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ZEEK MAGAZINE October 24-26 Crossing Borders Weekend
CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL
JERUSALEM DIARIES
A celebrity's courtship with Torah
By Judy Lash Balint
 JERUSALEM -- For me, the best thing about this Simchat Torah was catching a glimpse of Natan Sharansky dancing with the Torah in shul.
My shul meets in the gym of Yehuda Halevi school--the minyan that Sharansky attends meets in the room right underneath the gym. Last night, as I was making my way outside for a breath of fresh air in the midst of the frenetic Simchat Torah festivities, I passed by the downstairs minyan in mid-hakafa (carrying and dancing with the Torah scrolls).
There was Sharansky, easily the shortest of the male Torah-bearers, clad in white shirt and white kippa with a trace of a smile on his face as he clasped the Torah scroll close to his body and sang along with gusto: "Tzion, ha-lo tisha-li, lishlom asirayich." The verse is a line from a Yehuda Halevi poem read on Tisha B'Av that translates loosely as "Zion, will you not ask about the welfare of your prisoners."
I spent two Simchat Torah holidays in the former Soviet Union--one in Chernovtsy in 1974 and the other in 1989 outside the Archipova Street synagogue in Moscow. During that era, Simchat Torah was the main festival observed by refuseniks and families of Prisoners of Zion. In a show of defiance against Soviet authorities, Jews would gather every Simchat Torah in the cold and proclaim their allegiance to a higher power.
Seeing Sharansky, a man who spent nine Simchat Torah's in Soviet prison camps, dancing in Jerusalem in 2008, for me embodied the true Simcha--the joy--of the holiday. Jewish history sometimes unfolds before our eyes...
UNITED JEWISH FEDERATION OF SAN DIEGO January 29 Men's Event
San Diego Jewish World endorsements
SAN DIEGO—Following is a list of endorsements made by San Diego Jewish World with links to the editions in which the explanations for each endorsement appeared.
U.S. President —Barack Obama
California State Assembly, 78th District—Marty Block
San Diego City Council, 1st District —Phil Thalheimer
San Diego City Council, 7th District —Marti Emerald
California Proposition 4—Abortion notification —No
California Proposition 8—Ban on Same-Sex Marriage—No
In addition, San Diego Jewish World proudly endorses for reelection two members of our community who have represented us well in the United States Congress: Democrats Bob Filner in the 51st Congressional District and Susan Davis in the 53rd Congressional District
TIFERETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
TEMPLE SOLELNovember 8 Synaplex featuring Rabbi Daniel Gordis
THE JEWS DOWN UNDER
Musician saved by Oskar Schindler dies
By Garry Fabian
  MELBOURNE - A beloved Melbourne musician and Holocaust survivor, who owed his life to Oskar Schindler, died last Friday at the age of 90.
Leo Rosner often said that his piano accordion saved his life because it brought him to the attention of Schindler, the German industrialist who sheltered Jews during the Shoah.
Rosner was born in Cracow, Poland, in 1918. He was one of nine children and his brother Henry like his father played the violin, while another brother George became a pianist.
He took up the accordion because there happened to be one in his family home.
In 1940, when the Nazis came to Cracow, he and most of his family were transported to a ghetto in nearby Tyniec where he played his accordion at a restaurant in exchange for potatoes and flour.
Rosner remained in Tyniec until 1943. He met his wife Helen there, but on the night of their honeymoon, he was separated from her and taken to Plaszow concentration camp. Helen was later transported separately to Plaszow.
There he came to the attention of Amon Goeth, the notorious commandant of Plaszow, who ordered him and other Jewish musicians to entertain his staff at drinking parties held to "celebrate" mass-shootings of Jews.
Rosner's performances were noticed by Schindler, who was a confidant of Goeth. As the Soviet army approached Cracow in 1945, Goeth ordered the liquidation of Plaszow, and Rosner discovered he was to be sent to Grossrosen camp and Helen to Auschwitz.
However, before the transportation began, Rosner and his brother were placed on a list of about 600 Jews who were sent to Schindler's enameling factory in Brinlitz.
"I begged Schindler to find Helen. With bribery and intrigue, he managed to rescue her from Auschwitz and bring her to Brinlitz," Mr Rosner recounted in an interview some years ago
Schindler managed to reunite Mr and Mrs Rosner and even had Leo's accordion returned to him, after it was confiscated on his departure from Plaszow.
Rosner kept himself alive on meagre rations at Brinlitz, where Schindler allowed Jewish workers to sabotage German weaponry sent to the factory for enameling.
"On the eighth of May, two days before we were liberated, my nerves collapsed and I was sent to hospital," Rosner recalled.
After liberation, he was reunited with Schindler in Paris where he thanked him for saving his life.
The Rosners later moved to Australia, making a new home in Melbourne, where he set up a 12-piece band.
Rosner became a household name among Melbourne's survivor community at entertainment venues, such as Palm Lake, the Troika and Dayan Receptions.
In later years, he updated his music with electronic rhythm boxes and synthesisers. He often volunteered his services for social nights that raised funds for the Jewish Holocaust Centre. In the 1990s, Rosner was among a group of survivors filmed at Schindler's memorial at Yad Vashem in the epilogue of Steven Spielberg's film Schindler's List.
Rosner was laid to rest at Melbourne Chevra Kadisha in Springvale last week.
Australian government backtracks on Ahmadinejad
CANBERRA—
The Federal Government announced on Wednesday that it will not pursue legal action against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
During last year’s election campaign, the Labour Party said that it hoped to pursue Ahmadinejad on charges of inciting genocide, but Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the Government has decided against legal action.
The Government had said it would prosecute Ahmadinejad based on his ongoing anti-Semitic diatribe.
Smith condemned Ahmadinejad’s comments, saying the Government was “appalled” with statements the Iranian president made in New York last month.
However, he said that “exhaustive consideration” had been given to the proposition of legal action, but it had been rejected because of its “complexity” and because it would give “further profile to these obscene remarks."
At the same time, Smith announced that Australia would follow the European Union in ramping up sanctions against Iran.
From Wednesday, Australia has imposed travel sanctions and economic sanctions, which are additional to those imposed by the United Nations Security Council. Those sanctions follow the lead of the European Union.
Smith said that 20 individuals and 18 organisations, including two Iranian banks, would be affected by the strengthened sanctions.
He also announced that Australia will not provide any additional financial support to improve trade between the two countries.
Nationals leader Warren Truss expressed the Coalition’s support for the sanctions, but warned against causing too much damage to the two countries’ trade partnership.
He also criticised the Government’s “bravado”, with regards to its failed plan to prosecute Ahmadinejad.
“I caution against bravado when there is no capacity to deliver what is behind those statements,” Truss said.
Police regret Yom Kippur jaywalk ticket
MELBOURNE - Police are concerned about their relationship with Orthodox Jews after an incident at a suburban intersection on Yom Kippur.
A Caulfield North (a predominantly Jewish area) woman, was crossing the street with her four children on their way to a local Chabad House around 11.30 am on Yom Kippur, when she became involved in a verbal altercation wit police.
With no traffic close by, and no automatic cycle on the traffic lights for pedestrian crossings , the woman said she and her children were crossing the main street, with lights on the nearest intersection green.
But the pedestrian lights at the crossing were red, and as they crossed the street, police in the car turning into the intersection began gesticulating to them.
"I was standing in the middle of the road not quite sure what to do, so they motioned for me to cross the road." The woman said the female officer told her she was endangering her children's lives and she would be given a fine.
"They asked for my driver's licence, which I did not have on me, so they were radioing through my information. We were standing on the side of the road Yom Kippur morning for about five to 10 minutes, so I can get my ticket."
She had been told that if the police had not been concentrating on the road, there could have been an accident.
"While they were giving me my ticket, I asked them if they could please get out and press the button on the traffic signal, as it was a very special day. They said no..you can press the button, your God will understand."
When the woman explained she was not permitted by her religion to press the button and that her rabbi would also not press the button on Yom Kippur, the policewoman reportedly said "We'd fine him too if we saw him doing this..we have our own religion, we're the ones that have to go to accidents."
The woman's seven-year-old began to cry during the heated argument. After police had given her the ticket, her 11-year-old pressed the button and the police car then waited until the family had crossed the road. She arrived at shul in tears.
"I don't think it was an anti-Semitic incident. I think is was pure stupidity and the policewoman was very aggressive.. it was not fair on the children," she said.
Victoria Police's acting superintendent for the local district, said that it was an extremely unfortunate situation.
The superintendent said the female officer was not a regular in the local area. "She has just come back to work and hasn't been party to some of the programs that have been put in place in relation to educating the police on Jewish culture and Jewish religion."
She added that police are considering meeting the woman and that the ticket issued to her was subsequently withdrawn.
Local pedestrian crossings operate on an automatic cycle on Shabbat but not necessarily on High Holidays.
Community Security Group coordinator Gavin Queit said the High Holy Day period was largely peaceful and that police had done a highly effective job in providing security.
JCCV calls for urgent meeting with police
MELBOURNE— The Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) has requested an urgent meeting with Victoria Police to discuss Yom Tov road safety issues.
The need for a meeting arose following a report (see above) that a Jewish woman was fined on Yom Kippur for crossing at a red pedestrian light on her way to synagogue.
Despite explaining to the local police officer that her religion prevented her from pressing the button, she was still issued with a ticket and her son was made to press the button. The fine was later revoked.
With more Jewish holidays coming up next Tuesday and Wednesday, the JCCV has asked police leadership to advise them on what can be done in the short term to prevent the same situation occurring again.
The JCCV has also asked police to consider extending automatic pedestrian crossings beyond St Kilda East – where they are currently located – into Caulfield, St Kilda and Bentleigh.
Meanwhile, the community’s rabbis met with senior police and local officers on Thursday at a Succot party hosted by Melbourne Hebrew Congregation.
Australia likely to attend Durban II
SYDNEY - The Jewish community leadership is expecting Australia to attend next year's United NationS Anti-Racism Review Conference in Geneva.
Robert Goot, president of the Executive Cuncil of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), said he believes the Rudd Government will commit to the conference.
The 2009 review conference - colloquially know as Durban II - follows on from the 2001 UN World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa. It was a conference that descended into an Israel hate-fest, replete with anti-Semitic rhetoric.
"I anticipate that the Australian Government, given its overall approach to multilateral discussions, will wish to attend. The ECAJ believes that if the Government does attend, it will do so as it did in 2001, and act as a moderating influence", Goot said.
Goot plans to meet Foreign Minister Stephen Smith in Canberra later this month to dsicuss Durban II.
"We will be asking for the Governments's thinking on Durban II and the planning steps that the Government proposes to take".
Former Melbourne Jewish teacher jailed in the US
MELBOURNE - A former Yeshivah College teacher pleaded guilty to two counts of child molestation and was sentenced to a seven-year prison term in the United States, The AJN learnt this week.
David Kramer was jailed in St Louis, Missouri, in July, after a local psychologist and the community’s rabbi raised concerns about his conduct.
Former Yeshivah College principal Rabbi Avrohom Glick confirmed this week, that for a short time in the early 1990s, Kramer had taught Jewish studies to boys in years 5 to 8. It is understood Kramer was asked to leave the school, and the country, immediately following an alleged incident, which was not formally investigated.
Yeshivah-Beth Rivkah Colleges general manager Nechama Bendet told The AJN this week that the school has since implemented rigorous protocols to prevent inappropriate behaviour.
“Any allegations of misconduct would be taken very seriously by the school and immediately reported to the appropriate authorities,” she said.
She added that the school was fully compliant with the Working with Children Check requirements – a government policy that helps protect children from physical and sexual abuse – as well as the mandatory reporting legislation.
There are also policies in place on appropriate communication between teachers and students within and outside of school hours, and classroom doors have been fitted with windows. In addition, students have been taught to understand their rights to be safe and to develop strategies to avoid inappropriate behaviour.
“The Yeshivah-Beth Rivkah Colleges will act without hesitation to ensure the maintenance of a child-safe environment at all times,” Bendet said.
Rabbinical Council of Victoria president Rabbi Meir Shlomo Kluwgant also emphasised that schools are better equipped now to deal with complaints about teachers.
“Schools are more vigilant and teachers know what to look for,” Rabbi Kluwgant said.
Kramer was working as a volunteer youth leader at the Nusach Hari B’nai Zion Synagogue in St Louis, when Rabbi Ze’ev Smason – who was leading the congregation – developed concerns after discussions with members of the synagogue.
“I met with him to tell him that he would be restricted from any further contact with youngsters within our congregation,” Rabbi Smason told The AJN from the United States. “I also contacted the local government abuse hotline to register my concern.
“When my concerns ... intensified, I told him that he would no longer be welcome to attend our synagogue, nor would he be welcome to participate in any of our programs.”
Rabbi Smason described Kramer as likeable and personable and said that this made it somewhat difficult to confront him.
“However, it was a no-brainer that I had an obligation to speak with him immediately upon hearing concerns expressed by families in my congregation,” he said.
Rabbi Smason added that all rabbis have a legal, moral and religious obligation to protect children at risk.
“To do anything less is a dereliction of the duty we as rabbis have been entrusted with. Our children’s safety comes before any other consideration.”
The United States-based Awareness Centre, also known as the International Jewish Coalition against Sexual Abuse/Assault, reported details of an impact statement presented in court by the victim’s father during Kramer’s trial.
“This sentence sends an important and much needed message to the Jewish community and society at large, namely, there shall be zero tolerance of sexual abuse and molestation of children,” the statement excerpt reads. “We, the parents, leaders and clergy, have to stand up for our children and put our children first.”
Jewish Students snub B'nai B'rith competition
SYDNEY - The Jewish co-chair of the Advancing Australia Fairly competition has criticised Jewish university students from around Australia for not participating in the contest.
The national competition offered students the opportunity to design a poster or write an essay based on the theme of helping Australia “grow together in harmony”.
Ernie Friedlander, chairman of the project and the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) education taskforce, said it was “appalling” that of the 120 entries, only six were from Jewish students.
“I tried to work with the Australasian Union of Jewish Students [AUJS], but there didn’t seem to be any enthusiasm or support for it. It was very disappointing. This is really an area where Jewish people should have an input and put their ideas forward.”
Friedlander said that Jewish students appeared “complacent” and not fully aware of the need to have input and involvement in an issue that affects the Jewish community.
“As a community, which is in danger of discrimination and prejudices, we should be at the forefront of addressing these issues with proactive stances and making people aware of the need of understanding, respect and acceptance of differences.”
When contacted by The AJN, AUJS president Jessica Roth refused to comment, saying only that the organisation did support the initiative by advertising the competition on its website and including it on letters to members.
Two non-Jewish students scooped the prize pool. Cameron Burns, a student at Curtin University of Technology, won the essay component, while the visual section of the competition was awarded to Damien Dry, an engineering student from the University of Tasmania.
Melbourne Jewish Communal launch in 2010
MELBOURNE - With unexpected interest in a Victorian Jewish Communal Appeal (VJCA), organisers are planning to launch a larger-than-anticipated version at the beginning of 2010.
Following a stakeholders meeting in September, the VJCA working group – led by Jewish Community Council of Victoria president Anton Block – has found there is widespread support from community organisations.
The VJCA follows the development of the New South Wales Jewish Communal Appeal. In that state, the appeal has raised millions of dollars in funds since 1967.
In 2007, it raised between $15 million and $17 million, which was divvied up between 18 Jewish organisations, including schools, welfare groups and cultural bodies. This eliminated the need for community organisations to run separate annual appeals.
The initial plan for the VJCA was to begin with a pilot program, which would exclude the larger Jewish community organisations during the first year of operation, but this plan may change.
“It is apparent that nearly all organisations would prefer a rollout of as many interested organisations as possible at the one time, rather than a pilot,” the latest VJCA update stated.
According to Block, the next step in developing the VJCA is to gain further in-principle support from major Jewish donors. To this end, the VJCA working group will present its plans to the Australian Jewish Funders in early December.
The working group is also using the next month to gather important financial information from all the organisations that hope to be included in the appeal. That information, which will remain confidential, will help the working group scope out the amount of money needed annually and its allocation.
Block said he hoped the structure of the VJCA, including the appointment of a chief executive officer, would be completed by the middle of next year. This, he said, would enable the CEO to be included in the process of introducing the VJCA in early 2010.
“Following the response to the presentation on September 8, our working group is even more enthusiastic about the potential for the VJCA than before. The need is there, as is the will to put it in place,” Block said.
LIFE & TERM INSURANCE SERVICES
SOILLE SAN DIEGO HEBREW DAY SCHOOL
THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOKS
Holidays help measure time and values
A Time to Every Purpose: Letters to a Young Jew by Jonathan D. Sarna, Basic Books, New York, ISBN 978-0-465-00246-7, 2008, $23, 175 pages
By Fred Reiss, Ed.D.
 WINCHESTER, California—Samson Raphael Hirsch, the nineteenth century German-Jewish scholar, whom many consider to be the father of the modern orthodox Jewish movement, observed that if Jews have a catechism, it is the calendar. By that he meant that Jews, in general, mark time by the ritual cycles of the Hebrew calendar. Many Jews keep track of how many days until Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The traditional American song, “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” could just as easily be rewritten, “I’ll be Home for Passover.” since Jewish-American families traditionally get together on this holiday to commemorate the exodus from Egypt. As far as other holidays are concerned, even some of the least observant Jews try to find a way to be in synagogue for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. And, let’s not forget that Jewish-American families, especially with children, live for Hanukkah.
The Hebrew calendar, a complex lunar-solar calendar, which creates leap years by adding a thirty-day month at fixed intervals every nineteen years, has four new year's days. Two are no longer observed, the New Year of Tithing (First of the Hebrew month of Elul) because Judaism no longer has a Temple with an active priesthood, and the New Year of Kings (First of the Hebrew month of Nisan) because the people of Israel no longer have a king. The two new years that are observed are the New Year of the Trees, known as Tu B’Shevat, after the fact that it falls on the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, and the New Year of Years, better known as Rosh Hashanah, which falls the First of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Jewish year.
Although it might seem strange that a calendar has multiple new years, it is quite common. In fact, our civil calendar has several. The Fourth of July establishes a new year for the government, January first gives us a new calendar year, September first a new school year, and fiscal years are more of less arbitrary, varying from corporation to corporation.
A Time to Every Purpose: Letters to a Young Jew, might just as well have been titled, Abba’s (Abba is the Hebrew word for father) Ethical Letters to his Daughter Leah. Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American-Jewish History at Brandeis, and an Orthodox Jew, shares with his readers thirteen letters to his daughter, Leah. He presents us with one letter for each Jewish holiday. Some of the selected holidays have a biblical basis, such as Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. Others are modern creations, such as Yom Ha-Shoah, which memorializes the death of the six million Jews who died in death camps throughout Europe, at the hands of the Nazis, and Yom Ha-Atzma’ut, which celebrates the anniversary of the formation of the modern State of Israel. All the Jewish holidays have their roots in the area that we call Israel, except Maimuna, a post-Passover occasion enjoyed by Moroccan Jewry; Yom Ha-Shoah, noting events that occurred in Europe; and Purim, which commemorates an historical event in the life of Persian Jewry.
His book of letters begins with Passover, which falls in the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first Hebrew month, and ends with Purim, which falls in Adar, the last Hebrew month. In each letter, Sarna starts by reviewing the traditional meaning of the holiday, and then branches out into ethical and moral issues raised by the holiday.
For Sarna, the holiday of Sukkot, the Festival of Booths, is not just the traditional story of the Hebrew people wandering in the desert for forty years, or living in temporary shelters as they traveled, in biblical days, from field to field harvesting crops. To him, the holiday of Sukkot also represents the appreciation of hearth and home, and offers a perspective of the lifestyle of those less fortunate. Sarna notes that Philo, a first century BCE Jewish philosopher, suggested that living and eating in a sukkah (a single booth) teaches the concept of humility, and drives home the fact that we need to thank God for giving the rain in its due season, and bringing the harvest to perfection. Sarna’s discussion of Sukkot leads him to the theme of virtue. He tells his daughter that Jews are compelled to stand up for the concept of Tikkun Olam—repairing the world, which today seems to be accomplished through mass political and social actions, rather than through individual struggle.
The holiday of Hanukkah is perhaps the least understood of the well-known Jewish holidays. Because of its proximity to Christmas, many Christians believe that Hanukkah is the Jewish equivalent of Christmas. This is not surprising, since many Jews exchange gifts at this time of year, and through imitation of their neighbors, American Jewry has turned a minor holiday, which celebrates the religious victory of a small army of zealots over the mighty force of an empire, into Jewish Christmas. Anyone who carefully follows both holidays knows that the differences in the marking of time between the Hebrew and civil calendars cause Hanukkah, in some years, to fall as early as Thanksgiving Day. Sarna uses his Hanukkah letter to discuss possible outcomes from intermarriage, which he understands often results in families celebrating both holidays that he calls Christmukkah. He reminds his daughter that because of the wonderful democracy we have in America, anyone is free to marry anyone else; thereby fostering a tension between maintaining traditional Jewish values and assimilation. After all, didn’t Sandy Koufax, to the dismay of many, have to decide between Yom Kippur and pitching in the World Series? The so-called Ten Lost Tribes assimilated into Assyria more than twenty-five hundred years ago through intermarriages. The same thing happened more recently in Jamaica. In 1881, there were nearly twenty-five hundred Jews on the island, representing about eighteen percent of the white population. Today there are only three hundred left.
The holiday of Purim, a little-known holiday outside of Judaism, commemorates how a Jewish queen, Queen Esther, and her aged uncle, Mordecai, foiled the plot of Haman, vizier to King Xerxes, known as Ahasuerus in the Bible, to exterminate the Jews of Persia. With extreme merriment, the Jewish community celebrates this profound victory. For Sarna, the jubilation of Purim makes him pose questions about the survival of the Jewish people. And, if Jewry continues to exist, then he wants to know, “continues on for what purpose?”
A Time to Every Purpose not only gives readers a brief history and the traditional meaning of the Jewish holidays, but also offers compelling questions and thoughts that emerge from a fresh look at the Jewish holidays in modern-day America. The questions Sarna raises in each chapter act as a catalyst for us to examine our own belief and value systems. Likewise, we are challenged to do what Sarna did with his own daughter, and have discussions with our children over a wide range of moral topics, with the hope that they will come away with new understanding and insight. The addition of a section called, “For Further Reading,” a section of “Notes,” and an extensive index, only adds to this noteworthy volume.
JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE
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LAWRENCE FAMILY JCC, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS
Religion and Atheism To Collide at S.D. Jewish Book Fair
ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
Letters to the Editor
Southwestern Jewish Press, March 28, 1950, page 8
Dear Mr. Kaufman:
Some weeks ago, I wrote you about one of our hospitalized veterans and quoted form his letter of appreciation of the Christmas party we gave in the Tubercular Wards.
I should like now to quote briefly from a letter received from Mrs. Nellie R. Boud, Field Director of the American Red Cross at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Balboa Park: “We wish to express our sincere thanks and extend to your group our appreciation for the grand party you gave on the tuberculosis unit recently. These patients are particularly grateful for a change in their diet since eating the same food, prepared the same way months at a time does become rather tiresome. The luscious food you brought to them was indeed a treat and the gurney you decorated was just beautiful. They will look forward to your parties each month, we can assure you.”
For the benefit of those who may labor under the impression that Hospital work is our sole activity, I wish to enumerate the other branches of our work, national in scope, which comprise the Jewish War Veterans’ Auxiliary program:
Child Welfare Work, Americanism and Patriotic Services, Civic Community Work, Brandeis Scholarship Aid to Distressed Veterans and their Families; Gen. Maurice D. Rose Memorial Hospital, Aid to Israel Program, Milk Fund to D.P.’s, Red Cross, etc.
Hence to all eligibles: We invite your membership in our ranks of hard working sisters.
Sincerely,
Nixie Kern, President
Jewish War Veterans Auxiliary
*
Hundreds of S.D. Jewish Youth Deprived
Dear Mr. Kaufman:
In spite of the best medical attention, a wonderful climate and better than average schools, many of the Jewish youth of San Diego are being deprived of adequate developmental opportunities.
The YMCA and YWCA, which have very extensive facilities, do offer a fully rounded program of cultural and athletic activities. However their programs are intended and rightly so, to create Christian fellowship, not an appreciation of Jewish youths heritage.
Do Jewish youth in San Diego have a common meeting ground, a place where their activities have priority—a leisure time home? Are they being engendered with a feeling of togetherness, of a feeling for a unified, friendly Jewish community spirit? These and similar questions need an answer. Let us face them squarely—they have meaning for all of us. The need for a Jewish Community is vital – B.B.
(Editor’s Note: What does the community think?)
*
Dear Mac
I haven’t forgotten my promise to send you a story. The enclosed is a true account of my experiences in Tripoli, in which I have tried to show your readers the plight of an ancient people. I enjoyed the visit to San Diego and I’m looking forward to a return visit some day.
Yours, Paulette
Editor’s Note: Paulette Oppert spoke recently in San Diego, at a meeting on behalf of the United Jewish Appeal, with Rev. A. Graul, a Christian minister, who has a deep interest in Israel. For fascinating we recommend her story, “Once Upon a Time,” appearing on page 12 of this issue.
Once Upon A Time {Jews of Libya}
Southwestern Jewish Press, March 28, 1950, pages 12, 17
By Pauline Oppert
It is almost out of a legend… all of us are busy making preparations for the year 2000. … I just returned from an excursion 2000 years ago. I saw how they live. I went into their caves and caverns. Listened to their fears and their hopes. I was the first visitor to shake hands with the contemporaries of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…but who are they? The Jews of Lybia and Tripolitania.
On my way back to Israel I stopped in Rome, this summer, and from there on, together with Lew Hurwitz, J.D.C. Director in Rome, we flew to another world. After a short stop in Sicilia and one in Malta, we soon came in sight of miles and miles of desert and landed in Tripoli. We were greeted by Mme. Benatar, a wonderful and devoted lawyer, who supervised for the J.D.C. “Operation Tripoli.” As for Mr. Hassan, President of the Jewish Tripoli Community, it was almost impossible for him to believe that visitors would take the trouble to come.
Why is Tripoli suddenly on the J.D.C. map. I believe there are three reasons… first, there were too many thousands of human beings who had to be saved in Europe and the funds were already, as it was, spread too thinly. Second, Benghasi (which everybody remembers) and where most of the Jews of Lybia lived was on the verge of becoming a center of persecution ever since Lybia was going to regain independence and belong to the Arabs again. Third, Mme. Benatar chosen by J.D.C. Headquarters in Paris to “feel” the situation in this part of the world, came back with a strange experience. While visiting the dispensary in Tripoli in January ’48, an eleven year old boy suddenly fainted. “What is the matter?” asked Mme. B. “Oh,” she answered, “this is nothing. It happens all the time. He is just undernourished. They only eat two slices o’ bread a day.” Misery and poverty was greater every day. The war then was going on in Israel, and the Arabs getting bitter. Most of the Jews were peddlers who used to leave their homes on Monday, on donkeys, or camels, and come back on Friday before sundown. Little by little they were not coming back any longer. They were trapped by the Arabs and their bodies found somewhere in the desert. Then, of course, it became better to stay home and starve. The panic was terrible.
We visited, the first afternoon, a day camp where hundreds of children who had just been smuggled out of Benghasi that night were trying to play on the beach. We couldn’t help being struck, not only by the eagerness with which they ran to get a sandwich of white bread and jam, but by the deep fear in their eyes. There were many orphans among them. What did they see? What happened to them in these last months? We didn’t want to know. WE have heard too many of these stories. The future only counts. Here they were under good care, J.D.C. food and clothes, and were going back at night to temporary houses that had been secured for their parents (those who didn’t have any were taken care of by somebody else’s parents.)
Tripoli being one of the rare spots in the world where we didn’t have to establish camps as there is no housing shortage, we were able to take over the houses left by the Italians who occupied this country under Mussolini and then ran back to Italy after the war.
Future? Yes! The “old timers” were already teaching the newly-arrived Hebrew songs and to dance the Hora. It wouldn’t be long before they would leave these shores and the fear behind. We saw the Dispensary just opened with OSE collaboration, where 96 percent of the people waiting for medical attention were seeing a doctor for the first time in their lives.
The Alliance Israelites Francaise and the J.D.C. are maintaining a school where we saw 150 children taught for the first time little songs and poems that they exhibited to us with so much pride… they were so clean and so happy looking. What a change already – after six weeks. It was really one of the brightest spots of our trip.
We decided the next day to go into the “Interior.” This means traveling through the desert, for 200 miles. The sun and the sand filling your nose and ears, driving you until you see in the distance, in the middle of the sand, a sort of fortified village surrounded by a thick wall of stone as protection against savage tribes. This was Homs. Forty thousand Arabs, seventy-five hundred Jews, who lived in their Chra (Ghetto) and who can’t get out… but the Arabs can come in. There is no protection as the police force is Arabian, in spite of British occupation. There I realized for the first time what it means for a Jew to live in an Arab country with “British protection.” The following story shows it better than any lengthy description.
The Arabs steal and rape Jewish girls. In Homs, a few days before we came, a young 15-year-old Jewish girl had been kidnapped by a 45-year-old Arab who forced her to marry him. The parents and brother having insisted upon her return were so seriously threatened that we had to arrange for their immediate departure for Israel.
How can the Chra be described? It’s a conglomeration of small one-room shacks with no windows, as are all Arab houses and one door which has to be kept closed at night for fear of attacks. The filth and the smell are beyond description. They sleep right there on the bare ground, parents, grandparents, children … all together. Who knows there the word “privacy.” They were fed with pepper and tomatoes and bread before the Joint (as we in Europe call the J.D.C) started to send food. The fillies have taken possession of these rooms to such an extent that we couldn’t even penetrate into some of them. The whole population in Homs was so scared of the Arabs that they would rather sit in their rooms among the flies than go out in the streets.
But let’s drive further down in the desert, and go to Kousssabat, where a great surprise awaited us. After a long visit at the “Dispensary,” where a local doctor didn’t have to be too smart to show us among the 200 people that he examined that day, the only four who didn’t have Trachoma . We suddenly heard in the distance a sort of Tom-Tom. The sound guided us, we arrived in a sort of backyard where about 50 women and 20 men were standing in a circle around four young and beautiful girls seated on the ground, each one with a drum on her lap. They all seemed dressed up, beautiful veils, and all their possessions on their backs … large heavy silver bracelets, necklaces and brooches holding the veils in place on their hair, and ankle braces which were at least six inches wide. What was happening here? Why were we greeted with screams and strange sounds? Sounds they regulated by cupping their hands before their mouths. Why such sudden joy when we arrived? How strangely they looked at my short hair. Can a woman have short hair? What a sacrilege! How do you dare cut it? Don’t you know that it is forbidden by law? That a Jew should never touch his hair with any cutting implement? (All this of course was in Arabic and was translated for me). “What do you have on your nails?” They only polish they knew is the concoction of Hanne leaves with which they paint their palms and their feet—the few days proceeding (sic, preceding) and following their wedding. It seems that none of them ever saw a civilized person as before. As soon as they heard that we represented the “Join” they couldn’t do enough for u… they couldn’t let us sit on the ground like they do. One of them disappeared in his room and I saw him climbing on a ladder to reach on a shelf a sort of wooden trunk where his precious possessions were locked, and come back with his hands full of almonds. Did I ever receive before such a precious gift given with more feeling… I wonder. But they seemed to celebrate something…what was it? A wedding! She was fifteen. She had never seen him before. It was scheduled for tomorrow but they were starting their songs and dances the night before. He she was – only her beautiful eyes could be seen above her veil. She was keeping timidly hidden behind the group. In the distance, I was shown her husband-to-be. It was also his first glimpse of her. The rule was strict… she was forbidden to take her veil off before the wedding ceremony. We seemed to mean so much to them that the father approached me and in Arabic asked me if I would like to see the dances for the wedding and breaking all the rules, he allowed the bride to take off her veil and to open more than fifty braids they made in order to curl their hair. She was really beautiful – with her long hair flowing down to her hips. She started a very strange dance—accompanied by the drums and three other girls who also unbraided their hair. They knelt on the ground, bowing forward and back, using their hands to push their long hair forward and back in rhythm with their movements. It reminded me of the Arabs praying to Mohammed. This went on continuously for a half hour or more. Where was I? I was among my own people – but how many centuries ago? While they were performing I couldn’t stop thinking about my so-called civilization and theirs . Was I more civilized… what was my civilization of gas chambers … crematoriums … six million victims of the most cruel, prehistorical era… DP camps … V1 and V2 .. Atomic bombs. No—to that extent they were not civilized. They had no knowledge of what we shall never forget. Were they less civilized? I was lost in my thoughts when they suddenly stopped moving and started to sign in Hebrew, singing their hope to go … to leave .. thanking the Lord to have created Israel. How did they know about Israel and the final victory. How, without radio and newspapers—without any contact with the outside world—lost in the desert. How did they know? It was simple. When the Arabs had a our face and were beating them.. Israel was winning. When the Arabs were rejoicing… our boys had lost, and the Arabs then left them alone, until they finally had to admit to the Jews that it was all finished and told the scared Jewish population they would have it hard until they would join Israel.
Out of thousands upon thousands of refugees and DPs that I have seen in my life, I have never watched or felt such gratitude for what “we” are doing. They could not express it enough and with such heart and such feelings. However, they translated their emotions into a song, which goes as follows:
Oh Lord, protect the Joint for the help it brings to us.
Oh Lord, protect Ben Gurion and the State where expects us.
Blessed be the Joint and Ben Gurion.
They didn’t know too much about the Joint, they just know that it is you , and you, and you. All of us, sort of angles.
Did I dream? Where was I? I just wanted to tell you about them because I am convinced that with a little more effort, a little more devotion, to the work we did undertake five years ago, we will be able to tell this as a story for our children and start it “Once upon a time.”
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Today's Dedication:
SAN DIEGO JEWISH WORLD: THE WEEK IN REVIEW
CAMPAIGN 2008
Jewish Studies scholars support Obama; by Laurie Baron in San Diego
Tifereth Israel, Temple Solel slate presidential debates by surrogates; SDJW staff report
RJC ads call Obama ‘naïve’; NJDC ads tout his plans for energy independence; dueling press releases of the Republican Jewish Coalition and National Jewish Democratic Council
NATIONAL
Did Paulson read the Jewish media? by J. Zel Lurie in Delray Beach, Florida
SAN DIEGO
Israeli students see contrasts in education and religion in Israel and the U.S.; by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
ARTS
Adonai, Adonai chant inspired by Sinai by Cantor Sheldon Merel in San Diego, with recording of him singing this prayer
ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
—March 28, 1950: Tifereth Israel News
—March 28, 1950: Temple Beth Israel
—March 28, 1950: Beth Jacob Ladies Auxiliary
COMMUNITY WATCH
Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center: NBC News Bureau Chief Martin Fletcher at S.D. Jewish Book Fair Nov 12
San Diego Jewish Academy: “Kindergarten, the Beginning of the Journey” on Nov. 18; $1,000 Tuition vouchers will be raffled
CAMPAIGN 2008
NJDC says Republicans panicking; RJC accuses Obama of squelching debates; press releases from the warring camps
McCain understands Mideast realities by Charley Levine in Jerusalem
ARTS
Fool for Love incestuous... or is it? by Carol Davis in Carlsbad, California
LIFESTYLES
Bella family circle: Jewish Halloween party by Sheila Orysiek in San Diego
ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
—March 28, 1950: Big Gifts Committee Goes Over The Top!; Campaign For 1950 Hits Stride
—March 28, 1950: Who’s New
—March 28, 1950: Beth Jacob Breaks Ground For New Synagogue
—March 28, 1950: Beth Jacob Congregation
COMMUNITY WATCH
Jewish Family Service: College Avenue Older Adult Center Holds Annual Health Fair with Flu Shots
San Diego Jewish Academy: “Kindergarten, the Beginning of the Journey” at San Diego Jewish Academy
INTERNATIONAL
Arab-Jewish coexistence at the gym by Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem
Not buying CITGO gasoline could send an economic message to Venezuela's Chavez by Shoshana Bryen in Washington, D.C.
CAMPAIGN 2008
Letter to S.D. Council candidate Lightner, by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
JUDAISM
The roomer teaches a valuable lesson by Rabbi Baruch Lederman in San Diego
SPORTS
A bissel sports trivia with Bruce Lowitt in Oldsmar, Florida
ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
March 10, 1950—Jewish War Veterans Post 185 Auxiliary
March 28, 1950—Chaplain Goldberg Honored at Reception
March 28, 1950—Interfaith Program At State College
March 29, 1950 -- Mrs. Berg Heads Presidents Council
COMMUNITY WATCH
Jewish Family Service: The 7th Annual Run for the Hungry Thanksgiving Day 5K and 10K
Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center: Former Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer and Middle East expert Scott B. Lasensky to urge U.S. involvement in Arab-Israeli peace at San Diego Jewish Book Fair
United Jewish Federation: Yitzhak Rabin' Memorial sponsored by the UJF Israel Center
CAMPAIGN 2008
Beware politicians' promises—in any nation, by Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem
INTERNATIONAL
That 'big elephant' in the Middle East by Shoshana Bryen in Washington, D.C
ARTS
Angel Girl kid's book —too good to be true? by Dan Bloom in Miami, Florida
Mourning, a poem by Sara Appel-Lennon in San Diego
ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
—March 10, 1950: Temple Beth Israel
—March 10, 1950: Temple Sisterhood
—March 10, 1950: Pioneer Women
COMMUNITY WATCH
Jewish Family Service: “At the Hop” Health Fair & Flu Shot Event
Lawrence Family JCC: Internationally best-selling novelist Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Everything Is Illuminated, to present most recent novel on November 10
Tifereth Israel Synagogue: Israel Advocacy Series at Tifereth Israel Synagogue
CAMPAIGN 2008
Abortion, ending Mid-East oil dependence major topics in final presidential debate by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
INTERNATIONAL
New Arab-Israeli battleground: textbooks; book review by Norman Manson in San Diego
Making Aliyah is like coming out by David Benkof in New York
ARTS
Thursdays With The Songs Of Hal Wingard:
#87, A Tiny Piece Of Paper
#55, The Whirlpool Of Love
#70, Shadows Of Midnight
ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
—March 10, 1950: Tifereth Israel Sisterhood
—March 10, 1950: Daughters of Israel
—March 10, 1950: Beth Jacob Ladies Auxiliary
COMMUNITY WATCH
Lawrence Family JCC: Henry Winkler to present critically acclaimed book at S.D. Jewish Book Fair
Tifereth Israel Synagogue: The Great Debate of 2008: Wednesday, October 29th, 7:00 p.m.
CAMPAIGN 2008
RJC brandishes Jesse Jackson quote; NJDC flails McCain on energy; press releases from the campaign front
Vice presidential candidates compared by Gary Rotto in San Diego
Letter to Editor: Gert Thaler says she's for Obama too
JUDAISM
Avinu Malkaynu by Janowski is a classic by Cantor Sheldon Merel in San Diego, with a recording of him performing Avinu Malkaynu
INTERNATIONAL
The Jews Down Under, a roundup of Jewish news of Australia by Garry Fabian in Melbourne
—Rival organizations clash over how to commemorate Sir John Monash
—Financial market insecurity to impact on fund raising
—New chair for communal appeal
—Community groups call for tolerance
—75 Years for Elwood Shul
—Student with Down Syndrome graduates
—Rules for the observant during seven days of Succot
—Australian web application a hit in San Francisco
—Growing etrogim in Australia?
—Concerns about anti-Israel blogs
ARTS
The Light in the Piazza also illuminates Lambs Players Theatre in Coronado by Carol Davis in Coronado, California
ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
—March 10, 1950: News of the Fox
—March 10, 1950: House of Pacific Relations Election
—March 10, 1950: Tifereth Israel News
COMMUNITY WATCH
Lawrence Family JCC: Sex and the City star Evan Handler to present memoir at book fair on Nov. 8
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