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The Charlotte Jewish News - February 2015 - Page 29 Women/y hJewy Hadassah Lake Norman Chapter: The Power of Women Who Do Book and Author Evening with Espionage Specialist, William Northrop An interested erowd gathered at Davidson College on January 25 as Lake Norman Hadassah pre sented William Northrop, author of Spook War: A Memoir from the Trenches, as a publie serviee to the Lake eommunity. Our speaker was the featured speeial guest on Mike Collins’s well known talk show “Charlotte Talks” on WFAE Radio Wednes day, January 21. The on-air eon- versation ineluded information about Hadassah and its work. During his years living in Israel, Mr. Northrop beeame a fan of the medieal work Hadassah Hospital aeeomplishes. In light of that sup port, he graeiously aeeepted our invitation to speak. Mr. Northrop is a native of Charlotte and an Ameriean-Israeli intelligenee speeialist and histo rian. His talk eovered many topies about the truths on the ground in the Middle East. He explained how espionage ean bring down a government in rather short order. Faseinating the audienee with ex planations of how the “trades” work, it was quite obvious that we normal people really have no idea of what goes on in this mysterious world. His reality on the ground was something we all thought was simply the stuff of spy novels and movies. William’s reeently released book Spook War deals with the Ameriean-Israeli intelligenee wars during the Reagan Adminis tration. The Reagan years were run primarily by oilmen, who, un like their publie stanee of support for Israel, privately deeided to arm the Arab eountries. This, of eourse, fueled the spiral of vio- lenee we see in the Middle East today. Northrop eonjeetures what the region would be like if you took the oil out of the equation. Not mueh! There was a lively Q & A ses sion as was expeeted with the re- eent news about terrorism, a topie he knows well. William is a strong advoeate for Israel and has lived the fight against terror. He has a pieture of his then two young daughters in a “safe room” with gas masks. He said that every Is raeli home has sueh a “safe room.” It is diffieult for us to even imagine living under the daily fear that a terror attaek eould oeeur at any moment. William Northrop was arrested during the “Passover Plot,” a run up to the Iran Contra affair. The arrest of the Israelis and their as- soeiates was engineered by Rudolph Giuliani, who never eould deeide what the eharges were. He finally landed on some thing akin to “prohibiting the US government from making foreign poliey.” The group was ineareer- ated in the Queen’s Prison in Bermuda, where they serve tea every afternoon. After transfer to New York, where he had dinner with John Gotti, the Dapper Don, in jail, the eharges were dropped. William Northrop’s name was mentioned over 400 times in the newspapers and periodieals of the day and had his pieture on the front page of The New York Times. He has written for Penthouse, The Jerusalem Post, Recall Military Journal and was featured on “60 Minutes with Mike Wallaee.” He was an investigator on the Okla homa bombing. His exploits worldwide provided the opportu nity to interfaee with some of his tory’s best known individuals, ineluding Henry Kissinger and Viee President George H.W. Bush. The Lake Norman Hadassah eommittee for the event was ehaired by Co-President, Nadine Fox. Billie Green ereated her ter- rifie graphies for posters and pro grams to bring the event to life. Rita Eilenberg, Rose Saeoliek, Arleen Glass, and Co-President Karen Marshall handled AV, HADA5SAH-Lake Klotman Ctiapter The Power of Women Who DO Jewish Fedeiatiori OsoUilA ChURLOfTt JEWISH COUNCIL OF LAKE NORMAN ^Hillel at Davidson College William Northrop ordering Hadassah materials, re- seareh and day-of duties. They formed an aetive working team. Randee Lemer was our liaison to the Jewish Couneil of Lake Nor man. Our appreeiation goes to Rabbi Miehael Shields and Davidson Hillel, the Jewish Couneil of Lake Norman, and the Jewish Federa tion of Greater Charlotte who partnered with LKN Hadassah to bring the evening to fruition. Thanks to Davidson College’s Dean Rusk International Studies Program and eommunieations department, both of whieh as sisted in providing posters and information on eampus and the surrounding area. ^ HADASSAH HEALTH NIGHT 2015 March 9, 2015 7-9PM Monday Temple Israel FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC This years topics: HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE CARING FOR THE CAREGIVER HADASSAH My Valentine to American Jewish Men By Suzanne Levy (JTA) - On Valentine’s Day, I’d like to sing the praises of Ameri- ean Jewish men. I’m aware it’s a rather large group, but that’s the point: The United States is a sea of plenty for Jewish men. Whereas in Britain, where I grew up, there are only about 300,000 Jews. If you remove mar ried men, women, and ehildren, you’re left with enough eligible Jewish baehelors to inhabit a syn agogue or two. There are, however, millions of men in the U.K. who look like Benediet Cumberbateh or Hugh Grant. Lovely ehaps, all of them, but none embodied the stoeky, dark, eurly-haired Jewish types I longed for when I was growing up in the 1970s. Think Paul Miehael Glaser, the guy who played Starsky. Or Tony Curtis. There were some in my Hebrew sehool elass in London, but few had that sass, that ehutzpah I was after. They were aiming to be languid and vaguely ironie, like Jeremy Irons. My first eneounter with a real- life Jewish Ameriean boy eame when I was 16.1 was on a summer Israel tour, that rite of passage, and one night, on the shores of the Kinneret, I met Lanee from Miehigan. I’d never met a Lanee before. Only Jeremys, Howards, and Simons. It was thrilling. He was stoeky, with a “Jewish nose” and thiek hair. We flirted, I fell in love, he left on an Egged bus. I was left with the eonfirmation that yes, sueh beings do exist in real life, and a deep knowledge that one day we would meet again and marry. (That knowledge proved to be illusory, but if any one knows a Lanee from Miehi gan who went to Israel in 1979, please pass on this story. Maybe our ehildren eould marry.) I’m sure my attraetion to Amer iean Jewish men was a faetor 10 years later when, at 26,1 deeided to move to New York. I’d like to say it was beeause I had taken a job at the BBC’s New York bu reau. But in faet it was just that I knew I’d be living in a world in habited by Jewish guys. And so I was. I would walk down the street on the Upper West Side (with a partieular viewing point outside Zahar’s) and eluteh myself in ex- eitement at the Jewish Adonises around me with their deep, soulful eyes on their expressive faees. Could you be my prinee? How about you? My dating pool suddenly ex panded. Jewish men were every where: waiters, dentists, squash instruetors. It eonstantly amazed me. I would meet a guy at a bar or a party and their last name would be Rosenbaum or Cohen. Defi nitely not Clemington-Smythe. My bubbe would have been proud. I was eestatie. It’s not like I hadn’t dated - or even been in love with - non-Jew ish men in England. But I just found there was a level of eomfort and warmth - heimischeness, if you will - with my Jewish tribes men. And the Ameriean Jews also had an exotie assertiveness that thrilled me. They have a eonfi- denee in their manliness, in their heritage. They’re deseended from the Jews who made it through harsh winters and pogroms in the shtetls. They’re risk takers and life embraeers. While it’s true that British Jew ish men are deseended from the same stoek, more than a eentury of keeping your head down, fitting in and hoping no one will notiee you’re avoiding the ham sand- wiehes at work doesn’t exaetly make you want to stand out in a erowd. British soeiety is wonder fully tolerant of multieulturalism - as long as you don’t make a fuss. Jewish Ameriean men don’t try to assimilate. They don’t seem to rein in their mannerisms. They’re out and proud (at least in New York or Los Angeles). And they have broad shoulders and are, as my mother would say, “shtark- ers” - they’re strong. Of eourse, there’s the stereo type that Jewish men are nebbishy Woody Allen types - and some are. But what these men may laek in brawn, they make up for with their seintillating smarts. The few Jewish intelleetuals in the U.K. stand out beeause of their rarity (Alain de Botton, Harold Pinter), while here you ean find bespeeta- eled Jewish men passionately ex pressing their views or fluently spinning bewitehing tales every where in the media. Talk wonkery to me, Ezra Klein. Give me a driveway moment, Ira Glass. Paul Krugman, fill me with your fi- nanee talk. (Paul doesn’t wear glasses, but you get my point.) One day seven years ago, after many years of happily wading through New York’s large Jewish dating pool, I was out for drinks with eoworkers when the eom- pany’s dark-haired viee president admitted to the erowd that he’d onee eonsidered beeoming a rabbi. I almost fell off my ehair. This would have never happened in London. His name was Steve Holtzman. It was love at last name. The next day I rushed to talk to him. We eompared notes on teenage years involved with Orthodox youth groups, and we’ve been together ever sinee. Today, Steve shrugs off his Jewishness, but for me it eontin- ues to be part of the appeal. His maternal grandfather eseaped the ezar’s army by walking aeross Eu rope when he was 12. His father’s family eomes from Pinsk. (I just like saying the word Pinsk). He’s smart, funny and eute. He has a big embraee. And a big heart. So on this day of pagan/Christ ian eelebration of love. I’d like to take this moment to make a toast to him - and to all Ameriean Jew ish men. May you all eontinue to thrill this niee Jewish girl from London. And all Jewish girls, from wherever they are, through out the deeades to eome. ^ (Suzanne Levy is a British-born writer and TV producer now liv ing in Los Angeles.)
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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