(BLOG) American-Born Flotilla Activist Saw Violence Coming On Mavi Marmara

"Evidence continues to emerge that the violence initiated by IHH activists on board the Mavi Marmara ship as part of a flotilla trying to break the blockade on Gaza was planned in advance. This time, the information was provided by a former U.S. marine who was involved in the fight with the Israelis.

'I knew before we set out that the Turks are not like the other Westerns, that there would be no passive resistance in this case,' Kenneth O'Keefe, an Irish citizen who lives in the UK, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in an interview published on Friday.



When asked whether he observed the IHH operatives saw off beams on the ship in preparation for attacking the Israelis, O'Keefe replied, 'I knew we would defend that ship. That was stated publicly a great many times. You have to be an idiot to board that ship and think it will be a ship of passive resistance.'

O'Keefe also refrained from condemning Hamas during the same interview:

'I am against such [suicide] attacks in the same measure that I am against state terror. Hamas has not perpetrated suicide attacks for years now, and when they won the 2006 elections everyone who prevented them from taking part in the political process is as much to blame as they are for the violence that followed. You hate them because they are violent, but what do you do when they take part in the elections? You kick them out and push them into a corner.'

O'Keefe believes that 9/11 was an 'inside job' conducted by the U.S. government with the help of Israel. In January, 2004 he took pride in burning his American passport while in Amsterdam, stating:

'I charge the United States with being the number one terrorist on the face of the planet.'

O'Keefe is currently in the United States on a speaking tour." (source)

(SOCIAL) “72 Hour Urban Action” Takes Over Bat Yam, Israel

"Teams have 72 hours to re-design an urban area in a pretty crumby satellite city in Israel. It’s guerilla urban architecture.

We’ve all had the same thought: it’s been built, we’re stuck with it. This ugly urban mess we have created is here to stay and there’s nothing we can do about it; may as well put up our feet, grab a lager, and watch re-runs of 'The Days of Our Lives' to wile away the misery. Others challenge that notion, and show the rest of us couch-potatoes that actually we have an extraordinary capacity for innovation and have the necessary power to reverse our unsustainable trends. And not only can we fix our mistakes during this lifetime (instead of leaving it for our kids to deal with), we can make serious headway over a weekend. They started with the 72 Hour Urban Action Program in Israel’s less-than-glamorous Bat Yam.

'Bat Yam is almost entirely built, and has no other choice but to re-examine its already existing urban fabric,' Kerem Halbrecht, the Israeli architect who dreamed up the Urban Action, told the New York Times Magazine. 'I wanted to challenge the common perception that creating change in public space is long and difficult, and to see if public space can respond to changing needs in real time.'"

(BLOG) Ask The Arabs Of East Jerusalem: Should Jerusalem Be Redivided?

"By Khaled Abu Toameh: The future status of Jerusalem is back on the negotiating table between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and Israel. It is being described as one of the 'core issues' in the US-sponsored direct talks that were launched in early September.

Both Israeli and Palestinian negotiators need to take into account that it's completely unrealistic to talk about restoring the pre-1967 situation where Jerusalem was divided into two cities.



The division was bad for Jews and Arabs back then and it will be worse if it happens once again.

Jerusalem is a very small city where Jews and Arabs live across the street from each other and on top of each other. Since 1967, Israel has built many new neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city, rendering it impossible to imagine a reality where Jerusalem would exist as a divided city.

Redividing Jerusalem will turn the lives of both Jews and Arabs into a nightmare, especially with regards to traffic arrangements. Every day, tens of thousands of Jews and Arabs commute between the two parts of the city freely.

Redividing Jerusalem will result in the establishment of checkpoints and border crossings inside many parts of the city. Jews and Arabs will find themselves confined to their homes and neighborhoods, which will be surrounded by security barriers and checkpoints.

In addition, the negotiators must concede the possibility of asking the Arab residents of the city about their preferences. There is no reason why more than 200,000 Arabs in Jerusalem should be denied the right to voice their opinion on a matter that has a direct affect on their lives and future.

This can be done through a referendum where the Arab residents would be asked if they would like to live in a divided city under the rule of the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. Most likely, a majority of the Arab residents would say that they prefer the status quo to the other options.

Most Arabs in the city prefer to live under Israeli rule for a number of reasons. First, because as holders of Israeli ID cards they are entitled to many rights and privileges that Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip don't enjoy. They include freedom of movement and social, economic, health and education services that Israeli citizens are entitled to.



Redividing Jerusalem means bringing either the Palestinian Authority of Hamas into the city. The Arab residents of Jerusalem have seen what happened in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the past 16 years and are not keen to live under a corrupt authority or a radical Islamist entity.

Over the past few years, many Arab residents of the city who used to live in the West Bank have abandoned their homes and returned to Jerusalem. They did so mainly out of fear of losing their rights and privileges as holders of Israeli ID cards.

But many of them also ran away from the West Bank because they did not want to live in territories controlled by militiamen, armed gangs and corrupt leaders and institutions.

These are only some of the reasons why Jerusalem can't be redivided, at least not under the current circumstances. Instead of talking about tearing the city apart, it would be better if the negotiators started thinking of ways that enable Jews and Arabs to share, and not divide, the city.

Those who think that Jerusalem can be split into two are living in an illusion and clearly do not know what they are talking about. Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, like most Palestinians, is aware of this reality. However, that is not going to stop him and others from continuing to demand that eastern Jerusalem become the capital of a Palestinian state.

No one asked the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip before signing the Oslo Accords on 1993; will everyone really continue to ignore the opinion of the Arab residents of Jerusalem?" (source)

(NEWS) Ozzy And Sharon Osbourne In Israel

"On Sunday evening, a private plane brought legendary British heavy metal rocker and former Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, accompanied by his wife and personal manager Sharon, to Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport, ahead of today's Ozzfest at Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park.

At a press conference at a Tel Aviv hotel, when asked whether he had any hesitations about visiting Israel in light of recent cancellations by a number of international artists, Osbourne replied that he tries to stay away from politics because 'I wouldn't know what I was talking about.'

Sharon added that 'Britain has the IRA and no one cancels concerts there.' Asked why it took him so long to arrive, Osbourne said, 'I don't know. I was drunk for years.'

On Monday, the Osbournes visited various sites in Jerusalem's Old City, including the Western Wall, which was packed with visitors for Succot/the Feast of Tabernacles; the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; and also Yad Vashem the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority.

According to Osbourne, the visit to Israel has made a 'great impression. We were very pleased to have the opportunity to come to Israel and visit the holy sites in the Old City.'

Today, Osbourne is expected to meet with fans at Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park at around 4 p.m., and later to watch performances by the Korn and Soulfly bands, as part of the Ozzfest, the long-running multi-band metal festival that Osbourne launched decades ago. At 8:55 p.m., he is scheduled to take the stage." (source)

(ENVIRO) Teaching Israelis To Live In A City Tree

"A new ecology project in Tel Aviv is teaching urban dwellers how to live a sustainable and green lifestyle, even in the heart of the city.

Tami Zori is scrubbing jars in her kitchen sink with a clay-colored goop made from used lemon halves left to ferment. 'Then I mix them with vinegar and I get this not-very-nice paste - but it works, especially in a kitchen that has no meat and very little oil.'

Zori, 43, is a living embodiment of the 'reduce, reuse, recycle' slogan. Inside and outside a ground-floor flat in downtown Tel Aviv she has created CityTree, an urban ecology project designed to demonstrate what it teaches: Permaculture (sustainable living), vegan nutrition, composting, and other ways of living harmoniously with nature. With the landlord's permission, Zori, a crew of volunteers and CityTree's staff - Alon Eliran, Eyal Engelmair and Roni Haliva - are transforming the patch of dirt surrounding the building into an attractive, edible garden.

'The idea is to make a demonstration urban garden to show people what they can do in the city, and also for the neighbors to enjoy,' Zori explains, as she supervises three young volunteers who are piecing together a garden walk using tiles discarded from a nearby renovation. Another walkway is cobbled with embedded glass bottles salvaged from the trash.

'One of the most important things we teach is human ecology - getting to know the people who live around you,' she declares.

'I was a capitalistic pig'

CityTree is a social business. About 200 'Friends of the Tree' pay a yearly fee or donate their services as teachers for CityTree courses, the enterprise's main source of income. 'It's really an investment, not a donation,' maintains Zori. Friends are invited to social events that double as opportunities to create and promote their ecological businesses.

Though the project barely turns enough profit to cover expenses, Zori says the goal is to achieve a balance between social, environmental and monetary profit. She is more eager to spread knowledge than to earn money. 'I always say money shouldn't separate people from learning how to live a healthy life, so if people can't pay our course fees we arrange for them to work a few hours or bring something from their own garden.'

'This is a new kind of business and as such it takes time to build - and that's fine! Look at the rate at which trees grow. Why do we have to run faster?'

Zori used to run fast when she worked in the corporate world in Israel and then New York. An artist and designer with a flair for management, she confesses, 'I didn't care much for the environment,' as she tosses greens from her garden into a blender. 'I was a capitalistic pig. I ate out every night. I spent a lot on clothes and travel.'

Spreading green knowledge and information

But at 25, she was already seeing a connection between her eating habits and her allergies and other ailments. She spent the next few years focusing on how to eat healthfully and her health improved dramatically. In time, she discovered that 'the environment is my body and my body is the environment.' That's part of the philosophy she brought to CityTree when she launched in 2006 and has continued to expand since moving to the demo apartment in May 2008.



When the bottles she's scrubbing with her lemon paste are clean and dry, she'll fill them with natural salt to sell, along with an eclectic assortment of goods including vegetable bags sewn from fabric scraps, organic tahini and dried, homegrown sage incense. Volunteers like Alana Greenberg help to prepare these items.

'Each product tells a multilayered story: We can talk about the jars and what would happen if I didn't save them from the trash; we can talk about the salt inside and where it came from; and we can talk about small business and why it makes sense to buy from a woman living in a house in a big city, instead of buying from a supermarket,' relates Zori, who actively promotes CityTree in person and via her information-rich Hebrew website, that also has a section in English.

Greenberg, a teen from Australia, met Zori at an outdoor festival while in Israel for a post-high school program: 'Tami was running a workshop there on ecological living, and told me about CityTree,' Greenberg recounts. She and two friends arranged to volunteer at CityTree twice a week over the summer. In addition to garden and kitchen duties, they make retail items such as corkboards fashioned from old wine-bottle corks.

'One day, we saw a professional gardener throwing some shrubs in a bin on the street and we went and got them,' Greenberg says. 'Tami showed us how to make green smoothies from the leaves.'

A green map of Tel Aviv

CityTree is working with the municipality to create a Green Map of Tel Aviv, and is building a network of city-dwelling composters - who receive whimsical 'medals of honor' to wear or display. Zori offers composting workshops every month and the center is open to the public each Friday from 10 to 2.

'We spread information and knowledge, but we don't initiate anything beyond our own project,' says Zori, whose bedroom walls are coated in papier-mâché made from waste paper. 'However, people come here and take courses and do wonderful things in their own neighborhoods.'

Former New Yorker and CityTree staffer Tess Lehrick recently started Garbage2Garden, collecting organic waste from two area restaurants and turning it into compost to sell to locals. Permaculture course graduate Boaz Shilo started a new community garden.

Ecology-minded folks in other parts of Israel have approached Zori about how to start their own versions of CityTree, something she encourages. 'They have to get the budget, and then it has to run for a year or two to see income. You don't make a lot of money, but you don't need a lot to live simply and healthfully.'" (source)

(EDU) Fixing Our Broken Classrooms With Technology

"With a computer on every desk and a holistic approach to learning, performance and motivation are soaring in 'Time to Know' classrooms in both Israel and the US.

Moshe of Tel Aviv's underprivileged Hatikva Quarter used to dread returning to school in the fall. He anticipated another year of dull instruction, lugging boring textbooks and feeling alienated from his classmates and his teacher. Indeed, school was a turn-off he often skipped altogether - but that was before the revolution. That was before classroom hardware from Israeli start-up Time to Know reached his school.



The Time to Know revolution began three years ago, in grades four to six, in two Israeli schools. This year, there are 20 schools in the country benefiting from its Recommended Core Curriculum and Digital Teaching Platform -innovations in classroom hardware that transform kids like Moshe from school losers into winners. Also this year, Time to Know is being launched in 26 schools in New York.

Pupil and class performance and motivation soared in the US pilot of the program in Dallas last year, making a believer of New York City Chancellor of Education Joel I. Klein. South Korea and other countries have also expressed interest in the learning system company that the company's chief pedagogical officer Dovi Weiss believes can fix 'the classroom machine that's broken.'

Current users are hoping for Dallas-like results: Dramatic improvement in writing, reading and math scores. A control group not using the system had 73 percent of the pupils in the class below, or at standard writing skills level, while the Time to Know group had 98% at standard or recommended levels.

No more 'chalk and talk'

According to Weiss, teachers haven't been fully exploiting the computers' technology and scope in the classroom. But all that changed when Time to Know was launched six years ago by Amdocs billing giant founder Shmuel Meitar, Weiss, Molly Globus and others. They applied a similar 'holistic approach' to recreating the classroom learning process as they had used to put Amdocs atop the billing industry.

Four 'bugs' were identified in typical classrooms. Most pupils received what Weiss describes as 'only chalk and talk' frontal education. 'But using only this one way of teaching fits nobody. That's a bug,' he tells ISRAEL21c. Moreover, one set of teaching materials and standardized tests weren't sufficient for the 35-plus pupils with varying needs in the typical, overcrowded Israeli classroom.

The next bug, 'drill and kill' exercises, managed to kill off any desire for engagement in lessons for kids. Teachers also received little feedback about their pupils beyond a quiz or test score, which was usually too little and too late. And extra help wasn't easy to come by.

Meitar - credited with the original vision for this classroom revolution - and his team also found that schools failed to provide kids with vital computer skills needed to succeed, another serious problem. 'It's not the teachers but the classrooms that aren't working,' Weiss says. It was time for a classroom makeover.

Step one was 'really integrating technology into the classroom' with a laptop per pupil, a projector, and a special 'dashboard style' laptop for the teacher.

The hardware - supplied by municipalities, school districts or other providers - is the first of three pillars that support the program. Once that's in place, the cost of software is $200 per pupil. 'But then we came up with two innovative pillars that actually did not exist in the world,' Weiss continues. First, the 'Interactive Core Curriculum' provides entertaining and interactive digital learning activities in all core subjects. Then a Digital Teaching Platform, which Weiss laughingly calls 'Windows for teachers,' allows them to plan and conduct a lesson while viewing pupil feedback in real classroom time.



Cool school

On the first day of school this September, some lucky fourth to sixth graders in Israel and New York arrived at school to find laptops on their desks. The teachers clicked 'play' and a clever cartoon featuring youngsters racing around a track in a 'fraction race' was displayed via the new classroom projector.

The cartoon 'hypnotizes' the young audience so there are fewer discipline issues, Weiss explains. 'They sit quietly and are very enthusiastic. When the animation stops, the teacher asks a question: Danny is in the lead, but who is number two, number three, etc.? Then the stimulated students submit potential answers to a 'gallery' of classroom replies.'

As each pupil works on a laptop, it supplies immediate feedback to the teacher. A wrong answer earns a child a hint toward the right one, an educational process called scaffolding. Alerted by her computer that someone needs help, the teacher can quickly provide assistance.

Meanwhile, more advanced students are prompted to explore a section on Egyptian fractions; while those lagging play 'Fraction Wars' to practice. An 'Eyes on the Teacher' computer alert signals the pupils that the teacher is launching a classroom discussion.

'Very quickly the four bugs are beginning to be solved,' Weiss declares, 'The classroom variance is addressed, the pupils are engaged, active, and the teacher is receiving a lot of feedback... the computers are part of the classroom, used in a natural and holistic way.'

Teacher Philia Stewart of the Lancaster Elementary School said of the program: 'You can teach a child anything once they're engaged, because they're ready to learn, and that's the difference between a Time to Know classroom and a regular classroom. [The pupils] hate books they have to read. So when you give them a book, they're already shut off. But when you put technology in front of them they say: 'Okay, cool, I can do this.' You can teach them almost anything. I don't lose any kids when I do Time to Know.'

As Dallas pupil Xavier Seigh puts it: 'It's a cool way of going to school.'

Repair education, repair the world

The Time to Know revolution seems to be working. Indeed, the President's Conference in Israel chose the company as one of six Israeli firms that can 'create a better tomorrow' - the only one in the field of education - and there are plans to expand it to grades six to eight.

Weiss, a graduate of the Mandel Leadership Institute, cites the words of the great educator Janusz Korczak (who chose to die in the Treblinka extermination camp with his pupils) who said: 'Repairing the world is repairing education.'

Weiss says: 'For me personally, that's a vision and my mission. I'm proud to be an Israeli who will be able to do something... If we can create a better world, [and] it's coming from Israel, I think it's very good for our country.'" (source)

(MED) Israel Discovers An IVF-Autism Link

"Children conceived through IVF are three times more likely to suffer autism, new evidence from Israel suggests. Early intervention and cautious therapeutic choices are advised.

While parents conceiving a child through IVF should not fear the procedure, they should be aware of the risks.



Children conceived through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) are three times more likely to suffer from mild to moderate autism according to new research from Israel.

Doctors at the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center near Tel Aviv, one of the country's leading academic hospitals, found that 10.5 percent of surveyed children diagnosed with a disorder on the autism spectrum were conceived using IVF - a significantly higher number than the 3.5% rate of autism in the general Israeli population.

Lead author of the study, Dr. Ditza Zachor, director of the autism center at the hospital, insists that her research results shouldn't discourage people from attempting IVF implantation, since the majority of children born using IVF do not have autism, and most children who have autism were not conceived using IVF.

However, she suggests that couples and their physicians should be aware of the connection, allowing early intervention and wiser therapeutic choices.

Her research, presented in April at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Philadelphia, sounds a note of caution, reporting a strong link between IVF and mild to moderate cases of autism.

Too early for a serious deduction

The first 'test tube baby' was born in 1978. With advances in reproductive science, an estimated one percent of all American babies are now born each year through IVF. Is it possible that IVF and other assisted fertility treatments are solving one problem and contributing to another?



While the study doesn't draw any definitive conclusions, Zachor warns that it presents some urgent questions. 'It's too early to make a serious deduction based on that evidence alone,' she says, citing other birth-related factors in her study, such as low birth rate and prematurity. Her ongoing research will attempt to separate out these risk factors to come up with more precise numbers for autism and other prenatal conditions in IVF.

Zachor proposes that the key may be 'imprinting,' a biochemical procedure during cell division which determines which genes will be selected or 'expressed' in the embryo. Research into epigenetics - changes in gene expression that occur without a change in the DNA sequence - suggest that the malformations may be caused by imprinting abnormalities introduced into the embryo while it's in a test tube environment.

One such disorder linked with IVF appears to be Angelman syndrome (a complex genetic disorder that primarily affects the nervous system).

Problems may be avoided

However, Zachor does not want to discourage infertile couples from undergoing IVF implantation, which most often results in a healthy child.

She notes that mothers in her study who had IVF tended to be older - with a median age of 32.6 years. Also significantly, nearly four percent of the children with autism were born prematurely, and about five percent of those had a low birth weight. In the general population, only about one percent of all newborns are delivered with a low birth weight.

Aware of these risks, however, health practitioners may be able to intervene and find ways to avoid the problems, the researcher says. For example, they might recommend that IVF treatments be delayed for a longer period, despite any psychological stress this might cause to would-be parents. Some researchers believe that unassisted fertilization is a better way to avoid negative health effects.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the autism prevalence rate in the United States is one in 110 children. 'Many infertile couples choose this procedure [IVF], and they need to know whether there is a risk of autism,' Zachor concludes. She stresses, however, that most women who undergo fertility treatments should not fear IVF procedures." (source)

(MED) Le Chaim! An Israeli Wine That's Good For You

"It is pomegranate season in Israel, and ISRAEL21c takes a look at a winery in the north that is one of very few worldwide making pomegranate wines.

At Rosh Hashana (the Jewish new year), the fruit of choice is the pomegranate. High in antioxidants that are said to combat a range of health problems ranging from diabetes, to cardiovascular diseases and even cancer, eating the fruit isn't just about tradition.

Now an Israeli winery in the northern Galilee is producing a new kind of wine, made exclusively from pomegranates.

The Rimon Winery was founded by Gabi Nachmias, from Moshav Ben Zimra in the Galilee, and is one of very few wineries around the world making this tasty and healthful wine.

Nachmias originally intended to plant nectarines on his land, but after reading an article about the health benefits of pomegranates he changed his mind. Six years ago he made 2,600 bottles. Today, the winery bottles over 750,000 liters a year and sells its four kinds of pomegranate wine to markets in Japan, the US, Europe and Singapore.

The winery is collaborating with Tel Hashomer Hospital in Tel Aviv on a large research study that's examining the effect of pomegranates on general health and on various diseases." (source)

(ARTS) Alternative Theater Thrives In Acre

"The 31st Acre Festival of Alternative Theater seeks to suggest new theatrical languages for familiar themes or to examine them in a completely different way.

The four-day festival (September 26 to 29) offers plays, music, dance, street theater and guest productions/installations, characterized by what Helen Kaye of The Jerusalem Post describes as 'daring and sometimes truly original thinking.'

This year's Acre Festival takes place in and around the Crusader Fortress in the Old City. There are nine plays in competition, as well as five more called Acre 2 that weren't selected for the competition, but that the artistic committee considered deserving of production.

Among the nine competition plays, one of the top contenders is likely to be The Family Table, a three-hour multi-layered work by the iconoclastic David (Dudu) Ma'ayan, whose 1980 winning festival play, Arbeit Macht Frei, has entered Israeli theatrical legend. His new play takes eight different groups of people through the alleyways of Acre's Old City and brings them together around a huge dining table.

There are 17 premieres of street theater, from Romania, Spain, Germany, Slovenia and Holland, and one which is a local/Croatian collaboration called Via Dolorosa Now. All the street theater is free." (source)

(SOCIAL) Israelis Grasping The Real Challenges Of The Global Village

"As requests for Israeli know-how multiply across the globe, Haim Divon, head of MASHAV, Israel's Center for International Cooperation, strives to supply specific solutions.

Career diplomat Haim Divon found his calling in the pages of the National Geographic magazines his parents encouraged him to read when he was a boy. But he could not have known then that his yearning to visit exotic places would so successfully dovetail with the mission of MASHAV, the Center for International Cooperation, that he now heads as deputy director-general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



MASHAV was founded in 1958 as a vehicle for sharing Israel's creative solutions with the rest of the developing world. At the time, Divon was just eight years old and his Jerusalem family was still feeling the pinch of nationwide austerity rationing.

'I heard [first Israeli Prime Minister David] Ben-Gurion talking about our moral obligation to share with others at a time when we had no food and had to absorb more people than our actual population,' says Divon. 'He was a pragmatist but also a philosopher. That is where I come from.'

Training for 200,000

MASHAV has long focused on the same objectives that the United Nations recently formalized as its priority development goals: Poverty alleviation; food security; sustainable development; empowerment of women; child and maternal health; social equity; environmental sustainability; and upgraded public health and education systems.

MASHAV professionals have trained some 200,000 people from approximately 140 countries, including Israel. In countries across the world, they have developed dozens of demonstration projects in fields of Israeli expertise.

Divon came to MASHAV in 1995, after serving in diplomatic postings in Bombay, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka.

'It was more than eye-opening to see what was happening out there,' he says. 'What hits you is the real meaning of poverty and human suffering. In the western hemisphere we live in a bubble and we don't grasp the real challenges of this global village of ours, which is getting smaller.'

Concentrating on key 'agents of change'

After serving as Israel's ambassador to Canada, Divon returned to MASHAV in 2005. His current objective is orienting the staff to offer need-specific solutions on demand. The standardized programs in which the agency had invested so much money and expertise over the past 50 years generated plenty of good will toward Israel but were difficult to quantify in terms of lasting effect.

'By coordinating better with our partner countries and with third parties, we have a better chance to succeed,' says Divon, who also is CEO of a government company, Igud, that provides MASHAV a platform to run extension centers in Israel and recruit Israeli experts who form its permanent nucleus.



Among MASHAV's current projects are helping the mayor of Kisumu, Kenya's third largest city, to establish a strategic planning unit to empower periphery cities and training Ethiopia's head agronomist in biotech and irrigation methods, to enhance yields at a mango and avocado nursery that it established in that African nation. 'They must boost their quality and diversity for local consumption, and exports must meet certain standards. We can show them how,' Divon declares.

MASHAV has a long history of dispatching medical aid around the world. A recent example was a delegation of six doctors from Sheba Medical Center that was sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo following a July 2 fuel tanker explosion that injured some 200 people. Also this year, MASHAV facilitated the creation of neonatal and intensive care units at hospitals in Ghana and Kenya and a new ICU for the hospital in Port Au Prince, Haiti is underway.

However, whenever possible the preferable approach is to bring key 'change agents' from beneficiary countries to Israel to see programs in action and hear from experts on the ground. This summer, for instance, MASHAV hosted a contingent of educators from Moscow for pedagogic training.

Focus on contributions, not conflict

Beyond practical solutions, MASHAV also strives to pass along the can-do spirit that visitors invariably marvel at. This spirit is personified in the multilingual Divon himself, his New York-born wife, Linda, and their three grown children. In their frequent and extensive travels, members of the Divon family have initiated and participated in projects such as a Canadian 'peace camp' for Israeli and Palestinian children.

Divon's many aspirations for MASHAV are not easy to achieve on a total budget of about $20 million - an amount the Minister for Foreign Affairs would like to triple. Demands for Israeli know-how continue to grow, especially now that Israel is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

He hopes that one day the high level of appreciation for Israeli aid that emanates from developing countries will be matched in the rest of the world. That can only happen, he believes, when the media pays as much attention to Israel's contributions as to its conflicts.

'Imagine how people would look up to Israel if every activity in every country we are involved in would get front-page headlines,' he concludes." (source)

(SOCIAL) Surf's Up: Israel's Top 10 Surfing Beaches

"With 186 miles of sandy beaches, and a sea that is virtually free of seaweed and sharks, Israel is a great spot for surfers, say the country's experts. ISRAEL21c picks the top 10 beaches.

Israel has a stretch of sandy beaches extending for about 186 miles, and a sea that is virtually seaweed- and shark-free. While conditions may not be up to scratch for pro surfers, local experts say it's a great spot for beginners and laid-back surfers.



'The water's warm, there are no strange animals and you only have to worry about two weeks of jellyfish in July,' says Nir Almog, known to many as the father of Israeli surfing. 'We've got soft, weak waves and you can surf absolutely anywhere. You can't find that everywhere in the world.'

What's more, there's summer as well as ample winter surfing, thanks to the relatively mild Israeli weather conditions in the country's center, which is where most of the surfing beaches are located. The waves are actually higher during the winter following heavy rainstorms, and that's when the surfing swells show up, Almog tells ISRAEL21c.

During the summer, the water temperature in the Mediterranean can be as high as 28 to 29 degrees Celsius, while the winter waters cool down to some 14 degrees. Wave height also varies, with summer waves ranging from about one and a half, to three feet on medium surfing days, while mornings consistently offer the best swells, with waves 'breaking long and perfect,' according to Almog. Fall and winter swells can reach from six to 10 feet, which is the time for the more experienced Israeli surfers to hit the waves.

Almog should know. It was his father, Shamai 'Topsi' Kanzapolski, a Tel Aviv lifeguard, who was recruited by Dorian 'Doc' Paskowitz, a California doctor who came to Israel in the 1950s, hoping to create Israeli surfing champions. Paskowitz brought six long boards made partially from balsa wood, each depicting the blue-and-white national flag.

At the time, Israeli lifeguards were catching the waves with the Hasake, a flat, wide board that had initially been used for near-shore fishing by Arab fishermen. Slowly, as the lifeguards and other locals began to use Paskowitz's offerings, a surfing tradition was born, with Almog riding along on his father's board.

At the time, the waves on Tel Aviv's beaches were very high and would break right on the beach due to a lack of piers, creating a fairly dangerous setting for surfing.

Increased development along the beachfront helped to create safer conditions, and now Tel Aviv locals 'can stay put on their own shores' for decent surfing, says Almog, who can be found riding the waves when he's not in one of his two Intersurf stores. But there's surfing to be had in all the major beach towns and cities, from Tel Aviv and Herzliya to Haifa, Netanya, Ashkelon and even in Gaza.

1. Hilton beach, Tel Aviv

In Tel Aviv, locals are fond of the two Hilton beaches, named for the hotel that towers above this particular stretch of sand. With two jetties that protect the waves from incoming currents, the beach offers one of the best reef breaks in Israel. The reef can hold swells ranging from one to seven feet and while the waves start off weak, they strengthen closer to shore. The Hilton Bet shore, also known as Topsy, is a break directly north of the Hilton that is similar in makeup to the other Hilton beach, but with a slightly different reef that tends to be less crowded. According to local surfers, the break often performs better in small to medium swell conditions. Former Israeli skateboard champion and surfer Arthur Rashkovan grew up on the Hilton Beach, in what he calls a 'mini-California, surfer's paradise.'

2. Maravi Beach, Tel Aviv

If you're surfing in Tel Aviv, try the Maravi Beach, which means Western Beach and is in fact the city's southernmost beach, situated between Tel Aviv and Jaffa. Surfers like it during the summer, when there are numerous short boarders, long boarders and body boarders, and, according to a local blog, 'everybody is really mellow, no localism to worry about.' A structure fashioned of cement and stone poles that juts out of the water forms a manmade reef where waves break left and right, offering even better forms than the beach breaks of Herzliya.

3. Dophinarium Beach, Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv's Dolphinarium Beach, named for an old dolphin tank that is now used as a nightclub (that was the site of a suicide bombing in 2001), offers reasonably consistent surf during the summer months, but even better conditions in the winter. Also known as the drummers' beach for the drummers, free-style dancers and jugglers who gather there late on Friday afternoons, you can also rent surfing, windsurfing and para-surfing equipment at the water sports club located on this beach. With offshore winds from the southeast, wind swells are more typical than groundswells and there are great waves from the northwest with good surf during all stages of the tide.

4. Zvulun and Dabush beaches, Herzliya

Take a ride over to Herzliya where a selection of beaches offers decent surfing in winter and summer. Almog likes Zvulun and Dabush beaches, which offer good surfing early in the morning when there's a southern wind. Dabush is north of Herzliya's third sea break, while Zvulun is north of Dabush. Zvulun offers slightly longer rides than Dabush with larger waves and a sandy beach. For Almog, the favorite Herzliya beach is south of the Herzliya marina, known as Marina Beach and home to the yacht crowd. As the city's southernmost beach, it sits between the marina and the first of the three Herzliya wave breaks, and the waves that come in are perfect to ride. 'It works the best when there are northern winds,' says Almog, particularly on early winter mornings, at around five a.m., when all is silent except for the sound of the waves.

5. Kontiki and Sironit beaches, Netanya

Just up the coast a bit are the nine miles of Netanya beaches that don't receive the highest marks from surfer dudes, but have 'okay waves for surfing,' according to Almog. Look for Kontiki and Sironit beaches which are connected to the piers, offering decent waves. However, since the 'sand moves all the time,' on this open beach, it's considered a fickle surf spot for many. At the same time, Netanya Beach is a major site for sailing, diving and snorkeling, and there's ample opportunity to paraglide and parachute off the Netanya cliffs.

6. Beit Yannai Beach, Netanya

Just north of Netanya is a beautiful stretch of beaches connected to the Alexander Stream. Home to famed, giant soft-shell turtles, the banks of the stream are adjacent to the shifting sand dunes and a eucalyptus grove. The beach, where the stream meets the Mediterranean, is home to Israeli parachute surfers, where the wooden posts of what was once a pier, stand out against the waves. Local legend has it that the pier was used before the establishment of the state to land illegal immigrants arriving in defiance of British Mandatory restrictions, but Dudi Shani, director of the national park that contains the beach, says the story is untrue. There are always a few surfers in these waters, and it is the first beach in Israel designated exclusively for kite surfing.

7. Shonit, Sdot Yam beaches, Caesaria

Almog doesn't weigh in on surfing in the town of Caesarea, but surf blogger Tzachi Paz has only glowing reviews for his childhood surf spot. Growing up on the beach between Caesarea and Givat Olga, Paz divides the Caesarea strip of beachfront into three major spots. He describes the Shonit Beach as a great beach for surfers, with rocks at a depth of about 328 feet and another point that sometimes creates a deep, long wave that long boarders like to use. Sdot Yam, another well-known beach in the area has great waves during winter storms, creating walls of waves for surfers.

8. Arubot Beach, Caesaria

The best spot for surfing in Caesaria is Arubot Beach, about a quarter of a mile to the south of Shonit. Located next to major wind turbines, surfers ignore the 'Do Not Enter' signs and make their way down to the beach. According to Paz, there's a myth that the waves only work during winter storms - and many surfers flock there during the winter. But it's also great during the summer, when the waves are perfect and there are few other surfers. Paz describes these waves as the types that are 'long, open, start out flat and become a step and wall as you approach the beach.'

9. Bat Galim beach, Haifa

Farther north brings you to the Haifa Bay, where the Backdoor and Casino surf spots are located on the Bat Galim (Daughter of Waves) Beach on the southern tip of the bay. They're considered to be very good beaches, particularly in the winter when the storms have strong southwest winds offshore. Protected by two jetties, Backdoor is considered Israel's best reef break, as it is covered with moss that feels soft when it rubs against surfing bodies. With a hollow right wave, it has gained the reputation for the best tube-riding wave in the country. A little further down is Casino, an open ocean break that lacks jetties but provides a great long boarding wave. As a 'split peak' - which means that you can ride both lefts and rights, the wave is at least one foot bigger then Backdoor when it's 'firing.'

10. Goote, Delilah beaches, Ashkelon

While Ashkelon has been a surfers' spot for some time, it's a newer beach destination. Goote Beach is the best surf spot in this southern beach town, with jetties around the marina that make the waves smaller, and a break just south of the marina that holds great waves during winter storms. With waves higher the farther south you head in Israel, Herzliya will have knee-high waves while Ashkelon will have waist- to chest-high waves. According to Grant Shilling, writing about surfing for This Magazine, Delilah Beach in Ashkelon, named after the biblical story of Samson and Delilah, said to have taken place on this spot, is another popular surfing beach. But surfing in Ashkelon has been affected by the rockets launched from Gaza, an ironic turn of events given that surfing lingo for catching a big wave is 'riding a bomb.'" (source)

(NEWS) Manhattan Couple Booted From Cruise Over 'Jew Slur' Fight

"A wealthy Manhattan couple was forced to walk the plank during a cruise on the Queen Mary 2 -- after getting into a bizarre fight with a fellow passenger, sources said.

Broadway producer Gloria Sher, 82, and her husband, Frederick Evans, 91, said they were ordered off the luxury liner after their obscenity-filled argument with someone they claim had made an anti-Semitic remark during a stately black-tie dinner.



The couple almost wound up stranded in a remote port in Quebec as punishment for their outburst. At the time, they were only days into the $20,000, five-week cruise.

They were eventually allowed to remain aboard for six more days after some passengers came to their defense, but they had to stay inside their cabin -- under house arrest. Even their booze was confiscated.

'I was treated with no respect and unbelievably rude and shockingly terrible,' Sher said. 'I've been sick ever since. It has ruined our lives. It's changed us forever.'

Minutes into their meal that day, the couple said, one of their dining companions told Sher to shut up, then added, 'There are too many Jews on board.'

Sher, who is Jewish, admits she got angry, shooting back, 'F- - k you!' and 'How dare you insult me!' before storming off to her stateroom.

The next morning, the ship's captain, Commodore Bernard Warner, knocked on the couple's cabin door.

'You insulted a fellow passenger. I'm going to have to ask you to leave the ship,' he said, quoting from a manual.

The couple, who met aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1991 and knew Warner from several trips on the QM2, were stunned, especially when he insinuated that the 95-pound Sher had pushed someone.

'He told two seniors we had to get off in Quebec and make our way home,' said Sher, who produced the Tony-nominated musical 'Shenandoah.' 'We begged him not to do this.'

Evans, a former British navy man, said the commodore acted like a modern-day Captain Bligh, refusing to even listen to their side of the story.



But one passenger told The Post that the couple was at least partly to blame. Sher tends to get belligerent when drinking, the passenger said, recalling that she went on a rant one night because a lounge's piano was closed.

Another passenger, however, felt that the couple was definitely mistreated. Fred Bangasser, a retired Army colonel from Austin, Texas, who had befriended them during the cruise, tried to intervene when the commodore was giving them the heave-ho.

'This is deplorable,' Bangasser said. 'I felt that they were absolutely treated without appropriate dignity.'

Warner allowed them to stay on board until the ship returned to New York, but only if they agreed not to leave their room.

The elderly couple spent six days as shut-ins, although they did manage to slip out of their suite once in a while.

It was hardly the royal treatment for two people known to make bold claims. Sher, for example, likes to tell people that her hubby is the illegitimate son of the Duke of Windsor, the abdicated King Edward VIII, as well as a British knight. Neither claim could be confirmed.

And she has her own colorful past. Her former husband, Louis K. Sher, owned a chain of art-house movie theaters and produced 'The Stewardesses,' a 1969 3-D soft-core porn flick.

The Cunard cruise line -- which would refund the couple only $839 -- said in a statement that 'Sir Evans and Lady Sher engaged in multiple incidences of disrespectful and disruptive behavior towards crew members and other guests.'

The statement added that Cunard 'fully supported' the captain's decision." (source)

(NEWS) Hate Preacher Anjem Choudary Warns Ed Miliband Over His Views On Israel

"Radical hate preacher Anjem Choudary has issued a warning just days after Ed Miliband became the first Jewish politician to lead the Labour Party.

Speaking exclusively to The Daily Star Sunday, he said 'Red Ed' faced being targeted over his views on Israel.



He said: 'I think he set out his stall when he said the Government should continue their war in Afghanistan and that he supported the state of Israel. It's the same old thing - the occupation of Muslim land. What's the difference?'

'The whole issue of Israel is something which is in the minds of the Jews, so people will see him as just another person that supports the occupation of Muslim lands. That's maybe a factor in people's minds,' Choudary said

Choudary also hit out at the Milibands' Jewish origins.

'The fact that he supports the troops in Afghanistan, people will see him as just another warmonger. And the fact he is Jewish I don't think is going to help him at all. No,' The Daily Star quoted him, as saying.

Miliband, 40, spoke last week of how he and his brother David's careers in politics had been inspired by his parents' flight from the Nazis." (source)

(AUDIO) Jew Da Maccabi - 'Israelites' Jewish Music Video

(NEWS) After France, Israel Considers 'Banning The Burqa'

"All clothing that covers the face in a public place would be banned, but the proposed law would affect mainly Muslim women.

A member of the current Knesset is proposing a law that would prohibit the wearing of any garment that obscures the face and prevents identification, in any government office, at any entertainment venue, and on any means of public transportation. According to the legislator proposing the law, Kadima MK Marina Solodkin, its primary purpose is to liberate women from irrational religious restrictions. The bill mainly targets devout Muslims.

Solodkin explained, 'This past Passover vacation I was in southern France. And in this French province, I saw for myself, women in full burqa. I said, enough! For me, as a former Soviet citizen and believing Jew, I will never allow it in Israel.' On July 13 of this year, the French National Assembly voted nearly unanimously, by a count of 355 to 1, to ban burqas in public places throughout the country. On September 14, the French Senate confirmed the bill in another 246 to 1 landslide vote."

(NEWS) Israel’s Soccer Future In Europe Under Threat

"The UEFA President has taken a tough stance, 'Israel must choose between allowing Palestinian sport to continue and prosper or be forced to face the consequences for their behaviour.'

Michel Platini, president of European football’s ruling body, threatened Israel with expulsion from the union if it continues to undermine football in Palestine. His comments this week were prompted by Israel’s refusal to allow six of the Palestinian national team to travel from Gaza to a match with Mauritania in August.



Israeli spokesmen said the players were denied access for 'security reasons', claiming they did not have the correct permit. Protests were held in the West Bank town of Al-Ram and Palestinian Football Federation (PFF) President Djibril Rajoub vowed to take the matter further and 'demand the removal of Israel from international sporting organizations.'

Following a conversation with Rajoub, Platini, president of the European Union of Football Associations (Uefa), took a strong stance on Israel’s restrictions. 'We accepted them in Europe and furnished them with the conditions for membership and they must respect the letter of the laws and international regulations otherwise there is no justification for them to remain in Europe', he said. 'Israel must choose between allowing Palestinian sport to continue and prosper or be forced to face the consequences for their behaviour.' Platini added that International Football Federation (FIFA) chief Sepp Blatter had struck a similar tone during a private phone conversation

Palestinian football has been frequently disrupted by policies of the occupation, although informally there are agreements to leave it untouched as a 'humanitarian gesture'. The domestic league season is often shut down prematurely; only seven seasons have been completed since 1977 and players are commonly subjected to harassment and violence. Two national team players from Gaza, Ayman Alkurd and Wajeh Moshate, were killed during Operation Cast Lead and the national stadium was destroyed by Israeli bombs.

Despite the problems, the PFF has been flourishing of late. In 2008, the men’s national team played its first match on home soil, and a year later 15,000 watched the women’s team take on Jordan. Both have gone on to enjoy some creditable results and FIFA conferred its development award on Palestine in 2008 'in recognition of the difficult task that it had accomplished in keeping football alive'.

With membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), already secured, and European Union (EU) acceptance seeming more likely, Platini’s comments represent a momentum check for Israel. Rejection from European football, which they have participated in since receiving a special invitation in 1994, would be a damaging blow to Israel’s standing in its adopted continent.

The matter will be discussed at a special Uefa meeting in Belarus in October." (source)

(NEWS) IDF Unit 8200: Israel's Cyber Army

"Israel demonstrated its intent to conquer cyber warfare in the 1990s by presenting the country's legions of hackers with a choice between prison and working for the state.

Thousands are said to have signed up since then and have been incorporated into the defence forces Unit 8200.



In the intelligence community it is regarded as a singularly Israeli act of bravura that has given the country an edge in a world that has been rapidly immersed in cross border technology attacks.

Hackers, who invariably learn their skills engaging in illegal activity as teenagers, offer key advantages to countries seeking to defend against cyber warfare, or go on the offensive against an enemy.

The Negev desert based Unit 8200 has evolved from the signal intelligence arm of the Israeli military into a respected leader in high technology warfare. One American consultancy rated Unit 8200 as the sixth biggest initiator of cyber attacks on the plants.

It is a rapidly growing field. The Russians and Chinese have been implicated in thousands of attacks on foreign targets every year. The West is scrambling to bolster its capabilities.

The US has set up Cyber Command to coordinate its ability to withstand an attack. Britain has Cyber Security Operations based at GCHQ, as well as Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office units to guard the national infrastructure.

The level of attacks isn't published but officials describe the risk as grave and growing." (source)

(NEWS) Italian PM Slated For Jewish Joke Caught On Camera

"Premier Silvio Berlusconi's penchant for telling jokes stirred up a hornet's nest on Friday, with the opposition and Jewish groups blasting him for anti-Semitism and defaming religion and women.

The premier was caught making quips and telling jokes in a video filmed outside his Roman residence on September 29 and posted on the website of left-leaning daily La Repubblica.



Speaking to young supporters, the premier says: 'A Jew tells a relative: at the time of the extermination camps, a fellow countryman asks our family to hide him and we do. We put him in the basement, take care of him and ask him to pay us on a daily basis.

The other fellow asks: how much was it?

Three thousand euros.

A month?

No, per day.

Wow!

We'll we're Jews..and he paid up because he had the money. So give me some peace.

But here's a question for you: do you think we should tell him that Hitler has died and the war is over?'

Berlusconi wraps up his story by asking supporters: 'cute, eh?'.

The premier is also heard telling them that he 'collects a story and a girl a day' and urging them to queue up so that when he next presents an electoral list 'half of them will be women and all of them young'.

'I'm more than enough to represent old people in the party, everyone else should be young'.

In another video, filmed ahead of the Group of Eight (G8) summit which Italy hosted in the quake-hit city of L'Aquila, the premier tells a joke which targets Democratic Party Chairperson Rosy Bindi, the butt of his remarks several times in the past.

The 'story' takes aim at Bindi's looks and ends with a half-spoken blasphemous word.

Berlusconi and the matronly Bindi first crossed swords in the looks department on a top TV talk show last December when, reacting to one of her arguments, he said: 'I recognise you are increasingly more beautiful than you are intelligent.'

Bindi replied: 'I am not one of the women at your disposal, Prime Minister'.

Berlusconi was embroiled in a series of sex scandals a year ago amid allegations he had also cast young, attractive women as candidates for office.



He recently said his playboy days were over and described himself as a 'play old'.

The jokes stirred up opposition charges of chauvinism, blasphemy and calls for his resignation.

PD leader Pier Luigi Bersani said he was 'amazed that a person capable of such vulgarities should be running a country like ours'.

Bindi stressed that 'this time, before apologising to me he should apologise to Catholics and the Church'.

According to the House Whip for the opposition Italy of Values (IdV) party, Massimo Donadi, Berlusconi, who turned 74 on Wednesday, is 'clearly affected by senile misogyny'.

Amos Luzzatto, President of the Jewish Community in Venice and former head of the Jewish Community in Italy, blasted the joke as 'the worst sort of anti-Semite stereotype'.

Berlusconi rebuffed critics saying he had only repeated a joke circulating among parliamentarians over a year ago, offering apologies but saying that too much had been made of the incident." (source)

(NEWS) Symphony Spotlights Music Suppressed By Nazi Germany

"On the surface, it's a children's opera, with visuals by popular children's-book illustrator Maurice Sendak. But underneath, it tells a horrible story of the 20th century.

This week, the Phoenix Symphony will be performing 'Brundibar,' by Hans Krása, a one-act opera written in 1938 and more recently turned into a best-selling book with Sendak's illustrations.
But Krása, like so many other German composers under the Third Reich, died in a concentration camp.



'It's a fascinating picture of culture just before and at the beginning of the Nazi era,' says Michael Christie, the symphony's music director. 'It's a great musical snapshot of history.'

It is also part of a seasonlong look at the issue of composers either killed or exiled by the Nazis, including music by Erwin Schulhoff, Marcel Tyberg, Pavel Haas, Mieczyslaw Weinberg and Kurt Weill.

The symphony also will highlight the music of Felix Mendelssohn, whose works were banned in Germany during the Nazi era because his family was Jewish.

'We thought it would be a good series, hearing music by composers who didn't survive and those that fled,' Christie says. 'We are looking at it from the musical side and working with the ASU Jewish Studies Program for lectures into this very deep topic and the very big questions that have to be asked.'

A damaged culture

The Nazis had racial theories, but they also had esthetic theories, and the two were intertwined in ways that defy rational thought. In 1937, the regime staged an art show featuring what it called 'Degenerate Art,' which included work by some of the best artists of the time, making fun of abstract and Expressionist art. But less well known is the exhibit a year later of 'Degenerate Music,' which staked out the Nazi claims for the supremacy of German music over all others, and the degeneracy of Jewish, Negro and Slavic music, to say nothing of the avant-garde.

Those musicians who were able fled the country before war broke out, but those unlucky enough to be caught were either forced to silence their music through 'internal exile' or were sent to concentration camps.

Of those who stayed behind, many thought of themselves as fully assimilated Germans, rather than as Jews.

'But the Nazis had their own way of defining who's a Jew,' says Hava Samuelson, director of the Center for Jewish Studies at ASU. 'When they were executed at Auschwitz, many didn't identify themselves as Jewish.'

It's a tragic story, she says, 'not just because people died; we all die. But what happened to Jewish culture.'

The irony is that not only was Jewish culture damaged, but even more so, the German culture that Nazism was promoting ideologically.

Redirected path

As music entered the 20th century, there were several branches of Modernism that duked it out. The two main branches were French irony and wit, and German Expressionism, the end of a long line from Bach through Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner and into Schoenberg and Hindemith. A third strand incorporated nationalist and folk elements, including jazz; a fourth strand went off the deep end into serialism.



The Germanic strand of music was denser orchestrally, richer harmonically and more overtly emotional. But by imprisoning, and then killing, so many of its composers, the Nazis saw to it that this strand of Modernism was amputated from the mainstream of the 20th century.

'Music steered away from a connection of heart and sound, and became much more about the other side of the brain,' says Joel Revzen, artistic director of Arizona Opera and a lecturer in the symphony's Rediscovered Masters series.

'Their music was rich and dense with a lot of emotional depth, and a lot of that was lost.'

Going Hollywood

What survived of it came, of all places, to Hollywood, where, under the guiding hand of such exiled German composers as Erich Wolfgang Korngold, it became the template for movie music in the 1930s and '40s. If you want to see where Mahler went after the rise of Hitler, you have to look to MGM, Paramount and Warner Bros. LA is where not only Korngold, but also Arnold Schoenberg settled.

A few, like Weinberg, went in the other direction and settled in the Soviet Union.

'The desire to control the message was central to both the Nazis and the Soviets,' says Robert Oldani, who teaches music history at ASU. 'It is a desire to portray what was the government's idea of acceptable. In Germany, it was the 'blood in the soil' and the 'perfect Aryan' that was supposed to be conveyed through the music.'

In the Soviet Union, it was the triumph of the proletariat and the defeat of Western 'formalism.'

'In both cases, you see the same kind of extreme changes in the meanings of the words,' Oldani says.

And it is the words, whether 'formalism' or 'Jewishness,' that takes precedence over the music.
Only now, more than a half century after the Holocaust, is some of the music being rediscovered.
'Our concentration on this music over the season will allow us to recognize in a meaningful way what these composers did,' Christie says." (source)