SCHWARTZ BROTHERS CHEER ON ROYALS IN KC — Last week there was no shortage of Jewish baseball fans in the stands at Kauffman Stadium for the American League Championship Series and no doubt that will be the case this week for the World Series games.
{mprestriction ids="1"}Two of those fans were Yoni (age 25) and Naftali Schwartz (27), the brothers from Israel we told you about in the Oct. 9 edition. They moved to Hashmonaim in 2000 and wanted to see the Royals play in the playoffs so badly they launched a fundraising campaign to help them get here on gofundme.com. Last week Yoni told me they raised about $1,700 through this site from friends and strangers, and another $1,800 from relatives and friends in Israel. In a whirlwind few days, each brother took out a small loan and made plans to visit K.C. Three flights, 24 hours and 7,000 miles after they started their journey, the brothers arrived here on Oct. 12 to see their beloved Royals. The rainout didn’t dampen their spirits and they had tickets for both games in KC. In a word, it was "unbelievable."
Both brothers are very thankful to all who helped them achieve this dream.
"We couldn’t have done it without the generosity and the passion everyone had to help us out. It made our dream come true and from the bottom of our hearts we want to thank everyone," Yoni said.
Several news outlets picked up their story. Our friend and colleague Maayan Jaffe wrote about the Schwartzes for JNS.org. The local NBC affiliate, KSHB-TV, interviewed them while they were still in Israel. MLB.com also interviewed the brothers at the K.
Naftali, known for being a man of few words, added that being back here with the friends he grew up with was also amazing.
"All the support we’ve gotten has meant so much to us to live our dream and be here for the Royals," Naftali said.
They returned to Israel on Monday. We’re hoping their dreams to see the Royals become World Series champs once again, and ours, come true!
MEMORIAL PLAQUE TO BE DEDICATED — Sol Koenigsberg, executive director emeritus of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, has graciously donated a plaque to be installed at the Jewish Community Campus honoring the leaders who planned and built the Campus, which opened in October 1988 and was a project of the Jewish Federation. The plaque will be dedicated at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, at the Campus. Those whose names are on the plaque and their family members have been invited to the dedication ceremony. Members of the current Federation board of directors will also be in attendance. The ceremony is open to the community as well.
COMEDIAN FEATURED IN NEW TV SERIES — K.C.-area native Corey Rittmaster will be a featured player in "How to Be A Grown Up," which debuts at 8:30 p.m. local time Tuesday, Oct. 28, on TruTV (check your local cable listings for the channel number). Rittmaster says it’s a new comedy series that will feature some great comedians talking about life for people in their 30s and 40s. Rittmaster is one of a group of actors who will perform sketches illustrating some of the points the comedians are making. He commented on Facebook that he is very excited about the opportunity. Stay tuned, we should have a full report from Rittmaster in the near future.
NEW HEBREW INITIATIVE BEGINNING — Tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 24, is the first day for a new community Hebrew reading experience taught by Israeli Orit Kamara. This four-week pilot class will be held from 11 to 11:50 a.m. at the Jewish Community Campus in Club Room 3. The cost is $5 per session. The emphasis will be on practicing Hebrew reading skills. The group will use/acquire basic vocabulary and cover topics including family, colors and numbers. For more information/questions, contact Orit Kamara at or call 913-484-3383.
PROGRAM POSTPONED — Last week, an article in the Listening Post alerted our readers of a possible change in the time or date for "Trial of the Propagandists," the eighth and final program in the State of Deception Wednesday Evening Speaker Series. As it turned out, Professor Harry Reicher was unable to travel to Kansas City due to medical reasons. The Midwest Center for Holocaust Education plans to reschedule the program and will notify The Chronicle and those on MCHE’s e-blast list once a new date is confirmed.{/mprestriction}