[Blog Editor: Full Disclosure – I’m a Christian Zionist supporter
of Israel’s Biblical Land Promise – JRH]
Ari Bussel shares a Jewish-American perspective that connects the Jewish
community in Beverly Hills California and Israel. An interesting whether you
are Jewish or not and have an interest in Israel’s existence.
JRH 2/27/20
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***************************
A City like No Other - A Lesson in Life
What Makes Beverly Hills Unique
By Ari Bussel
Sent 2/27/2020
12:47 AM
When my siblings and I went to Beverly, we were taught
that “there is Beverly Hills and the rest of the world.” Let us see what
else we learned right here in Beverly Hills: Treat the other the way you
want to be treated, and he who spreads his bread is bound one day in the future
to find it.
The headline of the main local paper read “Two Presidents in Beverly Hills on One Historic Day.”
One president was here to fundraise, the other for a short stop on a long
route. Since I did not quite understand the true meaning of this
“historic day,” I continued reading, flipping the pages to find and astonishing
amount of “Israel."
In the previous administration, President Barack Obama was
in Beverly Hills so many times, one lost count. President Donald J Trump
has not been here so frequently as his predecessor, but we knew each time he
was here from the demonstrations against him. Surprisingly, Beverly Hills
Jews are apparently not all Democrats, and some would pay tens and hundreds of
thousands of Dollars for a photo-op or to spent breakfast, lunch or dinner with
the President of the USA.
On the same day, Israeli President Rivlin was here too.
Los Angeles was the first stop, followed by Pacific Islands on a long
trip to Australia (still ongoing). In Los Angeles, the President was
honored by the Beverly Hills City Council and given the Key to the City and at
UCLA by the Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. Apparently, super-rich
Iranians were able to reach the President who previously rejected an invitation
by the local Jewish Iranian American community for a mega event in his and
Israel's honor. Money does the trick, and even a president flies in to be
honored.
Israeli President Reuven
Rivlin, center, accepted a key to the city from Beverly Hills Mayor John
Mirisch (photo courtesy of the city of Beverly Hills – Photo appeared in Park Labrea News Beverly Press)
President Rivlin’s previous visit to Los Angeles was most
hastily arranged, after the General Assembly of the Jewish
Federations of North America refused to have Prime Minister
Netanyahu speak to it.
President Rivlin then (11/13/2017) emphasized:
“We are all one people, and Israel is dear to all of us.” On the Western
Wall, the President said: “The symbol of unity, the Wall of our Tears and
Joy, has become a symbol of division and disagreement. I hope that in the
future we can return to the table together, and reach an understanding on this
important issue.”
And he laid the following need for cooperation:
“These are the tasks before us; the fight against anti-Semitism,
preserving Jewish identity, safeguarding the security of Israel. We must
continue to pass these duties to our children and grandchildren, from one
generation to the next.”
The deep rift regarding prayer at the Western Wall still
continues. Neither the Prime Minister’s absence nor the President’s
substitute speech helped.
Unlike New York, Los Angeles is far away from Israel.
Thus, the total number of times an Israeli president has been here since
the formation of the modern state is de minimis. When Israel’s ninth
president, Shimon Peres of blessed memory, came to Los Angeles, the
preparations took some two years. The President met numerous groups,
including a mega event at the Beverly Hilton and another at Dream Works.
It was most apt, for President Peres was respected by the entire world as
a “Dreamer” (visionary, in the most positive sense of the word). The
entire region was energized.
Like his successor who would refuse to meet with the Iranian Jewish community, President Peres
refused to meet with the Christian community, and declined an invitation to a
mega event (the President’s requirement at that time was for at least 2,000
people to attend an event; the proposed event was for 5,000). For each,
his own priorities and preferences.
So here came President Rivlin, and like his previous visit,
it was limited to those who are either super-rich or most connected.
Strange, since President Rivlin is viewed as the people’s president,
loved and adored by Israelis for being “one of them.” A
once-in-a-lifetime treat that should be shared and open to the public at large,
not only to a select few ended as a photo caption in one paper and a front page
headline in another.
Israel and the Beverly Hills Courier
The coverage of the President’s visit would be a picture on
p.2 of the other local paper a week after the visit and an entire issue
immediately following the visit dedicated to Israel by the Beverly Hills Courier.
How strange life turns out to be. Let me tell you why.
The BH Courier and the City of BH were always dismissed as
insignificant by the Israeli diplomatic mission to the West Coast. There
were other newspapers (e.g. the Los Angeles Times), there were more
important cities (e.g. Los Angeles). So much so, that until the arrival
of Consul General David Siegel [Jewish Journal-2011,
Communications 2025
profile-2012 & GovServ.org-2019],
the BH Courier was not even on the press list of the Israeli Consulate General.
The publisher of the Courier at that time, Clif Smith [Blog
Editor: I didn’t do a deep search but found it interesting WikiZero’s report on Clif
Smith’s publishing style as Conservative as if that was a bad thing.],
wanted to meet with top Israeli visitors and hear from them. His paper
and the community are ardent supporters of Israel, and it would have been
appropriate that the main local paper be paid the respect and be afforded the
professional courtesy it deserved. But for the staff at the Consulate, a
local throw-away paper and a city of 34,000 were … nothing. Luckily, we
in Beverly Hills stand very well on our own. We do good without
expectation or anticipation of thanks. And we continue our unabashed
support of the only homeland for the Jewish people around the world
no-matter-what!
Came a real diplomat and changed the culture and attitude at
the Consulate. After a pitch was made to include also the local -
seemingly insignificant and unimportant - publications, Mr. Smith was invited
for President Peres visit and a relationship started that is bearing fruit to
this very day.
Similarly, slowly it was discovered that Beverly Hills is a
unique city in the entire world in terms of Israel. What makes the City
so unique? Its majority Jewish population? The number of synagogues
within its boundaries? The large proportion of Iranians who call the City
home (about 1/3 the entire City population)? The leadership, at all
elected entities - City Council, School Board, Treasurer - that is usually
Jewish?
Beverly Hills and Israel
We can go back generations of BH City Councils and meet
amazing people who have supported Israel in numerous ways. Previously,
mega donors to Israel call BH their home, and there is not a university,
hospital or museum in Israel where their names cannot be found at the very top
of the donors lists.
Then came to the City a philanthropist businesswoman, who
does not even reside within the City proper, and turned the City into the
strongest pro-Israel fort to be found anywhere in the USA. Gina Raphael [Algemeiner author profile
& JNF Interview] has utilized her
connections in the City, her own money and her leadership style to do good.
She brought symposiums about water and cyber security to the City.
She marked 9/11 jointly with Israel, time and time again. She
brought the Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office (i.e. the Chief
Executive of Israel) to celebrate Israel on Israel’s Independence Day (the one
day he should have been in Israel). She regularly brings the different
elements of the community together (i.e. Ashkenazi and Sephardi, competing
Rabbis, …). Gina serves as an example for women in business, women in
leadership and women of philanthropy and for parents who would do everything to
have children, and she is a bulldozer when it comes to Jewish life and the
Jewish people.
In short, Gina Raphael managed to change the landscape like
a loving, most capable gardener tending to a garden. A magnificent and
most tender work of creation. This happened at the same time that CG
David Siegel was here and changed the attitude toward public diplomacy, that
started with working with the press and treating each and every one as if they
are the entire world (rather than dismissing those not useful at the very
moment or not rich or not important enough as rugs on which to wipe one’s feet,
possibly to be used in the future if and when convenient). It was a new
world order.
Since then, Israel’s situation continued to deteriorate and
the hatred toward Israel continued to intensify. Ancient anti-Semitism
rose again, this time around disguised as “permissible criticism of Israel.”
The United States has seen some horrific anti-Semitic attacks on
synagogues. Hate crimes against Jews rose in numbers and intensity.
The BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement has spread and managed to
poison innocent minds with lies and propaganda.
[Blog Editor: The BDS Movement is a grievous embodiment
of Antisemitic Jew-Hatred as is demonstrated by facts rather than lying propaganda:
o Anti-Semitism: History of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions
(BDS) Movement; By Dr. Mitchell Bard; Jewish Virtual Library; Sources
date from 2003-2017 ©
1998 - 2020 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise
o German parliament slams boycott Israel movement as
'anti-Semitic'; By AFP wire; WION
News; 5/17/19 09.31 PM (IST)
o BDS and antisemitism: Examining the Ministry of Strategic
Affairs Report; By AMOS YADLIN & MICHAL HATUEL RADOSHITZKY; Jerusalem
Post; 10/11/19 09:56
o Austrian Parliament to Declare BDS Movement as Anti-Semitic;
By Soeren Kern; Gatestone Institute; 12/16/19 5:00
am]
Israel is compared to evil, and anything bad that happens to
Jews is not punishment enough. Companies like Air BnB and leading figures
in the entertainment world like Natalie Portman take action against Israel, for
talk has now morphed into action, and even local Jews of the younger generation
now support organizations that harm Israel under the guise of “human
rights."
And then, there is Beverly Hills, an oasis of safety and
sanity, a city where the great divide - between Democrats and Republicans,
Netanyahu’s supporters and detractors, Reform and Orthodox Jews - has not
managed to blindside those at the helm (“every elected member in the City is
Jewish,” as Dr. Julian Gold likes to say).
A City like no other
Time and again, the Council stands up to fight
anti-Semitism, to support Israel, to allow a safe haven for the Jews and to
remember those who perished in the Holocaust. Why do they do it?
Likely because any student of history knows that what starts with the
Jews never ends with the Jews; that if we do not know our own history, we are
bound to repeat it; and if we do not stand up and speak (and act), there will
be no one left to stand up for us when the time comes. Simple lessons;
all practiced in Beverly Hills.
Nothing happens in vacuum, and the world has not come into
being today. The support for Israel has been a cornerstone of Beverly Hills
for the past seven decades. Giants like Guilford Glazer z”l [Blog
Editor: For non-Jews who are unaware, when you see z”l after a person’s name,
they are deceased (See CoffeeShopRabbi.com for some info)],
Nate Shapell z”l, Max Well z”l, Larry Field z”l and others - many who survived
the Holocaust. Philanthropists like Paul and Herta Amir, Virginia and
Frank Maas and Dick Ziman. Past Mayors like Max Salter, MaraLee Goldman
and Mark Egerman. Journalists like Norma Zager, the former editor in
chief of the Courier. Local leaders like Sue Brucker (“How can we make
Israelis understand we - Reform Jews - are Jews too?!?”). Rabbis like
Rabbi Laura Geller, Rabbi Yossi Cunin and Rabbi Kalman Topp (a Reform and two
Orthodox; a woman and two men). City Staff like Mahdi Aluzri and Pamela
Mottice-Muller (an Iraqi and a Christian). Religious leaders like senior
pastor Dave Worth (of the BH Presbyterian Church). In short - a
community, Beverly Hills like no other.
It would not have happened without a push and a shove and a
determination by a diplomat one rarely encounters in one’s life time, and a
local mother-businesswomen-leader who focuses on doing good and away from
nonsense, on substance than form. But more importantly, the lesson to be
learned is to never belittle the individual, or in this case, a tiny city,
seemingly insignificant, or a local paper, equally “inconsequential.”
When you treat the “widower, orphaned and foreigner among us” as equal,
as deserving and worthy, God repays, most handsomely. Pay attention in
life, for that is what God wants from us. A dear lesson to learn indeed. And
if we ignore the other, we may end up finding ourselves … on our own.
++++++++++++++++++++++
BLOG EDITOR: I’ve apparently
been placed in restricted Facebook Jail! The restriction was relegated after
criticizing Democrats for supporting abortion in one post and criticizing
Virginia Dems for gun-grabbing legislation and levying protester restrictions.
Rather than capitulate to Facebook censorship by abandoning the platform, I
choose to post and share until the Leftist censors ban me completely.
Conservatives are a huge portion of Facebook. If more or all Conservatives are
banned, it will affect the Facebook advertising revenue paradigm. SO FIGHT
CENSORSHIP BY SHARE – SHARE – SHARE!!! Facebook notified me in
pop-up on 1/20/20: “You're temporarily restricted from joining and posting to
groups that you do not manage until April 18 at 7:04 PM.”
__________________________________
Edited by John R. Houk
Text enclosed by brackets and
embedded links are by the Editor.
© Ari Bussel
Ari Bussel is Vice
President of Operations at Saybrex International, a privately held family
business specializing in the distribution of fine wines and spirits. He is
responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company and has held various
positions in the company since 1993.
Prior to joining Saybrex,
Mr. Bussel served as First Lieutenant in the Center for Systems Analysis at
General Headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces, where he led the
implementation of the Logistics War Doctrine in the Computerized Wargame
Program.
Mr. Bussel is involved in
a variety of philanthropic and civic activities. Mr. Bussel completed the Team
Beverly Hills Leadership Program and served on the Environmental Sustainability
Topic Committee of the City of Beverly Hills. He was a member of the Steering
Committees of former Beverly Hills Mayor MeraLee Goldman and the current
Beverly Hills City Treasurer, the Hon. Eliot Finkel. Mr. Bussel also completed
and participated in the Community Emergency Response Training Program of the
City of Beverly Hills as well as the Crisis Response Team of the Maple
Counseling Center.
Mr. Bussel was among the
founding members and served on the boards of Gen. Shimon Erem’s Israel
Christian Nexus, the Western Region of Friends of Israel Firefighters and the
Israel Institute for Alternative Energy Advancement. He completed the Salvin
Leadership Program of the Anti-Defamation League.
Mr. Bussel writes
regularly. For the past decade, his weekly columns appeared in print in Israel
Jewish Life, Shalom LA, Muslim World Today and Israeli Week. Mr. Bussel’s
articles appear on numerous websites, including Canada Free Press, Free
Republic, NewsBlaze, SlantRight and OpEdNews. He is a member of the
Los Angeles Press Club.
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