-
3 weeks ago | 
jewishjournal.com | Ayala Or-El |Ayala Or-el
The Valley Beth Shalom (VBS) 75th anniversary gala, held on May 4, felt like a big family celebration. Hundreds of people attended — alumni who had gone to the school decades ago, their parents, and friends. And of course, there was plenty of food. Among the honorees were Past President Ilene Berman and VBS Ritual Director Yossi Dresner, z”l. Berman also served on numerous Jewish boards and committees and received multiple leadership awards throughout her career.
-
3 weeks ago | 
jewishjournal.com | Ayala Or-El |Ayala Or-el
At a time when free expression and cultural identity feel like they are under threat, a powerful new platform has emerged to amplify Jewish voices and those of their allies across college campuses worldwide. The OCU Chronicle — a quarterly Substack publication created by students, for students — is more than just a newsletter.
-
3 weeks ago | 
jewishjournal.com | Ayala Or-El |Ayala Or-el
What was originally planned as a celebration of Israel’s 77th Independence Day turned into an evening of unity, grief and resolve. Hosted at the Dolby Theater, the event — organized by the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Southwest, in partnership with StandWithUs, IAC, and the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles — was the first major community gathering since last week’s terrorist attack in Washington D.C. that claimed the lives of two Israeli Embassy employees.
-
3 weeks ago | 
jewishjournal.com | Ayala Or-El |Ayala Or-el
Governor Gavin Newsom announced that Los Angeles Jewish Health (LAJHealth) has been awarded $28 million from the California Department of Health Care Services. This funding is the first round of funding for Proposition 1’s Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCCIP) Round 1: Launch Ready initiative, a component of a historic $3.3 billion investment in behavioral health infrastructure across the state.
-
3 weeks ago | 
jewishjournal.com | Ayala Or-El |Ayala Or-el
The feature film “Tatami” — co-directed by Israeli and Iranian filmmakers Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir Ebrahimi — is a groundbreaking collaboration between Israeli and Iranian directors. The story of how the two came to work together is as compelling as the film itself.
-
1 month ago | 
jewishjournal.com | Ayala Or-El |Ayala Or-el
Sara Shai’s “As My Soul Speaks” is an epic novel that traces the arc of Jewish history, from the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E., through centuries of diaspora, all the way to the devastating events of Oct. 7, 2023. At the heart of the novel is the Lahmi family — in particular Gabriella — a young woman with a rare spiritual sensitivity who is guided by a mysterious divine presence known as The Witness.
-
1 month ago | 
jewishjournal.com | Ayala Or-El |Ayala Or-el
Two days. That’s all it took for Julie Raskin’s son to suffer brain damage — because he wasn’t immediately diagnosed at birth with Congenital Hyperinsulinism (HI), a rare disease primarily affecting Ashkenazi Jews that causes severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Those two days didn’t just change Ben’s fate — they also changed his mother’s life forever. At the time, Raskin was working at New York University and had planned to take a three-month maternity leave before returning to work.
-
1 month ago | 
jewishjournal.com | Ayala Or-El |Ayala Or-el
When Shawn Balva was 21 years old, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for armed robbery. Just a few years earlier, he had been a promising high school football player in Las Vegas, with hopes of going pro. But a spiral of addiction and crime led him down a darker path. It was one that would land him in one of the most dangerous federal prisons in America. Balva details his spiritual journey, which began in prison, in his book “Conviction” (Menucha Publishers).
-
1 month ago | 
jewishjournal.com | Ayala Or-El |Ayala Or-el
“Rebound: A Year of Triumph and Tragedy at Yeshiva University Basketball“ is a documentary by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Pat Dimon that follows the Orthodox university’s men’s basketball team, the Maccabees, through a challenging 2023 season. Produced by Fox Nation, the film explores how the all-Jewish Division III team — already known for its religious commitments and recent winning streak — was deeply affected by the Oct.7 Hamas attacks.
-
1 month ago | 
jewishjournal.com | Ayala Or-El |Ayala Or-el
Less than three months ago, Eliya Cohen, 28, was a hostage in Gaza. He endured 505 days of hell. During his captivity, he underwent surgery without anesthesia to remove bullets from his body and was warned not to make a sound during the surgery. He was tortured and still suffers from a gunshot wound in his leg. He has no ligaments left in his shoulders and dislocates them even in his sleep. He also has issues with his knees and hearing. The worst part, he said, was the starvation.
