I was talking with a young woman last Sunday afternoon. She had called me because she read the column I wrote here last month, about Sinai Temple’s decision to perform same-sex weddings.
For visitors to the Fowler Museum’s recent exhibition, the show’s catalog, “Light and Shadows: The Story of Iranian Jews” edited by David Yeroushalmi (Beit Hatfutsot/Fowler Museum: $30) will be a keepsake. For those who missed the exhibition, the book captures the sumptuous images and the resonant historical narrative that were on display at the Fowler. Either way, the book is a sumptuous and illuminating work of history.
Nearly 300 young Iranian Jews packed UCLA’s Fowler Museum auditorium on March 7 for a discussion featuring five prominent young Iranian-Jewish professionals openly discussing topics considered to be taboo within their community. The gathering was historic not only because young Iranian-Jews do not typically discuss their problems regarding career choices and personal relationships in a public forum — but also because this event marked the first time an openly gay member of the community has discussed issues of homosexuality facing Iranian-Jews in Los Angeles.
Your cover stories about the history of Iranian Jews were eye-opening and inspiring (“A History of Iranian Jews,” Oct. 12). Although I am not Jewish, I have had many Jewish friends over the years tell me stories of great religious traditions and faith mixed with the anguish of hatred, unjust prosecution and persecution that came with being Jewish.
In the wake of the Feb. 14 Iranian protests for greater freedom, which took place throughout that country, Iranian Americans of various religious backgrounds in Southern California have been closely monitoring the developments and voicing support for those seeking democracy.
Though demure in their dress, the women of the Mikvah Society of Los Angeles were not as modest with their checkbooks during an \”Evening of Auction and Ambiance,\” a Nov. 2 fundraiser for the maintenance of Mikvah Esther located on Pico Boulevard.
It\’s been 30 years since I left Iran, and I still know I\’m going back some day, because I have to see that house again, to stand before the yard door and discover if it\’s indeed 12 feet high, or if I\’ve imagined it so, to ring the doorbell and see if I can hear its chime echo up and down the street.
The lawsuit argues that any deal with Hezbollah must advance the effort to locate and free the missing Iranian Jews.
The concert at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas was advertised as a \”night to remember,\” and it lived up to the hype.
Mayor Jimmy Delshad was surrounded by nearly two dozen local Iranian Jews at his Beverly Hills City Hall office on March 10. Holdings hands, they recited a prayer of thanksgiving and he personally thanked his supporters in the community for backing his efforts as mayor.
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