SHABBAT-O-GRAM for

April 16, 2004 and Nisan 25H, 5764

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Temple Beth El, Stamford, Connecticut

Shabbat Shalom

THIS WEEK WE COMMEMORATE YOM HA-SHOAH, AS WE REMEMBER THE VICTIMS AND RECALL THE LESSONS OF THE HOLOCAUST. 

BOTH OUR ADUT AND JUNIOR CHOIRS WILL BE PARTICIPATING AT THE COMMUNITY’S HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE SERVICE, THIS SUNDAY AT 4 PM AT CONGREGATION AGUDATH SHOLOM ON STRAWBERRY HILL RD.

 

Send your friends and relatives the gift of Jewish awareness

a Shabbat-O-Gram each week, by signing them up at www.tbe.org

 

TBE Comings and Goings…

 

            By now most of you are undoubtedly aware that Rabbi Barb Moskow will be leaving us at the end of the school year, after a highly successful tenure as our Education and Youth Director.  We will miss Barb greatly and wish her well on her move out to Arizona.  We have truly been blessed. We’ll be honoring Barb at the Friday evening service of May 21, which is also the night of our 7th grade “Aliyah” (graduation) service.  If you have been touched at all by Barb over these past half dozen years, please mark your calendar now and join us on that evening.

 

The work that Barb has begun here over these past half dozen years will surely continue, as our professional and lay leadership, as well as parents and students, have come to embrace the philosophy that she championed.  At TBE, we look at education holistically, combining formal experiences in the classroom with “informal” activities such as Shabbatons, family activities, services dinners and even youth group events.  Everything is integrated, including pre-school and High School programming and Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparation.  We are looking at growth as something that is intellectual, emotional and spiritual, as we forge connections between the student and family, community and the Jewish people.  Our philosophy, although proven and successful, is surprisingly rare among synagogues.  The prime reason is that, for this vision to succeed, it requires an inordinate amount of teamwork; if we are going to blur the lines between formal and informal, we also need to cross those lines too often separating the traditional roles of clergy, educator, youth leader and teacher.  This requires an innate ability to think outside the box.  And the search committee for our new educator was asked to find a person who could fulfill those expectations.

 

            We’ve been blessed again, because, after exhaustive work, the committee was able to find just such a candidate.  Rabbi Salilah Kalev was hired just before Passover, and over the coming weeks, you will have the opportunity to see why we feel she is such a perfect fit.  Once you meet her I’m sure you will agree that our children – and our adults too – are going to be in good hands.

 

            But there is never a dull moment at TBE.  With Barb’s departure, we are losing not only our Education Director but also our Youth Director.  Our leadership has deemed it preferable to separate the two positions next year, while maintaining the seamless integration of the formal and informal.  Sadly, we’ve just been informed that Scott Newman, our Programming and Youth Coordinator, has decided to move on, rather than to remain here as Youth Director.  We will miss Scott, wish him well on his upcoming wedding and thank him for all that he has done for us over the course of this past year.  

 

So again we are searching.  The committee is quickly being put together, and if you have a special interest in youth activities, please let us know.  Also, if you know of anyone (or a couple) who may be looking for a full-time position in Jewish youth work, let us know. We are paying a competitive salary with benefits.  Please spread the word to your friends, and your friends’ friends.  There are qualified candidates out there, and the best chance we have of finding them will be through networking.  So please, pass the word!

 

You can see that this is a time of real transition here, of sadness and great anticipation.  Thanks for all your support in helping us to reach for even higher heights of excellence in Jewish education.

jh

 

 

 

 

 

JUST THE FACTS…

Friday Evening

Candles: 7:17 PM (WOW…what a couple of D.S.T. weeks will do!) –  for candlelighting times, other Jewish calendar information, and to download a Jewish calendar to your PDA, click on http://www.hebcal.com/. 

Services: 6:30 – in the chapel -- THEME service… Yom Ha-Shoah…remembering the Holocaust

 

Tot Shabbat – 6:45, in the lobby.

 

Shabbat Morning 

Service: 9:30 AM

Mazal Tov to Andrew Gilbert, who becomes Bar Mitzvah this Shabbat morning

Children’s services: 10:30 AM

Torah Portion – Shmini – Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47

Haftarah – Haftarah for Ashkenazim: II Samuel 6:1 - 7:17, Haftarah for Sephardim: II Samuel 6:1 - 6:19

Our reading is from the third triennial cycle (with slight adjustments). Click on these to see the text in the original and translation and to hear it chanted.

1: 11:1-8
2: 11:9-12
3: 11:13-19
4: 11:20-28
5: 11:29-32
6: 11:33-38
7: 11:39-47
maf: 11:45-47

See a new weekly commentary now available from the UJC Rabbinic Cabinet, at www.ujc.org/mekorchaim.  Read the Masorti commentary at http://www.masorti.org/mason/torah/index.asp. JTS commentary is at: http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/. USCJ Torah Sparks can be found at http://uscj.org/item20_467.html. UAHC Shabbat Table Talk discussions are at http://uahc.org/torah/exodus.shtml. Other divrei Torah via the Torahnet home page: http://uahcweb.org/torahnet/. Test your Parasha I.Q.: http://www.ou.org/jewishiq/parsha/default.htm. CLAL’s Torah commentary archive: http://click.topica.com/maaaiRtaaRvQhbV2AtLb/.  World Zionist Organization Education page, including Nehama Liebowitz archives of parsha commentaries: http://www.moreshet.net/web/index.asp?f=1 For a more Kabbalistic/Zionist/Orthodox perspective from Rav Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Israel, go to http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/index.html. For some probing questions and meditations on key verses of the portion, with a liberal kabbalistic bent, go to http://www.jewishealing.com/learning.html or, for Kabbalistic commentaries from the Zohar itself, go to http://www.kabbalah.com/k/index.php/p=zohar/weekly/intro. To see the weekly commentary from Hillel, geared to college students and others, go to  http://www.hillel.org/hillel/NewHille.nsf/FCB8259CA861AE57852567D30043BA26/DF7D129F15B3DF0885256AB80058E9C3?OpenDocument. For a Jewish Renewal and feminist approach go to http://rabbishefagold.hypermart.net/Torah1.html .  For a comprehensive Orthodox viewpoint from the Israeli rabbi, Yaakov Fogelman, go to the Torah Outreach Program at http://israelvisit.co.il/top/previous.shtml.

Services at 9:30 AM (no early minyan), Children’s services with Nurit at 10:30 AM. 

 

Morning Minyan: Daily at 7:30 AM, Sundays at 9:00 AM -- IN THE CHAPEL

“GUARANTEED MINYAN”

We usually, but not always have a minyan of ten at our morning services. If you have a yahrzeit coming up and wish to ensure that there will be at least ten present, drop the rabbi an email at rabbi@tbe.org and he will e-mail to the congregation a “Guaranteed Minyan” request.  Indicate the date of the yahrzeit and whether it would be OK to use your name in making that request.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MINYAN!

 Come whenever you can!  Pick one day a month

 – your birth date perhaps – and help us out.  We need you!

 

 

 

Spiritual Journey on the Web

The Darkness and the Light

First, as we approach Yom Hashoah, some Holocaust-related links, so that you can go on your own personal journey of memory over the coming days…

Then, to uplift us at the end of the journey, the “good news” from Israel that we never hear about…

HOLOCAUST – RELATED LINKS:

 

GOOD NEWS ABOUT ISRAEL FROM http://www.newsoftheday.com/israel/ AND http://web.israelinsider.com/

 

Facts about the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population.

·  Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions. Israel places first in this category as well.

·  Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.

·  Israel has the highest per capita ratio of scientific publications in the world by a large margin, as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.

·  In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the world, except the US (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech).

·  Israel is ranked #2 in the world for VC funds right behind the US.

·  Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.

·  Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies

·  Israel has the highest average living standards in the Middle East. The per capita income in 2000 is over $17,500, exceeding that of the UK.

·  With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world (apart from the Silicon Valley).

·  With an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16s, Israel has the largest fleet of the aircraft outside of the US.

·  Israel's $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.

·  The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola-Israel. Motorola built its largest development center worldwide in Israel.

·  Windows NT software was developed by Microsoft-Israel.

·  The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.

·  Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.

·  AOL's instant message program was designed by an Israeli software company.

·  Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel.

·  On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotech start-ups

·  Israel has the largest raptor migration in the world, with hundreds of thousands of African birds of prey crossing as they fan out into Asia.

·  Twenty-four percent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees -- ranking third in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland -- and 12 percent hold advanced degrees.

 

Hapoel Jerusalem defeats Real Madrid to win European basketball trophy  Hapoel Jerusalem's 83-72 victory gave the club the ULEB Cup. Hapoel became just the second Israeli team ever to win a European basketball trophy.

Material Girl" will stage two concerts in Tel Aviv Madonna will perform twice at Tel Aviv's Bloomfield Stadium in September as part of her upcoming world tour, defying a U.S. State Department warning advising citizens to refrain from traveling to Israel, media sources reported this week

Muppets on a Mideast peace mission
The creators of "Sesame Street" have teamed up with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian producers in a new attempt to promote peace and tolerance. Israeli hooked up to artificial heart has very real smile
"Before the operation, I couldn't breathe, stand or sit," said Edmund Peretz, 55. Now he can live normally until a heart transplant is available.

 

JOIN US FOR THE

Beth El Israel Tour Next August 1-13

THE REVISED ITINERARY AND PRICES CAN BE SEEN AT http://www.tbe.org/2003/sog/Israelitinerary2004.htm

DEPOSITS ARE NOW DUE ASAP

THIS TRIP IS FOR ALL AGES – FAMILIES, SINGLES AND COUPLES, YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE, MEMBER AND NON MEMBER… SPREAD THE WORD!

 

This unforgettable journey has something for everyone:

 

n      Bar/Bat Mitzvah affirmation service and celebration (with Klezmer music)

n      Wilderness experience in the Negev

n      Exploring Tel Aviv and the mystical city of Safed

n      Visit to an army base

n      Kayaking on the Jordan River, climbing Masada and floating in the Dead Sea

n      Bedouin dinner in the middle of the Ramon Crater

n      Tree-planting ceremony near the home of the Maccabees

n      Visit to our sister city of Afula

n      Visit with Ethiopian families near Jerusalem

n      Briefings from journalists on the current situation

n      Archeological dig in the Judean Hills

n       Tzedakkah project at the children's ward of Hadassah Hospital

n       A glorious Shabbat in Jerusalem

Click Here for a Virtual Tour of Israel, from North to South, through Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Eilat, revealing the beauty of the country.

To get the flavor of Israel, read my recent “Letters from Israel” at http://www.tbe.org/2003/sog/Israelletters.htm.

 

 

Required Reading and Action Items

 

Free-Market Judaism
Surprise: there were colonial Jews. In fact, this year is the 350th anniversary of the first Jewish settlement in what would become America. What makes U.S. Judaism unique? An expert talks about how American Protestantism has shaped American Judaism--and what challenges the faith faces in the future. More...

 

Eternal Sunshine, And Clouds, (Gary Rosenblatt – the Jewish Week)
One of the more inventive, thoughtful and instructive movies of the year is Charlie Kaufman's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," the odd love story about a young couple who, after breaking up, seek to have their entire two-year relationship erased from their memories. 
Thinking of the film during this most crowded season of Jewish memory — with Passover followed swiftly by Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day for its fallen soldiers) and Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day) — it struck me that while American culture is all about the immediate present, and focused the pleasurable, the Jewish experience, religiously and historically, is about remembering and learning from the past, the pain as well as the joy. Full column here

 

President Bush Commends Israeli Prime Minister Sharon's Plan
After meeting with Prime Minister Sharon at the White House Wednesday, President Bush said: "It seems clear that an agreed, just, fair and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue, as part of any final status agreement, will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than Israel....In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949."
    "The prime minister has made the decision to dismantle some settlements. In other words, he is beginning to implement a vision that allows for contiguous territories so that a Palestinian state can emerge....Now it's up to responsible Palestinians, caring Europeans, Americans, the UN to step in and help develop such a state that will be a peaceful state." (White House)
    See also below Observations: Letter from President Bush to Prime Minister Sharon (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

 

·  Talks Planned with U.S. on Settlement Limits, Aid - Aluf Benn and Nathan Guttman
Sharon's letter to Bush promises to limit construction in the territories. Talks will begin shortly between Israel and the U.S. over what will constitute the "built-up areas" of the settlements, beyond which construction will be forbidden. Talks will also begin soon on financial aid programs for Gaza, the Negev and Galilee. Israel is seeking loan guarantees for $5 billion for those purposes. (Ha'aretz)

 

·  Disengagement Plan Faces Likud Referendum - Gil Hoffman
The membership of the ruling Likud party is to vote on Prime Minister Sharon's disengagement plan in a referendum on May 2, prior to its consideration by the Knesset and the Cabinet. Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he would not endorse the plan until his demand for the security fence to be built around West Bank security blocs is added. "The issue is not a matter of American-Israeli relations, but it must be an internal Israeli decision," Netanyahu said. (Jerusalem Post)
    See also Sharon to Debate Disengagement Opponent - Gil Hoffman
Prime Minister Sharon will face off in two debates on April 22 and April 28 against one of the fiercest opponents of his disengagement plan, Minister-without-Portfolio Uzi Landau. (Jerusalem Post)

 

Double-Edged Bush - Ze'ev Schiff
Whoever tries to present President Bush's statements as the second Balfour Declaration in terms of their importance to Israel, is getting carried away. The most significant achievement was the emphasis placed on the fact that a solution for the Palestinian refugees will be outside the borders of the Jewish state, as Israel has long demanded. On the territorial front, however, the achievement is only partial. In his comments, Bush did not mention settlement blocs. The "new realities on the ground" that will have to be taken into account have another side: the growth of Palestinian Jerusalem and the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have settled in the Jerusalem area and neighborhoods.
    The main dilemma facing Bush was how to accept Sharon's plan but not to make exaggerated concessions to the Israeli leader and harm America's standing as an accepted and credible broker between Israel and the Palestinians. An American mediator is preferable to Israel over a European mediator working hand-in-hand with the UN and Russia. Bush defined the moves the prime minister is taking as brave steps that could lead to a historic process. Bush, however, repeatedly referred to these moves as a beginning. The expectation, therefore, is for the evacuation of more settlements to allow for the transfer of more territory to the Palestinians. (Ha'aretz)

 

 "New Reality" for Palestinians - Charles A. Radin
President Bush bluntly told the Palestinians to stop living in the past. The major Israeli settlements in the territories are facts on the ground and cannot be wished away. The separation barrier Israel is building between its population centers and those of the Palestinians is OK, as long as it's not forever. "The Palestinian Authority has lost its power to maneuver," said Ali Gerbawi, a Palestinian professor of political science at Bir Zeit University. Its leaders "believed that they have been forcing Sharon out of Gaza, when in fact, they have lost the West Bank."  (Boston Globe)

 

Bush's Tone May Hinder Mideast Plan - Barbara Slavin
When he endorsed a unilateral Israeli peace plan Wednesday, President Bush didn't approve anything that veteran observers didn't think would eventually be part of an Arab-Israeli peace agreement. White House officials insisted that nothing Bush told Sharon prejudges the outcome of final negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Much of what Bush said has been suggested in previous peace plans, beginning with a proposal President Clinton put forward in December 2000. "Both Clinton administrations were prepared to accept the logic of what was done today," said Aaron Miller, a veteran U.S. negotiator. But Miller said Bush had made "more explicit what had been implicit." (USA Today)

 

White House Insists Aim is to Jump-Start Peace Process - Guy Dinmore and James Harding
President Bush was seeking to jump-start the "road map" process for peace, with the eventual goal of establishing a Palestinian state, by backing Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, senior administration officials said on Wednesday. They insisted that there was nothing new in U.S. policy in affirming that Palestinian refugees should give up their right of return to Israel, or that Israel should retain some settlements established after the 1967 war in the West Bank. "That's history, not news," one senior official said repeatedly. "It's what everyone in the region knows." (Financial Times-UK)

 

Summary of Editorials from the Hebrew Press Jerusalem, April 15, 2004

Yediot Aharonot says, "Ariel Sharon gained a huge personal victory yesterday with US President George Bush," but argues that the "national political achievement... was far less meaningful." The editors maintain that the US position has not changed a great deal from when President Clinton declared, in December 2000, that Palestinians would not enjoy the right of return to Israel, rather to a Palestinian state. The paper adds that President Bush's comments on Israel's final borders were also limited and did not add anything to previous statements made on the issue. The editors reject any comparison between President Bush's statement and the 1917 Balfour Declaration, noting that at that time the Jewish people did not have a national homeland. The paper praises Prime Minister Sharon for his initiative and says, "He made significant propaganda achievements," while "the Palestinians, as usual, did not succeed in offering anything apart from continued terrorism, and therefore they lost."

The Jerusalem Post comments: "It is a measure of how far Israel's diplomatic position has fallen that yesterday's exchange of letters between George W. Bush and Ariel Sharon should be considered a signal victory. Going into the 2000 Camp David summit, the Clinton administration - along with most other moderately minded watchers of the peace process - would hardly have considered it controversial for Israel to categorically reject the Palestinian 'right of return' nor seek to retain settlement blocs in the context of a final-status agreement. Today, by contrast, full return to the 1949 armistice lines, along with some allowance for Palestinians to 'return' to Israel proper is widely considered to be center ground. What Sharon and Bush have done is to return to pre-Camp David assumptions, thereby partly undoing the diplomatic damage wrought by the Barak-Clinton run at a final-status agreement and the terror offensive that followed... In this regard, Bush's reiteration of the need for Palestinian democracy and his renewed calls on the Palestinians to change their leadership should not be overlooked. This too was an important result of the summit, not just for Israel, but for Palestinians, the region, and the US. At yesterday's summit, President Bush once again came through for Israel at a crucial hour. What remains to be seen is whether his State Department will come through on the follow-up."

Haaretz comments: "The security forces know how to show restraint and caution when it comes to the [settler] 'hilltop youth' and they should show the same measure of restraint when it comes to civilian demonstrations at the [anti-terrorist] fence. The chief of General Staff and the police inspector-general must coordinate a policy and match it to the circumstances of the civil disobedience. Their duty to protect the fence from demonstrators does not justify harming protesters. Apparently, the security forces have not learned the lesson from cases when demonstrators were exposed to lethal risks. Demonstrators must not be made to pay with their lives for legitimate civil protest."

Excerpts from President Bush's Letter to PM Sharon
full text

We welcome the disengagement plan you have prepared, under which Israel would withdraw certain military installations and all settlements from Gaza, and withdraw certain military installations and settlements in the West Bank. These steps described in the plan will mark real progress toward realizing my June 24, 2002 vision, and make a real contribution towards peace.

First, the United States remains committed to my vision and to its implementation as described in the roadmap. The United States will do its utmost to prevent any attempt by anyone to impose any other plan.

Second, there will be no security for Israelis or Palestinians until they and all states, in the region and beyond, join together to fight terrorism and dismantle terrorist organizations. The United States reiterates its steadfast commitment to Israel's security, including secure, defensible borders, and to preserve and strengthen Israel's capability to deter and defend itself, by itself, against any threat or possible combination of threats.

Third, Israel will retain its right to defend itself against terrorism, including to take actions against terrorist organizations.

It seems clear that an agreed, just, fair and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel.

In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli populations centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949, and all previous efforts to negotiate a two-state solution have reached the same conclusion. It is realistic to expect that any final status agreement will only be achieved on the basis of mutually agreed changes that reflect these realities.

full text

Excerpts from PM Sharon's Letter to President Bush
full text

The Palestinian Authority under its current leadership has taken no action to meet its responsibilities under the Roadmap. Terror has not ceased, reform of the Palestinian security services has not been undertaken, and real institutional reforms have not taken place. The State of Israel continues to pay the heavy cost of constant terror. Israel must preserve its capability to protect itself and deter its enemies, and we thus retain our right to defend ourselves against terrorism and to take actions against terrorist organizations.

The Disengagement Plan is designed to improve security for Israel and stabilize our political and economic situation. It will enable us to deploy our forces more effectively until such time that conditions in the Palestinian Authority allow for the full implementation of the Roadmap to resume.

According to this plan, the State of Israel intends to relocate military installations and all Israeli villages and towns in the Gaza Strip, as well as other military installations and a small number of villages in Samaria.

In this context, we also plan to accelerate construction of the Security Fence, whose completion is essential in order to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel. The fence is a security rather than political barrier, temporary rather than permanent, and therefore will not prejudice any final status issues including final borders. The route of the Fence, as approved by our Government's decisions, will take into account, consistent with security needs, its impact on Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities.

The Disengagement Plan will create a new and better reality for the State of Israel, enhance its security and economy, and strengthen the fortitude of its people. In this context, I believe it is important to bring new opportunities to the Negev and the Galilee. Additionally, the Plan will entail a series of measures with the inherent potential to improve the lot of the Palestinian Authority, providing that it demonstrates the wisdom to take advantage of this opportunity.

full text

Joint Press Conference: President Bush and PM Sharon - April 14, 2004

Text of the Road Map

 

 

Key Resource Links

 

Israel:

Zionism: Land, People, and Covenant (from Hadassah)

Zionism: Land, People, and Covenant is an exciting new set of lessons explaining our enduring Jewish connection with Israel. Each lesson includes study questions and instructions for facilitators that can serve group discussion. Download each of these lessons to learn why Israel has captured our imaginations, longings, hopes, and fears for more than 3,000 years.

Why Jerusalem? (PDF)

 

What is the "Covenant"?(PDF)

 

How does a Nation Act "In the Image of God?" (PDF)

 

From Idol Worship to Idle Worship — What Kept Us Connected to God and the Land? (PDF)

 

Hebrew—The Language of Land, People, and Covenant (PDF)

 

Prelude to the State of Israel (PDF)

 

To Be A Free People In Our Own Land (PDF)

 

Israel after 1948: The State of the State (PDF)

 

Stones...and Memories (PDF)

 

 

THE MOTHERLODE OF ISRAEL-RELATED LINKS:

http://www.israel.org/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00kj0

 

Israel Defense Force, www.idf.il
Israel Government Gateway, links to Government Ministries, www.info.gov.il/eng
Israel Knesset, www.knesset.gov.il
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, www.mfa.gov.il
Israel Prime Minister's Office, www.pmo.gov.il
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, www.cbs.gov.il/engindex.htm
Israel Tourism Ministry, North America, www.goisrael.com
Buy Israeli Products, www.israelexport.org, www.shopinisrael.com,
        www.finefoodsisrael.com
Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, www.tau.ac.il/jcss
Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, www.besacenter.org
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, www.jcpa.org
One Jerusalem, www.onejerusalem.org
Twenty Facts about Israel
Myths & Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Jerusalem Archaeological Park, www.archpark.org.il


USA:

Israel Info Center - Israel Activism Portal, www.israelinfocenter.com/
US White House, www.whitehouse.gov
US State Department, www.state.gov
US Senate, www.senate.gov
US House of Representatives, www.house.gov
THOMAS (search for US Legislation), thomas.loc.gov
United Nations Watch, www.unwatch.org
Embassy of Israel - Washington, D.C., www.embassyofisrael.org


Media-Related Links:

CAMERA, www.camera.org
Jerusalem Post, www.jpost.com
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, www.jta.org
Ha'aretz English Edition, www.haaretzdaily.com
HonestReporting.com, www.honestreporting.com
Independent Media Review and Analysis, www.imra.org.il
Maariv English Edition, www.maarivintl.com
Middle East Media Research Institue (MEMRI), www.memri.org
Palestinian Media Watch, www.pmw.org.il
Britain-Israel Communications and Research Centre,
    http://www.bicom.org.uk/bicom/briefings.nsf
Israel Insider, www.israelinsider.com
Jewish World Review, www.jewishworldreview.com
America's Voices in Israel, www.americasvoices.net
@The Source Israel, www.thesourceisrael.com

 

 

 

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

 

"I came to you from a peace-seeking country. Despite the repeated terror attacks against us, the people of Israel continues to wish for the achievement of a viable peace, in accordance with our Jewish tradition, as outlined by Israel's prophets... In our meeting today, I presented to you [President Bush] the outlines of my disengagement plan. It will improve Israel's security and economy and reduce friction and tension between Israelis and Palestinians. My plan will create a new and better reality for the State of Israel, and it also has the potential to create the right conditions to resume negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. I was encouraged by your positive response and your support for my plan..."--PM Ariel Sharon, following talks with President George W. Bush in the White House where Israel hoped to achieve a clear U.S. statement rejecting any Palestinian right of return to Israel, and recognizing that the large settlement blocs in the West Bank-Ma'alej, Adumim, Ariel, Gush Etzion and the Jerusalem envelope-will be part of Israel. (Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Apr. 14; Jerusalem Post, Apr. 13)

 

"The Palestinian people must insist on change and on a leadership that is committed to reform and progress and peace. We will help. But the most difficult work is theirs... The barrier being erected by Israel as a part of that security effort should, as your government has stated, be a security, rather than political, barrier. It should be temporary rather than permanent, and, therefore, not prejudice any final status issues, including final borders. And its route should take into account, consistent with security needs, its impact on Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities... The United States will not prejudice the outcome of final status negotiations. That matter is for the parties. But the realities on the ground and in the region have changed greatly over the last several decades, and any final settlement must take into account those realities and be agreeable to the parties... As part of a final peace settlement, Israel must have secure and recognized borders which should emerge from negotiations between the parties, in accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949..."-President George W. Bush, following talks with PM Ariel Sharon. (White House Press Release, Apr. 14)

 



 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

 

LEARNING AND LATTE

AT BORDERS (On High Ridge Rd.)

 

Participants:

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman -- Temple Beth El

Rev. Douglas McArthur - First United Methodist Church

Dr. Behjat Sayed -- Dr Sayed is a lay representative of the Islamic Center of Stamford

 

NEXT WEDNESDAY!!!!!!

April 21 @ 7:30 PM  

 

“VIEWING "THE PASSION," SEEKING UNDERSTANDING: 

A THREE-WAY INTERFAITH DIALOGUE”

  

Participants:

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman -- Temple Beth El, Stamford

Rev. Douglas McArthur - First United Methodist Church, Stamford

Dr. Behjat Sayed -- The Islamic Center of Stamford

 

"Learning and Latte" is Stamford's monthly three-way interfaith dialogue series, covering contemporary topics in light of ancient wisdom.  April's discussion will be the first in our area to bring Jewish, Christian and Moslem leaders together to discuss Mel Gibson's controversial new film, "The Passion of the Christ."  The hour-long session is free and the public is welcome.

 

 

Join Sisterhood and Beth El Seniors

on a trip to the Jewish Theological Seminary

 

Thursday, April 29, 2004

 

A chartered bus will leave the Temple at 9:00 a.m. and return around 4:00 p.m.  Scheduled for the day are two docent tours: one of the Rare Books Library and the other of the Seminary.  Lunch, in a private room, is included in the total cost.

 

Cost is $35 per person.

 

Make check payable to:  Temple Beth El.

 

RSVP by Thursday, April 22nd.

 

Call 322-6901, ext. 300 to reserve.

 

Questions?  Call Sissy Stein at 325-8897.

 

 

 

BETH EL CARES SHABBAT

 

 

April 24, 2004

 

Guest Speaker, Dr. Phyllis Kosminsky

 

 

What Can I Do Or Say to Help Someone Who Is Grieving?

 

 

Dr. Phyllis Kosminsky holds a Ph.D. in Social Welfare from from Brandeis University and a MSW from Columbia University.  She had many years of experience in program development and policy management, and in college teaching before earning her MSW.  Phyllis sees individual clients at the CENTER for HOPE and leads the General Bereavement Group.

 

The CENTER for HOPE, an agency that helps individuals and families on the journey through illness and grief…to find the courage to accept and the will to hope in an atmosphere of compassion and professionalism.

 

Services begin at 9:30 a.m.

 

 

 

If you like to learn how you may provide financial support for Temple Beth El and at the same time provide financial and tax rewards for your family and yourself, click your way to the Jewish Community Endowment Foundation (“JCEF”) Website at www.jcef.us.

 

 

 

RESERVE TODAY: SPACE IS LIMITED

Join Hadassah for the Largest

Pro-Choice March in History.

 

Sunday, April 25th

Washington, DC

 

MARCH FOR WOMEN'S LIVES

Show your support for women's reproductive health, justice and freedom.

 

Never in the past 30 years has a woman's right to choose faced such a serious threat.  Recent legislation, defining the rights of a fetus and outlawing an ambiguously defined and seldom used abortion procedure, jeopardize a woman's ability to choose a legal, safe alternative to an unwanted pregnancy.  Show the President and Congress that you, Hadassah and the majority of voters continue to demand a woman's right to privacy and choice.

 

Hadassah's Buses pick up from I-95 in Stamford at 6:30 am

March on Washington, 12-4 pm

Home by 10 pm

 

Trip includes bus, breakfast, lunch, videos, signs and t-shirts.

 

Name___________________________       Phone_______________________

Address__________________________E-mail_______________________

 

Life Members:                        $65             number____                 total $_____

Annual Members:                   $75                         ____                           _____

Non-Members:                       $85                         ____                           _____

Under 18:                               $65                         ____                           _____

Under 18 Life Members:       free                         ____                           _____

                                                          TOTAL          ____                           _____

 

Send reservations with checks made out to Hadassah

c/o Melissa Koller; 15 Ridge Rd. Weston, CT 06883; (203) 341-9728

 

BRING YOUR DAUGHTER, BRING YOUR MOTHER, BRING A FRIEND

 

 

Bennett Center Cancer Walk – Sunday June 6th, 9 AM

 

Join your Beth El teammates for a 3 or 5 mile walk (or 5k run) to raise funds for cancer services and programs in our community.  TBE Sisterhood is spearheading this event.  Registration is $20 per person.  Register online at www.stamhealth.org/thewalk and mention the Beth El team, or register at BethEl, May 2nd from 10:30-11:30 AM

For more information, email Harriet at hwein@attglobal.net or Ellie at emirneslp@aol.com

 

 

 

 

TGIS (Thank God it’s Shabbat)

A rotating series of Friday night experiences

For all tastes and all ages

At 6:30 PM

Week 1 --- in the chapel, a traditional Beth El Service

Week 2 --- in the Sanctuary, Family Friday

Week 3 --- in the chapel: a creative Theme services

 

Week 4 --- a Carlebach-style service, featuring Hasidic nigunim and joyous meditation.

 

Plus our ongoing Tot Shabbat series (weeks 1 and 3 at 6:45)

 

 

Previous Shabbat-O-Grams can be accessed directly from our web site (www.tbe.org).

 

The Web link for this week's Shabbat-O-Gram is - http://www.tbe.org/2003/sog/040416.htm - The site is continually updated during the week with corrections and additions.  Feel free to forward this link to your friends. People can subscribe to the weekly Shabbat-O-Gram at www.tbe.org.   I also send out mailings to college students, Gen Xers and teens, so let us know if you wish to be placed on any of those lists.  If you wish to unsubscribe, contact office@tbe.org.