Compiled by Sharon Wisch-Ray
sharon@tjpnews.com
Members of Knesset visit Akiba
Akiba Academy was among the stops of a delegation of Members of Knesset that was recently in the Dallas area. The group has traveled to the United States under the auspices of The Jewish Agency for Israel and The Jewish Federations of North America to familiarize themselves with American Jewry, experience American Jewish life, and further strengthen the connection between Israel and the U.S. Jewish community.
The delegation included Members of Knesset from across the political spectrum and from both the coalition and the opposition — MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud) and MK Dr. Nachman Shai (Zionist Union), co-chairs of the Jewish Agency-initiated Knesset Caucus for Strengthening the Jewish People; MK Meir Cohen (Yesh Atid); MK Revital Swid (Zionist Union); and MK Michal Rozin (Meretz). Accompanying the trip were JFNA Senior Vice President for Global Operations and Director General of the JFNA Israel Office Rebecca Caspi and Jewish Agency Secretary General Josh Schwarcz.
In addition to Dallas, the delegation visited Cleveland, Miami and New York during the course of the weeklong visit. The legislators met with Jewish communal professionals, lay leaders, and young people. They visited synagogues and Jewish schools; met with Reform, Conservative and Orthodox rabbis; and experienced various aspects of Jewish life.
— Submitted by Sara Mancuso and other sources
James M. Hogue to receive Jewish Communal Leadership award
James “Jim” M. Hogue will be awarded Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) Fraternity’s Nehemiah Gitelson Silver Medallion for Jewish Communal Leadership at a celebration dinner at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, May 22 at Bent Tree Country Club.
The Gitelson Silver Medallion is awarded to an alumnus who has excelled in the area of Jewish communal service and is presented in memory of the scholarship and communal activity of Nehemiah Gitelson, Talmudic scholar and father of Brother M. Leo Gitelson (NYU, 1921).
Hogue is a certified financial planner, a portfolio management director and the senior member of the Hogue-Fielder team at Morgan Stanley in Dallas. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1962 and is a brother of the Gamma Deuteron Chapter. Hogue lives in Dallas with his wife, Ynette.
To make a reservation, visit dallascentennialcelebration.eventbrite.com.
— Submitted by Jay Feldman
Yavneh establishes Israel GAP Year Scholarship
On April 10, close to 100 guests attended Yavneh Academy’s “High Tea Honoring Rabbi T,” a silent art auction honoring Rabbi Yaakov Tannenbaum and establishing the school’s first Israel GAP Year Scholarship Fund.
The event was the brainchild of Rabbi Tannenbaum and two of his longtime students, Carole and Joram Wolanow. The event featured the original artwork of the Wolanows, as well as local artists Helen Fogel and Raizy Rosenstock. Dina White Ravitsky designed postcards, posters and an auction catalog highlighting several key artistic pieces.
Speakers at the event included Dr. David Portnoy, Rabbi Meir Tannenbaum, Rabbi Yaakov Tannenbaum, Monica Ribald, Carole Wolanow, Joram Wolanow, and Helen Fogel. Mrs. Fogel’s story of smuggling her family heirloom (Copy of Needlepoint Smuggled out of Romania) sold for $1,000 and will hang in a prominent place on the school’s campus.
More than 40 original pieces were sold, a number of which will hang at the Schultz Rosenberg Campus, home to Yavneh and Akiba academies of Dallas.
A number of art pieces remain for sale. Online auction information will be posted on the Yavneh Academy website.
The Yavneh Israel GAP Year Scholarship Fund provides needed assistance to students who will study for a year or two in Israel following high school graduation.
If you would like to contribute to the fund, please visit www.yavnehdallas.org, contact the school at 214-295-3500 or send your donation to Yavneh Academy of Dallas, 12324 Merit Drive, Dallas, TX 75251.
— Submitted by Christy Bonds