NCJW NEWS LETTER

March/April 2006

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Newsletter
National Council of Jewish Women Australia
Gold Coast Section Inc.
March/April 2006
PO Box 6619
GCMC Bundall 9726
pdurbach@bigpond.net.au

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Dear Members,
Welcome to the March edition of our Newsletter. Due to numerous requests from Members, it has been decided that the newsletter will continue on a monthly basis.
Whats News!!
Photos from Israel – HRCC
Tu B’Shvat
Article on Yad Sarah
Birthday Club
Anniversaries
Functions & Events
Welcome to New Members
Denise Lee Scholarship Fund
Get Well Wishes
Pesach Recipe
Membership Renewals
Next Meeting
Your Executive & contacts
President Barbara Kann and her husband Gary on their recent trip to Israel visited the Haifa Rape Crisis Centre.

Gary Kann, Shira Sanders - Resource Coordinator, Barbara, Orit Engelberg – Outreach Coordinator
Liz Halevy Berger – Counseling Coordinator
Daniela Mazur – South Americian Immigrant Coordinator
Danit Gofer – Board of Directors – Chairperson
It was a public holiday when I arrived in Haifa to visit the HRCC Centre, and I expected only to meet Shira, however I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the team had made a special effort to join us on the day.
I was updated on the South American Immigrant Outreach Project, Special project – Volunteer Training and Support Project and the many other services the organisation provides for over 1 million people in northern Israel from Hadera to the Upper Galilee.
Gold Coast Section has a special bond with HRCC, however this is a project that all NCJWA members can be truly proud of – congrats to you all for your continued support!
Barbara Stewart-Kann
Tu B’Shvat – Green Sunday
Thank you to all members who supported this day by purchasing trees from NCJWA. We sold 52 trees on the morning through our emailathon. That’s the 21st Century for you!
Monies raised through the sale of trees will be credited to NCJWA – Israel Projects.
If you would like to purchase a tree, please contact Amira Alexander – Hon Treasurer.
Executive & Members attended the opening of the Biblical Garden at Temple Shalom, where Council donated a garden bench in memory of the late “Denise Lee.” Yad Sarah’s Success
It all started with one hot steam vaporiser, lent by a neighbour to a young Jerusalem high school teacher named Uri Lupoltanski and his wife Michal, whose sick child was having difficulty breathing.
Discovering that such electrical devices were expensive and hard to get, the future first haredi mayor of Jerusalem bought a few to lend out, and neighbours started dropping off items they had finished using. The small apartment in the Ezrat Torah neighbourhood was soon overflowing with a variety of medical equipment needed for only a short time, such as walkers, crutches, vaporisers and wheelchairs.
Lupolianski’s father Jacob retired and sold his small shoe store in Haifa, donating much of the proceeds to
establish a non-profit organisation in memory of his mother, Sarah, who perished in the Holocaust. The
vaporiser incident, in 1976, launched Yad Sarah, one of the country’s most respected voluntary organisations which now has a new feather in its cap, official recognition by the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) as an advisory body.
The unanimous decision last week makes it possible for Yad Sarah to participate in International UN-sponsored conferences, special meetings of the UN General Assembly and meetings of other international bodies. It will send experts to governments and UN institutions to actively take part in ECOSO Council and sub-committee sessions and even raise new topics for discussion.
It is said in Ecclesiastes that “there is nothing new under the sun,” but the Lupolianskis’ idea of lending out medical equipment required temporarily (for only a returnable deposit) that could help patients remain at home rather than be hospitalised was an innovative as it was brilliant. By word of mouth, a growing cadre of volunteers was assembled, and the number of branches grew to 103.
Over the past 29 years, Yad Sarah built with donations its landmark headquarters near Mount Herzi, which provides and coordinates a rainbow of services to the young and old, sick, lonely and disabled without any ongoing government aid.
Today more than 380,000 people – members of one out of every two Israeli families of all religions and ethnic backgrounds – benefit from Yad Sarah each year. With a paid staff of only 180 and 6,000 regular volunteers, it has a stock of more than 250,000 medical items, from crutches and wheelchairs to oxygen concentrators and electronic monitors. With an annual budget of $12 million, it saves the economy about $320 million by keeping people out of hospitals reducing individual purchases of equipment and providing an ever-growing variety of services not provided by the state.
Keeping their ears to the ground, Lupolianski and other activists, including the organisation’s late president Prof. Kalman Mann, gradually introduced services for which there was a great need, including geriatric dental clinics, home repair and visits by volunteers, laundry services for the incontinent, legal aid for the elderly, emergency alarms for those living alone, meals on wheels, oxygen services, a display centre of medical aids, transport of the wheelchair bound to clinics and special events, a toy library for disabled children and even a centre for rehabilitating the elderly and disabled by teaching them computer skills. It does all this with a sympathetic ear, free of bureaucracy and discrimination, and has served as a model for the establishment of medical-equipment lending and other services throughout the former Soviet Union, South Africa and other countries.
Although it won many prestigious awards including the Israel Prize, Yad Sarah and Lupolianski (who seems likely to have a greater impact on the country as Yad Sarah founder than as Jerusalem mayor) are perhaps most pleased with the improved image that it lent to his haredi community. Long denigrated for avoiding military service, haredim have served as the core of Yad Sarah’s volunteers, though they have since been joined by modern Orthodox, secular and non-Jewish Israelis.
The UN has not exactly been friendly toward Israel of Yad Sarah to adviser status, the highest international status available to an NGO, despite political opposition from some members, is a tribute to the organisation’s founders, planners, staff and volunteers and to the Israeli diplomats who laid the groundwork.
I had the pleasure of visiting this facility in Jerusalem and meeting the Assistant Director for Overseas Relations – Daniel Sheer. As you can read, it is a fantastic service given to the people of Israel.
Barbara Stewart-Kann
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BIRTHDAY CLUB

MARCH
3rd Shulik Manor –Amira Alexander’s partner
6th Victoria Alexander- Amira Alexander’s daughter
12th Sue Goldzweig
APRIL
1st Sarah Goltman
5th Leanne Johnston- Louise Kay’s daughter
14th Danny Black- Cheryl Black’s son
21st Sara Kay-Sue Goldzweig’s granddaughter
22nd Amira Alexander
ANNIVERSARIES
Belated congrats to our March couples:
1st Leanne & Paul Johnston
2nd Hazel & Avon Cook
6th Faye & Gerry Seefeld
19th Shelia & Cyril Catterall
20th Stan & Leonore Maradeen
22nd Barbara & Gary Kann
23rd Rayna & Scott Lewis*************************
Mazel-Tov to Avis & Steve Furst, Hazel & Avon
Cook & Judy Baskett on the marriage of their daughter/niece Rochelle to Carl.
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FUNCTIONS & EVENTS
Please keep the following dates:12th April – 1st Night Seder – Surfers Central
Synagogue –
27th April – Yom Ha’Atzmaout – contact Henry Malecki –
23rd April – Anzac Commemoration Day 10am
30th April – Yom Ha’Shoah 10am Queen St, SouthportTo be advised actual date:
MAY – Winter Fashion Parade - $12.50p/p
AUGUST – 5th Masked-Black & White Dinner Dance - Tickets available from April onwards. Tickets $55 per person.
Phone:
Louise: 0412 806 123New Members:
Welcome to:
Clare Hogarty, Merle Bogatie, Tracey Benatar
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“DENISE LEE SCHOLARSHIP FUND”
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"Denise Lee Scholarship Fund",
is in memory of our dear, departed
Life Member.
This fund allows NCJWA members the opportunity of attending National and International Conferences and Seminars.
To all those members who have supported this fund and continue to –
Thank you
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GET WELL WISHES
Leanne & Paul Johnston
Moira van Rensburg
Stan & Leonore Maradeen
Lew Rischin
MAZELTOV –
To Cheryl & Alan Black for staging the 2nd ‘Walk of Fame’ Variety show & Awards.
Host for the evening was Normie Rowe and the inductees on the night were: Laurie Daley (footballer), Max Bygraves, Wayne“Rabbit” Bartholomew (surfer) and the outstanding racehorse ‘Maykbe Diva’.
For those of us who attended, we had a most enjoyable evening at Twin Towns.
All funds raised are donated to “The Make A Wish Foundation”.
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PESACH RECIPE
Apricot Macaroons:
These macaroons were originally created for the Passover Seder that is held at Spago restaurant. Also known as “Little Haystacks”.
_ cup (tightly packed dried apricots, cut into quarters
_ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
egg whites
4_ cups unsweetened shredded coconut
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line baking sheets with parchment/baking paper.
Combine the apricots, _ cup water, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Poach until tender and only about 1 tablespoon of water remains, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly.
Transfer to a food processor, add the remaining _ cup sugar, the egg whites, and _ cup of the coconut, and process until the apricots are pureed. Start with on/off pulses, then let the machine run. Transfer to the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters and add the remaining 4 cups coconut. On medium speed, beat until the coconut is well blended. Stop the machine and check the texture – the mixture should hold together when pinched. Continue mixing, if necessary.
Divide the dough into 24 equal portions. With lightly moistened fingers, shape each portion first into rounds and then into pointed cone shapes, resembling haystacks. Arrange on baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are well browned. Cool on a rack and store in an airtight container.
Makes 2 dozen macaroons Pareve
Note: If using sweetened coconut, reduce the sugar by _ cup.
If any of our fine chefs decide to try this recipe, please don’t hesitate to bring them along to the next meeting for all the members to taste!

MEMBERSHIP – RENEWALS
1st April 2006 to 31st MARCH 2007
Enclosed you will find your membership renewal forms for 2006/2007.
To continue Councils support to our Israel Projects, Local Jewish and Wider Community, we need your support more than ever.
Thank you – Amira Alexander
Hon Treasurer
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FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
Executive Committee’s Contact Information:

Vice President: Louise Kay
Phone: 0412 806123
E-mail: lvkay@hotmail.com
Secretary: Paula Durbach
Phone: 0405 165002
E-mail: pdurbach@bigpond.net.au
Treasurer: Amira Alexander
Phone: 0411 724874
E-mail: shulik@bigpond.net.au
Please do not hesitate to contact any of the above persons if you require assistance.The Executive Committee would like to take this opportunity of wishing all members a Happy and Healthy Pesach

Until next time,
Greetings from
The Executive

MAY NEWS LETTER

National Council of Jewish Women of Australia – GOLD COAST SECTION INC. P.O Box 6619 GCMC 9726 QLD

Gold Coast
Vice-President: Moira van Rensburg
Secretary: Louise Kay – Email: lvkay@hotmail.com
Treasurer: Amira Alexander
News Editor: Marilyn Press – Email: mpress@qldnet.com.au

Monthly Newsletter May 2005

The Vanishing Jews of the Arab world.
Part 2

We continue the story written by Semha Alwaya, Baghdad native, which began last month and tells the story of being a Middle East refugee.

Semha tells us there once were nearly 1 million Jews residing in 10 Arab countries. Today, however, fewer than 12,000 Jews remain in these lands ---almost none in Iraq.

The story continued……
Even though Hitler lost the war, al-Husseini’s call was heeded. In 1948, Iraq rounded up and imprisoned hundreds of Jews. Others were removed from their jobs in the civil service, business licenses of Jews were revoked, and quotas were placed on Jewish high school and college students. Later, discriminatory restrictions were imposed on Jewish travel abroad and the buying or selling of property. Thus, even if Jews wanted to escape Iraq, they could not do so legally, and they could not liquidate their assets.

In 1950, the Iraqi parliament passed a law called Ordinance for the Cancellation of Iraqi Nationality for Jews. Law No. 1 that stripped Iraqi Jews of their citizenship. In 1951, the Iraqi parliament passed another law, confiscating all Jewish property. Within a year, most of Iraq’s ancient Jewish population, my family included fled to Israel.

Elsewhere in the Arab world, Jews faced similar circumstances. In Libya in 1945, nearly 100 Jews were massacred. In 1948, the Jewish communities of Aden and Algeria were rocked by a series of attacks that left hundreds dead and many more injured. Discriminatory

laws against Jews were passed in other Arab countries. Within a decade, the exodus of Jews from Arab countries was almost complete, with most going to Israel.

All of this was conducted under the guise of law by Arab governments. This forced Jews to flee lands where we
had lived for thousands of years before the Arab-Islamic conquests.

Since 1949, the United Nations has passed more than 100 resolutions on Palestinian refugees. Yet, for Jewish refugees from Arab countries not a single U.N. resolution has been introduced recognizing our mistreatment or calling for justice for the hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees forced out of our homes. This imbalance of the world’s concern is itself an injustice.

Arab governments instituted policies that led to nearly 900,000 Middle Eastern Jews becoming stateless refugees. Those same governments forced about 750,000 Palestinian refugees and their descendants to remain in impoverished refugee camps, refusing them citizenship and denying them hope.

Peace between Israel and the Arab world requires a solution that recognizes that there were two refugee populations. Acknowledging and redressing the legitimate rights of Jewish refugees from Arab countries will promote the cause of justice, peace and a true reconciliation.

Semha Alaya is an attorney in the Bay Area and a founding member of Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa.

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May Birthdays…..

2^nd John Leff
8^th Brenda Franks
9^th Jennifer Black – Cheryl’s daughter
Alvin Maradeen – Elizabeth’s husband
14^th Alan Lee – Stan’s son
15^th Jason Kay – Louise’s son
17^th Adam Press – Marilyn’s son
23^rd Ashleigh Lewis – Rayna’s daughter
30^th Ross New – Marilyn’s partner
31^st Uli Katz
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NCJWA PLENARY – will be held 18-20^th June 2005 hosted by Canberra Section.


NCJWA – WEBSITE – Have you looked at the website lately? All Sections are listed including the ICJW (International Council for Jewish Women). There is also a lot of good information there – go to:
www.ncjw.org.au
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JEWISH HUMOUR

“Going to Die”
At the conclusion of the physical exam the doctor summoned his patient into his office with a grave look on his face. “I hate to be the one to break it to you, Fred,” he said, “but I’m afraid you have only six months to live.”

“Oh, my gosh,” gasped Fred, turning white. When the news had sunk in, he said, “Listen, Doc, you’ve known me a long time. Do you have any suggestions as to how I could make the most of my remaining months?”

“Have you ever married?” asked the doctor.

Fred explained that he’d been a bachelor all his life.

“You might think about taking a wife,” the doctor proposed. “After all, you’ll need someone to look after you during the final illness.”

“That’s a good point, Doc,” mused Fred. “And with only six months to live I’d better make the most of my time.”

“May I make one more suggestion?” asked the doctor.

When Fred nodded, he said, “Marry a Jewish girl.”

“A Jewish girl, how come?”

“It’ll seem longer.”

OP SHOP
Thanks to all the volunteers who do such a good job. Your efforts are much appreciated. Trading has been very good lately.

At present we are in need of Jewellery, books, linen and drinking glasses.

For pick up of stock for the op shop, please contact Faye Seefeld on 5574 1152.

Best wishes from

Faye Seefeld – Chairman.

TREE CERTIFICATES
We now have tree certificates for many occasions. If you have a birth in the family or friends there is a special one for that occasion. Also for Bar & Bat-Mitzvah. Another one is a very special Certificate for Weddings.

If you require a tree certificate for any occasion please ring
Amira Alexander – 55 922924 and she will be able to advise you of what is available.
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Yom Ha’Shoah – May 8^th – Southport Cemetery 10.30am.

Yom Ha’Atzmaout – May 11^th – ANA Hotel – 6.00pm
Tickets - $38 per person. Tickets available by ringing
07 55390632.

Wishing Gerry Seefeld all the best for his forthcoming surgery in May
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“Look & Buy” Fashion Parade & supper

NCJW & WIZO GOLDA
Invite you and your friends
Date: 11 June Time: 7.00pm
At: the home of Sheila Catterall

Tickets are $12/head
Phone: Sheila Catterall: 55 103 716

International Day of the Family

International Day of the Family occurs on 15 May. This day is observed annually, reflecting the importance that the international community assigns to families, as well as its concern for the situation of families around the world.

There is great diversity in families in Australia. The umbrella word “family” covers many different arrangements – households of adults with and without children, blended families with children from different parents, families with same-sex parents, parents with adopted children, foster families, single-parent families. Our experience of families can extend from the smallest “nuclear” family, perhaps an isolated and sometimes vulnerable unit, to an experience of extended kinship and family networks.

Research tells us that most of the care-taking work that happens within families is carried out by women. Women care in myriad ways for children, older parents, and stepchildren as well for their partners. In an increasingly competitive, individualistic and often aggressive society, values based on nurturing and caring for others offer a rich alternative. I think that when we celebrate families, it is particularly these values of care taking that we acknowledge.

However, families can also be the places where women and children, in particular, are most unsafe. Unfortunately, most violence and abuse directed towards women and children occurs within families. This knowledge is crucial for any actions to create a safer society for women and children. This means that political groups and lobby groups that use the banner of the family to push their agenda need to be scrutinised to see if safety of women and children is a foundational principle of their agenda. Some current groups rallying around the banner of “family” are actually pushing for a return to the greater power of the father or male “head of the household”. However, we know from a great deal of research, that as women’s authority is reduced in families there is a greater need to guard against child abuse and woman abuse.

Therefore, as we celebrate the Day of the Family on 15 May, let us be aware of the need to promote nurturing and caring for others, rather than authority and power over others, as the hallmark of the family life we wish to support.

Anne Morris
Chair of Socio-Legal Issues for Women & Children
NCJWA

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PLEASE SEND “LETTERS TO THE EDITOR” AND YOUR NEWS, VIEWS & SCHMOOZE TO:
PO BOX 6619, GCMC BUNDALL 9726
OR EMAIL TO: mpress@qldnet.com.au

Until next time – Marilyn Press
News Editor