February 11, 2007 | 6:27 pm

Israeli Diplomats Reach Out to L.A. Iranian Media

Posted by Karmel Melamed

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By Karmel Melamed
09/08/06

Representatives from Southern California-based Persian-language satellite radio stations and television shows attended a special press conference on Aug. 28, held for them at Los Angeles’ Israeli consulate, the first public interaction between the Israeli government and local Persian-language media in more than 25 years.

The local Iranian media outlets are owned and operated by expatriate Iranian Muslims, and the gathering was a move by the consulate to reach out directly to the people of Iran.

“I received feedback from a lot of channels in the Iranian media for interviews, so I saw the desire by them to understand what we think and we believe, so we setup this event specifically to address their questions,” said Israeli Consul General Ehud Danoch.

Local Persian Jewish activists were instrumental in helping to connect the Iranian media with the consulate for the press conference, as many Persian Jews still share common cultural and linguistic ties with other Iranian groups in Southern California.

“This is indeed something that has never been done before in this city where there is a community of Iranian and a center of Iranian media outside of Iran,” said George Haroonian, a Persian Jewish activist who helped organize the press conference with the consulate.

“We need to be the connector between the people of Israel and people of Iran,” Haroonian said.

During the nearly two-hour press conference, Danoch responded to reporters’ questions about the aftermath of the war with Hezbollah and addressed the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s repeated calls for Israel’s destruction.

“The most important message for us to get across is that the government of Israel and Israelis have nothing against the Iranian people or Islam,” Danoch said. “But we will not tolerate the extremist expressions of that president of Iran”.

Since the collapse in 1979 of the regime of the late shah of Iran, many Iranian Muslim politicians and Western-educated professionals have been among the large groups of Iranians in the United States and, particularly, Los Angeles. During the past two decades, these communities have established media outlets in Southern California that oppose the current government in Iran, and regularly broadcast news and political commentary to Iran through satellite radio and television, as well as via the internet, much of it in an attempt to help bring down the regime there.

Southern California’s Iranian Muslim media has also frequently voiced criticism of Israel, as well, and the consulate’s outreach at this event was an attempt to counter that. On the part of the Iranian media, this was one more way to take a jab at the regime.

“This is an important event for us because we don’t want our viewers to receive one-sided bias news from the media in Iran and get brainwashed—we must show the other side,” said Afshin Gorgin, a reporter for the Iranian news program on the Voice of America satellite television. “Here they get to see and hear the views of the other side directly from a representative of Israel”.

Members of the Iranian media in attendance said the press conference was later broadcast in its entirety into Iran, which has a population of nearly 70 million, many of whom said they oppose their government’s support of terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, but are afraid to express their views.

“I receive phone calls from listeners in Iran, and they say we do not have a problem with Israel, and we do not have border disputes with Israel,” said Siavash Azari, a news commentator on KRSI, a Beverly Hills-based satellite radio station that broadcasts daily into Iran.

The Iranian Muslim media stepped up interest in issues concerning Israel when, late last year, Iranian President Ahmadinejad called Israel a “disgraceful blot” that should be “wiped off the map.” In response, they condemned Ahmadinejad and organized a pro-Israel rally in Westwood, which drew nearly 2,000 Iranians from various religions.

“We spoke out against him because his words were utterly absurd for anyone to say, and we would have spoken out against such statements if they were made by any other leader,” said Reza Fazeli, a news commentator for the satellite television station Pars TV.

Earlier this month, Israeli Deputy Consul General Yaron Gamburg was also interviewed by Hossien Hejazi, an Iranian news commentator at KIRN-AM. 670, a Persian-language radio station based in Hollywood.

In January, when Ahmadinejad denied the existence of the Holocaust, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, working with Iranian Jewish leaders, invited Iranian journalists to tour the Museum of Tolerance in an effort to educate them about the Holocaust so that they could send information back to Iran on the topic.

The January event, as well as the recent press conference, seem to be having the desired effect of opening up dialogue. At the conference, Danoch offered to make himself available for interviews and said the consulate would help to get their message across to the people of Iran in any way possible.

Karmel Melamed is an internationally published freelance journalist based in Southern California.

This article was originally published by the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/searchview.php?id=16427

February 10, 2007 | 8:00 pm

New Iranian Golden Dome Synagogue Opens In L.A.

Posted by Karmel Melamed

By Karmel Melamed
09/15/06

With its sparkling 24-karat gold dome and Jerusalem stone exterior, the new 25,000-square-foot Southern California Jewish Center (SCJC) stands out more than just a little among the various stores and restaurants, many of them Persian-owned, that line Westwood Boulevard. A four-story building whose construction has been on-going for the past three years, it has turned more than a few heads because of its opulent, distinctive architecture.

“Everyone that drives by or walks by tells me it reminds them of Jerusalem,” said Rabbi Shimon Kashani, SCJC founder. “This is not just another synagogue but a center where people can get recharged as far as Judaism is concerned”.

After spending $2.8 million on the property and nearly $3 million for construction, Kashani has plenty to be proud of as the new state-of-the-art center includes an elegant and elaborate synagogue, Jewish school, summer camp, day-care center, men’s mikvah, women’s mikvah, and a separate mikvah for utensils and cookware all under one roof.

“Before the construction of the mikvahs, we brought in Rabbi Grossbaum who is a famous mikvah specialist as a consultant,” said Kashani. “These are not your typical mikvahs they have nice marble floors, private showers and rooms, jacquzzis, and the mikvah itself”.

Kashani began the SCJC in Westwood in 1992 with only 80 students and a synagogue, but since then the organization has grown to include several hundred students and many more families. In 2002, the SCJC sponsored trips for 22 Israeli victims of terror to tour the U.S. and this year donated Jewish religious texts to Israeli soldiers fighting on the front lines in northern Israel.

“Support for Israel is very important to us because we’re all connected to someone there,” said Kashani’s wife Vered, who is also involved in many of the organization’s outreach efforts.

But the SCJC’s aid has not been limited to Jewish causes alone. For Thanksgiving 2002, the group teamed up with the 98th Street Community Youth Organization to donate turkeys and cars to families in South Central Los Angeles.

While Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services will be held this year at the new SCJC location, Kashani said the center’s official grand opening will not be until December. On September 10th, SCJC members danced down Westwood Boulevard and inaugurated a new torah specially made in Israel for their synagogue.

Even though Kashani and many of the those attending the SCJC’s orthodox services are of Iranian decent, he said his organization is not only for Iranian Jews but also welcomes Jews from various backgrounds.

“We’re trying to bridge the gap between the affiliated and the non-affiliated Jewish community, between the Iranian Jews and Ashkenazi Jews—we want this to be a place where Judaism will thrive,” said Kashani.

Karmel Melamed is an internationally published freelance journalist based in Southern California

Portions of this article were originally published by the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles: http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/searchview.php?id=16476

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February 10, 2007 | 7:49 pm

Iranian Jews Pledge Money & Support For Israel After Hezbollah War

Posted by Karmel Melamed

By Karmel Melamed
08/11/06

The young woman stood at the podium and spoke to a quiet, tearful audience. “We just got married last October,” said Karnit Goldwasser, “and I can’t describe to you how my life was just turned upside down on that one day.”

Goldwasser’s husband is Ehud Goldwasser, one of the Israeli soldiers whose kidnapping by Hezbollah terrorists four weeks ago on Israel’s northern border sparked the current conflict.

Accompanied by her mother and father-in-law, as well as and Israeli Consul General Ehud Danoch, Goldwasser addressed some 500 local Iranian Jews at the Iranian American Jewish Federation’s (IAJF) synagogue in West Hollywood. They had gathered to hear her story and raise funds to support Israel. Members of the Iranian Jewish community pledged a total of almost $4 million for Israeli organizations aiding the victims of Hezbollah rocket attacks.

As Goldwasser spoke, the screen behind her filled with a slide show of photos from her wedding and honeymoon.

“I really want to have children with him one day,” Goldwasser said, “and not just dream about it. I was waiting for him to finish his time in the army before this happened, so we could finish college.”

Goldwasser remained collected and upbeat, even as the crowd was in tears. “You know my husband is someone who wants peace,” she said. “He’s not just a soldier. He enjoys playing guitar and mountain biking. We want to live our lives together.”

“You are our family today and I want to thank you for your support.” Donations during the event totaled $1.8 million. But before the evening’s end, Iranian Jewish businessman and philanthropist Youness Nazarian announced he would match dollar for dollar whatever amount of funds the IAJF had generated.

The emotional evening capped weeks of urgent fundraising on behalf of Israel by the 30,000 strong Iranian Jews living in Southern California and 15,000 Iranian Jews living in New York.

The giving has special meaning for Jews who not long ago enjoyed the umbrella of protection Israel offered them while living in Iran. Now, they feel a sense of duty to support Israel at a time when it is being threatened by Iran.

“We are the children of parents who were born and raised in Iran’s ghettos during the Holocaust and the subsequent birth of the state of Israel,” said Sam Kermanian, secretary general of the IAJF, which is based in Los Angeles. “I think we have a keen understanding of the fact that when the chips fall, the only guarantee against another Holocaust is a strong state of Israel.”

Kermanian said Iranian Jews in Southern California and New York have been quick to stand behind Israel as many frequently do business in Israel and also have family ties with the 200,000 Jews of Iranian decent living there.

Besides the donations pledged for Israel Monday night, younger Iranian Jews collaborating with the IAJF also raised roughly $170,000 during a dinner fundraiser held on July 30 at the IAJF synagogue in support of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation’s fundraising efforts for Israel. The event brought together nearly 500 young Iranian Jews from more than a dozen different of their youth groups and reflected a significant show of unity—a rarity in their community that for years has often been plagued with constant in-fighting over various issues.

“The powerful energy created by bringing all of these organizations and their members together in one place sends an inspiring message to our youth that have been spearheading this collaboration,” said Rona Ram, a 23-year-old Iranian Jewish campaign fundraiser for The Federation, who helped organized the youth event.

Also last Monday night, nearly 100 volunteers from the Eretz-SIAMAK Cultural Center were busy at the Nourmand & Associates realty offices in Brentwood and Beverly Hills as well as at a RE/MAX realty office in Sherman Oaks making telephone calls and asking local Iranian Jews to make donations for various hospitals in northern Israel.

“Our ultimate goal is to raise $500,000 for the Rambam Hospital’s trauma center in Haifa,” said Dariush Fakheri, co-founder of Eretz-SIAMAK said in an emotional plea for help to the center’s members during services last Saturday in Tarzana.

“These are our brothers and sisters fighting for our right to exist in our own homeland and if we can prevent even one of them from suffering after being wounded then we’ve done our job.”

Local Iranian Jewish backing for Israel has gone beyond writing checks, as many in the community also have offered spiritual and moral support for the Israel Defense Forces as well as the victims of Hezbollah’s rocket attacks.

Rabbi David Shofet has conducted special prayers for the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces since the war broke out, according to Dr. Morgan Hakimi, president of the Nessah Cultural Center. He said the center is planning two missions to Israel during August. “We want to show solidarity with the victims of terror in the hospitals and the soldiers fighting on the front lines,” she said.

In addition to raising substantial funds for Israel, Nessah has also launched a campaign to have local Iranian Jews write various letters of encouragement that will be sent to Israelis living in northern Israel.

Sinai Temple in Westwood, which has a sizable number of their members of Iranian Jewish descent, has raised over $1 million for Israel.

“The Iranian community is a very important part of the engine that drives Sinai and makes it possible for Sinai to be, I think, a leading congregation in terms of its support for Israel,” said Sinai Temple’s Rabbi David Wolpe. “They have a deep, deep love of Israel and have always been generous with their money and time on behalf of Israel”.

Members of the Iranian Jewish community living on Long Island, New York, have also kicked into high gear their fundraising activities, generating approximately $2.5 million last week alone for Israel, said Shahram Yagoubzadeh, president of the Iranian American Jewish Federation of New York.

Yagoubzadeh said for the last four years his organization has donated $2 million each year to 40 different organizations in Israel that provide humanitarian aid to victims of terror as well as to widows and orphans of dead soldiers.

For all these donors, the hopeful, peaceful dreams of Karnit Goldwasser will continue to resonate.

“The night before he was kidnapped we spoke on the phone and I told him that I wanted to sit with him under the moon,” she said, “so I’m waiting for the day when we can do that together.”

This article was originally published by the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/searchview.php?id=16309

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February 10, 2007 | 7:34 pm

Nessah President Trailblazing For Iranian Jewish Women

Posted by Karmel Melamed

By Karmel Melamed
11/03/06

Dr. Morgan Hakimi has a variety of roles—psychologist, Jewish activist, wife and full-time mother. But it’s her position as president of the Nessah Educational and Cultural Center in Beverly Hills that has captured the attention of the L.A. Persian Jewish community.

In this Persian Orthodox culture, where leadership is traditionally dominated by men, opposition from many in the community followed Hakimi after she was first elected president in 2004. However, Hakimi’s recent reelection has inspired her to step up her challenge to other women to get involved.

“I have always felt that Nessah could be an incredible bridge for more women to participate in our community, for younger American Jews of Iranian descent to connect with her heritage and for American Jews to become more familiar with us,” she said.

Skepticism from critics in the community has died down since her initiatives have led to a substantial increase in membership within the last two years. People are packing Nessah’s two sanctuaries during Shabbat services, and crowds of previously disenfranchised women—both younger Persian Jews and non-Persian Jews—are participating in greater numbers in center programming Hakimi developed.

She credits outreach to and inclusion of the larger Jewish community for the synagogue’s growth. Hakimi has turned to a more American model of running a synagogue—setting up a membership system, establishing support groups for single parents and adding more events for its younger congregants.

“My greatest asset is having a diverse staff of Iranians, Americans, Hispanics and African Americans that are not afraid to work together,” Hakimi said. “We purposefully chose a new executive director in Michael Sklarewitz and new program director in Robin Federman, who are American, in order to better serve our community and bring us closer to the greater American Jewish community.”

Nessah’s Rabbi David Shofet praised Hakimi’s outreach efforts to younger Iranian Jews and said he has noticed more women at the center since she took office.

“In my eyes, women are more important because they are the mothers of the next generation,” he said. “If they are committed to Judaism and are affiliated, they can hand it on to the next generation. Otherwise there will not be a continuity of Judaism.”

After Hakimi’s election two years ago, participation of women in religious services became a lightning-rod issue for different groups attending services at Nessah. Traditionalists sought to keep women out and more liberated women demanded greater involvement. Hakimi has approached such situations with diplomacy in mind, talking with both sides to find acceptable common ground.

“I am not here to create a revolution. I’m here to bring awareness and understanding about a lot of issues in our community, including those involving women,” Hakimi said. “I was raised in an egalitarian family, so I’m not bitter toward men, and I don’t have an attitude of fighting when I approach the rabbis or men. That’s why they are welcoming of my suggestions to include everyone in our programs.”

Hakimi’s election as president set a precedent at Nessah, which she continues to build on slowly. Eight women now sit on the center’s board of directors, with more women serving in committee and staff positions. At the congregational level, young women are now welcome to celebrate a bat mitzvah by giving a d’var Torah during the daytime Shabbat service.

Nahid Pirnazar, a member of the Los Angeles-based Iranian Jewish Women’s Organization, said that Nessah could stand to have greater inclusion of women in religious services.

“But Dr. Hakimi has certainly helped [us] take a lot of positive steps toward greater participation of women,” she said.

Pirnazar, a UCLA professor of Judeo-Persian history, said Hakimi is the first from her generation to achieve a leadership role in the local Iranian Jewish community, and that she shares good company with Jewish women in Iran who took leadership positions in the early 20th century.

Hakimi is also encouraging young women to develop their own programs at Nessah and to make their voices heard. “Dr. Hakimi has been an incredible mentor in my life in demonstrating to me the unique qualities women in leadership can bring,” said Rona Ram, a 22-year-old Nessah volunteer. “What we, as young females, have noticed is the overriding respect and appreciation the entire congregation gives her as she speaks.”

Hakimi said that when issues of change come up, she anticipates resistance from the older generation in the community. But she says her aim is to slowly press for greater involvement of women in community activities.

“The Iranian Jewish woman has a quiet strength that is only now coming to the surface. I’m here to say they can have it all, but it will take time _ it will not happen overnight, and they must show a desire and commitment to taking part in leadership roles,” Hakimi said.

This article was originally published by the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/searchview.php?id=16735

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February 10, 2007 | 7:18 pm

L.A.‘s Iranian Jews Working With JBBBSLA

Posted by Karmel Melamed

By Karmel Melamed
12/01/06

A recent gathering at a home in the San Fernando Valley brought together more than 40 Iranian Jews to discuss issues of mentorship. However, this informational meeting wasn’t about matching up Baby Boomers with Gen X-ers to discuss long-term career strategies.

Instead, it was focused on finding adults who would be willing to reach out to young Jews from mostly single-parent homes.

Volunteers from Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles (JBBBSLA) organized the meeting as a special effort to find mentors from within the local Iranian Jewish community. The event, which successfully recruited 12 new mentors, reflects a growing trend among younger Iranian American Jews. As this generation turns its attention to charitable causes, they are increasingly breaking outside of Iranian Jewry’s insular circles to take a more active role within the greater L.A. Jewish community.

“There are many young successful Persian Jews that are eager to help,” said Eman Esmailzadeh a 24-year-old Jewish Big Brother and JBBBSLA liaison to the Iranian Jewish community. “This would offer an avenue for them to give back to the community by giving their time and not just their money.”

Esmailzadeh said he was motivated to connect JBBBSLA with Iranian Jewish groups, such as the Jewish Unity Network and the Hebrew Discovery Center, in order to break the community’s long-running taboo of not seeking help from the larger Jewish community.

“Those that might be reluctant to otherwise ask for help will hopefully do so with the support of community and religious leaders when they realize the importance of having a positive mentor in a child’s life,” he said.

Community activists now collaborating with the JBBBSLA said they welcomed the group’s mentoring program because of the dramatic need for adult role models for many children from Iranian Jewish families.

“We need good mentors because we have a lot of single parents, parents who both work too many hours, and some parents where there is a generation gap and cannot connect with their kids that are Americanized,” said Dara Abaei, head of the Jewish Unity Network.

One young Iranian Jew who has benefited from the JBBBSLA’s program is Eva P., a 17-year-old Los Angeles resident. Her mother died several years ago, her father and siblings live in Israel and she lives with her elderly grandfather. Eva, who asked that her last name be withheld, said her life has been transformed after being paired up with a Jewish female mentor.

“I was very skeptical at first when I started with my Big Sister,” Eva said. “But now I don’t consider her just a part of the program, I consider her my parent, my friend—she is and will always be my everything for the rest of my life.”

Mark Mandell, JBBBSLA’s director of community development, said his organization currently has more than a dozen Big Brothers and Big Sisters as well as Little Brothers and Little Sisters of Iranian Jewish descent. While the group has been working with individual Iranian Jews for many years, he said it has only now been able to effectively reach the Iranian Jewish community because of their mentors who are educating their friends and family about JBBBSLA’s programs.

“We have found that the Iranian Jews that have or are in the process of becoming ‘bigs’ are wonderful caring people that have a genuine desire to positively impact children’s lives,” Mandell said. “They always rise to the action when asked to help with the various agency programs or events.”

Big Brothers who spoke with The Journal said their lives have changed as a result of mentoring and that they were surprised the small amount of time spent with their mentees made such a substantial impact on the children.

“I think that a lot of people are afraid that by mentoring they are going to take on a major commitment, but it’s not as intrusive as they think it is,” said Paul Soroudi, an Iranian Jew who has served as a Big Brother for the last 12 years. “To me it’s very sweet when you see the little things that the kids do to show their appreciation for hanging out with them.”

Mandell said that JBBBSLA is in need of more adult mentors and the organization’s volunteers will continue to reach out to the Iranian Jewish community in order educate those who may not be aware of their program.

“We must first earn the trust and confidence of the community and make families and volunteers comfortable with what we have to offer,” Mandell said.

For more information about joining Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles, call (323) 761-8675 or visit www.jbbbsla.org.

This article was originally published in the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/searchview.php?id=16898

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February 10, 2007 | 7:10 pm

Jennifer Chadorchi: The Hunger to Help

Posted by Karmel Melamed

By Karmel Melamed
01/07/06

At 6:30 p.m. on a chilly Wednesday night in December, more than 30 young Jewish professionals gathered on the corner of Sycamore Avenue and Romaine Street in West Hollywood to feed homeless people waiting in line for a hot meal.

There on behalf of the Greater West Hollywood Food Coalition, the volunteers looked with surprise at the growing line of nearly 200 people waiting for food — a sight already familiar to Jennifer Chadorchi, the young Persian Jewish woman who had single-handedly recruited the evening’s volunteers.

“The turnout of volunteers was amazing that night,” said Chadorchi, who regularly organizes volunteer groups for the Coalition. “It makes me feel so great to share the experience of helping others by bringing them in to volunteer.”

For the last eight years, Chadorchi, a Beverly Hills resident in her 20s, has become a rare jewel in the Persian Jewish community, quietly mobilizing a small army of friends, family members and local students to respond to the plight of the homeless in Los Angeles

“Her compassion and her actions are contagious,” said Lida Tabibian, a volunteer recruited by Chadorchi. “She not only changes thousands of lives, but she’s also inspiring a whole generation to be leaders for this cause.”

Chadorchi’s journey in aiding the homeless began when she was 16, when, on a rainy night while driving in her brand-new car, she spotted Coalition volunteers serving food to the homeless.

“What caught my eye was the long line of these people just standing in the pouring rain with only newspapers over their heads,” Chadorchi said. “It didn’t seem fair to me that I had so much and they had nothing, so I decided I had to help.” Since 1987, coalition volunteers have been handing out excess food donated by Los Angeles area hotels, restaurants, grocery stores and caterers. In 2000, the coalition joined forces with UCLA medical students, who offer medical aid to sick, homeless individuals gathering at the street corner.

Chadorchi’s efforts also have included raising funds for the coalition, and she has organized clothing drives in her Beverly Hills neighborhood. She was also instrumental in organizing Project Feed, a campaign allowing Beverly Hills school district students to donate food and time to the coalition in exchange for school credit.

“She has had a tremendous impact on our organization. What she did was build a bridge between our group and Beverly Hills, especially the Iranian Jewish community,” said Ted Landreth, one of the coalition’s founders. “Without her I doubt we could have made these important connections.”

Those familiar with Chadorchi’s volunteer efforts said they wished she would enter the public sector and work with local government officials to help alleviate Los Angeles County’s difficulties with the homeless.

“I’ve known Jennifer since she was a junior at Beverly Hills High School. I think she is one of the most dedicated, incredible and passionate young people out there,” said former U.S. presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. “The people working out there [L.A. city officials] are doing alright, but if she was in charge of the homeless problem in Los Angeles County, I promise you’d see some real changes.”

Chadorchi said she is frequently approached by Jews in the community who question her for helping a non-Jewish cause like the coalition.

“It is our duty as Jews to heal the world one person at a time — tikkun olam,” Chadorchi said. “I’m here to let people out there know that one person can really make a difference.”

Individuals interested in joining Chadorchi’s efforts can contact her at (310) 288-0090.

This article was originally published by the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/searchview.php?id=15231

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February 10, 2007 | 6:35 pm

Iranian Jews Establish New Downtown L.A. Synagogue

Posted by Karmel Melamed

By Karmel Melamed
07/07/06

With a new Torah in their arms, about 100 local Iranian Jewish businessmen sang Hebrew songs and danced down a busy street in downtown Los Angeles’s garment district June 13 to celebrate the official opening of a new synagogue, where many Iranians have their businesses.

As a DJ blasted Israeli music and kebab dinners were served, congregants packed the elegantly decorated 700-square-foot sanctuary, known as the “Downtown Synagogue,” to give thanks and pray. The synagogue is situated inside a store, alongside fabric outlets, on Cecilia Street, between Eighth and Ninth streets.

“Baruch Hashem, we are very pleased with the new synagogue,” said Avi Cohan, a local Iranian businessman who is one of the founders of the Downtown Synagogue. “It looks just amazing with the nice chairs, and it’s perfect for many of us who wanted a place for prayer at the end of the work day.”

Prior to the festivities, approximately 25 Iranian Jewish business owners gathered at a local textile warehouse, where they each pledged to donate between $260 and $1,500 for each of the last Hebrew letters Cohan was writing to complete the synagogue’s Torah. The Torah was made in Israel for the congregation, and funds still needed to be raised to cover the cost.

Cohan had reason to boast about the new synagogue, whose initial dozen or so congregants first began to assemble in his downtown office to recite Mincha and Arvit prayers nearly 12 years ago. The congregants formed the initial Downtown Synagogue because they were often unable to beat the rush hour traffic to arrive at daily services at synagogues in Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles.

“It’s very convenient for me, because sometimes during the week, I’m in downtown and need a place to pray, so I go there because there is always a minyan, and it’s close by,” said businessman Dara Abaei, an Iranian Jewish community activist.
Cohan and other founders said they wanted to create a place of spirituality and social gathering for Iranian Jewish businessmen after their work hours.

“Our main goal was to little by little get businessmen in our community to close their businesses on Shabbat and bring them closer to God,” said Cohan. “Many are also, unfortunately, too busy during the day to make it to a synagogue to say the Kaddish on the anniversary of their parents’ deaths, so our synagogue provides them with a place to do that.”

Contrary to most synagogues, the Downtown Synagogue is open only on weekdays and closed on Saturdays and High Holidays. Between 50 to 60 people regularly attend weekly services at the synagogue which is adheres to a traditional form of Judaism practiced in Iran for centuries that is a combination of conservative and orthodox. On Tuesdays, congregants also hear a devar Torah by Rabbi Yosef Shem Tov of the Torat Hayim Kohel in Los Angeles.

Although the June ceremony marked the official opening of the synagogue space, Cohan said congregants have unofficially been holding services at the current location for the last two years.

The move to create a formal space for the group began in 2003, when affluent Los Angeles Iranian Jewish businessmen Ezri Namvar and Solomon Rasetgar stepped forward to furnish the rent-free store situated inside a building they co-owned. Namvar and
Rastegar recently sold the building housing the synagogue, but they said the current owner, who is not Jewish, has continued to permit the congregation to stay there without paying rent, Namvar said. The new owner was not available for comment.

Cohan said approximately $15,000 was raised through direct contributions. Unlike Ashkenazi Jews, who generally generate the revenue for synagogues through membership fees, Iranian Jews have traditionally raised such funds by auctioning off aliyot during services or asking individuals for direct donations.

Namvar said his family has always strived to keep Judaism alive in Los Angeles and worldwide by supporting Jewish groups, regardless of their specific denominations.

“Our passion is for Jewish education, and we try to help organizations that promote Jewish education, whether they are Orthodox, Reform or Conservative,” Namvar said.

This article was originally published in the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/searchview.php?id=16107

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February 10, 2007 | 6:05 pm

New Found Freedom For Immigrant Iranian Jewish Artist

Posted by Karmel Melamed

By Karmel Melamed
08/11/06

She has won international art competitions, sold her works around the globe, and even had her pieces displayed in renowned galleries around the world, yet nothing has been more gratifying to Iranian Jewish artist Krista Nassi than experiencing the exhilarating sensations of her new found artistic freedom to produce whatever lies within her imagination since immigrating to the U.S. last year.

Now residing in Los Angeles among the near 30,000 strong Iranian Jewish community, the 30-something Nassi has been busy trying to make a name for herself in the local art realm while continuing to create her unique installation art works which combine various forms of media together.

“From the time I have arrived here I have been passionate about producing works with various themes including the Holocaust which I would have never been able to explore in Iran,” said the 30-something Nassi.

In addition to holding a degree in graphic design from Tehran’s Institute of Graphic Design and Architecture and a Masters Degree in Art from Tehran’s University of Art, Nassi has spent more than 10 years making a name for herself in the art world as a female installations who has shown themes ranging from women’s rights, marriage, and societal issues in her works. She has also accumulated a number of international art competitions, including a Gold Medal at the prestigious 2002 10th Asian Art Biennial competition, from among thousands of artists in Asia.

Despite her tremendous achievements and acclaim, she still encountered anti-Semitism from her colleagues in Iran and was even called “Joohood”, a derogatory Persian word for a Jew.

“In one stance after I won one of my awards a number of people came up to me and said “you are a Joohood girl who thinks she can be something but we’ll stop you from going any further,” said Nassi.

Nassi said her Jewish identity was also a major obstacle for her in Iran since some of her works would not be displayed in many of the state-funded galleries and she was also prevented four times from enrolling in a doctoral art program at a Teheran university.

“When I asked them why they would not allow me to register, they gave me different absurd reasons and I slowly realized it was because I was Jewish,” said Nassi. “Finally one of the assistants at the college told me flat out “Miss, you are from the worst of the minority groups so don’t waste your time trying to register!”

Seeing her creative energies stifled and no future for her career, Nassi left Iran and literally started with a white canvas in the Los Angeles art scene. She has been creating more of her installation pieces with themes closest to her heart that she had never been able to explore in the past.

“From the time the Iranian President made those comments about the Holocaust I can’t understand how he could allow himself to make such ridiculous comments,” said Nassi. “His words were really bone chilling and they loose their effect in the translation. Since I understand them and because I’ve seen the crematoria in Austria and Germany, it has been my goal as an Iranian Jew to depict the theme of the Holocaust in my work”.

Noticing her talent and ambitions, some local Iranian Jewish organizations have warmly welcomed Nassi and embraced her unique art work.

“She’s intelligent, passionate about her work and very talented,” said Dariush Fakheri, founder of the Eretz-SIAMAK Cultural Center in Tarzana, California. “We would welcome her and have in the past welcomed talented artists and writers from our community to share their works at our center”.

Krista Nassi’s past artwork can be found at www.kristanassi.com

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