September 15, 2005

Getting Out Before Katrina Still Painful

Julie Gruenbaum Fax September 15, 2005

It\’s hard for Gideon Daneshrad to imagine himself on the receiving end of tzedakah (charitable giving). In the 30 years since he arrived from Iran to study computer science at North Louisiana University in Monroe, Daneshrad, 56, has built himself a full life — with four children, a lakefront home and New Orleans\’ only kosher restaurant.

\”Just close your eyes and imagine that you wake up in the morning and you are stripped of your identity,\” Daneshrad says. \”You are nobody. You are nothing. You have no money coming in. You don\’t have clothes. You don\’t have food. And all the people you knew are scattered around the world.\”

Daneshrad and his family have been in Los Angeles for more than a week, and he still finds himself imagining this is all a nightmare.

7 Days in The Arts

Keren Engelberg September 15, 2005

Jews of the LBC rejoice as they finally get a film fest all their own. The first Long Beach Jewish Film Festival will be held today and tomorrow, thanks to the support of the Alpert JCC and the Cal State Long Beach Jewish studies program.

Spectator – Family Doc Unlocks Doors

Susan Josephs September 15, 2005

Growing up in Syracuse, N.Y, Eileen Douglas lived for the moments she could climb into her grandfather\’s lap and find the pennies he brought — special for her. He faithfully visited his grandchildren every day after leaving his work as a butcher. Yet he never really spoke about his upbringing in Kovno, Lithuania.

\”I thought we weren\’t allowed to talk about it, that if you did, you would hurt the family,\” Douglas recalled. \”My grandfather died suddenly when I was 12 and I never got to say goodbye.\”

Some 25 years after her grandfather died, Douglas paid a visit to her childhood home and stumbled upon a series of forgotten family photographs.

L.A’s Helping Hands

John Fishel September 15, 2005

My friend\’s tale is one among tens of thousands; many are far more devastating, as families are dealing with the deaths of loved ones and the loss of nearly everything they own. As New Orleans is dredged, the true scope of the devastation will be understood. Already, the evacuees realize that a return to their former lives in that wonderful city may take months or years, and that some things may never be recovered. Into that disheartening reality, the Jews of Los Angeles and elsewhere have stepped in willingly and generously to help as they can, exactly as their religion says they should. And all the fractiousness, all the confusing, competing layers of the various Jewish organizations have seemingly melted away, coordinating the relief aid very much as they were designed to do.