Since the intifada began, Israeli officials have declared Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat \”irrelevant,\” a \”terrorist,\” an \”enemy\” and a \”pathological liar.\”
\”Rabbi, do you make house calls?\” the man named Mike on the other end of the phone wanted to know. \”My dad was never religious, but he said he\’d like to see a rabbi before he dies. He\’s living with us now, and he can\’t get out any more. Please?\”
The address was on a winding, urban, L.A. canyon road. I knocked, and Mike let me in.
\”Dad, the rabbi is here to talk to you,\” he said loudly over his shoulder.
Korach decides to pick a fight with Moses. He says: Hey! I\’m a Levite, too! Don\’t I deserve to be given as much honor as you Moses?
Even a casual viewer of KTLA\’s \”Morning News\” knows this much about co-anchor Giselle Fernandez: she\’s informed, attractive and very proud of her Latina and Jewish culture.\n\nSince she joined the breezy, ratings-leading Channel 5 newscast in October to replace founding co-anchor Barbara Beck, Fernandez — who helms the 7 and 8 a.m. editions with Carlos Amezcua — has felt at home on the multiethnic program. She has found a place on television where her ethnic beauty and her dual heritage are actually an asset.
It was the first cool night in the midst of a heat wave and Rosalie Zalis, executive director of Winnick Family Foundation and former liaison to the Jewish community for ex-Gov. Pete Wilson, was preaching to the masses.
\”You should get involved with a political action committee,\” the longtime activist told the group of mostly women gathered in the chapel at Adat Ari El June 6. \”Even if it\’s only sending a small amount of money to AIPAC [The American Israel Public Affairs Committee] — they will teach you how to lobby.
\”You need to be aware of what everyone who you vote for thinks about Israel. Write letters to your congressperson and to your senators, thanking them when they do something for Israel. Make phone calls, send e-mails. You don\’t know how important your voice is.\”
You might call her the first lady of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Barbara Factor Bentley, a Cedars-Sinai board member for more than 15 years, was the first woman to sit on the board of directors\’ executive committee.
There\’s a pretty good reason why the breast cancer center at the John Wayne Cancer Institute at St. John\’s Hospital in Santa Monica is named after Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer.\n\n\”The John Wayne Cancer Institute kept my husband alive for 10 years,\” said Eisenberg-Keefer, who established the Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Breast Center and has given a total of $3 million toward the facility. \”That\’s why I got involved. What I do is a \’thank you\’ for life.\”
We were very disturbed to read Joel Kotkin\’s article (\”The Christian Right, Conservatism and the Jews,\” June 7) and the accompanying article about Jews turning to the GOP (\”Israel Bolsters Local GOP Support,\” June 7).
Sivan Hamburger, one of the longstanding, staunch leaders of the Bureau of Jewish Education (BJE), died June 3, at the age of 87.\n\nHamburger was a passionate Labor Zionist, who as a young, idealistic high school student, spent a year in the Land of Israel, during the time it was still called Palestine. His love of Israel, Hebrew and Jewish learning followed him throughout his life.
Dr. Robert Khorhramian had never been to Israel before. Since he moved to Los Angeles from Iran in the late 1970s, the 46-year-old foot and ankle surgeon had planned many times to visit, yet something came up every time. But last month at Sinai Temple, he heard about the 48-hour medical and support mission, and he knew nothing would stop him this time: not a full surgery schedule, not a concerned wife, nothing.
\”For me, this trip is an absolute miracle,\” Khorhramian told The Journal from the Toronto stopover on the way to Tel Aviv. As a child he had suffered anti-Semitism, getting pinched, hit and kicked in prep school for being Jewish, and it made him dream about Israel. Now, he feels like he would do \”anything\” for the country he feels is home, even though he\’s never been there. \”As a Jew, I have to go,\” he said.
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