Google Current Video on the Rebbe Porn Hack

We've heard that porn sites in Israel were hacked and replaced with the rebbe's picture. See below for a video report on that matter and other popular Jewish google searches.

Men in Black Star Will Smith Finally Meets the Real Men in Black

Will Smith Crashes a Bar Mitzvah at the Kotel

JERUSALEM - He never got an invitation and he certainly didn't R.S.V.P., but that didn't stop Will Smith from crashing Atir Cohen's bar mitzvah at Jerusalem's Western Wall.

Cohen, 13, was deep into his Torah reading Thursday when he heard shouting and saw girls pushing against the barrier separating men from women at the holy site to catch a glimpse of the Hollywood superstar.

Will Smith At The Western Wall

Posted Apr 20, 2006

Will Smith interrupts a Bar Mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

American film actor Will Smith with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith and the Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich, next to the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday April 20, 2006. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Olmert: Hamas has a different concept of life

PM Olmert is quite pessimistic about negotiating with Hamas as he spells out in an interview with TIME.com:

TIME: Would you consider going back to negotiations rather than continue with the unilateral strategy? Do you see any prospect for negotiations with Hamas if they moderate their rhetoric?

Olmert: They can't just change their rhetoric. They need to change their entire way of life, they need to change entirely their state of mind about Israel's existence. It's so much deeper than rhetoric. To just believe that if Ismail Haniyeh tomorrow starts using different words, that will make the difference? No way. This is a typical fundamentalist, extremist religious movement that does not think in political terms the way we're accustomed to. Therefore I'm not very optimistic they can change overnight. They can change their rhetoric but they can't change substance.

Their inability to accept the existence of two states and their total dedication to an Islamic religious fundamentalist state all across the Middle East to Africa to Asia is still their most dominant driving force. Don't get it wrong, some of them are very sophisticated, well educated people. But they have a different concept of life.

I agree 100%. Hamas promotes a total culture of violence. There is no reason to talk with them.

Too Cool for Shul

North Jersey Bergen Record has a nice feature today -- a kind of stream of consciousness report on all things Jewish that are also hip.

It's at the clothing store: Cleverly designed T-shirts declare 'Moses is my homeboy' or ask 'Who's your rabbi?' Even the trendy clothier Urban Outfitters has gotten into the act with its 'Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl' tees.

And it's at the record store -- beyond Matisyahu, that is: the Jewish-oriented, New York-based label JDub Records, which put Matisyahu on the map, has a roster that includes the LeeVees, the band behind last year's 'Hanukkah Rocks' album.

Of course the reporter makes the basic mistake of confusing "Jewish" and "Judaic" -- he probably never took Jewish Studies in college.

'Gospel of Judas' -- an Authentic Fabrication

Yesterday we were ready to declare Judas Iscariot as this week's Jew of the Week based on sensational news reports such as USATODAY.com - Long-lost gospel of Judas recasts 'traitor'.

It looked like the once infamous Judas of Gospel repute was really a hero, not a betrayer.

Alas. Page one of today's New York Sun reports 'Gospel of Judas' Called An Authentic Fabrication.

Bruce Chilton of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College presents there a balanced and highly readable explanation of why the NG hype and sensationalism distorts the evidence of this ancient document. He points out how the folks at NG did not consult experts on ancient writing, and how they appear to be deliberately misleading the public.

The National Geographic web site nonetheless is first rate. See The Lost Gospel of Judas--Photos, Time Line, Maps--National Geographic.

It tells us, "The Gospel of Judas gives a different view of the relationship between Jesus and Judas, offering new insights into the disciple who betrayed Jesus. Unlike the accounts in the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in which Judas is portrayed as a reviled traitor, this newly discovered Gospel portrays Judas as acting at Jesus' request when he hands Jesus over to the authorities."

You can see just how much can be done with web technology to present texts here, View the Gospel of Judas Interactive Document--National Geographic.

I can attest that this presentation is quite expensive. Hence the NG likely expects to make a tidy sum on their investment. Bottom line: the profit motive infiltrated into scholarship here and apparently polluted the environment.

With friends like this...

Walt and Mearsheimer have found some friends:

Guardian Unlimited Academics' Paper on 'Israel Lobby' Blasted: BOSTON (AP) - Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke calls their work "A Modern American Declaration of Independence!'' ... "It's David Duke with footnotes,'' said Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz.

Yes, It's Anti-Semitic

In today's Washington Post, Eliot A. Cohen, professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies rips apart Walt and Mearsheimer.

Yes, It's Anti-Semitic: "Inept, even kooky academic work, then, but is it anti-Semitic? If by anti-Semitism one means obsessive and irrationally hostile beliefs about Jews; if one accuses them of disloyalty, subversion or treachery, of having occult powers and of participating in secret combinations that manipulate institutions and governments; if one systematically selects everything unfair, ugly or wrong about Jews as individuals or a group and equally systematically suppresses any exculpatory information -- why, yes, this paper is anti-Semitic."

Nice Job Eliot!

Read the article and decide for yourself.

Harvard Anti-Semitic Dean Attacks �Israel Lobby�

Thanks Neal for prompting me to address this.

The Harvard Crimson :: Dean Attacks �Israel Lobby�: In an attack on what they termed the �Israel Lobby,� the Kennedy School�s Stephen M. Walt and the University of Chicago�s John J. Mearsheimer argued in a recent article that supporters of Israel have seized control of U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East, making it reflect Israel�s interests more than those of the U.S.

The Harvard Crimson :: KSG Seeks Distance from Paper: �Since the furor, Bob Belfer has called expressing his deep concerns and asked that Stephen not use his professorship title in publicity related to the article,� the source told The Sun.

My response is:

The charge of a malevolent organized Jewish conspiracy is the most blatant form of anti-Semitism. In this 21st century, I find it insufficient that the Kennedy School of Government removed its logo from a the scurrilous paper published last week by Academic Dean Stephen M. Walt and the University of Chicago�s John J. Mearsheimer.

I find it insufficient that the most prominent educational institution in the world added a more prominent disclaimer stating that the classic racist views expressed in that work belong only to the authors.

I call on Harvard -- take that paper off your server and issue an apology to all persons of learning and conscience.