NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF SHOMRIM SOCIETIES
NEWSLETTER – JANUARY 2025
MESSAGE FROM INCOMING NATIONAL SHOMRIM PRESIDENT BENJAMIN GELBER
Hello Shomrim members near and far! I am excited to continue the legacy of our great organization and have been looking forward to serving National Shomrim since my name was proposed for the office of the president. I hope to reach out to as many chapters and associate members as possible over the next two years and will make every attempt possible to visit our chapters as well.
Since many of you don’t know me, I’ll tell you about myself. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, the youngest of four brothers. I joined the NYPD in 2008 and signed up for NYPD Shomrim immediately while I was still in the Police Academy. I was assigned to the 71st Precinct to participate in the “Project Impact” initiative. After that assignment was completed I was transferred to the 72nd Precinct in Sunset Park. In 2016 I was promoted to sergeant and worked in the 62nd Precinct in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and then the 26th Precinct in Harlem. I fulfilled my next goal of being promoted to Lieutenant in 2021 and was assigned to the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills, Queens. I currently work in the Manhattan Court Section where I oversee the court and central booking, while waiting to fulfill my next goal of becoming a Captain.
I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and Aviation from Eastern Michigan University and completed a Master Degree in Forensic Mental Health from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in NYC, which I did while working midnights in the 72nd Precinct.
I was lucky enough to marry my beautiful wife Marcie in 2018. Marcie has deep roots in NYPD Shomrim, as she is the granddaughter of NYPD Shomrim Life Member Archie Sayles, OBM. Actually, if it wasn’t for Shomrim, I wouldn’t have met Marcie and started my life with her. I live in Queens with Marcie and our two amazing children, Marty and Bella.
I love to travel, read, watching comedy shows, meeting new people and networking, but the best job I have is being a father to my two awesome kids. A lifelong learner, I follow the Jewish principle of “tikkun olam,” repairing the world, and dedicate myself to helping those in need and the less fortunate.
I am the second person to concurrently hold the position of National Shomrim President and NYPD Shomrim President. I was sworn into that position at our last chapter meeting. I am following in the footsteps of Past National Shomrim President/Past NYPD Shomrim President Stuart Portner, who also held both positions concurrently. He’s a great role model and hopefully I’ll learn to balance both positions, my career and my family.
I want to thank outgoing National Shomrim President Spencer Strauss for his leadership in running the organization for the past two years. I am looking forward to doing great things in 2025 and beyond.
NATIONAL SHOMRIM NEWS AND INFORMATION
It’s a wrap on the 2025 Convention at Sea, and we really surpassed our goals in making this convention one of the best in recent years. Our speakers were outstanding and we have to thank Dr. Mitchell Levey and Dr. Rafael Castellanos and retired NYPD Detective Eddie Murphy for presenting topics that really enlightened us. Mitch is a long time supporter of the Police Reserves Association, which he joined many years ago, following in the footsteps of his father. He spoke about the mission of the Police Reserves and the great work they do helping police families, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Rafael has been involved with the Central Park Medical Unit for many years and spoke about how the Unit evolved over the years, from when they first responded to medical emergencies in Central Park on bicycles to the present day. Their custom built ambulances are designed to fit under the low bridges in Central Park and is staffed 24/7/365 with an all volunteer team of medical students, nurses, EMTs, doctors, and anyone with medical skills who can help out. They are the front line responders to major events in NYC, such as the NYC Marathon, which ends in Central Park, New Years Eve and so many others. It was incredible to learn about this all volunteer unit and their important work. Retired Detective Eddie Murphy spoke about his experiences and the laughs he had with his old partner, Sam Miller. Don’t worry Sam, no secrets were spilled!
Our private tour of the Cayman Islands, organized by Randi Meshel of South Florida Shomrim and Betty Astrizky, had 30 members tour the beautiful island, starting with a stop at the Chabad of the Cayman Islands. Rabbi Berel Pewzner hosted our group and told us about the history of the Jewish community on the island. He also catered a light breakfast for us, with bagels, lox and cream cheeses that were brought in from NY, so it felt a bit like home. He also encouraged many of our male members to put on tefillin, which was so important to continue our prayers for our hostages to be released and our soldiers in the IDF to be victorious over our enemies. The private tour then took us to Hell – yes, Hell – and our last stop was a beautiful oasis with luxury shops, apartments and stunning views of one of the natural harbors in Cayman Islands.
We also learned that the Cayman Islands has no income tax – who’s moving to paradise! But alas, we had to return to the ship and continue our schedule of events as well as enjoy all the fun and food and activities the ship offers.
We had a private art viewing arranged by the Park West Gallery on board the ship. The “Artists of Israel” exhibit was beautiful and it was amazing to see artwork created by our brethren in our ancestral homeland. We ended our convention with a fun cocktail party for our members. Our Sabbath service was attended by over 100 people, our group and many Jewish people on the ship. We spread the word with the many Jewish and Israeli passengers we met on the cruise that National Shomrim would be hosting the service and we had an amazing turnout. It was so important for all of us to be together at this critical time in Israel’s history. Our main prayer was for our hostages to be freed and for our brave soldiers of the IDF win this war and wipe our enemies off the face of the earth.
Of course we conducted Shomrim business and we’re thrilled to welcome NYPD Lieutenant Ben Gelber as our new president. The slate, which was presented to everyone in our last newsletter, was voted in unanimously. Additionally, at last year’s convention, a motion was presented to amend the term of the President from one year to two years. All the chapters were contacted and with a majority vote, the motion was passed, so Ben will serve a two year term as President. Here’s your new National Shomrim Executive Board:
- President – Ben Gelber
- Executive Vice President – David Rosenzweig
- First Vice President – David Appel
- Second Vice President – Jeff Grossman
- Treasurer – Marty Turetzky
- Recording Secretary – Scot Pomerantz
- Corresponding Secretary – Betty Astrizky
- Sergeant-at-Arms – Jonathan Schneider
- Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms – Stacy Barasch
- Marshall – Jacob Shrybman
With the addition of Jacob Shrybman to the National Shomrim Executive Board, this makes four Port Authority Shomrim members serving on the Executive Board. They’ll be taking over one day soon!
There’s more! Our 2026 National Shomrim Convention at Sea has been set! Our group will be sailing on the brand new Celebrity Xcel, which will be launched into service later this year. The dates are Sunday to Sunday, January 25, 2026, seven blissful days sailing to the blue Caribbean and stopping at the ports of St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic). Over 80 people have signed up for the convention, so if you want to join us contact our official National Shomrim Cruise Planner Tony Lostumbo at cruisexpo@gmail.com or call him at (954) 384-7245. You can put down a deposit and have til October to make a final payment. The price, which Tony will discuss with you, includes the Classic Beverage Package and Internet. Don’t delay, because once the block of rooms that Tony is holding for our group is full, you’ll pay the full published price, which will be considerably higher. We want as many of our chapter members and associate members to attend. We’re always looking for presenters for our Signature Speakers Series, so it’s a great opportunity to tell our group about your experiences and your expertise on the subject you’re presenting.
We learned one big game changer that might make some of you consider going with us. Celebrity Cruises has a Special Dining Kitchen where they prepare all the special meals – gluten free, vegetarian, etc. Within the Special Dining Kitchen there is a complete kosher kitchen with a chef that has been trained on the laws of kashrus. There are separate ovens and separate pots and pans. In addition to the prepackaged meals that are provided by the local kosher caterer, all the dinner meals can be preordered the night before and we were told by some of the orthodox passengers on the ship that they were delicious. Steak, chicken, fish, pasta, all prepared following kosher dietary laws. There is no mashgiach on board to supervise, but hot, delicious kosher meals can be special ordered for any of our members who require them. We could not see the kitchen, its off limits, but was told its fully equipped to our special needs. So now there’s no excuse for many of you not to join us because there’s no kosher food, because there is!
Our next big National Shomrim event will be the Celebrate Israel Parade on Sunday, May 18, 2025. We march up Fifth Avenue in NYC, as in past years, in the largest celebration of Jewish pride in the country. Last year’s parade was held under strict controls but that didn’t stop our delegation, represented by chapters and members from all across the country, several hundred strong, from proudly declaring our pride at being Jewish and our support for Israel. We hope and pray that by the time the 2025 parade steps off we will be celebrating victory over our enemies and the release of all the hostages, so please join us for this incredibly important event. There will be a pre-parade collation prior to stepping off and details will be in a future newsletter.
National Police Week is Sunday, May 11, 2025 thru Saturday, May 17, 2025. Shomrim of D.C. will, as always, make the arrangements for the annual Kaddish service, so as soon as plans are in place we’ll inform everyone who wants to attend this important annual event.
CHAPTER NEWS AND EVENTS
In November 2024 members of Shomrim of Philadelphia attended the funeral of a Jew with no family. They were alerted to this by an email sent to them, asking if they could help make a minyan for this person. Their President Howard Lebofsky, along with several members, attended the funeral and received the honor of performing the last mitzvah for a Jew. Incredible selflessness and immense pride for Shomrim of Philadelphia.
National Shomrim Sergeant-at-Arms and Port Authority Shomrim Executive Board Member Jonathan Schneider represented PA Shomrim at a fundraiser for New York Honor 37, an organization created by Law Enforcement United to honor the 37 Port Authority police officers who fell on 9/11. Their members ride from Ground Zero to Washington D.C. during National Police Week in honor of all the members of law enforcement who made the ultimate sacrifice. Jonathan joins them on this ride, ensuring that his fallen colleagues will be remembered.
On November 21, 2024, NYPD Shomrim held a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of their organization. It was an amazing event held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, with a ten minute video presentation describing the early days of NYPD Shomrim and how it evolved over the years. The video featured life members including Past Presidents Marty Turetzky, Steven Litwin, Harvey Hecker and Harold Schiffer. Two Jewish female officers, members of NYPD Shomrim, Gertrude Schimmel and Felicia Schpritzer, broke the glass ceiling when they were denied promotions for Sergeant. They sued the NYPD and won, being the first women ever in the NYPD to be promoted, paving the way for generations of women after them to achieve higher ranks. An incredible evening that we hope to repeat in 100 years!
Next year FDNY Ner Tamid turns 100. They are planning a celebration and when details are set we will send it out to all chapters so everyone can join them for this incredible milestone. In the meantime, Ner Tamid’s online store is up and running. Go to shop.thestitchprintstore.com/fdny_ner_tamid/shop/home to buy all their latest swag. They have items including shirts, sweatshirts, hats, patches and kippot. They are also actively recruiting new members, including Jewish members of fire departments who have no chapter in their area, so if anyone knows a Jewish firefighter looking to meet their colleagues in red, give them this email, fdnynertamid@gmail.com, so they can connect with this well established chapter.
South Florida Shomrim’s Annual free kosher picnic will be held on Sunday, March 30, 2025, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at TY Park, Corporate Shelter 12, 3300 N Park Road, Hollywood, FL. Please RSVP to chapter president at harvey@hsmconsulting.net or their treasurer at treasurersouthfloridashomrim@gmail.com. South Florida Shomrim goes all out for their annual picnic, with an abundance of food, entertainment for kids and raffle prizes. Feel free to donate goods and products to help offset the costs of the picnic.
Nassau Shormim has begun making its plans for their Passover Food Distribution. Past President Alan Hirsch is spearheading this important annual event that distributes kosher Passover food to the residents of Long Island that have food insecurity. Date is confirmed for Sunday, April 4, 2025,and you can contact them directly at nassaushomrim@gmail.com if you’d like to help out with this great mitzvah.
Congratulations are sent to Nassau Shomrim as they voted in a new board at their January meeting. The powerhouse team leading their chapter has Joe Oginski continuing as president, Jason Geller as their Vice President, Nikolas Lattore as their Recording Secretary, Shevy Berkovits continues as Treasurer, the Sergeant-at-Arms is Hanna Wallis and Alan Hirsch and Danny Gluck are Executive Vice Presidents.
Members of FDNY Ner Tamid has been rotating deployments to Israel since October 7, 2023, assisting their Israel Fire Service with their needs, as many of their members are currently serving with the IDF. We can’t thank them enough for their service to Israel. They embody the best qualities of the FDNY and are a true source of light for the Jewish people.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams once again hosted a pre Chanukah celebration at Gracie Mansion. Many local chapters attended, including NYPD Shomrim, Port Authority Shomrim, FDNY Ner Tamid and other Jewish first responders. Mayor Adams reaffirmed his commitment to fighting antisemitism in NYC and he proudly stated he will stand by the Jewish community during these tough times and always. Newly appointed Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch also stood by the members of the NYPD and vowed she will fight antisemitism anywhere its found in NYC.
Our newest organization, San Francisco Fire Ner Tamid, was hosted by Congregation Shearith Israel for a beautiful Shabbat dinner honoring first responders. Chapter President Jeff Covitz thanked the members of the congregation for their support and the delicious dinner they all enjoyed. SF Fire Ner Tamid organized last year and they are being helped to become a chapter member of National Shomrim.
NYPD Shomrim held a “Melava Malka,” the traditional meal eaten on Saturday evening after Shabbat that is auspicious for health, well and blessings into the new week. Organized by National Shomrim President/NYPD Shomrim President Ben Gelber, it was held at the East Midwood Jewish Center in Brooklyn on Saturday, January 25, 2025.
NYPD Shomrim is resuming its annual Mission to Israel. Arranged thru Aviatours, they will depart from either NY or Chicago on September 9, 2025 and spend nine days exploring our ancestral homeland, returning on September 18, 2025. The price includes the flights, hotels, daily buffet breakfast and dinner and all excursions. Additionally the price covers entrance fees to certain sites, luggage handling and tips. Please call NYPD Shomrim member Steve Lane at (917) 478-1078 for information and to make reservations.
MEMBER NEWS
Mazal tov to National Shomrim Past President/NYPD Shomrim Past President Lawrence Wein of the Manhattan South Homicide Squad on his retirement after 31 years of service to the NYPD. Larry received a plaque from DEA Union leadership commemorating the great work he has done.
Our Second Vice President Jeff Grossman was featured in the season finale of Blue Bloods, the NYPD drama series that stars Tom Selleck as the police commissioner. Jeff played a police officer in that episode, not his first time being featured in a television show or movie. Jeff also recently went to Israel where he volunteered with Sar-El, assisting the IDF with their needs as troops are deployed to defend our country. He was also there when several of the hostages were released, describing the experience in Hostage Square as thrilling.
Happy 86th birthday to longtime Port Authority Shomrim member Barry Weintrob. Barry celebrated his birthday on the 4th night of Chanukah with family who flew from from different parts of the country. Barry was a revered and feared figure in the Port Authority, as the Chief Financial Officer, the agency knew their funds were in good hands. Until 120 Barry!
Congratulations to South Florida Shomrim member and National Shomrim Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms Stacy Barasch on her recent promotion to Captain with the Miami Dade Police Department. This significant achievement reflects her unwavering dedication, exceptional leadership and tireless commitment to serving and protecting the Miami Dade community. We are so proud of her and know she will continue to inspire her team and make a positive impact in her new role. Well done Captain Barasch!
With sadness, we said goodbye to the following:
- Shomrim of Illinois announced the passing of Leroy Levy, a founding member and past president of their chapter. Leroy served for 43 years as a Chicago police officer, the majority of those years as a sergeant. He was one of a small group of Jewish police officers who founded Shomrim of Illinois in 1959. Leroy held every elected position and served as president in 1987 and 1988, He was the longtime Dinner and Ad Book Chairman and rarely missed a meeting. Leroy’s wife, Irma, who passed away in August 2024, was his strength and support during their 68 year marriage. Together they raised three sons. Leroy’s funeral was held on December 18, 2020, and he was laid to rest alongside his beloved wife.
- With great sadness, FDNY Ner Tamid President Yonatan Klein announced the passing of Judy Israel, the wife of his longtime friend and partner Lt. David Russell. Married almost 26 years, they raised the joy of their life, their daughter Erica. Judy lost her battle with cancer. A warrior till the end, she passed peacefully with David and Erica by her side. Judy was laid to rest at Mount Golda Cemetery in Huntington Station, NY on Friday, January 24, 2025.
May the Levy, Israel and Russell families be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Israel, and may they know no more sorrows.
CHAPTER PRESIDENTS!
Make plans with your members to attend the upcoming Celebrate Israel Parade and the 2026 National Shomrim Convention at Sea. There’s no better way to meet your Shomrim colleagues than by participating in these National Shomrim activities. We’re happy to report that all but one chapter has paid their 2025 National Shomrim dues, so for the next meeting, which incoming President Ben Gelber hopes to hold via zoom in the near future, all chapters can discuss their plans for the coming year.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS!
We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again – you are important to the work of National Shomrim. You are the front line Jewish first responders in areas where there is a small or nonexistent Jewish community. And you should be attending as many National Shomrim events as possible. We always suggest coming to NY for the Celebrate Israel Parade, it’s one of our proudest moments, being recognized for being Jews in the uniformed services. It’s a few months away, so please make your plans to join us.
We are also accepting National Shomrim Associate Member Dues for 2025, so please send in your dues of $18 to the Treasurer as soon as possible.
Finally, every chapter member and associate member should join the National Shomrim Facebook page. It is updated daily with job opportunities, news and everything related to our organization. If you are not part of the group you are missing out. And if any member recommends a person to join the Facebook page, please make sure the person is an active or retired member of a uniformed service and, very important, a member of a Shomrim chapter. We get requests where a person asks to join and they don’t answer the questions or don’t meet the basic requirements. Please understand that because we are a Jewish organization we have to be very careful that the Facebook page isn’t infiltrated with someone who can do us harm.