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Jewish Journal

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September 22, 2005

Missing New Orleans

Leave a Comment / News, Tommywood /

I’ve always kept a mental list of places about to disappear, such as the ruins of Angor Wat in Cambodia. Never — ever — was New Orleans on that list.

My first visit to New Orleans was as a college student, driving 36 hours straight from Vermont to attend Mardi Gras. I kept returning — with the annual Jazzfest becoming the ritual adult vacation for me, my wife and a gathering of friends.

On that first trip so many years ago, I climbed over the wall of the St. Louis No. 1 cemetery and played a game of tag with friends among the mausoleums and statuaries that still haunts me to this day. Even then, we didn’t need Anne Rice to tell us New Orleans was a place that spoke about the epic struggle between life and death, where vampire and horror stories came to life, where voodoo and gris-gris made music. And the food was to die for.

New Orleans, with its gumbo-like history of French, Spanish and Arcadian influences, was a port city, and that meant Jews settled there and were part of its great history. You have but to walk downtown and see the names of old-time retailers such as the Rubinstein Brothers’ store to get the idea.

And let’s not forget that it was Morris Karnofsky, a Jewish peddler, who bought Louis Armstrong his first cornet, sharing with him a family feeling that Armstrong valued so greatly that he wore a necklace with a Jewish star for the rest of his life.

Occasionally you read about someone saying they saw Caruso sing, or Babe Ruth hit a homer. Well, I saw Professor Longhair play in New Orleans. I heard Dr. John and the Radiators at Tipitina’s, Irma Thomas at the Lion’s Den and Ellis Marsalis at Snug Harbor. I danced to Tribe Nunzio at Café Brasil, saw the Iguanas at the Mid-City Lanes Rock ‘n’ Bowl Nightclub and Marcia Ball at Jimmy’s.

New Orleans was the Purim carnival to end all Purim carnivals.

One highlight of my life was a night at Preservation Hall, when the band invited me to join them on kazoo for an encore of “When the Saints Go Marching In.” They gave me a solo.

Many are the memorable musical moments at Jazzfest, in the Gospel Tent, at Congo Square. But among them, one outshines the rest: standing in the rain to hear Randy Newman sing “Louisiana.”

A Jewish angle? One night after hearing the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars play at the Dragon’s Den, a rumor spread that Adam Duritz (the lead singer of Counting Crows) was playing an unannounced set at a club on Toulouse Street. He came on at 2:30 a.m. and played till around 5. When I left, there were still people in the bars.

I don’t mean to sentimentalize the city.

New Orleans may have been one of the poorest, most crime-ridden cities in America. Once after leaving Crabby Jack’s on Highway 90, we witnessed a bank robbery in progress. I lost my appetite for a full 15 minutes.

That city had to be one of the most obese in America. I can understand why. One of the dishes I miss most was worth waiting in line at Jacques Imo’s for: the deep-fried roast beef po’boy. You heard me: the New Orleans version of a roast beef hero, with all the fixings, dipped in batter and then deep-fried.

My idea of moderation was that for 51 weeks of the year we didn’t live in New Orleans.

You are talking to a man who ate a dish called “debris” at Mother’s, to someone who looked forward each visit to the Camellia Grill’s chili-cheese omelet, with a pecan waffle on the side, a coffee milkshake and a dessert of pecan pie from the grill. And nothing was better than ending up, or starting out, at Café du Monde for beignets and chicorée café au lait.

New Orleans was unhealthy in oh-so-many ways but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the happiest city in America. I smiled from the moment I landed and kept smiling for weeks after I left.

The smiles will be a long time returning. Our friends, the Suttons, owned several jewelry stores downtown and will now relocate. I haven’t heard yet what happened to Al Palma, our Argentine-Jewish cab driver who became part of our regular crew. Al always said of New Orleans: “You got to know people here, and you don’t know people.”

But we did: We knew Al, for one, and I hope he’s OK.

New Orleans will rebuild. It is inevitable. People still live on the hillsides below Mt. St. Helens and Pompeii. After World War II, they rebuilt London and Warsaw and Berlin. People returned to downtown Manhattan after Sept. 11 and we continue to live in California along the fault lines.

Man is stupid — and loyal. If history has taught us anything it is that we have an enormous capacity to forget tragedy and to ignore its lessons. That’s part of what makes us human. And New Orleans is all about being human — in the best and worst ways.

The city may never be the same. But then again, what is and who is? New Orleans’ll be back one day and I’ll be there, too, at the first chance. Missing the New Orleans that was. Enjoying the New Orleans that will be.

Tom Teicholz is a film producer in Los Angeles. Everywhere else, he’s an author and journalist who has written for The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Interview and The Forward. His column appears every other week.

Missing New Orleans Read More »

What Musharraf Should Say to Jews

Leave a Comment / Judea Pearl, Worldwide /

Dialogue between Jews and Muslims is a necessary step toward easing world tension, and we are therefore pleased that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has addressed the American Jewish Congress last weekend in New York.

As we have been actively involved in such dialogue over the last two years — through public appearances, community discussions and extensive touring within and outside the United States — we thought that Musharraf could benefit from our findings and experience.

There are several points that Jews would like to hear from a Muslim leader and others they need to hear.

First, Jews would like an unambiguous statement condemning anti-Semitism. Muslim leaders need to take a clear moral stand regarding anti-Semitism, whatever their feelings about the politics of the Middle East. They likewise must ensure that the current surge in anti-Semitism is acknowledged, checked and fought back at the highest levels of government.

Second, a Muslim leader needs to convey to his Jewish audience that the cultural and religious basis for such a fight is deeply entrenched in the Islamic civilization. He needs to point out the many and strong bonds that exist between the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as the respect Muslims have for the great shared biblical figures such as Abraham, Isaac, Moses and for many rituals and values.

Third, Jewish audiences would like to hear that Muslim education and Muslim media are prepared to portray modern Jews as heirs to, and equal carriers of, the Abrahamic tradition.

Fourth, Jews would like to hear an explanation of Islam’s attitudes toward and practice of democracy, human rights and civil liberties. Here, the example of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan revered by Pakistanis as the Quaid-i-Azam, or great leader, would be extremely illuminating. Jinnah was the embodiment of parliamentary democracy and believed in human rights and respect for the law. He achieved the creation of Pakistan in 1947, then the largest Muslim nation on earth, without ever having broken the law or going to jail.

Fifth, Muslim leaders need to give a clear direction to relations with Israel. Reaction to Israel is complicated by the strong feeling Muslims have for Palestinians, whom they see as a people oppressed. Muslim leaders need to also understand and appreciate Jewish history and the national aspirations of the Jewish people. A double-narrative — of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples — needs to be heard in both the Muslim and the Jewish media.

Muslim leaders need to work toward the creation of two states both living in security, peace and hopefully harmony. Most importantly, framing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a clash between two legitimate national movements is a crucial first step toward resolving the conflict.

Sixth, a Muslim leader should point out that there is a growing sense of Islamophobia in the West, which allows the prophet of Islam and the religion itself to be attacked with impunity. This Islamophobia encourages the perception that the loss of Muslim lives is of little concern to the rest of the world, and further feeds into the sense of anger, desperation and injustice which strengthens people of violence.

Unfortunately, many Muslims perceive the Islamophobia as being fomented by Jews, and there is a conspiracy-theory mindset in the Muslim world that tends to blame the Jews for the ills of the Muslim world. Jewish leaders must be more active and visible in the fight against Islamophobia, and Muslim leaders, in turn, must help dispel unfounded conspiracy theories.

Seventh, on the issue of terrorism, Jewish audiences would like to hear Muslim leaders take an unequivocal moral stance, not merely against the perpetrators of terrorist acts, but also against the ideologues and legitimizers of such acts — in particular, suicide bombings against Israelis. The red lines against the targeting of innocent lives cannot be crossed for any grievance.

Finally, in order to overcome the chasm of misunderstanding and bad history which exists between our respective communities, an active, long-term, ongoing public dialogue of the Abrahamic faiths needs to be supported throughout the Muslim world. This dialogue needs to include every shade of political opinion, religious leadership and gender. It is a dialogue not only of civilizations, but for the future of mankind.

Perhaps the most powerful gesture that Musharraf could make — both for purposes of bridge-building and for pointing the direction to the future — is to announce a meaningful memorial to the late Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was so tragically murdered in Pakistan and who came to symbolize the very idea of East-West dialogue.

We proposed that if Musharraf were to build a Daniel Pearl Center for Abrahamic Dialogue in Karachi, where Danny lost his life, he would be creating a spiritual and moral campus that could bring people together, and at the same time be a strong gesture of healing and compassion, and serve as a concrete embodiment of Musharraf’s call for “enlightened moderation.”

Akbar Ahmed, a former high commissioner from Pakistan to the United Kingdom, is Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic studies at American University. Judea Pearl is president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, named after his murdered son, and a professor of artificial intelligence at UCLA.

What Musharraf Should Say to Jews Read More »

Nation & World Briefs

Leave a Comment / Worldwide /

Israel: No Hamas in Elections

Top Israeli leaders confirmed that they do not want Hamas to take part in Palestinian elections. It’s up to the Palestinians to “decide if they would like to have real elections,” Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told journalists in New York on Monday, noting that electoral gains by Hamas would “move us backward maybe 50 years.”

On Sunday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told members of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations that Israel wouldn’t stop elections that include Hamas, but also would not provide any support, which would make it difficult for the Palestinians to proceed.

The participation of Hamas, which maintains a terrorist military infrastructure and is committed to destroying Israel, would be “unbearable” for Israel, Sharon said.

Sharon Inaugurates UJC Project

Ariel Sharon endorsed a United Jewish Communities (UJC) effort to bring the remaining Jews of Ethiopia to Israel. The Israeli prime minister helped launch Operation Promise in a meeting last Friday with UJC leaders and supporters.

“I believe this must be a joint effort of Israel and the Jewish world,” Sharon said. “It is our duty, and so it is your duty.”

The program aims to raise $160 million to aid the emigration of Ethiopian Jews and the mainstreaming of Ethiopians already in Israel, as well as provide assistance to struggling elderly Jews in the former Soviet Union and help strengthen Jewish identity among young Jews there. The initiative is supplemental to the regular federation campaign.

EU Aid for Palestinians, Israel

The European Union (EU) boosted its funding to the Palestinian Authority. EU officials in Brussels said this week that the 25-nation bloc would increase its 2005 allotment to the Palestinians to more than $340 million, around 17 percent more than originally planned. The extra funds are intended to help reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, which Israel left this month. The Palestinian Authority expects to receive an additional $270 million in donations from individual E.U. member-states this year. The European Union also will give grants to environmental projects in Israel.

The European Commission announced more than $7 million in grants to environmental projects in the European Union’s neighboring countries, including two projects in Israel. The Upper Galilee Regional Council will receive more than $440,000 for the sustainable use of resources. The other Israeli recipient, the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership, will receive around the same amount to help local governments throughout Israel build their environmental programs.

Israeli Police Cleared in Killings

Police involved in the killing of 12 Israeli Arabs during pro-Palestinian riots were cleared of criminal charges. The Israeli Justice Ministry said Sunday that there was insufficient evidence to indict any police personnel in connection with the October 2000 shootings, which put a major strain on racial relations in the Jewish state.

According to the head of the ministry’s Police Investigations Unit, the families of Arab youths shot dead during confrontations in Galilee refused to cooperate with the probe, making it impossible to assign guilt for the killings. Israeli-Arab lawmakers decried the ministry’s decision, saying they might try to sue police officers in international courts.

Several Israeli police were wounded in the 2000 riots, and a Jewish driver died after being hit by a rock thrown at his car by rioters.

Spielberg Foundation Comes to USC

Some 52,000 testimonies by Holocaust survivors and witnesses, videotaped by Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation, will be housed permanently at a new University of Southern California institute.

The collection of testimonies, making up the world’s largest visual history archive, will be transferred to USC Jan. 1, according to both Spielberg’s Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation and USC’s Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education.

Moving the collection to USC will ensure its preservation and access, said Spielberg, adding, “All of us know that the survivors and witnesses have given us a precious gift, whose wise use will build a better world for this and future generations.”

USC President Steven B. Sample noted, “The foundation’s preeminent collection of Holocaust materials will advance academic research and scholarship for centuries as we continue to honor the memory of Holocaust victims and survivors.” –Tom Tugend, Contributing Editor

N.Y. Party Kicks Out Candidate

A political party in New York booted one of its leaders for making anti-Semitic statements. The Independence Party said comments by Lenora Fulani had hurt the party’s credibility. Fulani said earlier this year that Jews “had to sell their souls” for the State of Israel and had become “mass murderers of people of color” to keep it, comments that the party said were “phenomenally offensive.” Fulani also has labeled Zionism “Jewish corporate nationalism.” The Independence Party is backing Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his re-election bid this year.

Nazi-Hunting Attorney Dies at 60

Edward Stutman, a trial attorney at the U.S. Office of Special Investigations (OSI) who successfully brought cases that revoked the citizenship of 13 Nazis, died at age 60. Stutman, who served with OSI from 1992-2004, died Saturday in Washington of lymphoma, Eli Rosenbaum, the director of OSI, the Justice Department’s Nazi-hunting unit, announced. He was buried Monday in his native Philadelphia.

Stutman traveled to remote areas of Russia to gather evidence and often faced long odds in making his case but nevertheless he often won. In 1999, Stutman launched a re-prosecution of John Demjanjuk, a decision termed “courageous” by The Washington Post, not least because an Israeli court had acquitted the Ukrainian native of being “Ivan the Terrible,” a notorious mass murderer at Treblinka. Under Stutman’s prosecution, Demjanjuk could not shake the allegation that he had lied about being a Nazi death camp guard, and he was ordered deported from the United States this year. Stutman was the leading expert on Trawniki, the Nazi facility in Poland where death camp guards were trained.

Torahs Saved From New Orleans

Jewish groups saved Torahs from the New Orleans area that were in danger because of Hurricane Katrina. Some 25 scrolls were rescued by a makeshift coalition of representatives from the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, national leadership from the Reform movement, rabbis from Baton Rouge and New Orleans and local law-enforcement officials.

“Among the 25 we saved were also a few that were rescued from the Holocaust, and here they’ve survived a second horrific disaster,” said Rabbi David Saperstein, the director of the Reform movement’s Washington-based Religious Action Center. Chabad officials rescued at least 15 scrolls.

“It is a bittersweet occasion,” said Rabbi Zelig Rivkin, the executive director of Chabad Lubavitch of Louisiana. “Hurricane Katrina has destroyed our homes, synagogues and our city but has not destroyed our community.”

U.S. Jews of Mixed Origins Rising

Up to 20 percent of an estimated 6 million U.S. Jews, or 1.2 million people, are African-American, Asian-American, Latino, Sephardi, Middle Eastern or of mixed race. That’s the major finding of research conducted over the past four years by the San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish and Community Research, contained in the book “In Every Tongue” by the institute’s president, Gary Tobin, and co-authors Diane Tobin and Scott Rubin.

The figures are substantially higher than the usual estimates of 10 percent to 14 percent, the authors say. The research and interviews also showed that some of these Jews feel alienated from their ethnic or racial communities and from mainstream American Jewry but they continue to identify strongly with both.

Included in the population count are Latino “hidden” Jews reclaiming their Jewish roots in the American Southwest and long-established communities of African-American Jews in cities such as New York and Chicago.

Air Force Builds Chapels in Europe

The U.S. Air Force is to unveil separate chapels for Jewish and Muslim servicemen and women at its main European base in Germany. The synagogue and Muslim prayer room in Ramstein were created alongside the base’s interfaith South Chapel. The synagogue was schedule to open this week with a ceremony two weeks before the Jewish New Year. Rabbi David Lapp, the director of the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council, and Rabbi Donald Levy, the base’s only Jewish chaplain, will officiate. Some 50,000 Americans are stationed in and around Ramstein.

According to Levy, about 60 worshipers are expected to attend High Holiday services at the base. The JWB Jewish Chaplains Council operates under the auspices of the JCC Association, the umbrella organization for the Jewish community centers in North America.

Neo-Nazi Concert Held in Czech Republic

Approximately 500 people attended a concert of neo-Nazi bands in the Czech Republic. Activists say Saturday’s concert in Krtetice was the largest meeting of supporters of extremist groups in the Czech Republic this year. The police did not intervene in the event, where undercover witnesses said participants chanted racist slogans, “Sieg Heil” and the name of Rudolf Hess, one of Hitler’s closest aides.

Briefs courtesy Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Rabbinical Dispute Strikes Ukraine

A majority of Ukrainian rabbis blasted the election of a new chief rabbi as illegitimate. More than 30 Chabad rabbis affiliated with the Federation of Jewish Communities, the region’s largest Jewish group, issued a statement Sept. 15 saying that the election of another Chabad rabbi, Moshe Reuven Azman of Kiev, to serve as Ukraine’s chief rabbi was “illegitimate” and “insulting to the feelings of every believer.” A chief rabbi “can be elected only by rabbis working in Jewish communities of that country,” the statement said, referring to the fact that Azman’s election Sept. 11 was endorsed by a group of secular Jewish leaders but not by any rabbinical authorities.

The vast majority of rabbis permanently working in Ukraine these days are Chabad rabbis affiliated with the federation. Unlike other Orthodox rabbis working in Ukraine, Azman, who is Russian-born, is not affiliated with the Chabad-led federation and for years has received support from Vadim Rabinovich, a Ukrainian business magnate and leader of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress who initiated the election for chief rabbi.

 

Nation & World Briefs Read More »

Pakistanis Thinking the Unthinkable

Leave a Comment / Pakistan, Worldwide /

After more than half a century of viewing Jews as avowed enemies and negating their right to a Jewish state, Pakistanis are now learning to say “shalom” and debating recognition of Israel. Last weekend, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf became the country’s first head of state to speak to an official gathering of Jews, when he addressed the American Jewish Congress in New York on the sidelines of the start of the United Nations session.

Musharraf’s message was straightforward: Pakistan would take steps toward normalization of ties with Israel, if the Middle East peace process moves forward.

“What better signal for peace could there be than the opening of embassies in Israel by Islamic countries like Pakistan,” he said, adding that a just resolution of the Palestinian problem would lead to Israel’s recognition by Muslim states and “will extinguish the anger and frustration that motivates resort to violence and extremism.”

Musharraf’s address came in the wake of a “historic” meeting in Istanbul on Sept. 1 between Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri and his Israeli counterpart, Silvan Shalom, in what is being called the first-ever diplomatic contact between Pakistan and Israel. The historic handshake was featured on the front pages of all the Pakistani national dailies the next day.

Recent moves by the Pakistani government toward recognition of Israel, with which it has no diplomatic relations, may be surprising for their rapidity, but they were the next moves in a continuum. Following Musharraf’s earliest comments on the subject in July 2003, the nation has been witnessing an on-again, off-again debate on the pros and cons of if and when to establish ties with the Jewish state.

The debate has only intensified since the Kasuri-Shalom meeting in Istanbul. What was once unthinkable about is now openly talked of from every perceivable angle on all the national networks and in newspapers.

The vigor of this national debate is understandable in the context of Pakistan’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause, and its virtually automatic and reflexive denunciation of Israel and its policies at all international levels. On the domestic front, ordinary Pakistanis have been fed by politicians and the clergy a picture of Jews as the most evil of all of Islam’s enemies, while Israel is characterized as a pariah state that tramples on Palestinian rights.

For all the hype, however, the issues of contention between Israel and Pakistan are curiously few. Putting aside Pakistan’s genuine identification with Palestinians, experts in this Islamic nation can tally advantages of good relations with Jews and Israel.

Most analysts take the view that establishing diplomatic ties with Israel would create diplomatic space for Pakistan on two of its most important foreign-policy fronts: 1 — countering the growing India-Israel nexus in the domains of military and economic co-operation; 2 — gaining favor with Jewish lobbies considered influential in U.S. politics, economics, society and the media.

“There is no doubt that the dominant view [in Pakistan] is that it’s better late than never,” said B. Muralidhar Reddy, special correspondent from Pakistan for the Indian daily, The Hindu. The Indian government is watching closely the developing ties between Israel and Pakistan, he said.

For its part, the Pakistani government has to square its current actions with its past rhetoric. The official line speaks of Pakistan’s willingness as a major Muslim country to play an important role in the Middle East conflict by engaging Israel and encouraging both sides to make peace. Beginning with Musharraf, officials are taking pains to say that the ongoing parleys have specifically come about as a result of Israel’s pullout from Gaza, and in no way do they foreshadow any imminent recognition of Israel.

“This is not a question of Pakistan’s national interests,” Foreign Office spokesman Naeem Khan told The Journal. “Pakistan wants to play a helpful role in the establishment of a Palestinian state by sending an encouraging signal to Israel to take more steps like the Gaza pullout.”

Such extreme caution, however, may be unnecessary, at least for domestic Pakistani consumption. With the exception of the hard-line Islamists, other mainstream political parties are reacting to the issue more provincially than ideologically. Their chief objection was that Musharraf had failed to take Parliament’s leaders into his confidence on the issue.

The familiar angry masses protesting on the streets, a top government concern, have failed to materialize. The country’s top Islamist leader, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, a member of the opposition, does not offer too many words on the subject, other than the traditional party line that calls Israel an “illegal state.” He told The Journal that his party would launch a “struggle” in tune with the party line. “We will also bring people on the streets.”

For now, however, many Pakistanis are content watching the lively TV debates, reading expert analyses and wondering what it means for their country.

“They [Israelis] have not done any harm to us, so why should we not have relations with them,” said 26-year-old Madiha Ali, who just completed a science degree and aspires to be a civil servant. Ali said that in the era of globalization, Pakistan cannot afford to stand alone.

“Common people do have reservations [about Israel], but it can be solved through proper propaganda,” she said.

In other words, the diatribes about the evils of Jews can be replaced with a more constructive message.

Ali slipped into another stereotype, even as she tried to speak positively about better relations with Jews. Jews, she said, “are the decision makers of the U.S., and they are eventually the policymakers of Pakistan. We need to engage them.”

 

Pakistanis Thinking the Unthinkable Read More »

A Historic Event

Leave a Comment / Israel, Worldwide /

It was a remarkable sight: the president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan sitting on a New York dais alongside leaders of the American Jewish community and Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations — while eating a kosher dinner beneath a blue-and-white banner reading: “Council for World Jewry.”

It was all the more notable, considering the significant personal risk the appearance must have entailed for Pervez Musharraf, who has been the subject of several recent assassination attempts at the hands of Muslim extremists who are violently anti-Israel and anti-America.

There was near-unanimous agreement among Jews and Pakistanis at Saturday night’s event that Musharraf’s mere presence before an audience of Jewish officials represented a potentially historic step in Muslim-Jewish relations. For his landmark gesture, the Pakistani general received a series of standing ovations.

“I would never have imagined that a Muslim, a president of Pakistan and, more than that, a man in uniform would ever get such a warm reception from the Jewish community,” Musharraf said as he ascended the platform to excited applause.

Beyond the novelty of the appearance, however, Musharraf’s half-hour speech met with disappointment from some Jewish leaders who found his remarks rich in hyperbole but poor in specific proposals.

“If we waited 100 years [to hold this meeting] it would have been even more historic, but what is it we have achieved?” asked Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. “In his world, in his culture, in his environment, this is a major step. From our perspective, it isn’t.”

Some lamented that Musharraf said little beyond his previous comments about establishing relations with Israel, which he again conditioned on future actions by Israel, culminating in the establishment of a Palestinian state. Musharraf’s address followed closely his brief encounter last week with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on the sidelines of the United Nations World Summit and a recent meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries, which do not have full diplomatic ties.

Still, said Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress — whose Council for World Jewry sponsored the event — given Musharraf’s domestic political constraints, Jews should not underestimate what he was able to offer.

“It is not helpful for us to be critical of a Muslim leader who, given his political pressures, comes to speak to us and doesn’t give us everything we want at that moment in time,” Rosen said. “We couldn’t have expected that he would have announced last night that he would immediately begin normalizing relations with Israel. It wasn’t a real expectation.”

Challenged by Foxman to show more leadership by moving to formalize Israeli-Pakistani relations right away, Musharraf responded that “57 years of hatred, bitterness, animosity cannot be undone so fast.”

“It is my sincere judgment that this is not the time to do it,” he said. “We need to be very patient. I need some more reasons and rationale. I need some more support” to be able to convince the Pakistani people to go along with the move.

Israel’s foreign minister, for his part, said he looked favorably on the meeting as a step in what he acknowledged could be a “long process” toward full ties.

“The time has come, I believe, to have full diplomatic relations with all of these” moderate Muslim countries, Silvan Shalom told Jewish journalists this week. “I believe that many of them are close. They’re always looking for the appropriate time.”

Shalom did not attend the Musharraf event.

Musharraf spoke about religious similarities between Muslims and Jews and characterized recent hostility between the two groups as an aberration against a background of historical coexistence. He further earned plaudits for insisting that terrorism “cannot be condoned for any cause.”

While he referred to “Schindler’s List” and praised Sharon for the recent Gaza Strip withdrawal, Musharraf upset many in the audience by insisting that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a root cause of world terrorism, and that Pakistan won’t forge diplomatic ties with Israel until the Palestinians have a state — essentially giving the Palestinians a veto over the entire process, several Jewish leaders noted afterward.

“Palestine has been at the heart of troubles in the Middle East,” Musharraf said. “I have no doubt whatsoever that any attempt to shy away or ignore the root causes of terrorism is shutting one’s eyes to reality and is a sure recipe for failure.”

That sentiment struck a raw nerve among many Jews in the audience, who lamented that Muslim nations for too long have tried to lay the blame for many of the world’s ills on Israel.

“The root cause of terrorism is the same as the root cause of Nazism: simply, the hatred of Jews through teaching hatred of Jews,” said Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America.

Musharraf also called on Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and respect other faiths’ attachment to Jerusalem. He did not express any corresponding demands on the Palestinian side.

“Israel must come to terms with geopolitical reality and let justice prevail for the Palestinians,” Musharraf said. “They want their own independent state, and they must get it.”

Since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Pakistan has had something of an image problem in the West. Daniel Pearl, a Jewish reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped and decapitated by terrorists in Pakistan; Osama bin Laden is thought to be in hiding somewhere along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border; a Pakistani nuclear scientist was discovered to have supplied nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea, and Pakistan’s extensive network of religious schools has been accused of spreading a radically violent and anti-Western version of Islam.

Many in the audience saw Musharraf’s decision to address a Jewish audience as a public relations move, rather than the reflection of a serious desire for detente. Like many in the Muslim world, Musharraf views the American Jewish community as key to securing political influence along the Beltway, some said.

Musharraf didn’t do much to dispel this impression.

“I feel privileged to be speaking to so many members of what is probably the most distinguished and influential community in the United States,” he said.

But Mossadaq Chughtai, director of the Pakistani American Liaison Center, which runs the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, dismissed this line of thinking.

“We have good standing with Congress” and the White House, he said, noting that President Bush has hosted Musharraf at Camp David. “Not as good as AIPAC, but we’re making strides,” Chughtai said, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Still, many considered the symbolism of the event key. Unlike Palestinian leaders, who often have made conciliatory statements to foreign leaders in English, while urging their constituents to war in Arabic, Musharraf spoke before a full contingent of Pakistani media beaming his words back home, where they are likely to be controversial.

For Dr. Abdul Rehman, an officer of the MMSI mosque in Staten Island, N.Y., Musharraf’s appearance gives the “green light” to Muslims to work toward cooperation and dialogue with Jews.

Berel Lazar, one of Russia’s chief rabbis, thought Musharraf was “very sincere” and praised him for not making grand promises that he would not be able to fulfill.

“There’s no question he will have a hard time explaining to his people what he’s doing and trying to bring them along,” Lazar said. “On the other hand, he didn’t give any kind of time frame” for normalizing ties with Israel.

At the least, the event led to immediate interreligious dialogue in the hallways: Lazar was seen chatting and posing for photos with Imam Ghulam Rasul of the MMSI mosque and invited mosque leaders to visit him if they’re in Moscow.

Pakistani television reporters pulled Israelis and American Jews aside for interviews to be broadcast in Pakistan.

“I think the event was very significant,” said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “Something that hopefully can be built upon.”

Michael Arnold contributed to this report.

A Historic Event Read More »

Kids Page

Leave a Comment / Kids & Teens /

A Reason to Obey

This Shabbat we read the portion of Ki Tavo. In it, Moses tells the Israelites that if they obey all the commandments, they will be blessed with good food, good weather and a good life. But if they disobey the commandments, they will be cursed with misfortune.

I do not believe that God punishes people for not obeying him. Rather, people often cause their own misfortune by not learning from their mistakes, and I think that is what the Torah is telling us. The victims of Hurricane Katrina did not, by any means, bring this natural disaster upon themselves. We know that no one deserves to go through such horrors — and we need to reach out as much as possible to help.

Kids Can Help Katrina Victims

A Call to Jewish Schools

Please send us details and photos of the hurricane relief

efforts happening

in your schools.

We will publish them on the Kids Page.

Send all information to abbygilad@yahoo.com.

Here is a list of things you can donate to hurricane victms.

Put the vowels in the right places to fill in the blanks:

P __ L L __ W S

B L __ N K __ T S

C __ N S __ F F __ __ D

B R __ S H __ S

T __ __ T H B R __S H __ S

S H __ __ T S

Vowels: AAEEEEEIOOOOOOUU

Bring new items to

Temple Judea, 5429 Lindley Ave, Tarzana.

It is the regional collection site for disaster relief supplies. For more information, call (818) 758-3800, ext. 213.

Helping Hand

Here are three ways you can raise money for the hurricane victims.

Unscramble the words:

K A E B A S L E

R A G E G A S E A L

E O M D E A L N L E S A

Once you’ve collected money.,visit www.jewishjournal.com/local/HurricaneRelief.php to choose how you want to help.

How much money has the Los Angeles Jewish community already raised?

a. $100,000

b. $250,000

c. $500,000

d. More than $1 million!

 

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Letters

Leave a Comment / Letters to the Editor /

Truth About France

I have been reading for quite some time now the articles published in various papers (such as the Russian weekly, Panorama) by Richard Chesnoff about France and Europe.

The recent presentation of his new book about French-American relations in The Jewish Journal confirms once again that Chesnoff unfortunately enjoys using the same clichés that have been used to discredit our longstanding relation with the United States (“Q&A With Richard Z. Chesnoff,” Sept 9).

I would like to highlight three points:

1) France and the United States have been friends for more than 230 years. France still is and remains among America’s best friends and allies as illustrated today by our exemplary cooperation in intelligence sharing to fight terrorism, by the strength of our economic relations ($1 billion each day, according to a recent study by Congress), by our common involvement in the resolution of important regional crisis (Afghanistan, Lebanon, Haiti, just to name a few recent examples) and by the solidarity shown by the French people and the French government after the Hurricane Katrina disaster;

2) France, home of the third-largest Jewish community in the world, after Israel and the United States, is not an anti-Semitic country. During his visit to Paris last July, Prime Minister Sharon thanked President Chirac “for his staunch fight against anti-Semitism” and expressed “his full and entire faith in the strengthening of the deep friendship between Israel and France.” France is indeed firmly committed to eradicate all forms of anti-Semitism and racism, wherever they arise, beginning on its own soil. This fight translates into repression and education. Israeli authorities as well as all major American Jewish organizations have praised our strong resolve. Locally, this consulate has developed very constructive relations with the Jewish community and its leaders;

3) And last, France does not intend to be a counterbalance to the United States. President Bush during his trip to Europe in February expressed his support for a strong European Union because such a strong partner is not only in the interest of Europe itself but also in the American interest. Along with the United States, France aims at solving the pressing issues of this world that no country can face alone. For this reason, it is an active and responsible member of the United Nations, of NATO and of the G8.

Philippe Larrieu
Consul General of France
Los Angeles

L.A.’s Katrina Help

Thank you for Marc Ballon’s article on the communal response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina (“Groups Pitch In With Housing, Tuition,” Sept. 16). The most impressive feature of the collection program referenced by Ballon is the fact that it transcends boundaries of synagogues, movements, agencies and institutions. The project, known as Jacobs’ Ladder, is a collaborative effort initiated by the Union for Reform Judaism and its Camp Henry S. Jacobs in Utica, Miss., with local endorsement and assistance from the Board of Rabbis, The Jewish Federation and area congregations. We are especially appreciative of the leadership of Rabbi Dan Moskovitz of Temple Judea and Rabbi Ken Chasen of Leo Baeck Temple, who have opened their synagogues as central collection sites for this relief effort.

Rabbi Mark S. Diamond
Executive Vice President
Board of Rabbis of Southern California

Evacuees All Around

How sad to see the images on TV of the havoc wrought by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. People being forced to leave their homes losing all their possessions (“Going in After Katrina,” Sept 16). People having to relocate in distant cities, communities broken up, livelihoods gone, synagogues and churches destroyed, friends and relatives scattered — 9,000 of our fellow Jews amongst them — all homeless refugees. How our hearts go out to these poor souls.

Our Jewish federations immediately responded by calling emergency meetings to organize much needed relief programs for all the victims of the New Orleans disaster.

How good it is to see that the refugees of an American tragedy draw such an outpouring of concern and action from our Jewish “leadership” — but how sad it is that another 9,000 refugees, our Jewish brothers and sisters from Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron, draw only a deafening silence. No matter where one stood on the disengagement issue — note that the current state of the New Orleans refugees is the same as that of the Israeli refugees. They are all homeless. Our fellow Jews in Israel desperately need our help, too.

Leibel Estrin
Donna Katz
Rochel Shlomo
Helene Wishnev
Pittsburgh, Pa

Rav Ovadiah

In my column last week on Rav Ovadiah Yosef, The Journal dropped his honorific “Rav” and he was referred to merely as “Ovadiah,” which is a discourtesy I would never commit (“We Must Condemn Heartless Bilge,” Sept. 16). Please let your readers know that in the original article I referred to him throughout as “Rav Ovadiah.”

Rabbi David Wolpe
Sinai Temple

Ed Note: The Journal regrets the error. A correct version is online at www.jewishjournal.com/archive.

THE JEWISH JOURNAL welcomes letters from all readers. Letters should be no more than 200 words and must include a valid name, address and phone number. Letters sent via e-mail must not contain attachments. Pseudonyms and initials will not be used, but names will be withheld on request. We reserve the right to edit all letters. Mail: The Jewish Journal, Letters, 3580 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1510, Los Angeles, CA 90010; e-mail: letters@jewishjournal.com; or fax: (213) 368-1684

 

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Obituaries

Leave a Comment / Obituaries /

Samuel Abramson died Aug. 28 at 86. He is survived by his wife, Bernice; daughter, Sunny Singer; son, Ken (Helen Santibaneg); granddaughter, Cammy Singer; brother, Phil; and sisters, Ann Rappaport, Esther Hemplind, Bryna Samuelson and Virginia. Mount Sinai

Victor Benveniste died Aug. 31 at 60. He is survived by his daughter, Barbi; sons, Larry and Scott; one grandchild; mother, Esther; brother Ed; sister, Madelyn Silverman. Malinow and Silverman

Cary Bigman died Aug. 27 at 71. He is survived by his wife, Elaine; daughters, Robyne and Kim; three grandchildren; and brother, Hal; and brothers-in-law, Harry and Patrick.

Joseph Cowen died Aug. 29 at 92. He is survived by his sons, Bruce, Alan (Dolly) and David (Mary); six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Eileen Bernice Dozoretz died Aug. 28 at 85. She is survived by her son, Michael; daughter, Linda; four grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and sister, Shirley Lazar; Groman

Diane Elizabeth Glatt died Aug. 28 at 61. She is survived by her husband, David Holtz; son, Nathan Glatt-Holtz; daughters, Stella and Julianna Glatt-Holtz; and brother, David (Joyce). Mount Sinai

ABRAHAM GOLDEN died Aug. 22 at 85. He is survived by his sister, Molly Orsky. Hillside

SANDRA JOAN GOLDMAN died Aug. 25 at 72. She is survived by her husband, Benjamin; sons, Richard and Lewis Weinberg; three grandchildren; brother, Frederick Gellerman. Hillside

FREDERICK GOLDSTEIN died Aug. 31 at 59. He is survived by his companion, Jean Willner; brother, Roger Goldstein; sister, Margaret Waters; uncle, Arthur Richenthal; and many friends. Hillside

EILEEN GOREN died Aug. 30 at 77. She is survived by her husband, Louis; daughters, Dayna Cunningham, Adrienne Locke, Nancy Kaye and Margie Goldstein; and seven grandchildren. Hillside

Herbert Graham died Aug. 31 at 84. He is survived by his wife, Kailee; daughter, Linda (Howard) Kupperstein; son, Stephen (Maureen); stepdaughters, Jodi (David) Heffner and Deni (Louis) Lopez; two grandchildren; five stepgrandchildren; and two stepgreat-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

BONNIE KOBRIN died Aug. 30 at 100. She is survived by her stepdaughter, Pamela Brown; sons, Gary and James Filerman; nine grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Hillside

Florence Cecile Kopel died Aug. 29 at 91. She is survived by her daughters, Robyn (Michael) Lutsky and Mariam (Michael) Hesse. Mount Sinai

Bella Levy died Aug. 30 at 88. She is survived by her sons, Howard and William. Mount Sinai

Janet Levy died Aug. 31 at 78. She is survived by her husband, Harry; sons, Stanley and Bernard; daughter, Joyce Levy-Perry; brother, David Rosenbloom; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Groman

Joel Ephraim Lewis died Aug. 30 at 52. He is survived by his wife, Michelle; daughters Erica and Sabrina; father, Edward; brother, Dr. Irwin (Linda) Lewis; and mother-in-law, Hermina Ast. Malinow and Silverman

Irene Luchfeld died Aug. 29 at 82. She is survived by her husband, Leonard; daughters, Anita Wilde, Janet Gillson Lopus, and Arlene Torluemke; and five grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Anne Lumel died Aug. 27 at 93. She is survived by her son, Stephen (Mary); granddaughters, Dena (Miguel) Fletes and Shayne; and brothers, Harold and Bernard (Gerri) Klein. Mount Sinai

RUTH MYERS died Aug. 28 at 81. She is survived by her husband, Albert; sons Marc (Patty) and Ted; three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Hillside

Djamile Navi died Aug. 28 at 84. She is survived by her brother, Davoud; and sister, Rosa. Groman

Jean Novack died Aug. 10 at 91. She is survived by her, son Barry (Dr. Anna Baum); daughters, Gloria Kolsky and Darene (Barry) Indig; 10 grandchildren; six great- grandchildren; and sister, Florence Matisoff. Chevra Kadisha

MARILYN PORAT died Aug. 22 at 72. She is survived by her husband, Ben; daughter, Joanne (Ron) Rotstein; son, Dan (Nikki); and four grandchildren. Hillside

DORIS PREISLER died Aug. 26 at 90. She is survived by her son, Leland; daughter, Elaine; and four grandchildren. Hillside

MARION ELIZABETH RAYOR died Aug. 27 at 77. She is survived by her husband, Franklin; sons, Frederick and Robert; daughters, Cheryl Eiser and Cathryn Boyd; nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Hillside

Eva Reed died Aug. 31 at 95. She is survived by her son, Adam. Malinow and Silverman

SAUL RITTENBERG died Aug. 30 at 93. He is survived by his wife, Beatrice; daughter, Ada (Patrick) Gardiner; son David (Ellen); four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Hillside

FLORENNE BETTY ROGOW died Aug. 28 at 76. She is survived by her daughters, Lois (Kim) Alford and Nancy; and one grandchild. Hillside

Esther Mani Shabetai died Aug. 28 at 85. She is survived by her children, Elio (Andrina) Zarmati, Simone Shabetai-Lazarovici, Sami and Sydney; two grandchildren; brother, Solomon Mani; and nephew, Daniel Mani. Mount Sinai

Morris Schwartz died Aug. 30 at 85. He is survived by his wife, Doris; daughter, Susan (Barry) Shapiro; and grandson, Zachary Shapiro. Mount Sinai

Haskell Shwartz died Aug. 27 at 95. He is survived by his sisters, Rose Baranov and Jane Axel; nephew, Robert (Linda) Axel; niece, Karen (Jack Hendershott) Honigberg; great-niece; three great-nephews; great-great- niece; and two great-great-nephews. Mount Sinai

Charlotte Stone died Aug. 29 at 82. She is survived by her sons, Howard (Shirley), Larry, and Jay; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Malinow and Silverman

Leo Turkell died Aug. 28 at 88. He is survived by his wife, Ruth; daughter, Renee (Harold) Brook; son, Jeffrey (Catherine); four grandchildren; and brother, Joe Turkeltaub. Mount Sinai

SHIRLEY YESNICK died Aug. 23 at 72. She is survived by her sons, Charles and David; daughter, Linda Henderson; two grandchildren; and brother, Marshall Baskin. Hillside

Morris Yosha died Aug. 28 at 76. He is survived by his wife, Lena; son, Michael; daughter, Sheryl Ashby; sisters, Stella Law and Lilly Klein; and brothers, Isaac and Louis. Malinow and Silverman

 

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‘Jews for Jihad’ Just for Starters

Leave a Comment / Up Front /

“Go Ahead, Make My Shabbos!” No, it’s not Clint Eastwood turning religious, but a slogan on a T-shirt and coffee mug at Jewschool store, a Web site offering cheeky sloganned goods like T-shirts, underwear, caps, pins and bags.

The “Ghetto” tote, for example, which totes the Jewschool.com logo, sells for $12.99. There’s the famous line from The Big Lebowski, “I don’t roll on Shabbos” featured on T-shirts ($18), boxers ($16) and, of course, bowler’s shirts ($21) – but the movie’s other famous line, “I’m shomer *** Shabbos!” hasn’t made it onto any products just yet. Not that the site shies away from offending: check out “Ramah Girls Are Easy” tees ($20) and trucker caps ($14), which made the camp none too happy (but because the logo doesn’t say “Camp” they can’t sue), and the “really not tznius” bikini underwear ($9) referring to modesty or lack thereof. (The “Jesus Is My Homeboy” set off a copyright infringement threat last year from TeenageMillionaire.com that produced the “Jesus was a K***” T-shirts.)

Many of the slogans are political, such as “The People Are With Tel Aviv” and “The People Are With Palestine”(a parody of the Israeli “The People Are With The Golan”); “Gaza Strip Club” and “Jews For Jihad.” Some are just randomly benign, such as “I [heart] Goyim” and “Love Your Brother.” But all go toward supporting the Web site’s main endeavor, Jewschool.com, a blog that covers divergent opinions in the Jewish community that has been in operation since 2002.

“We try to be a venue for dissent and alternative viewpoint,” said Dan Sieradski, the founding publisher and editor in chief of Jewschool. He calls Jewschool an “open revolt” for disenfranchised Jews who are alienated and bored by the Jewish mainstream. The site, which has 35,000 visitors a month, lists alternative viewpoints, blogs, Web sites, events and projects for these type of Jews.

Sieradski, a 26-year-old freelance journalist and DJ from Teaneck, N.J., who is now in the process of making aliyah, works with many of the avant-garde, young “hip” Jews: Jewschool recently formed a content partnership with “Heeb” magazine, to trade stories; Sieradski is also a contributing editor. Danya Ruttenberg, a student at UJ and the author of “Yentl’s Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism,” is also a contributor, as is Aaron Bisman, director of JDub Records, and Jay Michaelson, editor of Zeek magazine — key names of this anti-disestablishment movement, if a loose gang of disenfranchised rebels could be termed as such.

The primary goal of the site, Sieradski said, is to advance the havurah movement, which means “fellowships” for prayer and study, a do-it-yourself kind of un-institutional community. They hope to have the Internet havurot up by the High Holidays.

Jewschool, he says, “dares to be what others can not: It pries Judaism from the lifeless fingers of the Jewish establishment and serves it up to the public with the insistence, ‘This belongs to you,'” he says. “Come ‘n’ get it.”

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Jewish Weddings in Space

Leave a Comment / Film, Up Front /

Joss Whedon’s quirky space Western, “Serenity,” features outlaws who act like Wild West gunslingers, an assassin who forces his victims to commit hara kiri, a telepath who inexplicably goes berserk, a Buddhist planet — and Jewish nuptials in space.

Based on Whedon’s short-lived 2002 TV series, “Firefly,” whose fan base helped spur the movie, “Serenity” revolves around the outlaws’ attempts to discover the telepath’s true identity after she beats up everyone in a bar.

Enter hacker broadcaster Mr. Universe (David Krumholtz), who plays the bar’s security tapes for the renegades — as well as a video of his wedding to a bimbo android. In one of the film’s funniest moments, she looks on robotically as Krumholtz (CBS’s “NUMB3RS”) ecstatically stomps on a glass at the end of the Jewish ceremony.

Mr. Universe is not the first member-of-the-tribe character the non-Jewish Whedon, has created, says Jewhoo Editor Nate Bloom; his titular Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a sidekick named Willow Rosenberg, among other multicultural pals.

Whedon said he created “Serenity,” which opens Friday, as a kind of “Wagon Train” in space. That’s about how Gene Roddenberry described his conceit for the original “Star Trek” series. But unlike “Trek” and many other sci-fi works, “Serenity” depicts real, rather than invented, human religions. So while a Jewish wedding in space may sound offbeat, hey, just think of it as the final frontier for the Diaspora, though don’t expect bubbe to approve of the intermarriage android thing.

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