Faces

From sublime to sublime ...

Dr. Richard Cohen hung out on the Giants' playing field twice in one week last month. On Aug. 20, Cohen, who is an internist and oncologist at California Pacific Medical Center and a giant Giants' fan, was recognized as Marin-based Zero Breast Cancer's nominee for the 2006 Strike Out Cancer Hall of Fame (sponsored by Genentech). He was honored for his lifetime career as a medical leader and compassionate physician, reports ZBC's Susan Schwartz. Then, just four days later, at Jewish Heritage Night, he did what he loves to do in his non-working hours: he was a Giants "ball dude."




Kids doing the amazing-est things

Zack Blatt, 14, of San Francisco, gave some of his bar mitzvah money to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. But, he wrote in a letter to about 100 friends and family members, "I didn't feel as though I made that much of a difference personally. I wanted to do something that I could be more involved in." After researching possibilities with his mom, Elyse Blatt, he decided to raise money for the American Joint Distribution Committee for food boxes that provide badly needed nutrition for frail seniors in the former Soviet Union. Each box costs $9.06 and Zack has raised more than $3,000 from people all around the country. Mom, dad Larry Blatt and sister Zoe couldn't be prouder.

And across the Bay, Jeffrey Doran celebrated his bar mitzvah at Lafayette's Temple Isaiah and asked guests to substitute stuffed animals for gifts. He donated them, 53 in all, to the American Red Cross Bay Area chapter, to be given to local kids who are involved in disasters.




Getting to know you ...

Rita Semel, Congregation Emanu-El's Rabbi Stephen Pearce and Fred Astren of San Francisco State were among a group of community leaders in Turkey recently as guests in a trip sponsored by the Bay Area Cultural Connection. Being a guest (and not a tourist), reports Semel, "meant that we were allowed into their homes, to sit at the kitchen table, to hear hopes for the children, for peace in the world. Why does it always come as a surprise to find that the 'other' wants the same things we want for ourselves?"

Stan Lipsitz's photos of people, places and activities in San Francisco's Sunset District will be on display at the Ortega branch of the San Francisco Public Library, beginning Sept. 16. He'll be on hand for the opening reception that evening. The exhibit reflects the diversity of the neighborhood, writes Nancy Lipsitz.




Short shorts...

Five local young people were among 32 immigrant students awarded scholarships from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society last month in Los Angeles. They are Pleasanton's Yakov Berenshteyn, from St. Petersburg, Russia; San Francisco's Vyacheslav Blazer, from Chishinau, Moldova; San Francisco's Anna Lederman, from Grodno, Belarus; Berkeley's Saman Manesh, from Tehran, Iran; and San Francisco's Elina Tilman, from Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The Albert L. Schultz JCC's new board members, effective July 1, are Rick Burt, Shelley Doran, Ruth (Rutie) Gamon, Nancy Gofman, Cody Harris, Boris Kelman, Amnon Landan and Sharon Leslie ... Anna Azari, who was vice consul at the Israel Consulate in San Francisco in the early 1990s, is now the Israeli ambassador to Russia ... Take a stand against genocide (again!) at San Francisco's Justin Herman Plaza on Sunday, Sept. 17, Global Day for Darfur. Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir and Sudanese reggae artists Emmanuel Kembe will perform from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.




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