by Ruby K [➚] · Monday, May 12th, 2008
Looking down at my “No Person is Illegal” shirt and getting angry and sad. While I’m here, anyone got any news about that Tsedek Hekhsher? Good thing I’m only eating Wise Organic these days:
Postville, Ia. – At least 300 people were arrested today at the Agriprocessors, Inc. meat packing plant, federal officials said. The operation, which targeted people who illegally used other persons Social Security numbers and were in the U.S. illegally, was the largest of its kind in Iowa, Claude Arnold, a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Four Homeland Security buses with U.S. Immigration and Customs tags on them were a the plant this morning.
–snip–
Immigration officials told aides to U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley that they expect 600 to 700 arrests. About 1,000 to 1,050 people work at the plant, according to Iowa Workforce Development.
and snip again
The Agriprocessors plant, known as the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse, is northeast Iowa’s largest employer.
Hat tip Des Moines Register. It doesn’t take a slide rule to do the math here. My frustration is that it will be the folks who risked life and limb to support themselves and their families will take the blame, and not the people exploiting the labor. Is it too much to hope for that Jews who are so machmir about some commandments actually check out all of them?
As documented here and elsewhere, these are not Rubashkin’s first problems. And I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of them.
by Ruby K [➚] · Monday, March 24th, 2008
There are the handmade knishes at Liebman’s in the Bronx that are good, though inconsistant. But having stopped into Knish Nosh with TheWanderingJew and being absolutely horrified and disappointed with their product; and having been saddened by the product at Yonah Schimmel’s, I have to ask the Jewschool reading public: are there any good knishes left in NYC? Can you point me their way?
by Ruby K [➚] · Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
I’ve grown tired of the ridiculous attacks on Obama. Maybe it’s a visceral reaction b/c of all the “if you do X, you’re clearly a self hating jew/anti-semite” bs that gets lobbed around, especially in the j-blogosphere. But Tim Russert, on a national stage of a Presidential debate no less, took the old yarn out for a spin and spent almost seven minutes on it.
I don’t know how many times we have to be over these moronic smears. But Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo lays it out:
That’s not what Russert did. He launches into it, gets into a parsing issue over word choices, then tries to find reasons to read into the record some of Farrakhan’s vilest quotes after Obama has just said he denounces all of them. Then he launches into a bizarre series of logical fallacies that had Obama needing to assure Jews that he didn’t believe that Farrakhan “epitomizes greatness”.
As a Jew and perhaps more importantly simply as a sentient being I found it disgusting. It was a nationwide, televised, MSM version of one of those noxious Obama smear emails.
Don’t worry, Josh, I won’t call you an Anti-semite for the “perhaps more importantly” bit. Seriously, for me, personally, this is my equivalent to the Hillary NH moment. Some folks felt that the harsh attacks on Hillary made a lot of people angry and turned out her supporters, making the difference in the primary. I’ve had it with this smear nonsense.
Don’t get me wrong. I still have some strong reservations on Obama. I don’t think he’s where I want him to be on economic issues. But he’s solid on a lot of things, he’s bringing better people with him, getting new and more people involved, and the fact that he’s done community organizing gives me more faith in him than in the other candidates still standing. But I’m tired of the mainstream media getting this shit wrong, at best lazy perpetuation of a baseless story, and at worst purposefully trying to attack and derail on innuendo. Look, ask them hard questions about trade, about the war, about whatever. But this bullshit is old, tired, and has been answered repeatedly and as thoroughly as possible. It’s been rejected and denounced, debunked and dismissed, and still, it somehow remains around.
So congratulations, Russert. Pushing that smear actually made me go from a moderate supporter to a volunteer (with ten years of organizing experience). Just call me a snowball in hell.
Or, as the Hip Hop Hoodios say, Shalom Obama!
by Ruby K [➚] · Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
Since I have a history of not holding back when I disagree with Jewish institutions, it’s nice to see they get one right this morning:
As leaders of the Jewish community, none of whose organizations will endorse or oppose any candidate for President, we feel compelled to speak out against certain rhetoric and tactics in the current campaign that we find particularly abhorrent. Of particular concern, over the past several weeks, many in our community have received hateful emails that use falsehood and innuendo to mischaracterize Senator Barack Obama’s religious beliefs and who he is as a person.
Kudos to the folks at the Wiesenthal Center for starting this up, and to the folks who affixed their name to it, including reps from the JCPA, the Religious Action Center, the Orthodox Union, UJC, the AJC, the National Council of Jewish Women, and even the Anti Defamation League. Yasher Koach on this one.
(hat tip: the good folks at TPM)
by Ruby K [➚] · Tuesday, January 15th, 2008
.. but wow, what kind of guilt by association, subliminal implication, concern trolling crap is he pulling today?!
Heck, Obama’s not even my PERSONAL (not all of Jewschool, just speaking for me) first choice (that would be John Edwards). But this is just plain garbage:
I don’t for a moment think that Obama shares Wright’s views on Farrakhan. But the rap on Obama is that he is a fog of a man. We know little about him, and, for all my admiration of him, I wonder about his mettle. The New York Times recently reported on Obama’s penchant while serving in the Illinois legislature for merely voting “present” when faced with some tough issues. Farrakhan, in a strictly political sense, may be a tough issue for him. This time, though, “present” will not do.
Sure. Smear Obama by talking about his preacher. waive all sorts of boogeymen. Use the ghosts of Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney to smear the very personification of one of the things they fought for. Hint that Obama doesn’t take racism or antisemitism seriously. And then, end your last paragraph with “I don’t for a moment think that Obama shares Wright’s views on Farrakahn.” Not that you’re an intellectually dishonest hack who’s trying to spin a smokescreen my youngest niece could see through or anything like that. I wouldn’t say that about you.
Trying to push this disgusting meme that Obama is somehow antisemitic and a radical Muslim is pissing me off. And why does he have to answer questions the other candidates never get called to task on by folks like Cohen? Will Cohen write the same article on Huckabee’s Revelations and rapture ready buddies? Even though they’re things Huckabee seems to actually believe himself? Let’s see.
Apparently, I’m not the only person annoyed by this, MJ Rosenberg from Jewschool’s Best of 2007 winning website Talking Points Memo has a good take.
update: Oh look, it’s a whole genre!
by Ruby K [➚] · Sunday, December 30th, 2007
… like pastrami. And placemats.
And those letters. The ones where Aleph and Samech become the N and D in 2nd Ave Deli.
So much has been written about the return, about Deli whiz-kid Jeremy Lebewohl taking over the family business, about the lines around the block. Me, I’m going to wait to do a full review for a few more weeks, give em a chance to get up and running (as I would any restaurant). This is just coming from a random New York Jew right now.
It’s wonderful to have it back. Yes, the place has half the seats, the line is as crazy as I’ve ever seen it (even on several Christmas days), and they were out of potato pierogies and gribenes (mmm, fried chicken skins) by 2pm. And yes, it’s on 33rd St by 3rd Avenue. But to have that soup, those latkes and fries, and fried onions so sweet you could eat them like candy (and I needed three sides of them with my latkes and half pastrami/matzo ball combo), to have that back in New York, with so many of the staff faces i recognized (not even a regular, probably, at most, went 6-12 times a year)… it was like Christmastime for the Jews. And in a city where everyone’s a little bit Jewish, we all got pastrami in our stockings this year. What, you’re veggie? Hmmm, uh, mushroom barley soup, then?
Good luck Jeremy. We’re rooting for you.
Welcome home.
by Ruby K [➚] · Sunday, December 23rd, 2007
Six years ago, back when Jewsapalooza was a twelve night festival at the Knitting Factory leading up to Christmas night, I had the pleasure of turning my typical Jewish Christmas into a New York Jewish Christmas with Hasidic New Wave and Yakar Rhythms. Christmas eve with longtime Catholic pals, Christmas brunch at 2nd Ave Deli, a movie, chinese food for dinner, and then the long walk across and downtown, in the snowy sludge, to Leonard Street to catch the culimnation of Jewsapalooza 2001. Fiery Jewish music, mixing jazz, funk and rock with Jewish melodies and African rhythms. It was fantastic. And while I loved all the tunes Hasidic New Wave jammed out, it was the cohesion between Hasidic New Wave and the three incredible drummers of Yakar Rhythms. I bought “From the Belly of Abraham” the album length collaboration between the two groups immediately and it was in heavy rotation for a few years. I’ll admit I hadn’t listened to it in while, but when backbeat told me the two groups were playing together last night at Southpaw as part of Culture Clash, with Circuitbreaker and Avi Fox-Rosen opening up, I knew Knucklehead and I had to make the trek, and we took kungfujew along for the ride too. More »
by Ruby K [➚] · Friday, November 16th, 2007
Let’s face it. When we travel, we’re not always thinking about our impact on the world. For those of you that do, you’re awesome. But often times, when we get to our hotel room, we take a minute to flop into the big ole bed, throw some pillows at whomever we’re sharing the room with, unpack into the roomy closet and the big bureaus in the room, throw off the top sheets and relax.
Ever think about how all that stuff got there? How the room got pristine and fully loaded with all those creature comforts? Or in the rare instances where the room WASN’T picture perfect when you got there, why that might be?
Housekeepers at hotels are, in some ways, the most important employees there, because without them, the main product the hotel is selling, a really comfortable clean room, would not be there. But being a housekeeper at a hotel is one of the most painful, difficult, physically strenuous jobs out there. Moving around extra-heavy beds and furniture over and over again each day is extremely difficult. Often, this group of workers is given too many rooms for them to handle cleaning properly in one shift.
Why am i pointing this out today? Well, it is a major travel weekend. And it also marks the start of the Ethical Travel Pledge by our friends at Jewish Funds for Justice, the Jewish Labor Committee, and the Progressive Jewish Alliance. The pledge, to support workers by being a little more considerate in our hotel rooms, in choosing where we stay, and making sure we leave decent gratuities, is not so big in what it asks (personally, I already do a few of those things). But a concerted effort to do the right thing by the workers who make our trips so comfortable will go a long way in making their lives a lot easier.
Kudos on an important project. Take the pledge here.
by Ruby K [➚] · Wednesday, September 5th, 2007
Today’s JM Times lists the 2nd Avenue Deli 2.0 in its “Here Come the Chefs” page today, complete with hints of new things on the menu, its 33rd st address and a return date of October. But I’ve gotten comfortable in my new Bronx perch at Liebman’s (they make their own knishes, a sad rarity these days), and so before I set foot back there for pastrami and pierogies, I want to know:
will it honor the seniority of its old staff? will it honor its union contracts?
I’m sure Arieh from the JLC will keep an eye out. I’m ecstatic they’re coming back to business, but I know Abe would want it done right.
by Ruby K [➚] · Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
Last year, the Oyhoo festival was a week of insanity, 29 events and a 2 day conference crammed into a week that also had Selichos and September 11th. With several artists playing multiple events, this dilluted the audiences for some of the events. I thoroughly enjoyed Jewzapalooza in Riverside Park but felt at times the energy was lacking, especially for dynamic performers like Y-Love and So Called.
In a rare moment on Jewschool, commenter J actually agreed with me when I suggested that Oyhoo be expanded to a month long Jewish music, arts, and culture festival for Marcheshvan, so as not to compete to much with itself and to come far enough after the chaggim that we’ll be recharged and ready. It looks like there’s a possibility of it being stretched out over, well, at least more than one week.
A partial schedule of this year’s festivites is up on Oyhoo’s site, and here’s my first take on it: If I’m in town, I’m very much looking forward to the September 9th Jewzapalooza event this year. Chana Rothman laces some soulful folk with the occasional hip hop flow and freestyle, and is a very energetic performer. The last time I saw her downtown at the Knit, her band was tight and the people couldn’t get enough. The New Orleans Klezmer Allstars were my personal introduction to Klezmer’s groundswell in the 90s, playing an unbelieveable set that completely outshined the Squirrel Nut Zippers back in my college days… their version of Di Zilberne Chasene (The Silver Wedding) on The Big Kibosh is one of my favorite tracks ever. And who could ever get enough of the lovely ladies and gents of Pharoah’s Daughter? I have yet to spin the new album, but I hear good things, including a Yah Ribon melody I don’t know. I confess, I totally have a woodwind crush on Daphna Mor, and hope she’s part of the lineup that rocks it out on the 9th. Of course, the Moshav Band and Soulfarm throwdown later in the evening will be excellent, and I don’t know Hamakor, does anyone have the haps on them?
Once we have a more full oyhoo calendar, look out for my pre festival thoughts….
by Ruby K [➚] · Wednesday, June 20th, 2007
Hey all you Jewschool readers out in LA, this tidbit was passed on to me by my buddies at the Jewish Labor Committee. Come out for an hour Sunday and show your support:
Join the JLC as we march for supermarket workers this Sunday!
Please Take a Hour to Join Us as the California-Western region Jewish Labor Committee (CA-WR JLC) & Nabet-CWA March in Support of the Grocery Workers and their Fight for Healthcare & Decent Wages
This Sunday, June 24th
10 am-11:30 am
@ ALBERTSON’S
3838 W. Verdugo Ave, Burbank
(Hollywood Way & Verdugo)
March and add your voice in support of the grocery workers and their struggle.
Please wear your union or organization’s T-shirt. Help us show Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons that people care and support these hard working employees!
The Torah teaches Tzedek, tzedek tirdof — Justice, justice shell you pursue.
Join us as we gather in pursuit of justice for supermarket workers.
Let’s all gather united in solidarity for the welfare of these supermarket workers.
As the book of proverbs teaches us (31:8): Speak out for those who cannot speak, speak up for the rights of the unfortunate.
For more information call:
Cookie Lommel, CA-WR Jewish Labor Committee, ph. 323-658-5500, jlcla2@aol.com
or Larry Mono, Nabet/CWA 53 ph. 818-846-049, email: lmono@nabet53.org
by Ruby K [➚] · Wednesday, March 21st, 2007
(note: an interesting point from a friend who passed it on- RK)
One of the most courageous and talented journalists in America today is Nicholas Kristof. He has traveled from the brothels of Cambodia (to rescue child-prostitutes) to the refugee camps of Darfur (to report on genocide) often at great personal risk. On March 18, 2007 he took what may be seen as his greatest professional risk. Namely, he took on the Israel Lobby in his column Talking About Israel.
Read it with a deep sigh of relief, because Kristof is a powerful ally to Palestinians and Israelis seeking peace. This is in part a result of his deep and widely respected humanism. But it’s also because over the past few years, his concern for Darfurian victims of genocide in the Sudan was championed by an impressive array of American Jewish leaders. Select quotes include these gems:
“There is no serious political debate among either Democrats or Republicans…†regarding Israel.
“American politicians have learned to muzzle themselves.â€
“American politicians just don’t get it.â€
“Hard-line Israeli policies have profoundly harmed that country’s long-term security….â€
“… [S]ecurity for Israel will emerge only from a peace agreement.…â€
“…[L]et’s be better friends—and stop biting our tongues.â€
Never mind that these views are practically the consensus among journalists, diplomats, scholars and most American Jews; what matters is that our political elites behave as though they were the captive of a small yet powerful special interest group. An interest group that shrewdly manipulates reasonable concerns regarding terrorism, Israel’s survival and anti-Semitism to silence, smear and defame any opposition.
Democratic Party activists are gearing up for a wonderfully open primary race. While no one expects über-war supporter and AIPAC cheerleader Hillary Clinton to evolve – nor would anyone believe it – there is still room for pressuring other worthy candidates, such as John Edwards and Barak Obama. Some of us have been thinking about such a campaign for some time, but now it’s official. Thank you, Nicholas Kristoff, for kicking it off. Let’s hold our leaders – esp. the Democratic nominees for the Presidency – accountable on the Israel debate.
Join us in saying thank you to Nicholas Kristoff and demanding a real conversation on US policy towards Israel.
by Ruby K [➚] · Thursday, March 15th, 2007
Our favorites from last year keep hitting the news… in the past week, it was Amy Winehouse. This week, half of our best people take on our favorite show:
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), the Democratic Caucus chairman, has told new Democratic members of Congress to steer clear of Stephen Colbert, or at least his satirical Comedy Central program, “The Colbert Report.â€
“He said don’t do it … it’s a risk and it’s probably safer not to do it,†said Rep. Steve Cohen. But the freshman lawmaker from Tennessee taped a segment that last week was featured in the 32nd installment of the “Better Know a District†series. Colbert asked Cohen whether he was a black woman. He isn’t.
Sounds like somebody should be getting ready to apologize to Colbert during the Days of Awe.
by Ruby K [➚] · Friday, March 9th, 2007
Turns out we’re not the only ones who love Amy Winehouse:
(thought bubble above head) “I love Okayplayer… much better than re-hab”
Some people got clued in ahead of the game, but as for the rest of the world, allow me to officially welcome Amy Winehouse to the Okayplayer fam.
Excellent. The day after the boys at Antibalas are featured, Amy Winehouse is rockin it. She’s got her own spot on the verenable hip hop collective page alongside most of my favorite hip hop artists. Her actual okp page has some song dls and a few pics, as well as links to other pages. A Jew on the front page of Okayplayer? Believe it. This ain’t leftover purim news, people.
by Ruby K [➚] · Thursday, March 1st, 2007
Remeber this guy? Yeah, with posts on him from this website alone going back to 2004 about his ridiculous antics and people’s responses to them. His latest hit piece on George Soros on townhall is so rife with idiocy I had trouble finishing it. (h/t Cliff Schecter)
Of course, Soros supports Palestinian nationalism, but that is a consistent feature of radicals — anti-Jewish and anti-American nationalisms are good, Jewish and American nationalisms are bad. Thus, as reported in the Jerusalem Post, “Soros and his wealthy Jewish American friends have now decided to aim their fire directly at Israel . . . to form a political lobby that will weaken the influence of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.”
How to explain such Jews? People with no national or religious roots who become politically active will often seek to undermine the national and religious roots of others, especially those in their own national/religious group. It is akin to the special animosity some ex-Catholics have toward the Church. Non-Jewish Jews are far more likely to work to weaken Christianity in America than Jewish Jews, especially religious Jews. Religious Jews celebrate religious Christians.
Ridiculous, baseless, moronic. First, not to flog a horse, who if not dead, is certainly in danger of expiring, is the continued fallacy that anti-zionism = anti-semetic. Being against Israel’s national policies doesn’t necessarily mean one is antisemetic. Also, OF COURSE there are Jews in touch with their national and religious roots who think both America and Israel need to slow their roll. Who think that being proud of themselves and their identies, being patriotic, means more than just blind support. Anybody can waive an Israeli flag or stick a “we support the troops” magnet on the back of their SUV, but it takes a whole lot more than that to support your people. I guess it hasn’t occured to Prager that there are enough Jews in this country who think that supporting Israel doesn’t mean support the most hawkish policies possible that they have formed multiple alternatives to AIPAC and will continue to raise alternative voices to support Israel the way they see appropriate: to become a better country (in their eyes) out of love, not hate or destruction.
His throwaway line about ex-Catholics is also laughable- hey Dennis, you think some of those victims of child molestation by priests who’s activities were covered up by the church have a legitimate gripe? Further, with his not so thinly veiled ACLU references, it’s as if he’s swallowed the antisemetic Right’s talking points verbatim: Jews are coming to take away your crosses, to stop you from practicing your religion. To Prager, it’s okay, because he thinks they’re the type of Jew he doesn’t like, the “non-Jewish Jew”. And again, Prager misses the mark, because there are PLENTY of religious Jews that don’t want to see religion of ANY KIND in the public square, and others that want to say, okay, if its open to Jews and Christians, it should be open to everyone, including those Koran-users that Prager seems to hate.
Don’t worry, Dennis, the fascists usually come for the communists, socialists, social democrats, and labor organizers too. It’ll be interesting to see which side you’re on then.
by Ruby K [➚] · Friday, February 9th, 2007
(a friend passed this on, thought some folks in the jewschool world would dig it. too bad I’m 29– RK)
Discover Israel : Peace, Pluralism, and Social Justice
The Union of Progressive Zionists is partnering with IsraelExperts to bring you a unique Taglit-Birthright Israel opportunity! This trip, which is a free gift from Taglit–Birthright Israel , is designed for 18-27 ( turning 27 after May 1) year olds looking to experience both Israel ‘s beauty and its complexity, as they grapple with the challenges facing Israel and the Jewish people as a whole. The trip will be leaving from New York on May 31st, and returning on June 10th. Registration starts February 15th at 9:00 AM. To do so go to this website: www.israelexperts.com /indexbi.html [See fotnotes below.]
Participants will:
Meet with Israeli and Palestinian politicians, peace activists educators and journalists;
Learn about NGOs working for social justice in Israel ; visit a Urban Kibbutz and learn about communal ways of living;
See the separation barrier and find out how it affects everyday life for Israelis and Palestinians;
Get a feel for the different sectors of Israeli society;
Tour famous sites such as Masada, The Israeli Knesset, the Sea of Galilee and have a night out in Tel Aviv;
Understand the complexities of the country and develop a meaningful connection to the land and the people of Israel
You are eligible for a Taglit-birthright Israel trip if you have never been to Israel on a peer group tour before. If you are eligible, don’t miss this amazing opportunity! Also, please spread the word to everyone and anyone who might be interested. Registration for spring/summer trips fills very quickly. Registration begins February 15 at 9am!
* MAKE SURE YOU REGISTER WITH BOTH ISRAEL EXPERTS AND BIRTHRIGHT.
** When you register PLEASE MAKE SURE to write UPZ in the referred by section in order to ensure it is a UPZ bus!!!!
by Ruby K [➚] · Wednesday, January 17th, 2007
The last time the minimum wage was raised, I was a teenager. In the following year, during my lobbying intern days in Washington DC, I was part of a campaign to raise it again, as the previous increase still hadn’t closed the gap in purchasing power. Since then, during the second longest stretch of time without a raise since its inception, the minimum wage has shrunk even further in real dollar value when compared to the minimum wage’s value over the decades.
I was heartened to know that not only was it a priority for the 110th Congress, but that our friends over at Jewish Funds for Justice and the Religious Action Center have been working hard organizing rabbis and the larger Jewish community around this important issue. Kudos to their real, serious efforts to get voices from the organized Jewish community out on this key issue- they’ve gotten at least 450 rabbis, cantors, and Jewish seminarians signed on to their statement. And join them in contacting your Senator to push for a minimum wage increase that isn’t riddled with buisness tax cuts and giveaways (come on, Senator Baucus, in power less than a week and already caving in on a bill the House passed with FORTY PERCENT of the Republicans voting for its passage?).
Rabbi Jill Jacobs sums up why this is a Jewish issue quite nicely in the joint press release:
“Jewish labor law rests on the assumption that a full time worker shall earn enough to support his/her family,†said Jacobs. “To begin to realize self-sufficiency for workers as envisioned by Jewish law, we must raise the federal minimum wage.â€
For those who wonder where I get some of my hairbrained ideas about how small the minimum wage in the United States really is and how I can be so sure that raising it won’t kill every small business in existance, don’t take my word for it, here are the nice folks from the Economic Policy Institute: More »
by Ruby K [➚] · Thursday, January 11th, 2007
Unrelated events, except for my strong reaction to all of them.
Gov. Bill Richardson negotiates a cease fire in Darfur. I have my own favorite in the Presidential race of 08 but if he runs, he’s a welcome addition to the field.
2nd Avenue Deli may reopen… between Third and Lex? Ah well, I’ll take it… so long as they honor their agreement with the good workers from local 100.
And the third one, which is most disturbing… during the Escalator’s speech last night, US forces stormed an Iranian consulate, took away computers, files and six staff members. I’m no fan of the current regime in Iran, but some folks could certain see attacking a country’s consulate on third party soil as an act of war. It’s a good thing the Escalator is owning up to his “mistakes”.
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