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Chicagoan Participates in Jewish Leaders’ First Audience with Pope Francis

Posted on by Shalom Klein

AJC Chicago leader David Inlander, left presents Pope Francis with a gift of a framed photo of the 1963 meeting of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Augustine Cardinal Bea.

 

An AJC senior leadership delegation including Chicago Jewish leader David Inlander, participated Monday in Pope Francis’ first audience with representatives of the international Jewish community at the Vatican. The four AJC representatives were part of an International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC) delegation. AJC is a founding member of IJCIC, the Vatican’s dialogue partner with world Jewry.

 

“We are heartened that Pope Francis shared with us his unequivocal support for the strengthening of Catholic-Jewish relations and his forceful declaration against anti-Semitism,” said David Inlander, a Chicagoan who Chairs AJC’s Interreligious Affairs Commission. AJC’s presence at this audience was significant as AJC is a founder of IJCIC and is the oldest American Jewish organization that pioneered the transformation in Catholic-Jewish relations.

 

Inlander presented two AJC gifts to Pope Francis. One is a framed photo of the historic March 31, 1963 meeting of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Augustine Cardinal Bea at AJC headquarters in New York. At AJC’s initiative, the rabbi and the cardinal had met to discuss preparations for a declaration from the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council on the Relationship of the Catholic Church with the Jewish People. The other gift is a copy of Wide Horizons: Abraham Joshua Heschel, AJC, and the Spirit of Nostra Aetate, authored by AJC’s Gary Spruch.

Skokie Synagogue To Open New Facility That Will Be the First of Its Kind In Chicago

Posted on by Shalom Klein

9220 crawford frontIn August of 2005 a new Orthodox Jewish synagogue opened its doors. What began with a few Skokie residents getting together in their basements for Shabbat prayers has flourished into a vibrant and diverse synagogue.

Kehilat Chovevei Tzion (KCT) graduated from local basements to a converted beauty salon and hired Rabbi Shannan Gelman as Rabbi in 2006. Seven years and 160 member families later Kehilat Chovevei Tzion is opening a new set of doors with a state-of-the-art 31,000 square foot facility. The new synagogue will be the first in Chicago to offer services to both Asheknazi and Sephardic Jews. “Our congregation noticed that we were not adequately tending to the needs of the entire Jewish community” said Rabbi Gelman. “Jews from Morocco, Iran and other middle eastern countries who came to the United States to escape religious persecution have been challenged to fully integrate into a largely Ashkenazic community” The new Synagogue features two sanctuaries side by side, offering Orthodox prayer services and programs to each group as well as shared spaces for the entire community.

The new building is dedicated in honor of Sy and Anne Okner, two pillars of the Jewish community who were deeply committed in their lifetime to Jewish education and communal growth. The facility features two sanctuaries, a full social hall, seven classrooms and separate meat and milk kitchens.  The mission statement of this synagogue is to provide a meaningful connection to traditional values and rituals in a warm, welcoming and inclusive setting.

Kehilat Chovevei Tzion is proud to welcome the Chicagoland community to celebrate the grand opening of their new facility on August 18th 2013. The event will begin at 9:30am at 9220 North Crawford Avenue in Skokie, Illinois.

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Kehilat Chovevei Tzion is a Modern Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Skokie, Illinois. Led by Rabbi Shannan Gelman, KCT caters to the Jewish community of Skokie and the greater Chicagoland metropolitan area. Interviews with Rabbi Gelman as well as tours of the new facility are available upon request. Please direct interview/tour inquiries to Michael Mann at 847-767-9226. Further information regarding the congregation and weekly services can be found at skokieshul.com.