San Diego Jewish World

Saturday Evening, May 19, 2007    

Vol. 1, Number 19
 

Letter from Jerusalem


_________________By Ira Sharkansky____________

Reoccupying Gaza is not worth the price

JERUSALEM—We have been here before. An extended period of Israeli restraint ended when Palestinian violence became intolerable. A rain of crude missiles on Sderot caused injuries, property damage, and a great deal of anxiety.

Residents of Sderot have been living for years under the constant threat of sirens, running for cover, and then an explosion. Their nerves are exhausted. They are screaming for the government to do something.

Gaza is in extremis, with chaos on the streets, and rooms full of newspeople huddled together on the floor, each with a cellphone to his (or her) ear, afraid of bullets and kidnappers should they venture outside.

Hamas seems to have the upper hand, but it is not all that clear. The basic warfare is between families and neighborhood gangs, some of which are now aligned with Fatah or Hamas. It is another demonstration that Golda Meier was right: Palestine does not exist. Family, clan, and local loyalties are more important than national identity. With the increased salience of Islam, religious fervor is tying many people to Hamas, but others to movements they consider more purely Islamic than Hamas. Once people are listening to a spiritual voice, there is no limit to how far they may travel.

Whoever was firing the crude rockets employed an element of Middle Eastern logic: by causing enough mayhem among the Jews, and bringing the IDF to kill Palestinians, they may stop Palestinians from killing one another.

There is another bit of Middle East logic: Gazans are urging an Israeli invasion that will stop the chaos. At least for now, they would rather be governed by Jews than by other Palestinians.

We have our own Middle East logic: there are some invitations we should not accept.

IDF attack helicopters are at work, guided to targets by blimps and unmanned aircraft that provide constant cover, each with their cameras (night and day) directed by young men and women in Israel. There is also low tech spying by Palestinians on Palestinians for the sake of Israeli cash and other goodies. This is how we know in which room or in which car we can find targets.

Mahmoud Abbas, the impotent president of Palestine, is staying out of Gaza while he calls on Hamas to accept another cease fire. He cancelled one trip when his people discovered Hamas planning to ambush his motorcade. Now he is calling Condoleezza Rice and others, demanding that American and European governments stop the killing by Israelis. Another idea is to invite international peacekeepers into Gaza. To protect who from whom?

So far we have the endorsement of the White House and the State Department. "Israel has a right to defend itself, and has shown considerable restraint until now." That will last until one of the smart missiles makes a mistake and kills too many women, children, or old men.

Deaths from Israeli airstrikes are starting to compete with the numbers of Palestinians killed by Palestinians. Those of us who remember Vietnam know that body counts do not produce victory. Quality is more important than quantity. When our helicopters manage to pick off enough of the key people, or when they tire of living in the cellars, the next element in the scenario will come into play: a Palestinian declaration of cease fire. It will not cover all who make, carry, and fire the crude missiles, but with pressure from the outside it may produce another period of Israeli restraint. That will last until the next time Palestinian violence becomes intolerable.

Sharkansky is a professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University of Jerusalem

(return to top)

The Iraq Debate
Feingold tells reasons for urging Iraq pullout
Editor's Note—This is the second article in our continuing coverage of the positions that prominent members of the Jewish community are taking in the debate over Iraq.  Yesterday we ran the text of a speech by Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) on why the U.S. should stay the course in Iraq.  This is a speech that Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis) delivered May 16 on the Senate floor advancing reasons for withdrawal of U.S. forces.

By Sen. Russell Feingold

Mr. President, as we speak, more than 150,000 brave American troops are in the middle of a violent civil war in Iraq, with more troops on the way. Meanwhile, the President has repeatedly made it clear that nothing – not the wishes of the American people, not the advice of military and foreign policy experts, not the concerns of members of both parties -- will discourage him from pursuing a war that has no end in sight.

Congress cannot wait for the President to change course – we must change the course ourselves. Iraq’s problems will not be solved by an open-ended, massive U.S. military engagement. And our own national security will be weakened until we bring this war to a close.

That is why, Mr. President, I am pleased to join the Majority Leader and Senators Dodd, Whitehouse, Sanders, Leahy, Kerry, Kennedy, Boxer, Harkin, and Wyden in introducing an amendment to bring this war to a close. Our amendment, which is the same as the Feingold-Reid bill, would require the President to begin safely redeploying US troops from Iraq within 120 days of enactment, and would require redeployment to be completed by March 31, 2008. At that point, with our troops safely out of Iraq, funding for the war would be ended, with three specific and limited exceptions: protecting U.S. infrastructure and personnel; training and equipping Iraqi security forces; and, perhaps most important, conducting “targeted operations, limited in duration and scope, against members of al Qaeda and other international terrorist organizations.” By enacting Feingold-Reid, we can finally focus on what should be our top national security priority -- defeating al Qaeda.

Defeating al Qaeda means recognizing that the U.S. presence in Iraq is being used as a recruiting tool for terrorist organizations from around the world. The longer we stay in Iraq, the longer that country will continue to be what the recently declassified National Intelligence Estimate called a “cause celebre” for a new generation of terrorists.

Defeating al Qaeda also means recognizing that it is not a one-country franchise, Mr. President. While we have been distracted in Iraq, terrorist networks have developed new capabilities and found new sources of support throughout the world. By redeploying our troops from Iraq, we can refocus on creating a more effective, comprehensive strategy to defeat these networks.

Consider how our efforts in Afghanistan, the country where the 9/11 attacks were plotted, have been short-changed by the Administration’s myopic focus on Iraq. Afghanistan has been put on the back-burner, and if we don’t strengthen our efforts to defeat the Taliban and to help create long-term stability in Afghanistan and the region, Afghanistan will remain what it was on 9/11 – a haven for those that seek to harm our country, and a bastion of instability with dire consequences for our national security.

Somalia is another instance in which the U.S. government response has been insufficient. Last fall, Mr. President, it became publicly known that the Administration had, for quite some time, been narrowly focusing on targeting terrorists in Somalia instead of taking a holistic approach to dealing with that country’s fragility and grave weaknesses. The situation on the ground continues to be unstable and tense, and the administration’s initial response – or lack thereof – suggests they were too focused elsewhere to properly address how failed states, terrorist safe havens, instability, and regional conflict can interlock to create chaos and lawlessness.

Mr. President, we can no longer ignore the rest of the world to focus solely on Iraq. We need a strategy for a post-redeployment Iraq and the region that allows us to refocus our global fight against al-Qaeda. Contrary to what the Administration has implied, al Qaeda is not abandoning its efforts to fight us globally so that it can fight us in Iraq.

As we redeploy from Iraq, and afterwards, we should continue to provide assistance to the Iraqi government and people. We should work with the Iraqi government, and key players in the region, to find a legitimate political solution that is inclusive and sustainable. We must not abandon the country and allow it to become another failed state, like Afghanistan in the 1990s or Somalia. If we do, al Qaeda will exploit it to its advantage.

But we cannot – we must not – allow this war to continue. It is time to end the war, Mr. President, and the way to do that is by ending funding for the war. That’s what the Feingold-Reid amendment does.

Some have suggested that cutting off funds for the war could mean cutting off funds for the troops. They would have people believe that, under my approach, our brave troops will be left to fend for themselves in Iraq, without training, equipment or resources.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Using our power of the purse to end our involvement in the war would in no way endanger our brave servicemembers. By setting a date after which funding for the war will be terminated -- as this amendment proposes -- Congress can ensure that our troops are safely redeployed without harming our troops

For those who don’t believe this can be done, let me cite an example from not too long ago. In October 1993, Congress enacted an amendment sponsored by the senior Senator from West Virginia cutting off funding for military operations in Somalia effective March 31, 1994, with limited exceptions. 76 Senators voted for that amendment. Many of them are still in this body, including Senators Levin, Cochran, Domenici, Hutchison, Lugar, McConnell, Specter, Stevens and Warner. Did those Senators jeopardize the safety and security of U.S. troops in Somalia? By cutting off funds for a military mission, were they indifferent to the well-being of our brave men and women in uniform?

Of course not, Mr. President. All of these members recognized that Congress had the power and the responsibility to bring our military operations in Somalia to a close, by establishing a date after which funds would be terminated.

That same day, several Senators supported an even stronger effort to end funding for Somalia operations. The amendment offered by Senator McCain would have simply eliminated funding to keep U.S. troops in Somalia. Funds would only have been provided to withdraw U.S. troops. I was one of 38 Senators who opposed a measure to table the McCain amendment. I can assure my colleagues that none of those 38 Senators was indifferent to the safety of our troops. We knew that the McCain amendment was an appropriate, safe, responsible way to use our power of the purse to bring an ill-conceived military mission to a close without in any way harming our troops. As Senator Hatch said at the time, “The McCain amendment provides the President with the flexibility needed to bring our forces home with honor and without endangering the safety of American troops.”

Mr. President, the same is true today of the Feingold-Reid amendment.

While Feingold-Reid is not the only amendment we are considering, it is the only amendment that would bring this war to a close. I regret to say that the Levin-Reid amendment accomplishes very little, once the President gets through certifying and waiving whatever he needs to certify and waive to keep his policies in place.

Levin-Reid would ensure that Congress receives more reports on Iraqi progress in meeting benchmarks. Mr. President, we don’t need reports to tell us that the President’s policy isn’t working. And we don’t need reports to show us that our continued military presence in Iraq is a mistake, one that the American people overwhelmingly oppose. It’s long past time for benchmarks, let alone benchmarks that aren’t tied to meaningful consequences. Feingold-Reid will move us toward ending the war. Levin-Reid will move us backward.

As long as the President's Iraq policy goes unchecked, our courageous troops will continue to put their lives on the line unnecessarily, our constituents will continue to pour billions of their dollars into this war, our military readiness will continue to erode, and our ability to confront and defeat al Qaeda will be jeopardized. I urge my colleagues to support Feingold-Reid and oppose Levin-Reid.

(return to top)                                           

 

Your specialist in cruises and tours           Upcoming 2007 San Diego  sailings: May 27-December 29: Carnival: Elation: multiple 4-and 5-day sailings, round trip to Mexico. Sept 23-Dec 30: Princess Cruises: Dawn Princess: 7-day round trip to Mexico Sept. 28: Celebrity Cruises: Summit: 14-day Hawaii Sept. 29: Holland America: Oosterdam, 7-day Mexico.

Jews in the News          
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Like you, we're pleased when members of our community are praiseworthy, and are disappointed when they are blameworthy. Whether it's good news or bad news, we'll try to keep track of what's being said in general media about our fellow Jews. Our news spotters are Dan Brin in Los Angeles, Donald H. Harrison in San Diego, and you. Wherever you are,  if you see a story of interest, please send a summary and link to us at sdheritage@cox.net.  To see a source story click on the link within the respective paragraph.
_______________________________________________________________________

*Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal shared his ideas with the House Judiciary Committee on ways to lower gasoline prices.  Meanwhile, a senator from his state, Joseph Lieberman, commented "You can try to make the oil companies be fair with their pricing, but the real solution is more long-range, more comprehensive."  David Lightman has the story in today's Hartford Courant.

*A bill by state Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) that would take some of the glamour out of Alan Bersin’s job as chairman of the San Diego Regional Airport Authority was approved by the state Senate on a 30-7 vote.  The measure would eliminate $172,000 in annual salaries for board members, and cap them instead at $900 per month per official. A story by Steve Schmidt is in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune.

*White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten has been in some tough negotiating sessions with the congressional leadership over provisions of a military funding bill for Iraq.  The story by Shailagh Murray of The Washington Post is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. 

*Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is famous for saying as little as possible on the bench.  Since October 2004, when transcripts began identifying justices by name, he has spoken only 284 words.  In comparison, Justice Stephen Breyer has spoken 35,000 words just since January. The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Economist and author Paul Erdman, whose book The Swiss Account, has been credited with helping the World Jewish Congress investigation into Nazi accounts stolen from Jewish victims, has died at 74.  An Associated Press obituary ran in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has introduced legislation that would bar the Veterans Administration from commercially developing its medical center complex in West Los Angeles.  U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) previously introduced similar legislation in the House. The story by Martha Groves is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders says the city will investigate what went wrong, not who to blame, in the city failing to act immediately to stop construction of a 180-foot high building owned by Aaron Feldman that the FAA believed would interfere with aviation at Montgomery Field. The story by Jennifer Vigil is in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) and Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss have been successful in their campaign to persuade CalTrans to clear brush along the freeways before the state enters its summer brush fire season.  Steve Hymon has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Tension is on the rise at the University of California Irvine where an anti-Israel exhibit sponsored by Muslim students was the backdrop for an incident last Monday in which a Muslim student said he was followed and nudged by an unmarked car driven by an FBI agent.  The local FBI office said it was investigating. The story by H.G. Reza is in today's Los Angeles Times  

*Chess master Gary Kasparov and other demonstrators were prevented by Russian authorities from boarding a plane in Moscow for Samara, where a meeting between Russia and the European Union is being held.  The Associated Press story is in the briefs section of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Bernard Kouchner, son of a Jewish father and Protestant mother, has been appointed France's Foreign Minister by President Nicholas Sarkozy, prompting members of Kouchner's Socialist party to call for his expulsion for working in the Conservative's government. The story by Molly Moore of The Washington Post is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Risa Levitt Kohn, curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit coming soon to the San Diego Natural History Museum, was a source for a preview story about the exhibit by Religion and Ethics Writer Sandi Dolbee in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Matthew Levitt, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Yale University Press are being sued by Dr. Laila Al-Mayarati for suggesting in the book, Hamas: Politics, Charity and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, that  the charity she heads, KinderUSA, is linked to terrorism.  Greg Krikorian has the story in today's Los Angeles Times,

*Psychologist Robert Reiff, 93, a former president of the community psychology division of the American Psychological Association, has died in San Marcos.  The obituary by Michael Kinsman ran in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The gentrification of the Venice section of Los Angeles is driving out the artists who once gave the area a seedy fame.  Many people don't want to lose the artists, and Steve Soboroff, president of Playa Vista, has been exploring whether there is a way to create an artists quarter. Martha Groves has the story in today's Los Angeles Times.

*U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) says architects of the compromise legislation on immigration are still open to suggestions on how the bill can be strengthened so that it does not appear to be a blanket grant of amnesty for undocumented aliens.  The story by Nicole Gaouette is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*A three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth District Circuit Court has backed actress Elizabeth Taylor in a suit brought against her by members of the Orkin family, who said a Vincent Van Gogh painting Taylor purchased rightly belonged to them as descendants of a woman from the Nazis stoles the painting.  The Reuters story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has dropped his efforts to put the Los Angeles City School Board under his direct control.  With him at a news conference were two School Board members who had opposed his efforts, Board President Marlene Canter and Board Member Julie Korenstein.  The story is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Now that Paul Wolfowitz has agreed to resign as president of the World Bank, a debate is shaping up whether the United States should continue to have the right to name the president of that institution, with Europe naming the president of the International Monetary Fund.  Peter S. Goodman and Mary Jordan of The Washington Post have the story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
(return to top)
__________________________________________
The Jewish Grapevine                                                    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AUTHOR, AUTHOR!—Hilda Pierce has brought out her autobiography, Hilda, on the iUniverse label.  It tells of her life as a refugee from Hitler's Europe and as an artist.  She had several speaking engagements lined up before arranging to speak during the Jewish Book Festival this coming November at the Lawrence Family JCC, Jacobs Family Campus.  So as not to detract from that appearance, she now is not scheduling any other speakingappearances until after the festival.  This is something of a relief to her husband, Herman Slutzky, who notes that instead of making money when she talks about her book, Pierce donates proceeds from the sales to whatever nonprofit organization happens to be hosting her.  So if anyone wants to hear her before November, there are only a few chances: on May 31 at the Bookstar at 8650 Genesee Ave; on June 9 at Rancho La Puerto in Tecate, Mexico, and on Sept. 24 at the Athenaeum at 1008 Wall Street in La Jolla.  San Diego Jewish World editor Don Harrison assisted in the editing process.|

(return to top)

                  Above advertisement courtesy of Lucy Goldman, who urges everyone to come
 

I
 

A Jewish Story Everywhere

Three newspapers serve Ocean Hills Country Club

By Donald H. Harrison

Editor's Note: The slogan of the San Diego Jewish World is "there's a Jewish story everywhere" and from time to time, we'll have stories from places far and near to demonstrate the thesis. We welcome reader contributions about interesting places with Jewish stories that you've run across.

OCEANSIDE, Calif—The Oceanside Hills Country Club has 1,633 residences, mostly detached two-story houses, for seniors. It also has a golf course, tennis courts, a large clubhouse with gym and meeting places for hobby and crafts enthusiasts, gardens, a nice walking path, and, surprise, not one, not two, but three newsletters.

My father-in-law, Sam Zeiden, who lives in this complex, showed the newsletters to me the other day. The original is the Ocean Hills Country Club Newsletter, published by the Ocean Hills Country Club Homeowners Association. 
Next oldest is The Village Voice, published by the Journalism Club. The youngest (at least to date) is The Ocean Hills Observer, published by the Ocean Hills Community News Club. 

The Village Voice trumpets below its masthead that it offers "responsible reporting...fair and friendly," whereas the Observer says it provides "balanced, neutral reporting and constructive exchange." 

How many Jews live in Ocean Hills Country Club is not known exactly because census forms avoid the question of religion.  Nevertheless, reading through the three newspapers, one does gather that there is indeed a sizeable Jewish presence. 

The official Newsletter lists activities of the various clubs formed by residents, and I noted that in the May issue one of them that seemed to be doing quite well was the Yiddish Club.  The article said the clubhouse would be the venue for the club's June 10 spring luncheon at which "our sumptuous meal includes chopped liver, five varieties of deli meats, bread and salads and dessert and beverage for the low price of $16 for members and $20 for guests." Evidently anticipating a rush, the article added: "Tickets will go on sale on April 23 at 5:30 p.m."  Bruno Leone, a pianist and raconteur, will provide the entertainment.

In July, the article went on to say, the club will sponsor a bus trip to Los Angeles for a visit to the Skirball Museum and a lunch at the Farmer's Market.  Cost for the excursion was pegged at $74 per person.

Reading closer, I noticed that the name of the room where the Spring luncheon would be held is Abravanel Hall, the benefactor for whom it was named evidently a member of the Sephardic family that was prominent in Spain before the Expulsion of 1492 and that continues to exercise leadership in places around the world.

In another part of the paper, a report from the Founders Duplicate Bridge Club began: "Our Passover and Easter get-together turned out to be  delightful affair. The ice cream cake was beautifully decorated and simply delicious."  I found myself wondering what kind of flour was in the cake. A few pages later, OHSPA, which I took to mean Ocean Hills Society for the Performing Arts" reported in its column about a March 25 appearance in which Marvin Hamlisch "thrilled the audience by playing his own compositions, as well as his favorites by other composers."

I turned next to the The Village Voice and found a biblical reference in a letter from L. Meneley:  "In our Rose Garden, behind the Billiards Room, there is the most splendid rose I have ever seen, climbing on the arbor seat, named Joseph's Coat.  If you are feeling the least bid sad, go look at this splendiferous explosion of color and I guarantee your heart will feel elated..."

I could not help but wonder, though, if the other roses were jealous, and perhaps were secretly plotting to throw that show-off Joseph down into some pit.

Further back in the May issue of The Village Voice was an article by Fran Obler reporting that the Rose Committee is headed by Ann Nussbaum and Sondra Johnson, "two outstanding and hardworking volunteers" who, along with other volunteers, have benefited from the advice of "professional rosarians." I smiled because I was once an active Rotarian.  I didn't know there also were rosarians.   Obler's article went on to report that "a contribution from the landscaping budget, the lovely wrought iron arbor is now covered with the multicolored blooms of 'Joseph's Coat.'"

Finally, I turned to The Ocean Hills Observer, which had on its cover a photograph by Joan Comito described as "detail from Carmel Garden," a name which conjured within me visions of Elijah besting the Prophets of Ba'al.  But there was a more modern-day Jewish angle as well.

Inside the edition, I found an article about a man whom I had covered from time to time in my own career as a reporter: Harry Weinberg, former San Diego County Superintendent of Schools.  A feature story by Gloria Mithers reported that Weinberg still is active in education, now teaching a course in school administration for master's candidates at Cal State San Marcos.

The writer also related that "Harry regards being invited with his wife to the White House to meet with President Clinton one of the highlights of his career. This was occasioned by Harry's recommendation of the teacher who was named Teacher of the Year."  The article said Weinberg and his wife, Roz, frequently work out in the Nautilus Room at the clubhouse and also like to swim laps.  "Surprisingly," the article ads, "the bespectacled and scholarly-looking, tall, slim Harry is a crackerjack poker player."

(return to top)