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November 4, 2015

Korean BBQ in Culver City? YES! @HanjipBBQ

Leave a Comment / Travel /

” target=”_blank”>Korean BBQ and travel to K-Town to find it?

Now located in Culver City at 3829 Main street; find happening ” target=”_blank”>Chef Chris Oh and Restaurateur ” target=”_blank”>30 day aged Tomahawk steak was amazing but honestly everything I tried was fantastic.

All the servers were knowledgeable and helped us discover the special tastes on the menu. We loved the prime rib and the brisket. The table next to us loved their shrimp and marinated pork.

Meatatarians, raise your scissors and your glass of Soju: this place is waiting for you!

The walls of art are by ” target=”_blank”>Ugly Fresh.

My dinner companion, ” target=”_blank”>Hanjip from 11:30 a.m. to midnight every day.

3829 Main Street

Culver City, CA 90232

VIDEO: 

This article first published on “>Lisa Niver. She is listed as #14 on  Korean BBQ in Culver City? YES! @HanjipBBQ Read More »

Calendar: November 6-12, 2015

Leave a Comment / What's Happening /

SAT | NOV 7

LENKA LICHTENBERG & FRAY 

Singing in six languages, Lenka Lichtenberg with her band, Fray, moves from expressions of traditional Eastern European and Middle Eastern music to her own contemporary compositions, which combine her European and Jewish roots with North American jazz, Brazilian samba, Indian classical and more. The only child of Holocaust survivors, Lichtenberg escaped the Iron Curtain to make a new life for herself in Canada. 7:30 p.m. $20. Genghis Cohen, 740 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 653-0640. SUN | NOV 8

ISRAEL’S RESPONSE TO ACTS OF TERROR

Micky Rosenfeld, national spokesman to the foreign press for the Israel Police, will discuss the paradox of maintaining vigilance against constant threats while avoiding a climate of fear. He will share Israeli police practices in responding to terrorist attacks and the importance of getting life back to normal after an attack. Rosenfeld is an Israel Defense Forces infantry veteran who also served in Israel’s National Police Counterterrorism Unit for more than a decade. This event is part of the Temple Etz Chaim Men’s Club brunch speaker series and is presented in cooperation with the Anti-Defamation League. 10:30 a.m. $10 (general). $8 (club members). Social Hall at Temple Etz Chaim, 1080 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks. (805) 497-6891. MON | NOV 9 

“THE OTHER WOMAN”

PLAYdate joins 25 theaters, libraries and colleges nationwide in the simultaneous staged reading of the full-length, one-act play “The Other Woman.” It is adapted from five essays appearing in Victoria Zackheim’s best-selling book “The Other Woman: Twenty-one Wives, Lovers and Others Talk Openly About Sex, Deception, Love and Betrayal.” Co-producers Cynthia Comsky and Zackheim (who also directs the play) have engaged artistic directors from a variety of styles across the country. Featuring Cathy Lind Hayes, Aviva Layton, Cerris Morgan-Moyer, Robin Riker and Hillary Rollins. Reading followed by coffee and cake. 7:30 p.m. $12 (general); $10 (members). The Ebell of Los Angeles, 743 S. Lucerne Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 931-1277. ” target=”_blank”>catholicjewishwomenla.org.

WED | NOV 11

“A JUBILEE FOR NOSTRA AETATE”: PART 2 

The second part of this event is the 39th annual all-day Catholic-Jewish Women’s Conference and will focus on the topic “From Estrangement to Sisterhood — Walking Forward Together,” featuring Loyola Marymount University professors Holli Levitsky, chairwoman of the Jewish studies program, and Susan Abraham, assistant professor of theological studies. Lunch and discussion groups will follow. 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. $40. Registration required. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles. (818) 222-5288. THUR | NOV 12

“WHY BE JEWISH?”

In a time when synagogue membership and participation is in a decline, being Jewish may not always be easy, but Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple will tell you why it is worth it. In the first of a three-part lecture series organized by Atid and geared toward ages 21-39, Wolpe will explain to the young Jewishcommunity the importance of embracing Jewish identity. 7:30 p.m. $10 (one session), $18 (all three). Sinai Temple, 10400 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 474-1518. ” target=”_blank”>kol-ami.org. 

CANCELLATION

The event “Navigating the Terrorism Landscape,” featuring Matthew Levitt, Fromer-Wexler fellow and director of The Washington Institute’s Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, originally scheduled for Friday Nov. 6 through Sunday Nov. 8 at Sinai Temple, has been canceled.

Calendar: November 6-12, 2015 Read More »

U.S. officials: Israel wants up to $5 billion in annual military aid

Leave a Comment / Is Featured?, Lead Story, Mobile, Mobile-Homepage, News, United States /

Israel has made an initial request for its annual U.S. defense aid to increase to as much as $5 billion when its current aid package, worth an average $3 billion a year, expires in 2017, U.S. congressional sources said on Wednesday.

Israel wants $5 billion per year in military aid for 10 years, for a total of $50 billion, the congressional aides said. It has been signaling that it wants more money to counter threats it says will arise as a result of the international agreement on Iran's nuclear program, which Israel's government has staunchly opposed.

Congressional and other U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations on the new aid deal were still in the early stages and the proposal is not yet at the stage where it has been formally brought to Congress, which must approve the funds.

“First they have to negotiate with the White House,” one senior congressional aide said ofIsrael.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit Washington for talks with President Barack Obama next week, when the package is likely to be discussed and its broad outlines may be agreed.

Israeli government spokesmen declined to provide details on the defense aid talks.

One U.S. official said the Obama administration was unlikely to fully meet the Israeli request, and predicted the sides would settle for an annual sum of between $4 billion and $5 billion.

Israel has also secured hundreds of millions of dollars in additional U.S. funding for missile defense in recent years.

Netanyahu put the brakes on aid talks with Washington in the run-up to the Iran deal that was reached in July, signaling his displeasure with the negotiations. Before he did so, Israeli and U.S. officials said they were looking at a new aid package worth $3.6 billion to $3.7 billion annually.

Both sides have said that figure could rise after the Iran deal, which will place curbs on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for an easing of sanctions against Tehran.

Israel argues that Tehran's financial windfall from sanctions relief will allow it to increase backing for proxies that are hostile to Israel in Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and elsewhere – a fear Washington says is exaggerated.

U.S. officials: Israel wants up to $5 billion in annual military aid Read More »

NYT ad highlights Rabin’s quest for peace

Leave a Comment / United States /

The S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, launched a new campaign in support of the two-state solution with an ad in The New York Times and other targeted outlets. 

The campaign, “Israel and the Palestinians: One State or Two?,” recalls former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s legacy in military heroism and in fighting for lasting peace and security for Israel and the Jewish people. The ad highlights comments made by Rabin to the Knesset as he introduced the Israeli- Palestinian Interim Agreement. “We chose a Jewish state because we are convinced that a binational state with millions of Palestinian Arabs will not be able to fulfill the Jewish role of the State of Israel, which is the state of the Jews,” Rabin stressed.

The launch coincided with the November 4 20th anniversary of Rabin’s assassination. 

“Israelis, Palestinians, and the international community are all in desperate need of a two-state solution. We know that we can only reach a lasting deal through international and regional cooperation, as well as direct negotiations,” S. Daniel Abraham, chairperson of the Center, said in a statement. “It is because of our love for Israel that we must understand the grave demographic threat to the Jewish, democratic state of Israel and realize that we have a choice to make — one state or two? The time to act is now.”

Former Congressman Robert Wexler, who serves as president of the Center, added: “Here is the inescapable truth – the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state is not a gift to the Palestinians. Rather, a two-state outcome is the only way to ensure a Jewish, democratic and secure state of Israel.”

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry said that while Rabin is gone, “his legacy endures as a challenge and an inspiration to us all. Recent events and violence in the region underscore the urgency of advancing Rabin’s vision: a two-state solution that provides the security for Israelis and Palestinians to live their lives in peace, dignity and prosperity.”

“Today, we honor the memory of a great prime minister, a brave man, a valiant soldier, and a wise leader who understood what was necessary for two peoples to live as neighbors. In his memory, let us recommit to use our words and our actions to advance the cause of peace,” he added.

NYT ad highlights Rabin’s quest for peace Read More »

Bernie Sanders unveils climate change bill

Leave a Comment / United States /

Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders on Wednesday unveiled a climate-change bill that would crack down on fossil fuel extraction, a move sure to please activists who want party front-runner Hillary Clinton to make the same commitment.

Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, wants to halt new leases for fossil fuel extraction on public lands and for offshore drilling in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico. He would prohibit drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean.

Sanders pushed for the proposal at a rally at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, alongside environmental leaders such as Bill McKibben, co-founder of the grassroots climate group 350.org.

The bill, which Sanders introduced with a fellow Democrat, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, will face fierce opposition in the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress and is unlikely to become law. 

But it should help Sanders appeal to environmental activists and could pressure Clinton, who has said that abruptly halting extraction on federal lands would disrupt the U.S. economy.

“You can't talk the talk…and at the same time say we are going to extract,” Sanders said on Wednesday, adding that the U.S. must protect workers as it moves away from fossil fuels.

Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist, has been Clinton's main rival to be the party's nominee for president in the November 2016 elections. 

His liberal stances on the environment, trade and more have pressured Clinton to move to the left on those issues. Still, polls have shown the former U.S. secretary of state appeared to gain ground against Sanders after a strong showing in October.

Climate activists want Clinton to commit to be tougher on environmental issues if she is elected president. 

Clinton told an activist at a New Hampshire town hall in July that it would be irresponsible to abruptly halt oil, natural gas and coal extraction on federal lands. She instead called for phasing it out and increasing fees on companies operating on public lands.

“We still have to run our economy, we still have to turn on the lights,” Clinton said.

Clinton in August opposed Arctic oil exploration, putting her at odds with the Obama administration, which had just given Royal Dutch Shell PLC final approval to resume drilling off the coast of northern Alaska.

Bernie Sanders unveils climate change bill Read More »

Torah portion: Love and loss — two ways about it

Leave a Comment / Judaism, Torah /

Last week, I had a root canal. It turns out that I had a crown that had never been permanently cemented — I only received temporary cement that eventually washed away, allowing bacteria to move in. 

I could not believe I had not gone back to the dentist to have it permanently cemented, until the dentist looked at his notes and told me he had last worked on it in late 2012. Then it made sense — it was just before my dad died, just before I spent most of January 2013 sitting in a hospital waiting room, just before I entered the fog of grief that took months to begin to lift. I’m sure I forgot to do many things in those months following my father’s death; remembering to make a dentist appointment would not have been high on my list.

Even though grief is universal, we all experience it in different ways. Abraham and Isaac each mourn the death of Sarah differently in this week’s Torah portion, Chayei Sarah.

And Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, which is Hebron, in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her. And Abraham arose from before his dead, and he spoke to the Hittites, saying, “I am a stranger and an inhabitant with you. Give me burial property with you, so that I may bury my dead from before me” (Bereshit 23:2-4).

After the initial shock of mourning, Abraham gets practical. He devotes his time to securing an appropriate burial site and negotiating for the land so it would be clear that the land and the cave would be his. The Torah records the details of the transaction: Abraham negotiates, he speaks with the local leader, and he makes sure to pay a fair price so ownership will not be questioned. 

This seems like quite a bit of business for a grieving husband. One might think that he was no longer grieving and was back to business as usual, securing the land that was promised by God. And perhaps this is how Abraham is dealing with his grief. Perhaps dealing with the details of a land transaction, details he could control, was a way for him to cope with the uncontrollable nature of grief. He had no control over Sarah’s death, but he could have complete control in securing her a burial plot.

Grief is messy and uncontrollable, and for some, returning to work — returning to a world where you have some power — is a comfort in itself. Perhaps Abraham just needed some normality in his life again. Returning to work or dealing with practical details like paperwork creates structure and reminds us that we are still among the living. Doing normal, everyday things also can allow us to take a break from the deep sadness and despair that can be overwhelming.

Then there is Isaac. The midrash teaches that Isaac spent his evenings wandering in the fields. Perhaps this was how he dealt with that feeling of being lost — by wandering around as if he were. Perhaps it was the quiet of nature or the stark beauty of the desert landscape that allowed him to find some comfort. He needed time to process his loss. We all grieve at some point, but the process is different for each of us and sometimes we need to be alone with our memories to begin to make sense of what we have lost.

As a part of those nightly wanderings, Isaac also grieved through prayer and meditation. He appears to be searching for something — perhaps even searching for God — taking long walks around Be’er Lachai Ro’i, where Hagar had encountered God. Perhaps after the horror of almost being sacrificed by his father, followed by the death of his mother, Isaac needed to look for God in a different place, a place separate from those in which his father, Abraham, had found God.

It’s also possible that Isaac went into a temporary depression — something common after a death. Midrash teaches that when Sarah died, the cloud that was over her tent left with her and did not return until Rebecca married Isaac and moved in. The cloud represents God’s presence and the sense of wholeness and contentment that Isaac is not able to feel while he is grieving. 

It is not uncommon for grieving people to feel that God has abandoned them, much as the cloud departed from Isaac’s tent. The midrash teaches that it is when Isaac is drawn back into the world of the living — when Rebecca brings back the rituals that Sarah once did, when Isaac begins to participate in life again — that his sense of God’s presence returns:

As long as Sarah lived, there was a blessing on her dough, and the lamp used to burn from the evening of the Sabbath until the evening of the following Sabbath; when she died, these ceased, but when Rebecca came, they returned (Bereshit Rabbah 60:16).

We read Torah over and over, trying to see ourselves in the stories. The different ways that Abraham and Isaac grieve over Sarah are just some of the ways that we may grieve for our own loved ones. 

The Torah normalizes a spectrum of grief, from returning to business as usual as soon as possible to wandering aimlessly for a while. It is not one or the other. Sometimes we grieve like Abraham, sometimes like Isaac — and the hope is that all who are grieving will someday find the same comfort that Isaac did — from friends, family or feeling God’s presence. 

Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik is a rabbi at Temple Ahavat Shalom in Northridge.

Torah portion: Love and loss — two ways about it Read More »

Obituaries: Week of November 6, 2015

Leave a Comment / Obituaries /

Clara Abrahamson died Sept. 22 at 95. Survived by daughter Sondra Rae Schwartz; son Morris Harry Halperin; 3 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Groman Eden

Patricia Asher died Sept. 14 at 92. Survived by daughter Sara (Richard Rae); son Michael (Susan Paradise); 3 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman 

Mendel Asnin died Sept. 24 at 91. Survived by son Michael Ashnin. Mount Sinai

Cecile Bartman died Sept. 29 at 95. Survived by son John (Barbara); daughter Judy Fiskin (John Wiener); 2 grandchildren. Hillside

Annette Blumner died Sept. 19 at 108. Survived by son Sidney (Helene); 2 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Malcolm Brook died Sept. 27 at 89. Survived by wife Joy; daughters Sheri (Michael) Abelson, Andi (Mark) Waks; son Jeff (Teri); 6 grandchildren; brother Melvin. Mount Sinai

Adam Lee Burstein died Sept. 27 at 39. Survived by wife Leah; son Sam; father Richard; mother Irene; brother Matthew (Athena Gavaris); grandmother Pearl Barocas. Groman Eden

Barry Guy Cameron died Sept. 12 at 85. Survived by wife Lois; sons Russell, Daniel, Clark (Marcy); 2 grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman  

Renee Asseo Copes died Sept. 24 at 84. Survived by husband James; daughter Leslie-Anne (Andrew Finke) Copes-Finke; son Steven (Ann Halvorson); 4 grandchildren; sister Diane Grilichs. Mount Sinai

Florence Fajerman died Sept. 26 at 84. Survived by husband Jacob; 1 niece; 1 great-nephew. Hillside

Anita Glickman died Sept. 23 at 84. Survived by daughters Judy (Gerald Zevin) Glickman Zevin, Beth (Ron Morris) Glickman Morris; 6 grandchildren; sister Fern Vivian Taylor. Mount Sinai

Edith Greenspan died Aug. 30 at 87. Survived by nephew Michael (Paula) Berezin; niece Sharon Holman. Mount Sinai

Scott Russell Kassap died Sept. 18 at 55. Survived by daughters Shoshana Kassap, Alyssa Kassap; sister Paula Kassap; mother Eileen Kassap; uncle Paul Kassap. Mount Sinai

H. George Lodwick died Sept. 23 at 72. Survived by wife Lynne Simon-Lodwick; daughter Kim; stepdaughters Ila (James) Davis, Devra (Burton) Busse. Mount Sinai

Helen Lulow died Sept. 22 at 95. Survived by son Jeffrey (Carol); daughters Shelly (Alan), Sandy; 6 grandchildren; 5 great-grandchildren; sister Diana Miller. Hillside

Abraham Milchiker died Sept. 1 at 94. Survived by sons Michael (Rachelle), Benjamin (Marcia); 5 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman 

Stanley Mishook died Sept. 18 at 76. Survived by wife Anita; sons Jacob (Megan), David (Meg); 4 grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Daisy Nemzer died Sept. 12 at 98. Survived by daughter Eileen; sons Sidney (Susana), Kenneth (Marilyn), Daniel (Ani); 9 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild. Malinow and Silverman

Leatrice Osofsky died Sept. 16 at 89. Survived by daughter Susan; son Samuel; 3 grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

Leona Raymond died Sept. 24 at 88. Survived by son Paul (Christine); daughters Susan, Pat; 3 grandchildren. Hillside

Theodore Rosenbaum died Sept. 15 at 97. Survived by wife Beth; daughters Lisa, Amy; 3 grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman

David Rothfeder died Sept. 14 at 30. Survived by father Howard (Suzy); mother Joyce Birnkrant; 1 grandmother. Malinow and Silverman 

Sheila C. Ruby died Sept. 29 at 104. Survived by cousins Yehuda (Candi) Riess, Sam (Erika) Maizel, Tia (John) Girrard. Mount Sinai

Ai Shay died Sept. 23 at 92. Survived by sons Allen (Kirsten Hansen), Jun Oizumi; daughter Anna; 2 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Hillside

Frances Scherr died Sept. 21 at 97. Survived by daughters Marilyn (Martin) Kirschen, Carolyn (Louis) Friedkin, Annette; 5 grandchildren; brother Michael (Sandy) Laks. Mount Sinai

Zita Shatzberg died Sept. 28 at 100. Survived by daughters Janet (Michael) Kadin, Susan (Martin) Washton; 5 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren. Hillside

Allan Sheinin died Sept. 30 at 73. Survived by wife Helene; daughters Marshii (Tim) Degrasse, Emi (Brady) Krueges, Erin (Graham) Higton; son Joshua (Ammecy) Smalar; stepdaughter Erin Coull; stepson Greg (Tiffani) Coull; 6 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Marjorie Spector died Sept. 26 at 92. Survived by daughters Marybeth Lawson, Nancy (William) Cormack; 3 grandchildren. Mount Sinai

Edith Steelman died Sept. 23 at 98. Survived by niece Mady Holmes; nephew Andrew Jamison. Hillside

Hilda Stein died Sept. 25 at 97. Survived by sons Ronald (Ellen), Gary; 3 grandchildren. Groman Eden

Sergee Summer died Sept. 4 at 96. Survived by daughters Alison (Larry Scheindlin) Mayersohn, Nicki (Mark Hallert) Scully; 3 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; brother Jim (Jamie) Fellows. Malinow and Silverman 

David Swerdlow died Sept. 28 at 94. Survived by daughters Marsha (Steve) Senft, Cathy (Ken) Unthank; 3 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild. Mount Sinai

Joan Tassopulos died Sept. 16 at 81. Survived by daughter Andrea. Mount Sinai

Marilyn Weiner died Sept. 21 at 79. Survived by sons Scott, Glenn; brother Jack Britel; sister Rita Duda. Mount Sinai

Dorothy Young died Sept. 12 at 95. Survived by daughter Marsha; son Steven (Trudi); 2 grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman  

Sander Zuckerman died Sept. 27 at 94. Survived by daughter Karey (Godfrey Rowland); sons Joseph, Daniel; 9 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild; brother Robert (Carol). Hillside

Obituaries: Week of November 6, 2015 Read More »

Thomas Blatt, Sobibor escapee and author, 88

Leave a Comment / Obituaries /

Thomas Blatt, one of the few Jews to escape the Nazis’ Sobibor death camp and a key witness against camp guard John Demjanjuk, has died.

Blatt, who escaped Sobibor in a group uprising in 1943, died Oct. 31 at his home in Santa Barbara, the Associated Press (AP) reported. He was 88.

Blatt was born in 1927 Izbica, a largely Jewish and Yiddish-speaking Polish town, and was imprisoned in the ghetto with his family and the town’s other Jews before being taken to Sobibor in 1943. His parents and younger brother were murdered upon arrival at the camp. 

Six months after arriving at Sobibor, Blatt was one of more than 300 prisoners to participate in the uprising, during which many Nazis were killed. Blatt, who was 16 at the time, was among approximately 60 escapees to survive the war, however. The others were caught and brought back to the Polish camp or killed on the spot.

Blatt immigrated to Israel after the war and to the United States a year later, where he ran three electronics stores in the Santa Barbara area. He gave frequent talks about the Holocaust and authored two books about Sobibor.

In a 2010 interview with the AP, Blatt said he still experienced nightmares and depression related to his Holocaust experiences.

“I never escaped from Sobibor. I’m still there — in my dreams, in everything,” Blatt said. “My point of reference is always Sobibor.”

But a friend from Warsaw, Alan Heath, told the AP that while Blatt had suffered from nightmares and depression, he never harbored feelings of revenge.

“Despite what had happened to his family,” Heath said, “he constantly repeated that one should not hate, and he certainly bore no malice toward Germans — and urged others to do the same.”

Demjanjuk died in 2012 while he was awaiting an appeal of his conviction the previous year by a Munich court for his role in the murder of 27,900 people at Sobibor.

Blatt is survived by three children, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara will pay tribute to Blatt as part of its annual commemoration of Kristallnacht on Nov. 8. The program begins at 1 p.m. at the Bronfman Family Jewish Community Center in Santa Barbara. 

Thomas Blatt, Sobibor escapee and author, 88 Read More »

Hedy Patricia Flesh, Holocaust survivor and businesswoman, 94

Leave a Comment / Obituaries /

Hedy Patricia Flesh of Los Angeles passed away Sept. 18 at 94. She is survived by her children, George Flesh of West Newton, Mass., Nancy Brundige of Los Angeles and Arlene Flesh of Los Angeles; and her grandchildren David, Emily, Joseph, Jacob, Hanna, Sara, Simon and Benjamin. 

She brought her extended family together nearly every Shabbat.

Hedy was born into the Pasternak family of Tallya, a small town in the wine country of northeastern Hungary, where her father, Simon, owned and operated the town flourmill. The family was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944, Hedy surviving her incarceration there as well as at Landsberg concentration camp in Germany. On several occasions, she risked her life to save other camp inmates, including her mother, Anna. Liberated by the 12th Armored Division of the U.S. Army in 1945, she was miraculously reunited with her entire immediate family back in Hungary.  

Hedy married Laszlo Flesh in 1946 and they immigrated to the United States the following year, eventually settling in Hawthorne, Calif.  Laszlo became a successful entrepreneur, and in 1956, the couple assisted the remaining Pasternak family members in leaving Hungary for the U.S. This included Hedy’s father and mother, as well as her sister Clara Pasternak Kraus, and brother Alfred Pasternak, both of Los Angeles.  

When her husband passed away in 1966, Hedy took over the running of his businesses, eventually moving her family to Brentwood, where she lived until her death. She married Rabbi Mika Weiss of Temple B’nai Hayim in Sherman Oaks in 1987 and was a supporter of many Jewish charitable organizations in the U.S. and Israel. Rabbi Weiss died in 2001.

Donations can be made in Hedy’s name to Shelters for Israel or to the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. 

Hedy Patricia Flesh, Holocaust survivor and businesswoman, 94 Read More »

San Diego police surround ‘contained’ gunman, flights affected

Leave a Comment / California /

San Diego police SWAT team members surrounded an apartment on Wednesday where they said a man armed with a high-powered rifle was “contained” after shooting at officers responding to a domestic incident, police and local media said.

San Diego International Airport nearby put a hold on all arriving flights while the situation unfolded at a home in the Bankers Hill neighborhood, directly east of its runways.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

“We have him contained … The officers were able to safely retreat and set up a perimeter around the apartment,” San Diego Police Department spokesman Lieutenant Scott Wahl told reporters at the scene in footage broadcast by CNN.

Local residents were asked not to leave their homes, police said, and two schools in the area were placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure.

Police said officers were fired upon as they responded to a report of a domestic violence disturbance shortly after 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The gunman fired sporadically thereafter, they said.

Local media at the scene said officers were later trying to use teargas to flush out the suspect.

The San Diego Union Tribune newspaper quoted an airport official as saying that arriving flights had been affected because they have to pass over the apartment complex in question in order to land. Departing flights take off in the opposite direction, the official said, and so were unaffected.

San Diego police surround ‘contained’ gunman, flights affected Read More »