| January 28, 2005 To: Daniel Shinoff From: Maura Larkins by fax only to: 619 232 3264 Viktor Frankel said that one of the tragedies of the Holocaust was that "the best of us did not survive." The result of genocide is often survivors who are tough as nails, and focused on survival. As William Butler Yeats argued, regarding the survivors of another genocide in Europe (one-third to one-half of the targeted population killed in 1649, and again one-half in the 1840's), survivors of unlimited horror are not to be judged: Too long a suffering can make a stone of the heart. When will it suffice? That is heaven's part. Our part, to whisper name upon name, as a mother names her child... I find the Jewish concept of the "mensch" to be one of the most practical spiritual concepts human beings have come up with. But when you're focused on trying to survive, whether as an individual or a group, it can be hard to focus on such things, can't it? |
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Daniel Pearl
Justice in a genocide
case: Rwanda
First genocide in Europe
since WWII: Srebrenica
Kostic defends Slobodan
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SlobodanMilosevic.org
Daniel Pearl
January 30, 2005
To: Daniel Shinoff
From:Maura Larkins
by fax only to: 619 232 3264
After reading the attached article from the North County Times,
I’m wondering if there is anything you hold sacred...
enough that you wouldn’t lie about it.
To: Daniel Shinoff
From:Maura Larkins
by fax only to: 619 232 3264
After reading the attached article from the North County Times,
I’m wondering if there is anything you hold sacred...
enough that you wouldn’t lie about it.
Married? What? It wasn't his own family? Didn't Shinoff make it clear that his own family
was wiped out in the Holocaust except for one person?
Apparently NONE of his ancestors were Holocaust victims.
Shinoff is no more descended from a Holocaust survivor, nor was his family murdered in the
Holocaust, than I and my family. It is his wife's family that suffered those horrors, as did
some of my relatives by marriage.
If relatives by marriage give a person the right to condemn others for discussing the
Holocaust, then I, too, have that right. Shinoff should be ashamed of misusing the suffering
of his wife's relatives to gain an advantage in the courtroom.
was wiped out in the Holocaust except for one person?
Apparently NONE of his ancestors were Holocaust victims.
Shinoff is no more descended from a Holocaust survivor, nor was his family murdered in the
Holocaust, than I and my family. It is his wife's family that suffered those horrors, as did
some of my relatives by marriage.
If relatives by marriage give a person the right to condemn others for discussing the
Holocaust, then I, too, have that right. Shinoff should be ashamed of misusing the suffering
of his wife's relatives to gain an advantage in the courtroom.
No, says San Diego school attorney Daniel Shinoff. The idea of
"truth and reconciliation" discussions in schools is anathama to the
premier school lawyer in San Diego County.
Mr. Shinoff calls such talk "vile" (see below). The origins of the
Holocaust should never be discussed in relation to what is happening
in our schools, according to Mr. Shinoff.
"truth and reconciliation" discussions in schools is anathama to the
premier school lawyer in San Diego County.
Mr. Shinoff calls such talk "vile" (see below). The origins of the
Holocaust should never be discussed in relation to what is happening
in our schools, according to Mr. Shinoff.
"Married to the daughter of Holocaust survivors ..."
To: Daniel Shinoff
From: Maura Larkins
January 27, 2005
In acknowledgment of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Gerhard
Schroeder recently pointed out that the loss of moral inhibitions has a
history; groups of people have desired it; it is not a matter
of a single evil person.
That is certainly true of the events at Castle Park Elementary during the past decade.
Schroeder wonders if the lessons of history have been
taught widely at all. They certainly have NOT been taught at Castle Park
Elementary. The school board is preventing any such learning from taking place.
As Ellis Cose said, in “Learning to Heal,” Newsweek, April 12, 2004, it is better to
confront the past outright than to risk being forever
haunted by its ghosts. There is a new resolve on the part
of many—individuals and nations alike—to fearlessly face
the truth.
This resolve is fueled by a sense that the future is hostage to the past.
This resolve has propelled troubled societies to ask, as they put together truth
commissions, whether, if they can come to terms with their history, they can happily
embrace a new day.
Reconciliation and healing require transformation—of
individuals and, where countries are concerned, of the
very norms of society.
“Never again” is not a plan, it’s a prayer. A prayer that
we will see the connections from one atrocity to another,
that we will see bigoted demagogues exactly for what
they are, that we will turn against those who scapegoat
others.
I agree with Ellis Cose that getting people to focus on wrongs unfolding in dark corners is
anything but easy to do.
Wrongs are still unfolding at Castle Park, and it is the children who are suffering, as they
have during years past. The demagogues, who include Gina Boyd, are working to prevent
the truth from being told, and to prevent the anger from subsiding.
Thanks to our justice system, the truth about what happened at Castle Park has been
revealed. But CTA and District lawyers have succeeded so far in preventing a trial of the
facts, and have won a protective order preventing depositions from being revealed.
Thankfully, those depositions are not necessary to demonstrate the truth. The truth will
be revealed. But how much more damage will be done to children before CVE, CTA
and the CVESD school board finally give up their hopeless battle to hide the truth?
From: Maura Larkins
January 27, 2005
In acknowledgment of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Gerhard
Schroeder recently pointed out that the loss of moral inhibitions has a
history; groups of people have desired it; it is not a matter
of a single evil person.
That is certainly true of the events at Castle Park Elementary during the past decade.
Schroeder wonders if the lessons of history have been
taught widely at all. They certainly have NOT been taught at Castle Park
Elementary. The school board is preventing any such learning from taking place.
As Ellis Cose said, in “Learning to Heal,” Newsweek, April 12, 2004, it is better to
confront the past outright than to risk being forever
haunted by its ghosts. There is a new resolve on the part
of many—individuals and nations alike—to fearlessly face
the truth.
This resolve is fueled by a sense that the future is hostage to the past.
This resolve has propelled troubled societies to ask, as they put together truth
commissions, whether, if they can come to terms with their history, they can happily
embrace a new day.
Reconciliation and healing require transformation—of
individuals and, where countries are concerned, of the
very norms of society.
“Never again” is not a plan, it’s a prayer. A prayer that
we will see the connections from one atrocity to another,
that we will see bigoted demagogues exactly for what
they are, that we will turn against those who scapegoat
others.
I agree with Ellis Cose that getting people to focus on wrongs unfolding in dark corners is
anything but easy to do.
Wrongs are still unfolding at Castle Park, and it is the children who are suffering, as they
have during years past. The demagogues, who include Gina Boyd, are working to prevent
the truth from being told, and to prevent the anger from subsiding.
Thanks to our justice system, the truth about what happened at Castle Park has been
revealed. But CTA and District lawyers have succeeded so far in preventing a trial of the
facts, and have won a protective order preventing depositions from being revealed.
Thankfully, those depositions are not necessary to demonstrate the truth. The truth will
be revealed. But how much more damage will be done to children before CVE, CTA
and the CVESD school board finally give up their hopeless battle to hide the truth?
It didn't go well, did it? I next tried to enlist the help of Mr.
Shinoff's clergyman.
I believed that Mr. Shinoff was confused, and did not realize that he was on a slippery
slope to disrepute. I thought he was a sincerely religious man who would want to
consult his rabbi. At that time Mr. Shinoff figured prominently in photos and discussions
on the website of his congregation, so I knew who his rabbi was.
I made the same effort with a Christian friend of mine who was
so afraid of Mr. Shinoff and CVESD that she was helping to
cover up wrongdoing.
I believed that she was a sincerely religious person and would follow the guidance of
her minister.
I believed that clergymen of both religions would help their congregants follow the laws
of God and man. I don't yet know if my faith in the minister and the rabbi was misplaced.
As it happened, neither individual was the least bit interested in looking for guidance
from his or her religious leader, so those leaders never got a chance to give any
guidance.
Shinoff's clergyman.
I believed that Mr. Shinoff was confused, and did not realize that he was on a slippery
slope to disrepute. I thought he was a sincerely religious man who would want to
consult his rabbi. At that time Mr. Shinoff figured prominently in photos and discussions
on the website of his congregation, so I knew who his rabbi was.
I made the same effort with a Christian friend of mine who was
so afraid of Mr. Shinoff and CVESD that she was helping to
cover up wrongdoing.
I believed that she was a sincerely religious person and would follow the guidance of
her minister.
I believed that clergymen of both religions would help their congregants follow the laws
of God and man. I don't yet know if my faith in the minister and the rabbi was misplaced.
As it happened, neither individual was the least bit interested in looking for guidance
from his or her religious leader, so those leaders never got a chance to give any
guidance.
Did Mr. Shinoff ignore this message from his own rabbi?
"It is too easy for us to focus all of our attention and energy on those people and items
around us we care for the most. This week we are reminded that there is more in the world
than our limited area of comfort and we have an obligation to that as well."
--September 1-2, 2006 9 Elul, 5766
by Rabbi David Kornberg
"It is too easy for us to focus all of our attention and energy on those people and items
around us we care for the most. This week we are reminded that there is more in the world
than our limited area of comfort and we have an obligation to that as well."
--September 1-2, 2006 9 Elul, 5766
by Rabbi David Kornberg
Stanley Milgram's famous
"obedience" experiment
showed that most people will
set aside their moral
inhibitions if someone wearing
a white laboratory coat tells
them to inflict horrible pain on
a stranger.
A recent replication of the
experiment:
The Milgram Experiments
Summary of Milgram
experiments
University of California
Milgram found that
education levels
had a big impact on
behavior
Milgram found that people who
have confidence in their own
thinking ability are less likely
to obey someone just because
he is in a position of authority.
"obedience" experiment
showed that most people will
set aside their moral
inhibitions if someone wearing
a white laboratory coat tells
them to inflict horrible pain on
a stranger.
A recent replication of the
experiment:
The Milgram Experiments
Summary of Milgram
experiments
University of California
Milgram found that
education levels
had a big impact on
behavior
Milgram found that people who
have confidence in their own
thinking ability are less likely
to obey someone just because
he is in a position of authority.
Shimon Samuels, of the
Simon Wiesenthal Centre in
Paris, said he understood
the German-born pope's
desire for Christian unity
but said Benedict could
have excluded Williamson,
whose return to the church
will "cost" the Vatican
politically.
In an interview taped last November
and aired last Wednesday on
Swedish television, Williamson said
he agreed with the "most serious"
revisionist historians of the second
world war who had concluded that
"between 200,000-300,000
perished in Nazi concentration
camps, but not one of them by
gassing in a gas chamber".
Williamson added he realised he
could go to jail for Holocaust denial
in Germany.
British Jewish groups condemned
the decision and said they feared it
could damage social cohesion.
"The Council of Christians and Jews
have said that in recent years there
has been a considerable increase
in antisemitism from some of the
eastern European churches," said
Mark Gardner, spokesman for the
Community Security Trust which
monitors attacks on Jewish people
in the UK. Gardner said he hoped
the Vatican would make it clear it
abhors Williamson's comments
about the gas chambers.
"Jews will be extremely alarmed by
the lifting of this excommunication
on somebody who holds such
extreme anti-Jewish views," Gardner
said. "I hope the Vatican will speak
out on this particular aspect of
Williamson's ideology."
Elan Steinberg, vice president of the
American Gathering of Holocaust
Survivors and their Descendants,
warned last week the Vatican's
actions would play into the hands of
those seeking to stir up trouble. "For
the Jewish people ... this
development ... encourages
hate-mongers everywhere,"
Steinberg said. Rome's chief rabbi
Riccardo Di Segni said that revoking
Williamson's excommunication
would open "a deep wound"...
UPDATE
Simon Wiesenthal Centre in
Paris, said he understood
the German-born pope's
desire for Christian unity
but said Benedict could
have excluded Williamson,
whose return to the church
will "cost" the Vatican
politically.
In an interview taped last November
and aired last Wednesday on
Swedish television, Williamson said
he agreed with the "most serious"
revisionist historians of the second
world war who had concluded that
"between 200,000-300,000
perished in Nazi concentration
camps, but not one of them by
gassing in a gas chamber".
Williamson added he realised he
could go to jail for Holocaust denial
in Germany.
British Jewish groups condemned
the decision and said they feared it
could damage social cohesion.
"The Council of Christians and Jews
have said that in recent years there
has been a considerable increase
in antisemitism from some of the
eastern European churches," said
Mark Gardner, spokesman for the
Community Security Trust which
monitors attacks on Jewish people
in the UK. Gardner said he hoped
the Vatican would make it clear it
abhors Williamson's comments
about the gas chambers.
"Jews will be extremely alarmed by
the lifting of this excommunication
on somebody who holds such
extreme anti-Jewish views," Gardner
said. "I hope the Vatican will speak
out on this particular aspect of
Williamson's ideology."
Elan Steinberg, vice president of the
American Gathering of Holocaust
Survivors and their Descendants,
warned last week the Vatican's
actions would play into the hands of
those seeking to stir up trouble. "For
the Jewish people ... this
development ... encourages
hate-mongers everywhere,"
Steinberg said. Rome's chief rabbi
Riccardo Di Segni said that revoking
Williamson's excommunication
would open "a deep wound"...
UPDATE
"He survived Hitler,
but he didn't
survive the utility
company."
Man at funeral of
93-year-old WWII veteran
who froze to death
compared the utility
company to Hitler.
Is this another all-time low?
Was this incredibly
offensive of CNN and the
funeral attendee?
On January 30, 2009 CNN played a
video clip of the funeral of Marvin E.
Schur.
93-year-old man had more than
$1,000 in unpaid bills
Associated Press
Jan. 26, 2009
A 93-year-old man froze to death
inside his home just days after the
municipal power company
restricted his use of electricity
because of unpaid bills, officials
said.
Marvin E. Schur died "a slow,
painful death," said Kanu Virani,
Oakland County's deputy chief
medical examiner, who performed
the autopsy.
Neighbors discovered Schur's body
on Jan. 17. They said the indoor
temperature was below 32 degrees
at the time, The Bay City Times
reported Monday.
"Hypothermia shuts the whole
system down, slowly," Virani said.
"It's not easy to die from
hypothermia without first realizing
your fingers and toes feel like
they're burning."
Schur owed Bay City Electric Light &
Power more than $1,000 in unpaid
electric bills, Bay City Manager
Robert Belleman told The
Associated Press on Monday.
A city utility worker had installed a
"limiter" device... The device limits
power reaching a home and blows
out like a fuse if consumption rises
past a set level. Power is not
restored until the device is reset...
...Power shut off if bills unpaid
Belleman said city workers keep
the limiter on houses for 10 days,
then shut off power entirely if the
homeowner hasn't paid utility bills
or arranged to do so.
He said Bay City Electric Light &
Power's policies will be reviewed,
but he didn't believe the city did
anything wrong...
but he didn't
survive the utility
company."
Man at funeral of
93-year-old WWII veteran
who froze to death
compared the utility
company to Hitler.
Is this another all-time low?
Was this incredibly
offensive of CNN and the
funeral attendee?
On January 30, 2009 CNN played a
video clip of the funeral of Marvin E.
Schur.
93-year-old man had more than
$1,000 in unpaid bills
Associated Press
Jan. 26, 2009
A 93-year-old man froze to death
inside his home just days after the
municipal power company
restricted his use of electricity
because of unpaid bills, officials
said.
Marvin E. Schur died "a slow,
painful death," said Kanu Virani,
Oakland County's deputy chief
medical examiner, who performed
the autopsy.
Neighbors discovered Schur's body
on Jan. 17. They said the indoor
temperature was below 32 degrees
at the time, The Bay City Times
reported Monday.
"Hypothermia shuts the whole
system down, slowly," Virani said.
"It's not easy to die from
hypothermia without first realizing
your fingers and toes feel like
they're burning."
Schur owed Bay City Electric Light &
Power more than $1,000 in unpaid
electric bills, Bay City Manager
Robert Belleman told The
Associated Press on Monday.
A city utility worker had installed a
"limiter" device... The device limits
power reaching a home and blows
out like a fuse if consumption rises
past a set level. Power is not
restored until the device is reset...
...Power shut off if bills unpaid
Belleman said city workers keep
the limiter on houses for 10 days,
then shut off power entirely if the
homeowner hasn't paid utility bills
or arranged to do so.
He said Bay City Electric Light &
Power's policies will be reviewed,
but he didn't believe the city did
anything wrong...
Maura Larkins, author of this website, wrote
this letter in 2005 regarding the 60th
anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz:
this letter in 2005 regarding the 60th
anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz:
At the time I wrote my above letter to Mr. Shinoff, I thought he was a decent, honest
man who was not thinking through the ramifications of his actions at Chula Vista
Elementary School District.
man who was not thinking through the ramifications of his actions at Chula Vista
Elementary School District.
Poway attorney makes career defending schools
April 27, 2003
by SCOTT MARSHALL
ESCONDIDO ---- For 20 years, when school districts countywide have needed legal help, their
calls most often have reached the desk of one man ---- Daniel Shinoff.
Ranging from teachers alleging discrimination to wrongful-death lawsuits involving students,
the legal issues that have confronted districts have varied and grown more complex over the
years, but Shinoff, 47, of Poway and his law firm have remained a constant...Shinoff said ... 70
percent of his practice still involves representing the districts in litigation...
Born and raised in Canada, Shinoff decided on the law as a career when he was a child...
"I was a young kid and I had a strong Jewish identity," Shinoff said of his reasons for
going to Israel. "To me it was a historical attachment to the state of Israel. ... I've always had
a strong Jewish identity."
April 27, 2003
by SCOTT MARSHALL
ESCONDIDO ---- For 20 years, when school districts countywide have needed legal help, their
calls most often have reached the desk of one man ---- Daniel Shinoff.
Ranging from teachers alleging discrimination to wrongful-death lawsuits involving students,
the legal issues that have confronted districts have varied and grown more complex over the
years, but Shinoff, 47, of Poway and his law firm have remained a constant...Shinoff said ... 70
percent of his practice still involves representing the districts in litigation...
Born and raised in Canada, Shinoff decided on the law as a career when he was a child...
"I was a young kid and I had a strong Jewish identity," Shinoff said of his reasons for
going to Israel. "To me it was a historical attachment to the state of Israel. ... I've always had
a strong Jewish identity."
North County Times article about Daniel Shinoff
Studies of evil in its early
stages
stages
Genocide Links
| Dr. David Feifel MD, PhD Dr. Feifel is an Associate Professor in the UCSD School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry. He received a doctorate in Neurobiology and a Medical Degree from the University of Toronto. He joined UCSD in 1992 and currently he is Director of the Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Program. At UCSD he teaches, cares for patients and conducts research. He lives in La Jolla with his wife and three kids Congregation BethAm Board President Rick Schwartz rschwartz@betham.com Immediate Past President Michael Goodman mgoodman@betham.com Vice Presidents Education Beverly Powazek C.L.J.L Nina Brodsky Membership Bob Rauch Ways & Means Jodie Kaplan Treasurer Alan Lopato Board of Directors Wayne Harris Brooks Herman Alan Kholos Michael Mattes Gary Perlmutter Betsy Polacheck Sima Ross Michelle Shinoff Richard Soll Greg Zweibel |
| Extremism--religious, political After WWII, Germans v. Arabs |
Letter to Rabbi David Kornberg
"...Some people might find it hard to believe, but I harbor no malice toward Daniel Shinoff.
"I believe that human beings do the best that they can, and when they violate the law, it is
usually a matter of confused thinking and overconfidence.
"My guess is that honest lawyers simply don’t get hired by San Diego Office of Education-
Joint Powers Authority and member school districts. Schools don’t want lawyers who blindly
follow the law. School officials want lawyers who are willing to take, or create, opportunities
to wrestle undeserved legal victories from the justice system. Plaintiff probably figured that
somebody was going to get rich doing what school officials want, and it might as well be
them. This sort of greed and rationalization is a natural part of the make-up of human beings
around the world and through the ages.
These natural instincts seem to be the basis of how the world functions; why would I harbor
malice regarding an apparently immutable fact of life?
This does not mean, of course, that I don’t try to make the world a better place. My website is
a major part of my efforts to bring more respect for the law and for human beings to San
Diego schools... "
"I believe that human beings do the best that they can, and when they violate the law, it is
usually a matter of confused thinking and overconfidence.
"My guess is that honest lawyers simply don’t get hired by San Diego Office of Education-
Joint Powers Authority and member school districts. Schools don’t want lawyers who blindly
follow the law. School officials want lawyers who are willing to take, or create, opportunities
to wrestle undeserved legal victories from the justice system. Plaintiff probably figured that
somebody was going to get rich doing what school officials want, and it might as well be
them. This sort of greed and rationalization is a natural part of the make-up of human beings
around the world and through the ages.
These natural instincts seem to be the basis of how the world functions; why would I harbor
malice regarding an apparently immutable fact of life?
This does not mean, of course, that I don’t try to make the world a better place. My website is
a major part of my efforts to bring more respect for the law and for human beings to San
Diego schools... "
Declaration of Maura Larkins
(in response to the above statements)
(in response to the above statements)
Defamation case against novelist who correctly accused government of false
accusations against Jewish officer
Defamation case by Dan Shinoff against this website
accusations against Jewish officer
Defamation case by Dan Shinoff against this website
| That, however, is a misreading of the Jewish tradition, for as the Talmud makes clear, saving a person’s life (pikkuah nefesh) takes precedence ... Even when the abuse is short of being life-threatening, we have the duty to protect such people just as we have the duty to protect anybody in danger, for the Torah says, “Do not stand idly by the blood of your brother” (Leviticus 19: 16; see Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 73a). Civil law now makes rabbis and educators, among others, mandated reporters to the authorities with regard to child abuse, but no such reporting law exists for adult spouses. Thus rabbis need to respond to such cases of family violence in line with the Jewish tradition’s priorities, where saving a person from death or injury takes precedence over any concerns for the embarrassment involved, even if that means that the temple will lose a member. In these few examples, I have tried to demonstrate that the Jewish tradition can indeed be fruitfully used to help us with our modern dilemmas in Jewish professional life... |
| Is it wrong to discuss personal issues with a rabbi? |
| Rabbi Kornberg was approached by a woman (me--Maura Larkins) who reported that she was being victimized by a member of his congregation. I told Rabbi Kornberg that I was concerned that Mr. Shinoff was ruining his own reputation by refusing to change his behavior. The response I got was, in so many words: "Silence! You are embarrassing the man who destroyed your career!" Rabbi Kornberg refused to reveal to me his plans for testifying on Daniel Shinoff's behalf at trial. |
| The Jewish Community Online Mark January 7, 2009 "Some of the most dangerous people in the world today it seems are clerics. For some reason we still expect them to give us moral guidance, which gives a few of them way more influence than they deserve. Rabbi Lerner is a case in point..." |
| Moral issues in six religions by W. Owen Cole, Arye Forta 1991 "It has always been the task of rabbis and other religious thinkers to provide guidance ... The moral guidance they taught was written down, and their books..." |
| When Suspect Is Spiritual Guide By DAVID KOCIENIEWSKI September 18, 1998 ''To us, he was God's voice, right here,'' said one member of M'kor Shalom, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ''How could he deceive us for all those years when he was disobeying God's law? How could he let down so many people who looked to him for guidance? How can we believe in anything he said all those years?'' ...''He was incredibly respected,'' said William Levering, a minister at the First Presbyterian Church in nearby Haddonfield. ''Both a mover and shaker.'' Behind that winning image, however, Rabbi Neulander, 57, also led a tangled secret life...Elaine Soncini, a radio host who had gone to him in 1992 seeking solace after her husband's death. As their affair progressed, Ms. Soncini began pressuring Rabbi Neulander to end his marriage... ...One of the most striking things about the case, investigators say, was the condition of Rabbi Neulander's clothing the day of the killing. The living room in which the rabbi found his wife slain was spattered with blood. But when an ambulance responded to the rabbi's emergency call, there wasn't a speck of blood on his hands, face or clothes. ''He didn't check for a pulse, didn't hold her, didn't kneel on the floor, didn't get anywhere near her,'' said the investigator. ''Is that how you would react if you had nothing to do with it?'' ...A handful of members quit M'kor Shalom after Rabbi Neulander was ousted in 1995 and never joined another synagogue... For individuals and family members, however, the court proceedings are certain to rekindle questions over the character of a man they used to rely on for moral guidance. |
| ACADEMICS at AMERICAN JEWISH UNIVERSITY Strategic Human Resource Management In Synagogues Performance Evaluation 2003 ...Despite the “unique predicament” of synagogue executive directors as both leaders, followers, and Jewish professionals, it is not difficult for boards of directors and personnel committees to place the executive director in a performance evaluation process that is familiar from other organizations, both nonprofit and for-profit. Evaluating the rabbi, however, brings up many more complicated issues and problems, and for this reason it is frequently just not done, or it is done in such a way as to cause harm to the congregation-rabbi relationship. Traditionally, the rabbi was the spiritual leader of the community. He provided moral guidance and taught Jewish values. As Jill Davidson Sklar (2001) points out, because some synagogues today are beginning to adopt a corporate model of structure and behavior, one of the important questions being asked by many synagogues is whether the rabbi is the spiritual leader, the chief executive officer, or both. |
| An Army Mutiny in Israeli Settlements? Time Magazine By Tim McGirk/Jerusalem Aug. 07, 2007 Israeli police officers carry a Jewish settler as he is forcibly removed from a house in the West Bank town of Hebron... ...When the Duchifat Battalion was ordered on Monday to support the police in clearing out the settlers, 38 soldiers refused to obey. Using cellphones, the soldiers immediately called their rabbis for moral guidance. They also called their parents, who tried to block the soldiers' bus from leaving its base in the Jordan Valley. "It was not for this that my son joined the army," one father, Moshe Rosenfeld, told Israeli Army Radio. Eventually, all but 12 soldiers agreed to follow orders. In the past, army officers have been lenient about sending in religious Zionist troops to clear out settlers, looking the other way when they failed to report for duty or called in sick. But this time, senior officers treated the defiance as a clear act of insubordination, a failure to recognize that in the Israeli Defense Force, an officer's orders supersede a rabbi's moral advice... |
Nazi-run camp where Demjanjuk allegedly worked
By RACHEL NOLAN
May 12, 2009
AP
BERLIN (AP) — The Sobibor extermination camp, where retired autoworker John Demjanjuk is alleged to have served as a guard,
was built by Nazi officers in occupied Poland in 1942 and razed 18 months later.
In the time it was operational, some 250,000 Jews, Gypsies and political prisoners were murdered in its gas chambers.
The first trains carrying mostly Austrian, Czech and Polish Jews from the nearby Lublin Ghetto began arriving in May 1942. SS
officers forced the men, women and children to leave their belongings aboard, undress and report to the what they were told were
"washing rooms" — the gas chambers.
After the doors closed, gas from a diesel engine was pumped into the room to suffocate those inside, killing up to 1,300 people at
once. Camp inmates removed gold teeth, valuables and cut off hair from the bodies before burning the corpses.
Later, guards also killed those inmates forced to work at the camp, located near Nazi-occupied Poland's eastern border with
Ukraine.
Franz Stangl ran the camp for the first six months, overseeing some 30 SS officers as well as Ukrainian guards. Before arriving at
Sobibor, Stangl headed a euthanasia center in Austria where Nazis sent physically and mentally disabled people to be killed. He
was later put in charge of the Treblinka death camp.
In October 1943, Sobibor prisoners staged an uprising, and hundreds successfully escaped the camp.
[Maura Larkins' note: I applaud the brave prisoners who staged the uprising. Sometimes government violates basic
human rights, and resistance is morally justified. This has been true in the United States at times, such as the time of
slavery and segregation.]
Days later, SS head Heinrich Himmler ordered guards to tear down the camp and plant the area over with pine trees...
By RACHEL NOLAN
May 12, 2009
AP
BERLIN (AP) — The Sobibor extermination camp, where retired autoworker John Demjanjuk is alleged to have served as a guard,
was built by Nazi officers in occupied Poland in 1942 and razed 18 months later.
In the time it was operational, some 250,000 Jews, Gypsies and political prisoners were murdered in its gas chambers.
The first trains carrying mostly Austrian, Czech and Polish Jews from the nearby Lublin Ghetto began arriving in May 1942. SS
officers forced the men, women and children to leave their belongings aboard, undress and report to the what they were told were
"washing rooms" — the gas chambers.
After the doors closed, gas from a diesel engine was pumped into the room to suffocate those inside, killing up to 1,300 people at
once. Camp inmates removed gold teeth, valuables and cut off hair from the bodies before burning the corpses.
Later, guards also killed those inmates forced to work at the camp, located near Nazi-occupied Poland's eastern border with
Ukraine.
Franz Stangl ran the camp for the first six months, overseeing some 30 SS officers as well as Ukrainian guards. Before arriving at
Sobibor, Stangl headed a euthanasia center in Austria where Nazis sent physically and mentally disabled people to be killed. He
was later put in charge of the Treblinka death camp.
In October 1943, Sobibor prisoners staged an uprising, and hundreds successfully escaped the camp.
[Maura Larkins' note: I applaud the brave prisoners who staged the uprising. Sometimes government violates basic
human rights, and resistance is morally justified. This has been true in the United States at times, such as the time of
slavery and segregation.]
Days later, SS head Heinrich Himmler ordered guards to tear down the camp and plant the area over with pine trees...
Shinoff and Abed Win [defending against] National
Origin Discrimination Suit
May 05, 2009
Partners Daniel R. Shinoff and Gil Abed obtained a defense verdict
for their client, Escondido Union High School District. The Plaintiff
sued the District claiming, among other things, national origin
discrimination and harassment, and retaliation. She also claimed
that she was being retaliated against because of her national
origin. Mr. Shinoff and Mr. Abed successfully argued that plaintiff's
complaints were not on the basis of race but rather disputes
between employees who did not get along. Upon hearing the
arguments, the Court found in favor of the School District in that
there was no discrimination, harassment or retaliation.
Furthermore, the Court held that the Plaintiff did not suffer any
adverse employment action.
Origin Discrimination Suit
May 05, 2009
Partners Daniel R. Shinoff and Gil Abed obtained a defense verdict
for their client, Escondido Union High School District. The Plaintiff
sued the District claiming, among other things, national origin
discrimination and harassment, and retaliation. She also claimed
that she was being retaliated against because of her national
origin. Mr. Shinoff and Mr. Abed successfully argued that plaintiff's
complaints were not on the basis of race but rather disputes
between employees who did not get along. Upon hearing the
arguments, the Court found in favor of the School District in that
there was no discrimination, harassment or retaliation.
Furthermore, the Court held that the Plaintiff did not suffer any
adverse employment action.
Is it acceptable to discuss the roots of genocide and the banality of evil?
Shinoff claims others are not victims:
The Milgram
Experiments,
Genocide, and the
Origins of Evil
Experiments,
Genocide, and the
Origins of Evil
Declaration of Daniel Shinoff
in support of motion for summary judgment Oct. 2008
in support of motion for summary judgment Oct. 2008
Daniel Shinoff says no. Why would he say such a thing? He does
the Jewish people a disservice by using them for his personal
advantage. (See Daniel Shinoff declaration below. Judge Judith
Hayes used Mr. Shinoff's declaration to decide this case, even though
Shinoff had refused to be deposed or to turn over documents.)
the Jewish people a disservice by using them for his personal
advantage. (See Daniel Shinoff declaration below. Judge Judith
Hayes used Mr. Shinoff's declaration to decide this case, even though
Shinoff had refused to be deposed or to turn over documents.)
San Diego Attorney Daniel Shinoff and the
Holocaust: exploiting others' suffering for
personal gain?
Holocaust: exploiting others' suffering for
personal gain?
We need to talk
about the
Holocaust
Pope Benedict XVI should
start talking about why he
lifted excommunication of
Holocaust Denier
The Vatican is reinstating a
British priest who denies
millions died at the hands of the
Nazis
Tension between the Vatican and
Jewish groups looked set to explode
yesterday after Pope Benedict XVI
rehabilitated a British bishop who
has claimed no Jews died in gas
chambers during the second world
war.
Benedict yesterday welcomed back
into the Roman Catholic Church
Richard Williamson and three other
men who were excommunicated in
1988 after being ordained without
Vatican permission. The three had
been appointed by breakaway
French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
The Vatican decree issued yesterday
spoke of overcoming the "scandal of
divisiveness" and seeking
reconciliation with Lefebvre's
conservative order, the Society of
Saint Pius X, which opposes the
modernisation of Catholic doctrine.
But Jewish groups have warned the
Pope that the decision could
damage Catholic-Jewish relations
after Williamson claimed in an
interview, broadcast last week, that
historical evidence "is hugely against
six million having been deliberately
gassed in gas chambers as a
deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler ... I
believe there were no gas
chambers".
about the
Holocaust
Pope Benedict XVI should
start talking about why he
lifted excommunication of
Holocaust Denier
The Vatican is reinstating a
British priest who denies
millions died at the hands of the
Nazis
Tension between the Vatican and
Jewish groups looked set to explode
yesterday after Pope Benedict XVI
rehabilitated a British bishop who
has claimed no Jews died in gas
chambers during the second world
war.
Benedict yesterday welcomed back
into the Roman Catholic Church
Richard Williamson and three other
men who were excommunicated in
1988 after being ordained without
Vatican permission. The three had
been appointed by breakaway
French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
The Vatican decree issued yesterday
spoke of overcoming the "scandal of
divisiveness" and seeking
reconciliation with Lefebvre's
conservative order, the Society of
Saint Pius X, which opposes the
modernisation of Catholic doctrine.
But Jewish groups have warned the
Pope that the decision could
damage Catholic-Jewish relations
after Williamson claimed in an
interview, broadcast last week, that
historical evidence "is hugely against
six million having been deliberately
gassed in gas chambers as a
deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler ... I
believe there were no gas
chambers".
Should we try to nip evil in the bud by
addressing its early beginnings in our schools?
addressing its early beginnings in our schools?
The letter that turned out to be a hoax.
Here is attorney Daniel Shinoff's letter in response to the above:
I discover the hoax.
...In 1975 and 1976, Shinoff attended Tel Aviv University, where he met his wife, Michelle, a
Brooklyn native studying overseas. The two married in 1977 and returned to Canada; Shinoff
attended the University of Manitoba. They moved to San Diego in 1978 because Michelle
wanted to get away from the cold climate north of the border, Daniel Shinoff said.
Shinoff attended Western State University law school in San Diego ---- now known as
Thomas Jefferson School of Law ---- and in 1981 began working as in-house counsel for
Price Co. Shinoff joined the San Diego law firm of which he is a partner today in June 1982
and almost immediately began representing school districts through the joint powers authority...
Married to the daughter of Holocaust survivors and having a "strong Jewish
identity" since childhood, Shinoff said he wanted his children to attend the private
Jewish school to help them develop a Jewish identity and connection to Israel...
Brooklyn native studying overseas. The two married in 1977 and returned to Canada; Shinoff
attended the University of Manitoba. They moved to San Diego in 1978 because Michelle
wanted to get away from the cold climate north of the border, Daniel Shinoff said.
Shinoff attended Western State University law school in San Diego ---- now known as
Thomas Jefferson School of Law ---- and in 1981 began working as in-house counsel for
Price Co. Shinoff joined the San Diego law firm of which he is a partner today in June 1982
and almost immediately began representing school districts through the joint powers authority...
Married to the daughter of Holocaust survivors and having a "strong Jewish
identity" since childhood, Shinoff said he wanted his children to attend the private
Jewish school to help them develop a Jewish identity and connection to Israel...
| Marsha Sutton on Daniel Shinoff, the Holocaust San Diego education reporter Marsha Sutton probably didn't intend to step on Daniel Shinoff's toes with her story about a teacher at Gompers who asks kids to draw analogies to the Holocaust. Here's my post about it: A vile outrage at Gompers? Daniel Shinoff would say so. Marsha Sutton opinion (paraphrased): If Dan Shinoff says a superintendent committed violations, then we must assume that she did (even if he's being paid lots of money by the people who fired the superintendent) Marsha Sutton interview with Daniel Shinoff It's not a reporter's job to protect the reputations of school board members and their lawyers. Far from it. Such actions require throwing journalistic ethics out the window. |
Confronting prejudice through education Cyberbullying conference this Friday offers help for schools and parents. By Sandi Schwartz, SDNN April 21, 2010 San Diego resident Richard (“Rick”) Barton has a desire to live in a world that treats all people with dignity, upholding standards of equality for every individual and group regardless of religion, race or creed. This vision, together with his passion for education and a desire to teach children about hate, prejudice and intolerance, has led him to take the role of National Education Chairperson for the Anti-Defamation League. San Diego: San Diego’s Rick Barton was recently named the Anti-Defamation League’s National Education Chair. Barton’s involvement with the ADL began as a volunteer in the San Diego office in the early 1990s, drawn to the organization’s mission on behalf of all minorities to stop prejudice, bias and bigotry through education and information. Since then, he has become more deeply involved in the ADL, and was named chair of the San Diego Regional Advisory Board in 2000, a member of the National Executive Committee in 2002, National Vice Chair of International Affairs in 2005 and National Chair of Leadership in 2007. Barton, a partner with the San Diego law firm of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch, was named ADL’s National Education Chair in November 2009... |
| Marsha Sutton, like her pal Dan Shinoff, is quick to fling accusations of anti-Semitism at those she disagrees with: Sutton: Another UCSD flare-up demands official response By Marsha Sutton, SDNN May 1, 2010 UCSD is embroiled in another cultural controversy. (Photo by Alex Hansen / Wikipedia Commons) Recent news that organized groups of students at the University of California, San Diego have criticized the nation of Israel and called upon the university to divest itself of economic ties to corporations and groups that do business with the Jewish state is proof positive that the culture of intolerance exposed several months ago, then against African-Americans, has far from abated. If UCSD is to repair its damaged reputation and be considered a campus that respects the humanity, dignity and rights of all people, UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox will refuse to overlook bigotry of any kind and will speak out forcefully against this reckless display of anti-Semitism at her school. A proposed resolution condemning Israel for “war crimes” is a shameful, blatant expression of anti-Jewish rhetoric disguised as some kind of virtuous belief in human rights. It ignores the fact that Israel fights for survival, surrounded by neighboring governments, many controlled by radical Islamic groups, that will be satisfied with nothing less than the complete destruction of the democratic state. If this resolution were truly an attempt to draw attention to all nations accused of committing human rights violations, then surely other countries would be named. China, for one, with its horrendous record of human rights abuses and patent disregard for personal freedom, should top the list. But no, only Israel is targeted, indicating a transparent ulterior agenda. While free speech rights must be vigorously protected, words that inspire hate and intolerance must be countered by respected, intelligent people who out of a sense of duty are morally obligated to object. The vote on the resolution, as of this writing, has been postponed, according to UCSD’s student newspaper The Guardian, but for many students not out of any sense of regret over the language. There are simply some political hurdles to be overcome before this racism, couched in “diplomatic” terms, can resurface, perhaps as soon as next week. San Diego: There are far too many students who fully support this discriminatory language and are stymied not by sudden pangs of conscience – nor, so far, by top UCSD officials and community leaders whose silence on this issue is deafening – but only by resistance from a handful of other students and responsible educators willing to step up and argue on the side of reason. Are Jewish students at UCSD to feel as equally unwelcome and unsafe as African-American students have been made to feel? The public looks forward to – nay, demands – vigorous statements of denunciation from Fox and others who must be pro-active against this sort of intolerant climate that continues to percolate on campus. Else, all that was promised several months ago – remember Fox’s “Done. Done. Done” when asked to take strong action against anti- black sentiment during the “Compton cookout” fiasco? – will be a sham. |
I was recently told that Jews don't go to their rabbis to discuss
personal issues--only issues of Jewish law. Can this be true? I did
some research. Here's what I found:
Graduation Address
May 19, 2003
HUC-JIR/Los Angeles
"Probing the Jewish Tradition for Moral Guidance”
Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Ph.D.
Rector and Sol & Anne Dorff Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Chair
of Bioethics, University of Judaism
... I have therefore chosen to talk about a theme ... the moral questions
that arise in Jewish professional work and the relevance of the Jewish
tradition to resolving them...
How, then, shall we apply our ancient tradition to the modern world?
...In any case, what I want to demonstrate to you is that whatever method
you use to access the tradition, it can and should have some real moral
meaning for you in your professional careers. I will illustrate that with three
issues, one from each of the fields represented here today.
...Jewish educators, especially in day schools, commonly face the problem
that a significant percentage of parents want considerably less Jewish
content than the Jewish educators do... On the one hand, the Jewish
tradition does value what we call “secular” or “general” studies.
...Jews and Americans generally have all too often transformed work into
an idol, making all of life’s decisions solely in the service of the god of
work, and where that translates into parents putting tremendous pressure
on their children to learn the secular skills necessary to succeed at work at
the highest level... I know that that means that Jewish educators will need
to fight parents who are only interested in getting their child into Harvard,
but part of the role of a Jewish educator is to teach Jews the idolatry
involved in a relentless drive for status in the secular world and, on the
other hand, the sanity and health of the balance between work and Torah
that our tradition prescribes.
... Rabbis are sometimes approached by women – and even by
some men – who reveal that their spouse is physically
abusing them. All too often in the past, rabbis have told such
people to go home and make peace with their spouse in the
name of the Jewish value of shelom bayit, the peace of the
household. Rabbis were also worried about offending and
embarrassing the spouse, a just concern derived from
traditional Jewish sources that actually punish those who
embarrass others as a tort (boshet – Mishnah, Bava Kamma 8:
1, 6).
personal issues--only issues of Jewish law. Can this be true? I did
some research. Here's what I found:
Graduation Address
May 19, 2003
HUC-JIR/Los Angeles
"Probing the Jewish Tradition for Moral Guidance”
Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Ph.D.
Rector and Sol & Anne Dorff Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Chair
of Bioethics, University of Judaism
... I have therefore chosen to talk about a theme ... the moral questions
that arise in Jewish professional work and the relevance of the Jewish
tradition to resolving them...
How, then, shall we apply our ancient tradition to the modern world?
...In any case, what I want to demonstrate to you is that whatever method
you use to access the tradition, it can and should have some real moral
meaning for you in your professional careers. I will illustrate that with three
issues, one from each of the fields represented here today.
...Jewish educators, especially in day schools, commonly face the problem
that a significant percentage of parents want considerably less Jewish
content than the Jewish educators do... On the one hand, the Jewish
tradition does value what we call “secular” or “general” studies.
...Jews and Americans generally have all too often transformed work into
an idol, making all of life’s decisions solely in the service of the god of
work, and where that translates into parents putting tremendous pressure
on their children to learn the secular skills necessary to succeed at work at
the highest level... I know that that means that Jewish educators will need
to fight parents who are only interested in getting their child into Harvard,
but part of the role of a Jewish educator is to teach Jews the idolatry
involved in a relentless drive for status in the secular world and, on the
other hand, the sanity and health of the balance between work and Torah
that our tradition prescribes.
... Rabbis are sometimes approached by women – and even by
some men – who reveal that their spouse is physically
abusing them. All too often in the past, rabbis have told such
people to go home and make peace with their spouse in the
name of the Jewish value of shelom bayit, the peace of the
household. Rabbis were also worried about offending and
embarrassing the spouse, a just concern derived from
traditional Jewish sources that actually punish those who
embarrass others as a tort (boshet – Mishnah, Bava Kamma 8:
1, 6).
Education Reform Report
Related site:
| Maura Larkins wrote about Daniel Shinoff on her website for the same reason she wrote about all these lawyers: the actions of these individuals deserve public scrutiny. Shinoff's usual tactic is to smear anyone who opposes him in any way. |
January 28, 2005
To: Daniel Shinoff
From: Maura Larkins by fax only to: 619 232 3264
The horrors of the Holocaust should never be forgotten. I remember I first
came across an article about the Holocaust when I was nine years old. I had
never been told about it. I had been taught that the Jews were God’s chosen
people, that they alone kept faith with Him for thousands of years. I went to my
mother and showed her the article, demanding an explanation for what had
happened. If this is what happened to God’s chosen people, I wondered, how
could I count on God to protect me?
Evil is incremental, Mr. Shinoff. It starts small, and grows.
Even if I am a gentile, Mr. Shinoff, I deserve respect as a human being, and you
have never given that to me. You have never believed that I deserved the
protection of the laws of the United States, the laws of California or the
protection of the Contract with CVESD. Your law firm has falsely alleged that I
was “irrational.” Your law firm has pressured teachers to commit perjury in
order to deprive me of my rights. You have instructed CVESD to obstruct
justice. Your behavior in this case, and in many others, has been vile. You
should be ashamed of yourself.
When a government entity arbitrarily takes away the rights of any individual, the
rights of every individual under the power of that entity are in danger. And
when the laws of the land are regularly abused to protect the guilty, the entire justice
system of the land is compromised. At Castle Park, it is Mexicans and bilingual teachers
who are marginalized, not Jews. But just about every group in the world has been a
victim of xenophobia at some time. The list of attempted genocides in human history is
disgracefully long.
Should we wait until a government starts rounding people up before we do
something? Recent history, in Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, Somalia and Sudan shows
that we wait longer than that. I invite you to join me in opposing the dehumanization of
any human being simply because that person is perceived as being different.
I invite you to sit down and talk to me in order to come up with a way to end
hostilities between you and me. I would think a mediator should be present.
Perhaps we can salvage both our careers.
To: Daniel Shinoff
From: Maura Larkins by fax only to: 619 232 3264
The horrors of the Holocaust should never be forgotten. I remember I first
came across an article about the Holocaust when I was nine years old. I had
never been told about it. I had been taught that the Jews were God’s chosen
people, that they alone kept faith with Him for thousands of years. I went to my
mother and showed her the article, demanding an explanation for what had
happened. If this is what happened to God’s chosen people, I wondered, how
could I count on God to protect me?
Evil is incremental, Mr. Shinoff. It starts small, and grows.
Even if I am a gentile, Mr. Shinoff, I deserve respect as a human being, and you
have never given that to me. You have never believed that I deserved the
protection of the laws of the United States, the laws of California or the
protection of the Contract with CVESD. Your law firm has falsely alleged that I
was “irrational.” Your law firm has pressured teachers to commit perjury in
order to deprive me of my rights. You have instructed CVESD to obstruct
justice. Your behavior in this case, and in many others, has been vile. You
should be ashamed of yourself.
When a government entity arbitrarily takes away the rights of any individual, the
rights of every individual under the power of that entity are in danger. And
when the laws of the land are regularly abused to protect the guilty, the entire justice
system of the land is compromised. At Castle Park, it is Mexicans and bilingual teachers
who are marginalized, not Jews. But just about every group in the world has been a
victim of xenophobia at some time. The list of attempted genocides in human history is
disgracefully long.
Should we wait until a government starts rounding people up before we do
something? Recent history, in Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, Somalia and Sudan shows
that we wait longer than that. I invite you to join me in opposing the dehumanization of
any human being simply because that person is perceived as being different.
I invite you to sit down and talk to me in order to come up with a way to end
hostilities between you and me. I would think a mediator should be present.
Perhaps we can salvage both our careers.
Maura Larkins' response to Dan Shinoff
| Shinoff's Exhibit G |
Shinoff's Exhibit F
Also in Shinoff's Exhibit G:
Letter from Maura Larkins to
Daniel Shinoff
Letter from Maura Larkins to
Daniel Shinoff
Daniel Shinoff's Exhibit D
in his Motion for Summary Judgment
in his Motion for Summary Judgment
Shinoff's Exhibit E
Shinoff did not include this letter
as an exhibit in his motion for
summary judgment
as an exhibit in his motion for
summary judgment
Not even trying to be a mensch?
Mr. Shinoff also included the following letters as exhibits in his motion:
I never got any response to my letter to Rabbi David Kornberg but...it showed
up almost four years later as an exhibit in Daniel Shinoff's Motion for Summary
Judgment!
up almost four years later as an exhibit in Daniel Shinoff's Motion for Summary
Judgment!
Daniel Shinoff's declaration for his Motion for Summary Judgment
in his defamation suit against Maura Larkins is BELOW at the
BOTTOM OF PAGE in the red area.
in his defamation suit against Maura Larkins is BELOW at the
BOTTOM OF PAGE in the red area.
Daniel Shinoff declaration:
Shinoff plays the race card--but only for himself;
Shinoff claims he is a victim
Shinoff plays the race card--but only for himself;
Shinoff claims he is a victim
Anger, sadness
over fabricated
Holocaust story
By HILLEL ITALIE
Dec. 28, 2008
NEW YORK (AP) — It's the
latest story that touched,
and betrayed, the world.
"Herman Rosenblat and his
wife are the most gentle,
loving, beautiful people,"
literary agent Andrea Hurst
said Sunday, anguishing over
why she, and so many others,
were taken by Rosenblat's
story of love born on opposite
sides of a barbed-wire fence
at a concentration camp.
"I question why I never
questioned it. I believed it; it
was an incredible, hope-filled
story."
On Saturday, Berkley Books
canceled Rosenblat's
memoir, "Angel at the Fence,"
after he acknowledged that
he and his wife did not meet,
as they had said for years, at
a sub-camp of Buchenwald,
where she allegedly
sneaked him apples and
bread. The book was
supposed to come out in
February.
Rosenblat, 79, has been
married to the former Roma
Radzicky for 50 years, since
meeting her on a blind date in
New York. In a statement
issued Saturday through his
agent, he described himself
as an advocate of love and
tolerance who falsified his
past to better spread his
message.
"I wanted to bring happiness
to people," said Rosenblat,
who now lives in the Miami
area. "I brought hope to a lot
of people. My motivation was
to make good in this world."
Rosenblat's believers
included not only his agent
and his publisher, but Oprah
Winfrey, film producers,
journalists, family members,
school children and
strangers online who
ignored, or didn't know about,
the warnings from scholars
and skeptics that his story
didn't make sense.
Other Holocaust memoirists
have devised greater
fantasies. Misha Defonseca,
author of "Misha: A Memoire
of the Holocaust Years,"
pretended she was a Jewish
girl who lived with wolves
during the war, when she
was actually a non-Jew who
lived, without wolves, in
Belgium.
Historical records prove
Rosenblat was indeed at
Buchenwald and other
camps.
"How sad that he felt he had
to embellish a life of
surviving the Holocaust and
of being married for half a
century," said Holocaust
scholar Michael Berenbaum.
The damage is broad.
Publishing, the most trusting
of industries, has again been
burned by a memoir that fact-
checking might have
prevented. Berkley is an
imprint of Penguin Group
(USA), which in March pulled
Margaret B. Jones' "Love and
Consequences" after the
author acknowledged she
had invented her story of
gang life in Los Angeles.
Winfrey fell, as she did with
James Frey, for a narrative of
suffering and redemption
better suited for television
than for history.
"If I ever take on another
memoir, they're going to have
to prove everything, every
line," Hurst says. "From now
on, I may just stick to basic
fiction and nonfiction."
The damage is deep.
Scholars and fellow
survivors fear that
Rosenblat's fabrications will
only encourage doubts
about the Holocaust.
"I am very worried because
many of us speak to
thousands of students each
year," says Sidney Finkel, a
longtime friend of
Rosenblat's and a fellow
survivor. "We go before
audiences. We tell them a
story and now some people
will question what I
experienced."
"This was not Holocaust
education but
miseducation," Ken Waltzer,
director of Jewish Studies at
Michigan State University,
said in a statement.
"Holocaust experience is not
heartwarming, it is heart
rending. All this shows
something about the broad
unwillingness in our culture
to confront the difficult
knowledge of the Holocaust,"
Waltzer said. "All the more
important then to have real
memoirs that tell of real
experience in the camps."
Among the fooled, at least the
partially fooled, was
Berenbaum, former director
of the United States
Holocaust Research Institute
at the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum in
Washington. Berenbaum had
been asked to read the
manuscript by film producer
Harris Salomon, who still
plans an adaptation of the
book.
Berenbaum's tentative
support — "Crazier things
have happened," he told The
Associated Press last fall —
was cited by the publisher as
it initially defended the book.
Berenbaum now says he
saw factual errors, including
Rosenblat's description of
Theresienstadt, the camp
from which he was
eventually liberated, but
didn't think of challenging the
love story.
[Maura Larkins' note: Those
who are familiar with the
real fence say that no one
could have thrown apples
over it.]
"There's a limit to what I can
verify, because I was not
there," he says. "I can verify
the general historical
narrative, but in my research I
rely upon the survivors to
present the specifics of their
existence with integrity. When
they don't, they destroy so
much and they ruin so much,
and that's terrible."
"I was burned," he added.
"And I have to read books
more skeptically because I
was burned."
over fabricated
Holocaust story
By HILLEL ITALIE
Dec. 28, 2008
NEW YORK (AP) — It's the
latest story that touched,
and betrayed, the world.
"Herman Rosenblat and his
wife are the most gentle,
loving, beautiful people,"
literary agent Andrea Hurst
said Sunday, anguishing over
why she, and so many others,
were taken by Rosenblat's
story of love born on opposite
sides of a barbed-wire fence
at a concentration camp.
"I question why I never
questioned it. I believed it; it
was an incredible, hope-filled
story."
On Saturday, Berkley Books
canceled Rosenblat's
memoir, "Angel at the Fence,"
after he acknowledged that
he and his wife did not meet,
as they had said for years, at
a sub-camp of Buchenwald,
where she allegedly
sneaked him apples and
bread. The book was
supposed to come out in
February.
Rosenblat, 79, has been
married to the former Roma
Radzicky for 50 years, since
meeting her on a blind date in
New York. In a statement
issued Saturday through his
agent, he described himself
as an advocate of love and
tolerance who falsified his
past to better spread his
message.
"I wanted to bring happiness
to people," said Rosenblat,
who now lives in the Miami
area. "I brought hope to a lot
of people. My motivation was
to make good in this world."
Rosenblat's believers
included not only his agent
and his publisher, but Oprah
Winfrey, film producers,
journalists, family members,
school children and
strangers online who
ignored, or didn't know about,
the warnings from scholars
and skeptics that his story
didn't make sense.
Other Holocaust memoirists
have devised greater
fantasies. Misha Defonseca,
author of "Misha: A Memoire
of the Holocaust Years,"
pretended she was a Jewish
girl who lived with wolves
during the war, when she
was actually a non-Jew who
lived, without wolves, in
Belgium.
Historical records prove
Rosenblat was indeed at
Buchenwald and other
camps.
"How sad that he felt he had
to embellish a life of
surviving the Holocaust and
of being married for half a
century," said Holocaust
scholar Michael Berenbaum.
The damage is broad.
Publishing, the most trusting
of industries, has again been
burned by a memoir that fact-
checking might have
prevented. Berkley is an
imprint of Penguin Group
(USA), which in March pulled
Margaret B. Jones' "Love and
Consequences" after the
author acknowledged she
had invented her story of
gang life in Los Angeles.
Winfrey fell, as she did with
James Frey, for a narrative of
suffering and redemption
better suited for television
than for history.
"If I ever take on another
memoir, they're going to have
to prove everything, every
line," Hurst says. "From now
on, I may just stick to basic
fiction and nonfiction."
The damage is deep.
Scholars and fellow
survivors fear that
Rosenblat's fabrications will
only encourage doubts
about the Holocaust.
"I am very worried because
many of us speak to
thousands of students each
year," says Sidney Finkel, a
longtime friend of
Rosenblat's and a fellow
survivor. "We go before
audiences. We tell them a
story and now some people
will question what I
experienced."
"This was not Holocaust
education but
miseducation," Ken Waltzer,
director of Jewish Studies at
Michigan State University,
said in a statement.
"Holocaust experience is not
heartwarming, it is heart
rending. All this shows
something about the broad
unwillingness in our culture
to confront the difficult
knowledge of the Holocaust,"
Waltzer said. "All the more
important then to have real
memoirs that tell of real
experience in the camps."
Among the fooled, at least the
partially fooled, was
Berenbaum, former director
of the United States
Holocaust Research Institute
at the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum in
Washington. Berenbaum had
been asked to read the
manuscript by film producer
Harris Salomon, who still
plans an adaptation of the
book.
Berenbaum's tentative
support — "Crazier things
have happened," he told The
Associated Press last fall —
was cited by the publisher as
it initially defended the book.
Berenbaum now says he
saw factual errors, including
Rosenblat's description of
Theresienstadt, the camp
from which he was
eventually liberated, but
didn't think of challenging the
love story.
[Maura Larkins' note: Those
who are familiar with the
real fence say that no one
could have thrown apples
over it.]
"There's a limit to what I can
verify, because I was not
there," he says. "I can verify
the general historical
narrative, but in my research I
rely upon the survivors to
present the specifics of their
existence with integrity. When
they don't, they destroy so
much and they ruin so much,
and that's terrible."
"I was burned," he added.
"And I have to read books
more skeptically because I
was burned."
< < <
I wrote this letter to Mr.
Shinoff when I was still
under the impression that
he grew up with a parent
who barely survived the
Holocaust. The letter
illustrates my attempt to
understand and forgive
Shinoff's actions against
me. I had never believed
that his actions had
anything to do with his
being Jewish, since I
knew or knew of legions
of people who were not
Jewish who had engaged
in equally dishonest and
malicious acts--and
worse.
In the letter I accepted
and forgave Shinoff's
hard-as-nails attitude, his
single-minded focus on
his own advantage.
I have friends who are
empathetic and generous
and honest who have
parents who were
holocaust survivors, but I
thought perhaps the
experience had been
worse for Dan Shinoff
than for my friends.
Perhaps it explained his
hostility and callousness.
But I was wrong...
I came across an
article in the North
County Times.
I learned that Shinoff
did not grow up with
Holocaust survivors.
His personality was
formed before he
acquired, by marriage,
relatives who
survived the
Holocaust.
< < <
I wrote this letter to Mr.
Shinoff when I was still
under the impression that
he grew up with a parent
who barely survived the
Holocaust. The letter
illustrates my attempt to
understand and forgive
Shinoff's actions against
me. I had never believed
that his actions had
anything to do with his
being Jewish, since I
knew or knew of legions
of people who were not
Jewish who had engaged
in equally dishonest and
malicious acts--and
worse.
In the letter I accepted
and forgave Shinoff's
hard-as-nails attitude, his
single-minded focus on
his own advantage.
I have friends who are
empathetic and generous
and honest who have
parents who were
holocaust survivors, but I
thought perhaps the
experience had been
worse for Dan Shinoff
than for my friends.
Perhaps it explained his
hostility and callousness.
But I was wrong...
I came across an
article in the North
County Times.
I learned that Shinoff
did not grow up with
Holocaust survivors.
His personality was
formed before he
acquired, by marriage,
relatives who
survived the
Holocaust.
< < <
Mr. Shinoff
completely fooled
me. I truly believed
that he was
descended from a
Holocaust survivor.
completely fooled
me. I truly believed
that he was
descended from a
Holocaust survivor.
< < <
I was shocked when I
came across this
article.
"Married to the
daughter of Holocaust
survivors?"
I had been convinced
by Mr. Shinoff that
one of his parents
was a Holocaust
survivor, and that the
rest of that parent's
family had been
completely wiped out.
From this article I
learned that Shinoff
did not have family
members who were
Holocaust victims
until he got married.
I was shocked when I
came across this
article.
"Married to the
daughter of Holocaust
survivors?"
I had been convinced
by Mr. Shinoff that
one of his parents
was a Holocaust
survivor, and that the
rest of that parent's
family had been
completely wiped out.
From this article I
learned that Shinoff
did not have family
members who were
Holocaust victims
until he got married.
< < <
The North County
Times erased this story
after I published this link.
The link now takes the
reader to a page with a 2001
story about the Escondido
Historical Society. Bizarrely,
the new NCT story still has
the 2003 photo of Dan
Shinoff on the page. The
NCT might change it again,
so I've saved the
preposterous page HERE.
The North County
Times has also
eliminated this
story from its
archive search.
Presumably, the NCT did
this at Mr. Shinoff's request.
What exactly are Shinoff and
the NCT trying to hide? The
fact that Shinoff filed a false
document with his
declaration in his
defamation case against
Maura Larkins?
--March 25, 2010
The North County
Times erased this story
after I published this link.
The link now takes the
reader to a page with a 2001
story about the Escondido
Historical Society. Bizarrely,
the new NCT story still has
the 2003 photo of Dan
Shinoff on the page. The
NCT might change it again,
so I've saved the
preposterous page HERE.
The North County
Times has also
eliminated this
story from its
archive search.
Presumably, the NCT did
this at Mr. Shinoff's request.
What exactly are Shinoff and
the NCT trying to hide? The
fact that Shinoff filed a false
document with his
declaration in his
defamation case against
Maura Larkins?
--March 25, 2010
Another
Holocaust
Hoax
Holocaust
Hoax
After discovering
the article, I wrote
this letter. Shinoff
did not include this
letter as an Exhibit
in his Motion for
Summary Judgment
(see Shinoff's
declaration below).
< < <
the article, I wrote
this letter. Shinoff
did not include this
letter as an Exhibit
in his Motion for
Summary Judgment
(see Shinoff's
declaration below).
< < <