Calendar

JEwISh book fEStIval

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Grace is an award-winning legal journalist, victims-rights advocate and New York Times bestselling author. She headlines Oxygen’s Injustice with Nancy Grace, hosts the daily Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on SIRIUS XM and appears regularly on ABC’s 20/20 and Nightline, as well as on Daily Mail TV. She is founder and publisher of CrimeOnline.com.

Mike Leven, author of Can’t Do It Yourself: How Commitment to Others Leads to Personal Prosperity

Thursday, October 29, 8:00 pm

Tickets for this virtual event: $11 or $36 with book (includes shipping). A limited number of signed copies are available. Presented by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater & the Simon Family JCC Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival in partnership with The National JCC Literary Consortium

Mike Leven, a storied hotel executive and respected Jewish leader, served at the helm of the Days Inn, Holiday Inn, Las Vegas Sands, and other noteworthy hospitality businesses and most recently as the CEO and chairman of the Georgia Aquarium.

In his new book, Can’t Do It Yourself, Leven takes the reader on a journey through his life, from growing up in a multi-generational household with Russian immigrant grandparents in a close-knit Jewish community in Boston, to an executive for some of the most noteworthy hotel chains. Each chapter ends with 11 different lessons to live by in business and life.

Win round trip tickets for 2 on The ROX. The new, no-stress way to travel.

The ROX offers round trips between Virginia Beach and DC, Virginia Beach and Charlottesville, and between DC and Charlottesville.

Enter on Facebook at JewishNewsVA to win one of the 2 trips for 2 from Virgina Beach Towne Center to Washington DC’s Pentagon City.

You’ll ride in the affordable luxury of an executive coach. See The ROX at www.RideTheROX.com

Winners will be announced in the Nov. 30 Jewish News Hanukkah issue. Value is $252 each round trip per person.

CalENDar

ThrOuGh DECEMBEr 9 PLAYING IT SAFE: ‘SOCCER SHOTS’ PROGRAM STRIKES OUT AT THE SIMON FAMILY JCC.

MONDAYS: Through–11/30/20: K-1st grade, 3:30-4:15 pm, 2nd - 3rd grade, 4:30- 5:15 pm. WEDNESDAYS: 10/7/20–2/9/20; 3-4 years, 3:30-4:00 pm and 4:15- 4:45 pm. With CDC guidelines in place, the soccer field is the SAFE place for Soccer Shots fall fun! Four eight-week sessions are open for the fall. Cost is $120 for members and $160 for potential members, including a jersey! Register at the JCC front desk or call 757-321-2338. For more information, contact Sarah Cooper at scooper@simonfamilyjcc.org.

OCTOBEr 13, TuESDAY

I AM ANNE FRANK & I AM BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. (Ordinary People Change the World Series) with author Brad Meltzer and illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos. For children ages 5–8. Join United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and the Simon Family JCC Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival in partnership with The National JCC Literary Consortium. In conversation with Holly Firfer, CNN journalist. Tickets for this virtual event: $6 or $23 with either book (includes shipping) or $40 with both books. A limited number of signed books are available. 6:30 pm. Contact Patty Shelanski, Arts + Ideas manager at pshelanski@ujft. org or 757-452-3184. See page 24.

OCTOBEr 13, 20, 27, NOVEMBEr 10, 17, 24, TuESDAYS MODERN HEBREW: FROM BIBLICAL ROOTS TO EVERYDAY CONVERSATION

A 6–week course at the Konikoff Center for Learning at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Class participants will learn the language starting with examples of how biblical root words morph into the contemporary Hebrew language. 12 pm on ZOOM. Contact Sierra Lautman, director of Jewish Innovation, slautman@ujft.org.

OCTOBEr 15, ThurSDAY

RED SEA SPIES with author Raffi Berg and Mossad commander Daniel Limor. Join the Jewish Community Relations Council of the UJFT, Simon Family JCC, and Community Partners to kick off its 10th ANNUAL ISRAEL TODAY SERIES. Hear from author Raffi Berg, the incredible story that inspired the film Red Sea Diving Resort, and a first-hand account of the operation that saved the lives of thousands of Ethiopian Jews from special guest Dani Limor, lead Mossad agent that created and carried out the undercover, top-secret mission. This virtual event is free and open to the community with registration. 12 pm. For more information and to register, contact Patty Shelanski, Arts + Ideas manager at pshelanski@ujft.org or 757-452-3184. See page 24.

OCTOBEr 15, ThurSDAY THE COBBLER: HOW I DISRUPTED AN INDUSTRY, FELL FROM GRACE, AND CAME

BACK STRONGER THAN EVER with author Steve Madden. In conversation with Holly Firfer, CNN journalist. Presented by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater & the Simon Family JCC Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival in partnership with The National JCC Literary Consortium. Everyone knows Steve Madden’s name and his shoes, but few are familiar with his story. Tickets for this virtual event: $11 or $36 with book (includes shipping). A limited number of signed books are available. 8 pm. Contact Patty Shelanski, Arts + Ideas manager, at pshelanski@ujft.org or 757-452-3184. See page 24.

OCTOBEr 16, FrIDAY

OTTOLENGHI FLAVOR: A COOKBOOK, with author Yotam Ottolenghi. Presented by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater & the Simon Family JCC Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival in partnership with The National JCC Literary Consortium. The New York Times bestselling author of Plenty and Jerusalem teams up with Ottolenghi Test Kitchen’s Ixta Belfrage to reveal how flavor is created and amplified through 100+ innovative, super-delicious, plant-based recipes. Tickets for this virtual event: $45 with book (includes shipping). 12:30 pm. Contact Patty Shelanski, Arts + Ideas manager at pshelanski@ujft.org or 757-452-3184. See page 24.

OCTOBEr 20, TuESDAY

JCRC Your Vote is Your Voice series. Join the Weinstein JCC of Richmond for a joint community discussion with Jennifer Steinhauer, New York Times reporter and author of The Firsts: The Inside Story of the Women Reshaping Congress, will share her perspective on how these women are making Congress essential again. Free and open to the community, via Zoom. 7:30 pm. Contact Megan Zuckerman, director, Jewish Community Relations Council at mzuckerman@ujft.org. See page 25.

Send submissions for calendar to news@ujft.org. Be sure to note “calendar” in the subject. Include date, event name, sponsor, address, time, cost and phone.

ISraEl

As Genesis Prize goes to a vote, its impact on Jewish causes grows

Larry Luxner

doron Almog, a former head of the israeli defense Forces’ Southern Command, was one of the heroes of israel’s 1976 hostage rescue operation in Entebbe, Uganda, and winner of the 2016 israel Prize for lifetime achievement.

But the thing he says he’s most proud of is ALEH Negev-Nahalat Eran, a rehabilitation village he founded in southern israel for 160 physically and mentally disabled children and young adults. it’s named after Almog’s son, Eran, who was born with severe autism and died in 2007, at the age of 23, from a rare disorder known as Castleman disease.

ALEH-Negev is one of 15 organizations, including nine in israel, to receive grants derived from the 2020 $1 million Genesis Prize, often described as the Jewish Nobel. Last year’s laureate, Natan Sharansky, chosen in december 2019, donated his prize money to Jewish and non-Jewish groups fighting COVid-19’s spread throughout the world.

“during this pandemic, we cannot do social distancing, but we do need lots of PPE,” says Almog, whose organization received a $50,000 grant. “You cannot keep two meters distance from these kids. You need to hug them, wash them, treat them. A lot of the money we received will go to PPE as well as respiratory equipment and oxygen. We’ve also increased salaries for our medical staff because they’re doing double shifts and there’s more risk.”

This year, for the first time since the inception of the Genesis Prize, the Genesis Prize Foundation has opened up the laureate selection process to the wider public. More than 45,000 people worldwide sent in submissions for more than 4,000 nominees, and seven finalists were selected.

Now the public will have a chance to vote on those finalists: actor Sacha Baron Cohen, singer Barbra Streisand, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, actress Gal Gadot, former U.K. chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Hollywood producer Steven Spielberg.

To cast a vote, visit the Genesis Prize website anytime between now and October 26. The Genesis Prize has evolved from an elite, committee-driven process to a more inclusive approach that seeks to engage the entire Jewish world,” says Steve Rakitt, Genesis Prize Foundation president. “The voice of the Jewish people from all walks of life, different demographic groups and across generations will now become an extremely important factor in the nomination and selection of our honorees.” The prize, launched in 2013 and financed through a $100 million endowment, recognizes Jewish individuals with outstanding “professional accomplishments, contributions to humankind, and pride in their Jewish heritage.” Previous winners have included former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, Britishindian sculptor Anish Kapoor, actor Michael douglas, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, actress Natalie Portman and musician itzhak Perlman. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg received a lifetime achievement award in 2018.

After Bloomberg won the first prize, he announced that he’d donate all the proceeds to charity. All subsequent winners have followed suit, sending more than $16 million overall (other donors often match Genesis Prize Foundation funds) to myriad philanthropic priorities, including fighting anti-Semitism, supporting refugees, promoting innovation, improving the lives of individuals with special needs and advancing women’s equality.

When last year’s prize went to Sharansky—the onetime Soviet dissident turned israeli politician and later head of the Jewish Agency—he initially planned to donate his prize money to projects that support human rights, according to Sana Britavsky, deputy CEO of the Genesis Prize Foundation.

“But when COVid-19 started, Natan generously decided that all his prize money should go to vulnerable populations here in israel and abroad,” Britavsky says. “He chose to give to projects that would work for real people, where that kind of help would make a real difference.”

Britavsky adds, “The unique partnership between the Genesis Prize Laureates and The Genesis Prize Foundation makes possible this type of philanthropic impact.”

Sharansky said in a statement, “Many people of good will around the world have given generously to help organizations and individuals who have been devastated by COVid-19. i am grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to this humanitarian effort.”

Among the recipients was the European branch of the Jewish outreach organization Moishe House, which subsidizes homes throughout the world that serve as Jewish community hubs for Jews in their 20s. Moishe House is using the funding to expand its volunteer activities in support of isolated, elderly Jews affected by COVid-19 in Madrid, Moscow, Paris and Rome.

“We received this grant to increase the work we do fighting loneliness and isolation,” Alejandro Okret, chief global officer at Moishe House, says.

When the pandemic hit italy, Moishe House residents in Rome immediately set up donation points at three supermarkets where they encouraged people to donate food or take whatever they needed. They also launched an effort to record the stories of their grandparents, to keep them engaged and connected with others. in Moscow, Moishe House volunteers made phone calls to isolated elderly people, and delivered them medication. in Paris, participants read for the blind.

Genesis Prize grants also went to

the Association of Rape Crisis Centers of israel, which has seen a 40% surge in domestic violence cases during the pandemic; the Weizmann institute of Science, to help develop a coronavirus vaccine; and to Columbia University irving Medical Center and New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering for coronavirus-related research.

The Genesis Prize organization is expecting at least 75,000 people to cast online ballots before voting concludes on October 26. The winner will be announced in early 2021. if this approach proves successful, Rakitt says, all future laureates will be selected this way.

“it’s a reflection of the way the world is going,” Rakitt says. “For years, the Genesis Prize was modeled on the Nobel and other prestigious prizes. it had a limited number of people who could nominate, and an even more limited number who could select. We want to hear the voices of the Jewish community around the world. That’s why we’re opening up the process.”

This article was sponsored by and produced in partnership with The Genesis Prize Foundation, which aims to foster Jewish identity, inspire Jewish pride and strengthen the bond between Israel and the Diaspora. This article was produced by JTA’s native content team.