_________________ Glen COVe ________________
HERALD VOL. 34 NO. 29
The district’s new leadership
Music in Village Square
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JULY 17 - 23, 2025
$1.00
‘Best feast in the East’ at St. Rocco Church “Apparently, many years earlier, maybe in the 1940s and the 1950s, the feast was active, but What started as a small par- it did die down for a period of ish celebration decades ago has time.” For many residents, the grown into what many now call “the best feast in the East.” event is more than a fundraiser This year marks the 50th anni- for the church — it’s a deeply versary of the revival of the rooted tradition that connects Feast of St. Rocco in Glen Cove generations. “This has been my church,” — an event that said Antoinette draws more than Zabras, 89, who was 150,000 people over born and raised in four days to Third Glen Cove. She Street and St. Rocco recalled how the Place for rides, feast became a censhopping, live tral part of commumusic and, most nity life, bringing notably, homemade together families, Italian food. neighbors and The feast, which JOHN FIELDING parishioners for will take place July Deacon decades. 24 to 27, was Zabras remembrought back to life bers working in the beer stand in 1975 after a period of inactivity, pays tribute to St. Rocco, a as a young woman. “There was 14th-century saint known for a beer stand across the street,” healing the sick during a time she said. “It was like a long of plague, while preserving the table — we used to pour from customs of the Italian Ameri- the pitcher. That’s how it startcan community that built the ed for me, and after that, that was it. I never got out of here.” Church of St. Rocco. Now Zabras works in the “One of the things we’re celebrating is that it’s 50 years church’s dining room, helping since the feast sort of got to serve hundreds of meals restarted back in 1975,” Deacon nightly. She’s one of 20 or so John Fielding, who has served women who are known affecthe church for 25 years, said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
By ROKSANA AMID
ramid@liherald.com
Courtesy Irwin Huberman
Cantor Gustavo Gitlin, left, and Rabbi Irwin Huberman led a song at Congregation Tifereth Israel, where they have served together for 18 years. Their partnership has helped transform the Glen Cove synagogue into a vibrant, growing community.
Celebrating 18 years at Congregation Tifereth Israel By ROKSANA AMID ramid@liherald.com
For 18 years, a journalist-turned-rabbi from Canada and a warm-voiced cantor from Argentina have shared the bima at Glen Cove’s Congregation Tifereth Israe. And what began as a professional pairing has grown into something much deeper — a sacred partnership built on trust, shared values, and an abiding love of people. Rabbi Irwin Huberman, 72, and Cantor Gustavo Gitlin, 57, have become a spiritual anchor for their congregation — which has tripled in size under their leadership. At a time when nearby synagogues have strug-
gled to maintain continuity, CTI’s enduring clerical duo offers a rare model of stability, creativity and mutual respect. “We often joke that this is a second marriage,” Huberman said. “It’s sacred — just without the fringe benefits.” Gitlin’s journey to Glen Cove was a complicated one. Twenty-three years ago, he served as cantor at Congregación Israelita de Santa Fe in Argentina, but dreamed of taking his cantorial voice and community spirit to America. For a while the search proved difficult. A friend at the time advised him not to apply to places in New York state or City. “I sent over 400 emails to congregaCONTINUED ON PAGE 11
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f you came here, you would think you were in Naples.