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Showing posts with label los angeles jewish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label los angeles jewish. Show all posts

What I Saw at a Terrorist Rally Outside a Synagogue

By Daniel Greenfield, Sultan Knish, June 27, 2024

The retire-to-Israel exhibition pretense that Muslims used to riot through an orthodox Jewish neighborhood 

 

Thirty minutes after Hamas supporters first set up their operation outside a Los Angeles synagogue, they maced their first Jew. And the Los Angeles police did nothing.

Not until an hour into the terrorist rally outside a synagogue, did the LAPD finally step in, pushing back masked Jihad supporters in keffiyeh terror scarves from the entrance of Congregation Adas Torah (Congregation of the Bible) which they had occupied.

And then the mob, chanting calls for “intifada” and the destruction of Israel, moved outward to target two smaller synagogues attended by Persian Jewish refugees from Islamic terror in Iran.

“Billions of us will come and kill you,” a heavily accented Middle Eastern man in a keffiyeh unprompted rasped at me as I walked up. Only dozens had actually shown up, but they made up for it with bullhorns, robotic chants, and assaults in the middle of a Jewish neighborhood.

The Jewish counter-protesters had come waving American and Israeli flags while the other side was a sea of terrorist flags. A man wore an Antifa cap, another had come in ski goggles during 90-degree heat, while others toted bear spray, metal bottles, and other implements of violence.
 
 The Jewish community members included older men and women, as well as families, while the Hamas contingent was mostly young and many were masked. A pair of rabbis led a melodic song that could hardly be heard over the harsh clatter of the hateful terror chants.

Despite knowing that a terrorist rally was planned outside a synagogue, the LAPD had allowed the terrorist supporters to take over the entire sidewalk leaving only a thin lane for attendees to walk through to get inside. The LAPD did little to interfere with the terrorist supporters, but did block Jewish counter-protesters from reaching their own synagogue. The police also did nothing as clumps of masked Hamas supporters broke away from the synagogue and began confronting, threatening, and attacking Jewish community members on the street. 

LAPD officers did not stir as confrontations escalated into assaults, shoving into mace and bear spray. Jewish community members rushed to provide water bottles to the affected. Only after several such incidents did the LAPD finally bring in reinforcements and push the Hamas supporters away from the synagogue entrance (dispersing them to harass and threaten two other synagogues) while also clearing Jewish families away from the other side of the street who had been peacefully waving flags near a children’s school.  

The terrorist hate rally spread outside three synagogues, Congregation Adas Torah, Chabad Persian Youth, and Congregation Ateret Israel (Glory of Israel), and the confrontations in the center of the street continued. There were running battles along the large commercial street with violent assaults outside a Kosher luncheonette and running battles down a residential street in the Jewish neighborhood. 

The terrorist hate rally was not an aberration, It’s become the new normal. SoCal officials set-up fear tactics- enabling Islamo-Leftists to antagonize Jewish residential area

  

Beginning with the assault on the Museum of Tolerance when it was screening a documentary on the Oct 7 massacre to the violence at UCLA, it has played out this way for 8 months. 

The LAPD has consistently failed to secure protest zones, to separate different groups of protesters and to prevent violence, and only steps in when it escalates past a set point. That point usually comes when the Jewish counter-protesters start fighting back. And then the LAPD begins arresting both sides while politicians, including Mayor Bass, deplore the violence. 

Media accounts, especially from the Los Angeles Times, CNN and the JTA, falsely characterize the violence as coming from the Jewish counter-protesters rather than the terrorist supporters. 

I had previously heard first person accounts from people who were assaulted while the police and security at UCLA did nothing, but now I saw it for myself. And after 8 months of the same thing, it’s hard to believe that it’s simple incompetence or that a major urban police force has no idea how to handle the same kind of protests and is incapable of figuring out how to do so. 

Especially when it’s been standard procedure by other urban police forces.

The LAPD is clearly aware of the potential for violence because it sends out offices in riot gear. But rather than engaging in proactive policing to prevent violence, they stand passively and wait for orders from higher up before taking any action. This is not normal policing during protests and counter-protests when the standard doctrine is for police to set up barriers and stand between groups of protesters before they bring out the riot gear. But the LAPD brings out the riot gear, allows the radicals free rein and waits as long as possible before taking any action. 

Why is this happening? I previously reported that Mayor Karen Bass is a close political ally of BLM LA boss Melina Abdullah, who has backed the pro-terrorist campaign against Jews. When Jews were attacked at UCLA, Democrat members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion to fund legal support for the terrorist supporters. The resolution to use taxpayer money to fund legal defenses for antisemites was put forward by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath who ‘represents’ CD3 where the synagogue hate riot was taking place. After all the antisemitic violence at UCLA, the only one facing serious charges is a Jewish student.

The Democrat leadership of Los Angeles does not stand with the Jewish communities being targeted by hate, but with the antisemitic mobs surrounding synagogues. Behind the masks, keffiyehs and the terrorist flags is the new Democratic Party.

L.A. shul-goers discover their restaurants' glass smashed by masked, burglar gang


A British-American orthodox area resident inspects the new windows at Schnitzly Restaurant.

 

Some Jewish Los Angelenos walking to synagogue on Shabbat morning were stunned to see glass doors and windows of their kosher restaurants smashed into pieces on the sidewalks. 

Several restaurants catering to Jewish residents of Pico-Robertson neighborhood were vandalized - and some were burglarized.

A glazier repairs the broken glass of Nagila Pizza

The restaurants affected were Nagila Pizza,  Fisherman's Bowl, Sushiko, Shalom Grill, Shanghai Garden, and Fu's Palace (not kosher). Factor's Deli was not touched.

The doorway of the soon to be opened,
Fisherman's Bowl
Restaurant gets boarded up

A roving, neighborhood watchman mentioned that police were alerted on Friday to a stranger brandishing a firearm. We don't know whether the gunman and the break-ins are related. Or whether the break-ins are bias motivated (hate-crime) towards the orthodox Jewish restauranteurs or community.

Leftist protest of Yom Kippur kosher (but not Eid halal) ritual sacrifices persist

Police apprehend leftist activists for bribing workers to release chickens

As Jews perform atonement rituals in the approach to Yom Kippur, leftists (including Muslims) announced protests to kapparot rituals outside a Los Angeles synagogue yesterday and today. (Update: it was reported that a demonstrator spat upon the person of a Jewish attendee). The ritual transfer of one's sins to a sacrificial fowl is nowadays typically practiced by Sephardics, Persians, and ultra-orthodox Jews. We re-post our news coverage of the challenge to a similar demonstration from 2013. The complacency by counter-protesters has not deterred antagonists.

Jay Michaelson in The Forward posited: "If these animal rights activists wanted to protest the egregious violence our culture does to animals, they should stand outside not synagogues, but restaurants and grocery stores, that mainstream which facilitates the industrial suffering and slaughter of chicken."

In "Animal-activists confront orthodox Jewish sin-offering ritual - but lacking any Halal protests, how much is anti-Semitism?" JewTube showed our complete video of a leftist 2013 protest against kaparos/kaparot in Los Angeles.  
Camels are among the mammals permitted for Muslims to
ritually sacrifice on Eid as Qurbani.
This in Pakistan, but animal sacrifice is also conducted
in western Muslim communities.
This condensed version shows the counter-protestors, led by Rabbi Moshe Parry, challenging the protestors, led by progressive activists Rabbi Jonathan Klein, executive director at the progressive advocacy group CLUE-LA (Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice) and Muslim-Iranian born, Ms. Niloo Khodadadeh.

While giving other religions a free pass, PETA India, which is known to selectively target Hindu traditions and customs, has on its website recommended a ‘resource’ set up by PETA US which advocates ‘Islamic Teachings On Compassion but they don't object to Muslim animal sacrifice.

Rabbi Parry argues that their conduct reveals a number of the activists to be hateful of Jews. The movement discriminates by protesting solely against Jews- who conduct this kosher ritual only one week a year, and disregard the more inhumane Halal slaughter which is conducted 52-weeks per year. Rabbi Parry calls for Jews to develop physical vigilance to deter future anti-Jewish protests and confrontations.




In the Jewish Journal, (The battle over kapparot goest to courtSept 8) writer Edmon Rodman reports that 
on Aug. 26, a group of attorneys (led by David Simon) representing seven plaintiffs seeking to stop public kapparot ceremonies in Los Angeles filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court. 

When asked whether he believes Jews are being singled out unfairly, especially by animal rights activists, Simon said he has seen “some evidence” of this. For some “fringe people,” there “may be some anti-Semitic component to their perspective on this,” he said.
Protestor gets the finger from Hasid for antagonizing outdoor kaparot in B'klyn

In Williamsburg, Brooklyn a
 Hasid 'flipped-off' a protestor photographing him performing kaparos. Jay Michaelson took-up his cause in The Forward "Why This Hasid WAS RIGHT to Flip the Bird to Kaparot Protestor"

I can imagine it (kaparot) being more cathartic – and thus more worthwhile – than most Yom Kippur services that will be held later this week. ... So why are the protesters protesting?  ... I can’t imagine any of the mostly-white English-speaking protesters standing outside carnicerias and protesting traditional Latin American methods of animal husbandry and slaughter. But the Jews – well, they’re just right. Easy to mock, yet safe to mock.

Mass-media communicator, Phil Blazer, built L.A. Jewish newspaper and national Jewish TV channel, JLTV


Phil Blazer hosting show on his founded JLTV
Los Angeles media publisher, Phil Blazer,  died yesterday at 76 following a long struggle with Parkinson's. He parlayed his Israel Today newspaper into a weekly local TV show, and parlayed that into the Jewish Life TV (J.L.T.V.) channel, one of America's two, Jewish cultural cable/sat channels (along with Jewish Broadcasting Service / J.B.S. - originally Shalom TV). 

Phil Blazer's broadcasting career began at the age of 21 when legendary disc jockey Wolfman Jack gave him a chance to host a show about Jewish culture and music at KULX in Minneapolis. Over the next five decades, Phil continued as a radio host while building a media empire that included a nationally syndicated television show and a national newspaper, Israel Today.  His lifelong dream of creating a TV network dedicated to Jewish life and culture was achieved in 2006 with the creation of JLTV.  


Phil was an early activist and visionary community leader who thrived on bringing together people of all faiths to battle hate, racism and anti-Semitism. His own career as an activist was born in 1973 when he urged his listeners to cut up an oil company's credit cards to protest its anti-Israel stance. Thousands responded, mailing enough cards to fill numerous trash bags, which Phil then deposited at the company's headquarters. The dramatic stunt made the CBS evening news with Walter Cronkite, impressing upon Phil the powerful impact of activism. 

An inveterate risk taker, he relished his role in helping a rabbi smuggle a Torah into Leningrad under the noses of the KGB. Later, he organized the Skokie Skytrain to bring counter-protesters from California to confront neo-Nazis threatening the safety of Holocaust survivors in Skokie, Illinois in 1978.

Phil considered "Operation Joshua" the highlight of his advocacy to "make a difference." In 1985, he personally appealed to Vice President George H. Bush to rescue 1,000 Ethiopian Jews starving in Sudanese refugee camps after fleeing a genocidal dictator amidst one of the worst famines of the 20th Century.  To bolster his case, Phil did something unthinkable by today’s standards. He leveraged his relationships with politicians and brokered a bipartisan appeal to the Reagan administration.  Within 38 hours, all 100 U.S. Senators had signed a letter urging a U.S. airlift. The secret mission was carried out by the CIA and U.S. Air Force on March 22, 1985.

Not all of Phil's activism involved such derring-do. But all were straight-from-the-heart.  Among them was Phil's arranging for his close friend Oscar® winning producer Branko Lustig to become a Bar Mitzvah at Auschwitz, the concentration camp where he was held during the Holocaust. Phil also worked tirelessly with legislators in several states to include Holocaust education in schools. And when elderly Jews in Los Angeles, many of whom were Holocaust survivors, were subjected to anti-Semitic attacks, Phil established the volunteer Peace Force to patrol their neighborhoods.

With a flair for show business and an innate understanding of what made a good story, he organized celebrity visits to Israel, acting as something between a media fixer and informal tour guide to such luminaries as Ben Kingsley, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Strauss, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden.


Former United States Congressman Henry Waxman, who became acquainted with Phil while serving in Washington, said Phil served as an example of how one person can make a difference. "He made a difference in lives of people he didn't know, whether they were Ethiopian Jews, Russian Soviet Jews, Israelis, or people here in the United States who were standing up against anti-Semitism," Waxman said. "And he didn't look at these tasks as overwhelming. He saw them as important issues that he wanted to be involved in, to see change and to make that difference that was so important. There are so many people who don't know about him, and may never know about him, but who owe him a great deal of gratitude for all the work he has done.”

Phil Blazer is survived by his wife, Kathy; daughter Alyssa (Charles) Peretz; sons Mark (Tracy), Adam and David; 6 grandchildren; and sisters Candace (Robert) Fagan and Glorianne (Richard) Letterman.


A family service is planned for Aug. 27 and a memorial minyan will be held on Zoom at 7 p.m. from Aug. 27-Sept. 1, each night except Friday.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8317484176 • Meeting ID: 831 748 4176 • Mobile: +14086380968,,8317484176#


In this episode of Main Street, Phil interviewed Tom Tugend, who volunteered in Israel's war effort, later becoming a well-respected journalist in Los Angeles.

S.J.P. anti-Zionist meeting-crashers stunned by retaliation by Students Supporting Israel and Reservists on Duty at UCLA

Watch Part 1 here

In May 2018, Students Supporting Israel at UCLA put on a club lecture featuring Jewish, Kurdish and Armenian people presenting their connection to their lands. Watch how Students for Justice in Palestine menaced and threatens the presenters and attendees, vandalized their personal property, and maliciously took-over the event.



To avenge SJP's busting-up SSI's "Indigenous Peoples United" Event at UCLA in May, leaders of Students Supporting Israel infiltrated the highly-guarded Students for Justice in Palestine conference - to unfurl an Israeli flag on-stage.

Rudy Rochman, founder of Coumbia Univ's "Students Supporting Israel" counters "Students for Justice in Palestine" convention at UCLA the obvious history that Jews living in Judea can't be considered occupying as they are the INDIGENOUS people of Judea.

(By JooTube with video from by Andrew Leibman, Students Supporting Israel)

Watch Part 2 of interview exclusive with Rudy Rochman, which his group garnered more than 100,000 views with on Facebook.




We interview the other avenger, Ilan Sinelnikov, National President of Students Supporting Israel


IDF "Reservists on Duty" Yair Eliash stands outside anti-Israel SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine) National Convention seeking dialogue, public or private, to address the differences between what each side sees first-hand.


North Americans are now fighting in common cause with European Jewry against Leftist anti-Semitism cloaked in anti-Israelism, particularly noticeable on-campuses.

In L.A.'s Boyle Heights, Latino theater group pays homage to L.A.'s Jews of old

Contemporary, gentrification debates unlock the early history, stories and memories of Boyle Heights revealing the mythical and human dimensions of L.A.’s own Lower East Side during the premiere run of an audience participatory, immersive and theatrical celebration, created and devised by Josefina López, Corky Dominguez and the Remembering Boyle Heights ensemble. 

Josefina López, producer and co-writer of the Remembering Boyle Heights said, “The show is a theatrical celebration inspired by the diverse stories, memories and experiences of Boyle Heights, an Ellis Island of the West, from the beginning of the century to right after World War II. 


The show explores this time-period during which Mexican, Jewish, Japanese, Armenian, Italian, Russian and African-American communities co-existed in Boyle Heights.” 


From the turn of the 20th century until World War II, Boyle Heights served as the hub of Southern California's Jewish community. Kosher delis, bakeries and other Jewish businesses dominated Brooklyn Avenue -- now Cesar Chavez Avenue. In the 1950s, the Eastside neighborhood's Jewish population began to decline, with many leaving for West Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. ("Event unearths the deep Jewish roots of Boyle Heights" - by Hector Becerra Los Angeles Times May 2018). 
Under the direction Corky Dominguez (of Boyle Heights), who is also a co-writer of the show, the Ensemble Cast will include: Michael Berckart (of Los Angeles), Joe Luis Cedillo (of El Monte), José Alejandro Hernandez Jr. (of South Central), Yvette Karla Herrera (of Montebello), Ángel Michel Juárez (of Montebello), Megumi Kabe (of Sylmar), Marcel Licera (of Koreatown), Jackie Marriott (of Inglewood), Roberta H. Martínez (of Pasadena), Allyson Taylor (of Valley Glen) and Raymond Watanga (of Glendale).

Video transcript: 
Urban anthropologist, Shmuel Gonzales: "Boyle Heights for many people has been kind of equated to the Lower East Side of New York. A lot of people who had come from New York or the Midwest or Canada who already had established themselves a little bit came to establish their families here. I think that's what's really just remarkable is how many families that came through Boyle Heights. Seventy-five thousand Jewish families came through Boyle Heights in the first half of the 20th century. One-third of the Jewish community of Los Angeles was located here in Boyle Heights, making it the largest and most important Jewish community west of Chicago.
Breed Street Shul (photo: Henry Briceno) 
"Congregation Talmud Torah, more commonly known as the Breed Street Shul, was a keystone in the Jewish community in Boyle Heights and nearby City Terrace from the 1920s through the 1950s. Architecturally, it was among the most monumental of the few dozen synagogues that were built in the area at the time, leading locals to nickname it "The Queen of the Shuls." Los Angeles Conservancy
Allyson Taylor, actress, in role of real-estate developer: "I want to modernize this neighborhood."

As herself:  "Well (the show) talks about the fact that in Boyle Heights - all people live together. During the 1930's and '40s, during the restrictive era of housing, not only were Hispanics, blacks, and Chinese restricted from buying homes in Los Angeles, Jews were as well."


(Scene of early 20th century Jewish family, portrayed by Allyson Taylor and Micael Berckart, of son, portrayed by Jose Hernandez, Jr.) disavowing speaking Yiddish).


Jose Hernandez, Jr. actor: "The dynamics of the family with the father, the son, I  have found it very natural and very similar to my experience with my father - it's the same argument."


(Scene of 20th century Latino family of daughter (portrayed by Yvette Karla Herrera) chiding parents for not speaking English).


(Scene of daughter (portrayed by Angel Juarez, telling Japanese mother (Megumi Kabe) about boyfriend she brought home (portrayed by Raymond Watanga). Angel Juarez: "I love him! I know that he's Colored."


Angel Juarez: "I didn't realize that there was a Jewish community (ever in my Boyle Heights). I used... there is a store and it has the Jewish Star, the Star of David and I always wondered why -  why was it just there -  out of nowhere? And when I came here I realized that this used to be a Jewish community!  So it just opened my mind to a whole, a new world of Boyle Heights"


Marcel Licera, actor: "Faith and religion took place in Boyle Heights. Whether it took place in a church, in a temple or synagogue, or just in the home."


Corky Dominguez:  "My experience attending a Seder, I lived with the Jewish family for several years. I brought my mom to it to the one of the Seder dinners. And it was really interesting to me and I knew that I wanted to have something like that story of a Seder and the guests being non-Jewish and to see what that was all about.  Because I remembered that experience."


Raymond Watanga: "Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church spiritual gatherings with African-Americans for many weeks while Mama and I went to our first Passover Seder that my friend Josh Bernstein invited. It was dinner at the Bernstein's - a Jewish dinner!"

Allyson Taylor: "This is my favorite holiday it's about celebrating our collective freedom." (Recites bracha for Yom Tov.)


(Photo: UCLA's Mapping Jewish L.A.)
Allyson Taylor: "So what we're doing is celebrating the fact that with all the issues of gentrification and the encroachment of the hipsters, and the developers coming into this area, that there was a time when we all lived together and we're hoping that we can bring that kind of feeling back. And not have the kind of tensions that are or have arisen from saying this belongs to me, this belongs to me, it belongs to all of us!"

Micael Berckhart: "Everybody went to Canters. Lined with pickle barrels, kosher butchers, bakeries, and delicatessen. The aromas were of corn beef and smoked fish, the smells, the tastes, the sounds of accents of Eastern European accents in Yiddish, the whole feeling was a visceral experience."


Corky Dominguez: "We end the show with Hava Nagila at our curtain call. And that just gets the crowd going!  Right now the show is scheduled to go until Sunday, December 16th."


Dodgers provide long-awaited Kosher franks; Gentiles lament absence during Shabbat, Sukkot

Dodger fan, Rabbi Zvi Block, finally enjoys game like others
With its decades-long legacy playing in the Jewish-deli capital of America, the former Brooklyn Dodgers never brought the tradition of kosher hot dogs to Elysian Park. This left many kosher-observant, night-game attendees empty-stomached. With Sandy Koufax back as a pitching consultant, and centerfielder, Joc Pederson on the roster, did new President & CEO, Stan Kasten, finally bring the momentum to add the club to the list of Major League Baseball stadiums offering kosher food at the ballgame?

Despite the city's large number of Jewish emigrants from the Northeast, L.A.'s Dodger Stadium hasn't offered much for those with a taste for a traditional-deli frank. The staple, Farmer John "Dodger Dog" contains "traif"- pork. While some stands sell a more expensive "All-Beef" variety, brown-mustard has become rare to find- and no sauerkraut at all- the only vegetable condiments are minced, raw-onions and pickle relish.

How well does Americas 2nd most populous Jewish town accomodate kosher diners at the ball park? NYC-raised, sports radio host, Vic "the Brick" Jacobs (AM570) discusses the LA Dodgers players' dining idiosyncracies as we recognize Dodger Stadium finally accomodating kosher attendees through the glatt, Jeff's Gourmet Kosher Sausages stand in the Right Field pavilion.



After 35-years of importuning by civic-activists, like Stanley Treitel, Jeff's Gourmet Kosher Sausages of Pico Blvd managed to work-out a glatt-kosher concession arrangement with Dodger Stadium, to fill the void for kosher attendees. Long after a number of other cities stadiums accomodated kosher fans, Jeff's started in July 2015 and the 2016 is their first full season (closed for Sabbath observance Friday eve and Saturday).


Jeff Rohatiner brings Pico kosher franks to ballpark
Rather than situating it in a central location, Jeff's Gourmet Kosher has been relegated to a barely marked booth behind the scoreboard in Right Field. Fans sitting in the upper decks have to travel down guarded stair levels (and back) just to procure a kosher frank in between innings.

But, the word has gotten out that not only does Jeff's offer only kosher franks and sausages, they are a better meal than Dodger Dogs. Not only do they have brown mustard for their custom buns, they serve sauerkraut- and they'll even grill peppers and onions to top your wurst.

What affect has Jeff's had on Dodger fans- both Jew and Gentile? Listen to Jewish actor Josh Malina ("The West Wing," "Sports Night") and father, Robert, relate how the Dodgers' kosher offering has enhanced their MLB game experience- among others' as well.



The well-kept secret is that the kosher stand offers the best franks in the park.  Look for Jeff's Gourmet Kosher Sausages in the Pavilion-area behind the Right-Field bullpen at Dodger Stadium- or on 8930 W. Pico Blvd, west of Robertson Blvd. The Dodgers hold their annual, Jewish Community Day on Sunday Aug 28, 2016.

Long-awaited, Jeff's Gourmet Sausages lets kosher fans feel respected; Gentiles elated by quality, value

Dodger fan, Rabbi Zvi Block, finally enjoys game like others
With its decades-long legacy playing in the Jewish-deli capital of America, the former Brooklyn Dodgers never brought the tradition of kosher hot dogs to Elysian Park. This left many kosher-observant, night-game attendees empty-stomached. With Sandy Koufax back as a pitching consultant, and centerfielder, Joc Pederson on the roster, did new President & CEO, Stan Kasten, finally bring the momentum to add the club to the list of Major League Baseball stadiums offering kosher food at the ballgame?

Despite the city's large number of Jewish emigrants from the Northeast, L.A.'s Dodger Stadium hasn't offered much for those with a taste for a traditional-deli frank. The staple, Farmer John "Dodger Dog" contains "traif"- pork. While some stands sell a more expensive "All-Beef" variety, brown-mustard has become rare to find- and no sauerkraut at all- the only vegetable condiments are minced, raw-onions and pickle relish.

How well does Americas 2nd most populous Jewish town accomodate kosher diners at the ball park? NYC-raised, sports radio host, Vic "the Brick" Jacobs (AM570) discusses the LA Dodgers players' dining idiosyncracies as we recognize Dodger Stadium finally accomodating kosher attendees through the glatt, Jeff's Gourmet Kosher Sausages stand in the Right Field pavilion.



After 35-years of importuning by civic-activists, like Stanley Treitel, Jeff's Gourmet Kosher Sausages of Pico Blvd managed to work-out a glatt-kosher concession arrangement with Dodger Stadium, to fill the void for kosher attendees. Long after a number of other cities stadiums accomodated kosher fans, Jeff's started in July 2015 and the 2016 is their first full season (closed for Sabbath observance Friday eve and Saturday).


Jeff Rohatiner brings Pico kosher franks to ballpark
Rather than situating it in a central location, Jeff's Gourmet Kosher has been relegated to a barely marked booth behind the scoreboard in Right Field. Fans sitting in the upper decks have to travel down guarded stair levels (and back) just to procure a kosher frank in between innings.

But, the word has gotten out that not only does Jeff's offer only kosher franks and sausages, they are a better meal than Dodger Dogs. Not only do they have brown mustard for their custom buns, they serve sauerkraut- and they'll even grill peppers and onions to top your wurst.

What affect has Jeff's had on Dodger fans- both Jew and Gentile? Listen to Jewish actor Josh Malina ("The West Wing," "Sports Night") and father, Robert, relate how the Dodgers' kosher offering has enhanced their MLB game experience- among others' as well.



The well-kept secret is that the kosher stand offers the best franks in the park.  Look for Jeff's Gourmet Kosher Sausages in the Pavilion-area behind the Right-Field bullpen at Dodger Stadium- or on 8930 W. Pico Blvd, west of Robertson Blvd. The Dodgers hold their annual, Jewish Community Day on Sunday Aug 28, 2016.

At 14th Festival of Lights, L.A.-based Stand With Us shows global organizational reach

More than 1,200 people gathered on the last night of Hanukkah for the StandWithUs' annual gala, "Festival of Lights," celebrating the non-profit Israel education organization's fourteen years of growth and achievements.   The event was held at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, on December 13, 2015.

StandWithUs (SWU) was founded in 2001 by Roz and Jerry Rothstein and community leader Esther Renzer as an international organization that educates peoples of all ages and faiths about Israel.  The organization now has multiple chapters throughout the U.S. and including Israel, Canada and the U.K.

SWU honored two philanthropists who have dedicated their lives to supporting Israel:  Leo David and David Wiener.  David is a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to America after World War II ended, and Leo moved to Israel from Germany where he joined the Israeli army prior to moving to New York.  Both men warned of the danger Israel is facing as a result of the propaganda war promoted by the boycott movement,  primarily on campuses.  They commended SWU for educating people of all ages around the world, particularly to high school and college students.
Honorees
(Left to Right): Honorees Leo David and David Wiener hold the Menorahs bestowed to them at 
"Festival of Lights" Credit: Jonah Light Photography

Similar to previous years, the gala was underwritten by Ellie and Bruce Lederman and Debbie and Naty Saidoff.  As a result, all the funds will go directly into programming for 2016.  

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(left to right):  Roz Rothstein, CEO, StandWithUs; gala co-chairs Naty and Debbie Saidoff; honoree Leo David; honoree David Wiener; keynote speaker Malcolm Hoenlein; gala co-chairs Ellie and Bruce Lederman; Esther Renzer, President, SWU and Jerry Rothstein, COO, SWU and emcee Elon Gold


Bruce Lederman, co-host of "Festival of Lights" introduced keynote speaker Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman/CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Organizations.  Malcolm wove Hanukkah themes into the present day challenges, noting that the archeological find of coins from Hasmonean (Maccabean) period is God's way of reminding Jews of their past and the promise of the future.  The triumph of the Maccabees is an example of the ingathering of exiles to Israel, similar to the ones from Iran, Syria,and Ethiopia, among others.  He praised SWU for standing with Israel and remarked that those who have stood with Israel survived throughout history and those who didn't, are forgotten.

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Keynote speaker Malcolm Hoenlein. Credit: Jonah Light Photography

Two United States Congressmen - a Republican and Democrat - were honored with the StandWithUs "Guardian of Israel" award  - Ed Royce (R-39th district) and Juan Vargas (D-51st district) for their courage in voting against the Iran nuclear deal and continuing to approve aid to Israel.. Introduced by SWU President Esther Renzer as true guardians of Democratic values and of the American-Israel relationship, she also acknowledged CA State Assemblyman Travis Allen who recently introduced a critical bill in the California state assembly which would prohibit the state from doing business with any entity that would boycott Israel.  The bill will  deal a blow to the Boycott movement.

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(Left to right): Roz Rothstein, Marie Royce; Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA); Congressman Juan Vargas (D-CA); Malcolm Hoenlein; Esther Renzer; Jerry Rothstein and emcee Elon Gold. Credit: Jonah Light Photography
StandWithUs has a high school internship program entering its fourth year and the Emerson Fellowship for college students in its ninth year.  Two students were honored with the "Star of David" award for being role models in educating their peers about Israel and fighting anti-Israel rhetoric at their schools.  Olivia Feldman, attends LA County High School for the Arts.  She recalled that her passion for Israel began while on a trip there.  When she returned, she realized that her peers were extremely critical of Israel even though they didn't have much information.   Unsure as to how to express her support, Olivia credits the StandWithUs high school Internship for giving her the tools and the courage to express that "loving Israel goes hand-in-hand with  my values."

Tomer Kornfeld, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the SWU New York Campus Liaison, asked the audience how they would feel if they walked onto their campus and met by a "die-in" where students are laying on the ground, pretending to be shot by  Israeli soldiers.  A graduate of the first Teen Internship program and an Emerson Fellow, Tomer credited SWU for giving him the  knowledge to properly respond to these kinds of actions, emphasizing that, "none of this would be possible without SWU."

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(Left to right):  Tomer Kornfeld, Malcolm Hoenlein and Olivia Feldman 
Credit: Jonah Light Photography

Robert French, co-founder and co-chair of StandWithUs-New York delivered an impassioned speech stressing the importance of SWU's work in clearing misconceptions and fighting the lies against Israel.  
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Robert French, co-founder and co-chair SWU-NY adresses the audience. 
Credit: Jonah Light Photography

Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO StandWithUs expressed that, "we do this work for our children and our grandchildren."  As a child of Holocaust survivors who lost many family members, she urged that we must take an active role, reminding the audience that Israeli's defend Israel with their children and the very least we can do is to defend Israel with words and deeds.  

Los Angeles Israel Consul General David Siegel opened the evening.  He stated that these are perilous times for Israel, but SWU is central in the fight. He commended the Israel education organization for having the foresight to recognize the need 14 years ago, when it began reaching out to high school and college students, building a giant platform that empowers them to clarify Israel's challenges and achievements.  Siegel expressed that while "we work for Israel, we are confident that SWU is there."

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(Left to Right) - Naty Saidoff, SWU-"Festival Of Lights" co-chair; honoree Leo David; Israel's Consul General to Los Angeles David Siegel at the Menorah lighting. Credit - Orly Halevy

Comedian Elon Gold emceed the event, and once again, anti-Boycott rapper Ari Lesser closed the evening with a rousing performance.  The national anthems were sung by Rabbi Cantor Alison Wissot (American) and SWU Board member Alon Miller (Israeli.)  The David Kates Orchestra provided the music.
 
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Anti-BDS rapper Ari Lesser. Credit: Jonah Light Photography

The event was followed by a Young Professionals after-party attended by hundreds and sponsored by Barak Raviv and Joel Mowbray.
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SWU staff enjoy the Young Professionals After-Party.  Credit: Jonah Light Photography

Celebrate Israel Festival unites Zionistic Americans and Israelis to rejoice with Zionist pride

Celebrate Israel Festival is held in America's 2nd most populous Jewish city, Los Angeles, annually. Enjoy some video clips from JooTube's coverage at last year's Festival.

Art among Jews, Jews among art: Contemporary gallery in mixed, trendy / orthodox part of Hollywood reaches out through L.A. Jewish Chamber of Commerce

Jews in Art: Contemporary, Moskowitz Gallery hosts L.A. Jewish Chamber of Commerce in Orthodox, La Brea area of Hollywood

Adam Moskowitz, curator of Moskowitz Gallery in orthodox part of L.A.'s Hollywood district, gives candid interview about the Jewish role in the contemporary art scene- and contemporary art in Jewish culture.



Gallery partner, Brooke Gerson discusses her ambitions establishing the Moskowitz Gallery in the mixed fashionable and Orthodox, La Brea neighborhood of Los Angeles. 



L.A. Jewish Chamber of Commerce president, Jeff Gurman and Executive Director, David Nemetz brought the group to the contemporary-art, Moskowitz Gallery for their October meeting. Mr. Gurman discusses the mission and benefits of affiliation with their group.



"The Hebrew Hillbilly," musical about the life of a bluesy, Dolly Parton-esque entertainer, offers broad appeal

The Hebrew Hillbilly, written and performed by singer songwriter Shelley Fisher, is a musical one woman play which chronicles Ms. Fisher’s Hollywood odyssey that begins in the heart of the Mississippi Delta in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Blues and Bar-b-cue. Growing up Jewish in the deep South with a flamboyant mother who frowned on her dating the local redneck boys, the Hebrew Hillbilly begins singing as a little girl and never stops.


From her early years as a blonde bombshell, through her current incarnation as The Memphis Belle of L.A., Ms Fisher has been on a show business rollercoaster that slows down just long enough for her audience to climb on board this deeply personal, yet universally appealing and hilarious ride. The production is directed by Rory Mitchell and produced by Debra Ehrhardt, with 14 songs written by Shelley Fisher, Ken Hirsch (musical director and keyboard accompanist), and Harold Payne. 

 JooTube visited the Santa Monica Playhouse where The Hebrew Hillbilly debuted its fall-run, for weekends through November 3rd. We spoke with Cantor Linda Rich, Johany Locayo, Shelley and composer Ken Hirsch, and Shelley's daughter, Melissa, whose life is referenced in the show.

Ballpark (kosher) franks: Dodgers explore it to draw more, devout fans

How is the kosher baseball fan's experience different at a ballpark which doesn't offer food to purchase?  Both Yankee Stadium and the Mets CitiField in New York regularly offer kosher food, as do the Toronto Blue Jays' Rogers Centre.  Oughtn't dietary-law observant fans in America's second largest Jewish community (attending Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium and Angels Stadium) - be offered kosher hot dogs at 2 1/2-hour evening game?  

Though the L.A. Dodgers tout the legacy of the greatest Dodger All-Star to show they're "Jewish friendly," the owners of the formerly Brooklyn Dodgers offer no kosher food at the stadium. Jeff's Gourmet Kosher Sausages seeks to help change that, so on Jewish Community Night on June 27th the Dodger organization let Jeff's bring a stand and hundreds of kosher hot dogs, gourmet sausages, and the conspicuously lacking from the Stadium condiment- sauerkraut!




JooTube went into the Dodger's Dugout Club to reveal displayed awards - ranging from the 1955 World Champion Brooklyn Dodgers' prize bat- to Sandy Koufax's MVP glove and plaque. But when will the Dodgers accomodate fans to genuine, hot kosher dogs- both gentile and Jew?

Danny Kosberg, manager of Jeff's Gourmet Kosher Sausages, speaks with JooTube from their one-time experiment on a hot, June evening at the ballpark. Write to the Dodger organization with your wishes about them making kosher available.



The decline of the deli? Junior's forced to cease operations after 53-years

Like The Stage Deli in Manhattan, landlords seeking higher rents have forced the closure of one of L.A.'s premiere Jewish delicatessens, Junior's Deli.  JooTube takes you on a walkthrough with co-owner, David Saul, on the night of their final dinners.


Over 1,000 diners crowd the 53-year old establishment upon its closing, with several sharing their perspectives on the Jewish deli and its role in their lives.

Prof. Alan Dershowitz & 1st Israeli Paralympics gold-medaller, Noam Gershony, address Zionist advocacy group StandWithUs



Elon Gold performed master-of-ceremonies services for the L.A.-based, Zionist advocacy organization, Stand With Us', Festival of Lights fundraising dinner 12/2/12. The 11-year old group primarily serves Zionist-advocacy assistance on academic campuses. 
Prof. Alan Dershowitz delivered remarks about Israel's problems from the White House and the United Nations. 

The attendees were also addressed by Israel's first, gold-medal winning paralympian, wheelchair tennis athlete (downed helicopter pilot) Noam Gershony (who bested his American opponent to win the finals). From the Israeli Consulate, Consul General David Siegel, Carolyn ben Natan, and Danny Gadot attended. The 11th anniversary brought together a number of early L.A. Zionist activists, including Gary Ratner (now an executive at StandWithUs), Scott Jacobs, editor of JewTube.Info, and Allyson Rowen Taylor (like Ratner, formerly with the AJC, today an interior designer, artist, and painter).  Philanthropic families- Ellie and Bruce Lederman and Debbie and Naty Saidoff contributed to hosting the event. 

Prof. Alan Dershowitz's keynote speech before 1100 attendees, touched on Hamas, Gaza, apartheid, Iran, and the Obama White House. 

Pro-Israel Americans from coast-to-coast congregate at AIPAC Policy Conference

Rabbi Ed Feinstein addresses Los Angeles' Temple Valley Beth Shalom delegation attending AIPAC Policy Conference in 2012.

Southern Californians constitute the largest contingent which flies in to attend the annual Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.