Shalom Austin officially renames the Jewish Austin Men Dinner and Speakers Forum as the Burt Kunik JAMen Forum in honor of its founder and chair. Credit: Andrew Holmes

On October 30, Shalom Austin officially renamed the Jewish Austin Men Dinner and Speakers Forum as the Burt Kunik JAMen Forum in honor of its Founder and Chair. Kunik had passed away over the summer.   

With a large crowd in attendance, including Kunik’s wife, children and grandchildren, as well as other close relatives and friends, the evening program celebrated Kunik’s vision, generosity and passion in launching one of Shalom Austin’s signature programs more than a decade ago.  

The Kuniks had just relocated to Austin from Houston to live closer to their children and grandchildren. A prominent endodontist and business executive and community leader in the Bayou City, Kunik had been involved with Houston’s Jewish Family Service and decided to attend a Friends of JFS Dinner at the JCC in Austin to learn more about JFS’s work here.  

A chance encounter the event with then Shalom Austin CEO Jay Rubin led Kunik to pitch the idea of whether a popular program at Houston area mega-Conservative synagogue Congregation Beth Yeshurun called “100 Jewish Men” might work in Austin. Rubin loved the idea as a means of deepening the connection of Jewish men community-wide regardless of any or a specific synagogue affiliation.  

Developed by Rabbi Brian Strauss, then Beth Yeshurun’s Assistant Rabbi, and modeled after a program at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, 100 Jewish Men featured monthly dinners with thought-provoking and sometimes controversial speakers addressing a variety of Jewish and secular interpersonal, civic and global issues.  

JAMen worked from the get-go in Austin exceeding 100 members in its first year and growing nearly every year since.  From university presidents to UT coaches, from rock star rabbis to leading journalists, from visionary entrepreneurs to captivating entertainers, JAMen provided the high-level programming and social networking Kunik had envisioned.  

“Burt did far more than envision JAMen,” Rubin recalled. “He poured his heart and soul, his time, talent and treasure into every aspect of JAMen. From marketing strategies to speaker selection, from vetting speakers to negotiating speaker fees, from shaping menus to hosting program planning dinners, Kunik made JAMen a priority from Austin to La Jolla and even, at times, from MD Anderson.”   

In addition to announcing the new name and logo, the October 30 program featured tributes to Kunik from Rabbi Daniel Septimus, Shalom Austin CEO and Rabbi Brian Strauss, now Congregation Beth Yeshurun Senior Rabbi; as well as a heartfelt response from Kunik’s youngest son Daryl, speaking on behalf of the family.   

Both timely and appropriately, Rabbi Strauss also launched the newly named Burt Kunik JAMen Forum with a powerful keynote address entitled “What Does It Mean to Be a Zionist After 10/7?”  

For more information about the Burt Kunik JAMen Forum, visit ShalomAustin.org/JAMen.