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More than Manichevitz
Alfalfa Farm Makes the Grape
GARY BAND
Special to The Jewish Journal

TOPSFIELD — When Richard Adelman bought Alfalfa Farm in Topsfield 28 years ago, he didn’t consider himself the Jewish American equivalent of the early chalutzim (pioneers), who built the State of Israel. But the former Marblehead resident and member of Temple Beth El in Swampscott does feel a strong connection to the land.

While in college at Colorado State University, he took a couple agricultural economics courses and the material appealed to him. Two years after graduation, a friend offered him a job in Essex raising beef cattle, and Adelman went to work for him. Shortly thereafter, while working as a teacher at Essex Ag-Tech High School, he heard through the grapevine that Alfalfa Farm was for sale.

It was owned by a man named Joe Mass who only wanted to sell it to someone who would maintain it as a farm and not develop the 10 acres of land. Adelman consented and purchased the 300-year-old farm and house in 1976 while teaching sociology and economics full-time at Essex Agy (as it’s called).

But after 5 years of raising cows (Golden Gemses), and another 15 boarding horses, Adelman, 57, gave up the traditional farming pursuits in favor of a far different endeavor. For the past 8 years, together with his family — brother David and children Hannah, Ben, Sarah and Eli — Adelman has been growing grapes and making exceptional local wine.

“I didn’t know anything about growing grapes when I started,” he said. “But I read books, talked to people from wineries in Wesport, MA and Jeweltown, NH and learned as I went along. What’s important to me is the people. They’re really passionate about the wine business.”

Alfalfa Farm produces 150 cases of wine per year. And other than a couple local liquor stores, they sell nearly all the product at the farm. “It’s truly community-supported agriculture,” says Adelman.

The original crop was planted in 1995 and the grapes took three years to mature. They will continue to produce better and better grapes for the next 25-30 years. The winemaking process, “from vine to bottle,” takes approximately nine months. But because it takes around 10 years for wineries to turn a profit, eight years after the first crop was planted, no one is making any money. But they’re doing it purely out of a desire to be part of the farm, keep the family close, and produce a good product for the community.

Alfalfa Farm makes nine wines priced between $10 and $16 — three whites, three reds, one rose, as well as blueberry and cranberry wines. They are open from September to December on weekends from 1-5 p.m., offering tastings and of course the chance to buy some bottles.
In addition to his brother David, the official winemaker — a retired chemist who lives in Rhode Island and spends a fair amount of time at the farm — Adelman has other volunteers well versed in the wine business at his side.

Jerry Rubin, a former wine retailer and teacher, Eric Menzer, a close friend of the family, and Will, an intern from Endicott College, all contribute advice and assistance to the winery.

According to David Adelman, the soil at the farm is extremely rich, “very high in nutrients.”

The farm, originally around 500 acres from the 1700s up until 50 years ago, has been parceled out over the years. It is now surrounded by a small apple orchard across the picturesque, tree-lined lane, and by the Ferncroft Hotel and golf course across Route 95.

“We have 55,000 cars going though our backyard per day and around five past our front yard,” Adelman says.

Wine production has increased every year since the grapes matured in 1998, and the Adelmans predict a 40 percent increase for next year. In the coming years, they also hope to offer classes on wines tasting, make some improvements to the buildings, get their product into local restaurants, and — if all goes well — go public, inviting the community to invest in the only winery in the North Shore area.

Time is running out on this season, with only 30-40 cases remaining from the original 150. All the grapes are picked and pressed, but the Adelmans extend an open invitation to wine lovers to come up and drink some wine.

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Temple Israel Hosts Provocative Program on French Anti-Semitism

GARY BAND
Jewish Journal Staff

SWAMPSCOTT — Nearly 200 people filled the sanctuary at Temple Israel in Swampscott for the ADL/Jewish Journal sponsored program, “The French Community in Danger” on Oct. 15.

Cantor Ary Rothschild spoke first saying that although he and his family never personally suffered from any prejudice in their native country, the level of anti-Semitism in France was the main reason they moved to the United States in the summer of 2002.

Ongoing incidents such as the destruction and vandalizing of Jewish-owned businesses, schools, and temples are the most evident forms of the the prevailing anti-Jewish sentiment running rampant through the country, he said.

Rothschild called French President Jaques Chirac’s reaction to these incidents “grotesque,” noting Chirac’s claims time and again that there is no anti-Semitism in France. “The reaction has been too little,” said the cantor.
Rothschild added that three of the main reasons for these recent incidents is the number of Muslims from North Africa in France, the situation in the Middle East, and that 20-30,000 French people have converted to Islam in the last few years. There are an estimated 7 million Muslims from 70 countries living in France. Additionally, Vichy France’s treatment of the Jews during WWII, when the French police delivered 61,000 of them to the Nazis, also contributes to present-day sentiments.

“Despite efforts to escape the past of Nazi occupation, many French people collaborated with the Nazis,” Rothschild said. Many more incidents were cited, including the French ambassador’s colorful description of the State of Israel, and comparing Ariel Sharon to Adolph Hitler. “It is time for the Jewish community in France to stop being blind and wake up before it’s too late,” Rothschild said.

Dr. Howard Cohn said the Jewish community of 500,000 is “not lying down” and that “every anti-Semitic act is answered.” His wife, Dr. Nicole Cohn, who is French and president of her synagogue, Kehillith Gesher in Paris, said there is a “serious denial of the problem” by French leaders and a genuine fear of violence by Jews in the major French cities.

Plans for Temple Shalom in Salem and Temple Israel to partner with Kehillith Gesher are in the works.

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Locals Get a Kick Out of Krav Maga, the Israeli Self-Defense System

SUSAN JACOBS
Jewish Journal Staff

SALEM — Krav Maga, the official self-defense system of the Israeli Defense Forces, is taking America by storm. Law enforcement agents, military personnel and ordinary civilians are embracing the simple and effective practice, which emphasizes instinctive movements and realistic training scenarios. People of all ages, sizes and fitness levels can quickly learn the basic techniques of Krav Maga (a Hebrew word pronounced with the emphasis on the final syllable that translates to “contact combat.”)

Currently, the only place for locals to study Krav Maga is at the North Shore Karate Academy in North Beverly. East Coast Ultimate Fitness in Swampscott expects to launch a program by the first of January.
The Beverly program is taught by martial artists Bob Spoon and Chip Quimby. They offer eight Krav Maga classes per week during morning and evening hours, with one class for women only. They currently have approximately 35 students, ranging in age from 17 to 59, enrolled in the program. Each student works at his or her own level.

“Krav Maga is appropriate for men and women, and we have an equal mix of both in our classes,” says Quimby. “You can be a petite woman wearing a skirt, but if you know the right technique and can properly execute it, you can effectively use it on the street against a man twice your size,” he says.

Although Krav Maga is primarily a self-defense system, it is also a rigorous workout. Quimby notes that some people come for the safety factor and find that they become physically fit, while others attend primarily for the workout and wind up learning techniques that make them feel safer.

Like Tae Bo or cardio kickboxing, the workout creates a sweat. But unlike Tae Bo or kickboxing, individuals can use the practical kicks, holds and chokes to protect themselves in the event of an attack.
Elayne Levin of Beverly, 46, has been studying Krav Maga for a year.

“I started because I wanted a little exercise. For me, it’s more of a fun thing than a defense thing, but it’s nice to know that I can go outside and not be vulnerable,” she says.

Levin, who is president of Temple Beth Shalom in Peabody, attends classes twice a week. She credits Krav Maga with making her stronger and more flexible. Since she began, she notices that she has more focus, can kick stronger and stand on one foot longer.
Rabbi Steven Rubenstein of Temple B’nai Abraham in Beverly is a relative newcomer to Krav Maga. His two daughters, ages 9 and 12, were taking karate lessons with Bob Spoon. When he learned that the academy was offering Krav Maga classes, he decided to sign up.

“I was attracted to it because it originated with Israeli soldiers. It gives me a greater understanding and appreciation of what they have to go through. It’s also a way to develop Jewish pride and support something that comes out of Israel. Besides,” he adds with a grin, “you never know when you might be attacked on the pulpit.”

Classes last for one hour. Students begin with a series of rigorous warmup exercises. They then pair up with partners to practice specialized drills that teach them how to react in a controlled manner. Quimby points out that the quick-paced class is designed to simulate stress, fatigue and confusion, which are the elements one would experience if attacked on the street. The goal is to teach students how to survive 10 seconds of explosive chaos.

“It really doesn’t matter how strong you can punch or kick if you can’t perform when your life is in danger,” explains Darren Levine, Krav Maga’s U.S. Chief Instructor. “Students learn to tap their aggressiveness in any situation. When your throat is grabbed, your instinct is to reach up and grab the attacker’s hands. Krav Maga teaches you how to go with that instinct and turn it into a defense.”
Some students admit that it is hard for them to embrace the street-fighting nature of Krav Maga. “None of this comes easy to someone who is not aggressive,” says Rabbi Rubenstein. “I don’t like fighting, but if I have to do it, (this) gives me self confidence.”
History of Krav Maga

Krav Maga was developed by the late Imi Lichtenfeld, who was born in 1910 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. During the 1930s, anti-Semitic groups were terrorizing his community. He used fighting skills he learned from his father to protect himself and his Jewish neighbors. After the war, he emigrated to Israel where the government asked him to create a system of self defense and fighting for soldiers. 

Since Israel was in a perpetual state of war, Lichtenfeld’s techniques and tactics were constantly tested and refined on the battlefields of the Middle East. After his retirement, he adapted the system for ordinary citizens. In 1978, Lichtenfeld and several students founded the Krav Maga Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching the system in Israel and throughout the world.
Darren Levine, who was personally trained by Imi Lichtenfeld, brought Krav Maga to America in 1982. In 1987, Levine began teaching Krav Maga to U.S. law enforcement and military personnel. He trained other instructors who are currently spreading Krav Maga across the country. Beverly’s Bob Spoon has studied with Darren Levine.

Spoon, who boxed as a child and has studied martial arts since he was 13, quickly became enamored with Krav Maga and decided to add it to the roster of classes at his karate academy. He points out that at his studio, there are currently more students enrolled in Krav Maga than in traditional martial arts classes. He believes this is in part because Krav Maga has received a lot of recent press. (Arnold Schwartznegger and Jennifer Lopez used Krav Maga techniques in recent movies.) But Spoon also notes that the system is informal and the learning curve is quick.

“Most people don’t have years to commit to a martial arts training program,” agrees partner Quimby. “The traditional martial arts mentality is a lifestyle. Goals include self discipline, focus and balance. There are uniforms and belt structures, and students bow to their instructors.

“Krav Maga has a belt structure, but there are no uniforms and the goals are different,” he continues. “With Krav Maga, our goal is to train you as fast as possible. We give you real skills that you can use on Day One. You learn combative tools and self defense techniques that you can put to use even after one class.”

For general information about Krav Maga, visit www.kravmaga.com. For info about classes, contact North Shore Karate Academy, 47 Enon St., North Beverly, 978-927-0005 or East Coast Ultimate Fitness Center, 21 Elm Pl, Swampscott, 781-586-8779.

About Krav Maga

What Is It? An Israeli self-defense system, now being taught on North Shore.

Who’s Learning It? Anyone in good physical shape can take it.

Who Developed it? Created in East Europe to protect Jews, it was refined by Israeli soldiers on the battlefield.

How Difficult is it? It is easier and quicker to learn than other martial arts.

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Gay Orthodox and Hasidic Jews Share Their Struggles in Poignant Documentary

SUSAN JACOBS
Jewish Journal Staff


Trembling Before G-d, a provocative and groundbreaking film that depicts the painful stories of gay and lesbian Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who struggle to reconcile their love of Judaism with the Biblical prohibitions that forbid homosexuality, will be shown Oct. 30 at the Harvard Film Archive in Boston.

Before the screening, director Sandi Simcha DuBowski will hold court at a dinner discussion at Harvard Hillel. After the screening, he will be available for questions and will sign copies of the recently-released Trembling DVD, which contains the film plus three hours of new bonus material including footage on how the film has been received around the world and updates on the interviewees’ lives.

Brooklyn-born DuBowski, 33, stirred a lot of debate in Orthodox circles when his controversial work premiered at the Sundance Festival two years ago. Ultra Orthodox organizations were angry because they felt the movie did not portray homosexuality as a mental illness that can be cured. Proponents lauded the 84-minute long piece as a brave and passionate portrayal of people who want to make peace with those who condemn them.

Since its release, the film has won a dozen prestigious awards including the 2003 Glaad Media Award for Outstanding Documentary and the coveted Teddy Award for Best Documentary at the 2001 Berlin International Film Festival.

Much to the surprise of everyone, what started out as a small, independent film has become a global movement. The film has single-handedly opened a dialog among Jews about a previously taboo subject. To date, Trembling has played in 85 cities across North America and has been screened in most major international cities including Jerusalem, London, Buenos Aires and Sydney. Many synagogues around the world (including 17 Orthodox shuls) have hosted the film, followed by emotional post-screening discussions.

To say that Trembling was a labor of love is an understatement. It took Dubowski six years to complete it. Over the course of five years, he interviewed hundreds of gay and lesbian Jews of various ages. While some individuals were willing to show their faces and use their real names, many refused to participate or wanted to remain anonymous. DuBowski artistically dealt with this cinematic challenge by blacking out faces or having people speak from behind screens.

While all the people’s stories are different, the common thread is that they were all raised to believe that they could not be devout, practicing Jews and also homosexual. The individuals address this fundamental conflict in different ways. David, the handsome son of a cantor who wanted to purge himself of his homosexual feelings, sought advice from rabbis. One told him to eat figs and pray, while another suggested that he wear a rubber band around his wrist and flick it whenever he felt attracted to a man. Israel, a histrionic yet likable middle-aged tour guide from New York who has been estranged from his 98-year-old father for 20 years, simply wants acceptance. So do Malka and Leah, who met at an Orthodox school for girls and have been a couple for more than a decade. To give balance and perspective, DuBowski weaves in interviews with noted psychiatrists and rabbis.

The film raises a lot of questions and doesn’t offer easy answers or dramatic conclusions. Viewers witness well-edited portraits of people confronting rejection from their families and religious communities. The stories are heartbreaking and moving, and you don’t need to be Jewish (or gay) to appreciate the humanity depicted in each tale.

The dinner discussion with Sandi DuBowski on Oct. 30 from 5-6:30 p.m. at Harvard Hillel, 52 Mt. Auburn St. is open to the public, but seating is limited. To reserve a spot, RSVP to gabi@hillel. harvard.edu. The film will be screened at 7 p.m. at the Harvard Film Archive, 24 Quincy St. Tickets for the general public cost $4 and are available only at the door. For more info, phone 617-496-2222.
The new 2-DVD set of Trembling Before G-d (suggested retail $39.95) can be ordered online from www.amazon.com or www.BarnesandNoble.com.

For more about the film, visit www.tremblingbeforeg-d.com.

An Interview with the Director
SUSAN JACOBS
Jewish Journal Staff

Trembling Before G-d director Sandi Simcha DuBowski has been criss-crossing the country at a brisk pace. The Jewish Journal recently caught up with him at his home in New York.

J.J. You certianly have been on-the-move.
S.D. Actually, I was in New York the whole summer working in the editing room on Trembling. But I’m a nomad at heart. I love travelling and being on the road.

J.J. You are coming to Boston on Oct. 30 to speak at Harvard, where you graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1992. What did you study, and did you enjoy your time in New England?
S.D. This is a homecoming for me, and I am excited about going back. I really loved my time in Boston. At Harvard, I was a Social Studies major with an interdisciplinary approach. It’s interesting that I will be speaking at Hillel because I wasn’t involved with the Hillel back then. I was, however, very political. I was a co-chair of a gay and lesbian campus group, and we worked on a lot of important gay and lesbian issues. It will be nice to see parts of my gay, film and Jewish world come together at this event.

J.J. Trembling Before G-d seems to have taken on a life of its own.
S.D. It’s true. Since its release two years ago, the film has touched and transformed the lives of so many people around the globe. It’s opening up doors in communities that were previously closed. In early November, we will be participating in the first-ever Orthodox Mental Health Conference on Homosexuality in NYC. And we got a seed grant from the Steven Spielberg Righteous Persons Foundation (as well as a number of other foundations) to allow us to launch an Orthodox education project in Israel. Last year, we trained facilitators in Jerusalem to hold screenings and initiate dialogues on homosexuality in the country’s Orthodox school system. It opened the door for discussion of a previously taboo subject, which is very exciting.

J.J. Unlike many artists who prefer to move on to their next project, you seem to enjoy continually re-tooling the Trembling project.
S.D. It’s become much larger than a movie. It’s a movie that’s become a movement. We’re fusing social change, and it’s working. This film is actually helping to save lives. I could have finished my film and moved on, but this has so much opportunity for making social change. Why drop a social change project when you’re in the midst of it?

J.J. You are now producing a film called In the Name of Allah about Islam’s association with homosexuality. How did you get involved with this?
S.D. Awhile back I was approached by Parvez Sharma, a gay Muslim director, about this project. He wanted some advice about how to make this film, and I discovered that I had a lot to give to the project. So I have been working on this as our peoples are killing each other. I realize that there are many parallels between gay orthodox Jews and gay Muslims. We come from the same land. We go to synogogues or mosques where there is gender separation between men and women. There are similar notions of modesty in both religions, and similar prohibiitions around food. For example, we both don’t eat pork. There is emphasis on study in both of our relgions. But perhaps most importantly, I feel we both face a purpose around homosexuality.

J.J. At what stage are you at with this project?
S.D. We are raising money, and shooting in the US, UK, France and Pakistan. It will probably be two years before it debuts commercially.

J.J. In Trembling, you spoke to hundreds of gay people before finding perhaps a dozen willing to reveal their stories on film. Has it been as challenging to find gay Muslims willing to talk ?
S.D. Well, there are one billion Muslims in the world, so it’s a little easier to find them.

J.J. Your films tend to focus on very heavy subjects. Do you ever yearn to do something light, like a comedy or a Western?
S.D. Actually, I’m developing a project right now that is more playful and has comedic elements in it. But to be quite honest, I’m not interested in a subject if it doesn’t have substance. I don’t like cotton candy movies with happy Hollywood endings that are sweet and disappear. I want my films to be an eye-opening experience and emotionally cathartic. I want to make people think and grapple with something.

J.J.You have screened the film for thousands of people in cities around the world. Is there a particular memory that stands out for you?
S.D. At the Film Festival in Berlin in 2001, the atmosphere was pretty charged. After the screening, we held a Q & A. A Holocaust survivor stood up. He described being a boy in Poland in the 1930s. He talked about going to shul with his father and seeing men standing in the back of the shul davening without tallises (which meant that they were unmarried.) He noticed that they were crying. He asked his father who they were, and his father answered, “They are the evil ones.” After seeing the film, he realized who they really were. He said, “I know now that we are all God’s children.”

J.J. Do you have time for a social life or a relationship?
S.D. Right now I’m focused on launching the DVD, but I’m open to a relationship. I’ll see who comes my way.

J.J. You (along with Mel Brooks, Bob Dylan and Joseph Lieberman) were named by the Forward as one of the top 50 Jews. How does it feel to be part of such an elite list?
S.D. It’s nice to get an honor, but there’s still much work to be done.

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Harvard Divinity School Grad Takes Spiritual Odyssey

GARY BAND
Jewish Journal Staff

In 1998, after graduating from Harvard Divinity School, Tom Levinson sat listening to a group of fellow 20-something Jews tell their stories at a weeklong retreat at Camp Ramah in Palmer, MA, and something clicked.

He began formulating an idea that would five years later become the book, All That’s Holy — A Young Guy, an Old Car and the Search for God in America (Jossey-Bass, 2003).

Levinson, a native New Yorker seated in a 1994 Nissan Altima and armed with a stack of legal pads, a tape recorder, emergency road

trip gear and a handful of initial contacts, set out for what was to be a three-month, 10,000-mile road trip to 70 cities. He spoke with 150 people from all walks of life about their religious and spiritual beliefs and practices.

Though he mostly listened, Levinson also shared some of his own story and by the end of the trip came away with not only a greater understanding of the diversity of religion in America but a newfound comfort with his own. The Journal spoke with him by phone from Chicago where he attends the University of Chicago Law School.

JJ: You were a religion major at Princeton, went to Harvard Divinity School, took this trek and wrote a book. Why are you so curious about religion and spirituality in America?
TL: I think it begins with an absence. I grew up in a family that didn’t pay much attention to religion. When looking at and then taking a religion class in high school, I saw the relevance and it carried over to college. I had no intention of studying religion in college, but found I gravitated toward it. The classes combined history, politics, anthropology, literature, and I found I was the most energized by the material in those courses.

JJ: Did you have any expectations or notions of how the trip would unfold?
TL: At the start, I struggled significantly with how to get people to talk to me. I soon got better at that and peoples’ stories really surprised me. Like this Rabbi Army Chaplain in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I asked him what it’s like trying to practice religion in the military. What I found was the Army is a real testing ground for religious pluralism. There were a lot of mainstream religious practices, but many more marginalized ones as well.

JJ: How did you organize the trip?
TL: I had a bunch of places I wanted to go, largely because I knew people there, and a lot more that I wanted to see from a religious perspective, like Waco, Texas and the Branch Davidians. In other cases, a few people I met directed me to others. I think it was really providence that led me to them. A number of the people I happened upon who told me their stories revealed other stories in their family about how the faith of their child differed from theirs or had changed that were important to get to.
In other cases, I would just walk into a church, a temple, a mosque, a library or a restaurant. One time I got off the highway and at the end of the off ramp saw a two-story market with Arabic writing and said, ‘I need to go in there.’ In New Orleans I saw a guy playing trumpet on the street wearing a T-shirt with the Ten Commandments written on it. I knew I needed to talk to him.

JJ: How would you approach people and get them talking?
TL: I’d introduce myself, let them know what I’m doing, and always ask, ‘Do you have a couple of minutes?’ which would often turn into a couple of hours. People are hungry to talk about it, sometimes because their faith requires them to testify, or because they get so little opportunity to do so. It’s something they’re struggling with, grappling with, and they mostly embrace the opportunity to talk, especially since I wasn’t asking them to join or do anything other than hearing their story.

JJ: Tell me about the writing process?
TL: The writing process was hard. I felt a real bond and connection to all the people I spoke with, and felt indebted to them. I wanted to include everybody, but storytelling and editing doesn’t work that way. As a result, some remarkable stories didn’t make it.

JJ: Did you encounter any anti-Semitism?
TL: I’m always a little disappointed to answer this way, but no, no negativity toward Judaism at all.

JJ: What about the power of telling your story and having others tell theirs?
TL: At first, I focused entirely on their story and none of my own. But as time progressed, I shared more of me, and realized that sharing my story was crucially important. It led to far more revealing, powerful conversations. Openness is contagious.

JJ: If it’s true that God is in the details, how did what you heard and saw confirm or deny that? Is god in the aggregate all around us, or in the specifics of everyday?
TL: Both. I think one of things that conversation does is it lets you know that god is in the space between us. We all have those moments where something starts to tingle, that lets us know that there’s something sacred in our encounters with one another. That happened a lot.

JJ: What role do you think religious and spiritual beliefs play for individuals and communities?
TL: I saw a searching everywhere, mostly in myself. We definitely live in a time of real flux and I think people are hungry to find answers. On a personal level, I think religion helps people understand their place in the world. At the community level, religion and spirituality helps give people a sense of identity and belonging. Religion is an incredible training ground for how to deal with authority, be part of a community, and begin to answer questions that play out on a larger stage.

JJ: You no doubt listened respectfully and curiously to everything you were told. Were you ever made a little nervous by what you heard in terms of fundamentalist dogma?
TL: I definitely did. That was a challenge. Religion is not all wine and roses. But the way I dealt with it was trying to examine, without justifying what seemed odious to me, what makes someone believe this way. You don’t want to create a black and white world, but you don’t want to be color neutral either. It’s important to try and understand what fuels someone’s choice.
One of the most illuminating parts of trip was a conversation I had with an evangelical Christian who was sure I was missing Jesus in my life and tried to save me. At one point he was making me really uncomfortable, but had a couple of good insights. He said I was embarking on an evangelical project of my own. The difference is, his project is trying to convert people to the Word, and mine was trying to convert people to words.

JJ: How are you changed by the experience?
TL: I realized that I am and feel very much at home and rooted in the Jewish tradition. It didn’t diminish the desire to learn from others. I’ll keep making day trips, but Judaism is my home base.

JJ: In these day of national and international divisiveness along religious and political lines, what do you hope this book will accomplish in terms of increasing understanding and respect for the diversity of people and practices in this country?
TL: I’m interested in encouraging curiosity and inquisitiveness; a willingness to engage someone in conversation and not to assume you know their story from what you’ve heard or read about it, but getting into people lives.

JJ: How did it feel talking to all the people you did and telling their stories in the book?
TL: I felt privileged, like it was a blessing, and a really weighty responsibility. People are sharing deeply-held beliefs, core values and convictions. The writing is part of transmitting and honoring their stories.

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PetLink: Tikkun Olam for Fido and Fluffy

LORI EHRLICH
Special to The Jewish Journal

HealthLink’s six-year effort to study, advocate for, and heal our little corner of the world has led us to explore an intuitive link between human health and the environment. It was this intuition, fueled by passion and alarming local cancer statistics, that led to the formation of HealthLink and the Marblehead Cancer Prevention Project.

Unconditional love is probably the most compelling reason for inviting the wild kingdom into our homes. Our pets love us without judgment, allow us to groom them in humiliating ways, and don’t ever ask to borrow the car keys. They greet us enthusiastically and calm us at the end of a stressful day. In fact, studies have shown that their companionship prolongs our lives.

On those days of wind-driven rain, I curse my canines for being “uncivilized,” dragging me out the door to do as nature intended. But over the past several months I’ve begun to appreciate my canines, not just for being my only real link with the temperate natural world, but also as sentinels to my own health, and that of my species. In the same way canaries were turned loose in the coal mines to determine if methane levels were safe enough for miners, I think our little friends might be trying to tell us something.

While discussing my thoughts with Rabbi Ilana Rosansky at Temple Shalom in Salem months ago, she shared a clipping from a veterinary journal speaking about cutting edge research conducted by Dr. Rodney Page, the director of Cornell’s Comparative Cancer Program and Center for the Environment. Dr. Page is creating a pet tumor registry on Long Island and overlaying this data on human data to potentially identify environmental hot spots. Many folks at HealthLink, especially Cindy Keegan who had just lost her cat to cancer, were so intrigued by this we decided to bring it to the public.

On the Monday of Columbus Day, we held a dog walk along Lynn Shore Drive to raise awareness and help cover our costs for the next evening. All families in attendance got a little salty by the shore under the brilliant sun and many strutted away with prizes for “best tail wagging” and “best pound puppy.”

The following evening we brought together a passionate panel of local vets, pet owners, Dr. Page from Cornell, and Dr. Diana Post, Executive Director of The Rachel Carson Council in Maryland, in the Marblehead High School Theater. Dr. Page spoke eloquently about his research. All of our guests agreed that the air and water we share is becoming increasingly toxic to our pets and us.

In fact, the link between lymphoma in cats and second-hand smoke is already well-established. Our little mammal friends have some other things to worry about since their smaller size and relatively short life-spans speed up the progression of cancers. They have a lesser tolerance yet they’re closer to the chemicals we put on our lawns and in our homes. All of these elements make Dr. Page’s research useful to keep our pets safe, but also for what this research can tell us about our own safety.

Cancer, which used to be a relatively rare occurrence in pets, is now the number one cause of premature death in our companion animals. In addition to environmental toxins, researchers are also looking into pet nutrition, flea and tick control, and vaccines as potential problems. There are obviously more questions than answers at this point, but at least the questions are being asked. The answers will follow.

While producing this event, I was constantly reminded of my favorite concept under tzedakah (righteousness and justice) known as ‘tikkun olam’ which encourages us to repair the world through social action. These events mobilized research, education, community, passion and compassion in a wonderful world-restorative way.

But mostly I cherished it for encouraging myself and others to look at this often senseless and broken world through someone else’s eyes. And, as I look down at Lulu and Dudley playing on my living lawn, I caught a glance from their puppy-dog eyes that said, ‘Thank you.’

Lori Ehrlich, CPA is founding member of HealthLink and serves on Gov. Mitt Romney’s environmental council.

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Bush Raising Jewish Funds From Republicans, Democrats

MATTHEW E. BERGER

WASHINGTON (JTA) — When Fred Zeidman raised money in the Jewish community for George W. Bush’s presidential run in 2000, several Jewish supporters asked to give their donations in cash, afraid of having a public record of their transaction.

But this time around, Zeidman is not encountering timid Jews. He said many Jewish donors are eager to leap onto the Bush-Cheney bandwagon.

“The difference is night and day,” said Zeidman, whom Bush appointed as chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council in 2002. “You can’t believe how easy it is.”

Zeidman, a Houston resident who bills himself as a coordinator of Bush support in the Jewish community, said he and other Jewish fund-raisers for Bush say they have had little trouble raising the $200,000 needed to join the “Rangers club” — the top ranking of Bush’s financial backers.

More Jewish money is expected to be sent Bush’s way when Zeidman and other prominent Jews host Vice President Dick Cheney at a $2000-a-plate New York fund-raiser slated for Oct. 24. The event is geared toward the Jewish community; the invitation notes that “dietary laws will be observed.”

While all accounts seem to suggest that Bush is getting unprecedented financial support in the Jewish community, it is still unclear whether that financial support will translate into votes come November 2004.

Jews traditionally have voted largely for Democratic candidates in national elections, but Republicans are hoping that support for Bush’s foreign policy will mean a much stronger showing than the 19 percent he garnered in 2000.

In the fund-raising realm, several big Republican donors, who contributed millions of dollars in “soft money” before new campaign finance laws were put into effect, also were leaders of the organized Jewish community.

This time around, Bush is raising funds outside the normal Republican Jewish circle, finding a new crop of donors willing to contribute to a candidate they see as fervently pro-Israel.

“I think that Israel, the war on terrorism and homeland defense are all coming together right now,” said Matthew Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition. He said Jewish donors “see leadership from this president in waging the war on terrorism as a critical thing.”

Already, the RJC says, Jewish donors are poised to give more to Bush coffers than three years ago. Brooks estimated that RJC leadership contributed or raised more than $7 million in 2000, and he expects that number to increase significantly this time around.
While much of that money is coming from Jews who backed Bush in 2000, some of the money is from Democratic converts and new donors.

The Bush fund-raising machine is riding a wave of support within segments of the American Jewish community for Bush’s policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Supporters point to his decision to disassociate from Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat as a defining moment for U.S. policy in the Middle East.

At a time of intense conflict in the region, some observers believe that foreign policy will play a greater role in picking a president.
While American Jews predominantly vote based on domestic issues and largely have a predisposition to vote Democratic, Middle East policy could be a larger factor than normal in 2004, said Ken Goldstein, a professor of political science and Jewish studies at the University of Wisconsin.

“We are at a time when there is a lot of uncertainty in the Middle East,” he said. “American Jews are feeling under attack because of Israel as well.”

He compared current times to 1980, when some Jewish support went to President Reagan because of concern about President Carter and the Iran hostage crisis.

“Everything we are doing is to give evidence to the president that the Jewish community is supportive of his policies on Israel,” Zeidman said.

Ever since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks transformed Bush into a wartime president — and coincided with an intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — Republicans have been stressing what they say is a growing trend of support for Bush in the American Jewish community.

It’s a perception that Jewish Democrats combat fiercely.

Exit polls from the 2002 congressional elections showed that 35 percent of American Jews voted Republican, an increase from the 19 percent Bush received in 2000. But Democrats contest the exit polls — which were delayed almost a year because of data problems — and also suggested that they might not accurately predict support for Bush in 2004.

But while it is nearly impossible to tell whether there is indeed a new trend in Jewish politics, it is hard to ignore the anecdotal evidence that shows at least some big Jewish Democrats writing checks for Bush.

Jack Rosen, president of American Jewish Congress, has been backing Democratic presidential contenders for more than 20 years, but he said he recently cut a check for the president.

“I think basically what I am saying is we need to recognize what this president has done for Israel,” Rosen said.

He said that some of the Democratic candidates for president have been good on Israel — including some with long track records of support for the Jewish state — but it is impossible to be sure they will always side with the Jewish state when things get difficult.
Bush, he said, has proven himself.

“Until these candidates come out with a clear policy on the Israeli-Palestinian situation and Yasser Arafat, I’ve got to look at the president, who has set out a policy and been firm on that policy,” Rosen said.

While Democratic Jews have been trying to show that all of the would-be nominees are strong on the Middle East, they may be hurt by recent remarks by Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean.

The former Vermont governor recently suggested that the United States should have a more even-handed policy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, raising the ire of some American Jews. Dean has since clarified his remarks and met with representatives of the Jewish community.

“The only possible way for Bush to make really significant gains in the Jewish community in 2004 is for the Democratic nominees to be perceived, rightfully or not rightfully, as anti-Israel,” said Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council. “And that is a phenomenon that will not happen.”

Forman is skeptical of the recent polling numbers touted by the RJC and said that support for Bush from the Jewish community is coming mostly from the organizational leadership, not voters.

“In the central core of some of these organizations in the Jewish community there is a pro-Bush chorus,” Forman said. “But if you look at the general electorate, it isn’t happening.”

Zeidman said that while Republicans are at an advantage right now, a Democratic nominee with a pro-Israel platform could balance Bush’s support in the Jewish community.

If that happens, Jews may look at social policy to break the tie, and that may bring more liberal, pro-Israel Jewish voters back into the embrace of the Democratic Party.

“A year from now, people are going to be focused on social issues,” he said. “That’s going to have a major influence on how people vote, and the campaign is well aware of that.”

That’s one of the reasons Zeidman and others are doing so much fund-raising now. But he is confident that Bush’s support will not dissipate.

“People vote for or against an incumbent, not the people running against them,” he said. “It’s about support for the president or dissatisfaction with him.”

It doesn’t hurt that Bush has been heavily courting the Jewish community.

Aside from his Middle East policy, Bush has held numerous events geared toward a Jewish audience. He met during the High Holidays with a group of rabbis, and he welcomed the opening of an Anne Frank exhibit at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum with a reception for a wide spectrum of Jewish figures from across the country.

Bush and his advisers have reached out in subtler ways as well, including asking rabbis to give invocations at fund-raisers.

Zeidman contends these actions are not direct pleas for votes, just acknowledgments of a continued relationship between the Republican administration and like-minded Jews.

“They have never courted the Jewish vote,” he said. “They understand too well the social issues and have no expectation of the Jewish vote.”

Goldstein says the Bush administration’s aim should not be to court the Jewish vote en masse, but to appeal to just enough Jewish voters to help sway key states, such as Florida and Pennsylvania.

“If he can get 30 percent of the Jewish vote and maintain Jewish financial support in key states, that can be crucial,” said Goldstein. “You don’t need 100 percent.”

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‘Geneva Accord’ Renews Israel’s Partisan Struggle

LESSLIE SUSSER

JERUSALEM (JTA) — After three years in the political wilderness, the Israeli left has something to cheer about: The so-called “Geneva accord,” negotiated by a group of Israeli doves and Palestinian moderates, has revived dormant hopes of a peace agreement with the Palestinians and given the left a shot in the arm.

Right-wing and centrist critics insist that the Geneva negotiators have done more harm than good. At the least, what the group of doves led by former Cabinet minister Yossi Beilin has done is to set the parameters of debate in Israel on the terms of a final peace agreement with the Palestinians.

For with the U.S.-backed “road map” peace plan in tatters and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Karia locked in a power struggle with P.A. President Yasser Arafat, Beilin led a team that met with Palestinian figures to work out a prospective peace deal that entails far deeper Israeli concessions than any previous plan.

The Palestinian negotiators are close to Arafat and reportedly have his backing. None of the Israelis involved in the talks holds public office — many were associated with the government of Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who was trounced at the polls in February 2001 following peace offers that many Israelis considered too generous — or has authority to negotiate in Israel’s name.

But that hasn’t stopped the plan from garnering major attention in Israel and in Europe, where the accord is to be signed in early November.

Opening the Knesset’s winter session on Oct. 20, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected the agreement as an “illusion” that would encourage the Palestinians to go back on their commitment under the road map to fight terrorism.

The Geneva initiative differs from the road map by making a giant leap to a final peace deal while terrorism continues unabated. In contrast, the road map insists on step-by-step fulfillment of numerous obligations — especially an end to terrorism — before permanent status issues are discussed.

Still, there is a potential meeting point between the two plans. If the roadmap’s two interim phases are implemented and a mini-Palestinian state has been established, the Geneva initiative could then provide a model for a final deal.

However, even if the Sharon government does get past phase two of the roadmap, it’s unlikely to endorse the far-reaching concessions called for in the Geneva accord.

The Palestinians might have other ideas, though, and critics say that’s the most invidious aspect of the proposal: In any future official negotiations, they argue, the unauthorized Geneva “concessions” will serve as a starting point for new Palestinian demands.

Among the fiercest critics has been Barak, who derided the proposal as “delusional” and said it lacks key elements upon which Israel must insist: There is no explicit Palestinian waiver of the demand that refugees be granted a “right of return” to homes they fled during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, nor is there explicit recognition of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.
Unofficial versions of the text bear Barak out. They also suggest that Beilin’s group has gone much further than Barak did on the key issues of territory, Jerusalem and refugees at the Camp David summit in July 2000 or at follow-up negotiations held in Taba, Egypt, in January 2001.

On territory, the Palestinians would get the Gaza Strip and 98 percent of the West Bank — including the city of Ariel, which they did not get at Taba — plus Israeli land near Gaza to make up for the rest.

On Jerusalem, the agreement would give the Palestinians administrative control of the Temple Mount, with a multinational force guaranteeing free movement and security on the ground. Israel would get sovereignty over the Western Wall and the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.

As at Taba, Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem would constitute Israel’s capital, while Arab and other non-Jewish neighborhoods of the city would become the capital of Palestine.

The biggest stumbling block in previous negotiations was the refugee issue. In the Geneva accord, the Palestinians refused to waive their demand for a right of return, a key element in their historical narrative of dispossession. Israel fears that such a right would delegitimize the Jewish state and — if it leads to a flood of refugees into Israel — effectively spell its end.

The Geneva text refers to U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194, U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 and the 2001 Saudi peace initiative — which, some analysts say, is tantamount to bringing in the right of return through the back door.

The agreement would allow each refugee to choose between five options, including settling in Israel.

Though Israel could limit its intake of refugees, the agreement says that Israel “will take into account the average number taken in by the third countries.” That means Israel could find itself pressed to take in tens of thousands of refugees by the international committee that the agreement envisions processing applications.

Critics say the Israeli negotiators were so intent on clinching a deal to boost their political fortunes that they gave away far too much. They also accuse Beilin’s group of subverting democratic processes by arrogating a role reserved for the elected government.

The doves counter that the agreement fills a political vacuum caused by the government’s failure to initiate far-reaching peace moves. Moreover, they say, it shows that there indeed is someone to talk to on the Palestinian side.

Former Labor Party leader Amram Mitzna, one of the negotiators, calls the initiative “a historic turning point” that enables Israeli and Palestinian leaders “to understand exactly what each side is ready to give up.”

At the least, the issues raised by the accord are sure to become central in Israel’s domestic debate in the weeks and months ahead. But the key to its fate depends on whether the international community adopts the accord and tries to impose it on the parties — and that remains unlikely.

Leslie Susser is the diplomatic correspondent for the Jerusalem Report.

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JTA News Briefs

Gaza Deaths Stir Israeli Protest
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The killing of Palestinian bystanders in Israeli airstrikes Monday in Gaza spurred remorse and calls for reparations in Jerusalem. Israel carried out a series of airstrikes that targeted buildings where Palestinian terrorists were suspected of producing and storing weapons. The 12 dead included some civilians. Israeli President Moshe Katsav extended condolences to the victims’ families Tuesday, telling Israeli and Palestinian peace activists that such deaths sometimes are unavoidable when fighting terrorism. Cabinet minister Yosef Paritzky of the Shinui Party proposed that the bereaved families receive Israeli government stipends of the kind granted to Israeli terror victims. The European Union and Russia also expressed concern over the civilian deaths.

Iran, Saudis on Nuke Countdown
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Iran’s nuclear arms program will pass the point of no return within 10 months, Israel’s military intelligence chief said. Maj. Gen. Aharon Ze’evi-Farkash was quoted as telling the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday that while international diplomacy is focusing on reining in Tehran’s capabilities, Saudi Arabia also has been seeking nuclear technology from Pakistan.

Jerusalem Population Down
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Jerusalem’s population fell by nearly 10 percent during the past decade. Some 164,400 people have left Jerusalem during the past 10 years and 97,300 have moved in, according to the upcoming volume of the Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem. The city is now home to 680,400 people, 67 percent Jews and 33 percent Arabs. The Arab population is younger than the Jewish population and has a higher growth rate, and its percentage of the overall population is growing.

Grass-Roots Peace Plan
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A grass-roots Israeli-Palestinian peace plan has gathered thousands of signatures from both sides.
Ami Ayalon, former head of the Israeli Shin Bet security service and Sari Nusseibeh, formerly the Palestinian Authority’s top Jerusalem official, released the news regarding their plan as they visited Washington this week to meet with congressional representatives and State Department officials.
The plan outlines two states separated along pre-1967 borders, a divided Jerusalem and no “right of return” for Palestinian refugees.
Three other members of the PLO’s mainstream Fatah faction also are in Washington meeting with congressional officials.
The Ayalon-Nusseibeh plan is distinct from another unofficial peace plan negotiated this month, known as the “Geneva accord.”

Sharon Rips Unofficial Accord
JERUSALEM (JTA) — An unofficial Israeli-Palestinian peace plan is a “boost to terrorist organizations,” Ariel Sharon said.
Speaking Monday at the opening of the Knesset’s winter session, the Israeli prime minister said the “Geneva accord,” reached earlier this month by Israeli and Palestinian figures who do not hold public office, is a way for Palestinians to duck their obligations under the “road map” peace plan.

House Passes Syria Sanctions
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to impose sanctions on Syria unless it cracks down on terrorist groups.
The Syria Accountability Act, which passed 398-4 on Oct. 15, requires the president to impose two sanctions from a list of six unless Syria ends its support for terrorism, stops developing weapons of mass destruction, pulls its troops from Lebanon and tightens its borders with Iraq. Possible sanctions include a ban on trade and diplomatic restrictions.
The bill is likely to pass in the Senate, and congressional staffers expect President Bush to sign it into law next month.
French Jews, Muslims Fight Hate
PARIS (JTA) — French Jewish and Muslim organizations are set to form a group to monitor racially motivated attacks. The International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, an organization close to major French Jewish organizations, announced Monday that it would support the formation of a joint body to monitor acts of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. The league’s move follows a similar appeal last week by Abderrahmane Dahmane, president of the newly formed Council of Democratic Muslims.

Penn to Dedicate New Hillel
NEW YORK (JTA) — A new Hillel is slated to be dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania. The $12 million Steinhardt Hall, named after philanthropist Michael Steinhardt, will be dedicated Thursday. The 35,000-square-foot building features a worship space, meeting rooms, a Judaic library and a food court.

Rabbi Attacked Near Paris
PARIS (JTA) — A rabbi was attacked near his synagogue in the Paris suburbs. Michel Serfaty, rabbi of the Ris Orangis Synagogue, was on his way to Shabbat prayers last Friday night when a car approached and a number of youths began shouting racial insults at him. He was then hit across the face by one of them and was lightly injured.
Two men have been detained by police and are being investigated for what police termed “a racially motivated attack.” Investigators said the men had yelled “Yid” and “Palestine, Palestine will smash your face in.”
Visiting the synagogue on Sunday, Roger Cukierman, president of the CRIF organization of French Jews, described the attack as “unacceptable and worrying for the future of French society.”
The attack was also strongly condemned by Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who said he would visit the synagogue in coming days.

Bush Slams Mahathir
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Bush reportedly told off Malaysia’s prime minister for saying that Jews rule the world. Bush made the comments to Mahathir Mohammad during an Asia-Pacific summit in Bangkok on Monday, Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said.
Mahathir later defended his comments.

Fine for Hate Speech in France
PARIS (JTA) — A priest and a Catholic congregant in Paris were fined for defamation and racial hatred after writing that Jews are “transnational financiers.”
Abbe Guillaume de Tanouan and Claude Rousseau were ordered to pay nearly $3,500 each by a court in Paris, the daily Liberation reported. They also were ordered to pay a symbolic fine to the League of Human Rights. Both belong to the Saint Nicolas de Chardonnet Church in Paris, which is popular with the French extreme right.

Lieberman Hints on Pollard
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sen. Joseph Lieberman suggested that, if elected president, he would not support a pardon of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard.
Speaking Oct. 15 to Jewish senior citizens in Florida, the Connecticut Democrat said that Pollard, the former Navy intelligence officer who spied for Israel, “did get an unfair sentence when compared to others, but that’s sometimes how the system works.”
Lieberman also said he avoids interfering in criminal cases and noted that he has done nothing in the Senate on Pollard’s behalf. Lieberman, who discussed Social Security and Medicare with the seniors, will travel to Dearborn, Mich., on Friday to speak to the Arab American Institute.

Christians to Pray for Israel
NEW YORK (JTA) — Christian groups are joining a second annual day of prayer for Israel. The North American Mission of the Southern Baptist Convention, which represents more than 47,000 churches in the United States, is among the groups that have signed on to the Oct. 26 event, which will feature churches learning about and praying for the State of Israel. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is organizing the event.

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People in the News

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Tikkun Talk Features Israeli Bedouin Eco-Architecture Effort

photo by Brett M. Rhyne Bustan L'Shalom's Michal Vital

BRETT M. RHYNE
Jewish Journal Staff

BROOKLINE – Michal Vital could not stand idly by when she learned the Bedouins of Wadi el Na’am not only suffered from skin cancer, miscarriages and eye disease because of their proximity to the Ramat-Hover toxic waste dump, but also faced eviction as part of an Israeli government relocation program.

As a member of Bustan L’Shalom (“Grove of Peace”), an Israeli social and environmental justice collective, architect Vital took the lead in designing and organizing the construction of the Medwed Medical Clinic in Wadi el Na’am last Passover.

“I work for a very good firm, for very, very wealthy people,” Vidal said. “I wanted to share my talents and experience with those who don’t have the wealth or the rights or the power.”

During her Oct. 15 presentation at Temple Sinai, “Peacebuilding in Israel through Eco-Architecture,” Vital described how, over three weeks, 250 Jewish and Bedouin volunteers built a 70-sq.-meter clinic of straw bales, mud and plaster. Total cost: $18,000.

“The Bedouins warmed up slowly,” Vidal said. “After a few days, though, this project was the most important thing around the village.”
The New England Tikkun Community adopted the officially unrecognized Wadi el Na’am as a sister community in 2002 and contributed funds to support the construction of the clinic. It also sponsored Vital’s talk.

Vital also spoke to the audience of 20 people about techniques of green building as non-violent direct action, as well as the plight of the Bedouin citizens of Israel, many of whom are being forcibly relocated from their ancestral lands to large resettlement districts.
“What is especially shocking and tragic in this case,” says Marbleheader Ron Fox of Tikkun, “is that it is Jewish people heading the Israeli government who are discriminating against and deliberately withholding education, housing, healthcare and environmental protection — basic human rights — from these 4,000 Israeli citizens.”

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Arts & Entertainment

‘Who’s in Your Soul is in Your Work’

BRETT M. RHYNE
Jewish Journal Staff

Shelley Berman first burst onto the national scene with his Grammy Award-winning album Inside Shelley Berman in 1959. Since then, the legendary improvisational comedian has appeared on film, television, in the theater and in comedy clubs; most recently, he’s played Larry David’s father on the hit TV series, Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Shelley will perform his standup comedy at the Leventhal-Sidman JCC’s Jewish Theatre of New England on Oct. 25 and 26; opening for him will be jazz vocalist Rebecca Parris. Shelley chatted with The Journal from his home in Los Angeles.

Jewish Journal: Hi Shelley, it’s the Jewish Journal. First off, I have to say I’m a big fan. I was just listening to Inside Shelley Berman and I think you’re a genius.
Shelley Berman: Thank you. Maybe I was a genius then, let’s see if I’m a genius now.

JJ: Were you raised Jewish?
SB: Very Jewish. I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood on the west side of Chicago. My first language was Yiddish. We lived with my maternal grandparents. They were from Lithuania and Russia. We attended a Conservative temple — when we went to shul in those days, the grandmas sat upstairs.

JJ: Do you practice today?
SB: I’ve become more secular. For example, I’m diabetic, so I don’t fast on Yom Kippur. I still observe when I can, which makes me practically a Lutheran. I can run a seder, and I do it all in Hebrew. I like the ritual.

JJ: Has your Jewishness affected your comedy?
SB: No, I can’t see it affecting my comedy. But you know, I think if something influences your life, it influences your work. What’s inside your soul is articulated in your work.

JJ: Where do you get your ideas?
SB: I get my ideas from living. As you go through life, you get certain feelings and certain ideas that you put to work for you. Not everything is literal. On Inside Shelley Berman, I do a routine about a department store. What I wanted to do was make fun of bureaucracy – it had nothing to do with department stores.

JJ: Inside Shelley Berman was the first non-musical recording to win a Grammy Award. Was this the first comedy to be recorded?
SB: There was a comedian named Julian Rose who recorded a routine called, “Cohen on the Telephone;” and Stan Friedberg had also released a comedy single before me. Mort Sahl had made a record. After the success of Inside Shelley Berman, then other comedians did it, too.

JJ: How did it feel to win the Grammy? How did your fellow recording artists receive you?
SB: I was incredulous. I didn’t understand. That the recording was on the charts was amazing to me. I was appreciated by other recording artists. When I was playing the Hungry I in San Francisco, The Kingston Trio was playing just up the street. They were number one on the charts, I was number two. My God, here I was right there next to them.

JJ: Any plans to re-release your albums on CD?
SB: Inside Shelley Berman, Outside Shelley Berman and The Edge of Shelley Berman were released on CD about a year ago. They’re available at laugh.com.

JJ: You’ve made several appearances on Larry David’s terrific TV show, Curb Your Enthusiasm. We spoke with co-producer Jeff Garland last year [see Jewish Journal, Jan. 17-30]. How did you come to be on the show?
SB: I was called in and worked out with Larry David. They decided we’re highly compatible and said, “Hey, come on, you’ll be his father.” The show is very daring and sometimes shocking.

JJ: Does your history of improvisation help on the show? What’s it like working on the set?
SB: It’s perfect to be able to do now what I did when I began. You don’t know what you’re going to do until they call you in. Then Larry explains what the scene is about and you improvise. For each scene, there are several takes - that isn’t really the thing. What is important is that you’re improvising.

JJ: Do you crack each other up on the set?
SB: Larry will break up a lot. Me, I just want to do the thing, get down to business.

JJ: What have you been up to between your recording days and your recent TV work?
SB: Over the years, I’ve been doing a lot of standup, a lot of guest shots. For 19 years, I’ve taught a graduate course at USC: Humor Writing - Literary and Dramatic. Many of my students are working as TV writers and movie writers, as well as writing fiction and non-fiction. I love teaching. You know how it is - you don’t get rich, but you get a lot of joy.

JJ: Do you have any advice for young comedians?
SB: A lot of comedians today think they’re funny if they’re speaking in the vernacular, relying on shock, doing toilet humor, keeping humor in their underwear. That’s not the way. Make sure you have a higher education. Be a reader. Be informed. Without sensitivity to and knowledge of the world around you, you’re nothing.

Shelley Berman appears at the Jewish Theatre of New England in Newton on Oct. 25 and 26; for more information, contact the box office at 617-558-6486.

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Editorial

Anti-Semitism: Scourge of Our Time — Once Again

The tradition of Jew hating is alive and well. It is stronger in Europe than at any time since the Holocaust. Masquerading as anti-Zionism, it infects the United Nations. It pervades the cultures of many Third World nations, including virtually the entire Arab Middle East.

Now comes the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahatir Mohamad, addressing the 10th Islamic summit, to whom he played host earlier this month, giving voice to some of the basest anti-Jewish nonsense we’ve heard from a public figure in years. “The Europeans killed six million out of 12 million,” he said, “but today the Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them. They have gained control of the most powerful countries and they, this tiny community, have become a world power.”

Think of it: There are 2 billion Christians in the world, 1.5 billion Moslems, 900 million Hindus, and 12 million of us. And we are ruling the world?

The fact that his remarks were applauded rather than condemned by his fellow Moslem leaders is worrisome. In Europe, Germany was quick to denounce the comments, but, characteristically, French President Jacques Chirac blocked the European Union from censoring them.

To his credit, President Bush strongly denounced Mahatir’s outburst and refused to associate with him when the two attended an Asian economic summit a few days later. But then, respect for the beliefs of others is a well-established tradition in the United States.
Would that we could export that to the rest of the world. .

Federation Needs Your Support

We’re an independent newspaper, supported by advertising, reader contributions and a grant from the Jewish Federation of the North Shore. Without that grant — $75,000 this year — we couldn’t continue to operate.

It’s the same for a host of local Jewish agencies: the Jewish Community Centers (Marblehead and Peabody), Cohen Hillel Academy, the Holocaust Center, Jewish Family Service, Mikvah B’not Yisrael, Jewish Historical Society of the North Shore, and a host of programs for youths and their families. None of them would be here to serve the needs of the community were it not for the help of Federation.

We mention this because in the next two weeks, the Federation will be conducting its annual fund-raising campaign, culminating in Super Sunday, November 2. Organizers — including perhaps your friends and neighbors — need volunteers to man the phones, help with pledge cards, baby-sit, serve refreshments — and donate funds to continue their work.

Lots of Jewish people in our community are not affiliated with any Jewish institution. “I don’t use those services,” they may say, “why should I support them?” The answer is simple: Because a Jewish community can not survive, can not educate its young, can not build pride, and can not take care of its needy — in the final analysis, it can not defend itself — if its citizens do not support it.
Give, and give generously, when the call comes. Better yet, volunteer to help too. Contact the Federation office at 978-745-4222, or register online at www.jewishnorthshore.org..

MARK ARNOLD
Jewish Journal Editor/Publisher

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Local Columnists

European Jewry in Deep Trouble Again

DOV BURT LEVY
Jewish Journal North of Boston

Dov Burt Levy is a Salem, MA based columnist. He can be reached at dblevy@columnist. com

They don’t have a U.S.-style color-coded alert system in Europe to warn people that trouble is brewing. Even without it, it is now clear that the threat level to European Jewry is rising quickly.

Two years ago, Roxbury-bred Dr. Joel Schwartz, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, visited England and Western Europe. He later phoned me in Israel to tell me the situation for Jews in England, France, Belgium and Norway was perilous.
Had he been a citizen of one of those countries, Schwartz told me, he would pack his bags and leave.

I wasn’t really listening then. My plate was pretty full. I worried about my family in Israel and my family in the United States.Writing these columns, I find plenty to ponder about in the United States and Israel without worrying about Europe.

But on October 15, I attended a lecture at Temple Israel in Swampscott on the subject “The French Jewish Community in Danger.” Drs. Howard and Nicole Cohn and Cantor Ary Rothschild, all from France, described the sad details of the trauma now facing French Jews.
Synagogues, cemeteries and businesses defaced with anti-Jewish and anti-Israel slogans and swastikas. Aggressive Arab gangs beating up people on the street. Newspapers and police units unresponsive or misreporting the incidents. School children pummeled. School headmasters telling beating victims they, and not the attackers, must change schools.

The political Right continues traditional anti-Jewish propaganda and gets a growing and respectful audience among those in the middle of the political spectrum. The political Left is rabidly anti-American, pro-Arab, portraying Israel as Nazis and harassing Jews who defend Israel.
Ruling politicians, for the most part, make only half-hearted attempts to defend the Jewish community.

The Moslem population in Europe is growing exponentially through high birth rates and immigration. Combined with the very low birthrate among non-Moslems, this means that in one, two or three decades, depending upon which European country, Moslems will outnumber the so-called native populations.

So, what is a Jew living in France, Belgium, Britain, Norway to do?

As I see it, there are only three choices: Stay where you are and hope for the best. Stay where you are and fight like hell. Or move to Israel or another country that will let you in — a country where being Jewish is not an invitation to hate and harassment, bombings and beatings.
We know what doing nothing means. We know that moving means giving up a country you call home, not an easy task. Too often in our history, we have been forced to uproot our families and move on.

But fight like hell? Easier said than done. Who exactly is the enemy? How do you disable, debilitate, and even destroy them? Who can French Jews depend upon? To do what? What is Israel’s role? What is the role of Jews in other countries?

Drs. Cohn told the audience in Swampscott that the French Jewish community was organizing and fighting. They hoped Americans would stay informed and also help.

Coincidently, several days later, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia told a well-publicized summit meeting of Moslem leaders that Jews ruled the world and have recruited others “to fight and die” for them. This was not anti-Israel; this was anti-Jewish. It was an arrow, aimed at Jews wherever they live.

As fate would have it, a group of European leaders were meeting at the same time. When many of the leaders agreed upon a statement deploring the Malaysian prime minister’s tirade, one European head of state quashed the statement. Who? French President Jacques Chirac, of course.

So, make room on your plate, as crowded as it is, for European Jewry. That’s right. Just 50 years after the Shoah, “Never Again” in Europe will require a major effort. Sad, unforeseen and unbelievable, but true.

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Language is My Living, but Learning Hebrew is Something Else

AMY HIRSHBERG LEDERMAN
Jewish Journal North of Boston

Amy Lederman is a syndicated columnist, writer, Jewish educator, public speaker and attorney. She lives with her husband and two teenage children in Tucson.

I have had a love affair with words ever since I can recall. As a little girl I would whisper words to myself just to hear the sounds of them; magical words like canopy, arithmetic and Ethiopia. As an adult, words have been the tools I use to make meaning of my world. In my work, my family, my relationships and my inner life, words accompany me throughout the day, enabling me to bring to life the images, ideas and beliefs that shape who I am.

But it was fear I felt when I enrolled in a Hebrew course at the age of 43 at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, ready to conquer the intricacies of a language that had frustrated me since Hebrew School. I enthusiastically entered the class only to find a room of lethargic college students, most of whom were more interested in rock concerts and bar hopping than verb conjugation and tenses.

I became obsessed with learning Hebrew, spending every hour of the day — in the classroom, on the streets, at home, even in my sleep – trying to speak the language. I was brazen and I was shameless. I insisted on speaking Hebrew to anyone and everyone who would listen, including a group of Japanese-speaking tourists who wanted directions to the Israel Museum.

Some people never leave home without a credit card; I never left home without my Hebrew-English dictionary. Such determination and diligence, while hastening my comprehension and ability to speak, came with a price. I became a walking, talking malaprop in Hebrew, the originator of more bloopers than Jerusalem has synagogues.

My family’s first dining experience in Jerusalem began the parade of horribles. I proudly requested the menu in Hebrew and began ordering more food than we could eat in a week. I was quite pleased with myself until my son asked for some ice for his drink.

“No problem,” I said confidently turning to our middle-aged waiter, a man with absolutely no hair and a wide, open smile.

“Sir, may I have some ice please?” I asked in my finest Hebrew. He looked startled, then hurt as he scurried off. My Hebrew radar detector indicated immediate distress. What could I have possibly done to insult this gentle soul?

The trouble was that the Hebrew word for ice and the Hebrew word for bald are almost identical. I had told our unsuspecting waiter that I wanted him — and I wanted him bald! I was desperate to make amends and resolved to set things right. I motioned to our hairless waiter and with a smile as big as Montana, asked for a masrek. Now he wasn’t wounded but outraged. An Israeli called out, “She means a masleg, not a masrek!” This time I had asked the poor guy for a comb instead of a fork!

I might have thrown in the Hebrew towel had there not been a breakthrough one Friday evening at shul. After several months, I still hadn’t noticed much change in my ability to understand the Hebrew prayers I said. Even though I knew them by heart, they were really just words I recited in order to be a part of the synagogue community.

Slowly I felt it, like a soft shiver running through my soul. I realized that for the first time in my life I actually understood the meaning of the Hebrew words of Yedid Nefesh, the prayer we say to welcome the Sabbath. I heard the passion, understood the poetry, clung to the description of love between man and God which are found within it. No longer were these words mere sounds; they were Hebrew words I understood because I had made them my own.

Hot tears rolled down my cheeks when we began to sing the Shema and I understood for the very first time the words that I had recited by memory my entire life. The Shema itself is a commandment to hear, to listen, and to understand. I realized that I had gained much more than mere knowledge of the aleph-bet. In learning Hebrew, I had begun to make traditional Hebrew prayers my own.

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