San Diego Jewish World, May 30, 2007

Blood donation centers may be new
in-spots for patriotic Israeli teens

MEVASSERRET ZION, Israel —Eighty-two percent of children in Israel report that their most common extra-curricular activity is hanging out in malls and shopping centers. This sad, if not astounding, figure was part of the report on Children in Israel, produced annually by The National Council for the Child, a non-governmental organization, for which I serve as development director.

Following the presentation of the report to Members of the Knesset, Shelly Yechimovich, chairperson of the Knesset Committee on the Rights of the Child, expressed her deep disappointment that so many children chose to spend so much time this way.

I agree. As an Israeli mother of two, I worry about what Israeli kids do, what they value, what they think about.

One of my reasons for coming to Israel almost 25 years ago, was that I saw a different quality of life here. As a young person, I hoped that my children's lives would not be subjected to the influences that I saw growing up in America – alcohol, drugs, extreme consumerism, and lack of interest in public affairs.

Well I can't say that it is completely different here. The Western activities, values and venues just took a little longer to arrive. The world is now so small that there are no secrets left undiscovered by Israeli kids.

It is sad but it is the way of today's world.

Then, a few months ago, I had an awakening.

My daughter's high school held a blood drive. I had not been aware of this annual event and decided to donate blood myself; a recent radio broadcast had notified the public of a shortage in the national blood bank.

Students assisting other students while donating blood at Harel High School in
Mevasseret-Zion, 2007. Photo by Elizabeth Levy

When I arrived, I was blown away by what I saw. I got shivers watching the kids in line, on the cots, resting after their donations. I was pleased to see young volunteers working with Magen David Adom to coordinate the event.

By the time it was my turn in line, the organizer was reporting the highest response ever with 113 donations to that point.

According to regulations, you can donate blood if you are over 17 years old and in suitably good health. This means that kids who are underweight, on specified medications or suffering from certain illnesses cannot take part.

Similarly, having had a tattoo or piercing (including ear piercing) or having visited certain foreign countries in the prior six months automatically disqualifies you. These prohibitions meant that many students couldn't take part. (My daughter included, as she just had her ear pierced!)

Yet I am sure that almost every eligible teenager in the school willingly and gladly took part. What I saw was patriotism at its best.

Just think about it. The lax school day offered to twelfth graders so they could take part might have convinced many to stay at home in bed. But they didn't.

Even those who looked a little "green" as they saw the pouches of blood and the needles got over their fears "for the cause".

Magen David Adom is responsible for supplying 100 percent of the blood requirements of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and 97 percent of the blood supply for the country. According to MDA, on average, every 7 seconds someone in Israel is in need of a blood infusion. In order to meet this huge need, MDA requires donations of over 280,000 units of blood annually. The newly initiated program of recruiting donors in schools around the country has been very successful at helping MDA reach its goal.

Maybe this happens around the world as well. I don't know.

What I do know is that I saw a huge bunch of caring high school kids who quietly made an important statement. They showed their concern for others, that they care about their country and that they are taking on their responsibilities actively and willingly.

Okay, so they go to the mall a lot. We can work on that. I'm still very proud of them.

Jews in the News
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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.
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*Pakistani businessman Abdul Rehman Jinnah, accused of funneling illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-California) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) collapsed in court during a hearing into the amount of bond he should post. The story by Greg Krikorian and Robin Fields is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Barak was the top-placing candidate for the leadership of the Labor party. He will face a runoff with retired admiral Ami Ayalon for the position from which Israel's Defense Minister Amir Peretz will depart. The story is in the World Briefs column in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Dr. Marc Eckstein, medical director for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said procedures are being tightened to assure that regulatory agencies receive reports on any instances of alleged or proven medical malfeasance on the part of paramedics. The story by Rich Connell and Robert J. Lopez is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Mario Feferbaum, president of the Foundation for the Memory of the Holocaust, said his Buenos Aires museum soon will exhibit the passport carried in Argentina by mass murderer Adolf Eichmann. The Associated Press story by Bill Cormier is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The California Assembly approved by a 44-29 vote legislation to require certain guns sold in the state to automatically stamp a serial number on bullet cartridges—a procedure which sponsor Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) said could provide a trail of evidence to a killer. The story by James P. Sweeney of the Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg read her dissent in a 5-4 decision in which the majority ruled that a woman who claimed to have suffered from wage discrimination hadn't filed her claim in a timely manner. Ginsburg, who received support from fellow Jewish justice Stephen Breyer, argued that the pattern of discrimination can be secretive making it impossible to gather sufficient facts to file a claim within the 180-day period. The story by Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. Another version of the story by David G. Savage is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Pulitzer Prize winning food critic Jonathan Gold doesn't make a tsimmis about it, but he says a key to success in his business is to be obsessed with quality. A story by Dan Laidman of the Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Jerry Gumpel, attorney for Baja Acquisitions, declined to comment to news media about his client's acquisition of the 46-acre Baja Studios near Rosarito Beach where the movie Titanic was made. Nevertheless, Diane Lindquist was able to piece together a story in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Judge Mandel Himelstein lowered from $1,000 to $660 the fines and fees that students will have to pay for holding a party in the mid-city area where the noise level was deemed excessive. The story by Sherry Saavedra is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-California), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said sanctions against Sudan, while welcome, could have saved many lives if they had been applied before. In the Darfur region, "the genocide continues without stop," Lantos said. The story by Michael Abramowitz and Colum Lynch of The Washington Post is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Lou Lupin, an attorney for San Diego-based Qualcomm, said it will challenge the verdict of a federal grand jury that the cell phone company infringed upon three patents owned by Broadcom. The jury awarded the latter company $19.6 million in damages. The story by Jeff St. Onge and Bill Callahan of Bloomberg News is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Brian Morgenstern, a Circuit City employee who saw the video that led to the arrest of suspects allegedly planning an attack on Fort Dix, said he hesitated before alerting federal authorities to his suspicions because he didn't want to violate anyone's right to privacy. The Associated Press story by Geoff Mulvihill is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner recommended that insurance companies charge employers 14.2 percent less on their premiums without adversely impacting coverage for employees. The story by Dean Calbreath is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Economist Robert J. Samuelson criticizes those politicians who on the one hand decry global warming and on the other fulminate against high gasoline prices. Among those he singles out is U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) His column is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Ben Silverman of Reveille Productions is expected to be named the new entertainment chief at the National Broadcasting Corporation. The Associated Press story is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. Another version by Meg James is in today's Los Angeles Times.

*Los Angeles Coroner Dr. Louis Pena, testifying in Phil Spector's murder trial, said actress Lana Clarkson did not kill herself. The story by Matt Krasnowski of the Copley News Service is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were to meet in an effort to curb the growing violence between the two countries. The story is in the World Briefs column in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Barbra Streisand has canceled her concert next month in Rome, citing production delays. The high prices at the concert ranging from $200 to $1,200 per ticket had prompted protests in Italy. The story is in the "Public Eye" column of today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Robert Zoellick, former chief trade negotiator, has been tapped by President George W. Bush to be president of the World Bank, replacing Paul Wolfowitz. The Associated Press story by Jeannine Aversa is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

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The Jewish Grapevine

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CYBER-REFERRALS—Bruce Kesler passes on a story from Spiegel International Online suggesting that German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was not a gentleman soldier far- removed from the Nazis and the Holocaust as many pictured him to be. Had his troops been successful in the Middle East, he would have extended German genocide to Palestine, even as it had been extended to Tunisia.... Hillel Mazansky forwarded to us a humorous piece by email concerning why God created children. We were not technically able to link to it, however we found the identical story on a Christian website and pass it on for your enjoyment. It is non-proselytizing....

ISRAEL CONNECTIONS—Students and staff at the Ibim-San Diego Student Village brag about the profusion of spring flowers in Ibim, located in the Sha'ar Hanegev region ofIsrael, which is a partnership region of the United Jewish Federation of San Diego. "At the same time you can smell the fragrant blossoms and hear the thousands of birds passing our way, over the northern Negev, rich in color and life," writes Soni Singer, director of the village. At the same time, the continual firing of Qassam rockets at Sha'ar Hanegev and nearby Sderot mean life at Ibim is not without its perils. Thanks to some unidentified U.S. donors, students had the opportunity recently to make a two-day visit to the Menashe Forest on the eastern slopes of the Carmel Range. A newsletter reported: "Threatening skies were forgotten for the moment, and an abundance of youthful energies were directed toward the unadulterated pursuit of fun."...

The Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles advises that an exhibition of two Israeli artists—Aisenstat and Mika Drimer—opens tomorrow (Thursday, May 31) at Jean Marc Gallery, 906 North La Cienega. More information may be obtained at (310) 659-2975. ... In conjunction with the major exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the San Diego Natural History Museum which will begin at the end of next month, the San Diego Automotive Museum thought it would exhibit something from Israel too. Beginning June 29, it will show a 1963 Sabra owned by Howard Singer of La Jolla and manufactured by Autocars LTD of Haifa. The 4-cylinder car has a Ford engine. The car's emblem, of course, was the prickly cactus from which Israelis take their nickname...

Mah? We need foods to represent Israel at an ethnic fair? What should we cook for visitors?

By Sandy Golden

SAN DIEGO—There was an interesting discussion at the House of Israel prior to last Sunday’s annual indoor/outdoor Ethnic Food Fair. What foods would be the best to serve given limited preparation facilities? What could be delectable and also provide visitors with some sense of Israeli and Jewish history?

The decision: Falafel sandwiches on pita bread, tehina, Israeli salads, kosher hot dogs, and potato latkes. Additionally, refreshing lemonade and iced coffee teamed up beautifully with the nine trays of chocolate brownies lovingly baked by HOI’s own Master Baker and Chef, Sylvia Arkin.

Arkin and many other volunteers worked hard all afternoon, to assure the success of this project, under the direction of HOI’s energetic President, Amnon Silberger.

The Ethnic Food Fair is presented annually by the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages in Balboa Park. It was founded by Titus Samys in 1980. Samys was the President of the House of Lithuania from 1980-1981.

It is one of the two times of the year that each international house is permitted to sell food. The only occasion it is permitted is when the individual House hosts a lawn program, reflecting its heritage and culture. It is a wonderful opportunity for all of the Houses to share their backgrounds with each other and with the multitudes of visitors who frequent the Park every year.

So, if you missed out this time, be sure you come when the HOI will be hosting its lawn program on Nov. 4. Look for more details in the San Diego Jewish World.