‘The Jewish Bulldog’ Suffers First Professional Loss
Boxer Benny Sinakin, whose nickname is The Jewish Bulldog, suffered his first professional loss on April 3 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, falling to Bronx, New York-based Nigerian Afunwa King.
Sinakin, 23, fell to 6-1, with three knockouts, as two judges ruled 58-56 for King, while the third judge ruled it even at 57-57.
Sinakin, who has the Star of David emblazoned on his trunks, was profiled in 2018 by the Jewish Exponent.
Before every fight, Sinakin’s team circles up, putting their arms around one another. Sinakin and his father, Lincoln, recite the Shema — in Hebrew and English — before the boxer breaks out into the personal prayer he composed:
“Please give me the strength of Samson; please give me the courage of King David; and please give me the wisdom of King Solomon. Amen.”
Gratz College Combines Three Programs as Center for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights
Gratz College announced that it established a Center for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights to combine three of its fastest-growing academic programs under one roof.
Under the direction of Ruth Sandberg, the center will house three programs with overlapping curricula: Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Human Rights and Interfaith Leadership.
By grouping the programs, the center “promises to enhance learning opportunities, streamline programming and encourage collaboration with academic organizations at other colleges and universities,” Gratz said in a news release.
“All three of these individual programs address human problems that are universal: hatred, intolerance, inequality and violence,” Sandberg said. “In this new center, we can really focus on educating people so we have less misunderstanding and less ignorance, and, therefore, less hatred and less violence in the world.”
The center will allow students enrolled in any of the three programs the flexibility to design their own curriculum and cross-register for courses that fit their individual needs. It also will provide support for existing resources and programming, such as the biennial Arnold and Esther Tuzman Memorial Holocaust Teach-in and the Holocaust Oral History Archive.
Real Estate Agent Rita Roy Dies at 98
Rita Roy, 98, who became a real estate agent in her 50s and remained active into her early 90s, died April 2 at her Center City home.
Olney native Roy and her late husband, Charles, a wedding and portrait photographer, opened LeRoy School of Photography after World War II, where Temple University sent students for credits in photography, son Phillip Roger Roy said. In 1950, they opened a fashion photography studio in New York City’s garment district.
Later, Rita Roy managed the Blue Bird Bridal Shoppe on South Street, owned by her mother-in-law, and briefly worked for her son at his Grendel’s Lair Cabaret Theater on South Street while she studied for the real estate exam.
She worked at Jackson-Cross Co. and at Prudential Fox & Roach, where her ads dubbed her “The Mother of All Realtors.”
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
