Masorti Olami News
In This Issue
Tale of a Torah
In brief ...
Short news stories from around the world
New Shlicha to UK

Avigail Shapira recently arrived in London to start her term as Shlicha to the Masorti movement in the UK. Avigail has a life-long affiliation with the Masorti movement, having been involved with the Ramot Zion kehillah in Jerusalem, NOAM in Israel as well as working with MAROM Olami. In the UK, Avigail will work with Masorti kehillot as well as MAROM and NOAM. Behatzlacha (Good luck).
Kehillot in Belgium & France join Masorti Europe
We are proud to announce that 3 new kehillot have joined the Masorti family in Europe. These are: St. Germain en Laye near Paris in France, La Schule in Paris, and Chir Hadach (pronounced Shir Chadash) in Brussels, Belgium - www.chirhadach.org
We extend a warm Bruchim Haba'im (welcome) to all of these new kehillot and their members.

Masorti-MERCAZ Australia is formed
Masorti Australia
Last month saw the formal establishment of the Masorti-MERCAZ organization in Australia. The organization's board is to be made up from members of Masorti kehillot in Melbourne and Sydney. John Furstenberg will serve as President, and Eric Lundberg as Vice President of the organization which will be the official voice of the Masorti movement in Australasia. Mazal tov and Behatzlacha to all.
Go to www.masortiaustralia.org.au
 for more information.
News articles highlight growth in France & UK
Recent news articles in the Jewish press have highlighted the growth and challenges for the Masorti movement in both France and the UK.
"I believe the Masorti movement has a future in France," says Rabbi Rivon Krygier in one of the articles. "But it will be a very big battle." Read the full article here.
Read 'European Conservatives, the new kids on the block, making strides' on JTA's website here.

100 Voices
100 Voices
100 Voices: A Journey Home" is a new compelling and moving musical documentary that uniquely tells the history of Jewish culture in Poland.  It highlights the current resurgence of Jewish culture in Poland through the personal reflections and musical selections of a group of cantors from the Cantors Assembly who organized a trip there earlier this year.
100 Voices is airing at selected cinemas in the US this week ! Check www.100voicesmovie.com for details.

US Ambassador Katz joins Masorti kehillah in Portugal

Recently appointed as United States Ambassador to Portugal, Mr Allan Katz and his wife Ms. Nancy Cohn have joined the Beit Israel Masorti kehillah in Lisbon, Portugal. We are sure that the kehillah will make them feel most welcome !
Masorti Olami projects are supported by
World Zionist Org
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September 2010  |  Tishrei 5771
Shana TovaShana Tova & Chag Same'ach
With the new year 5771 now upon us, and the period of our most intense soul-searching and repentance just passed, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy, prosperous and peaceful new year. I hope that 5771 will be a year full of personal and spiritual development for all of you, as well as a year of meaningful progress and development for the entire Masorti movement. Around the world, our enormous team of dedicated volunteers and professionals continue to reach new heights for our movement, in both scope and scale. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their hard work of the past and present year, and pray that our achievements in 5771 will be just as worthy as those of last year. With Succot about to start, I also wish you a Chag Succot Same'ach, and as you gather in Succot either private or communal, I hope that you rejoice both in the spirit of the festival, and in the strength and unity of the worldwide Masorti movement.

Rabbi Tzvi Graetz

Executive Director, Masorti Olami & MERCAZ Olami
Apple & HoneySpiritual Leaders for High Holidays
Once again, Masorti Olami has supported the visits of Rabbis and Cantors to lead services at Masorti kehillot during Rosh Hashanah and/or Yom Kippur. This year Rabbi Lionel Levy traveled from Israel to lead services in St. Germain en Laye near Paris, France; Rabbi Carlos Tapiero traveled once again from Israel to lead services at Kehillat Beth Shalom in Alicante, Spain; Rabbi David Soetendorp traveled from the UK to Almere near Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Dr Leon Litvack traveled from Ireland to Kehillat Aviv in Valencia, Spain. We are sure that all of these spiritual leaders added tremendous meaning and value to the High Holiday experiences in these kehillot.
Evening of Tribute 2010
Evening of Tribute 2010
As we announced last month, our annual Evening of Tribute will take place on Sunday, November 14th at JTS in New York City, starting at 5pm. This year, we are honoring Rabbi Zachary Heller z"l, Hazzan David Propis and Mr Peter Miller for their outstanding contributions to Jewish life and the worldwide Masorti movement. Please visit www.masortievent.org for full information about the event, the honorees and to find out how you can take part in paying tribute to these great leaders of our movement. We hope to see you there !
Succot Festival at Beit Hatfutsot
Beit Hatfutsot (The Diaspora Museum) in Tel Aviv is hosting a Family Festival during Succot. Between September 26th and 28th you are invited to a free festival of music, theater, outdoor events, arts 'n crafts, and for an exhibition of Succot showcasing a wide variety of international Jewish organizations. Masorti Olami will be there with an interactive succah (pictured right) highlighting the strengths and diversity of our worldwide movement. If you are in Tel Aviv or the surrounding area during Succot, please pay us a visit, and bring your children - we have really fun activities with great prizes. Click here for more info on the festival. Chag Succot Sam'each everyone !
NOAM Olami seminarBuilding NOAM Olami
One of our major goals for 5770 was to start the process of establishing NOAM Olami - a worldwide network of Masorti youth organizations. NOAM Olami will serve as a unifying force and create significant bonds between Masorti youth around the world. In June, 12 representatives from Masorti youth organizations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Israel, UK and the USA attended our first NOAM Olami Leadership Seminar which took place in Jerusalem (picture right). Our next Leadership Seminar is due to take place in London at the start of December, and we are excited that representatives from these 7 different countries will attend. For more information about NOAM Olami, go to www.noamolami.org
Lech Lecha programAnother record year for Lech Lecha - long term Israel program
Following the tremendous success of the Lech Lecha program in 5770, MAROM Olami is expecting more than 120 participants on its tailor-made 5-10 month program in Israel. This represents a 10% increase from previous years. Masorti participants aged 18 to 30 come to Israel from all around the Latin American region and spend their time volunteering, studying Hebrew, engaging in a wide range of educational and fun activities, as well as living throughout Israel with young Masorti Jewish peers. The newly formed Makor program for Masorti young adults from English speaking countries offers a similar tailor-made Israel experience. For more information about Lech Lecha click here, and for Makor, click here.
Anti-Semitic grafiti in Chile
Anti-Semitism in Chile
Last month saw a rise in Anti-Semitic activity in Chile, with Jewish communal sites in both Santiago and Concepcion targeted. Racist and Anti-Semitic graffiti was found on walls and entrances of several synagogues, with slogans in both Spanish and German urging Jews to leave. We continue to offer support to our Masorti kehillot and members in Chile, and join them in condemning these acts which violate the freedom for religious expression. Click here to watch (in Spanish) a news clip about these events from Chile's Channel 13.
TorahTale of a Torah
Many people were involved in the 3,600 mile journey; unexpected delays and challenges made the journey even longer. But finally, a torah donated by Temple Shaare Tefilah in Norwood, MA arrived in Alicante, Spain in time to be dedicated at a special Shabbat in Kehillat Beth Shalom. Pictured right are Rabbi Chaim Weiner (Masorti Europe Director), Armando Azubel (Kehillah President) and Rabbi Carlos Tapiero (visiting Rabbi) with the torah in Alicante. Click here to read the full tale of this traveling torah.
www.masortiworld.org
Don't forget that our website is the premier resource for information about Masorti kehillot around the world, as well as news and pictures about the many different projects and campaigns we support.

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