Following the departure of Linda Cohen, the community-wide “Judaism for Conversion Candidates” program will have a new course coordinator. Aaron Nielsenshultz, 39, has been hired to take that position.

Nielsenshultz said he was a bit surprised when offered the job, but very happy as well.

“I went through the interview process and I know that there are so many educated people in the community who could very easily do the job,” he said. “This is just a knowledgeable community. I applied for the job because it is my passion but at the same time I thought undoubtedly someone will get it who is going to deserve the job and luckily enough it was me.”

Judaism and the conversion class are both passions of Nielsenshultz because he himself is a convert to Judaism. He took the class in 2007-08.

“Everyone I’ve spoken to about (the class) just loves it, adores it, and I’m very excited about continuing that energy that Linda was able to create and foster and that Annette Fish (administrator/program director of the Rabbinical Association) also creates and fosters. I’m a little daunted by the people I’m following in the footsteps of, but I’m really excited about the chance to do it. It’s a great program.”

According to Rabbi Mark Levin, rabbinic coordinator of the community conversion class, Nielsenshultz is the man for the job.

“He’s a quite extraordinary man,” Rabbi Levin said. “I’ve developed a great many conversions in my career and he’s really second to none. There are other people who have worked as hard academically, but I suspect he’s learned more about Judaism … than anybody certainly that I’ve ever seen. His Hebrew is good, he speaks a little bit, translates, reads Torah and has a very good background in Judaica now.”

As curriculum coordinator at Wright Career College, Nielsenshultz also has a strong curriculum background, which is a good asset to have as the conversion class coordinator.

“Linda Cohen did an extraordinary job organizing it; it takes quite a bit of detail work. I think he’s going to continue to move it ahead,” Rabbi Levin said.

Nielsenshultz’s love of Judaism is limitless. Three years ago, Rabbi Levin sent him to the URJ’s Had’rachah program (lay leadership training) in which he spent two years of study. He says he learned a great deal about helping out in the community.

“It was all under (Rabbi Levin’s) auspices and he’s been such a tremendous mentor along the way,” Nielsenshultz said. “It’s been a tremendous ability and opportunity to grow. When I think of the Jewish community in Kansas City, … it’s all about inclusiveness and there’s opportunity to be a part of it and to take part in it and I love it. The idea of serving this community in this way as community conversion coordinator, I’m just thrilled about it.”

Nielsenshultz has been leading services and reading Torah at Beth Torah, where he is a member, for about three-and-a-half years, and is now in his second year as the para-rabbinic at Temple Adath Joseph in St. Joseph, Mo., where he goes twice a month. He works with the congregation there leading services, teaching adult education and tutoring some of the adults in Hebrew. He also visits the sick and teaches in the religious school at Beth Torah.

“Judaism is my passion and my love; I can’t get enough, this desire for me to know more and more all the time,” Nielsenshultz said. “My background has been in higher education for the last almost 20 years so the next logical step in my mind is to go a little bit further and say OK, now I’ve collected all this information, I’m learning all this stuff, how do I share it with other people.”

Rabbi Levin says because Nielsenshultz has been through the conversion process himself, he’ll be able to help people understand, and will understand the students and help motivate them.

“He just has a lot of very positive qualities that seem to be appropriate to the position, as well as his personal history and experience,” Rabbi Levin said. “We’re looking forward to a very good year. It’s been a quite successful program and a program that brings together the perspectives of all the rabbis and all the congregations in the city. So from that perspective, it’s quite a unique program and a real benefit to the entire Jewish community.”

Nielsenshultz believes it says a great deal about the class that a Jew by choice will be coordinating it.

“It speaks to the depth of experiences in the Jewish community, that Kansas City is such a vibrantly dynamic community. There are people who have been in Kansas City longer than the buildings have been, so we have Jewish families who go way back who are still involved in the community,” he said. “And then we have newcomers in any number of ways: people who are new to the city, new to Judaism….”

Nielsenshultz said he ascribes to a belief of author Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman. Rabbi Hoffman says American Jewish life has always been influenced by immigrants and it is his perspective that as we come into the 21st century, the newest wave of immigrants shaping Jewish life are people who are immigrating to Judaism.

“There are all kinds of challenges that come with that, but there are also wonderful opportunities that come along with it too,” Nielsenshultz said. “I think this is a great opportunity. For people who are more ready in their lives to make this step, this class is the right place to go.”

Nielsenshultz and his wife Yara have two children: Liam, 13, who just became a Bar Mitzvah, and Aisling, 10.

Lifelong Kansas City residents and philanthropists Marion and Henry Bloch announced Monday the creation of a family foundation to improve the quality of life in their beloved hometown. The announcement was made at a community celebration honoring Henry Bloch’s 90th birthday held at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

The Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation will build on the couple’s vision and values to improve and strengthen Greater Kansas City. It is expected that this foundation will eventually rank among the largest family foundations in the Kansas City region. The Foundation will support efforts in the areas of post-secondary business and entrepreneurship education, visual and performing arts, healthcare, social services, education for low-income, underserved youth and Jewish organizations. In addition, special emphasis will be placed on three institutions to which the founders have made lifelong commitments of support. These organizations are the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art and St. Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City.

“I very sincerely hope and I trust that the Bloch School of Management, the Nelson-Atkins Museum and St. Luke’s on the Plaza will continue to be vital, rising institutions far into the future, and that they will always warrant support from our Foundation,” Henry Bloch said.

The Blochs belong to the New Reform Temple. In 2004, the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee renamed its annual civic-leadership honor the Henry W. Bloch Human Relations Award.

“Marion and Henry Bloch have a strong desire to give back to the community that has given so much to them,” said David Miles, president of the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation and The H & R Block Foundation. “And on a day that is dedicated to celebrating Henry’s birthday, he turned the tables and once again showed why he is one of Kansas City’s most beloved citizens.”

In addition to Henry Bloch, who will serve as chairman, the Foundation’s inaugural board of directors will be comprised of both local civic leaders and the couple’s four children. It is anticipated that lineal descendents of the Bloch family will always be associated with the foundation to guarantee the long-term fulfillment of the founders’ vision.

“Kansas City has been very good to us,” Henry Bloch said. “If it weren’t for the taxpayers who embraced Dick’s and my tax preparation experiment in 1955, H&R Block wouldn’t have become what it is today. We owe a debt to the Kansas City community, and our hope is that, through this foundation, we will help pay back that debt.”

Foundation President Miles said thanks to their vision, determination and humanitarianism, Marion and Henry Bloch have achieved both success and significance.

“Through their family foundation, this selfless, decent and loving couple will have a lasting impact on generations to come,” Miles said.

Henry Bloch explained that except for their art collection, which he knew would eventually be donated to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art for the benefit of the people of Kansas City, he said he and Marion and have lived a modest life.

“We never cared to live big. I’ve tried to be a decent man. I’ve tried to be honest and do the right thing. And I’ve always wanted to have a clear conscience. I know that I  won’t live forever — but I hope that, through good stewardship, the foundation will. There is so much yet to be accomplished. That’s why I still go to my office every day.”

For more information on the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation, visit the foundation’s website at www.blochfamilyfoundation.org.

Once again this summer, Kansas City skies will be filled with balloons, as the U.S. Bank Midwest Balloon Fest returns Aug. 10-12 to the Great Mall of the Great Plains in Olathe. Last year, nearly 50,000 balloon fans filled the grounds around the Great Mall, and this year’s event will bring more fun activity to the area.

U.S. Bank has signed a three-year commitment as the title sponsor of the event.

“We are thrilled that U.S. Bank will be our title sponsor for the next three years,” said Robbie Small, organizer of the Balloon Fest. “All the large balloon festivals have major sponsors and U.S. Bank supports the event and what we will continue to bring to the Kansas City area.”

Mark Jorgenson, president of U.S. Bank in Kansas City says the Balloon Fest is just the event they want to be involved with.

“The U.S. Bank Midwest Balloon Fest is a great way for people in our community to get together for a fun summer event. U.S. Bank is honored to be the title sponsor of this annual summer event that thousands of people enjoy,” he said.

There will also be a Friday night concert by Shealeigh, Radio Disney’s Season 4 NBT (Next Big Thing) winner. And Saturday night features a concert by country music star Clay Walker. Walker began his career in 1993 and has a total of 11 number one songs. Walker’s appearance is part of KFKF-FM’s Summer of Freedom Concert Series.

Tickets to the Balloon Fest are $10 in advance or $15 at the gate. Advance tickets can be purchased either online at www.greatmidwestballoonfest.org. or at all local Hy-Vee stores in the metro area. Ticket prices are $5 for ages 6-12 and children 5 and under are free. Special VIP tickets are available as well.

Event organizer Small says, “The event last year proved that our area can support an annual Balloon Fest. This year, we’ll have two nights of Balloon Glows, sponsored by Farmers Insurance. We’ll also have early morning fly-in competitions on Saturday and Sunday mornings that are free of charge. Add in our terrific Friday and Saturday night entertainment and you have a weekend filled with fabulous fun.”

Also, returning this year are several special shape balloons, including Annie, the Giant Ladybug, Oggy the Dragon and the Panda Bear. “We are bringing an 11-story high Jack in the Box balloon to the event, which is something to behold,” Small said.

There will also be world champion John Petrehn, who lives in the Kansas City area, and current national champion Nick Donner competing along with champions from other countries.

Last year the Balloon Fest was able to donate nearly $50,000 to charity.

“While we all love to see the magic of hot air balloons, we are truly pleased we were able to donate so much to local charities,” Small said.

Recipients of charitable funds this year are Harvesters, the Olathe Christmas Tree Fund (benefiting 14 area organizations for children at risk) and the USO.

Hot air rides along with tethered rides, sponsored by Olathe Medical Center, can be purchased through the festival’s Facebook page and website. Other attractions include a Kidz Zone and various food booths.

For more information go to www.greatmidwestballoonfest.org.

Like many job seekers, Bryan Schmutz had tried the usual routes to land a position. A December 2011 graduate of Washburn University with a degree in mass media, Schmutz moved back to Kansas City to begin his job search in earnest. He placed his resume on various Internet sites, went to job fairs and did informational interviews with professionals in the field.

“I explored as many avenues as I could find because you never know where that job is going to come from,” he said.

Weeks and weeks went by without Schmutz landing a job.

“A lot of what was on my resume and what I was getting calls on wasn’t what I was interested in,” he said.

Then a friend suggested Schmutz check out Jewish Employment Services, a joint program of Jewish Family Services and Jewish Vocational Service. JES helps participants make connections in the job market and search for existing employment opportunities. Specifically, the program offers assistance in numerous ways — career assessment, resume development, individualized and group coaching, interviewing and networking skills, job search strategies and making direct connections to jobs. The JES team is led by Gayl Reinsch along with career coaches Cari Boasberg and Joyce Hill. Their goal is always the same — help people get jobs. That’s just what happened for Schmutz.

“I met with Cari Boasberg who worked with me on my resume, cover letter writing techniques and interviewing skills. She helped me discover skills I had but wasn’t aware of,” Schmutz said. “We did mock interviewing in our coaching sessions and she really helped me improve my answers.”

It was JES that connected Schmutz to his current position, that of marketing coordinator for the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City. He serves as project manager and account coordinator to support the JCC’s marketing department’s internal “clients.” These include the fitness and sports department, CDC preschool, summer camp, the Heritage Center and cultural arts, as well as Jewish Life and Learning. The JCC’s marketing department designs more than 800 individual posters, brochures and other materials annually; Schmutz is responsible for getting the projects completed accurately, on time and to meet and exceed clients’ expectations. In addition, he is the JCC’s webmaster, in which he maintains its website.

Boasberg said Schmutz was very open to suggestions she made regarding his job search.

“Bryan expressed frustration with the amount of attention his resume had been receiving,” Boasberg said. “He was very open to changing the format and wording on his resume. You could see the excitement on his face as his new resume came together.”

Interviewing skills was another area in which Schmutz felt he needed to practice.

“Mock interviews during coaching sessions really helped Bryan realize how he could improve his responses and succinctly outline how he was the best candidate for the position. Overall he was eager to learn and improve — and he did,” Boasberg said.

Schmutz’s supervisor, JCC Marketing Director Stu Goldstein, said JES helped him land the right candidate for the job.

“Bryan has been a very good hire for us,” Goldstein said. “At first, I was rather reluctant to interview someone with limited experience, but Cari Boasberg at Jewish Employment Services convinced me to think differently, and I’m glad she did. Bryan has established a great working relationship with the teams we support and is quickly developing a reputation for delivering high quality work. He’s become a significant asset to my department.”

Schmutz is thrilled he’s using his training in a position he likes. He said JES and its staff played a large role in his successful job search.

“They knew what I was looking for and knew if something would be good fit,” he said. “It was very helpful and very relevant.”

If you would like assistance with your job search, contact JES at or 913-327-8278, or visit the JFS web site at www.jfskc.org/jes.

SARAH ZELDIN TURNS 100 — The “Summer of Bubie,” marking the 100th birthday of Sarah Zeldin and highlighted by visits from her out-of-town children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, kicked off last month with Shabbat dinner and a birthday brunch for immediate family.

It continues on Sunday, Aug. 12, when friends and relatives of the family matriarch are invited to celebrate with her at an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. at Village Shalom, hosted by her children. No invitations have been mailed.

An active resident of Village Shalom, “Bubie” has 22 grandchildren (including spouses, as she always does), 24 great-grandchildren (with two more on the way) and two great-great-grandchildren.

When asked the secret of her longevity, she replied, a “Stay busy, but at some point you need to slow down a little.”

CDC’S EXPANSION COMPLETE — I checked with Jacob Schreiber, the Jewish Community Center’s executive director for a progress report on the CDC’s expansion. You may remember that the CDC took over space that formerly belonged to the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy located right off the main lobby of the Jewish Community Campus. Schreiber said the new Pre-K Suite is complete and is ready to open for the new school year.

“We will be welcoming over 50 new children to our CDC, with four full-time spots remaining,” he said on Monday.

He added that the first phase of the refurbishment of the existing CDC space will be completed in a week. That includes new paint, carpeting and lighting in the shared space, plus a program enrichment room and a 6-foot Western Wall made of Jerusalem stone. He said Phase II enhancements will be made to existing CDC classrooms over the next year, as the JCC continues its campaign to fund the improvements.

“We’ve also added a curriculum specialist to further enhance our five-star rated program,” Schreiber said.

‘IN THE   KITCHEN   WITH BONNIE’ — Earlier this year we published a story about “In the Kitchen with Bonnie,” hosted and produced by Bonnie Rabicoff. The foodie series is now available to TV audiences 24/7 on Time Warner’s “KC on Demand” (Channel 411).

“In the Kitchen” began June 2010 as a radio and web production, then expanded media offerings to include educational TV and print. “We are pleased to add an “ON DEMAND” TV component for our audiences,” said Rabicoff. “Approximately 10 new shows will be featured each season, making our series accessible to viewers at a time most convenient for them.”

The show, which now includes more than 60 episodes, captures the artistry of Kansas City’s award-winning chefs. Each week, audiences join Rabicoff in the chef’s kitchen to select food products, prepare a signature dish, plate it and pair it. Chefs also talk about their journey to and inspiration “In the Kitchen.”

The program format has expanded to include “In the Cellar” (featuring a global portfolio of organic and sustainably produced wine), “Field-to-Fork” (preparing signature dishes directly from the harvest) and “Cooking with Kids” (creating easy, nutritious, fun & affordable meals to help reduce child obesity).

“In the Kitchen” appears each month in Eating Well in Kansas City, a magazine devoted to local, organic and seasonal eating. To learn more about where you can watch, listen to or read about “In the Kitchen with Bonnie,” visit the website at www.inthekitchenwithbonnie.com.

CELEBRITY CHEF MAKING ALIYAH (JTA) — Celebrity chef Jamie Geller is chronicling her upcoming move to Israel in a series of documentary videos.

Geller, a television producer, author and cooking celebrity, is producing with the Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah assistance organization a documentary series following her and her family as they prepare to make aliyah and finally land in Israel.

She is leaving from New York on the Aug. 13 Nefesh B’Nefesh charter flight in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Immigrant Absorption and the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Geller founded the Kosher Media Network, which combines traditional media such as magazines, books and broadcast with digital, online and social media. In the spring of 2011, the network unveiled its Joy of Kosher consumer brand, launching JoyofKosher.com and the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller magazine. Episodes can be watched at: www.nbn.org.il/joyofaliyah.

Five local congregations will gather Saturday night, July 28, at the Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah to commemorate Tisha b’Av. Joining B’nai Jehudah are Beth Shalom, Kol Ami, Ohev Sholom and Temple Israel. The service is set to begin at 8:15 p.m. and conclude approximately 10:15 p.m.

Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner, B’nai Jehudah’s assistant rabbi, said Beth Shalom, Ohev Sholom and B’nai Jehudah have marked erev Tisha b’Av together for the past three years with learning, prayer and the reading of Lamentations.

“This year our circle of congregations is expanding as Kol Ami and Temple Israel will also participate. We will continue to explore ways to share our gifts with one another,” she said.

Rabbi Shuval-Weiner explained that B’nai Jehudah is hosting this service on behalf of Beth Shalom, “since they are in the midst of their rabbinic transition.” Along with B’nai Jehudah’s clergy, Rabbis Jonathan Rudnick, Doug Alpert, David Glickman and Jacques Cukierkorn are expected to participate. Members of the participating congregations will be involved in reading selections from Eicha (Lamentations). The service is open to anyone in the community.

The service will include the traditional Hebrew reading along with teachings in between each chapter.

“We will talk about the theme of each chapter and then we will draw out strands of what’s going on,” Rabbi Shuval-Weiner said. “We use a siddur that has the English next to the Hebrew. That way even if people don’t understand Hebrew, when they hear the lilt of the sound they can follow along in the English as they hear the wailing and the crying as it comes out of the text.”

The Reform rabbi explained that in the traditional world, Tisha b’Av is very significant.

“Other than Yom Kippur, it is the second most important fast day on the Jewish calendar,” she said.

A major difference between Yom Kippur and Tisha b’Av, the rabbi explained, is that Jews take a more internal look at themselves on Yom Kippur, while Tisha b’Av is more communal.

“On Yom Kippur you stand before God and look at all of the ways you’ve not lived up to your full sense of potential in order to make light and return to your highest sense of self,” Rabbi Shuval-Weiner said.

On Tisha b’Av, she said, as a community Jews look at their low points.

“We look at where we have allowed ourselves to be vulnerable and weak that these terrible things potentially might have fallen upon us. That’s the traditional way of looking at it. How do we, as a community, recalibrate that,” she said.

That’s why Rabbi Shuval-Weiner said it is traditional to read the book of Lamentations.

“This is Jeremiah’s expression of lament following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Historically these are the days that are the most heart wrenching for us as a Jewish people,” she said.

Even the tune that is used in chanting Lamentations, Rabbi Shuval-Weiner said, is in the sound of a lament.

“It’s really the crying out, the heart of the people, crying out how could these horrific things happen to us,” she said.

For many years Reform congregations steered away from Tisha b’Av and Rabbi Shuval-Weiner said it begs the question, “Why would we want to be part of all this?”

She explained that, coming from a psycho-social-spiritual place, if on Yom Kippur we look at ourselves as individuals, how can we look at ourselves as a community?

“How do we rise above tragedy? How do we reach out our hands to one another so that we are strong? How do we rise out of despair and live beyond that and live to be a people, as it says in the book of Esther, who are full of joy and hope and purpose?” Rabbi Shuval-Weiner continued to say that “we live in a world that is very broken, that destroys and consumes one another. To look at that, we have to go through the cathartic experience in order to be renewed and do the work of building, to be the antithesis of destruction.”

To continue to illustrate the importance of Tisha b’Av, she points to a story in the Talmud that discusses how Jerusalem could have been destroyed. She said it teaches the lesson that Jerusalem was destroyed because of senat chinam, senseless or baseless hatred.

“The idea was that the community had lost its moral compass and that individuals were treating each other disrespectfully, and that ill treatment of one another in essence caused a snowball to go downhill. All of the actions that happen because of an interchange between two people who didn’t treat each other with a sense of humanity initially led to that which would cause our community to fall.

“So really the lesson that anyone can take away from Tisha b’Av, whether you are traditional or liberal, is the idea that we are sacred human beings who are put in this world as co-partners with God to be builders of the world. But when we turn to our more base ways of engaging with one another, that’s what causes the kind of hatred, indifference, ignorance that leads to things like the Shoah, like Darfur, like the creation of terrorists and bombers. We as human beings have the ability to bring paradise to this world. We also have the ability to destroy it. So we have to go into that place of remembering what it’s like to be the one who has been the victim, the one who has had violence perpetrated on us in order for us to have that empathy to turn back into the world and say we will not be those destroyers.”

Tisha b’Av

Tisha b’Av (the 9th of Av) is a time of mourning within Jewish tradition, Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff noted in his Bisseleh Bytes email to members of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.

“According to our best historical evidence, the First Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians on the Hebrew calendar date of the 9th of Av, in the year 586 BCE. Almost 600 years later, the Romans burned the Second Temple down, also on Tisha b’Av, 70 CE. More than a dozen other horrific events in the life of the Jewish people — moments of oppression and destruction — occurred on the 9th of Av. Whether by fate or happenstance, this date has become synonymous with Jewish pain and suffering.”

In synagogue, the book of Lamentations is read and mourning prayers are recited. The ark is draped in black.

On Tisha b’Av itself Jewish people follow the same constraints as Yom Kippur. In addition to fasting many activities are prohibited including bathing, wearing leather shoes and marital relations. There are additional traditions to sit low to the ground just like a mourner does, not to greet people, and — because Torah study is always considered joyful, one is enjoined to only learn material that is connected to the tragic events of the day or other somber material.

Most congregations in the area will commemorate the 9th of Av. Besides the service at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah on Saturday night, July 28, which includes B’nai Jehudah, Beth Shalom, Kol Ami, Ohev Sholom and Temple Israel, the following congregations have planned commemorations that evening: Beth Torah, BIAV, Chabad House Center, KU Chabad, Torah Learning Center and Kehilath Israel. Additional worship is planned on Sunday, June 29, at BIAV, K.I., Chabad House, Beth Shalom, Ohev Sholom and TLC. For more information, contact the individual congregations.

Rabbi David Glickman was officially welcomed as the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom on Saturday, July 14. As part of a restructuring of the clergy staff, congregational leaders had hoped to complete the new clergy team this summer with the addition of a person to fill the position of Clergy2. However, that won’t be the case.

Earlier this year the congregation decided to hire one person who would be responsible for all the education and music programs. Hazzan Robert Menes was given the opportunity to seek the new position, but declined to do so. He left the congregation in June and has already started a new job at Temple Beth Sholom in Summerlin, Nev., a suburb of Las Vegas.

In an email to members in late June, Kurt Kavanaugh, DDS, the congregation’s immediate past president, informed them that while a job offer was presented to a Clergy2 candidate, the applicant declined the offer and the position remains open. Therefore, Beth Shalom will continue its look for a cantor/educator to fill the Clergy2 position. As the official search season in the clergy community generally begins in winter and ends in late spring, it now looks like a person won’t be serving in that position until this time next year.

“This provides us the opportunity for reflection, gives us a chance to include Rabbi Glickman in this important process and it also gives us, the Beth Shalom members, a chance to lead and participate in services in a meaningful and spiritual way,” Dr. Kavanaugh said in the letter.

He continued that while the board and search committee were disappointed in their choice’s decision, “We are confident that we will be ahead of the game in this next search process.”

Dr. Kavanaugh said the Ritual Committee plans to hire a chazzan for the High Holy Days. In addition, Patti Kroll will stay on as the religious school coordinator for the coming year.

Beth Shalom is the city’s largest Conservative congregation with approximately 763 family units.

TOO HOT TO SHMOOZE — With temperatures constantly over 100,  more often than not lately, it must be too hot for loyal readers and PR professionals to schmooze right now.  Since we don’t have any traditional Listening Post items, we’re sharing Olympic tidbits this week.  Enjoy.

IOC holds surprise minute of silence for 1972 Munich massacre
(JNS.org) — The International Olympic Committee (IOC) held a minute of silence in the London Olympic village Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September’s murder of 11 Israeli team members at the 1972 Munich Games.

“The 11 victims of the Munich tragedy... came to Munich in the spirit of peace and solidarity. We owe it to them to keep that spirit alive and to remember them... As the event of 40 years ago reminds us, sport is not immune from, and cannot cure, all the ills of the world,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The impromptu minute of silence was a surprise because Rogge had previously said the Munich massacre would not be commemorated at this summer’s London Games. Changing course, Rogge said Monday that the 11 victims deserved to be remembered.

This is the first time that the IOC has marked the massacre in an Olympic village. Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Olympics organizing committee, London Mayor Boris Johnson, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and several other IOC officials attended the commemoration.

Israeli college, despite no sports facilities, produces four Olympians
(JNS.org) — The Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya does not have any athletic facilities on its college campus, but still managed to produce four students and graduates who are members of the Israeli team at this summer’s London Olympics.

IDC Olympians include law school graduate and business student Arik Zeevi, a 2004 bronze medalist in Judoka at the Athens Olympics; psychology student Alice Schlesinger, who also competes in Judoka; sailor Vered Buskila, an IDC law school graduate; and champion high jumper Danielle Frenkel, a law and business student whose knee injury will prevent her from competing in London.

The IDC’s athletic director is Ilan Kowalsky, head coach of the Israel’s national women’s basketball team (under 20).

Good sports? Iran says it will compete with Israelis at Olympics
(JNS.org) — Iranian athletes will compete against Israelis at the upcoming London Olympics, Secretary General of the Iranian Olympic Committee and Chef de Mission Bahram Afsharzadeh announced on Monday, Israel Hayom reported.

“We will be truthful to sport,” Afsharzadeh said. “We just follow the sportsmanship and play every country.”

Afsharzadeh spoke in the athletes’ village after signing the “truce wall,” a UN-backed initiative calling on warring parties around the world to end hostilities during the period of the games. “In sport and in Olympics, all the countries must [be] together with the teams in friendship,” Afsharzadeh said. “Solidarity for all the countries is very important.”

Tehran has been criticized in the past because some of its athletes withdrew from events against Israelis at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games.

Sportscaster Bob Costas to recognize slain Israeli athletes at Olympics
(JNS.org) — Responding to the International Olympic Committee’s refusal to hold a moment of silence at this summer’s London games on the 40th anniversary of 11 Israeli team members killed by Palestinian terrorists in Munich, sportscaster Bob Costas said he will recognize the Israelis when he covers the Olympics for NBC.

“I intend to note that the IOC denied the request,” Costas told The Hollywood Reporter. “Many people find that denial more than puzzling but insensitive. Here’s a minute of silence right now.”

A candidate for secretary of state in Missouri has stated that no Jews died in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and alleged that Jews were involved in that attack.

MD Rabbi Alam’s comments — he is one of two candidates in the Missouri Democratic primary for secretary of state slated for Aug. 7 — were first uncovered by Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday, July 10. The Free Beacon describes itself as an online newspaper dedicated “to uncovering the stories that the professional left hopes will never see the light of day.”

Alam’s comments were brought to The Chronicle’s attention by a reader and a short article published by JTA, The Chronicle’s national news service.

JTA referred to the Free Beacon story, which reported Alam said he stood by 9/11 conspiracy theories that he had espoused in early 2009.

JTA continued to report that Alam, in an interview, stated his belief in the “fact” that no Jews were killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and that the commercial airliners could not have been solely responsible for the collapse of the buildings.

The Free Beacon reported that Alam, a Muslim who was born in Bangladesh, has “trafficked in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.”

U.S. State Department officials told the Free Beacon that between 200 and 400 Jews died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001; five Israeli citizens also were killed.

JTA also reported the Vos Iz Neias (VIN) website wrote that Rabbi Yair Hoffman, reporting for the website, contacted Alam and presented him with information that showed Jews were killed in the attack. Rabbi Hoffman also put him in touch with people who personally knew Jewish 9/11 victims.

Alam “offered his apologies and explained that he had been convinced by the material he had read on the Internet regarding the issue,” VIN reported.

But, VIN added, later in the interview Alam “still expressed some conspiracy thinking about the World Trade Center bombings.”

Alam’s comments reported by the Free Beacon and VIN also made the news in Israel, being reported on the www.IsraelNationalNews.com website also known as Arutz Sheva, a media network that calls itself “the only independent national radio station in Israel.”

Karen Aroesty, the Anti-Defamation League’s regional director for Missouri and Southern Illinois, noted that as a 501(c)(3) organization, ADL cannot get involved in election politics. She has, however, read the various news accounts regarding Alam’s statements.

“While we acknowledge that he has apologized for previously-held inaccuracies about 9/11 — we are still concerned that he holds onto and formally expresses anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about the tragic events of the day. To the extent that he attended the event of an extremist (Sheikh Khalid Yasin) who holds anti-Semitic, anti-Christian and conspiratorial views, it is disturbing that he would even attend the event of such a figure,” Aroesty said.

Alam is running in the Democratic primary against Jason Kander, who is Jewish. Both candidates list Kansas City as their residence. Also running for secretary of state in Missouri are Republicans Scott Rupp of Wentzville, Shane Schoeller of Bolivar and Bill Stouffer of Marshall. Cisse W. Spragins of Kansas City is running as a Libertarian candidate and Justin Harter of Columbia is a Constitution candidate.

Alam’s website lists him as a satellite campaign manager for Obama and the Democratic Party in the Kansas City area during the 2008 presidential election. He is the state chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party Asian American Caucus, as well as its founder and also serves as the national chairman of the U.S. National Democratic Party Asian American Caucus. He is an educator and a veteran of the U.S. Army.

There may not be any Jewish athletes from Kansas City competing in the Summer Olympic Games that open Friday, July 27, in London but the local Jewish community will still be represented there by an Olympic veteran. Lisa Settles was hired once again by the Olympic Broadcast Services, which is a part of the International Olympic Committee, as a member of the broadcast crew that will provide television coverage to countries all over the world.

The first Olympics Settles worked was the 1988 summer games in Seoul and the 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be her eighth Olympics. She is a graphics operator and will be working at the wrestling competitions — freestyle for men and women and Greco-Roman for men. She worked at Olympic wrestling events twice before in Atlanta and Australia.

Settles’ job is to provide the words you see on the screen such as names and statistics.

“Basically any words that you see on the screen that’s not the score, that’s what I do during a game,” Settles explained.
She’s often too busy to actually get to watch the competition.

“I’m listening to a statistician, my assistant, the director, the producer and the announcers and we’re trying to tell the story of the game and what’s happening with graphics,” Settles explained.

During the year she mainly works football, basketball and baseball games, but she’s also worked some soccer and a little hockey.

“For the last seven years I’ve even worked the national spelling bee for ESPN. That’s a blast,” she said.

The size of the broadcast determines how many people provide graphics for a game. For instance if it’s a local network showing a baseball or basketball game, Settles explained there is usually only one graphics person working. If it’s an NFL game, there are often two graphics people.

“Super Bowls, World Series, All Star games, finals of anything … generally there are two people doing that job,” she said.

Settles works as a freelancer, meaning she is hired specifically for each event she works and doesn’t just work for one station or network. Sometimes she works here in town, but she also spends a good amount of time traveling to sporting events across the country.

Settles is a sports fan and attended many different events — including track, gymnastics, cycling and boxing — at that first Olympics in Seoul. She even saw diver Greg Louganis win two gold medals.

Now more than 20 years later, she has different priorities when she’s in an Olympic city.

“Now it’s all about seeing the country,” said Settles, who has actually been to London twice before — once working the Wimbledon tennis championships and once while a participant of the 1975 Pilgrimage to Israel.

“It would be nice to see Buckingham Palace and Big Ben,” she said. “It’s been many years since I’ve been there and I’d just like to get reacquainted with London and see what’s different about it.”

Settles’ career has given her the opportunity to travel the world. She stayed in the United States for Olympics in Atlanta (summer 1996) and Salt Lake City (winter 2002). She’s been to Seoul, Korea (1988); Sydney, Australia (summer 2000); Athens, Greece (summer 2004); Beijing, China (summer 2008), and Turin, Italy (winter 2006).

Her favorite country?

“By far it’s Australia,” she said. “I had always wanted to visit there. I worked the crew during the U.S. basketball team’s exhibition tour there before the actual games started and traveled to different cities in Australia for five weeks. I just loved it. The people were just awesome. I’d go back there in a second.”

Running close behind Australia in her list of global favorites is Beijing.

“The Chinese were much more friendly and warmer than I think I expected or most Americans would expect,” she said. “In China I remember walking through one of the neighborhoods. It was a very poor neighborhood and it was very hot there. People were sitting on the steps trying to get cool. I said hello to them in Chinese and their faces just lit up and I didn’t feel uncomfortable anymore. I tried to make a connection and they appreciated it.”

Whenever Settles travels to another country, she makes it a point to learn how to say hello, thank you and your welcome in their native tongues.

“I try to use it as much as I can. I’ve learned if you at least do that much, the people have a completely different attitude toward you and try to be helpful. It’s just awesome,” Settles said.

Settles really enjoyed walking on the Great Wall of China.

“I never thought I would do that,” she said.

Members of the media, Settles explained, do not stay in the Olympic Village with the athletes. Instead they either stay in a media village or a hotel. Since days off are few and far between for Settles during an Olympics, she will “forego some sleep” to actually see the country.

“I like to see things the country is famous for, be it museums or architectural things. I like to wander through the neighborhoods to see what life is really like and try the local food,” she said.

While she’s at the Olympics she will try to find some interesting souvenirs.

“I’m picky. I like to get things that are unique to the country,” she said. “When I was in Australia I bought a lot of Aboriginie prints because you’re not going to find Aboriginie prints very often in the United States.