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Jewish Journal

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July 29, 2015

Actor Jonathan Silverman: A lover, a joker, an online minister

Leave a Comment / Hollywood /

It’s been almost 30 years since his breakout role in the movie version of Neil Simon’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” but Jonathan Silverman is still boyish-looking enough to need his temples grayed for his latest role in the CW sitcom “Significant Mother” in order to look his character’s age.

In the series, Silverman, who turns 49 on Aug. 5, plays an unfaithful husband who discovers that his estranged wife is dating their 25-year-old son’s much-younger best friend, and he turns on the chivalry and charm in an effort to win her back.

“When I read the script, I thought it was smart and edgy and funny, and I couldn’t wait to attack this character, Harrison Marlowe,” Silverman said, though he admits it’s a bit daunting to do scenes with 30-year-old Josh Zuckerman, who plays his son, and to “have to get into dad mode.”

Silverman, who shot the sex-centric series in Portland, Ore., considers it “a bit risqué for a CW comedy, but I hope it finds an audience.” He also got to direct the sixth episode, which is something he hopes to do more in his career. “It’s something I’ve always thought about, fantasized about. It’s definitely the most challenging aspect of the industry I’ve been involved with,” Silverman said.

With a resumé heavy on comedy, Silverman has racked up credits in movies such as “Weekend at Bernie’s” and in series including “Gimme a Break!” and “The Single Guy.” He recently completed filming the romantic comedy “Baby, Baby, Baby” and holiday fantasy “A Christmas Miracle,” and currently is shooting the HBO comedy series “Getting On,” in which he plays a doctor in a psychiatric ward.

When the Los Angeles native and Beverly Hills High School graduate decided to become an actor, he broke with a family tradition: His father is a rabbi, as was his grandfather.

Silverman grew up in Westwood, a block from Sinai Temple, where his father, Hillel, presided over the congregation from 1964 to1980. Now 91, Hillel was subsequently associated with synagogues in Greenwich, Conn., La Jolla and Vista, Calif., where he still conducts services.

Actor Jonathan Silverman: A lover, a joker, an online minister Read More »

Israel complains it hasn’t gotten promised Iran deal info

Leave a Comment / Israel, Mobile-Homepage /

Israel’s national security adviser said Israel had yet to receive all the annexes to the Iran nuclear agreement, but the Obama administration insists the whole deal is a matter of public record.

A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the National Security Council’s chairman, Yossi Cohen, briefed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on various issues on Wednesday.

“He noted that contrary to assurances, the State of Israel has yet to receive all of the annexes to the agreement that was signed between Iran and the major powers,” the statement said.

Asked about the statement, a senior administration official emailed JTA a link to the agreement with all five of its annexes.

“There are five annexes to the JCPOA, all of which are available here,” said the official, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reached July 14 between Iran and six world powers.

Netanyahu’s government opposes the plan, saying that it endangers Israel, and is urging Congress to kill it. President Barack Obama has said he will veto any congressional bid to kill the plan.

Cohen may be referring to separate agreements between Iran and the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to bring U.N. inspectors up to date on past Iranian nuclear activity.

The Obama administration said that the United States has not been privy to that agreement.

Eric Schultz, a White House spokesman, at a briefing Wednesday with reporters pushed back against complaints from Congress about the lack of information about the IAEA-Iran agreement.

“There is an arrangement specifically between the IAEA and other states that are confidential documents that the IAEA does not release,” Schultz said.

Israel complains it hasn’t gotten promised Iran deal info Read More »

With Special Olympics underway, L.A. Jews rally behind Israel

Leave a Comment / Los Angeles /

Stevie Wonder performed a song, late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel told jokes and First Lady Michelle Obama gave a passionate and inspiring speech. But on the evening of July 25, the A-list celebrities gladly ceded the spotlight to thousands of athletes with intellectual disabilities from around the world.

Paula Abdul walked out with the Israeli team during the opening ceremony. Photo by Steve Teitelbaum

It was the opening ceremony for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where a sizeable Jewish and Israeli presence was felt despite the event’s intersection with Shabbat. Volunteers, host families, parents and supporters waved flags, clapped and cheered on Israel’s 40-athlete delegation, which competes in eight different events including basketball, bowling and tennis.  

As the athletes walked onto the field, cameras flashed and the crowd roared. Each athlete’s smile was bigger than the next, and the sheer joy of the participants was reflected in the stands. After the torch was finally lit and the ceremony was capped with a fireworks spectacle, the delegations lingered in the stadium, hugging each other and beaming with the energy of an unforgettable night. 

Priscilla Picard was a volunteer in the center of the stadium during the ceremony. Working as a guest host and escort for Loretta Claiborne, a former Special Olympics champion in bowling and track and field and a current member of the Special Olympics international board of directors, she was in charge of directing VIPs to their seats. She said seeing all the athletes’ faces light up was an incredible experience. 

“It was really exciting,” Picard said. “It was so rewarding to see the teams dancing and singing and clapping. The energy was just amazing.”

Picard, who also serves on the board of directors for the Southern California branch of Autism Speaks, started volunteering with Special Olympics when her son, Zach, who has autism, started participating in the games. She has personal experience with the Jewish community’s capacity for hospitality through her son’s involvement with youth programs at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, and she said she expects that support will extend to attending World Games competitions. 

“It’s important for people to see that these athletes can do so much and see how courageous they are in everything they do,” she said. “They’re here, jetlagged, competing in a foreign country, with a different language in some cases, and we want people to see their courage and accept them.”

Yaara Segal attended the ceremony, donning a Special Olympics Israel baseball cap with several small Israeli flags stuffed in the back through her ponytail. She cheered loudly as the Israeli delegation was announced during the parade of nations. 

A public diplomacy officer for the Consulate General of Israel, she said the opening ceremony was a great moment for her, both personally and professionally. 

“I’m here to be excited with the team and everyone else and to see the things we have been working toward for the past few years come to life,” she said. “The Israeli community is very excited.

As an Israeli who lives in L.A., Segal said she knows the culture shock can be jarring, and she understands just how important it is to welcome the Israeli delegation with open arms.

“This is such special event, and I think it’s really important for our team to see they have a lot of support even when they are away from home,” she said. “They need to feel the home away from home. Everybody needs support and we try to give as much as we can.”

One such local effort came from Jamie and Chuck Meyer, who hosted a welcoming party on July 22 for the Israeli delegation at their home in Bel Air. Roughly 250 guests spent the afternoon in the Meyers’ backyard, playing carnival games, eating pizza and meeting the athletes and staff from the Israeli delegation. 

A host of celebrities were present, including actor Tom Arnold and several former NBA players, including UCLA alum Baron Davis, Northridge natives Jason and Jarron Collins and UCLA basketball national champion Michael Warren. Bobby Shriver, brother of Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver and son of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver, also was in attendance. 

Israeli Special Olympian Lin Kornhauser, 27, gets ready to bowl on July 27. Photo by Nancy Strogoff

Barry and Marlene Horowitz, who attended the opening ceremony in matching Special Olympics T-shirts, decided to support the Israeli athletes by offering their home to the patrents of one of the Israeli athletes, 19-year-old Noa Attali. This is their first involvement with the Special Olympics community — they decided to help after receiving a phone call from a friend looking for people to help host families. The couple attended the opening ceremony in the spirit of fully committing to the mitzvah. 

“We decided rather than doing the minimum, which is just to host them, we decided we wanted to come as well,” Barry said. “We will probably go to one or two days of events and also give them a tour of L.A.”

“It’s very meaningful to show them the strength of Jewish Los Angeles,” Marlene added. “That is important to us.”

Marlene said she felt particularly inspired to volunteer with Special Olympics because she has seen the work of her friends who work in special education. 

“They do so many amazing things, and they raise those kids’ expectations to the highest, and those kids accomplish so much,” she said. “It’s very beautiful.” 

With Special Olympics underway, L.A. Jews rally behind Israel Read More »

Top U.S. general says Iran deal lowers near-term atomic arms risk

Leave a Comment / United States /

The top U.S. military officer supported a proposed nuclear deal with Iran on Wednesday, saying it reduced the risk of Tehran developing atomic arms while buying time to work with allies to confront the Islamic Republic over other “malign activities.”

Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate hearing he had advised the White House to keep sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program and arms trafficking for “as long as possible.”

The deal between Iran and the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France would lift the ban on ballistic missile technology for eight years and retain an arms embargo for five.

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee asked Dempsey how he squared his backing for the deal with his statement to the panel earlier this month that “under no circumstances” should pressure be eased on Iran over ballistic missiles and arms trafficking.

“My recommendation was to keep pressure on Iran on the other malign activities for as long as possible,” Dempsey told the panel. “I will say that I think time works for us as well as Iran … and so with the agreement made and having the opportunity to give my advice, I support it.”

Dempsey appeared alongside Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Secretary of State John Kerry, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to discuss the military implications of the deal.

Iran agreed to stop producing highly enriched uranium and submit to U.N. inspections in exchange for an end to international economic sanctions.

The deal would free up $50 billion to $60 billion in Iranian funds frozen in bank accounts in other countries, Lew said.

He said Tehran needed much of that money as foreign reserves to settle purchases made in other countries and it would be “highly exaggerated” to think it all could be used to support militant groups and other “malign purposes” in the Middle East.

Iran supports Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthi rebels in regional conflicts against U.S. partners such as Israel and Yemen.

“There is clearly the opportunity for Iran to use some of the revenue that they gain for malign purposes, and that bears watching and collaboration with our regional partners, including Israel,” Dempsey told the hearing.

He said the deal would reduce the near-term risk of Tehran acquiring nuclear arms but increase the need to strengthen collaboration with partners in the Middle East.

Top U.S. general says Iran deal lowers near-term atomic arms risk Read More »

Poll: Trump leads Republican presidential race with 25 percent

Leave a Comment / United States /

Billionaire Donald Trump has taken a commanding lead in the race for the 2016 U.S. Republican presidential nomination with the support of 25 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, giving him a double-digit advantage over nearest rival Jeb Bush.

The poll shows Bush, the former Florida governor, trailing at 12 percent.

It is a huge jump for Trump, who announced his candidacy for the November 2016 election six weeks ago – and this despite the criticism political rivals leveled at him for remarks this month belittling the military service of Senator John McCain, the party's candidate in 2008.

The five-day rolling online poll had Trump at 15 percent among Republicans on Friday before he rocketed to 24.9 percent on Tuesday.

Trump, a 69-year-old real estate mogul and reality TV star, seems to be certain to take the stage at next week's Fox News debate, which will use national polls to determine which 10 of the 17 Republican candidates in the field can participate.

Reuters/Ipsos polling also shows that should Trump mount an independent bid next year and run in a three-way race, he will likely drain support from the Republican nominee and allow the Democrat to cruise to victory.

Trump has refused to rule out an independent run should he fail to secure the Republican nomination.

In a matchup with Democratic Party front-runner Hillary Clinton and Bush, Trump would tie Bush at about 23 percent among likely voters, with Clinton winning the White House with 37 percent of the vote.

About 15 percent of those polled said they were undecided or would not vote.

The five-day rolling poll was based on a survey of 425 Republicans and has a credibility interval of plus or minus 5.5 percentage points. The three-way race poll, taken at the same time, used a sample of 1,280 Americans and has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

 

The full results of Reuters/Ipsos rolling Republican presidential poll can be found here.

Poll: Trump leads Republican presidential race with 25 percent Read More »

A fresh start in Running Springs

Leave a Comment / Culture /

On a recent day in the San Bernardino Mountains, hundreds of Jewish children and counselors were running around and having fun on 70 acres of gorgeous wooded campground. They played football, tennis and kickball, swam in a clear, blue pool and climbed a 44-foot rock wall. 

Ten months ago, when the religious Zionist youth group Bnei Akiva of Los Angeles bought this property in Running Springs for $7.1 million, this scene at the newly inaugurated David Oved Retreat Center was nearly unimaginable. As recently as September 2014, the grounds were virtually desolate: Weeds overran the tennis and basketball courts; the large swimming pool next to the site’s majestic lodge was empty and filled with cracks, and a coat of dust covered floors and mattresses. Bnei Akiva had only eight months to restore the campground before its announced launch in summer 2015.

But $2.5 million worth of renovations and repairs later, the site is the new home of Moshava Malibu, which opened in 2013 on the property of the Shalom Institute’s Camp JCA Shalom in Malibu. This summer, about 200 campers will be in Running Springs during any given week — some for two-week sessions, others for four weeks. Most come from Southern California, but there also are some from the San Francisco Bay Area, Vancouver, New York, even Mexico City and Israel.

Bnei Akiva’s newly hired executive director, Menachem Hecht, pointed out some of the Modern Orthodox camp’s new additions during a recent tour. These include about 20 horses, a petting zoo with goats and chicks, a 350-foot zip line and an archery range. Near the pool, which measures 60-by-30 feet, groups of teenage boys were on the adjacent concrete taking lessons from the camp’s lifeguards on CPR, choking, heat stroke and first-aid response. (One of the lifeguards had his kids singing the Bee Gees hit “Stayin’ Alive” as kids practiced basic CPR.)

Inside the main lodge, Rabbi Aaron Bayer, a scholar-in-residence visiting for the summer from Efrat, Israel, was busy studying Jewish texts with a few members of the camp’s beit midrash, which has four men and four women who learn and teach classes primarily centered around Jewish law and the modern State of Israel. They also focus on the stories and lessons of Samuel I, which is about the first Jewish commonwealth. 

Each of Bayer’s students teaches two 40-minute classes every day to the campers. “It’s about engaging campers in creating a vibrant, thoughtful and strong religious Zionist identity,” Bayer said.

Before Shabbat, which Hecht said is the camp’s weekly highlight, all the campers clean their bunks, put on matching white tops with blue bottoms, and come together for a camp-wide Kabbalat Shabbat service, dinner, singing and dancing.

The camp offers a four-week program for campers entering fourth through ninth grade that costs $4,100. A two-week program for campers entering third through fourth grade costs $1,900, and a four-week program for incoming high school sophomores is $4,400. But with various discounts and a scholarship budget of at least $100,000, Bnei Akiva can attract families who can’t afford full price, Hecht said.

“We don’t want to turn anyone away because of financial constraints,” he said.

When summer ends, the site will be used as a community retreat center that schools, synagogues and other groups can rent for things like weekend getaways, conferences and scholars-in-residence events. 

Hecht said more improvements to the site are on the way. He said the camp still plans to build a baseball field and is in the process of getting county permits for its kitchen. (For now, its chefs are using the kitchens at the nearby Snow Valley Mountain Resort to prepare kosher food, which is then driven to the camp.)

The site’s previous owner, Chabad of California, lost the site in 2011 after six years following its default on a loan from Pacific Mercantile Bank. Before Chabad purchased the site, it was owned by CEDU Educational Services, a company that operated boarding schools for troubled teenagers throughout the Western United States. CEDU was accused on multiple occasions of misconduct, neglect and abuse, including at its Running Springs site.

Bnei Akiva’s purchase of the site from Pacific Mercantile Bank last September was hardly a given. Other bidders were competing for the site and Bnei Akiva’s annual budget was only about $500,000 until it decided last summer to launch a $10 million fundraising campaign to purchase the campground.

Hecht said the main challenge for the camp is that it has “grown so quickly” in under a year — from a run-down site in need of millions of dollars in repairs to a modern camp with hundreds of children.

“It’s basically just been a sprint. I’m looking forward to going from startup to established,” Hecht said. “We’ll get there.” 

A fresh start in Running Springs Read More »

NBA player Omri Casspi says Adelson-funded Israel trip not about politics

Leave a Comment / Culture, Sports /

Although it might seem like a nice off-season vacation shared by Israel’s first NBA player, Omri Casspi, forward for the Sacramento Kings, with his teammates, the funding for the Israel trip was generously provided by casino tycoon and Republican super donor Sheldon Adelson, and that has caused some to suspect political motives.

Perhaps it is Birthright for Basketball, or simply Casspi’s desire to show his fellow teammates that Israel can be a fun, relaxing place, free from fears of terrorism and the enduring conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

Joining Casspi on a private jet were teammates DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Caron Butler, along with former team members Tyreke Evans, and Chandler Parsons. On the agenda were trips to the Dead Sea, Yad Vashem, the Western Wall, a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a basketball clinic for Israeli and Palestinian youth.

Sheldon Adelson, who helps fund the Birthright program, as well as Republican political candidates, is now also funding efforts to combat the BDS–the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement that intends to cripple Israel financially as a penalty for an impasse in the peace process with the Palestinians.

The fact that Adelson is bankrolling the trip is being taken as a sign that the main motive for Casspi’s trip was anti-BDS PR, but Casspi insists the motive was simply to show his fellow players his home. The forward who joined the Kings in 2009 said, “I always tell my teammates, ‘Come see my part of the world.’ I go to your house when we go to Washington. Come meet my parents, my brother, my sister. It is literally as simple as that. On CNN, all you see is war. My thought is, come and see for yourself. Sheldon … is a Republican. [Barack Obama] is a Democrat. Good, bad, whatever. It doesn’t matter. We have to work on our relationships.”

An objection to funding by right wing Adelson may be balanced by the fact that Casspi has run basketball clinics at a camp run by the Peres Center for Peace. The camp hosts Israeli and Palestinian kids and focuses on building tolerance and faith in co-existence through cooperation in sports.

“We’ll have DeMarcus play with a kid from Jerusalem, a kid from Gaza. That’s something that’s never been done before. These guys being here, seeing how beautiful it is, and nothing about politics,” Casspi insists.

NBA player Omri Casspi says Adelson-funded Israel trip not about politics Read More »

Fashion design sketchbook shows less isn’t always more

Leave a Comment / Culture /

It’s not exactly news that when young girls watch Disney movies or play with Barbie dolls, they’re being exposed to hyper-unrealistic images of women. In mainstream media, females are typically scantily clad, have idealized proportions and are wearing heavy makeup.

Author and illustrator Yocheved Nadell wanted to provide an alternative to these images, so she created “Adina: My Design Sketchbook,” a book that features drawings of girls wearing modest clothing. 

“It’s designed to empower girls to see that dressing modestly can be really cool, full of color, personality, individuality and, most importantly, expressive of their own style,” said Nadell, who studied clothing design in Los Angeles. “In ‘Adina,’ the girls are dressed modestly and the proportions of the figures are realistic proportions. They are really cute figures and the girls love them. My goal was to stay away from the highly exaggerated proportions I have seen in other books.”

The seven sections of the book contain drawings of girls with identifiably Jewish names: Aliza, Rina, Rivka, Nava, Yael, Noa and Shiri. As narrator of the book, Adina teaches readers fashion skills like shading faces, shirts and skirts; drawing denim, patterns and lace; and coloring. Readers also can accessorize the girls’ outfits using stickers of purses, glasses, jewelry, bows and hats. 

“The book is really a blank canvas, which real-ly enables each girl to interact at her level,” Nadell said. “There are lots of tips and ideas throughout the book to help the girls achieve their own designs that they can feel really proud of. I hear from mothers that they didn’t think their daughters could draw and design, but the ‘Adina’ book really breaks the steps of drawing and design down for them so each can achieve success.”

The suggested reading age for “Adina” is “8 to 100” — Nadell said people at different stages of their lives interact with the book in various ways. “The younger kids interact with it on a much simpler level. They enjoy the stickers and coloring in the models. They can start to follow the tutorial on a simple level. The older kids, each according to their own level, can follow the tutorials and learn real design and illustration skills.” 

Nadell also has a website, adinasdesigns.com, which includes video tutorials that supplement the book. She also has a Pinterest account showing images of Adina at various places, such as the Western Wall, by the Jerusalem light rail and in front of a bonfire for Lag b’Omer. 

Nadell, who has lived in Israel for 11 years, was raised in Orange County. She attended Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and studied clothing design and illustration at what is now Otis College of Art and Design. She then worked for a few years in the clothing design industry but took a break to raise her children. Now that her youngest is in school, she’s working again. 

Although “Adina” is Nadell’s first book, she said it won’t be her last. “I hope to turn this into a series of books. Each book will feature new tutorials and focus on teaching new design and illustration skills. Baruch HaShem, the response to ‘Adina’ has been just amazing. So I am working on getting the next book in the series out as fast as I can.”

Several Los Angeles-area parents said they appreciate how the book portrays girls to their daughters. Cindy Topol, who has five daughters, said that normally in children’s books, “The styles and the fashions aren’t geared toward a frum girl. … With ‘Adina,’ the kids can design their own outfits and patterns and still adhere to the guidelines of the modest dress code.”

Jonathan Myron, who has a 9-year-old daughter, said the book “reinforces self-respect. It shows nice designs and dispels the whole concept that modest dress is frumpy. It’s all very stylish.” 

Instead of sending the message that girls should wear short skirts and tight clothing, “Adina” teaches that dressing modestly is a good thing, and not in an overbearing way, Myron said. “It’s all done in a way that children want to engage with. My daughter sits there and designs little outfits that happen to be very attractive and modest at the same time. It puts dressing modestly in a very positive light.”

Fashion design sketchbook shows less isn’t always more Read More »

Let my people go (to Dodger Stadium’s new kosher hot dog stand)!

Leave a Comment / Culture, Is Featured?, Mobile, Sports /

The Red Sox have done it. The Yankees have done it. Even the Kansas City Royals have gone kosher. 

Now — finally — Los Angeles baseball fans can enjoy a glatt kosher dog. 

Jeff’s Gourmet Sausage Factory began offering a decidedly Jewish twist to the Dodgers’ traditional ballpark menu July 28, when it set up shop and began selling specialty items like jalapeno dogs and sweet Italian sausage with grilled onions and peppers. It will continue for 14 more games this season, including tonight’s.

WATCH: Do people prefer Jeff's Gourmet Sausage over Dodger Dogs? Story continues after video.

A native Angeleno, sausage master Jeff Rohatiner said he is excited to now serve fellow Dodgers fans with some consistency, after only doing so on occasion in the past.

“I hope that the option of kosher food will allow more Jews to fully appreciate the American pastime without worrying about any extra preparations,” he said. 

The stand is located in the right field plaza next to Tommy Lasorda’s Italian Trattoria. If it proves to be a hit — or, Rohatiner hopes, a home run — the menu options could expand in the future. 

Rohatiner had seen the need all the way from his restaurant in Pico-Robertson.

“Dodger fans regularly stop in to Jeff’s before a game and bring our food to the stadium, even if they have to eat it cold,” Rohatiner said. “Now they can have the pleasure of a fresh-cooked kosher dog at their seats.” 

Hebrew National hot dogs are served at Dodger Stadium, but for more observant Jews, the dogs still don’t cut the mustard. With Jeff’s grand opening, the Jewish community no longer has to worry about mixed facilities and the possibility of non-kosher buns.  

This culinary development makes sense for a team that currently has a Jewish player in center field, Joc Pederson, and other members of the tribe in the front office — President and CEO Stan Kasten and president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman. 

Fans have repeatedly lobbied for kosher food options at the stadium, but logistics have made it difficult. Michael Berenbaum, professor of Jewish studies and director of the Sigi Ziering Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Ethics at American Jewish University, has been a strong advocate for bringing kosher dogs to Chavez Ravine, and he visited the Jeff’s stand on its opening night.  

“It was inconceivable to me that the second largest Jewish community in America does not have a kosher dog stand,” Berenbaum said. “It felt absolutely terrific to have a hot dog with all the trimmings.” 

The Lou Barak Memorial Kosher Hot Dog Committee joined in the rejoicing. Named after group founder Paul Cunningham’s late father-in-law, the committee is made up of multiple professionals who have continuously fought for selling kosher hot dogs. 

“After wandering through the concession stands for years at Dodger Stadium, our people can finally eat,” Stuart Tochner, president-elect of the committee, wrote in an email to the Journal. “Given the Jewish fan base in L.A., we knew this day would eventually come. Let’s just say Sandy Koufax had an easier time pitching four no-hitters.”

Jewish and non-Jewish fans alike can enjoy these sausages at every home game except for those that fall on Shabbat and holidays. These dates include July 29; Aug. 2, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 30 and 31; and Sept. 1, 2, 20, 21 and 24.

Let my people go (to Dodger Stadium’s new kosher hot dog stand)! Read More »

Jews stood up to the U.S. government 40 years ago, and should again on Iran

Leave a Comment / Opinion /

These days, like many Israelis and American Jews, I find myself in a precarious and painful situation. Those of us who believe that the nuclear agreement just signed between world powers and Iran is dangerously misguided are now compelled to criticize Israel’s best friend and ally, the government of the United States. In standing up for what we think is right, for both our people and the world, we find ourselves at odds with the power best able to protect us and promote stability. And instead of joining the hopeful chorus of those who believe peace is on the horizon, we must risk giving the impression that we somehow prefer war.

As difficult as this situation is, however, it is not unprecedented. Jews have been here before, 40 years ago, at a historic juncture no less frightening or fateful than today’s.

In the early 1970s, Republican President Richard Nixon inaugurated his policy of detente with the Soviet Union with an extremely ambitious aim: to end the Cold War by normalizing relations between the two superpowers.

Among the obstacles Nixon faced was the USSR’s refusal to allow on-site inspections of its weapons facilities. Moscow did not want to give up its main advantage, a closed political system that prevented information and people from escaping and prevented prying eyes from looking in.

Yet the Soviet Union, with its very rigid and atrophied economy, badly needed cooperation with the free world, which Nixon was prepared to offer. The problem was that he was not prepared to demand nearly enough from Moscow in return. And so as Nixon moved to grant the Soviet Union most-favored-nation status, and with it the same trade benefits as U.S. allies, Democratic Sen. Henry Jackson of Washington proposed what became a historic amendment, conditioning the removal of sanctions on the Soviet Union’s allowing free emigration for its citizens.

By that time, tens of thousands of Soviet Jews had asked permission to leave for Israel. Jackson’s amendment sought not only to help these people but also and more fundamentally to change the character of detente, linking improved economic relations to behavioral change by the USSR. Without the free movement of people, the senator insisted, there should be no free movement of goods.

The Republican administration in the White House objected furiously. It also claimed that by improving relations with Moscow it would be better able to protect us personally and to ensure that some Jews could emigrate each year. This put Jewish activists inside the USSR in a difficult position. We feared opposing our greatest benefactor, yet we wanted freedom for all Soviet Jews, and we believed that would result only from unrelenting pressure to bring down the Iron Curtain. This is why, despite the clear risks and KGB threats, we chose to publicly support the amendment.

American Jewish organizations also faced a difficult choice. They were reluctant to speak out against the U.S. government and appear to put the “narrow” Jewish interest above the cause of peace. Yet they also realized that the freedom of all Soviet Jews was at stake, and they actively supported the policy of linkage.

Now all that was needed for the amendment to become law was enough principled congressional Republicans willing to take a stand against their own party in the White House. It was a Republican senator from New York, Jacob Javits, who, spurred by a sense of responsibility for the Jewish future, helped put together the bipartisan group that ensured passage.

Later, when Javits traveled to Moscow as part of a delegation of U.S. senators, he met with a group of Jewish refuseniks and asked us whether the policy of linkage truly helped our cause. Although we knew that we were speaking directly into KGB listening devices, all 14 of us confirmed that Jackson’s amendment was our only hope.

The Soviet authorities were infuriated by the law and did everything in their power to prove that the Americans had made a mistake. Jewish emigration was virtually halted, and the repression of Jewish activists increased. In 1977, I was arrested and accused of high treason, allegedly as a spy for the CIA; in the indictment, Jackson was listed as my main accomplice. Yet far from discouraging me or discrediting the senator, the many mentions of his name in my sentence gave me hope — hope that the free world would not permit Soviet dictators to continue denying their citizens basic rights and that in the end our cause would be victorious.

Natan Sharansky, a human rights activist and former political prisoner in the Soviet Union, is chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Jews stood up to the U.S. government 40 years ago, and should again on Iran Read More »