Investing In Our Future…Our Children, a Positive Jewish Parenting program will be held at the Bukharian Jewish Community Center, 106-16 70th Avenue, Forest Hills, on Sunday, May 7 from 9:30 a.m. — 1:15 p.m.
The organizations working together to make this program possible are the Bukharian Jewish Congress; Queens Jewish Community Council; Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty; F.E.G.S., Health and Human Services System; The Jewish Child Care Association; and the Orthodox Union.
Positive Jewish Parenting, a national program of the OU, has been presented to large audiences across the United States.
“The Orthodox Union is pleased to be working with its partners to bring Positive Jewish Parenting to the Bukharian Jewish Community in Queens,” declared Frank Buchweitz, OU Director of Community Services and Special Projects, and coordinator of the national Positive Jewish Parenting programs. “Working together, we have created a program that should be exceedingly helpful to the community and responsive to its needs.”
According to Rabbi Yitzhak Yehoshua, the leader of the Bukharian Jewish community in Queens, there is widespread recognition of the problems that are occurring in families because of immigration from Bukhara and the stresses and strains caused by the influences of American society on young people. “The purpose of this program is to enhance relationships in the family and to deal with problems that occur with the young in our community,” he declared. “We decided to challenge this situation, rather than to accept it. The young people are adjusting much faster than the adults and community leadership should take care not only to be in the mainstream, but to be in the right stream. Life here is very much different from life in Bukhara. The professional people who will lead these sessions will help us make better judgments and find solutions faster.”
There will be two keynote addresses, delivered by Rabbi Leib Kelemen and OU Executive Vice President, Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb. Rabbi Keleman is a Professor of Education at Neve Yerushalayim College of Jewish Studies for Women in Jerusalem and an author who has lectured widely across North and South America on family situations. Rabbi Weinreb is a renowned clinical psychologist, in addition to being a rabbi. He has provided his wisdom and insight to many Positive Jewish Parenting programs over the years.
The workshops, which will be presented at 9:30 a.m. and repeated at 10:40 a.m., are as follows:
* Developing and Strengthening Positive Self-Esteem in our Children and Ourselves — Barry Holtzer, M.D.
* Enhancing Parent and Teen Communication – Gila Zelinger, CSW (This workshop will be given in English with Russian translation.)
* Do You Know Where Your Children Are? The Art of Parental Supervision – Marc N. Kramer, Ph.D.
* Responding to Anger in Teenagers – Susan Buchweitz, LCSW
* Setting Limits with our Children: Catching Teen Problems Before They Start -Rochelle Harary, MS
* Challenges of the Internet in Today’s Society – Norman Blumenthal, Ph.D. (This workshop will be given in English with Russian translation.)
* Creating an Addiction Free Community: Alcohol, Drugs, Gambling — Alexander Rand, LMSW, CASACT
* Challenges Facing Us: A Teen’s Perspective, A Panel Discussion by Teens — Moderated by Debby Perelmuter, LCSW
Admission is free and convenient parking will be available. Separate seating will be available at the keynote. For more information contact Cynthia Zalisky of the Queens Jewish Council at 718-544-9033; Joyce Kevelson of FEGS at 718-896-9090 Ext. 210/211; or Frank Buchweitz of the OU at 212-613-8188.