New Book Explores the Meaning of Being Jewish

The Pearls, who live in Encino, started the nonprofit Daniel Pearl Foundation and have undertaken a series of efforts to promote interfaith understanding, including an international music day named for their son and journalistic exchanges with the Islamic world. And now, they are involved in a new book project focusing on Daniel's Jewish heritage.

Judea and Ruth Pearl are editors of the recently published book "I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl" (Jewish Lights).

In the moments before Daniel Pearl was killed at the age of 38, he was videotaped saying: "My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish." That moment inspired Alana Frey, a schoolgirl in Rockville Centre, N.Y. For her bat mitzvah, she asked friends and family to write down what being Jewish meant to them. She planned to collect their responses, then send them to Adam, the son born to Daniel Pearl and wife Mariane after Daniel's death.

Her purpose, Alana told the Pearls, was to help Adam understand his heritage and to make sure that "his father's words would always comfort him."

Judea Pearl told Rabbi Harold Schulweis, of Encino's Valley Beth Shalom, about Alana's plan, and the rabbi suggested that the Pearls expand it into a book. The rabbi helped them find their Vermont publisher.

Together, the Pearls and the publisher drew up a list of prominent Jewish figures in government, science, the arts and other fields whom they asked to contribute. Among the participants were a few the Pearls hadn't realized were Jewish, including TV journalist Mike Wallace and Kitty Dukakis, wife of former Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis.

The resulting book contains brief meditations on what it means to be Jewish by 150 people, including actor Kirk Douglas, historian Martin Gilbert and the Pearl family. Many, including Daniel's parents and his sisters, Tamara and Michelle, describe themselves as secular Jews.