- NEWS & COMMENTARY
Nuclear enrichment among Iran’s ‘inalienable rights,’ new president says
Iran’s President-elect Hassan Rohani said he would strive for transparency in his country’s nuclear program but would not stop enriching uranium.
Bill Clinton to Israelis: Share future with a Palestinian state
There is no alternative to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Bill Clinton said at an event to honor Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Murder victim related to temple founder
A Porter Ranch woman, who authorities said was shot and killed early Friday morning when a domestic dispute escalated, was the daughter of a founding member of Temple Ahavat Shalom (TAS) in Northridge, according to a family member of the…
- HOLLYWOOD
The future of Hollywood, according to Steven Spielberg
Can’t imagine shelling out $25 to see “Iron Man” in the theater? Soon you may not have a choice, says Steven Spielberg.
Six reasons why Superman is Jesus in ‘Man of Steel’
Last night I attended a press screening of the latest installment of the Superman franchise, “Man of Steel,” directed by Zack Snyder and produced by "Batman" director Christopher Nolan. An…
Old Spice guy does another Israel commercial
Old Spice guy Isaiah Mustafa has taken his act to Israel… again. Two months after sporting a suit and tie for a Maccabee beer ad, the actor has gone shirtless…
- LIFE & CULTURE
Barbra Streisand slams Orthodox Jews’ actions against Israeli women
U.S. entertainer Barbra Streisand on Monday took a swipe at Orthodox Jews in Israel who compel women to sit in the back of buses and assault them for following religious…
Cute video of the day: Matisyahu’s kid sings
Nothing says “happy Father’s Day” like your very own kid covering your very own song. In this clip, which Matisyahu posted to YouTube (and we saw on Jewcy), the reggae…
The Continuing Mystery of Bruno Schulz
The great writer and mystifier Bruno Schulz left a plethora of puzzles, myths and hidden chambers in two thin booklets of essays. However, one of his lesser-known and most challenging…
- BLOGS
Genius at Work
By Matt Shapiro I stood there, transfixed. In passing, it's just a cabinet; the placard on the wall shared that it was filled with notecards, written and organized by Stanley…
This week from Israel
Watch out, USA, the Israelis are coming! Last week, more than 1,200 Israeli young adults made their way to North America to serve as Jewish Agency emissaries at day and…
5 Best Foods For Lowering Blood Pressure
1. Low Fat Milk Fight high blood pressure with milk products, which contain calcium, potassium and magnesium. Two to three servings per day is sufficient. Make a milkshake, grab a…
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NGO: Eritrean asylum seekers pressured to leave Israel
Israel attempted to deport 25 Eritrean asylum seekers in violation of international conventions, according to an Israeli NGO supporting the rights of migrants.
Canada puts Israel on list of democracies ‘unlikely’ to generate refugees
Canada placed Israel on a list of "safe" countries whose citizens are unlikely to seek asylum as refugees.
French Nazi hunter: Swiss Shoah record better than believed
Swiss authorities turned away only 3,000 Jewish refugees during the Holocaust and not 24,500 as believed, French Nazi hunter and historian Serge Klarsfeld said.
By the numbers: Rising Syrian death toll, refugee wave
Here is a look at the rising human cost of Syria's civil war as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon announced on Wednesday that international donors had pledged more than $1.5 billion to aid displaced Syrians, meeting a U.N. target.
Syrian rebels battle army near Damascus
Syrian rebels clashed with forces loyal to President Bashar Assad near Damascus airport on Tuesday, battling for the capital's outskirts after 20 months of conflict which the United Nations said has driven half a million people from the country.
Syria pushes world refugee total towards record, U.N. says
With tens of thousands fleeing Syria every month, the number of refugees worldwide in 2012 is set to be the highest this century, a senior United Nations official said on Monday.
Jewish Refugees Re-emerges as Issue for Israel-Palestinian Peace
A conference in Jerusalem has launched an element new to the mix of public prattle but nevertheless replete with historical bona fides: the rights of 850,000 Jewish refugees forced from Arab countries between 1948 and 1951 and certified as refugees by the United Nations.
Compensate Jewish refugees from Arab countries, conference urges
Speakers at a conference on Middle Eastern and North African Jewish refugees called for legislative initiatives to support compensation for the refugees.
Israel steps up recognition of Jewish refugees
Naim Reuven was only 8 when he left Baghdad more than 50 years ago, but he still remembers going with his father to catch fish in the Tigris River.
Israel may help Syrian refugees, says MK Yatom
Israel cannot intervene in the Syrian uprising, but would likely accept refugees from that country, according to Knesset member Danny Yatom.
Israel urges tougher action against Assad
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called on Wednesday for tougher world action against Bashar al-Assad, saying he doubted the Syrian president "lost an hour's sleep" over the expulsion of his envoys from several capitals after the Houla massacre.
The odd connection between violence and race
South Sudanese migrants in Israel get reprieve
South Sudanese migrants will not be forced to leave Israel by the end of the month as planned.
Israel prepares for fall of Assad, Syria refugees
Israel is making preparations for the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a flood of refugees from his minority Alawite sect into the Golan Heights, Israel's military chief told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.
Israel challenges U.N. on Palestinian refugees
Israel questioned the use of the U.N. aid agency created exclusively for Palestinian refugees.
Israel must grant entry to asylum seekers
In 1939, sailing from Hamburg, Germany, 938 refugee Jews boarded the St. Louis to flee the Third Reich. They were destined for Cuba. We all know the end of this story. Anti-Semitism and xenophobia prevailed in Cuba; efforts were made for the St. Louis to divert to the United States, but the same exclusionary forces prevailed here. Americans and Cubans alike feared that the Jews would steal jobs and that relaxed immigration policies and quotas would hurt economic recovery; politicians were persuaded that these Jews would somehow bring down, or perhaps sully, society. In that instance alone, 938 Jews were sent back to Europe, most to face extermination in the Holocaust. It is commonly accepted that it is the story of the St. Louis and others like it that helped secure the world’s support to establish the state of Israel at the conclusion of World War II.
Key dates in recent Chinese Jewish history
From the opening of the first synagogue in Shanghai to the start of diplomatic relations between Israel and China, some key dates in Chinese Jewish history.
Recalling Shanghai’s Jewish past
More than 20,000 European Jews fleeing the Nazis found a home in Shanghai, many thanks to a Chinese diplomat in Austria. Honors for Ho Fengshan and a new museum recall that past.
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.
Top Ten Signs we’re making progress towards peace
Since none of them is offering any evidence to back up their optimism, here is my Top 10 list of signs of progress to look for in your cup of Mideast tea leaves to help you judge whether this peace process is serious:
No. 1 goal for new consul— telling L.A. ‘what Israel is’
Yaakov Dayan, the new Israeli consul general for the Southwestern states, has just moved into his high-rise office on Wilshire Boulevard.
The walls are bare and pockmarked with nail holes, but leaning against a chair are the first two pictures to go up. One is a head drawing of David Ben-Gurion, surrounded by the signatures of the state's founding fathers and mothers, affixed to Israel's 1948 Declaration of Independence.
New books chronicle new exodus—Ethiopians’ journey and its aftermath
Roughly 20 years ago, Sudan, whose western Darfur region has been engulfed in genocide for four years, watched another other tragedy unfold -- the deaths of thousands of Ethiopian Jews trying to escape to Israel via Operation Moses.
Report: illegal West Bank construction up; Phosphorous bombs used in Hezbollah fight
Briefs courtesy Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Reports on current stories.
Schmoozing with the Shammes of Shanghai
The Jews of Shanghai, fleeing Nazi persecution, thousands of Jews journeyed halfway around the world to the sanctuary offered by Shanghai's unique status as a free trade city.
A way to peace: carrot-and-stick approach might break impasse
Political impasses are unstable. So is ours. Sooner or later, the volatile situation will erupt, and a new reality will be created.
Americans fighters in Israel get overdue thank you
An exhibit commemorating the American and Canadian volunteers who had fought in Israel's War of Independence in 1947-1949 and manned the "illegal" Aliyah Bet ships carrying refugees to the Jewish state.
Fleeing Nazis Breaks His Father’s Spirit
In the beginning of the Nazi era, my father, thanks to his international reputation, was offered various positions abroad, including, oddly enough, at the main hospital in Tehran, but he couldn't conceive of leaving Germany. Like many old-time German Jews, he looked on Hitler as a temporary aberration, which the good sense of the German people would soon reverse.
Lawyer Floats Own Peace Plan at UCLA
Josef Avesar is a successful Encino lawyer who has a plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It may be a pipe dream, he acknowledged, but the concept was intriguing enough to keep 300 Israelis, Arabs and Americans engaged during a recent three-hour symposium at UCLA.
A Question of Fairness
As Washington and the West weigh a cutoff of aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) could become a crucial lifeline to millions of Palestinian refugees who depend on it for vital services. However, the recent Palestinian parliamentary elections have revived a long-standing Israeli concern: that some of UNRWA's staff are members of Hamas or at least sympathize with the terrorist group's anti-Israel cause.
Camps Spotlight Double Standard
Armed gunmen roamed freely in U.N. refugee camps. They stockpiled weapons, recruited refugees and launched cross-border attacks. In response, opposing forces attacked the camps, aiming for the gunmen -- but sometimes cutting down civilians in the process.
History of UNRWA and Its Refugees
The U.N. General Assembly established the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in 1949 as a temporary agency focused on relief work for the Palestinians. It began operating in 1950. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians became refugees in the war that began when the Palestinians and their Arab allies attacked the fledgling Jewish state the day after its formation in 1948.
Refugee Chief Faces Toughest Test
The honeymoon was sure to end sooner or later. Since Karen Koning AbuZayd took the reins nearly a year ago of the U.N. relief agency for Palestinian refugees, Israeli officials had praised her for steering clear of the politics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
‘Gates’ Hold Key to Palestinians’ Pain
"Gate of the Sun," was originally published in Beirut in 1998 to great acclaim. Subsequently, translations appeared in French and Hebrew, and an epic four-and-a-half-hour film version, "The Gate of the Sun," directed by Egyptian film director Yousry Nasrallah, was released in 2004. The just-released English edition was translated from the Arabic by Humphrey Davies for Archipelago Books.
The Americans Who Fought for Israel
The central display of the Aliyah Bet and Machal Museum, which opens formally this week, commemorates the deeds of the two groups of volunteers for whom the museum is named. The Aliyah Bet portion honors the 240 North Americans who manned rickety ships and ran the British blockade to bring Holocaust survivors and refugees to Palestine between 1946 and 1948, in a clandestine operation. Among the 12 ships was the famed "Exodus 1947."
Yom Kippur: Day of Reality for Refugees
On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, we ask: Who shall live and who shall die? This year, I will observe Yom Kippur -- the holiest day of the Jewish year -- with refugees from Darfur in camps in Chad.
Jews Forced to Flee Arabs Want Redress
Meeting in London at a forum organized by the World Organization for Jews From Arab Countries and Justice for Jews From Arab Countries, Jewish representatives from 14 nations met for two days last week to create the steering committee for the International Campaign for Rights and Redress.
Letters
I have been reading for quite some time now the articles published in various papers (such as the Russian weekly, Panorama) by Richard Chesnoff about France and Europe.
U.S. Rejects Israel’s Offer of Aid Workers
The United States turned down offers of expert assistance from Israel and other nations in the crucial first days after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.
Instead, the United States solicited material assistance from Israel that was probably superfluous by the time the shipment arrived on the evening of Sept. 8.
The reasons behind the decisions are unclear. Experts have offered a number of explanations, including the bureaucratic difficulties involved in absorbing thousands of foreign first-responder personnel, the belief that the existing first-responder infrastructure in Louisiana and Mississippi was well equipped to handle the crisis and the potential political fallout from asking foreign nations to help the world's greatest power save lives on its own turf.
Groups Pitch in With Housing, Tuition
Critics have long derided Jewish federations as functionally outdated and overly bureaucratic -- the organizational equivalent of dinosaurs on the brink of irrelevance, if not extinction.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina's devastation, though, the array of Jewish organizations under the umbrella of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles have shown that they are far from moribund. They have raised large sums of money, moved critical resources to devastated areas and coordinated Jewish agencies to address victims' needs.
Briefs
This year, the People of the Book will miss out on the largest book festival in town, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
Holocaust Deja Vu
There was a time when Dora Apsan Sorell could have really used the $3,043 she received from the German government last summer. The check was meant to compensate Sorell for her slave labor during the Holocaust.
But the 83-year-old Auschwitz survivor and retired doctor who lives in Berkeley gave the money away as soon as it arrived. She donated it to the American Jewish World Service (AJWS), which is among a handful of Jewish organizations trying to aid desperate refugees from the Darfur region of western Sudan.
Aspirations and Anxiety in America
In the late 1970s, a time when Jews in the United States had arguably achieved more status and social acceptance than in any previous era of their long Diaspora, American Jewish groups began work on a project that culminated in 1993 with the dedication of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Sudan—Why We Can’t Give Up on the U.N.
The people of Darfur, most of whom are farmers, need to be safe in their own land. They need immediate relief -- food, medicine, shelter -- and the opportunity to rebuild their lives.
Europe Pushes Palestinian Interests
After what it sees as President Bush's tilt toward Israel, the European Union is indicating that it wants to play a larger role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- with an eye toward promoting Palestinian interests.
Doc Links Teacher to Mysterious Death
Czech officials plan to shelve an investigation into the mysterious death of a top American Jewish official nearly 40 years ago, despite suspicions that he may have been murdered.
Escape to Shanghai Saved Refugee’s Life
At a time when the world shunned them, an estimated 20,000 Jewish refugees from Russia, Germany, Austria and elsewhere made their way to Shanghai before World War II.
World Briefs
World Briefs
Q & A With Benny Morris
Benny Morris says he was always a Zionist. People were mistaken when they labeled him a post-Zionist, when they thought that his historical study on the birth of the Palestinian refugee problem was intended to undercut the Zionist enterprise.
Who’s to Blame for Palestinian Despair?
Like many hothead progressives around the world, I preach antiracism, teach multiculturalism and recognize the United States to be a politically and culturally imperialistic society.
Key Points in Geneva Peace Proposal
The following are some of the main points of the Geneva accord, the unofficial Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal launched Monday.
Geneva Peace Plan a Win for Arafat
Yasser Arafat is the one who gains the most from the Geneva understandings. The State of Israel is the prime loser.
Israel Reconsiders Peace Policies
Israel launched a string of targeted strikes against terrorist leaders, warning that it would no longer distinguish between political and military echelons of any organization waging terror, including Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.
The Right of Return Goes Both Ways
Last week, a group called Justice for Jews from Arab Countries published a report documenting the human rights crisis facing Jews in that part of the world following the creation of Israel.
60th Anniversary Reunites Orphans
Miriam Dybnis, vivacious at 83, insists she and her husband never expected to be honored for their deeds. Still, she's deeply gratified that so many of the young orphans have thrived as adults.
‘Dreamers’ Still Hold Hope for Peace
Sometimes, they say, hope shines brightest in the darkest hours.
Getty’s ‘Danube’: River of Memories
At the entrance to "The Danube Exodus: The Rippling Currents of the River" at the Getty Center's Research Institute is an observation by the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus: "Everything is in constant flux and movement, nothing is abiding.... We cannot step twice into the same river. When I step into a river for the second time, neither I nor the river are the same."
U.N., Refugee Camps and Our Money
Why is the United Nations running refugee camps like Jenin, for people who claim to be living in their own land?
The Circuit
L.A. resident Ralph Harpuder reports that he had a fantastic time at the 2002 Rickshaw Reunion in Foster City, Calif., which brought together 320 former refugees, including Harpuder, from around the world who were all part of the Shanghai Jewish Ghetto.
The Gift of Thrift
T-shirts $2. Jeans $7. Handwritten signs point to bargains galore at the National Council of Jewish Women/Los Angeles (NCJW/LA) Council Thrift Shop.
A Letter to Tom Friedman
Dear Tom,
I heard you had a great trip to Saudi Arabia. In the privacy of their homes people removed their veils and expressed their true feelings. Even the crown prince, the guy who really runs Saudi Arabia, spent some time with you.
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