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Friday, July 11 Congregation Beth El Kabbalat Shabbat Services
JULY 18 Moonlight Shabbat At Beach
AJC PERSPECTIVES
Costs, benefits to Hamas regularization
By Dr. Eran Lerman
 JERUSALEM—Should we negotiate at all with people who want us dead? And if we have no better choices, how do we go about it? The Israeli government is now playing a complex set of multiple chess games, some of which, albeit not all, involve the challenge of such talks:
- Yesterday, June 19, was—if things do not go awry, as they often do in these parts—the first day of a tahdi’ah (“calm”) period negotiated with the Hamas rulers of Gaza through Egyptian mediation. This, in turn, could lead to further indirect talks, in Cairo, over the regularization of the current situation, the gradual opening of some of the border crossings (“lifting the siege,” as Hamas defines it), and the release of the abducted Israeli soldier, Gil’ad Shalit—in return for a significant number of Palestinian prisoners, many with blood on their hands. Israel made major concessions—above all, in accepting this partial package without Shalit’s release, and by the very fact that we now perpetuate Hamas’s power in Gaza—but so did the other side, insofar as they agreed to halt attacks from Gaza while the IDF continues to act against Hamas in the West Bank.
- This development, with all that it implies, comes as we are in the midst of no fewer than four different negotiations with the Palestinian Authority:
- At the top level, between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Mahmoud Abbas, on a framework agreement for the implementation of the Annapolis Process;
- In a different setting, between Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Ahmed Qurei’ (Abu ‘Alaa), over details of the Permanent Status arrangements;
- With the Palestinian security agencies, in talks backed by U.S. military observers, over counterterrorist measures and reduction of the IDF “footprint” on the daily life of West Bank residents;
- Under Tony Blair’s auspices, on behalf of the “Quartet,” on economic recovery.
These talks, at least, proceed from the assumption that the present leadership in Ramallah has reconciled itself to peace with Israel, although doubts linger as to whether they have truly accepted our right to exist as a Jewish state.
- Add to this a strange dance with Syria, whose leaders refuse to talk directly to Israelis, but have greatly benefited internationally by having Turkey run proximity talks with an Israeli team (two of Olmert’s closest associates, Yoram Turbovich and Shalom Turgeman) and a Syrian team in adjacent rooms. It remains to be seen whether Bashar Assad will be in the same banquet hall as Olmert in Paris, on the festive occasion of July 14, when President Nicolas Sarkozy hopes to launch the “Union for the Mediterranean” in the presence of all the relevant leaders—but there are indications that both of them will show up; it is less likely, however, that this would lead to a historic handshake. It is even less likely that this meeting, and the renewed French courtship of Assad after years of icy estrangement, will lead to a Syrian change of heart over its support for terror, its alliance with Iran and Hezbollah, and its (now indirect) rape of Lebanon.
- It is with Hezbollah that Israel (through the agency of a German mediator, Gerhard Konrad, an intelligence operator who keeps out of the limelight) is conducting the most uncomfortable negotiations of all—addressing a “partner” who openly advocates and pursues our destruction—trying to retrieve our abducted soldiers without even knowing whether they are alive or dead (while Hassan Nasrallah uses the body parts of other soldiers killed in 2006, in a truly ghoulish fashion, as bargaining chips or propaganda devices). The deal, which may come soon, will involve the spectacle of joyous Hezbollah supporters and other Lebanese celebrating the release of their “hero,” Samir Kuntar, who used the butt of his rifle to smash the skull of a four-year-old girl. And so it goes, as the late Kurt Vonnegut used to say.
To this list one might add another set of negotiations with people of exterminatory intent—but this time one in which Israel has no overt role: namely, the work of the “Iran Six” (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany as a member of the European Union “troika”) to try to persuade Iran to desist from enriching uranium, in return for a package of economic and diplomatic “incentives.” (This approach is in line with the European practice of “speak softly and carry a big carrot.”) Javier Solana, acting on behalf of the group, recently went to Iran to present the offer, but came back empty-handed. But this may not be the end of the matter, as Tehran left dangling some hints of the prospect for further talks (and then some more, as the centrifuges whirr away).
What do we gain, as Israelis, and more generally as citizens of that part of the world that Islamist totalitarians want to see undone, by engaging in negotiations, no matter how indirect, with the leaders of states and movements that seek our destruction? Some of the benefits of such talks are not difficult to discern. They open up the prospect of the boys coming home, to their long-suffering families, after nearly two years of agonizing uncertainty (and in the process—to be frank—generating highly valuable “positives” for a government in deep crisis). They help enhance stability and predictability, which for a country like Israel, fully integrated into the global economy and dependent upon trade and investment for its remarkable prosperity, are far more important than for the destitute of Gaza or Iran’s dependents in Lebanon.
Above all, they offer an alternative to war—which is always an ugly prospect—and the opportunity for some stretch of normal life for the people of Sderot and the northern Negev, in the same manner that the “regularization” of our tense relations with Hezbollah once again allows for full bed-and-breakfasts in the verdant Galilee this summer. This is not Peace writ large, but many Israelis would settle simply for some quiet.
There is also the hope, forlorn as it may be, that the very act of establishing such mechanisms of coexistence will help erode the burning hatred, and may, over time, generate a low retreat from the crude dehumanization of the “other”—in our case, “the Jews,” which the Hamas TV Bunny promises children he will devour one day—and that the emergence of daily interactions on practical matters will mature into a more stable political climate. In Iran, hopes are pinned on those who may decide—for strategic as well as domestic political reasons—to resist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s “in-your-face” attitudes.
These may well be false hopes: Ideology is stronger in times of crisis than many in the happy West are willing to admit; even “pragmatists” in Iran, such as Ali Larijani (fired by the president as Iran’s nuclear negotiator, but now newly empowered as speaker of the Majlis) or former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, are as committed as the Mahdist visionaries to the goal of wiping Israel off the map.
Moreover, talks, even if unsuccessful, may have the additional benefit of making it easier to hold together the necessary coalitions, without which there is little prospect of effectively isolating the hatred-mongers. Thus, the need to have Egypt on board, and to treat its efforts respectfully, played a major role in the Israeli decision to give the tahdi’ah a chance; similar considerations drive the effort to keep Russia and China (and some Europeans) diplomatically comfortable when it comes to Iran.
And yet we should never ignore the painful costs of such negotiating strategies:
- First and foremost, perhaps, the danger to our own moral fiber, as we cut deals with murderers (a title well earned by Assad’s regime in Syria no less than by Hamas), engage in dialogue, however indirect, with ruthless terrorists, and accept a ceasefire while our soldiers are still in their hands—raising questions as to the viability of our promise to bring them home. It should come as no surprise that a bitter debate is already raging in Israel over these decisions, not necessarily along traditional political lines: Olmert’s closest political ally, Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon, decried the ceasefire as a victory for radical Islamism.
- This, indeed, is the most significant aspect of the decision to do business, of any sort, with Hamas and Hezbollah (all the more so if Israel were indeed to agree, in the weeks ahead, to the French initiative to negotiate over the fictitious piece of real estate called Sheba’a Farms, thus vindicating, retroactively, Nasrallah’s claim to be a “liberator of Lebanese land”). The Islamist totalitarian terrorists are gaining ground; the moderates are losing it; and the gains made for the day may well be negated by the price we will pay in the long run.
- Moreover, it is not only their prestige that Hamas (and Hezbollah) are enhancing by obtaining a ceasefire: They are also using this time to improve their ability to acquire weapons, dig ever deeper, prepare their men, and plan a bitter house-to-house battle. (It was probably in the process of such preparations—setting up booby traps in residential areas—that a major explosion occurred this week in a Gaza neighborhood, killing seven civilians.) Within the IDF, there are voices—at very senior levels—supporting the ceasefire as a temporary device; but many others lament the tahdi’ah as a tragic mistake for which we shall pay in blood when conflict erupts again.
These considerations may or may not outweigh the benefits; this has, by now, become a highly politicized question. But they do point, with great clarity, to what is needed at this time: coherent and consistent leadership—not always easy to find—that will be well-positioned to articulate these complex choices to a confused public; a determined campaign, despite the hostage deals and the ceasefire, to deny Hamas and Hezbollah the legitimacy they crave, and to expose them to the world for what they are; and above all, a strategy designed to make effective use of time so as to be ready for conflict when it comes, and to latch on to our first priorities—namely, as should be stressed again and again, the challenge posed by Iran’s ambitions.
If these ambitions are foiled, all else will become trivial, and retroactively, even useful in “regularizing” other fronts and focusing on the main danger. If they are not, however, the deals and the ceasefire consented to by Israel will turn out to be stepping-stones in the march of Islamist terror toward regional hegemony.
LETTER FROM JERUSALEM
Wars among the Jews heat up in Israel
By Ira Sharkansky
 JERUSALEM—Even before we have settled our problems with the neighbors, we are causing trouble for ourselves.
Almost 2,000 years ago Josephus wrote The Jewish Wars, in which he described wars against the Jews and wars among the Jews. Fighting among internal enemies helped the external enemies to wreck havoc among all of God's Chosen, and to destroy His Temple.
One front in the current war among the Jews deals with the efforts of a Rabbinical Court to invalidate all the conversions linked to a program run by the well known Orthodox Rabbi, Chaim Druckman. Acting with the authority of the Israeli Rabbinate, Rabbi Druckman has sought to facilitate the conversion of those among recent immigrants (mostly from the former Soviet Union) who wish to change their status of not being Jewish according to religious law (halacha).
 Somewhere in religious law is an expectation that a convert will live subsequently according to religious law. Those of us born Jews can eat pork three times a day; work, light fires, and ride on the Sabbath; and proclaim that we are atheists. We will not lose our status as Jews. Not so a convert, according to some rabbis. On the basis of finding a convert who was not living according to what they viewed as a religious life, members of a court are making an effort to challenge all the conversions overseen by Rabbi Druckman.
The issue has simmered for some time without a resolution. Rabbi Druckman is not without influence and allies, some of whom occupy distinguished positions and are threatening to resign if their opponents do not back down.
Another issue concerns the Conservative Movement.
It is broadcasting commercials on the most popular radio station calling Jews who are planning their wedding to do it with a Conservative Rabbi. The promise is that the service will be kosher according to religious law, as well as being open to modern innovation and without the strictures demanded by the Orthodox Rabbinate. Those interested may obtain details via telephone, or www.masorti.org.il.
It took me a few minutes to confirm the false advertising I was suspecting. Those interested in checking the details may have to don a pair of magic spectacles. There is no English language button on the Conservative Movement's Israeli web site. Or you can trust me that the wedding promised would not be kosher according to Israeli rules.
A loving couple could arrange the ceremony with a male or female Conservative rabbi, and invite male or female friends as official witnesses. None of that would pass muster with the Israeli Rabbinate. Guests could be well fed and entertained, but the couple would have to marry again in order to make their union official.
The web site advises a couple to marry according to a civil ceremony in another country, and to register that marriage with the Israeli Interior Ministry.
It might also work to marry in a small office ceremony arranged by the Israeli Rabbinate, and then do the Conservative ceremony with a crowd of guests and a festive meal. That should also work, but I would not mention to the Rabbinate that there was a plan to marry again according to a Conservative ritual. Perhaps the people running the Conservative Movement web site are not advising this option in order to keep people away from Orthodox rabbis. It is possible to find an Orthodox rabbi who is flexible with respect to details of the ceremony, and who does not make a couple feel that it is subject to a cold, archaic, and sexist ritual.
The web site of the Conservative Movement also claims that there is a growing chance, in the not-too-distant future, that the Israeli Knesset will legalize weddings performed by Conservative rabbis.
I would not bet on that. There are always 20 or so Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox members of Knesset opposed to non-Orthodox weddings. One or more religious party is likely to be part of the current governing coalition, and all are likely to be wooed after an election by potential prime ministers interested in forming parliamentary majorities.
Religious politicians may start proclaiming against the Conservative Movement's advertisements, and open a new front in the wars among the Jews. Or Orthodox politicians may feel secure enough in their capacity to keep non-Orthodox wedding ceremonies non-legal and off the public agenda. Often they prefer to ignore non-Orthodox Jewish movements. Occasionally an Orthodox rabbi will say that Conservative and Reform Movements are not Jewish, and therefore none of their business.
As a secular Jew I have no stake in any of these fights.
However, I would like the Rabbinate to make a reasonable effort to help non-Jews who want to convert, without provoking battles among senior rabbis along the way.
I also have a concern for honesty in advertising. I am inclined to accept exaggeration in claims for soap, toothpaste, or automobiles. It is another matter for religious groups to be less than candid about what they are promoting.
There is a bit of work for Conservative Jews to make sure that all is kosher in their corner of the Promised Land.
THE VIEW FROM JINSA
U.S. and Israel prefer stability among
Arab nations rather than real democracy
By Shoshana Bryen
 WASHINGTON, DC—Condoleezza Rice went to Lebanon to bless the new Beirut government. "Obviously in any compromise there are compromises," she said cleverly. "This was an agreement that I think served the interests of the Lebanese people. And since it served the interests of the Lebanese people, it served the interests of the United States. We support the democratically elected government of Lebanon."
Could she explain how the Lebanese people are served by giving Hezbollah, which shot its way into power, a veto over the government the people elected? Could she explain how the United States is served by the violent introduction of an Iranian-back terrorist group into the formerly pro-American Lebanese government? And could she explain why she called this an optimal time to raise the issue of Shebaa Farms, suggesting an American interest in changing Israel's position on territory acquired from Syria in 1967 to the benefit of Hezbollah? Israel's position - that Shebaa Farms is an Israeli-Syrian issue - is actually supported by the UN.
Clearly, as the Bush Administration draws to a close, some of its officials are tired of the hard work of supporting one's friends - so they've gone to trying to appease the enemies of their friends in the hope that at least it will be quiet. Lebanon is being thrown under the bus by a tired America and - interestingly - by France and by Israel. President Sarkozy has invited Syria's dictator, Bashar Assad, to be an honored guest at the Bastille Day celebration in Paris - never mind the Hariri murder investigation. And a prominent Israeli security analyst told a JINSA group during a conference earlier in the year that Israel never really shared President Bush's enthusiasm for consensual government in the Middle East anyhow.
Given its fundamental survival goal, Israel seeks "stability" in the form of strong Arab regimes, which play by the rules of states' behavior, while identifying the Arab "masses" with their strong anti-Israel bias as a threat. Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties with Israel, and have kept them for many years; but the elites in these countries - represented by their professional societies - ae boycotting any contact with Israel. Syria has no peace with Israel, but its dictatorship has kept the border quiet for almost 34 years, and its behavior is predictable. And so on. We care less about the internal behavior of these regimes vis-à-vis their peoples. Hence, a Syrian control over Lebanon is more stable and predictable than leaving Lebanon at the mercy of its ethnic and religious rivalries.
Saddam was stable. But it can't be that Scud missiles and a promise to "burn half of Israel" were preferable to the emerging multi-party, multi-ethnic Iraq. Iran seems stable under the mullahs. But it can't be that waving nukes and calling Israel "bacteria" is preferable to regime change there - the Iranian people seem far less interested in the destruction of Israel than their government. At least, says the analyst, the Syrian border has been quiet. But the subversion of Lebanon and the creation (with Iran) of Hezbollah to harass Israel with a minimal Syrian fingerprint was the result.
So, realpolitik is the order of the day. A quiet Lebanon makes for happy neighbors and happy colonial powers. The Iraqis should take a quick and serious lesson from this - get your political house in order before we get tired of you, too, and start looking for compromises with Muqtada al-Sadr and the Mahdi Army.
 Nancy Harrison
cruise & tour specialist
(619) 265-0808
THE JEWISH CITIZEN
UJF backs programs to transport local seniors, build school in Sha'ar Hanegev
By Donald H. Harrison
 LA JOLLA, California—Andrea Oster was installed Thursday evening, June 19, as president of the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County, succeeding Kenneth D. Polin at an annual meeting at which two new community fundraising initiatives were announced.
A $2.5 million “On the Go” program will help Jewish seniors with their transportation needs throughout San Diego County, while another major drive of an as yet unspecified dollar amount will assist the municipality of Sha’ar Hanegev, Israel, to build a rocket-resistant high school and community education center.
Additionally, it was announced by outgoing president Polin that the UJF board has agreed to a three-year extension of its participation in the Ibim Student Village, to which the San Diego Jewish community has contributed $7.5 million over the past ten years to help educate youthful immigrants to Israel who arrive ahead of their families, or in some cases without them.
The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) had lobbied the leadership of the Federation to continue the program beyond the initial ten-year agreement, with JAFI Executive Director Moshe Vigdor travelling to San Diego to make a personal appeal.
When I asked Boaz Meir, JAFI’s regional director in Los Angeles, what was new with his organization, he responded: “I’m glad to say that San Diego will continue the Ibim program.”
The Ibim Student Village is an enclave in Sderot, the city that has been rocketed regularly by Hamas terrorists from bases across the border in Gaza. The day of the annual meeting a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas had gone into effect, but no one was certain how long the ceasefire could last.
Besides attending to the education of the students at Ibim, The Federation made a commitment to the education of the residents of Sha’ar Hanegev Municipality, who live in ten kibbutzim and a moshav that neighbor Sderot and are close to the Gaza border. Concerned about Sha’ar Hanegev residents whom Polin called “victims of terrorism,” the Federation pledged to help build a new rocket-resistant high school and all-purpose educational center that could also serve adults and preschoolers .
 
Michael Rassler, UJF chief executive officer, told the assemblage in Congregation Beth El’s new two-story sanctuary that “the Federation board has formally announced the launching of an effort to help our family and friends in our sister city of Sha’ar Hanegev with a community-wide effort to build a new educational village in Sha’ar Hanegev.
“You will be hearing a lot about that as we move forward,” Rassler said. “Rick Kornfeld is chairing the effort. We have a wonderful committee of people involved and I am sure it is not only going to be a tremendous asset to the region to have a secure high school, but one that also helps secure the safety of the State of Israel and the security of the Negev region.”
Most of Israel’s population is clustered in the metropolitan areas of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, and for many years the government has been attempting to persuade its citizens to venture out of the central core of the county and set up residences in the Galilee in the northern part of the country and the Negev in the southern part.
One reason for the government’s interest in promoting Jewish migration to these two areas is that both have growing populations of Arabs, who may someday constitute political majorities in those regions. Obviously coming under Kassam rocket attacks is a disincentive for some people to move to Sha’ar Hanegev and also has been the cause of some residents of the municipality moving elsewhere. The need for good-paying jobs in the region in the northwest portion of the Negev Desert is another important precondition for increased in-migration.
So by building a rocket-resistant school, and also enhancing educational opportunities, San Diego can help to foster the growth of the Negev even in the face of hostile neighbors.
Polin described the senior transportation program as “the number-one initiative of the Strategic Plan” of the United Jewish Federation. He said that every member of the Federation Board of Directors had personally contributed to this program, amounting to $300,000 of the total.
In describing the program for senior transportation—needed to assure that seniors can get to medical appointments, shopping, and to social, cultural and educational activities—Rassler told the annual meeting: “Already $1,940,000 has been raised …well on our way to reaching our $2.5 million goal.
“This is a pilot program that will be initiated in September,” he said, “and I want to encourage everyone to respond… and do what our Federation board has done –join, participate and support this incredible community mission.”
Jewish Family Service will serve as the lead agency for drawing up transportation plans and implementing them.
If two major initiatives in the same year seem ambitious, it might be remembered that in just six weeks San Diego County raised $4.8 million for the Israel Emergency Fund, in response to the 2nd Lebanon War, an amount that was in addition to the normal, annual Federation campaign.
After being sworn in as president by Gloria Stone, herself a past president of the organization, Oster traced the growth of San Diego’s Jewish community from the time she arrived from Cleveland in 1974.
At that time, she said, there were only 16,000 Jews in San Diego and now the Jewish population of the county “numbers over 100,000.”
“In 1974, the Federation, (Jewish Community) Foundation, and Bureau of Jewish Education shared small second-floor quarters on El Cajon Boulevard across the street from a poker parlor,” she said. “Our Hebrew Home and JCC on 54th Street were too small for our growing community. Jewish Family Service rented small office space on Fourth Avenue; there was one Jewish day school and Hillel existed only at San Diego State.”
In contrast, she said, today “our Federation owns a beautiful building which houses a world-class Jewish Community Foundation and a vibrant Agency of Jewish Education. Our state-of-the-art JCC (in eastern La Jolla) is at the center of our Jewish community, and Seacrest Village Retirement Communities encompass independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing and Alzheimers facilities. Hillel is vibrant on UCSD as well as the San Diego State campus, and is expanding to San Marcos State. We have five Jewish day schools, a new JFS building and many new synagogues.”
She urged Federation members to “remember our roots and core mission of raising funds to enhance the well-being of Jews in San Diego, Israel and throughout the world.” Further, she said that as the new UJF president, she is committed to “listening to and nurturing” young leadership of the organization “as well as recruiting others to join us.”
Finally, she said, “I interpret our name, ‘United Jewish Federation’ quite literally.We need to be united, promote Jewish life throughout San Diego and strengthen what is truly a federation of numerous organizations and interests…”
As is customary at annual meetings, various awards and presentations were made throughout the meeting, which was chaired by Juli Bear and Brian Tauber, who were the previous winners of the Pauline and Stanley Foster Young Leadership Award, named for a wife and late husband who both had served as UJF presidents.
Rabbi Philip Graubart of Congregation Beth El welcomed approximately 125 attendees and delivered a d’var Torah, and then the two emcees announced this year’s winners of the Young Leadership Awards as Jessica Effress and Gayle Goldman. Effress had migrated with her husband Rich and two children from the Minneapolis area to San Diego and became immediately involved with the Federation’s Young Adults Divison (YAD), and on the Women’s Division Executive Board. Goldman was raised in Los Angeles, and worked as a fundraiser for various non-profit organizations, including the San Diego Jewish Academy. She became active as a community volunteer in 2003 and with Effress became a YAD co-chair.
Next came the presidential awards, made by Polin. One went to Betty Byrnes, who has been a UJF Board member since 1984 and has been a sparkplug for the On-The-Go Senior Transportation Program. She also is a former president of Congregation Beth Israel. Another awardee was Marty Klitzner, who has served on the UJF board since 1989 and established the investments committee and the audit committee, while also serving on the board of the Jewish Community Foundation and serving on its Grants Committee. The third awardee was Jerry Goldberg, who was the longest-serving board member and has co-chaired both the Annual Men’s Event and the Wexner Alumni Retreat.
Rob Fink was accorded the annual award recognizing UJF’s campaign chair; Tami and Tibi Zohar were saluted for organizing the Israel@60 program in San Diego County, which included more than 70 different events; and lay leader Polin along with Rassler and Nadine Finkel of the UJF staff were presented an award by Gail Littman of the Union for Reform Judaism for being good partners to that movement, which recently held its bienial convention in San Diego.
Then, in her other capacity as endowments director for the Jewish Community Foundation, Littman paid tribute to
Polin, Oster and Rassler for helping to inspire 600 San Diego Jewish families to make legacy gifts of $147.3 million in future dollars to the Jewish community. “However,” Littman cautioned, “we still have a great deal more work to do. Six hundred families only accounts for a little over 1 percent of our Jewish households…”
Meir, on behalf of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) which oversees immigration and resettlement, thanked UJF for its continued support of the Ibim Student Village, where he said there currently are 257 new immigrants. He said that JAFI over the past year also had helped arrange 29,000 Birthright trips for young adults to Israel; 8,000 longer term stays under the MASA program, and 12,000 camping opportunities in Israel for Jews from the former Soviet Union (FSU), among other programs.
There were awards made to the many committees of United Jewish Federation, and to end the evening Rassler gave the final recognition to Polin as the outgoing UJF chairman. He described Polin, who previously had served as president of the Lawrence Family JCC, as “the driving force behind the Federation over the last couple of years, especially with regard to… our strategic community plan ... (and) building and strengthening our relationships with all of our local partners—agencies, synagogues, the foundation and a myriad of other Jewish organizations serving Israel and San Diego in so many important ways…”
Jackie Gmach receives Marla Bennett Humanitarian Award from AFMDA
By Yvonne Greenberg
 LA JOLLA, California—The Fourth Annual Marla Bennett Humanitarian Award was presented to Jackie Gmach, the seemingly indefatigable program director of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, by the American Friends Of Magen David Adom, Western Region, on Monday, June 16 at the UCSD Faculty Club.
Julie Potiker presented the award to Gmach, noting that "it is given to someone in our community who actively seeks to make the world a better place through action, ideals, and principles."
Potiker described Jackie as a dervish of action who is "constantly thinking of new ideas that further her ideals of what community and education is about, which for Jackie Gmach doesn't stop at her forty hours a week. What it is is educating and bringing the community together in San Diego, nationally, and internationally. Her vision of what is a good expression of Jewish culture has enriched our community and our lives."
Dr. Mark Moss, publisher of San Diego Jewish Journal, presented remarks on behalf of AFMDA and Emma Lefkowitz talked about Marla, the 24-year-old San Diegan woman who was killed in the 2002 bombing of the cafeteria at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
In her acceptance speech, Gmach told the story of when she was a girl of 14 in Tunisia and she was totally illiterate and expelled from all the schools but had the opportunity to attend the Jewish school, which trained children to send them to Israel. When in the classroom of the Jewish school for the first time, the teacher told her, "If you want, you can." She concluded her speech by saying, "If we all do it together, all try together, if we all want to do it together, we can."
Many VIPs sent Jackie congratulations, including Congressmen/women Bob Filner, Susan A. Davis, Christine Kehoe, and Brian P. Bilbray; Jacob Dayan, Consul General of Israel; Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, and a large number of relatives, friends, and admirers.
In an interview several weeks before receiving the award, Gmach said that "three or four months ago, when I first learned that I would be receiving the award, I said ‘absolutely not,’ and asked, ‘why me?’ I have been working very hard for the community but I am a staff member and all staff and Jewish communal workers work very hard and put in many hours and I didn't think I deserved it more than any other staff…. But, when they said that this year they were looking for money to train new paramedics, I saw the angle immediately of educating people in Israel, and I said yes." Previous award winners have been prominent San Diegans Gary and Jeri-Ann Jacobs, Elizabeth (Betty) Brynes, and Dr. Colin and Jane Scher.
"I knew Marla and I very closely followed her story and I had a close relationship with Linda Bennett (Marla’s mother) as I worked with her throughout the year and I think what happened to her was a traumatic experience for me as well as her family and the community. The fact that the award was named for Marla made me feel extremely touched emotionally,” Gmach said.
“I try to implement community-wide events. I have this terrible handicap that ideas come into my head when I go to bed and when I wake up and when I have a strong idea I have this urgent need for it to be implemented. I have about 70-80 people who support me in all my programs, if not more, half of them volunteers. I think the best way to get volunteers involved is to meet and talk with them and give them a chance to listen to what we need, but I let them decide which activity they want to be involved in. I don't impose anything. I just open the door so they can make their own contribution.”
The leader in creating the award was Ellen Rofman, the Western Region Director of AFMDA, which has been based in Encino, California, since March 2004. “I want to stress that the AFMDA is more than an ambulance service. We are the entire blood service for Israel, we provide all the blood to the Israeli Defense Forces, and 95 to 97 per cent to the general population in hospitals, we have 100 first aid stations, and train all the paramedics for the army. We have 1,200 employees and 12,000 volunteers, and they all carry beepers. Everything is run with GPS. They are well-coordinated and they are very good at what they do. We offer our services to any disaster across the globe, and we will go wherever we are needed."
Gmach was born in Tunis, where she lived a traditional Jewish life with her extended family. Every Shabbat, about 40 family members gathered at her grandparents’ house to celebrate Shabbat. Her father, a dentist and a VIP in the community, was dedicated to the survival of the Jewish community, and helped many people anonymously. At 18, she moved to France to further her education, and received a "Doctorat en Sciences" from the Sorbonne. Jackie and David met in France and married in 1968. Many of his family members, originally from Poland, had died in the Holocaust.
In 1975, the family moved to Montreal, where Jackie was the vice principal of the Maimonides School. In 1982 the family moved to San Diego and Jackie worked as a teacher and an art gallery director before joining the JCC in 1995 and enriching the community with music, literature, art, theater, and other cultural programming. The annual book fair is considered one of the best Jewish book fairs in the country.
Jackie and David´s family now have three grandchildren: Maya, Maximu, and Ashley from daughters Bronia, Yael, and Rebecca.
 Editor's Note: This is the 13th chapter in our serialization of Reluctant Martyr, a historical novel by our columnist Sheila Orysiek. It is based on the experiences of her aunt. In each Friday-Saturday edition of San Diego Jewish World, we will run another installment of the 21-chapter book until its conclusion. We thank Sheila for granting us first publication rights to her book. Comments to the author are welcome at orysieks@sandiegojewishworld.com
Chapters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Reluctant Martyr—Chapter 13
It is sometimes surprising to find that no matter how fortune may frown, the sun continues its course across the sky, and the next day on State Street was beautiful and bright. Hannah called Uncle Joseph and told him about her mother’s heart condition and he came over immediately to see his sister. She also called Yarosh and when Sofia answered the telephone she said she would tell him. He called that evening and spoke to his mother for a few minutes.
As the days went by Sharona actually felt well and the household began to settle down. Etah spent her time after school on homework and housework. She was now sixteen, but there was little time for friends or any of the other normal activities for a girl of her age. Hannah still did the shopping but the rest of her time was spent by her mother’s side.
Very soon the problem of paying for the visits to the doctor every other week became pressing. Dr. Werner was one of the most prominent specialists in his field and his fee reflected this. Hannah steeled herself one day and called him to explain that her mother was a widow and that they were barely able to support her and a sister and would he consider a lesser fee. He told her she should then consider a lesser doctor. She refused to do that.
Hannah felt there was only one solution. Etah would have to drop out of school and get a job. At first Sharona was very much against it. She knew the importance of an education and it had always been her dream to see her youngest child finish school. But reality intruded; there was simply not enough money. The problem remained as to how to tell Etah.
“I’m the mother,” Sharona said sadly, “I should tell her.”
But Hannah thought otherwise. “You’ll make yourself ill. No, I will tell her.” She reasoned it was time for Etah to sacrifice a bit, and she would tell her so. She went over in her own mind how when she was only sixteen she had left home. Didn’t she cross an ocean and give up her youth to save this little sister? Yes, she told herself, it was definitely Etah’s turn. So Hannah chose an evening when Sharona had gone to bed early and Jahn was out. She pulled up a chair and sat across from Etah as the girl did her homework at the dining room table. “Etah,” she began, “I need to talk to you very seriously. Put away your books and listen to me.” Etah looked at her in surprise and then apprehension. “You know our mother is sick,” Hannah continued.
“I know.” Etah’s reply was almost inaudible.
“We all have to give up things.”
“I’ve done all the housework you’ve asked and...”
“Keep quiet! I’m talking! Just keep quiet!” Hannah quickly lost her patience. Etah’s face clouded over. “When I was your age I was already here - far from home - saving every cent. And what for? For you! Jahn, too. He works hard so you can eat!”
“Hannah....”
“Why do you keep interrupting? Now it is your turn. You have to start and help out. Our mother has to go to the doctor and it costs money. So...I...we...want you to get a job.”
“After school? Or on weekends?”
“No. You have to stop going to school.”
“Hannah!” Etah’s face crumpled.
“Tomorrow you go in and tell the school.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes. You can go to school at night if you want to.”
Etah stood up and picked up her books and turning them over in her hands, she slowly put one on top of the other. They seemed suddenly useless. A moment ago they had been so important. “Night school?” she said softly, “all my friends....”
“And,” Hannah continued, “I want you to tell mother you are happy to do it, so she won’t feel bad.”
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Through all of this Uncle Joseph’s business had continued to prosper. The depression was easing just a little too, he thought. He had his office on Girard Avenue just down the street from the synagogue and up one flight of stairs. He had gotten a telephone and now he needed someone to answer it. He also felt that he could better spend his time by collecting money due him and, most of all, by getting new customers. Besides he hated the paperwork. So, he had decided to hire a clerk and since it was just at the time Etah left school, he hired her.
Etah arrived promptly at the office at 8 a.m. and met him there so he could show her what he wanted done. The telephone rang often and he was very particular about how it was answered and how messages should be taken. She needed to keep track of the hours of the workers and last but not least, type up bills and letters. That brought him to his proudest possession. With the correct amount of fanfare he took the typewriter out of the closet and placed it on a table. Etah didn’t know how to type or compose a business letter. But in time, after consulting a book or two, she did learn the latter; but she never did learn to type.
Uncle Joseph was a concerned, loving and beloved member of the family, but working for him was a different matter entirely. He was very fussy and every detail worried him. Having a clerk didn’t really lessen his cares; he just had one more person to worry about. If he didn’t do the work himself, he wasn’t quite sure it was being done. So everything was checked and rechecked.
Though his home was his castle, his office was his sanctuary and sometimes he brought to it the problems of home. And who could blame him? His sanctuary was where he could vent his anger and he had no intention of changing that just because his niece worked there. Somehow, though, they managed to get along together.
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Etah arrived early at the office one morning to catch up on some typing, so when Uncle Joseph got there she was already hard at work. “This office is very dull,” he said. “It needs some brightening and I’m going to do that today.” He then bustled about carrying in several tin pans and assorted buckets, a ladder, bags of white paste powder and rolls and rolls of wallpaper, though the office was not very large. Uncle Joseph was a man of many parts, but hanging wallpaper was not his strong point. He got water in a bucket from the back room and poured it into a tin pan. Next he added the dry white powder paste.
“Uncle, how do you know how much to put in?” Etah asked.
“I’ll know it when I see it,” he replied.
“Have you ever done this before?”
“This doesn’t take going to school for, “he answered.
He was obviously too busy for any more questions. When the paste had reached the right consistency (he felt there were enough lumps floating around), he took a brush and swept it thoroughly around the inside of the paste pan and climbed the ladder. Unfortunately, he had placed the ladder in the middle of the wall, but proceeded anyway with the explanation he’d get to the corners later. At first he thought it expedient to only spread the paste up that width of wall to be covered by one roll, but climbing up and down the ladder was tedious and so he rapidly expanded the area.
Fruitful looking gobs of the glue were soon slithering their way down the wall. He quickly got two rolls of wall paper, one he kept in his hand and the other he stuck in his belt. To put up the first roll he needed two hands and so he slipped the paste brush inside his waist band. He leaned far over the ladder and held the two corners of the paper up to the wall. It was a bit crooked, but he felt he could fix that later, as the paper had quickly adhered to the wall. Worse than the crookedness, however, the paste brush was slowly but surely slipping down his waist inside his pant leg, gobs of paste gluing his trousers. This was not an emergency to be ignored, so he leaned over to recover the brush now at his ankle and nearly impaled himself on the roll of paper still stuck in his belt.
Etah had long since stopped her typing to watch this drama. He was still reaching for the paste brush when the roll of paper already on the wall began to loosen from the top and unfurled sticky side first over his head. The flailing from inside the wall paper was not easily described. His descent from the ladder was emotional and it didn’t help that he stepped into the paste pan.
Etah was shaking with laughter and after untangling himself, he glared thoroughly at her. He stamped off to go home, one trouser leg firmly glued to his thigh, a bit of bright paper still stuck to his head and glue squishing out of one shoe. Nora was given no explanation for his appearance and no one mentioned wallpaper to Uncle Joseph, ever.
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Sharona had insisted that Etah enroll in night school and continue toward a high school diploma. It was a heavy load and a very full day for a sixteen year old. She sat in the office and through the window watched her former classmates go off to school. Joel usually looked up and waved if he saw her. The crowd at night school, of course, was different; they were a lot older, or so they seemed, and much more serious.
In spite of her schedule of work, school and chores, she still did manage a bit of a social life. She and a few girl friends would gather at the State Street house on a Saturday night and talk, eat cookies and giggle a lot. Hannah at first tried to put a stop to this saying it disturbed their mother, but Sharona would not allow it. She wanted her younger daughter to have some fun, her youth was fleeting enough.
After a while, upon occasion, a boy or two would also come over. Then more and more came until the group was pretty evenly divided between boys and girls. They still ate cookies and giggled. The radio was turned on and they began to dance. Rather too closely Hannah thought. Actually, Hannah was outraged.
On one particular evening Etah and her friends had taken over the parlor and the dining room. Jahn had retreated upstairs and Sharona, too, was in her room. Hannah saw the young people dancing and she ran upstairs and told her mother that she considered it terribly unseemly. It surprised her, but Sharona was unmoved. “Young people in America do things differently and Etah must be one of them,” she said.
Etah had found it almost impossible to please her sister. She knew that everything she did annoyed Hannah. In recompense she took on more than her share of the household chores. She had never seen Hannah do any serious housekeeping. Feeling guilty about her friends meeting in the parlor and dining room, and displacing the rest of the family, she tried even harder to gain her sister’s approval.
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Winter. Sometimes for weeks the sidewalks would be covered with ice. It would melt a bit during the day and refreeze at night which made walking difficult and treacherous. Then, at least once during the winter, it would begin to snow sometime in the late afternoon; large fluffy white stars drifted down, and turned the dingy city streets into a fairyland. By evening it would already be deep and everything seemed hushed and amazed. People sat at their parlor windows, the warmth of the house behind them, and watched the world change. By the next morning the task had been completed and even State Street was beautiful.
If there was enough snow the city would come to a halt. Schools closed and joyful children would begin to emerge from the houses into this wondrous play land. Mothers had stuffed them into snowsuits and leggings, deep boots and neck scarves. The girls wore colorful woolen kerchiefs and the boys’ furry caps and earflaps; they could hardly move. Their goal was to stay out as long as possible before the cold and wet won the day. Sleds appeared; the boys doing belly flops, the girls in gentler play. An occasional snowball flew by, a half built snowman or a fort; it was all so wonderful, and transitory.
The shoemaker, Mr. Gutmann, drank a bit more these days and Mr. Becker, the grocer, was a grandfather a couple of times over (his daughter having gotten married, New York relatives and all). The fruit and vegetable man had retired and his three sons now ran the store. The price of an ice cream cone at the candy store went up a couple of pennies and a light had been installed in the pay phone booth outside. The father of the Irish family had returned sorrowful and penitent and his wife had taken him back.
Sharona felt well that winter and the doctor visits were stretched out to once a month. At Passover that year, held as usual at Uncle Joseph’s house, Yarosh and Sofia brought their baby, a girl, Sinda. Joel was close to graduating high school and there was discussion as to what he would do next. He wanted to join the Army which horrified his mother; she wanted him to become a doctor. Aunt Nora’s cheeks were now a bit puffier. A few accounts had come back to Jahn and so he only needed to wash windows five days a week instead of six. The family still had the traditional Sabbath supper every Friday night and they still played cards to the mortification of several commandments.
The news from Europe seemed to get worse with each passing month. People were terribly afraid America would be drawn into a war. Some young men wanted to enlist. There was no lack of young men in Etah’s life, however, and one tall lanky fellow seemed to be around much of the time. Her dream of a high school diploma faded and eventually she dropped out of night school.
ADVENTURES IN SAN DIEGO JEWISH HISTORY
Robinson-Rose House
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Editor's Note: We are reprinting news articles that appeared in back issues of various San Diego Jewish newspapers. You may access an index of the headlines of those articles by clicking here. You may also use the Google search program on our home page or on the headline index page to search for keywords or names.
Organizations ‘Working With’ UJF
From Southwestern Jewish Press, April 10, 1947, page 6
Complimenting San Diego’s Jewish organizations Max Rabinowitz and Louis Steinman, chairman of the 1947 campaign, declared that most of the Jewish organizations in San Diego are wholeheartedly cooperating and working with the $350,000 United Jewish Fund Campaign. All Jewish organizations have lessened their activities during the month of April and not only are working with the United Jewish Fund, but are giving up their April meetings to the campaign.
Many of the organizations have appointed chairmen of committees so that they may more fully participate. Mrs. Gertrude Thaler, organizations chairman for the United Jewish Fund Campaign, announced that an intensive drive would be made within organizations so that every member becomes a subscriber to the fund.
Isidore Markowitz will be the chairman for the Haveros; B’nai B’rith Girls will be led by Elaine Glasser; the Jewish Consumptive Relief Association will have Mrs. Anna Shelley as its chairman; the B’na B’rith Auxiliary will be led by Mrs. Esther Schwartz; Jeannette Tobias will take charge at the Jewish Community Social Club; the Yo-Ma-Co Club will have as its chairman Phil Goldman; B’nai Brith will be led by Marshall Naiman. Other organizations are appointing chairmen and committees.
The Jewish Consumptive Relief Association, The Guardians, Daughters of Israel, Temple Men’s Club, Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish War Veterans, the Yo-Ma-Co Club and Hadassah have all had United Jewish Fund meetings. The balance of the organizations will meet on behalf of the fund during the month of April.
USO-JWB Activities
From Southwestern Jewish Press, April 10, 1947, page 6
The JWB Army and Navy Committee and Esther Siegel, JWB Director wish to thank the San Diego community for their cooperating in providing Passover hospitality to service men and their families. Many of the boys were invited to home seders where they particularly enjoyed the home atmosphere. Others were guests of Temple Beth Israel Sisterhood at their seder at the Temple Center. Hats off to the efficient committees for making the Sisterhood seder such a memorable event!
To Rabbi Morton J. Cohn, Rabbi Ephraim Siegel, Rabbi Abraham Rosenblum and to all who helped to make the observance of the Passover holiday such a happy experience, the Jewish Welfare Board is grateful.
The regular Sunday night dance was well attended by service men and Jr. Hostesses. Miss Ethel Parnass assisted in serving Passover refreshments which consisted of lox, matzos and macaroons.
San Diego Sends $50,000 From Emergency Fund To Aid European Jews
From Southwestern Jewish Press, April 24, 1947, page 1
$50,000 will be forwarded this week by the San Diego United Jewish Fund in response to an emergency appeal to all communities from Henry Morgenthau Jr., General Chairman. Because the needs are so great, the United Jewish Fund Board voted to take the money from emergency funds for this purpose.
“In asking for $170,000,000, the United Jewish Appeal is impelled by the life and death nature of the tasks that confront its agencies. The money is needed now—desperately. Therefore, every community should empty its treasury at once of every dollar that is on hand and send a remittance to the United Jewish Appeal. Every contributor can make his sympathy constructive immediately, if he will forward to his local community treasury a very large part if not the total of the pledge he has made. We are racing against despair and disaster, cash will speed us to our mission,’ Mr. Morgenthau declared.
With $166,807 reported in, Louis Steinmann and Max Rabinowiz, co-chairmen of the 1947 campaign, stated that the campaign would continue until every Jew in San Diego had done his part. Volunteer women workers under the leadership of Julia Neumann and Bernice Soule, are making a house to house canvass so that everyone may have the privilege of giving. Men in the trades division are calling on those who have not yet given who are in business in the downtown section. While young people are continuing their drive to go over $5,000.00.
Julia Neumann, chairman of the Women’s Division, reported that the women have raised $22,649. The Young People’s Division, under the leadership of Sallie Stone and Renee Perlmutter, are almost within reach of their second goal with $4,654.
Eli Levenson, president of the United Jewish Fund, urged every worker to see his prospects now and every prospect to make their contribution so that the campaign may be closed by May 15.
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SAN DIEGO JEWISH WORLD THE WEEK IN REVIEW
)Middle East
Skepticism over Israel-Hamas ceasefire by Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem
Canada
Jews and Canada's First Nations have much to learn from each other's experiences by Rabbi Dow Marmur in Toronto
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History
—April 10, 1947: Prof. Sheldon Warns of Bundist revival
—April 10, 1947: We Were There by Albert Hutler
—April 10, 1947: Eminent Speakers to Appear in San Diego This Week
The Arts
Thursdays with the music of Hal Wingard
—#14 The Dog, The Cat And Me
—#153 Have You Hugged Your Cat Lately?
—#278 Boasting
Lifestyles
Have you ever tried making 'old' friends? by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
Middle East
Hamas will rebuild during the ceasefire by Shoshana Bryen in Washington D.C.
San Diego County
Russert's death prompts walking regimen by Donald H. Harrison in El Cajon, California
San Diego Jewish Trivia: Journalists by Evelyn Kooperman
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History
—March 20, 1947: UJF Youth Division Organizes
—March 20, 1947: Sergeant Inspires Youth Division
—March 20, 1947:‘Personality’ Talk Impresses TYL
Arts
—L'il Noodle, a kid who'll steal your heart by Cynthia Citron in Los Angeles
United States of America
Jews are Obama’s base, not his problem by J. Zel Lurie in Delray Beach, Florida
San Diego
Orthodoxy and sports juxtaposed at gala by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
Obituary: Isadore Horne, Holocaust survivor, 92 by Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
The Arts
The Jewish history of the Incredible Hulk by Rabbi Simcha Weinstein in New York
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History
—March 20, 1947: Pioneer Women
—March 20, 1947:Appeal for Seder Home Hospitality for Servicemen
—March 20, 1947:B’nai B’rith Presents Wheel Chairs to Hospital
—March 20, 1947:Carl Esenoff to Head Jewish Welfare Society
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