TJP Staff Report
In response to recent violence in New York and New Jersey and a surge of anti-Semitism in the United States, the AJC coordinated #JewishandProud Day Monday, Jan. 6. This followed the solidarity march in New York the day before, when an estimated 25,000 people marched across the Brooklyn Bridge and held a rally Sunday to protest rising anti-Semitism in and around New York City.
“Enough is enough. We will not shy away from publicly displaying, celebrating our Jewish identity and faith,” said AJC CEO David Harris.
Dallas City Council Member Cara Mendelsohn, who represents District 12, and Mayor Eric Johnson issued a proclamation to make Jan 6, 2020 #JewishAndProudDay in the City of Dallas.
“We join communities across the world in rejecting Anti-Semitism and encouraging all people to live without hate or fear. Dallas is a welcoming and diverse community and we celebrate the different identities of all our residents,” wrote Mendelsohn on Facebook Sunday night.
About 30 folks gathered at City Hall Monday afternoon with #JewishAndProud signs to demonstrate their Jewish pride and support for the Jewish community and hear the proclamation read by AJC Dallas Regional Director Joel Schwitzer. Among those assembled were AJC leaders; high school students from AJC/Leaders For Tomorrow; professional and lay leaders from the ADL, the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas and its Jewish Community Relations Council, Shearith Israel and Temple Emanuel; and allies from the Latino community including Deputy Consul Edurne Pineda of Mexico and Latino Jewish Leadership Council member Luisa del Rosal.
Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas President and CEO Mariam Shpeen Feist said:
“It was moving and compelling to stand with AJC lay and professional leadership, along with so many members of our community — Jewish and non-Jewish — to celebrate #JewishandProud Day Jan. 6. We were pleased to support this AJC global initiative and we thank Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, City Council Members Cara Mendelsohn, Lee Kleinman and the entire Dallas City Council for their support of the Jewish community.”
Rebecca Hoffman, a Hockaday sophomore and member of AJC’s Leaders for Tomorrow, attended the gathering with her mom, Jackie.
“The proclamation was really eye-opening for me because hearing those statistics and numbers out loud about what has happened to the Jewish people in — even the past few years — is really horrifying and frightening for anyone of any age. As I become a young adult in society, I think those numbers of deaths and attacks that were in the proclamation are exactly why my mom and I went to City Hall to stand up,” she said.
Schwitzer expressed his gratitude that Mendelsohn and Johnson issued the proclamation Monday.
“In the face of rising anti-Semitism, the #JewishandProud campaign was created as an opportunity to show Jewish pride and for our friends and coalition partners to declare themselves allies to the Jewish community. The support of our Mayor and City Council by making this proclamation makes a clear statement that Dallas stands with its Jewish community. We are grateful to Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn and Mayor Eric Johnson for making it clear that Dallas stands unequivocally against anti-Semitism.”

At almost 92, Glauben touched by recognition

Staff Report
The Dallas Morning News named Holocaust survivor and human rights activist Max Glauben the 2019 Texan of the Year. The 91-year-old Dallas resident has become a source of hope and inspiration to people in North Texas and all over the world for his message of tolerance, fairness and forgiveness.
The News revealed the honor in its Sunday Opinion section with Glauben on its cover. Glauben’s profile spans five full pages.
On Monday, Glauben said he was on Cloud Nine and overwhelmed. He didn’t expect the extensive coverage when there was a photo shoot at his North Dallas home with his wife, Frieda. He thought that maybe it might be a page and he didn’t know exactly what it was for.
“At a time when hate crimes are rising, Max Glauben reminds us how hope can triumph over fear and kindness can overcome hatred when good people speak out,” said editorial page editor Brendan Miniter.
Glauben explained that many people have looked out for him over the years and doing good deeds is his way of paying it forward.
“I have been doing mitzvot to repay some of the goodness that I received from people, being orphaned and in orphanages. I never expected to [be recognized in such a large way] by it. Evidently, I did make a difference in the life of many, many people. Evidently people were watching,” Glauben said.
He was living in Warsaw with his family when the Nazis invaded in 1939. After spending several years in and out of hiding, they were discovered and deported to the Majdanek concentration camp where his parents and brother were killed. Over the next two years, he lived in four more camps, where he survived and helped his fellow prisoners with his cunning and courage. Glauben was liberated April 23, 1945, by the U.S. Army at the age of 17.
In 1947, he immigrated to the U.S. and joined the Army, serving in the Korean War. When he completed his active duty, he moved to Dallas, where he was a founder and loyal supporter of what was then the Dallas Memorial Center for Holocaust Studies. It is now the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum.
Thanks to efforts by Glauben and others like him, the museum expanded and moved to a new home in 2019 that reflects the dreams of Glauben and other Holocaust survivors to educate new generations about human rights.
“We are all so thrilled by this honor that has been bestowed on Max — for our Museum, of course, but more important for all of us who he has touched with his story of hopefulness,” said Frank Risch, Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum board chair. “An Upstander in every way, Max has made our world a better place.”
Glauben remains a prolific speaker in North Texas and for the past 14 years has led a group of youth on a tour of Holocaust sites called March of the Living.
When speaking about the Holocaust he explains that he is inspired by “the souls of the 6 million, including my parents, flying over me. Evidently Hashem and some of the people recognized me and realized that what I was doing was coming naturally without hesitation. I was doing all this not to expect to get what I got.
“I feel like I won the Humane Upstander lottery.”
Glauben and his wife, Frieda, have three children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
“Evidently what I do brings out the best in people. Sometimes, that’s a good guide that we must be doing the right thing. Evidently I made a difference. The angels upstairs and Hashem helped me.”

The Dallas Morning News named Holocaust survivor and human rights activist Max Glauben the 2019 Texan of the Year. The 91-year-old Dallas resident has become a source of hope and inspiration to people in North Texas and all over the world for his message of tolerance, fairness and forgiveness.
“At a time when hate crimes are rising, Max Glauben reminds us how hope can triumph over fear and kindness can overcome hatred when good people speak out,” said Dallas Morning News editorial page editor Brendan Miniter.
Glauben was living in Warsaw with his family when the Nazis invaded in 1939. After spending several years in and out of hiding, they were discovered and deported to the Majdanek concentration camp where his parents and brother were killed. Over the next two years, he lived in four more camps, where he survived and helped his fellow prisoners with his cunning and courage. Glauben was liberated on April 23, 1945 by the U.S. Army at the age of 17.
In 1947, he immigrated to the U.S. and joined the Army and served in the Korean War. When he completed his active duty, he moved to Dallas, where he was a founder and loyal supporter of the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum.
Thanks to efforts by Glauben and others like him, the museum expanded and moved to a new home in 2019 that reflects the dreams of Glauben and other Holocaust survivors to educate new generations about human rights. Glauben remains a prolific speaker in North Texas and for the past 14 years has led a group of youth on a tour of holocaust sites called March of the Living. Glauben and his wife, Frieda, have three children and seven grandchildren.
Texan of the Year is an award program to honor those who have made uncommon, inspirational impact on our world.
Finalists for 2019 Texan of the Year were Simone Biles, Botham Jean’s family, John Goodenough, Jody and Sheila Grant, Katherine Hayhoe, Vicki Hollub, Dan Huberty, Diana Natalicio, Dirk Nowitzki, sex trafficking warriors, school superintendents in Odessa and El Paso, Robert Smith, Tom Torkelson and Karen Uhlenbeck.
The Texan of the Year award was founded in 2003. Previous recipients include George W. Bush, Laura W. Bush, Janis Jack, Adm. Bill McCraven, Rick Perry and Craig Watkins.

By Grant Prengler

Last month I broke a promise. 

I visited Poland for the first time in 2015 for the March of the Living (MOL) and upon returning home to Dallas, I wanted to carry with me the lessons learned but had no desire to return to the country. That was, except on one condition: Lukow. My family can trace its roots to this small Polish town going back hundreds of years up to the 1940s. My grandfather, Aaron Prengler, his 12 siblings and their families lived and prospered there, that is until they were either murdered or forced into hiding. On Nov. 14, I broke the promise to myself and made a pilgrimage back to Poland. 

I flew to Warsaw and after a one-night stay in the Polish capital, the day started with jitters. After a restless night, my alarm clock sounded and I was admittedly nervous, not knowing where my emotions would lead me during the day. Zbigniew Mokicki, the grandson of Wacek and Leokadia Mokicki (one of the two families who hid the Prengler family during the Holocaust), picked me up at my Warsaw hotel and the 80-mile drive began. I had met Zbigniew once before in Warsaw during the MOL but recognized now how different and special this meeting was, being that I had the opportunity to interact with my family’s righteous saviors in the very town where it all took place. We chatted some, but I spent most of the car ride staring out of the passenger side window, trying to separate the modern country from its horrific past (spoiler: I couldn’t). For the duration of the two-hour drive southeast to Lukow, I was fixated on the trees — tall and thin, yet dense. It was an observation I had on my first trip to the country, and independently the same one my father had when he visited in 2013, and yet again the same thought came to mind: These trees have seen a lot. The trees have a story to tell of Auschwitz-Birkenau, of Sobibor, of Treblinka (where most of my family was murdered), and even of small-town Lukow. These trees could tell a horror story, but they also provided cover, hiding and home to evading and attacking partisans.

Upon arrival to the outskirts of Lukow, we stopped at Zbigniew’s sister, Aska’s, home where I met his mother, Danuta Mokicki, had coffee and was — naturally — force-fed pastries (apparently worry about kids being hungry isn’t exclusive to Jewish mothers). After half an hour, we were out the door to meet Zbigniew’s dad, Kazik Mokicki, who was born just before the war and remembers well my grandfather, Aaron Prengler, and the rest of the Prengler family. The three of us started with a walk from their family apartment through the small town of Lukow. The weather was cold and windy but not unbearable. Our first stop was at the home of my great-uncle, Sol Prengler, firstborn of 13 to David and Rebecca Prengler. The yellow house sits in the direct center of town and is now used as a trade school. Approaching the building’s facade and reaching for the wall just to feel this structure, knowing Sol built it himself, I could already tell it would be a special day. They took me for a lap around town and visited what were once other Prengler family homes. Today, they house banks, grocery stores and shops. I had the chance to take a photo in front of the town emblem in the same spot where my “Papa” stood six years prior on his first and only trip back to Lukow since leaving in 1945. 

From there, we went to the site of my great-grandfather’s former brick factory, which was co-owned by a Gentile woman. The woman employed two families — the Mokickis and Konkos — who would both ultimately be tasked with the responsibility of hiding my family. Kazik Mokicki described to me where the industrial chimneys once stood on the property that Papa and his family used as an alternative hiding spot when the mainstay barn needed to be vacated for one reason or another. While the structures of the chimneys are no longer there, the outline of the base is, giving a rough estimate of how (not so) wide this hiding spot was. The site is now used as a building material supply yard. There, Kazik Mokicki told me a story about my great-uncle, Mendel (who still lives in Dallas at 93 years old), hiding under a bed in the Mokicki family home while a German officer came in and attempted to bribe a then 5-year-old Kazik with candy to tell him if he had seen any Jews hiding around. Young Kazik refused the candy by throwing it at the officer’s feet and exclaiming that he didn’t know any Jews. Only a young child, he could have given them up on that fateful day but miraculously didn’t. You don’t factor in little things like that being so important when taking into account survival during the Shoah. 

The barn: our family narrative

Ultimately, we headed from there to the barn. Lo and behold, it is still a barn today — a pigsty to be exact (still in its 1940s form). Can you imagine? A pigsty is precisely where the modern Prengler story begins. Papa and his family of about 20 lived, hid and survived under and in the barn, which sits roughly 25 yards from the semi-busy street, for the better part of three years. Let me add this: It is mid-November, temperatures are in the low 30s, with no snow and with no rain…yet. It is hard to fathom the horror that is a Polish winter in this barn. It’s remarkable to think they survived the winters, let alone the war, hiding, foraging for scraps of food and trying to stay warm. I spent some time in the part of the barn nearest the Mokicki family home, reciting Kaddish, the Jewish mourner’s prayer, and taking in the sights, smells and sounds. It was everything I could have wanted. 

This barn is our family narrative. It is the lore my cousins, brothers and I grew up on. It is seared into our collective family memory and, for the first time, I was feeling the bricks, the wood, and the mud with my own hands. Standing in awe inside the decaying walls, I witnessed our history. I put my palm against the fading red bricks and knew I wasn’t alone. I knew my Papa, his parents, and siblings were all there with me, proud that a Prengler was free to walk into, and out of, this barn. The construction itself is nothing special — a 15’ wide x 75’ long red brick structure covered by a tin roof and surrounded by mud. Regardless, I walked up to it with the same reverence and awe that I had at the Western Wall my first time there. The spiritual connection hit hard. After so many years of hearing about it, like the Temple wall in Jerusalem, it was incredibly surreal to finally be able to bear witness to it. 

We eventually left and headed toward the home of Urick Konko, the son of the other man who helped hide the Prenglers in Lukow. Urick has had a slew of health issues in the past, including eye issues that led Uncle Sol to organize and fly Urick to Dallas for eye-saving surgery years ago (thanks to Dr. Jeff Whitman).

Most recently, Mr. Konko suffered a brain aneurysm and his memories often evade him. I introduced myself and he shook my hand with enthusiasm as if he recognized the name anyway. It took showing Urick photos of Papa and his brothers to jog his memory but soon he and his wife, along with Kazik and Zbigniew Mokicki, started telling old stories of Aaron, Mendel, Herschel and the Prengler lot. In that moment, I couldn’t get over how unbelievable it was that I was sitting at a table with representatives of both righteous Lukow families, while in the very town the stories played out. We chatted over thick coffee and after an hour of schmoozing, we headed back to Zbigniew’s sister’s home. We reflected on the day over a huge, formal lunch and I conveyed how important it was to me to be able to feel the barn, see our family homes, and meet and thank the families that enabled mine to grow and flourish in their new lives in Dallas after the war. Their families may have saved a few at the time, but those few have turned into hundreds. Their modesty and Polish customs do not allow them to fathom the righteous actions they so dangerously undertook. 

A new promise: to tell the story again and again

My intention with this trip, knowing that it would be both emotional and challenging, was to trace my roots and I can say, with confidence, that I accomplished that goal. How remarkable and unique an opportunity that the grandson of a Holocaust survivor was able to not only visit the hometown his Papa hid in but to be given a tour by the sons and grandsons of his saviors, nearly 75 years after liberation? Survivors, both Jewish and not, are slowly but surely becoming fewer in number. It is time for the future generations to learn the stories, witness the camps, and seek out their family histories so that the stories don’t die with those who were there. The late, great Holocaust survivor and educator, Elie Wiesel, once said, “to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” This experience in Lukow is one that I will take with me as my generation begins to bear the responsibility of passing along the stories of the Shoah. 

So, I will conclude with a new promise. One that I will truly never break. That is, to tell the story of that old brick barn in Lukow for the rest of my life and to challenge others to explore their own family’s stories so that we may all never forget. 

This article is dedicated to Helen Biderman and Mendel Prengler, and the memory of Aaron Prengler (z”l) and the Prenglers of Lukow no longer with us. Also, with great appreciation to the Mokicki and Konko families for their hospitality all these years later. 

Editor’s Note: Grant Prengler will run the Tel Aviv Half-Marathon on Feb. 28 for the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. If you would like to make a contribution to his run to support Holocaust education in Dallas, please follow this link: https://bit.ly/37cHFH3

To donate directly to the DHRRM, please follow this link and put “Prengler Marathon” in the note section: https://sforce.co/2sdkMVe

DALLAS — How quickly can you solve different challenges to find the launch code and send SpaceIL’s lunar spacecraft to the moon? That’s the question groups across Dallas are asked in a unique portable “escape room” experience. In this one-hour escape room, small groups solve various challenges to find the launch code and send SpaceIL’s lunar spacecraft to the moon. As the clock counts down, participants learn about Israeli history, arts and culture, Jewish mysticism, STEM — and how to accomplish a challenging mission as a team.
This program was introduced to the Schultz Fellows program and was purchased as a community resource by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas’s Center for Jewish Education (CJE). This Escape Room experience has been shared in Dallas with more than 200 people, including community educators, leaders, students and families.
According to Melissa Essler, assistant director at URJ Greene Family Camp, the escape room was more than she expected, “This was the surprise hit of Family Retreat! Even young kids loved it and families enjoyed working together.”
Developed by The iCenter for Israel Education, the SpaceIL-themed escape room offers a different kind of Israel education. The iCenter, which serves as the North American educational partner for SpaceIL, has experimented with this approach to education for years. The SpaceIL escape room has been used with all types of audiences, including Jewish summer camp directors, educators and leaders at day schools, congregational schools, rabbinic programs, teens and college students.
“Escape rooms spark creativity, develop teamwork skills, and engage learners in new and different ways,” said Dan Tatar, who runs escape rooms for The iCenter. “These immersive experiences activate problem-solving skills, tap into curiosity, and are really fun!”
Participants describe the escape room as entertaining, challenging, team-building and collaborative. Middle School students at Akiba-Yavneh challenged one another to complete the challenge in the least amount of time.
SpaceIL, a nonprofit organization established in 2011 aiming to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon, succeeded in getting its Beresheet craft to the surface of the moon last April in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries. Although Beresheet crash-landed, plans already are in place for a future Beresheet 2 mission.
The “Escape Room-in-a-Suitcase” is available for loan to area schools, youth groups, adult groups and more and is ready to launch at a location near you. For more information on bringing this unique and immersive experience to your group, contact Melissa Bernstein at mbernstein@jewishdallas.org.
FLY ME TO THE MOON Escape Room is made possible by funding from the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas’s Center for Jewish Education in partnership with The iCenter.

Donation is Azrielis’ latest investment in higher education

Yeshiva University announced at its 95th Annual Hanukkah Dinner and Convocation Sunday, Dec. 8, that it has received an $18 million gift from The Azrieli Foundation. The gift will provide continued support of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration as well as strengthen undergraduate scholarships. It is one of the largest gifts focused on Jewish education that Yeshiva University has received and stands to have lasting impact on generations of YU students.
The Azrieli Graduate School was established in 1983 by the Canadian builder and visionary businessman David J. Azrieli. Since opening 36 years ago, Azrieli has educated over 800 students from around the world. Every day, its graduates are teaching in hundreds of classrooms, camps and Jewish places of learning, helping to shape the next generation of students. They have a lasting impact on their students and inspire and infuse both passion and skill in their classrooms. Graduates have demonstrated leadership both in the classroom and through service to their communities and are shaping the landscape of Jewish education across the globe. This gift will help provide opportunities for undergraduates and graduates to receive a world-class education based in foundational Torah values and will enable faculty to continue innovating and enhancing programs.
“This historic gift to Jewish education and Jewish educators is transformative for the future of our communities,” said Dr. Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University. “The Azrieli family is the gold seal in philanthropy, and this gift reflects their true partnership and commitment to the essential work of Yeshiva University.”
At Yeshiva University’s 95th Annual Hanukkah Dinner and Convocation, which took place at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel in New York City, the university presented the Azrieli family with its Legacy Award, celebrating 36 years of transformative partnership with Yeshiva University and honoring the Azrieli Foundation’s three decades of impact philanthropy.
“We are honored to receive this recognition, which would have meant so much to my father,” said Dr. Naomi Azrieli, chair and CEO of the Azrieli Foundation. “He held a deep belief, which we share, in the redemptive power of education. He also felt that his support of education wasn’t charity, as it was giving back what education had given to him.”
During the evening, Dr. Berman conferred an honorary degree upon philanthropist Howard Jonas, founder and chairman of IDT Corporation, Genie Energy and IDW Media and chairman of the board of directors at Rafael Pharmaceuticals. Jonas and his wife, Debbie, support a variety of causes in the Jewish community. Their family foundation supports health and hospitals, education, poverty relief, addiction treatment, religious outreach and the disabled, primarily in Israel and the United States.
The evening also featured recognition of the Yeshiva University Women’s Organization (YUWO), which provides scholarships to students in need, sponsors educational Shabbat programs and funds chesed programs. YUWO also offers stipends for undergraduate students with basic needs not covered by scholarships, such as food, clothing, textbooks and health care.
The Hanukkah Dinner and Convocation drew guests who are among the country’s leading Jewish philanthropists and community leaders. Past speakers and honorees have included former President George W. Bush, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Secretary of State and then-Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Vice President Al Gore, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and Senator John McCain.

$8,255 needed to fix destruction caused by twister

By Shirley Rovinsky
Special to the TJP
For those who live in the devastation area of the recent tornado, experiencing the loss of homes and properties, our hearts go out to you. As the community begins the long journey toward healing — while not on the same level — the South of Forest Eruv is in the midst of the destruction area and has sustained major damage.
As the tornado tore through North Dallas it also destroyed perimeters of the eruv, which covers a six-mile area. Part of the west perimeter damage extends from Royal Lane south, past St. Mark’s School to Mimosa. Part of the east perimeter extends from Mason Dells to Northaven behind the homes on Valleydale. This part of the eruv had used the fences along the spillway which are no longer there.
The utility company, approved by Oncor Electric, has been busy repairing lines for homes and businesses and is now able to address the eruv. I worked with this company when construction began on the eruv in 2015. They are now replacing the wiring and have extended payment for 30 days.
The cost for the repair is $8,255.00.
The reconstruction is being supervised by Rabbi Deon Nathan, who also checks the eruv weekly to ensure it is “up” and kosher. He is working closely with the utility men indicating where the wires need to be placed on each of the poles. It has been a pleasure to work with both Rabbi Sholey Klein and Rabbi Nathan these past four years to keep the eruv up and running.
I am reaching out to friends and members of the community to consider a contribution.
The South of Forest Eruv is a 501(c)3 and all gifts are deductible and will receive a letter for tax purposes. Contributions may be sent to: The South of Forest Eruv in care of Shirley Rovinsky, 7023 Northaven Road, Dallas, TX 75230-3504. If you have any questions, please call 214-739-6181.
The South of Forest Eruv has been a vision that came to fruition not only for my own family but also for others in the area who use an eruv as well. As the volunteer administrator, I emphasize that it is only through the generosity of community that the South of Forest Eruv continues.
Those in the community who use it every Shabbat and holiday, thank you in advance for any consideration.

Lakehill 7th grader showcases Hanukkah on holiday episode Dec. 3

By Nicole Hawkins
A Dallas seventh grader is making her dreams come true one meal at a time as a contestant on the cooking show “Chopped Junior,” set to air Dec. 3 on Food Network.
Sabina Chamoy, 12, was chosen from thousands of applicants to compete during the holiday episode of the show. Food Network flew Chamoy and her mother, Rita, to New York City in July where Chamoy competed against three other junior chefs.
“This is a dream come true,” Chamoy said. “I never thought that this would happen to someone like me.”
Chamoy began cooking three years ago at Sur La Table, a cooking and dining retailer in Dallas, where she took cooking classes and private lessons, some from celebrity chef Tre Wilcox, who has competed on Bravo’s “Top Chef” and “Top Chef Masters.”
“I have a really strong passion for cooking,” Sabina Chamoy said. “I think I started cooking because I was watching all of these [cooking] shows…then I started cooking and I just fell in love with it.”
During the rounds of competition, the chefs prepared holiday meals. As the only Jewish competitor, Chamoy prepared Hanukkah dishes while her competitors cooked Christmas meals.
“She was really proud to represent her faith and the Jewish people and her upbringing and all the traditions that she enjoys all of her life at Hanukkah,” Rita Chamoy said. The Chamoys are members of Congregation Shearith Israel.
“I loved being the only one for Hanukkah,” Sabina Chamoy said.
While Chamoy and her competitors were walking on set, the producers would announce “chefs walking,” she said.
“We’re just kids but they called us chefs,” Sabina Chamoy said, laughing.
Despite her love for cooking, Chamoy has her eyes set on a different career path for the future.
“I really love cooking and I think being a chef would be awesome but I do love STEM and science and all of that,” S. Chamoy said. “If I had a second choice it would be cooking.”
“[Cooking is] more like a hobby that I have a great passion for,” she said.
Chamoy said if she were to give advice to a future “Chopped Junior” contestant it would be to set their expectations high.
“I would tell them to expect the greatest because that’s what I did and it was amazing,” she said.
The “Holiday Hoopla” episode of “Chopped Junior” will air Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. on Food Network.

French Consul General thanks 94-year-old for his service

By Deb Silverthorn
Kol hakavod, brava honneur and great honor to Dallas resident PFC Frederick “Fred” Klein, who on Nov. 11, Veterans Day, received the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur — the Knight of the French Legion of Honor — medal. Decorated with the award by French Consul General Alexis Andres, Klein stood among family and community at Dallas City Hall.
“Seventy-four years ago World War II ended and I hope nothing like it will ever occur again,” said Klein, who turns 95 on Dec. 20. In addition to this honor, Klein has received the Bronze Star, European African Middle Eastern, Good Conduct and World War II Victory medals. At the ceremony, the City of Dallas gave Klein a commemorative coin marking the 75th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy. “I appreciate this award and know we helped bring freedom to the French people as well as to many others in Europe,” Klein said
For Andres, presenting the award is one of the greatest joys of his role. Klein is one of 300 Texans in the last 10 years to receive the honor. “Frederick was very young when he was sent to war and most of those young men had never traveled, never been abroad, never been to Europe,” said the consul general of France, based in Houston. “I was born in the region that was liberated by this division and, with my countrymen, am forever grateful for the contribution to peace. Frederick and his men were nothing less than heroes.”
The Légion d’Honneur award is an order of distinction, established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, to honor extraordinary contributions to France. The award is given only to veterans still alive, and to those who meet a strict criterion of application, including fighting in either the liberation of France, Normandy, Provence/Southern France or Northern France.
A native of the Bronx, New York, Klein is the son of Jeanette and Jules Klein and younger brother of Florence and Leonard, all of blessed memory.
After graduating from high school, Klein was drafted and began basic training in June 1943, his Military Occupational Service, the Infantry Scout 761. In January 1944 he left for England, where he was trained in combat intelligence to plot maps for the powers that be to determine their course of action. With the 83rd Infantry Division, he joined the fight in Normandy, France.
In August 1944, Klein’s unit moved to the Brittany Peninsula, overtaking the Germans in many towns including the capture of the Fortress Paula on Hill 48. The division then moved to the Loire Valley, Luxembourg, Hurtgen Forest, Ardennes, Rhineland, Heart of Germany and Elbe River crossing.
After returning to the United States, and receiving an honorable discharge, Klein attended and graduated from Long Island University’s Brooklyn College of Pharmacy, following in the professional footsteps of his father. In 1954, Klein, his brother and father opened Lister Pharmacy while he also worked as a pharmacist for a vitamin company.
Klein left the family pharmacy, then developing the first national mail-order prescription program as a benefit sponsored by unions, companies and state and federal governmental agencies. He retired in 2003.
Klein and his wife, Marcia, moved to Dallas in 2006 and recently celebrated 66 years of marriage. They were first introduced by a mutual friend. The couple are the parents of Jody (Barry) Klein-Saffran and Marc (Angela) and the grandparents of Adam and Debbie Klein and Alex and Jay Saffran.
“The whole family is very proud of Dad, and this ceremony and honor are both well-deserved and incredible to be a part of,” said Marc. “It is nice to have the memories to share, and the legacy that he has lived noted. His example to our family, and to everyone, is very special.”
World travelers, the couple have been to 104 countries, to each continent, and they’ve seen the Seven Wonders of the World. “I’ve always enjoyed traveling, except of course in the case of my service — that wasn’t ‘traveling,’” said Klein. “I wanted to see as much of this world as I could before I leave it.”

As his tenure at JDC helm concludes, his impact is felt worldwide

By Jeremiah Jensen
Special to the TJP

On Thursday, Nov. 21, JDC, the global Jewish humanitarian organization, will host an event to honor its president and one of the men who has shepherded its mission toward ever more effective and efficient benevolence across the world: Stan Rabin. Rabin will conclude his four-year term as president of the organization.
JDC works in 70 countries to lift lives and strengthen communities, according to its mission statement. It rescues Jews in danger, provides aid to vulnerable Jews, develops innovative solutions to Israel’s most complex social challenges, cultivates a Jewish future and leads the Jewish community’s response to crises.
“Stan Rabin is one of the finest — a man whose high intellect, impeccable judgment, and broad experience have benefited so many — nationally, internationally, and here in our own community,” says Frank Risch, current board chair of the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum and Rabin’s close friend.
Over his career, Rabin served in the military, as an engineer at G.E. and finally as the CEO of multinational corporation Commercial Metals. He worked at Commercial Metals for 38 years and served as CEO for 28 of them.
Rabin has served on JDC’s board of directors since 2007. He served as its president since 2016. More than this, Rabin’s heart for service extends well beyond one organization, and he has brought his considerable leadership expertise to bear on the boards of United Way Foundation of Metropolitan Dallas, Texas Health Resources, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation, and the Dallas Holocaust Museum, as well as the Board of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Board of Governors of the American Jewish Committee.
Stan’s impact globally and locally is immeasurable,” says Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas President and CEO Mariam Shpeen Feist. “It’s quite possible that we won’t know his total impact for many years. He is a pillar of not just our Dallas Jewish community, but around the world.”
The early years
Rabin was born in the Bronx in 1938, the son of Jewish refugees. His father came to New York from Belarus at the age of nine in 1908, his mother from Ukraine at age six in 1914.
He grew up in a Jewish neighborhood, with an Italian neighborhood and an Irish neighborhood bookending the blocks and corners he called home.
Rabin and his family lived on the fourth story of an apartment building that housed 97 Jewish families. Though it was a humble upbringing, it was wholesome. His mother, father and family had little in the way of formal learning, but they understood its power and pushed young Rabin to pursue his education.
“I was very fortunate in my own life and the things I’ve done…reflect that,” Rabin says.
“My whole generation…so many of us graduated from college, and when I look back it was pretty remarkable. I didn’t think so necessarily at the time, but when I look back how remarkable that was and that we were pushed by our parents, my parents or aunts and uncles, to get a great education and then move on from there and be able to do things in that first generation.”
Rabin attended the prestigious Bronx High School of Science, a New York City public school that opened the year Rabin was born. There, he received an education a cut above the rest. He excelled and went on to gain admission to Columbia where he studied metallurgical engineering. He graduated in 1959 and worked for the military in the Oakridge nuclear program in Tennessee. Rabin and his friends would often travel down to Atlanta to fill their social calendars, and it was during one of these weekend excursions that Rabin met the woman who would help him meet the woman who would become his wife.
Rabin met his wife, then Barbara Benjamin, in California after finishing his stint with the military and moving there to begin his career with G.E. in 1964. Shortly after arriving in the Golden State he called the Atlanta woman to see if she knew anyone he should meet in California. Though she was expecting a call of a different nature, her kindness prevailed, and she told him about Barbara.
Barbara grew up in Borger, a small town in the Texas panhandle, and had a very different upbringing than her New York beau. Though the two shared a strong Jewish heritage, their childhoods were worlds apart. Whereas Rabin was immersed in Jewish culture with Jewish people everywhere he looked, she grew up in small-town Texas with only 10 other Jewish families around. She went to the University of Texas at Austin for two years before deciding there had to be more to the world than Texas, packing her bags, and transferring to the University of California at Berkeley.
“No comment about Stan can be made without citing the critically important role that his wonderful wife Barbara has played at every step of the way, in both his business life and his charitable good work around the world. She too is an ‘upstander’ in every way,” says Risch.
Rabin fell in love with the Texas belle and the two married in 1965. They opted to stay in California and had both their children there. Together, they have become pillars of the local, national and international Jewish community, epitomizing the concept of mensch and leaving everything they touch better than they found it.
“Barbara is Stan’s partner in everything that he does, he would admit his better half, and nothing happens without the quiet voice and strength of Barbara behind him,” says former Federation President Bradley Laye. “She herself is a tour de force and a real spitfire…she’s not a wallflower.”
Their children are now grown, 53 and 51, and have given Barbara and Rabin five grandchildren.

During his time in California, Rabin went to night class and earned his MBA from the University of California Santa Clara. Then, he began looking for his next step in the corporate world.
He stayed with G.E. until 1969; family ties and new opportunities called him to Texas. He joined Commercial Metals, a multinational steel manufacturing and scrap-metals processing corporation, and moved to Dallas in 1970.
A worldwide leader
Rabin worked at Commercial Metals for more than 38 years, serving as its CEO for 28 of those years. Throughout his career, he dedicated what time he could to Jewish and non-Jewish nonprofit work, but he always had a desire to give more. He was involved in the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas for years during his career. It was in his service there that he began to create ties with the JDC. Its mission was the work he longed to do, and as he approached retirement, he began to take more and more active roles in the JDC, garnering a board position in 2007 before retiring from Commercial Metals in 2008, eventually becoming the JDC’s president and tone-setter in 2016.
“I just can’t think of words to describe specifically how incredible he is,” says Laye. “What he’s done in his life, self-made, educated, hard-working, titan-of-industry as the CEO of Commercial Metals, professionally, to do all he’s done as a philanthropist and a volunteer leader…it is rare to have someone as incredible as Stan Rabin in your community.”
Under Rabin’s guidance, the JDC has accomplished incredible things.
As with any corporate entity — for-profit or not-for-profit — future-proofing and efficiency are at the forefront of any leadership team’s agenda.
The JDC’s mission is to preserve and build Jewish life. All of its work takes place overseas in places where Jews can still face many challenges including anti-Semitism, poverty, and a pressing need to find innovative ways to build Jewish life for the next generation — places like Argentina, Venezuela, and former Soviet Union countries like Ukraine and Moldova. The bulk of the ongoing work takes place in Eastern Europe where many Holocaust victims still live and where many Jews were so oppressed under the Communists that they have hidden or forgotten their Jewish heritage for survival’s sake.
Supporting the poor, Jewish elderly in the former Soviet Union is a gargantuan undertaking that represents roughly a third of the JDC’s annual budget. JDC CEO David Schizer says this year that sum was $130 million. Of that $130 million, $105 million of it comes from the German government via the Claims Conference as restitution for the country’s role in the Holocaust. The other $25 million is used to take care of the non-Holocaust-victim Jewish elderly population.
The youngest survivor is now 75 years old. Eventually, as the survivors pass away, the funding will dry up. On the surface, this does not appear to be a problem. But it actually poses a great challenge to the way JDC’s mission is carried out in that region. Rabin was among those who spotted the problem and was critical to finding a solution for it.
Schizer says Rabin’s experience running a multinational company was critical in the plans to right-size JDC’s care model in the former Soviet Union to ensure ongoing aid for the elderly poor in these areas long after German funding dries up.
To combat the suppression of Jewish identities in Eastern Europe, JDC built a summer camp, Szarvas, in Hungary outside of Budapest. This camp is where many young Jews in Central and Eastern Europe first learn about Judaism. The camp is designed to create leaders who are proud of their Jewish identity and heritage, then empower them to lead their communities back home. It has been so successful that if one were to ask any leader in an Eastern European Jewish community under 40 years old if they went to Szarvas, their answer is “yes” more often than not.
The event honoring Rabin Nov. 21 will serve as a fundraiser for the Szarvas as it seeks to fund a much-needed renovation.
“One of our large donors to that camp once said: ‘You know it’s more than a camp. It’s a concept. It’s a dream. It’s a vision. It’s a mission. It’s a bridge between past and present. It’s a portal to the future. It’s a sanctuary. It’s a place to smile. It’s a place to sing. It’s a place to pray. It’s a place to play. And it’s a place to hope,’” Rabin recalls. “Those aren’t my words; they’re someone else’s, but it’s just an indication of the kinds of things that you can do.”
As Rabin looks back on his life, he is astounded at the hand of God and encouraged to see the impact one person can make in one lifetime.
“If we look on any given day how many thousands of lives in the world we’re helping make much better, and I’m talking from a pretty fundamental level, that gives a lot of satisfaction in terms of the kinds of things that we do but [also] that an individual can do in terms of giving back within their own life,” Rabin says.
Laye sums up Rabin’s efforts and his impact perfectly.
“Stan is known around the country in Jewish philanthropic circles…he’s done so many things. Locally, there’s very few large organizations in the Jewish and general community that haven’t felt Stan’s touch and internationally, there’s no question his role as president of JDC is a legacy that’s a great source of pride, not just for Stan and his family, but for the city of Dallas.”