With its sparkling 24-karat gold dome and Jerusalem stone exterior, the new 25,000-square-foot Southern California Jewish Center (SCJC) stands out more than just a little among the various stores and restaurants.
Representatives from Southern California-based Persian-language satellite radio stations and television shows attended a special press conference on Aug. 28, held for them at Los Angeles\’ Israeli consulate, the first public interaction between the Israeli government and local Persian-language media in more than 25 years.\n
Imagine that you live in Latin America and you\’re Jewish. Typically, you and your family would belong to a full-service Jewish club with cultural, recreational, educational and athletic activities for all ages. The club is reasonably priced, promotes Jewish identity in a secular manner and is the backbone of your social life.
Persian Jewish actress Bahar Soomekh earned some serious attention last year when she played a young Iranian in \”Crash,\” the Academy Award winner for best picture. She\’s now appearing in an even bigger role — playing alongside Tom Cruise in the thriller, \”M:I:III.\” On the eve of the film\’s debut, Soomekh spoke about growing up Persian Jewish in Los Angeles and about her career.\n
\”I have a warped idea about my worth, my abilities as an artist, my intelligence,\” Jessica Shokrian says in her video installation at the Skirball Cultural Center. \”For much of my life, I\’ve been extremely concerned with how I look and how I think I look to other people. It\’s definitely been a sad obsession.\”
Local Iranian Jewish leaders George Haroonian and Bijan Khalli were involved in setting up the Museum of Tolerance event. They said they felt a responsibility as Jews to inform their non-Jewish Iranian compatriots about the truth of the Holocaust.
\”I never think of food as something that\’s stationary,\” Nathan said on a recent book tour stop in Los Angeles. \”Things change, neighborhoods change, food changes, we get new ingredients, people get ideas. And when you come to a country you adapt what you knew to that country.\”
Considered one of the oldest but least- studied Jewish writings in the world, Judeo-Persian writings consist of the Persian language written in Hebrew characters by Jews living in what today are Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and some parts of India during the last 1,000 years.
Competition for postings to Los Angeles is fierce within the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and two young diplomats who made the grade, Yaron Gamburg and Gilad Millo, have joined the staff of the consulate general here.
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