JOE HOTROD AND THE SPARKPLUGS RETURN — They’re baaack!!!! Some of us middle-aged former BBYOers waited 40 years for Joe Hotrod and the Sparkplugs to reunite last year at Bowling for Barb, a fundraiser organized by Barb Mendelsohn, my friend of too many years to count. Barb was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease more than a decade ago and she organizes this event, along with much appreciated help from friends and family, to help fund research to find a cure for the disease. This will be the eighth year we have gathered to schmooze about our lives today and think back to when we were teenagers and had no real cares in the world. The boys in Joe Hotrod had so much fun last year they decided to play at the fundraiser one more time! This year, in addition to their oldies but goodies from the 1950s, the “real musicians” in the group (Ronnie brothers, please don’t be mad!) will throw in a set featuring music from our time, the ‘70s. All the originals (or the original subs) can’t make it back here this year but we’re looking forward to hearing Bart Cohn, Jerry Fehr, Ron Fredman, Ron Altman, Larry Myer, Jim Appelbaum, Eric Morgenstern, Bruce Wasserstrom and Rabbi Scott White (yes, he was a teen in the ‘70s!) and watch them wow the crowd. As an added bonus, Dr. Gerard Vockley, the man who supervises all the research to find a cure for mitochondrial disease, will be there also. So you can bowl, kibbitz, listen to music or do any or all of the above at the event slated to take place Sunday, July 12, at Ward Parkway Lanes from 2 to 4 p.m. This is not an official BBYO function, but if you were a member I guarantee you there will be someone there you can have a lively conversation with about old times. So please join us. You can even visit with me. I’ll be at the registration table happily taking checks and credit cards. See you there!
WORLDWIDE JEWISH POPULATION NEARS PRE-HOLOCAUST NUMBERS, ISRAELI THINK TANK FINDS
(JTA) — The worldwide Jewish population is approaching the size it was before the Holocaust, a new report by an independent Jerusalem-based think tank says.
The report, compiled by the Jewish People Policy Institute, indicates that there are 14.2 million Jews worldwide as of early 2015. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}Add in various “subgroups” (such as immigrants to Israel and American “partial Jews”) and the number approaches 16 million, which nears the pre-World War II global Jewish population of 16.6 million, Ynet reported June 26.
After Israel, which is home to 6.1 million Jews, the United States has the second-highest Jewish population at 5.7 million.
The JPPI report says that the period from 2005 to 2015 has seen an 8 percent increase in the Jewish population — the largest gain since the end of World War II. According to Ynet, the JPPI based the numbers on “halacha criteria for those living in Israel and self-identification for those living outside of Israel.”
Seeking calendar items
We goofed last week. The Jewish Chronicle is working on the annual Rosh Hashanah publication for 2015-2016 and we need your help.
Please send us your calendar of special events for the upcoming year (September 2015 through September 2016) so we can add them to our calendar. We don’t mean weekly or monthly events like study groups, but events that may occur once a year or a special event being planned now for the upcoming year.
In order for these events to be considered for placement in the calendar, please send them to us no later than July 23. These can be sent to or .
If you have any questions, call Barbara Bayer, editor, at 913-951-8425.{/mprestriction}
