I tried to leave the Hotel room without making any noise at 6:40 Tuesday morning. Nevertheless, my husband called out, “Where are you going so early?”
“To the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion Alumni Breakfast” I responded.
“Why so early?” “Do you really need to be there?”
While I had no good answer to the first question, the second was easy.
Yes, I need to be there! Why? I was attending the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) Convention in Atlanta. During the Alumni breakfast is the roll call. It always strikes a chord that reverberates in my soul. And so, I went to participate.
Each class year stood, beginning with most recent ordinees. My heart filled with anticipation. 2016. 2015. 2014…. Every class had its own character. When my year (1997) came, we rose and cheered.
Then I sat back and watched. As each class ascended, I thought of the legacies created and the lives moved. I reflected on our shared experiences as well as the unique visions. I was mindful of the journeys we had endured. And I was thankful for the scholars that inspired us.
The roll call ended with Rabbi Walter Jacob, Class of 1955. As he stood (to a rousing ovation), I wondered …. When Rabbi Jacob attended his first CCAR conference, what luminaries stood at roll call whose careers spanned over 60 years? Were there rabbis ordained by the founder of American Reform Judaism, Isaac Mayer Wise?
We are a living bridge to both yesterday and tomorrow. That’s why I got up at 6am to attend this breakfast.
It’s my moment in time to take my place in history as part of this sacred chain.
We all have opportunities to live those moments in history. And sometimes those moments require getting up early to embrace them!
Your recent article about Yad Sarah, an Israeli organization that provides services such as low-cost rentals of wheelchairs and other medical equipment, suggests that the United States could learn from this Israeli group (“Israel’s Yad Sarah Has Prescription for U.S. Health Care System,” March 10).
I think your readers would like to know that we have similar nonprofit organizations in Southern California. What American organizations seem to lack is publicity.
For more than 90 years, the Convalescent Aid Society has served Pasadena and other cities in the San Gabriel Valley. There is no means test and no time limit on the free delivery, setup, loan and servicing of used medical equipment, including special beds, wheelchairs and canes.
In Los Angeles, we also have the Durable Medical Equipment Society, headquartered in, but not limited to, the San Fernando Valley.
Both groups are operated by volunteers, who maintain the equipment and staff the offices.
Both groups accept donations of re-usable medical supplies and give donors a note for a tax deduction. As American Jews age, I think we need to know of and donate to local charities that support our health care. They help us heal the world (tikkun olam)!
Joel Peck, Culver City
Grammar Police to the Rescue
Beryl Arbit needs to vacate that glass house (Letters to the Editor, March 17). Whatever Nicholas Melvoin’s linguistic shortcomings, she should be declaring that hers will be one fewer, not one less, vote for him.
Geoff Neigher, Los Angeles
Dennis Prager’s Logic Is Faulty
Dennis Prager is at it again (“There Is No Wave of Trump-Induced Crime in America,” March 10). He cherry-picks a few incidents of, what appear to be, Trump-induced hate crimes. Upon further investigation, these crimes were committed by people who dislike Trump. Prager, in order to fill the role of loyal lapdog for him, extrapolates these few incidents into a general conclusion that the left is committing these crimes to falsely accuse Trump’s election of unleashing a wave of hate crimes.
Clearly, there are those on the left who engage in such tactics. These people should be condemned. However, the right is equally guilty of engaging in such tactics.
Bottom line, while the numbers are still being deciphered, anecdotally I would argue that there has been an increase in hate crimes because of Trump. I don’t recall the same number of such crimes when George W. Bush or Barack Obama were elected president.
Andrew C. Sigal, Valley Village
Columnists are supposed to be swizzle sticks, stirring the political waters and the sediment that lies below. The Jewish Journal has its share of such columnists, and they can be divided along the following continuum: Gina Nahai occupies the center, while to the left are Rob Eshman and Marty Kaplan, and to the right, David Suissa and Shmuel Rosner. The only outlier, the Pluto in a universe by himself, is Dennis Prager.
Prager is a one-themed writer, viewing the left as the scourge and plague that separates and decimates humankind from its senses, and if not eliminated, from its very existence.
Those of us who embrace a progressive stance will fight, in both print and in the street, for the 4,000-year-old Jewish mission of truth, justice, morality and community that Dennis and his acolytes seem so intent on distorting (and in many ways destroying) for their own self-aggrandizing ends.
Marc Rogers, North Hollywood
Don’t Misrepresent Orthodox Judaism
Given that all halachic authorities agree that Open Orthodoxy is not an expression of Orthodox Judaism, please defer from slurring Modern Orthodoxy by accusing it of harboring Uri L’Tzedek and its ilk (“Orthodox Rabbis Urge ‘Spiritual Resistance’ Against Trump Policies,” March 10). They are members of a different branch of Judaism.
Kenny Aronoff & Friends will perform two sets in their long-awaited return to The Baked Potato stage. The trio features Aronoff (who has played with John Mellencamp, Melissa Etheridge and John Fogerty) on drums, James LoMenzo (Megadeth, White Lion, David Lee Roth) on bass and vocals, and Brent Woods (KISS, Sebastian Bach, Vince Neil) on guitar and vocals. 9:30 p.m., $30; 11:30 p.m., $25. The Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd., Studio City. (818) 980-1615. thebakedpotato.com.
“ISRAEL AND SYRIA: WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW”
Andrew J. Tabler, the Martin J. Gross Fellow in the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute, will discuss the dynamics of Syria and how it affects Israel, the broader Middle East and the United States. Tabler, who has appeared on CNN, NBC, CBS, PBS and NPR, is the author of “In the Lion’s Den: An Eyewitness Account of Washington’s Battle With Syria.” Co-sponsored by the Jewish Journal. 9:30 a.m. Shabbat service; 11:30 a.m. lecture. Free. Limited seating; RSVP at info@beverlyhilllsjc.org. Beverly Hills Hotel, 9641 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills. (310) 276-4246.
SUN | MARCH 26
“STREIT’S: MATZO AND THE AMERICAN DREAM”
For five generations, the Streit family business has held strong to Jewish tradition, but even these New Yorkers are not immune to the challenges that small businesses face. Come see the tradition and resilience surrounding this Lower East Side matzo factory in the documentary directed by Michael Levine. 2 p.m. $10; $6 for students; free for members. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 400-4500. skirball.org.
“UNDER THE GOLDEN DOME”
Leaders of the Islamic Center of Reseda will answer visitors’ questions, such as: What are the core Islamic values? How do Muslims feel about Jews? Does Islamic theology drive ISIS? Hear about this and more at the Temple Etz Chaim Men’s Club Sunday Brunch. 10:30 a.m. $10; $8 for club members. Temple Etz Chaim, 1080 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks. (805) 497-6891. templeetzchaim.org.
“THE SEVEN QUESTIONS YOU’RE ASKED IN HEAVEN”
Ron Wolfson, Fingerhut Professor of Education in the Graduate Center for Jewish Education at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, will discuss “The Seven Questions You’re Asked in Heaven: Reviewing and Renewing Your Life on Earth.” Wolfson’s books include “Relational Judaism: Using the Power of Relationships to Transform the Jewish Community” and “The Best Boy in the United States of America.” 10 a.m. brunch; lecture to follow. Free. RSVP to Kehillat Ma’arav. 1715 21st St., Santa Monica. (310) 829-0566.
THE PERSIAN PASSOVER RITUAL
Shirin Raban, an award-winning designer, cine-ethnographer and educator, and Saba Soomekh, associate director of research at UCLA’s Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies, will talk about Persian Passover ritual. 4 p.m. Free. RSVP required. USC Doheny Memorial Library, Room 240, 3550 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles. (213) 740-1744. usc.edu/esvp.
“THE INNER WORLD OF IILSE KLEINMAN”
Join the opening reception for “The Inner World of Ilse Kleinman: Reflections on Oppression,” featuring a presentation by the artist’s son, Dennis Kleinman, and remarks by art psychotherapist Dr. Esther Dreifus-Kattan. The artist and her parents fled Berlin in 1933 and settled in South Africa as the country was facing the rise of apartheid. Kleinman’s art features Holocaust- and apartheid-related motifs. 2 p.m. Free. Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, 100 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles. (323) 651-3704. lamoth.org.
EMAN EL-HUSSEINI and JESS SALOMON
Jess Salomon and Eman El-Husseini
Stand-up comedians Eman El-Husseini and her wife, Jess Salomon — one Palestinian and one Jewish — will perform. They will be introduced by comedian Noël Elgrably. Food and drinks will be available. 7 p.m. $15. Pico Union Project, 1153 Valencia St., Los Angeles. themarkaz.org.
JEWISH ABILITIES CENTER BENEFITS WORKSHOP
This Los Angeles Jewish Abilities Center workshop will focus on “Working While Receiving Benefits.” Jerri Ward, who specializes in Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security with Disability Rights in California, will lead the program and cover topics such as Social Security’s calculation of income, “substantial gainful activity,” a nine-month “trial work period,” work incentives, and contribution of Medicare and Medi-Cal. 6:30 p.m. Free; RSVP required. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Goldman Center Rooms A&B, 6505 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. jewishla.org.
MON | MARCH 27
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER CO-FOUNDER SPEAKS
Joseph J. Levin Jr., co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, will discuss the history of the organization’s work, then talk about the current landscape of crimes, anti-Semitism and the pursuit of justice on behalf of vulnerable communities. Q-and-A to follow. 7 p.m. wine and cheese; 7:30 p.m. lecture. RSVP at Temple Isaiah. 10345 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 277-2772. templeisaiah.com.
TUES | MARCH 28
WORDS, WIT AND WISDOM
Brandeis San Fernando Valley Chapter presents lunch and a presentation by three authors — Gina Nahai, Carole Bayer Sager and Jonathan Shapiro — followed by a Q-and-A. The session will be moderated by Jewish Journal staff writer Eitan Arom. Book purchases and signing available. 10 a.m. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. brandeissfv.org.
WED | MARCH 29
“BEING JEWISH ON THE COLLEGE CAMPUS”
Harkham GAON Academy welcomes all Los Angeles high school students and their parents to an event focusing on learning Passover-related topics that can be shared at the Passover seder, as well as general information about Judaism on a college campus. 6:30 p.m. Harkham GAON Academy at the Westside Jewish Community Center, 5870 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles.
“HOLOCAUST ESCAPE TUNNEL”
A preview screening of the upcoming film “Holocaust Escape Tunnel” on PBS’ “Nova” (airing April 19) will be presented by the American Jewish University’s Sigi Ziering Institute with the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The film reveals the story of a lost city — Vilna, Lithuania — which for centuries was one of the most important Jewish centers in the world, until the Nazis destroyed it. A team of archeologists excavating the remains of the city’s Great Synagogue uncovers a hidden escape tunnel dug by Jewish prisoners inside a horrific Nazi execution site. A panel discussion and Q-and-A will follow the screening. Free. 7:30 p.m. American Jewish University, Gindi Auditorium, 15600 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles. gradassistant@aju.eduor (310) 440-1279.
MAGGIE ANTON
Maggie Anton is the author of the “Rashi’s Daughters” trilogy, “Rav Hisda’s Daughter” and its sequel, and, most recently,“Fifty Shades of Talmud: What the First Rabbis Had to Say About You-Know-What.” The writer, who was born in Los Angeles and still resides here, will take part in a book reading and discussion. 7 p.m. Free; donations appreciated. Temple Menorah, 1101 Camino Real, Redondo Beach. (310) 613-8444. templemenorah.org.
“ISRAEL, TRUMP, WEAPONS & THE MEDIA”
Yaakov Katz
Jewish Journal’s Crucial Conversations, in partnership with Modern Minds on Jewish Matters, presents Yaakov Katz, editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post and co-author of “The Weapon Wizards: How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower,” in conversation with TRIBE Media Corp. President David Suissa. 7:30 p.m. $10 in advance. Beth Jacob Congregation, 9030 W. Olympic Blvd., Beverly Hills. (310) 278-1911. bethjacob.org.
THURS | MARCH 30
“COMPETING VISIONS FOR ISRAEL”
Jewish settlers and J Street experience their fair share of demonization in the Jewish community and beyond. Both desire a secure Jewish future for the State of Israel — and Jews worldwide — amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but their vision for the path to that objective could not be more divergent. What happens when we stop paying attention solely to those who agree with us and listen to the other side? Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills will address this and other topics in the third of its Behrendt Conversation Series, “Competing Visions for Israel: J Street and a Settler in Conversation,” with Yishai Fleisher, spokesman for the Jewish community in Hebron, and Alan Elsner, special adviser to the president of J Street (see their op-ed pieces on Page 12). 7 p.m. Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, 8844 Burton Way. For more information or to RSVP, go to: tebh.org/
conversations or email Events@tebh.org.
Anthony C. Beilenson, a state legislator and 10-term congressman who fought for abortion rights, environmental protection and gun control, died March 5 in Los Angeles. He was 84.
Beilenson had been recovering from a heart attack last month and died at his home in Westwood, according to his son, Adam, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In 20 years of representing congressional districts that included the San Fernando Valley, Thousand Oaks and Agoura Hills, Beilenson, a Democrat, championed affordable health care, environmental safeguards such as the Clean Air Act, and cuts to defense spending, the L.A. Times reported. He also persuaded fellow California legislators and then-Gov. Ronald Reagan 50 years ago to approve what was then one of the nation’s most permissive abortion rights bills, The New York Times wrote.
Anthony Charles Beilenson was born Oct. 26, 1932, in New Rochelle, N.Y. His parents owned a small book publishing company, and he grew up in an affluent suburb outside New York City. After graduating from Phillips Academy in Andover, Md., he attended Harvard University, where he earned a degree in American government. After earning a law degree from Harvard in 1957, he moved to Southern California to work in his cousin’s entertainment law firm.
He served in the State Assembly from 1963 to 1966 and the State Senate from 1967 to 1976. He was credited with writing more than 200 state laws, including major consumer and environmental legislation, The Washington Post wrote.
He attributed his ambition to enter politics to a lecture at Harvard, where then-Rep. Helen Gahagan Douglas (D-Calif.) spoke about the plight of migrant farm workers.
“You are in a position to help a lot of people when you are in public office,” he said.
In 1976, after Democratic Rep. Thomas Rees announced his retirement and said “the Watergate mess” had cast a pall over public service, Beilenson joined the race to succeed him, the L.A. Times reported.
Once in Congress, Beilenson proved fiercely independent. For instance, he opposed the creation of a federal Department of Education; education, he argued, was a state responsibility, The New York Times reported. He was against making the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday; he said federal government employees already had enough days off. He opposed officially celebrating Grandparents’ Day; it was a concession to the greeting card industry, he said.
He also supported the death penalty for drug lords and limits on legal immigration (to reduce competition with citizens for jobs), The New York Times wrote.
Former county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who also served on the L.A. City Council, praised Beilenson in the L.A. Times obituary for staying focused on progressive priorities after redistricting altered the legislative map and removed a chunk of reliably liberal Westside constituents. Beilenson’s new district was more evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans and had more conservative enclaves such as Thousand Oaks, the Times said.
“It took a lot of courage,” Yaroslavsky said. “It’s easy to have courage when you represent the Westside as a progressive. It’s another thing when part of your district is in eastern Ventura County.”
The Times also noted that Beilenson helped secure federal funding that created Lake Balboa Park, which now bears his name, and the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Refuge.
Besides his son Adam, Beilenson is survived by his wife, the former Dolores Martin; daughter Dayna; son Peter; nine grandchildren; sister Elizabeth Beilenson Schildkraut; and brother Roger.
At least two civilians and a police officer were killed in a car-ramming and knife attack outside the houses of Parliament in London.
British authorities are calling the attack a “terrorist incident” as they continue to investigate the motive in the Wednesday afternoon attack.
More than 20 are reported injured, some seriously. The attacker was shot and killed by police after crashing into a crowd of pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and then exiting the vehicle brandishing a knife. He stabbed a police officer to death inside the gates of the Parliament building. The attacker has not yet been identified.
The Community Security Trust, the United Kingdom’s main watchdog group on anti-Semitism, called on the Jewish community to be “calm, vigilant and to cooperate with security measures,” a spokesman told the London-based Jewish Chronicle. The CST said there is not believed to be any immediate threat to the community.
Additional police patrols were visible in London neighborhoods with large Jewish populations, such as Stamford Hills.
U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said in a statement: “Today’s attack, which targeted the very heart of our democracy in Westminster, will serve only to unite us against the scourge of violence and terrorism.
“The prayers of the Jewish community are with the families of the victims and with our security services, who so often selflessly place themselves in harm’s way for our protection.”
Prayers of the Jewish community are with the families of the victims of today's attack at #Westminster & with our brave security services
In Israel, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said in a statement: “Israel expresses its deep shock at the terror attack in London today and its solidarity with the victims and with the people and government of Great Britain. Terror is terror wherever it occurs and we will fight it relentlessly.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also holds the foreign minister’s portfolio, was on an airplane back to Israel from China at the time of the attack.
Israel expresses its deep shock at the terror attack in London and its solidarity with the British people.We are fighting this war together
The European Jewish Congress condemned what it called a “cowardly and barbaric terror attack.” The EJC statement also extended its condolences to the British government and the British people.
“This strike, at the heart of democracy, on the anniversary of the Brussels attacks which claimed the lives of 32 people, once again demonstrates that radical extremists continue to have the ability and motivation to commit mass murder in Europe,” EJC President Dr. Moshe Kantor said in the statement.
“This murderous ideology targets all of Europeans and all of Europe must stand together to fight this scourge.”
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also condemned the attack.
“On behalf of the United States, I express my condolences to the victims and their families,” he said in a statement. “The American people send their thoughts and prayers to the people of the United Kingdom. We condemn these horrific acts of violence, and whether they were carried out by troubled individuals or by terrorists, the victims know no difference.”
Norman Acker died Feb. 23 at 98. Survived by son Dennis. Hillside
Morris A. Berkowitz died Feb. 19 at age 91. Survived by wife Lois; daughters Sharron Lee (Michael) Bradley, Carole Mumford; 2 grandchildren; 5 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Dorothy Broidy died Feb. 17 at 91. Survived by daughters Claudia (Mike) Sterling, Michele (David) Nastarin; son Elliot (Robin); 7 grandchildren. Hillside
Della Carmona died Feb. 25 at 96. Survived by sons Michael “Mike” (Miriam), Ken (Mary), Charles (Betty); 9 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren; brother Morley “Kippy” Lertzman.Mount Sinai
Moshe Cohen died Feb. 21 at 91. Survived by son Jeff (Siv-Lee) Cohen; stepson Michael Simon; 1 grandchild. Mount Sinai
Ann Diamond died Feb. 18 at 97. Survived by daughter Karen (Marko) Markovich; son Neil A. (Norma); 3 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; brother Albert (Evelyn) Canter; sister Marilyn Aaronson.Mount Sinai
Jeanne Eget died on Feb. 21 at 88. Survived by daughter Pamela (Susan Sherman) Juhos; son Richard Allan (Stephanie Reitzenstein); 7 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild.Mount Sinai
Herbert Theodore Fink died Feb. 18 at 93. Survived by wife Norma; daughters Lisa (Richard) Davis, Leslie Letellier, Tracy; 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Ella Furman died Feb. 13 at age 79. Survived by sons Eugene, Michael; 1 grandchild. Mount Sinai
Lucy Goldsmith died Feb. 23 at 92. Survived by daughters Linda (Rick) Paul, Laurie; son Michael; 7 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; brother Maurice Aronzon. Mount Sinai
Frederick Goodrich died Feb. 18 at 92. Survived by wife Connie. Hillside
David Gorlick died Feb. 18 at 83. Survived by daughter Melissa Sara (Alon) Gorlick Marer; son Solomon (Melinda Costa) Gorlick; 5 grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Ronald Granit died Feb. 20 at 76. Survived by wife Diana; sons Eric, Todd; 1 grandchild. Hillside
Natalie Korngute Hall died Feb. 18 at 24. Survived by mother Jo Anne Korngute; brothers Zack (Micaela Westerlund) Hall, Richard (Anna) Korngute.Mount Sinai
Clara Kundin died Feb. 23 at 95. Survived by sons Sheldon (Lynn), Bruce (Carol); 5 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great- grandchild.Mount Sinai
Mitzi Lebowsky died Feb. 21 at 95. Survived by daughter Marla (Robert) Epstein; 2 grandchildren. Hillside
Reva Salm Levenson died Feb. 18 at 85. Survived by daughter Sylvia (Frank) Linguiti; sons Edward Salm, Lorin Salm; 2 grandchildren; brother Michael (Sandra) Dubinsky. Mount Sinai
Menasce Elie Levi died Feb. 16 at 92. Survived by daughters Terry Snyder, Simone (Chuck) Politi, Debbie (Richard) Minchenberg; son E. Alain (Ruta); 6 grandchildren; 5 great-grandchildren; sister Liliane (Levi) Gani; brother Andre. Hillside
Elaine Lichtman died Feb. 14 at 78. Survived by daughter Cheryl (Scott) Grimm; 4 grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Helen Marks died Feb. 20 at 99. Survived by daughters Janet (Stan), Gerry (Dan) Clark; 9 grandchildren. Hillside
Ida Mundell died Feb. 24 at 102. Hillside
Heather Lynne Olsen died Feb. 19 at 36. Survived by husband Travis; son Grant; sister Michelle (Kory) Budish-Collin; mother Deborah (Jay Layman) Worth; father Alan (Rose) Budish.Mount Sinai
Donald Schweitzer died Feb. 19 at 89. Survived by daughters Jaimie (Peter Silberg), Vicki (Gary) Meissic; 3 grandchildren. Hillside
Rose Schwimer died Feb. 17 at 93. Survived by sons Scott (Michael Epstein), Stanford (Randi); daughter Sandee (Jim) Russell; 6 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren. Hillside
Helen Robinson died Feb. 20 at 96. Survived by daughter Jacqueline Eldridge; son Ira; 1 grandchild. Mount Sinai
Rosalind Ross died Feb. 23 at 94. Survived by sons John (Cookie), William (Marie); 2 grandchildren.; brother Max Meyerson. Hillside
George Ruderman died Feb. 21 at 91. Survived by wife Ruth; daughter Jeanne (Philippe), Diane (Scott) Weingarten; 4 grandchildren; sister Lila Goodman.Mount Sinai
Milton Slotkin died Feb. 16 at 97. Survived by son Steven; son-in-law Steven Gordon; 2 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild. Hillside
Alfred Spivak died Feb. 24 at 88. Survived by wife Betty; daughter Sharon; son Michael (Gaby); 2 grandchildren; brother Herb. Hillside
Herbert Stone died Feb. 12 at 73. Survived by wife Beverly; daughters Amanda (Ryan), Shiloh; son Darren Stone.Mount Sinai
Florence Templer died Feb. 17, 2017 at 94. Survived by daughter Beverly (Jerry) Nemetz; son Alan (Lea); 4 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Selma Weinreich died Feb. 24 at 86. Survived by husband Abraham; daughter Rina (Isaac) Aharoni; sons David (Galina), Don (Kara); 6 grandchildren. Mount Sinai
WASHINGTON – Republican and Democratic lawmakers joined together on Tuesday urging the US government to act more decisively to stop the Syrian bloodshed while drawing upon the lessons of the Holocaust. When displaying the photos of “Caesar” — the codename of a Syrian military defector who smuggled out of the country over 28,000 images of torture and death in Assad prisons — Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee explained, “When you see the images of the Holocaust in the 1940s and the images of Syria in the 21st century, one can just get chilled to think that what has humanity learned all these years? We used to think things couldn’t happen here or any place else and now we see, we were really wrong.”
Over 400,000 Syrians have been killed since the conflict erupted in 2011, many of whom are innocent civilians. Over 11 million Syrians have been displaced, over half of the country’s population in the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II.
Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce (D-CA) recalled his father who took photos of the Dachau Concentration Camp after it was liberated in 1945. “When high school students would hear his lecture, they would ask why was the world so asleep to Hitler’s concentration camps? He would explain there was very little visual evidence at that time until those camps were liberated,” the California lawmaker noted. “That’s why he (Caeser) ran that risk so that the visual evidence would be right here in front of us. So, what is our excuse?”
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN) and Ranking Democratic Member Ben Cardin (D-MD) also spoke at the gathering beside large posters of the gruesome photos taken by Caesar of Syrians brutally tortured and slaughtered. Al Munzer, a Holocaust survivor from Nazi-Occupied Holland evoked his murdered relatives and said, “Like in the Holocaust, inaction is to be complicit. I am here today to give voice to my sisters and to 1.5 million other children killed in the Holocaust who call out to the children burned and maimed and orphaned by bombs in Syria,” Munzer added “Their plight must be front and center of this country’s foreign policy and the world’s attention.”
In a deeply personal plea, Qutaiba Idlbi, a Syrian from Damascus who was tortured in Assad’s prisons urged President Trump, “I know that the new administration has the power to stand in the face of all types of terror.” Idlibi detailed the necessary steps he believes to stop the bloodshed. “I plead with you to establish safe zones in my country that will stop the Assad regime planes and the Iranians from targeting civilians,” he urged. “There are people that remain detained for six years in these prisons awaiting your support. Do not let them down.”
The Refugee crisis in Europe, though seemingly distant and even sometimes obscure, is now actually more severe and relevant than ever. Every week thousands of immigrants are rescued from the Mediterranean, as many more enter from the east by any means possible.
In Turkey millions of refugees, held back by Erdogan, await the opportunity to cross the border. As Europe is divided by the question of how to handle this influx of millions of immigrants, the situation in the refugee camps continues to worsen. But amidst this crisis there are rays of light and one of those rays are the many volunteers from all over the world who come to assist these migrants in need.
Maya Rimer recently returned from a period of 3 months working in refugee camps in Greece. Just before going back there, she came to tell 2NJB about her experience.
We also played some great music by the Wild Willows (Find them on Bandcamp too!)
My print column this week went to press just hours before news broke that the source of numerous bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers across the United States is a troubled Jewish teenager in Israel.
That crazy turn of events changes everything and nothing.
It doesn’t obviate the problem of anti-Semitism on the Left or Right. It doesn’t explain the increase in cases of anti-Semitic vandalism and online harassment. It does fuel the partisan divide over anti-Semitism, with the right pointing to the evidence that American Jewish concerns, or “panic,” are veiled attacks on President Donald Trump, and the left countering that there’s more to the problem than one troubled Jew.
Last week, on this very issue, I got into one of those online winner-take-nothing tugs of war with Washington Post columnist David Bernstein.
He wrote a column criticizing what he called “panic” within the Jewish community over anti-Semitism. Bernstein said it’s not clear that anti-Semitism from the right is on the rise, or that the many reported acts of bomb threats and vandalism are even coming from the right. He argued that the left may be using the reports as a way to delegitimize President Donald Trump (whom, he made clear, he did not support), and that, in any case, these critics willfully dismiss anti-Semitism when it comes from the left, such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
I wrote a column in response, and in the course of our back-and-forth, it became evident to me, based on the hundreds of comments that followed, that anti-Semitism, like Israel before it, is turning into a political football game, and we Jews, for no good reason, are being forced onto opposing teams.
That makes no sense.
If we can’t come together with a common understanding and response when we are all being attacked, we are in trouble. Circling half the wagons never did the cowboys any good.
So here’s my attempt to get us on the same page: five contentious points on which we can reach some consensus.
1. “Jews are panicked.” No, we aren’t. This was the original point of contention between Bernstein and me, and it’s important. “Panic” implies that vandalism and threats are creating terror in Jewish life, changing our patterns of behavior. There is no evidence of this. Local Jewish groups have wisely reviewed and strengthened their security measures. Life goes on. There is definitely concern, just as you’d expect. But more Jews are upset about Russian hacking and having to cook two Passover seders. Saying Jews are “panicked” gives a victory to the perpetrators that they don’t deserve.
2. “Anti-Semitism is getting worse.” Maybe, maybe not. The Los Angeles and New York police departments both report 100 percent increases in anti-Semitic incidents over the same period last year. But the FBI, which tracks statistics nationally, has yet to release the numbers for 2016. So the answer is: We don’t know. And even if the numbers come in high, we need to be wary of pointing fingers. According to the New York Hate Crime Task Force, from 2011 to 2012 hate crimes in New York City jumped 54.5 percent, from 242 to 375. That was long before Donald Trump.
3. “Jews don’t pay attention to anti-Semitism on the left.” Can this pernicious talking point go away? It simply isn’t true. The entire mainstream Jewish community, which includes all those Obama-loving liberals, has mobilized far more time and resources countering the BDS movement than it has this recent outbreak of anti-Semitism. New initiatives, conferences, policy studies — heck, entire organizations — have been launched and funded to counter BDS and the anti-Israel push on college campuses. Liberal Jewish groups like New Israel Fund and J Street have taken clear stands against BDS precisely because it is founded on the deeply anti-Semitic idea that of all the people on earth, Jews alone have no right to live securely in their own country. These left-leaning groups deserve as much support and praise as the conservative Jews who have stood up to forces from the Trump camp at the risk of losing support within their own constituency.
4. “It will pass.” No, it won’t. Whether you lean left or right, don’t think of anti-Semitism as a pimple to be popped, but more like a chronic disease to be treated.It’s not going anywhere.Witness the rise of hard-core fascist movements in Europe.
“Before, pro-fascist sentiments were kept hidden,” a Slovakian activist told The New York Times’ Rick Lyman. “Parents would tell their children, ‘You cannot say this at school.’ Now, you can say things in the public space that you couldn’t say before.”
This is true on the left and right fringes of American life as well — and nothing indicates it is ever going away for good.
5. “Israel will save us.” It may, or it may throw us under the bus. So far, the response from Israel and the Israeli press has been a combination of ignorance, obfuscation and wish fulfillment. In his first public meeting with Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, instead of speaking forcefully against anti-Semitism and Trump’s refusal to mention Jews in correlation with the Holocaust, stayed mum. The opposition leader, Isaac Herzog, went to the other extreme, asking for a plan to absorb American Jewry, who presumably would evacuate en masse at the first tipped-over tombstone. And the Israeli press is full of foreboding stories on the beginning of the end of American Jewry, though, of course, more of them end up moving here. As Shmuel Rosner has pointed out in these pages, how Israel reacts will always have more to do with Israel’s agenda. American Jews have to assume we’re on our own — which means we are better off united than apart.n
Three days before the AIPAC Policy Conference commences, lawmakers in the Senate and House introduced bipartisan resolutions on Wednesday to strengthen US economic cooperation with Israel. Representatives Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Ted Poe (R-TX) are leading the House version with Senators David Perdue (R-GA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Jon Tester (D-MT) behind the Senate bill. The US-Israel “joint research institutions are collaborating on life-changing medical breakthroughs, and our technology sectors are fueling ground-breaking innovation,” Lieu said.
This post originally appeared at JewishInsider.com
AIPAC, J Street, AJC, the Jewish Federations of North America, and US Chamber of Commerce are all endorsing the bipartisan effort. The resolutions encourage the Trump administration to support new agreements with Israel in the energy, water, neurotechnology and cyber security sectors.
With over 15,000 attendees expected for the AIPAC Policy Conference next week, lawmakers are rushing to introduce bills attractive to the pro-Israel community. After intense deliberations with Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) on a bipartisan Iran sanctions bill, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker (R-TN) told Jewish Insider on Wednesday that “We’re down to just a couple of paragraphs and hopefully we will be able to complete discussions today.” A previous area of contention among some Democrats is whether any new sanctions against Tehran would be interpreted as an attack on the nuclear agreement reached by the Obama Administration. Democratic Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) noted, however, that he would back new sanctions targeting Iran.
The Delaware lawmaker told Jewish Insider, “Iran hasn’t in any way moderated its behavior with regards to terrorism. Iran’s bad behavior with regards to human rights violations and ballistic missile launches has not only not moderated, if anything it’s worsened, since the JCPOA. It’s important that we work to find a path a forward for a strong bipartisan bill that responds to the concerns.”
Ron Wolfson, Fingerhut Professor of Education in the Graduate Center for Jewish Education at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, will discuss “The Seven Questions You’re Asked in Heaven: Reviewing and Renewing Your Life on Earth.” Wolfson’s books include “Relational Judaism: Using the Power of Relationships to Transform the Jewish Community” and “The Best Boy in the United States of America.” 10 a.m. brunch; lecture to follow. Free. RSVP to Kehillat Ma’arav. 1715 21st St., Santa Monica. (310) 829-0566.
Maggie Anton is the author of the “Rashi’s Daughters” trilogy, “Rav Hisda’s Daughter” and its sequel, and, most recently,“Fifty Shades of Talmud: What the First Rabbis Had to Say About You-Know-What.” The writer, who was born in Los Angeles and still resides here, will take part in a book reading and discussion. 7 p.m. Free; donations appreciated. Temple Menorah, 1101 Camino Real, Redondo Beach. (310) 613-8444. 
