7 Days in The Arts
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Saturday, July 23 McDonald’s and Starbucks are just the tip of the iceberg. This afternoon, head to the Skirball for their screening of “Looking for America.” The film documents some of the millions of ways in which American culture has seeped into the indigenous societies of more than 30 countries around the world. 2:30 p.m. Free. 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 440-4500. |
 
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Sunday, July 24 The purveyors become the artists in the Platt and Borstein Galleries’ latest exhibition. The University of Judaism Fine Arts Council has brought photography, sculpture and painting exhibitions to its galleries for some 22 years; now 18 of them turn the tables, exhibiting their own works of photography, painting, calligraphy and other media. 1-3 p.m. (reception). Free. 15600 Mulholland Drive, Bel Air. (310) 440-1201. |
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Monday, July 25 The Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity presents an eclectic evening of music performed by German conductor and liturgical and concert organ virtuoso Hans Joachim Dumeier this evening. Called “From Bach to Ben-Amots with a Pinch of Jazz,” the title breaks it all down — Dumeier will play European and Israeli classics, as well as some good-old American jazz. 7:30 p.m. Free. Wilshire United Methodist Church, 4350 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 658-5824. |  
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Tuesday, July 26 Jewish rockers Robbi Sherwin and Scott Leader bring some Jewgrass and “funked-up” classics to Temple Menorah’s Summer Concert Series today. Head down to Redondo Beach for some free live music of the Jewish persuasion. 6:30 p.m. Free. 1101 Camino Real, Redondo Beach. (310) 316-8444, ext. 107. |  
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Wednesday, July 27 Peter Sellers is the subject of the Museum of Television and Radio’s new screening series, “Peter Sellers: Does That Include Television?” Sellers is known primarily for his work in film, including “Dr. Strangelove” and the “Pink Panther” movies. However, his TV work was rather prolific, as well. MTR screens his appearances on shows like “A Show Called Fred,” “Son of Fred,” and “The Muppet Show.” 3 p.m. (Wed.-Sun.). Runs through Oct. 2. 465 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. (310) 786-1000. | 
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Thursday, July 28 Four short films screen tonight at “Cine-Peace,” a film festival on the theme of the Arab-Israeli conflict sponsored by Americans for Peace Now. View the acclaimed pieces “West Bank Story,” “Ordinary People: From Bethlehem to Tel Aviv,” “The Red Toy” and “The Junction,” then stick around for a Q-&-A with the filmmakers and dessert reception. 6:45 p.m. $10-$30. Harmony Gold Preview House, 7655 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. R.S.V.P., (323) 934-3480. |
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Friday, July 29 “Murderball” producer and co-director and new Hollywood “it” guy Dana Adam Shapiro reads from and signs his debut novel, “The Every Boy,” at Book Soup tonight. Catch him while he’s still mingling with the little people. 7 p.m. 8818 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood.
When Melissa Hanna won the $250,000 grand prize on ABC’s “The Scholar” Monday, she felt shocked but ecstatic. “Now I can go to the college of my dreams” the Tarzana teen said, breathlessly, as relatives hugged her and confetti caught in her hair. The Jewish, biracial Hanna, who at age 18 already has produced charity rock concerts, was one of 10 brainy and financially needy high school seniors competing for cash on “The Scholar.” It was one of two dozen reality TV shows to air this summer, but without the requisite cockroach eating. Sure, there was dramatic tension in the Victorian house near USC, where the teens lived for two weeks, but the emphasis was on pop quizzes, team challenges and interviews with college admissions officers. The education-oriented Broad Foundation funded the top prize in part because “‘The Scholar’ shows how education can change families’ and people’s lives for the better,” Eli Broad said. Hanna was reluctant to apply, fearing she’d be typecast as “the rich, spoiled Valley girl” because she was attending a North Hollywood private high school, Campbell Hall, albeit on full scholarship. “The story of my life,” Hanna said, “has been not fitting in.” Because her father is black and her mother is Jewish, she was discouraged from attending an elite private elementary school and a Jewish religious school, where a rabbi told her she simply wouldn’t do well. Even so, Hanna pushed for acceptance and became the top student in both places. When severe scoliosis ended her promising gymnastics career, she focused on philanthropy, namely, organizing the charity rock concerts and acting as a hospital spokesperson Despite these accomplishments, the shy Hannah cried when prodded by admissions officers in the pilot episode. “I definitely came to the competition with self-doubt,” she said. She plans to study ethnic and Jewish studies at Pomona College and ultimately to work for a nonprofit such as The Jewish Federation. “The scholarship will allow me to attend the school where I’ll fit in the most and to achieve my ambition of improving others’ lives,” she said. There is a new twist to the contentious question of who is really a Jew. John C. Haedrich, who claims that his DNA proves his Ashkenazi descent, is challenging the State of Israel to recognize his Jewishness under the Law of Return. Authorities in Israel have so far not commented on his claim, but Haedrich, a prolific writer of letters and e-mails, has vowed to pursue his quest in the Israeli courts, if necessary. In an interview, Haedrich, 43 and owner of a nursing home for the elderly in Glendale, said that all his immediate relatives are dead or estranged, that Judaism was never practiced in his home and that the DNA test is the only proof that he’s a Jew. He said that he discovered his Jewish sense of identity five years ago, when he visited Krakow and Auschwitz and “suddenly had a feeling that I was Jewish…. I also heard that one relative in Poland had been a rabbi.” In numerous letters and more than 100 e-mails to Israeli officials and synagogues in Los Angeles, to American Jewish organizations and newspapers and to Israeli universities and human rights organizations, Haedrich tops his missives with the sentence “Re: State of Israel refuses to accept DNA test results as proof of being Jewish!” The actual eight-page DNA analysis is not as definitive. It states that “The distribution of the haplotype [genetic marker], combined with the origin of the surname, suggests a Polish Ashkenazic Jewish family background with the past 500 years,” on the father’s side. On the maternal side, “The subject is descended from a lineage … founded 16,000 to 20,000 years ago in the Mediterranean or Middle East.” Haedrich acknowledges that the 1950 Law of Return, which defined the rights of Jews to settle in Israel, did not mention DNA testing. But he argues that “DNA testing is admissible in Israeli courts in homicide and paternity cases, and who is to say that it cannot be used to support a birthright? “Had DNA testing been available in the 1950s, who is to say that the Knesset would not have considered it?” Haedrich said. Haedrich declined to establish his Jewish bona fides by undergoing a formal conversion. “I don’t want to go the religious route,” he said. “This is a quest for my personal identity.” The Journal contacted the North American Aliyah Center in New York, whose executive director, Michael Landsberg, is checking his Jerusalem headquarters for a ruling on the Haedrich case. No response has been received so far. Author & Former Jewish Journal Columnist David Margolis Dies at 62 David Margolis, who lived and chronicled the transformation of an American hippie of the 1960s into a deeply spiritual resident of a West Bank settlement, died July 17 at the age of 62. A Brooklyn native, Margolis was a widely published journalist, novelist and editor, who died of cancer and was buried near his home in Beit Yatir, in the Hebron Hills. Most recently, Margolis served as the Jewish World editor of the Jerusalem Report magazine. Between 1990-93, Margolis was a senior writer, investigative reporter and award-winning feature columnist for The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Yehuda Lev, his colleague at the time, recalled his constant serious but civil discussions with Margolis on their differing religious and ideological beliefs. “David never succumbed to extremism,” Lev said. “He was that rare individual who combined idealism with practicality and overlaid them both with a protective layer of honesty.” Margolis described his hippie commune experiences in his first novel, “Change of Partners” (The Permanent Press), followed by “The Stepman” and a collection of short stories in “The Time of Wandering.” “I consider David the foremost chronicler of that slice of the Jewish ’60s that went from rootless, hedonistic hippiedom into, somehow, a deeply spiritual engagement with Jewish life and the challenge of Zionism. That transformation is at the center of all his writing,” said Martin Jaffee, professor of Jewish and international studies at the University of Washington. Screenwriter and novelist Robert Avrech described Margolis as “a major American Jewish writer who never received the attention he deserved … a master storyteller with a wicked sense of humor.” Producer-writer David Brandes recalled Margolis as “a true mensch and one of the sweetest people I ever met … with a wry sense of humor and perceptive insights.” After moving with his family to Israeli in 1994, Margolis established himself as a successful freelance journalist for general and Jewish newspapers and magazines, created marketing material for major Israeli universities and hi-tech companies, and co-wrote the prize-winning CD-ROM, “Artrageous! The Amazing World of Art.” His writings were honored by the BBC, American Jewish Press Assn., the Israeli government, and the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity, among others. He is survived by his wife, Judith; children Hodya, Ephraim and Noa; grandchildren; mother; and two brothers. — Tom Tugend, Contributing Editor Moses Allen died June 23 at 95. He is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth (Ron) Ingersoll; two grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai Sanford Baines died June 25 at 85. He is survived by his daughter, Linda (Teddy) Antitala; two grandchildren; two great grandchildren; nieces and nephews; and great-nieces and great-nephews. Mount Sinai Sarah Lillian Budnick died June 21 at 83. She is survived by her daughter, Carolyn Sarnoff; and sister, Esther Sanft. Groman Lillian Burg died June 20 at 84. She is survived by her husband, Louis; daughter, Myra (Charles Christensen); sons, Andrew (Lena DeMonte) and Randall; and grandchildren, Marissa and Jason. Mount Sinai Daniel David Chase died June 21 at 81. He is survived by his wife, Babette; sons, Barry and Mark; daughter, Robin Battles; and five grandchildren. Groman Abe Douglas died June 22 at 79. He is survived by his wife, Irene; sons, Mordachai, David, Schuyler and Palmer; daughter, Sharon Carter; 11 grandchildren; brother, Jack Plugash; and sister, Bertha Cooper. Groman MINNA EHRENBERG died June 20 at 99. She is survived by her daughter, Susan (Edwin) Isenberg; two grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; sister Florence (David) Levine. Hillside Leslie Freeland died June 24 at 60. She is survived by her sons, Eric and Abe Toke. Malinow and Silverman Jack Gartner died June 23 at 89. He is survived by his son, Lawrence; daughter, Barbara; and sister, Eve Dobkin. Mount Sinai Gloria Gault died June 20 at 80. She is survived by her husband, Harold; daughter, Michele; sons, Andrew (Fran) and Robert; and three grandchildren; and sisters, Estelle Bartels and Bernice (Fred) Swidler. Malinow and Silverman Ruth Goldstein died June 22 at 81. She is survived by her son, Larry (Virginia); daughter, Rona Edwards; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Mount Sinai Molly Goodman died June 25 at 80. She is survived by her husband, Max; son, Jan; daughters, Lauren (Richard) Packard and Melanie (James) Murez; and eight grandchildren. Mount Sinai Dr. Bernard Jacobs died June 21 at 82. He is survived by sons, Dr. Michael Jacobs; daughters, Dr. Brenda and Linda; and four grandchildren. Groman Julius Karosen died June 22 at 93. He is survived by his daughters, Judith (Carl) Schlosberg and Sharon Lewis; four grandchildren; and great-grandson, Zachary Rosenberg. Mount Sinai Simon David Kashar died June 24 at 91. He is survived by his wife, Annette; son, Marc (Kathy); daughter, Francine; and one grandchild. Groman Cantor Morris Luffman died June 20 at 88. He is survived by his wife, Anne; daughter, Evy Paul; one grandchild; and two great-grandchildren. Groman Arlene Meyers died June 25 at 75. She is survived by her sons, Richard and Brian; three grandchildren; and brother, Neil Factor. Groman PEARL MILLMAN died June 24 at 86. She is survived by her husband Milton (Smokey); son, Michael (Marie); daughter, Lisa (Gene); and grandsons, Jeffrey and Brian. Hillside Jacob Minsky died June 22 at 89. He is survived by his nieces, Lynne Arbogast and Barbara Quintana. Groman John Newman died June 22 at 90. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca; sons, Walter and Robert; daughter, Nancy Artis; and six grandchildren. Groman Ann NicholS died June 22 at 92. She is survived by her son, Rubin (Theresa); daughter, Diane (Michael) Solomon; four grandchildren; and great-granddaughter, Sadie Solomon. Mount Sinai RITA OKRENT died June 23 at 76. She is survived by her husband, David; son, Neil; daughters, Nina Loebl and Jocelyne Okrent; four grandchildren; sister, Deborah Tarlowe; and brothers, David, Tobias, Elias and Joseph Holtzman. Hillside FRANCES OSEP died June 23 at 87. She is survived by her daughter Gayle Galli; and two grandchildren. Hillside Heddy Pitt died June 21 at 93. She is survived by her niece, Ann (Michael) Mantell; and sister-in-law, Marta Sibor. Mount Sinai Albert Ponaman died June 21 at 74. He is survived by his wife, Bernice; sons, Todd (Julie), Michael (Caryn), Scott (Judith Mello); daughter, Tammy (Frank) Vaughan; eight grandchildren, one great-grandchild; and sisters, Doris Plaplan, Charlotte (Heshy) Goldberger, Arlene Paul, Edith Ponyman and Jackie Kay. Mount Sinai Mirian Karp Romeyn died June 22 at 54. She is survived by daughter, Jessica; and brother, J. Harvey Karp. Groman MABEL NINA SAMTER died June 20 at 100. She is survived by her niece, Lola Jameson; and nephew, John Jameson. Hillside Harry Schreiman died June 23 at 79. He is survived by his sons, Stephen, Mark and Michael (Courtney); daughters, Deborah (Richard) Kelly, Lisa, Karen and Marcy; and five grandchildren. Mount Sinai Ebrahim Shabanfar died June 22. He is survived by his wife, Rabigha; and daughter, Nahid. Chevra Kadisha Shokat Shakib died June 23 at age 85. She is survived by her son, Aziz Mokhtar. Chevra Kadisha GLADYS SKLUTH died June 22 at 98. She is survived by her son, Neal Scadron; and one grandchild. Hillside GEORGE VOLLMER died June 20 at 84. He is survived by his wife, Ann; son, Jim; daughter, Joyce; four grandchildren; and brother Fred. Hillside EDWARD WEINBAUM died June 20 at 76. He is survived by his companion, Gloria Weinbaum; sons, Mitchel and Ronny; daughter, Donna Thompson; one grandchild; and brother, Melvin. Hillside Gerhard Wenke died June 25 at 88. He is survived by his wife, Rhea; son, Daniel; and two grandchildren. Groman The Poverty Answer Kudos to you for publishing “A Chance to Make Poverty History” (July 1). This op-ed clearly demonstrates the need for strong U.S. leadership and intervention to alleviate global poverty. As a supporter of American Jewish World Service (AJWS), I applaud their work and add to their argument presented that in addition to debt relief for the poorest countries in the world, the U.S. government must also make good on its pledge to increase developmental aid for these countries. Most Americans are surprised to learn that only 0.16 percent of 1 percent of our gross national product is spent on nonmilitary, humanitarian aid. Prime Minister Tony Blair, economist Jeffrey Sachs, as well as AJWS and others are urging an increase in the budgets of the wealthiest nations to 0.7 percent. International debt relief, an increase in humanitarian aid and fair trade policies that do not impact negatively on the medical needs and livelihoods of the most vulnerable are not only policy positions being taken by AJWS, but what we Jews must support as a people committed to tikkun olam and to social justice. Richard Gunther Culture Clash Judea Pearl’s article in your July 15 issue was perhaps the most important one ever printed in The Jewish Journal (“Clash of Ideas Should Be Addressed”). Its importance lies in the fact that it makes obvious the fact that the “peace process” and the “two-state solution” are only fantasies believed in by Peace Now and other self-deluding liberals. Unfortunately, Pearl’s solution to the problem seems to be more conferences and “educational programs” to reach “common goals.” It seems that, no matter how much Arabs and Muslims repeat that they want to destroy Israel and slaughter Jews, most liberals believe they’re just too shy to say they really love us. Chaim Sisman Judea Pearl’s article points out the continuing objections in the Arab world to a Jewish state. Millions of people may be taught from birth to hate Jews, but I believe that the world knows that Israel cannot be destroyed militarily. Not calling Israel a “Jewish State” may be a small sacrifice in the cause of world peace. It is no secret that Israel is 80 percent Jewish, but Ireland is 88 percent Roman Catholic and is not referred to as the Roman Catholic State of Ireland. The United States is 80 percent Christian, but we are not known as the Christian United States (even if evangelicals would like it.) All eyes are now focused on the Palestinians. If they are sincere about a Palestinian state alongside Israel, they must make the Gaza Strip a viable, peaceful ministate. If the opportunity is missed and the Arabs persist in the intention to destroy Israel, then the world must face the reality that Israel, and the other modern Western democracies, are the “good guys” in the Middle East. Martin J. Weisman Matter of Ritual Rabbi Debra Orenstein’s column on Parshat Chukat in your July 8 issue was one of the most meaningful pieces on the Torah I have ever read in the pages of The Jewish Journal (“Ritual’s Mysteries”). Her rational for a Jew to do the chukim, those laws God requires of us which are not based on logic, as a way of showing our love for God, was beautifully articulated. Her reasoning also struck a chord for me as a religious Jew. Orenstein makes, by logical extension of her perceptive insights, a compelling argument that one could lead the most fulfilling spiritual life by following all of God’s laws, whether we understand them or not. God has created numerous opportunities for us to exhibit our love for and commitment to Him. By doing what is asked from us we can experience the remarkable nature of the relationship with God to which Orenstein alludes. Avi Engel Carry On Millions worldwide stopped what they were doing for two minutes in respectful silence for the innocent victims of the Islamist suicide bombers in London (“London’s Jews Carry On After Blast,” July 15). Hundreds of blameless have been murdered by the same breed of Islamic extremists in Israel, Russia , Iraq, Pakistan, etc. During the past five years, there have been a multitude of such bus bombings in Israel where hundreds have been killed and maimed for life. Why has the world never shown this respectful two-minute silence for the guiltless mothers, fathers and children who lost their lives to the indoctrinated terrorists of Islam? I do not scapegoat the Muslim religion, I blame the agglomeration of terrorist Islamists that have unrestricted entry into western democracies to spew forth their dogmas and to indoctrinate the vulnerable. To paraphrase Ernst Klein, ” If we sleep in democracy, we wake up in tyranny.” It is difficult to believe that the general Muslim population wants integration in the West as they demand from their host countries the allowance of their own Sharia laws. Towns exist, in such countries as Denmark, where the populations are run by such Sharia law. The law enforcement agencies in Denmark are daunted by the prospect of entering these towns. Many in the world community have been critical of the fence that Israel is building to avoid suicide bombers. However, since its inception, there has been a drastic reduction in these incidents. Is it too late in the game to improve the dykes holding back the flow of insurgency into the Western democracies? At present, Western democracies revere life and those with the revolutionary Islamist dogmas seem to revere death. Harry Grunstein A Sad Time This year, the 17th of Tammuz falls on Sunday, July 24. This is a fast day — no eating, no drinking. Why? Because on this day, thousands of years ago, the Romans breached the wall of Jerusalem. Three weeks later, the Temple was destroyed. History Lesson The 17th of Tammuz is a bad day all around for the Jewish people as many tragedies have befallen them on this day throughout the ages. Help tell the story by filling in the correct words: ten, miscalculated, one, Torah, killed, Jewish, ghetto, Jerusalem, golden, broke. The Israelites _____________ the return of Moses from the top of Mount Sinai by _____ day. When he returned, they had already built the ____________ calf. Moses got so mad he threw the ______ commandments down and they _______ into 1,000 pieces. In 3184 (586 BCE), after months of siege by the wicked Nebuchadnezzar’s army, the walls of ______________ were finally breached. In the time of the Roman occupation, the captain of the Roman forces, publicly burned a ________ on that day. In 1391, more than 4,000 Spanish Jews were ______________ in Toledo. In 1559 the _________ Quarter of Prague was burned and looted. In 1944, the entire population of the Kovno _______ was sent to the death camps. Amazing Summer Contest! Don’t forget to take pictures and write a great story about an amazing thing you did this summer and send it in. You have a few more weeks until the deadline. The winners will be published in the paper and will receive a prize. If someone had turned on the radio in Mulukuku, Nicaragua, on May 28, 2005, they would have heard “Hatikvah,” the Israeli national anthem. There is no Jewish community in this village of 7,000. In fact, there is not normally even a single Jew. But for one week at the end of May, there were 14 of us. Our group was in the most impoverished region of Nicaragua as part of a joint project between The Jewish Federation and American Jewish World Service. The goal: to help alleviate poverty, hunger and disease among all the people of the world. It was an imperative that I took very seriously, and one that compelled me to step out of my Los Angeles life of privilege and material comfort into a world where those two terms are largely devoid of meaning. Arriving in Mulukuku shocked my system in every conceivable way. It was swelteringly hot. There was no running water, only a well for drinking and cooking, buckets of rainwater for bathing, and a river for laundry. The sole means of garbage disposal was burning — a method we soon discovered was as dangerous as it was primitive, when one of the villagers was scorched by a combustible piece of plastic. We drove five hours from the country’s capital. As I emerged, hot and sweaty, I felt a surge of adrenaline, of power. I was here to help, and, clearly, I thought, my help was desperately needed. I was soon to find out how wrong I was. Our group was hosted by Cooperativa Maria Luisa Ortiz, a grass-roots endeavor providing free health services, legal aid and domestic violence shelter to the community’s women and children. In a society where girls typically get pregnant at age 14, where spousal abuse is commonplace and where the resources to deal with these issues are scarce, the Cooperativa is a bastion of support. Our volunteer work was to consist of two projects: the smaller, to paint several rooms in the compound and rustproof a security fence; the larger, to fortify the retaining walls of the clinic’s herbal medicine garden in order to prevent the plant beds from collapsing. I was excited, enthusiastic to finally put to practice my belief in healing the world — with my own two hands. On some days, the work was near backbreaking. But more troubling than my physical exhaustion was a nagging sense that the people benefiting most from our work were not the villagers themselves, but us, the volunteers. The first day in the garden, the agronomist instructed us how to properly dig a trench to accommodate a row of large concrete slabs that needed to be erected. Because we were used to working with our minds, and not our hands, we did it wrong. By day two, we had mastered the task, but worked constantly under the guidance of the locals, who were experts in agriculture, but simply lacked the manpower to do the work as quickly. As I dug into the parched soil with the edge of my spade, I felt myself chipping away at all the stereotypes I held of the developing world. I went to Nicaragua thinking I could make a difference in the lives of those I met. I like to think that, in some way, I did. But now I know that the major transformation this trip sparked was not in the villagers, but in myself. I joined this mission because I had an innate sense of obligation. Before I left, the people of Mulukuku were the faceless recipients of my personal need to foster social justice. Soon, though, I learned people’s names, heard their laughter, looked into their eyes. Natalie has beautiful, precocious twin daughters. Michael has the curious, adventurous spirit of a child. Noel has the charisma of a politician. That’s when I realized — poverty is not the face of a stranger, but the face of a friend. Now that I am back in Los Angeles, I feel a new sense of obligation to help others personalize a typically anonymous epidemic, to see themselves reflected in the eyes of someone less fortunate. On May 28, 2005, our group was invited to appear on Mulukuku’s sole radio station. The host asked us to choose several songs to sing. Without hesitation, we included “Hatikvah.” We were all proud that our Jewish values had led us to this village, had motivated us to look beyond ourselves, had instilled in us a sense of moral duty. As our voices rang out through the static of radios all over the village, I thought of the likelihood that the Israeli national anthem be broadcast in Nicaragua, and smiled. Anything is possible. Keren Markuze is a television writer and producer in Los Angeles. First Person – Hatikvah in the Village Read More » A year after the U.N.-affiliated International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled that Israel’s West Bank security barrier was illegal, controversy over the section in and around Jerusalem could spark new international pressure on the Jewish state to change the fence route or stop construction altogether. Palestinian leaders warn that the planned route of the “Jerusalem envelope,” which would cut off more than 50,000 Palestinians from the city, could spell the end of any peace initiatives with Israel, and they’re threatening to take the case back to the United Nations. As with the first West Bank security barrier case, they can count on international support. World leaders have been critical of the Jerusalem barrier for two reasons: Most of it lies outside pre-1967 Israeli territory and, they say, it could cause severe hardship for Palestinians who find themselves outside its limits. There’s criticism of the barrier in Israel, too: Hawks in the governing Likud Party castigate the government for putting a barrier, part fence and part wall, through the heart of Jerusalem, which, they say, will divide the city in two and make nonsense of the mantra, “Israel’s eternal and undivided capital.” On the other side of the political spectrum, the Labor Party doves say the government should admit that the fence is designed not just to keep out terrorists, but also to secure a Jewish majority in Jerusalem and in the rest of Israel by creating the basis for a border that serves Israel’s demographic needs. Partly to preempt international criticism and to forestall decisions against the government by the country’s Supreme Court, Israel is taking measures to ensure that Palestinians cut off from the city suffer as little as possible, promising that they’ll continue to receive the full range of municipal services. Nevertheless, left-wing Israelis, who empathize with Palestinian concerns, argue that no matter how hard Israel tries, the fence will undermine Arab life in the city. That result, they warn, could lead to further Palestinian radicalization. Rather than prevent terrorism, the barrier might actually spark more Palestinian violence, they maintain. In July 2004, the International Court ruled that the barrier was illegal, and it called on Israel to dismantle the fence and compensate Palestinians who had suffered from its construction. The world court was especially critical of the fence’s route, which in many places dips into territory the Palestinians demand for themselves. Israel continued building the barrier, but after criticism from its own Supreme Court, rerouted much of it closer to the pre-1967 armistice line between Israel and the West Bank, known as the Green Line. Since the construction of the fence, the number of suicide bombings in Israel has fallen dramatically — although, remarkably, the International Court did not consider terrorism against Israel relevant to the discussion. Since construction began, bombers have been able to penetrate Israel only in areas where the barrier is still incomplete. However, Jerusalem poses a special problem. Approximately 230,000 Palestinians live in the city, and a fence around it would do nothing to stop terrorists among them from attacking Jewish neighborhoods. Defending the capital’s Jewish neighborhoods, where 250 people were killed during the intifada — most of them by suicide bombers — is a security imperative for Israel. In some areas, however, Arab and Jewish neighborhoods interlock to form intricate tapestries that no fence can follow. There also are Jewish neighborhoods and settlements outside the city limit that the government wants included as part of Israel in any final peace deal with the Palestinians. Moreover, the Likud leadership wants to retain as much of Jerusalem as it can as Israel’s capital. The compromise is a barrier that runs in and out of the city, including some Arab neighborhoods and excluding others, and adding 30,000 Israelis who live outside the city limit. That’s a tortuous arrangement with no single rationale, which the government could find difficult to defend before the world court. A mid-July government decision on the fence route highlighted Israeli plans to ease conditions for Palestinians whom the barrier will cut off from the city. There will be 12 crossing points, where residents will be able to move in and out of Jerusalem after passing though a security check. The municipality and government will provide garbage collection, postal, health, education, transport and other services to Palestinians on the other side of the fence. The government has allocated about $5.5 million for those services, and it intends to raise money from the international community for the crossing points. None of these moves has placated the Palestinian Authority leaders. President Mahmoud Abbas attacked the Israeli plan, saying, “Approving the fence route in Jerusalem could bring about the end to relations between the two sides. Such steps will not serve peace, nor will they serve Israel’s security.” Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei called the construction a “theft in broad daylight” of Palestinian land. “This decision makes a farce of any talk about peace, and turns the Gaza withdrawal into a useless initiative.” The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, expressed sympathy for the Palestinian position. Because the fence is not in territory recognized as Israeli, it creates legal, political and humanitarian problems, he said. The Israeli government argues that the barrier is being built for one reason only: to stop terrorism. Therefore, it says, the fence should have no political ramifications. Much will depend on what transpires after Israel’s planned withdrawal from Gaza next month. If that move reinvigorates a peace process, Palestinian criticism of the fence may be put on the back burner. But if the process bogs down, there could be another Palestinian move to put Israel in the dock at The Hague or at U.N. headquarters in New York. Leslie Susser is the diplomatic correspondent for the Jerusalem Report Fence in Jerusalem May Face Barriers Read More » The mid-August Israeli pullout from Gaza is fraught with risks and unknowns, but the Israeli government remains committed to “unilateral disengagement,” says Daniel Ayalon, Israel’s ambassador to the United States. Ayalon spoke with The Journal about the reasons for disengagement, a policy he characterized as virtually inevitable and worth the sacrifice of the Israeli settlers who will have to leave their homes. Ayalon, age 49, has served as Israel’s top diplomat in the United States since July, 2002. He played a leading role in negotiating the blueprint for a two-state solution known as the “Roadmap for Peace.” Prior to his U.S. posting, Ayalon was chief foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. From 1997 to 2001, he was deputy foreign policy adviser to former prime ministers Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu. The Jewish Journal: To what extent was the government prepared for the protests and resistance to the pullout from Gaza? Daniel Ayalon: The government has been prepared and, I think, is prepared. It wasn’t something that we did very cheerfully. We did foresee objections. We do empathize with the people. We’re talking about three generations, 8,000 people who made their lives there. It is very difficult to uproot. But the prime minister had to make the decision because he knew this was the best course of action to take and the best way to strengthen Israel — politically, securitywise, economically and I also would say socially. And understanding that Gaza is not an asset but a liability. JJ: What do you mean when you speak of Gaza as a liability? DA: Everybody realizes that there was no future for a Jewish presence in Gaza. You have 1 million or 1.2 million Palestinians and 8,000 Jews. The numbers talk here. And from a historical or biblical point of view, I’m not sure that Gaza was part of our land in the past. JJ: What history are you talking about? History covers a long time in this part of the world. DA: The past of the Jewish people. Gaza as I recall was Philistine land. Back in March 1979, during the negotiation of the second Camp David accord between President Carter, Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, at that time Begin offered Gaza to Sadat and Egypt together with the rest of the Sinai peninsula. So there was no great attachment to the Gaza, ever. JJ: But there was a Jewish presence. DA: Right, although strategically you cannot compare Gaza to Jerusalem, the Judean Hills, the Jordan River valley and all these areas. JJ: Yet the Israeli government did allow and encourage these settlers to go to Gaza. DA: Totally. They were sent by successive Israeli governments. The first settlements there were built before the peace treaty with Egypt. So on the southern front we still had all these threats when Egypt was still the enemy. Egypt is no longer an enemy and the demography is also a factor. After all these years we have 8,000 people surrounded by these 1 million Palestinians. [Years ago] you couldn’t really foresee the [future] developments. I can guarantee you: Had we had 1 million Israeli settlers in Gaza, we wouldn’t have left Gaza. If we had 500,000 Israelis, we wouldn’t have left Gaza. JJ: How much does it cost Israel to protect the settlement region, Gush Katif, on an annual basis? DA: Well, listen we had to keep there a division, about 20,000 troops. I would say it was quite costly. But the cost is not the factor. Protecting other areas is very costly as well. Strategically there is just no merit in staying there. JJ: Of course, you could allow the settlers to stay, but inform them that they may soon become citizens of a Palestinian state. DA: This is not realistic. No one was even contemplating this. JJ: So you’re saying the settlements are a dead-end vestige of policies that, in the past, seemed to make sense. That doesn’t exactly make things easier for the settlers. DA: We are very proud of the settlers’ achievements. I believe that their effort, their endeavors, were not in vain. And we applaud the achievements of the settlers over there. We do understand their pain. It is incumbent on us, the government, to make sure the people who are losing what they’ve spent all their lives building will feel the least pain possible. And for that there are packages of compensation and other services that will be rendered and offered to the population there, from economic help to professional advice and placement, to psychological treatment as well. We try to prepare all of this. JJ: You’re saying that all this upheaval is justified for the greater good of Israel. DA: By doing the disengagement, by leaving Gaza, we have much strengthened our position in Judea and Samaria. Sometimes you come to a juncture when you have to make a choice and you have to look ahead. And you have to think of the global picture. Disengagement is a very timely thing to do, the right thing to do for the people of Israel, and I hope for the region. One more thing: This pullout did not follow an agreement with the Palestinians, but it followed something which is much more important, an agreement with the United States. Disengagement has to be viewed in the context of Israel-United States relations. It was enthusiastically endorsed by President Bush, and most in the international community are also accepting and endorsing it. Disengagement is something that creates a common agenda between us and the United States. In support of disengagement, President Bush wrote a letter to Prime Minister Sharon reiterating his commitment to Israel’s security, and his commitment to strengthening Israel’s defense and deterrence capability. And President Bush went to an extent that no other president did talking about Israel living in recognized and defensible borders. Not to mention that the American government now supports the realities on the ground. They do not expect us to return to the 1967 or 1949 lines, which is also a great asset. They don’t expect the Palestinian refugees to ever go back to Israel. That also is a great benefit that we have received because of the disengagement. And we have received the political reassurance that the only road ahead is the roadmap to peace. The United States will not accept any other initiatives that are undesirable from any other quarter of the world. And there’s also a commitment to strengthening the Israeli economy. So all these factors are also very important in the decision to pull out from Gaza. Israel will be much stronger after the disengagement. JJ: To what extent does the success of the pullout depend on the Palestinians? DA: We would expect two things. First of all, during the disengagement, we would like to see that they make sure that terror doesn’t erupt. Toward that goal we have allowed them to move 5,000 security troops of the Palestinian Authority from the West Bank to Gaza. And we would expect they would create a perimeter or a buffer for our own troops, who would mostly be engaged with our own population, dealing with them and pulling them out — something that is not only excruciatingly painful but also very complicated. If we encounter enemy fire and terror we will have to respond. And we will have to respond in a very decisive way because we will not allow them to pursue us as we move out. We will not allow even the perception of terror winning. Secondly, we would expect the Palestinians to coordinate with us all the economic and civil affairs. For instance, we intend to leave most of infrastructure intact for the Palestinians to use, to create value for the Palestinian economy. For instance, there are greenhouses that could employ 8,000 to 10,000 people, which could sustain 100,000 or more Palestinians, about 10 percent of the population of Gaza. After the disengagement, they will have to dismantle the terror infrastructure. They will have to disarm Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terror organizations. They will have to arrest the fugitives and the known terrorists, break their cells and do it on a sustainable basis, so they can really come with us and negotiate on the roadmap. But the ticking bomb of Hamas is re-arming, re-grouping, recruiting new terrorists on a daily basis, and nothing is being done about it. The Palestinian Authority will have to take it head on if they want to be a viable partner for the future. JJ: Isn’t there an argument for leaving intact the houses once occupied by Israeli settlers? Or at least letting the Palestinians make that decision? DA: They have conveyed to us that they would prefer for those houses to be demolished because they are not suitable for Palestinian living because they are very expensive on land consumption. With the density of the population in Gaza, I think they would prefer high rises. Instead of 8,000 Israelis, they can inhabit this same area with tens of thousands of Palestinians. We would like to see Palestinian refugees settled over there. It’s very unfortunate that throughout all these years, and certainly since the Palestinian Authority was created with Arafat in 1993, that they have not done anything to help their own refugees. Certainly they can move those refugees out of very miserable and inhumane conditions to new housing. Also by creating this housing, by building new housing, it can give a lot of immediate employment to the citizens of Gaza. JJ: So how will the demolition be handled? DA: The houses will be demolished by Israel. And the debris will be taken out by the Palestinians, who would not have to bear the costs for it. Israel is willing to participate in that cost. The international community should as well. JJ: Some critics characterize disengagement as a defeat, as a retreat that will just encourage more violence and bring enemies who will never accept Israel’s existence closer to Israel’s doorsteps. DA: I don’t think this is the case. We are leaving Gaza quite triumphant. Hamas was on the run. If you recall, we have taken on all its leaders, including Abdel Aziz Rantisi and Sheik Yassin. [Israel forces killed Rantisi and Yassin.] We really demolished all the infrastructure. The reason the Palestinians have voted in a massive way for Abu Mazen is because he offered them a strategy of quiet and of doing away with terror. He has not really performed yet, but the terrorism did not further the Palestinians’ national interest. They have lost militarily. They have lost economically. They have lost in international legitimacy. And they have not done what they wanted to do, which is break the Israeli spirit. Will terror spring out of Gaza? I doubt it. If it does, we will have all the legitimacy to respond in a very decisive way. And the Palestinians would want to see Gaza as a showcase. If they can govern Gaza in a responsible way, without terror, then they may have a case to start the roadmap and talk about other areas. If not, then nothing will be moving ahead. JJ: Critics on the left say that even while Israel is withdrawing from Gaza, it is entrenching itself elsewhere in the territories and even expanding areas of control. DA: Everything always depends on the performance of the Palestinians. If they will make good on their obligations in the roadmap: to dismantle the terror organizations, to complete their reforms, to create a viable entity with one rule of law and a monopoly over the military and the guns — then we can negotiate in good faith. We cannot move forward to the second stage before the first stage is completed. JJ: Is anything nonnegotiable, such as the status of Jerusalem, for instance? DA: I repeat to you what Prime Minister Sharon said: Jerusalem is the one indivisible, united, eternal capital of Israel forever and ever. JJ: Do you have a particular message for the Jewish community of Southern California? DA: There is great compatibility between the American economy and Israel. In Israel, we’re talking about a very developed high-tech economy with a very well trained labor force that is also excelling in areas like entrepreneurship. We are proud to be the United States’ largest trading partner in the Middle East. There are many American companies that are represented in Israel. And we would like to see more. I would like to see them look into business opportunities for joint ventures and investments. Now is the time to invest. Equity is still cheap in Israel. The growth is up and tourists are back. The economy is moving in the right direction. We are deregulating, changing the tax code, privatizing — so I think now is a good time to invest in Israel. Also in your area I have met with many leaders in the entertainment industry. I have invited many of them to Israel and many of them did come. I would take this opportunity to [invite] actors and actresses to come to Israel, to discover Israel, and also to promote it. JJ: Is there anything that could derail or postpone the pullout? DA: I hope not. We are prepared to do it. And we are going to do it. We understand the demonstrations. We are a democratic country and they have the right to do it. But Israel also is a country with the rule of law. D-day will be Aug. 16, and we would expect the settlers to leave voluntarily. I hope most of them will. And those who will not, we will have to deal with them, very compassionately and with great patience. And just bring them back one by one. Q & A With Daniel Ayalon Read More » A Jewish conference focused on a looming crisis might strike some as more of the same. But a wave of recent gatherings has tackled the existential questions facing world Jewry, and many are aimed at or driven by new actors. The slew of new forums focusing on the future of the Jewish people reveals a certain angst about today’s challenges and raises questions about how much faith Jews have in existing institutions to address those challenges. The conferences reflect a “recognition that the Jewish world is in decline, particularly the non-Orthodox Diaspora, and the organizations are incapable of dealing with that decline” — and may even be partially responsible for it, philanthropist Michael Steinhardt told JTA. “They have not been able to anticipate the needs of the Jewish people, and, you know, it’s happened under their watch,” he said. Dan Mariaschin, the executive vice president of B’nai B’rith International, said the conferences were spurred by a “kind of a convergence of issues all coming together at one time,” such as the spread of anti-Semitism and a dwindling U.S. Jewish population. Mariaschin attended a June 22-23 conference in Israel hosted by Israeli President Moshe Katsav. Heads of major Israeli and Diaspora groups who came together decided to establish a World Jewish Forum – based on the model of the World Economic Forum — to tackle the challenges facing world Jewry. A key question at the meeting was how to attract a cross section of influential Jews beyond the ranks of Jewish organizations. In May, the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, a think tank associated with the Jewish Agency for Israel, took a similar approach at the Wye River Conference Center, in Maryland. The meeting drew luminaries such as Steinhardt, Harvard President Lawrence Summers and Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz to address issues such as Diaspora Jews’ decreasing affiliation. Other conferences are focused on distilling Jewish identity. KolDor, a new Israel-based group that serves as a think tank of prominent young Jews around the world, met June 23-27 in Israel. The group is “seeking to articulate a positive, inclusive platform for the Jewish people,” from defining Jewish values and “peoplehood” to the role of Diaspora Jewry vis-?-vis Israel. This fall, New York City’s Jewish Week newspaper will host “The Conversation: Jewish in America,” in Aspen, Colo. The conference will draw 75 American Jews “who are leaders or potential leaders in their respective fields to talk about the future of Jewish life in this country and what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century,” according to the conference’s Web site. Despite the number of annual conferences already held by Jewish organizations, some say the new conferences are filling a void. According to Mark Charendoff, president of the Jewish Funders Network, the gatherings are motivated partly by what is lacking at the General Assembly (GA), the annual conference of the North American Jewish federation system. “I think there was once the hope that the GA would serve as that meeting ground for Jewish leadership to discuss the larger issues of Jewish life, and I think there was a point in the history of the GA when that was the case, and I think a lot of people are disappointed that it’s no longer the case,” Charendoff said. People are seeing that “all of the organized Jewish community is missing the boat.” At Katsav’s meeting, “it was pointed out that the collective efforts of organized Jewish life are reaching about 30 percent of the American Jewish community,” said Charendoff, who attended the meeting and expressed his hope that a World Jewish Forum would attract the most talented Jews — from the business world to Hollywood. Gail Hyman, senior vice president of communications for the United Jewish Communities (UJC), the federation system’s umbrella organization, said Charendoff was “correct that there certainly was a feeling that something had to be injected into GA thinking and planning to bring it back to a place of excitement and energy and purpose.” But, she said, UJC has been doing just that — moving to make its annual assembly more relevant, interactive and provocative — and instituting changes designed to attract younger Jews. “We want very much for the GA to be the place to be for Jewish community leaders across the United States and Canada,” she said. The GA is a “unique place on the calendar and a unique event,” she said, one that tries “to marry those big global discussions” — on issues such as anti-Semitism, the Gaza withdrawal plan or Jewish ethics — “with the very real needs of local federations” and other UJC constituents. According to Yosef Abramowitz, a KolDor member and CEO of the Newton, Mass.-based Jewish Family and Life, a publisher of Jewish content online, the recent conferences reflect distress over the 2000-2001 National Jewish Population Survey, which revealed a lack of progress toward meeting challenges identified in a prior study a decade earlier. The 2000-2001 survey found an estimated 5.2 million Jews living in America, down from 5.5 million in 1990. Forty-seven percent of Jews who had married in the prior five years had wed non-Jews, up from 43 percent in 1990. “The community is beginning to realize that there isn’t a deficit of resources, but a deficit of vision,” Abramowitz said. “That’s where new voices and visions come in, and mixing up the many leadership groupings in new ways in search of answers,” The community’s new agenda will focus on “peoplehood” above religion, a renewed Jewish mission and developing new leaders, Abramowitz said. Several have found the conferences invigorating. “While many of the people invited to the president’s meeting started off skeptical, my sense was that by the end they felt that something significant could be accomplished and were pleased to be part of the effort,” said Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, who participated in the Katsav conference in June. But Yoffie warned against conferences that focus on crises while ignoring the vibrancy of modern Jewish life. “These conferences have become somewhat of a joke among many younger Jews who wonder aloud why they should be part of a people whose major activity is seminars on survival,” he said. “Do we really need one more conference to tell us that we need to do a better job in Jewish education? As if nobody had thought of that before.” “That fact is that we pretty much know what we need. And there are times when we require less talk and more action, more mitzvot, more focusing on the joys, the satisfactions and the holiness of Jewish life and less on the sword of extinction that hangs over our head.” According to Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who attended the Wye conference, the new discussions may help overhaul a hierarchy of Jewish leadership that seems to reward wealth over aptitude. “All these conferences reflect a deep feeling that the time has come to broaden the base of Jewish leadership beyond the ‘gelt-givers,'” he said, adding that donors should remain leaders, but not the exclusive shareholders of Jewish organizations. “We are too mature a community to have our leadership based entirely on wealth,” he said. Can Jewish Groups Get Back on Track? Read More » |
