Here’s a roundup of some of this week’s news, from around Baltimore and the Jewish world.
Barry Bogage set to retire from Maryland/Israel Development Center
Barry Bogage, executive director of the Maryland/Israel Development Center, will be retiring from his position in 2022, according to a statement by MIDC. To thank Bogage for the three decades of leadership and service to the organization, and to commemorate the 30 years MIDC has been in operation, a celebration will be held on June 12.
“We salute Barry Bogage’s steady, strong and outstanding professional leadership guiding the MIDC since 1992, and we know the community will join us to mark these milestones,” MIDC Chairman Alvin Katz said. “I am delighted Lynn [Shapiro Snyder] and Howard [Feldman] are spearheading the planning as both have had longtime and strong relationship with the MIDC.”
More than 200 celebrities sign letter denouncing cultural boycott of Israel
Mila Kunis, Billy Porter and Neil Patrick Harris are among the more than 200 celebrities who signed a letter opposing efforts to boycott an LGBTQ film festival in Tel Aviv, reported Shira Hanau for JTA.
The letter is a response to calls from activists with the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel to boycott the annual Tel Aviv International LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
“In Israel, movies have the unique power to bring together Jews, Arabs, and people of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in collaboration under a shared love of the arts, working together towards the common goal of telling their stories, and building bridges of compassion and understanding,” the letter reads.
JCC of Greater Baltimore, LifeBridge Health open new wellness suite
The JCC of Greater Baltimore and LifeBridge Health have opened a new wellness suite at the Weinberg Park Heights JCC.
While open to all community members, the Sinai Wellness and Education Suite was designed in particular to provide the Orthodox community with a place to receive health education and services tailored to their specific religious needs, such as around modesty and privacy.
A ribbon-cutting and mezuzah-hanging ceremony was held Oct. 27 to officially open the suite. Speakers included Neil Meltzer, president and CEO of LifeBridge Health; Marc B. Terrill, president of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore; Barak Hermann, CEO of the JCC of Greater Baltimore; and Rabbi Yisrael Motzen of Ner Tamid Greenspring Valley Synagogue, who hung the mezuzah onto the new facility’s door frame.
