- NEWS & COMMENTARY
Kerry says Israelis, Palestinians must make tough decisions
Israeli and Palestinian leaders must decide soon on whether to revive long-dormant peace negotiations to end their decades-old conflict, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday.
Industry is best bet for peace, Israeli billionaire says
On a new industrial park in Israel's largest Arab town, a software plant belonging to a multibillion-dollar U.S.-listed firm sits cheek-by-jowl with two small Arab-owned businesses: a metal factory and one producing tools for brain surgery.
Adelsons donate $40 million to Birthright
Casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, donated $40 million to the Birthright Israel Foundation.
- HOLLYWOOD
Billy Crystal to star in Larry Charles’ FX series
Looks like FX is going to be injecting some humor into their lineup. Not a bad idea, we think, after many seasons of the awesome yet dark series “Justified” or…
Civility replaces violence in ‘Last White Night’
In June 1965, during the most violent days of the civil rights movement, 21-year-old Paul Saltzman drove from Toronto to Mississippi to become a freedom fighter with the Student Nonviolent…
Spielberg to produce ‘Halo’ television series, plus other news from the Xbox One announcement
Microsoft Corp gave the world a first look at its new Xbox One on Tuesday, announcing that its first gaming console in eight years will come with exclusive video and…
- LIFE & CULTURE
A talent agent turns yogurt maven
Amy Salko Robertson — producer of such films as “The Oh in Ohio,” “Lab Rats” and “When Do We Eat?” a comedy set at a Passover seder —realized that she…
Maccabi Tel Aviv back on top but coach future uncertain
Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv have reasserted their dominance of Israeli soccer but media reports on Tuesday suggested they might have to continue their revival without coach Oscar Garcia.
Angelina’s breast cancer victory isn’t for celebrities only
Actress Angelina Jolie just announced that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy after learning that she was genetically predisposed to cancer. Her disclosure was a powerful show of solidarity with…
- BLOGS
Propaganda lies in a disguise
Muhammad al-Durrah, the little boy who became the symbol of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, is returning to the headlines after a decade. A photo of him, crying, leaning against a wall…
Male Eating Disorders: A Real Thing
Recently, People Magazine came out with an article about Ashley Hamilton talking openly about his struggles with an eating disorder. I applaud Ashley for coming out about having an eating…
Religion at the End of The Big C
Last night, Showtime’s The Big C aired its final episode. After three seasons of half-hour installments, this comedy returned for a shortened final season consisting of four hour-long episodes. Subtitled…
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A ‘walk’ to remember
With African drumming and a chorus of shofars, more than 2,000 people in purple T-shirts reading “I walk to tip the scales” gathered in Pan Pacific Park on April 14 to call attention to global injustice.
Chanukah in Chad
It is late into the evening, and I just remembered – tonight is the first night of Chanukah, even in the seemingly God-forsaken town of Farchana on the eastern rim of Chad.
South Sudan president makes lightening visit to Israel
The president of the new country of South Sudan arrived in Israel for a short working visit during which the possibility of repatriating Sudanese infiltrators to the country set to be discussed.
A small voice with a big message
Jacob Tragarz didn’t take the easy route when it came to his mitzvah project — he went big. The 12-year-old student decided to raise awareness about the suffering and violence in Darfur by organizing an assembly for nearly 700 of his peers at Marshall Fundamental High School, a public school in Pasadena.
The Real “Machine Gun Preacher”: Unorthodox Atonement
Pray with your feet, end genocide
As a high school freshman, Katie Hoselton decided to join an extracurricular club called “End Worldwide Genocide.” She didn’t know much about the issue at first but read up on conflicts in Eastern Europe and Africa and became a passionate activist for the cause.
Activists Stand Firm on Warrant for Sudan Leader
Hours after an international court issued a warrant for his arrest, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir kicked humanitarian aid groups out of his country. Nevertheless, Jewish activists who backed the indictment are standing behind their decision.
Jewish Group: Long-Awaited Bashir Arrest Is a “Window of Opportunity”
L.A.'s Top Ten Mensches: Our fourth-annual salute to big-hearted Angelenos
The Jewish Journal created this list as a response to all those lists extolling fame, money, power and hotness. We honor these special ten because they are just people -- menschen, to use the proper Yiddish plural -- who understand the power and possibility of just one person.
Meet Gabriel Halimi, Kim Krowne, Manijeh Youabian, Andrew Wolfberg, Susan Corwin, Ari Moss, Richard Braun, Bracha Yael, Jack Matloff and Neil Sheff
Unprecedented opening for Darfur action exists
But the truth is that committing to ending the genocide in Darfur has never been more urgent. Darfur activists are facing an unbelievable opportunity to affect real, lasting change in the region. And if we don't seize this opportunity now, it could be a very long time before such a window opens again.
Photographer documents life in Darfur
The collection of images Grover brought back offers a tentative answer: Her portraits depict a people traumatized by war, yet able -- through the aid of relief agencies and the sustaining human spirit -- to maintain a measure of hope.
We can continue to make a difference in Darfur
I've spoken about Darfur for five years straight now, and sometimes I get tired of talking about the genocide that has claimed 450,000 lives, just as I'm sure people get tired of listening to me talk about it. Yet for me, as for many other Jews, there is simply no choice in the matter. This is because as Jews, we know what it is like to have the world forget and to have the world fail to act.
Awakening schmawakening, Darfur’s hope is grass-roots action
" . . . It is the grassroots work that will, more likely than not, serve as the impetus for and foundation of whatever action our government takes in response to genocides like the one in Darfur . . ."
Calendar Girls Picks and Clicks August 16-22: Politics, dance, education and music
Dear Condoleeza Rice:
Last Saturday, on the Jewish Sabbath, I was attending prayer services at one of the big synagogues in Los Angeles, Beth Jacob Congregation, when something unusual happened that made me think of writing you this letter.
Activists champion Darfur in pre-Olympic vigil at Chinese Consulate in Koreatown [VIDEO]
A day before the scheduled opening ceremonies in Beijing, Jewish World Watch (JWW) hosted at the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles
Welcome to the Orwell Olympics
Why do I have the feeling that if hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of Chinese imports and of American business investments in China were not at stake, quiet diplomacy wouldn't be the slogan du jour?
Timing is everything in the Olympics—and in Darfur
However, I also live with the images of the many people I have met in Darfur and Chad who have seen their communities and lives torn apart. They are not anticipating medals; they simply want to know that the world cares and that we have the resolve to act.
Don’t just sit there—do something
Among the candidates for the $100,000 Teen Choice prize is Adam Sterling, a UCLA graduate raised in Oak Park who is now director of the Sudan Divestment Task Force
Briefs: Syria and Israel talking again, Israeli colleges want Palestinian students
Attempt to pressure China on Darfur loses to the Olympics
Jewish groups have taken lead roles in drawing attention to China's policies and specifically sought to spotlight the country's record in advance of this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. Yet it appears as if China will suffer no significant international sanction when the games open Aug. 8
The West guilty of genocide in Darfur?
Valley ‘Walk for Darfur’ raises $35,000
More than 1,400 people marched up Vanowen Street and across Victory Boulevard in West Hills last Sunday to raise funds and awareness about the genocide in Darfur. The second annual three-mile Walk for Darfur raised more than $35,000 for Jewish World Watch's work in refugee support, political advocacy and education.
Calendar Girls picks and clicks for May 31-June 6
Genocide 2.0
In Washington and abroad, longstanding Jewish organizations added their voices of protest against the genocide in Darfur.
But guess what: It's not enough.
Calendar Girls picks and clicks for April 26-May 2
Winner of the Camera d'Or prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, "Jellyfish" is another example of the remarkable cinematic explosion of Israeli films garnering
Briefs: Governator opens new Saban Free Clinic, Weisenthal Center pressures Swiss on Iran deal
News Briefs
Darfur project cooks up first for Bronfman prize
The simplest innovations sometimes lead to the greatest rewards, as Rachel Andres learned this week when she was named the 2008 recipient of the $100,000 Charles Bronfman Prize. The annual prize is awarded to a person or team under 50 years of age, whose Jewish values spark humanitarian efforts that contribute to the betterment of the world. In Andres' case, her work gives succor to some of the most helpless and brutalized people in the world, the 10,000 refugee families, mostly fatherless, who have escaped the massacres in Darfur.
Bush should press China on cutting Sudan ties
As an American citizen, I would like to see President Bush demonstrate some of the courage and resolve exemplified by the celebrity activists, using his power to try to persuade China to change its behavior. If China does not cooperate, the president should reconsider his plans to attend the Olympics.
Briefs: JTN’s ‘Jewish Americans’ series gets big numbers; Darfur activists target China
Community briefs.
I found unity, friendship and tzedakah in Anaheim
Imagine walking into a room full of 1,000 Jewish teenagers from all over North America who are singing in unity and celebration of their Jewish heritage.
This was the sight at the 2007 United Synagogue Youth (USY) International Convention. From Dec. 23-27, the Marriott Hotel in Anaheim became the center for teens from all over North American attending an amazing weeklong convention packed with social action projects, Jewish studies and most importantly, a focus on tzedakah.
Trip highlights our duty to help worldwide
Our Jewish communities now have the resources they never had before. We have a certain influence over everything in which we become involved. Let us now employ the hope that defines us as Jews and ameliorate the world's conditions for ourselves and for whomever else we can before our entrenchment in despair becomes possible again.
No Teddy Bears’ Picnic in Sudan for English teacher
Bearing witness a world away from L.A.
Email excerpts from Janice Kamenir-Reznik and Tzivia Schwartz-Getzug of Jewish World Watch as they travel to Chad to assess the success of a program to provide refugees from Darfur with solar cookers.
Blogging under African skies
Saturday, Oct. 13, three leaders of Jewish World Watch flew from Los Angeles to Africa for a two-week trip, with their ultimate destination the Sudanese eastern border refugee camps, Iridimi and Touloum in Chad. Jewish World Watch's Solar Cooker Project, led by Board President Janice Kamenir-Reznik, Executive Director Tzivia Schwartz-Getzug and project leader Rachel Andres, has raised $850,000 to date, to provide self-sufficient and easy-to-use cookers to women in the camps so they don't have to put themselves in grave danger of rape or murder when they leave the camps to collect firewood.The Jewish Journal invited the three travelers to record diaries while on their journey, the first entry of which, written by Kamenir-Reznik, an attorney, longtime activist and Jewish leader, we reprint here. It was written four days before departure.
Agahozo
There's a new mitzvah in the Jewish world, and its name is Africa. It is hard not to notice the increased money and energy Jews and Jewish organizations are putting into the continent.
Six activists illuminate ‘Darfur Now’ documentary
While the Darfur crisis enters its fifth year, the American Jewish Committee and Warner Independent Pictures have taken a lead in raising awareness of and combating the genocide in the Western Sudan region, where an estimated 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced. For some time now, the AJC has had a national task force dedicated to Darfur, but in the past year and a half, members of the AJC's Los Angeles branch developed a film proposal that ultimately led to "Darfur Now," a documentary from Warner Independent that follows the efforts of six people to resolve the humanitarian disaster. The film will be released in theaters on Nov. 2.
Darfur double standard
Cartoon.
Israel’s Darfur refugees require worthy action
I was in Jerusalem in early July when a news story about Sudanese refuges demonstrating in front of the Knesset caught my eye.
Jewish Olympians must shine light on genocide
In the summer of 1936, a year after the enactment of the Nuremberg Laws, the world turned a blind eye to Nazi Germany's genocidal intentions as Hitler hosted the Olympics in Berlin. With next summer's games set to take place in Beijing, Jewish and Israeli athletes have a responsibility to help ensure that the world does not make the same mistake.
The wrong Zionist response to refugees
If Israel goes ahead and sends 1,000 southern Sudanese refugees back to live under the Pharaoh, after what they went through in Sudan, then once and for all we Jews ought to get off our high horse about how "the world stood silent" when we needed help.
Briefs: Spielberg to press Hu Jintao on Darfur; U of California vs. Shabbat; Weiss recall effort kicks off
Community briefs.
The time has come for action on Darfur
We're told, these days, that the situation in Darfur is not as simple as we supposed a year or two ago. There, too, ambiguity. But it is not acceptable to be immobilized by ambiguity, not when women are being raped, children starved, people driven from their homes, routinely slaughtered. Much of life is inherently ambiguous. Yet, if not now, when? Else it will never end.
Enough
Cartoon.
Briefs: Koufax and SLO power-hitter named draft IBL picks; Iran top terror sponsor
World news briefs.
Schwarzenegger at Shoah ceremony: ‘Today we must speak out’
Excerpts from a speech by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at Yom Hashoah Ve'Hagvurah Community Wide Holocaust Remembrance Day at Pan Pacific Park.
We dare not murder memories of genocide
Amnesia of the past foreshadows amnesia of the future. Forget yesterday's tragedy and the threat to tomorrow is denied. Forget the first genocide of the 20th century -- the murder of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 -- and the memory and atrocities of the first genocide of the 21st century in Darfur turn invisible, and the world response is muted.
Israel Policy of Imprisoning Refugees Being Challenged
Israeli activists and lawmakers are challenging in court the current policy of incarcerating Sudanese refugees who illegally enter the country under a law dealing with "enemy nationals" that allows them to be detained indefinitely.
From Darfur to Israel: A Family’s Perilous Exodus
Sudanese Discover Parallels in Visit to Yad Vashem
A group of refugees from Darfur on a visit to Yad Vashem lingered next to a model of the crematorium at Auschwitz, taking in the ghastly sight of bodies carried on cots and pushed into ovens.
A Troubled Exodus
With two miles of bare footprints behind them, Ahmed and Fatima and their three children approached the border with Israel in the middle of a cold winter night. Snow was falling in the Sinai.
Films: Truth is key to unlocking genocide silence in ‘Gates’
The International Court of Justice recently handed down two rulings refusing to characterize the atrocities in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Darfur as genocide. While The Hague is reluctant to use the G-word, filmmakers around the world are not.
Interfaith and intercultural festival to benefit Darfur
The "goal is to use the entire event, not just a seder" to raise awareness and funds for Darfur, Jewish World Watch Executive Director Tzivia Schwartz-Getzug said.
Darfur becomes part of Israeli vocabulary
"In general people from the West are in a special position to do something very positive for Israel," Berrin said. "We can import some of our positive values and awareness. In this case, we want the average Israeli to know what's going on in Darfur and to care about it."
Good to be the Chief; Get Your Challah On
Circuit
Noteworthy sessions and events at the G.A.
Noteworthy sessions and events at the General Assembly
Israeli Security Offers Pointers to LAX; Education Programs Get Multimillion Dollar Boost
Community briefs - Israeli Security Offers Pointers to LAX; Education Programs Get Multimillion Dollar Boost
State of Humanity Forum: ‘Darfur silence is lethal’
The inaugural State of Humanity Forum, held Oct. 17 at Valley Beth Shalom.
Loyalty to Jews or to humanity? There is no ‘either-or’
The question is whispered and must be answered in a forthright manner: Darfur or Israel? Is your loyalty to your people or to humanity? Is your loyalty to Judaism or to mankind? Are you essentially a Jew or a human being?
Candidates for U.N. Secretary-General post consult with U.S. Jewish leaders;
World News.
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