Partition Plan Anniversary, SWU Festival of Lights, YU Dinner

On Nov. 28, a community-wide event marked the 75th anniversary of the United Nations Partition Plan of the British Mandate for Palestine.

The educational ceremony was coordinated with the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles; Rabbi Pini Dunner of Beverly Hills Synagogue; and the Mensch Foundation’s Steven Geiger. It was held with the participation of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance.

Program participants discussed the historic significance of the 1947 U.N. Partition Plan.

“It was the first international recognition of the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own,” Judea Pearl, one of the event organizers, said. 

Pearl, 86, was 11-years-old and living in Israel – then known as the British Mandate for Palestine – when the U.N. plan was adopted. 

“For Jews living there at the time, including his family, this was like a peace agreement,” local journalist Scott Jacobs said in an interview afterward. “This was legitimizing their residence there.”

Jacobs, who runs JooTube.tv, emphasized how the anniversary of the U.N. Partition Plan was a significant occasion in Zionist history. Pearl and the Los Angeles community deserved credit for holding the event, he said. 

“Who else does this in this country? Who else holds an event for Nov. 29 as important as it is in Zionist history?” Jacobs said. “Only in LA.”

Additional speakers included Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles Hillel Newman; Israeli-American actor and director Mike Burstyn; and Rev. Alexei Smith. Shalhevet High School students turned out. 

Israel education organization StandWithUs (SWU) welcomed more than 600 Israel supporters of all ages, faiths and political persuasions to its annual “Festival of Lights” gala on Dec. 4 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. 

Celebrating its 21st anniversary, this year’s theme for the non-profit organization was “Standing Together Against Antisemitism.” 

The event was co-sponsored by board members Ellie and Bruce Lederman and Debbie and Naty Saidoff. 

Israel’s Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism Noa Tishby served as master of ceremonies and interviewed keynote speaker and award-winning journalist Matti Friedman. Comedian Elon Gold opened the evening. 

SWU CEO Roz Rothstein emphasized the importance of StandWithUs. The pro-Israel community advocate thanked the audience for their support.

“You can sleep better knowing that StandWithUs is working to face these challenges on all of our behalf,” she said. 

With more than 170 international employees fighting antisemitism and supporting Israel, SWU is an international leader in the fight against antisemitism and in educating about Israel on campuses, in high schools, middle schools, on social media and in the community.

The in-person event was live streamed. To view a recording of the event, visit standwithus.com/fol-gala

Yeshiva University (YU) announced it has raised $350 million toward its goal of raising $613 million over five years.

YU made the announcement about “Rise Up: The Campaign for 613” during its 98th annual Hanukkah dinner in New York on Dec. 4. There were about 500 friends and supporters of YU in the audience.

“Thank you to all of our friends, alumni and supporters for their commitment to building the flagship Jewish university,” YU President and Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman said. “Any student of history understands that today our greatest need is to educate the next generations to be leaders of tomorrow, deeply rooted in our Torah values and forward focused to meet the challenges and realize the enormous opportunities of our times. In all of our metrics — national rankings, student enrollment, cutting-edge academic programs and career accomplishments of our graduates — Yeshiva University is on the rise.”

The dinner committee included YU leaders from across the country, with Ingeborg and Ira Rennert serving as honorary chairs, and Anita Zucker and former U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman as dinner chairs.