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January 12, 2011

Jerusalem cultural project unveiled

Jewish Journal January 12, 2011

A new project in Jerusalem is aiming to make cultural programming more accessible to an array of audiences. The Jerusalem Season of Culture, scheduled to launch in May, also will celebrate Jerusalem\’s arts and artists in a way that reflects the city\’s complexity and diversity. The project was unveiled Monday in Jerusalem by Artistic Director Itay Mautner. It is supported by the Schusterman Foundation-Israel, the Jerusalem Foundation and other funders.

Jewish groups adjusting agendas for new GOP-led Congress

Jewish Journal January 12, 2011

Faced with a new Congress intent on slashing the U.S. federal budget, Jewish groups are trimming their agendas to hew to its contours. On issues from Israel aid to the environment to elderly care, Jewish organizations are planning to promote priorities that would find favorable reception in the new Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives. The groups are trying to build alliances based on shared interests and recasting pitches for existing programs as Republican-friendly. “Some parts of our agenda won’t have much traction in this new climate,” acknowledged Josh Protas, the Washington director for the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. “We are looking for items that have bipartisan priorities.”

Calendar picks and clicks: Jan. 12–Jan. 21, 2011

Ryan Torok January 12, 2011

WED | JAN 12 (ISRAEL) ALOUD at Central Library’s Interfaith Series features “I Shall Not Hate” author Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Gazan fertility specialist who lost three of his daughters during Operation Cast Lead in 2009, appears in conversation with Washington Post journalist Laura Blumenfeld, author of “Revenge: A Story of a Hope.” In her memoir, Blumenfeld recounts her search for the Palestinian man who shot her father while he was visiting Israel. Wed. 7 p.m. Free. Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library, 630 W. Fifth St., Los Angeles. (213) 228-7025. lfla.org.

Torah Study on Aisle Two

Jewish Journal January 12, 2011

A 28-year-old struggling writer walked up to a checkout counter at Whole Foods in Tarzana. “What aisle is the Torah study on?” he asked. “Oh, you mean the class with the rabbi? That’s in the back near the nuts,” the woman at the register said. She wasn’t being pejorative — the Torah study really is in the back near the bulk bins of nuts and trail mix. I should know. I’m the nut teaching Torah in a market on Wednesdays. In my 20-plus years as a Jewish educator, I never thought I would be teaching Torah in a supermarket. But then again, I am pretty sure that the two dozen or so students who regularly participate in the class never thought they would be studying Jewish text every week, let alone doing so surrounded by organic produce and herbal supplements.

So many teachers, so little time

Amy Hirshberg Lederman January 12, 2011

As a child, I always dreaded going to Hebrew school. Although it was only a few blocks from my public school, the lonely bike ride felt like miles as I watched my friends walk away in the opposite direction, arms linked together like a gum-wrapper chain. Being Jewish in the small town in which I grew up meant being different. It meant missing school in September for a holiday where I was hungry all day long and not having a Christmas tree or colored lights on our house during the dark month of December. And being different was the very last thing I wanted to be as an emerging adolescent.

Theater Group Celebrates Women Rabbis

Jewish Journal January 12, 2011

We all know the clichés that characterize the usual depiction of Jewish women — the overbearing Jewish mother, the yenta, the Jewish princess. To promote a more multidimensional portrayal of the modern Jewish woman, a small group established the Jewish Women’s Theatre. The nonprofit entity, which has been operating for three years on a shoestring budget, is having its first fundraiser Jan. 22 and 23 at the Museum of Tolerance. Proceeds from the event will help finance the Jewish Women’s Rabbinic Archive, for which the personal stories of women rabbis worldwide are to be recorded and posted on the Internet. The benefit will present “Stories From the Fringe: Women Rabbis, Revealed!” a play taken from interviews with female rabbis in Los Angeles and written by Ronda Spinak and Rabbi Lynne A. Kern. Both are founders of the Jewish Women’s Theatre, and Spinak — who wrote for the Emmy Award-winning children’s program “Rugrats,” has authored numerous plays and had a nonfiction book published — described the genesis of the group:

Walk toward freedom: Parashat Beshalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16)

Jewish Journal January 12, 2011

Last month, an 85-year-old Jew from Queens, N.Y., proudly joined other invited guests at the White House as President Obama signed into law the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” paving the way — finally — for gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. armed forces. For Frank Kameny, ousted from service to the military in 1957 for being gay, it’s been a long and winding road to this moment. A decorated veteran who fought in World War II’s Battle of the Bulge, Kameny brought his dismissal to the Supreme Court in 1961 (he lost), led a demonstration at the Pentagon in 1965, and then went on to help found the modern gay liberation movement. For all these reasons, Kameny is rightfully credited with helping to begin the assault on the military’s longstanding opposition to homosexuals serving openly in its ranks, which dates back to 1778.

Foundation Grants Target Gang Violence

Julie Gruenbaum Fax January 12, 2011

The Jewish Community Foundation (JCF) granted 10 Los Angeles gang-prevention programs $200,000 this month, making its mark on ongoing public and private programs to ease gang violence in the city. “The foundation is committed to supporting issues of vital importance to the community at large and chose to focus our General Community Grants this year on gang prevention and intervention. It is important that we work together as a community to address the significant negative effect of gang violence on youth and families in Los Angeles,” said Marvin Schotland, president and CEO of the foundation. The largest grant — $50,000 — went to the Advancement Project. The money will support Safe Passage, which works with LAUSD and LAPD to create protected routes for elementary school children walking in the Belmont/Rampart area. The grant will also create content for and train teachers, counselors and social workers to implement Advancement Project’s Prevention/Intervention Toolkit.

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