UNITED JEWISH FEDERATION OF SAN DIEGO January 29 Men's Event



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Newsweek's Senior Washington Correspondent to speak at UJF Men's Event

San Diego, CA (Press Release)—The 14th annual United Jewish Federation of San Diego County (UJF) Men’s Event will showcase our community connected by Jewish values and steadfast support of San Diego, Israel and 60 countries around the world. Event Co-Chairs Marc Channick, Robert Lawrence and David Wax will gather the largest Jewish male audience in San Diego to hear from keynote speaker Howard Fineman, and to raise funds for the local and global Jewish community. Men’s Event will take place on Thursday, January 29, 2009, 5:00 p.m. at the La Jolla Marriott.

During this 2008 campaign this election season, Fineman has interviewed candidates including President-Elect Barack Obama, John McCain, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, and Rudy Giuliani. Fineman has met with every major presidential candidate since 1984 and his reporting has helped Newsweek win numerous honors from the Magazine Publishers Association and the American Journalism Review. 

Fineman is Newsweek's Senior Washington Correspondent and Senior Editor & Deputy Washington Bureau Chief for MSNBC. He is also the author of “Living Politics," a column on MSNBC.com, Newsweek.com featured and in the print magazine.  A strong supporter of the Jewish community, Fineman has authored scores of Newsweek cover stories, Fineman's work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The New Republic. As a reporter and writer, Fineman’s focus varies widely from political to the rise of religious rights, to the power of talk radio. 

Corporate Partners of the 2009 Men’s Event include: Lake Elsinore Storm Baseball; Day & Night Power Sweeping; Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.; Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP; The ConAm Group of Companies, Sandstone Construction; Voice & Video and Geppetto’s.

The dinner couvert is $85 and includes kosher hors d’oeuvres, dinner, wine, and dessert. A minimum contribution of $280 to the 2009 UJF Annual Campaign is required to attend.  The Annual Campaign contributions save and change people’s lives to ensure that basic necessities are provided for the most vulnerable members of our community in San Diego, Israel and throughout the world. 

A cadre of 80 volunteer Table Captains largely generates attendance at the Men’s Event. These hosts personally invite friends, family, and colleagues to join them, not only for dinner, but also in supporting UJF’s mission.   If you are interested in being a Table Captain, a Corporate Partner, or would like more information about the Men’s Event, please call Dana Levin at (858) 571-3444 x 257 or e-mail: danal@ujfsd.org.  Register online at www.jewishinsandiego.org.


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THE VIEW FROM JINSA


Recent Saudi diplomacy is a gift to West

By Shoshana Bryen

WASHINGTON, D.C.—"Arab leaders decline to snub address by Israeli president."

The venue was a UN conference on religious tolerance, attended by heads of state and government from more than 80 countries. The norm, of course, is that when an Israeli representative speaks in such an international forum, Arab representatives leave the room. Interesting, then, that Saudi King Abdullah and half a dozen other Arab leaders remained seated when Shimon Peres spoke, accounting for the odd headline in the paper.

For some time, it has been clear that what are called "moderate Arab states" recognize that the primary threat to stability in the region is neither the existence of Israel nor the absence of a Palestinian state. It is Iran. And Iran has become so great a threat that countries, including Saudi Arabia, have subsumed whatever political, religious and emotional problem they have with Jewish sovereignty under their very real fear that a nuclear-capable Iran would create instability beyond their control.  

Under the table, around the corner and behind the curtains, Arab states - sometimes using the United States as an emissary, sometimes not - have approached Israel to understand Israeli thinking about Iran, and perhaps to hope that Israel would "solve" the Iranian problem for everyone. That would be wishful thinking, but not completely far-fetched.

For the King and other Arab leaders publicly to acknowledge Israel's President and Prime Minister was a gift, to be appreciated and handled delicately.

It was, in fact, the second Saudi gift to the West in two weeks. At the OPEC meeting, the Oil Minister refused entreaties by Iran and Venezuela to cut production and shore up the price. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer and one of the few countries that can absorb a decrease in price without a budget crisis. Iran and Venezuela - and increasingly, Russia - have mortgaged their economic and foreign policy to $100/bbl. oil.

It will be tempting for some to believe the Saudis are working to advance the Palestinian-Israeli "peace process." They are not. To the extent that the Saudis even think about a Palestinian state, it makes them cringe, as the Palestinians, like the Syrians, are increasingly an Iranian proxy force. The Saudis are instead quite reasonably trying to prevent the subversion of the Sunni Arab world by Shiite Persian Iran and trying to protect their own interests and the long-term stability of the Gulf. They believe Israel shares at least some of those goals, and it does.

A wise American administration - outgoing or incoming - would encourage the Saudis and the Israelis to focus on a regional security architecture in which the need to prevent the emergence of a nuclear-capable Iran is paramount. This would amount to the Arab-Israeli diplomatic breakthrough that could ultimately lead to other diplomatic agreements including, possibly, a secure modus vivendi with the Palestinians - but none would be as important as cooperation to foil Iranian plans.

To waste this moment would be to waste a diplomatic gift.

Bryen is special projects director for the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). Her column is sponsored by Waxie Sanitary Supply in memory of Morris Wax, a longtime JINSA supporter and national board member.




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Tifereth Israel to host Farmer's Market and Craft Fair Dec. 14

SAN DIEGO (Press Release)—On Sunday, December 14, Abraham Ratner Torah School will host the Farmers Market and Craft Fair on Tifereth Israel Synagogue's parking lot, 6660 Cowles Mountain Boulevard. The Market will be open to the general public and to our congregation.

Members of our congregation will sell/display their merchandise. For more informaiton, please contact Ira Sherbak or call (619) 697-600, ext.115



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LETTER FROM JERUSALEM


Jewish roots of Israel's democracy

By Ira Sharkansky

JERUSALEM—One of the questions that bother political scientists is, "Why is Israel a democracy?"

We can put aside the minority of tendentious scholars who insist that Israel is not a democracy, due to how it treats its minorities, or due to its treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Such scholars do not compare Israeli Arabs with American minorities, or those of Western Europe; and they do not compare Israel's policies toward the West Bank and Gaza with Americans' behavior toward Iraq and Afghanistan.

Israel scores high on scales of democracy that measure the incidence of free and critical media, political competition, peaceful transition between those who lose and those who win elections, and the access of minorities to the voting booth and parliament.

On the basis of international comparisons, Israel should not have developed as a democracy.

Few of Israel's founding generation came from places where democracy was well established. Israel's experiences since Independence have featured wars and mass immigration. Almost all of the migrants came as refugees from countries with no experience with democracy. Such pressures are used by countries to explain why they must abandon democracy for something more effective in dealing with difficult conditions.

Most of the 100 or so countries that came on the scene after World War II declared themselves to be democracies. Few of them have had anything like Israel's success in adhering to democracy.

My own explanations for Israeli democracy focus on a theme in Jewish culture and religion: the support for criticism. The theme is prominent in the Biblical prophets, who were less concerned with predicting the future than with criticizing the kings, priests, other elites, and one another. Jews view those critics as messengers from the Almighty, worthy of inclusion in religious ritual.

Jeremiah grouped other prophets together with priests as liars, frauds, adulterers, and hypocrites. He condemned their names to be used as curses by the Judeans (Jeremiah 28-29).

Amos may have been trying to distance himself from competitors when he said that he was not a prophet, nor the son of prophets (Amos 7:14).

Amos also set a standard of criticism that remains unmatched. He asserted that the Lord does not want compliance with legality, or precise observation of rituals, but justice and righteousness.

When you present your sacrifices and offerings I will not accept them. . . Spare me the sound of your songs . . .Let justice roll on like a river and righteousness like an everflowing stream (Amos 5:22-24).

Jesus followed the prophetic tradition with his shrill criticism of established elites. He resembled countless generations of Jewish nudniks who have not tolerated existing practices, and have made life difficult for their teachers and other contemporaries. If Jesus' disciples had not taken his lessons as the basis of a competing religion after his death, and given him the flavor of anti-Jewishness, he might have been enshrined in the Hebrew Bible as yet another prophet who expressed the ideals of those who came before him.

One sign of the prophetic heritage that appears in modern Israel is in the law that governs the State Comptroller (the equivalent of the United States GAO: Government Accountability Office). Like state auditors in numerous other countries, Israel's State Comptroller is empowered to investigate public bodies on criteria of legality, efficiency, and economy. Unlike others, Israel's State Comptroller is also empowered to examine bodies under the heading of "moral integrity."

I asked the question of "How do you explain Israeli democracy?" to Shimon Peres, when I had the opportunity to meet with him in the presidential residence. He, too, cited Jewish traditions, and put the emphasis on pluralism. Without a hierarchical rabbinate, Jews have learned about different interpretations of religious doctrine, and have been free to quarrel. Peres also cited the experience of his mentor, David ben Gurion. Ben Gurion did not come from a democratic society, but recorded his positive impressions of democracy, and its capacity to withstand severe pressure, after spending the period of the Blitz in Britain.

As in the case of other provocative questions, there is no simple answer. Among the explanations of Israeli democracy, however, may be traits of Jews that others have found difficult. We are quarrelsome and critical, and do not lightly accept authority or established conventions. Success in business, science, and the arts may also derive from the same characteristics.

Israeli politics is seldom quiet, and often contentious. We may not applaud the results of elections, or the policies that our government pursues. Our politics may not be quiet, disciplined, or pleasant, but they are democratic.

Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He may be reached at msira@mscc.huji.ac.il

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AMAZING STORIES OF JUDAISM

When blindness afflicts more than eyes


By Rabbi Baruch Lederman

SAN DIEGO—Vayita eishel b'vaer sheva.  And [Avraham] planted an eishel in Baer Sheva. (21:33)

Avraham dwelt in Baer Sheva for a while. Since he benefited from living there, he wanted to give something back so he established an eishel. The Talmud explains this to mean that he either planted an orchard or built an inn. Either way, the eishel helped wayfarers. Avraham had hakaras hatov in that he recognized the good he received from the city; and tashlumei tov in that he sought to pay back to the general population. These qualities are fundamental to our lives as Jews as the following story submitted by Dr. Neal Levy, Rego Park, NY, illustrates:

There was a blind girl who felt sorry for herself because she was blind. Consumed with self pity and self loathing, she hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was the one person who was always there for her. He was the one person who could see past her blindness and love her for what she was. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I would marry you.'

One day, a call that would change her life came from the hospital. Someone donated a pair of eyes for her. She got down to the hospital a.s.a.p. for the big operation, all the while hoping that it would not just be another disappointment in her life. She had to remain in the hospital with her eyes bandaged for weeks. Finally the moment of truth came - the removal of the bandages. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything.

Right there in the room was her devoted boyfriend, whom she could now see for the first time.

He took out a ring, got down on one knee and asked her, "Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?"

The girl gazed carefully at her boyfriend and saw something that shocked her - she saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids repulsed her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. She decided to go on with her life and meet other people more appealing to her.

Her boyfriend left in tears. Days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.'

This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations.

Hashem gives us eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart to understand. He gives us everything we have. Instead of appreciating our gifts and using them for Torah and Mitzvos, we forget where these precious gifts came from - we forget they come from Hashem.

Instead of feeling hakaras hatov (appreciation) we are kafui tov and go so far as to complain about our lot in life.

Instead of properly utilizing these precious gifts, we allow our eyes, ears and hearts to lead us astray to every whim, far away from Hashem and His Holy Torah.

How special is the love Hashem has for us. How precious are his gift to us. How compelled are we to rise to the occasion and serve Hashem with all we have.

Dedicated by Rabbi & Mrs. Lenny Bromberg in memory of The Rosh Yeshiva & The Rebbetzin ZT"L.


Rabbi Lederman is spiritual leader of Congregation Kehillas Torah in San Diego




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SOILLE SAN DIEGO HEBREW DAY SCHOOL



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Learning about the American Flag at Soille Hebrew Day

SAN DIEGO—This week the Kindergarteners at Hebrew Day learned about the American Flag. The colors red, white and blue represent strength, perseverance, purity, and justice. The children then went on to create their own flag and explained what each component meant to them. The depth of understanding they showed was astounding!

.“The lion means strength. The bear means bravery. The hawk means good day. The yellow is my favorite color stars.

The blue is also my favorite color. The green means nature.”

‐Szymon

“The stars represent the sky. Yellow represents the daytime. Pink represents health. Orange means not being afraid.”

‐Ahuvah

DOING IT BETTER


Are you able to avoid the clonal effect?

By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D.

LA JOLLA, California—You have identified your competencies and have presented them well; you have written the perfect resume; you were superb in the interview; there seems to be a perfect fit between you and the job you want. And yet, you were not hired. Is there anything wrong with you? No! It’s the clonal effect at work!

What is the clonal effect? It is the tendency of individuals, groups, and organizations to replicate themselves or others that are familiar to them wherever they have an opportunity to do so. The dictionary defines a clone as “a person or thing that duplicates, imitates, or closely resembles another in appearance, function, performance, or style.”

Every time someone is to be hired or promoted and there is a pool of available candidates, there are two criteria that enter into play. One is competence to do the required job; the other is the fit between the individual to be hired and the rest of the staff and organization. This is where the clonal effect takes place. The “fit” deals with the comfort level the employer or employees feel with the person being hired or promoted. “Fit” is in the eyes of the beholder.

Recent research findings point to the fact that, when people are discriminated against because of gender, race, age, or ethnic origin during the hiring process, it is often in terms of imagined fit.

An employer hires someone with whom he or she has a fair chance of getting along, of communicating well, and sharing basic values around such matters as work ethics, standards of quality, imagination, precision, punctuality, dress codes, humor, politics, and even leisure activities. The list is endless and so are the possible prejudices. Who do we trust? Those whom we can understand, those who are most predictable to us. Who are they? Those who are most like ourselves.

Studies have shown that the more managers perceive people to be “like themselves,” the more they tend to like them.

Just as individuals tend to replicate themselves, so do groups and organizations. The tendency is to replace lost members with people who have similar characteristics, or to add people who would not change the dynamics of the usual communication patterns too much. This tendency is simply the seeking of comfort, and that is found with the person who comes from a similar background, for we are more trusting of those we can readily identify with. The prejudice, of course, is not in the acknowledgment of the difference, but in the preference of one over the other, and the discrimination is in acting upon this preference.

This is true not only in the workplace. Think in terms of who your friends are. Are the majority of a similar background, sharing similar values?

The clonal effect also inserts itself unconsciously in who we vote for, who we believe represents us. We are suspicious of the “different,” the “other.” Whether it is the black sheep or the albino—if the color is not our color, it’s not comfortable.

In order to become conscious of the clonal effect, in order to have more choices, we need to become aware of how we react to people. If we wish to stop the unconscious tendency to reproduce ourselves, then we must actively look for the discomfort of diversity, the challenge of change, the potential for disagreement. Then and only then will the women, the blacks, the whites, the Latinos, the Asians, the people of different religions and various ethnic backgrounds, the handicapped, the too young, the too old, the too skinny or too fat, the oddly dressed, and those with strange accents have a chance to join in so that all of us can contribute our differences and be enriched by them.

Josefowitz's column also appears in La Jolla Village Voice

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SAN DIEGO JEWISH ACADEMY November 18 Kindergarten program

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A bissel sports trivia with Bruce Lowitt

OLDSMAR, Florida—Q: Who scored Israel's lone goal in World Cup history?

Background: He was born in Sochi, Russia, part of the former Soviet Union, played for three soccer teams in Israel, two in France and alongside Pele for the New York Cosmos of the now-defunct NASL. He was captain of the 1968 Israeli Olympic team and, after helping Israel qualify for the 1970 World Cup, scored in a 1-1 draw against Sweden.

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Friends: The slogan of San Diego Jewish World is "there's a Jewish story everywhere." I can help you travel to the locales of such stories. I'll work hard to find you the very best prices!

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The Oneg Shabbat on Saturday afternoon, April 212, as held at the home of Chavera Margaret Beechek.  33 guests were   greeted by their happy hostess.  Chaveros Rose Abrams,   Norman (Norma?) Schaffer and Mrs. I. Leeb led the singing of Hebraic songs, new and old.  A heart-gripping monologue was given by Betty Gendleman.  Letters from a Halutz in a Kibbutz were charmingly read by Chavera Pauline Press.  The Halutz is a son of one of our own chaverot, Mr. and Mrs. M. Schaffer.  Cultural  Chairman Florence Barach, mistress of ceremonies, read an article from “Israel Speaks,” a dramatic dialogue entitled “The Call of the Nation.”  After partaking of Margaret’s warm hospitality the guests left in a happy mood planning another Oneg Shabbat as entertaining and as enlightening.

Chavera Florence Barach read a spending paper on Halutzim at the Temple Sunday evening, the occasion being the celebration of Israel’s Day of Independence.  Indeed we, as Zionists, were justly proud of our home talent in the Panel discussion.

Chaveros and friends, you have a date for Sunday, May 28—all day. It’s the first picnic of the year.  Last year’s was a humdinger. This year’s will top it.  Chavera Lillian Gordon is sure of this…. Remember, Israel needs our all!

“Adventures in Jewish History” is sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg. Our indexed "Adventures in San Diego Jewish History" series will be a daily feature until we run out of history.




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SAN DIEGO JEWISH WORLD: THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Friday, November 14, 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 272)

INTERNATIONAL

Mayor urges Israeli government to provide incentives for residents of the Negev ... by Donald H. Harrison in Kibbutz Ruhama, Israel

ARTS

Handler handles adversity with humor ... By Sara Appel-Lennon in La Jolla, California

COMMUNITY WATCH

Jewish Family Service: Help Jewish Family Service provide a joyful holiday season for those in need

Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School: Reuben Klamer Game of Life Leadership Program at Soille Hebrew Day

ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY

April 28, 1950: San Diego Birdie Stodel B’nai B’rith Chapter No. 92
April 28, 1950:Temple Beth Israel Sisterhood
April 28, 1950: Junior Matrons
April 28, 1950: JCR

Thursday, November 13, 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 272)

INTERNATIONAL
Sha'ar Hanegev teachers keep teaching notwithstanding missile attacks from Gaza ... by Donald H. Harrison in Kibbutz Ruhama, Israel

ARTS
Thursdays With The Sons of Hal Wingard:

#98 Swan Song

#94 Retirement

#291 Get Up and Go

COMMUNITY WATCH
Jewish Family Service: Supporting Jewish Single Parents discusses interfaith issues

San Diego Jewish Academy: SDJA's 'Shelly and Kelli' Present Workshop at National Mathematics Conference

Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School: Preschool 3’s plant in Soille Hebrew Day’s new “Gan Eden”

ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
—April 29, 1950: Council of Jewish Women
—April 29, 1950: Sisterhood’s Kitchen Jamboree
—April 29, 1950: San Diego Hebrew Home for the Aged
—April 29, 1950: Cottage of Israel


Wednesday, November 12, 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 270)

INTERNATIONAL/ NATIONAL

Juicy details of Israel's municipal elections ... by Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem

TV show fails to help Orthodox candidate ... by Judy Lash Balint in Jerusalem

The Jews Down Under, a roundup of Australian Jewish news by Garry Fabian in Melbourne:

—Jewish hopefuls pound election pavement
—Jewish Scout Group leads the pack
—Children of Jewish dads will be recognized
—Jewish Groups slam Israel - Iran warfare game
—Top of the Bible Quiz
—Warning on Right-Wing Extremists
—Deaf Society seeks clues about Jewish benefactor
—Horse Racing - The Jewish Connection
—World Union of Progressive Judaism offers cut price trips
—School fosters cross-cultural links
—Torah "House Calls"
—Well over a century of Jewish education
—New Shaliach arrives in Queensland
—Honouring the Memory of a righteous Australian
—Australian Prime Minister at odds with sections of the Jewish community

LIFESTYLES

I’d eat a mushroom off everyone’s plate: Camp Mountain Chai Women’s Retreat... by Marissa Palin in Camp Mountain Chai, California

ARTS

Culture Clash's Water & Power fluid ... by Carol Davis in San Diego

Jewish Book Fair explores Jewish genetics ... by Gail Feinstein Forman in La Jolla, California

COMMUNITY WATCH

Jewish Family Service: Stars of David Adoption provides support for Jewish adoptive families

Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School: Israeli soldiers visit Soille Hebrew Day

Tifereth Israel Synagogue: Special Shabbat lecture Saturday, November 15 by Dr. Suzanne Brody

ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY

—April 28, 1950: News of the Fox
—April 28, 1950: United Synagogue Held Conference in L.A. May 7th
—April 28, 1950: Jewish War Veterans Post No. 185 and Auxiliary