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April 4, 2002

What to Do About Arafat?

For months now, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been convinced that the main problem in Israel\’s relations with the Palestinians is the president of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat.

Stand With Us

\”Tell the truth, don\’t you think we need to create a wall between Israel and the Palestinians?\”

\”Be honest, don\’t you think the United States should send in peacekeeping troops?\”

I\’ll tell the truth. I\’m uncomfortable with American Jews, rising from spiritual slumber to suggest Israeli policy. Especially while their college-age children are in earshot. Especially when there is so much they could do besides yak.

Anti-Semitism Hits France

A fresh outburst of anti-Semitic violence throughout France has Jewish leaders fearing the return of Kristallnacht.

The reference to the horrors of Nazi Germany, issued by French Jewish leader Jean Kahn, hit the French dailies, as police in Marseille were still investigating a fire that reduced a synagogue to ashes.

The incident punctuated a weekend of anti-Jewish aggression that included attacks on synagogues in Lyon and Strasbourg and a shooting at a kosher butcher shop near the southwestern city of Toulouse in which no one was injured.

In addition, a French Jewish couple was injured in a weekend attack in the southern part of the country.

Arafat’s Choice

Last week, as a Palestinian terrorist murdered 22 Israelis sitting down to their Passover seder, the Al Aqsa Martyr\’s Brigade became the first group affiliated with Yasser Arafat\’s Fatah movement to be added to the U.S. list of Foreign Terrorist Organization since the United States normalized relations with the Palestinian Liberation Organization after the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993.

Composed of Arafat loyalists, funded by Fatah through the Tanzim militias, and assisted in coordination of their attacks by members of Arafat\’s Force 17 security services, the Al Aqsa Martyr\’s Brigade has dramatically outpaced Islamic extremist organizations like Hamas and Islamic Jihad in attacks on Israelis.

World Briefs

The World Brief, news, media, info, updates from around the world.

Will the Real Jew Please Stand Up?

I thought I could tell the difference between Jews and gentiles, and not just by using Lenny Bruce\’s criteria: chocolate is Jewish and fudge is goyish.

Granted, people are individuals — and particularly post-Sept. 11, stereotyping seems gauche if not utterly narrow-minded — but still, I believed Jews and gentiles operate on intrinsically different levels.

Consider: \”I hate my family.\” My friend Linda Rothstein says this means: \”My family calls 10 times a day and drives me nuts, but I love them more than life itself.\” My friend Ashley Edwards\’ interpretation? \”We have no contact, and my trust fund\’s been frozen.\”

Silence and Rage

In a parsha that features spectacular displays of sound and light, the most dramatic moment is actually the quietest one. In fact, it sometimes feels like the opening chapter\’s tumult and noise only serves to draw us even deeper into the second chapter\’s thunderclap of silence.

Jew Night

Once a year, Highland Park is converted into Chai-land Park for what might be the most gone-amok of all Jewish celebrations: \”Jew Night.\”\n\nMichael Perrick created a post-modern Borscht Belt bash that has become a local tradition for Jew and non-Jew alike.\n\n\”Every year, people ask me, \’So when is \’Jew Night?\’\” says the 34-year-old Silver Lake artist.\n\n\”Jew Night\” is all about wacked-out Jewish kitsch: the gyrating Jelvis (\”The Jewish Elvis\”); the Whirling Hors-Dervishes klezmer band; the Sinai Puppets; a Whack-a-Mohel game; bagel flinging; and even a Miss JAP contest where contestants are judged on hair, nails and whining. The biggest draw: \”Strip Dreydel.\” The Fourth Annual shtickfest will be hosted by Perrick\’s alter-kacker alter ego, Sye Goldstein.

New UCLA Hillel

Cars slow and heads turn as curious UCLA students drive past 574 Hilgard Ave. The construction site will be the new home of the UCLA Hillel building, scheduled to open this fall.

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Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.