Mason Defends Word
NEW YORK — Jackie Mason called U.S. President Barack Obama a “schvartze” during a performance in New York City, angering some audience members. The website TMZ reported March 15 that Mason used the term, which means “black” in Yiddish but is considered derogatory by some, during a show at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency on March 12. “I’m an old Jew. I was raised in a Jewish family where ‘schvartze’ was used,” Mason told TMZ. “It’s not a demeaning word and I’m not going to defend myself.”
Grants For Education
SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco foundation will provide millions of dollars in emergency grants for Jewish education in response to the recession. The Jim Joseph Foundation said last week that it would provide Jewish federations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Washington, Boston and Boston’s North Shore with funding for need-based scholarships and subsidies for children attending Jewish schools and summer camps over the next two years. The money will be distributed through local federations. “These grants are meant to make the difference between kids being able to afford to go to Jewish school and camp, and not going,” said Alvin Levitt, the foundation’s president. In each year of the grant, the foundation will give Boston up to $2 million; San Francisco, up to $1.75 million; Los Angeles and Washington up to $1.25 million; and Boston’s North Shore, up to $250,000.
Rescue Plan In Peril
NEW YORK — Jewish aid officials are worried that a secret operation to take imperiled Jews out of Yemen could be in jeopardy after news of the effort was made public in the Israeli press. In the weeks since a Yemenite Jew was murdered by a Muslim in the northern Yemen city of Raida, Jewish groups have sped up their efforts to get Yemen’s 280 or so remaining Jews out of the country, where anti-Jewish hostility appears to be on the rise after Israel’s war in Gaza. So far, Yemen’s president has taken several steps to protect Jews in his country. About three weeks ago, the Jewish Agency for Israel said it had brought 10 Jews to Israel, while the United Jewish Communities has been working secretly to arrange for 113 Yemenite Jews to come to the United States. The operation was a joint effort of the Satmar community of Rockland County, N.Y., as well as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, UJA-Federation of New York and the U.S. State Department.
Pistons Owner Dies
DETROIT — Bill Davidson, owner of the Detroit Pistons basketball team and a major philanthropist, died March 13 at his home near Detroit at age 86. Among his gifts, Davidson and his wife, Karen, gave $75 million in 2007 to build the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower at Hadassah Hospital-Ein Kerem in Jerusalem. Davidson, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, had owned the NBA team since 1974, and won three championships. He also owned the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning.