Amy Klein
Ghosts of Passovers Past
I have never quite gotten used to celebrating two seders.
After doing only one seder for each of the nine Passovers I was in Israel, the second night now seems like religious deja vu, a \”Groundhog Day,\” where I\’m setting the table yet again, rereading the haggadah and singing the same songs, thinking that if only I get it right this time, I won\’t have to relive the night once more.
Moment of Truth
Here\’s what I used to eat at Café Moment: a melted cheese toast sandwich with fresh basil and roasted red peppers on white focaccia, with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Nearly every Friday, on my day off, I\’d crowd into the small cafe at the corner of Aza and Ben-Maimon streets in the upscale Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem, say hello to other Israeli reporters — radio, television, newspaper — and stand by the bar reading a section of a discarded Yediot magazine, while being bumped and pushed as I waited for a table, preferably for one in the sun.
Divided We Stand
One Friday night, I was at a local rabbi\’s house for Shabbat dinner, and he said to me: \”The Jewish Journal should be a newspaper that unites the different denominations of our community.\”
Youth Reinforcement
Russell Radwin came from Alabama to meet people, because there are so few Jews in Birmingham.
Actor of ‘Favor’
\”I am not Menachem.\” So says Israeli heartthrob Aki Avni, referring to his character in \”Time of Favor,\” the Israeli psychological thriller opening in Los Angeles movie theaters Feb 1. The film, winner of six Israeli Oscars last year, including picture of the year, tells the story of a religious settler army unit in which one student, Pini, takes to heart his rabbi\’s ideological rantings about the Temple Mount, and crazily decides to blow it up.
Netanyahu Woos L.A. Jews
Israel\’s former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the guest at two Jewish functions in Los Angeles this week, on a schedule that included a closed dinner in Palm Springs and a number of private meetings. Netanyahu, who served as Israel\’s premier from 1996-1999, left for Denver on Tuesday, and was headed back to Israel this week.
Anti-Semitism Stirs Aliyah
Whether or not the French ambassador to England called Israel \”that sh*tty little country\” is almost beside the point.
Ambassador Daniel Bernard allegedly made the comment at a dinner party two weeks ago in London.
A Heartwarming Thanksgiving
It all started in Savram, a little Jewish town outside Odessa more than 100 years ago.
The Day the Music Died
When I moved to Israel in 1992, I was a young religious Zionist believing in the Greater Israel. I was disappointed that the Likud\’s Yizhak Shamir had lost the elections to a man named Yitzhak Rabin.
Fast forward seven years. I am in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, awaiting the 1999 election results. The numbers scroll up, live on a giant screen, 47, 48, 49, 50. By mere slivers of points, Ehud Barak beats Benjamin Netanyahu. Tears of relief stream down my face. Thank God, I think. In the end, peace will triumph. We are in the government after all. Peace still will come.
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