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Picture of Ruth Stroud

Ruth Stroud

South Bay Bids Adieu to Shulman

Rabbi Ronald Shulman of Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay wasn\’t seeking a new challenge when the leadership of Chizuk Amuno Congregation in Baltimore approached him a year ago about applying for a position as senior rabbi of the 1,400-member Conservative shul. Shulman was just coming off a high after being feted at a major celebration that drew 450 people in honor of his 20th anniversary as rabbi of the Rancho Palos Verdes synagogue.

The Anti-Semitic Blame Game

Is anti-Semitism on the rise since Sept. 11? Answers vary, depending on whom you ask.

\”We haven\’t seen a resurgence of anti-Semitism since the Sept. 11 attacks,\” observed Amy Levy, a spokeswoman for the Anti-Defamation League\’s Pacific Southwest Region, which encompasses most of Southern California. Others, such as Rabbi Meyer May, executive director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance, have reported increased verbal assaults.

Tijuana: A Tale of Two Synagogues

A bus trip to visit two Tijuana synagogues this spring provided an irresistible opportunity to learn about two distinctly different Jewish communities in a bustling border metropolis where Jews number fewer than 1 percent of the city\’s 1.2 million residents.

By far the more unusual of the two shuls was Congregacion Hebrea de Baja California, made up almost entirely of converted Mexican Catholics, including its leader, a charismatic non-ordained rabbi, whose resume includes a stint as a Methodist minister. Carlos Salas Diaz, an imposing man in a dark suit, who welcomed us warmly into the temple\’s brightly lit sanctuary, looks like the successful businessman he continues to be and at least two decades younger than his chronological age of close to 70.

Wrap Party in Redondo Beach

Debbie Simmons earns her living as a CPA in Brentwood. But evenings, weekends and every other spare minute during the holidays and many other free moments during the year find Simmons shopping for bargain toys and wrapping paper, scanning the shelves or standing in checkout lines at Toys \’R\’ Us, Target, the 99 Cents Only store and Party World. She\’s buying Power Rangers and Barbie dolls a dozen at a time and picking up donated wrapping paper 50 rolls at a clip.

Building Bridges

A remarkable event brought together nearly 2,000 Christians and Jews in a night of unity, prayer and remembrance on Thurs., Nov. 9, the 62nd anniversary of Kristallnacht.

To Give and Now Receive

Almost 55 years, three children, 10 grandchildren and, in June, one great-grandchild later, Ozzie and Dorothy Goren are progenitors of a philanthropic dynasty that will be honored May 23 at Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles\’ annual Fammy Awards dinner.

Life’s Ironies are Beautiful

For Italian expatriates Lotte Katz Singer of Beverly Hills and Ann Signett of the San Fernando Valley, life is surprising as well as beautiful.

Holocaust Museum Reopens

Next week\’s reopening of the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust at its new location on Museum Row coincides with a string of events that will commemorate Yom HaShoah.

Going After Generation Next

The dynamics of the boiler room have levels of exploitation. While it functions as a concerted effort to part suckers from their money, the brokers are often not fully conscious of the complexity of the scam.

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