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Dear Friends: |
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A lot is happening at the UJCL communities: ARUBA: The community is presently involved In the search
for a new spiritual leader. Cantor Irving N. Spenadel will be moving back to the States at
the end of June. He has accepted a position at Congregation B’nai Shalom, in
Westborough, MA.During his tenure in Aruba he has done great work with the youth, and with
the community in general. His contribution to the Fifth UJCL Conference COSTA RICA: The youth of
the B’nei Israel Congregation is very busy preparing to host their friends from the
other UJCL member communities at the Youth Encounter that will take place in San José,
from July 7 to the 14th.They plan to make it fun and an enriching Jewish experience.
Meeting new CUBA: The UJCL Board is
presently planning to hold its next meeting in Cuba in September. This meeting will also
involve a mission of support for our Cuban friends at the Patronato (Beth Shalom), and at
the Sephardic Hebrew Center. In the course of next month, we’ll have more details to
give you. CURAÇAO: Our friends at Mikve Israel-Emanuel are still searching for a rabbi for their community. They’ll make a final decision soon. In the meantime, the congregation has examined their vision for the future. Several committees have been formed to work on social activities, greater participation of members in the life of the community, enrichment of religious services, etc. With the arrival of a new rabbi, these committees will be activated. The exquisite pipe organ from Amsterdam that is about 140 years old, and used to be played at services, is presently being restored in the Netherlands, thanks to a generous donation of the House of Oranje, in honor of the 350th. anniversary of the community. They hope to have it ready by April 2003. EL SALVADOR: As of Feb.
20, this community enjoys the presence of a new young and energetic Rabbi from Argentina,
who was ordained at the Machon Schechter in Jerusalem in July 2001. Rabbi Daniel Zang has
also taught Hebrew at the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano, and at different Jewish
institutions. Rabbi Zang is married, and is the father of two young children, Jonathan HONDURAS: Blueprints for
the new synagogue in Tegucigalpa, that will replace the one that was destroyed by
Hurricane Mitch, are complete. The Community is getting ready to start construction.
Hopefully, in the not too distant future, we will congratulate them on the completion of
this wonderful JAMAICA: The controversial
leader of the Nation of Islam, minister Louis Farrakhan, who has Jamaican roots, (his
father was born in Jamaica), visited the island in March. PANAMA: This is where the action will be on Feb. 6 – 9 ,2003. Our friends are preparing the Sixth UJCL Encounter on this date. With great enthusiasm they are working out the details so that, by approximately the month of July, we can announce the name of the Hotel and perhaps the theme of the Conference. We wouldn’t miss it for anything! We still have fond memories of the Second Encounter, which Panama so graciously hosted. This is a weekend you must reserve for your Jewish growth, and for the exhilarating experience of meeting old friends, and adding new ones. *** On April 18, our Executive Director,
Rabbi Gustavo Kraselnik, was installed as Rabbi of Congregation Kol Shearit Israel. We
wish him much satisfaction in his work with the Community, and great accomplishments to
add to his growing list. We are sure that, just as he was so loved in his previous
Congregation in El Salvador, he’ll build ties of friendship amongst the members of
his new N.B.: If you are interested in reading an interview to Rabbi Kraselnik that appeared in La Prensa of Panamá, please send us an e-mail to ujclinfo@yahoo.com PUERTO RICO: From these
pages we congratulate Cheryle Thacher on her appointment as A NOTE ABOUT TRINIDAD:
Nicole Bland, from Trinidad, is a wonderful example of what can be Martha E. Lichtenstein
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