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Friday May 11, 2007

Shorts: Bay Area

Santa Cruz shul gets new home

Congregation Kol Tefillah will finally get a permanent home later this month.

The traditional congregation has rented space from Unity Temple every week for 13 years.

Congregants will dedicate the new space, at 200 Washington St. in downtown Santa Cruz, at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 20. The ceremony will begin with a parade starting at Unity Temple, 407 Broadway, and finishing at the synagogue’s new home.

Following the parade, the congregation will affix a mezuzah to the doorframes, and dedicate the space as a house of worship, study and community. Refreshments will follow.

Kol Tefillah began in 1994 to offer traditional Hebrew Shabbat prayer services, educational activities for children and adults, and holiday celebrations. The congregation is lay-led, and is affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

For more information about the congregation call (831) 457-0264 or visit www.koltefillah.org.

Second arraignment in lewd acts case

Former Tehiyah Day School music teacher and longtime Bay Area bar mitzvah entertainer Achi Ben Shalom was arraigned for a second time Tuesday, May 8 in a case stemming from an arrest last November for allegedly committing lewd acts with a minor.

The latest arraignment was the result of Ben Shalom’s case being transferred from Richmond Superior Court to Martinez Superior Court in April. Ben Shalom, who is out on bail, has maintained his innocence since his arrest.

A jury trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 6.

Alan Dershowitz to make case for Israel

Alan Dershowitz returns to the Bay Area to deliver a pair of lectures in support of Israel. The first, titled “The Case for Israel,” takes place 12:30 p.m. Sunday, May 13 at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. That same evening, he delivers “The Case for Peace” at Hillel of Stanford.

A Harvard Law School professor, Dershowitz is known for defending high-profile clients such as Anatoly Sharansky, Claus von Bülow, O.J. Simpson and Michael Milken, and for his pro bono work with indigent clients. He also is the author of 20 books, including “The Case For Peace: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can be Resolved” and “The Case for Israel.”

The first talk takes place in Kanbar Hall at the JCCSF, 3200 California St. Tickets: $17-$20. For more information, call (415) 292-1233 or online at www.jccsf.org/arts.

The May 13 evening lecture at Stanford University is for Stanford students, faculty and staff, and takes place 7 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium. For more information, call (650) 736-1199.

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