(...)
It was a perfect early spring day: acres of blue sky, the lightest of breezes moving past the graves of Mount Richmond Cemetery on Staten Island. Here, 55,000 Jews are buried in plots owned by the Hebrew Free Burial Association.
These are the graves of the poor, which, under Judaic law, do not differ from those of the rich. The ritual of burial is a rope across time: families who lived a century ago at 108 Orchard Street on the Lower East Side — now known as the Tenement Museum — are buried at Mount Richmond. The maternal grandparents of Mel Brooks are down one row. In another corner are 23 of the girls and boys who were killed in the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire in 1911.
On Tuesday afternoon, in Section 35, it was the time to lay Jeffrey Lynn Schneider to rest, in a box of raw pine, the lid barely held on with three wooden pegs.
As the rabbi worked, a man named Stanley Weinstein, a cousin of Mr. Schneider’s, picked up another shovel and pushed earth into the hole. A spray of cousins and friends stood around the grave, a dozen or so, waiting their turn. After a minute of work, Mr. Weinstein drove the shovel back into the mound. “We don’t hand it off to the next person, to show that we don’t want to pass on death,” Rabbi Plafker said.
It was the rabbi’s third funeral of the day. At the first two, for elderly people, he and three men who work in the cemetery were the only people at the graveside. The rabbi said the prayers; the men performed the ritual with the shovels.
“We are the only friends all the time for poor people,” said Joe Shalem, the superintendent of the cemetery, nodding to the two gravediggers, Cesar Bustamante and Wilson Montes Deoca. The free burial society began in 1888, after the first waves of immigrants from Eastern Europe. The society bought the 23 acres on Staten Island and began burials at Mount Richmond in March 1909. The aim is to provide traditional Jewish burials to people who cannot afford them, said Amy Koplow, the society’s executive director.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/nyregion/01about.html?_r=1&fta=y
jeudi 31 mai 2012
Bulgaria’s economic crisis has Jewish community facing harsh realities
SOFIA, Bulgaria (JTA) — The stories – some months or years in the making — started trickling in last year. Young successful families were showing up desperate.
As Bulgaria’s program director for the American Joint Distribution Committee, Julia Dandalova ran social services programs for the Jewish community’s most needy: elderly pensioners and children of poorer families.
Now she was getting calls from people her own age: thirtysomethings with well-paying jobs, nice homes and cars. People she’d never imagined were struggling.
They told her they’d fallen behind on their mortgage payments and the bank was threatening to take back their homes and their leased cars. People who had everything were facing the abyss of poverty.
“These people are not used to coming to the community to ask for help,” Dandalova said. “What we found was that by the time they come to the community … it was already too late to help them.”
Three years ago, Sofia’s upper-middle-class Jews were thriving. They were mostly in their 30s and 40s, supporting themselves, their children and their aging parents.
When the global economic crisis hit, the bottom fell out not just for the poor but for those, who like so many colleagues in the West were living higher than their incomes with insupportable mortgages and debts. Oil and food prices skyrocketed along with unemployment. The real estate market collapsed. People lost their jobs and lives began to unravel.
This contingent of “new poor” in the Jewish community was startling; the very people that needed help the most were the ones having the most difficulty admitting it. Instead of seeking assistance, they used the last of their savings to keep up pretenses.
(...)
http://azjewishpost.com/2012/bulgarias-economic-crisis-has-jewish-community-facing-harsh-realities/
As Bulgaria’s program director for the American Joint Distribution Committee, Julia Dandalova ran social services programs for the Jewish community’s most needy: elderly pensioners and children of poorer families.
Now she was getting calls from people her own age: thirtysomethings with well-paying jobs, nice homes and cars. People she’d never imagined were struggling.
They told her they’d fallen behind on their mortgage payments and the bank was threatening to take back their homes and their leased cars. People who had everything were facing the abyss of poverty.
“These people are not used to coming to the community to ask for help,” Dandalova said. “What we found was that by the time they come to the community … it was already too late to help them.”
Three years ago, Sofia’s upper-middle-class Jews were thriving. They were mostly in their 30s and 40s, supporting themselves, their children and their aging parents.
When the global economic crisis hit, the bottom fell out not just for the poor but for those, who like so many colleagues in the West were living higher than their incomes with insupportable mortgages and debts. Oil and food prices skyrocketed along with unemployment. The real estate market collapsed. People lost their jobs and lives began to unravel.
This contingent of “new poor” in the Jewish community was startling; the very people that needed help the most were the ones having the most difficulty admitting it. Instead of seeking assistance, they used the last of their savings to keep up pretenses.
(...)
http://azjewishpost.com/2012/bulgarias-economic-crisis-has-jewish-community-facing-harsh-realities/
"Maybe we [the Jewish community] have some issues with priorities"
TORONTO — The average Jewish person in Toronto doesn’t have much say in the priorities of the organized community, filmmaker Ben Feferman said at a town hall meeting he organized last month.
One of the repeated criticisms of organized community institutions made by the 40 people in attendance at the Barbara Frum Library May 24 was that large donations are being used to construct new buildings instead of going toward Jewish education and poverty relief.
Tuition costs for Jewish day schools are skyrocketing, leaving many families unable to afford Jewish education. “Maybe we [the Jewish community] have some issues with priorities,” Feferman said.
Feferman, 28, added that while large Jewish organizations and charities such as UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, UIA Federations Canada and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs are well intentioned and do important work, they don’t operate transparently and democratically, or allocate donations in a way that everyone in the greater Jewish community would agree with.
“To what degree are we able to cast a ballot to remove the leadership?” he asked the audience.
Wayne Levin, an engineer and day-school funding advocate who was one of three other speakers at the event, said it’s not just the leaders of large organizations who can and should have an impact on community decision-making.
“We need to educate [people] and make people understand that they have a role to play,” he said.
Feferman filmed the meeting as a part of his upcoming documentary that looks at the challenges facing Canada’s Jewish community. He said he doesn’t have concrete solutions, but hopes that the community can work together to find them.
The title of Feferman’s documentary, Sha Shtil, to be released this summer, is a reference to the Yiddish phrase that means “be silent.”
Feferman, whose last documentary, The Wandering Jew, explored the Jewish attraction to eastern religions, said the title refers to a prevalent attitude in Canada’s Jewish community that encourages people not to speak up about issues.
He added that when he began filming, he was told several times by community members that he “can’t talk about these things,” and that he shouldn’t outwardly challenge the way the community is run.
“The line that everyone gives me is that we shouldn’t air our dirty laundry in public,” he said.
However, as work on his film progressed, he found people more receptive and open to change.
“Change is not always going to come from the top,” Feferman said. “It’s not always going to be spoon-fed to you. It often has to come from the grassroots.”
Feferman said he has never felt compelled to keep silent about problems he sees in the Jewish community.
“I’m not interested in making the Jewish community look good. I’m interested in making it do good.”
In addition to Feferman and Levin, the meeting also heard from two other speakers, social worker and supporter of Toronto’s homeless Lillian Freedman, and Israel advocate Esther Mendelsohn, who shared their experiences and offered opinions on where there’s room for change in Toronto’s Jewish community.
“There’s lots of work to be done” to fight poverty in the Jewish community, particularly among seniors and Holocaust survivors, Freedman said, adding that “the good news is it’s not hard and it’s not expensive.”
http://www.cjnews.com/node/90142
One of the repeated criticisms of organized community institutions made by the 40 people in attendance at the Barbara Frum Library May 24 was that large donations are being used to construct new buildings instead of going toward Jewish education and poverty relief.
Tuition costs for Jewish day schools are skyrocketing, leaving many families unable to afford Jewish education. “Maybe we [the Jewish community] have some issues with priorities,” Feferman said.
Feferman, 28, added that while large Jewish organizations and charities such as UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, UIA Federations Canada and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs are well intentioned and do important work, they don’t operate transparently and democratically, or allocate donations in a way that everyone in the greater Jewish community would agree with.
“To what degree are we able to cast a ballot to remove the leadership?” he asked the audience.
Wayne Levin, an engineer and day-school funding advocate who was one of three other speakers at the event, said it’s not just the leaders of large organizations who can and should have an impact on community decision-making.
“We need to educate [people] and make people understand that they have a role to play,” he said.
Feferman filmed the meeting as a part of his upcoming documentary that looks at the challenges facing Canada’s Jewish community. He said he doesn’t have concrete solutions, but hopes that the community can work together to find them.
The title of Feferman’s documentary, Sha Shtil, to be released this summer, is a reference to the Yiddish phrase that means “be silent.”
Feferman, whose last documentary, The Wandering Jew, explored the Jewish attraction to eastern religions, said the title refers to a prevalent attitude in Canada’s Jewish community that encourages people not to speak up about issues.
He added that when he began filming, he was told several times by community members that he “can’t talk about these things,” and that he shouldn’t outwardly challenge the way the community is run.
“The line that everyone gives me is that we shouldn’t air our dirty laundry in public,” he said.
However, as work on his film progressed, he found people more receptive and open to change.
“Change is not always going to come from the top,” Feferman said. “It’s not always going to be spoon-fed to you. It often has to come from the grassroots.”
Feferman said he has never felt compelled to keep silent about problems he sees in the Jewish community.
“I’m not interested in making the Jewish community look good. I’m interested in making it do good.”
In addition to Feferman and Levin, the meeting also heard from two other speakers, social worker and supporter of Toronto’s homeless Lillian Freedman, and Israel advocate Esther Mendelsohn, who shared their experiences and offered opinions on where there’s room for change in Toronto’s Jewish community.
“There’s lots of work to be done” to fight poverty in the Jewish community, particularly among seniors and Holocaust survivors, Freedman said, adding that “the good news is it’s not hard and it’s not expensive.”
http://www.cjnews.com/node/90142
vendredi 25 mai 2012
Secretaries, frankness, incompetence, waste of time...
There's a thin line between doing nothing and working against this project.
Clearly, one secretary (KN) of one of those "big guys" helping me stands on one of these positions...
--------------------------------
Update: I informed WR on K's incompetence and how many times and opportunities we lost because of her. Basically, I told him that I only wanted to work directly with him because people he recommends are just useless. I was polite but direct, fed up that both KN and DA from the "communication" office are completely wasting our time. I've been more than patient. Only 20 min of W's time on the phone would have been enough to gather 2, 3 persons for this doc. WR now decides to ignore me. Like always in life, it's no good to say things as they are...
Those "Big Bosses" need blunt frankness from time to time.
Anyway, I won't change my frankness and regarding the project, it makes absolutely no difference in term of efficiency to work alone or with this burden of K...
I'd need 2 more persons for this doc, not easy to find them.
I thought it would be easier. I just don't get it, I try to debunk a dangerous myth and I feel the majority of jewish people are blocking a cliché revision...
Clearly, one secretary (KN) of one of those "big guys" helping me stands on one of these positions...
--------------------------------
Update: I informed WR on K's incompetence and how many times and opportunities we lost because of her. Basically, I told him that I only wanted to work directly with him because people he recommends are just useless. I was polite but direct, fed up that both KN and DA from the "communication" office are completely wasting our time. I've been more than patient. Only 20 min of W's time on the phone would have been enough to gather 2, 3 persons for this doc. WR now decides to ignore me. Like always in life, it's no good to say things as they are...
Those "Big Bosses" need blunt frankness from time to time.
Anyway, I won't change my frankness and regarding the project, it makes absolutely no difference in term of efficiency to work alone or with this burden of K...
I'd need 2 more persons for this doc, not easy to find them.
I thought it would be easier. I just don't get it, I try to debunk a dangerous myth and I feel the majority of jewish people are blocking a cliché revision...
jeudi 24 mai 2012
Jewish Poverty
by Dr. Gerhard Falk
In New York City and other American communities there are many Jewish poor. In New York there are 410,000 Jews who are so poor that they are eligible for government programs. Worst off among these poor Jews are the “near poor” who are not entitled to receive most government benefits because their income is deemed too high. Eligibility for government programs is calculated on the basis of these guidelines: A family of eight is considered not eligible if they have an annual income of $26,930.-. The same holds for a family of six with an annual income of $21,490; a family of four earning $16, 050.-; a family of two earning $10,610 and a single person with $7,890 income per year.
Poor women outnumber men by about 14% because women live longer than men. Many of the poor Jews are intact families. Jews are seldom involved with drugs and we have few unmarried mothers among us. Therefore, 49,000 Jewish children under 21 are among the poor Jews of New York. Similar conditions exist in other Jewish communities as well. For example, there is a tent city in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This tent city serves the homeless, including the Jewish homeless. These Jews receive no help from the Florida Jewish community organizations except the Jewish Defense League, who has been giving the homeless the limited help the JDL has available.
Now one of the most widespread and vicious anti-Jewish canards is the assertion that “the Jews have all the money.” This lie was used by the European/Arab hate mongers for years to somehow justify the mass murder of the poorest of the poor, the Jews of Eastern Europe and Israel.
It is of course true that here, in the United States, Jewish income is generally good, reflecting an overall Jewish middle class status. There are also a few American Jews who have very large holdings and very large incomes. All that is to the good as it allows us to promote numerous strong Jewish communities here and ensure Jewish life in the United States forever.
Unfortunately, the relative wealth of our Jewish community overlooks that there are in this country some very poor Jews. This is in the main overlooked because the poor are indeed “invisible”. That “invisibility” has a number of causes. The first is that the poor cannot access our Jewish institutions. Our synagogues, Community Centers, Jewish schools and all our activities are located in wealthy suburbs, far away from the homes of the poor who often have no transportation with which to reach such establishments.
The poor are also invisible because by definition they cannot afford to participate in Jewish activities. It costs the poor too much to be a member of a synagogue, particularly because High Holiday tickets are so expensive. I am reminded of the story of the Jew who comes to a “shul” on Yom Kippur and tells the guard at the door that Dr. Refuah is in that “shul” and that he must get a hold of Dr. Refuah at once. “It is an emergency,” says the visitor. The guard asks for the visitor's ticket. The visitor has no ticket but insists on seeing Dr. Refuah at once. So the guard calls the president of the “shul” to deal with the ticketless visitor. The president hears about the emergency and tells the visitor, “Dr. Refuah is in the first row. Go get him but since you have no ticket, don’t let me catch you praying.”
Numerous Jewish “affairs” such as dinners, dances, public speeches, etc. are all out of reach of the poor.
Thirdly, the poor are invisible because they cannot make big donations to the various Jewish institutions. Those who make such donations are generally praised publicly, and their names are engraved on buildings or printed on programs. The poor evidently receive no such publicity and are hence invisible.
The story is told of the man who visited a “shul” and asked the rabbi to make his dog Bar Mitzvah. The rabbi refused and felt insulted at such request. He asked the dog lover to leave. In leaving the dog lover said, “I am sorry you won’t make the dog Bar Mitzvah. I will therefore take the dog to Temple Ahavath Behaymah for his Bar Mitzvah and give them the $50,000 I would have given you.” “Wait a minute,” shouted the Rabbi. “Of course I’ll make the dog Bar Mitzvah. I just didn’t know before that the dog is Jewish.”
In the fourth place, the poor are invisible because our poor brethren are generally ashamed to ask for help. Many never come to any Jewish institution for fear of exposing their poverty and reaping the disdain which so frequently devolves on the poor in all societies. Here are some examples: Two small Jewish girls, recently arrived from Naziland, lived in a Jewish neighborhood. Too poor to buy more than one dress, they wore the same dress every day. Too poor to eat more than twice a day, they were overjoyed to be invited by a local “establishment” Jew to the wealthy man’s house, there to receive a gift. They came to the house at the appointed time and were shown a stick of gum and a piece of candy. They were asked to pick either the gum or the candy but not both. One girl took a piece of candy, the other a stick of gum. Thereupon the “donor” sang in Yiddish ‘Shayn is dos Zigeuner Lebben, ze voll’n nur nemmen un’ gor nisht gebben”. English translation- “Beautiful is the life of the gypsies, they only want to take and give nothing.”
Second example, which I have previously mentioned in this column: Having recently arrived from Naziland I was unable to use the English language. I was unemployed at the time, lacked any education, had no income and lived in a Philadelphia slum. On Yom Kippur I went to the nearest synagogue, unaware that a ticket is needed to enter. European Beth Hatefillim never ask for money or a ticket to enter a synagogue. I arrived at the door only to find a large woman had placed a table across the door to prevent the entrance of “schnorrers”. She asked for my ticket. I said in broken English that I knew of no ticket and that I did not understand what she meant. Said she: “You need a ticket when you want to get into a theater and you need one here. Get out.” I spent Yom Kippur on a park bench. I also think of that event every time I am asked for money by the collectors who write or phone me every day in my office and at home.
Third example: While living in Philadelphia I became very hungry as I had no means to buy myself a meal. I was told that the Hillel Foundation at the University of Pennsylvania was then maintaining a kosher dining room and that a rabbi was in charge of that establishment. Being hungry and homeless, I visited there and asked the “rabbi” to let me eat one meal. The “rabbi” refused to give me any food and told me never to come back as he feared to let a fellow with my accent and disheveled appearance to be seen by the wealthy Ivy League crowd eating there. I think of that event every time I am solicited for money from “guess who”.
Fourth example. My family and I arrived in Buffalo forty five years ago. We had three small children then. I had just been appointed an assistant professor and had very little money. Hence my furniture at a rented apartment looked shabby. Because we were newcomers and not acquainted with anyone in town we telephoned a professional man whose name was given us before we came. The professional man came to our apartment on our invitation and then and there severely criticized our furniture and our appearance. He felt insulted by our lowly life style and never spoke to us again. Likewise there are those in the Jewish community who even now cannot tolerate the presence of anyone poor for fear that the poor may want something or that the presence of the poor will contaminate them.
All of this is remembered by those so affected. None of this is admitted or known to those not involved. This is true everywhere and has always been the case at all times. It will never change. The poor are not only devoid of the basic necessities of life. They are also the targets of insult and emotional pain. Their lives are shorter than that of the wealthy because they cannot afford health care. The poor are also less likely to gain access to that most important American social elevator, education. Those who lack a college education can seldom earn much nor attain the professions that depend on such an education. This does not negate the evidence that there are some folks who are exceedingly rich precisely because they did not spend time in school.
In sum, we learn here that poverty is not unknown in the Jewish community and that contrary to the lies of our enemies there are indeed many Jews who are in need.
http://jbuff.com/c040502.htm
In New York City and other American communities there are many Jewish poor. In New York there are 410,000 Jews who are so poor that they are eligible for government programs. Worst off among these poor Jews are the “near poor” who are not entitled to receive most government benefits because their income is deemed too high. Eligibility for government programs is calculated on the basis of these guidelines: A family of eight is considered not eligible if they have an annual income of $26,930.-. The same holds for a family of six with an annual income of $21,490; a family of four earning $16, 050.-; a family of two earning $10,610 and a single person with $7,890 income per year.
Poor women outnumber men by about 14% because women live longer than men. Many of the poor Jews are intact families. Jews are seldom involved with drugs and we have few unmarried mothers among us. Therefore, 49,000 Jewish children under 21 are among the poor Jews of New York. Similar conditions exist in other Jewish communities as well. For example, there is a tent city in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This tent city serves the homeless, including the Jewish homeless. These Jews receive no help from the Florida Jewish community organizations except the Jewish Defense League, who has been giving the homeless the limited help the JDL has available.
Now one of the most widespread and vicious anti-Jewish canards is the assertion that “the Jews have all the money.” This lie was used by the European/Arab hate mongers for years to somehow justify the mass murder of the poorest of the poor, the Jews of Eastern Europe and Israel.
It is of course true that here, in the United States, Jewish income is generally good, reflecting an overall Jewish middle class status. There are also a few American Jews who have very large holdings and very large incomes. All that is to the good as it allows us to promote numerous strong Jewish communities here and ensure Jewish life in the United States forever.
Unfortunately, the relative wealth of our Jewish community overlooks that there are in this country some very poor Jews. This is in the main overlooked because the poor are indeed “invisible”. That “invisibility” has a number of causes. The first is that the poor cannot access our Jewish institutions. Our synagogues, Community Centers, Jewish schools and all our activities are located in wealthy suburbs, far away from the homes of the poor who often have no transportation with which to reach such establishments.
The poor are also invisible because by definition they cannot afford to participate in Jewish activities. It costs the poor too much to be a member of a synagogue, particularly because High Holiday tickets are so expensive. I am reminded of the story of the Jew who comes to a “shul” on Yom Kippur and tells the guard at the door that Dr. Refuah is in that “shul” and that he must get a hold of Dr. Refuah at once. “It is an emergency,” says the visitor. The guard asks for the visitor's ticket. The visitor has no ticket but insists on seeing Dr. Refuah at once. So the guard calls the president of the “shul” to deal with the ticketless visitor. The president hears about the emergency and tells the visitor, “Dr. Refuah is in the first row. Go get him but since you have no ticket, don’t let me catch you praying.”
Numerous Jewish “affairs” such as dinners, dances, public speeches, etc. are all out of reach of the poor.
Thirdly, the poor are invisible because they cannot make big donations to the various Jewish institutions. Those who make such donations are generally praised publicly, and their names are engraved on buildings or printed on programs. The poor evidently receive no such publicity and are hence invisible.
The story is told of the man who visited a “shul” and asked the rabbi to make his dog Bar Mitzvah. The rabbi refused and felt insulted at such request. He asked the dog lover to leave. In leaving the dog lover said, “I am sorry you won’t make the dog Bar Mitzvah. I will therefore take the dog to Temple Ahavath Behaymah for his Bar Mitzvah and give them the $50,000 I would have given you.” “Wait a minute,” shouted the Rabbi. “Of course I’ll make the dog Bar Mitzvah. I just didn’t know before that the dog is Jewish.”
In the fourth place, the poor are invisible because our poor brethren are generally ashamed to ask for help. Many never come to any Jewish institution for fear of exposing their poverty and reaping the disdain which so frequently devolves on the poor in all societies. Here are some examples: Two small Jewish girls, recently arrived from Naziland, lived in a Jewish neighborhood. Too poor to buy more than one dress, they wore the same dress every day. Too poor to eat more than twice a day, they were overjoyed to be invited by a local “establishment” Jew to the wealthy man’s house, there to receive a gift. They came to the house at the appointed time and were shown a stick of gum and a piece of candy. They were asked to pick either the gum or the candy but not both. One girl took a piece of candy, the other a stick of gum. Thereupon the “donor” sang in Yiddish ‘Shayn is dos Zigeuner Lebben, ze voll’n nur nemmen un’ gor nisht gebben”. English translation- “Beautiful is the life of the gypsies, they only want to take and give nothing.”
Second example, which I have previously mentioned in this column: Having recently arrived from Naziland I was unable to use the English language. I was unemployed at the time, lacked any education, had no income and lived in a Philadelphia slum. On Yom Kippur I went to the nearest synagogue, unaware that a ticket is needed to enter. European Beth Hatefillim never ask for money or a ticket to enter a synagogue. I arrived at the door only to find a large woman had placed a table across the door to prevent the entrance of “schnorrers”. She asked for my ticket. I said in broken English that I knew of no ticket and that I did not understand what she meant. Said she: “You need a ticket when you want to get into a theater and you need one here. Get out.” I spent Yom Kippur on a park bench. I also think of that event every time I am asked for money by the collectors who write or phone me every day in my office and at home.
Third example: While living in Philadelphia I became very hungry as I had no means to buy myself a meal. I was told that the Hillel Foundation at the University of Pennsylvania was then maintaining a kosher dining room and that a rabbi was in charge of that establishment. Being hungry and homeless, I visited there and asked the “rabbi” to let me eat one meal. The “rabbi” refused to give me any food and told me never to come back as he feared to let a fellow with my accent and disheveled appearance to be seen by the wealthy Ivy League crowd eating there. I think of that event every time I am solicited for money from “guess who”.
Fourth example. My family and I arrived in Buffalo forty five years ago. We had three small children then. I had just been appointed an assistant professor and had very little money. Hence my furniture at a rented apartment looked shabby. Because we were newcomers and not acquainted with anyone in town we telephoned a professional man whose name was given us before we came. The professional man came to our apartment on our invitation and then and there severely criticized our furniture and our appearance. He felt insulted by our lowly life style and never spoke to us again. Likewise there are those in the Jewish community who even now cannot tolerate the presence of anyone poor for fear that the poor may want something or that the presence of the poor will contaminate them.
All of this is remembered by those so affected. None of this is admitted or known to those not involved. This is true everywhere and has always been the case at all times. It will never change. The poor are not only devoid of the basic necessities of life. They are also the targets of insult and emotional pain. Their lives are shorter than that of the wealthy because they cannot afford health care. The poor are also less likely to gain access to that most important American social elevator, education. Those who lack a college education can seldom earn much nor attain the professions that depend on such an education. This does not negate the evidence that there are some folks who are exceedingly rich precisely because they did not spend time in school.
In sum, we learn here that poverty is not unknown in the Jewish community and that contrary to the lies of our enemies there are indeed many Jews who are in need.
http://jbuff.com/c040502.htm
When Social Welfare Meets the Jewish Community Is Jewish Poverty an Oxymoron?
By William Rapfogel, CEO and exec. dir. of Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty
Jews have historically cared for the needy and sheltered the poor, through charitable giving and through founding and supporting organizations that fed, housed, visited, cured and lifted those who could not help themselves.
But what about the poor Jews - the lonely widows, the misbegotten immigrants, the large families that struggled for food - are they sufficiently sheltered and taken care of? In our persistent belief in the wealth and strength of the Jewish community, have we forgotten about the high numbers of Jews who are poor?
Over 20% of the New York Jewish community is poor. In 2002, that number was 244,000, and included over 50,000 children. With today's recession, that number has swelled indefinably - we won't know by how much until the next Jewish poverty report, based off of the coming year's US census.
New York City's high costs of living affect another population as well: those who aren't technically poor, but whose income fails to cover their expenses. Known as the "working-poor," these are individuals and families who work full-time, but can't cover medical co-pays if an emergency arises, and can't buy school supplies or extra clothing for a child starting school. They are technically "making it," but if an unforeseen expense or job layoff comes along, they are unable to swallow the circumstance and are at risk for losing their apartment, buying food and falling through the cracks completely.
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
They are our friends, family members and neighbors. They are 50-something couples living in Manhattan with one or two children out of the house and both spouses working until one suffers a job loss and they can no longer afford rent payments and health coverage. They are young families in Queens with three or four children, the mother works part-time and the father has just lost his job in financial services - they're running up a massive credit card debt as the father sends out resume after resume hoping for an interview. They are elderly Russian immigrants who live simply in a small apartment and subsist on social security and help from their grown daughter - when that daughter loses her job, they are forced to move in with other relatives and can barely afford food or warm clothing.
These are the Jewish victims of the recession, living in all five boroughs of New York City. These are real stories that we've seen and heard and are trying to help.
According to recent data from the Food Bank for New York City, 48% of New Yorkers are food insecure. That means that nearly 550,000 Jewish New Yorkers are having trouble affording food, including 84,271 seniors and 122,016 children.
In addition, Jews often have more trouble due to the higher costs of kosher food. Even Jews who do not keep strict kosher often eat only kosher meat, which is where the price differences are most glaring. During a non-recession period, many middle-income families have trouble affording kosher meat, and now with the layoffs and down economy the numbers of Jewish families having difficulty affording quality protein and nutritious food have skyrocketed.
Anecdotally, Met Council has seen over a 30% increase at nearly all of our local food pantries for food assistance, and some pantries have reported increases as high as 40%. With the increased clientele and the reduced ability of many donors to open their pockets, we need all the help we can get to ensure that no one goes hungry.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
There are ways for all of us, regardless of where we live or work, to help our community during these hard times. If you think a neighbor is suffering, look out for warning signs - friends' shoes may start looking shabby, they may look stressed and worn out and have stopped inviting Shabbat guests. Their children may be avoiding school trips or birthday parties and may look tired or sad. If you think a friend has been laid off or is in need of help, try directing him or her to social service agencies like Met Council, UJA-Federation's Connect-to-Care initiative or others in the New York area. The more normal and comfortable we can make "getting help," the stronger and better-positioned our community will be to weather crises and sustain financial stability.
Ultimately, we have to come together as a community to withstand this storm and remain intact. By committing whatever funds or resources we have to social services for the Jewish community and by helping to raise awareness of these issues instead of sweeping them under the rug, we'll not only make a difference now in the lives of those who are hurting, we'll help shift our community's priorities in the future.
Jewish poverty has been a painful, overlooked issue for so long. Let's use this economic downturn to recognize the reality and respond appropriately to those among us who are in need.
http://www.jewishpost.com/news/when-social-welfare-meets-the-jewish-community-is-jewish-poverty-an-oxymoron.html
Jews have historically cared for the needy and sheltered the poor, through charitable giving and through founding and supporting organizations that fed, housed, visited, cured and lifted those who could not help themselves.
But what about the poor Jews - the lonely widows, the misbegotten immigrants, the large families that struggled for food - are they sufficiently sheltered and taken care of? In our persistent belief in the wealth and strength of the Jewish community, have we forgotten about the high numbers of Jews who are poor?
Over 20% of the New York Jewish community is poor. In 2002, that number was 244,000, and included over 50,000 children. With today's recession, that number has swelled indefinably - we won't know by how much until the next Jewish poverty report, based off of the coming year's US census.
New York City's high costs of living affect another population as well: those who aren't technically poor, but whose income fails to cover their expenses. Known as the "working-poor," these are individuals and families who work full-time, but can't cover medical co-pays if an emergency arises, and can't buy school supplies or extra clothing for a child starting school. They are technically "making it," but if an unforeseen expense or job layoff comes along, they are unable to swallow the circumstance and are at risk for losing their apartment, buying food and falling through the cracks completely.
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
They are our friends, family members and neighbors. They are 50-something couples living in Manhattan with one or two children out of the house and both spouses working until one suffers a job loss and they can no longer afford rent payments and health coverage. They are young families in Queens with three or four children, the mother works part-time and the father has just lost his job in financial services - they're running up a massive credit card debt as the father sends out resume after resume hoping for an interview. They are elderly Russian immigrants who live simply in a small apartment and subsist on social security and help from their grown daughter - when that daughter loses her job, they are forced to move in with other relatives and can barely afford food or warm clothing.
These are the Jewish victims of the recession, living in all five boroughs of New York City. These are real stories that we've seen and heard and are trying to help.
According to recent data from the Food Bank for New York City, 48% of New Yorkers are food insecure. That means that nearly 550,000 Jewish New Yorkers are having trouble affording food, including 84,271 seniors and 122,016 children.
In addition, Jews often have more trouble due to the higher costs of kosher food. Even Jews who do not keep strict kosher often eat only kosher meat, which is where the price differences are most glaring. During a non-recession period, many middle-income families have trouble affording kosher meat, and now with the layoffs and down economy the numbers of Jewish families having difficulty affording quality protein and nutritious food have skyrocketed.
Anecdotally, Met Council has seen over a 30% increase at nearly all of our local food pantries for food assistance, and some pantries have reported increases as high as 40%. With the increased clientele and the reduced ability of many donors to open their pockets, we need all the help we can get to ensure that no one goes hungry.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
There are ways for all of us, regardless of where we live or work, to help our community during these hard times. If you think a neighbor is suffering, look out for warning signs - friends' shoes may start looking shabby, they may look stressed and worn out and have stopped inviting Shabbat guests. Their children may be avoiding school trips or birthday parties and may look tired or sad. If you think a friend has been laid off or is in need of help, try directing him or her to social service agencies like Met Council, UJA-Federation's Connect-to-Care initiative or others in the New York area. The more normal and comfortable we can make "getting help," the stronger and better-positioned our community will be to weather crises and sustain financial stability.
Ultimately, we have to come together as a community to withstand this storm and remain intact. By committing whatever funds or resources we have to social services for the Jewish community and by helping to raise awareness of these issues instead of sweeping them under the rug, we'll not only make a difference now in the lives of those who are hurting, we'll help shift our community's priorities in the future.
Jewish poverty has been a painful, overlooked issue for so long. Let's use this economic downturn to recognize the reality and respond appropriately to those among us who are in need.
http://www.jewishpost.com/news/when-social-welfare-meets-the-jewish-community-is-jewish-poverty-an-oxymoron.html
Poverty in America: Jews are not exempt
From a ground-floor facility located on
a busy commercial thoroughfare in the
predominantly Hasidic neighborhood of
Brooklyn’s Borough Park, Alexander Rapaport has
a front-row view of some of the uglier snapshots
of Jewish life in America.
“I have seen horrific scenes—people picking food
from Dumpsters, people picking up bread from the
ground that was [meant] for birds,” says Rapaport,
executive director of Masbia, New York City’s only
free full-service kosher soup kitchen.
Venture inside and any doubts about the need
for places like Masbia are put to rest. It’s packed.
When Masbia opened in 2005, volunteers served
an average of eight meals an evening, primarily
to men on their way to and from shul. Today, the
number of nightly diners has grown to more than
200. That number also spans a wider demographic.
“In May, we bought highchairs for the first time.
The other night, we had 60 kids in here,” says Rapaport. “It’s fulfilling to help, but it tears you apart.
It is painful [to see that] this exists. My mashgiach
[kosher monitor] said, ‘I can’t take it anymore.’”
It’s no secret that poverty exists in the United
States and that it has been exacerbated by the nation’s recent economic turmoil. According to the
latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics, more than 37
million Americans do not have enough money to
take care of the basics—food, clothing, and housing.
What might come as a surprise is how many Jews
are among the struggling. According to the 2001
Jewish Population Survey (the latest complete
numbers available), approximately 7 percent of the
American Jewish community lives below federal
poverty lines—a family of four making $22,050 or
less—while more than 14 percent hovers precipitously close. This translates to more than 700,000
Jews, including 190,000 who are children
(...)
http://www.bnaibrith.org/poverty.pdf
A New Demographic For Jewish Poverty (2010)
The number of Americans living in poverty is at an all-time high. According to recently released U.S. Census Bureau data, 43.6 million people — or one in seven Americans — lived at or below the poverty threshold in 2009. This represents the third consecutive increase in the percentage of Americans living in poverty in that many years. To get a better sense of how Jews in New York are faring, The Jewish Week spoke with William Rapfogel, CEO at Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. He sounds off on why the poverty levels are outdated, the new demographic that is calling Met Council for help, and why Jewish families need a crash course in basic financial literacy.
Q: The new numbers show a sharp rise in poverty levels. What is the situation like among Jews in New York?
A: One of the things that is fascinating to me is that they continue to use outdated statistics. When I say that, I’m talking about the poverty levels: $22,000 for a family of four, even in the lowest-cost states in the United States, that’s simply ridiculous. In New York, L.A., Chicago, and Miami, you can’t live on twice that amount for a family of four.
The most recent Jewish poverty study conducted by Met Council and the UJA-Federation of New York identified 226,000 Jewish New Yorkers living at or below 150 percent of the poverty level ($33,000 for a family of four). But that was back in 2003. The next study is due out in the beginning of 2012.
Since 2008, we have been working harder than ever to provide whatever assistance we can. We are providing 15,000 households with kosher food every month. In January 2008, we were providing 8,000 households with food. It’s nearly doubled.
Have you seen an increase in requests from new demographics?
In addition to helping the poor and working poor, we now get calls from middle class, formerly comfortable individuals who have never had to ask for anything. In many ways, they are financially illiterate. One couple came to see me after the husband was already out of work for six months. When listing their expenses, they forgot the $600 a month they were paying for cable and Internet. They had every sports channel in existence. Their lifestyle was such that it was never an issue. The people who are fighting every day to make ends meet know exactly where they are spending their money. We’re spending a significant amount of time helping people go over the aleph bet of doing a budget.
Which new Met Council initiatives are achieving results?
We began training people in electronic health record management. It’s the fastest-growing area because of health care reform. We graduated our first class two weeks ago, and 22 out of 25 had jobs by graduation making $50,000-plus a year. We’ve also had successes in 30 to 35 cases in which people were about to be thrown out of their homes and had 15-year mortgages. We were able to switch them to 30-year mortgages, which they could afford.
Do you think the economy is improving, or will it get worse before it gets better?
I’m always an optimist, but I believe you have to prepare as if the pessimists are right.
http://www.thejewishweek.com/features/new_york_minute/new_demographic_jewish_poverty
Q: The new numbers show a sharp rise in poverty levels. What is the situation like among Jews in New York?
A: One of the things that is fascinating to me is that they continue to use outdated statistics. When I say that, I’m talking about the poverty levels: $22,000 for a family of four, even in the lowest-cost states in the United States, that’s simply ridiculous. In New York, L.A., Chicago, and Miami, you can’t live on twice that amount for a family of four.
The most recent Jewish poverty study conducted by Met Council and the UJA-Federation of New York identified 226,000 Jewish New Yorkers living at or below 150 percent of the poverty level ($33,000 for a family of four). But that was back in 2003. The next study is due out in the beginning of 2012.
Since 2008, we have been working harder than ever to provide whatever assistance we can. We are providing 15,000 households with kosher food every month. In January 2008, we were providing 8,000 households with food. It’s nearly doubled.
Have you seen an increase in requests from new demographics?
In addition to helping the poor and working poor, we now get calls from middle class, formerly comfortable individuals who have never had to ask for anything. In many ways, they are financially illiterate. One couple came to see me after the husband was already out of work for six months. When listing their expenses, they forgot the $600 a month they were paying for cable and Internet. They had every sports channel in existence. Their lifestyle was such that it was never an issue. The people who are fighting every day to make ends meet know exactly where they are spending their money. We’re spending a significant amount of time helping people go over the aleph bet of doing a budget.
Which new Met Council initiatives are achieving results?
We began training people in electronic health record management. It’s the fastest-growing area because of health care reform. We graduated our first class two weeks ago, and 22 out of 25 had jobs by graduation making $50,000-plus a year. We’ve also had successes in 30 to 35 cases in which people were about to be thrown out of their homes and had 15-year mortgages. We were able to switch them to 30-year mortgages, which they could afford.
Do you think the economy is improving, or will it get worse before it gets better?
I’m always an optimist, but I believe you have to prepare as if the pessimists are right.
http://www.thejewishweek.com/features/new_york_minute/new_demographic_jewish_poverty
Study claims Jewish poverty rate in the U.S. is higher than in Israel
Organization finds over 15% of U.S. Jews are poor, compared to around 12% of Jewish Israelis.
By Ruth Sinai | Nov.16, 2007
Every day at 6 P.M. 72 Jews come to the Ezra Center in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. They come to eat dinner. Although the meal is provided by a respectable caterer and served in a place called Uptown Cafe, this is unmistakably a soup kitchen.
Many of the diners are elderly immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Others are homeless people living in the Jewish community center's basement, released prisoners, illegal aliens, including Israelis, and the poor.
"We found abysmal poverty," says Anita Weinstein, founder and director of the Ezra Center, which provides social services to some 4,000 needy Chicago Jews living in the area. The Ezra Multi-Service Center (MSC) is a collaborative project of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF) and is administered by the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago (JCC). It was founded 23 years ago for distressed middle-class Jews who lost their jobs in the recession.
"We asked ourselves, if this could happen to middle-class Jews, what was happening to other people?" says Weinstein.
In addition to some 7,000 middle-class Jews who needed help, some 3,000 Jews were receiving welfare. "We discovered an entire community of poor Jews of all ages who have been living here for a very long time," she says.
Today many of the needy are elderly, including Holocaust survivors, large ultra-Orthodox families and minimum-wage earners. "It's harder to be poor today," says Weinstein.
One of the main problems is shelter. Some Jews live in cars. The disability stipend is $623 a month. Rent, even for a modest room, is at least half of that. The federation provides homes for some 800 homeless people, about half of them Jews, in five buildings it rents in Uptown. About a third of them have jobs.
Steven Nasatir, JUF / Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago president, says one of every five Jews among Chicago's 270,000 Jews is poor or almost poor according to the federal government's definition. He says there are no figures for the general poverty rate among Jews in the United States, but according to the federations' umbrella organization, the UJC, 15 to 20 percent of American Jews are poor.
In fact, the Jewish poverty rate in the United States is higher than that in Israel. In Israel 24 percent of the population is considered poor, but about half is not Jewish.
New York also has a high rate of Jewish poverty. "Usually the words 'Jewish poverty" are seen as a contradiction in terms, says William Rapfogel, CEO of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. "It's not. More than a quarter of the members of the world's richest Jewish community live close to the poverty line."
A survey conducted for the federation five years ago showed that 350,000 Jews in New York City and state live close to the poverty line. The highest poverty rate is in Brooklyn. Ultra-Orthodox families make up 27 percent of those living below the poverty line, 23 percent are Russian speakers under the age of 65, 21 percent are Russian speakers over 65, 13 percent are non-Russian speakers over 65 and 16 percent are unemployed or handicapped.
The poverty line for a family of three is set at an annual income of $15,000 but in New York and other large cities it is adjusted to the higher cost of living and set at $22,530.
For every 100 housing units the community builds for the poor, mainly with state funding, there is a waiting list of 6,000, Rapfogel says. The apartments are raffled among the eligible recipients.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/2.209/study-claims-jewish-poverty-rate-in-the-u-s-is-higher-than-in-israel-1.233403
By Ruth Sinai | Nov.16, 2007
Every day at 6 P.M. 72 Jews come to the Ezra Center in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. They come to eat dinner. Although the meal is provided by a respectable caterer and served in a place called Uptown Cafe, this is unmistakably a soup kitchen.
Many of the diners are elderly immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Others are homeless people living in the Jewish community center's basement, released prisoners, illegal aliens, including Israelis, and the poor.
"We found abysmal poverty," says Anita Weinstein, founder and director of the Ezra Center, which provides social services to some 4,000 needy Chicago Jews living in the area. The Ezra Multi-Service Center (MSC) is a collaborative project of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF) and is administered by the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago (JCC). It was founded 23 years ago for distressed middle-class Jews who lost their jobs in the recession.
"We asked ourselves, if this could happen to middle-class Jews, what was happening to other people?" says Weinstein.
In addition to some 7,000 middle-class Jews who needed help, some 3,000 Jews were receiving welfare. "We discovered an entire community of poor Jews of all ages who have been living here for a very long time," she says.
Today many of the needy are elderly, including Holocaust survivors, large ultra-Orthodox families and minimum-wage earners. "It's harder to be poor today," says Weinstein.
One of the main problems is shelter. Some Jews live in cars. The disability stipend is $623 a month. Rent, even for a modest room, is at least half of that. The federation provides homes for some 800 homeless people, about half of them Jews, in five buildings it rents in Uptown. About a third of them have jobs.
Steven Nasatir, JUF / Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago president, says one of every five Jews among Chicago's 270,000 Jews is poor or almost poor according to the federal government's definition. He says there are no figures for the general poverty rate among Jews in the United States, but according to the federations' umbrella organization, the UJC, 15 to 20 percent of American Jews are poor.
In fact, the Jewish poverty rate in the United States is higher than that in Israel. In Israel 24 percent of the population is considered poor, but about half is not Jewish.
New York also has a high rate of Jewish poverty. "Usually the words 'Jewish poverty" are seen as a contradiction in terms, says William Rapfogel, CEO of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. "It's not. More than a quarter of the members of the world's richest Jewish community live close to the poverty line."
A survey conducted for the federation five years ago showed that 350,000 Jews in New York City and state live close to the poverty line. The highest poverty rate is in Brooklyn. Ultra-Orthodox families make up 27 percent of those living below the poverty line, 23 percent are Russian speakers under the age of 65, 21 percent are Russian speakers over 65, 13 percent are non-Russian speakers over 65 and 16 percent are unemployed or handicapped.
The poverty line for a family of three is set at an annual income of $15,000 but in New York and other large cities it is adjusted to the higher cost of living and set at $22,530.
For every 100 housing units the community builds for the poor, mainly with state funding, there is a waiting list of 6,000, Rapfogel says. The apartments are raffled among the eligible recipients.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/2.209/study-claims-jewish-poverty-rate-in-the-u-s-is-higher-than-in-israel-1.233403
samedi 19 mai 2012
Blair Jew
Donc, Blair Witch (très mauvais) a coûté 25 000$...
Jews Got Money: 2095$
-570$ cameramen avec matériel + taxis (5 itws en 4 fois, environ 13 hrs en tout (trajets inclus) Au final, on avait environ 3 hrs de rushes et on en a gardé environ 2 hrs pour en faire ce docu de 40 min (environ 20 min avec Malcolm + 20 min avec William + 20 min avec Shmuel + 30 min avec Amy + quelques plans au cimetière)
-Montage 225$ 1er monteur (viré) + 600$ Martha (montage + trailer)
-500$ 2 disques durs
-200$ designer
-------------------------
Si le Met Council m'aide pour terminer mon projet, il est probable de terminer le tournage d'ici une semaine. Au final, je n'aurais que 2 hrs d'itws, je pensais que j'en aurais plus, je pourrais rajouter des questions mais je suis très satisfait comme ça. On m'a bien confirmé que ce projet était une première dans l'histoire du documentaire. Le monteur m'a parlé de 3 jours de son côté. Je pense tirer 40 à 50 min de ces itws.
Je me contrefous de ces enculeurs de mouches figés dans leurs dogmes qui s'imaginent qu'il faut tourner 10 hrs pour garder 10 min, je ne tourne que ce que je veux à l'écran, c'est ce que j'appelle du "cinéma direct"!
Mon cameraman m'a expliqué que son école lui a coûté 160 000$! J'évalue son matériel à 15 000$.
Cette expérience m'apprend qu'en y allant à l'arrache, au culot, en cherchant des projets sur Mandy.com, on apprend tout autant tout en se dispensant de grandes leçons de profs qui ne sont, en général, que des frustrés...
Maintenant je dois m'occuper de l'affiche. Je vais passer une annonce sur 99designs.com
--------------------
Update: Budget: 2095$ pour le docu en lui même (hors hébergement, avion...) 6 semaines à NYC.
3 semaines entre la 1ère et la dernière itw.
J'ai mis 2 semaines à trouver un cameraman abordable et compétent et seulement ensuite j'ai contacté M Hoenlein et W Rapfogel. J'ai attendu 1 semaine pour itw M Hoenlein et, ne voyant tjs rien venir de la part de "l'extraordinaire secrétaire" de W Rapfogel, j'ai demandé à M Hoenlein un coup de pouce et dans les 24h, tout s'est miraculeusement débloqué...
J'ai bien fait chier mon monde en tout cas avec mes demandes pour trouver des "clients" de charities. A la fin, ni M Hoenlein ni W Rapfogel ne répondaient à mes mails. Heureusement, dans les dernières heures, la trés "responsive" Amy nous a fourni un indispensable coup de main.
Bref, sujet tabou, bien compliqué, mais je suis content de l'expérience et du résultat.
Jamais je n'aurais pu faire ça en France où on m'aurait en permanence questionné sur mes diplômes, mon CV, mon expérience, mes "relations"...
Sujet unique dans l'histoire du documentaire en tout cas. Affiche et titre percutants, je pense que ça jouera pour 60% du marketing.
American Dream ? Time will tell...
Jews Got Money: 2095$
-570$ cameramen avec matériel + taxis (5 itws en 4 fois, environ 13 hrs en tout (trajets inclus) Au final, on avait environ 3 hrs de rushes et on en a gardé environ 2 hrs pour en faire ce docu de 40 min (environ 20 min avec Malcolm + 20 min avec William + 20 min avec Shmuel + 30 min avec Amy + quelques plans au cimetière)
-Montage 225$ 1er monteur (viré) + 600$ Martha (montage + trailer)
-500$ 2 disques durs
-200$ designer
-------------------------
Si le Met Council m'aide pour terminer mon projet, il est probable de terminer le tournage d'ici une semaine. Au final, je n'aurais que 2 hrs d'itws, je pensais que j'en aurais plus, je pourrais rajouter des questions mais je suis très satisfait comme ça. On m'a bien confirmé que ce projet était une première dans l'histoire du documentaire. Le monteur m'a parlé de 3 jours de son côté. Je pense tirer 40 à 50 min de ces itws.
Je me contrefous de ces enculeurs de mouches figés dans leurs dogmes qui s'imaginent qu'il faut tourner 10 hrs pour garder 10 min, je ne tourne que ce que je veux à l'écran, c'est ce que j'appelle du "cinéma direct"!
Mon cameraman m'a expliqué que son école lui a coûté 160 000$! J'évalue son matériel à 15 000$.
Cette expérience m'apprend qu'en y allant à l'arrache, au culot, en cherchant des projets sur Mandy.com, on apprend tout autant tout en se dispensant de grandes leçons de profs qui ne sont, en général, que des frustrés...
Maintenant je dois m'occuper de l'affiche. Je vais passer une annonce sur 99designs.com
--------------------
Update: Budget: 2095$ pour le docu en lui même (hors hébergement, avion...) 6 semaines à NYC.
3 semaines entre la 1ère et la dernière itw.
J'ai mis 2 semaines à trouver un cameraman abordable et compétent et seulement ensuite j'ai contacté M Hoenlein et W Rapfogel. J'ai attendu 1 semaine pour itw M Hoenlein et, ne voyant tjs rien venir de la part de "l'extraordinaire secrétaire" de W Rapfogel, j'ai demandé à M Hoenlein un coup de pouce et dans les 24h, tout s'est miraculeusement débloqué...
J'ai bien fait chier mon monde en tout cas avec mes demandes pour trouver des "clients" de charities. A la fin, ni M Hoenlein ni W Rapfogel ne répondaient à mes mails. Heureusement, dans les dernières heures, la trés "responsive" Amy nous a fourni un indispensable coup de main.
Bref, sujet tabou, bien compliqué, mais je suis content de l'expérience et du résultat.
Jamais je n'aurais pu faire ça en France où on m'aurait en permanence questionné sur mes diplômes, mon CV, mon expérience, mes "relations"...
Sujet unique dans l'histoire du documentaire en tout cas. Affiche et titre percutants, je pense que ça jouera pour 60% du marketing.
American Dream ? Time will tell...
samedi 12 mai 2012
Israelis demonstrate against cost of living
TEL AVIV — Several thousand Israelis demonstrated Saturday evening in downtown Tel Aviv against the high cost of living and social inequalities in the country.
The demonstrators, who are seeking to relaunch a protest movement that swept Israel last summer, held up placards saying "the people demand social justice" and "we want social justice, not charity", an AFP correspondent said.
Similar demonstrations were reported in other Israeli cities.
Some of the protesters called for the departure of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who last year appointed a government committee to look into social demands.
Last year's protest movement culminated in September with nearly half a million Israelis taking to the streets to protest high rents.
The demonstrators, who are seeking to relaunch a protest movement that swept Israel last summer, held up placards saying "the people demand social justice" and "we want social justice, not charity", an AFP correspondent said.
Similar demonstrations were reported in other Israeli cities.
Some of the protesters called for the departure of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who last year appointed a government committee to look into social demands.
Last year's protest movement culminated in September with nearly half a million Israelis taking to the streets to protest high rents.
jeudi 3 mai 2012
"C'est vrai qu'ils sont intouchables"
"Les juifs sont très très riches en tout"
Juin 1985
Les débuts d'une nouvelle libération de la parole "par l'humour" et la naissance du communautarisme en France, l'affirmation "des différences", la petite main jaune de SOS racisme, la concurrence victimaire...
Juin 1985
Les débuts d'une nouvelle libération de la parole "par l'humour" et la naissance du communautarisme en France, l'affirmation "des différences", la petite main jaune de SOS racisme, la concurrence victimaire...
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