Nooshin Meshkaty, Beverly Hills Board of Education president, and Beverly LeMay, program manager for the Museum of Tolerance’s Tools for Tolerance, are working together to expand character education for elementary and middle school students.
On my first trip to Israel 29 years ago, I was waiting for a friend at the entrance to Beit Hatfutsot, a museum on the Tel Aviv University campus. It was during a conference convened for Holocaust survivors, and as I watched older survivors flow out of the building, I glanced at the occasional uncovered arm to see the tattooed numbers there, remnants of their Holocaust experience. It was a powerful vision for a first-time visitor to Israel, one that underscored triumph over adversity and the human will to survive along with the need for the country as a safe haven for the Jews.
Yoav Shamir’s provocative new documentary, “Defamation” (“Ha Shmatsa”), suggests that today’s anti-Semitism, however pernicious, reflects little more than petty ignorance. The Israeli filmmaker’s central inquiry is whether the contemporary Jewish response to anti-Semitism is disproportionate in its force, and, if so, whether that response is detrimental to Jewish interests. That the two-part question is asked so forthrightly is enough to make “Defamation,” which First Run Features will open in Los Angeles Nov. 20, the most important Jewish movie of the year.
Mikey Weinstein is probably best known for defending Jews from alleged bigotry and harassment in the U.S. military. In the past few days, however, he’s been raising questions about whether there’s also an anti-Muslim bias in the service.
State investigators reported last week that they have no evidence to prove that Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills mishandled graves, as alleged in a class-action lawsuit filed against the cemetery’s owners in September.
Steven F. Windmueller, a prominent figure in Jewish communal and academic life, will retire as the Los Angeles campus dean of the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion on July 1.
Taylor Mays, an All-American, All-Pac-10 USC safety, is pegged as fast and physical in NFL scouting reports. Known for his intense, hard-hitting play and his blazing speed, he has the ability to go sideline-to-sideline, chase down opponents and deliver crushing blows. He runs a 4.25-second 40-yard dash, and in 2008 he made 53 tackles and a team-high nine deflections.
The Jewish community of Santa Clarita Valley could take a big step forward next year. Plans for a new Southern California Center for Jewish Life (SCCJL) include a complex designed by renowned architect Hagy Belzberg with a new home for Temple Beth Ami as well as an independent community cultural center, a public Hebrew-language charter school, an early childhood education center and 140 senior apartments. Groundbreaking for the $54 million project on a 19-acre property approximately five minutes north of Granada Hills is planned for late 2010. With the current Jewish population of Santa Clarita reaching close to 20,000, the new center would fill a big gap in the emerging community, as well as attract newcomers.
Ending hunger in Los Angeles is a pretty ambitious goal. Yet The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles is staking its identity on a new campaign, titled “Fed Up With Hunger,” that launched in September during the High Holy Days. Spreading the word through reusable shopping bags, strategically placed banners and a full calendar of events, Federation leaders are hoping that this obviously urgent and highly visible target will capture a new spirit at The Jewish Federation and help usher in a revitalized identity for the umbrella fundraising organization, one that will endure into the 21st century.
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