[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 105 (Wednesday, September 8, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SALUTING AMBASSADOR YUVAL ROTEM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 7, 2004

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I ask my 
colleagues to join me in saluting Ambassador Yuval Rotem, who served as 
consul general of Israel in Los Angeles from September 1999 to August 
2004. Ambassador Rotem recently wrote an article for the Los Angeles 
Daily News on his experiences in Southern California that I would like 
to share with you today.

                 L.A.'s Story About Living Side by Side

                            (By Yuval Rotem)

       Critics say Los Angeles is only image. The city, they 
     claim, presents an illusion to the world much like the movies 
     Hollywood projects on its big screens. The myth goes that 
     it's a city of facades, with the favored tools being the 
     editor's airbrush or the plastic surgeon's scalpel. There are 
     no friendships here, only contacts and connections.
       After five years on ``extended vacation'' in Southern 
     California, I have found these statements far more 
     superficial than the city they decry. As a permanent resident 
     of the tormented Middle East, my time here has left me in awe 
     of the wide variety of religions, colors, languages and life 
     philosophies that intermingle in Los Angeles. To be a 
     minority is to be in the majority in L.A., and despite its 
     fragmented sprawl, coexistence is real, with each community 
     adding to the flavor of the city.
       That is not to say, however, there aren't absurd aspects 
     about life in Los Angeles. There is, for example, the 
     infatuation with cars and the impossibly tangled web of 
     freeways. When we ``bump into'' people, it is likely in the 
     most literal sense--a fender bender on the 405.
       It is little wonder, then, that I learned one of L.A.'s 
     more important lessons with the help of my car. Traveling on 
     the 10 alone opened my eyes to the multitude of faces, 
     languages, cuisines and cultures that run into each other 
     here.
       Starting in Venice, the stereotypical images of L.A.--beach 
     bums soaking in the sun and fitness fanatics pumping iron at 
     Muscle Beach--abound. Moving east, the Jewish neighborhood of 
     the Pico corridor became a second home for me. On my way 
     downtown, I stopped in Koreatown, historic West Adams 
     district and eventually in East L.A.--making friends in each 
     community: each group diverse, each group proud, each group 
     American.
       I traveled this freeway and others often during my tenure 
     here--visiting a variety of communities along the way. What I 
     have learned here has given me a Thomas Guide of sorts to 
     maneuver and navigate through our differences to arrive 
     ultimately at our similarities.
       Dorothy Parker once described Los Angeles as ``72 suburbs 
     in search of a city,'' but I sometimes wonder how badly they 
     really want to find it. The communities I passed on my drive 
     down the 10 didn't seem to be looking for it; they already 
     appeared to be perfectly at home and at peace as Angelenos. 
     On July 4, for instance, people from all over this city 
     simply don't appear interested to gather en masse at some 
     civic center, but prefer neighborhood parades, local 
     fireworks displays, and backyard barbecues.
       Despite this geographic disconnection, the people of Los 
     Angeles are nonetheless remarkably united. They share the 
     same debates about Kobe vs. Shaq, the same frustrations with 
     the traffic, the same concerns about schools and public 
     safety, the same appreciation for the amazing beauty and 
     vibrant cultural life that L.A. has to offer.
       Most importantly, the diverse population of this city 
     shares a truly laudable spirit of respect and tolerance for 
     ``the other.'' There have been, of course, many tough times. 
     However, friendships and relationships that transcend 
     ethnicity and religion are the norm here. By and large, 
     people relate to each other as individuals--not as groups, 
     not as categories, not as stereotypes.
       As one who comes from the Middle East, where ethnic 
     divisions have paralyzed us, I am in awe of the positive 
     cross-cultural interaction between the people of Los Angeles.
       From the inside, it is easy to see the problems--social and 
     economic inequality, tensions that sometimes bubble to the 
     surface, the challenge of educating 750,000 children who 
     collectively speak more than 80 languages. It would be easy 
     to focus on the chaotic events that have marked my time here: 
     the energy crisis, wildfires, earthquakes and the recall 
     election. Yet to me, an outsider, Los Angeles is something of 
     a miracle.
       At the end of the day, you see millions of people from 
     every background imaginable living side by side, working 
     together and forging a future under the bright California 
     sun. In today's world, where terrorism, prejudice and hatred 
     widen the already-existing gaps between peoples, this is an 
     inspiration.
       As I return to my own homeland, I carry with me the hope 
     and promise that Los Angeles offers to the future--a fitting 
     going-away present from the city of dreams.

                          ____________________