News Briefs: Rudmans Donate $1.5M to Temple and more

Rudmans Donate $1.5M to Temple

Kal and Lucille Rudman donated $1.5 million to Temple University as part of ongoing efforts there to establish and enhance a state-of-the-art digital media production center, a cable TV station and a website, the university announced.

The television studios reopened Oct. 16. Known as TUTV-Temple University Television, the station features work done by students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners.

The Rudmans, through their foundation, have contributed nearly $4 million toward the studios. The founder and editor of music industry trade publication Friday Morning Quarterback, Kal Rudman’s career also included stints as a disc jockey and a professional wrestling announcer.

Torah Stolen from Kentucky Hospital

Police in Louisville, Ky., arrested a man who allegedly stole a Torah scroll from Jewish Hospital, JTA reported.

Security cameras captured the Oct. 14 theft of the Torah scroll, which was valued at around $30,000. The scroll was on display at the medical center.

David James Macon Jr., 27, was stopped by hospital security two days later, as they believed he was the same person seen in the security footage. Police arrest reports said he was wearing the same clothes from the night of the theft.

Macon was charged with theft over $10,000 and burglary.

Texas School District Asks Mother to Prove Daughter is Jewish to Excuse Absence

A North Texas Jewish woman said the Garland Independent School District asked her for proof that her daughter is Jewish to excuse a Yom Kippur absence.

Lauren Gordon told a TV station on Oct. 18 that the school district asked her to “send documentation from the religious establishment you attended.” All religious holidays are excused, according to the school’s handbook.

“That response basically told me that they didn’t believe that we were Jewish. That they needed proof. Honestly, it upset me just as much as it made me angry,” she said, noting that she learned other area schools were also asking for proof of Jewishness to excuse absences.

After complaining, Gordon said that the school’s principal apologized and said she didn’t mean to offend anyone.

First Female President Installed at Hebrew College

Hebrew College in suburban Boston installed Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld on Oct. 15 as its first female president and the ninth in its nearly 100-year history, JTA reported.

Rabbi Arthur Green, the college’s rector, installed Anisfeld before a crowd of 600 people.

“We’re living in a time when so much conspires to make us feel alone and untethered,” Anisfeld said. “In a world that is fractured and frayed, we are — we must be — witnesses to a deeper truth. One of connection and compassion. One of humility and hope. This is our sacred mission at Hebrew College. And never has it been more vitally important.”

Anisfeld, who was ordained as a Reconstructionist rabbi in 1990, succeeds Rabbi Daniel Lehmann, who served for nearly a decade. She previously served as the dean of the school’s pluralistic rabbinical school.

The college recently announced that it had sold its landmark campus to eliminate a longstanding $7.4 million debt. l