Welcome to the home page of SUSIE DAVIDSON, journalist, author, poet, filmmaker and social and environmental activist. Email me at Susie_d@yahoo.com.

FILM INFORMATION:

Click here for Yom HaShoah 2010 screenings. Contact info: Susie_d@yahoo.com
Information on NEW DOCUMENTARY FILM "The Holocaust: Memory and Legacy", featuring Boston-area Holocaust survivors, children of survivors, Holocaust educators and liberating World War II soldiers, and music from blues virtuoso Ronnie Earl, Klezmer musician Glenn Dickson (Shirim, Naftule's Dream), the Terezin Chamber Music Quartet, and singer Rosalie Gerut - Yom HaShoah film screenings are being scheduled and are printed here, to date.

Boston Globe West "People" column feature by Cindy Cantrell, Sunday, June 28, 2009

LEAD Yom HaShoah OP-ED BY SUSIE DAVIDSON: BOSTON HERALD, Saturday, April 18, 2009

BOSTON GLOBE G SECTION, Page 1, April 21, 2009

Boston Globe review by Linda Matchan: "A movie to keep their stories alive," Dec. 14, 2008

BOOK INFORMATION:

Click here for current information on my book I REFUSED TO DIE: STORIES OF BOSTON-AREA HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS AND SOLDIERS WHO LIBERATED THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS OF WORLD WAR II (2005, rev. 2007)

Or, scroll down this web page for information on I Refused to Die as well as my other two books, "Jewish Life in Postwar Germany: Our Ten-Day Seminar" (2007) and "Selected Poetry of Susie D" (2007)

July 2008: I edited and annotated "In Gratitude and Hope: Remarks of Wolfgang K. Vorwerk, Consul General of Germany to Boston, 2004-2008" (Ibbetson St. Press, Somerville). Reviewed in June 29, 2008 Boston Globe - Shelf Life Books column, by Jan Gardner

WRITING:

I'm a freelance writer and poet with over 150 poetry publications to date. I'm a correspondent for the Jewish Advocate in Boston, and have written regularly for the Brookline Tab, the Cambridge Chronicle, the Cambridge Tab and other Boston-area weeklies. I have contributed to the Boston Sunday Globe's City Weekly and to the Forward. ***Please note that no opinions expressed on this web site, be they mine or others', necessarily reflect those of any of these newspapers.***

POETRY BOOK REVIEW: New! Check out review of "Selected Poetry of Susie D" by Laurel Johnson

COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM:

I'm Coordinator of the Boston Chapter of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life. Our current initiatives are a drive to get all state synagogues to green (Pledge to Green), and are writing the Green Guide for Massachusetts Synagogues. Check us out at www.BostonCOEJL.org or by scrolling down to the link "Make Your Synagogue Green" on the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts site, Synagogue Council of Massachusetts

I am also a governing board member of the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow in Boston. AHT is trying to get the "Act for a healthy Massachusetts: Safer alternatives to Toxic Chemicals” (called the Safer Alternatives to Toxins bill) through the legislature. AHT is also working on legislation to eliminate BPA from food containers and baby bottles, restore funding for the Toxics Use Reduction Institute, and on other public health-related causes. Alliance For A Healthy Tomorrow
The Safer Alternatives Bill passed the Senate in January, 2008, but the legislative session ended before it got to the House. The bill is now being advanced during the current legislative session.

I'm on the Advisory Board and the Communications Committee of the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action. JALSA

And, I'm helping organize a Coffee Party team in Brookline. Coffee Party USA

I also help coordinate the BROOKLINE LIBRARY AUTHORS' COLLABORATIVE:

Published Brookline authors to read Dec. 3 in group event at Brookline Booksmith during town First Light festival

On Dec. 3 from 5-8 p.m., during Brookline's 1st Light Festival, members of The Brookline Library Authors' Collaborative will be reading from their works at the Brookline Booksmith, 290 Harvard St., Coolidge Corner, Brookline. The event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served. The event will be videotaped for Brookline Access TV.

Boston Globe West, Nov. 22:

LITERARY LIGHTS AT FIRST LIGHT - A lineup of published Brookline authors will read from their own works at Brookline Booksmith from 5 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 3 to coincide with First Light, the commercial area’s annual holiday kickoff. Among the highlights: best-selling mystery novelist Sarah Smith, who will read from her new young adult novel, set in Brookline; poet and journalist Susie Davidson, who has written about Holocaust survivors and their liberators; Wendy Lement, author of a children’s book, “Keri Tarr: Cat Detective’’; and David Prerau, who will read from his book, “Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time.’’ The readings are organized by the Brookline Library Authors’ Collaborative. - Andreae Downs

Brookline Tab:

http://www.wickedlocal.com/brookline/fun/entertainment/books/x1945270168/Brookline-Library-Authors-Collaborative-members-to-read

Wicked Local Brookline Posted Nov 29, 2009 @ 03:18 PM

Brookline — Members of the Brookline Library Authors’ Collaborative will read from their works at Brookline Booksmith, 290 Harvard St., during Brookline’s 1st Light Festival on Thursday, Dec. 3, from 5-8 p.m. This year, BLAC will be joined by several Brookline authors, including Linda Barnes, author of the Carlotta Carlyle mystery series. Readers also include Wendy Lement, who co-authored “And Justice for Some: Exploring American Justice through Drama and Theatre.” Her theater production of “Cat Detective,” based on her children’s book “Keri Tarr: Cat Detective,” won the American Alliance for Theatre and Education’s 2002 Unpublished Playreading Project.

Also reading will be Joshua Rubenstein, whose “Stalin’s Secret Pogrom: the Postwar Inquisition of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee,” was awarded the National Jewish Book Award in 2001-2002; David Schmahmann, whose first novel, “Empire Settings,” received the John Gardner Book Award; Boston Globe columnist Monique Doyle Spencer, who will read from her second book, “How Can I Help: Everyday Ways to Help Your Loved Ones Live with Cancer;” and Emily Miles Terry, will read from her new book “Postcards from the Bump: A Chick’s Guide to Getting to Know the Baby in Your Belly.”

Brookline Library Authors’ Collaborative members who will read will include film critic Dan Kimmel; journalist, author, poet and filmmaker Susie Davidson; bestselling mystery author Sarah Smith; and David Prerau, an expert on national time policies. Readings will encompass varied genres including children’s literature, mystery, crafts and cooking, history, fiction, nonfiction, horror and more. Refreshments will be served, and books suitable for holiday gifts by local authors will be available for signing. The event is free and open to the public. The Brookline Library Authors’ Collaborative meets on occasional Monday evenings at the Brookline Public Library, Main Branch, 361 Washington St.

Jewish Advocate event listing:

http://www.thejewishadvocate.com/news/2009/1127/calendar/031.html

BROOKLINE BOOK READINGS 12/3: 5-8 p.m. Dan Kimmel (The Jewish Advocate Movie Maven), Susie Davidson, Joshua Rubenstein, David Schmahmann, Monique Doyle Spencer, Linda Barnes and other authors read during Brookline's 1st Light festival. At Brookline Booksmith in Brookline. 617-566-7557.

Boston.com listing:

http://calendar.boston.com/brookline-ma/events/show/89371472-book-readings-by-brookline-authors-for-1st-light-fest

More information:

This year, the BLAC will be joined by several well-known, highly accomplished, Brookline authors who include Linda Barnes, author of the Carlotta Carlyle mystery series (St. Martin’s Press; three Boston Globe bestsellers), who is also a recipient of an American Mystery Award and a London Times outstanding book of 1990. Readers will also include Gabe Galambos, who authored the espionage thriller “Stealing Pike’s Peak” (Iuniverse, Writers Club Press), and who was imprisoned in the Sudan in 1983 for helping Ethiopian Jews reach Israel; and humorist Chuck Goldstone, whose essays appeared on public radio's Monitor Radio and Marketplace for almost 10 years, and who now appears each month on WBZ.

Regis College Theatre professor and Dept. Chair Wendy Lement co-authored “And Justice for Some: Exploring American Justice through Drama and Theatre,” (Heinemann Press, 2005). Her theatre production of “Cat Detective,” based on her children's book “Keri Tarr: Cat Detective” (Breakaway Books, 2004), won the American Alliance for Theatre and Education's 2002 Unpublished Playreading Project.

Also reading will be Joshua Rubenstein, Northeast Regional Director of Amnesty International USA (his “Stalin’s Secret Pogrom: the Postwar Inquisition of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee,” was awarded the National Jewish Book Award in 2001-2002); David Schmahmann, a South African native whose first novel, “Empire Settings,” received the John Gardner Book Award for “the most outstanding book of fiction published in 2001 by a small or university press; Boston Globe columnist Monique Doyle Spencer, who will read from her second book, "How Can I Help: Everyday Ways to Help Your Loved Ones Live With Cancer," and Emily Miles Terry, co-author of the New York Times bestseller “Nesting: It’s a Chick Thing” who will read from her new “Postcards from the Bump: A Chick’s Guide to Getting to Know the Baby in Your Belly” (Da Capo Lifelong, May 2009). Terry and co-writer Ame Mahler Beanland write for Disney’s www.family.com and www.familyfun.com; the two have been featured in Family Circle, Glamour, Country Home, Health, and Better Homes & Gardens.

Gary K. Wolf (“Who Censored Roger Rabbit?” which became the Academy Award-winning movie “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”) has a conflict, but is part of this group, and should appear in next year’s lineup. Wolf’s novel “The Resurrectionist” is currently in production as a feature film at 20th Century Fox. Brookline Library Authors’ Collaborative members who will read will include film critic Dan Kimmel; journalist, author, poet and filmmaker Susie Davidson; bestselling mystery author Sarah Smith, and David Prerau, an internationally-recognized expert on national time policies who has been called "the world's foremost authority on Daylight Saving Time (DST), and author of "Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time" (Basic Books, 2005). Readings will encompass varied genres including childrens' literature, "chick lit," fiction, history, horror, humor, mystery, nonfiction, and more. Refreshments will be served, and books suitable for holiday gifts by local authors will be available for signing. The event is free and open to the public.

The Brookline Library Authors' Collaborative is a group for residents of Brookline who have had at least one book (fiction, or non-fiction, or poetry) published. The group, which formed in 2007, seeks to establish a network of authors that can help provide support for the artistic, social, and business aspects of writing books. Accomplishments thus far include the creation of a Virtual Bookshelf of local works, as well as group display cases at the Public Library; a Brookline Writes! show regularly aired on Brookline Cable Access TV; social events that have drawn new members; 1st Light Brookline readings at Brookline Booksmith, and an ongoing Yahoo! discussion group. The group meets on occasional Monday evenings at the Public Library of Brookline, 361 Washington St., Brookline.

Complete list of readers and their works for 1st Light Festival at Brookline Booksmith:

Time slots:

5:00 - Linda Barnes 5:15 - Monique Doyle Spencer 5:30 - Dan Kimmel 5:45 - Sarah Smith 6:00 - David Schmahmann 6:15 - Wendy Lement 6:30 - Gabe Galambos 6:45 - Joshua Rubenstein 7:00 - Emily Miles Terry 7:15 - Susie Davidson 7:30 - David Prerau 7:45 - Chuck Goldstone

Linda Barnes has written 12 best selling mystery novels that feature the 6'1", redheaded Boston private eye Carlotta Carlyle. Four other mysteries feature actor/detective and amateur sleuth Michael Spraggue, an amateur sleuth. Barnes has also written award-winning plays and short stories.

The popular Carlotta Carlyle character first appeared in 1985’s award-winning short story “Lucky Penny”; since then, Barnes has penned “Trouble of Fools” (1987), “The Snake Tattoo” (1989), the Boston Globe bestsellers “Coyote” (1991) and “Steel Guitar” (1993), “Snapshot” (1994), “Hardware” (1995), and “Cold Case” (1997), which was also on The Boston Globe bestseller list. These were followed by “Flashpoint” (1999), “The Big Dig” (2002), “Deep Pockets” (2004), “Heart of the World” (2006), and “Lie Down with the Devil” (2008). Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur, St. Martin's Press, Hyperion, St. Martin's Paperbacks.

Barnes’ many awards have included the Anthony Award and nominations for both the Shamus Award and the American Mystery Award (for Best Short Story for "Lucky Penny" in 1985). In 1987, she received the American Mystery Award for Best Private Eye Novel, and “A Trouble of Fools” was nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Shamus awards. “The Snake Tattoo” was named one of the outstanding books of 1990 by The London Times.

Linda will read her her story "Catch Your Death," from the newly published "Two of the Deadliest," a collection of short stories edited by Elizabeth George.

Susie Davidson is a journalist, author, poet and filmmaker who has written for the Jewish Advocate since 2000 as well as the weekly Tabs, and has contributed to the Boston Sunday Globe, the Boston Herald (op-ed), and the Forward. She has written “I Refused to Die: Stories of Boston-Area Holocaust Survivors and Soldiers who Liberated the Concentration Camps of World War II” (2005); “Jewish Life in Postwar Germany” (2006); “Selected Poetry of Susie D” (2006); and edited a collection of remarks made by former German Consul to New England Wolfgang K. Vorwerk at area Holocaust community events (2008) (All Ibbetson Street Press, Somerville). She is also the co-Coordinator of the Boston chapter of The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life and a governing board member of the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, and coordinates the Brookline Library Authors' Collaborative.

Susie will read from her three books (all Ibbetson Street Press, Somerville).

Gabe Galambos has travelled to many of the locales that appear in his espionage thriller, “Stealing Pike’s Peak” (Iuniverse, Writers Club Press), including to the Sudan. He was imprisoned there in 1983 for helping Ethiopian Jews reach Israel. He has recently completed a small town New England mystery tentatively titled, “The Nation by the River.” He works as a cardiac sonographer.

Gabe will be reading from "The Nation by the River," and possibly from "Stealing Pike's Peak."

Chuck Goldstone’s humor pieces have appeared in magazines, and his commentaries and essays were a regular feature of public radio’s Monitor anmd Marketplace for more than a decade. He is now a monthly guest on WBZ, where he is given a soapbox to rant and carp. He will read from “This Book Is Not a Toy!: Friendly Advice on How to Avoid Death and Other Inconveniences” (St. Martin’s Press, 2005). He was founder and President of the communications consulting firm !deaworks, and is involved in the Institute for Distance Learning.

Chuck will read from "This Book Is Not a Toy!" (St. Martin's Press, 2005)

Daniel M. Kimmel is the past president of the Boston Society of Film Critics, the local correspondent for Variety, and the “Movie Maven” for the Jewish Advocate. He also teaches film at Suffolk University. His books include “Dream Team: The Rise and Fall of DreamWorks and the Lessons of Hollywood,” and “Fourth Network: How FOX Broke the Rules and Reinvented Television.”

Dan will read from his latest, “I’ll Have What She’s Having: Behind the Scenes of the Great Romantic Comedies” (2008). Ivan R. Dee, Publisher, Chicago. ISBN-13: 9781566637374

Wendy Lement, who holds a Ph.D. in Educational Theatre from New York University, is Associate Professor and Director of the Theatre Program at Regis College. A playwright and director, she co-founded Theatre Espresso in 1992, a company that brings historical plays to schools, museums and courthouses. Her first children’s fiction book, Keri Tarr: Cat Detective, was published by Breakaway Books in 2004.She is co-author of And Justice for Some: Exploring American Justice through Drama and Theatre, published by Heinemann Press (2005).

She has directed thirty productions at Regis, which include “Dancing at Lughnasa,” “Importance of Being Earnest,” “The Good Woman of Setzuan,” “Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet),” and “Steel Magnolias” (which won a Moss Hart Award). Her production of The House of Bernarda Alba won the 2000 New England Region's American College Theatre Festival, which was sponsored by the Kennedy Center. Her plays include: “Woman with the Red Kerchief,” “Salem's Daughters, King George III vs. Ruth Blay,” “Voicings: The Story of the Rosenberg Case,” “Dolphins: The Myth of Persephone,” “The Legend of the Christmas Rose,” and “Keri Tarr: Cat Detective,” which is based on her children's book, and won the American Alliance for Theatre and Education's 2002 Unpublished Playreading Project.

Wendy will be reading from “Keri Tarr Cat Detective” (Breakaway Books, which is also distributed by Consortium / Perseus).

David Prerau is an internationally-recognized expert on national time policies who has been called "the world's foremost authority on Daylight Saving Time (DST)." As a computer scientist specializing in artificial intelligence, he pioneered in the application of knowledge-based systems. As an author, he has four published books and many magazine and newspaper articles. And as a DST expert, he has been a consultant for the U.S. Congress and the British Parliament. He has appeared on about two hundred TV and radio programs in the U.S. and around the world. His book, “Seize the Daylight” (2005), results from many years of DST research, during which he discovered a great number of remarkable DST incidents and fascinating anecdotes.

David will read from "Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time" (Basic Books, 2005)

Joshua Rubenstein, who serves as the Northeast Regional Director of Amnesty International USA, has been involved with human rights and international affairs for over twenty-five years. His articles and reviews on Soviet and international affairs have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, New Republic, The Nation and other media. He has a longtime association with the Davis Center for Russian Studies at Harvard University, and has lectured widely on the Soviet human rights movement, including in Moscow and other Russian cities. His books include Soviet Dissidents, Their Struggle for Human Rights (1980) and Tangled Loyalties: The Life and Times of Ilya Ehrenburg, a biography of the controversial Soviet writer and journalist. Rubenstein's book, Stalin’s Secret Pogrom: the Postwar Inquisition of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, was awarded the National Jewish Book Award in 2001-2002.

Joshua will read from his books.

David Schmahmann, who was born in Durban, South Africa, is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Cornell Law School. He has alsp studied in India and Israel, and worked in Burma. His first novel, “Empire Settings,” received the John Gardner Book Award for “the most outstanding book of fiction published in 2001 by a small or university press,” and his second, “Nibble & Kuhn,” released this month, has been described as a "skewering of law firm life" and "wickedly funny." David's office is in Washington Square.

David will read from “Nibble & Kuhn” (Academy, Chicago [it is either on order, or has already arrived, at the Booksmith])

Sarah Smith, a bestselling adult mystery author, holds a BA. and a Ph.D. in English literature, both from Harvard University, and was a Fulbright Fellow and a Mellon Fellow. She was an Assistant Professor of English for several years, and presently works in the computer industry. She is Webmaster for the Mystery Writers of America. She is the author of a three-novel mystery series set in turn-of-the-century Boston and Paris and featuring amnesiac Alexander von Reisden: “The Vanished Child” (1992), “The Knowledge of Water” (1996), and “A Citizen of the Country” (2000). She has also authored “Chasing Shakespeares” (2003) and published a hypertext novel, “The King of Space,” with Eastgate Systems in 1991.

Sarah will be reading from her debut young-adult novel, set in Brookline. Two high-school kids, a treasure hidden since the Civil War, and a family secret so sordid and heartbreaking that it's been kept for 200 years--this is Brookline as you have never seen it.

Monique Doyle Spencer, a former communications director, is a columnist for the Boston Globe. She is the author of “The Courage Muscle: A Chicken's Guide to Living With Breast Cancer."

Monique will read from her second book, "How Can I Help: Everyday Ways to Help Your Loved Ones Live With Cancer." (Adams Media, 2008)

Emily Miles Terry, along with Ame Mahler Beanland, is the author of the New York Times bestseller “Nesting: It’s a Chick Thing,®” the bestseller “It’s a Chick Thing®: the Wild Side of Women’s Friendship (Conari Press),” and the new Amazon.com bestseller “Postcards from the Bump.” The two write about parenting and lifestyle issues for Disney’s FamilyFun.com and Family.com. Their most recent book is “Postcards from the Bump: A Chick’s Guide to Getting to Know the Baby in Your Belly” (Da Capo Lifelong, 2009). Terry and Beanland have appeared on varied television and radio programs, and have been featured in Family Circle, Glamour, Country Home, Health, and Better Homes & Gardens.

Emily will read from her books.

GENOCIDE AWARENESS ACTIVISM:

Jan. 20, 2008 Holocaust and Armenian Genocide Exhibit event
at the Armenian Library and Museum of America in Watertown Square:
I organized this event with the help of Holocaust survivor Meyer Hack's friend, Dean Solomon, Boston attorney Andy Fischer and Armenian community officials. 400 people attended, including 8 state representatives and 4 state senators, and the event received front-page press as follows.

Boston Globe, City & Region cover article by Erica Noonan: "Tragic Bond," Jan. 13, 2008

Allston-Brighton and Watertown Tabs, cover page article by Richard Cherecwich: "Holocaust survivor holds exhibit at ALMA," Jan. 4, 2008

Boston Phoenix article by Ian Sands: "Diamonds in the Rough," Jan. 17, 2008:

The Forward, cover page article by Hinda Mandell: "Auschwitz Jewelry Exhibit Shows Secret Treasures With a Grisly Past," Jan. 25, 2008

Boston.com listing

My opinion piece, "Allying in Hope," which appeared in the Feb. 8, 2008 Watertown Tab and Press.

Another event, "Genocide Committed, Genocide Denied, Genocide Repeated," held on Sunday, April 13 from 2-4 p.m. at the Armenian Museum and Library of America in Watertown, featured a panel of survivors and descendants of survivors of the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide. The victims of the Rwandan Genocide are commemorated on April 7; Armenian Genocide Memorial Day is April 24, and Yom HaShoah was May 1 in 2008.

Boston Globe article of April 20: Watertown center helps survivors tell their stories to following generations, by Erica Noonan

Wed., April 7, 10-11 a.m. (continuing on April 9, 16, 30 and May 7, 14, 21, 28) - Susie Davidson teaches an 8-session course, "What Can the Stories of Holocaust Survivors and Liberating Soldiers Teach Us in the Face of Continuing Global Genocide?" for Newton Center for Lifetime Learning, at Congegation Mishkan Tefilah, 300 Hammond Pond Parkway, Chestnut Hill, Mass. Information: Laurie Swett, Lifetime Learning Program Coordinator, 617-796-1000, l_swett@hotmail.com.

**I moderate the e-groups ProgressiveChat@yahoogroups.com and LiberalsAndLeftistsForIsrael@yahoogroups.com.

Please check them out and join in if you feel so inclined!**

I'M REALLY A POET:
"Selected Poetry of Susie D." - released June, 2004 on Ibbetson Street Press of Somerville, Mass. - available through the poet/author or publisher.
I have run poetry and music coffeehouses, hosted a poetry show on WZBC-FM and performed at First Night Boston, the Bread and Roses Festival in Lawrence, CBGB’s in NYC and I read regularly at various Boston/Cambridge venues. I won the 2002 Cambridge Poetry Award for Best Political Poem for "Viva La Causa, Viva Chavez," and was nominated for Best Political Poem and Best Love poem in 2003 and 2004, respectively.
My poems also appear monthly in the Massachusetts Mensa Society's The Beacon as Susie D's Poetry Corner.
I've also written for other local newspapers and music magazines.
I've authored the poetry volumes "It's Only Life: Rhythmic Forays into Politics and Human Nature" (1992) and "After Gary" (1996).
Click to read my poetry
Click to read my political poetry

LINKS TO MY NEWSPAPER ARTICLES:
My articles in the Brookline TAB

My articles in the Cambridge Chronicle and Cambridge Tab, 1999 and July-August, 2002
My articles in the Cambridge Chronicle and Cambridge Tab, August-September, 2002
My articles in the Cambridge Chronicle and Cambridge Tab, October-December, 2002
My articles in the Cambridge Chronicle and Cambridge Tab, December, 2002 and January, 2003
My articles in the Cambridge Chronicle and Cambridge Tab, January, February and March, 2003
My articles in the Cambridge Chronicle and Cambridge Tab, April, May and June, 2003
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (April-June, 2001)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (July.-Sept., 2001)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (Oct.-Dec., 2001)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (Jan.-March, 2002)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (April, May, June 2002)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (June, July, August 2002)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (August, September, October, November 2002)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (November, December 2002, January 2003)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (February, March, April 2003)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (May-July 2003)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (August-Nov. 2003)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (Nov. 2003-Feb. 2004)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (March-Sept. 2004)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (Sept. 2004-Dec. 2005)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (Dec. 2005-May 2006)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (May 2006-March 2007)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (May 2007-Aug. 2008)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (Aug. 2008-Sept. 2010)
My articles in the Jewish Advocate (Sept. 2010-present)
My articles in the Forward (Dec. 2006-present)
My "Brookline Business Buzz" columns in the Brookline Tab, beginning from November 2001 to present
My articles in various other publications (Jewish media, Boston Rock, the Beat, Squawk etc.)

Link to Boston Globe article of April 18, 2004:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/cityweekly/
Tiny owl books flight to wing of BPL

My Published Letters in the Boston Globe and other Publications

A few selected letters:

Published in the Boston Globe on 4/15/07: Executive's pay puzzles shareholder

Bush and His Cronies Do Not Care About the Jewish Vote!
My report from the Bush Stolen Inauguration, Jan. 2001

musicians from this genre: The Alarm, Billy Bragg, Stiff Little Fingers, Morrissey and the Smiths, Joe Strummer and the Clash, XTC, the Go-Betweens, Midnight Oil, Buzzcocks, the Church, The Chills, the Fixx, English Beat, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Smithereens, Live, the Dictators, Patti Smith, The Jam, The Fall, Phil Ochs, Attila the Stockbroker, the Bevis Frond, Robyn Hitchcock, The Chameleons, Dead Can Dance, John Wesley Harding, Tuxedo Moon, Radiohead, Blur, Ramones, Stereolab, Interpol, Cabaret Voltaire, Xymox, Spiritualized.
Wiki's entry on punk rock

History of punk rock

History of punk and indie rock

ETHNIC PRIDE!

Wiki's list of Jews in Music

Author thoroughly examines Jewish roots of punk rock (Dec. 4, 2006 Boston Globe article)

Punky Town (Dec. 1, 2006 Forward article)

Globe article:
Steven Lee Beeber contends, "The shpilkes, the nervous energy, of punk is Jewish." (Seth Kusher)
BOOK REVIEW
Author thoroughly examines the Jewish roots of punk rock
By Renée Graham, Globe Correspondent | December 4, 2006
"Punk is Jewish."
In this history of the jarring music that rose from New York's battered Lower East Side in the 1970s, that opening line comes across, at first, as overreaching, even absurd. Yet by the end of this agile, well-researched book, author Steven Lee Beeber's proclamation seems not only obvious, but something of an understatement.
It's not just that punk pioneers such as Lou Reed , Blondie's Chris Stein, and half of the legendary Ramones, Joey and Tommy, were Jewish, or that the celebrated (and recently shuttered) Bowery dive CBGB, punk's original home, was owned by Hilly Kristal, a fellow Jew. Punk, Beeber exhaustively argues, was infused with a singular Jewish sensibility forged by hardship, perseverance, and a potent cocktail of optimism and cynicism that gave the music -- and the larger cultural movement -- its twitchy swagger.
"Punk reflects the whole Jewish history of oppression and uncertainty, flight and wandering, belonging and not belonging, always being divided, being both in and out, good and bad, part and apart," Beeber writes in the introduction to his book "The Heebie-Jeebies at CBGB's: A Secret History of Jewish Punk."
"The shpilkes, the nervous energy, of punk," he contends, "is Jewish."
Even those unfamiliar with that Yiddish word can understand what Beeber means if they've ever heard such abrasive anthems as Richard Hell & The Voidoids' "Blank Generation," or watched clips of the spontaneous combustibility of punk musicians.
Propelled more by attitude than ability, their songs weren't just two- or three-minute spurts of bratty rage, but the defiant rhythm of a fierce heart shaped by displacement, prejudice, and what Beeber calls a self-conscious identification "with the sick and twisted."
Appropriately, he anoints comedian Lenny Bruce as "the patron saint of Jewish New York." An agitator and instigator, Bruce shocked the world as punks would more than a decade later, and it hardly matters that Bruce died seven years before CBGB opened its doors; he defined the New York Jew cool that permeated the punks (who came of age during Bruce's bawdy prime) and gave the Lower East Side a kind of gutter glitter. Punk was a triumph of brazen otherness.
While such composers as George Gershwin and Irving Berlin fashioned music that embraced assimilation -- after all, Berlin, a Russian Jew, wrote "White Christmas" and "God Bless America" -- Jewish punks reveled in their outsider status, and crammed it in society's smug face. (It's worth noting that as punk was ricocheting off downtown tenements, this nation's other perpetual outsiders, African-Americans, were a few uptown subway lines away in the Bronx creating their own sound -- hip-hop -- also born from alienation and disenfranchisement.)
Central to Beeber's idea of punk's inherent Jewishness is the Holocaust. He even goes so far as to declare "No Holocaust, no punk." Yes, the roiling anger and dark humor of punk was a reaction to lingering feelings of victimization. Yet, Jewish punks also adapted Nazi slogans and symbols both as a shock tactic and a campy send up. Songs like the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop " and the Dictators' "Master Race Rock " weren't celebrating Nazism as much as mocking its ignominious defeat, the author maintains. With more than 125 sources interviewed, "The Heebee-Jeebees at CBGB's" is the best account of punk's nascent years since Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain's seminal "Please Kill Me." With equal parts spirit and scholarship, Beeber succeeds in placing this still-influential music within a broader historical and cultural context, and assures that punk's "secret history" is a secret no more.
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.

RIP JOE STRUMMER 1952-2002

BOOKS:

"I REFUSED TO DIE:
STORIES OF BOSTON-AREA HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS AND SOLDIERS
WHO LIBERATED THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS OF WORLD WAR II"
ISBN: 0-972-46014-4
417 pp., 2005
by Susie Davidson
Ibbetson Street Press, Somerville

Click here for a full press release:

DUE NOV. 2006: New book:
"Jewish Life in Germany - Past, Present and Future: Our Ten-Day Seminar"
(based on an Aug. 20-30 seminar in Berlin attended by six Boston residents, sponsored by the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Consulate of Boston)
"I Refused To Die" is available at bookstores below, through the author or at:
AMAZON.COM:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0972460144/sr=8-1/qid=1144338785/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-8453445-1696114?%5Fencoding=UTF8

"I Refused to Die," a three-year project, received a 2004 Mass. Cultural Commission and Brookine Arts Council grant. It has liner notes from Congressman Michael Capuano, State Secretary of Veterans' Services Thomas Kelley, Consul of Israel to New England Hillel Newman, and former Jewish Advocate editor Richard Ferrer.
The book was the topic of a "Greater Boston with Emily Rooney," and Susie has also appeared on WBZ’s Jordan Rich Show and Channel 7’s monthly “The Jewish Perspective.”
Media coverage has included the Boston Globe City Weekly, the Jewish Advocate, Spare Change News, the weekly Tab and the Somerville Journal. Another article will appear in the December "Our Town Brookline" magazine. A short online documentary of the book and the recent BPL reading with survivors Edgar Krasa, Rosian Zerner, Samuel Bak and Steve Ross, and Dachau liberating soldier Chan Rogers is currently being prepared by videographer Jeff Manzelli.

MEDIA LINKS:
APRIL 14, 2007 THE PATRIOT LEDGER:
Holocaust Survivors Tell Their Story: Former Randolph resident collected them in a book
http://www.angelfire.com/poetry/SusieD/LedgerStory.htm
SEPT. 29, 2006 JEWISH ADVOCATE COLUMN ON THE BERLIN SEMINAR:
http://www.thejewishadvocate.com/this_weeks_issue/opinions/?content_id=1900
SEPT. 18, 2006 BOSTON GLOBE FEATURE ARTICLE ON WWII VETERAN AND DACHAU LIBERATOR CHAN ROGERS, WITH WHOM I SPEAK AT READINGS:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2006/09/18/he_shaped_boston_for_half_a_century/

WBUR "HERE AND NOW" BROADCAST OF APRIL 28, 2006:
http://www.here-now.org/shows/2006/04/20060428_2.asp

"GREATER BOSTON WITH EMILY ROONEY" OF APRIL 26, 2005 - Channel 2/44, WGBH:
Documentary by Michael McAlpin included interviews with Susie Davidson, Holocaust survivor Stephan Ross and WWII liberating soldiers Chan Rogers and Sol Feingold from the book.
View a partial transcript, and the show itself - Scroll down to the link “view clip” at
http://greaterboston.tv/features/gb_20050426_dachau.html#

WORCESTER TELEGRAM ARTICLE OF APRIL 28, 2006:
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060427/NEWS/604270457/1005/NEWSREWIND

BOSTON GLOBE CITY WEEKLY ARTICLE OF MAY 8, 2005, by Liza Weisstuch:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/05/08/not_to_understand_why_but_to_help_see_it_never_happens_again/

SUNPIPER PRESS INTERVIEW WITH SUSIE DAVIDSON:
http://www.sunpiperpress.com/susie.html

JEWISH ADVOCATE ARTICLE OF MAY 27, 2005, by Logan Ritchie - available upon request.

CHECK www.IRefusedToDie.com FOR UPCOMING READINGS with survivors and soldiers.
(I will also be speaking at schools, libraries and organizations in conjunction with the Louise A. Mutterperl Speakers Bureau [the LAM Group] and Aigner Associates Strategic Marketing. Mutterperl was formerly the New England District Marketing Manager for Borders Books.)
AVAILABLE AT THE FOLLOWING BOOKSTORES, OR THROUGH THE AUTHOR:
Borders Books, Music and Cafe (10 School St., Downtown Boston, 617-557-7188)
Trident Booksellers (338 Newbury St., Boston, 617-267-8688)
Israel Bookstore (410 Harvard, Brookline, 617-566-7113)
Kolbo (437 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-731-8743)
Brookline Booksmith (279 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-566-6660)
The New England Mobile Book Fair (82-84 Needham St., Newton Highlands, 617-964-7440)
The Book Rack (13 Medford St., Arlington, 781-646-2665)
Porter Square Books (Porter Square Shopping Center, 25 White St., Cambridge, 617-491-2220)
Harvard Bookstore (1256 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, 800-542-READ)
The Harvard Coop (1400 Mass. Ave., Harvard Sq., Cambridge, 617-499-2000)
Judaic Traditions 775 Hope St. Providence, RI 02906 (401-454-4775)
FLORIDA: Borders Books, Music and Cafe in Boca Raton (9887 Glades Rd., 561-883-5854)
Borders Books, Music and Cafe in Boynton Beach (525 N. Congress Ave., 561-734-2021
The book can also be purchased through the author at 617-566-7557 or Susie_d@yahoo.com, or through the publisher at 617-628-2313 or ibbetsonpress@msn.com.

LINER NOTES:
"The words of Holocaust survivors and their liberators mark the end of an unspeakable world war and the beginning of new life for those who endured. Susie Davidson has done a remarkable job in capturing the depths of despair and the joys of salvation. The act of liberation will always be seared in the minds and hearts of those inside and outside the gates of the camps."
Thomas G. Kelley, Secretary, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services
“Sixty years ago, in the spring of 1945, Allied soldiers entered Nazi concentration camps and found evidence of an almost incomprehensible evil. But they also found survivors. In this volume, Susie Davidson gives us the testimony of both survivors and liberators: encounters between those who had defied death and those who had risked death in the same cause, to preserve human freedom and human dignity.
We must honor them by carrying on their struggle to defend life, liberty, and justice for all persons.”
Michael E. Capuano, Member of Congress
"In writing this book, Susie Davidson is advancing the eternal message of the most significant event in Jewish history. In doing so, she is fulfilling a most important service to the entire community. The Holocaust was an essential element in the establishment of the State of Israel, which reserves an official national day for honoring its memory. Its lessons are the most profound and the most crucial in the creation of our modern Jewish identity.
Susie's effort to document the story of these remarkable survivors and the brave soldiers who liberated the camps is to be supported and is greatly appreciated."
Hillel Newman, Consul of Israel to New England
“'I Refused to Die’ provides Boston's Jewish community with a fitting testimony to mankind's darkest hour. It is overwhelming to read how each individual life was so brutally stripped bare. The author allows readers, who have neither the experience nor the language to truly understand such levels of horror, a chance to empathize with the unique plight of the victims.”
Richard Ferrer, Editor, The Jewish Advocate

LETTER RECEIVED FROM TEMPLE SHALOM, MILTON:
From: paul etkind
Date: Sun, 4 Dec 2005
I want to send you a formal thank you for the magnificent (yes, I sincerely mean that word, and in my seven-plus years of chairing this series, I have never before used it to describe a talk) lecture and reading you gave us this morning. May I have an address that I can send the letter to?
Paul

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Recipient of a 2004 Massachusetts Cultural Council/Brookline Arts Commission grant, the book includes 30 personal stories (20 survivors, 10 soldiers) recorded, annotated, edited and in most cases written by Davidson. The purpose is to document and honor the bravery and accomplishments of the contributing survivors and World War II soldiers, and to confront Holocaust denial and help to stem genocides in our modern world.
Included are the stories of Boston-based Holocaust survivors Janet Applefield, Israel Arbeiter, Samuel Bak, Rena Finder, Sevek Fishman, Rela Fund, Michael Gruenbaum, Meyer and Sylvia Hack, Edgar Krasa, Michael Kraus, Ben Kuchinsky, Tania Lefman, Joe Matzner, Stella Penzer, Liane Reif-Lehrer, Stephan Ross, Ida Rozenberg, Chana Seldin, Sonia Weitz and Rosian Zerner, as well as those of local World War II veterans James B. Aitken, Leo Barry, Sol Feingold, (Commissioner Emeritus of the Mass. Dept. of Veterans’ Services) Tom Materazzo, Phil Minsky, Warren Emerson Priest, Chan Rogers and Al Rosen, who liberated the camps.
Former Colorado Supreme Court Justice General Felix L. Sparks, Battalion Commander of the 45th Division’s 157 Infantry Regiment that liberated Dachau, has also graciously contributed his personal story to this book.
The book contains essays by Boston-area Holocaust community leaders who include Ellen Ogintz Fishman, Director of Holocaust Services at the Jewish Family and Children’s Service, Boston; Nancy Kaufman, Executive Director, JCRC of Greater Boston; Jennifer Hsu Larratt-Smith, New England Program Assistant at Facing History and Ourselves, Brookline; Matt Lebovic, Holocaust Programs Coordinator, JCRC of Greater Boston; Mark Ludwig, Director of the Terezín Chamber Music Foundation; Rick Mann, President of the Friends of the New England Holocaust Memorial; Julie B. Ross, President of Generations After; Boston City Councilor Michael P. Ross; Dale Carmen Sibor, daughter of NEHM benefactor Bill Carmen; and Regina Szwadzka, Director of International Services of Project Search, American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay.
Included are many Holocaust-themed poems from area poets, as well as articles, photos, and local and national Holocaust community resources, as well as supplementary educational segments on World War II.
For information, books or readings with soldiers and survivors, please call 617-566-7557, email Susie_d@yahoo.com or visit www.SusieD.com, or contact Ibbetson Street Press of Somerville at 617-628-2313, ibbetsonpress@msn.com, or visit www.ibbetsonpress.com.
The book is published on the 60th anniversary year of the Allied defeat of the Nazis, in honor of the 10th anniversary of the New England Holocaust Memorial and in recognition of the Liberators' Monument in downtown Boston, as well as the work of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, based in Newton.

SOME WORTHY WRITINGS:
INVEST IN RENEWABLE ENERGY
Boston Globe, March 21, 2005
THE PUSH to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a decision to continue on a path of irreparable environmental destruction.
However, instead of destroying the environment and remaining dependent on other countries until all oil resources are depleted, we have an opportunity now to commit to more environmentally and economically sound solutions. It is time to invest in renewable energy sources, such as wind and sun, to provide unlimited energy without the baggage of environmental damage and dependence on other countries.
Jobs may shift away from oil companies, but many new jobs would be created in the renewable energy industries. Additionally, we would have more freedom internationally to promote just, moral solutions without catering to dictators who supply us with oil.
We will have to make this decision sooner or later, but the sooner we begin to look outside the box, the more options we will have.
SHARYN GILFIX, Acton

THE BUSHES' NEW WORLD DISORDER
By James Carroll, 3/16/2004
"IT MUST BE considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things." This warning is from Niccolo Machiavelli, yet it has never had sharper resonance.
More than a decade ago, after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, President George H. W. Bush explicitly sought to initiate, as he put it to Congress, a "new world order." He made that momentous declaration on Sept. 11, 1990. Eleven years later, the suddenly mystical date of 9/11 motivated his son to finish what the father began. A year ago this week, Bush the younger launched a war against the man who tried to kill his dad, initiating the opposite of order.
The situation hardly needs rehearsing. In Iraq, many thousands are dead, including 564 Americans. Civil war threatens. Afghanistan, meanwhile, is choked by drug-running warlords. Islamic jihadists have been empowered. The nuclear profiteering of Pakistan has been exposed but not necessarily stopped. Al Qaeda's elusiveness has reinforced its mythic malevolence. The Atlantic Alliance is in ruins. The United States has never been more isolated. A pattern of deception has destroyed its credibility abroad and at home. Disorder spreads from Washington to Israel to Haiti to Spain. Whether the concern is subduing resistance fighters far away or making Americans feel safer, the Pentagon's unprecedented military dominance, the costs of which stifle the US economy, is shown to be essentially impotent.
In America, the new order of things is defined mainly by the sour taste of moral hangover, how the emotional intensity of the 9/11 trauma -- anguished but pure -- dissolved into a feeling of being trapped in a cage of our own making. As the carnage in Madrid makes clear, the threats in the world are real and dangerous to handle, but one US initiative after another has escalated rather than diffused such threats. Instead of replacing chaos with new order, our nation's responses inflict new wounds that increase the chaos. We strike at those whom we perceive as aiming to do us harm but without actually defending ourselves. And most unsettling of all, in our attempt to get the bad people to stop threatening us, we have begun to imitate them.
The most important revelation of the Iraq war has been of the Bush administration's blatant contempt for fact. Whether defined as "lying" or not, the clear manipulation of intelligence ahead of last year's invasion has been completely exposed. The phrase "weapons of mass destruction" has been transformed. Where once it evoked the grave danger of a repeat of the 9/11 trauma, now it evokes an apparently calculated American fear. The government laid out explicit evidence defining a threat that required the launching of preventive war, and the US media trumpeted that evidence without hesitation. The result, since there were no weapons of mass destruction, as the government and a pliant press had ample reason to know, was an institutionalized deceit maintained to this day. At the United Nations, the United States misled the world. In speech after speech, President Bush misled Congress and the nation. And note that the word "misled" means both to have falsified and to have failed in leadership. To mislead, as the tautological George Bush might put it, is to mislead.
The repetition of falsehoods tied to the war on terrorism and the war against Iraq has eroded the American capacity, if not to tell the difference between what is true and what is a lie, then to think the difference matters much. The administration distorted fact ahead of the invasion, when the American people could not refute what had not happened yet. And the administration distorts fact now, when the American people do not remember clearly what we were told a year ago. That Bush retains the confidence of a sizable proportion of the electorate suggests that Americans don't particularly worry anymore about truth as a guiding principle of their government.
In that lies the irony. The Bush dynasty has in fact initiated a new order of things. The United States of America has become its own opposite, a nation of triumphant freedom that claims the right to restrain the freedom of others; a nation of a structured balance of power that destroys the balance of power abroad; a nation of creative enterprise that exports a smothering banality; and above all, a nation of forcefully direct expression that disrespects the truth. Whatever happens from this week forward in Iraq, the main outcome of the war for the United States is clear. We have defeated ourselves.
This story ran on page A19 of the Boston Globe on 3/16/2004.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
A MORE ORDERLY, LESS VIOLENT WORLD

POLITICIANS know instinctively what scholars learn only from research. For example, when a nation faces an external threat, it pulls together, becomes more patriotic, and supports its leaders as never before. That is exactly the way Americans reacted to the terrorism of Sept. 11. Flags appeared everywhere, Bush's popularity soared, and he received overwhelming support for a war in Afghanistan.
As the fear occasioned by the events of Sept. 11 has moderated, so has the enthusiasm for war. The (p)resident has done all he can to generate support for action against Iraq by keeping fear alive, by demonizing Saddam Hussein, and by alluding to the terrible things that may befall us if we do not attack now. His tactics succeeded in getting an authorization from Congress to go to war. However, the reluctance of other countries to join in, together with opposition by many Americans, has postponed military action.
Leaders of other nations use similar tactics against us. When we take action against other countries, their populations fall in behind their leaders, just as we do behind ours. For example, what we have done to North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and Iraq has generated support of regimes we consider odious. Those totalitarian governments have remained in power for decades, thanks in large part to actions taken by the US government.
Moreover, some of those feeling threatened by this country are moved to violent action against us. Since conventional military action against the world's only superpower is not a practical alternative, they resort to terrorism.
Like war, terrorism is an abomination. We have proclaimed a war against terrorism, but when our actions represent a threat to others, we stimulate just the kind of savagery we want to stop.
The way to a more orderly, less violent world is through the cooperation of the community of nations. By refusing to participate in international efforts such as banning land mines, controlling the traffic in small arms, limiting the emissions that contribute to global warming, and establishing an international court of criminal justice and by initating wars and threatening more, we abandon any realistic hope of ending terrorism and fostering the kind of peaceful world in which we all would like to live.
MILT LAUENSTEIN
Gloucester

A WARNING FROM A VIETNAM VET (Boston Globe, 10/16/01)
As a Vietnam veteran (101st Airborne Division, 1969), I was sorry to read about the vilification of the peace movement and its activists in the article "Antiwar activists urge US to atone" (Page A13, Oct. 15). The parallels of the war in Afghanistan to the war in Vietnam are unmistakable.
Bombing is supposed to achieve an objective, but it does not.
Civilians are not supposed to be killed, but they are. The indigenous population is supposed to rally to us, but they don't.
Millions elsewhere are supposed to support us, but they don't.
If those of us who went to Vietnam have any wisdom to impart, I believe it would be this: Beware of arrogance and self-righteousness; beware of anyone with a strategy to "win hearts and minds;' beware of armchair generals who have never personally experienced the consequences of decisions to send young men into combat; and lastly, listen carefully to the courageous moral and practical positions of the antiwar movement.
ROBERT J. MASTERS
Brookline

AND NOW FOR THE ROCK 'N RANT (what websites are for! ;>)):
BACK TO MY OWN SOAPBOX....Here are some of my recent letters written to whomever on whatever!
Boston Globe, Aug. 23, 2006:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2006/08/23/greetings_from_a_joyless_mudville/
Maybe now that the lowest of the low has occurred for Red Sox fans, they might think long and hard about their obsessive devotion to the team and the game. For years, I've bemoaned the fact that probably 90 percent of the people in Boston live and die for the Red Sox and worship their players and management like icons, while teachers, human services staff, health care providers, social workers and other admirable contributors to society barely make a living wage. I've decried the vast amounts of energy and time that go into watching, talking and reading about the Red Sox when there are so many, many critical problems facing our planet and its people, locally and globally. But if their most sacred and beloved idols Pedro and Johnny jumping ship for more dough at a moment's notice didn't affect Red Sox Nation, when a spiralling cost of $300 and up for family tickets didn't affect Red Sox Nation, then I don't hold out much hope that these lofty aims will either. Instead, they'll ignore the fact that the team with the best players money can buy is the one that wins, they'll condemn anything that is less than a championship finish, and they'll begin waiting for next year.
3/15/04:
Subject: No bus ticket for me - and here's why
To United for Justice with Peace and American Friends Service Committee:
I just went online to get a bus ticket for this weekend's anti-Iraq war protest in NYC. I looked at United for Peace and Justice and the American Friends' Service Committee sites, which had info on buses from Boston. While there, I scanned the issues advocated by each group, and was extremely discouraged to see the blatantly obvious anti-Israel bias of both sites.
Where is a unified, equivocal peace effort? All I saw were pro-Palestinian events being plugged (there are countless ongoing peace events in Boston sponsored by area Jewish groups, in case you didn't know) and proposals for peace based on various demands made of the Israeli government - but no demands made of Palestinians other than the obvious cessation of suicide bombings.
The barbarism Palestinians inflict upon their own citizens, let alone innocent civilians in Israel, was not mentioned anywhere. No criticism whatsoever aside from suicide bombings was levied, and that was mild. I expect this from A.N.S.W.E.R., and shun that group because I feel it is racist. The Quakers, however? Very sad that even this longstanding peace group is not in the end impartial, but biased.
It is so sad when the left, which I have always identified with, becomes so polarized as to adapt the same "black vs. white" standpoint (Bush's style if it be said) on the Middle East conflict, seeing no wrong in their beloved Palestinians and condemning every measure Israel takes in self-defense. I say this as a Jew who does not uphold all of the Israeli government actions,
supports a Palestinian state and calls for the withdrawal of settlers from settlements. As a journalist, I know a bit about objectivity and fair-minded reasoning before going public with any of my positions. I cannot support either group, and thus will not be going to NYC this weekend.
Neither will my like-minded leftist friends who happen to support Israel as well as Palestinian indepedence.
I leave you with my poem "The Portrait of Palestine's Plight" which chronicles docuemnted (by both sides of the media), countless horrific, ongoing human rights abuses perpetuated by Palestinians. I would suggest you read it and widen your objectivity.
Susie Davidson
Boston, MA

By now it must come as no surprise that I do not support Bush's gingoistic war-mongering craze. In our lust to "root out" the precise people and networks and focus on them, we kill innocent civilians who have surely suffered enough in Afghanistan (following our withdrawal years ago after liberating the country from Russia for the Taliban) and, at at last count, 25,000 Iraqi citizens. Step up the humanitarian aid (ENOUGH FOR ONLY 1% OF CIVILIANS AS OF 11/1/01, WHILE BOMBS RAGE!!!!) This revengeful, quick fix mentality will not bring anything good. No one has ever won a war in Afghanistan. War never solves anything, and in this case, it won't get rid of terrorism.
As my friend Bill says, it's like bombing Sicily to get rid of the Mafia.
I feel, like author and columnist James Carroll, that the answer lies not in "war" but in "law". Get tough controls on the investments these terrorists have all throughout the U.S. stock markets and freeze the assets. Increase security at airports and other risky areas. Impose sanctions if need be. Help the civilians. Support their oppositional movements.
WE MUST LOOK AT OURSELVES AS A COUNTRY. We do not want to sink to their level by bombing indiscriminately. That has never worked historically, and will not end the cycle. The U.S has a history of bombing and of alienating countries; this, which is being perpetrated more than ever by our selected (and then chosen by a bamboozled, Rove-ified Red State electorate) President, has significantly contributed to the ill will held towards this country.
Yes, religious differences play a role. BUT - WHY DO THEY HATE US?????? Well, we don't know where Australia is, we litter, drive SUV's without a qualm, wear sweatshop clothing, we don't recycle, largely eat junk and fast food and are 60% overweight and 30% obese, we have deplorable educations, we don't travel. We are 5% of the world's people and use 30% of its resources. Enough said.

SOME PAST 2006 BOOK READINGS:
SUN., APRIL 23, 9:30 am - CONGREGATION EITZ CHAYIM, CAMBRIDGE - 134 Magazine St., 617-497-7626
TUES., APRIL 25 (Yom HaShoah) - TEMPLE SHALOM, MEDFORD - 475 Winthrop St., 781-396-3262, office@templeshalommedford.org, www.templeshalommedford.org
WED., APRIL 26, 6:30 pm - BETH TIKVAH, WESTBOROUGH - 508-842-2884, ejura1@juno.com
FRI., APRIL 28, Noon - JCC KOSHER LUNCH PROGRAM FOR SENIORS, BROOKLINE - Yom HaShoah Program - 1550 Beacon St., 617-965-7410
SUN., APRIL 30, 9:30 am TEMPLE ISAIAH, LEXINGTON - 55 Lincoln St., 781-862-7160, office@templeisaiah.net, brotherhood@templeisaiah.net $8 for public.
WED., MAY 3, 11 am - LEVENTHAL-SIDMAN JCC, NEWTON - Seniors group, 333 Nahanton St., Newton. Emily, 617-965-7410
SUN., MAY 7, 1 pm - HAVURAT SHALOM, ANDOVER - Location TBA. Ron, 978-475-4195
SUN., MAY 14, 10 am - TEMPLE SHAARE TEFILA, NORWOOD - 556 Nichols St., 781-762-8670, sagreen115@aol.com
MON., MAY 15, 7:30 pm - LIVE MALDEN INTERFAITH/VETERANS CABLE TV BROADCAST, 6 p.m. David Cohen, 617-460-2921
MON., MAY 15, 8 pm - YOUNG ISRAEL SISTERHOOD, RANDOLPH - 374 N. Main St., 781-986-6461, lazyks@verizon.net
MON., SEPT. 11, 1:15-3 pm - LEXINGTON VETERANS GROUP, LEXINGTON - Cary Memorial Library, 1874 Massachusetts Ave., 781-862-6288, lexington@minlib.net, 781-862-3928 a300@aol.com MON., DEC. 11, 6:30-8 pm - SHA'ARAY SHALOM CONGREGATION, HINGHAM - 1220 Main St.

Susie D's Poetry, Journalism and Film Homeland

BOOKS: