Masha Leon
By Masha Leon
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The Schmooze I’ll Always Have Paris
The events in France have prompted a reminder of how France and things French have punctuated my life. As a child in pre-World War II Warsaw I remember my parents’ friends describe visits to Paris as a place where you can “otemen frei” — breathe freely. In Vilno on June 15, 1940 we went to see…
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The Schmooze America-Israel Cultural Foundation Celebrates Its 75th
The America-Israel Cultural Foundation’s 75th Gala Celebration at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall was a thrilling event. Host and past AICF honoree Itzhak Perlman recounted that as an 11-year old fifty-nine years ago upon receiving his scholarship from Israel’s then PM Moshe Sharett (who had changed his name from Shertok to Sharett) he’d been urged by…
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The Schmooze A Miss America Who Remembered Her Yiddish Roots
Bess Myerson, a Bronx-born beauty whose selection as the first — and to date only — Jewish Miss America turned out to be more than a leggy, musically talented woman. Succumbing at 90 to dementia, she left her imprint on the Jewish community as an indefatigable supporter of Israel and never forgot her Yiddish roots. When…
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The Schmooze When Mario Cuomo Did Grossinger’s — With Ed Koch
I first met Mario Cuomo, the former New York State governor who died at 82 on Thursday, at Grossinger’s in the Catskills in 1982. He and Ed Koch were debaters before the New York State Broadcasters Association Annual Conference. Hearing of my Forward connection, Koch told me outright “tell your readers to rush to the…
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The Schmooze French Acclaim for Entrepreneurs
“Bon soir and bienvenue!” Marie-Monique Steckel president of Alliance Francaise (FIAF) welcomed the black tie and stunningly gowned international assemblage at The Plaza for its 2014 Trophee Des Arts oversubscribed Gala which honored interior designer Jacques Grange and Internet entrepreneur Fabrice Grinda. Jeremy Levine, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, presented the Pilier d’Or award…
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The Schmooze ‘Not the Messiah,’ Eric Idle’s Very Naughty (Jewish) Boy Oratorio
For longtime fans or those new to Monty Python’s wacky irreverence, the Collegiate Chorales’ New York City premiere of “Not The Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy)” — a comic oratorio with libretto by Eric Idle and score by John du Prez — at Carnegie Hall was a kick to the religious funny bone. With…
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The Schmooze Fierce Critic of Islam Honored at Israel’s Open University Gala
The 2014 American Friends of Open University of Israel Gala honoring Somali-born activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali was launched at The Pierre with a spectacular buffet attended by 250 supporters. AFOUI’s president Ingeborg Rennert — resplendent in a purple and silver ensemble — presented the organization’s Tzedek Award to Hirsi Ali explaining: “Tzedek means justice —…
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The Schmooze Beit Hatfutsot Celebrates Double Chai
T’was the first night of Hanukkah as 250 guests gathered at The Pierre to celebrate the candle-lighting and relish the welcome by Daniel Pincus the new, young president of American Friends of Beit Hatfutsot/The Museum of The Jewish People. Pincus, whose family roots include Germany, Chile, Latvia, Lithuania, U.S. and Israel” said that though the…
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