A RISING COMMUNITY LEADER
SARINA ROFFÉ
“Walk out of here not just to change the world, but to change your world”
– Charles Chakkalo, Archon 2014
CHARLES CHAKKALO IS A 27-YEAR YOUNG FATHER, VOLUNTEER AND RISING LEADER IN THE COMMUNITY. HE HAS TAKEN ON THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EDUCATING YOUNG PROFESSIONALS AS CHAIR OF SBH YOUNG PROFESSIONALS, BUT HE DIDN’T STOP THERE. HE IS WORKING ON PROJECTS WITH THE SEPHARDIC COMMUNITY FEDERATION (SCF) AND IS A TRAINED VOLUNTEER GUARD AT SHAARE ZION.
Before that he organized youth groups on his college campus at Hunter. A born leader, he was motivated to help others when he rescued swimmers as a teenage lifeguard.
Antisemitic protests by students on the Hunter campus and the synagogue attacks in Poway, CA, and Pittsburgh, PA deeply affected him. Until then, he had little overt exposure to antisemitism. He was so affected; he felt the need to take action.
“Growing up, I was sheltered from antisemitism, and somewhat ignorant about its prevalence. However, the events around me opened my eyes to the harsh reality that Jew-hatred and bigotry still exists in our society. This realization motivated me to join a community initiative that focused on self-defense, surveillance, and awareness techniques to protect our synagogues,” said Charles.
He trained as a volunteer guard under Community Security Service, the training organization used by Community Security Alliance to develop volunteers that work alongside guards at our synagogues and institutions. Charles primarily works shifts at Shaare Zion.
“I felt a strong sense of obligation to defend my community, our religion, and our places of worship. There was no reason for me to sit idly by while potential perpetrators could easily pick up a gun and hurt people.”
Charles’ decisions were also shaped by events. He was largely influenced by the persecution his family faced in Syria, and their experiences leaving Syria in 1983, which induced a passionate need to protect and help those around him.
“I am an able-bodied man and a prime candidate who can do something. I am not going to sit by and let someone come into my synagogue and shoot people,” he said.
His family, particularly his parents Raymond and Linda, instilled in him a great work ethic, such that in high school he was one of few students who had a job. At 13, he worked in his grandfather’s greenhouse for $10 a day. In order to do this, he had to learn to take public transportation and get to his destinations on his own. There was no more allowance or the privilege of having someone drive him places. He had no time for after school activities and needed to learn to be responsible, reliable and to carry himself with honor and dignity.
The beginning of Charles’ high school years were not the best, but after a reality check, he refocused so much that he was asked to give the Archon address at his Yeshivah of Flatbush High School Assembly in 2014, which was a huge honor for him. The Archon Induction Exercises celebrate a student’s academic excellence.
“I learned the value of reputation and the importance of relationships,” he said.
When he saw Students for Justice in Palestine blame tuition hikes on Zionists and chant “Zionists out of CUNY,” he thought, “This cannot happen under my watch,” and met with the President of Hunter College and the Chancellor of the CUNY system forcing a formal probe to be opened. He began organizing students to fight back against the protestors, as well.
Charles didn’t stop there. He organized a club on campus to build bridges between Jewish and Arab students and got involved in the Hillel. “I am proud of my heritage, so it was easy to connect with the Arab students.” He helped in securing funding from the Maccabee Task Force and organized a trip taking a multicultural group of students to Israel. He also got involved in the David Project to build pro-Israel support on campus.
He went on an Innovation Africa/Center trip to Bumayi, Uganda in the summer of 2019, which was to sponsor a well and provide clean drinking water to the village. The volunteers then went on to visit Israel.
Another example of his leadership came when starting an ecommerce business with his brothers, Ralph and Michael. When he handed an employee a W2 for his work the previous year, the employee didn’t know what to do with it. So Charles went to SBH and ran a financial literacy workshop at SBH Young Professionals. The workshop featured sessions on taxes, real estate, mortgages and credit. It was a resounding success.
At the peak of BitCoin’s last bull run, he moderated a conversation with Simon Yedid to do a virtual event– another resounding success.
The Young Professionals Group pairs 18 to 30-year-olds with mentors and internships in their area of interest and holds monthly roundtable discussions in different fields, such as ecommerce, marketing, and real estate.
“Charles Chakkalo’s passion and dedication to SBH Young Professionals has fostered an exciting and engaging program which benefits hundreds of community college students and young professionals every year,” said Rita Shabot, Director, SBH Career Division.
Using the resources of volunteers, past presidents and board members, they have many internships and help with job placement. They hosted “Stoop Talks” with panelists in different professions and collaborate with PROPEL and SBH Medical. Charles also helped organize Career Days for several yeshivah high schools.
“I am doing what I can to give back,” he said.
He is naturally tech savvy, sincere and passionate. He has an aptitude for the law, and even took the LSATs and seriously considered law school. He graduated as Salutatorian from Hunter College with a degree in philosophy and has an intense interest in politics.
So much so that he joined the Sephardic Community Federation and began working with them to develop relationships with local politicians and effectively represent our community in front of policy-makers. He attends events on behalf of the community, such as political party fundraisers, and gatherings at Gracie Mansion.
“When I discussed a project with Charles, he jumped in to help,” said Sam Sutton, SCF President. “He is sharp and on the ball. He became one of the most active young men in the campaign. He is very computer savvy and he helped develop the marketing material as well as technical support. He is a very impressive young man.”
A believer in constant learning and refinement, Charles launched his personal brand offering an independent take on what’s going on in our action-packed world. “Too often people nowadays look to figureheads for their perspectives and blindly follow, so I decided to add myself to the pond of independent opinion,” said Charles. He publishes his content on Chakkalo.com.
Charles married Sylvia Mizrahi in 2020 during the COVID pandemic and they have a daughter.
A genealogist and historian, Sarina Roffé is the author of Branching Out from Sepharad (Sephardic Heritage Project, 2017). She is researching a new book: Syria – Paths to Freedom. Sarina holds a BA in Journalism, and MA in Jewish Studies and an MBA.
