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Circuit
December 25, 2003
The Circuit
A Musical Stand
Larry Miller made them laugh, Jodie Langel made them cry and Craig Taubman made them want to sing. The "them" were the 450 StandWithUs staff, board members, volunteers and supporters who celebrated the pro-Israel grass-roots organization's first "Festival of Lights" concert Dec. 14.
In addition to raising money to provide students and community members with fact-based information on Israel, the evening honored Ellie and Bruce Lederman and Naty and Debbie Saidoff. Both couples founded United4Freedom, a multiethnic panel that brings fresh perspectives on the Arab-Israeli conflict to campuses.
The David Kates Orchestra opened the event with an instrumental tribute to Israel, ending with an impromptu sing-a-long of "Yerushalim Shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold").
Emcee Bob Saget took the podium at the University of Judaism's (UJ) Gindi Auditorium and took some humorous jabs at the recently captured Saddam Hussein.
Evan and Jaron Lowenstein provided their own music while performing one of their new songs as a tribute to the Jewish State, as well as their Top 20 hit, "Crazy for This Girl."
Cantor Chayim Frenkel of Kehillat Israel Reconstructionist Congregation, co-producer of the concert, took the audience back to Broadway with a beautiful rendition of "Bring Him Home" from "Les Misérables" -- performed in both Hebrew and English.
Richard Crystal, who looks eerily like bro, Billy, livened things up with a jazzy version of "Make Someone Happy."
In the audience was former Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Michael Wissot, who was there to see his wife, concert co-producer and Temple Judea cantor, Alison Wissot, perform "Grateful."
Uber-entertainer Peter Himmelman dedicated "Mission of My Soul" to the StandWithUs staff and called out the Jewish performers who sing about "giving flowers to the terrorists."
Before the finale, StandWithUs Executive Director Roz Rothstein and President Esther Renzer received accolades for founding the organization.
"The time has come for each one of us to become an ambassador for truth," Rothstein wrote in the program.
Because of the positive feedback, information booklets -- already available in English and Spanish -- will soon be translated into French, Hebrew and Arabic.
StandWithUs said the concert was a financial success, and Rothstein said those who missed it this year will have a chance in 2004 when the organization hosts a similar program.
For more information on StandWithUs, visit www.standwithus.com. -- Shoshana Lewin, Contributing Writer
Helping Homeless
There was humor and pathos at the Los Angeles Family Housing's fourth annual awards dinner at the Beverly Hilton Dec. 10. Actor-director Robert Townsend hosted the event.
Townsend had the room in stitches when he imitated characters from his childhood and made up songs about each table as he went around the room.
There were also testimonials from people, previously homeless, that Los Angeles Family Housing has helped over the years.
Deborah and Matthew Irmas of Santa Monica chaired the dinner, which raised more than $500,000 for the organization. Los Angeles Family Housing provides emergency, transitional and permanent housing services for more than 15,000 people each year.
Not only does Family Housing give people a roof over their heads, but it also teaches them life skills so that they will be able to succeed.
At the dinner, David Lash, O'Melveny & Myers LLP attorney and former Bet Tzedek executive director, received the Sydney M. Irmas Outstanding Humanitarian Award from Audrey Irmas, his widow.
Wayne Bradshaw, Washington Mutual regional vice president for community and external affairs, received the Family Housing Legacy Award for Washington Mutual's leadership in affordable housing and strengthening neighborhoods.
Finally, Kelly Stone and her absentee sister Sharon Stone received the Inspiration Award for founding Planet Hope in 1991, which offers health, educational and recreational services to homeless children and their families.
hart's Vision
If you are looking for a producer of mindless television shows, then Paramount Television Productions President Garry Hart is not your man.
On Dec. 11 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, actors Ted Danson and Kelsey Grammar presented Hart with the Jewish Television Network's 2003 Vision Award for using television to enrich Jewish life and promote positive values and intergroup harmony.
"It's All Relative" star Lenny Clarke was master of ceremonies at the event, and blues artist Keb'Mo performed.
New Old Torah
Mishkon Tephilo in Venice is a shul steeped in history. It is one of the oldest congregations in Los Angeles, and its sanctuary is housed in a landmark building. Recently, another important piece of history found its way to Mishkon: a Sefer Torah that survived World War II.
The Torah comes from the Hungarian town of Mezokovachaza, where Mishkon member Louis Sneh grew up. In 1944, the town was destroyed by the Nazis and its inhabitants sent to Auschwitz. Sneh was one of only nine survivors.
A few years ago, Sneh became aware that this Torah -- which he read from at his bar mitzvah -- had somehow survived destruction and was being kept in a farmhouse in Hungary. Sneh traveled to Hungary with his wife, children and grandchildren and was able to bring the Torah back to the United States.
On Nov. 29 in an emotional ceremony, the Torah was rededicated at Mishkon. Its restored mantle reads, "In memory of the Congregation of Mezokovachaza, Hungary. Destroyed in the Holocaust. This Torah scroll was rescued in the year 2003."
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