It is our Jewish concern for human welfare that takes the rabbis where the needs exist. It is the United Jewish Fund\’s concern for justice and human need that directs Federation support to the chaplaincy program.
Even here in Los Angeles, where the Jewishpopulation mushroomed over the last five decades to over 600,000,demographers tell us our numbers are stagnating — and likely wouldhave dropped — had it not been for the infusion of newcomers fromIran, the former Soviet Union, both Northern and Southern Africa and,ironically, Israel itself.
Mickey Weiss, everybody\’s favorite mensch and philanthropist, diedmore than a year ago, but his good works go on.
Last year, I experiencedsomething that made me feel more emotion than I can remember everhaving during the Ten Days of Awe, and, unfortunately, the feeling was that ofanger toward other Jews.
Earlier in the week, Irving Moskowitz had stood in that gritty, neglected urban village on the flank of the Mount of Olives, hammering a mezuzah on a door post and telling the world\’s TV cameras that this was where \”we\” are making \”our\” home. Yet the truth was that as soon as he had signed a face-saving deal with the government of Israel, he was on the plane back to Florida in time for Shabbat.
T\’shuvah, which in Hebrew translates as \”repentance, return andresponse,\” is not only part of the name of Gateways Beit T\’Shuvah,the Los Angeles halfway house for recovering Jewish offenders andaddicts. \”It\’s very much a part of what we do here,\” ExecutiveDirector Harriet Rossetto said during a recent interview.
So, one has to ask, why did Rachel Wohlgelernter apply to Yale?
Even without the immediacy of the telephone, the fear, wearinessand anguish that Israelis are feeling is as close to us as thenightly newscast or the morning paper.
The 1997 Community Awards, which recognize outstanding achievementin the Jewish community, were given out during a special meeting ofthe Federation\’s board of directors at Sephardic Temple TiferethIsrael.
The offspring of aleft-leaning coalition of Jewish groups and spearheaded by theAmerican Jewish Congress, the commission has set out to examineconditions in Los Angeles\’ garment industry and suggest possibleactions for the Jewish community to follow.
