New home is better for Betar
AFTER five years without a permanent Sydney base, Betar has finally settled into new premises at White City (pictured).
AFTER five years without a permanent Sydney base, Betar has finally settled into new premises at White City (pictured).
Betar will join the Maccabi Tennis Club and the Hakoah Club at Sydney’s newest Jewish hub.
A special communal barbecue and fun day will be held to celebrate on Sunday, April 29.
Betar shaliach Yehonatan Issahary said having a permanent site meant that his organisation “could start being a youth movement again”.
“We were travelling in between the North Shore Synagogue, to parks in the East and shopping centres and so on. So this actually dragged a lot of participants away,” he said.
“The main struggle was to keep our head above the water in terms of maintaining the activities, keeping the wheels turning,” Issahary said.
“We were centred around our camps [which] were successful, but it’s very hard to make a movement flow just around the camps.”
The first activity to be held in the new premises was a Purim event, which Issahary said was very successful.
“I cannot explain in words how it feels to have a real base,” he said.
The site’s proximity to Edgecliff train station, and to the Harbour Bridge and tunnel approaches, meant participants from both the Eastern Suburbs and the North Shore could come together, he added.
The official opening on April 29 will feature a jumping castle, face-painting, soccer matches, a kosher sausage sizzle and more.
Entry to the event is not only free, but open to the entire community.
“This is a communal day. I think Betar having a home is not just a party for Betar,” Issahary said.
“We welcome all youth movements and a variety of other parts of the Jewish community.”
GARETH NARUNSKY
The Betar barbecue and fun day is on Sunday, April 29 from 1.30-5pm at 30 Alma Street, Paddington.
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