Editing Bill Handel (section)

==Early life and career==
Handel was born in Brazil. His father Leo was from Yugoslavia, and his mother Nechama was a [[History of the Jews in Poland|Polish Jew]] who grew up in Brazil. Handel's paternal grandparents were killed in the [[Holocaust]].<ref name="big"/> The Handel family emigrated to the U.S. when Bill was five years old.<ref name="big">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981201092313/http://www.calendarlive.com/HOME/CALENDARLIVE/TVENT/t000054216.html|archive-date=December 1, 1998|title=Big in the morning|last=Michaelson|first=Judith|url=http://www.calendarlive.com/HOME/CALENDARLIVE/TVENT/t000054216.html|date=June 11, 1998|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=April 29, 2021|url-status=dead}}</ref>

He spent the remainder of his formative years growing up in the [[San Fernando Valley]]. He attended [[California State University, Northridge]] where he obtained his bachelor's degree in political science in 1976.<ref name="big"/> He then started a construction company and attended the [[Whittier Law School|Whittier College School of Law]] at night, graduating with his [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] in 1979.<ref name="big"/> Around his graduation from law school, Handel became addicted to cocaine. In 1983, Handel underwent rehabilitation at [[Saint John's Health Center|St. John's Hospital]] in Santa Monica.<ref name="big"/>

Later in the 1980s, Handel provided counsel for legal cases around surrogate parenting and founded the Center for Surrogate Parenting & Egg Donation.<ref name="big"/><ref name="Jewish Journal">{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=12521|title=Can't 'Handel' the Heat?|last=Pfefferman|first=Naomi|work=The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles|date=July 9, 2004|accessdate=April 29, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040712163901/http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=12521|archivedate=July 12, 2004|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1994, he hosted a weekly syndicated television show, ''Judge For Yourself'', which was canceled due to low ratings and the lack of time in Handel's schedule. ''Judge For Yourself'' was unique in that it solicited comments from a [[900 number]], whose results would be broadcast on the next day's show.<ref>[http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1994/vp940912/09120237.htm On Tv: Gabfests Taking Over The Airwaves] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228142959/http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1994/vp940912/09120237.htm |date=February 28, 2008 }}, lib.vt.edu; accessed November 13, 2015.</ref> 

He underwent [[bariatric surgery]] at [[Centinela Hospital Medical Center|Centinela Freeman Hospital]] to lose weight. Handel's experiences with this surgical procedure have been documented in a series of segments on his morning radio show.<ref name="Jewish Journal"/>