Around the Town
By Sharon Wisch-Ray

Two journeys to Israel, separated by six decades …

Many thanks to Hollace Weiner and Laurie James who submitted the following story:
Two journeys to Israel, separated by six decades …
In the summer of 1954, Robert Schur, a young rabbi in Alexandria, Louisiana, traveled to the emerging nation of Israel, courtesy of the Central Louisiana Jewish Federation.
In the summer of 2014, four teenagers from the Fort Worth Jewish community arrived in Israel as part of a journey coordinated by the North American Federation of Temple Youth in Israel.
“Journeys to Israel: 1954 and 2014,” a collection of memorabilia and memories spanning 60 years, will be on display at Fort Worth’s Beth-El Congregation through June 2015. One section of the exhibit features Rabbi Schur’s digitized 8mm movie film, his aerograms to the United States and a portable typewriter. Another display case shows contemporary headlines from Israel during last summer’s Gaza War and a collection of electronic devices that current travelers use to send texts and photos back home.
In 1954, Rabbi Schur traveled solo. He was among the vanguard visiting the six-year-old country, still reeling from the first Arab-Israeli war. The teenagers traveling this past summer were among planeloads of tourists. They found that Israel, at 66 years of age, had changed significantly. Telephones — scarce during the rabbi’s visit — are now in everyone’s hands. Eateries, sparse in the 1950s, abound.
Days into the students’ journey, rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip sent them running for air raid shelters. A counselor was called up for active duty. Itineraries were rerouted to avoid hot zones. Alarm sirens became interwoven with the sights and sounds of their trip.
Rabbi Schur began his journey aboard an El Al Constellation, a propeller plane, luxurious in its day, which landed at Lod Airport (renamed Ben Gurion International in 1973). His flight (at 15,000 ft. and 300 mph) included three refueling stops — in Gander, Newfoundland; London; and Rome. It took him two days to reach Jerusalem.
Direct flights to Israel are now available, but the students’ voyage (via jet plane flying at 33,000 ft. and 600 mph) included side trips to the Czech Republic and Poland to tour two Nazi concentration camps — Terezin and Auschwitz.
In 1954, the Cold War was at its height. Rabbi Schur could not have traveled behind the Iron Curtain. On his way back to the States, he made excursions to Rome, Casablanca, and Marrakech, where he met with representatives of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. They took him on visits to struggling postwar Jewish communities. In Morocco, he reported that Jews subsisted in medieval conditions.
Communication 60 years ago was slow and cumbersome. Rabbi Schur sent a Western Union telegram upon his arrival in Jerusalem. Aerograms, typed on his portable Olivetti, took six days to reach the U.S. This past summer, the teens connected with their families in the States almost instantly via Skype, text messaging, and Instagram. The four teens on the NFTY trip were Ben Berger, Nicole Bergamini, Mark Mowery and Avery Simon.
Rabbi Schur came to Fort Worth’s Beth-El Congregation in 1956. When he died in 1994, he left in the archives a box filled with letters from his Israel trip, three reels of 8 mm movie film, two rolls of black-and-white negatives and picture postcards that are part of the current exhibit. The movie films were digitized and then edited, by Scott Sloter, with descriptive quotes from the rabbi’s airmail letters.

Ruthie and Larry Currie, Libby and Herb Bogart and Eve and Edward Kirschner welcomed Alon Kirschner to Cowtown last month. Alon is the grandson of the late Marcel Kirschner, who was Ed Kirschner’s and the late Ann Bogart’s brother; He is the son of the late Yoram Kirschner. Alon recently moved from Israel to Austin to pursue his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Texas.
Ruthie and Larry Currie, Libby and Herb Bogart and Eve and Edward Kirschner welcomed Alon Kirschner to Cowtown last month. Alon is the grandson of the late Marcel Kirschner, who was Ed Kirschner’s and the late Ann Bogart’s brother; He is the son of the late Yoram Kirschner. Alon recently moved from Israel to Austin to pursue his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Texas.

Person of the Year dinner Sept. 14 at Ahavath Sholom

Just another quick reminder that The Isadore Garsek Lodge of Bnai Brith will announce the coveted Person of the Year Award at 6 p.m., Sept. 14 at Congregation Ahavath Sholom. Food will be catered by the shul and music will be provided by the Texas Gypsies. Cost is $25 per person. For more information or to make a reservation, contact Harry Kahn at hskdsk@charter.net or 817-926-6566, Alex Nason at alexnason@charter.net or Marvin Beleck at marvinbeleck@aol.com.
Send Person of the Year nominations to Isadore Garsek Lodge 4420 W. Vickery Blvd., Ft. Worth, TX 76107

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