Stella Goren is only about 4-foot-10, but she packs a strong punch.
It all started when she was turning 79, and her husband asked what she wanted for her birthday.
“I'd like to work out at a gym with a personal trainer,” Goren told him.
In spite of thinking she was meshugge and assuming this wouldn't last, her husband gave his wife of 45 years what she wanted.
“I was very happy,” Sam Goren recalled. “I didn't have to go out and buy her a present.”
It turned out to be the perfect gift. Goren has been working out at the In Training Fitness Center in Hollywood, and loving it, for the past five years.
“Most exercise classes for seniors have you sitting in a chair and you bend down, you lift your arms, you turn your head,” Goren said. “The teachers don't really push you and there's no weight training. This makes sense, because you can get injured if you aren't with a real trainer. But I wanted to build up my muscles and bones.”
Well, Goren wanted to be pushed — and she got it.
Her personal trainer is Stan Ward, a champion heavyweight boxer who was recently inducted into the California State Boxing Hall of Fame. It's obvious that he really likes and admires Stella Goren.
“When you see an 80-year-old lady come into the gym and she has an attitude of 'Yeah, I can do that,' and then she does it, that's impressive,” Ward said. “There are several people in the gym, much younger than she is who don't have half her gumption to do half of the things she does. In fact, when she was there six months, everyone was appalled at how well she was doing. 'She can't do that. How's she doing that?'”
Indeed, Ward was so impressed with Goren's stamina, attitude and coordination that he thought she could handle something more — something like boxing.
“When he asked if I wanted to try boxing, I said sure,” Goren recalled, “and it's been great. What I really like is that you can get out all of your aggressions.”
Goren did make one stipulation when she began her boxing training: “I can hit, but they can't hit me back. I'm not stupid — I don't want to get hurt. I do, however, get hit in the nose sometimes when I work out with the speed ball by myself.”
Goren's background might have suggested the possibility of beginning to box at 81 years old.
She grew up in New Haven, Conn., the middle child of three girls. But she had a special role in the family.
“I had a brother that died in the flu epidemic,” she said. “I became the boy of the family; I was my father's son. He taught me to do electrical and plumbing repairs, and I was driving his truck at 14.”
When the United States entered World War II, Goren joined the Marines. What she learned in that training, as well as her willingness to take on a challenge, apparently emerged when she came to the gym.
“She's definitely a Marine,” Ward said. “She's in it 100 percent. She refuses to quit; she doesn't give an inch. Once she sets her mind to something, she gets it done.”
The payoff for all of her hard work has been tremendous, Goren said.
“Everybody knows me at the gym,” she said. “I walk in, and I'm greeted — 'Hi love.' 'Hi champ.' I feel so loved and like a ganser macher — like a big shot.”
Goren's husband, Sam, who at 81 runs several miles a day, is very impressed with his wife's accomplishments.
“She's become younger, in her thinking and talking,” he said. “And she tries to keep me in line by telling me about all the adulation she gets from the young men at the gym.”
Before she started her physical training at 79, Goren already had a wonderful hobby. In fact, a visit to her home is like touring an art gallery. Every wall and every shelf is filled with fabulous paintings, sculptures and quilts that Goren has created.
“The day I turned 62,” she said, “I retired from my work as a secretary and started taking art classes at Westside JCC. Now I spend more time working out and boxing.”
Ward said Goren inspires him.
“Because of the vivaciousness she has and how she conducts herself, people don't look at her as if she is old,” he said. “If you go around like you're on your last leg, you will stimulate people's negative views of what old people will be like. She is the opposite. She dances and she has fun. She always comes into the gym with a smile; everyone loves her. She's a wonderful person.”
Goren said that working out has truly changed her.
“You can really see the difference from when I showed up the first time and how I am now,” she said. “I was very timid. I'm much more outgoing now, and that is a very new feeling for me. I actually feel confident for the first time in my life.”
While we are of the opinion that adult twins who dress alike are about as cheesy or creepy as you can get, we can’t speak for the Rosenblum Twins’ comedic skills. The identically attractive Jewish girls perform their bit, “The Separation Anxiety Tour,” as special guests in tonight’s Masquers Cabaret lineup.
9:30 p.m. $15 (cover, plus two-drink minimum). 8334 W. Third St., Los Angeles. (323) 653-4848.
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Sunday, August 7
Down-home blues and pretty bluegrass are just some of the sounds you’ll hear today at the Skirball’s “American Roots Musical Festival.” Acclaimed blues and gospel performers The Holmes Brothers and zyedeco artist Geno Delafose headline the daylong extravaganza that highlights our musical past.
2-7 p.m. $5-$15 (general), free (children under 12). 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. (866) 468-3399.
Monday, August 8
The dirt behind the manicured lawns of fictional suburban town, Agrestic, Calif., is “Weeds,” a new Showtime comedy series. Created and executive produced by Jenji Kohan (Emmy Award-winner and sister of “Will and Grace” exec producer/creator David Kohan), the show stars Mary-Louise Parker as a different kind of desperate housewife. The widowed mother of two turns to selling pot to pay the bills after her husband’s sudden death. Elizabeth Perkins and Kevin Nealon also star. The show premieres this week.
10 p.m.
Tuesday, August 9
Cuz you can’t get enough industry talk in this city, head downtown tonight to partake in yet another conversation on the state of Hollywood through Zócalo at California Plaza. Robert J. Dowling, 15-year Hollywood Reporter editor-in-chief, and L.A. Times columnist Joel Stein discuss both the culture and the business of this business — and, most importantly, TomKat.
7 p.m. Free. 351 S. Olive St., Los Angeles. (213) 403-0416.
Wednesday, August 10
For one heck of a hora film, see Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in “Wedding Crashers,” about two friends who crash weddings to hook up with women. The opening montage includes the two hamming it up at various ethnic weddings, including a Jewish one.
Thursday, August 11
The rich diversity of L.A.’s religious community is on display in photographer Robert Berger’s latest book, “Sacred Spaces: Historical Houses of Worship in the City of Angels.” The book’s title and contents also make up the Skirball Cultural Center’s new exhibition of Images representing L.A.’s religious sanctuaries of past and present. It opens today.
Runs through Nov. 27. Free. 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 440-4500.
Friday, August 12
For escapist humor don’t look to Theatre 40’s latest production. Jules Feiffer’s biting black comedy, “Little Murders,” will offer you humor all right, but there will be no escape. Set in an urban, violent Manhattan, the play centers on one family coping with the usual American family dysfunction, complete with overbearing mother, passive father and sexually confused son. It plays through Sept. 3.
8 p.m. (Thurs.-Sat.), 2 p.m. (Sat., Aug. 13, 20, 27 and Sept. 3; Sun., Aug. 7). $18-$20. Reuben Cordova Theatre, 241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills High Campus. R.S.V.P., (310) 364-0535.
Ellen Bernstein has been called the birth mother of the Jewish environmental movement. In 1988, she founded Shomrei Adamah (Keepers of the Earth), the first national Jewish environmental organization, and since leaving the group in 1996 has been an educator, consultant and writer. Her new book, “The Splendor of Creation: A Biblical Ecology” (Pilgrim Press), is a gem, beautifully written and produced. While it is inherently a narrative about ecological issues as framed by the first chapter of Genesis, it is really a deeper poetic work about being alive to life’s wonders, feeling connected to creation and to the Creator.
Although Bernstein is a person of action, her goal is not so much to foster activism as to help people gain appreciation of the environment as well as Judaism. Readers will learn about nature and experience what Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel called “radical amazement.” Bernstein, one of the few Jewish authors besides Evan Eisenberg who writes lyrically about nature, describes seeing with the soul and cultivating intimacy with the earth.
“Genesis I is particularly beautiful and poetic,” she says. “I was inspired … to contextualize environment in a totally different way.”
In seven chapters, each devoted to a day of creation, Bernstein weaves biblical text, midrash, the writings of naturalists and autobiography. In her chapter “Water, Earth and Plants: The Third Day,” she gracefully slips from talking about the physical qualities of water to its natural flow to open-heartedness in a few paragraphs.
While growing up in what she describes as a lackluster Jewish environment in New England, Bernstein sought solace and adventure in the woods. After pursuing environmental studies at Berkeley, she studied Eastern religions but revisited the Bible in search of wisdom she might have missed. She came to realize that “ecology and the Bible were using different languages to describe the same thing…. Both teach humility, modesty, kindness to all beings, a reverence for life and … that the earth is sacred and mysterious,” she writes.
In the 10 years it took Bernstein to complete “Creation,” she studied theologians such as Nachmanides and the 19th-century German Orthodox Rabbi Raphael Hirsch, “who expressed an uncanny ecological perspective,” she says.
As she was writing, she heard the words of the 11th-century philosopher Rabbi Bahya ibn Pakuda: “Meditation on creation is obligatory. You should try to understand both the smallest and greatest of God’s creatures.”
As I climbed the green Galilean hills of Tsfat to reach the family hosting me for Shabbat, I wondered how it had changed since the last time I was in Israel’s mystical city.
I was here to visit with the Lipshutz family. They had moved here 12 years ago and are currently active in building programs and events to call attention to Tsfat’s power and beauty, both physical and spiritual. The town’s kabbalist past drew Madonna, who made a prayer stop of this prophesized center for the beginning of redemption.
When I first arrived here a decade ago, there was nothing “special” or “spiritual” about the experience, unless eating fish heads dipped in mayonnaise is considered a transcendent ritual.
Back then I was a seminary student, studying in Tsfat’s sister city of Jerusalem. My friend, Mya, and I were set up at the home of an elderly modern Orthodox couple for Shabbat, a common practice for seminary girls who quest that “special” and “spiritual” Shabbat experience.
Tsfat is supposed to be a place to commune with God, to experience an awakening, to have prayers answered. My teachers touted it as the home of spiritual seekers and leaders — from the patriarch Jacob who studied at the yeshiva of Shem and Ever, to the great 16th century kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Luria (the Arizal), to contemporary artists drawing inspiration from the historic city.
All we ended up praying for was to get out of the apartment we were staying in, which was as inspirational as a “Golden Girls” rerun.
We snuck out, with Mya wearing torn jeans as a ruse to attract some religious guru seeking to bring us closer to God. We roamed the streets of Tsfat, walking through stone alleyways like two lost dogs hungry for spiritual inspiration — and a decent meal.
We took solace in ornate gates painted in mystical blue, peeked through the doors of ancient synagogues and read names on the tombstones of women whose lives must have been more simple and spiritual than ours.
It wasn’t long before our search finally came to an end. We happened upon a modern Orthodox couple sitting in their balcony who noticed Mya’s jeans and invited us in.
Not only did they feed us, but they told us what we wanted to hear. They explained that contrary to what many of our rabbis taught, Judaism demanded that we be good people first, and that religious practice should come at our own pace.
Convinced we’d found the answers we’d come to seek in Tsfat, we returned to our elderly hosts, spiritually and physically sated.
“Tsfat has always been somewhat esoteric,” said Talya Lipshutz, head of the new program, Access Tsfat, and my host. “Tourists came to view the historic sites and to buy art, but they never dug deep enough to unlock the spiritual power of the city — to be healed, informed and uplifted.”
Lipshutz is hoping to change that with Access Tsfat, a program open to anyone — singles, families, Jews and non-Jews — who seek to draw inspiration from the city. The wife and mother of eight is working with the Nachal Novea Tsfat Fund to revitalize the city as a tourist destination by easing visitors’ spiritual and physical search and offering Shabbat hospitality.
Access Tsfat provides a variety of tracks to explore the city and its surrounding area. Weekday half-day tracks offer an in-depth look at the city, with walking tours of historic synagogues, the artist colony and its ancient cemetery; visits to Galilean landmarks; classes in history, Judaism, mysticism and Chasidut, as well as arts and crafts for kids.
An outdoor track called Northern Xtreme will provide visitors with a totally new perspective of Tsfat. Licensed Breslov Chasidic guides lead tourists in rappelling and hiking in the caves, mountains and valleys of the Upper Galilee.
“But probably the most important experience will be Shabbat hospitality. You can’t really get a whole feel for Tsfat without being here for Shabbat,” Lipshutz said.
Compared with my last visit, this Tsfat experience was handed to me on a silver platter. A great Shabbat meal, handheld walks on the ancient steps and deep discussions about Madonna’s spark of holiness.
Had Lipshutz’s program been in place 10 years ago, I would have been spared a lot of heartache. But as I read in a book on kabbalah, true spiritual meaning is often achieved through suffering.
So while Access Tsfat is an ideal way to begin a trek through this city, no one should fear exploring its alleyways alone or with a friend. Look beyond the city’s blue gates when visiting, and up to the blue sky. For it’s there you’ll find the hidden treasures of the city — and of the heart.
Access Tsfat tracks are slated for Aug. 18-22 and coincide with the second annual klezmer festival being held in Tsfat from Aug. 15-22. For more useful information on Tsfat and Access Tsfat, visit www.tsfat.com.
Orit Arfa is a writer living in Tel Aviv. She can be reached at ekzmail@adelphia.net.
MORRIS APPLEMAN died July 8 at 98. He is survived by his daughters, Sandi Liebert-Simon and Elaine Glaser; four grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. Hillside
THELMA AYEROFF died July 6 at 89. She is survived by her daughter, Lana Brody; son, Jeff (Martie); and three grandchildren. Hillside
Alvan Irving Beck died July 5 at 73. He is survived by his wife, Blanca; sons, Daniel and Luis Marcilla, Dennis and Brent; daughter, Rosi Marcilla; five grandchildren; brother, Larry. Groman
JACK BERMAN died July 7 at 91. He is survived by his daughter, Barbara Dreyfus. Sholom Chapels
Evelyn Bobrosky died July 4 at 83. She is survived by her son, Jerry; daughters, Suzy Reznick, Debby Shuman and Edie Dayan; 12 grandchildren; and seven great grandchildren. Groman
SAMUEL COHEN died July 5 at 95. He is survived by his wife, Esther; daughters, Sharon (Bob) Wiviott and Faye (Gary) Waldman; son, Larry (Paulette); 20 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren. Hillside
Joseph Conison died July 6 at 91. He is survived by his daughter, Ilene (Andrew) Scharlach; granddaughters, Rebecca and Emily Scharlach; brothers, Julius and Allan; sister, Eva Nedelman; and brother-in-law, Robert Friedman. Sinai Memorial Chapel
DAVID EDSON died July 5 at 75. He is survived by his wife, Bobbi; daughters, Dori (Chuck) Boyles, Lisa, Cindy (John) and Libby. five grandchildren; and brother, Chuck (Sue). Hillside
SAUL EZERSKY died July 5 at 79. He is survived by his wife, Suzanne; and son, Mark. Sholom Chapels
CELIA FELDGREBER died July 4 at 92. She is survived by her daughter, Marcey Wallman. Sholom Chapels
Nettie Frishman died July 4 at 92. She is survived by her son, Edward (Gaye) Peltzman; daughter, Shirley (Sol) Morrison; stepdaughters, Marian (William) Schiff and Norma Baitman; nine grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; brothers, Stanley (Phyllis) and Marshall (Adrienne) Nathanson; and cousin, Edythe Spinadel. Mount Sinai
KELLEY GARDENS died July 4 at 76. She is survived by her daughter, Candace Culp; 14 grandchildren; and 20 great grandchildren. Hillside
Leonard Allen Goldman died July 7 at 75. He is survived by his wife, MeraLee; son, Mark (Tracey); daughters, Tami and Robin (Jim Popkin); and three grandchildren. Mount Sinai
IRVING GORDON died July 6 at 83. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; son, Gary; daughter, Betty; three grandchildren; brothers, Jack and Milton; and sister, Maddy. Hillside
Frances Gray died July 7 at 88. She is survived by her son, Steve; and sister, Janice. Mount Sinai
Sacha Grunpeter died July 6 at 33. He is survived by his parents, Joseph and Susan. Chevra Kadisha
CLAIRE HALPRIN died June 20 at 94. She is survived by her daughter, Nancy (Lonny) Scharf; and grandchildren. Sholom Chapels
BERTHA HELLMAN died July 16 at 96. She is survived by her son, Bryce (Hannah); daughter, Racelle Manes; grandchildren; and great-grandchildren. Sholom Chapels
Mac Helsabeck died July 6 at 92. He is survived by his daughter, June (Paul) Canter; sons, Steve (Dianna), Eric (Pat) and Glen (Penny); eight grandchildren; and nephew, Joseph. Mount Sinai
Arthur Holz died July 8 at 84. He is survived by his wife, Doris; son, Michael; daughter, Joanne (Jonathan) Holz-Evans; and two grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman
Bluma Horwitz died July 6 at 92. She is survived by her daughters, Judith Jeffen and Lael Horwitz; four grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; sisters, Genevieve Robbins and Fern Naxon. Groman.
Selma Helena Kagan died June 30 at 89. She is survived by her son, Robert (Mimi) Real; and grandchildren. Chevra Kadisha
BENJAMIN KATZ died July 4 at 77. He is survived by his sister, Pearl Ziskrout; and niece, Julia Kelly. Hillside
SUSAN WOLF KOZBERG died July 4 at 68. She is survived by her daughter, Nancy Paul; sons, Steven (Gisele) and James (Wendy) Paul; seven grandchildren; and brothers, Bennett (Sue) and Donald (Elaine) Wolf. Hillside
Polina Lerner died July 6 at 68. She is survived by her husband, Yakov; and sons Vadim and Yevgeniy. Chevra Kadisha
Morton Lesh died July 4 at 73. He is survived by his wife, Rhoda; daughter, Susan; sons, Scott (Darla) and Mitchell (Aleta); three grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and sister, Sandy Zerbersky. Mount Sinai
Florence Levinson died July 3 at 96. She is survived by her daughter, Harlene (Fred) Leeds; six grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and sister, Lillian. Mount Sinai
Stanley Levinson died July 5 at 97. He is survived by his daughter, Judy Weisman; three grandchildren; great-granddaughter, Megan Beitner; and brother, Robert. Mount Sinai
Esther Lewinstein died July 6 at 92. She is survived by her daughter, Ruthie Krivis; son, Bill; six grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and sister, Mary Lewis. Mount Sinai
Harry Liebman died July 7. He is survived by his wife, Beatrice; son, Gary (Denae); daughter, Barbara; and grandchildren, Brandon and Todd. Mount Sinai
Helayne Lipkin died July 7 at 56. She is survived by her father, Nathaniel; and sister, Stanlee Lipkin. Malinow and Silverman
HANS MANASSE died July 5 at 86. He is survived by his wife, Margot; daughter, Diana (Mitchell) Mednick; son, Jerry; grandchildren Michele (Matthew) and Robert; great-grandchild, Jaden; sister-in-law, Charlotte (Ernest) Wulkan; and many nieces and nephews. Hillside
PEARL MARKS died July 3 at 79. She is survived by her husband, Murray; son, Daniel; daughter, Eileen; and five grandchildren. Hillside
Barbara Ann Moore died July 5 at 60. She is survived by her mother, Sylvia; and brother, David (Tobi) Schneider. Malinow and Silverman
PAUL NEWMAN died June 20 at 96. He is survived by his daughter, Paula. Sholom Chapels
DOROTHY OKEN died June 25 at 87. She is survived by her son, Dr. Ben Chatoff. Sholom Chapels
Dorothy Oppenheim died July 6 at 86. She is survived by her son, Elliott (Kathy); daughter, Sheri (Chaim) Neuberg; four grandchildren; sisters, Sarah (Harvey) Austin and Betty (Leonaard) Gorelick; and brother, Jack Cohen. Mount Sinai
IRA REISMAN died July 3 at 51. He is survived by his wife, Miriam; daughters, Stacey and Jamie; brother-in-law, David Finkelstein; and nephew, Eric Finkelstein. Hillside
Shirley Reiter died July 5 at 83. She is survived by her husband, Jerome; son, Terry (Margie); daughter, Genise (Geoff) Tully; and three grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Pearl Saltsman died July 6 at 96. She is survived by her stepsons, Sidney (Helen), Louis (Florance) and Gerald (Ann); nine grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai
FLORENCE SANDLER died July, 5 at 78. She is survived by her son, Howard; daughter, Lori; three grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and brothers, Robert and Paul Rehmar. Hillside
Jennie Sherman died July 7 at 90. She is survived by her niece, Christine Silberman. Malinow and Silverman
Khaya Shrage died July 4 at 86. She is survived by her sister, Mysia Robin. Groman
Theodore Spector died July 5 at 87. He is survived by his wife, Esther; sons, Ira (Alisa) and Mark; daughter, Francine (Michael); three granchildren; and nieces and nephews. Hillside
Saul Stanoff died July 2 at 88. He is survived by his wife, Marsha; daughter, Robin Williams; six grandchildren; brother, Harry Stanoff; and sister, Rose Danchik. Groman
Israel StuhL died July 6 at 75. He is survived by his wife, Sarah; sons, Michael (Paula) and Jeremy (Dina); and four grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Perri Turkheimer died July 5 at 55. She is survived by her husband, Alan; son, Aaron; and sister, Jan Matthews. Mount Sinai
Jeannette Wachbrit died July 6 at 88. She is survived by her sons, Michael (Jill), Joel (Jill); granddaughters, Michelle and Tracy; brother, Dr. Seymour (Annette) Bird; and sisters, Selma Framson and Annalee (Kal) Kaufer. Mount Sinai
Sylvia Leah Weitzman died June 14 at 76. She is survived by her husband, Seymour; daughters, Randy (Robert) Greenspan and Karen Hampton; stepdaughters, Terie Lesner and Farryl; stepsons, Marc (Kathie) and Bruce; nine grandchildren; great-grandchild, Rieley; and brother, Emery (Shirley) Kubrin. Mount Sinai
ALYCE MARIE WOLF died July 5 at 88. She is survived by her husband Dr. Earl; son, Dr. Stuart (Peggy) Wolf; daughter, Dorianne Tobey Bass; grandchildren, Dr. Bryon and Ari (Heather) Bass; and great-grandchildren, Betsy and Darcy Bass. Hillside
Three cheers for the gutsy parent who spoke up about the sexual ethics program at Alonim. (“Beyond the Birds and the Bees,” July 17). I was a CIT at Alonim 45 years ago during the “golden days,” when founding pioneer Dr. Shlomo Bardin was running the camp.
We had sessions on sexual ethics. However, Bardin would never trust a “facilitator” with such a subject. This task was entrusted to no less a person than Rabbi Jacob Pressman. Pressman gave us solid Jewish values to carry with us for the rest of our lives. He also accomplished this without squandering $20,000 of the Jewish community’s money.
Rabbi Louis J. Feldman Van Nuys
Goldberg’s List
Rob Eshman does not refute that the 25 Jews, or for that matter the remaining 75 non-Jews, do not “screw up America.” (“Goldberg’s List,” July 29). The reason he does not do this is because he can’t.
Though a few of the book’s entries I do not agree with, I do agree with the book’s general thesis that there is a media-education-legal elite which is doing significant damage to this country.
Instead of trying to morally equivocate Bernard Goldberg to various hate groups, Eshman would do his readers a big service and evaluate a much more important question: Why is it that when liberals (Jewish or otherwise) try to tear down America, they get upset when there are consequences and strong reactions to their behavior?
Loren Picard Sausalito
If the directors of news at the major networks (except, of course, Fox) are on the list of people screwing up America, how long will it take for a politician bent on “saving America” to push the FCC to require that the network news divisions take steps to become more “fair and balanced” like Fox.
And, if The New York Times columns critical of the Bush administration are no longer honest critiques of policy by a Princeton professor, but rather the product of one of the 100 people screwing up America, what right-minded reader that cares about America won’t support a campaign for their local paper to stop carrying Paul Krugman’s columns?
I’ve heard Bernard Goldberg on television stress that words have consequences. How true. That’s why a book like his on the top of the best-seller list is so dangerous.
David Spencer via e-mail
For Bernard Goldberg’s response to Rob Eshman’s editorial, see Opinion
Meet Dov
For a long time I withheld reading The Journal, but recently started again only to find out that nothing has changed. The front page story, “Meet Dov,” a story of depravity and Chilul Hashem, had no place in The Journal and especially featured as it was (“Unfashionable Crisis,” July 29). Isn’t there any “Jewish” news that the editors can feature which would make our people proud rather than ashamed?
Uri Hirsch Los Angeles
The Israel Vote
Idan Ivri’s article on Israelis living abroad was right on point (“Political Journal,” July 29). I recently returned from Israel and met with members of the Knesset (Dr. Yuval Steinitz, Gideon Sa’ar and Gilad Erdan) who all agreed it was time for Israelis living abroad to have the right to vote in Israel.
The next generation of Israeli politicians does not hold in contempt Israelis living abroad as did previous generations. Today, Israeli leadership is well aware of the vibrant Israeli Jewish community in Los Angeles who regularly watch Israeli television, read Israeli newspapers, quietly financially support the State of Israel and do business with Israeli businesses.
Once Israelis living abroad are given the right to vote in Israel, the Israeli Jewish community living in Los Angeles will most assuredly become a leading Jewish community.
As was confirmed to me over and over again, those who grew up in Israel, served in the Israeli military, lost friends and loved ones who defended the State of Israel and who have a vast network of family and friends living in Israel know more than any other Diaspora Jewish community what is in Israel’s best interest.
Those of us who grew up outside of Israel would be well served by a politically active, vocal Israeli Jewish community living among us.
Myles L. Berman Chairman Beverly Hills Chapter American Friends of Likud
Jewish Leaders
As a federation that has been a supporter of the Kol D’or think tank for young Jews, I think that the Rachel Pomerance article misses a crucial point (“Can Jewish Groups Get Back on Track?” July 22).
The annual UJC General Assembly serves a very different purpose than the other initiatives. Just by virtue of the number of registrants, in the thousands, it changes the focus of the GA conference to a more grass-roots, broad-based opportunity to exchange ideas and best practices within the Jewish world.
The Jewish People Planning Institute, Kol D’or and the Israel President Moshe Katsav meetings are structured to engage elite leaders in a small group setting, allowing for serious engagement on strategic issues for the Jewish people. This is not the focus of the General Assembly, which is more tactical in its thrust.
The General Assembly will take place in Los Angeles in November 2006. Anyone interested should contact The Federation with ideas on how to make it a more effective event for a meaningful exchange on issues core to Jewish life.
John R. Fishel President The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
From the List
The Jewish Journal criticizes the Bernie Goldberg book for naming many Jews whom Goldberg believes are hurting the country — the critique is that extreme right-wing Web sites will use Goldberg’s arguments to tar Jews (“Goldberg’s List,” July 29). Yet, mainstream leftists tar Jews and Israel all the time to the general public, glorifying Rachel Corrie (a member of an organization supportive of Palestinian terror against Jews) and compare the Israeli separation wall to the East German death walls.
So which is worse: lending aid and comfort to fringe obscure Web sites, or lending aid and comfort to anti-Jews and anti-Israelis in the general media?
Paul Almond Via e-mail
Once again, Jews achieve — however dubiously — far exceeding their proportion of the general population. Hooray for us! Notwithstanding Rob Eshman’s condescending commentary regarding Bernard Goldberg, I can understand how some of the listed folks could belong on this list within their respective fields.
John Hindsill La Crescenta
Rob Eshman’s July 29 editorial attack on Bernard Goldberg’s recent book included an accusation that publishing his list of dangerous individuals could lead to an outbreak of anti-Semitism.
Eshman identified 25 percent of those on his list as Jewish. One whom he particularly seems to admire is “radio pioneer” (his words) Howard Stern. Sadly, several weeks ago, you also featured an article by one of your editors, Howard Blume, which, as several of your readers noted in letters to the editor, provided ammunition to those hostile to Israel and made little effort to offer a balanced account.
By the way, is this the same Howard Blume who appears as a commentator on KPFK, a fiercely anti-Israel station that has in the past had (and maybe still has) a weekly Middle East program that consists largely of Israel bashing? (With friends like The Jewish Journal….)
Sheldon Friedlander Via e-mail
Leder ‘Madness’
Rabbi Steven Leder departs from a whole history of Jewish thought and seeks to turn his personal political convictions into religious dogma (“The Way of Madness,” July 22).
To argue that Pinchas was awarded the priesthood so that he would calm down is opposed to the whole history of Jewish discussion of the subject, as well as God’s explicit approval of Pinchas’ action: “He skewered the two of them, the Israelite man and the woman, in her belly, and the plague ceased from upon the Israelites…. God spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Pinchas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest removed My wrath from the Israelites when he avenged My vengeance among them, so that I did not annihilate the Israelites in my vengeance.'”
Additionally, Leder’s assumption that those who support continued Jewish life in Gaza, Judea and Samaria value settlement of the land more than life is highly offensive. There is, and has been, a debate about whether giving the Palestinian Arabs more land will cause an increase or a decrease in loss of life.
Those who oppose the plan note that most Palestinian Arabs view disengagement as an Israeli defeat, that Hamas is poised to seize power and that Israel’s borders before the Arabs provoked the 1967 War — the very borders to which some would now return without even a paper treaty — were indefensible.
Nobody seeks to minimize the value of life; indeed, opponents of Ariel Sharon’s plan fear the violence that would be provoked by the perception of a victory for terrorism. I would like to see an apology from Leder for his dreadful accusation.
David B. Greenberg Flushing, N.Y.
Steven Leder’s comparison of Pinchas’ zealotry to the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin is imprudent. Since God rewards Pinchas with a “covenant of peace” and identifies him with his famously peaceful grandfather, Aaron, it is clear from the context that his action was justified. (Numbers 25:11-12)
Worse, Leder’s suggestion that in light of the plan to expel Jews from Gaza, “we all wait and wonder whether” a Pinchas will “live again” (i.e. a religious Jew will murder another Jew) is a slap in the face to the entire Orthodox community, which condemned the murder of Yitzchak Rabin.
In addition, huge numbers of Jewish Israeli members of the nationalist Zionist camp oppose the transfer of 9,000 Jews in Gaza and northern Samaria from their homes, synagogues, schools and businesses, yet have illustrated in dozens of demonstrations that they are committed to expressing themselves peacefully. Leder should be ashamed of himself for comparing a biblical leader of the Jewish people to a murderer who was ostracized by the entire Jewish community.
It is ironic that in a piece about the Torah portion, Leder so offensively slanders those who differ from him religiously or politically as not valuing human life.
J.H. Iskowitz Los Angeles
Ugly Words
It’s a shame that Joseph Aaron is more upset by the ugly rhetoric on Gaza than he is by the ugly action threatened by the government, encouraging the enemy by “ethnically cleansing” the area of Jews (“There’s No Place for Ugly Words on Gaza,” July 28).
This does not represent one of “those unifying values” of our people, and it is the action, not the words, which is “endangering the Jewish people”.
This is not comparable to exercising eminent domain to use land for a public purpose. A truer comparison would be removal of all Americans from California because Iran or Libya wants the territory.
The nonpolitical role of the army is defiled when it is used against Jews, not our enemies, for enforcement of a policy, not defense.
Louis Richter Encino
Joseph Aaron is entitled to his opinion. But he is not entitled to engage in calumnies against groups of Jews he disagrees with.
The expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif and other areas of Gaza is to be done forcibly. Jews are to be expelled from Gaza and later, most of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and never to return.
This is not an “eminent domain” or a “land-use” issue. The fact that Ariel Sharon managed to pass this “lawful” expulsion order through the Knesset still marks this as the first deportation of Jews from a part of the Land of Israel since the establishment of the State of Israel.
Gaza, by Jewish law (halacha), is part of the Land of Israel. The Sinai peninsula was not considered part of the Land of Israel. The fact that most North Americans and Israelis of Jewish ancestry are secular simply points out that Jewish law is meaningless to them.
Aaron alleges that “senior rabbis” made “halachic references” that it would be a mitzvah to assassinate the prime minister of Israel. Say what? How about some small details like who, what, where and when? And this guy is an editor of a major Jewish newspaper in a major American city?
He ends this outrage with the idea that “two things” have “always” been “unifying forces” for the Jewish people: The “sacred” memory of the Holocaust and “respecting the nonpolitical role of the Israeli army.”
Excuse me, sir — just what held the Jewish people together before 1940?
As a personal observation to the editor: This could simply be a case of the visiting village idiot. Or just when you think the Jewish people have hit bottom, some Jews insist on digging yet deeper.
Answer these questions for a chance to win a summer ice cream treat:
1. The name of the Jewish month that begins this Saturday is:
a. Av
b. Tammuz
c. Java
2. What special Jewish day occurs in this month?
a. Purim
b. Israel Independence Day
c. The fast of Tisha B’Av.
3. What is a meaning for this month in Hebrew?
a. Juice
b. Father
c. Computer program
X-CITING!
The X Games will take place, beginning Aug. 4, this summer in Los Angeles. Events will take place in Los Angeles, Carson, Long Beach and Huntington Beach.
You can see some of your favorite X athletes, like Bucky Lasek, Brian Deegan and Travis Pastrana.
The words below rhyme with the actual sports that will be included in the X Games. X-plore these and discover the correct words:
Wakeboarding is a combination of surfing and water skiing. Riders are towed behind a boat while spinning, flipping and twisting off the boat’s wake — in addition to using water obstacles — to try to score points.
The Youngest X Games Gold Medalist
His name is Ryan Sheckler. He was born in San Clemente, California, and he won his first gold medal when he was 13! He will turn 15 this year.
 
