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January 11, 2002/27 Tevet 5762, Vol. 54, No. 17
Jewish life thrives in southeast Valley
LEISAH NAMM
Assistant Editor
In a series of articles, Jewish News is examining the shifting structure in the Valley's Jewish community. This report looks at the Jewish community in the southeast Valley.
Despite the network of freeways connecting the far-reaching Valley population, an invisible line along the Salt River appears to divide the Valley's Jewish community.
Some residents see the division as a physical border - for instance, not wanting to drive from Chandler to Scottsdale, or vice versa, to attend Jewish programs. Others view it as a psychological border, saying they feel isolated from the Valley's Jewish community as a whole.
As development of affordable housing rapidly continues in the southeast Valley, more and more Jewish families are calling the area home.
The database of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix includes just over 2,000 Jewish households in southeast Valley zip codes, said Shirley Norris, federation marketing and communications director.
These zip codes include Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Sun Lakes and Tempe.
Ilene Blau, director of the Tri-City Jewish Community Center, based in Tempe, estimates 6,000 Jewish households live in those areas.
A federation demographic study slated for completion in late spring will provide clearer data.
"Everybody's anxious to hear the results of the demographic study because of the uncertainty of the number of Jewish families," Blau said. "I think we will be surprised to learn how many unaffiliated and uncounted Jewish people are in the whole greater community."
Rabbi Andrew Straus, spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel of Tempe, agrees.
"The federation is going to be shocked by how large the Jewish community is in the southeast Valley," he said.
"I am looking forward to having some real numbers," said Rabbi Bonnie Koppell, spiritual leader of Temple Beth Sholom in Chandler. "I am hoping that if the numbers demonstrate that we are a significant community, then we can command greater attention and services."
Fred Zeidman, federation's assistant executive director, said he looks forward to the study shedding light on the needs of Jews in all areas.
The two longstanding southeast Valley congregations are Emanuel, with about 500 membership families, and Beth Sholom in Chandler, with about 200.
Chabad of the East Valley in Chandler doesn't count membership, but Rabbi Mendy Deitsch said he serves about 90 families.
Membership in the Tri-City JCC is required for families with children in the preschool, which serves about 250 children, Blau said.
The congregations in Sun Lakes - Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation with 450 members and Temple Havurat Emet with 150 members - share many members, said Marty Silverman, president of the Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation. Some are also members of other area congregations.
Jews have lived in the southeast Valley for decades.
"There has been a vibrant Jewish community which has provided programming ... for many years now," Blau said.
Beth Sholom was founded in 1951; Emanuel in 1976. The Tri-City JCC has its roots in the Jewish Organization of Tempe, formed 30 years ago, Blau said.
The southeast Valley is rapidly becoming a major Jewish community, and has had an important Jewish presence for years, said Straus.
"And (we are) unique in the sense of cooperation among the three major Jewish organizations down here," he said.
For the past several years, Emanuel, a Reform synagogue, and Beth Sholom, which is Conservative, have conducted joint programming, including adult education classes and holiday programs.
Straus and Koppell also work together in Discovering Judaism, a conversion program in which the two rabbis jointly teach classes, supervise the students and officiate at a bais din (Jewish court of law).
"The community is unique in its warm and heimish feel," said Koppell. "Due to the smaller size of my congregation and the exceptional niceness of the members, we are a true community in the sense that people are actively involved in one another's lives and supportive in good times and bad."
Koppell, an Army reservist, is currently on active duty as a chaplain at Fort Huachuca in southern Arizona. She returns home on weekends to serve the congregation.
Both congregations also schedule programs with the Tri-City JCC, which in turn hosts joint lectures and holiday programs with Chabad of the East Valley.
"I think (the southeast Valley Jewish community has) taken on a completely new form," said Deitsch. "People are feeling connected; people are uniting to make this community happen."
The Hillel Jewish Student Center at Arizona State University in Tempe works with Valley synagogues through its Teaching Scholars program. Hillel trains students to teach in the religious schools of Beth El Congregation in Phoenix, Temple Beth Israel in Scottsdale, Temple Chai in Phoenix, Beth Sholom and Emanuel.
In addition, Hillel has participated in programs with Emanuel, Beth Sholom and the Tri-City JCC, said Shotsy Abramson, Hillel administrative coordinator.
In contrast with the sense of unity within the southeast Valley, many who live there feel divided from the general Jewish community.
"I feel isolated," said Fern Kutok, owner of A Touch of Israel, a Judaica store in Chandler that opened in December 2000.
"We're craving for a kosher restaurant or a kosher-style deli or a bakery," she said. "I think they forgot about us."
Kutok opened her store at 393 W. Warner Road, confident there were enough Jews living in the area, and because she lives nearby. She was also "tired of shlepping north."
She said the store's presence has "made everyone in the southeast Valley feel that there's actually a Jewish population out here."
She noted that her customers come as far south as Casa Grande and as far east as Apache Junction.
Kutok is optimistic about the impact of the federation's pending demographic study.
"I really do hope that it will change people's attitudes (when they) realize that the southeast Valley also has its Jewish population."
Removing her Hillel administrative hat and speaking as a Tempe resident since 1973, Abramson said she feels "extremely isolated."
"I'm not sure that anyone's inflicting it on us," she said, "but every time I pick up a paper and I read that (a communal institution is) moving further north ... I always (wonder) what's happening for those of us on this side of town."
Straus said although some of his congregants feel part of the community as a whole, "there's absolutely a sense of isolation down here, too."
"The majority of the Jewish community and the greater part of the programming for the greater Jewish community are towards the north," Straus said. "And certainly the focus of the Jewish community federation is entirely towards the north."
The federation, along with several agencies, will move into the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus on Scottsdale Road and Sweetwater Avenue in Scottsdale in August.
Members of the Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation tend not to feel part of the Valley's general Jewish community, primarily because they don't like to travel, said Marty Silverman, president of the Reform congregation. In the past, the congregation offered transportation for members to attend programs at other synagogues, but there wasn't really an interest, he added.
Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation was founded in the mid-'80s; in June 2001, a group broke away to form Temple Havurat Emet, which holds monthly Shabbat services and other programs.
Rabbi Lester Frazin of Havurat Emet said distance doesn't prevent him from attending events throughout the Valley. Just as he attends symphony and theater performances in downtown Phoenix, a "really exceptional" Jewish speaker will draw him across town.
"We see a good program, we're going," he said.
However, he did note that several Sun Lakes residents prefer not to drive at night and so would be unlikely to attend events in other areas.
"The majority of the people stay in the southeast Valley," said Meryl Briscoe, a resident of Tempe for 35 years and a member of Emanuel since its inception. "It is an inconvenience to go elsewhere, especially on a weeknight. If you're a working person, you just get home too late."
Koppell notes her congregants rarely participate in activities in the northern Valley.
"There is a physical distance and our folks get tired of always having to be the ones to do the driving," she said. "It sometimes feels like, from the perspective of the organized Jewish community, the roads only go in one direction. Why are significant programs never held in our part of the Valley?"
Blau notes most people want their child-care center, senior center, camp and other programs in close proximity to their home.
"People are willing to travel if it's a special event, but as far as taking a class or listening to a lecture, convenience is an important factor," she said.
Some Jewish organizations based in Phoenix, such as the Bureau of Jewish Education, hold satellite classes at southeast Valley locations.
One change that could have a significant positive impact on the southeast Valley Jewish community is the Tri-City JCC's impending move, Straus said.
The JCC's lease expires this summer, and "the planning committee is working diligently on finding a new location," Blau said.
In October, Chabad purchased 2-1/2 acres of land at the southeast corner of McClintock Drive and Ray Road in Chandler, to build a Center for Jewish Life. Chabad is readying a $1.8 million capital campaign.
Requests from community members have dictated Chabad's programming during its four years of existence.
"Ninety-five percent of the programming we started was because people had requested it," Deitsch said.
"We want to accommodate the community," he said. "We want to make them feel Jewish and be proud to be a Jew living here."
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