In a tale rooted in personal experience, Dr. John Menkes explores the themes of loss and recovery in his novel “After the Tempest” (Daniel & Daniel, 2003). A Holocaust survivor, Menkes returned to his hometown of Vienna after the war and found that not only was his family and his home gone, but his very identity had been irrevocably lost.
Since Meir Jacobs bought the J&T Bread Bin 34 years ago, the bakery hasn\’t changed much. Nestled in the center of the Farmers Market at Third and Fairfax, it retains its old-world charm — the original glass showcases line the store\’s perimeter, and the original orange \”Bread Bin\” metal signs hang on both sides of the store. Handwritten yellow notes advertise the goods: chocolate danishes, raspberry hamantaschen, sprinkled cookies, lemon bars, macaroons and more.
It\’s the Hungarian treats that reveal the bakery\’s hidden history. The loaves of glazed cinnamon raisin bread, the apple squares and the three-flavored puff pastries called kalaches give meaning to Jacobs\’ words: \”This is a very old-fashioned-style bakery.\”
An old-fashioned Hungarian bakery fashioned after its owner.
Fred Kort, Holocaust survivor, philanthropist and founder/CEO of Imperial Toy Corporation, died on Sept. 6. He was 80.\n
Fred Kort, Holocaust survivor, philanthropist and founder/CEO of Imperial Toy Corporation, died on Sept. 6 at the age of 80.\n\nKort, like fellow philanthropists Jona Goldrich and Max Webb, survived the Holocaust to become one of Jewish Los Angeles\’ most prominent and impassioned supporters, as well as a big giver to secular humanitarian organizations. Kort gave millions to dozens of Jewish causes, including Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Bar-Ilan University, the Anti-Defamation League and Israel Bonds. He was a founding donor of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and contributed to Goldrich\’s L.A. Holocaust Memorial.
The battalion is the brainchild of Roman Rathner, a former major in the Russian green berets — the Spetznaz — who immigrated to Israel a decade ago, who offered his expertise and knowledge to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and was refused because he was older than 30 — too old. A year ago he went on the Russian radio and appealed to his former colleagues.
\”Aren\’t you tired of watching our women and children getting killed on TV? Don\’t you want to do something to help?\” he pleaded.
On July 18, 1947, Dr. Ruth Gruber stood on a wharf in Haifa and watched the battered ship Exodus inch into the harbor. The ship had been rammed by British warships determined to keep the 4,554 Holocaust survivors aboard from reaching Palestine.
Murray Cohen and his wife of 52 years, Lillian, were both Holocaust survivors. Since Lillian\’s death nine months ago, Murray spends most of his days inside. Without the attention of his daughter Barbara, Murray would hardly eat, shower or speak.
I despise \’Schindler\’s List\’ because it ends on a redemptive note, and I don\’t see the slightest bit of redemption in the Shoah…There\’s all this nonsense out there about healing, but I don\’t want to heal anything. I want to rip open the stitches. I want readers to bleed.\”\nDon\’t get author Melvin Jules Bukiet started about the cliché of the sad-eyed Holocaust survivor.
Israeli-Palestinian coexistence and how to achieve it: That was the topic on everybody\’s lips when the 24th Annual Academic Conference convened at the Century Plaza Hotel last weekend. The panel, sponsored by American Friends of the Hebrew University, was followed by a luncheon featuring keynote speaker Dennis Prager, the KABC radio host best known for his \”Religion on the Line\” program.
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