Reception with Irene Fertik
Tuesday September 21st
6:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
Free event. Wine and cheese served.
Sixth and I Historic Synagogue
600 I Street NW. Washington,DC 20001
RSVP to Sarah: slawson@nif.org or 202.513.7870
Exhibit on view at 6th & I Gallery
September 1-26, 2010
Presented by the New Israel Fund and Sixth and I Historic Synagogue
Avishai Mekonen
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jules Donk, President, Jewish Community of Suriname
jldonk@cq-link.sr
597-87-56-898 (Suriname)
Rabbi Haim Beliak, Trip Coordinator
Haimbeliak@gmail.com
1-310-592-8960 (California, USA)
Jacob Steinberg, Kulanu Coordinator for Suriname
surjewicom@ymail.com
1-416-271-4544 (Ontario, Canada)
YOUNG SURINAME* JEWS REALIZE DREAM WITH BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL TRIP
PARIMARIBO, SURINAME, August 20—Eighteen Jewish young people from Parimaribo, Suriname departed today for Israel on the first leg of their journey to Israel to participate in the Birthright Israel program. It is hoped that the visit will help the young Jews of Suriname, isolated for generations, to strengthen their Jewish roots and ensure Jewish continuity in their country. The trip, envisioned for many years and finally a reality, is expected to have a profound impact on the lives of the young people and on their community.
Most of the young people are descendants of Jews who traveled to the jungles of Suriname some 380 years ago from Spain and Portugal to escape the Spanish Inquisition. Others are descended from Jewish immigrants from Holland, Germany and Poland who arrived later and joined the community. Family names, such as Abarbanel, Beuno de Mesquita, Robles de Medina, De Costa, Duym and Fernandes, echo the history of Iberian ancestors and their proud struggle and determination to survive and flourish in a far away land. Despite a jungle climate and the vicissitudes of economic and political upheaval that have occurred throughout the centuries, the community has survived and is the oldest continuing Jewish community in the Western Hemisphere. The Jewish community of Suriname worships in the beautiful Neve Shalom Synagogue in the capital of Parimaribo, which serves as the center of its religious and cultural life.
The Suriname Jewish community (numbering today about 150 people) has long been isolated from world Jewry due to its geographic location and its language (Dutch). The community had no permanent rabbi or Jewish educator for over 40 years until Rabbi Haim Beliak of California spent three months in Suriname last winter providing Jewish education and outreach to an eager community. At the same time, Jules Donk, the community’s president, taught the young people in hopes they would be accepted for Birthright Israel.
During their visit to Israel, the young people will visit the newly restored Zedek v’Shalom Synagogue, originally located in Suriname, which has been rebuilt in the Israel Museum. The synagogue served the Portuguese Sephardic community in Parimeribo until 1999. Today the Jewish community worships together at the Neve Shalom Synagogue.
The Birthright Israel trip for the young men and women of Suriname is being supported through the generous donations and help of a number of individuals and groups. In addition to Birthright Israel, support is being provided by Kulanu (Hebrew: All of Us), an organization that supports isolated and emerging Jewish communities worldwide, with a challenge grant from the Good People Fund. Kulanu is helping with transportation costs from Suriname to the group’s embarkation point in Miami. The Suriname Jewish community also sponsored a number of fundraising activities to complete the fund raising process. In addition, The World Union for Progressive Judaism and Union for Reform Judaism in North America re handling touring arrangements in Israel.
With help from Kulanu, there has been a recent rebirth of interest in Jewish identity and practice in Suriname. In 2008, a Kulanu volunteer spent six weeks in the community, initiating a Hebrew teaching program for children ages 6-12. Since then, Jacob Steinberg, a Kulanu board member and our coordinator for Suriname, has raised funds for a variety of projects such as fencing the historic cemetery, renovating the 150-year old mikvah, renovating the old rabbi’s house, developing a Suriname Jewish community web site, and buying mezuzot for homes and community buildings. In 2010, Kulanu helped pay for matzot and kosher wine sent from New York for the community’s Passover seder.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Kulanu’s Suriname Page: http://www.kulanu.org/suriname
Suriname Jewish Community: http://www.suriname-jewish-community.com
*Suriname is the smallest country in South America and is located north of Brazil, between Guyana and French Guiana.
Photo: Suriname Birthright Participants, Hi-Res Version:
http://kulanu.phanfare.com/1309895_5328967#imageID=108033747
Photo credit: Ryan Lee A Fong
I’d like to let you know about an exciting travel opportunity to Uganda! Whether you desire to deepen your understanding of Jewish life in Africa, want to spend time with one of the communities Kulanu supports, or are just in need of a vacation, this is a fantastic trip you can’t pass up!
“Jewish Life in Uganda Mitzvah Tour & Wildlife Safari” will take place January 9-24, 2011. Join this fabulous small group eco-tour, now in its eighth year. Meet the Jewish Community of Uganda! Treat your family to a real African safari featuring wild elephants, hippos and crocs. Spend shabbat in an African village synagogue. Visit Kulanu-supported sustainable development projects including two Abayudaya schools that feed and educate 700 students each day. Share your skills and do mitzvah work!
This is an amazing Jewish experience for individuals or for the whole family! Laura Wetzler, Kulanu’s Uganda Coordinator, will be leading the trip. Barbara Vinick, a Kulanu Board Member, will be on the tour. My husband, Ken Klein, and I will also be with you for much of your visit!
To learn more about the trip, please click here. For more information, you can also contact Laura Wetzler, the trip coordinator, at laura@laurawetlzer.com
I hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Harriet Bograd, President
Kulanu, Inc.
For more information:
Kulanu Abayudaya slideshow at www.kulanu.phanfare.com
P.S. Here’s another travel opportunity! The International Society for the Study of African Jewry (ISSAJ) is hosting a conference in London entitled “Jews and Judaism in Black Africa and its Diaspora” from October 30-31, 2010. You can find more information here.
The Spring 2010 issue of the Kulanu Newsletter has arrived — with a brand-new look! You may have already received it in the mail, or you can check it out as a pdf online by clicking here. We are grateful for the leadership and creativity of the new editorial team for the rich content and beautiful design: Judy Manelis of Brookline, MA – editor and Kulanu board member; and Enid Bloch of Buffalo, NY – layout & photography editor and Kulanu volunteer. Below are some highlights of the Spring 2010 issue. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
The Kulanu Newsletter may have a new face in 2010, but did you know this publication has been around since before “Kulanu” was founded as a non-profit organization in 1994? We have recently added the first four years of newsletters to our online archives, and now you can view issues as far back as Winter 1993-94! Check out www.kulanu.org/newsletters for seventeen years of news and insight into isolated and emerging Jewish communities.
You may have seen our recent appeal to raise funds to help send 16 Jewish youth from Suriname on a Birthright trip (a two-week tour of Israel’s religious and historic sites). If not, check out the recent Kulanu Blog post. They are so happy to have the opportunity to visit Israel, study Torah and connect with other Jews from around the world. Their community — the oldest Jewish community in the Americas — is also looking forward to their trip so that they can in turn learn more about their heritage and traditions from these young folks.
Although the flight from the US to Israel and most other expenses are covered by the Birthright organization, this group needs our help to get a flight to Miami so they can go on this amazing journey. We have already raised $5215, and need $7285 more to cover round-trip flights from Suriname to Miami for all 16 of the eligible youth. You can read more about this opportunity at www.kulanu.org/blog, and see the full proposal including biographies of each trip candidate by clicking here.
If you have already contributed, thank you so much! If not, just send a check to Kulanu (NYC office address is below) or donate online at www.kulanu.org/donate — make sure to put “Suriname” in your check memo or online comments. Another way to support this resilient group is by spreading the word to your networks about this appeal. Email your friends and colleagues, or “tweet” the line below or post it to your Facebook page!
Help Kulanu send 16 from Suriname to Israel. If they get to Miami, all expenses will be paid by Birthright. tinyurl.com/surinameisraeltrip
You can learn more about the Suriname Jewish community at www.kulanu.org/suriname.
