Scene Around

You've Got To Be Kidding ...

Famous actor, SEAN PENN had a Jewish father, the son of emigrants from the Russian Empire. Sean's mom was not Jewish but he was raised in a secular home in Malibu, California.

Another surprise ...

Born in New York City, famous talk show host, stand up comic, political satirist and so much more, BILL MAHER's mom, Julie Berman Maher, was Jewish. Her parents were from Hungary.

Do you remember ...

Famous movie star, Lauren Bacall, was born back in 1924 and died in 2014. She was very famous in the golden age of Hollywood cinema. Her real name was Betty Joan Perske ... and yes, she was Jewish.

She was the widow of Humphrey Bogart and Jason Robards and the mother of their sons. STEPHEN BOGART and SAM ROBARDS.

Born in the Bronx, both Lauren's parents were Jewish. Her mom was born in Romania and her dad was born in New Jersey. Although Lauren was born in the Bronx, she grew up on Brooklyn's Ocean Parkway. (A Brooklynite like me!)

"Israel is the new excuse!"...

I read this in the current issue of the World Jewish Congress digest and pass it along to you:

According to WJC President, "Israel is the new excuse for the old anti-Semitism."

"Jews worldwide should launch a concerted effort against current manifestations of anti-Semitism, because the survival of Israel and the Jewish people is at stake, WJC President Ambassador RONALD S. LAUDER said in his recent address to the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism.

The Jerusalem event, held July 13-15 and organized by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is the premier biennial gathering for assessing the state of anti-Semitism globally and formulating effective forms of societal and governmental response.

The full test of Amb.Lauder's remarks follows:

"I want to thank the organization of this forum, and I am honored to be among some of the leading thinkers in the Jewish world today. Our topic is anti-Semitism.

That's a discussion we Jews have had for more than 2,000 years. We've thought about it, discussed it, fought against it, yet it never goes away.

What makes today's anti-Semitism different is that it comes from new sources, and part of the blame falls on our shoulders. For the first two decades after the Holocaust... when the world saw the photos of the gas chambers and the piles of bodies... no one in their right mind wanted to be associated with Nazis. In those days, Israel was the start-up nation that the world watched in wonder. It not only survived against all odds, it thrived! And it made Diaspora Jews so proud. We were one people, and we cared about each other.

But by the 1980s, Israel's enemies came up with a new tactic. They could not destroy Israel militarily. They could not destroy Israel economically. So they started a new form of destruction: they would destroy Israel politically. And Israel's enemies had some willing partners. The United Nations, universities and colleges, many in the international press and electronic media, and now, an even more powerful platform over the last 20 years...the internet. And these willing partners had tremendous influence, especially over our children and grandchildren.

Israel was cast as a colonialist apartheid state, and the Palestinians became the downtrodden, occupied people.

In a way, they became David, and now Israel is Goliath. Israel allowed its enemies to define it, and Israel did not respond.

At the same time, we in the Diaspora did not see this rising challenge, or we did not take it seriously. That was another mistake. So today, Israel has become the new excuse for the old anti-Semitism. And our enemies have free rein because there has been no commensurate response from Israel.

Twenty years ago, in a speech I gave in Jerusalem, I said that if Israel put the money for one F-16 fighter into hasbara, it could win this political war. But 20 years later, almost no money was put into hasbara, and the situation has grown worse.

Let me be straight with you: This 7th Global Forum on anti-Semitism will have the same results as the previous six... a lot of words with no results.

Todays fight against anti-Semitism is a war, no less consequential than the Six Day War or the Yom Kippur war. The survival of Israel and the Jewish people is at stake. We must be united as one people...in a war you can't be divided. That's a sure way to lose. We must put aside our petty differences. We must be one people.

As president of the World Jewish Congress, I have traveled to over 40 countries to meet with Jewish communities. All of them told me they felt that Israel had ignored them. But now, they are excited that a new government will change this direction. The Jewish communities throughout the Diaspora are excited and 100 percent behind Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in his leadership and his willingness to work together with the Jewish Diaspora.

They also told me how pleased they are that Minister Lapid is rebuilding the Foreign Ministry. I believe Minister Lapid will be a great foreign minister and I believe he should create a strong public relations and information division that will define the true Israel and not leave that up to our enemies.

The challenges Israel and all Jews face today are enormous. Yes, our enemies are strong, they come from the left now as well as the right. They are well-funded, and they have their very influential and willing partners. But Israel has survived challenges before. We must remember this.

This is very important since the world now sees the Palestinians as the downtrodden and occupied people the same way they once correctly saw the Jews oppressed by their neighbors.

They even were able to make Hamas look like the Haganah. This is because the real purpose of Hamas has never been correctly defined. One way to combat this is to create two states for two people. A prosperous Israel, alongside a prosperous Palestinian state.

Finally, a stunning news item came out today in the media. A new report shows that a quarter of American Jews believe that Israel is an apartheid state. And 9 percent believe that Israel has no right to exist. That's 9 percent of American Jews! My guess is that these are mostly young Jews. We could not have a clearer example of the influence of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish haters teaching in colleges over the past decades.

This is the new battlefield. Israel's new government must fight this now with all the power it has at its disposal, just as it fought its enemies on the plains of Sinai and the hills of the Golan. We in the Diaspora must help as well. Trust me on this. The stakes are just too high at this moment in our history to not do this. The Jews in the Diaspora are strongly behind the new government of Israel. We need this new government to be strongly behind the Diaspora."

(President Ambassador Lauder left none of his thoughts and feelings out. He might be very, very right!)

Winter Park Playhouse ...

I mentioned this in my last column and promised you the details. Here they are: From Nov. 12th to Dec. 18th (with previews on Nov.11-12), the show "Christmas My Way, A Sinatra Holiday Bash" will be presented.

Ring in the holidays with this fresh, swingin' musical! From classic Sinatra tunes to seasonal favorites Rat Pack style, this show is complete with 40 popular hits including "Fly me to the moon," That's Life", "New York, New York," and many more.

For further details, phone 407-645-0145.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando ...

The Author Series, featuring MARK OPPENHEIMER, Squirrel Hill, will take place on Nov. 7th Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at the JCC in Maitland.

A piercing portrait of the struggles and triumphs of a singular community in the wake of the unspeakable tragedy highlights the hopes, fears, and tensions all Americans must confront on the road to healing.

Mark Oppenheimer poignantly shifts the focus away from the criminal and his crime and instead presents the historic, spirited community at the center of this heartbreak. He speaks with residents and nonresidents, Jews and gentiles, survivors and witnesses, teenagers and seniors, activists and historians

Phone the JCC at 407-645-5933 for further details.

One for the road ...

Sam was eating in a Chinese restaurant in a Jewish section of New York. The food was delicious. The service surprisingly excellent. The waiters, however, were all Chinese, but speaking perfect Yiddish!

When he went up to the cash register to pay the check, Sam asked the owner, "Where did you find these Chinese waiters who speak perfect Yiddish?"

"Sh, Sh", the owner replied with his index finger to his lips. "They think it's English."