Latest news with #bar mitzvah
Washington Post
5 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
At 102, D-Day veteran looks forward to a long-delayed bar mitzvah
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Harold Terens fought in World War II. He's lived almost 102 years, celebrating his birthday a couple weeks early with family and friends in Florida. But he has something more to look forward to. His bar mitzvah. Terens said at his birthday celebration Saturday that his brother got the traditional Jewish ceremony marking the beginning of adulthood when they were kids living in New York, but he did not.
National Post
5 days ago
- General
- National Post
U.S. D-Day veteran celebrates long-awaited bar mitzvah at 101 years of age
Harold Terens fought in World War II. He's lived almost 102 years, celebrating his birthday a couple weeks early with family and friends in Florida. But he has something more to look forward to. Article content His bar mitzvah. Article content Terens said at his birthday celebration Saturday that his brother got the traditional Jewish ceremony marking the beginning of adulthood when they were kids living in New York, but he did not. Article content Article content 'My mother came from Poland. My father came from Russia. And my mother was a religious Jew. And my father was anti-religious. So they had two sons. And one son, they compromised. One son got bar mitzvahed, the other son didn't,' he said. Article content Early next year, Terens said he will finally enjoy that ceremony. At the Pentagon outside Washington, no less. Terens said that came about when he was talking with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on a TV panel and a rabbi overheard the conversation. Article content 'I mentioned that I would like to be bar mitzvahed at 103 and he's the rabbi of the Pentagon so that's my next bucket list. I am going to be bar mitzvahed in the Pentagon,' Terens said. Article content Article content On D-Day — June 6, 1944 — Terens helped repair planes returning from France so they could rejoin the battle. He said half his company's pilots died that day. Terens went to France 12 days later, helping transport freshly captured Germans and just-freed American POWs back to England. Article content Article content Terens was honoured in June 2024 by the French as part of the 80th anniversary celebration of their country's liberation from the Nazis. But that isn't all that happened on those Normandy beaches. Article content Article content He married Jeanne Swerlin, now 97. Article content 'I thought my wedding in Normandy last year was the highlight of my life. Number one of all the moments of my life. You know, that's the saying, that life is not measured by how many breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away,' Terens said. Article content He survived World War ll, was involved in a secret mission in Iran, and another time barely escaped a German rocket after leaving a London pub just before it was destroyed. Article content 'My life has been one huge fairy tale, especially with this new wife that I have. Who I love deeply and who I am going to spend the rest of my life till death do us part, as the mayor had us say in Normandy,' Terens said. Article content
The Independent
5 days ago
- General
- The Independent
At 102, D-Day veteran looks forward to a long-delayed bar mitzvah
Harold Terens fought in World War II. He's lived almost 102 years, celebrating his birthday a couple weeks early with family and friends in Florida. But he has something more to look forward to. His bar mitzvah. Terens said at his birthday celebration Saturday that his brother got the traditional Jewish ceremony marking the beginning of adulthood when they were kids living in New York, but he did not. 'My mother came from Poland. My father came from Russia. And my mother was a religious Jew. And my father was anti-religious. So they had two sons. And one son, they compromised. One son got bar mitzvahed, the other son didn't," he said. Early next year, Terens said he will finally enjoy that ceremony. At the Pentagon outside Washington, no less. Terens said that came about when he was talking with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on a TV panel and a rabbi overheard the conversation. "I mentioned that I would like to be bar mitzvahed at 103 and he's the rabbi of the Pentagon so that's my next bucket list. I am going to be bar mitzvahed in the Pentagon,' Terens said. Terens turns 102 on Aug. 6. So Saturday's party was a little early. On D-Day — June 6, 1944 — Terens helped repair planes returning from France so they could rejoin the battle. He said half his company's pilots died that day. Terens went to France 12 days later, helping transport freshly captured Germans and just-freed American POWs back to England. Terens was honored in June 2024 by the French as part of the 80th anniversary celebration of their country's liberation from the Nazis. But that isn't all that happened on those Normandy beaches. He married Jeanne Swerlin, now 97. 'I thought my wedding in Normandy last year was the highlight of my life. Number one of all the moments of my life. You know, that's the saying, that life is not measured by how many breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away," Terens said. He survived World War ll, was involved in a secret mission in Iran, another time barely escaping a German rocket after leaving a London pub just before it was destroyed. "My life has been one huge fairy tale, especially with this new wife that I have. Who I love deeply and who I am going to spend the rest of my life till death do us part, as the mayor had us say in Normandy,' Terens said. After the German surrender in 1945, Terens helped transport freed Allied prisoners to England before he shipped back to the U.S. a month later. He married his wife Thelma in 1948 and they had two daughters and a son. He became a U.S. vice president for a British conglomerate. They moved from New York to Florida in 2006 after Thelma retired as a French teacher; she died in 2018 after 70 years of marriage. He has eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Terens gets asked a lot about his secret to longevity. "I think if you can learn how to minimize stress, you'll go a long way. You'll add at least 10 years to your life. So that is number one. And 90% is luck,' he said.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
At 102, D-Day veteran looks forward to a long-delayed bar mitzvah
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Harold Terens fought in World War II. He's lived almost 102 years, celebrating his birthday a couple weeks early with family and friends in Florida. But he has something more to look forward to. His bar mitzvah. Terens said at his birthday celebration Saturday that his brother got the traditional Jewish ceremony marking the beginning of adulthood when they were kids living in New York, but he did not. 'My mother came from Poland. My father came from Russia. And my mother was a religious Jew. And my father was anti-religious. So they had two sons. And one son, they compromised. One son got bar mitzvahed, the other son didn't,' he said. Early next year, Terens said he will finally enjoy that ceremony. At the Pentagon outside Washington, no less. Terens said that came about when he was talking with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on a TV panel and a rabbi overheard the conversation. 'I mentioned that I would like to be bar mitzvahed at 103 and he's the rabbi of the Pentagon so that's my next bucket list. I am going to be bar mitzvahed in the Pentagon,' Terens said. Terens turns 102 on Aug. 6. So Saturday's party was a little early. On D-Day — June 6, 1944 — Terens helped repair planes returning from France so they could rejoin the battle. He said half his company's pilots died that day. Terens went to France 12 days later, helping transport freshly captured Germans and just-freed American POWs back to England. Terens was honored in June 2024 by the French as part of the 80th anniversary celebration of their country's liberation from the Nazis. But that isn't all that happened on those Normandy beaches. He married Jeanne Swerlin, now 97. 'I thought my wedding in Normandy last year was the highlight of my life. Number one of all the moments of my life. You know, that's the saying, that life is not measured by how many breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away,' Terens said. He survived World War ll, was involved in a secret mission in Iran, another time barely escaping a German rocket after leaving a London pub just before it was destroyed. 'My life has been one huge fairy tale, especially with this new wife that I have. Who I love deeply and who I am going to spend the rest of my life till death do us part, as the mayor had us say in Normandy,' Terens said. After the German surrender in 1945, Terens helped transport freed Allied prisoners to England before he shipped back to the U.S. a month later. He married his wife Thelma in 1948 and they had two daughters and a son. He became a U.S. vice president for a British conglomerate. They moved from New York to Florida in 2006 after Thelma retired as a French teacher; she died in 2018 after 70 years of marriage. He has eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Terens gets asked a lot about his secret to longevity. 'I think if you can learn how to minimize stress, you'll go a long way. You'll add at least 10 years to your life. So that is number one. And 90% is luck,' he said.
CBS News
24-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Family stranded in Israel at start of conflict with Iran is relieved to be back in Chicago
Americans have been caught in the chaos of escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. CBS News Chicago introduced you to one Chicago family's fight to return home from Israel last week. They have now made it back, but they said their emotional and financial toll is still not over. At this time last week, Rachel Albert was stranded in southern Israel along with her husband, her two sons — ages 13 and 15 — and her 80-year-old mother. In an ever-evolving situation, she was ready to spare no expense for safety. But her story is just one way the conflict between Iran and Israel is reaching far beyond the battlefield — to Chicago. "I don't think we realized how much we weren't sleeping, and just how intense everything was until we got home," said Albert. One week ago, Albert's family was filming missiles in the night sky in Israel. They had expected to fill their phones with photos from her son's bar mitzvah trip to Israel, but that celebration gave way to a stressful, chaotic return. The family later crossed from southern Israel into Jordan, found five seats on a chartered plane to Paris, and then finally flew to O'Hare International Airport, arriving back in Chicago late this past Friday. In all, this amounted to more than 40 hours of travel time and tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses. "You know, money at that point in time, it was like monopoly money," said Albert. "I have over $150,000 right now of just commercial flights that I had booked." Albert said there were few options. "We probably filled out about 30 forms," she said. "I got a lot of emails. I filled out a lot of forms. We were directed to a lot of websites. They all had sort of the same updates." Albert had even fewer answers from the U.S. State Department. "We just, we were frustrated with the lack of options that the government was providing to us," she said, "especially as we were in the Jordanian airport, and there were some European constituents whose embassies had sent planes." On Monday, President Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed on a "Complete and Total" ceasefire, a move he said would end a more than weeklong conflict between the two countries. The ceasefire would start in about six hours, and after 12 hours, the "War will be considered, ENDED," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, indicating that the ceasefire would begin at midnight ET. There has been no official word yet from Israel or Iran on a ceasefire. The terms of the apparent ceasefire aren't clear. A senior White House official told CBS News both sides had agreed to a ceasefire, with Israel agreeing as long as there are no further Iranian strikes. The conflict between Israel and Iran began June 13 with Israel launching airstrikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets. The strikes — which killed several top Iranian military officials — prompted Iranian counterattacks on Israel. The U.S. took military action against Iran over the weekend, striking three sites that are believed to be key to Iran's nuclear program. The move sparked fears of a wider war, but Iran's response on Monday was fairly limited. Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar, most of which were intercepted, and no injuries were reported, U.S. and Qatari officials said. Multiple people associated with Northwestern University's Doha, Qatar campus had to shelter in place for hours. Texts from Northwestern University in Qatar started hours before the missiles began firing, alerting students to go to their homes. "It was very strong, very strong," said student Yamna Abdi Jama. "It felt very — everything was shaking. The windows were shaking, and the noise just kept coming." Meanwhile in Chicago on Monday, protesters held a rally in Federal Plaza against U.S. and Israeli actions in Iran, and then marched through downtown streets just after President Trump announced the ceasefire agreement. But all this came well after Albert's self-evacuation. "This has been a plan for a long time, you know, with our president and with Prime Minister Netanyahu," Albert said, "and I just wish that they would have thought one step ahead about the people on the ground, the citizens on the ground who would have been impacted." Albert said some, but not all, of the airlines she dealt with confirmed that the money she spent on their flights will be returned, since the airlines canceled those flights during travel restrictions. , and contributed to this report.
