Andrew Guckes | Staff Writer
At Tifereth Israel, which means “glory of Israel,” in Bensalem, the congregation’s love for Israel is paramount.
Forty-six-year member and Bensalem resident Bruce Toben said that most of the congregation has been to Israel and many have family members there. The family members of legendary lone soldier Michael Levin are also members at Tifereth Israel. Levin was the only American to die in service for Israel in the second Lebanon War.
That was in 2006. Now, nearly two decades later, Israel is once again in need of support. On April 27, TI will hold a celebration for Israel with speakers, an art exhibit, food and more.
Toben said the mission at Tifereth Israel has never waivered: to support Israel as much as the congregation can.
“The Jewish community has a horrible cloud above it because of what occurred to those people who were murdered, but also because hostages are still in captivity,” he said. “What we wanted to do as a synagogue, which is so embedded in Israel, is to have a celebration of all the wonderful things that have happened since Israel was created. Yes, horrible things have occurred and are occurring, but we have to celebrate and think of the good times, and that is a lot of the spirit of why we’re doing this.”
One member, Martin Abrahamson, is going to speak at the event.
“We’re proud of him. He’s a member of our synagogue, and he has an extensive background — he lived in Israel,” said Todd Sokol, a longtime member.
There are also four nonprofits that will be part of the event, reflecting Tifereth Israel’s commitment to working on behalf of Israel as a community. Representatives from the Michael Levin Lone Soldier Foundation, American Friends of Magen David Adom, Volunteers for Israel and Americans for Ben-Gurion University will attend to network and fundraise for their respective causes.
“They are all equally important to us because we have members that are part of [each] of them,” Toben said.
The event will run at the synagogue in Bensalem from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition to speeches and nonprofits, there will be Israeli food and an art exhibit. The exhibit will feature photographs by someone who is close to both the state of Israel and Tifereth Israel: Toben’s father, Ed.
“When he retired, he actually became a photojournalist and was contracted by many Israeli organizations to come and take pictures,” Bruce Toben said. “They were used for marketing, tourism, etc., in Israel.”
Toben and his sister reviewed more than a thousand of their father’s photos from 20th-century Israel and selected 75 of the best to show at the synagogue’s celebration. These photos have already been exhibited in other capacities in the United States, Israel and parts of Europe. Toben was proud to say they have been featured in museums and photo books.
“They’re representative of the culture, of the people and of the landscape,” he said.
He added that his father’s pictures show the land for what it is: a multicultural bastion that has set an example for the rest of the region.
“Because there’s been so much negative publicity, there’s been so much dissent and polarization with what’s been happening over there, we don’t want to lose the fact that there’s an amazing democratic country in the Middle East that has brought so much to the world since its development,” he said. “And that’s what this day is all about.”
Whether this becomes a repeated or even regular tradition is a decision for TI leaders down the road. Either way, it represents the synagogue’s willingness to step up.
“Usually, the Bucks County Kehillah does an Israeli Independence Day celebration, but this year we’re not doing it,” Sokol said. “So the Men’s Club and Sisterhood [club at] Tifereth Israel thought it was important to do something to celebrate Israel’s 77th independence day. Everybody has been so supportive of this event. It couldn’t just be done by the Men’s Club or the Sisterhood. It’s a collaboration.”