Coming up: Ethnic flavors, book club and a women's symposium
Now that the holidays are over, many organizations are holding large community events. No comments yet. You can be the first!
Here’s a sample of what’s coming up in the next few weeks:
‘Ethnic Flavors of Israel’
The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix and the New Israel Center are hosting “Ethnic Flavors of Israel: An Interactive Culinary Experience” at several locations throughout the Valley, Oct. 27-30.
Seven women from the Phoenix TIPS Partnership region of Kiryat Malachi in Israel will share flavors and traditions of their native cultures — Morocco, Yemen, Ethiopia, Iraq and Uzbekistan. The TIPS Partnership is made up of the Jewish communities of Tucson, Israel (Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon), Phoenix and Seattle.
The program kicked off this morning, with the federation’s Women’s Philanthropy event, which included a cooking demonstration, an herbal remedy demonstration and lunch. Through the rest of the week, participants can enjoy the variety of foods — all kosher — and stories about the women’s experiences. Wednesday brings a simulated henna wedding ceremony and on Friday night, a Shabbat dinner.
Click here for details about this week’s "Ethnic Flavors" programs.
Here’s a little background on the speakers/cooks:
Mazal Caravani
Mazal was born in 1945 on the side of a creek as her family was secretly leaving Yemen in a convoy with other villagers, on a journey to make aliyah. Once the reached their destination of Aden, they were unable to get on the plane to Palestine and were forced to return to Yemen, where they stayed until she was 3; the family made aliyah at the beginning of 1949.
After a year and a half, her family was given permanent housing in Beersheva. “Etched in my memory is the amazing sight of the crane lowering the new house onto its foundation,” she writes in her bio. “My father and all his new neighbors with tears of joy and happiness recited the Shechiyanu blessing for allowing us to reach this day.”
She taught for many years and has six children and 18 grandchildren. Throughout her life, she has been involved with volunteering for youth movements and in schools.
Sima Kadori
Simi, one of 10 children, was born in Casablanca, Morocco. Her father was a well-respected tailor who made clothes for royalty and the rich. When her mother gave birth and came home afterward, she had servants who cooked and did the laundry for her: In those days, women were forbidden from getting out of bed for 40 days so they could take care of the baby without being bothered by household chores. After spending six months in France when she was 1, the family reached Ashkelon, Israel, where they lived in shacks of plasterboard. Then they moved to Kiryat Malachi to an asbestos apartment with many other immigrants.
“Our home was very warm, imbued with values and love for humanity and pride in the State of Israel,” she writes in her bio.
For 35 years, Sima taught kindergarten and worked with preschool teachers, teaching them how to work with special needs children. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and took courses in museum art and storytelling for adults. She retired a year ago and now volunteers with Gamla, a group of retirees who volunteer in schools and other public institutions.
Yehudit Shitrit
Yehudit, the eighth of nine children, was born in Casablanca, Morocco, where her father was a shoemaker. “I was very curious and a little bit wild,” she writes in her bio. “One Shabbat, when I was peeking in a neighbor’s home, suddenly, a monk came out of nowhere and started chasing me. I ran away as fast as I could and hid at the neighbor’s home. The monk caught me and tried forcefully to take me away. Luckily the neighbor intervened and would not let him steal me.”
She remembers her parents often saying “next year in Jerusalem” when she was growing up, and expressing a desire to move to Israel. They moved in 1957, when she was 8.
She worked for many years as a preschool assistant and does art in her spare time.
Rina Golan
When she was young, Rina, the oldest of five girls and three boys, lived with her family in tents in Kiryat Malachi but because of heavy rains and floods they moved to an apartment in Moshav Givati.
They ended up returning to Kiryat Malachi where they first lived in a small wooden structure and then eventually a 500-square-foot concrete structure, where all eight children lived in one room and their parents and grandmother in the other one. Since then the home has been expanded and rebuilt and her mother still lives there 54 years later.
Her father was a civilian employee of the IDF, and her mother and grandmother sewed and made clothes for families in Kiryat Malachi; her parents had emigrated from Iraq.
Her husband was an investigator for the Israeli police department and died of heart failure while he was investigating the murder of a young girl. His investigation resulted in the capture of the murder suspect, but he died right before the capture. Their three children are grown and she recently became involved with Gamla and volunteers in a local preschool.
She says that her main hobby is taking care of her garden of plants and flowers. “In the gastronomical field, I bake special cakes for the whole family. Every Friday I make couscous for my family: brothers, sisters, mother, children, grandchildren and even good friends. Everyone gathers for our shared meal, to enjoy my couscous and tell stories. Finally, the cherry on top is the coffee and cake.”
Aliza Surat
Aliza is a younger sister of Rina Golan.
“My father immigrated to Israel in 1949 illegally,” she writes in her bio. “My father left his family and ran to the border of Iran by foot and went weeks barely with any water, food or extra clothes. He survived by eating from the trees and drinking water from the river on the way.”
When she was in the army, she met her husband, Zion, who was from a Jerusalem Yemenite family with 12 children. The couple have three children. Aliza worked in education for 32 years until she retired. She also volunteered for four years as head of a Kiryat Malachi Scouts troop.
“During the holidays, everybody celebrates at my mother’s,” she writes. “My sister Rina and I are in charge of the kitchen and cook for 40 family members.”
Clara Davidov
Clara’s grandmother was born in Shakarizbas, Uzbekistan. “She was a cook,” Clara writes in her bio. “In the morning, cooking on a mangel (like a barbecue), which was outside and baking in a special oven that was part of the house wall. In the evening, she used to sing and dance and play on the darbuka (drum). My grandmother loved to throw traditional parties for brides and single women in Shakarizbas, including ceremonies where they first removed facial hair and plucked eyebrows. She had 20 children, but only seven survived.”
Clara was also born in Shakarizbas but was raised in Tashkent. She worked as a hairdresser and had a traditional Bukharian wedding. For several years, she worked as a cook in an event hall and later at an Iraqi restaurant in Israel, until she injured her hand. She and her husband have four children.
Tchilot (Chana) Gethon
Tchilot was born in 1973 in a Debet, a town in northern Ethiopia. Her journey to Israel separated her from her family for many years, as she writes in her bio:
“When I was a teenager, there was a terrible war in Ethiopia under the rule of Mengesto Haila-Miriam. He hated students, fearing they were a major source or rebellion to his regime, repressing them violently, by beating, imprisoning and sometimes killing them. Together with my fellow students, I fled west toward Sudan when I was in seventh grade. When we approached the border, there was serious fighting between the Ethiopian underground movement called Weyani and the Sudanese army. The Sudanese had shot numerous people fleeing Ethiopia. We students could not return to the village and could not continue to Sudan because we risked being shot there, so our only option was to join the rebels. I became a combat soldier, fighting for the removal of the dictator Mengisto. The war lasted three years, and many people died, including many of my friends from Weyani. I was miraculously saved. At the end of the war, I went back to Debet to search for my family, although I didn’t have any faith that they were still alive. The town was completely destroyed and many were dead. The ones still alive told me my family had left town and went to Sudan. This gave me no hope, because I had a feeling they probably died from hunger on the way.”
She traveled to Sudan, and spent three months in prison before being deported back to Ethiopia. She traveled to Gondar and then Addis Ababa in search of her family. She found out they had thought she had been killed in the war and they moved to Israel. She received permission from the Israeli Embassy to make aliyah.
“When the plane door opened, white and black people together, some wrapped in Israeli flags, sang, hugged and kissed us even though we didn’t know each other, just because we were Jews returning to the Land,” she writes. “After this very warm welcome and an interview with a journalist, I went to see my family in Tiberias. The moment that I had been waiting for came: my family was happy and healthy. I felt like I was in the middle of a dream. My joy was so great that I have no words to describe it.”
She and her husband, Daniel, have four children.
Jewish Book & Cultural Arts Fair
In celebration of November’s Jewish Book Month, the Valley of the Sun’s Jewish Book & Cultural Arts Fair runs Nov. 1-12.
This year’s fair features a wide range of activities, from a family concert with Rabbi Joe Black to a martini and chocolate night featuring Jodyne L. Speyer, author of “Dump ‘Em: How to Break Up with Anyone From Your Best Friend to Your Hairdresser.”
There’s also a screening of the film “Inside Hana’s Suitcase”; a Knit-In Mitzvah, a community service project with Knit Happens; and a lunch and learn with area rabbis who will discuss their favorite books.
For a full schedule, visit vosjcc.org.
Also, read Vicki Cabot’s articles about the book fair and a review of the some of the featured books.
Giveaway, getaway: Book fair replete with affordable choices
'Better when shared': Community Read event features Bohjalian
Great reads from the book fair
‘On the Cutting Edge … Today’s Jewish Women’
On Nov. 8, the Bureau of Jewish Education, along with a list of other Valley organizations, will host “On the Cutting Edge … Today’s Jewish Women, a women’s symposium featuring journalist Catherine Anaya and author Willard Spiegelman.
Click here for details.
Enjoy!
27 Oct, 2009 >