Fond of more than fondue

From the Jewish Community News of Silicon Valley Dec 2005

La Fondue owner Tracey Cutler finds time to help a 78-year-old woman

By Laura Rheinheimer

Tracey Cutler describes her life as “very busy.” She and her husband Mitchell own and operate La Fondue restaurant in Saratoga, parent two teenagers (ages 15 and 17), and travel often to Israel and other exotic destinations. Yet Tracey still manages to integrate volunteering into her hectic schedule. She says a big part of her life is helping others in whatever small ways…

“What small ways?” interjects 78-year-old Eleanore Prisant, with the attitude of a Jewish grandmother, “it’s not a small way. You help me in big, big ways.”

Tracey helps Eleanore as part of a volunteer program through Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley called “Friendly Visitors.” The program offers companionship to the elderly and help with small chores, such as paperwork and shopping. In some instances - like with Tracey and Eleanore - the relationship flourishes into much more.

Tracey had been volunteering for years with a large organization when she decided to respond to an email advertisement for the Friendly Visitors program.

“I really felt more compelled [to help someone one-on-one]” she said. Now, Tracey describes the relationship with Eleanore like that of a mother and daughter. Both women say they felt an immediate connection.

Tracey has cleaned Eleanore’s apartment, driven her to the hospital, celebrated her birthday, bought her gifts, and signed her up for a class at the Jewish Community Center.

Tracey teases that she is still trying to get Eleanore to La Fondue.
“I wasn’t expecting [anything], but she did everything for me,” said Eleanore.

Avital Agam, a social worker with Jewish Family Services, says that not all matches work out this well. When they do, it is a gift. “Eleanore calls her ‘her angel,’” said Avital.

“Eleanore has shown and taught me a lot [too],” Tracey says, describing how Eleanore has stayed positive with a “beaming personality,” even through tough times.

“Beaming,” teases Eleanore.

Legally blind with no family in the area, Eleanore lives independently but needs help with driving, shopping, cleaning and other chores. In her adult life, she worked as an analytical chemist. Her training came from Hunter College in New York, where she graduated in 1949 with a chemistry degree. Work in the field never came easily, Eleanore recounts, as very few women worked as chemists and men were not terribly interested in opening their doors.

“I suspect being Jewish didn’t help,” said Avital Agam.

Eleanore takes a class now at the JCC on the history of Jews in the U.S., called “Coming to America.” This helps keep her brain sharp, and stay connected socially. Eleanore said she was not active in the Jewish community, but always felt connected, “because I’m Jewish.”
Anyone interested in getting involved with “Friendly Visitors” or other volunteer programs, contact Avital Agam at Jewish Family Services, 357-7450 or avitala@jfssv.org.

Club council invited anti-Israel speaker to speak at Club Day

Anti-Israel speakers were invited to give political speech by De Anza’s Inter-club Council on Club Day last Thursday, according to one of the speakers. ICC Programs Chair had prior knowledge of speech content, which violated ICC Code on mutual respect, mandating that clubs do not present negative items against other clubs in their presentations. The anti-Israel speech was given in front of a booth for Jews, Israelis, and Friends, which featured large Israeli flags.

Two San Jose State students, along with a De Anza student, spoke against the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa, calling them oppressive, at De Anza’s Club Day, under a time slot reserved by Latino-advocacy group, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA).

Callahan said that Club Day exists for De Anza clubs to recruit members, advertise themselves, and maintain a table. Among the clubs present, Jews, Israelis, and Friends (JIF) had a booth set up in close proximity to the speakers, and featured large Israeli flags on each side of the booth.

The speakers, SJSU’s Sulaiman Hyatt and Shahid Ali, along with De Anza student and MEChA member, Anthony Choice, used the performance time allotted to MEChA to speak about the “oppressive” nations. The speech included statements about the definition of an oppressive nation and how the four countries practice it, according to students and community members present at the event, and La Voz, De Anza’s student paper. The moderator of the event, Inter-Club Council (ICC) Chair of Programs, Hala Hyatt, is responsible for ICC-sponsored events, according to ICC Chair, Sarah Joy Callahan. Her position as chair of programs requires her to emcee the yearly event. Ms. Hyatt is the sister of one of the speakers, Sulaiman Hyatt.

Mr. Hyatt stated on Tuesday that he had been invited to speak by the ICC, and collaborated with Choice to utilize MEChA’s time slot for the speech. Mr. Hyatt stated that he was speaking on behalf of “MSA Bay Area.” Hyatt said he used the Latino-advocacy time because MEChA has more to do with just Latino issues, and said he spoke at the event because “action needed to be taken.” The performances for Club Day, including the speech, were predetermined by a sign-up sheet that stated only the time and name of the club.

Hyatt said that he has done several speeches with similar content, and that his sister, and De Anza’s ICC Chair of Programs, Hala Hyatt has been present at some of these events.

ICC Chair, Callahan, said that the performances are not screened beforehand because the clubs are trusted to have performances that do not violate the ICC Code. The Code states in Article IV Mutual Respect, that “all activity planned by a club must be socially acceptable…” and must be “mutually respectful to the diversity of our campus when planning events…” Section D states “Clubs must not advertise/promote negative items about another club.”

Ms. Callahan stated, “I’m not going to say it doesn’t look bad.” Hala Hyatt was unavailable for comment, but Ms. Callahan stated, “If Hala did something to violate the Code she swore to uphold, it would have been out of ignorance and not malicious intent.” Callahan said, “Even if she had a lapse of judgment—which is not good—but [we should] make the punishment fit the crime.” She said that ultimately, failure for an ICC officer to uphold the Code would result in expulsion, but the issue must be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Sulaiman Hyatt held a meeting for a group at SJSU’s MOSAIC room Tuesday afternoon, a group he referred to as “Concerned Students,” whose goal is to try to correct the “fundamental flaws of the MSA” (Muslim Student Association). In the meeting, Mr. Hyatt spoke about the Muslim community’s need to become more active. He said that he aims to use events to “kick somebody in the nuts and see how they respond.” He said that the speech at De Anza was meant to cause uproar on campus. “Mission accomplished.” Mr. Hyatt said. Another member of the group, who identified himself as “Bob,” said that the group will meet a lot of opposition, especially from the Zionist movement, and the group should not worry about this opposition because they have experience dealing with it.
Mr. Hyatt said that the group’s main issues address 9/11, Zionism, the Iraq War, and Black Power. On Zionism, Hyatt stated, “Israel is a state that needs to be dissolved. That is the only way to deal with the issue.”

Club Day speaker names Israel as oppressive nation in front of sukkah

Three speakers, under the time slot allotted to a latino-advocacy group, gave speeches about oppressive nations, including Israel, in front of Jewish club booth, according to De Anza students and other witnesses.

Anthony Choice, of the De Anza Movimiento Estudantil Chicano de Atzlan (MEChA), voiced his opinion about the oppression imposed by four countries: the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. The speech was given on Thursday, Oct. 20, on Club Day, where different clubs on campus were allowed time and space to present and promote their clubs. One of the clubs present was Jews, Israelis, and Friends (JIF), who had a sukkah set up in celebration of a Jewsih Holiday, were positioned in close proximity to the speakers, and some witnesses felt the speech may have been directed to their booth and that the speakers were aware of the booth and JIF.

Club Day is put on by Inter-Club Council (ICC) as a day for clubs to present themselves and use time on the mic to speak to the students. ICC mediates the clubs and on Club Day, introduced the speakers and orchestrated the event. MEChA is a regional organization, with clubs on many campuses, including San Jose State, that organizes to help rasie money for latino children, among other activities. Acoording to several witnesses present at the event, a man with dreadlocks, later identified as Anthony Choice of MEChA, used the latino-advocacy club's time allotment to give a specch about oppressive nations. He named, in order, the U. S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa, say witnesses. The speech was given in front of the JIF booth, among others. The booth featured a sukkah made of several pieces of wood, with a large Israeli flag painted on two sides.

The other two speakers were described as wearing a black power T-shirt and a tradtitional Muslim garb, possibly Egyptian. Witnesses also say that the event's moderator, a female student high up in the ICC, thanked the speakers by name. One witness says that she called one "brother."

JIF students did not react publicly to the speech, but people at the booth report that they were confused about why the speakers were there, because one or two of the men were from San Jose State. One Jewish student, and potential JIF member, said the speakers spoke about wanting peace in a preaching manner, but raised their voices and increased hand gestures when they spoke about oppression. Some JIF members wanted to issue a rebuttal, but decided not to, to "be civil." Another De Anza student and active JIF member, Ryan Medeiros, said the group did not stand up and say anything because he felt it would have shown that they were insulted, which is what the speakers wanted.

"There was a lot of emotion going on," said Anna Kirshon, a De Anza JIF member. Kirshon said she wasn't offended as far as politics go, but could see how others might be. "To me, their tone sounded offensive." Rebecca Reice, a staff member at Hillel of Silicon Valley, said she does not believe that the issue involves the Muslim Student Association (MSA).

One student did speak in response to the oppression speakers, given time at the end of the MSA's time slot. Jeremy Zimmer, a New College student, was at Club Day gaining membership for a club called Students for Justice (SFJ). Zimmer, a Jewish student, but not affiliated with any campus Jewish organization, spoke to the crowd, saying that not all Israelis are supportive of what the government does. Zimmer said later that he felt compelled to speak in response to Choice because he felt the issues are more complicated than presented. He said the situation in each of these four places is different and that the distinction is important. He said the information was not being used in a productive way. Zimmer aims to create a peace coalition with SFJ to open discussions between conflicting groups, where groups should listen to all views before telling others how to feel or act in order to create an understanding that not everyone will agree but they must have mutual respect in order to open communication. He said that fifteen seconds of ranting will cause the entire system to fail.

ICC chair, Sarah Joy Callahan, De Anza MSA president, and a San Jose MSA member, did not respond to e-mail and phone inquiries. Anthony Choice could not be contacted for comment.

Disengagement Debated Over Challah and Wine

San Francisco Israel Center speakers engage San Jose area college students and community members in debate on after-effects of the disengagement. Shabbat dinner livened with discussion on Israeli-Palestinian politics as students speak their minds on the issue.

Two speakers from the Israel Center in San Francisco joined San Jose State and other Silicon Valley area college students for Shabbat dinner and Israel debate Friday night. Sharon Dwek, Israel Center coordinator, and Lital Carmel, Campus Outreach Director for Israel long-term programs, spoke at the weekly Shabbat dinner held in the Silicon Valley Hillel house Friday to spark discussion on the days after the disengagement. The two women also discussed Shabbaton, an upcoming Jewish leadership conference and MASA, which offers Israel long-term programs.

Dwek began the discussion with background information about the events leading up to the disengagement Questions posed by Dwek included why Israel forcefully extracted its citizens from Gaza, why the world was so involved in the process, and how Israel should proceed as a society. Dwek poses three scenarios for the effects of the disengagement she calls “the good, the bad, and the ugly.” The “good” would be the formation of a peaceful, prosperous Palestinian state, the “bad” is a chaotic region with unchecked drugs- and weapons-smuggling through the Egyptian border, and “the ugly” in which Hamas would be gain political control through elections, funded by Lebanon and Iran.

Students from various Silicon Valley campuses-- including DeAnza, Foothill College, Santa Clara University, and San Jose State University-- as well as Hillel staff and community members, discussed the implications of the disengagement. Students expressed varying views on what has happened and what should happen next in Israel. Among the group were several Israelis, including the two guests, Jewish students from France and Chile, and the Hillel's student life director from Argentina, as well as various members of the Jewish community.

Tomer Altman, who teaches Israel history at Congregation Beth David's Hebrew high school, feels a double standard is applied to Israel in expecting it to protect Arabs living within its borders, but the same expectation is not put upon any territory under Palestinian control. Amir Margittai, a freshman majoring in finance, says that many Israelis in Tel Aviv are worried that without the military presence in Gaza, terrorists might now focus on targeting Tel Aviv. According to Dwek, once Israel is withdrawn from Gaza, any missiles into Israel can be defended with less ambiguity because it has a right to protect its borders. Daniel Baskin, a San Jose State student, points out that one response on the Palestinian side, as he witnessed on the Internet, was the slogan “Today Gaza, Tomorrow Jerusalem,” which causes concern for many Israelis and Jews around the world. Andrew Schwartz, SJSU's Jewish Student Union president, says he feels the results so far don't indicate a good outcome. Naama Shani, an Israeli San Jose Sate student, says Israelis can't stick strictly to ideals. “If something is not as bad as it could be, you say, 'I'll take it'”.

The speaker ended the discussion by highlighting the achievements by Israelis in technology, physics, and economics, including several Nobel Prizes. Jewish intellect and entrepreneurship will keep Israel strong, according to Dwek.
The evening concluded with the speakers inviting students to attend an upcoming leadership conference. The conference, called Shabbaton, will include many discussions and lectures on Israel. Conference speakers include Avshalom “Abu” Vilan, Israel parliament member from the Yachad party (formerly Meretz) and co-founder of PEACE NOW, an Israeli peace movement, and Deputy Consul General Omer Caspi. The event will be help at Walker Creek Ranch near Petaluma on Nov. 4-5.

The Israel Center in San Francisco is responsible for eight area Hillels. Dwek, who is four months pregnant, will present at the upcoming “Do the Write Thing” Jewish journalists conference in Toronto, Nov. 13-15.

For more information, contact the Israel Center of San Francisco at 415-512-6223 or www.israelcentersf.org.

Jews, Muslims Break Fasts Together

Muslim and Jewish students break the fast together at Santa Clara University campus with sweets, dates, and honey Thursday evening.

Santa Clara, Ca. Thurs., Oct. 13. Students from San Jose State University and Santa Clara University joined together to break the fasts of Yom Kippur and Ramadan’s ninth day Thursday at sundown. The event was prompted by professors from SCU’s religious studies program, who invited the schools' Jewish and Muslim students to organize incorporating Yom Kippur’s break-the-fast with the Muslim iftar. The event is one of many in a series to create dialogue between the two faiths in this year’s coinciding months of the Jewish Tishrei and the Muslim Ramadan, both thought of as holy and a time for reflection.

Both groups seemed contented with the outcome. Ahmed Khatib, a member of the Muslim Student Association at San Jose State, says that it is accepted to have friends join for the iftar, and thinks it is great to have Jewish students join the Muslims for the event. “It highlights the beautiful similarities between the Abrahamic traditions,” said Khatib. Naama Shami, a San Jose student associated with Hillel, also appreciates the collaboration, which she feels holds importance for the future. “Non-aggressive dialogue is important to clarify the misunderstandings between the two religions,” said Shami.

Santa Clara University, a Jesuit-affiliated school, hosted the event. Philip Riley and Cynthia Baker, associate professors in the school's religious studies program, invited the Jewish and Muslim student organizations to host a series of events in the month of Tishrei/Ramadan.

San Jose State hopes to follow suit. New ideas for events to include the two organizations are being considered, according to Andrew Schwartz, San Jose State’s Jewish Student Union president.

Maryam Amir-Ebrahimi speaks with Prof. Baker