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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, May 17, 2003

Festival unites Jewish community

 •  Number of Jews here difficult to calculate

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

Pinchas Neuman, a co-chairman of tomorrow's Israeli Independence Day Festival, tells two stories to explain how the diverse and often differing Jewish community came together for this event:

Israel Independence Day Festival

• Noon to 4 p.m. tomorrow

• Honolulu Civic Center

• Free (free parking at the underground municipal lot at Alapai Street)

• For information: co-chairmen: Mathew Sgan, 595-9136; Pinchas Neuman, 696-0077.

• Also: There will be music, folk dancing, circle dancing, and a children's folk dancing presentation.

A Jew who gets shipwrecked on a desert island. He's industrious, so he goes to work and builds a house. Then he builds a synagogue, where he can worship. Then he builds another. Sure enough, miraculously, a second Jew gets shipwrecked on the same island. The older man takes the new fellow around, showing him the island. He shows him the house, then the first synagogue.

Then he looks across the way and points out to his new friend the other synagogue.

"That one, that's the one I never go into."

Once Neuman gets his laugh, he tells of his days living in Israel, where he was born.

During war times, everyone pulls together "in a way that is emotionally wrenching," Neuman said. When military vehicles come down the street, strangers rush into the road, forcing food such as homemade goodies onto the soldiers, who cannot refuse.

"In times of strife to our people, we unite and give each other a hand and shoulder. I don't know how it happens, it just happens. ... It's in the genes," he said. "Wouldn't Americans pull together? Of course they would. We're constantly under war, under vicious attack. ... We're celebrating this Yom Ha'atzmaut because we have to. We're here and we're still going to be here."

The festival is the first in five years, and will bring together members of the three Jewish congregations on O'ahu — Temple Emanu-El (reform), Congregation Sof Ma'arav (conservative) and Chabad of Hawaii (orthodox) — as well as unaffiliated Jews, whose numbers are undetermined.

Event co-chairman Mathew Sgan, who has membership at Temple Emanu-El and Congregation Sof Ma'arav, said the festival had a circuitous beginning. Rabbi Avi Magid had first tried to organize a visit by a group of Israeli businesspeople, who were taking caravans to Mainland cities to drum up sales for products from Israel. That didn't work out, but the idea to hold another festival did.

"We're getting a good response on all levels of participation," Sgan said. "They say if have two Jews, you have three opinions, but Israel becomes the central focus ... and unifying factor."

He said support has come from several established Jewish organizations. Temple Emanu-El will have a booth and a Western wall, where people can go to pray and write notes to be sent to Israel. Sof Ma'arav will sell Passover cookbooks, and Cha-bad's booth will sell kosher food. There will also be informational booths.

Pearl Krasnjansky of Chabad has also helped to organize a local candle-lighting effort on the weekend of May 30 that ties in to the theme of the festival.

Jewish women and girls have been urged to light the Sabbath candle, and to send thoughts of peace and security out into the ether, especially to Israel.

"Yes, you've got to fight war with weapons, but we feel strongly there are spiritual means to achieving peace," she said.

She said the "aloha yarmulke," which will be on sale, is very popular with the tourists.

There was division in the ranks of the steering committee: Should the festival veer clear of any political overtones?

Some said yes. Neuman said no.

"We were discussing the political impact or statement festival may make," he said. "There were two streams among committee: One held, 'Let it be low-profile, make this into fun, a cultural festival. Food, culture, nothing political.'

"The other stream, including myself, said the mere fact that we're going to have banner up (with a Jewish star and the word 'Israel') will automatically politicize the event."

After more discussion, they decided to put out an open hand.

"We're in an open area, no fences, nothing exclusionary," Neuman said.

"After 2,000-plus years of exile, after being strewn all over, as the prophesies of Hebrew bible come true, we see people come back to the old, historic land from which it was forcibly exiled.

"This is the miracle that we're celebrating, the 55th year, against all odds. ... Everybody is welcome to share in our happiness."