The Israeli espionage thriller “False Flag” is getting an American remake for the new Apple TV+ streaming service. The first season of the original series is currently available in Hebrew on Hulu. Season two premiered in Israel last fall.
“False Flag” is not the only Israeli series coming to Apple TV+. “Nevelot” is being remade as “Bastards,” a drama starring Richard Gere. It’s about a pair of best friends and Vietnam vets who learn that the woman they both loved has been killed in a car accident.
Other Apple TV+ series in development feature the talents of MOTs including JJ Abrams, Lizzy Caplan, Hailee Steinfeld, Mimi Leder, with Daveed Diggs and Josh Gad in the voice cast of the animated series “Central Park.”
The service is expected to launch later this year.
(JTA) — Leonard Cohen was many things: musician, poet, novelist — mixologist?
The Jewish Museum in New York City is serving a cocktail created by Cohen. He called it the Red Needle, since it’s red and he came up with the mixture while in Needles, California, in 1975.
The drink consists of tequila, cranberry juice, lemon and ice.
The museum, on New York’s Upper East Side, is currently showing an exhibit on Cohen through Sept. 8. “Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything” features “large-scale, immersive works by artists who have been inspired by Cohen, a video projection showcasing Cohen’s own drawings, and a multimedia gallery where visitors can listen to covers of Cohen’s songs by musicians such as Feist and The National with Sufjan Stevens.”
The cocktail is on sale every Thursday in August.
Cohen, whose hits include “Suzanne”and “Hallelujah,” passed away in 2016 at age 82.
(JTA) — Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., the chairwoman of the powerful U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, is the latest mainstream Jewish Democrat to endorse impeaching Donald Trump.
Lowey’s statement Wednesday comes in the wake of another Jewish Democrat endorsingTrump’s impeachment. Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced his decision on Tuesday.
Like Engel, Lowey based her assessment on the testimony last week of Robert Mueller, the special counsel into allegations of Russian influence in the 2016 election who enumerated 10 possible instances of Trump and aides obstructing justice.
“Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation produced a report that shed light on the depths of systemic deception that appears to be second nature for the President and his advisors,” she said in a statement quoted by the Journal News, a newspaper in the Lower Hudson Valley.
Lowey’s statement brings to 117 the number of Democrats endorsing impeachment, close to half of the 235-member caucus, and increases the pressure on Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the Speaker, to allow the procedure to advance.
Pelosi has said she does not want to move on impeachment until separate inquiries into alleged Trump administration improprieties are completed.
Shabbat at the Beach Escaping the midsummer heat in the San Fernando Valley, Kol Tikvah congregation members and friends from Woodland Hills drive west to Malibu and celebrate Shabbat at the beach at Point Dume. Rabbi Jon Hanish and Cantor Noa Shaashua lead services. Bring your own picnic dinner, towels and beach chairs. Kol Tikvah provides challah and dessert. RSVP suggested. 5-7:30 p.m. Free. Point Dume, Lifeguard Station No. 2. (818) 348-0670.
Steve Goldberg
678 Shabbat Adat Ari El’s 678 Shabbat is a uniquely stimulating experience that spotlights exchanges of contrasting opinions. Tonight’s program, “Controversy & Courteous Conversation: One State or Two?” features guest speaker Steve Goldberg, formerly of the national board of the Zionist Organization of America. 6 p.m. services. 7 p.m. dinner (vegetarian option available). 8 p.m. program. $18. Registration encouraged. Adat Ari El, 12020 Burbank Blvd., Valley Village. (818) 766-9426.
Tiny Tot Shabbat Newborns to 2-year-olds attend a joyful Tiny Tot Shabbat, organized by Temple Akiba of Culver City and Jewish education group PJ Library. The morning features storytime, music, singing and fun. The guitar-strumming Rabbi Zach Shapiro and Cantor Lonee Frailich lead services. Open to the community. 9-10 a.m. Free. Temple Akiba, 5249 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City. (310) 398-5783.
Tel Aviv on Fire
“Tel Aviv on Fire” “Tel Aviv on Fire,” opening today at Laemmle theaters, follows a young Palestinian working for a soap opera who gets plot advice from a border guard. The success is stalled when the guard and the show’s financial backers fall into disagreement. Various times. $12.50 Monday-Thursday; $14 Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Opens at the Laemmle Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles; Playhouse 7, 673 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; Town Center 5, 17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (310) 478-3836.
Synagogue for Performing Arts Husband-and-wife and Cantors Judy and Herschel Fox lead Synagogue for the Performing Arts’ special, music-filled Shabbat services. No strangers to show business, the Foxes, who met 40 years ago, have separate careers but also sing together. 8 p.m. Free. Gindi Auditorium, American Jewish University, 15600 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 472-3500.
Camp Shabbat Temple Aliyah celebrates “Camp Shabbat,” a rare opportunity to reunite with onetime bunkmates and song leaders from summer camp days and recall those forgotten melodies. This is the finale in a six-week “Summer Shul” celebration at the Woodland Hills congregation. 6:30 p.m. services. Free. Temple Aliyah, 6025 Valley Circle Blvd., Woodland Hills. (818) 346-3545.
SAT AUG 3
Jewish Women Discussion Every Shabbat morning, Rabbi Norbert Weinberg and Hollywood Temple Beth El congregants sit around a table and dive into ancient sources for guidance on modern issues. This week they discuss Jewish women, including Rufina, the first synagogue president; the famed businesswoman Glückel of Hameln; and the first woman rabbi in 1935. The discussion series on Jewish women concludes on Aug. 10 with “Women and Halakhah.” 9:30 a.m. discussion. 10:45 a.m. services. Free. Hollywood Temple Beth El, 1317 N. Crescent Heights Blvd., West Hollywood. (323) 656-3150.
Feeding the Overlooked Adult and child volunteers join members of Kehillat Israel when they prepare and serve dinner to the 55 men and women residents at Turning Point, an interim housing facility in Santa Monica. Kehillat Israel has been performing this monthly mitzvah for 26 years. Volunteers shop for needed supplies, prepare food on-site or in advance and serve and socialize with residents during the meal. 5-6:45 p.m. Free. Turning Point, 1447 16th St., Santa Monica. (310) 459-2328.
SUN AUG 4
Meditation Retreat If you have never meditated or need immediate inspiration, join Open Temple, in collaboration with Or Halev, when it presents a half-day silent Jewish meditation retreat. The Walnut-based Or Halev, a center for Jewish spirituality, says Judaism teaches that the way to detect the sacred in life’s mundane moments is by paying attention. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. $5. Registration encouraged. Open Temple, 1422 Electric Ave., Venice.(310) 821-1414.
Picklefest Time Pickle fanatics and pickle amateurs alike participate in the annual family-friendly Picklefest at the Beverly Hills Farmers Market, featuring entertainment, contests and more. Attractions include the sour-puckering contest for the Best Dill Pickle in Beverly Hills and “I Can Pickle That,” where contestants compete with any pickled fruit or vegetable grown in California. The Farmers Market, which turns 25 this year, is sponsored by Nate ’n Al’s, one of the oldest delis in the country, dating to 1945. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Beverly Hills Farmers Market, 9300 block of Civic Center Drive, between Third Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills. (310) 285-6830.
Bagels & Bubbly Young adults in their 20s and 30s meet and schmooze at a private home with other young professionals over bagels and mimosas while getting acquainted with Temple Beth Am’s new assistant rabbi, Rebecca Schatz. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. $18. Address provided upon RSVP. Temple Beth Am, 1039 S. La Cienega Blvd. (310) 652-7353.
MON AUG 5
Adam Schiff U.S. Representative Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) appears at the Pasadena forum and panel discussion “Countering White Supremacy,” co-organized by IKAR. Schiff addresses how to protect houses of worship, confronting white supremacist violence and dismantling white supremacy. Panelists include the Rev. Susan Russell, senior associate for communication at the hosting All Saints Episcopal Church; Omar Ricci, chairperson of the Islamic Center of Southern California; Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council; and Brooke Wirtschafter, IKAR’s director of community organizing. 6-8 p.m. Free. RSVP recommended. All Saints Episcopal Church, 132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena. (323) 634-1870.
TUE AUG 6
Rescuing Ethiopian Jews Reaching back to the heroic and daring 1980s and 1990s, former Mossad agent Yola Reitman shares details at Sinai Temple of the fascinating story of Israel’s rescue of 12,000 Ethiopian Jews from hostile territory. Reitman was a key director of the rescue mission, Operation Brother, which involved setting up a fake resort on the Red Sea coast of Sudan.“The Red Sea Diving Resort,” a film inspired by the operation, is streaming on Netflix. 6:30 p.m. Free admission. Dinner free for Men’s Club members. $10 general. RSVP required for indoor garage parking. Sinai Temple, 10400 Wilshire Blvd. (310) 474-1518.
THU AUG 8
Cha Wa
Cha Wa Cha Wa, which combines the New Orleans brass band sounds with the Mardi Gras Indian tradition, performs rare musical sounds at the Skirball Cultural Center. In segregated 19th-century New Orleans, racism was blamed for keeping blacks out of the Mardi Gras. Formed five years ago, the Cha Wa funk band brings its unique and danceable street culture to the Skirball Sunset Concerts series. Early arrivals are treated to a DJ set by Dr. Fuzzy of the Long Beach Funk Festival and the funk band Delta Nove. 6:30 p.m. doors and DJ set. 8 p.m. concert. Free. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. (310) 440-4500.
Challah Bake Since it is never is too early to learn about prepping for Shabbat, all ages are welcome when Kehillat Ma’arav holds a community challah bake. 6:30 p.m. Free. Kehillat Ma’arav, 1715 21st St., Santa Monica. (310) 829-0566.
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Benny Medina, manager for actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, told Israel’s Channel 12 that “nothing was going to stop” them from performing in Israel.
Lopez is scheduled to perform in Tel Aviv on Aug. 1 as part of her “It’s My Party” tour. Activists in the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement had been attempting to dissuade Lopez from performing in the Jewish State, calling it their “J.Lo Don’t Go” campaign.
A reporter from Channel 12 asked Medina, “The BDS movement didn’t try to stop the show?” Medina replied, “There was nothing that was gonna stop us from being in Israel.”
He added, “It’s really simple: Tel Aviv and Israel deserve Jennifer Lopez, and Jennifer Lopez deserves Israel.”
“There was nothing that was going to stop us from being in Israel” – Benny Medina, Jennifer Lopez’s long time manager.
For months, the #antisemitic BDS movmement was harassing J Lo and her team about performing in Israel.
According to The Jerusalem Post, a pro-BDS group called “”Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS call from within” sent Lopez a letter on July 5 urging the singer to boycott Israel, arguing that “Tel Aviv, where you are about to perform, is used as a tool for marketing the State of Israel as a ‘cool’ and ‘cultured’ democracy, while hiding a brutal history of colonization, even that of the city itself.”
Lopez and her fiancé, former baseball star Alex Rodriguez, arrived in Israel on July 31; both Lopez and Rodriguez expressed excitement about being in Israel on Instagram.
On July 25, world-renowned rock band Bon Jovi also performed in Tel Aviv despite BDS pressure. Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan told the Post, “We don’t get into politics. Rock ‘n’ roll goes everywhere and helps people forget about the world and have a good time. It doesn’t divide, and that’s what we’re talking about – unification, not dividing.”
Musicians like former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters frequently pressure artists to not perform in Israel and boycott the Jewish state. David Draiman, frontman for the heavy metal band Disturbed, said in a May 30 Facebook video on Disturbed fan page, “The very notion that Waters and the rest of his Nazi comrades decide that this is the way to go ahead and foster change is absolute lunacy and idiocy. It makes no sense whatsoever. It’s only based on hatred of a culture and of a people in a society that has been demonized unjustifiably since the beginning of time.”
Former congresswoman and gun violence
survivor Gabrielle Giffords wants people to continue the challenging fight for stricter gun control laws.
“Stopping gun violence takes courage, the courage to do what’s right,” Giffords said at Shalhevet High School on July 23. “Now is the time to come together, to be responsible. … We must never stop fighting — fight, fight. Be bold, be courageous, the nation is counting on you.”
Giffords, an Arizona Democrat who served in Congress starting in 2007, was shot in the head in 2011 during a speaking appearance outside a Safeway supermarket. She resigned from office in 2012 and has become an advocate for gun reform.
At Shalhevet, she appeared at the conclusion of an event organized by IKAR titled “A Case Study in Hope: From Oakland to the Nation, Faith Partnerships to End Gun Violence.”
Receiving a standing ovation, the Jewish former congresswoman spoke briefly following a panel focused on how communities of faith can tackle gun violence.
The panel featured Pastor Michael McBride, director of Urban Strategies and the Live Free Campaign, and Robyn Thomas, executive director of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
McBride said gun violence was a public health issue and Thomas likened gun violence to a disease. “Gun violence we know now has a contagion effect,” she said. “Shootings beget other shootings.”
Thomas also said discussion about ending gun violence must address the problem of suicides, which account for two-thirds of gun deaths in the United States. Youths and veterans are particularly prone to suicide, she said.
When the panel’s moderator, IKAR Rabbi Sharon Brous, asked the panelists what they would like to hear about the issue from the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, McBride said he would like them to say gun violence is a solvable issue in this country.
Closing the event, Brous echoed Giffords’ push for people to see themselves as change agents. “We are suffering from the perception of powerlessness,” Brous said, “but we are so powerful.”
Jewish veteran Ethel Margolin, 93, and State Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel. Photo courtesy ofthe office of Jesse Gabriel
San Fernando Valley State Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel honored 93-year-old Jewish war veteran Ethel Margolin on July 23 at the Orange Grove Bistro at Cal State Northridge.
During World War II, Margolin served in the U.S. Army and was stationed at the Air Transport Command of the 8th Air Force in Cincinnati.She currently belongs to Wings Over Wendy’s, a group of veterans, veteran supporters and aviation and military aficionados that honor veterans past and present.The members meet every Monday morning, 52 weeks a year, at a Wendy’s restaurant in West Hills.
Margolin and more than a dozen San Fernando Valley military veterans of World War II and the Vietnam War were honored by Gabriel and fellow Assemblymembers Laura Friedman, Adrin Nazarian and Luz Rivas.
Dr. Vito Imbasciani, secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs, delivered the keynote address.
Local Orthodox Union (OU) leaders Aviva and Scott Krieger traveled with an OU delegation to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo by Eliyahu Yanai
Orthodox Union (OU) leaders from throughout the United States and Canada met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, and discussed the
need to increase and expand initiatives focused on Diaspora Jewish education
and identity.
The July 16 delegation included Los Angeles Jewish community members Scott and Aviva Krieger as well as Isabelle Novak.
The prime minister, while agreeing that more should be done, told the group of American Jewish leaders that he has had the government of Israel invest tens of millions of dollars in these programs already, but he agreed this priority deserved more funding, according to the OU.
The 2019 JVS Scholarship Program recipients gathered at Sinai Temple for the initiative’s 47th annual awards reception. Photo courtesy of JVS SoCal
During the JVS Scholarship Program’s 47th annual awards reception on July 25 at Sinai Temple, scholarship recipients had the chance to thank the many donors in attendance.
This year, the JVS Scholarship Program helped 256 college students through $808,700 in need-based scholarships, with gifts ranging from $900-$10,000, and for the sixth year in a row, JVS was able to support 10 medical school students with $10,000 scholarships.
During the selection process, the recipients participated in interviews led by members of the scholarship committee, chaired by Matthew Paul and Alan Polsky.
“Every year, I am so amazed and inspired by the remarkable students who apply for our program,” Paul said in a statement.
According to JVS SoCal (formerly Jewish Vocational Service), which runs the program, this year’s scholarship recipients are attending colleges across the country and internationally, including Harvard, Stanford, Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine, USC and Cal State Northridge. The group includes students who have emigrated from other countries, individuals with learning disabilities and others who are returning to school to pursue advanced degrees.
“Our program is helping to fund the future leaders of our community and beyond — in the fields of medicine, education, law, business, public policy, the arts and sciences and beyond,” JVS SoCal CEO Alan Levey said. “We are so proud to play a role in their educational and professional careers and have them represent JVS in the work they do in our community.”
Scholarship recipient Alex Horland said the program alleviated some of the financial burden of attending college. “The JVS scholarship helped me through college without the stress of taking out loans and I am extremely grateful,” he said.
Founded in 1972, the JVS Scholarship Program has awarded more than $10 million to more than 5,000 local Jewish students, according to JVS SoCal. It describes itself as “the largest need-based scholarship program serving Jewish students within the Jewish community.”
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Since moving to Los Angeles from Boston in 2010, comedian and writer Zach Sherwin has made his mark performing comedy raps at stand-up comedy venues throughout the United States.
The 39-year-old has written for almost every episode of the web series “Epic Rap Battles of History,” appearing in 10 of them playing historical and pop cultural figures including Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Sherlock Holmes. Between his own comedy rap videos and “Epic Rap Battles,” his work has been viewed over 400 million times.
He also has performed on “America’s Got Talent,” “The Pete Holmes Show” and “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell” and written for “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and Mad magazine.
The son of a rabbi, he has taught Hebrew school and is deeply connected to his Jewish identity. His new interactive comedy, music and trivia stage production, “The Crossword Show,” features three guest panelists solving a crossword puzzle live onstage. The puzzle is projected on a screen so the audience can follow along and the clues are written as raps. Audience members at “The Crossword Show” (the latest puzzle debuts at the Dynasty Typewriter stage near MacArthur Park on Aug. 7) can expect etymology and linguistics lessons, a crash course in the history of rap and hip-hop, and various Jewish references.
Jewish Journal: How was “The Crossword Show” born?
Zach Sherwin: Will Nediger constructed dozens of crossword puzzles for The New York Times. He reached out online in the summer of 2017 to tell me he liked the wordplay in my tweets and suggested we find a way to collaborate. I said, “What if you create a crossword puzzle and I write clues that are also rap lyrics?”
As it started coming together, we had no idea what we were going to do with it but I began to get more excited about it and mentioned the project to comedy producer Dominic Del Bene, now my partner on “The Crossword Show.” Dominic said, “Let’s release this together as a vinyl EP with the grid on the front cover and the clues printed on the back and the clue raps on the record. You can sell it at shows.”
When I told another friend about it, he said, “Wait, this is totally a live show where guests solve the crossword onstage, like [the NPR show] ‘Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me.’ ” The first show was in November 2018 and took about a year and a half to figure out. The second one took three months, the [upcoming] puzzle three to four months. I want the show to be bristling with delightful things.
JJ: How do you find the guest panelists?
ZS: I heard a crossword podcast that mentioned [musician] Lisa Loeb had co-authored a guest crossword [for the Times in 2017]. We had a good interaction on Twitter and I had a sense she’d be down to do it. She set a high bar for future guests to clear.
JJ: Your shows often have Jewish references. Does this happen organically or is it a conscious choice?
ZS: It’s organically coming out as I work through the material and try to find creative things to do at every possible point. I’m really glad I have a Jewish background. The religion is so wordplayish. The universe was created with an act of language. Talmudic and rabbinic thought is informed by words, letters and acrostics. There’s a concept that each letter is imbued with holy specific significance. No question, this is the religion to have grown up in in order to do “The Crossword Show.”
JJ: How did you become interested in language to such an intense degree?
ZS: I come from a bookish family. Wordplay and puns. Some of my earliest memories are with my grandpa doing the Jumble in the newspaper. [As an adult] I became aware of a whole subculture of word magicians — people who do crazy stunts with words and letters. There’s a fine line between being too geeky and being interesting to almost anyone if pointed out in the right way. I kind of feel that’s my role in the show, [to create an] appreciation for how these things — comedy, rap, words, Judaism — can be woven together and be interesting. I want to bar mitzvah tutor the crowd through it. Let me show you why it’s fun.
JJ: You also co-wrote “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s” “JAP Battle Rap,” which has an insane number of Jewish insider references including “you got me trippin’ like Birthright” and “we were egged on like seder plates.” How did this song end up on TV?
ZS: [Show creator] Rachel Bloom and I were musical comedy scene friends before she had the show. I texted her my congratulations on the show and she wrote, “Dude, I’m bringing you in to write for it.”
And man, did she come through. There was a nice click, especially on “JAP Battle,” with the team over there. They told me they wanted Jewish references. I thought I’d really go for it and if they want to dial it back later, they can. I’m astonished it made it on TV with all those jokes in it.
JJ: How has your comedy evolved over the years?
ZS: I did debate in high school. I didn’t like the research but I liked getting to talk as performance. In college, I co-founded a comedy group and after an amicable breakup, I started doing comedy raps. Like with Judaism, the thread with hip-hop is it’s so language-y. Rappers are huge punsters and wordplayers. I definitely absorbed all of that. I was feeling stalled out creatively until “The Crossword Show.” It’s the love of a lifetime. I feel incredibly fortunate. This project lights me up 100%.
For more information about “The Crossword Show,” visit his website.
This back-to-school season, what will all the cool kids have in their backpacks? This giant pencil case, of course. Crafted out of an empty paper towel roll, it’s a larger-than-life version of the pencils it holds. This oversized pencil would also make a fun classroom decoration or teacher appreciation gift. It certainly makes going back to school more bearable. Well, almost.
What you’ll need: Empty paper towel roll
Scissors
Plain masking tape
Black electrical or duct tape
Yellow construction paper
Glue stick
Pink construction paper
Green construction paper
Aluminum foil
Cap from milk jug
1. On one end of the empty paper towel roll, cut 12 to 15 vertical slits that are about two inches deep.
2. Pinch the slits to create a pointy end, and wrap plain masking tape around it.
3. Wrap black tape around the tip to create the pencil lead.
4. Cut a six-by-seven-inch piece of yellow construction paper. With a glue stick, adhere it lengthwise to the paper towel roll starting at the base of the pointy tip.
5. Cut a two-by-six-inch piece of pink construction paper, and then glue it to the other end of the paper towel roll.
6. Cut a one-by-six-inch piece of green construction paper. Glue it between the yellow and pink sections. Then cut a half-inch-by-six-inch piece of aluminum foil and glue it in the middle of the green section.
7. To make the closure for the bottom of the giant pencil, we’ll use the cap from a milk bottle or jug. Because the cap is slightly smaller than the opening, wrap black tape around the circumference to widen it.
8. Slide the cap into the bottom of the giant pencil to make sure it’s snug.
Jonathan Fong is the author of “Flowers That Wow” and “Parties That Wow,” and host of “Style With a Smile” on YouTube. You can see more of his do-it-yourself projects at jonathanfongstyle.com.
Irwin Abramson died July 3 at 83. Survived by daughter Alisa (Todd) Nathanson; son Michael (Debra); 3 grandchildren; brother Harvey (Barbara). Mount Sinai
Natalie C. Berk died July 2 at 82. Survived by husband Stanley; daughters Pamela Rosenberg, Karen (Damian) Smith; 3 grandchildren; sister Mickie (Tim) Wess. Mount Sinai
David Canter died July 5 at 54. Survived by mother Barbara; father Seymour; sister Caren (Rick). Hillside
Albert Coburn died June 27 at 95. Survived by wife Pearl; daughter Karen; son Michael. Mount Sinai
Marcelle Costa died July 9 at 95. Survived by sons Michel (Annick), Daniel, George; 3 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; sister Solange. Hillside
Sherwin Edelberg died June 25 at 82. Survived by wife Bonita; daughter Shoshana; son Benjamin; 1 grandchild. Mount Sinai
Andrea Diane Farkas died June 27 at 58. Survived by mother Barbara; brother Michael. Mount Sinai
Marilyn Fishman died June 30 at 88. Survived by daughters Terri Aaron, Stacy Selvin, Baki Ziegelbest. Mount Sinai
Ian Joseph Fraigun died June 25 at 76. Survived by wife Elyse; sons Edward (Jackie), Gary (Marina), Ron (Tarynne); 7 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman
David Hallbauer died June 21 at 69. Survived by wife Alayne; daughter Sarah; son Joshua; sister Diane (Frank) Rosales; brother Carl; father-in-law Herbert Feingold. Mount Sinai
Darren Janger died July 8 at 49. Survived by wife Shelly; daughter Jordyn; mother Linda; brothers Jeffrey (Rachel), Lane. Hillside
Ruda Harriet Karpoff died March 14 at 82. Survived by daughters Lois Gerace, Gina (Dale) Mandell; 3 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Alan Krane died July 7 at 92. Survived by wife Lois; daughter Leslie; sons Guy (Cindy), Scott; 2 grandchildren; brother Howard. Hillside
Bernard Lavin died July 1 at 93. Survived by daughters Cindie Whitter, Rena (Robert) Johnson; son Bruce (Kathy); 4 grandchildren; sister Joan Steele. Mount Sinai
Howard David Levine died June 27 at 64. Survived by wife Louise; daughter Jessica; son Justin; sister Marilyn (Paul) Ozan; brother James (Jenny); sister-in-law Linda. Mount Sinai
Richard Levy died June 21 at 82. Survived by daughters Elizabeth (Chad), Sarah (Connor); 1 grandson. Hillside
Benjamin Lipman died July 1, at 95. Survived by wife Rita; daughters Darlene (Lance) Meltzer, Sharon Teitelman; son Jeffrey (Rona); 2 grandchildren; 5 great grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Allan Lourie died July 14 at 80. Survived by wife Robin; daughters Jennifer, Heather (Gary); 3 grandchildren; sister Mildred. Hillside
Bernice Lurie died July 7 at 97. Survived by daughter Linda (Tony); son Robert (Debi); 5 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren. Hillside
Marvin Markman died July 8 at 83. Survived by wife Marsha; sons Leslie (Nancy Siegel), Elliot (Dani Raphael), Russell; 5 grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Marlene Mathias died June 25, at 88. Survived by sons Steven (Sherri), Martin (Tani); 4 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren; sister Lilly Berney. Mount Sinai
Madeleine S. Moran died June 27 at 76. Survived by husband William; daughter Allison (Randall) Gingold; son Allen (Crystal); 11 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild; sister Trudy (Jay) Goldberg; brother Kenneth (Georgrie) Nuger. Mount Sinai
Robert Louis Morris died June 25 at 95. Survived by daughter Diane Formica; sons David, Alan (Jill); 6 grandchildren. Malinow and Silverman
Carol Penner died July 2 at 93. Survived by daughter Sharon (Richard); sons
Michael (Linda), Robert (Joy); 7 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. Hillside
Mike Popik died June 29, at 89. Survived by wife Esther; daughters Vivian (Jeff) Gaines, Frida (Joel) Glucoft, Anita (Bernardo) Nof; 1 grandchild; 1 great-grandchild. Mount Sinai
Andrew Roth died April 15 at 80. Survived by wife Gail; daughters Samantha (Tom), Suzie (Max), Nancy (Wayne); son Michael (Cristina); stepdaughter Nicole; 12 grandchildren; brother Peter. Hillside
Leon Segan died July 5 at 91. Survived by daughter Loren; son Lloyd. Hillside
Lenore Konvitz Sheldon died July 3 at 92. Survived by daughter Elizabeth (Michele Amestoy); son Garth (Roxana Waterson); 2 Grandchildren. Mount Sinai
Murray T. Stein died June 27 at 88. Survived by wife Elda; son Michael (Sharon) Stein. Mount Sinai
Bernice Stern died June 30 at 87. Survived by daughters Deborah (Marc), Elisa (Tony), Carla (David); 5 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild. Hillside
Inge Teltscher died July 14 at 91. Survived by daughter Deborah (William); 2 grandchildren. Hillside
Elaine Simone Weisburd died June 29 at 83. Survived by husband Dan; daughter Elizabeth Buck; son Steven (Amy); 3 grandchildren; brother, Warren Entner. Mount Sinai
Wanda Wolfson died July 1 at 91. Survived by niece Leslie Schwartz; nephew Jeffrey White. Mount Sinai
In the recently released concert documentary by Martin Scorsese chronicling Bob Dylan’s 1975 “Rolling Thunder Revue” tour, Dylan says, “If someone’s wearing a mask, they’re going to tell you the truth.” But some have argued Dylan has been wearing a mask ever since he legally changed his name to Bob Dylan from Robert Allen Zimmerman in 1962.
There have been a library’s worth of books trying to explain what’s behind that Bob Dylan mask — even his trash was deemed worthy of study — but large swaths of Dylan’s life remain unkown. How serious was his 1966 motorcycle accident? What led him to embrace evangelical Christianity in the late 1970s? What brought him back to Judaism a few years later, and what was behind his appearances on the 1989 Chabad telethon?
If few people know Bob Dylan, even fewer can lay claim to knowing Robert Zimmerman. But Louie Kemp may come close. Dylan’s best friend since the duo met at summer camp in 1953, and also the producer of his “Rolling Thunder Revue” tour, Kemp has just released his memoir, “Dylan & Me: 50 Years of Adventures” (Westrose Press).
In it, Kemp provides readers with glimpses into the unguarded Dylan — the good friend, family man and Jewish seeker. Opening with how he met Dylan at the Wisconsin summer camp, Kemp portrays the teenage Zimmerman as polite and well-spoken but mischievous. He’s the guy who shows up for a school formal in a leather jacket, black jeans and a pink ruffled shirt. But he’s also a nice Jewish boy. When Dylan’s friend Larry Kegan is paralyzed in a diving accident, Dylan regularly shows up in his hospital room with his guitar and, in 1981, invites him onstage for a song.
After high school, Kemp and Dylan drifted apart. Dylan spent a year in college before heading to New York, while Kemp stayed in school and eventually took over his family’s successful fish business. They reconnected in 1972 (after Mrs. Zimmerman told Kemp he should look up her son the next time he’s in New –York). The duo picked up right where they left off as teens — engaging in horseplay and making a crank call to Kemp’s girlfriend.
Friendship rekindled, the book hits its stride as Dylan invites Kemp to the set of the 1973 film “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” for which Dylan composed the music; asks him to tag along on his 1974 comeback tour with the roots rock group the Band; and asks him to produce “Rolling Thunder Revue.”
Kemp initially demurred, but Dylan insisted, “Louis, you can sell fish; you can sell tickets.” It was a smart move. “Rolling Thunder” was an improvised caravan starring Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn. It would play small rooms without any advance promotion, the show announced by handbills. Any music business professional would have rejected the idea. But Kemp not only was someone Dylan trusted, he was unimpressed by the whole rock ’n’ roll milieu. He could walk into Columbia Records and demand $100,000 in tour support, and when someone threatened he’d never work in rock ’n’ roll again, Kemp shrugged and said he had a successful fish business, “and the fish don’t talk back.”
In the book, Kemp comes off as a grounding force on the tour, keeping the ballooning troupe and overly aggressive members of the press in line. He even manages to puncture Dylan’s aura. While vacationing on a Mexican beach, Dylan constantly wears a heavy leather jacket. Someone assumes it’s because he “must feel a chill nobody else can feel.” Kemp says, “Maybe he just liked wearing the jacket.”
After “Rolling Thunder,” Kemp and Dylan settled in Los Angeles to live the bachelor life. As Dylan began embracing evangelical Christianity in 1979, Kemp became a more observant Jew, eventually becoming a Chabadnik, determined to “bring Bobby home.” For Kemp, Dylan’s Judaism is key to understanding the man. “There’s no question in my mind,” he writes, “that Bobby’s drive to write songs that mattered was born at least in part from his roots as a Jew.”
It must have taken. By 1983, Dylan had returned to his Jewish roots and Kemp writes a chapter about taking Dylan and Marlon Brando to a Passover seder. That same year, Dylan’s album “Infidels” included “Neighborhood Bully,” a biting, pro-Israel rocker.
The final chapters offer a view of Dylan that few have seen. Dylan as a doting father taking his son Jesse to the Super Bowl. Dylan interrogating Kemp’s fiancée, making sure she’s worthy of his friend. And finally, Dylan attending a Yom Kippur service at the Santa Monica Chabad House in 2007, where he is asked to open the ark by Rabbi Avraham Levitansky. He’s wearing his usual scruffy attire — torn jeans and a hoodie — and is mistaken by a congregant for a homeless person.
Kemp ends with a benediction, telling Dylan, “It’s obvious God has chosen you … to bring special light and knowledge to this world … may He bless you in this world and the world to come with pleasure and peace.”
“Dylan and Me” is available on Amazon starting August 15 and online.
