It has been one year since a financial crisis engulfed the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles (JCCGLA). In response to this crisis, JCCGLA was forced to close facilities, cut services and lay off scores of staff. Programs that served more than 1,000 people were discontinued. It was a very difficult year — but we survived.
Below is an excerpt from a speech delivered by the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) at the Shadow Convention in Los Angeles on Aug. 13, 1999. Wellstone, his wife, daughter, three campaign aides and two pilots were killed in a plane crash Oct. 25, see story, p. 18.
The question has been posed to me frequently over the past several months: Is Valley secession \”good for the Jews?\”
Truthfully, it\’s a difficult question to answer. Other current matters are easier to address. Is President Bush good for the Jews? Prime Minister Ariel Sharon certainly thinks so. Are the Dodgers good for the Jews? Shawn Green\’s 42 home runs certainly say so.
But secession? Does it really matter for the Jews of Los Angeles whether they live in one city of 3.35 million people or two cities of 2 million and 1.35 million each?
On the Sept. 30 MSNBC show \”Hardball,\” Chris Matthews hosted a debate between Pat Buchanan and Republican political analyst David Frum. Buchanan opposed a United States-led invasion of Iraq, while Frum supported President George W. Bush\’s plan for tough inspections first followed by — if those inspections fail — the forceful removal of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power.
The issue of evangelical Christian churches attempting to convert Jews has arisen once again — this time as an accompaniment to Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert\’s acceptance of a $500,000 gift from a church in San Diego.
Instead of finding relief, I\’ve been much reminded of life back home.
As a historian of Jewish-Christian relations in Germany, and as a professor who has taught at several German universities, hostility toward Jews and Judaism in university settings is certainly nothing new to me.
Check out my checkbook register. Every time I turn around, I\’m giving money to one school or the other. On top of three hefty tuitions.
Each stage of life has its characteristic depressions and delights.
It has almost risen to the level of obsession, this concern about Hollywood Jews and Israel. Why aren\’t they speaking out on Israel\’s behalf? Why aren\’t they flying to Israel to show their support? Why aren\’t they sending gobs of money to help out?
