Via OneJerusalem:

The One Jerusalem family mourns the death of actor Ron Silver, who fought against the tide in Hollywood as he championed the cause of the United States of America, The State of Israel, and the unity of the Holy City of Jerusalem.

I met Ron shortly after the founding of One Jerusalem and I asked him why he was volunteering his name in support of a cause that would only bring him trouble in his professional life. After all, the entertainment industry is dominated by people who despise the State of Israel and who would have gladly turned Jerusalem over to Yassar Arafat and his terrorist mob.

I will never forget Ron’s response to my question. He replied:
As an American, we owe Israel our support because the people of Israel represent our interest and values in a hostile part of the world. As a Jew, Jerusalem is the heart and soul of our people.

Over the years, Ron helped good causes whenever he could. Once he chaired for us a panel discussion in Congress on Saudi Arabia’s support for radical Islam. He also actively supported the aggressive Bush Administration response to 9-11.

A few months ago I received a call from Ron asking for help. He was with his son and he wanted our help in getting him and his son access to Auschwitz. He wanted to show his son the evil done to the Jewish people.

There will be much written about Ron Silver.

And we at One Jerusalem will always remember him for the courage he displayed in his personal fight against cancer, his patriotic commitment to the United States of America, and his unshakable support for a united Jerusalem.

Sincerely, Allen Roth – President of One Jerusalem

Even a small creature has the intuition and the will to live.  To my fellow Jews, I plead, when I as a fellow Jew separate myself from the tradition of my forefathers,  I give the key of victory to the murderers of my grandfather and my grandmother.  There is something in the soul of the Jew, some inner point that binds him to tradition.  This is the essence of Jewish identity.  So says Chief Rabbi Lau, and I agree with him 100%.

http://www.aish.com/heroesOfIsrael/heroesOfIsraelDefault/Chief_Rabbi_Lau.asp

VETERANS DAY NOVEMBER 11, 2008 Jews Died   We Remember

The Jewish War Veterans of the United States joins with you in honoring our veterans and teaching that:

• American Jews Served Our Nation
• American Jews Died in the Defense of Our Nation
• American Jews Diligently Serve Every Day as a Vital Voice of the
  27 Million Strong American Veterans Community
• We and You are All a Part of the Whole in Educating the Nation about Jewish Service to Our Military and Our Country

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For those who might not have realized the association, this website’s title, Smooth Stone, is based upon the Bible story of David and Goliath, as recorded in 1 Samuel 17.

David was a shepherd, a brave man who rose to the challenge of the Philistine giant, Goliath, who himself was a taunting, arrogant, but ultimately beheaded warmongerer. You can read more about David, his five smooth stones, and Goliath in an article I wrote here.

Samson is another great figure in our Holy Jewish Bible who interacted with the Philistines. He was known for his great strength and bravery, but the places in which, according to tradition, he lived and acted are not as well known.

Eyal Davidson, a researcher and tour guide at the Yad Ben Tzvi Institute, has written an article documenting his visits to the home grounds of Samson, from Samson’s grave in Tel Tzora to the altar of his father, Manoach, where his barren mother received word of her pregnancy. Eyal writes:

Read more »

From Jewish woman takes up residence in Auschwitz:

A Belgian Jewish woman who lost her grandmother in the Nazi death camps during the Holocaust and other relatives in the Soviet anti-Semitic pogroms after World War II, holds the dubious distinction of being the only declared Jewish resident of the Polish town of Oswiecim where the Auschwitz death camp is located.

Chantal Maas, 54, moved to Oswiecim last year, leaving her husband and two grown children behind in Brussels.

“The first three months were really difficult,” Maas said in a telephone interview with The Jerusalem Post. She said her Polish neighbors were friendly.

After returning to Brussels for “a breather,” Maas, who previously taught courses about Judaism in her native Romania, returned to Oswiecim three months ago. She plans to split her time between Brussels and Oswiecim for the rest of her life.

“It is important to show that we are still alive – even in the place where they tried to exterminate us,” she said.

One million Jews were murdered at Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

Asked to explain how she decided to take up residence so close to the largest German death camp, Maas said her decision was “much by chance.”

Maas said she felt more threatened by anti-Semitism in both France and Belgium than in Poland.

She said she did not have to work, adding that her expenses were minimal.

Maas said she presumed she was not the only Jewish person living in the town of 43,000, but she is most certainly the only declared one.

“My grandmother was murdered at Birkenau, and this is what permits me to be here,” she said. Birkenau was one of Auschwitz’s three main camps.

Maas, who deplores the commercialization of the death camp by Polish refreshment vendors, said her dream was to create a “Jewish house” in the town where Polish Jews could come to grips with the past.

“I want to do something for my heritage,” she said. “I moved to Auschwitz, and am proud to report that I am the only one living Jew here.”