Jewish Families Unite to Share Culture

When Ilyssa Banhazl moved from Long Island to Glendora three years ago, it seemed like something was missing.

Namely, the lively Jewish culture she had grown accustomed to in New York.

Her search for an honest-to-goodness Jewish deli has been difficult, to put it mildly. For holidays, she finds herself heading toward Los Angeles’ Fairfax District to buy items such as menorahs. And as for finding Jewish friends for her children to play with, forget it. Until now.

Banhazl, 34, has formed Jewish Friends, a social group for couples with children. About 20 families showed up for the group’s first get-together, a July 28 picnic at Finkbiner Park in Glendora.

“When Jewish people come out to the San Gabriel Valley, they say they have to go out of their way to maintain their culture,” said Banhazl, who lives in Glendora with her husband, Eric, and their sons Todd, 6, and Max, 4. “When I lived in New York, I didn’t think about it.”

Jewish Friends got its start in June, when Banhazl flipped through the white pages of the telephone directory and called numbers of people with what “looked like a Jewish name.” She said she quickly found about 30 like-minded families in Glendora. Banhazl, a self-employed reading specialist, hopes future gatherings of the group will include Jewish holiday parties and potluck dinners.

“God bless her for looking through the telephone book and finding Jewish families with children,” said Mahin Schenker, 46, a 14-year Glendora resident who attended the picnic with her family.

Schenker said that although her family belongs to Temple Beth Israel of Pomona Valley in Pomona, she misses Jewish social opportunities in her hometown. “I have a 17-year-old daughter and I would like her to meet a Jewish boy, but where can I go? To Hollywood? If so, how often could they see each other? It’s more convenient for her to meet someone from around here. It’s difficult to keep the culture when you’re not in it.”

Janet Arffa, 42, a 16-year Glendora resident, said her family feels less isolated since the picnic. Although the Arffas attend the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center, she said they are interested in making friends closer to home. Her 12-year-old son met some boys at the picnic, she said, and was excited about making plans to get together again.

“I thought it was great,” she said. “The Jewish population is so spread out that it makes it difficult to meet other Jewish people. We were looking for people to celebrate the holidays and keep the traditions and heritage.”

Not to mention finding people to commiserate with about the difficulty of finding good deli or kosher food.

“In order to find certain foods, I have to go to Hollywood or the Fairfax District,” Schenker said.

Marc Canter, whose family owns Canter’s Fairfax Restaurant Delicatessen & Bakery in Los Angeles, said the 24-hour deli frequently delivers fish and cold cuts for parties in Pasadena.

Most people interviewed for this story said they knew of no kosher markets or restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley. New York-style bagels, however, have been available for the last two years in Old Pasadena.

Noel Middleton, an assistant manager at Goldstein’s Bagel Bakery Inc. on Colorado Boulevard in Old Pasadena, said the bakery has been well received.

“The response has been overwhelming,” he said. “We have fresh-baked bagels daily, something most people couldn’t get in the (San Gabriel) Valley before. They’re the closest to New York (bagels) as we could get them.”

Gloria Lothrop, a history professor at Cal Poly Pomona, said the San Gabriel Valley traditionally attracted great numbers of retired Midwesterners who pretty much set the tone for a primarily Protestant culture.

She added that until the 1950s, the agriculture nature of the area made it an unlikely destination for many Jewish transplants. “They were essentially commercial people who owned shops, provided services and then were professionals. Agriculture was not something they went into, unless they were landowners. . . . And Glendora, Covina, Pomona were the centers for citrus orchards.”

According to the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles, there are between 600,000 and 700,000 Jews and 190 synagogues in Los Angeles County. In the San Gabriel Valley, there are 11 synagogues and about 40,000 Jews, said Carl Rosenblum, director of community relations for the federation’s eastern region branch in Covina.

Although some Jewish leaders praised the new group, many said cultural ties can only be maintained by joining a synagogue.

“I hate to burst their bubble, but there’s no substitute for the neighborhood temple or local temple,” said Bill Esbit, president of Temple Beth Ami & Jewish Center in West Covina. “If you belong, you have all the opportunities to participate in the holidays.”

Still, he said, he can understand why Banhazl--who prefers not to join a synagogue--feels a bit out-of-step in the San Gabriel Valley.

“In New York, the Jewish population is so large, you don’t have to go out of your way to meet Jewish people; you just have to exist,” said Esbit, who moved from Manhattan to California in 1988 and now lives in Covina. “Here, in this area, I agree that unless you make an effort, you’ll probably drift away from traditions and celebrations of holidays because you won’t have an association of people to celebrate these things.

“If I miss the hustle and bustle of New York,” he added, “I go to Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, Santa Monica or Venice Beach, which is similar to Greenwich Village.”

Those who want to grab a taste of Jewish social life in the San Gabriel Valley, though, can call Jewish Friends at (818) 335-7490.