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.

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London don’t start for another week, but Kansas Citian Roshann Parris is already there leading the U.S. presidential delegation Olympics coordinating team that will manage all aspects of first lady Michelle Obama’s visit.

Parris said the first lady’s visit include representing the United States at the Opening Ceremony, meeting with U.S. athletes competing in London, and through the first lady’s “Let’s Move!” initiative, joining with the delegation to encourage kids to be active in their daily lives.

“The USOC and national governing bodies have committed to providing free or low-cost athletic programming to more than 1.7 million American kids in 2012, as part of this ‘Let’s Move’ effort,” Parris said.

Parris, president and CEO of Parris Communications, a Kansas City-based public relations and marketing communications firm she founded in 1988, has been coordinating events on a presidential scale for almost 30 years. Her first such experience was in 1984 when she joined the advance staff of vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro on the Mondale-Ferraro presidential campaign. During the Clinton administration she accompanied the president and first lady to more than 50 countries.

She has been working with the Obamas since the summer of 2008, when she led a team to Europe to coordinate then-Sen. Barack Obama’s first overseas trip. Since that time, she has served the White House in several capacities, including coordination of the president and first lady’s recent visits to the NATO Summit in Strasbourg, France, Baden-Baden, Germany, and Moscow.

Sometimes uncontrolled anger in children and teens can lead to the one event that parents, teachers, doctors and friends cannot fix — suicide. Lynn Kaufman, who has a master’s degree in social work, has devoted the last 22 years helping children and families talk about their anger, become aware of their angry moods, recognize oncoming anger signs and control their angry behaviors.

“I found the issues around families and children very interesting,” said Kaufman. “I am interested in how relationships among people work. I am interested in children and families learning to control their anger and express it in positive and constructive ways. I am interested in people in a family understanding each other’s anger so that each member of the family has ways to be known and understood.”

This interest first brought her to KVC Behavioral Health Care in Wyandotte County in 1990. The focus of the treatment center was “anger control.” Although the social workers were following a program on anger control developed by Arnold Goldstein, Ph.D., Kaufman decided that something more was needed.

“I decided that children would benefit from a tool that would help them identify their angry moods and escalating anger,” she said. “I developed the Grump Meter and immediately saw how children used it and how it helped them identify their anger and put words and new thoughts to their angry moods.”

She then started using the Grump Meter to teach anger control to families. Families were encouraged to acknowledge anger, frustration and fear connected to aggressive and destructive behaviors.

“To my surprise,” she added, “the parents loved the tool and wanted to use it with their children.”

The Grump Meter can be any size. It is basically a ruler with five categories, blue for calm; green for grumpy; yellow for caution; orange for stop; and red for explosion.

The tool became so helpful that Kaufman and her daughter, Janet Kaufman, Ph.D. decided to write a book.  “The Grump Meter, A Family Tool for Anger Control,” so that many more families could use the techniques to help negotiate and manage their expression of strong feelings in new ways.

“I recognized immediately that the color and the simplicity of the book were very helpful to family understanding of anxiety, sorrow, grief, loss and anger,” said Kaufman. “The children were able to see from colors how they changed feelings during one day. This helped them be aware of where they were on the Grump Meter and to reach the goal of coming back to blue. The goal of the grump meter is to have a blue day and to avoid the ride to red.”

Besides helping children and their parents know where a child is on the Grump Meter, the book also provides ways to bring a child down from the danger zones of orange and red, and move back to the calmer green and blue zones.

Others are also aware of the impact Kaufman has made on the children in Kansas. In April she was honored by the University of Kansas as the 2012 Outstanding KU Social Work Alumna. In her nomination of Kaufman, Hildy Flanigan stated:

“In 2004, KVC opened a licensed hospital for preteens and teens. Lynn was the first social worker on that unit. Most of the children admitted to the hospital came with suicide ideation and/or attempts to end their lives. To help children find the language to understand their own life stories and find reasons to live instead of die, and to help them find language and their own creativity and courage, Lynn turned to literature, writing, group process family dialogue and behavioral approaches, including anger control.”

Kaufman said that 99 percent of children that she sees come in following suicide thoughts, feelings and actions.

“When shown the Grump Meter, they immediately point to red — the area of the most anger. They identify ‘red’ as the mood they were in when they attempted to end their lives,” said Kaufman. “Once they started to drop to orange and yellow and green, they have no thoughts of suicide. That change can take place within hours of admission to the hospital where the ‘work’ begins.”

“What is in their minds when they want to kill themselves?” Kaufman asks. “Why is this day different from all other days?’ The answer is that every child has an answer to the question and describes an issue or a story or a crisis that they cannot solve. They feel hopeless to find answers and in those moments, they see no other way to solve their problems. Once they see options and consider new thoughts, their need to die is decreased. Every single child who survives an attempt to end their lives is glad they are alive.”

Besides her work at KVC, Kaufman has also been an adjunct instructor for the KU School of Social Work and has been a field instructor for students for many years.

She and her husband, Andrew Kaufman, M.D. belong to The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. They are the parents of two daughters and four grandchildren. Two of the grandchildren also contributed to the book with the illustrations: Rachel and Jonah.

The “Grump Meter” is available from Amazon and from Kaufman’s website: www.grumpmeter.com.

MITZVAH GARDEN ON TV — The Mitzvah Garden was featured on 41 Action News Tuesday, July 10. The crops looked pretty sad, but despite the dry conditions and heat, co-chairs Larry Lehman, Ken Sonnenschein and Andrew Kaplan say they are still harvesting loads of produce. To see the TV news report, visit https://scripps.endplay.com/web/kshb/dpp/news/region_kansas/overland_park/bnai-jehudah-jewish-temple-feeds-the-needy-with-vegetable-garden.

THEATRE IN THE PARK PRESENTS ‘URINETOWN’ — Our own Ruth Baum Bigus will be featured as Josephine Strong/Old Woman in Theatre in the Park’s presentation of “Urinetown.” The musical, which is rated PG, runs July 20-22 and July 26-29. Show time is 8:30 p.m.; gates open at 7:30 p.m. The “Urinetown” company and Bob Hamilton have teamed up to help others beyond the footlights with a toilet paper drive. Theatre patrons are asked to bring a four-pack of toilet paper to the Bob Hamilton table and in return, they will receive a small token of thanks. All of the toilet paper will be donated to the non-profit organization Giving the Basics that will be distributed throughout the metro area to those in need of basic dignity products.

ALL-STAR WRAP-UP — I’m sure many members of the Jewish community were excited by the many Major League Baseball All-Star Game activities held here last week. Ellen Wolf, executive assistant to the head of school at HBHA, was one of the lucky ones to be chosen as an official volunteer and had the chance to actually stand on the field at Kauffman Stadium and help out the television crew during a game-day rehearsal. A St. Louis native and a lifelong Cardinals fan, she served as the stand-in for former manager Tony La Russa. Ellen described it this way: “With the All-Star Game intro music playing and the (pre-recorded) voice of Joe Buck announcing the All-Star lineup, the MLB director tapped my shoulder. I climbed the steps out of the National League dugout, onto the dirt and over the grass toward home plate. I was introduced as the manager of the 2011 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals. In a few hours, Tony would walk this same path — his last official walk onto the field as a professional manager. I’m telling you, when the FOX Sports music began and the ceremony started, I got goosebumps, and a little teary-eyed.” As part of the rehearsal, her “punim” (face) was shown on the Crown Vision Scoreboard. She is now officially a member of the MLB All-Star Game Week Volunteer Alumni, making her eligible to volunteer at future All-Star games in other cities.

JVS KICKS OFF SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE — Now is your chance to help refugee children have the best start to the upcoming school year. JVS will be collecting school supplies at the JVS office at 1608 Baltimore, Kansas City, MO 64108 and at the Jewish Community Campus from now until Thursday, Aug. 9. Collection barrels will be placed in the lobbies at both locations. Take advantage of Missouri’s tax-free weekend on Aug. 3-5 to buy lots of school supplies and make a difference in the life of a child! The following items are needed: backpacks, pencils, pens, notebooks, pencil sharpeners, glue, markers, scissors, rulers, pencil bags, crayons and erasers. Questions about this school supply drive may be directed to Martin Okpareke at 816-471-2808 ext. 1117 or .

Like many Jewish communities, Kansas City has a board of rabbis, known here as the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City. The unusual thing about what the rabbis call the RA here is that every rabbi from every congregation — Orthodox, Conservative and Reform — is a member.

“We all think it is unique,” said Rabbi Mark Levin, who has been a rabbi in Kansas City since 1976. He has served as the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Torah since its inception in 1988. He added that Chabad chooses not to participate in the RA, noting that the Lubavitch organization also doesn’t use the word congregation in its description.

Rabbi Levin said the RA hasn’t always been such a cohesive group.

“When I came here in the ‘70s, this was not the case. We have worked hard to make sure that there is an ecumenical understanding and a spirit of cooperation among the different movements and we are a community that can work together,” Rabbi Levin said.

It’s not that rabbis in other communities don’t work together. Rabbi Daniel Rockoff of Congregation BIAV said he has Orthodox colleagues who serve on their respective rabbinical boards.

“Nonetheless, it is apparent that this is a particular value of our Jewish community, to work collaboratively on all levels between synagogues, organizations and rabbis. When I interviewed at BIAV, it was made clear from the leadership that it was expected of their rabbi to serve on the Rabbinical Association. I see this as an opportunity to both serve as the Orthodox voice within the larger community and also work closely with my colleagues on issues of joint interest and concern,” Rabbi Rockoff said.

The RA’s president, Rabbi H. Scott White of Congregation Ohev Sholom, is proud that the local rabbis actually like each other.

“Our meetings have no shortage of good humor and fellowship. We’ve even been known to socialize with each other — across denominations — in leisure time, if you can believe that,” Rabbi White said.

As Rabbi Rockoff explained, at its core the RA is a forum for rabbis from the entire community to meet and discuss issues of common interest and concern.

“In addition, the RA seeks to proactively address certain needs within the Jewish community. In recent years, the RA has taken a more active role in creating educational programming,” he said.

According to Rabbi White, the legacy of cooperation among the rabbis began in the late ’70s. That’s when Kansas City became one of a handful of communities to establish a joint beit din for conversion, comprising rabbis from all three major movements.
“Most community models soon faltered, due to intra-Jewish politics,” he said.  “But at least one such beit din is still in operation — albeit rarely — and it’s right here in Kansas City.”

What does the RA do?

The overall purpose of the RA is to maximize the vitality of Jewish religious life in Kansas City. For instance the RA is credited with creating the local Vaad HaKashruth many years ago and now plays an advisory role in it.  The RA also plays an advisory role with the community mikvah, located at Kehilath Israel Synagogue.

“We also work with the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee to monitor and protect Jewish community interests, such as the growing activity of Hebrew Christians within our Jewish community. Other examples of our myriad of regular business activities include primary supervision of the Jewish Community Chaplaincy and rabbinic liaison by RA members with various local Jewish organizations,” Rabbi White explained.

Throughout the year the RA sponsors an assortment of programs. The programming cycle begins in late summer with the annual education program called Day of Discovery (Aug. 26 at the Jewish Community Campus). A citywide Selichot observance is next (Sept. 8 at Beth Torah), usually followed by community programming for Passover and Shavuot.

The rabbis point to the fact that most of these programs would never get off the ground without the dedicated, professional and tireless efforts of Annette Fish, the RA’s administrator/program director.

“Annette truly breathes life into the organization and brings order and follow-through to the various programs and initiative. Any success of the RA can be attributed in large measure to Annette’s efforts,” Rabbi Rockoff said.

Rabbi Levin believes one of the most important things that has come from this collaboration among the rabbis is the communitywide conversion course, known as the Judaism for Conversion Candidates class presented by the RA. It’s a course where students learn the Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist perspectives.

“People can get a full range of religious experiences through a communal course. I think that’s an important innovation. It wasn’t always that way in this community. Every synagogue had its own conversion course,” Rabbi Levin said.

“The accommodation that we have made is that each rabbi officiates at the actual conversion individually according to his or her own standards, but we educate communally,” he continued.

Facing hurdles

Rabbi Rockoff believes the challenge of the RA in the future will be its ability to continually redefine itself and its mission.

“Creating a venue for rabbis to meet will always be a priority but that is only one goal. If the RA is to be a dynamic and relevant entity within the community, it must continue to look at new and creative ways to fill a niche that only it can,” Rabbi Rockoff said.

Rabbi White said there are three challenges facing the RA and they are all the same: money, money and money.

“We remain most grateful to the funders without whose support we couldn’t exist, to wit, the Jewish Federation, the Jewish Heritage Foundation and the Jewish Community Foundation. Private individuals have stepped forward as well to fund individual programs, for whom we are most grateful. But the truth is that, like many organizations, our financial situation is often quite precarious,” the RA president said.

Rabbi Rockoff agreed.

“What worked before may not be working anymore, or perhaps needs to be modified. As the RA tweaks its goals, new funding sources will have to become available to support those new initiatives,” Rabbi Rockoff said.

Rabbi White noted that funding worries extend much further than simply RA programs and activities.

“Members of our association, to a person, stay abreast of demographic and religious trends among American Jews. Prominent among those trends is an ongoing decline in synagogue affiliation. Many of us see that as writing on the wall for virtually all American Jewish communities of any size. We believe collaboration now will make consolidating congregational resources — historically an anathema in many communities — more do-able, as it becomes necessary later,” Rabbi White said.

The decline in affiliation rates is an issue that greatly concerns Rabbi Levin. He said he’s often hearing people say, “It’s not worth it to me” when it comes to the fees associated with congregation membership. He worries people no longer want to “step up to the plate”  so that we can have a community that knows how to observe Judaism.

“I think the greatest challenge is for people to assume their responsibility as a member of the community,” he said.
Rabbi Levin hopes he doesn’t see a day where Kansas City no longer has the kind of congregations that we have had historically.

“We are at a point now where people need to say ‘I want and am willing to participate in an active Jewish community,’ ” he said. “I think that confronts the Rabbinical Association as leaders of congregations who have to find a way to bring this case before people so that they see what’s happening.”

Personally, Rabbi Levin really wants to be a part of a full-service Jewish community.

“I was once offered a job at a nice congregation in a smaller city. I didn’t want to go because there was no Orthodox community there ... I want to have a full-range Jewish community for myself and my family — an active Orthodox congregation, kashrut, a mikvah, a religious perspective that comes from the Orthodox perspective and not simply Conservative or Reform …

“I think the Kansas City Jewish community needs to confront if having a full-range Jewish community is going to continue to be the case,” Rabbi Levin continued. “Not that Orthodox is in danger here, it’s not. But whether we’re going to continue to have all the full range of services that we’ve offered, I think people are going to have to decide whether they are going to actively be involved in that.”

More information about the Rabbinical Association can be found at kcrabbis.org or contact Annette Fish, Rabbinical Association administrator, or 913-327-4622.

Usually when an Israeli comes to Kansas City for the summer to work at summer camp, it’s to spend time teaching Jewish children about Israel. This summer the Boy Scouts of America are the beneficiaries of the expertise of Israeli Scout Shir Gilo, who is spending the summer as a camp counselor at Camp Naish, a 1,100-acre camp located in Bonner Springs, Kan.

Gilo, 24, is a native of Beit Hashmonay; a small village located about 5 kilometers south of Ramla in central Israel. Beit Hashmonay is under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council, which has a close relationship with the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City and a sister-city relationship with the city of Leawood.

She got connected with the Boy Scouts of America Heart of America Council through Terry Dunn, president and chief executive officer of JE Dunn Construction. Dunn’s wife Peggy Dunn is the mayor of Leawood. He was a member of a delegation from Leawood that traveled to Israel in October 2011 to attend dedication ceremonies for two sites named in honor of Leawood — Leawood Square and Leawood Trail.

While he was in the Jewish state, Dunn, an active volunteer for the Boy Scouts who serves on the national board of directors and is past president of the local board, met with a group of Israeli Scouts, known in Israel as Tzofim. That’s how he met Gilo.

“Shir was a founder of her village’s troop and I mentioned if she had an interest in coming here, my wife and I would be happy to sponsor her,” Dunn said.

Gilo explained she was Dunn’s guide for the visit with the Tzofim.

“He asked me if I wanted to come and see Scouts in the U.S. and I said of course I want to,” Gilo said.

When she completed her army service a couple of years ago, Gilo worked for a year as an Israeli Scout leader. Unlike Scout leaders in the United States, Gilo explained that Scout leaders in Israel are paid professionals, not volunteers.

Gilo is very proud of the Tzofim, the first Zionist youth movement in Israel founded in 1919. While similar to the Boy Scouts of America, its members are both boys and girls and it was the first egalitarian Scouting movement in the world. The Tzofim have about 90,000 members, both Jewish and Arab, in Israel, with more than 160 tribes (troops) in almost 100 cities, towns, moshavim and kibbutzim.

Gilo is a pioneer of sorts because the Tzofim troop in her village was established when she first joined the organization. She said the organization has been very instrumental to her small village.

“I can tell that before the Scouts and after the Scouts the village doesn’t look the same. People are more united, people are now one big family,” she said.

The others that were in her troop are all still very close.

“It’s amazing. It changed my life as well as my brother’s life and my sister’s life. It’s something that’s very, very important in my family,” she said.

Gilo’s father even spent time as a guide for the Tzofim Friendship Caravan, a group of Israeli Scouts that travels throughout North America each summer as emissaries, sharing their lives in Israel through song, dance and story. A Tzofim Friendship Caravan has stopped in Kansas City several times during the past few years.

So Gilo jumped at Dunn’s offer to spend a hot summer in Kansas.

“I wanted to come to the U.S. because I like to see other cultures, even though the U.S. and Israel are similar in a lot of things,” she said.

Not long after Gilo met Dunn, she quit her job as a Scout leader to travel with another friend she met in Tzofim who was a troop leader in Gezer. It’s not uncommon for Israelis to travel in between military service and attending college.

“I spent four months in the east (including Kathmandu, Nepal),” she said. “When I came to the United States it’s really two sides of the world.”

Gilo is a part of a counselor exchange program that’s in place at Camp Naish. Last year the camp hosted counselors from Taiwan and in the past have had counselors from the Czech Republic.

As a member of the pool staff, Gilo gives swimming lessons and helps the boys earn the swimming merit badge.

“I teach them all the things you need to know in the water … swimming, how to save people in the water and how to save yourself.”

She really enjoys working with kids one-on-one.

“The best is when you have a kid who is afraid of the water who then has a smile on his face after he learns to float,” she said.
“In the end he went from being terrified to having a huge smile on his face. That was my best day here so far,” she continued.

Gilo is enjoying her time at Camp Naish.

“The people are amazing. Everybody is so happy. They like to help and want me to feel at home all the time. It’s amazing.

They help me make my work here amazing,” she said.

Dunn said he and the mayor were glad to underwrite Gilo’s job at Camp Naish this summer. He believes it’s been a positive experience for everyone.

“I’m getting great reviews from all,” Dunn said.

Gilo will be at Camp Naish until it ends on Aug. 6. She will fly home a couple of days later.

She has had a few days off here and there, but basically she is at Camp Naish all the time. Before camp began she spent time with two host families and toured the local sites including the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum and the Jewish Community Center.

Ironically, one of the two shlichot working at the JCC this summer, Paz Riecher, is Gilo’s cousin.

“It’s funny, I never met her in Israel. I met another cousin when I was in India and she told me that her cousin would be here,” Gilo said.

Since she’s been at Camp Naish, she’s been inducted into the Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s National Honor Society. Its mission is to fulfill its purpose as an integral part of the Boy Scouts of America through positive youth leadership under the guidance of selected capable adults.

“It was a really impressive ceremony. It was very, very special for me,” Gilo said.

She’s enjoyed comparing the Scouting system of the two countries.

“It’s different than in Israel. The basic main goals are the same but how you get it is different and its’ very interesting to see how the Scouts work here,” she said.

When she completes her time at Camp Naish, she will become a student at Jerusalem University. She plans to study Bible and Judaism.

In the future, Gilo hopes to continue working in some capacity with the Scouts.

“I really, really, really love it,” she said. “They need adults who can help them and direct them what to do. They helped me understand things about myself.”

It’s Mark Katzman’s first time at the Kansas City Fringe Festival, but he’s not attending as part of the audience. He’s the author of one of the 168 acts.

The play is called “Crisscross” and delves into the complicated relationship and love triangle among a woman and two men.

“It’s really about the way their lives and relationships crisscross and the little things they say to each other crisscross to their other relationships. Not only are the two men friends but the woman ends up being involved with both of them,” Katzman said.
Katzman said the play is not appropriate for younger children but that adults and teenagers might appreciate it.

The Fringe will be the play’s debut, although Katzman saw “Crisscross” performed as a staged reading in 2006 at the Downeast Arts Center in New York City while he was a playwright in residence there.

“It’s very heartening to have actors bring the words to life. The writer is very isolated … they bring things that you wouldn’t necessarily have thought of. Actors really bring in energy and emotion and nuance that might be there in the page but (doesn’t show) until someone embodies it,” Katzman said.

Originally from Kansas City, Katzman now lives in Vermillion, S.D., with his partner, Sara Henning. Although he has written art books before, playwriting is a different experience for Katzman — not one for the faint of heart, he says.

“If it’s not a passion, it’s really better to stay away. It’s not for everyone. If you have that writing spark, it’s something you’ll do forever,” he said.

Last year, Katzman attended United States Fringe Festival Conference in Minneapolis, where he met the KC Fringe Festival’s executive director, Cheryl Kimmi.

“In visiting with him I could tell he is a writer with original thoughts who’s not afraid to challenge and push the traditional norms,” Kimmi said. “We encourage people to put thought-provoking material out there. It’s much more than entertainment; the arts can be a catalyst for change.”

Katzman is excited to return to his hometown.

“It seemed like a great opportunity, not just to see my family but to start to enter the Kansas City theater life. There really is quite a vibrant scene in Kansas City,” Katzman said.

Katzman said his play uses language in unusual ways, making veiled references to issues but not spelling them out.

“My roots are in Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett, so there are humorous uses of pauses and silence to get certain emotional feelings across. There is a story, so you can follow the story, but it sometimes doesn’t go in an exact linear way,” he said.
He got the idea for the play from observing everyday conversations among the people around him.

While it’s Katzman’s first time seeing one of his plays performed on stage, he has another first to celebrate as well — his directorial debut.

“I have certain ideas I want to get across in certain rhythms and gestures. I like to have the idea of improv in there as well. I don’t think two shows will ever exactly be alike,” he said.

The Fringe Festival is not like other venues. All the plays at the festival, which is unjuried, run 60 minutes unless otherwise noted, and set changes can only take 10 minutes. Last year, the festival attracted about 15,500 attendees.

Three local actors, Sarah Pinzl, Sam Cordes and Kyle Dyck, will perform the show.

“I think this affords them a chance to do alternative theater. It’s not the typical production for a dinner theater or anything like that. At the Fringe Festival, you will have a gathering of a wild variety of entertainments; that’s what I think is exciting to people who understand fringe concepts,” Katzman said.

Other acts at the festival will include Here Be Zombies!, Kansas City Magic Cabaret and Surrender Dorothy.

Fun at the Fringe

All Fringe Festival attendees must purchase a festival badge for $5. Play tickets are separate; buy “Crisscross” tickets for $5 by calling 816-359-9195. Performances of “Crisscross” are at 11 p.m. July 21, 3:30 p.m. July 22 and July 26, and 8 p.m. July 28 at the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, 3614 Main in Kansas City, Mo. The festival runs July 19 to 29. There will be a free opening night party at 6:30 p.m. July 19 at the KC Rep's Spencer Theatre.

Looking for books to put on your summer reading list? Lawrence, Kan., resident and Kansas Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg just published “The Divorce Girl,” (Ice Cube Press). In fact she just received copies — boxes and boxes of them in fact — on Monday.

The author describes the book as a coming of age story focused on a teenage photographer who finds ways to survive and thrive through her art, an eccentric community and her own curiosity. She said she wrote “The Divorce Girl” out of her own experience growing up in a very tolerant and hands-on Jewish community in Central New Jersey during the hardest time of her life.

“I navigated the uncertainty, violence, fear and loss of family during this time through my involvement in my temple and through long talks with my youth group adviser as well as amazing experiences in my youth group, JFTY and NFTY,” Mirriam-Goldberg said.

She said the book is full of Jewish content.

“I’m not just talking about my main character’s involvement in her synagogue, but what seem to be vital Jewish values: how we see our work as so connected to tikkun olam, making life out of a broken world and how much we value community, facing difficult situations directly, asking for and providing help, and creating art, literature and new learning out of whatever life gives us,” the author said.

She is the child of divorce, but the book is not about her specifically.

“I took the frame of what I lived, but I inserted all new characters. So it was difficult and wonderful and inevitable altogether.

It’s something that I started writing a very long time ago and it’s something that I always knew that I would write,” Mirriam-Goldberg said.

When divorce came to her family, Mirriam-Goldberg said she began narrating what was happening to her in her own head.

“I became a writer during that time, that’s when I first started writing like a maniac after years of drawing like a maniac. I just knew every moment that I’m going to write a novel about this one day,” she said.

She believes it’s good that she didn’t try to write the novel when she was still a teenager.

“I waited until I had enough distance that I could really look at what would be the purpose of a book like this and what could this book give readers,” she said, adding that she wanted it to be a story that could resonate with people and have some meaning.

This may be Mirriam-Goldberg’s first novel, but she’s written a total of 14 books including “The Sky Begins at Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community, and Coming home to the Body,” which was a Starred Book by Library Journal. Her books also include four collections of poetry and the anthologies: “An Endless Skyway: Poetry from the State Poets Laureate (co-editor) and “Begin again: 150 Kansas Poems” (editor). She is also the founder of Transformative Language Arts — a master’s program in social and personal transformation through the written, spoken and sung word — at Goddard College where she teaches.

In addition, Mirriam-Goldberg facilitates community writing workshops, and with singer Kelley Hunt, Brave Voice writing and singing retreats.

Her next book “Needle in the Bone: How a Holocaust Survivor and Polish Resistance Fighter Beat the Odds and Found Each Other,” is the true story of Lou Frydman, a Holocaust survivor and Lawrence resident who passed away in January, and Jarek Piekalkiewicz. It is based on extensive oral histories with each of them.

“That is a book that I wrote simply because I’m friends with both families. I was spending time with all of them together and I kept hearing about these two men and their remarkable friendship and what they’ve been through and the next thing I knew I was offering to do it and they were saying yes. That comes out in mid-November and will be published by Potomac Books,” Mirriam-Goldberg said.

What type of writing does she like best?

“That’s like being asked which child you like best,” said Mirriam-Goldberg who came to Lawrence almost 30 years ago after she fell in love with a man from the River City. She’s been an active member of the Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation and plays cello in its monthly all musical service, Shiray Shabbat.

“Whatever I’m doing I’m in love with and engrossed with. That’s not to say that I don’t struggle at times and have to pull back and take a look at things from other angles or put it away for years, but I pretty much love everything that I’m working on,” she continued.

Both of her parents, her father is now deceased, gave their blessings when she chose to write the book.

“I started this book 17 years ago and I did talk to my father about it and told him I was writing a book that fictionalizes the divorce. He said, ‘I always knew you would do that,’ and he had no problem with it,” she said. “He said write what you want.”
She has sent her mother drafts of the book.

“About a year ago I sent her the whole thing. I said let me know if there is anything in here that strikes too close to home, even though the mother in the book is completely fictionalized and very, very different from my own mother. She was totally fine with it. I felt like because there is a similar emotional resonance to real people I needed to go that path and give these real people a heads up as much as I could,” Mirriam-Goldberg said.

She was appointed Kansas Poet Laureate in 2009 by then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, where she promoted literary arts through the Kansas Arts Commission. However Gov. Sam Brownback eliminated funding for the commission last year.

“I have been continuing on since that was dissolved and I’m going to continue on until we can anchor the program to a new organization and go through the process of choosing another Poet Laureate,” she said.

She hopes the novel will resonate with people who have had big challenges in their lives.

“I’ve worked with quite a few people with serious illness through Turning Point in Kansas City and generally lead writing groups for people who are on the margins in one way or another. Everybody has their story, has something they’ve lived through that seemed impossible at the time. I see this book as something that will hopefully uplift readers and inspire them with how in one story one person finds a way to transform her life through making something and through connecting with community. Those are the kinds of stories I love to read, the films I love to watch. I really see this book as putting out there in the world just another song along those lines of how we can find one another and make something of our lives.”

“The Divorce Girl” can be purchased online at www.icecubepress.com or at an independent book store.

‘The Divorce Girl’ launches in Lawrence

The Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation will host a reading, celebration and Havdalah service in honor of “The Divorce Girl,” Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg’s debut novel, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 14. The Raven Bookstore will sell copies of the book, at a 10 percent discount, that evening. The LJCC is located at 917 Highland Drive, Lawrence, KS 66044.

HELPING AMERICAN SOLDIERS — Kehilath Israel Synagogue is collecting items for United States’ soldiers in remote areas overseas. Rabbi Mandl announced this project from the pulpit recently in honor of member Larisa Shenkar’s son Geni, who was seriously injured in Afghanistan. Items can be placed in the collection box in K.I.’s lobby. (Items should not be dropped off on Shabbat.) Money is also needed. Checks should be made payable to VFW Post 7397; note on the check’s memo line Platoons Forward Project.

Here’s the wish list:

Hygiene Items: Wipes, soap, razors, shaving cream, etc.
Prepared Foods: Microwave popcorn, Cup-of-Soup, Ramen noodles, jerky, canned fruit, soups and chili (with pop-top lids), various spices and seasonings, coffee/tea packets.
Snacks: Mixed nuts, dried fruit, trail mix, power bars, fruit bars, sunflower seeds in shells.
Candy: Gum, hard candy, gummy bears, Skittles.
Hand Warmers

GAN IZZY CHAI-A-THON — Campers at Camp Gan Israel Day Camp are participating this month in an unusual fundraiser for Chai Lifeline.

A national organization that helps families of children diagnosed with life threatening or lifelong illness, Chai Lifeline encourages Jewish campers from around the country to participate in an “a-thon” fundraiser. Most camps take on swimming, bowling or even dancing.

But the 2 to 11 year olds attending Camp Gan Izzy this summer will be taking on a new challenge: A Mitzvah-A-Thon.
CGI campers are raising money through pledges for performing mitzvot — from helping out mom and dad, to cleaning up their room, to getting along with their siblings!

“I love it,” says parent Mara Strom Sachs, whose three children — Avinoam Sachs, age 9, Matan Sachs, age 6, and Nili Sachs, age 3 — attend Camp Gan Izzy. “My kids are asking me all day, ‘What can we do to help you, Mommy? Why don’t you sit down and we’ll get you a cool drink.’ ”

Children can win prizes, including a trip to Israel, for monies raised. (The trip to Israel is only for those that raise $3,500 or more.)

The entire community is invited to join in a celebration BBQ picnic at 5 p.m. Sunday July 15, at the Torah Learning Center.
Party-goers on the 15th can further the cause through a silent auction on artwork created by the CGI campers.

There is a charge for the event, which includes dinner, crafts and games. For more information and to RSVP, contact event chair Amy Jacobson at 913-909-3408 or visit cgichai.eventbrite.com.

CHECK OUT THESE APPS — the Weizmann Institute of Science has announced the launch of two new applications for iPad and Android tablet devices — one for its quarterly Hebrew magazine Hamachon, and another for its online Interface magazine (English). These are among the very first digital magazines in Israel. These easy-to-read quarterly magazines are geared toward the general public, featuring cutting-edge news and discoveries from the Weizmann Institute of Science, including a diverse range of topics from cancer to genetics, astrophysics, alternative energy, computer science, archaeology and more. These digital editions provide an enhanced reading experience with added interactivity, as well as offering extra content including images, videos, podcasts and even songs and poetry readings. The apps are available free to download and subscribe to from the iTunes App Store and Google Play.

FORBIDDEN FRUIT? — Add this to the “now I’ve heard everything file”: JNS.org reports that an Islamic group said tomatoes are forbidden to eat because they are a “Christian food,” according to a report on NowLebanon.com.

The “Popular Egyptian Islamic Association” posted on Facebook that the tomato “praises the cross instead of Allah,” claiming that the interior of a tomato resembles a cross when the tomato is cut in half.

Additionally, the group cited “a sister from Palestine who saw the Prophet of Allah in a vision and he was crying, warning his nation against eating [tomatoes].”