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Israel on his mind

Speaking at a meeting of the Marin Jewish Community Relations Council, State Assemblyman Jared Huffman said that on his first trip to Israel last November, he was “blown away that you could see Jordan from Jerusalem.” The trip, he said, was “seared in my brain.” Aside from the usual tourist sites, they visited Ashkelon where they saw the world’s largest desalination plant. At the Lebanese border, the group had an inspirational meeting with the parents of kidnapped Israeli soldier Udi Goldwasser. Huffman’s trip was sponsored by JCRC. Nancy Goldberg of Tiburon and Anita Friedman, executive director of Jewish Family and Children’s Services, were also a part of the trip.

Will this night be different?

Chef Jan Birnbaum is back in town as the co-owner of Epic Roasthouse, a new restaurant on San Francisco’s Embarcadero. Before leaving for a multiyear Seattle gig, he had great second-night seders at his Calistoga restaurant, Catahoula. In a j. story on a Passover past, he shared several recipes, including “Chopped Liver Jan’s Way,” and credited his mother Judith and aunts Ruth and Sarah for instilling memories of special Passover dinners. Wonder if Birnbaum plans to continue his seder tradition at Roasthouse? P.S. Google “Passover at Catahoula” for the full story as well as the recipe, which calls for marinating the chicken livers in brandy and chopped herbs for two days.

Making news

Lorry Lokey, who founded Business Wire, a service that provides information to newspapers, has donated $3 million to Stanford University to build a new home for the Stanford Daily, the student newspaper. A 1946 graduate of Stanford who was a journalist before starting Business Wire, Lokey originally donated $2 million, then surprised the university with an offer to match additional gifts up to $1 million.

Laughter heals

The Bay Area Jewish Healing Center will honor Ginny Lawrence of Ross at the group’s “Evening of Laughter and Love” on March 5 at the Four Seasons Hotel. A BAJHC board member, Lawrence’s Jewish involvements include the ADL and the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation where she serves on the Endowment Committee and is leader in the Marin Women’s Alliance. Emerald Yeh of San Francisco will emcee and comedian and author Greg Behrendt (he wrote the book “He’s Just Not That Into You”) will provide the laughs. Neal Tandowsky of San Mateo chairs the BAJHC advisory board.

Short shorts …

Matt Tuchow of San Francisco was named commissioner of the S.F. Commission on the Environment …JFCS’ Anita Friedman was appointed to the City’s Human Services Commission … Natalie Berg of San Francisco was elected vice president of the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees, on which she has served since 1996. Berg was twice named one of the “100 Most Influential Women in the San Francisco Bay Area” by San Francisco Business Journal.

AIPAC San Francisco director Valerie Porush reports that two new members have joined the San Francisco office. Emily Blanck of Moraga, formerly director of JIMENA (Jewish Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa), is the leadership management director and Lauren Karp of San Francisco is assistant area director. Beata Shneyer has been promoted to South Bay leadership management.

This columnist can be reached at [email protected].