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Posted on 06/09/2002 6:46:16 AM PDT by gracie1
It was a wonderful way to spend a cool evening by the bluffs of the San Joaquin river. A local organization, The Middleeast Connection, held a rally in Woodward Park in Fresno, CA last night to show the community that what Israel fights against is the same extremism that our country is now facing. We were treated to a wide range of experts in middle eastern affairs and political and commentators who spoke about our common goals, enemies, culture and faith in God.
List of speakers:
Dr Bruce Thornton, California State University Fresno
Bill Manders, Author and Broadcaster KMJ Radio
Gen Shimon Erem IDF (ret)
George Otis, Voice of Hope Global Broadcasting
Dr Victor Davis Hanson CSUF Prof., Author and Farmer
Col John Somerville, USMC (ret)
Rabbi Frank Stern, Temple Beth Israel
Rabbi Josef Germaine Congregation Beth Jacob
Freepers in Attendance (that I noticed, if you were there, please let us know!)
Jim Robinson
Sheila Robinson
Chris Robinson
Saundra Duffy
Lager
Gracie1
One sour note though. Just like every family reunion has to be stirred up by the black sheep of the clan, we had to first walk thru a number of our weekly adversaries, the peace protesters. I think they were there to disrupt the assembly by trying to steal the show away from Isreal and focus on the Pali's. But the Fresno PD was called out and they were made to stay in the parking lot outside the campsite which was reserved for this rally. I think Lager has more info on the actual confrontation. Please Lager, tell us exactly what happened!
I can't post pictures, so if anyone there took any, please post them.
Victor Davis Hanson is a Classics scholar and sixth-generation grape farmer from Selma, California. The interesting combination of these two areas of expertise has produced major changes in the study of Greek society and how warfare and agriculture influenced it. The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece is an unrivaled study of the hoplite experience. Written in a style much like John Keegan's, Hanson vividly describes the sights and sounds of the classical battlefield. A number of Hanson's other works explore the many questions surrounding war and agriculture in ancient Greece: the season when battles were fought and why, whether or not vineyards and olive trees were actually "devastated" by invading armies, and if they were not, what Greek warfare really for.
A Man of Honor
Shimon Erem has spent more than 60 years supporting and fighting for Israel.
By Wendy J. Madnick
Shimon Erem, pictured above in a 1987 photo, will be honored at the Israeli Festival on April 21.
To say that Shimon Erem deserves to receive the Distinguished Community Service Award from the Council of Israeli Community (CIC) for his work on behalf of Israel seems, upon meeting him, like an understatement. This man has not just worked for but literally fought for, lobbied on behalf of and financially supported Israel for more than six decades. One would be hard-pressed to find such a devoted American-born Zionist.
The CIC will present the award at this year’s Israeli Festival on Sunday, April 21, in Encino. Also being honored are entertainer Pini Cohen and festival volunteers Alon Kaspi, Yehuda Hagoel and Gadi Efrat.
Erem was born in Lithuania in 1922, the son of a government official. When he was 1, the family left Lithuania and settled in Germany before moving to then-Palestine in 1925, where Erem later served in the Jewish Brigade of the British Army during World War II.
Toward the end of the war, the brigade was stationed in Northern Italy as peacekeepers. It was then that Erem found out about the Shoah — an incident that would mark his destiny.
"One day I was in an Austrian city called Klagenfurd," he recalled. "It was on a lake, a beautiful place. There were a group of us [from the brigade] there with our Star of David on our sleeves, and suddenly, people approached us and said, ‘We were slave workers in Poland and we are having a party tonight — would you come?’ And we said sure."
At the party, they were approached by a blonde who told them about the gas chambers and death camps; she herself had been saved because she looked gentile. Erem immediately left, and then made a trip to Germany to see the camps for himself. "I said, after that, it is time to start our war."
Erem spent many years as a clandestine Nazi hunter. His undercover work eventually made him a key activist in Israel’s War of Independence, during which he smuggled both arms and refugees into the country. He has continued to fight for Israel in various capacities ever since.
Several people who know him mentioned an incident that they say characterizes this sweet but sharp man.
"I remember he stood up at this one meeting we were attending and said, ‘The first thought I have when I wake up is: How can I help Israel today?’" recalled Dr. Yehuda Handelsman, president of the CIC’s steering committee. "It just made such an impression on all of us."
Since moving to the United States in 1970 with his second wife, Danielle, Erem has spent much of his time acting as a bridge between the Israeli community and what one might call the Los Angeles Jewish establishment. In the 1980s, he was head of the Shalom chapter of B’nai B’rith, a primarily Israeli group. He went on to become president of the West Coast Region of B’nai B’rith. Currently, he serves on the national board of the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and he is actively involved with the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational organization addressing the security requirements of the U.S. and Israel and the cooperative-strategic relationship between the two countries.
During the last 10 years, he extended his work to create understanding between American Jews and the U.S. Christian community. Erem said when he first became involved in AIPAC, he was disturbed by the fact that, while the organization was very effective in certain respects in Washington, D.C., he kept hearing from members of Congress that their constituents did not understand why Israel requires American funding.
So Erem became an unofficial ambassador of Israel to the Christian community. His experiences with pastors led him to a rather disconcerting observation: that it is often easier to draw support for Israel from Christians than from Jews. Erem said one of his primary concerns is that the Israeli community has not yet found its place within the Jewish establishment.
"Leaders in the Israeli community need to become leaders in the Jewish community," he said. If Israelis do not become involved, they will not be able to fulfill the obligation of broadening activities as far as Israel is concerned."
Similarly, Erem would like to see more support from the greater Los Angeles community for Israeli events and activities like the Israeli Festival. He said he is particularly disappointed in the lay leadership of Jewish organizations, who send staffers to support the festival or to rallies like the one held April 7 in front of the Federal Building but who do not show up themselves.
"I remember that in every demonstration against the British administration in Palestine, you would see [David] Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, the heads of the Haganah," he said. "I haven’t seen at any demonstration here that kind of leadership from the Jewish community. I know their heart is in the right place and they care, but still I want to see them there."
To see 100 lay leaders of The Jewish Federation and the Valley Alliance show up at the Israeli Festival — that, for a man like Erem, would be reward enough.
Saundra Duffy, Lager and a couple grandchildren. Sheila, Gracie1 and Jim center background.
Lager, Saundra, Sheila, Gracie1 and Jim
Gracie1, Jim and Chris
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