Wailing Wall

The rabbi of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, will light a lamp tonight to begin Hanukkah, an eight-day festival celebrating the short-lived creation of a Jewish state in 160 BC. Rabbi Yehuda Meir Getz will light the first of eight lamps at the wall at 6 p.m. to start Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. An additional candle will be lighted each day for the next seven days in a ceremony that will be duplicated in Jewish homes and synagogues throughout the world.

Playing with professional precision and swagger, the Cal State Long Beach Jazz Ensemble won top prize at the First Queen Mary Intercollegiate Jazz Festival, held Friday in Long Beach. Besides a cash award, the band won a place on Sunday's festival program. Six bands, selected by coordinator Paul Kardos of San Bernardino Valley College, competed in two divisions: Cal State Long Beach (director John Prince), Cal State L. A.

Israeli police blocked thousands of Palestinians from entering Jerusalem today and barred Arab youths from the historic mosques on the city's Temple Mount. The heightened security was aimed at heading off clashes with Jewish extremists and to prevent protests over Israel's decision to deport four Muslim fundamentalist leaders from the occupied Gaza Strip.

"SHELTER."Lone Justice. Geffen. Should Grammy voters start taking award titles literally, they'd have an easy choice in the Best Inspirational Performance category this year: The climactic moment on the new Lone Justice album is a song titled, appropriately enough, "Inspiration," and it approaches what the scenario might've sounded like if Janis Joplin fronted the Rolling Stones on a gospel number.

Cindy Crawford turns heads in fashion capitals around the world, but few expected the hoopla she caused on a recent photo shoot in Israel. While posing with Capezio handbags, she caught the fancy of the locals from the Wailing Wall to the Bedouin desert. Crawford was mobbed by the paparazzi, posed for photographs with Israeli soldiers and even accepted an invitation to a 13-year-old boy's bar mitzvah.

A missile destroyed an Israeli warplane during raids on Palestinian guerrilla bases near this ancient port today, the day after a bloody grenade attack in Jerusalem. Journalists saw the plane explode after the missile struck and crash into a valley four miles southeast of Sidon, and some reporters said the wreckage still smoldered 90 minutes later. One of the two pilots was reported taken prisoner and the other was reported killed. It was the first Israeli plane lost over Lebanon in three years.

San Antonio Catholic Church will hold its 12th annual Fiesta Sept. 15 through 17 at 5800 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road, Anaheim, featuring games, an auction, food booths, entertainment and rides. The event will operate 6 to 11 p.m. on Sept. 15, noon to 11 p.m. on Sept. 16 and noon to 9 p.m. on Sept. 17. Discount ride tickets will be available at the parish office through Sept. 14. For information, call (714) 974-2666.

In addition to Jewish Television Network, there are two producers of Jewish-oriented television programs distributed to Westside and Valley cable systems. David Paul Kane is the founder, producer, owner and host of "The American Jewish Hour," a schmaltzy weekly show that showcases local talent and presents interviews with show business personalities. A recent episode included Joyce Amee, who sang "Danny Boy" while accompanying herself on the accordion.

Comedy writer Michael Connor, on the President's Mideast trip: "He was left red-faced this morning after a miscommunication with an aide left him standing at the Wailing Wall with a harpoon." Comic Argus Hamilton says the Beefeater Guards will accompany Prince Charles to Los Angeles: "It should be spectacular. They will march on the L.A. Courthouse lawn twice a day for the changing of Judge Lance Ito's mind."

No, he's not Jewish. In case you were wondering. And apparently everyone was wondering about hunky former Phantom Davis Gaines when he traveled to Israel to record composer Shuki Levy's "Masada: The Musical" with the Moscow Symphony. So maybe the yarmulke Gaines was wearing at the Wailing Wall threw them off. By the way, Jon Voight isn't Jewish either, even though he was one of the narrators in the multi-culti concert performance of "Masada" at the Shubert Theatre in Century City on Wednesday.