There lurks an almost unbearable irony in the appointment of UCLA Professor Saul Friedlander to an international commission of nine eminent historians that will probe, evaluate and ultimately judge Switzerland\’s role and conduct during World War II and the Holocaust era.
Go into any synagogue, in any part of this town, and you will find them — people whose courageous stories of survival during the Holocaust could each be the subject of a compelling movie or book.
No Jewish cookbook of this year, or any year, for that matter, compares with Claudia Roden\’s \”The Book of Jewish Food\” (Knopf), but two new local additions to the genre have plenty of charms on their own.
Looking for a traditional Israeli way to celebrate Yom Ha\’Atzma\’ut?
From where Phillip Liff-Grieff sits — literally — the Jewish community is looking better all the time.\n
Remember that great scene in \”Inherit the Wind,\” when Clarence Darrow asks William Jennings Bryan if a book that details rape, incest, slaughter, nudity and sodomy should be banned? The fundamentalist Bryan answers, \”Of course!\” and Darrow, with a flourish, whips out a copy of the Bible and declares, \”Then you must ban this book!\”
Josh Henkin will read from his new book, \”Swimming Across the Hudson,\” Mon., May 12, 7 p.m. at Dutton\’s on San Vivente. Josh Henkin\’s paternal grandfather was an Orthodox rabbi who lived in the United States for 50 years without ever learning to speak English. Still, the author was able to forge a strong connection with the old man, the kind of bond that transcended language and linked Henkin to a people and a past.\n
The last days of the Passover holiday brought a shocking message to 14 faculty and staff members at the University of Judaism: They\’re laid off.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.