Category
April 22, 2009
Old But New
A number of years ago, when my two daughters were 8 and 6, we had the pleasure of spending a family summer vacation in Israel. We stayed at my mother-in-law’s home right near Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan. One day while eating breakfast we heard a truck pass outside with a loudspeaker making announcements. At first the words from the loudspeaker didn’t make any sense to us.
Wally Marks, Developer, Social Justice Activist, 78
The great Rabbi Leo Baeck, for whom our congregation is named, taught that “optimism becomes a demand for the heroism of man, for his moral will to struggle. It is an optimism which strives to realize morality in practice.”
Families Look in Own Back Yards for Summer Fun
Each summer, Erica Groten saves money on summer camp for her son, Ethan, by enrolling him in an exclusive program with only one opening: Camp Mom.
Groten takes Ethan, 6, to places like the Natural History Museum and the Los Angeles Zoo, and organizes beach days with other families and their children. She plans to reprise her role as camp director this summer, creating educational trips for her son.
Hollywood Reminisces With Jewison
Norman Jewison is not Jewish, though his name quite literally begs the question. In fact, the association of “Jewison” and “Jewish” is so strong there is a section in his Wikipedia entry devoted to debunking the myth: “Notwithstanding his alliterative surname … Norman Jewison is not Jewish. He was raised in a Protestant family.”
‘Lemon’ Tells Bittersweet Tale of Coexistence
The Israeli film, “Lemon Tree,” is a striking story about relations between individual Israelis and Palestinians and illustrates one of the anomalies of our perception of the Middle East conflict.
Poetic Master of Biblical Translation Receives Award
Robert Alter is the 2009 recipient of the Robert Kirsch Award, a lifetime achievement award named after my late father and given each year by the Los Angeles Times. It will be my honor to hand the award to Alter, a role I have been asked to perform on a few memorable occasions over the years. But never before have I discharged my duties with a greater sense of pleasure, admiration and enthusiasm. Alter is, as I once wrote in a review of his work in the L.A. Times, “one of the living masters of biblical criticism and translation.”
‘Postcards’ Travel Through Jewish Lands, Via Heaven
While thinking of how to write about Dan Gordon’s book “Postcards from Heaven: Messages of Love from the Other Side” (Simon & Shuster, 2008) in a way that would demonstrate the concept of the title, I received a phone call from a friend wanting to tell me a story. While walking to her car she had noticed a kitten stubbornly sitting on the ground. Two men stood next to it, wondering what to do with the helpless creature. It simply wouldn’t budge.
NATION/WORLD BRIEFS: Obama’s Peace Process, Israelis Take Water, Netanyahu Backtracks
President Barack Obama said the United States wants to see concrete measures from Israel and the Palestinians.\n\n“What we want to do is step back from the abyss,” Obama told reporters at a news conference Tuesday with Jordanian King Abdullah II, who is visiting Washington. “As hard as it is, as difficult as it may be, the prospect of peace still exists.”
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