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Jewish Journal

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July 6, 2006

Nation World Briefs

Leave a Comment / Worldwide /

Rebbe Commemorated at White House
A commemoration of the death of the Lubavitch rebbe culminated in a White House briefing. Leaders of both parties in Congress, as well as top Bush administration officials, attended the two-day tribute to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died June 12, 1994. The theme was education, and speakers included Elie Wiesel; U.S. Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff; and Australia’s defense minister. Chertoff and Joshua Bolten, the White House chief of staff, who are both Jewish, attended the White House briefing Wednesday morning. About 30 diplomats joined Lubavitch emissaries to their countries at the events. Thousands of people gathered at the rebbe’s grave in New York on the anniversary of his death.

Tourists Attacked in Mea Shearim
Fifty pro-Israel Christian tourists were attacked June 28 in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, according to reports in The Jerusalem Post and Ha’aretz. The tourists, who arrived decked out in orange T-shirts that read “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” were seemingly identified as Christians by Charedi residents of the neighborhood, 100 of whom then gathered in the vicinity of the visitors and proceeded to hit them. Police broke up the attack, which left three tourists and one police officer with minor injuries. Israeli authorities have made two arrests but are waiting for the tourists to press charges before proceeding. — Ali Austerlitz, Contributing Writer

Kosher Suppliers Subpoenaed
Federal subpoenas were served against several kosher meat suppliers in the United States in connection with an antitrust investigation. The New York Jewish Week reported that AgriProcessors, in Postville, Iowa, is among those hit with subpoenas. The subpoenas could be focusing on collusion in the kosher industry. The Conservative movement currently is investigating complaints about working conditions at AgriProcessors, the country’s largest kosher slaughterhouse. After an animal-rights group produced an undercover video of conditions at the plant in 2004, investigators with the U.S. Agriculture Department determined that some plant employees had violated humane slaughter regulations.

Darfur Postcard Campaign Reaches 1 Million
The Million Voices for Darfur campaign has reached its goal of collecting 1 million postcards against the genocide in Sudan. The postcards, which will be delivered to the White House and Capitol Hill, ask President Bush to “support a stronger multinational force to protect the people of Darfur.” The campaign has been a project of the Save Darfur Coalition, the group of 150 faith-based advocacy and humanitarian organizations responsible for April’s Darfur rally in Washington. The coalition now is planning a second major rally this September in New York City. Despite the signing of a peace agreement last month, the systematic rape, torture and killing of black Africans by government-backed Arab militias continues in Darfur, where some 400,000 have been killed since 2003.

Jewish Astronaut Asks for Ramon Mementos
A Jewish astronaut asked Ilan Ramon’s widow for mementos from the late Israeli astronaut to take on a shuttle mission in 2007. Garrett Reisman, 38, will fly to the International Space Station in 15 months. He underwent training and became friends with Ramon, who died in the Columbia shuttle crash in 2003. At Rona Ramon’s invitation, Reisman attended a ceremony Tuesday in Rehovot, Israel, naming the Kaplan Medical Center’s new emergency medicine department in Ilan Ramon’s memory. “It was so incredibly tragic,” Reisman said. “Ilan had a great sense of humor and worked very hard to represent not only Israel but every Jew in the world.”

Technion Tops Israeli University List
The Technion was named Israel’s best university. A poll conducted by the Israeli Student Union, released this week, put the Haifa technological institute at the top of 35 schools of higher learning in the Jewish state. Often described as Israel’s version of MIT, the Technion was followed by Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The study was conducted on the basis of 56 criteria, including the employment rates of alumni and quality of on-campus life.

Ashkelon Named Politest Israeli City
Ashkelon is Israel’s politest city, according to a study. Ma’ariv published a study Wednesday in which Israel’s biggest cities were scored on residents’ responses to basic etiquette tests such as holding doors for women or providing instructions to motorists. Ashkelon came out top, followed by Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Lowest on the list was Rishon le-Zion. According to Ma’ariv, Ashkelon’s average score an 86 percent responsiveness rate is higher than that of New York City in a recent courtesy test carried out by Reader’s Digest.

Briefs courtesy Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

 

Nation World Briefs Read More »

Arsonist Attacks Persian Synagogue in Tarzana

Leave a Comment / California, Community, Judaism /

Police have labeled as an arson-related hate crime a fire ignited early
Friday at the rear door of a yet-to-open Persian synagogue in Tarzana.
Investigators found anti-Semitic graffiti at the scene, as well as a
burnt door and trash.

The attack came two days before the grand opening of Beith David Education Center’s new building. Congregants are scheduled to carry Torahs from the shul’s original location nearby at Reseda Boulevard to the new home in the
18600 block of Clark Street
on Sunday, July 9.

Parviz Hakimi
“I hope the people who have done it, they come to their senses,” said Parviz Hakimi, the synagogue’s vice president, who hopes those responsible will turn themselves in.

The blaze was started at 3 a.m. using a pile of discarded carpet scraps and cardboard boxes that had been moved to directly beneath the oak front door, according to Sgt. Jim Setzer of the LAPD’s West Valley Division. The flames were quickly extinguished by the synagogue’s fire-suppression system, which runs along the building’s eaves. Damage was limited to the door.

Hakimi said the initial damage estimate is $4,000, enough to classify the crime as a felony.

Anti-Semitic graffiti was found on a retaining wall of the building as well as on a window that looks into a room where Kohanim wash their hands and feet.

A joint House of Worship Task Force that includes detectives from the LAPD’s criminal conspiracy section, L.A. Fire Department investigators, as well as FBI and ATF officials were first on the scene after a congregant living nearby called police at 6:30 a.m. Officials are still investigating and currently have no suspects.

Because construction has not been completed at Beith David, the building is presently without a security camera system. However, LAPD detective Ray Morales said police were able to collect forensic evidence at the scene that could help investigators identify the arsonist.

Following an inquiry by the mayor’s office and City Councilman Dennis Zine, the LAPD reported that patrols of the area will be stepped up in advance of the new shul’s Sunday ceremony.

“I’m horrified to see this, especially because this is my community. It’s a very sad day,” said Fortuna Ippoliti, area director of neighborhood and community services for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

“It’s probably some misguided kids,” Tarzana Neighborhood Council President Leonard Shaffer said as he looked over the scene. “It’s really ridiculous.”

The attack comes three years after a string of arsons in a nearby area targeted The Iranian Synagogue, Da’at Torah Educational Center, as well as the Conservative shul Valley Beth Shalom. There have also been attacks on the nearby First Presbyterian Church of Encino and the Baha’i Faith Community Center. Farshid Tehrani, an Iranian Jewish immigrant allegedly suffering from depression, was arrested in connection with those crimes in May 2003.

Beith David Education Center’s journey to the new location has been a long one. After a years-long battle over parking that has kept the congregation in its Reseda Boulevard location, Hakimi says nothing will stop the congregation from moving to Clark Street.

The synagogue purchased the former post-office building for $1 million in 2002, but L.A. City Council approval for the new structure turned into a two-year battle. The Tarzana Property Owners Association claimed the Orthodox synagogue would require at least 150 parking spaces, claiming that members followed a more Conservative style of worship and often drove to services. Synagogue representatives rejected the argument, saying that its congregants were Orthodox, regularly walk to the shul on Shabbat and do not need the parking.

Following City Council approval of the Clark Street site in 2004, the Beith David congregation has devoted the last year and a half and has spent a $1.2 million on renovation of the building in advance of its grand opening. Beith David has limited the advertising of the Sunday event to Radio Iran 670 AM, a local Iranian newspaper and word-of-mouth among congregants.

Like Shaffer, Beith David Vice President Hakimi believes the targeting of his synagogue was likely a hate-crime by youths and not a targeted attack related to the City Council battle or animosity toward Persians.

“This is an isolated situation, and it doesn’t reflect on the community that we live in. That is my hope,” Hakimi said. “But it’s a very sad incident.”

 

Arsonist Attacks Persian Synagogue in Tarzana Read More »

The Making of a Jewish Teen

Leave a Comment / California, Kids & Teens, Teens /

Community
by Lauren Schein, Tribe Contributor

I am a stubborn person. I get it from my dad. I also get many of my beliefs from my dad, who disregards all religion as not only mostly useless, but harmful.

I also have influences from my grandparents, who are big players in their temple. They insist on carrying on the Jewish traditions. My mom pushes the idea of Jewish community and how good it feels to be part of something larger.

Among all of these influences, my dad’s beliefs seemed most believable to me. I had seen evidence of the problems that religion had caused in the world and was ready and willing to go without. I didn’t see the point of being a part of anything bigger if it could invoke wars.

That is, until I had some chicken.

Chicken, you ask? Why is chicken symbolic of my joining of the Jewish community? The answer begins with the Religious Action Center trip to Washington, D.C. in February 2006.

I had not wanted to go along in the first place, but had been convinced. I walked into the situation firmly believing that there was no fun or learning to be had, and was ready to be stubborn enough to stick to that belief.

My mind was quickly changed the moment I walked into a large dining hall full of laughing, happy people who were all ready to get to know each other. I was enjoying myself even before dinner. The people I met were interesting, and I had a lot in common with them.

Then the food came. It was … chicken. That’s when Rabbi Kenneth Chasen, my rabbi from Leo Baeck Temple, said, “It wouldn’t be a Jewish convention without chicken.”

Everyone at my table was laughing, including me.

That’s when it hit me: I am a Jew. I was eating chicken with people I had immediate connections to, laughing over stereotypes and feeling pride in being part of such a great group. I became a part of the Jewish community that weekend. Whether it was the chicken, the friends, the senators, or the research; I had come to realize the reason for religion in the world.

I no longer view the idea of religion and community as only harmful. I have learned that a community can be the most important thing a person can have. A community is there for support and comfort in times of celebration and in times of need. Everyone — anywhere in the world — needs a community.

I am actually surprised to feel how fulfilling it is to tell people that I am a Jew and belong to the Jewish people. Thanks to that piece of white-meat chicken, I now have a community I will be able to rely on my whole life.

Lauren Schein, a junior at Santa Monica High School, was confirmed at Leo Baeck Temple.

Jewish Identity
by Mickey Brown, Tribe Contributor

I’m Jewish everywhere I go, but it always feels a little different depending on if I’m at my synagogue, at my camp or at my school.

When I’m at synagogue at Congregation Ner Tamid, I don’t feel unique. Being Jewish is typical and ordinary. I know everyone, and I simply take it for granted that everyone is here because they’re Jewish, and that everyone is Jewish because they’re here.

At Camp Hess Kramer, it feels completely different. I know that everyone is Jewish, but I don’t know anyone, and at first it’s strange. We know all the same prayers, all the same games and all the same rituals. The interesting part for me is that these things have less to do with being Jewish and more to do with being at camp.

It’s such a great feeling to be there and know that it is where I belong. People accept me at camp, and sometimes I just stand and ponder the idea that, “Wow, they’re all Jewish, every single one of them. I am not the minority, or even the majority, but the entire population! I am the religion!” Being able to say that feels really good.

School is another story, and to be honest, school is where I truly feel proud to be Jewish. I am part of a small minority at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, and I am treated a little differently for it. People see me in some of my classes as “the Jew” or “one of the Jews” and, truthfully, I love it! I am proud when I am at school to be known as “the Jew.”

The different ways people see me are mostly based on stereotypes. If someone were to point me out in a crowd to one of his friends and tell him that I am Jewish, the person would very likely assume I was smart, hard working, and fairly wealthy — and I have absolutely no problem with that assumption. I am proud to be thought of that way because those are valuable and honorable qualities that all people would want to have, and the fact that somebody would simply assume that I have them is quite flattering to me.

The truth is, however, that being Jewish has absolutely nothing to do with those stereotypes. It’s about what I believe in and how I view myself. I have come to realize that my parents didn’t decide that I would be Jewish; I decided that I would be Jewish, and that I had to want it for myself. It didn’t matter how many people wanted it for me as long as I made my choice.

And as I stand here on the night of my confirmation, I think that it is obvious which choice I’ve made. I have nothing to prove to anyone regarding my religion, my beliefs, my faith, or my Jewish heritage, and I am very proud of who I am.

Mickey Brown, a junior at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, was confirmed at Congregation Ner Tamid in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Israel
by Kevin Senet, Tribe Contributor

It was my first time in Israel, and on one of my first evenings there, I went to a Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball game. That night, Maccabi was playing Jerusalem HaPoel for the Israeli basketball championship. This rivalry is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, rivalries in Israeli sports. The stadium was divided; the Tel Aviv fans were standing on one side in yellow, while the Jerusalem fans were standing on the other in red.

All of the sudden, before the game, the arena lights dimmed. I was amazed to see tens of thousands of people stop whatever they were doing — mostly chanting and cussing at the other side — to stand united and sing “HaTikvah,” the Israeli national anthem. Not only did everyone sing, but they sang with pride and wholeheartedly.

Listening to this once-in-a-lifetime experience, I could feel the love of the Jewish nation in everyone’s voices, the love that has kept the hope for Israel alive in the Jewish people for thousands of years and through many difficulties. From this I understood why the Israelis have such extreme national pride and risk so much in order to live in the Jewish homeland.

I had never heard “HaTikvah” sung in public by tens of thousands of people. Being in Israel taught me not to hide my Jewish pride, but to show it in public. After living in Tel Aviv with an Israeli family for two months on the Milken-Lady Davis Israel Exchange Program, my pride in Israel and in Judaism has risen greatly.

I have also never seen fans as passionate as the Maccabi fans in any sports game in America. During the exchange program this spring, I attended every Maccabi game. When I saw that Maccabi was going to the final four in Europe, I was amazed. A team from the small country of Israel was going to Prague to play against teams from Russia and Spain. This shows the world that the Israelis and Jews are strong and can compete in sports, like basketball. When European countries see an Israeli team as one of the best teams in Europe, they must respect Israel and Jews.

Israelis are so proud of Maccabi doing well that more than 10,000 Israelis, including my host family, the Dekels, and I, went to the Euroleague Finals in Prague to cheer them on. Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball was one of the highlights of my stay in Israel. Not only was it fun to go to the games, but it taught me how different the Israeli culture is from American culture, and how to be proud of who I am.

Kevin Senet, a junior at Milken Community High School, was confirmed at Stephen S. Wise Temple.

God
by Natalie Paige Karic, Tribe Contributor

One night a few months ago, I was talking with two of my closest friends, whom I have known for as long as I can remember. Both of these girls are relatively religious Christians who frequently attend church and have a strong belief in God. Soon our conversation came to the subject of religion.

My friends asked me if I believed in God. I quickly answered that I wasn’t sure. Recently, I have asked myself how I could believe in God if I had never had a personal experience in which God spoke directly to me or guided me in some way.

I told them that to be a Jew you didn’t have to believe in God. I was certain about this, but I still couldn’t explain more. My friends didn’t grasp how I could be Jewish and be an active participant in my Jewish community yet not believe in God. They didn’t understand what I feel in services when the congregation is praying and singing to God. How is Judaism even a religion, they asked, if you aren’t praying to anything?

After thinking about it I came to the realization that most people don’t understand this important part of Judaism. Our religion is, of course, based on the monotheistic principle in which people unite to pray to one God, but a bigger part of Judaism, which my Christian friends overlooked, is the moral code, tikkun olam and other mitzvot that our religion promotes.

Of the ethics and values we are taught in Judaism, the most important to me is the learning and discovery integral to our Jewish religion. As we learn about the ideals and history of Judaism, we are better prepared to make educated decisions based on our beliefs about God and life.

After this year in Confirmation class, I feel as though I am more prepared to think about my belief in God. To be honest, I’m still questioning, but being a part of our Jewish community and trying to understand my religion has given me exactly what I wanted.

I know I won’t be judged by our community on the basis of faith, and I am always being asked to question my beliefs until I achieve what I consider to be the best understanding possible.

As I have grown as a Jewish woman, I have learned that being a part of Jewish community is what makes me a Jew. The people here are joined together by something great that cannot be explained. While we may not all believe the same things about God and life, we are all in this together.

Natalie Paige Karic, a junior at Harvard-Westlake School, was confirmed at Temple Israel of Hollywood.

The Making of a Jewish Teen Read More »

Judaism Finds Its Niche in Great Outdoors

Leave a Comment / Travel, United States /

There are Jews hanging from mountaintops all over Colorado. Others are lighting Shabbat candles on sailboats or discovering their spirituality on the ski slopes.

These Jewish adventure enthusiasts not only make an effort to do the hobbies they love with other Jews, but they do so looking for religious or spiritual meaning. By combining their dual interests, this growing cadre of adrenaline seekers is building a new definition of what it means to do — or be — Jewish.

Take Rabbi Jamie Korngold.

When Korngold realized that the Reform Jews she was trying to reach in Boulder, Colo., were more interested in skiing than sitting in synagogue on Saturday mornings, she strapped on a pair of snow boots and headed up the mountain: “For 30 percent of us, synagogue life is working really well, but the other 70 percent, we need new ways of reaching those people.”

“There are so many people whose religion is the outdoors, who really experience their spirituality outside of the synagogue,” said Korngold, who has biked from New York to San Francisco and competed in a 100-mile trail run. “So what I do is say, ‘You’re going to be outdoors, you say it’s a spiritual experience. Let me show you how it’s Jewish.'”

Korngold’s Adventure Rabbi program challenges participants to discuss Torah passages, as well as Judaism’s relationship to nature, during mountain minyan hikes, backpacking treks through the desert and Rosh Hashanah retreats to a ranch in the Rockies. Her trips are so popular that Korngold said her main problem is finding enough guides to meet demand.

“Our Web site gets 200,000 hits a month,” she said. “Our e-mail list is larger than the local federation’s.”

Rabbi Howard Cohen, a Reconstructionist rabbi who runs the Vermont-based Burning Bush Adventures organization, also talks about the need to build bridges between Judaism and the outdoors.

“I know so many Jews who have essentially grown detached from the Jewish community because as they were growing up, they couldn’t get what they wanted from the Jewish world,” he said. “So they went outside of it. But Judaism doesn’t have to be a separate part of their lives.”

Cohen calls the stereotype of the unfit, nonathletic Jew “residual anti-Semitism,” noting that Jews long have been involved in heart-pumping activities like boxing and farming.

Cohen himself is proof of the Jewish athletic tradition. Before attending rabbinical school, he spent 10 years working for Outward Bound. Now he leads day school students, among others, on such expeditions. Before going, participants are sent Torah portions, as well as a list of questions, quotes and readings.

Cohen promotes discussion on these materials out in the woods and has students keep Shabbat and bake challah in the field. Being with students in this context changes his ability to relate to them, Cohen said.

“There are a lot of rabbis who ski or play golf and put their kippah in their back pocket,” he said. “But rabbis who take their congregants skiing, they have a different bond.”

Cohen admitted that rabbis who follow this path may not serve Jewish community “needs,” such as Shabbat services and bar mitzvah training, but he said they do provide some of the “wants” Jews have from their religion.

Rabbi Nachum Shifren, an Orthodox surfer who rides waves in a wetsuit and full beard, said the surfing lessons he offers in Los Angeles and Israel offer catharsis.

“It’s definitely a therapeutic thing,” Shifren said. “Once you’re hooked on all that power and might of the ocean, you’re just never going to be the same.”

Shifren is working on a new program to wean innercity youngsters off drugs and gang life through surfing. Cohen also is developing a program for troubled youth.

“We tend to think of religion as a place where you have to toe the line … but there’s room for rebellion in religion,” Cohen said, citing “iconoclastic rabble-rousers” in the Torah such as Abraham.

The Chicago-based Steppin’ Out Adventures uses this community-building effect as a vehicle for matchmaking, allowing Jewish singles to schmooze while biking in Ireland or climbing the Inca Trail in Peru.

Robin Richman, director and one of the co-founders of the organization, described the bonding that takes place as “amazing.”

“When you’re on an adventure you plan as best you can, but things happen. Those are the things that become jokes between you,” she said, citing a weekend getaway to Wisconsin, where, due to three straight days of rain, the group wound up eating lunch in their underwear.

“It definitely brought the trip close together very quickly,” she said with a laughed.

Richman’s method has produced results. Since it began in 1993, Steppin’ Out Adventures has led to 60 marriages, 34 babies and “a whole lot of friendships and business partners,” according to the group’s Web site.

For the 20 members of the Chesapeake Bay’s Sailing Chavurah, the marriage of the outdoors and Jewish life also has proved transformative.

“At first, we all thought we were the only one” who sailed and was Jewish, said Julien Hofberg, the group’s commodore. But over time, boats named Tikkun Olam and Miss Shue Goss found each other, as did a Holocaust survivor, an accomplished Orthodox racer and a half-dozen Reform and Conservative Jews from the region.

“Now we hold Havdalah services every Saturday; we have a Chanukah party,” Hofberg said. “We share our expertise … and watch out for each other.”

 

Judaism Finds Its Niche in Great Outdoors Read More »

Farmar Trades Bruin Blue for Laker Purple

Leave a Comment / Sports, Up Front /

What could be better? Los Angeles’s own Jewish Jordan — Jordan Farmar — is here to stay.

The Los Angeles Lakers has drafted Farmar, who made headlines as a sophomore point guard at UCLA, in the first round and as the No. 26 overall pick. Thus, though the Bruin bear must wave his paw goodbye to Farmar, L.A. fans can rejoice in the up-and-comer’s continued presence here.

The 19-year-old Farmar is a native Angeleno; he grew up in Van Nuys and graduated from Taft High School, where, as a senior, he averaged 27 points per game and became a Valley superstar by leading the school to its first Los Angeles City title. As a freshman at UCLA, he averaged 13.2 points and 5.3 assists and earned the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honor. In his sophomore year Farmar averaged 13.5 points and 5.1 assists, led the Bruins to their NCAA championship game against the Florida Gators and was named a first-team All Pac-10 performer.

A self-described non-religious Jew, Farmar told The Journal’s Carin Davis in a prior interview that he is proud of his Jewish heritage. His mother and stepfather, Melinda and Yehuda Kolani, raised him in a Jewish home, and his upbringing was complemented by both a bar mitzvah at Temple Judea in Tarzana and trips to Israel. Farmar’s biological father, Damon Farmar, a former minor league baseball player, is not Jewish.

Farmar stands a natural leader at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds and has been extensively covered in the Daily Bruin since before his entrance into “>Farmar told The Journal in March. “To always have some people behind you is a great thing. It helps you out defensively, with intensity, and gives you that extra edge.”

Farmar Trades Bruin Blue for Laker Purple Read More »

Obituaries 07-07-06

Leave a Comment / Obituaries /

James Burton Ax died June 11 at 69. He is survived by his sons, Kevin (Masha) and Brian; two grandchildren; and sister, Hazel (Ralph). Chevra Kadisha

Lisa Bar died June 6 at 41. She is survived by her mother, Gail; son, Jonathan; and brothers, Joshua and Gregg Levine. Malinow and Silverman

Gail Bauman died June 6 at 69. She survived by her partner, Trisha Mercy; son, Eric (Michael Andraychak); and sister, Anne (Nathan) Director. Mount Sinai

Mayin Ronald Beckman died June 7 at 64. He is survived by his wife, Eileen; sons, Randy and Michah; daughters, Melinda Peterson, Pamela and Brooke; six grandchildren; father, Gerald; brothers, Morton and Neil; and sisters, Helen Pfaff and Arleen Sills. Groman

Helen Bell died June 4 at 73. She is survived by her husband, Karl; daughter, Arlene; one grandchild; brother, Irving Shaw; and sisters, Gladys Helman and Shirley Schuster. Hillside

Zena Black died June 10 at 93. She is survived by her sons, Leonard and Stephen; sister, Joyce Rossman; and six grandchildren. Groman

Albert Alexander BLOCK died June 12 at 88. He is survived by his wife, Reba; children, Elizabeth Sampson, Lisa and Jeffrey Cohen; grandchildren, Justin and Cameron Cohen; and sister, Bernice Glaser. Hillside

Ronald Chase died June 7 at 62. He is survived by his mother, Nettie Wingerhoff; aunt, Esther Kain; and cousins, Renee (Robert) Merkow and Barry (Michele) and Don (Sharron) Kaln. Mount Sinai

Dorothy COLIN died June 13 at 86. She is survived by her husband, Maury; children, Leslie, Janet and Steven; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; one brother; nieces; and nephews. Hillside

Dr. Jack Drandell died June 6 at 81. He is survived by his wife, Annette; sons, Jeffrey (Audrey) and Michael; daughter, Dr. Janice (Dr. Richard) Drandell-Bennett; and five grandchildren. Chevra Kadisha

Fred Yeshuah Dweck died May 26 at 66. He is survived by his wife, Daniela; sons, Ezra, Joseph (Margalit), David (Frida) and Adam; daughter, Julia; four grandchildren; and brother, Ulysses (Suzy). Chevra Kadisha

David Fagelman died June 7 at 90. He is survived by his brothers, Paul Fogelman and Leonard Lee. Malinow and Silverman

Julius Jay Goldberg died June 6 at 79. He is survived by his wife, Sylvia; son, Jeffrey; daughter, Sandra Silvers; brothers, David and Henry; four grandchildren; and sister, Dorothy Nuger. Groman

Jeffrey Glenn GORDON died June 10 at 63. He is survived by his mother, Sylvia. Hillside

Gertrude Halpert died June 6 at 93. She is survived by her son, Lester (Wendy); daughter, Suzanne (Bill) Attig; granddaughters, Jennifer and Sara; nephew, Levi (Miriam) Lebovic. Chevra Kadisha

Maxine Heumann died June 3 at 81. She is survived by her husband, Bud; sons, Peter (Deborah) and Jim; daughter, Marcy Sherbok; grandchild, Samantha; great-grandchild, Ella Rose; sister, Suzie (Al) Rabuchin; nieces; and nephews. Hillside

Sylvia Kaplan died June 8 at 83. She is survived by her husband, Henry Kaplan; sons, Steven (Janet Levine) and Mark (Erica); and four grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Marija Krajner died June 10 at 99. She is survived by her son, Jesa Kreiner; and two grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Yetta Krause died June 11 at 83. She is survived by her husband, Samuel; daughters, Janet Finkel and Beverly Walker; brother, Edward Rosenberg; sister, Ruth Shulman; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Groman

Alfred Levy died June 12 at 84. He is survived by his daughter, Janice (Alfred) Kuebler; son, Harvey (Jane); five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Malinow and Silverman

Rebecca Mahru died June 6 at 93. She survived by her sons, Charles (Geraldine Hughes) and Leslie (Eloise); and six grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Joel Malter died June 5 at 75. He is survived by his wife, Adele; son, Michael (Sue); daughters, Debbie (Rudy) Poe and Lisa; and four grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Natalie Marback died June 4 at 92. She is survived by her children, Irma J. (Joseph) Voorhees and Richelle (Vincent) Hoover . Hillside

Mitzi Rovner Markfield died June 9 at 71. She is survived by her daughter, Julie; son, David; and four grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Bernard Meyer died June 4 at 87. He is survived by his wife, Fannie; son, Ephraim; and daughter, Norma. Hillside

Ibrahim Morady died June 6 at 95. He is survived by his wife, Bahie; sons, Fred (Paulette) and Claude (Jennifer); three grandchildren; brother, Jean (Nelly); and sister-in-law, Vicky. Chevra Kadisha

Cynthia Moss died June 11 at 75. She is survived by her husband, Harold; son Randy; daughters, Leslie Cohen, Meryl Goldman and Bunny; brother, Hugh Sanders; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and sisters, Jacqueline Richards and Luise Yourist. Groman

Natalie Odessky died June 11 at 77. She is survived by her son, Steven (Sandra); daughters, Nancy (James) Acord and Deborah; and five grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Nellie Schwartz Paletz died June 10 at 92. She is survived by her son, Gary; daughter, Elaine; eight grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and sister, Helen Cooper. Groman

Henry Palmer died June 7 at 93. He is survived by his sons, Dr. Sylvain (Rosemary) and Dr. Jacques (Judy); nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Sherley PERLMAN died June 10 at 76. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Arnold; daughter, Deborah (Ed Neil); sons, Matthew (William Hurlman) and Jonathan (Shawna); and three grandchildren. Hillside

William Henry Perry died June 9 at 78. He is survived by his wife, Betty; children, Dale (Steve Fraider) and Kim (Larry Zucker); and five grandchildren.

Dr. Joseph Raskin died June 9 at 82. He is survived by his wife, Livia; daughters, Michelle (Alan) Buchsbaum and Annette (Daniel) Shapiro; four grandchildren; sisters, Minnette (Frank) Akman and Ruth (Rabbi Lawrence) Montrose; brother-in-law, Erwin (Joanna) Ward; and sister-in-law, Sylvia Ward. Hillside

Helen Robins died June 8 at 85. She is survived by her husband, Morley; sons, Jeffrey (companion, Leslie Nipkow), Steven (Adrienne) and Corey (Debbie); and grandsons, Corey and Jacob. Mount Sinai

Sol Rogat died June 6 at 94. He is survived by his daughter, Arlen (Donald) Brumlik; son, Bruce (Margo); and four grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Dr. Peter Bernard Samuels died June 5 at 83. He is survived by his wife, Brenda Levitt; children, Nancie (Edwin) Clare, Natalie (Michael) Wheeler; Megan and Dr. Shaun; and three grandchildren.Hillside

Herbert Leonard Schlackman died June 6 at 79. He is survived by his wife, Pearl; sons, Evan (Debra) and Glen; daughters, Elaine (Jacob) Lebowitz and Lois (Bernard) Brouttier; five grandchildren; and sister, Gloria Bruder. Groman

Lillian Schwartz died June 3 at 93. She is survived by her daughter, Eva; granddaughter, Lisa; and great-grandson, Noah. Chevra Kadisha

Seymour Silverman died June 2 at 72. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn; daughter, Sarah (Philipe) Bonneau; son, Steven (Sherrie); three grandchildren; and siblings, Boris Beck and Leona (Phil) Winter. Mount Sinai

Linda Simons died June 6 at 58. She is survived by her son, Robert Miller. Malinow and Silverman

Helen TANNENBAUM died June 10 at 89. She is survived by her daughters, Leean (Jeff) Lantos, Carrie (Steve) O’Dell and Sally; and five grandchildren. Hillside

CHARLOTTE VENZE died June 5 at 77. She is survived by her husband, Paul; son, Howard; daughters, Anne (Rabbi Meir) Sendor and Claire (David) Gebler; eight grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and sister Mildred Slatkoff. Sholom

Michael Wallace died June 11 at 85. He is survived by his wife, Muriel; son, Barry; daughter, Billie Udko; and two grandchildren. Groman

Max Tibor WEISS died June 10 at 83. He is survived by his wife, Melitta; sons, Herschel and David; daughter, Debra Berkowitz; 19 grandchildren; seven great- grandchildren; and brother Joseph Weiss. Hillside

Dora Winthrop died June 6 at 96. She is survived by her son, Stuart (Sandra) Barlow; son-in-law, Leonard Bernstein; four grandchildren; eight great-grandchilden; and brothers, Benjamin and Stanley (Bernice) Kazday. Mount Sinai

Ruth Wolk died June 6 at 83. She is survived by her husband, Alvin; sons, Jeffrey, Robert and William; daughter, Sheri Wolk-Odere; and five grandchildren. Hillside

Judith Wolinsky died at 56. She is survived by her husband, Lanny Ziering; mother, Vera Gruenfeld; mother-in-law, Fannette; sister, Iris; and brother, David. Malinow and Silverman

 

Obituaries 07-07-06 Read More »

Letters to the Editor 07-07-06

Leave a Comment / Letters to the Editor, Opinion, Worldwide /

Converts
As a convert to Judaism, I was reassured to read your series of articles on those like me who chose to become Jews (“Did It Stick?” June 2). A lapsed Catholic with many Jewish friends growing up on Long Island, early on I was attracted to the ethics and worldly focus of Judaism. Following a course of study at Temple Emanuel in New York City, I converted in 1967, and my first wife and I raised our three children in the Jewish tradition.

In 1992, on the eve of her bat mitzvah, my youngest daughter asked if I would be bar mitzvahed with her. That glorious day came to pass at Wilshire Boulevard Temple, with Rabbi Harvey Fields observing that in the 130-year history of the temple, there was no record of a father and daughter having a b’nai mitzvah. At the party afterward, when Tessa and I greeted everyone, I said that I had checked around the room, and I was the only person who had had a first holy communion and a bar mitzvah.

In my life in Los Angeles with my wife, Wendy, inspired by Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller at UCLA and through my work with the Progressive Jewish Alliance, enriched by interfaith activities, Judaism has strengthened and complemented my struggle for civil liberties, human rights, peace and justice.

Stephen F. Rohde
Los Angeles

Kosher
From reputation and general veneration, I had always believed Rabbi Jacob Pressman to be an intelligent and reliable community leader. Reading his foolish letter June 16 convinced me I was wrong on all counts (“But Is It Kosher?” June 9).

Pressman would have us believe that there is some Orthodox cabal controlling the purse strings of the literally hundreds of kashrut supervising agencies; that a group of black-hatted, white-bearded rebbes control the bank accounts and policies of these “for profit” groups — this is America after all — shades of the protocols! And all that has to be done to properly fund day schools is to divert these funds to cover the schools’ budgets, how simple and how asinine and misleading. Shame on you Rabbi Pressman. You do know better!

Growing up in Los Angeles I know that neither Pressman nor his Conservative (and Reform) colleagues contributed one whit to kashrut observance in this city. There were no restaurants or widespread bakery products available while he was in his prime, so he has nothing to say.

As regards high and truly unbearable tuition rates in our city, there is a simple solution, one that both the secular rabbinate and The Jewish Journal oppose — vouchers. I and my fellow community members pay thousands in taxes to fund a public school system that we choose not to use. Can’t we get some credit?

Howard Weiss
Los Angeles

I enjoyed reading Rob Eshman’s article that detailed the controversy that followed People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) with the Orthodox Union over kosher slaughter practices, and AgriProcessors’ questionable treatment of its own workers. Most interesting to me was the latter part of the article, which tried to discuss the nature of kashrut.

The article quotes scholar Meir Soloveichik as calling the nature of kashrut “mysterious and obvious … the Bible insists that it be perfectly clear to the non-Jew that the Torah-observant Israelite lives a life that reminds him constantly of his unique relationship with God.” In other words, it is to let the non-Jew know that we are special and follow laws meant to “set us apart and elevate our souls.”

Then in the last breath of the article, Eshman recommends that “the kosher label should not just imply the humane, responsible treatment of animals and the just treatment of food industry workers, it should certify it.”

In other words, kosher should mean that universal standards of humane treatment are being met, standards that any reasonable person would want.

So, which is it? Do we follow kashrut to set ourselves apart from the rest of the world or to encourage the rest of the world to join with us? It can’t be both.

Les Amer
Los Angeles

Finkelstein Syndrome
Roz Rothstein’s article on the anti-Semitic Jew, [Norman] Finkelstein, highlights a major lapse in common knowledge about Jewish history (“Beware the Finklestein Syndrome,” June 9). While every effort is made to inform the world about the Holocaust, very little information is disseminated about the history of lies and hate against the Jews, or its relationship to the Holocaust. I have seen history books that devote two pages to Anne Frank but fail to mention that Jews were patriotic Germans and no threat to Germany.

Theobald of Cambridge, a 12th century apostate to Catholicism, created the “blood libel” which has lasted to this day and caused thousands of Jewish deaths. If there was general awareness of the history of hatred against the Jews, then when people hear a Finkelstein, they can wonder, is he a whistleblower or a modern-day Theobald?

Those who wish to spread vicious lies against Jews today do not convert to another religion; their venom is more credible when they remain Jews, especially if they can claim to be from a family of survivors.

Ronnie Lampert
Los Angeles

DaVinci Code
Enjoyed your articles on “The DaVinci Code,” (May 19), but only the first three gospels of the New Testament (Mathew, Mark and Luke) are synoptic gospels. They are synoptic because they are similar to each other and different from the writings of the fourth gospel of John.

Brett Thompson
via e-mail

John Fishel
While the article titled, “A Private Man,” about John Fishel that ran May 26 was informative, it did not highlight one of Fishel’s key strengths.

Expert after expert has declared that a vital dynamic causing growth and change in 21st century Jewish life is directly proportional to the successful rise of entrepreneurial, Jewish, social venture startups. Jewish Los Angeles has spawned more of these new and creative organizations that address the myriad interests and needs such a diverse population requires than any other area outside of New York.

A great deal of these initiatives are being adapted and re-created in cities across the country, such as new spiritual communities, organizations that decry global genocide and serve the special needs of Jewish children among many others. Fishel has consistently taken the position that new organizations can and should arise and that their existence alone adds immeasurable value.

This is not true in most places. I believe the prolific number of creative ventures attest to the success of this position and must be noted.

Rhoda Uziel
Executive Director
Professional Leaders Project

 

Letters to the Editor 07-07-06 Read More »

Iranians Open Shul in Garment District

Leave a Comment / Blogs, California, Community, Judaism, United States /

With a new Torah in their arms, about 100 local Iranian Jewish businessmen sang Hebrew songs and danced down a busy street in downtown Los Angeles’s garment district June 13 to celebrate the official opening of a new synagogue, where many Iranians have their businesses.

As a DJ blasted Israeli music and kebab dinners were served, congregants packed the elegantly decorated 700-square-foot sanctuary, known as the “Downtown Synagogue,” to give thanks and pray. The shul is situated inside a store, alongside fabric outlets, on Cecilia Street, between Eighth and Ninth streets.

“Baruch Hashem, we are very pleased with the new synagogue,” said Avi Cohan, a local Iranian businessman who is one of the founders of the Downtown Synagogue. “It looks just amazing with the nice chairs, and it’s perfect for many of us who wanted a place for prayer at the end of the work day.”

Prior to the festivities, approximately 25 Iranian Jewish business owners gathered at a local textile warehouse, where they each pledged to donate between $260 and $1,500 for each of the last Hebrew letters Cohan was writing to complete the synagogue’s Torah. The Torah was made in Israel for the congregation, and funds still needed to be raised to cover the cost.

Cohan had reason to boast about the new synagogue, whose initial dozen or so congregants first began to assemble in his downtown office to recite Mincha and Arvit prayers nearly 12 years ago. The congregants formed the initial Downtown Synagogue because they were often unable to beat the rush hour traffic to arrive at daily services at synagogues in Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles.

“It’s very convenient for me, because sometimes during the week, I’m in downtown and need a place to pray, so I go there because there is always a minyan, and it’s close by,” said businessman Dara Abaei, an Iranian community activist.

Cohan and other founders said they wanted to create a place of spirituality, as well as a social center, in the business district, which also has an Iranian shul in the jewelry district, between Broadway and Hill streets.

“Our main goal was to little by little get businessmen in our community to close their businesses on Shabbat and bring them closer to God,” said Cohan. “Many are also, unfortunately, too busy during the day to make it to a synagogue to say the Kaddish on the anniversary of their parents’ deaths, so our synagogue provides them with a place to do that.”

Although the afternoon ceremony marked the official opening of the synagogue space, Cohan said congregants have unofficially been holding services at the Cecilia Street location for the last two years.

Contrary to most shuls, the Downtown Synagogue is open only on weekdays and closed on Saturdays and High Holidays. Between 50 to 60 people regularly attend. On Tuesdays, congregants also hear a devar Torah by Rabbi Yosef Shem Tov of the Torat Hayim Kohel in the Pico-Robertson area.

The move to create a formal space for the group began in 2003, when local Iranian businessmen Ezri Namvar and Solomon Rasetgar stepped forward to furnish the rent-free store situated inside a building they co-owned. Namvar and Rastegar recently sold the building housing the synagogue, but they said the current owner, who is not Jewish, has continued to permit the congregation to stay there without paying rent, Namvar said. The new owner was not available for comment.

Cohan said approximately $15,000 was raised through direct contributions. Unlike Ashkenazi Jews, who generally generate the revenue for synagogues through membership fees, Iranian Jews have traditionally raised such funds by auctioning off aliyot during services or asking individuals for direct donations.

Namvar said his family has always strived to keep Judaism alive in Los Angeles and worldwide by supporting Jewish groups, regardless of their specific denominations.

“Our passion is for Jewish education, and we try to help organizations that promote Jewish education, whether they are Orthodox, Reform or Conservative,” Namvar said.

For more information on the Downtown Synagogue call (213) 215-6061.

 

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Angelenos Help Abraham’s Vision Come True

Leave a Comment / Community, Judaism, Worldwide /

Like many young Angelenos, Aaron Hahn Tapper and Gibran Bouayad are traveling to Europe this summer, and they’re taking along a few companions — 24 university students of both genders from seven American campuses. Twelve are Jewish and 12 are Muslims, mainly of Palestinian descent, and their destination is not some fun Mediterranean beach resort, but Balkan countries recently torn apart by civil wars and slaughter.

Tapper, 33 and standing 6-foot-5, and Bouayad, 29 and 6-foot-3, are the co-founders and executive directors of Abraham’s Vision, dedicated to creating a new generation of young, mutually respectful, Jewish and Muslim leaders.

Both staff and students of Abraham’s Vision are precisely balanced by ethnic backgrounds, starting with their founders.

Tapper is Jewish, an alumnus of four Orthodox yeshivot and 10 sessions at the Conservative movement’s Camp Ramah. He lives at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute in the Simi Valley, where his wife, Rabbi Laurie Hahn Tapper, is director of the Brandeis Collegiate Institute.

Bouayad, a native and resident of Monterey Park, is a Muslim whose Arab father came from Morocco and whose mother is half-Jewish, through her father, and half-Christian.

By family background and conviction, both men early on developed an idealistic streak and a belief that, with hard work and education, conflicts can be resolved peacefully.

Both are multilingual and well educated, Tapper studied at Johns Hopkins University, Harvard Divinity School, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Bir Zeit University on the West Bank and UC Santa Barbara. Bouayad graduated from UCLA, studied and taught at the American Language Institute in Fes, Morocco, and served in the Peace Corps.

These two tall, peripatetic Americans were thrown together as assigned roommates in the summer of 2003, when both were in Holland to attend the Institute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution in The Hague.

After many bull sessions, the two student activists founded Abraham’s Vision, named in honor of their mutual biblical ancestor, and all that remained was to develop a philosophical concept, create curricula and textbooks, raise funds and convince young Muslims and Jews to come aboard.

One conceptual challenge facing the two founders was to identify an approach and mission that went beyond the efforts of existing organizations striving for Israeli-Palestinian and Jewish-Muslim understanding, such as Building Bridges for Peace, Face to Face/Faith to Faith, Givat Haviva, Neve Shalom/Waht Al-Salam, Nir School and Seeds for Peace.

They finally arrived at a two-pronged approach, one called the Unity program (“unity, not uniformity,” Tapper emphasized), the other the Vision program.

Unity is a collaboration between Jewish and Muslim high schools and focuses on interfaith studies, taught by educators of both religions. Classes and exchange visits deal with the sacred texts and rituals of both religions, analyzing their similarities and differences, as well as the history of Muslim-Jewish relations, stressing past eras of harmony.

The first Unity program began last fall as a cooperative venture between the Abraham Joshua Heschel High School in Manhattan and the Al-Iman School in Queens.

This September, the organizers expect to launch Unity programs between Jewish and Muslim schools in Los Angeles, Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and a second partnership in New York City.

The Vision program for college and university students focuses on conflict analysis and resolution, examining and comparing the Israel-Palestinian confrontation and other ethnic and religious conflicts.

Since early 2005, Vision workshops have been conducted at 16 university campuses across the country, in addition to adult education programs.

In the latest initiative, Bouayad, Tapper and their multiethnic staff left June 25 with two-dozen Jewish American and Palestinian American university students for a one-month study trip to Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

These entities emerged from the bloody breakup of the former Yugoslavia and may be the ideal laboratory for conflict analysis.

“On the one hand, Christians, Jews and Muslims have lived side by side in these Balkan states for centuries,” Tapper said. “On the other hand, the conflicts there involve religion, ethnicity, national identity, refugees, and the role of outside countries. By studying these factors, we can better understand the intricacies of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.”

The program includes workshops, dialogues and meetings with local politicians, scholars, activists, journalists and students, and is cost free to the participants.

During the current year, Abraham’s Vision has raised $450,000.

“Although the conflict is chiefly in the Middle East, these two American communities can play a major role in the conflict,” Tapper said. “By changing their relationships in the United States through the younger generation, they can actually influence relationships in the Middle East.”

The greatest obstacle facing Abraham’s Vision is “widespread fatigue, born of a sense of hopelessness that anything can be done to resolve the situation in the Middle East,” Bouayad said. “It’s that sense we must overcome by showing that Palestinians and Israelis can work together.”

For more information, go to www.abrahamsvision.org.

 

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Protestors at Israeli Consulate Face Off Over Gaza Actions

Leave a Comment / Cover Story, Israel, Worldwide /

“Anti-apartheid!” a young man wearing a kaffiyeh yelled into a megaphone, rallying a crowd of anti-Israel protesters marching in a circle in front of the Israeli consulate on June 29 to protest Israel’s action in Gaza. “Anti-oppression!” he shouted.

Last Thursday afternoon, ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) gathered some 75 people bearing Palestinian flags and signs like, “Free Palestine!” and “End the Occupation Now” for the consulate protest.

On the other side of Wilshire Boulevard, about two dozen StandWithUs counterdemonstrators held Israeli and American flags and banners that read, “Hamas Stop This Abuse!” “Stop Using Gaza as a Base for Terror,” and “Free Gilad Shalit.”

The Israeli consulate has not been a site for demonstrations since the disengagement from Gaza last summer, and last Thursday’s demonstration and counterdemonstration was relatively small — perhaps attesting to general world support for the release of the kidnapped soldier.

“Israel is going to have to protect its soldiers and it’s going to have to respond to Qassam rockets,” Roz Rothstein, executive director of StandWithUs, told The Journal. Regarding the constant barrage of rockets, so far, “Israel has been extremely restrained,” she said.

Amnon Mahler, former head of the Council of Israeli Communities said, “I am angry at the Arabs because of what they are making us do to them. We don’t want to do it, we don’t like to do it, they are forcing us to do it.”

The pro-Palestinian protesters, in their widely distributed e-mail call for the demonstration, wrote that the kidnapping was just a “pretext” for the “Israeli Occupation Forces” to launch “a brutal assault on the entire population of Gaza.”

“We see this as a form of collective punishment that must be opposed, and that’s why we’re demonstrating today,” said Muna Coobtee, one of the ANSWER organizers. She also said they want to end the economic damage that Israel, the United States and the European Union are doing by withholding funding from the Palestinian government.

On the ANSWER side, there were many UCLA students and women covering their hair, like Nahida Al Khairat, a Syrian woman who has lived in the United States for the last 10 years. She brought her four children — ages 3-8 — to the demonstration, and her 5-year-old son chanted into the megaphone: “Free Palestine!”

Do they have relatives there?

“We the Arab people are all related,” she said.

For security purposes, Ehud Danoch, consul general of Israel, remained upstairs in the consulate, watching the action below.

“What absolute nerve people have at a time when Israel is being held hostage to these terrorists and an Israeli citizen has been killed,” he said.

He has received numerous letters of support for Israel and prayers for the kidnapped soldier.

“These [pro-Palestinian] people have come to show support to the Palestinian murderers and kidnappers,” he said. “Everyone knows how hard it was for Israel to leave Gaza. They didn’t do it just so they could go back in…. The action can end immediately if they would just release Gilad Shalit.”

Downstairs, both groups grew as the work day ended, but the rallies were relatively peaceful. Both groups’ organizers expressed hope that the people, not the leadership, would bring justice to the Middle East.

“I think the outrage of the Israeli society at the kidnapping has to be directed toward their government,” Coobtee said. “Israelis feel so outraged by one kidnapping — they should take a look around and feel greater outrage.”

Rothstein said she was generally pleased by the world’s support for Israel and that now they see the true face of Hamas.

“There will come a time when the people will get so angry at this game of baiting Israel into responding,” she said. “The Palestinian people will get so fed up with terrorist groups like Hamas baiting Israel that they will overturn the terrorist leadership.”

 

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