Shorts: Bay Area

U.C. Santa Cruz launches Mideast dialogue series

A series of lectures promoting "reasoned dialogue" between Israelis and Palestinians is under way at U.C. Santa Cruz.

"A number of students are turned off by the one-sided views expressed on campus," said Rick Zinman, the executive director of Santa Cruz Hillel. "A program oriented toward dialogue and peaceful conflict resolution is likely to appeal to students who might otherwise shy from this topic."

Two of the four lectures in the "Illuminating Dialogues" series are still to come: A Nov. 5 event and a Dec. 5 dialogue between Palestinian negotiator Yasser Abed Rabbo and Israeli politician Yossie Beilin, the principal architects of the Geneva Accords.

For more information, contact Zinman at (831) 426-3332.




Israeli children's author to read in Marin

Miri Leshem-Pelly, a well-known Israeli children's author, will be in the Bay Area on Friday, Nov. 16 to read from her latest book, her first published in English.

At 10 a.m., she will read to children and families at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, 200 N. San Pedro Road in San Rafael. Later that day, at 4:30 p.m., Leshem-Pelly will read at Congregation Kol Shofar, 215 Blackfield Drive in Tiburon.

Her latest book, called "Lon-Lon's Big Night," is an adventure story about a sand fox's magical night in the Israeli desert. She will also show slides of desert foxes in an Israeli zoo in the Arava.

Leshem-Pelly lives in Hadera and is an award-winning children's book author who has written and illustrated multiple books about nature in Israel.

For more information, contact Maureen Dixon at (415) 444-8007.




Terror expert to speak at Israel Bonds event

Gil Elan, a retired Israel Defense Forces lieutenant colonel, will be the featured speaker at an Israel Bonds reception

4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11 at the Osher Marin JCC, 200 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael.

For more information, contact co-chairs Marty Brownstein at (415) 457-1306 or Sandy Stadtler at (415) 460-5464.




Liz Harris becomes

j. assignment editor

Liz Harris has been named assignment editor at j. She will be the contact person for story ideas from the community, breaking news, photo opportunities and so on.

Harris began freelance writing for j. in the mid-1990s and soon joined the copy desk, where she edited stories and supervised supplements.

Before joining j. full time, she was a freelance writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and (former) S.F. Examiner, Pacific Sun and Parents Press, and was managing editor of the San Rafael News Pointer and Ross Valley Reporter.

A resident of Fairfax, in Marin County, Harris serves on the board of directors of the Marin Community Food Bank and is a weekly volunteer at Point Reyes National Seashore.

To reach her at j., email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call (415) 263-7200 ext. 39. Press releases can also be faxed to (415) 263-7223.




Israeli kabbalist to speak about imagination

Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, a noted Chassidic kabbalist from Jerusalem, will speak 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28 at Congregation Chevra Thilim, 751 25th Ave. in San Francisco.

Ginsburgh heads yeshivas and educational centers in Jerusalem, Hebron and other cities in Israel. He has written more than 30 books in Hebrew and English, and lectures internationally. Before becoming a rabbi, he studied mathematics and science in college.

In San Francisco, he will speak about "Kabbalah and the Power of the Imagination."

A $10 donation is suggested. For more information, call (415) 752-2866 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).




New teen violence prevention curriculum

Shalom Bayit, the Bay Area's only Jewish domestic violence prevention agency, recently published its teen curriculum for national release.

The curriculum, "Love Shouldn't Hurt," was launched in 2002. Since then, more than 3,000 Jewish youth and 400 parents and educators have participated in "Love Shouldn't Hurt" workshops, which focus on healthy relationships and dating violence prevention. Naomi Tucker, director of Shalom Bayit, hopes that teens and parents around the country can now benefit from the curriculum.

The publication of "Love Shouldn't Hurt" was funded by grants from the Hadassah Foundation, Blue Shield of California Foundation and the Jewish Community Foundation and Federation of the Greater East Bay's Fund for Jewish Education-Preschool through College.

To order "Love Shouldn't Hurt," or for more information, call (510) 451-8874 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).




ZOA criticizes Irvine Hillel

The Zionist Organization of America sent out a press release this week harshly criticizing the Hillel Foundation of Orange County for calling off an investigation into allegations of anti-Semitic activity at the University of California, Irvine.

The decision to halt the investigation surprised even the members of the Hillel-created task force responsible for the investigation. According to the ZOA, the decision sends a conciliatory message to would-be campus anti-Semites.

Jeffrey Rips, the executive director of Hillel Foundation of Orange County, told the Daily Pilot newspaper that Hillel "wanted to focus more on the campus and improving Jewish life at the university." He said the investigation was canceled over the summer and refused to comment on what information, if any, it uncovered.




Matching grant program to help day schools

Two veteran Jewish education nonprofits are joining forces with five philanthropists to develop a donor match program for Jewish day schools.

The Jewish Funders Network, Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education and a consortium of five philanthropists have created MATCH, a fund that will direct $5 million to Jewish day schools by matching first-time donors who give a gift of $25,000 to $100,000 to a Jewish day school.

Donors who have previously made a gift to Jewish day school education can still participate if their current gift to a Jewish day school is at least five times greater than their largest previous gift.

Matching grants will be awarded at a rate of 50 cents to the dollar.

Donors and day schools must jointly apply for a matching grant. For information or on applying, check http://www.dayschoolmatch.org. Applications will be accepted from Nov. 5 through Jan. 9.

For more information, contact Jonathan Horotwitz at (212) 726-0177 ext. 218 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).




omission

In the Oct. 19 j., the photos that ran with "Jews, Palestinians talk peace under the pines at Tawonga" should have been credited to Francis da Silva.