Community Briefs

Iraqi Aliyah Recounted at KahalJoseph

When the smoke cleared in Baghdad, most Americans wanted to get out. But Manhattan resident Rachel Zelon opted to go in.

The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society vice president, who was responsible for facilitating the rescue of a small group of Iraq’s remaining Jews and accompanying them to Israel, shared her experiences with members of Kahal Joseph Congregation on Aug. 5.

“I think that most of you have a much better understanding of the Iraqi Jewish community than I could ever have,” Zelon said to the audience, composed mostly of Iraqi Jews. “I just had the luck – good or bad – to have been there more recently than you. But the culture and the community and the way people live their lives in Iraq is something that you grew up with and something that I can’t possibly begin to understand.”

Zelon recounted her journey to Baghdad and her initial impressions of Iraq’s tiny Jewish community. “You could tell they were very fearful,” Zelon said of Baghdad’s 34 remaining Jews, whom she was able to locate only through contact information obtained from friends and relatives who had previously fled the city. “They would talk very openly about the fear of their neighbors. ‘The Muslims are coming to kill us. You can’t trust anyone,’ they would say. They are afraid to go out on the streets. Many people have not left their homes since the war.”

Despite the conditions, Zelon said that it was difficult to convince some of the Jews to leave Iraq. Many had family or businesses still in Baghdad. But others, like 79-year-old Salima Moshe, were relieved. Zelon said that when she told Moshe, whose relatives had previously fled to Israel, that she had come from Israel to bring her home, Moshe replied, “I thought everyone had forgotten about me.”

Zelon regrets that more of Baghdad’s Jews did not agree to accompany her to Israel, but that she was relieved that some decided to come. “Some people say to me, ‘You only got six people?'” Zelon said. “But those are six people whose lives will hopefully be better … hopefully we brought some dignity back to these few lives.” — Rachel Brand, Staff Writer

Waxman Rails Against Bush Administration

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) tackled domestic issues during an Aug. 17 town hall meeting at Temple Beth Am that was sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Committee (JCRC) as part of its Summer of Advocacy program and the synagogue.

“I’ve never been in office at a time when partisanship has meant so much,” Waxman said.

A staunch supporter of increasing medical/social services for citizens on a fixed income, Waxman blamed the Bush administration for upping the annual deficit to $500 billion, delving into the Medicare and Social Security surplus to pay for tax cuts and offering sweetheart deals to special interests.

“Many people in the Jewish community say, ‘If this administration supports Israel, I will support it,’ but, in my view, support for Israel transcends partisanship,” he said.

Waxman cited Torah-sponsored ideals such as tzedakah, social justice and tikkun olam as necessary, but increasingly scarce, commodities in political decision making.

“Policies now are favoring special interests,” Waxman said, “and ignoring interests benefiting the general public.”

During the question-and-answer session, Waxman had clear reactions to issues such as the California recall, which he finds appalling, and the implications of the Patriot Act, which he believes will encourage federal actions that may threaten our civil liberties. Waxman offered a less specific stance to the largely elderly crowd in attendance on the nexus of senior citizens’ rights and protecting the general public good, especially in relation to modifying driving laws following the July 16 Santa Monica farmers market tragedy. — Michael Aushenker, Staff Writer

Olmert: Invest in Israel Now

Ehud Olmert, deputy prime minister of Israel and minister of industry and trade, whose portfolio was also expanded Sunday to include communications, told local investors that now is the right time to invest in Israel. “The Israeli economy has great potential in different areas — more than high tech,” said Olmert last week during a breakfast at The Regency Club, sponsored by the Israeli Economic Mission and Southern California-Israel Chamber of Commerce. Olmert, the former mayor of Jerusalem, said that the government is working to make Israel more attractive to foreign investors by reducing (or eliminating) capital gains, taxes for foreign investors and by allowing products developed with Chief Scientist grants in Israel to be manufactured outside the country.

While he was in Los Angeles, Olmert also met with Stanley Gold, the head of Shamrock investments (which has invested for the last 15 years in Israeli companies like Tadiran and Pelephone). Gold committed to creating a new $120 million fund for inestment in the Israeli infrastructure. Olmert also met with Elliott Broidy, who is creating with Ron Lubash a $250 million fund for investment in Israel.

“I want investors to believe that Israel is the best place to invest in the world,” Olmert said at the breakfast, “that they can make more money in Israel than anyplace else in the world.” — Amy Klein, Managing Editor