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1 www.jweekly.com | January 6 , 2012

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J.® the Jewish news weekly of Northern California (ISSN 1547-0733) is published weekly on Friday except the first week inJuly and last week in December, by San Francisco Jewish CommunityPublications, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, 225 Bush St., Suite 1480, SanFrancisco, CA 94104-4281. Tel. (415) 263-7200, Fax (415) 263-7223. J. theJewish news weekly of Northern California is available online at:www.jweekly.com. Our email address is [email protected]. Yearly sub-scription cost is $46.50. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Francisco, CA andat additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to J.®the Jewish news weekly of Northern California, 225 Bush St., Suite 1480,San Francisco, CA 94104-4281.

J.® the Jewish news weekly of Northern California is an independent publication and is solely responsible for its editorial policy. Manuscripts submitted for publication may not be returned. News and advertising reservations must reach the J.® weekly office no later than Thursday noon eight days prior to the day of publication. Advertisingreservations cannot be canceled after noon on Monday of the week of publication. J.® the Jewish news weekly of Northern California is a member of the American Jewish Press Association. Copyright 2012 © San Francisco Jewish Community Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. �

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jewish calendarJan. 6, 2012Tevet 11, 5772Light candles at 4:48 p.m.Shabbat ends at 5:49 p.m.

Jan. 13, 2012Tevet 18, 5772Light candles at 4:54 p.m.Shabbat ends at 5:56 p.m.

Do you want to spendyour life checkingFacebook updates?In 1983 I was the only kid in my neighborhood who didn’t have a televi-sion. In fact, I was such an anomaly that our local newspaper, theCambridge Chronicle, pro-filed my family in a pieceabout growing up TV-free.It ranks among the betterdecisions that my fathermade in regards to child-rearing, and it is, in part,why I became a writer.While other kids werewatching “Chips,” I wasreading “The Diary of Anne Frank.”Not surprisingly, I was also among

the last of my friends to join Facebook.I did it reluctantly, and only in the wakeof a breakup that had left me feelingbereft and in need of connecting. At thetime I was living in Los Angeles, where Iserved as West Coast correspondent forthe Forward newspaper, and betweenbeing new to L.A. and suddenly withoutthe boyfriend who had become my bestfriend, it seemed like a decent idea.The irony was that it only added to

my undoing: Through Facebook, Ilearned that my ex-boyfriend had a newgirlfriend, after she posted photos ofthem on a camping trip not two weeksafter our relationship had ended.That was three years ago.In the intervening years, the social net-

work has expanded its reach such that ifyou’re not on Facebook, you’re liable tomiss out on party invitations, birthannouncements and the latest socialcauses you should be up on. Or at leastthat’s how the ever-changing Newsfeedfunction makes you feel. If you’re not onFacebook, do you really exist?The obvious answer is yes, but Mark

Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg wouldhave you believe otherwise. Their multi-billion dollar company would have youbelieve that if you’re not checking statusupdates 24/7 you might miss … some-thing big! And how about Twitter? Between

email, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, andthe list is only growing, you could spendall day making sure you’re up on the lat-est news, and to boot, you’d feel like youwere actually doing something. When,as we all know, you’d be wasting timeyou could be spending with your kids,reading that great new Jewish book,going for a hike, or simply giving yourbrain a rest.As Matt Richtel, San Francisco tech-

nology correspondent forthe New York Times, wrotein a 2010 Times article, sci-entists have concluded that“when people keep theirbrains busy with digitalinput, they are forfeitingdowntime that could allowthem to better learn andremember information, orcome up with new ideas.”

The “new ideas” part is the scariest.And it’s even scarier for our kids. Withall this digital technology foisted onthem before they can spell the word“focus,” will they know how to be cre-ative, to generate not only new ideas butalso great works of art? And will theyknow how to look someone in the eyewhen they’re speaking to them, or willthey bury their face in a screen, seeking afacile substitute for human interaction?The answer is: We don’t know. But in

the meantime, we can do us and them afavor and put ourselves, as well our chil-dren, on a digital diet.To be sure, Facebook, Twitter, Google

and the like have plenty to offer whenused wisely. For my part, I willinevitably post this column onFacebook, making it widely accessible tomy social network beyond the Bay Area,and as I plug away at my first novel,Google has made historical research andfact-finding that much easier. The prob-lem lies in overdosing; as with anythingaddictive — sex, alcohol, food — it’s notthe thing itself that’s problematic, it’sour unbridled consumption of it.From a Jewish perspective, there’s a

simple way to exert some control overour digital consumption. As proposedby the Sabbath Manifesto, a projectlaunched in 2010 by a group of artistsaffiliated with the Jewish nonprofitReboot, we can start by powering downfor the Jewish day of rest, whether ornot we are religious.If it’s Jews who are leading the way in

terms of the technology — not to soundlike a conspiracy theorist, but it’s nosecret that Zuckerberg, Sandberg,Google founder Sergey Brin (and thelist goes on) are all Jewish — then let itbe Jews who lead the call to get our dig-ital lives in check.Otherwise, well, otherwise … who

will write the next great Jewish book? �

Rebecca Spence is a writer and creative writing coach living in Berkeley. She is at workon her first novel. Her website is www.rebeccaspence.com.

the

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j. staff & wire reports

A federal judge in San Francisco has dis-missed a lawsuit filed against U.C. Berkeleyby two Jewish students who claimed theschool fostered an atmosphere of anti-Semitism. However, the attorney repre-senting the students vowed to fight on.

“Those of us in civil rights law know it’sa long battle,” said attorney Joel Siegal, whoplans to file an amendment to his com-plaint, which effectively would revive thesuit. “This is one of those situations.”

The suit, filed in March 2011 by recentCal graduate Jessica Felber and currentundergraduate Brian Maissy, claimed thatharassment by pro-Palestinian activists oncampus violated their First Amendmentrights to freedom of religion and speech.

The suit named U.C. President MarkYudof, U.C. Berkeley Chancellor RobertBirgeneau and the Associated Students ofthe University California, charging themwith failing to prevent on-campus intimi-dation of Jewish students.

In dismissing the suit Dec. 22, U.S.District Judge Richard Seeborg said thateven if the harassment took place, it consti-tuted protected political speech, accordingto the Associated Press.

The judge also said the university did

not violate the students’ constitutionalrights, and did not have a legal obliga-tion to intervene in such disputesbetween private individuals, such asFelber’s claim that she was intentionallyrammed by a shopping cart by a pro-Palestinian activist during “ApartheidWeek” events on campus in March 2010.

“The incident … did not occur in thecontext of her educational pursuits,”Seeborg wrote, according to the APreport. “Rather, that event occurredwhen she, as one person attempting toexercise free speech rights in a publicforum, was allegedly attacked by anoth-er person who likewise was participatingin a public protest in a public forum.”

Seeborg also rejected the plaintiffs’claim that U.C. officials were deliberate-ly indifferent, noting the administration“has engaged in an ongoing dialoguewith the opposing parties in an attemptto ensure that the rights of all personsare respected, and to minimize thepotential for violence.”

In their suit, the plaintiffs cited a his-tory of alleged harassment of Jewish stu-dents on U.C. campuses by student groupshostile to Israel, dating back to 1995 andincluding physical violence and ongoingintimidation.

The suit cites in particular the annual“Apartheid Week,” which in March 2010featured students brandishing fake guns at“checkpoints” and demanding to knowwhether passers-by were Jewish.

Felber also claimed she was spatupon by one of the pro-Palestinianactivists, but Seeborg, in a footnote tohis decision, surmised that spitting atsomeone could “very well constituteprotected expressive conduct depend-ing on the precise circumstances,”though he also added that such actioncould rise to the level of assault andbattery.

Siegal said some good came out ofthe judge’s ruling, despite the dismissal.Most significantly, the San Franciscoattorney believes the judge opened thedoor to religion qualifying for Title VIprotection under the 1964 Civil RightsAct, which dealt with racial and genderbias.

Title VI prevents discrimination bygovernment agencies that receive feder-al funds, including state institutions ofhigher learning like U.C. Berkeley.

“This is the first time a judge afford-ed Jewish students civil rights underTitle VI,” he said. “We brought this as aTitle VI action; that it was not dismissedbased on no standing under Title VI is a

big legal victory.”Siegal said he would file his amendment

within the next three weeks. �

J. | the Jewish news weekly of Northern California 2

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bay areaJudge dismisses anti-Semitism suit against U.C. Berkeley

Jessica Felber during a demonstrationat U.C. Berkeley in March 2010

Rabbi Stephen Pearce

Emanu-El’s Rabbi Pearce to step down After nearly 20 years at San Francisco’slargest synagogue, Rabbi StephenPearce has announced he will stepdown as senior rabbi of CongregationEmanu-El. His retirement is effectiveJune 30, 2013.

Pearce informed the Emanu-Elboard of directors last month that hewanted to devote more time to writingand scholarship, as well as spend moretime with his family. Upon his retire-ment, Pearce will assume the role ofrabbi emeritus.

The synagogue’s board has set up anadvisory search committee, and soonwill launch a national search for areplacement. Emanu-El continues to beserved by rabbis Sydney Mintz, YoniJaffe, Ryan Bauer and Carla Fenves. �

3 www.jweekly.com | January 6, 2012

The Creative Spirit of San Francisco

Art from the Jewish HomeTitle: Yes And Yes And YesArtist: Layeh Bock Palla �nt

Sponsored by:

Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fundwww.goldmanfund.org

Supporting Jewish Life in the Bay Area Since 1951

Pro-Israel ad campaign to go up, again For the third time in the last 12 months, a pro-Israel poster campaign will belaunched in area BART stations and on AC Transit buses to counter anti-Israel ads. Sponsored by StandWithUs, the posters will go up Monday, Jan. 16,and will be posted for four weeks.The ads feature a Palestinian and Israeli boy arm-in-arm, with the lines

“Israel Needs a Partner for Peace” and “Urge Palestinian Leaders to AcceptIsrael as Their Neighbor.” The billboards also direct viewers towww.SayYestoPeace.org.The posters are timed to appear immediately after an anti-Israel campaign

ends, in many of the same locations. StandWithUs will place 12 ads: nine at BART platforms, including the Civic

Center, Embarcadero and Balboa Park stations in San Francisco, as well asdowntown Berkeley, Oakland 12th Street, and MacArthur stops in the EastBay. The posters will also appear in three AC transit buses.In the last few years StandWithUs has posted counter-ads in several U.S.

metropolitan transit hubs, including Chicago and New York City.

Middle East scholar to lecture on ‘The Arab Lobby’Journalist, scholar and author Mitchell Bard will be in the Bay Area to discusshis recent book, “The Arab Lobby,” which investigates the impact of SaudiArabia and other Arab nations on American policies, opinion and education.Bard will speak at 10 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 8 at Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo

Alto. He also will appear at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9 at the JCC of SanFrancisco. Both events are free.Bard is director of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise and its

Jewish Virtual Library, a comprehensive online encyclopedia of Jewish historyand culture. Kol Emeth is located at 4175 Manuela Ave., Palo Alto. For information,

call (650) 948-7498. The JCC is located at 3200 California St., S.F. For infor-mation, call (415) 292-1200 or visit the event sponsor’s website atwww.standwithus.com. �

Volunteers neededfor Mitzvah Day in Palo AltoThe Oshman Family JCC in Palo Altowill hold its annual Mitzvah Day, partof a communitywide day of service,on Jan. 16, timed to honor the legacyof Martin Luther King Jr. The event is open to all ages, with

25 service projects available, includ-ing making crafts and joke books forhospitalized children; cooking andserving meals at shelters, habitatrestoration and tree planting; and vis-iting with seniors. Projects are organ-ized by category, including the envi-ronment, homelessness, hunger andanimals.The day is co-sponsored by B’nai

B’rith Youth Organization; congrega-tions Beth Am, Beth Jacob, EmekBeracha, Etz Chayim, Kol Emeth andKeddem; Gideon Hausner Jewish DaySchool; Hillel at Stanford; andKehillah Jewish High School.Preregistration is required. Volunteers

will check in at the JCC, 3921 FabianWay, Palo Alto, the morning of the event. For information, contactLuba Palant at [email protected] or (650) 223-8656, or visitwww.paloaltojcc.org/mitzvah. �

Mitzvah Day volunteers plant trees in2009.

.

liz harris | j. staff

Robby Morgenstein is determined to giveJewish deli fans in Marin their just due —a full-fledged, New York–style eatery, withall the trimmings.The owner of Miller’s East Coast

Delicatessen in San Francisco has opened asecond Miller’s in San Rafael, promising tobring “the full breadth of New York deli-catessen” to Marin residents. That meansfat sandwiches, kishka, kreplach soup andother favorites. Fish is a specialty, too, fromsmoked sable to pickled herring.The restaurant, which opened Jan. 4, is

located in the Montecito Shopping Centerin the corner space once occupied by thePasta Pomodoro.Growing up in Baltimore’s large subur-

ban Jewish community, Morgenstein saysthat in his home, a “huge”fish platter (along withFrank Sinatra on the radio)was standard Sunday morn-ing fare. No reason not tocontinue the tradition here.Going into the restaurant

business was a good fit for Morgenstein.His grandparents were kosher caterers;his mother worked for them and later atthe upscale Pimlico Hotel, where localswent for fine dining in a refined atmos-phere. A cousin owned the venerable(and still thriving) Attman’sDelicatessen downtown, and anothercousin owned Miller’s deli in northwestBaltimore.Morgenstein, 48, moved west when

he was in his 20s (“I was young, I wasbored,” he says). After working as a chef,he opened Miller’s East Coast WestDelicatessen in August 2001. But anaging building, construction woes and,soon enough, 9/11 created insurmount-able problems. Miller’s East Coast Westlasted three years.But Morgenstein resolved that he would

learn from past mistakes.When the new Miller’sopened in 2004 at 1725 PolkSt., Morgenstein was deter-mined to do things right.“From the day it began,” hesays, “it was a whole differ-

ent ballgame.”Not only did revenues climb dramatical-

ly, but Morgenstein also settled on EastCoast food purveyors for standards, suchas bagels (from Long Island, N.Y.) andsmoked fish (from Brooklyn). “We’re get-ting the exact same fish that they do atZabar’s,” he says, referring to the famousfood store in New York City.Deli aficionado David Sax,

author of the 2009 book “Savethe Deli,” cited Miller’s (alongwith Saul’s in Berkeley) as aplace that could lead a BayArea deli renaissance. Theyrepresent a “tenuous new gen-eration of Jewish delicatessens[in the Bay Area that recently]began emerging, approachingdeli with a locavore’s take onfood,” he writes.Morgenstein, a Novato resi-

dent who tends goats, chickensand a vegetable garden by hishome, favors local foodsources when possible for hisrestaurants, as well as locally brewed beers.He’ll also serve coffee roasted by Weaver’sCoffee of San Rafael.The 1,500-square foot San Rafael loca-

tion seats 86; when the weather warms up,additional seating for about 30 will be setup outside. Décor includes old-fashionedblack-and-white signage proclaiming suchthings as “The finest meats in town” and“You name the sandwich, we’ll build it.”Miller’s has a loaded deli counter for

customers on the go; it also offers cateringand home delivery.In the final weeks before the San Rafael

opening, Morgenstein put in 15-hourworkdays, starting at the San FranciscoMiller’s, then heading across the GoldenGate Bridge to oversee construction andmake the countless decisions required to

get the establishment up and running.The restaurateur is well aware that

Marin has had its share of Jewish-styledelis: They’ve come — and gone.Authentic Jewish deli is an expensive oper-ation, he concedes, but Miller’s has the“degree of scale” to succeed.“This feels right,” he says of his latest

endeavor. “I think 11 years later, all the les-sons learned on Polk Street will serve ourclients well.” �


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photo | liz harris

Robby Morgenstein prepares to open his new deli.

Miller’s East CoastDelicatessen Marin

is located at 421 Third St., San Rafael.

(415) 453-3354 orwww.millerseastcoastdeli.com.

bay area‘East Coast’ goes north as S.F. deli opens in Marin

.J. | the Jewish news weekly of Northern California 6

emma silvers | j. staff

When Andrew and Lisa, a young couple inthe East Bay, were preparing for the birthof their first child, a boy in 2009, they faceda conundrum. Lisa was not Jewish; Andrewwas “ethnically, culturally” Jewish but notpracticing.The couple wanted some kind of Jewish

ceremony to welcome their newborn, butthey were conflicted about circumcision. “Ididn’t feel comfortable with making thatdecision for another human being,” Lisasaid. “So we went online and started look-ing into alternatives.”What they found was a naming ceremo-

ny called brit shalom — Hebrew for“covenant of peace.” They also foundRabbi Judith Seid, who leads Tri-ValleyCultural Jews, a Pleasanton-based commu-nity for people who identity with Judaismthrough family, culture and/or historyrather than through religion. Seid helpedthe couple plan a naming ceremony fortheir son that reflected their wishes.According to the New York Times and

NPR, the couple is at the cutting edge of atrend.In July 2011, during the same week a

measure aiming to ban circumcision ofany male under 18 was ordered by a judgeto be taken off the San Francisco ballot,

both media outlets reported on britshalom. They noted that the ceremony is asmall but growing phenomenon in the BayArea.Brit shalom is frequently promoted by

opponents of circumcision as a way towelcome baby boys into the Jewishcovenant without a brit milah, alsoknown as a bris.But it’s not just a ritual seized upon by

“intactivists,” anti-circumcision activists.It’s also seen by some Jews as a ceremonythat can be adapted and personalized, andone that promotes egalitarianism — themale equivalent of a girl’s baby-naming.Seid, a rabbi who also works as a cantor,

said she presides over a couple of britshalom ceremonies each year, though

they’re not always referredto that way.“We usually just call it a

baby naming,” she said.“Same like with a girl.”At a recent ceremony she

helped lead — for a babyboy in San Francisco —there were remarks aboutJewish tradition, the Jewishcommunity, and the child’sparents and grandparents.No mention was made ofthe circumcision that didnot take place.“People want some kind

of way to mark the birth oftheir child, and if they don’twant to circumcise, then this is a way toacknowledge a new member of the Jewishcommunity,” said Seid.Seid’s personal stance is that circumci-

sion is “up to the parents,” and she doesn’task families who choose a brit shalomabout their reasons.Still, the ceremony is controversial, even

among some of those who perform it.Rabbi Jerry Levy, who reaches out to unaf-filiated and secular Jews in the Bay Areaand beyond through an agency called BayArea Jewish Services, said he does performthe ceremony.

“Let’s just say that I do the ceremony,”said Levy, 69, an independent Reformrabbi who lives in Tiburon. “I may notfavor it, but I do it.”Levy said he believes that parents

should be able to choose the content oftheir religious practice. But it is no coin-cidence that brit shalom appeals, he said,mostly to parents who have a weakersense of Jewish identity and less interestin Jewish continuity. “I think that thisnot wanting to circumcise your sons ispart of this process of diluting Judaismand assimilating into a very bland cul-ture,” Levy said.However, Levy said that in recent years

he has officiated at more brit shalom cere-monies than at circumcisions. (As an inde-

pendent rabbi, he explained, fewer oppor-tunities arise to officiate at services in gen-eral.)Mark Reiss of San Francisco, a 78-year-

old retired Jewish doctor who is executivevice president of Doctors OpposingCircumcision, maintains the most com-plete list of those who offi-ciate at brit shalom cere-monies. The list includeseight officiants in the BayArea.He began putting the list

together after turning firmlyagainst circumcision in1999.“Circumcision is not an

identity issue,” reads a state-ment by Reiss posted on thewebsite. “You do not needto be circumcised to beJewish any more than theneed to observe many otherJewish laws. The bottomline is this: If your motheris Jewish, you are Jewish,period.”All major branches of

Judaism currently call forparents to circumcise theirbaby boys. But if, as recentstories in the New YorkTimes and NPR havereported, the incidence ofbrit shalom is increasing,some believe it will followin the path of intermar-riage — that is, the cere-mony may one day raise very few eyebrows.“When I first started doing interfaith

marriages, you can bet that I got a lot offlak from my colleagues in the Reformmovement,” said Menlo Park–basedRabbi Yeshaia Charles Familant, who wasone of the first Reform rabbis in the

country to begin performing intermar-riages, in 1967.When the couples he helped marry

later had children, they called him, whichis why Familant started performing whathe called brit chayim (covenant of life)ceremonies in the early 1970s. Before

retiring last year, Familantsaid he performed about15 to 20 of the non-cut-ting naming ceremoniesannually.Familant is not opposed

to circumcision, but he hasno problem performingbrit shalom–type cere-monies.“If it violated any of my

principles I would nothave done any of this,” hesaid.As for Andrew and Lisa,

the ceremony surpassedtheir expectations. Theyinvited 25 family membersand friends to their hometo witness the brit shalom,which incorporated aprayer shawl that oncebelonged to Andrew’sfather. The reactions fromeveryone, including manyof their practicing Jewishfriends, were extremelypositive, Andrew said.“It felt like the evolution

of something traditional,”he said. “It may seem new,

but there is a history; there’s somethingfundamental behind it.”The couple is now expecting their sec-

ond child. They plan to have a similar cer-emony for her. �

The Los Angeles Jewish Journalcontributed to this report.

bay area

Rabbi Jerry Levy

Rabbi YeshaiaCharles Familant

“People want some kind of way to mark

the birth of their child, and if they don’t

want to circumcise, then a brit shalom is

a way to acknowledge a new member of

the Jewish community.”Rabbi Judith Seid

Alternative ritual,sans snip, catchingon in Bay Area

photo | courtesy of eli ungar-sargon

A still of a brit shalom ceremony taken from the 2007 documentary “Cut: SlicingThrough the Myths of Circumcision”


Matisyahu to headline JFCS émigré gala in S.F.An acoustic performance by Matisyahu, the reggae andalternative-rock musician, will headline Jewish Familyand Children’s Services’ 11th annual Émigré CommunityGala on Jan. 28. A silent auction and wine reception at

6:30 p.m. will be fol-lowed at 8 p.m. by din-ner, dancing and musicat the Palace Hotel inSan Francisco.The gala is Northern

California’s largest eventfor Russian-speakingJews. Proceeds go tosupport JFCS services,including emergencyfinancial assistance, sup-port for children withspecial needs and theelderly, and scholarshipsfor youth. A portion ofthe funds also helpsfamilies who have beenvictims of trauma inIsrael.The Palace Hotel is

located at 2 New Mont-gomery St. in down-town San Francisco.

Tickets start at $180 and reservation deadline isThursday, Jan. 12. The black-tie-optional event usuallysells out. See www.jfcs.org for details, or contact LilyaMittelman at (415) 449-1256 or [email protected].

Study: many Jewish collegestudents perceive anti-Semitism on campusA new study conducted by the Institute for Jewish &Community Research, a San Francisco–based thinktank, suggests that more than 40 percent of AmericanJewish university students perceive anti-Semitism ontheir college campuses. Titled “Alone on the Quad: Understanding Jewish

Student Isolation on Campus,” the study was compiledfrom interviews with more than 1,400 students. Otherfindings suggest that roughly 40 percent of Jewish stu-dents have heard what they regard as “anti-Israel” sen-timent from a professor in class, and that the majorityof non-Jewish students have “no opinion” on anti-Israel statements.The study also found that anti-Semitism is being

“normalized and underreported” on campuses by bothJews and non-Jews alike. “Significantly more Jewishand non-Jewish students reported specific anti-Semiticstatements heard on campus than reported anti-Semitism in general,” reads a summary. “Jewish stu-dents tend to dismiss a good deal of anti-Semitic rhet-oric they encounter.”For more information on the study, visit www.

jewishresearch.org.

Another kosher meat buying club revs up locallyGrow and Behold Foods, the Brooklyn-based companythat delivers kosher meats from small family farmsdirectly to consumers, has started its first Bay AreaBuying Club.

Orders are due by midnight Jan. 14 for pick-up on Jan. 26 at two different sites: from 4 to 6 p.m. at JewishCommunity High School of the Bay, 1835 Ellis St., SanFrancisco, or 5 to 7 p.m. at Epic Bites Catering, 3747 ParkBlvd. Way, Oakland. Available for purchase are certified kosher pasture-

raised whole and cut-up turkeys, chickens and beef roasts,as well as stew meat and other cuts. Founded and organized by Jewish environmental edu-

cators, Grow and Behold adheres to “the strictest stan-dards of kashrut, animal welfare, worker treatment, andsustainable agriculture,” according to its mission state-ment.To order or for more information, call (888) 790-5791

or email [email protected].

Israeli futurist to speak in Palo AltoIsraeli professor David Passig will speak about thefuture of Israel’s economy and society in a Thursday,Jan. 12 lecture at the Oshman Family JewishCommunity Center in Palo Alto. Passig will explain hismethodology to predict global economic trends andhow they will be reflected in the Middle East andIsrael. Passig is a futurist who specializes in technological,

social and educational futures. He holds a Ph.D. in futurestudies from the University of Minnesota, and is currentlya faculty member at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan,Israel.The event takes place 7:30 p.m. at the OFJCC,

3921 Fabian Way, room F-501, Palo Alto. Tickets are$10-$12. For more information, call (650) 233-8692 orvisit www.paloaltojcc.org. �

Matisyahu

.

ron kampeas | jta

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators metthis week in Amman for the first time inmore than a year to discuss how torestart peace negotiations. No statements were issued, but the

sides reportedly agreed to meet againnext week in Jordan. Yitzhak Molcho, Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s envoyto the talks, met on Jan. 3 with hisPalestinian counterpart, Saeb Erekat, atthe Jordanian Foreign Ministry. Whilethey were meant to discuss issues suchas borders and security,according to the AssociatedPress, observers say the twosides showed up not somuch to talk to one anotheras to send messages and dis-pense favors to other players.One regional player whom both the

Israelis and Palestinians hope to please isKing Abdullah II of Jordan, who con-vened the talks together with theQuartet — the grouping of the UnitedStates, the European Union, the UnitedNations and Russia that guides theMiddle East peace process.The Israelis are seeking to bolster an

ally who thus far has managed to wardoff the Islamist tide of the Arab Spring.The Palestinian Authority’s Fatah lead-ership is giving the nod to a fellow mod-erate Arab regime.“Both sides owe favors to King

Abdullah,” said Avraham Sela, a pro-fessor of international relations at theHebrew University of Jerusalem. “It’snot nice to turn him down, especiallywhen both sides are interested inmaintaining warm relations with theking.”For his part, Abdullah is seeking to

show his country’s Palestinian majoritythat he can still influence the two par-ties. He also is seeking to stake out a cen-tral role in the emerging new MiddleEast, particularly after the fall of hisclose ally, Hosni Mubarak, the deposedEgyptian dictator.

“Jordan lacks any anchorin the Middle East right now,and it is searching for ananchor,” said Assaf David, aJordan expert at the HebrewUniversity’s TrumanInstitute for the

Advancement of Peace. “If Jordan isinvolved in it and can calm the situationbetween Israel and the Palestinians, it isvery good for Jordan.”The Quartet has set a Jan. 26 deadline

for the resumption of direct negotia-tions.Palestinian Authority President

Mahmoud Abbas needs to counter theIsraeli-U.S. attempt to depict him asrecalcitrant for refusing since October2010 to allow peace talks unless Israelfreezes settlement building.Abbas “has to satisfy the Quartet by

dropping his preconditions,” said Yossi


Israeli, Palestinianenvoys meet — at king’s behest

photo | ap/nasser nasser

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and European Unionforeign policy chief Catherine Ashton were among those meetingin Amman this week.

newsanalysis

ron kampeas | jta

There were three winners in the IowaRepublic caucus: Mitt Romney, RickSantorum and, not far behind them, RonPaul.There were also (at least) three takeaways

for Jewish observers: Foreign policy matters,evangelicals matter — and Ron Paul matters.The importance of foreign policy in the

2012 presidential race, even in a farm stateonce known better for the pledges forethanol subsidies it extracts from candidates,was evident in the speeches following voting.Romney, the former

Massachusetts governor andnominative winner — he got30,015 votes, only eight morethan Santorum, the formersenator from Pennsylvania— launched his speech witha broadside against PresidentBarack Obama’s Iran policy.“Iran is about to have

nuclear weaponry just downthe road,” Romney told hisfollowers. “He said he’d havea policy of engagement.How’s that worked out?”Santorum’s strong show-

ing — each got just a shadeless than 25 percent of thevote — was credited mostlyto his months-long dedica-tion to the state, workingevery county and makingmore than 300 appearances.But Santorum’s strong

foreign policy performancein the debates, in which heshowed a command ofdetail stemming from his 12years in the Senate, was alsolikely a factor.In a Jan. 4 New York

Times profile, Santorumadvisers said the candidatestarted to stress his ownhard line on Iran after see-ing how it elicited positiveresponses during his Iowacampaign.Newt Gingrich, the former House of

Representatives speaker who placed fourth inIowa with 13 percent, said in his speech hewould make his foreign policy differences withPaul, the third-place finisher with 21 percentof the vote, a campaign issue in NewHampshire, which has its primary on Tuesday,Jan. 10.“I have no doubt about the survival of

Israel as a moral cause which we have to rec-ognize as central to our future,” Gingrichsaid in his speech, targeting Paul, who hasdownplayed Iran’s potential nuclear threatand pledged to end aid to Israel if elected.

Joining Gingrich outside of the topthree in Iowa were Rep. MicheleBachmann (R-Minn.), who got 5 percentof the vote, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry,who got 10 percent. On Jan. 4, Bachmannended her campaign.Gingrich, Bachmann and Perry had at var-

ious times during 2011 experienced surges inthe polls, a signal of the difficulties faced byRomney, who has struggled to break awayfrom the pack and establish himself as theclear front-runner.Romney’s albatross has been his reputa-

tion as a moderate in a party that has movedsharply to the right since the2010 congressional election,when tea party candidateshelped Republicans regain theHouse.That was another factor

explaining Santorum’s last-minute surge; he performedespecially well in rural Iowacounties where evangelicalspredominate. Santorum is aRoman Catholic, but his take-no-prisoners stance on abor-tion, gay marriage and hisdefense of religious expressionin the public square appealedto the evangelical base.Santorum was already reach-

ing out to pro-Israel fundraisersin the wake of his strong show-ing, insiders said. Those givershad mostly ignored him becauseof his back-of-the-pack show-ings in the polls until very recent-ly.Pro-Israel insiders said

Santorum would likely get amore receptive hearing in thewake of Iowa, although whetherit would be enough to assist himgoing into New Hampshire isanother question. Santorum hasa minimal ground operation inthe state.As a senator, Santorum had a

strongly pro-Israel record, butFred Zeidman, a major fundrais-

er for Romney, said his social stances wouldultimately alienate Jewish givers.“They would be anathema to the commu-

nity,” Zeidman said in an interview.Paul’s showing kept him in the race.

Jewish Republicans had attempted to dis-count his support as mostly coming fromsupporters who took advantage of Iowa’srelatively loose caucus rules; voters areallowed to register with the party up to theday of voting.But his 21 percent support, and his domi-

nance among young and independent cau-cus-goers, have left him as a force to be reck-oned with. �

Iowa results turn Jewishattention to three things

photo | creative commons/gage skidmore

Ron Paul in October.

photo | ap/chris carlson

Mitt Romneyspeaks in Iowa.

Haredi protesters slammed for Holocaust imageryIsraeli leaders criticized a haredi Orthodox demonstration inwhich protesters wore yellow stars to indicate that they are beingoppressed like the Jews in Nazi Germany.More than 1,000 haredi protesters gathered in Jerusalem Dec.

31 to protest what they described as persecution against their wayof life, including separation of the sexes.Many of the protesters wore yellow stars with the word

“Jude” and Holocaust imagery on them. Young children werebrought to a makeshift stage wearing striped prison garbalong with their yellow stars. One held up his hands in animitation of a famous image from the Warsaw Ghetto.Protesters also shouted “Nazis” at police during the demon-stration.“Prisoner uniforms and yellow patches with the word ‘Jew’

written on them in German are shocking and appalling,”Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement. “The use ofyellow patches and small children raising their hands in surren-der crosses a red line which the ultra-Orthodox leadership, whoare largely responsible people, must not accept.” — jta

Israel’s Supreme Court raps outpost plansIsrael’s Supreme Court gave the government a week to report backon agreements reached on construction in outposts built on stateland.The order came Jan. 3 in response to an agreement struck

between the state and the Ramat Gilad outpost in the northernWest Bank. Under the agreement, the outpost would become partof the Karnei Shomron municipality, and five of its 10 caravansand several warehouses would be relocated to areas on the hill notconsidered private Palestinian property.The parts of the outpost on private land had been scheduled to

be razed by the end of 2011 by order of the Supreme Court. Thecourt granted the state’s request for an extension on razing severaloutposts, saying it wanted the issue to be resolved peacefully,according to Ynet. But the justices noted that the matter could notbe put off indefinitely.Meanwhile, a Knesset committee postponed debate on a bill

that would require Palestinians to prove in court any ownershipclaims on land on which an outpost is to be built.The bill had been dubbed the Migron bill, an effort to prevent

the razing of the controversial Migron outpost. The SupremeCourt has ordered the demolition by March. — jta

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhoodsays it won’t recognize IsraelThe Muslim Brotherhood, which is leading in the national elec-tions in Egypt, said it will not recognize Israel.The party’s deputy head, Rashad Bayoumi, told the al

Hayat Arabic newspaper that the Muslim Brotherhood alsowould work to cancel the 1979 peace treaty between Israeland Egypt.“No Muslim Brotherhood members will engage in any contact

or normalization with Israel,” he reportedly said in the interviewwith the London-based paper published Jan. 1. “The Brotherhood respects international conventions, but we

will take legal action against the peace treaty with the Zionist enti-ty,” al Hayat reported, according to Reuters.Last week, the Salafi al Nour party, which won up to 30 percent

of the vote in the first two rounds of parliamentary elections inEgypt, reportedly said in a statement that the party will “standfirmly against normalization between the two countries in allforms.”The statement came after a spokesman for the party said in an

interview with Israel’s Army Radio that the party would respect alltreaties signed by Egypt, including the 1979 pact with Israel,though party leaders later clarified that the party is looking intothe matter. — jta

U.S. releases $40 million to P.A.The United States transferred $40 million in foreign assistance tothe Palestinians. The Associated Press reported Dec. 29 that congressional law-

makers released the funds, which amount to 20 percent of the$187 million in foreign assistance from fiscal year 2011 that washeld up by Congress in response to the Palestinians’ actions at theUnited Nations.The funds released are for humanitarian and economic purpos-

es and not for security assistance.The release of the 2011 funds comes after an omnibus 2012

appropriations package passed by Congress earlier in Decemberincluded restrictions that would limit any assistance to thePalestinians if they continued with their efforts to achieve mem-ber status at the United Nations. A senior Republican staffer noted that this could be a good way

to test the Palestinian Authority without putting U.S. taxpayers attoo much risk. “If the Palestinians act responsibly and comply with U.S. law,

they’ll get another tranche. If they don’t, especially in these timesof great austerity, the American people will understand if we turnthe spigot back off,” the staffer said. — jta

Five Israeli women get their wingsA record-setting five women were awarded their pilots’ wings in agraduation ceremony with the Israeli air force.Fourteen soldiers completed the three-year pilots course, which

includes a bachelor’s degree; each has signed on to serve the Israelimilitary for nine years.“A country where women sit in the pilot’s seat is a country

where women should be able to sit anywhere,” Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu told the graduates, referring to therecent controversy over women in the public sphere.On Jan. 1, the chief rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces told a

meeting of military rabbis that they must work to ensure women’sinclusion.“There will be no exclusion of women in the IDF,” Rabbi Rafi

Peretz said. “We especially, who know the importance of respect-ing a woman, must make sure this controversy won’t penetrateour ranks.” — jta

Obama ‘flexible’ with Iran sanctionsOn the day President Barack Obama signed legislation that ratch-ets up Iran’s sanctions, the White House said he would be flexiblein its application.The Defense Authorization Act, signed Dec. 31, includes an

amendment that targets for sanctions third parties that deal withthe Central Bank of Iran as well as with Iran’s energy sector.The legislation allows the president to give other countries and

companies time to pull out of Iran, instead of subjecting themimmediately to sanctions.Obama sought the flexibility so the U.S. could leverage other

nations into joining in Iran’s isolation, and to time sanctions sothey did not redound on Western oil markets.“This is important because the most effective approach is one

that involves multilateral participation and is timed and phased toavoid negative repercussions to international oil markets andinstead focus pressure on Iran,” the White House said in a state-ment. — jta

Israel files complaint with U.N. over Gaza phosphorusThe head of a regional council in southern Israel filed a complaintwith the United Nations after mortar shells fired from Gaza werefound to contain the banned substance white phosphorous.Two mortars that landed in the Eshkol regional council, with a

population of 13,000, contained white phosphorous, which isbanned by international law for use in populated areas.Phosphorus can cause severe burns and other injuries.It reportedly was the fourth time that white phosphorus has

been found on mortars fired from Gaza on Israel. — jta �


Alpher, an Israeli analyst and the co-edi-tor of bitterlemons.net, an online forumthat includes both Palestinian and Israeliopinion.Netanyahu, for his part, has insisted

repeatedly that talks should be held with-out preconditions..The purported aim of this week’s

meeting was to set the stage for moresubstantive negotiations, althoughexperts question the likelihood of suchan outcome.“Neither Abu Mazen [Abbas] nor

Netanyahu is interested,” said Alpher.“Abu Mazen because he understands thatif he turned down” former Israeli PrimeMinister Ehud “Olmert’s far-reachingoffer at the end of 2008, he will neverhear anything close to that fromNetanyahu, and Netanyahu because hepresides over a coalition not interested insustaining a peace process.”Since his election in 2009, Netanyahu

has navigated between Obama adminis-tration demands that he make efforts torestart peace talks with the demands of aright-leaning coalition that is resistant toterritorial concessions.The prime minister’s moves toward

the peace table have been matched tradi-tionally with nods to hard-liners, andthis week seemed no different. Just hoursbefore the meeting, Netanyahu’s govern-ment announced tenders for the con-struction of 300 new units in easternJerusalem, including 247 units in HarHoma, a particularly contentious Jewishneighborhood not far from Bethlehem.Abbas may see the Amman meeting as

a means to show Palestinians that he candeliver an alternative as he negotiates aunity deal with Hamas that could lead toelections as soon as May. His need forstreet credibility has been sharpened bythe Arab Spring turmoil.“Abu Mazen needs something in hand,

something he can show,” Sela said. “Hegot very little from the bid to the U.N.”for statehood recognition in September.In the days leading up to the Amman

meeting, the Palestinians reportedly havedropped their demand for a settlementfreeze, instead seeking the release of 100prisoners before restarting peace talks. Aprisoner release to the Fatah-dominatedPalestinian Authority would be a salve tothe blow it took when Hamas, its Islamistrival in the Gaza Strip, won the releaselate last year of more than a thousandprisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit,the captive Israeli soldier.Netanyahu, however, rebuffed Abbas’

request, seeing it as a precondition,according to Israeli media reports.Alpher predicts no real movement

until after the U.S. elections inNovember. “The Obama administration in the

throes of an election year is not going totake any risks in the Israeli-Palestinianpeace process,” he said. �

A

.

uriel heilman | jta

After an 8-year-old girl was harassed by ultra-Orthodoxmen on her way to a Modern Orthodox girls’ school inBeit Shemesh, the condemnations started pouring in.Israel’s prime minister and president vowed that Israel

would not tolerate haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, violenceagainst women, whether directed at girls walking to schoolor women riding on public buses. Israel’s oppositionleader, Kadima’s Tzipi Livni, attended a demonstration ofthousands on Dec. 27 in Beit Shemesh.In the United States, too, the condemnations came fast

and furious: Hadassah, the Jewish Federations of NorthAmerica, the American Jewish Committee, the OrthodoxUnion, the Rabbinical Council of America and AgudathIsrael of America (the haredi Orthodox umbrella body)were among the many groups that responded.There appeared to be just one segment of the Jewish

community that was staying silent: Israeli haredim them-selves.That’s because there is some ambivalence among haredi

Israelis when it comes to religious zealotry.“The question isn’t how many haredim support haredi

violence and how many do not,” said sociologistMenachem Friedman, an expert on haredi lifeand professor emeritus at Bar-Ilan University.“The problem is that most haredim allow theextremists to act and do not stop them.”The violent zealots come largely from the

Edah HaCharedis, a community of anti-Zionistharedim that is particularly strict even by haredi standardsand has strongholds in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh. TheEdah is closely aligned with the Satmar Chassidic sect.“Some, perhaps a small segment [of haredim] really do

support the violence,” Friedma said. “The majority per-haps opposes the violence and knows that ultimately it’sbad for Judaism, but doesn’t have the courage to go outand oppose it publicly.”At least one haredi leader in Israel had that courage.“If there are those in our generation who believe that

warfare is the way to spread the light of Judaism, they aremistaken,” said Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, theJerusalem-based leader of the Belz Chassidim.Rokeach’s comments, made during a Chanukah candle-

lighting ceremony at his synagogue on Dec. 25, were tepidby secular standards, but they marked a rare foray intocurrent events by the rebbe, who has an estimated 45,000followers worldwide.But the roundabout way his message was delivered —

and the scant media coverage given to haredi opposition tothe violence — is indicative both of the difficulties out-siders have with discerning shades of gray in haredi societyand the ambivalence within the haredi world toward usingviolence to achieve religious aims.For one thing, Israeli haredi condemnations of violence

are not delivered the same way as condemnations in the

non-haredi world. They are generally directed inward, notoutward; they tend to be delivered not in statements to thepress but as words of Torah to followers; they are oftenspoken not in English or Hebrew, but in Yiddish; and theyare expressed less as a reaction to current events than ascalls for dignified behavior by Torah-observant Jews.Rokeach’s speech was unusual both because it referred

to current events and because it was aimed, at least in part,at a wider audience. Most haredi leaders stayed silent.There are haredim who oppose extremism but fear

speaking out because they do notwant to be seen as lax in matters ofreligion.When Rabbi David Kohn, the

leader of the Toldos Aharon sect ofChassidim, spoke out a few years agoagainst religious violence (via aYiddish-language Torah exegesis ofthe story of Pinchas the zealot in theBook of Numbers), he quickly wascondemned in placards postedaround his Jerusalem neighborhoodof Mea Shearim.

Other haredim don’tspeak out because theysee fights like the one inBeit Shemesh not as abattle between extremistsand moderates but aspart of a broader Israeli

assault on haredi life led by the main-stream Israeli media.“The source of the pollution is in

halachah [Jewish law] itself,” formerKnesset member Yossi Sarid wrote inthe Israeli daily Ha’aretz. Sarid calledfor the disqualification of haredi par-ties from the Knesset. On Ha’aretz’sEnglish-language website, the articlewas headlined “Orthodox Judaismtreats women like filthy little things.”Facing such hostility, some hared-

im say, why get involved at all?And then there is the large segment

of haredim who see themselves astotally apart from the haredim perpe-trating the violence. Their attitude isthat if it’s not their community mem-bers, it’s not their business and theydon’t need to get involved.While to an outsider all haredim may look alike — with

their black coats, hats and beards — the haredi communi-ty is as fractured as the Jewish community as a whole. It isAshkenazi and Sephardic, Chassidic and non-Chassidic,moderate and extremist.But in a world seen by outsiders as monolithic, all

haredim inevitably are associated with the extremism of afew, and haredi silence is seen as affirmation of haredi badbehavior.When the main haredi umbrella organization in

America issued its statement condemning the BeitShemesh violence, it also took a shot at those denigratingharedim in general.“Those who have taken pains to note that the small

group of misguided individuals who have engaged in thisconduct are not representative of the larger charedi com-

munity are to be commended,” Agudath Israel of Americasaid in its statement. “It is disturbing, though, that someIsraeli politicians and secularists have been less responsi-ble, portraying the actions of a very few as indicative of thefeelings of the many. “Quite the contrary, the extremist element is odious to,

and rejected by, the vast majority of charedi Jews.” �


mideast

Condemnation of violence not loud in haredi world

Haredi Orthodox men argue wsecular Israelis in Beit Sheme

on Dec. 2

newsanalysis

Israel considers wall on Lebanese borderIsrael is considering walling off part of its border withLebanon, fearing sniper fire at new apartment blocks inthe town of Metulla, military sources said.The sources said Israel was communicating with

Lebanese and U.N. officials about erecting an anti-sniperwall along a 1.6-mile section of the frontier betweenMetulla and the Lebanese village of Kfarkila.Any final decision on such a project would be coordi-

nated with officials in Lebanon, the sources said, to help

prevent sniper attacks during the construction work.Although the two countries technically are in a state of

war, Israeli and Lebanese military officials meet regularlyto discuss border issues in the company of the U.N. peace-keeping force UNIFIL.The sources said Metulla farmers have come under

sniper fire in the past and frequently have stones hurled atthem from the Lebanese side.The 49-mile border is decorated with flags of the Shiite

militant group Hezbollah, with whom Israel fought a warin 2006, and portraits of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.The Israel Defense Forces confirmed in a statement that

it was looking at ways to beef up border security. UNIFILspokesman Neeraj Singh said the subject was under dis-cussion.Israel’s daily newspaper Yediot Achronot reported that

the planned wall would be 16 feet high and incorporateelectronic detection devices. If approved, the projectwould begin within weeks.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Jan.

1 that he planned to strengthen barriers along the country’sborder with Jordan with a new fence costing $166 million.Israel currently is erecting a security barrier along its

border with Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.— ap

Haredi Orthodox argue with secular Israelis in Beit Shemeshon Dec. 26.

allison kaplan sommer | special to j.

beit shemesh, israel | Little Na’ama Margolese isnot the first Israeli child to be harassed on her way toschool by members of a fundamentalist ultra-Orthodoxsect who resent her presence in or around their neigh-borhood.But the 8-year-old girl is the first to have her plight

featured on Israeli television and turned into an interna-tional news story. And she is definitely the first to have a

determined, organized group of politically and mediasavvy families behind her, a cohort made up almostentirely of Modern Orthodox immigrants from theUnited States.“They messed with the wrong crowd this time,” said

Sara Eisen, a marketing executive and member of thatcommunity. “This time, the bullies came up against

Americans.”Since a television crew captured Na’ama’s fearful walk

to school — in recent months, she and her peers havebeen called “whores,” spat on and had tomatoes thrownat them — the little girl’s story has been dominatingheadlines in Israel. The attention included a Dec. 27 rallyin Beit Shemesh that drew thousands and featuredspeeches by representatives of every major politicalparty.Less obvious to the casual observer have been the

relentless behind-the-scenes efforts ofNa’ama’s parents and a handful of friendsand neighbors, many with marketing andpublic relations backgrounds, to preventBeit Shemesh from becoming a place whereonly ultra-Orthodox Jews are welcome. Themedia exposure is the most conspicuousevidence of their work. But it has beenbacked up by months of letter-writing,phone-calling, lobbying in the halls of theKnesset and in the offices of governmentministers, and the filing of police com-plaints and civil lawsuits.The English-speaking community in Beit

Shemesh, where Eisen, a Baltimore native,has lived for the past 15 years, has beenattracting U.S. transplants since 1991. That’swhen a group of families, looking to achievean Israeli version of the American dream,began leaving their cramped city apart-ments and building houses with yards in thesleepy suburb. Situated 11 miles fromJerusalem and within commuting distancefrom Tel Aviv, Beit Shemesh had been hometo secular and traditional immigrants fromNorth Africa since it was founded in the1950s.Eisen’s street, with its fences and mani-

cured lawns, ends in a cul-de-sac. She likesto joke that she lives on the ModernOrthodox version of Wisteria Lane, the fic-tional suburban street where the TV show“Desperate Housewives” is set. If the homesweren’t built from classic Jerusalem stone,the neighborhood could easily be mistakenfor the American suburbs; even the kids runaround with baseball caps and jerseys.Over the past two decades, many North

American Jews mulling a move to Israelwere lured to Beit Shemesh by its quality of life, relative-ly affordable housing and the chance to provide theirchildren with a religious education at a fraction of thecost of U.S. day school tuition. These English-speakingimmigrants — they now number about 2,500 families— invested time, energy and money into building thelocal Orot national religious schools for boys and girls.

The new Orot Banot girls’ school is situated on amajor road that is the seam between the city’s ModernOrthodox neighborhood and one that is home to mem-bers of a violent ultra-Orthodox faction known as theSikrikim. Between 100 to 150 Beit Shemesh families arethought to belong to this fringe sect. All told, about40,000 of the city’s 90,000 residents are ultra-Orthodox,and the vast majority of them, it must be noted, arepeaceful and not affiliated with the Sikrikim sect.As for the fundamentalist ultra-Orthodox communi-

ty, their rallying cry has been that religious Orot girlslike Na’ama are immodest. But the real story, Eisen andher fellow activists say, is about real estate. The ultra-Orthodox wanted the building for themselves, accordingto members of the Modern Orthodox community. InSeptember, on the eve of the new school year, the city’sultra-Orthodox mayor came out against the opening ofOrot Banot, on grounds that the city could not protectits students against the angry extremists and their vio-lent tactics.A weaker, more pliable group of parents might have

walked away, as they did in B’nai Brak and other nowsolidly haredi enclaves in Israel.But Beit Shemesh is different. The effort to “save Beit

Shemesh” is spearheaded by teacher and communityactivist Rabbi Dov Lipman, originally from Maryland,the son of an administrative judge, who brings hisBeltway savvy to the fight. The community is in constante-mail communication and has set up a Facebook group“We are All Orot Banot,” with more than 1,250 mem-bers.They have had a patrol at the school every day since

September. The moment extremists show up to harassstudents, phone calls go out to the police and reinforce-ments are brought in to confront them. Volunteers pho-tograph and film demonstrators, hand their materialsover to the police, and post the videos on YouTube.Complaints to the authorities and civil lawsuits over theharassment have been filed, as well as action takenagainst the municipality’s plans to build new housing fortens of thousands more ultra-Orthodox residents, whichwould change the city’s demographic makeup perma-nently. They’ve also received some $20,000 in donationsto their legal fund.Eisen’s brother, Elie Klein, an account executive at the

Jerusalem offices of the public relations firm RuderFinn, has lent his expertise to the struggle for BeitShemesh. He was attracted to the city because, he says, itwas a diverse community where secular, religious andultra-Orthodox Jews lived together.“We love this city, and we will fight for the right to live

here,” he said. “Not because we want to fight, but becausewe have been given no other choice.” �

This article originally appeared in the Forward, and is reprintedwith permission.

Savvy, U.S.-born organizers lead battle in Beit Shemesh


photo | jta/flash90/kobi gideon

with esh

26.

Gender segregation onbuses incites reactionDozens of female demonstrators in Israel sat at thefront of gender-segregated buses to protest the sepa-ration of men and women.The protesters rode buses Jan. 1 leaving from

Jerusalem and Ramat Gan through the harediOrthodox community of Bnei Brak and through BeitShemesh, where a Modern Orthodox girls’ school onthe cusp of a haredi neighborhood has thrust theissue of the exclusion of women in the public sphere

into the spotlight.Be Free Israel, which according to its website is a

nonpartisan movement working on behalf of Israelas a Jewish and democratic state, organized theprotest of the mehadrin, or sex-segregated, bus lines.Men also participated in the protest.Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that voluntary sex

segregation is permissible on public bus routes.Last week, a haredi man who insulted a female sol-

dier after she refused to sit in the back of a city buswas charged with sexual harassment.Shlomo Fuchs, 44, was indicted in a Jerusalem

court Dec. 29, a day after he was arrested byJerusalem police for calling the soldier, DoronMatalon, 19, a “whore” and a “shiksa” on a Jerusalembus; he was joined in the insults by other passengers.The bus driver pulled over and called police.Internal Security Minister Yitzhak

Aharonovitch called on the public to file com-plaints with the police over such harassment, Ynetreported.On Dec. 27, thousands gathered in the Jerusalem

suburb of Beit Shemesh to protest the exclusion ofwomen in the public sphere. — jta �

I

.

vaness gera | associated press

It was 1943 in Nazi-occupied Warsaw when an 18-year-oldPolish girl slipped into a church with an elderly rabbi toteach him how to dip his hand in holy water and cross him-self. They both hoped it would help him pass as Catholic. Any mistake could cost him his life, and hers, too — the

Nazis would have killed her for helping a Jew.What she did not know back then was that she was a Jew

herself.Decades after she helped save the

rabbi and about a dozen otherPolish Jews, mostly children, byteaching them Christian customsas part of her work in the anti-Naziresistance, Magdalena Grodzka-Guzkowska discovered documentsin an old suitcase showing that herfather and other close family mem-bers were Jewish. Shared humanity, not ancestry,

inspired her wartime heroism.“I remember running with chil-

dren through the city. It was horri-ble,” said the now frail Grodzka-Guzkowska, her hand trembling asshe sat in a wheelchair.“During the war I saved Jewish

children while not being aware thatI was Jewish. I saved them becausethat is what had to be done.”Today, at age 86, she’s living out

her last years waiting to be buriedin a white shroud according toJewish custom.In July 2011, Grodzka-

Guzkowska received the S.F.-based Taube Foundation’s IrenaSendler Memorial Award at a cer-emony in Warsaw’s Nozyk Synagogue. “Magda exemplified all that this award was meant to

honor,” said Tad Taube, chairman of the TaubeFoundation for Jewish Life and Culture. “Her selfless brav-ery enabled thousands of Jewish children to survive. Whocan count the descendants directly attributable to her hero-ism?”The discovery of Jewish roots is a growing phenomenon

in Poland, where increasing numbers of Catholic or secularPoles in recent years have learned, often from deathbedconfessions or from chance discoveries of documents, thatthey are of Jewish descent.

Such knowledge often was repressed due to the traumainflicted by the Hitler era and anti-Semitic persecutionduring the communist decades that followed.Grodzka-Guzkowska learned of her heritage late in life.

It led her to immerse herself in Torah study, dream of vis-iting Israel and ask Poland’s chief rabbi to bury her inWarsaw’s Jewish cemetery.One landmark on her path to a new identity came dur-

ing a dinner at the home of a Jewish friend in the 1990s,when she mentioned that she had a Jewish great-grand-

mother — her mother’s mother’s mother.The friend explained to her that Jewish law traces Judaism

from mother to child, meaning that she was Jewish, too.After that evening, she began to cultivate a relationship

with Warsaw’s Jewish community and to attend services atthe Nozyk Synagogue.Five years ago, she found out that her father was

Jewish. This revelation, more than anything, caused aprofound shift in her identity and made her finally thinkof herself as a Jew. “I will be buried in the Jewish cemetery as a Jew,” she

said. Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich confirms her wishes

will be carried out.Grodzka-Guzkowska’s gradual embrace of Judaism

paralleled cultural shifts within Poland after the 1989 col-lapse of its Communist government, as it began its transi-tion to democracy.Amid Poland’s cultural changes, aging Poles with family

secrets feel it is finally time to pass them on to the next gen-eration. In some cases, such discoveries spark personaltransformations, inspiring adult men to undergo circumci-sion or to take on new names.

Most of those who decide to liveas Jews are in their 20s or 30s, withthe older generations often stilltoo fearful of anti-Semitism towant to live openly as Jews.Grodzka-Guzkowska is a promi-nent exception.Rabbi Stas Wojciechowicz says

he is struck by how many PolishJews belong to the Jewish andCatholic worlds simultaneously.His synagogue, for instance, prac-tically empties of worshippersaround Christmas and All SaintsDay, a major Catholic holidaywhen Poles visit the graves ofancestors.“They say they are sorry but

they need to be with their parentsat those times,” he said. “Almosteverybody has this story of adivided family.”Not long after Grodzka-

Guzkowska embraced herJewishness, it proved an obstacleto her being honored for herwartime heroism.A Jewish boy she had rescued

petitioned Israel’s Yad Vashem toname her Righteous Among the Nations in recognition ofher wartime heroism.But Yad Vashem hesitated on the grounds the award only

recognizes non-Jews.Schudrich and other Polish Jews argued that she should

be given the award because she had acted during the warwith the consciousness of a Catholic, not a Jew.“Magda decided in a moment to save Jewish children,”

Schudrich wrote in a 2008 email to Yad Vashem. “Why arewe taking so long?”The Jerusalem-based institute ultimately honored her

in 2009. �


After saving Jews, Polish hero discovers own Jewish roots

photo | agencja gazeta

Magdalena Grodzka-Guzkowska (center) accepts the Taube Foundation’s IrenaSendler Award in July 2011 at Warsaw’s Nozyk Synagogue with (from left)Magdalena Matuszewska; U.S. Ambassador to Poland Lee Feinstein; Shana Penn,executive director of the Taube Foundation; Konstanty Gebert; and Helise Lieberman.

Lithuanian paper printsanti-Semitic front pageThe Simon Wiesenthal Center expressed “disgust andoutrage” over the frontpage of a Lithuanian tabloidnewspaper that it termed a “blatantly anti-Semitic attackon the Lithuanian Jewish community.”The front page of the Dec. 21 edition of the

Lithuanian tabloid Vakaro Zionios bore a large pictureof the Vilnius Chabad Rabbi, Sholom-Ber Krinsky, in hisChasidic garb and gesturing with a finger. Above thephoto ran a huge headline reading “Zydai” (the Jews)and, in much smaller print “see no need to pay theirSocial Security taxes.”The caption and an article on inside pages singled out

the Chabad school as one of several offenders. The article also listed the “top 10” offenders delinquent intheir payments, and no Jewish organization figured inthe list.The front-page headline, caption and photograph

“clearly create the mistaken impression that it is the Jewswho are robbing the Lithuanian people,” WiesenthalCenter Israel director Efraim Zuroff said in a statement.“This type of blatant anti-Semitic lie is particularly reprehensible and dangerous in financially-beleagueredLithuania and what is even more shocking is that thisanti-Semitic incitement, which threatens the entireLithuanian Jewish community, has not elicited a singlenegative reaction from any government official, religiousleader or foreign ambassador.” — jta

Fox apologizes for poll asking if Jews killed JesusThe Latin American division of Fox apologized for a pollthat asked whether Jews killed Jesus.Posted on the Fox Spanish-language Facebook page,

the poll asked, “Who do you think is responsible for thedeath of Christ?” It provided three choices for theanswer: Jewish People, Pontius Pilate and High Priests.The poll, which was promoting a National Geographic

Channel Christmas special, was removed following theapology, according to reports citing the Associated Press.The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Buenos Aires report-

edly slammed the poll and pointed out that in 1965, theVatican annulled the idea that Jews killed Jesus. — jta �


AA CCrreeaattiivvee NNoonn--FFiiccttiioonn WWoorrkksshhooppwith Rebecca Spence

In this five-week workshop, we’ll cut through the layers of self-doubt and unearth the real stories waiting to betold. Weekly sessions include writing exercises designed to free up the creative imagination, as well as discussiontime for sharing our works-in-progress. All levels welcome.

When: Jan. 17 - Feb. 21, Class meets five Tuesdays, 7-9:30 p.m.Where: Subterranean Arthouse, 2179 Bancroft Way, Berkeley (BART accessible)

Cost: $195 • To reserve your spot: email [email protected]

Rebecca Spence is an award-winning writer and journalist. The former West Coast correspondent for the Forward, she has written for Elle, ARTnews, and New York Magazine, among others. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Bennington College.

“Rebecca has helped me push past boundaries and write more vulnerably and bravely than I would have thought possible.” – Wendy Edelstein, Workshop Participant

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WWrriittiinngg tthhee MMeemmooiirr::

adviceparenting for the perplexed

5 a.m. We thought we’d wait it out — let her adjust to the new time and she’d goback to 6 a.m. (much more reasonable …), but no such luck. We tried keeping herup later at night but, other than a miserable time from 8 to 9 p.m., we have seen noresults. How can we explain to her that we are not farmers? Can we retrain her towake up at a more suitable hour for modern urban living? I have never been so tiredin my life, even when I was getting up three times a night to nurse. Sleepless in S.F.

Our 7-month-old baby used to be agreat sleeper, but when daylight savingtime ended, she started waking up at

Rachel Biale, MSW, is a Berkeley-based parenting consultant who has been working with parents of very young children for more than 25 years. Send questions through herFacebook page: Parenting Counseling by Rachel Biale or via [email protected].

The dreaded 5 a.m.wake-up call — courtesy of baby

This is a common problemwith infants; perhaps it’sthe hunter-gatherer genet-ic code. Sometimes it’striggered by a time change,or jetlag, but often it justemerges as a baby transi-tions from nights punctu-ated by several wakings tofeed to being able to sleepthrough the night. Delaying bedtimemay help, but it takes five to sevendays before that “takes” and, as inyour case, often increases misery atnight for no rewards in the morning.Here is how you might train your

daughter to sleep in before she is ateenager (when it will be no problemat all). For five days in a row, record the

time she awakens. Pick the earliesttime as your starting point. If shewakes at 5:15, 5:00, 5:05, 5:20 and5:10, then 5 a.m. is it (sorry).Put a clock radio in her room set to

play music at 5 a.m. Within a minuteafter the radio turns on, come intoher room, pick her up and proceed asif this is a perfectly reasonable time tostart the day. Turn on lights, feed andchange her, and play with her in yourusual daytime room. She’ll probablywant a morning nap earlier thanusual — don’t worry about that.Repeat the clock radio routine for

four or five days. You are working tocreate a conditioned response, where-by as soon as the music comes on, shewakes up and expects you.After about five days she will be

trained to wake up with the clockradio.Now comes the crucial (albeit a bit

sneaky) part: Start moving the clockforward by five-minute incrementseach morning (5:05, 5:10, 5:15).Remember, once the music is on,come right in and pick her up. Over

the course of 10 to 12days, you should be ableto move her waking to 6a.m., or very close to it. There is a limit to this

method. Most parents Ihave worked with wereable to move their baby’swake-up time by 45 to 60minutes. Don’t try to

stretch your daughter’s wake-up to 8a.m., as lovely as that sounds.Finally, I wonder if part of your

intense fatigue is your reaction tothe change from daylight savingtime. A lot more people than realizeit suffer from varying degrees ofseasonal affective disorder (SAD)when the amount of sunlight theyget each day suddenly drops by anhour: low energy, abnormal fatigue,feeling down, all the way to full-blown depression. The symptomsoften get worse as the days getsshorter, but lift in early spring.The traditional Jewish remedy

might seem to be the eight candlelitnights of Chanukah, but it turns outyou need a lot more candle units thanthat (10,000 lux, to be precise) to treatSAD effectively. There are many high-intensity lamps available on the mar-ket; do an online search for “SADlamp.” Get a simple one for your breakfast

table and sit close to it when you eatyour cereal. People vary a lot in howmuch light they need. I discoveredabout 20 years ago that I need 20 to25 minutes in the morning so I don’tfeel like I am ready for bed at 7:15p.m. Experiment to see how muchyou need. You should feel the differ-ence very quickly, in one to threedays.Between the clock radio and a SAD

lamp, I hope you soon see your way tomore sleep and more pep. �

415.563.6563 • At the JCCSF3220 California, Corner Presidio, San Francisco

Visit our website for monthly specialswww.dayenu.com

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J. | the Jewish news weekly of Northern California 14.

Rule of law rulesI fully condemn the vandalism directed against the home ofRabbi Michael Lerner in Berkeley. I normally vehemently dis-agree with the statements that I read from Rabbi Lerner, but Ialso vehemently defend his right not only to make those state-ments but also to enjoy the protection of the law, which mustbe common to us all.Anyone who would commit or sympathize with such acts

should consider the importance that Jewish tradition basedon the Torah gives to the rule of law. The seven Noahide lawswhich apply to all nations include maintaining a justice sys-tem. We can disagree with each other and strongly expressopposing opinions. However, we should be guided by theTorah in understanding the limits of the permissible.Steve Astrachan | Pleasant Hill

Tolerating the thugsYour Dec.16 editorial (“Israel needs to halt the thuggery per-petrated by extremist settlers”) is critical of the “lawless, racistbandits” and your ire is “not directed at all Jews who liveacross the Green Line.”However, the settler communities in the West Bank are

complicit with this lawlessness and racism because they shieldand tolerate the thugs. The politicians and police are alsocomplicit, since they have not prosecuted or even condemnedthe violence perpetrated on the Palestinian citizens of theWest Bank. Uprooting olive groves, desecrating mosques,killing herds and shooting at unarmed locals have gone on foryears without any serious consequence or even investigation.Many Israelis see Palestinians as occupiers of a historically

Jewish homeland and are willing to see them driven off usingany means at their disposal. Tolerating terrorism within theircommunity is as much a crime as committing it. Not report-ing terrorist acts, not insisting on arrests and trials for the per-petrators is an endorsement of the acts.

Yes, as you note, the military and police can capture andprosecute the thugs, but the communities that include andtolerate the terrorists have an obligation to live up to Jewishand democratic ideals and take responsibility for the acts ofthose who live among them.Saul Rockman | San Francisco

Anti-Israel N.Y. Times?The Israeli officials are completely correct (“Israeli officialsescalate the war of words with N.Y. Times,” Dec. 23). TheNew York Times harbors a strong anti-Israel bias. Theirfavorite technique is to use a Jew as a mouthpiece for anti-Israeli propaganda. Roger Cohen and Thomas Friedman arehappy to cooperate with the rest of the op-ed staff that cannever find anything good to say about the Jewish State or itspolicies.Mike Spinrad | Greenbrae

J Street’s true missionSeveral letters in your Dec. 16 edition misrepresent what JStreet is about. J Street’s mission is to lobby for a viable Jewishfuture for Israel through the two-state solution of the Arab-Israeli dispute. Without this solution, the Palestinians living inthe unitary state will soon be a majority, they will unavoidably

� � �LETTERS, 16

Israel and Middle East politics seem to stir thepassions like few topics, often to the point offull-blown acrimony. The divide between Jewswho ardently defend Israel and those who con-demn it has never been wider. For that reason,in December 2010 the Jewish CommunityRelations Council launched the Year of CivilDiscourse, which recently wrapped an ambi-tious 12-month pilot program.As our cover story this week indicates, the

program succeeded in many ways. The Year of Civil Discourse brought togeth-

er rabbis from across the denominational andpolitical spectrum, Jewish community profes-sionals and congregants from area synagoguesto develop skills for engaging in respectful dia-logue, even when the subject matter triggersintense polarization.It was never the intention to have partic-

ipants alter or water down their politicalviews. That never could have worked. Yet byshowing a willingness to listen, participantsmanaged to build bridges across that polit-ical gulf where none seemed possiblebefore.There are important lessons here. For one,

thanks to the Year of Civil Discourse, Jewishcommunities now have a road map to navigatethe rough terrain of the Israel-Palestiniandebate.This matters, because American Jews can ill

afford the deep schism this debate had begunto open. True, we do not, and should not,march in lockstep. But our community isstronger when we understand and respect eachother, and we can do so only when we speakcivilly to one another instead of resorting toshouting and insults.It matters also because within Israel, espe-

cially recently, the debate over key domesticissues has grown exceptionally heated. The latest furor over Haredi harassment of

women and girls — in which women wereassaulted on public buses and an Orthodoxgirl was called a whore for not dressing mod-estly enough — shows Israelis, too, have muchto learn about civil discourse. Perhaps theymight take a page from the Bay Area’s newplaybook.We salute the Richard and Rhoda Goldman

Fund and Walter and Elyse Haas Fund for sub-sidizing the program, and the JCRC, NorthernCalifornia Board of Rabbis and S.F.-basedJewish Community Federation for putting ittogether.There is more work to be done. Workshop

participants volunteered, showing their will-ingness to engage. Now organizers must reachout to those who may not feel so eager for dia-logue. It won’t be easy, but we have to make theeffort. �

Year of CivilDiscourse a role model for respectfuldialogue

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letters

letters policyj. welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must not exceed200 words and must be dated and signed with currentaddress and daytime telephone number. j. also reservesthe right to edit letters. The deadline is noon Monday forany given week’s publication. E-mail letters [email protected] or mail to j., 225 Bush St., Suite 1480,S.F., CA 94104.


“Chad Gadya”— that old Aramaic fable sung at the endof the Passover seder — is often associated with a sense ofrelief that the long evening is finally over. It also helps thatit comes after four glasses of wine.The playful ditty traces a cascade of events beginning

with a baby goat being devouredby a cat. Each verse adds a link tothe chain reaction; a dog comesand bites the cat, a stick beats thedog, fire burns the stick, waterputs out the fire … and on it goes.Each successive verse gets longeruntil the fable ends in a finalkarmic stroke; God kills the DeathAngel. It’s part morality play, partRube Goldberg device.

It’s also a great metaphor, making its appearance in apainful contemporary poem by Yehuda Amichai:

An Arab shepherd is searching for his goat on Mount Zionand on the opposite mountain I am searching for my little boy.An Arab shepherd and a Jewish fatherboth in their temporary failure.Our voices meet abovethe Sultan’s Pool in the valley between us.Neither of us wants the boy or the goatTo get caught in the wheelsOf the terrible “Had Gadya” machine …

Amichai’s metaphor — the terrible Chad Gadya

machine — is pitch-perfect for the Arab-Israeli conflict,with violence generated and regenerated by self-right-eous rage, desperation and vengeance.The workings of this infernal machine were brought

home to me toward the end of a recent medical missionto a hospital in east Jerusalem. A graduate ofTel Aviv University Medical School, I am now apediatric cardiologist in the Bay Area, return-ing to Israel a few times each year to do volun-teer work in the occupied territories. I come tohelp because, due to travel restrictions, pedi-atric specialty care is relatively unavailable to Palestinianchildren.After a day of heart surgery in east Jerusalem, I went to

a west Jerusalem hospital to be with my cousin and hisfamily after the birth of his second grandchild. Afteradmiring the new baby and sharing a dinner of two large

vegetarian pizzas, I said goodbye and left. Passingthrough the hospital lobby, I stopped to read a largeposter depicting the former medical director of the emer-gency department, Dr. David Appelbaum.On Sept. 9, 2003, Dr. Appelbaum was one of seven peo-

ple killed in a suicide bombing at a café inJerusalem. Among the dead was his daughter,Nava. They had gone to the café for a fatherand daughter talk before Nava’s wedding,which was to have taken place the next day.Before the burial, her fiancé placed her wed-

ding ring on the cloth covering her shroud.And the terrible Chad Gadya machine grinds on …The very next day, back at the east Jerusalem hospital, I

was called to the pediatric intensive care unit to evaluatea quadriplegic 4-year-old Arab girl a month after she was

� � �STOP, 16

In the name ofpeace, ‘Chad Gadyamachine’ must stop

Dr. Michael Cooper lives in Lafayette. He graduatedfrom Tel Aviv University Medical School and is a clinical professor ofpediatric cardiology at UCSF Medical Center. He wrote “Foxes in theVineyard,” a work of historical fiction set in 1948 Palestine.

Guess what I found out? Campaign donations are crucialto spreading the pro-Israel message.No, I wasn’t reading Tom Friedman in the New York

Times. I was reading the Web pageof NORPAC, the pro-Israel politi-cal action committee in northernNew Jersey.According to NORPAC:

“Funding is often of criticalimportance to the ultimate suc-cess of a candidate’s campaign.”NORPAC regularly hostsfundraisers for politicians. InDecember alone, there were

events for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Sen.Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.).Of course, NORPAC doesn’t merely raise campaign

donations. Its other roles include “educating candidateson important issues, connecting like-minded members of

Congress on a particular project, and simply assuringthat a public position taken is appreciated within ourcommunity.”But let’s face it — nothing says “thank you” like a nice

check. We do ourselves no favors pretending otherwise.Let me say at this point that I agree with the many

Jewish groups and individuals who objected toFriedman’s column asserting that congressional supportfor Israel is “bought and paid for by the Israel lobby.” Inthe middle of a typical (for him) column on troublesomeanti-democratic trends in Israel, Friedman waded rightinto Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer territory, par-roting the two academic obsessives who insist thatCongress is blindly loyal to Israel because of the moneyand influence of the “Israel lobby.”Indeed, Walt welcomed Friedman into the fold, in a

blog post charging that “politicians are ignoring the willof the people [on Israel] because a well-organized minor-ity (comprised of some but not all American Jews andsome but not all Christian evangelicals) is making its sup-port conditional on support for its hardline views.”As many have pointed out, the phrase “bought and

paid for” dredges up a host of anti-Semitic connota-

tions, while hinting that America is working against itsown, and Israel’s, interests at the whims of a powerfulminority.Friedman, who is Jewish, later admitted he misfired;

indeed, while he is often critical of Israel, it is from a solidLeft-Labor perspective any Israeli would recognize. I’mguessing that’s what worried his critics, even beyond theodiousness of the phrase. Friedman may be tough onIsrael, but at least he spoke within the pro-Israel spec-trum. With “bought and paid for,” he jumped the shark.There are other signs that the notion of an all-power-

ful “Israel lobby” is crossing over from the fringe to the � � �GIVE, 16

It’s smart, not sleazy, to put money where your heart is

Andrew Silow-Carroll is editor-in-chief of the NewJersey Jewish News. He blogs at www.njjewishnews.com/justASC.

Local voices welcomedJ. welcomes your local voice on timely Jewish issues and eventsof the day. Submissions will not be returned and are subject toediting or rejections. Approximate length: 750 words.

e-mail text, not attachments, to [email protected]

mail to J. the Jewish news weekly, 225 Bush St., #1480, San Francisco, CA 94104

opinions

photo | apa images/rex features

An Israeli border officer confronts a Palestinian man after he reportedly tried to disruptrepairs being made to a security barrier in the West Bank last month.

localvoice

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viewsStop the machine of rage� � � from 15paralyzed by a gunshot wound to the neck. Asil Arara had been playing in afield near her home in Anata, not far from the separation wall and the Israelisettlement of Anatot on Oct. 25, 2011.The Palestinian village of Anata has experienced escalating violence; about

a month before Asil was shot, men and women of the village were beaten byIsraeli settlers with clubs and pistol butts when they attempted to cultivatetheir land. And now this — a quadriplegic 4-year-old girl who will requirecomplete and total care every day of her life. The tragedies of Dr. Appelbaum, his daughter, and Asil underscore the

devastating workings of the Chad Gadya machine on both sides — the grind-ing machinery of an occupation that many Israelis believe must end.This is not a leftist or defeatist position. This is a practical position — one

that’s been promoted by such committed Zionists as David Ben-Gurion,Yitzhak Rabin, Ami Ayalon and Avraham Shalom.Ayalon and Shalom are both former directors of the Israeli security service,

the Shin Bet. These men and thousands of Israelis like them see that it’s impos-sible for Israeli democracy to survive while trying to ingest and administer theoccupied territories. To quote Shalom, “We must once and for all admit thereis another side, that it has feelings, that it is suffering and that we are behavingdisgracefully ... this entire behavior is the result of the occupation.” Isn’t it time to stop the terrible Chad Gadya machine? Isn’t it time for

peace? �

Give, but don’t apologize � � � from 15mainstream. In an essay for Foreign Policy, David Rothkopf posits “The 14biggest lies of 2011.” Here’s number 14: “I love Israel.”According to Rothkopf, “Everybody in U.S. politics says it. Most of those

who say it however, mean, ‘I want American Jews to think I love Israelenough to vote for me and give me money.’ ”Like Friedman, Rothkopf touches on a truth: Politicians court pro-Israel

donors. It is also true, as Rothkopf writes, that politicians sometimes over-state their degree of support, especially when it comes to things like movingthe U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.But there is little evidence that U.S. politicians are insincere in their sup-

port for Israel, or that U.S. policy on Israel would turn on a dime if not forJewish money.As JTA’s Ron Kampeas points out, not only is Congress inclined to support

Israel even without the influence of AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups, butthe pro-Israel lobby has occasionally lost influence over legislators who actu-ally are more hawkish on Israel than some Jewish groups.The truth is, the pro-Israel lobby is successful not just because Jews are

enthusiastic campaign contributors (which they are), but because U.S. votersare inclined to take Israel’s side in most disputes — and for good reason.AIPAC harnesses this goodwill across party lines.The wide support that Israel enjoys should not be taken for granted. That’s

where money comes in. One of the singular accomplishments of the Jewishcommunity over the past half-century was building an influential nationalconstituency on behalf of our own interests as a minority. Elderly Jews stillremember an era when Jewish leaders were powerless to stop the annihila-tion of a vast Jewish community.The right response to Friedman is to remind readers of the popularity of

Israel and all that it shares with the United States as a Western democracy. Weshould assert our right to engage legally and effectively in influencingWashington. And we should celebrate the diversity of views within the Jewishcommunity. Critics of the “Israel lobby” like to portray support for Israelipolicies as monolithic. We can counter this by pointing out and welcomingthe range of pro-Israel views.The wrong response is to deny the effectiveness of — or need for — organ-

ized pro-Israel donors. NORPAC does just that, in a letter it wrote to the NewYork Times and distributed to supporters. “Support for the Jewish homelandspeaks to the heart of the American people and their representatives,” theywrite. “It’s not the money, stupid, it’s the issue.”But it’s a little bit about the money — otherwise, why would we need pro-

Israel PACs?We need not apologize for the influence we have gained using the tools

available to us and to any group that would care to pick them up. �

letters � � � from 14win their civil rights and the unitary state inits entirety will become Palestine. J Streetworks for Israel’s truest interests anddeserves the support of the Jewish commu-nity.Alexandre Chorin | Berkeley

A call for re-educationJacob Lewis (“Cal Jewish groups right todeny J Street U admission,” Dec. 23)defends the JSU by arguing that democracywas protected by their rejection of J StreetU “because the group’s request for admis-sion was an attempt by a small group ofstudents to unfairly represent their margin-al agenda.”Huh? Democracy means including a

multitude of voices and views, not banningthose with whom you disagree. If J Street Uis, in fact, “a small group,” then they will beout-voted by the majority. That’s howdemocracy is supposed to work. I urge Mr.Lewis and his peers to reconsider and totake a political science course.Diane Wolf | Berkeley

Cowardly, stupid orboth?Tom Friedman’s hateful, malicious anddefamatory comments regarding Congressand the “Israel lobby” (“Israeli officialsescalate the war of words with N.Y. Times,”Dec. 23) represent exactly how Obamafeels: Friedman is Obama’s champion,buddy and — even worse — one of hisMiddle East advisers (“Obama to ReformJews: Israel support ‘is a fact,’ ” Dec. 23).Accordingly, Friedman’s attacks should

be grouped with the wretchedly anti-Israelremarks made in the last few weeks byPanetta, Clinton and Ambassador Gutman.Nevertheless, Obama has no trouble askingthe same “Israel lobby” for support.Stunningly, most of these folks (and I amnot referring to J Streeters and others whowork against Israel) — still, after four yearsof hostility to Israel — are giving it to him.What kind of people are we? Is it cow-

ardice, abject stupidity, or both?Tod Zuickerman | San Francisco

Light on intermarriageThank you, Sue Fishkoff, for opening thewindow a little wider on the phenomenonof intermarriage (“My family tree is loadedwith tinsel,” Dec. 16). It has been with us along time but many people felt it that it hasto be swept under the rug.Even today too many try to shame those

who marry outside the faith. Whateverfaith. Some are afraid that Judaism will beso watered down that it will die.Over many centuries, we have shown

that this is not so. To the dismay of some,Jews will not disappear. Thank you forbringing us more light during this season ofFestival of Lights.Miriam Goodley | Oakland

Embracing interfaithMany thanks to Sue Fishkoff for her col-umn (“My family tree is loaded with tin-sel,” Dec. 16). As Sue made so clear, relationships and

families are complicated … get over it.With so many Jews marrying non-Jews,family events, holidays, practices andbeliefs aren’t simple. At the end of theday, I really hope that we can focus moreon mutual understanding, respect, com-passion and love among those of differ-ent faiths — in a way that we are secure inour identities, beliefs and practices yetopen to treating others as we wish to betreated.I am a daily Mass kind of Catholic,

married to an active and engaged Jew. Ihappily belong to Temple Beth Am in LosAltos and am also an engaged member ofthe Catholic community at Stanford.I’m pleased and proud to say that there

were more Jesuit priests than rabbis at myson’s bar mitzvah — where no oneexpressed more joy and kicked up herheels more than my devoutly IrishCatholic mother.Thanks for the column and for under-

standing the dynamics of today’s inter-faith relationships. As my wife and Ialways say: “It’s all about the love … therest are details.”Thomas G. Plante | Santa Clara

Rambler’s secretweaponI was delighted to read in EdmonRodman’s article (“License to Kvell,” Dec.23) that Sol Weinstein’s parodies of IanFleming’s 007, reincarnated as the Jewishsecret agent Israel Bond, are beingreprinted. These satires were incrediblyfunny, especially to a young naive Jewishcollege student (me) who was taken upwith the whole James Bond shtick of thatera.But I fear that some of the original

humor may prove a bit opaque toyounger folks. For example, in“Loxfinger” I recall that Oy-Oy-Sevenwas given instructions to drive up fromNew York City to a big Catskills resort(e.g., Grossinger’s; long gone from theformer “Hebrew Himalayas”). He couldhave made the trip in under 90 minutes ifhe rented a powerful Rocket 88(Oldsmobile: also vanished), but insteadchose a slow, underpowered and neb-bishy Rambler (American Motors: alsolong gone). Why? Because the Rambler had one

well-advertised feature that Olds lacked:a front seat could tilt back to form a bed,thereby assisting our hero’s romanceswith any grateful lady-in-distress he res-cues from the roadside by fixing her flattire (no cellphones, bucket seats or steel-belted radials in those days, either).Ron Oremland | Brisbane


I



In 2001, Arna Shefrin took a leave from her academicwork running clinical research trials because of a repeti-tive-strain injury. Following instructions to stay away fromthe computer for a while, the Menlo Park resident setabout finding other ways to keep her hands busy.Ten years later, her needlepoint work is celebrated for its

rich use of color and attention to detail. Her crafts are ondisplay at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, andher products — many of them Jewish ritual objects — are

sold at the Palo Alto Art Center and several stores.“I always loved working with my hands,” says Shefrin.

“But needlepoint really opened the door for me to a wholeworld of creativity.”Shefrin is one of a handful of Bay Area women featured

in “Jewish Threads: A Hands-On Guide to StitchingSpiritual Intention into Jewish Fabric Crafts.” The 266-page book, by Diana Drew with Robert Grayson, is theresult of an international call for submissions of Jewishfabric work. It includes instructions and color photosshowing elaborate quilts, wall hangings, chuppahs, hand-stitched matzah covers, woven tallit bags and more. Drew spent more than a year choosing from a range of

projects from the U.S. and Israel, focusing on work that fitthe book’s theme of exploring the ways artisans imbuetheir work with spirituality.At the heart of the book lie the artists’ stories: how they

came to fabric crafts, what the medium has come to meanto them, and the intersections among their art, communi-ty and Jewish identity.One of those stories is from the Quilting Group with No

Name, a six-member collective based in Berkeley. Thewomen come together for projects ranging from a chup-pah (for one member’s daughter’s wedding) to a tallit (foranother member’s daughter’s bat mitzvah) to numerousquilts, many of which they donate to Jewish nonprofits tobe raffled off in fundraisers. Most of the members belongto Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley.

They take particular pride in two quiltsthey made as a memorial project. ShalvaSorani, a fellow Netivot Shalom member,died in 2005, leaving behind two youngdaughters. Her friends gathered her clothingwith the intention of making something forher children, but didn’t follow through.About a year later, one friend dropped off thebag full of clothes with the quilting group.Some of the group members had known

Sorani, though none knew her well. Theywere overwhelmed by the importanceof what they were trying to create.Eventually, the group decided to maketwo quilts, one for each of her daugh-ters, that were similar but not identical.They talked to Sorani’s mother, andlearned that each night when Soraniput the girls to bed, she would singShlomo Carlebach’s “Angel Song.”They embroidered the Hebrew lyricsin a circle on the edges of each quilt. After months of work, they present-

ed the quilts to the girls in a heartfeltceremony, with music and food andthose closest to Sorani all in atten-dance.“It’s about the connections we make,

to hiddur mitzvah [the beautificationof the mitzvah], and to each other,”says Rivka Greenberg, a foundingmember of the quilting group. “Theway we work with each other, we haveto give and take. We research things,discuss what we might do, let an ideapercolate for a while and then come

back to it. It’s incredibly supportive.” Member Claire Sherman also contributed three other

individual pieces to the book: a wall hanging for Sukkot, ababy quilt and afikomen envelopes for Passover. Sherman, who worked as a sculptor for many years

before picking up quilting six years ago, says she particu-larly enjoys making baby quilts. “I like putting the baby’sname on it both in Hebrew and English,” she explains. Sheknew she was beginning to take quilting seriously when, afew years ago, she bought a beautiful fabric with Hebrewletters on it for a baby quilt, even though no one she knewwas pregnant.Luckily, she says, “I was on the rabbi search committee

at Netivot Shalom. In the next few months we hiredMenachem Creditor, and his wife happened to be eightmonths pregnant at the time.” The rabbi’s daughter wasthe lucky recipient of Sherman’s next quilt. For Shefrin, there’s something beautiful about using

needlepoint to create attractive and useful objects such askippahs and tallit bags. “Much of the time when you think‘needlepoint,’ it’s just proverbs, a bowl of fruit, somethingthat you frame,” she says. “If I’m going to spend 400 hours

on something, I want it to be meaningful.”Shefrin says that, though she doesn’t belong to a formal

group, even going it alone as an artisan has brought hercloser to others. After she created an incredibly detailedtallit bag for her husband, the artist says other people ather synagogue, Palo Alto’s Congregation Kol Emeth,began reaching out.“People would see him carrying it and say, ‘Who made

your bag?” recounts Shefrin. “And we had been membersa long time by that point, but I really hadn’t met manypeople. So that was wonderful, that it became a way for meto meet members.”The artist added that, as the book came together, it was

interesting to see how many women came from profes-sional backgrounds and had stumbled upon fabric craftsas a different outlet for their creative energy. Shefrin went

back to work after her injury healed, but she’s also takingclasses in textile design and clothing construction. Shecredits needlepoint with having opened her eyes to a hostof new passions. “Many of these women are very well-respected academ-

ics and professionals, so these crafts are by no means a fall-back — it’s an important part of our lives,” she says. “We’repart of a very longstanding Jewish tradition. It’s a beauti-ful thing.” �

Book connectsthreads of spiritualmeaning in fabric arts

The Quilting Group with No Name made two quilts in memory of an Oakland woman who died.

Tallit bag by Arna Shefrin depicts Jerusalem

Baby quilt by Claire Sherman

“Jewish Threads: A Hands-On Guide to Stitching Spiritual Intention into JewishFabric Crafts” by Diana Drew with Robert Grayson

(266 pages, Jewish Lights Publishing, $19.99)


the arts

naomi pfeffermanl.a. jewish journal

Stieg Larsson, the Swedish author of theinternational best-selling “Millennium”series, died in 2004 at age 50 of a heartattack, before the publication of hiscrime thrillers made him one of themost famous writers of the decade. Theyhave sold tens of millions of copiesworldwide, spawned three Swedish filmsand now Hollywood’s “The Girl with theDragon Tattoo.”But amid all this “Stieg industry,” as

the late author’s life partner, EvaGabrielsson, put it, a crucial elementoften has been overlooked: just howmuch Larsson embedded in his novels afundamental passion of his life — hiscrusade against neo-Nazism and violentfar-right movements, which he viewedas anathema to Sweden and to all mod-ern society.“Those who see Stieg solely as an

author of crime fiction have never trulyknown him,” Gabrielsson writes in her2011 memoir, “‘There Are Things IWant You to Know’ About Stieg Larssonand Me.” The Millennium trilogy “is an allegory of the individ-

ual’s eternal fight for justice and morality, the values forwhich Stieg Larsson fought until the day he died,” Marie-Francoise Colombani wrote in the foreword toGabrielsson’s book.An abiding part of Larsson’s mission was researching

and exposing Sweden’s Nazi past and, more urgently, theresurgence of violent racist groups in Scandinavia in the1980s and ’90s, during which time Larsson wrote for theanti-racist British magazine Searchlight and, in 1995, co-founded a Swedish equivalent, Expo. For those efforts,Larsson and Gabrielsson — an activist in her own right —received death threats and bullets in the mail.“Stieg was absolutely the real deal — he was an expert on

the neo-Nazi movement in Europe, and particularly inScandinavia,” said Marilyn Mayo, co-director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. “We relied onhis information in terms of tracking the movement inEurope — its growth, activism and various players. And weoften shared information on the overlap between the neo-Nazi movement in Europe and the United States.”Nazis and anti-Semites lurk throughout Larsson’s trilogy,

which includes “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “TheGirl Who Played with Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked theHornet’s Nest.” “Tattoo,” still playing in several Bay Area theaters, intro-

duces the odd duo of Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading jour-nalist and co-founder of a magazine called Millennium,and Lisbeth Salander, a pierced, punk, antisocial comput-er hacker, who team up to solve a decades-old mysteryinvolving the disappearance of a teenage girl.Her uncle, industrialist Henrik Vanger, hires Blomkvist

to find his niece, revealing early on that his family hasplenty of racist skeletons in the closet. One of them isHenrik’s brother, Richard, “a fanatical nationalist and anti-Semite … [who] joined the Swedish National SocialistFreedom League, one of the first Nazi groups in Sweden.”Spoiler alert: There’s also a serial killer whose targets turn

out to have been Jewish women. In “The Girl Who Playedwith Fire,” the chief villain is not only a sex-trafficker butalso a Jew-hater, who uses as his alias the name of aSwedish Nazi, Karl Axel Bodin — a real historical figurewho traveled to occupied Norway during the war to jointhe Waffen SS.Gabrielsson, reached at the Stockholm apartment she

shared with Larsson, was soft-spokenand straightforward during a phoneinterview.“What you see in the first Millennium

book is what a Nazi past does to a fami-ly, and to its family members: the kind ofstructures that are built up, based onwho has the power,” she said.Blomkvist and Salander discover a

mysterious list of names the teenagerwrote in her journal. When they figureout that the names refer to Jewish vic-tims, they are on the path of a Nazi seri-al killer.“It was a natural thing for Stieg to

make them Jewish,” Gabrielsson said.“This is a killer who is acting for polit-ical reasons, within the Nazi ideology,so he is actually committing politicalmurders. … The first book shows theeffects of an ideology on a family andits women.”In a way, she said, Larsson was com-

menting on current events: “It took all ofthe 1980s and ’90s until the Swedishpolice, prosecutors and politiciansunderstood that the extreme right winghere were not criminals in the ‘normal’sense, but were committing criminal acts

because of a political ideology,” she said. In 1991, Larsson published “Right Wing Extremism”

with Anna-Lena Lodenius, an overview on the subject,Gabrielsson said. He was already an expert on each group’spolitical affiliations, the members’ accomplices, milieusthey frequented and how the then-flourishing white-power music industry financed extremist groups through-out the world.Why did Larsson persevere with his work, despite the

danger?“I trace it back to something personal,” Gabrielsson

said. Larsson’s beloved maternal grandfather, Severin, whohad helped raise Stieg, was an anti-Nazi activist who hadbeen imprisoned in a little-known concentration camp innorthern Sweden, set up to appease the Nazis.“The stories of these prisoners until recently have been

wrapped up in a blanket of silence,” Gabrielsson said. “Itwasn’t until five or six years ago that a film was madeabout these camps, and afterward researchers began toexplore Sweden’s true past during the second world war.For Stieg, his work was the defense of the man whobrought him up.” �

Stieg Larsson’s other calling: crusader against neo-Nazis

photo | ap/sony/columbia pictures/merrick morton

Rooney Mara (left) and Yorick van Wageningen in a scene from “The Girlwith the Dragon Tattoo”

Beastie Boys to joinRock Hall of FameThe Beastie Boys — the pioneering hip-hop group made up of Mike D (MichaelDiamond), MCA (Adam Yauch) and Ad-

Rock (Adam Horowitz) — are going to beinducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ofFame.The group will be among the class of

2012 that includes the Red Hot ChiliPeppers, Donovan and Guns N’ Roses.

The Beastie Boys, creators of hits such as“Fight for Your Right (To Party),” “NoSleep ’Til Brooklyn” and “Sabotage,” havereleased 12 albums that have sold morethan 40 million copies worldwide.The ceremony will be held in April at the

Hall of Fame in Cleveland. — jta

Chai Five goes klez inRedwood CityThe Peninsula-based group Chai Five, withvocalist Emily Pelc, will perform a smor-gasbord of Jewish music 8:30 p.m. Jan. 21at Angelica’s Bistro in Redwood City. The performance, presented by Redwood

Symphony, will in-clude a mix of modernklezmer, Ladino and Eastern European

Jew i sh fo lksongs, and the-atre music byboth Germancomposer KurtWe i l l a n dA b r a h a mGo l d f a d e n ,often called thefather of mod-ern Jewish the-atre. Tickets are$20 in advanceand $25 at the door. Angelica’s Bistro is located at 863 Main

St., Redwood City. For more informationcall (650 365-3226 or visit www.angelicas-bistro.com. �

Emily Pelc


Meat loaf. Do those wordsconjure up any fond memo-ries of a well-loved recipe?

For many folks, meat loafis family food, and not some-thing special for company ora Shabbat dinner. But meatloaf is so good that itdeserves a chance to shine.Here are two untraditionalmeat loaf recipes based onsome traditional Jewish flavors.

The Stuffed Cabbage Meat Loaf start-ed with memories of my Ashkenazi

grandmother’s meat loafand her stuffed cabbage. Inher honor, the meat loaf hasa hard-boiled egg core, acabbage wrapping, and asweet and sour tomato sauceto top it off. This is a goodrecipe to include low-fatground beef, since the cab-bage keeps the meat loafmoist.

The Spanish Olive Meat Loaf featuresSephardic seasonings and pimento-stuffed olives.

Jewish flavors enhancean American favorite:the beloved meat loaf

Faith Kramer is a Bay Area food writer. Her columns alternate with those of Louise Fiszer. Sheblogs at www.clickblogappetit.com. Contact her at [email protected].

Spanish Olive Meat LoafServes 6

2 Tbs. oil plus additional for greasing pan

1⁄2 cup chopped red onion4 tsp. minced garlic2 cups chopped kale or chard1⁄4 tsp. red pepper flakes1 tsp. smoked paprika1⁄4 tsp. ground cumin1⁄4 tsp. salt

1⁄4 tsp. ground black pepper1 lb. ground beef2 Tbs. tomato paste2 eggs, beaten1⁄2 cup bread crumbs10 queen-size, pimento-stuffed green olives, cut into fourths

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 Tbs. oil in pan. Sauté onions and garlic untillightly browned. Add kale, red pepper, paprika, cumin, salt and black pepper.Sauté until cooked.

Oil an 81⁄2x41⁄2-inch loaf pan. Combine kale mixture with beef, tomato paste,eggs, bread crumbs and olives. Put into loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1hour until firm to the touch and cooked through. Let sit 20 minutes beforeserving.

Stuffed Cabbage Meat LoafServes 6-8

6 large, green cabbage leavesoil spray11⁄4 lbs. ground beef1 cup matzah meal1 egg, beaten14 oz. can diced tomatoes with liquid

1⁄2 cup finely chopped onions2 tsp. minced garlic1⁄4 tsp. salt1⁄4 tsp. ground black pepper1⁄8 tsp. ground dried oregano1⁄8 tsp. paprika 2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Immerse leaves in pot of boiling water, cover, reduceheat to a simmer and cook 4-5 minutes until the leaves are pliable. Drain. Spray largebaking dish with the oil spray. Place 2 largest cabbage leaves stem end to stem endin the center of the baking dish. Set aside.

Combine meat, matzah meal, beaten egg, tomatoes with liquid, onions, garlic,salt, pepper, oregano and paprika. Mound half into an 8x4-inch loaf shape in themiddle of the 2 cabbage leaves. Press hard-boiled eggs into loaf end to end. Moundremaining meat on top. Drape 2-3 cabbage leaves over top of meat loaf, filling ingaps with remaining leaves. Fold up cabbage leaves from underneath to enclose.Spray top with oil spray.

Bake, spraying cabbage with oil if it begins to dry out or get too brown, for 11⁄2 to13⁄4 hours, until firm to the touch and cooked through. Let sit 20 minutes before serv-ing. Serve with sauce (below).

Sweet and Sour Sauce: Plump 1⁄2 cup raisins in hot water for 20 minutes. Drain. Ina small pan, combine raisins with 15 oz. can tomato sauce, 1 Tbs. brown sugar, 1⁄4 tsp.dried ground ginger, 1⁄8 tsp. salt, 1⁄8 tsp. ground black pepper and 1⁄4 cup apple cidervinegar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Taste, adding sugar or vine-gar as needed.


Tdan pine | j. staff

The Year of Civil Discourse officially ended Dec. 13. Sohow civil was it? Just ask Dan Magid, a congregant atCongregation Beth El in Berkeley.Before his Reform synagogue participated in a civil dis-

course training sponsored by the Jewish CommunityRelations Council and other Jewish organizations, thesubject of Israel was so contentious, it was essentially“taken off the table,” Magid said.That was a common dynamic across much of the Bay

Area Jewish community. Incidents such as the SanFrancisco Jewish Film Festival’s 2009 screening of the film“Rachel,” and the subsequent uproar over the booking,exposed an undercurrent of deep division among BayArea Jews when it came to Israel.This was certainly the case at Magid’s

synagogue.“Some years ago we had an

event,” Magid said, going on todescribe a Beth El panel thatincluded four “refuseniks,” orIsraeli soldiers who had refusedto serve in the West Bank andGaza. “There were some heatedexchanges. We lost members.Then we decided we’re just notgoing to talk about Israel.”That experience helped

spur Beth El congregantsto sign up for civil dis-course training in 2011. The Year of Civil

Discourse was fundedby the Richard andRhoda Goldman Fund,the Jewish CommunityEndowment Fund andthe Walter and Elise HaasFund, and sponsored by theJCRC and the S.F.-based JewishCommunity Federation in partnership withthe Northern California Board of Rabbis.The aim of the initiative: to lower the

debate on Israel from hard boil to manageable sim-mer.Close to 1,000 people participated in the various

program components, which included a group forrabbis and another to train Jewish professionals. But theheart of it was the grassroots training done at four BayArea synagogues over the course of 2011.Those four synagogues, each of which had experi-

enced turmoil over Israel-related topics, signed up acohort of at least 25 congregants from across the politicalspectrum.Pre-program surveys revealed more than 50 percent of

those participating felt marginalized in the Jewish com-munity because of their views. Those views ranged fromholding Israel responsible for the breakdown of peacetalks and demanding an end to Israel’s presence inPalestinian territories, to those who place Israel’s securityneeds above all else and/or distrust the Palestinians.In that same survey, 47 percent felt unsafe asking ques-

tions on Israeli-Palestinian subjects in a Jewish institution.Through Project Reconnections, the JCRC program

that took the lead on the sessions, congregants engaged ina series of workshops and exercises. Those included facil-itated discussions about the conflict, Jewish text studyand plenty of old-fashioned, one-on-one dialoguebetween people who disagreed about Israel.Through the process, participants learned to talk to

each other. Or more importantly, they learned to listen.Magid, an ardent Israel supporter, says he and other

training program participants can now talk with congre-gants who hold diametrically opposing views, because

they learned to develop a big-picture attitude.“The community is very important,” Magid said, “and

it’s not worth tearing up over these kinds of things. Ifpeople have positions I find beyond the pale, that’s OK.”Kendra Froshman, a congregant at San Francisco’s

Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, came to the program with avery different set of opinions. She had spent time in thePalestinian territories, where she said she saw“Palestinians suffering under the occupation.” She was initially uneasy about the Year of Civil

Discourse because it was sponsored by JCRC, whichhelped write new federation guidelines for funding Israel-

related programs.Yet she overcame her reservations, and took part.“I feel it’s important as a citizen and a Jew to share the

stories and end the occupation,” Froshman said. “I wasinterested in participating in dialogue at Sha’ar Zahav tobuild stronger relationships and also so people would getto know a young person who is Jewish and has anti-occu-pation politics.”For Beth El president Norm Frankel, the monthly civil

discourse training he, Magid and 28 other members oftheir congregation received over half a year proved notonly helpful, but transformative.“There were moments in every session with [someone]

you had categorized as ill-informed or extrem-ist,” Frankel said, ”and suddenly you’re talk-ing to them, listening to them, findingplaces you actually agree on, as opposed toonly finding them wrong. It was a break-through.” Though organizers have more follow-up

analysis to do, they agree that the Year ofCivil Discourse was a success, so much sothat other Jewish communities around the

country have inquired about copyingthe Bay Area model in their own cities.Abby Michelson Porth, the JCRC’sassociate director and organizer ofthe Year of Civil Discourse,shared the project with JCRC’sparent organization, theJewish Council for PublicAffairs, and she also went toWashington, D.C., to facili-tate civil discourse trainingfor colleagues from aroundthe country.“We knew we’d achieve suc-

cess if individuals said this gavethem a sense that the Jewish commu-

nity was welcoming and inclusive of vari-ous ideas,” she said. “In the beginning, wewanted people to have increased knowl-edge and sensitivity to discuss issues.”According to follow-up surveys, 92 per-

cent of participants reported they achievedexactly that.

“The data show [participants] by their own reportswere able to engage with people of differing views far

better than before,” said Rachel Eryn Kalish, a conflict res-olution expert who led all sessions. “When you get under-neath the noise and get to core values, people find thattheir morals and caring are far more in common.”Porth also said that when controversy over Israel exists

within a Jewish institution, it’s often because people don’thave the skills to discuss the subject.“The purpose was not to have people check their opin-

ions at the door,” Porth added. “We wanted people tobring their passionately held views into the room, andgive them the skills to have meaningful conversationsabout Israel. There was no political litmus test. The insti-tutions all said they desperately needed this programbecause things had reached an untenable point.”Congregation Beth Jacob in Redwood City was a typical

The end of rudeDid the Year of Civil Discourse make it easier to talk about Israel?

they learned to develop a big-picture attitude.Those four synagogues, each of which had experiencedturmoil over Israel-related topics, signed up a cohort of atleast 25 congregants from across the political spectrum.


A

case. The spectrum of political opinion on Israel rangedfrom the far left to the far right, said Rabbi NathanielEzray, and though tensions rarely resulted in confronta-tions, the anger did bubble up.“Below the surface, there was a feeling that the commu-

nity propagated a more right-leaning point of view,”Ezray said. “People who leaned to the left felt they werenot listened to; people on the right felt Israel wasbesieged. A core principal for me as a rabbi is there need-ed to be a lot more room for people to listen to eachother.”Barbara Sommer, 59, is an Atherton physician who

has been a Beth Jacob congregant for 15 years. She con-siders herself strongly pro-Israel, active with AIPAC andother like-minded organizations.Sommer also oversees the Conservative congregation’s

Israel Action Committee, which has more than 100members. She frequently sent to committee membersemails, many of them touting Israel and spotlighting itssecurity concerns.Little did she know she was infuriating congregants

who took a more critical view toward Israel and its poli-cies toward the Palestinians. “I learned from the rabbi that there was a lot of dis-

sention,” she said, “in that not all ideas were wellreceived. Some found their views were not well-accept-ed, particularly people who felt Israel is not going in theright direction.”One of those was Miriam Zimmerman, 65, a San

Mateo mediator and retired college professor who hasparticipated in Jewish-Muslim dialogue groups and hasbeen critical of some Israeli policies.By participating in the Year of Civil Discourse pro-

gram, she learned to identify her “triggers,” as Kalishcalled them.“What really triggers me are negative, judgmental

statements about Palestinians that contradict what Iknow about them,” Zimmerman said. “They don’t allhate us. There are moderates, there are friendships, thereare grassroots organizations in Israel that promotepeace, composed of both Jews and Palestinians.”She and Sommer were part of the Beth Jacob cohort.

Together in the YCD sessions they learned to bridge theemotional gap, if not the political gap, between them.“During the training, I enjoyed being able to articulate

a very important perspective: the Palestinian voice,”Zimmerman said. “Going back to the process of ourgroup, maybe there will be a ripple effect as we practicemanaging our triggers, and not refuting people for theirbeliefs.”Going into the sessions, participants were warned by

the leader, Kalish, that many people take a my-way-or-the-highway approach to arguing about Israel — that amiddle ground, for them, does not exist.“I think I may have been one of those people,” said

Sommer. “What the [program] did was make me hearanother vantage point, while understanding that peoplewith a different point of view may also have great knowl-edge of the history of Israel. I can talk to them, see theirpoint of view and still be faithful to mine.”

At Sha’ar Zahav in San Francisco, Israel had been too hota topic to handle. Congregation president Karen Schillerpointed to an in-house survey that showed the spectrumran from AIPAC supporters to those she described as “tothe left of Jewish Voice for Peace.”When Sha’ar Zahav Rabbi Camille Angel sent an email

to her congregation defending Israel after the March 2010Gaza flotilla incident, during which nine Turks died,many members pushed back, not wanting their rabbistanding up for Israel. That led to a town hall meeting in July 2010, attended

by more than 60 congregants and moderated by Kalish.At times, the dialogue devolved into blame and invec-

tive. That was when Schiller realized her synagogue need-ed something like the Year of Civil Discourse training.“It’s not that people were at each others’ throats,” she

said. “It was that they didn’t feel comfortable. People justweren’t talking. Some members felt the synagogue doesn’trepresent [them] because the only things that can be saidabout Israel-Palestine are the mainstream positions.”

She and 24 other congregants signed up for the civildiscourse training in 2011. Over eight sessions, the cohortengaged in small-group discussion and one-on-one dia-logue. In the beginning, Israel was not discussed, butgradually the focus turned to hot-button topics.“The focus was about learning,” Schiller recalled.

“People were looking for intense arguments, andwhat they were getting was civil discourse. We mighthave disagreed, but I learned it wasn’t so scary to dis-agree, and you could still like the person and have agreat conversation.”Froshman, 30, who came into the program highly crit-

ical of Israel, learned to identify and neutralize triggersthat set her off. A big one for her was a phrase like “It’s allthe Arabs’ fault.”Meanwhile, at Beth El in Berkeley, Rabbi Yoel Kahn

noticed a difference after the cohort completed its train-ing.“My predecessor [Rabbi Ferenc Raj] said the two things

we don’t talk about here are God and Israel,” Kahnremembered with a laugh. “There was historically incivil-ity underneath the surface.”Through the YCD workshops, Kahn believes Beth El

participants learned to “overcome some of their adrena-lin response.”“A few things changed for people,” Kahn said. “One is

being open to the possibility that the person I disagreewith might have some truth to offer, that I don’t have anexclusive claim on the truth. So it’s a spiritual movement,to a place where one can say, ‘I believe I’m right and I canhear what you have to offer.’ Instead of saying, ‘You arewrong,’ say ‘Tell me more.’ ”Kalish said it’s impossible to have a tug-of-war “if you

let go of your end of the rope. Letting go does not meanletting go of your values, your facts, beliefs or that there’sno room for bringing those into the conversation. If youscream ‘You’re an idiot,’ and I say ‘Tell me what it is thatmakes you feel this way,’ you’re going to run out of steampretty fast.”Magid still struggles with some of his triggers, espe-

cially when other Jews question Israel’s right to exist orcall it an apartheid state. But, he added, “After the train-ing, I could talk to [people who espouse those opinions]and express my thoughts.”Frankel said the civil discourse shouldn’t end with the

conclusion of the training. He and others began aprocess of community-based organizing and what hecalls a listening campaign to “broaden this experience toengage more people in the process of listening to eachother.”He also said the synagogue can now plan Israel-related

programming to encourage more in-depth discussionsabout Israel and the Middle East.At Beth Jacob, Ezray made civil discourse the topic

of one of his High Holy Day sermons three monthsago.At Sha’ar Zahav, Schiller said cohort members now

want to share what they learned, and teach others in thecongregation about civil discourse.Moreover, she noted that Israel programming has

returned to Sha’ar Zahav, with a panel of congregantshaving recently discussed members’ varied relationshipswith Israel.Some of them will undergo further training from the

Jewish Dialogue Group, a Philadelphia-based organiza-tion that also trains people in leading facilitated discus-sions on Israel and the Palestinians.“My hope is that out of this we go from having a year

of civil discourse to having a community of civil dis-course,” Schiller said. “If we come from a place of civilityrather than fear and demanding, we can have a goodeffect.”That’s music to the organizers’ ears.The year may be up, but for Kalish, the quest for civil

discourse does not end. Difficult, if not impossible, asit may be to bridge the political gap, she believes peo-ple can learn the skills necessary to have constructivedialogue.The alternative, she feels, is much too destructive.“My mantra is ‘I trust Jewish morality,’ ” Kalish said,

“and I know if we can keep working on this, we can trulybe a model for a world deeply fractured and polarized. Ittakes some work, but it takes even more work for theclean-up costs.” �

Dan Magid Rabbi Nathaniel Ezray

Norm Frankel Karen Schiller

Kendra Froshman Barbara Sommer

.

Michelle Austreich Daughter of Ilana and Val Austreich, Saturday, Jan. 7 atCongregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills.

Lucy Cheskin Daughter of Judith Goldkrand, Saturday, Jan. 7 at Congregation KolEmeth in Palo Alto.

Lauren Hayat Daughter of Brigitte and Michael Hayat, Saturday, Dec. 17 atPeninsula Sinai Congregation in Foster City.

Sophia Jacob Daughter of Jean and Abshalom Jacob, Saturday, Jan. 7 atCongregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael.

Eliana Kaplan Daughter of Nancy Fischbein and Michael Kaplan, Saturday, Jan. 7 atCongregation Etz Chayim in Palo Alto.

Adam Kertz Son of Minnie Loo and Mark Kertz, Saturday, Jan. 7 at Peninsula SinaiCongregation in Foster City.

Brian LaFetra Son of Deborah and Bruce LaFetra, Saturday, Jan. 7 at CongregationBeth Am in Los Altos Hills.

Ariana Lissak Daughter of Susanne and Ron Lissak, Saturday, Jan. 7 atCongregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco.

Spencer Rosen Son of Julie and Jeffery Rosen, Saturday, Jan. 7 at CongregationEmanu-El in San Francisco.

Ariela Simon Daughter of Mary Cain Simon and Harlan Simon, Saturday, Jan. 7 atTemple Beth Abraham in Oakland.

Erica Spievack Daughter of Aya and David Spievack, Saturday, Jan. 7 at PeninsulaTemple Beth El in San Mateo.

Rachel Student Daughter of Jill and Steven Student, Saturday, Jan. 7 at TempleIsaiah in Lafayette.

Nick Webster Son of Lynda and Larry Webster, Saturday, Jan. 7 at CongregationB’nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek.


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New year’s resolution:Practice forgivenessand let go of sufferingI always look forward to the beginningof the new calendar year in January,because it feels like another chance ata fresh start. Falling just a few monthsafter the beginning of our Jewish ,year, it’s an opportunity torecommit to the goals I setfor myself during the YamimNoraim, our holy days. During the Jewish New

Year, we spend a lot of timetalking and thinking aboutthe notion of forgiveness.But it is in the Torah portionVayechi, which is the firstparshah of 2012, that thetheme of forgiveness is played out ingreat detail with the end of the story ofJoseph. Thus the theme of forgivenessspans both the Jewish and secular newyears, providing a wonderful frameworkfor both.The theme of forgiveness is a central

part of the Joseph novella, the chapterscovering Genesis 37-50. Thematically, itfeatures a riveting story of parentalfavoritism and sibling rivalry. In previ-ous weeks, we have read about how apampered, self-centered lad with granddreams comes to be so despised by hisolder brothers that they take him andcast him into a pit, only to decide, at theurging of one of the brothers, Judah, tosell him to a wandering band ofIshmaelites heading for Egypt. While Joseph could have spent the

rest of his days in Egypt a broken man,cursing his fate, losing his faith in Godand never being able to move forward,he instead transforms his circumstancesinto opportunities by showing concernfor his fellow prisoners and displayinghis talent for interpreting dreams. Evenbefore he ultimately is reunited with hisbrothers, Joseph becomes a model offorgiveness by not holding onto bitter-ness. Because he doesn’t spend his lifelamenting or wallowing in his fate, he isable to create a destiny that is greaterthan his circumstances. The purpose of forgiveness is ulti-

mately about our own well-being. M.Scott Peck writes: “The process of for-giveness — indeed, the chief reason forforgiveness — is selfish. The reason toforgive others is not for their own sake.They are not likely to know that theyneed to be forgiven. … The reason toforgive is for our own sake. For our own

health.”It is in Vayechi that we

come to the pivotal climaxof the Joseph story. It is themoment when Joseph’sbrothers bare their soulsbefore him. “His brotherswent to him themselves,flung themselves beforehim and said, ‘We are pre-pared to be your slaves.’ But

Joseph said to them, ‘Have no fear! Am Ia substitute for God? Besides, althoughyou intended me harm, God intended itfor good, so as to bring about the pres-ent result — the survival of many peo-ple. And so, fear not. I will sustain youand your children.’ Thus he reassuredthem, speaking kindly to them”(Genesis 50:18-21).What Joseph’s brothers don’t under-

stand when they come before him isthat he has already forgiven them. Hecould not have led the life he did — as asavior of Egypt — had he given in to thetemptation of waiting to exact revengeor to the bitterness of hatred.Rabbi Levi Meier, in his book

“Ancient Secrets,” adds to our under-standing of this key notion, writing,“If you cannot forgive, act as if youcan. Pretend that you have forgiventhe people who have wronged you,and extend your hand to them.”Joseph not only extends a hand to hisbrothers, he promises to protect andcare for them. In Mitch Albom’s book “Have a

Little Faith,” the author tells the storyof a drug addict who transforms him-self and becomes a successful minister.The minister talks about the people heleft behind and how they could onlysee who he had been in his darkestmoments. They weren’t able to seewho he could become or who he isnow.The world is full of possibilities when

we aren’t held back by our own pasts orby the wrongs we feel we have suffered.The Joseph of Vayechi is a powerfulreminder that forgiveness is a key to ourown personal salvations and a wonder-ful tool for starting anew. �

Vayechi

Genesis 47:28-50:26

I Kings 2:1-12

Rabbi David Booth is the spiritual leader at Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto. He canbe reached at [email protected].


Elsie Rich, a beloved member of SonomaCounty’s Jewish community who wasamong the oldest people in the world, diedDec. 29 in Santa Rosa. She was 110 yearsold. Rich was a founding member of

Congregation Beth Ami in Santa Rosaand Petaluma Hadassah, serving as presi-dent of the latter for six years.Among her wide circle of friends,she was known for her upbeat per-sonality as well as her physicalenergy: She exercised vigorously,happily doing headstands andsplits well into her 90s, and lived onher own until 106.According to a gerontology

research group, Rich was thefourth-oldest Californian, the 23rd-oldest American and the 77th-old-est person in the world.Born Elsa Schiffman in Vienna

on Aug. 6, 1901, she grew up work-ing in her family’s textile factory.She married Henry Reich in 1932and the couple left Austria for NewYork City in 1938. Most of thecouple’s family members whostayed behind were killed in theHolocaust.After four years in New York, the

couple drove west intending to set-tle in Los Angeles, stopping to visitfriends in Petaluma along the way.Instead, they bought a chickenranch there, and wound up stayingthe rest of their lives. According to friends, Rich loved to

work; she believed the farm’s demandskept her strong and agile into old age.“When they’d come to San Francisco,you’d always see her carrying the suitcas-es,” Evelyn Gurevitch, one of her oldestfriends, told j. in August. “She was alwaysvery strong, and she also loved to dance.Whenever there was music, she was up anddancing.”Following the death of her husband in

1976, she lived independently in SantaRosa into her 100s, shopping for her owngroceries, playing slot machines at a near-by casino and socializing often — herwarm smile and sharp wit, intellect andcuriosity made her popular with people ofall ages.In 2008, she moved to Vintage Brush

Creek in Santa Rosa, an assisted-livingfacility.“Elsie didn’t grow up in a time or a place

where girls were supposed to be educated,”

Rabbi Jonathan Slater, who for 19 yearsserved at the helm of Congregation BethAmi — the synagogue Elsie and her hus-band helped to found in 1943 — said inAugust. “And yet she went out of her wayto learn to read Torah, to open herself upto new ideas, to engage in those conversa-tions.”In her later years, Rich began making

contributions to the Haddassah Medical

Center in Jerusalem. Four different plaquesat the medical center there bear her name,and her will designates that a significantportion of her estate will be put toward thematernal and child health unit there.Though Rich had no children, she is sur-

vived by a diverse group of friends. According to one of those longtime

friends, Bob Raful: “What happened ismany of her friends, friends of friends,young people, old people — they allbecame her children.”“Knowing Elsie, walking a bit of the way

with her, has been a blessing as well as aprivilege,” said another friend, ElisabethVan Nuys. “She impressed me, delightedme, even at times astounded me. Notbecause she lived over 110 years, but inhow she approached, dealt with and livedthose years.”Funeral services were held Jan. 3 at

Eggen and Lance Chapel in Santa Rosa;burial services followed at Petaluma’s B’naiIsrael Cemetery. �

Elsie Rich, beloved fixturein Sonoma County, dies at 110

Elsie Rich celebrates turning 109 in2010.

obits

copy deadlinej. the Jewish news weekly’s deadline for submissions for any given paper is 5 p.m. Friday,one week before publication date. For information or assistance, call (415) 263-7200, ext. 33.


Renowned Yiddish singer, teacher, andmusic curator Adrienne Cooper, anOakland native lauded worldwide for herinterpretations of Yiddish song as well asher ability to transmit that knowledge tothe next generation, died Dec. 25 inManhattan. She was 65. Obituaries in the New York Times, the

Forward and other leading publicationstestify to Cooper’s indelible imprint on theteaching, preservation and performance ofYiddish music.

Cooper’s mother, Buni Cooper, 89, awell-known Bay Area singer of opera,musical theater and Yiddish music, whowas Adrienne’s first teacher and performedoften with her daughter, said that ZalmanMlotek, artistic director of the New York–based National Yiddish Theatre–Folksbiene, called her at her Danville homewith his condolences. “He said, music is not music for me any-

more now that Adrienne is gone,” she said. Adrienne Cooper was born Sept. 1, 1946

in Oakland. The familybelonged first to Congreg-ation Beth Jacob inOakland, and then movedto nearby CongregationBeth Abraham.Cooper graduated from

Oakland High School in1964, and two years laterleft for Israel, where sheearned a bachelor’s degreefrom Hebrew Universityand studied voice at theRubin Academy of Musicin Jerusalem, said herbrother, Dr. MichaelCooper, professor of pedi-atric cardiology at UCSF Medical Center.In 1970 she moved back to the United

States, getting a master’s in history andstarting her Ph.D. at the YIVO Institute forJewish Research, but abandoned her dis-sertation to pursue music full time, accord-ing to her brother. “Adrienne chose not tostudy history; she chose to make history,”he told j. Cooper moved through prestigious

positions first as the associate director ofYIVO, then as co-founder of KlezKamp,an annual confab of the world’s premierYiddish musicians and scholars, andmost recently as cultural executive at theWorkmen’s Circle. She was a mentor androle model to many upcoming perform-ers and lovers of Yiddish music, includingher daughter Sarah Gordon, a New York–based musician who sang with her moth-er on her last album.

Cooper collaboratedwith the leading Yiddishstars of the day, and per-formed at New York’sCarnegie Hall as well asthroughout Europe andthe former Soviet Union.Mlotek, who performedwith her for more than 20years, called her one of themost significant inter-preters of Yiddish song in50 years.Cooper had other causes

as well, which she champi-oned through her musicand writing: labor activism,

economic equality, feminism and GLBTrights. Recently, Jews for Racial andEconomic Justice gave her its Marshall T.Meyer Risk Taker Award for her contribu-tions as a performer to movements forsocial change.“She taught students around the world

that music provided an essential point ofentry into Yiddish culture and that theinsights of scholars nurture and enrich amusician’s performance,” wrote JeffreyShandler, Jewish studies professor atRutgers University, in a tribute to Cooperthat appeared in the Forward. Adrienne Cooper was buried in

Lafayette’s Oakmont Cemetery. She issurvived by her mother, two brothers,her daughter and her partner, MarilynLerner. �

— j. staff and wire reports

Yiddish singer, activist Adrienne Cooper dies at 65

obits

Adrienne Cooper

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Rebecca Camhi Fromer, who co-foundedthe Judah L. Magnes Museum with herhusband, died Jan. 1 in San Francisco fromcomplications due to a stroke. The long-time Berkeley resident was 84.A teacher, poet, playwright and art lover,

she could always be counted on to tell thetruth as she saw it, and expected nothingless from those around her.“She was a unique character,” said Fred

Rosenbaum, a close friend and the found-ing director of Lehrhaus Judaica. “Rebeccawas someone very strong in her opinions,and not shy about expressing them; some-one who epitomized the expression of‘speaking truth to power.’ ”Fromer, together with her husband, Seymour Fromer,

who died in 2009, launched the Magnes in 1962. The twomade a striking pair: he the courtly public face of themuseum, she the woman whose love of beauty fueled thecouple’s passion for collecting Judaica.That passion found its counterpoint in Fromer’s career

as an English teacher at Castlemont High School, locatedin a tough Oakland neighborhood. She wrote about herexperiences in her 2007 book, “One Voice, Many Echoes.”“She would really stick it to the white liberals in the

Oakland hills,” Rosenbaum remembered.“These were people she socialized with. Shewould say to them they were not truly opento mixing with African Americans socially.This was during the civil rights movementbut before a lot of the social mixing.”Born in New York and raised in Los

Angeles, Fromer was deeply proud of herSephardic background. She spoke Ladinoand knew Sephardic culture. She met herhusband of more than 50 years when hewas working in Jewish education in LosAngeles. In 1953, the couple moved toOakland.They founded the Magnes Museum in a

$75-a-month loft over Oakland’s ParkwayTheater. Initially, the Magnes specialized inceremonial art, posters and paintings of

Jewish themes. The couple expanded the collection bypersonally rescuing artifacts from endangered Jewishcommunities in places such as Czechoslovakia,Morocco, Egypt and India. All told, they collected some11,000 pieces of Judaica and fine arts, 10,000 rare andother Jewish-themed books, along with papers, photosand other documents. Much of that material was housedin the Magnes’ Western Jewish History Center, which theyhelped establish in 1967. That same year, the Magnesmoved to an elegant mansion at 2911 Russell St.

The Fromers lived right next door.“In the early years they worked very closely as a team,”

recalled Harold Lindenthal, a longtime friend. “As theyears went by, Seymour was the director, but when bigdecisions had to be made, he would run them by Rebecca.”Fromer earned a master’s degree from San Francisco

State University, writing her thesis on the Yiddish authorIsaac Bashevis Singer. During and after her teaching years,she turned to writing as her primary creative outlet,including Holocaust histories and biographies, numerouspoems and stories. When the work day was done, Fromerkept up her garden, which was one of her passions.Entertaining was another.“Rebecca was a bit of a salon lady,” Rosenbaum said.

“She liked to have people over to that beautiful home, peo-ple who were artists, musicians and storytellers. Thathome was a vibrant center, bubbling with life and ideas.”Added Lindenthal, “She had an uncanny eye for beauty.

It could manifest in multiple ways: art, literature, musicand interior design.” Though growing more infirm in her last years, Fromer

never lost her sharp wit, and was scheduled to attend theribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Magnes in down-town Berkeley later this month.Rebecca Camhi Fromer is survived by her daughter,

Mira Amiras, and two grandchildren. Donations may bemade to the Fromer Fund through the Jewish CommunityFederation of the Greater East Bay. �

Rebecca Fromer, Magnes Museum co-founder, dies at 84

Rebecca CamhiFromer

Barbara Cerf BaerBarbara passed away peacefully at home inher sleep on Dec. 26, 2011. She is survived byher beloved husband of 57 years, Monroe, andher loving daughter Leslie and son-in-lawRogers Carrington, and her loving son Larryand daughter-in-law Pam. Grandma will be for-ever missed byfour adoringgrandchildren— Alana,Zachary,Jonathan andJoshua. Barbara wasborn on March16, 1929 toLaurence Cerfand PearlWelk Cerf. She lived her entire life in the cityshe loved. In fact, she lived virtually all her lifewithin a 30-block radius of her most recenthome of 36 years. Barbara was a proud gradu-ate of Aragon Elementary School, PresidioMiddle School and Lowell High School. She wasconfirmed at Congregation Emanuel-El.Barbara attended U.C. Berkeley but left

school to go to work and support her mother.Her father passed away at age 13. Barbaraworked in downtown department stores in SanFrancisco through the ‘50s. She met Monroe ata party and reacquainted at a downtown Munibus stop as they both returned from a day atwork. Their 57-year marriage featured enjoy-able travel as she raised Leslie and Larry,

including frequent summer sojourns to LakeTahoe and Carmel. Barbara, however, alwaysfelt most comfortable “at home” in her well-worn neighborhood of the city.Barbara enjoyed volunteering through the

years at the Jewish Community Federation ofSan Francisco and Sisterhood of CongregationEmanuel-El.Barbara delighted in the joy of her grand-

children, taking them on excursions to lunchand toy shopping downtown or in LaurelVillage, as her mother and dear aunt, HazelEisenberg, had done so frequently with Leslieand Larry. The family extends its heartfelt appreciation

to Dr. James Davis for his extraordinary med-ical care. Also, deep gratitude to Barbara’swonderful caregivers including Rosario Riveraand Willie Mae Benson. A memorial service was held at

Congregation Emanu-El on Dec. 30, 2011. Inlieu of flowers, please consider a donation inBarbara’s name to the S.F.-based JewishCommunity Federation, Congregation Emanu-ElSisterhood, or a charity of your choice.Sinai Memorial Chapel

Karl M. BlickOct. 31, 1915 – Dec. 30, 2011Born Karl Maximilian Augenblick, in Vienna,

Austria, Karl grew up in Lvov, Poland and hadone younger brother, Severyn. Karl’s dreamwas to become an architect, but the war brokeout and he was mobililzed for work inBesarabia, Romania. Karl was later sent to

work in Siberia where he spent five years. Hisfamily perished in the Holocaust.In 1946, Karl met Zelma Warhaftig in

Byttom, Poland in a “kibbutz” seedling. Theymoved to aDisplacedPerson’scamp inSaalfelden,Austria,where Karlworked forthe U.N.RefugeeAgency, cre-ating false

travel documents, which allowed a large num-ber of survivors to make their way clandes-tinely to Palestine. Karl and Selma marriedthere in 1949.Karl and Selma immigrated to Australia and

after five years moved to the U.S. They settledin San Francisco, with Selmas’s mother, Rose,in 1954.Karl worked for Gilbert Clark Stationers for

35 years and retired at 80. He was a longtimemember of Congregation Ner Tamid and B’naiB’rith. Karl is survived by his wife, Selma, of 62

years of marriage; son Steve (Patricia); daugh-ter Ann (Salek); and granddaughters Danielleand Ilana. Karl will always be remembered for his bril-

liant smile, his remarkable optimism and thetwinkle in his eye. Donations in Karl’s memory

may be made to Congregation Ner Tamid, 1250Quintara, San Francisco, CA 94116.

George B. GoodGeorge B. Good passed away peacefully at theage of 87 on Dec. 17, 2011. He was born inBudapest, Hungary on May 18, 1924. His wife,Renee Good, and family were by his side. Hewas a Holocaust survivor. He worked at theSan Francisco Chronicle for many years.Sinai Memorial Chapel

Rebecca Camhi FromerJan. 16, 1927 – Jan. 1, 2012In San Francisco at age 84. Beloved wife of

the late Seymour Fromer; loving mother ofMira Amiras (ErinVang); adoringgrandmother ofMichael (Alana)Zussman andRayna Savrosa(Nick Curley).Rebecca was awriter and poet.She and Seymourwere co-foundersof the Magnes

Museum in Berkeley. Memorial services wereheld Tuesday, Jan. 3, at Chabad HouseBerkeley. Donations may be made to theFromer Fund through the Jewish Federation ofthe Greater East Bay.Sinai Memorial Chapel


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art“Bernard Zakheim: Art of Prophetic Justice.”Photoexhibit explores life and work of the Jewish muralist. Opens Jan. 9. ThroughMarch 29. “An Exploration of Language and Shapes inSculpture.”Joyce Steinfeld sculptures inspired by Hebrew letters andChinese characters. Through Jan. 27. “The Israelis.”Photographic por-traits by Mark Tuschman. Through Feb. 2. At Oshman Family JCC, 3921 FabianWay, Palo Alto. www.paloaltojcc.org.

“Black Sabbath.”Studio exhibit on black-Jewish ties in recordedmusic. Through Feb. 28. “California Dreaming.”Multimedia exhibitexploring Jewish life in the Bay Area from Gold Rush to present. Through Oct.16. “Houdini: Art and Magic.”Multimedia exhibit examiningHoudini’s life, legend and influence. Through Jan. 16. “StanleySaitowitz: Judaica.”New perspectives from the S.F.-based architect.Through Oct. 16. At Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission St., S.F.www.thecjm.org.

“A Dancer’s Scrapbook, 1928-1933.”Pictures of RoseYasgour, a pioneer of modern dance. Through Feb. 23. At BJE JewishCommunity Library, 1835 Ellis St., S.F. (415) 567-3327.

“Harissa, Honey and Hyssop: The Food of North

Africa.”Photography exhibit by Israeli Nelli Sheffer. Through Jan. 30. AtJCCSF, 3200 California St., S.F. www.jccsf.org.

“Memories.”Digital photo-collage portraits by Israeli Gideon Spiegel.Through Feb. 29. At Osher Marin JCC, 200 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael.www.marinjcc.org.

“Rita Sargen Simon Retrospective, 1924-2005.”Worksin steel, bronze, ceramic and Plexiglas. Through Feb. 5. At Jewish HeritageMuseum at Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living, 4000 Camino Tassajara,Danville. www.rcjl.org.

“Scattered Among the Nations.”Photographic exhibit of sevenJewish communities. Through Jan. 8. At Temple Sinai, 2808 Summit St.,Oakland. (510) 451-3263.

“Spectacles of Devotion.”Barry Shapiro’s photo-collage imagesof religious devotion. Through Feb. 29. Art for sale, with a percentage to bene-fit JCC. At Addison-Penzak JCC, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos. www.svjcc.org.

“Yehudith and the Grandfathers.” Fifteen-part video installa-tion by mother-daughter artists Carolyn Radlo and Alanna Simone, aboutJewish women and the Holocaust. Through Jan. 29. At California Institute ofIntegral Studies, 1453 Mission St., S.F. www.ciis.edu.

sunday | 22Magnes grand opening.Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Lifepresents an open house with music and food. At museum, 2121 Allston Way,Berkeley. 12 to 4 p.m. Free. www.magnes.org.

music & dancesaturday | 7Cantors’ campership concert. Local cantors perform a benefitfor the Union for Reform Judaism summer camps scholarship fund and theAmerican Conference of Cantors. At Temple Emanu-El, 1010 University Ave.,San Jose. 7 p.m. $20. www.templesanjose.org.

wednesday | 11Charles Fox.Discussing his memoir “Killing Me Softly: My Life inMusic.” At Congregation Kol Shofar, 215 Blackfield Drive, Tiburon. 7:30 p.m.Free. www.kolshofar.org. Also performing Jan. 12 at Oshman Family JCC,3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. 7 p.m. $10-$18. www.paloaltojcc.org.

sunday | 15“Rabbi Creditor Unplugged.”CD release party for “Within.” AtAfikomen Judaica, 3042 Claremont Ave., Berkeley. 11 a.m. Free. (510) 655-1977.

saturday | 21Chai Five.Klezmer, Ladino and Eastern European Jewish folk songs. AtAngelica’s Bistro, 863 Main St., Redwood City. 8:30 p.m. $20-$25. www.angelicasbistro.com.

theaterthursday | 12“Stories from the Shtetl.”Performance by storytellers MichaelKaye, Ruchama Burrell, Joshua Walters and Heather Gold. At SubterraneanArthouse, 2179 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. 8:15 p.m. $12-$20. www.chutzpahpresents.tumblr.com.

film & videosunday | 8“The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs.”Documentarypresented by the Jewish War Veterans Post 60. At Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. 11 a.m. Free. (650) 223-7187.

thursday | 12“Binah.”Chris Matthews discusses his new book on President John F.Kennedy. On Jan. 19, author Eric Weiner discusses his new book “ManSeeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine.” KALW 91.7 FM. 12 p.m.www.jccsf.org.

saturday | 14“The Forgotten Refugees.”Documentary about the Jews ofNorth Africa and Arab lands. At Congregation Kol Emeth, 4175 Manuela Ave.,Palo Alto. 7:15 p.m. Free. www.kolemeth.org.

“The Infidel.”Tri-Valley Cultural Jews hosts a movie night with a sepa-rate movie for children. At private residence, San Ramon. 4 p.m. RSVP to (510) 444-1808.

sunday | 15“Mosaic.”Hosted by Rabbi Eric Weiss. 5 a.m. KPIX-TV Channel 5.

tuesday | 17“To See If I’m Smiling.”Documentary featuring six Israeli womenexploring their military service. At Congregation Beth Israel Judea, 625Brotherhood Way, S.F. 7 p.m. Free. www.bij.org.

saturday | 21“Treasures from the Archive.”Screening of “Mark Cantor’sGiants of Jazz on Film” series. At JCCSF, 3200 California St., S.F. 8 p.m. $12-$25.www.jccsf.org/arts.

lectures& workshopssunday | 8“One People Many Voices.” Ilan Vitemberg, associate director ofthe Israel Education Initiative, discusses Israel’s diversity. At CongregationShir Hadash, 20 Cherry Lane, Los Gatos. 9:30 a.m. Free. www.shirhadash.org.

“A New Voice for Israel.”J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami dis-cusses his book. At Congregation Kol Shofar, 215 Blackfield Drive, Tiburon. 10a.m. Free. www.kolshofar.org.

Jewish Coalition for Literacy tutor training.At JewishFederation of the Greater East Bay, 300 Grand Ave., Oakland. 10 a.m. AlsoJan. 10 at Jewish Community Federation, 121 Steuart St., S.F. 5:45 p.m. AlsoJan. 11 at Peninsula JCC, 800 Foster City Blvd., Foster City. 6 p.m. Free.www.jclread.org.

“Philosphers’ Café.”Tri-Valley Cultural Jews present discussionabout cooperation and human nature. At Café Rumi, 4799 Heyer Ave., CastroValley. 10:45 a.m. $5. (925) 240-5612.

“The Delegitimization of Israel.”Talk by Eli Pollak, founder andchairman of Israel’s Media Watch. At Congregation Beth Israel, 1630 BancroftWay, Berkeley. 7:30 p.m. Free. www.cbiberkeley.org.

“The Arab Lobby.”Mitchell Bard discusses his book. At CongregationKol Emeth, 4175 Manuela Ave., Palo Alto. Free. 9:30 a.m. www.kolemeth.org.Also Jan. 9 at JCCSF, 3200 California St., S.F. 7:30 p.m. Free. RSVP [email protected].

tuesday | 10Joseph Skibell.Author discusses his new novel, “A Curable Romantic,”about a Jewish doctor who wanders through late 19th-century European his-tory. At Addison-Penzak JCC, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos. 7 p.m. Free.www.svjcc.org.

Jonathan Medved. Lecture about Israel by the co-founder and CEOof Vringo. At Fenwick and West, 801 California St., Mountain View. 7:15 p.m.Free. RSVP to [email protected].

He writes the songsTwo-time Emmy winner Charles Fox has composed music for more than 100 films and TV series but is probably best known for hisGrammy-winning “Killing Me Softly with His Song.” Fox will discuss his memoir on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at Congregation Kol Shofar inTiburon and perform on Thursday, Jan. 12 at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto.


thursday | 12“World Economic Mega-Trends in the Year 2020.”

Lecture by David Passig, futurist, academic lecturer and consultant. AtOshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. 7:30 p.m. $10-$15.www.paloaltojcc.org. Also Jan. 15 at Temple Beth El, 3055 Porter Gulch Road,Aptos. 11 a.m. Free. RSVP to [email protected].

Jeremy Ben-Ami.J Street founder discusses policies regardingIsrael. At Congregation Shir Hadash, 20 Cherry Lane, Los Gatos. 7:30 p.m.Free. [email protected].

“Positioning for Power: The Tribes of Israel.” Lecture withbreakfast. At Congregation Ner Tamid, 1250 Quintara St., S.F. 9:30 a.m. Free.www.nertamidsf.org.

sunday | 15Women’s seminar.Daylong event featuring guest speaker DebbieGreenblatt, Jewish educator and founder of the women’s division ofGateways, and workshops ranging from parenting to Jewish literature. AtOshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. 9:45 a.m. $30-$40.www.jsn.info.

“Modern Anti-Semitism.”Rabbi Jerry Danzig gives first lecture infive-part series. At Congregation Beth Ami, 4676 Mayette Ave., Santa Rosa. 2 p.m. Free. www.bethamisr.org.

wednesday | 18“Harvesting Life Wisdom: Empowering Seniors.”Three-session workshop led by therapist Alissa Hirshfeld-Flores. Also Jan. 25 andFeb. 1. At Santa Rosa JFCS, 1360 N. Dutton Ave. #C, Santa Rosa. Also Feb. 8, 15 and 22. At B’nai Israel Center, 740 Western Ave., Petaluma.10:30 a.m. $60. RSVP to [email protected].

“Israel and the Arab Spring.” Lecture by Michael Nacht, profes-sor at U.C. Berkeley’s Goldman School. At Congregation Beth El, 1301 OxfordSt., Berkeley. 7 p.m. Free. www.bethelberkeley.org.

Feminist Midrash in America.Taube Center for Jewish Studiesat Stanford presents lecture by poet Alicia Ostriker, 2009 Jewish Book Awardrecipient. 8 p.m. Free. Tresidder Memorial Union, 459 Lagunita Drive, Stanford.www.stanford.edu.

thursday | 19“Lunatics.”Jewish humor writer Alan Zweibel and author-columnistDave Barry discuss their book. At Commonwealth Club, 595 Market St., S.F. 6p.m. $12-$45. www.commonwealthclub.org.

Carey Perloff.Artistic director of the American Conservatory Theatrediscusses her new play set in Israel, “Higher.” At JCCSF, 3200 California St.,S.F. 7 p.m. $10-$25. www.jccsf.org.

sunday | 22Yoga and Otiyot Chayyot.Meditation and yoga based on theHebrew alphabet. At Congregation Kol Shofar, 215 Blackfield Drive, Tiburon. 10 a.m. Free. www.kolshofar.org.

benefits&socialeventssaturday | 7Ballroom dance.Jews’ Next Dor hosts dance party with lesson. AtCheryl Burke Dance, 1400 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View. 8 p.m. Free.www.cherylburkedance.com.

sunday | 8Stanford Blood Center drive.At Congregation Sinai, 1531 Willowbrae Ave., San Jose. 9 a.m. Free. www.sinai-sj.org.

“Art and Eat.”Congregation Ner Tamid hosts tour of Camille Pissarroexhibit followed by lunch and lecture. At Legion of Honor, 100-34th Ave., S.F.10 a.m. Prices vary. RSVP to (415) 661-3383.

Pajama Havdallah for kids.Storyteller Mimi Greisman with pup-pets and song, PJ Library stories, Havdallah craft project and more. AtTemple Israel, 3183 Mecartney Road, Alameda. 10:30 a.m. Free. RSVP [email protected].

Poker night.Sinai Men’s Club presents annual poker fundraiser. AtCongregation Sinai, 1532 Willowbrae Ave., San Jose. 7 p.m. [email protected].

Glide volunteer day.Young Adult Division of the Jewish CommunityFederation in San Francisco hosts. At Glide Memorial Church, 330 Ellis St., S.F.11 a.m. Free. www.jewishfed.org/yad.

monday | 9“Networking: Building Connection and Community.”

Business Leadership Council of the Jewish Community Federation hosts amix-and-mingle event. At Sens Restaurant, 4 Embarcadero Center, S.F. 5:30 p.m. $36-$60. www.jewishfed.org/blc.

wednesday | 11JCC open house.Special events all day and free admission to fitnessand aquatics centers, tennis and more. At Addison-Penzak JCC, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos. Free. www.siliconvalleyjcc.org.

thursday | 12“Abracadabra!”Houdini-inspired storytelling series. At ContemporaryJewish Museum, 736 Mission St, S.F. 7 p.m. $15. www.thecjm.org.

sunday | 15Volunteer day at the farm.Congregation Sinai in San Jose hostsa family volunteer day. At Full Circle Farm, 1055 Dunford Way, Sunnyvale. 10 a.m. Free. www.sinai-sj.org.

monday | 16Mitzvah Day.Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto hosts 25 different serviceprojects in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. 7:30 a.m. Free. RSVP [email protected].

Meet and greet.Jews’ Next Dor hosts dinner. At Buca di Beppo, 643 Emerson St., Palo Alto. 7 p.m. $10. RSVP to [email protected].

wednesday | 18Yavneh Day School open house.At 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos.9 a.m. Free. www.yavnehdayschool.org.

“A Taste of Melton.”Women’s event with wine, music and fellow-ship. At Addison-Penzak JCC, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos. 7:30 p.m. Free.RSVP to [email protected].

Mah jongg beginners’ class.Ongoing. Includes National MahJongg League card. At Afikomen Judaica, 3042 Claremont Ave., Berkeley. 6p.m. $150. www.mahjonggforeveryone.com.

Women’s spirituality event.Jewish Community Mikvah of SiliconValley presents a program with music and crafts. At JCC Silicon Valley, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos. 7:30 p.m. Free. [email protected].

sunday | 22T’enna Preschool open house.Also summer camp sign-up day.At Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. 9 a.m. Free. www.paloaltojcc.org.

spiritual& holidayfriday | 13Meditation Shabbaton.Shabbat retreat with meditation, silence,Torah and Jewish spiritual songs. At Congregation Beth Sholom, 301-14th Ave., S.F. 5 to 9 p.m. $90-$105. Also Jan. 14 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.www.bethsholomsf.org.

singlessaturday | 7Lake Chabot Marina hike.Jewish hikers club. At Lake ChabotMarina, 17600 Lake Chabot Road, Castro Valley. 2 p.m. $1. (408) 817-5686.

sunday | 8Brunch and schmooze.Hosted by Haverim Connection. At Cafe LaTartine, 830 Middlefield Road, Redwood City. 11:30 a.m. Also Jan. 22 atMichael’s Restaurant, 2960 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View. 11 a.m. [email protected].

North Berkeley neighborhood walk.Jewish hikers club. AtCedar Rose Park, 1300 Rose St., Berkeley. 1 p.m. $1. (510) 421 2457.

Calendar submissionsSend information about your Jewish event in Northern Californiato [email protected]. The deadline is 12 p.m. Friday the weekbefore any given week’s publication.

‘Lunatics’ in townDave Barry, the Pulitzer Prize–winning humorist, and AlanZweibel, recipient of the Thurber Prize for American Humor and a“Saturday Night Live” alum, will present their new political satire,the book “Lunatics,” on Jan. 19 at the Commonwealth Club.


Golden goodiesHere’s the list of Jewish nominees for Golden Globe awards. Theceremony will air live on NBC starting at 5 p.m. on Jan. 15.First, the acting categories: best actor, musical or comedy film:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 30 (“50/50”); best supporting actor in afilm: Jonah Hill, 28 (“Moneyball”) and Albert Brooks, 64(“Drive”). Quick aside: Brooks’ wife, and the mother of his two chil-dren, is Kimberly Shlain, a Mill Valley native. Best actress, TVdrama series: Julianne Margulies, 45 (“The Good Wife”); best

actor, TV comedy or musical series: DavidDuchovny, 51 (“Californication”); best actress, TVmini-series: Evan Rachel Wood, 24 (“MildredPierce”).Best director, motion picture: Woody Allen, 76(“Midnight in Paris”), and Michel Hazanavicius,44 (“The Artist”). The latter nominee is a FrenchJew whose grandparents were from EasternEurope. He’s quite open about his Jewish back-ground and says he worked Jewish references(some character names; some of the music) into“The Artist,” a nearly 100 percent silent film about

a 1920s Hollywood star who struggles with the advent of the talkies.The director’s wife, actress Bérénice Bejo, who co-starred in “TheArtist,” is a best supporting actress Globe nominee. I don’t know ifshe is Jewish.Best screenplay, motion picture: Allen (“Midnight in Paris”),Hazanavicius (“The Artist”), Grant Heslov, 48, co-writer (“The Idesof March”), and Aaron Sorkin, 50, co-writer (“Moneyball”). Bestoriginal film score: Howard Shore, 65 (“Hugo”). Best animatedfilm: “Tintin,” directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, 65.In the best motion picture categories (the Globes have two), theawards go to the winning film’s producers, of whom there are usu-ally many. So instead of creating a long list of Jewish nominees, Isimply will note films with strong Jewish connections. Best dramafilm: “Moneyball” (director Bennett Miller, 44; actor Hill, writerSorkin), and “War Horse” (director Spielberg). Best comedy ormusical film: “Midnight in Paris” (director Allen, actors Corey Stolland Adrien Brody, as Hemingway and Salvador Dali, respectively),and “The Artist” (director Hazanavicius).

New on the tube“Are You There, Chelsea?” premieres at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11on NBC. It’s based on the bestselling 2008 memoir “Are You There,Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea,” by comedian–talk show host ChelseaHandler, 36. (Handler, the daughter of a Jewish father and aMormon mother, was raised Jewish.) The new show’s main charac-

ter, named Chelsea Newman, is a thinly disguisedversion of Handler (who intermittently will appearas the main character’s older sister).In the show, Chelsea, a bartender who has a col-lection of wacky, working-class friends, is playedby Laura Prepon, 31 (“That ‘70s Show”). Prepon’sfather is Jewish, her mother is not, and while Ibelieve she was raised secular, she now identifiesas a Scientologist.“Rob” is a CBS sitcom that launches at 8:30p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12. Rob Schneider, 48, starsas a lifelong bachelor who has just married into a

tight-knit Mexican-American family. Schneider, who was born inSan Francisco and grew up in Pacifica, is the son of a Jewishfather and a Filipino Catholic mother. While secular, he identifiesas Jewish.The fantasy-mystery series “Alcatraz” has a two-hour premiereon Fox at 8 p.m. Jan. 16. Thereafter, it will air Mondays 9-10 p.m.The premise: A fingerprint at the scene of a grisly murder is that ofan Alcatraz inmate who died decades ago. A San Francisco policedetective, a federal government agent and an Alcatraz historianteam up to sort things out. The series is produced by J.J. Abrams,45 (“Lost”). �

celebrityJews

ChelseaHandler

Columnist Nate Bloom , an Oaklander, can be reached at [email protected].

MichelHazanavicius

jokes

These jokes have been e-mailed to us by friends and associates who, for themost part, have downloaded them. We therefore cannot verify the authorship.

JThe missing husbandRachel decides to do some post-holiday shopping at the mall andmanages to persuade her husband, Howard, to accompany her.After 90 minutes of looking around one women’s clothing storeafter another, Rachel suddenly realizes that Howard is no longerwith her. So she calls him on his Droid to see what’s up.“So, where are you?” she angrily asks Howard. “I thought wewere shopping together.”“Don’t get broyges, dear,” Howard replies. “Do you rememberthat jewelry store by the escalator in the middle of the mall, the onewe spent time in before Chanukah and where we saw that lovelygold necklace for you — but it seemed just a bit too expensive rightbefore Christmas, so I said I would get it for you one day when theprice came down?”“Yes, of course I do, darling,” replies Rachel, expectantly.“Well, I’m in the café next door having an espresso and a bagel.”© david minkoff

At the moviesThe top 10 movie rentals over the eight days of Chanukah lastmonth:“Three Men and a Bubbie”“A Few Hood Mensches”“The Cohenheads”“The Rocky Hora Picture Show”“Shalom Alone”“Goyz ’N the Hood”“A Gefilte Fish Called Wanda”“The Wizard of Oys”“Who Framed Roger Rabbi?”“Prelude to a Bris” �

j. weekly jan. 6 issue

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