Community Corner
About Town: Ambassador's Visit to Stoughton Falls Through (And Lambert's a "History Detective")
Welcome to "About Town with Mark Snyder," a column that will keep you up to the minute with what's what, who's who and what's going on around town. If you see or hear something we could use here, let us know by sending an e
NO AMBASSADOR FOR YOU! Last week, About Town reported the news that Ahavath Torah Congregation in Stoughton was hosting Dore Gold, former Ambassador to the United Nations for Israel, at the end of January. But Ambassador Gold had to ultimately end up declining the invite because of a scheduling conflict.
On December 30, we received an enthusiastic email from the Temple's Rabbi, Jonathan Hausman, confirming Gold's appearance on January 28. Hausman said tickets were $125 and $250 and that it was sponsored by The Irwin M. and H. Ethel Hausman Memorial Free Speech Speakers’ Series. It went on to say that SecureAmericaNow.org would receive funds raised, to help underwrite the cost of the Ambassador’s appearance.
Hausman wrote that, "This is a confirmed event with Ambassador Dore Gold. This is a very exciting program, one that does not ordinarily come to the greater Stoughton area."
Find out what's happening in Stoughtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
So, About Town gave this event a full write up on January 2nd. We also noted that Hausman said that Gold wanted the event closed to the general public and the press.
But on January 4, About Town got an email from Rachel Elrom, Ambassador Gold's Assistant. She wrote, "Your January 2nd column lists Ambassador Dore Gold as a speaker in an upcoming event for the Secure America Foundation. While he was invited to address the group in Stoughton, ultimately he was unable to schedule the appearance at that time and had to decline the invitation."
Find out what's happening in Stoughtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
So, we were requested by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs to remove the piece, since it was inaccurate. Patch Editor Jeffrey Pickette and I decided it was appropriate to honor the request to remove it. But, since thousands of people saw it, we thought it needed to be corrected.
Still, Hausman wrote to me on January 4, "It [the visit] was confirmed. There was a last minute change to the Ambassador's international travel schedule."
On January 5, Ambassador Gold's assistant Rachel wrote About Town, "Ambassador Gold asked me to write to you and thank you for getting back to us and taking care of the website in such a prompt manner. We will be in touch with you when Amb. Gold is scheduled to be in Boston – probably the end of February."
About Town will let you know when Ambassador Gold is in the area. After all, as Hausman wrote in his original email:
Dr. Gold is an accomplished writer and speaker whose experiences behind the scenes and in the limelight make him a constant source of valuable information about international terrorism, the Iranian nuclear program, Israel's security needs, the Jewish claim to Jerusalem, and many other current topics.
He last visited Boston in 2009 at which time he debated Justice Richard Goldstone, who led the UN Gaza Commission that charged Israel with war crimes in its handling of Operation Cast Lead in late 2008 and early 2009. It was the first time an Israeli confronted Goldstone directly with material that completely contradicted the charges he made against the State of Israel and undermined his main arguments. To date, Ambassador Gold is the only person to have personally confronted Justice Goldstone on the substance of his report.
I'd like to hear what he has to say!
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STOUGHTON TV STAR! Stoughton historian and genealogist David Allen Lambert, is about to be a TV Star! He will be on National TV on the show "History Detectives" this Tuesday, January 8, at 8 p.m. on PBS.
He tells About Town, "I hope some of you can watch it. It was a great time filming the episode. I can't say much more until after it airs on TV. But, I help uncover the mystery behind one of the objects on the show. Stay tuned."
The link to the show's page on PBS site is:
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigations/?season=10
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HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAYS: To A.J. Curtis, son of Stoughton Police Officer Allen Curtis and his wife Christine. He turned 2; And to Susan Komisar Hausman, author of the children's book, "Kisses from Dolce", and an educator for Darkness to Light, an organization that fights sexual abuse of children by raising awareness of the problem. She is married to Rabbi Jonathan Hausman of Ahavath Torah Congregation.
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