As a young woman she joined a Zionist youth group and trained as a dental technician. The Hamburg Jewish community wisely housed all its youth movements under one roof, enabling the different ideological views to mingle. It was there that Hilde met her future husband, who was studying agriculture. When he was granted a certificate to go to the Land of Israel they decided to get married and go together.

Hilde was already old and bent when I first visited her about ten years ago, though I could see from her photographs that she had once been a handsome young woman. She and her husband had both worked hard, she in her profession and he in his, though once their children were born she stopped working as a dental technician and worked alongside her husband, who was one of the first in Israel to grow flowers commercially.

Hamburg always remained close to Hilde’s heart. Even at her advanced age she could remember the Friday night family gatherings in her grandparents’ home, the subjects of conversation and the cakes and delicacies her grandmother baked. She even sang me the song her uncle (my grandfather) had written in honour of his parents’ golden wedding, her eyes twinkling and her voice still clear.

To have total recall at the age of 97 is a mixed blessing, as many of Hilde’s memories were painful. Although I had fully expected her to join her in celebrating her centenary, the end came, suddenly and without warning just a few days ago. For me it is as if the last link with the past I have endeavoured to get to know has gone.

The foregoing article was reprinted from the AJR Journal (Association of Jewish Refugees) in England.

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Jews in the News          
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 Like you, we're pleased when members of our community are praiseworthy, and are disappointed when they are blameworthy. Whether it's good news or bad news, we'll try to keep track of what's being said in general media about our fellow Jews. Our news spotters are Dan Brin in Los Angeles, Donald H. Harrison in San Diego, and you. Wherever you are,  if you see a story of interest, please send a summary and link to us at sdheritage@cox.net.  To
see a source story click on the link within the respective paragraph.
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QUESTION: Sean, the whole Middle East is in flames now from Iraq to Gaza to Lebanon. How do you view this situation and what are you trying to do?

QUESTION: My apologies as well if I'm taking you back a little bit, but there's a secret UN report that was leaked to The Guardian newspaper and it was by Alvaro de Soto and essentially he said that the U.S. is to blame for the failure in the Middle East. The U.S. and American pressures pummeled into submission the UN's role as an impartial negotiator. I'm wondering if you can respond to some of those allegations in this report.

MR. MCCORMACK: It's a -- an alleged secret UN report. You know, I haven't seen it. I'll leave it to the UN to comment on whether or not these are the personal views of the former envoy or the corporate views of the UN.

QUESTION: He said it was his own view and it was an End of Mission report and he said it was just, you know, the failed diplomacy in the region and the breakout of the Palestinian government, you know, really led to much of the feeling of the internal violence.

QUESTION: Sean, any update on the situation in Gaza and are you concerned about the Palestinian Authority?

MR. MCCORMACK: An update, there's still violence ongoing. The "military wing" of Hamas is still attacking legitimate security institutions of the Palestinian Authority and particularly those who report to President Abbas. It's a -- you know, it is a fluid situation as I understand it now. Everybody wants to see the violence end. But let's be clear about who triggered this latest wave of violence and the context in which they did that. As I said, it is this so-called military wing of Hamas that launched these attacks, started these rounds of violence that has swept up innocent civilians in firefights and gunfights and the shelling and the mortaring just as Egyptian envoys were working to try to bring together elements of Hamas and Fatah -- political elements of Hamas and Fatah to come to some sort of political accommodation so they can lower the violence. It also came in the context of not a stop but a reduction in the number of Qassam rockets that were being fired out of a Gaza.

Quite clearly there are those who are irreconcilable to any political process that would result in negotiations with Israel to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They're quite clearly trying to undermine that by undermining any sort of political accommodation within the Palestinian political process. It's -- you know, the victims -- the real victims in all this are the Palestinian people and the Palestinian people who want their children to be able to take their high school exams, to take their university exams, want to go to work, who just want to be able to provide a better living for their family and for those Palestinians who want to live in Palestine. So we are continuing to support President Abbas.

We have called on others in the region to express their support for President Abbas and those Palestinian moderate political elements who have foresworn the use of violence and who have an interest in reaching a political settlement with Israel via the negotiating table and we're going to continue to support those elements and we're going to continue to support President Abbas.

QUESTION: Are you concerned about his authority?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, this is -- thus far you have not seen any spread of the violence to the West Bank. You know, certainly everybody welcomes that. You want to see an end to the violence in Gaza. It's an attack upon those legitimate Palestinian institutions that are struggling to provide some law -- some semblance of law and order in the Palestinian areas, who are trying to come up to international standards of behavior whether that's in the areas of finance or governance or security. These are extra governmental groups who want to put an end to that and want to reverse course and who are committed to the use of violence not only against Palestinians but against Israelis.

QUESTION: Sean, twice today you've -- once this morning and once just now, you said that everybody wants to see an end to the violence.

MR. MCCORMACK: Right.

QUESTION: But isn't that inaccurate because obviously not everybody wants -- there wouldn't be any violence if everybody wanted to see the end of it.

MR. MCCORMACK: True enough.

QUESTION: And based on that, or given that and what you said earlier --

MR. MCCORMACK: I'll -- let me revise and extend, all of those who have an interest in a more peaceful Middle East and --

QUESTION: Okay.

MR. MCCORMACK: -- who want to see a political settlement to the Israel-Palestinian track.

 

Regional and Local

Those commandments are a pretty tall order, if you’re either Hamlet, Claudius or Gertrude, three of the main characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. You see, the king is dead, (Hamlet) the king’s brother (Claudius) has married his sister-in-law (Gertrude) and the ghost of the now dead king wants his son (young Hamlet) to avenge his death. It’s murky.

No one in the court of the Danish royal castle of Elsinore, sans young Hamlet, seems suspicious of the sudden death of the King of Denmark, nor of the nature of his death (snake bite, they say while he was sleeping), nor of the hasty marriage of his mother and the king's brother three days later. Not the court’s counselor, Polonius, not Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, nor Ophelia, Polonius’ daughter and Hamlet’s love interest. No one seems the least bit phased. It’s business as usual.

Young Prince Hamlet is pretty upset besides being disgusted, suspicious,  disillusioned and at odds over the past events surrounding his father’s death as he hears about the ghost of his father appearing at night outside the castle from his friend Horatio, and the sentry, Marcellus who's on watch (who sees the ghost of the King and who is quite spooked to say the least.)

And when Hamlet sees the ghost himself, who talks to him about revenge, “foul and most unnatural murderer” and Hamlet questions the ghost and it replies “I am thy father’s spirit/doomed to walk the night…”, Hamlet faces a moral dilemma. He knows that killing is wrong. He knows that vengeance is condemned. On the other hand, he feels it’s his moral right to kill, “He that hath killed my king and whored my mother,/ Popped in between the election and my hopes”.  (Act IV, Scene 2.)

Let’s recap: death; suicide; fratricide, incest, murder, feigned madness and revenge . “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Act I, Scene 4).

The stage is set, the players are in place. Lights! Camera! Action! Let the players begin.

Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, now in a  fine production at The South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa is like a magnet to theatre critics, arts patrons and Shakespeare aficionados.

Right now  in Souther California there are several reasons for celebration. Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies and Hamlet is a tragic figure whose moral dilemmas no sane person would envy. Tony Award Winning Daniel Sullivan directs this particular production. Hamish Linklater (Hamlet) is a recognizable TV and film name (Live From Baghdad, Gideon’s Crossing, The New Adventures of Old Christine.
Linda Gehringer as Gertrude;
Hamish Linklater as Hamlet

Brooke Bloom (Ophelia) is no novice to TV and film having appeared in Without a Trace, Jack and Bobby, and Cold Case.  It’s a damn good play (and quotes taken from it abound), and The Old Globe in San Diego is mounting Hamlet as its first production on The Festival Stage on the 30th with Darko Tresnjak directing. So there will be lot’s to compare.

Sullivan’s casting of this show is, in many ways genius. That Linklater as the young Hamlet is himself young, good looking, agile, funny and serious at the same time gives another dimension to this altogether complicated character. Linklater hops, slides, wanders and jumps around the stage like an animal seeking out his prey. And he is.

His interactions with his friends change like the wind depending on whether he thinks they are friend or foe. Most of them, in his mind, are foe. And when he pretends to be mad, he is more than convincing, pouring out the Bard’s words as they belonged to him. His “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy was a little disappointing, however. Linklater seemed to have lost the musical rhythm that belongs to that soliloquy. It lacked the impact that it should have had. Other than that, he soared.

In contrast, Robert Foxworth’s Claudius is calm, collected, mature and not deterred in his mission to lead his kingdom whether Hamlet stays in Denmark, goes back to school, goes mad or disappears (read gets killed off). He’s cool, and gives a reassuring atmosphere to the rest of the court. One might argue that just below the surface, he’s burning with rage because Hamlet is so difficult, but one would hardly notice. His Gertrude, Linda Gehringer, is another one who seems unperturbed by the events that just happened. She casts a worried eye on her son, but never lends an explanation, only a reassurance that what she’s done is OK.

Claudius’ support system is in  the body of his counselor, Polonius (Dakin Matthews)  who is at his utmost best as the loquacious and comical (without his knowing, of course) advice-giver and general flatterer in the court. His daughter is Ophelia and his intentions are to make sure she does not end up with Hamlet.  He sees to the king's every wish even to the point of plotting against Hamlet with the king.

Matthews, an Old Globe Associate and oft times dramaturge, is such a fine balance between the old the young,  the experienced and the beginner, the confident and the hopefulm and the soothing and the prickly, that even as one wishes he would stop his pontificating already, (it’s in the script) it’s such fun to watch and listen as he recites in beautifully balanced cadences, Shakespeare’s words. We wouldn’t have him any other way.

Back to the young and the restless, Michael Urie as Hamlet’s friend Horatio, offers fine support as the only person Hamlet trusts. Again, his presence is strong and convincing. And as for Ophelia, Brooks Bloom is perfectly cast as the beautiful but fragile young love interest who, through no fault of her own, is spurned by Hamlet. When she can take it no longer, her mad scene (and she really does go mad as opposed to Hamlet’s feigned madness) is absolutely, tragically, agonizing to watch.

At the end of the play as well, when Horatio holds the young prince in his arms, after his duel is fought and he has  drunk the poisonous wine that kills his mother and  Claudius, and he  says “good night, sweet prince” there weren’t too many dry eyes in the house.  

A strong ensemble make up the rest of the players who wander in  out and about  on the raised  thrust stage with thick wooden planks that extends into the audience. Set designer Ralph Funicello’s set is so that the players sit on the sidelines when not in the play and become spectators In essence, most of the cast is in sight most of the time. Props are minimal and used sparingly. In the background is a  huge canvas reproduction of Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s Dulle Griet (Mad Meg). The picture of a mad woman in the center, reminds us of the madness going on on stage.

Ilona Somogyi’s costumes are a mixed bag with some courtly looking outfits on some of the characters and not on others. Must be a director's choice. Pat Collins lighting is beautifully cast as characters come and go and especially when the ghost appears and when Hamlet kills Polonius and we only see the shadow of the act  from behind a curtain. Sullivan and his crew have cast new light on this vigorous production  of the young Hamlet. Most of the time it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but not for lack of talent. It’s well worth the trip north.

In Hamlet, as in so many of his works, Shakespeare deals with universal themes, major issues and problems dealing with broad human understanding. That they should be relevant today, is only one of Shakespeare’s legacies.

Hamlet continues through July 1. For more information log on to www.scr.org 

“This is the time of the year we can recognize the part that volunteers play in keeping our arts community thriving” explained Dea Hurston, who chaired the event.  Of those honored, the Jewish community can be proud of:

*Rita Bronowski is the La Jolla Playhouse STAR recipient. Bronowski has been a part of the Playhouse for more than 25years. As Emerita Trustee, her continued support has helped with the fulfillment of the Playhouse's mission.

*Roberta Wagner Berman—At The San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, Roberta Wagner Berman is the STAR recipient for her volunteer work as librarian for the past 11 years at the Samuel and Rebecca Astor Judaica Library. There she oversees the cataloging, circulation and acquisitions, creates displays and coordinates a team of volunteers. She is a member of the Library Committee and the San Diego Jewish Book Fair committee.

If you need something done, always ask a busy person.

Mazal Tov to our Jewish STAR honorees!