As ‘Woman in Gold’ Premieres, Meet the Man Who Battled for the Klimt

Gustav Klimt's 1907 'Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer I' (Public domain)

TIMES OF ISRAEL: The real-life lawyer behind the gripping restitution of the ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I’ says he still gets emotional in the painting’s presence

NEW YORK — The Neue Galerie, a mid-sized museum on Fifth Avenue and East 86th Street in Manhattan, gets pretty crowded around lunch. The Café Sabarasky (named for the institution’s co-founder Serge Sabarasky, who opened the Neue in late 2001 with Ronald Lauder) is a hot draw, but the artwork lingers longer than the pastries.

On the second floor of this converted mansion, designed by legendary Gilded Age architects Carrère and Hastings and once owned by Grace Vanderbilt, there hangs the portrait of a woman who died 90 years ago. Her story is still being told.
Adele Bloch-Bauer was part of a prominent Austrian-Jewish family, patrons of the arts whose belongings were plundered by the Nazis. Among the works stolen were two portraits of Adele by Gustav Klimt, commissioned by her husband. The first – with gold leaf applied directly to the canvas – is the more famous. “A painting sold on refrigerator magnets” as Charles Dance’s character, a lawyer skeptical about restituting the work to its rightful owner, reminds us in the new movie “Woman in Gold.”

After World War II, surviving members of the Bloch-Bauer family escaped to the United States. Their artwork remained behind – the “last prisoners of war.” The case of “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” made international headlines (and has been the subject of documentaries) but “Woman in Gold” is the first time it has been dramatized. » | Jordan Hoffman | Thursday, March 26, 2015

Cameron Cuts His Ties with Jewish Charity in Move Hailed by Pro-Palestine Campaigners

MAIL ONLINE: David Cameron has resigned as a patron of a top Jewish charity in a move hailed by pro-Palestinian campaigners.

The Prime Minister has cut ties with the Jewish National Fund, which describes itself as Britain’s leading Jewish charity.

Downing Street insisted the decision was taken as part of a wider review of the Prime Minister’s involvement with charities.

But the move is a break with convention, as Tony Blair and Gordon Brown both stayed on as patrons while at Number 10.

Mr Cameron has already experienced controversy when it comes to affairs in the Middle East – on a trip to Turkey last July he caused huge offence by calling Gaza a ‘prison camp’.

His latest move will be another disappointment to the government of Israel.

However, activist groups Stop the JNF and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign hailed Mr Cameron’s decision to step down. » | Gerri Peev | Monday, May 30, 2011

Jewish Affairs: New Website Launched for Religious Gay Community
YNET NEWS: New website for religious gay community launched last week. Founders struggle to juggle both identities, seek to garner legitimacy within the greater religious community

They appealed to rabbis, petitioned the press, and tried to raise awareness through movies and plays. Now the religious gay community is establishing a website in an attempt to yet again try and touch base with the religious world, which has condemned them at best, and shunned them at worst.

Last week the religious organization HOD (an acronym for religious gays in Hebrew) launched what they described as the “first independent website run by and intended for the gay and lesbian religious community.”

This new website is far from being stereotypically ‘gay’: alongside kippa clad figures under a bright sky painted in the colors of the ‘gay pride’ flag, the site also features articles on halachic issues as well as a page on the weekly Torah portion. Like many other sites, the HOD site also allows for some virtual Q&A. “Users can contact Rabbi R. regarding halachic concerns either by telephone or through the following link,” states the website.

Jewish thought thus clearly abounds on the site. As for gay pride, it is still a difficult notion. The site managers, as well as the aforementioned rabbi, still staunchly refuse to disclose their identity. ’A gay person cannot become straight’ >>> By Kobi Nahshoni

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