There are a few Jewish themes to the stories that the Jewish War Veterans of Post 603 tell. They tell of feeling ignored by a society that still thinks Jews don’t serve. Stories about anti-Semitism in the military ranks many decades ago are also common — and always seem to involve a superior officer from Georgia.
In the Sala and Aron Samueli Holocaust Memorial Library, books on the era line the shelves and display cases are filled with artifacts of pre-Holocaust European Jewish life. There’s a yellowing tallit, a velvet curtain from a Munich synagogue, an elegant apron and a first-edition Dutch copy of “The Diary of Anne Frank.” There’s also a crisp digital photograph of a single green pear balanced on a metal rail, a train track. Into the pear’s shiny green skin is carved a Star of David.
On Sunday, Nov. 7, more than 350 communities around the world will take part in the Global Day of Jewish Learning. Due to low pre-registration numbers, Greater Los Angeles will not be among them.
For his work building bridges between the Jewish and Latino communities and his consistent support of Israel, American Jewish Committee’s Latino and Latin American Institute presented its third annual Gesher Award to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa at the Skirball Cultural Center in L.A. on Oct. 27.
In a way, medical marijuana dispensary owner Matthew Cohen is just another small businessman.
Thanks to a $500,000 gift from the Maurice Amado Foundation, California State University, Northridge (CSUN), will soon have a professor of Applied Jewish Ethics and Civic Engagement.
The Republican nominee for California governor, former eBay chief Meg Whitman, spoke at Stephen S. Wise Temple on Oct. 10 to a crowd of 700 enthusiastic supporters. Carly Fiorina, the GOP candidate for senator, will speak at the synagogue Oct. 24. Stephen S. Wise Senior Rabbi Eli Herscher said invitations had also been extended to the Democratic nominees for both offices, and Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is campaigning for a fourth term, declined the offer. A spokesperson from the Jerry Brown for Governor campaign said the campaign never received a formal invitation and only learned about the event from a third party, at which point Whitman had been named featured speaker and the Republican Jewish Coalition was a co-sponsor of the event.
Diplomats from nine different countries joined leaders from Los Angeles’ Jewish, Asian and Latino communities on Sept. 28 to celebrate Asian and Jewish autumnal harvest festivals and commemorate the bicentennial of Mexico’s independence. Organized by the Pacific Southwest regional office of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as part of its existing Asian Jewish Initiative and Latino Jewish Roundtable, the event was intended to help build bridges connecting three of the city’s communities that might not otherwise interact.
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