San Diego Jewish World

Wednesday Evening
, June 13, 2007    

Vol. 1, Number 44

 

Israel turns to former prime ministers: Peres
elected as president; Barak heads Labor party

By Donald H. Harrison

Israelis turned to two former prime ministers to lead them from a time of scandal and self-doubt. The Knesset elected former Prime Minister Shimon Peres to serve as the ninth president of Israel, replacing the disgraced Moshe Katsav who was suspended from office after accusations of sexual assault were brought against him.  Members of the Labor Party chose Prime Minister Ehud Barak as their leader, replacing Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who along with the current Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, has been blamed by many for the military debacle in the Lebanon II War.

Peres placed well ahead of  Reuven Rivlin, who had been nominated by the Likud, and Collette Avital, the candidate of the Labor Party, in the Knesset's first round balloting, the candidates respectively garnering 58, 37, and 21 votes.  Before the second-round balloting could begin, both of Peres' rivals withdrew from the contest, giving him a clear field.
Shimon Peres

6/13/07 SDJW Report
(click on headline below to jump to the story)

International and National


*Israel turns to former prime ministers: Peres
elected as president; Barak heads Labor party


*
Hamas appears to be the victor over Fatah in Gaza civil war, with help of Syria, Iran

*
President Bush names four to represent him at History of Polish Jews Museum's groundbreaking ceremony June 26

*
Congressman wants UN High Commissioner fired

*
AJC decries 'culture of hatred and death' in Gaza

*Hilde was a living link with the German Jewish past


Daily Features
*Jews in the News

*News Sleuths

*Jewish Grapevine


For Your Reference
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Arts and Entertainment
*Play Review: Hamlet and the moral dilemmas that lie therein.

*Three Jewish stars feted at annual tribute to volunteers


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At that point, Peres received 86 secret ballot votes, which was 25 more than the 61 required for an absolute majority in the 120-member Knesset.  Twenty-three members of the Knesset voted against him, 8 abstained, 2 cast spoiled ballots and one seat was not filled. Peres was declared to have been elected as Israel's Ninth President by Dalia Itzik, who as Speaker of the Knesset had served as Acting President since Katsav's removal.

After announcing the result, Itzik smilingly noted that Peres was as of that moment no longer a member of the Knesset, a body in which he had served since 1959. 

"I even thought I would have to call security to remove him by force," she quipped.

Meanwhile, in the counting of Labor party ballots throughout the country, Barak scored an easy victory over Ami Ayalon, the former head of the Shin Bet internal security service. The count among party faithful was 34,542 for Barak and 32,117 for Ayalon.
Ehud Barak
The two had become runoff opponents after Peretz placed well behind them in a primary election, in which his leadership of the Lebanon War was a major issue.  Barak is now expected to replace Peretz as Defense Minister, which may potentially be a springboard to oppose Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at some point in the future.

When he takes office on July 15, Peres will take his place in Israel's history along with eight predecessors, who were, from the first to now: Chaim Weizmann, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi; Zalman Shazar; Ephraim Katzir; Yitzhak Navon; Chaim Herzog, Ezer Weizman and Katsav.

The election of Peres to the presidency, a ceremonial position rather than a political one, was hailed by leaders throughout the world who respect him as a visionary for peace in the Middle East. 

 

 

Along with then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and then Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, then Foreign Minister Peres was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1994, chiefly on the basis of the accords the three signed at the White House at then President Bill Clinton's urging in September 1993. 

The preceding story was gathered from information provided by Israel's government ministries, the Knesset, and the World Jewish Congress.

International and National.

Commentary
Hamas appears to be the victor over Fatah
in Gaza civil war, with help of Syria, Iran


By Shoshana Bryen

"Israel has become resigned to the demise of Fatah in the Gaza Strip. Officials said Israel's military and government agree that the Jewish state should not be involved in the Fatah-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. They said foreign military aid to Fatah would not reverse Hamas gains in the Gaza Strip." (Middle East Newsline - MENL)

"Palestinian sources said Hamas trained for the war against Fatah for at least six months as part of a drive to become the senior member of the (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority. The sources said Hamas has been supported in its drive by Iran and Syria, which provided funding and expertise to overcome Fatah forces." (related MENL story)

WASHINGTON, DC (JINSA)—The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs previously said it is unrealistic to expect Palestinians (Fatah) to kill other Palestinians (Hamas) on behalf of security for a State of Israel that they did not accept as legitimate. We stand by that. But it is now abundantly clear that there are Palestinians willing to kill other Palestinians in order to create a bigger and better platform for killing Jews.

Hamas was not formed to govern either in a coalition or by itself - its determination to take over the PLO was always prelude to using the organization to pursue its end game: the destruction of the State of Israel. To believe otherwise is delusional.

This is important by itself; it is more important as a principle for Israel and the United States. There are organizations - non-state actors - that have as their goal the acquisition of territory only as a means of extending a broader agenda. They are willing to beggar and kill their own people - women, children or the insufficiently enthusiastic - to achieve their ends. Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Ansar al-Islam, PIJ and groups we haven't heard of yet are un-nationalist, but take their support from states - Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria. This understanding presents lessons:

  • Don't let them "run" for elective office. Giving them responsibility for potholes and electricity will not make them responsible.
     

  • Don't offer them coalition status. They don't want a percentage.
     

  • Don't give them credit for social service work. Children are fodder; schools and daycare centers are ideological training grounds for future bombers.
     

  • DO believe them when they tell you they have an agenda for which they are willing to die and willing to kill you. They aren't engaged in retaliation for the real or perceived sins of Israel, the U.S. or the West; they are motivated by their very real belief in their supremacy and their right to rule.
     

  • Cut off their financial and military support and punish their state sponsors. Be prepared to kill as many of them as necessary to accomplish this goal.

And don't abandon the idea that consensual government is an absolute necessity, even in the Middle East and especially in the Middle East. Gaza is ruined because the moderate, serious, capable people fled or were killed, leaving the playing field (killing field) to the destitute and dastardly. Gaza is over. If we are supremely skillful and very lucky, there may still be time to save the West Bank - maybe in confederation with Israel and Jordan - but it is running out quickly.

                                                      ___________________
President Bush names four to represent him at History of Polish Jews Museum's groundbreaking ceremony June 26


WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release)—President George W. Bush today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews taking place in Warsaw, Poland on June 26.

Tevi Troy, deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy, will lead the delegation. Members of the Presidential Delegation include the following: Victor Henderson Ashe, U.S. Ambassador to Poland; Cheryl Feldman Halpern, chairman of the board, Corporation for Public Broadcasting; and Michael M. Kaiser, president, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Information for the foregoing article was provided by the White House press office.

                                ___
 

                


Congressman wants UN High Commissioner fired

WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release)—Rep. Anthony Weiner (Democrat, New York) in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, expressed outrage at  news reports that Louise Arbour, the U.N. Human Rights Commissioner, said it was a “good thing” for the British Union of Colleges & Universities and Britain's largest labor union (UNISION) to consider a boycott of Israeli goods and academics.

“The U.N. must be a force in the fight against discrimination and the rise of anti-Semitism around the world,” wrote Rep. Weiner.

“If the Human Rights Commissioner thinks it’s a ‘good thing,’ to consider these shameful boycotts, she is unfit to hold such an important office and should be dismissed immediately,” Rep. Weiner concluded. 

Under the proposal by UNISON, its 1.6 million members would boycott Israeli goods in Britain, a move aimed at hurting Israel's foreign exports. According to news reports, UNISON worked closely with the fiercely anti-Israel Palestinian Solidarity Campaign in crafting the boycott.

The vote by the British Union of Colleges & Universities to boycott Israeli Academics could potentially sever academic interaction and end the exchange of professors and academics between British and Israeli universities, seriously hampering academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas.

Weiner is an original co-sponsor of a new House resolution which unequivocally denounces these boycotts. 

The preceding article was provided by the office of Congressman Weiner 


AJC decries 'culture of hatred and death' in Gaza

NEW YORK (Press Release) – The American Jewish Committee today voiced deep and growing concern over the escalating Palestinian violence in Gaza.

 

“Tragically, the culture of hatred and death that has permeated Palestinian society has now brought Gaza, a territory ruled by the Palestinian Authority, past the point of political failure and to the threshold of civil war,” said AJC Executive Director David A. Harris. “The chief victims of this tragedy are the Palestinian people themselves, and the chances for a durable peace with Israel.”

 

The immediate challenge of achieving order in Gaza, and ending the chaos that has taken more than 50 Palestinian lives this week alone, will require the ascendancy of responsible and decisive Palestinian leadership – and the active assistance of Arab nations that for too long have supported, celebrated and armed the extremist elements now brutalizing each other in Gaza and threatening stability in the West Bank.

 

Less than two years ago, Israel withdrew its forces and citizens entirely from the Gaza Strip, giving the Palestinian Authority an opportunity to chart a new course for the Palestinian people. The results have been dismal.

 

Given its proximity, Israel has not been immune from the increasingly chaotic situation in Gaza. Hamas, which won elections in January 2006, has stood firm in rejecting Israel and all existing Israeli-Palestinian accords, and has continued to fire rockets daily into Sderot and other communities in southern Israel.

 

“While successive Israeli governments have demonstrated, in word and deed, their commitment to a negotiated agreement based on the two-state principle, the absence of a Palestinian partner – of a functional Palestinian Authority capable of meeting its people’s political, social and security needs – puts the hope of such an agreement tragically out of reach for the foreseeable future,” Harris said.    
 


A Herald in Zion....
   
      Notes from Mevasseret Zion
                                           
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Hilde was a living link with the German Jewish past

MEVASSERET ZION, Israel—My father’s cousin, Hilde, was 97 years old when I visited her the last time. Like him, she grew up in Hamburg in the 1920s, but left her home to settle in what was then Palestine in 1932, before Hitler came to power. Widowed at the age of 80, she remained fiercely independent, and insisted on living on her own to the end, accepting only minimal help.

As a young woman she joined a Zionist youth group and trained as a dental technician. The Hamburg Jewish community wisely housed all its youth movements under one roof, enabling the different ideological views to mingle. It was there that Hilde met her future husband, who was studying agriculture. When he was granted a certificate to go to the Land of Israel they decided to get married and go together.

Hilde was already old and bent when I first visited her about ten years ago, though I could see from her photographs that she had once been a handsome young woman. She and her husband had both worked hard, she in her profession and he in his, though once their children were born she stopped working as a dental technician and worked alongside her husband, who was one of the first in Israel to grow flowers commercially.

Hamburg always remained close to Hilde’s heart. Even at her advanced age she could remember the Friday night family gatherings in her grandparents’ home, the subjects of conversation and the cakes and delicacies her grandmother baked. She even sang me the song her uncle (my grandfather) had written in honour of his parents’ golden wedding, her eyes twinkling and her voice still clear.

To have total recall at the age of 97 is a mixed blessing, as many of Hilde’s memories were painful. Although I had fully expected her to join her in celebrating her centenary, the end came, suddenly and without warning just a few days ago. For me it is as if the last link with the past I have endeavoured to get to know has gone.

The foregoing article was reprinted from the AJR Journal (Association of Jewish Refugees) in England.


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Features


Jews in the News          
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Like you, we're pleased when members of our community are praiseworthy, and are disappointed when they are blameworthy.
Whether it's good news or bad news, we'll try to keep track of what's being said in general media about our fellow Jews. Our news spotters are Dan Brin in Los Angeles, Donald H. Harrison in San Diego, and you. Wherever you are,  if you see a story of interest, please send a summary and link to us at sdheritage@cox.net.  To
see a source story click on the link within the respective paragraph.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

*Los Angeles School Board President Marlene Canter postponed a vote on whether to close Discovery Preparatory Charter School in the Pacoima area after hearing conflicting testimony from parents who said the school is sending many of its students on to college, district officials who said its tests scores are low, and attorneys who said there may be problems with the school's application. The story by Howard Blume is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Before President George W. Bush went to Capitol Hill to meet with Republican senators on the Immigration Bill, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez were meeting with the senators seeking ways to affect a compromise. Some insiders say that is very close.  The story by Nicole Gaouette and Maura Reynolds is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Congressional leaders say they want legislation passed before the July 4 weekend to require automobile manufacturers to improve gasoline mileage to 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020—an effort that U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, California) is helping to lead.  The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*
U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos (Democrat, California), the keynote speaker at the dedication of the memorial in Washington DC to the victims of Communism, predicted that as it once fought the communists, the NATO alliance will band together to oppose what he called "Ahmadinejad-ism" and "distorted Islamic fascism." The story by Johanna Neuman is in today's Los Angeles Times. Comments by Lantos criticizing recent leaders of Germany and France proved to be more controversial, drawing a protest from Germany.  The Associated Press story by Harry Dunphy was published on Breitbard.com.

*
Poway resident Jeff Figler is a world-class collector of almost everything, including movie producer Jack Warner's personal copy of the movie Casablanca. The story by Nick Canepa is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*
U.S. Reps. Bob Filner (Democrat, California) and Rush Holt (Democrat, New Jersey) said a congressional bill to require a paper ballot where electronic voting machines are used has been going through a process of amendment. Their

*About 550 Muslim refugees from the Sudan have over the years made their way to Israel, where after initial imprisonment as residents of an enemy state they are permitted to work under close supervision until they can be resettled in a third country.  Associated Press writer Ben Hubbard tells the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune of 24-year-old Ibrahim who now lives and works at Kibbutz Yad Hannah

*The fighting in Gaza intensified, with Hamas forces seizing a security post in the northern Gaza strip and repelling a Fatah attack on a television station.  Israel closely monitored the events on its border.  The Associated Press story by Sara El Deeb is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*
Forensic scientist Steve Renteria said there was DNA evidence that murder defendant Phil Spector and victim Lana Clarkson had some sexual contact prior to her being shot to death. The Copley News Service story by Matt Krasnowski and Dan Laidman is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*
U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (Democrat, California) believes a phone call made by Department of Transportation staff member Heideh Shahmoradi seeking congressional opposition to California's tougher emission standards may have violated a prohibition against employees of the federal government lobbying members of Congress. The story by Richard Simon is in today's Los Angeles Times.

 


 News Sleuths:

Watching the media gathering and reporting the news of Jewish interest

Date: June 13, 2007
Place: U.S. State Department
The spokesman: Sean McCormack

Source: State Department transcript
Subjects: Mideast Peace, Gaza violence
 

QUESTION: Sean, the whole Middle East is in flames now from Iraq to Gaza to Lebanon. How do you view this situation and what are you trying to do?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, each of these individual cases have their own particular circumstances. But there is one common thread, I think, that you see that runs throughout all of these circumstances, whether it's in Iraq or Lebanon or the Palestinian areas, and that is that there are those in -- those people in the Middle East who are seeking to undermine the progress that has been made in various areas in expanding human freedom, expanding the right of people that freely choose who will govern them, the right of people to speak freely about their opinions on no matter what subject, the right of people to worship as they wish. This is a fight that we are in, and that the -- those people who seek to promote freedom and democracy in the Middle East are in.

I think Tony Blair spoke pretty eloquently about this on his last visit with the President in the Rose Garden. These people who seek to use violence in the name of some alleged political agenda, when they wake up in the morning, they know what they are going to do. They seek to, in any way they can, undermine any nascent democracies or movement toward democracy or greater freedoms in the region they seek to undercut and damage and ultimately destroy our system of freedoms and economic prosperity that we have built up in the postwar period. Our choice is do we wake up every morning and make the choice that we are going to defend freedom and defend democracy? I can tell you that for this government and this administration the answer is yes, absolutely.

We will confront those who seek to undermine those advances, who have a world view that is 180 degrees contrary to our world view and we have to do that in a variety of different ways. You sometimes have to confront them with the use of force, various counterterrorism techniques. You confront them through exchange programs. You confront them through support for those in the region who want greater freedom and democracy. So that's what you're seeing. This is the struggle of our time. It is going to be a multigenerational struggle because this did not just arise over the past couple of years. This has been something that's built up over the decades. And it is a -- it is oftentimes as we've seen on our TV screens and our newspapers a brutal struggle but make no mistake where we stand on these issues. And I expect that this is going to be also a struggle that future U.S. administrations will have to confront.
>>>

QUESTION: My apologies as well if I'm taking you back a little bit, but there's a secret UN report that was leaked to The Guardian newspaper and it was by Alvaro de Soto and essentially he said that the U.S. is to blame for the failure in the Middle East. The U.S. and American pressures pummeled into submission the UN's role as an impartial negotiator. I'm wondering if you can respond to some of those allegations in this report.

MR. MCCORMACK: It's a -- an alleged secret UN report. You know, I haven't seen it. I'll leave it to the UN to comment on whether or not these are the personal views of the former envoy or the corporate views of the UN.

QUESTION: He said it was his own view and it was an End of Mission report and he said it was just, you know, the failed diplomacy in the region and the breakout of the Palestinian government, you know, really led to much of the feeling of the internal violence.

MR. MCCORMACK: Put it down to the views of an individual.
>>>

QUESTION: Sean, any update on the situation in Gaza and are you concerned about the Palestinian Authority?

MR. MCCORMACK: An update, there's still violence ongoing. The "military wing" of Hamas is still attacking legitimate security institutions of the Palestinian Authority and particularly those who report to President Abbas. It's a -- you know, it is a fluid situation as I understand it now. Everybody wants to see the violence end. But let's be clear about who triggered this latest wave of violence and the context in which they did that. As I said, it is this so-called military wing of Hamas that launched these attacks, started these rounds of violence that has swept up innocent civilians in firefights and gunfights and the shelling and the mortaring just as Egyptian envoys were working to try to bring together elements of Hamas and Fatah -- political elements of Hamas and Fatah to come to some sort of political accommodation so they can lower the violence. It also came in the context of not a stop but a reduction in the number of Qassam rockets that were being fired out of a Gaza.

Quite clearly there are those who are irreconcilable to any political process that would result in negotiations with Israel to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They're quite clearly trying to undermine that by undermining any sort of political accommodation within the Palestinian political process. It's -- you know, the victims -- the real victims in all this are the Palestinian people and the Palestinian people who want their children to be able to take their high school exams, to take their university exams, want to go to work, who just want to be able to provide a better living for their family and for those Palestinians who want to live in Palestine. So we are continuing to support President Abbas.

We have called on others in the region to express their support for President Abbas and those Palestinian moderate political elements who have foresworn the use of violence and who have an interest in reaching a political settlement with Israel via the negotiating table and we're going to continue to support those elements and we're going to continue to support President Abbas.

QUESTION: Are you concerned about his authority?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, this is -- thus far you have not seen any spread of the violence to the West Bank. You know, certainly everybody welcomes that. You want to see an end to the violence in Gaza. It's an attack upon those legitimate Palestinian institutions that are struggling to provide some law -- some semblance of law and order in the Palestinian areas, who are trying to come up to international standards of behavior whether that's in the areas of finance or governance or security. These are extra governmental groups who want to put an end to that and want to reverse course and who are committed to the use of violence not only against Palestinians but against Israelis.

QUESTION: Sean, twice today you've -- once this morning and once just now, you said that everybody wants to see an end to the violence.

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: But isn't that inaccurate because obviously not everybody wants -- there wouldn't be any violence if everybody wanted to see the end of it.

MR. MCCORMACK: True enough.

QUESTION: And based on that, or given that and what you said earlier --

MR. MCCORMACK: I'll -- let me revise and extend, all of those who have an interest in a more peaceful Middle East and --

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. MCCORMACK: -- who want to see a political settlement to the Israel-Palestinian track.


_________________________________________________
The Jewish Grapevine
                                                   
                                                                                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


AUTHOR, AUTHOR—We carried a book review yesterday by Norman Manson about I'm Still Here by Laura Simon; now San Diego Jewish World editor Don Harrison has a  commentary on her book has been published in the Foghorn, the newsletter of the San Diego Press Club. ... St. Martin's Press has acquired the American publishing rights to former World Jewish Congress President Edgar Bronfman's book, Hope, Not Fear: A Jewish Renaissance.  Publication is expected next year.

BASEBALL JEWS—An 11th inning single by Brad Ausmus propelled the Houston Astros to a 5-4 victory Tuesday, June 12, over the Oakland A's.  It was a pretty good outing Ausmus who also drove in three other runs during the game, two of those on a homerun.  The box score is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune, and a "who's hot" mention for Ausmus appeared in the same newspaper

CYBER REFERRALS—Our Florida-based columnist, Bruce Lowitt, spotted two stories in the St. Petersburg Times he thought our readership might be interested in.  A column by Susan Taylor Martin chronicled the missed opportunities by the Arabs and the Israelis in the four decades since the Six-Day War.  And, a story by Mindy Rubenstein reports that Jews in the eastern portion of Pasco County, who have long felt neglected, soon will have a Jewish preschool of its own....Bruce Kesler forwarded to us the column of Marty Peretz in The New Republic in which he praises the decision by DePaul University in Chicago to refuse tenure to Holcaust minimizer Norman Finkelstein, but criticizes the way in which it was delivered... StandWithUs, an Israel advocacy organization, participated in a counter-demonstration in Washington D.C. on June 10, in what appeared to be a battle of the placards.  Here is a link to photographs of the day, showing what both sides had to say.

IN MEMORY—Short obituaries were in today's San Diego Union-Tribune for the following community members: Samuel Greenberg, 86, of Encinitas, who died Tuesday, June 12, leaving his daughters Laurie Greenberg and Marilyn Hopman.... David Solomon, 79, who died Thursday, May 3, leaving his wife Doris, son Ellis, daughters Marlene Mecker and Barbara Solomon, and sister Ruth Bernard.

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Arts, Entertainment & Dining

 


If you have a serious interest in Jewish culture
and you would enjoy writing reviews, attending premieres, reporting on special events, then

San Diego Jewish World

may have just the volunteer position for you.

We're looking for columnists and writers on a wide variety of subjects who can help us interpret the Jewish experience.  Please contact Don Harrison, editor, at (619) 265-0808 or via this email link if you are interested in joining our creative team
 

 

                     _________________________________________________________



Arts in Review
 

 by Carol Davis    
                     ___________________________________________________________

Hamlet and the moral dilemmas that lie therein

COSTA MESA, Calif.—Honor thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.

Those commandments are a pretty tall order, if you’re either Hamlet, Claudius or Gertrude, three of the main characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. You see, the king is dead, (Hamlet) the king’s brother (Claudius) has married his sister-in-law (Gertrude) and the ghost of the now dead king wants his son (young Hamlet) to avenge his death. It’s murky.

No one in the court of the Danish royal castle of Elsinore, sans young Hamlet, seems suspicious of the sudden death of the King of Denmark, nor of the nature of his death (snake bite, they say while he was sleeping), nor of the hasty marriage of his mother and the king's brother three days later. Not the court’s counselor, Polonius, not Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, nor Ophelia, Polonius’ daughter and Hamlet’s love interest. No one seems the least bit phased. It’s business as usual.

Young Prince Hamlet is pretty upset besides being disgusted, suspicious,  disillusioned and at odds over the past events surrounding his father’s death as he hears about the ghost of his father appearing at night outside the castle from his friend Horatio, and the sentry, Marcellus who's on watch (who sees the ghost of the King and who is quite spooked to say the least.)

And when Hamlet sees the ghost himself, who talks to him about revenge, “foul and most unnatural murderer” and Hamlet questions the ghost and it replies “I am thy father’s spirit/doomed to walk the night…”, Hamlet faces a moral dilemma. He knows that killing is wrong. He knows that vengeance is condemned. On the other hand, he feels it’s his moral right to kill, “He that hath killed my king and whored my mother,/ Popped in between the election and my hopes”.  (Act IV, Scene 2.)

Let’s recap: death; suicide; fratricide, incest, murder, feigned madness and revenge . “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Act I, Scene 4).

The stage is set, the players are in place. Lights! Camera! Action! Let the players begin.

Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, now in a  fine production at The South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa is like a magnet to theatre critics, arts patrons and Shakespeare aficionados.

Right now  in Souther California there are several reasons for celebration. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies and Hamlet is a tragic figure whose moral dilemmas no sane person would envy. Tony Award Winning Daniel Sullivan directs this particular production. Hamish Linklater (Hamlet) is a recognizable TV and film name (Live From Baghdad, Gideon’s Crossing, The New Adventures of Old Christine.
Linda Gehringer as Gertrude;
Hamish Linklater as Hamlet

Brooke Bloom (Ophelia) is no novice to TV and film having appeared in Without a Trace, Jack and Bobby, and Cold Case.  It’s a damn good play (and quotes taken from it abound), and The Old Globe in San Diego is mounting Hamlet as its first production on The Festival Stage on the 30th with Darko Tresnjak directing. So there will be lot’s to compare.

Sullivan’s casting of this show is, in many ways genius. That Linklater as the young Hamlet is himself young, good looking, agile, funny and serious at the same time gives another dimension to this altogether complicated character. Linklater hops, slides, wanders and jumps around the stage like an animal seeking out his prey. And he is.

His interactions with his friends change like the wind depending on whether he thinks they are friend or foe. Most of them, in his mind, are foe. And when he pretends to be mad, he is more than convincing, pouring out the Bard’s words as they belonged to him. His “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy was a little disappointing, however. Linklater seemed to have lost the musical rhythm that belongs to that soliloquy. It lacked the impact that it should have had. Other than that, he soared.

In contrast, Robert Foxworth’s Claudius is calm, collected, mature and not deterred in his mission to lead his kingdom whether Hamlet stays in Denmark, goes back to school, goes mad or disappears (read gets killed off). He’s cool, and gives a reassuring atmosphere to the rest of the court. One might argue that just below the surface, he’s burning with rage because Hamlet is so difficult, but one would hardly notice. His Gertrude, Linda Gehringer, is another one who seems unperturbed by the events that just happened. She casts a worried eye on her son, but never lends an explanation, only a reassurance that what she’s done is OK.

Claudius’ support system is in  the body of his counselor, Polonius (Dakin Matthews)  who is at his utmost best as the loquacious and comical (without his knowing, of course) advice-giver and general flatterer in the court. His daughter is Ophelia and his intentions are to make sure she does not end up with Hamlet.  He sees to the king's every wish even to the point of plotting against Hamlet with the king.

Matthews, an Old Globe Associate and oft times dramaturge, is such a fine balance between the old the young,  the experienced and the beginner, the confident and the hopefulm and the soothing and the prickly, that even as one wishes he would stop his pontificating already, (it’s in the script) it’s such fun to watch and listen as he recites in beautifully balanced cadences, Shakespeare’s words. We wouldn’t have him any other way.

Back to the young and the restless, Michael Urie as Hamlet’s friend Horatio, offers fine support as the only person Hamlet trusts. Again, his presence is strong and convincing. And as for Ophelia, Brooks Bloom is perfectly cast as the beautiful but fragile young love interest who, through no fault of her own, is spurned by Hamlet. When she can take it no longer, her mad scene (and she really does go mad as opposed to Hamlet’s feigned madness) is absolutely, tragically, agonizing to watch.

At the end of the play as well, when Horatio holds the young prince in his arms, after his duel is fought and he has  drunk the poisonous wine that kills his mother and  Claudius, and he  says “good night, sweet prince” there weren’t too many dry eyes in the house.  

A strong ensemble make up the rest of the players who wander in  out and about  on the raised  thrust stage with thick wooden planks that extends into the audience. Set designer Ralph Funicello’s set is so that the players sit on the sidelines when not in the play and become spectators In essence, most of the cast is in sight most of the time. Props are minimal and used sparingly. In the background is a  huge canvas reproduction of Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s Dulle Griet (Mad Meg). The picture of a mad woman in the center, reminds us of the madness going on on stage.

Ilona Somogyi’s costumes are a mixed bag with some courtly looking outfits on some of the characters and not on others. Must be a director's choice. Pat Collins lighting is beautifully cast as characters come and go and especially when the ghost appears and when Hamlet kills Polonius and we only see the shadow of the act  from behind a curtain. Sullivan and his crew have cast new light on this vigorous production  of the young Hamlet. Most of the time it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but not for lack of talent. It’s well worth the trip north.

In Hamlet, as in so many of his works, Shakespeare deals with universal themes, major issues and problems dealing with broad human understanding. That they should be relevant today, is only one of Shakespeare’s legacies.

Hamlet continues through July 1. For more information log on to www.scr.org 

See you at the theatre. 
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Three Jewish 'Stars' Feted at Annual Tribute to Volunteers

By Carol Davis

SAN DIEGO—The San Diego Performing Arts League
Annual Tribute to Volunteers in the Arts took place Tuesday, June 12, at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina. This is the 16th year the organization has held this event.

“This is the time of the year we can recognize the part that volunteers play in keeping our arts community thriving” explained Dea Hurston, who chaired the event.  Of those honored, the Jewish community can be proud of:

*Caryn Rosen Viterbi— Viterbi began volunteering backstage with J*Company Youth Theater 10 years ago and quickly took a leadership role as volunteer chair and coordinator. She is currently the treasurer of the SDCJC Board and sits on the Theatre Facilities Committee, Executive Committee, and Finance Committee. 

*Rita Bronowski is the La Jolla Playhouse STAR recipient. Bronowski has been a part of the Playhouse for more than 25years. As Emerita Trustee, her continued support has helped with the fulfillment of the Playhouse's mission.

*Roberta Wagner Berman—At The San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, Roberta Wagner Berman is the STAR recipient for her volunteer work as librarian for the past 11 years at the Samuel and Rebecca Astor Judaica Library. There she oversees the cataloging, circulation and acquisitions, creates displays and coordinates a team of volunteers. She is a member of the Library Committee and the San Diego Jewish Book Fair committee.

If you need something done, always ask a busy person.

Mazal Tov to our Jewish STAR honorees!