COMMUNITY NEWS
Jewish Community Gathers for Havdalah in Support of Refugees By Kol HaBirah Staff WASHINGTON–– More than 600 people attended a special havdalah service organized by HIAS and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Washington last weekend, demonstrating the powerful Jewish communal support for welcoming refugees. The February 11 event, hosted well after the end of Shabbat by Washington Hebrew Congregation, kicked off a series of 20 events across the country for
the National Day of Jewish Action for Refugees. Led by HIAS, a global Jewish nonprofit that advocates for refugees, the event included a traditional Havdalah service, speakers, readings, and music. Havdalah’s theme of separating the darkness from the light was a thoughtful tie-in to the role of Jewish values and the Jewish experience in influencing responses to the current refugee crisis. “The Jewish community’s experience as refugees prompts us to help refugees
HIAS President and CEO Mark Hetfield speaks about the refugee crisis. COURTESY OF HIAS
Oula Alrifai, an asylee from Syria, speaks. COURTESY OF HIAS
today–– not because they are Jewish, but because we are,” said Mark Hetfield, president and CEO of HIAS. Additional speakers included Guila Franklin Siegel, associate director of the JCRC of Greater Washington; Rabbi Aaron Alexander of Adas Israel Congregation; Maharat Ruth Balinksy Friedman of Ohev Sholom - The National Synagogue; and Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig, Susan Shankman, and Joseph Skloot of Washington Hebrew Congregation. The speakers were not limited to members of the Jewish community, however. Oula Alrifai, once a Syrian asylum seeker and now a U.S. citizen, was a member of the first Syrian family to seek political asylum in Washington, D.C. in 2005. She is a Middle East analyst at Na-
vanti Group and the co-founder and executive director of the Syrian-American Network for Aid and Development. Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, outreach director at Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center and a former Muslim chaplain at Howard University, also addressed the group. The Havdalah event was part of HIAS’ ongoing Welcome Campaign, which has engaged more than 260 synagogues and over 1,900 rabbis in support of refugee advocacy work. Co-sponsors of the National Day of Jewish Action for Refugees included Jewish rabbinical organizations across the denominational spectrum, as well as Jewish lobbyist groups and humanitarian relief organizations and the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees.
At Sunflower Bakery, Cookies Can Lead to Careers for Young Adults with Learning Differences ÁÁ CONTINUED FROM P. 10 presented, the teens chose to fund Sunflower Bakery as their summer mitzvah project. That donation was used to purchase the point of sale equipment for Café Sunflower. These days, Feivel is in the Pastry Arts Employment Training Program and working towards a very specific goal: working both front and back of the house in the kosher bakery at Costco in Wheaton, Maryland. Milner said the summer program is also an exploratory class for teens. It’s mostly recreational because there aren’t other cooking classes for people with disabilities. In addition to other schools, the program draws teens with learning disabilities from Sulam, a school-within-a-school at the Berman Hebrew Academy.
The Future Having a storefront along with production and instruction space is Wexler and Milner’s dream right now. They agree that if they could rent a larger space, they could also expand training opportunities to include bread baking, packing and shipping, skills transferable to other businesses and industries. Milner wants people to buy from Sunflower Bakery, not just for their mission, but because they think their products are the best. She encourages community members to keep Sunflower
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February 16, 2017 • 20 Shevat, 5777
Sunflower production kitchen in action. (PHOTO CREDIT: DEBBIE UNGER PHOTOGRAPHY)
Bakery in mind and make them a part of their Shabbat and simchas year-round. The deadline to order hamantaschen for Purim is March 6 at noon. Go to www.sunflowerbakery.org for more information and to place orders. Natasha Nadel is a mom, journalist and author of “The Healthy Mama’s Guide to Feeding Your Family Well – Simply and Sanely!” and “The Healthy Family, Healthy You Cookbook.” She has contributed to over 20 national and regional newspapers, magazines, and blogs, including The Washington Post's “On Faith and On Parenting,” Lilith, JTA, Na’amat Woman, The Jewish Press, Jewish Food Experience and Kveller.com.
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