Dedications Abound!

The approaching New Year was a wonderful backdrop this past week for two very exciting dedications in our Jewish Community.  Temple Midbar Kodesh dedicated their new sanctuary, education building and renovated social hall and facility.  The Desert Torah Academy dedicated their brand-new Robert Cohen Education Academy.  Both dedications are a “Siman Tov” or good sign of the strength and vitality of our Jewish community; and an indication that even in these difficult economic times it is possible to accomplish a lot.

Congresswoman Dina Titus (left) together with Diane and Jay Amernick (center) and Elliot and Sharon Karp at the dedication of Midbar Kodesh's new sanctuary.

Our Jewish Federation was pleased to participate in both dedications and to pay tribute to both Temple Midbar Kodesh and Desert Torah Academy.  We wish organizations great success, accomplishment and achievement in their new homes!  Mazel Tov!

JCC Dedication This Sunday!

Speaking of dedications the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada will formally dedicate its new building this Sunday, August 29 at 1:00 P.M.  This is a momentous occasion in the life of our JCC and Jewish community as together we will celebrate the establishment of the JCC’s first-ever free-standing building.  With the ceremonial hanging of the Mezuzah on the new JCC’s door…we will be turning the building into the Jewish community’s new home and Center.

Joining in the festivities will be Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, Jewish Federation Board Chair Leonard Stone, JCC President Richard Frankoff and Ron Leibow of Los Angeles, a Board Member of the Jewish Community Center Association of North America.

Please join us this Sunday for this very special community-wide celebration and dedication!

Senator Joseph Lieberman Visits Jewish Community

Speaking of the new JCC building, this past week the JCC, in cooperation with our Jewish Federation, hosted Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut for a visit to our Jewish community.  Senator Lieberman addressed a luncheon meeting of community Rabbis as well as a gathering of Jewish Federation and Jewish community leaders.  At both meetings Senator Lieberman engaged in discussion on the US/Israel relationship, the growing Iranian nuclear threat as well as several domestic affairs issues of vital importance to our Jewish community.  It was a wonderful opportunity for our Jewish Federation to hold both meetings in our JCC’s new home…and a perfect example as to why the JCC is now occupying its brand-new facility.  Thank you to JCC President Richard Frankoff and JCC Executive Director Neil Popish for hosting both gatherings and for providing warm and gracious hospitality.

Hillel Jewish Student Center Kicks Off New School Year

This past week saw the start of the academic year at UNLV and along with it the start of another exciting program year for our Hillel Jewish Student Center.  Monique Arar, our dynamic and energetic Hillel Director, together with a tremendously dedicated and enthusiastic student leadership team were out in force at UNLV hosting several events designed to welcome Jewish students back to campus.  This evening Hillel will be holding its first Shabbat mixer and dinner of the school year.  A lot more activities are planned, including the first-ever Hillel High Holiday Services featuring egalitarian and inclusive services for collegiates.  The services for both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will take place on campus and will be led by Rabbi Yonatan Yussman of the Adelson Educational Campus faculty together with student participants.  To learn more about Hillel’s programs, including the upcoming schedule of High Holiday service times, please contact Monique at 479-4452 or Monique@jewishlasvegas.com .

Israel’s Risks For Peace

In case you did not see George Will’s column this past week I am providing here and below as a very important read.

BREAKING NEWS!

U.S. invites parties to direct talks

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The United States has invited Israel and the Palestinians to relaunch direct peace talks next month, though the parameters remain vague.

"On behalf of the United States government I've invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to meet on Sept. 2 to resolve all final status issues which we believe can be completed within one year," Hillary Rodham Clinton, the U.S. secretary of state, said in a conference call on Friday.

George Mitchell, the top U.S. envoy to the region, suggested the parameters to the talks had yet to be determined.

"It will be for the parties themselves to decide the manner in which they will be addressed," he said, responding to a question regarding when and how the parties will get to the final-status issues, which include borders, Jerusalem and refugees. "There are differences of opinions on both sides on how best to succeed. We don't expect all of those differences to disappear when talks begin."

The two leaders, joined by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah, have been invited to dine with President Obama on Sept. 1; prior to the dinner, Obama will meet with each leader separately. The next day, Netanyahu, Abbas and Clinton will meet at the State Department to launch talks.

Netanyahu accepted the offer within minutes of its announcement. It was not immediately clear if Abbas, Mubarak and Abdullah had accepted their invitations.

"Reaching an agreement is a difficult challenge but is possible," Netanyahu said in a statement. "We are coming to the talks with a genuine desire to reach a peace agreement between the two peoples that will protect Israel's national security interests, foremost of which is security."

Report courtesy of Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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It may be the end of the summer but there is plenty of activity going on in and around our Jewish Federation and the Jewish community.

Hillel Jewish Student Center

Classes resume next week on the campus of UNLV and with the start of the new academic year our Hillel Jewish Student Center is off and running with a full calendar of activities.  Monique Arar, our talented and dedicated Hillel Director serving UNLV, CSN and other campuses in the Las Vegas Valley, has a wide range of programs to welcome students back to campus.  Please check our web site for Hillel programs.  For the first time ever Hillel will be hosting its very own Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services for the High Holidays.  Rabbi Yonatan Yussman, who is on the Judaic Studies faculty at the Adelson Educational Campus, will lead the non-traditional and egalitarian services.  There will also be traditional Chabad services and all students will join together for festive Rosh Hashanah meals and breakfast following Yom Kippur.  We look forward to an exciting program year at Hillel.  For more information, please contact Monique at Monique@jewishlasvegas.com .

Las Vegas Reps at 2011 Campaign Ignition

Several leaders of our Jewish Federation and members of our professional staff attended the 2011 Campaign Ignition programs this past week in Los Angeles sponsored by the Jewish Federations of North America.  The two-day program included sessions on the annual campaign, Women’s Philanthropy and best practices in fundraising and programming; as well as updates on the important work of our Jewish Federation’s overseas partners the Jewish Agency for Israel, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and ORT.  I am pleased that our Las Vegas delegation included several of our young leaders from our Jewish Emerging Leaders group and Women’s Philanthropy Council.

Following the campaign program three members of our professional staff participated in a very informative continuing education program.  The trio honed their skills in fundraising, program development and volunteer management.

The month of Elul began this past week signaling the start of the High Holiday season as we begin to prepare ourselves for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.  Each morning, save for Shabbat, we sound the Shofar summoning us to be mindful of the fact that Rosh Hashanah and the Jewish New Year are approaching.  These preparations and the Shofar also remind us that with the New Year we are also preparing ourselves for a new year in our Jewish community and at the Jewish Federation.

JewEL Retreat

This past week JewEL, our Young Leadership Group, held a retreat at Green Valley Ranch Hotel to make plans for the upcoming year. This was the first meeting for Heidi Rosen as JewEL’s newly installed Chairwoman. It was an exciting day filled with a lot brainstorming and idea sharing on how our Young Leadership program can reach out to new members, build a sense of community, and repair the world in Las Vegas and Israel. We are very fortunate that 22 young professionals are providing leadership and serve on JewEL’s Board of Directors.  They are a dynamic, diverse, enthusiastic and passionate group.

They’ll be focusing this year on outreach and engagement, as well as innovative programming to help involve more young Jewish adults in Las Vegas become involved in our Jewish community, the Jewish Federation and our annual campaign. 

One new element for JewEL is its efforts at engaging Birthright Israel alumni living in Las Vegas.  Our new Birthright Engagement Chair will seek out other Birthright alumni and help them find a connection to the Las Vegas Jewish community.  There are over 285,000 Birthright Alumni nationally, and we know that several hundred live in our Las Vegas valley. 

JewEL’s Missions & Collaborations Chair will help JewEL to collaborate with other Jewish organizations and social service agencies in the community; as well as help recruit volunteers for various Jewish Federation event and activities throughout the year.  A major focus for recruitment will be the National Young Leadership Conference, TribeFest, to held at The Mandalay Bay in March, 2011.

If you know of any young Jewish adults who would like to learn more about JewEL and become involved in our activities, or for more information on how to get more involved yourself with JewEL this year, please contact Stefanie Szlamkowicz, Jewish Federation’s Young Leadership Director at Stefanie@jewishlasvegas.com or 732-0556.

Federation Leaders to Ignite 2011 Campaign

Several volunteer leaders and professional staff from our Jewish Federation will be in Los Angeles this coming week for Ignition 2011.  The one-day program, sponsored by the Jewish Federations of North America, is designed as a “kick off” for the nationwide 2011 Campaign conducted by the more than 150 Jewish Federation in the U.S. and Canada.  I will have more to write about Ignition and the 2011 campaign next week.  Some of our Jewish Federation professional staff attending Ignition 2011 will be staying on afterwards for a special professional development training and education program, I-LEAD, also sponsored by the Jewish Federations of North America.  The program will enable our already dedicated professional staff to “hone” their skills, learn new ones and share best practices with Federation professional colleagues from across the country.

JFNA’s Paul Kane Visits Vegas

Paul Kane, the newly appointed Special Advisor to the President & CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, stopped in Las Vegas to meet with Jewish Federation volunteer leadership and staff prior to next week’s LA Ignition 2011 program.  Paul, who is widely recognized as one of the Jewish Federation systems most experienced and seasoned fundraising and development professionals, share his views and offered suggestions on a wide range of topics with our leadership including more effective methods for outreach, engagement, marketing and fundraising.

JCC Starts Long Range Strategic Planning Process

Now that our JCC has a new home, the Board of Directors is beginning to map our long range and strategic plans for the future growth and development of the Jewish Community Center.  I am proud of the fact that our Richard Frankoff, President of the JCC, has invited our Jewish Federation to be its partner in this process.  Last evening Leonard Stone, Chairman of the Jewish Federation Board of Directors, and I participated in an exciting planning session facilitated by David Posner, our JCC’s community consultant from the JCC Association of North America.  I am confident that the new, dynamic and enthusiastic leadership of our JCC, together with our efforts at the Jewish Federation, will help to build a bigger, better and exciting JCC for our entire community.

It seems that August, while very hot, is still a busy time in and around our Jewish Federation and in our Jewish community!

Tribefest Coming to Las Vegas!

What’s Tribefest?  Our community will find out this coming March 2011 when 1,800 young Jewish adults from across the country converge on Las Vegas for the National Young Leadership Conference sponsored by the Jewish Federations of North America.  Tribefest will be a fun-filled gathering that will include workshops, plenaries, community service projects and an opportunity to meet young Jewish professionals.  Our Jewish Federation, and most especially, our Jewish Emerging Leaders (JewEL) group will help play host to Tribefest and show the participants a great time in Las Vegas.

This past week I had the privilege of addressing more than 200 members of the National Young Leadership Cabinet of the Jewish Federations of North America at their annual retreat in Scottsdale.  The Cabinet members, representing more than 75 communities, will be the primary “recruiting force” for the Tribefest program. 

I was pleased to premiere a fantastic and exciting video about Las Vegas, our Jewish community and Tribefest.  They loved the video and it helped to generate a lot of enthusiasm for Tribefest.  A special note of thanks to Letizia Mass Marketing for their special help and generous assistance in producing the video.

We not only look forward to hosting Tribefest but we expect that dozens upon dozens of Las Vegas Jewish young professionals will participate and volunteer for the three-day conference.  JewEL and our Jewish Federation will be organizing a Host Committee to help plan for and welcome Tribefest to Las Vegas.  If you would like to get involved in this special program please contact Stefanie Szlamkowicz, Director of Young Leadership and Affinity Group Development at the Federation (732-0556 or Stefanie@jewishlasvegas.com ).

Israel in the News

I am certain you watched the news, as I did, this past week of the skirmish between the IDF and Lebanese soldiers along the Northern Border.  The rising tensions and hostilities resulted in the death of Lt. Col. Dov Harari, z”l, as well as three Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist.  There has been growing concern about the growing threat of Hezbollah and other terrorist forces along the Lebanese border and this incident only points to that threat which Israel takes very seriously.

It is felt this incident could have also been caused in order to draw attention away from a critical UN report on the assassination of former Lebanese President Rafik Hariri.  In an unusual statement, UNIFIL confirmed Israel was within its boundaries in tree pruning efforts, which were coordinated through UNIFIL, along the border and that the Lebanese Army was responsible for the incident.

Lt. Col. Harari was a 27-year veteran of the IDF and was due to retire following his current reserve duty on the Northern Border.  He was buried in his home town of Netanya and is survived by a wife and four children.  President Obama sent a personal note of condolence to the Harari family.  We join in expressing our sympathies to the Harari family.  May Dov’s memory always be a source of blessing.

Senate Committee Approves Senior Lifeline

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved a special earmark appropriation bill which included provisions for a $100,000 grant to support our Jewish Federation’s Senior Lifeline program.  Senator Harry Reid was instrumental in providing support, advocacy and leadership in support of the bill.  The bill must now be voted upon and approved by the full Senate some time after the summer recess.  It is vitally important that we thank Senator Reid for his help and assistance in support of Senior Lifeline.  Please send a letter, email or make a phone call to Senator Reid and thank him for his support.  You can reach Senator Reid at:

The Honorable Harry Reid
United States Senate
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
1-866-736-7343
Attn: Jessica Lewis Jessica_Lewis@Reid.Senate.Gov

Exciting Senior Lifeline News

In other developments I am pleased to report that Senior Lifeline has been invited to participate in a special meals program for senior adults provided by Three Square, our community Food Bank.  The special meal program will provide special nutritional meals to qualifying senior adults free of charge.  We are grateful to Three Square for their support and partnership helping to provide nutritional meals to our Senior Lifeline clients.

In addition we recently received a special grant from the State Office on Aging which will enable us to provide homemaker services to those seniors on our growing waiting list for services.  Unfortunately we have more than 100 qualified senior adults on a waiting list.  Thanks to the special state support we will be able to serve all of these senior adults and eliminate our wait list.