L.A's new mayor reflects the city's melting pot

Los Angeles has a new mayor elect: Eric Garcetti. Big city politics are often ethnic politics. And just like the city he will run, Garcetti's background is appropriately mixed. He'll be the first Jewish person elected mayor in the city’s history. His father’s family are Mexicans of Italian descent, hence the Italian last name. His mother is of Russian- Jewish descent. Garcetti is currently a Los Angeles City Council member, and takes the Mayor's office on July 1.

Museum openings coincide with Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Anniversary

Friday April 19 marked the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising against the Nazis. Two museum openings coincided with this date. One is the Bronx High School of Science's Holocaust Museum and Study Center. Its' holdings include an extensive collection of Holocaust artifacts. A former teacher began the collection hoping to teach tolerance to the school's students.

The second is Warsaw's Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich, or Museum of the History of the Polish Jews. The museum will honor 1,000 years of Jewish life in Poland. Friday was a  partial opening for educational and cultural workshop, the Museum's main exhibit should open early in 2014.

Poland was once home to the world's largest Jewish community, and in many ways Jewish life was centered in Poland. That community was decimated by the Nazis during World War II. The last 20 years have marked a change in the Polish national conscious in terms of its Jewish past. The influence of Pope John Paul II and the end of Communism has allowed Poland to acknowledge the extent of Jewish life in the country's history, the role of collaborators in the murder of Jews, as well as the extent to which ordinary Poles risked their lives to hide and save Jews from the Nazis.

Nixon's ethnic diatribes

The Watergate Scandal wasn't President Nixon's only example of poor judgement. A newly released batch of tapes from the Nixon libraries reveal disparaging remarks President Nixon made in reference to Blacks, Jews, Irish-Americans, and Italian-Americans. The tapes were made in February and March 1973, and recorded conversations between Nixon and his top aides and personal secretary.

Nixon's rants stooped to the lowest of ethnic stereotypes. He took shots at the Irish as drinkers, Italians as hot tempered, and Jews as obnoxious. Surprising is the disinterest on the plight of Soviet Jews of not only Nixon, but also his German- Jewish National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger.

Celebrating Hannukah

The eight day Jewish festival of Hanukkah begins on December 1 in 2010.

In Fairfield, Connecticut, locals celebrate their second public menorah lighting. The first ceremony last year was marred by Neo-Nazis.

In West Bloomfield, Michigan, Temple Israel's No Temple Without Chanukah program aids needy families during the holiday.

At the White House, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle hosted a Hanukkah ceremony in East Room. The ceremony featured a menorah lent by a congregation in New Orleans that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Meanwhile, a new Hanukkah song has entered American popular culture. The Maccabeats are an accapella group from New York's Yeshiva University. Their Hanukkah tribute titled "Candelight" is sung to the pop song "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz and has become a YouTube sensation.

Lastly, NPR traces the origin of American Hanukkah celebrations back to the work of two Cincinnati rabbis in the late 19th century.

Where Jewish-Americans live

Don't kvetch. Head to KlezKamp instead.

Each December, KlezKamp manifests in a hotel in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. It's a week long program dedicated to keeping alive the traditional Yiddish language and culture. Participants immerse themselves in the culture and language that were almost decimated by Hilter.

Before World War II, Yiddish was the lingua franca among Central and Eastern European Jews. Klez Camp was founded by musician and scholoar Henry Sapoznik. Now in it's 29th year, KlezKamp attracts some 500 participants,  ensuring that Yiddish folk traditions are passed to the next generation.

"Birthright" strengthens ties between Jews and Israel

I had never heard of Birthright until recently. The first time I even heard the name was at my office. It happened that two of my colleagues both were fast approaching age 26, and there was a sense of urgency to sign up for the organization's trip to Israel before they were too old.

Taglit-Birthright Israel is a charity that sponsors heritage trips to Israel. It offers a free 10 day trip. The clincher is that to quality, individuals must be aged 18-26 and have at least one Jewish grandparent. Participants visit historical, religious and cultural heritage sites around Israel, including the Western Wall, the Negev, and the Dead Sea.

Meanwhile, everlasting bonds are formed between Jews and Israel, which certainly must be one Birthright's goals. A Brandeis University study shows that programs such as Birthright help maintain a strong sense of connection between American Jews and Israel. Note that Birthright isn't limited to American Jews. Trips are open to those from 64 countries in the Jewish Diaspora.

The New England Holocaust Memorial

The New England Holocaust Memorial is located in Carmen Park, on Boston's Freedom Trail. It is one of the more interactive Holocaust tributes in the US, and its' design is rich in symbolism.

Six glass towers rise from the memorial. Six million numbers are etched in the glass, representing the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust.

Each tower represents one of the major Nazi extermination camps: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, and Treblinka.

Visitors pass through the towers on a black granite path. A steel grate covers a six foot deep chamber at the base of each tower. Smoke rises from charred embers at the bottom of these pits, evoking thoughts of the gas chambers used in the camps.