In our hardwired global village, the old curse \”May you live in interesting times,\” has particular resonance. For local educators, the recent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians have made these past few weeks interesting times indeed. As events continue to unfold thousands of miles away, the conflict has been an ongoing topic in Southern California\’s Jewish day schools.
Carlanna is a young woman who was paralyzed in a car accident in high school. She is now a producer with the \”Judge Judy\” show. Alex is a qualified doctor from the Ukraine who cannot work in his profession here. He is now a highly successful radiology technician. Irene was a newly divorced mother on welfare in the depths of despair. She is now a fundraiser working on the corporate level and providing services and support to single mothers.
\nWhile violent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians have captured the headlines in recent weeks, Jewish and Arab leaders in major American cities are working quietly to forestall confrontations between their communities.\n\nTheir efforts are marked by some common guidelines.
Experts say it takes 21 days to make a habit. Do something – run, write in a journal, make a to-do list – repeatedly and consistently every day for three weeks and that action will become yours.
While Israel searches for a reliable partner in peace, partners in business were in no short supply at last month\’s California-Israel Bio-Partnering & Investment Conference. The \”Bio\” is short for biotechnology, a collective term for the various medical and technical innovations currently gathering great momentum. The \”Partnering\” was a meeting of the minds and monies of businesses in California and Israel, previously separated by thousands of miles, concerned with these innovations. The conference brought together Israeli companies specializing in biotechnology with scores of Southern California firms in biotech, venture capital and marketing, and other businesses eager to join in the Israeli biotechnology boom.
Outrage. Sadness. Disappointment. Hope. Jews in L.A. have not only been quick to express their feelings on the events plaguing the Middle East during the past two weeks, they are trying to do their part to make sure that Israel\’s intentions are not distorted in the eyes of public opinion. At press time, no less than three community-wide rallies had been scheduled to demonstrate solidarity with Israel (see page 10).
It\’s Yom Kippur in Israel, and former Los Angeles resident Eve Harow talks about the atmosphere in her adopted homeland of 12 years.
Rabbi Dan Moskovitz of Temple Judea in Tarzana says the weeklong festival of Sukkot, from Yom Tov through Chol Hamoed, is a time for families and friends to gather not only to observe the holiday, but to enjoy the peacefulness of sitting together in a sukkah.
On any given weekday, Elat Market, the Pico-Robertson supermarket, is already a hub of hustle and bustle for the Persian community. So one can imagine the human traffic on the Friday morning before Yom Kippur – getting ready before Shabbat and yontiff. Standing outside the market on this busy morning, it becomes apparent that Elat is somewhat of a de facto community center, a nexus where friends – young and old – run into one another and splinter off into small congregations of conversation.
