Stand With Our Jewish Neighbors -'How Come Cole Porter Never Wrote A Song About Rosh Hoshanna?'

Steve Miller Reporting
WBBM Newsradio 780


(WBBM/AP) - Both the American Jewish Committee and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee issued statements renounced the recent vandalism of several Chicago-area synagogues.

Police say vandals who set fire a fire at a prominent Chicago synagogue last month may also have sprayed "Death to Israel'' on the north suburban Lincolnwood Jewish Congregation over the weekend.

The head of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee of Chicago says he needs to speak out now.

"I don't think we can speak out against any desecration of any mosques or churches in our community and then stand idly by and not speak out against desecration of religious institutions in other communities."

Well said, Pal! Let's take it a little further along the sidewalk.

The other day I remarked on the brilliant book/essay by America's greatest essayist, Joseph Epstein, on Fred Astair as part of the American Icon Series published by Yale Press. The book is prose writing at its best.

Joseph Epstein wrote a profound passage asking why American gentile song writers like Cole Porter never wrote a song about Rosh Shoshana or Purim. Given that the best Christmas Songs, White Christmas by Irving Berlin and Christmas Song by Mel Torme were written by Jewish Americans and Berlin also wrote Easter Parade.

It appears that American Jews celebrated their American neighbors and their traditions while remaining on the outside.

In our Celebrate Diversity, Happy Horse-shit Culture it would be nice to see a little return on this investment of the heart.

Loyola Man, Rabbi Elisha Prero*, confronted the vandalism done to his congregation over the weekend. His East Rogers Park Congregation was vandalized by idiots or anti-Semites - the roles are reversible. I wanted to see how many other ethnic groups stood in solidarity with our Jewish Neighbors.

One of my best friends growing up in Little Flower Parish on the south side - the Irish Catholic Riviera - was the late Danny Levi. Danny was one tough guy who poured out mounds of help to his Mick neighbors whenever anyone got sick or kids found themselves without parents. Danny Levi owned and operated the Irish Temple Pub which had a logo of a Shamrock in the Star of David.

I'll never forget Danny Levi's goodness to his pals and their families.

I hope that I never forget. Danny's relatives were tossed into ovens by people who went to Mass every Sunday and attended Protestant services with sober regularity.

Let's let Rabbi Elisha Prero know that his neighbors here in Chicago - Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Buddhist and Atheist understand what 'Never Again' means.

We don't need to write songs. We need to stand up once in while; let's let them know we do just that.


Young Israel of West Rogers Park
2706 W. Touhy Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60645
(773) 743-9400


* Rabbi Elisha Prero

Rabbi Elisha Prero graduated with a B.A. in philosophy, Magna Cum Laude, from Loyola University of Chicago and received a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. He studied at Kerem B'Yavneh and Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel and received his Rabbinic Ordination from Rabbi Ahron Soloveichik at Brisk Rabbinical College. Rabbi Prero joined the law firm of Schuyler, Roche, Zwirner, and has been a partner since 2001. He is a member of the CRC, the Youth Commission of the Midwest Region of the NCSY, the musical group Evën Sh’siyah and has been rabbi of Young Israel of West Rogers Park for the past 10 years.