Anyone deserving of an 'Honorable Menschen,' can contact Howard Berger via his e-mail: Howardberger9798@aol.com or by fax: 822-3670.

At one year old, Rae Steinberg of Margate hardly remembers how she and her parents,

Arthur and Blima Jurman, were able to leave Germany in 1940 with 21 other Jews. It was a lucky turn of events to be able to leave Germany since few Jews were given that opportunity. How was it possible? An agreement between Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov and Hitler enabled the Jurmans to flee the country for Moscow and a long train trip across Europe and Asia and to Tokyo. They traveled by boat to Seattle and across the USA to Philadelphia. Rae left behind her grandparents, murdered in the Holocaust. Rae, a retired Philadelphia special education teacher, went to Berlin this May with her two daughters,

Mindy Zeigerman and Judie Kriegler, as guests of the German government. They were invited because, she told HM, "My parents were forced out of their home and business but fortunately we were able to flee the Nazi regime. We were excited to see the city that our family grew up in but we had mixed feelings about our visit hearing stories good and bad." One of her most dramatic days was visiting her grandparents' graves in the Weissenee Jewish Cemetery untouched by the war. "We took pictures of me on my street and in the old neighborhood. But the Holocaust can't be undone [even though] there are synagogues being rebuilt and Jews are welcome to Berlin." Rae's late husband, Steve, was a Defense Department official in Philadelphia.

DAN KRAMER ENHANCES JEWISH LEADERSHIP SKILLS THROUGH BERRIE FELLOWS PROGRAM

Being a Jewish leader requires much responsibility for those at the top of the Jewish community. This is the way to enhance leadership skills with continued involvement in programs and as a speaker where they have the opportunity to display how good they are. Dan Kramer, son of Jewish Times Publisher Shy Kramer and his wife, Janet Kramer, had that golden opportunity on July 14 when he was one of two commencement speakers at the Berrie Fellows Foundation graduation. What is the Berrie Fellows Foundation? It was founded in August 2004 designed to develop the next generation of Jewish community leaders. Kramer is decidedly one of them stating, "I was honored and touched to be chosen as one of the two commencement speakers and I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Berrie Fellows Leadership Program, which has greatly enriched my life." It's a two- year program with 18 seminars each year, held in local communities and three out-of-town summer institutes, said Kramer. "And a one week trip to Israel to explore the issues of our Jewish homeland." Dan and his wife, Shari Kramer, live in Hillsdale, NJ, with their two children, Joshua,15, and 13-year-old Emily. Kramer told HM, "Admission to the program is highly selective." He is an MIT graduate and completed graduate studies at Harvard and is a professional financial adviser.

REACTION TO LEBANESE EXCHANGE - "UNPRINTABLE"

It was deep sadness on the Israeli side of the Lebanese border and joy on the other side of the tense border with five live Hezbollah soldiers including their leader, notorious hater of Israel and Jews, Samir Kantar, who was sent home to Lebanon last week in the exchange for two dead Israeli IDF soldiers. Terry Steen, Shy Kramer and Rabbi Shalom Plotkin and we assume other local Jewish leaders mince no words in their bitter reactions to the exchange. The story has received world-wide coverage enraging not only the Jewish community but other leaders as well. Steen called it "a dark day for humanity and my personal words are unprintable." Which Kramer echoed. Plotkin declared "What happened shows the difference between us (the moral world) and our enemies; we sanctify life and they glorify death." Meanwhile the UN says nothing or does nothing, which portends a continuation of Israel's struggle to survive.

AC ARTS TEACHER SHELLEY EVANS TO TEACH ART IN TUSCANY

Shelley Wentz Evans' art credentials are impeccable enough to teach in the art oriented Italian province of Tuscany. Her credentials include many years teaching art in the Atlantic City school system and as past chairperson of the Atlantic City Arts Commission, a prestigious position in a town that would have abolished art in favor of casinos had it not been for her illustrious late predecessor Florence Miller, with the help of Shelley and other arts lovers. Shelley has been hired by Chiostro of NYC to teach a unique workshop in mixed media collage to beginning and established artists. Shelley says "Chiostro has been presenting art related workshops and trips to Italy since 1995 and I first experienced the program as a student spending a week in a modern apartment at a 900-year-old winery in the mountains of Tuscany in the town of Dievole." She describes the views as "awe inspiring." Shelley is the daughter of the late Gerald Wiessler, a fine artist, and Anne Wiessler. Shelley's website is ShelleyWentzEvans.com.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT. . .

Award-winning Chad Cohen, son of Ellen and former Longport Mayor Michael Cohen, has chalked up another broadcast journalistic honor. He is the winner of two Emmy Awards for his highly informative National Geographic Show, "The Incredible Human Machine." One was for writing and the other for research. The show received two other awards for editing and graphics. The Emmy Awards will be coming from NYC on Sept. 22.