Greenberg’s View: L.A.’s Hottest Aerobic Routine
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April 11, 2019
‘Transparent’ to Kill Off Jeffrey Tambor’s Character
Jeffrey Tambor was fired from “Transparent” amid allegations of sexual harassment in February 2018, but his character, Maura Pfefferman, will meet a more permanent end.
Jill Soloway, the creator of the Amazon series, confirmed that Maura’s death will be revealed in the previously announced “Transparent Musical Finale,” which will deal with the family coping with their loss.
“When the time came to bring the ‘Transparent’ journey to a close, it was clear that saying goodbye to Maura was our path forward. In this musical finale, we dramatize the death of Maura in an odyssey of comedy and melancholy told through the joyful prism of melody and dance,” Soloway said in a statement.
“As we reflect on the process we began so many years ago to bring Maura Pfefferman to the screen, we hope this tribute to the meaning her story brought to the public consciousness also marks a moment in time where art-makers recognize the importance of trans actors playing trans characters. Everything changes, and we are grateful to make art that will live on as a bridge from this era to the next. As the world transforms, so does the Pfefferman family. ‘Transparent’ is not ending, it is transitioning into a musical, becoming itself over and over again.”
Soloway, who directed the episode featuring songs by her sister Faith, explained her choice to do a musical episode in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “People say when they’re making musicals that there are moments when the characters have to sing because they can’t put something into words,” Soloway said. “I think it’s the same thing with what our show went through: We felt like we needed a different way of looking at the family. And we did it through song.”
“Transparent Musical Finale” will stream on Amazon this September.
‘Transparent’ to Kill Off Jeffrey Tambor’s Character Read More »
Chicken Soup for the Freelancer’s Soul – A poem for parsha Metzora (Aliyah 1)
And on the eighth day, he shall take two unblemished [male] lambs, one unblemished ewe lamb in its [first] year, three tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with [olive] oil as a meal offering, and one log of [olive] oil.
I keep confusing the Torah with a cookbook
all this flour and oil and meat. I don’t even eat meat
but I’m salivating and heading to the kitchen to
preheat the oven.
Cleanliness is next to dinner, they say, or
maybe I just made that up right now. It feels like
a lot of this was made up, or, to be generous,
thought up, then spoken out, then, eventually,
written down.
I’m in the kitchen with all these ingredients
the flour, the people, the oil, and maybe I’m the meat?
I finally have a legitimate reason to shout
It’s made of people! It’s all made of people.
The priests didn’t have films to reference so
I’m lucky in that sense as I try to figure the
best way to clean myself and consider what
it would be like to have to live in the front yard
for seven days after shaving off all my hair,
including my eyebrows – indeed, all [my] hair.
These days I struggle with what words to say
after These days but I know if there was an issue
I’d head over to Kaiser, which may be too much
of a local reference, so let’s just pretend I said
urgent care, in the event boils show up on my skin.
And even though my healthcare plan is one of those
crazy deductible ones because I’m a freelancer and
have to pay for it myself, they still welcome me in
on the same day, and very little has to be shaved
off of me, and I get to go back inside my own tent
on the very same day, with a prescription, or a
bandaid, or all the ingredients I need to make soup.
A nice soup. A holy soup. A not-chicken soup.
Just the broth I need in my kitchen to be clean.
Los Angeles poet Rick Lupert created the Poetry Super Highway (an online publication and resource for poets), and hosted the Cobalt Cafe weekly poetry reading for almost 21 years. He’s authored 22 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “I’m a Jew, Are You” (Jewish themed poems) and “Feeding Holy Cats” (Poetry written while a staff member on the first Birthright Israel trip), and most recently “Beautiful Mistakes” (Rothco Press, May 2018) and edited the anthologies “Ekphrastia Gone Wild”, “A Poet’s Haggadah”, and “The Night Goes on All Night.” He writes the daily web comic “Cat and Banana” with fellow Los Angeles poet Brendan Constantine. He’s widely published and reads his poetry wherever they let him.
Chicken Soup for the Freelancer’s Soul – A poem for parsha Metzora (Aliyah 1) Read More »
Letters: Global Warming and Politics, Cartoonist and the Mueller Report
Global Warming and Politics
Thanks so much for covering the good news about bipartisan legislation to curb global warming! (“When Parties Unite for Our Planet,” April 5)
Yes, there is a bipartisan undercurrent in Congress. And that includes another global warming buster on the horizon: HR 763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, introduced into the House of Representatives by Republican Francis Rooney and Democrat Ted Deutch, both of south Florida. Its co-sponsors include Southern Californians Adam Schiff, Judy Chu, Harley Rouda, Gil Cisneros and Mike Levin.
HR763 is a revenue neutral carbon tax. It pleases liberals and conservatives because it uses the power of the market to cut greenhouse gas emissions quickly and sharply, while protecting low-income families with a monthly dividend. It will also create jobs, propelling our energy economy into the 21st century.
Don’t forget: The Nobel Prize for Economics in 2018 went to William Nordhaus — for his research on the carbon tax.
HR 763 can drive down America’s carbon pollution to help bring climate change under control — which the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says we have to do in the next 12 years to avoid out-of-control catastrophe, including an even worse refugee crisis.
Fellow Journal readers: perform a mitzvah. Write or call your member of Congress and say you support bipartisan action, such as HR 763, on climate change. They’re listening more than you might think.
Kathy Shenkin Seal, Santa Monica
Any bipartisan action these days lifts my spirits, especially when the legislation addresses climate change.
That’s why I’m excited about HR 763, a revenue-neutral carbon tax. Despite its cumbersome title, the legislation is bipartisan, efficient and elegant. It will reduce fossil fuel emissions 40% in the first 12 years, create 2 million new jobs, save thousands of lives by reducing pollution, and because it is revenue neutral, it will not grow government.
The bill has wide support — 15 former chairs of the Council of Economic Advisers, all four living former Federal Reserve chairs and 27 Nobel laureates — including Alan Greenspan, Martin Feldstein, Lawrence Summers and Rep. Ted Deutch — Jewish leaders from the right and left.
If you want to see the Republicans and Democrats do something powerful together to address climate change, ask your member of Congress to co-sponsor HR 763.
Davia Rivka, Los Angeles
Missing Ingredients?
As someone who baked challah for years and then didn’t, when I returned to doing it, I seemed to have lost my touch. So I eagerly read Debra Eckerling’s column (“Jewish Bucket List Item No. 3: Baking Challah,” April 5). Oh my, Debra. Where were the quantities and whatever happened to the eggs?
Lynn Cohen, Agoura Hills
A Great Edition
Thanks very much for your article remembering Jake Farber (“Businessman, Philanthropist Jake Farber, 94,” April 5). He was a mensch from a beautiful family that we knew at Adat Ari El. Congratulations to Mishkon Tephilo on its 100th anniversary (“Temple Mishkon Tephilo Celebrates 100 Years of Life in Venice,” April 5). Ours will be in four years in Highland Park. And a chag Pesach sameach to the Southern California Jewish community.
Cantor Ken Rothstein, Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock
Trump Calls Adam Schiff ‘Pencil Neck’
Rep. Adam Schiff may have a thin neck but at least it’s connected to a strong backbone.
Steven Schuelein, via email
Cartoonist and the Mueller Report
I am writing in regard to Marshall Lerner’s letter to the editor (Your Turn, April 5).
I have found Steve Greenberg’s cartoons, while sometimes left-leaning, at least even-handed enough to spare nobody in power. True, he, like many cartoonists and journalists, is particularly harsh on President Donald Trump. Blame Greenberg, and most of the media, if you like, rather than admit that there is something more profoundly wrong with the current president than the usual corruption of presidents past. But in your zeal, you asked for a cartoonist to graphically retract his own opinion, said opinion being a visual metaphor. Do you not see the overreach?
I don’t mean to pick on your letter in particular, but rather to characterize it as an alarming effect of a sitting president constantly and brutally attacking the media in his self-interest. I also want to point out the irony of many voices on the right, especially now, calling for the mainstream media to admit that even insinuating Trump or his campaign improperly associated with Russia was a horrible mistake. For, in its rush to sensationalize and cash in on a hand-picked attorney general’s summary of Robert Mueller’s report, the mainstream media, at least initially, overcame its own left-leaning bias, its anti-Trump bias, and, to some degree, its dedication to press for the truth.
Mueller team members now leak that the report is far more damaging than the summary lets on. This should surprise nobody. There are no easy answers here, whether you are on the right or the left. Accusations will continue to fly on both sides. And if we value what this country stands for, we need to accept that.
Michael Feldman, Los Angeles
Poison Politics Hurts Country
Thanks for Judy Gruen’s “Politics Claims Another Friendship” (March 29). After President Donald Trump’s election, Democrats tried to assume the moral high ground, but their unhinged demonization of Trump, his family and supporters has only hurt their party and the country. Gruen correctly observes that leftists are themselves guilty of many of the sins they blame on conservatives. Maybe now that blatant anti-Semitism has emerged in the Democratic Party, and the “Russian collusion” accusation has collapsed, they’ll take a good, hard look at the damage progressives have done to their party. And hopefully, Jewish liberals, whose Trump-hatred alienated them from our Israeli cousins, will begin
to understand why Israel appreciates Trump’s crucial, heartfelt support.
A letter in the same edition headed, “College Admissions Cheating,” submitted by a man who’s been consistently critical of Trump, demands justice for those unfairly incarcerated. Trump recently signed a prison reform bill, passed largely by the efforts of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, meant to do just that. Thousands of inmates, mostly minorities, were freed by Trump, and many expressed deep gratitude as they celebrated at the White House last week. I wonder if the letter-writer joins Democrat Van Jones in praising Trump for this important and humane act?
America has many problems that can be solved only when Democrats stop cursing Trump, and start working with him. And maybe then they can be friends with conservatives again.
Rueben Gordon, via email
Will Congress Allow the Internet to Be Taken Over?
I am writing to you because I want to protect our open internet. Two years ago, the FCC under Ajit Pai, repealed the Net Neutrality protections that make the internet an open and free platform to connect and exchange ideas. If we can’t restore these protections, the internet as we know it could change forever.
Earlier this month, Congress introduced the Save the Internet Act, which will restore the open internet protections that were repealed by the FCC in 2017. Despite having the support of more than 80% of Americans, many members of Congress are siding with Big Telecom to vote against this bill. I hope our representatives in Congress vote in favor of this bill. Otherwise we’ll be forced to hold them accountable at the ballot box in 2020.
Marlin Damero
Now it’s your turn. Don’t be shy, submit your letter to the editor. Letters should be no more than 200 words and must include a valid name and city. The Journal reserves the right to edit all letters. letters@jewishjournal.com.
Letters: Global Warming and Politics, Cartoonist and the Mueller Report Read More »
Israel Moon Landing Unsuccessful
Israeli spacecraft Beresheet (Genesis) was unable to land on the moon April 11.
The four-legged spacecraft created by SpaceIL suffered technical difficulties with the ship’s main engine and then lost communication with the spacecraft at 12:24 p.m. PT.
The Israel Space Agency said the spacecraft appeared to crash on the moon’s surface.
“We had a failure in the spacecraft, we were unable to land successfully,” a SpaceIL engineer said during the live stream.
“If at first, you don’t succeed, you try again,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in front of the SpaceIL team and viewers.
“Small country, big dreams,” was written on the flag of the ship with an image of the Israeli flag.
22 kilometers from the Moon! #IsraelToTheMoon #SpaceIL #Beresheet pic.twitter.com/uw1wAFmt0S
— Israel To The Moon (@TeamSpaceIL) April 11, 2019
Though Israel didn’t become the fourth country to land on the moon, Israel is still the seventh country to orbit around it.
Netanyahu, SpaceIL team, investors and viewers gathered together to sing the Israel national anthem, Hatikva, ending the broadcast.
Following the launch, XPRIZE founder Peter Diamandis said he and his partner and CEO Anousheh Ansari decided to award the SpaceIL team with the $1 million Moonshot Award “for them to continue their work and pursue Beresheet 2.0.”
XPRIZE has designed and launched seventeen prizes in the domain areas of space, oceans, health, energy, robotics and transportation.
Google Lunar XPRIZE created the challenge to build, launch and land a spacecraft on the Moon. Yariv Bash, Kfir Damari and Yonatan Winetraub built Genesis as a result.
“I think they managed to touch the surface of the moon and that’s what we were looking for in our Moonshot Award,” Ansari said in a Twitter video.
XPRIZE to award $1 Million Moonshot Award to SpaceIL team for them to continue their work and pursue Beresheet 2.0. Space is hard!!! @xprize @TeamSpaceIL pic.twitter.com/J4Zo5eaYMT
— Peter H. Diamandis, MD (@PeterDiamandis) April 11, 2019
This story has been updated to include information about XPRIZE and updates on the Genesis spacecraft.
Israel Moon Landing Unsuccessful Read More »
Divestment Vote Fails at UCSB
The vote on UC Santa Barbara divesting from companies that conduct business with Israel failed by a margin of 14-10 at 5 a.m. on April 11.
The Daily Nexus reports that the Associated Students Senate meeting, which began at 6:30 p.m. on April 10, lasted around 10 and a half hours due to a lengthy debate on the issue of divestment. The Nexus report states that around 90 people from the audience spoke on the matter with opinions evenly split on the matter; Max Samarov, StandWithUs’ executive director of Research and Strategy and an alumnus of UCSB, told The College Fix that around 100 people spoke and he believed that “there were more students speaking against it than for it.”
Among the student senators who spoke out against the resolution included Lea Toubian, who reportedly “left the vote crying” when the vote ended after discussing her personal experience with anti-Semitism.
“I firmly believe this resolution provides a platform for hate,” Toubian said before the vote.
The vote was conducted via secret ballot out of concern of student senators being doxxed.
With the divestment vote failing, UCSB remains the only UC campus not to have voted for divestment. It is also the sixth time in seven years that divestment has failed at UCSB.
Santa Barbara Hillel Executive Director Evan Goodman, Board of Trustees President Aaron Ettenberg and Student Board President Hannah Green wrote in a Facebook post, “We are extraordinarily proud of our students for their resolve and integrity in the months, weeks and days leading up to tonight’s vote. They gave everything they had to fight this anti-Israel resolution. Pro-Israel students fought for the moral and intellectual integrity of UCSB and they succeeded. They rallied an impressive campaign to urge senators to vote against the resolution and reached out to campus allies and our community partners. Santa Barbara Hillel has supported these students every step of the way.”
“Santa Barbara Hillel and our campus partners will not allow messages of hate to tear apart our campus community or to isolate Jewish students because of their religious or ethnic identities or because they support the State of Israel,” they continued. “The pro-Israel community of UCSB remains committed to being part of the solution. Santa Barbara Hillel will continue to create a community that supports peace and honest dialogue and that works to make our campus, our community and our Jewish homeland safer and more peaceful.”
Samarov said in a statement, “We are incredibly proud of the students at UC Santa Barbara who defeated this campaign of hatred and propaganda for the sixth time in seven years. Resolutions like this one have only served to harm students and hinder efforts to bring Israelis and Palestinians together.”
Rachel Greenberg, co-president of Students Supporting Israel, similarly said in a statement, “The resolution continues to fail each year for the simple reason that BDS fails to acknowledge the nuanced and complex nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and aims to place blame solely on one entity in a multi-faceted issue. I am incredibly proud that our elected senators listened to the voices of their constituents and said no to this hateful resolution.”
The American Jewish Committee tweeted, “Thank you, @AS_UCSB Senate, for rejecting BDS for the 6th time in 7 years. Efforts to push BDS only serve to suppress academic freedom and make Jewish and pro-Israel students feel unsafe on campus.”
Thank you, @AS_UCSB Senate, for rejecting BDS for the 6th time in 7 years. Efforts to push BDS only serve to suppress academic freedom and make Jewish and pro-Israel students feel unsafe on campus. https://t.co/YJiWneAl1P
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) April 11, 2019
Divestment Vote Fails at UCSB Read More »
What’s Happening: Pesach Prep, Sound Bath, ‘Klezmer Xylophone’
FRI APRIL 12
“WORKING WOMAN”
Israeli feminist filmmaker Michal Aviad’s Hebrew-language drama, “Working Woman,” opens at Laemmle Theatres. The fictional drama is about Oma, a wife and mother, who, while her husband struggles to start a restaurant, returns to the workforce to help support their three young children. As she rises through the ranks, she experiences sexual harassment at the hands of her boss (her former army superior), which threatens her solid marriage and career. Various times. $13 Friday–Sunday, $12 Monday–Thursday. Laemmle Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. Laemmle Playhouse 7, 673 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Laemmle Town Center 5, 17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (310) 478-3836.
BROADWAY SHABBAT
Melodies from “The Lion King,” “The Sound of Music,” “Hamilton,” “Chicago” and other hits light up “Broadway Shabbat” at Kol Tikvah. An ensemble of musicians plays foot-tapping songs from the shows, and the audience is encouraged to sing along. After services, socializing, coffee and sweet treats are served. 6:30 p.m. Free. Kol Tikvah synagogue, 20400 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills. (818) 348-0670.
SAT APRIL 13
PRE-PESACH LUNCH AND LEARN
Rabbi Daniel Bouskila leads a Pre-Pesach “Lunch and Learn,” at the Westwood Village Synagogue. Attendees learn how to add spice to their seders by exploring Sephardic customs that are as tasty as they are different from Ashkenazic traditions. Bouskila leads the Sephardic-oriented program immediately after the 9:30 a.m. Shabbat morning services. Free for Westwood Village Synagogue members. $18 general admission. Westwood Village Synagogue, 1148 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles. RSVP at eventswvs@gmail.com.
HAVDALAH SOUND BATH
The concept of shavasana is to the body as Shabbat is to the soul. Explore this connection as Open Temple and Violet Sound Bath collaborate on “Sound Journey: A Havdalah Sound Bath,” with participants relaxing and restoring themselves while being bathed in the healing tones of gongs, crystal bowls and other instruments. 5:30–6:30 p.m. $25. Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Ave., Venice. (310) 306-1854. .
“FROM HATRED TO ZIONISM”
Arab-Muslim Hussein Aboubakr tells the story of his transformation “From Hatred to Zionism” at American Jewish University. Aboubakr was born into an Egyptian family that taught him anti-Semitism. In school, he was taught that Jews were bloodthirsty Zionists. As he read about Jews and Jewish history, however, Aboubakr changed his mind. Today he is a Zionist. The program is organized by Club Z, a Zionist youth movement; the Israeli-American Council; the World Zionist Organization and JuRashki. 7:30–9:30 p.m. $10. American Jewish University, 15600 Mulholland Drive, Bel Air. Email jenny@clubz.org with questions.
PESACH PREP
Prepare your heart for Pesach during an artistically oriented Shabbaton at Ahavat Torah Synagogue, featuring the Israeli-born artist Revital Somekh-Goldreich on the topic “Part Your Personal Sea of Reeds With Our Sages, Mystics, Scholars and Artists.” 1 p.m. Free. Ahavat Torah Synagogue, 343 S. Church Lane, Los Angeles. (310) 362-1111. .
SEVEN SEDER TIPS
Adat Ari El board member Peter Levitan leads a “Passover 2.0” presentation on Shabbat afternoon, where attendees learn seven insights for hosting their best seders. The topics range from how to manage restless children, to how to free oneself from the tyranny of the haggadah. 1 p.m. Free. Deiber Chapel, Adat Ari El, 12020 Burbank Blvd., Valley Village. (818) 766-9426.
POLISH PASSOVER MUSIC
The live concert “On the Threshold of Freedom: Passover Music in Poland” features two of Poland’s progressive Jewish cantorial soloists, Menachem Mirski and Anna Silverman. They perform a diverse selection of music from seder melodies, spring songs, the Song of Songs, and Polish and Yiddish art songs. Joining them are Beth Shir Shalom Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels, Temple Beth Israel Cantor Paul Buch, Congregation Beth Ohr Cantorial Soloist Andrew Henry, Congregation Ner Tamid Rabbi Shana Chandler Leon, performer Cindy Paley, violist Novi Novog and pianist Neal Brostoff. April 13: 8:14 p.m., Beth Shir Shalom, 1827 California Ave., Santa Monica. April 14: 3 p.m., Congregation Beth Ohr, 12355 Moorpark St., Studio City. April 14: 7:30 p.m. Temple Beth Israel, 3033 N. Towne Ave., Pomona. $18 general admission, $20 door. .
SUN APRIL 14
JEWISH CARTOON WORKSHOP
“Passover Hagaddah Graphic Novel” author Jordan Gorfinkel leads a workshop on drawing cartoons about Passover. No drawing ability necessary, only a sense of humor. Recommended for families, tweens and teens. Ages 6–10 must be accompanied by an adult. All materials provided. 10 a.m.–noon. $15, one adult and one child; $5 for each additional person. Temple Beth Am, 1039 S. La Cienega Blvd. (310) 652-7353. tbala.org/cartoon.
“KLEZMER XYLOPHONE”
The live concert, “Klezmer Xylophone: An Unconventional Love Story,” features the unlikely pairing of xylophone with klezmer music. Percussionist Lorry Black brings the xylophone to the front of the band with his humorous and original arrangements of klezmer standards. The show takes place 10 years after Black’s senior recital as he returns to the Jan Popper Theater at UCLA with a band of friends from diverse musical backgrounds. The concert is organized by the Lowell Milken Fund for American Jewish Music. 4–5:30 p.m. Free. Jan Popper Theater, 445 Charles E. Young Drive East, Westwood.
LUNCH WITH HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS
In advance of Yom HaShoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day — on May 1, Nessah Synagogue invites the community to have lunch with Holocaust survivors. As age and death increasingly overtake survivors, Nessah’s LeDor VaDor (Generation to Generation) and the iCare Foundation organize this opportunity to meet, greet and serve the survivors in the community. All ages welcome. 11 a.m.–2 p.m. $10 donation. Nessah Synagogue, 142 S. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills. (310) 273-2400.
ALL ABILITIES FAIR
Join the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue at its family-friendly fifth annual “Hand in Hand All Abilities Fair,” featuring games, art, robotics, music, dancing and resource tables. In the spirit of the day, entertainment will be provided by two integrated wheelchair dance companies and vocalists from The Miracle Project and the Kolot Tikvah Choir. Noon–3:30 p.m. Free. Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue, 24855 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. (310) 456-2178.
MON APRIL 15
ADL SPRING MIXER
The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Glass Leadership Institute’s Spring Mixer gathers young professionals in the stylish setting of one of the Westside’s newest restaurants. The free admission includes appetizers and one drink ticket. 7–9 p.m. Free. Registration required. Simonette Restaurant, Palihotel Culver City, 3927 Van Buren Place, Culver City. (310) 446-2000.
WED APRIL 17
ANTI-SEMITISM, ANTI-ZIONISM ON CAMPUS
The recent rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism on college campuses is the topic of discussion among UCLA Hillel Director Rabbi Aaron Lerner, Loyola Marymount University Director of Jewish Life Rabbi Zachary Zysman, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ Campus Impact Network director Jonathan Grunin and a panel of students. Moderated by Kehillat Israel Rabbi Micah Hyman. 7 p.m. Free. Kehillat Israel, 16019 W. Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. (310) 459-2328.
“THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ”
Best-selling author Heather Morris appears at American Jewish University to discuss her debut novel, “The Tattooist of Auschwitz,” which is based on true events. Morris, a retired social worker from Melbourne, Australia, has turned Lale Sokolov’s story of how he met his wife at Auschwitz into a novel that has become an international hit. 7:30 p.m. $10. Sperber Library, American Jewish University, 15600 Mulholland Drive, Bel Air. (310) 440-1572.
“DEFIANT REQUIEM”
“Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin,” a multimedia concert-drama by the Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale, tells the story of courageous Jewish prisoners at Terezin. Presented by the Defiant Requiem Foundation and Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, the concert seeks to replay the drama of camp prisoners performing the legendary Verdi’s “Requiem” 16 times, including the final performance before senior Nazi officials and an international Red Cross delegation. VIP tickets available for reception with Rabbi David Wolpe and former U.S. ambassador to the European Union Stuart Eizenstat. 6 p.m. reception; 8 p.m. concert. $45–$133. Royce Hall, UCLA, 10745 Dickson Court, Los Angeles. (323) 651-3704.
What’s Happening: Pesach Prep, Sound Bath, ‘Klezmer Xylophone’ Read More »
Haley Honored, JWW Walks, New TEBH Chief
Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from Friends of Magen David Adom (FMDA) Western USA on April 1 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
After accepting her award, Haley was interviewed by FMDA Western USA President Dina Leeds. They discussed Haley’s upbringing by her Sikh immigrant parents, with Haley saying her parents urged her to carve a path for herself and never complain. Haley also spoke about her experience serving under President Donald Trump, U.S. support for Israel and women leaders.
“In every aspect in my career, there’s never been a line to the women’s bathroom … but I never thought of any of that because I didn’t want to be defined by labels,” Haley said.
Speaking about Trump’s foreign policy, Haley praised the decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement, saying the past year has shown that concerns that the withdrawal from the agreement would have consequences were unfounded.
She also reiterated the current administration’s commitment to its continued support of Israel.
“When you look at the Middle East, Israel is the only bright spot we have,” she said.
Before serving in the U.N. from 2017-18, Haley served as the governor of South Carolina and as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. She said her experience in politics has taught her that the truth commands respect.
“Truth is power,” she said. “I stood by what I believed and I stood by the truth.”
Asked how she incorporates tikkun olam into her work, Haley discussed the increasing polarization in the country, saying she has traveled around the world and heard firsthand about unspeakable atrocities against women and children.
“That’s evil,” she said. “Our political system — it’s just different opinions.”
Speakers at the event included philanthropist Michael Milken; acting Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles Eitan Weiss; Pastor Jeff Osborne; and Lawrence Middleton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Students from Yeshiva University of Los Angeles High School, Shalhevet High School, Valley Torah High School, Maimonides Academy and Beverly Hills High School also attended.
After the event, attendee and attorney Sasha Farahi told the Journal that Haley was a role model.
“I wanted to come out and hear her speak because every time I hear her speak, I feel more empowered to overcome my fears, to stand up for the truth and to fight for what I believe in,” Farahi said.
She was not the only adoring fan in the crowd. During Haley’s remarks, people yelled out, “Nikki for president!” and “Nikki 2020!”
“No, that’s not going to happen,” Haley said. She did not rule out, however, that she would stop by the U.N. to support Israel.
“I told Danny Danon,” she said, referring to Israel’s U.N. representative, “don’t be surprised if I show up one day and defend him.”
Matt Davidson has been named executive director at Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills (TEBH).
“Matt is well liked and respected by our outstanding clergy and staff, having previously served as our interim executive director,” TEBH Board of Directors President Barry Brucker said in a statement.
Davidson previously served as executive director, program director and director of communications at Kehillat Israel, a Reconstructionist synagogue in Pacific Palisades.
According to Davidson’s bio, when he is not busy running a synagogue, he is a composer and a musician, an avid sports enthusiast and the father of two children.
In a statement, Davidson said he “feels blessed to have joined the incredible Temple Emanuel community.”
Photo courtesy of Richard Tabachnik
Michael Hackman, founder and CEO of Hackman Capital Partners, and his wife, Caroline, hosted 2018 Israel Prize winner Miriam Peretz at their home on March 12.
Peretz shared her moving story of her tragic loss of two sons, and her connection to Ma’agalim, an Israeli educational organization that works with at-risk youth in Israel’s periphery.
Peretz was born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco. Her two sons,
Uriel and Eliraz, died in combat 12 years apart while serving in the Israel Defense Forces.
Hackman Capital Partners recently purchased The Culver Studios, a historic studio where “Gone With the Wind” and “Citizen Kane,” among other legendary titles, were filmed.
More than 700 people gathered on March 31 in Pan Pacific Park in the Fairfax district to participate in Jewish World Watch’s 13th annual Walk to End Genocide.
Participants included Susan Freudenheim, executive director of Jewish World Watch; State Assemblyman Richard Bloom; Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin; L.A. City Councilman David Ryu; and JWW Co-Founder Janice Kamenir-Reznik. Other participants at the event included members of Los Angeles’ Congolese, Rwandan, Rohingya and Zoroastrian communities, as well as representatives from synagogues and schools throughout the L.A. region, from Manhattan Beach to Woodland Hills.
The 5K walk through the Fairfax district was followed by a discussion on how hate speech can lead to genocide and mass atrocities, as well as a series of speakers from multiple conflict areas talking about how they connect diaspora populations with their troubled homelands.
A second Walk to End Genocide took place on April 7 at Temple Etz Chaim in Thousand Oaks.
Want to be in Movers & Shakers? Send us your highlights, events, honors and simchas. Email ryant@jewishjournal.com.
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Beresheet Moon Landing Time Table: Where and When to Watch
The Israeli spacecraft Genesis is finally reaching its final destination to the moon.
The lunar lander, Beresheet (Genesis in Hebrew) was built by Israeli startup organization, SpaceIL and has successfully completed every checklist involved since launching from Cape Canaveral in Florida back in February 2019.
Now it will begin to land at 12:05 p.m. PT.
Track when the moon will land in your time zone here. Follow along on the Beresheet English Facebook page or YouTube channel.
The four-legged spacecraft is expected to land in the Sea of Serenity (Mare Serenitatis) after 47 days and 6.5 million kilometers of flight. Once landing it Israel will become the fourth country to land a spaceship on the moon.
According to the Times of Israel, engineers activated Beresheet’s engines on Wednesday night for a final maneuver.
Israel Airports Authority showed their support for the spacecraft by listing the Beresheet moon landing on its arrival timetable.
NASA tweeted April 11: “Today, for the 1st time, a private robotic spacecraft attempts a Moon landing! @TeamSpaceIL‘s #Beresheet carries one of our science instruments — an example of how we’ll work with partners to pave the way to returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024.”
Today, for the 1st time, a private robotic spacecraft attempts a Moon landing! @TeamSpaceIL's #Beresheet carries one of our science instruments — an example of how we'll work with partners to pave the way to returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024. More: https://t.co/A8XomJ57nV pic.twitter.com/QpH3SJhqWF
— NASA (@NASA) April 11, 2019
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Florida Senate Dem Leader Supports Anti-Semitism Bill After Opposing It
Florida Senate Democratic Leader Audrey Gibson announced on April 10 that she would be supporting an anti-Semitism bill in the Florida state legislature after she voted against it on April 8.
The bill would require schools in Florida to treat anti-Semitism the same way they would treat racism; included in the definition is anti-Semitism is dual loyalty tropes.
Gibson was the lone state senator to vote against the bill while it was in committee on April 8, arguing that the bill provided “special protections” to Jews, but not to other religions, meaning that the bill was meant to be divisive. The next day, Gibson doubled down by issuing a statement saying that the bill “fights the wrong battle, and targets the wrong enemy.”
After facing bipartisan criticism on the matter, Gibson held a brief press conference on April 10 announcing her support for the bill after meeting with Jewish lawmakers and Jewish organizations.
“It was never my intent to insult in any way the Jewish community or my Jewish colleagues,” Gibson said. She also said that there were “seemingly deliberate efforts to try and paint me into a corner and paint me as someone that I am not” and that the bill was “very confusing.”
Gibson didn’t take any questions.
State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay), who was one of the sponsors of the bill, tweeted out a statement calling Gibson’s press conference “disingenuous”:
My response to @SenAudrey2eet press conference. I found it disingenuous and know this: I’m awfully glad she’s not my leader. pic.twitter.com/AE9pgBszg7
— Rep. Randy Fine (@VoteRandyFine) April 10, 2019
Fine told the Journal in a phone interview that he was “optimistic” that the bill would pass the state legislature.
“I think it’s even more important that we make a strong statement that this is not acceptable and we pass this,” Fine said.
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