6.30.2008

Phelps v. Lochte: The Duel of Perhaps the Greatest USA Men's Olympic Swimmers

The Times tells the tale of the Phelps v. Lochte duel that fueled a world record at the Olympic trials yesterday... a great story...

Rival’s Fast Finish Propels Phelps to Another Record By KAREN CROUSE
Michael Phelps set a world record in his first event of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, touching just ahead of Ryan Lochte to win the 400-meter individual medley.

And today Hayley McGregory set a new world record in the 100-meter backstroke at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha -- broken in the next heat by Natalie Coughlin. Much more to come at the actual Olympics...

Backstroke Record Lasts Only as Long as Next Race By KAREN CROUSE
Natalie Coughlin’s record for the 100-meter backstroke was broken by Hayley McGregory in the Olympic Trials Monday, so Coughlin lowered the record in the next heat.

BR: Is the $10 Million Bar Mitzvah Going Out of Style?

This story appears to miss the traditional point of reference of the rite of passage that we Jews call the Bar Mitzvah.

The event is celebrated in a ritual in the synagogue when the child is called to the Torah in public, symbolizing the beginning of his (or her) full-fledged membership in the community based on Torah, centered on the study of Torah and bound by the values of the Torah.

The big ticket Bar Mitzvah is merely an instance of American conspicuous consumption thrust into a religious setting. Replacing conspicuous consumption with acts of social justice is a cyclical and particularly trendy whiplash response that rarely makes a dent in the wasteful practices of our culture.

The Bergen Record misses those aspects of the story.

Putting mitzvahs back in bar mitzvah
BY JOHN CHADWICK, STAFF WRITER

The plight of incarcerated Jews isn't a hot topic at most synagogues.

But that didn't stop 12-year-old Vita Taurke Joseph - who attends Temple Beth Israel in Maywood - from taking up a collection in her congregation to help the families of Jewish inmates.

Vita's action fulfilled the community service portion of her bat mitzvah, which was held Saturday, and added an unusual twist to the milestone event.

Her effort also reflects a movement within the Jewish community to revitalize the bar mitzvah (or bat mitzvah for girls) - a coming-of-age ceremony that some fear has been trivialized by glitzy parties and lavish receptions.

"For a long time, there was a sense that there was too much 'bar' and not enough 'mitzvah' [good deed] - too much party and not enough religion," said Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University. "Now, we are seeing different efforts to change that."

Certainly, big, expensive bar mitzvah parties are still commonplace - a phenomenon that fueled the 2006 movie "Keeping Up with the Steins," in which a clueless dad wanted to book Dodger Stadium for his son's bar mitzvah.

Multimillionaire David H. Brooks threw a bat mitzvah for his daughter in 2005 at Manhattan's pricey Rainbow Room restaurant. The performers included Aerosmith, rapper 50 Cent, Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks. The cost approached $10 million, by some estimates.

Rabbis say those parties have fueled a counter-movement to deepen the bar mitzvah experience by moving beyond rote learning and requiring students to perform community service that exemplifies the Jewish tradition of tikuun olam, or healing and repairing the world.

"Because of these opulent parties that many rabbis are not proud of, there is more of a focus on the deeper meaning of the bar mitzvah," said Rabbi Ken Emert of Temple Beth Rishon in Wyckoff. "The essence of bar mitzvah is that a child assumes sacred obligations and responsibilities."

Some parents - such as Steven and Lisa Marcus of Franklin Lakes - are even rethinking the party and coming up with ways to infuse the revelry with meaning.

"I didn't want to play keeping up with the Joneses," Lisa Marcus said in discussing her son James' recent bar mitzvah. "My son has a huge heart, and I really wanted it to have a greater significance."

So James' party last month was suffused with themes of charity. The family donated money to the Songs of Love Foundation, which produced a personalized song for a 9-year-old boy with cystic fibrosis. Part of the song was recorded at the party, giving the guests a chance to learn about the boy and to be part of the recording effort.

The party was held at the Park Avenue Club, a Florham Park dining hall that donates its profits to local charities. The Marcus family, who attend Temple Beth Rishon, also used inexpensive thank-you notes that benefit the Jewish National Fund.

Marcus said the efforts transformed a special day into an unforgettable experience.

"The day was about James, but it was also about giving, so it enhanced the day," she said. "It showed that even on 'my' day, it doesn't have to all about 'me.' It's an experience that can be shared."

Bar mitzvah literally means "son of the commandments" and is typically a ceremony in which a 12-year-old girl or 13-year-old boy is formally recognized as a member of the Jewish community. Young Jews prepare for months to read in Hebrew from the Torah scroll and to chant blessings as well as other readings from the Bible.

The party that follows the ceremony, meanwhile, has become something of a tradition itself. While "Keeping Up with the Steins" may have played up the excess, some rabbis say it captured an uncomfortable truth.

"In the early 1990s, many American Jews were sleepwalking through the spiritual aspects of the bar and bat mitzvah," Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin said. "All of the efforts and intensity we could be putting into the spiritual was being mistakenly focused on the celebration."

Salkin, an Atlanta-based rabbi, responded by writing the book "Putting God on the Guest List: How to Reclaim the Spiritual Meaning of Your Child's Bar or Bat Mitzvah."

That book struck a chord. More than 100,000 copies are in print, and a third edition recently was published.

Many now point to signs of change. A generation ago, performing a community service project for a bar mitzvah was unheard of. Now it's a staple.

At a River Edge synagogue, families are encouraged to donate 3 to 10 percent of the cash gifts received to a charity of their choice.

"It's all about balancing the personal and the universal," said Rabbi Neal Borovitz of Temple Sholom. "It's a special personal time, but it's also about becoming a responsible member of the Jewish community, and you have to give back not just to Jews but to the world."

A Pompton Lakes rabbi said he and several other members have started a practice in which a bag of donated food serves as the table centerpiece at their children's bar mitzvah receptions.

After the reception, the bags are dropped off at a local food pantry.

Rabbi David Senter of Congregation Beth Shalom said performing such a charitable act during the celebration reinforces the ethical tradition of Judaism.

"If the only way we celebrate is by an exercise in over indulgence ... the message you are sending is that the ethical and moral traditions are unimportant," he said.

Meanwhile, Vita Joseph, the girl who is helping out the families of Jewish inmates, has collected toys, clothes, gift cards and books for the group Jewish Prisoner International Services.

"They are just people who made mistakes," Vita said, in explaining why she chose the project. "And I don't think their families should have to suffer."

The gifts will ultimately go to inmates' families, and Vita will be periodically following up with the advocacy group.

"This is not like writing a check," said Vita's father, Steven Taurke Joseph. "We want there to be follow-up so she can see what happens when you help people."

Times: Stanley Fish is Bored by the Obama-McCain Campaign

How sad. The primaries are over. Mr Fish finds nothing of interest now in the actual presidential election campaign.

How glad we are not to share Fish's ennui and lack of values. Every day we see new torches lit as more folks are turned on to Barack's messages of change and hope. We see more clearly the contrast between a true leader with values and a weak puppet with no agenda. We see less gossip and gotcha-playing and more understanding of what our country stands for and who will bring us closer to that.

Yawn. Sleepy Mr. Fish, perhaps it's time for your long-long nap. We will wake you up in November when the country has turned the corner to a new era.

Is That All There Is?

From early February through the beginning of June, the lament one heard from the political pundits (echoing Cicero’s first oration against Catiline) went this way: How long shall we have to endure the ordeal of the Democratic primary? How long before we get to the real thing?

But now it turns out that the primary season – extended, it was said, beyond expectation or reason – was the real thing. And I say that because, at least to date, the current season – the season that was to bring a once-in-a-century contest between two men of different generations and clearly opposed ideologies – has been totally uninteresting... [yawn -> more]

6.29.2008

Calcalist: Billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak Has a Blog (in Hebrew)

Calcalist reports that the Israeli-French-Russian billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak has started a blog. The report notes that the effort coincides with Gaydamak's political aspirations via his Social Justice party.

Naturally expected on any blog, certainly an Israeli political blog in Hebrew, numerous comments on Gaydamak's posts raise pointed issues: some question that he wrote the posts based on the premise that his Hebrew is weak, some attack him for his checkered past and some question the sincerity with which he presents himself as an Israeli political Robin Hood (as cited: "גאידמק שמנסה למכור את עצמ איזשהו מושיע, רובין הוד ממש").

[For those who don't know the publication, Wikipedia says that Calcalist is "a daily business newspaper published in Israel by the Yedioth Ahronoth Group"].

הערוץ החדש של גאידמק לציבור: פתח בלוג בתפוז
איש העסקים, שהצטרף לאחרונה לפוליטיקה עם מפלגתו "צדק חברתי", פתח בסוף השבוע בלוג ותקף את התקשורת ואת המשטרה
עידו קינן 28.06.08, 17:51

איש העסקים ארקדי גאידמק פתח בלוג באתר תפוז אנשים, בכתובת
blog.tapuz.co.il/gaydamak.
הבלוג נכתב בעברית רהוטה יחסית לזו שבפיו של גאידמק, ויש בו התייחסויות לגאידמק הן בגוף ראשון והן בגוף שלישי. לפיכך, אפשר להניח שאנשיו של גאידמק מעדכנים את הבלוג, ולא הוא עצמו.

Times: Fake Universities Become a Problem

You always have to check credentials. There are degrees for sale from fake colleges, universities, theological seminaries, yeshivas. Employers beware!

Diploma Mill Concerns Extend Beyond Fraud
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO

The man said he was a retired military officer from Syria, which the American government deems a sponsor of terrorists. He wanted credentials as a chemical engineer, useful for getting a visa to work in the United States. Could James Monroe University help?

For $1,277, it did. Within days, he received three undergraduate and advanced degrees in chemistry and environmental engineering, based on his “life experience,” according to documents in federal court. Although the degrees looked authentic, Monroe had no faculty or courses; the “adviser” evaluating “life experience” was a high school dropout.

Monroe was one of more than 120 fictitious universities operated by Dixie and Steven K. Randock Sr., a couple from Colbert, Wash., who sold diplomas for a price, according to a three-year federal investigation that ended in guilty pleas from the Randocks to mail and wire fraud. The inquiry into their diploma mill, which operated most often as St. Regis University, provides the most up-to-date portrait of how diploma factories can harness the rapidly evolving power of the Internet to expand their reach.

The Randocks will be sentenced on Wednesday. Six former employees have also pleaded guilty to federal charges and await sentencing...

P.S.: Here are some free phony ordinations -

Free Instant Ordination Be a legally ordained clergy person Perform weddings, baptisms, etc. www.SpiritualHumanism.org
Free Ministerial License Become Legally Ordained Today. Spiritual Degree & Diploma Programswww.pulc.com
Ordained Fast & Legal Now Legal Ministers Credentials To Perform Weddings Or Start A Church www.nlcordinations.com
Become Ordained Minister Legal ordination Online, Perform weddings and more. Women welcome. openordination.org
Fast & Free Ordination Free Ordination & Ministry Training Online Clergy Support Community. trinity-edu.com
Fast Christian Ordainment Ordainment online to do weddings and religious services everywhere. www.christianglorychurch.com
Free Christian Ordination St Luke Evangelical - Free Christian Ordination Online ficotw.org

Times: I am Spartacus, er My Middle Name is Hussein...

Sweet how politics works among the young and idealistic.

Obama Supporters Take His Name as Their Own
By JODI KANTOR

Emily Nordling has never met a Muslim, at least not to her knowledge. But this spring, Ms. Nordling, a 19-year-old student from Fort Thomas, Ky., gave herself a new middle name on Facebook.com, mimicking her boyfriend and shocking her father.

“Emily Hussein Nordling,” her entry now reads.

With her decision, she joined a growing band of supporters of Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who are expressing solidarity with him by informally adopting his middle name. ...

The Joys of Family

Shaiel, June, 2008

6.28.2008

The Joy of Firefox Add-Ons

I waited until the new version of my preferred Web browser, Firefox 3.0, was officially released. Then I tried it for a few days in the office. Now I have finally upgraded at home. It does some amazing things courtesy of the add-ons available for the platform. The graphic above shows my present set of add-ons.

Short takes. New for me, all-in-one-sidebar is great. PicLens is amazing but not yet perfected. A bit confusing in fact. Better Gmail is awsome. Answers is fun. Book Burro is a must have. Hebrew Calendar is an absolute must-have.

Velveteen Rabbi on the Joys of Davening in Jerusalem

Just a lovely diary entry = blog post from the Velveteen Rabbi capturing the essence of the Jewish spirit that abides in only one city in the world.

...Then the davenen reconvened. The Torah was brought into the women's section, where we kissed it and touched it reverently (though rather sedately); then it went into the men's section, where they hoisted it and danced with it with abandon. The whole Torah portion was read aloud (I can't remember the last time I attended a service where that was the custom), and meanwhile little kids ran around like crazy, babies cried, people talked -- it was a real balagan, a kind of comfortable chaos that didn't in any way detract from the intentionality or heart of the service. That's a thing I love about traditional davenen: the joyful lack of decorum....

So: that was my first Shabbat morning in Jerusalem. Four hours of really fantastic davenen (with a nice schmoozing break midway through) at the Leader Minyan. I'm trying to think of what I can compare it to. There are things about it that remind me of Renewal: the participation, the singing, the ruach (energy/spirit.) There are things about it that remind of the Brookline Havurah Minyan where I used to go for Yom Kippur with my sister: that it's lay-led, that participation is so universal, that everyone there clearly takes davenen seriously and knows the service inside and out.

The liturgy was quite traditional, similar to a million other services in a million other shuls (at least five thousand of which are here in Jerusalem. Seriously -- I learned yesterday that there are 5,000 shuls here, plus an uncounted number of independent minyanim. Of those five thousand shuls, apparently 8 are Conservative and 5 are Reform.) But this particular kind of deep-rooted traditional davenen, done with joy and with a certain kind of egalitarian spirit, wasn't quite like anything else I've ever experienced.

Thanks, Leader Minyan, for a really sweet first Jerusalem Shabbat morning.

Meanwhile - abrupt interruption to a journey of the spirit - we were trapped again for Shabbat in the galut in a synagogue where the main greeting amongst the members is, "What are you doing here?" and the main concern in shul is making sure nobody takes your seat and one topic of the Noon conversation at lunch was whether it could be remotely true that our Rabbi so-and-so earns $400,000 a year. [We remarked: Who cares?]

Kinda shows you a contrast. Not that, G-d F-rbid, there is anything wrong with Judaism in the diaspora.

6.26.2008

Update: Sad Report of the Passing of Minnesotan Leo Hurwicz, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics

Leo Hurwicz passed away Tuesday night just months after winning the Nobel Prize for Economics. The Star Tribune obituary reviews his accomplishments including something that I did not know, "He was on the platform committee of the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago."

Here is a repost of my congratulatory blog of 10/16/07:

About 20 years ago I was sitting on an intracampus bus near the library on the West Bank campus of the University of Minnesota. It was a typical Minnesota winter day - 10 below zero and snow on the ground. The bus was about to pull away when I saw University professor of economics Leo Hurwicz run up and ask the driver something from the curb. The driver answered but Leo looked puzzled. I knew Leo from various committees and functions on the campus, and I liked and respected him and his work. After a minute or two the driver closed the door and left Leo standing at the bus stop in the cold and snow. At that moment I remember thinking to myself, "This brilliant professor who cannot decide which bus to take will surely win the Nobel prize someday."

So now he did win it at the age of 90 - the oldest to win the prize. Congratulations Leo on a well deserved honor.

Listen here to the cute interview with the Nobel representative on his notification of winning and go here to read the Times story, Three Share Nobel in Economics for Work on Social Mechanisms

BR: Bahai Conclave in Teaneck Saturday

Little known religion fact - Teaneck has a vibrant Bahai presence, only not quite as stylish as the Bahai Temple in Haifa, Israel.

Gathering of faithful will honor founder
BY JOHN CHADWICK, STAFF WRITER

When one of the founding fathers of the Bahai religion spoke in 1912 to followers in North Jersey, he declared that the event would be commemorated for years to come.

He was right.

On Saturday, Bahais from across the country will hold their annual unity feast at the Roy Wilhelm estate in Teaneck, marking the 96th anniversary of the visit by Abdul Baha to what was then West Englewood.

"This instills in us why we are Bahai," said Paul Huber, who lives on the estate and helps maintain the grounds. "It's a gathering of people from all over. People are breaking bread together. You look and you see this sea of faces of all races and all nationalities."

Baha was the son and chosen successor of the prophet Baha'u'llah, who founded the Bahai religion in 19th-century Persia. Baha's North Jersey visit was one stop on what Bahais regard as an epochal journey through the West to spread the faith.

Bahais, who number about 5 million worldwide, describe their faith as the youngest of the monotheistic religions. They believe that the major world religions build on one another to form a continuum through which God reveals himself to mankind. They regard Baha'u'llah as the most recent in a line of prophets that includes Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad. And they believe that other prophets and writings will emerge to help mankind in the future.

"We are not like the Catholics or any other faith that says 'this is it, you have to follow this or you are out of our church,' '' Huber said. "It's nothing like that at all."

Abdul Baha became head of the Bahais after his father's death in 1892. His arrival in North America came after decades of imprisonment by the Ottoman Empire. He was nearly 70.

"It was epic by any standard," said Glen Fullmer, director of communications for the Bahai National Center in Evanston, Ill. "It was a foundational event for the American Bahai community in its nascent stages."

From April until December, Baha traveled through the country, delivering public addresses in churches, synagogues, private homes and other venues. Fullmer said Baha exemplified Bahai values by welcoming African-Americans and women as equals.

"He was really exemplifying a whole new spiritual civilization," he said.

The West Englewood visit was held at what was then the home of wealthy coffee importer Roy Wilhelm. Persian food was prepared in a Manhattan home and brought over by ferry.

Today, the estate serves as the local Bahai community headquarters and weekend school.

Baha, in his speech, proclaimed the dawning of a new era in which Bahais will come together in utter unity.

"You have come here with sincere intentions," he declared. "And the purpose of all present is the attainment of the virtues of God."

On Saturday, Baha's speech will be read in its entirety.

The annual feast is a time for Bahais to reconnect with each other as well as members of the faiths.

"You never really know who you're going to meet," said Pat Kinney, a Bahai from Leonia. "It's wide open."

Bergen Record: Claims of AntiSemitism at Teaneck's Golf Course

Anti-Semitism got him fired, ex-Bergen worker says
BY OSHRAT CARMIEL, STAFF WRITER

A former Bergen County parks employee who was fired in 2006 has sued the county, claiming that he repeatedly was subjected to anti-Semitic remarks on the job.

In the lawsuit, now in federal court, Jack Lovett, 76, a former ranger at the county’s Overpeck Golf Course in Teaneck, says that parks officials ignored his complaints that colleagues were referring to him as “Jack the Jew,” praising Adolf Hitler and making derisive comments about his religious affiliation.

“Nothing was ever done for him,” said Jamison Mark, Lovett’s attorney. “He was just left to hang out there.”

Brian Hague, a county spokesman, said Wednesday, the county would not comment on pending litigation.

When county officials fired Lovett from his job two years ago, they accused him of illegally selling golf equipment from his car and his locker at the golf course, according to his suit and his attorney.

But the accusation, according to Lovett’s suit, was just another part of the harassment.

“When they fired him, they found a ton of stuff in his locker,” Mark said.

There was nothing improper about why it was there, Mark added.

“A lot of the people would come by and give him golf balls and golf equipment, and he would take it and donate it to charitable organizations,” Mark said.

It was not the first accusation Lovett endured in the workplace, according to the suit. Another colleague accused Lovett of taking money to allow players to begin their rounds on the back nine holes of the course, it claims. An investigation did not substantiate that claim, according to court records filed by the county and Lovett.

Lovett, of Fort Lee, was a seasonal employee for the county, starting in 1998. He worked only during the months that the golf course was open. In 2005, his last full year of employment he made $5,136, according to county payroll records.

He worked as both a golf starter and a golf ranger, responsible for supervising golfers’ start times and roaming the course to ensure that games moved along, his attorney said.

According to the suit, the harassment began in 2000 by another golf ranger, who made derogatory references to Lovett, all prefaced by the word “Jew.” He also suggested to Lovett that “Jews should move out of the way,” the lawsuit says.

After he complained about the harassment, officials changed Lovett’s shift so that he would not have to work alongside the person who allegedly made those comments. But the harassment continued, according to the suit, when the golf course manager — Lovett’s supervisor — publicly praise Hitler in front of Lovett and another employee.

“That was witnessed by someone,” Mark said.

Lovett’s civil rights suit, seeks his job back in addition to damages, his attorney said.

Times' Roger Cohen: Dammit! Barack Must Go to a Mosque

I have no objection to this idea.

Cohen has the kernel of an important idea in his op-ed. Obama ought indeed visit a mosque, but not on his own. He should go to an Islamic house of worship together with John McCain. The two of them should use their time in the Mosque to publicly debate their views on the role of religion in American politics.

Now there Roger Cohen is a much more lively idea than just a plain old vanilla visit...

...Yet, because he’s named Barack Hussein Obama, and because his Kenyan grandfather was a Muslim, and because his commitment to Israel has been questioned, and because the U.S. Rorschach test is Muslim-menace mired, he’s had to tread carefully.

As Andrea Elliott chronicled in an important article in The Times, Obama has visited churches and synagogues, but no mosque. He had to apologize after two Muslim women wearing head scarves were barred from appearing behind him at a recent rally in Detroit.

Obama should visit a mosque. He has repeatedly shown his courage during this campaign; Americans have responded to his intellectual honesty. One of the important things about him is the knowledge his Kenyan and Indonesian experiences have given him of Islam as lived, rather than Islam as turned into monstrous specter.

This enables him to break the monolithic, alienating view of a great world religion that is as multifaceted as Judaism or Christianity.

I’ve no doubt that Obama is a strong supporter of Israel. But what I find as important is that he would come to Islam without prejudice. That’s the precondition for dialogue, whether with Iran or between Israel and Palestine.

6.25.2008

Shalem Center to Become a Liberal Arts College in Israel

According to a PR release emailed to me:

Klarman Family Foundation, George and Pamela Rohr Pledge $1 Million Each to Help Launch Shalem College
Two generous commitments of $1 million each have been made in support of establishing Shalem College by the Klarman Family Foundation of Boston and by George and Pamela Rohr of New York. These generous gifts are part of a campaign recently launched to attract the seed money needed to lay the groundwork for Israel’s first liberal arts college. Shalem College will offer top students from Israel and the Diaspora a unique core curriculum in the humanities and Jewish thought, modeled on the finest undergraduate institutions in the Anglo-American liberal arts tradition. By building Shalem College, the Shalem Center will be extending its intellectual community to include those students who will be the future leadership of the State of Israel and the Jewish world. Click here to read more about Shalem College.

Now P.S. I wish The Drisha Institute in NYC had followed this path years ago.

Responsa Database Site Recovers Quickly from Fire

Glad to hear they were able to get back so quickly. Fine work guys!

We would like to apologize for any inconvenience that occurred on The Responsa Project website recently.

Unfortunately on Friday (30, May 2008) afternoon a fire broke out in our offices and our servers and data systems were all lost.

We have already moved to new premises and with tremendous efforts managed to restore The Responsa Project Database and the Responsa Project website is currently up and running.
Coming soon…All our users will be able to enjoy a sophisticated subject index – where the Responsa subjects are organized according to main and secondary topics, which will facilitate navigation between texts. Moreover, the Database will be updated with new books and sources, as we do every few months .

Thanks for your understanding.

Michal Ashkenazy - Marketing Manager- Jewish Databases
C.D.I. Systems (1992) Ltd.,
Tel. +972 2 5870112 # 7619.
Fax. +972 2 5870115.
michal@cdisys.com

(Updated) New Yorker: Rich Jew Adelson is a Misguided Meddler in Foreign Affairs

The JTA finally scores some publicity in New Yorker, cited as a source on page one of a highly critical article about Sheldon Adelson's ideological meddling in middle eastern affairs.

Hey JTA guys even after this mention - hire a PR firm like the one Agriprocessors just hired (Agriprocessors hires Snoop Dogg's P.R. firm to limit damage to its businesss) or the one that Yechiel Eckstein just hired (IFCJ) - nobody knows you exist. Get the word out!

And now as to Adelson, he's nothing more than a three-card-monte con man - writ extraordinarily large. He's made a life of taking other people's money, all the while creating absolutely no value in the world. The social ruin that his gambling empire has caused is not even estimable.

I don't want such a person who has no scruples about destroying families, communities and societies now escalating his meddling to destroy nations too. Especially when it involves nations that I care about like the US and Israel.

I admit that Adelson has every right to run for office or involve himself with those who run for office and arrogate political power to himself in the manner that other arrogant billionaires have followed in the past.

Yet, in a democracy we the people have the right and obligation to impede the efforts of the arrogant destroyers and to rally behind those good people who know better.

Last, according to Jewish law, a gambler's testimony is disqualified -- he has no credibility because his chosen path in life is based on deception.

Adelson disqualified by a life of deception. That sounds about right to me.

The Brass Ring: A multibillionaire’s relentless quest for global influence.

by Connie Bruck June 30, 2008

Sheldon Adelson’s Macao casinos have helped make him America’s third-richest man-->

Last October, Sheldon Adelson, the gaming multibillionaire, accompanied a group of Republican donors to the White House to meet with George W. Bush.

Well that is enough for me - a nauseating image. I can stop reading right there... You may want to continue...

Conservative Values Lesson One: Keep an Enemies List

1. Keep an enemies list.

Current Instance: The Press, or the Media nowadays, is liberal and biased and on my enemies list.

From the National Review

Obamaweek in Review
Reading Newsweek so you don’t have to.
By Mark Hemingway

Conservatives have long complained about media bias. There’s been much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments over the topic, and not without reason. So many articles (and even books) have been produced on the matter that to add one more to the list seems to be an exercise in post mortem equine sadism. >>more ad nauseum>>

Historical Precedent: This conservative value was explained most succinctly in the principle behind the Nixon enemies list:

In a memorandum from John Dean to Lawrence Higby (August 16, 1971), Dean explained the purpose of the list succinctly:
This memorandum addresses the matter of how we can maximize the fact of our incumbency in dealing with persons known to be active in their opposition to our Administration; stated a bit more bluntly—how we can use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies.

P.S. I'm going to work hard to research and uncover other conservative values. Right now though, I can't think of any...

6.24.2008

Daily Kos: Dobson Says that Shellfish is OK Kosher

It's hard to be ironic in the discussion of religion. (We try.)

Daily Kos tries (The Great Shellfish Debate):

So, Obama points out that the Bible suggests:
*slavery is OK
*eating shellfish is an abomination
*The Sermon on the Mount is radical, left-wing

Dobson replies:
"Oh, don't be silly. Shellfish is OK."

I know for sure that the (OK) Kosher Certification has not been granted to shellfish.

WP: Christian Extremist Dobson Distorts Factual Reality

Here is what I read in the WP blog post below. Dobson probably won't vote for Obama or McCain - but he surely won't vote for anyone (i.e. Obama) who advocates killing tiny babies.

Now that is one heck of a rhetorical flourish - no actually it is an extremist political scare-rhetoric -- that someone who is pro-choice has a, "bloody notion of what is right with regard to the lives of tiny babies." That is beyond the pale and so far to the extreme - it works to the detriment of those who hold sincere pro-life views.

Dobson extremism works amazingly to discredit both the right and the left at the same time. We all should get together and ask this guy to put a sock in it. He's not gonna vote - so he ought to shaddap his face.

Dobson Hits Obama for "Distorting" Bible
By Krissah Williams
James Dobson, a long-time leader of conservative Christians, today accused Sen. Barack Obama of "deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to justify his own world view."

Dobson's comments, which aired today on his Focus on the Family radio show, come as Obama's campaign plans to launch a broad appeal to evangelicals and Catholics.
Dobson and Tim Minnery, a senior vice president at Focus on the Family, spent about 20 minutes of the show harshly critiquing a speech that Obama gave in 2006 to a group of liberal Christian leaders.

In the speech, Obama argues for religious diversity and acceptance and prods liberals not to cede issues of faith to Republicans.

"Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers," Obama said in the speech. "And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's?"

Dobson said he had just recently learned of Obama's speech and that reading it caused his blood pressure to rise.

"Why did this man jump on me? I haven't said anything near that?" said Dobson, whose comments were first reported by the Associated Press today, which received an early copy of Dobson's remarks.

In response to Obama's contention that religious voters had an obligation to "translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values", Dobson asked: "Am I required in a democracy to conform my efforts in the political arena to his bloody notion of what is right with regard to the lives of tiny babies?"

Minnery told the wire service that Dobson's office had recently been contacted by Obama's campaign for a meeting this summer.

Joshua DuBois, director of religious affairs for Obama's campaign, said in a statement that a full reading of Obama's speech shows he is committed to reaching out to people of faith and standing up for families. DuBois, an Assemblies of God Minister, is leading an outreach effort for Obama that will include thousands of "faith forums" intended to connect people of faith and bridge religious divides.

Dobson, who has not backed Sen. John McCain, has said he is dissatisfied with both major party candidates and has suggested that he will not vote for president this year.

He's Baaaack. Abramoff "Sabbath Dinners" Invoked in WP Story About Mehlman Emails

Abramoff's sleaze was bad enough. Now we have the WP (Abramoff Used White House To Help Get Rid of Roadblock: E-Mail Shows How Key Officials Aided Lobbyist in Ousting Foe By R. Jeffrey Smith) referring to Ken Mehlman, then the White House political director, supping at Abramoff's house for "Sabbath dinner."

Providing a rare glimpse of high-level, behind-the-scenes string-pulling, they show how Abramoff, now serving a prison term for fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy, relied on key White House contacts, including Susan Ralston, executive assistant to political adviser Karl Rove; Monica Kladakis, then deputy White House personnel chief; and Ken Mehlman, then the White House political director.

Each had ties to Abramoff and his aides. Ralston was an Abramoff assistant at Greenberg before joining Rove's staff in February 2001, Kladakis had worked in the House Republican whip's office with Abramoff aide Tony Rudy, and Mehlman went to Abramoff's house for a Sabbath dinner and saw him at Republican events. Another key participant was Matt Schlapp, then Mehlman's deputy.

Here is a sampling of their 2001 e-mail traffic:

Jan. 29: Rudy to a Greenberg colleague: "We need to get the background material on stayman to ken mehlman. . . . He said he would kill him."

Colleague to Rudy: "What???"

Rudy to colleague: "Mehlman said he would get him fired."

Colleague to Rudy: "Excellent."

At What Scene Did You Walk Out of "You Don't Mess With the Zohan"?

We don't review motion pictures here - but we need to make an exception for this outstanding film - outstanding in its awfulness.

If the title role of Zohan was not an ostensibly Israeli character, there would be zero reason for me to mention this artless dreck.

Suffice it to say that in our opinion there will be no Oscar nominations for Adam Sandler this year unless the Academy adds a category for Worst Actor in a Nauseating Role.

"You Don't Mess With the Zohan" is by far and away one of the most bizarre and obnoxious films of all times, rivaling "Idiocracy" as the most tasteless satirical film in recent memory.

We put a question - a poll - to you our readers who tried to view this film: at which utterly pointless and obnoxious scene did you walk out?... wish you could walk out?... were sorry you took your wife, husband or date to see the flick (or G-d forbid, the children)?

Paradoxically I have to add that if any of you were able to stomach the nonsense, there were some zippy lines and funny scenes.... but phooey, don't go!

Epstein the Inventor Award: turn signal biking jacket

Now this is a smart invention!

Make one yourself. Tutorial >>>

6.23.2008

Video and the WP Blog On the Late George Carlin Ripping Apart Religious Doctrines

Claire Hoffman over at the Washington Post reminds us that George Carlin was a sacreligious comedian, especially skewering religion with his barbed humor.

God loves you - and he needs money!

George Carlin, Adherent of Frisbeetarianism

While it is sad that someone as hilarious as George Carlin is dead, it is a little fun to think about what his afterlife looks like on this fine June morning. Is it a place, as he once speculated, where Joe Pesci might rule with a baseball bat and fine acting skills?

Carlin was one of the great living satirists of religion and in particular what happens to us when we die. Carlin consistently called bullshit on religion, accusing organized belief systems of being the ultimate hustle/fairy tale? "When it comes to bullshit, big-time, major league bullshit, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims, religion. No contest. No contest. Religion. Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told," he said.

Carlin grew up Roman Catholic in Washington Heights and from early on seemed to delight in mocking religion -- even going so far as to invent his own religion -- Frisbeetarianism -- for a newspaper contest, which he defined as the belief that when a person dies "his soul gets flung onto a roof, and just stays there", and cannot be retrieved. Here's Carlin on religion, full form and full throttle.

R.I.P., or on a rooftop somewhere.

Foreign Affairs: "Why Gentile Americans Back the Jewish State"

What is the impetus for the US support of Israel? It's not the Jewish lobby, it's the American people. Hat tip to John for sending the link.

The New Israel and the Old
Why Gentile Americans Back the Jewish State

Walter Russell Mead
From Foreign Affairs, July/August 2008

Summary: The real key to Washington's pro-Israel policy is long-lasting and broad-based support for the Jewish state among the American public at large.

WALTER RUSSELL MEAD is Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author, most recently, of God and Gold: Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World.

On May 12, 1948, Clark Clifford, the White House chief counsel, presented the case for U.S. recognition of the state of Israel to the divided cabinet of President Harry Truman. While a glowering George Marshall, the secretary of state, and a skeptical Robert Lovett, Marshall's undersecretary, looked on, Clifford argued that recognizing the Jewish state would be an act of humanity that comported with traditional American values. To substantiate the Jewish territorial claim, Clifford quoted the Book of Deuteronomy: "Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them." ...more

6.22.2008

WP: McCain Campaign Surrounded by Schizophrenia

The right wing has no serious message content now, or ever.

McCain stands for less than nothing. Less government, less taxes, less progress, fewer rights, no change, let the ganovim roam free.

Wait, check that, McCain is for something -- 100 years of war in and/or the occupation of Iraq.

Anyhow that's an opinion from a biased left wing progressive (me).

Let's hear what McCain's right wing buddies think of him today:

"I'm baffled that the McCain guys have somehow managed to take a guy who practically had 'reform' tattooed to his forehead and turned him into the bastion of the status quo," said one Republican strategist, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The veteran strategist, who has not been asked to join the campaign, said the "devastating me-too chorus from Bush and [Vice President ] Cheney" on oil drilling is a "great example of the schizophrenia that surrounds their campaign."

There's more in today's WP article, and it sure ain't purty.

[He has such a nice smile - especially considering all the heroic suffering and torture he endured forty years ago, prior to his disgraceful confession. ("I am a black criminal and I have performed the deeds of an air pirate. I almost died and the Vietnamese people saved my life, thanks to the doctors.") But he is a hero because, heck as he says, "Every man has a breaking point. I had reached mine." Poor me. I thought heroes shoot down lots of enemies and never confess, no matter what. Show how little I know.]

NBC Sports: Apology for Saying Rocco Looks Like the Guy Who Cleans Tigers Swimming Pool

I heard the crack and wondered what in the world was this announcer thinking? Imagine if the remark were the other way around - Tiger looks like the guy who cleans Rocco's swimming pool - Miller would be gone from broadcasting in a millisecond.

And why did it take a week for the story to break and the apology to come out?

I for one am happy to have a vacation from Tiger. Sorry of course for his injury. But his mechanical dominance of the sport both amazed and disconcerted me.

Miller apologizes for comments on Mediate
NBC Sports commentator says description had nothing to do with ethnicity

NEW YORK - NBC Sports golf analyst Johnny Miller apologized for his description of U.S. Open runner-up Rocco Mediate, saying the comments had "absolutely nothing to do with his ethnicity.''

Mediate, a 45-year-old Pennsylvanian of Italian heritage, held a one-stroke lead over Tiger Woods during the fourth round Sunday. Miller said Mediate "looks like the guy who cleans Tiger's swimming pool.'' He also said, "Guys with the name 'Rocco' don't get on the trophy, do they?''

"I apologize to anyone who was offended by my remarks,'' Miller said in a statement Friday through NBC. "My intention was to convey my affection and admiration for Rocco's everyman qualities and had absolutely nothing to do with his ethnicity. I chose my words poorly and in the future will be more careful.''

Woods beat Mediate in a playoff that lasted 19 holes for his third U.S. Open title.

Times: Israel Dreads Peace?

Our local Jewish newspaper, The Times, confuses me with its coverage of some stories. This week as a truce with Hamas began, the Times announced that Israel entered a, "Season of Dread."

It's real silly to try to characterize the mood of a nation. Jimmy Carter effectively ended his political career by declaring America was in the grips of a malaise. Now Ethan Bronner, following the lead of editorialists in Israel, headlines the Jewish state's mood of "Dread."

To Bronner et. al. I say, Get thee to a therapist who will adjust your cognition of reality. I don't mean the reality of your moods. I mean the reality of rockets falling on peoples' heads.

Those decrying the "calm" of a truce, saying that it results in a mood of "dread" that a fearsome storm is brewing just over the hill, are alarmists, arms dealers or just plain bloodthirsty warriors.

The preferred human condition is "calm and confidence" not "fear and dread."

Bronner does call up by observation another salient facet of the Jewish condition across the ages. Living by the biblical script, the Jewish nation at once sees itself as the star case of the world's hit Broadway show or epic opera whose dramatic action alternates between the great scenes of universal destiny and the small scenes of local human dramas.

If that's how you want to live, as actors in a scripted drama, with sturm und drang, fear and dread, that's fine with me.

But I'm closing my door, pulling down my shades, and dancing a jig for every truce that is announced.

'Cause I like calm now better than storms now and I like peace today better than war today and I like no rockets and no suicide bombers better than big booms.

And I am not afraid of tomorrow. I always prepare for tomorrow's worst case scenarios and concurrently hope and work to extend today's calm and peace to tomorrow.

The World
Israel in the Season of Dread
By ETHAN BRONNER

JERUSALEM — After a year of painful violence — Hamas rockets flying into Israeli communities, soldiers killed and wounded on forays into Gaza — one might have expected the start of a six-month cease-fire with Hamas to be hailed here as good news. Yet what was the front page headline in Maariv newspaper that day? “Fury and Fear.”

That says a great deal about the mood in Israel, a widely shared gloom that this nation is facing alarming threats both from without and within. Seen from far away, last week must have offered some hope that the region was finally at, or near, a turning point: the truce with Hamas, negotiated by Egypt, started on Thursday; other Palestinian-Israeli talks were taking place on numerous levels that both sides said were opening long-closed issues; there were also Turkish-mediated Israeli negotiations with Syria, and a new offer to yield territory to Lebanon along with a call for direct talks between Jerusalem and Beirut.

But it looked very different here. Most Israelis consider the truce with Hamas an admission of national failure, a victory for a radical group with a vicious ideology. As they look ahead, Israelis can’t decide which would be worse, for the truce to fall apart (as polls show most expect it to do), or for Hamas actually to make it last, thereby solidifying the movement’s authority in Palestinian politics over the more secular Fatah. Moreover, most think that Syria should not get back the Golan Heights — its ostensible aim in talking with Israel — and that the truces and negotiations amount to little without the return of captured Israeli soldiers held for the past two years.

Indeed, the “fury” in the headline of Maariv, a mass-selling center-right paper, was at the failure, in the Hamas deal, to free Cpl. Gilad Shalit, still held by Hamas after being seized two years ago. And the “fear” was about the fates of two other Israeli soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, who had been captured by the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. The militia seems to be on the verge of completing a prisoner swap with Israel, but most everyone here dreads that the two Israelis are dead, and the swap will involve only their remains.

The backdrop for all of this is the fear of Iran’s growing power and the world’s inability so far to stop it from working on atomic weaponry. But it is not only foreign relations that so depresses the Israeli public. It is also that their political system is in crisis with the leaders under investigation and feuding among themselves.

“It is not ‘the situation’ that darkens the mood here in Israel,” wrote Yossi Sarid, a longtime leftist politician, in an opinion article in the newspaper Haaretz. “It is the lack of exit from the situation. There is not really any hope for change. Who will rescue us from depression? Who will give us expectations?”

Mr. Sarid said Israelis envied those Americans who are pinning hopes on Barack Obama as representing a new generation of leaders; Israel, he said, is stuck with the same leaders who never go away.

Sasson Sara, a 57-year-old grocery store owner in Sderot, the town in southern Israel that should be happiest that the Hamas rockets have been stopped, seemed to confirm this contempt for the leadership when the truce with Hamas was announced. “To me, this is an agreement of surrender, like Chamberlain,” he said, referring to British appeasement of Hitler in the 1930s.

Asked if he was really comparing Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, to Neville Chamberlain, Mr. Sara said: “Olmert is a bit younger. But he is tired. He acted to save himself. All this ‘calm’ agreement will take a heavy price from us in the future.”

Mr. Sara’s use of the word “calm” (“regiah” in Hebrew) was telling. No one quite knows what to call the current accord. Many use the Arabic word “tahadiya,” which is what Hamas has chosen; the word means not quite a truce, not quite a cease-fire, but some temporary cessation of hostilities.

The Israelis have chosen the word “calm,” which Doron Rosenblum, a longstanding and offbeat Haaretz columnist, notes, “brings to mind the clichéd cinematic images of raging mental patients being brought into a hospital. Someone ran wild in the cuckoo’s nest, was given a jolt of electricity or a tranquilizer, and is now blinking quietly in his padded cell.”

One point many commentators made last week is that while there may be a state of “calm” with Hamas, there is still nothing resembling that between Mr. Olmert and his defense minister, Ehud Barak. They remain at war. And the feuding goes beyond the two of them.

Both of Mr. Olmert’s two main lieutenants, Mr. Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, have called publicly for him to resign over an investigation into whether he took envelopes of cash from an American Jewish businessman. Everyone assumes there will be a new government by year’s end. Yet a vote tentatively planned for the coming week in Parliament, on whether to dissolve itself and trigger new elections, may not happen because so many parliamentarians worry they will not be re-elected.

Meanwhile, Mr. Barak spent part of Friday in a meeting with the families of the missing soldiers, the topic that has most gripped the nation. Interviews with their relatives have dominated coverage in recent days because it was widely assumed that no self-respecting Israeli government would accede to a truce with Hamas without getting back Mr. Shalit.

The Israeli Army radio station, which has a wide audience, has been punctuating nearly every hour’s broadcast with an announcement of the need to “bring our sons home.” This is not merely a turn of phrase suggesting a collective conceit; Israelis relate to one another like members of a large family, and the gnawing pain felt by Mr. Shalit’s parents is widely shared in a country where the vast majority of young people serve in the military.

In fact, one of the most striking things about Israel’s internal political conversation is how personal it is. This is a tiny country of seven million that often finds itself at the center of international debate. And while Israelis often complain about this — why aren’t hundreds of journalists and human rights activists worried about North Korea or Uganda or Saudi Arabia? — they also take an odd pride in it, as if it were evidence of their secret suspicion that world history really does revolve around the fate of the Jews and their homeland.

The result is a public discourse that amounts to a bizarre mix of geopolitics and distinctly local news. It is not out of character for the morning radio broadcast to spend 10 minutes on whether Syria is building a nuclear weapon followed by 10 minutes on a young bride whose wedding was ruined when one of the sound system speakers fell on her foot. Since both are given equal weight, it can be hard to separate out the pain of one family from the strategic needs of the state. This makes it challenging for Israelis to step back far enough to gain a view of what is happening.

Tony Blair, the former prime minister of Britain, who has spent part of the past year as an international envoy to the Palestinians, said on Thursday that it could be very hard for everyone involved to gain a grasp on this conflict.

“The view of what is happening here tends to lurch between unjustified optimism — pretty rare, actually — to unnecessarily bleak pessimism, which is more common,” he said in a conversation in his Jerusalem offices. “There is a cease-fire now and both sides think the other’s commitment is tactical rather than strategic.”

He added that, as he now understands it, what started in late 2000 when the second Palestinian uprising began and Israel counterattacked was “a complete breakdown in the credibility of peace.” For most of the time since then, he said, no one on either side took the prospect of peace seriously. Now, he argues, that must change, adding, “It is our job, step by step, to rebuild the credibility of that process.”

6.21.2008

Suburbanite: Election Tempest in Teaneck Teapot

Democracy is a delicate entity that can be broken by politicians who act like bulls in a china shop. We don't want that in our sleepy little towns.

Poll watchers
by Howard Prosnitz - June 17, 2008

Council requests due process for fired workers

The council approved a resolution asking the County Board of Elections to give due process to two Teaneck women who were fired from their jobs as election poll watchers. Albertha Shumpert and Pansy Grossman were fired by Board of Election Commissioner Eileen DeBari following a May 13 incident at the Bryant School polling place. The council’s action came near the end of a long and contentious council meeting on June 11 attended by more than 100 residents, including many from the northeast, who spoke in support of the two women, and a large number of Orthodox Jews.

According to Board of Education president Dr. Henry Pruitt, a resident of the northeast, an anonymous flyer had circulated in the West Englewood section, where many Orthodox Jews live, urging residents to attend the council meeting to support Mayor Elie Y. Katz because a (verbal) attack was being planned against him. Katz is an Orthodox Jew.

"Something is going on that is organized to divide the black and Jewish communities, and the council needs to show leadership to stop it," Pruitt told the council.

But most of the residents of the northeast spoke not to attack Katz, but to support Shumpert and Grossman.

Carbone explains incident

The poll workers were fired after New Milford resident Keith Carbone, a town-wide challenger for Councilman Elnatan Rudolph, who was up for reelection, was denied permission by poll watchers to look at the vote tally registered on the voting machines in district 14, at Bryant School.

Carbone said he had driven to the polling place with Rudolph, who waited outside in his car while Carbone went in.

In an interview, Carbone said that he had acted in compliance with the law. He said the poll watchers were rude and hostile to him and did not have the right to refuse him permission to look at the vote tally.

Carbone said that challengers are prohibited from interfering with voting. While some challengers are assigned specific polling places, others are authorized to visit them all. Carbone said that challengers have the legal right to know the number of votes cast in a specific district.

Although he said that he was holding his challenger badge in his hand when speaking to the poll watchers, he acknowledged that he had left his certification as a challenger in the car. Only the certification had his name, he said.

When he initially entered the polling place, he spoke to neither Grossman nor Shumpert, Carbone said, but to an unidentified male poll watcher who refused him permission to read the tally. Carbone said the poll worker threatened to call the police.

Carbone said he then left the building and returned to the car, where he explained the situation to Rudolph, who then went into the building. Carbone remained in the car and called DeBari, one of the four County Board of Election Commissioners, who assured him that he had acted properly. However, Carbone said that when he attempted to re-enter the building, he was met by a poll watcher who told him that Rudolph had left and that the police had been summoned.

Township police were soon joined by DeBari and Charles Zisa, who is listed in county documents as one of the commissioners, although, according to attorney Martin Cramer, who is representing the two poll workers in a suit against the board of elections, Zisa is disqualified to serve because he has filed an application to run for state assembly.

When DeBari spoke to the two women, they were "cold and suspicious" said Carbone, who by this time was in the building.

"The women were nasty to her. She told them that she was their boss. They said they had never heard of her," Carbone said.

DeBari went over to the machines and provided Carbone with the tally.

But Cramer in a press conference last week at Shumpert’s Van Buskirk Road home, said that after Rudolph entered the polling place, he became loud and had used his cell phone to call DeBari. Use of a cell phone is prohibited in polling places.

Shumpert has been a Teaneck poll worker for 17 years and Grossman for 13, Cramer said.

Residents/Councilmembers react

Speaking at the June 10 council meeting, Shepard Avenue resident Mildred Tucker said that Carbone, Rudolph and the commissioners had been disrespectful to the poll workers.

"The incident is a direct attempt by the Bergen County Democratic Organization to interfere with our nonpartisan government. It is a shame that loyal poll workers are being used as sacrificial lambs," Tucker said.

Councilwoman Jacqueline Kates noted that the majority of the challengers were not Teaneck residents and that many were county employees.

"We were always a diverse community but our elections were not determined by money from Bergen County Democratic Organization," Kates said.

The May 13 election was not the first time there was a complaint against Shumpert.

In a letter to Board of Elections Chair Peter Incardone dated April 21, 2008, Township Clerk Lissette Aportela-Hernandez requested that Shumpert be prohibited from working in polling places in the township. The letter alleges that Shumpert had been verbally abusive to Jennifer Hodges, an employee of the municipal clerk’s office, during the school board election on April 15.

Hodges had visited the Bryant School polling place as a representative of the clerk’s office. Aportela-Hernandez wrote that it is customary for her office to send a representative to every polling place in the township on election days.

"When Ms. Hodges…arrived at District 13 and introduced herself, Ms. Shumpert abruptly demanded to see an identification from her. Ms. Hodges advised Ms. Shumpert that she did not have a name tag, at which time Ms. Shumpert refused to speak with Ms. Hodges."

Hodges went to her car and returned to the polling place with her election official placard. Shumpert then telephoned the clerk’s office, using her cell phone, and spoke to employee Jaime Evelina.

"Ms. Shumpert began to direct her verbal abuse toward Ms. Evelina," Hernandez wrote.

After Hodges informed Shumpert that it was improper to use the cell phone at the polling place, Shumpert went outside the building, Aportela-Hernandez wrote.

"Ms. Shumpert should be advised that her behavior was unacceptable, inappropriate, harassing and will not be tolerated," the letter concludes. Grossman was not mentioned in the letter.

Funniest Information Technology Video: The Medieval Help Desk

"Are you sure I won't lose any text?"

Worth a repost! Funnnnny.

6.20.2008

SF Gate: Brian Horwitz, the Giants' Rabbi

'Rabbi' wants to be known for his talent
Rusty Simmons, Chronicle Staff Writer

According to Baseball Almanac, Brian Horwitz is the 159th Jewish player to make the majors and is known by his teammates as "Rabbi."

Though he embraces mail he receives from Jewish fans and laughs about his nickname, the Giants' reserve outfielder wants to distinguish himself by more than his religion.

"Being Jewish is what makes me unique on this team," he said. "I understand it's rare, but I'm a baseball player who just happens to be Jewish. Hopefully, I'll eventually do something on the field that sets me apart."

Horwitz hasn't wasted any time making his name as a hitter, hitting two home runs in his first 13 major-league at-bats. Since being called up from Triple-A Fresno on May 30, he's 7-for-24 (.292).

In 425 minor-league games, Horwitz compiled a .319 average, winning batting titles in the Northwest League in 2004 and in the South Atlantic League in 2005. Baseball America dubbed him as the player with the best strike-zone discipline in the Giants' organization, so his immediate success hasn't surprised him.

"I know I can hit. I know if I get enough at-bats, if I get 100 at-bats, I'm going to put 30 hits out there," he said. "If I don't, I expect more of myself. I know what I've done, and I know what I can do. I know the pitchers are better, but it's still baseball."

Horwitz's confidence comes from a history of perseverance. He was the fourth outfielder in Fresno at the beginning of the season, and he went undrafted as a senior at Cal after turning down a contract with the A's after his junior season.

"The two days of the draft were probably the worst two days of my life," he said. "I've kind of been doubted my whole career, and that's fine with me. It's fuels the fire."

Horwitz's comments came in five-minute increments as he went into the cage for extra batting practice, then tracked down coach Roberto Kelly for outfield drills, then wanted to hit some more.

"From Day 1, he wanted to know what it would take to get to and stay in the big leagues," said Bobby Evans, the Giants' director of player personnel. "He wasn't satisfied with just advancing to the next level, and he won't be satisfied with just being here. He always wants more."

Reliever Alex Hinshaw, who played the better part of four minor-league seasons with Horwitz, saw that motivation from the beginning. He said Horwitz won't let him win in pool or cards.

"He's always got the highest goals set, and he won't stop," Hinshaw said. "If Brian Horwitz wants to be an All-Star, he'll be an All-Star. He won't let anyone tell him differently, and he won't let anyone get in his way."

The stigma about Jewish athletes was characterized in the movie "Airplane," which had this exchange:

"Would you like something to read?"

"Do you have anything light?"

"How about this leaflet, 'Famous Jewish Sports Legends.' "

Horwitz is the first Jewish player on the Giants since the 1995-96 tenure of pitcher Jose Bautista. In 1923, when the New York Giants tried to trump up publicity by advertising Mose Solomon as "That Rabbi of Swat," playing across town from Babe Ruth, "The Sultan of Swat."

Star Jewish players, like Sandy Koufax and Shawn Green, have remained few and far between, but last season was a banner year. Milwaukee's Ryan Braun was the National League Rookie of the Year, and Kevin Youkilis was a key component of Boston's World Series win.

"There are prejudices that run deep, but today, with the advent of international players, a great deal of that is gone," said Al Rosen, the Giants' former president and general manager. He recently was inducted into the Jewish Hall of Fame, and at 84, is up-to-date on the statistics of today's Jewish players. "There's no more bench-jockeying. There used to be some very nasty things coming out of the dugout. It's different now, and it should be."

Though Horwitz said he doesn't observe every aspect of Judaism and hasn't researched the history of Jewish players, he was struck by a documentary about Hank Greenberg. This year is the 75th anniversary of the Tigers' first baseman's rookie season, from which he became baseball's first great Jewish player.

"I had to be sitting in my hotel room at that exact time, had to turn to that channel at that exact time and they had to be playing that show at that exact time," Horwitz said. "Things happen for a reason, and things are really coming together for me right now.

"Stars are aligning. Things are happening. Opportunities are coming."

Talented Jewish Artists: Dina Kantor

Jaakov, Helsinki, 2006 from the Finnish & Jewish series

Dina Kantor is a Brooklyn-based photographer who began her career photographing for the Minneapolis City Pages. She received her MFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in 2007, and her BA in journalism and studio arts from the University of Minnesota. Dina’s photographs have been featured in various publications including Photo District News. She was named to Heeb Magazines Heeb 100 list in 2007 and has received grants from both the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Finlandia Foundation National. Her photographs have been exhibited nationwide.

About the Photograph:

At the time that this image was made, Jaakov had recently graduated from the Jewish day school in Helsinki and had moved on to a public high school. Jaakov is the son of an American Jewish father, and a Finnish mother who converted. This photo is from a series of portraits that I have been making of the members of the Jewish community in Finland. Finland has a population of 5.3 million people, with only an estimated 1,500 Jews (and just two synagogues). I am interested in how such a small community maintains its cultural identity.

My mother was born in Finland and emigrated to America as a child in 1947. Almost thirty years later, when she married my father, she converted to Judaism. I began photographing in Finland as a way to explore my own heritage, but as the project continues, it has come to embody a larger exploration.

With these pictures, I am investigating the ways in which photography contributes to the construction of identity and community. Today’s society is increasingly complex and multi-cultural. As our heritages blend, our identities are no longer definable by a generic social stereotype of community, but by our unique experiences and backgrounds. Photography has an intrinsic ability to record details. I am employing it to record cultural signifiers and traditions as they blend, as well as to depict physical characteristics of a hybridized community.

Posted by Geoffrey Hiller in Finland. On Verve Photo: Photographer and photo editor Geoffrey Hiller has created Verve to feature photos and interviews by the finest young image makers today. Verve is a reminder of the power of the still image. Verve will also point you to new photo agencies, publications and inspiring multimedia projects.

[disclaimer: dina was a classmate of my son barak]

Talented Jewish Artists: Fay Grajower

Fay writes:

On the occasion of my exhibit, where the past meets the future, at the Galicia Museum in Krakow, Poland July 1 – October 31, 2008, I have produced a handmade Folio of limited edition prints. The installation is a mosaic wall of 108 mixed media works on wood, each 9.5 square inches. The works are inspired by old photos and stories of life in Krakow and Galicia pre-WWII. Each piece stands alone as an individual painting of a story, place, object or stone of memory that together form a revived world steeped in its past and as it looks toward its future.

Of the 108 pieces, 16 are reproduced on archival paper, true to size, signed and numbered. Several images from the Folio are attached for your review. All prints are suitable for individual framing.

Contact: GRAJOWERstudio 617-697-4492 www.grajowerstudio.com opening july 1 at the Galicia Museum where the past meets the future www.jewishfestival.pl/

[disclaimer: fay and I were classmates at manhattan day school]

6.19.2008

McCain in Minnesota Explains Why He Decides to Take Public Financing

Straight-talking John McCain could not get any straighter in his talk than he does in answering a question asked to him on his Straight-Talk Express Bus in Minnesota:

On the Straight Talk Express bus from the airport to the hotel in Minneapolis, McCain said that his campaign has decided that it will accept public financing for the general election. “We will take public financing,” he said. Asked what his thinking was, he said, “Because we decided to take public financing.”

Yesiree John, thanks for clarifying that.

Onion: Man Who Used Stick To Roll Ball Into Hole In Ground Praised For His Courage

SAN DIEGO—A man who used several different bent sticks to hit a ball to an area comprised of very short grass surrounding a hole in the ground was praised for his courage Monday after he used a somewhat smaller stick to gently roll the ball into the aforementioned hole in fewer attempts than his competitors. "What guts, what confidence," ESPN commentator Scott Van Pelt said of the man, who was evidently unable to carry his sticks himself, employing someone else to hold the sticks and manipulate the flag sticking out of the hole in the ground while he rolled the ball into it. "You have to be so brave, so self-assured, so strong mentally to [roll a ball into a hole in the ground]. Amazing." The man in question apparently hurt his knee during this activity.

Sorry Tiger. This is just too funny.

Community Unity Day: Noon Sunday in Teaneck at Votee Park

UNITY DAY – JUNE 22, 2008 – VOTEE PARK

Join us on June 22, 2008 at Votee Park and the Rhodda Center as we celebrate Teaneck’s diversity and discover what unites us as a community. An introduction of what we can all enjoy each and every day, right here, in Teaneck!

June 22 from noon to 8:00pm in Votee Park will be a day full of fun and exciting activities for the entire family. FREE - Local entertainment, rides (sensitive for special needs), games, sporting events, face painting and much more including informative interactive workshops at the Rhodda Center with a Community Information Fair showcasing some of the many wonderful organizations involved within our town.

A shopping “bazaar” of Teaneck vendors and ethnic foods showcasing some of Teaneck's diverse eateries including Asian (Indian), Classic American, Kosher, Soul Food, Vegetarian dishes, enjoy Cotton Candy, Popcorn, Cheese Pizza and Icee Pops, all these will be available as well!

And to top it all off and in conjunction with Unity Day, straight from off-Broadway, “Piaf: Love Conquers All”, a one woman show, which is the latest production of the Teaneck Festival of the Arts (TFOA) at the Garage Theatre in residence at FDU’s Becton Theatre on June 21st at 8pm and June 22 at 2pm. (TFOA and Unity Day are projects of the Puffin Foundation.)

Have a business in town, participate as a local vendor in the bazaar (restricted to non food items), only $50.00 per slot. Want to add other foods to our selection? Want to highlight your organization, participate in the “Community Information Fair”. Looking for ways to help, be involved, gain visability? In addition to attending, help sponsor one of the many events, ie banners for the event, fuel for the generators for the rides, items for door prizes/give aways. See how you can help make it all happen and be a part of Unity Day. Contact Angelae Wilkerson at teaneckunityday@gmail.com, also to receive updates and reminders via e-mail.

6.18.2008

New Book "Islam for Jews" Fills a Much-Needed-Gap in the Study of Religions

First, I assure you that this is a serious book, not a humorous or satirical work.

It does not start out saying something like, "Yiddlach, of all the other meshuggenah religions which we know are not (G-d Forbid) of any interest to you, the one called Islam is especially..." Well you get the point.

So you ask how does the book really start?

An Introduction to Islam for Jews
By Reuven Firestone

View a short, slick and meaningless video about this book and author.

Access and/or download a sampling of pages from An Introduction to Islam for Jews [648 KB PDF].... page one....

Sorry but this appears to be the introduction to quite an immature and naive approach. Any properly edited book bearing this title would say something meaningful on the very first page about the writer's approach to the study of religions and would never ever say, "It is fascinating to learn the complex ways in which we are both so similar and so different from one another." Never say something that empty of meaning anywhere in a serious book.

Is Howard Jonas, Bastion of Modern Orthodox Philanthropy, Captain of the Sinking Ship of IDT?

There comes a point when you must take a look at what will happen to certain Jonas-supported modern Orthodox Jewish institutions as Howard Jonas' Good Ship IDT continues to sink.

IDT has lost more than 80% of its market capitalization value in the past year!

Tune in tomorrow to hear the explanation.

IDT Corporation Chairman Howard Jonas to Address Shareholders on June 19th

NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IDT Corporation’s founder and Chairman of the Board, Howard Jonas, will host a conference call to discuss the company’s recent performance and current financial position, and to reaffirm its commitment to meeting the financial objectives set forth during the third quarter’s earnings call. The call is scheduled for Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 4:30 PM (Eastern).

Participants may join the conference call in two ways–via webcast or teleconference. The webcast may be accessed by visiting the IDT Corporation website at www.idt.net, or by using this hyperlink: http://www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID=131102

Silly Salon Speculation of the Day: Discussion of a McCain-Lieberman Ticket

Is this silly season in the presidential campaign? There is zero chance of a McCain- Lieberman ticket. Yet Salon discusses it as serious possibility:

...in a presidential year filled with firsts (African-American nominee, serious woman candidate, former POW to be his party's standard-bearer), Lieberman retains the intriguing potential to become the first Jewish, party-crossing, second-time-around vice-presidential nominee in American history...more

Watch Out: Amazon Started Charging Sales Tax on New York Deliveries

Answer to my inquiry to Amazon about why I was charged sales tax on a Father's Day gift that I sent to my dad in NY...

Greetings from Amazon.com.

I'm sorry for any misunderstanding regarding sales tax charged on your order. ...

As required by the law, we began collecting New York sales tax on taxable items sold by Amazon on June 1, 2008...

Additionally, Amazon has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the newly enacted New York State law requiring out-of-state sellers to collect and remit sales tax based on advertising in New York.

Please note that if you placed an order prior to June 1, your Order Total may not have included an estimate of New York sales taxes, but those taxes may still be charged if your order is readied for shipment on or after that date.

At this time, we are unable to predict the outcome of this lawsuit, including the fate of the New York sales tax amounts collected by Amazon and remitted to the State of New York.

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com.

Vatican: Pius XII Did as Much as He Could [to help Jews] Under the Circumstances

There is some tension brewing over a new exhibit commemorating Pius XII.

You would think that the church would have by now a collection of explicit examples of how Pius XII and the Vatican confronted the Holocaust, rather than the generalities and rhetoric that they are still propagating. Apparently not. Apparently it the fault of the WJC that there is so little out there!? Oy vey.

From FaithWorld at Reuters:

“It is our hope that this solemn commemoration of such a great pope will offer impetus for more and deeper research without prejudice on his work,” Monsignor Walter Brandmüller, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historic Sciences, said in his prepared speech.

Later, in a question and answer session, Brandmüller lost his cool just a bit and expressed irritation at questions about calls for more opening of the Vatican archives. He effectively said the archives of Jewish organisations such as the World Jewish Congress should be more open and used more, suggesting that scholars would find material supporting the Vatican’s view that Pius did as much as he could under the circumstances.

Addressing a separate issue, Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said the commemorations were in no way intended to promote efforts to beatify Pius, which would put him on the path to sainthood. “These two things are completely different,” he said.

Jewish groups were surprised by Brandmüller’s comments, saying their archives are and always were wide open. It’s unlikely this is the last we hear — from either side — on this issue.

6.17.2008

Times: Brooklyn's Black Hasidim from Omaha

The theory of news behind this piece:

"You got a catchy picture, now you need a story."

Big City
A Young Man From Omaha, Who May Perfectly Represent Brooklyn
By SUSAN DOMINUS

Moments before Yosef Abrahamson, 16, accepted an award for the essay he’d written in a competition sponsored by the Police Athletic League, an officer approached him to complain about his fedora. The hat, an essential wardrobe item for Hasidic men, was gaudy, the policeman told him, and what’s with all these kids today and their nose rings and their attitudes. A second police officer, overhearing the conversation, came over to steer away the first one, who reappeared a few minutes later to apologize. He’d never seen a Hasidic Jew, he told Yosef.

A policeman working in New York who’d never seen a Hasidic Jew? What he probably meant, Yosef theorized, was “that he’d never seen a Hasidic Jew of color. I think he was probably making some assumptions there.”

Thanks to his Egyptian father, who left the family when Yosef was young, and his maternal grandfather, who was of African descent by way of Panama, Yosef looks African-American (though his family prefers to describe themselves as Jews of color, believing their culture to be exclusively Jewish). Yosef moved to Crown Heights only a year ago, until then having lived in Omaha, where his mother’s maternal family, German Jewish merchants, had settled several generations earlier.

If Yosef, who attends the yeshiva Darchai Menachem in Crown Heights, ever finds himself writing a college application essay, his advisers would have a hard time choosing which of his compelling story lines would most dazzle those college admissions officers: The story of growing up in the only Hasidic family in Omaha? Or the story of being the only student of color in his yeshiva? Or maybe the story of being the only Hasidic person of color in Omaha’s competitive ice skating circuit?

Despite the friendships he made while ice skating, a hobby his mother encouraged to round him out, life in Omaha was “a bit lonely,” Yosef admitted last week while eating a Kosher hamburger on Albany Avenue with his mother and his older sister, Sarah, 22. His mother, Dinah, who joined the Chabad-Lubavitch movement after seeing videos of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson several years ago, home-schooled both of her children.

Yosef was obviously sheltered from too much scrutiny from the outside world, but the surprising combination of his race and his particular form of religious observance fazed no one in Omaha — for all the average person knew in Omaha, all Hasidic Jews were of African descent, his mother said. When friends from Nebraska first visited New York, they were fascinated to meet some white Hasids for the first time.

It was easier for Ms. Abrahamson to raise her children in Omaha than it would have been in Crown Heights, she said.

“People are laid-back in Omaha,” she said. “It’s different there.”

Omaha is not, for example, a place where race relations between Jews and blacks have exploded into days of riots, as they did in Crown Heights in 1991; nor have the police in Omaha ever deemed it necessary to set up mobile command centers to monitor simmering tensions between Jews and blacks, as the New York police did last month in the Brooklyn neighborhood in response to two unrelated physical altercations.

A young man like Yosef could easily start to feel like a powerful symbol, rather than just a kid, the human embodiment of that famously controversial Art Spiegelman New Yorker cover depicting a Hasidic man embracing an African-American woman.

But life in Crown Heights is somehow less complicated than that for Yosef, a tall, athletic young man who seems to have internalized Omaha’s easygoing ways (and its broad Midwestern accent). Beyond the misunderstanding at the awards ceremony — of which Yosef said, “It was a bit strange, but really, I understand” — he says he has felt comfortable in Crown Heights from the moment he came there to advance his education.

Through summer camps and occasional trips to New York, the Abrahamsons were already familiar to the Jewish community in Crown Heights when he arrived last fall (the community has only a handful of other black families). The response from the African-American community has been, if anything, amazement. “Now I’ve seen everything,” an African-American man said three or four times as he passed Yosef and his mother and his sister walking home from synagogue.

Some black neighbors recently asked Ms. Abrahamson questions about the meaning of some Lubavitch fliers they had received in the mail. The family sensed that the neighbors had long been harboring those questions but had felt a certain comfort level with the Abrahamsons because of their shared skin color.

If there have been resentful or disapproving responses from either side, they have apparently gone as far over Yosef’s head as the references his ice skating friends used to make to movies or television shows he’d never seen.

The ease with which both communities have received Yosef seems a little unlikely, but appropriate in the year of what some call the country’s first post-racial presidential campaign. Except that the Abrahamsons consider themselves “post-racial, for real,” said Ms. Abrahamson, a Republican delegate in Nebraska who is not a fan of Mr. Obama. To the contrary, the whole family strongly supports John McCain, and Yosef will be a page at the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities in September.

One more item to add to that list of possible essay topics.

6.16.2008

Is Brown U a Bastion of the Capitalist Radical Right? Of Course!

Is Brown University the great bastion of radical capitalism run amok?

A case can be made for that. Brown did away with traditional distribution requirements for an undergraduate degree -- one sure way to guarantee that cultural pluralism courses will not be mandatory. Muddled "Modes of Thought" courses replaced the analysis of disciplinary thinking and seriously diluted any attempts at left wing criticism. That program of anti-Left revision is what Brown enacted under the leadership of "activist" student Ira Magaziner and others in 1969.

But wait. Does Brown sound like a reactionary throwback to the days of yore and a purveyor of radical right wing ideology? Impossible. Crazy!

Nutty? Sure. Except that the plans for modes of thought courses and curricular revisionism were not dreamed up in an epiphany out of the revolutionary left of the 60's.

Read on... from the Wriston regime at Brown in 1953, a Time report:

Monday, Feb. 02, 1953

Wake Up!

President Henry M. Wriston, 63, of Brown University, believes that it is high time for revolution. Last week he announced that he had ripped apart his old curriculum and was starting to sweep it away. Brown, said he, is out to revolutionize the first two years of college.
College, Wriston says, is not only dull, it is often soporific, and "most textbooks are hardly worth reading. If they are not barren of ideas, they are impoverished in that respect." Since 1946 a group of Brown professors, sparkplugged by Vice President Bruce M. Bigelow, has been looking for a solution. Financed by a special $250,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation, Brown's plan is now just about set to go into effect next fall.
At first the plan will be open only to volunteers from the top half of the freshman and sophomore classes. For these students there will be no regular lectures or textbooks. Instead of studying the usual subjects, they will spend their time tracking down ideas. They will read some of the great classics and the best of scholarly commentaries, but "the emphasis," says Bigelow, "will be on analyzing, not on memorizing."
By last week almost every department had drawn up its own tentative blueprints. The English department is planning a course called "the American Dream and American Individualism." As a starter, students will trace these ideas through the novels of Hawthorne, Melville, Henry James and Faulkner, will then go on to study the books and criticisms of scholars.
In political science, they will begin to trace "the development of the concept of liberty" by reading the works of Lord Acton and De Tocqueville. Then, in Renaissance literature, they will be concerned with the development of the individual, and later, when they get into the Reformation, with the individual in relation to God. Their biology may begin with Darwin's Origin of Species, their psychology with the writings of Pavlov; their physics will include the works of Von Helmholtz. Even their foreign languages will be involved in the study of ideas—Voltaire in French, Cervantes in Spanish, Dante in Italian.
As Brown well knows, this sort of education is expensive. Since there will be no mass lectures or I.B.M.-corrected examinations, Brown figures that its professors will be able to take on only one course at a time. To President Wriston however, the price is not too high. "The great mistake in American education from kindergarten through graduate school," says he, "has been an underestimation of the capacity of students . . . The minds of freshmen need to be awakened [to] a new adventure."

Yes, Thomas J. Watson, Jr. ’37 called Wriston “the greatest president Brown ever had.” And we all know about the political and social visions of TJW Jr. '37.

Homerun: Adobe Beats Profits Estimates Again

Homerun again for Adobe, world's best software company.

Adobe Systems Inc. on Monday reported second quarter net income of $214.9 million, or 40 cents a share, compared to $152.5 million, or 25 cents a share in the same period last year.

San Jose-based Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) had $886.9 million in revenue, compared to $745.6 million reported for the year-ago quarter.

Adobe's second quarter revenue target range was $855 to $885 million.

"Our strong performance in Q2 was driven by the product mix and geographic diversity of our business," said Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer. "We continue to execute against our strategy, and are well positioned for solid financial performance in the second half of this year and beyond."

Exluding items, the company's income would have been $272.7 million, or 50 cents a share, compared to $223.2 million, or 37 cents a share.

Analysts expected, on average, earnings of 46 cents a share on $880.1 million in revenue.

For the third quarter, Adobe expects revenue of $855 million to $885 million and earnings per share of 34 cents to 36 cents.

6.15.2008

Newsweek asked "Is Barack's Jewish 'Problem' a Myth and we answer, "Yes it is!"

It's a bit unnerving to see Newsweek speak of a politician's "Jewish Problem." Do they think it is cute to borrow rhetoric from European Jewish history so tinged by racism and antiSemitism? I don't agree.

I do agree with the suggestion that Jews will vote in overwhelming numbers for Barack. Except for a few vocal families here in Teaneck, the rest of the Jews I know will be strong for Barack.

Stay tuned for the actual results of the election and the end of a dark era in our nation's history. Someone surely will call the past eight years, "The Great Prevarication."

Obama: Is His Jewish ‘Problem’: A Myth?
Mark Hosenball, Jake Sherman and Richard Wolffe
NEWSWEEK

Barack Obama received a standing ovation when he proclaimed his unwavering support for Israel to the influential lobbying group AIPAC last week. In her own AIPAC speech, Hillary Clinton said she was sure "that Senator Obama will be a good friend to Israel." But Clinton's reassuring words didn't soothe the wounded feelings of some prominent Jewish Obama supporters, who charge that Clinton campaign operatives manufactured fear about Obama's ethnic background and doubt about his loyalty to Israel in an effort to turn Jewish primary voters against him.

Obama has long had a strong core of liberal Jewish supporters in Chicago; his national Jewish support grew as his campaign surged. But so did rumors that he had a "problem" with Jewish voters because of his family background (middle name: Hussein) and that some of his aides held pro-Palestinian views. David Geffen, the Hollywood mogul who once backed the Clintons but turned to Obama, told NEWSWEEK that her campaign bears some responsibility for "an awful lot of disinformation" that sowed doubts about the candidate's support of Israel among "older Jewish voters in Florida." New Jersey Rep. Robert Andrews, an Obama backer, says that two months ago a top Hillary campaign operative told him Obama would have a "hard time winning in November" because of his alleged Jewish problem and indicated Clinton's campaign was going to take advantage of those fears. Andrews says he found such talk "offensive," but he didn't know whether Hillary had sanctioned it. Asked for comment, the Clinton campaign referred NEWSWEEK to an article in the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger, in which spokesman Phil Singer called similar comments by Andrews "sad and divisive."

Obama has trailed Clinton among Jewish voters in polling matchups against John McCain (though both beat him soundly). But Obama has many high-profile Jewish fund-raisers, and aides claim his support among Jews will equal or surpass John Kerry's 75 percent in 2004. McCain has enlisted high-profile help of his own to help win Jewish votes: Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a self-described "independent Democrat" who has criticized Obama's leadership qualities, has agreed to head up a booster group called Citizens for McCain. In a brief but animated Senate floor confrontation last week, according to a campaign aide who asked for anonymity when talking about private discussions, Obama told Lieberman he was surprised by Lieberman's personal attacks and his half-hearted denials of the false rumors that Obama is a Muslim. (The aide says Lieberman was "strangely muted" during the exchange; a Lieberman spokesman says the chat was "private and friendly.") McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker says Lieberman "played a key role in reaching out to the Jewish community in the primary … and you can expect that will continue."

Argentina's AMIA Moves to Exclude 98.5% of the Jewish Community

A little rich on the rhetoric, this post highlights a turn to the right in a major South American Jewish community.

Debate over who’s a “real Jew” roils Argentine Jewish community
Posted by: Hilary Burke

The newly elected president of Argentina’s biggest Jewish community center sparked a firestorm when he was quoted in the press as saying he wanted the group to represent “genuine Jews” who live strictly by the Torah.

Guillermo Borger is the first Orthodox Jew elected to head the AMIA (Argentine Israeli Mutual Association) center in Buenos Aires, which was founded 114 years ago. Argentina’s Jewish community is the largest in Latin America with nearly 200,000 members.

Borger was quoted last weekend by Argentina’s biggest daily newspaper Clarin as saying he planned to “reinforce AMIA’s role in representing genuine Jews.” When asked what made a Jew genuine, he said: “It’s having a life based on all the Torah’s teachings.”

Conservative and secular Jews pounced on the statement, slamming Borger’s comments as narrow and discriminatory. The outgoing president of AMIA, Luis Grynwald, said he included himself among the Jews “who are not ‘genuine,’ and don’t have a life based on what the Torah dictates,” according to the Argentina-based Agencia Judía de Noticias (Jewish News Agency).

“Being Jewish is teaching my children and grandchildren the importance of inclusion, belonging, respect and honesty … each person expresses Judaism in his own way, I do so with pride and great honor,” Grynwald said.

Argentine writer Marcos Aguinis called Borger’s remarks “a medieval step backward,” warning that AMIA could lose members if the group’s pluralistic tradition were scrapped.

Borger came out later in the week, saying he had never said anything to distinguish between genuine and “non-genuine” Jews and adding that he aimed to reinforce AMIA’s role as “the representative of all Jews, without any exclusions.”

“We want an AMIA for everyone that is open and pro-dialogue,” he said in a statement.

Not everyone was put at ease, however, and some AMIA members led a protest against Borger’s comments on Thursday. “Now they say you’re not a Jew unless you’re Orthodox, fundamentalist and religious … that excludes 98.5 percent of the Jewish community,” a middle-aged man told local television.

The AMIA center became international news in 1994, when a bombing there killed 85 people.

Bergen Record: Jews For Jesus Open for Business in Wayne NJ

To understand why Jews cannot believe in Jesus one needs to understand and respect the integrity of both Judaism and Christianity.

A good place to start along this path is Jacob Neusner's book, A Rabbi Talks With Jesus.

Wayne synagogue holds different set of beliefs
BY JOHN CHADWICK
STAFF WRITER
Jonathan Cahn looks like a typical rabbi as he stands at a pulpit, chanting in Hebrew.

But the prominent Star of David behind him serves notice that his congregation is anything but typical.

The six-pointed symbol of Jewish tradition has been changed so that a lamb is at its center, symbolizing Jesus Christ. And banners proclaiming “Yeshua is Messiah” abound. Yeshua is Hebrew for “Jesus.”

Cahn and his congregation, the Beth Israel Worship Center, have set off alarm bells among some Jews in Wayne — the congregation’s new home after years in Garfield.

Known as Messianic Jews, members of Beth Israel recite Hebrew, celebrate Jewish holidays and support Israel.

But they also believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the savior of the world and the redeemer of the Jewish people.

And they think other Jews should join them.

“Lord, we pray for the day when your people welcome you as Messiah,” Cahn preached on a recent Sunday.

That day may never come. Mainstream Jews worship the one God of the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible, and regard Jesus as falling outside Judaism. And many Jewish organizations frown on the Messianic movement, saying it is inherently dishonest.

“They are calling themselves Jewish when they are actually Christian,” said Rabbi Stephen Wylen of Temple Beth Tikvah, a Reform synagogue. “We take it personally, because they use our name.”

He’s not alone. A Jewish community center in Wayne recently enlisted the help of an outside group — Jews for Judaism — to educate young Jews on the Messianic movement and ward off what they fear will be aggressive conversion efforts.

“What’s at stake is the boundaries of Judaism,” said Yishai Freedman, teen coordinator for Jews for Judaism “We can have diversity within Judaism but (belief in Jesus) isn’t Judaism and we need to say very clearly that this is where we draw the line.”

Cahn said he understands the sensitivities of Jews but nonetheless disputed the notion that Jews can’t believe in Jesus. He noted that Jesus was Jewish and that his earliest followers were Jewish.

“The fact is, faith in Jesus started as something completely Jewish,” Cahn said. “Because it was successful, unfortunately, it lost a lot of its Jewishness.”

While the number of Messianic Jews are small – roughly a few hundred congregations nationwide – the movement has had several key successes recently. In Israel, a high court ruling last month will make it easier for some Messianic Jews to become citizens of Israel.

In the United States, the movement has attracted an influx of evangelical Christians. At Beth Israel, for example, more than half the members are of non-Jewish origin.

Annette Iasso, of Lincoln Park, was attending a Pentecostal church 10 years ago when she checked out a service at Beth Israel and was hooked. Now she reads the Old Testament story of Exodus — for Jews a story of liberation — as an allegory for the coming of Christ.

“I was totally amazed when I heard the Hebrew,” said Iasso, who grew up Roman Catholic in Lyndhurst and Nutley. “I felt like I was hearing the voice of God.”

The Messianic movement traces its roots to the early 1970s, when the hippie Jesus movement began attracting young people to Christianity.

“It was part of a whole generation not just buying into their parents’ denomination but exploring a non-traditional means of spiritual satisfaction,” said Susan Perlman of Jews for Jesus, the most well-known Messianic Jewish group. “Some looked to drugs. Some looked to Eastern religion. And some looked to Jesus.”

Despite its countercultural roots, Messianic Jewish congregations don’t necessarily practice the liberal politics associated with the American Jewish community. Some Beth Israel members sound like conservative evangelicals, opposing abortion rights and calling homosexuality a sin.

“When God said something is wrong, it’s wrong,” Iasso said.

And its worship, similar to contemporary evangelical services, is a carefully choreographed experience that includes rock music, computer-controlled displays and enthusiastic worshippers who raise their palms upward to show their reverence.

Cahn told members recently that they are “pioneers,” preparing for the last days when Christ will return. “Jewish people are together with non-Jewish people in messiah . . . that’s the ultimate last thing before he comes again,” he said.

Wylen, the Wayne rabbi who is critical of the Messianic movement, said Jews can respond by providing their children with authentic Jewish spirituality.

“If we actually practice our Judaism and study our Judaism, then they will have no ingress to our children,” Wylen said. “If we feel nervous or afraid of them, it’s because they take away the opportunity to be secular and non-observant while still calling ourselves Jewish.”

Bergen Record Covers Boteach and Booker Shavuot Learning and Fundraising

I like my neighbor Uncle Shmuley. There is no reason why an ambitious rabbi cannot raise a little money and do a little hobnobbing with the upper class.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach introducing his good buddy, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, during an event at the palatial Gloria Crest mansion in Englewood's East Hill section Sunday evening. The two have been friends since their days at Oxford University 16 years ago.

Boteach and Booker: a lasting friendship
BY SCOTT FALLON
STAFF WRITER
ENGLEWOOD — They met in 1992, a black grad student on a Rhodes Scholarship and a young rabbi working at Oxford University. Sixteen years later they have both become public figures, and their friendship has endured.
On Sunday evening, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and best-selling author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach spoke to more than 100 people gathered at one of North Jersey's most palatial estates, about how their friendship rose above cultural and religious mores.
The event at the Gloria Crest mansion in the city's East Hill neighborhood was arranged to raise money for Boteach's Jewish Values Network, an organization to bring Judaism to the American public through the media.
Thousands of dollars were pledged, and guests also celebrated Shavuot, the day the Torah was given to the Jews at Mount Sinai, with Boteach leading a small group of attendees on a discussion and study of the Torah that stretched until 4 a.m. Monday... more

6.14.2008

MSNBC: Angry Afghan Jew Wants a Scotch and Rich Jews Name Toilets for $100,000

THE LAST JEW IN AFGHANISTAN
By Martin Fletcher, NBC News Correspondent

KABUL, Afghanistan – Behind a metal door on Flower Street, past a courtyard piled with junk, up some steep concrete stairs and along a narrow corridor with ornate metal railings in the style of Stars of David, lives the last Jew in Afghanistan.

His home is a side-room off the synagogue; a thin mattress laid along one wall is his bed. In one corner, there is a small table with dusty prayer books, three folding chairs, a crumbling carpet, and a few pictures on the wall, including one of a bearded Hassidic Jew. In the corner by the door, opposite the guest’s chair, there is a small blackboard with his name spelled clearly in chalk: Zebulon Simantov. "So that journalists spell my name correctly," he said.

"Who do you work for?" Simantov asked straightaway.

"NBC News," I answered proudly.

"So can you give me lots of money," he said, his tone turning a question into a blunt demand.

"No, I’m afraid not."

"Did you bring me whiskey?
[tzvee: the interview goes downhill from here...]

Charities get inventive with name-dropping
Contribute: Donors pay more, recipients get inventive with named gifts
By Michael Gross

Last year, the New Museum of Contemporary Art on the Lower East Side of Manhattan may have kicked out the frame of the acceptable. We're not talking about a chocolate Jesus or a crucifix in urine, but that my not be too far off.

As part of a $50 million capital campaign, the museum sold a retired venture capitalist, Jerome L. Stern, 83, the right to see his and his wife Ellen’s names writ large — on the museum’s four restrooms. The $100,000-plus loo coup, The New York Times reported, was the first, not the last, naming opportunity the museum would sell to pay for its new home, which opened in December on the Bowery.

Toilets on the Bowery selling for six figures?..
[tzvee: the story goes uphill from here...Gross wrote the wonderful book 740 Park about NY's most exclusive co-op.]

6.13.2008

Eliyohu Josephson, student at Beth Medrash Govoha Yeshiva in Lakewood Arrested for Scamming $35,700 from Clifton Man

Proving that you can find a bad apple in nearly every barrel... We just hope that this boy acted alone... A criminal in a tight-knit isolated intensely religious community like Lakewood brings an especially strong spotlight of disgrace upon himself and his neighbors.

Clifton man, 78, scammed out of $35,700
BY SARAH SCHILLACI
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD

CLIFTON — A Lakewood yeshiva student who masterminded a sweepstakes scam has been caught, police said, but the Clifton senior citizen who fell victim to the con is still out $35,700.

On May 30, a 78-year-old Clifton resident came into police headquarters to report that he had been the victim of a sweepstakes fraud, police Detective Capt. Robert Rowan said Thursday.

The man said that on May 15 he received a call from a man purporting to be a lawyer named Richard Stevens.

Stevens told the victim he was the second-place winner in a sweepstakes and had won $500,000.

To obtain the money, the caller said, he needed to send a security deposit of $8,300 through Federal Express mail to an address in Lakewood.

The man did so, only to receive a call the next day from an individual who identified himself as Stevens.

Stevens told the Clifton man that the grand prize winner turned out not to be an American citizen and that he was now the grand prize winner. But now he needed to send $16,600 more for security in order to obtain the $1 million prize.

The Clifton man complied.

On May 19, the man received another call from Stevens, who said that a mistake had been made and he needed another $5,000. Later, a man called describing himself as a courier and asking that the man send $3,500 to cover the insurance for the winnings and $2,300 to Toronto for additional insurance.

The Clifton man complied on all three counts.

Later in the month, after not receiving any money, he reported the incidents to the police. Clifton Detective Robert Tillie tracked the Federal Express delivery to the Beth Medrash Govoha yeshiva in Lakewood.

The yeshiva managers cooperated with investigators, who concluded that the man picking up the packages was Eliyohu Josephson, a 23-year-old student at the yeshiva.

Clifton police arrested Josephson Wednesday.

"I would take this opportunity to warn people not to send any kind of money to anyone under any circumstances," said Rowan. "If you won money, you shouldn't be paying money."

Rowan said the Clifton department is currently working with Lakewood police and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office to see if any of the money can be recovered.

6.12.2008

Malkin Lead Story: Our Supreme Court is Killing Americans

Be apocalyptically afraid. People will die, a new Supreme Court ruling “will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed.”

Are we still singing the same scary tune, day in day out? How droll.

To review: I thought we went to war to bring our democracy to Iraq. Now you tell me that our democracy and its laws and way of life should not apply to the people we don't like.

You say that America is perfect and we should force our way of life on the world. But now you say, not our legal guarantees of fairness. Those apply only to our friends. You know, the people on Michelle's list, those are our friends.

Make up your mind Michelle et al. Cause you are sounding more confused every day.

Supreme Court opens up Gitmo lawsuit floodgates; Scalia: “The Nation will live to regret what the Court has done today. I dissent.”

By Michelle Malkin

What’s that sound? The thunder of left-wing lawyers and Gitmo detainees jumping up and down for joy at the Supreme Court’s ruling this morning. Brace yourselves. Dissenting Justice Antonin Scalia warns that the ruling “will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed” and concludes “The Nation will live to regret what the Court has done today. I dissent.”

Chief Justice John Roberts says the rule of law and the American people have lost out–and with this ruling, we “lose a bit more control over the conduct of this Nation’s foreign policy to unelected, politically unaccountable judges...”

And one more thing. You are not scaring anyone anymore with your knee-jerk apocalypticism. 9/11 happened under George Bush, honey. Bush was listening to children reading about a pet goat at the time the planes hit the WTC. That's a fact and that is a scary story.

JTA: Rabbi's Really Bad Idea -- Build Homes On Palestinian Lands On Shabbat

Will any Jew want to live in a home that was built on the say so of a rabbi on Palestinian lands on Shabbat?

There are the halakhic (Jewish legal) violations and concerns, e.g., you hire someone to work on the Shabbat -- it is the same as you directly violating the Shabbat yourself.

Then there is the practical question of whether anyone will want to live in such housing (a) because it will be highly dangerous, i.e., singled out and targeted by Palestinian opponents of the settlement movement and (b) because, to borrow a concept from another religion, it is a true locus of really bad karma.

Rabbi OKs building settlements on Shabbat
A rabbi in a West Bank community has ruled that home construction there can take place on Shabbat.

Ofra Rabbi Avi Gisser's ruling will allow foreign and Palestinian laborers to work seven days a week building new homes in the community located near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in order to complete as many homes as possible before Israel's Supreme Court orders new construction halted.

The fear of an order halting construction comes after Israeli human rights organizations and residents of a Palestinian village next to Ofra brought a complaint to the High Court claiming that nine new homes are being built on privately owned Palestinian land.

According to Jewish law, Jews cannot ask non-Jews to work for them on Shabbat.

Colbert Report Video: Israel National Bird and Kosher Giraffe

"May you emulate the noble long-billed hoopoe by squirting fecal matter at intruders." A riot from America's second funniest South Carolina favorite son and goy extraordinaire.

Watch it for the "Leviticus Update" and the closing with the famous Colbert quip, upon chugging Manischewitz Concord Grape wine, "Omigod, this they are allowed to drink?"

While on the subject of Manischewitz, here is some background from WiseGeek:

Manischewitz is made from the Concord grape, a red grape native to the United States. The family of grapes the Concord hails from, that of Vitis labrusca, is considerably different from the European varieties of Vitis vinifera, and is considered by many in the wine-drinking community to be inferior for use in wine. There is some evidence that Concord grapes themselves, which were cultivated in the mid-19th century, may actually have a small amount of Vitis vinifera, because of the nature of their flowers. Concord grapes are also often used as food grapes in the United States, and are characterized by their large seeds and very poignant aroma. This aroma translates through to wines, such as Manischewitz, made from the grape.

Manischewitz, like many kosher wines, is often noted for its intense sweetness. Early kosher wine-makers such as Manischewitz were faced with a dilemma in the New World, where they did not have access to high-quality grapes and often were rushed to produce ample amounts of wine in time for holidays such as Passover. With lower-quality juice to work with and insufficient time, the wines produced tended to be far too bitter for easy consumption, so sugar was added after fermentation to help the wines become more palatable. Not all kosher wine need be this sweet, however, and Manischewitz also produces a number of more traditionally-styled wines which are still kosher. The popularity of sweet Manischewitz endures, however, likely as a result of association between faithful Jews and the taste of sweet Manischewitz for ritual use.

While there are other kosher wineries in the United States, Manischewitz is far and away the largest producer. Rarely will one find a Passover celebration in which a wine other than Manischewitz is served. The symbol of the Manischewitz company, which may be found on all its wines, is a bundle of Concord grapes over a Star of David, with the word Manischewitz emblazoned on top.

6.11.2008

Haaretz: Orthodox Rabbis Gone Wild Spawns Conversion Crisis

Out of the blue, from nowhere, Orthodox rabbis have suddenly gone on a mad rampage, nullifying the validity of their own past conversions of people to Judaism.

Rabbis gone wild. There is no other way to describe this. A grab at extortion of money and power by a gang of misguided mullahs.

Misguided because:
A. We urgently need more Jews in the world.
B. We obviously cannot do business with people who do a deal one day and then undo it the next.

A writer in Haaretz is more kind in assessing the situation, for reasons that escape me.

An obsolete monopoly
By Alexander Yakobson

The ultra-Orthodox rabbis who currently control the Rabbinical Court of Appeals are probably not especially upset over the wave of protests aroused by their latest outrageous decision, which threatens thousands of converts to Judaism with the retroactive annulment of their conversions. Instead of preaching to these rabbinical judges in the name of humanist, social and national values that they do not accept, they should simply be told: You don't stand a chance of getting what you want.

First of all, the ruling will most likely be overturned when the issue comes before the High Court of Justice. But beyond that, the basic worldview that underlies the ruling is doomed to failure - namely, the Orthodox establishment's pretension that it holds the sole key to entry into the Jewish people. The demand that anyone who becomes Jewish must become Orthodox, rather than secular or traditional, implies that Orthodoxy is the "standard" of Jewish identity, and any other version of Jewish culture can perhaps be tolerated if absolutely necessary, but is not legitimate - and is certainly not of equal value.

This is indeed the perception of the Orthodox establishment - not only among the ultra-Orthodox, but also among religious Zionists, who want to make things easier for converts, but who nevertheless insist on the principle that joining the Jewish people means becoming a religiously observant Jew. That is why the religious parties demanded for years that the Law of Return be amended to stipulate that only conversion in accordance with halakha (rabbinic law) be recognized by the State of Israel.

This struggle failed, and efforts to amend the law have ceased. A person who underwent a Conservative or Reform conversion abroad is considered a Jew in Israel for purposes of the Law of Return. Inside Israel, the Orthodox retain their monopoly on conversion - but not a monopoly over de facto entry into the Jewish people.

In the wake of the mass immigration from the former Soviet Union, something that was already true has become even more obvious: There is no need for any religious rite, Orthodox or non-Orthodox, or for any rabbinical kashrut certificate in order to join the Jewish people. A large number of people who are non-Jewish according to halakha, but have Jewish relatives, have come to Israel and received citizenship under the Law of Return. A minority are children of a Jewish father, and many of these already had a well-formed Jewish consciousness. But many others are the spouses of Jews, or people who have only a distant family connection to Jews, and were devoid of Jewish consciousness when they came here.

The integration of this large population into Israeli society is no simple challenge. However, despite a few exceptions, some of them grave, the overall picture is positive. The vast majority of this public aspires to integrate, and over time, it is indeed integrating successfully into Hebrew-speaking Israeli Jewish society, in a process that has come to be termed "sociological conversion." This is exactly how joining a sovereign nation is supposed to be accomplished: immigration and the acquisition of citizenship, adoption of the nation's language and culture, integration into the country and identification with it.

The religious establishment is able to harass these people, especially because of its monopoly over personal status issues, which people must go all the way to Cyprus to bypass. However, it does not have the power to make them into a Russian national minority. Such a minority will not be created in Israel. These people belong, and their children belong even more clearly, to the same nation to which the Israeli Jewish majority belongs.

Halakhic Judaism - the traditional Jewish culture - is today only one variant of Israeli Jewish culture. It is an important, influential variant that is dear to the hearts of many people, and one can only regret what some of its spokesman and representatives are doing to it. Anyone who adopts Jewish culture in its religious variant is rightly considered, even by most secular people, to have joined the Jewish nation. However, this is not the only way to join. In the current situation, there is not a complete separation between the Jewish religion and Jewish national identity, but neither is there a complete overlap, and there is no chance that anyone will succeed in forcing such an overlap.

Israeli society is influenced by Jewish tradition, but it is a free society to the very marrow of its bones. Contrary to the fashionable cliche that describes Israel as a local version of the ayatollahs' regime, in most areas, the religious establishment's ability to impose its will has decreased rather than increased over the past few decades.

6.10.2008

Ynet: Top Berlin Jew OK With New Edition of Mein Kampf

This is surprising to read since Jewish leaders generally oppose any dissemination of Nazi literature.

Prominent Berlin Jew calls for republication of Mein Kampf

'Text opens the eyes of many people to Hitler's intentions,' head of German capital's Jewish community tells DPA, adding she doesn't object to Hitler wax model in new Madame Tussaud's museum - Ynet

The head of Berlin's Jewish community said Sunday that she was in favor of publishing an annotated version of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.

"The text opens the eyes of many people to Hitler's intentions and provides evidence for what should have been known at the time," Lala Suesskind told DPA news agency.

Suesskind said during the interview that while most people can understand the text of Hitler's book, some would benefit from a commentary.

Mein Kampf, or My Struggle, was written by Hitler while he was in prison in the early 1920s and was first published in 1925. In the 782-page book Hitler used the main thesis of "The Jewish peril", which speaks of an alleged Jewish conspiracy to gain world leadership, and also predicted the stages of Germany's political emergence on the world scene.

Suesskind also told DPA she was not against including Hitler among the wax models of the new Madame Tussaud's wax museum in central Berlin, which is due to open next month.

"Better to have him in the wax cabinet and out of the minds of many people," she was quoted by DPA as saying.

A bit more detail from Haaretz to justify support for this venture:

יו"ר הקהילה היהודית בברלין תומכת בפרסום "מיין קמפף"
יו"ר הקהילה היהודית בברלין אומרת כי פרסום ספרו של אדולף היטלר שתוספת ביקורת וביאור, תהווה "הוכחה למה שצריך היה לדעת אז"
מאת סוכנויות הידיעות ועופר אדרת

יו"ר הקהילה היהודית בברלין, ללה זוסקינד, הביעה שלשום (ראשון) תמיכה בפרסום ספרו של אדולף היטלר "מיין קמפף", שתכלול ביקורת וביאור. לדבריה, "פרסום הטקסט ייאפשר לאנשים רבים להיחשף לכוונותיו של היטלר ויספק הוכחה למה שצריך היה לדעת כבר אז". זוסקינד התייחסה גם לנושא הצבת פסלו של הצורר הנאצי במוזיאון השעווה החדש שייפתח במרכז ברלין בחודש הבא. לדבריה, "עדיף שהוא יהיה משעווה בתוך ארון ולא בתוך הראשים של האנשים".

שנים לאחר שהודפס לראשונה, בגרמניה יש מי שמבקש להוציא לאור מחדש את ספרו של היטלר, "מיין קמפף" (מאבקי). הפעם לא מדובר בניאו-נאצים או באנטישמים, אלא בהיסטוריונים ובאנשי אקדמיה, שמדגישים את הצורך במהדורה מבוארת ומפורשת של הספר הידוע לשמצה, שהדפסתו אסורה בגרמניה ובישראל.

את חלקו הראשון של הספר כתב היטלר ב-1923 בכלא, בעת שריצה מאסר על חלקו בניסיון ההפיכה נגד משטר ויימאר, שכונה "הפוטש במרתף הבירה". חלקו השני נכתב לאחר שחרורו. ב-720 עמודיו פרש הפיהרר את משנתו הפוליטית, החברתית והגזענית. מעלייתו לשלטון ועד סוף המלחמה נמכר הספר בעשרה מיליון עותקים בגרמניה, ותורגם לשפות רבות. עם זאת, מקובל להניח שרוב מי שרכש את הספר כלל לא קרא אותו - בשל אורכו והעובדה שהוא נחשב לטרחני ולמשעמם ברובו.

ב-2015, במלאת 70 שנה למותו של המחבר, יפוגו זכויות היוצרים של הספר. כך, בעוד פחות מעשור יוכל כל אדם להדפיס ולהפיץ את התנ"ך של הנאצים ברבים. "צריך להיערך לכך שניאו-נאצים ידפיסו את הספר בעותקים רבים, וישתמשו בו לצורכי תעמולה", צוטט בתקשורת הגרמנית אוסקר שניידר, מנהל מרכז התיעוד בנירנברג. "המחוקקים היו צריכים לתת על זה את הדעת", אומר ההיסטוריון נורברט פריי מאוניברסיטת יינה לעיתון הנפוץ "זידדויטשה צייטונג". השניים קוראים לממשלת בוואריה, שמחזיקה בזכויות על הפצתו של הספר, לאפשר את הוצאתה של מהדורה ביקורתית ומפורשת של הספר עוד בטרם יפקעו הזכויות על הפצתו. עד כה מנעה בוואריה את הדפסתו או הפצתו בגרמניה. עם זאת, עותקים מהספר ניתן להשיג כמעט בכל מקום בעולם כמו גם באינטרנט.

גורם נוסף שמבקש להוציא מהדורה "מתוקנת" לספר הוא המכון להיסטוריה בת זמננו במינכן, שכבר שנים מנסה לקבל אישור להוצאתה לאור של גרסה "היסטורית ביקורתית" של הטקסט.

"גרסה ביקורתית של הספר תאפשר לכל אדם להצטייד בטיעונים הדרושים כדי לנצח בוויכוח עם תומכיו", מסביר יו"ר המכון, אודו ונגסט. להערכתו, דרושות שלוש שנות מחקר כדי להוציא לאור ספר מסוג זה. דיטר פוהל, היסטוריון במכון, אמר לתקשורת הגרמנית כי הספר נחוץ משום שהיטלר לא הקפיד על בדיקת עובדות ולא היה עקבי בעמדותיו - דבר שמשתקף בטקסט וראוי להסבר. לפיכך, הוא מסביר, "חייבים לבאר כל שורה ושורה" בטקסט. מולר מוסיף כי הספר ינסה להתחקות אחר המקורות מהם שאב היטלר את הגותו.

Haaretz: Dead Sea is Evaporating Faster

Global warming comes to Israel.

I'd keep a close eye on this alarming story.

Dead Sea is alarmingly drying up, dropped 10 centimeters in May
By Zafrir Rinat

The Dead Sea is drying up at an increasingly rapid pace, with the water level dropping by 10 centimeters last month and eight the month before, according to Mishmar Hamiflas, a group of area residents fighting for the Dead Sea's right to life.

The lowest place on earth is now 421.21 meters below sea level.

Mishmar Hamiflas officials, who say their data come from the Hydrological Service of Israel, argue that the dipping water level shows that water consumption in the Dead Sea basin is increasing.

The water level began going down causing the sea to recede in the wake of increased use of other water sources, including the Jordan River and its tributaries, along with desert-area streams and groundwater flowing toward the Dead Sea. Other factors contributing to the decline include the Dead Sea factories on the Israeli and Jordanian sides, which dried up some of the water for industrial purposes.

The receding sea level has damaged hotels built when the water level was higher, caused the development of underground swallow holes, and led sweetwater to enter the sea, melting underground salt blocks and ultimately causing collapse. Scientists say a continued drop in the water level will significantly shrink the Dead Sea but will not cause it to dry up altogether, because the proportion of salt will rise when the water is particularly low, decreasing the amount of water that evaporates.

Dead Sea-area communities and environmental organizations oppose a plan being advanced by the Israeli and Jordanian governments to build a canal that would bring water from the Gulf of Eilat to the Dead Sea, fearing that there would be negative ramifications to changing the composition of the Dead Sea water. They say the water economy must be changed in Israel and Jordan by making agriculture more efficient and increasing desalination, in a bid to revive the Jordan River and resurrect the Dead Sea.

Times: The Hoopoe - Duchifat - Hud Hud is Israel's New National Bird

The Times has an editorial that talks about the newly designated Israeli National bird, the Hoopoe - Duchifat (Hebrew) - Hud Hud (Arabic). Somehow the writer thinks that this decision will help Israel achieve peace with its neighbors.

Will Peace Take Flight?
By JONATHAN ROSEN

LATE last month, Israel announced that it had named the hoopoe as its national bird. The long-billed hoopoe, which has a punky orange crest tipped black, is barely mentioned in the Bible (as an unclean animal that may not be eaten) but it plays a role in rabbinic literature and in Islamic lore as well. It is celebrated, among other things, as the messenger that shuttles between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. It is in other words well suited to the symbolic burden the country has placed on it.

The idea that birds can be emissaries to a battered world — like the dove and raven sent out by Noah — motivated Israel’s decision to adopt a national bird as part of its commemoration of 60 years of statehood. In Hebrew the name of the bird is duchifat. In Arabic it is hud hud. And in English hoopoe is a word that sounds, as Emily Dickinson noted about all feathered creatures, strangely like hope.

The news was announced at the official residence of the president of Israel, Shimon Peres, who in the late 1940s changed his name from Persky to Peres because he saw a giant lammergeier, or bearded vulture (in Hebrew, a “peres”), circling overhead. Legend has it that the lammergeier, which no longer breeds in Israel, killed the Greek tragedian Aeschylus by dropping a tortoise on his head. Birds can be dangerous, which is precisely why the United States chose the bald eagle, though Benjamin Franklin complained, in a letter to his daughter, that the eagle was a cowardly bully while the turkey was nobler and feistier and therefore a more apt symbol for America.

In Franklin’s time, a young democracy wanted a warrior bird; in the 21st century other considerations carry the day. The cross-section of Israelis who did the voting to choose a national bird — including schoolchildren, soldiers, academics and Knesset members — rejected the possibility of a raptor (specifically, the much-loved, and endangered, griffon vulture) as sending the wrong signal for the country. They also rejected the night owl, which Arabs believe to be an evil omen.

I first saw a hoopoe in 2000, the year the Oslo Accords officially fell apart. I had known about the bird since childhood, when I learned that King Solomon — who, with his storied ability to understand the speech of animals is the Dr. Doolittle of Judaism — had sought out the hoopoe in order to build the Temple. It had not occurred to me, until I began bird-watching, that the bird was real.

But there I was, in a small bird observatory in Jerusalem, with a soldier whose job it was to net migrating birds, weigh them and then toss them back into the air. “Filthy birds,” he said, pointing out one that was heading for a hole in a wall and then adding that they reeked of excrement. So much for the bird who helped the king build a house for God. It was, however, a lesson worthy of Solomon, seeing this lofty bird that smells of mortality. It is the nature of birds to embody multiple elements, shuttling as they do between earth and sky, between ancient and modern, between wild and tame. They are emblems of our heavenly aspirations and yet they are the closest living relatives to the dinosaurs.

The search for a national bird was organized by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and led by an Israeli ornithologist, Yossi Leshem. Dr. Leshem has created the International Center for Bird Migration in Latrun, the site of some very bloody battles in Israel’s War of Independence and home to a vast war memorial. The center’s hopeful slogan, printed in Hebrew, Arabic and English, is “Migrating birds know no boundaries,” in contrast to the people on the ground, for whom boundaries are everything. This gives birdlife an added poignancy in Israel.

Israel is a surprisingly good place for bird-watching (half a billion birds fly through the country during migration, converging from Africa, Asia and Europe). Jeremiah noted that “the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times” and she still does — every year, 85 percent of the world’s white stork population migrates over Israel, despite the general upheaval of the world below.

A hoopoe is the hero of the Persian poet Farid al-Din Attar’s “Conference of the Birds,” a medieval allegory in which a group of birds sets out to find the king of the birds. The hoopoe is their leader, artfully persuading all the reluctant birds to come on the quest. In the end, they manage to find the king of the birds, who turns out to be God. The birds that have made it into the bird king’s presence are filled with radiant insight but they are consumed — they discover they are part of God and they are obliterated in the divine effulgence. This is a happy ending if you are a mystic but it is chilling if you are not.

Attar, a Sufi, believed that all religions are a path to God. It is part of the endless irony of history that the place where Attar once lived (and that in fact expelled him for heresy) today threatens with obliteration those nations, most especially the Jewish state, that it deems an abomination. Whether even the wisdom of King Solomon, and his magical avian emissary, can devise an answer to this threat is one of the great challenges of the coming days.

Jonathan Rosen, the editorial director of Nextbook, is the author, most recently, of “The Life of the Skies: Birding at the End of Nature.”

6.08.2008

Bob Dylan Endorses Barack Obama's "Redefining...Politics"

It reads like just like an endorsement, it sounds just like an endorsement - from the Star Tribune...

An endorsement? Bob Dylan sizes up Obama in rare interview
Bob Dylan is offering his take on the 2008 presidential elections.

The 67-year-old Minnesota native whose songs of the '60s gave inspiration to a generation amid social tumult, said in an interview with the Times of London published this week that presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama "is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up."

Dylan said Obama's place on the national stage comes as "America is in a state of upheaval. Poverty is demoralizing. You can't expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor."

Dylan said he's "hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to."

PAUL WALSH

State of Minnesota Forces Al Franken to Apologize for His Sense of Humor

Wow. Things are pretty weird out there in the DFL in Minnesota. Ya gotta apologize for your sense of humor if ya wantta run for office ...

I guess it is an apology because he used the word "sorry". (Document: Al Franken's acceptance speech).

...It kills me that things I said and wrote sent a message to some of my friends in this room and people in this state that they can’t count on me to be a champion for women, a champion for ALL Minnesotans, in this campaign and in the Senate.

I’m sorry for that....

[He's smiling and thinking, "I just apologized for my sense of humor. What a joke!"]

The Diaspora is Dead: We Demand One Day of Yontiff!

The diaspora is dead. Globalization lives. We Jews all over are one world with Israel. Jet travel to Lod in ten hours. Phone calls to Israel at $.04 a minute. Video streaming from the holy land. Satellite Israeli TV.

The idea of the Galut, the exile or dispersion of the Jews around the world separated from Israel - that weakens every day.

Free Birthright trips to Israel for every Jewish child. What do they bring back? They bring back five days of productivity. They come back wanting to know why we don't cut five days out of our festivals.

We overdo it. So many Sabbaths and festivals. And five extra days outside of Israel. For what reason. Because once there were two worlds. The Holy Land and the Diaspora. Separated by time and space. And there was doubt. When did the month begin in Jerusalem at the Temple? When is the holiday? So they celebrated twice to be sure. The first and last days of Sukkot and Passover and the Shavuot festival were repeated - so we could be sure. But not now. Now we know for sure.

Now the Diaspora is dead. The revolution always starts with the youth. The ask questions. They want common sense to prevail. They don't know any better.

This article says it all. Young people come back from authentic celebrations of Passover in Israel and want to know - why two Seders here and one Seder there? The rabbis invent reasons. They make things up. Good rabbis like Kenneth Brander invent private and personal rationales and reasons:

Orthodox Jews continue to keep the extra days.

Brander said that in his 20 years as a pulpit rabbi, he's had to sit down "on a regular basis" with young returnees from Israel. He shows them the Jewish sources and explains that Jews in the Diaspora "aren't in control of their destiny and can lose their calendar at any moment," as happened in the concentration camps and in the Soviet Union.

While Brander said he is "sensitive" to the desire of young American Jews to remain connected to Israel, "the challenge is to feel emotionally connected while still being rooted in Jewish law."

Rabbi, no one is in control of his or her destiny. What are you telling those children? You should be saying, Yes I agree - we are so close - we need to change things - we are working on making Jewish life more unified and more meaningful and this is one of the items on our agenda.

The young people at last are not buying your story as JTA via the Baltimore Jewish Times reports:

Seven Or Eight Days For Passover?
Sue Fishkoff
JTA Wire Service

MARCH 18, 2007
San Francisco

Why is April 3 different from all other nights in April?

On this night Conservative, Orthodox and some Reconstructionist Jews outside Israel will sit down to their second Passover seder, while Reform and Israeli Jews will eat as on any other night of the holiday.

That's long-standing tradition. But stirring the pot are some younger American Jews returning from Israel programs who want to cast off their longer Diaspora observance and adopt Israeli practice in solidarity with the Jewish state.

"You come back, you're slightly shell-shocked, and you're trying to hold onto what you experienced there," said Rabbi Kenneth Brander, dean of the Center for the Jewish Future at Yeshiva University.

This time it really is Israel's fault.

"It's not just Passover in particular, it's all the other holidays that you celebrate for just one night in Israel," said Jennifer Trebbin, 23, who spent last year in Israel with Project Otzma, a 10-month volunteer program for recent college graduates.

For the first time Trebbin celebrated Passover for seven days instead of eight and attended just one seder.

"Personally, I like it," she said. "There's something about doing it the Israeli way that feels right."

Those who lead Israel programs disavow any knowledge of the phenomenon.

"I haven't heard of it," said Lymore Hauptman, director of Hadassah's Young Judaea Year Course in Israel, which takes young Jews to Israel for the year before college.

Officials at birthright israel, which offers free Israel trips to young Jews, also hadn't heard of it.

"I'm sure the kids talk about it," Hauptman conceded.

Indeed they do. Some seek rabbinic guidance.

That's what Mike Schwartz, now 20, did when he was on Young Judaea's Year Course two years ago.

"I talked to the Conservative rabbi on the program, and he said if you're living in Israel, do seven days," Schwartz said.

His rabbi interpreted "living in Israel" quite broadly. The Talmud advises Jews to keep their home customs while visiting Israel unless they are planning to live permanently in Israel, in which case they should adopt Israeli custom.

That's why Julia Garfinkel, 23, started keeping shorter festivals while she was on Otzma last year — she knew she'd be staying in the country.

"For me it worked out fine. It's hard to find second-night seders anyway in Israel," said Garfinkel, who took Israeli citizenship in September and is now a music student at Tel Aviv University.

Schwartz observed Passover for seven days the year he spent in Israel, but resumed his eight-day practice back in New York, where he is pursuing a joint degree from Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary.

"Now that I'm living in America, I feel I should follow the halacha," or Jewish law, "as it applies to the Diaspora," he said.

The differing practices go back more than 2,000 years to Jerusalem, when the dates for Jewish festivals in the coming month were declared by the rabbis of the Sanhedrin, the community's legal body, according to when they sighted the new moon.

As it took time for messengers to reach Diaspora communities with that report, a "yom tov sheni," or "second festival day," was added to biblical festivals outside Israel to ensure that Jews there observed at least part of each festival on the correct day.

The extra Diaspora day was preserved even after the institution of a fixed calendar, with the Talmud declaring that Sukkot and Passover be observed for eight days, Shavuot and Rosh Hashanah for two.

Yom Kippur was not extended because of the burden of fasting, and Rosh Hashanah is celebrated for two days even within Israel because it falls on the new moon instead of mid-month like the other festivals.

In the 19th century, Reform leaders in the United States abandoned the extra festival day, declaring they did not accept the concept of being in exile. Most Reform Jews today understand their shorter observance as being in line with Israeli practice.

Orthodox Jews continue to keep the extra days.

Brander said that in his 20 years as a pulpit rabbi, he's had to sit down "on a regular basis" with young returnees from Israel. He shows them the Jewish sources and explains that Jews in the Diaspora "aren't in control of their destiny and can lose their calendar at any moment," as happened in the concentration camps and in the Soviet Union.

While Brander said he is "sensitive" to the desire of young American Jews to remain connected to Israel, "the challenge is to feel emotionally connected while still being rooted in Jewish law."

Most Conservative Jews also keep the extra festival days, despite a 1960s ruling by the movement's Rabbinical Assembly permitting them to change their practice.

Rabbi Paul Drazen, program development officer for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, said he is not aware of any congregations that have followed that ruling.

The Reconstructionist and Renewal movements do not set national policy for their congregations. Rabbi Shai Gluskin, director of publishing and online resources for the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, said most Reconstructionist Jews observe Passover for seven days, considering the extra day an archaic custom rendered unnecessary by modern technology. But they also usually observe two seders, he said.

That's "a deeply held, long tradition in the American Jewish community," Gluskin said, whereas the eight-day custom doesn't have the same pull.

"In Reconstructionism, we're not looking for legal consistency," he said.

Adherents of Jewish Renewal tend to follow the movements from which they came, said Rabbi Daniel Siegel, director of spiritual resources for Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal.

"It wouldn't be renewal to decree one form of legitimate practice to be better than another," he said. "Rather we would encourage people to learn about the various options and then select the ones which are most likely to deepen the spiritual experience of the practice, keeping in mind that many of our chevre," or members, "have meaningful connections to the mainstream Jewish movements."

Those connections run deep. Ayal Robkin, 21, who was on the Orthodox track of Young Judaea's Year Course, said ideologically he favors a day-and-a-half festival, keeping the negative commandments on that second day, such as avoiding driving, but not the positive ones, like doing a second seder.

Until halacha is changed, however, Robkin will follow Orthodox custom.

"There's a commandment, don't separate yourself from the community," he said.

Family pressure runs deep, too.

Now that she's back in New York, Trebbin doubts she will be able to maintain her commitment to Israeli practice.

"To be honest, I'm not going to tell my parents, no, I'm not coming to the second seder," she said.

[repost from 3/07]

Barack Orates Like a Pastor of America's Civil Religion

Religion Writer blogger Andrea Useem wonders aloud -Is Obama’s Real “Faith Asset” His Ability to Speak the Language of American Civil Religion?

We will have eight years (G-d Willing) to discuss and debate this as we track his presidential speeches and compare them with our Founding Fathers, with Lincoln, with Roosevelt and others.

The case still needs to be made in greater detail that Barack's speeches work because they draw on the imagery and rhetoric of America's (often nebulous) civil religion.

Nevertheless, it surely is the right question.

It was clear from her speeches that Hillary did not have sensitivity to religious language and concepts, a weakness that may have cost her dearly.

Religion Writer says:

Obama’s speech last night in St. Paul certainly had elements of this “general” faith. He said (according to the text of his prepared remarks):

And because of what you said - because you decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will bring a new and better day to America.

And then later:

In our country, I have found that this cooperation happens not because we agree on everything, but because behind all the labels and false divisions and categories that define us; beyond all the petty bickering and point-scoring in Washington, Americans are a decent, generous, compassionate people, united by common challenges and common hopes. And every so often, there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again.

True, these words do not contain direct references to God, but in speaking about hopes and aspirations as a defining political force, he somehow tapped that vein of civil religion, implying that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and that the greatest campaigns are those based on the inner human spirit.

Sen. Clinton at times disparaged Obama’s rhetoric as empty, saying in February:

We need to make a choice between speeches and solutions, because, while words matter greatly, the best words in the world aren’t enough unless you match them with action.

But it seems like she bet wrong — speeches do matter, especially when you’re a candidate and speeches are pretty much all you have to offer.

6.07.2008

Jon Stewart Video: AIPAC Kosh-o-meter

Funny as usual......

To Jackass Morton Klein - Just Shut Up

If you don't know what you are talking about, it is best to shut up. But Morton Klein knows best doesn't he?

Thinks Klein: "Hey I think I will call Barack Obama an outright liar on the record in the New York Times."

Look Barack. Klein is just a jackass. You can ignore him. We should too.

From the Times: "Obama’s Comments on Israel Stir Criticism in U.S." by LARRY ROHTER...

...Even within Israel, where the speech was overwhelmingly applauded, some analysts suggested Mr. Obama had staked out a position beyond that of current Israeli leaders. One television commentator said his language was reminiscent of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin of the hard-line Likud Party, who signed a peace accord with Egypt but expanded Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Mr. Obama was asked about criticisms from the Arab world, and whether his remarks meant that Palestinians had no claim to Jerusalem.

“Well,” he replied, “obviously it’s going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues,” including the status of Jerusalem.

While restating his support for an undivided city, he also said, “My belief is that, as a practical matter, it would be very difficult to execute.”

An article on Friday in The Jerusalem Post sought to clarify Mr. Obama’s stance further. In it, an unnamed foreign policy adviser to Mr. Obama was quoted as saying that the candidate’s position is that “Jerusalem remains Israel’s capital and it’s not going to be divided by barbed wire and checkpoints as it was in 1948-1967.”

That formulation does not rule out the city simultaneously serving as the capital of a Palestinian state or Palestinians’ being granted control of some Arab neighborhoods there.

With criticism mounting on Friday from Republicans and some Jewish groups, supporters of Mr. Obama rushed to his defense.

“Barack Obama’s position has been the same for years, and entirely consistent on the campaign,” said Representative Robert Wexler of Florida, one of Mr. Obama’s main bridges to Jewish voters. “He wants a unified Jerusalem that serves as the capital of a Jewish state of Israel, and to extrapolate anything else from that position is inaccurate.”

Mr. Wexler called Mr. Obama’s position the “most pro-Israel of all” because he has promised to respect whatever agreement Israel and Palestinians reach through negotiations rather than impose an American solution.

Dennis Ross, a diplomat who was involved in Middle East peace talks for the administrations of the first President Bush and President Bill Clinton, expressed similar views. Mr. Ross said he saw “no calibration” in Mr. Obama’s stance, which he said “does not contradict in any way, shape or form what our policy has historically been.”

But leaders of some Jewish groups remain unconvinced.

“With Barack Obama and his campaign watering down his statement for an undivided Jerusalem,” said Morton A. Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, “one must question whether his initial remark was simply meant to mislead Jewish voters and Israel supporters by not stating his true beliefs on this issue.”

Recommended: Arianna Huffington Fights the Right

I read this today and recommend it to all those who want to know what its subtitle says, Right Is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe (and what you need to know to end the madness).

The first few chapters deal with the Right's fear mongering and on the media fallacy that there are and need to be two sides reported on every issue. Huffington is especially harsh surprisingly on Tim Russert and expectedly on Bill Kristol, Ann Coulter and others of the same ilk. She covers the main topics and players and provides sources and documentation in end-notes.

You've got to change your evil ways... Lord knows you got to change...

Following up on the recent theodicy meme, I'm directing your attention to a New Yorker review essay on a significant new and relevant book, “God’s Problem” by Bart Ehrman.

The review part of the article does not lavish unreserved praise on the book, remarking that as to discussing theodicy, "There is something adolescent about such complaint; I can hear it like a boy’s breaking voice in my own prose. For anti-theodicy is permanent rebellion. It is not quite atheism but wounded theism, condemned to argue ceaselessly against a God it is supposed not to believe in. Bart D. Ehrman’s new book, “God’s Problem” (HarperOne; $25.95), is highly adolescent in tone. Its jabbing subtitle, “How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question—Why We Suffer,” sounds as if it should be furiously triple-underlined on the dust jacket. Ehrman has been the favorite academic of the new wave of atheism since his book “Misquoting Jesus” (2005) became an unlikely best-seller."

Getting past James Wood's silly title, "Holiday in Hellmouth: God may be dead, but the question of why he permits suffering lives on" -- the remainder of the piece does rove across many of the problem's pertinent popular points and draws the reader into the growing discussion of the theodicy meme:

Nietzsche said that if a human being put his ear to the heart chamber of the world and heard the roar of existence, the “innumerable shouts of pleasure and woe,” he would surely break into pieces. But a newspaper, pumping its inky current of despair, might serve as well. On a single day, Thursday, May 15th, the Times contained the following. The lead article was about the earthquake in China, now estimated to have killed more than fifty thousand people. It was titled “Tiny Bodies in a Morgue, and Unspeakable Grief in China,” and was accompanied by a photograph of two parents sitting next to their dead child. A story about the recent cyclone in Myanmar estimated the number of deaths at anywhere between 68,833 and 127,990. The journalist mentioned a man named Zaw Ayea, twenty-seven, who found his sister’s body; his mother and two younger brothers are missing. He cannot speak: “He stares straight ahead with a strangely placid expression on his face. His friends say he has been in shock since the cyclone.” much more...

6.06.2008

Is Al Franken Running for the Senate in the Wrong State?

Apparently, some political enemies have brought up a record of Al Franken making a joke about rape in 1995 on an SNL set. I have said before on this blog regarding an Onion satire and I firmly believe that rape is not something that we ever should joke about.

Now we ask, Is that it? Is that all the opponents have? I'm assuming it is. Franken is known far and wide as a squeaky clean, upright and moral man.

However he is running in Minnesota where most folks have a hard time understanding when something is sarcastic or even when something is an outright joke.

I ought to know because I taught at the University of Minnesota for many years, sometimes to large lecture classes. After trying humor on my students for a while and getting little or no response, I came into class one day with a little sign that said on one side, "Joke" and on the other side, "Laugh." The students could not sense my humor -- so I stuck it in their faces. And then somehow it started to work. My courses were recognized for years as rich in content, demanding in work, and funny too.

So the question is not whether Franken is prepared to serve in the Senate. No, the question is whether Franken is electable in a state where many of the residents have little or no developed sense of humor.

That my friends is a real problem for him.

From the StarTribune blog:

Klobuchar on Franken/Coleman
by Mark Brunswick

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar stepped off the podium of the DFL state convention and into a firestorm of questions about her position on Al Franken and his writings, which have inflamed some women and other feminists on both sides of the aisle.

Klobuchar, who left the convention quickly to tour the closed Winona bridge, said she believed Franken was not fatally damaged by the revelations and expected him to address the issue more publicly on Saturday.

Said Klobuchar:

“I found his past writings, some of them, entirely inappropriate. He needs to take this on more upfront and more directly. We will be heading into tomorrow where he’ll be addressing it in a more public way. He’s been married to Franni, his wife, for over 30 years, he loves his family and he loves his country and he cares about the issues and that’s what people need to focus on. But, unfortunately, because this has been boiling up for the last week I think he needs to address this more directly.”

Klobuchar, who has made no endorsement in the Senate race, said she has spoken to Franken and urged him to be more publicly forthcoming.

“Every candidate makes mistakes along the way. Things happen along the way and you have to explain them and that’s what people want to hear. He understands his writings offended people and he regrets that. He’s going to have to bring them along and I think he has the capacity to do that.”

Will she support him if there is a primary? “I’m going to make a decision after the convention.”

On another matter, Klobuchar took no direct shots at the senior senator from Minnesota, Republican Norm Coleman, during a speech to delegates, choosing instead to paint a picture of the importance of a Democratic majority in the Senate.

“My message is we need to get more Democrats. We have a 51-vote margin on the war. My whole speech was setting the stage for why we need change in Washington and that includes the Senate race in Minnesota. He has been identified with George Bush, I think we need change and that’s why we need a Democratic senator.”

6.05.2008

Did Nadia Abu El-Haj Get Tenure Because of Pro-Palestinian Political Pressure?

Like it or not the argument made by the two writers of this op-ed in the AAUP ACADEME periodical asks whether online petitions should have had a say in the tenure decision of controversial scholar Nadia Abu El-Haj.

Clearly, Nadia used the petition supporting her (which she did not ask to have removed, hence passive aggressively sanctioned) to intimidate her colleagues and administrators into granting her tenure even though her scholarship did not merit it.

Who Got to Decide on Nadia Abu El-Haj’s Tenure?
Should online petitions have a say?
By Dan Rabinowitz and Ronen Shamir
The tension surrounding Barnard College’s determination of whether to grant tenure to anthropologist Nadia Abu El-Haj was resolved this fall. Barnard reached a positive decision. The affair, however, leaves a number of important issues open. At the center of this controversy stands Abu El-Haj’s first book, Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society. Published in 2001, it explores the relationship between archaeology and Zionist nation building. (Her forthcoming book on genetics in the Zionist nation-building project, which is now in manuscript form, promises to be as provocative and intellectually stimulating.)

We use Abu El-Haj’s work on Israeli archaeology in our classes. We treat it as a fresh perspective on what is by now a “101” principle in teaching sociology and anthropology, namely, the study of the processes whereby communities are imagined. We could reiterate the merits of Abu El-Haj’s work here but prefer not to. Instead, we are concerned with the climate reflected in the controversy over her tenure candidacy and the transformation it might trigger. The climate is one of intimidation. The transformation is one of scholarly identities.

The initial “Deny Nadia Abu El-Haj Tenure” petition, started by Barnard alumna Paula Stern, who lives in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, triggered a counter “Grant Nadia Abu El-Haj Tenure” petition. It is certainly a mark of our times that both petitions use the site PetitionOnline.com, which says it provides “free online hosting of public petitions for responsible public advocacy.” A further search in fact yields numerous additional Web sites and blogs discussing Abu El-Haj’s academic merits, biography, and political convictions.

Our reluctance to discuss Abu El-Haj’s academic merit, let alone her promotion, in this new climate is probably because we are cut along more conservative, even orthodox, lines. Although we strongly believe that the significance and meaning of scientific works must be discussed publicly, we are equally convinced that formal decisions about the merit of research and the promotion of scientists do not belong in public forums. It is perfectly legitimate to debate the brilliance and originality of scholarship, but science is not a form of participatory democracy to be determined by majority opinion, public debate, or vindications or condemnations on PetitionOnline.com.

Anonymous peer-review procedures must not be transformed into a city-hall type plebiscite. Such “democratization” is akin to censorship such as that exerted by authoritarian regimes that aim to control scientific institutions and individual researchers. Censorship compromises freedom of research and the independence of the scientific institution, both of which we cherish. When creative minds become self-consciously preoccupied with the political— and material—consequences of their product, they can no longer be creative, and their thirst for truth is seriously hindered.

To us, writing from Tel Aviv, it is ironic to see this initiative to suppress a colleague emanating from the ranks of American Jewry—a community for which the academic world has much to thank; it has been, in different times and contexts, a bastion of independent scholarship and intellectual freedom and a defender of the moral and constitutional tenets of free speech.
Context and Content

Let us talk, then, about the relationship of context to content, about issues like who and where. The who has to do with the ethnic identity of the scholar under public scrutiny; the where has to do with the prevailing mood in the United States of America. In Abu El-Haj’s case, the scholar is of Arab descent. Her sin is to probe into a social scientific domain—the history, historiography, and anthropology of Israel—that is normally defined by Jewish Israeli scholars whose tendency has always been to position Palestinians as objects of inquiry. Abu El-Haj’s work thus perpetrates the faux pas of inverting the “proper” way of studying Israel-Palestine.

Her violation of the norms is particularly pertinent when it comes to the scientific gaze of anthropology, a predominantly Western discipline that created and objectified a pristine effigy of the exotic native as seen by westerners, an approach that literary theorist Edward Said called Orientalizing. Abu El-Haj belongs to a new generation of scholars—many of them Palestinians—who, inspired by Said’s legacy, insist on reversing the Orientalizing gaze and turning Israel and Israelis into objects of inquiry. This effort should be praised, not silenced.

In Facts on the Ground, Abu El-Haj takes a critical look at archaeology. The book’s methodological premise is that archaeology, particularly when occupying a “privileged ground” in a given society, brings together issues of past and present, of memory and trajectory, and of imagination and identity. The subject matter of archaeology consists of artifacts and landscapes, and Abu El-Haj’s work is informed by the sociology of science. She identifies the connection between archaeology as an academic discipline and a set of everyday practices, such as organized landscape tours for school children. She speaks of the importance of these forms of “learning to know the land” through bodily contact with the soil and archaeological artifacts, arguing that they create a powerful experience of wholeness that transcends mere academic knowledge.

The book also discusses the relevance of archaeology to contemporary urban design. Telling the story of the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem, she brings to the fore the way spatial arrangements constructed Jews as having a history and Palestinians as having mere biographies. This construction, in turn, legitimizes urban-planning schemes based on archaeological “knowledge” that favor Jewish perspectives and material interests. All in all, then, the book brilliantly combines a historical analysis with an analysis of minute, everyday life practices.

However, like an American citizen who is arrested for the offense of “driving while black,” Abu El-Haj seems not to be forgiven for her sin of “writing on Israel while Arab.”
Zionism as Object

This is where the “where” also comes into the story. The transformation of Zionism and Zionists into objects of inquiry for Palestinian scholars may be hard to swallow for many Jewish Israelis. Yet it seems to evoke even more hostile responses among American Jews who, as we indicated, were an overwhelming majority among those signing the anti-tenure petition. To put it bluntly, their sensitivity to critical inquiry that questions the practices and sensibilities of Israel and Israelis is much greater than anything we have experienced in the Israeli academic, public, or political arenas. Israeli academia, by and large, is fairly tolerant when it comes to critical thinking in the social sciences and the humanities. In fact, tolerance plays an important role in affirming the Jewish perception of Israel as a robust democracy. Let us be more precise: Israeli academic institutions are tolerant when it comes to critical thinking voiced by Jewish Israelis; they are less so if the writer is a woman and an Arab. Still, we sociologically privileged Israelis can get away with quite a lot.

Not so in the United States, where the prevailing climate, especially among Zionist Americans, tends to label dissenting voices—regardless of the scientific merit they reflect—as anti-Semitic or anti-Zionist and to try to suppress them. We may be wrong here; we do not, after all, base our assertions on any scientific studies. But our sensibilities and our networks of connections suggest an intellectual climate that, at least from afar, looks increasingly oppressive. The fact that initiatives driven by pro-Palestinian sentiments and persuasions now feel compelled to jump to Abu El-Haj’s defense does not help either. As Chekhov noted, a pistol that appears in the first act is bound to fire in the last one. The “deny” and “grant” petitions should never have been introduced in the first place.

Hegemonic ideologies—Zionism is no exception—are keenly aware of the nexus between knowledge and power and are adept at reforming, adjusting, and inventing philosophical premises, scientific tools, and knowledge narratives that go along with their political trajectories. Academic institutions must resist these attempts. Our duty is to historicize, contextualize, and challenge such attempts, speaking their truth to the face of power whether this truth is welcome or detested. When academic leaders act in good faith, true to their intellectual duty and defiantly oblivious to pressure, they go down in history. Barnard College’s decision to grant Abu El-Haj tenure, we are relieved to say, was such an act. We can only hope that the assault on academic freedom that triggered this worrisome affair will not have deeper long-term consequences that might outweigh this victory of common sense and decency.

Dan Rabinowitz and Ronen Shamir teach in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel Aviv University.

Bumper Sticker: Either Vote For John McCain or Suffer Catastrophes

Brace yourselves.

"Either Vote For John McCain or Suffer Catastrophes"

That is the core content of the Republican platform.

Just one egregious example from McCain's speech at AIPAC this week, as taken from a JTA blog entry aptly titled, McCain to AIPAC: Obama is bad news:

It’s worth recalling that America’s progress in Iraq is the direct result of the new strategy that Senator Obama opposed. It was the strategy he predicted would fail, when he voted cut off funds for our forces in Iraq. He now says he intends to withdraw combat troops from Iraq — one to two brigades per month until they are all removed. He will do so regardless of the conditions in Iraq, regardless of the consequences for our national security, regardless of Israel’s security, and in disregard of the best advice of our commanders on the ground.

This course would surely result in a catastrophe. If our troops are ordered to make a forced retreat, we risk all-out civil war, genocide, and a failed state in the heart of the Middle East. Al Qaeda terrorists would rejoice in the defeat of the United States. Allowing a potential terrorist sanctuary would profoundly affect the security of the United States, Israel, and our other friends, and would invite further intervention from Iraq’s neighbors, including an emboldened Iran. We must not let this happen. We must not leave the region to suffer chaos, terrorist violence and a wider war.

My friends, as the people of Israel know better than most, the safety of free people can never be taken for granted. And in a world full of dangers, Israel and the United States must always stand together.

A catastrophizing wing nut. Ugh!

6.04.2008

ynet: Send in the Rabbis to Do Battle With Hamas

It is refreshing to see from this op-ed that the "it takes one to know one" mentality does persist beyond the age of six.

Rabbis can handle Hamas. Deep grasp of religious ideology enables rabbis to contend with Hamas
Rabbi Menachem Froman

The main objection to a truce with Hamas stems from the fact that its leaders repeatedly and openly declare that their ultimate goal is to eliminate Israel. At this time they indeed have an interest in a temporary ceasefire, yet they are unwilling to make any progress towards ending the hostility to Israel.

This is the premise for the Israeli and global political system’s distinction between Hamas and the PLO. Israel is engaged in a “peace process” with the PLO: That is, we have lengthy and difficult negotiations, yet the PLO promises that if at the end of the day we can reach understandings, it is ultimately willing to live in peace with us. Meanwhile, we understand that Hamas’ religious ideology forces it to hate Israel deeply until it is destroyed.

However, do Israeli officials truly understand Hamas’ religious ideology? Those who understand the nature of religious ideology from the inside and do not only look at it through the lenses of news headlines may doubt whether Israeli politicians, the Israeli media, and the secular public indeed understand it.

This is not only a matter of ignorance on the part of those who belong to Western culture and have not read many Koran verses or Muslim religious edicts in their lives, and have not entered the world of Islam’s religious culture. It is not only an academic matter of a gap between cultures. Understanding Hamas’ ideology is of the utmost importance to us.

The bloodshed on both sides in our war with Hamas is critically affected by the lack of understanding of what can be done vis-à-vis their ideology. It would be a criminal waste of resources if the people of Israel fail to make use of those who understand the religious world; for example, Israel’s rabbis.

It is likely that the rabbis understand better why the secular State of Israel arouses such deep hatred among Islamic fundamentalists. Therefore, it is likely that rabbis can also cope with Hamas’ religious ideology. They know better what can and cannot be done vis-à-vis this ideology.

At this time it is impossible to demand that Hamas recognize the legitimacy of the secular State of Israel, which they view as the carrier of Western culture in our region and the country that brings heresy to their doorstep. Hamas does not even approve of Arab states that are not governed by religious law. Yet their religious ideology allows them to grant legitimacy to the people of Israel as the carrier of Judaism in the Holy Land.

Every Muslim is familiar with Judaism from his own religious sources, because it plays a central role in the Koran. more...

Barack's Speech to AIPAC Shows that He is a True Friend of Israel

Barack is a true friend and a strong supporter of Israel.

His speech today at the AIPAC Conference was clear and specific.

I argued with a Republican friend this past weekend that Hamas wants more of the Bush policies, regardless of what some of their smarmy lying spokesmen seem to say. They put out some word that they "prefer" Barack. Nonsense. Hamas came to power under Bush and wants McCain in the White House to continue the muddled course of the far right wing's failed middle east policies.

Barack says clearly that he opposed putting Hamas on the ballot. Specifically,

The long road to peace requires Palestinian partners committed to making the journey. We must isolate Hamas unless and until they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel’s right to exist, and abide by past agreements. There is no room at the negotiating table for terrorist organizations. That is why I opposed holding elections in 2006 with Hamas on the ballot. The Israelis and the Palestinian Authority warned us at the time against holding these elections. But this Administration pressed ahead, and the result is a Gaza controlled by Hamas, with rockets raining down on Israel.

There were many additional strong points and specifics throughout this eloquent address as you can read below in the full text.

Obama's Speech at the AIPAC Conference
June 4, 2008
Speaker: Barack Obama

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama gave this speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Conference on June 4, 2008.

"It’s great to see so many friends from across the country. I want to congratulate Howard Friedman, David Victor and Howard Kohr on a successful conference, and on the completion of a new headquarters just a few blocks away.

Before I begin, I want to say that I know some provocative emails have been circulating throughout Jewish communities across the country. A few of you may have gotten them. They’re filled with tall tales and dire warnings about a certain candidate for President. And all I want to say is - let me know if you see this guy named Barack Obama, because he sounds pretty frightening.

But if anyone has been confused by these emails, I want you to know that today I’ll be speaking from my heart, and as a true friend of Israel. And I know that when I visit with AIPAC, I am among friends. Good friends. Friends who share my strong commitment to make sure that the bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable today, tomorrow, and forever.

One of the many things that I admire about AIPAC is that you fight for this common cause from the bottom up. The lifeblood of AIPAC is here in this room - grassroots activists of all ages, from all parts of the country, who come to Washington year after year to make your voices heard. Nothing reflects the face of AIPAC more than the 1,200 students who have travelled here to make it clear to the world that the bond between Israel and the United States is rooted in more than our shared national interests - it’s rooted in the shared values and shared stories of our people. And as President, I will work with you to ensure that it this bond strengthened.

I first became familiar with the story of Israel when I was eleven years old. I learned of the long journey and steady determination of the Jewish people to preserve their identity through faith, family and culture. Year after year, century after century, Jews carried on their traditions, and their dream of a homeland, in the face of impossible odds.

The story made a powerful impression on me. I had grown up without a sense of roots. My father was black, he was from Kenya, and he left us when I was two. My mother was white, she was from Kansas, and I’d moved with her to Indonesia and then back to Hawaii. In many ways, I didn’t know where I came from. So I was drawn to the belief that you could sustain a spiritual, emotional and cultural identity. And I deeply understood the Zionist idea - that there is always a homeland at the center of our story.

I also learned about the horror of the Holocaust, and the terrible urgency it brought to the journey home to Israel. For much of my childhood, I lived with my grandparents. My grandfather had served in World War II, and so had my great uncle. He was a Kansas boy, who probably never expected to see Europe - let alone the horrors that awaited him there. And for months after he came home from Germany, he remained in a state of shock, alone with the painful memories that wouldn’t leave his head.

You see, my great uncle had been a part of the 89th Infantry Division - the first Americans to reach a Nazi concentration camp. They liberated Ohrdruf, part of Buchenwald, on an April day in 1945. The horrors of that camp go beyond our capacity to imagine. Tens of thousands died of hunger, torture, disease, or plain murder - part of the Nazi killing machine that killed 6 million people.

When the Americans marched in, they discovered huge piles of dead bodies and starving survivors. General Eisenhower ordered Germans from the nearby town to tour the camp, so they could see what was being done in their name. He ordered American troops to tour the camp, so they could see the evil they were fighting against. He invited Congressmen and journalists to bear witness. And he ordered that photographs and films be made. Explaining his actions, Eisenhower said that he wanted to produce, “first-hand evidence of these things, if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda.”

I saw some of those very images at Yad Vashem, and they never leave you. And those images just hint at the stories that survivors of the Shoah carried with them. Like Eisenhower, each of us bears witness to anyone and everyone who would deny these unspeakable crimes, or ever speak of repeating them. We must mean what we say when we speak the words: “never again.”

It was just a few years after the liberation of the camps that David Ben-Gurion declared the founding of the Jewish State of Israel. We know that the establishment of Israel was just and necessary, rooted in centuries of struggle, and decades of patient work. But 60 years later, we know that we cannot relent, we cannot yield, and as President I will never compromise when it comes to Israel’s security.

Not when there are still voices that deny the Holocaust. Not when there are terrorist groups and political leaders committed to Israel’s destruction. Not when there are maps across the Middle East that don’t even acknowledge Israel’s existence, and government-funded textbooks filled with hatred toward Jews. Not when there are rockets raining down on Sderot, and Israeli children have to take a deep breath and summon uncommon courage every time they board a bus or walk to school.

I have long understood Israel’s quest for peace and need for security. But never more so than during my travels there two years ago. Flying in an IDF helicopter, I saw a narrow and beautiful strip of land nestled against the Mediterranean. On the ground, I met a family who saw their house destroyed by a Katyusha Rocket. I spoke to Israeli troops who faced daily threats as they maintained security near the blue line. I talked to people who wanted nothing more simple, or elusive, than a secure future for their children.

I have been proud to be a part of a strong, bi-partisan consensus that has stood by Israel in the face of all threats. That is a commitment that both John McCain and I share, because support for Israel in this country goes beyond party. But part of our commitment must be speaking up when Israel’s security is at risk, and I don’t think any of us can be satisfied that America’s recent foreign policy has made Israel more secure.

Hamas now controls Gaza. Hizbollah has tightened its grip on southern Lebanon, and is flexing its muscles in Beirut. Because of the war in Iraq, Iran - which always posed a greater threat to Israel than Iraq - is emboldened, and poses the greatest strategic challenge to the United States and Israel in the Middle East in a generation. Iraq is unstable, and al Qaeda has stepped up its recruitment. Israel’s quest for peace with its neighbors has stalled, despite the heavy burdens borne by the Israeli people. And America is more isolated in the region, reducing our strength and jeopardizing Israel’s safety.

The question is how to move forward. There are those who would continue and intensify this failed status quo, ignoring eight years of accumulated evidence that our foreign policy is dangerously flawed. And then there are those who would lay all of the problems of the Middle East at the doorstep of Israel and its supporters, as if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the root of all trouble in the region. These voices blame the Middle East’s only democracy for the region’s extremism. They offer the false promise that abandoning a stalwart ally is somehow the path to strength. It is not, it never has been, and it never will be.

Our alliance is based on shared interests and shared values. Those who threaten Israel threaten us. Israel has always faced these threats on the front lines. And I will bring to the White House an unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security.

That starts with ensuring Israel’s qualitative military advantage. I will ensure that Israel can defend itself from any threat - from Gaza to Tehran. Defense cooperation between the United States and Israel is a model of success, and must be deepened. As President, I will implement a Memorandum of Understanding that provides $30 billion in assistance to Israel over the next decade - investments to Israel’s security that will not be tied to any other nation. First, we must approve the foreign aid request for 2009. Going forward, we can enhance our cooperation on missile defense. We should export military equipment to our ally Israel under the same guidelines as NATO. And I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself in the United Nations and around the world.

Across the political spectrum, Israelis understand that real security can only come through lasting peace. And that is why we - as friends of Israel - must resolve to do all we can to help Israel and its neighbors to achieve it. Because a secure, lasting peace is in Israel’s national interest. It is in America’s national interest. And it is in the interest of the Palestinian people and the Arab world. As President, I will work to help Israel achieve the goal of two states, a Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security. And I won’t wait until the waning days of my presidency. I will take an active role, and make a personal commitment to do all I can to advance the cause of peace from the start of my Administration.

The long road to peace requires Palestinian partners committed to making the journey. We must isolate Hamas unless and until they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel’s right to exist, and abide by past agreements. There is no room at the negotiating table for terrorist organizations. That is why I opposed holding elections in 2006 with Hamas on the ballot. The Israelis and the Palestinian Authority warned us at the time against holding these elections. But this Administration pressed ahead, and the result is a Gaza controlled by Hamas, with rockets raining down on Israel.

The Palestinian people must understand that progress will not come through the false prophets of extremism or the corrupt use of foreign aid. The United States and the international community must stand by Palestinians who are committed to cracking down on terror and carrying the burden of peacemaking. I will strongly urge Arab governments to take steps to normalize relations with Israel, and to fulfill their responsibility to pressure extremists and provide real support for President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad. Egypt must cut off the smuggling of weapons into Gaza. Israel can also advance the cause of peace by taking appropriate steps - consistent with its security - to ease the freedom of movement for Palestinians, improve economic conditions in the West Bank, and to refrain from building new settlements - as it agreed to with the Bush Administration at Annapolis.

Let me be clear. Israel’s security is sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable. The Palestinians need a state that is contiguous and cohesive, and that allows them to prosper - but any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel’s identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.

I have no illusions that this will be easy. It will require difficult decisions on both sides. But Israel is strong enough to achieve peace, if it has partners who are committed to the goal. Most Israelis and Palestinians want peace, and we must strengthen their hand. The United States must be a strong and consistent partner in this process - not to force concessions, but to help committed partners avoid stalemate and the kind of vacuums that are filled by violence. That’s what I commit to do as President of the United States.

The threats to Israel start close to home, but they don’t end there. Syria continues its support for terror and meddling in Lebanon. And Syria has taken dangerous steps in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, which is why Israeli action was justified to end that threat.

I also believe that the United States has a responsibility to support Israel’s efforts to renew peace talks with the Syrians. We must never force Israel to the negotiating table, but neither should we ever block negotiations when Israel’s leaders decide that they may serve Israeli interests. As President, I will do whatever I can to help Israel succeed in these negotiations. And success will require the full enforcement of Security Council Resolution 1701 in Lebanon, and a stop to Syria’s support for terror. It is time for this reckless behavior to come to an end.

There is no greater threat to Israel - or to the peace and stability of the region - than Iran. Now this audience is made up of both Republicans and Democrats, and the enemies of Israel should have no doubt that, regardless of party, Americans stand shoulder-to-shoulder in our commitment to Israel’s security. So while I don’t want to strike too partisan a note here today, I do want to address some willful mischaracterizations of my positions.

The Iranian regime supports violent extremists and challenges us across the region. It pursues a nuclear capability that could spark a dangerous arms race, and raise the prospect of a transfer of nuclear know-how to terrorists. Its President denies the Holocaust and threatens to wipe Israel off the map. The danger from Iran is grave, it is real, and my goal will be to eliminate this threat.

But just as we are clear-eyed about the threat, we must be clear about the failure of today’s policy. We knew, in 2002, that Iran supported terrorism. We knew Iran had an illicit nuclear program. We knew Iran posed a grave threat to Israel. But instead of pursuing a strategy to address this threat, we ignored it and instead invaded and occupied Iraq. When I opposed the war, I warned that it would fan the flames of extremism in the Middle East. That is precisely what happened in Iran - the hardliners tightened their grip, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected President in 2005. And the United States and Israel are less secure.

I respect Senator McCain, and look forward to a substantive debate with him these next five months. But on this point, we have differed, and we will differ. Senator McCain refuses to understand or acknowledge the failure of the policy that he would continue. He criticizes my willingness to use strong diplomacy, but offers only an alternate reality - one where the war in Iraq has somehow put Iran on its heels. The truth is the opposite. Iran has strengthened its position. Iran is now enriching uranium, and has reportedly stockpiled 150 kilos of low enriched uranium. Its support for terrorism and threats toward Israel have increased. Those are the facts, they cannot be denied, and I refuse to continue a policy that has made the United States and Israel less secure.

Senator McCain offers a false choice: stay the course in Iraq, or cede the region to Iran. I reject this logic because there is a better way. Keeping all of our troops tied down indefinitely in Iraq is not the way to weaken Iran - it is precisely what has strengthened it. It is a policy for staying, not a plan for victory. I have proposed a responsible, phased redeployment of our troops from Iraq. We will get out as carefully as we were careless getting in. We will finally pressure Iraq’s leaders to take meaningful responsibility for their own future.

We will also use all elements of American power to pressure Iran. I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. That starts with aggressive, principled diplomacy without self-defeating preconditions, but with a clear-eyed understanding of our interests. We have no time to waste. We cannot unconditionally rule out an approach that could prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. We have tried limited, piecemeal talks while we outsource the sustained work to our European allies. It is time for the United States to lead.

There will be careful preparation. We will open up lines of communication, build an agenda, coordinate closely with our allies, and evaluate the potential for progress. Contrary to the claims of some, I have no interest in sitting down with our adversaries just for the sake of talking. But as President of the United States, I would be willing to lead tough and principled diplomacy with the appropriate Iranian leader at a time and place of my choosing - if, and only if - it can advance the interests of the United States.

Only recently have some come to think that diplomacy by definition cannot be tough. They forget the example of Truman, and Kennedy and Reagan. These Presidents understood that diplomacy backed by real leverage was a fundamental tool of statecraft. And it is time to once again make American diplomacy a tool to succeed, not just a means of containing failure. We will pursue this diplomacy with no illusions about the Iranian regime. Instead, we will present a clear choice. If you abandon your dangerous nuclear program, support for terror, and threats to Israel, there will be meaningful incentives - including the lifting of sanctions, and political and economic integration with the international community. If you refuse, we will ratchet up the pressure.

My presidency will strengthen our hand as we restore our standing. Our willingness to pursue diplomacy will make it easier to mobilize others to join our cause. If Iran fails to change course when presented with this choice by the United States, it will be clear - to the people of Iran, and to the world - that the Iranian regime is the author of its own isolation. That will strengthen our hand with Russia and China as we insist on stronger sanctions in the Security Council. And we should work with Europe, Japan and the Gulf states to find every avenue outside the UN to isolate the Iranian regime - from cutting off loan guarantees and expanding financial sanctions, to banning the export of refined petroleum to Iran, to boycotting firms associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, whose Quds force has rightly been labeled a terrorist organization.

I was interested to see Senator McCain propose divestment as a source of leverage - not the bigoted divestment that has sought to punish Israeli scientists and academics, but divestment targeted at the Iranian regime. It’s a good concept, but not a new one. I introduced legislation over a year ago that would encourage states and the private sector to divest from companies that do business in Iran. This bill has bipartisan support, but for reasons that I’ll let him explain, Senator McCain never signed on. Meanwhile, an anonymous Senator is blocking the bill. It is time to pass this into law so that we can tighten the squeeze on the Iranian regime. We should also pursue other unilateral sanctions that target Iranian banks and assets.

And we must free ourselves from the tyranny of oil. The price of a barrel of oil is one of the most dangerous weapons in the world. Petrodollars pay for weapons that kill American troops and Israeli citizens. And the Bush Administration’s policies have driven up the price of oil, while its energy policy has made us more dependent on foreign oil and gas. It’s time for the United States to take real steps to end our addiction to oil. And we can join with Israel, building on last year’s US-Israel Energy Cooperation Act, to deepen our partnership in developing alternative sources of energy by increasing scientific collaboration and joint research and development. The surest way to increase our leverage in the long term is to stop bankrolling the Iranian regime.

Finally, let there be no doubt: I will always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally Israel. Sometimes there are no alternatives to confrontation. But that only makes diplomacy more important. If we must use military force, we are more likely to succeed, and will have far greater support at home and abroad, if we have exhausted our diplomatic efforts.

That is the change we need in our foreign policy. Change that restores American power and influence. Change accompanied by a pledge that I will make known to allies and adversaries alike: that America maintains an unwavering friendship with Israel, and an unshakeable commitment to its security.

As members of AIPAC, you have helped advance this bipartisan consensus to support and defend our ally Israel. And I am sure that today on Capitol Hill you will be meeting with members of Congress and spreading the word. But we are here because of more than policy. We are here because the values we hold dear are deeply embedded in the story of Israel.

Just look at what Israel has accomplished in 60 years. From decades of struggle and the terrible wake of the Holocaust, a nation was forged to provide a home for Jews from all corners of the world - from Syria to Ethiopia to the Soviet Union. In the face of constant threats, Israel has triumphed. In the face of constant peril, Israel has prospered. In a state of constant insecurity, Israel has maintained a vibrant and open discourse, and a resilient commitment to the rule of law.

As any Israeli will tell you, Israel is not a perfect place, but like the United States it sets an example for all when it seeks a more perfect future. These same qualities can be found among American Jews. It is why so many Jewish Americans have stood by Israel, while advancing the American story. Because there is a commitment embedded in the Jewish faith and tradition: to freedom and fairness; to social justice and equal opportunity. To tikkun olam - the obligation to repair this world.

I will never forget that I would not be standing here today if it weren’t for that commitment. In the great social movements in our country’s history, Jewish and African Americans have stood shoulder to shoulder. They took buses down south together. They marched together. They bled together. And Jewish Americans like Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were willing to die alongside a black man - James Chaney - on behalf of freedom and equality.

Their legacy is our inheritance. We must not allow the relationship between Jews and African Americans to suffer. This is a bond that must be strengthened. Together, we can rededicate ourselves to end prejudice and combat hatred in all of its forms. Together, we can renew our commitment to justice. Together, we can join our voices together, and in doing so make even the mightiest of walls fall down.

That work must include our shared commitment to Israel. You and I know that we must do more than stand still. Now is the time to be vigilant in facing down every foe, just as we move forward in seeking a future of peace for the children of Israel, and for all children. Now is the time to stand by Israel as it writes the next chapter in its extraordinary journey. Now is the time to join together in the work of repairing this world."

6.03.2008

Obama Claims His Victory in Minnesota!

What a great night! Barack offers great oratory WITH great content!

Pastors in Retreat as They Fail at Politics

Clearly, priests and ministers and rabbis have not made progress in politics this year in the primary season.

Perhaps they should stop believing their own press releases and start accepting the burdens of living in the real world...

Priest who mocked Clinton suspended from parish

(CNN) -- The Catholic priest who mocked Hillary Clinton in an animated sermon has been placed on leave from his Chicago, Illinois, parish.

Father Michael Pfleger was asked to "step back from his obligations" at St. Sabina's parish for two weeks, according to a statement by Archbishop Cardinal Francis George.

MSNBC: Barack Captures Democratic Nomination. What a Great Campaign!

Hillary Clinton tonight made a fool of herself with a non-concession speech in NYC that had no connection to reality. But hey, many New Yorkers ignore reality. And Hillary lives in another dimension!

CNN: Obama Clinches Democratic Nomination. Hillary Remains in Outer Space

Rice in Mysterious Policy Shift Calls Creating a Palestinian State Urgent

What? Why the urgency? Makes no sense. Hey - you Republican Jews still like Bush? You still like McCain? Rice may be his VP running mate!

Rice to AIPAC: Establishment of a
Palestinian state is "urgent"

June 3, 2008

Condoleezza Rice at an AIPAC conference stressed the urgency of establishing a Palestinian state.

"The expansion of violence in the Middle East makes the establishment of a peaceful Palestinian state more urgent, not less," the U.S. secretary of state said Tuesday at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference in Washington.

"The present opportunity is not perfect by any means, but it is better than any other in recent years and we need to seize it. Israelis have waited too long for the security they desire and deserve, and Palestinians have waited too long amidst daily humiliations for the dignity of a Palestinian state."

Rice's remarks were greeted with silence.

Audio of Rice's speech here.

Full coverage of AIPAC Conference here.

Kosher Tatoo T-Shirts Signed and Numbered

Two young Modern Jewish Orthodox Entrepreneurs from New Jersey launched a Tattoo-inspired T-shirt collection. They promise to give a percentage of the proceeds to charity.

Orthodox Judaism forbids tattoos based on a biblical injunction. But it is kosher for tat-deprived kids to wear a "cool line of high end t-shirts with vibrant colors, done by a world famous tattoo artist."

And wait there is more.

"The initial collection is limited, signed and numbered by the artist and available at specialty stores nationwide beginning in July. A June 28 event in Chelsea (New York City) at IT NYC store will officially launch the line."

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 3, 2008 -- Ever since he was a young kid growing up in New Jersey, Jeremy Parker was fascinated with tattoos. Raised in a Modern Jewish Orthodox family, Jeremy knew he could never actually get one for himself, so when he graduated from college and entered the adult business world, he did the next best thing: he started a T-shirt Collection. Called Tees and Tats, the high end, limited edition, signed prints are based around Japanese style tattoo artwork.

Tees and Tats (http://www.teesandtats.com/), based on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and set to debut at retail in June, is a labor of love for Jeremy and his first cousin, Ben Parker. Through their intense research and network of friends and colleagues, the cousins connected with Marco Serio, one of the great Japanese style tattoo artists, and commissioned him to create seven original "prints" for their first collection of shirts.

Marco is a serious artist and these exclusive designs were inspired by the original Japanese Samurai tattoos of the early 1800s. Serio, who was born on the outskirts of Lisbon, Portugal, and moved to New York seven years ago, works out of the Invisible NYC Art Gallery on Orchard Street in Manhattan. He designed the T-shirts with the body in mind. The artwork is original and flows around the body like a tattoo. The discharge print originates on and covers the back of the shirt, an artistic twist from the standard screen prints used on most run-of-the-mill T-shirts.

Tees and Tats will produce 700 of each style, all individually numbered and signed by the artist, and begin selling them in boutiques and online this summer. Made from the finest Turkish cotton, the Tees and Tats shirts will be priced to retail for about $100. The focus of the collection is to present the shirts primarily as a work of art.

"Marco is a serious artist and these exclusive designs were inspired by the original Japanese Samurai tattoos of the early 1800s," says Jeremy Parker. "The shirts are meant to be worn as a canvas and expression of an individual's personality. That is why we are initially focused on very limited numbers."

Parker said that as the concept becomes more widely known, Tees and Tats will expand into other arenas but always as focused, special collections.

One important additional element to the Tees and Tats philosophy is their desire to give back. For every T-shirt sold in the initial collection, the company will donate a percentage of proceeds to the non-profit ArtWorks Foundation. Based in Englewood, N.J., ArtWorks provides children and young adults suffering from chronic and life-threatening illnesses, and their siblings, access to creative and performing arts programming which encourages the use of the creative process as a vehicle for healing, communication, self-expression, and personal development.

6.02.2008

CBS: After Hillary Jews Will Vote for Barack

It's not entirely clear that there will be a groundswell of support. Optimistically, I hope that it's in the cards.

According to exit polls conducted in 30 primary states, Jewish Democratic primary voters overall supported Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama. (AP)
Analysis: Jewish Voters And Obama
More Jewish Voters Went For Clinton In Democratic Primaries, But This May Not Be A Problem For Obama In November

Review of a New Pile of Anecdotes About Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik

Ethan Isenberg directed Lonely Man of Faith, a documentary film on the life and legacy of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.

He has written a thorough and analytical review of a new book about the Rav in the Yeshiva University student newspaper.

Yet Another Soloveitchik Book? Review of Mentor of Generations: Reflections on Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (Hardcover), by Zev Eleff (Editor), 349 pages, KTAV Publishing House.

He concludes the informative review with the following summary:

Interspersed with the largely anecdotal material in this book are several analysis pieces worthy of reading. Both Michael Chernick and Hershel Reichman each provide an interesting analysis of the RIETS shiur. Lawrence Kaplan, the translator of Halakhic Man, provides some extended comments provided by the Rav during the course of the translation, that were not incorporated into the published version. Shlomo Pick gives a quick tour of the Rav’s insights on the various holidays, which is rounded out by Itzhak Goldberg on the Rav’s minhagim and specific nusach for the High Holiday prayers, and J. J. Schacter’s addendum to the recently published book he edited on Tisha B’Av themes and the kinot. In one of the only analyses of the Rav’s thought to appear in the book, Eugene Borowitz, the famous theologian from HUC, attempts to explain why Ish Ha-Halakhah and U’vikashtem Mi-Sham are so different, by theorizing the different purpose behind each of the works. I take issue with his explanation because it doesn’t really fit with the chronology of the writing of the works, but his arguments are definitely worthy of consideration.

Ultimately, while Mentor of Generations does tread over some well-trodden ground, there is much in the book to make it worth a read. Some of the anecdotes provide insight into under-explored territory, others add new perspective to that which has been previously noted. Still others merely add more voices to established conclusions. Either way, there should be something for everyone in this welcome addition to the Soloveitchik legacy.

Republican Jewish Coalition Smear-Mail Campaign Labels Barack's Team "Anti-Israel"

Barack is a strong candidate who has made clear his unflinching support of Israel.

His opponents have nothing to assail him with. So they attack his surrogates. And they paint scenarios of fear.

That is to be expected in politics. However the Republican Jewish Coalition has crossed over the line from political discourse to disturbing false accusations.

No one in American government today is “anti-Israel.” Any attack that I see that uses that label is automatically discounted as a scare-mail smear.

The RJC has sent out the email below declaring: “Bonior Joins Obama Team as Latest Anti-Israel Campaign Official.”

This is a disgraceful slander.

There are no anti-Israel officials on the Obama Team.

Signators Suzanne Kurtz and Stu Sandler should be kind enough to issue a retraction for issuing an irresponsible and reprehensible scare-mail.

Call or write to the signators and tell them that it is beneath the dignity of the RJCHQ to continue down this path.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5-31-2008
Contact: Suzanne Kurtz or Stu Sandler
Office: 202-638-6688; 202-368-6465 (cell)
E-mail: skurtz@rjchq.org

Bonior Joins Obama Team as Latest
Anti-Israel Campaign Official

Washington, D.C. (May 30, 2008) - The Republican Jewish Coalition today responded to the announcement that former Rep. David Bonior will be representing the Obama campaign at the Democratic National Committee meeting this weekend in Washington, D.C. As a Congressman, David Bonior was known for his strong opposition to pro-Israel policies, being called by some "the biggest supporter of the anti-Israel Arab lobby in Congress."[1] The RJC cited Bonior as the latest in a string of advisors and campaign officials to Barack Obama that harbor anti-Israel views.

"Barack Obama's path to strengthening ties with the Jewish community is severely blocked when appointing an anti-Israel figure like David Bonior. While in Congress, Bonior refused to stand by Israel after repeated terrorist attacks, was known as a stalwart opponent to Israel, and is now a representative for Barack Obama. Bonior's appointment is the latest in a series that raises serious questions and doubts about Barack Obama's positions and judgments on the Middle East."

During his Congressional career, David Bonior repeatedly opposed pro-Israel legislation. In 1997, David Bonior was one of 15 Congressmen who signed a letter asking then-President Clinton to pressure Israelis into making concessions to the Palestinians. In 2002, David Bonior was one of only 21 Congressmen who opposed H.R. 392, which publicly affirmed Congress's support of Israel's right to self-defense and called for the dismantling of the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure.[2] In 1990, David Bonior was one of only 34 Congressman to vote against a measure naming Jerusalem as the united capital of Israel.[3] In 1989, Bonior was one of six House members to vote against a bill that prevented US funds from going to UN entities that granted the PLO membership.[4] Throughout his career, Bonior repeatedly opposed US aid to Israel and supported arms sales to Arab states opposed to Israel's existence.

"The appointment of yet another anti-Israel advisor like David Bonior to represent Barack Obama speaks volumes to the Jewish community. The pattern including Tony McPeak, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and Robert Malley continues with this appointment. It's no wonder the Jewish community remains deeply skeptical and troubled by Barack Obama."

[1] Jonathan Tobin, Jewish World Review, 7/12/99.

[2] H.R. 392, "Expressing Solidarity with Israel in its Fight
against Terrorism", May 2002, 352-21 (29 voting present).

[3] H.R. 290, "In support of a unified Jerusalem", Apr. 1990,
378-34 (6 voting present).

[4] H.R. 2145, "Prohibiting US Contributions to the United
Nations Under Certain Condititons", May 1989, 396-6 (11 voting present).

True Religion Advances 18% This Year

Only in America could that headline be about a jeans company and not about the faith of our citizens...

True Religion: Just a Name?
by: Brandon Jentzen
Designer brands have long been a significant part of our economy. A recent company that has emerged and proven to be performing well is True Religion (TRLG). They have entered into a niche market that can be highly profitable, if able survive. So far, they have been focusing on producing designer jeans and some other garments such as shirts and sweatshirts. It seems as though you cannot walk anywhere without seeing their tremendously established horseshoe stitch. The price of these jeans defiantly remind you that you are purchasing designer jeans and not just any ordinary denim. Thus far, their jeans have acted like that of a Giffen good in that more and more jeans have been purchased despite high prices.

Year to date, the company has been up around 18.4%, which is great in the current economic environment. The P/E ratio is defiantly on the higher end, signaling that many investors have high hopes for the company in the future and are willing to pay a premium for their earnings.Their forward P/E ratio is much less than the industry's, all awhile their growth is only slightly lower indicating a good buy. With sales growth estimates as well as earnings estimates being extremely high, this defiantly is a long position in my portfolio.

On top of the great growth outlooks for the company, they have a solid balance sheet. Their current ratio and acid-test ratios are phenomenal. Being unleveraged, they look great as far as solvency is concerned. Overall, this an exploding company with sky-high potential, and a great buy for a long position.

Times: Mosquito Nets Make a Cool Bar Mitzvah Project

A new charity generates new energy. At first glance I was doubtful about the legitimacy of this effort. But it looks kosher to me.

A $10 Mosquito Net Is Making Charity Cool
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Donating $10 to buy a mosquito net to save an African child from malaria has become a hip way to show you care, especially for teenagers. The movement is like a modern version of the March of Dimes, created in 1938 to defeat polio, or like collecting pennies for Unicef on Halloween.

Unusual allies, like the Methodist and Lutheran Churches, the National Basketball Association and the United Nations Foundation, are stoking the passion for nets that prevent malaria. The annual “American Idol Gives Back” fund-raising television special has donated about $6 million a year for two years. The music channel VH1 made a fund-raising video featuring a pesky man in a mosquito suit.

It is an appeal that clearly resonates with young people....

...most of the contributions have been modest, raised by students.

Yoni D. P. Rechtman, a seventh grader on the undefeated middle-school team at St. Ann’s School in Brooklyn, organized a 3-on-3 basketball tournament as part of his “mitzvah project,” the tradition of raising money for a good cause before one’s bar mitzvah. Unfortunately, he said, it rained that day; but the nine players who showed up anyway had family pledges totaling $1,900....more

6.01.2008

WHO: Ban All Cigarette Ads Worldwide

Do it now!

WHO Calls on Governments to Ban Tobacco Advertising
By Diane Smith

The World Health Organization (WHO) called on all governments to forbid all sorts of tobacco advertising. The main goal of this measure is to protect the world's youth from becoming addicted to tobacco. WHO estimated that tobacco could cause as much as one billion premature deaths this century.

The call was made by the WHO on World No Tobacco Day. The surveys carried out by the U.N. organization have shown that the young people who are more exposed to tobacco advertisement are also more likely to start smoking and less likely to quit.

WHO officials accused tobacco producers of using increasingly sophisticated marketing techniques to ensnare young people. The most exposed segment of the population is the girls in poorer countries.

The U.N. organization said only 5% of the world's population was covered by comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

The WHO also said the existing restrictions aren’t enough to efficiently care for the world's 1.8 billion young people who are targeted by tobacco advertising through the internet, magazines and films.

According to the survey, the number of female and adolescent smokers has tripled in the last 10 years in Russia, a country with very few laws against smoking. On the other side, in Canada, a country which severely restricted tobacco advertising, the number of smokers is at its lowest in 40 years.

"The tobacco industry continues to spread its deadly product as the vector of the tobacco epidemic. The tobacco company spends tens of billions of dollars to market its products and tens of billions of dollars a year around the world to particularly develop and study and market to young people, especially in developing countries," said Dr. Douglas Bettcher, the director of WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative.

WSJ: Scholars Compare Barack to Rabbi Heschel's Ideal of the Prophet

Leave it to those scholars to compare Barack Obama favorably to the ideal prophet as described by the famous Rabbi Heschel.

...Yet a collective yearning to attribute the properties of the prophet to a political figure could lead to a misinterpretation of Rabbi Heschel's teachings, according to others who have studied his work. The political left has in recent years come to embrace the term "prophetic." But whether Rabbi Heschel believed that a politician could be a prophet or that a prophet could be a politician remains an open question.

Edward Kaplan, the rabbi's biographer, later told me: "Heschel saw the Hebrew prophets as being in sympathy with God's point of view, what he called the divine pathos. Heschel's judgments about American racism, economic inequality and the unjust Vietnam war were passionate and extreme." Still, Mr. Kaplan emphasizes, that the rabbi "was suspicious of politics as representing the perspective of expediency, which often includes lying."

"The problem is that to win votes and to tell the truth presents an inherent conflict," said Mel Scult, a professor of Judaic studies at Brooklyn College, in an interview. "The prophet is a social critic who speaks out and disregards the consequences." Which might be a little hard to do if he's the one in power. Still, Prof. Scult argues that, in Heschel's interpretation, a political figure "could be prophetic if he had the courage."

Ms. Heschel agrees. Though she thinks her father was careful not to use the word "prophet" too loosely, she does believe that a political figure can possess a prophetic spirit. "Would it be possible for a politician to embody certain kinds of moral values, to speak about those moral truths from a higher vantage point, and be willing even to criticize the country -- to speak at some remove? I would hope so," she continued. "It's possible to have a prophetic moment, even from a president." Of course, there is a difference, Mr. West noted after the event, between a statesman and a politician. "Great statesmen," West pointed out, "are able to fuse the prophetic with the prudential."

Prophet Sharing: Discussing the Legacy of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
By JORDANA HORN

"The main task of prophetic thinking," Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-72) wrote in his seminal book, "The Prophets," "is to bring the world into divine focus." For two hours at New York's Museum of Jewish Heritage last week, Dartmouth Prof. Susannah Heschel (the rabbi's daughter) and Princeton Prof. Cornel West used Rabbi Heschel's words to discuss whether there is a "prophetic spirit" in modern America.

The answer, more than a century after the rabbi's birth, was a resounding "yes." But the question of how that spirit can manifest itself -- and in whom -- turned out to be more complex.

Abraham Joshua Heschel, born in Warsaw, was the descendant of two Hasidic rabbinic dynasties. He grew up in Poland and received his doctorate from the University of Berlin. His dissertation was later published as "The Prophets." In 1940, he left Europe for the U.S., and in 1945 he became a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

Heschel's writings -- studied extensively in Jewish and Christian communities alike -- give great consideration to the relationship between man and God and the potential for individuals to imbue their own lives with a sense of sanctification and purpose. "We are called upon to be an image of God," he said in an ABC interview in 1971. "You see, God is absent, invisible, and the task of a human being is to represent the divine, to be a reminder of the presence of God."

Rabbi Heschel's legacy as a religious and civil-rights leader stems from his strong personal sense of justice, in part derived from the writings of biblical prophets. Prophets speak words filled with indignation, Heschel explained in his book, and they are intended to wrestle listeners out of complacency: "Above all, the prophets remind us of the moral state of a people. Few are guilty, but all are responsible." Religion without that indignation at political evil, he believed, was not religion at all. It is this spirit that led him to march in Selma, Ala., with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to speak out against the war in Vietnam.

The recent evening's discussion of Heschel's legacy gravitated, over and over, to the subject of Barack Obama. First Ms. Heschel and Mr. West brought up the presidential candidate and then the audience did. "He's a gift to this country," Ms. Heschel said, to great applause. It was as if everyone in the room were intoxicated with the idea that a politician could embody the prophetic. As she explained: "Today, there is a yearning for redemption. We want to be redeemed from cynicism and corruption. We want our politicians to turn swords into plowshares."

Yet a collective yearning to attribute the properties of the prophet to a political figure could lead to a misinterpretation of Rabbi Heschel's teachings, according to others who have studied his work. The political left has in recent years come to embrace the term "prophetic." But whether Rabbi Heschel believed that a politician could be a prophet or that a prophet could be a politician remains an open question.

Edward Kaplan, the rabbi's biographer, later told me: "Heschel saw the Hebrew prophets as being in sympathy with God's point of view, what he called the divine pathos. Heschel's judgments about American racism, economic inequality and the unjust Vietnam war were passionate and extreme." Still, Mr. Kaplan emphasizes, that the rabbi "was suspicious of politics as representing the perspective of expediency, which often includes lying."

"The problem is that to win votes and to tell the truth presents an inherent conflict," said Mel Scult, a professor of Judaic studies at Brooklyn College, in an interview. "The prophet is a social critic who speaks out and disregards the consequences." Which might be a little hard to do if he's the one in power. Still, Prof. Scult argues that, in Heschel's interpretation, a political figure "could be prophetic if he had the courage."

Ms. Heschel agrees. Though she thinks her father was careful not to use the word "prophet" too loosely, she does believe that a political figure can possess a prophetic spirit. "Would it be possible for a politician to embody certain kinds of moral values, to speak about those moral truths from a higher vantage point, and be willing even to criticize the country -- to speak at some remove? I would hope so," she continued. "It's possible to have a prophetic moment, even from a president." Of course, there is a difference, Mr. West noted after the event, between a statesman and a politician. "Great statesmen," West pointed out, "are able to fuse the prophetic with the prudential."

Even so, Alan Mittleman, a philosophy professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary, suggests that there is a danger in using prophetic language too much. "The rabbis say in the Talmud that a wise man who engages in dialectical text interpretation is preferable to a prophet," Mr. Mittleman notes. While he says that he "can appreciate the moral passion that wants to wrap itself in the mantle of prophecy, there's something politically imprudent about it."

He worries that Heschel and his admirers today may rely too heavily on ambiguous claims of a prophetic spirit. "I think it makes a lot more sense to admit that what we're doing is arguing, as fallible human beings, out of the best reasons we can produce for the validity of the moral views we're trying to defend," he adds. "The basic rabbinic understanding of religion and ethics as taking place in the world of text interpretation, and the back and forth of rational justification, is a much better basis of life in a democratic society than these presumptive claims to prophetic authority that lean on God in the absence of real divine speech," Mr. Mittleman concludes.

Perhaps Rabbi Heschel's greatest contribution to our modern political debate, then, is to remind us not to rely too much on politics.

Ms. Horn is a lawyer and writer at work on her first novel.

Israelis Mostly Ignore the NYC Salute to Israel Parade

Mainly, the Israelis don't like parades, says the Times:

For Parade Celebrating Israel, an Effort to Include Those Closest to It

...up and salute has almost never shown up: Israelis. There are an estimated 400,000 Israelis living in the New York metropolitan area...for the first time tried to reach out to Israelis and other Jewish communities long underrepresented...

By PAUL VITELLO - New York and Region

Times: Mea Culpa on Luttwack v. the Facts

How did the Times make such a mistake? They published an alarmist opinion that was factually absurd. Op-Ed Contributor: President Apostate? (May 12, 2008) Military historian Luttwack claimed that Muslims consider Obama to be an apostate, one who converted out of Islam, and thus will be in danger in a Muslim country because he is worthy of the death penalty. Luttwack checked with the Quran. The Times fact checked the opinion. Only problem -reality! Military historians and journalists simply do not have the expertise to interpret religion....

From the Public Editor, Clark Hoyt:

...Did Luttwak cross the line from fair argument to falsehood? Did Times editors fail to adequately check his facts before publishing his article? Did The Times owe readers a contrasting point of view?

I interviewed five Islamic scholars, at five American universities, recommended by a variety of sources as experts in the field. All of them said that Luttwak’s interpretation of Islamic law was wrong...

When writers purport to educate readers about complex matters, and they are arguably wrong, I think The Times cannot label it opinion and let it go at that.

Times: Baseball Screams Diversity

Screaming diversity yes, but according to profiles. Notice that Jews are the owners in both cases, etc. on down the lines.

Sports of The Times
Measuring Success by Double-Sided Yardstick
...In New York, the Mets’ Jewish owner hired a Dominican general manager who hired an African-American manager. There is a similar model in Chicago, but with a twist: the White Sox’ Jewish owner hired an African-American general manager who hired a Venezuelan manager.
“It screams diversity,” Kenny Williams, the White Sox’ general manager, said Friday. “So when you walk through our doors, you have no choice but to understand the different cultures and aspects of what makes people people...”

Times: The Last Jews in Iraq

Baghdad Jews Have Become a Fearful Few
By STEPHEN FARRELL
BAGHDAD — “I have no future here to stay.”

Written in broken English but with perfect clarity, the message is a stark and plaintive assessment from one of the last Jews of Babylon.
The community of Jews in Baghdad is now all but vanished in a land where their heritage recedes back to Abraham of Ur, to Jonah’s prophesying to Nineveh, and to Nebuchadnezzar’s sending Jews into exile here more than 2,500 years ago.
Just over half a century ago, Iraq’s Jews numbered more than 130,000. But now, in the city that was once the community’s heart, they cannot muster even a minyan, the 10 Jewish men required to perform some of the most important rituals of their faith. They are scared even to publicize their exact number, which was recently estimated at seven by the Jewish Agency for Israel, and at eight by one Christian cleric. That is not enough to read the Torah in public, if there were anywhere in public they would dare to read it, and too few to recite a proper Kaddish for the dead.
Among those who remain is a former car salesman who describes himself as the “rabbi, slaughterer and one of the leaders of the Jewish community in Iraq.”
Although many of his Muslim friends and immediate neighbors know he is Jewish (“I’m proud, I’m Jewish, not ashamed. I’m not hiding,” he wrote at one point.), he was wary of being named because it could draw more dangerous attention to him or his friends. To protect him, he is referred to as Saleh’s grandson, because his or his father’s name would be too easily recognizable here. Interviews with him were conducted by correspondence over the course of several months.
He lamented that Jews in Baghdad had had no meeting place since the Meir Tweig synagogue, the last in the city, was closed in 2003, after it became too dangerous to gather openly.
“I do my prayer in my house because we closed the synagogue from the war until now...

Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images for The New York Times

The tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel in Kifl, south of Baghdad, used to be a pilgrimage site for Jews. It is one of few traces that remain of a once-vibrant Jewish community in Iraq. A pogrom in 1941 and other traumas led to a sharp decline in the Jewish population.

Jews were once a wealthy and politically active part of Iraqi society. Then came an exodus.

6.30.2008

Rival’s Fast Finish Propels Phelps to Another Record By KAREN CROUSEMichael Phelps set a world record in his first event of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, touching just ahead of Ryan Lochte to win the 400-meter individual medley.

Backstroke Record Lasts Only as Long as Next Race By KAREN CROUSENatalie Coughlin’s record for the 100-meter backstroke was broken by Hayley McGregory in the Olympic Trials Monday, so Coughlin lowered the record in the next heat.

6.29.2008

6.28.2008

6.26.2008

6.25.2008

The Brass Ring: A multibillionaire’s relentless quest for global influence.

by Connie Bruck June 30, 2008

6.24.2008

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6.02.2008

More Jewish Voters Went For Clinton In Democratic Primaries, But This May Not Be A Problem For Obama In November

6.01.2008

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Rival’s Fast Finish Propels Phelps to Another Record By KAREN CROUSE
Michael Phelps set a world record in his first event of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, touching just ahead of Ryan Lochte to win the 400-meter individual medley.

Backstroke Record Lasts Only as Long as Next Race By KAREN CROUSE
Natalie Coughlin’s record for the 100-meter backstroke was broken by Hayley McGregory in the Olympic Trials Monday, so Coughlin lowered the record in the next heat.