Documentary follows Greenberg, Koufax, other Jewish baseball icons
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story, directed by Peter Miller, narrated by Dustin Hoffman, produced by Clear Lake Historical Productions.
By Donald H. Harrison
Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – A new documentary, sure to hit the circuit of Jewish film festivals is Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story. Although actor Dustin Hoffman is the off-camera narrator, the real star power comes from Jewish major leaguers, alive and dead, whose skillfully edited interviews provide first-person perspective on a story that began in the late 1800s and continues to this day.
The longest segments of the 91-minute documentary cover the careers of Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax, but plenty of other Jewish players appear in this work of love including Buddy Myer, Harry Danning, Norm Sherry, Ron Blomberg, Shawn Green, and Kevin Youkilis.
The essential thesis behind the documentary is that Jews love America, nothing is more American than baseball, and that success in baseball represents success in America.
There are some great tidbits along the way, and one not so bad pun. Did you know that the Bible contains the first account of baseball? Yup, it’s right there in Genesis, which starts “In the Big Inning.”
The first known Jewish baseball player was Lipman Pike, who played for various teams in the 30 years following the U.S. Civil War. The first Jew to appear on a baseball card was pitcher Barney Pelty of the St. Louis Browns, who pitched during the first two decades of the 1900s. The New York Giants recruited Jewish players in the 1920s, to win Jewish fans. Moses Solomon, a big home run hitter, was dubbed “the rabbi of swat,” which was a rhetorical challenge to Babe Ruth of the cross-town Yankees, who was known as the “sultan of swat.” Another giant Giant was Andy Cohen, who was so popular at the Polo Grounds they sold “Ice Cream Cohens.”
Here’s some impressive trivia: The second-most sung song in the world behind “Happy Birthday” is “Take Me Out To the Ballgame,” which was composed by the Jewish musician Albert Von Tilzer.
These kind of factoids were warm ups for the story about Hank Greenberg, which his son, Steve, assisted in telling. Described as the first Jewish baseball superstar, Greenberg was a 6’4 first baseman who spent most of his major league career with the Detroit Tigers. In 1934, he set a precedent for Sandy Koufax, when he decided not to play on Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah, ten days earlier, was another matter. A rabbi found some biblical precedent to permit him to play, and Greenberg hit two homeruns that day to beat the Boston Red Sox.
Abstaining on Yom Kippur prompted some doggerel about Greenberg:
We shall miss him in the infield
We’ll miss him at bat.
But he’s true to his religion
And we honor him for that.
Not everyone honored Greenberg or other Jewish players, however. Catcalls like “Heeb!” “Kike!” “Throw him a pork chop!” plagued Greenberg, who occasionally did not turn the other cheek. In 1938, the year historians say was the beginning of the Holocaust with the Kristallnacht in Germany, Greenberg was chasing Babe Ruth’s single season record of 60 home runs. The documentary debunks the rumor that opposing teams were so anti-Semitic they refused to pitch to him. Pitch to them pitchers did, including Bob Feller, who was interviewed on camera about one of the last games of the season in which he faced—and tamed—Greenberg.
With anti-Semitism rampant in Nazi Germany and with some Bundists hoping to import similar hatred to the United States, Greenberg considered every good game he played – every home run – a way to show the world how wrong Nazi racial myths about Jews being inferior really were.
At the height of his career, Greenberg went into the Army to fight in World War II. “I’m in the Army now, and now I’m playing on Uncle Sam’s team,” he said in one news clip.
Greenberg played his last season when Jackie Robinson, the first African-American major leaguer, played his first. The documentary described a collision at first base when Robinson was running for a single. “Fans,” who were yelling cat calls at Robinson from the stands, wondered whether there would be a fight between the two men. Instead, Greenberg helped Robinson up, and told him not to worry about the invective some people screamed. They used to yell similar things at him, Greenberg told Robinson.
Greenberg mentored Al Rosen, and later disappointed him when he decided to trade Rosen from the Cleveland Indians, which Greenberg served as a general manager in his career off-the-field. Rather than be traded, Rosen decided to quit baseball, a sad chapter.
The story of Sandy Koufax’s career was the next large segment of the documentary. After his retirement, Koufax shrank from the limelight, so this interview is one of the longest—and most comprehensive—about the superstar Dodger pitcher, who threw a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs one season, and decided not to pitch on Yom Kippur in the 1965 World Series against the Minnesota Twins.
Don Drysdale pitched that World Series game instead, and got drubbed in the first two innings, giving up seven home runs. When manager Walter Alston came to the mound to take Drysdale out, the pitcher quipped that he’d “bet you wish I was Jewish too.”
In the 1950s and 1960s, baseball had a $100,000 salary cap—but Drysdale and Koufax decided to hold out together for a better salary, shutting out baseball owners who tried to resist their twin juggernaut. Eventually, their actions helped to empower the baseball players organization – led by Marvin Miller, another Jew.
There were quite a few Jewish owners in baseball, among them Charles Bronfman of Montreal, and Bud Selig of Baltimore, who eventually would go on to become Commissioner of Baseball.
Other Jewish baseballers included in the documentary were Art Shamsky of the 1969 Miracle Mets, Kenny Holtzman of the Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics, and Ron Blomberg, a first-round draft pick of the New York Yankees, who later in his career would become Major League Baseball’s first designated hitter.
One player who many folks believed had converted to Judaism was Rod Carew of the Minnesota Twins and California Angels. In fact, he had not, although Carew’s wife was Jewish and his two children were raised Jewish. Another African American who did convert to Judaism was Elliott Maddox, an infielder and outfielder who played on six major league teams, and quipped about his conversion: “I always considered myself a good two-strike hitter.”
In the 1990s, Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers was considered the standout Jewish baseball player, and in the 2000s, Kevin Youkilis of the Boston Red Sox has been a dominant player.
Not all the stories in the documentary were happy ones. Adam Greenberg was called up from the minors, and as a Chicago Cub pinch hitter, he was beaned on the very first pitch. The concussion he suffered knocked him out of baseball, although he has not given up on the idea of making a comeback.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World
Completion of Torah Scroll in Old City prompts celebration
Scribe completes a Torah scroll
By Judy Lash Balint
- Judy Lash Balint
JERUSALEM–The Sephardic Educational Center in Jerusalem’s Old City celebrated the completion of a new Torah scroll Wednesday night, July 28, in a lively celebration of Jews from around the world.
A scribe dips his quill pen into special ink and puts the finishing touches to a new Torah scroll before sewing up the parchment with special thread and dancing with the Torah through the streets of the Jewish Quarter.
Dozens of people from all over the world took part in the dedication of the scroll that was donated by families from Morocco and the United States.
A delegation of Sephardic leaders from Los Angeles and New York took part in the festive event, with many men putting their hand over the hand of the scribe as he finished the last letters of the scroll that contains the Five Books of Moses.
Scribes who are trained in the art of writing a Torah must undergo rigorous training. It takes about one year to complete the writing of the quarter million letters that make up the scroll.
The parchment must come from a kosher animal–usually a goat, bull or deer and generally takes about 80 skins for one Torah scroll.
A special feather quill and ink are used and the scribe must not write anything from memory. After checking the scroll with another scribe, the ceremonial completion is scheduled. It’s considered a great honor to take part in the writing of a letter of the Torah.
The last part of the scroll was sewn together, a cover and silver bells placed on it, and the entire congregation accompanied the Torah under a wedding canopy, dancing through the streets of the Jewish Quarter.
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Balint is a freelance writer based in Jerusalem. This is reprinted from her website, Jerusalem Diaries:In Tense Times
Australia restricts gas and oil trade with Iran
CANBERRA (WJC)–The Australian government announced new restrictions on business dealings with Iran in the oil and gas sector. The sanctions follow those announced earlier in the week by the European Union and Canada. They are the latest in a series of measures taken by the international community in an effort to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
“In adopting this package, Australia stands at the forefront of international community efforts to have Iran meet its international obligations in relation to its nuclear program, one of the most serious security challenges facing the international community,” Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said in a statement. The sanctions further reinforce a June UN resolution against Iran that Australia has already implemented.
The additional measures include travel and financial bans against more than 110 businesses and individuals in Iran’s financial and transport sectors, and a trade ban on all arms and related material, including anything that could be used for nuclear, missile, chemical and biological weapons development.
For the first time, Australia will restrict business with Iran’s oil and gas sector. Smith said the UN Security Council resolution had noted a link between the revenue generated by that sector and funding for Iran’s nuclear proliferation activities. Business dealings in uranium mining or involving nuclear or missile technology are also prohibited under the new sanctions, Smith said.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress
Hackers deface historic websites for Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora
BERLIN (WJC)–The websites of the memorials and documentation centers of the former Nazi concentration camps Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora have been attacked by hackers. The intruders replaced a ‘Book of the Dead’ on the Buchenwald website with neo-Nazi slogans and symbols and completely erased the Mittelbau-Dora camp website.
“Brown is beautiful,” read one slogan in English, referring to the color of the uniform shirts of Adolf Hitler’s SA storm troopers. “We will be back,” threatened another in German.
“By damaging the services and documentation that we offer – such as the Book of the Dead at Buchenwald concentration camp – the perpetrators were trying to efface the memory of the victims of the crimes of the Nazis,” said Volkhard Knigge, head of the Buchenwald Memorial Foundation, in a statement. The foundation, which is dedicated to preserving the camp’s remains in commemoration of the victims and promoting public knowledge and historical research into the Holocaust, said the hacker attack had been reported to police. The websites, have now been restored.
In Buchenwald, the Nazis incarcerated nearly a quarter of a million people, many of them Jews, who were forced to work in arms factories. An estimated 56,000 of them died of exhaustion, starvation or illness, or were executed. Nearby Mittelbau-Dora also provided forced labor for a Nazi weapons factory. It is estimated that one third of the 60,000 prisoners held there died.
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Preceding provided by the World Jewish Congress
Some music is too good for playing in the background
By David Amos
David Amos
SAN DIEGO–In the course of my various musical activities, either as a participant or as a member of the audience, I talk to many people, friends, relatives, and strangers. Everyone has a comment about the music, but the core message is simply “I love music.” However, here is where we start seeing differences in what people expect from music.
For the sake of simplification and the subject at hand, I have divided music (all music) into two categories, A) Music for entertainment, background, and B) Music that is a serious art form, music that requires our full attention. Both serve a purpose, both can be beautiful, but, do not mistake the two! There is a difference.
It is not a case of good vs. bad, although many may argue with me on this. But music that is a serious art form can and should not be used for atmospheric background sounds. It is music that makes a statement, has something to say. Can you imagine hearing Mahler’s Ninth Symphony in an elevator, or while waiting in line at the bank? I can’t.
But this also applies to other areas. If we use some kinds of music as a supplement while reading a book, studying for a test, or having a conversation on the phone, do you think that all the thought and artistry which the composer and performer poured into this work will be appreciated? I can not listen to any music if I am working at my office, writing at the computer, or talking to someone. The music is simply too distracting.
Guy Lombardo may have given us “the sweetest music this side of heaven”, but music such as the first movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 grabs you by the lapels, shakes you, and demands your attention. No background music here. Classical music is loaded with examples such as the Beethoven mentioned above. In show music, take the Soliloquy from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel. Same story. Some music is aggressive and complicated, some is lyrical and sweet, but you can not escape the fact that if it is music with something to say, to be fully appreciated, it needs our full attention.
How can we tell the difference of one group over another?
There is no magic pill, or even a few magic “how-to” words to help here. The only way to develop the serious musical taste buds is to have frequent exposure; the act of listening to classical music with full attention, not as a supplement to reading or working, requires time. Try reading a mystery novel while listening to a symphony, carrying on a phone conversation, and at the same time, rinsing the dishes. Tchaikovsky will lose his true meaning. If you think that this is bad, attempt it with opera.
We fall into the same trap again, that of music becoming a complement, an enhancement to our other activities.
Some music deserves all our attention, and some does not. I have frequently been a victim in concert halls, where “serious music” has been presented with false pretentiousness when in reality there was no substance and no redeeming qualities. This is what divides the serious composers from the imitators and the hacks.
Serious art music can be from the Baroque, the Classical Period, Romantic, Impressionistic, or any of the different kinds of contemporary music. Orchestral, vocal, ballet, chamber, and opera. For me, this includes Jazz and all its wonderful qualities. Broadway, television, and film music may vary, but there is so much that I adore from the musical stage and music from the movies.
I have also seen people superficially dismiss music of great depth and emotion with preconceived prejudices, ignorance, snobbishness, or lack of attention.
We have not even touched on the different subtleties and the infinite number of ways in which interpreters conceive and perform a masterpiece. The turning of a phrase, the brilliance of a virtuoso passage. Interpretation is totally lost in music that is incidental to other activities.
One has to choose if music is to be used as a pleasantry for pretty sounds, or as a truly satisfying artistic activity in which one penetrates the soul of the creative genius, such as the great composers.
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Amos is conductor of the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra and a guest conductor of professional orchestras around the world
Kirk wants U.S. to deny gasoline deliveries to Iran
NORTHBROOK, Illinois (Press Release) – Congressman and Illinois Senate candidate Mark Kirk on Wednesday, July 28, launched a national online petition drive urging the President to seal off gasoline deliveries to Iran by enforcing a recently enacted Iran sanctions bill.
“A nuclear-armed Iran would destabilize the Middle East, weaken America’s national security and pose an existential danger to the State of Israel,” Kirk wrote in an email to supporters today. “Time is not on our side. That is why I am starting a national grassroots petition for your voice to be heard. Join me in urging the President to enforce the new sanctions law and seal off Iran’s gasoline before it’s too late.”
Despite its status as a leading oil-producing nation, the Iranian economy depends heavily on imports of gasoline. On July 1st, the President signed the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 into law. This bill gave the President the power to impose economic sanctions against entities that provide gasoline to Iran. To date, the President has not enforced this new law.
Congressman Kirk is the co-founder of the Iran Working Group and original author of Iran gasoline sanctions legislation. In 2005 and again in 2006, Kirk and Congressman Rob Andrews (D-N.J.) introduced bipartisan resolutions calling for a multilateral restriction of gasoline deliveries to Iran as the most effective economic sanction to bring Iran’s leaders into compliance with their commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In 2007, Kirk and Andrews authored the Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act (H.R. 2880), which extended current U.S. sanctions to the provision of gasoline to Iran. Last year, Kirk and Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) reintroduced the bill as the Iran Diplomatic Enhancement Act (H.R. 1985), which subsequently was incorporated into the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (H.R. 2194) and the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010.
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Preceding provided by Congressman Kirk
‘On The Go’ to transport seniors to 10 synagogues during High Holy Days
SAN DIEGO (Press Release) –On the Go, a program of Jewish Senior Services Council delivered by Jewish Family Service, will offer free rides to individuals 60 years of age and older in need of transportation to High Holy Day services at participating synagogues in San Diego.
Synagogues include Congregation Beth Am, Congregation Beth El, Congregation Beth Israel, Congregation Dor Hadash, Ner Tamid Synagogue, Temple Adat Shalom, Ohr Shalom Synagogue, Temple Emanu-El, Temple Solel and Tifereth Israel Synagogue.
On the Go consists of three components offering both group and individual transportation. Through the Rides & Smiles® program, volunteer drivers provide individual transportation for older adults to medical and personal appointments, synagogues, and the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center. On the Go Shuttles provide group transportation to Jewish Family Service’s Older Adult Centers, religious events, shopping centers, lunch destinations and other cultural outings and events. On the Go also offers exciting organized excursions to locations throughout San Diego County and surrounding areas.
“This is the most holy time for members of the Jewish faith,” said Rabbi Aliza Berk of Jewish Family Service.
The Jewish High Holy Days are observed during the 10 day period between the first day and the 10th day of Tishrei, the seventh month on the Jewish calendar (Rosh Hashanah – beginning sundown on September 8, 2010; Yom Kippur beginning Sunday, September 17, 2010). Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, a time of family gatherings, special meals and sweet tasting foods. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn day of the Jewish year. It is a day of fasting, reflection and prayers.
“This is the time of year when people in the Jewish community come together for rejuvenation and prayer, and we want to do everything we can to provide transportation to older adults who wish to participate,” said Brenda Bothel, Director of Transportation for Jewish Family Service. She added, “Older Adults particularly can find themselves isolated, and On the Go can help by picking them up and delivering them to a place of worship, and returning them home again.”
For additional information, please contact On the Go at or call 1-877-634-6537.
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Preceding provided by Jewish Family Service
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Arab protests over Israeli author forces cancellation of writers’ conference
MARSEILLE, France (WJC)–A writers’ conference at a public university in southern France was canceled after some Arab participants refused to attend because of the presence of Israeli author Esther Orner. The meeting at the Université de Provence Aix/Marseille was intended to feature Mediterranean authors.
“The story beneath all this – and it’s an enigma – is that nobody knows the names of the Arab writers” who refused to dialogue, Orner told JTA.
Jean-Raymond Fanlo, a Spanish Literature professor at the university, told French media that one of the Arab authors who boycotted Orner’s presence was “a major writer around which we will organize a vast program in Marseille schools for back to school.” Fanlo refused to divulge the author’s name for fear of adding controversy. As a result of the Arab refusal, the university said in a statement that it was forced to cancel the whole seminar.
The professor who invited Orner to speak on a panel titled ‘Writing in the Mediterranean’ reportedly quit the group that organized the conference following the incident. “I don’t understand how people from another country can dictate what a prestigious university can do,” Orner said. “I find it incredible.”
Orner said she felt obliged to publicize information about the conditions of her revoked invitation to speak because “individual people like me have to do something” in reaction to propaganda aimed at “delegitimizing Israel.”
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress
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