There is an unwritten rule that sports reporters simply do not root for a sports team or player while covering an event. Admittedly, this is difficult. A life-long Bostonian covering the Super Bowl February 1st in Glendale, Arizona may have a difficult time sitting poker-faced as Tom Brady and the New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks. And an Argentinian reporter in Brazil covering the 2014 Germany vs. Argentina World Cup Finals may just be tempted to put on a light blue shirt to go with her light white slacks.

For me, covering the US Open Tennis Championships each year, and more recently, reporting from the Israel vs. Argentina Davis Cup matches in Sunrise, Florida pose similar dilemmas.

How is it possible not to cheer for Dudi Sela just after midnight when he outlasts an opponent in the 5th set on the outer courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York? How can I not be moved to clap — or cry — when Andy Ram is lying on center court in what may be his last match ever, as he and partner and friend, Jonathan Erlich win an epic Davis Cup doubles match against the Argentinians? Like that Argentinian reporter at the World Cup, I am careful not to put on a royal blue shirt to go with my white shorts — lest anyone think I am partisan.

But I am.  Perhaps it is a sense of landsmanschaft — pride in a member of the tribe, usually an underdog, competing on the world stage. I feel it in my kishkes when Julia Glushko or Shahar Peer make a great shot, or when Amir Weintraub makes it through the qualifiers, in to the main draw of a prestigious tournament.

I hold it together until I get to the media center, to interview the players.  While remaining professional, the Israeli players sigh a sigh of relief when I offer to do the interview in Hebrew, and when I tell them which Israeli or Jewish publication I am writing for. We move from questions about the just-completed match, to traveling the world as a Jew and Israeli, to “where will you be for Rosh Hashana.” We are fellow travelers.

In 2013, Israel was about to compete against Belgium in the World Group of the Davis Cup Play-Off, to be held in Antwerp, just one week after the US Open. A Belgian reporter and I requested a US Open post-match interview with Dudi Sela. Players are required to honor such requests. After I asked my questions, the Belgian reporter asked a series of questions — about the upcoming tournament, likely match ups, and about the timing of the match; the Israel Tennis Association had just received at $13,000 fine for refusing to play its match on Yom Kippur.

The reporter was working hard to understand what this holiday is and why Israel wasn’t going to play on that day. “It is a special day,” reported Sela. “A serious day.” The reporter probed further. “We don’t eat or drink.” The reporter (see photo) asked more questions. “So you don’t eat or drink? That must be hard just before a big match.”

“Well, I do, but….Amir Weintraub doesn’t…and my grandparents were religious and they didn’t eat or drink…”

The reporter was even more confused. At that point, Sela turned to me and asked for help explaining Yom Kippur. I took off my tennis writer’s hat and put on my Jewish educator’s hat. I explained Yom Kippur and the range of observances on that day by Israelis and Jews around the world. Now he was getting it, and Sela was so appreciative!

(Belgian reporter with Dudi Sela-US Open Media Center)

That same year, I was out to dinner with family in New York City.  Several blocks from the restaurant, I spot a blonde woman in a green dress with a male companion. She spots me and smiles.  My curious family wonders why she comes up to me to give a hug and kiss—and speak to me in Hebrew. “That is Julia Glushko—I just interviewed her today for a Times of Israel article!” I am not sure that professional athletes from other countries stop to greet reporters in the street.

I have since bumped into Dudi Sela many times, in many settings. I have observed him sticking around to sign autographs and pose for pictures for anyone who asks. And I have seen him show up at Israel Tennis Center sponsored clinics for poor children in New York. He is a real mensch, and I feel proud. I may try to hide my pride at matches, but I—and the players—feel a strong connection with fellow Jewish and Israeli-loving people.

I am not privileged to be Down Under this week in Melbourne covering the Australian Open tennis tournament. But lucky fans and reporters will witness something never seen in professional tennis—a first ever match up between Israeli Dudi Sela, 29 years old and currently ranked 106 in the world, versus Spaniard Rafa Nadal, 28, the number 3 player in the world. It is amazing they have never played since both have been at it for a long time. Nadal turned professional in 2001 and Sela in 2002. What are the odds? Nadal has won 64 titles including 14 Grand Slams—and has earned $71 million; Sela has earned $2 million over the course of his career but has yet to win a major title.

So who is a Jewish sports reporter to root for? The landsman you say?  Which one? In 2013, Simcha Jacobovici carefully argued in “Rafael Nadal: A Jewish Story?” that, perhaps, Rafael Nadal of Majorca may descend from Jews! He may be a converso.  While he flat out denied this when I asked this question at a US Open press conference, it is possible that Nadal either felt uncomfortable addressing the question in this forum, or he simply did not understand the question as it was posed in English.

Sports writer Sandra Harwitt, who has covered more than 70 Grand Slams tennis tournaments, takes up this question in her recently published “The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time.” (2014, New Chapter Press). While she doesn’t include Rafa on her list, she included Nadal in a section “Jewish Connections.”

Harwitt acknowledges, “Not that long ago, the Internet was alive with the suggestion that Rafael Nadal Parera might have a Sephardic Jewish heritage…it is known [that] the converted [to Catholicism] often chose the names Parera and Nadal as their new last names.” Harwritt asked her friend, ATP Tour Communications Senior Vice President, Nocola Arzani if he would approach Nadal and ask if these rumors were plausible—and she asked him to address Nadal in Spanish. Harwitt writes, “Nadal, it turns out, wasn’t surprised by Arzani’s query. In fact, the family was aware of the history of Sephardic Jews and had wondered themselves about the possibility they might have a Jewish past. Rafa told Nicola that his grandfather had done some research regarding both sides of the family — the Nadals on his father’ side, the Pareras on his mother’s side — but hadn’t turned up any evidence that ponted to a Jewish ancestry. How his grandfather went about the research and how far back he was able to dig is not known, but it could be an interesting pursuit for a genealogy specialist.”

For now, I’m rooting for Dudi Sela in Friday’s 3rd Australian Open round match.  But, I hold out hope that, perhaps Raphael Nadal will one day discover he is Jewish  and may even make Aliyah and play tennis for Israel. May the best Jewish man win!

(Source: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com)

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Recently, I participated in a webinar entitled “Inclusion and Sensitivity.” It was impressive not only for the content but for the fact that it was a collaborative effort of the Conservative Movement’s Ramah Service Corps and the Union for Reform Judaism’s (URJ) Camps. The coordinators of both training programs realized that the topic of inclusion was “important, beneficial and useful for all of the fellows in their current and future work.” This collaboration between camping groups of the Conservative and Reform Movements is one of many wonderful partnerships emerging.

This year, “Hineinu: Jewish Community for People of All Abilities,” a cross denominational partnership for inclusion was announced. In Boston, members of Yachad (Orthodox), Tikvah Ramah (Conservative) and Jewish Gateways (community) have participated in several joint activities. Staff members trained in Ramah’s disability camping programs often go on to work for Yachad (Orthodox), and teach in religious schools of various denominations.

This year’s GA, which took place two weeks ago near Washington, DC, featured a two hour session entitled, “Disability Inclusion and the Federation Movement: Why, How, and the Time Is Now” and a one hour session entitled “Access Granted: Creating Inclusive Communities;” presenters and attendees represented every part of the Jewish World.

I am privileged to regularly speak with my colleagues from Yachad, URJ, JCC camps, and The Foundation for Jewish Camp””to name a few. We share best practices and resources; we discuss sensitive matters, we support each other in our work and we celebrate successes. Increasingly, we in the camping world are speaking to our colleagues in day schools, supplementary schools and informal Jewish education. I speak and meet regularly with my colleagues at Matan and Gateways: Access to Jewish Education. We attend the same conferences, participate in the same webinars, and deal with many of the same issues.

Our campers in the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in New England are constantly showing us that each program, organization and movement has something important to contribute. A “typical” Ramah (Conservative Movement) camper may come from a Reform temple and attend year round social activities sponsored by Yachad (Orthodox) or Friendship Circle (Chabad). And they may attend a specialized secular program or college, vocational training program and sometimes even a Catholic school.

I believe we are on the road to internalizing the simple wisdom we read each year on Sukkot in the biblical book of Ecclesiastes. In Chapter 4, verses 9-12, we learn, “Two are better off than one ““ because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up the other, but woe to him that is alone when he falls; for he has not another to help him up.” The biblical commentator Rashi says it quite simply: “Two are better than one” – “IN EVERY WAY.”

May we continue to find ways to work together”“to help our campers, our families and ourselves!

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On Nov. 11 and 12, 340 companies filled 400 booths in the 80,000-square-foot exhibition hall in the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, N.J. – all part of the 26th annual Kosherfest, the trade show of the kosher food industry.

Kosher is big business. The number of Americans who are believed to keep kosher year-round is 1.3 million, and the number of goods produced in the U.S. with a kosher symbol exceeds $300 billion in sales. More than 200,000 items on U.S. supermarket shelves are under kosher certification – with approximately 2,500 items newly certified in 2013.

As attendees approached the exhibition hall, they were greeted by a truck offering free samples of Tofutti “Cuties” – before even entering the hall! I always find it helpful to sit for a few moments with a map and schedule or even come up with a game plan. I usually set out down the aisles – in order – from booths 100 to 753. Time permitting, I might catch one of the many mincha minyans held throughout the day, or watch some of the Kosherfest 7th Annual Culinary Competition, featuring three chefs and hosted by Chef Paula Shoyer. But visiting the booths – for info and samples – is key!

It is always comforting to see old familiar ‘faces’ – Guss’ Pickles, Gold’s, Empire Kosher Poultry, and the KOF-K and Star-K kosher supervision agencies. Many of these old reliable companies are still producing new products. Manischewitz, for example, debuted its Gluten Free Brownie Mix, Gluten Free Matzo Ball Mix and gave away cans of its Kosherfest 2014 “Best New Kosher for Passover” Carrot Cake Macaroons. They also invited visitors to enter their Chanukah House Kit contest. Empire was proudly showing off their Gourmet Spicy Apple Chicken Sausage, a blend of sweet and spicy with no nitrates or fillers.

Along with the food, there was also some fun. Entertaining the crowd were two gregarious Japanese men, who spent two days making sushi at their booth to promote extra spicy Srirachi sauces: chili and spicy mayo.

Many companies are offering healthier products, often geared to such specialty markets as gluten free. ProTings chips, in such tasty flavors as key lime, sea salt and tangy southern barbeque, have 15 grams of protein in a four-ounce bag and they are vegan and gluten free. Matt’s Munchies, the premium fruit snack, is gluten free and vegan, and Mauzone Mania offer low in carbs, high in fiber treats like biscotti, breadsticks and flatters. Azuma Gourmet has been producing seaweed salad for fifteen years; for the past four years, their sesame seaweed hummus, hijiki quinoa salad and seaweed salads have been available in Costco. Deebee’s won the award for best overall new product/best new frozen dessert. Their “teapops” are organic, gluten free, pareve and only 25 to 50 calories, and come in such flavors as minty mint, tropical mango and toasted coconut.

Despite the surge in healthy, more traditional meat products still abound. Attendees couldn’t get enough of such products as Jack’s Gourmet Beef merguez; U.S. Bison was promoting kosher bison meat – grass fed, antibiotic free, organic certification pending.

Many products come with interesting back stories: On the market only five months, NoMoo Cookies took home the 2014 Kosherfest New Product Competition (Best New Breads and Baked Goods) for its ginger cookie. The company was launched by an architect who loved to bake. His cookies, in eight flavors, are pareve. Allie’s GF Cookies was founded in 2014 by Allison Luckman, who was motivated to create her gluten free baked goods when her son, who suffers from an egg allergy, said, “I don’t like the sweets out there – can you make it taste better?” Allie started baking him special treats. She now bakes gluten free, nut free, coconut free, kosher baked goods, including cakes, rugelach, brownies, cupcakes, mousse and more.

I was delighted to discover one company at Kosherfest from our own Nutmeg State. Raul and Marissa Felix started the Connecticut Coconut Company in 2005. Their plant is in Shelton and their warehouse is in Waterbury. Originally from the Philippines, the Felixes are eager to explain why the coconut tree is considered “the tree of life.” “You can build your house from the wood of the tree, you can drink coconut milk, and you can get oil, flour and sugar! You can live from the coconut tree and have income from it!” Their organic coconut sugar is two years old and is under Star-K kosher supervision. “The response has been very positive. Everybody loves sugar and ours is raw and unrefined,” notes Marissa Felix.

(Source: http://www.jewishledger.com)

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Two years ago, a delegation of Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) and Jewish Funders Network (JFN) members visited eight Jewish summer camps in the Northeast in three days. Despite their different locations (from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts), sizes, and movement affiliations, the camps had one important thing in common: They were successfully including campers with disabilities in the camp community.

The long bus ride provided opportunities for discussion and processing of all the group was seeing and experiencing. The energy, enthusiasm, sharing, and creative thinking led to an amazing back-of-the-bus brainstorm—how about a one-day conference on disabilities inclusion in the Jewish community after the GA 2012 in Maryland? Thus, “Opening Abraham’s Tent: The Disability Inclusion Initiative” was born.

Jewish Federations of North America President and CEO, Jerry Silverman, literally ran straight from the halls of the GA to Opening Abraham’s Tent to welcome the 120 attendees. The audience members and speakers from across North America and Israel, assembled on short notice, were a “who’s who” of the Jewish disabilities world; each made his or her way to Baltimore to be part of this historic meeting.

I was proud to represent the National Ramah Commission at the convening. Looking around the room, I saw so many colleagues from across North America, and from many different organizations in the Jewish disabilities world. Many of us reflected proudly on how we got our start in this field by working with the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah. Since 1970, the Tikvah Program has been a pioneer in serving and including campers with disabilities and in training staff members for this important work.

In recent weeks, Ramah has taken this to the next level by creating the position of director of the National Ramah Tikvah Network, a position which I assumed last month and which is funded by the Oppenheimer Haas Foundation. The National Ramah Tikvah Network will expand its efforts to support the Ramah camps’ efforts to raise funds and create new programming to meet the needs of this vitally important population.

Now, two years later, nearly to the day, the GA returns to Maryland. So much has happened in the disabilities inclusion world since that initial meeting to establish Opening Abraham’s Tent. Much of the Jewish world—from synagogues to organizations to funders—is making strides toward inclusion and serving people with disabilities. We need to keep the people engaged in this effort and the issue high on the Jewish communal agenda. The work is not over.

The topics of disabilities and inclusion are now more openly discussed in religious schools, synagogues, camps, Jewish organizations, and even in the Israel Defense Forces. As a result, new disabilities and inclusion initiatives are being launched, and existing ones are being expanded throughout the North American Jewish community and in Israel. We are proud that many of the individuals establishing, leading, and staffing these initiatives and programs gained their skills and knowledge in the disabilities field by having trained and worked at Ramah’s Tikvah camping programs.

Here are just several examples of new initiatives or expansions of already existing disabilities inclusion programs:

  • The Shefa School, a new Jewish day school in Manhattan serving children with language-based learning disabilities, opened this past September.
  • The Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) recently hired a full-time director of their disabilities initiative. This will allow more camps to receive resources, support, and training as they expand services to campers with a wide range of disabilities.
  • Two new Tikvah programs for campers with disabilities will be opening by summer 2016 at Ramah Darom in Georgia and Camp Ramah in the Poconos. They will be staffed through the growing pipeline of young adults who have participated in National Ramah Tikvah Network training, which now includes staff from all other Jewish camps and is funded with the support of the Neshamot Fund of UJA-Federation of NY.

-Hineinu: Building Jewish Community for People of All Abilities, a cross-denominational partnership, recently produced a free, 32-page guide designed to increase disability inclusion in synagogues.

– JCC camps across the United States and Canada continue to expand services for people with disabilities.

– Yachad, the National Jewish Council for Disabilities, continues to evolve and grow, now offering “shadow programs for maximum inclusion, where campers are FULLY integrated into a typical bunk together with supportive  ‘shadow’ staff.”

– The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) and Ruderman Family Foundation launched a new Inclusion Initiative, with the goal of improving attitudes about inclusion and disabilities and ensuring full inclusion and participation of people with disabilities and their families in every aspect of Reform Jewish life.

This increased disabilities inclusion awareness and these new and expanded initiatives are due in large part to increased collaboration and sharing among Jewish institutions and organizations. In the Ramah camping movement, we have always believed that the best results come from joint efforts, and we have been eager to share best practices derived from our 45 years of experience in inclusion of Jewish campers with disabilities.

With generous funding from the Covenant Foundation, Ramah recently convened thirty camp directors, disabilities program coordinators, funders, and key shareholders from across the entire Ramah movement for a day of strategic planning around disabilities camping. This effort was an exciting milestone in our efforts to think together about ways we can both strengthen inclusion within Ramah as well as share our expertise with other camping movements and educational organizations seeking to create programs for children with disabilities and include them in every aspect of Jewish life.

Last week, I had the privilege of having dinner in Ra’anana, Israel, with Herb and Barbara Greenberg. In the late 1960s, these two humble Long Island public school teachers had the visionary idea to create a Jewish overnight summer camp program for campers with developmental disabilities. Despite opposition and concerns that it would lead to “normal kids” leaving, decrease the level of Hebrew, be too costly, and otherwise negatively impact the Ramah camping experience, they went ahead with their idea, with the support of a lone Ramah director, Don Adelman (z’l).

Now, 45 years later, Tikvah serves 320 children, teens, and young adults with disabilities in the Ramah camps throughout North America and also offers family camp and vocational training programs, as well as the launch of new inclusion programming in the Ramah Israel Seminar summer travel program. We all benefit from the Greenbergs’ and Don Adelman’s efforts and look to them as inspiration as we train the next generation of young people dedicated to making a place for everyone inside the Jewish community’s tent.

 (Source: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com)

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