HEED THE CALL — Sunday is the day of the “big game,” and the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City’s annual Super Sunday. While you’re in the kitchen preparing those game day snacks or doing whatever it is you enjoy doing on Sunday, don’t forget to answer the phone when a Super Sunday volunteer calls to ask for your yearly pledge. You’ll feel good knowing that your pledge will help sustain and enhance Jewish life at home and around the world! Learn more by reading Co-chair Neal Schwartz’s article in the opinion section.

UNSETTLING CARTOON — On Sunday, Jan. 27, which just so happened to be International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the London Sunday Times published a cartoon that many of us found horribly offensive. According to reports published by our national/international news service JTA, the cartoon shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu building a wall on the bodies of Palestinians and using their blood as cement. It carries the caption “Israeli Elections … Will Cementing Peace Continue?”

HonestReporting called the cartoon “a blood libel on a day when the millions of victims of the Holocaust are remembered.”

“On any day, this cartoon’s imagery is an assault on the real victims of genocide, demeans their suffering and insults their memory,” said HonestReporting CEO Joe Hyams in a statement issued Sunday by the organization. “The Sunday Times should be mindful that what started as cartoons in the 1930s ultimately led to violence and unspeakable tragedy.”

Originally the Sunday Times defended the cartoon, saying it was “aimed squarely at Mr. Netanyahu and his policies, not at Israel, let alone at Jewish people.” But by Monday Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. owns the Sunday Times of London through a subsidiary, said the paper should apologize for printing what he called a “grotesque” cartoon of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Murdoch made his remarks Monday on Twitter about the cartoon.

“Gerald Scarfe has never reflected the opinions of the Sunday Times,” Murdoch tweeted, referring to the cartoon’s illustrator. “Nevertheless, we owe major apology for grotesque, offensive cartoon.”

Murdoch’s statement was made in response to criticism from leaders of the Jewish community in the U.K. who said the drawing was reminiscent of anti-Semitic blood libels.

Jon Benjamin, the head of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, called the cartoon “appalling” and said it was similar to the offensive images of Jews “more usually found in parts of the virulently anti-Semitic Arab press.”

Benjamin said its appearance in the broadsheet on International Holocaust Remembrance Day added insult to injury.

SPINNING TREE THEATRE PRESENTS ‘SHIPWRECKED!’ — Written by Jewish Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies, the three-actor, multi-character vaudevillian romp “Shipwrecked!” is 90 minutes of non-stop adventure-filled fun for the entire family (ages 9 and up). The New York Times says the play “Springs to life like a theatrical pop-up book!” The show runs Feb. 1 through Feb. 17 on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It will be put on at the Paul Mesner Puppet Studio, 1006 E. Linwood Blvd. in Kansas City, Mo. Tickets may be purchased by calling 816-569-5277. More information is available on the website, www. www.spinningtreetheatre.com.

Bryan Schmutz is really busy these days as part of the marketing team at the Jewish Community Center. He’s happy in his position of marketing coordinator/webmaster — one that Jewish Employment Services helped him to land. Schmutz gives much credit to JES helping him land the JCC job.

“They knew what I was looking for and knew if something would be a good fit,” Schmutz said. “It was very helpful and very relevant.”

The JCC has been pleased, too.

“Bryan has been a very good hire for us,” said Stu Goldstein, JCC marketing director. “Bryan has established a great working relationship with the teams we support and has quickly developed a reputation for delivering high quality work. He’s become a significant asset to my department,” Goldstein added.

Schmutz is one of many success stories connected with JES. Now entering its third year, Jewish Employment Services continues to meet its mission of helping members of the community find employment.

Since its inception in 2010, 226 job seekers landed a job with the help of JES. More than 500 job seekers have enrolled in the program that currently has 210 actively enrolled.

JES is a joint program of Jewish Family Services and Jewish Vocational Service. It was the brainchild of a handful of local Jewish business leaders who saw a need to expand the services that were being provided to members of the Jewish community who had lost their jobs.

JES is funded by the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, the Jewish Heritage Foundation, the Lowenstein Brothers Foundation, the Morgan Family Foundation and the Sosland Foundation.

In putting the program together in Kansas City, Director Gayl Reinsch looked at similar programs in Baltimore, San Francisco and East Orange, N.J.

Job seekers work closely with JES career coaches Cari Boasberg, Joan Kopelson and Anne Mullin as well as Reinsch, who helps clients in the actual job search.

JES offers a monthly job club, a weekly JumpStart class and individualized coaching sessions that involve intensive work on resume development, creating a 30-second commercial, a “reason for leaving (last job) statement” and other components to assist job seekers in their job search.

The new Monday morning Kaffee Klatsch is a weekly social hour designed to motivate job seekers and provide a venue for mutual support. Led by a coach, this has proven to be a great way to start off the week.

“Over the two years, JES has developed a great process that gets job seekers into a new job faster,” Reinsch said. An effective resume, mock interviewing, and numerous networking tools such as the Networking Score Card, are part of what sets JES job seekers apart.

Employers who have hired JES clients have been positive about the program.

“Jewish Employment Services helped us fill several key positions in short order,” said Miles Kaufman of Bullseye Media. “Within just a few days they presented us with several qualified candidates to choose from.”
JES funders are also pleased with the program’s success.

"We were proud to be a part of the inception of Jewish Employment Services, as together, we were able to quickly respond to the rapidly growing unemployment rate within the Jewish community,” said Todd Stettner, Federation executive vice president and CEO.

The JES team continues to work hard to help job seekers; those wishing to connect directly with JES should email , attaching a resume, if they have one. For more information about the program in general, visit www.jfskc.org/JES or www.jvskc.org.

The topic of mental illness is one that touches many lives — one in four Americans struggle with mental illness in any given year.

The Jewish Community Center Cultural Arts Department raises the issue of dealing with mental illness in its production of the musical “Next To Normal” at the White Theatre. Performances are Feb. 9, 14, 16, 21, and 23 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 10, 17 and 24 at 2 p.m. Each performance will be followed by a talk-back session with a mental health professional to highlight and provide context for the issues raised by the script.

This production features the talents of local actors under the direction of Mark Swezey with musical direction by Jeff Martin. The cast includes local success story Patrick Lewallen, a graduate of Shawnee Mission South and the University of Kansas. Lewallen was cast as Gabe through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Lewallen performed in the national tour of “Rock of Ages.” He also appeared in the movie version of the hit rock musical with Tom Cruise. Lewallen, a former student of director Mark Swezey, last appeared at the White Theatre in the comedy “Beau Jest.”

“Next To Normal” won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for drama. It is the story of a suburban household that is dealing with the mother’s bi-polar disorder and its unpredictability. The audience shares the experience of a family’s struggles as they deal with mental illness and how they learn to care for each other. The exhilarating musical score helps tell this powerful story in a meaningful way sure to move the audience to a more keen understanding of the challenges of dealing with mental illness.

The Jewish Community Mental Health Coalition is partnering with the JCC on “Next to Normal” to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of mental illness. Following each performance, a mental health professional will provide insight into the issues raised, and context for the complexities of mental illness. (For more information on these sessions, visit www.jcckc.org/normal.) Participants for the Talk-Back sessions will come from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Depression Bipolar Support Alliance, the Jewish Community Mental Health Coalition and Bike for the Brain.

While plays, movies and TV frequently emphasize the more exaggerated signs and symptoms of mental illness, the National Institute of Mental Health states “most people with mental illnesses who are diagnosed and treated will respond well and live productive lives.”

Cast member Lewallen said he’s excited to be working in this JCC-White Theatre production of “Next To Normal.”

“I confess, in the beginning, I knew nothing about the show,” Lewallen said. “Through the rehearsal process, I have become enchanted with the difficult, creative score and the overpowering story. It’s going to be a solid production.”

“Next To Normal” is rated PG-13 for adult language and situations. Tickets for this production are $16 for members, $22 for (general public), and $11 for students (college and under). Tickets may be purchased by contacting the box office, open from 3-6 p.m. Monday through Friday at 913- 327-8054; or you may purchase tickets online by visiting the JCC web site at www.jcckc.org/boxoffice.

“Needle in the Bone: How a Holocaust Survivor and a Polish Resistance Fighter Beat the Odds and Found Each Other,” by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg. (Potomac Books, 2013)

Kansas Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg has crafted a beautiful, moving story about the lives of two survivors of World War II, both of whom ended up at the University of Kansas where they became close friends. She interviewed both men over the course of several years. Now in “Needle in the Bone,” she exquisitely combines their World War experiences into a narrative that informs readers and at times brings them to tears. She also demonstrates the power of friendship and a belief in the essential goodness of people which can overcome prejudice, misconceptions and the devastation of history.

Lou Frydman was a 9-year-old Jewish boy when the Nazis invaded Poland. When the Warsaw Ghetto was liquidated, he and his brother were sent to six concentration camps and on three death marches, miraculously surviving until they were liberated in 1945. Jarek Piekalkiewicz was descended from a well-to-do Polish family and became involved with the Polish resistance army at the age of 15, forming his own unit. He was captured by the Germans and sent to a POW camp from which he was eventually liberated by the U.S. Army, which took him on as a contract worker until the end of the war.

Both young men lost virtually all of their extended families during the war. Both were driven by a desire for education. Piekalkiewicz went to Trinity College in Dublin. Frydman went to City College of New York. Each one met a wonderful woman who became his wife. And in the end, each one became a notable scholar in his field, both teaching at the University of Kansas where they met and became close friends.

This summary does not do credit to Mirriam-Goldberg’s sensitive writing. The way she was able to blend both life stories into a seamless whole, her personal involvement with her subjects, her exhaustive research about Poland and the Holocaust during the war, and about the misconceptions of Polish anti-Semitism are truly impressive. “Needle in the Bone” should become required reading in any World War II or Holocaust history class. It is much more than the reminiscences of two old men. It is world history at its finest.

Andrea Kempf is a retired librarian who speaks throughout the community on various topics related to books and reading. She is a member of the Council of Advocates of the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education.

Kansas poet laureate discusses new book

Join author Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg on Thursday, Jan. 31, as she discusses her book, “Needle in the Bone,” sponsored by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education and the Kansas City Public Library at the library’s Plaza branch. The book weaves together the stories of Holocaust survivor Lou Frydman and Polish resistance fighter Jarek Piekalkiewicz. For reservations, call 816-701-3407 or email www.kclibrary.org. 6 p.m. reception; 6:30 p.m. program.

Although Kansas City’s Hope House and Overland Park’s clair de lune lingerie boutique each focus on increasing a woman’s self esteem, the reasons women seek them out couldn’t be more different. Last year Hope House served 10,000 victims of domestic violence in its two Kansas City-area shelters and Comprehensive Outreach Programming and clair de lune sold high-quality bras and lingerie to hundreds of women throughout the region.

Yet a successful nine-year alliance between Hope House and clair de lune brings the notion of helping women feel better about themselves full circle. Terry Levine, a Kansas City resident who founded clair de lune — which specializes in expert bra fitting — in October 2004, envisioned her business as an active community participant. Each year the boutique is involved in myriad breast cancer programs that help raise awareness on the importance of early detection and support women experiencing a breast cancer journey.  Levine also wanted to include victims of domestic violence in her business mission statement and in January 2005 launched the Great Bra Exchange (GBE) in partnership with Hope House. The goal: to encourage clair de lune’s customers to donate gently used bras for Hope House and receive $15 off a new bra in return.

As a result of the GBE, clair de lune has donated 12,000 bras to help the women of Hope House — many who arrive at the shelters with little more than the clothes on their backs. This year’s event kicks off Jan. 10 and Levine anticipates her customers will again be generous with bra donations for Hope House, which in 2013 observes its 30th anniversary of serving the Kansas City area. This year clair de lune hopes to top the 3,000 gently worn bras donated by customers in 2012.

“I am humbled our loyal and new customers alike answer the call each year,” says Levine. “As a small business owner, I consider it a privilege to support an organization like Hope House that helps victims of domestic violence get back on their feet and break the cycle of abuse.”

The Great Bra Exchange campaign emphasizes “Exchange. Empower. Indulge.”

“It allows our customers to exchange gently used bras to help empower the women of Hope House while indulging in a new bra for themselves,” explains Levine.  “We’ve even had customers buy new bras with the $15 offer and donate those to Hope House, too.”

MaryAnne Metheny, chief executive officer of Hope House since 1993, says one in four women will be victims of domestic violence in their lifetime. In addition, most women seen at Hope House start over with nothing. “Undergarments are an essential for a woman to feel ready to go out in the world — they are part of building self-esteem,” says Metheny. “The wonderful thing about the partnership with clair de lune is that we receive bras of all sizes to accommodate our clients’ various needs.”

Metheny says while a bra might be taken for granted in society, it’s often a luxury for women in a shelter. “The gently used bras we receive from the Great Bra Exchanges means our women have one less stressor in their lives while getting re-established.”

Levine and Metheny agree the Great Bra Exchange is one small but essential step to help victims of domestic violence achieve independence.

“To the women of Hope House, a bra represents another building block to help rebuild a sense of self beaten down in the cycle of abuse,” says Metheny.

The Great Bra Exchange at clair de lune ends Feb. 3. For more information or to donate gently used bras for Hope House, call 913-449-3232.

ELECTION TRIVIA FROM ISRAEL — This week was the second time in just three months that Chronicle contributing writer Sybil Kaplan and her husband have voted. Now living is Israel but still American citizens, they voted by absentee ballot before the U.S. election in November. On Tuesday they headed for the polls for Israel’s 19th general election. She reports that there is no such thing as voter registration in Israel. In general, three weeks before elections, every eligible voter is notified which of the more than 10,000 polling places they should report to. After showing Israeli identity cards, voters are handed envelopes and directed behind a cardboard stand. There on a table were boxes with the symbols of all the 32 parties from which to choose a paper, insert it into the envelope, seal the envelope, emerge from the closed-in area and drop the ballot into a box. This is more than a little different from the computerized voting machines many of us in Johnson County are accustomed to!

NEVER FORGET — As Jews, the phrase “Never Forget” is engraved in our brains. As such, it is important for us to make note of such dates as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The U.N. General Assembly has designated Sunday, Jan. 27 — the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau — as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this annual day of commemoration, every member state of the U.N. has an obligation to honor the victims of the Nazi era and to develop educational programs to help prevent future genocides. This year’s theme is “Rescue during the Holocaust: The Courage to Care.” As we remember the Holocaust, you will find a glowing recommendation by Andrea Kempf of Kansas Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg’s new book “Needle in the Bone: How a Holocaust Survivor and a Polish Resistance Fighter Beat the Odds and Found Each Other.” The author will present the book, at an event co-sponsored by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education and the Kansas City Public Library on Thursday, Jan. 31.

NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER — This statement is so, so true. More than a year ago The Chronicle received several review copies of the book “Christmas for Joshua” by Avraham Azrieli. It gets a 4.61 rating from Barnes & Noble reviewers and a 4.5 from Amazon readers, but I didn’t bother to check this out because the cover just didn’t appeal to me. Besides the unappealing title, the cover features a Christmas ornament hanging from a tree. My co-workers and I just couldn’t figure out how this book was relevant to us other than the author being Israeli. But I was bored a few weeks ago and finally picked up the book. I would agree with readers on those two websites that the book is well worth your time. Reviewer Lucie describes it very well, writing, “Rusty, a converted Christian and his Jewish wife, happily married, are suddenly torn by conflicting ideas and feelings when their daughter marries an Orthodox Jew. The ensuing saga is heart-rending.” After I read the book I recommended it to a coworker, who also enjoyed it. The author Azrieli served as an IDF Intelligence officer before graduating from Columbia Law School in New York. He has also written “The Jerusalem Inception,” “The Jerusalem Assassin,” “The Masada Complex,” “One Step Ahead” and “Your Lawyer on a Short Leash.”

A is Alison, Adam, Abigail, Asa and now Amelia in the Kaye family. Baby Amelia Esther Kaye, the third child for Alison and Adam Kaye, was born at 10:10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 10, at Shawnee Mission Medical Center and is The Chronicle’s First Jewish Baby for 2013.

Proud papa Adam said the little girl — who weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce and measured 20.5 inches long at birth — was named this past Saturday at BIAV. Her Hebrew name is Amalia, which means Hashem’s work. Adam pointed out that her Hebrew name is very appropriate and relates to Vaeira, which is the Torah portion that was read on the day the baby was named. In that portion G-d is beginning his work for the redemption in Egypt by sending the first seven plagues to Egypt in homes of forcing Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt.

It’s coincidental that Adam, Alison and their other two children have English names that begin with A. They chose to name their oldest daughter, who will be 4 next month and was born in Philadelphia, Abigail simply because they liked the name. Son Asa, who is 2 and attends the Jewish Community Child Development Center along with his older sister, is named after a grandparent.

“So we had to give Amelia an A name so she wouldn’t feel left out,” Adam explained.

Amelia, who was due Jan. 7, has been a good baby according to her mother. Her siblings are also adjusting well to the new addition, who has brown hair and gray eyes.

“They love her. Abigail is now calling herself the biggest sister and has held her a few times. Asa is a little young and doesn’t quite get it yet,” Adam said.

The Kayes are active members of BIAV and are among the next generation of Kansas City’s Jewish leaders to be honored on Sunday, Jan. 27, at the annual Purim Gala. They moved here in 2009 — he is a general and trauma surgeon at Overland Park Regional Medical Center and she is a pediatric plastic surgeon at Children’s Mercy Hospital — and have no family members living in the area. So friends at BIAV have stepped in to provide helping hands as their shul family.

“Friends slept over at our house for two nights while we were delivering and the first night after she was born, taking our older two children to school and everything. BIAV has a food list and they are giving us a meal every other day so we don’t have to worry about making food or feeding our kids,” Adam said. “All we’ve heard is how can we help? Let me take your kids away from you for a little while. Our kids have had lots of play dates.”

In fact Adam said BIAV played a big role in their decision to stay in Kansas City.

“I came here for training,” he said, “and we decided to stay afterwards.”

In celebration of Amelia’s birth, the Kaye family received the following prizes, provided by Chronicle advertisers:

• BabyCakes — Cupcake

• Cigar & Tabac, Ltd. — “It’s a Girl” cigars

• Craig Sole Designs — Bouquet

• Cosentino’s Price Chopper — $25 gift certificate

• Gates Bar-B-Q — $25 gift certificate

• Irish Crystal Co. — Silver-plated Pull Duck Bank

• Johnson County Community College — Pair of show tickets to either “The Swingle Singers” or “Stories from Lake Wobegon” with Garrison Keillor

• Klipped Kippahs — Officially licensed Kansas City Royals Pro-Kippah

• Nall Hills Liquors — a bottle of kosher wine

• Riley’s Phillips 66 — $25 gift certificate

• Sheridan’s Lattés & Frozen Custard — Gift card

• Urban Table — $25 gift card

Purim Gala was created in 1998 by a group of spirited young volunteers who wanted to ensure that their synagogue — Congregation Beth Israel Abraham & Voliner — would survive and flourish. In past years, the Purim Gala has honored men and women from the broader community who have received the Mordechai Award for service to the Jewish people.

Now those young volunteers are all grown up, says Rabbi Daniel Rockoff, spiritual leader of BIAV. “The logo of our shul is ‘in the path of our fathers.’ One of our most important traditions is making sure there is a foundation in place for the next generation.”

So this year’s Purim Gala does not have a singular honoree. There are no individuals being honored, but rather the entire up-and-coming generation of young adults under the age of 40 will be recognized on Sunday evening, Jan. 27, at Oakwood Country Club. These honorees consist of homegrown Kansans who have moved back as well as transplants from outside K.C. and beyond America’s borders.

“As we look around, there is a wealth of young, educated spiritual individuals who are making a commitment to their families, their professions and their synagogue,” Rabbi Rockoff added. “They have joined the BIAV family and provide our best hope for the future.”

Highlighting the evening’s program is Rona Novick, Ph.D., the director of the Fanya Gottesfeld Heller Doctoral Program at the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration at Yeshiva University. She’ll address “Youthful Wonder: What We Can Learn from Children.”

“The most important advice I have for parents, grandparents and anyone who works with children is to enjoy them, and find the magic and amazing core that’s in every child, although sometimes hidden,” Novick said.

“Love them at every age and every stage, and be open to learn from them and grow with them,” she added.

Novick also serves as co-educational director of the Hidden Sparks program, providing consultation to day schools and yeshivas. She has developed the Alliance for School Mental Health at North-Shore Long Island Jewish Medical Center and served as its director for eight years, authoring the BRAVE bully prevention program for schools.

Novick is the author of a book for parents: “Helping Your Child Make Friends,” and editor of the series “Kids Don’t Come With Instruction Manuals.” As the mother of three sons, she credits much of her knowledge and skill to on-the-job training.

“Increasingly our Jewish schools and Jewish communities are recognizing how important it is to create a welcoming culture that embraces everyone, values everyone, and recognizes that we are, all of us, b’tzelem Elokim, made in G-d’s image.”

As part of the congregation’s tribute to its youth, a one-of-a-kind chuppah is being designed and created by the shul’s own master quilter and seamstress, Judi Solomont. The chuppah, which will be embroidered with the names of children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren, will be used for the special children’s aliyah during Simchat Torah services each year.

Members of the community are welcome to add names as well, noted Margie Robinow, this year’s Purim Gala chair. “There are many Kansas Citians who can recall going to services with their bubbes and zaydes at BIAV. We hope they’ll help us continue the tradition by making a donation to have their families’ names embroidered on our children’s chuppah.”

Solomont explained, “We’re using an oversized tallit that will cover the entire bimah, allowing for more children to be blessed. It will be very colorful, with different colored threads used to embroider names.”

Solomont, who has been sewing since she was a child, added, “I learned on my grandmother’s treadle sewing machine. Seven years ago I discovered machine embroidery and that has taken me in a new direction. Now I can not only make gifts, I can also personalize them with names and dates in Hebrew and English.”

The design of the tallit will be unveiled at Purim Gala, which begins at 5 p.m. with cocktails, musical entertainment and a Chinese auction. An elegant kosher dinner follows at 6 p.m. This is the second year the Purim Gala is being held at Oakwood, site of the 2012 Gala that honored Todd Stettner, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City. He is making the Mordechai Award presentation this year.

Tickets begin at $180 per person. Donations of $3,600, $5,000 and $10,000 include the full package of an ad, photo message and 10 tickets. To place a message in the journal, add names to the chuppah, or purchase tickets, call Barry Rubin in the BIAV office, 913-341-2444, email or visit www.biav.org/purimgala.

The Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee will present an evening with the Israel Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, at the Jewish Community Campus. He is expected to speak about “Challenges Facing Israel in 2013.”

Doors will open at 7 p.m.; there is no charge for the event. For more information, contact Marvin Szneler at 913-327-8126.
The ambassador will be in Kansas to present the Landon Lecture at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan., on Tuesday, Jan. 29.

“It is a great honor for us to again host an Israel Ambassador to the United States,” said JCRB|AJC Executive Director Marvin Szneler. “We last hosted Israel Ambassador to the U.S., The Honorable Danny Ayalon, in 2004.”

Szneler said it has been particularly gratifying working together to plan this event with Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s office, U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts’ Chief of Staff Chad Tenpenny, as well as “folks with the Landon Lecture at KSU, and of course, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest Roey Gilad, who will accompany the ambassador.”

“These are longstanding relationships which are important to our community,” Szneler continued.

Oren was appointed as Israel’s ambassador to the United States in June 2009. In this capacity, he meets regularly with officials in the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon, as well as with Members of Congress from both parties. He regularly briefs Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders on issues vital to the U.S.-Israel alliance.

Oren has been instrumental in securing U.S. support for Israel’s defense and upholding Israel’s right to security and peace. He frequently represents Israel in the American media, appearing on numerous television programs and authoring some 40 articles in major publications. He has spoken on dozens of university campuses, visited Jewish communities across the United States, and launched outreach initiatives to the Latino, African-American, Christian and Muslim leaderships. The Forward named him one of the five more influential Jews in America and the Jerusalem Post listed Oren as one of the 10 most influential Jews worldwide.

Born in the United States and educated at Princeton and Columbia, Oren has been a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale and Georgetown, and was a Distinguished Fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem. He has received fellowships from the British and Canadian government as well as a Moshe Dayan Fellowship form Tel Aviv University and the Lady Davis Fellowship at the Hebrew University. His last two books, “Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East from 1776 to the Present” and “Six Days of War,” were both New York Times bestsellers. He has won the Los Angeles times History Book of the Year Award and the National Jewish Book Award.

In Israel, Oren served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces, in the paratroopers in the Lebanon War, a liaison with the U.S. Sixth Fleet during the Gulf War, and an IDF spokesman during the Second Lebanon War and the Gaza operation in January 2009. He acted as an emissary to Jewish refuseniks in the Soviet Union, as an adviser to Israel’s delegation to the United Nations, and as the government’s director of Inter-Religious Affairs. He was a gold medal-winning athlete in the Maccabiah Games.

Oren and his wife, Sally, have three children.

Kansas Citians will have a chance to meet world-renowned photographer Gil Cohen-Magen at a variety of events Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 5 and 6. With a portfolio that ranges from the most violent scenes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to the closed world of ultra-Orthodox Chasidim, Cohen-Magen has captured the many faces of the Holy Land through his lens. His photographs have graced the front pages of some of the world’s leading newspapers and magazines, including The Washington Post, The Guardian and Haaretz.

Cohen-Magen spent 10 years working with the Reuters news agency. One of his photographs was selected as one of the top 100 photographs of the decade. He has exhibited his photographs in Europe and in Israel, and will stop in Kansas City as part of his U.S. tour.

“I’ve always been a great fan of his work, and I thought it was important to bring Gil to Kansas City, as he gives a very different perspective on many aspects of life in Israel,” said Ophir Hacohen, Israel Emissary to Kansas City, who is in Kansas City as part of the local Jewish Federation’s emissary program.

Cohen-Magen will hold three public lectures during his visit:

Images of Faith in the Holy Land at Plaza Public Library, 6 p.m., Feb. 5: This special event will bring a focus to the multi-faith communities of Israel, including Cohen-Magen’s rare, exclusive photos of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel, as well as Christian and Muslim celebrations. Gain insight, as you’ve never seen it before, into multi-culturalism through Cohen-Magen’s stories and images, which include everything from a Syrian-Druze wedding to Purim and Passover celebrations, to the celebration of Eid Al-Adha. Reception begins at 6 p.m., followed by the program and book signing at 6:30 p.m.

Co-sponsored by the Kansas City Public Library System, the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council and the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, as an event celebrating United Nations International Interfaith Harmony Week.

Chassidic Courtyards lecture at JCC Lunch & Learn, noon, Feb. 6: This series is a never-before done photographic study of the ultra-Orthodox in Israel over the past 10 years, including religious and cultural rituals and ceremonies. The Lunch & Learn will offer an intimate discussion of Cohen-Magen’s exclusive access to this world. Bring your own lunch and enjoy a rare cultural insight into Israel’s ultra-Orthodox communities.

Co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Center’s Jewish Life & Learning and the Jewish Federation. For more information about the Lunch & Learn, contact Jill Maidhof, 913-327-8077.

Shooting Under Fire at Corinth Public Library, 3 p.m., Feb. 6: You may never view the news the same way again. This program deals with the challenges of capturing the news as a photojournalist. Get insight into the judgment, journalistic ethics and inspiration that go into each photograph.

Co-sponsored by Jewish Federationand Johnson County Public Library.

All lectures are free of charge and open to the public; no registration required. Each event will end with a book signing; Cohen-Magen’s book and an assortment of prints will be on sale at each event.

In addition to his public lectures, Cohen-Magen will also have an opportunity to teach students at Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy.

“Our mission at Jewish Federation is to sustain and enhance Jewish life at home and around the world,” said Hacohen. “I viewed this as an opportunity to enrich all of our lives by bringing a relevant taste of Israel to Kansas City. I look forward to hearing his incredible experiences myself.”

For more information about Cohen-Magen or his lecture events, contact Ophir Hacohen at 913-327-8124 or .