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Jewish Journal

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January 4, 2007

New U.N. chief puts priority on Israeli-Palestinian peace

Leave a Comment / News, Worldwide /

U.N. Chief Puts Priority on Israeli-Palestinian Peace

The new United Nations secretary-general said solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was key to wider peace in the Middle East.

“If the issues with the conflicts between Israel and Palestine go well, other issues in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Syria, are likely to follow suit,” Ban Ki-moon said in an interview with South Korea’s Hankyoreh newspaper published after he took office Sunday. “I will meet with the concerned parties as soon as possible.”

The sentiments recalled those of Ban’s predecessor, Kofi Annan, and run counter to Israel’s assertions that Arab and Muslim regimes often focus excessively on the Palestinians’ plight as a means of distracting from their own problems.

Shalikashvili: Look to Israel on Gays in Military

A former U.S. military chief of staff cited Israel’s experience in recommending allowing gays to openly join the military. Gen. John Shalikashvili, who was chief of staff under President Bill Clinton when the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was introduced, said it was time to move on to the next phase: open acceptance of gays in the military.

“I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces,” Shalikashvili wrote on Tuesday’s New York Times’ opinion page. “Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job.”Shalikashvili cited “Israel, Britain and other allies in the fight against terrorism” as having militaries that have successfully integrated gays.

Report: Katsav Indictment Imminent

Israeli President Moshe Katsav will reportedly be indicted this month in a sex scandal. Yediot Achronot reported Monday that the State Attorney’s Office plans to file criminal charges within two weeks against Katsav, who has been accused of sexually molesting or raping several female employees. Katsav, who is due to step down this summer, has denied wrongdoing. According to Yediot, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has yet to decide whether to include rape on the indictment or make do with lesser charges. Mazuz’s office declined comment.

Jewish Group Sues Iran Conference Participants

The Forum of Jewish Organizations in Antwerp filed suit against participants in a recent Holocaust-denial conference in Tehran. The Belgian lawsuit includes anyone who gave a speech questioning the Holocaust at the conference sponsored this month by the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Holocaust denial is illegal in Belgium and is punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. The purpose of the lawsuit is to cause legal problems for attendees who might want to visit Belgium, according to a Forum source. The rabbinate in Antwerp issued a declaration against conference participants and urged that the few Jewish attendees of the conference — mostly members of the fringe Neturei Karta group — be banned from Antwerp synagogues. There are 15,000 Jews in Antwerp; according to some estimates, at least half of whom are Orthodox.

Kosher Internet in Israel

Ultra-Orthodox Jews have reportedly secured “kosher” Internet service in Israel. Yediot Achronot reported Sunday that the Rabbinical Committee for Communications Affairs and Bezeq, Israel’s main telephone company, recently reached a deal on providing separate Internet servers for ultra-Orthodox subscribers. The servers will be supervised by rabbis to ensure that pornography is kept out and that users only have access to approved religious sites, Yediot reported.

Briefs courtesy Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Chile’s Jews part of the larger community in Santiago

Leave a Comment / Travel, Worldwide /

When a fire alarm sounds in the south-central section of Santiago, it’s answered by a unique company of firefighters — Bomba Israel. In keeping with the Chilean custom, this is an all-volunteer bomba (fire brigade), and each of the company’s firefighters is Jewish. Their emblem is the Star of David and their trucks proudly fly the flag of Israel alongside that of Chile.

Established in 1954 in what was once a largely Jewish section of Santiago, Bomba Israel was created by the Jewish community “to thank the country that welcomed them,” said firefighter Robert Segal, 23, the son of a German-born Jewish mother and a Jewish Chilean father.

Despite the country’s very large and vocal Palestinian community and a history of dictatorships on the left, as well as on the right, Chile has been quite hospitable to Jewish immigrants. The Chilean Jewish community consists of more than 20,000 people, with the majority living in Santiago, the country’s capital.

Today’s Chilean Jewish community is well integrated and relatively prosperous.

Many Jews are prominent professionals, academics and civil servants, including an ambassador to Russia and three Cabinet members. And the backgrounds of the diverse Bomba Israel crew include everything from businessmen and lawyers to manual workers.

Segal, a student, is among the diverse crew at the station located in what is now a blue-collar neighborhood.

“The role we play in the image of the Jewish community is very important,” he said. “Many people can’t believe that Jews do this kind of work; they think we’re all rich and powerful and don’t want to dirty our hands.”

Segal said that except for the fact that all of its members are Jewish, Bomba Israel is a regular fire company. It owns two pieces of equipment, one of which is a state-of-the-art rescue truck that is used for automobile accidents more often than fires.

In addition to its regular members, Bomba Israel also supports a youth brigade of 20 cadets ages 12 to 17. Like the senior members, they receive extensive training in firefighting, rescue operations, first aid and CPR. When they reach age 18 they can qualify for full membership in the company.

While many visitors to Chile are attracted to its spectacular scenery rather than its cities, Jewish travelers can add a stimulating dimension to a visit by connecting with Santiago’s welcoming Jewish community.

Santiago has about a dozen synagogues, including a palatial Chabad House in the fashionable La Dehesa section, an Aish HaTorah shul and Beit Emunah, a relatively new chavurah in the upscale Las Condes neighborhood. There is a sizeable Sephardic community with its own synagogue, as well as a Progressive (Reform) temple, Or Shalom, and two conservative congregations, Maguen David and B’nei Israel.

B’nei Israel is often referred to as “the German synagogue” because it was founded by refugees from Nazi Germany and Austria, and its membership is still made up largely of their descendants. Services are conducted in Hebrew and Spanish and there is a great emphasis on music and communal singing.

The new Chabad House is a remarkable Jewish development in Santiago. Located in an upscale suburb, the building’s facade is a vastly expanded replica of 770 Eastern Parkway, the world headquarters of Chabad Lubavitch in Brooklyn. The interior of the building is not complete, but Rabbi Menashe Perman is proud to show off the luxurious mikvah and the enormous social hall. While the sanctuary is still not finished, the rabbi reported that some 400 worshippers attended High Holiday services.

Construction for the Chabad House began in 2002. The building was designed by Jorge Haichelis, a local Jewish architect and Chabad member, and the project was largely underwritten by David and Sarah Feuerstein. David Feuerstein, 81, is a Warsaw Ghetto and Auschwitz survivor, and serves as president of the Chabad of Chile and director of the International Committee of Yad Vashem.

The Chabad compound also includes a separate building that is used for the daily minyan, as well as the preschool play group and women’s group, both organized by rebbetzin Chaya Perman. The extensive youth activities are under the direction of Rabbi Yishai Libersohn, a Mexico City native and the Permans’ son-in-law.

Although the vast majority of Chilean Jews are secular, they have developed a rich network of educational and social organizations. Among them are B’nai B’rith, Maccabi sports clubs, as well as two Jewish day schools. The Chilean Jewish community has close ties with Israel and many of its young people visit Israel during their last year of high school.

Peter Rothholz, who headed his own Manhattan-based public relations agency, now lives in Santa Monica and East Hampton, N.Y., and is a frequent contributor to Jewish publications.

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Boycott Borat?

Leave a Comment / Entertainment, Film, Teens /

Does comedy nullify hatred? Does comedy grant allowance to bigotry, racism and, most of all, anti-Semitism?

Nov. 3 began the opening weekend of the acclaimed “most hilarious movie ever”: “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Khazakstan.” After rushing to the movie theater on Saturday night, I was greatly displeased to find the show was sold out. But since nobody I knew got in either, I soon realized I could still see the show with my friends the following weekend.

After much anticipation, I finally saw “Borat,” and for most of the movie I was almost dying of laughter. However, at a few points my laughter came to an abrupt stop. One scene replaced the Spanish tradition of the Running of the Bulls with “The Running of the Jew.” During this scene, Kazakhs chase two huge, green-colored caricatures of Jews — one a man with an unnaturally large nose and long payot and the other a woman with a large nose and a hideous face. When the crowd erupted in laughter at these famous stereotypes, I felt as though I had traveled back 65 years to when anti-Semitism was openly rampant.

Another scene shows Borat staying at a bed and breakfast run by a Jewish couple. Thinking that the owners had metamorphosed into cockroaches, Borat throws money at the insects and flees the house in great fear. The implication that Jews are “cheap” was displayed and made fun of in front of millions of viewers all over the world. Throughout the film, Borat reinforces stereotypes of other minorities, as well as of Jews. One scene includes Borat sagging his pants and speaking in a mocking African American dialect. Practically throughout the entire film, Borat pokes fun at “hicks,” a term many of us in our own bigotry have used to categorized everyone living in Middle America.

This display of clearly anti-Semitic scenes, in combination with various other scenes offensive to minorities, truly tore my decision in half regarding whether I should support this movie. Do I side with my teenage perspective that says it’s hilarious? Or rather, do I side with my grown-up, more critical side that deems the film offensive and anti-Semitic?

Before making any judgments, we must reconsider Sacha Baron Cohen’s, a.k.a Borat’s, true motives for making this film. Certainly, Cohen is not serious in this anti-Semitism — he’s a Jew. Rather, Cohen successfully attempts to evoke the stupidity of anti-Semites — and all racism, for that matter — through his character, Borat. By making brash, racist remarks, Borat’s exposes the audience to the irrationality and “craziness” of any form of baseless hatred.

The movie also uncovers the very prevalent anti-Semitism in America. This anti-Semitism is something Diaspora Jews tend to forget about, for we assume it is improbable that such views still exist in this civilized, democratic country. This portrayal of reality truly is the genius and motive behind the movie.

Although Cohen’s objectives are correct and pure, many people are still sensitive to any form of racism for whatever reason. For example, my parents saw the movie and, for the most part, thought it was funny. Even with the understanding of Cohen’s intentions, they were still deeply offended by the anti-Semitic scenes. My parents found the sight of the non-Jews sitting next to them laughing at Jewish stereotypes especially disturbing. Furthermore, for those who don’t know Cohen’s true intentions, the movie could perpetuate and enhance prejudice. The Anti-Defamation League had something to say, as well, regarding the fragility of interpretations of Cohen’s film and actually wrote a letter to Cohen himself.

In summation, the letter stated, “We are concerned, however, that one serious pitfall is that the audience may not always be sophisticated enough to get the joke, and that some may even find it reinforcing their bigotry.”

After reviewing all possible interpretations and resulting occurrences, I believe that Borat should not be boycotted, and not even changed, for a variety of reasons. First, I trust that the majority of American audiences possess the intelligence to differentiate between true racism and a clear mockery of racism.

Second, changing or cutting out scenes of this movie would be the most racist thing to do. How can we take out scenes offensive to Jews but leave the rest of the movie, which is replete with scenes offensive to all the other minorities?

Maybe by attacking all minorities, Cohen tested our society even further. Who thinks their minority’s self-respect is above those of others?

Adam Deutsch is a sophomore at YULA.

Speak Up!
Tribe, a page by and for teens, appears the first issue of every month in The Jewish Journal. Ninth- to 12th-graders are invited to submit first-person columns, feature articles or news stories of up to 800 words. Deadline for the February issue is Jan. 15; Deadline for the March issue is Feb. 15. Send submissions to julief@jewishjournal.com.

Boycott Borat? Read More »

Run for Her: A new generation of awareness

Leave a Comment / Kids & Teens, Teens /

You might think that getting up at 5 a.m. on a Sunday in November would be an impossible feat for a teenager, but when I arrived to volunteer at the second annual Run for Her 5K/3K Friendship Walk/Run for ovarian cancer awareness and research, I was surprised by the number of kids who came out for such a wonderful cause.

As the participants started arriving, there was such a sense of community. People of all ages came out in support of this cause, and the overall mood of the morning was inspiring. I was amazed at how a seemingly morbid topic could bring out so much joy in a large number of people.

Run for Her was started by a woman named Kelli Sargent as a graduate school project to honor her mother, Nanci, an ovarian cancer survivor. It is designed to raise money for ovarian cancer research, and is sponsored by Cedars-Sinai’s Women’s Cancer Research Institute in Los Angeles.

I volunteered to help that day, because I had never really heard of a fundraiser for ovarian cancer, and I wanted to learn more about the disease. Also, my mother works at Cedars. I knew that the No. 1 cancer affecting women is breast cancer, and I know that much has been accomplished in trying to find a cure. When I found out about Run for Her, and that it was geared toward a lesser-known women’s cancer, I wanted to help.

As soon as I arrived at the race, the volunteer supervisor sent me to staff the start/finish line. My job was to collect the bib tags off of every runner who wanted to be timed. I had to string them together in numerical order as they passed the finish line, and run them to the registration tent to be tallied.

When I was first given this job, I was intimidated because it has a lot of responsibility. But it was also comforting, because the other volunteers were just as enthusiastic and supportive as the runners themselves.

Being given such a significant task made me feel like I was really doing something crucial for the cause. When the race started I was even asked to hold the finish line tape for the first timed male and female runners to complete the race. As I stood there tightly holding one end of the banner, there was an amazing sense of anticipation and excitement when we were notified that the winner was coming.

The excitement didn’t end when the race was over, either. After the race, there was a party celebrating the runners and the Sargent family for all of their hard work and dedication. During the reception, the amount of money that the runners raised was announced. The final number was astounding, more than $300,000, and the total has reached more than $400,000 with additions afterward.

I was shocked that an event could bring in such a large sum of money in only its second year. It really gave me hope that more people would become aware of the threat that ovarian cancer causes to women. The number of kids and teenagers my age at the event also reassured me that we will make sure that even more awareness is raised in the future, so that one day we will have the tools we need to completely eradicate this disease.

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