2,500 Expected to Attend Annual Hadassah Convention

Hadassah, the country’s largest women’s Zionist organization, will meet at the Century Plaza Hotel and Towers on Sunday for its 86th annual national convention. More than 2,500 Hadassah delegates and guests from across the country will participate in meetings, educational programs and social events, said convention chairwoman Leah Silverstein. Featured participants include actor Richard Dreyfus and political commentators Mary Matalin and James Carville.

The gathering will open with “Ordinary Heroines,” a showcase of Hadassah volunteers. At Sunday night’s opening session, Ronald Lauder will be given the Henrietta Szold Award, the highest honor bestowed by the organization. Past recipients of the award have included Secretary of State George Shultz, Eli Wiesel, Chaim Herzog, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.

Monday afternoon, a session titled “Bridges to Peace” will explore how peace can be fostered between Arabs and Jews. A panel discussion will feature Ambassador Edward Walker, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and Roberta Fahn-Schoffman, advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak on diaspora affairs.

Tuesday, participants can choose from three sessions. “Moonbeams: Reflecting Light on Jewish Women’s Lives” will be held at the Skirball Cultural Center. “Rape as a Hate Crime in War and Peace” will be the topic at the Museum of Tolerance. “Portnoy in Hollywood, but Who’s Complaining?” will examine the image of Jewish women in the media and take place at the Century Plaza Hotel.

Registration fee for the full convention is $250 and includes admission to all sessions, off-site visits, banquet and closing breakfast. More information is available by calling the toll-free convention hotline: (877) 790-2676.

BIKE TRIP

The deCycles, a group of 75 bikers traveling from Seattle to Los Angeles, arrived at the Wilshire Christian Church on Friday. The teenagers and young adults left Indiana last month for a border-to-border bike trip. Founded in 1969, the deCycles mix insights from their trips with sing-alongs, testimonies and Christianmusic. The Rev. Donald B. Colhour, pastor of Wilshire Christian Church, invites the public to meet the cyclists Sunday at 10 a.m. worship. Wilshire Christian Church is at 634 Normandie Ave.

EXHIBIT

A traveling exhibit from the Library of Congress, “Religion and The Founding of the American Republic,” is on view at the Huntington Library. The show, in the Mary Lou and George Boone Gallery, examines the role of religion through about 200 historic manuscripts, letters, books, engravings and artifacts. Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. Summer hours through Sept. 3 are 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. Closed Mondays and holidays. Admission is $8.50 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for students. Free for children under 12. Group rates available. Members are admitted free. For additional information: (626) 405-2141. The show runs through Sept. 17.

MUSIC

The gospel choir from St. Agatha’s Catholic Church will perform Wednesday night at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino. The 50-member choir has received national recognition for overcoming racial conflict through song. The concert is part of the retreat center’s “Summer Music Under the Stars” weekly concert series. Music starts at 7:30 p.m. and admission is $8. The retreat center is at 4316 Lanai Road, Encino. (818) 784-4515.

PEOPLE

Rosalind Klein of Northridge was elected first woman president of B’nai B’rith of Southern California. Klein has been affiliated with B’nai B’rith since 1972 and has been a member of the region’s executive board since 1993. In that year, she was awarded the group’s highest honor, the Akiba Award, and named one of the 150 outstanding volunteers on the West Coast. In 1997, Klein was named member acquisition chairwoman and a national membership cabinet co-chairwoman.

SUMMER SERVICES

B’nai Tikvah Congregation will celebrate “Havdalah on the Beach” tonight at 8:15. Playa del Rey. Havdalah is a short service at the end of Sabbath to separate the holy day from the new week. The event is free and open to the public. B’nai Tikvah Congregation is at 5820 Manchester Ave., Westchester. (310) 645-6262.

* All summer, Leo Baeck Temple will worship every Friday night in the outdoor chapel for “Shabbat Under the Stars.” On Friday at 6:30 p.m., there will be a picnic. Congregants are asked to bring their own food. Candles, wine and challah will be provided by the temple, a Reform congregation at 1300 N. Sepulveda Blvd., across from the Getty Center. (310) 476-2861.

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