File - Jewish Historical Society

JEWISH HISTORICAL
SOCIETYof NEW JERSEY
Archival documents from 1751 to the present
❦ Memories from our past create visions for our future
Volume 24, Number 1
Spring, 2014
President’s Message
P
lans are well
underway for this
year’s Lasting
Impressions Gala that
will honor James
J. Shrager on June
25, 2014 at the Crystal
Plaza in Livingston. The
Gala, titled “Bringing
People Together,” will
recognize an outstandRobert G. Rose
ing community leader
from the Central Federation that merged with
MetroWest last year. The Gala is intended to
bring together both communities as the Greater
MetroWest Federation for an evening of celebtration.
Jim’s impressive record is outlined elsewhere
on this page. Invitations will soon be in the mail.
Try to attend, if you can.
Continuing its mission of public programs,
the Society will present “Jews in Sports” on May
7, 2014, narrated by Ron Kaplan, sports and features writer for the Jewish News. We all know of
Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax. Come to the
program and find out more about the many successful Jewish athletes both from yesteryear and
today in professional sports.
Many of you have already seen the wonderful
exhibition that the Society’s staff researched
and prepared titled “Federation @ 90.” The
exhibit tells the 90-year story of Federation and
its agencies from its beginnings. The exhibit is
currently on view at the JCC in West Orange.
In support of its mission to help strengthen
Jewish identity and continuity, this year, the
Society is sponsoring the Fourth Annual
Intergenerational Oral History Program. Once
again, students from West Orange High School
will meet with residents of Daughters of Israel.
The students will take their oral histories and
in doing so, will connect with a generation that
came from another time and place in our community’s history.
Finally, the Society while looking to the past,
also is very much 21st Century. Please be sure
Continued on pg. 4
James J. Shrager to be Honored
With Lasting Impressions Award
T
he Jewish Historical Society will be honoring James J. Shrager, of Somerset,
NJ, an outstanding Jewish leader in our merged-federation community, with
its 2014 Lasting Impressons Award on Thursday, June 25,2014. The event
will take place at the Crystal Plaza in Livingston. The theme of this year’s gala is
“Bringing People Together”, commemorating the 2nd anniversary of the merging of
MetroWest and Central Jewish federations.
Bob Rose, JHSNJ president, stated, “It
is most appropriate that Jim receive this
prestigious honor because of his outstanding
life-long commitment to our Jewish communities on local and state-wide levels. He has been
a true leader in every sense of the word.”
Outstanding resume
Shrager’s resume reads like a who’s-who in
American Jewry. He is a past- president of the
State Association of Jewish Federations after
serving as president of the Central Federation.
He was co-chair of the campaign to fund the
current JCC in Scotch Plains and a past-president of Temple Beth El in Plainfield, where he
recalled that he was a very good student, so
adept in Hebrew that he skipped a year of his
Hebrew school training. Instead he got to play
football, baseball, and basketball in the afternoons while his friends were busy studying. To
this day, Jim is a sports enthusiast.
He is a graduate of Yale Law School Class of
’65. He then clerked for the Honorable Nelson
K. Mintz for one year before joining the former
Hannoch Weisman law firm in 1966 as an
associate. Just three years into practicing law,
the firm’s partners assigned him to a case that
brought him before the New Jersey Supreme
Court. He won. And the court’s decision established legal precedent! He eventually became
a partner in that law firm. He is presently a
partner at Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, in
Bridgewater. Of interest is the fact that in 1966
a young woman named Anna White was hired
as Jim’s secretary and 38 years later, is still
with him as his assistant. She says, “He’s a wonderful boss and friend”.
Strong Israel supporter
He and his wife, Bonnie, have been active
supporters of the State of Israel for many years
having dedicated a park in Kadima, Israel
in 1988 as part of Project Renewal. They are
members of two synagogues: Temple Beth El in
Scotch Plains and the Jewish Community Center
of Long Beach Island. The couple have two
children, Jennifer and Jeffrey, and two grandchildren, Jonah and Celia. uu
Honoree Jim Shrager (center), at a recent Gala planning meeting with JHS past-presidents,
Howard Kiesel (left) and Bob Max
Page 1
JHS To Present
“Jews In Sports”
H
On May 7th
ere’s the
pitch. If you
love sports
but think that Jews
in sports is an oxymoron, Ron Kaplan,
sports and features
editor for the New
Jersey Jewish News,
Ron Kaplan
suggests that you
think again. Ron, who is the speaker for the
JHS public forum “Jews in Sports” hosts the
blog, “Ron Kaplan’s Baseball Bookshelf,” and
is the author of “501 Baseball Books Fans
Must Read before They Die.” He is a sports
“maven” whose stories and answers to your
questions will inform and entertain you. Join
us for a night of “Jews in Sports” on May 7th,
7:30 p.m. at the JCC in Whippany. RSVP’s are
appreciated. Call Linda Forgosh 973-929-2994
or e-mail lforgosh@jhsmw.org uu
Executive Director’s Report
By Linda Forgosh
F
ifteen
thousand miles.
That’s the approximate number
of miles I have driven to find and
acquire hundreds of history-related documents and collections
that are preserved in the Jewish
Historical Society’s archives. I
often kid that my theme song
is “on the road again” or that I
never know what I will find once I reach my
destination.
JHS aquisition
More recently I was asked to look through
a collection of items belonging to the late
Seymour Litwack. What is unique about this
story is that Litwack designated the Jewish
Historical Society to be the recipient of his and
his family’s history although we had never had
any contact with Mr. Litwack. We subsequently
learned that he lived a scant twenty miles from
our offices in Whippany in an apartment in
Short Hills.
Spring, 2014
Collections
Still his history speaks for
itself. He comes alive in vintage
World War II photographs (see
photo below) his army “dog tags”
and his Purple Heart received for
acts of bravery while serving at the
Battle of the Bulge where he was
wounded. First listed as missing in
action, it is sobering to read the
actual telegram sent to his parents
stating their son had been found.
New material has been added to the following collections:
Michael Stavitsky Collection; UJA
Campaign; Herbert Abeles Collection;
Dan Drench papers; JHSNJ Collection;
and The Partnership for Jewish Life and
Learning Collection
Please feel free to come by and look at any
of the processed collections! Our archive houses fascinating collections from the community
for the community.
Showcase exhibit
Research
There are numerous items in
the Litwack Collection that deserve to be seen
by the greater MetroWest community. In honor
of a nationwide celebration of Jewish Heritage
Month, the JHS is mounting a showcase exhibit
of the Seymour Litwack Collection May 18-July
31, 2014. The showcases will be located at the
far end of the Atrium at the JCC in Whippany
next to the Waldor Library and where a visitor
can see the open door with the sign above that
says “Jewish Historical Society.” Come in and say
hello.
Enjoy!
Linda Forgosh uu
• Reference work at the JHS occurs on a
consistent basis. Whether it is a phone
call from a family member looking
for information about a relative, or a
student using our materials for scholarly
research, we are on hand to help.
• Our youngest researcher, Liza Miller
(age 9), came to the Society to do
research for a school project. (see photo
on page 2) The assignment was to create
a presentation about something meaningful in her community. Liza chose to
research the history of White Meadow
Temple in Rockaway, NJ. After examining the extensive collection (8 cubic feet
of material, 1955-2002,) Liza spent time
reviewing the documents and photographs and created a wonderful history
scrapbook as her project!
ks
c
a
t
S
e
th
m
o
r
F
s
Note
By Jill Hershorin
JHS Archivist
• Herbert Abeles’ son-in-law, Joseph
Nathans, donated three items to the
archives. One is a framed note to Abeles
from Chaim Weizmann dated May 10,
1949,(see photo on page 2) a letter to
Abeles from David Ben Gurion in 1952
and a portrait of Abeles as Federation
president in 1947.
• Author and historian Michael Gabriel
published a book with The History Press
titled “The History of Diners in New
Jersey.” According to Gabriel, he was
besieged by phone and e-mail inquiries from people who wanted to know
“where is the history and photograph of
Newark’s legendary Weequahic Diner?”
Not having ready answers, he visited the
JHS archives and got the information he
Nine Year Old Researcher
Out of the mouth of babes. Liza Miller, age nine, shown
here with her father, Howard, inside the JHS archive
room, explained why she likes being a member of White
Meadow Temple and why she chose to do research
about the temple at the JHS. She says, “I chose to do
research about White Meadow Temple for my school
project because I have a personal connection to it.”
She had her baby-naming at WMT, attended preschool
there, and enjoyed summer camp at White Meadow
Lake Day Camp. She even has a date at WMT for her
Bat Mitzvah, June 10, 2017. A budding historian?
Thanks…
This JHSNJ newsletter is funded by a generous
donation from the
Klein/Fien Philanthropic Fund
which enables the Society topublish its
biannual newsletters.
The fund is managed by Judie Fien-Helfman
and Mark Fien, children of the Society’s founders,
Ruth and Jerome Fien.
This photo and note from Chaim Weizman to 1949
Federation president, Herbert Abeles, was recently
acquired from Abeles’ son-in-law, Joseph Nathan,
as an addition to the Abeles Collection in the JHS
archives.
2
Seymour Litwack, age nineteen, served with the 83rd
“Thunderbolt” Infantry Division during WWII. Litwack
donated his personal history to the JHS.
Martin Horowitz, shown here (extreme right, fourth row from the bottom), is part of a large group of Allied
servicemen welcomed by a synagogue in Bournemouth, England (two hours from London) during WWII. The
photo is part of a collection deeded to JHS by Carolyn and Martin Horowitz. She attended Maple Avenue
school in Newark and he attended Union Avenue school in Irvington.
3
was looking for. Our Greater Weequahic
Collection confirms that nothing rivals
the history of Jewish life in Weequahic.
• Incoming president Andrea Hirschfeld
of Congregation B’nai Israel in Millburn
visited the JHS to begin her preliminary
survey of the JHS collections in anticipation of the synagogue’s 90th anniversary.
She spent time looking through more
than a dozen boxes of synagogue history,
beginning in 1924 when B’nai Israel was
located above Buncher’s Hardware Store
in Millburn.
• We were approached by the Jewish
Community Foundation to assist in
locating photographs for their newlydesigned website. As many as 25 images
were scanned and forwarded to the
site designer, including a “Certificate
of Incorporation” dated January 1949,
which was the start date of the JCF. In
the process we discovered a photo of
federation’s first building located at 32
Central Avenue in Newark.
• Finally, I was re-arranging a collection belonging to Martin and Carolyn
Horowitz. This collection contains
materials from Maple Ave. and Union
Ave. schools, photographs of family
members and synagogues and programs
from various events. Among the items
was a photograph that interested me. It
was of a large group of servicemen and
women standing in front of a beautiful
synagogue. ( see photo on left)Notes
on the photograph stated only that it
was taken in Bournemouth, England in
1944. Martin Horowitz’s face was circled
in pen. I wanted to know a bit about the
photo, so after doing some research I
found the synagogue and emailed them
the picture. They were delighted. They
confirmed that it was indeed their shul
and they were able to identify a few of
the women in the photo. The community hosted events for the servicemen
during World War II. They had a Seder
for them at the Town Hall during that
time. They will post this photo in their
monthly magazine and see if anyone in
the community can identify themselves
or others in the photo! To see the synagogue go to: www.bhcshul.co.uk uu
President’ Message Continued from pg.1
to take a look at our website: www.jhsmw.
org. The website features a wealth of information about our mission and our archives, our
programs, and a schedule of events.
And of course, you can visit us on Facebook.
Search for Jewish Historical Society of NJ.
“Like” us and give us your comments. We’d love
to hear from you. If you have any suggestions,
post them.
Have a zissen pesach. uu
Calendar
March 10—April 23, 2014
The JHS exhibition
“ Federation @ 90”
at the JCC in West Orange
Wednesday,
May 7, 2014, 7:30pm
“Jews In Sports”
At the JCC in Whippany
Friday, May 16, 2014, 11:30am
Intergenerational
Oral History Program
at Daughters of Israel
West Orange
May 18 – July 31, 2014
Jewish Heritage Month
Showcase Exhibit
At JCC in Whippany
Thursday, June 25, 2014, 6:15pm
JHSNJ Lasting Impressions Gala
at the Crystal Plaza, Livingston
uu
New Members
The following have joined
since Fall, 2013:
Congregation Adath Shalom
Steven Blank
Robert Broder
Judith Eisner
Betty Feinberg
Judith & Robert Feld
Michael Gabriele
Carol & Edward Goldberg
Morris Goodman
Andrew Graulich
Lora Hersh
Myron Kronisch
Fran & Howard Loewensteiner
Fred Melamet
Phyllis Mankoff
Judith & Paul May
Allen Meisels
Bruce Miller
Sheba Mittelman
Stephanie Moroy
Bill Nadelberg
Joseph Nathan
Susanne Newmark
Ellen Ozur
Merritt Peck
Richard Perl
Lois & Norton Reiss
Howard Russell
Carol & Harvey Schafler
Jerry Schultz
Rachel Schwarz
Bruce Stavitsky
Ruth Steckelman
Harriet & Norman Sturner
Lana & Justin Walder
••J e w i s h ••
historical
society
new jersey
Jewish Historical Society
✡
Officers
Robert G. Rose, President
Carol Marcus, Vice President
Roger Manshel, Vice President
Robert Singer, Secretary
Robert Cowen, Jr., Financial Secretary
Alfred Mahler, Treasurer
Norbert Gaelen, V.P. Emeritus
Howard Kiesel, Past President
Dr. Jerome M. Horowitz, Past President
Robert Max, Past President
Warren Grover, Past President
✡
Board of Trustees
Hal Braff
Robert Singer
Matthew Snyder
Barbara Drench
Dr. Leonard Strulowitz
Jane Eisenstat
Thelma Florin
Martin Fox
Linda Forgosh
Executive Director/
Sanford Hollander
Curator
Rabbi Shalom D. Lubin
Jill Hershorin
Archivist
Susan Lubow
Irene Segal
Kelly Marx
Administrator
Dr. Victor Parsonnet
Howard
Kiesel
Jean Rich
Editor
David Schechner
Marvin Slatkin
Production/Graphics
Mali Schwartz
Recipient of a General Operating Support
Grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission,
a division in the
Department of State
new jersey
Jewish
historical
society
••
••
901 Route 10, Whippany, NJ 07981-1156
NON-PROFIT
US POSTAGE
PAID
CALDWELL NJ
PERMIT# 1353