Israeli Bonds : Amid Tensions in Homeland, Emigres Gather to Toast Nation’s 48th Birthday

With their thoughts not far from their violence-racked homeland, thousands of Israeli emigres celebrated Israel’s 48th Independence Day here Sunday with speeches, traditional folk dances and a distinctly nontraditional swimsuit show.

To guard against the possibility of terrorism, the event’s organizers hired extra security and Los Angeles police officers patrolled outside the Hansen Dam sports complex. There were no reported incidents of violence.

Most of the estimated 4,000 attendees seemed untroubled by security concerns, however, and concentrated instead on Ferris wheel rides, booths stocked with kosher food and songs in Hebrew.

“After all,” said Joshua Orman, who has split his 28 years between Southern California and the Middle East, “this is L.A., not northern Israel,” referring to the recent battles between Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon. The violence has taken more than 150 lives--most of them Lebanese civilians--injured hundreds of others and caused hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) assured the crowd that the oft-divided U.S. Congress is firmly pro-Israel.

“With all the partisan squabbling we usually have,” Berman said, “I have never seen a greater level in the support for Israel.”

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan also spoke briefly, and politicians ranging from President Bill Clinton to state Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle sent letters of support.

Clinton wrote that while a lasting peace in the Mideast was being challenged by Hezbollah fighters, the United States “will work to ensure that they will not [succeed].”

The recent outbreak of strife in the Mideast also prompted concerns about attacks in this country, and organizers of a concert next month at the Universal Amphitheatre celebrating the 3,000th anniversary of Jerusalem said they canceled the event after receiving “strange phone calls . . . that some people viewed as veiled threats,” said Rabbi Baruch Kupfer, an organizer of the event.

Jerome Gutman, organizer of Sunday’s festival, said security was the “No. 1 concern,” but pressed ahead with the annual celebration anyway.

Gutman said he hoped the turmoil in Israel would lead to a big turnout in Los Angeles--home to more than 100,000 Israelis, the second-largest such community in the nation.

“We were worried that people would be scared to come because of what is happening in Israel and Lebanon,” said Gutman. “But they came out to show their solidarity.

There were Israeli flags--a blue Star of David on a white background--on cowboy hats, on T-shirts and painted on children’s faces. Booths offered barbecued chicken and religious pamphlets. Hebrew was just as likely to be heard as English.

On stage, political speeches and folk music were followed by women modeling this year’s skimpy swimsuits.

“This is great,” said Norm Levine, an Israeli who lives in North Hollywood. “It really shows the diversity of the Jewish people.”

“For us, I guess for a lot of people, it’s a time to reconnect,” said Fradya Rembaum, associate director of the Jewish Federation Council.

“It doesn’t matter if you are from Israel or not. Israel plays a very important part in the lives of Jews who live here, too.”