The three Bielski brothers saved more than 1,200 Jews in the forests of what is now Belarus during the Holocaust and their heroics became the subject of the 2008 movie “Defiance.” On Thursday, Jan. 23 at 11 a.m. the social group of Congregation B’nai Israel in Manalapan their niece, Lola Kline, will recount their inspiring story. Tuvia, Zus and Asael Bielski sheltered fellow Jews in the forests following the German invasion in 1941, leading a guerilla war against the Nazis and working with the Russian partisans. They were so successful that they were feared by the Polish, the Belarussians and the Russians. After liberation by Soviet forces, Zus and Tuvia were able to escape before the borders closed. Asael was not so lucky and was drafted into the Soviet army, where he was killed in battle several months later. Tuvia immigrated to Israel, but later came to the United States, as did Zus. They worked in the Linden trucking company of an older brother, Walter, who had come to the States before the war.
The program is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is requested by contacting Jessica Khavich at (732) 446-3000, ext. 1 or jkhavich@bnaiisraelnj.org.
Two candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for governor in June’s primary will speak at the Highland Park Conservative Temple-Congregation Anshe Emeth. On Sunday, Jan. 19, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, whose congressional district includes parts of Bergen, Passaic and Sussex counties, will speak about “A View from the Hill,” at 6 p.m. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who grew up in Edison, attended the Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva there and became a bar mitzvah at Congregation Neve Shalom in Metuchen, will speak on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 6:30 p.m. and will continue to answer questions following minyan.
Gottheimer serves on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where he is the ranking member of the National Security Agency and Cyber Subcommittee and is a member of the National Intelligence Enterprise Subcommittee. He is also on the House Financial Services Committee, where he is a member of the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance and International Financial Institutions and Subcommittee on Digital Assets and Financial Technology and Inclusion and the Subcommittee on Capital Markets.
Fulop has been mayor of New Jersey’s second largest city since 2013, and has overseen a period of sustained growth.
Registration for both programs in not required, but would be helpful for planning. RSVP links and QR codes are available on the synagogue website. .
Dr. Rebecca Cypess, the Mordecai D. Katz and Dr. Monique C. Katz Dean of the Undergraduate Faculty of Arts and Science at Yeshiva University in Manhattan, will speak on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 8:30 p.m. about “Great and Small Things: A Vision for Yeshiva College and Stern College.” The program is sponsored by the Jewish Community Forum of Raritan Valley and will be held at Congregation Ahavas Achim in Highland Park. Prior to this year, Cypess was associate dean for academic affairs at the Mason Gross School of the Arts and associate professor in the music department at Rutgers University. She was a longtime staff member at Rutgers, where Cypess was founding co-chair of J-FAS (Rutgers Jewish Faculty, Administrators and Staff), which combats antisemitism and anti-Israel bias on campus. At YU Cypess is committed to fostering interdisciplinary thinking and scholarly collaboration, especially by helping to bring the expansive study of Torah into dialogue with deep, open-ended inquiry in the sciences, social and behavioral sciences, arts, and humanities.
The program is open to the public and may also be viewed online https://tinyurl.com/47bbmrmv.
Chabad of Western Monmouth County will hold its annual Jewish Women’s Day on Sunday, Feb. 2 at the Freehold Radisson Hotel beginning 10:30 with the opening of its auction room, followed by an inspiring program at 11:30 a.m. featuring brunch and basket auction. Honored during the program will be Nava Frenk, who will receive the Eishes Chayil Award and Rimma Chertog, who will receive the Voice for Israel Award.
Guest speaker will be Heather Kaminetsky, president of Mytheresa North America, an e-commerce company based in Germany specializing in luxury fashion selling ready-to-wear shoes, bags and accessories for men, women and children as well lifestyle products and jewelry. Since joining Mytheresa in 2021 Kaminetsky has increased its business and brand in the United States and Canada. She has held executive positions in a number of companies, including NET-A-PORTER; Borderfree; Barneys New York and M.Gemi.
Cost is $54 for early bird tickets by Jan. 17, all others are $60. Sponsorships are also available: gold, $100; diamond, $180; sapphire, $226 and gem, $360. To register and purchase lottery tickets go to chabadwmc.com/jwdrsvp or call (732) 972-3687.