Chaim Witz was born August 25, 1949 in Tirat Carmel, Haifa, Israel. His mother, Flora Klein (a Jewish-Hungarian immigrant), along with her brother, were the only members of her family to survive the Holocaust. When Chaim was eight years old, his mother moved them to the United States. His father did not come with them. They settled in New York City.

Chaim and his mother struggled over the years, but they had each other, and their love and devotion to each other only grew through the difficult times. Flora always put Chaim before herself, and encouraged him in life and his talents. Chaim was gifted in music and as a writer. After high school, Chaim attended Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake, New York.

Even though Chaim pursued some writing, his real passion was music, specifically playing the bass guitar. He joined several bands in his younger years before finally finding his place in music. And changing his name to something easier to pronounce, and a name many recognize today: Gene Simmons, from the band KISS.

Now before you quit reading or come after me with pitchforks, I’m not condoning his lifestyle or recommending that everyone go to their concerts, buy their CD’s, trading cards, condoms or whatever else Gene has managed to get their name and image on. He is an incredible businessman and knows how to make a buck. But, I was flipping through the TV channels recently and happened across his reality show “Family Jewels,” and it really caught my interest. I didn’t mange to catch the whole program but essentially, it was about Gene telling his mother’s story to a young fan in Amsterdam, who was obviously taking notes for an article. The young boy’s grandfather was also present, and he was also a Holocaust survivor.

As Gene began to tell his mother’s story, which he was not very comfortable telling, he became very emotional. At times he even got so choked up that he had trouble continuing. He recalled the story his mother told him about the moment her life tragically changed forever, when as a teenager, her grandmother was taken out of the group they were in, to be taken to her death in a Nazi death camp. And how her mother told Flora goodbye and told her that she couldn’t let her mother go to her death alone. Flora watched her mother and grandmother walk arm-in-arm to their deaths.

Gene also paid a visit to the house of Anne Frank, where Anne and several other people hid out beginning in 1942 as persecution of the Jewish people increased. Again, Gene became very emotional as he toured the home, and became very distraught as he was reminded that Anne Frank died in a concentration camp. Gene didn’t even want his mother to know that he had visited the Anne Frank home, because he didn’t want to upset her.

Yes, Gene Simmons lifestyle doesn’t  mix well with Christianity. His music, his many sexual conquests, and his fear and aversion to marriage has resulted in an almost 30-year relationship with live-in girlfriend Shannon Tweed...there’s no question that is immoral.

But, his personality at home is much different than the one onstage.  He appears to be a very loving, caring parent and spouse (oops, boyfriend).  He appears to be a somewhat quiet, mild mannered guy that you could sit down and have an intelligent conversation with. He is also extremely patriotic and supportive of our military. I just note these things to say, he has some good qualities.

But my main point in writing this article is to say, he is very proud of his Jewish heritage, and Israel’s right to exist, and that’s saying a lot in the times we live in where Israel and the Jewish people are becoming less popular by the day, especially for someone in the entertainment industry, Jew or not. (Although this would be an entirely other article, I have a great deal of respect for actor Jon Voight who is a strong supporter of Israel, although I don’t believe he has a Jewish heritage, and I’ve not heard whether he is a Christian or not.)

I have a lot of respect for that, not to mention his mother being a Holocaust survivor. There are few Holocaust survivors left; in a few years, there won’t be any. To survive what they did is deserving of our respect and admiration.

Gene and his mother should be in our prayers, along with all Jewish people and Israel. Gene needs to have an experience like another famous person who also changed his name. Only this person is famous for writing two-thirds of the New Testament and having a life-changing experience on Damascus road: Saul, who became Paul!

Chaim has already made the name change. All he needs now is THE experience.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed