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Jewish Journal

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March 15, 2011

Obituaries: March 18-March 24, 2011

Leave a Comment / Obituaries /

Louis Hyman Abbott Feb. 1 at 90. Survived by wife Bette; sons Robert Kenneth (Barbara), Jeffrey Alan (Hilary); 2 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Hoogie Abraham Jan. 30 at 69. Survived by wife Anna; sons Jacob, Yaron; daughter Katie (Uri) Metusal; 4 grandchildren; brother Kelly; sister Hilda Solomon. Mount Sinai

Diana Allen Feb. 7 at 96. Survived by sons Mort, Barry (Sharon); 8 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Herbert Anker Feb. 8 at 85. Survived by wife Beatrice; daughter Karen (Jon) Sharpe; sons Robert (Susan), William (Jean), James (Marilee); 9 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Marty Mordechai Apel Feb. 3 at 83. Survived by wife Joan Berlin; daughter Anat Douieb; son Gil; 2 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren. Chevra Kadisha

Lillian S. April Jan.1 at 101. Survived by daughter Carol (Paul) Goldman; son Louis. Mount Sinai

Sander Arenott Feb. 16 at 65. Survived by sister Susan (Bruce) Moss; brother Ray (Jeanette); nieces Mikayla Moss, Laura Arenott, Adrienne Martinez. Mount Sinai

Ethel August Feb. 17 at 82. Survived by husband Martin; daughter Abbe (Stephen) Irshay; son Todd (Mila); 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Susan Bachrach Feb. 13 at 92. Survived by husband Kurt; sons Gary (Marlisse), Kenneth (Ruth Ann); 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Joseph Baruch Feb. 1 at 81. Survived by daughter Debbie (Jon); son Richard (Susan); brothers Shlomo, David, Avram, Ephraim; sister Flora; 2 grandchildren. Chevra Kadisha

Frances Baumwal Jan. 27 at 97. Survived by son Howard (Karen) Abrams; sister Sylvia Green; 6 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren. Hillside

Sheldon Berger Feb. 13 at 85. Survived by son David Alan; daughter Jackie Lisa (Jeffrey Erickson); 1 grandchild. Mount Sinai 

Miriam Berney Jan. 30 at 84. Survived by daughters Jill Hudson, Kim; son Mark (Lynne); sister Celia Kozek. Mount Sinai

Samuel Bessman Jan. 4 at 89. Survived by wife Alice; daughter Ellen Bessman Miller; son Joel David; 2 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Arnold Bovshow Feb. 14 at 82. Survived by daughter Iris Weber; sons Neil, Barry; 2 grandchildren; sister Abigail. Mount Sinai

Frank Bram Feb. 7 at 99. Survived by daughter Robin; son David (Phyllisa). Eden Memorial

Daniel Brodsky Jan. 1 at 91. Survived by wife Annette; daughters Lynn (Elliot) Dolin, Michele (Bob) Cohen; 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Rose Brooks Feb. 14 at 88.  Survived by daughter Shari; 1 grandchild. Mount Sinai

Suzanne Chait Feb. 10 at 87. Survived by daughters Evelyn Chait-Griger, Simone; 1 grandchild; brother Bernard Frydman. Mount Sinai

Esther Cohen Feb. 2 at 89. Survived by daughters Vicky, Reyna; son Michael (Olivia); sister Celia Mizrahi; 4 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild. Malinow and Silverman

Jack Cohen Feb. 11 at 89. Survived by wife Sarah; daughters Eileen Cohen Baynes, Janet (Rene) Cohen Robles; sons Louis (Rochelle), Melvin (Melinda); 10 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Mosha Cornfeld Feb. 8 at 93. Survived by sister-in-law Charlotte. Mount Sinai

Leo Egan Feb. 23 at 99. Survived by daughter Donna; sons Sam (Jane Serlin) Egan, Jack; 3 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Lillian Englert Jan. 27 at 89. Survived by daughter Holly Melendez. Malinow and Silverman

Joseph I. Fagan Feb. 2 at 84. Survived by sister Sheila Toby (Warren) Levy; stepdaughter Rosealyn Klein; stepson Ivan Klein. Mount Sinai

Theodore Fleser Feb. 3 at 88. Survived by wife Miriam; daughters Holly Seery, April Bender, Robin Sales; 6 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Harry Fox Feb. 7 at 84. Survived by daughter Nancy Fox Becker; brother Bernard; partner Isabel Bronte; 2 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Helen Freedman Jan. 26 at 86. Survived by husband Martin; niece Kathleen Delarose, nephew Bill Delarose; sister-in-law Ann Sinclair. Hillside

Ruth Glucksman Jan. 27 at 88. Survived by daughters Marilyn Seligman, Ellen (Greg Sadofsky) Riley; sons Marc (Barbara), Richard (Gayle), William (Janet); 13 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Anna Gotman Feb. 3 at 86. Survived by daughter Inna; friend Isabela Golovata. Mount Sinai

Allen T. Golumbic Feb. 6 at 78. Survived by wife Karina; daughter Karima Tapiovaara; son John Akef. Mount Sinai

Edmund L. Gorman Jan. 5 at 80. Survived by sons Larry Berlfein, Scott (Tammy) Berlfein, Carl; 3 grandchildren; brother Stan (Dana). Mount Sinai

Sylvia C. Gottlieb Jan. 5 at 94. Survived by son, Marc (Bonnie); 1 grandchild; 2 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Milton Greenberg Feb. 23 at 99. Survived by brother Richard; nephew David Weiss; niece Hope (Mark) Weiss-Morikawa. Mount Sinai

Toba Greinetz Jan. 31 at 79. Survived by husband Earl;  daughters Marcee (Mitch) Weiss, Lynne (Robert) Zuckerman; son Alan (Susan); 11 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Marlene Grossman Feb. 3 at 74. Survived by husband Arthur; daughters Susan Polin, Maya (Rudy) Opausky, Jackie Winchester; stepdaughters Debra (Scott) Fishburn, Elizabeth (Todd) Gary; 9 grandchildren; brothers Morris Halfon, Solomon (Cathy) Halfon. Mount Sinai

Mali (Mili) Grunau Jan. 13 at 88. Survived by husband Ernest (Erno); daughters Denisa (Ervin), Jeannetta (Arnold); 4 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; sister Adela (Maier). Chevra Kadisha

Roberta Hamburg Jan. 28 at 54. Survived by husband Sidney; daughter Lindsay; son Brandon; sisters Robina Kitzler, Robin; brother Robert Kitzler. Malinow and Silverman

Daisy Hepner at 96. Survived by daughter Myrna Saltzberg; son Edward (Gloria Pines) Saltzberg; 4 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren. Groman

Ruth Heiden Jan. 3 at 88. Survived by daughters Carole (Robert) Donahue, Janice Brody; 3 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Herbert Hillman Feb. 4 at 63. Survived by wife Jan; daughter Beth (Mike) Turano; mother Anne; sister Lenore (Joe) DeBuono. Mount Sinai

Moshe Holdstein Dec. 9 at 62. Survived by brother Bernard. Chevra Kadisha

Helen Freda Horowitz Feb. 17 at 93. Survived by daughters Marcie Howard, Cheryll Goldscheid; 3 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Clare Kalman Feb. 5 at 101. Survived by friend Charlotte Goldstein; cousins Phil (Rosita) Shamis, David (Margie) Kobe; caretaker Raymond Glen Hernandez. Mount Sinai

Nedra Kamin Feb. 1 at 82. Survived by daughter Lisa Martin; 2 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild. Mount Sinai

Anita Kamins Jan. 27 at 92. Survived by son Michael (Yolande); 2 grandchildren; sister Blanche Kimmel. Mount Sinai

Walter Kanowitz Jan. 26 at 75. Survived by wife Gail; daughter Marla (Mark) Baldassare; brothers Richard, Jerry; 2 grandchildren. Hillside

Alfred Kartsman Feb. 15 at 93. Survived by wife Anne; daughters Pam (Ed) Beimel, Susan (Daniel) Wilner, Rochelle Worthley; 6 grandchildren; 3 step-grandchildren; 5 great-grandchildren; 5 step-great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Eugene Katz Jan. 2 at 78. Survived by wife Sandra; daughter Lisa (Rodney) Sacks; sons Max, Raymond; grandchildren. Sholom Chapels

Gunther B. Katz Feb. 13 at 81. Survived by wife Susan; sons Steven (Ruth), Andrew; 1 grandchild. Mount Sinai

Sherman Klein Feb. 13 at 83. Survived by wife Lila; children Debra Hall, Sylvia Klein Archibald, Ralph Archibald, rabbis Jonathan and Zoe Klein, 4 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild. 

Esther Knopf Feb. 12 at 88. Survived by husband Gerald; daughters Deborah, Diane Knopf-Senia; 3 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Sonia Kogen Jan. 30 at 86. Survived by sons Jeff Barry (Tracy), Mark (Kasey); 4 grandchildren. Malinow and SilvermanHarry Kuper Jan. 25 at 87. Survived by wife Laura Dadea; daughter, Patricia Pesla Kuper-Sellers; son Martin Moshe; 3 grandchildren. Chevra Kadisha

Helen Landgarten Feb. 23 at 89. Survived by daughter Aleda Siccardi; son Marc (Carol). Mount Sinai

Minnie Lev   Jan. 28 at 91. Survived by husband Harry; nephews Peter (Deloris) Leiter, Earle (Dawn) Miller; nieces Virginia (Richard) Gibbs, Marjorie (Howard) Wolfe. Mount Sinai

Florence Levine Feb. 4 at 91. Survived by daughter Jewel; son Harold. Malinow and Silverman

Irma Levy Feb. 3 at 95. Survived by daughter Lisa (Martin) Pressman; son Bruce (Pamela) Henstell. Malinow and Silverman 

Darryl G. Linkow Feb. 12 at 65. Survived by wife Karen Bellamy; sister-in-law Kelly (Bill) Webster. Mount Sinai

Harold Lishner May 8 at 61. Survived by mother Sheila Hafner; cousin Martin (Duree Dunn) Mandel. Mount Sinai

Nathan Littner Feb. 9 at 88. Survived by sons Jerry (Lesley), Dan, Ed. Mount Sinai

Inna M. Logan Feb. 8 at 93. Survived by daughters Emanuela (Ronald) Berez, Ilana (Lowell) Crist; 7 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great-grandchild. Mount Sinai

Nettie Lurie Jan. 2 at 95. Survived by son Howard (Barbara); 4 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren. Sholom Chapels

Mollye Marcus Feb. 18 at 111. Survived by daughter Darlene Hirschinger; son-in-law Bob Bramson; 6 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren. Eden

Jeanette Marmor Dec. 9 at 94. Survived by son Bob (Carol); 5 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Chevra Kadisha

Robert Mason Feb. 18 at 87. Survived by son Elliott (Stella); daughter Valerie (Dan) Gale; 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Matthew Mezza Jan. 15 at 14. Survived by mother Eleanor Schneir; father Peter; brother Florin. Malinow and Silverman

Taoma Michaud Feb. 13 at 68. Survived by son Jeff; sister-in-law Judy (Mickey) Martin; 2 nieces; 1 nephew. Mount Sinai

Herbert Miller Feb. 8 at 87. Survived by son Norman (Jenny); daughter Ellen; 4 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Solomon Mintz Feb. 20 at 73. Survived by niece Sharon (Steve Shapero); nephew Jeff (Janet). Mount Sinai

Joy Mises Feb. 21 at 81. Survived by daughter Kathleen (Ralph) Novoa; son Jeffrey (Cyndi) Graves; 2 grandchildren; sister Carole Stakley; brother Buddy (Mardis) Jackson. Mount Sinai

Alexander Nash Feb. 9 at 104. Survived by grandson Jonathan Ruyle. Malinow and Silverman

Rose Newman-Koff Feb. 11 at 90. Survived by daughter Deborah (Chris Keco) Newman; son Jeffrey (Mary) Newman; 5 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Elis Nourafchan Feb. 3 at 93. Survived by wife Ruth S.; daughters Andrea (Monroe) Rosenthal, Michelle (Mark) Nasatir, Tori (David Rosenstein); 8 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Evelyn Owen Jan. 26 at 92. Survived by son Martin. Hillside

Martin Polon Feb. 19 at 93. Survived by daughter Saralyn (Paul) Leven; sons Gordon (Lisa), Larry (Ernestina), Burl; 8 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Tamara Rapoport Feb. 11 at 74. Survived by husband Karl; son Alex. Mount Sinai

Ethel W. Rasgon Jan. 2 at 81. Survived by daughter Robin (Jeff) Pearl; sons Barry (Janell), Maurice (Julie), Scott; 9 grandchildren; sister Molly Skebelsky. Mount Sinai

Alex Resnick Jan. 1 at 72. Survived by wife Yolanda; daughter Adina (Al) Klaus; 2 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Mordecai Resnick Feb. 8 at 95. Survived by daughter Pamela (William) Hsu; son Steven (Dafna). Mount Sinai

David Isaac Ritz Feb. 6 at 91. Survived by wife Evelyn; daughter Debbie (Charles Andrew) Macias; son Ronald G. (Shauna); 7 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Bernard Rogo Feb. 19 at 87. Survived by wife Rita; daughter Cindy Hunter; sons Joel (Debra), Victor (Donna), Albert (Tina); 12 grandchildren; brother Louis. Mount Sinai

Norman Ross Feb. 6 at 94. Survived by daughters Rene (Steve) Hershman, Marcy (Steve) Davidson; 4 grandchildren; 9 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Ruth Ross Feb. 16 at 90. Survived by daughters Donna (David) Kamin, Sima; son Thomas; 9 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; sister Nettie Shuken; brother Sidney Nurkin. Chevra Kadisha

Zena Rubin Feb. 8 at 78. Survived by daughter Beverly-Anne (Philip) Shindler; sons Michael (Joanne), Larry (Sylvia), Russell; 5 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Lillian Russell Feb. 28 at 89. Survived by daughter Zorina Kroop; 1 grandchild; 1 great-grandson; sister Loretta (Leonard) Schwartz. Mount Sinai

Hy Russo Feb. 19 at 85. Survived by wife Jennie; sons Nate, Michael; sister Kay Lillian; brother Isaac. Mount Sinai

Rudy Salomons Feb. 15 at 85. Survived by wife Vera; sons Stan (Carol), Gary (Jennifer); 2 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Estelle Samson Feb. 13 at 79. Survived by sons Daniel (Linda), Jeff (Diane); 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Phillip Shearer Feb. 14 at 70. Survived by sister Hannah; brothers Bernard (Beverly), Joel; nieces and nephews. Mount Sinai

Ann Sheps Feb. 20 at 87. Survived by daughters Sally (Ann) Bailey, Felise (Elliott) Wachtel; 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Harriet J. Sherman Jan. 1 at 81. Survived by daughter Debbie Gross; sons Nathan J. (Robin), Toby (Leslie); 6 grandchildren; brother Syd (Leta) Nasater. Mount Sinai

Victor Sherman Feb. 14 at 88. Survived by wife Selma; daughters Lauren, Babette (Kenn) Sherman Heller; son Andrew (Theresa Rodriguez); 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Bert Shields Jan. 1 at 95. Survived by wife Rosalie; daughter Lynn (Don) Goldklang; sons Brad (Melinda), Ted, Robert (Jennifer); 4 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren. Sholom Chapels

Edith I. Shrotman Feb. 15 at 93. Survived by son Phillip (Susan); 1 grandchild. Mount Sinai

Henry Silverberg Jan. 5 at 89. Survived by daughter Joanne (Alan) Reed; son Michael; 3 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Maxwell Silverman Feb. 25 at 91. Survived by wife Freda; daughter Eileen L. (Richard) Mines; 1 grandchild. Mount Sinai

Marvin “Bob” Singer Feb. 13 at 80. Survived by wife La Verne; daughter Gale; son Steve (Tina); 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Carol Smith Jan. 4 at 69. Survived by daughters Tammi Carlisle, Michele (John) Briggs; 2 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Sidney H. Stein Feb. 6 at 91. Survived by wife Laura; sons Richard, Steven; 2 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild. Mount Sinai

Harold Steingold Jan. 1 at 81. Survived by wife Clara; daughter Ruth (Rabbi Peter) Levi; sons Stanley (Jolie Fainberg), Joel (Rosie); 8 grandchildren; sister Linda (Norton) Townsley. Mount Sinai

Paul Sussman Jan. 28 at 88. Survived by daughter Wendy (Michael) Burns; son Mark (Valerie); stepdaughter Pam Reisel; 5 grandchildren; sister Lillian Levant. Mount Sinai

Sylvia Tolchin Jan. 31 at 95. Survived by daughter Elaine Kretchman (Allan); son Stuart (Irene); 4 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Groman

Mildred “Sissy” Unell Jan. 28 at 97. Survived by daughter Anne (Daniel) Goldstein; 3 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Leonard Leslie Unger Feb. 12 at 76. Survived by wife Toby; daughter Karen (Mark) Widesssons; sons David (Alica), Bren (Amy); 3 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Maurice Weinstein Feb. 6 at 93. Survived by wife Mei; daughters Nicky (Paul) Stevens, Carine (Michael) Khoury; son William; 3 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild; brother Charles. Mount Sinai

Aaron H. Weiss Feb. 13 at 94. Survived by daughter Lois; son Steven (Marsha); 5 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Morton R. Weiss Jan. 2 at 92. Survived by wife Sylvia; daughter Karyn (Todd) Eichenberger; son Stuart (Marla); 4 grandchildren; brother Harold (Audrey). Mount Sinai

Margot Seltzer Wolff Feb. 3 at 80. Survived by husband Theodore F.; daughters Cheryl (Joel) Prell, Debbie (Steve) Crossland; stepdaughters Eileen Beer, Suzanne (DC) Snyder; stepson Larry (Terr); 12 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Shirley Wurtzel Feb. 18 at 87. Survived by daughter Leslie (Bill) Mann; son David (Robert Wilson); 2 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Phyllis Wyman Feb. 7 at 78. Survived by sisters Miriam (Mim) Klein, Geraldine Lieberman; stepson Richard, grandchild; great-grandchild. Malinow & Silverman

Stanley Zane Feb. 8 at 88. Survived by wife Norma Blank; daughter Eileen Rieder; son Arnold (Trisha Thordarson); 6 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Claire Zlozower Feb. 2 at 80. Survived by daughter Beverly (Timothy) Galfas; son Neil; 1 grandchild. Mount Sinai.

Obituaries: March 18-March 24, 2011 Read More »

Tribefest survey: Many attendees were federation first-timers [VIDEO]

Leave a Comment / United States /

New data shows that Tribefest met its goal of drawing many federation first-timers to the recent Young Leadership conference in Las Vegas, federation officials said.

“We’re not only satisfied, we’re thrilled,” said Joe Berkofsky, spokesman for the Jewish Federations of North America, which organized last week’s gathering.

Nearly 1,300 Jews, mostly in their 20s to early 40s, showed up for three days of lectures, workshops and performances devoted to Jewish politics, religion and culture.

It was a first step in what federation officials say is a new outreach strategy for the national federation organization that is aimed at bringing in new blood along with the committed donors that were targeted by previous Young Leadership conferences.

Story continues after the jump.

Video by VideoJew Jay Firestone.

Results from 150 participants who took a post-conference survey showed that 30 percent of them were not already federation donors. Forty-two percent said they had never participated in or helped organize a program at their local Jewish federation and 45 percent had ever served on a federation committee. Sixty-two percent said Tribefest was their first national federation conference.

Berkofsky said that because these are only the initial survey results, and probably come from the most involved participants, who are typically the first to answer such surveys, “The later numbers should show even more people not previously involved, which is what we hoped to see.”

Follow-up is a major part of the federations’ outreach effort. As participants entered each event, their badges were scanned and their identifying information was electronically stored. Those details will be given to their local Jewish federations for concerted follow-up.

“We want to keep the momentum going, to capitalize on the energy,” Berkofsky said.

Tribefest survey: Many attendees were federation first-timers [VIDEO] Read More »

Security firm to stop supplying West Bank

Leave a Comment / Israel /

An Israeli security firm owned by a Danish company announced that it will stop supplying equipment to the West Bank.

Hashmira, which is owned by G4S, made the announcement last weekend.

According to Who Profits, a project of the Coalition of Women for Peace, the technology division of the company has provided equipment for Israeli-run checkpoints and terminals in the West Bank and Gaza, including scanning machines.

Hashmira installed a security system for the West Bank district police headquarters in an area near Ma’aleh Adumim, as well as a central control room and defense system at Ofer Prison, near Ramallah.

The city of Copenhagen had said it would reconsider further investments in the company because of its operations in the West Bank.

When G4S acquired Hashmira in 2002, it withdrew most of the company’s security guards from the West Bank following public pressure, according to Haaretz.

Hashmira is the second largest security company in Israel, with thousands of government, factory, office building and shopping center contracts.

The company said it would take into account its “contractual obligations” as it divests itself from the West Bank.

“We have concluded that we, to ensure that our business activities are in line with our ethical trading policy, will work to get out of a number of contracts in the area,” wrote G4S legal director Søren Lundberg.

Security firm to stop supplying West Bank Read More »

Egyptian gas supply to Israel again fails to start up

Leave a Comment / Israel, Worldwide /

Egypt again failed to begin supplying Israel with natural gas.

The gas was supposed to resume Monday after repairs on a gas line that was sabotaged on Feb. 5 during the uprising in Egypt that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

A leak was discovered shortly before the gas supply was set to resume, the Ampal-American Israel Corp said Monday in a statement. No date has been given for resumption of the gas supply.

Egypt supplies more than 40 percent of the gas that Israel needs to provide the country with electricity. The supplies had been expected to resume last month.

The Israel Electric Company earlier this month received permission from Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry to use diesel and fuel oil to run power plants.

Some Israeli media have accused the Egyptian interim military government authorities of delaying the supply of gas to Israel for political reasons.

Egypt has suggested that it will not supply the usual amounts of gas when the pipeline is up and running again, according to reports, and wants to renegotiate better terms for its contract with Israel for supplying natural gas.

Egyptian gas supply to Israel again fails to start up Read More »

Netanyahu to answer questions on YouTube

Leave a Comment / Israel /

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will answer questions from people around the world when he appears on YouTube’s World View.

Netanyahu will be the third world leader to appear on the citizen-powered interview program with his live-streamed interview on March 23.

YouTube is partnering with Israel’s Channel 2 News for the interview with Netanyahu; Channel 2 newsreader Dana Weiss will facilitate the broadcast. The 40-minute interview will be broadcast live, in Hebrew, on Israeli television and on YouTube simultaneously. YouTube also will stream the interview in English.

The questions can be uploaded to the website by video, text or Twitter (#AskNetanyahu). The deadline to submit questions is March 21 at 8 p.m.

President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have appeared on the program.

“I invite Arab viewers and Palestinian viewers to have this exchange with us because I think we have to clear the air,” Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded message. “I think people have to understand what an open, liberal, tolerant society Israel is and how much it desires peace.”

Netanyahu to answer questions on YouTube Read More »

Knesset hearings on J Street up ante in debate about ‘pro-Israel, pro-peace’ lobby

Leave a Comment / United States /

Is turnabout fair play when Israel examines the critics who would examine its actions?

Groups on the Jewish left expressed outrage last week after the Knesset subcommittee on public diplomacy voted to convene hearings on J Street, the Washington-based lobby that calls itself “pro-Israel, pro-peace.”

The hearing is set to take place next week, and J Street director Jeremy Ben-Ami and Davidi Gilo, an American Israeli who is a major funder of the group, have agreed to testify.

“We believe such a Knesset discussion is unprecedented in the history of Israel,” J Street said in a statement. “It appears to be one more regrettable step by a small but growing group of anti-democratic forces in Israeli politics to limit debate and to intimidate those with whom they disagree.”

The reference to “one more regrettable step” was to Knesset hearings that would have targeted Israeli nongovernmental organizations tracking Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quashed those hearings after complaints by mainstream pro-Israel groups that targeting human rights watchers undercut Israeli democracy.

Unlike the NGO hearings, the J Street hearings do not appear aimed at placing legal limits on the group’s activities in Israel. Rather, suggested Israeli Knesset member Otniel Schneller of Kadima, they are about clearing up whether or not J Street is misrepresenting itself when it calls itself pro-Israel.

“I asked for the hearing not because of the content of J Street’s beliefs, but because I want to look into the commitment of Jewish love and support for Israel,” Schneller told The Jerusalem Post. “If they don’t love and support Israel, then they should not present themselves as pro-Israel.”

Likud’s Danny Danon, the chairman of the Knesset subcommittee that will be holding the hearings, plans on asking Kadima Knesset members who attended J Street’s conference last month about their participation in the event.

“During the midterms, we saw congressional candidates lose elections partially because of their support for J Street,” Commentary magazine blogger Alana Goodman wrote. “But is this a sign that J Street is now starting to hurt politicians on an international level?”

Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League’s national director, said the hearings on J Street are a bad idea.

“I would hope that the Israeli Knesset had better things to do than hold hearings on American Jewish organizations or American organizations,” he told JTA. “It’s inappropriate, it’s counterproductive—it’s beyond their purview and jurisdiction. There’s nothing positive that could be achieved from any of it.”

But Morton Klein, the president of the Zionist Organization of America, said the hearings could be clarifying. He referred to revelations last year that J Street got a big chunk of its funding from George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist who has been harshly critical of successive Israeli governments.

“It’s fine for Israel to determine who is behind this organization, who is funding it, for people to know,” Klein said.

The goal of the hearings seems to be to create an atmosphere that would discourage any Israeli affiliation with the group, J Street backers warn.

“After aggressively attacking dissenting voices in Israel and trying to suppress diversity at home, some Israeli legislators are now extending their intimidation campaign across the ocean,” said Debra DeLee, the president of Americans for Peace Now. “The attempt to delegitimize an American organization that supports Israel and works tirelessly to engage tens of thousands of Americans in pro-Israel activity is bad for Israel.”

Knesset hearings on J Street up ante in debate about ‘pro-Israel, pro-peace’ lobby Read More »

Why can’t Jews handle ‘Miral’?

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized /

Maybe it’s the simple fact that a high-profile film written by a Palestinian is cause enough for Jewish opprobrium. Maybe it’s because the director of the film, Julian Schnabel, is Jewish, and his commitment to any perspective other than the dominant Jewish paradigm is akin to tribal and national betrayal. Maybe it’s because the distributor of the film, Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was reared and raised a New York Jew and should know better – haven’t the Jews and their State of Israel had it hard enough?

Or, maybe a cultural malaise has taken hold that’s made it impossible for Jews to empathize with anyone but each other.

That the film ‘Miral,’ a portrait of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seen through the eyes of an orphaned Palestinian girl is earning the early ire of mainstream Jewish groups is not at all surprising. It makes perfect sense that a film told from the Palestinian perspective would rouse cries of condemnation from the American Jewish Committee, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and others for being “one-sided” as AJC’s executive director David Harris wrote earlier this week, protesting the screening of the film for the U.N. General Assembly in New York (since when do Hollywood movies have an obligation to objectivity?). Another knee-jerk reaction came from SWC founder Rabbi Marvin Hier who called the screening of the film “anti-Israel” in a widely- released statement.

But this early condemnation is short-sighted and unfair. And not just to the film itself, but to the conversation American Jews might be having about Israel. That conversation, if it has any hope of pushing past party-line radicalism and a peace process stalemate, demands and deserves more than one perspective, as well as a deeper understanding of the ‘other’ – which a film like ‘Miral’ provides.

The Torah, Judaism’s most sacred text, admonishes again and again ‘love the stranger’, ‘remember the stranger’, ‘be kind to the stranger’ because ‘you were slaves in the land of Egypt.’ Have we forgotten? Or have we become so mired in our own neuroses about anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and general Jewish existentialism that we can’t see past our own noses?

Schnabel doesn’t have that problem. In fact, the making of this film became a bridge both creatively and personally. According to Vanity Fair, he met Italian-Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal at a party in 2007 and was so taken with her and the semi-autobiographical book upon which ‘Miral’ is based, he left his wife and committed himself to Jebreal and her story. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself…’

At the panel discussion following the screening last night, Rabbi Irwin Kula suggested that that’s exactly what’s missing in the conflict, noting an egregious lack of empathy on both sides.

“After 63 years of conventional diplomatic efforts, we’re pretty far away right now,” Kula, the president of CLAL, The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership said. “The conflict has literally crowded out the possibility of empathy on all sides.”

But film, he said, according to a press release, allows people to experience empathy for a character. “As everyone knows you can’t have understanding without empathy. And this film is fundamentally a meditation on empathy.”

Why is it then that when a respected and talented filmmaker such as Mr. Schnabel says that he feels a personal Jewish responsibility “to tell the story of the other side” he is reproved and not praised? Such an admission makes Schnabel one of those rarefied artists with the courage to challenge established paradigms in his work – which, I might add, is a Jewish thing to do. But instead of averring the dignity of his position, and the openness with which he is broaching the Israeli-Palestinian juggernaut, Schnabel is put on the defensive.

“I love the State of Israel,” he said after the U.N. screening. “I believe in it, and my film is about preserving it, not hurting it. Understanding is part of the Jewish way and Jewish people are supposed to be good listeners. But, if we don’t listen to the other side, we can never have peace.”

Maybe, when it comes to geopolitical conflicts, there is a problem of perennially bad timing. No doubt Schnabel’s film, which is openly and purposely sympathetic to the Palestinian position, will become the subject of even more undue scorn during a week in which Jewish blood was spilled at the hands of a Palestinian terrorist. Days ago, five members of the Fogel family were brutally slaughtered in their home in Itamar, a settlement in the West Bank. The sad fact of this tragedy will make it even harder for Jewish hearts to open. Especially during a week of tremendous heartbreak and grief, a week in which Jewish blood is up and anger is raging.

But even in grief, it’s a mistake to extrapolate blame for the actions of one man upon an entire people – just as Schnabel’s film about a sympathetic character does not render all Palestinians sympathetic characters. ‘Miral’ is primarily a portrait of one life, through which the plight of a people is surmised. That’s not to say there is no such thing as Palestinian terrorism, because there is; or that no Palestinians deserve Jewish scorn, because some do. But the reverse is also true: Israel has done wrong, Jews have hurt Palestinians.

“As a Jewish American, I can categorically state that I would not be releasing a film that was flagrantly biased towards Israel or Judaism,” Harvey Weinstein said in a statement. “‘Miral’ tells a story about a young Palestinian woman, but that does not make it a polemic. By stifling discussion or pre-judging a work of art, we only perpetuate the prejudice that does so much harm.”

Indeed, ‘Miral’ is asking us to pause from our consideration of Palestinians as ‘the other’ and instead to see a people with whom we might partner. It is asking us to consider the millions of Palestinians who are not terrorists, who desire economic opportunity, civil liberties and a chance to swim in the Mediterranean Sea.

If, as American Jews, we can’t even watch a movie in peace, I fear what that means for the peace prospects of an entire nation—or rather, two.

Why can’t Jews handle ‘Miral’? Read More »

Anthony Bourdain: Visit Israel Already

Leave a Comment / News /

Television is littered with lousy food shows. I know I risk sounding like some grumpy old coot wondering whatever happened to Jack Paar, but I do wonder what the spirit of the great Julia Child would make of the utter mediocrity, the sheer lack of aspiration, the game show approach and personality-driven fluff that has become the norm in food TV.

Thank God for Anthony Bourdain.

Writer/chef Anthony Bourdain is the host of “No Reservations” on the Travel Channel. It’s not a traditional cooking or food show, but rather Bourdain’s essayistic take on food and culture around the world. In each episode, Bourdain travels to a new location and finds the people, conflicts and foods that most inspire and intrigue him. He has filmed episodes in almost every important and fascinating food location in the world, with one glaring exception: Israel.

Tony, it’s time.

“No Reservations” is a critical and commercial success. The show has won Emmys, millions of people have tuned in to watch it, and it has more than 1,047,000 Facebook friends. Bourdain, already a best-selling author beginning with “Kitchen Confidential,” has become a cultural icon.

I think that’s because people have come to understand that food is not just intricately tied to eating, but also to culture, politics and spirituality; to the health of our bodies as well as to the health of our planet. You won’t learn how to make fresh pasta watching Bourdain, but you will learn what fresh pasta means in the communities that have raised it to an art form. Come for the food, stay for the revelation.

In his eighth season opener last month, Bourdain visited post-earthquake Haiti. He ate some gnarly-looking chicken stew in a makeshift restaurant, then decided to buy out the inventory and distribute it for free to the hungry people nearby. A riot ensued. It was a painful illustration of how tragedy and hardship can easily break the bonds that food ordinarily cements. Bourdain’s predilection is for stories others might leave behind, or for the unsavory, the offal of food television (not surprisingly, he prefers meals that include giblets, guts and glands).

The most dramatic Bourdain episode took place in Beirut in July, 2006. He and his four-person crew arrived to do a story on the rebirth of the Lebanese capital as a travel and food destination. They enjoyed a great traditional meal of mezze and lamb … and then all hell broke loose.

Soon after Bourdain arrived, Israel invaded Lebanon in what has become known as the Second Lebanon War, an attempt to punish and subdue Hezbollah after a series of cross-border attacks. One moment Bourdain is looking forward to lamb-innard kebabs and tabouli, the next he is bivouacked in his luxury hotel watching Israeli bombs rain down on Hezbollah positions. In an attempt to stop captured Israeli soldiers from being spirited out of the country, or arms from being smuggled in, Israel destroyed the Beirut airport.  That left an increasingly edgy Bourdain waiting for an eventual evacuation via water.

If anyone could make the transition from sybaritic, world-weary chef to seasoned war correspondent, Bourdain could.

He reported on the grim toll he saw the battle take on the Lebanese he knew, as well as on the nerves of the Americans and other tourists witnessing the shock-and-awe up close. It would have been easy for him to lapse into an anti-Israel narrative — after all, Israeli rockets had destroyed his exit route. But during the show and in interviews afterwards, Bourdain kept his balance.

Here is what he told The Washington Post just after the experience: “As it happened, I was standing with a Sunni, Shiite and a Christian when Hezbollah supporters started to fire automatic weapons in the air celebrating the kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers. As a few supporters drove by, the three people I was with all instantaneously took on a look of shame and embarrassment as if a dangerous and unstable little brother had once again brought the whole family into peril.”

Bourdain returned to Beirut last year to see how the city has recovered. He found the food was as good as ever, the city had bounced back, and Hezbollah had become more powerful than in 2006.

“If anything,” he told CNN, “they seem to be the beneficiaries of the conflict.”

One place Bourdain hasn’t been in the Middle East since 2006, or ever, is Israel. He did an episode in Dubai, in which he focused on the plight of the maltreated, deracinated imported laborers, and in Saudi Arabia, where he humanized a culture that exists mostly in monochromatic stereotype, while falling short of giving it a ringing endorsement.

But why not Israel? The comments section of Bourdain-related blogs is peppered with unanswered pleas for an Israel episode.

The country has undergone a food revolution; it is, and has long been, at the crossroads of Middle Eastern cuisine. Israel is home to great chefs, innovative producers, and there’s no lack of moving stories. If you want to examine how food and culture interact, Israel is one of the world’s perfect laboratories.

I assumed Bourdain was keeping his distance out of pique. With a bit of bad luck, he could have been killed in 2006 courtesy of the Israelis. I e-mailed Diane Schutz, the show’s producer,  at Zero Point Zero Productions and asked flat out, “Will Tony go to Israel?”

I expected no answer. But very quickly, by return e-mail, came a yes. Yes, she e-mailed me, it is something they are very much interested in. Not this season, which is in the can, but soon.

Now that will be a food show. Stay tuned.

Go to the Facebook page, Send Anthony Bourdain to Israel.

For a list of Foodaism’s Top Ten Food and Cooking Shows, click here.

Anthony Bourdain: Visit Israel Already Read More »

My single peeps: Yitzy P.

Leave a Comment / My Single Peeps, Singles /

I am married with a kid and living in Los Angeles. Many of my friends are single. They like to complain to me about how hard it is to find someone to love. (I like to complain about how hard it is living with someone you love.) This is my way of trying to get them off of my back. Every week I’ll post a new single peep, or someone new I meet who might be good for one of my peeps. If you’re interested in anyone you see on My Single Peeps, send an e-mail and a picture, including the person’s name in the subject line, to The Jewish Journal at {encode=”mysinglepeeps@jewishjournal.com” title=”mysinglepeeps@jewishjournal.com”}, and we’ll forward it along to your favorite peep.

Yitzy likes to have fun — not the “get a table at a club, pick up skeezy girls, and then do cocaine with some strippers at an after-party” kind of fun — but more like the “travel to new places, try new restaurants, host a party at his place” kind of fun. My kind of fun. I would almost date Yitzy if I were a woman. Almost. The most interesting thing about Yitzy is his ability to learn things quickly. He grew up in an ultra-Orthodox home and missed out on some of the typical social cues most people outside of the Chasidic ghettos learn from a young age. Yet he picks up so quickly on everything that it’s fascinating to watch. When I met him, he was a suit-wearing young Chasid with little experience or secular education. He had never touched a woman. Ten years later, the guy’s turned into a Lothario. And from what I hear, he’s got something in common with Milton Berle — and it’s not comedy. He dresses well — but in fairness, that’s my doing. I’ve probably picked out almost every item of clothing in his closet. He doesn’t care to shop. In fact, he now pays me 20 percent of what I buy to “style” him. I’m not a stylist by trade, but I like clothes, I’m too poor to shop the way I’d like, and whatever I buy for him I can usually steal back a few weeks later without him noticing.

Yitzy’s smart in that type-A business personality kind of way. He loves real estate. He can talk about things that make me want to drive a screwdriver into my ears to drown out the boredom. But he’s driven as hell, and he’s doing well as a result. He likes nice things. He wears an expensive watch. He drives an expensive car. He lives in an expensive building. And whomever he dates, he takes to expensive places. He likes low-key things, as well, but he’s generous with his money and enjoys spending it on people he likes. I took my wife to Catalina on the big boat everyone takes to the island. He rented a helicopter to take his date.

His biggest flaw is his emotional disconnect to some situations. Maybe it’s because of missed social cues, or maybe it’s because he’s so practical that he doesn’t understand why some people get so emotional over things they can’t control, but he’s occasionally out of touch with his feelings. That said, when I point it out to him, he’ll analyze and try to figure out what makes him tick. He likes self-improvement. 

I’d say, because of his background, whomever he dates would have to be Jewish — probably the kind of girl who likes to make Shabbat dinners. She doesn’t need to be extremely religious, but she should like the traditions and want to keep them. Also, she should know that he and I like our “boys’ trips out of town” so that’s part of the package when you get Yitzy. Don’t give him crap about it later.

Seth Menachem is an actor and writer living in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. You can see more of his work on his Web site, sethmenachem.com, and meet even more single peeps at mysinglepeeps.com.

My single peeps: Yitzy P. Read More »