News
2019 & Forward
Contents
2019 - Shula's Camp Images
A few images from Shula's photo album. Can you identify the faces? (Thanks, Dov Rosenfeld.)
Shula 1959
2019 - Avraham and Raymonde Appel visit Israel
Thanks to Hedva Sheiner for forwarding.
2019 - Avraham and Raymonde Appel visit Israel


The Law
*Principal, Gridiger Lawyers, since 1970.
*Member, Law Society of New South Wales, since 1969.
•Member, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, current.
•Former Solicitor, R.I. Rosenblum and Partners.
•Former Solicitor, Colin Helliar and Co.
•Solicitor, since 1969.

“Receiving this Award is an absolute surprise and honour,” says Roland Gridiger.
He has found it “rewarding and awe-inspiring” to assist talented young opera singers to achieve their ambitions through The Australian Singing Competition.
He says that supporting instrumentalists participating in the Young Performers Awards in furthering their career opportunities is a credit to the Music and Opera Singers Trust (MOST) team who work tirelessly to encourage uniquely gifted musicians.
When J-Wire asked him what he regards as a standout moment he said.       
 
                                                                                                                                  Forwarded by Aaron Ninedek
2019 - Roland Gridiger awarded the OAM
Music and Opera Singers Trust
•Founder and Chief Executive Officer, since 1982.
Rona Tranby Trust
•Trustee, current.
"For service to the performing arts through administrative roles."
2019 - Roland Gridiger awarded OAM
2019 - Another Reunion at Rosh Pinah
Peter Keeda recalls another reunion at Rosh Pinah - which took place 30 April -1 May 2019.
Click here to download the accompanying article which describes the event. This is a 4-page .pdf.
(Click on image to enlarge)
2019 - Another Reunion at Rosh Pinah
In the years of 2008/09, a few of us contributed material toward the thesis presented by Jonathan Ari Lander as part of his PhD in Philosophy in History. Entitled "From Zionism to Diaspora-Zionism: The History of the Zionist Youth Movements in Australia", it can be accessed here.

Some 373 pages in length, downloading and finding occurences of 'Betar' or checking the acknowledgements on page v11 and starting p 351 may be a start. Most of the Betar-related information originated from the collections on this site.
2019 - The History of Zionist Movements in Australia
2019 - Shula's Camp Images
2019 - At the Goldsteins
From Hedva - a few photos taken on the 22nd June 2019 with Jack Mirjam and his daughter Misha, Shim and Perla Feder, Danny Rosing, Ian Groden and his partner (Sydney), Ros and Henry Ben Ezra and Miriam Briggs.
Also present but not photographed were Rosalie and Solly Goldstein and Hedva Sheiner.
2019 - At the Goldsteins
2019 - Article published about Arieh Bomzon's Roots
From Peter Keeda: The Israeli newspaper 'Israel Hayom' has published an article about Flapper and his family's roots trip to Poland - the copy of the original article translated into English and two photos. Flapper would like to acknowledge the great help that Stella & Alex Gelbart extended to him and his family in their sojourn.

To download the translation of the article, click here.


2019 - Article published about Arieh Bomzon's Roots
2020 - Farewell party for Jack Mirjam - February 8
Roz, Shim, Pearla Leah, Miriam Rosalie, Betty, Theo Theo Jack, Frieda
Jack Bish, Misha, Anat Solly Misha, Jack, Rosalie
Jack, Danny Danny, Roz, Bish, Anat, Theo, Jack, Misha,, Pearla, Frieda, Leah Solly & Rosalie's granddaughters Rosalie
Solly & daughters Danny, Roz, Bish, Anat Pearla, Shim, Frieda, Leah Anat, Theo, Jack, Misha
From Miriam Briggs:

The farewell party was held at Solly and Rosalie's home.
Jack leaves Israel with a very heavy heart. However, his failing eyesight & loss of his lifelong partner Rosette in 2017 made his family in Australia want to take a more active role in caring for him!

Webmaster note: Jack is an accomplished artist and we have published his life works available as a download (Adobe Acrobat)  here. Please note that this file is around 23mb.

Images below: click on an image to enlarge.
2020 - Farewell party for Jack Mirjam - Feb. 8 2020
2020 - Old Images from 1964
From Danny: Images taken at the 1964 World's Fair in NYC kindly sent by Ben Meldelson's nephew.

Danny, Ben, Henry. Henry, Heather, Ben Danny, Heather, Henry
2020 - Old Images from 1964
2021 - What Happened to Emmanuel? - 1967
Peter Keeda's essay regarding the time spent on kibbutz Kissufim by many Sydney Betarim immediately after the 1967 war.

The essay, in PDF form, can be downloaded here.


(5mb).
2021 - What Happened to Emmanuel? - 1967
2021 - History of Harbin / Tales of Old Harbin
- by Sid Aganoff
Tales of Old Harbin: Sid relates the experiences of his family in Harbin, China during the 1930s.

This essay, in PDF form, can be downloaded here.
2021 - History of Harbin / Tales of Old Harbin - by Sid Aganoff
A Short History of Harbin and Tientsin Jewry: Sid, with support from Keith Masnick and Sol Yezerski, has created "A Short History of Harbin and Tientsin Jewry".

This essay, in PDF form, can be downloaded here.
2023 - Ruth Marshall - AO
2023 - Ruth Marshall - AO
There was a hike arranged at Cattai Betar Camp in 1956. For some reason, I didn’t want to go, so I was left at camp together with Larry Sitsky and Magda Wilczek who stayed behind to look after the camp.
Larry was fascinated by the works of Edgar Allen Poe, and as we three were sitting on the grass, he mused that he would like to compose an opera based on Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher”.
Eventually, he did. Its first performance was held at The Theatre Royal in Hobart, Tasmania on the 19th of August, 1965. However, its significance lies in the fact that it was the first opera to be staged at the Sydney Opera House on the 25th of July 1973, after the building of the Opera House was completed.
This fact is confirmed by the Australian Music Centre in its website at. https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/workversion/sitsky-larry-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/2550.
However, written histories of the Sydney Opera House either ignore this fact or relegate it to one of secondary importance.
A history in one of the newspapers (may have been the Age and The Sydney Morning Herald) gave the first performance as Prokofiev’s “War and Peace”, prompting Magda Sitsky to reply in a letter to the editor correcting the record.
The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) at its website https://
HYPERLINK "http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-20/40-years-of-the-sydney-opera-house/5025816"www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-20/40-years-of-the-sydney-opera-house/5025816 stated “After a number of test performances, a production of Sergei Prokofiev’s War and Peace is given in the Opera Theatre on September 28, 1973-the first public performance in the Sydney Opera House”.
Wikipedia at https://
HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Opera_House"en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Opera_House  states, contradictorily
The first opera performed was Sergei Prokofiev’s War and Peace, in what was then known as the Opera Theatre on 28 September 1973… (It had been intended that Peter Sculthorpe’s work Rites of Passage” would have this honour, but it was not ready in time).
The first evening performance of an opera was Larry Sitsky’s The Fall of the House of Usher…It took place on 25 July, 1973.
Elsewhere in the article it states “The Sydney Opera House was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II, on 20 October 1973…and included fireworks and a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.”
Make of all this what you will.
2023 - Sid Agranoff: The Nascence of a Composer
WYSIWYG Web Builder