Compiled by Sharon Wisch-Ray
sharon@tjpnews.com

The Fort Worth Hadassah Mah Jongg Tournament

The Fort Worth Chapter of Hadassah will host a communitywide Mah Jongg Tournament on Sunday, Feb. 19, benefiting Hadassah’s work with stem cell research.
The tournament will be held at Congregation Ahavath Sholom. Check-in time is 12:30 p.m. and play is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
The tournament honors Barbara Weinberg for her many years of work earning funds for Hadassah through the sale of mah jongg cards.

“For the past nine years, Barbara has brought in thousands of dollars to Hadassah, and we honor her for her hard work and tireless efforts on our behalf,” said Debby Rice, tournament co-chair.
The event is unique in that all proceeds will benefit Hadassah Hospital’s stem cell research. An unprecedented clinical trial launched at Hadassah Medical Organization, testing the effectiveness of a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), could bring hope to the 2.5 million patients worldwide suffering from this neurodegenerative disease. Preliminary results of the Hadassah trial have seen wheelchair user patients getting back on their feet. Since its inception, Hadassah’s progress has set the standard for medicine in Israel — the standard of excellence. Today, Hadassah Medical Organization continues to progress, making the world a better place through healing, teaching and research.
Mary Frances Antweil joins Debby as tournament co-chair. The volunteer tournament committee consists of Michal Bloom, Elsie Blum, Bootsie Coggan, Elizabeth Cohen, Suzi Gardner, Gail Granek, Terri Hollander, Randee Kaitcer, Diana Krompass, Linda Landy, Idelle Luskey, Lisa Moses, Elisa Nudleman, Diane Oberstein, Marcy Paul, Milena Razack, Lenna Hughes Recer, Reggie Rog, Carole Rogers, Roz Rosenthal, Pris Salpeter, Sheila Stocker, Cheryl Visosky and Judy Weinstein. The crew is working diligently to make sure no detail will be left undone.
There will be cash prizes for the high scorers, along with door prizes, and wonderful donated raffle items available to everyone. Kosher snacks will be served.
If you want to participate in the tournament and haven’t registered yet, you need to contact either Mary Frances Antweil (817-346-0494) or Debby Rice (817-706-5158 or rice.debby@gmail.com) as soon as possible. The time is NOW.
“We look forward to seeing you at Ahavath Sholom Sunday, Feb. 19 at 12:30 p.m.,” says Rice.

Renowned Israeli artists come to Cowtown

Fort Worth’s arts community will have a unique opportunity to work with two Israeli modern artists next weekend, Feb. 24 through Feb. 26. Batya Gil (experimental glass artist) and Koby Sibony (wire designer/maker) from Israel’s Western Galilee will be visiting Feb. 24-26 as part of the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth & Tarrant County’s Partnership2Gether program.
Partnership2Gether is a joint program of the Jewish Agency and the Jewish Federation serving as the central platform for the promotion, empowerment, and development of deep connections between our community members and our friends in the Western Galilee.

This hands-on creative weekend will be exciting and we invite people to join in the opportunity to meet these talented artists, create with them and learn about their lives.
Sibony, a native of Haifa, graduated with a degree in industrial design from the Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem. His art and design studio is on Kibbutz Lohamei HaGeta’ot, a community in the Western Galillee established in 1949 by surviving fighters from the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, other Jewish partisans and Holocaust survivors of World War II. Gil, who emigrated to Israel from Canada as a child, has been a working artist in Israel for 20 years.
From noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, the artists will lead community members in a large-scale public art project in collaboration with Fort Worth’s SiNaCa Studios. Local artist Tatara Siegel created the basic design of the work, and is collaborating with and hosting the visiting artists at SiNaCa. Community members are invited to participate or just observe as the art is created in real time.
“Magnolia Avenue is an amazing place,” Siegel said. “It is filled with people from all different walks of life, and we pride ourselves on our diversity, strong work ethic and community. SiNaCa Studios is especially interested in giving people creative outlets.”
In homage to the neighborhood, the project will create magnolia flowers that will be wrapped around a 16-foot steel pole. If you don’t think you’re the creative, artsy type, Siegel’s got you covered.
“People are welcome to come and be a part of this construction by drilling holes in glass, weaving wire, or weaving glass and wire,” she said. “Community is about different people all working together to create something amazing, something unique and something special.”
On Saturday, Feb. 25, the artists will present their works in “Between Art and Design — A Dialogue Between Two Artists and the Audience” at a gallery talk at Rebecca Low Sculptural Metal Gallery & Studio. The artists will focus their discussion on working in the periphery of Israeli art and creating in the space between art and design.
Sunday, Feb. 25, Gil and Sibony will conclude their Tarrant County tour with creative hands-on workshops at Beth-El Congregation. Gil will share her talents with glass fusion, and participants will experiment with colored window glass, powder, and copper wire to create their own artwork. Sibony will teach the basics of metal bending and creative freestyle two- and three-dimensional sculptures.

All the events are free to the public, but registration is required. To learn more and RSVP, go to www.tarrantfederation.org/visiting-israeli-artists-2017.
— Submitted by Bob Goldberg