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Dear Editor --170 magazine

What you have to say about our new look

ESRAmagazine had a makeover from the last issue, and we asked you what you thought of it. You weren't shy in coming forward, and your opinions rolled in. Some of you loved it, others hated it. Here's a selection of what you had to say. Thanks for taking time out to respond.

The bold headings make you want to read on

I WOULD like to congratulate you and your team on the new look of the magazine. It is reader friendly and great to peruse through. The magazine has always been successful but the new look with its bright colours further adds to its success. The beautifully clear pictures and the bold headings draw the eyes to them and excite the reader to know what lies behind these words. Hard work has its rewards and I wish you all continued success.

Luba Zuk, Ramat Hasharon

Mazal Tov – new format is with it and up to date

I' have just scanned the new magazine. I love the new format. It is 'with it' – up to date, and just what we needed! Mazal Tov! I had to stop and read the article on Dennis Hannover. We go back with him many years. In the 70s, my son Daniel (now 50 – father of three: one in college, one an officer in the army, baby in high school) began to learn Judo with Dennis. For about five years I drove Danny twice a week to his lessons with Dennis in Herzliya. Danny took part in many tournaments and won not a few awards thanks to his work with Dennis. We have fond memories of Dennis and his devotion to the children – my son amongst them. It was moving to read the lovely article about him. He looks wonderful. He must be over 80!

Meira Applebaum, Kochav Yair

Even my wife thought changes were excellent

CONGRATULATIONS! Even my wife, who is a far more critical person than I am, thought the new-looking magazine was excellent. In particular, she liked the colors used, the layouts, and thought that the whole thing was much more conducive to read. On the other hand, I will NOT bring to your attention the errors that she found which I missed...

Ivor Brown, Raanana

More vibrant, and I like that line on the cover

GENERALLY, I like the new layout. It's a bit more vibrant and less abstract, and I like the 'For Israel's English speaking community' line on the front page.

David Rhodes, Raanana

Old look 'was classier'

I DON'T know what to say about your revamped magazine. I understand your reasons for embracing a 'new look' but I'm not sure that it brings anything to the table. Of course, that could just be a case of 'what you know and are comfortable with'. I thought the 'old' look was classier, this is slightly more sensationalized, but that is the way of the world, I guess. Nevertheless, I wish you every success and will be interested to learn of the response you receive.

Rhoda Goodman, Ashkelon

I feel content when I see a Contents page

I LOVE an old-fashioned Contents page. I like to see all the titles. I want to see the writers' names. This way, I can go directly to something that interests me, or find the article that a friend mentioned writing. More important, I like to mark, on the Contents page, those articles I want to photostat for friends living abroad, or reread later, or tear out to keep when reluctantly I have to throw out old magazines. What happened to the lovely article on page 18 about Fanny Brice and Fanny Mendelssohn? No reference on either page 1 or page 3. And who wrote it? Aha! Barbara Blum wrote it. Had to search again for that. Otherwise, a wonderful magazine. Congratulations.

Phella Hirschson, Tel Aviv

I can now read more, thanks to new layout

YOU WANTED comments on the new magazine layout – well, here goes. The content is, as always, first rate. With the new print layout (font, font size, background) I can now actually READ all the articles without too much strain or effort, which means I read more. I'm glad you got rid of all the garish page-colours, especially on the Milestones page – it was always very difficult to read the white print on the yellow background. I would like to see the page numbers bigger and clearer, but that's just me. It's great having all the events right at the beginning, but why have you moved the ESRA Directory to near the end? That, too, should remain near the beginning so that we don't have to go looking for the information. On the whole, I find the new layout much better.

Edith Dinar, Raanana

Seal of approval by city's former mayor

AS SOMEONE who for many years has closely followed ESRAmagazine, I would like to congratulate you and your wonderful team at your side. You are doing great work, and I enjoy it each time afresh.

Zeevik Bielski,

Former Mayor of Raanana

Arduous hours of your dedicated team

CONGRATULATIONS to Merle Guttmann, Anthony Green, Nitzan Krivine and your band of dedicated workers on the NEW LOOK.

I can well imagine the long and arduous hours you have spent in examining every detail, dot and comma in the profound CHANGE.

Denis Shifrin, Raanana

Mah zeh? They've got my name wrong

MY HUSBAND was delighted when you published his piece, The Only Two Hebrew Words You'll Ever Need, in the last issue of ESRAmagazine.

However, like the subject of the article, he suddenly exclaimed 'Mah zeh?' when he saw that you'd credited the piece to Adam Tevet instead of Adin Tevet!

Sandi Tevet, Tel Aviv

Sincere apologies for that, Adin. We're sending our designer to an optician for an eye test! 

Merle Guttmann, Editor.

Lovely – a change is as good as a holiday

THE NEW format and layout is lovely – and a change is as good as a holiday. Pamela Peled's eulogy to her late husband, Martin, is a superb tribute, and so beautifully written. Well done.

It's a really good edition – you keep raising the standard!

Lynette Karp, Kfar Saba

New design is great, and so reader-friendly

WELL DONE. The new look is great! So reader-friendly, and, of course, the contents as always is amazing.

I have one criticism: I did not see anything about becoming an ESRA member.

In issue 167 it appears on page five, but I could not find it in neither 168 nor 169. Have I just missed it?

Keep up the excellent work and kudus to all concerned.

Rika Meyerowitz, Netanya

Thanks for your kind comments, Rika. The membership ad was on page 81 in the last issue.  

Merle Guttmann.

Nice feedback and the title was just 'write'

JUST wanted to let you know I've received some nice feedback from various people who saw my piece (left) in ESRAmagazine.

I forgot to give you a 'kol haKavod' on the great title you came up with for my article.

Gary Rashba, Herzliya

Brief points of view

WE MUST congratulate all the magazine team on the new look and hope other readers agree with us.

Cynthia and Raymond Selwyn,

Kfar Yedidya

WHAT a super new ESRAmagazine!

Well done! Thought my article came out rather O.K.

Anton Felton, Herzlia Pituach

I FOUND the new layout stressful to read. By the time I finished reading the magazine, I had a headache.

Daniel Berger, Lod

I STEPPED inside the magazine and I like the new look.

Herb Hahn, Kfar Saba

THE magazine is great – but the ESRA Directory should be at the front.

Adele Rubin, Sderot

We've taken on board what some of you requested: the ESRA Directory is now back at the front of the magazine.

I thought something important was missing – but it wasn't

IT HAPPENS all the time. I receive a new issue of ESRAmagazine. I take a quick glance, intending to read it later, but find myself unable to put it down. What caught my attention this time was, 'A word from the Editor,' Merle Guttmann, which started off with: 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it,' and went on to explain about the redesign of the latest issue, inviting readers to "please let us know your thoughts," bouquets or brickbats. I immediately accepted the challenge. Sat down with a cup of coffee and issue 169, alerted my critical faculties and made mental notes of things I approved and disapproved of as I read through page after page. Everything was still there as you promised, but with changed presentation, concepts, the logo, typefaces, muddled order and all the regular features. I loved the pleasant jolt it gave me to assess and appreciate how each of the above objectives had been accomplished, mostly to my complete satisfaction: a great read – until I arrived at the obituaries, ending on page 83. How could it be? Something very important was missing. The May-June issue coincided with the 65th anniversary of the birth of the State of Israel and there was no feature article to mark this milestone celebration. I started to compose the letter of protest I would write to the Editor to let her know what I thought about that unacceptable oversight. Then, to my astonishment, two pages later, I am amazed to see a photo of a familiar face – MINE – and a write-up by Jackie Klein: 'Zippy, chronicler of the birth of a nation,' a glowing report on my talk at a recent Modiin ESRA event, accompanied by a brief excerpt from my book, 'Letters from Jerusalem 1947-1948' which is available as an eBook on Amazon. Thank you.

Zipporah Porath, Savyon


Thank you for your aid to families in Kiryat Malachi

The Department of Social Services of the Welfare Ministry is not always able to aid all needy people, due to budgetary and other problems.

In view of the desperate situation of these families, I turned to you for support.

The families and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your speedy response and for the help you gave them by making payments to the educational institutions.

Please continue in your diverse activities that lead to considerable improvement in the quality of life of immigrant families who have to cope with many hardships.

Hodaya Bashan, PACT social worker, Municipality of Kiryat Malachi

Danny Kaye – brilliant entertainer and gentleman

Danny Kaye – "a brilliant entertainer and a gentleman." This is how Barbara Blum (who was recently given a life achievement award from ESRA in recognition of her volunteering) described him in her lecture at Wizo House, Eilat on May 6.

The audience was captivated. The lecture was both entertaining and educational; we learned about his caring for children, the part he played in Unicef, his visits to soldiers in hospitals in Israel, and other interesting aspects of his life.

He was a caring man, a brilliant comedian, singer and performer.

Thank you, Barbara for sharing his story and his music with us.

Who will it be next year? We can't wait!

Fonda Dubb

Eilat 

Instructive carpet article

Thank you for the instructive and well-written article on the carpet in the Vizcaya Museum in Miami.

Anton Felton understands well the tightrope walked by the conversos and marranos of Spain, and their influence on the communities in which they lived.

R.M. Kiel, Tel Aviv

Wonderful raffle win

I just wanted to say thank you for the most wonderful ESRA Raffle win. We spent two glorious days in the Carmel Forest, and it was absolutely perfect. The rooms were wonderful, the food was out of this world, and the staff were very helpful.

Again thanks for the gift, we really appreciated it.

Elana Mohnblatt

Raanana

Lev Hamifratz News

The Lev Hamifratz ESRA branch will be two years old this August. We have two major activities that are proving to be very successful: helping teach English to children in various schools, and befriending, where and when necessary.

The committee of Lev Hamifratz branch would like to thank all the volunteers from the Krayot and Haifa who have been helping teach English to students in the various schools this past year. Your kind help and devotion are greatly appreciated by ESRA, the teachers and the students. We sincerely hope you will continue volunteering for this service in the next school year. . If anyone else is interested in volunteering to help teach English in a school located in the area in which they live, please contact Stanley Canning by email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We also want to thank all those who have volunteered to befriend others. It is so important to people who are lonely because they have no friends or family, or who are ill or handicapped and can't get out and about. It is such a warm feeling and so much appreciated by the people who receive the visits just to have someone come and sit with them once or twice a week for an hour, to have a cup of coffee with them or just to chat or watch television or even play cards with them. It is also such a mitzvah to help others in need. So, if there is anyone who has the time and is willing to go and visit someone in need in the town he or she lives in, please contact me, Marsha Ohayon by email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. In addition, if there is anyone who knows of someone who needs to be befriended, please contact me. We plan to extend our services to nursing and old aged homes within Haifa and the Krayot areas. So, volunteers are most welcome to join us in this rewarding activity.

The Lev Hamifratz branch has decided to change its name to ESRA Krayot. The reason for this change is to have the Krayot as a separate branch from the Haifa branch due to the fact that it is too difficult for people from Haifa to come to the Krayot and vice versa. Therefore, if anyone is interested in being the chairperson and forming a committee to run a Haifa branch, please either contact me or Jane Krivine at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Jane is the coordinator of ESRA's the northern branches.)

In the meantime, everyone on my present mailing list will continue receiving notices of activities, and everyone is invited to join us for any activity at any time.

The Krayot Branch committee have decided to have monthly meetings/gatherings on a regular basis. We will meet either at the Café Café located in the BIG shopping mall at the intersection of Kiryat Ata; or in a private home if there are volunteers who would be willing to have a meeting in their home. We would rotate each month to meet in a different place or home.

If anyone has a suggestion as to what activity they would like to have - bowling night, games night, weekend trip, day trip, party, book club, handicrafts, etc… and would like to take responsibility to run such an activity, please let me know.

We look forward to receiving your comments/responses/suggestions/offers of help and look forward to a better cooperation and participation from all.

Marsha Ohayon

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mobile: 050 228 0755

Israel's 65th

YOU'VE GOT MAIL!

It happens all the time. I receive a new issue of ESRAmagazine. I take a quick glance, intending to read it later, but find myself unable to put it down. What caught my attention this time was, "A word from the Editor", by Merle Guttmann, which started off with: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", and went on to explain about the redesign of the latest issue, inviting readers to "please let us know your thoughts" - bouquets or brickbats.

I immediately accepted the challenge. I sat down with a cup of coffee and Issue No 169, alerted my critical faculties and made mental notes of things I approved and disapproved of as I read through page after page. Everything was still there as you promised, but with changed presentation, concepts, the logo, typefaces, muddled order and all the regular features.

I loved the pleasant jolt it gave me to assess and appreciate how each of the above objectives had been accomplished, mostly to my complete satisfaction: a great read – until I arrived at the obituaries, ending on page 83. How could it be? Something very important was missing. The May-June issue coincided with the 65th anniversary of the birth of the State of Israel and there was no feature article to mark this milestone celebration. I started to compose the letter of protest I would write to Merle to let her know what I thought about that unacceptable oversight.

Then, to my astonishment, two pages later, I was amazed to see a photo of a familiar face – MINE – and a write-up by Jackie Klein: "Zippy, chronicler of the birth of a nation", a glowing report on my talk at a recent ESRA Modiin event, accompanied by a brief excerpt from my book, "Letters from Jerusalem 1947-1948". Thank you.

Your readers may also want to know that in connection with Israel's 65th anniversary, my eyewitness account of Israel's War of Independence and the birth of the State, Letters from Jerusalem 1947-1948, is now available in an eBook edition on Amazon Kindle.

This book is a meaningful gift for friends and family, with excellent source material for schools, community centers, synagogues and libraries.

For additional information contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Zipporah Porath, Savyon

New sewing center in Sderot

Thanks to the generosity of ESRA members Meira and Jack Applebaum, a small sewing center has got off the ground at the Atzmaut Ethiopian Center, run by Tali Angadia for the entire community in Sderot.

So far, the sewing center has one new sewing machine and two second-hand machines which have been donated by ESRAmagazine readers. Tali, the director, will soon buy another.

A couple of weeks ago, I visited the center and met Valentina, the sewing teacher. While I was there, Debra, one of the pupils, was trying on a dress she had made. What excitement! The material for the dress had been bought by Valentina, who is a young woman from the Caucasian community in Sderot who is enjoying her contact with the Ethiopian community with which she had not had any previous contact.

Local residents have been coming to the center and asking to have their clothes fixed. They have been told that if they take the sewing course, they will learn to mend the clothes themselves.

We would like to ask ESRAmagazine readers to help us supply the center with cotton materials. If you can, please bring them to any of the ESRA offices where they will be collected and sent to Sderot.

I would like to thank the Applebaums for their support and encouragement in establishing and maintaining the Sderot sewing center.

Adele Rubin

Sderot 

 

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