MORE KUDOS FOR HBHA
In a recent Listening Post item, we shared that Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy had received top ratings from Niche.com, a recruiting website for schools.
Niche ranked HBHA the best private K-12 school in Johnson County, the best private high school in Johnson County and the #3 private school in the Kansas City area.
Now, HBHA has received another top rating, this time from Ingram’s Magazine. Ingram’s listed HBHA as the #2 private school in the area. That’s a bump up from last year’s #3 spot.
SPEAKING OF INGRAM’S…
The magazine recently released its Top Doctors of 2021 list, which included Dr. Andrew Schlacter, a pulmonologist and critical care physician at St. Luke’s.
Schlacter, who is Jewish and a native Kansas Citian, was the first interviewee in The Chronicle’s new podcast, Getting to Know Jew. You can listen to the episode on our website, kcjc.com.
“It was always a childhood dream to become what I hoped would be a good doctor, and do good work in my local community,” Schlacter said in his Ingram’s profile. “I found out that home really is here [in Kansas City].”
HANUKKAH GIFT IDEA
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame, which is based in Milwaukee, has released limited-edition Hanukkah bobbles.
You can choose from bobble menorahs, which feature nine bobbling candles in several color schemes, or bobble dreidels, which have a gelt-shaped base. The bobbles retail for $25 each.
The Hanukkah bobbles are available for purchase online at store.bobbleheadhall.com.
NRT RENOVATION UPDATE
Construction on New Reform Temple continues to progress. NRT has given several updates on its Facebook page recently.
"The windows have all been installed, the parking lot & sidewalks are finished, drywall work has started, and work has begun on our new entrance," read the latest post.
Other renovations include filling in the old entrance into the temple and getting the framework done for the new sanctuary ceiling.
This is all part of the $2.2 million overhaul of the NRT building, which began earlier this year.
AUSCHWITZ EXHIBIT EXTENDED
Union Station has announced that the record-breaking “Aushwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.” exhibit will be extended through March 2022. The exhibit was originally scheduled to end in late January.
George Guastello, president and CEO of Union Station, told The Kansas City Star that the exhibit has become Union Station’s most well attended, drawing nearly 260,000 visitors so far — including nearly 22,000 students — with 40,000 more expected.
The exhibit is also receiving a special artifact from local Holocaust survivor Sonia “Big Sonia” Warshawski. She is donating a scarf that has been in her family for generations and belonged to her mother, who was killed in the Auschwitz gas chambers when Warshawski was 15 years old.
AJC RELEASES ANTISEMITISM REPORT
The American Jewish Committee released its 2021 State of Antisemitism in America report last month.
Some of the survey's biggest finds include:
- Approximately one in four (24%) American Jews has been the target of antisemitism over the past 12 months
- Approximately four out of every ten American Jews (39%) have changed their behavior out of fear of antisemitism
- Four in ten Americans of all backgrounds (41%) have personally witnessed an antisemitic incident in the last 12 months
Visit ajc.org/globalvoice to view the entire report.
