Thousand Oaks shooting & Woolsey Fire in Southern California
UPDATE 5:00pm: Our Day Camp at De Toledo tomorrow begins at 10:00am, not 8:00am as originally posted
UPDATE 3:15pm:
Dear Or Ami families,
Or Ami is home. And when our home, and the people who make up our community are hurting, we come together.
Services
This evening, we will be praying at the home of Stephanie and Jonathon Wolfson at 7:30 pm (Please email Rabbi Paul: rabbipaul@orami.org for address) Come and be with your Or Ami family. Come a little early if you’d like to eat. We will also livestream the service so that anyone can access via oramilive.com or the Congregation Or Ami Facebook page.
Kid Camp & Adult Hangout
For anyone needing support, food, or simply a space to be tomorrow, we are continuing our kid camp and adult hangout at de Toledo High School (22622 Vanowen St., West Hills) from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm(ish). We welcome you to join us. We will provide breakfast, snacks, and lunch. We also have games and activities for kids, as well as spaces for adults to gather and process.
Teens: come be with your friends, or hang out with kids. There will be counselors available for support for anyone who wishes it.
Jewish Federation Hotline
In response to urgent communal needs, the Jewish Federation is opening up a hotline that will be manned from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm through the weekend to help triage those in need of housing, counseling, evacuation center information, and emergency loans from our partners at Jewish Free Loan. The hotline number is 323-761-8100.
With love,
Rabbi Paul Kipnes
Rabbi Julia Weisz
Cantor Doug Cotler
UPDATE 6:30am: Awaiting news from recent congregant evacuations. Have 7 am day camp facility planning call.
UPDATE 6:15 am: We’d estimate 70% of the Congregation is probably in mandatory evacuation. Julia and Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff’s Rabbinic student daughter Elana (hired this 5th year, she has been amazing all day) are coordinating evacuation support and planning a day camp for our temple kids and adults at the local de Toledo High School (Jewish) with wisdom/experience of Stephanie Kramer. Camp Newman’s leadership Allie Fischman and Ruben are helping.
UPDATE 6:00 am: Around 3:30 pm, we learned of fire in Thousand Oaks spreading fast. By 5 pm temple was under voluntary evacuation, many congregants in mandatory evacuation, and we shifted into fire evacuation support mode. Torah scrolls and computer server evacuated.
UPDATE 5:45 am: Yesterday our community was reeling from the shooting in Thousand Oaks Country Western Dance Bar. A congregant 23year old Ben Ginsburg son of Rabbi Wendy Spears was in the dance bar, escaped, and has been telling about talking about it (google on Jewish Journal and Forward). So many people had frequented that place while growing up; we have people connected to the deceased. Spent day with Julia Atlas Weisz organizing calls to congregation, fielding pastoral, preparing resources. Felt to many people like a one-two punch after Pittsburgh, with sense of no safety. Wonderful outreach from Betsy Torop, URJ and wisdom/experience especially from Marci Bloch of Parkland area. We were planning support gatherings, and running teen drop in program, when…