HEADLINES | 4
SPECIAL SECTION | 18
SUMMER OF STEM
SENIOR LIFESTYLE
Phoenix teen researches at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science
Domestic violence, Medicare homelessness and other issues affecting the aging.
OCTOBER 4, 2019 | TISHREI 5, 5780 | VOLUME 72, NUMBER 1
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Nine months of progress PJ Library gives 150,000th book for Jewish Community F Relations Council NICK ENQUIST | STAFF WRITER
NICK ENQUIST | STAFF WRITER
I
n January, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix hired its new executive director, Paul Rockower. When he took the position, Rockower wanted the JCRC to be both a uniting force in the Valley’s Jewish community and an ambassador to other communities. Now, nine months in, he feels that the organization is closer to achieving those goals. “We have been listening to our partners in the Jewish community and outside the Jewish community to figure out how we can build and strengthen Jewish community relations internally and externally,” Rockower said. “We are striving to create a more cohesive and collaborative Jewish community. Meanwhile, we are working to be present at the causes and events that matter to our partners in the broader community, and how to help them engage with programs in the Jewish community and the issues we face.” Although not from Phoenix originally, Rockower has spent the last nine months learning about the local Jewish ecosystem. With a long career in public diplomacy, he had the necessary experience to leverage the Phoenix Jewish community’s “soft power,” as he wrote in an op-ed in these pages when he came onboard, and has consequently been working to identify community resources and institutional strengths. “The more we can utilize our soft power to strengthen Phoenix civil society and our ties with it, the better off
or nearly 10 years, the Phoenix division of PJ Library has brought books to families all across the Valley to help them build a personal Jewish library. Recently, the library just hit a new milestone by delivering its 150,000th book on Sept. 17. The program director of PJ Library Greater Phoenix, Marcy Lewis, said it was an exciting achievement for the organization. “It was such an inspiring moment knowing that we have sent out 150,000 books in 10 years for Jewish families all over Phoenix,” Lewis said. “When we hit that milestone, we delivered the book to Dr. Joshua and Leah Mondlick and their kids. We made a big event out of it with balloons and it was a lot of fun.” The book, “Shai’s Shabbat Walk,” is a children’s picture book about a boy named Shai who celebrates
Leah and Joshua Mondlick with their children, Abe and Zane, as they receive the 150,000th book from PJ Library Greater Phoenix.
SEE PJL, PAGE 3
PHOTO COURTESY OF PJ LIBRARY GREATER PHOENIX
Be the change you want to see In 1977, protesters famously gathered for an anti-Nazi demonstration in Skokie, Illinois (left). Today, Jewish Skokie high schoolers keep that spirit alive with a project educating their peers about Judaism. Go to Page 6 for the story. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ILLINOIS HOLOCAUST MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTER VIA JNS.ORG
SEE JCRC, PAGE 2
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