Danielle Berrin

Milken family recognizes Jewish educators, YULA rides, ADL honors

Published on December 29, 2008

When Dena Wolmark first found out that someone at Bais Yaakov School for Girls would receive one of four Milken Family Foundation Jewish Educator Awards earlier this fall, the general studies administrator at the Orthodox high school organized an assembly where the unnamed teacher would be surprised with a $15,000 check. Surprise indeed: the winner turned out to be Wolmark.

Schulweis gets ADL Daniel Pearl award; Super supper with SOVA

Published on November 28, 2008

Schulweis was presented with the Daniel Pearl Award at the ADL's annual conference on Nov. 13. Endowed by ADL supporters Ruth and George Moss, the award recognizes those who improve the image of Jews and Judaism in the Muslim world.

Q&A with producer Jeff Silver: ‘Making fewer films is good’

Published on November 26, 2008

" . . . Making fewer films is good, because there are too many films in the marketplace and too much pressure to perform in the first weekend. I think it's a market correction to have fewer movies out there, and maybe there will be more of a premium on originality. Right now, there's a lack of ideas in Hollywood. People are recycling ideas, not reinventing them . . . "

Sharon Stone, Howie Mandel, Arianna Huffington, William Kristol and Lenny Krayzelburg step up

Published on November 21, 2008

"It's a groundbreaking week," Howie Mandel said to some 1,000 guests at Jewish Television Network's annual benefit at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Nov. 5. "Just yesterday we elected a black man president, and tonight we're honoring a Jew in show business."

Survey:  Fewer Americans think Jews control Hollywood

Published on November 20, 2008

The majority of Americans no longer believe that Jews control Hollywood. This is the news from a new poll released by the Anti-Defamation League that also suggests there remains a widespread conviction that there is an organized campaign by Hollywood and the national media to undermine religious values.

Malibu camp offers respite and community for kids with HIV

Published on November 18, 2008

" . . . This camp, this organization [Hollywood Heart] gives me true happiness.I get back so much more in ways that are impossible to quantify, in ways I couldn'tget from anything material or anything else I've ever done . . . "

Sephardic film fest opens with gala at Paramount; Young Iranian Jews gather to watch election returns

Published on November 13, 2008

"Yes we can," Rabbi Daniel Bouskila said, invoking President-elect Barack Obama's ubiquitous mantra.

Angelenos raise money for mikveh, $1 million for Israeli school

Published on November 7, 2008

Though demure in their dress, the women of the Mikvah Society of Los Angeles were not as modest with their checkbooks during an "Evening of Auction and Ambiance," a Nov. 2 fundraiser for the maintenance of Mikvah Esther located on Pico Boulevard.

Q&A with Joel Stein: The Los Angeles Times is ‘not a happy place’

Published on November 6, 2008

" . . . I'm only 37, but in a certain limited way that I probably can't explain, I feel kind of done with my life. I know who I'm going to have sex with for the rest of my life . . . "

When Crystal met Spielberg; A rabbi, a reverend and a pastor walk into a shul

Published on October 30, 2008

When Billy Crystal met Steven Spielberg at the Oct. 22 Shoah Foundation dinner, the comedian had a beef with the filmmaker.

Tree People dedicate Coldwater Canyon facility, Democrats for Israel gather

Published on October 10, 2008

Actress Annette Bening attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, where she was joined by schoolchildren and public officials.

Oscar-winner Sandel gets Cine-Peace Award; Poker tourney a winner for JBBBS

Published on October 2, 2008

Oscar-winning director Ari Sandel ("West Bank Story") racked up yet another prize when Americans for Peace Now presented him the 2008 Cine-Peace Award.

Hollywood hot for Israel at Paramount gala; AJCongress honors human rights advocate

Published on September 25, 2008

There were Hollywood stars and powerful studio heads, politicians, multinational rappers, Israeli Cabinet ministers, the Keshet Chaim dance ensemble, two-dozen Israeli Boy and Girl Scouts, a 3-D film segment, a tennis legend, professional and amateur comedians, resounding shofars, electronic fireworks and tables groaning with biblical fruits.

Nessah Young Professionals party like Paris Hilton; New VP for Masorti women

Published on September 18, 2008

Nessah Young Professionals' Aug. 26 annual gala drew more than 600 local Iranian Jewish young professionals and college students to the Area nightclub in West Hollywood, where they danced the night away to live music while also raising money on behalf of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF).

The Rabbis Schuldenfrei: ‘It’s about sharing’

Published on September 10, 2008

Although it might seem that being both rabbis and rabbis' spouses would be the most challenging role of all, the Schuldenfreis have found a collegiality in their home that, had they married anyone else, they would miss.

Bruce Ellman: ‘Her work is so meaningful’

Published on September 10, 2008

What Ellman does or says, or even how their children behave, can be a reflection on the rabbi. There's a risk in being completely open with people, Ellman said, as there's always a possibility for distortion.

Peni Bouskila: ‘I feel I belong, so I’m happy to help’

Published on September 10, 2008

Initially, Bouskila harbored reservations about joining a large congregation. Her sister, who also is married to a rabbi, wound up in a community that was so unfairly demanding that the couple left and moved to Israel.

Rachel Bookstein: ‘We work better together’

Published on September 10, 2008

More than rabbi and rebbetzin, they serve as a model married couple for hundreds of Jewish students.

Marjorie Pressman: ‘I created my own role’

Published on September 10, 2008

Marjorie Pressman came of age in the heyday of the "traditional" rebbetzin -- the 1950s mold of women raising children, maintaining a kosher home and (quietly) supporting their husbands from the background.

David Light: ‘It’s a tricky balancing act’

Published on September 10, 2008

As the husband of a groundbreaking female rabbi who earlier this year was named among the most influential rabbis in the country by Newsweek, Light isn't threatened by reverse gender roles. His wife is the primary breadwinner, and he the primary caregiver.

Stars come out for Jews in Cuba; Fall in love with Judaism

Published on August 27, 2008

Hundreds of well-dressed, young Jewish philanthropists packed Cuban restaurant La Bodeguita de Pico the night of Aug. 14 to show off their support of the Cuban Jewish community.

Pelosi pilloried, garden party for Israeli art and artists

Published on August 21, 2008

Pelosi, on a break from her post as the first female Speaker of the House, landed at American Jewish University (AJU) on Aug. 11 to promote her new book, "Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters" (Doubleay). Faced with an acrimonious audience, one of Congress's most outspoken critics of the Bush administration was lambasted for opposing impeachment proceedings against the president

Joan Hyler’s condition stabilizes

Published on August 19, 2008

Hollywood talent manager Joan Hyler’s critical condition has stabilized, three days after she was struck by a car on the Pacific Coast Highway and nearly lost her life.

Joan Hyler fights for her life

Published on August 18, 2008

Lindsay Lohan converting to Judaism?

Published on August 15, 2008

Saluting Milo, AARP and Waxman, Delshad for Sderot

Published on August 15, 2008

What would young Israelis from Sderot do during an all-expense-paid trip to Los Angeles? See Adam Sandler in "Don't Mess With the Zohan," of course.

Nancy Pelosi gets pilloried at AJU

Published on August 14, 2008

Motown Jews invade Hollywood

Published on August 6, 2008

For the young Jews of Detroit now living in Hollywood, Bob Aronson might as well be a movie star. The gentle-voiced CEO of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit has the money, power and prestige to throw a respectable Hollywood party. More importantly, he knows the magic ingredient required to attract young, aspiring industry types to the much-stigmatized Jewish mixer: Make it free.

Daphna Ziman praised, Justice Ball raises big bucks for Bet Tzedek

Published on July 30, 2008

Feminist cantor retires from long-term post

Published on July 23, 2008

If words don't come easily to Rosenbloom, it's because she has spent most of her life singing. As early as age 4, she jumped up on a coffee table at home and sang an Israeli folk song for her mother and father

Sherry Lansing’s epiphany

Published on July 22, 2008

"Suddenly, I cared less about a hit movie or making money than I did about giving back. That was the legacy that I wanted," Lansing said.

The not-so-Jewish museum by the bay

Published on July 18, 2008

Tony Shaloub, Carl Reiner, Solar Cookers, Green Hadassah, Zoo

Published on July 17, 2008

Tony Shaloub, Carl Reiner, Solar Cookers, Green Hadassah, Zoo

Q&A with showbiz power broker Irv Weintraub:  Why doesn’t Hollywood give Jewish?

Published on July 16, 2008

" . . . We have one thing that's not happening now that happened then, which was the memory of the Holocaust. We are 50-plus years removed. The urgency that existed then doesn't exist today. The Federation campaign did better with Lou Wasserman -- people didn't tell him no. There isn't that iconic person like Lou who is willing to be identified publicly with their Judaism . . ."

Banking on Israel’s future—from Brentwood

Published on July 3, 2008

The earnest message was delivered in an opulent setting. First, the customary cocktails and hors d'oeuvres were served in the Sheinbaum's plush backyard, where a clover-shaped pool, statues and sculptures seemed fixed into the landscape of the Brentwood Hills.

Women fight for equal Western Wall rights, Democrats for Israel leader moves up

Published on June 26, 2008

Should women have equal prayer rights at the Kotel? It's a question of profound religious, spiritual and political complexities that a new documentary, "Praying in Her Own Voice," by filmmaker Yael Katzir, dares to ask but doesn't attempt to answer.

Iranian Jewish kids fill care packages for troops, JFS honors goodness of Goldstines

Published on June 5, 2008

L.A. boasts record turnout at AIPAC

Published on June 3, 2008

"I don't think L.A. gets enough credit for its political activism," said Michael Tuchin, 43, incoming president of University Synagogue and an avid AIPAC supporter since he was a student at Stanford University

L.A.‘s birthday party for Israel

Published on May 22, 2008

A rockin' good time

Multifaith clergy dialogue in the name of peace

Published on May 21, 2008

“Survivors”

Published on May 1, 2008

Jewish life in the City of Lights

Published on May 1, 2008

Calendar Girl Danielle Berrin finds herself in Paris for Pesach

Why Ruth Messinger is my American Idol

Published on May 1, 2008

60 bloggers for Israel

Published on April 29, 2008

The intercontinental JConnector dreams big

Published on April 17, 2008

Just try to put Michal Taviv in a box -- she won't fit.

‘Heeb’ goes Hollywood

Published on April 17, 2008

For Josh Neuman, publisher of Heeb magazine, there are two cities in America: New York and Los Angeles-and "all that s--- in the middle," which he's just not interested in.

One glance at the eclectic scene populating Heeb's Hollywood Issue launch party last week at the bourgeois/hippie clothing store, Von Dutch, and it's easy to see why: Where else in the country would a "Jewish" party comprise everyone from spiky-haired hipsters to artsy bohemians to religious men in yarmulkes crushing together in a parking lot?

Holidays, happiness and hope for Sderot

Published on April 17, 2008

When Ari Platt spent a Shabbat in Sderot and saw the depleted condition of civic life there, he knew he had to do something.

In only a few weeks, the Los Angeles native, currently studying at Yeshivat HaKotel in Jerusalem, decided to organize a Purim carnival for the town of Sderot -- a reprieve from their harsh reality for a day of festivity, spirit and celebration. He galvanized support from the Jewish communities in Los Angeles and Israel, despite warnings from his yeshiva that he was embarking on a dangerous mission.

Scene and Heard

Published on April 10, 2008

Scene and Heard briefs.

Theo for Jews in Poland, Italian seder, HIBM awareness

Published on April 10, 2008

Passionately devoted to the resurgence of Jewish life in Poland, entertainer Theodore Bikel, accompanied by Tamara Brooks, performed an hour-long private concert of Yiddish, English and Hebrew songs to benefit the nonprofit Friends of Jewish Renewal in Poland.

Market maven enjoys love affair at the farm stand

Published on April 10, 2008

More than chef or author -- both of which she is -- Amelia Saltsman is an advocate for the Santa Monica Farmer's Market, a doyenne of good taste whom everyone here seems to know. The farmers invite her judgment on their best produce; the chefs ask for advice on recipes.