Surfer Rabbi Running for Senate, Ruffling Muslim, Tea Party, Feathers
A rabbi running for the U.S. Senate told a cheering audience, “I am an Islamaphobe and everything we need to know about Islam, we learned on 9/11.”
Cartoon Rehab: Fixing the Crucifix
This cartoon, by Syrian artist Tishrin, was published September 22, 2011, and, to be fair, as anti-Israeli cartoons go it is relatively tame. But I was delighted by the opportunity to turn Tishrin's clever (albeit kinda trite) use of the letter T as cross, into the letter T as clothesline.
Is Ryan Good for the Jews? Make that ‘Are the Jews Good for Ryan’
The selection of Paul Ryan, with his proposals for a trimmed-down federal budget, may not bode well for the Republican ticket among Jewish voters. And since Florida is the largest of the swing states, its Jewish voters will have a huge impact on the presidential election. On the other hand, the "Israel first" Jewish voters, after three years of constant conflict between Obama and Netanyahu, are not likely to stick with the president. Finally, what does it mean when Romney concedes the independents at the center and pick a VP to the right of him politically?
Lubavitch Replicate Another Major Edifice
After moving the Rebbe's home at 770 Eastern Parkway to Israel, Lubavitch now moves the Kotel to America. My advice to you is, fasten the bolts and beams in your house, or one morning you'll wake up to discover Lubavitch has moved you to a new continent…
Barring a Miracle, No Need to Change the White House Curtains
Every educated American has had to explain to a foreigner, at one point or another, our election system, or, more specifically, the Electoral College.
Precious Passover Pop Priceless
The Fountainheads are a group of young Israeli singers, dancers, and artists, all graduates and students of the Ein Prat Academy for Leadership, who "have joined forces to create new Jewish artistic content for today's Jewish world." So far, this could be an intro to some really boring stuff, but in this case it ain't so. In my search for great, new Passover content, I landed on their YidVid Breakin' Free, and will definitely be using it while running on my treadmill.
Pity: 11 Non-Racist Iranian ‘Wall Street Downfall’ Festival Finalists Were Excellent
The Festival in Tehran awarded first prize to three Jews praying in front of a Western Wall that's been transformed into a Wall Street bank.
Jerusalem Festival of Lights: Exercise in Overselling, Underdelivering
My family and I were certain it was going to be a tasteful, Jerusalem version of some of the better Disneyland rides, like Pirates of the Caribbean: dark, with stunning images and light displays and haunting music.
Paid for by Charles Bronfman, ‘Jewish Stars’ Attack Pro-Settlement Report
They wrote flippantly: "Securing Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state requires diplomatic and political leadership, not legal maneuverings." Legal rights be damned, then?
German Federation Condemns Fans Who Hitler-Saluted Israeli Player
The German soccer federation condemned an anti-Semitic act involving Kaiserslautern's Israel striker Itay Shechter, 24, and says such abuse has to be "nipped in the bud" and "we must act decisively." Sunday's taunts came the day after his team's 4-0 defeat by Mainz – their fourth straight loss – in which Shechter did not play.
Swing State Report: NC, VA, Leaning Romney
You'll notice that I added North Carolina to the list of swing states. This is because the Romeny camp has declared it as such, probably not a minute too soon. With its 15 delegates, North Carolina broke McCain's heart in 2008 and went for the Democrats. It's good to know someone in the Romney camp is doing some thinking.
‘Nose Job’ El-Balkimy, Egyptian MP, Loses Parliamentary Immunity
What do you have to do as an Egyptian Member of Parliament to earn the nickname Nose Job? Anwar El-Balkimy, of the Salafist Nour Party (that means he's sooo religious, he has one regular prayer rug and a special one for yomim tovim), told everybody he had been beaten and robbed of LE100,000 by thugs on 29 February. But according to Al Ahram, it was later discovered that his facial injuries were caused by cosmetic surgery on his nose.
The World Is Aghast as 500 Jewish Families Are Promised Homes
The AP has apparently caught the Israeli government red handed on the eve of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to the Jewish state.
Video: Ultimate Haredi Western Featuring Assassination over Get Refusal
The world is full of people without a sense of humor, as was discovered recently by Vanya Heiman, Anat Vershovsky and Amit Shimoni, all students from the "Bezalel" Academy of the Arts, who created the clip "Der Mensch" for the Visual Communication Department at the Academy. It was only supposed to be a genre exercise…
Holocaust Days of Remembrance and Traditional Coconut Pyramids
Here's the text that accompanies this image on the Pentagon-run website DefenseImagery.mil: "During the Holocaust Days of Remembrance U.S. Air Force Capt. Jennifer McGee, with the 12th Contracting Squadron, helps Madison Angelito and Alex Barner make coconut pyramids, a traditional Jewish dessert, at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas." There are Days of Remembrance? More than one? Needs checking. Also: traditional Jewish coconut pyramids? Whose tradition? Help...
Swing States: Obama Ahead Everywhere but N. Carolina
There's only one bit of good news for the Romney campaign in the all-important swing state polls this weekend.
The Zionist Girl the Jewish Federations Love to Hate
My friend and colleague Lori Lowenthal Marcus writes today in Arutz 7 about her entanglements with the Jewish Federations of North America, and how, instead of confirming or denying a simple question she posed to them, they chose instead to start a campaign of personal attacks against her.
Cartoon Rehab: Toon Gets Tattooed
This one took the Photoshop equivalent of plastic surgery. The depiction of both the vampire-like Jewish person and the dead child in his arms is so vile, I had to fix every little aspect of the image.
The Nice Lady Who Destroyed Obama
Miriam Goderich – remember that name, it will go down in history as the woman who brought down a president. But poor Miriam never did anything bad, in fact, what she did happened decades ago and now it could topple President Barack Hussein Obama.
Israeli Media ‘Crucifying’ Windsurfer who Said ‘Shma Israel’ and Lost
She told an Israeli reporter about her plans: "I get on the surfboard, say 'Shma Israel, Hashem Elokeino Hashem Echad' and I go to war."
Mudar Zahran: King Abdullah Will Be Toppled in 2013
Zahran predicted that by the end of 2013 King Abdullah, whom he calls "the only non-Palestinian in Jordan," will be toppled, and at long last the Palestinians will be free to conduct their lives in their own country.
Poles Unhappy with Obama’s Retraction, as Entire Polish Economy Is at Stake
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk demanded a more "explicit reaction" to Obama's "Polish death camp" comment. Poland fears being sued for billions of dollars worth of property appropriated from Jews.
Church Official: ‘If You Flatten a Globe, Israel Is at the Center’
Malcolm Hedding, an associate pastor of the World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, was executive director of International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, which has a constituency of 14 million in 110 countries, according to Hedding. “Its main mission is to repair bridges opened up between Christians and Jews because of historical anti-Semitism.”
Righteous Gentiles Honored in Warsaw, But Poland’s Record Remains Abysmal
Unfortunately, as highly as Jews praise the sacrifices made by brave Poles, it is difficult to overlook Poland's abysmal record in caring for its Jewish citizens.
5th Annual New York Peace Film Festival Offers No Attacks on Israel
When a press release from the organizers of the NY Peace Film Festival popped in my email, I naturally braced myself for the usual torrent of anti-Semitic graffiti masked as criticism of Zionism we have learned to expect from any event with the words Peace and Festival in the title. To my very pleasant surprise, someone at the 5th annual festival has decided—imagine!—to dedicate the entire program to films discussing peace efforts around the world.
I Want to have Your Baby, Sarah Silverman
Let's talk about motherhood and babies, and why some young girls start planning their weddings at age 7 and have the albums to show for it.
Pushkar, New Mecca for Israelis, Even Has Chabad ‘Missionaries’
Calcutta News this morning reports on Pushkar, 130 km from the state capital of Jaipur, where many signboards and menus are in Hebrew.
Iran VP Says Talmud to Blame for Drugs Trade
Rahimi's remarks came at an international anti-drug conference in Tehran, attended by many foreign diplomats, and AFP says it was "a rare diatribe by an Iranian official targeting the Jewish faith, rather than the state of Israel."
My Son the Pioneer Jewish Doctor
While some religions place ultimate responsibility for healing in divine hands, “Jews don’t see a conflict between faith and medicine,” says Alan M. Kraut, a professor of history at American University who helped put together the exhibition “Trail of the Magic Bullet: The Jewish Encounter With Modern Medicine, 1860-1960,” on view at Yeshiva University Museum in Manhattan.