Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 59, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 27, 2005 Page: 21 of 24
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TJP V59-43 10-27-05 pl7-21 10/25/05 4:43 PM Page 21
October 27,2005
In Our 59th Year
Texas Jewish Post
21
the most prestigious award for chil-
dren's literature, in 2003 for his
book "Crispin." A prolific writer, he
is the author of more than 50 titles
in the comedy, fantasy, historical
and adventure genres.
Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Avi is
the only name he uses. His twin
sister gave it to him when they were
about a year old, and it stuck. Avi
confesses he wasn't a very good stu-
dent, and was a poor writer. Since
writing was important to his family,
friends and school, it became
important to him. He worked at it
for years before publishing his first
book. Learn more about Avi and his
work by visiting his Web site,
www.avi-writer.com.
A good laugh
We have a personal recommen-
dation from Kim and Abe Factor
that "Beau Jest," a romantic comedy
by James Sherman, opening next
week at the Artisan Center Theater,
is a funny and entertaining show,
and one that many ourtowners will
enjoy. Sarah Goldman is a nice
Jewish girl with a big problem: Her
parents think it's the end of the
world that she is still not married to
a nice Jewish boy. They haven't met
her un-Jewish boyfriend, an account
executive named Chris Cringle. To
mollify her parents, Sarah tells them
she is dating a Jewish doctor. Her
parents keep pressing her to intro-
duce them to her beau, so she plans
a dinner party and has to find a Dr.
Steinberg. Over the heated protests
of Chris, she employs an escort ser-
vice to send her a Jewish date.
Instead, they send Bob Schroeder,
an aspiring actor who agrees to per-
form the impersonation. Happily,
he is extremely convincing in the
role and Sarah's parents are enrap-
tured. Soon, even Sarah falls for
Bob.
The Chicago Tribune said, "A
light, sweet romantic comedy"; the
Chicago Sun-Times said, "Hilarious
and quite moving. Sherman won-
derfully blends farce with a genuine
insight" and the Wall Street journal
said, "Very funny — but it's not an
extended Jewish joke. The well-
crafted play has a lot to say about
nuclear families of any ethnic per-
suasion."
The Artisan Center Theater, a
150-seat theater-in-the-round, is in
the Belaire Plaza at 420 E. Pipeline
in Hurst. The daytime box office is
in the old Belaire Theater lobby at
404 E. Pipeline. The show runs
Friday, Oct. 28 through Saturday,
Nov. 19. Performances are at 8 p.m.
on Monday, Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday nights, with 3 p.m. mati-
nees on Saturdays, Nov. 5, 12, and
19. Reserved seating tickets are $13
for adults, $11 for students and
senior citizens, and $8 for children
12 and under. All Monday and
Thursday tickets are $8. Reserva-
tions are strongly recommended,
and can be made by calling
(817) 284-1200. More information
can be found on the Web site at
www.artisanct.com.
SEASONS
continued from page 19
Some people who have heard of
St. John's Wort — a natural herb
(Hypericum perforatum) said to
relieve mild depression — take pills
made from it and sold in natural
health stores and pharmacies. Four
years ago, researchers at Duke Uni-
versity Medical Center in North
Carolina wrote in Public Health
Nutrition that although this
increasingly popular herbal supple-
ment appears promising in treating
depression, many questions remain
about its safety and effectiveness.
After performing a rigorous, sys-
tematic meta-analysis of all
previous studies of St. John's Wort
as a treatment for major depressive
disorder, lead researcher Dr. Murali
Doraiswamy concluded that the
research shows "a need for caution,
especially for patients on certain
medications including tetracycline,
cyclosporin, protease inhibitors,
digoxin, warfarin, some oral birth-
control medications and those used
for asthma." Their research set off
alarm bells, as in the United States
alone, over $250 million worth of
St. John's Wort products are sold
each year.
Doraiswamy says there is some
evidence that St. John's Wort may
induce certain enzymes in the liver
to process those types of medica-
tions faster than usual, resulting in
lower effective doses of those drugs
in the body. "The herbal supple-
ment St. John's Wort appears to be a
promising antidepressant," wrote
Doraiswamy. "But it has not yet
been proven to be as effective as
newer prescription antidepressants.
Therefore, if people are suffering
symptoms of depression, they
should not self-medicate. Instead,
they should consult a healthcare
provider." In addition, St. John's
Wort has not been tested as an effec-
tive medication for preventing the
recurrence of depression. Zohar
agrees that symptoms of depression
that are serious or that persist for
more than a week or two should not
be treated with this herb. Instead, go
to the doctor.
The good news is that effective
treatment for social phobia is avail-
able and can be tremendously
helpful to people living with this
disorder. Effective treatments
include medications, a specific form
of psychotherapy called cognitive-
behavioral therapy or a
combination of the two. Medica-
tions include antidepressants called
selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors (SSRIs) and monoamine
oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), as well
as drugs known as high-potency
benzodiazepenes. People with a spe-
cific form of social phobia can be
helped with beta-blockers. Cogni-
tive-behavioral therapy teaches
patients to react differently to the
situations and bodily sensations that
trigger anxiety symptoms. For
example, "exposure therapy" helps
patients become more comfortable
with situations that frighten them
by gradually increasing exposure to
the situation.
Since it is so common, the first
medical practitioner to see is one's
family physician or general practi-
tioner who knows you and your
other ailments. Referral to a psychi-
atrist is necessary only if it's a diffi-
cult case that does not easily
respond to medications or talk
therapy. "Many people are afraid to
take medications because they
believe they are addictive. But they
absolutely aren't," Zohar insists.
"They don't change personality.
Unlike tranquilizers, they deal with
biochemical imbalance in the brain.
And they take a few weeks to take
effect, so don't expect the depression
to dissipate after taking them for
only a day or two."
Some of the prescription drugs
on the market work on one neuro-
transmitter, but others, such as
Cymbalta (Eli Lilly Pharmaceuti-
cals) and Ixel (Pierre Fabre) work
simultaneously on two, such as
serotonin and norepinephrine
(noradrenaline). "Some of the drugs
are in the basket of health services
supplied by health funds as part of
the basket. There maybe some side
effects, such as weight gain or a
reduction in sexual drive, but they
are all reversible," he says.
Depression is unfortunately
undiagnosed and untreated in
many cases. "The health funds must
do more to increase awareness
among the public and the doctors.
We estimate that only about an
eighth of depression cases are iden-
tified and properly treated. This is a
shame; one shouldn't be ashamed of
it. There are very effective treat-
ments for depression," Zohar
concludes, and they usually should
be taken for another half a year or
even a year after the depression
passes to reduce the risk of return.
TEACHINGS
continued from page 12
Islam, under the heading of sec-
ondary schools. Independent
textbook review organizations
describe the council as one of the
most powerful groups in the
country influencing the content of
textbooks. Critics say that in its
effort to promote a positive view
of Islam, it distorts history.
The group's director, Shabbir
Mansuri, says his organization is a
"non- advocacy research organiza-
tion."
Criticism that his group exerts
undue influence on textbook pub-
lishers "comes from people who
have no idea what we do," he said.
"The Constitution allows us all a
place at the table, without leaving
our heritage at the door," he told
JTA. "I can lobby, I can demand and
I can contribute."
In initial interviews, Dar al Islam
officials said the council has mul-
tiple roles there, including helping
to create and evaluate content for its
teachers.
After those interviews, the Dar al
Islam site was changed to eliminate
any mention of the council.
Asked to explain, Declerck said it
was taken down to "avoid confusion.
We know each other but we are
independent organizations, we are
not connected."
• Susan Douglass. An associate of
Dar al Islam's Teachers Institute,
she also is the curriculum specialist
for the Council on Islamic Educa-
tion.
She is a former teacher at the
Islamic Saudi Academy of Virginia, a
Saudi government-supported
school, and she consults on text-
books and curriculum by major
publishers. She has written a series
of books on Islam for K-6 stud ents
at Islamic and public schools.
One of Dar al Islam's Web sites,
islamamerica.org, posts articles
Ta'nt&d Teachings
\dhat your kids are
learning about Israel.
America and Islam
defending Palestinians and their
supporters, while excoriating
democracies, including America and
Israel.
Some Saudi watchers say Saudi
Arabia's goal is to export the most
rigid brand of Islam: Wahhabi Islam,
which in contrast to other forms of
Islam, is intolerant of other religions,
according to experts.
It's an agenda "more dangerous
than communism" ever was,
according to Ali Al-Ahmed, director
of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, a
Washington-based pro-democracy
think tank, because it targets all non-
believers, including Christians, Jews
and most Muslims.
Such apostates have only three
choices, he said: "Convert, be subju-
gated or die."
The Saudi Embassy in Wash-
ington did not respond to several
requests for comment.
Declerck of said the kind of Islam
practiced in Saudi Arabia, is "not
what we transmit. Dar al Islam com-
municates much more of a
mainstream Islam," he said.
But Al-Ahmed was adamant. In
American public schools, he said,
the Saudis are carrying out "a delib-
erate program to spread their
version of Islam everywhere."
"Their job is to give money to cer-
tain groups of Islamic organizations,
to fund certain people, and those
people they fund are people who
they believe will further their goal of
spreading Wahhabi Islam," he said.
JTA Editor Lisa Hostein and corre-
spondent Sue Fishkoff in California
were among the contributors to this
report.
MED0FF
continued from page 5
In his own inimitable way, was
reminding the public that there are
things which are more important
than even championship sports
events. Here in Washington, D.C.,
the public was reminded of that
fact this week by Josh Halpern, a
Jewish player for the Washington
Capitals hockey team, whose
refusal to play on Yom Kippur was
(briefly) the talk of the town.
Brendan Witt, a non-Jewish team-
mate whose advice Halpern
sought, was quoted as saying: "I
told him to take it off. He was wor-
ried about how [the other players
would] take it. I told him it's just a
hockey game."
No matter how important a
hockey or baseball game may seem
to their fans, in the end, all of us need
to remember that it's just a game. In
a world where millions of innocent
people suffer at the hands of tyrants,
and where catastrophes (whether
man-made or natural) abound, it
sometimes takes a Leo Durocher to
help us keep some perspective.
Dr. Med off is director of The
David S. Wyman Institute for
Holocaust Studies, which focuses
on issues related to America's
response to the Holocaust. Visit
www.wymaninstitute.org.
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Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 59, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 27, 2005, newspaper, October 27, 2005; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth188102/m1/21/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .