Comings & Goings
Daniel Klein has been named CEO of Jewish Silicon Valley. He joined the organization in January as chief philanthropy officer and takes over the role filled by interim CEO Scott Kaufman. Klein most recently served as executive director of Israel Bonds for the Pacific Northwest and development director for AIPAC. Klein holds a master’s in public policy with a focus on politics and economics from Pepperdine University and an undergraduate degree from UC Santa Cruz.
“Since day one, Daniel has illustrated his commitment to the future of Jewish Silicon Valley and devoted every day to building relationships that strengthen the very bedrock of this cherished community. … Daniel has helped address some of the common challenges facing our Jewish Community,” said JSV board chair Avery Kaufman.
Honors
Rabbi Stacy Friedman was honored Oct. 27 for her 30 years of service to Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael. She joined the congregation in 1993 and was named senior rabbi in 2003. She previously had posts in New York City, Montana and Victorville, California, outside the Mojave Desert. Friedman has spent the last three years studying at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem as a part of its rabbinic fellows program.
Carol Weitz will be honored with the Judith Chapman Memorial Women’s Leadership Award at the 2023 Ann Bear Memorial Women of Valor event. Weitz, current co-president of J.’s board of directors, established Weitz Medical Management in 2002 after the passing of her husband, Dr. Ernest Weitz. She has also served on the boards of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund and National Women’s Philanthropy.
Happenings
Marin-based filmmaker, author and artist Tiffany Shlain hosted a healing Shabbat Nov. 3 on the National Mall in DC at the four-day installation of “Dendrofemonology: A Feminist History Tree Ring.” Shlain’s sculpture, presented by the National Women’s History Museum and Women Connect4Good, was inspired by living near Muir Woods and rethinking a tree ring timeline through a 50,000-year feminist lens. A large-scale photograph of the sculpture is on view at the de Young open show through Jan. 7.
View this post on Instagram
Three soccer coaches from the Bay Area will be going to the Maccabi Pan American Games in Argentina in December representing the U.S. Gaston Bernstein of Walnut Creek will coach the boys U16 team, Lindsay Kauffman of San Francisco will coach the girls U16 team, and Leo Krupnik of San Francisco will coach the boys U18 team. The teams include athletes from across the U.S. competing against Israel, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Panama, Mexico and other countries.
Judaica artist Aimee Golant collaborated with Islamic artist Nabeela Sajjad to create a fundraiser for Hand in Hand School, a Jerusalem-based network of integrated, bilingual schools for Jewish and Arab children in Israel. Golant and Sajjad designed a metal mezuzah case with Arabic calligraphy that reads “In the Name of God.” Half of the proceeds from sales through Dec. 7 benefit the school.
On Nov. 8, Jewish Community High School’s boys soccer team won the North Coast Section Division III Championships. It was a first for the boys team, and the game was an “all-San Francisco” final against SF Waldorf’s Wolverines at Kezar Stadium.
Philanthropy
KlezCalifornia has announced the first grant recipients from its Yiddish Culture Fund. The fund is part of the Bay Area–based organization’s transition from producing Yiddish culture programs to facilitating and supporting the next generation of Yiddish culture leaders.
Locals who received $1,500 grants were Cookie Segelstein for her workshops “Under the Hood: Using Jewish Archival Materials to Create New Music and Arrangements” and “New Old Klezmer Jam”; Atid Kimelman and Elan Loeb for “Kol: A Retreat for Jewish Music Across the Diaspora,” a multiday Jewish music retreat in the East Bay; and Mike Perlmutter, Bruce Bierman, Zina Pozen and JCC East Bay for the program “The Joy of Jewish Music and Dance.”
The only local winners of $500 grants were Liv Kunins-Berkowitz and Kaya Wurtzel for “Nosh: A Performative Feast” in Oakland. Non-local winners of $500 grants were Jake Schneider for his online presentation and workshop on “How to Build a Yiddish Social Club”; and Raye Holab, Ben Sweet, Daniel Siegel and Staenberg-Loup JCC for KlezKolorado, a new klezmer festival outside of Denver. Schneider’s workshop and KlezKolorado were awarded so that they could be streamed for Bay Area audiences.
Opportunities
Berkeley Moshav, a multigenerational Jewish cohousing community in Berkeley that has been in the works for many years, is hosting a round of online information sessions, including two on Nov. 26 and Dec. 5. The one-hour Zoom meetings are for those interested in the project’s vision, its building plans and/or living in the community-to-be on San Pablo Avenue at Channing Way in West Berkeley. Get more details here.
View this post on Instagram