Students worry about apathy about Poway shootings

Discussion group at the Hive included, from left, Anglina, Andy, Kelsey Greenberg Young (ADL), Mimi Miller, and Ruth Platner.

By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel

Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel

ENCINITAS, California —  At the last minute on the afternoon of  Wednesday, May 1, I received an invitation from Genine, my vivacious friend, to  attend a program at the Hive.  I had  a long day of activities, and was ready to relax after dinner, but since the Leichtag campus is only a block or so away from my apartment at Seacrest  Village, I stretched my legs and joined her.

Folks gathered outside  for light refreshments on the campus overlooking the beautiful  landscape with  the setting sun in the background. Ruth Platner’s  paintings  were  on display inside the small  adjourning building, so   I wandered through the building-studio to view the paintings, and found most represented a mood or theme   My personal favorites  however were:  a beautiful woman (life-like), a man with hat  and jacket, a naked male  with a very strong body (almost “David “ like”),  a  woodsman, and a  man with a beret.

When the crowd gathered outside, Rabbi Brad Goldstein  standing on a low stone wall, shared the story of his parents  surviving the Holocaust and how it affected his life.  Then a  touching poem “A Prayer  to the Sh’chinah”  was read.   Then  everyone adjourned to a larger building called “The  Hive “ to  hear the program .

Woman in the Foothills by Ruth Platner
Man with Beret by Ruth Platner

Jenny Camhi, Director of The Hive, served as Mistress of ceremonies  and introduced the  seated  participants: Ruth  Platner, her  daughter  Mimi Miller,  Kelsey Greenstein Young of the ADL, and a pair of high school students identified as Andy and Anglina.

Ruth Platner, now 92,  has poor vision so she asked her daughter to read her paper.  Platner  grew up in Germany during the horrors  of tithe Nazi regime.  When bombs fell, she and her parents were not allowed into the bomb shelters.   Fortunately, they found refuge  in the attic of a  friendly  family’s home, but  constantly lived  in fear of being discovered.  They  hid in a closet every time they heard footsteps on the stairs.  Luckily they lasted out the war and  remained in Berlin.

Always finding solace in art as a child, she eventually  attended the  prestigious Hamburg Art Institute to study graphics and painting.  In 1949 she married Fred Platner, a fellow  survivor. They settled in Wausau, Wisconsin. In 1978 she relocated to Carlsbad, California and earned a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology.

Ruth Platner

Her paintings have been shown  at the Oceanside Museum of Art, and  she also has  taught Meditation and Art (based on her book) ) to incarcerated veterans. Her  autobiography War and Pieces is an expression of the essence of life on a  spiritual and universal level.

Following Ruth’s  talk, Kelsey Greenberg Young, Assistant Education Director of the Anti- Defamation League of San Diego, described ADL’S   amazing project, “ No Place for Hate.”   It has been introduced  in  61 local schools in San Diego  and nationally for students from K through 12 grades. “No Place for Hate” is ADL’s  national movement to support and educate  students and educators who are committed to using the power of positive peer influence to build inclusive and safe schools.  Young then introduced two students from Poway: Andy , a Sophomore at Westview High School, and  Anglina, a Junior at  Poway High School. They each  spoke eloquently  and both expressed disappointment over the  apathy of most of their fellow  students following  the  terrible attack and  killing at Chabad synagogue, although it took place in their very own neighborhood.

Andy and Anglina handled questions from the  audience with ease and clarity.  Kelsey and these two fine young students gave the audience  a realistic view of the culture in our schools,  and for some they  may have been the highlights of the evening. ( As youngsters, their last  names  are not used to protect their privacy.)

This kind of stimulating and even provocative programming is offered  at the Hive  throughout the year.  I suggest you check out The Hive’s future programs on line  to plan your next visit.  Their activities  in Encinitas are  attracting people from all over San Diego County.  In fact, I met a couple there who traveled from  Mission Valley  to see the Art Exhibit and hear the program. To attend programs at  The Hive  is an experience.    It was for me Wednesday night.

*

Merel, a nonagenarian, is cantor emeritus of Congregation Beth Israel in San Diego.  He may be contacted via sheldon.merel@sdjewishworld.com