Category Archives: de rebus familiaribus

Anti-Semitism in Europe. Thoughts on recent experiences in the wine trade and beyond.

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Above: a synagogue in Venice where the first Jewish ghetto was created. The word ghetto comes from Venetian dialect. Image via Wikipedia.

I’ve been on the fence over whether or not I should share these experiences here. But an article in the Times yesterday, “French Election Becomes ‘Nightmare’ for Nation’s Jews,” made me feel compelled to relate some unsettling encounters with people in the wine trade. The story is centered around a violent anti-Semitic attack on a 12-year-old girl. Our oldest daughter is 12.

I’ve encountered a lot of anti-Semitism in the wine trade over my decades-long career.

A Dutch importer’s abrasive comments, left unanswered because I didn’t want to jeopardize a friend’s business relationship.

The uncle of a client who indulged in worn stereotypes, again unrequited because I feared losing the client. In wine circles, I’ve heard the expression, ebreo del cazzo (f*&%ing Jew), more than once and more than once directed at me.

But generally, I’ve always felt safe in Italy. Thanks to the Italians’ often intellectual curiosity about and reverence for Jews (a trope that stretches back to Dante and Boccaccio), I’ve even felt more welcomed in Italy than I did in certain circles here at home.

This year, everything is different.

At Vinitaly in April, a now ex-friend — not a good friend but someone with whom I used to trade messages on social media — told me that the reason Biden is supporting Netanyahu’s war because he needs the backing of “Jewish bankers.”

“I’m a Jew,” I told him directly. “Please do not make anti-Semitic comments — ever.”

I walked away. Needless to say, we won’t be trading messages on Instagram anymore.

But it was on this last trip that an anti-Semitic episode left me reeling and wanting to strike back.

After a large trade tasting I attended, when beer and smoke were being shared in camaraderie, a passing comment about Jews inspired a young wine professional to declare: “If I ever encounter a Jew in this town, I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill him! I’ll kill him!” he insisted.

Again, as in many instances, I felt obliged to remain silent to protect my friends’ professional relationships. My instinct was to fight back — with words not fists. But I was quiet.

I’m not going to be quiet anymore — ever again, regardless of the professional consequences.

I hope you’ll join me in speaking out.

Thanks for being here and thanks for your solidarity.

Happy Juneteenth! Browse the Portal to Texas History to see how the holiday has been celebrated over generations in Texas.

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Happy Juneteenth, everyone!

The main street of Houston’s historic Third Ward is known today as Emancipation Avenue. The name is inspired by the Emancipation Proclamation. But it is also owed to the fact that some of the earliest organized celebrations of Juneteenth were held in the Third Ward’s Emancipation Park, a public space created there by local business leaders in the late 19th century. It was intended to give residents a place to honor the date and occasion.

Extreme weather will be keeping most Houston residents indoors today. But our family will be celebrating the national holiday today by reading about its origins and how it was celebrated over the years since its inception.

Juneteenth became a national holiday in 2021 after members of congress from Houston lobbied for its recognition.

This morning, as we browsed the Portal to Texas History, we came across a number of TV news reporting on local gatherings, including one from Fort Worth dated 1989 (we noticed that the balloons in the video read “1987”; it’s possible that the archive date is incorrect). Use the link below to view.

KXAS-TV (Television station : Fort Worth, Tex.). [News Clip: Juneteenth], video, June 19, 1989, 5:00 p.m.; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc903774/m1/?q=juneteenth: accessed June 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.

Until recently, most Americans had no idea that such a celebration was regularly observed by communities across our nation.

Our family was thrilled when President Biden made it a national holiday (we are fortunate enough to live in the city represented in congress by the two congresspeople who proposed the legislation, including our district’s congressperson at the time).

Happy Juneteenth! Check out the Portal to Texas History here. And just enter the search term “Juneteenth.” I bet you’ll enjoy discovering how the holiday was celebrated in the state long before it became a national holiday.

Happy anniversary Tracie! I love you!

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It still seems like it were just yesterday that we were emailing — you in Austin, me in Southern California — sharing our lives, interests, goals, and dreams with each other.

But 16 years have passed since our e-mance evolved into a relationship, a marriage, and a family.

Today, we have been married for 14 years.

I’ll never forget how during the ceremony, your father, who married us, said the blessing over the wine (an element of my heritage that he graciously incorporated into the service).

“Because,” he told our guests, “when Tracie and Jeremy get together, you know there’s going to be a wine tasting!”

Ever since January 31, 2010, not a day has gone by that I don’t remember how you have given me the greatest and richest years of my life.

I love you. Happy anniversary!

Fast forward to a time, a couple years from now
And then rewind to find the reason
In the where and what and how
The woman brought the very best out of you
When she said I do

Celebrate MLK Day: join Tracie and our family at the historic MLK March in Orange, Texas, and then stand up to white supremacy at our protest of the Neo-Confederate monument there.

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Happy MLK Day, everyone! Our protest will take place as planned, 2-4 p.m. at the site. The organizers of the march have also confirmed that the events are happening as planned. See you later today! Updated Monday, January 15, 8:40 a.m.

Please join Tracie and our family on MLK Day, January 15, as we take part in historic MLK Day March in Orange, Texas, where Tracie grew up and her family still lives.

The march will be followed by speeches by local leaders.

The march starts at 10 a.m. at Salem UMC Church. Click here for details.

And then, when all is said and done, Tracie and I will head over to the Neo-Confederate memorial (unveiled in 2017) on MLK Dr. at Interstate 10 for our protest of the site.

We will be there from 2-4 p.m. We will have waters and plenty of signs. Click here for location.

(The memorial was built by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the current-day Ku Klux Klan, and has been opposed by the local government and local pastors; the city of Orange has done everything in its power to stymie the Neo-Confederates but the monument stands on private land; for seven years now Tracie and I have been raising money to post an MLK billboard that looks out over the monument on MLK Day; read about our campaign to repurpose the site, now in its seventh year, here.)

Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions: jparzen@gmail.com, 917-405-3426.

Happy MLK Day! We hope to see you on Monday but wherever you are, please take time out to remember, celebrate, and share Dr. King’s teachings and legacy.

Thank you to everyone who donated to our MLK campaign: there is now an MLK billboard looking down over the Neo-Confederate monument in Orange, Texas.

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Tracie and I share our heartfelt thanks with everyone who contributed to our GoFundMe campaign to raise an MLK billboard over the Neo-Confederate memorial in Orange, Texas, where Tracie grew up and her family still lives.

We’ve worked with the billboard company for many years now and they were extra cool this time around: they put the billboard up a week or so ago and it will remain in place until March 5. We paid for eight weeks but they ended up giving us nearly 11 weeks, which is awesome.

It will be in place on MLK Day, Monday, January 15, and it will remain there throughout Black History Month (February).

In 2013 the Sons of Confederate Veterans began fund raising to build a Greek atrium and a series of flag poles to display Confederate battle flags (warning: link contains graphic material).

In 2017, the group — the contemporary incarnation of the Ku Klux Klan — completed construction and began displaying the flags. Despite Herculean efforts by the City of Orange to block them, nothing could be done because the monument stands on private land.

It’s located on MLK Dr., a major thoroughfare where thousands of cars pass every day to get to work, school, and church. The city passed a law limiting the height of new flagpoles in the city. But it can still be seen from Interstate 10.

As we do every year, Tracie and I will be organizing a protest of the site on MLK Day. Please stay tuned for details and please join us if you can.

Our goal is to repurpose the site so that it reflects the community (which is half Black) and community values. We recognize the Quixotic nature of our objective. But sometimes the battles you know you are going to lose are the ones that you need to fight.

It’s a cold stretch of road out there. But today it’s a little bit warmer.

Thanks to everyone who contributed. Please join us on MLK Day as we celebrate the legacy of Dr. King.

Read more about our efforts on our blog RepurposeMemorial.com.

Parzen family Christmas letter 2023. Merry Christmas!

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Please consider giving to our yearly GoFundMe campaign to raise an MLK billboard over the Neo-Confederate memorial in Orange, Texas in time for MLK Day (January 15) and Black History Month (February). If you can’t donate, please share. Thank you for your support and solidarity! Click here to donate.

As 2023 comes to an end, Tracie, the girls, and I have so much to be thankful for.

Georgia, who turned 12 this month, is in her first year in middle school, a legacy music magnet program where she plays violin. Over the summer, she auditioned and was placed in the top performing orchestra. She is also taking private lessons and loves her teacher.

Lila Jane, who turned 10 in July, not only plays cello in the performing orchestra at her elementary school, also a legacy magnet. But she plays with a small chamber group of select cello players as well. We are so sad that it’s her last year at our beloved elementary school. But it’s been thrilling to see/follow all of her end-of-the-year concerts.

Both girls are studying Italian at home (!!!) and getting straight A’s at school and you can only imagine how proud we are of them. Our home and lives are filled with music and it’s a dream come true for both Tracie and me.

Tracie’s 2023 as a realtor has been challenging. But she’s still loving her new career. It’s been a tough year but she’s still bringing home the bacon, which is awesome.

My work has really come together again. I spent most of October and November on the road, which wasn’t easy. But I got to see some truly interesting places and interact with some really cool wine pros.

We spent our summer vacation in Orange Beach, Alabama (above). And not long after we headed to La Jolla for my mom’s 90th. She asked me to organize a wine tasting for her friends and we all had a blast.

We feel so blessed for each other, for our community, and we pray for peace and for our country.

Merry Christmas! May G-d bless us all.

A prayer for peace in the Middle East.

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Like households of American Jews across our country, we have been glued to our television over the weekend as we watched the new, horrific war between Hamas and Israel unfold.

Our girls, ages 10 and 11, are too young to understand the historical events that led the world to this moment. But they know that they are connected to Israel through their father’s family. They know that we have deep ties to this — what must seem to them — mythical land so far, far away.

“Thousands of Americans have loved ones in Israel. I’m one of them.” That was the title of Jennifer Rubin’s opinion piece for the Washington Post this morning.

For so many families in the U.S., there is a cousin on a kibbutz, a retired uncle in a coastal community, a child at university, friends from Hebrew school days who work in the tech sector…

May G-d bless them and keep them safe. May G-d protect all human life there and everywhere. And may we all say a prayer for peace for all — all — our sisters and brothers in the Middle East and beyond.

Shanah tovah! Happy new year! This year we celebrate grandma’s 90th birthday. A blessing.

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Please consider giving to Unicef relief efforts in Libya. Click here for more ways to give.

Shanah tovah, everyone! Happy new year!

May your new year be filled with light, joy, and good health!

Every year for the holiday, we eat apples and honey to remember life’s sweetness.

This year we have something special to celebrate: grandma (my mother Judy) is turning 90 next week. We’ll be flying out to San Diego to spend the weekend with her. And she’s asked me to organize a wine tasting for her and her friends. We’re all looking forward to it.

Georgia (above, left), age 11 going on 12, started middle school at the end of last month. She’s enjoying playing violin in the orchestra and her creative writing elective.

Lila Jane (right), just turned 10 and starting 5th grade, is now a “big kid” at her elementary school. She’s one of the top cello players in her class and says she wants to be a music teacher.

Poo, poo, poo… we have a lot to be thankful for. Too many blessings to count.

Every year before the High Holidays, I turn to the excellent writers at Chabad.org for inspiration for the year ahead.

Here’s the passage that I can’t stop thinking about:

Our Sages tell us that when we emulate G‑d to provide new life to others with generosity and love, this paves the way for the awesome gift of Rosh Hashanah, the gift of new life, that G‑d lovingly grants every one of us.

Happy new year.

Happy Juneteenth! Here’s a book that totally changed my perspective on the holiday and its meaning in Texas and beyond.

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Above: one of the earliest celebrations of Juneteenth at Emancipation Park in Houston in 1880. The park was created especially by local business leaders to serve as a gathering place for future Juneteenth celebrations. That tradition continues today in Houston. Image via the John Marshall Center (Creative Commons).

Happy Juneteenth, everyone!

It’s so awesome to see people celebrating this year, two years after it became an official U.S. holiday.

Houston has a deep connection to the holiday because it was first observed here in our city not long after the earliest celebrations in Galveston.

For anyone who wants to learn more about the holiday, I highly recommend Annette Gordon-Reed’s wonderful book, On Juneteenth, a memoir of her growing up in Texas (not far from where we live), published a few years ago. It’s a great read and it totally changed my perspective on the holiday and its meaning in Texas and beyond.

Happy Juneteenth! Enjoy the holiday!

The bunga bunga party is over. Berlusconi, Italy’s long-time buffoon prime minister and political huckster, has died.

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Image via Wikipedia Creative Commons.

By the time a wide-eyed U.C.L.A. undergrad made their way to Italy in 1987, the country’s socialist government was thriving, the economy was booming, a year of university studies, even at a top school, cost around $300, and “there was a Benetton on every corner in Manhattan,” as one of their professor’s put it.

But by the early 1990s, that had all collapsed as the government led by socialist leader Bettino Craxi went down in flames and scandal.

That power vacuum led to the rise of the first post-modern politician, as many have called him, Silvio Berlusconi. As he himself openly put it, he got into politics so that he could change laws in order to make himself richer, pay fewer taxes, and avoid legal jeopardy. As he achieved all three of those personal goals, he drove the country’s economy into the toilet with bloated borrowing and destroyed Italy’s image as a progressive nation who protected its vulnerable and cherished its cultural legacy.

He also became the first, in his own words, to legitimize the far and fringe right. Today, the roots of Italy’s first post-fascist (in other words, its first post-war bona fide fascist) government can be traced to his tenure.

Back in the early 2000s, when Italy was the president of the European Union, I was recruited to be an interpreter at the Italian Mission to the United Nations. Because Berlusconi, prime minister at the time, was tasked to address the General Assembly as the president of the EU, the mission needed an extra full-time interpreter. I was assigned to foreign minister Franco Frattini, who represented Italy at the gathering, while the senior interpreter was assigned to Berlusconi.

I never met him but I did attend a meeting where he spoke — and I held my nose.

After his notorious sexual predation parties became well documented by the media, my bandmates and I wrote and produced a song about his bunga bunga. We recorded it in Austin, Texas for our 2011 album “Freudian Slip” (Aeronaut Records). You may have heard it on season 1 (episode 2) of “Emily in Paris” (listen below).

Many have said that Berlusconi created the paradigm, the road map for our country’s own post-fascist, post-supremacist political monster.

But let us not mention the name of that Devil… lest he appear.

Read the Times obit here.