Karmel Melamed is an award-winning Iranian Jewish journalist, activist and attorney based in Southern California.
Karmel Melamed
By Karmel Melamed
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News Orthodox Union Proposes New Measures To Increase Revenues and Reduce Costs Tuition
Taking a page from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America is urging yeshiva day schools not to waste a good crisis. With operation costs climbing for schools, and tuition increases bearing down on parents amid the current crushing economic downturn, the O.U.’s Rabbi Saul Zucker laid…
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News For the Bee Man, a Sweet New Year
Dipping his apple in honey this Rosh Hashanah will have a special meaning for Southern California Iranian Jewish businessman Izak Kharrazi, who marks his 30th year in the unique and challenging bee-removal business. Affectionately known as the “bee man” by his client base, which includes such celebrities as Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Taylor and Charlize Theron,…
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Israel News Iranian Jew Makes Emmy History
Before the red-carpet fanfare of the Emmy Awards proper, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences customarily honors the behind-the-scenes toilers who make television programming look and sound as it should. At this year’s technical awards ceremony, history was made when Lila Yomtoob, a sound editor on the HBO documentary “Baghdad ER,” became the first…
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Culture Persian Gates
Krista Nassi, an Iranian Jewish artist in her 30s, made it through Tehran’s Institute of Graphic Design and Architecture and earned a master’s degree in art from Tehran’s University of Art. But when the installation artist tried to have her work displayed in one of the state-funded archives in 2000, she was turned away. She…
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Israel News Tom Cruise’s Persian Princess
Persian Jewish actress Bahar Soomekh earned some serious attention last year when she played a young Iranian in “Crash,” the Academy Award winner for best picture. She’s about to star in an even bigger role — playing alongside Tom Cruise in the thriller “Mission: Impossible III.” On the eve of the film’s debut, the Shmooze…
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News Forget JDate — Matchmaker Helps Angelenos Find Love
He’s not your typical yenta, and he’s certainly not JDate.com, but 70-year-old Asher Aramnia spends every Sunday afternoon working the phones at his Los Angeles office to make national and international love connections for Jewish singles of different backgrounds. With countless successful matches to his credit, Aramnia’s matchmaking activities, based out of an Iranian Jewish…
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News Riding the Persian Carpet to Fame
‘It sucks being Iranian these days,” Iranian-born Jewish comedian Dan Ahdoot jokes in his stand-up act. “People ask me the dumbest questions… ‘Yo, Dan, level with me. Are they making the nuclear weapons or what?’ Like there’s this big e-mail list that goes out every month to anyone who’s Iranian, that reads, ‘Greetings from Tehran….
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