World Film Festival
Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations
Welcome back for the start of the new school year. We hope you all had a relaxing summer break!
The second half of 2023 was an especially difficult time for our community, both in Israel and here, following the start of the war in Gaza on Saturday 7 October 2023 and loss of innocent Israeli lives, along with the rise of anti-semitism in Australia and all around the world. We continue to thank the Community Security Group (CSG), the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and our very own Parent Security Group (PSG) here at school, along with all volunteers for all their work to help keep us safe.
The Black Beanie Project, spearheaded by Emanuel grandparent Pam Wertheim, gave members of our own community the opportunity to knit beanies that were then sent to Israel, to keep over 6,400 IDF soldiers’ heads warm in the cold winter months. Pam would like to say a very special “thank you” to everyone who helped make this project such an amazing success. Kol Hakavod to Pam and all the knitters.
Emanuel School joins the Australian Jewish community in mourning the loss of Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple AO RFD זצ”ל, the esteemed Emeritus Rabbi of The Great Synagogue, Sydney. He was beloved and respected by all. Our thoughts and wishes for Long Life are with his wife Marian, as well as his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. May his memory be a blessing. Baruch Dayan HaEmet.
Welcome
We welcome many new families to school this week, including a number of alumni who return now as parents – the second generation. Look out for my page next week where I will feature just a few of these families. Ma Nishma is a wonderful newsletter that allows readers to stay in touch with what is happening at school. We encourage grandparents to be on the mailing list too, so whether they live locally, interstate or overseas, they can still read about our wonderful School and might even see photos of their own grandchildren. We also have a bi-annual Grandparents and Friends newsletter that gets emailed – available here. Please send me your children’s grandparents email so they can stay also connected.
Australia Day Honours List
We wish a huge mazal tov to our grandparents on their awards announced last week on Australia Day, Friday 26 January 2023. Please check Mr Watt’s page for the list of the three grandparents who were honoured.
Whilst not a member of our School community, Rose Temple is a name many of us know very well and we also wish her mazal tov on her award. Rose has been a volunteer at JCA for over 30 years. She is the power behind their telephone campaigns and continues to engage with the community to ensure each JCA campaign is successful. She received an OAM for service to the Jewish community.
Winners: Cannes World Film Festival 2023 and Flickerfest 2024
Mazal tov to multi-award winning film producer, Emanuel parent Dan Goldberg, whose film The Jewish Nazi? won best documentary at the Cannes World Film Festival 2023. Another Emanuel connection to this film is alumnus Ben Strum (Dux, Class of 2009) who was the co-producer, co-writer, motion graphics designer and director’s attachment on Hitler’s Jewish Soldier?, the TV version of the film which will be screened on SBS on Thursday 8 February 2024. Some of our readers may have seen the original film at the International Jewish Film Festival here in Sydney last year.
Mazal tov to alumnus Sam Weiss (Class of 2012) who was awarded Best Original Music at Flickerfest 2024 for his score to GORGO! Sam is pictured below with Director Ven Gia and Producer Katie Amos. Sam says “GORGO, a film about Danielle Stamoulo’s and Ven’s Greek migrant grandmothers with souls of iron, is one of my favourite short films I’ve ever worked on. It’s masterfully directed by Ven, who brought his and writer Danielle Stamoulos‘s family histories to the screen through the lens of Ovid’s Medusa myth. To our knowledge, this is the first film score featuring the aulos instrument as a lead – and we had to scour the globe to find the best out of a handful of players – Max Brumberg all the way over in Cevannes (France). The aulos was recently unearthed in archaeology, and was a big part of classical Greek musical tradition. So there were natural synergies with the subject matter and the choice of instrument. Could not have done it without Max and his amazing work rediscovering this ancient instrument, and recording it for us over in the French Alps. I’ll have more to say about the process – so if you’re interested, jump onto my instagram to keep across all things film scoring! If you want to listen to the GORGO soundtrack, it’s available wherever you get your music.” GORGO heads to Santa Barbara International Film Festival this month and maybe some more awards!
Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM)
The Maccabean Hall celebrating 100 Years
Our School community has many connections with SJM and I encourage you to visit this special place, which was established in 1992 by a group of Holocaust survivors to give history a voice through collecting and preserving historic objects, commemorating and educating, with a mission to challenge visitors’ perceptions of morality, social justice, democracy and human rights.
Did you know the building that houses the Museum was a cherished Jewish community centre for much of the 20th Century? In the post-war era, the building was the site of 90% of Sydney’s Jewish community’s activities and functions from weddings, to bar/bat mitzvahs, dances and mixers. Find out more about its fascinating history in the current feature exhibition celebrating 100 years of this iconic Darlinghurst institution. I am sure many of our readers have their own special connection with ‘The Macc’ as it was affectionately known in its day. Emanuel grandfather, Max Freedman, is featured in this exhibition, having celebrated his Barmitzvah at The Maccabean Hall, together with his twin sister Judith in June 1962. Past parents Jackie and Tony Weiss have their wedding photo featured too and I’m sure if you visit this exhibition, you may see a photo of you or at least many familiar faces.
Maccabi Life Walk – Sunday 11 February 2024
A message from The Maccabi Life team:
Please join us and help to promote our first Maccabi Life event for 2024.
In conjunction with Save a Child’s Heart, we will walk or run 5km or 10km to look after our own heart and help those who are struggling with theirs.
This fabulous event is planned in a central Sydney location.
Date: Sunday 11 February 2024
Time: 8.30 am – 10.30 am (8.15 am registration)
There will be stalls and great prizes and participation ribbons for the kids. The event will be kicked off by the renowned and tremendous Heather Hawkins who is a marathon runner, cancer survivor, author and mother! Whether you are a seasoned runner or just starting your running journey, everyone is welcome to join in on the fun ! There are many event options for you, your family and friends.
Register here
Hope to see you at the start line!
Writers Among Us
Emanuel parent and past student Marina Kamenev is a journalist, a medical writer and a non-fiction writer, having written in a wide range of publications including Time, The Atlantic, Marie Claire, Sunday Life and The Monthly. Her book “Kin: Family in the 21st Century” has already had amazing reviews and will be published on Friday 1 March 2024.
We look forward to sharing our news and yours, so if you have photos and/or news you would like to share with us, please send to Sonia Newell.
Shabbat shalom, stay safe and have a great weekend, as we hope and pray for the safe return of all hostages still held in Gaza and for peace to be restored in Israel soon.