Four rabbis and two imams

Imam Omar Suleiman addresses the dinner crowd at Casablanca Restaurant in Metairie.

The joke is supposed to start "Four rabbis and two imams walk into a restaurant," but last night it wasn't a laughing matter at all. It was, in fact, a serious effort on the part of many in the New Orleans community to foster trust and understanding between two divergent faith groups. The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, a non-profit organization founded in New York by rap mogul Russell Simmons, Rabbi Marc Schneier and the late impressario Joseph Papp, organized the day-long activity between (Orthodox Jewish) Congregation Beth Israel and the Abu Bakr Al Siddique Mosque This so-called "twining" process began two years ago with Schneier's The New York Synagogue and the Malcolm Shabazz Mosque and has since grown into 50 such pairings last year across the nation with 100 this year. Rabbi Uri Topolosky and Imam Omar Suleiman have varying opinions on a number of matters, but they did away with criticism and dissent yesterday and, along with fellow congregants, picked up paint brushes and helped rehab a home in the Upper Ninth Ward area. That work, sponsored by the Saint Bernard Project, was intended to have both groups of Jews and Muslims work together on a project of lasting significance. After they cleaned up from the back-breaking work, everyone gathered at Casablanca Restaurant in Metairie, a kosher Morrocan restaurant, to enjoy a festive meal and to enjoy fellowship with one another. Both Schneier and his "twin" partner, Imam Muhummad Shamsi Ali, were in attendance at the dinner and each had time to discuss the various forms of religious observant foods allowed or prohibited in each religion. In Jewish circles the concept is called kosher or kashrut, while for Muslims the term is called halal. Members of each group asked questions of each other's spiritual leaders in order to gain insight. Also in attendance were Beth Israel administrative director Rabbi David Posternock and Rabbi Robert Loewy, the spiritual leader of Gates of Prayer Synagogue, where Beth Israel is presently meeting. All in all it was a great first start for two religious groups who have been largely distrustful and suspicious of each other. While Imam Suleiman and Rabbi Topolosky still have a major philosophical rift on a number of other topics, rebuilding New Orleans is a primary focus for both of them. This first "twining" was tentative, but wildly satisfactory in that a mechanism has been put into place for common values and to foster future connections between the two groups. It is, perhaps, God's will that the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding will bring these two Abrahamic faith groups closer.

NBC News Correspondent Martin Fletcher books into town

Sharing a moment in time with broadcast legend Martin Fletcher at the New Orleans JCC

One of my journalistic heroes came into town last night. Martin Fletcher, the lanky NBC correspondent who has covered conflicts in the Middle East, wars in Afghanistan, scourges in Africa and a host of other unsettling news events wheeled into New Orleans as part of the Jewish Community Center's 10th annual "People of the Book" Bookfest. Fletcher, whose hard-cover edition of "Breaking News" was released last year was not able to fit New Orleans in on his vacation schedule from NBC, having to stick to major cities in the initial push for publicity in 2008. This year, however, he made two stops at the two cities where I spent a significant time in my life. Last week it was Cleveland and last night he was here. Speaking with a very proper British accent, Fletcher charmed his audience with a number of "war" stories, some of which involved him and his crews in genuine danger. His ready wit had many in attendance laughing along with him as he recounted small instances in his long career, which at the time seemed anything but funny. Following a stint as an editor at the London Times, Fletcher opted to become a television reporter. Initially he signed on as a cameraman. One of those early stories involved his work as a pool cameraman during the 1973 "Yom Kippur" war in Israel when he and his colleagues riding in an armored personnel carrier were attacked in a bombing and strafing run by an Egyptian plane. As Fletcher related, he was traveling with Horst Faas, a Pulizer Prize winning photographer who had been cited for his previous superb work under fire. Faas and others sought refuge inside the vehicle through a turret. Fletcher was unable to join them because there was no space left inside. So, being the good broadcast journalist that he was, he started shooting his film camera. Even though the vehicle was driving erratically and in a serpentine pattern, he stood firm and watched through the lens as the MiG came back for two more attempts to dispatch their vehicle. Just as Fletcher and the others feared the worst, the Egyptian pilot flew straight up, pursued by an Israeli fighter, which shot him down in a haze of black smoke a few moments later. Faas hadn't even shot a single frame of film, but Fletcher had recorded it all. Afterwards, he told Fletcher it was by far and away the most dangerous event of his life, but Fletcher being naive or, perhaps, naturally calm under pressure, caught what turned out to be one of the most incredible exchanges of fire in that conflict. It was to be an indicator of much of what he was capable of doing in the coming decades. Although he stated he lived in Paris for two years early in his career, NBC kept him on the road in Afghanistan, the Middle East and other places for all but 42 days during that time. Eventually, he married an Israeli woman he literally "picked up" on the street, came to live just north of Tel Aviv and raised his family there. To hear Fletcher tell it, his job is unlike any of his adult counterparts in Israel. When the two intifadas were ongoing and prior to the security wall going up, Fletcher would put his children on school buses every morning fearing for the lives of his sons that they would not suffer at the hands of a terrorist or suicide bomber. Then, he would travel to the West Bank and interview some of the very same people who might very well be launching such attacks. Throughout his credit and much to his credit, Fletcher managed to interview both sides of a story and come away with a fair and objective report. The result was that neither the Israelis or the Palestinians came to see his reports as particularly biased. He didn't make any friends with right-wing Israelis nor was he embraced by hardliners in the Palestine Liberation Organization. The human factor of his stories has become more important to Fletcher and to support that he played videos of some of his more recent reports. A story on a young, determined AIDS victim in Africa, whose parents were lost to the disease and who was once close to death herself was riveting. Another report showed a violin from World War II that had belonged to a young Jewish violinist forced to play for Nazi officers and their ladies at a night club. Plotting his revenge, the violinist stashed a cache of explosives over a period of a year or more and used them to kill 200 of his captors before he himself was captured and executed. His violin was restored in Israel and played by famous Israeli violinist Shlomo Mintz at Aushwitz as Fletcher recounted the compelling event. Proudly, Fletcher admits he is less interested these days in covering an event or a story, but more interested in coming to know the people involved and telling their story. All in all, "Breaking News" is a good read, but Fletcher is an effective speaker and a vaulted personality worthy of respect in the field of broadcast journalism. He is less anxious these days to cover a war or conflict as he might have done in Rwanda or Kosovo. Still, that sounds to me like the wisdom of his years finally caught up to the recklessness of his youth. Martin Fletcher is a hero for these and many other reasons. An audience member revealed how surprised she was to learn that Fletcher is the son of Holocaust survivors from Vienna and that in all of his reports across the globe from Israel and afar, she had no idea he was Jewish. That's an incredible compliment to any reporter that is seeking the truth. He is a great broadcast journalist and now he is an author of great merit. I look forward to his new book on Israel, which he says is already at his publisher's offices. Perhaps next year we in New Orleans will be lucky enough to be on the first publicity tour for that tome. If not, there's always the paperback tour in 2011.

10 Commandments Hike

Holding a special "kudu horn" or shofar, here I am at the 2007 Ten Commandments Hike

Five times in as many years I have organized an interfaith march along historic New Orleans streets for the Boy Scouts. Sponsored by the Southeast Louisiana Council (with a major push from the Jewish Committee on Scouting), the Ten Commandments Hike has received critical praise and overwhelming support from diverse groups within and without the Scouting community. As a matter of fact, it is the only event in which members of both the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA participate. The idea of the hike is to promote acceptance and tolerance of major faith groups as well as to advocate for physical fitness. The Twelfth Point of the Scout Law is "A Scout is reverent." To that end and to promote a Scout's duty to God, the participants gather at one of the many designated houses of worship and hear about one of the Ten Commandments before leaving for another and then another. The hike is designed to be age-friendly for the younger and older segments of those participating. For Cub Scouts and others from six- to eleven-years old, the hike is four miles long encompassing eight of the ten stops along majestic Carrollton and St. Charles Avenues. For older Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and adults, the remainder of the hike is another two miles long. At the end of each segment, participants climb aboard the historic St. Charles streetcar and return to the starting point just prior to sundown. This year's day-long event on November 27 enjoys stops at Episcopal, Catholic, Presbyterian, Jewish, United Methodist, Mormon, Lutheran and Baptist houses of worship. But an interesting thing has occurred this year. Perhaps it is the ever flattening economy or perhaps it is that boredom has set in, but for some reason our usual numbers are off and less than ten days remain before the hike takes place. This year's hike is important in that it kicks off awareness of the centennial year of Scouting in the United States among the various faith groups. Founded on February 8, 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has always counted on support from religious factions and major faith groups as major partners. So, in an effort to drum up support and get more participants, I am officially plugging this year's hike. EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE can take part. You don't have to be a Scout or even know one (although you do know me, I guess). Here is the link to sign up online. Oh, and don't forget about submitting the medical form and registration information. Hope to see you at this year's hike. Woo hoo!

The skin of my teeth

The last week has been bit of a haze for me. Monday I underwent periodontal surgery on the upper right and lower left portions of my gumline. The three and a half hour ordeal was made easier by the use of copious amounts of lidocaine that rendered parts of my nose, lips and oral orifice numb for 24 hours. There's nothing so freeing as to dribble liquid unintentionally over yourself following a procedure like this. It's those little things that make the other more disgusting and painful outcomes of surgery seem somehow a bit more tenable. Thank goodness for pain medications and an attentive staff who called me daily to check on my progress. In any event, as you can attest, I did survive and indeed made it through the initial bland-and-soft-food-only days with a certain aplomb and esprit-de-corps. It's like the song "New York, New York." If I can make it there (through this), I 'll make it anywhere (through anything)." There is no doubt we take our mouths for granted. It is only in disquieting times like this when we are advised not to speak and counseled as to what we can put inside our mouths that the daily importance of smiling, eating and even kissing loom large. I can admit that the most difficult post-operative prohibition I dealt with was not talking. Oh, what would I have given to have had a universal translator or some other fictional futuristic device to aid me in my dire time of no communication! I had a pad of paper and a pen that I tried using, but given my poor pensmanship, cursive writing is a labor in futility for me. I liken it to surfing the Internet with Mosaic. It could be done, but why bother? I am so accustomed to typing for all my writing that I think in keystrokes. It probably was a good thing that I had a handful of pain medications to down at the time and help me cope. The relative lack of pain kept my spirits up and allowed me to deal with my recovery in a measured and steady manner. By the end of this past week I was talking and eating in a more natural way. I admit I was not really feeling up to writing a whole lot or chowing down on a thick steak or a box of peanuts. The last week I've had several instances where I should have written something. Disgraced former U.S. Representative William Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years behind bars and both New Orleans Chief of Technology Gregory Meffert and his wife Lisa and his computer-savvy crony Mark St. Pierre were arraigned in federal court on a variety of charges. Looks like when I finally do recover, I'll have plenty to write about. Oh, well, time to remove the sutures.

One Ida, One Ani

Some of you may have heard. It's November. Apparently, that fact escaped notice from Mother Nature because an extremely rare November storm named Ida lashed North America over the past few days. While attentions were being paid in Louisiana to football games and the fallout from last weekend's Voodoo Fest, Hurricane Ida blindsided the Big Easy. After hitting the Carribean, the storm entered the Gulf of Mexico, poised to strike the Alabama and Florida Gulf Coasts. According to meterologists, Ida has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but it still will be a significant rain event. Meanwhile, Ani Kafavian, a renowned classical violinist whose sister Ida of the Beaux Arts Trio, was due to be in town tonight for a concert sponsored by the Friends of Music. The concert is now slated for November 10. Uh-oh. Gotta fly. My periodontist beckons me to have oral surgery about now. When I hear the word "oral" pronounced, I prefer a litany of other choices to follow it, surgery being my least favorite of word choices.

Yankees go home

For the 27th time the New York Yankees are world champions, winners of the coveted and heralded Commissioner's Trophy that signals they have won four out of the seven-game World Series. It's the first time the Yankees have won since 2000 and the first year they opened their new stadium. Back in 1923 the Yankees did the same thing. They opened a new stadium (soon to be called "the house that Ruth built") and won all the marbles that year. Winning has been a part of the Yankees' tradition. Fact is, they have won more World Series than any other ball club and have several significant records to reflect on their dominance in Major League Baseball. The crowning glory of this year's victory this year was they defeated last year's Series winners, the Philadelphia Phillies. 2008 was the first year in recent memory they didn't figure into the post-season, so posting the best average in the league was a great place to start, but taking the title was even more important. There was a time when winning and the name Yankees were almost synonymous. True Yankee fans will harp back to that incredible run from 1996 to 2003 when the team went to six World Series and won four. Of that four most fans will point out, the Yankees had a run of three consecutive Series wins (1998-2000). It would seem their losing ways hit a nadir last year. But look. The birds are flying ever more lightly this day and the air seems somewhat more refreshing than it has in years. The moon looked a bit brighter, perhaps showing the sun was beaming ever more brilliantly. Indeed, the universe is back on an even keel, because Yankee fans take to losing about as well as penguins do to living alone. It just can't be done for very long without the entire fabric of society shredding away. So, for the seventh time since 1973, the New York Yankees are world champions. Philadelphia put up a good fight, especially in Game One. But world champions they are no more. Sorry, Boston fans. Sorry, my friends in Cleveland. This is one of those special times where you won't hear us saying "wait until next year."

Windows 7

I've been keeping a bit mum about Windows 7, the latest and greatest operating system from Microsoft. Windows 7 is basically Windows Vista without any of the problems that beset that operating system at its initial release. Most of the problems associated with Windows Vista were hardware related and not the fault of the operating system, which did offer significant improvement in a number of areas over Windows XP, most notably that in security. Unfortunately, the bad rap it suffered from the start kept it from being implemented into more workplaces. Many clients actually preferred to stick with older versions of Windows XP rather than upgrade to Windows Vista because they were sure it would cause problems on their local workstations. Ironically, those that upgraded from older downlevel client operating systems like Windows 2000 Professional or were implementing computers on a local network for the first time, thought Vista was a huge improvement. Many of the problems with Vista have been ironed out in the last several years, which is why Microsoft used Vista as the basis for its latest operating system. There are some significant differences with Windows 7, especially as it relates to the desktop. There are some very cool features here, most of which require actual hands-on use rather than a description by me. The main thing to remember is that Microsoft got a black eye from the pushback it suffered from the initial release of Windows Vista. It is not making the same mistake with Windows 7, which it released October 22 at the same time it released an upgrade to its Windows 2008 Server package: Windows Server 2008 R2. As it turns out, there are some very sharp applications that work in concert with Windows 7 Professional and Windows Server 2008 R2. Please remember this does not apply to Windows 7 Starter or Home operating systems. I have never recommended any Microsoft Home operating system for a business, but I can understand an end user wanting to save money when purchasing a new computer intended for a home network. Frankly, I believe there are benefits accrued when using Windows Vista Business or Windows XP Professional in the workplace or at home if spending the extra $100 is not crucial to one's budget. Today I took part in a seminar related to the benefits of installing Windows 7 over existing networks. I am intelligent enough to know that the downside of Windows 7 is likely to be glossed over, but for the most part I am impressed. It seems to me that it's worth upgrading to this new operating system, especially for those who have not upgraded in the past five years. Also, in the back of my mind I know that Windows 8 won't be that far off either.