SDJA STUDENT QUARTERLY

Same-sex marriage, cafeteria, and a gossipy website provide grist for SDJA journalists

Editor's Note: Students William Bohannon, Eitan Frysh and Michelle Rizzi covered three different kinds of controversies—same-sex marriages, cafeteria food and a gossipy website—in the debut edition of the SDJA Student Quarterly, the new publication of San Diego Jewish Academy. In our continuing series presenting the newspaper, here are their stories:

Rabbi tells Jewish views on ‘same-sex marriage’

By William Bohannon

SAN DIEGO—Being gay is not wrong in Judaism; it is the sexual behavior of gays that is the problem, according to Rabbi Leslie Lipson, dean of Judaic Studies at the Maimonides Upper School of San Diego Jewish Academy. In other words, Judaism does not judge people on their feelings, or tendencies, but only upon their actions.

The rabbi shared his thoughts on gay marriage with SDJA’s journalism class on September 20 in the wake of the controversy over San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders’ decision to support the city intervening on behalf of gay marriage in a suit now before the California courts. At the time he
William Bohannon
announced his decision, Sanders also disclosed that his daughter is a lesbian.

Lipson said that under Jewish law (halacha), marriage is a contract between two individuals in which a man acquires a wife. There is no wife in gay marriage, so who would be making a contract with whom if two men wanted to get married? Furthermore, Lipson said, gay marriage can not comply with Judaism’s commandment to “be fruitful and multiply.”

The rabbi reviewed the unholy relationships enumerated in the book of Leviticus, focusing on the one that states that a man cannot lay with another man as if he were a woman. The rabbi said this passage can be interpreted in many different ways, even to the point of making an argument that since two men can not have sex the way a man and a woman can, there technically is no objection to gay sex. However, he said, Conservative Judaism rejects such an argument and takes the position that whatever the mechanics, sex between two men is an unholy relationship that cannot be allowed.

More liberal interpretations are accepted by those movements which do not consider themselves bound by halacha, such as the Reform and Reconstructionist branches of Judaism, Lipson said.
The rabbi related the story of a gay Conservative rabbi friend who had been in a relationship with another man for some time. When they decided to solemnize that relationship, they decided upon a civil union rather than seeking a Jewish marriage. This was on the gay rabbi’s insistence who understood Judaism’s strictures, Lipson said.

Even if Judaism can’t religiously sanction gay marriage, it can favor equal protection for all people under U.S. law as a matter of civil rights, Lipson said.

Bohannan is photo editor of SDJA Student Quarterly

Fresher school lunches promised for next year

By Eitan Frysh

SAN DIEGO—San Diego Jewish Academy principal, Dr. Jeff Davis, and head of kitchen staff, Edward Blumberg, agree that the school’s lunches have not been so good this year. While they disagree on the reasons for this, they say changes for the better are coming.

According to Blumberg, the problem is not the grade of the kosher food, but rather in the delay between preparation and serving. Every lunch falls under the requirements of the “FDA, USDA, and county regulations,” Blumberg says. “Everything is made that day for that day’s consumption… Even the pizza dough is made here fresh”.
Eitan Frysh

Blumberg also asserted that “the budget does not determine the quality, the quality determines the budget.” Recently this has caused a $50 a year increase in price per person.

The head of the kitchen staff said that the decrease in quality is due to a change in procedure dictated by Dr. Davis. “We’ve had arguments with Jeff on how the quality deteriorated dramatically… by sending it to you (on carts) to the upper school. It sits for about an hour in the kitchen after being prepared… around 20 minutes sitting up there waiting for distribution” says Blumberg.

Davis had a different view on things.  He said that “the hot food is out of the oven and into the food server carts for probably an additional fifteen minutes.”  He said that the food doesn’t necessarily deteriorate “but may cool” in the time it takes to get to the students at the upper school

Blumberg recommends that upper school students walk to the cafeteria at the lower school to get their food, and thereby eliminate the cooling time. He said this would dramatically improve our school’s food’s quality.

Davis said “because of the change in the bell schedule this year” the location of distribution was changed. With lunchtime schedules for the two schools overlapping, “they are not set up down there to serve lower school and upper school at the same time,” asserted Davis.

Next year, however, Davis assured that the food would be better because it will be “served from the snack bar”.

Frysh is features editor of SDJA Student Quarterly

R.I.P. GossipGirl

By Michelle Rizzi

SAN DIEGO—On November 4, I received a call from a friend. “Go to www.gossipgirlsdja.blogspot.com,” she demanded into the phone. The excitement in her voice intrigued me, so I curiously scoped the website myself.

It was a blog loosely based on the hit teen-fictional book series GossipGirl, by Cecily von Ziegeasar, which is now a CW TV show, that follows the lives of New York City’s East Side high school socialites. The series is narrated by GossipGirl, a character who remains anonymous. Single handedly,
Michelle Rizzi
GossipGirl can make or break the social worlds of the characters, as she shamelessly spreads scandalous gossip. The novel and television series have become addicting to its audience; it’s so bad, but oh-so good.

A presumed high school student at San Diego Jewish Academy decided to make his/her/their own blog, shadowing that of the fictitious original. The blog was believed to have been created sometime over the weekend. “It was the talk among high school students Monday morning,” according to junior Haley Epstine. The first post was full of vicious statements accusing the students of backstabbing, and promising to tell who was hooking up and allowing readers to submit their own juicy rumors.

Several did, creating fake e-mail addresses and fake gossip about their friends (who were aware of the causalities being created). On Tuesday, the blog was updated, the headline reading “I Knew You’d Come Back for More…” ‘Gossip’ included rumors about hair-loss, eating disorders and relationships. “The blog was obviously a joke…who would seriously take the time to make it?” questioned Stephanie Schwartz, a senior. Charlotte de Tar, a freshman, said it was ludicrous.

By Wednesday, the administration had heard of the blog. Possibly fearing for her life, GossipGirlSDJA shut down the blog. “I’m glad to see the GossipGirl blog shut down because it was full of lies, ungodly things, and it made our school look ridiculous,” stated senior Jed Moch. Ben Schenk, a senior, agreed. “I would expect a person who has an issue with the way people act at our school to confront them face to face, instead of hiding behind a curtain of cowardice.  They obviously do not understand what it means to be a menschlikeit,” he commented.

GossipGirlSDJA ended her reports with “You Know You Love Me…XOXO.” The short-lived popular homework escape has dissolved into the black hole of cyberspace, but it will go down in SDJA history, forever remembered as a memorable incident during the 2007-2008 high school academic year.

THE JEWS DOWN UNDER


Former judge faces prison in traffic case

By Garry Fabian

SYDNEY—Former Jewish community leader and federal court judge Marcus Einfeld will face court on February 1 for attempting to avoid a speeding fine.

On Thursday, Deputy Chief Magistrate Helen Syme ordered Einfeld to face 13 counts - six of perverting the course of justice, four of making use of a false instrument and three counts of perjury - at Sydney’s Downing Centre local court.

If convicted of all the charges the 69-year-old could face a maximum 14 years in prison.
Garry Fabian

The prosecution alleges that Einfeld was driving home from a Sunday lunch at a restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Freshwater when he was caught speeding and running a red light.

Einfeld’s defence lawyer Ian Barker QC tried to prevent a criminal trial, saying that “a jury could not be satisfied that Mr Einfeld was driving the car”.

When first faced with the infringement notice, Einfeld said that Teresa Brennan - an American woman who had passed away three years earlier - was driving the car. Since then he has said, and then denied, that he was not in Sydney when his car was snapped speeding.

Television personality John Mangos was one of the witnesses called to give evidence.

Mangos said that he spoke to Einfeld, whose father is the late Labor politician Sydney Einfeld, at the restaurant between 3.30pm and 4pm about a trip to Israel. The car was caught speeding at 4.01pm in Mosman.

“I told him this time I’m fulfilling my ambition to stay at the King David [hotel] and he congratulated me on my choice of hotel,” Mangos told the court.

Einfeld is a former member of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies executive and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. He led the Australian campaign for the rescue of Soviet Jewry and has leant his support to Holocaust survivor groups and Jewish Care.


Ex South-African wins ABC writing competition

SYDNEY—A Jewish woman who grew up in South Africa has won the prestigious 2007 ABC Radio Short Story Project competition.

Hayley Katzen, who ditched a successful career in law to pursue creative writing, was one of 10 winners chosen from a field of 1800 people.

“It’s given me the encouragement to keep writing – someone other than my mother, my partner and my writing group likes my work,” said the 41 year old, who lives on a 300-hundred acre farm near Casino, where she and her partner, Jen Lewis, farm cattle.

Her winning entry, The Lehman’s Armchair, explores the dilemma of managing individual passions in the context of intimate relationships.

“I wrote it quite quickly, specifically for the ABC competition,” said Katzen, who migrated from Johannesburg in 1989.

Katzen began writing five years ago after joining a writing group with three other women, including Miles Franklin short-listed author Sarah Armstrong.  

“I think Hayley’s story won because of her masterful economy of word use and understated story-telling,” said Armstrong, who credits Katzen in the acknowledgements of her acclaimed novel Salt Rain. “There’s also a gentle, warm and wry observation of people and their foibles.”

Katzen has been writing short stories for a year.

The annual ABC competition is open to residents of regional Australia and the 10 winners each received $700 and a professionally produced audio version of their story.


Read Katzen’s winning story at http:// www.abc.net.au .


Hardliners may exploit conference

MELBOURNE—A high-profile Australian interfaith academic and broadcaster has warned extremists could highjack a global faith conference to be held in Melbourne in 2009, by peddling anti-Jewish diatribes.

The Jewish community will have a role in the world's biggest inter-faith conference, the Parliament of the World's Religions (PWR). Melbourne's snaring the multi-faith mega event, to be held in December 2009, will see thousands of members of various spiritual and religious traditions descending on the city.

The PWR is held every five years in a different city, and the 2009 conference was officially launched last week. Organisers are expecting participants from 80 countries, including leaders from most of the regions. Rabbis will join other religious leaders at the conference. The Dali Lama is also expected to attend the prestigious event.

But Dr.Rachel Kohn, who hosts ABC Radio National's "The Sprit of Things" recalled her attendance at the 1993 PWR in Chicago, where US Nation of Islam Louis Farrakhan publicly attacked her at a press conference.

"It goes without saying that here in Australia, other peddlers of hate will try to exploit the fine aims of the Melbourne conference in order to gain acceptance under the conference's wide umbrella of tolerance".

Rabbi John Levi, former ECAJ deputy president, and Rabbi Ralph Genende of Caulfield Synagogue have already indicated their involvement in the conference.



The next chapter in the Toben saga

ADELAIDE—The Federal Court is due to re-hear an application by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) against Adelaide Holocaust denier Dr Fredrick Toben, with a date to be set on Wednesday.

Dr Toben has failed to comply with a December 5 deadline set by the court in Sydney last month for him to remove all Holocaust denial material from the website of his Adelaide Institute.

He was given that deadline by Justice Michael Moore of the Federal Court at a November 27 hearing.

At that hearing, Dr Toben made an apology for ignoring the court's 2002 ruling to remove Holocaust denial material from his website and to not replace it with new material.

But some days later he retracted his apology and also announced on his website that he would halt the removal of material.

Lawyer Steven Lewis of legal firm Slater & Gordon, representing the ECAJ, told The AJN: "He has masked certain parts of it. The orders required him to take down all the material and he hasn't."

Dr Toben has made comments on his website about an AJN story reporting his apology to the court. In an article titled “Bending to Jewish Pressure,” he accused the newspaper of "gloating about the settlement".

The Adelaide revisionist, who addressed Iran's notorious Holocaust denial conference in December last year, was to take part in this week's directions court hearing by video link. 

THE JEWISH CITIZEN

Capturing the Jewish experience on posters

By Donald H. Harrison

LA JOLLA, California—Jews have been described as the "most over-organized people" on the face of the earth, and if there is any doubt that there are numerous Jewish organizations spanning our city and nation, one need just take a look at this website's community directory. Almost every one of these organizations and synagogues has its own logo, with the Star of David and menorah perhaps the most often used symbols for conveying the idea that the organization is Jewish.

Donald H. Harrison

Currently at the Lawrence Family JCC's Gotthelf Art Gallery, there is a display of Jewish/ Polish Poster Art, a genre that became particularly popular in Poland during the Communist era between the 1945 and 1989, although it continues to this day. A brochure prepared under the auspices of Poland's Consulate General in Los Angeles and the Polish Cultural Institute notes that whereas most Jewish life in Poland was eradicated in the Shoah, the Communists nevertheless encouraged Jewish-themed posters on the grounds that "Jewish culture is an integral part of Polish culture and has been for nearly a millenium."

I found myself particularly drawn to those posters that used the Star of David, the menorah, and quite interestingly, the tallit, as symbols for Judaism. Posters are not logos, and therefore the requirements on the designer/ graphic artist are quite different. It was with appreciation that I considered familiar subjects as seen through fresh eyes. Here are some low resolution images of four posters in the exhibition using the Star of David motif. In their lithographic forms, most of the the 27 x 39 inch posters dispolayed at the exhibtion may be purchased through Contemporary Posters in New York City.

The menorah also provided a series of striking images:


Perhaps because so many of the Nazi death camps were located in Poland—and because its capital city of Warsaw was the scene of the most famous Jewish uprising—I found two posters utilizing the tallit to be the most haunting.



There is a saying that one mitzvah leads to another. I believe that is also true about viewing art. The more you are exposed to, the more you want to see. I know that I will visit the free exhibit of Jewish/ Polish posters again and again before the exhibit closes February 22.

I left the gallery in a reflective mood. A feeling brought on by the tallit posters compelled me to walk once again through the Holocaust garden near the front entrance of the JCC.






SAN DIEGO JEWISH WORLD THE WEEK IN REVIEW

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18

Donald H. Harrison at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station: A Marine Corps Museum provides clues to World War II life of my late, civilian father
Alexa Katz in San Diego: They pull in the same direction, but rowers Bohannon, Ritblatt find they often disagree
J. Zel Lurie in Delray Beach, Florida: Har Homa is back in the news
Fred Reiss in Winchester, California: The ever-evolving rituals of Judaism
Ira Sharkansky in Jerusalem: The conundrum of the Gaza rockets