Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi to step down as Israel Project head

Published on February 2, 2012

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, the founder and president of The Israel Project, said she will leave the advocacy group by July 1.

Stan Levy: The exact opposite of founder’s syndrome

By Jonah Lowenfeld
Published on November 8, 2011

Stan Levy, a lawyer with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, sat down with a journalist at the firm’s offices in West Los Angeles on a Monday afternoon earlier this month. At one point during the conversation, Levy threw out a few favorite quotations, one of which concerned the difference between the law and justice.

Young women find it’s not their bubbe’s Hadassah

By Rachel Heller
Published on July 9, 2008

A spiritually-attuned mother of two with a background in software sales, Rabishaw might not seem like your typical Hadassah member. Then again, many young members say, this isn't your grandmother's Hadassah.

My leather-bound life

By Mrs. Shoshana F
Published on June 12, 2008

Marilyn Harran: A Modern Righteous Gentile

By Marc Ballon
Published on December 28, 2006

Looking forward, Harran dreams of establishing a visiting scholars' program at the university and growing the Holocaust library's small collection, although raising the needed money might prove difficult, she said, given her distaste for fundraising.

Jewish day schools short-change kids with special needs

By Julie G Fax
Published on November 9, 2006

Adam is pushing the strings of his tzitzit through a small hole on the side of his desk.

Arnold stops at Jewish Home for Aging; Cal GOP says ad campaign worked; North Valley JCC shooting la

Published on November 9, 2006

Even when the gubernatorial election was just two days away, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger found time to talk to a large group of senior citizens at the Jewish Home for the Aging in Reseda.

A Circle of Friends

By Mitch Jadidi
Published on April 6, 2006

For several weeks, I had been visiting Nathan, a 6-year-old boy diagnosed with autism. We had been brought together through the Conejo Valley Friendship Circle, an organization that extends warmth to families in the community that have children with special needs.

Requests Swamp Israel Trip Program

By Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Published on February 23, 2006

Birthright Israel has received many more applications for its upcoming trips than it has spaces available. Approximately 14,000 young Jews applied for 8,000 spots in the program's spring/summer trips this year in just the first 12 hours of registration Feb. 8.

Big Sunday Gets Big Boost From City

By Naomi Glauberman
Published on February 16, 2006

Corporate, private and organizational donors underwrite the day, including Temple Israel. The budget this year is $450,000. The city's participation will include providing security, busing and street closures. Additional donors are both welcomed and needed, Levinson said.

Russian City Gets New JCC

By Yasha Levine
Published on January 19, 2006

Anatoly Obermeister, president of the construction and development firm ASTRA, plans to offer the ground floor -- about 6,000 square feet -- of a new housing project in the center of town for use as a Jewish community center that could include a restaurant, clinic, school and other social services.

Karen Gilman: What Makes Her Run?

By Amy Klein
Published on January 5, 2006

That volunteer work is vast. She served as the sisterhood president of Temple Israel of Hollywood and currently co-chairs its AIDS lunch project, which distributes food once a month. Gilman is also social action chair for the Western Federation of Temple Sisterhoods, which presents the women's positions on legislative policy.

Moshe Salem: Giving a Voice to Israelis

By Amy Klein
Published on January 5, 2006

Although the organization originally began in 2001 as a pro-Israel advocacy group, when other organizations like StandWithUs began to effectively fill that role, the CIC changed direction to try to foster a relationship between Israelis and Israel, its culture and values.

Fight the Minotaur in the Tax Labyrinth

By John Chiang
Published on December 1, 2005

This past September, the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles, the Zimmer Children's Museum and representatives of more than 70 other organizations attended a seminar for nonprofits that I conducted at The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

AIPAC Is Guilty—But Not of Spying

By Michael Berenbaum
Published on October 27, 2005

Rosen recognized that he ruffled too many feathers to be out front. So he groomed protégés to assume that role. He mentored one so well that he became the head of AIPAC; another became the first Jew to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

Sarah’s Tent to Fete Feminist Scholar

By Susan Josephs
Published on August 18, 2005

Driving down Wilshire Boulevard about 35 years ago, Savina J. Teubal saw the bumper sticker that changed her life.

Sacred Words Come Naturally

By Sandee Brawarsky
Published on August 4, 2005

Ellen Bernstein has been called the birth mother of the Jewish environmental movement. In 1988, she founded Shomrei Adamah (Keepers of the Earth), the first national Jewish environmental organization, and since leaving the group in 1996 has been an educator, consultant and writer.

Failed Joshua Venture’s Serious Failings

By Gary Wexler
Published on April 14, 2005

Now that it has been "formally put to death and buried," as one of its grantees told me, I feel free to speak out about the Joshua Venture, a supposed breakthrough organization, subsidizing the ideas of nonprofit professionals who will be leading the next generation of Jewish life.

WWI Huns Spark His Passion for Exercise

By Hillel Price
Published on February 3, 2005

I joined the Maccabi organization when I was 16. It was a sports club with a Zionist philosophy. The goal was to build a strong youth who would be able to fight for Eretz Yisrael.

Q & A With Wilda Spalding

By Sarah Price Brown
Published on October 21, 2004

Open Wilda Spalding's "little black book," and you'll discover a code of ethics -- written in part by Eleanor Roosevelt and adopted by the United Nations in 1948: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Israeli Docs Save Third World Hearts

By Shaanan Meyerstein
Published on October 7, 2004

Inside the Mnaje Mojo hospital -- "one coconut" in Swahili -- it was absolute chaos. The place was teeming with people and I had to push my way through what seemed a never-ending crowd to get to the small room at the end of the corridor.

Opportunities Open

By Dina Kraft
Published on September 30, 2004

A recent day brought welcome news for a small group of young Bedouin women who weekly gathered in a tin shed in a corner of their windswept desert village of Kasr Alssr, Israel, to study.

Opportunities Open

By Dina Kraft
Published on September 30, 2004

A recent day brought welcome news for a small group of young Bedouin women who weekly gathered in a tin shed in a corner of their windswept desert village of Kasr Alssr, Israel, to study.

Argentina BombingAcquittal Stirs Furor

By Florencia Arbiser
Published on September 9, 2004

On July 18, 1994, Paola Czyzewski was at the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires when terrorists bombed it, killing the 21-year-old law student and 84 other people.

Jewish Arsonist Worked for Paris Center

By Philip Carmel
Published on September 2, 2004

Paris police say a 52-year-old Jewish man arrested Monday morning in connection with the Aug. 22 torching of the Judaeo-Spanish social center in the capital's 11th district is the principal suspect in the arson.

Islamic Group Uses Jewish Sect as Tool

By Kevin O’Grady
Published on July 1, 2004

In fact, CAIR's sponsorship of the tour, which occurred last month, had nothing to do with improving dialogue or facilitating understanding -- just the opposite.

Cancervive Offers Community of Hope

By Nancy Sokoler Steiner
Published on June 10, 2004

After successfully undergoing cancer treatment almost 30 years ago, Susan Nessim thought that she could put the experience behind her. With her disease conquered, Nessim found a new set of challenges ahead.

Buy It Now

By Rob Eshman
Published on May 13, 2004

It continues to baffle me why anybody who cares about the future of Jewish communal life in Los Angeles
would seriously contemplate closing the Valley Cities Jewish Community Center (JCC).

Adding Mitzvah Multiplies Simcha

By Donna Gordon Blankinship
Published on May 13, 2004

Sometimes the smallest details are the ones that make the biggest impression.

Vocational Service Gains Career Center

By Marc Ballon
Published on April 29, 2004

To Vivian Seigel, Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) is a living, breathing entity that must grow with the times or risk irrelevance.

Charities Ask L.A. to Help Israel’s Poor

By Gaby Wenig
Published on April 29, 2004

Ask Abraham Israel about hungry people in Israel and he gets exasperated.

A Thaw in Relations

By Rachel Pomerance
Published on April 8, 2004

Who says that Israelis and Palestinians can't work together? On New Year's Day, a group of Israelis and Palestinians embarked on a 35-day expedition to Antarctica that culminated in the scaling and naming of an unexplored mountain.

The group, Breaking the Ice, was honored this month for diplomacy through sport by Search for Common Ground, a nonprofit organization dedicated to conflict resolution.

Q & A With Robby Berman

By Julie G Fax
Published on March 18, 2004

Robby Berman was a journalist living in Israel writing about organ donation when he came across some alarming facts: Out of 200 people who were declared brain-stem dead in a given year, only 70 families agreed to organ donation -- giving Israel the lowest percentage of organ donors in the Western world.

Learning Reshaped at Europe’s Limmud

By Andrew Morris
Published on February 26, 2004

Limmud, which means learning in Hebrew, is a name that for many in the Jewish and non-Jewish educational world has become synonymous with an inclusive, bottom-up approach to education.

Grappling With Competing Needs

By Rachel Pomerance
Published on November 20, 2003

While most participants at the North American Jewish federation system's annual conference were happy just to be in Israel this week, the network's decision makers were grappling with another matter -- funding for overseas partners.

Read Your Way to Cultural Literacy

By Sarah B. Boxer
Published on October 16, 2003

Julie Sandorf recalls her immigrant grandparents telling her that they learned to be Americans at the public library, where they improved their English and learned more about American culture.

The Little Flower That Could

By Nancy Sokoler Steiner
Published on October 16, 2003

Hippies, bellbottoms and Volkswagen Beetles aren't the only '60s icons to resurface.

New Producers Join Chabad Telethon

By Gaby Wenig
Published on September 4, 2003

Chabad's annual "L'Chaim -- To Life!" telethon will look a little different this Sept. 14 since two new producers are helming the 23-year-old fundraiser.

Arab Groups Assail Bush Appointment

By Matthew E. Berger
Published on September 4, 2003

Jewish and Arab leaders say President Bush's appointment of Middle East scholar Daniel Pipes to a federal think tank -- despite the objections of Arab groups and some congressional Democrats -- offers a window into White House thinking on Middle East issues.

Promoting Medical Care in Israel

By Beverly Gray
Published on September 4, 2003

Even when Jews packed medical school classrooms, there were few organizations dedicated to their special concerns.

Hirschfeld Dismissal Shocks, Frustrates

By Marc Ballon
Published on September 4, 2003

The recent layoff of Michael Hirschfeld, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Committee (JCRC), has set off a firestorm of criticism in the community and raised questions about the priorities of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

Communities Find Light in Darkness

By Rachel Pomerance
Published on August 21, 2003

"I gotta tell you," said Lenny Silberman, North American continental director of the JCC Maccabi Games, "doing this for the games for 20 years and working with those communities, the potential for a big balagan [brouhaha] was definitely there."

Center Responds to Critical News Story

By Tom Tugend
Published on August 14, 2003

Its high profile -- spurred by an aggressive and media-savvy leadership -- makes the Simon Wiesenthal Center an inviting target.

Kosher Feng Shui

By Gaby Wenig
Published on August 7, 2003

Jayme Barrett wants you to close your bathroom door and keep the toilet seat down. That is the feng shui (pronounced fung shway) way of assuring that the positive energy that comes from clearing out your clutter and creating love, wealth and fame will stay in the appropriate places in your house and not drain out every time you flush the toilet or pull a plug.

The Circuit

By Michael Aushenker
Published on June 12, 2003

The Circuit

Jewish Churchgoers on the Rise

By Gaby Wenig
Published on June 5, 2003

It's Sunday morning at the Church of Ocean Park, a Methodist church in Santa Monica that strangely lacks overt Christian insignia: there are no crosses or crucified Jesuses decorating the walls, but the stained-glass windows do picture a bearded figure tending to a flock of sheep, with a shaft of light illuminating his head.

Moving Beyond Ladies Who Lunch

By Rachel Brand
Published on May 29, 2003

Bat Yam's efforts follow a trend of volunteer organizations trying to entice younger members to replace an aging membership. In doing so, groups like Hadassah must change their image to counter old stereotypes. Historically viewed as an organization for older, married women, Hadassah now has a wide variety of options for women who don't fit the mold.

StandWithUs Hosts Second Conference

By Rachel Brand
Published on April 24, 2003

When 14-year-olds Kobi Mandel and Yosef Ishran were found brutally stoned to death by Palestinian terrorists on May 9, 2001, Jews around the world mourned.

Holocaust Programs Focus on Education

By Sharon Schatz Rosenthal
Published on April 24, 2003

What do the Kurds have to do with Holocaust? More than you might think.

Haitian Songs

By H. Eric Schockman
Published on April 24, 2003

The following piece was written after a recent trip to Haiti, during which a delegation from MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger was hosted by the Lambi Fund, one of MAZON'S longtime grantees.

Bonded by Ghetto

By Michael Aushenker
Published on April 24, 2003

Irene Gutovicz remembers the days when members of the local group of philanthropic Holocaust survivors, known as The Lodzer Organization of California, would donate a bowl of borscht or a plate of kugel.

All Is Not Lost

By Leonard Fein
Published on April 10, 2003

Pesach is rushing up to meet us, or we it, and with it, the real -- not the chronological -- spring. And spring, as is well known, hopes eternal. Accordingly, a column on the reasonableness of hope, the bad times notwithstanding.

Is Hollywood Against the War?

By Tom Teicholz
Published on March 13, 2003

Across the country, Americans are wondering, "Why is Hollywood against the war?"

‘JAM’-packed Campus Outreach

By Rachel Brand
Published on February 27, 2003

It's not unusual to see 60 students cramming into an nonairconditioned duplex on fraternity row on a Saturday night at UCLA -- unless
those students happen to be surrounding a havdalah candle singing Hebrew songs.

Marriage, Italian Style!

By Michael Aushenker
Published on February 20, 2003

Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services is throwing "A Big Fat Italian Wedding" on March 1 to raise money for its Presidents Club, a group that helps troubled teens through dinners, sporting events and awards nights.

American Jews and Saddam: A Lesson from the 1930s?

By Dr. Rafael Medoff
Published on February 13, 2003

Should American Jews support U.S. military action to remove Saddam Hussein from power?

Pumping Up the Bottom Line

By Marc Ballon
Published on February 13, 2003

On Sunday, Feb. 23, 800 volunteers from across the Southland will staff the phones from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. to raise money for the Jewish
Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

Hadassah Encourages Women to ‘Check Out’ Program

By Journal Staff
Published on February 6, 2003

Despite winning a $5,900 grant in December 2001 from the Susan G. Komen Foundation to present the program free to 2,000 students, Hadassah's Long Beach-Orange County chapter has, so far, found few takers.

Reform Shuls Object to Kol HaNeshamah

By Andrea Adelson
Published on February 6, 2003

Objections raised by two established Reform congregations toa start-up alternative shul in Irvine has forced the new group to temporarily
postpone seeking admission to the Reform movement's national organization, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC).

Passing the Torch

By Michael Aushenker
Published on January 30, 2003

Longtime "1939" Club member William Elperin didn't know what he was getting himself into when he became the leader of the Holocaust
survivors' organization.