Mourning the Loss of Dr. Gary Tobin

The New Jew mourns the loss of the esteemed Dr. Gary Tobin (Z”L), may his memory be a blessing to all he touched.

Sourced from the Institute for Jewish and Community Research:

Founder and president of San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish & Community Research (IJCR), Dr. Gary Tobin passed away on July 6, 2009 at age 59.

Dr. Tobin was an innovative teacher, writer, researcher, and community builder who worked courageously and passionately to help the Jewish people grow and thrive.

In all his work, Dr. Tobin challenged the status quo of institutions for which he cared deeply yet always believed could be better.

Whether it was the Jewish federation system, American academia, or the State of Israel, Dr. Tobin was never afraid to challenge and provoke, always expecting better and more. He believed the greatest expressions of affection came not through blind praise but through thoughtful criticism and unlimited optimism for the things that meant the most to him.

At his last Passover Seder, Dr. Tobin reminded his family that the Jewish people entered the Promised Land without their leader Moses. Dr. Tobin worked tirelessly to coach his team of colleagues at IJCR. He wanted his work to live beyond him, not for the sake of his own legacy but for the sake of the greater good he always pursued. The Institute for Jewish & Community Research will continue to advance his visionary research.

For more information please visit GaryTobin.org.

Israeli Environment: New Mall Seeks to Green the Negev

“The Future of Israel lies in the Negev.”
~ David Ben-Gurion, first prime minister of Israel

If you aren’t intimately familiar with Israel, you may not realize that the country is divided into two cultural and geographical spheres: the Center and the Periphery.

The Center, composed of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and their environs, are densely populated hubs of activity. The Periphery: the Galilee, Golan Heights, and Negev Desert, are more agricultural areas outside of the Center’s reach. This segmentation is critical to understanding the Israeli mindset when it comes to how we perceive each other.

Today YNet News broke the story that Be’er Sheva is set to become home to Israel’s largest mall. With a projected budget of 700 million NIS (approx. $180.5 million) and a three-year timeframe, the mall aims to be not only a commercial center, but a nexus of social activity. Upon its completion, the mall will house clubs for youths, seniors, soldiers, and feature a children’s play area.

Additionally, the new center will be the first green mall in Israel with the following environmental considerations:

• Solar paneling on the roof for energy conversion
• Pools for collecting rain water and condensation from air conditioning to be reused for irrigation
• Green park to be built near mall with connecting bicycle paths around the mall’s periphery

—– Read more about the mall’s environmental impact and plans for Be’er Sheva’s development—–

ROI Summit 2009: Stories of Inspiration

I had the honor and privilege of attending this year’s ROI Summit in the New Media Track. It’s been hard for me to put into words the value and inspiration that I was gifted there, so instead of gushing about it, I’ll start by introducing you to four women I met who inspired me.

Manuela Zoninsein, a journalist in Beijing and current Presentense Fellow, seeks to connect Chinese farmers with Israeli agricultural technology. She is in the process of creating Sustain, a newsletter that will “track the evolution of agricultural technology and techniques worldwide”

Nicole Hyman’s goal is create a confluence between citizen media and mobile technology (namely cellphones). A South African strongly influenced by the Rwandan genocide, Nicole strives to provide Jewish bloggers with a way to use mobile media to promote and support Israel

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Susanne Goldstone Rosenhouse is the voice behind Jewish Tweets, Twitter’s most popular Jewish presence with over 3,800 followers. Susanne utilized her social media expertise to found ParnasaFest, a grassroots network helping Jews find meaningful employment within the Jewish community

Ziva Haller Rubenstein works for the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem. Her goal is to help make the Jewish Agency’s website more accessible and user friendly across languages, countries, and cultures. Ziva also blogs at the Designist’s Dream (de-Sign-ist, get it?) about sustainable art and design in Israel

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—– Read More About The New Jew’s New Directions —–