Start Me Up Applications due Jan. 15
Valley Beit Midrash, a collaborative organization that brings exciting new programs to the Greater Phoenix Jewish community, is taking applications for Cohort No. 3 for the Start Me Up! Fellowship. The deadline to apply is Jan. 15, 2016.
The Start Me Up! Program is a partnership that provides mentoring to young Jewish business minds. The program provides everything from mentorship to advice to critical analysis. The end game is to help develop inspiring leaders in the Greater Phoenix Jewish community.
The application process is a simple one. Go online to Valley Beit Midrash (valleybeitmidrash.org ) and scroll down the home page to In the News—Click on “Application Available HERE” and fill out the application. It is 14 questions that need to be answered thoughtfully. Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, president and dean of Valley Beit Midrash reviews all the applications.
This is the third year of the program and, obviously, it has been a huge success. Todd Herzog, who participated in year one, is a promising singer/songwriter. As a direct result of his participation in Start Me Up!, Herzog has started the Desert Gathering Jewish Music Fest. The third annual event just took place Nov. 1 to rousing reviews.
“This program is unique and special,” said A.J. Frost, who was part of the first cohort. He now serves as operations fellow of Valley Beit Midrash. “We are doing great things with it.”
For more information, visit valleybeitmidrash.org or call 602-445-3112,
Dr. Bell shares tales of Jewish Pioneers Dec. 11
Beth Ami Temple of Paradise Valley will feature renowned local historian Dr. Larry Bell Friday, Dec. 11. Dr. Bell will speak on “Jewish Pioneers of the Valley” in a lecture that starts at 7:30 pm.
Born and raised in Phoenix, Dr. Bell has been an instrumental part of the Phoenix Jewish community for years. Additionally, he has been a vocal advocate for interfaith relations throughout the Valley, serving as vice president of the Arizona Interfaith Movement.
For several years Dr. Bell has been the executive director of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society, which helped restore Phoenix’s first synagogue. The restoration project turned the synagogue into the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center, a museum and cultural center open to people of all faiths.
His lecture will feature the history of Arizona Jews. Early Jewish pioneers in Arizona were not just shop owners and bankers, but cowboys, lawmen, ranchers and entertainers, who, back in the day, defied all stereotypes. Besides Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona Jewish settlers occupied Yuma, Bisbee, Prescott and Tombstone.
“The presentation will cover the early history of Jews in Phoenix and some of the early pioneers who established our local Jewish community,” says Dr. Bell.
The event is free but reservations are requested. For more information or to RSVP, contact: 602-956-0805 or bethamitemple@hotmail.com.
Brandies University on Wheels Jan. 7 at Tucson J
The Tucson Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee and the Tucson Jewish Community Center present the University On Wheels program featuring a professor from Brandeis University.
Tom Doherty, PhD, a professor of American studies and program chair at Brandeis University, with specific expertise in American film and culture, will speak on: “Jews, Nazis and Hollywood Cinema,” based on his book, Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939.
The event, which includes a continental breakfast, takes place 9-11 am, Jan. 7, 2016 at the “J” in the Heritage Room.
Doherty will discuss the rise of the Third Reich, which confronted Hollywood with an unwelcome set of economic, cinematic and moral problems – how to conduct business with the Nazis; whether to address or ignore Nazism in Hollywood movies; and the coverage of Hitler and his victims in the newsreels. During the 1930s, the image of the Nazis and the full meaning of Nazism came slowly to Hollywood, like a picture looking for a focus – fuzzy and dimly lit at first, clearer and more ominous as the decade wore on.
Since Jews were Hitler ’s chosen victims and Jews were titans of Hollywood, the disproportionately Jewish backgrounds of the studio executives and the artists on the payroll shaded the approach to what could never be merely a business decision. A decade of prosperity and visibility for American Jews, the 1930s was also a decade of simmering anti-Semitism. Pro-Nazi outfits agitated openly for an American Reich.
Should Hollywood’s Jews lie low – or stand tall and sound the alarm?
Proceeds for this event will go towards the scholarship fund which helps send a Tucson student to Brandeis University.
The cost is: $18 if reserved in advance and $22 at the door.
RSVP by Jan. 4 to Arlene Zuckerman, zuck4@juno.com or 520-577-1457.
Art and Wine Festival to benefit Cancer network
Thunderbird Artists, award-winning producer of juried fine art and wine festivals in Arizona, is gearing up for their celebration of sculptors from across the globe.
The Sculpture and Wine Festival in Fountain Hills takes place, Jan. 15-17, 2016, at 16810 E Avenue of the Fountains, from 10 am to 5 pm daily. The Town of Fountain Hills incorporated in 1989 just northeast of Scottsdale and has the fourth largest fountain in the world escalating 560 feet, running 15 minutes every hour.
Fountain Hills is a lovely backdrop for thousands of attendees, art lovers and collectors to gather, enjoy and purchase the works of premier, award-winning and emerging sculptors.
Thunderbird Artists is partnering with ICAN (International Cancer Advocacy Network), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Arizona nonprofit charity. ICAN’s mission is to extend life with the highest achievable quality of life for Stage IV cancer patients.
ICAN (askican.org) will host the wine tasting and admission sales with the assistance of their dedicated volunteers from CVS Pharmacies. The wine tasting is $10, which provides a souvenir wine glass and six tasting tickets. Tastings are two-ounce pours and require 1, 2 or 3 tickets depending on the wine characteristics and quality. Additional wine tickets are $1. Festival admission is $3.
Thunderbird Artists is donating 25% of all wine sales and 25% of admission ticket sales to ICAN
For more information, call 480-837-5637.
