The Charlotte Jewish News - May 2002 - Page 11
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Gibraltar
By Maxine Silverstein
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BABYSITTING JOB
WANTED
Responsible college student look
ing for babysistting job for children
of all ages. Available days,
evenings, nights, & weekends.
Temple and JCC member since
1985. Call 704-366-3309 or con
tact via e-mail at aquitana89@hot-
mail.com
My husband and I are very for
tunate that we get to travel to
many wonderful places — it’s one
of the big advantages of being in
the travel business for twenty-
three years. We do a lot of cruis
ing, and some of the ports have
proven to be extremely fascinating
with lots of interesting Jewish
sites. Gibraltar is one of those
places. We cruised this past sum
mer from Lisbon to Rome, and
Gibraltar was our first port-of-call.
The first Jewish people in
Gibraltar, who were Sephardic,
had crossed the border from Spain
before the Inquisition began in the
fourteenth century. Jews were
banned when Britain first took
possession of Gibraltar in 1713,
but they were later allowed in as
traders. Finally, in 1749, they were
granted full permission to live
there. The community began to
flourish and the Jewish popula
tion, which now includes many
North African Jews, has risen to
2000 people.
There are now various Jewish
facilities in Gibraltar, particularly
four synagogues. Of those, the
oldest' *is Shaar Hashamayim,
which I have been fortunate to
visit. Founded in 1768, it is a
beautiful building with mahogany
pews and marble floors. It also
houses several of the city’s 18
Torahs, one of which is more than
250 years old.
During our visit, I found a
Jewish bakery, butcher shop, and a
deli called Uncle Sam’s, which
serves full glatt kosher food.
There is also a Jewish grocery
store. While there are no kosher
hotels in Gibraltar, the White’s
Hotel and the Rock Hotel will pro
vide vegetarian or fish dishes.
The mostly conservative Jewish
community in Gibraltar observes
the Sabbath and more than 80%
observe kashrut. While Jews are
not a majority, their presence in
Gibraltar is well received. During
the past three decades, Gibraltar
has had a Jewish chief minister
and a Jewish mayor.
No trip to Gibraltar would be
complete without visiting the
famous Rock. The large Upper
Rock Nature Reserve, which cov
ers most of the upper rock, has
spectacular views and several
interesting spots to experience.
Cable cars make the climb up the
Rock: and on a clear day, you can
see Morocco from the top of the
cable car station. The Rock’s most
famous inhabitants are the
Barbary apes, the only wild pri
mates in Europe. Some of these
charming creatures hang around
the Apes’ Den near the middle-
cable car station, while others can
often be seen at the top station.
Jewish influence is readily found in
this small city, as evidenced by the
Star of David on buildings in
Gibraltar.
“Yana’s Friends” Returns
to Charlotte for Two Weeks
in May
By Amy Krakovitz
If you missed the one-time
screening of .Fuim’.v Friends dur
ing the" 2nd Annual Jewish
Cultural Arts Festival in
November 2000, make plans not
to miss this showing in May, spon
sored by the Charlotte Film
Society.
Yana’s Friends is an Israeli
movie, directed by Arik Kaplan,
about Russian immigrants in
Israel. Yana (Evelyne Kaplun),
pregnant and alone, is deserted by
her husband. She shai’es an apart
ment with Eli (Nir Levi), a video-
grapher whose love life might be
the envy of any single rhan.
Alongside this story line are the
stories of the Russian musician
who cannot find work, the family
whose grandfather is confined to a
wheelchair, and the landlady of
Yana's apartment building, with
the background of Iraqi SCUD
missiles being rained upon Israel
on a regular basis. This is not a
heavy, sad or black story. It is
light, sweet, sometimes
funny, sometimes sad,
but has many happy
endings.
Yana’s Friends will
be showing at both the
Manor and the Theaters
at Birkdale as part of the
Charlotte Film Society’s
Second Week Film
Series.
The schedule at the
Manor is as follows:
May 11 -9:15 PM; May
12 - 7:30 PM; May 13 -
4:30 PM; May 14-2:00
PM; May 15 -9:15 PM;
May 16-7:00 PM.
Evelyne Kaplun and Nir Levi
SouthPark Office
70^-567-7223
$haron.go]d@atcmail.com
THE CAROLINAS’ PREEMINENT GALLERY
FOR CONTEMPORARY ART
Gary Silverstein pets one of
Gibraltar’s famous inhabitants,
the Barbaiy apes.
The apes are people-friendly and
will even come up to you and beg
for food.
Wandering around the streets,
we found a great downtown area
with a variety of shops and restau
rants. Marks and Spencer, a popu
lar London department store even
has a small shop in the city center.
Because of Gibraltar’s small size
(barely two square miles), you can
see all the sights in just a day,
leaving no stone unturned. It’s a
perfect day trip from southern
Spain. Or better yet, several cruise
ships call on Gibraltar as they sail
the Meditenanean. I think you
will find this a fascinating and fun
city. ^
Advising individual collectors, museums and corporations
on fine art acquisitions since I9S3.
Jerald MELBERG
G A L L E R V
Morrocroft Village
Near SouthPark Mall
704.365.3000
wwwjeraldmelberg.com
How Long Have You Waited
To H^d Your Own Baby?
Evelyne Kaplun
At the Birkdale, the schedule is
as follows: May 18 - 9:15 PM;
May 19 - 7:00 PM; May 20 - 4:30
PM: May 21 - 2:00 PM; May 22 -
9; 15 PM; May 23 - 7:00 PM.
Please show your support for
the Charlotte Film Society and see
Yana’s Friends at any of these
many convenient times and loca
tions. The more we as a communi
ty support their efforts, the more
Jewish and Israeli films they will
be able to bring to Charlotte. O
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