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Jewish Journal

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April 27, 2006

Spectator – A Musical Trek to Israel

Leave a Comment / Entertainment /

For 2,000 years, Jewish music has been a hybrid compounded of elements picked up from our neighbors. Salamone Rossi created Italian Baroque settings of Hebrew texts. Chasidic niggunim drew on Viennese waltz music and Eastern European military marches. Sulzer and Lewandowski wrote like German Protestants. In the Diaspora, Jewish music has always been a hyphenate.

One might expect that the creation of a Jewish state might bring about a change in such affairs, but listening to the excellent new compilation “The Rough Guide to the Music of Israel” (Rough Guide/World Music Network) one realizes that, for now at least, Israeli music, too, is an amalgam of local and global influences, ranging from the dance-beat driven songs of the late Ofra Haza to the hip-hop of Hadag Nahash.

Of course, Israel itself is a crossroads, situated in the midst of so many different cultures, and a catch basin for all those different sounds, but for obvious reasons, Israel is a particularly fertile ground for a fusion of Jewish musics — Moroccan, Algerian, Yemenite, Ethiopian, Ladino, Yiddish and so on. And Dan Rosenberg, who compiled this CD has made a point of drawing from all of them. The result is both a useful snapshot of Israeli pop today and a highly danceable record in its own right.

The Jewish Moroccan tradition is a particularly rich one musically and is fittingly well-represented here with selections by Shlomo Bar (of Habrera Hativit) and David D’Or, Emil Zrihan and Kol Oud Tof. But there are equally telling contributions from Bustan Abraham — a Turkish classical composition turned into a devastatingly syncopated dance treat — and old folkies Alberstein and Arik Einstein.

There are no real duds here, although the harmonica-driven Tea Packs is a band more redolent of American vaudeville than some will care for, and Ofra Haza’s discofied “Ode-Le-Eli” probably wouldn’t cut it at a traditional Yemenite wedding. But even those two songs are better-than-average representatives for artists whose popularity is too large for them to be ignored in this context.

The best thing about “The Rough Guide to the Music of Israel” is that it will introduce listeners to the entire range of music coming out of the country. If you can get your parents to put away their Hillel and Aviva records and check out the Israeli Andalusian Orchestra or Idan Raichel’s Project, you’ll be glad you did. (How your parents will feel, that’s not my problem.)

George Robinson is the film and music critic for Jewish Week; his new book, “Essential Torah,” will be published by Shocken Books in fall 2006.

 

Spectator – A Musical Trek to Israel Read More »

View on Eisen From L.A.: Thumbs Up

Leave a Comment / Community, Judaism /

Local reaction was positive — with an element of wait and see — to the choice of Stanford professor Arnold Eisen as the new, de facto leader of the Conservative moment. Eisen, who isn’t a rabbi, will take over this summer as chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

Rabbi Issac Jaret, president of Brandeis-Bardin Institute, focused immediately on Eisen’s position on gays — the seminary does not currently ordain openly gay rabbis.

“On the one hand, Eisen has stated he is in favor of the ordination,” he said. “On the other hand, being that he is not a rabbi, professor Eisen may have less impact upon this decision than another chancellor might have had with similar views.”

Jaret would not articulate his own position on gay ordination but added that “any decision on this matter [would] leave a significant segment of the movement dissatisfied.”

Rabbi Harold Schulweis, a prominent innovator in the movement, also foresees a period of division and discontent, adding, “The Conservative movement must become much more responsive to the world and not live by quotations of halacha [Jewish law] alone.”

Schulweis, a longtime rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, called the movement behind the times: “To be a movement that will excite its people, you have to be on the cutting edge, and you can’t be too little too late.”

He joked that the definition of a Conservative Jew “is someone who is willing to do something, but never for the first time.”

Schulweis quoted the Passover Torah portion to underscore his point: “The question Ezekiel asks is, ‘Will these dry bones live?’ The challenge to the new chancellor, the seminary and the Conservative movement is whether or not we can resurrect the dessicated bones of apathy.”

His colleague at Valley Beth Shalom, Rabbi Ed Feinstein, put it another way: “The most important issue is what it means to be a religious movement in a completely voluntary and individualistic culture. How do you build contemporary spiritual community?”

Los Angeles rabbis interviewed for their reaction were unconcerned that Eisen is not a rabbi.

“They made an important statement in the scholar they chose,” said Rabbi Stewart Vogel of Temple Aliyah in Woodland Hills. “They didn’t take a biblical scholar or a scholar of rabbinic literature. They took someone who is an expert on American Jewry and American Jewish life — not in a historical context but in a contemporary sociological context,” he said.

Eisen’s books include “Rethinking Modern Judaism: Ritual, Commandment, Community” (University of Chicago Press, 1999), “Taking Hold of Torah: Jewish Commitment and Community in America” (Indiana University Press, 2000) and together with Stephen Cohen, “The Jew Within: Self, Family, and Community in America” (Indiana University Press: 2000).

Vogel called Eisen “someone who can speak more on the condition of American Jewry and help to form a vision for American Jewry.”

More praise came from Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple in Westwood, who took his own name out of consideration for the seminary job.

“Professor Eisen is a deep and subtle thinker about Judaism and American Judaism in particular,” Wolpe said. “This can only be a very powerful shot in the arm for a movement that was looking for a very powerful shot in the arm, that was looking for reinvigoration.”

 

View on Eisen From L.A.: Thumbs Up Read More »

Questions, Prayers and Shabbat Lights

Leave a Comment / Celebrations/Simchas, Community, Education, Holidays, Judaism /

Interfaith Questions

Why do bad things happen to good people? Or why do bad things happen to me? Dr. Aryeh Dean Cohen paraphrased these questions at an April 5 interfaith dialogue on theodicy or how to reconcile a benevolent God with evil.

The roundtable dialogue, “Jewish and Christian Perspective on Theodicy: How Could God Let Something Like This Happen and What Can We Do About It?” was sponsored by the Board of Rabbis of Southern California and the Fuller Theological Seminary, a nondenominational Christian seminary in Pasadena, and was the second interfaith discussion on a series of topics.

“We have so much to learn from our Jewish friends, who give us permission to lament and engage in arguments with God,” said Dr. Richard Mouw, president of Fuller.

Before Passover and Easter, rabbis and pastors listened to varying perspectives on how the two religions confront all the disasters occurring in the world.

“Can God’s justice be defended and should one even try to do so?” asked James T. Butler, associate professor of the Old Testament at Fuller. He said that it’s important to question, rather than accept things on blind faith or counsel others that it is God’s will.

“If we convey the fact that faith is strongest when unquestioned, we contribute to the spiritual infantilization of our neighbors,” he said. “We teach them to settle for the God we have, rather than God they read about…. Instead of discouraging those who suffer, we can be their voice.”

Cohen agreed: “Sometimes the only thing you can do is listen.” He said that at other times, “the only thing you can do is scream and yell and curse.”

But really, he added the question is not “why did God do this, but why did we do this?” When it comes to natural disasters like New Orleans or human atrocities like genocide, we can’t really answer the question of where God is. But “where am I is a question we have an answer to.”

Egalitarian but Spiritual

They say “two Jews, three shuls,” so why not one more alternative community?

That’s why a group of 20-somethings started PicoEgal, an egalitarian minyan where men and women, participating as equals, conduct an entire, uncut Shabbat and holiday service that incorporates singing and spirituality.

“The basic idea is to have a community with a davening in accordance with halacha that also has spiritual singing,” said one of the founders, Abe Friedman, a first-year student at the University of Judaism.

Modeled after New York’s Hadar congregation, which attracts some 300 people each week, PicoEgal is one of a number of recently established minyans here and around the world that don’t affiliate with a particular movement and don’t have a synagogue building. For now, the two dozen or so “members” of PicoEgal meet at apartments in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood on the first and third Saturday mornings of each month, but they are looking for a more permanent space to rent. However, unlike other religious communities that are looking for a permanent home — like Ikar, for example — PicoEgal has no plans to become a full-time congregation.

“We’re not a one-stop shop for everyone,” Friedman said. “We didn’t want this to be an entire community, so much as a davening community [that adds to] what was already available.”

In that same vein, PicoEgal is also starting a multidenominational Beit Midrash study program, beginning with a Torah portion class each Tuesday in May, taught by Orthodox, Conservative and Reform teachers.

“While there are many opportunities for Jewish learning in the area, there is a lack of learning opportunities across the denominations. We wanted to try and provide a neutral forum for Torah learning outside any establishment,” Friedman said.

Just One Candle…

First it was Shabbat; now it’s candles…. What’s next? Kosher?

Ten years ago, Shabbat Across America began its campaign to get as many Jews as possible to celebrate Shabbat for at least one weekend a year. This May, a new organization is promoting “FridayLight,” a campaign encouraging 1 million women to light Shabbat candles — that’s 2 million candles!

“By lighting up each and every Friday night, you will not only bask in a personal moment of inner peace but also connect to a larger community of women everywhere who together hold the power to foster global peace,” reads the Web site (www.fridaylight.org), which features a pale redhead in a Oriental robe holding a fat, yellow candle — definitely not a traditional Shabbat candle for sure.

“With the flicker of a million flames each and every Friday night, we can bring light to some of the darkest places on earth and usher in peace throughout the world,” it adds.

The New Four Questions

Why is law important in the Jewish faith? Why isn’t the bible enough? Why does the practice of Judaism seem to be different from what is written in the Torah? How can Jewish law relate to modern issues?

These and other modern-day questions about religion will be addressed in “From Sinai to Cyberspace,” a course from the Jewish Learning Institute, a Chabad adult education program presented at Chabad locations in 150 cities around the world. Each course, taught by Chabad rabbis, provides a textbook and is supplemented by audio-visual presentations. The courses also are available online.

“From Sinai To Cyberspace” examines the interplay of the written and oral traditions and how they impacted the development of Jewish law, creating a vibrant and flexible system faithful to its roots.

The course begins in early May at Los Angeles at Chabad Centers throughout Southern California, including Los Feliz, Studio City, Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Northridge and Pasadena.

For more information on PicoEgal, e-mail picoegal@gmail.com.

For more information on the Chabad course and locations, visit www.myjli.com/courses.php.

 

Questions, Prayers and Shabbat Lights Read More »

New JTS Head Faces Trouble, Opportunity

Leave a Comment / Community, Congregations, Education, Judaism /

Arnold Eisen doesn’t need to be reminded that he’s not a rabbi. It’s certainly not news to him.

The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) announced this month that Eisen, 54, the chair of Stanford University’s religious studies program, would become just the second nonrabbi to serve as the New York City seminary’s chancellor and the first since 1940. He succeeds Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, who held the post for two decades.

“I would have preferred a rabbi in this position, too,” said Eisen with a laugh. “I’ve been writing and thinking for 25 years about changes I’d like to see made, and now I have a chance to help make them.”

Eisen ascends to the helm of a Conservative movement that is hemorrhaging memberships on a congregational level and cannot, at present, reach consensus about whether to ordain openly gay and lesbian rabbis. Perhaps more than any other branch of American Judaism, the Conservatives must walk a difficult line in maintaining a coherent identity as halachic Jews in the modern world. Eisen is well aware of these quandaries and has spent a lifetime considering various solutions.

Take the pressing question of what to do about openly homosexual rabbis. Eisen offered a three-part answer.

“No. 1, this is a halachic movement, period. I want honesty and integrity in the halachic process carried through, and I would be upset if it were not. And No. 2, it’s a faculty matter. The faculty has to teach the people who are going to be ordained. So there will be a halachic decision by rabbis and there will be faculty discussion as well. Then, I voice my personal opinion about how I’d like things to turn out, and you know what that is.”

Eisen personally favors the ordination of gay and lesbian rabbis, while also insisting, “I’m not qualified to decide on matters of rabbinic law. That’s one of the things that changes” with a nonrabbi at the reins of the seminary. The halachic decisions of the JTS will now fall to a yet-to-be determined rabbi or perhaps even a number of rabbis. They simply haven’t figured it out yet.

Bay Area Jewish community leaders, while intrigued by the novelty of having a nonrabbi lead a rabbinical seminary, were far more preoccupied with praising Eisen’s record over two decades as one of the nation’s foremost scholars in the field of modern Jewish thought.

Because the JTS selection committee chose to look outside the rabbinate, the Conservative seminary now has a leader who was never mired in political infighting, said professor Lee Shulman, the president of Stanford’s Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching and a longtime colleague of Eisen.

Rabbi Stuart Kelman of Berkeley’s Conservative Congregation Netivot Shalom said that Eisen’s academic record indicates “that the seminary, which has consistently stood for academic excellence, will continue to do so.”

“Arnie didn’t live in [a] cloister,” added Rabbi Brian Lurie, former director of the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation. “He mixed with students and donors and is a person who understands what’s going on on the street. His research at school really gave him a very unique and strong vantage point on the American Jewish community. They didn’t give this job to some ivory tower isolated person.”

A colleague praised Eisen as a scholar with his feet firmly planted on the ground and one who has long devoted thoughtful consideration to issues of the Jewish community.

“The questions that have engaged him most as a scholar are arguably the central questions that engage Jews today,” said Steven Zipperstein, Eisen’s Stanford colleague.

Eisen’s dissertation explored the ramifications of being both Jewish and American. A subsequent book, “Galut: Modern Jewish Reflection on Homelessness and Homecoming” (Indiana University Press, 1986) explored Jewish feelings of being at home and homeless in the Diaspora.

“His concerns begin with the preoccupations of everyday Jews,” Zipperstein said.

And, as far as Eisen is concerned, too few everyday Jews are preoccupied with Torah.

“There are literally a couple of million Jews in this country who have never had Torah taught to them in a live and exciting way. They just don’t get it. They don’t get how much Jewish tradition could mean to them. So they’re turned off and disconnected, and we’ve got to reach them better,” he said. “I now have a chance to help train a lot of the people who are going to be serving them for the next generation.”

Eisen, an active congregant at Palo Alto’s Kol Emeth, can’t deny the declining synagogue rolls in the Conservative movement but insists that “the numbers for all [affiliated] Jews are down…. It’s a very strong movement, and I don’t understand the sense of malaise some people feel.”

Rather than obsess solely on wooing new members (or disenchanted old ones), Eisen said that the movement must provide more for its existing membership: “We need a better prayer experience, better schools, better adult learning and better communities. If we can do any or all of these things, we will have an improved movement.”

Conservative thinkers have, for some time, pondered how to invigorate the movement. Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple in Westwood has suggested a name change to something that better reflects the direction and potential of the movement. He suggested Covenental Judaism.

Eisen disagrees with that approach: “Rather than have a name change [of the movement], I’d rather we live up to our potential.”

For his part, Wolpe has enthusiastically embraced the choice of Eisen.

Eisen’s selection to head the JTS follows a trend. Richard Joel, the former president of Hillel, took over the presidency of the Orthodox Yeshiva University in 2003; like Eisen, Joel is not a rabbi. In 2001, David Ellenson took over the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). And while Ellenson is a rabbi, he is best known for his scholarship in Jewish studies.

“That JTS needed to go to Stanford to pick their president a couple of years after HUC had to go to Los Angeles to get David Ellenson, now the myth is finally broken. The West Coast is not a backwater of the Jewish community. Indeed, it’s very likely the cutting edge of the new leadership of the Jewish community,” said Stanford’s Shulman.

Eisen, for his part, downplayed any rivalries between East Coast and West Coast Conservative Judaism, namely Los Angeles’ University of Judaism and New York’s JTS. But, as a native Philadelphian who has lived in the Bay Area for nearly 20 years, he says he could serve as a natural bridge.

He’s also not quite ready to leave the Bay Area yet, and as “chancellor designate,” he doesn’t have to assume full duties until July 2007. In the meantime, he will serve at both Stanford and the seminary. But he says he’s ready to take on the challenges, while also realizing the inherent limitations of his new mission.

“You know, I’m a pluralist,” Eisen said, “and I don’t think Judaism is the only way to be a good person and serve God. I don’t think Conservative Judaism is the only way to be a good Jew. But having said that, I’ve been a Conservative Jew all my life, and this is the path that matters most to me. And I will do all I can for it.”

This article is reprinted from the J Weekly, a Northern California publication.

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The Circuit

Leave a Comment / Circuit, Israel, Kids & Teens /

A World of Food

World Ethnic Market/KosherWorld Show manager Phyllis Koegel presented a Buyer of the Year Award to Tamara Dorrell, Safeway manager, national categories, ethnic. The World Ethnic Market was held recently at the Anaheim Convention Center.

L.A. Helps the Gulf

Four members of Temple Beth El in San Pedro took a hands-on approach to charity when they went on a relief mission to Gulfport, Miss., last week. The four accompanied Rabbi Charles Briskin to help in rebuilding and reconstruction efforts for the coastal city devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Briskin, along with Alan Rowe of San Pedro, Vicki Hulbert of Palos Verdes Estates, Ben Pogorelsky of Rolling Hills Estates and David Burton of Rancho Santa Margarita, are part of a citywide delegation of Jews and Christians participating in this relief mission sponsored by the Southern California Board of Rabbis, the Jewish Community Relations Committee of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Grant A.M.E. Church and the Southern California A.M.E. Ministerial Alliance.

“Tikkun Olam, the ethical imperative to work to repair the world by responding to crisis and the needs of the larger community is one of Judaism’s central values,” Briskin said. “By going to Gulfport, we are doing our small part to repair, literally, one small corner of our world.”

Briskin said he hopes not only to contribute time, energy and labor, but also to return home with valuable lessons learned about the faith, hope and cooperation that prevails within this devastated region.

For more information, call (310) 833-2467 or e-mail; rabbibriskin@bethelsp.org.

Consulate’s “Israel 101”

The L.A. consulate general of Israel hosted a group of 40 sixth-graders from Pressman Academy for an “Israel 101” event before their class field trip to Israel next month. Students participated in Israeli dancing, word association games, videos and an educational skit highlighting Israel’s high-tech industry, performed by members of the consulate staff. Apart from the mouthwatering Israeli chocolates, the students got a special treat when Consul General Ehud Danoch greeted them and emphasized that while the scenery and holy sites would undoubtedly leave an impression on them, it will be the connections they make with their Israeli counterparts that will most affect them. During their 10-day tour of Israel the students will experience the action of Tel Aviv, the majesty of Jerusalem and Masada, and catch a glimpse of life on a kibbutz.

Just Smile

It was Lladro&tilde and African dishes recently on Rodeo Drive when Lladro&tilde, the renowned Spanish house of porcelain, joined forces with Operation Smile to raise money for free reconstructive facial surgery to children in developing countries worldwide. A special porcelain sculpture, “Let Me Help You,” was formally unveiled at a VIP reception at the Lladro&tilde Rodeo Drive Boutique.

To set the mood for the African trip, Lladro which will sponsor it with the funds raised, transformed the boutique into a visual homage to the Kenyan landscape in blues, reds, yellows and oranges to reflect a Kenyan sunset, while Barbuda trees recreated the greenery native to the region. Guests enjoyed African music, and cocktails and sampled unusual goodies, like groundnut soup garnished with tiny bananas, Nyama Choma (barbecued meat in the Kariokor style), M’Chuzi Wa Kuku (coconut chicken), Smaki Na Nazi (coconut fish), Samosa (meat-filled pastries) and Irio (a pea, corn and potato dish served as a minipancake, topped with East African salad relish).

OK, I am not certain if it was kosher, but I would have to pronounce it to ask, but I do know the food was yummy and the desserts amazing. Great stuff like, Mini Mount Kenya’s (minicoupe with peach ice cream topped with diced, rum-soaked pineapple; mango, and a dollop of whipped cream) and Mahamri (fried dough with powdered sugar). What could be bad about a doughnut with powdered sugar?

On hand were celebs like Operation Smile spokeswoman and angelic actress Roma Downey, who was with her husband, super- reality show guru Mark Burnett; Kathleen Magee, co-founder, Operation Smile; Bill Magee, son of co-founders Kathleen and William Magee; Safa Hummel, CEO, Lladro USA; Beverly Hills Mayor Stephen Webb; Vice Mayor Jimmy Delshad, and Lorraine Bradley, L.A. City human relations commissioner (and daughter of former Mayor Tom Bradley).

Lladro’s goal is to raise $150,000 by donating 10 percent of the retail price of all nationwide sales of the “Let Me Help You” sculpture between March and October 2006. For more information, visit The Circuit Read More »

yeLAdim

Leave a Comment / Kids & Teens /

We Love Israel

Come Party With The Jewish Journal at the Israel Independence Day Festival on May 7. Answer the Kein v’Lo question on a separate sheet of paper, attach the completed entry form and bring it to our booth at Woodley Park, which will open at 10 a.m. Every family that turns in a completed answer will get a prize, but the first 10 families will get four tickets each for the upcoming “Sesame Street Live” shows at either the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza or the Terrace Theater in Long Beach. (Tickets to each location are limited — so first come, first serve. Limit one prize per family.) For more information on the festival, click on yeLAdim at www.jewishjournal.com.

Kein v’ Lo:

Summer Camp

This section of the page is a way for you as kids to sound off about an issue. This month’s Kein v’ Lo (yes and no) is about camps. Should Jewish kids go to Jewish camps or other kinds of camps?

The Kein Side:

• Studies have shown that going to a Jewish camp — either a day camp or for overnight camp — increases kids’ connection to Judaism and the Jewish community, regardless of their background.

• Jewish camps have the backing of synagogues, schools and — sometimes — entire religious movements, so you and your parents can trust that you’ll be safe and learn interesting things. (You also won’t spend all day hiking in the woods, eating bugs and sleeping on rocks.)

• At these camps, you learn fun and important Jewish things, like songs, rituals and prayers that you might not at school or anywhere else.

• It’s fun to find a way to be Jewish WITHOUT your parents around.

The Lo Side:

• It is important for kids to become well-rounded by making friends of different backgrounds, races and religions, which can happen at a non-Jewish camp.

• Not everyone is comfortable being religious at a summer camp.

• It’s fun to do other things when you go to a camp. You can learn about religion at home and in the synagogue.

• If you love sports, performing arts or science, there are camps that spend the entire summer on one subject, so you can learn a lot while having fun.

We aren’t saying which is right and which is wrong. We want to know what you think. Attach this completed form with your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

Name: _____________________________________________________________

Age: ________________________________________________________________

School: _____________________________________________________________

Grade: _______________________________________________________________

Phone Number: _____________________________________________________

E-mail: ___________________________________________________________

We’ll publish your opinions on a future yeLAdim. And whether you’re heading to day camp or overnight camp — yeLAdim wishes you a rockin’ summer!

yeLAdim Read More »

Letters

Leave a Comment / Letters to the Editor /

Mixed on March

The article in this week’s Journal about Poland and the March of the Living was accurate, on target and, quite frankly, overdue (“March of the Living Dead?” April 21).

For quite some time now I have been troubled by the misguided attempts of some in the Jewish community to exploit our people’s tragedy for the purpose of giving young Jews a renewed sense of identity. Theirs may be a noble aim but the means employed must be free of flaws. Having narrowly escaped the Holocaust myself, its specter is never far from my mind. But to mourn the past while neglecting the commitment to Jewish life here and now is a tragic mistake.

For the years that the March of the Living has been in existence it has had a clear agenda: Treat Poland as no more than a Jewish graveyard, see nothing more than Auschwitz and Majdanek, feel the dirt and grime of the past, shed a tear for the victims and then breathe the clean air of a free Jewish existence in Israel.

There are living Jews in Poland, Jews who are reasserting their identity and rediscovering their roots. But the organizers of the March, instead of seeking them out, have avoided them. Looking at the reawakened Jewish cultural and religious life of Jews in Poland simply does not fit their agenda. The argument I sometimes hear is that Poland has had such a dark history for Jews that no self-respecting Jew should want to live there. (Curiously, no similar argument is being heard from the same quarters about Jews living in Germany.)

Jews have lived in Poland for 900 years and the greatest centers of Jewish learning and scholarship were there; there, too, was the flowering of secular Jewish literature and culture. Young Jews by the score, indeed young non-Jewish Poles, are rediscovering this culture. They lived and thrive in a place that at last enables them to do so after decades of horror followed by repression under communism. Is that not deemed worthy of support, or at least of exploration, by the thousands who come on the March?

Jewish graves must command our reverence and our grief. But living Jews, no matter where they choose to dwell, demand to be noticed. Alas, we in America have such tunnel vision; we barely acknowledge the world Jewish community outside of North America or Israel. But I insist that we have no right to delegitimize the Jews of Poland; want it or not, they are our family, not one whit less than the Jews of Cleveland or of Tel Aviv.

Theodore Bikel
West Hollywood

As people intimately familiar with Jewish life in Central Europe, we read “March of the Living Dead” with great interest and appreciation. To be fair, the problems attributed to March of the Living do not characterize all U.S.-based trips; for example, Ramah/USY makes a concerted effort to connect American teenagers with their Polish and Czech counterparts. But, in general, despite the Herculaean efforts of Jews in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and elsewhere to rebuild and revitalize their communities, too many groups — mostly American and Israeli — continue to treat the region as one enormous graveyard, a gray wasteland empty except for roaming anti-Semites. However, this is not news to scholars such as Jackie Feldman and Oren Baruch Stier, who have been warning readers about this trend — and its detrimental effect on American and Israeli teenagers — for at least a decade. Also disturbing is the tendency of American and Israeli groups to take over synagogues and other worship spaces without regard for their current local Jewish inhabitants, as if they were invisible.

To those who would cite the poor state of repair of synagogues and other buildings as evidence of continuing neglect or even anti-Semitism, we would remind them that the massive German reparations payments to the Israeli government in the 1950s were made in lieu of reparations payments to the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, then under Soviet domination and presumably lost forever. If anyone should be responsible for rebuilding these beautiful structures and restoring these once-vibrant communities, it should be the Israeli government, which literally has profited from these communities’ continuing decay. But that would defeat the purpose of the Poland = death/Israel = life equation so dear to the March’s organizers.

Zuzana and Shawn Landres
Los Angeles

As I prepare to lead this year’s Los Angeles March of the Living contingent, I would like to point out that this truly is a March of the “Living.” While Jane Ulman brings up important issues, she paints a picture of a program that emphasizes death and suffering. It is anything but — 8,000 Jewish teens from more than 40 countries worldwide march into their history, live the present and lay the groundwork for their future lives as Jews in the vibrant Jewish worldwide Community.

Monise Neumann
Director of Youth Services
Bureau of Jewish Education

Silent Majority

I am writing to you on behalf of the silent majority (“The Silent Majority,” April 21). We are the legal American citizens that have seen our neighborhoods become a second world country because of the illegal aliens that live amongst us. They are the graffiti markers, the people who are bankrupting our health care facilities and our schools, the ones who only speak in Spanish, listen to Spanish TV and radio, march to the Mexican flag, join Mecha and fantasize about an “Aztlan State.” They are the people who are sending their money back to their own countries and building retirement houses there. Those gardeners that you so lovingly described are defying the law with their loud blowers, but they weren’t willing to use rakes … that was one of the first battles we lost on our way to being Mexifornia.

I’m tired of being labeled as a racist. I am a realist. I have lived in Mexico. My husband and I both speak Spanish. I know that Mexico will not allow me to live there, work there, buy property there without a Mexican partner. I remember the San Fernando Valley when it was American, not a Mexifornia with a Mechista for a mayor. Last Sunday I was at Pan Pacific Park to honor those who perished in the Holocaust, then my husband and I joined the teens who were marching for the Muslims in Darfur. I doubt very much if even one of your illegal aliens showed up to march for us.

Marsha Roseman
Van Nuys

Kudos to Rob Eshman for his candid and timely editorial urging Los Angeles Jews to stand with our city’s hard-working immigrants. Progressive Jewish Alliance (PJA) has been a leading voice in the organized Jewish community, advocating for fair and comprehensive immigration reform.

We co-sponsored an April 10 candlelight vigil and procession as part of the National Day of Action for Immigrant Rights, a 10,000 person rally that raised awareness about the need for just reform. PJA and other Jewish community allies have also been urging our members to contact their senators to advocate for policy change. Jewish history and ethics demand that our community work to ensure a fair immigration policy.

Jaime Rapaport
Program Director
Progressive Jewish Alliance

Rob Eshman’s editorial, just like the rest of the polemics being spouted by politicians and pundits, misses a basic point about illegal immigration — we just don’t have room in this country for everyone who wants to move here.

I am certain that illegal immigrants contribute to the economy and are no more likely to commit crimes than legal residents. The argument that illegal immigrants are a security threat is another red herring. The Sept. 11 hijackers did not sneak over the border from Mexico. They came here legally on commercial airliners.

The real problem is that the United States does not have the room to take in even a fraction of the decent, hardworking, poverty-stricken people in this world. In California, our air is polluted, our roads are jammed with traffic and housing prices are astronomically high. Letting everyone who wants to come here move to California will only erode the quality of life for everyone.

Those who are already here should be given a path to citizenship if they have been productive members of society for years. But, the solution is alleviating poverty in the countries these people are fleeing. If we could do that, we would be addressing the real problem.

Peter Weinberger
Los Angeles

Yasher koach on your piece “Silent Majority.” As a postscript, Elie Wiesel once said when referring to Salvadoran Refugees in the mid-1980s, “No human being is illegal.”

Rabbi John Rosove
Temple Israel of Hollywood

Yom HaShoah

I believe that I read seven ads for seven different Yom HaShoah events this week in The Journal. What kind of community are we?

Dana Wexler
Valley Village

Kosher Slaughter

Gabriel Saunders’ article “Video Takes Bite Out of Kosher Slaughter” (April 21) was well-written and informative but it fails to point out that to the animals involved it really doesn’t make a whole lot of difference how they are slaughtered. How would you feel, dear reader, if you were told that you were going to be slaughtered in accordance with kosher dietary laws instead of in the conventional way? Killing animals for food, whether by kosher or conventional means is cruel and unnecessary, since man is neither an omnivore or a carnivore and is better off without any foods of animal origin in his diet. There would be less pollution; 16 times as much food; the rain forest would be spared; the animals would be better off; and the incidence of coronary artery disease, colon cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer would be greatly reduced. Everyone benefits in this scenario except the diabolical and unscrupulous meat industry.

Charles B. Edelman
Los Angeles

Judas No Joke

After your last few covers and your headline this time, “March of the Living Dead?” I thought you couldn’t stoop any lower. But your little piece, “Top 10 Judas Gospel Shockers,” was in such appalling taste that I had to write to you (April 21). It is not funny to make fun of what other people hold sacred, even if it does not fit with our beliefs. I can image how Jewish newspapers would write if a Christian newspaper made fun of our religion. This kind of humor is not funny and there is no excuse for your terribly bad taste in printing the item. I hope you learn some common sense soon.

Steven Lowenstein
Los Angeles

When I picked up this week’s Jewish Journal after Shabbat services, I was pleased to see a wonderful article about a woman who was hidden from the Nazis by an entire village in Southern France (A Hidden Child Tells Her Tale,” April 21). What a heart-warming story about the benefits to mankind when we work together for good. Then I saw on page 31, an invitation to a celebration titled, “The Conspiracy of the Good” at Valley Beth Shalom. Another example of what can happen when people help each other, regardless of each individual’s accident of birth into a religion.

However, I was shocked to see the piece by Jake Novak, “Top 10 Judas Gospel Shockers.” This attempt at humor makes jokes out of some of the holiest elements of Christianity. My children also like to read The Jewish Journal. I didn’t let them read this issue as I didn’t want to have to explain what Viagra is to my 10-year-old daughter.

I am a Jew-by-Choice. The first 30 years of my life were spent as a practicing Roman Catholic. My parents remain very active in the church. In spite of the wonderful articles on Jews and Catholics working together, I cannot share this issue with them either.

If this is considered acceptable mainstream Jewish humor, I am ashamed to be a Jew.

Gina Levy
Los Angeles

Franken Response

Shari Goodman has it all wrong (Letters, April 14). Al Franken is not part of the “internal enemies” within America, she described in her recent letter to The Jewish Journal. Sadly enough, the members of that Fifth Column cohort can be found in the very echelons of power in our country, in the White House, Pentagon, and Congress and among the defenders of the Bush administration like Ann Coulter. These authentic enemies of freedom have used the Bloody Shirt of Sept. 11 to trample upon the Constitution, plunge our country into an unjust war in Iraq that has seen nearly 3,000 young Americans lose their lives for a rotten cause and now conspires to enter into a similar misguided adventure in Iran. Franken, in contrast, has had the courage to expose these miscreants and the danger they have brought to their country!

David L. Blatt
Chicago, Ill.

Misspoken

Contrary to “Filming on Babi Yar Genocide Underway” (April 14), the only official language in Ukraine is Ukrainian.

Lubomyr Luciuk
Director of Research
Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association

Correction

In “The Second American Jewish Revolution” (April 21), the World Congress of Gay and Lesbian Jews was founded in 1979, not 1985.

 

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Obituaries

Leave a Comment / Obituaries /

Ruth Adler died April 8 at 85. She is survived by her daughter, Michelle (Gevik) Bachoian; son, Frank (Karen); five grandchildren; and sister, Bella Cohen. Mount Sinai

Elana Belinkoff died March 13 at 80. She is survived by her husband, Adar; daughters, Dalia (Ira), Alisa (Howard), Dena (Sol); seven grandchildren; and sister Rama Zamir. Hillside.

Betty Bledy died April 9 at 77. She is survived by her husband, Arthur; sons, Mark and Leslie; four grandchildren; and two great- grandchildren.

Blanche Bloom died April 11 at 87. She is survived by her son, Noel (Susan); daughter, Maggie; three grandchildren; brother, Hal (Pat) Alexander; and nephew, Rob (Lisa) Miller. Mount Sinai

Israel David Borenstein died April 8, at 84. He is survived by his sons, Larry (Laurie) and Jeff (Judy); daughter, Blanche (Mark) Kraveitz; six grandchildren; and sister, Anna Gutwillic. Mount Sinai

Harriett Cherney died April 3 at 87. She is survived by her brother, Victor Bochacki; and sisters, Annette Bafo and Majorie Adamski. Malinow and Silverman

Allan Davis died April 13 at 77. He is survived by his wife, Beryl; sons, Gary (Victoria) and Paul (Ginnie); five grandchildren; and brother, Cyril Davis. Mount Sinai

Betty Ducat died April 7 at 92. She is survived by her daughter, Shirley Laderman. Malinow and Silverman

Shirley Mae Epps died April 4 at 81. She is survived by her daughter, Lorry (Mate) Greenblatt; son, Jack (Cynthia); and four grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Emanuel Finkel died April 7 at 94. He is survived by his son, Ted; and daughter, Irene Landsberg. Malinow and Silverman

Rose Fisher died April 4 at 94. She is survived by her sons, Arnold and Robert (Ofra); daughter, Verna Erez; six grandchildren; and sister, Ida Chisvian. Mount Sinai

LARRY GOLD died April 4 at 52. He is survived by his wife, Cindy; children Andrew, Olivia, Ian and Madeline; mother, Beverly; siblings, Donna (Bruce) Rothstein, David Ross and Lisa; sister-in-law, Penny (Jerome) Madden; and three nephews. Hillside

Mae Goldberg died April 8 at 98. She is survived by her son, Maurice (Arline); daughter, Marcia (Jerome) Gomberg; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Florence Goldstein died April 3 at 91. She is survived by her daughter, Elsie (Jack) Hunn. Malinow and Silverman

Henry Goldstein died April 4 at 94. He is survived by his daughter, Beverly Cohen. Malinow and Silverman

Jack Greenberg died April 14 at 98. He is survived by his son, Anthony. Malinow and Silverman

Clifford Harris died April 7 at 58. He is survived by his wife, Ellen; sons, Kevin (Joanna) and Scott (Sierra); daughter Meggan (Adam Miller); and three grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Florence Kauffman died April 11 at 88. She is survived by her husband, Richmond; sons, Andrew and Richard; four grandchildren; and brother, George Hausman. Malinow and Silverman

Rosaline Klein died April 5 at 92. She is survived by her daughters, Roberta Thompson and Francine Denmeade; six grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. Groman

Anne Ladon died April 3 at 90. She is survived by her daughter, Carol Alpert; and granddaughter, Julie Alpert. Mount Sinai

Michelle Ann Leve died April 2 at 34. She is survived by her mother, Deborah. Malinow and Silverman

Marian Le Vine died April 6 at 86. She is survived by her daughter, Marsha Krieger; son, Jerry (Carole); six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Harold Milton Lewis died April 11 at 95. He is survived by his wife, Harriet; son, Steven; daughters, Lynn Alschuler and Babette Walter; sister, Jean Remar; 14 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Sam Lereya died April 14 at 100. He is survived by his daughters, Rachel Aflalo and Zaava. Malinow and Silverman

Max Lipshultz died April 9, at 84. He is survived by his children, Diane (Tony) and Michael; two grandchildren; brother, Fred; and sisters, Sara Agata and Eva. Mount Sinai

Mindla Majdat died April 3 at 94. She is survived by her stepson, Percy (Natalie) Cooper. Mount Sinai

Louis Marder died April 9 at 84. She is survived by her son, Sheldon; and granddaughter, Jennifer. Mount Sinai

Monroe Miller died April 7 at 90. He is survived by his sons, Kenny (Martha) and Jeffrey (Rich); and daughter, Marsha. Mount Sinai

Linda Barbara Moffa died April 6 at 58. She is survived by her husband, Philip; daughters, Sharon (Dr. Andrew) Horodner and Dr. Allison; and one grandson. Malinow and Silverman

Yetta Newman died April 9 at 88. She is survived by her sons, Dale (Carolee) and Jeffrey (Lila); six grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; sister, Helen (Sam) Weingard; and brother, Marvin (May) Berman. Mount Sinai

Dorothy Nissenson died April 10 at 92. She is survived by her son, Bernie (Marcia) Labowitz; grandchildren, Paul Labowitz and Shannon (Michael) Coleman; great- grandchildren, Kyle and Rachel Coleman; and cousin, Fern. Mount Sinai

Yoram Pourtavosi died April 10 at 48. He is survived by his wife, Shadi; children, Cobby, Elliot and Kevin; mother, Nosrat; sisters, Mehri (Hooshang) Davdodpour and Minou (Yoel) Eshagian; brothers, Yahiah (Dina Asheghian) and Joseph (Sohila); and cousin, Abbey Tabariai. Mount Sinai

Molly Rael died April 6 at 90. She is survived by her husband, Irving; son, Michael; and sisters, Eileen Phinney and Frieda Uretz. Mount Sinai

Beatrice Weisstein Ridgley died April 4 at 91. She is survived by her husband, Paul; son, Larry; daughter, Renee’ (Linda) Perez; three grandchildren; and sister, Thelma Sundick. Malinow and Silverman

Gloria Rudolph died April 4 at 78. She is survived by her son, Randy. Malinow and Silverman

Judith Sandler died April 12 at 87. She is survived by her son, Barry (Naomi); and two grandsons. Malinow and Silverman

Stuart Seidner died April 12 at 57. He is survived by his wife, Roxane; son, Daniel; daughter, Erin; mother, Ruth; brother, Gary (Luciano); and sister, Sandra (Robert) Rosenstein. Mount Sinai

Esther Shapiro died April 4 at 89. She is survived by her daughter, Susan; son, Alan (Pearl); four grandchildren; and four great- grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Betty Ann Silver died April 3 at 88. She is survived by her daughter, Rosalind. Malinow and Silverman

Nancy Sollish died April 10 at 98. She is survived by her son, Melvin; daughter, Pauline; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Philip Solomon died April 3 at 88. He is survived by his wife, Claire; son, Barry (Linda); four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Mount Sinai

Leon Harold Specktor died April 5 at 83. He is survived by his daughter, Denyse; and brother, Dr. Marshall (Marlene) Spector. Malinow and Silverman

Martin Stiller died April 6 at 67. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; sons, Neil (Kimberly) and Gary (Vicki); three grandsons, David, Jonathan and Wesley; and sisters, Elaine (John) Bush, Beverly Setser and Leslie Steiner. Mount Sinai

David Tamarin died April 5 at 87. He is survived by his daughters, Adreen DuBow, Judy and Faith; three grandsons; two great-grandchildren; sister, Anna (Glen) Popperwell; and brother, Carl. Mount Sinai

Randolph David Thornton died April 6 at 50. He is survived by his wife, Kim; daughters, Sean and Michelle; mother, Elizabeth; sister, Cindy; and brother, Michael. Malinow and Silverman

Irving Willner died April 5 at 82. He is survived by his wife, Ruth; son, Paul (Lynn Clancy); daughter, Julia (Scott) Parker; granddaughter, Erin Alyssa; and sisters, Shirley (Sol) Matzkin and Phyllis (Jonas) Herskovitz. Mount Sinai

Margaret Zelson died April 7 at 83. She is survived by her daughter, Carol Miller. Malinow and Silverman

 

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7 Days in The Arts

Leave a Comment / Books, Entertainment, Film, Picks and Clicks, Theater /

Saturday, April 29

Sure, they’re renown writers, but it seems what everyone really wants to be is a rockstar. Columnist Dave Barry, novelists Stephen King, Mitch Albom and Amy Tan and cartoonist Matt Groening, among other artists known for their literary talents, went so far as to form a band several years ago. The Rock Bottom Remainders performs a few times a year in benefit concerts, and tonight they’re at Royce Hall. The show is called “Besides the Music: Conversation, Debate and yes, Music,” and raises money for 826LA.

8 p.m. $25-$50 (general), $200 (VIP reception). Royce Hall, UCLA, Westwood. R.S.V.P., (310) 825-2101.

Sunday, April 30

The City of West Hollywood’s cultural programming today includes a free concert of Jewish songs performed in Hebrew, English and Russian. Embracing the Russian Jewish heritage of many WeHo residents, the city celebrates with traditional songs performed by local artists.

5-7 p.m. Free. Plummer Park, Fiesta Hall, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. (323) 848-6826.

Monday, May 1

For those who need a little Bar-Chu on-the-go, religious school music teacher Idan Irelander, of Temple Emanuel in Andover, Mass., and the temple’s Youth Chorus have recently come together to record “Shacharit Inplugged.” The CD features morning prayers like Ashrei and the Shema recorded with a live and spirited sound.

$18.

Tuesday, May 2

On view at two local galleries are photographs offering extreme perspectives on our world by Jill Greenberg and Lisa Eisner. Head to Paul Kopeikin Gallery for Greenberg’s “End Times” to view profoundly upsetting images of babies crying. “The children I photographed were not harmed in any way,” Greenberg said in a press release. Toddlers are wont to cry, Greenberg noted, saying “It reminded me of helplessness and anger I feel about our current political and social situation.” After Greenberg, head to M+B Gallery for more uplifting work by Eisner. “A Butterfly Fluttered By: Photographs of the West” offers beautiful saturated color photographs celebrating the spirit of western states from Wyoming to California.

Paul Kopeikin Gallery, 6150 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 937-0765. Through July 8.
M+B, 612 Almont Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 550-0050. Through May 27.

Wednesday, May 3

Better than a book signing is a book signing with booze. The vino will flow at tonight’s event promoting former Journal singles columnist J.D. (Jeff) Smith’s new book on wine collecting, “The Best Cellar.” Get some tips, and get a designated driver.

Free with book purchase. Wally’s Wine and Spirits, 2107 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles. Space is limited. R.S.V.P., (310) 475-0606, ext. 122.

Thursday, May 4

It pays to get canned tonight. Celebrating the nonworking man this evening is performer and writer Annabel Gurwitch, with her latest installment of “Fired!” monologues. This new one — aptly titled “Fired Again!” — features a revolving cast of actors and writers, and proof of unemployment gets you in for $15.

May 3-7. $15-$45. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 827-0889.

Friday, May 5

Just arrived on the West Coast is the new musical “I Love a Piano: The Music of Irving Berlin.” The song-and-dance feel-good production celebrates Berlin music, weaving 64 of his songs through the story of an old piano’s life.

Through May 7. $25-$50. Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach. (562) 856-1999.

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Auschwitz Might Get Name Change

Leave a Comment / Worldwide /

Poland has long wanted its name not to be used in reference to concentration camps that existed on Polish soil during World War II.

Now Poland has made an official request to change Auschwitz’s name — to mixed reviews.

The Polish government made the request last month to change the name of the site from “Auschwitz Death Camp” to “former Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp.” It made the request to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which has jurisdiction because the site of the death camp is a U.N. cultural heritage site.

UNESCO is expected to respond by mid-2006.

The debate goes to the heart of the question of how Polish behavior during the Holocaust is remembered.

The camp was set up by the Nazis on the site of a former Polish army barracks on the outskirts of the southern Polish town of Oswiecim — Auschwitz in German.

The name change is intended to stop the description of the camp by the international media, including The New York Times and the German magazine Der Spiegel, as a “Polish death camp,” which greatly offends many Poles because the camp was run by Germany.

“In the years after the war, the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was definitively associated with the criminal activities of the national socialist Nazi regime in Germany. However, for the contemporary, younger generations, especially abroad, that association is not universal,” Culture Ministry spokesman Jan Kasprzyk recently told journalists. “The proposed change in the name leaves no doubt as to what the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp was.”

Many Jewish groups and individuals, both in Poland and around the world, are backing the call.

The Union of Religious Jewish Communities in Poland, representing the country’s estimated 7,000-10,000 Jews, released a statement in support of the government’s request.

Petr Kadlcik, the group’s chairman, said “institutional and national responsibility for the Third Reich’s policy” is not historically accurate, “but also becomes a present-day necessity” in the wake of constant newspaper referrals to Auschwitz as a Polish death camp.

Several Jewish organizations, such as the Anti-Defamation League and Israel’s Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, have recently backed the name change.

So have others long involved in Jewish life.

Menachem Rosensaft, the founding chairman of the International Network of Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, said in an e-mail that the Polish government’s request is “absolutely legitimate. The death factory of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where more than 1,000,000 Jewish men, women and children were murdered, was a German camp, conceived by the Nazi-German government and operated by Germans.”

Rosensaft, whose parents were inmates at Auschwitz and whose grandparents and brother were gassed there, added that “it makes no sense to obfuscate valid concerns about historical and present-day Polish anti-Semitism by suggesting that Poles rather than Germans bear responsibility for the evil that was Auschwitz.”

Complicating the issue is the feeling among non-Jewish Poles that their own victimization by the Nazis has been ignored as world attention has focused on the Holocaust.

During the war, Poles were both martyrs — the Nazis labeled them “subhumans” — and victimizers, because some of them were involved in anti-Semitic acts before, during and after World War II.

Dr. Maram Stern, deputy secretary-general of the World Jewish Congress, accused Poland recently of trying whitewash history with the proposed change.

Stern says that although the death camp was built by Germany, everybody in the region knew about its existence, and workers were recruited from neighboring Polish villages.

This latter claim has been denied by the Polish government, and academics also have challenged it.

An official with the Auschwitz museum strongly criticized Stern’s comments.

“It is a pity that people from the World Jewish Congress [WJC], an organization whose name suggests that it represents the opinion of Jews living all over the world, say something which is totally absurd. The WJC statement testifies to Mr. Maram Stern’s complete ignorance,” said Karoslaw Mensfeld, a spokesman for the State Museum of Auschwitz.

Israel Gutman, Yad Vashem’s chief historian, would go even further with the name revision. He said the name proposed by Warsaw “does not fully convey what really happened in this place.”

“I appeal to the Polish government [that] the phrase ‘site of the mass murder of Jews’ be inserted into the camp’s name. The full historical truth cannot be concealed,” he wrote in a column for Poland’s Dziennik newspaper last Friday.

Gutman’s proposal was immediately attacked by the Polish historian Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, a former Auschwitz prisoner who favors Poland’s proposal.

Gutman’s suggestions “would demand an additional commentary,” because it is “not completely true,” said Bartoszewski, a former foreign minister who was a member of the anti-Nazi Resistance.

He noted that along with Jews, 22,000 Romani, 15,000 Soviet prisoners and 80,000 Polish Christians were murdered in Auschwitz, a fact no single name could possibly convey.

Meanwhile, Marek Edelman, the last surviving leader of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by Jews against the Nazis, said he believes the notion of changing Auschwitz’s official name is “absurd.”

Edelman’s comments came as Jews and the government commemorated the anniversary of the uprising April 19.

“The only thing it does is to cause conflicts and disputes that should not exist,” he said.

 

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