November 13, 2007 | 3:15 pm

Brimming with young leaders

Posted by Dikla Kadosh

The sensually-lit private room at Celadon on the corner of Fairfax Avenue and 3rd Street could barely contain the steady flow of incomers. Martinis and munchies in hand, 20 and 30-somethings spilled over into the adjacent bar area, furnished with sumptuous Oriental couches and drapery reminiscent of a Moroccan palace. Executive Chef Danny Elmaleh was born in Israel to a Moroccan father and Japanese mother and fuses the two cultures in his cuisine…but that’s a whole other story.

More than 100 people attended “Martinis & Mitzvahs for a Cause,” last Wednesday night’s kick-off for the newest “young Jewish professionals” group to sprout in our dynamic community: Jewish Family Service’s Young Leaders (not to be confused with the Jewish Federation’s Young Leadership Division).

Young Leaders is the brainchild of several JFS board members’ children, who were inspired by their parents’ devotion to L.A.‘s oldest and largest social service agency.  Their mission is to assemble a group of tikkun olam-minded people together to contribute - time not money - to the various programs JFS runs: shelters, domestic violence hotlines, soup kitchens, counseling centers, senior assistance and more.

Susie Forer-Dehrey, the Associate Executive Director at JFS, described the type of people they think will be drawn to Young Leaders: hands-on, action-oriented young Jews who want to do more than just fund-raise for worthy causes; people who want to see the direct consequences of their involvement; people who would like to contribute as little or as much time as their schedules allow and pick and choose their areas of passion. And if they happen to develop a “passion” for one of their fellow volunteers, then great! Mazel Tov! Mitzvot with a side of mating…

Though the details are still being worked out, the Young Leaders seem to be off to a terrific start with an overwhelming initial response and a hip launch party. To get on board this snappin’ new venture, email Young Leaders at youngleaders@jfsla.org.

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November 12, 2007 | 12:25 pm

AJU book fest: From Kushner to King

Posted by Danielle Berrin

Not even the dreary cold of a damp winter’s day could deter more than 2,000 people from celebrating Jewish literature and their authors. Bundled in cashmere and boots, the crowd waited in long lines for their favorite storytellers to pontificate on their craft. The event amounted to more than just a “celebration of Jewish books”; it was a celebration of Jewish community, identity and the penetration of Jewish value into mainstream media.

The week-long program began Monday night and culminated with a carnival of festivities for the whole family on Sunday Nov. 11. The fair blanketed the AJU campus giving writers a unique opportunity to discuss their work among an admiring crowd of kin; for the audience of readers, a chance to hear their literary heroes reveal the subtext beneath the stories they know and love.

Here’s a breakdown of the discussions I caught:

Tony Kushner:
Kushner set the tone for the week with his proud declaration of being a gay, Jewish playwright in America. He discussed how identity politics has informed his writing and allowed him to explore the facets of his own character through those that he writes. Though he is unsure that his time is best spent learning Torah and Talmud to the exclusion of other great literature and art, he said his interest in Jewish religious worship is on the rise. I won’t attempt to encapsulate his rap on Israel here, but you can listen to excerpts yourself.

My favorite speaker of the week, Kushner was brilliant and candid.  He stayed late into the night signing books and generously listening to the outpour of stories that met him with each hand shake.

Anita Diamant:
The idea of The Red Tent revisiting a biblical story from a new (and feminist) perspective made it a juicy read, but Anita Diamant failed to excite with her dull explanations of how she came to be considered “a Jewish author.” Though the title no longer bothers her.

Larry King:
The avuncular, suspenders-wearing broadcaster is undoubtedly an entertainer. With surefire wit, he reflected on his humble beginnings in Miami radio to becoming one of the most successful hosts in television. He considers Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton the two most brilliant men he’s ever met and if Nixon were alive, he’d hire him to be an analyst at CNN. He spoke of Clinton’s love for Yitzhak Rabin and added that if Rabin hadn’t been killed, he would have died from chainsmoking. King lamented the current state of media and how his network would cancel an interview with Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, for a shot at Lindsey Lohan.

Shmuley Boteach:
Schmuley Boteach rocked the room with his progressive views of the American family. The reason for the depraved states of Lohan and Spears and Hilton? Lack of love at home. These are the “attention seekers” that fuel American culture. He even admitted to being one himself. The solution? “Shalom in the Home.” Improve family by improving marriage. As a cultural and religious critic of contemporary American values, he hesitated before he said, “I believe Jewish pride is more important than Jewish education.”

Michael Chabon:
If judging by numbers, this was the best loved author at the fair. Fans packed the Gindi to hear a handsome and somewhat effeminate Chabon discuss how fatherhood has changed his life. Complete and total immersion in novel writing is a distant dream and when he can, he escapes to the Chateau Marmont to delve inside his own head.

Rabbi David Wolpe and Sam Harris:
Can something like “faith” unproved by science be real? The only event of the fest to sell out, Rabbi Wolpe’s hometown cheerleaders came out in full force to hear their beloved rabbi obliterate Sam Harris’s scientific claims against God and religion. Being that neither side believes the other has a cogent argument, it’s a difficult debate to have, but Wolpe did it much better with Stephen J. Gould back in ‘99. Harris was just uninteresting. It was the end of faith in science and religion being treated in the same realm - they are simply categorically different!

(Top photo by Luke Ford: The Jewish Journal’s Kimber Sax, Susan Freudenheim and Rob Eshman flanked by the winners of the JJ essay-writing contest on “What does it mean to be the people of the book?”)

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November 7, 2007 | 6:15 pm

Comedy for a cause

Posted by Dikla Kadosh

Laughter is not only the best medicine, it’s also the best fundraiser.

Comedians + Hollywood venue + food + worthy cause + young Jewish professionals = a really successful benefit

The Jewish Federation’s Entertainment Division put this tried-but-true formula to work for Laugh Out Loud 2 on Thursday, Nov. 1 at the Laugh Factory, and the result was predictably fabulous. They raised nearly $50,000 to send inner city kids to Camp Max Straus, which is operated by Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters.

More than 250 professionals employed in the entertainment industry shelled out $150 a ticket for a night of schmoozing, noshing and chuckling.

The Federation managed to line up an impressive group of entertainers, though some of the big headliners turned out to be big duds.

Chris Kattan, who filled in for Jerry O’Connell as the night’s host, read jokes from a crumpled up paper and seemed completely out of his element. It was as if his agent dragged him out of bed twenty minutes before the event and said, “you’re the closest thing to a Jew I can find at the last minute, so here’s the list of comedians and a few suggestions for jokes. Have fun.”

Jeff Garlin was a rambling nut who went on way too long.

Chelsea Handler was hysterically inappropriate.

Bill Bellamy had a hard time connecting to the audience, except for the few “white guys love flip flops” jokes that elicited a few giggles.

David Spade was lackluster.

Elan Gold rocked the house. The up-and-coming cutie bounded onto the stage and blew everyone away with his energy, sharp wit, right-on Jewish humor and edgy but not vulgar material.

To top off the night with a little insanity, bad boy Dov Davidoff’s hyper routine had the crowd doubled over in their seats with laugher.

All in all, it was a fantastic event and the kicker was that the fun everyone had will be directly responsible for the fun 1,000 under privileged kids are going to have next summer at a camp geared specifically to their needs. To get involved, check out www.jewishla.org or www.jbbbsla.org.

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November 7, 2007 | 11:22 am

Pickles!

Posted by Danielle Berrin

Food for thought: you can eat pickles or you can make a living off of them. Tonight you can get a taste of both.

LA mag’s restaurant critic Patric Kuh, who recently ranked the 10 best delis in Los Angeles, will conduct a pickle tasting based on his finds. Following that, filmmaker Dalit Kimor will screen her documentary, “Pickles, Inc.” about eight Arab-Israeli widows living in the Galilee, who achieved financial independence through a business venture of “pickling” vegetables.

With children at home, little education and no formal business experience, the women hurdled significant obstacles to create the Azka Pickle Collective. As business grew, they faced the challenges of managing work and motherhood, developing a market for their goods and expanding to stores throughout Israel.

After munching and the movie, there will be a Q&A with the director - a pretty pickle for a Wednesday night.

“Pickles and a Movie.” 6:30 tasting, 7:30 screening. Free. Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, 8844 Burton Way, Beverly Hills. (310) 288-3742. www.tebh.org.

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November 6, 2007 | 11:36 am

AFI’s film affair

Posted by Danielle Berrin

Movies! Movies! Movies!

In a city where we are inundated with them all the time, the American Film Institute has programmed 11 days (Nov. 1-11) of the most provocative international films to hit the silver screen. With a film line-up as enticing for its edgy documentaries as its riveting political dramas, Los Angeles residents have a once-a-year opportunity to glimpse the best in cinematic storytelling.

The Calendar Girls will be camping out at the Arclight with a torah scroll of must-see films:

* Jason Reitman’s latest, Juno, written by the explosively talented Diablo Cody (a former stripper who made it to the bigtime when Ivan Reitman’s offspring read her sexy memoirs)

* Artsy Julian Schnabel’s newest work, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, is based on the true story of the Elle France magazine editor who suffered a debilitating stroke but resolved to use his only functioning body part - his left eye - to write his memoirs.

* Persepolis, the adaptation of a graphic novel by Iranian Marjane Satrapi whose revolutionary female protagonist captivated audiences at Cannes

* Noah Baumbach, a fresh contemporary voice in cinema, screens Margot at the Wedding, an intimate portrait of erudite family dysfunction starring Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh as quarreling sisters.

* Operation Filmmaker proves that no good deed goes unpunished when actor Liev Schreiber invites a young aspiring filmmaker from Iraq to assist on his film, but when things don’t go as planned, Schreiber finds himself negotiating moral terrain he never anticipated and wrestling with the responsibility he bears for extricating the boy from a war zone.

From Israel:

* The Quest for the Missing Piece is director Oded Lotan’s investigation into the tradition and practice of circumcision. Thought provoking and undoubtedly humorous, Lotan actually sets out on a journey to find the strip of skin whose excision left him bereft.

* The Band’s Visit, a story of cross-cultural difference and reconciliation depicted through the trials of an Egyptian police band who find themselves lost in Israel on the way to a concert. They encounter friendship and invaluable lessons along the way.

* Also from the holy land is Jellyfish about “the emotional misadventures of three women whose paths cross at a Tel Aviv wedding.” This film won the Camera d’Or (best first feature) at Cannes in May.

And of course there are many exceptional films without the purview of the Jewish lens.

Brilliant Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien screens The Flight of the Red Balloon; Known for her penetrating explorations of female sexuality French femme Catherine Breillat debuts the U.S. premiere of The Last Mistress. With films from China, South Korea, Lebanon, Austria and Romania, special showcases on American, African and Latin cinema, you can take your imagination around the globe through the world’s most popular modern art form—cinema!

For schedules and ticket information, visit www.afifest.com and get thee to the theater!

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November 2, 2007 | 12:48 pm

Raging Rafaeli sues Israeli newspaper

Posted by Dikla Kadosh

Leo’s ex, who’s quickly moved on to pro surfer Kelly Slater, has an odd way of doing damage control.

After the Israeli supermodel tarnished her image in an October Yediot Ahronot article titled “Bar Refaeli Versus the State of Israel,” where she essentially declared how little she cared about the country of her birth (see my last post), she decided suing the largest newspaper in Israel for libel would be the best way to handle the storm of negative publicity.

According to Haaretz, another Israeli newspaper, Refaeli’s lawyer sent a scathing letter to Yediot, claiming she was manipulated and misquoted and deserves half a million shekel ($125,000) in personal damages.

He alleged that the newspaper article “initiated and encouraged a media and public lynching of Bar Refaeli.”

To be sure, Refaeli’s lawyer is correct in that last statement. Since the Yediot article was published, the international beauty has been vilified and attacked in various media outlets, particularly in the Hebrew-language newspapers here in Los Angeles.

Rumor has it that Yediot taped the interviews and is ready to defend its reporters and editors with the intensity that most Israelis, excluding Refaeli of course, defend their beloved country.

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November 1, 2007 | 10:36 am

La segunda noche Idishe

Posted by Danielle Berrin

Ay dios mio! Now you can experience the divine Divina Gloria sing her “rich and raspy blend” of Yiddish and Spanish klezmer, which I wrote about last week. I think her singing is effusive and beautiful but you can decide for yourself:

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