Greetings everyone
As you may already know, in January of 2024 a new board was elected to the Sgoolai Israel Synagogue. I am honoured to be your new President. Every member of our new board brings their own unique talents, strengths and expertise. Collectively, we will do our very best to meet the challenges and needs of our members during these turbulent times.
Allow me to introduce the new board:
Our Executive is:
Ruth Chippin – President
Ayten Kranat – Vice President
Daniella Lazarev – Secretary
David Besner – Co-Treasurer
Arnold Chippin – Co-Treasurer
Our Board Members are:
Louis Budovitch – Past Co-President, Gabbi Emeritus & Chevra Kaddisha
Shelley Stephens – Past Co-President & Sisterhood President
Robert Brown
Arnold Budovitch
Daniel Chippin – Gabbi
Cary Grobe
Ivan Levine – Beit Olam President
Ricky Peled Rivkin
Israel Unger
As you are now aware last Friday night, the Synagogue was the victim of vandalism, when the windows surrounding the front door were smashed. I do not wish to rehash the incident but I do wish to express my deep gratitude to all of our Board and Community Members who acted so quickly to get the repairs completed and to respond to the huge outpouring of support and generosity from so many Frederictonians and beyond. The police response was immediate and it has been excellent. I would be remiss if I did not thank Julie Smith & Dominic Cardy for their stalwart support and rapid initiatives in organizing a very successful GoFundMe campaign for security and repairs as well as organizing the rally of support for the Jewish Community in front of the synagogue on Sunday afternoon. We also owe a big thank you to Alex Scholten and Victory Meat & Produce for springing into action, along with Active Glass for the new windows surrounding the synagogue door. It was very heartening to see so many of our local, provincial and federal politicians speak out against all forms of hate, violence and anti-semitism and support our small Jewish community. The media has also been very supportive in its coverage of this appalling act of vandalism. It goes without saying when we all stand together we are a formidible force against hate, racism and anti-semitism.
Last night our board had it’s first board meeting. I am pleased to let you know that Marc Kranat has volunteered to be the Chair of the newly formed Security Infastructure Committee. If you are interested in joining Marc’s committee please let him know. We also have a new Chair for our Building Committee. Daniel Chippin has volunteered to Chair the Building Committee. Please contact Daniel if you are interested in joining this committee. The Security Committee and Building Committee will work together to do whatever is necessary ensure the security and safety of our congregation.
We have many exciting initiatives planned for this year. But before doing anything, we would like to start by engaging with everyone receiving emails from our contact lists. Very shortly, you will be receiving a Questionaire on what you would like to see happening at your synagogue. This is your chance to tell us what you are looking for. Many things are possible if you volunteer by either creating your own committee or joining an existing committee. I urge you to take the time to complete the questionaire. Change can only happen if you engage in committee activity. My philosophy is that this board will be driven by Committee involvement. Committee’s will be instrumental in driving the actions of the Synagogue Board. Please be active and be involved!
Stay tuned for next month’s President’s report.
Ruth Chippin
President, Sgoolai Israel Synagogue
presidentfrederictonsynagogue@gmail.com
Leave a Reply