Archive
Merkel honored by Leo Baeck Institute
NEW YORK (WJC)–German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been honored for her work in German-Jewish reconciliation with an award from a US group founded by a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust. The Leo Baeck Institute presented its first medal ever to a serving German head of government for Merkel’s work in cultivating a good relationship between Germans and Israel, and Germans and world Jewry.
Former US Treasury Secretary W. Michael Blumenthal, who is head of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, saluted Merkel for her support of Jewish cultural life and the integration of minorities in Germany. Merkel said the medal was an inspiration for continuing the work of integration and cooperation with the Jewish community. “That work, unfortunately, entails going against the anti-Semitism that crops up on a regular basis,” she said.
Merkel said Germany was prepared to use all of its leverage to help along the peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. She also urged Iran to clear up any doubts about its peaceful intent with its nuclear program and to stop threatening Israel with annihilation. “Iran must know that the existence of the State of Israel will never be negotiable for Germany,” she said.
The institute was founded by Rabbi Leo Beck in 1947 to study the history of German-speaking Jewry, which it notes on its website is “inextricably linked to Europe’s cultural, intellectual and political history over the past 500 years.” Beck survived the Holocaust despite severe deprivations. Many of his family members were murdered. He died in 1956.
The Leo Baeck Institute has a library and archives in Manhattan which offer the most comprehensive documentation for the study of German-Jewish history.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress
Germany’s President Wulff inaugurates Mainz synagogue
MAINZ (WJC)–German President Christian Wulff has inaugurated a new synagogue in the city of Mainz, on the very site where Nazis destroyed the previous one more than 70 years ago.
“Exactly 98 years after the opening of the last major synagogue in Mainz, the Jewish community once again will have an architectural and religious center,” Wulff said at the official ceremony. Wulff spoke of “a small miracle.” The ”revival of Jewish life in Germany is continuing” thanks to the new synagogue, he said, calling it a “blessing for our country, a blessing for Germany.”
Cologne architect Manuel Herz designed the US$ 13 million modern structure, which seats some people, and inscribed five Hebrew letters forming the word ‘Kedushah’ (holiness). The previous synagogue was burnt during the ’Kristallnacht’ pogrom in November 1938. Mainz was considered a center for Jewish culture for centuries, and some 2,600 Jews lived there in 1933, when Adolf Hitler rose to power. More than half of them perished in death camps.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress
Lauder lauds Jewish revival in Germany
LEIPZIG, Germany (WJC)–Two Orthodox rabbinical students have been ordained by the Rabbinical Seminary Berlin in the eastern German city of Leipzig. Both men were trained at the seminary, located in the German capital and supported by the foundation of World Jewish Congress.
The seminary is the successor to the institution founded by Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer in 1873 in Berlin and shut down by the Nazis in 1938. “Judaism is alive and well in Germany,” WJC President Ronald Lauder said during the ceremony. The head of the German Jewish community and vice-president of the WJC, Charlotte Knobloch, praised the contribution of eastern European Jewish immigrants to Jewish life in Germany, which was now there to stay.
Shlomo Afanasev was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where he studied financial management and accounting. He will be working for the Jewish communities in the state of Brandenburg. Moshe Baumel’s family immigrated to Germany from Lithuania in 1991. He will be rabbi and director of Jewish studies at the Zwi-Peres-Chajes School of the Jewish Community of Vienna, Austria. In addition to pursuing ordination, Baumel has studied art history and antiquities.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress
Missed a turn in the latest Kafka controversy? Here’s a primer
By Kathi Diamant
Kathi Diamant
SAN DIEGO — Franz Kafka has gotten quite a bit of play lately. His photo has accompanied headlines in any number of newspapers, magazines, and network news websites in the past couple of months, most of which include one or more of the following words: treasure, trial, nightmare, snarled, tangled, vaults, masterpieces, secret, lost—and, lest we forget—Kafkaesque.
In the past few weeks, CBS News, Time Magazine, Salon, The New York Times, Washington Post, the Guardian, and Haaretz as well as dozens of other news outlets weighed in on the acrimonious fight over Franz Kafka’s papers in the Brod Collection. One of the most thoughtful was by Rodger Kamenetz in the Huffington Post. Coverage on the trial over the Brod Collection in Tel Aviv extends to The National, published daily in Abu Dhabi. Franz Kafka is the Arab world’s favorite Jewish writer. Who knew?
Most of the news reports have been correct, more or less. The AP story by Aaron Heller stated, “Aside from previously unknown versions of Kafka’s work, the trove could give more insight on Kafka’s personal life, including his relationship with his lover, Dora Diamant. It may include papers that Kafka gave to Diamant but were stolen by the German Gestapo from her Berlin apartment in 1933, later obtained by Brod after World War II.”
I am sad to report that the papers stolen by the Gestapo were not recovered by Max Brod after World War II. Since 1996, the Kafka Project at SDSU has led the international search for these papers, 20 notebooks and 35 letters written by Kafka in the last year of his life, which most Kafka experts agree, represent the real missing treasure, not whatever remains in the Brod Collection.
As the Director of the Kafka Project and someone who has followed the story of the Brod Collection closely since 2001, I am happy to share the straight scoop, with links to the best sources, as well as a quick cast list to the Kafkaesque drama unfolding in Tel Aviv:
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka (whose literary leavings in the Brod collection are trapped in litigation) was a Jewish-Czech writer who died at the age of 40 in 1924, largely unpublished and unknown. After his death in 1924, with the posthumous publication of his novels, letters and diaries, Kafka rose to international fame as a literary genius, one of the founding fathers of magical realism and the modern novel. He is considered the most influential, profoundly misunderstood writers of our time. His most famous works are two unfinished novels, The Trial and The Castle and the short story, The Metamorphosis.
Kafka’s strange stories have earned their own adjective, Kafkaesque, to describe a world where mindless bureaucracy destroys the mind and body and numbs the soul.
Max Brod
Max Brod, Franz Kafka’s boyhood friend who became his literary executor, was also, like Kafka, a Jewish Czech lawyer and writer. Brod famously defied Kafka’s requests to burn his unpublished work, and instead gathered as much of it as he could and arranged for its publication. “As far as my memory and my strength permit, nothing of all this shall be lost,” he vowed shortly after Kafka’s death.
Brod fled Prague in 1939 for Tel Aviv, where he died in 1968. He escaped on the last train as the German army rolled into Czechoslovakia, taking with him two suitcases, one filled with Kafka’s manuscripts, letters and diaries. During the Six Day War, Brod, concerned for the safety of Kafka’s manuscripts, transferred the most valuable to Switzerland for safekeeping in bank vaults. The Brod Collection is believed to be mostly in ten different safety deposits in Geneva and Tel Aviv, as well as in Ester Hoffe’s humid, cat infested apartment on Spinoza Street.
Without Max Brod, we would know nothing of Franz Kafka. Brod saved Kafka’s writings for humanity, only to leave what he had so carefully collected and saved not to the centers of Kafka scholarship in England and Germany, where his other manuscripts are scrupulously kept, but to his longtime secretary and (most certain) lover, Ester Hoffe, who hoarded them for forty years after Brod’s death, selling off single pages of letters, diaries and whole manuscripts, at random, to the highest bidder. At one point she accepted a very large sum from a German publisher, and then never sent the manuscripts she contractually promised. She never returned the money.
Ester Hoffe, a Holocaust refugee who died two years ago in Tel Aviv at the age of 101, was generally reviled by Kafka scholars and researchers, her name an anathema. Given Brod’s lifelong dedication to establishing and maintaining Kafka’s legacy, his gift of the Kafka papers to his secretary was an unfortunate choice. When she died in 2008, her two daughters, Eva and Ruth, now in their 70s, inherited the collection and decided to sell it to the German Literature Archive in Marbach, Germany, sight unseen, for one million Euros. Headlines rang out around the world: Secret Kafka Treasure to be Revealed!
Kafka aficionados, academics and researchers were thrilled. Priceless, possibly unpublished writings by Kafka would finally be available to shed new light to understanding this most misinterpreted and beloved writer. But then, in classic Kafka fashion, the plot twisted, with no path made easy. The National Library of Israel stepped in, claiming the Brod Collection as state cultural assets, a national treasure, which should not leave the country. The legal wrangling and academic outcry has been ably covered in dozens of articles by Ofer Aderat for Haaretz, which has a financial interest in the case. (Haaretz and many Kafka copyrights are owned by Schocken Books.)
So, for more than two years, the Brod Collection trial has dragged on in a Tel Aviv family courtroom, with drama aplenty, court-ordered openings of secret bank vaults, tales of theft and deception, a nightmare for Hoffe’s daughters, as if straight from Kafka’s own imagination.
When the Brod Collection first made international headlines in the summer of 2008, I was in Poland, on a six-week Kafka Project research project for the 20 notebooks and 35 love letters confiscated from Kafka’s last love, Dora Diamant, by the Gestapo in 1933. Before I embarked on the 2008 Eastern European Research Project, I wrote an article for San Diego Jewish World, “My Quest to Find a Literary Treasure,” explaining what we are searching for, and why it’s so important.
For almost a decade, I have been waiting to see the contents of the Brod Collection. In 2001, in Germany researching the biography of Dora Diamant, I first learned about the Brod Collection, and within it, the existence of 70 letters Dora Diamant wrote to Max Brod between 1924-1952. This was information vital not only for the book I was writing, but also for the Kafka Project. In one letter, written in Berlin in April 1933, Dora described to Brod the theft of Kafka’s writings by the Gestapo. Among the list of 70 letters, a stunning, four-page letter is catalogued, with the date, the return address, and a few lines describing what was taken. But, besides the Swiss lawyer who catalogued the Brod Collection in the early 1980s, no one else has seen that letter or any of Dora Diamant’s letters, telegrams and postcards written over a twenty-five year period.
I am only one of many who are holding a collective breath. The next headline you see on Kafka’s papers in the Brod Collection might announce a happy resolution. But knowing Kafka’s dark sense of humor, I doubt it.
In the meanwhile, Kafka Project isn’t waiting. Plans are afoot to follow up the 2008 Eastern European research, collaborating with the University of Silesia, Jagiellonian University, the National Library of Silesia, and the Polish National Archives in 2012. The Kafka Project is working not only to recover a lost treasure and open a new chapter in literary history, but to repair at least one of the crimes of the Third Reich. If you want to learn more about Kafka, I am presenting a six-week survey, Kafka in Context, for the Osher Institute for Lifelong Learning at SDSU, starting Monday, September 13. To register, contact osher@mail.sdsu.edu. Here’s a link for more information on the SDSU Kafka Project.
Stay tuned for the next headline!
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Diamant is director of SDSU’s Kafka Project, a journalist, and author.
Sidebar:
For further reading on this case, here are a few of the best articles covering the Brod Collection’s many twists and turns:
Huffington Post: “Kafka Manuscripts: The Fight Over Kafka”
Time Magazine: “Were Lost Kafka Masterpices Stuffed in a Swiss Bank Vault?
Washington Post: “In Israel, a tangled battle over the papers of Franz Kafka”
CBS: “Lost Kafka Papers Resurface, Trapped in Trial” CBS News (AP)
Ha’aretz: story on safety boxes being opened, another on estate executor receiving boxes.
The Guardian: “Lawyers Open Cache of Unpublished Manuscripts”; “The Kafka Legacy: Who owns Jewish Culture?”
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Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, January 21, 1955, Part 3
Compiled by San Diego Jewish World staff
Birdie Stodel Women Plan President’s Day
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 5
Past Presidents met at the home of Mrs. David Schwartz to plan “Past Presidents’ Day” which will be held on Monday, Jan. 24, at the Beth Jacob Center. They will be hostesses at the luncheon to be held at 12:00 o’clock. All past presidents will participate in the program of the day.
Over 25 members will be initiated on this day. The initiation will be headed by Mrs. Robert Siegel who will act as president, Mrs. Jennie Siner as counselor, Mrs. Harry Schwartz and Mrs. David Schwartz will give responses. All other past Presidents will form a living Menorah.
This year’s class of initiates will be presented in honor of Past President Mrs. Harry Schwartz and Mrs. James Geller.
Mrs. Marco Ratner is in charge of table decorations.
Past President Mrs. Jeremiah Aronoff, who is in charge of affairs for the day, promises a long, pleasant social afternoon.
Mrs. Morrie Kraus, president, urges all members to attewnd. Make reservations by calling any past presidents.
Don’t forget our chapter’s 26th anniversary will be celebrated in February. Details and date to follow.
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J.W.V. News
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 5
Members of San Diego Post 185 listened to a very interesting talk given by Bob Elliott, the newly named Padre manager, at their January 19th meeting. Elliott, who was introduced by his friend, Jerry Krakoff, told of his baseball career and his hopes for 1955. The 40 and 8 organization of the American Legion were also present as guests of the Jewish War Veterans.
A committee of Past Commanders were appointed to choose a slate of officers to be elected in March. Bud Samuels, Commander, has assigned the duties of Finance Officer to J. David Brooks until the next election.
Post 185 will march in the military parade to be held January 30 in National City for the purpose of raising funds in the March of Dimes campaign. Stanley Yukon, Post Commander, will be in charge of the JWV contingent.
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Council Slates Valentine Ball
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 5
Final arrangements for the “Valentine Ball” at the Mission Valley Country Club have been completed. The date is Saturday evening, Feb. 12, 1955.
Join your friends in the cocktail lounge at 8 p.m. for a social hour. Buffet supper will be served at 8 p.m. and there will be entertainment and dancing. Decorations will be in the Valentine theme.
Make up your tables (you may have as many as twenty at a table) and call your reservation in to Mrs. Ben Lemson, JU 2-7628; Mrs. Paul Moss, JU-2-1504 or Mrs. Monroe Gardner, JU-2-5940. Reservations close Feb. 8.
Mrs. Sidney R. Silverman and Mrs. Sidney Smith are Co-chairmen of the event.
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Council Women To Have Speaker
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 5
The next regular luncheon meeting of Council will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 1st, at noon, at the House of Hospitality in the Copper Room.
The principal speaker will be Mrs. Joseph Willen of New York City. Mrs. Willen is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Council of Jewish Women and President of the International Council. In 1951, Mrs. Willen was chosen as part of a panel of eleven leading American women, and made a four weeks’ tour of Germany under auspices of the State Department.
Mrs. Willen will speak on “Council’s Role Overseas”. A most interesting and stimulating afternoon is anticipated. Mrs. Harry Blumberg will give a report on Service to the Blind.
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(Religious Principle)
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 5
A big part of any man’s religion consists in getting along with other people.
(San Diego Hebrew Home)
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 5
Application for admission to the Hebrew Home for the Aged may be made through the Jeiwsh Social Service Agency, 333 Plaza, BE 2-5172.
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(Dollars and Sense)
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 5
If the man who is always in debt will keep a record of his expenses he may find it is sense he lacks—not dollars.
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Too many dollars in the wrong man’s pocket soon crowds out the sense in his head.
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Pioneer Women To Hold Annual Bazaar
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 6
Pioneer Women’s Annual Bazaar will be held on Sunday, Jan. 30th, at Beth Jacob Center at 10 a.m until midnight. Delicious foods will be served all day, prepared under the supervision of Goldie Kitaen, so bring your family and friends for a delightful day of fine food and fun. New merchandise of all kinds will be on display and will be on sale at prices to please you.
Mrs. Rose Brooker and Mrs. Rose Abrams are chairmen and they are asking the support and co-operation of all members and of all who are interested in the important work of Pioneer Women in Israel.
Mark the date, Jan. 30th, on your calendar and be there.
The next meeting of Negba Club will be held on Thursday, Feb. 3rd and an interesting program and fine luncheon at noon is being planned. Plans are being made for welcoming Pioneer Women’s Delegates from Israel.
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Couples Club To Visit Globe Theatre
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 6
The next social of the Couples Club to be held on January 22nd is a planned theatre poarty to the “Old Globe” to see the comedy, “Affairs of State.” The entertainment committee report hevy bookings and regret that no more reservations are now possible for our particular group.
Take away the sculptor’s chisel or the artist’s paint brush and you deprive him of his most important medium of expression, take away a Rabbi’s voice and you bring about the same result. We of the Couples Club are happy indeed that our Rabbi, Monroe Levens, will soon be blessed once more with his most capable “tool of trade.”
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Volunteers Needed
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 6
An urgent appeal for volunteer workers went out today from the headquarters of the San Diego County Heart Association, 1651 Fourth Avenue.
Any man or woman who can spare even an hour a day for helping in the Heart Association offices, folding literature, stuffing or addressing envelopes, etc. is urged to phone the Heart Association at Belmont 4-5102.
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Public Speaking Class Now Open
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 6
Esther I. Siegel announces that registration is now open for her adult class in Public Speaking which meets every Wednesday morning in her studio in the Barcelona Hotel. The course emphasizes practical training in diction, self-confidence, relaxation and vocabulary building. Anyone interested in becoming more effective in business, social and club life is asked to contact Miss Siegel, Barcelona Hotel, Belmont 2-0153. Tuition for this course is a special rate of $18 for 10 lessons. Private and class instruction is also available for children in Speech Arts and Dramatics.
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Temple Sisterhood Gets Set For Country Fair Feb. 6th
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 6
There’s a buzz of activity throughout the Temple Beth Israel family as final preparations get under way for the big Country Fair to be held on Feb. 6 from 3:30 to midnight.
The American Legion Hall at 2690 B St. is being transformed into a rural fairground under the able direction of Harriet Dickman.
There will be fun for all – young and old will enjoy the many activities that are being planned. Betty Karel is in charge of special games for the youngsters and Helen Siner has planned exciting gaming events for their parents. Enjoy the delicious buffet being served from 5 to 8 p.m. Homemade specialties prepared by our own expert cooks, under the direction of Louise Hertz, Zelma Goldstein and Charlotte Haas, at the modest prices of only $1.85 for adults and $0.85 for children.
Many workers are still needed, especially for the buffet.
Help make this event a success – call Louise Hertz, CO 4-3021, and volunteer your services.
Finances for the Country Fair are being handled by Ruth Smoller and Ruth Silverman.
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New Director For Center Nursery
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 6
Mrs. James Fry was made permanent Director of the Cooperative Nursery School of the Jewish Community Center this month after serving on a probationary basis for three months.
Mrs. Fry has had ten years of experience in the educational field, ranging from work with a demonstration class of primary age children at Tufts College to a position as Educational Consultant to the Universalist Church of Japan.
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Open Forum Has India Speaker
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 6
The fourth lecture of the S.D. Open Forum will be held on January 30th, at the First Unitarian Cnhurch, 1541 Sixth Ave., at 8 p.m.
Mr. Amiya Chakravarty, U.N. Advisor to the Indian Delegation, Professor of Comparative Oriental Religions and Literature at Boston University will be guest speaker. His topic –“An Asian looks at the World.”
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Deceased
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 21, 1955, Page 6
Molli Simon, aged 72, on Tuesday, Jan. 18th. Mrs. Simon resided in San Diego since 1939. Survivors are sons, Leo, of New York City and Jack of Denver, Colo.; daughters, Sylvia Greenberg of Detroit, Mich; and Rose Kohn of Los Angeles; a sister, Fern Raphael of Chicago, Ill; a brother, Nathan Niederman, of New York; three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Mrs. Simon was a member of Temple Beth Israel, Temple Sisterhood, Hadassah, and the Council of Jewish Women.
Services were conducted by Rabbi Morton J. Cohn at Merkely Austin Mortuary. Final resting place is Greenwood Memorial Park.
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William Schusterman, husband of Goldie Schusterman, died on January 2nd, at the age of 59 years. He is survived by his wife; son, Arnold; and daughters, Doris Borenstein and Sally Kaplan; two brothers and seven grandchildren. Rabbi Baruch Stern officiated at services held at the Merkely-Austin Mortuary; interment at Home of Peace Cemetery. He was a board member of Congregation Beth Jacob and B’nai B’rith Lasker Lodge.
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“Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” is sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg. Our “Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” series will be a regular feature until we run out of history. To find stories on specific individuals or organizations, type their names in our search box.
8 American Muslims tour concentration camps, oppose Holocaust denial
NEW YORK (WJC)–Eight Muslim American leaders, who visited the sites of former Nazi concentration camps and met with Holocaust survivors earlier this month, have signed a statement condemning Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism. The trip, intended to teach the participants about the Holocaust, featured visits to the Dachau and Auschwitz camps.
“We stand united as Muslim American faith and community leaders and recognize that we have a shared responsibility to continue to work together with leaders of all faiths and their communities to fight the dehumanization of all peoples based on their religion, race or ethnicity,” the statement read. “With the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hatred, rhetoric and bigotry, now more than ever, people of faith must stand together for truth.”
Marshall Breger, a Jewish former member of the Reagan and Bush administrations, launched the trip to educate those who may not have had the opportunity to learn the history of the Holocaust. Breger said this would help combat Holocaust denial among Muslims.
The leaders on the trip were five imams – Muzammil Siddiqi of California; Muhamad Maged of Virginia; Suhaib Webb of California, Abdullah Antepli of North Carolina, and Syed Naqvi of Washington DC – along with Sayyid Syeed of Washington, Sheikh Yasir Qadhi of Connecticut, and Laila Muhammad of Illinois. US government officials, the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, and an official from the Organization of the Islamic Conference also participated in the trip.
According to the ‘Forward’ weekly newspaper, several of the leaders had a history of anti-Semitic comments. Laila Muhammad is the daughter of American Muslim leader W.D. Muhammad and granddaughter of Elijah Muhammad, leader of the controversial Nation of Islam. The trip was co-sponsored by a German think tank and the New Jersey-based group Interreligious Understanding.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress
Iranian pulls out of medal match with Israeli in Youth Olympics
SINGAPORE (WJC)– At the Youth Olympics, officials of the Iranian team have reportedly forced a 16 year-old taekwondo fighter to withdraw because he was pitted against an Israeli competitor, Gili Haimovitz, in the final.
Mohammed Soleimani withdrew from the final, saying he had a leg injury. He was also absent from the medal ceremony as he claimed that he had to go to hospital. Soleimani was to stand on the silver medal position as the Israeli flag was hoisted in the highest position.
A spokesman of the International Olympic Committee said an independent doctor had confirmed that Soleimani suffered an injury: “What we know factually is that the athlete injured his ankle and was sent to the hospital for an X-ray. Tests revealed he did not suffer anything broken, and he is all right now. So unless more factual information is available, it is mere speculation.”
Germany’s badminton coach Holger Hasse said: “I heard about what happened with Iran and Israel and it’s very disappointing that the athletes must follow some political rules and I can’t understand this. This is a chance for countries to be peaceful and for the next generation to change things. Athletes are not political, they just want to have fun and meet friends.”
Nigerian coach Jones Adakole told reporters: “This should not happen here, and it’s unfair. The Youth Olympics are about unity.” Malaysian badminton coach Wong Tat Meng agreed, saying: “What’s the purpose of the Youth Olympics? It’s to get everybody to enjoy sport and they should put aside politics. They should have carried on for the good of the sport.”
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Preceding provided by the World Jewish Congress
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, January 7, 1955, Part 4
Compiled by San Diego Jewish World staff
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 7, 1955, Page 7
1955 is the beginning of another year,
Here’s hoping it will be with filled with good luck
and good cheer
Starting off the holiday season was the annual Hi-Debber Ball which many of the our “Kosher Krowd” attended and labeled as “fabulous.”
Congrats are in order to Jeff Lustig who was elected president of the Student Body of Cabrillo School. Nice going Jeff.
Greeting 1955 with a bang with host Stan Breitbard and his date Zena Feurzeig, Diane Fogelman ‘n Alan Friedman, Linda Zuckerman ‘n Roger Brenes, Ruth Moskowitz ‘n Gary Naiman, Roberta Wylogue ‘n Merv Brenes, Henrietta Faquet ‘n Ronnie Doctor, Barbara Silverman ‘n Buddy Kader, Marsha Samuel ‘n Art Pogrell, and Stan Camiel, Gary Cantor, Irwin Schatzman and Gary Breitbard.
Saying “good bye” once again after an all-too-short vacation were the College gang who went to their respective schools. See you in the Spring, and good luck on your finals.
Bye now – CY-5-0679.
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Pioneer Women To Hold Annual Bazaar
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 7, 1955, Page 7
Pioneer Women, Negba Club, will hold their Annual Bazaar on Sunday, January 30, at Beth Jacob Center. Delicious foods will be served all day and new merchandise will be on sale at the most reasonable prices. Mrs. Rose Brooker is Chairman with Mrs. Rose Abrams, Co-Chairman. Mrs. Goldie Kitaen is Food Chairman. All members and friends are urged to attend as funds must be raised to complete our quota for the needy children in Israel. Keep the date in mind an bring the whole family for fun and fine food.
A Seminar for members will be held at the home of Mrs. Seymour Gates at 2420 Meade Avenue, on Tuesday, January 11, with Mrs. Bess Spanner as guest speaker.
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Jewish Center News
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 7, 1955, Page 7
Young Adult Group –Of particular interest to the Young Adult group which meets regularly on Tuesday nights is a series of special fun nights to be sponsored the third Tuesday of each month.
The initial party, “A Calico Hop” will be given on Tuesday, January 18 at 8 p.m. Co-chairmen for this fun frolic are Reitha Stokes and Maury Gross. There will be special entertainment and refreshments. All young adults between the ages of 21 and 30 are invited.
Junior Activities – All juniors from 5- 10 years of age are welcome to participate in an afternoon of fun, ballet and creative dance classes, and arts and crafts.
The dance classes under the supervision of Mrs. John Timen are organized into 3 different age groups, teaching ballet and modern creative dance.
Arts and crafts with Miss Ettie Mallinger as leader provides an opportunity for all to fulfill a basic desire, the drive to create. One does not have to be especially talented top experience the satisfaction to conceive an idea , develop it and complete it to the best of one’s ability. Its fun and all are welcome to attend.
Junior High School Age — Ballroom dance classes with Miss Gloria Molina as instructor will resume Monday at 7 p.m. for all tween-teenagers ages 11-14. Classes are held at Tifereth Israel Center, 30th and Howard and after one hour of instruction the class joins other tween-teeners in an additional hour of dancing, games, refreshments and loads of fun. Why not saunter down to the group on Monday evening when we have our activities? If you don’t, you’ll be missing all the fun.
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Rabbi Philip Bernstein To Be Presented by Center in February
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 7, 1955, Page 7
The Jewish Community Center will present Rabbi Philip Bernstein, president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Sunday evening, February 13, at 8 p.m., at Temple Beth Israel. Rabbi Bernstein’s topic will be “The Challenge of Religion in a Democracy.”
Rabbi Bernstein is the author of the Life magazine’s articles “What the Jews Believe” which evoked the most enthusiastic response in the history of that publication. His book, an explanation of the article, is a best seller.
He is currently rabbi of Temple B’rith Koesh in Rochester, New York, and was advisor on Jewish Affairs in post-war Germany to the United States Army in Europe.
As president of Central Conference of American Rabbis, Rabbi Bernstein led an historic seminar of reform Rabbis in Israel during the summer of 1951. They covered the country from Metulah to Elath; talked with most of the leading personalities, as well as with the rank and file of the people.
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(The cheapening price)
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 7, 1955, Page 7
The man who cheapens himself in public is sure to be marked down by his neighbors.
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Arthur Godman and A. Louis Solof ready for Mr. Hadassah fashion show
Hadassah To Honor Men In “Turn-About” Dinner Fashion Show
Southwestern Jewish Press, January 7, 1955, Page 7
Celebrating the 21st anniversary of Hadassah’s Youth Aliyah project, the San Diego Chapter of Hadassah will honor the occasion by a gala Dinner-Fashion Show to be held Wednesday evening, January 26, at the Mission Valley Country Club. “Turnabout” being fair play, the husbands of our Hadassah officers and board members will hug the spotlight as a special tribute to them, and the women will pay them homage on “Mr Hadassah” night this time in the background.
Mr. Hadassah President will be capably filled by Harry Felseon, and the evenings program will be presided by Mr. Hadassah chairman, Lewis Solomon, and co-chairman, Rudolph Hess. Following a delectable dinner a fashion show sponsored by Lou Solof’s and Gladys Scott will enlighted as to what the well dressed Mr. and Mrs. Hadassah will wear modeled by many of our own members and husbands, among who will be Louis Steinman and Arthur Goodman. A surprise Hollywood entertainer will also be on the program. Mrs. Lewis Solomon, chairman, and MRs. Rudy Hess, co-chairman, are assisted by a capable committee of Mmes. Morton Thaler, Victor Selten, David Schissell, and John Ruskin who is in charge of reservations. Dinner will be $8.00 per couple and reservations must be accompanied by check to Mrs. Ruskin, 4308 N. Talmadge Dr., or to any Minyan captain.
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“Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” is sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg. Our “Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” series will be a regular feature until we run out of history. To find stories on specific individuals or organizations, type their names in our search box.
Commentary: Some important concerns about Russia-Iran nuclear power cooperation
By Shoshana Bryen
Shoshana Bryen
WASHINGTON, D.C. –It isn’t exactly Iran’s Bushehr reactor that is making people really nervous this week, and it isn’t exactly the Russians. It is the understanding that no matter what the United States and the West say about Iran with nuclear technology, Iran is moving toward the acquisition of nuclear weapons technology and capability – and moving on the path toward the creation of an actual nuclear weapon(s).
That is coupled with the possibility that Russia will next deliver the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran, providing a serious new level of protection for the regime and its illegal uranium enrichment program.
The Russians, who took over construction of the reactor in 1995, twenty years after Germany started the project, delivered the fuel in 2007 and 2008, but held off installing it. They say they are now preparing to install the fuel rods and plan to have the reactor up and running within weeks, bringing it up to speed over the next six months. According to public reports, it will be tied to the Iranian electricity grid, monitored by the IAEA, and appears to have no link to Iran’s uranium enrichment program. In addition, the Russians claim to have struck a deal with Iran for the return of spent fuel to preclude production of weapons-grade plutonium.
On its face, the Russian position seems reasonable – since Iran repeatedly said it wouldn’t cooperate with the IAEA on enrichment activities because Tehran was being prevented from having even civilian energy reactors, the Russians took away that excuse. They also contrived to retain control of the spent fuel. The Russians appear smug about the arrangement and their role as Iran’s energy partner. And as long as the Russians have control, there appears to be no problem.
At least that’s what the State Department implied. Unwilling, perhaps, to “re-reset” relations, a State Department spokesman said the United States does not regard Bushehr as a proliferation risk. “Russia’s support for Bushehr underscores that Iran does not need an indigenous enrichment capability if its intentions are purely peaceful,” and the Russian fuel deal mirrors the failed Western offer for a broader fuel swap.
But what if its intentions are not “purely peaceful”? The United States had previously expressed three concerns about Bushehr:
Weapons grade plutonium could be processed from the reactor’s uranium allowing the Iranians to construct nuclear weapons.
The Russians and Iranians could use Bushehr as a cover for the transfer of sensitive technology.
The knowledge gained by Iranian scientists working at Bushehr could further Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Even assuming the Russians have the first covered, what about the others?
As recently as May, two German men were arrested for trying to buy dual-use parts prohibited under EU sanctions for use at Bushehr. And Iranians working at Bushehr would certainly gain important understandings about nuclear technology that can be transferred to other parts of Iran’s program – secret parts. The State Department spokesman did note, “the world’s fundamental concerns with Iran’s overall nuclear intentions,” and the fact that “Iran remains in serious violation of its obligations to the IAEA, particularly as regards separate enrichment.”
The UK Daily Telegraph reports that Iran has announced plans for ten new enrichment plants “within protected mountain strongholds… The move is a response to sanctions imposed on Iran in an attempt to stop it from producing enriched uranium, which can be used as fuel for nuclear power plants but for weapons if produced in higher levels. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also issued an edict ordering the government to offer only ‘minimum levels of co-operation’ with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.”
It is that – “minimum levels of cooperation,” new enrichment facilities in “mountain strongholds” and the clear determination of Iran to move ahead on the nuclear front coupled with threats well understood by Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and Israel – which makes us very nervous about the possibility that Russia will, in fact, load up Bushehr.
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Bryen is senior director of security policy of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. Her column is sponsored by Waxie Sanitary Supply in memory of Morris Wax, longtime JINSA supporter and national board member.
The Jews Down Under~News of the Jews of Australia and New Zealand
Garry Fabian
By Garry Fabian
New Zealand Jewish Community goes to court
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, 10 August– The following announcement was released by the New Zealand Jewish Community:
As we informed the community last week, we filed legal proceedings against the Minister of
Agriculture, seeking a restoration of the right to practise shechitain New Zealand. We are pleased to report that an interim agreement has
now been reached with the Minister, which will enable the continued practice of shechita in the period up to trial (which is likely to take place during 2011).
Court orders were made by consent in the Wellington High Court this morning, giving legal effect to that agreement. Every effort is being
made to get chicken and local lamb”back on the table”as soon as possible.
The community would like to acknowledge the tremendous contribution the legal team at Russell McVeagh have made in putting together our
case to achieve this positive outcome in such a short period.
The memorandum was signed by Jewish community leaders Garth Cohen, Michael Stiassny and Geoff Levy.
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Church resolution reveals failure of interfaith
MELBOURNE, 13 August -The National Council of Churches of Australia’s resolution encouraging a boycott of Israel is absolutely indefensible, and makes a mockery of both mutual tolerance and “interfaith” dialogue. It is abundantly clear in the case of Israel, as in countless instances in Jewish history, an exception has been made of Jews.
If the churches were fair about their human rights concerns they would have boycotted Sudan, Saudi Arabia and so many other Islamic
countries for their real human rights abuses and treatment and discrimination of non-Muslim minorities.
No mainstream church group has ever openly sided with Jews, publicly criticising Iran’s President Amadinajad over his promotion of Holocaust denial and anti Semitic rhetoric or criticising Arab/Muslim anti-Semitism. There are so many other examples of the church’s hypocrisy in singling out the Jewish state as their ‘pet’ cause. Even some Christians who have seen the NCAA statement find it incomprehensible that it
does not mention Palestinian/Hamas discrimination of Christians in Gaza.
Jewish interfaith advocates should start insisting on some reciprocity and public support for the Jewish narrative in the Israel/
Palestinian, Arab Muslim conflict otherwise they are wasting their time
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Contemporary Antisemitism: What We Can Do
Contemporary antisemitism turns Israel into a collective Jew among the nations, demonizing and delegitimizing the Jewish state. Irwin Cotler
defines its expression in the genocidal antisemitism of Ahmadinejad’s Iran; the political antisemitism that denies Jews the right to national selfdetermination; the racialised antisemitism that defines Zionism as racism; the legalized antisemitism that makes a mockery of the UN Human Rights procedures, and the “new protocols of the elders of Zion”, which blames Israel for everything from 9/11 to swine flu.
But, Cotler argues, we can act. We have opportunities through Holocaust memory and education, through pressuring for the implementation of the legal procedures of the Genocide Convention,
through reforming the UN, through government initiatives and through working to reframe the narrative that blames Israel and Jews for all
Middle East conflict and ignores human rights abuses in other parts of the world..
The Hon. Professor Irwin Cotler MP is an eminent human rights lawyer and Canadian statesman. A former Canadian Attorney-General and sitting member of the Canadian Parliament, he has been outspoken on issues of human rights in the former Soviet Union, South Africa and Rwanda.
The ADC was honoured to host him recently as our ADC Gandel Orator. This special report is an edited transcript of his Oration.
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Australian Foreign Minister charts positive Israel course
CANBERRA, 13 August – The diplomatic relationship between Australia and Israel has resumed on its normal course, less than three months after Stephen Smith expelled an Israeli diplomat from Canberra.
And despite a frosty few months, the two countries – which both share a desire to see Iran’s nuclear weapons program halted immediately
– never ceased to share intelligence on the rogue state.
In a wide-ranging interview during a campaign stop in Melbourne, Smith spoke about the resumption of that relationship. He made no
pledges about the foreign policy direction a future Gillard government would take, but spoke in depth about some of the decisions made over the past almost three years.
“I am now very confident that things are now back to business as usual,” he said of the diplomatic ties between Australia and Israel.
“Often when you have a difficult issue that you’ve got to manage, your capacity to manage that and then to move reasonably quickly off it,
reflects the strength of the relationship.
“Yes it was a difficult time and I obviously thought very carefully about all of the issues and came to the decision that, as I said
publicly, we could not turn a blind eye to what had occurred.
“I’m very confident now that in terms of agency-to-agency relationship,
government-to-government, nation-to-nation, it is business as usual.”
He added that at no time during the diplomatic impasse, did the two countries stop cooperating to quash the rogue Iranian regime.
“One area [of the Australia-Israel relationship] we did not want to see disturbed was the ongoing cooperation and exchange of information on Iran,” he said.
Asked whether he thought the forthcoming direct talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians means that the time for peace is right, Smith showed some trademark diplomacy.
“I think your attitude has got to be that it is always right,” he said. “You always have to try and take the opportunity and often when things
appear to be at their worst is often a time when you can move forward.”
“We’re very supportive of President [Barack] Obama’s efforts, we’re very supportive of Ambassador [George] Mitchell’s efforts and we
make the point to all of the players in the Middle East that it is absolutely essential that we get long-term enduring peace.
“The issues are complex, complicated and there are strong views respectively on both sides, but we can’t give up because solving these Middle East issues is very important to peace and security, peace and stability throughout the entire world,” he said.
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Jewish Music Festival hits Sydney
SYDNEY, 16 August – SHIR Madness, Sydney’s first large-scale Jewish music festival, brought Bondi Beach to life with more than 40 performers from Australia and around the world, eclectic food stalls, kids activities and an art exhibition centred around Bondi Pavilion on Sunday, August 15.
The festival is the brainchild of Gary Holzman, who has dreamed of staging a music festival for many years.
“I’ve always felt there would be somebody better equipped to put it on than myself, but as it never eventuated, I finally decided to do
something about it,” says Holzman, who is the festival director.
The festival will feature four stages, with musical styles covering klezmer, choral, Latino, Chassidic, Israeli, jazz, cabaret, folk, blues, pop, rock, funk, reggae and rap.
Among the local performers are Deborah Conway, Monsieur Camembert, The Mark Ginsburg Band, Alana Bruce, Joanna Weinberg, the Emanuel choirs and the Sydney Jewish Choral Society.
Leading the line-up of international performers are Israeli singer Ido Lederman, Alex Jacobowitz from New York and the Jew Brothers Band from New Zealand.
Lederman began his music career as lead singer of Israeli rock band Amstaf, and was bass player for the reggae group Hatikvah 6. He will also perform in Melbourne on August 21.
Holzman says: “It’s just going to be an amazing atmosphere and an absolute smorgasbord – what I would call a ‘mixed salad’ of musical delight.
“People should come to appreciate the amazing variety of musical talent within the Jewish community, both from Sydney and from other places as well.
“With the incredible variety of music on offer, a food court full of tempting delights, market stalls, kids entertainment and an exhibition of
Jewish art, this is going to be a fantastic festival for the whole family to come and enjoy.”
Holzman hopes the festival will be an annual event.
“We certainly want to make sure that it’s not going to be a one-off, but will become a highlight of the Sydney cultural calendar.”
One of the international performers from upstate New York is Jacobowitz, a master of the marimba who has plied his trade across the world, most notably in Germany. An Orthodox Jew, he focuses
on the traditional klezmer music of his ancestors.
“My music is spiritual, natural, totally unexpected and riveting,” he says. “It brings European music, African sound and Jewish geist together.”
Jacobowitz says his Jewish identity is an integral part of his music.
“Judaism is my spirit, and my spirit energises and breathes life into my music. Whether I’m playing Bach, flamenco or klezmer, my music is 100 per cent kosher.”
Jacobowitz is thrilled to be in Australia and taking part in Shir Madness.
“To be part of the first Jewish music festival in Sydney makes me proud and humble at the same time, and I hope that the music finds a special echo there.”
For AJN Ghetto Blasterz competition winner Shannon Gaitz, Shir Madness is the highlight of her fledgling music career so far.
“I’m extremely excited, especially to be able to get my name and my songs out there,” says Gaitz, 17, from Bondi, who describes her music as country pop.
“It’s very honest – it’s all based on personal experience and very emotional.”
Gaitz is grabbing the opportunity to perform at Shir Madness with both hands.
“It’s just a huge opportunity of being able to get performance experience, especially with my original songs, and I’m going to be playing with
Philip Foxman, he’s my mentor and that’s also a really big honour.”
Gaitz will also spend a day recording tracks at the Green Sound Music studios in Sydney’s Castle Cove as part of her prize.Sydney band The Naked Parade has been causing quite a stir with its infectious brand of alternative pop-rock.
Singer Talya Rabinovitz explains with a laugh: “We’ve been told that we are the love child of Jeff Buckley and No Doubt if they went travelling
though Eastern Europe and South America.”
“We definitely have a Middle Eastern vibe to our music, with the violin, melodies and the drumbeats.”
Rabinovitz is excited to be performing at Shir Madness.
“It just looks like an amazing music festival,” she says. “This will be a different age group for us as well –
I know that a lot of my family like my aunts and uncles are coming and they don’t usually come to our gigs. I’m excited to see their reaction and put on a show.”
Local singer Natan Kuchar has spent the past four years plying his trade in the United States.
Kuchar has performed solo at Carnegie Hall, but the humble performer speaks more enthusiastically about his recent album release at a small Surry Hills venue in Sydney.
“It made me feel like people really dig what I have and were really interested in me,” he says. “It was a really great confidence booster and it
helped propel me to apply for Shir Madness.”
Kuchar describes his music as “a really raw sound, merging pop music and soul music.”
“I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from people like Stevie Wonder and Regina Spektor for their melodies and for their storytelling within their music,” he says.
“I really love to subtly add melodies from synagogue services or from High Holy Days or just lyrics that are found in certain religious texts
that help to support some other kind of contemporary story that I’m trying to tell in my songs.”
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Fabian is Australia bureau chief for San Diego Jewish World
sdjewishworld 