March 14, 2002

7 Days In Arts

Leave a Comment / Entertainment, Picks and Clicks, What's Happening / Solange Borna

Saturday, March 16

Hear, taste, see, smell, touch the Jewish spirit when
art and religion blend at “Bezalel Community Arts Festival.” The cultural
celebration, part of The Brandeis-Bardin Institute’s three-day artist retreat,
invites the public to experience Judaism through the sounds of The Klezmatics,
Vocolot and Craig ‘n Co.; the stories of Danny Maseng; and the dance of David
Dassa. Festival participants can interact with roaming folk dancers, artists,
and storytellers while soaking up an ethnic food buffet, exotic libations and
crisp, spring air. $35. 1101 Peppertree Lane, Brandeis. For reservations and
more information, call (805) 582-4450 or log onto www.thebbi.org.

Sunday, March 17

Shake off the shamrock shenanigans, and head out to the
Westside Jewish Community Center for a production of “Cantorial” by Ira Levin. A
yuppie couple hears Hebrew chanting after moving into a condo that was once a
synagogue. Len Lesser (Uncle Leo in “Seinfeld” ) stars in the comedy directed by
Alexandra More (“Love is Ageless”). Refreshments will be served. Tickets are $10
(members) and $12 (nonmembers) with a $2 discount for seniors and students. 5870
Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. For more information, call (323) 938-2531.

If you’re feeling more like a homebody, break out the bucket of buttered popcorn and take in a night at the movies… from your own couch. Showtime presents “The Believer,” the provocative story of a Yeshiva student who chooses to lead a neo-Nazi youth group. Ryan Gosling (“Remember the Titans”), Summer Phoenix (“The Faculty”) and Billy Zane (“Titanic”) star in the tale of conflicting identities. The film, written and directed by Henry Bean, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival 2001. The film airs at 8 p.m.

Monday, March 18

What wine should you serve with brisket? What about
chicken? When it comes to serving at meal at Pesach, there is no such thing as
too prepared. Tonight, Kesher Sinai presents “Kosher Wine Tasting for Passover”
a fun, tasteful and informative evening to help you decide what wine is right
for those very important four glasses. Bring on the Mogen David! 7:30 p.m.-9:30
p.m. The Wine House, 2311 Cotner Ave., Los Angeles. $20 (members), $25
(nonmembers). (310) 481-3243.

Tuesday, March 19

Take a break from cleaning chametz, and catch a special
pre-Passover performance of “From Out of the Narrow Straights.” This new play,
written and performed by Sulam: Stephen S. Wise Temple’s Jewish Theatre
Collective, journeys from the mind into the desert, exploring the richness of
Passover along the way. After the workshop production, the cast will breakdown
traditional Passover rituals, the haggadah’s storytelling techniques and
practical ways to explore your own Pesach journey. 7:30 p.m. at The Skirball
Center Magnin Auditorium. 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. Tickets $12
(general), $10 (Skirball and Stephen S. Wise members), $6 (students). For more
information, call (310) 440-4500 or log onto www. skirball.org

Wednesday, March 20

Spend a day with the movies as the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences presents two stirring exhibits. “Great Women of Film:
Photographs by Helena Lumme and Mika Manninen” showcases 30 women from a
wide-range of industry fields including lyricist Marilyn Bergman and producer
Jane Rosenthal. The exhibit “Reds and Blacklists in Hollywood: Political
Struggles in the Movie Industry,” narrated by Peter Coyote, uses 14 visual areas
to present the story of those involved with one of the biggest controversies in
Hollywood. Free. Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon-6 p.m.
through April 21. 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.

Thursday, March 21

The Grateful Dead meets Shlomo Carlebach when the
Moshav Band hits the L.A. music scene. The band, hailing from Carlebach’s home
turf (Moshav Me’or), takes its cue not only from the popular musical rabbi, but
also from popular American music. Moshav names Jerry Garcia, Phish, Dave
Matthews and Neil Young among their influences. Check out their play list for
yourself, when the band takes the stage at The Gig. $7 (21+ only). 10:30 p.m.
7302 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. For more information, call (323) 936-4440 or
visit www.moshavband.com

Friday, March 22

E=m(comedy)2. What if Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso
and a time-traveling “Jailhouse Rocker” threw a few drinks back at a Parisian
bar? The Company Rep takes on this scenario in Steve Martin’s comedy “Picasso at
The Lapin Agile,” about a fictional meeting of some of the largest influences on
the 20th Century. Runs Friday 8 p.m.., Sat. 2 p.m. & 8 p.m., and Sun. 2 p.m.
at the Circle Theatre at the El Portal Center for the Arts. 5269 Lankershim
Blvd., North Hollywood. $25 (Friday, Saturday evening and Sunday matinee), $20
(Saturday matinee). For more information, call (818) 508-4200.

7 Days In Arts Read More »

Remembering Danny

Leave a Comment / Community / Tom Tugend

When Daniel Pearl was a baby, his parents noticed a curious omission in his genetic makeup — he was born entirely without malice.

“When he was a few months old, we had to pull out a cushion on which he was lying. Danny didn’t cry, he just rearranged his position,” recalled his father, Dr. Judea Pearl.

The ability to quietly adapt and cope with any situation characterized the life of Pearl. The Wall Street Journal reporter, who was kidnapped and slain in Pakistan while working on a story about Islamic extremists, was remembered by relatives and friends at a private memorial service.

It was this adaptability and a knack for getting out of tight situations that buoyed the hope of his wife, parents and friends during an almost monthlong wait after Pearl’s abduction on Jan. 23.

“We were sure that some good fairy would take care of him, and she did for 38 years,” said his father.

More than a dozen speakers at the 2 1/2-hour service, held March 10 at the Skirball Cultural Center, testified to Pearl’s lasting impact on their lives and to his astonishing range of interests.

There was the accomplished musician and violinist, the goofball kid, the brightest student in the class who never showed off and the klutzy baseball player who somehow always came up with the ball. Later, he became the journalist who talked to any stranger and found even boring people intriguing, who looked for the shades of gray in the world rather than the obvious black-and-white extremities.

Then there was the son of Israeli-American parents, growing up in the San Fernando Valley, who in his last words before his execution, affirmed his Jewish identity (see story page 32).

A slide show and video collage illustrated some of the stages in his life: the bar mitzvah celebration at the Western Wall in Jerusalem; a trip to Moscow in 1986, where he met with Russian-Jewish refuseniks and was instrumental in bringing one family to the United States, and a journey on the Trans-Siberian railroad to China, where he conducted an impromptu Passover seder, using rice cakes for lack of matzah.

Some 450 invited guests attended the service, some coming from as far as Pakistan, India and England. One guest was boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who had made an impassioned plea for Pearl’s release.

In words and song, those on the stage and in the audience, celebrated Pearl’s extraordinary life and gift for friendship. Rabbi Harold Schulweis of Valley Beth Shalom recalled a man who “saw journalism as a calling” and was relentless in his search for truth.

LA-Shir, a Los Angeles Hebrew choir, formerly directed by Judea Pearl, sang “Uf Gozal,” a Hebrew song that included the lyrics “Take wing, nestling/ Cut through the heavens/ Fly wherever you wish/ But don’t forget/ There are vultures in the sky/ Beware.”

In a different musical style, members of Pearl’s old band, Clamp, performed a song composed during a jam session to help a pregnant friend deliver her overdue baby. The refrain was, “Come out, come out, the world is not such a bad place.”

The last speaker was Pearl’s wife, Mariane, who is expecting their first child, a son, in May.

“Living with Danny was like living in a comic book. So many things happened to us all the time,” she said.

When they married in 1999, the couple wrote their own wedding contract, in which they pledged to be open to all cultures and to inspire others by the example of their own relationship.

Shortly before Pearl was kidnapped, his pregnant wife asked him whether, after moving from Paris to Bombay, they might finally settle down. No, he replied, “We’re going to change the world.”

Mariane Pearl concluded by saying, “I have made a commitment that Danny will live through me and my son…. They may have blown out a candle, but the light is still on.”

Two funds have been established in the slain journalist’s memory. The Daniel Pearl Foundation is to support causes that inspired his life, including promotion of cross-cultural understanding and prevention of hate-based violence.

The Daniel Pearl Memorial Trust will benefit his wifeand their son. For details, log onto www.4charity.com/danielpearl .

Remembering Danny Read More »

Who’s Who in the Valley Secession Fight

Leave a Comment / Community / Wendy J. Madnick

This is the first in a multipart series looking at the Jewish community and Valley secession. Let us know what you think about secession by taking part in our secession forum at www.jewishjournal.com/forum.

The acronyms and titles relating to the Valley secession movement have been thrown around for months, if not years: LAFCO, Valley VOTE, One Los Angeles. But who are the names and faces behind these organizations?

Rumblings about the Valley needing to break off and care for itself have been heard around the Southland since the early 1970s. It took until 1998, however, for a petition drive to finally get secession examined as a serious possibility.

This latest push for an independent San Fernando Valley has been driven primarily by two men: Jeff Brain and Richard Close, the founders of Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment (Valley VOTE).

Close, an attorney and one of the proponents of Prop. 13, has served as president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association for more than two decades and has made many powerful connections to help support the organization.

But it is Brain who, more than anyone, has come to embody the fight for secession. In the four years since The Journal first visited him, the already-lean activist has grown thinner and grayer, his boyish enthusiasm for the cause replaced by a steady, almost grim determination to see the issue through to the end.

He is clearly tired of being called naive, of being told that secession is just a dream and ultimately unworkable, pointing to the March 2001 report released by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) that states otherwise.

If the people of Los Angeles "can get past the sound bites and get the facts, the residents will realize this is a windfall for them," Brain said. "By having a smaller Los Angeles, the city will reap the same benefits as the Valley. LAFCO has shown the city won’t lose a dime, and even South Central will benefit by having a greater voice in a smaller city."

Brain, who has bachelor of science degrees in both accounting and finance, can pull numbers off the top of his head to support almost every argument in favor of secession. He accuses the anti-secession movement of using scare tactics, such as claims about less police and higher water bills, to turn Valley residents against breaking away.

"The truth is our budget shows more money devoted to police and fire, not less," Brain said. "And we just had a decision by LAFCO that, as part of the terms and conditions for the breakup, water and power will be provided at the same rate."

The argument that the opposition is going to make is that "the Valley won’t have the same clout, that we won’t be able to get state and federal grants [for city programs]," he said. "But we will be the sixth largest city in the nation. If Memphis and Miami can get grants, so can we. The problem now is that Los Angeles gets grants, but they don’t flow through to programs in the Valley."

For Brain and the others at Valley VOTE, the five or six years of effort that has gone into putting secession on the political map may finally pay off, but at what price? This is the question anti-secessionists clamor to get answered.

While Mayor James Hahn is probably the best-known public figure fighting against secession, the spokesman for the organized opposition is usually Larry Levine. A political consultant who ran the campaigns of Georgia Mercer (currently serving on the Los Angeles Community College Board) and most recently for his son Lloyd, who last week won the Democratic spot for the 40th District Assembly seat race, Levine is one of the founders of One Los Angeles, which is battling the Valley VOTE drive (Mercer and political consultant Samantha Stevens are co-founders).

"Breaking up the city will not solve any of the problems the secessionists purport it will solve," said Levine, a San Fernando Valley resident since 1949. "Secession comes with a huge price tag of unanticipated risks, risks we don’t see as worth taking."

Levine is also skeptical of polls showing widespread support for secession. The most recent, a KABC-TV poll in February by News/Survey USA, showed that 59 percent of respondents (Valley residents only) supported becoming a new city, while 34 percent opposed the idea. Levine disagrees.

"I like to talk about my deli and coffee shop poll," he said. "Go to 10 different delis — Nate’s, Art’s, Fromin’s — on 10 different days and ask the people if anyone there is talking about secession. The answer will be ‘no.’

"I don’t think people in the Valley are really that interested in secession. I think there’s just a small group of people who’ve been beating their drums for 30 years and are finally getting attention."

Among Jewish politicians, the secession issue presents an interesting challenge: not only whether to support it but also whether to share their views and risk alienating a portion of their constituency. Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky serves on the LAFCO board and has let it be known he is determined to remain neutral. Outgoing Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg drafted the legislation making a study of secession possible but has said he opposes a break-up, preferring to look for alternatives such as the creation of a borough system similar to that of New York. Still, his name has been floated as a possible candidate for mayor of the new city should the Valley secede.

One staunch supporter of secession is Richard Katz, a former state assemblyman who currently serves on the state’s Water Resources Control Board. Some have speculated that his involvement in Valley VOTE stems from a desire to run for office in a new Valley city, but Katz said that was "not happening."

Katz made an unsuccessful run for Los Angeles mayor in 1993 and also lost a state Senate race against Richard Alarcon in 1998. For now, Katz said, he is content with serving on the Water Board and running his private consulting firm.

"I think secession presents an opportunity to have a more representative government, a greater quality of life and a government that is more responsive and more efficient," Katz explained. "When I initially got involved with Valley VOTE, they were asking a lot of the same questions I’d always wanted answers to: how much money was being spent in Los Angeles? Why wasn’t there an asset list for the city? How come the Valley got shortchanged on services? It always surprised me how 10 years after the bond measure passed for more police stations, they finally broke ground for a station in the Northeast Valley."

Katz’s counterpart on the anti-secession side is former Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Feuer. Currently an attorney in private practice, Feuer has written and spoken vociferously on the issue but is not associated with One Los Angeles. He said he is passionate about keeping the city intact.

"We need to draw on each other as a source of strength instead of dissipating our energy," said Feuer. "The whole issue of secession is a distraction from efforts to solve our most serious problems."

Feuer said not only does he oppose the time and money the city is being forced to expend meeting LAFCO demands for information, but he also fails to understand why secessionists refuse to admit that the city is capable of fixing its problems in the Valley. He said that neighborhood councils, a result of Charter reform in the 1990s, have only just begun to make changes and should be given a chance.

"If you look at city government in just the last few years, we have already made tremendous changes with tree trimming, sidewalk repair and parks and recreation programs. If you go up and down the list of things the city government provides, they have improved substantially. We need to continue that momentum," he said.

With so many strong personalities involved, the battle over secession is bound to get even more attention and even more complicated as the time for a possible vote approaches. It will be up to voters — and the press — to draw the distinctions between fact and exaggeration, as well as what is important information and what is simply a distraction from the real issues.

Either way LAFCO’s decision about the vote goes, Feuer said, "we will have to look at the state of the city in a clear-eyed way and say, yes, there are problems everywhere. So where do we devote our energy? Is it to secede or to devote ourselves to solving our problems as a family?"

Who’s Who in the Valley Secession Fight Read More »

Bringing Back Memories

Leave a Comment / Community / Wendy J. Madnick

A woman in a peach-colored sweatsuit sits in a sunlit hallway at the Silverado Senior Living Center in Calabasas. Once she was a professor at a California State University campus, teaching English literature. Now, because of the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, she barely has a word to share, only a bemused smile for people she thinks she recognizes.

Can someone like this former professor possibly care that it’s Passover, much less enjoy a seder? The staff at Silverado answer with a resounding "yes." The center will hold its second annual Passover seder for its Alzheimer’s patients on March 29. Last year’s seder attracted more than 60 people, including residents, day-care patients and their families. The Jewish members of the Silverado staff who planned the event said they were amazed by the response.

"Last year, we had so many families come up and say how wonderful it was to see everyone acting appropriately, like there was no dementia in the room at all," said Cheryl Stollman, director of Silverado’s day program. "Many people talked about how their loved ones hadn’t been to a seder in years because it just wasn’t possible in their condition."

Stollman said the center put together an abbreviated version of the traditional seder, about two hours long, replete with everything from matzah ball soup to Maxwell House haggadot. Family members of patients and day-care visitors were encouraged to bring mementos of holidays past to share. The effect on the patients was profound and encouraging, Stollman said.

"Some people had not been to a seder in so many years we thought they would not care, but this turned out to be one of the things they remembered," she said. "It was good for the families, too. One resident died about a week after the seder. He had been a very religious man, and the family all commented on how wonderful it was to have one last seder with him."

Alzheimer’s disease and dementia disorders affect approximately 4 million people in the United States, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. The number is expected to grow as the world population ages — in particular the Baby Boom generation. Given these facts, the Jewish community will need to find ways to help families support affected loved ones during holiday celebrations.

Elizabeth Farr, a psychologist with a certificate in gerontology from Boston University, said Passover is a fitting time to work on including people who have memory problems in a family celebration.

"When we come to the seder, what we’re trying to do is regain a collective memory of what our forefathers and foremothers went through, and unless you’ve gone through some kind of past life regression, none of us really has that memory," she said. "So it’s kind of an even playing field."

She said she advises families of dementia patients to be creative in helping their relatives connect to the holiday.

"One idea is to have the loved one do an art project with a caregiver, to create something they can share at the seder, perhaps a memory of a past seder," Farr said. "They could also bring an object from a seder from their past, such as a seder plate or matzah cover, and place it where they going to be sitting so they have that as a reminder."

Safety issues are also key. Farr said to think about foods that could present a danger to people in the middle or later stages of dementia, who might see horseradish, not recognize it and try to gobble a large mouthful. Matzah can also be hard to swallow. Consult your rabbi to find out if it is halachically acceptable to serve frail guests egg matzah, which is softer.

Farr said people in the early stages of dementia could be asked to tell a story from a past seder. Many people with such disorders can remember the past more vividly than the present and would enjoy sharing these memories.

"Even a person in late-stage dementia can be guided to participate," Farr said. "The key is preparation. You need to give as much time to planning how to make people feel comfortable at your table as you do to planning your menu."

Bringing Back Memories Read More »

Ask What You Can Do

Leave a Comment / California, United States / Charlotte Hildebrand

Claudia Sobral, mother of three, woke up the other morning after watching a night of bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians on the BBC news, and wrote a spontaneous letter to no one in particular, hurling blind questions into cyberspace: “How can we as citizens of the world not take action against the violence that impacts all of us as human beings, impacts all of us who praise and value democratic principles?”

If nothing else, writing the e-mail relieved a bit of the frustration and sorrow she had been feeling over the ever-increasing violence in the Middle East. The next day, 35 e-mails came back, one from a woman in Brazil saying her letter had inspired her to start a peace movement.

No matter where you turn these days — synagogues, schools, parties or at work — people are frustrated over the crisis in Israel. The frustration and sorrow cuts across ideological lines: right and left, religious and unaffiliated. All feel the sting.

“I find the issue so frustrating,” says Richard Gunther, past president of Americans for Peace Now, an American Zionist organization that works closely with its sister group in Israel, Shalom Achshav. “My instinct is to support Israel, yet who wants to see [Palestinian] women and children killed? On the other hand, I understand where Sharon is coming from. What do we tell him to do? Do nothing? Turn the other check? It’s easy to criticize,” he laments, in frustration.

For Gunther and a growing number of Jews in the Los Angeles area, the need to push beyond the feelings of frustration and powerlessness is turning into action. That action ranges from travel to charitable donations to political activism to a deeper spiritual commitment. Some are organizing to repair the bias they see in the media against Israel. Others are supporting the victims of terror by lobbying for legislation in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. And others still are demonstrating for peace for Israeli and Palestinian people.

Visit Israel

Travel was once the way American Jews showed their greatest support for Israel. Missions to study and explore were to be the norm. Summer on a kibbutz or ulpan was something we dreamed about; parents spent their lifesavings to have their sons or daughters bar/bat mitzvahed at the Western Wall. But a year and a half of violence has changed all that, with tourism in Israel dropping 50 percent since 2000.

Yet, some still travel to Israel, believing that there’s no better time to show support than by being there now. Mina Ganem, from the Israeli Consulate’s tourism office, encourages the Jewish community to take the plunge. “[People] don’t have to necessarily go to the center of Jerusalem,” Ganem says. “Instead, they can winter in Eilat. It would be so meaningful and you can say to your children 10 years from now, ‘I was there when Israel needed me.'”

Rabbi John Rosove of Temple Israel of Hollywood never knew he was so loved until he returned to Los Angeles after spending seven days in Israel during one of the most violent weeks there since the Six-Day War. Congregants came up to him, grabbing him and holding him close, thankful to have him back, he said. He was part of 350 attendees at the Central Conference of American Rabbis in Jerusalem, a gathering of Reform rabbinate. “Anyone traveling to Israel today must be aware of the danger,” Rosove says. “But no matter if we travel there or not, now is the time for the Jewish community to show its empathy for Israel, whether we agree with what the government is doing or not. People from Shimon Peres down to the shopkeepers on the streets told us how deeply grateful they were for our support.”

Send Your Kids to Israel

While youth trips and summer programs to Israel have also slowed to a trickle, there are a few brave still going. Ten students from Shalhevet, a modern Orthodox high school in Los Angeles, are presently in Jerusalem studying on an exchange program and living in different people’s houses. “I think by sending students to Israel we are showing our support,” says sophomore Benjamin Braun, a staunch supporter of Israel and vice president of Israel Affairs for USY (United Synagogue Youth) at Temple Beth Am. This summer, Braun will travel with 35 other students to Eastern Europe and Israel on a USY pilgrimage.

Donate to Israel

Travel to Israel, while it may boost the morale of the locals, is not a very attractive option to most Americans right now because of the violence. And so instead of going there, many are going to donate.

Charitable contributions from the American Jewish community have always been a great support to Israel. Annually, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles raises over $13 million in support of Israel. This includes money for social services, relief efforts, aliyah, education and advocacy. With the current crisis, established fundraising activities have been stepped-up, as well as new ones created. Beginning March 24, The Federation will be launching “30 Days of Solidarity With Israel.” The Solidarity month will begin with a Web cast of the United Jewish Communities’ Israel Solidarity Rally in New York with simultaneous gatherings in 50 to 100 communities across North America.

Rally for Israel

Other local events here will try to rally support for Israel. On April 17, the 2002 Israel Independence Day Block party will be held at the UCLA Bayit, sponsored by Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Life on Campus, the Israeli Consulate and Kagdila Records. On April 21, the American Jewish community will join the American Israeli community for the annual Israel Festival at Woodley Park in Encino. All proceeds will go to support Israel. “Our goal is to activate our community’s passion and support for Israel, which it so desperately needs in this dangerous time,” Federation President John Fishel says.

“The Los Angeles Jewish community has always been
disjointed,” says Judy Kaufman, director of public relations at the Israeli
Consulate, who serves as the liaison between the Jewish community and the
government of Israel. But she believes that the consulate can help to remedy
that situation so that Jews can join together to show their support for Israel.
She encourages people to attend events and other community gatherings for Israel
that are posted on their cultural calendar (www.israelemb.org/la), support
organizations such as Shop in Israel (www.shopinisrael.com), a nonprofit
organization that offers Passover goods and other items directly from Israel, or
visit www.standwithus.com . “It empowers us to learn more about what every Jewish organization is doing to support Israel,” Kaufman says. “By showing up and attending those events, it makes a big difference.”

Support the Victims of Terror

But for some, donating to the state of Israel through a
major organization is not enough (see page 12) — people also want to help the
victims of terror. Through a program called Project Embrace, for example, Young
Israel of Century City has adopted an orphaned family of nine through Israel
Emergency Solidarity Fund — One Family, an Israeli organization that helps
victims of terror (www.walk4israel.com ). On their Web site, one can read up-to-the-minute reports of events in Israel and learn about the most recent Israeli casualties of war, by clicking onto pictures of individual terror victims.)

“My congregants have responded beautifully,” says Rabbi Elazar Muskin of Young Israel. Similarly, Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple encourages his congregation to support Israeli organizations that help victims of terror such as Israel Emergency Solidarity Fund and Magen David Adom, the national emergency medical service that provides 650 ambulances to hospitals all over Israel.

Create a New Program

Wolpe also discusses with his congregants a forum to talk about ways to help Israel. From around the community, innovative ideas are emerging. Last week, at at a meeting of Wexner Heritage Foundation fellows, an idea sprang up to help support victims of terror by opening up a psychological hotline between L.A. professionals and Israeli victims. “We are looking into ways of sharing our humanitarian resources with Israelis in need,” says Wexner fellow Rhoda Weisman who is developing the hotline idea.

Get Involved With the Media

Some new ideas aim to strengthen the media’s coverage of
Israel. At the same meeting of Wexner fellows, Selwyn Gerber, a South African
Jew, talked about the power of economics, citing how de-investment sanctions
against South Africa helped to end apartheid. He proposed a project that would
call for people to buy stocks in media companies, and, en masse, attend the
annual shareholder’s meeting to influence and rectify the media coverage of
Israel, which many feel has been biased against Israel. The nonprofit
organization Stand With Us will be sponsoring Gerber’s idea. (www.standwithus.com )

A media watchdog group, Jews For Truth Now (www.jewsfortruthnow.com ), founded by David Suissa, Mark Karlan and Newton Becker, has started a new project called Israel Task Force. Every six weeks, various groups gather at Suissa’s office to talk about what they can do for Israel. Jews For Truth Now runs advertisements to support Israel in every major newspaper and keeps tabs on media bias.

Become Politically Active

Political activism is not new to Jews. “Jews have been arguing for thousands of years; it’s what kept us warm and kept us alive,” says Robin Podolsky, a writer and Torah student who was standing with 75 men and women on Wilshire Boulevard demonstrating against violence in the Middle East. “We have to be willing to break our silence, not only as Jews, but as American citizens, if we don’t agree with what the [Israeli] government is doing. Jews in the Diaspora have as much right to a vocal opinion as Jews in Israel, because I believe we are all responsible to one another and for one another.”

Podolsky had joined a vigil in front of the Israeli Consulate with the American Friends Service Committee and Women in Black, a nonprofit organization founded in Israel 13 years ago by Israeli and Palestinian women to end the occupation in the West Bank. The group demonstrated for peace in the Middle East on March 8, International Women’s Day. A small delegation from that group took a message up to the 17th floor of the Israeli Consulate calling for immediate deployment of international monitors in Palestine. No one at the consulate was available to take the letter, but the group (known in Los Angeles as “Women and Men in Black”) plans more actions. “We know that the occupation is the source of violence,” says Israeli American Yael Korin, member of Women in Black and a research scientist at UCLA. “In Israel, Women in Black is keeping the voice to end the occupation alive.” Israel’s Women In Black has been nominated for a Noble Peace Prize.

Political activism is the heart of Americans for Peace Now (www.peacenow.org). They sponsor speakers from Israel, have state Action Alerts and do a small amount of lobbying. But their most important function is education. “Teaching the community the realities of what is happening in Israel, without representing just one side is what we do best,” Laimer says.

Go to Washington

Political activism and education is at the heart of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), a nonprofit organization whose members are drawn from various Jewish organizations, such as AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and JINSA (Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs).

According to Bruce Bialosky, president of RJC’s Los Angeles chapter, RJC leadership knows exactly where the Bush administration stands on Israel because they were the only Jewish organization that met with the president in the oval office in December, during a Menorah lighting ceremony. As fellow Republicans, RJC is in a unique position to present Jewish concerns on Israel and other issues to the Republican administration.

Another facet to political activism is lobbying for bills that support Israel and its fight against terrorism. Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has been working proactively to promote legislation to punish Palestinian terrorists. Titled the Koby Mandell Act (known in the Senate as S. 1377 and in the house as H.R. 2098), this bill would establish a new office within the Department of Justice to pursue Palestinian Arab terrorists who have killed or injured Americans and bring them to trial in the United States.

The title of the bill refers to 13-year-old Jacob “Koby”
Mandell of Silver Spring, Md. who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in
Israel in May 2001. Rabbi Dov Fisher, president of ZOA (www.zoa.org ), states that this bill will help fight terrorism and encourages the Jewish community to support these efforts.

Pray for Israel

The Jewish community has shown their stripes in support of Israel, most importantly through prayer. This past Wednesday, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel made a worldwide call to hold a day of fasting and prayer for Israel; the Orthodox Union and the Rabbinical Council of America joined that call. Yom Kippur Kattan, a day of prayer, fasting, and repentance was held in Los Angeles at Young Israel of Century City and Kehillas Yaakov. A communal mincha and ma’ariv service was held later that day at B’nai David Judea. Kehilet Orach Eliezer and Adat Ari El also held special services for Israel on Wednesday. And Adat Ari El has planned a morning Shabbat service on March 16 as a special commemoration to those who have lost their lives to terrorist attacks in Israel.

“We do what we can do for the victims of terror,” says an impassioned Muskin, who encourages his congregation at Young Israel to pray. “Prayer is to feel for those victims, and feel connected to what is happening in Israel.”

Wolpe has been talking to his congregation recently about the importance of not despairing. “Hopelessness contradicts Jewish faith and contradicts history. This is a very difficult and painful time, but despair is a sin.”

He acknowledges that frustration, anger and sorrow are all healthy responses to what is happening in Israel, but it’s too easy to slid into despair, and un-Jewish to do so. “My essential feeling is that everybody who is certain they have the solution is a little naive. No one knows what will pull us out of this. We all have our ideas, but I’m more preoccupied these days with trying to comfort those that are grieving, and support those that are fighting; less into condemning those I differ from. There have been enough diatribes in the Jewish community and it doesn’t help.”

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L.A. Jews Send Aid Beyond Green Line

Leave a Comment / California, United States / Gaby Wenig

For the past three weeks, the theme of Rabbi Elazar Muskin’s Shabbat sermons at Young Israel of Century City has been the same. Thundering from the podium, he chastises his congregation for not doing enough to support Israel, and he urges them to pray better and give more charity in response to the horrors of the terror attacks.

Like many communities in Los Angeles, Young Israel of Century City has taken upon itself the support of a large number of charities in Israel, specifically those that fall between the lines; causes that are neither affiliated with the large Jewish fundraising bodies such as The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, nor supported by the Israeli government, despite the urgency of the cause.

Across Los Angeles, grass-roots fundraising are raising money organizations to provide Jewish settlements beyond the Green Line with emergency medical equipment and facilities, first-aid kits, bulletproof vests and buses and armored cars and to help different families who have been affected by the terror attacks in one way or another.

"Unfortunately we have had to make appeals for all sorts of things," said Rabbi Yehoshua Berkowitz of Congregation Shaarei Tefilah in Hancock Park. "Security, bulletproof vests, first-aid kits for the shtachim [occupied territories]. In the past year or two we have raised about $100,000 for these causes, and it has been very gratifying, but we are paying a very small price compared to what the Israelis are paying."

"I did try to get some help from the UJC [United Jewish Communities], but I had no success," said Efrat’s Mayor Eitan Golan, who was in town last month to raise money for an emergency medical center in his city. "And from the government, the situation is not better," he said.

Although Efrat is only 9.5 miles from Jerusalem, its location beyond the Green Line means that the main road leading to Jerusalem is often sealed off for security reasons, forcing residents to travel on alternative routes that can take over an hour.

Golan, who was amazed at the deplorable state of the Emergency Medical Center of neighboring community Gush Etzion, which is located in the garage of the fire station, said that a medical center in Efrat was necessary to save lives as the first hour is critical in stabilizing the life of the patient.

The cost of the center is $1.6 million, and together with Los Angeles expatriate Harvey Tannenbaum, Golan has been knocking on doors in Los Angeles, approaching different communities for money. They made appeals at Beth Jacob, Young Israel of North Beverly Hills, Young Israel of Century City, Sinai Temple and Beth Am, among others.

"For me it is very difficult to go and ask for help, it is not my education," Golan said. "But now the situation is too serious to play honor."

"This is not an Orthodox, Conservative or Reform cause," Tannenbaum added. "We all bleed the same blood and we all need the same attention. When they attack or shoot they don’t figure out if he or she is Orthodox, or Reform or atheist, but they know that it’s a Jewish person they injured."

Steve Berger, chairman of Religious Zionists of Los Angeles, senses a similar urgency. Berger raises money for such causes as Zaka, an organization that outfits members of the Chevra Kadisha (burial society) with bulletproof vests so that they can safely enter the territories to clean up after a terror attack, and Hatzalah Judea and Samaria, an emergency medical organization that provides medical volunteers in the settlements with $1,800 and $3,400 first-aid kits.

"L.A. started the ball rolling," Berger said, noting that with the help from the L.A. community, Hatzalah Judea and Samaria’s volunteer staff has grown from seven to 400, all trained and ready to help in an emergency. Berger estimates that the L.A. community has raised at least $1 million to help causes in Israel in the past six months.

"This is nothing to do with politics, but it is simply the protection of fellow Jews," he said. "While the state of Israel continues to support Jews living in settlements beyond the Green Line, we have to go along with that."

Glen Rosencrantz, director of media relations at UJC, would not comment on the UJC’s policy with regard to the various charities mentioned in this article, except to say that , "UJC does not fund projects beyond the Green Line."

John Fishel, president of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, a member of UJC, said these groups have not approached the local Federation for help. But, he added, the current dire situation necessitates the Federation be, “creative and thoughtful in an overall communal mobilization." The Federation supported a walk for terrorist victims in which at least some monies raised went over the Green Line, Fishel pointed out. "This Federation believes that Israeli victims of terror on whichever side of the Green Line are deserving" of a communal response, he told The Journal. "We are open to sitting with any group and hearing what they do."

Golan said, "We say in Hebrew, ‘Yeshuat Hashem ceheref ayin’ — God’s salvation will come in the blink of an eye. I believe we will get the help we need."

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Moment of Truth

A Portion of Parshat Vayikra

Leave a Comment / Kids & Teens / Abby Gilad

Today we start the third book of the Torah — Leviticus. In this book, we learn a lot about the Levites (hence the Latin name) who were the priests in the tabernacle. We learn about the sacrifices that were brought. There were different sacrifices for different types of sins. If you committed a sin unintentionally, you brought one kind of sacrifice. If you committed a sin because you didn’t know it was a sin, you brought another type.

Always ask yourself this question when you’ve done something wrong: Did I do this on purpose? Did I spill the milk by accident or was I kind of hoping some of it would get on my pesky little sister? Did I know that it was wrong to play handball against my parents’ bedroom door at 7 a.m. on a Sunday, or did I truly not understand why I’m not supposed to do that?

These are hard questions to ask yourself. But you must always examine the truth of your questions. Be true to yourself and to other people around you.

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Your Letters

Leave a Comment / Letters to the Editor / Jewish Journal

Joel Kotkin

Joel Kotkin’s article on Gray Davis (“The First Jewish Governor?” March 8) truly hit the mark. It underscores the point that a number of us in the Jewish community have been attempting to make — “Not all Jews look alike … and they don’t have to think alike, either.”

The wooing of the Jewish community for its financial support was not invented by Davis, although he has taken it to a new level. This has led Jews to a false sense of security that if they just elect someone who purports to be a friend of the Jews, the other problems of our society will take care of themselves. Unfortunately, Davis is not the only beneficiary of such misplaced trust. There are a number of Jewish politicians who have likewise thrived on just such a misconception.

Now is the time for Jews to take a good look at their society, country and government, and support candidates for more reasons than just being friendly to the Jewish community. We need to be more selective. If not, we simply invite deception by those who purport to be our friends.

Jack Ballas, Pacific Palisades

After reading Joel Kotkin’s recent story, one should feel ashamed and embarrassed if he or she is a Jewish Republican or centrist Democrat. Kotkin asserts that this may be the end of an era in which Jews support politicians who take seriously the idea “that the powerful should hope to help the powerless.” He feels that Jews have lost the passion for justice and good government and, as such, “may be becoming just like the gentiles, only richer.” What a smear. It’s time for the Jewish community to look beyond the rhetoric and failed social policies of the left and see that the Republican Party offers a viable, vibrant alternative. Those Jews who believe in personal responsibility, limited government, lower taxes, education alternatives and a strong military should not be made to feel like pariahs in their own community.

Eddie Blau, Calabasas

Daniel Pearl

No statement can truly reflect the deep revulsion we feel upon hearing of the barbaric slaying of Daniel Pearl (“A Voice Silenced,” March 1). Losing one’s life in the pursuit of truth reveals the enormity of terrorist danger. Reports of Pearl’s last words, “I am a Jew…” evoke the haunting memories of the Holocaust when Jews, in the last moments of their lives, proudly proclaimed their heritage.

Brian Goldenfeld,Woodland Hills

Amy Klein

I read Amy Klein’s column (“Divided We Stand,” March 8) about two hours after having a brief discussion with my 22-year-old son on religion. I summed up how I truly felt, and he was satisfied.

I told him that if every individual was allowed to practice his beliefs, or choose to believe in nothing, refrain from proselytizing, and most importantly, never self-righteously look down on anyone who felt differently, the world would be a nicer place. Simple? Yes. Prosaic? Yes. But think about the possibilities.

Karen Berrenson, Woodland Hills

Henry Waxman

I have spent a good deal of time thinking about the excellent article (“Justice Delayed and Justice Denied,” Feb. 15) and wonderful work of Rep. Henry A. Waxman in regard to the disappointing performance of the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC). I believe that the problems pointed out by Waxman boil down to a simple proposition — participation in ICHEIC by the insurance companies is wholly voluntary. Consequently, there is, in the end, absolutely no mechanism by which to enforce its rules, its purposes or its goals. Any insurance company can withdraw from ICHEIC at any time without any adverse consequence. Ultimately, then, all power and all decision-making authority is vested in the companies themselves.

At Bet Tzedek, we represent hundreds of indigent Holocaust survivors.

The only reality of note is that the only action over the past 60 years that has had a measurable effect on recalcitrant insurance companies has been the filing of lawsuits in American courts. It was not until these suits were brought that the companies even thought about launching an effort, albeit a toothless one, to create a vehicle by which claims might someday be paid. Nothing but their fear of American justice has ever had any significant effect on the actions of the insurance companies.

Waxman ponders how troubling the prospect of ICHEIC operating without oversight is, particularly since the operation of ICHEIC has become the cornerstone of United States policy on Holocaust-era insurance claims. In truth, Waxman is rightly troubled. There is now no viable oversight capable of protecting and preserving the rightful claims of survivors. The United States, if it is to exercise any meaningful persuasive authority in this arena, must add to its arsenal of influencing factors its support of access by survivors to American courts of law. Trust in the American pursuit of justice is what we all need. Indeed no more powerful tool exists and no other method of persuasion has ever worked.

Waxman urges the United States to “explore new forms of leverage that will compel the insurance companies to live up to their obligations.” The newest leverage is the oldest — American justice.

David A. Lash, Executive Director Bet Tzedek Legal Services

Conversions

Harold Schulweis has read the Supreme Court properly — as strengthening religious pluralism — and the Jewish “moral and legal tradition” selectively (“The Israeli Supreme Court’s Conscience,” March 1). Schulweis correctly quotes the standard “Amidah” and Maimonides as sympathetic toward faithful converts. The crucial question is: Who is a faithful convert? On this the traditional sources are clear. Converts are expected to accept all of the commandments — starting with kashrut, Shabbat and family purity — as defined by those traditional sources. According to those traditional sources, converts who do not accept all of the commandments are not deserving of the sympathetic treatment due to faithful converts; according to the traditional sources that Schulweis cites, they are not Jews at all.

Schulweis and his fellow non-Orthodox rabbis have adopted alternative, nontraditional, conditions for accepting converts that they claim are consistent with the spirit of the tradition. Nevertheless, if Schulweis is going to quote traditional sources (the liturgy, Maimonides) in defense of the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision, he should also note that the conversion standards he and the Israeli Supreme Court are advocating are clearly inconsistent with the conditions for accepting converts explicitly specified in the traditional sources he quotes.

Jacob Alex Klerman, Los Angeles

Thank you for highlighting the issue of non-Orthodox conversions of Israel. This historic ruling was the result of a united effort between NA’AMAT, Israel’s largest family service agency, and the Masorati and World Union for Progressive Judaism.

The effort began in 1995, when a group of parents who had adopted children from abroad found that they could not convert these children to Judaism and, in desperation, turned to NA’AMAT, known as the place to go when families have problems. NA’AMAT arranged for Masorati conversions and, simultaneously, began the suit concluded last week.

NA’AMAT USA is proud to support this important legal work and will continue to work with our sister organization in Israel to encourage an open society that respects all streams of Judaism.

Miriam Hearn, Western Area Director NA’AMAT USA

Kids Page

I want to thank Abby Gilad for her interpretation of Parshat Terumah (“For The Kids,” Feb. 15) I am a recent convert, landscape designer and avid Jewish Journal reader. I found it very interesting that the Israelites were commanded to build the ark out of shita (acacia wood) and cover the completed ark with gold, both inside and out. This is so fascinating because most acacia varieties at this time of year have golden yellow flowers covering their branches. One variety in particular is completely covered with golden flowers — acacia baileyana.The acacia may be a reminder to us when in full bloom of the events that happened at this time of year according to Parshat Terumah.

Sonny Estrada, Los Angeles

Jewish Porn Star

I have seen Nina Hartley in action (“The Porn Star and the Rabbi,” Feb. 15), which is precisely why I find her appearance within the sanctuary of Temple Beth Ami to be so very offensive.

The gimmick may be a brilliant publicity stunt, but it is also a complete desecration of all that is sacred to the Jewish faith. Judaism exalts physical intimacy between husbands and wives in a manner that reflects the sanctity of their union. With all due respect to Hartley’s expertise, her profession negates the essence of Jewish teachings which instruct us to imbue our actions and deeds with holiness. Her self-proclaimed “spiritual” experiences hardly qualify as a model for Jewish enlightenment.

At the end of the Shabbat, we distinguish between the sacred and the profane with the “Havdalah” service. Surely this separation should apply to our conduct within our synagogues and temples.

Shula Levitch ,Valencia

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Frequently Asked Questions

Leave a Comment / Womans Voice / Marlene Adler Marks

I was the oldest child at the Passover table during two decades of social turmoil, and so invariably I was the one to whom questions were directed.

"Why does your generation think it can have everything its way?" my relatives began after the afikomen was eaten. They wanted my opinion on everything: civil rights, interracial dating, Vietnam, communism, women’s rights. Seder after seder, their questions reflected a world turning upside down fast. And I was expected to account for it.

Passover is only days away. Decades after my childhood seders, the world is still spinning, and I am still doing my accounting.

The young men and women at this year’s seder table might ask about Osama bin Laden, Yasser Arafat or Enron.

But young and old alike are just as likely to ask other more personal questions. They may ask about cancer.

In a year of dealing with lung cancer, I continually face the ultimate decisions of illness. But disease, like history, does not belong to me alone. I inevitably report to my daughter, parents and brother, my cousins and wide extended family and friends whose love and concern make every night a seder and every phone call a meeting with the Four Children. They ask:

What is your prognosis?

Do you know how long you have to live?

Do you know about X or Y secret treatment in Germany/Mexico/Canada?

How do you feel?

No matter how well-intended these questions, they always cut to the bone. It can be no other way. There are always Four Questions, themselves angry, brash, insouciant and designed to one-up the self-satisfied, reflecting the Four Children of love.

A question in Hebrew is kasheh (difficult), and it is anything but the softball, Larry King-type of inquiry designed to keep people superficially serene. "Kasheh," writes Avivah Zornberg, is the hard-edge of resistance that changes worlds. A question is a radical act. When we ask each other questions, we go to the wall of what life and love can bear. A father who asks a daughter what is your prognosis has to be — fears to be — prepared for the worst. He cannot tolerate anything but the truth.

We are trained at the seder table to ask about the worst. Why were we slaves? How were we freed? If the questions mean anything, they are about essential connections: between parent and child, between Jew and non-Jew, between God and ourselves. They shake us up, set us free.

I have struggled with this hard-edged, radical, rude, crude, know-it-all Jewish tradition all my life. Every questioner is an expert; every probe comes from yet another Wise Child second-guessing and undermining some of the most difficult judgments a person can ever make.

Yet how could it be otherwise? The seder table pits the Wicked Child, the "I" who makes decisions for herself, against the Wise Child, the "we" who wins liberation as a group. This tension between the "I" and the "we" is the undercurrent of Jewish life. No wonder we relentlessly ask our questions, pushing and probing the limits of the truth, hoping and praying for the Outstretched Arm to liberate us once again.

Anxiety is the tremor of the powerless. Questions are the weapons of self-control.

I have never asked my doctors for a prognosis, and, gratefully, they’ve never offered one.

I have no idea how long I have to live. And neither do you.

I am open to all scientific wisdom; Western medicine, including that in the United States, has a lot to offer.

I am feeling fine, thank God.

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7 Days In Arts

Remembering Danny

Who’s Who in the Valley Secession Fight

Bringing Back Memories

Ask What You Can Do

L.A. Jews Send Aid Beyond Green Line

A Portion of Parshat Vayikra

Your Letters

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