Faces

Akron connections

You may not know it, but there are many Bay Area Jews who came from Akron, Ohio — including Janet and Al Schultz and Steve Olson of San Francisco, sisters Stephanie and Susan Miller of San Anselmo and San Francisco respectively, East Bay residents Jerry Salzman and George Shapiro, Deana Freedman and her parents, Evelyn and Henry Kalman, and from Marin, David Schwartz and this reporter, to name few. These former Akron residents will be interested in knowing that Jack Mendelson, the star of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival's feature "A Cantor's Tale," is married to Akron native Fredda Rakusin. Mezzo-soprano Rakusin and her late father, tenor Dr. Freeman Rakusin, made beautiful music together in the choir at Akron's Conservative congregation, Beth El. Fredda Rakusin went on to sing at the New York City opera. Both she and her husband will be at the San Francisco screening at 2 p.m. Monday, July 25. The film, about the days when cantors were like rock stars, sounds charming, and featured-cantor Mendelson is rumored to be quite a character.

And while we're talking Akron, Rabbi Allen Bennett, another Akron native, was confirmed at the city's Reform Temple Israel way back when. Now he's the spiritual leader of Alameda's Temple Israel.




Bagels in Beijing

George Medavoy of Davis features travel stories on his Web site, www.PostcardsForYou.com, from places around the world. He reports that yes, you can get bagels in China. Mrs. Shanen's Bagels offers 25 varieties along with lox, cream cheese and other spreads, plus falafel, hummus, tehina and more. The owner/proprietor Lejen Chen grew up in Brooklyn, where bagels were part of their daily fare. She moved to China to work and became "Mrs. Shanen" when she married Shan En. You can read more about it on Medavoy's Web site in a story written by Israeli travel writer Sheila Shalhevet, who lived in Davis and taught Hebrew at the Jewish Fellowship of Davis.




The conundrum of disengagement

Satirical cartoonist Michel Kitchka has created a cartoon for the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation's Israel Center's study project on Israel's upcoming disengagement in Gaza. You can see Kitchka's work, which aptly describes the range of feelings about the withdrawal on the Israel Center's Web site, at www.israelcentersf.org. Contact staffer Avner Even-Zohar for information on the project, named "Yesh Matzav — Engagement and Dis-Engagement in Israeli Society."




Short shorts ...

Palo Alto resident Joe Simitian, elected to the California state Senate last November, was a camp counselor at the Palo Alto Jewish Community Center in his youth. He continued his JCC involvement by serving as auctioneer extraordinaire at the group's fund-raising event ... Mazel tov to Leonard Williams, named CalCPA's 2005 Public Service Award-winner for a lifetime devoted to the betterment of the community. He has served on the treasurer's committee of Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills and is now on its finance committee.

Here's a new take on boosting attendance for an annual meeting. The Silicon Valley Federation is having a pool party — or more correctly, a kosher poolside barbecue. It's on Thursday, July 28 ... Honorary co-chairs of Help is on the Way, a benefit for local AIDS/HIV organizations on Monday, Aug. 1, are Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Assemblyman Mark Leno and actor Michael Tucker. Visit www.helpisontheway.org for info.




Suzan Berns, a freelance writer and publicist, welcomes your submissions of cute, poignant or informational anecdotes about you and your organizations at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).