AJA Sponsored Collaborative Middle School Winter Wonderland Dance a Roaring Success
Sequined AJA Administration: Melissa Rosen, Brooke Dunshee, Heather Kantrowitz, Aviva Frank. Courtesy Austin Jewish Academy On Saturday, December 3, Austin Jewish Academy (AJA) held a collaborative middle school winter dance. The event was attended by over 200 Austin...
SAJF Fundholder Spotlight: Eileen Ladd
The Ladd Family. Courtesy of Eileen Ladd. Dallas native, Eileen Ladd and her husband Brent have been in Austin since 1989. They became involved with what is now Shalom Austin when their children were students in the ECP preschool previously located on Jollyville...
Texas Holocaust, Genocide, And Antisemitism Advisory Commission Publishes Study on Antisemitism in Texas
On November 1, 2022, the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission submitted a letter and its study on Antisemitism in Texas. The letter and link to view the full study are reprinted below with permission. Please note this post is a reprint and...
Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies Offers Groundbreaking Training That Equips Parents to Better Help Anxious Children
Amid a longstanding youth mental health crisis exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies (NJHSA) is offering its member human service agencies a new way to help young people with mental health concerns — by giving their parents...
Recipe: Brown Sugar Beer Baked Chicken
Michaela Rosenthal started entering cooking contests in 2004 when she first entered the Gilroy Garlic Cook-Off in California. There, she made many new friends who exposed her to the world of competitive cooking. From cooking contests, she became a brand ambassador and...
U.S. Postal Service Issues New Hanukkah Forever Stamp
With the release of this vibrant new stamp, the U.S. Postal Service continues its tradition of issuing stamps for the Hanukkah celebrations. This joyous Jewish holiday commemorates the liberation and reconsecration of the Temple in Jerusalem in the second century B.C....
Hanukkah Celebrations and Traditions
The Hanukkah Miracle The story of Hanukkah is about the victory of an army of Jewish fighters, known as the Maccabees, over Hellenic emperor Antiochus IV's supporters who desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem and built an altar to the Greek god Zeus there. After the...
Shalom Austin CEO Recognized as an Influential Jewish Leader
Rabbi Daniel A. Septimus at the Shalom Austin Adults 60+ Rosh Hashanah Luncheon. Credit: Dave Hawks. On December 2, Shalom Austin CEO Rabbi Daniel A. Septimus was featured in The Austin Business Journal profile for his efforts in helping shape the future of Jewish...
Welcoming the Season of Light and Joy
While technically a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar, we all know that if we surveyed our children, and dare I say some adults, too, Hanukkah may be the Jewish fan favorite of all Jewish holidays in the United States. For Jews around the world, the meaning of...
Local Philanthropists’ Transformative Gift Creates a Welcoming Jewish Space at the J
Left to right: Noah, David, Abby, Jennifer Kaufman. Courtesy: Kaufman Family. By Allison Teegardin In the summer of 2022, Jennifer and David Kaufman, longtime supporters of Shalom Austin, expanded their giving by making a generous contribution to the Generations...
Austin Church Displays Solidarity with Jewish Community Amid Rising Antisemitism Concerns
Hope Chapel Kristallnacht commemoration on November 9, 2022. Courtesy: Hope Chapel By Jay Rubin In memory of Kristallnacht and to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community against antisemitism, Hope Chapel, a non-denominational Christian Church located in Central...
Local Leaders Represent Jewish Federations at General Assembly
2022 Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly. Credit: Jewish Federations of North America Leaders from Jewish Federations joined over 1,200 Jewish communal leaders in Chicago at Jewish Federations’ three-day General Assembly, where they set the shared...
Austin Jewish Film Festival Celebrates 20 Years In Style
AJFF Director David Finkel in conversation with Dutch actress Hanna Van Vliet after the Texas Premiere of "Lost Transport." Courtesy: AJFF By Wendy R, Corn, AJFF Committee Member The annual Austin Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) was back in person for its 20th year, this...
Austin Jewish Community Religious Schools Gather for City-Wide Teacher In-Service
Austin area religious school educators at the City-Wide Teacher In-Service at Shalom Austin on October 20, 2022. Credit: Alachua Haskins By Rachel Stern On Thursday, October 20, 2022, teachers from local Austin synagogue religious schools gathered together for an...
ADL Austin Honors Eugene Sepulveda and Steven Tomlinson at Golden Door Awards Dinner
ADL’s Vice President of Democracy Initiatives Eileen Hershenov (left) and former Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus III (right) speak in a moderated conversation during the keynote address. Credit: Ben Porter By Dulce Castañeda, ADL Austin Associate Regional...
Young Jewish Adults Tap Into Beer and Torah
Rabbi Gail Swedroe, Associate Rabbi at Congregation Agudas Achim at YAD's Torah on Tap on August 31, 2022. Credit: Shelby Klein By Allison Teegardin In general, Jews have always been more closely connected with wine than beer. While the connection to wine has not...
Aggies Celebrate Hillel’s Accomplishments and Texas A&M Adds Judaic Studies Minor
Taubenhaus Service Award Winners from left to right: Risa Bierman, Gabe Noble accepting for his grandfather Dr. Marvin Noble, Dr. Gary Gross, Richard Wolf, Michael Wolf, Marc Sheiness. Courtesy: Risa Bierman By Nancy Brand During the weekend of October 21-23, 2022,...
Shalom Austin Jewish Foundation Makes a Plan for Charitable Giving
Shalom Austin Jewish Foundation Committee. Credit: Amelia Baxter By Allison Teegardin On Thursday, October 20, 2022, Shalom Austin Jewish Foundation committee members hosted a virtual information session for the community. Led by the Foundation’s committee chair Joel...
AJA Graduate, Ilan Ben-Avi Wins Prestigious Debate Tournament
Ilan Ben-Avi, National Debate Champion. Courtesy: Austin Jewish Academy By Melissa Rosen Austin Jewish Academy (AJA) graduate and member of the Anderson Speech and Debate team, Ilan Ben-Avi, recently traveled to the University of Florida to compete against the top...
More Than 1,400 Proud Zionists Unite at JNF-USA’s National Conference
From left to right: JNF-USA Austin Board Member, Gadi Ilan; Gin ny Belofsky; Chayla Furlong; JNF-USA Austin Board Member, Mike O'Krent; Reagan Weil at Jewish National Fund-USA’s 2022 National Conference. Courtesy: Jewish National Fund-USA By Jennifer Milton More than...
IAC National Summit 2023 to Take Place in Austin
The Israeli-American Council (IAC) National Summit 2023 will take place in Austin, Texas, for the first time, next January, launching Israel’s 75th Independence Celebrations. In a city known for its creative culture, the summit will feature a first-ever “Israel...
From the Arava to Austin: How a Friendship Rooted in Love for Israel Bloomed into a Business Partnership
Matthew Fragner and Robert Mintz in Central Arava Desert, Israel. Courtesy: JNF-USA By JD Krebs Some friendships are professional. Others are more personal. In the case of Boerne resident, Robert Mintz and California-based Matthew Fragner, their friendship is both, as...
Texas Historic Preservation Conference to Feature Special Program on B’nai Abraham Brenham Historic Synagogue
Real Places 2023, Texas’s premier historic preservation conference, sponsored by the Texas Historical Commission (THC) and Friends of the THC, will feature a special program about the B’nai Abraham Brenham Historic Synagogue on February 2, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. at the...
New Austin Area Jewish Book Club Is an Instant Bestseller
From left to right: Mariette Hummel, Elyssa Friedland, Sharyn Vane. Credit: Allison Teegardin By Allison Teegardin On September 14, 2022, two of the same women who banded together to form ATXKind, a grassroots group of six Jewish women, to stand up against rising...
Jewish Learning and Senior Services Expands in Sun City
From left to right: David Klein, Rachel Stern, LaDina Epstein. Courtesy: Rachel Stern By Rachel Stern In August 2022, the Bernard & Audre Rapoport Center for Jewish Culture & Education began offering a series of classes to the community of Sun City, located in...
JAMen Season 6 Scores Big Crowds
UT Basketball Coach Attracts Large JAMen Crowd on Eve of Longhorn Season. Courtesy: Jay Rubin By Jay Rubin Texas Basketball Coach Chris Beard delivered a "No Fluff " presentation to a crowd of more than 150 Jewish Austin Men (JAMen) members and guests on October 26,...
The Challah Prince, Idan Chabasov, Joined American Jewish University For a Live Challah Braiding Instruction
Idan Chabasov, The Challah Prince, with one of his challah masterpieces. Courtesy: Miller Ink By Allison Teegardin On October 13, 2022, Idan Chabasov, Instagram star known as The Challah Prince, virtually guided participants through an instructional challah-braiding...
Planting the Roots for Jewish Education in Austin
From one mother’s vision to one father’s commitment, ECP remains an important part of Jewish life. Photo: ECP families walking in the newly refreshed ECP hallway. Credit: Dave Hawks By Allison Teegardin In 1965, a dedicated group of parents came together to organize a...
A Letter From Emily Bray, LMSWA of JFS
I hear you're looking for a therapist. What wonderful news! I’m sorry, of course, that things are in a way that you feel you need a therapist, but then again, I feel that everyone should have a therapist. If you’ve looked, you know there are hundreds to choose from....
Austin-based Nonprofit, The Happy Lungs Project Launches its Premier Fundraiser
The Stromberg Family. Photo courtesy of the Stromberg Family. By Wendy Newberg Founded in 2021, The Happy Lungs Project is an Austin-based nonprofit aimed at fighting lung cancer. The nonprofit was started by the family of Austin Jewish community member Ilana...
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