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Jewish Journal

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May 17, 2001

Anne Frank’s Changing Image

Leave a Comment / Anne Frank, Scene and Heard /

Fifty-six years after Anne Frank perished in Bergen-Belsen, her life and legacy loom larger than ever.

A powerful four-hour miniseries, taking Anne from her happy schooldays, through her two years in hiding in Amsterdam, to her final days in the concentration camp, airs nationally over ABC-TV on May 20 and 21.

The 20th Century Fox studio is developing a feature movie based on “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

A new edition of the diary, including five previously secret pages describing her parents’ difficult marriage, was released in March. Since its initial publication, the diary has sold 25 million copies in 55 languages.

The Helios Dance Theater last month premiered “About Anne: A Diary in Dance” in Los Angeles.

An interactive CD-ROM, titled “Anne Frank House: A House With a Story” was released earlier this year and offers a virtual tour of the warehouse and its secret annex where the Frank family hid.

In Boise, Idaho, ground has been broken for a $1.6-million Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial and Park.

What accounts for the continuing, even escalating, worldwide fascination with Anne Frank and her elevation to, arguably, the foremost icon of the Holocaust?

“The basic story is extraordinarily engrossing. It has suspense, romance, tragedy and potential uplift,” said Prof. Lawrence Graver of Williams College in Massachusetts, who has written extensively on Anne Frank, including the entry in the current Yale Encyclopedia of the Holocaust.

“Reading her diary is a convenient way, a hook, to introduce the Holocaust to, say, eighth-graders in Iowa,” Graver added. “It still has its uses, if you put it in the proper context.”

“Anne wrote with great insight. She was an appealing girl, but one who can be easily exploited,” observed Prof. Marvin Prosono, a sociologist at Southwest Missouri State University and a respected authority on Holocaust literature.

“People read the diary because they think they are learning about the Holocaust. But what they are getting is a safe and sanitized version, without the pain,” noted Prof. Emeritus Lawrence L. Langer of Simmons College in Boston, who has published widely on the literature and testimony of the Holocaust.

“Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl” first came out in 1947, when Otto Frank, Anne’s father and the sole survivor of the family, persuaded a Dutch publisher to print 1,500 copies.

The father and the publisher agreed to excise parts they felt unsuitable, mainly those dealing with Anne’s feelings about her identity as a Jew, her sexual awakening, and her ambivalence about her mother and her parents’ loveless marriage.

Thus edited, the book’s attempt to homogenize Anne’s character and universalize her fate was compounded, in the eyes of critics, in the 1955 play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.

The Broadway production, peaking with Anne’s uplifting curtain line, “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are really good at heart,” was a commercial success and won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony.

To Langer, however, “The play was dreadful, and the movie [in 1959] even worse.” He suggests that had Anne survived Bergen-Belsen, she would have repudiated the curtain line and other feel-good homilies contained in her diary.

What upsets serious Holocaust scholars most is that through her commercial popularity, Anne is seen widely as the primary spokesperson for the Holocaust.

“Anne was, excuse me, a pisher,” Langer said. “She was smart, but she was 14 to 15 years old; you couldn’t expect her to be profound.”

Agreeing, Graver said, “The impact [of the diary] is all out of proportion to its part in the Holocaust.”

Cynthia Ozick, in a 1997 New Yorker essay, went so far as to ask whether history might have been better-served if the diary, so easily reduced to kitsch, had been lost or destroyed.

The Anne Frank cult has taken some bizarre forms. Otto Frank’s second wife told Graver of her correspondence with an Anne Frank Protestant Church in Japan that had a picture of Jesus on one wall and a picture of Anne on the other side.

But even as the critics were nagging, the interpretation of the diary and hence the persona of Anne Frank were changing. One factor in the ongoing re-evaluation was the discovery of five pages given by Otto Frank to a friend that contained much of the material Frank had earlier expunged.

In addition, writers and filmmakers started talking to Anne’s classmates and friends, who had either known her during her schooldays, while she was in hiding, or during her last months in the concentration camp.

One result was a 1995 Oscar-winning British documentary, “Anne Frank Remembered.” Then, in 1997, Wendy Kesselman wrote a tougher adaptation of the earlier Broadway play. And one year later, Austrian writer Melissa Muller published a thoroughly researched biography of Anne, which formed much of the basis of the ABC miniseries.

But as the perception of Anne has changed, so has the infighting about who owns the “real” Anne Frank.

From the very beginning of the diary’s initial publication, the late American writer Meyer Levin fought an obsessive and unsuccessful battle to present a more realistic and Jewishly identified picture of Anne to the public.

In recent years, the Anne Frank-Fonds in Basel, which owns the copyright to the diary, and the rival Anne Frank House in Amsterdam have been jealous and litigious guardians of her legacy.

Pressure from the Fonds forced ABC to drop its original plan to film the “Diary” and to draw instead on the Muller biography. Steven Spielberg, who had signed on to produce the ABC project, withdrew to avoid unseemly public controversy.

One of the virtues of the ABC version is to place Anne and her family firmly within a Jewish context. “There have been past attempts to universalize Anne, but the fact is that she died because she was a Jew,” said Kirk Ellis, who wrote the script for the telefilm.

Whatever the revisions by scholars or objections by critics, it is likely that the compelling figure of Anne Frank will continue to live in the minds of millions of schoolchildren and other readers far into the future.

Anne Frank’s Changing Image Read More »

Tattoo Jew

Leave a Comment / Community, Up Front /

During the Israel Festival at Woodley Park on Sun., April 29, 1,500 people left with a unique souvenir: a political tattoo. The temporary tattoo is a replica of the “Ha’am Im HaGolan” (“The Nation Is With the Golan”) bumper sticker popular among many Israelis and some Diaspora Jews.

At its festival booth, the organization Friends of the Golan showed off new real estate developments available for purchase on the Golan Heights, high-tech jobs and several charitable projects from The Golan Fund. In addition, the booth featured current projects sponsored through Los Angeles-based donations: a park at Kibbutz Afik and Park Baruch, to be built in Keshet. Dennis Van Meter of Kibbutz Afik helped anchor the volunteer crew at the festival.

In addition, more than 300 people signed a petition expressing unequivocal support for the people of the Golan and Israel.

Friends of the Golan, Los Angeles, can be reached at golanusa@hotmail.com or by calling (310) 586-1792.

Tattoo Jew Read More »

UCLA Football Player Keeps Kosher

Leave a Comment / Education, Sports, Up Front /

Eyoseph Esi Efseaff is a rising star as offensive lineman on the UCLA football team, but when he arrived at the campus on his initial recruiting trip, he startled the coaches with an unexpected request.

He was hungry, said the 6-foot-3-inch, 282-pound athlete, but, he insisted, the food had to be strictly kosher.

Unfortunately, it was a Friday evening, and the frantic coaches learned that all nearby kosher restaurants were closed for Shabbat. Finally, they tracked down some prepackaged kosher meals at the UCLA hospital.

Efseaff, an 18-year-old freshman, is not Jewish. He is a Russian Molokan, one of a group of Christian dissidents who broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century. They refused to recognize the religious supremacy of the czar and follow the Bible literally — including the dietary laws detailed in Leviticus.

Molokan in Russian means "milk-drinker," an appellation derived from the group’s defiance of the prescribed Orthodox fast days by drinking milk.

An outstanding football and track star in his high school in Portervile, near Fresno, Efseaff was courted by most Pac-10 football teams. He picked UCLA, he said, because the presence of a small Molokan and large Jewish community in Los Angeles would assure a ready supply of kosher food.

On campus, he orders his weekly supply of kosher food on Mondays, stores it in a small refrigerator in his dormitory room, and microwaves the meals as needed.

On the road, the team flies in kosher food if it’s not available locally, and Efseaff bring along his own paper plates and plastic utensils when he travels.

Bruin offensive line coach Mark Webber is high on his freshman star, on and off the field.

"To have that kind of discipline that he has in his spiritual life and his diet and all that, it tells you something about the man," Webber told the Los Angeles Times. "He’s a different young man. He’s all business, very intense, and that’s just the way he plays."

The freshman’s great-grandparents on both sides immigrated from Russia to California, where most of the estimated 20,000 ethnic Molokans in the United States live.

Efseaff grew up on a farm with two brothers and five sisters. His father, Esi, is somewhat worried about his son’s departure to the big city.

"We don’t want him to just go off where he never comes home again," said the father. "Our religion, our people, we’re very tight. We want him to marry of his own faith. It’s very diverse there [at UCLA]. We’re being very cautious and taking each step cautiously with a lot of prayer."

Young Efseaff is not only muscular but smart, graduating from his high school with a 3.9 grade point average. He is planning on a career in sports medicine but has already ruled out a future with an NFL team.

Most NFL games are on Sundays, and he will not play on his religion’s prescribed day of rest.

UCLA Football Player Keeps Kosher Read More »

Red Sea Holiday

Leave a Comment / Travel /

Nobody takes Eilat too seriously — which is a good thing. Poised on the cusp of the Red Sea, this resort city at the southern tip of Israel is where Israelis and others go to unwind. During the short, cold days of winter, northern Europeans by the planeload come to soak up the guaranteed sunshine.

Although Eilat is also a port, its resort attractions have caused a building boom. Bright white hotels in every conceivable style have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain — although with an average of less than two inches precipitation per year, there’s little chance of rain in Eilat. As a result, the city has expanded: north into the Aravah Valley and up the lower

slopes of the Eilat Mountains, which stand in garnet-colored ranks along the city’s western edge. The focus, however, is still the narrow curve of the Red Sea.

A broad, busy promenade swings along part of Eilat’s shoreline. Here tourists lounge in cafes, children clamor for rides on the Ferris wheel, street vendors sell T-shirts and tchotchkes, and tony shops display upscale goods. Beyond the bustle, the Eilat area offers a wealth of natural beauty and human history.

Where sea and sand meet are beaches, aqua waters and vivid coral reefs. At the city’s back, the rugged Eilat Mountains are a desert tapestry of sculpted canyons and scenic panoramas. The sweep of the Aravah Valley provides shelter for wolves, gazelles and hyenas, as well as ostriches and countless other birds. In fact, the Eilat area is a birder’s dream. One of the world’s greatest flyways, the Aravah sees more than a half-billion birds fly along its length during spring migration.

South of the promenade, the place to sample the coral
reef is Coral Beach Reserve, one of Israel’s many protected natural areas (www.parks.org.il ). The reserve rents snorkeling equipment, and it is just a few steps farther to the reef, which parallels the shoreline. A footbridge spanning the reef ends at a ladder that allows you to step into an enchanting underwater garden full of corals, clownfish, wrasse and parrot fish, among hundreds of species in a kaleidoscope of colors. For those who want more, dive companies take both snorkelers and scuba divers out to reefs.

CoralWorld displays many of the same fish — with IDs —
as well as sharks and rays. One exhibit tells how CoralWorld’s research team
restores populations of large, endangered sea turtles. Aside from the gift shop
and cafeteria, the most popular spot is the marine observatory. Sunk deep into
the Red Sea, the observatory lets visitors peer into the actual reef (www.coralworld.com ).

Nearby, Dolphin Reef Eilat offers another Red Sea
adventure. This complex includes a beach, restaurant, dive center, and
activities for young children. The real activity is in the water, where
visitors, accompanied by guides, snorkel and dive with dolphins. Don’t know how
to dive? They’ll teach you (www.dolphinreef.co.il ).

Eilat’s southern beaches are the best for lounging on warm sand. Here the sea is floored with sand rather than coral, which makes it a good spot for swimming. If it’s birding you want, go to North Beach. Dawn and dusk are the best times to see birds; spring and fall migrations are the best seasons to see them, seemingly without number. During migration, birders from around the world go to North Beach and the adjacent salt marshes to spot herons and buzzards, bee-eaters, kingfishers and hundreds of other birds.

Follow signs north along the sandy road from North Beach to Eilat’s International Birding and Research Center’s bird-ringing station, where visitors and schoolchildren learn how researchers track birds from here to Europe and Africa (www.arava.org/birds-eilat). The birding center’s office in Eilat sells a guidebook to other good birding spots in the southern Negev Desert.

Not far from Eilat are a number of great day trips. Timna Park, about 16 miles north of Eilat, is the site of one of the world’s oldest mines. Look for the turnoff to Timna on the west side of Route 90. At the park entrance, purchase tickets and maps, and check the schedule for park interpreters’ demonstrations of how miners used the simplest materials to smelt copper 5,000 years ago.

From the visitor center, a drive winds past dramatic boulders and cliffs. At a handful of stops along the way, short self-guided hikes and interpretive signs present views of soaring Solomon’s Pillars, ancient mine shafts, and a temple to the hawk-headed goddess Hathor, complete with rock carvings. Back at the visitor center, a snack bar, small lake, and picnic grounds wrap up a pleasant trip.

About five miles north of Eilat, also on the west side of Route 90, the road to Amram’s Pillars is a bit rough, but not too bad. Where the dirt road splits, the right-hand track leads to a small parking lot, views of the wildly crenellated cliffs, and hiking trails that wind through part of the Eilat Mountains.

Yotvatah Wildlife Reserve lies on the east side of the
road about 25 miles north of Eilat. The reserve, which protects, breeds, and
reintroduces wildlife native to the Negev, allows visitors close-up views of
elegant caracal cats, Negev wolves, striped hyenas and huge lappet-faced
vultures. An interpreter-guided car caravan takes you through part of the vast
reserve. Here, ostrich, oryx, desert asses and gazelles roam, at home in the
Aravah (www.parks.org.il ).

Traveling west from Eilat, Route 12 passes the Mount Yoash observation point. On a clear day, you can see Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia from its broad back. Farther up the road is the turnoff for the Red Canyon, a short and easy walk away and remarkably scenic. Its serpentine twists and turns, softly sculpted by wind and water, are shades of red, while the upper canyon glows stark white.

Although you can experience the southern Negev from the
back of any number of camels, one of the best camel outfits is Camel Riders
Desert Exploration Tours. Their trips last anywhere from a couple of hours to a
couple of weeks, from a quick snapshot trip to a journey tracing biblical
routes. They are a bit out of the way but worth the journey (www.camel-riders.com ).

After adventuring, it’s nice to return to a clean room and sit-down meals.

Of Eilat’s many accommodations, here are a few
suggestions. For completely extravagant accommodations at prices to match, the
Eilat Princess (www.eilatprincess.com) has built a fantasy land with pools,
grottoes, theme rooms, and restaurants with views worth the price of the meal.
The Marina Club Eilat and the Riviera Apartment Hotel (www.kibbutz.co.il) have
lots of amenities — including pools and kitchenettes — but are moderately
priced. For a low-cost, clean, well-lighted place, the best bet is the Eilat
Youth Hostel, which has dorm rooms with a bathroom down the hall but also has
family rooms with private bathrooms (www.youth-hostels.org.il ).

Restaurants abound, but the Last Refuge is among the best for fish and Au Bistro for French cuisine. Mai Tai has good Thai food at moderate prices, as does the Golden Duck, which is kosher. For parents of fussy eaters, there’s the ubiquitous Pizza Hut.

Michal Strutin’s new book, “Discovering Natural Israel” (Jonathan David Publishers), will be a main selection of the Book of the Month Club/Traditions.

Red Sea Holiday Read More »

Training for Terror

Leave a Comment / Family, Israel, Worldwide /

Poli, an attorney from Munich who preferred not to give his last name, decided to train as a security officer after his best friend was killed in a terrorist attack in an Egyptian coffee shop.

"I wanted some peace of mind, the knowledge that I could defend myself and my family, if the situation should arise," said Poli, a lanky corporate lawyer who does much of his business in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union and who refused to give his last name.

Where did Poli decide to go to learn how to defend himself?

Israel. And he’s not alone — hundreds of people come to the Jewish state every year to learn security tactics.

Poli is finishing up an intensive International Security Academy (ISA) training course in Israel, where he spent four weeks learning the ropes from some of the best in the business — former Israeli commandos.

He has lost a few pounds, and his chest is bruised from shoving and punching during training, but he says he learned how to deal with almost any potentially dangerous situation.

"This kind of training gives you self-confidence," Poli said. "I’m not as big as some of these guys, but I can outrun most of them."

The ISA was founded by David Mirza, a former high-ranking security officer who, like most of his 30 instructors, is still active in the Israeli security forces. The robust, jovial Mizna usually stands on the sidelines, occasionally shouting words of encouragement as the trainees wrestle, tussle and knee one another to the ground.

As Poli takes on two of his fellow trainees, sticking his regulation rubber knife in one and kneeing the other in the groin, Mirza smiles and claps, calling out, "And he’s a lawyer!"

Most of the participants present are professionals or would-be security personnel from countries including Russia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Greece.

But more than a few are simply ordinary people who paid from $2,500 to $8,800 to spend 17 hours a day, for a minimum of one to four weeks, to learn how to detect, deter, push, kick, shove and, if necessary, shoot an attacker.

Most of the training takes place on the rolling lawns of Hotel Kibbutz Shefayim, about eight miles north of Tel Aviv. As the trainees go through their morning session of hand-to-hand combat and simulations of drive-by shootings, guests arriving at the kibbutz hotel do a double take.

It’s a surreal scene, watching this group of men — dressed in regulation black pants, royal blue ISA T-shirts and dark sunglasses — as, grunting and grimacing, they throw one another to the ground.

Most of the participants are well aware of where they are and why they’re being trained by Israelis. "Everyone knows the Israelis are the best at this kind of training," said Rohit Handa, a wiry Scottish investment banker who wanted to toughen himself up for future business trips in Russia, India and the Middle East.

About 60 percent of the ISA training is theory, with daily classes on becoming aware of one’s surroundings and avoiding potential confrontations. After the participants have learned surveillance and avoidance techniques, they move to hand-to-hand combat, learning the unique Israeli "unarmed protection" methods.

The trainees practice combat shooting every day at facilities in nearby Kfar Saba and Caesarea, but the instructors emphasize that a gun is always a last resort.

"Israelis do a few things differently that are very natural, much simpler and more sensible," said Andrew, a Swiss security executive and ISA graduate who visits the program on a regular basis to scout out potential employees, and who also refused to give his last name. "There’s no kung fu here."

There’s no question that this group of 20 is enjoying the running, kicking, grunting and sweating of the intensive training. And it is mostly a male group, aside from two women — graduates of the program — who often serve as targets in various exercises.

As a training exercise, the group took a field trip to Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, where Yigal Amir assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in November 1995. The group went over each step of Rabin’s walk through the "stitching points," the open, vulnerable area he passed through between the building and his car.

Their conclusion? Despite some inexplicable security lapses, Amir succeeded primarily because of his determination to kill the peace process. "It’s impossible to be 100 percent secure," Andrew admitted. "When suicide bombers want to get in, you can’t keep them from doing it. But you have to make it more difficult for them."

The current security situation in Israel didn’t deter any of the ISA participants. In fact, most of them view the crisis as additional proof of their instructors’ real-life credentials.

Most ISA trainees may not ever be in such a tense situation, but they say their experience in Israel at least makes them more aware of potential dangers.

"There’s been more crime, more drugs in Germany ever since" the Berlin Wall came down, Poli said. "Terrorism is on the rise, and it makes you realize it can happen anywhere."

Training for Terror Read More »

Precise Bestiality

Leave a Comment / Entertainment /

Fifteen high officials of the Nazi regime gathered Jan. 20, 1942, at a formerly Jewish-owned villa in Wannsee, on the outskirts of Berlin, for a meeting which lasted — including three breaks for refreshments — less than two hours.

At the meeting’s conclusion, the SS and civilian officials had put in place the blueprint for the Final Solution of the Jewish problem in Europe.

A "dramatic reconstruction" of the fateful Wannsee conference by HBO Films will air Saturday, May 19, at 9 p.m.

The meeting was chaired and dominated by Reinhard Heydrich, second only to Himmler in the SS hierarchy and known as "the Hangman" throughout occupied Europe, and was coordinated by his deputy, Adolf Eichmann.

Eichmann prepared 30 top-secret and heavily edited copies of the meeting’s minutes, or protocols, of which only one survived the war.

These minutes form the basis of "Conspiracy" and, like most such documents, make for dry reading. More than half the participants were lawyers, among them, top bureaucrats of the foreign and justice ministries, and the Nazi penchant for euphemisms further obscured the real purpose of the meeting.

For instance, the words "extermination" or "killing" are never mentioned, with "evacuation" serving as a stand-in.

Scriptwriter Loring Mandel and director Frank Pierson thus have their work cut out for them in recreating the characters and infusing life into the discussion without straying too far from historical accuracy. Even more difficult is the task of creating a sense of tension or conflict in what was essentially an assembly of yes-men.

Kenneth Branagh plays Heydrich (who, even by Nazi standards, was a singularly cold-blooded killer) with proper authority and a certain sardonic wit.

We know more about Eichmann than any of the other participants, and Stanley Tucci accurately catches the nervous officiousness of the middle-level bureaucrat.

The most complex character in the film is Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger, state secretary of the Reich chancellery (well-acted by David Threlfall), who seemed to be the sole participant to have a sense of the enormity of the mass murder being contemplated. But even he caves in when Heydrich exerts some judicious pressure.

Two scenes, when the film hews closest to the original minutes, boggle the mind, even after all we have learned in the past 50 years.

One is the obsessive preoccupation of the Nazi leaders in defining the exact percentage of Jewish blood in half-, quarter- and one-eighth Jews, which determined their order in the extermination timetable.

The second is that even after German armies were stalled, before Moscow and after America had entered the war, Hitler’s minions were sure that they would dominate all of Europe.

The Wannsee Conference laid out precisely how many Jews would have to be "evacuated" to make Europe Judenrein. The number came to 11 million and included not just the Nazi-occupied countries and allies but the Jews of Great Britain and those of neutral Ireland, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland. Not even the 200 Jews of Albania were overlooked.

"Conspiracy" will be repeated May 22, 27 and 31, and June 4, 9 and 13. Check local stations for times.

Precise Bestiality Read More »

New Aspects of Anne

Leave a Comment / Books, Entertainment /

Let’s say it right up front: The four-hour television miniseries "Anne Frank" is the most powerful film on the Holocaust in recent memory, not excepting the fabled "Schindler’s List."

The conclusion comes as a surprise, not least to this reviewer. Who would have thought that a commercial network could create such a film, shorn of false sentimentality, on an icon as thoroughly explored and exploited as Anne Frank, the most famous diarist of World War II?

The second surprise is how much we didn’t know about Anne’s life, even after all the books, plays, movies and documentaries. For Anne’s life didn’t begin in June 1942, when she went into hiding and started her diary, and it didn’t end in August 1944, when her "secret annex" was discovered.

"Anne Frank" airs from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. May 20 and 21. Because of the concentration camp scenes, the film may not be suitable for younger children.

The telefilm is not based on the diary — due to copyright disputes, not a single line from her writing is used — but on the thoroughly researched 1998 biography of Anne by German writer Melissa Muller.

We first meet Anne in 1939 as a precocious 9-year-old schoolgirl of whom her father observes, "God knows everything, but Anne knows everything better." We see her last, emaciated, her clothes filthy and torn, ridden with lice and typhus, just before her death in March 1945 in Bergen-Belsen, weeks before the camp’s liberation.

Those familiar only with the original "Diary of a Young Girl" — which has sold 25 million copies in 55 languages — and its feel-good assertion that "I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are really good at heart," will be shaken by the ABC production.

The rough edges of daily life in the warehouse hiding place, especially Anne’s views of her parents’ loveless marriage, which had been expurgated by Otto Frank, are explored in the film, as they are in the latest revised edition of the diary.

But the film’s wrenching impact hits hardest in the last hour, after the eight occupants of the secret annex are arrested, transferred to a Dutch transit camp, then sent by sealed box cars to Auschwitz, and, for Anne, her sister Margot and their mother, to the final destination of Bergen-Belsen.

There are horrifying scenes at the camps, where the women are stripped naked, their hair shorn and their wedding rings wrenched from their fingers. Even the most blasé viewer of past Holocaust movies and documentaries will be shaken by the depiction of routine life at Bergen-Belsen: the fierce struggles for a piece of bread or pair of socks, and, especially, the day-by-day decline of Anne, as she sinks into an abyss of filth, disease and hopelessness.

The impressive cast is headed by Hannah Taylor Gordon, a 14-year-old Londoner who has never had a formal acting lesson. Gordon, who is not Jewish, bears a remarkable physical resemblance to Anne Frank and portrays her from age 9 to 15, from happy schoolgirl to scarecrow Bergen-Belsen inmate, with astonishing fidelity.

Veteran actor Ben Kingsley plays Otto Frank, Anne’s father, in a restrained performance, and pays Gordon the ultimate compliment by judging her the best leading lady he has encountered in a long professional career.

Others sharing the hiding place and Anne’s ultimate fate are Brenda Blethyn, Tatjana Blacher, Joachim Krol, Jessica Manley, Nick Audsley and Jan Niklas. Lili Taylor is Miep Gies, the Franks’ lifeline to the outside world.

Rumanian-born Robert Dornhelm, who lost most of his relatives in the Holocaust, directs, and Kirk Ellis wrote the superb screenplay.

The only regret is that viewers will not be able to watch "Anne Frank" without commercial interruptions. However, in a gesture not to be underestimated in a money-driven medium, ABC has decided to keep the film’s final hour free of commercials.

New Aspects of Anne Read More »

Calendar & Singles

Leave a Comment / Entertainment /

Calendar

SATURDAY/18

Beth Shir Sholom: 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Minyan Del Mar Shabbat celebration, including service with music, children’s program and lunch. 1827 California Ave., Santa Monica. For more information, call (310) 453-3361.

The Westside Jewish Theatre Project: 7:30 p.m. “The Rabbi of Oy,” musical by Kids On Stage, based on the kids’ own experiences as Jews. $7 (adults); $4 (children 3-12); free(children under 3). Beth Shir Sholom Temple, 1827 California Ave., Santa Monica. For reservations or more information, call (310) 314-0035.

Los Angeles Yiddish Culture Club: 8 p.m. “David Hofstein, the Poet of Affection and Courage,” lecture by Yiddish poet Moshe Shkliar, followed by a musical performance by singer Risa Igelfeld. Free (members); $4 (guests). 8339 W. Third St., Los Angeles. For more information, call (310) 454-3687.

SUNDAY/20

Project Chicken Soup: 8 a.m. Meet to cook warm kosher meals for people with illnesses, or meet at 11:45 a.m. to deliver the meals. Hirsh Kosher Kitchen, 338 N. Firfax Blvd., Los Angeles. For more information, call (323) 655-5330.

Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy: 10:30 a.m. Mother-Daughter Scholarship luncheon honoring four faculty members, including a boutique and raffle. $65. 9120 W. Olympic Blvd., Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 276-6135.

Descendants of the Shoah: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Meeting for descendants of Holocaust survivors and their families at a private home, with lecture, “Chicago 2002; Living the legacy,” by Michael Zolno and Darlene Basch, in the interest of maintaining links between survivors’ offspring. For more information, call (818) 788-8811.

B’nai Tikvah Congregation: 2 p.m. Rummage sale. 5820 W. Manchester Ave., Westchester. For more information, call (310) 645-6262.

Stephen S. Wise: 2:30 p.m. Performance by the Youth Orchestra, a mixture of classical music and Jewish repertoire. $5. Milken Community High School, 15800 Zeldins Way, Los Angeles. For tickets or more information, call (310) 440-3500 ext. 3344.

Temple Ramat Zion: 7 p.m. “Does the Soul Survive,” lecture and discussion by Rabbi Elie Spitz regarding life after death. 17655 devonshire St., Nirthridge. For more information, call (818) 360-1881.

MONDAY/21

Jewish Family Service of Orange County: 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Parenting support group to help parents deal with childhood anger, anxiety and peer pressure, every Monday. 250 E. Baker St., Suite G, Costa Mesa. For more information, call (714) 445-4950.

Ketubah B’nai Brith: 12:15 p.m. Abe Saslow tells Yiddish tales and jokes and leads a discussion about the present Israel situation, including drinks and food. Congregation Mogen David, 9717 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. For more information, call (310) 203-0649.

West Valley JCC: 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. “Rays of Optimism,” lecture by Dr. Levon Quasabian regarding new breakthroughs in oncology and hematology. Free (members); $4 (nonmembers). 22622 Vanowen St., West Hills. For more information, call (818) 464-3300.

Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity: 7:30 p.m. “Mizrach,” collection of classical Middle Eastern music and poetry derived from the Hebrew and Arabic cultural heritage, performed by Synergy, an ensemble devoted to portraying Jewish culture. $12. Greenway Court Theatre, 544 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles. For tickets or more information, call (323) 658-5824.

TUESDAY/22

Temple Ahavat Shalom: 9:30 a.m. Bible study class, studying Judaism with a contemporary viewpoint, every Tuesday. 18200 Rinaldi Pl., Northridge. For more information, call (818) 360-5947.

West Valley JCC: 10 a.m.-noon. Senior Shalom Club meets every Tuesday to have a coffee and bagel brunch, hear a speaker and watch entertainment. Today: singer Vicki Dupre and pianist Jack Nye. $2 (members); $6 (nonmembers). 22622 Vanowen St., West Hills. For more information, call (818) 464-3300.

East Valley Senior Center: 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Support group for people who are over 55 and living alone. Through June 26. 5000 Colfax Ave., North Hollywood. For more information, call (818) 766-5165.

Jewish Family Service of Orange County: 7 p.m. Support group for adults and their children dealing with divorce. 250 E. Baker St., suite G, Costa Mesa. For more information, call (714) 445-4950.

Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Bus tour of the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, displaying artwork from the Americas, Africa and the Pacific Rim, with special exhibit, “Trilogy of Glasswork.” $9. For reservations or more information, call (626)798-1161.

WEDNESDAY/23

Temple Ahavat Shalom: 9 a.m. Mommy and Me classes for babies 4-24 months. Also: 10:30 a.m. seniors group meeting offering activities, entertainment, meals and trips. $2. 18200 Rinaldi Place, Northridge. For more information, call (818) 360-2258.

Dutton’s Bookstore: 7 p.m. Ralph Fertig reads an excerpt from his book, “Love and Liberation: When the Jews tore down the ghetto walls,” and discusses 18th century Jewish ghettos. 11975 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood. For more information, call (818) 970-1780.

Conejo Jewish Day School: 7 p.m. “Why I Send My Child To Jewish Day School,” lecture by KRLA talk show host Dennis Prager. $18. 30345 Canwood St., Agoura Hills. For reservations or more information, call (818) 879-8255.

Temple Judaea: 1 p.m. “Anti-semitism in the Arab World,” lecture by Fred Diament, past president of the 1939 Club, along with refreshments. $1. 5429 Lindley Ave., Tarzana. For more information, call (818) 705-3557.

West Valley JCC: 10 a.m.-noon. Discussion about literature by famous authors with Susan Mahler every Thursday. 22622 Vanowen St., West Hills. For more information, call (818) 464-3300.

THURSDAY/24

University of Judaism: 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Tour of Mormon Temple Hill, with discussion of the parallels between the Mormon lifestyle and Judaism, followed by refreshments. $22. For reservations, location or more information, call (310) 440-1246.

FRIDAY/25

Cheviot Hills Senior Citizens’ Club: 10:45 a.m. Meets for entertainment, trips, bingo, guest speakers and luncheons. $1.50 (members); $1.75 (nonmembers). 2551 Motor Ave., W. Los Angeles. For more information, call (310) 652-7508.

Kehillat Israel: 6:30 p.m. Service of Jewish meditation with liturgical chants. 16019 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. For more information, call (310) 459-2328.

UPCOMING

Iranian American Jewish Association (SIAMAK): Sun., May 27, 8 p.m.-midnight. Dinner dance gala celebrating Shavuot and the organization’s 22nd anniversary, including a three-course meal and dancing with music by Helen. $75 ($600 per table of ten). Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, 1700 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica. For tickets or more information, call (310) 843-9846.

Democrats for Israel: Thurs., May 31, 7:30 p.m. “The Fate of the Ten Jewish Prisoners in Iran,”lecture by Mayer Kameron, followed by a discussion session, with refreshments. Workmen’s Circle, 1525 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles. For reservations or more information, call (310) 285-8542.

 

 

Singles

 

SATURDAY/19

Mixed Support Group: 11 a.m.-12:30 a.m. Support group for singles and divorced people. $100 (four sessions). 11110 Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 202, W. Los Angeles. For more information, call (310) 281-8476.

Jewish Singles Meeting Place (30’s & 40’s): 7:30 p.m. Going to see the comedy, “Good Thing.” $15. Taper Too Theatre, Hollywood. For tickets or more information, call (818) 780-4809.

Jewish Association of Single Professionals: 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Cocktail and dance party with a live band, appetizer buffet, dessert and no-host bar. $20. Sportsmen’s Lodge, 12833 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. For more information, call (323) 656-7777.

SUNDAY/20

Jewish Nexus: 7:45 a.m.-8 p.m. Tour of wineries in Santa Ynez Valley with wine tasting, followed by a walk through Solvang. $20 (in advance); $25 (on day of event). For carpool meeting locations or more information, call (562) 799-9965.

Hadassah Vanguard Singles: Noon-3 p.m. Potluck picnic and sports. For location or more information, call (310) 276-0036 ext. 22.

New Age Singles (55+): 2 p.m. Going to see “Out of Order,” followed by a no-host dinner at the Eclectic Cafe. $22 (members); $25 (guests). El Portal Theatre, 5257 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. For more information, call (818) 347-8355.

Jewish Singles Meeting Place (30’s & 40’s): 2:30 p.m. Country line dancing lessons, followed by a buffet lunch at Cowboy Palace in Chatsworth. For reservations or more information, call (818) 343-1846.

Project Next Step (22-29): 5 p.m.-7 p.m. “The Singles Havurah,”discussion regarding the relationship between a connection to God and a connection with other people, followed by dinner and socializing. $10 (or bring a single Jewish friend of the same gender). For more information, call (310) 552-4595 ext. 21.

Gary’s Place: 5:30 p.m. Dinner and socializing. Shalom Pizza, 8715 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. For more information, call (310) 276-5442.

Klutz Productions (21+): 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Dance party with
full bar, outdoor patio and music by DJ Kev. E. Kev. $10. Belly, 7929 Santa
Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. For more information, e-mailklutzproductions@aol.com .

MONDAY/21

Israeli Dance: 8 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Open dance session every Monday. Also: Israeli dance lessons every Thursday. $6. 2244 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles. For more information, call (800) 750-5432.

TUESDAY/22

Jewish Family Service: 2:15 p.m. Support group discussing the aging process, loss and how to build new relationships, for single or widowed women every Tuesday. Valley Storefront Center, 12821 Victory Blvd., North Hollywood. For more information, call (818) 984-1380.

Bridge for Singles (59+): 7:30 p.m. Intermediate players meet at a private home in West Los Angeles. $4. Also meets Saturdays and Thursdays. For more information, call (310) 398-9649.

WEDNESDAY/23

Jewish Singles Volleyball: 6 p.m. Play volleyball every Wednesday in Redondo Beach, followed by dinner and drinks at a nearby restaurant. For more information, call (310) 783–0689.

THURSDAY/24

Social Circle (35-59): 7 p.m. Party with karaoke, dancing and singing, drinks and dessert. $12 (members); $16 (guests). Stephen S. Wise Temple, 15500 Stephen S. Wise Dr., Los Angeles. For more information, call (310) 889-2345.

Project Next Step (20’s & 30’s): 7 p.m. Lecture by David Weiss, Emmy-nominated screenwriter of “The Rugrats Movie,” as part of the Town Hall Meeting series. Refreshments served before the session. $5. 9911 W. Pico Blvd., Suite 102, Los Angeles. For reservations or more information, call (310) 552-4595 ext. 21.

FRIDAY/25

Stephen S. Wise Temple: 7 p.m. Service every Friday, with a chorus and cantors, followed by a cappuccino bar and Israeli dancing. 15500 Stephen S. Wise Dr., Los Angeles. For more information, call (310) 889-2345.

UPCOMING

Jewish Association of Single Professionals: Sun., May 27, 7:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Dance party with music by DJ Steppin’ Out, appetizer buffet, dessert and no-host bar. $20 (in advance); $25 (at the door). Marina del Rey Hotel & Marina, 13534 Bali Way, Marina del Rey. For tickets or more information, call (323) 656-7777.

Jewish Singles Meeting Place (30’s & 40’s): Mon., May 28, 2 p.m. Memorial Day barbeque and swimming at a private home in North Hills. $8. For reservations or more information, call (818) 893-4879.

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7 Days In Arts

Leave a Comment / Picks and Clicks /

Saturday, May 19

The man behind The Comedy Store, whose career has
brought him onstage with the likes of Elvis and Barbra, has a new message for
audiences. Sammy Shore would like to tell you why “70 sucks.” The
septuagenarian’s latest solo show, “…But First, Sammy Shore,” which ironically
plays in the same complex as the upbeat “Funny, You Don’t Look Like a
Grandmother,” offers up the wry humor of a still-spry guy. $17.50. Saturdays
7:30 p.m.; Sundays 5:30 p.m. Through June 3. The Other Space at Santa Monica
Playhouse, 1211 Fourth St., Santa Monica. For tickets, call (310) 394-9779 ext.
1.

Sunday, May 20

On a quiet morning in London, Ella receives a visit from
the wife of the SS officer who had arrested her as a teen in Germany, more than
40 years before. Harris W. Freedman’s psychological drama “Ella’s Secret” plays
out the tension between the two women in a staged reading at the Workmen’s
Circle/Arbeter Ring. This first presentation of “Ella’s Secret” in Los Angeles
is directed by and stars Los Angeles’ doyenne of Jewish theater, Alexandra More,
with Edith Fields in the title role. $10 (general admission); $5 (children under
18). 2 p.m. 1525 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles. For reservations or more
information, call (310) 552-2007.

National Book Critics Circle Award-winner and former New
York State poet laureate Sharon Olds reads today in the final installment of
this year’s RATTLE poetry series at the Skirball. The Berkeley-born poet is
known for the physicality of her language and her fearlessness in describing
often difficult familial relationships. $5 (general admission); Free (students).
2 p.m. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. For
tickets, call (323) 655-8587.

Monday, May 21

The Synergy performance ensemble returns tonight with
its fourth concert performance of the 2000-2001 season. In “Mizrach,” the
seven-member music and voice ensemble present new, classical Middle Eastern
music and poetry, derived from Hebrew and Arabic sources. $12 (general admission
); $10 (seniors); $7 (students). 7:30 p.m. Greenway Court Theatre, 455 N.
Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles. For more information, call (323) 658-5824.

Tuesday, May 22

Peter Forgacs’ evocative use of found home movies edited
to form telling documentary films, in collaboration with composer Tibor Szemzo,
has resulted in a number of powerfully personal lessons in history. Tonight, the
Getty Scholar presents “Angelos’ Film,” from the secret recordings of Greek
businessman Angelos Papanastassiou, which captured the atrocities of the Nazi
occupation of Greece. 7 p.m. Harold M. Williams Auditorium, Getty Center. For
reservations or more information, call (310) 440-7300.

Wednesday, May 23

Two great instrumentalists from the Indian music stage
hit the Cotsen Auditorium stage tonight and Thursday for a Skirball “World
Mosaic” concert. Pandit Shivkumar Sharma has for over 40 years been creating a
place in Indian music for his instrument, the santur, a Sufi folk instrument
with hammered strings akin to the dulcimer. Tabla virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain
has regularly accompanied superstars like Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan,
George Harrison and Van Morrison. $28 (general admission); $25 (members); $20
(students). Wed., May 23 and Thu., May 24, 8 p.m. Cotsen Auditorium, Skirball
Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. For tickets, call (323)
655-8587.

Thursday, May 24

Born in Tashkent, in the Soviet Union, immigrated to
Israel at the age of 15 and an American citizen since 1989, renowned concert
pianist Yefim Bronfman guests with the L.A. Philharmonic this week in “A Russian
Finale” concerts featuring works by Rimsky-Korsakov and Rachmaninoff. The
tricultural pianist is honored tonight following the concert at a reception
hosted by the America Israel Cultural Foundation. Concert and reception $75;
concert only $10-$70; reception only $50. Concert also performed Wed., May 23, 8
p.m.; Sat., May 26, 8 p.m.; Sun., May 27, 2:30 p.m. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion,
135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles. For more information, call (310) 476-5397.

Friday, May 25

The second of three Murray Mednick plays in Padua
Playwrights Productions’ season is “Joe and Betty.” A poor, Jewish couple in the
Catskills in 1951, the title characters engage in a lyrical sort of verbal
sparring that director Diane Robinson compares to “[Be-bop pianist] Bud Powell
in a synagogue.” Tonight, final preview performance, $10. Opens Sat., May 26.
$20. Thu.-Sun. 8 p.m. Through June 23. 2100 Square Feet, 5615 San Vicente Blvd.,
Los Angeles. For reservations, call (323) 692-2652.

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A Father’s Loss

Leave a Comment / Books, Entertainment /

Against the Dying of the Light: A Father’s Journey through Loss" by Leonard Fein (Jewish Lights Publishing, $19.95)

In January 1996, Leonard Fein’s daughter Naomi, called Nomi, collapsed and died of cardiac arrest. A pacemaker had resolved a previously diagnosed heart problem, but no one had any clue that Nomi harbored another fatal condition. All involved, her physicians, her husband, her father, two sisters, mother and wide circle of friends were shocked and unprepared for her death. Her own daughter, Liat, was just 16 months old. Liat was with Nomi when she was stricken.

Fein walks us though numbness, shock, grief and acceptance. Pointedly, we are never told precisely the medical cause of Nomi’s death. Scientific names here do not interest Fein, a veteran journalist (and a Journal contributing writer), editor, social activist and crusader. (Two Los Angeles Jewish social action institutions, MAZON and Koreh L.A., flow from Fein’s public engagement.) Covering five years, Fein distills the disjointed, painful sorrow of a bereaved parent.

Along the way, one discerns a certain ruefulness. "When the buses in Israel were bombed a month after Nomi died, I experienced something that felt strangely close to envy…. I wanted … the death, if death there had to be, to be part of a larger story." Fein’s impulse is not strange at all. Ariel Glaser’s death prompted Elizabeth and Paul Glaser to establish the Pediatric AIDS Foundation; Grace Ann Monaco’s loss was a factor that led to the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation, a help-and-advocacy group for pediatric cancer patients. Some, like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, founded by Candy Lightner after her daughter’s death, have radically changed our views.

But Nomi’s death was not, to Fein’s passing chagrin, "socially meaningful." It simply happened, and he grows older and Liat grows up. Fein had stopped wrestling with God long before, although as a passionate Jew raised inside Jewish tradition, he held on to rituals, songs and even the blessings. Nomi and her husband David’s more intense religious commitment seemed to bemuse him. Nonetheless, he took comfort in the waves of community that surrounded Nomi’s family, during the funeral and across the years.

Threaded against his grief is his memory. Liat, too young when her mother died, would not have memories of the child that Fein had raised with his ex-wife to accomplished adulthood. But he hopes that she will, through interaction with Nomi’s friends and family, get some idea of what her mother was, some sense of "Nominess." He hopes that Nomi’s younger sister, Jesse, will, if not impart "Nominess" to Liat, at least teach her "Jesseness," for Jesse, as did Liat, never had a moment without Nomi until her death.

How to answer the most difficult question a bereaved parent faces: How many children do you have? "I hesitate: I cannot say ‘two’; that would be a betrayal. Yet if I say ‘three,’ the next question is typically, ‘And where are they?’ So I preempt the question, volunteer that one has died." So Fein writes in the first year of his grief. Fein doesn’t revisit the matter during his five years of journal and journey. It is the question that does not disappear. Later, perhaps, he became adept at deflecting it, keeping distant, keeping quiet, keeping ahead of the inevitable, trivial exchanges.

At Jesse’s wedding, 18 months after Nomi’s death, Liat, the flower girl, "stopped and looked around, confused" for a moment after starting up the aisle. Her Aunt Rachel took Liat’s hand and led her, and the rest of the family and friends, to "push open the doors of joy."

Fein learned to laugh and smile again. His reminders do not evaporate, however, nor would he have them do so. He claims his daughter’s passions and hopes that her daughter will claim them also. He hopes too that Liat will know what Nomi’s family was, her immigrant great-grandparents, her grandparents committed to social justice. In the end, Fein cannot give his granddaughter her mother, only his sense of her. He can give her a book, a letter, vanished hopes and the poignant memories.

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