Up-To-The-Minute Jews-News

Ken Jeffries talks with Rabbi Erez Sherman (@RabbiESherman) of LA’s Sinai Temple…former LA Times sportswriter Steve Springer (@steveaspringer) who covered the Lakers for many years…and LA sportscaster Ted Sobel (@tedsobelsports). They analyze the NBA star’s online promotion of an anti-Semitic film…and how it should be dealt with. Springer and Sobel also look at the long history of Jewish involvement in the NBA and the groundbreaking association between Jewish Hall-of-Fame coach Red Auerbach and his Hall-of Fame African-American player, Bill Russell.

Ken Jeffries talks with Rabbi Abraham Cooper @CooperRabbi the Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action of the Simon Wiesenthal Center about the recent anti-Semitic comments made by the rapper (who now calls himself “Ye”) …and the ensuing fallout. Cooper also discusses the history of Black-Jewish alliances…the recent statements made regarding American Jews from former President Trump…the politicalization of the internet (especially with the midterm elections coming up)…and the Wiesenthal Center’s renewed request for an FBI task force to monitor online hate speech.

Suggested lede: Scully and Sandy: Through a Jewish Lens

Ken Jeffries talks with veteran Los Angeles Jewish sportscasters Ted Sobel @tedsobelsports and Randy Kerdoon @RandyKerdoon about their memories of the late Vin Scully and Jewish icon Sandy Koufax.

Ken Jeffries talks with Jeffrey Abrams, the agency’s Los Angeles Regional Director, (@jeffreyabrams) who says its annual audit shows the US had a 34 percent spike from 2020 to 2021…including a 29 percent increase in the LA area. Both are record highs. Abrams examines the causes of such hatred…what the ADL is doing about it…and he also has a warning about the future…including Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter.

April 15th is the 75th anniversary of Robinson’s breaking the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. It also comes during the first night of Passover for this year. Ken Jeffries talks with Occidental College Professor of Politics Peter Dreier (@PeterDreier)…who is also the co-author of several baseball books…on how various Jews (including the first Jewish baseball superstar Hank Greenberg…and believe-it or not Maury Povich’s father and Carly Simon’s mother) helped Robinson along the way…and how he and his wife Rachel developed an everlasting connection with the Jewish people.

Ken Jeffries talks with Robin Washington (@robinbirk)…the Editor-at Large of the Forward…and one of the founders of the Alliance of Black Jews and Rabbi Abraham Cooper (@CooperRabbi) the Associate Dean of LA’s Simon Wiesenthal Center and its Director of Global Social Action. They say she is not an anti-semite…but WAS wrong to say the Holocaust wasn’t about race. Washington also offers thoughts on the ADL, Louis Farrakhan and his own experiences growing up Black and Jewish and Rabbi Cooper says the Wiesenthal Center has an offer for ABC.

Ken Jeffries talks with Rabbi Erez Sherman (@RabbiESherman) of Sinai Temple in LA’s Westwood District…who says a nearby Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offered the use of its BASEBALL FIELD for Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur…so the temple could hold outdoor covid-safe services for children who can’t be vaccinated yet—and others who wish to attend. (Indoor and streaming services are still being offered). Rabbi Sherman talks about his gratitude toward the Church—and how he and his wife Nicole Guzik (who is also a Rabbi at the temple) plan to share the bim and sermons at the outdoor services.

Synagogues grapple with security, coronavirus and a big-9-11 anniversary…during the Days of Awe.

Ken Jeffries talks with Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (@CooperRabbi) which works with the LAPD in helping law enforcement provide synagogue security ….Rabbi Yossi Eilfort…the Director of the Beverly Hills-based security service Magen Am USA (magenamusa.org) and Melissa Balaban, the CEO of IKAR (ikar.org)…a Los Angeles synagogue which is tackling these issues head-on.

Ken Jeffries talks with Rabbi Abraham Cooper @CooperRabbi, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action of LA’s Simon Wiesenthal Center…which is working “hand in glove” with the LAPD on matters of security for shuls. He also discusses COVID protocols…and how they might affect synagogue services.

State Senator Henry Stern (D-Calabasas) whose “Never Again Education Act of 2021” is designed to give teachers and students the tools to learn about the Holocaust and other recent genocides by offering new teaching methods and enhanced resources…and according to Stern…to remedy a recent rise in anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and other acts of hatred. Ken Jeffries reports.