Shabbat Shalom January 24, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

Dreams
In recognition of Martin Luther King day, I too have a dream…
…that Israel will live in peace and prosperity
…that Detroit will be revitalized as a vibrant innovative City
…that Women’s rights and health will be protected and respected
…that Marriage Equality will be accepted Nationally and Globally
…that our Land, Oceans and Wildlife are kept safe from destruction
…that Hatred, Racism and Anti-Semetism disappear from our Earth

Repeated message
Where would our world be if MLK, Anne Frank, Yitzhak Rabin and Daniel Pearl had not been murdered?   I included this video last year when it debuted (by ADL).  It is worth another viewing since the message is powerful, meaningful and elegant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KyvlMJefR4

Lessons Learned
In honor of this Monday’s commemoration of International Holocaust Memorial Day, UN Sec.Gen. Ban Ki-moon, attended Shabbat services last Saturday in NYC.  In addition, he experienced a moving and memorable visit to Auschwitz last November.  It should be required for ALL representatives of UN member countries to visit Auschwitz as sadly many UN voices chose to ignore the world lesson of the 30s and 40s.  And even the UN Sec.Gen can make mistakes but rectifying them sends an important message as Ban Ki-moon wisely UNINVITED Iran to the Syrian Peace Talks in Switzerland.

The Pope and his Friends

Actress Activism
She is bright, beautiful and bold.  Scarlett Johansson (a tribe member) is the new face of Soda Stream, an Israeli company who’s product sales are soaring.  Their new commercial will showcase at the Superbowl yet many groupies from the Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS) team will be bull-horning their complaints. If they did any research, they’d realize Soda Stream employs nearly 1,000 Palestinians (in 1 of their 4 factories) with competitive Israeli wages in addition to being environmental by eliminating the excessive use of bottles.  Here’s a glimpse of the commercial shoot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxB_gduT1wM and a longer article about the story:
http://nypost.com/2014/01/21/scarlett-johansson-stands-tall-against-israel-boycotters/

Cool Runnngs
Good luck to the Jamaican Bobsled team for qualifying for Sochi and raising the needed fund (via the internet) to travel there. Stay safe and keep a close watch for any suspicious looking people.  The terrorist threat is on HIGH alert.

Lisa

“We must learn to live together as brothers (and sisters) or perish together as fools.”  Martin Luther King, Jr.  

Bonus video:
In honor of my Aunt Chilly (102) who lives in Fleischman Residence on our JCC campus and for Carole Lasser, who introduced me to these wonderful musicians, please enjoy this uplifting video by the Piano Guys and their performance at a lucky Senior Living Facility in Utah. http://tinyurl.com/PianoGuysSeniorLiving and if you want more of this musical frenzy.  Take a look at the Cellist sharing crazy activities (including skydiving) with his cello while performing the great Turtle’s tune “Happy Together” http://thepianoguys.com/portfolio/me-my-cello/

Four years ago this week (Jan. 21st), our “wise” Supreme Court christens Citizens United giving corporations the status of peoplehood so they can unlimitedly shower super PACs with mucho dinero.  Just as you can’t BUY Love… you can’t BUY Votes but oh do people try and oh do people fall for those $$ signs.  Fancy cars, expensive jewelry and lavish homes won’t anoint you with a stellar and respected reputation.  Only your humanitarian, philanthropic and civic actions will stand the test of time.  Billions of $$ of media ads will bombard us with lies and distortions but it is our job to sift through and search for the truth when selecting our candidates to support.  On the opposite side of the equation is that voting should be easier not harder.  Let’s vote online, lets vote for a full 24 hours,  lets increase absentee voting…  Opponents to easier voting say we must prevent voter fraud but in actuality, research proves there is a fraction of a 1% of voter fraud.  The voter fraud boggy-man does NOT exist.

There are 100 US Senators and only 20 are Women (20%)

There are 435 US Representatives and only 78 are Women (18%)

Women are 50.8% of our US population.

Men’s life experiences and some priorities are different than women’s so shouldn’t legislation affecting all Americans be determined by broader viewpoints.  Same holds true for minorities. There are only 2 African American Senators and only 43 African American Reps. and its worse for other minorities (Senators: 1 Asian American, 2 Hispanic Americans and 0 Native Americans) Aren’t we suppose to be “…a Government of the people, by the people, for the people…”

Sadly, the Texas hospital I wrote about a few weeks ago still refuses to take a brain dead pregnant woman off life support even though she (prior to her death spoke about never wanting to be “hooked up”), her husband and father all want her removed from the tubes.  Since she is pregnant, the fetus has more rights than her and her husband.  Also, it has been determined the fetus has brain damage and is deformed.  In addition, the hospital has indicated that the medical fees to keep her hooked up will be requested from the appropriate source (her family and insurance company).  This is a tragic nightmare for the family and a travesty of our legal system.

If you are looking for an interesting afternoon, please mosey on down toShaarey Zedek Synagogue this Sunday Jan. 26th from 10am-4pm for a browse and shopping opportunity of the creative works of young local artist.

As we freeze our fingers and toes during yet another Michigan cold snap, many in our community have no mittens or gloves for warmth.  Please support Mittens for Detroit with their comedy night this Saturday evening 1/25.  Also, Weight Watchers meetings are collecting mittens for this worthy organization. http://mittensfordetroit.org/events/

Sad News
Condolences to my cousin’s family on the abrupt passing of Marty Fingeroot(age 57), son to Annette and bother to Howard.  May his memory bring comfort to those morning his passing.

Kudos
Bravo to niece, Renee Ruiz, for her wonderful philosophy and expression of parenthood captured in this poiyant film about time priorities by local filmmaker,Jordan Vogt-Roberts.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/SundanceTimeFilm