Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, February 4, 1955, Part 1
Compiled by San Diego Jewish World staff
B.B. District Grand Lodge President To Attend Joint Meeting February 4
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 1
San Diego will be honored by a visitation of the District Grand Lodge President of B’nai B’rith, David A. Chertkow of Canada, on Monday, Feb. 14, at 8:15 p.m., Temple Center, at a joint meeting of S.D. Lasker and Samuel I. Fox Lodges, according to Mickey Fredman and Dave Schloss, respective presidents.
Members and prospective Ben B’riths are urged to attend this event, one of the few times a Grand President visits our community. An interesting program has been planned and Mr. Chertkow will give an inspiring talk on “B’nai B’rith—A Way of Life.”
Prior to the meeting, a dinner will be tendered the Grand President at the El Cortez at 6 p.m. to which all officers of the lodges and friends are cordially invited to attend. Reservations must be made with executive board member Morrie Kraus, chairman, at CY 5-4834, Eddie Breitbard at AT 4-3458 or Stan Yukon at JU 2-5684.
Following the3 meeting special refreshments will be served by Jerry “Chief” Aronoff. The regular social will round out the rest of the evening. Plan to attend so that San Diego B’nai B’rith will live up to its reputation of always turning out for the Grand President and making him welcome.
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Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 1
Rae Katz, Jane Lustig and Louise Hertz examine country fair merchandise. (Photo: Wm Pierce Studio)
Sisterhood “Country Fair”
A “Country Fair” is traditionally a family outing, and the 4th Annual Country Fair sponsored by Temple Beth Israel Sisterhood, Sunday, February 6, will be no exception. From the time the doors open on the rural atmosphere at the American Legion Hall, 2690 B St., at 3 p.m. until closing time at midnight , there will be activities and entertainment for all ages. Louise Hertz, Zelma Goldstein and Charlotte Haas have planned an outstanding buffet supper, at $1.85 for adults and 85c for children to be served from 5 until 8 p.m. The younger sets will find amusement in the game booths under the direction of Betty Karel, and at the Grab Bag set up by Bertie Leeds. Those who shop will find a wealth of merchandise of every sort, collected or made by such active Chairmen as Mollie Kerper, Gift Items; Lillian Novak, Sewing; Blanche Cohen, Plants and Corsages; Janice Rabin, Knit Goods; Virginia Friedman, White Elephants; Belle Karp, Dolls; Betty Sugerman, Toys: and Items made by Dora Friedman and at Temple House Kaffee Klatches. Food for the pantry and the freezer will be found at the Delicatessen Booth, under the direction of Rae Katz.
Ethel Pogrell has the games and booths in the Hall, while Harriet Dickman is in charge of decorations. Mona Sharpe, Merchandising, and Helen Sinder, gaming booths.
There will be no admission charge, so accept the invitation of Country Fair Chairman, Jane Lustig, and her co-chairmen, Ethel Pogrell, Mona Sharpe and Louise Hertz to join in the fun at the gala 4th Annual Cou9ntry Fair, Sunday, February 6, at 2690 B. St.
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United Jewish Fund Sets Date For Opening Drive
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 1
In preparation for the 1955 Combined Jewish Appeal the Fund Board has begun working on two very vital questions which are preliminary to announcing the goal and agencies benefitting from the drive.
Morris Douglas, President, in announcing that the 1955 campaign would open on March 24, also announced the appointment of Milton Y. Roberts to head the committee to investigate the multiplicity of campaigns, and to determine whether budgeting and allocations shall be completed before the campaign opens.
The committee is working on a formula which will give an incentive to organizations in the local community to aid the drive directly.
National organizations which fall into this group are B’nai B’rith, Jewish War Veterans, City of Hope, Histadrut, Jewish Labor Committee, Pioneer Women, Congregation Beth Israel, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Beth Jacob, Union of Orthodox Synagogues and Tifereth Israel Jewish Theological Seminary and the Jewish Welfare Board.
Locally the Jewish Social Service Agency, Hebrew Home for Aged, and the Community Relations Council are recipients of the Fund and will be expected to join in the effort.
Indirectly affected by the Fund drive are Hadassah, and National Council of Jewish Women.
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Meeting of Reform Congregations in L.A. February 13-16
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 1
Jeff Chandler, popular Universal-International film star and Vanessa Brown, of stage and screen fame, will be seen in person at the Hollywood Palladium on Wednesday night, Feb. 16, when they enact leading roles in a dramatic presentation at the 43rd Biennial Convention banquet of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
More than 2,000 delegates from every state in the nation, Canada and Hawaii are expected to attend the banquet, which will officially close the four-day convention of the national body embracing more than 500 Reform temples. Host group, the Southern California Council, includes 28 congregations. Rabbi Morton J. Cohn and President Mack Esterson of Temple Beth Israel will attend the convention.
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Community Invited
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 1
Special services will be held at Beth Israel tonight to dedicate the newly completed Temple House and the remodeling of the Temple.
Awards will be made to those who contributed their services. Entertainment and refreshments will be provided. The entire community is invited to attend.
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B’nai B’rith Sponsors Film at State College
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 1
The film, “The Almanac of Liberty,” A Studio One show, by Wm. O. Douglas, will be shown at State College, Thursday, Feb. 10th, at 11:00 a.m. in room S-101. For those of you who missed the television show in November 1954 this is a must! It is the only showing that will be held in San Diego. The B’nai B’rith bringing the film here and Mr. Newman of the Campus Y and Dr. Kinder of the Audio0Visual Dept. of State College, are assisting us. Please invite your friends, everyone is welcome.
There will be time for a question and answer period after the showing, which will be led by one of the professors at the College.
For information regarding same, please call Mrs. Ted Brav, AT 4-3434.
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Herzl Sabbath Feb. 12
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 1
Saturday, February 12, has been designated as Herzl Sabbath by the American Zionist Council and the Jewish Agency, it was announced today by Mrs. Rose L. Halprin, chairman of the Joint Herzl Committee of those organizations.
The occasion is part of a worldwide commemoration of the death of Theodor Herzl, founder of modern Zionism, 50 years ago.
Rabbis at 2,200 Congregations throughout the United States have been requested to devote their sermons on that day to Herzl and to arrange special events by their Hebrew Schools and Adult Education Groups.
February 12 was chosen because it is the Sabbath preceding February 14 when, in 1896, Herzl’s historic pamphlet, “The Jewish State,” was published in Vienna and led to the convention of the first World Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland, the following year.
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New Subscribers
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 1
Milton Schindler
Daniel L. Gove
Dr. Werner Lehman
American Cancer Society
Cpl. and Mrs. Dean Greenberg
Mrs. David Sapp
Mrs. Lillian Baume
Mrs. R. Gerber
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“Holiday” Has Israel Story in Feb. Issue
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 1
The February issue of “Holiday” magazine contains a beautifully illustrated issue on Israel, entitled “Land of the Bible” by Joan Comay, wife of Israel’s Ambassador to Canada.
It tells of the dramatic rebirth of Israel two thousand year after Roman legionnaires captured Jerusalem and ended the Jewish State.
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Important Announcement
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 1
Morris Douglas, President of the United Jewish Fund, has announced that the 1955 Combined Jewish Appeal will open on March 24 and will continue the intensive campaign for a ten-week period, through June 3. The period from March 1 to June 24 will be used for campaign organization.
The president is calling upon all Jewish organizations to give the same fine cooperation which they always have manifested in San Diego in avoiding the scheduling of any fund raising events during this ten week period. This will permit the entire community to contribute their manpower and resources to insure the success of the Fund campaign for funds for over forty-two agencies.
Any question regarding possible conflicting dates may be cleared with the Fund Director, Albert A. Hutler.
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Barney-Shames Wedding Told
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 2
On January 16th Barbara Gayle Shames, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P. Shames of San Diego was wed to Manny I. Barney, son of Mrs. Morris Barney, of Los Angeles.
The couple were married by Rabbi Morton J. Cohn at the Tifereth Israel Synagogue in a candlelit ceremony. Floral decorations matched the gowns.
The bride wore an original gown of nylon tulle and lace, decorated with irredescent sequins and seed pearls, with portrait neckline. She carried a white orchid on her bible. Miss Annette Barney, Maid of Honor, wore pink crystallete; Mrs. Della Epstein, Matron of Honor, wore gold crystallite; attendants Mrs. Reva Geller, Mrs. Ida Liberman and Mrs. Jackie Krahoff wore liqht aqua crystallette. Marlene Geller, flower girl, wore a yellow dress.
Best man was Ira Shames, ushers were Marty Epstein, John Magidof, Irving Geller, Irving Stein and Chet Greengard.
A dinner and reception was held at the Mission Valley Country Club for 110 guests. The bride’s mother received in a mauve, taffeta, cocktail dress, trimmed in pink pearls and beads. The groom’s mother wore a gown of gray lace over taffeta, trimmed in rhinestones.
The bride left for her honeymoon in San Francisco wearing an off-white, jeweled knit suit with white jeweled hat and black accessories. The young couple will reside at 827 N. Alfred St., in Los Angeles.
Out of town guests were Mr. Jack Magidof, and Mr. and Mrs. Martin Epstein of Pittsburg, Pa.
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Selma Cohen Betrothed
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 2
Mr. and Mrs. Alex Cohen announce the engagement of their daughter, Selma, to Roland Schiller of New York City.
Selma is a graduate of the University of California in Los Angeles. An early wedding is being planned.
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Personals
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1955, Page 2
Thank You Notes – Mrs. Celia Schwartz wishes to thank her many friends and organizations for their kindness to her during her bereavement in the loss of her sister Mrs. Ruth Selkin, who passed away while visiting in Elsinore, Calif.
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Mrs. John Ruskin wishes her friends to know how much they helped to make the days fly during her recent confinement to bed.
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Many thanks to Dr. and Mrs. H.A. Brookler for sending us their former home paper, the Jewish Post, from Canada. We were green with envy looking at the 150-page Chanukah edition loaded with Ads. It should happen to the Southwest Jewish Press of San Diego.
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Mr. and Mrs. Fritz Lavender wish to thank their friends for the good wishes concerning their newly attained Citzenship.
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Mrs. Henry Weinberger is back home after surgery and wishes to thank her friends fo rhteir good wishes and kindness during her stay at the hospital.
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Mrs. Al Brav (Ruth) did such a competent job as area chairman for the Community Chest that the Pacific Beach Girls Scouts elected her Neighborhood Chairman of Dist. 9.
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Mr. and Mrs. J. Levin have just returned from a twelve-day tour of Mexico City and Acapulco. Ann says, “the sights are worth living on tea and toast.”
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Robert and Lucille Hirsch, nephew and niece of Dr. and Mrs. A.P. Nasatir, left last week for San Francisco. Robert was graduated from State College with distinction and honors. He was third highest in the class. He will attend the University of California, Berkeley, to secure his Master’s degree. The Nasatirs and San Diego will miss Bob and Lucille. Good luck in your new work and come back to us soon.
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It was “surprise, surprise” for Niel Himmel when he walked into the home of his children, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Himmel. Mrs. Himmel planned the family dinner birthday party with her daughter-in-law. Sharing the happy occasion were Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Lipinsky, MRs. Annie Esenoff, Mrs. Ann Fagelson and Mr. and Mrs. Sam Withall. Out-of-town visitor was Irving Fagelson of Los Angeles.
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Esther Moorsteen left on a flying trip to New York. She will have a reunion with Dr. and Mrs. J.A. Bronner whom she met in Israel five years ago. The Bronners are visiting their son and daughter-in-law, Zev and Gloria Bronner. Gloria is the former Gloria Haydis, native San Diegan and niece of Mrs. Moorsteen. Mrs. Moorsteen will stay with her son and his wife, the Richard Moorsteens, and will visit her niece Avia, who lived for a time in San Diego with her aunt. She plans on staying in New York ten days.
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Marriage Told
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1956, Page 2
Announcement has been made of the recent marriage of Rose Minick and Jack Gilmore. The ceremony was solemnized January 27th in Yuma, Arizona. Rose is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Winnick of New Haven, Conn., and Jack is the son of Mrs. Emma Gilmore of Buffalo, N.Y.
As a delightful courtesy to the bride, Miss Rhoda Jaffee and Mrs. William Sherliss entertained at the Sherliss home Tuesday evening with a surprise shower. The couple will be at home to their friends at 4380 Illinois Street, San Diego.
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Junior Charity Holds Valentine Party
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1956, Page 2
The Junior Charity League is again giving the one money-raising event of the year, a Valentine Card Party, on Feb. 10 at Temple Center, Thursday noon. The organization, composed of 22 members, has as its purpose charitable and philanthropic work. A delicious turkey luncheon cooked by the members will be served, and a home made cake sale held afterward. All proceeds from this luncheon will go to the local Polio Foundation.
President of the club this year is Mrs. Harry Epsten; Vice Pres., Mrs. Wm Moss; Sec., Mrs. Lou Moorstein; Treas, Mrs. Sam Sosna; Soc. Sec., Mrs Paul Nestor. Chairman of the affair is Mrs. Moss, and reservations may be made with any member. Donation is $1.50.
The Junior Charity League has done work with the blind, thru Mrs. Jerome Cohn, chairman; is collecting funds for Unicef, thru Mrs. Lou Moorstein, chairman; has given donations to the Vauclain Home, thru MRs. Ben Rottman, takes part in Red Cross and many other civic activities.
Two lovely door prizes donated by Mrs. Nathan Baranov and Mrs. Rod Horrow will be given… Everyone is invited to come.
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Cradle
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1956, Page 2
Celebrating is going on North, East, South and West over the arrival of Jonathan to Mr. and Mrs. Dan Abramson, on January 5th. HE was born at Mercy Hospital and weighed 7 lbs, 3 oz.
Paternal grandparents are Mr. and MRs. Abramson and maternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Steffel, all of San Diego.
Greatgrandparents are Mrs Hannah Cloner, of San Diego; Mrs. Henrietta Chortack of San Francisco, MR. and Mrs. J.S. Abramson of Detroit and Mr. and Mrs. N. Miller of Chicago.
Friends are cordially invited to the Pidyan Ha-Ben honoring Jonathan’s arrival. Open House will be held from 1-4 p.m, Sunday, Feb. 6, at 4616 Florida St., Apt. 11.
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Mr. and Mrs. Sam Siraton proudly announce the arrival of their first son, Craig Paul, who joined his sisters Julie and Susan on January 16th Craig weighed seven and one half pounds and measured twenty-three inches. (More cigars, Sam, the length is above average.)
Maternal grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Louis Adams and Mrs. Louis Siraton of San Diego.
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Classified
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1956, Page 2
Gardener—No need for your garden to be neglected. Help is as near as your telephone. Phone BE 4-4353 or BE 3-8393.
Furnished Room – Separate unit; private entrance and bath; hot plate. North Pk area. Phone BE 2-1366.
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Calendar
Southwestern Jewish Press, February 4, 1956, Page 2
4th—Fri., 7:30 p.m., Temple Beth Israel Dedication Services.
5th—Sat., 7:30 p.m., Temple Teens Valentine Ball
6th—Sun, from 3:30 p.m. to midnite—“Country Fair” – Beth Israel Sisterhood, American Legion Hall.
8th—Tues, 8 p.m.—City of Hope Jr. “Ladies’ Nite” –T.I.S. Center
10th—Thurs, noon—Jr. CharityhLeague Valentine Card Party.
12th – Sat, 7 p.m., Council of Jewish Women – Valentine Ball—Mission Club.
13th—Sun., 8 p.m.—Rabbi Philip Bernstein –J.C.C. – Temple Center.
13th—Sun., 7 p.m., Yomaco Installation, Dinner-Dance – Casper’s Ranch
13th—Sun—10 a.m. “Snow Party” – Beth Jacob Youth League.
13th—Sun, 8 p.m., — Pioneer Women celebrate Arbor Day – Beth Jacob Center.
14th—Mon. Lunch – Birdie Stodel – 26th Anniversary, Beth Jacob Center.
15th—Tues, Noon – City of Hope Installation – S.D. Club.
15th—Tues, eve. Temple Men’s Club – Sons and Daughters Nite – Temple Center
19th – Sat., 8 p.m., Couple Club, Speaker, Dr. Harris, Valentine Party – T.I.S. Center
16th –Wednesday noon—Hadassah “Afternoon of Fun”—Luncheon – Meeting
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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.
Why I just disinherited my alma mater
By Bruce Kesler
Bruce Kesler
ENCINITAS, California–I just updated my will and trust and, with heavy heart, cut out what was a significant bequest to my alma mater, Brooklyn College.
What caused the disinheritance is that all incoming freshmen and transfer students are given a copy of a book to read, and no other, to create their “common experience.” This same book is one of the readings in their required English course. The author is a radical pro-Palestinian professor there.
When I attended in the 1960s, Brooklyn College – then rated one of the tops in the country — was, like most campuses, quite liberal. But, there was no official policy to inculcate students with a political viewpoint. Now there is. That is unacceptable.
The book is How Does It Feel To Be A Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America It is interviews with seven Arab-Americans in their 20s about their experiences and difficulties in the US. There’s appreciation of freedoms in the US, and deep resentment at feeling or being discriminated against post-9/11.
The seven are not a representative sample. Six are Moslem and one Christian. According to the Arab American Institute, 63% of Arab-Americans are Christian, 24% Muslim. The author chose those interviewed and those included in the book.
The title of the book is drawn from communist WEB DuBois’ same question in 1903 in his treatise The Souls of Black Folk. The current book consciously draws a parallel, ridiculous on its face, between the horrible and pervasive discrimination and injustices that Blacks were subjected to a century ago and Arab-Americans today.
The author asserts “The core issue [of Middle East turbulence] remains the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” that the post-1967 history of the entire area is essentially that of “imperialism American-style,” and that the US government “limits the speech of Arab Americans in order to cement United States policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Again, preposterous.
The author is Moustafa Bayoumi. He is called an “Exalted Islamic Grievance Peddler” with the following summary of his background:
“The second featured speaker at WCU’s forum was Moustafa Bayoumi, an associate professor of English at Brooklyn College and co-editor of The Edward Said Reader. Bayoumi contends that in the aftermath of 9/11, armed INS officials, U.S. Marshals, and FBI agents routinely roused Muslims from their beds ‘in the middle of the night’—indiscriminately arresting, shackling, and investigating them for possible terrorist connections.”
In September 2002, a year after 9/11, Bayoumi lamented that “an upswing in hate crimes [against American Muslims] has already begun.” As proof, he cited statistics, which would be thoroughly discredited, put forth by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). He then pointed to CAIR’s claim that “57 percent of American Muslims report that they have experienced bias or discrimination since Sept. 11,” and that “48 percent of [Muslim] respondents believe their lives have changed for the worse since the attacks.” “This is hardly surprising,” Bayoumi reasoned. “For the past year, Muslims have endured a daily barrage of demagoguery, distortions and outright lies about their faith. Never well understood in this country, Islam is now routinely caricatured.”
In March 2006, Bayoumi took up this theme again, asserting that “Muslim-bashing has become socially acceptable in the United States.” In 2008 he wrote: “It’s been seven years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, and many young American Muslims are convinced that much of American society views them with growing hostility. They’re right.”
The theme of Muslim victimhood is by no means restricted solely to Bayoumi’s view of the United States. Indeed, he depicts Palestinian suicide bombings as little more than desperate reactions to “a brutal [Israeli] military occupation that has been strangling the Palestinian people for decades.”
Most recently, Bayoumi edited a book, Midnight on the Mavi Marmara: The Attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and How It Changed the Course of the Israel/Palestinian Conflict, defending it and calling it Israel’s Selma, Alabama, the focal point for US civil rights struggles in the 1960s.
Online I found two professors who protested to the college president. One, retired from Brooklyn College, said: This is wholly inappropriate. It smacks of indoctrination. It will intimidate incoming students who have a different point of view (or have formed no point of view), sending the message that only one side will be approved on this College campus. It can certainly intimidate untenured faculty as well.”
Another, currently on the faculty, said: While our community of learning is committed to freedom of speech and expression, does that require that we must expose new students to the anti-American and anti-Israeli preachings of this professor? At the least, do not our students deserve a balanced presentation?
Another retired professor living in Brooklyn, protested and received back from a Dean:
Each year professors in the English Department and I select a common reading for our entering students. We choose memoirs (a genre familiar to students) set in New York City, often reflecting an immigrant experience, and written by authors who are available to visit campus. Students in freshman composition respond to the common reading by writing about their own experiences, many of them published in Telling Our Stories; Sharing our Lives’. This year we selected How Does It Feel to be a Problem: Being Young and Arab in America by one of our own faculty members, Professor Moustafa Bayoumi, because it is a well-written collection of stories by and about young Arab Brooklynites whose experiences may be familiar to our students, their neighbors, or the students with whom they will study and work at Brooklyn College. We appreciate your concerns. Rest assured that Brooklyn College values tolerance, diversity, and respect for differing points of view in all that we do.”
The professor tells us what happened next:
“S I wrote to her again, and again, and then again once more, suggesting that she provide some balance to Bayoumi’s book, that she provide additional authors and additional speakers. I even suggested another author, Paul Berman, also resident in Brooklyn, also writing on Arab themes, also willing (I would assume) to speak to her students. And what did Dean Wilson reply to these repeated suggestions of mine ? You guessed it, she did not deign to reply at all.
Another professor’s unpublished letter (which I verified with him; I’ve verified the others also) to the college president said: “Anyone who has taught at a university during the past quarter-century and more knows that the slogan of ‘diversity’ generally alludes to its opposite (i.e., imposed uniformity of thought camouflaged by diversity of physical appearance) and also foretells mischief.”
I will always appreciate the excellent liberal arts education I received at Brooklyn College, and the critical thinking that has caused me to disinherit it.
A Board member tells me the 55,000-member Scholars for Peace in the Middle East is now considering its next move.
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Kesler, a freelance writer based in Encinitas, also published this article on the Maggie’s Farm website.
Think you’ve got it bad in this economy? Think again!
By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
SAN DIEGO — When I opened this morning’s paper, I groaned when I saw that the stock market had dropped below 10,000.
I began to feel sorry for myself until I read the next headline: “Flooding displaces one million more in Pakistan.” At least 1,600 people have been killed and 17 million displaced since monsoon floods began in Pakistan a month ago. Maurizio Giuliano, a spokesman for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, “An already colossal disaster is getting worse and requiring an even more colossal response.”
In ancient Israel the first of all harvests, the bikurim, were offered to God. The Torah instructs the Israelites to include the poor of society in their celebration: “You shall enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger in your midst, all the bounty that the Lord your God has bestowed upon you and your household.” (Deut. 26:11)
I have always explained this as requiring us to include gifts to the poor and hungry whenever we celebrate happy occasions. Our joy is never complete until the needy are provided for.
The commentator known as Lekutei Yehoshua, however, suggests another interpretation of this mitzvah. He writes that when you share your celebrations with the downtrodden of society, the joy you experience is of a special nature: it is the joy of one who is happy with what they have. (cf. Pirkei Avot 4:1: Ben Zoma says, “Who is wealthy? The one who is content with what they have.”)
Jealousy of one’s neighbor’s possessions, he writes, is the source of much sadness and anger in life. We always think that we will be happy if we have more.
However, if we think about our poor neighbors, rather than the wealthy ones, we quickly realize how fortunate we are and conclude that we must be grateful and content with the blessings that are already ours.
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego
Commentary: Transnational loyalties have affected many religious groups
By Ira Sharkansky
Ira Sharkansky
JERUSALEM–The issue of Islam touches a problem with ancient lineage that appears in modern societies that pride themselves on diversity, and suffer from conflicts with people who are both outsiders and insiders.
Josephus describes the civil war between Judeans who identified with the culture of the Romans, and those who rejected any deviation from what they defined as the essence of God’s law. The Roman perspective, like that of Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks before them, was to manage their multi-cultural empire by allowing considerable freedom to its parts, as long as they did not challenge the peak leadership to govern the empire as they saw fit. Keeping the balance was not easy, and failure was among the explanations for the crumbling of one empire after another. The British, French, and Russians have experienced the problem in our lifetime. The Chinese are trying their skills with Tibetans, Muslims, and religious Christians.
It is the task of Barack Obama to maintain the balance between norms of accepting variation between cultures (including religion), and forceful opposition to those who challenge his imperial regime.
The quarrels about the New York mosque touch part of this. Al-Jazeera has focused on the question: how does the American military train its soldiers, who include Muslims, to fight at a time when all the wars are against Muslims in one place or another? Al-Jazeera quotes a soldier who says, “Islamophobia Pervades U.S. Military’; ‘The Training We Get and the Information That We Are Subject To – Constitute Propaganda Against Islam”
The issue appeared in World War II, although without the emphasis on religion, per se. After a debate as to whether to enlist them at all, the US Army accepted Japanese-American volunteers, kept them in one unit, and sent them to Italy. The issue did not arise about Americans with German ancestry. If it had, there would have been a problem in sending Dwight Eisenhower to Europe.
Israel faces the problem in connection with its non-Jews. Early on, the leadership of the Druze community offered its sons to be drafted, and most of them serve without ethnicity becoming an issue. During the fighting with Lebanon, however, some asked whether Israeli Druze should be sent against Lebanese Druze. Another problem involves the Druze of the Golan who identify with Syria. As Private Sharkansky, I once traveled from lecture to lecture in Lebanon alongside a Bedouin who manned the machine gun on the back of my jeep. A Druze lieutenant colonel said that he considered himself army property whenever he wore his uniform.
My father served with the US Army in France during World War I, against Varda’s grandfather in the German army. Her Uncle Albert was a sniper who once was aiming at a French soldier. The armies were close, and he heard the Frenchman saying his morning prayers, “Shema Yisrael . . .” Uncle Albert did not fire.
When I conveyed this to a Jewish colonel teaching at West Point, I gathered that he did not like the story. It goes down well in Israel.
Slogans and platitudes do not solve the most difficult matters. Most people think and speak in slogans and platitudes, but neither are likely to offer the sensitivity and nuances required. Absolutes do not help. The United States is fighting Islam, even if its leadership does all it can to resist that idea. It also must maintain working relationships with Muslim countries, and provide a decent environment for the Muslims living in the United States.
I am back to my guiding concept of coping. It does not provide details about how to deal with problems, except to emphasize that there are no simple ways to solve them once and for all times. Balance rather than proclamations, subtlety of management, low flame, compromise, and half a loaf. Final solution is a term that must be avoided at all cost.
None of this is easy. Armies and other large organizations must work on the principle of simplicity. It is essential to giving orders that are clear, and assuring that all the troops operate in concert. In domestic affairs, it is important that low level bureaucrats deal with similar cases in similar fashion.
I am pretty sure that Uncle Albert did not tell his superiors about the French soldier he did not kill.
It is at the crucial points of extreme sensitivity where simplicity must give way to nuance and flexibility. Not on the battlefield or the social service office where agreed upon actions are to be implemented. But where it is appropriate to explain actions to a complex audience in a way to minimize the need to engage in further combat.
There are times when it is necessary to fight. The task of the IDF is to train nice Jewish boys to do ugly things. Arab violence against Jews, and then 9-11 have provided their lessons to Israel, the United States, and others.
There is no shortage of Muslims, from the Middle East, Europe, and the United States, who are arguing that the location of the mosque near Ground Zero is not likely to serve the interests of Muslims in the United States or elsewhere. We will see how their fear of escalating phobia against Islam plays out against the insistence of the promoters and supporters who have invested their egos in slogans about religious freedom and property rights.
The United States military will continue to battle Muslims, and train its soldiers how to kill the enemy while devoting some of the training to religious tolerance. Israel will continue to employ Druze and other Arabs in the IDF, while seeking to preserve the balance between a democracy that honors civil rights and a country that is primarily Jewish.
Simpletons of the world–It isn’t for you.
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Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University
Commentary: Efforts needed to rescue Arabs and Haredim from Israeli poverty
Part two of a series on poverty in Israel; to read part one, click here.
Ephraim Guttman illustrates both the face of poverty in Israel and a solution. Dressed in the uniform of the ultra-Orthodox — the requisite black suit and white shirt, which makes no concession to the scorching summer heat — he does not appear destitute in the classic sense. But like most men in his community, he was utterly unprepared for the modern workplace when he married two years ago at 18, with only a rudimentary education beyond the religious curriculum of a Jerusalem yeshiva.
While Israel is eagerly joining the elite club of developed nations, and luxury buildings rise above the modest Bauhaus landscape that once defined Tel Aviv, and while stock offerings and real estate prices and the number of start-ups continue to soar, economic and social inequalities are growing, too, threatening the Jewish state’s civic fabric and its ability to prosper and defend itself. No longer a nation of struggling immigrants and refugees, Israel’s economic challenges are driven by the persistent non-employment in two key populations, Arab Israelis and Haredi men like Guttman.
That these two groups share a sort of ignoble bond is a deep irony of Israeli society. Their structural poverty is caused or enabled by long-standing government policy: By subsidizing Haredi men who study instead of work, and exempting them from military service, successive Israeli governments have created huge incentives toward non-employment that are only now beginning to be dismantled. Meanwhile, the gross public disinvestment in Arab communities has left those residents nearly four times more likely than their Jewish counterparts to live in poverty.
But, interestingly, creative grassroots efforts to address these problems also have much in common. “The culture of dependency cuts across populations, and they all face discrimination in the workplace,” says Chaviva Eisler, who oversees an employment center supported by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Jerusalem. “So you have to work with the population you are serving to build interventions that are culturally and religiously appropriate.”
Eisler comes from the Orthodox world herself, and she has seen the evolution from, in her words, “a society of earners to a society of learners.” It was not always so in Israel, and still isn’t the case in many communities around the world. A recent study found that only 18% of Haredi men in London sit in yeshiva all day, compared to about 67% in Israel. Why? British welfare policy encourages work. Traditional Jewish education there includes nonreligious studies. And there is no mandatory military service to flee, so entering the work force is more palatable.
So Eisler’s center, Mafteach, has much to overcome. Since the ultra-Orthodox in Israel don’t feel comfortable using government employment centers, Mafteach deliberately acknowledges the Haredi lifestyle: Men and women are trained separately, and clients are placed in jobs with a shomer Shabbat schedule. The staff works closely with rabbinic leadership, encouraging them to support men working outside the home. Dignity is at stake here, and social status. Guttman consulted with his rav before taking a job in a matzo factory, and then another job managing a produce market; the young man was told he could work as long as he studied one hour every day.
There are many obstacles placed before Arabs seeking to enter the Israeli workforce — poor skills from under-resourced education; lack of access to jobs; pure discrimination — but culture is also an impediment, particularly for women. “We try to convince husbands to let their wives out of their homes,” explains Mohammed Namneh, project director in the JDC’s Tevet employment initiative in Jerusalem. His program employs a kind of gentle peer pressure, with group discussions for reluctant husbands, and visits from those men who have already made the leap. Women must be assuaged, as well: “We tell the women, ‘You don’t have to take your scarf off to do this job.’ We don’t go against the cultural taboos, never.”
And, much like Eisler’s attempts to utilize rabbinic leadership, Namneh strives to convince imams to talk about shared responsibility in the home and the Islamic tradition that considers work a kind of worship. “We focus on work as a value, work as something that can improve the family situation,” he says. “And once they see the first salary, they get satisfied.”
Clearly, grassroots interventions alone will not satisfactorily address this problem. When the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reported that poverty in Israel is more widespread than in any of the 30 nations in this elite global club, it noted that “tackling the causes of such entrenched and wide inequalities as exist in Israel will not be easy. It will require a sustained effort across a broad range of policy areas.” Among them: better enforcement of labor laws and anti-discrimination policies, and serious investment in education and welfare-to-work programs.
But government policy in any democracy depends in part on the will of the people. The Haredi and Arab communities in Israel are too often isolated as the “other” by a largely secular society with little patience for the stringencies of ultra-Orthodoxy, and by a largely Jewish citizenry with little sympathy for the Arabs in its midst. And yet these two substantial, growing minorities may hold the key to Israel’s economic future.
As Haaretz columnist Aluf Benn noted recently: “If Israel managed to reach its current standard of living without them, one can only imagine where we could go with the added talent and motivation that is not currently being tapped…. If we open our doors to them and give them opportunities, we will all benefit. And if we continue to shut ourselves off, we will all crash.”
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Preceding editorial from The Forward reprinted with permission
ADL condemns attack on Muslim taxi driver in New York City as a ‘brutal hate crime’
NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) strongly condemned the stabbing of a New York City taxi driver in an apparent anti-Muslim hate crime, calling the attack especially disturbing amid the current atmosphere of elevated anti-Muslim sentiment surrounding the Ground Zero controversy.
Michael Enright is accused of stabbing Ahmed H. Sharif after entering his cab and asking the driver if he was Muslim. According to police, the suspect also referenced military checkpoints and uttered an Arabic phrase before attacking Sharif with a knife. Enright is charged with attempted murder and assault as a hate crime.
Ron Meier, ADL New York Regional Director, issued the following statement:
“The attack on Ahmed Sharif was a brutal hate crime and we condemn it in the strongest terms. No person should ever be targeted because of their religion or ethnicity, and there is no justification for singling out Muslims.
“It is especially disturbing that this attack occurred amid an atmosphere of elevated anti-Muslim sentiment surrounding the Ground Zero controversy. No matter the passions stirred up by an issue, resorting to anti-Muslim bigotry and violence is unacceptable.
“New York is a diverse city of equally diverse opinions, but we must not allow these differences to overshadow the basic tenets of mutual respect and human dignity. We applaud the NYPD for bringing bias crime charges in this case, and urge that the suspect be prosecuted to the full extent allowed under the state’s hate crime law.”
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Preceding provided by Anti-Defamation League
Going to market in Jerusalem is a gender issue
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — When I first moved to Israel, some forty years ago, there was one supermarket in Jerusalem, and perhaps a few more in Tel Aviv. My housekeeping requirements as a student were not very great, and I seem to remember my forays to the supermarket as rare occasions, requiring little more to be purchased than bread, milk and eggs. I lived on black coffee and chocolate biscuits, and ate proper meals only at the weekends, when kind relatives invited me for Friday night supper or Shabbat lunch.
After I got married and set up a household of my own things became more complicated. The corner grocery was the source of most of our purchases, and the procedure of going shopping was an arduous task. My limited Hebrew and the elderly shop-keeper’s non-existent English meant that I had to have a dictionary at hand or point to the items on the shelves, then watch with bated breath as he perched on a rickety step-ladder to get the items down for me. Then he would add up the cost, using pencil and paper, and before paying him I would do the same, or pretend to do so.
Much to my surprise, my husband insisted on buying all our fruit and vegetables, as well as basic foodstuffs such as rice, in Jerusalem’s Mahaneh Yehuda market. My surprise was doubtless confounded by the contrast with my father, whose only foray into shops was to buy flowers for my mother every Friday on his way home from the office. The idea of a man going shopping, and doing so in an open-air market to boot, was totally alien to me. My husband enjoyed this event, which evidently represented something of a weekly hunting expedition for him. I suspect that he would also indulge in a portion of falafel or a plate of humus at one or another of the well-known local eateries
My ignorance of male behavioural norms in the Middle East was understandable, considering my background. How could a girl brought up in London and born to parents originating from Germany be expected to know that in this part of the world women were traditionally expected to remain at home, while the outside world was a male preserve? And the open-air market was a male club, as it were, with cafes and restaurants where men would meet and exchange information, mainly about football and politics. To this day, incidentally, most of Jerusalem’s money-changers are to be found in or near the Mahaneh Yehuda market, although it is no longer largely a male preserve.
While women are no longer confined to the home, many men still choose to do the household shopping in the market. I have even been informed by an authoritative source that women don’t know how to choose good fruit and vegetables. It is true that in order to choose a watermelon one should pick it up, place it on one’s shoulder and knock it to test for the right resonance, and that is something for which strong biceps are required. It seems, however, that choosing tomatoes or cucumbers that are just right for a salad is also considered a masculine skill.
Be that as it may, the corner grocery stores have almost all disappeared, and these days a plethora of air-conditioned supermarkets and shopping malls vie for the patronage of shoppers, be they male or female. Even the open-air markets have been spruced up. Shopping in Israel is a very different experience today.
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Shefer-Vanson, a freelance writer and translator based in Mevasseret Zion, can be reached at dorothea@shefer.com This article initially appeared in the AJR Journal, published by the Association of Jewish Refugees in the United Kingdom.
Words of controversy: It’s ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ to some, ‘Cordoba House’ to others
By Ira Sharkansky
Ira Sharkansky
JERUSALEM– The Ground Zero Mosque as its opponents call it, or Cordoba House according to its promoters, has become a mirror of politics in the United States and elsewhere, and not always the best of those politics. Bottom feeders in New York see strong opposition as their best road to a nomination. Some who claim a posture of high principle do not go beyond the slogans of religious freedom or property rights to the problem that there are no rights without limits.
Relevant here is the counter slogan against those who would call fire in a crowded theater. A song in the style of American country music shows that the issue has gone far beyond New York City. Europeans are chiming in to focus on American naivite, and urging the sane to do something like their own campaigns against large mosques proposed for city centers.
Somewhere is a report that the project has only been able to raise $18,000. Insofar as the total cost is estimated at $100 million, the issue of money has been a prominent topic of speculation. The promoter has not ruled out relying on money from Saudi Arabia or some other Middle Eastern source. That raises the possibility that it may come from some of the pockets that paid for 9-11, making that tragic event into a project of urban renewal that will produce a Muslim icon in lower Manhattan instead of the World Trade Center.
Trust is an element in the controversy.
Important to those supporting the project is the notion of Islam as a religion that deserves protection in the fabrics of American society and politics. Some have signed on to the concept of Abrahamic religions to replace Judeo-Christian as the inclusive adjective for the United States. The word has an attractive ring, but I am not aware of how many Muslims subscribe to something that considers their faith as only one among equals. Also, Abrahamic religions does not include Hindus and others who may be as well represented as Muslims among immigrants who came to the United States since the 1960s.
Opponents do not deny that Islam is a religion, but they assert that it is associated with a political agenda, ancient and modern violence, and aspirations to dominate wherever it can. The principal promoter of the mosque, Feisal Abdul Rauf, has caused problems for those who admire him by refusing to speak clearly about funding, or to condemn Islamic groups widely identified as terrorist, like Hamas and Hizbollah.
Rauf has sought to convey an Islam that is not aggressive toward others, but skeptics doubt that his sentiments will assure that the lessons taught over the years in the community center, and the sermons offered in the mosque will overcome other themes that have been more prominent in Islam.
Accommodationists have endorsed the rights of the Muslims to create something like Cordoba House, without putting it on what many view as the sacred location of Ground Zero. President Obama backed off from an endorsement offered at a Ramadan ceremony to express his concerns about the wisdom of that location. The archbishop of New York indicated that he had no strong feelings about the project, but that it was his “major prayer” that a compromise could be reached.
He refered to the actions of Pope John Paul II in ordering Catholic nuns to relocate a convent from the location of the Auschwitz death camp in response to protests from Jewish leaders. According to the archbishop, “He’s the one who said, ‘Let’s keep the idea, and maybe move the address’ . . . It worked there; might work here.”
Intrade is a pari-mutual internet site that accepts bets and adjusts the odds about a large number of public events. On the subject of “Construction of ‘Ground Zero mosque’ to commence before midnight ET 30 Jun 2011,” the odds shifted during August from showing a bit over 60 percent positive probability to only 20 percent positive probability.
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Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University
Iran offers to sell Lebanon arms in wake of U.S. freeze
TEHERAN (WJC)–Iran has said it was prepared to sell weapons to the Lebanon should the government in Beirut seek help to equip its military. On Tuesday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah had proposed to the unity government of Prime Minister Hariri to formally seek military assistance from Tehran, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
In Teheran, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that Lebanon “is our friend, and its army is also our friend” and if there was a demand [for arms], “we are ready to help that country and conduct weapons transactions with it.” Nasrallah, whose movement is backed by Iran and Syria, vowed in a televised speech Hezbollah could help secure the aid for the Lebanon’s army, which is still seen as under-equipped compared to the Shiite paramilitary group.
“I vow that Hezbollah will work fervently and capitalize on its friendship with Iran to ensure it helps arm the Lebanese military in any way it can,” Nasrallah said. His call came following a US freeze in military aid to Lebanon in the wake of deadly border clashes between Lebanese and Israeli troops four weeks ago.
A US$ 100 million aid package for the Lebanon’s military was put on hold earlier this month by two leading members of the House of Representatives over concerns the weapons could be used to attack Israel, and that Hezbollah might have influence over the Lebanese army. Nasrallah’s movement is part of Hariri’s governing coalition.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the possibility of Iran selling arms to the Lebanon underscored “the importance both to our national security and the security of the region to continue with our security assistance to the Lebanese army”. He added that a review of the aid program to the Lebanon was under way and that “we hope to conclude that soon, and renew assistance.”
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress
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