Moving and Shaking: Andi Murez wins big at Maccabiah Games, Tour de Summer Camps registration opens

From left: Maccabiah standout Andi Murez (Photo by Norbert Von Der Groeben, Stanford Athletics) and her Maccabiah Games trophy.

Andi Murez, 21, a swimmer from Venice Beach competing in her second Maccabiah Games this year, was named Most Outstanding Athlete out of all the women who competed during the 19th annual international athletic Jewish event.

Murez, one of Maccabi USA’s standout athletes, collected seven medals in the pool this year — five golds and two silvers. She won nine medals in her first Maccabiah, in 2009, and completed four years of collegiate swimming at Stanford University this year. 

Josh Warshawsky, Temple Beth Am’s new artist-in-residence. Photo courtesy of Temple Beth Am.

Former LimmudLA Executive Director Rabbi Yechiel Hoffman and musician-singer-songwriter Josh Warshawsky became the newest additions to the staff at Temple Beth Am last month.

Hoffman and Warshawsky were hired on as the Conservative synagogue’s first-ever director of youth learning and engagement and as its artist-in-residence, respectively.

The new staff members reflect a new strategy on the part of the congregation, according to Sheryl Goldman, executive director of Temple Beth Am.

“We are trying to be creative in the way we approach education and engagement synagogue-wide. Education and engagement, and also music,” Goldman said.

Temple Beth Am also has appointed Rabbi Emeritus Joel Rembaum to serve as its interim head of school of Pressman Academy, following last month’s departure of Rabbi Mitchel Malkus from the position. 

Bryan Berkett, Tour de Summer Camps co chair. Photo by Dan Kacvinski.

Registration opened last week for The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ inaugural Tour de Summer Camps, a community cycling event to raise funds for Jewish summer camp scholarships

“Through our Tour de Summer Camps event, we are raising funds that will make this transformative experience affordable for even more families in our community, while increasing awareness of the significant impact of Jewish camping,” said Jay Sanderson, Federation president and CEO.

The event will take place on Oct. 27 at Camp Alonim on the Brandeis-Bardin Campus of the American Jewish University. The registration deadline is Oct. 7. Camps that will benefit include Camp Akiba, Camp Alonim, Camp Gilboa, Camp Hess Kramer, Camp JCA Shalom, Camp Ramah, Gindling Hilltop Camp, Kibbutz Max Straus and Moshava Malibu.

Among those planning to ride is Bryan Berkett, Tour de Summer Camps co-chair and 2010 Journal mensch, who is cycling a 100-mile route as a member of the Federation’s Young Leadership Division team. 

“I hope you will join me raising money, getting in shape and having a great time,” Berkett said in an e-mail that went out to the community.

The hope is to raise $500,000 for camp scholarships, and as of July 31, 100 individuals had signed up to participate, according to Berkett. Participants can opt for 100, 62, 36 or 18-mile rides.

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation is serving as the event’s biggest sponsor. Other sponsors include Debbie and Mark Attanasio, Julie and Marc Platt, and the Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation. For more information, visit tourdesummercamps.kintera.org. 

Dr. Benedick Fraass Photo courtesy of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) has awarded Dr. Benedick Fraass, vice chair for research and professor and director of medical physics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the William D. Coolidge Award, in recognition of his career achievements in medical physics.

 “The William D. Coolidge Award credits those whose innovation and creativity have revolutionized the field of medical physics — an award only suited for a prestigious leader like Dr. Fraass,” said Steven Piantadosi,  director of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars.

The William Coolidge Award is the highest honor given out by the AAPM, a scientific and professional organization.

Hamilton High graduate Annie Rimmon. Photo courtesy of Ron Rimmon.

Annie Rimmon, a 2013 graduate of Hamilton High School Humanities Magnet and a counselor and assistant song leader at Gindling Hilltop Camp in Malibu, was recently awarded the UCLA Stamps Family Charitable Foundation Scholarship (SFCFC).

The SFCFC program recognizes “the very top of UCLA’s highly selective and academically accomplished freshman applicant pool,” according to the UCLA Scholarship Resource Center.

Moving and Shaking acknowledges accomplishments by members of the local Jewish community, including people who start new jobs, leave jobs, win awards and more, as well as local events that featured leaders from the Jewish and Israeli communities. Got a tip? E-mail it to ryant@jewishjournal.com.