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honoring

Stamp of Approval

A picture may be worth 1,000 words — but it will only cost you 37 cents. This month the U.S. Postal Service is issuing American Scientists commemorative stamps honoring two of the keenest Jewish minds of the 20th century: physicist Richard P. Feynman and mathematician John von Neumann.

High Marks for Jewish Swimmers

\”Watermarks\” is a life-affirming documentary that celebrates the constancy of courage and grace, from youth to old age.\n\nIts setting is the waltz-loving Austria of the 1920s and \’30s, where the lithe young swimmers of the fabled Hakoah (\”the strength\”) Vienna sports club are beating their \”Aryan\” rival clubs year after year.\n\nFreestyler Judith Deutsch alone breaks 12 national records in 1935 and is the toast of the town, until she refuses to compete for Austria at Hitler\’s 1936 Olympic Games. As punishment, she is barred from competition for life and all her marks are erased from the official record books.\n\nAfter the Reich\’s takeover of Austria in 1938, the swimmers scatter to Palestine, the United States and England, marry and establish professional careers.\n\nSome 65 years later, Israeli director Yaron Zilberman decided to track down eight of the swimmers, now in their 80s, in their adopted countries.

Just One Voice

It\’s nice to honor Righteous Gentiles when they\’re dead. It\’s even nicer to acknowledge them while they\’re still alive.

Good Kids, Bad Revenge

At the Humanitas Prize awards luncheon in Universal City earlier this summer, Jacob Aaron Estes picked up a $10,000 cash prize honoring the screenplay for his Paramount Classics film, \”Mean Creek,\” which opens this weekend.

When asked what he would do with the money, the Chicago-bred writer/director told The Journal, \”Pay rent.\”

The \”Mean Creek\” script depicts what happens when a teenage prank goes horribly wrong on a rafting trip. Such unexpected cruelty, Estes said, is based on \”a whole accumulation of childhood experiences that I borrowed from.\”

Big-Hearted Giver’s Crowning Moment

Paul Goldenberg avoided playgrounds and sports while he was growing up, because he lacked athletic prowess. He spent hours in the cool darkness of a movie house.

The Jewish Side of…

There was no red carpet or Hollywood glitz, but the first Jewish Image Awards, honoring outstanding work reflecting Jewish heritage in film and television, proved a lot shorter and funnier than the more celebrated Oscar ceremonies.\n\nVeteran director Arthur Hiller (\”Love Story,\” \”Plaza Suite,\” \”The Man in the Glass Booth\”) received the Tisch Lifetime Achievement Award. It was presented by the multitalented Carl Reiner, who spent most of the introduction pointing out why Hiller didn\’t deserve the award.\n\n

Wonder Women

Last year Hollywood unleashed woman of action Erin Brockovich, and won the Academy Award for its star, Julia Roberts.

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More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.