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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 23 July 2014

Created: 23 July 2014

Last Updated: 13 August 2014

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The war in Israel has affected the summer travel plans of many Scarsdale residents and their families. Some were already in Israel when the missiles started flying while others were scheduled to go and deliberated about putting off their plans or forging on. The people we contacted to sought to balance their wish to support Israel with concerns about their safety.

We spoke to Rabbi Jonathan Blake, head Rabbi at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale about the situation and here are his thoughts:

"I hear of course a mixture of emotions: anxiety about the conflict and its escalation, pride in Jewish and Israeli unity and in Israel's conduct of the war, and a reassuring theme from many congregants that life continues to go on for Israel even under difficult circumstances. Israelis are nothing if not adaptable in crisis: sirens, bomb shelters, and emergency alerts have become part and parcel of the daily routine and there is a sense of comfort in the experience being shared among the population."

We reached out to several residents who travelled to Israel and here is what we learned. Scarsdale's Lauren Rimland is now staying close to Gaza. She sent us the following email on Wednesday July 23rd:

"I am currently in Israel with my parents and we arrived last Friday, as war was already in progress. We have been staying at my Uncle's dairy farm which is in the 40 km zone from Gaza. We have had daily sirens sending us the shelter, sometimes as many as 4 times a day. My Uncle's house does not have a shelter, so we have to run to the shelter next door. We have only 45 seconds to make it safely to the shelter. Not far from the Moshav is an Iron Dome which we are able to see and hear the loud booms. At night we are able to see the Iron Dome in action as well. We constantly hear and feel the rockets coming from Gaza. As we sit in their house, you can feel the vibrations. Everyone is on constant alert. My cousins are always on their cell phones on group communications, making sure everyone is ok and also, where the last rocket landed if it was in their neighborhood, to assess the damage."

"I have a very large family here. My aunt and uncle and their six children all live here. Each of my six cousins have family themselves and three of the families each have a daughter currently in the IDF. One is posted at the Gaza border and another is at the home front. It is disconcerting to see my 19 year-old cousin show up at her parent's farm with her rifle when she was on leave two days ago. What is truly amazing is to watch my other cousin stay composed as the sirens go off. She calmly starts singing a song as she leads her daughters into the shelter. The little girls are 2 and 4 years old. If you ask them what to do, they will tell you where to go and what to do."

"I am in awe of everyone here and will take this experience with me. I will be adding this experience to one from 1973 when i was here for my older brother's bar mitzvah in December right after the Yom Kippur war. My uncles walked into my grandparents' house and put their rifles on my grandmother's dining room table. It feel like it is deja vu."

"One of my cousins joked and said I have become like an Israeli because I am constantly checking my phone for the latest news about where the bombs are landing."

"We are supposed to return on Saturday, but Air France has indefinitely suspended travel to and from Israel, so we are now trying to figure out how to return home. Hopefully all will work out without too much difficulty."

In early July, Laura Kline, a rising senior at Scarsdale High School, was on a trip to Israel with a Jewish Organization called 92Y Havaya International when she experienced first-hand the missile conflict that is currently brewing on the Gaza Strip. Laura explained that during her two-week trip, she heard six sirens and blasts from explosions on two different occasions. Her group even had to go to a shelter for protection. Although she did not hear the explosions everyday, Laura conveyed the situation as stressful and traumatic. According to Laura, "the first time we heard the missiles, two of my Israeli friends cried. It's part of their life style unfortunately. It's not something you get used to, but with the iron dome and the shelters, you'll be ok." Because she became friends with Israeli teenagers like herself, she was able to understand the trauma they endured as missiles were being fired into their home country. She then explained, "one of my friends left the south and moved to Shoham, and she had post traumatic stress when she heard the sirens again." On one occasion, Laura and friends became aware that a missile had blown up a grocery store they were shopping in earlier that day. Luckily, she was able to stay safe.

Scarsdale's David Landau explained that his 17 year-old son Andrew has been in Israel on a NRTY trip for the last four weeks. Despite the conflict Andrew has had a great time and NFTY sent daily updates to the parents back home to keep them informed of the kids' whereabouts and to allay their fears. For the first three weeks of the trip they were able to keep to their planned itinerary. However last week they changed their plans and missed out on seeing Yad Vashem and shortened their time in Jerusalem to 1 ½ days. Though Landau has not spoken to his son much he does know that he has heard the sirens. Parents David and Melanie Landau had confidence in the iron dome and in Israel and remained relatively calm. However, Andrew was supposed to come home this week and when his flight was cancelled he was rerouted to Zurich where he will spend the night before flying to Geneva to catch a plane home. They expect to see him on Thursday July 23 after his three-day journey back.

Recent college grad Bryan Gertzog returned on July 2 from a Birthright trip to Israel and a few extra days in Tel Aviv. Here is what he shared:

"I got really lucky with the timing of my trip. Things started getting bad the day that I left, so I never really felt unsafe while I was there. I had an amazing experience on birthright and would highly recommend it when Israel becomes safer. I remember talking with the soldiers early in my trip about how the situation was relatively calm in Israel and had been for some time, with Syria being the biggest concen. Then news broke about the three boys being kidnapped and they knew right away that things might start to get worse."

And Monita Buchwald, sister-in-law of Scarsdale's Marlene Buchwald, is headed to Israel next week. She told Scarsdale10583 the following:

"We're expecting to leave in a week. We generally go to Israel every year to visit my husband Charles' family (his brother, sister-in law, their son (and daughter in law) and my nephew's 10 children. My brother-in-law lives in Bat Yam, a city South of Tel Aviv. He's an American who moved to Israel more than 40 years ago after finishing high school. Charles' parents moved there in 1973 but have since passed away. The focus of the visit is really just to spend time with family. I also have a very close friend in Jerusalem who I'll get together with. Our 29 year-old daughter Sarah is joining us on this trip. If possible, I had hoped to visit some art museums I've never been to. Since we travel there so frequently, we've seen everything touristy."

"For now, we haven't made any changes to our itinerary. I imagine, though, if the war is still on it will certainly restrict our freedom of travel. Additionally, we will really need to be aware of where bomb shelters are and how to respond to red alerts. That's certainly something we hadn't planned on."

"We're flying El Al but not sure about my daughter's plane because she's flying on US Air from Baltimore and at the moment, they aren't flying. Most of the time we will either be in Bat Yam, Tel Aviv or Jerusalem where our nephew lives. Our family is experiencing the red alerts and spending various amounts of time in safe rooms or shelters. Some have had to get out of their cars and lay flat on the road during an alarm, which is the standard operating procedure. While they are all trying to go about their regular lives, there is a sense of "battle.""

Did you go to Israel this summer? Share your experience in the comments section below.

Written by Joanne Wallenstein and Elizabeth Jacobs

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Written by: Debra Hyman and Valerie Abrahams

Published: 15 July 2014

Created: 15 July 2014

Last Updated: 15 July 2014

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Scarsdale Student Transfer Education Plan (STEP) marked the graduation of STEP scholar Dare Olaifa at a celebration dinner in his honor at the home of STEP Board Member Beth Ehrich Berkeley on June 26. Dare, who came to Scarsdale High from Memphis for his junior and senior years, is headed to Villanova University this fall. At the graduation fete, Dare's parents and 10-year-old sister joined STEP board members and friends to commend his many accomplishments during his time at SHS.

STEP senior co-chair Valerie Abrahams presented Dare with gifts from the STEP board and a MacBook Air, a gift from friends of his host family. In her remarks, Valerie praised Dare's academic success and his activities in the community. At SHS, Dare joined the football and track teams, participated in various clubs, was elected to student government, and most recently, performed in the senior class performance of Grease. On weekends, he volunteered at Hawthorne Cedar Knolls, a residential treatment center for adolescents with emotional problems. Valerie also thanked Dare's SHS deans and teachers, as well as former SHS History Department Chair, Eric Rothschild, who founded STEP in 1966. Rothschild, a widely respected retired SHS teacher and Scarsdale Village Historian, attended the graduation dinner as a continuing supporter and board member of STEP.

In a heartfelt speech, Dare thanked his host family, Nina and Ivan Ross and their sons, Ethan, Tyler and Josh, and the STEP board for guiding him through school here, and helping him to feel at home in Scarsdale. He also thanked representatives of Collegistics, a local college advisory service founded by several STEP board members, for helping him to navigate the application, financial aid, and scholarship process. Dare's father, Olefemi Olaifa, expressed his family's gratitude to the Rosses and to the STEP program. Dare's sister, Grace, presented the Ross family with a plaque of appreciation. The Olaifas emigrated to the United States from Nigeria when Dare was six years old.

Robert Lee, STEP's rising senior from Memphis, lives with Nan and Lee Berke during the school year. DonTavius Holmes, STEP's incoming junior, will arrive in Scarsdale in August. He will live with Bettina and Michael Klein. STEP will welcome DonTavius at an event in September, and both students will join STEP board members and students from the SHS STEP Club at its annual fund-raising bake sale at the Friends of the Scarsdale Library book sale on Saturday, September 6.

The Scarsdale Student Transfer Education Plan (STEP) is an independent community program that identifies promising students of color and enables them to attend Scarsdale High School for their junior and senior years. The program offers qualified students access to Scarsdale High School's strong college preparatory program and extensive extracurricular activities, as well as the cultural and recreational resources of the New York metropolitan area. While in Scarsdale, each visiting student lives with a host family and is encouraged to become an integral part of the Scarsdale community. To learn more about STEP, to inquire about becoming a host family, or to make a donation, visit www.scarsdalestep.org.

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 07 July 2014

Created: 07 July 2014

Last Updated: 07 July 2014

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For the second consecutive year, the Scarsdale Women's A1 team won the Westchester County Tennis League Women's A Division, defeating New Castle 4-1 in the final to take the title.

Pictured above are the team members who played in the final as well as those that cheered them on.  Shown here from left to right are: Laura Fratt, Jessica Goldman, Elena Ezratty, Heidi Seruya, Michelle Sterling, Stacey Marcus, Nanette Koryn, Jill Fischer, Mindy Shulman and Jen Stone

The Team Captain is Stacey Marcus (pictured), Co-Captains are Michelle Sterling (pictured) and Jodi Zucker (not pictured)

The other winning players on the team are Alison Abramson, Andrea Cantor, Mayling Chia, Marianne Hove, Ilyssa Londa, Kim Meyers, Victoria Silver, Andrea Tucker, Sejal Vora, Jodi Zucker.

Congratulations to the A-1 team.

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Written by: Stacie M. Waldman

Published: 30 June 2014

Created: 30 June 2014

Last Updated: 30 June 2014

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Belize, a tiny country south of Mexico and east of Guatemala, is a dream travel destination for a Scarsdale adventurer. English is the official language, American dollars are accepted everywhere, many lodges and resorts are up-to-par with western standards, a visa is not required, they drive on the right side of the road, and the 4-hour direct flight along with the 2-hour time difference makes the travel part easy. No special vaccinations are necessary, although you may want to consider the typhoid vaccine if you're an especially adventurous eater...gibnut anyone?

So, when grandma agreed to babysit the kids for the week and we found a direct flight from Newark to Belize for half the price of a ticket to Europe, it seemed like a no-brainer. Having traveled extensively around the world through both developed and less developed countries, Belize was a good middle ground for the best things eachof these types of countries offer, including the adventure aspect (with toilets!) we were looking for.

Tripadvisor proved helpful in deciding where to stay, although the number of places listed with several hundred reviews and a five-star average made it difficult to determine which would be the "best of the best" for us. We decided on Black Rock Lodge in the jungle for four nights and Sea Dreamson Caye Caulker, one of the islands off the coast, for three nights.

Black Rock Lodge did not disappoint. Isaias, a lodge tour guide and professional cowboy, met us at the airport and drove us the 2.5 hours into the jungle, 30 minutes of which was on an unpaved road past cows and horses, neither of which moved for our car. He talked for almost the entire drive and we learned more about Belize than during any other time on our trip. What Isaias learned about me was that I had one fear about being in Belize, and he took it upon himself to try to help me overcome my phobia. Just outside the lodge, he pulled over and poked a stick into a hole. A large, hairy, red-rump tarantula jumped out and he nonchalantly scooped it up and started to play with it. I cowered in the van but my husband pet it and actually, smaller spiders now seem just a little less scary to me (and almost every spider is smaller than that tarantula).

Black Rock Lodge is situated along the Macal River on 13,000 acres of protected jungle. It's off the grid in the sense that all electricity is solar and hydro produced. Each cabin is tastefully furnished and has a private bathroom as well as a veranda with a hammocks facing the river. Meals are available and a 4-course gourmet dinner is served each night under a candlelit palapa. The lodge seats guests with each other and this "forced mingling" turned out to be one of the best and most unique aspects of the lodge. Many of the fruits and vegetables served come from their on-site organic farm.

Activities abound in the jungle. One day we went to the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) caves with a guide (required). This was truly an unforgettable caving experience. A short hike was followed by a cool swim to the entrance of the cave. Within seconds of entering there was complete darkness if not for our headlamps. The cave formations are fascinating and the caving itself is just tricky enough to require one to be in decent physical shape (and not too scared of giant wolf spiders or bats). After an hour, we came to the main chamber of the cave that houses ancient Mayan artifacts as well as surprisingly well-preserved Mayan human remains.

Another day was spent hanging out at the gorgeous Black Rock property. Tubing down the river is free of charge and they'll even send a guide with you the first time around to show you the best way to get past the rapids. If you make it down the waterfall on your tube without being dumped you get a beer on the house. (We were 0 for 2 by the time we had to leave.) There's a beach on the river and a rope swing for those not afraid of a little rope burn. There is a well- marked hiking trail on property and if you have it in you to be on the lookout for snakes, (I literally almost bumped into a 15-foot indigo snake,) you'll be rewarded with scenic vistas and ample birdlife. In fact, you have a chance of seeing three kinds of toucans at Black Rock just while eating breakfast.

On our last day, we took a guided horse trail ride to an ancient Mayan ruin called Xunantunich. There are also opportunities to go cave tubing, zip lining, to Tikal in Guatemala, to a baboon sanctuary, canoeing, and to other Mayan ruins but we ran out of time.

We hired a car to take us to the water taxi in Belize City and stopped at the Belize Zoo on the way. The zoo is less of a zoo and more of an animal sanctuary for endemic animals that were rescued, sustained an injury preventing them from living in the wild, or donated. It was well worth the stop.

We hopped aboard the 45-minute water taxi ride to Caye Caulker, a very relaxed Caribbean-like island off the coast of the mainland with a population of 1,000. Sea Dreams Hotel is walking distance from the water taxi landing, as is everything on Caye Caulker. We used the hotel's beach bikes to get to know the island and enjoyed the included homemade breakfasts every morning.

We are not certified divers so we spent two full days snorkeling (and looking for manatees) in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Coral Gardens, and Shark and Ray Alley. Even snorkeling allowed for impressive views of life underwater. Although the coral is not very colorful, the sea life makes up for it. We swam with loggerhead turtles and sea turtles, large green moray eels, barracuda, countless tropical fish, eagle rays and stingrays, and a group of around 40 nurse sharks. Many outfitters on Caye Caulker offer diving and world-class fishing as well as paddle boarding, kayaking, and overnight adventure trips.

After watching one last sunset from the dock at Sea Dreams, we packed up and headed back to the airport, with reality settling back in with the screech of the airplane's tires in Newark. Our kids thought we went by ourselves to Belize to "check it out" before taking them there, and the truth is that we can't wait to take them to Belize. My son is looking forward to holding a tarantula and my daughter seemed particularly excited about the dog that lives at Black Rock.