The Circuit

Say Halo to Samueli

Nearly 600 guests were onhand as philanthropist Susan Samueli was honored at the John Wayne Cancer Institute (JWCI) Auxiliary’s annual membership luncheon, held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire on Oct 23 during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Samueli received the auxiliary’s Angel Award, an annual acknowledgment of women who have made significant contributions to the community and who serve as positive role models.

Samueli and her husband, Henry, established The Samueli Foundation, of which she is president, to give back to the community. The foundation has been a supporter of the institute for many years. Samueli was introduced to JWCI by her late cousin, Juels Eisenberg, whose wife, Ilene, along with Toni Parnell and Lynn Goldstein, co-chaired the luncheon.

Samueli, who holds a doctorate in nutrition, has a long-standing interest in alternative health care, having studied and practiced the application of homeopathic remedies and Chinese herbs in the treatment of chronic and acute illnesses. With a gift of $5.7 million, the Samuelis established the Susan Samueli Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at UC Irvine in 2000 as an academic center focused on scientific research and education. She has supported many other organizations and causes, including the Orangewood Child Foundation and Temple Beth El in Aliso Viejo.

The Angel Award and a $100,000 post-doctoral fellowship in breast cancer research were created in memory of Ellen Cooperman, an auxiliary co-founder.

The afternoon included a fashion show by Escada with the premiere of the Spring/Summer 2003 collection and a display of the Escada Diamond Jewelry Collection. The luncheon also included a presentation by Ina Lewis, auxiliary president, of a check for $1.11 million to Dr. Donald Morton medical director and surgeon-in-chief of the JWCI, for the funds raised in the last year by the auxiliary.

Established by the family of the late actor, John Wayne, who died of cancer in 1979, the Santa Monica-based JWCI is home to the country’s largest melanoma center, the largest cancer immunotherapy program in the world and the renowned Joyce Eisenberg Keefer Breast Center. JWCI has received worldwide acclaim for advances in understanding the disease, focusing on melanoma, breast, lung, colon, pancreatic and liver cancer, as well as lymphoma and leukemia.

The auxiliary, JWCI’s largest fundraising group, has raised more than $11 million for the institute since its formation in 1983. — Rachel Brand, Contributing Writer

[CAPTION:] John Wayne Cancer Institute Auxiliary Membership Luncheon co-chairs Toni Parnell and Ilene Eisenberg, left and second from left, and Lynn Goldstein, right, with honoree Susan Samueli, second from right. Photo by Lee Salem Photography

Mission: Accomplished

On Oct. 26, 58 leaders of the Los Angeles Jewish community returned from Israel, where they participated in a six-day leadership mission coordinated by The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. The goals of the mission were to educate leaders about the impact of the intifada on Israel’s economy and daily services, to understand Israel’s security issues, to appreciate Israel’s strength in facing its current difficulties and to understand the role that Angelenos play and the impact of their dollars. The group met with former Foreign Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer the day after he announced his resignation, just before the Labor Party pulled out of Sharon’s unity government. The mission was packed with high-level briefings and visits to programs funded by United Jewish Fund and Jews in Crisis dollars.

Federation Chair Jake Farber, led the mission, assisted by Sharon Janks and Arthur and Mady Jablon. Participants included members of the Federation board of directors, activists in The Federation’s Israel & Overseas Committee, synagogue lay leadership and Rabbis Mark Diamond, executive vice president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, Jonathan Bernhard of Adat Ari El, Richard Camras of Shomrei Torah, Harvey Fields of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Daniel Korobkin of Yavneh Hebrew Academy, and Stuart Vogel of Temple Aliyah. This group was joined later in the week by an additional 16 leaders, members of the Los Angeles Steering Committee of the Tel Aviv-Los Angeles Partnership, who came to Tel Aviv for the semiannual Partnership Joint Steering Committee meetings.

‘1: Cheri Morgan, 2003 campaign chair of The Jewish Federation, dances with a recovering soldier at a rehabilitation facility for wounded veterans funded through Jews in Crisis dollars. Photo by Douglas Guthrie

‘2: Participants of The Jewish Federation Leadership Mission visit a military base to observe the completion of training exercises for Pups for Peace bomb sniffing dogs started in Los Angeles and funded by the Jews in Crisis campaign. Photo by Douglas Guthrie

‘3: Jake Farber, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles chair, with wife, Janet, visit with a student at Nitzanim, a high school in Israel twinned with Adat Ari El Day School through the Tel Aviv-Los Angeles Partnership. Photo by Douglas Guthrie

All in the Family

Medor L’dor (from generation to generation) was the motif when two Sephardic organizations united for a special event to bring the generations closer. Sephardic Tradition and Recreation (S.T.A.R.), a local Jewish youth organization for children 7-15, and The Los Angeles Sephardic Home for the Aging (LASHA), launched the “Family Day At The Ranch” event Oct. 27 in Ventura County. The goal was to promote the important work of LASHA at the Jewish Home for the Aging to a younger audience and to recruit new members.

More than 400 participants enjoyed activities such as horse back riding, face painting, hayrides, line dancing with a country DJ, pumpkin painting, mini-rodeo exhibition, marshmallow roasts and rock climbing. Larry Clumeck, president of LASHA, and Rabbi Brad Schachter, executive director of S.T.A.R., spoke about caring for the needs of children and the elderly. Hyman Jebb Levy, S.T.A.R.’s founder and president, thanked all the volunteers and sponsors who made the event possible. A d’var Torah, delivered by S.T.A.R. board memberRabbi Chaim Hisiger on the beauty of the animal kingdom, closed the event.

To find out more about S.T.A.R. programs, call (818) 782-7359 or visit www.LASTAR.org .

Open House

The House of Returns, the new Beit T’Shuvah thrift shop, celebrated its grand opening on Oct. 24.

The House of Returns features ceramics, crystal, furniture, collectibles, and clothing, including designer labels such as Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent.

Store manager Liana Chaouli works with each customer to create a high fashion wardrobe for resale prices with proceeds supporting addiction treatment and prevention center at Beit T’Shuvah, which serves more than 500 residents and 2,500 community members every year. The shop gives residents of Beit T’Shuvah a professional environment to gain work experience and basic career skills.

The House of Returns is located at 10409 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Call (310) 204-4669 to schedule a pick-up, provide leads on new merchandise donations or to become a House of Returns volunteer.

PHOTO CREDIT: Todd Wallace.

A Fresh Start

Em Habanim, a Sephardic synagogue in West Hills, was renamed Beit HaLevy on Oct. 20. The shul’s founders decided to rededicate the synagogue in honor of Lori Levy, daughter of philanthropist Hyman Jebb Levy, who died of a malignant melanoma in March 2001 at the age of 44.

More than 150 people attended the ceremony, during which Rabbis Jacob Ott and Daniel Bouskilla of Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel eulogized Lori Levy. Ott called her a “woman of deep courage.”

Levy said he was at first reluctant to accept the honor, but felt it was what his daughter would have wanted.

“This is what Lori was, what this synagogue stands for,” he said. “She hated prejudice. She was always ready to do things for people, to reach out and help them where they wouldn’t know she was involved.”

Beit HaLevy is located at 7533 Fallbrook Ave. For information, call (818) 710-8878. — Wendy Madnick, Contributing Writer

We Have a Winner!

Teacher Sara Yoseph of Atid Hebrew Academy in West Covina has won the 2002 Jewish Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation. The award was presented to Yoseph in a surprise ceremony at Atid’s West Covina campus. She and other award recipients will be honored at a formal luncheon on Dec. 12 in Santa Monica.

“It’s a wonderful surprise,” said Yoseph, who has spent a decade teaching Torah and Hebrew to children from kindergarten through sixth grade.

“She’s a brilliant teacher, I couldn’t be more proud,” said Atid principal Eda Segal, “and the kids’ reaction was out of this world!” With the award came a check for $10,000 dollars, presented by Richard Sandler, executive vice-president of the Milken Family Foundation. Also in attendance: Milken Foundation chair Lowell Milken and Dr. Gil Graff, executive director of the Bureau of Jewish Education.

B’nai B’rith’s B-Day Picnic

B’nai B’rith Shalom Unit celebrated B’nai B’rith International’s 159th anniversary at a Brentwood park. The event, organized by Shalom Unit’s leader Sarit Finkelstein-Boim, featured Mediterranean-style picnic fare for the families in attendance. Drora Regev conducted arts and crafts activities for the children and a caricature artist was onhand to draw attendees.

(From left) Nava Marmur and Sarit Finkelstein-Boim, president of B’nai B’rith Shalom Unit.

Hope Takes a Walk

City of Hope’s 2002 Annual Walk of Hope to Cure Breast Cancer enlisted more than 6,500 participants and raised more than $600,000 for the Duarte hospital and research campus. Celebrities in attendance included NBC anchor Chuck Henry; actress Kathryn Joosten of “The West Wing”; actor Jim Turner of “Arli$$”; and “Survivor: Marquesas” winner Vercepia Towery. For more information, visit www.cityofhope.org.

Barking Up The Right Tree

Israel Humanitarian Foundation will hold a cocktail/dairy hors d’oeuvres reception for Yonathan Peres, staff veterinarian and development director of the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind, at the Luxe Summit Hotel Bel Air. Peres is the son of Israel’s former minister of Foreign Affairs, Shimon Peres. Luxe Summit CEO Efrem Harkham will host.

For more information, call (310) 556-8358.

Posin’ for “The Chosen”

The West Coast Jewish Theatre (WCJT) held a gala event at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica, where the nonprofit Jewish Theatre’s production of Chaim Potok’s “The Chosen” ran for 29 performances.

PHOTO: (From left) Dr. Judith Marlane, WCJT President Leslie Martinson, Connie Martinson, Ruth Low, Theodore Bikel, WCJT founder Naomi Jacobs and Los Angeles Repertory Company director David Ellenstein. Photo by Orly Halevy