RE: FW: RUN-DMC?

[Reyzl Kalifowicz-Waletzky <reyzl...>]

Bill,


I am a child of Holocaust survivors and run a list for 
political/social/economic discussion and action for children of Holocaust 
survivors.   I know a lot of what Mr. Bronfman has done not only when it 
comes to Holocaust issues, but much of his social and political action for 
the last 15 years.  I could add 10 times more to your list of good deeds he 
has done on behalf of the Jewish people.   But I am a Jewish ethnographer 
and I study Jews and I wouldn't take back a word of what I said earlier.

Just a few slight corrections.
On the Swiss deal - Bronfman is the president of the WJC, but the people 
who sit and do the actual hard work in the deal making are Ilan Steinberg, 
Dr. Israel Singer (one is executive director and the other some other chief 
title of the WJC) and a few others from other organizations whose names you 
probably wouldn't recognize.  The chief hero in the Swiss deal, in all 
German reparation dealings, and all Justice-related Holocaust issues is 
Under Secretary Stuart Eisenstadt.   Eisenstadt has been recognized by all 
the Jewish negotiating organizations as such. (By the way, it is an awful 
deal because what is really owed is 5.7 billion, but because survivors are 
dying left and right, they compromised for 1.25 with the difficult Swiss. 
 Each survivor will get only about $500.)

On Waldhieim - What you are doing is giving the president of an 
organization the credit for everything the organization does.  All I can 
say is that you don't know how such organizations are actually run.  You 
can theoretically say that Bronfman exposed Waldheim, made the deals etc. 
 But the fact is the people who do/have done the real hard work for the 
last 20 years at the WJC are Steinberg and Singer.  Now I don't personally 
know either of them and have nothing whatsoever to gain by saying this.  I 
follow the news and know what goes on.   Bronfman's humongous political and 
economic power allows the WJC to push its weight around.   He is critically 
important for that.   (He donates to both parties to win that power.)

Bronfman senior is a highly devoted Jew, but the power base which allows 
him to do what he does is based on such things liquor sales and in the last 
5-10 years the music industry plus a whole long list of other industries 
and companies.    The highly ambitious Bronfman, Jr. is the one who lead 
Seagram into the record and film industry (quote the NY Times) and he has a 
whole different set of agendas and interests.   He runs the record and film 
sections of Seagram.

Simon, you are absolutely right in whatever you wrote about Bronfman.  I 
just didn't remember which one studio it was.


Reyzl




----------
From:  Bill Barabash[SMTP:billb (at) harlequin(dot)com]
Sent:  Friday, July 09, 1999 1:12 PM
To:  World music from a Jewish slant
Subject:  Re: FW: RUN-DMC?

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