October 19, 2000

After George

Leave a Comment / Entertainment, Film / Naomi Pfefferman

Jason Alexander is having a “George” moment. “I don’t fast on Yom Kippur, but then I do this,” he says, looking heavenward and mock-cringing. “No offense!” he blurts.

It’s a scene right out of “Seinfeld,” but then again, the 41-year-old actor shares more than a few neuroses with the hapless shlep he portrayed for nine years on TV.

Forget Alexander ever playing a traditional leading man: “I’m short and bald,” he says. Never mind the millions he made on “Seinfeld”; he’s still convinced he could end up penniless. Then there’s the fallout from playing George Costanza, one of the most popular characters ever on television. “I can’t push George away, because it’s like pushing a mountain away,” Alexander confides. “If I were to walk onstage as Hamlet, everyone would go, ‘Look, it’s George.'”

So the Emmy-nominated actor has a ruse to help George fade from public memory: He’s diversifying. Since “Seinfeld” went off the air, he’s starred in Lee Kalcheim’s “Defiled” at the Geffen Playhouse; he’s played Boris Badenov in “Rocky and Bullwinkle” and his production company, AngelArk Inc., has signed a deal with Fox TV.

Alexander is also stepping behind the camera, most recently as director of the comedy-drama “Just Looking,” which opened last week in Los Angeles. Set in 1955, it’s the tale of a 14-year-old Bronx Jewish boy named Lenny (Ryan Merriman), who is obsessed with witnessing “an act of love” on his summer vacation. For Alexander, it’s a familiar milieu, one that takes him back to his childhood in middle-class Jewish-Italian neighborhoods in New Jersey.

Alexander, né Jay Greenspan, says he was a fat kid who used comedy to put off his tormentors at school. “It was a preemptive strike against cruelty,” explains the actor, who memorized every comedy album in his parents’ home. His Woody Allen and Jackie Mason impressions mollified the bullies. “But I didn’t look at it as performing,” says Alexander, who won a 1989 Tony for his role in “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway.” “It was just survival.”

At 13, he discovered the theater and knew he had found his calling. He felt powerful onstage, he says, at a time when he felt powerless everywhere else in life. He took tap dancing lessons from two 80-year-old ex-Ziegfeld girls, four towns away so his classmates wouldn’t find out and taunt him. By the time he finished junior high, he had a manager, a union card and a stage name (Alexander is his father’s first name).The actor’s sexual coming-of-age, meanwhile, was far more dramatic than fictional Lenny’s in “Just Looking.” “I didn’t quite have his period of innocence,” Alexander says ruefully. “I actually had my first experience at 13 with an actress who was in her 30’s in the wings of a theater during the rehearsal of a show.” The show ended, and so did the relationship. “Then I had this four-and-a-half year hiatus [from sex],” the director recalls. “I went around to every girl I knew, trying to sell her on this great thing I’d found, but I couldn’t close the deal.”

Alexander says he toned down the originally titillating “Just Looking” script so the protagonist could enjoy some of the childhood innocence he missed. Then he has another George moment: “I just think about my poor parents going, ‘We knew we shouldn’t have let him do theater!'”

Also at 13, Alexander completed his Bar Mitzvah, turned to his parents and said, “Are we done?” His Jewish education had been less than inspiring: “What had been offered me as religious training was a lot of form and no content,” he says. “I could read Hebrew right to left, left to right, upside down, no vowels, but I didn’t know what one word meant.”

Over the years, Alexander remained a strictly cultural Jew – until he and his wife, Daena, accepted an invitation to visit Israel on an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) trip in 1991.

The actor went reluctantly. “My impression of Israel was that the whole country was going to be carrying Torahs, swinging payes, and that I was going to feel incredibly isolated,” he says. “I thought everyone would look on me as worse than a Nazi, as if I were single-handedly destroying the religion.”

Instead, Alexander had one of the most amazing spiritual experiences of his life: “Suddenly, every previously meaningless thing they’d been yakking about in Hebrew school was right in front of me,” he says. “I was standing on the place where the Temple was. I was swimming in Lake Tiberias. I was standing on top of Masada and looking down at the remnants of the Roman camps.”

The 10-day trip, he says, prompted his Jewish reawakening; while he and Daena remain mostly nonobservant, they have vowed to join a synagogue so they can educate their two sons. Alexander, for his part, routinely appears at ADL and other Jewish functions and donated $11,800 from a “Jeopardy!” charity appearance to ADL.

He even convinced “Seinfeld” co-creator Larry David to tone down an episode that featured a bumbling mohel: “The fact that the mohel was nervous was funny,” he explains. “The fact that he hated children was not.”

But don’t tell Alexander that “Seinfeld” is “self-hatingly Jewish,” in the words of TV critic Tom Shales. Sure, there was the episode called “Shiksappeal,” in which Elaine discovers Jewish men like her because she’s not Jewish. Sure, there was the show in which a mean chef is dubbed a “Soup Nazi.” “But we made fun of everyone,” insists Alexander, who landed the “Seinfeld” role by doing a Woody Allen impression on his audition tape. “We were equal-opportunity insulters.”

The actor, for his part, is all but insulted when a reporter suggests that George is a meeskayt (ugly). “George is dear,” he corrects. “I have trouble understanding how he could ever be seen as unlikeable. Of course I’m aware that ‘Seinfeld’ is based on the relationships of four of the most selfish people who reveled in each others’ misery. But to me, it was always so clear that George was just a victim of his own insecurity. He’s the guy who always turns around and goes, ‘Am I an idiot?’ He’s constantly trying to overcompensate because he knows he’s not enough for anyone, including himself.”

One criticism of Seinfeld is that the seemingly Jewish characters were never declared Jewish. So, The Journal had to ask: Was George or wasn’t he? Alexander pauses before replying. “He wasn’t in my own mind until they cast his parents three-and-a-half seasons in,” he reveals. “Estelle Harris played George’s mother, and she can’t be anything but Jewish. So I thought his folks must have had a mixed marriage, and you can make up your own mind as to how they raised George.”

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Obituaries

Leave a Comment / Obituaries / Jewish Journal

Barry Anisman abramson died Sept. 30, at the age of 52. He is survived by his son, Adam; brother, Jon ; sister, Mary Lou Yharra; and stepfather, John May. Groman Mortuary.

Matilda Altshuler died Oct. 14, at the age of 87. She is survived by her friend, Angelina Varga. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

David Baer died Oct. 7, at the age of 68. He is survived by his wife, Harriet; sons, Alan and Leslie; daughter, Amy Rosenthal; brother, Louis; and sisters, Emma Seder and Gloria Wedner. Groman Mortuary.

Soleyman Benzaria died Oct. 7, at the age of 89. She is survived by her five grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Groman Mortuary.

Murray Berke died Sept. 30, at the age of 91. He is survived by his sister, Adele Gibbs; and nephew, Barry Southard. Groman Mortuary.

Selma Berman died Oct. 10, at the age of 89. She is survived by her sister, Anne Katzky; and nephew, Alan Seiden. Groman Mortuary.

Morris Bernstein died Oct. 15, at the age of 88. He is survived by his daughters, Ellyn (Gary) Johnson, Susan (David) Brown, Roxanne (Jerami) Marshal and Cindy; seven grandchildren; great-granddaughter, Melanie Edwards; and sister, Sarah (Dr. Robert) Shragg. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Marion Biawitz died Oct. 12, at the age of 86. She is survived by her daughter, Joyce Trabulus; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Risi Bondy died Oct. 9, at the age of 87. She is survived by her husband, Ernest; daughters, Renee Spinak and Ethel Davies; two grandchildren; sister, Nini Ungar; brother, Beno Tepper; and stepsons, Peter and George. RL Malinow-Glasband-Weinstein.

Edith Bornstein died Oct. 2, at the age of 90. She is survived by her son, Ernie; daughter, Miriam Borne; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Sholom Chapels Mortuary.

Egon Breiner died Oct. 10, at the age of 90. He is survived by his wife, Leopoldine; sons, Peter (Christiane) and Tom (Mary); and three grandchildren. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Goldie Cohen died Oct. 6, at the age of 75. She is survived by her husband, Abraham; son, Mitchell; daughter, Carrie; sister, Lillian Finkler; and brother, Aikey Caplan. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Pearl Cohen died Oct. 9, at the age of 79. She is survived by her daughters, Anita (Craig) Gunnufson and Lois (Gary) Cothran; son, Sherman; nine grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and brother, Morris (Shirley) Seradsky. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Florence Donner died Oct. 4, at the age of 84. She is survived by her sons, Michael and Arnold; and four grandchildren. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Manuel Dreiband died Sept. 26, at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife, Sylvia; son, Laurence; daughter, Bari Burman; and two grandchildren. Sholom Chapels Mortuary.

Rollie Feil died Oct. 8, at the age of 86. She is survived by her husband, Herman; daughter, Judie Wolf; and brothers, Mack and Leonard Tessler. Groman Mortuary.

Marshall Feinstein died Oct. 8, at the age of 76. He is survived by his wife, Bernice; sons, Bruce and Craig; daughter, Sharon Peusener; and brother, Burton. Groman Mortuary.

Sarah Fine died Oct. 7, at the age of 78. She is survived by her son, Allan; and daughter, Roselynn Itelson. Groman Mortuary.

Lily Finger died Oct. 4, at the age of 83. She is survived by her son, Mel; and three grandchildren. Sholom Chapels Mortuary.

Lillian Fox died Oct. 6, at the age of 88. She is survived by her niece, Marilyn Schwartz. RL Malinow-Glasband-Weinstein.

Jeffrey D. Friedman died Oct. 12, at the age of 51. He is survived by his son, Robert S. (Conchita); daughter, Erica; parents, Harry and Beatrice; brother, Bruce (Sharon); and sister, Beverlee Peck. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Marlene Kay Gelfand died Oct. 4, at the age of 54. She is survived by her husband, Daniel; son, Brian; daughter, Julie; parents, Harriet and Jack Brown; brother, Barry Brown; and sister, Diane Davis. Groman Mortuary.

Norman Gerson died Sept. 29, at the age of 64. He is survived by his brother, Errol. Groman Mortuary.

Emanuel M. Glenn died Oct. 10, at the age of 100. He is survived by his niece, Vicki Van Hulzen. Groman Mortuary.

Lottie Gluck died Oct. 5, at the age of 95. She is survived by her sons, Robert and Howard; 12 grandchildren; and 23 great-grandchildren. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Robert Samuel David Gray died Oct. 9, at the age of 89. He is survived by his son, Tev (Sandy); daughters, Sondra Gurman and Cynthia (Joe) Galipo; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and brother, Irving Goldberg. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Richard Greenway died Oct. 2, at the age of 76. He is survived by his three cousins, Lane Opkins, Gertrude Simon and Alvin Ureles. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Esther Hiller died Oct. 8, at the age of 69. She is survived by her daughter, Ruth; and brothers, Dr. Seymour (Sylvia) and Dr. Robert (Evelyn) Brockman. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Alec Jason died Oct. 2, at the age of 89. He is survived by his son, Harvey; daughter, Pamela; grandsons, Joshua and Louis; and sister, Lily Levy. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Aaron Karliss died Oct. 3, at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife, Betty; son, Richard Greenbaum; and one grandchild. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Helen Katz died Oct. 11, at the age of 89. She is survived by her daughters, Ileen Feinstein and Marcia Strauss; and four grandchildren. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Natalie King died Oct. 3, at the age of 81. She is survived by her son, Kenneth; daughter, Bonnie Wyner; and sister, Pearl Rosenfeld. Groman Mortuary.

Gladys Kline died Oct. 8, at the age of 90. She is survived by her son, Stuart; daughter, Marcia; seven grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and brother, Arnold Newman. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Seyman V. Korentajer died Oct. 9, at the age of 92. He is survived by his daughter, Phyllis Dimant. Groman Mortuary.

Stanley Kramer died Oct. 2, at the age of 67. He is survived by his wife, Lilly; son, Gerald; daughter, Lisa Mis; brother, Sidney; and sister, Jeanne Weiter. Groman Mortuary.

Rose Kritt died Oct. 6, at the age of 81. She is survived by her son, Jerome; and daughter, Sheila. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Gertrude Kushner died Oct. 1, at the age of 100. She is survived by her sister, Fannie Rubenstein; brother, Joseph Bachus; three nieces; and a nephew. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Sandra Elanie Lehrer died Oct. 7, at the age of 65. She is survived by her husband, Bernard; son, Joseph (Sharon); daughters, Shelly (Ronald) Bowman and Andrea; granddaughter, Hayley Bowman; and sister, Janice (Lloyd) Mullins. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Mike Lesak died Oct. 6, at the age of 90. He is survived by his daughter, Vera Rubin; son, Martin; and two grandchildren. Sholom Chapels Mortuary.

Jack Mark died Oct. 2, at the age of 86. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; and daughter, Roberta Engel. Groman Mortuary.

Gertrude Mayer died Aug. 27, at the age of 82. She is survived by her brother, Werner; and nephews, Michael and Mark. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Sylvia Mernick died Oct. 7, at the age of 74. She is survived by her son, Robert; daughter, Carol Weiss; five grandchildren; and nieces, Pamela Brownfield and Barbara Windisch. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Sally Ginsberg Mish died Oct. 3, at the age of 86. She is survived by her daughter, Harriet Gordon; and sisters, Minna and Betty. Groman Mortuary.

Ann Mogil died Oct. 8, at the age of 84. She is survived by her sister, Esther Geffen. Groman Mortuary.

Nabi Nassim died Oct. 9, at the age of 81. He is survived by his wife, Rohanieh; daughters, Shahnaz Mirharooni and Diana Afari; and grandson, Michael Mirharooni. Groman Mortuary.

Susan Nathan died Oct. 7, at the age of 54. She is survived by her mother, Lisl. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Joel Nemoy died Sept. 20, at the age of 60. He is survived by his wife, Anita; sons, Michael and Joshua; daughters, Minucha and Justina; eight grandchildren; brother, Sheldon; and sister, Carol. Sholom Chapels Mortuary.

Sender Leon Orlin died Oct. 4, at the age of 90. He is survived by his wife, Sarah; sons, Dr. Lorne Label, William, Boris, Felix and Hymie; 10 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Sholom Chapels Mortuary.

Dr. Irwin Jack Pincus died Oct. 12, at the age of 87. He is survived by his wife, Lena; sons, Robert and David; daughter, Carol Fiacco; five grandchildren; and brother, Bernard. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Sally Pollock died Sept. 30, at the age of 89. She is survived by her grandsons, Thomas Hathaway and Damon Packard; and sisters, Dorothy Selander and Jean Harwood. Groman Mortuary.

Ronald B. Ritholz died Oct. 10, at the age of 43. He is survived by his mother, Jean; sisters, Sharon (Arnold Selesnick) Gilletly and Paulette (David) Kaufman. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Ann Roberts died Oct. 5, at the age of 92. She is survived by her daughter, Harriet Lasker; son, Bobby; and sisters, Rose Berlin and Sylvia Grossman. Groman Mortuary.

Mildred Leona Rose died Sept 29, at the age of 76. She is survived by her daughters, Marsha and Rochelle. Groman Mortuary.

Shelly Rose died Sept. 29, at the age of 76. She is survived by her daughters, Marsha and Shelley; grandson, Matthew Kravitz; and son-in-law, Jeff Kravitz. Edem Memorial.

Henry SCHEINER died Oct. 10, at the age of 90. He is survived by his son, Joel; three grandchildren; and brother, Alfred. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Beverly Scher died Oct. 9, at the age of 41. She is survived by her mother, Barbara; brother, Ken; sister, Dee; and grandmother, Lillian Frankel. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Florence Schneider died Oct. 7, at the age of 86. She is survived by her husband, Jacob; son, Arthur (Robin); daughter, Leigh (David) Brimmeier; five grandchildren; and great-grandsons, Zachary and Josh. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Irvine Schneider died Oct. 10, at the age of 91. He is survived by his daughter, Linda; and sons, Richard and Victor. RL Malinow-Glasband-Weinstein.

Donna Lynne Schultz died Oct. 13, at the age of 50. She is survived by her daughters, Mara Fernandez-Schultz and Mireya; parents, Samuel and Carolyn; sister, Jenne (Joseph) Cusimano; and nephew, Kevin Lachoff. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Irving Schwartz died Oct. 10, at the age of 88. He is survived by his brother, Charles Harris. RL Malinow-Glasband-Weinstein.

Sarah Sheon died Oct. 4. She is survived by her daughters, Phyllis and Marilyn. Sholom Chapels Mortuary.

Beatrice L. Silver died Oct. 9, at the age of 84. She is survived by her son, Craig. Groman Mortuary.

Aghajaw Soleymani died Oct. 4, at the age of 87. He is survived by his sons, Habib, Joseph and David; and daughters, Mahroo Cohen and Jaffa Broukhim. Groman Mortuary.

Bernard Sollen died Oct. 2, at the age of 87. He is survived by his daughter, Elaine Glazer; and sisters, Sylvia and Miriam. Groman Mortuary.

Marvin Spiwak died Oct. 2, at the age of 73. He is survived by his brother, Dr. Bertram; and stepdaughters, Bonnie Lane and Sandy. Groman Mortuary.

Freda Sreden died Oct. 13, at the age of 90. She is survived by her son, Barry (Maxine); daughter, Sylvia (Les) Garner; eight grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren. Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuary.

Gordon Stulberg died Oct. 12, at the age of 76. He is survived by his wife, Helen; daughters, Sita Stulberg and Lysa Evans; sons, Jack and Scott; and three grandchildren. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Ebrahim Tabibnia died Oct. 8, at the age of 84. He is survived by his wife, Aghdass; son, Iraj; and daughters, Sunn Khalili, Mahvash Nadijibi and Parivash Glazer. Groman Mortuary.

Irwin Treibitz died Oct. 4, at the age of 65. He is survived by his wife, Rhoda; three son; and three brothers. Sholom Chapels Mortuary.

Audrey Vunovich died Oct. 9, at the age of 61. She is survived by her son, Steven Katz. Groman Mortuary.

Sylvia Waldman died Oct. 8, at the age of 98. She is survived by her daughter, Judith Sandler; and two grandchildren. Groman Mortuary.

Stanley Weinstein died Sept. 30, at the age of 79. He is survived by his sons, Lloyd and Larry; and daughter, Alisa Nicholl. Groman Mortuary.

Mildred Wien died Oct. 14, at the age of 84. She is survived by her sons, Victor and Robert; daughter, Juliann Howell; and six grandchildren. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Philip Louis Witz died Oct. 9, at the age of 82. He is survived by his wife, Ruth; daughter, Barbara; and brother, Bernard. Groman Mortuary.

Esther Wolinsky died Oct. 13, at the age of 84. She is survived by her daughters, Janis Kramer and Rachel; and son, Leo. Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

Obituaries Read More »

Letters to the Editor

Leave a Comment / Letters to the Editor / Jewish Journal

Conflict in Israel

I was touched by Helen Schary Motro’s story (“Our Jamal,” Oct. 13). However, there is a slight discrepancy between her article, your photo caption and Israeli news reports. The reader is given the impression that child was killed by a stray or errant bullet. Neither is correct.

According to Israeli news reports, the boy was shot a total of five times, his father eight times.Say what you will about the situation and who is to blame, but one would be hard-pressed to believe that soldiers from the world’s second-best army could have been so errant as to accidentally hit two people in a crossfire of bullets and stones. Unfortunately, the facts on the ground show that the boy and his father were deliberately shot.

Tarik Trad, Glendale

In his editorial (Oct. 13), Robert Eshman certainly oversimplifies the facts when he writes, “Israel’s existence is not threatened by the Palestinians.” Of course that’s true, but has he forgotten the five prior wars Israel had to win in order to continue its existence? The Palestinians’ brethren in the form of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, etc. – not needing much of an excuse – came to the aid of the Palestinians in their efforts to overrun the Jewish state. And that could well happen again.

Joseph M. Ellis, Woodland Hills

Over the past weeks, I have watched the news reports as the crises in the occupied territories erupted and violence begat violence begat scorn. I have been horrified and appalled to see the reaction of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Over and over again, the IDF has answered the throwing of stones and sniper fire from the Palestinians with overwhelming force that has murdered and maimed children as young as 2 years old. Some of these children were in the line of fire, some of them even throwing stones, but where in Jewish tradition does it tell us to answer stones with Uzis and mortar fire from Apache helicopters? Where?I was appalled, of course, to see an angry mob of Palestinians murder two Israeli soldiers that they, rightly or wrongly, assumed to be infiltrators or members of the Arabized forces. But I am sickened to see the IDF, a force that claims to act in the name of the Jewish people, shooting to kill children.

What really sickens me though, is the deafening silence from the Jewish left. Where are the supporters of human rights? Where are the liberals? All I have heard from the American Jewish community is a rush to defend Israel’s actions, without questioning whether they are justified or whether they are consistent with the principles we supposedly espouse. Does killing Palestinian boys make Israel or the Jewish people more secure? Does the picture of 12-year-old Mohammed al-Durrah dying in his father’s arms make Jews around the world more secure? What about the silence of American Judaism in the face of the Israeli government’s heinous overreaction?

I am numb with grief at the situation and dumb-stricken with inability to understand the larger Jewish population’s lack of protest of the actions being done in the name of Israel. Somebody please tell me I’ve missed something, some important actions that the Jewish community or its leaders have taken to hold Israel responsible for horrific events of the past weeks. Somebody please tell me what the community is doing to prevent the nightmare of us turning into the image of our old oppressors.

Sequoia Schroeder, Van Nuys, CA

Jonathan Pollard

President Clinton, give Jonathan Pollard his day in court or pardon him. Only you can bring this controversy to a conclusion. Neither George W. Bush nor Al Gore can afford politically to do something. Only you can do something. America and Israel are good friends and allies. At the very least, trade him to Israel for one of our spies. Show some good will and release Jonathan Pollard to the Israelis.

Brian Tanenbaum, Beverly Hills

Bush, Gore and other politicians want your financial support. When you receive letters soliciting your contribution, do as I do.

Send back the card in their self-addressed, usually postage-paid envelope. I write across the card, “Free Pollard now! Money later!” tell your friends and family to do the same. When candidates begin to see thousands of these cards returned, they will get the idea. Only then will they become interested in freeing Pollard.

Pollard has been in prison for over 15 years and is serving a life sentence. He is the only person in United States history to receive a life sentence for passing classified information to an American ally. The median sentence for this offense is two to four years.

Irwin Goldenberg, Lincoln, Nebraska

Joseph Lieberman

For every Jew in America – after the initial elation wore off – there were almost as many different reactions to the Democratic vice-presidential nomination of Joseph Lieberman.

Just two weeks before Al Gore announced his running mate, I had an unforgettable conversation with a Lebanese gentleman at my office after he saw an invitation to attend some DNC function on my desk.”You probably want to run for Congress yourself,” he said.

Seizing the moment, I lightly pressed it further.

“No, actually, I want to be president of the United States.”

“Too bad you’re the wrong religion. You should be what Al Gore is. I think Protestant.”His words stung me, if just for a moment. He could have said I’d never be president because I’m a woman or didn’t have enough connections, but it came to religion.

I don’t think I’ll hear those words again.

Cheryl Kane,Woodland Hills

ADL

As a contributor to the Anti-Defamation League, I was disappointed at its criticism of Sen. Joseph Lieberman for expressing pride in his religion.

While I am not Orthodox, I admire him and Hadassah for their devotion to Judaism and kvell at the great honor his vice-presidential nomination has brought to our people.

I never expected criticism of Lieberman to come from a Jewish organization devoted to fighting anti-Semitism.

Pauline Nightingale, Los Angeles

Entertainment Industry

I oppose any form of government interference in the content of any entertainment or artistic product. Such interference is wrong, whether carried out through overt regulations or pressure from someone like Joseph Lieberman.

Having said this, I am having loads of fun watching Hollywood liberals squirm under the threat of the kind of government intrusiveness that they normally endorse when it applies to others.

It is a tenet of the left that the individual citizen is not competent to make his or her own decisions in life and therefore cannot be held accountable for the consequences of his or her actions, especially when there is a handy corporate scapegoat to be set up as a target of regulation and litigation. So, if tobacco companies can be sued by people who freely chose to smoke cigarettes, then by logical extension entertainment companies ought to be liable for antisocial behavior that may have been inspired by their products.I would hope that the entertainment industry stands up for principle, but I’m not holding my breath. Businesses are driven by profit, not principle, and usually find it expedient to cozy up and cut a deal with their political extortionists. Such deals usually come at the expense of competition, innovation, consumer choice, and in the case of the entertainment industry, artistic freedom.

Frederick Singer, Huntington Beach

Treif Recipe

Your “Rosh Hashanah – The Festival of Trumpets” article (Sept. 29) contained a half-dozen holiday recipes which included “Aunt Dorothy’s Israeli Chicken.”

Many Jews, including Israelis (even ones that don’t observe kashrut), don’t mix milchik and fleishik , so that the directions (“In a heavy saucepan, saute onions and celery in butter”) would be a shanda to a good portion of your readership.

Please, no treif recipes in The Jewish Journal.

Hal Denner, Sherman Oaks

Editor’s Note: Only olive oil was listed in the ingredients, not butter. Butter was named, in error, in the instructions. We apologize.

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Be Happy Now

Leave a Comment / Weekly / Rabbi Michelle Missaghieh

Be happy now! Quick, you only have today, tomorrow and Sunday left. Hurry up! This is Z’man Simchataynu, the time of our happiness and rejoicing!

No. You’re not happy? Why not?

I always found it difficult to respond to the command of Sukkot “to be happy” on the heels of Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, we fast, don’t drink and wear white as if to act out the death of our old selves as we enter the new year. And then quickly, quickly we are told to rebuild our lives. After break fast it is a mitzvah to pick up a hammer and begin to rebuild the flimsy structure of our lives. To change our attitude from mourning to rejoicing as we throw the schach (palm leaves) on top of our sukkahs, decorate them ornately and invite guests in for celebratory meals. The sudden shift from inner contemplation to outward revelry is almost jarring. Or is it?

This Shabbat marks the end of seven days of Sukkot and the start of Shemini Atzeret, a separate eighth day holiday. Shemini Atzeret literally means the “eighth day of gathering” which is a “mikrah kodesh” (a holy occasion) (Leviticus 23:36), that was especially attached to Sukkot for Israel and God. A midrash in Pesikta Rabbati asks why it was necessary for Sukkot to be elongated into eight days. Two answers are offered. The first is that baby boys are circumcised on the eighth day. The second is that it was always God’s intention to give Israel one holiday every month of the year, but because of the golden calf incident, God took away the holidays during the three months after the holiday of Shavuot, leaving the months of Tammuz, Av and Elul without holidays. Therefore God put three holidays in the month of Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot) to make up for the lost months. Because of this, God needed to add a holiday in Tishre for the Israelites, and this became Shemini Atzeret. Based on this midrash, the purpose of Shemini Atzeret appears to be twofold: first, like that of circumcision, to recommit ourselves to our covenant with God; second, to set aside some private time alone with God, unencumbered by our past history.

With this understanding it becomes clearer as to the purpose of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret: it is to rebuild our lives slowly and delicately with the goal of happiness. Yes, Sukkot is a time of our joy, but in order for us to celebrate, we need time to reevaluate what we assume brings us joy in the first place. Which is why Sukkot is seven days. For some of us finding what makes us happy in life is easy, but that is not the case for us all. The long holiday of Sukkot is a metaphor for understanding that the process of being happy can not just take place in a snap of a finger. Therefore Shemini Atzeret arrives at the end of Sukkot as a pause, a time for us to regroup ourselves and reflect on whether the things we own, the people with whom we spend our time, our choice of profession, or the way we experience the world does actually make us happy. It is our time of “circumcision” so to speak, when like a baby we renew our covenant with God, knowing that we are still children, searching for our own unique paths to follow in the world.

Be happy? Yes, if to be happy means we must first explore what makes us happy in the first place. Only then will we be able to truly dance and sing on Simchat Torah.

Michelle Missaghieh is rabbi of Temple Israel of Hollywood.

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Missions: Impossible

Leave a Comment / Israel, Travel / Michael Aushenker

In a message dated Oct. 12, the State Department posted a public announcement on its official Web site warning American travelers to demonstrate caution when traveling to global hot spots such as Israel and Yemen. It states that “anti-American demonstrations continue to take place in countries throughout the world in response to tensions and violence in the Middle East. Some of these demonstrations have become violent and difficult for local authorities to control.” The bulletin goes into further detail suggesting cautionary protocol for American citizens traveling to these destinations.

The U.S. Government is not alone in its reaction to recent events in the Middle East. Many American Jewish travelers, including Angelenos, are thinking twice about visiting Israel. And this trend, at least in the short term, is affecting the travel business, especially agencies dependent on a high volume of tickets and tour packages to Israel.

Ron Abrams, vice president of Abrams Travel in Manhattan, told The Journal that Israel constitutes 80 percent of its travel packages.

“In the short term, we didn’t feel that it was safe for people to travel. Yes, that hurts us,” said Abrams. “In the longer term, we are still signing people up for next year, probably at a slower rate, but it’s still happening.” Abrams added that rather than canceling their trips for the November and December travel period, many are rescheduling them for next year.

Abrams added, “No matter what the situation becomes, as long as there’s some resolution, things will get back on track, but if there’s a drawn-out situation on hostilities, that won’t happen.”

The Israel Travel Advisory Service (ITAS), which has been arranging tours sending families and adults to Israel for more than 30 years, has felt the dent in business.

“Unfortunately, we had a trip due to travel yesterday, and we had to cancel the trip,” said Carolyn Hershon, vice president of operations at the New Jersey-based ITAS. “Everybody got a refund.”

Hershon has no choice but to remain optimistic: “In the life of Israel, a day is a long time and hopefully the situation will be overcome, and people will be able to go.”

“A lot of people are canceling. But surprisingly, a lot of people want to go back to show support for our country,” said Karin Tubul at the Burbank-based World Express Travel, wholesalers who act as consolidators for El Al Israel Airlines. She knew several young Israelis living in L.A. who returned to Israel because “some want to join [the] army.” Tubul, an Israeli, said that many canceling their plans are American Jews, although she admits that she herself has no desire to go to Israel right now.

Meanwhile, El Al itself is offering refunds for flights to Israel scheduled through Oct. 31. According to spokeswoman Laurie Samet, passengers may request either a full refund without penalty or a voucher for future travel, good for one year, plus a $30 coupon toward a new ticket.

Samet said, “We are getting cancellations, without a doubt, but it’s not dramatic. Our flights are going out 75 to 80 percent of what was booked. Normally, flights are booked fully.”

Smaller, independent agencies around town also have felt an impact from the change of political climate abroad.

“I’m getting no calls now for the Middle East,” said Dennis Yellen, who runs Empire Tour and Travel near downtown L.A.

Yossi Nieman, owner of Jerusalem Tours, told the Journal that 80 percent of his clientele is comprised of Orthodox families.

“I did have some cancellations before the holidays but I would say that if the Orthodox people decide to go, it really won’t stop them from going,” said Nieman, who points out that on one day during the Sukkot holidays, nearly 10,000 people showed up at the Kotel.

Also feeling the fallout of the Middle East crisis are organized Jewish community missions. The United Jewish Communities (UJC), parent organization of the nation’s Jewish federations, has postponed all but one solidarity mission to Israel for October due to participant cancellations. Nechemia Dagan, executive director of UJC overseas programs and missions, understands the current situation.

“It’s troubled here,” said Dagan. “If you are from L.A. and there are riots, you stay because it’s your home. But if you are scheduling a visit from New York to L.A. and there are riots, you will reschedule it.”

As of press time, Birthright Israel organizers said that this winter’s crop of 7,500 college-age North Americans selected for a 10-day stay abroad are still scheduled to participate in December and January.Ultimately, Abrams believed that the tension might become a catalyst for future travel revenue. Adrea Steinberg, chair of Young Judea’s seaboard region, reported that the 165 North American children currently in Israel taking part in a yearlong program have been issued new restrictions and precautions on group and individual travel.

“In the end it may have a positive effect in that many Americans – both Christian and Jewish – blame the Palestinian Authority for the violence and may show their support for Israel,” said Abrams, who based this information on people he talks to. For now, Abrams explained that his agency will ride out the furor by practicing some “fiscal conservatism” and concentrating on its travel packages to Europe. But he pointed out that as a travel destination, “Israel is a unique place. It’s not as if Hawaii had a problem and I could just send people to another island.”

Ultimately, he felt optimistic that business will endure the current season of political unrest. Said Abrams, “We’ve been there before.”

For further information on travel and safety protocol to the Middle East, go to the State Department’s official Web site at www.state.gov. American citizens who have concerns for U.S. citizen family members currently in the region should contact the State Department’s Task Force at (202) 647-0900.

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Jews of Uzbekistan

Leave a Comment / Travel, Worldwide / Richard S. Gunther

What and where is Uzbekistan? Following the breakup of the USSR, Uzbekistan is an independent country of 23 million people, located in central Asia, west of China.

There are three theories on when Jews came to Uzbekistan:

1. A myth-like tale claims they are part of the tribe of Naftali that fled to Central Asia following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.

2. A more authenticated story is that they fled the persecution in Persia under King Peroz in 458 to 485 C.E.

3. They came in the seventh century along the silk road, primarily as merchants.

Whichever story you accept, there is a long history of a Jewish presence in this area. In the ninth century, the city of Samarkand had 50,000 Jews, and the Jewish population of Uzbekistan in 1989 before the mass emigration was 120,000. Today it is estimated that between 15,000 and 20,000 Jews remain. The number is uncertain because only now have many surfaced who did not identify as Jews under Soviet rule for fear of discrimination.

Over the centuries, the fortunes of the Jews rose and fell with the pains and progress of the region, home to many people whose names at best are only faintly familiar to us in the West: the Sardians, the Achemid Empire, Massagetai, Kushans, Ephthilites, Genghis Khan’s empire, the Timurids of Tamerlane, and many others, not to mention Alexander the Great, the Turks and the Soviets. It’s a land torn by centuries of warfare; Samarkand has been razed eleven separate times.

In spite of difficult periods in the past, today there is no prejudice against Jews. They’re respected more highly than the Russians, whose oppression of Central Asians during the Soviet era is well remembered. However, Uzbekistan is a poor country, suffering from a crippling inflation. In six years, the cyn (local currency) has gone from 11 to the dollar to the current price of over 800 to the dollar, decimating savings and creating economic havoc. A poor economy combined with rising Uzbeki nationalism means that few employment opportunities are available for ambitious young Jews, who have been leaving the country, going primarily to Israel and the U.S. Only in Tashkent, the major city, are some career opportunities available with foreign companies that are entering the country seeking to develop the extensive oil resources.

In spite of this questionable future, the city of Bukhara’s 1,300 Jews have a vibrant Jewish school and two active synagogues. Through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), our guide to Jewish Bukhara was 19-year-old Artur Davidov, son of the president of the Bukhara Jewish Community. Davidov, the local schochet, spent a year in Israel and is planning on making aliyah upon completing his university training, citing the lack of opportunity for a creative career in Bukhara.

The vitality of Jewish school No. 36 was electric. The school leaders are Uzbekis who emigrated to Israel, were educated there and returned to their native country full of energy, purpose and enthusiasm. As the principal told us, “I’ll be the last one to go.” Funding for the school comes primarily from the New York Syrian community through a yeshiva in Israel, plus the JDC and the Jewish Agency.

In Morocco, we saw this same process. Jews are leaving, not because of overt prejudice, but seeking a healthier, more fulfilling life. They do not leave out of fear or despair, but with hope for a richer life elsewhere. Perhaps the opportunities in Tashkent will allow a surviving Jewish remnant to remain. Only time will tell. The Jews of Uzbekistan are living in the midst of a mass migration, an oft-repeated saga of the Jewish people.

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Tropical Transplants

Leave a Comment / Travel / Kimberlee Roth

Though Christopher Columbus stumbled onto the shores of the Dominican Republic more than 500 years ago, the city of Sosua, only a few miles from where he landed, is about to celebrate its 60th anniversary.
When a group of 40 Jews climbed ashore, bereft of their possessions and loved ones and surrounded by jungle, they couldn’t help but wonder what was in store.

“I could see some houses. I was surprised when I saw lights,” said Martin Katz, 82, one of the original Jews to settle in Sosua, along the north coast of the Dominican Republic, in 1940.

Two years earlier, while the Evian Conference on Refugees was taking place in France, ships carrying fleeing European Jews were being turned away from safe harbors, and the doors of asylum were slamming shut around the world.

Within a month after the conference, during which delegates from 32 countries expressed sympathy for refugees but few opened their doors to them, the Dominican Republic’s dictator, Gen. Rafael Trujillo, offered to issue visas and resettle up to 100,000 Jewish refugees.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee helped organize resettlement efforts and made an initial investment of $200,000, which was to be paid back as the community became self-supporting. The purchase agreement with Trujillo, transferring the land to the settlement association and granting citizenship and religious freedom to all refugees, was signed in January 1940.

Over the next few years, more than 600 Jews came to Sosua, mainly from Germany and Austria. After learning the basics of farming, settlers were given opportunity to purchase 80 acres of land, 10 cows, a mule and a horse, explained Katz, who recalled paying $10 per month for his low-interest homestead loan.
The Sosua Jews built workshops, a sanitation system and a clinic. They established a school and a dairy, Productos Sosuas, both of which are still in use today. They brought malaria under control too, said Katz, who managed the dairy for 29 years and “made very good cheese.”

The transition from urban sophisticate to tropical farmer was not easy, and once the war ended, many Jews emigrated to the United States. Those who stayed have developed Sosua into a thriving tourist center, where the cultures of visitors and locals alike intersect readily – as do streets with names like Calle Dr. Rosenberg and Calle David Stern.

The shul, built by settlers, contrasts rather sharply with Sosua’s barrio of El Batey. The grounds of the temple, shaded by palm fronds and bordered by tall hibiscus, offer respite from the brutal Caribbean sun and incessant buzzing of motorcycle taxis as they weave among cars. The beat of salsa and merengue is palpable everywhere.

The small Jewish community, numbering “a few dozen,” according to one resident, meets occasionally for services and for Chanukah, Purim and Passover celebrations. For the past couple of years – since a visiting rabbi and cantorial student from Buenos Aires returned home after spending a year each with the congregation – lay leaders have conducted services.

Locals are familiar with the synagogue and quickly offer directions when asked. In response to a question about Jews in his country, a non-Jewish Dominican businessman said, “We have Jews,” and rattled off a few names. “Well, they are Dominicans,” he said, “but their roots are Jewish.”

Besides a handful of original settlers, now in their mid-80’s and 90’s, some children and grandchildren of settlers remain and have made their lives in Sosua.

Felix Koch, 82, still runs his guesthouse with his native Dominican wife, Gloria. Of his life he says, “The past is the past. I am here. I am at peace. I am happy.”

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Partners in Profit

Simchat Torah

Leave a Comment / Community / Jewish Journal

When: Sundown on Sat., Oct. 21, to sundown Oct. 22.

What:

Simchat Torah ends the days beginning with Sukkot (which began last Friday night) that are known as Z’man simchateinu (season of our joy). The day before Simchat Torah (beginning sundown Oct. 20) is called Shemini Atzeret, which, loosely translated, means “the eighth day of assembly.” Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are often thought of as the eighth and ninth days of Sukkot, but they comprise a holiday separate from Sukkot, which lasts seven days, and in Israel, they’re observed on the same day.

A post-biblical festival conceived in exile, Simchat Torah celebrates the presence of the Torah in the lives of Jews. Congregations read the very end of the Torah and begin again with the first verses of Genesis. The holiday is marked by singing and dancing, similar to that of a wedding. Just as a bride and groom dance with each other at a wedding, on Simchat Torah we hold the Torah in our arms and dance joyously.

What you’re supposed to do:

Go to synagogue. More than even the High Holy Days, Simchat Torah is a shul-based holiday (after all, that’s where the Torah scrolls are).

What happens:

Shemini Atzeret is marked by two special observances: a memorial service honoring the dead and the first recitation for the season of the prayer for rain.

In the Simchat Torah service, the congregation recites or sings “Atah horeita” (“You have been shown”), a series of verses in praise of God and Torah. Then the ark is opened, all the Torah scrolls are taken out, and there’s a series of seven hakafot (processions) with the scrolls, interspersed with bursts of singing and dancing.

Everyone in the congregation is given an opportunity to carry or dance with a scroll (though women may not have a chance to do so in some Orthodox synagogues). The scene becomes a joyous pandemonium of adults and children alike marching, dancing, singing, shouting, and waving flags.

After the processions, a traditional congregation will read the end of the Torah up to the last few verses during the evening service, continuing with those final verses and the beginning of Genesis the next morning (after another round of processions). In a liberal synagogue, the reading of the end and the beginning of the Torah may be combined in a single service.

Some synagogues hold a ceremony called “consecration” at Simchat Torah, during which religious school students in kindergarten or first grade are welcomed into the study of Torah and given toy Torah scrolls.

What you eat:

While Simchat Torah is not closely associated with particular foods, cakes and other sweets symbolizing the sweetness and joy of Torah are common, especially sweets made with stretched dough such as strudel and baklava.

More details about Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret can be found online at sites such as Virtual Jerusalem (www.vjholidays.com) and the Orthodox Union (www.ou.org) or in books such as “The Jewish Holidays” by Rabbi Michael Strassfeld and “Jewish Literacy” by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin.

What To Do With Your Kids

A selection of this week’s Jewish events for children:Ongoing:

“Kids Kehilla” at the Westside JCC emphasizes performing arts and multimedia projects which focus on Jewish values. For children 6-13. Mon.-Thurs., 3 p.m.-6 p.m. For more information on enrollment, call (323) 934-2925.Monday, Oct. 23 Bernard Milken Jewish Community Campus: 6:30 p.m. Israeli teen pop comes to the Valley with a live performance by Tze’irei Tel Aviv, “The Young Tel Avivians.” Their 30-minute performance will consist of contemporary and pop Israeli music, sung mostly in Hebrew. 22622 Vanowen St., West Hills. For reservations or more information, call (323) 761-8161.Friday, Oct. 27 Sukkot Temple Beth Hillel: 7:15 p.m.-7:45 p.m. “Tot Shabbat” service with stories and songs selected for their appeal to toddlers and preschoolers. 12326 Riverside Dr., Valley Village. For more information, call (818) 761-6983.Also, many synagogues have Simchat Torah celebrations especially for children. Call your local synagogues for more information.

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Family Habit

Leave a Comment / Community / Jill Suzanne Jacobs

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.

We are what we repeatedly do, Aristotle taught us. Speak of Torah to your children in your home and on your way, our liturgy directs us, in the morning and at night, and it will become a habit as routine as brushing your teeth.

Making Torah study a family habit is something you can incorporate into your family life. Your Torah study habit can be as informal as making a point to discuss Jewish topics during car drives or as formal as setting aside a particular time each week for Torah study.

For young children this can simply mean singing Jewish songs or reading a particularly Jewish story. For older children, but even children as young as 4, you can have discussions around the dinner table one evening a week. (Hint: Make it Friday night and you will have started a Shabbat tradition.)

But what if you don’t know Hebrew, never studied the Bible – or if you did, didn’t like it or forgot about it. Fortunately, today there are many resources for families and many options for incorporating Torah study into family life. Here are a few of the several resources for family Torah study on the Internet:

The Reform Movement’s Web site, www.uahc.org, has two sites that provide information and guidance for Torah study with children. One is “Shabbat Table Talk,” which provides home study materials on the weekly Torah portion. The other site is the “Jewish Parent Page” which informs and educates about Jewish holidays and their customs.

Torah Aura, at www.torahaura.com, an offbeat Jewish publisher, produces several materials that families can use at home. “B’Shivtekha B’veitekha” (“as you sit in your house”) provides information, illustrations and discussion questions on the weekly Torah portion. At $45, it is rather pricey, so if you affiliate with a Jewish organization – a Jewish community center, synagogue, or day school – you might want to suggest to your Jewish educator that he or she purchase and distribute it. Other less expensive options from this publisher include “My Weekly Sidra,” which provides a short activity for the weekly Torah portion. This is suitable for families with children aged 5-7; the cost is $9.95. For older children, I would recommend “Torah Toons II and I.” They will love the comic-book approach to Torah study. The cost is $10.95.

While the options listed above involve more formal study, you should not be afraid to do something that suits your needs and interests.

There are many collections of Jewish stories that can become part of your family’s Torah study habit. After all, Torah in the broadest sense includes not only the five books of Moses, but also all of Jewish literature. More important than the actual content of the learning is the process itself.

When you make a habit of Jewish learning with your children, you send a powerful message: that Jewish learning is fun, important, and a regular part of life.

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Family Habit

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