Springs Fire forces evacuations for Jewish institutions in Ventura County

By Ryan Torok
Published on May 3, 2013

Synagogue leaders are reporting that the Springs Fire has affected Jewish institutions in Ventura County, including Malibu camps run by Wilshire Boulevard Temple (WBT) and synagogues Temple Ner Ami, Temple Etz Chaim and Temple Adat Elohim.

Leonora and Herbert Kolischer, Holocaust survivors and entrepreneurs, 88

Published on December 5, 2012

Leonora Kolischer died in her home in Malibu on October 31, followed soon by her husband Herbert Kolischer on November 4. They were both 88.

What do tattoos say about you?

By Ilana Angel
Published on July 30, 2012

Micol Cohen, community member, dies at 34

Published on July 5, 2012

Micol Cohen, a 34-year-old international marketing professional, was fatally injured in an ATV (all-terrain vehicle) accident on June 24. Cohen, a native Italian who lived in Beverly Hills, was a passenger when the vehicle veered off a private road in Malibu and, according to the California Highway Patrol, hit an exposed tree root. Cohen died from blunt-force trauma.

Writer’s Guild to Honor ‘Extremely’ Talented Screenwriter Eric Roth

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on January 26, 2012

RHOBH: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

By Ilana Angel
Published on December 5, 2011

‘Hebrew Hammer’ named National League MVP

By Lauren Bottner
Published on November 28, 2011

Malibu’s HaLevy a leader of rabbis, a face of change

Published on May 24, 2011

When Rabbi Judith HaLevy came to Los Angeles in 1992 to help start Mesivta, a Center for Jewish Spirituality, she committed to stay for just a year. Nineteen years later, she is deeply rooted in the L.A. community with the thriving Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue and a new post as the 36th president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California.

Mommy Camp

By Dikla Kadosh
Published on March 2, 2011

Hyler begins to heal

By Danielle Berrin
Published on August 23, 2008

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

Joan Hyler’s condition stabilizes

By Danielle Berrin
Published on August 19, 2008

Hollywood talent manager Joan Hyler’s critical condition has stabilized, three days after she was struck by a car on the Pacific Coast Highway and nearly lost her life.

Hyler condition stabilizes

By Danielle Berrin
Published on August 19, 2008

Malibu tango on Carbon Beach

By Susan Freudenheim
Published on July 24, 2008

It is not a secret that many beachfront homeowners in Malibu have a disproportionate sense of ownership of the surf and turf that fronts their properties. They pay millions for the illusion that they own the beach. It's also not a secret that they don't.

A priest, a rabbi and a minister go on the Jay Leno show*

By The Web Guy
Published on January 24, 2008

Class notes: Students attend ‘Israel High;’ Boychik Scouts; Honors abound

By Julie G Fax
Published on September 8, 2007

Education

Dancing with my dad—and David Dassa

By Dikla Kadosh
Published on May 17, 2007

Rikud is the largest and longest-running Israeli folk dance camp in the United States, and it takes place every year on Memorial Day weekend at Camp Hess Kramer in Malibu. More than 300 dancers from around the world pack into the beachside summer-camp facility for three days of non-stop dancing.

Cozy Kosher Surf Shack—Observant Oasis in the ‘Bu

By Adam Wills
Published on August 31, 2006

Situated a quick jaywalk across Pacific Coast Highway from Surfrider Beach and the Malibu Pier, Malibu Beach Grill is a kosher oasis in a town renowned for breathtaking seaside vistas, A-list celebrity sightings and new-age crunchiness.

Cozy Kosher Surf Shack: An Observant Oasis in the ‘Bu

By Adam Wills
Published on August 17, 2006

Joyce Brooks Bogartz's look isn't quite what you'd expect from the owner of a kosher restaurant. Adorned with brown-and-cream dreadlocks, the nearly 50-year-old proprietor of Malibu Beach Grill would at first glance seem to fit in better with customers sporting board shorts than black hats. But this post-punk Gidget is the kind of 'Bu Jew who is as comfortable around Chabadniks as she is with surfers.

New Camp Gives Life to a Dying Wish

By Julie G Fax
Published on September 23, 2004

During the last few weeks of his life, when the brain cancer that had stalked him for eight years was about to claim victory, Daniel Jacoby spent hours on his laptop.

Malibu Shul Begins Building—Finally

By Julie G Fax
Published on August 26, 2004

Construction crews broke ground at the site of the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue (MJCS) last week -- two and a half years after the congregation held a gala groundbreaking celebration for the new $10 million building.

"Building in Malibu is legendary -- it's very difficult to get through the regulatory process. Thank God, we've made it through all of that," said George Greenberg, congregation president.

Chabad Cafe Makes Waves in Malibu

By Evan Pondel
Published on August 26, 2004

The recently mounted mezuzah on the front door of a soon-to-be opened restaurant in Malibu is symbolic for many reasons.

It marks the first kosher eatery to open in the seaside community. It also symbolizes Chabad of Malibu's first foray into mainstream life in a city of surfers and celebrities.

Chabad has been cultivating its surf town persona since 2001, purchasing several buildings and a house across the street from the Malibu Pier. A sign posted in front of the property portrays the silhouette of a Chabadnik riding a surfboard.

With Camperships for All

By David Finnigan
Published on May 27, 2004

They are not scholarships but "camperships" in Jewish summer camp parlance. Of the 1,000 campers expected soon at Malibu's Camp JCA Shalom, which is supported by JCCGLA, about 200 parents applied for camperships.

"It's amazing, in the past few years, the income level of people who are requesting camperships," said Bill Kaplan, executive director of the Shalom Institute, which runs Camp JCA Shalom. Its campership aid this year will run about $130,000, $75,000 of which is general camp aid from The Federation. That is an increase from the $50,000 The Federation made available 2002, the boost due to the increase in cash-strapped families.

Campers Hit the Great Outdoors

By Lea Silverman
Published on May 27, 2004

Nestled deep within a Malibu canyon off the Pacific Coast Highway, the Shalom Institute, a Jewish summer camp and nature center, has planted an extensive organic garden on its grounds this year and plans to incorporate the age-old tradition of farming into its summer programs.

Happy Trails to You

By Ruth Andrew Ellenson
Published on July 10, 2003

At Ramirez Canyon Park in Malibu, Happy Trails offers an opportunity for city-dwelling kids to interact with nature.

The Circuit

By Michael Aushenker
Published on May 22, 2003

The Circuit

The Rabbi’s Wedding

By Marlene Adler Marks
Published on January 24, 2002

When Rabbi Judith HaLevy of the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue exchanged rings with Edward Toppel of Chicago last Sunday, hope, like the late afternoon winter sun, burned brightly. If remarriage, as the saying goes, is the triumph of optimism over experience, how much more so when the rabbi herself carries white calla lilies?

Sephardic Survival

By Adam Wills
Published on November 29, 2001

"Survivor" as inspiration for Jewish programming? It seems strange that the divisive show where deceit, backstabbing and empty promises are de rigueur would serve as the inspiration for a Shabbaton that stresses the importance of religious and cultural continuity. Yet Sephardic Tradition and Recreation (STAR) has seized on this pop culture phenomenon and infused it with a positive spin.

Ghosts on the Beach

By Charlotte Hildebrand
Published on June 15, 2000

I arrived in Miami Beach one morning last week on a mission: to find the last kosher hotel in South Beach, an ultra-hip area of restaurants, clubs and shops that used to be the hub of Florida Jewish life.Today you can drive along Ocean Drive (inch along is more like it) and see scores of suburban teenagers and sophisticated European tourists sitting at Art Deco restaurants and hotels, sipping their lattes and looking to be seen, but you won't find many Jews. South Beach is where Gianni Versace was murdered on the steps of his mansion and where Gloria Estefan, Madonna and Sylvester Stallone all have had multimillion-dollar homes at one time or another.

Hands-on Tikkun Olam

By Michael Aushenker
Published on April 6, 2000

More than 220 Jewish environmental activists gathered in Malibu last weekend for this year's Mark and Sharon Bloome Jewish Environmental Leadership Institute, sponsored by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL). Professionals from Jewish educational, environmental and outreach institutions came from as far as Canada, Europe and Israel.

Higher Ground

By Melissa Minkin
Published on February 24, 2000

Take nearly 100 people training to be rabbis, priests, pastors, ministers, nuns and religious educators. Put them together for 24 hours at a Jewish summer camp. Add a torrent of rain, and stir in several inches of thick mud. What do you get? You never know.