PROVOCATIVE COMMENTATOR: If his last speech in...

PROVOCATIVE COMMENTATOR: If his last speech in the San Fernando Valley was any indication, commentator Dennis Prager, host of KABC’s “Religion on the Line” talk show, may have a few more provocative things to say in upcoming Valley talks.

Addressing the Valley Prayer Breakfast on May 7, Prager charged in the Los Angeles riot aftermath that the “liberal media” make moral demands of every group except blacks. “That is the single most racist idea that is now prevalent in America. It dwarfs right-wing racism, which certainly exists. But it is the most dangerous,” he said.

“The fear that pervades the media from talking about good and evil when it applies to blacks is staggering, and it is so demeaning to blacks because the great majority of blacks have the exact same feeling about these people that I do,” said Prager, who founded the Micah Center for Ethical Monotheism in Culver City.

Prager will speak at noon Wednesday at Pierce College’s Campus Center in Woodland Hills on “The Emergence of Bigotry and Anti-Semitism in the American Mainstream: Are We Becoming More Tolerant of Intolerance?” The talk, which is free, is sponsored by the campus Hillel group, among others.

The Jewish layman, who has identified with a traditionalist group within the Conservative wing of Judaism, is not a one-issue lecturer, however.

Speaking May 15 at the American Jewish Committee’s 86th annual meeting in Washington, he said that in a society “relatively free of anti-Semitism, Jews need reasons to stay Jewish.” By contrast, “Jews have been raised increasingly to believe that Jewish values are not distinctive, that they are essentially identical to liberal, secular humanistic ones.”

Prager will also lecture at 7:30 p.m. June 3 at Temple Ahavat Shalom, Northridge, on “A Stunningly Simple Perspective to a Very Serious Problem: Your Happiness.” Admission is $15 with reservations. For information, call (818) 360-2258.

MASSES: Cardinal Roger M. Mahony will be the principal celebrant of a Memorial Day Mass at Good Shepherd Cemetery in Lancaster, one of 11 such ceremonies at 10 a.m. Monday at Roman Catholic cemeteries throughout the Los Angeles archdiocese.

The Lancaster cemetery is at 43124 70th St. West.

Also, Auxiliary Bishop Armando X. Ochoa of San Fernando will be principal celebrant of the Memorial Day Mass at San Fernando Mission Cemetery and Mausoleum, 11160 Stranwood Ave., Mission Hills.

PLAY: Victory Outreach, an anti-drug Pentecostal ministry that runs four rehabilitation homes in the San Fernando Valley, is presenting a play about inner-city life at three locations next week.

“Cold City Dreams,” performed by a 30-member cast from Oakland, will be at Canoga Park High School on Tuesday; Victory Outreach Church, 15435 Rayen St., North Hills, on Wednesday, and Walter Reed Junior High School in North Hollywood on Thursday. The play begins at 7 p.m. For information, call (818) 768-5495.

CONTEST: At the National Bible Contest in New York this month, two students from West Hills’ Congregation Beth Kodesh captured top honors and the right to represent the United States in Israel in the spring at the international finals sponsored by the World Zionist Organization.

Bethany Weinstein, 15, won the senior high division and Rachel Greenstadt, 13, won first in the junior high division in the English-language written exams. Beth Kodesh’s Karen Engleberg was runner-up in the senior division.

News and announcements for this column can be sent to Religion Desk, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311.