The connections could be seen last year, when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Council President Eric Garcetti attended the Beverly Hills launch of the star-studded charity Turn Friday Night Into Family Night, founded by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the former spiritual adviser to Michael Jackson.
Shmuley is Botach’s son, Judith Boteach’s stepson, and Diveroli’s uncle. A video of Villaraigosa touting Turn Friday Night Into Family Night is featured on its Web site.
Judith Boteach tells the Weekly that life with Botach was a “total nightmare,” even as he hosted world leaders, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
After Botach’s 2002 split from Boteach, a former Hollywood makeup artist, she claimed she was unaware they had never been legally married. Botach’s lawyers insisted Boteach knew they were not married.
My father was born in Iran and remains firmly attached to his Iranian heritage. He loves the food, the music, the language and the culture. It is something that I have witnessed with most Iranian exiles. They have internalized their country so much that it travels with them wherever they go.
And why not? Iran was once one of the world’s greatest civilizations and the Middle East’s most highly educated nation.
Then came Khomeini, and the slow descent into barbarity began.
