francisco where her comedy career began 30 years ago. Lisa also does freelance arts PR in both English and Spanish…again when there is not a pandemic. In July, she began producing the monthly online comedy show, Lockdown Comedy, every third Thursday of the month out of her mother’s house in a retirement community in Florida, with her mom appearing as a monthly guest. BENEFICIARIES: Over the past 27 years, Kung Pao has raised tens of thousands of dollars and awareness for numerous organizations. www.koshercomedy.com/beneficiaries In keeping with the Jewish tradition of tzedakah (charity, in Hebrew - tied in with a sense of duty and social responsibility), each year Kung Pao donates partial proceeds to organizations and causes in which we believe. THIS YEAR’S BENEFICIARIES: The Helen and Joe Farkas Center for the Study of the Holocaust (based in San Francisco, California) preserves the history of the Holocaust for future generations by bringing survivors together with today’s students. The Center integrates the use of oral testimony in educational settings to create programs and events that promote social justice and moral courage. Working in partnership with educators and students, the Farkas Center connects Holocaust history with how we act locally and globally so that the slogan, “Never Again!” can become a reality for all people. Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Teaching Tolerance” provides free resources to educators—teachers, administrators, counselors, and other practitioners—who work with children from kindergarten through high school. These resources include classroom lessons, webinars, grants, podcasts, policy guides and much more. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants. The program emphasizes anti-bias and social justice. The anti-bias approach encourages children and young people to challenge prejudice and learn how to be agents of change in their own lives. Our Social Justice Standards show how anti-bias education works through the four domains of identity, diversity, justice, and action. Teaching Tolerance was founded in 1991 to prevent the growth of hate. We began by publishing Teaching Tolerance magazine and producing films chronicling the modern civil rights movement. Today, our community includes more than 500,000 educators who read our magazine, screen our films, visit our website, participate in our professional development workshops and webinars, use our curriculum or engage in our social media community. Some random Kung Pao Kosher Comedy Facts: • Henny Youngman, The King of One-Liners, headlined in 1997, performing at what ended up being his last show; the 91-year-old comedian died two months later in February 1998. • A chapter in the book, A Kosher Christmas: 'Tis the Season to be Jewish focuses on Kung Pao. • One couple, after 25 years, got married at the show by a rabbi they met at their table. • One year someone brought a rooster named Vern as an emotional support animal. Really. https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/LEAH-GARCHIK-3299717.php Calendar Listing: WHAT: The 28th Annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ Jewish Comedy on Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant (this year, a virtual one) Featuring Judy Gold, Alex Edelman, and Lisa Geduldig WHEN: • Thurs, Dec 24 & Fri, Dec 25 @ 5pm PST (6pm MST / 7pm CST / 8pm EST) • Sat, Dec 26 @ 2pm PST (3pm MST/4pm CST/4pm EST) WHERE: Your Couch (Zoom and YouTube Live) TICKETS: $25 - $50 (Pay what you want) • www.CityBoxOffice.com/KungPao INFO: www.koshercomedy.com • (415) 205-6515 PARTIAL PROCEEDS BENEFIT: •Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Teaching Tolerance” •The Helen and Joe Farkas Center for the Study of the Holocaust PROMO CLIP: https://tinyurl.com/KungPao2020Promo  (415) 205-6515 • lisag@igc.org • www.koshercomedy.com Disclaimer: JRelease is a press release service of AJPA. AJPA does not endorse and cannot vouch for material distributed by this service.

The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, and Mohamed bin Zayed University in the UAE to Collaborate on Artificial Intelligence Research

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in the United Arab Emirates was signed on September 12, 2020.

The signing ceremony, which was held virtually, took place in the presence of Weizmann Institute of Science President Prof. Alon Chen and His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and member of the Federal Cabinet, and Chairman of the MBZUAI Board of Trustees. A delegation headed by Weizmann Institute President is expected to travel to Abu Dhabi next week to finalize the details of the MoU and discuss its implementation.

The MoU was made possible by the recent agreement for normalization in relations between Israel and the UAE that will be signed in Washington, DC, later this week.

The MoU covers a range of opportunities for collaboration between the two institutions, including student and postdoctoral fellow exchange programs, conferences and seminars, various forms of exchange between researchers, sharing of computing resource and the establishment of a joint virtual institute for artificial intelligence.

The collaboration will advance the Weizmann Institute’s flagship project, the Artificial Intelligence Enterprise for Scientific Discovery, which will build on the Institute’s prominence in mathematics and computer science, and which is meant to activate the potential of AI to speed knowledge acquisition in data-heavy endeavors like biomedicine, environmental research, chemistry and astrophysics.

His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber: “As a pioneering university, MBZUAI seeks partnerships with leaders in their respective fields to further our collective scientific understanding and push the boundaries of technological innovation. Therefore, I welcome the opportunity to collaborate with such a renowned establishment as the Weizmann Institute of Science. Through this MoU we can leverage the expertise of both our institutes towards using artificial intelligence to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, from COVID-19 to climate change and beyond.”

Prof. Alon Chen, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science: “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with this unique, pioneering institution and to advance the field of artificial intelligence together. As a neuroscientist, I believe that AI is an extension of the power and intricacy of the human brain into the digital realm; the implications will be vast, affecting our lives our health and the global economy. It is said that science knows no borders. I have every hope this collaboration between scientists in the same region will be a shining example of this expression, and will extend the boundaries of human knowledge.”

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the world’s top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions and offers masters’ and doctoral-level degrees across five faculties. Noted for its wide-ranging exploration of the natural and exact sciences. Institute scientists are advancing research on the human brain, artificial intelligence, computer science and encryption, astrophysics and particle physics, and they are tackling diseases such as cancer, and addressing climate change through environmental, ocean and plant sciences, and more.

The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, established in 2019, is a graduate-level, research-based academic institution located in Abu Dhabi. Named for the UAE crown prince, the University is part of a broader national strategy to make the UAE a leader in artificial intelligence. It offers doctoral and master’s degree programs in the fields of computer vision, machine learning and natural language processing.

The National Center to Encourage Judaism
is now giving grants for on-line programming
that helps connect new people with Judaism

For over 35 years the National Center to Encourage Judaism has supported programs offered by established Jewish nonprofits (synagogues, JCCs, and others) that educate, engage, and connect people who do not identify as Jewish with Judaism. In that time, we have funded hundreds of in-person programs for individuals in the process of conversion, those who have recently converted, interfaith families, and others interested in exploring Judaism. Now, due to COVID, we are funding virtual programs that meet our eligibility guidelines. Applications are accepted anytime, and a decision is generally made within 45 days. Grants partially cover marketing, program materials, and other direct expenses for a variety of programs, including holiday workshops, introduction to Judaism classes, family programs, and discussion groups. Read more about what we fund online.

Our goal remains the same: encouraging Jewish organizations to offer programming that helps individuals and families establish a Jewish identity and create a Jewish home. We encourage inquiries and innovative ideas via email throughout the year. For example, recent grantees are supplementing Zoom with holiday baskets (such as “Shabbaskets”) and other physical materials to reinforce on-line learning, build community, and strengthen connections to Judaism. Find more supported programs on our website.

For more details, go to NCEJ’s grants page or apply now.

Links from above for reference:

NCEJ -- https://www.ncejudaism.org/

Apply for a grant -- https://www.ncejudaism.org/grant-process/

Our grantees -- https://www.ncejudaism.org/our-grantees/

What we fund -- https://www.ncejudaism.org/what-we-fund/

Virtual programs -- https://www.ncejudaism.org/virtual-programming/

The groundbreaking Let My People Eat podcast joins Jewish Coffee House, a single online destination to discover, download, and enjoy the most popular Jewish podcasts

Los Angeles, CA (September 8, 2020) — Let My People Eat, is proud to announce that it is joining Jewish Coffee House, a leader in premium podcasting that tackles authentic issues in the Jewish world.

Let My People Eat, (https://letmypeopleeat.com/) is the only podcast devoted exclusively to a kosher, holistic nutrition lifestyle, with new weekly episodes focused on the health of the Jewish community. Co-hosts Jill Sharfman, a holistic nutritionist, and Dr. Andrea Moskowitz, MD, an accomplished psychiatrist, demystify confusing talk about food and wellness, arming their audience with the knowledge and confidence to eat, feel, and be healthy every day!

One of the most recent episodes featured The Plant-Based Nutritionist, Julieanna Hever, and discussed whether you should be eating a vegan diet and what the Torah’s viewpoint on the subject is. This episode added to the over 16,000 unique downloads that the podcast has garnered since launching in January 2019. LMPE has over 80 episodes currently available on all streaming services.

“As a Jewish mother in LA focused on providing the most nutritious and well-balanced diet for my family, I understand the frustration of having to cut through the clutter surrounding health and nutrition,” says podcast co-host and holistic nutritionist Jill Sharfman. “Our podcast, Let My People Eat, is dedicated to improving the health and happiness of the Jewish community by providing straightforward kosher content that presents the facts. Our approach to a healthy lifestyle is founded on medical research and mindful of the integral halachic and spiritual tenets of Jewish life. In each episode we illustrate how to incorporate various avenues of healthy living, such as gluten-free or keto diets into a kosher lifestyle, discussing what really works and what doesn’t. Feedback from the Let My People Eat podcast audience, shows that listeners highly recommend that their friends and family in the Jewish community tune in as it "really does apply to us and our kosher nutrition needs." We are looking forward to sharing informative and entertaining episodes about Jewish healthy living with our audience, and becoming a part of the Jewish Coffee House family.”

“Jill and Dr. Andrea represent everything we look for in our premium lineup of stars on Jewish Coffee House,” said founder Rabbi Scott Kahn. “This collaboration illustrates our love for relatable, spirited, and informative content. With all the false information surrounding health, Jill and Dr. Andrea prove to be great resources as hosts of the only lifestyle podcast focused on kosher, holistic, healthy living.”

The new Fall 2020 season lineup includes high holiday cooking tips with world-renowned Jewish cookbook author, Danielle Renov, how food can help manage anxiety and depression, and an October episode in conjunction with Sharsheret, a nonprofit organization with the goal of supporting Jewish women diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancers.

Fans of the podcast can contact Jill Sharfman via email (jill@letmypeopleeat.com) to provide feedback for the podcast or to become a guest on the show.

To listen to the podcast, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, GooglePlay, and Stitcher and https://letmypeopleeat.com/. It is also available on the NakiRadio wi-fi player portal.

Follow Jill Sharfman on Instagram @letmypeople_eat and on Facebook @letmypeopleeatpodcast.

###

About Jewish Coffee House:

Jewish Coffee House is a podcast network, which produces and broadcasts both audio and video content focusing on matters of genuine concern to our Jewish heritage, while simultaneously appreciating aspects of secular culture. Our lineup of podcasts are enlightening, entertaining, professionally produced, and deal with authentic issues in the Jewish world. Jewish Coffee House’s other popular podcasts include The Franciska Show, Orthodox Conundrum, Intimate Judaism, Chochmat Nashim, The Maimonides Minute, Ask the Rabbis, and Intellectual Spirituality. General inquiries: scott@jewishcoffeehouse.com

CONTACT:
Jill Sharfman
CEO Let My People Eat
310-666-4454
jill@letmypeopleeat.com

Save today’s history to avoid mistakes of the past

These are unprecedented days with historic objects and monuments being destroyed, books banned and burned, religious beliefs under attack, and attempts made to alter, and in worse cases, erase history.

Additionally, antisemitism is on the rise around the world, politicians are veering far right and left, and as World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder pointed out in a recent interview with The Jewish Chronicle, “We’re now dealing with the third generation after the liberation of Auschwitz…and these are young people who have no contact with what happened.”

So, where will people go for the truth – for actual first-person accounts of Jewish history and what transpired in their own communities? Inevitably, they will turn to the most trusted sources, journalists who provided observations, interviews and photographs. The most reliable source is undoubtedly the newspaper but, for people to explore the archives, the information has to be digitally accessible and searchable.

Without digital preservation, the written history is at constant risk of being lost forever whether it be by natural deterioration, disaster such as fire or flood, or by something darker such as intentional destruction or vandalism.

“We work with dozens of religious publications across the country who really have strong feelings about not only preserving the facts but also making history accessible and searchable for future generations,” noted Paul Jeffko, the founder of ArchiveInABox. “We share their passion for protecting the first draft of history so the details, whether it be news or lifecycle events, are available to people far and wide.”

Jeffko created ArchiveInABox to make it easy and affordable for publishers and organizations to scan historic archive materials and place them online where they can be searched from anywhere in the world. Scanning services include shipping, white-glove handling of original newspapers, and the return of the originals and digital files to the owner. “In addition to digitizing archives, we provide a suite of hosting options including free, low cost and custom. You tell us what you need, and we will make it happen,” added Jeffko. 

The Jewish News in Tidewater, Virginia had experienced people cutting articles out of the original bound volume archives so they turned to ArchiveInABox to scan the originals and place the archive, dating back to 1947, online at http://jnt.stparchive.com/.  “The online archive has huge value…there’s a warm feeling seeing the history of our community, everyone really loves seeing old photographs,” explained Jewish News Editor Terri Denison. “Now people can easily research both people and events… the online archive makes that so much easier.”

Visit ArchiveInABox.com or contact us to get started with your digital preservation project.

Karen Tarica
ArchiveInABox

karen@smalltownpapers.com 
www.archiveinabox.com

Disclaimer: JRelease is a press release service of AJPA. AJPA does not endorse and cannot vouch for material distributed by this service.

18 MAJOR JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS URGE U.S. TO PRESS JORDAN’S KING ABDULLAH ON TERRORIST’S EXTRADITION

Ahlam Tamimi Was Mastermind of 2001 Sbarro Bombing in Jerusalem That Killed 15, Including 2 Americans

JULY 13, 2020 -- Eighteen major Jewish organizations in the United States have publicly called on the United States government to exert pressure on Jordan’s King Abdullah II to extradite Ahlam Tamimi, the Jordanian fugitive terrorist behind the 2001 Sbarro pizzeria bombing in Jerusalem that killed 15 persons, including two American nationals. An additional victim, a young mother who was also an American national, has remained comatose in all the years since the bombing.

They “express our collective outrage over the Kingdom of Jordan’s refusal to extradite the murderer of American citizens,” the organizations declared in a written statement released today. They “call upon our government to hold… Jordan accountable to its commitments under its extradition treaty with the United States and bring all pressure to bear including but not limited to recent government legislation significantly impacting U.S. financial aid to Jordan.”

The public declaration comes just weeks before the anniversary of the August 9, 2001 attack that injured and maimed 130.

Tamimi, a key plotter in the attack, was a 21-year-old newsreader at a Palestinian Arab television station in the summer of 2001. She would later claim credit for the attack, admitting to scouting the location of Sbarro – a popular eatery in the heart of downtown Jerusalem – and bringing the bomb to its door. 

She has boasted for the record [LINK at 2m10s] that two of the factors leading her to pick the pizzeria as a bombing target were the crowds that gathered there during lunch hour and that she “knew there was a Jewish religious school nearby..." If there was any cloud in her bright skies, it was – in her words [LINK] - that “I admit that I was a bit disappointed because I had hoped for a larger toll.”

Tamimi was arrested several weeks after the attack and tried in an Israeli court where she confessed to all the charges. She was sentenced to 16 terms of life imprisonment. But she was conditionally freed in a 2011 deal in which Israel secured the release of Gilad Shalit, held hostage by Hamas for five years.

“We have been working hard to move public opinion in the US to stand with us,” said Arnold Roth, whose 15-year-old daughter, Malki, an American citizen, was murdered in the attack. “It’s an ongoing process. The organizations whose support we’re announcing today speak publicly and with one voice in this extraordinary call for justice for Malki and the other Sbarro victims. It’s time that Jordan’s disregard for its legal, diplomatic and moral obligations to hand Tamimi over to U.S. justice was brought to an end.” 

The American organizations expressing their support for the Roths include the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, AIPAC, the Jewish Federations of North America, Agudath Israel of America, The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and Yeshiva University. Their statement comes four weeks after AP reported [LINK] the Trump administration is considering the withholding of assistance to Jordan as leverage to secure Tamimi’s extradition to Washington.

NOTE to editors: Photographs of Malki Roth are available at https://photos.app.goo.gl/RooZR2ZfMhmNpfpn8

--30--

Signatories (in alphabetical order):

• Agudath Israel of America
• AIPAC - The American Israel Public Affairs Committee
• B’nai B’rith International
• Bnai Zion Foundation
• Coalition for Jewish Values
• Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
• Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
• Jewish Federations of North America
• National Council of Young Israel
• NCSEJ: National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry
• Rabbinical Alliance of America
• Rabbinical Assembly
• Rabbinical Council of America
• Religious Zionists of America - Mizrachi
• Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
• World Jewish Congress North America
• Yeshiva University
• Zionist Organization of America

Text of the Declaration and Statement of Solidarity

"WHEREAS, August 9, 2020 will mark the 19th anniversary of the Palestinian terrorist bombing at the Sbarro pizzeria in downtown Jerusalem, in which 15 civilians were killed, including 7 children and a pregnant woman, and 130 wounded, among them a woman who remains comatose in a vegetative state; and

WHEREAS, two of the murdered civilians – 15-year-old Malki Roth and 31-year-old teacher Judith Hayman Greenbaum were U.S. citizens; and

WHEREAS, the unrepentant plotter of the bombing, Ahlam Tamimi, now lives in Jordan; and

WHEREAS, the Government of Jordan, an American ally and the world’s fourth-largest recipient of U.S. financial aid, refuses to extradite Tamimi to the United States, in direct contravention of its treaty obligations;

NOW, therefore, we, the undersigned:

EXPRESS our collective outrage over the Kingdom of Jordan’s refusal to extradite the murderer of American citizens.

STAND in solidarity with the families of the victims and their quest for justice.

CALL upon our government to hold the Kingdom of Jordan accountable to its commitments under its extradition treaty with the United States and bring all pressure to bear, including, but not limited to, recent government legislation significantly impacting U.S. financial aid to Jordan.

PLEDGE to join forces with the families of the victims until their demand to see justice meted-out to the murderer of American citizens is realized.”

Contacts:

Arnold Roth | arnold.roth@gmail.com | +972-54-560-1002
Mordechai Twersky | mitwersky@gmail.com | +972-52-432-4540

Disclaimer: JRelease is a press release service of AJPA. AJPA does not endorse and cannot vouch for material distributed by this service.

Pharmacy CEO Champions Masks Manufactured in Israel

R&T Pharmacy Corp partners with leading Israeli medical equipment manufacturer for distribution of surgical-grade masks

Safety masks and other personal protective equipment is meant to protect against coronavirus, but because of rushed and counterfeit production, people have unknowingly put themselves at risk by buying supplies from an inferior supplier. The rush for equipment to protect against COVID-19 led to a rise in counterfeit protective gear, including masks. In March 2020, a Global News article reported announced that counterfeit safety masks were pulled from websites in India, Pakistan and a half-dozen other countries. European countries have reported severing ties with equipment vendors because of substandard manufacturing conditions and low-quality equipment.

R&T Pharmacy Corp is gaining ground in the battle for easily-accessible, high-quality face masks with the BEEZ-Safe Masks manufactured in highly-sterile, regulated facilities in Israel.

CEO Jay Enis says he chose a manufacturing facility in Israel because, “Israel is known for its' innovation and technology.” Israel has a well-earned reputation of always being at the forefront of medical research and health care technology. Israel’s doctors and scientists are more than practitioners and researchers of medicine – they are visionaries and global leaders in their individual fields.

In addition to being manufactured in superior facilities, these masks are surgical-grade and used in operating rooms across the world, making them a safer option to many DIY cloth masks and disposable 3-ply masks manufactured for speed at the onset of the pandemic.

The BEEZ-Safe mask is available in convenient 25-count boxes and can be purchased directly from their website. For more information, visit BEEZ-SafeMasks.com.

About R&T Pharmacy Corp:  A leader in the health, pharmacy, and PPE space, R&T Pharmacy Corp is proud to be able to make the same high-grade masks used by surgeons and medical staff in hospitals around the world available to public to reduce health risks. Their masks are made in safe, sterile manufacturing facilities in Israel, a partnership based on Israel’s well-earned reputation of always being at the forefront of medical research and health care technology.

Disclaimer: JRelease is a press release service of AJPA. AJPA does not endorse and cannot vouch for material distributed by this service.

Are you prepared for the unimaginable?

Nothing is more powerful a reminder of the fragility of life, even our existence, than a pandemic. Are we truly prepared for the unexpected? Are we prepared to change the way we conduct business? How will life go on?

As the world turns to online resources for finance, meetings, shopping, even family gatherings, it is clear that digital infrastructure has “saved the day” for many.  That is the core of our business -- helping organizations digitally preserve and host historical information online where it can be easily searched and explored. In a time of social distancing, people are conducting genealogical or other historical research from home and need access to your community's history including life-cycle events. 

Further, what makes digital archive preservation an imperative rather than a luxury is the rapid change taking place in community newspapers. While some are closing their doors, merging with other papers, or halting printing altogether, we cannot afford to have these precious archives lost in the shuffle. 

ArchiveInABox helps communities preserve and make their history accessible even in our own state where The Jewish Transcript closed its doors several years ago. While we were asked to scan only a portion of their archives, those pages -- some from the first year of publication in 1924 -- are now accessible on a dedicated webpage. 

Remembrance is a critical component of Judaism - remembering the past and the present; remembering the people and events who contributed to your community story. ArchiveInABox helps communities preserve and provide online access to the information and people in your newspaper archives so that they can be remembered today and by future generations. Contact us to learn more.

Karen Tarica
ArchiveInABox

karen@smalltownpapers.com
www.archiveinabox.com

Disclaimer: JRelease is a press release service of AJPA. AJPA does not endorse and cannot vouch for material distributed by this service.