Gayle Schindler, right, of Zahava Foods, shows some of her products to Yetta Cowen, who came from Summit to taste the pleasures of the Israeli Food Festival at Congregation Beth Israel two years ago.
March 06, 2008
Proving that some things improve with age, Israel’s culinary and cultural offerings seem to get better by the year.
To make that point, a local synagogue consortium is showcasing the country’s achievements in both fields as part of its celebration of the nation’s 60th anniversary.
The Israel Support Committee, started by members of Congregation Beth Israel in Scotch Plains six years ago during the Second Intifada, now includes members from Temple Emanu-El in Westfield, Temple Beth-El Mekor Chayim in Cranford, and Temple Beth O’r/Beth Torah in Clark.
Next Sunday, March 9, the committee is hosting an Israeli Food and Wine Festival at the Wilf Jewish Community Campus in Scotch Plains.
With a background of Israeli music and posters from past Salute to Israel parades, the fest will feature vendors offering free wine tastings and samplings of Israeli cheese, crackers, teas, juices, candies, soups, rice mixes, honey, and snacks. Products will be for sale, and a kosher Israeli lunch will be available. There will also be demonstrations of Israeli cooking.
The event is cosponsored by the Jewish Federation of Central NJ’s Jewish Community Relations Council and the Jewish Community Center of Central NJ.
Israel Support Committee chair Conrad Nudell, of Beth Israel, is delighted that its mission has been embraced by this much wider constituency.
Israel Support Committee chair Conrad Nadell, right, and members Bernice Fleischman, left, and former chair Sapi Ziv display some of the wares they helped assemble for their first Israeli Food Festival in 2006. Photos by Elaine Durbach
“With the 60th anniversary coming up, we wanted to show just how wide support for Israel is in our community,” he said. As lead organizers of the Central community’s participation in the annual Salute to Israel parade in Manhattan — taking place this year on June 1 — they were eager to include more participants in that, too.
The committee has organized a number of events over the years featuring Israeli products like handcrafted jewelry and Judaica, in addition to its food and wines. While once the goal was to provide hard-pressed sellers with access to American customers, the focus this year is different, Nudell said.
With the Israeli economy thriving again, Sunday’s event is simply about sharing pleasure and letting local people know what Israel offers.
Together with the JCRC and the Jewish Educational Center’s Elmora Avenue and Adath Israel shuls, the committee has been sponsoring a four-part lecture series on Israel at 60. It has also been screening Israeli documentary movies. In January, it presented In Search of Peace at Congregation Beth Israel, and this past month, The Long Way Home at Temple Emanu-El. Both screenings drew over 100 people.
On April 6, the committee will show In Our Own Hands, the story of the Jewish Brigade, the World War II Jewish fighting unit, at Beth-El/Mekor Chayim. In September, there will be a screening at Beth O’r/Beth Torah of One Day in September, the story of the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes.
The March 9 event at the JCC on Martine Avenue will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Nadell at 908-654-3169 or Mike Hamerman at 908-654-3395.
- Comment: comments@njjewishnews.com