According to statistics compiled by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), during 2004 alone, 540 Israelis were deported or about to be deported. If that many Israelis were caught, it stands to reason that there are many thousands more — in Los Angeles as well as the rest of the United States — who have not yet been located by authorities.
In Veracruz, Mexico, there lived a group of people who for generations had avoided eating pork and lit candles on Friday night without knowing why. In the early 1980s, some members of the group discovered their Jewish roots and converted to Judaism, and now, 20 years later, are still struggling for acceptance from the Jewish community in Mexico.
Their story is being told in \”Eight Candles,\” a 2002 Mexican documentary, one of nine Jewish films being shown in Mexico\’s first Jewish film festival.
Although East Los Angeles, and the bordering Boyle Heights, is now the heart of Mexican Los Angeles, vestiges of its diverse past still remain.
While visiting Ellis Island at the turn of the 20th century, Henry James wondered how the sweeping tide of immigrants would ultimately affect \”the idea of\” America. Comparing the incorporation of foreigners to sword- and fire-swallowing feats at a circus, James reflected on what it meant for America to share its patrimony with those \”inconceivable aliens.\”
Despite his Italian surname, joked District Attorney Gil Garcetti, \”[My heritage] is Mexican-American and my wife is Jewish.So our kids ask, \’Well, what are we?\’\”\n\nGarcetti was praising our city\’s multi ethnic population as he spoke at last week\’s Anti-Defamation League SpringLuncheon, touted as a tribute to Israel\’s 50th Anniversary but, in fact, honoring Deputy District Attorney Carla Arranaga and Deputy Sheriff BerniceAbram. Recognized for their efforts in combating hate crimes in Los Angeles, they were this year\’s recipients of the Sherwood Prize for Combating Hate.
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