![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ms-jnf-golf-event.jpg\")
JNF-USA Golf Tournament Champions Ryan Kennedy, Eric Mertlbauer, Michael Thom and T.J. Vogel. Photo by Gordon Glattenberg<\/p>\nThe world premiere of \u201cThe Survivor in a Tuxedo\u201d \u2013 a new documentary about Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel \u2013 took place last month during the Jerusalem Film Festival.<\/p>\n
The 71-minute film, directed by veteran documentary filmmaker David Fisher, combines interviews, animation and archival footage as it explores Wiesel\u2019s evolution from Holocaust survivor to one of the world\u2019s leading moral voices.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s President Isaac Herzog was among those in attendance at the film\u2019s Jerusalem debut. He called the film, one of 200 films from 60 countries screened at the festival, \u201cmoving and compelling.\u201d<\/p>\n
The premiere drew prominent members of Israel\u2019s cultural and Jewish communal leadership, including Herzog and his wife, First Lady of Israel Michal Herzog; Michael Berenbaum, director of the Sigi Ziering Institute at American Jewish University and an executive producer on the project; and Jewish National Fund-USA National Campaign Director Rick Hirschhaut.<\/p>\n
Berenbaum, a renowned Holocaust scholar, also appears as an interviewee in the film. Few, in fact, were better positioned to help shape the documentary than Berenbaum, who worked closely with Wiesel in establishing the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.<\/p>\n
Following the screening, Berenbaum participated in a discussion about Wiesel\u2019s legacy and the making of the film. \u201cHaving devoted much of my career to studying the Holocaust, it was a tremendous honor to work on this film about Elie Wiesel,\u201d Berenbaum said. \u201cHe helped shape the moral conscience of generations. I hope audiences around the world will experience this film and come away with a deeper appreciation for the complexity, courage and enduring legacy of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n
JNF-USA Golf Tournament Champions Ryan Kennedy, Eric Mertlbauer, Michael Thom and T.J. Vogel. Photo by Gordon Glattenberg<\/p>\n
Los Angeles philanthropists and professionals recently teed off at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades for Jewish National Fund-USA\u2019s annual David Frank Memorial Golf Classic, raising funds to secure the land and people of Israel\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Chaired by Brett Bossuk and Joe Rosen, the golf classic \u2013 played on an iconic course that\u2019s a mainstay of the PGA tour and will notably host the 2028 Olympics\u2019 golf competition \u2013\u00a0 brought together the organization\u2019s longtime donors and first-time participants for a day of golf, networking and philanthropy, driving support for communities throughout Israel\u2019s north and south. The tournament\u2019s champions were Ryan Kennedy, Eric Mertlbauer, Michael Thom and T.J. Vogel. The day\u2019s spirit of generosity will continue later this year, when many tournament participants and hundreds of others are expected to reunite at Jewish National Fund-USA\u2019s annual Breakfast for Israel on \u201cGiving Tuesday,\u201d Dec. 1, in Beverly Hills.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ms-ajc-director-697x858.jpg\")
Kimberley Plotnik<\/p>\n
American Jewish Committee (AJC) has named Kimberley Plotnik as director of its Los Angeles regional office.<\/p>\n
\u201cKimberley\u2019s deep community relationships and record of exceptional leadership will enable her to advance AJC\u2019s mission in Southern California and throughout the West,\u201d AJC CEO Ted Deutch said. \u201cAt a time when Jewish communities are navigating significant new challenges, Kimberley\u2019s experience will undoubtedly strengthen AJC\u2019s impact throughout the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her new role, Plotnik oversees AJC activities and advocacy in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and San Bernardino counties as well as in Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada and New Mexico. \u201cAJC has a proud history of championing the Jewish community in Los Angeles and Southern California,\u201d Plotnik said. \u201cI look forward to fostering deeper connections within the Jewish community and expanding partnerships across our region\u2019s diverse communities and among local leaders to help build a future in which our community is not only safe but truly thriving.\u201d <\/p>\n
Plotnik most recently worked as program director for Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project at Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, a public interest legal organization that provided pro bono legal services to more than 8,000 immigrants annually. She previously worked as a civil rights area counsel at ADL in Los Angeles, focusing on complaints tied to antisemitism and issues of discrimination and civil rights. Plotnik was also a volunteer attorney for the Immigrants\u2019 Rights Project at Public Counsel, a nonprofit public-interest law firm in Los Angeles, and for UNHCR, the U.N. refugee program, in Kampala, Uganda.<\/p>\n
A resident of Los Angeles, Plotnik is a graduate of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and the UCLA School of Law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The world premiere of \u201cThe Survivor in a Tuxedo\u201d \u2013 a new documentary about Nobel Peace Prize laureate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431566,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-431565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}