Oj, Madagaskar!
Heil, Sachsenhausen!
In search of satire and song...can you help me?


Dear Friends,

In retracing my mother's footsteps in Siberia, I read in her memoirs that my mother was a huge movie buff, mostly musicals, but she drank in the culture of wherever she was, if only to escape from the reality for an hour or two at a time. Mum even spent a brief period working a mail route in Ust-Kamenogorsk, delivering mail to the local theatre owner. He would give her tickets to shows, and she went to them all. My frustration is that she mentioned the films in passing, as if I were supposed to know what or where they were!

To round out my quest, I am looking for information and leads about the following and would relish any information you may have -- either in English, Polish, or even German or Russian.

Here's my list, with many thanks in advance,
Lynda Kraar


1. Popular music from Russian movies that were in theatres (in Siberia and chiefly -- for my purpose -- in the theatres in Ust Kamenogorsk and Leninogorsk) in the 1940s, particularly from 1940 to 1946.

2. Any other music that is associated with General Wladislaw Anders (such as Oj Madagaskar and Heil Sachsenhausen) that is satirical, possibly religious and definitely political. I am also interested in the composers and the performers; and whether/how they recorded this material.

3. Names of movies (I'm mostly interested in musicals) in Poland that were likely to have been showing in Lodz from 1946 through 1950, and any other info about those movies. Do you know if Andrzej Wajda or the Lodz Film School might have archives of such things?

3a. Looking for copies of the Polish Kino magazine from 1930-1939.

4. The Polish music book which features the music for Oj Madagaskar and possibly name of the publisher.

5. Music of the Chor Dana (Walter Dana – Wladyslaw Dan Danilowski), and where can I find some? I am particularly interested in his work in Poland from 1930 through 1939.

Any information is greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,
Lynda Kraar
GuitarGirl on

Why is this Night Different from all Other Nights?

SoCalled at Joe's Pub this Saturday night! Join me!


Hip Hop Seder Event this Saturday night at Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette St. NYC

Straight from their European tour, JDub recording artist SoCalled (aka Josh Dolgin) and friends will present a very special set of Jewish music at Joe's Pub in New York City on Saturday, April 8, at 11:30 p.m. Cover charge is $10.

The event is described as "An Eastern European-laced hip hop shtetl dance party hosted by accordion wielding, Yiddish rapping Klezmer-Hip Hop maestro SoCalled. A collision of MCs, beatboxers and badkhanim get together to celebrate the acclaimed SoCalled Seder album, which imagines the Seder that would take place if Williamsburg's hipsters, hip hop heads, and hasidim drank enough to sit down together at one table."

Go to http://web.joespub.com/caltool/index.cfm?fuseaction=detail&performanceID=1971/ for more information on the date and also to hear "Who Knows One" from So-Called's CD "Hip Hop Seder." It's must-have listening over Pesach, and also features hasidic reggae sensation Matisyahu. Looking forward to seeing you there!

A frayliche Paysach,
Lynda Kraar

in Toronto...
MOTHER'S DAY IS MAMAPALOOZA DAY!

They have jobs. They have kids. They're in car pools. But in their spare time they're plugging in and playing away.

Mama's growing! Now in 30 worldly locations, it's Toronto's turn to get it on. A mother of a festival...singer-songwriters, rockers, poets and comics laughing, singing and stomping their way out of the kitchen and into your hearts.

1-5 pm Mothers' Day Sunday May 14
$15 adults; $5 kids under 10 years
doors @ noon:
LULA LOUNGE: 1585 Dundas, just w/ Dufferin, TorontoBrunch reservations guarantee best seating
Call LULA @ 416-588-0307
www.lula.ca
www.mamapalooza.com

MAMAPALOOZA UPDATE

The first-ever Mamapalooza Canada festival is happening right here in the Toronto area. So far, we have 29 registered moms who will be performing for the first time under the Mamapalooza banner. We have rock bands, solo performers, new moms, grandmothers and much more. Canada has never experienced anything like it. Come on out and show your mother some respect!!!

Sincerely,
Lynda Kraar
Toronto regional co-coordinator
(yes, I live in NJ but will always be a TO girl at heart!)
contact: mamapaloozacanada@gmail.com

Mark your calendar:

WHAT: THE FIRST EVER MAMAPALOOZA CANADA FESTIVAL!!!

WHEN: MOTHERS DAY, SUNDAY, MAY 14, 2006, 1-4 P.M.

WHERE: Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. West -- 2 blocks west of Dufferin St. 416-588-0307

Visit http://www.mamapalooza.com/ to read more about this exciting festival

Macleans' article at http://www.macleans.ca/culture/music/article.jsp?content=20050912_112040_112040

Our first recruitment notice, from my archive, fyi....
http://guitargirlsdigitaldiary.blogspot.com/2005/12/hey-canadian-moms-who-rock-read-and.html

Members of the Kresy-Siberia group during their meeting in the London home of Jagna Wright. From left: Halina Szulakowska, Jagna Wright and Dianne Custonce. Photo by Elzbieta Gradosielska-Olsson

Translated from The Polish Daily of London, England

In the Footsetps of the Tragic Odyssey

LONDON 22-02-2006 -- The internet discussion group Kresy-Siberia has over 700 members world wide. Through this group, people who lived through the nightmare of deportation to Siberia make contact with each other. However, the majority of members of the group are children and even grandchildren of the “Sybiraks” who want to know and make known the truth of the events of those days.

Twenty four members of the group met recently at the home of Jagna Wright, the author of the film “A Forgotten Odyssey." This film played a direct part in the formation of the group. A review of the film in a Russian news paper was read by a “Sybirak” in Wroclaw who translated the article and put it on his own web site. Then, Stefan Wisniowski, the son of a “Sybirak” living in Australia, happened on this review on the aforementioned web site, after which he went about getting a cassette of the film.

Deeply moved by the subject, he decided with the help of the internet, to start a discussion on this tragedy that touched 1.7 million Poles, mainly from the Eastern Borderlands. This was at the end of 2001. From that moment, this discussion forum has been systematically expanding. For many of the participants in the group, a great psychological problem has been that their parents did not tell them about their terrible experiences. And even if some did speak, they were not always believed because their stories seemed too terrible to be true. Moreover, the stories were not authenticated by historians – says Jagna Wright.

A "conspiracy of silence" reigned over this subject, and in some measure still continues to influence it. This also applies to the West. In English language history books there is nothing at all about the deportations, and barely a mention about Katyn. This never was a comfortable subject, adds the author of the film. The history [of these events] has been filled with falsehoods and those wishing or daring to correct the falsehoods have simply been ignored. This complete lack of information on the subject has had disastrous results. The world pushes its own truths, for example accusing Poles of distrust of Russia "sucked" as it were with their mothers’ milk.

The members of our group wish to learn the historical facts firstly to acquaint themselves with tragic fate of their parents, and through this not only to understand them better, but to understand themselves better. Secondly, they wish to build and establish sound arguments through discussion and to convince the West of the truth.

During the meeting which was attended by members of the group from France, Sweden, as well as by Stefan Wisniowski, the production of a fictional film on the subject of the deportations was discussed, among other things. This film would touch on the subject of delicate problem of the behaviour of the allies with regard to the Polish situation. The idea has already been proposed to several directors. At the moment, the group is looking for £15,000 to pay for the screenplay.

The possibilities of creating a museum in Poland dedicated to the deportations and martyrology during the rule of Stalin are being contemplated. To this point in time, there is no such place.

The memory of approximately one million residents of the Eastern Borderlands (not only Poles but also among others, Ukrainians, Jews, and the citizens of the Baltic states and Chechnya) who came to their final rest in the earth of Siberia is surely worthy of such recognition.

In spite of the passage of so many years, much material, many documents and memoirs are accessible. Most important of all are the testimonies of eye witnesses which should be scrupulously recorded on film.

In the opinion of Jagna Wright, if an idea exists, with some enthusiasm and consequent effort to reach the goal, everything can be achieved having practically no resources. The quintessential example is the film “A Forgotten Odyssey” which she produced together with Aneta Naszynska.

This film recorded with an amateur video camera has found its way half way around the world. It has been or will be broadcast on 15 television stations in various countries such as the USA, Japan and Israel, and several times in Poland. Only the British BBC refuses to broadcast the film, finding one obstacle after the other.

In their spare time, and mostly without financial support, many of the members of the Kresy-Siberia group organize public viewings of “Odyssey” in their home cities. To this point in time, viewings have taken place in the largest cities in the USA, Canada and Australia. Others personally organize exhibitions about the deportations, Katyn and the army of General Anders or travel to schools with presentations.

During the meeting in London, the members of the Kresy-Siberia group presented ideas about expanding the internet pages that started the group and which a huge number of surfers of the net regularly visit. These pages are already rich in information and are very interesting. They include thematic studies and declarations, a gallery of unique pictures of pre WW II towns in the Eastern Borderlands and their residents, (provided by Tomasz Wisniewski, a journalist from Bialystok) and a “Memorial Wall” where all can have inscribed the names of loved ones who lived through the “Siberian hell” or died there.

The fact that around 70 percent of the members of the group are descendants of “Sybiraks” of the second and often the third generation clearly testifies that this chapter of history is still open with many “white spots” and even many pages of falsehoods. What is more, it will not be closed until it holds the whole truth and only the truth.

The internet pages and e-mail address of Kresy-Siberia: www.kresy-siberia.org www.aforgottenodyssey.com.groups.yahoo.com/group/Kresy-Siberia/ e-mail: Kresy-Siberia@yahoogroups.com

This article originally appeared in the Feb. 22, 2006, edition of The Polish Daily of London, England and was written by Robert Małolepszy. It was translated by Basia Charuba of Barrie, Ontario, a fellow member of the Kresy-Siberia newsgroup.

KNITTING UPDATE -- Although I'm back to the Land of the Great Snows, I wanted you to see my update on the Knitting Olympics, which I filed from St. Martin earlier this week...

ST. MARTIN French West Indies -- I am going for the gold with everything I've got. Despite impossible weather conditions (it was in the 80s, F., balmy, bright and breezy) I managed to knit up a mohair mix boot sock. I had a lot of resistance from the 45 spf zinc sun screen, which glued the long, unruly natural fibres to my body. The humidity grabbing hold of the porous bamboo needles also slowed me down. But the brightness of the tropical sun was like a burning orb of gold, urging me on, row after row....pink purl, pink knit, orange purl, orange knit. I am confident that I will complete this challenge and emerge victorious. Back to the salt mines for now.

Humbly submitted,
Lynda Kraar

More Pics from our first Mom Gathering

It doesn't get any better than this!

And remember -- if you're a Mom and you rock, WE WANT YOU!

xoxox
Lynda

Woo-hoo!
Toronto "mom rock" event
exceeds wildest dreams!








We had an amazing day. It truly exceeded our wildest expectations. The Globe and Mail put in a brief which attracted a few mums. Some heard about it on the radio. Based on what we saw, we are certain there are loads more out there!

We had ten acts including two quite amazing grandmothers: Debbie Fleming (above) and the Choir Girlz wowed 'em with a couple of jaw-droppers about the domestic life. Melody Ranch favourite Sandi Marie (below) cut loose with her observations on family life.

And speaking of Sandi Marie, she is generously extending her gig next month at Grossman's Tavern to guest mom talent and bands. The date is Thursday, Feb. 23. If you would like to participate, you can contact Sandi via her website.

There were more, and I will post in days to follow. Everyone was totally blown away at the range and scope of the talent. Of course, there plenty of kids in tow, supporting their mums.

FLASH! We are solid on the official Mamapalooza Toronto venue and date: Make a note:

Lula Lounge
Mother's Day (Sunday, May 14)
1585 Dundas St. West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. M6K 1T9
Reservations and Inquiries: 416.588.0307
We're doing it in the afternoon into the evening. Bring your family and celebrate Mother's Day with your mom....and ours!

Best overheard line from a dad to his son: "Don't touch the lady's axe!"

Moms Rock! Get involved!

xoxoxo
moi

I W A N N A R O C K !

Musical moms' gathering this Saturday
at the Safari Bar and Grill

If you're a hot-rockin' mama, strut your stuff at the Safari Bar and Grill this Saturday, January 21, from 1 to 4 p.m. at 1749 Avenue Road. We are getting together for an informal open mike to share our tunes, art and experiences in anticipation of the Mamapalooza festival this May.

Come and learn more.

Yours in MomRockdom,
xoxox
Lynda

Irving Layton 1912 - 2006

(Photo by Sheldon Grimson)

I did a poetry reading with Canadian poet laureate Irving Layton at Grossman's Tavern one rainy afternoon on Spadina Avenue in Toronto, autumn of 1983. The newspaper would compare us as fervent Zionists in a positive light -- he, the "lionesque" one, in the late September of his life, and me with my "lusty, youthful enthusiasm" -- their comment. My mum was very proud.

I fell in love with Irving on the spot. He revved my engines and got my juices flowing. I did not read my selections that rainy afternoon -- I channeled them from a deep, unseen place. The joint went crazy. But I wasn't in the moment. I needed to please Irving. I picked up the guitar and sang to him from the stage. An old jazz classic. He giggled, piercing me with those fiery eyes of pure coal. He just made you want to deliver your best stuff. He made you get all crazy. You could not be near him and not be forever altered by him. He had a euphoric toxicity that got into your bloodstream and went straight to your head. Opium? Heroin? The stuff of amateurs. Irving was the real deal. Even as an old man he was like a young Brando. I went home and wrote a poem about him. I gave it to him a year later, with trembling hands:

A Message for Mr. Layton

it was on an entirely gruelling afternoon

and there sat I

suffering the waste of words

and entire lack of

theatrics and dimension

out of the mouths of the angry

and the confused

masked in the guise

of the Poet.

it were as if I was being taught to speed read out loud.

but then

but then

but then

you turned every crooked plank

of the ghastly, dim space

into a lyric

you painted pictures

with your eloquent tongue

just five little words

held still the clock

my heart pushed heavily

against my female breast

do you know how beautiful you are?

does that really matter?

Nov. 1, 1983, 10 a.m.

(c) Lynda Marks

He is still in my blood. Thank you, Irving. Baruch Dayan Emet.

Hey, Canadian moms who rock! Read and get in touch if you wanna rock with us!
Lynda on behalf of Mamapalooza

Recruitment underway for "mom" talent showcase;
first-ever in Canada

TORONTO, Dec. 23, 2005 -- When the Mamapalooza festival comes to Canada for the first time this May, local area moms who rock and perform will be on hand to strut their stuff.

In preparation for the May momfest, organizers have begun a recruitment effort. A pre-festival open-mike showcase will take place on January 21, 2006, from 1-4 p.m. at the Safari Bar and Grill on Avenue Road. It will be an opportunity for moms to share their talents and get to know each other.

Mothers who wish to perform original motherhood-themed or -inspired music, comedy, drama or dance are being encouraged to sign up for the showcase. Non-professional or semi-professional performers are welcome. Original material is preferred.

"We are looking for mom artists to join a growing movement in mom-inspired music, poetry, drama or dance," says local organizer Lynne Atkinson, who reached out to the New York-based Mamapalooza headquarters after hearing about the festival and reading about its runaway success in the United States. "We are creating a culture and joining thousands of moms around the world who are becoming part of this movement, too. It's exhilarating."

Toronto-born Lynda Kraar, who now lives in New Jersey and who participated in Mamapalooza in New York City last year, also suggested to its founders that the festival be staged in Toronto. Having spent years in the clubs of Toronto as a solo performer, then with singing partner Ardene Shapiro and with her bands Lynda Marks and the Marksmen, and later with her reggae dance band Culture Shock, Kraar realized that Toronto was the right place for Mamapalooza.

"Toronto has always been a tolerant place which fosters all kinds of creative expression. The music scene here is the best in the world. You can go into any club on any night of the week and see incredible talent for a decent price. To do the same in New York City may set you back a few hundred dollars for an evening out. Most Moms don't have the time, latitude or luxury to get out there in many big American cities. Toronto is much easier for moms to manouevre. We're going to capitalize on that and help mothers tap into their creative side."

Atkinson and Kraar want prospective performers to know that Toronto's mom-inspired programming will be kid-friendly so that women can bring out their families and not be concerned that they are not welcome.

Toronto's first-ever mom-inspired music and arts open mike showcase will take place Saturday, Jan. 21, 2006, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Safar Bar and Grill, located at 1749 Avenue Road in Toronto, south of Highway 401.

For program details and to sign up, contact mamapaloozacanada@gmail.com.

For more information about Mamapalooza, visit http://www.mamapalooza.com/ Prospective mom performers can register as part of Mamapalooza on the website.

Polish Jewish transport to/from Leninogorsk, Nov. 1939 to May 1945

Dear Friends,

Please excuse the impersonal nature of this note. I need your help.

When my mum passed away this past May, she left me an incredible trove -- a typed memoir of her experiences during the war years. I am now researching to learn more and would like to create a public work of this incredibly detailed document.

My mother was part of an eastbound transport of young Jews who departed Poland at the end of November, 1939, headed for Leninogorsk in the Soviet Union. This group stayed in that area until May, 1945. My mother was from Lodz and was 14 when she left Poland (she traveled with her older brother, but the two split up soon after their arrival. He would die of tuberculosis and be buried in Leninogorsk in an unmarked grave two years later, and she would travel on to Ust-Kamenogorsk until it was time to go back aboard the transport).












There are some unanswered questions in the document which need to be resolved. I would like to know who organized these transports, or if any documentation, registries, pictures or footage exists about them or the passengers anywhere. Any and all information about this era, locale, and especially the people who made this journey is greatly appreciated.

Please feel free to cut and paste this note if you know of anyone who might be helpful.

A freiliche chanuke,
Lynda Kraar

Photo credits: Polish Jews 1939-1945. Created by Tomek Wisniewski as a project of "We are in search of Poland Society" in Bialystok (Stowarzyszenie Szukamy Polski). See our exibitions at www.szukamypolski.com/wystawy The animation of these photos see at: www.free.com.pl/zydy Hebrew translation: www.zchor.org/polishjews.htm

Good news from the
French Quarter!

Hurricane Katrina may have subsided, but the work of rebuilding New Orleans goes on. I am very happy to have heard from Jeff Chaz, a screamin', kick-ass blues guitarist whom I met in the Quarter one sultry August day several years ago. He is the Real Deal. He is pitching his new CD. Go to www.jeffchaz.com and put yourself on Jeff's mailing list to qualify for his special deal. So while you're out buying my merch at www.militant-mom.com for the holidays, you can put Jeff's CD high on your list, too.
xoxoxo
Lynda


I just want to thank you, all of my wonderful fans that have bought my cds at my live shows in New Orleans, and on tour.

Now that Hurricane Katrina is over, I'm back home in New Orleans, and have a special offer, only for my fans on my Fan Mailing List. Everyone else must order online or at a cd store. My latest cd, JEFF CHAZ IN EXILE has 12 great original songs,and is almost all recorded live in the studio! It's got a hot, live feel with a great four piece blues band that really has a blues-New Orleans music sound.

To order signed copies directly from me,please send a check or money order for $15.00($18.00 for foreign orders) to:

JCP Records
PO Box 9669
Pensacola, Florida 32513

All of my mail is sent immediately to me in New Orleans by my partner, so don't worry! When I can get another PO Box here in the French Quarter, all mail will automatically be sent to me here,but anything sent to Florida will still be sent to me by the Post Office automatically. I really need my fans' support at this time,so please order your auto graphed copies of JEFF CHAZ IN EXILE today. Get extras for friends and family! Thanks for your continued support.

Sincerely,
Jeff Chaz
http://www.jeffchaz.com/

Who owns the Falashas now?

There's a new book out by Stephen Spector, titled, Operation Solomon: The Daring Rescue of the Ethiopian Jews. It tells the story of the 1986 airlift rescue to Israel from Ethiopia of 36,000 Falashas - Jews of Ethiopian origin. The airlift took place over a day and a half. El Al jumbo jets were emptied of their seats and made the trip to bring their precious cargo to Israel. It happened without a hitch. In fact, there were a couple of live births during the airborne hours and some wonderful human interest stories which were widely reported at the time. Since there is a press corps of 800 or so international reporters in Israel, there is never much that goes uncovered there. Operation Solomon was no exception.

I digress for a moment - Falasha is not exactly a polite term. It's more derrogatory than anything, but once I heard the Ethiopians in Israel refer to themselves as Falashas, I realized that like everywhere else, names are not really what counts here.

One more digression: I have to brag about my husband for a minute. Marty played a significant role in the airlift matter at the time. I don't say that lightly. Everyone in the philanthropic and social service world of Jewish federations surely would like to be associated with that heroic and historic event. But Marty was really there, doing the important stuff like the inter-governmental negotiations, shuttling between the States, Israel and Ethiopia,and fund raising. I have the pictures from the loan guarantee signing, faces smiling, glasses raised.

Having said all this, I want to empower you with the other side of the coin, which will be known heretofore as The Truth.

Around 1983 in Toronto I had a band called Culture Shock. I'm sure that you remember us if you were a Queen Streeter, a Kensingtonian or an Ontario College of Art student. We were six or seven musicians, including three dreads and three white girls plus an assortment of horn players and people we loved who were great musicians and just wanted to sit in with us.

One night my friend and percussionist, Kwame, called to invite me to see some clips from a yet-unfinished film about the plight of the Ethiopian Jews. True, I was from the ghetto, but it was the Holocaust survivor ghetto of Bathurst Manor. I did not know anything about African Jews, other than those of North Africa. I called a few other band members and the group of us made our way to the synagogue where the intriguing film clips were being screened.

The houselights dimmed. An image of a teenage boy dressed in a white frock flashed on the screen. He was strumming a krar -- yes, that's what it's called. Fateful now, looking back. Anyway, it's a stringed instrument played with a plectrum. This boy, David, was singing of his longing for Jerusalem. It was a stunning moment for me. Black. Jewish. Music. Suffering. Longing. The story of my heritage. My father's experience in concentration camps. My mother's wanderings throughout Russia and Siberia during the war. The shattering of families. Our inability to feel at home in a place. Jewish oppression again. I am sitting with members of my band, Culture Shock, several members of whom were of the reggae band Truths and Rights. The Truth. All converging. A few more clips and then the houselights went up again.

The filmmaker, Simcha Jacobovici, gave his pitch. He told about sneaking cameras into Ethiopia and finding communities to visit. The fund raising ensued. Susan Pollack, director of the Canadian Association for Ethiopian Jews was on hand. What a dynamo. Wow. Who even knew such a thing existed? Who was having "culture shock" now?

I had no money. Culture Shock had no money. But I knew I could put on an event on Queen Street, attract a few bands and come up with some cash and raise some awareness. At my suggestion of this, Simcha and Susan were completely underwhelmed and skeptical. But when my childhood friend Rob Gasner offered to help pull it off, they perked up. Rob's family had been helpful in supporting the project. It showed The Truth.

That night I did not sleep. I had many, many more sleepless nights, thinking of our -- yes, OUR people! -- and the pending fate that awaited them if we did nothing. Most of the people who were deeply involved were Holocaust survivors and their children. I attribute that to the fact that we'd just been through a genocide and that we were not going to be passive. We were/are still angry and active. My people do for others. That's already been transferred to a third generation.

And I read what scant academic things I could lay my hands on at York and U. of T. I read The Falashas by David Kessler and Falasha Anthology, which is an amazing book of Ethiopian Jewish apocrypha compiled by Wolf Leslau. I followed the news stories about the political and military struggle in Ethiopia.

Meantime, CAEJ continued its work, raising money to pay for individual bogus student visas for Ethiopians. Since Canada had the diplomatic ties that the States did not have, we did the work. The cost was around $2,500 per person. Imagine, little old ladies and men waving their student visas at the Immigration officers upon their arrival in a German airport. And then they were diverted to El Al planes and taken to Israel by our operatives.

It took a year of back-and-forth, but finally we mounted our event at the Rivoli. In the process, Simcha and many of the Canadian Association for Ethiopian Jews members came out. I was so proud and humbled by their presence. We drew a crowd. It was 10 bands and me, the hostess. I took the heat for not performing that night. I am still ambivalent about it all these years later, but I was on a mission. We had media. We had a room filled with people who were talking to each other about Falashas and human rights. We had raised $1,700. The centerpiece was an impassioned plea by the passionate, energetic, incredible, charismatic and articulate Baruch Tegegne. Not a dry eye in the house, including his own.

In the weeks before the event, I got to know Baruch Tegegne, an Ethiopian Jew who came to Montreal after living for many years in Israel, since the 1960s. He was the most vocal advocate on behalf of Falashas at the precise time when the Jewish federation people were telling us to tone down while they were doing important work. Baruch was from the other side. He represented The Truth for many of us at that time.

We were not the well heeled, well educated Federation Jews. We were immigrants. Holocaust survivors and their children. Students. Poor. Undereducated. But mostly, we were angry about the possibility of another Jewish genocide going ignored until it was too late.

Who could blame us? We could not keep up with the comfortable uptown crowd whom we perceived were sitting around expensive conference room tables in their tailored suits. And we felt put upon by their arrogant insistance that we stay silent when the Baruch Tegegnes of the world were telling us to SPEAK UP. How could we stay silent? We were crying. Our hearts were crying. We sought out and found sympathetic people wherever this cause was taken - throughout Canada and the United States. We spoke out. We raised money. Because that's what was needed for those crucial student visas, Baruch told us.

There were many Falashas in Israel who felt that now was not the time to keep our mouths shut. The Jews kept their mouths shut during World War II while the SS St. Louis tried to dock in the States and ultimately returned its persecuted human cargo to the ovens and gas chambers of Nazi Europe. No, we were not going to stay quiet. Not this time.

Baruch and Simcha were speaking to groups, to anyone who would listen. Meantime, Simcha's movie got made and it exploded on the scene. He was banished from the Knesset, threatened by Ethiopian officials and shunned by the mainstream Jewish community. A roaring success in making everyone uncomfortable and enlightening them at the same time.

The weekend of the Rivoli event, Baruch and his family stayed in the Bathurst Manor ancestral home where I grew up. My father, who survived Auschwitz, Buna and Poznan, and has a tattoo on his arm, understood Baruch right away. They were both survivors who had to do many unspeakable, unthinkable things in order to survive. It was a bitter-cold weekend. Baruch had a Cadillac, Gd Bless him, but he did not have a warm coat. My father gave him his own coat off his back and told him to keep it. My mother doted over his daughter and wife, and we all became a family that weekend. I will remember that weekend for the rest of my life.

I am running too long already. But I will update you now. It is not pretty. There are no laurels. There is no happy ending. In the years that followed the airlift, Ethiopian Jews faced hardships in Israel. They were not recognized as Jews and thus had to undergo ritual conversion. They did not want to "blend" into the melting pot of Israel. They wanted to keep their own traditions. There were big problems. Very big problems. Suicides. Malnutrition. Truancy. Health issues. Xenophobia. And culture shock.

I spent 1984 in Israel, on the receiving end of CAEJ's mission, helping newly arrived Ethiopians settle into their new home. I kept up an apartment for the new arrivals and made sure they were in touch with local Ethiopians who spoke their own dialect -- it has long been reported, although not in Spector's book -- that there is a historic rift between the two groups of Ethiopians who have their own language. I reported this work to CAEJ in lengthy, typewritten letters.

Simcha is making some of the finest documentaries around. He has come a long way from the midnight hockey-playing gorgeous guy who was traipsing around the world doing amazing things. Now he is a settled-down dad (still gorgeous) who is traipsing around the world doing amazing things.

As for Baruch Tegegne, his fate has not been as gentle. Now 61, he suffers from severe kidney disease and has dialysis several times a week. He awaits a kidney transplant. Please read and respond if you can help. It's not too late if you ACT NOW. http://jewishworldreview.com/0605/tegegne.php3

Meantime in Israel we are seeing a lot of Ethiopian men working as security guards, checking bags for bombs and explosives at public spaces such as malls, stores, and so forth. There is a generation of angry youth now, too. They listen to angry music and dress and act the part of the gangstas. Bleak futures and crime are on the horizon. These are the children of those who came on the airlift. What did the people sitting around the Federation tables do for them since then? Or was getting them to Israel the end of the job? That is not really fair to say and I recognize that.

What did we do? Those of us to spoke out? Did we help:? In the beginning we thought we were doing it right. We wanted to see them come to the Jewish homeland with open arms.

Yes, there are agencies in Israel that are helping integrate this community as a whole, and yes, there are plenty of good people who are giving their all. But we should not assume that there is nothing left for the rest of us to do.

This is not the time for any of us to sit back and pat each other on our backs, whether we are in Brooks Brothers or Birkies .

How will we prevent the probable race riots and social injustice that we have helped foster by staying silent since we checked "airlift" off our To Do list?

This time NOT ONE PERSON should stay silent. Now that we have brought the Falashas to Israel, no one should be silent until they are integrated as every other wave of immigrants have been integrated.

Simcha, if you're reading this, NOW would be the time to update your excellent documentary.

Buy Militant Mom tee shirts, tank tops and CDs and SAVE NOW!


'Tis the season to get a unique gift for your loved ones!

I am offering a nice price on my merchandise especially for Guitargirl's Digital Diary readers. The following information comes from my website, www.militant-mom.com. I will give you top priority because you are so nice. :)

NOTE! For now, until I get the Paypal working on the website, contact me through the website and we will take your order manually. Thanks for your patience!

The "Fetching Militant Mom Tee Shirt"

In your Fetching Militant Mom tee shirt, your place will be in public! Nikki of British mom band The Mothers, her son Elvin and husband Neil (pictured) agree! Elegant and egalitarian, our high-quality tee shirt is the perfect shirt if you:

* Are a Militant Mom
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* Are the child/ren of a Militant Mom
* Know a Militant Mom!

Flashy, Fabulous and -- of course -- Fetching, it's a head turner for casual wear or even a night on the town. Our Fetching Militant Mom tee shirt is 100-percent cotton and made by Anvil. Available in S, M, L and XL. Silk screen imprint. Machine washable. Cuts are perfect for all, so pick your favorite size. SPECIALLY PRICED AT $12 EACH! Buy now at http://militant-mom.com/store.php.


The "Militant Mom Boy Nurturer"

Here's Claire, also of the British mom rock band The Mothers (and Callum's mum), sporting the Militant Mom Boy Nurturer. Go ahead -- make your statement! You'll be the mom who's got it going on in our eye-catching Militant Mom Boy Nurturer. We hope you like attention. You'll get a lot of it when you wear this flattering tank top, because every day is Mother's Day when you wear this little heart-stopper. Our Boy Nurturer is a 100-percent rib-knit cotton tank top made by Classic Girl. Available in M, L and XL. Washable with a silk screened imprint. Sizes run small. SPECIALLY PRICED AT $15! Buy now at http://militant-mom.com/store.php.




Militant Mom CD

This sampler CD features two songs which were unleashed at Mamapalooza 2005 festival during Lynda's appearance at Arlene's Grocery in New York City. SPECIALLY PRICED AT $5! Buy now at http://militant-mom.com/store.php.

Prices are in $US. Please add $3 for s/h on US orders. Canadian orders please add $5 for s/h.

A bloated, er, belated Thanksgiving wish
for my friends who worship at the altar of
Urban Legends

I received this Thanksgiving message and thought I would share it with you. If you cut and paste it, and send it to EVERYONE YOU KNOW, they say I will receive a date with Joaquin Phoenix and will be entitled to give him a lifetime's worth of free guitar lessons. And you will receive a coupon redeemable for free groceries at your local supermarket. At least, that's what the e-mail from my friend's mother's cousin's co-worker said. So don't blow this for me, okay? :)
xoxoxo
moi
____________________________________________

*I wish to express my thanks to all those who forwarded such informative e-mails, for instance, the one about rats in the glue on envelopes because I now have to get a wet towel with every envelope that needs sealing.

*Also, I scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

*I want to thank all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me your chain letters over the past 12 months. You have made me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy. Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

*I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper, since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.

*I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

*I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with HIV/ AIDS.

*I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

*I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

*I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

*I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.

*I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

*I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.

*I no longer date the opposite sex because they will take my kidneys and leave me taking a nap in a bathtub full of ice.

*I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.

*I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neimann Marcus since I now have their recipe.

*I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time).

*I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

*I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me and St. Theresa’s novena has granted my every wish.

*Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

*Yes, I want to thank you so much for looking out for me that I will now return the favor!

*If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM (CST) this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband’s cousin's beautician!

Weizmann Institute President Ilan Chet, me, Marty and outgoing Weizmann chairman Stuart Eizenstadt. Taken at Cipriani's in NYC during the recent American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science's New York Gala. It was a beautiful event. Kudos to all who delivered this memorable evening.

My dear friend David Amram asked me to share this with the world. This show is a rare opportunity to celebrate a musical legend and raise money for Katrina victims!
Lynda

DO NOT MISS!
···Amram 75th Birthday Gala Tribute!! ···
Nov. 19, 2005 - 8 PM - Tarrytown Music Hall
13 MAIN STREET, Tarrytown, NY 10591

Amram Jam II - 75th birthday tribute to David Amram, celebrating his music and his pioneering work and collaborations with stars from the worlds of music, theater, film and literature, celebrating FIFTY YEARS of Amram's collaborations since moving to New York in 1955.

The first half of the program celebrates his symphonic and operatic compositions as well as his music for the theater, films, opera and what 48 years later is known as Spoken Word, Classical saxophonist from the BOSTON SYMPHONY Kenneth Radnofsky will perform a movement from Amram's saxophone concerto "Ode to Lord Buckley," and Metropolitan Opera violist Midhat Serbagi will play instrumental excerpts from Amram's opera "Twelfth Night" with a libretto by Joe Papp. Also featured in Amram's lifelong work in championing what is now called World Music are Oud virtuoso George Mgrdichian, and Native American flautist David Little Eagle.

In addition, celebrating Amram's work in the theater and films, are ACTORS John Ventimiglia ("The Sopranos"), Keir Dullea ("2001"), and Jerry Stiller, with whom Amram worked for the very first summer of the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1957. Prize-winning author Joyce Johnson will recount Amram's ground breaking collaborations with Jack Kerouac in 1957 at New York's first-ever Jazz/poetry readings. Amram's three children, Adira, Alana and Adam will also perform.

The second half of the program, AMRAM JAM II, features MUSICIANS Paquito de Rivera, Jerry Dodgion and Vic Juris, in an all star jam session of Amram's jazz, Latin and World Music compositions, with surprise guests sitting in. A portion of the proceeds from this concert will be donated to the Jazz Foundation of America for Hurricane Katrina Relief efforts for New Orleans and Gulf Coast area jazz musicians. For tickets, call Jazz Forum Arts at 914-631-1000. For further info and ticket info, see http://www.jazzforumarts.org/amram.htm


DAVID AMRAM BIO

David Amram has composed more than 100 orchestral and chamber music works,written many scores for Broadway theater and film, including the classic scores forthe films "Splendor in The Grass" and "The Manchurian Candidate;" two operas, including the ground-breaking Holocaust opera "The Final Ingredient;" and the score for the landmark 1959 documentary "Pull My Daisy," narrated by novelist Jack Kerouac. He is also the author of two books, "Vibrations," an autobiography, and "Offbeat: Collaborating With Kerouac," a memoir.

A pioneer player of jazz French horn, he is also a virtuoso on piano, numerousflutes and whistles, percussion, and dozens of folkloric instruments from 25 countries,as well as an inventive, funny improvisational lyricist. He has collaborated withLeonard Bernstein, who chose him as The New York Philharmonic's firstcomposer-in-residence in 1966, Langston Hughes, Dizzy Gillespie, Dustin Hoffman,Willie Nelson, Thelonious Monk, Odetta, Elia Kazan, Arthur Miller, Charles Mingus,Lionel Hampton, E. G. Marshall, and Tito Puente. Amram's most recent work"Giants of the Night" is a flute concerto dedicated to the memory Charlie Parker, Jack Kerouac and Dizzy Gillespie, three American artists Amram knew and worked with. It was commissioned and recently premiered by Sir James Galway, who alsoplans to record it. He is also completing his third book Nine Lives of a Musical Cat.

Today, as he has for over fifty years, Amram continues to compose music while traveling the world as a conductor, soloist, bandleader, visiting scholar, and narratorin five languages. He is also currently working with author Frank McCourt on a newsetting of the Mass, "Missa Manhattan," as well as on a symphony commissionedby the Guthrie Foundation, "symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie."Amram and his son live on their family farm in upstate New York, when not on tour. Visit www.davidamram.com

After 10 years, Marty still finds the way to pleasantly surprise me ;->


In honor of my mother's memory, my sweet husband dedicated a plaque and sculpture at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, this past Monday. Housed in the Belfer Building for Molecular Genetics, the sculpture was created by an Israeli artist who specializes in scientific renderings. Yes, it's hard to miss the fact that it's a very erotic sculpture, but life is and should be erotic and sensuous and delicious and scrumptious and pleasing and happy.

I know that Mum is smiling down from the heavens, as Suzette said to me when she heard about this dedication.

And anyway, when you see the context of the pieces, it is apparent that, like life itself, these erotic little statues are part of something much, much bigger. I am glad that we are able to help advance science just a little bit through my family's generous gesture. Maybe one day we will eradicate the killer disease that took my mother from us, and other diseases that rob families and friends of their loved ones. One day soon those who elude these killers will be able to take a bite of the yummy, sexy, big ol' life that they might otherwise have missed.

Way to go, Marty. You got me where it counts.

Pink and Black Flamingos

I'm back! I spent the past few days in Toronto. While I was up, enjoying the amazing weather, tending to family biz and seeing friends, I got back into my winter sock knitting mode. This is my latest creation. I call it, "Pink and Black Flamingos." They were inspired by my best friend's daughter, who asked me to make her a pair of house sox. Within 24 hours (with time in between to socialize, eat, sleep, get to the airport, commute from Toronto to Newark, make it to the house and do some grocery shopping), they were complete.

In case you're interested, it's a Sherman toe-up pattern which is so easy to do and so mindless that you can actually watch TV and yell at the kids at the same time. I made them up on bamboo double pointed needles (size U.S. 2) using my favorite sock yarn, Red Heart Lustre Sheen in flamingo and black colours. The trim is done by mixing Lustre Sheen black with Bernat Envy. If you want the pattern, get in touch. :)

On Halloween, the night before I left for TO, I took a run with Miriam down to Staten Island where we cavorted with guitar god John Castellano and his family. His son Richie, who is also an incredible guitarist, is the bass player for Blue Oyster Cult. We had been invited to see Richie's own band this night. The costumes were a riot and it was great to get my kid into a club where great music played by gifted musicians is appreciated. Here's a pic of Mir with Richie. Two chips off the ol' blox.

TO notes: I took Dad to see our cousin Brenda and her family. She is a great pianist whose son is also a great pianist. We are a very musical bunch on all sides! At the lunch table Dad started singing an old song that he and Brenda's mother used to sing in the old country when they were little children, before the Nazis. He started to cry. This is the second time in my life I've ever seen Dad break down. I guess this is what happens when you are 91 years old and memories of a world lost come swelling up.

It was Holocaust Education Week in Toronto and there were many programmes taking place most days and evenings. My mother had to cancel her appearance at last year's event due to her illness. It was hauntingly empty to be here during this week and not have her around. I found myself seeking her out, wanting to tell her what I saw or heard. A very, very raw nerve.

Our other cousin, Larry Anklewicz, is the programming coordinator of Toronto's Jewish Film Festival. We bacame very close this past year. As a sort of welcome to TO, Larry took me to a special screening of The Protocols of Zion with director Marc Levin in a Q&A afterward.

It's more heartening than it sounds, although I'm sure you're getting shades of Woody Allen taking his date to see The Sorrow and the Pity in the movie Annie Hall. This is the kind of thing that children of Holocaust survivors do for one another as a friendly gesture -- they take you to programmes that address anti-semitism and the Holocaust.

(To wit: Later in the week my girlfriend would take me to see Helen Epstein who gave a very creative and informative how-to presentation on collecting family memoirs. Helen wrote the landmark book about people like us called Children of the Holocaust. She did much of her research in Toronto, where a critical mass of survivors and their families came to live.)

After the screening of Protocols, on the way home, Larry informed me that his son Mike, who is also a great musician, has just completed a project called The Golem of Bathurst Manor. He gave me a copy and what can I say? It's killer avante garde jazz klezmer, and should be on your compulsory listening list! Having just written a song about Bathurst Manor called "Manor Girl," I was astounded by Mike's choice of title. Back in The Day, the Manor was a Holocaust survivor enclave. But when we were growing up, who knew?

Also while I was in TO, the Hadassah Bazaar was on. It's been called the world's largest one-day flea market, although it's mostly new items for very cheap. My mother was a perennial president of the Masada chapter. Every year, the night before the Bazaar, Mum and I would go down to the Automotive Building at the Exhibition grounds to take the last-minute donations in. You needed special ID to get in that night. We were special! We would also get to shop around to see what everyone else was selling. Sometimes they would sell stuff to each other. That was the best part. Masada was the largest chapter and rented three booths. I always got interesting and fun stuff there. In fact, I still have a pair of leather and down ski mitts that I bought for a buck years ago.

All that aside, let's face it: I was the child of a celebrity -- a chapter President! -- and I went down cruising for my mother's friends. I was not successful -- although I did manage to buy a few lovely things for the girls. While waiting at the streetcar, I bumped into Mrs. Kurtz, a fellow chapter member and old friend of my mother's who had met my folks before I was born. We rode together all the way back up north. She told me stories about my parents and about their friends. Then she reached into one of the immense shopping bags, which were filled with things for her grandchildren, and handed me a bag of cookies for my girls. She gave me a big hug and kiss before she got off at her stop. That was worth the whole trip.

The rest of my trip was spent in the joyous, uplifting labour of planning Yona's bat mitzvah and the less joyous also equally spiritual purchase of my mother's headstone and planning of her unveiling. These events will take place on the same weekend in June, and the following week the girls will be off to camp, if all goes according to the plan.

Of course, there's also Mamapalooza news. But more on that later.

Back to the grind.