The coronavirus pandemic, which has shut down or slowed down so many aspects of Jewish life, may have sped up another: synagogue mergers. In one of the biggest consolidations of recent years, University Synagogue, a Reform congregation with declining membership in the West Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood, struck a deal this month with Wilshire…
Sharon Gillerman, scholar of German Jewish history, who wrote with exceptional depth, originality, and insight about the Jewish family, and the social, cultural and gender history of Jews in Europe and the United States, passed away Friday morning, Nov. 20, in Santa Monica, CA. She was 60. She held the Kutz Chair in Jewish History…
In late September, six months into a global pandemic that had devastated his city, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti prayed. It was Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, and things were a mess. On his watch, more than 250,000 people in L.A. County had tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. More than 6,000 had…
I grew up in the aftermath of the Holocaust. My fifth grade Talmud teacher had a tattoo from Auschwitz on his forearm. During the month of April, which commemorates the Holocaust, the lunchroom had photos from the ghettos and concentration camps hung on the walls. As a teenager, I visited the death camps and saw…
Southern California’s Iranian Jewish community has been in mourning following the violent stabbing death of an Iranian Jewish businessman on Nov. 3 at his jewelry business in downtown Los Angeles. According to a brief report from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office, 62-year-old Eshagh Natanzadeh of Beverly Hills died after receiving multiple sharp force injuries…
We lived on the 6th floor. Cecilia Chiang lived on the 11th, the penthouse. It was a 1960’s building that looked like it belonged in Miami Beach, not at the top of a hill in Pacific Heights across the street from Lafayette Park in San Francisco. But it made sense that Mrs. Chiang lived there…
Beverly Hills is afraid. Very afraid. Two weeks ahead of what may prove the most contentious election in American history, rumors and fears of mass civil unrest are swirling through Beverly Hills’ lavish neighborhoods, leaving residents feeling spooked and uneasy. “If I buy a gun, can I get training from the police department?” a male…
Rick Jacobs, a top political aide to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced he will be taking a leave from his nonprofit and political engagements after a second person came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against him. “For the past 17 years, I have dedicated myself to advocacy and public service. I do not want…
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