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Jewish Journal

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October 27, 2005

Uma Thurman, Shiksa Goddess

Leave a Comment / Worldwide /

Sandra Bullock was all set to take the role of Rafi Gardet in the movie “Prime,” playing the 37-year-old woman who falls in love with a 23-year-old Jewish artist. But two weeks before shooting, Bullock pulled out. The actress told the trades the script hadn’t been revised to her satisfaction, although writer/director Ben Younger insisted that he had gone over all script changes with Bullock. He also said he was perplexed by Bullock’s sudden, lurching departure.

Now, a year later, as the film is being released to good reviews, there’s just one word for the Bullock fiasco: Whatever.

That’s because, shortly after Bullock’s resignation, Uma Thurman signed on for the role.

In a role that seemed to be calling for the ultimate shiksa — the unattainably perfect tall, blonde, very not Jewish woman, who could imagine anyone more perfect than Ms. “Kill Bill”/”Pulp Fiction”/”Truth About Cats and Dogs” Thurman?

“She’s a shiksa goddess,” Younger told The Journal.

“She’s someone who would be irresistible to a nice Jewish momma’s boy,” said the director, who grew up Modern Orthodox and went to yeshiva for elementary and high school.

Uma’s character, Rafi, is for the most part, oblivious to the religious conflict raging between her boyfriend David Bloomberg (Bryan Greenberg) and his mother Lisa Metzger (Meryl Streep).

“There’s a huge theme between the fact that she’s sort of agnostic, probably a WASP, non-religious, and he comes from a strong Jewish background and heritage — and that means a lot to him and his family,” Thurman said. “And she’s kind of outside…. In some way she’s not welcome.”

Thurman said her character is “just a typical open person who’s not brought up with religion.”

But that doesn’t mean she won’t fall for a Jewish boy. At one point, Rafi says to her therapist Streep (before confessing that she is dating the therapist’s son): “You were so right about Jewish men. He’s so attentive. I mean, of course, you know, you’re married to one.”

(The Streep character, more to herself than her client, says: “Yes, but he has A.D.D.”)

Younger said Rafi is just expressing what’s out on the street: “Non-Jewish women talk about it, how [Jewish men] are not afraid of closeness and intimacy.”

So what is it about the shiksa goddess type that appeals so much to Jewish men?

“I don’t think it’s the taboo thing,” Younger said. “I think it’s about getting as far away as possible from what you grew up with. It’s probably genetically healthy. I think everyone wants something different.”

“Uma’s the poster child for different as far as Jewish boys go,” Younger said. “You don’t see Uma at the Young Israel.”

Uma Thurman, Shiksa Goddess Read More »

Letters

Leave a Comment / Letters to the Editor /

Taps for Hatikvah

It has been sad indeed to see the slow death of all things Jewish along our Fairfax stretch over the last few years (“Fairfax Shops Feel the Squeeze,” Oct. 21).

Before we are relegated to yet another historical reference on the Canter’s mural, let’s hope the community mobilizes to at least make enough of an effort to slow down the gentrification of the area.

The latest casualty appears to be the imminent demise of the Hatikvah Music store. Hatikvah Music goes back to the ’50s. It was the only Jewish music store I knew where many aspiring pop artists entered the music business as part-time sales helpers when Fairfax High was on holiday.

Lately, it had become the only store you could visit in person to get the greatest selection of Jewish music in the West (perhaps in the whole country).

Sad, sad indeed,

Ed Marzola
Los Angeles

I am one of the artists whose CDs have been sold by Hatikvah. This is one of the few places left that specialize in the promotion of grass-roots groups like ours in a menschlikhkeit and heartfelt way.

If in fact the rent increases prohibit the existence of this wonderful shop, I question the priorities of the landowner. It is a shame to lose the most important venue left for the distribution of cultural heritage on the West Coast. I’m very sorry for this development.

Josh Horowitz
Founding Member
Veretski Pass

Inappropriate Cover

Please choose titles for The Journal that we can be proud of. Your choice of covers is often embarrassing and hurtful, and could lead to anti-Semitic responses from people. “An-Jew-Linos,” the title of the Sept. 30 paper, was not appropriate and quite offensive.

We don’t want letter carriers, postmen, store owners, patrons at the library, non-Jewish readers and anti-Semites reading disgusting titles like that. We don’t want people calling Angelenos, “An-Jew-Linos.” What were you thinking? Are you trying to create problems for our community?

Be very careful what you write on the covers of The Journal. It is seen and read by many people, not just Jewish people.

Anna Kleinman
Tarzana

Nostra Aetate

Thank you for Michael Berenbaum and Jane Ulman’s comprehensive and thoughtful coverage of the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate (“Nostra Aetate” and “What Happened When Jews Stopped Being Jesus’ Killers,” Oct. 21). The story of Los Angeles’ role in developing Catholic-Jewish dialogue deserves to be known more widely.

The reality is that Catholics have spent a great deal more time and effort learning about Jews and Judaism than Jews have in learning about Catholics and Catholicism, let alone Christianity in general. Our community’s conversion fears must not remain stumbling blocks to knowledge and understanding.

Leadership must come not only from organizations like the American Jewish Committee but also from our educational institutions and spiritual leaders. Here in Los Angeles, for example, Milken Community High School and the University of Judaism’s undergraduate college have made progress in teaching not only Christianity, but also Islam and Asian religions.

Still, of the major rabbinical seminaries across the United States, only Philadelphia’s Reconstructionist Rabbinical College requires a comparative religion course of its graduates — and some still don’t even offer them as electives. But every priest in formation has to study the Tanakh — in Hebrew.

It is said that he who knows one religion knows none. Ignorance of the other is no excuse.

Shawn Landres
Research Director
Synagogue 3000

Valley Cities Thriving

I read your article about the West Valley JCC with keen interest. However, your statement about Valley Cities JCC gave the impression that we are just barely existing (“Milken JCC Thrives With Dollars, Sense,” Oct. 21).

I would like to inform you that Valley Cities has a thriving Early Childhoom program, and an after-school program that services 10 public schools; an LAUSD education program two days a week; Israeli and ballroom dancing; a teen center; an exercise program for seniors; play readings, bagel brunches with excellent speakers; and a kosher kitchen.

Valley Cities JCC services the East Valley community in the same way as our companion West Valley JCC services the West Valley community. For all your readers in the East Valley, come by and partake of our services as they are there for your use and enjoyment.

Marcia Mirkin
Vice President
Friends of Valley Cities JCC

‘Painful Holidays’

At the end of her article, “The Painful Holidays” (Oct. 7), Michele Herenstein bravely writes what I’ve only thought about saying to the Jewish community. As a Jewishly involved 30-something single myself, invitations to join others for Shabbat and holiday meals are painfully few and far between.

I can’t help but feel that, all too often, the community at large and specifically the synagogue-going community easily loses sight of those of us who have not yet made our own families, just when we need them the most.

Like Herenstein, I ask the community to keep your eyes out for those of us who are single. In your planning, please consider those of us single men and women who may not have anywhere else to return to after shul, except for an empty apartment.

Ellen Kiss
Los Angeles

False Use

Constantly accusing all critics of Israel and Zionism as anti-Semitic is the false use of the race card meant to silence dissent (“Teacher Class on Mideast Stirs Doubt,” Oct. 7). Accusing organizations like the American Friends Service Committee of anti-Semitism risks isolating the Jewish community from the larger human rights discourse.

The Anti-Defamation League should stop monitoring human rights organizations and instead enter into real dialogue based on universal principles of social justice. There are well-meaning people who have serious, legitimate concerns with Israeli policy and Zionism, with no malice toward the Jewish people, these concerns stemming from a global understanding of the principles of justice and human rights that should be applied to everyone. To have a different policy toward Israel would be hypocritical and indefensible.

Your article raised concern regarding conference coordinator Linda Tubach’s affiliation with Cafe Intifada, which, as you correctly reported, supports Palestinian cultural programs, such as arts, educational, labor, community and human rights organizations, all essential parts of any dynamic democracy which Israel and its defenders claim it to be. Why then, the concern with our organization?

You incorrectly reported that Tubach no longer serves on our advisory board and that it has been disbanded. It is the pen pal program that has been discontinued, not our advisory board. We are grateful for Linda’s continued participation.

Emma Rosenthal
Executive Producer
Andy Griggs
Advisory Board Member
Cafe Intifada

Major Problem — Women

I read with interest Rob Eshman’s editorial (“The Conversation,” Oct. 21). Had I been along for the ride to Colorado, I would have said that one major problem in the Jewish community is that many women are not satisfied with their roles in Judaism.

This is most likely because they do not understand that they are not required to put on tefillin, have a quorum (minyan), wear tallisim, etc. So they use their secular-oriented mentalities and vie for opportunities to participate as men, “equal rights.”

This notion of equal opportunities is irrelevant to real Judaism. In fact, it is this lack of understanding and a lack of acceptance by more secular, assimilated Jews that gave rise to the perverse concept of women “rabbis.”

What do such women dismiss as irrelevant laws that they permit themselves to touch the Torah during times of their individual menses cycle, for example? Looking for halachic loopholes for women to carry the Torah as is done at B’nai David-Judea (Orthodox), undermines women converts to Orthodox Judaism who are satisfied with their specific obligations and do not need to vie with men for such newly created opportunities.

This is the demise of real Judaism! The advent of an era of new and perverted religions that are an offshoot of Judaism, albeit embracing many other Jewish ideals and reaching out to embrace like minds who need a religion of convenience.

Zvi-Hersch Blum
Los Angeles

‘Useful Idiot’

What do you call a “useful idiot” a whole generation later? You would think after the Venona files were released and documented that the people who were prosecuted under the “red scare” were prosecuted for what they did, not what they thought, that objections to McCarthy would wane (“Ed Murrow: What’s in a Name,” Oct. 21).

Today, the parallels are clear. If the Cold War is over and Edward Rampell is still on the wrong side, why should we trust him about the war on terror?

Janet and Albert Fuchs
via e-mail

 

Letters Read More »

Obituaries

Leave a Comment / Obituaries /

Marty Adlin died Sept. 26 at 88. He is survived by his wife, Frances; brothers Bernard (Arlene) and Sidney; and special brother-in-law, Ted Krakower. Malinow and Silverman

Selma Balberg died Sept. 27 at 89. She is survived by her husband, Harry; son, Stephen; daughter, Susan Robinson; and four grandchildren. Groman

Ester Beckerman died Sept. 23 at 85. She is survived by her daughters, Pnina (Michael) Rothenberg and Lalik Martin; five grandchildren; one great-grandson; and brothers, Yehuda, Shlomo and Mordechai Makover. Chevra Kadisha

Uri Berger died Sept. 28 at 91. He is survived by his daughters, Batya Reff and Sara; two grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Groman

Jerry Berk died Oct. 2 at 85. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; sons, Michael (Karen) and Arnold (Sally); daughters, Michelle (Herman) Desser and Penny (Philip) Attneave; six grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. Groman

Ben Bronson died Sept. 26 at 91. He is survived by his daughter, Marlyn (William) Diamond-Gray; five grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and brother, Herman. Mount Sinai

Joseph Brown died Sept. 28 at 84. He is survived by his wife, Pauline; son, Jeffrey; daughters, Arlene Mars and Ellen Weitz; brother, David; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Groman

Natalie Darnov died Sept. 28 at 76. She is survived by her husband, Morris; daughter, Sharon; son Rabbi Allen (Cantor Avima); three grandchildren; and brothers, Henry (Sarita) and Samuel (Lelia) Rose. Mount Sinai

Ruth Lillian Falkin died Sept. 30 at 80. She is survived by her sons, Bernard and Lawrence (Harriet); and sister, Joyce Sincher. Malinow and Silverman

Rae Iris Feinberg died Sept. 27 at 83. She is survived by her son, Howard; daughter, Susan (Jeff) Strumpf; and three grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Ira Frieder died Sept. 26 at 86. He is survived by his daughter, Regi (Gary) Block; son, David (Rondi); and four grandsons. Mount Sinai

Sigmond Frohlich died Sept. 30 at 95. He is survived by his sister, Ethel Leiman. Malinow and Silverman

Dorothy Gavin died Sept. 30 at 84. She is survived by her daughter, Carla (Richard) Satnick; and granddaughter, Shauna Satnick. Mount Sinai

Gary Goosen died Sept. 30 at 67. He is survived by his son, David; daughter, Susan; mother, Molly; and sisters, Randy and Andy. Groman

Joseph Gould died Sept. 28 at 85. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; sons, Marc (Cyndi Goldman) and David (Deborah Chankin); and three grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Muriel Hahn died Sept. 30 at 83. She is survived by her son, Jonathan. Mount Sinai

Paul Heller died Sept. 29 at 60. He is survived by his wife, Susan; and sons, Jordan and Luke. Malinow and Silverman

Rakhil Khokhlova died Sept. 25 at 80. She is survived by her daughter, Yevegeniya; and grandchildren, Galina and Tatiana Bluvshteyn. Chevra Kadisha

Minnie Rothman King died Sept. 30 at 93. She is survived by her son, Darrell (Sandra); and one grandchild. Groman

Robert Kline died Sept. 30 at 61. He is survived by his wife, Georgann; daughter, Lisa; and brother, Thomas. Malinow and Silverman

Leo Laufer died Sept. 18 at 82. He is survived by his niece, Beatrice Freed. Chevra Kadisha

June Laxer died Oct. 1 at 85. She is survived by her daughter, Ellen (Michael) Garner; son, Kenneth; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Ralph Lazarus died Sept. 29 at 94. He is survived by his daughter, Susan (Earl) Broidy; sons, Bill (Lynn) and Steve; and six grandchildren. Mount Sinai

David Lerner died Sept. 29 at 88. He is survived by his wife, Sarah; son Rabbi Barry Dov; daughters, Betha Hollander and Sarah; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. Groman

Dolores Hillner Levin died Oct. 1 at 86. She is survived by her sons, Barry and Joel (Marilyn); three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and sister, Renee (Leon) Sherman. Malinow and Silverman

Anna Levine died Oct 2 at 91. She is survived by her sons, Steven (Gabriela) and Jacob; four grandchildren.

WALTER JACK MARZOUK died Sept. 27 at 64. He is survived by his wife, Joyce; sons, Ben, Michael and Raymond; sisters Lillian Sciammas, Nelly Ibrahim and Odette Cohen. Hillside

Vajeheh Moin-Amini died Sept. 18 at 86. She is survived by her daughter, Nina Sami. Chevra Kadisha

Iraj Mehrannia died Sept. 19 at 79. He is survived by his wife, Sona; and daughter, Nazie Meskin. Chevra Kadisha

Florence Pascoe died Oct. 1 at 95. She is survived by her sons, Dennis (Susan) and Michael. Malinow and Silverman

Iosif Perstin died Sept. 22 at 68. He is survived by his wife, Raisa; and daughter, Alla Suzdaltsev. Chevra Kadisha

Bernard Peters died Sept. 28 at 85. He is survived by his son, Joe; grandchildren, Sandra Albertson and Daniel Peters; and two great-grandchildren. Chevra Kadisha

Bernice Ratner died Sept. 23 at 90. She is survived by her daughter, Jacqueline Ann Ratner-Stauber; and grandson, Adom Ratner-Stauber. Chevra Kadisha

LILLIAN ANN ROSS died Sept. 27 at 78. She is survived by her grandchildren, Jessica (Chanania) and David; brother, Frank (Rosalie); sister, Evelyn; and nieces, Marsha and Barbara. Hillside

DAVID SALLAN died Sept. 26 at 90. He is survived by his wife, June; son, Bruce; and two grandchildren. Hillside

Sylvia Schneider died Sept. 27 at 92. She is survived by her son, David (Tobianne); three grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and brothers, Norman (Beverly) and Arnold (Helen) Kominsky. Malinow and Silverman

Donald Schwartz died Sept. 26 at 83. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca; daughters, Marilyn Rado, Bobbie (Mito) Sion and Ronnie (Lenny) Lieb; and five grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Dr. George Shecter died Sept. 28 at 92. He is survived by his son, Paul (Moriah Bat-Hayim); daughter, Alice (Richard Gracer); and granddaughter, Nicole Pollack. Mount Sinai

Annabelle Frances Singer died Sept. 26 at 84. She is survived by her husband, Aaron; daughter, Ellen (Paul) Plumer; sons, Howard (Terry) and Dennis (Claire); and two grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Harriet Bernice Slomiak died Sept. 29 at 76. She is survived by her sons, Jeffrey, Mark and Jay; daughter, Ellen Glettner; brother, Cantor Harvey Bein; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Groman

SOL SMITH died Sept. 25 at 86. He is survived by his daughters, Shirley-Mae (Dr. Harvey Roter) and Carolynne ( Ze’ev Drori); sons, David (Irene) and Mark (Marcia); seven grandchildren; and brothers, David and Mel. Hillside

Freyda Penner Spatz died Sept. 30 at 87. She is survived by her daughters, Julie DaVanzo (Frank), Barbara and Andrea (Bob Wunderlich); four grandchildren; and sister, Edith Penner Wolfson. Hillside.

Lois Jane Spector died Sept. 26 at 74. She is survived by her husband, William; daughter, Ellen Kotler; sons, Dr. John, Dr. David, Steven, and Jeffrey; and four grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

SAMUEL SWARTZ died Sept. 25 at 92. He is survived by his sons, Joel and Steven; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and brother, Paul. Hillside

Roman Tsyrlin died Sept. 28 at 62. He is survived by his wife, Ludmela; daughter Inga (Reza) Farahanchi; one grandchild; and mother, Lubov. Malinow and Silverman

Deanna Waxman died Sept. 29 at 90. She is survived by nephews, Michael and Richard Druyen; and nieces, Earline Cooper and Adele Leibman. Groman

Gertrude Leah Weingarten died Sept. 30 at 101. She is survived by her daughters, Connie Gerson and Louise Goldsmith; nine grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Bernard Wyman died Sept. 29 at 79. He is survived by his wife, Phyllis. Malinow and Silverman

 

Obituaries Read More »

The Real World: Warlord

Leave a Comment / Books, Entertainment, Up Front, Worldwide /

Imagine an Uzbek warlord who takes time between mortar attacks to remove his clothes and display his manhood in the bunker. Now, imagine that he willingly does this for a camera operator, who films the chieftain and his family for an “Osbournes”-meets-“Sopranos” reality-TV show.

It sounds almost plausible in the age of “The Apprentice” and “Survivor.” But, in fact, this is the setup for a fictional reality-TV show at the heart of Peter Lefcourt’s new novel, “The Manhattan Beach Project” (Simon & Schuster, $24).

Lefcourt, who quips that he is “a card-carrying Jew,” will discuss his latest social satire at the Jewish Book Festival, which will run from Oct. 30 through Dec. 11. The event is organized by the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys and will feature a wide range of writers.

It will kick off with Bruce Bauman discussing “And the Word Was,” his debut novel about the aftermath of a Columbine-type tragedy on the life of a doctor. Also appearing will be Ursula Bacon, author of “Shanghai Diary,” a memoir about a young girl’s journey from Europe to Shanghai at the time of the Holocaust.

Bookended by scenes at a Debtors Anonymous meeting, “The Manhattan Beach Project” takes off when a bankrupt CIA agent convinces a down-on-his-luck producer — a fellow debtor — to pitch a reality-TV series about the daily activities of a warlord in the former Soviet Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan. The warlord has the typical dysfunctional family: a mistress, an angry wife who never leaves her room, a lesbian daughter, one teenage son who is an onanist and another who joins the Taliban. Unbeknownst to the producer, the rogue agent has turned the warlord’s basement into a safe house for pirated videos, the ultimate no-no in Hollywood.

With or without a Jewish theme, “The Manhattan Beach Project” skewers Hollywood the way Tom Wolfe lampooned Wall Street in “Bonfire of the Vanities.” Lefcourt shows the callowness of these show biz Masters of the Universe.

Over the past 30 years, Lefcourt has written and produced television dramas like “Cagney & Lacey” and miniseries like “The Women of Windsor,” but it’s his novels that most closely reflect his comic sensibility. His best-known prior book, “The Dreyfus Affair,” depicts with dark humor a gay romance set in homophobia-ridden big league baseball.

“The Dreyfus Affair” has been optioned several times by movie studios but never produced, so Lefcourt is intimately familiar with the reptilian nature of Hollywood executives in the mold of Sammy Glick, and the difficulties in getting a project green-lighted.

Lefcourt cites no particular inspiration for “The Manhattan Beach Project,” but says that he was “so attached to” producer Charlie Berns, hero of his first sardonic novel on Hollywood, “The Deal,” that he wanted to bring him back. Berns, an erstwhile Oscar-winning film honcho, resurrects his career in “The Manhattan Beach Project” by entering the world of reality TV, which Lefcourt calls “the crack cocaine of the TV business. It’s addictive, debilitating and noninformative…. It seems to have peaked, but it will be with us, in one form or another, for a long time, like a flu epidemic.”

“The Manhattan Beach Project’s” overarching metaphor, show biz as a top-secret, clandestine society, where anyone can be whacked, has always been apt, particularly in recent times. He’s no fan of Michael Eisner and his ilk, and concludes his acknowledgments by sarcastically thanking Eisner for “going down with the ship.”

Would Mikey have green-lighted “Warlord”? According to Lefcourt, Eisner would have “yellow-lit it” — keeping it at arm’s length “in case it blew up in his face.”

Peter Lefcourt will read and discuss his book on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 2:30 p.m. at Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, 1434 N. Altadena Drive, Pasadena.

Also at the festival: The Jewish Journal will co-sponsor a Nov. 30 event with author Ruth Andrew Ellenson, editor of “The Modern Jewish Girl’s Guide to Guilt.” For festival information call (626) 967-3656.

The Real World: Warlord Read More »

A Novel Boxer Novel

Leave a Comment / Up Front /

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has joined the long list of solons who have dabbled in writing. Unlike John Kennedy, she admits to collaborating with a professional writer. Also unlike Kennedy, she is not likely to win the Pulitzer Prize.

Still, her just-released novel offers an inside look at politics that few know as well as California’s 65-year-old three-term senator.

With freelance writer Mary-Rose Hayes, Boxer, who reportedly received an advance of just under $16,000 from San Francisco-based publisher Chronicle Books, has brought forth “A Time to Run.”

In yet another case of art imitating life (or is it life imitating art?), “A Time to Run” is framed by an impending Senate vote on a conservative woman nominated for the Supreme Court. In between, the novel flashes back to the heady 1970s at Cal Berkeley, where Ellen Downey, an idealistic child rights advocate; Josh Fischer, an aspiring politician; and Greg Hunter, Fischer’s journalist roommate, meet as seniors at the fabled left-wing bastion.

All three characters are guilty of infidelities and other transgressions, but the aptly named Hunter is the one who always goes for the kill.

What defies comprehension is why Ellen ever listens to him again after he manipulates her into bed with him — when she is practically engaged to Josh.

Later on, after Hunter has co-authored a book about a right-wing actor famous for his cowboy roles (John Wayne, anyone?), after he has joined the payroll of a right-wing senator, after he has done everything possible to undermine the Senate bid of Josh (who dies in a car crash) — after all the dirty tricks, how can Ellen agree to meet him, let alone initially accept his evidence suggesting that the Supreme Court nominee is a child abuser.

Ellen, a diminutive California Senator, may seem like a barely disguised alter ego for Senator Boxer, but the fictional protagonist is cast as roughly 12 years younger, a product of the 1960s and 1970s, not the prudish Eisenhower-era ’50s. And Boxer herself, who was not available for an interview, denies any comparison. “She’s not me,” she told Associated Press. “She has no children. She’s younger…It’s a totally different life.”

“Time” is beset with anachronisms such as the verb “dis,” slang that was not common vernacular in 1974, and platitudes, such as Ellen’s observations at Josh’s funeral. (“A child wasn’t supposed to die before the parent…It was so wrong.”) However, “Time” does get better as it builds toward a climax. And Boxer provides a privileged look at the secret hideaways in the bowels of the Capitol. She also effectively reveals the insidiousness of politics. Reading about Greg Hunter is enough to leave readers feeling almost contaminated.

The release of the book at the time of Harriet Miers’ nomination appears to be coincidental since Boxer says she worked seven years on the novel. Which doesn’t mean, of course, that Boxer has nothing to say about the nominee. The senator, who voted against the nomination of Chief Justice John Roberts, told the New York Times Magazine that high court nominee Miers “doesn’t bring stellar experience to the job. That’s a fact.”

A Novel Boxer Novel Read More »

Dueling Ukranian Rabbis

Leave a Comment / Up Front /

It’s nice to see Judaism make a comeback in the former Soviet Union, but this is ridiculous. Ukraine now has three dueling chief rabbis amid a hopelessly divided Jewish community — creating a spiritual bottleneck that also is filled with political intrigue.

Who do they think they are? American Jews?

The newest chief rabbi is Moshe Reuven Azman, 39, who critics say was installed in a contested election by media magnate Vadim Rabinovich, who wants to enhance his influence with President Viktor Yuschenko. Azman had been a helpful supporter of the “Orange Revolution” that elevated Yuschenko to power. (Many other rabbis had landed on the wrong side, having supported Yuschenko’s Russian-backed opponent.)

Then there’s Yakov Dov Bleich, a U.S.-born rabbi who has been widely recognized as chief rabbi of both Kiev and Ukraine since 1992. Bleich, 41, a pioneer of Jewish renaissance in post-Communist Ukraine, was never properly elected, yet he has shown no intention of giving up the post.

Ukrainian Jews got another chief rabbi in 2003 when Soviet-born, Brussels-based Azriel Haikin, 75, was proclaimed chief rabbi by dozens of Chabad rabbis working for the Federation of Jewish Communities, the region’s largest Jewish group.

“It’s impossible to consolidate the Jewish community in this situation when every two to three years we have a new chief rabbi of Ukraine,” said Ilya Levitas of the Jewish Council of Ukraine.

Not to mention that the existing chief rabbis have declined to retire.

Could it be the America’s next hit reality series — “Dueling Ukranian Rabbis?” Who will be voted off — or thrown off — the bimah? Or would it just seem too familiar to folks watching at home.

Dueling Ukranian Rabbis Read More »

7 Days in The Arts

Leave a Comment / Picks and Clicks /

Saturday, October 29

City Stage, Inc. presents two short plays, back-to-back, about fathers and sons, metaphorically and actually. First, in “Liberation Day,” Ron Kohn presents a one-man show, in which he intertwines the stories of his father, a Holocaust survivor, and of himself, a guilt-ridden son. “Better Angels” follows Kohn’s performance — this show offering a conversation between a rabbi and his psychiatrist, both fathers of a kind.

Through Dec. 4. $20. Hayworth Theatre Complex, 643 Carondelet St., Los Angeles. (213) 389-9860.

Sunday, October 30

The Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity’s chamber ensemble, Synergy, performs “Jewish Sounds From Six Continents” this evening, a concert presenting, you guessed it, Jewish music from Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and South America. Sadly, Antarctica will not be represented. But chins up to our Antarctic brethren. There’s always next year.

7 p.m. $15-$18. Emanuel Arts Center, 8844 Burton Way, Beverly Hills. (323) 658-5824.

Monday, October 31

Newest addition to the Kevin Bacon game is the film, “Where the Truth Lies,” about a comedy pair, a la Martin and Lewis, beloved by America, and famous for their telethons. Bacon is the Lewis-esque character. But similarities do not extend to the plot, a well-spun mystery surrounding the discovery of a dead woman in the duo’s hotel suite, and the unraveling of that mystery 15 years later.

Tuesday, November 1

Grammy-, Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman grant us access into their fabulous lives this evening at the UJ. Veteran talk show host Bill Moran interviews the couple in depth about the film music they’ve written for movies like “The Way We Were” and “Yentl,” about their marriage and, of course, about Babs. Film clips will be shown, and the Bergmans will end the evening with a piano recital.

7:30 p.m. $25. 15600 Mulholland Drive, Bel Air. R.S.V.P., (310) 440-1246.

Wednesday, November 2

The emotional and elemental paintings and sculptures of Alexandra Jicol come to BGH Gallery this month. Titled, “Mirror of Life,” the exhibition features paintings with large splashes of primary color, often depicting the human form, specifically facial features. The show is the Romanian-born artist and poet’s U.S. premier.

2525 Michigan Ave., D4, Santa Monica. (310) 315-9502.

Thursday, November 3

Weegee continues his stay at the Getty through January, but you won’t have that long to see his other temporary housing at the Paul Kopeikin Gallery. Images by the famous street photographer and photojournalist are on view at the gallery only through Nov. 12.

6150 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 937-0765.

Friday, November 4

The Falcon Theatre’s current and timely production, “Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted,” brings Joe Mantegna to the lead role of Dalton Trumbo, a screenwriter, and one of the infamous “Hollywood Ten” brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s. Dalton’s son, Christopher, penned the work that centers on the topical issue of civil liberties.

4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank. (818) 955-8101.

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The Coed Who Defied Hitler

Leave a Comment / Entertainment /

Many brave soldiers on all sides fought in World War II, but among the most courageous warriors were the unarmed civilians who defied the Nazis by stirring up resistance, hiding Jews and speaking up for freedom.

If such defiance took great moral courage in occupied countries, it was an almost certain death sentence for resistors inside Germany, who were seen by their countrymen as backstabbing traitors in a patriotic war.

Among the few Germans on this honor roll were a handful of university students in Munich, the cradle of Nazism, who banded together in the resistance group known as the White Rose.

The only woman among them was Sophie Scholl, a 21-year-old Protestant psychology student. Her character and fate are dramatized in “Sophie Scholl: The Final Days,” Germany’s Oscar entry for best foreign-language film.

With her brother, Hans, and a few comrades, mostly former German soldiers, Sophie produced leaflets denouncing the Nazi euthanasia of the “unfit” and the killing of the Jews. The leaflets, printed in early 1943, shortly after the Wehrmacht defeat at Stalingrad, warned that Germany was heading for disaster by following a mad dictator.

As the film opens, Sophie and Hans Scholl are clandestinely planting the leaflets at the University of Munich. They are discovered by a janitor, interrogated by the Gestapo, quickly “judged” by a “People’s Court” and immediately executed.

Director Marc Rothmund has drawn on the recently discovered transcripts of the Gestapo interrogation and the “trial” to convey the eerie sense of “you are there” to viewers.

Actress Julia Jentsch gives a shattering performance as Sophie, whose steady nerves and quick mind actually fool the veteran interrogator, until the cumulative evidence dooms her and her brother (Fabian Hinrichs).

At that point, the Scholl siblings assume all the responsibility, desperately trying to shield their comrades, and hurl the charges against them into the faces of the accusers.

“Sophie Scholl” screens at the American Film Institute Fest on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 5 at 3:15 p.m. at the Arclight Theatre, 6360 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. For information call (866) 234-3378 or www.afi.com/afifest.

 

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U.S.-Israeli Ties to Unite AIPAC Summit

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When AIPAC convenes its National Summit on Foreign Policy and Politics in Los Angeles, there will be a single factor that unites everyone in attendance: a commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship. The singular focus on that goal and the willingness to work tirelessly to achieve it will bring together 1,000 delegates from across the nation, hundreds of energetic college students and more than 20 federal, state and local elected officials.

This strong signal of support for the U.S.-Israel relationship takes place at a time when the world is closely following developments in the Middle East, where both promise and peril loom on the horizon.

Promise exists for the future of an Israeli-Palestinian peace process, thanks to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s courageous plan to withdraw from all of Gaza and an area twice as large in the West Bank. In the run-up to the complicated and emotional pullout, which Israel was able to conclude weeks ahead of schedule, Congress passed an important resolution praising Israel for its bold step for peace, and calling upon the Palestinian Authority to fulfill its commitments to fight terrorism.

It remains to be seen if the Palestinian Authority will take advantage of this historic opportunity that Israel has created. Prospects for real progress will dim unless Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas makes a serious effort to disarm and dismantle terror organizations that have carried out more than 22,000 attacks on Israelis since 2000.

One troubling development has been Abbas’ willingness to allow Hamas to field candidates in upcoming Palestinian legislative elections, even though most democracies ban groups that merely advocate violence from the political process. Including Hamas would be a serious blow to efforts to establish a more credible, democratic Palestinian government and for peace in the region. How could Israel expect to engage in peace negotiations with a government that included officials committed to its destruction?

A bipartisan group of 49 members of Congress — including the entire leadership of the House of Representatives and most of the House International Relations Committee — delivered an important letter to Abbas during his recent visit. In this letter, the lawmakers called for the Palestinian Authority to keep Hamas and other terrorist groups out of upcoming elections, and strongly urged Abbas to make good on his promise to disarm terrorist groups.

Another cause for concern in the region is Iran’s ongoing attempt to develop nuclear weapons in defiance of the international community.

After rejecting an offer by European negotiators to give up its nuclear program in exchange for a generous package of economic and security incentives, Iran broke off the negotiations and restarted its efforts to convert uranium, a key step in developing nuclear weapons. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has since produced seven tons of the gas, a quantity that a former U.N. nuclear inspector said would be enough for one nuclear weapon.

Iran already possesses missiles capable of striking U.S. soldiers and bases in the Middle East, as well as the territories of American allies, including Israel.

The international community took an unprecedented stand against Iran’s program, following a speech at the United Nations by Iran’s hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who suggested that Iran may ban arms inspectors from visiting suspected nuclear sites, and expressed a desire to share Iranian nuclear technology with other Muslim countries. The Board of Governors of the IAEA adopted a resolution declaring Tehran in noncompliance with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations and paving the way for a future referral of the issue to the U.N. Security Council.

Meanwhile, with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s support, Congress is considering proposals that seek to isolate Iran both economically and diplomatically to slow its efforts to reach its nuclear goals.

The Iran Freedom Support Act, which would attempt to deny Iran the funds to use for nuclear development by tightening sanctions on foreign companies that invest in the Iranian energy sector, has so far garnered the support of more than 300 members of the House of Representatives and 31 senators.

In various ways, members of Congress continue to play a vital role in improving prospects for peace in the Middle East by standing against terrorism and standing with America’s closest ally, Israel.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives this year overwhelmingly approved foreign aid packages containing $2.52 billion in assistance for Israel. These measures vividly symbolize the United States’ unshakable commitment to Israel’s security and provide her the means to maintain a vital qualitative military edge over her adversaries.

The challenges of today and the ones that lie ahead in the Middle East are real — they make the work that AIPAC is doing in Washington more important than ever.

Thanks to the efforts of pro-Israel Americans like the ones converging in Los Angeles this weekend, the United States will continue to stand by Israel.

Bernice Manocherian is president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

 

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