by Zionista [➚] · Friday, September 30th, 2005
The Forward reports,
According to Argentine Jewish leaders and media reports, the United States sided with Iran last week in a secret vote to downgrade international police alerts calling for the arrest of Iranian officials wanted by Argentina for their alleged role in the 1994 bombing, which killed 85 and wounded more than 300. The vote, taken by the General Assembly of Interpol, the 182-country international police agency, canceled the top-level alert for arrest warrants issued by
Argentina against 12 Iranians in 2003.
[...]
“We are just appalled by Interpol’s decision,” said Jorge Kirszenbaum, the head of DAIA, the central Jewish umbrella organization in Argentina. “We are particularly hurt that some countries who claim to be at the forefront of the fight against terrorism took that position.”
Full story.
by biz [➚] · Thursday, September 29th, 2005
MTVu, Matisyahu’s first music television supporter, has nominated the Hasidic reggae singer for 2 of its most coveted of awards, the Woodie. Here’s what they say:
The college music moment of truth. The artists whose music you’ve lived your life to all year. The highs, the lows, the stress, the love, the hate, the worry… the music never stopped. Vote until your mouse breaks.
You heard them, Matisyahu needs you. VOTE NOW, VOTE OFTEN!
by Mobius [➚] · Thursday, September 29th, 2005
We just partner with Arutz Sheva!
by Mobius [➚] · Thursday, September 29th, 2005
Atlanta Jewish Life, the specialty mag produced by Jewschool contributors (and former Jewsweek editors) Benyamin Cohen & Bradford Pilcher, was named Best Local Magazine this week by Creative Loafing, Atlanta’s leading alternative weekly.
You don’t have to be Jewish to appreciate ATLANTA JEWISH LIFE. The magazine, which first published in the spring of 2001, comes out every other month and features short, sharply written articles on topics ranging from a Jewish girl’s journey to learn more about her infamous mobster uncle to a profile on Jewish comedian (and former Atlantan) David Cross. Editor Benyamin Cohen hasn’t missed a beat as he’s vested the publication with a young, hip sensibility. The July-August issue’s cover, “Jewish Radio Mafia: A Photo Essay,†is a brilliant, “Sopranosâ€-esque photo lineup of 12 of Atlanta’s Jewish radio personalities, including 99X’s Jimmy Baron and NPR’s Lois Reitzes.
More Atlanta ‘best ofs’ here.
by Mobius [➚] · Thursday, September 29th, 2005
International ANSWER has gone out of their way to demonstrate why UPFJ is spineless and why no sensible activist wants anything to do with them.
The Indepundit reports,
JAMAL KANJ, a fiery Palestinian from a group called Al-Awda, takes the podium. “We Palestinians,†he begins, “have been subjected to GENOCIDE at the hands of the Israelis for generations.” He rants on. “In 1948, they forced us out of our homes, and today we must DRIVE THE JEWS FROM PALESTINE!â€
Suddenly, a middle-aged man wearing a black “F the President†T-shirt rushes the stage, screaming at Kanj, “I’m TIRED of this CRAP! You people keep bringing this up! This is supposed to be an ANTI-WAR rally, not an ANTI-ISRAEL rally!â€
Kanj yells back, into the microphone. Others in the crowd stand up and join in the shouting match.
The Arab-Israeli conflict has arrived in San Diego.
Red-vested “peace monitors†converge on T-shirt Man, trying to contain this sudden outburst of dissent. They are followed closely by the San Diego Police Department, who quickly take control of the situation and lead the man away.
As T-shirt Man exits stage right, ANSWER front man Carl Muhammed enters from stage left, strutting in front of the platform and waving a large Palestinian flag. Carl and his radical Palestinian posse face down the angry Israel supporters, and the entire rally begins to descend into chaos.
In an effort to regain control of the rally, CodePink maven Barbara Jaffe-Rose takes the podium, declaring her solidarity with the Palestinian cause. “As an anti-war Jew, I support the Palestinian Right of Return, and demand the end of U.S. aid to Israel.†She attempts to lead the crowd in a cheer: “Not one penny, not one dime, U.S. out of Palestine!â€
It flops.
AT LEAST A THIRD of the crowd has departed. Others remain behind only to express their disappointment and disgust…
Full story. (c/o Arieh via Harry’s Place)
Considering this is coming from the Right as well… I’m just wondering if anyone is feeling the squeeze. Hack, cough.
More on this issue from The JTA here.
[Update] More in The Forward here and here.
by biz [➚] · Wednesday, September 28th, 2005
An amazing graffiti project my friend DK turned me on to:
eRuv is a digital graffiti project installed along the route of the former Third Avenue elevated train line in lower Manhattan. The train line, dismantled in 1955, was more than just a means of transport; it was part of an important religious boundary – an eruv – for a Hasidic community on the old Lower East Side. Using semacodes, the former boundary is reconstructed and mapped back onto the space of the city. Pedestrians with camera phones can then access location-specific historical content linked through the semacodes. Or you can cheat and see the amazing archival photos here.
by Mobius [➚] · Wednesday, September 28th, 2005
Via AP: “In this Sept. 12, 2005, photo released by the Brooklyn borough president’s office, a sign on the Brooklyn side of the Williamsburg Bridge proclaims ‘Leaving Brooklyn: Oy Vey!’ The sign, bearing the Jewish expression of dismay or hurt, is intended as a way of acknowledging Brooklyn’s large Jewish population. Borough President Marty Markowitz says motorists seeing it know it means ‘Dear me, I’m so sad you’re leaving.’”
by David Kelsey [➚] · Wednesday, September 28th, 2005
Jack Shafer reports on Slate about the flap over the reason Jeffrey Goldberg was passed over for a permanent position at the Washington Post in 1989. Goldberg did not claim his position was “doomed by diversity,†a term falsely credited as his own, but merely “blamed†it on diversity.
What is clear is not only that there is a cost to the other candidate when hiring is affirmative action influenced such as it is and was at the Post, but that there is apparently an acknowledgement of a cost to the periodical’s quality by some of the paper’s management who admitted they selected a less exceptional candidate for the sake of diversity.
The Post’s passing over Goldberg was the Forward’s past gain, the New Yorker’s present boon, and the Washington Post’s burden to explain its past dubious hiring decision for many years afterward.
Slate and the Post are owned by the same company, and yet Slate itself seems unconvinced of the claim by executive editor Leonard Downie Jr. that the decision to not hire Goldberg wasn’t affirmative action related.
Rather, when there is smoke, there are mirrors.
by Mobius [➚] · Wednesday, September 28th, 2005
With the premier of Martin Scorcese’s documentary on Bob Dylan this week on PBS, the press is all aflurry with articles about the ol’ six-slinger. WaPo reviews the film as does The SF Gate here; The Independent tracks down the man who called him Judas; here’s The Telegraph on why he sucks; and that is not even the tip of the iceberg. Check out Google News — the coverage is outrageous.
Of course, not missing an opportunity to gloat on how he’s one of ours, Jewsrock ascertains The Biblical Bob, and Jeff Klepper, a redonkulous Jewish folk artist who does a slew of Dylan parodies (which he crafted initially for a Purim spiel) sends us this MP3 of “Cantillation Row.”
Anyone get a chance to see the doc? Wha’d ya think? (And if you got a torrent link, hook it up!)
by Mobius [➚] · Wednesday, September 28th, 2005
This Week in God. Sadly doesn’t mention Ovadia Yosef or, erm, Reuven Koret; but uh… ever so brilliant nonetheless, and not without Yiddish humor.
by Mobius [➚] · Wednesday, September 28th, 2005
The Times (UK) reports,
Religious belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today.
According to the study, belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems.
The study counters the view of believers that religion is necessary to provide the moral and ethical foundations of a healthy society.
Full story.
by Mobius [➚] · Wednesday, September 28th, 2005
The New Israel Fund reports,
Rabbi Miri Gold of the Birkat Shalom congregation in Gezer has petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court to be recognized as a state-paid official ministering to the spiritual needs of the community. Rabbi Gold submitted her petition with veteran NIF grantee Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) of the Movement for Progressive Judaism in Israel (Reform) and the Gezer Regional Council, which is located midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Rabbi Gold told NIF News that she was not a person who normally seeks publicity but that she felt that she was undertaking a sacred mission when IRAC asked her to become a test case for tolerance in Israeli society.
“We do not seek to coerce Orthodox Jews,” Rabbi Gold stressed. “But we feel that taxpayers have the right to choose between the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform streams.”
Born in Detroit, Rabbi Gold’s grandparents were Orthodox and she was raised in a Conservative community. She immigrated to Israel in 1977 and became the community leader of Gezer’s Reform synagogue years before she was ordained a rabbi at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem in 1999. The story of Rabbi Gold’s petition was widely covered by the media and she received dozens of e-mails of support from friends around the world who read about her on the Internet.
“The media coverage was very important in raising awareness among secular Israeli Jews many of whom are seeking a more liberal form of Judaism,” she added.
Orly Erez- Likhovski, the lawyer representing the petitioners, noted that “There are hundreds of state-paid rabbis appointed to minister the spiritual needs of the residents of cities, towns and districts in neighborhoods in Israel. Every last one of them is an Orthodox male. Not a single one belongs to the liberal streams of Reform and Conservative Judaism.”
More from IRAC, Haaretz, JPost, and Ynet.
by Mobius [➚] · Wednesday, September 28th, 2005
by Mobius [➚] · Wednesday, September 28th, 2005
by Mobius [➚] · Wednesday, September 28th, 2005
Dan Meth, creator of this hysterical Kosher.com ad, the infamous “Who Let The Jews Out?”, and “The Mensch” comic strip which appeared originally in Heeb, has created this Rosh Hashana greeting card for birthright israel. Um…
Ben Baruch has also delivered a brand new Rosh Hashana greeting.
Take your pick.
by shteeblehopper [➚] · Tuesday, September 27th, 2005
–>BZ of Mah Rabu blogs a Shteeble-hopper style post. Since as a woman I’ll never get that experience, I wanted to share it with Jewschool readers. (Oh yeah and it’s well written and interesting too!)
by Harry [➚] · Monday, September 26th, 2005
Introducing Sistawarrior, a reggae “singing” orthodox woman who performs exclusively for the ladies.
Check her out at CD Baby where you can sample the tracks, “(Stop the) Suicide Bombers” and “The Seven Laws of Noah.”
I’m generally a good person so I’m going to refrain from commenting on this one.
(Hat tip: Life of Rubin)
by David Kelsey [➚] · Sunday, September 25th, 2005
JEWZAPALOOZA: The Last Three Hours
The final day of the Jewish Music and Heritage Festival was different than the others in that it was held during the daytime and admission was free, which might help explain a much stronger Orthodox presence than at other events.
The “surprise†band scheduled for the 6pm slot was Oi Va Voi, winner of this year’s NJMHF’s first Best Danceable award. Sophie Solomon’s violin playing adds an even greater and dominant dimension to this tight and talented London band live than on the album “Laughter Through Tears.â€
At 7pm, Soulfarm took the stage. It is the last day of the festival. It is almost Rosh Hashana. I don’t want to say anything mean. So let’s just say Soulfarm is at least a good wedding band if you are a baales tshuva getting married for your second time, this time to a Jew, so really it’s like your first time from a certain perspective, and you did a lot of weed in your day and sometimes you still do, but usually just motzei Shabbat, and all your friends are really happy that you found your beshert and remark on the mutually complementary gematria of both your names, and the wedding’s in Tsfat.
However, in the off chance that all of these conditions are not met in their entirety, this may not be the band for you. The songs and solos are a bit stretched, boring, and simple. The happy hippy shtick is overdone, even flip. I began to want to hear a band that was serious and intense. I grew hungry, wanting something with meat on it. Instead, I was being served tofu kishke. And yes, I can tell the difference.
But I didn’t have to wait long. It just felt long. Like waiting for the 7th hakafa at the Karlbache shul so I can finally go to bed long.
And then Blackfield took the stage.
Michael Dorf, the festival’s producer, denied there was anything symbolic in Blackfield being chosen as the band to close the festival, but rather “just a way to finish a great day of music.â€
Intended or not, Blackfield was a good choice as the festival’s closer. A very good choice.
Aviv Geffen came to the stage and declared, “My name is Aviv Geffen. I am from Israel, and I am a Jew!â€
Geffen and his partner in Blackfield, Steven Wilson, from England, played many of the songs from their eponymous album, “Blackfield.†Lush and driving, Blackfield shows Goth influence. Many of the songs turn harder after a verse or two. Geffen is known for dressing flamboyantly, though he did not do so today. On the exquisite song “Pain,†Geffen asks, “Will we ever meet again? As friends? After so long.â€
The crowd had changed. It was night. Tobacco smoke filled the air, a sure sign of a decadent element.
In addition to songs from their first album, they played “Epidemic,†to be included on their next one. They closed with “Cloudy Now.â€
“We are a fucked generation. It’s getting cloudy now.”
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