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INTERNATIONAL Ambassador seeks to change Israel's image at the U.N. ... by Donald H. Harrison in La Jolla, California
When Jan Tuttleman presented Ambassador Gabriella Shalev a pair of boxing gloves, autographed by Sylvester Stallone—who played the come-from-behind boxing champion Rocky Balboa in six movies—the more than 300 attendees of a Jewish National Fund brunch Sunday applauded appreciatively. READ MORE
U.S. too globally overcommitted to effect Mideast peace ...by Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem
One can applaud or moan as a result of President Barack Obama's recent meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. READ MORE
The continuing problem of West Bank settlements ... by J. Zel Lurie in Delray Beach, Florida There are 121 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank according to the Associated Press. Their population is over a quarter million. These settlements are legal in the Israeli courts since they were approved by various Israeli governments. They are illegal according to a ruling by the International Court of Justice. READ MORE
Mirror, mirror on wall, who's most popular statesman of all? ... by Barry Rubin in Herzliya, Israel
If President Barack Obama actually succeeds in making himself more popular among Arabs and Muslims, what material advantage would it give the United States?READ MORE
Filner supports Obama on Mideast, but is concerned about Afghanistan buildup and economic bailouts at home ... by Donald H. Harrison in Chula Vista, California U.S. Congressman Bob Filner (Democrat, San Diego) on Monday pronounced himself satisfied with the Obama administration’s efforts to get the Middle East peace process moving again, but expressed concerns about the approach the Democratic administration is taking towards jumpstarting America’s economy.READ MORE
JUDAISM The Bible in Pop Culture The light and the darkness, Genesis 1:18 VIEW IMAGE
EDITOR'S MAILBOX
ADL reports decrease in San Diego County of anti-Semitism READ MORE
Jack Bark, Camp Mountain Chai board secretary, dies READ MORE
U.S. imposes sanctions on Hizballah supporters READ MORE
American Jewish Congress urges protection for abortion providers READ MORE
Tifereth Israel sets June 7 as One Earth Recycling day READ MORE
Media Watch aka 'Here's the link' READ MORE
ARTS Larry Miller ponders Jewish propensity for humor ... by Bruce Lowitt in Tampa, Florida Larry Miller is a funny man who takes his Jewishness very seriously — so seriously that given the opportunity, he will support and advocate for Jewish and Israeli causes — as he does his profession.READ MORE
L'cha Dodi —a familiar song in Sephardic style ... story by Cantor Sheldon Merel, with audio of Cantor Benjamin Maissner READ AND HEAR MORE
JEWISH INTERNET FAVORITES We continue our examination of Jewish entertainers
Carol Kane plays love-stricken Amanda in CheersVIEW VIDEO Julie Kavner as Woody Allen's girlfriend in Oedipus Wrecks, a segment of New York storiesVIEW VIDEO Stepfanie Kramer meets her new roommate in "Three Coins in a Fountain"VIEW VIDEO Toni Kalem is cheated on in "The Wanderers" VIEW VIDEO INSIDERS' SDJW
The international section of today's San Diego Jewish World represents the kind of balance in commentary that we like to bring to our readers, with a writer on the left (J. Zel Lurie), in the middle (Ira Sharkansky) and on the right (Barry Rubin) all lending their perspectives to current developments in Israel.
AMBASSADOR AND ADMIRERS—Israel's United Nations Ambassador Gabriella Shalev (center in black pants suit) is surrounded at
Jewish National Fund brunch on Sunday by admirers including, from left, Perry Herst, chairman emeritus of Tishman
Construction, California Assembly Member Lori Saldaña, San Diego Regional JNF Director Batsheva Feldman, and San Diego City Councilwoman Marti Emerald.
THE JEWISH CITIZEN
Ambassador seeks to change Israel's image at the U.N.
LA JOLLA, California—When Jan Tuttleman presented Ambassador Gabriella Shalev a pair of boxing gloves, autographed by Sylvester Stallone—who played the come-from-behind boxing champion Rocky Balboa in six movies—the more than 300 attendees of a Jewish National Fund brunch Sunday applauded appreciatively.
That’s what Shalev’s 13 male predecessors as U.N. ambassador, including such celebrities as Abba Eban, Chaim Herzog, and Binyamin Netanyahu, so often had to do – knock those other, Israel-hating countries out of the rhetorical ring.
The ambassador accepted the gift politely, but she was not about to put on the gloves and raise them over her head in a victory stance at the dais inside a ballroom of the La Jolla Marriott Hotel.
If anything the gloves symbolized how far the former attorney, Ono University rector, corporate board member and first woman in the job must still go to change Israel’s image from that of the combative scrapper locked in an eternal conflict with the Arab and Muslim nations to that of the caring, philanthropic world citizen ever ready to extend help to other countries suffering from diseases, starvation, or natural disasters.
Shalev surprised some in the audience when she concluded a soft-spoken speech at the 15-minute mark. At some events that feature public officials, 15 minutes is only the warm-up time before the officials start getting into the meat of the address.
Though Shalev’s speech lacked pyrotechnics, she made her points effectively. Israel continues to face threats from hostile neighbors—to its southwest, Hamas armed with Kassams; to the north Hezbollah of Lebanon, armed with Katyushas; and to the east, the third country over its horizon, Iran, apparently intent on developing nuclear capability for its missiles.
The details of the threats against the Jewish people are new, but Israel has a history of having the determination and the ability to deal with such threats, Shalev said. She did not dwell on this point, nor did she linger on the tension that has been developing between now Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama over the related issues of the American-endorsed “two-state” solution and the American-condemned “settlements” erected by Israel on lands assumed destined for inclusion in the Palestinian state.
Obama and Netanyahu “are trying to find the right way to interact to achieve peace and security,” she told the audience.
Discussing Israel’s travails at the United Nations, “a different planet,” Shalev shared some of what she is up against. Israel’s enemies, she said, “use the U.N. to delegitimize Israel’s right to live in its historic homeland” and use language that “legitimizes terrorists.” Her nation –the 59th country admitted to the United Nations of the 192 U.N. members—is “the only country whose existence is challenged.” The U.N. is a place where a country like Sudan, engaged in genocide in Darfur, accuses Israel of genocide toward the Palestinians, and where countries like Syria and Iran—which are state sponsors of terrorism—accuse Israel of being terroristic.
It’s a “world of double speak,” observed the ambassador.
And yet, she said, Israel is proud to be part of the United Nations because the world body was founded after World War II with a mission to uphold human rights, and human dignity, and in its agencies—“far from debates and one-sided resolutions” —the U.N provides Israel the opportunity to practice “tikkun olam” (repair of the world) by sending Israeli farmers, engineers, doctors, and physicians to places in need all over the globe.
“We won’t allow our moral compass to be diverted,” declared Shalev.
“In the halls of the U.N., I walk proudly,” she added. She said her country wants to be a beacon of hope not only for the Jewish people, but for the world.
When the ambassador concluded her speech, she and companion Uzzi Levy lingered in the room to meet with anyone who cared to chat. This informality was in contrast to the ceremonious entrance that the Jewish National Fund had arranged for her—asking everyone first to be seated, and then, when that was accomplished (no small task in a crowd of shmoozers) to rise in greeting as she was escorted into the room by Tuttleman, Debbie Elghanian, and Mimi Gross to the accompaniment of “L'shana haba'a b'Yerushalyim” played on flute by Jennifer Bendelstein.
I asked her how well she had known former Israeli President Ephraim Katzir who had died the day before at age 93. She had been travelling she said, and was unaware that Katzir had died. She called over to Levy—“had you heard?”—and he shook his head. He hadn’t heard either, but he knew that Katzir had not been well for a long time.
The ambassador recalled that Katzir had been Israel’s President during the Yom Kippur war—the war in which her husband, Shaul Shalev, had been killed in the Sinai—“so I was watching him, and I saw the sorrow that he felt for this kind of war, which really was existential.” Later she met Katzir in association with the distribution of the proceeds from slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s Nobel Peace Prize. “I was very impressed with him. … He was a very learned man and a great president.”
At another point in our conversation, I asked why as a prize-winning legal scholar she had decided to accept a position at the United Nations, a hotbed of rhetoric and hatred.
“I saw this as a challenge and an experience that I could not refuse—an opportunity to serve my country," she responded. "It was something that in no way could I say no to.” Besides her legal career, she noted, she had chaired the Israel Broadcast Service and was on the boards of Hadassah and other non-governmental agencies.
“I think the former foreign minister (Tzipi Livni) insisted on having a woman because in a way she wanted to change the way Israelis are perceived at the United Nations,” said Shalev. “Not as a belligerent country, or a country that is involved only with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—so she wanted a woman. It took a long time but at the end they appointed me, and I’m glad to be there despite all the challenges and the hostility at the U.N.”
When her two-year term concludes, she said, “I will be very happy to go back to my books and my academic learning.”
BOXING GLOVES—Jan Tuttleman presents Ambassador Shalev with boxing gloves signed by actor Sylvester Stallone, who portrayed fighter "Rocky Balboa."
FROM KASSAM TO ART—Batsheva Feldman, regional director of Jewish National Fund, described the recreational center built by JNF in Sderot to protect civilians against rocket attacks from Gaza, explaining that the tulip was made from a Kassam rocket that landed in Sderot. Donors of $1,000 to Jewish National Fund will receive similar art works, she said.
TABLE SETTING—Barbara Krampfner, table captain for a table that drew a lucky number, displays the centerpiece arrangement for Ambassador Gabriella Shalev's speech to the Jewish National Fund.
SHMOOZING--Israel's UN Ambassador Gabriella Shalev enjoys a chat in Hebrew with Dr. Israel Barken, a native born Israeli who makes his home in San Diego.
LETTER FROM JERUSALEM
U.S. too globally overcommitted to effect Mideast peace
JERUSALEM—
One can applaud or moan as a result of President Barack Obama's recent meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
My own guess is that it is best to ignore the rhetoric coming from American, Israeli, and Palestinian officials. Little will happen as a result of American efforts to be fair to all, and to nudge several authorities to actions they are not likely to take.
I see this note as commentary, rather than criticism of the American administration or anyone else.
I am impressed most of all with the problems of American officials. They appear to be sincere in trying to impose their preferences on this feisty corner of the world, while they also juggle the responsibilities of being the greatest power in other locations that have heated up to the direct armed involvement of the United States, and try to calm other places, most notably Iran and North Korea, that may become candidates for military intervention.
Obama told Netanyahu that settlements must stop growing, and that Israel must work toward the creation of a Palestinian state. The prime minister returned home and said that all was agreed with the United States. When he indicated that settlement growth would continue, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that was not what the President had indicated.
Obama has told Abbas that the United States supports the creation of a Palestinian state, and the cessation of settlements as one step toward that. Such comments have Israeli officials verging on panic. The Sunday morning headline on the front page of Ha'aretz was, "Israel's severe criticism of the United States: Stop favoring the Palestinians." Other stories quoted key officials to the effect that Israel will not freeze settlements; that the United States demands are tantamount to the expulsion of Jews, that President Obama has set a deadline for a breakthrough in Mideast negotiations, and that he wants to topple the government so it may be replaced with one more compliant to his tilt toward the Palestinians. What about Hamas?
That organization, defined as terrorist by the United States and numerous other countries, is firmly in charge of Gaza and might be the strongest element in the West Bank. As long as that continues, the idea of a Palestinian state is
unattainable. All those Gazans living in tents, with little or no reconstruction, demonstrate that world powers cannot
Go to the top of right columneven figure out how to implement commitments of aid to a place ruled by Hamas.
President Obama has not only pressured Israel and assured the Palestinians of his concern. He has told the Palestinians to stop the incitement against Jews and Israel that comes out of its schools and mosques, and the speeches of its politicians; to work against violence; to assure fair trials; and to stop corruption. He has said that Arab countries should give Israel more incentives toward something like their own peace proposals, such as beginning to normalize relations in advance of negotiations.
These demands are as strong as any statements I recall being made publicly by an American president to Palestinian authorities or Arab governments. If they were to penetrate the panic among Israelis caused by statements about settlements and a Palestinian state, they should persuade Israelis that there is even-handedness in American activity.
They should also assure Israelis that nothing much will happen.
Changing well established patterns of incitement by Palestinian religious and political leaders, creating a system of justice in place of politically directed arbitrary decisions, and ending corruption is the work of generations. With Hamas on the verge of taking over everything, the aging cadre that claims the leadership of Palestine will waffle and cite Israeli settlements, the security barrier, and the comments of Israeli politicians to excuse their own lack of action. Israelis will cite Palestinian intransigence as their excuse for not complying with what they describe as one-sided American demands.
There will be no let up in expressions of support for a tougher American policy toward Israel. It will come from liberal Americans, Jews and others, who want an idealized Middle East, as well as Muslim countries used to using their oil muscle and asserting Palestinian misery to excuse their own lack of decent government.
If the Arab League accepts Obama's idea to begin normalizing relations with Israel as an incentive to serious negotiations, I will give up my license as a political scientist.
Well placed American Jews and others will continue to see considerable reason to support Israel, even if some of them occasionally are embarrassed by Israeli actions or expressions. The "tough love" advocated by some who call themselves friends of Israel will not be all that tough. There is considerable merit to Israel's claim of being threatened by intransigent Palestinians and others. A secure Israel is an essential condition for the region not to be more fully antagonistic to the West. And Israel is one of those states with too much power for an outsider to hammer it into a corner.
It is politically correct for the world leader to press all sides in the Middle East. With forces and political energies fully committed elsewhere, however, the United States is unlikely to put much beyond rhetoric into an Israel/Palestine peace process.
Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University. Email: msira@mscc.huji.ac.il
DELRAY BEACH, Florida--There are 121 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank according to the Associated Press. Their population is over a quarter million.
These settlements are legal in the Israeli courts since they were approved by various Israeli governments. They are illegal according to a ruling by the International Court of Justice. The ruling is based on the Geneva Convention which clearly states that an occupying power cannot place civilian settlements in occupied territory.
These legal settlements have given birth to another hundred illegal outposts which have never been approved by any Israeli government. Despite their illegality they boast of the following: 1. Several government ministries have poured millions of shekels into their construction. 2. The army gives them full protection. 3 they are connected to the Israeli water system and electric power grid.
The 2, 5 million Palestinians in the West Bank are not so fortunate.
They have to scrabble for electric power. The village of At Tawani, which was visited in March by Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of Great Britain and now Mideast envoy of the Quartet, which sponsored the 2003 Roadmap to a Palestinian State, has to rely on a generator which supplies electricity for four hours a day. With Blair’s help they began to erect pylons to connect with the Israeli grid. On May 24, Israeli army officers, who run the Army’s civil affairs, appeared in the village and ordered he work on the pylons to stop.
After the work had ceased the chair of the At-Tawani village council said: “It is 2009 and we still do not have electricity.”
Illegal outposts are continuing to expand
The Jewish settlers already occupy almost half of the arable land in the West Bank. But they are continuing to expand. An editorial in Ha’aretz on May 24 noted that the settlers “have stepped up the pace of taking over agricultural land near the outposts.”
The Ha’aretz editorial goes on: “Despite the past three Israeli Governments’ repeated promises since the road map of April 2003 to tear down he outposts, the area the outposts cover has expanded and the number of residents has risen.”
The promises were never kept but the Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak of Labor, who is the ruler of the West Bank, has an answer. Two weeks ago he ordered a large force to tear down the tin huts erected at an outpost called Maoz Esther and evict the seven youth occupying the place.
TV cameras photographed the destruction for the nightly news. Then the Army left and the youth returned to rebuild the
place. This was the fourth time that Maoz Esther had been destroyed.
It would be a simple matter to station a few soldiers in the area to prevent rebuilding. But then Barak would have to look for another outpost to stage his TV show of destructing an outpost.
The Bush Administration never followed up the promises to freeze settlement expansion and destroy outposts. President Obama has promised “persistent” monitoring of the settlements.
President Obama may amplify American expectations in his address to the Moslem world from Cairo on June 4.
Body language told story at Obama-Netanyahu meeting
The world watched the body language of the American and Israeli leaders at the photo opportunity in the oval office following their two-hour meeting on May 18. Uri Avnery, the Israeli journalist commented:
“The body language spoke clearly. While Netanyahu leaned forward assiduously, like a traveling salesman peddling his merchandise, Obana leaned back, tranquil and self -assured.”
Bibi’s anxiety is caused by his knowledge that he is crawling on very thin ice. He heads an impossible cabinet of four conflicting ideologies. He could easily agree to talk about a two-state solution as his predecessors, Ariel Sharon and Tsipi L: ivni, have done, because he knows that it a distant dream Jews and Arabs are farther apart than they were in 1947 when the United Nations voted to partition Palestine into two sates with international supervision of Jerusalem.
Obama demands as a first step, visible to the entire world, a complete freeze on construction within settlements and the destruction of outposts built on Palestinian-owned land. To achieve that will take a year or more of constant pressure on Israel and resisting various compromises.
Meanwhile, the Obama/Clinton forces would like the parties to talk about what comes afterwards. They need to talk about the two-state solution. They need to find acceptable answers to the almost insolvable problems of Jerusalem and the Arab refugees, not to mention finding Israeli land to swap with the Palestinians for the large Jewish settlement blocs and cities which have been constructed on the West Bank.
Talk is easy. But if Bibi mouths the words, a two-state solution, several members of his cabinet will defect and he loses his majority.
Bibi will continue to govern but the ice gets thinner daily. When it breaks, there will be another election. The winner will face the same problems, and the same persistent Obama demanding a two-state solution, which would ease his serious problems in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Was it David Ben Gurion who said to be realist you must believe in miracles? As a realist I believe that peace will prevail during the next eight years. That would be a miracle.
Lurie's column appears in The Journal of South Florida
HERZLIYA, Israel --Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most popular statesman of all?
Who Cares?
Here's one of many questions that should be asked everywhere but you might only see it here:
If President Barack Obama actually succeeds in making himself more popular among Arabs and Muslims, what material advantage would it give the United States?
The answer shouldn't be taken for granted. Consider the following points:
--All of these regimes are dictatorships and so popular opinion is of very limited importance.
--Publics are very hostile to America and the West and will not be easily moved by the charm of an American president unless he does things far beyond any possible policy he might follow. Bashing Israel won't transform this opinion.
--The impressions of U.S. policies and leaders among these groups are mediated by state-controlled media which are hostile for reasons of national or regime interests, and intellectual elites which tend to be carriers of either Arab nationalism or Islamism, world views that have a systematic antagonism to the United States.
--Islamists and radicals such as Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hizballah, and the Muslim Brotherhoods view America in all its varieties and guises as an enemy. No matter what Obama says or does they will deem it a trick.
Unless, of course, he gives them concessions in which case they will take them, see him as weak, and give nothing back. That isn't popularity; that's contempt.
--Middle East leaders emphasize a realist, power-oriented model of politics. Obama wanting to be popular is simply incomprehensible to them. At best, they will attribute this to naivete and weakness. Doubting that he will be strong in protecting them they will actually do less for the United States. That isn't popularity; that's fear that you're on the losing side.
So no matter how high Obama gets his popularity in polls-which will be celebrated in the American media and in Washington DC as a great victory-nobody in the region will do more to help him or give him more as a result.
If you need a test experiment for this assertion, think about Europe. Europeans love Obama; Europe is an American ally. European societies are democracies close to America in culture and world view. And yet when Obama asked European countries for cooperation on various issues ranging from economic revival to Afghanistan they gave him nothing.
Being popular is actually an American policy deformation. Bill Clinton thought he'd be popular by bringing a solution to the
Arab-Israeli conflict and saying he felt other's pain. George W. Bush thought he'd be popular by getting rid of repressive dictators and bringing in democracy.
Now Obama thinks he'll be popular by using his color, semi-Islamic background, Third World experiences, and combination of engagement and respect.
International politics isn't high school. Popularity doesn't matter.
CHULA VISTA, California—U.S. Congressman Bob Filner (Democrat, San Diego) on Monday pronounced himself satisfied with the Obama administration’s efforts to get the Middle East peace process moving again, but expressed concerns about the approach the Democratic administration is taking towards jumpstarting America’s economy.
The congressman met local news media in a conference room of his district office, which is filled with photographs of himself with former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Philippines’ President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the latter of whom Filner describes as a distant cousin.
There also was a large photo of him being arrested by the Capitol police for joining a protest by Filipino-Americans who wanted their benefits for fighting for the United States in World War II to parallel those of other veterans. Those benefits since have been granted.
Filner told reporters that while George W. Bush took “a more aloof approach” to Middle East peace making, President Obama recognized that the “U.S. has to be involved” in fashioning a “just 2-state solution” that protects everyone’s security.
He said he agrees with Obama that a two-state solution, with one state for Israelis and another for Palestinians, is the “only solution.”
With Obama scheduled to make a major address to the Muslim world from Egypt on Thursday, the congressman said he hopes that his audience in that country and around the world will conclude that the U.S. can be a fair Middle East peace broker.
As a result of Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world, and his warming of relations with Cuba, the United States is “in a better position; the world thinks higher of us,” the congressman said.
However, he expressed reservations about Obama’s plans to intensify the war in Afghanistan against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, saying he doesn’t want to “trade Iraq for Afghanistan.”
“The Soviets couldn’t handle it; Alexander the Great couldn’t do it. I don’t know we can do it as a modern army,” he said. The congressman said he would prefer “reconstruction” to war-making as a way to eliminate threats to the United States from that country.
Asked his reaction to the United States becoming a major investor in GM concurrent with the large automaker declaring bankruptcy, Filner said that even as Franklin D. Roosevelt experimented in 1933 when he inherited a Depression, so too is the Obama administration experimenting.
If he has a disappointment with the government’s economic policy, he said, it is that he would have preferred that people not companies had been bailed out, in a percolate-up, rather than a trickle-down methodology for getting the economy back on track.
He said although banks, insurance companies and other Wall Street entities have been bailed out, “I don’t know anyone in my district who has had a home saved.” He said for the same amount of money the government has spent to bail out financial institutions, every family in America could have been given $100,000 to buy a car, to send their children to college or to save their homes.
He said he also believes more money should be going to school districts and to state government to allow them to maintain services and not lay off workers. Filner, who is a former San Diego City Councilman and former San Diego Unified School District member, said that in the local area “we’ve had some 26,000 pink slips (for school employees) which is way too high.”
“We can’t let the cities and states die,” he added “California is too big to fail.” He said that while members of the Obama administration, like the Bush administration before them, “think Wall Street, I think Main Street.”
Filner’s 51st Congressional District stretches along the Mexican border from the Pacific Ocean to the Arizona state line. It is one of the most ethnically diverse districts, with large concentrations of Mexicans and Filipinos.
Concerning the U.S.-Mexico border, Filner said the Department of Homeland Security should use high technology such as retina scans to increase efficiency of border crossings, noting that the 300,000 daily crossings in the San Diego-Tijuana area is like moving a city back and forth across the border. Filner said using retina scans, as is done in Europe, would give 99 percent of the people an efficient way to cross, and permit Homeland Security resources to be directed at the one percent of the border crossers who may pose a problem for the United States.
“They’re afraid to use technology,” said Filner. He said Homeland Security officials fear that if trans-border movement is too efficient, the public will see the border as too porous.
Asked about President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter, Filner said his constituents feel that someone now will represent them on the Supreme Court.
As for the criticisms of Sotomayor leveled by radio talk show personality Rush Limbaugh and other Conservatives—to the effect that she is a “racist” for saying that in some cases her background as a Latina makes her better able to understand certain situations—Filner said her words when considered in
context were nothing more than common sense. He said that Sotomayor also said that while she has shared experiences with some people of Latin origin who might come before the court, she also knows that she must guard against any prejudice.
The congressman said his perusal of Sotomayor’s record indicates that she has spent more time as a federal judge, and therefore will come to the High Court with more experience, than any sitting member of the Supreme Court.
First elected in 1992, the nine-term congressman serves as chairman of the House Committee on Veteran Affairs – a position that brings him into everyday contact with retired Army General Eric Shinseki, who now serves as director of the Veteran’s Administration. Filner expressed admiration for Shinseki both because he is a combat veteran who lost a leg and because he was willing to speak out against the Bush administration’s conduct of the Iraqi War—a stand that led to his military retirement.
The veterans cemetery at Fort Rosecrans has been out of burial space for a decade, and has only limited space for inurnments of cremated remains, Filner said. This has required many San Diego County families to bury their veterans at the next closest facility in Riverside County. To alleviate this situation, he said, it has been decided to build a new cemetery to the side of the flight path at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
Editor's Mailbox: International, National, State and Local
ADL reports decrease in San Diego County of anti-Semitism
SAN DIEGO (Press Release)— While the number of anti-Semitic incidents in San Diego declined in 2008, the number of incidents increased 21 percent in California largely due to the increase in greater Los Angeles, according to newly-issued statistics from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). San Diego County’s numbers are consistent with nationwide trends which have shown a decrease during the last year.
The League’s annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, issued Monday, reported a total of 1,352 anti-Semitic incidents nationwide in 2008, a 7 percent decline from 2007. In California, the number of reported incidents was up from 186 to 226. Although Jews continue to be the number one religious group targeted by hate crimes, this assaulting behavior permeates minorities of all backgrounds.
“While we hope this reported decrease in anti-Semitic incidents continues, some broader social trends remain troubling” said Mark Dillon, Chair of ADL’s Civil Rights Committee. “The FBI has reported increases in hate crimes towards Hispanics. Violent acts by home grown extremists continue as the thwarted bombing planned against Jews in the Bronx and the murder of an abortion clinic doctor last weekend indicate. The threats continue though the targets may change."
Southern California incidents echo those reported by ADL nationwide including numerous acts of vandalism and violent physical assaults. Many of the anti-Jewish acts singled out visibly identifiable Jews or Jewish institutions.
Some incidents reported to the ADL Pacific Southwest Region in 2008 included:
•“I hate Jews” was spray painted on a light post in La Jolla.
• The sign at Ner Tamid Synagogue in Poway was repeatedly vandalized with swastikas and other white supremacist slogans.
•A high school student in San Carlos was teased and called “Jew Boy” by his classmates.
•Two houses in Poway were vandalized with swastikas.
•Middle school students in San Diego were harassed for being Jewish during a flag football game.
•A group of observant Jews was attacked with eggs and paint balls in West Los Angeles.
•Incendiary devices launched at the Bernard Milken Jewish Community Campus and a private home in West Hills, Los Angeles.
•A Jewish man was attacked and robbed in Los Angeles by three assailants who made anti-Semitic comments including, “You Jew, you’re going to die.”
•Swastikas and neo-Nazi phrases were spray-painted on the gate of a Jewish school in Los Angeles (March).
•Two males brutally attacked an Orthodox man walking in North Hollywood, hitting and punching him while calling him “dirty Jew” and “f***ing Jew.”
•“Deth to Israel” (sic) was scratched into the door of a Jewish home in the San Fernando Valley; three months prior the mezuzah had been taken from the doorpost.
•Swastika spray-painted on synagogue in San Gabriel Valley.
•Family outside kosher restaurant in Los Angeles was harassed by a stranger yelling anti-Semitic epithets, saluting Hitler and stating “I think it’s funny your family was thrown into the f***ing ovens.”
•Swastika drawn on Jewish students’ lockers at a Santa Clarita Valley high school and a Tarzana middle school.
•A swastika drawn on paper was stuck inside a Star of David on a synagogue sign in Ontario.
About the ADL Audit— The Audit identifies both criminal and non-criminal acts of harassment and intimidation, including distribution of hate propaganda, threats and slurs. Compiled using official crime statistics, as well as information provided to and evaluated by ADL’s professional staff by victims, law enforcement officers and community leaders, the Audit provides an annual snapshot of a nationwide problem while identifying possible trends or changes in the types of activity reported. This information assists ADL in developing and enhancing its programs to counter and prevent the spread of anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry.
For reporting purposes, the ADL Audit divides anti-Semitic incidents into three categories: anti-Semitic assaults, involving violence against Jewish individuals or those thought to be Jewish; vandalism, such as property damage, cemetery desecration or anti-Semitic graffiti; and harassment, including threats, slurs and activity by anti-Semitic hate groups.
Preceding provided by the Anti-Defamation League
Jack Bark, Camp Mountain Chai
board secretary dies
ANGELUS OAKS, California (Press Release)-- Camp Mountain Chai mourns the loss of "our dear friend, mentor and a Camp Mountain Chai founding father, Jack Bark, who passed away on Saturday May 23," camp director Alan Friedman reported.
"Jack was deeply committed to the vision of Camp Mountain Chai and worked tirelessly on its behalf. Long before it became a reality, Jack invested great enthusiasm, time and passion in every aspect of getting Camp Mountain Chai off the ground. He served as Board Secretary and on the executive committee and was a consistent and active contributor to the growth and development of the Camp as the years past.
"Camp Mountain Chai is eternally grateful for Jack's deep commitment to Jewish continuity, to the education of our community's boys and girls and to the value of Jewish residential summer camp. We are honored to have been the beneficiary of his dedication."
A Celebration of Life will be held at Congregation Beth Israel in La Jolla on June 11, 2009 at 6:30pm.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) --The United States last Wednesday imposed sanctions on two financial supporters of the Iranian-backed terrorist army Hizballah, Agence France Presse reported.
The Treasury Department said it had frozen the assets of and prohibited financial transactions with two Africa-based Hizballah supporters for contributing tens of millions of dollars to the terrorist group. "We will continue to take steps to protect the financial system from the threat posed by Hizballah and those who support it," said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey.
"Not only is Hizballah itself a terrorist organization with global reach, it also recently acknowledged publicly that it provides support to Hamas." Hizballah is responsible for killing more Americans than any terrorist group other than al Qaeda.
Preceding provided by American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
American Jewish Congress urges protection for abortion providers
NEW YORK (Press Release)—The killing of Dr. George Tiller, because he performed abortions, exemplifies criminal anarchy, not legitimate protest. Dr. Tiller’s murder was not just a terrible crime against an individual. It was also a crime against our democracy. His killer or killers therefore must be punished with the utmost severity.
Differences in our society over abortion are profound. That is perfectly acceptable. As President Obama said last month, our democracy tolerates, even encourages such debate, so long as it is conducted with civility.
Murder is not a debating technique. It is never, and must never be, an accepted way of advancing a point of view. Although some anti-abortion groups have now condemned Dr. Tiller’s murder, others in the movement continue to justify this heinous act.
Meanwhile, as the Justice Department has already done, governments across the country must put in place urgent measures to protect the abortion providers and their clinics, and the women who frequent them. These activities are constitutionally protected. They must be protected against recurring vigilante violence.
Preceding provided by American Jewish Committee
Tifereth Israel sets June 7
as One Earth Recycling day
SAN DIEGO (Press Release)--In partnership with One Earth Recycling, Tifereth Israel Synagogue will accept electronic scrap material free of charge, including televisions, computers, cell phones, stereos, and printers, from 8:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Sunday, June 7. One Earth Recycling guarantees data destruction/identity security.
Tifereth will also accept for recycling clean and dry plastic, aluminum, and glass containers including non-CRV containers such as wine bottles, milk bottles, aluminum cat food cans, and food jars.
Preceding provided by Tifereth Israel Synagogue
Media Watch aka 'Here's the link' North County Times on Sunday featured Lia Friedman's national library award. Here's the link.
The San Diego Union-Tribune carried only a brief on the death of former Israeli President Ephraim Katzir on Sunday, even though Katzir had taught at UCSD after his presidency. Here's the link to the Union-Tribune article, with links for comparative purposes to the articles of Ha'aretz and the Jerusalem Post. .. On Monday, it carried a column by Jim Hoagland arguing that a step-by-step process rather than some grand gesture is the only way the United States can help bring peace ot the Middle East. Here's the link. ... A story by Diane Stafford uses White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel as an example of how many people now cuss in the workplace.
From our correspondents:
Larry Gorfine says this "At the Dentist" comedy sketcy by Harvey Korman and Tim Conway from the old Carol Burnett show "is a classic." See for yourself:
TAMPA, Florida—Larry Miller is a funny man who takes his Jewishness very seriously — so seriously that given the opportunity, he will support and advocate for Jewish and Israeli causes — as he does his profession.
Although he has had success as a comedian (see video at right), actor and writer, some people might not recognize his name. But with roles in Pretty Woman, the Nutty Professor movies and a number of television shows, they’ll probably recognize his face.
Naturally, being a comedian, he begins his comments lightheartedly.
“My wife and I have a motto,” Miller jokes. “Anything with an aleph on it. …” Then he turns serious.
“I can’t speak for other people in show business, but we’re Jews and it’s an important part of our lives — our history, our family, and everything we think of for the future,” he said.
Miller went so far a few years ago to pose for a national United Jewish Communities/Federation ad campaign series using celebrities to highlight their slogan “Live Generously.” In the ad, Miller holds a tzedakah box, aside the headline, “There’s kindness in this box.”
“I know Israel may not be in the front of the minds of a lot of American Jews but it is to us. It’s very important to us, to write about it, speak about it, think about it. It’s a part of our lives as much as performing and breathing is.”
“Is the whole concept of Israel and Jewishness less popular with most Americans? I think it is. Is Israel less popular with most Americans? It probably is. But that doesn’t mean they’re correct. In fact, they’re wrong; Israel is very important to us.”
Miller, who appeared last month at Side Splitters in Tampa, also takes comedy very seriously. To him it’s far more than someone telling jokes.
Today’s comedians —Miller, Jerry Seinfeld, Susie Essman, Sarah Silverman, Larry David, Joan Rivers and so on — are, Miller says, “the latest in a chain of Jewish satirists that goes back thousands of years.”
“That’s not lightly said. I was on a panel once with some terrific comics. We were asked, ‘What is comedy about? Why are there so many Jewish comics?’ Some in the group said it’s about repression or suppression. I’ve never agreed with that. To me, it’s a natural extension of what being a Jew means, using words and word pictures and commentary.”
He doesn’t use his religion in his standup routines, unlike say Woody Allen and Jackie Mason, where much of their comedic material stems from – and is the antidote to – thousands of years of Jewish tragedy and misfortune.
“Comedy based on tragedy is a kind of comedy,” said Miller, “but it’s no more valid than comedy based on, ‘Y’know, my kids don’t listen to me when I talk.’ To me, comedy, when it’s good, is just a different kind of wisdom.”
Miller does a lot more than standup; he’s an author, columnist with the Weekly Standard, producer, and film and television star and has been the voice of various animated characters.
His breakthrough film performance, in 1990, was as the obsequious manager of a Beverly Hills boutique in Pretty Woman. Among his other movie roles were co-starring roles as Dean Richmond in Eddie Murphy’s Nutty Professor movies.
He has appeared in both comedic and serious roles in dozens of television shows such as Law & Order, Monk, Mad About You, and Burn Notice and was the character of Edwin Poole of Poole Crain & Schmidt in Boston Legal.
And he’ll star in a new TV sitcom, 10 Things I Hate About You, reprising his role as dad Walter Stratford from the film of the same name. The show premieres July 7 on ABC Family.
Miller also has a couple of HBO standup comedy specials to his credit.
“Standup comedy as we know it today is a very American form. It’s as American as the banjo, American meaning it didn’t come from any other country, not from a music-hall tradition in England or the way circuses used to be in Europe, or anything in Africa or Asia.
“It’s someone standing up in front of a bunch of people, saying, ‘Y’know what I think?’ Comedy itself — commentary, satire, parody — is very American because for the last couple of thousand years, if you did it almost anywhere else, they would kill you.
“And it’s very Jewish, in the sense that it’s people saying, ‘You’ll tell me what you think, then I’ll tell you what I think.’ … ‘You’re wrong.’ ‘You’re an idiot.’ ‘Oh, shut up.’
“And coming into the post-World War II era, it evolved from joke-telling to people standing up there and saying, ‘Look what the insurance companies are doing,’ and ‘Let me tell you about my wife.’ So the commentary got very specific and real.”
He considers himself very lucky. He spends a lot of his life trying to be funny, looking for the amusing side of things.
“It’s a great way to spend a life,” Miller said.
Miller grew up in Valley Stream, a New York City suburb.
Religion was important. “My father davened every morning wearing the tallis and tefillin,” he said. “We had a kosher home and we observed all the holidays. It was culturally Jewish, but we could go out and have a pepperoni pizza every so often. … Prayer and observances still are a very important part of my life.”
After graduating from Amherst College with a degree in music, he started looking for a job, any job. A college friend set up an interview with his father, an executive in a retail chain.
“At some point during it he said, ‘I have to be honest. You seem like a nice fella. It doesn’t seem like you really want to get into this business. Go figure what you want to do.’ Best thing that could’ve happened.”
Yes, he said, his parents would have preferred he go to medical school or law school — or that he had a job — but their support didn’t waver. In the mid-1970s he began his career playing piano and drums in New York City bars, started telling jokes, moved to Los Angeles, got into theater
and bit parts, then speaking parts, in film and started writing scripts.
“It became a passion,” Miller said.
“When parents complain to me that their children want to do this or that, or 15, 16-year-olds tell me they want to be a writer or an actor, I tell them, ‘Fantastic! What’s wrong with that?’ What’s easy in life, working for Aetna? Would that have worked out well?”
This story originally appeared in Jewish Press of Tampa/Pinellas County
Bible in Pop Culture: ... the light and the darkness
Genesis 1:18
to dominate by day and by night, and to separate between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
Light versus darkness is a theme that has found applications in many arenas. For example, darkness represents evil, and light good in the Darkness to Light Foundation, which fights child abuse. Numerous books about the Holocaust have compared the darkness of the Nazis to the light of the Righteous Gentiles. In the story of Helen Keller, who was both blind and deaf, darkness refers to ignorance of the world around her, whereas light is a reference to comprehension and self-improvement
Do you have a photo that you think illustrates how a biblical verse has worked its way into pop culture. Please send it to us for possible publication in this series, "The Bible in Pop Culture."
You may send your jpg photo for posting online to us at San Diego Jewish World, emailing it to editor@sandiegojewishheritage.com. If possible, please send it at 72dpi resolution and 400 pixels wide. Please include the name of the photographer, the date and place the photo was taken, and any other relevant caption information.
L'cha Dodi —a familiar song in Sephardic style Sephardic L'cha Dodi by A.ben Sousson & chanted by Cantor Benjamin Maissner, Cantor {Click here to hear}
SAN DIEGO—I am pleased to introduce my good friend and colleague, Benjamin Z. Maissner, who succeeded me as Cantor and Music Director of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto in 1979. He is highly respected by his congregation and cantorial colleagues. He has degrees from the Hebrew Union College of Sacred Music, Temple University, and is renowned for his knowledge of both secular and liturgical music.
Cantor Maissner has mastered a variety of musical styles ranging from Jewish Renaissance and early Hebrew Art Music to contemporary Canadian, American and Israeli compositions. He is also Conductor and Music Director of Lachan, Toronto’s Jewish Chamber Choir.
A versatile performer himself, Cantor Maissner has been a featured soloist in in the Mann Auditorium in Jerusalem, New York’s Carnegie, and has also served as musical consultant for documentaries: To Mend the World, and The Man Who Hid Anne Frank. He currently serves on the executive board of the Cantors’ Assembly (Conservative) and Vice President of the American Conference of Cantors. He teaches vocal and cantorial skills and is National Chair of the Certification Program of the American Conference of Cantors. In March 2001, he was recognized with an honorary doctorate in music from the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion.
L'cha Dodi (Hebrew: לכה דודי; recited Friday in synagogue to welcome Shabbat prior to the Maariv (evening services). It is part of the Kabbalat Shabbat ("acceptance of Sabbath"). L'Cha Dodi means "come my beloved," and is borrowed from Song of Songs, referring to a mysterious "beloved" that could mean either God, or personifying Sabbath as a bride.
During the singing of the last verse, the entire congregation rises and turns to the open door, to greet "Queen Shabbat" as she arrives. L’cha Dodi has become universally popular as a hymn, and a vast number of melodies have been set to it. This charming melody sung by Cantor Beny Maissner was composed in the Sephardic style by A.ben Sousson.
The text was composed in the 16th century by Rabbi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz, a Safed Kabbalist. As was common at the time, the song is an acrostic, with the first letter of the first eight stanzas spelling the author's name in Hebrew. The author drew phrases from the books of Judges, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Psalms.
Verse 1:
1.
Let’s go, my friend, towards the bride,
2 and receive the presence of Shabbat.
3 "Observe" and "recall" in a single word,
4 We were made to hear by the unifying God,
5 God is one and God’s Name is one,
6 In fame and splendor and song.
Verse 2
7 Towards Shabbat let’s go, let’s travel,
8 For she is the wellspring of blessing,
9 From the start, from long ago she was chosen,
10 Last made, but first planned.
Verse 3:
11 Sanctuary of the king, royal city,
12 Arise! Leave from the midst of the turmoil;
13 Long enough have you sat in the valley of tears
14 He will be greatly compassionate upon you.
Verse 4:
15 Shake yourself free, rise from the dust,
16 Dress in your garments of splendor, my people,
17 By the hand of Jesse’s son, of Bethlehem,
18 Redemption draws near to my soul.
Verse 5:
19 Rouse yourselves! Rouse yourselves!
20 Your light is coming, rise up and shine.
21 Awaken! Awaken! utter a song,
22 The glory of God is revealed upon you.
Verse 6:
23 Do not be embarrassed! Do not be ashamed!
24 Why be downcast? Why moan?
25 All my afflicted people will find shelter within you
26 And the city shall be rebuilt on her hill.
Verse 7:
27 Your despoilers will become spoil,
28 Far away shall be any who would devour you,
29 Your God will rejoice in you,
30 As a groom rejoices in a bride.
Verse 8:
31 To your left and your right you will burst forth,
32 And God will you revere
33 By the hand of a child of Perez,
34 We will rejoice and sing happily.
Verse 9:
35 Come in peace, crown of her husband,
36 Both in happiness and in jubilation
37 Amidst the faithful of the treasured nation
38 Come O Bride! Come O Bride
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History With thanks to Gail Umeham for the transcription
‘Maytime Melodies’ Southwestern Jewish Press April 17, 1953, page 4
On Friday, May 1st, a Luncheon-Fashion Show will be held in the Balboa Park club by the Women’s Committee of the S.D. Philharmonic Society. In addition to the fashion show, there will be interesting innovations to add to the festivity of the afternoon.
Mr. George Scott, of Walker’s, will sponsor the occasion.
For further information or reservations phone Mrs. Maxwell Kaufman, W.5-1992.
Cradle Southwestern Jewish Press April 17, 1953, page 4
Mr. and Mrs. Howard Segal announce the birth of a daughter, Lynn, born April 7 in Los Angeles and weighing 6 lbs., 10 ½ oz.
Paternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Abbott Segal of this city and maternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. M. Howarth of Gary, Ind.
Mr. and Mrs. Azra(cq) Domnitz of El Monte, Calif. announce the birth of their first child, a son, Mordecai Asher, born on March 31, his parent’s sixth wedding anniversary. The young man weighed 6 lbs. 3 oz.
Grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Domnitz attended the Bris at the home of maternal grandmother, Mrs. M. Linder of Los Angeles.
Mr. and Mrs. William Vogel (Audrey Jacobson) announce the birth of a daughter, Kathleen Lori, born on Feb. 10 in Los Angeles.
Grandparents are Mrs. Celia Fischer of Los Angeles, and Mr. I. Jacobson of this city. The young miss is also blessed with two great-grandmothers, Mrs. Lena Jacobson and Mrs. Rebecca Fischer.
Classified Southwestern Jewish Press April 17, 1953, page 4
Room to rent in lovely home. Cooking privileges, ½ block to bus. Call R-6586 before noon or after 6 p.m.
Marriage Told Southwestern Jewish Press April 17, 1953, page 4
Mr. and Mrs. David Pasternak of Trenton, N.J. announce the marriage of their daughter, Lillian, to Edgar A. Edelsack, son of Dr. and Mrs. Barnett Edelsack of New York. The family wedding took place in the home of the bride’s cousins, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Goldhammer, on April 5 with Rabbi Morton J. Cohn officiating.
The Huppah was placed in front of the beautiful window wall of the Goldhammer home, overlooking the patio. Of particular note was the Kiddush cup used during the ceremony. It has belonged to the Edelsack family for a century.
Mrs. Joseph Pasternak, sister-in-law of the bride, was matron of honor and Mr. Joseph Pasternak served as best man. Five year old Victoria Pasternak, niece of the bride was flower girl.
Following the ceremony Mrs. Goldhammer served a buffet luncheon for the guests. The out-of-town guests included the bride’s parents and bridegroom’s mother.
The new Mrs. Edelsack is a graduate chemist, having received her degree at the University of Michigan, Mr. Edelsack, a physicist with the U.S. Government is a graduate of U.S.C.
The young couple traveled for their honeymoon and will make their home in San Francisco.
Engaged Southwestern Jewish Press April 17, 1953, page 4
Mr. and Mrs. William J. Holler of Sea Cliff, Long Island, have announced the engagement of their daughter, Patricia Lawlor, to “Richard Harris Moorsteen, son of mr. and Mrs. Louis Moorsteen.
Dick is a graduate of Stanford University and received his M.A. at Columbia. A busy young man, while acting as a research consultant for the Rand Corporation in New York, he is also working on his Doctorate dissertation in the Russian language. Pat is at present attending the New School for Social Research in New York.
The young couple are planning a June wedding.
Calendar Southwestern Jewish Press April 17, 1953, page 4 April
19th—Yo-Ma-Co Bi-Annual Banquet—El Morocco
19th—Tifereth Israel Men’s Club Installation and Dinner — Tifereth Israel.
19th—Cottage of Israel—Israel Anniversary Celebration—House of Pacific Relations, Balboa Park—2:30 p.m.
20th—J.W.V. Installation—War Memorial Bldg.—8:00 p.m.
20th—Birdie Stodel B.B. Card Party—4575 Estrella.
22nd—Yo-Ma-Co Dance Demonstration
26th—Bay City B.B. Installation and Dinner—Hotel Park Manor—6:00 p.m.
May
2nd—Beth Israel Sisterhood Mother and Child Luncheon—Temple Center—12 noon.
3rd—Birdie Stodel B.B. Installation
9th—Beth Israel Sisterhood “Ditty Bag Ball”—El Cortez Hotel.
9th—T.I. Men’s club Mother’s Day Dinner-Dance—El Morocco.
14th—City of Hope Aux.—Mother’s Day Luncheon—El Cortez Hotel—12 noon.
Yo-Ma-Co Club Southwestern Jewish Press April 17, 1953, page 6
The Arthur Murray dance demonstrators previously scheduled to entertain the Yomaco Club on April 8 will appear before the club members and guests on April 22, instead.
Young couples in our community are welcome to be our guests and enjoy a demonstration of Spanish dances and receive instructions.
A golf tournament has been in progress since March 31. Norman Gelman at T-6027 can supply information to anyone interested in participating.
Terminating their second half of the Yomaco Bowling League, a bowling party will be held at the El Morocco Club on April 19. This promises to be an evening of pure entertainment. Anyone interested in joining the bowling enthusiasts at their bi-annual banquet and celebration may make reservations with Ray Lowitz, W.5-0749. Dinner, dance, and all you can hold may be all yours for just a nominal fee.
“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.
LA JOLLA, California—When Jan Tuttleman presented Ambassador Gabriella Shalev a pair of boxing gloves, autographed by Sylvester Stallone—who played the come-from-behind boxing champion Rocky Balboa in six movies—the more than 300 attendees of a Jewish National Fund brunch Sunday applauded appreciatively. 
JERUSALEM—
One can applaud or moan as a result of President Barack Obama's recent meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. 
DELRAY BEACH, Florida--There are 121 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank according to the Associated Press. Their population is over a quarter million.
TAMPA, Florida—Larry Miller is a funny man who takes his Jewishness very seriously — so seriously that given the opportunity, he will support and advocate for Jewish and Israeli causes — as he does his profession.
SAN DIEGO—I am pleased to introduce my good friend and colleague, Benjamin Z. Maissner, who succeeded me as Cantor and Music Director of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto in 1979. He is highly respected by his congregation and cantorial colleagues. He has degrees from the Hebrew Union College of Sacred Music, Temple University, and is renowned for his knowledge of both secular and liturgical music. 
