EBulletin for November 3, 2017
Shalom ZOA Members, Friends and Supporters of Israel,
Today is the last day for you to be a part of National ZOA’s spectacular Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award Dinner.
There is a great lineup of honorees and other speakers listed below in this email, plus an opportunity to go to and from the dinner by bus with Greater Philadelphia ZOA.
Please note below an Action Alert with corrected phones numbers for the embassies. Please read the Action Alert and make the calls and let your email and social media contacts also know about our Action Alert.
Co-President Lee Bender had an important letter published in The Wall Street Journal. It is included below.
Finally: If you are not already a member of our organization, please consider joining ZOA and strengthening our organization. See below.
Click the link below to join
http://philly.zoa.org/join-zoa-philly/
To learn if you are due for renewal, please call our Office at 610-660-9466.
Want to Help Inform Others About Israel, the Broader Middle East and the Peace Process?
Greater Philadelphia ZOA maintains an active speakers bureau, suitable for both large events (such as congregations) or parlor meetings. Help ZOA educate others. For more information, see the link:
http://philly.zoa.org/about-zoa/host-a-zoa-speaker/
Greater Philadelphia ZOA is looking for volunteers to make phone calls.
There is no soliciting involved.
Calls can be made from your home or office.
If you are able to lend us some of your time and talent, please call us at 610-660-9466.
Thank you.
Greater Philadelphia ZOA is planning a special event on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 17 to commemorate the centennial of the Balfour Declaration.
Details to be announced shortly.
Former Ambassador Daniel Shapiro has it exactly backward (“Move the Embassy to Jerusalem and Promote Peace,” (op-ed, Oct. 25). The U.S. should move its embassy to Jerusalem because the U.S. Embassy Relocation Act mandates it. Additionally, a united Jerusalem has been the heart of the Jewish people for over 3,000 years and is the actual capital of the state of Israel—not Tel Aviv where our embassy is now. The U.S. has its embassy in the capital of every other country.
Moving the embassy won’t hinder any “peace process.” The Palestinian Arabs have rejected a Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel six times since 1938. Their goal has been explicit and was reiterated yet again in a recent tweet from the PLO: “Our goal is the end of Israel. . . . We don’t want peace. We want war and victory.” The PLO is headed by alleged moderate Mahmoud Abbas, who also leads the Palestinian Authority and Fatah. It’s a pipe dream to believe that without a wholesale change in attitude from the Palestinian Arabs, who are mired in a cult of hatred, violence and death toward Jews, that genuine peace and security for Israel will emerge anytime soon.
Lee S. Bender
Ardmore, Pa.
EBulletin for October 11, 2017
Shalom ZOA Members, Friends and Supporters of Israel,
When it comes to Israel, the Arab and Muslim war against the Jewish People and the broader Middle East: There is so much misinformation, partial stories, twisting of history both deliberate and unintentional — it is enough to either make you want to throw your hands up or cry. But we who are both advocates for Israel and advocates for truth cannot afford to cry nor throw our hands up.
ZOA is a source of honest, factual, up front, rational information. Those of you who are active in a congregation – Jewish or Christian, or an organization, club, civic group or any other regular gathering can help others in that group (and beyond) learn the truth and be a more discerning consumer of news by inviting a representative from the Greater Philadelphia ZOA Speakers Bureau to speak to your group or congregation. We discuss a wide variety of topics in both formal and informal settings. We will custom-fit a program to suit your needs. You select the topic or topics and we will be there.
A presentation from ZOA doesn’t even have to be before a large group – you can host a parlor meeting for friends, neighbors and family. We will explain as much as we can and answer all of your questions about these critical subjects. These events benefit those who attend, and the State of Israel and the Jewish community.
To learn more, please click on the graphic below.
Want to Help Inform Others About Israel, the Broader Middle East and the Peace Process?
Please check your mailbox for a special letter from Greater Philadelphia ZOA that some of you will be receiving this week and next week.
Click the link below to join
http://philly.zoa.org/join-zoa-philly/
To learn if you are due for renewal, please call our Office at 610-660-9466.
For bus information and to reserve, special pricing and other questions:
Please call our Office at: 610-660-9466.
EBulletin for September 20, 2017
Shalom ZOA Members, Friends and Supporters of Israel,
We want to share with you some more moments from our wonderful, enjoyable and inspiring 2017 Gala, and also to publicly thank those volunteers who helped the Gala run smoothly and those businesses and service-providers who helped make our Gala a success. Please see the names of volunteers immediately below, and the names of our business advertisers further down in this email.
We ask that you please patronize as many of those businesses and professionals as you can. Remember to support those who support ZOA! Please tell them that you saw their ad in our ZOA Gala Book! We hope to have a digital version of the Gala Tribute Book and Ad Journal available next week.
We had many volunteers working in multiple shifts to make check-in for our Gala smooth for our guests and so that our volunteers could also enjoy the festivities. Our volunteers for the evening were: Heather Berman, Barbara Oslick Brown, Marcy Diamond, , Pnina Feiner, Debbie Goldstein, Dan Harris, Betsey James, Beth-Ellen Kroope, Garry Miller, Marcy Pollak, Bernadette Repisky, Ed Rosen, Linda Rosen, Melissa Rosenberger, Edward Rubinstein, Beverly Sher, David Warner, Susan Warner, Roberta Weiss, Stephanie Woloshin and Wendy Woloshin. We are grateful for their help.
Please patronize the above businesses! Please tell them you saw their ad in our Gala book!
A New Season, A New Membership Drive!
Please Become a Part of the ZOA Family or Renew Your Membership
Click the link below to join
http://philly.zoa.org/join-zoa-philly/
To learn if you are due for renewal, please call our Office at 610-660-9466.
If You Enjoyed the Philadelphia Gala . . .
To be a part of the Philadelphia-area contingent for this grand event, call our Office at 610-660-9466.
Special prices for young professionals and students.
Want to Help Inform Others About Israel, the Broader Middle East and the Peace Process?
Greater Philadelphia ZOA maintains an active speakers bureau, suitable for both large events (such as congregations) or parlor meetings. Help ZOA educate others. For more information, see the link:
http://philly.zoa.org/about-zoa/host-a-zoa-speaker/
EBulletin for Sept. 1, 2017
Shalom ZOA Members, Friends and Supporters of Israel,
We are eagerly looking forward to welcoming many of you to our annual Gala, taking place just less than two weeks from now – on September 12. Tickets for the Gala are available now.
While we look forward to seeing and being with so many of our members and friends from throughout our immediate region and beyond; young and old; Jews and Christians – the main purpose of our Gala in addition to celebrating Israel and America is honoring some tremendously dedicated and passionate Zionists. Our honorees work tirelessly to help Israel whether from a pulpit, in the realm of journalism, or via the courtroom and the checkbook. Each of our honorees: Allen L. Rothenberg, Jonathan S. Tobin, Rabbi Yaacov Orimland and Jim and Diane Showers understands not only that one person can make a difference, but also that we each have a role to play; to use our talents and skills as best we can to help Israel as part of our daily lives.
Tickets to our Gala are still available and we have special discounted tickets for young professionals and an even better price for students. Please see ticket information below. But first we want to tell you about two of our honorees – Jim and Diane Showers – who will receive our Friends of Zion Award at our Gala.
Dr. Jim Showers is the executive director of The Friends of Israel, a worldwide Christian organization founded in Philadelphia in 1938 by Christians determined to help Europe’s beleaguered Jewish population. Today it is headquartered in Deptford, NJ.
Jim joined The Friends of Israel (FOI) in 2002 as director of finance, treasurer, and chief financial officer. He then served as executive vice president and became president and executive director in May 2012.
Jim’s personal warmth, knowledge, and wisdom, as well as his devotion to the Lord and sincere love for Israel and the Jewish people, are qualities everyone at FOI has valued. In 2012, he developed the Hesed “Loving Kindness” Project, FOI’s adult-volunteer program in Israel.
Jim speaks at conferences, churches, and schools nationwide; is a frequent participant in events supporting Israel; and is a strong advocate of the country’s growing Jewish-Christian alliance. He also has helped lead two joint Jewish-Christian trips to Israel and is the leader of the semi-annual Friends of Israel Up to Jerusalem tours.
Jim authors “Inside View,” a regular column featured in FOI’s magazine Israel My Glory, with a readership of over half a million in 151 countries. His popular series “The Black Sheep of Christendom” exposing the dangers of “replacement theology” was originally published in Israel My Glory.
Jim earned both his master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Baptist Bible Seminary. His doctoral thesis was titled, “May They Prosper Who Love You: A Case For Christian Zionism.”
Diane Showers supports Jim to build solidarity with the Jewish community. She was born and raised in Goshen, IN. From the time she became an active Christian at a young age, she has known and expressed a love for the land of Israel and the Jewish people. As an office professional, Diane has served in churches and evangelical Christian organizations.
Motivated by the special place Israel and the Jewish people have in her heart, she has followed the Lord’s command in Genesis to bless the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In 2003 and 2007, Diane was a part of the joint Jewish and Christian trips to Israel. She has helped Jim lead several tours to Israel and attends many events with him. As a committed Christian Zionist, Diane is actively involved in numerous efforts in support of Israel. Jim and Diane live in southern New Jersey and have two married children and four grandchildren.
* * *
We ask that if you have not already purchased Gala tickets to please do so as soon as possible so that you can be present to see us award Jim and Diane Showers and our other honorees, and to hear the inspiring remarks from all of the honorees on Sept. 12. Dietary laws observed. The event will take place at the Hilton Philadelphia City Avenue. Gary Erlbaum will be master-of-ceremonies; our national president, Mort Klein, will offer remarks; and a representative of the Israeli government will bring greetings from Jerusalem. We will also have rousing renditions of the American and Israel national anthems.
Please see a copy of the invitation and response card below. You may purchase tickets immediately by credit card at: Eventbrite. Click on the logo below.
You can also purchase tickets by check. For pricing and to reserve your tickets, please call us at 610-660-9466 or reply to this email.
What Happens at a Greater Philadelphia ZOA Gala?
In a word: Plenty. Delicious glatt-kosher food and also assorted beverages and networking opportunities during our 90-minute cocktail “hour.” That is followed by the award presentations and acceptance speeches from our honorees. They are followed by a sumptuous dessert reception with more delicious delicacies and opportunities to mingle and network.
Please click on the photo below to watch the award ceremony from our 2016 Gala. We hope you can join us on Tuesday, Sept. 12, for another enjoyable and inspiring evening.
Volunteers Needed!
Greater Philadelphia ZOA is looking for two volunteers
on September 7 to help us prepare materials for our Gala.
If you are able to help out for a few hours
in our Bala Cynwyd Office, please call us at 610-660-9466.
Thank you in advance.
What’s in Your Kid’s Textbook?
School will be starting again shortly, and there are reports about troubling content in many books used in American classrooms – content that is 
inaccurate when it comes to Israel and Israel’s enemies. It is important to thumb through textbooks to see what your children or grandchildren are being taught.
We have available our Greater Philadelphia ZOA Textbook Survey Form to help you as you peruse the schoolbooks. To request a copy, please reply to this email and we will send you one. Print it out, look through any books or other materials, fill out the survey form and return it to us scanned and emailed or by regular mail. We will follow-up on any false or misleading information.
Want to Help Inform Others About Israel, the Broader Middle East and the Peace Process?
Greater Philadelphia ZOA maintains an active speakers bureau, suitable for both large events (such as congregations) or parlor meetings. Help ZOA educate others. For more information, see the link:
http://philly.zoa.org/about-zoa/host-a-zoa-speaker/
Buy Israel!
The yom tovim are almost here. Serve goods from Israel at your Rosh Hashanah meals and break-the-fast feasts:
When you do your food shopping, remember to “Buy Israel.” See our “Buy Israel” project flyer at the link:
http://philly.zoa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/02/buy-israel-flyer-revised-january-2016-p.pdf
EBulletin for August 4, 2017
Shalom ZOA Members, Friends and Supporters of Israel,
One of the more relentless and vicious anti-Israel and anti-Jewish personalities in the entertainment world will be in our area next week, and Greater Philadelphia ZOA has been at the forefront locally of not only alerting the area media to musician Roger Waters’ hateful agenda and lie-filled attacks, but we have also reached out to the venue where he is performing and radio stations that are promoting him.
Roger Waters was the bassist and chief lyricist for the band Pink Floyd. He has become one of the most visible and vocal proponents of BDS. On stage, in a documentary, in interviews, on the pages of major publications and on social media Waters not only attacks the Jewish State but also any performers contemplating playing there.
By certified mail and email we asked officials at the Wells Fargo Center, where Waters is playing three concerts, to issue a disclaimer during his shows distancing the arena from Waters’ anti-Jewish invectives. We are genuinely concerned Waters could trigger an anti-Semitic attack. Also by certified mail and email, we wrote to officials at two radio stations that have been promoting the Waters concerts, WMMR and WXPN, to ask them to stop promoting the shows. WMMR was also giving away tickets to the concerts.
Our main point was that the venue and the stations are in essence projecting that a performer can be virulently anti-Jewish and yet still fit to host on stage and promote on the airwaves of major stations in a major market. Since Waters only attacks Israel and since his distorts historical facts and contemporary situations to do so, it is clear to ZOA that his motive is to incite Jew-hatred and not to accomplish social justice.
We sent news releases to a number of local and national media outlets. Our efforts thus far were featured in the Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Exponent and “The Dom Giordano Show.” See below We are hoping for more media coverage on the subject next week. We also submitted different op-eds to the Inquirer and the Exponent.
Greater Philadelphia ZOA is leading the way in exposing anti-Israel/anti-Jewish figures who come to our area.
At Greater Philadelphia ZOA, we are in what we affectionately call “Gala Season.” The big event, of course, takes place on Tuesday, September 12 at the Hilton Philadelphia City Avenue. We have a wonderful and deserving lineup of honorees who will each inspire you with all of their pro-Israel activities; plus the master of masters-of-ceremonies, communal leader Gary Erlbaum; and remarks from our National President, Morton Klein.
Tickets are on sale now at:
Time is running out to promote your business or service or congratulate our honorees in the pages of our Gala Ad Journal. Proceeds benefit Greater Philadelphia ZOA’s initiatives and activities throughout our region. See the graphic below. Questions? Call us at 610-660-9466.
Note: For each ad or notice of $500 or more, we will send you a free Israeli Postal Service commemorative First-Day Cover and Souvenir Leaf of the stamp the government issued to mark ZOA’s 120th anniversary.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/greater-philadelphia-zoa-gala-tickets-35826890193
http://philly.zoa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/06/gala-2017-ad-form-for-email.pdf
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/stu_bykofsky/is-roger-waters-an-anti-semite-20170803.html]
Click on the link below to hear Dom Giordano’s interview with Steve Feldman
Greater Philadelphia ZOA’s “120 Club” is a special commemoration of our organization’s 120th anniversary. We are having a distinct banner made to mark the occasion and for a small donation you can place your name or the name of a loved one on this banner. The banner will be displayed at all of our special events and meetings, as well as electronically on our Web site, our social media pages and in our emails. ZOA will only turn 120 once. Be a part of this historic anniversary.
For each donation of $36, you can designate one name on the banner. The banner will be limited to the first 120 names.
Send “120 Club” donations and a note with the name(s) to: ZOA, P.O. Box 56, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. Please note “120 Club” on the memo line. To donate by credit card, go to: https://zoa.org/donate/philly/ scroll down to the option that says “fill in amount.” Designate $36 per name and then click “one donation” then click “next.” Please send us an email with the subject line “120 Club” along with the amount and the name(s) you would like on the banner.
Thank you!
Click the link below to join
http://philly.zoa.org/join-zoa-philly/
Other Events of Interest:
Hava NaGrilla Smoke BBQ Festival
The Men’s Club of Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El will host the first annual Kosher BBQ Championship in the mid-Atlantic region, certified by the Kansas City Barbeque Society on Sunday, August 27 at the synagogue, 1001 Remington Rd. Wynnewood, PA 19096, beginning at 11:00 AM
There will be a pickle eating contest, face-painting for the kids, a wandering magician, craft artisans, mechanical bull riding, educational & interactive booths (how to make the perfect matzah ball, how to clean a barbeque grill, how to make a grill into a smoker, have your swing analyzed by a PGA professional and more…). Come and visit the Greater Philadelphia ZOA table while you are there!
For all of the details, go to: https://phillykosherbbq.com/
Greater Philadelphia ZOA will need volunteers for this event. If you would like to help at our table at Hava NaGrilla, please call us at 610-660-9466.