From left are Barry Wien, an owner and funeral director at Eden Memorial Chapels in Fort Lee; Rabbi Meir Berger of the New Synagogue of Fort Lee; Rabbi Simon Feld, chaplain, the Jewish Home at Rockleigh; Rabbi Yisroel Benedek, the Jewish Sacred Society Chevra Kadisha ; Frank Patti, Jr., Eden Memorial Chapels; Arthur Musicant, Eden Memorial Chapels; Frank Patti, senior director of Eden Memorial Chapels and an honoree; Rabbi Michael Ross of Teaneck; Rabbi Abraham Zigelman, rabbi emeritus, Temple Beth Abraham in North Bergen and a member of Young Israel of Fort Lee; Rabbi Meir Konikov, executive director, Chabad of Fort Lee; and Rabbi Moshe Stavsky, covering rabbi at Young Israel of Fort Lee.

More than 200 people attended Young Israel of Fort Lee’s ninth annual dinner dance on June 14 at the Doubletree Hotel in Fort Lee. Frank Patti, senior director of Eden Memorial Chapels of Fort Lee, received the community service award and Marcelle Harczstark of Fort Lee was honored with the shul’s chesed award. Sammy Berger was the event chair. Patti was honored for his years of service to Fort Lee and for his dedication to the Jewish community, including his service at his local family-owned, Jewish funeral home. Rabbi Neil N. Winkler gave a live transmission in Patti’s honor from Jerusalem.

American and Israeli experts will conduct a symposium called “Terror Medicine & Security: U.S. and Israeli Perspectives,” on Wednesday, July 15, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School’s Dental Conference Center in Newark. The symposium, according to event coordinator Dr. Leonard Cole, past president of UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey and a political scientist with the Rutgers University’s Division of Global Affairs, is “to enable attendees to better prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks.” UJA-NNJ’s Physicians and Dentists Division and Jewish Community Relations Council will participate.

Dr. Leonard Cole

The New Jersey EMS Task Force, UMDNJ-Center for Continuing and Outreach Education, and the State of New Jersey, Department of State New Jersey-Israel Commission are sponsors of the event. It is open to health-care practitioners and professionals, emergency personnel, law enforcement officers, and interested members of the public.

Topics will include: developing emergency and hospital preparedness plans, including onsite management of attack victims; implementation of security measures including protection of first responders, hospitals, and other involved personnel; assessing injuries associated with terrorist attacks and providing appropriate treatments; and relevant issues including medical forensics and short-term and long-term psychological care.

Faculty members include senior disaster control professionals from UMDNJ, Ben-Gurion University, the EMS Task Force, Israel Defense Forces, New Jersey Dept. of Health and Senior Services, New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection, Mayo Clinic, Israel Police, Hadassah Hospital, New Jersey Div. of Mental Health Services–Disaster in Terrorism Branch, New Jersey Hospital Association, and private security consultants.

Special guests include Gov. Jon Corzine, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Israel Consul General Asaf Sharif, Dr. Clifton Lacy, and Dr. Cole.

Registration is $50 for physicians, who will qualify for continuing education credits, and $25 for everyone else. For information, call UMDNJ at (973) 972-4267 (option #1) or online at www.umdnj.edu/ccoe/medical.

The Dumont Chess Mates meet at the Jewish Center of Teaneck on Mondays July 6, 13, 20, 27, Aug. 3, 10, 17, and 24, at 7:30 p.m. Membership is free to JCT members and for a nominal fee to non-members. Lessons are free. Adults, seniors, and youths are welcome. For more information, e-mail Lawrence Constance, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), call (201) 833-0515, or visit www.dumontchessmates.com.

Ed Ruzinsky

Jewish Family Service of Bergen County and North Hudson, in Teaneck, offers “Tools for Living Well in Tough Times: A Workshop Series on Financial and Emotional Health,” on Wednesday, July 8, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Ed Ruzinsky, CPA, retired partner, Deloitte & Touche, and Geoffrey M. Lewis, CPA, chief financial officer, Optima Fund Management LLC, will present “Guidelines for Financial Stability in Troubled Times.”

“Looking for a Job in Hard Times: Practical Employment Advice” will be given by Marlena Lechner, JFS career development specialist. The event is free and supported by the UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey. For information, call (201) 837-9090 and ask for IRA (Intake and Referral) or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Cong. Shomrei Torah in Wayne is selling gifts of jars of eight ounces of kosher honey to be shipped to a location of choice along with a gift card.  Each jar, including shipping and handling, costs $10; $25 if sent outside the United States.  For every 10 jars ordered, the sender gets a free jar.  Orders must be submitted by Aug. 3 to Shomrei Torah, 30 Hinchman Ave., Wayne, NJ 07470. For information, call Judy Weil at (973) 633-5072 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Rabbi Shelley Kniaz, the religious school director at Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley in Woodcliff Lake, leads a beginners Hebrew class on Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and an intermediate class from 10 to 11 a.m. Classes run through Aug. 26. An $18 donation is requested to cover the cost of the book, and basic Hebrew reading is required. For information, call (201) 391-0801 or visit www.temple-emanuelpv.org.

WASHINGTON – As the health-care reform debate heats up, Jewish organizations are siding with the Obama administration on several key points, including the creation of a government-run public insurance option and pushing for measures that would help the rapidly aging Jewish community.

Obama says he backs a public option as vital to expanding access to health care and controlling costs. Many Republicans vehemently oppose the idea, saying it would distort the private marketplace and potentially put insurance companies out of business.

Several major Jewish organizations — including the United Jewish Communities, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and B’nai B’rith International — favor the public option and have embraced the White House’s general focus on adopting a comprehensive plan that provides affordable and accessible coverage for all Americans, especially those with low incomes.

CHERRY HILL, N.J. – Sharla Feldscher couldn’t believe what she was seeing and hearing last weekend on TV.

“I actually stood there and blinked!” recalls Feldscher.

The Voorhees, N.J., woman was not alone in being startled by the news that a painful part of her South Jersey community’s past was being unearthed. The trigger: the sudden revelation that Len Jenoff had recanted his damaging testimony as a key witness in the trial of Fred Neulander, the Cherry Hill rabbi who was charged and ultimately convicted of arranging for his wife’s murder by Jenoff and an accomplice.