Beit Shalom is a newly minted coalition of 16American Jewish groups “dedicated to the advancement of peace andreligious pluralism in Israel.” Based in New York, Beit Shalom (Houseof Peace) brings together Americans for Peace Now, Meretz, JewishLabor Committee and similar groups for dialogue, education and morecoalition building.

Beit Shalom is bringing together a panel ofdistinguished rabbis and Jewish educators, along with the leaders ofIsrael’s three kibbutz movements, for a public discussion at TempleEmanuel in Beverly Hills, on March 26, at 7:30 p.m. “ReligiousPluralism and Peace: Is There a Connection?” will feature RabbisHarvey Fields, Laura Geller, Joel Rembaum and Professor Gerald Bubisof Los Angeles. The kibbutz leaders will be Dov Hellman of the UnitedKibbutz Movement, Avshalom Vilan of Kibbutz Artzi, and Rabbi DavidBigman of the Religious Kibbutz Movement. For more information on theevent, call (213) 936-2265. — RobEshman, ManagingEditor

The Los Angeles/Southern California ZagatRestaurant Survey, widely considered the last word on where’s best toeat, depends on free-lance diners to rate their meals out. To be apart of the survey, mail a stamped, self-addressed business-sizedenvelope to: Zagat Survey, 12618 Homewood Way, Los Angeles, CA90049-1908. Respond before May 1 and receive a free guide this fall.– RE

We thought the last episode of “Ally McBeal” wenta bit over the top when it featured a story line about a 9-year-oldlawyer. Then comes news — for real — of Vladimir Kalnizky, astudent at the ORT high school in Migdal Ha Emek, Israel, who nextyear will matriculate at the Technion as the youngest student in thatesteemed university’s history. Kalnizky, a native of Kiev, excels inmathematics, computers and chemistry. ORT, which supports vocationaland technical training for Jews around the world, has some 262,000students enrolled at 800 ORT schools worldwide. We’ll go out on alimb and say that Kalnizky is among the brightest of them.

For more information on ORT and Woman’sAmerican ORT — the largest ORT affiliate — call 800-51-WAORT. —RE