fbpx
Michael Aushenker

Michael Aushenker

I’m a Survivor!

On this April day, Drescher converses in a lackadaisical, morning-after drone that is, quite frankly, downright seductive.\n\nYet the topic of conversation — uterine cancer — is not sexy. Drescher feels that it is imperative to talk about the deadly disease and why women need to be proactive in discerning it. Her new memoir, \”Cancer Schmancer\” (Warner Books, $24.95), in stores May 1, chronicles her own experience detecting and surviving uterine cancer. \”Cancer Schmancer\” also documents a new chapter in her life. When her best-selling autobiography \”Enter Whining\” was released in late 1995, Drescher was the envy of Hollywood both for her storybook romance to high school sweetheart Peter Marc Jacobson and her serendipitous rise to fame in the 1990s. On a plane ride, the then-unknown actress sold her idea for \”The Nanny\” after pitching the concept to a CBS executive that happened to be seated next to her.

The Circuit

The Circuit, information on events around los angeles.\n

Earmarked for Israel

The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has launched a Crisis Fund campaign designed to raise $12 million in emergency relief to address the deteriorating situations in Israel and Argentina. The announcement came just as Federation President John Fishel and Chairman Jake Farber returned from a two-day visit to Israel, as part of an emergency 40-member delegation assembled by The Federation\’s parent organization, United Jewish Communities (UJC).

The Show Must Go On

On the surface, it could have been any other Hollywood industry event: legendary producer Mike Medavoy and actress-director-producer Penny Marshall received awards before the festival-opening movie screening at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Business as usual in Hollywood.

Israel on Their Minds

\nFor Jews in Los Angeles, the Middle East conflict in recent weeks has reached a frightening intensity. But for local Israelis with family residing in Israel, the emotional stakes have become particularly poignant.

The Circuit

The Circuit, information on events around los angeles.\n

Skinhead Attack in Beverlywood

Four Caucasian men, appearing to be neo-Nazi skinheads, attacked three Jewish high school boys last Shabbat shortly after midnight in Beverlywood.\n\nThe three observant students, in their midteens and wearing kippot, were walking through the quiet neighborhood on April 6, when a dark-colored car containing four men pulled up, according to a police report. Two of the men emerged from the car shouting slurs such as \”Heil Hitler\” and attacked the Jewish teens.\n\nOne of the Jewish boys escaped, while the other two, both 17, were beaten, despite their efforts to fend off their assailants, according to one of the victims. The Jewish boys were punched and kicked. One of the boys was held down, and the assailants shouted slurs, calling the boy \”a dirty kike.\” No weapons were involved in the incident. At the parents\’ request, the names of the Jewish teens have been withheld.\n\n

Strength in Numbers

\”A-RA-FAT! TER-ROR-IST!\”\n\nThe message was loud and clear: Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, with terrorist backing by Iran and Iraq, was considered no less a monster than Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Ladin. That was the message backed by thousands of Southland residents who lined Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood with signs, balloons and Israeli and American flags last Sunday to show their support for the state of Israel and their disgust with the escalation of Arab-backed terrorism that has taken scores of innocent civilian lives since the second Intifada began in the fall of 2000.\n

The Circuit

So in a nutshell, here\’s how the first Celebrity Dodgeball Tournament went down…

We Will Never Forget

The world Jewish community finds itself at something of a crossroads as it enters the first decade of this new millennium. By decade\’s end, the majority of witnesses to the Shoah will no longer be alive.

[authorpage]

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.