Jewish Federation

The Center for Autism , a nonprofit autism treatment and evaluation center, has named Silvana Battaglia , John C. Bickel , and Margaret C. Souders to its board of directors. Battaglia is senior vice president of human resources for Day & Zimmerman Group Inc. Bickel is the president of Hollister Construction Services' Pennsylvania office. Souders is on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing and has a clinical appointment as a pediatric nurse practitioner for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Clinical Genetics Center and Center for Autism Research.

The Jewish Federation of Camden County is planning to move to better serve Jewish families in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties. Last month, the federation purchased a 17-acre tract on the northeast corner of Springdale and Kresson Roads in Cherry Hill, which will be the site of a Jewish community-services complex, said Stuart Alpern, executive director of the federation. The federation's complex on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, which likely will be sold when the new facility is finished, has been home for the last 31 years to a number of agencies, including the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Service, Jewish Community Relations Council, Bureau of Jewish Education, Bequest and Endowment Fund, The Voice and federation administrative offices.

Five local high school students have been named as the first recipients of Israel Educational Travel Grants by the Chester County Region Board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. They are Ilyssa Rothman of Temple Brith Achim, King of Prussia; Rachel Zimet of Beth Israel, Uwchlan; Lauren Eisner of Congregation B'nai Jacob, Phoenixville; and Joshua Gold and David Ari Hulnick of Kesher Israel, West Chester. The awards will be given tomorrow evening at the Desmond Hotel in Malvern.

If you got a phone call yesterday from the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia asking for money to help with social service programs here and abroad, the pleasant voice on the other end could have belonged to someone like Cindy Green. "We're raising money for those who can't," said Green, a physician from Yardley who was making calls in her 10th phone campaign for the Jewish Federation. This is the 17th annual fund-raising phone campaign for the federation, and this year's theme, "Super Sunday 50," celebrates Israel's 50th anniversary.

A Cherry Hill citizens' group has filed its second lawsuit to block the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey from building a community center and senior citizens' housing complex on the township's east side. The suit seeks to overturn the township's rezoning of the federation's 18- acre site at Springdale and Kresson Roads, which was needed to permit the project. The Township Council unanimously voted to rezone the lot during a stormy meeting in November, when more than 500 residents jammed a ballroom at the Cherry Hill Inn. The citizens' group, known as Save Our Community, contends that the $20 million complex - made up of a community center and a five-story, 100-unit apartment building - would be incongruous with the neighborhood's residential character.

The developers of the proposed Jewish Community Center last night got the new institutional zoning they had requested, but failed to win the Cherry Hill Planning Board's approval for a six-story building as part of the plan. The Planning Board last night rezoned a 17-acre site on Springdale and Kresson Roads from residential to institutional, despite much criticism from neighbors who said the proposed campus for the Jewish Federation of South Jersey would dramatically change the residential character of the community.

Harold Shpeen, 87, of Marlton, a longtime dentist and former president of the Jewish Federation of South Jersey, died Tuesday, Aug. 17, at his home. When Mariam Shpeen Feist was growing up, she thought her father was employed by the federation and the Jewish Community Centers of Southern New Jersey. After all, Dr. Shpeen would sometimes host meetings at his home, and everything he did revolved around the federation. "It wasn't until later that I realized my father was a dentist," Feist said with a laugh.

The good news is, they don't call on Friday nights. But if someone in your household is Jewish, you might soon be asked to give up 15 minutes of dinner (or that Seinfeld rerun) to talk about how you live. The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia - the largest Jewish philanthropic and social-service agency serving Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania suburbs - is conducting its first demographic survey of the area's Jewish population in 13 years. The study seeks to create a snapshot of the area's Jewish population so the federation can better allocate services, according to Alan Molod, chairman of the organization's population study committee.

The vice president of the United States has the image of being just a tad wooden. But Wednesday night, he charmed the packed house with a series of "Al Gore jokes" at Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley. "Last time I was here I was on crutches," he said. "I broke my Achilles tendon playing basketball. I'm fine now although they tell me I'll have to continue to wear the full-body cast. " His humor, however, did not overshadow the more serious issues he wanted to address as the keynote speaker at the 93d Annual Banquet of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

Three synagogues and the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey have launched a campaign to raise money to build a house for needy residents in Camden. Construction on the home, to be called Shalom House, is scheduled to begin this fall under the auspices of the Metropolitan Camden chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Congregation M'kor Shalom and Temple Emanuel, both in Cherry Hill, and Congregation Adath Emanu-El in Mount Laurel have joined the Jewish Federation in an effort to raise $50,000, the projected cost of building a two-story twin home on Benson Street near the waterfront.

Selma Kron, 81, a former Horsham resident who with her husband built a foundering business in Ambler into a successful nursing home, died Sunday, Jan. 13, in Clearwater, Fla., where she had lived since the 1990s. She was diagnosed in April with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Mrs. Kron graduated from West Philadelphia High School, then graduated with a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1953.

Kenneth Kaiserman, 73, of Philadelphia, a prominent real estate developer known for his passionate support of Israel, Ethiopian Jewry, and the performing arts, died Sunday, Aug. 19, of complications from colon cancer at a New York hospice. As president and chief executive officer of Kaiserman Co., which was founded by his father, Kevy K. Kaiserman, in the 1920s, Mr. Kaiserman amassed and managed a portfolio that spread over four million square feet of commercial property, including such landmarks as the Bourse, Constitution Place, and the 25-story Rittenhouse Claridge apartment building on Rittenhouse Square.

Rabbi Marc Rosenstein had left Philadelphia for a life in Israel when he was inspired to make his own contribution to Middle East peace. He founded a circus. In Rosenstein's version, there is no big top, no stilt-walking ringmaster, but there are somersaults, airborne twirls, and juggling acts, all performed by a troupe of Jewish and Arab teens. "I was looking for a cultural bridge," said Rosenstein, 65. The circus "is about overcoming fear, about trust; it's not language-dependent, and it makes people smile.

Joseph Smukler, 84, a Philadelphia lawyer and philanthropist who was instrumental in helping Jews emigrate from the Soviet Union, died Friday, July 13, of heart failure at his Rittenhouse Square home. Mr. Smukler was a partner at Fox Rothschild. A longtime civic leader, he served as a past chairman of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, vice president of the National Museum of American Jewish History, and vice chairman of the Anti-Defamation League.

At the Jewish Genealogical Fair in Cherry Hill, I listen to different voices tell the same story. "I want to find my grandfather. …" "She came here in 1916. …" "He changed his name. …" To the last comment, Steve Schecter, vice president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Philadelphia, offers a ready observation. "They all changed their names," says the Mount Laurel retiree, 66, whose paternal grandfather came to America from what is now Belarus, shucking his Schullriekter surname along the way. The old names were back on Sunday at Temple Beth Shalom, as 150 people queried representatives of public archives, such as the Camden County Historical Society, and private organizations, including the Jewish Federation of Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties.

HERE'S HOW to ward off a curse, or overcome triskaidekaphobia (fear of the No. 13), courtesy of Abe S. Rosen: Walk over a bed of peanut shells on Friday the 13th, reciting the phrase, "Anyone who does this is absolutely nutty. " When he would send this advice to columnists on a Friday the 13th, Abe didn't hide the fact that his public-relations agency represented Edwards-Freeman Nut Co. in Conshohocken. It was part of Abe's skill in the grand tradition of the old-time press agents who would stop at very little to plug a client.

The first Philadelphia delegation to the JCC Maccabi Games, the international sports competition for Jewish teenagers, was put together in a few weeks with a few phone calls. Phil Kohler, a swim coach at the Kaiserman Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Wynnewood, and his wife, Beth, scrambled to find athletes. They managed to recruit 35 to swim and to play soccer and basketball at the Detroit games in 1984. Twenty-seven years later, 250 teens representing Philadelphia will march into the Pavilion at Villanova University for the opening ceremony of the 2011 JCC Maccabi Games, which will be held here Aug. 14 to 19. The local delegation will be among more than 1,000 athletes from around the world.

Arnold R. Ginsburg, 94, a lawyer in Philadelphia for more than 60 years and a leader in the Jewish community, died Friday, June 24, at his home in Center City. In the mid-1950s, Mr. Ginsburg established a solo practice in Philadelphia, specializing in corporate law. In the 1960s, he was counsel and served on the board of the Philadelphia Transportation Co. During his career, he appeared before the Supreme Court four times, his son Leonard said. One case he argued before the justices involved a dispute between a tractor dealer in Kennett Square and the Ford Motor Co. A lower court had awarded $6 million to his client, the dealer, but the award was overturned on appeal to the Supreme Court in 1986.

Florence Sack Gilbert, 92, of Bala Cynwyd, director of volunteers at Hahnemann Hospital from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, died Monday, May 9, at Lankenau Hospital. Born in West Philadelphia, Mrs. Gilbert graduated from West Philadelphia High School and earned a medical technician's diploma at the former Philadelphia Normal School. A daughter, Beth Reisboard, said Mrs. Gilbert worked briefly at the former Mount Sinai Hospital in South Philadelphia. In 1949, Reisboard said, Mrs. Gilbert was among the founders of the former Yeadon Jewish Community Center, a synagogue and service organization, where she established and helped run youth social groups.

Alvin "Vene" Gutman, 93, of Lafayette Hill, a business executive and community leader, died at home Friday, April 22, the day before his 67th wedding anniversary. Mr. Gutman was president and later chairman of the board of Pressman Gutman Co. The firm, which wove, dyed, and printed fabric for clothing manufacturers, was established by his family more than a century ago. He spent more than 50 years with Pressman Gutman, which had offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Bala Cynwyd.