B'nai B'rith Israel District 14 Founded 1888 President Arie Bar-Zion International President Joel Kaplan
58-000-302-8 Sunday 8th Sivan 5763 8th June 2003
Message of the President B'nai B'rith Israel Arie Bar-Zion
With the advent of the Festival of Shavuot, I want to wish all of our B’nai B’rith Israel brethren and sisters a Happy Festival. We are in the midst of Holiday’s and Memorial Days immediately following Passover many of the Lodges prepared to participate in the ceremonies for Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day. Many participated actively in Holocaust Memorial Day ceremonies in their communities, and others went to the Memorial Mountain at Yad Vashem, and to the various monuments in memory of relatives and communities. some Lodges held ceremonies on Independence Day, and on Jerusalem Day.
160 years of the World B’nai B’rith.
The World B’nai B’rith organization was founded in New York on October 13, 1843 and it is the oldest Jewish and international body in the world. Henry Jones, a Jewish engineer from Hamburg who immigrated to the USA founded a union of brothers, which set its goal on finding a mutual language between Jews, and therefore the Order was called “B’nai B’rith”. One of the peaks in the activities of B’nai B’rith was the attempt by brother Eddie Jacobson to get President Truman to recognize the State of Israel, which recognition was granted in the capital of the United States, Washington, in the presence of the leaders of B’nai B’rith. As the 160th Jubilee of the founding of the World B’nai B’rith approaches, we request that the various Lodges submit suggestions to mark this jubilee, and to bring to our attention items which have historical value, so that we will be able to display them to the brethren of B’nai B’rith.
From the Activities of the Lodges.
I was very happy to participate on Thursday, 8 Nissan, April 10th, in Haifa, in the inauguration of a new Lodge called “Lodge Oranim” which was consecrated by the Vice-President Estie Shiber. The President of the new Lodge is Batshie Cohen, and the supervisor who made the effort to establish the Lodge is the Vice-Chairwoman of the Haifa Regional Council, Ruti Eisenbaum. We hope that events like this will proliferate in our Order.
Our sister Ruti Eisenbaum Vice-Chairwoman of the Haifa Regional Council won the “Volunteers Award” this year for her many and blessed activities for various bodies in the city of Haifa, and B’nai B’rith amongst them. We are very proud of Ruti’s activities, and wish her strength and all the best.
The “Yosef Niago” Lodge, of Turkish origin s in Tel Aviv, the President Emil Kanti, hosted on Sunday 18 Iyar, May 18th upward of 150 guests from Istanbul, led by the Chief Rabbi of Turkish Jewry, Rabbi Isaac Haliba. The guests toured the country, and met for a ceremony in Ramat Aviv in Tel Aviv which was conducted in the spirit of B’nai B’rith. Within the framework of this ceremony, four scholarships were distributed in terms of the Will of the Perlberg family (may their memory be blessed) for students who wrote essays on the subject of “My belief in the God of Israel”. This time the Youth Aliyath boarding schools students who participated in a seminar on the Holocaust, in collaboration with Yad Vashem, and visited the extermination camps in Europe, won the scholarships. Two of the winners, from Mikve Yisrael School, received scholarships contributed by the Joseph Niago Lodge, which has a special connection to this institution, founded by Joseph Niago, two students from Kfar Batya and from Petah Tikva received at the same ceremony scholarships from the Grand Lodge.
Best wishes to our honorable brother Harry Zesler who received a degree of Honorary Colleague from the Haifa University at a convention of the Board of Trustees of this university we wish to our honorable brother.Mazal Tov.
Maintenance- Bedek Habait in the Grand Lodge progresses. Many brothers and sisters have already joined the contributors. A room intended for the use of about at least 80 people has already been renovated, the entrance from Laskov Street is in the process of being renovated, and we hope to gradually make the Lodge a place in which it would be possible to operate, we will be pleased if our brothers and sisters continue with donations for the work.
Towards the 75th Conference of the B’nai B’rith Israel
According to the tradition which we initiated, the “Sharon” Regional Council Chairwoman Zipora Pe’er undertook to host the festive evening of the annual conference, which will be conducted at the “Champagne” Auditorium in Netanya, together with the “Shomron” Regional Council headed by Chairman Eliezer Roth. The festive evening will take place on Wednesday 3 Cheshvan 5764 - 29 October 2003. The estimated cost of a ticket for the evening of the conference is between 110 and 120 Shekels.
The conference itself will take place the next day, Thursday 4 Heshvan 5764 - 30 October 2003 at a place in Tel Aviv to be announced. This time it is a selection conference, in this conference the following will be chosen: President of the Order, Supervisor of the Order, Secretary of the Order, Treasurer of the Order, representatives of B’nai B’rith for the institutions of the World B’nai B’rith institutions, President and members of the Legal Tribunal of the Order, Chairperson and members of the Supervisory Committee, Chairperson and members of the Treasury Committee, Organizing Sister of B’not B’rit.
In the last meeting of the steering committee the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee was elected: Brother Alon Zafrir. According to clause 24 of the constitution, the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, will send his requests in the next few days to the chairpersons of the regional councils for the nomination of their representatives to the Preparatory Committee. Similarly the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee will also send a notice to the Presidents of the Lodges concerning the receipt of proposals of candidates for select positions, and also proposals for discussion and decisions at the conference.
As in every conference, the chairpersons of the regional councils will be asked to recommend an outstanding brother and outstanding Lodges, and they will be awarded certificates at the festive conference evening. Each Lodge will also be asked to write a summary for the “In Between Conferences” magazine.
Most of the Lodges have already transferred the taxes of the brethren to the Grand Lodge, a few Lodges have not yet transferred their taxes. These Lodges will not be able to exercise their right to send delegates to the conference/.