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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
July 24, 2009
3 Menachem-Av 5769
The Most Famous Woman in America You Never Heard of
By
Suzanne Fields
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Before there was multiculturalism, there was assimilation. Before assimilation, there was ethnic pride. Before ethnic pride, there was fear and frustration in the old country, with hope for a better life in America. Such is the immigrant experience. Poverty, prejudice and tyranny, a combination of hardships and fierce ambition, drove men and women to our shores, beginning with the Pilgrims.
The pilgrimage continues today. Everyone has a story tailored from personal experience.
Americans who worry that Sonia Sotomayor will take ethnic activism to a seat on the Supreme Court can nevertheless appreciate her biography, her rise from poverty within a minority Puerto Rican community, to achievement in the best schools and a successful law career that eventually led to her nomination to the Supreme Court. Latinos rejoice. They think it's their turn, that through her they'll get the recognition they deserve. She's their cultural icon, a mark of acceptance, just as Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been a symbol of pride for Jewish women and Thurgood Marshall was a marker for blacks.
The immigrant experience is both wonderful and fearful, subject to the standards of different generations and different times. The immigrant reflects both the stereotypes of his or her group as well as the idiosyncratic attributes of the individual. So, we simplify and generalize as we look at biographies of different immigrants and how they impart meaning for future generations.
Such thoughts came to my mind watching a new documentary film, which opened in Washington and New York and may soon come to a theater near you. "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg" is about a radio, television and Broadway star of yesteryear who was, as one cultural historian put it, "the Oprah of her day." Gertrude Berg was a Jewish broadcast star of the '30s, '40s and '50s, with a career encompassing the ebb and flow of attitudes toward Jews in a time when how Americans saw themselves was changing, often dramatically.
The documentary is the work of Aviva Kempner, whose work on two previous award-winning documentaries focused on Jews in other circumstances. "The Partisans of Vilna" was about Jewish resistance fighters who joined partisan commandos fighting the Nazis in the forests of Lithuania and Poland during World War II. Her film demonstrated how Jews "fought back" despite having to deal with prejudice among the other partisans, some of whom were as contemptuous of Jews as the Nazis they killed.
"The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" told the story of "Hammerin' Hank," the Detroit Tigers slugger who was the first major Jewish baseball superstar. Fans threw pork chops on the field, taunting him. Hammerin' Hank became a profile in courage in 1934 when he refused to play ball on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, even though the Tigers were fighting for the pennant which they eventually won (only to run into the Dean brothers in the World Series, which they lost). He soon silenced his critics four years later, hitting 58 home runs, just two shy of the mark that Babe Ruth set in 1927, which everyone thought would last forever. He returned from the war in 1945, just in time to lead the Tigers over the Chicago Cubs in the World Series.
Gertrude Berg wrote, directed and acted in "The Rise of the Goldbergs," a family sitcom set in a Bronx tenement. The character Molly Goldberg, the Jewish mother who could have been Greek, Polish or Italian, debuted in 1929 less than a month after the stock market crash. Her embracing maternal sentiment was so typical that Franklin Delano Roosevelt said that "it wasn't me who got us out of the Depression, it was the Goldbergs." Molly, with her Yiddish accent, was voted the second most admired woman in America, after only Eleanor Roosevelt.
The show moved to television in 1949 and was quickly second only to "Amos 'n' Andy," which made affectionate fun of blacks just as the Goldbergs made fun of Jews. "I Love Lucy" replaced Molly less than a decade later, and Lucille Ball became the first lady of television, the wife of a Cuban immigrant, and replaced Molly as the queen of the comedy of assimilation. Along with the Goldbergs, "Amos 'n' Andy" eventually succumbed to political correctness, replaced by Archie Bunker, a white blue-collar bigot who played the prejudice card from a more sophisticated point of view.
Actor Ed Asner summed up Molly Goldberg's waning popularity: "I was concerned they were not laughing with the Goldbergs, but at the Goldbergs. I wanted to blend, blend, blend." But stereotypes survive. When Thurgood Marshall was introduced to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, his new colleague on the Supreme Court, he called her "Mrs. Goldberg." She took it as a compliment to Molly. Not everybody would have.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on JWR contributor Suzanne Fields' column by clicking here.
Suzanne Fields Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields
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