JCC, BBYO hold 40th anniversary memorial for David Berger

A special memorial event “Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Munich Olympics Tragedy: Remembering David Berger” will be held from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 2, at the David Berger National Memorial on the grounds of the Mandel JCC, 26001 S. Woodland Road in Beachwood.

The Mandel JCC and BBYO Ohio Northern Region’s David Berger AZA chapter will present the program.

In 1972, the Olympics returned to Germany for the first time since 1936. On Sept. 5, 1972, with six days left in the Games, the worst tragedy in Olympic history occurred when 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered. David Berger, a graduate of Shaker Heights High School who had dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship was a member of the Israeli weightlifting team and one of the victims.

The 40th year anniversary took on added significance at the recent London Olympics. Despite national and international appeals, the International Olympic Committee did not allow a moment of silence at the opening ceremony to honor those who were killed.

Fittingly, The J and BBYO’s program will conclude with a moment of silence, planners said.

In addition to community leaders, teen leaders from the local BBYO David Berger AZA Chapter will speak about David Berger and the Israeli athletes’ legacy 40 years later.

The event is co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and the Greater Cleveland Board of Rabbis. In the event of rain, the program will be held in the Mandel JCC’s Stonehill Auditorium. Visit www.mandeljcc.org or www.bbyo.org or call 216 831-0700, ext. 0.

Following the 40th anniversary memorial service for David Berger on Sunday, Sept. 2, the David Berger AZA chapter will host a reunion at the JCC pavilions from about 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. AZA families, alumni and friends are invited to the family-style kosher barbecue. Cost is $10 per person or $30 for a family of three or more. Contact 216-360-0075 or onr@bbyo.org.

AGNON SERIES: Amy Speidel, a certified conscious discipline instructor, will kick off The Agnon School’s adult education series this fall. Speidel, who has worked in early childhood for more than 20 years as a teacher, director and parent educator, will speak on “Conscious Discipline” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13. The school is located at 26500 Shaker Blvd. in Beachwood.

The free, open program helps parents who often face overwhelming challenges of raising children today. It empowers them to consciously respond, rather than react to everyday conflicts. This approach defines discipline as something a parent develops in children, and not something a parent does to them. Contact Laura Simon, director of admissions, at 216-464-4055, ext. 106 or lsimon @agnon.org.

HADASSAH GRANTS: BBYO Ohio Northern Region and Hillel at Ohio University in Athens have each received $500 mini-grants from the Hadassah Foundation.

BBYO received the mini-grant to enhance its B-Fit program for teenage girls. The program includes a variety of fitness workouts and workshops. Upcoming topics include bullying, planning for college, and personal finance.

The B-Fit program, now in its third year, is free to all Jewish girls in grades nine to 12, according to BBYO program director Leora Hoenig. Participants have included teens from Cleveland, Akron, Canton and Youngstown. The program will be held Wednesdays from Dec. 5 through March 6.

“Due to its rising popularity throughout the Jewish community, we would like to enhance and expand the program in order to reach more young Jewish women,” BBYO ONR wrote in its application. BBYO has partnered with the Mandel JCC to include such fitness programs as Zumba, Pilates, yoga, spinning, hip-hop aerobics and kickboxing. Teen coordinators will help plan and market the program. Contact lhoenig@bbyo.org or 216-360-0075.

The OU Hillel will use the grant to conduct a personal safety, assault prevention and self-defense workshop for young women in the college community.

The Hadassah Foundation awarded 13 mini-grants in honor of its “bat mitzvah year” of service to organizations in 11 states serving Jewish young people. The 13 mini-grants support new or expanded programming that promotes the physical, spiritual and emotional well being of Jewish girls and young women.

“We are delighted that this minigrant program will enable so many youth-serving organizations in the Jewish community to create feminist-oriented programming,” said Donna Gerson, chair of the Hadassah Foundation. “This program enables us to reach many new communities that normally wouldn’t be touched by the Hadassah Foundation.”

BBYO EVENTS: The Ohio Northern Region BBYO will hold its kickoff convention Friday, Sept. 28 to Sunday, Sept. 30, at Camp Wise in Chardon. Final registration closes Sunday, Sept. 9.

BBYO Connect and Camp Wise are sponsoring a back-to-school ice cream social from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9, at Mitchell’s Ice Cream at La Place in Beachwood. The free event is for all middle school teens.

A chapter recruitment fair and parent information session will take place Sunday, Sept. 9, at the Mandel JCC. The fair runs from 2 to 4 p.m. All Jewish teens in grades nine to 11 are invited to meet current BBYO members, enjoy snacks and learn about the youth organization. The parent session, from 3 to 4 p.m., is an informative discussion on what BBYO offers teens. Contact onr@bbyo.org. shoffman@cjn.org