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Jewish Journal

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April 13, 2010

Congress’ Muslim rep honors Yom HaShoah

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized /

Maybe they’re confused or just a little behind the times in Washington—I sure hope not, but that would explain why today I received several emails from U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison regarding his remarks for Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Yom HaShoah was yesterday. But Ellison is Muslim, and I’d venture that the overwhelming majority of American Jews didn’t know the annual holiday had already passed. (Holocaust fatigue?) Here’s what Ellison had to say:

Yom Hashoah marks the day in which we remember the six million Jews who lost their lives during World War II.

We honor all those who died and we remember all those who lived to tell the painful story of this dark chapter in history. We also mourn our collective failure to prevent such a horrific tragedy. It is a painful lesson of the dangers of inaction and we remind ourselves that we must never be complacent in the face of genocide, xenophobia, intolerance, and hatred.

We also take pause to honor those of all faiths and nationalities that stood up and sacrificed their lives to protect the innocent.

As we remember those who were killed in the Holocaust, we must also commit ourselves to combat the same discrimination that lives on today. From anti-Semitism to racism, there is no justification for bigotry of any kind.

I am committed to working for mutual respect and understanding of all faiths.  I firmly believe that we cannot advance justice and peace if we deny the suffering of others or refuse to learn the lessons of history.

Congress’ Muslim rep honors Yom HaShoah Read More »

Embody the Mitzvah Through Manners

Leave a Comment / Bar & Bat Mitzvahs /

The bar or bat mitzvah is a rite of passage into adulthood — a milestone event in the life of a young Jew and his or her family. Everything that happens during this time-honored celebration is a reflection on him or her, and it is the responsibility of the bar or bat mitzvah, as host, to set the tone and maintain decorum throughout — from the religious service to the reception afterward.

Knowing the proper way to conduct oneself will not only help the student feel more confident and relaxed, it will also help put family members and other guests at ease. This is the single most important element to ensure a successful celebration. To assist the bar or bat mitzvah in achieving this level of comfort and composure, there are five fundamental areas to focus on, which will allow sons and daughters of the Torah to shine beyond expectations on this special day.

Dress Appropriately

Presentation is key. Dress appropriately by taking time to select an outfit that is both classic and elegant. This is a day to pay attention to the smallest details, such as coordinating accessories or shining one’s shoes. Boys should wear dark-colored suits with a collared shirt and conservative tie. Girls should wear a formal skirt suit or dress that is knee-length or longer, and, if necessary, have an accompanying wrap or sweater on hand, as shoulders should not be exposed in a synagogue. If the celebration is immediately following the services, then girls should dress more for the ceremony than the reception. For an evening party that does not immediately follow the religious service, a cocktail dress may be worn, unless otherwise indicated on the invitation.

Show Respect and Behave Accordingly

Act properly and gracefully. Not only does this show deference and appreciation toward the host’s parents for the investment of time and money to bring him or her to this day, but it is also a sign of self-respect and an acknowledgment that one is now considered an adult in the Jewish religion — and ready to behave accordingly. It is the bar or bat mitzvah’s duty to set a good example for both family and friends by showing respect and by being upbeat, positive, patient and compassionate to all.

Express Gratitude

In many cases, preparing for this day has been years in the making; therefore it is appropriate and necessary for the bar or bat mitzvah, as host, to express gratitude to all family and friends who are attending the celebration and who have helped prepare him or her during this journey. He or she may choose to recite a speech at the reception or recognize certain family or friends during the candle-lighting ceremony. In either case, it is a perfect opportunity to make a real connection with guests by maintaining good eye contact and expressing heartfelt emotion.

Be Warm and Welcoming

The bar or bat mitzvah greets guests with a smile when entering the reception and makes guests feel welcome by engaging them in pleasant conversation. He or she is the first one on the dance floor, ready to have fun and participate in all the activities. The host also knows how to make proper introductions and find commonalities between guests. Should one need to circulate, he or she is aware of making graceful exits and never leaves a guest unattended. The host makes sure to visit each table, remembering that some guests have traveled from far away to attend the celebration and share in the joy of this special day.

Value Gift Giving

A host is highly appreciative of the gifts received and thanks gift-givers in person as well as sending each a handwritten note of thanks. However, the true joy and happiness comes from the gifts he or she is able to give those who assisted during the process of this important life event. A thoughtful gift of thanks to the rabbi, the cantor and teacher who diligently and patiently prepared him or her over a long period of time is most well received, as well as a contribution to the synagogue. Finally, the greatest gifts of all are the social gifts the host gives by embodying a young man or woman of grace, humility, dignity, intelligence and humor, as that is the true meaning of the bar or bat mitzvah.

Lisa Gaché is the owner of Beverly Hills Manners (beverlyhillsmanners.com) and creator of Mitzvah Manners, an etiquette program designed to add polish and refinement to the bar or bat mitzvah.

Embody the Mitzvah Through Manners Read More »

Optimism, Concern Among Jewish Donors

Leave a Comment / United States /

As more than 200 major funders of Jewish nonprofits gathered in Phoenix this week, most of the signs of the economic carnage of the past 18 months appeared to be waning.

They came for the annual conference of the Jewish Funders Network, held Sunday through Tuesday at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel. The meeting was accompanied by a general sense that financial markets had stabilized and, with them, charitable giving. Many coming off difficult years appeared optimistic.

“We certainly hit a low tide, but I am not gloomy and pessimistic,” Evan Schlessinger, former chairman of the now-defunct Jewish Family & Life, said. “The tide is coming back in, and this has helped us focus.”

There were other signs at the Biltmore that the darkest of days for nonprofits may be over. According to JFN’s polling, 33 percent of participants said they would increase their giving to Jewish causes this year, while 61 percent said they haven’t reduced giving to Jewish causes over the past year.

But there remained concern that more Jewish nonprofits may be at risk of collapse. For some of the major players in the Jewish nonprofit world, last year was disappointing, and there is fear that this year could be just as bad — or worse.

Phyllis Cook, who advises a number of the country’s largest givers, said this year may be “tougher and more painful.” Nonprofits have seen a 20 to 30 percent decrease in funds, she estimated. And there is still work to be done making up for years of misspent charitable dollars.

“We let too many flowers grow,” Cook said, “and there may have to be a weeding out.”

Jeff Solomon, president of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Family Foundation, said money set aside for charity is akin to discretionary money, and thus spending it is largely tied to confidence in the economy. Now that the economy is bouncing back, many at the lower end of the large donor spectrum — those who give between $25,000 and $100,000 — are feeling more confident than they have since the recession began.

But on the spectrum’s high end, those who have seen foundations with hundreds of millions of dollars take huge hits are probably not going to increase their allocations over the next year, Solomon predicted. In fact, he said, the Council on Foundations predicted that foundations will not reach their 2007 levels of giving — their peak before the recession — until about 2017.

Despite lingering concerns, the mood at the conference was far more optimistic than last year, when the Jewish world’s major donors — those who give anywhere from $25,000 to upwards of $25 million per year — gathered in St. Petersburg, Fla., just weeks after Wall Street saw the bottom of the recession, and just months after Bernard Madoff admitted to bilking billions from investors. The big news then was not who had given money over the previous year, but who would not give money in the following year, as rumors swirled of foundations being shut down and of major philanthropists cutting back on giving.

One of the country’s largest Jewish foundations — the Jim Joseph Foundation, worth about $800 million — tried to inspire other mega donors to step forward with emergency funding by making available an $11 million emergency gift to help five communities deal with the high cost of Jewish education. A year later, the foundation’s president and CEO, Chip Edelsberg, said there had been only “modest response” to its laying down of the philanthropic gauntlet.

“There is a bundle of money out there sitting on the sidelines,” Edelsberg said. “The market just had the best first quarter it has had in 10 years, there are signs of recovery, and there has been a recuperation of funds. It is an empirical fact. And the conventional wisdom is that foundations might have recovered a significant portion of what they lost.”

In the meantime, organizations are suffering.

Last week, a Jewish day school in Memphis closed. Not long ago, the Jewish Federation of the Silicon Valley had to collateralize a $1.2 million loan to keep open another day school.

In his annual address, JFN President Mark Charendoff pushed donors to free up money.

“At this moment, $550 billion is sitting in private foundations in America, and yet we are using only 5 percent of it,” he said. “We need to figure out how to change this equation. How can we get the other 95 percent of our money working for us?”

Charendoff suggested that foundations don’t necessarily have to give out more grants. Rather, they can look for ways to use their endowments, such as extending loans to Jewish groups to help them expand and providing growth capital to young organizations that they would pay back when they mature.

Optimism, Concern Among Jewish Donors Read More »

USC Conference Spotlights Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive

Leave a Comment / Community /

The USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education hosted its first International Digital Access, Outreach and Research Conference, highlighting the foundation’s visual history archive, which contains 52,000 video interviews with Holocaust survivors and witnesses from 56 countries.

The conference at USC, held March 25-26, drew representatives from 25 universities and museums and featured a keynote address from Omer Bartov, a Brown University history and German studies professor who is considered a leading authority on genocide.

Bartov spoke to a room of 100 people on Friday, arguing that video testimonies from the Holocaust, which include diaries, post-war interviews and more, are underused. During his address, Bartov made a case for the integration of testimony as historical documents.

“Testimonies are vastly important historical documents that have been underused by historians,” Bartov said. “Especially when it comes to the Holocaust.”

Bartov added that testimony brings forth pieces of historical events that would be otherwise unknown. Many historians are weary of using testimony as fact, he said, but as long as you are aware that people can see the same event in different ways, and report it as so, then testimony is irreplaceable to our knowledge of events like the Holocaust.

After speaking on the importance of testimony, as well as his current project, which involves integrating hundreds of hours of testimony into a single text, Bartov read quoted testimonies to the audience.

“Testimonies, at times, tell us more than we would like to know,” Bartov warned before he began reading. “These accounts, though painful, are an important piece of the past. The main goal of the Holocaust was to silence these people. We shouldn’t do the same.”

Other sessions throughout the conference included “Visual History Archive Tips and Tricks” and “Testimonies as Historical Evidence: Reconstructing the Holocaust From Below.”

The Shoah Foundation was established in 1994 by Steven Spielberg to preserve the testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust.

USC Conference Spotlights Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive Read More »

Bibi’s Next Move

Leave a Comment / David Suissa /

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how Mahmoud Abbas “bamboozled” Benjamin Netanyahu by playing hard to get and refusing to come to the peace table. Abbas’ move precipitated an unfortunate tug of war between the United States and Israel, as the new Obama administration, eager to win favor with the Arab world, pressed Israel for more and more concessions to get the talks going.

Now, with Bibi virtually trapped between the demands of a powerful ally and the constraints of his coalition, I’ve been wondering: Can Bibi get out of this trap and improve Israel’s position?

I think the answer is yes, but only if Bibi shows guts and cunning. So far, that hasn’t been the case. Bibi has played it safe by trying to make everyone happy, and it has backfired. With the wily Abbas sitting back and enjoying the show, Bibi has let the spotlight shine on him as the big obstacle to peace.

And the clock is ticking. With Israel unable to break the logjam, the Palestinians are threatening to declare statehood, and there are reports that the Americans might even unilaterally impose a plan.

Alone on stage and running out of tricks, what should Bibi do now?

Here’s my crazy idea: Skip the concessions and put a final peace plan on the table.

That’s right, a final peace plan that would end the conflict once and for all. Announce the plan at a major press conference with Ehud Barak at your side, and tell Mahmoud Abbas the following: “Sign here, Mr. Abbas, and the conflict is over.”

The peace plan should be based on the Clinton Parameters, which followed years of hard negotiations and lays out what is widely recognized as the most reasonable compromise for a two-state solution.
Bibi and Barak should take ownership of this plan and go on a global PR tour. At every stop, they should repeat the same mantra: “Sign here, Mr. Abbas, and the conflict is over.”
The Palestinians should be given 60 days to accept the plan or make a counteroffer. If neither happens, the offer would be off the table.
With the spotlight suddenly shining on them, how would the Palestinians respond? Would they accept the offer? Would they make a counteroffer? Either would be nice, of course, but we shouldn’t count on
it. The Palestinians have never said yes to an Israeli peace plan or made a counteroffer or even a concession. It’s just not what they do.

What they do really well is say no.

And why not? Saying no for so long has put their Israeli rivals constantly on the defensive, made the Palestinians the world’s loudest victims and brought them billions in foreign aid. It’s also gotten them a slew of free concessions from Israel that they just pocket until the next concession. Why ruin this great pattern?

But let’s imagine for a moment that Abbas would want to say yes. How could he? Considering he has little authority in his own backyard and zero authority with Hamas in Gaza, how could he pretend to represent his divided people? What would he do — meet with his sworn enemies in Gaza and seek their blessing to end the conflict with the hated Zionists? Go to millions of his own people and confess they’ve been lied to all these years and they will not, in fact, get their “right of return”?

There’s a good reason you never see Abbas sticking his neck out: He hates the thought of going to the guillotine.

When you consider the Palestinians’ track record of saying no to every Israeli peace offer — including offers that would have made East Jerusalem the Palestinian capital and expelled about 100,000 Jewish settlers to make way for a Palestinian state — it’s hard to take seriously the accusation that a few permits for Jewish apartments in Jerusalem are blocking the peace process.

Bibi’s toughest challenge will be to get his right-wing coalition on board. He should remind them of two things: One, it’s critical that Israel get America and the world off its back so it can focus on the urgent threat of a nuclear Iran, and two, they should hardly expect the Palestinians to suddenly take yes for an answer.

In any event, his coalition needs to realize that the current situation is untenable. Continuing to play for time is just putting Israel in a deeper hole. At this point, Israel’s only chance is to smoke out the other side with a serious offer so that Obama and the rest of the world will see the real obstacle to peace — a Palestinian entity that is incapable of saying yes to ending the conflict.

Israel has stuck its neck out several times over the years trying to make peace, even offering to end the occupation. Those offers have always been met with Palestinian refusals. Now that Israel is being blamed for the failure of the peace process, it’s time to put the spotlight on the Palestinian role in this failure.

In other words, it’s time for the Palestinians to come up on stage — and show the world whether they can do anything besides say no.

David Suissa is the founder of OLAM magazine and OLAM.org. You can read his daily blog at suissablog.com and e-mail him at suissa@olam.org.

Bibi’s Next Move Read More »

AJC Fetes Wayne Barsky

Leave a Comment / Community /

American Jewish Committee (AJC) feted litigator Wayne Barsky, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, with the 30th annual Learned Hand Award on March 17. Barsky is considered a leading figure in intellectual property law, and the dinner attracted many of Los Angeles’ top attorneys, judges and community leaders, including Barsky’s longtime partner and friend, Scott Edelman, who presented him with the award.

Also in attendance were U.S. District Court Judge A. Howard Matz and former AJC award recipients Jerome L. Coben, Alan Friedman, Bruce Ramer, Lisa Specht and Richard Volpert, past publisher of   The Jewish Journal.

AJC Fetes Wayne Barsky Read More »

PBS Features Schools’ Growing Eco Awareness

Leave a Comment / Green Living /

At a Harvard University dormitory, a banner proclaims, “Green Is the New Crimson.”

At Patuxent Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, Md., the motto is “No child left inside.”

Largely under the radar of the general public, a movement has spread across the country’s schools. It will get its due in the PBS special “Growing Greener Schools,” airing on KCET Sunday at 10:30 p.m., the run-up to a weeklong celebration marking the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

There are different approaches among the more than 1,000 schools participating in the greening program and the communities that support their efforts, but they share some key features.

• Weaving environmental awareness into all academic subjects from kindergarten through 12th grade. As a simple example, in an early math class, the teacher might ask, “If it takes four gallons of water to flush a toilet, how much water do we use in 12 flushes?”

• Designing new school buildings, or retrofitting old ones, to substantially reduce pollution and cut the $6 billion in total energy costs at all American schools. Giving students more natural light through larger and correctly placed windows.

• Getting students and teachers out of the classroom and into the dirt by planting vegetable gardens and creating “edible schoolyards.” The harvest goes to the school cafeteria to replace fatty and nonorganic foods. Leftovers are recycled to make compost.

• Designing curricula to prepare students for jobs in a greener world.

Greening schools not only makes for slimmer students, but also more aware citizens, closer teacher-student relationships and higher scholastic achievements, say advocates of the program.

At the Lawndale charter school, located in an “underserved” community, 95 percent of its students go on to college or university, said Alison Suffet-Diaz, founder of the school and a Jewish transplant from Brooklyn.

One of her students, Cindy Linares, said that after taking the green curriculum, “I’m not as selfish as I was before. When you learn about the global issues that are happening around you, it really opens your eyes to see that the world doesn’t revolve around you or your school.”

Besides the Lawndale charter school, Santa Monica College has been cited as one of the leading green educational institutions in the country.

The film’s creators — Harry Wiland, who is Jewish, and Dale Bell, who isn’t — are veteran filmmakers and executives who co-founded the Media & Policy Center in Santa Monica 11 years ago.

They have made several films for PBS, but their projects go well beyond delivering the finished product in a can.

For the green schools project, they have developed a 175-page companion book and teacher guide, organized town hall meetings, and, in general, built a sense of community participation.

Wiland, who grew up in Brooklyn, and Bell, who grew up in suburban New York City, both credit the examples of tikkun olam they absorbed in their childhood homes for their continuing concern for the environment and the welfare of today’s children.

“My mother was a kind of community organizer and, when I was 12, she took me to visit a hospital for children with incurable diseases,” Wiland said. “That made an impression on me that I’ve never forgotten.”

Bell, although not Jewish, noted that he spent a good part of his youth in the all-Jewish Catskill Mountains environment. “I always have been suffused in Judaism,” he reminisced.

The two men see one more far-reaching benefit in what students learn in green schools. “When the kids come home, they are so turned on, they often convert their parents to a green lifestyle,” Wiland said.

The Media & Policy Center operates on an annual budget ranging from $650,000 to $1 million and gets almost its entire support from foundations.

The program airs on PBS stations nationally during April in honor of Earth Day.  For program information, check local listings. For more information on the school programs, visit www.growinggreenerschools.org or www.mediapolicycenter.org.

PBS Features Schools’ Growing Eco Awareness Read More »

Letters to the Editor: Prager, Tea Party Politics, Yom Hashoah

Leave a Comment / Letters to the Editor, Opinion /

Healing Prager

As a physician of 45 years, who has followed the calling of the profession devoted to patient care, I must start the healing process for Dennis Prager (“A Response to a Reader,” April 9). The only way to ensure the health care needs of the public is to adopt a single-payer system. By removing the health insurance companies from the monstrous system they have created and transferring their massive funding to a public utility, all of us would be guaranteed the care we deserve and already pay for without new taxes.  Profits, with their moral and ethical shortcomings, would be removed from the table and administrative expenses cut to 5 percent.

Forget the complexities and shortcomings of Obamacare. Even with 2,409 pages, it is too little, too late, and will do nothing to halt the meteoric rise in health care costs.  Within our midst in California is a rescue bill, SB 810, now past the Senate and in the Assembly, which will be on the governor’s desk in the fall. For less than we are paying now without new taxes, every legal resident in the state would receive health care without co-pays, deductibles and charges for medicines, eyeglasses and dental care. The first year alone would see accrued savings and surpluses of $25 billion. With single-payer, the state would be forced to address and control the usurious prices of medicines, surgical equipment and supplies and information technology for physicians. Physicians would see an immediate bonus with 30 percent savings in administrative expenses.

As a conservative, Prager should welcome and support SB 810. Not only would it not require new taxes, it will bring in funds to depleted state coffers. As a physician, Maimonides was devoted to serving the public. As a physician, I am proud to follow in his footsteps.

Dr. Jerome P. Helman
Venice

Wouldn’t it be great if Prager could respond to everyone who disagreed with his columns every week? Look how Prager explains his case and makes the persons letter seem so foolish. As a matter of fact, I noticed that every response to Prager’s column is factually incorrect and daft. Of course, they have a right to their opinion.

Richard Levine
via e-mail

In Support of Tea Parties

Related to your recent negative, unfortunate attacks regarding the Tea Party phenomena (“Party Off,” March 26), you might appreciate reading the current Commentary article, “Teatime at the Times” by Andrew Ferguson, putting some needed light on your rather unsubstantiated, demeaning and partisan prose.

Stuart Weiss
via e-mail

The Jewish Journal is alarmed and concerned about the “dangerous volksfest” (anti-Semitism cloaked within the guise of patriotism) or Tea Party Movement. Pardon my lack of concern, but having been a target of real anti-Semitism and serious threats from the left during the Bush years, this particular charge seems a bit overblown.

The real volksfest dangereuse is not a pugnacious, grass-roots uprising with genuine concerns and exerting their free speech rights. It is rather the arrogant, audacious and offensive majority glorifying in its disdain for popular opinion:

• The arrogance of Congressman Waxman to recite the secretly held House bill in the dead of night — by a speed reader no less.

• The audacity of a president who claimed, “The way you change our policies is by including the American people in the process,” but molded a bill in secret, cutting the deals he so reviled during the campaign.

• The offensive manner in which Speaker Pelosi (The Hammer) twisted arms and threatened colleagues.

Elections matter however, and to the victors go the spoils. But it used to be that in America (remember 2000-2008), the losers retain their free speech rights until the next election.

The Jewish Journal ought also to remember Alexis de Tocqueville’s admonition about a “tyranny of the majority.” That runaway majority is the danger we face today, not the voices, however offensive, from ordinary Americans meeting in the public square.

Joel Strom
Beverly Hills

A Haik U

A fox in the glen
With minions at his very
Evil beck and call

Joshua Lewis Berg
Burbank

From Freedom to Grief,Too Soon

Most of The Jewish Journal covers are interesting and intriguing. The April 2 cover was different. I was feeling so happy and liberated after cleaning my home for Passover, eating all the purely kosher Passover food and reliving the Exodus from Egypt. I was feeling reborn, fresh and free. Then, I picked up a copy of The Jewish Journal the morning after two exhilarating and liberating seders, only to be brought down by the front cover displaying an empty bed which used to belong to a dead daughter. The title screams out, “Endless Grief” and speaks about death and family tragedies. We all feel sorry for Victoria Hen’s tragedies. However, couldn’t you have printed this cover the next week and given us a cover that would reflect the Jewish emotional state of being in the midst of freedom, renewal and endless possibilities? Perhaps a photo of hopeful, happy Jewish people being liberated from difficulties in their countries, finally arriving in their Jewish homeland would be an appropriate cover to rest upon our coffee tables. Please, in the future, make an effort to create a cover that reflects our holiday and emotional spirit.

Sharon Asher
via e-mail

Needs of Survivors Immense

I searched your Yom HaShoah issue (April 9) in vain for an article acknowledging the acute needs of living survivors. Other than a poignant cartoon noting the extraordinary poverty rates among survivors in the United States and Israel, there was no discussion of the fact that scores of survivors, including many in our own city, are unable to meet their basic human needs. Nor was there any mention of the services available to help them meet those needs.

Bet Tzedek, through our Holocaust Survivors Justice Network and in partnership with Jewish Family Services across North America, is undertaking a major new initiative to help survivors receive pensions from Germany. Previously, Germany denied more than 90 percent of the applications for these monthly payments, but a recent High Court decision entitles thousands of North American survivors to this pension. Bet Tzedek will assist more than 5,000 survivors with this process, which could release them from the grip of poverty.

Yom HaShoah is about remembrance. What better way to remember than by honoring the lives of those who survived unspeakable horrors in their youth by alleviating their suffering in old age?

Mitchell Kamin, president/CEO
Bet Tzedek Legal Services
The House of Justice
Los Angeles

Taking a Stand

Wow! A liberal Jewish publication allows in print an article portraying the timidity, silence and cowardice of reform Rabbi Stephen Wise’s shameful lack of courage during the Holocaust (“Against the Tide,” April 9). I’m impressed! Shehecheyanu!

Harold Weiss
Los Angeles

Correction

In the article “Jewish and Muslim Teens’ Project Focuses on Shared Values” (Community News, April 9), Samia Bano’s age should have been 28.

THE JEWISH JOURNAL welcomes letters from all readers. Letters should be no more than 200 words and must include a valid name, address and phone number. Letters sent via e-mail must not contain attachments. We reserve the right to edit all letters. Mail: The Jewish Journal, Letters, 3580 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1510, Los Angeles, CA 90010; e-mail: {encode=”letters@jewishjournal.com” title=”letters@jewishjournal.com”}; or fax: (213) 368-1684.

Letters to the Editor: Prager, Tea Party Politics, Yom Hashoah Read More »

Picks and Clicks: April 17-23, 2010

Leave a Comment / Picks and Clicks, What's Happening /

SAT | APRIL 17

(ART)
A twin exhibition boasts the Jew-centric work of artists Peter Krasnow, a Russian immigrant painter, sculptor and lithographer, and watercolor painter Bonnie Stone. Both artists enliven traditional Jewish subjects with contemporary sensibilities. “Gefilte Sushi” highlights Stone’s “Balabustahs” series, and Krasnow’s “Idiosyncrasies” offers abstractions of Noah, mikvehs and more. Sat. 2-5 p.m. Free. Tobey C. Moss Gallery, 7321 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 933-5523. tobeycmossgallery.com.

(THEATER)
“Backstreet,” a musical about the Jewish “working girls” of a brothel in 1905 New York, sets the experience of poverty-stricken European immigrants against the backdrop of the women’s movement. Sat. Through May 2. 8 p.m. (Sat.) and 6 p.m. (Sun.). $17.50. Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 Fourth St., Santa Monica. (310) 394-9779. santamonicaplayhouse.com.

SUN | APRIL 18

(BOOKS)
Intrigued that Talmudic scholar Rashi had three daughters and no sons, Maggie Anton penned a trilogy of novels, one about each daughter. The author lectures on the research that went into the “Rashi’s Daughters” series and signs copies. Sun. 2-3:30 p.m. Free. Loyola Marymount University, William H. Hannon Library, 1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 338-2788. library.lmu.edu.

(CHARITY)
Jewish World Watch, a human rights organization, holds its fourth annual Walk to End Genocide. More than 2,000 people are expected to participate in the three-mile walk. An awareness fair and silent auction follow. Proceeds benefit survivors and victims’ families in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sun. 8 a.m. $18 (additional fundraising encouraged). Warner Center Park, 5800 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills. (818) 501-1836. walktoendgenocide.org.

(COMEDY)
Comedian Bruce Fine hosts his Vegas-style comedy and music show, “The Laugh Pack,” at D’Cache restaurant. The lineup features stand-up veteran/weathercaster Fritz Coleman, Def Comedy Jam’s Chris Spencer and up-and-coming vocalist Phil Turk. Sun. 7:30 p.m. $15. D’Cache, 10717 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake. (818) 506-9600. thelaughpack.com.

(YOM HAZIKARON)
Honor the memory of Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror. Dor Chadash-L.A., an Israeli-American organization of young professionals, holds its inaugural Yom HaZikaron ceremony at the Museum of Tolerance. All proceeds benefit the Non-Profit Organization for Emotional Support of Girlfriends (Fiancées) of Fallen Soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces. Sun. 8 p.m. $5. Museum of Tolerance, 9786 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 553-8403. dorchadashla.org.

(Memorial)
Cardinal Roger Mahony will be the main celebrant of prayer at a public service commemorating the Republic of Poland’s late President, Lech Kaczynski, first lady Maria Kaczynska, members of the Polish government and parliament, and other high-ranking dignitaries who died in a plane crash on April 10, as well as the Polish officers and intelligentsia killed in the Katyn massacre 70 years ago. Sponsored by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles. Sun. 10 a.m. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles. (310) 442-8500 or (213) 680-5200.

TUE | APRIL 20

(FILM)
The 11th annual Polish Film Festival’s opening-night gala features a screening of “The Children of Irena Sendler,” a 2009 film starring Anna Paquin and Marcia Gay Harden about a Polish Catholic social worker who risked her life to rescue Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto. Tue. 6 p.m. $60 (minimum donation). Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. (818) 982-8827. polishfilmla.org.

(MUSIC)
Rachael Sage, a New York boho-indie songstress who started recording music after receiving a four-track recorder for her bat mitzvah, releases her ninth album, “Delancey Street.” Tue. rachaelsage.com. iTunes.com.

(THEATER)
Hannah Senesh, the heroic but ultimately tragic paratrooper from World War II, relives her youth, her days in Palestine and time spent with the man she loves in the musical “The Spark, The Story of Hannah Senesh.” This concert reading is part of the inaugural Palisades Playwrights Festival. Tue. 7:30 p.m. Free. Theatre Palisades’ Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Road, Pacific Palisades. (310) 454-1970. theatrepalisades.org.

(YOM HAATZMAUT)
Sinai Temple’s “Faith and Unity Concert,” a star-studded mega-event of Jews, Muslims and Christians, celebrates Israel’s Independence Day. Rabbi David Wolpe, Pastor Rick Warren, multiplatinum-selling Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza and L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca highlight an extensive lineup of international performers as well as religious and community leaders. Tue. 7:30 p.m. Free. Sinai Temple, 10400 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 474-1518. sinaitemple.org.

THU | APRIL 22

(POLITICS)
“Can Obama Be Good for Israel?” Yossi Klein Halevi, the New Republic’s Israel correspondent and contributing editor, leads a discussion on the uncertain future of U.S.-Israel relations. Jewish Journal columnist David Suissa moderates. Thu. 7 p.m. $10 (members), $15 (door). Nessah Synagogue, 142 S. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills. (310) 273-2400. nessah.org.

Picks and Clicks: April 17-23, 2010 Read More »