Volume 3, Number 44
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"There's a Jewish story everywhere"
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Today's Postings:
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The Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Navon, and his wife, Mira, move into a big house opposite her lemon grove on the green line border between Israel and The West Bank. The secret service men convince the Israeli Defense Minister that the lemon grove poses a security threat to him and his wife because a terrorist could hide among the trees. The widow, Salma, then receives an eviction notice telling her she must move and her lemon grove will be uprooted because it poses a security threat to her Israeli neighbors. The story continues as Salma finds a young Palestinian attorney, Ziad, to represent her as she takes the State of Israel to the Supreme Court. The Defense Minister and his wife tell the secret service men to take some lemons from Salma’s yard to use at their house-warming, without finding it necessary to ask her for permission first. When Salma comes out to rescue her stolen lemons, the secret service men push her to the ground. Finally the Defense Minister tells the secret service men to leave her alone. Mira explains that they needed some lemons for their party and she’s sorry. Even so, they did not offer Salma any recompense for her stolen property. Mira’s heart silently goes out to Salma but her words and actions don’t follow. Although she feels anguish as she sees the pained expression on Salma’s face, she feels too restricted to ameliorate the situation. At one point Mira appears without any make-up as she climbs the fence and knocks on Salma’s door. The head secret service man tells her he will get in trouble if anyone finds her there. She obediently returns to her side of the wall and no one is there when Salma opens the door. A second attempt to reach out comes when Mira tells the news reporter that she wishes that she could be a better neighbor to Salma. The final attempt at friendship is when she tells the news reporter the true story about how Salma had been issued an eviction notice, told her lemon grove needs to be uprooted, and how her house was ransacked by Israeli soldiers vehemently searching for possible terrorists. I felt especially moved by the speech made in court by Salma’s long time friend and employee, Abu, although his eloquence when speaking didn’t match his education level. Perhaps Riklis tried to make the point that one could appear articulate without education if one feels strongly about the issue. Abu talks about how trees have feelings and they don’t like to be chopped down. The trees are silent witnesses and they are the ones who are suffering the most as a result of the conflict. Mira liked the beauty of seeing the lemon groves. However her husband builds a wall between their home and the lemon groves. The wall is symbolic of trapping his wife in their house under the guise of safety as he keeps long hours and has an affair on the side. I liked the film because of the acting. I especially liked Hiam Abbass as Salma.
I just returned from guest conducting the State of Chihuahua Philharmonic Orchestra. I arrived there on February 8, the concert was on the 13th, and I returned home the following day. Five daily rehearsals and one concert. I am glad to report that my experience was most satisfying. This is a fairly young ensemble, fifteen years since it was founded, and is comprised of many young musicians, mostly of conservatory age. This is a full time, professional orchestra, and is directed by a very talented musician and colleague, Armando Pesqueira. He is originally from the Tijuana-San Diego area, and is a complete and dedicated conductor, with many accomplishments already to his credit. The musicians of the Philharmonic are practically all Mexicans, with the addition of two Bulgarians, two Armenians, an Italian, a Venezuelan, and one recent arrival from China. I was very pleased to work with a group that was enthusiastic, energetic, flexible, willing to learn, and most capable in the technical and artistic categories. The two horn players were a father and son. All rehearsals were conducted in Spanish, and our time together was efficient, inspiring, and a lot of fun. We prepared and presented in concert Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, Mozart’s Symphony No. 26, and the Harp Concerto by a Beethoven contemporary, Francois-Adrien Boieldieu. The latter featured as soloist an outstanding Mexican concert harpist, José Enrique Guzmán. Since he and I were visiting the City of Chihuahua, after the rehearsals were done for the day, we enjoyed plenty of free time to rest, have leisurly meals, and tell each other many anecdotes and musical war stories, along with “shop talk” and plenty of jokes. We were part of several newspaper interviews, a press conference, hundreds of photos, and a one hour television interview. Our hosts were most gracious, taking us to historic sites and museums. We toured through Pancho Villa’s own villa, the Municipal Palace where the liberator of Mexico, Miguel Hidalgo was imprisoned and executed, and the modern art exhibition at the Casa Redonda, and old refurbished building which used to be a regional locomotive repair facility. The meals together with our hosts were memorable events. The city of Chihuahua with nearly one million inhabitants is located quite far from other metropolitan centers. Its climate was that of a high desert plain, dry, windy at times, with moderate daytime and evening temperatures. Good Chamber of Commerce advertising! It is spread out over a large geographic area, and has practically no high rise structures. What was delightful to experience was the small town, provincial hospitality, in the best sense of the word. All the people that I met were gentle, polite, educated, generally low key, and clearly and justifiably proud of their orchestra. The concert at the Teatro de los Heroes, a modern, aesthetically and acoustically pleasing structure, was attended by 600 to 700 people, who were warm and enthusiastic in their response to the music we presented. I was most pleased that the music we made was propulsive, energetic, fresh, reflecting a youthful spirit, and hopefully, conveying the intentions of the composers whose music we played. Chihuahua also has a Music Conservatory and a University. A couple of quirky, unexpected surprises: The television in my hotel room provided a generous 80 channels of entertainment. One of these offerings was CNN International, not the same feed we receive here at home. In the middle of the week, this station generously gave hours and hours of coverage of the Israeli elections, with analysis, minute by minute reports, interviews, and the victory speeches of both Binyamini Netanyahu and Tsipi Livni. And, one of the Mexican movie channels showed several times two films on Chassidic subjects, of American and Dutch productions, both with subtitles in Spanish. What makes such an experience so unique is that guest artists walk into a situation where all that counts is the artistry and the music-making. By definition, we are detached from the logistical problems that the managers and resident conductors have to tackle. The new friendships, relationships, and memories that one brings back home, as it was in this situation, are very pleasant indeed. Another thing about Chihuahua: I did not see a single one of those little dogs. JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE THE JEWISH CITIZEN The Believers, a novel by Zöe Heller, HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN 978-0-06-143020, 335 pages, $25.99. Editor Harrison may be contacted at editor@sandiegojewishworld.com
Return to top CAROL ANN GOLDSTEIN
1. A visitor should be able to view the various pages of your website by the use of menus. Yellow Bucket Janitorial illustrates this feature. On this website you can use the menus at the top or bottom of each page to visit all the pages available. You cannot get lost and can always return to where you started out. 2. If a visitor clicks on a link to a page on your own website that does not have any navigation or menus, that page should open in a new window so that the visitor can still see the page they were on when they clicked on that link. San Diego Jewish World illustrates this feature. On this website, if a visitor clicks on About Us, Features or Authors in the menu bar at the top of the main page, the selected page will open in a new window and the visitor will still be able to see the main page of the newspaper. 3. If a visitor clicks on a link to another website, that page should open in a new window so that the visitor can still see the page they were on when they clicked on that link. San Diego Jewish World illustrates this feature. On this website if a visitor clicks on any of the ads, the advertisers website should open in a new window and the visitor will still be on your website. It is very important that your visitors remain with your website until they are ready to leave and not be distracted by another website. 4. If a page of a website has various choices to view, an internal navigation system is a useful tool. San Diego Jewish World illustrates this feature. On this website if a visitor clicks on any of the links in the Today’s Postings area of the page that say READ MORE, VIEW VIDEO or any of the links under TODAY’S ADVERTISERS, they will be taken to the exact location on the page where the requested information appears. Another tool for a visitor is the ability to return to where they were on the page to select other options. San Diego Jewish World illustrates this tool with the use of Return to top or BACK TO TOP links throughout the main page. A visitor to a website, wants to be able to get around easily and find what they are interested in. If you have a website that is not easy to navigate or want a new website, I can help you. Per the ad above, I may be reached at 858 452 0386 or email cag_92122@yahoo.com.
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CIUDAD CHIHUAHUA, Mexico—It is always very exciting to go into a city for the first time, rehearse, conduct, and do a concert with an orchestra previously unknown to me. There are many variables, such as the chemistry between musicians and guest conductor, how the chosen music fits to the abilities of the orchestra and acceptance by the audience, and the artistic understanding with a guest soloist.
SAN DIEGO—It says on the back of the title page of this novel that the “names, characters and places, and all dialogue and incidents portrayed in this book are the products of the author’s imagination” but readers have imaginations too. And this reader imagines that author Heller had the late anti-war attorney William Kunstler in mind when she drew the portrait of Joel Litvinoff, an attorney whose family life this books examines.
SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Each week the 1st through 5th grade students visit the Gruss technology "Learning Lab" two times and spend 20 minutes each on reading and math using the SuccessMaker educational technology program. The students go through the program at their own pace to reinforce classroom math and reading lessons. The Kindergarteners spend time on computers three times a week in their classroom working on the "Waterford" program that is designed for younger children. The entire technology learning lab is generously underwritten by the Gruss Foundation of New York and the CIJE (Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education).
