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click below to read more about San Diego Jewish Academy, the premier
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Livni escorts
Lantos, Ellison on tour of border areas
JERUSALEM (Press Release)—Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni accompanied visiting US Congressman Thomas Lantos (Democrat, California) and the CEO of Oracle Corporation, Larry Ellison, on a tour of Israel's north and south on Thursday, 9 August. The tour, by helicopter, concentrated on the threats to Israel emanating from the Gaza Strip and Israel's northern border and included some of Israel's strategic and tactical answers to those threats.
In Sderot, the delegation saw examples of Kassam rockets and visited a house that had been struck by a Kassam missile. They were also taken to an observation point overlooking the Gaza Strip. In response to the account by Avi Suleimani, Director of the Sderot community center, of the difficulties in reinforcing the center against missile attack, Ellison promised to donate the necessary funds.
Foreign Minister Livni said that Israel must act simultaneously against security threats from Gaza while working with Fayyad's moderate government, on condition that the latter fulfill all of its commitments, particularly in the realm of security.
The delegation later visited an air force base in the north and an observation post overlooking Lebanon, where they were briefed on the situation in the area since the end of the second Lebanon War.
Minister Livni stated that the participation of
terrorist organizations and militias in elections, whether in
Lebanon or in the PA, contradicts the principles of democracy,
using democratic tools to advance their goals. She said that
there is a need to formulate universal rules that would define
what constitutes legitimate democratic elections and who is
eligible to take part in them.
(Return to top)
Ministers' agreement sets Israel's defense budget
JERUSALEM (Press Release)—In the framework of the discussions
over the 2008 defense budget, the Cabinet was presented with the
agreement reached between Defense Minister Ehud Barak and
Finance Minister Ronie Bar-On, and approved by Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert.
Accordingly,
the base of the defense budget would stand, as advised by the
Brodet Commission, at NIS 50.5 billion. The sum of NIS 500
Million will be allocated to the 2007 security budget, pending
the receipt of the forthcoming supplementary NIS 650 million in
US aid. It was agreed that NIS 1.3 billion of the NIS 50.5
billion, would be spread out and paid in 2009.
The budget,
which met the approval of professionals in both the IDF and the
Ministry of Defense, constitutes an expression of the
Government's trend to strengthen the security budget and place
it at the head of national priorities. It was also agreed upon
between the Prime Minister, Defense Minister and Finance
Minister, to continue to regularly follow regional developments
and assess their influence upon the needs of the security
establishment and the defense budget.
The preceding story was provided by the office of Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert
Dov Burt LevySheer craziness to sell arms to Saudis |
SALEM, Massachusetts —President
Bush obviously read my last column. In it, I argued that hisnew,
improved Middle East Peace Drama would flop because of the
low-esteem actors (Bush, Ehud Olmert, and Mahmoud Abbas) mouthing
the
tired old dialogue that has failed so many times before.
What did the president do? He changed the script by proposing a $20
billion arms deal to Saudi Arabia, saying that arming pro-western
Muslim countries against possible aggression by Iran is the wise
thing to do. Plus, that Saudi power and money could make a huge
difference in brokering an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty.
The reasons may be more or less accurate, but the risks are great
and grave, even if American defense contractors are delighted..
Still, the next day a White House staffer, or perhaps the president,
or maybe Secretaries Rice or Gates realized that Israel and its
supporters would be very upset about adding $20 billion to the
Saudis' already enormous weapon inventory..
So, they thought, let's give Israel a $30 billion arms gift
certificate and throw in $13 billion for Egypt. Plus, now that
wehave three countries shopping for weapons, why not allow
Bahrain,Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to also
shop, at
their own expense, for the newest American weapons.
So far, over 100 American legislators, including many of the Jewish
ones, have criticized the Saudi arms deal. For their part, the
Saudis expressed tentative willingness to meet directly with Israel
at a peace conference.
American Jewish organizations have not said much. The Israel
government has not opposed the package.
Still, don't count out strong opposition from Israel in the coming
weeks. Israelis are not dumb; they know that the Middle East is a
powder keg because they live right in the middle of it.
Not that this columnist and about half the Israeli population
wouldn't be overjoyed with a fair and enforceable peace treaty. But
this arms sale ploy is wrong.
How? Let me count the ways.
The Middle East is a region where religiously inspired hatreds,
national rivalries, ugly internal leadership conflicts, and 75 years
of personal tragedies make it a tinderbox waiting to ignite. Adding
$60 or $70 billion worth of weapons will only make the next
conflagration even worse.
The White House should remember that most of the terrorists on 9/11
were Saudis, that the kingdom is being held together by its
military, security and police forces, and that a radical Muslim
takeover could happen any day. When that happens, those American
weapons deployed in Saudi Arabia will easily be turned from Iran's
direction to aim at
Israel and Europe.
Some in the White House apparently believe that these awesome
weapons will produce a military standoff among Middle East nations
as happened during the Cold War. At that time, however, the United
States and the Soviet Union had fairly rational and stable
leaderships and theweapons were under reasonably good control, so
that what was called MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) kept both
sides at bay.
But the present Middle East is so different. Too many countries
ready to war. Too many terrorist groups within threatening a take
over. Too much opportunity to steal and sell weapons. Always a
couple of completely irrational (crazy) leaders in power. Like Sadam
Hussein, who could have avoided a hole in the ground capture and
execution, by
accepting UN inspections and not thinking his meager force could
stop the American onslaught.
Most of the Mideast's high-ranking politicians, dictators and royal
have homes and bank accounts in Europe for their families to bear
the burden of war – from a very safe distance.
Finally, the value of human life and the protection of civilian
non-combatants is so low that the norm has become a "look you in the
eye and kill you" kind of death dealing. Result: September 11
itself, televised beheadings, bombings of schools, hospitals, train
stations and wedding parties and so many completely obscene acts of
murder.
To this boiling mess, add all those billions of dollars worth of
weapons. Are we crazy?
This
article also appeared this week in the Jewish Journal-Boston North.
Davis seeks $1 billion in grants for nation's preschools
WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release) –
Congresswoman Susan Davis (Democrat, California) took action
to improve education in the United States by joining with her
colleagues to introduce legislation authorizing federal funding to
support quality preschool programs.
Davis joined a number of her
colleagues on the House Education and Labor Committee to introduce
the Providing Resources Early for Kids (PRE-K) Act of 2007 or H.R.
3289. The legislation authorizes $1 billion per year in grant
funding to improve state-funded preschool programs across the
nation.
States, such as California, can apply for funding to increase the
number of qualified early educators, improve the student-teacher
ratio in preschools, or to increase the hours per day and weeks per
year that families have access to early education under H.R. 3289.
Additionally, grants could be spent on vital comprehensive services,
such as health or mental health screenings and nutritional
assistance to preschool students.
“I have heard from principals and educators in San Diego about the
need for quality pre-kindergarten educational services,” Davis
said. “We need to reach our young people at an early age if we are
going to improve academic performance and close the achievement gap
over the long term. The first few years are crucial when it comes
to development.”
Davis is working with her colleagues to ensure that early childhood
education is a part of any reauthorization of the No Child Left
Behind Act. Davis is also advocating for a number of other measures
to improve federal support for public education, including support
for professional development for teachers and school administrators,
quality school-based mentoring programs for students, and increases
in funding overall.
Davis’s other legislation setting out to improve federal support of education includes the Mentoring America’s Children Act of 2007 and the Support Our Schools With Quality Teaching Act of 2007.
The preceding story was provided by the office of U.S. Rep. Susan Davis
|
|
Adventures in Cruising—Royal
Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas Towel monkey--some creative folding and a ceiling hook brought an imaginary animal to a passenger cabin Thanks to the Ford family of Agoura, California, for sharing their photos of their family reunion weekend cruise |
5.
August 10, 2007—How can
this forum be improved?
4.
August
9, 2007—
3. August 8, 2007—Holocaust history and the Bergson group
2. August 8, 2007—Removal of Jewish residents from Hebron
1. August 8, 2007—A protest and the letter; did NJDC help or harm?
To share your thoughts on any of these topics, please send an email to us at
sdheritage@cox.net.
Please be sure to include at the bottom of your letter your full name
and the city and state (province) in which you reside.
________________
The Jewish Grapevine
|
CYBER-REFERRALS—
David Harrison
of Carlsbad passes
along an article
spotted on Yahoo
about the
Hebrew-language
charter school in
Florida that is
raising the same
kind of fears about
separation of
religion and state
that have been
occasioned locally
by an Islamic
school. Here
is a
link..... Hillel
Mazansky wanted
us to share with our
readers the
performance belowe
of "My Yiddishe
Mama" by the Moscow
Male Jewish Capella.
With pleasure!
U-T NEWS TOUR—The San Diego Union-Tribune in its Sunday morning edition had the following Jewish interest stories: First section: Fatah demonstrators in Gaza on Saturday protested the arrest of 15 party members at a wedding on Friday night... In the Insight section, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger urged serious exploration of a Russian proposal to link American and Russian missile defense systems against the possibility of an attack from a rogue state like Iran... In the Sports section, Kevin Youkilis was listed 22nd on the list of top American League batters, with a .304 average. In the National League stats, you had to go all the way to position #47 to find Shawn Green of the New York Mets, hitting .275....There were some other stats to chew on: Mets pitcher Scott Schoeneweis struck out two Florida Marlins in an inning of relief, allowing no hits or runs, but his team nevertheless lost 7-5.... In the Red Sox 6-2 victory over the Balitmore Orioles, Kevin Youkilis was walked three times. His .304 average dropped to .302... Ian Kinsler was blanked in four trips to the plate. His Texas Rangers were shutout 4-0 by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays....In tennis, the Israeli doubles team of Jonathan Ehrlich and Andy Ram was defeated in the semifinals of the Rogers Masters in Montreal by Paul Hanley of Australia and Kevin Ulyett of Zimbabwe, 6-2, 6-3. .. In the Homes section, there's a story about a man named Moses who tried to part the waters, or more specifically how Charles Moses illegally tried to divert a creek, and was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. Another story tells how various architects, including Frank Gehry, are considering selling their archives to museums...In the Homescape section, Jeff Figler writes about collecting magazines. Among those that will fetch a fair price: a Jan 23, 1953 edition of TV Guide with Marilyn Monroe on the cover and various editions of Life carrying photos by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, particularly his famous shot of a sailor hugging a nurse in Times Square in celebration of V-E Day in 1945... In the Passages section, there was an obituary of Mel Shavelson, 90, which curiously left out a line from the Associated Press version of the story that he wrote the book, How to Make a Jewish Movie... Frank E. Rosenfelt, 85, former MGM studio chief, also died... Reporting other deaths of the past week in its transitions column, the U-T had those of three people who were born Jews, and two of whom who died as Jews: Baron Elie Robert de Rothschild, 90; Cardinal Jean Marie Lustiger, 80, and Hal Fishman, 75.
RANCHO SANTA FE, California (Press Release) —The education of a human being begins at birth and continues throughout life. As a result of a Leichtag Family Foundation grant of $6 million, the educational legacy of former kindergarten teacher Joli Ann Leichtag will continue to live; inspiring and incentivizing students of the San Marcos Unified School District (SMUSD) after her death. The gift will support SMUSD’s Partners Advancing College Education (PACE) Promise for all District students.
In accordance with the partnership, the Leichtag Family Foundation and SMUSD announce that, in an unprecedented tribute to a respected and beloved, outstanding local individual, the new school, serving kindergarten through fifth-grade students, will be named the Joli Ann Leichtag Elementary School. The school is currently under construction on a 21.4-acre site of unincorporated San Diego County in the Mimosa Avenue/Oleander Avenue/Poinsettia Avenue area of the District. It is slated to open in August 2008. A plaque honoring Ms. Leichtag and detailing her and her family’s longtime commitment to quality education will be prominently displayed at the school.
According to Andre (Toni) and Lee Leichtag, respectively Chairman of the Board and Secretary of the Rancho Santa Fe-based Leichtag Family Foundation, the Foundation supports a broad array of nonprofit educational organizations. Its dedication to helping others make advancements in teaching and learning has positively impacted the lives of many people. Toni and Lee are the parents of Joli, who served as Vice President of the Foundation until her death from cancer at the age of 60 on July 19, 2007.
Lee Leichtag states, “It is with a mixture of deep sorrow and immense pride that we embark on this significant educational effort. Joli’s life and career revolved around teaching,” he explains, noting that his daughter served as a kindergarten teacher and raised her daughter, Heather, for a portion of time as a single parent, while forging a successful career.
“Joli is the ideal symbol of aspiration and accomplishment,” Lee Leichtag confirms. “As the founder and proprietor of Polished Professionals, Joli specialized in enhancing workplace performance and success through business etiquette training. Education was at the heart of her own business and success,” he believes, pointing out that Joli developed and led corporate training seminars for high-ranking companies in diverse industries, including General Motors, Farmers Insurance, the United States Postal Service and Disney Properties. Recently, she was selected to be part of a United States trade mission to China, where she served as the Director of Protocol and Public Affairs.
Lee Leichtag confides that he worked with his daughter before her death to put this educational partnership in motion. He states, “My daughter was a uniquely gifted person. We are so pleased to share her
commitment to education with the District through a program as unique and special as she was. The partnership will perpetuate Joli’s legacy of making a difference in the lives of people through education.”The fledgling partnership between the Foundation and the District is destined to reverberate throughout the region, educating current and future generations of citizens and encouraging them to share their talents within their community. The Foundation’s $6 million grant will be developed into an endowment fund that supports the newly established PACE Promise established for all SMUSD students, beginning with the graduating class of 2009. PACE, a joint program between SMUSD and California State University San Marcos (CSUSM), supports and guides each student enrolled in the District, starting in the seventh grade, to meet specific criteria. Once met, these criteria guarantee the students admission to CSUSM.
While PACE offers eligible students guaranteed admission to the acclaimed local university, the Foundation’s Joli Ann Leichtag endowment fund will cover the tuition and related costs of the students once they arrive at CSUSM, irrespective of need.
The Leichtags say it is fitting that, as ground is broken for San Marcos Unified School District’s newest school, a groundbreaking partnership is born. Lee Leichtag reports, “Although the Leichtag Family Foundation has provided financial sustenance to many children-oriented and education-related organizations, this is the Foundation’s first joint effort undertaken with a local school district and university. Joli Ann would be very proud,” he concludes.
SMUSD’s Joli Ann Leichtag Elementary School will be located on a natural treasure: an environmentally and culturally significant area bisected by Agua Hedionda Creek. The site, a former hunting ground for early Native Americans, has been designated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as an official “sanctuary” for certain endangered birds and serves as a habitat for a variety of plant species.
Now, with the Leichtag Family Foundation endowment of the PACE Promise, the Joli Ann Leichtag Elementary School will provide a motivational sanctuary for aspiring students. It is hoped that, as the years pass, Joli Ann will look down from her sanctuary with pride upon the meaning and purpose her life has given to future generations.
The Leichtag Family Foundation was established to provide support to institutions that educate and serve. On a national level, the Foundation was a founding contributor to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Locally, the Foundation has provided significant support to Seacrest Village Retirement Communities. It funded the Leichtag Family Healing Garden at Children’s Hospital of San Diego and the Leichtag Biomedical Research Building at the University of California San Diego, a facility dedicated to utilizing biomedical research to eradicate childhood diseases. In addition, the Foundation is the largest single contributor to Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas; establishing the Women’s Health and Birth Pavilion and the Emergency/Trauma Center.
For more information on the Leichtag Family Foundation, please call James Farley, Esquire at (760) 431-7949. For more information on the San Marcos Unified School District’s PACE Promise, please call Superintendent Kevin Holt at (760)752.1299.
.
Rancho Bernardo BUNWC
plans tea and fashions
Sept. 19
SAN DIEGO (Press
Release)—The opening
meeting of the Rancho
Bernardo Chapter of
Brandeis University
National Women's
Committee (BUNWC) "Fashions
and Tea For You and Me"
will be held at 1:30
p.m., Wednesday,
September 19 at
Oaks North Community
Center, 12578 Oaks North
Drive, Rancho Bernardo.
Fashions from
Chicos of Carmel
Mountain will be modeled
by our member models.
Petite sandwiches will
be served and promises
to be an afternoon of
friendship and fun. The
charge will be $10.
Reservations and
information to Enid
858-487-7343.
The preceding story was
provided by the Rancho
Bernardo chapter of
BUNWC
Please
click on the above ad to visit the Humanistic Jewish Congregation's
website
Davis directs $11.5
million in military
spending to San Diego;
allocations still need
Senate passage
WASHINGTON, DC (Press
Release) – Congresswoman
Susan Davis
(Democrat, California)
secured $11.5 million
for San Diego defense
projects in the defense
appropriations bill for
Fiscal Year 2008. The
bill (H.R. 3222) passed
in the House of
Representatives by vote
of 395-13.
This funding will
provide our troops with
the tools they need,
help save the lives of
service members, and
protect our nation,”
said Davis, a member of
the House Armed Services
Committee. “The
projects funded in this
bill show that San Diego
is on the cutting edge
of technological
advancements in the
nation.”
The San Diego defense
projects are:
●Man Overboard
Identification (MOBI)
System – BriarTek, Inc.
- $1 million: This
funding will allow for
the protection of
unprotected sailors,
marines, and airwings on
MOBI installed ships.
Since the limited
installations have
begun, the system has
been involved in the
successful notification,
search or recovery of 18
sailors and marines who
have fallen from ships.
●Critical
Language Training – San
Diego State University -
$1 million: For San
Diego State University
to continue to develop
and conduct advanced
training programs in
critical languages to
have U.S. military
personnel highly
proficient in critical
foreign languages at
advanced levels.
●Rotary Valve Pressure Swing Absorption Oxygen Generator – SeQaul Technologies, Inc. - $2 million: Eliminates complex valve and control systems in conventional oxygen generators and provides a system that supports individual patients far forward on the battlefield and during critical life and support missions where conventional oxygen generation systems have not been able to penetrate because of technological barriers.
●Wireless Imaging and Sensor Network – G2 Software Systems, Inc. - $1 million: For the development of a network of wireless cameras with GPS capabilities and other electronic sensors to provide situational awareness and force protection support to combat troops.
●Electromagnetic Geolocation – Quasar Federal Systems - $1 million: To finalize development of an airborne electromagnetic (EM)-based sensing system to detect in real time underground radio transmissions and other EM signals indicating the presence of enemy military personnel, terrorists activities, and illicit drug manufacturing facilities hidden hundreds of feet underground from hundreds of miles away.
●Strategies
to Mitigate Individual
Stress Reactivity – SAIC,
Inc. - $2 million:
Combat Operational
Stress Reactions (COSRs)
have become a
significant problem
among military personnel
who have deployed Iraq
and Afghanistan. The
program will examine
stress reactivity in
greater detail and
develop awareness,
training and treatment
strategies.
●Agent-Based
Expeditionary Security
System (AESS) – 21st
Century Systems, Inc. -
$1 million: AESS is a
mobile, maritime-based
anti terrorism/force
protection system that
combines intelligent
software technology with
off-the-shelf sensors
and secure
communications to
produce a robust network
that detects and rapidly
responds to suspicious
and/or hostile activity
directed against ships
in port or at anchor.
●Natural
Gas Firetube Boiler
Demonstration – Sempra -
$500,000: Demonstration
at military facilities
in California of Super
Boiler Systems. The
technology will help the
defense facilities to
meet their energy and
emissions reduction
goals.
●Commercial
Technologies for
Maintenance Activities (CTMA)
– National Center for
Manufacturing Sciences -
$2 million: CTMA helps
deploy the latest
manufacturing
technologies in
Department of Defense (DoD)
depots through
partnering projects with
America’s leading
manufacturing
companies. This
improves readiness by
reducing costs, man
hours, and cycle times
for the repair and reset
of weapons systems at
DoD depots and
maintenance activities.
The bill moves to the Senate for consideration.
The preceding story was provided by the office of Congresswoman Susan Davis
Click the ad above to go to the "I'm there for you baby" website
News from the Israel Baseball League |
BOYCHIKS OF SUMMER—The Modi'in
Miracle posed for a team photo
on day the beat the Tel Aviv
Lightning 5-2.
Bet Shemesh nails down top IBL playoff seed; Modi'in Miracle and Tel Aviv Lightning fight for second place
KIBBUTZ GEZER, Israel (Press
Release)—In a game that
could help determine the
playoff picture, the
third-place Modi’in Miracle
defeated the second-place
Tel Aviv Lightning, 5-2, on
Sunday at Gezer Field in
Kibbutz Gezer.
Pitcher Andre Sternberg
(3-2) of Modi’in earned the
win pitching three innings
of scoreless relief. Pitcher
Craig Eagle started for the
Miracle pitching four
innings, allowing two runs
(none earned) with six
strikeouts. In the top of
the first inning, Australian
LF Moko Moanoroa, who was
1-for-3 with two RBI, drove
in the first run of the game
with a sacrifice fly. With
the scored tied 1-1, the
Miracle took the lead
scoring three runs in third
with four singles in the
inning. The Miracle’s win
pulls them within 2.5 games
of the second-place
Lightning.
At the Baptist Village, the Netanya
Tigers defeated the Ra’anana Express, 4-0, in another important game
that could impact the fourth and fifth seeds in the playoffs. The
fourth-place Tigers are now three games ahead of the fifth-place
Express. Since Netanya has an overall head-to-head record of 4-4
against Ra’anana, the Tigers still need to win one more game in order to
clinch the fourth seed of the playoffs.
Tigers pitcher Justin Prinstein (2-4) dominated Ra’anana, pitching 6 1/3
innings allowing no runs on only one hit. Centerfielder Josh Doane, who
was 2-for-3 with two RBI, hit a two-run homer (5) in the third inning to
give the Tigers a 3-0 lead Israeli Shlomo Lipetz came into close the
game in the seventh, with bases loaded and one out. Lipetz struck out
the next two batters to earn his first save of the season. Ra’anana
outfielder Stephen Raab recorded the Express’ only hit of the game with
a one out double in the bottom of the fifth inning.
At Sportek, the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox
clinched the overall top seed in the IBL playoffs with a 5-1 victory
over the Petach Tikva Pioneers. Californian Rafael Bergstrom (7-2)
earned the victory, pitching 6.0 innings and allowing one earned run
with eight strikeouts.
Australian designated hitter Jason Rees (3-for-4) hit his league leading
17th homerun of the season in the third inning to give the Blue Sox a
2-0 lead. The Pioneers answered back with one run in the bottom of the
inning, but that is all they would score on the night. CatcherScott
Jarmakowicz helped keep the Pioneers at bay by throwing out three
baserunners on the day.
Summaries:
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 R H E
Modi’in 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 5 7 4
Tel Aviv 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 5 1
W: Andre Sternberg (3-2); L: Dan Rothem (3-3); HR: None
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 R H E
Netanya 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 4 7 0
Petach Tikva 0 0 0 0 0 0 x 0 1 5
W: Justin Prinstein (2-4) L: Nathan Mittag (2-3); HR:
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 R H E
Bet Shemesh 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 5 9 1
Petach Tikva 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 3
W: Rafael Bergstrom (7-2); L: Andrew Morales (1-6); HR: Jason Rees (17)
Standings:
Team W L % GB
Bet Shemesh Blue Sox 28 9 .757 -
Tel Aviv Lightning 24 14 .632 4.5
Modi’in Miracle 21 16 .568 7.0
Netanya Tigers 18 20 .474 10.5
Ra’anana Express 15 23 .405 13.5
Petach Tikva Pioneers 7 31 .189 21.5
Mon
day at 5 pm the Ra’anana Express and the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox play at Kibbutz Gezer while the Tel Aviv Lightning and Netanya Tigers play at Sportek in Tel Aviv. At 7 pm the Modi’in Miracle take on the Petach Tiva Pioneers at Yarkon Field at the Baptist Village.
{Marc Kligman, who combines being
a sports agent with his life as an observant Jew, invites you to listen.
Click on the ad above for more information}.
 Arts in Review by Carol Davis |
Fireflies told the dramatic story of Terezin's children
SAN DIEGO—The Theatre on 6th @ Penn has been mounting an ambitious festival over the past few months called "The Resilience Of The Spirit Human Rights Festival 2007." One of the programs that yours truly has had the privilege seeing before the production closed was a world premiere showing of Charmaine Spencer’s Fireflies, directed by Dale Morris.
It was yet another eye opening look into the sick minds of the German psyche during the occupation of Czechoslovakia and the making of a ‘model’ camp in Terezin for the sake of showing the International Red Cross how ‘humane’ they were in treating the inmates. It was the place privileged Jews were sent where they were allowed to paint, play sports, and produce operas and plays.
Fireflies
is the name of a poem written by one of the young men in the
camp. Leo Katz (portrayed perfectly by Luis Quiroz) would have
been the most unlikely candidate to write this lovely and moving
reflection:
A firefly
landed on the window by Otto’s bunk last night. We watched it
for a long time. It was bright green flashing on and off. If
they hadn’t turned off all the lights, if it wasn’t so dark, we
might not have noticed one little firefly, poor little bug, all
alone, flashing a signal,” I’m here. Hello, I’m here”—Leo
Katz 1932-1944When he was brought into the camp he was like a wild cat scratching his way out of a burlap bag. He was all over the place without direction, without a purpose save to escape and kill. But under the TLC of his mentors, Pavel Brandies and Freidel Dicker-Brandeis, he was able show a sensitivity in his writing.
Lucky for him, if you can call it luck, he was fortunate enough to come into contact with Freidel Dicker-Brandeis. And herein lies the wonderful story of this talented young artist and her dedication to the arts and the young women who lived in the barracks of Terezin. There they were able to take comfort in the attic to draw, to express, to socialize, to watch and escape, for a time, their deportation after the Germans were done with them.
It is in this attic that the story of Dicker-Brandeis (Beth Bayless) and her dedication to her wards comes to life with the beautifully moving and delicate attention to character that Bayless portrays as she guides her girls; Eva( Becca Meyers), Marta (Zoe Katz) and Rebecca (Maddy Berson) through the trials and tribulations of loss of parents, loss of self, lack of food and complete helplessness. Bayless is the moving force of this production.
Dicker-Brandeis studied art at the Bauhaus in Weimar, Germany and was so far advanced in her studies that she was asked to be a teacher. In 1923 she moved to Vienna and in 1933 joined the Communist party to protest the rising fascist movement. In 1936 she met and married Paval Brandeis (Tony Beville) and in 1938 they moved to a town northeast of Prague. In 1942 the couple was sent to Terezin.
|
The story shows the love and devotion of this talented woman who
assumed the role of mother, teacher and equalizer. It traces the
plight of the girls. It characterizes the place they drew, the
horror they felt under the watchful eyes of The German Officer (Beville)
and his preoccupation with terrorizing, frightening or destroying
anything good he came across. In essence, it gives us a birds eye
view of what life was like in those harrowing times for these young
folks and how they managed to survive. |
 WINGS—A drawing by I. Karpeles, a child artist at Terezin |
gentle and comforting as Brandeis.
Becca Meyers, a J*
Company student, was a standout as little Eva. She is one
talented gal as every move she makes is so real, I could see my own girls,
at her age, whining, pouting, asking and challenging. In her bio she relates
that her great-great-great grandmother and grandfather were sent to Terezin.
And how Dicker-Brandeis managed to remain faithful to her belief that the
truth in the drawings, which she always encouraged her girls to draw, was
worth living for is, again, the power of this play. “Draw what you see,"
she coaxed. She allowed them to be sad, glad, afraid or happy. She
encouraged them to express their feelings through their art. And they did.
And they are gut wrenching! And they are beautiful.
That her courage under the most adversarial of conditions brought comfort to this small group of children, is proof that the Jewish spirit isn’t something that can be killed off, burned off or stamped out in a firing squad.
This is a story with far-reaching aftereffects as some of the art work managed to survive (she stored the paintings in cracks in the walls, between planks of wood in the floors) and can be seen in Holocaust Museums in New York, Prague and Israel and the Jewish Museum in New York near Battery Park. If you’ve not been there, it is a must see.
Even though many of those from Terezin were transported to Auschwitz where most of them died (of the 15,000 children, about I% survived) including Freidel, there is still living proof that the stories will continue. She made sure that they all signed their own works.
The night I saw the play, we were honored to have with us Inge Auerbacher a survivor of Terezin from 1942-1945. Inge was seven when she was sent to the camp with her mother , father and sister. She was fortunate enough to have had her immediate family counted as survivors. Hers is another story of courage, perseverance and determination. In those years her formal education stopped and for three years she was trapped in a time warp.
Never let it be said that she wallowed around in pity. She graduated from Queens College with a BS in chemistry and did post graduate work in bio chemistry, but more importantly she has written at least three books including I Am A Star. She spoke with us for almost an hour, showing us the yellow Jewish Star she was forced to wear and I might add, pay for.
She gave us more insight into the camp itself and she told us that since she and her family were not from Czechoslovakia but from Germany, they were not given the same privileges as the others. One's understanding is greatly increased by listening to her accounts of life as it was for so many of our brothers and sisters.
For more information on this amazing woman, visit her web site.
See you at the theatre.