TribeFest continues

As day two of TribeFest comes to a close, one speaker who left a lasting impression comes to mind.

Twenty-seven year old Hadas Malada-Matsree, an Ethiopian-born medical officer in the Israeli Air Force, told her inspiring story of making aliyah with her family with Operation Moses in 1988.

Malada-Matsree was four years old when her father woke her and her five siblings to tell them they'd be embarking on a journey to the Holy Land.

“We walked for six weeks, hiding from soldiers and robbers during the day and moving only at night time."

She said when they encountered a group of Sudanese soldiers in the distance, they tried to hide and stay quiet, but one of the babies began to cry and the mother couldn’t soothe him.

The soldiers discovered them, questioned their motives, and asked if they were Jews on their way to Israel, but her father insisted that they were simply trying to escape the hunger in Ethiopia.

"The soldiers didn’t believe his story and sent him and his six children to a Sudanese Refugee camp."

The men and women were separated, with the men being forced into labour. Her father was sent to prison, charged for co-perating with the Mossad.

"Life in the refugee camp was difficult and everyday was a struggle for survival."

She said many died from hunger and disease. Malada Matsree herself contracted Malaria, measles and a skin disease that caused her to lose all her body hair.

Ten months after being held in the camps, her father was released from prison, and shortly after that, her family was rescued by and American-Israeli operation and brought to Israel.

Upon their arrival in Israel, Malada-Matsree was immediately sent to a hospital in Be’er Sheva to be treated for her illnesses. She stayed at the hospital for six months. It was during her six-month stay at the hospital that she was inspired by the medical staff to follow in their footsteps.

Today, Malada-Matsree is an Israeli, a wife, mother, doctor, volunteer and role model to other Israeli minorities who dare to dream big.

"I understood very fast that many children in my community look up to me as a role model. Understanding that, I started to lecture in elementary schools and high schools with a high concentration of Ethiopian students, sharing with them my personal story and giving them a quick view into the world of medicine."

She said the same children, who, before hearing her speak, said they didn’t have a dream, tell her “they now believe they can achieve higher education and they dare to dream farther.”

She now has ambitions to study pediatric medicine and hopes to continue inspiring members of her community to achieve more.

TribeFest 2012

The Jewish Federations of North America’s second annual TribeFest, held in Las Vegas, welcomed more than 1,400 young Jews from 81 communities around the world to celebrate Jewish culture.

Opening the three-day event at the Venetian hotel, was Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch and A.J. Jacobs, bestselling author of A Year of Living Biblically – a book that chronicled his attempt to take every one of the commandments and mitzvot literally and incorporate them into his everyday life. Jacobs pre-empted his address with a disclaimer about the role that Judaism plays in his life.

In trying to emphasize how secular his upbringing was, Jacobs said, “I’m Jewish in the same way that the Olive Garden is Italian… Shockingly, until recently, I thought the Haftorah was literally 50 per cent of the Torah.”

Speaking about his experience writing his most widely-received book, he said it was difficult to follow each and every commandment and law in the Torah as literally as possible.

As a New York-based journalist, it was hard not to covet, gossip and lie. Then there were laws about stoning adulterers.

“That was a challenge,” he said.

Although he went back to his modern way of life one he wrote the book, his project did lead him connect with his Judaism for the first time in his life.

He said for his twin boys, he began to observe the Jewish holidays and he plans on providing his kids with a Jewish education so that they can make a decision for themselves if they want their Judaism to be a part of their lives.

Looking for a good reason to be more observant and connected to the Jewish community?

“Religious people tend to live longer than non-religious people," he said.
"Maybe God likes them better and wants to punish all the evil people. But scientists say it’s because being part of a community and having that kind of support is so meaningful.”

When Dratch took to the stage, she too said that although she attended Hebrew school and was bat-mitzvahed, “it all went down hill from there.

“Being Jewish may be in my consciousness but it’s not in my regular routine,” said Dratch, pictured above, signing her book titled, Girl Walks into a Bar . . .: Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle.

She said her popular SNL character Debbie Downer wasn’t necessarily Jewish, “but I don’t think I could have come up with her if I wasn’t Jewish. Bringing up what could go wrong in any situation is a Jewish thing.”

She said that having had a child with a non-Jewish man made her think about what she would want to pass onto her son and realized that instilling a Jewish identity in her child couldn’t be a passive endeavour.

But then she thought about trying to explain Jewish customs to someone unfamiliar with our traditions and how crazy it could sound.

During Pesach, “we open the door so Elijah the Prophet can come in and we leave a cup of wine for him. I might as well say, ‘Oh, we wait for a ghost to come in so we can drink with him.’

“What about the 10 plagues? That could be a problem... I started thinking about how weird it would be if he’s at this dinner party and in unison we start saying, ‘Vermin! Boils! Slaying of the first born!’

She then laid into Chanukah gelt, the barely edible chocolate coins.
“Is there some ancient law that decrees there has to be just one per cent real chocolate? The stuff doesn’t even melt. And if you don’t eat that shit for three days, it turns white! We’ve got scientists, physicists - there’s got to someone out there who can up the chocolate quality level of the Chanukah gelt.”

Ending on a more serious note, Dratch spoke about why it’s important for her to stay connected to her Jewish roots.

“Like many Jews today I do feel connected culturally more than religiously, but I do yearn for Judaism to inform my daily life more. Maybe that’s why I’m here to find out how modern American Jews use Judaism to guide them.

“It’s important for me to keep my connection to the Tribe. We have a shared common experience. I know if you’re Jewish, you’re probably focused on education, you’re probably funny, and you’re probably sensitive to the suffering in the world around you. For me, that’s what it means to be Jewish.

“I may not know what Lag Ba’omer is... but I know when I’m around other Jews, I feel at home.”

Rogen and Streisand to team-up on screen

Vancouver-born funnyman Seth Rogen, 29, is teaming up with movie and music industry legend Barbra Streisand, 69, who will play his mother in, The Guilt Trip, due out in November. Directed by Anne Fletcher of The Proposal and scripted by Dan Fogelman who also wrote Crazy Stupid Love and Cars, the movie has a noteworthy cast along for the ride.

The Guilt Trip co-stars include Yvonne Strahovski, who just ended a five-season run on NBC's Chuck and will play Rogen's on-screen love interest. Colin Hanks and Kathy Najimy are also set to appear in the film.

The story, based on Fogelman's own experience, follows Rogen as an inventor who invites his mother on a cross-country road trip to sell his latest invention and reunite her with a lost love. In an interview, Rogen was quoted as saying that Streisand "really was into being a comedy team. She really embraced the idea that it was a buddy comedy between mother and son."

Innocents struck down in Toulouse France

History shows that it sometimes takes a terrible event to effect societal change.

This reality was made evident by the horrific murder Monday in Toulouse, France, of Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, and his two sons, Aryeh, 6, and Gavriel, 3, along with Miriam Monsonego, 8, the daughter of their school’s principal.

Born in Paris in 1981, Rabbi Sandler 31, studied at the Ozar Hatorah school as a child and had recently returned from Israel to teach in Toulouse for two years, with his wife and their three children, intending to pass on all he had learned living in the Holy Land. His wife and four-year-old daughter were not involved in the tragedy.

In a statement, the Chief Rabbi of Toulouse, Avraham Weill, praised Sandler for his tireless commitment to his students and their education. Friends also spoke of Rabbi Sandler's warm, friendly and generous character

The French Jewish community has seen its share of tragedy over the past 30 years, with attacks on synagogues, businesses and community members increasing in number since a Friday-evening bungled assault by Arab terrorists on a Paris synagogue in 1980 killing four peopl and injuring 46.

Of late, the community has witnessed attacks ranging from simple vandalism and graffiti to this murderous attack at the Ozar Hatorah school. What is the cause of all this? Some French academics are speculating that part of the answer lies in the country's rapidly expanding Muslim population (which numbers in the millions), comprising mostly immigrants from North and West Africa. The difficulty these newcomers have faced integrating into French society has produced a youth culture frustrated with their underclass conditions, fuelling anti-Semitic attitudes and actions.

The victims of Monday's point-blank shootings were laid to rest Wednesday at the Har HaMenuchot cemetery in the Givat Shaul neighborhood of Jerusalem. Accompanying the bodies to the Israeli cemetery was French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé, who made the following statement at the funeral: "France will do everything to ensure nothing like this unbelievable tragedy ever happens again. France will not tolerate terror."

These are the kinds of words that often ring out after catastrophes such as the Holocaust, 9-11 and acts of racism and violence that give the world such pause, finally forcing decisive measures to be taken to curb such disregard for the lives of the innocent.

The music of Carlebach unites us all in song

When I think of two Jewish musicians whose melodies have permeated the synagogue services I've attended, Debbie Friedman and Shlomo Carlebach come to mind.

Lisa Alcalay Klug recently reported in JTA that Carlebach's tunes are being used in ever greater numbers of minyans and celebratory gatherings in shuls around the world. Since his passing in 1994 his eldest daughter, Neshama, has toured extensively spreading her father's unique style and sound, popularizing it for countless other bands, she reported. Bands like Moshav and Soulfarm have infused their lyrics with Carlebach's music for his international fan base.

If you happen to be a fan of Carlebach's have yet to experience a service in Toronto that showcases Carlebach, I urge you to 'come as you are' to The Annex Shul's weekly Shabbat service which begins every Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the spiritual room of the Wolfond Centre at 36 Harbord Street, in midtown just south of Bloor Street.

UJA uses "The Force" for good

Here's a nifty ad for UJA Federation of Greater Toronto's upcoming Walk With Israel on May 31.

The Force is strong with this ad. I wonder if George Lucas will be there.





OK, it may not be the funniest thing out there, but it's kind of well executed narratively speaking. Visually however, this thing's a mess.

Upon watching it several times, I noticed that the location of Mr. Vader's office seems to be in a grocery store. However, the opening sequence has him walking out of a building elevator, presumably heading to his apartment to register for the event.

Then bam! He's working the cash at the store making calls to his peeps from there. Weird location shots. Where's the continuity?

Anyway, the point is the Walk With Israel. So, go. Enjoy.

Ivanka Trump's new fashion line now at The Bay

In today's world of consumer products, celebrity branding can be found on just about any item, from fashion tags and food to media and real estate. Add one more name to the celebrity commodity queue: entrepreneur and reality TV star Ivanka Trump.


Trump was in Toronto this week at The Bay's downtown flagship on Queen Street to launch her new line of handbags, clothing and footwear. Ivanka was on hand, signing autographs and meeting fans. She also traveled to Toronto last month to launch the new Trump International Hotel & Tower.






Trump converted to Judaism in 2009 after a lengthy courtship by then-fiancé Jared Kushner, and gave birth to their first child last summer. In addition to being a mom, wife and an entrepreneurial force like her father, Ivanka is also back at work as an adviser on her father's show, Celebrity Apprentice, Sunday nights on Global and NBC.

Shimon Peres now on Facebook

Seems Mark Zuckerberg and his staff have taken a shine to Israeli President Shimon Peres.

The Israeli political icon made a stop in California recently and got the royal treatment from the folks at Facebook. And to promote his calls for peace, they put together the following snappy vid, complete with a rapping Peres and Middle Eastern flavoured house beats and jams.



Shalom to all.

Natalie Portman ad stirs up Beirut bloggers

An ad campaign for top fashion design house Dior has landed Academy Award winner and Israeli-American actor Natalie Portman in trouble with Lebanese bloggers.

In a posting for The Juice, Soraya Roberts, reports that a 50-foot billboard displayed in Beirut has drawn criticism from local anti-Israel bloggers.

"Since each contact with an Israeli occupation in Lebanon is considered a crime, you do not think hanging a poster size of 15 meters with the Zionist Jerusalem is illegal?" one blogger wrote.

Though this is not Portman's first billboard in the city (her topless Miss Dior perfume ad reportedly went up in the city in June 2011), it is the first criticism aimed at the star.

Portman became the spokesperson for Dior two years ago after winning an Academy Award for her role as a disturbed ballet dancer in "Black Swan." She appears in two ads for the company: the aforementioned Miss Dior perfume ad and a Diorskin promo in which she reclines in a gauzy top.

In March 2011, the 30-year-old actress distanced herself from Dior designer John Galliano after he was recorded making anti-Semitic remarks.

"As an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way," she said at the time, although she had previously posed with Galiano on the red carpet.

As a teenager in 1997, Portman played the eponymous heroine of the holocaust in "The Diary of Anne Frank" onstage in New York; more recently, the actress starred in "Free Zone," the 2005 film about a Jewish-American woman who takes a journey to the Free Zone with a Jewish cab driver and a Palestinian woman.

Beloved for the many memorable roles she has stepped into on and off of the big screen, Natalie Portman should continue to hold her head high in the face of the negative blogger comments. The majority of people around the world respect how poised, professional and principled she continues to be.