The life and legacy of the late Harry M. Offenbach, longtime chancellor of the Jewish Chautauqua Society and a past president of the Jewish Community Relations Council, will be recognized at an Interfaith Shabbat service, in addition to the weekly Shabbat service at Congregation Temple Israel, 6:30 p.m., Friday, June 17.  Dr. Ghazala Hayat, a local Muslim leader active in interfaith work, will be the guest speaker.

The special service was organized by Offenbach’s family to commemorate what would have been his 100^th birthday.  Offenbach, a longtime member of Temple Israel, died in January 2013 at the age of 96. 

“We thought there could be no better way to mark the occasion than with this special Interfaith Shabbat, which examples his commitment to reaching out to other faith communities during his lifetime,”  said Jan Nykin, one of his children.

Offenbach had been executive vice president of a manufacturer of men’s slacks until his retirement in 1980.   He was also a clinical psychologist, and served in World War II in that capacity. He was widely admired for his intellect, his leadership skills, Torah scholarship and interfaith work.  He was honored in 2010 as one of the Jewish Light’s inaugural class of “Unsung Heroes” for his dedication to community service. 

Offenbach was the longtime national chancellor of the Jewish Chautauqua Society, an organization which promotes understanding of Judaism through interfaith work.  In recognition of his many years of leadership, he was named National Honorary Chancellor of the organization and received its Alfred E. and Genevieve Weil Medallion Award in recognition of his long service, at a special program at Temple Israel in 2008.

Offenbach served as president of the Jewish Community Relations Council from 1973-79, and was also active with many other Jewish organizations. 

As speaker for the Interfaith Shabbat service, Hayat will discuss the importance of interfaith understanding within the Jewish and Muslim communities.  She is past president of Interfaith Partnership, the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis and she received the Norman A. Stack community relations award of the JCRC. Hayat is professor of neurology at St. Louis University, director of neuromuscular and clinical neurophysiology and Clinical Neurophysiology fellowship.  She also directs the multidisciplinary ALS clinic.