African Island's Lost Jewish Heritage

Morocco King Funds Spruce-Up of Cape Verde Cemetery

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Strange Companions: Sephardic rabbi and a Moroccan diplomat rededicate Jewish graves in the African island of Cape Verde, where many Portuguese Jews once lived.

Published May 14, 2013.

Praia, Cape Verde A Portuguese rabbi and a Moroccan diplomat stood shoulder to shoulder in a Catholic cemetery here while 200 mourners howled in grief as they buried a resident of this island off the western coast of Africa.

The foreigners had come to Cape Verdes main cemetery earlier this month not to bury a local, but for the rededication of 10 gravestones of Moroccan Jews members of an extinct community whose roots trace to the 1860s.

With virtually no practicing Jews on Cape Verde today, the cemeteries had fallen into neglect. Now a Washington-based nonprofit is spearheading their restoration.

The Cape Verde Jewish Heritage Project has a board stuffed with prominent Jewish Washingtonians, but its funding comes almost entirely from one man King Mohammed VI of Morocco. According to the groups U.S. tax filings, the king was the organizations sole donor in 2011 and 2012, giving $100,000 each year.

Andre Azoulay, a senior Jewish adviser to the king and a member of the projects advisory board, told JTA that the effort is reflective of the kings deep commitment to preserving Jewish heritage in Morocco and elsewhere. But even if, as some speculate, it is motivated by a desire to attract tourists and curry favor with American Jews, the kings drive clearly sets Morocco apart from other Middle Eastern countries where Jewish sites have faced increasing threats under new Islamist governments.

This is all part of a strong push from His Majesty the King that started three, four years ago, when we saw cemeteries have become vulnerable because of lacking care by all of us, Azoulay told JTA.

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African Island's Lost Jewish Heritage

Calendar: Museums in the San Fernando Valley and greater L.A. area

New and Upcoming Autry National Center: Opening: Jews in the Los Angeles Mosaic,” May 10-Jan. 5. Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Closed Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission $10; $6 seniors age 60 and over and students; $4 for 3-12. 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles. 323-667-2000. theautry.org

California African American Museum: Saturday: “The King Center Imaging Project,” includes correspondence, sermons and speeches on display, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (free). New: “Things That Cannot Be Seen Any Other Way – The Art of Manuel Mendive,” through Oct. 20. Closing: “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” through Sunday. Ongoing: “African American Military Portraits from the American Civil War,” through May 26. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. 600 State Drive in Exposition Park, Los Angeles. 213-744-7432. caamuseum.org

Los Angeles County Museum of Art: Ongoing: “Ming Masterpieces from the Shanghai Museum,” through June 2. “Ends and Exits — Contemporary Art from the Collections of LACMA and the Broad Art Foundation,” through Aug. 4. Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Tuesday; closed Wednesday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Admission $15; $10 seniors 62 and older and students 18 and over with ID; free for 17 and

Japanese American National Museum: Opening: “Portraiture Now — Asian American Portraits of Encounter,” Saturday through Sept. 22. Ongoing: “Visible & Invisible: A Hapa Japanese American History,” through Aug. 25. Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, Friday-Sunday; noon-8 p.m. Thursday. Closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission $9; $5 seniors 62 and older and students 6-17. 369 E. First St., Los Angeles. 213-625-0414. janm.org

Leonis Adobe Museum: Saturday: “Murder Mystery Dinner” and silent auction, 6:30 p.m. ($60, purchase online or at the museum today). Hours: 1-4 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and Sunday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Closed July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Admission $4; $3 seniors; $1 children under 12. 23537 Calabasas Road, Calabasas. 818-222-6511. leonisadobemuseum.org

Fowler Museum at UCLA: Zhena Folk Chorus, 3 p.m. Sunday. Ongoing: “Resplendent Dress from Southeastern Europe – A History in Layers,” through July 14. “Spomenik: Photographs of the Monuments of Former Yugoslavia by Jan Kempenaers,” through Aug. 11. Hours: noon-5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday; noon-8 p.m. Thursday. Parking $10 in Lot 4. Free admission. North Campus, enter from Sunset Boulevard at Westwood Plaza, turn left into pay-by-space area of the lot. 310-825-4361. fowler.ucla.edu

Museum of Flying: New: “Now Boarding: Fentress Airports + The Architecture of Flight,” through Aug. 25. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. Closed On May 18 for a private event. Admission $10; $8 seniors and students; $6 ages 6-12. 3100 Airport Ave., Santa Monica. 310-398-2500. museumofflying.com

Antelope Valley Indian Museum: Hours: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Admission $3; free for children 12 and under. 15701 E. Avenue M, Lancaster. 661-946-3055. avim.parks.ca.gov

Aquarium of the Pacific: Hours: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily except closed on Christmas and Long Beach Grand Prix. Admission $25.95 ages 12 and over; $22.95 seniors 62 and over; $14.95 ages 3-11. 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach. 562-590-3100. aquariumofpacific.org

Ararat-Eskijian Museum: Hours: 1-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; 1-3 p.m. first Tuesday of the month. 15105 Mission Hills Road, Mission Hills. 818-838-4862. ararat-eskijian-museum@netzero.net

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Calendar: Museums in the San Fernando Valley and greater L.A. area

Union Bank, KCETLink Honor Los Angeles Asian Pacific Americans as Local Heroes

Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) May 03, 2013

As part of its ongoing commitment to cultural diversity and responsible banking, and in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Union Bank, N.A. has partnered with KCETLink to honor two inspiring Asian Pacific Americans as part of the Local Heroes program. The program recognizes and pays tribute to exemplary leaders who are making a difference and enriching the lives of others by improving their profession, community, region and the world. The 2013 Asian Pacific American Heritage Month honorees are: Mdm. Sosei Shizuye Matsumoto and Nobuko Miyamoto.

Earlier this year, honorees were identified during Black History Month (February) and Womens History Month (March) and will also be identified for Jewish American Heritage Month (May); Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month (June); and Hispanic Heritage Month (September/October). The year-long program will culminate in October 2013, when the honorees will be formally recognized as part of the 16th annual Local Heroes Awards, which Union Bank sponsors. Since 1998, KCETLink and Union Bank have collaborated on the Local Heroes initiative and honored more than 150 outstanding community leaders.

It is an honor to be a part of this nearly 20-year tradition of recognizing these individuals who have contributed so much to their communities, said Union Bank Senior Executive Vice President Pierre P. Habis, head of Community Banking. We are honored to share this long-term partnership with KCETLink, as we recognize the accomplishments of many more local heroes.

KCETLink is pleased to partner with Union Bank as we pay tribute to these two inspiring local heroes, said KCETLink Chief Executive Officer Al Jerome. They have made unique and valuable contributions to Los Angeles, and we are happy to introduce them to our viewers through the video profiles airing on KCET throughout Asian Pacific American Heritage Month as we also acknowledge the many achievements of the Asian Pacific American community.

The 2013 honorees for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month are:

Japanese Chado Tea Ceremony Master Mdm. Sosei Shizuye Matsumoto is one of the most influential teachers in the United States. An accomplished master of chado, or the way of the tea, Mdm. Matsumoto introduced chado to American culture after World War II and has instructed more than 5,000 students. She has conducted chado ceremonies to countless diplomats and politicians, including President Harry S. Truman, Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida and 3,000 other participants during the signing of the Treaty of Peace with Japan in 1951. Her ceremonies have been featured in films and on television. In 1989, Mdm. Matsumoto received the title Meiyo Shihan, or Honored Master, from her instructor Soshitsu Sen., the highest teaching certificate available for instructors. In 1990, she was the recipient of the Fifth Order of the Merit (The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Rays) from the Emperor of Japan, and in 1994, she was named a National Heritage Fellow from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Nobuko Miyamoto is artistic director and founder of Great Leap, a multicultural arts organization that uses art as performance and creative practice to deepen relations among diverse cultures and faiths. Founded in 1978, Great Leap initially served as a creative voice for the Asian American community, but after the Los Angeles Riots in 1992, the organization embraced Los Angeles other diverse cultural communities. Ms. Miyamotos experience in the performing arts spans more than 50 years. As a dancer, choreographer, actor and composer, she has performed on Broadway and in such films as The King and I and “West Side Story.” She discovered her voice as an activist and singer in the 1970s, co-creating the first album of Asian American songs, A Grain of Sand. As artistic director of Great Leap, she created scores for theater, dance and solo albums. Ms. Miyamoto has taught workshops at many universities, including UCLA and Columbia University Teachers College. In 2006, she received the California Arts Council Directors Award. In 2003, Ms. Miyamoto received the Ford Foundations Leadership for a Changing World Award.

Throughout the respective commemorative heritage months, KCET, the Southern and Central California public broadcast service of KCETLink, will air a video profile of each honoree, highlighting how they have made a difference in their community. The 2013 on-air profiles can be viewed on the Web at kcet.org/socal/ local_heroes. KCET showcases the rich, vibrant history and cultural diversity of our region with special programs during the respective heritage months and throughout the year. For more information about the Local Heroes program, or to nominate a 2014 local hero, please also visit unionbank.com/heroes.

About UnionBanCal Corporation & Union Bank, N.A. Headquartered in San Francisco, UnionBanCal Corporation is a financial holding company with assets of $97 billion at March 31, 2013. Its primary subsidiary, Union Bank, N.A., is a full-service commercial bank providing an array of financial services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, and major corporations. The bank operated 443 branches in California, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Illinois, and New York as well as two international offices, on March 31, 2013. UnionBanCal Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. Union Bank is a proud member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, one of the world’s largest financial organizations. Visit http://www.unionbank.com for more information.

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Union Bank, KCETLink Honor Los Angeles Asian Pacific Americans as Local Heroes

Group official, county commissioner help secure county grant

With expenses to cover and the start of a monthlong series of events just eight days away, the vice president of the Community Access Center in Miramar knew just where to turn for cash: Broward County taxpayers.

He brought a roster of backers to the County Commission, where they were able to brush off concerns raised by several commissioners and muscle through the last-minute spending request.

Their ace in the hole: Dale Holness, vice president of the community access center, is also one of Broward’s nine county commissioners.

Several commissioners voiced objections to the allocation, then proceeded to approve the $15,000 cash and another $1,700 in promotional services for events celebrating Haitian Cultural Heritage Month.

Commissioners Sue Gunzburger, Stacy Ritter and Lois Wexler said they were concerned about the precedent they’ve set by funding a program for one group. Many other groups have months May’s include Jewish-American Heritage and Asian-American and Pacific Island Heritage and the skeptics said it might be difficult to turn away the next one now that the spigot has been opened.

“I see this as a Pandora’s box,” Gunzburger said. “We have so many different communities in Broward County that would say: Why not me as well?”

Wexler said “there are many things I would like to celebrate in our community and put county money towards it. That’s a slippery slope I think we’re embarking on.”

Holness and Commissioner Barbara Sharief said they’d have no problem with that. “We should celebrate all cultures,” Holness said.

Holness publicly informed his colleagues he’s on the Community Access Center organization’s board, but it wasn’t mentioned in the printed documents supporting the request. He said in an interview that neither he nor any family members receive any financial benefit from the center.

But Holness, describing his central Broward district as the territory with “the greatest needs that exist,” pleaded with other commissioners for the aid. “We get all these cries and all these needs, and for me, a whole lot of it [becomes] where I access some support for this, to make a difference, to do something that is crying out for help out there.”

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Group official, county commissioner help secure county grant

Spotlight on entertainment — May is Jewish American Heritage Month

By Judie Jacobson

Celebrated in May, Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) is a national month of recognition of the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture acknowledging the achievements of Jewish Americans in fields ranging from sports and arts and entertainment to medicine, business, science, government and military service.

This year, JAHM is devoted to the theme entertainment. The history of American entertainment and the history of the Jewish people in the United States are inextricably intertwined. Immigrant Jewish entrepreneurs or their sons like Sam Goldwyn, Jack and Harry Warner, Louis B. Mayer were integral to the creation of Hollywood. Jews were once the heads simultaneously of the three major American television networks: William Paley at CBS, David Sarnoff at NBC and Leonard Goldenson at ABC.

Jews now comprise about two percent of the nations population. Yet, today about two-thirds of leading TV and movie producers are estimated to be Jewish, and thus the impact of Jews upon the nations popular culture has been immeasurable.

The list of names of Jews in entertainment is too vast to include here. A few examples of Jews who have provided Broadway and Hollywood with some of their most enduring talent include playwrights like Arthur Miller and Wendy Wasserstein; directors like Jerome Robbins, Billy Wilder, Woody Allen and Steven Spielberg; composers like Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim; and performers like the Marx Brothers, Lenny Bruce, Dustin Hoffman, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart and Barbra Streisand.

With this issue, we begin a month-long look at some of those working in the field of entertainment who grew up and often began their love affair with the stage in Connecticuts Jewish communities.

Remy Zaken

Hometown: Weston

Remy Zakens professional acting career started at age nine when she landed the role of Annie in Annie Warbucks, the sequel to Annie, at the Polka Dot Playhouse in Bridgeport. That was soon followed by a national tour revival of E.L. Doctorows Ragtime, and a New York debut Off-Broadway at the Public Theater in the role of Rini in George C. Wolfes Radiant Baby, a play detailing the life of artist Keith Haring. Zaken is perhaps best known as one of the youngest cast members in the original Broadway production of Spring Awakening at the Eugene ONeill Theatre, playing the role of Thea from 2006 to 2008. She had the title role in Off-Broadways Freckleface Strawberry: The Musical, which ran from 2010 to 2012. A graduate of Columbia University with a BA in psychology, she appears in the upcoming short film Sing Along.

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Spotlight on entertainment — May is Jewish American Heritage Month

Curtain Up: New Haven explores the art of Jewish theater

By Cindy Mindell

WOODBRIDGE First there was Yiddish theater, and then the iconic English-language works: Fiddler on the Roof, The Diary of Anne Frank, anything by Neil Simon.

But what has happened to Jewish theater since the 70s? The Jewish Plays Project (JPP), the brainchild of Manhattan-based theater artist David Winitsky, is one way to find out.

Founded in 2011, the JPP is an incubator for new plays on Jewish themes and contemporary Jewish experience. The JPP is hosted by a JCC or synagogue that mounts a playwriting competition whose submissions are reviewed by a local committee and whittled down to three finalists. Those works are staged for an audience who votes on a favorite, and the winner gets a month-long performance residency and workshop inNew York.

Michael Bradley Cohen and Bill DeMerritt in Jim Shankmans A Jew from east Jesus at the JPPs NJ Jewish Playwriting Contest

Now the JPP is coming to New Haven, sponsored by JCC of Greater New Haven and produced by DeDe Jacobs-Kamisar, cultural arts manager and founder of the JCCs new Theaterworks division. Jacobs-Kamisar, who earned a Masters degree in theater management from the Yale School of Drama (YSD) last year, is joined in JPP by fellow YSD alumni and current students, including review committee members MJ Kaufman (13), Whitney Dibo (14), and Reuven Russell (87), and actors Bill Demeritt (12) and Adina Verson (12). The project is co-sponsored in New Haven by Michael and Jo-Ann Price and the JCC Cultural Arts Advisory Board, headed by playwright Doron Ben-Atar, who heads the Fordham University history department.

From January through March, each member of the JPP review committee read and ranked the 10 play submissions independently, then gathered to debate which selections would be the most appropriate, according to Ben-Atar.

Appropriate is not about taste, he says. We selected three very different pieces that represent three very different Jewish plays not in a traditional sense, not Jewish shtick or about a kind of coming back to religion or secularizing a Jewish theme. Rather, each has a dynamic fabulous story in its own right that unfolds in a surprising fashion.

Whats really wonderful about this project, in my mind, is that it changes the experience of going to theater, says Ben-Atar. As an audience, we are primarily passive: we applaud, laugh, or fall asleep. Theater has been sterilized to a great degree in the Western world; it used to be more interactive. By participating in the production and selection process, the JPP audience is empowered.

One of the most encouraging and yet depressing elements of the theater world is that there are multiple Jewish writers and authors who write interesting and wonderful things that never see the stage, says Ben-Atar. Thats part of the plight of many writers the stuff that gets performed very often is not the best stuff but rather, artistic directors choose works that had previous success or appeal to a broad audience. The Jewish Plays Project demonstrates that there are hundreds of people writing Jewish plays and many of them are excellent.

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Curtain Up: New Haven explores the art of Jewish theater

Obama busy signing proclamations

WASHINGTON, April 30 (UPI) — U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday declared May 1 a special day for Americans to think about loyalty to the nation and about its laws.

The president also signed proclamations declaring the month of May a special one for several other reasons: mental health awareness; physical fitness and sports; building safety; foster care; Jewish American heritage; Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders heritage; and older Americans.

Obama called Loyalty Day “an occasion that asks something of us as a people: to rediscover those ageless truths our founders held to be self-evident, and to renew them in our own time.”

Each generation, he said, included citizens who strengthened our democracy.

“These patriots and pioneers remind us that while our path to a more perfect union is unending, with hope and hard work, we can move forward together,” he wrote.

“Progress may come slow; the road may be long. But as loyal citizens of these United States, we have the power to set our country’s course.”

Law Day, he said, is a chance to remember we face the ongoing task of perfecting our laws to achieve equality for all.

“Opportunity remains painfully unequal for too many among us; justice too often goes undone,” he wrote. “Law Day is a chance to reaffirm the critical role our courts have always played in addressing those wrongs and aligning our nation with its first principles.”

He urged people to display the U.S. flag in support of the national observance.

When it comes to mental health awareness, Obama noted tens of millions of Americans live with illnesses such as depression, post-traumatic stress and bipolar disorder.

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Obama busy signing proclamations

Presidential Proclamation — Jewish American Heritage Month, 2013

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

April 30, 2013

JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 2013

– - – - – - –

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

In his second year in office, President George Washington wrote a letter to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island — one of our Nation’s first Jewish houses of worship — and reaffirmed our country’s commitment to religious freedom. He noted that the Government of the United States would give “to bigotry no sanction [and] to persecution no assistance,” and that all Americans are entitled to “liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.” Those words ring as true today as they did then, and they speak to a principle as old as America itself: that no matter who you are, where you come from, or what faith you practice, all of us have an equal share in America’s promise.

It was such a belief that drew generations of Jewish immigrants to our shores. It is what brought Jewish families westward when pogroms and persecution cast a shadow over Europe in the last century. It is what led Holocaust survivors and Jews trapped behind the Iron Curtain to rebuild their lives across the Atlantic. And with every group that arrived here, the Jewish American community grew stronger. Our Nation grew stronger. Jewish immigrants from all over the world wove new threads into our cultural fabric with rich traditions and indomitable faith, and their descendants pioneered incredible advances in science and the arts. Teachings from the Torah lit the way toward a more perfect Union, from women’s rights to workers’ rights to the end of segregation.

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Presidential Proclamation — Jewish American Heritage Month, 2013

Logic Behind Obama News Conference Hard To Fathom

President Obama answers questions during his news conference at the White House on Tuesday.

The president also issued a statement on the investiture of the new king of the Netherlands.

While small and routine, these moves were all easy to understand, as were the accompanying proclamations from the White House press shop.

What was not clear was the executive thinking behind the 45-minute news conference the president had held in the morning.

Announced shortly after 8:30 a.m. and slated for 10:15, this was to be the first such media availability in two months and just the third this year. A mood of expectation arose in the briefing room, especially as the start time slipped to 10:30 and then 10:45.

It felt as though something newsworthy must be happening. But as it turned out, not so much.

The president had no announcement to make not even an opening statement. Instead, he plunged right into the queries, nearly all of them posed in a challenging tone. What about Syria, the Boston Marathon bombing, Mexico, the Republicans in Congress and the challenge of administering Obamacare?

The president wound his way through the session, wrapped it up and then returned to respond to a shouted question about Jason Collins, the NBA player who announced Monday that he is gay.

As usual, the president was mostly calm and explicative. But what stood out were the moments when he seemed at a loss to deal with the ongoing frustrations of dealing with Congress.

Again and again, the president seemed to be saying: “OK, that didn’t work out so well, but I tried to do what needed to be done and the Republicans wouldn’t let me.”

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Logic Behind Obama News Conference Hard To Fathom

Obama cites liberties, Israel in heritage month declaration

April 30, 2013

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Obama cited the Jewish striving for freedom and the U.S.-Israel bond in his Jewish American Heritage Month declaration.

“Jewish immigrants from all over the world wove newthreads into our cultural fabric with rich traditions andindomitable faith, and their descendants pioneered incredibleadvances in science and the arts,” Obama said Tuesday in declaring May as Jewish American Heritage Month. “Teachings from the Torah litthe way toward a more perfect Union, from women’s rights toworkers’ rights to the end of segregation.”

Among other Jewish American contributions, Obama listed “scientists and teachers, public servants and private citizens, wise leadersand loving parents.”

He said Americans could see Jewish “accomplishments in every neighborhood, and we see them abroad in our unbreakable bondwith Israel that Jewish Americans helped forge.”

Congress legislated Jewish American Heritage Month in 2006 and Obama was the first president, in 2010, to mark it with a celebration.

This year there will be no White House fete because of budget cuts.

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Obama cites liberties, Israel in heritage month declaration

Celebrating Entertainment Milestones During Jewish American History Month

May is Jewish American Heritage Month, a time in our country when we recognize and celebrate the unique contributions that Jewish Americans have made to our history. We do so to raise awareness and dispel harmful prejudices.

Like Black History Month and Womens History Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, or JAHM, recognizes the notable contributions American Jews have made to the United States throughout its history. This year, we are celebrating the contributions Jewish entertainers have made to American culture.

For generations, Jewish entertainers have made us laugh and moved us to tears through their creative work. Theyve also taught us important life lessons, making us think about the messages within the entertainment. Theyve helped audiences ponder some of lifes toughest issues bigotry and tolerance, perseverance and determination, honesty and forgiveness.

As an audience, we often recognize the entertainers but sometimes lose sight of the people behind the scenes the directors, producers, writers and composers whose vision is what these entertainers bring to life. For generations, Jewish Americans words and music have leapt from the page to the stage, bringing us into the worlds of generations past, into the traditions of other cultures and into the living rooms of families beyond our own.

Leonard Bernstein showed us how vulnerable life can be when prejudice and hatred prevail over love. In West Side Story, Bernstein brought Romeo and Juliet in to modern times, showing us through song that we can respect each other even if we come from different backgrounds or nationalities.

Steven Spielberg brought us closer to the horrors of the Holocaust when he introduced us to a man named Oskar Schindler. In his film Schindlers List, Spielberg brought a relatively unknown Oskar Schindler to life for the generations who followed him, showing us how the compassion of an ordinary man could triumph over prejudice. Spielberg once said the best way to teach empathy is with examples of it, so that maybe someday, kindness will be a natural reflex and not just a random act.

Nora Ephron made a name for herself first as a journalist and then as an award-winning screen writer, leaving us iconic movies such as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. She also made us laugh with her books full of humorous insights and observations about the world around us.

In Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory producer David Wolper took us on a journey of imagination while teaching us and our children a valuable lesson about greed and honesty. He showed us how the greatest rewards can sometimes come from the simplest acts.

How can we forget Norman Lears iconic sitcom, All In The Family? Each week, Americans were given a front row seat on Archie Bunkers couch. Norman Lear used humor to show us how prejudice and bigotry can live right next door. However, as the times changed, so did Archie.

And our society changed right along with him. And now, Steven Levitan brings us Modern Family a new look at how our society has evolved throughout the generations, bringing blended-families and nontraditional families to primetime network television.

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Celebrating Entertainment Milestones During Jewish American History Month

Skirball Debuts Gary Baseman Art Exhibit Tonight

Posted Thursday, April 25 12:13 PM

By Laura Coleman

The Skirball Cultural Center launches the four-month-long exhibit Gary Baseman: The Door Is Always tonight with an open house party intended to evoke the whimsical life of Los Angeles-native contemporary artist Gary Baseman.

The exhibit, which runs through Aug. 18, underscores the influence of Basemans Jewish upbringing and American popular culture on his career.

We are thrilled to mount this first major exhibition on Gary Baseman, a true L.A. original, Skirball Museum Director Robert Kirschner said. At the Skirball, we have been especially inspired by Basemans lifelong exploration of his Jewish heritage and the profound effect this has had on his exuberant, boundary-defying art.

To kick off Basemans first major museum survey, which includes the presentation of contemporary illustrations, fabrications and paintings in a novel gallery setting that evokes the UCLA graduates childhood home, Basemen will create spontaneous new artwork while street artist Shepard Fairey helms the turntables.

For more information, visit www.skirball.org.

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Skirball Debuts Gary Baseman Art Exhibit Tonight