State Department denounces Ovadia Yosef’s comments about Palestinian leadership

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley on Sunday issued a statement condemning remarks by former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Ovadia Yosef that , in essence, called upon God to strike down the Palestinian leadership.

“We regret and condemn the inflammatory statements by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef,” Crowley’s statement said.  ”We note the Israeli statement that the Rabbi’s comments do not reflect the views of the Prime Minister. These remarks are not only deeply offensive, but incitement such as this hurts the cause of peace. As we move forward to relaunch peace negotiations, it is important that actions by people on all sides help to advance our effort, not hinder it.”
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Preceding based on statements by the U.S. State Department and a column by Ira Sharkansky. 

New CD captures cello and piano performance true to Beethoven’s genius

By Eileen Wingard

Eileen Wingard

SAN DIEGO–Bridge Records, a new  label, has produced some adventurous recordings. In 2007, the company introduced a collection of songs by Sefan Wolpe (1902-1972), an unheralded genius whose lyrics were in German, Yiddish, Hebrew and English.

There followed other Wolpe albums such as a children’s puppet show tale, Lazy Andy Ant.  Additional Bridge recordings include the live 1947 Carnegie Hall recital of Nadia Reisenberg
the brilliant Israeli pianist.

A recent release is the complete music for cello and piano by Ludwig van Beethoven performed by Laurence Lesser, cello and Haesun Paik, piano.

Lesser, a protege of the great Gregor Piatigorsky, currently heads the Cello Department of the New England Conservatory and has had a formidable career as a solo and chamber music performer as well as being a distinguished educator.

One could not ask for a more capable pianist for Beethoven’s music than the South Korean native, HaeSun Paik.   Not only were the runs articulated like  strings of pearls, but  her carefully calibrated dynamics shaped the phrases into beautifully expressive entities. Since earlier works were titled  for “piano and cello,” where Beethoven himself would perform the piano part, it is essential that these sonatas have the service of fine solo-ability pianists.
 
Lesser played his 1622 Amati cello with  noble sound and beautiful musicality. The opening Twelve Variations on a Theme from Handel’s Oratorio Judas Maccabeus displayed Lesser’s fine lyrical qualities.

In the Sonatas in A Major, C Major and D Major, he demonstrated  dramatic passion. Particularly impressive was the final fugue of the D major sonata, performed with exultant mastery by both musicians. These cello sonatas by Beethoven helped elevate the cello to its current importance as a solo instrument.
    
This complete collection of Beethoven’s cello works is a “must have” for all lovers of string music.

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Wingard, a former violinist with the San Diego Symphony, is a freelance music reviewer based in San Diego.

Laurie Phyllis Wohl sought for 1960 Hoover High’s 50th reunion

Editor, San Diego Jewish World:

I am writing to elicit your help in locating Laurie Phyllis Wohl  who was a 1960 graduate at Hoover High School in San Diego.  Laurie is the daughter of Elmer Wohl and his wife (cannot recall her name) and older sister to Jonathan. Mr. Wohl worked at General Dynamics in San Diego.   The family lived around the corner from us on Bedford Drive in the Kensington area.  I recall that they  were members of Temple Beth Israel  in San Diego.  Laurie was planning to enroll at Wellesley College in Massachusetts for the Fall, 1960 term.  At that point, as we both left San Diego to attend college, I lost touch with her.

Our high school is going to be celebrating our 50^th reunion at the Town and Country Hotel in Mission Valley on November 5, 6, and 7.  Laurie was  an outstanding student and editor of the school newspaper.  We would very much like for her to join us, renew friendships and, if possible, join us for the event.

Thank you most sincerely for any assistance you could provide.  Please feel free to provide my name and email address to anyone who might be able to help.

Linda Mohr Crogan
katokat@san.rr.com

Should Pope Pius XII Become a Saint?

By Fred Reiss, Ed.D.

Fred Reiss

WINCHESTER, California — The Catholic Church has over 10,000 saints and “beati,” or blessed on the roster. Does it really make a difference if there is one more?

The answer is probably not for most rank-and-file Catholics. They already have three  saints per day from among whom they can choose for feasting.

It matters to Jews who remember the actions and lack of actions by Eugenio Pacelli, Vatican Secretary of State until 1939, at which time he became Pope Pius XII. Prior to 1963, the world generally viewed Pius XII as a faithful shepherd to his people during a dark period in the world’s history. The liberal-Catholic writer Graham Green characterized Pius XII as, “a pope who many of us believe will rank among the greatest.”

In 1963, Rolf Hochhuth published his play, The Deputy, which condemned Pius XII and the entire Vatican hierarchy for failing to act to save European Jewry from death camps and the atrocities of the Nazis. John Cornwell’s 1999 book, Hitler’s Pope, continued the condemnation of Pius XII for supporting National Socialism and for failing to act on behalf of Jews. Gabriel Wilensky, author of Six Million Crucifixions, argues that Pope Pius XII actions during World War II can be attributed to the belief that he had more to fear from the survival of godless Communism then from the Nazi regime.

Many Jews and non-Jews believe that making Pius XII a saint is a disgrace. In Israeli’s Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, there is a plaque that delineates the perceived anti-Jewish actions of the Pope during the war. The plaque lists such things as the 1933 Concordat with Hitler to preserve the Church’s rights in Germany in exchange for recognizing the Nazi government, pigeon-holing a 1939 letter against anti-Semitism that his predecessor prepared, abstaining from joining the allies’ denunciation of the extermination of Jews, and failing to intervene in the deportation of Jews living in Rome to Auschwitz.

The sainthood of Pius XII certainly matters to the Vatican. Most Catholic scholars have cautioned the Vatican to move slowly with regard to his sainthood. Yet, for the papacy and the church hierarchy there seems to be a need for urgency. According to Celestine Bohlen, Pope Benedict’s December, 2009 decree moving both John Paul II and Pius XII closer to sainthood is filled with Vatican politics. She wrote that, “Benedict had hoped to satisfy both the conservative and the liberal wings of the Catholic Church”. Pope Benedict’s outward position is simple: Pius XII worked quietly and behind the scenes to rescue Jews from the hands of the Nazi war machine. Benedict is also quick to point out that many Catholics risked their own lives to save Jews.

It also matters to the Pave the Way Foundation, whose website declares, “We are a non-sectarian public foundation, which identifies and eliminates non-theological obstacles between the faiths”. From September 15 through 17, 2008 the foundation held a symposium in Rome to examine the papacy of Pius XII. At the conference, lawyers, linguists, researchers and foreign correspondents, priests and nuns, and even a Rabbi met to report on deeds and acts of Pius XII during World War II. In the proceedings, published under the title, Examining the Papacy of Pope Pius XII, the conference examined twelve commonly-held beliefs about the Pope. These beliefs included such things as the Pope was: anti-Semitic, obsessed with atheistic Communism, did not believe that the Church has an obligation to either protect or care for non-Catholics, and should be condemned for signing an agreement with Hitler in 1933. They also responded to the annotations on plaque at Yad Vashem.

The proceedings concluded that “the controversy about Pius has to a large degree been generated by those who ignore his endless efforts over many years to help victims of Hitler.” For example, the proceedings argue that Pius’ Concordant with Hitler occurred before he became Pope and was actually at the direction of his predecessor, Pius XI. There never was a letter opposing anti-Semitism, only drafts.  The Pope did protest the deportation of the Jews from Rome to Auschwitz. Cardinal Maglione, his Secretary of State, delivered the first protest and the second was delivered through an assistant to German General Stahel.

Since John Paul II abolished the “devil’s advocate” portion of the canonization process, the question of whether or not Pope Pius XII becomes a saint may be more a result of politics than theology. If it is true that Pius’ strategy to save European Jews was to work behind the scenes, then that strategy failed. That alone should disqualify him.

Thousands of Catholics fall into the category called righteous gentiles, Christians who personally risked their lives and the lives of their families to save Jews. Perhaps they are more qualified for sainthood.

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Dr. Fred Reiss is a retired public and Hebrew school teacher and administrator. He is the author of The Standard Guide to the Jewish and Civil Calendars;  Ancient Secrets of Creation: Sepher Yetzira, the Book that Started Kabbalah, Revealed; and Reclaiming the Messiah. The author can be reached through his website, www.fredreissbooks.com.

Judah L. Magnes collection now at UC Berkeley

BERKELEY (Press Release) — The Judah L. Magnes Museum, one of the world’s preeminent collections of Jewish life, culture and history, has a new home at the University of California, Berkeley.

The 10,000-piece collection of precious music, art, rare books and historical archives – part of the Magnes Museum since its founding in 1961 – was transferred to UC Berkeley over the summer. Officials said that the collaboration would “partner a world-class collection with a world-class university, complementing the school’s academic offerings, raising the profile of the Magnes collection, and making it more accessible to scholars.”

The transfer was made possible by gifts totaling $2.5 million over five years from philanthropists Warren Hellman, Tad Taube, and the Koret Foundation.

Support from other Magnes Museum donors and auction of a part of the collection  financed the renovation of a building at 2121 Allston Way, in the heart of the city of Berkeley’s arts and commerce district. The 25,000-square-foot space has a lecture room, seminar rooms and a state-of-the art space to exhibit the Magnes’ prints, paintings, photographs, costumes and Jewish ceremonial objects.

The new name of the Magnes Museum is the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at The Bancroft Library.

The Magnes’ Western Jewish History Archives, the world’s largest collection of letters, diaries, photographs and other archival documents relating to the Jewish settlement of the West, moved into The Bancroft Library. Musical manuscripts and sheet music were relocated to the Jean Gray Hargrove Music Library.

“We are excited to acquire, steward and grow this precious cultural asset and ensure that it contributes to a much broader vision for our already robust Jewish studies programs at UC Berkeley,” said UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau. “We thank Warren Hellman, the Taube Family, and the Koret Foundation, who have stepped forward to help make this vision possible. We also look to build on the foundation of support created in the last five decades by the many friends of the Magnes Museum who have given generously and made this collection the treasure that it is today.”

The Magnes Collection – considered among the world’s finest holdings of Jewish history and culture – features Hanukkah lamps, Torah ornaments, musical recordings, portraits, modern paintings and sculpture that date as far back as the 15th century. In some cases, long-separated papers of Jewish families will be reunited under one roof at The Bancroft Library.

“The Magnes has been a vital and vibrant part of the cultural life of the Bay Area for almost 50 years,” said Charles Faulhaber, the James D. Hart Director of The Bancroft Library. “There is such a close fit between the Magnes’ Western Jewish Archives and library collections and The Bancroft’s collections on the history of California and the American West that it seems like a match made in heaven.”

The core Magnes collections of Jewish art and ceremonial objects will be more available than ever to the public, Faulhaber added.

“I think that this is the best of both worlds – a new and revitalized Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life as an integral part of The Bancroft, and a prominent physical and programmatic presence at the heart of the Berkeley Arts District,” he said. “What’s not to like?”

That point is echoed by Frances Dinkelspiel, president of the Magnes Board of Directors.

“Moving the Magnes Collection to a new facility in the heart of downtown means it will continue to enhance the cultural life of Berkeley,” Dinkelspiel said. “The partnership with UC will also introduce the collections to a new generation of scholars. The board of the Magnes Museum is delighted that the collection will not only be preserved, but will flourish.”

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Preceding, with some updating, was provided by the University of California Berkeley