Jewish Federation Council

More than 300 volunteers turned out Sunday to clean beaches, paint T-shirts with runaway youths in Hollywood, deliver food to AIDS patients and join in other activities in what was billed as the first annual Christmas Day of good works by the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles. Taking note of the youngish character of the crowd, composed of many singles and young people, Rabbi Harvey Fields said the outpouring "put the lie to those who say the 25-to-40s don't care about society."

Edward Sanders, an attorney and leader in the Jewish community who served President Carter as a special advisor on Mideast policy, died Monday at his Los Angeles home. He was 87. The cause was cancer, according to his son-in-law, Stanley Witkow. Sanders gained prominence during the 1973 energy crisis when, as president of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles, he challenged a letter from Standard Oil Co. to 300,000 stockholders that appeared to support a pro-Arab Mideast policy.

Southern California's changing ethnic diversity will require Jews to reach out to Asians and Latinos and to rebuild ties to the black community in the coming decade, the new president of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles said. Terry Bell, who recently became the second woman to head the federation in its 81-year history, said that not only is there a traditional Jewish obligation to care for others but the region's demographic changes also require it.

Alvin Bronstein, executive director of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles from 1968 to 1978, has died. He was 90. Bronstein died of natural causes Aug. 9 in Ojai, according to his son, Phil. During his tenure, the council expanded its outreach to the community, opening branch facilities in the South Bay and the San Fernando Valley. It also created the Menorah Housing Foundation to address the growing need for dignified housing for seniors.

Although the visibility of so-called destructive cults may have dimmed from media attention somewhat, many of these groups are every bit as active now as they were 10 to 15 years ago. And, according to this encyclopedic reference book, families, social service agencies, religious leaders--as well as would-be joiners and ex-cult members--urgently need to understand the dynamics of cults in American society. The volume, dedicated to Maynard Bernstein, the late Los Angeles cult educator, is an anthology of previously published articles and excerpts plus some original contributions.

The article's constant attempt to draw a comparison between the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles is ill-conceived and inappropriate. The Jewish Federation Council is the umbrella organization for the Los Angeles Jewish comunity, representing some 500 affiliated orgnizations. Through its United Jewish Fund, more than $50 million is raised annually to support humanitarian concerns here in Los Angeles, in Israel and throughout the world.

William Levin, 73, attorney, Jewish and political leader and former Los Angeles city commissioner. A Pennsylvania native educated at Georgetown Law School, Levin was a partner in the North Hollywood firm of Levin, Ballin, Plotkin & Zimring, and served as president of the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn. He was president of Temple Judea in Tarzana and of the San Fernando Valley Jewish Federation and served on the boards of the Jewish Federation Council, American Jewish Congress and Bet Tzedek.

Sponsors of a mural that will depict the history of the Fairfax district and the Jewish community centered there are seeking high school students and senior citizens to help research, design and paint the outdoor artwork.

We cannot begin to describe how wonderful it was to have the immediacy of Kathleen Hendrix's coverage of the U.N. conference in Nairobi. For those of us who had been deeply involved in planning the pre-Nairobi Conference in Los Angeles, the warmth and humanness her articles transmitted allowed us to vicariously participate. On behalf of the Women's Conference of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles, we thank you. SUNNY CAINE SELMA PALMER Los Angeles

To learn the true value of a mitzvah--the Jewish tradition of good deeds--kids at the Bernard Milken Jewish Community Center in West Hills created greeting cards and designed T-shirts for sick children. They were taking part in the first annual Mitzvathon sponsored by the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles. "We wanted to help," said Lauren Klein, 10, of North Hollywood, one of about 20 kids involved in the Valley effort, which also produced gift baskets for Russian immigrants.

It is curious indeed that "Day of the Jewish Trojan" (Dec. 11) makes no mention of Dr. Norman Topping, USC's president from 1958 to '70. It was he who first reached out to the L.A. Jewish community more than 40 years ago. Whatever real or imagined ethnic barriers there were, that existed during the university's first 78 years, came down. Through his efforts, USC elected its first Jewish member of the board of trustees. Through his efforts, and his good relations with the leadership of the Los Angeles Jewish community, Hebrew Union College was invited in 1968 to move from small quarters in the Hollywood Hills to property adjacent to the USC campus and to share academic offerings.

Carefully balancing the need for security with the desire for an inviting, airy atmosphere, Jewish community leaders in Los Angeles proudly displayed the results of a $24-million overhaul of their headquarters Monday in the Mid-Wilshire district. The Jewish Federation center at 6505 Wilshire Blvd. will house a children's museum and library, an exhibition gallery and offices for nine Jewish community groups in addition to the federation's executive offices.

The Jewish Federation's Valley Alliance phone fund-raising campaign exceeded its goal with $1.53 million in donations. "It's the highest one-day total we've ever had out here, so we're very excited," said Bonnie Somers, the group's public relation's director. Nearly 1,000 San Fernando Valley-area volunteers made about 10,000 phone calls in support of Super Sunday--the Jewish community's largest fund-raising event of the year.

The man with the beard and bushy eyebrows handed out pamphlets inside a West Los Angeles ballroom Sunday advocating worldwide intolerance against the "Islamic-Arab totalitarian enemy" in the Middle East. When a Jewish American woman huddled over her morning coffee and bagel refused to accept the propaganda, he barked at her. "Come on!" he said. "Keep your mind open. We're supposed to be sharing ideas." The irritated woman walked away.

Elderly women tap a staccato cadence in a dance studio. Older men pump iron in a fitness room next door. Preschoolers romp on a grassy playground. For more than a decade, the Bernard Milken Jewish Community Campus on Vanowen Street has provided recreational, social and cultural programs for young children and elderly West Valley residents. But the Jewish Federation / Valley Alliance and West Valley Jewish Community Center, which together run the campus at 22622 Vanowen St.

In its first grants aimed at encouraging Israeli tolerance of liberal religious beliefs and practices, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has given $250,000 to programs in Tel Aviv run by Reform, Conservative and pluralistic Jewish organizations. "We believe this is a first step toward specific grants which our donors can feel good about," said John Fishel, executive vice president of the Jewish Federation.

I was appalled by the distasteful article incorrectly titled "Jewish Identity" in the July 14 issue of the Los Angeles Times, South Bay section. It was a disservice to the Jewish community and to those of us who have worked for many years to achieve a greater understanding between all Jewish groups in the community. I have served this community as president of the Southern Region/Jewish Federation Council, as a full-time volunteer and member of its board of directors for almost two decades and currently as editor of the Women's Conference newsletter, "Contact," and a member of the board of governors of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles.

On behalf of the Jewish Community Relations Committee, I wish to commend your editorial comments of Feb. 18, "The Friends of Dr. Mengele." As you so clearly state, Argentina knowingly sheltered Nazi war criminals and refused to cooperate in international efforts to extradite them to Israel for judicial actions. Their shameful history, as well as that of West Germany, must be publicly denounced by all justice-seeking nations of the world. Never again should any nation offer refuge to persons who have committed such atrocities.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has awarded $100,000 grants to two area schools, including the Heschel West Day School in Agoura. The elementary school was started four years ago by parents in the Conejo Valley, an area with a growing Jewish population. Beginning with one kindergarten class of 14 children, the coed school has swelled to 150 students, said Gary Polson, one of the founders. "In a growing school, there are a lot of needs," Polson said.

A one-day fund-raising event brought in $4.45 million for charities supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, officials said Monday. Volunteers for the annual "Super Sunday" phone-a-thon reached 12,000 contributors, said William Bernstein, the federation's associate executive vice president, and exceeded their goal of raising $4.4 million Sunday.