Shorts: Bay Area

Kehillah graduates its first class

Later this month, 22 high school seniors will graduate from Palo Alto's Kehillah Jewish High School, becoming its first graduating class.

The graduation will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 11 at the Addison-Penzak JCC, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos.

The keynote speaker will be Jason Kamras, 2005 National Teacher of the Year. Originally from Sacramento, Kamras is a Jewish day school graduate who has been recognized for his work as a middle school math teacher in Washington, D.C.

The graduation is open to the community, but seating is limited and reservations are required. To make a reservation, call (650) 213-9600 ext. 140, or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) by June 5.




Ex-Mt. Zion auxiliary head charged in embezzlement

Gary Freund, former president of the UCSF Mount Zion hospital auxiliary, was arrested at his San Francisco home last week and charged with pilfering roughly $166,000 from the charitable fund.

Freund, 59, was arrested May 24 and charged with 30 counts of theft, forgery and possessing or receiving forged documents.

The auxiliary, founded in 1897 by a group of San Francisco Jewish women, serves as a link between the hospital and the community, and, in the words of its own literature, promotes "the health and welfare of the hospital's patients through volunteerism, community relations and philanthropy." It is not connected to the Mount Zion Health Fund, which is administered under the aegis of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund.

Mount Zion was San Francisco's Jewish hospital until a 1990 merger with the University of California San Francisco. While the hospital and its auxiliary are no longer ostensibly Jewish, many Jews are still heavily involved in hospital affairs.

Freund served as president of the auxiliary from 2002 to 2004. Capt. Torin Fischer of the UCSF Police Department said his colleagues have been investigating Freund since July 2004, when auxiliary employees contacted the police claiming money was missing.




Hadassah cited for stem-cell advocacy

Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, has won the 2006 National Advocacy Award given by the Genetics Policy Institute. The award ceremony will take place at the institute's annual policy convention, to be held this year June 9-11 at Stanford University in Palo Alto.

Hadassah will be honored for its ongoing work in advocating stem cell research funding at both federal and state levels. In spring 2005, Hadassah mobilized its 300,000 members to participate in "SOS: State of Stem Cells," a campaign that took Hadassah delegations to legislatures in all 50 state capitals.




Dr. Ruth to speak at Stanford, JCHS

Sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer is coming to the Bay Area next week for speaking engagements at Hillel at Stanford and the Jewish Community High School of the Bay.

Westheimer will join Arnold Eisen, Stanford professor of religion and chancellor-elect of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, and Avraham Infeld, president of Hillel: The Foundation of Jewish Campus Life, at the groundbreaking celebration for the Koret Pavillion at Stanford's Ziff Center. The ceremony will take place 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 7, 555 Mayfield Ave., Stanford. Information: (650) 736-1199.

The Jewish Community High School will hold its graduation with Dr. Ruth as commencement speaker at 4 p.m. Thursday, June 8, 1835 Ellis St., S.F. Information: (415) 345-9777.




Aging conference in Petaluma

A conference on aging will take place in Petaluma on Sunday, June 4.

The event will topics such as coping with dementia and other illnesses, ethical wills, and aging of the mind.

The conference, open to the entire community, is co-sponsored by Seniors At Home, a program of Jewish Family and Children's Services, and Congregation B'nai Israel.

The event takes place from 1 to 5 p.m. at B'nai Israel, 740 Western Ave., Petaluma.

Admission is free, though there is a $15 charge for professionals who want to earn three credits in continuing education. Information and registration: (707) 762-0340.




JFCS kicks off quake preparedness drive

The hoopla surrounding the 100th anniversary of the great 1906 earthquake and fire is gone, but the very real possibility of a massive future temblor remains.

With that in mind, the Jewish Family and Children's Services has established an earthquake preparedness kit — containing a flashlight, radio, light sticks, food and water — intended for the community's most vulnerable members.

The cost per kit is $36. JFCS is looking for volunteers to help assemble and deliver them, as well as for contributions to help underwrite their cost. To make a gift of support to the JFCS Earthquake Kit Project, donors can send their checks to: JFCS Development Department — Earthquake Kit Project, 2150 Post St., S.F., CA 94115; call (415) 449-1271; or go to www.jfcs.org and click on the "Donate Now" button to make a secure online donation. To earmark your gift, type "Earthquake Kit" in the form.




Partisans Foundation launches Web site

The Jewish Partisans Educational Foundation has launched a new Web site containing a wealth of information about the experiences of partisans during the Holocaust.

The San Francisco-based organization aims to educate about those Jews who engaged in acts of resistance during World War II.

The site, at www.jewishpartisans.org, was designed to reach a young audience utilizing a medium that speaks to them through video, 3-D animation, photographs and innovative design.

Features of the site include biographies of more than 40 Jewish partisans with video clips of their first-person accounts; an "activity maps" section, where students can click on a region in Europe to learn about area-specific conditions, culture and challenges facing the Jewish partisans in 10 countries; and a "someone like me" section, which helps students identify with teenage Jewish partisans.




Chabad of Sunnyvale victim of burglary

Police say the break-in at Chabad of Sunnyvale on Monday, May 29 was part of a rash of burglaries in the area and not anti-Semitic in nature.

Several thousand dollars worth of computers and other equipment were stolen, but the small prayer room was not entered and all religious artifacts were left untouched.

"We are grateful that the synagogue wasn't harmed, but from a financial standpoint this is devastating," said Rabbi Yisroel Hecht, Chabad of Sunnyvale's executive director.




Bone marrow drive at 'Israel in the Gardens'

A bone marrow drive will be held at "Israel in the Gardens," from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 4 at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. The drive will be held at the Jewish Family and Children's Services booth.

No blood needs to be taken, only a swab of cells from the inside of the mouth.

Gift of Life, an organization that helps match donors and recipients, will keep the samples on file.

Donors must be between 18 and 60 years old, and people do not have to be retested once they are on the registry.

For more information, visit www.giftoflife.org.