Let us speak of heroes. Not, mind you, the voguish kind, whether the super-powered sci-fi heroes of the NBC television show or the very nice people nominated for United Jewish Communities’ current folly, “Jewish Community Hero of the Year.” I mean the real kind, the kind before whom we stand in awe.
There is a famous biblical commentary in which God talks to Adam in the Garden of Eden and says, “See to it that you do not destroy my world, for there is no one to repair it after you.”
While Iranians spill their blood in the streets of Tehran and in the notorious Evin prison, many lucky enough to have fled to the United States are living the American dream. Iranian Americans have risen to the top of virtually every profession and industry, and they serve on school boards, city councils and public commissions.
Over the past few days, several people who read my column last week (“Dayenu Moments”) have asked me what I think Israel should do to counteract its worsening image.
I read Marty Kaplan’s column “I Want to Know What Happens Next” (Oct. 2) holding my breath, because you never, never have a kind or good word about anybody on the right. I can accept your right to do that, even though it turns my stomach. But when I got to the last paragraph, where you put Sarah Palin and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the same sentence, that’s when I really gagged. What’s she ever done to you for you to be so hateful?
My friend Norma came up to me at the celebration following my daughter’s bat mitzvah and said, “Do you know how special this is?”
Ten years ago, any talk of the shooting victims of the North Valley Jewish Community Center would likely have been discouraging to hear, at best. Now two of the survivors, Mindy Finkelstein, 26, and Joshua Stepakoff, 16, have put the fear behind them and joined up with Women Against Gun Violence (WAGV) to organize Victory Over Violence, a 10-K run and 5-K run/walk and kids fun-run. Finkelstein chose the Los Angeles-based WAGV because it donates money to gun-violence victims and reinforces a zero-tolerance attitude about the use of guns by having victims tell their story in public venues. “Mindy and I wanted to do something positive to remember this day, to raise more awareness about gun violence,” Stepakoff said.
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