Danielle Berrin

JDate study claims more Jewish marriage matches than its competitors

Published on October 26, 2011

The Jewish dating Web site JDate recently announced results from a study that claims the site is responsible for facilitating more Jewish marriages than all other dating Web sites combined. The study, commissioned in-house by JDate’s parent company, Spark Networks, and conducted by the research company ResearchNow, reportedly was based on a survey of 948 Jewish Internet users who have married since 2003. Of those surveyed, 52 percent said they met their match on JDate, compared with Match.com, which facilitated 17 percent, and eHarmony, which can claim 10 percent.

For the love of Israel, health care and ‘Power Rangers’

Published on November 10, 2010

Haim Saban is sitting at the head of the table in his conference room on the 26th floor of his Century City tower offices. Here, he is kingpin, an image strongly reinforced by where he sits, as well as the attentiveness of his traditionally dressed office butler, who ducks in and out of the meeting continuously, pouring Pellegrino and serving cappuccinos.

Israelis in Hollywood

Published on October 13, 2010

Jews are always talking about how Israel needs better PR — in Hebrew, hasbara, a term that connotes something between promotion and propaganda — so it’s worth asking, with so many Israelis working in Hollywood, what are they doing about it?

How can Hollywood help Israel?

Published on September 28, 2010

If you want to pack a ballroom full of Jews, try this theme: Hollywood and Israel.

Living in limbo

Published on August 17, 2010

One day last spring, Jill Schary-Robinson Shaw was walking through a quiet, darkened corridor in the long-term care unit at The Motion Picture Home, the iconic Woodland Hills nursing home for entertainment industry veterans and their families. Hardly anyone was around — lights were dim, residents alone in their rooms — as Schary-Robinson Shaw, the daughter of Isadore “Dore” Schary, who ran MGM in the 1950s, wheeled her husband, Stuart Shaw, a resident of the home, around his desolate indoor neighborhood.

Shmuley Boteach’s 18-Hour Day

Published on June 15, 2010

It is 7 a.m. on a Friday, 12 hours before Shabbat, and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has a dozen meetings ahead of him — an office Torah study, lunch with a network head, coffee with a potential employee, a new book to promote, a few TV shows to pitch and several family errands that will take him from Beverly Hills to Century City to Glendale to downtown Los Angeles and back again, plus a 40-minute walk from his hotel on Rodeo Drive to his brother’s house in Pico-Robertson — all before candlelighting.

Shabbat With Shmuley

Published on June 15, 2010

Shabbat dinner with Shmuley Boteach and his family in Los Angeles is called for 8 p.m. But since I’ve spent all day with him and am, frankly, exhausted, I find myself power walking through Pico-Robertson 40 minutes late and absolutely petrified that I’m about to open the door and disrupt a serene Shabbos table in the middle of Kiddush.

David Lonner’s Israel

Published on May 28, 2010

Every year, one of Hollywood’s top talent representatives invites a group of industry executives and tastemakers to visit Israel for the first time. Although it’s nearly impossible to get on David Lonner’s guest list, you can get a taste of his trip as he shares his favorite, not-to-be-missed Holy Land hot spots.

Stars Shine at Wiesenthal Center Tribute

Published on May 11, 2010

The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance (MOT) once again proved that flaunting a cuddly relationship with Hollywood helps boost its cause. This year’s national tribute dinner, honoring director-producer team Ron Howard and Brian Grazer along with three recipients of the organization’s Medal of Valor award, attracted one of the most star-studded crowds in recent years. Some of the industry’s heaviest heavyweights — including DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Disney President/CEO Bob Iger and actor Russell Crowe — gathered in the Beverly Wilshire ballroom for a two-hour homage to MOT’s human rights work.

To Nudge and to Support

Published on April 27, 2010

Doreen Seidler-Feller is in her kitchen fetching a glass of water as her husband, in the living room, is mulling over what might be most difficult about being married to her.

TreePeople Gets $50,000 for Reforestation

Published on April 27, 2010

TreePeople, the environmental nonprofit committed to greening Los Angeles with trees, received a $50,000 donation on Feb. 24 from the Sempra Energy Foundation for reforestation efforts in the San Bernardino Mountains.

TreePeople Gets $50,000 for Reforestation

Published on April 20, 2010

TreePeople Gets $50,000 for Reforestation

Hillel 818 Salutes Educators

Published on April 20, 2010

Hillel 818 held its ninth annual dinner celebration at Valley Beth Shalom on Jan. 28, honoring professors Donald Bleich, Zev Garber and Rita R. Werner with Distinguished Educator Awards. The dinner centerpieces, filled with needed school supplies, were donated to Community Build, an organization that helps at-risk youth. Hillel 818 represents more than 8,000 Jewish students at Pierce and Los Angeles Valley colleges and CSUN.

Steinem Celebrated for Reproductive Rights Support

Published on April 13, 2010

Gloria Steinem, the world-renowned feminist activist, writer and founder of Ms. Magazine, received an award from the Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP) during a sold-out fund-raiser at the home of Eric Shore and Fred Paul in Beverly Hills on March 16.

Beth Am Honors Rabbi Emeritus Rembaum

Published on April 13, 2010

Temple Beth Am and Pressman Academy celebrated Rabbi Emeritus Joel Rembaum for his 25 years of leadership and service to the Conservative synagogue at a gala dinner at the Universal Hilton on Jan. 30. Rembaum has served as Temple Beth Am’s senior rabbi since 1985 and will soon retire. Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) and Howard Berman (D-Van Nuys), L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Consul General of Israel Jacob Dayan attended to see Rembaum presented with the Etz Chaim Award for Distinguished Service in Education. During the dinner, Rembaum was honored for his spirituality, commitment to Israel and passion for Jewish education.

AJC Fetes Wayne Barsky

Published on April 13, 2010

American Jewish Committee (AJC) feted litigator Wayne Barsky, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, with the 30th annual Learned Hand Award on March 17. Barsky is considered a leading figure in intellectual property law, and the dinner attracted many of Los Angeles’ top attorneys, judges and community leaders, including Barsky’s longtime partner and friend, Scott Edelman, who presented him with the award.

Jewish Sensibility, Not Practice, Rules in Hollywood

Published on March 1, 2010

It’s tough to be religious in Hollywood.

How could it be otherwise, since the industry itself demands absolute devotion? Ask anyone how they got their start, and they’ll tell you amusing stories about early bosses who treated them like indentured servants.

IKAR’s Brous Tapped as ‘Woman to Watch’

Published on February 10, 2010

Jewish Women International celebrated their 12th annual group of “Women to Watch” by honoring IKAR’s Rabbi Sharon Brous with one of its 10 national awards.

Q & A With Lori Gottlieb

Published on February 3, 2010

Essayist and novelist Lori Gottlieb, who has written a great deal about her own life, including her choice to become a single mom, has a new book out with some tart advice for picky single women: “Settle!” She talked with The Journal about the importance of shared values, why falling in love doesn’t necessarily lead to a healthy marriage and why she blames feminism for messing up her love life.

Beit Issie Shapiro Honors Producer Avi Lerner

Published on January 20, 2010

More than 300 entertainment executives and supporters of West Coast American Friends of Beit Issie Shapiro gathered to honor Avi Lerner, independent film producer and co-chairman of Nu Image and Millennium Films, for his support of special-needs children. The annual West Coast gala dinner took place Dec. 2 at Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel in West Los Angeles, where Dr. Shlomo and Ilana Melmed as well as Dennis and Myra Monk were also honored for their philanthropic support of the organization.

Bryan Berkett: Financial Stability for Jews and Arabs in Israel

Published on January 6, 2010

While visiting Israel with The Jewish Federation’s Real Estate and Construction Division last November, Bryan Berkett snuck away from the group to check on a little project he had going.

Hillel, City Year Join Forces for Community Service

Published on January 6, 2010

Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life has formally partnered with City Year, the national service corps organization, to promote civic engagement among young Jewish adults. The move, which affects Jewish students from more than 25 college campuses, represents a rare large-scale partnership between a Jewish and secular organization.

Q&A With Heeb’s Josh Neuman

Published on December 9, 2009

Josh Neuman is the publisher of Heeb magazine, which offers an irreverent and often satirical take on the intersection of American Jewish life and popular culture. He talks here about the rumors that Heeb is folding, what sort of Jews you find in Hollywood and why he once dressed Roseanne Barr as Hitler.

L.A. Holocaust Museum Gets Large Turnout to Fundraiser

Published on December 2, 2009

Despite a tense giving environment, the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust reported a 50 percent increase in attendance at their second annual fundraising dinner, which took place at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Nov. 8.

AICF Celebrates its Comeback

Published on November 24, 2009

The America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF) may not be the biggest or best-known Jewish philanthropy in the United States, but on the Israeli creative arts scene it is one of the most influential players.

Vista Del Mar Throws Jazz Fest Fundraiser

Published on November 18, 2009

Grammy-nominated artists attracted 800 music lovers to Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services’ first annual jazz festival.

B.H. Education Board Teams With MOT for Character Education

Published on November 18, 2009

Nooshin Meshkaty, Beverly Hills Board of Education president, and Beverly LeMay, program manager for the Museum of Tolerance’s Tools for Tolerance, are working together to expand character education for elementary and middle school students.

One Man’s Illness Works to Myeloma’s Benefit

Published on November 16, 2009

“Tonight we’ve heard from a small Jew, a medium-sized Jew, and now we’re about to hear from the world’s biggest Jew,” comedian Ray Romano cracked to an auditorium full of Hollywood bigwigs.

Jewish Screenwriter Pens ‘Kosher’ Vampires for ‘Twilight’

Published on November 11, 2009

Melissa Rosenberg, the screenwriter of “The Twilight Saga,” is 6 feet tall with straight blonde hair, a pale complexion and a long, slim nose. Not exactly the most ethnic mien imaginable.

Disco Rabbi, Colin Powell Among Caring Institute Honorees

Published on October 20, 2009

A diverse group of do-gooders, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Israel’s “disco rabbi,” Yitzhak Dovid Grossman, were among those honored on Oct. 13 by the Caring Institute, the Mother Teresa-inspired nonprofit, which promotes the values of caring, integrity and large-scale public service.

Swingin’ CD Release Soiree for Corky Hale

Published on October 6, 2009

Corky Hale, a Jewish jazz musician, who turns out tunes on the piano and harp, celebrated the release of her new CD, “Corky Hale and Friends - I’m Glad There Is You,” during a swingin’ soiree held at Bel Air’s Vibrato on Sept. 21.

Dentist Fetes Sharon Stone

Published on October 6, 2009

Dentist to the stars Dr. Jay Grossman attended A Smile for Every Child, a Sept. 10 gala for his nonprofit Homeless Not Toothless. The local organization has brought together nearly three-dozen Los Angeles-area dental offices to provide free care to the homeless and underserved.

Dems for Israel Fete Pols, Former Pres

Published on October 6, 2009

Democrats for Israel (DFI) gathered at a private Beverlywood home on Sept. 13 for its annual Garden Party fundraiser.

A self-respecting Jew in Hollywood

Published on September 9, 2009

Rob Kutner is a veteran comedy writer for “The Daily Show” and author of the tongue-in-cheek “Apocalypse How” (Running Press, 2008). Having just returned to Los Angeles to work for “The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien,” he talks about being an observant Jew in Hollywood, why George W. Bush is more fun to write about than President Obama and why he doesn’t believe you ever really “make it” in Hollywood.

Howie Mandel Heads to Chabad

Published on September 9, 2009

Howie Mandel, host of “Deal or No Deal,” paid a visit to the Chabad Drug Treatment Center in Los Angeles, where director Kevin Bright, co-creator of “Friends,” filmed a documentary of his visit. The short segment, which includes Mandel putting on tefillin with Rabbi Chaim Cunin, will air during the upcoming 29th annual Chabad “To Life” Telethon. The telethon airs Sept. 13.

2 Days in Bethlehem

Published on July 29, 2009

Daoud Nassar is talking to a large group of Jews gathered on his 100-acre farm in the West Bank, which lies southwest of his native Bethlehem. Nassar explains that his property has no running water, no electricity, and he’s forbidden from building on it. An Arab-Christian Palestinian educated in Austria and Germany, Nassar lives on land purchased by his great-grandfather in 1916, which has remained in the family throughout Ottoman rule, the British Mandate and Jordanian control. In 1991, Israel declared his farm property of the state and pulled the plug on its utilities. Twice, neighboring Israeli settlers damaged his property, uprooting trees and puncturing a water tank. For the past 12 years, Nassar has been embroiled in an expensive legal battle trying to win back ownership — or, at least, a building permit. So far, he has only succeeded in accruing more than $140,000 in legal fees, an amount barely offset by growing almonds, olives and grapes.

Gunther Debuts Book at Peace Now Party

Published on July 2, 2009

Now It’s J.J. Abrams’ Turn to ‘Trek’

Published on May 6, 2009

J.J. Abrams is responsible for some of the most beloved entertainment of the past two decades. He is the writer/creator of the television dramas “Felicity,” “Alias,” “Lost” and “Fringe.”

Now Anyone Can Have ‘Fifteen Minutes’ of Fame

Published on April 23, 2009

Among Hollywood’s most sought-after publicists, Howard Bragman, 53, has a celebrity clientele that includes Stevie Wonder, Ricki Lake, Mischa Barton and Ed McMahon. In 1989, he founded Bragman Nyman Cafarelli Public Relations and Marketing (BNC), which became one of the premier PR firms in the country before it was sold in 2001. In 2005, he founded Fifteen Minutes, his own boutique agency, where he specializes in entertainment, crisis management and the gay/lesbian market.

For Kauffman, Making ‘Match’ Was a Blessing

Published on January 16, 2009

On a rainy December morning at Marta Kauffman’s office at Warner Bros. Studios, the producer’s assistant brought in some good news:

Jewish World Watch discusses state of humanity; Panel explores Iranian Jewish community

Published on December 11, 2008

For every 100,000 babies born, 6,500 mothers die in the Badakhshan region of Afghanistan due to unavailable or inadequate medical care. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, violent conflicts over control of its rich mineral deposits have killed more people than the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Darfur combined.

Rabbi Jacob Pressman takes a bow

Published on December 3, 2008

Pressman was a founding father of Camp Ramah in California, University of Judaism (now American Jewish University), Brandeis-Bardin Institute and Los Angeles Hebrew High School, among other projects

Doing Jews right on TV—for better or worse

Published on November 20, 2008

The Jewish character has become the American Jewish character, disassociated from an ethnic history and assimilated into American culture. And the assimilation hasn't only been for Jews.

Rahm Emanuel’s brother, Ari Emanuel, is a Hollywood superagent

Published on November 6, 2008

" . . . In a business deal, he's going to try to kill for you, and its just going to be about putting as much money in your pocket as he can, until you tell him that there's something else that's important to you . . . " -- Aaron Sorkin

Just a nice Jewish director: Public and private images of Brett Ratner clash in swirl of contradictions

Published on October 22, 2008

" . . . Do I like to have fun? Yeah. Do I like to enjoy myself, enjoy my life? Yeah. But I'm not a decadent person. I'm not into dark stuff. I'm just a nice Jewish kid from Miami Beach who loves movies and pretty girls . . . ."

Torah Slam: Post-denominational, multi-rabbi Bible salon draws overflow crowd [VIDEO]

Published on September 25, 2008

The U'netaneh Tokef prayer-poem (who shall live and who shall die) can be seen as ominous or beautiful, depending upon the prism of the interpreter. Rabbi Naomi Levy pointed out that the prayer was written by "one dude" and should not be seen as a divine writ.




Watch the Torah Slam in this video from our friends at the Jewish Television Network

They also serve:  Rabbis’ spouses prove as diverse as roles they fill

Published on September 11, 2008

For as long as rabbis have been arguing Talmud, their wives have been at home preparing Shabbat dinner. Yet that image, along with expectations for clergy spouses, has evolved. For one, they're no longer all women. They're no longer always hovering in the background. And they're not always different genders.

Photo: Rabbi Brian, Rabbi Deborah and Heshel Schuldenfrei

Q&A with Rhoda Weisman -- Jewish woman on top

Published on September 3, 2008

Rhoda Weisman, executive director of the Professional Leaders Project, which is designed to engender and support a new generation of leaders in the Jewish community, talks about why the Jewish establishment needs to change, why young leaders are just as crucial as big donors and what it's like to be a woman at the top.

Hyler begins to heal

Published on August 23, 2008

Talent manager Joan Hyler makes slow, steady progress after a life-threatening accident.

Hyler condition stabilizes

Published on August 19, 2008

Big AIPAC turnout signals newfound voice for Angelenos

Published on June 12, 2008

The bulk of the upswing in support has come from synagogues, where lay leaders have taken an active role in engaging with legislators, and rabbis increasingly use their pulpits to educate congregants on how to support the Jewish state short of living there

Judea Pearl gets Franklin Institute award; Beach services for Lag B’Omer

Published on May 29, 2008

Scene & Heard

Published on May 15, 2008

Scene & Heard

Maher and Snow spar at American Jewish University, Journal veteran Tugend praised as ‘Distinguished

Published on May 8, 2008

Tony Snow declared himself "the sacrificial lamb" the moment he stepped on stage at Universal Studios Gibson Amphitheatre, rightly anticipating a rough tumble with the provocative HBO pundit Bill Maher during the final installment of American Jewish University's (AJU) 2008 Public Lecture

Books: It’s mom vs. daughter in Weiner’s latest novel

Published on May 8, 2008

What bestselling author Jennifer Weiner remembers most about her bat mitzvah is her hair.


"It was really unfortunate hair, really tragic -- like short and feathered and awful," said Weiner, author of "In Her Shoes," which was adapted as a 2005 film starring Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette.

Jewish life in the City of Lights

Published on May 1, 2008

Current statistics suggests that, even though France is depicted as less than empathetic to the Jewish community, the Jewish population there has actually grown.

Local students go to lobby in D.C., seniors party at ‘senior prom’

Published on April 24, 2008

Local Students Lobby at the Capitol


A group of University Synagogue religious school students paid a springtime visit to Washington, D.C., where they