Emanu-El tour to air on TV

On-demand cable station Shalom TV will present a grand tour of San Francisco’s Congregation Emanu-El, hosted by Emanu-El Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan. The program airs Aug. 24 through Aug. 30 and is available locally on Comcast’s free video option.

Emanu-El is the oldest Jewish congregation west of the Mississippi. Its current synagogue on Lake Street, known for its 150-foor-high dome, was dedicated in 1926 and is a historical landmark.

Shalom TV is carried free via Comcast. For more information, go to www.shalomtv.com.

S.F. Voice for Israel expands into E. Bay

San Francisco Voice for Israel has expanded its counterprotests against Bay Area Women in Black’s anti-Israel rallies.

Voice for Israel supporters now gather every Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theater and from noon to 1 p.m. every Friday at Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, the sites of regular Women in Black protests.

Voice for Israel’s Dan Kliman says the Berkeley protests can get “nasty and noisy,” much like the monthly Women in Black rallies at the S.F. Montgomery BART stop.

“In Oakland it’s been really productive,” he says. “We have had great discussions with passers-by pretty consistently. We hand out informational fliers. People want to correct misconceptions.”

Kliman adds that Women in Black, a radical pro-Palestinian group, tried to get the Oakland police to shut down the Voice for Israel counterprotests because they claimed “we were confusing their message.” The police denied the group’s request.

“We’ll be there as long as they’re there,” Kliman said.

For more information, or to volunteer to stand with Voice for Israel, go to www.sfvoiceforisrael.org, or send an e-mail to [email protected]

Victory for survivors of Nazi siege

The San Francisco Jewish Family and Children’s Services and the Claims Conference have scored a monetary victory for survivors of the Nazi siege of Leningrad.

The German government has agreed to provide a one-time payment of € 2,556 (about $3,810) to certain Jewish victims of the siege in the former Soviet Union. While émigrés from the former Soviet Union have received restitution previously, never before has funding been made available to those who survived or were displaced by the Nazis’ 1941-43 Leningrad siege.

The JFCS has set up a hotline to aid individuals in assessing their eligibility at (415) 449-2913.

Napa synagogue shares the fruits of its labor

Congregation Beth Sholom of Napa is playing host to the Napa Valley community at a Harvest Fair on Sept. 7.

The fair, set to take place from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on the synagogue’s grounds, is open to the public and will include Israeli dancing, food and children’s games in the pool. In addition, there will be a garden exchange in which people are invited to bring their homegrown produce and exchange it with fruits and vegetables grown by the synagogue’s members.

The fair at Beth Sholom, 1455 Elm St., Napa, is $10 for adults and $5 for children younger than 10. Admission includes a barbecue lunch and dessert. For details, visit www.cbsnapa.org.

Honey purchases will benefit needy Israelis

Celebrating the High Holy Days with a jar of honey can help a family in Israel celebrate as well.

By purchasing honey made on Kibbutz Yad Mordechai on the Ashkelon coast, a needy family in the area also will receive a jar, thanks to the People to People with Israel (P2P) partnership with the Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay.

P2P pairs 28 regions in Israel with more than 100 communities and federations throughout the world, including the East Bay federation. The pairing works to fund projects focused on teen empowerment, education and economic development.

To purchase a $20 jar of Yad Mordechai honey, call (510) 839-2900 ext. 256 by Sept. 15. The jars will be available for pickup Sept. 18 to 25 at the Jewish Community Federation of the Great East Bay in Oakland, the JCC of the East Bay in Berkeley or the Contra Costa JCC in Walnut Creek. For more information, e-mail Marilyn Kinch at [email protected]

Scholarship available for high school Israel program

The Jewish National Fund is accepting applications for one $5,000 merit-based fellowship to a student attending the Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI) during the December 2008 to January 2009 session.

AMHSI is an eight-week educational program for high school juniors and seniors from the United States. To be eligible for the fellowship, students must already be accepted to AMHSI and must raise at least $360 through JNF’s Plant Your Way to Israel program.

The deadline to apply is Oct. 6. For more information e-mail [email protected]