I have grown up listening to my grandparents\’ stories, studying the history, reading the literature and seeing the pictures. I have become familiar with the atrocities and images of the Holocaust. But I cannot describe the way I felt seeing the infamous sign, \”Arbeit Macht Frei\” on the gate of Auschwitz in color and from inside the gate, instead of outside of it.
Fewer than one-fifth of non-Jews who marry Jews convert to Judaism, according to a new study distributed by the American Jewish Committee.
Stephen Lachter didn\’t know what to expect when a friend dragged him to a men\’s club meeting at his Conservative synagogue five years ago.
\”My father was in a men\’s club, and to me, it was guys sitting around playing pinochle and volunteer ushering,\” he admitted.
Lachter was surprised to see \”interesting people having serious discussions,\” and he \”fell into a session on kiruv,\” or outreach, to intermarried families. \”I said to myself, this is something shuls need to be talking about.\”
Eleven years ago, at ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, misunderstandings between Poles and Jews ran so deep that even a rabbi\’s desire to say the Mourner\’s Kaddish reportedly disturbed some Polish politicians
The key to whether the Saudi plan becomes a serious option — even if adopted by the Palestinians — lies in Washington. The American goal remains a negotiated two-state solution based on Bush\’s \”vision\” that he outlined in June 2002.
Warren Buffett is not a Jew; in fact, he describes himself as an agnostic. Still, the billionaire investment guru, who made big news in May when his Berkshire Hathaway corporation bought an 80 percent share in the Israeli metalworks conglomerate, Iscar, for $4 billion, for years has been making his mark on the U.S. Jewish community back home — although sometimes in a roundabout way.
Like most L.A. residents, we\’ve moved many times over the years. From Santa Monica to Culver City, Marina del Rey and then Westwood, it\’s not easy to pick up and move 10 or 20 miles with everything you own. At least, that\’s how we felt until a little over a year ago, when we made the 7,582-mile move to Jerusalem.
Liel and Ken Kragen performed \”We Are the World\” at the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles; Helping Hand of Los Angeles celebrated its 77th anniversary by honoring entertainer Natalie Cole; Make-a-Wish Foundation held its Uncork-a-Wish Wine Tasting; Shirley Lane has been named a recipient of the 20th annual Hadassah National Leadership Award.
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