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NEW HAVEN — Rabbi Wesley Kalmar recently participated in a whirlwind rabbinic mission to Israel, designed to show U.S. rabbis the status of Israeli towns in the North and South which were ravaged by rockets earlier this year.

Rabbi Kalmar, of the Westville Synagogue in New Haven, was the only rabbi from Connecticut to participate in the Oct. 22-27 United Jewish Communities-sponsored Rabbinic Cabinet Solidarity Mission, which included 22 other rabbis from across the country and from various denominations.

“I have been to Israel many times and lived in Israel for three years-I have never experienced anything like this,” reports Rabbi Kalmar, who learned of the trip via an email sent to all New Haven rabbis, of all denominations, by Sydney Perry, executive director of the Jewish Federation of New Haven.

“The mission had two goals,” says Rabbi Kalmar. “To see the results of the war in the North, and to see the continuing situation in the south in such places as Sderot and Ashkelon.”

Each day of the trip was action-packed, with the rabbis witnessing damage from Katyusha rockets, hearing briefings from military experts, and interacting with Israelis of all ages in many towns. Rabbi Kalmar felt the mission was a chance to “show support for Israel” and to “show we care.”

’Severe damage’
Rabbi Kalmar observed severe damage the Katyushas caused when they ignited forest fires, and major damage caused to the ophthalmology department of a Nahariyah hospital, but added that “most of the damage to buildings had been fixed up already.”

In Nahariya, Rabbi Kalmar and his rabbinic colleagues sat on the floor and interacted with a group of first graders in a special program who were working through symptoms of trauma suffered during the war.

“The girl I interacted with was coloring the feelings she had felt and experienced during the war,” Rabbi Kalmar said. “Her grandmother had been killed, and she recalled how her mother started crying when her father had gone out of the house-minutes before a ‘boom.’”

The child described her picture to Rabbi Kalmar -a red square in the middle with blue on the outside – saying, “I was mostly afraid and angry at Hezbollah [the red part of her picture] but also happy that the whole family was together.”

The rabbis visited Sderot, the city near Gaza which has been consistently bombed for the past six years.

“We saw piles of Kassam rockets in Sderot, and we were very aware that a missile could fall at anytime-they get three hits a day,” he said.

Rabbi Kalmar contrasted the organized relief effort and rebuilding seen in Karmiel, Nahariya and other points in the north, with the “depression” and less organized assistance effort seen in Sderot.

’A learning experience’
The mission was also a rare opportunity for rabbis from various movements to interact and get to know each other on many levels. “I was one of only two Orthodox rabbis on the group-which was a challenge, a duty, and a learning experience.” Rabbi Kalmar said he appreciated the opportunity to “learn a lot from Reform and Conservative rabbis-my age and older. It was a chance to hear what they are doing in their congregations, and how things work in their communities. We had a lot of interesting conversations. I have respect for a lot of the work they are doing.”

The rabbis ended their mission with dinner at the Anna Ticho House in Jerusalem.

“It was one of the most poignant moments of the trip,” reports Kalmar, describing the dinner with Israeli Modern Orthodox rabbis in Israel, from the Rabbenu Tzohar organization, whose presentation on various efforts at reform, such as in how marriages are performed in Israel, led to some frank discussion among the North American rabbis.

“It was a chance to really put things on the table,” he said.

The rabbis who went on the mission are now charged with informing their congregants about what is going on now in Israel. Rabbi Kalmar said he will continue to share observations from his trip in upcoming sermons and public forums.

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MILFORD — Manny Strumpf is the man responsible for the first wedding and the first murder at the Statue of Liberty. But he is neither a rabbi nor a criminal.

Milford resident and long-time Jewish Ledger columnist, Strumpf knows a thing or two about Lady Liberty — he served for 22 years as the public affairs officer for the National Parks Service in New York City and had an office at the Statue of Liberty.

Strumpf once went to great lengths to help a Chicago couple plan a wedding at the Statue of Liberty-helping to arrange everything from the marriage license, to a minister, to media coverage. Now in his new book, “Murder at the Statue of Liberty” (2006, Publish America), Strumpf writes about a fictional murder at the national monument.

The idea for the book evolved from Strumpf’s real life work at the Statue. He recalls one incident when a man hid in the torch and tried to parachute from the Statue-but his parachute got stuck and he was left dangling.

“I thought, ‘What would have happened if this person hiding in the torch was a murderer?’ That afternoon on the train home from Grand Central Station, I jotted down some notes.”

Every afternoon from then on, he jotted down more notes for what would eventually become his book.
Besides his own experience at the Statue of Liberty, he received input for the book from the members of the United States Park Police New York Field Office.

“I developed a great respect and admiration during that time for the men and women who are devoting their careers to protecting and preserving our natural and historic resources, including the Statue of Liberty,” he said. “I’m proud to have worked closely with them during my career. Although I was an eyewitness to many activities on Liberty Island, fortunately, there never was a homicide.”

A six-year process
Strumpf, who was trained as a journalist at New York University, worked as a sports editor for a newspaper in Mount Vernon, N.Y., and served for 14 years as a reporter for the New Haven Register, before becoming PR officer for the National Parks Service.

Besides the Statue of Liberty, he also handled public relations for landmarks like Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace, Grant’s Tomb, Federal Hall, Castle Clinton and Alexander Hamilton’s Home.

Over the years, Strumpf’s job at the Statue of Liberty has led him to meet many famous people, including President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca, and country singer Dolly Parton. He once gave a private tour to actress Mary Tyler Moore and her father.

Strumpf used much of his own knowledge about the famous New York City monument in writing his murder mystery.

In “Murder at the Statue of Liberty,” main characters William Johnson, deputy chief ranger at the Statue of Liberty, and ranger Jennifer Marcus find a dead body one morning inside the monument. They soon become prime suspects when U.S. Park Police Lt. Mike Finnegan and Vince Torre of the NYPD begin to investigate the shocking murder.

After completing one draft of the novel, Strumpf put it away for eight months. When he looked at it again, he felt it needed revision. He met book editor Stuart Meyer at a conference at Manhattan’s World Trade Center, who agreed to offer feedback. Strumpf ended up rewriting the book twice and changed the outcome several times. In all, it took him six years to finish the project.

Strumpf said that he has received many letters and emails of support for his book – and he has also received his first royalty check.

“I’ve received letters from London, Toronto, Los Angeles, North and South Carolina and I have been featured in the newsletter of the International Statue of Liberty Club,” reports Strumpf.

Strumpf, and his wife, Phyllis — the parents of two grown children and grandparents of three – are members of Congregation Or Shalom in Orange, where he is chairperson of the communications committee and was the recent recipient of the synagogue’s Shomerei Or Award.

Strumpf and his wife will soon head to their winter home in Florida where he will spend his time following sports, reading, golfing, and working on his next novel, which takes place at another interesting New York landmark — Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace.

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NEW HAVEN — When a New Haven doctor received an email with a plea for help from an Israeli doctor, he knew it was time to mobilize-especially since the lives of Israeli soldiers were at stake.

Just before the start of Shabbat in mid-August, Dr. Arthur Levy, a New Haven oncologist and chairperson of the Westville Synagogues social action committee, received an email informing him that Israeli reservists fighting in Lebanon did not have adequate body armor to protect them.

There was no time to get lots of details, reports Levy. I made an announcement at the end of services, and received an astounding response. More than 50 people raised their hands to make pledges to purchase vests-not bad for a Shabbat during the summer when many people were away on vacation.

More than 60 vests have been purchased thus far by the Westville Synagogue.

The idea for the Kevlar vests came about when Dr. Eli Reshef, an Oklahoma City fertility specialist and husband of Edie Rodman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City, spoke with his reservist nephew, Peleg Reshef. Peleg had been deployed to Lebanon, and Eli contacted him by cell phone. What can I do for you? asked Eli. Peleg immediately informed his Uncle Eli that his unit of 80 men, a reservist combat engineering regiment known as the Orev Company, did not have adequate protective vests and body armor. Vests had apparently been issued to active duty soldiers, but vests for reservists were either nonexistent, tattered or not updated. Eli, worried about Peleg and his other two nephews who were all serving in Lebanon at the same time, asked, How much will it cost and how many do you need?

Within hours, after making a few phone calls and sending emails, Eli Reshef, a former member of the Israel Defense Force who saw combat on Mount Hermon, the scene of some of the most intense fighting during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, had commitments for 80 of the vests at $110 per vest. Thus, Operation Body Armor was born.

Edi Rodman proudly notes, We have raised more than $60,000 so far and have provided vests for four or five units so far. And every penny goes directly for the body armor-none of the donated money is spent on administrative costs, postage, etc. Reshef also hoped to purchase the vests in Israel as a way of supporting the Israeli economy. He purchased all of the vests from Kibbutz Sasa.

Rodman said that on Channel 2 TV in Israel, they interviewed soldiers on their way out of Lebanon, and they repeated over and over again how appreciative they were.

CAP: PELEG NEWSPAPER: An article in an Israeli newspaper about the Kevlar vests purchased for Israeli soldiers.

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