JEWISH COMMUNITY BLOG

L-R: Jennifer Failla, Shana Creeger, Frances Meltzer at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation.  Courtesy: Shana Creeger  “My most recent mission trip to Berlin and Israel left me with such pride and hope for all the hard work being done to build and protect our...

JRabbi Monty Eliasov z”l. Courtesy: Barbara Taft   By Abraham Davidson     Rabbi Arnold Montgomery Eliasov ( z”l), affectionately known as “Rabbi Monty,” passed away peacefully on Shabbat, July 20, 2024, after a sudden illness. In his final hours, he was surrounded by...

Campers2gether campers creating a bunk tallit for Shabbat t’filah blessings. Courtesy: URJ Greene Family Camp  By Allison Teegardin     In July, 26 Israeli teenagers who were displaced when their community Kibbutz Zikim was attacked on October 7, were welcomed to URJ...

Rabbi David N. Young and his wife, Cantor Natalie Young, in Chicago. Courtesy: Rabbi Young  By Corrie MacLaggan  Congregation Beth Israel has a new interim rabbi who believes passionately in making Judaism fun, leads a Dungeons & Dragons group for rabbis and...

Amit Kanfer and his family. Courtesy: Amit Kanfer    Twenty years ago, at the age of 22, right after the Israeli Army and just before college, Amit Kanfer was offered to travel to four states in the U.S. as part of the JCC Maccabi Games program. This offer didn’t come...

Trinidad Agosto will be King Ahasuerus. Courtesy: GSA  Queen Esther will be performed by Amy Selby. Courtesy: GSA  Austinite Ira R. Forman. Courtesy: Ira R. Forman  By Diane Radin    Many have read the whole megillah and watched a Purim spiel or two. What more is...

Top Row:  Joan Maniere, Marty Henderson, Rabbi Rebecca Reice, Sharon Krumholz, Ruth Ann Plotkin, Merle Dover, Beth Payan, Raquel Schuster, Marcelle Friedman, Melissa Drexler, Ettie Baranoff, Suzanne Newberg    Second Row: Michele Schwartz, Paula Friedman, Christine...

Lauren Halpern, Heilla Lain, Terry Benaryeh, and Michelle Rechenberg (far right) with an Israeli local. Courtesy: JNF  By JD Krebs     Terry Benaryeh, Lauren Halpern, Michelle Reichenberg and Heilla Lain have all known each other for decades. From Pilates classes to...

Goodman Family of five from left to right: Greg, Ezra, Meadow (z"l), Eden, and Lulu. Courtesy: Greg Goodman   By Debbie Cohen   (CONTENT ADVISORY - Mentions of suicide.)  In an extraordinary act of community support, Shalom Austin has provided a generous grant to fund...

Nancy Wolf, AJPR co-founder and board member, speaking about volunteer opportunities in front of a previous gathering. Courtesy: Bettie Forman  By Bettie Forman   Austin Jews and Partners for Refugees estimates they will be helping to support and settle around 200 new...

Frogby Sachs and Shayna Levy. Courtesy: Sandy Dochen    By Sandy Dochen Not one but two Austin teenagers who grew up at Temple Beth Shalom are serving as national board members this year for the National Federation of Temple Youth, or NFTY, associated with the Union...

Rabbi Monty Eliasov z"l. Credit: Tahni Handal  By Salkana Schindler, MSN, RN   Arnold Montgomery Eliasov (z”l), known to most as Rabbi Monty, was born in 1946 in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. He came from a family of Jewish merchants and farmers; he grew...

By Rabbi Amy B. Cohen Shalom Austin Jewish Family Service is thrilled to be opening their central office later this summer on the Dell Jewish Community Campus. The beautiful new building will house over fifteen staff members including counselors, case managers, the...

Team Upili from left to right: Peter Simiyu, Carla Birnberg and Mariam Ndegwa at Joytown Special School in Thika, Kenya. Credit: Carla Birnberg  For the past four years, Chief Storyteller for the Next Step Foundation, based in Austin and Nairobi, Carla Birnberg's...

As I write this column, the school year is ending, and preparations are underway for the summer season and camp. I am also preparing for a long-anticipated sabbatical, my first as I begin my 18th year in the rabbinate, that will begin in mid-June and conclude toward...

Cover Photo: From left to right: Rabbis & Rebbetzins Levi Levertov, Menucha Levertov, Nechomele Levertov, Shmuly Levertov, Rochel Levertov, Yosef Levertov, Mendy Levertov, Mussy Levertov, Rikki Hertz, Mendel Hertz, Mendel Marasow, Mussi Marasow. Not pictured are...

From left to right: Marty Davis, Robin Davis, Lainie Polland, Jonathan Polland.  Credit: Lindsay Thorne Photography  By Margaret Praderas  On Sunday, April 7, 2024, more than 1,000 community members gathered for an evening of celebration and commemoration at Shalom...

From left to right: Community gather in the Epstein Family Community Hall for Shalom Austin's 2024 Annual Meeting on May 21, 2024. Credit: Andrew Holmes By Wendy Goodman  Shalom Austin held their 2024 annual meeting on May 21 with more than 100 community members in...

Shalom Austin’s Impact Grants Categories for 2024 By Amanda Sokolosky    In a record-setting cycle, Shalom Austin recently distributed $269,000 in grants to twenty-one local nonprofit organizations whose missions and objectives align with six key focus areas...

Community members dance and enjoy musical performance by the Dayan Family at Yom HaAtzmaut celebration at the Dell JCC on May 19, 2024. Credit: Rebecca Golden By Alachua Haskins  The Jewish people are held by their calendar. They celebrate together, mourn together,...

(Left) Shalom Austin's Senior Israel Educator Michal Ilai. Credit: Andrew Holmes (Right) Shalom Austin's Public Affairs Director Emily Bourgeois. Credit: Andrew Holmes By Rachel Stern   Recently, Shalom Austin’s Bernard & Audre Rapoport Center for Jewish Culture...

The Zumba Papis at The Dell JCC. Credit: Jolie Estes By Mark Pattis  Los Papis, also known as the Zumba Papis, have brought new energy and boundless smiles to the group exercise program at the Dell JCC. “Sergio and Andrew bring a dynamic to our staff and to our...

B'not Mitzvah challah baking with Nathalie Miller. Credit: Ofir Hagay Nevel By Devora Fuchs  The Israeli American Council Austin’s (IAC) B'not Mitzvah program has become a cherished part of the local Jewish community over the past three years, marking a milestone in...

By Kari Loya  Last spring, Austin Jewish Academy (AJA) hosted two parent education events on important topics related to developing social and emotional intelligence in children.   Just before the Pesach holiday, Shayna Feldman Barksdale, LCSW-S, presented at a lunch...

Community members and leaders at the JAMen Forum Season 7 event in May 2024 with JAMen guest speaker Rodney Terry, Texas Longhorns Men’s Basketball Coach, University of Texas at Austin (center). Credit: Andrew Holmes By Jay Rubin    The Shalom Austin Jewish...

Members enjoy a Mega Zumba event to celebrate the Dell JCC's one-year anniversary on April 26, 2024. Credit: Dalia Galpern    By Thy Hooks and Wendy Goodman    The Dell JCC celebrated the first anniversary of its new building opening on April 26, 2024. To mark the...

From left to right: Gregg Philipson holding bugle; Alana Pompa and Bob Kaplan beginning to hoist the flag. Credit: Steve Krant By Steve Krant, U.S. Air Force (Retired)  In a time-honored tradition, Austin’s Post 757, Jewish War Veterans of the USA (JWV) performed a...

By Jennifer Kohn Koppel  The long list of official commemorative months is filled with curious tributes: National Bread Baking Month, National Smile Month, National Novel Month, but National Make-A-Will Month in August is one that everyone should stop and think...

Kristin Fine has gone full circle from borrower to donor with Hebrew Free Loan of Austin. Courtesy: Hebrew Free Loan of Austin By Hannah Lapin Life often presents unforeseen challenges, putting one’s resilience to the test. For Kristin Fine, a resident of Austin, her...