“He was a particularly nasty Nazi who took positive delight in finding Jews who were hidden in people’s homes,” Rubinstein recalls, speaking in a distinctive mish-mash of German-Yiddish-Polish.

“He would have the Jews dragged off and also the German families who had sheltered them. Very nasty, indeed. Everybody in Berlin feared and hated him, Jews and Goyim alike,” he says.

“Well, one fine day it was his birthday and a very elegant-looking lady (if I do say so myself) showed up at his office with a bunch of red roses, asking to see him alone,” Rubinstein relates with a wry smile and an arched eyebrow.

Who would suspect a statuesque woman bearing flowers of wanting to gun down a major Gestapo officer in the very heart of Berlin? Nobody. And that is precisely how Rubinstein got away with that and other assassinations.

Words fail me.

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The Muffti owes a heads-up to Kenny, who tips his hat to backspin. Go to Verizon’s Online Text Messaging Page and look under ‘Countries’. In particular, notice a a presence under the letter ‘P’ and a conspicuous absence under the letter ‘I’. Apparently Verizon has an arrangement with Palcell, a Palestinean cell carrier.

Muffti was trying to decide if this was a big deal, but figured he’d let the scores of Jewlicious posters tell him what to think. Muffti is lazy. Hop to it, boys and girls.

Muffti & CK & a dude named Doron used to run a site called ‘net hate’ that linked to hate sites and, well, made no-holds-barred ridicule of their design, style and content. Amongst the death threats, angry grumbling and (no joke) homosexual heavy metal pics we got emailed to us, we also were invited to join the Delaware Klan which, under the influence of something or other, we did. Anyhow, we never collected our robes or anything but I wish we had because it turns out they are worth something at auction houses. CNN reports that

Ku Klux Klan robes sold for up to $1,425 and a KKK knife drew a $400 bid during a Michigan auction that critics have blasted as insensitive.

Apparently, KKK stuff goes for quite a bit. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia paid $700 for a robe. 10 protesters chanted ‘No Nazis! No KKK!’ for a while, to little effect. Some just came to browse and lamely defended the practice with claims like:

“If we as a society don’t learn from past mistakes, we repeat them,” Gowlan [an auction attendee] said.

The auctioneer, Gary Gray, defended the practice by speculating about the educational value:

Maybe I have taught more people about history, at least this week, than some schools…It’s not a question of racism. That’s intertwined. But it’s not the main focus.

Ummmn…what? So it is about racism but not mainly? Selling robes teaches people about history? Whatever. The Muffti likes to think the main focus is making money. Which is why I want to know:
CK, you still got that Delaware guy’s address? Surely the robes of Jews accepted into the Klan should be worth something!

Ck has already voiced his opinion about the mistake of imbuing modern Jewish culture with the Holocaust. For the most part, I tend to agree, although not to the degree that he states. I also probably think much of the emphasis on Holocaust education misses some of the smaller stories that have the most impact. I will post one of these in the near future.

Anyway, This op-ed in the New York Times is getting a great deal of publicity and strikes me as inappropriate. In this Shabbat day editorial, Ami Eden, editor of The Forward, refers to the term “Holocaust card. ”

In fact, there it is in the headline: “Holocaust Card.”

I hate it when people refer to claims about antisemitism as “playing the Holocaust card.” Do they mean that the Holocaust didn’t happen and didn’t begin with a small group of fervent antisemites speaking out publicly against Jews?

Or do they mean that this is merely a “strategy” used by Jews to improve their current circumstances using the graves of their deceased co-religionists as a stepping stone?

What they mean, of course, is that Jews are making a cynical use of this great tragedy that befell the Jewish people (and others, but this article by Eden is about Jews). It could be to advance a cause, a case, or to prevent others from advancing their agendas, but the idea of a “card” suggests an inappropriate use; a devious use; a self-serving use; a dishonest use.

It’s a little disturbing to see it, and typically I expect this unfortunate expression from people who talk about a holohoax and how sickness caused many Jews to die in WWII, not pre-meditated genocide. Here it’s being used by a prominent Jewish editor of an important Jewish newspaper.

I can only ask, at what point did the moral bankruptcy of the Holocaust stop being a factor in considerations of what could happen in today’s world? Did it stop being a factor because Israel has a strong army? Did it stop being a factor because that generation is mostly deceased or very old? Did it stop being a factor because Jews in certain Western societies are accepted more readily and appear to be succeeding in certain areas where they have a powerful impact, such as the sciences, arts and business?

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Two Jews left in Afghanistan. One dies. The other must be heartbroken, right?

“He was a very bad man who tried to get me killed,” Mr Simentov, 45, said with a grin as he warmed his toes against the Kabul winter on a gas-burning stove. “Now I am the Jew here, I am the boss.

For seven years they lived and worshipped at opposite ends of the same tiny synagogue, a curtain in the middle so that they would not glimpse each other, muttering insults as they came and went.

Full story here. It’s terribly comical.

I just want to say that while many of our debates and discussions touch on topics that are divisive and in some instances painful for some of us to discuss, I am glad and grateful that we are able to have these discussions and by the quality of the discourse that we enjoy on Jewlicious.

I think ck has created an interesting forum where we are able to express a broad range of views openly. I think having a dialogue is crucial so that we don’t presume what anybody is “about” just because they come from a particular background or espouse certain ideological views.

I hope that all of our participants, even when they may be on completely opposite sides of a topic, still enjoy the debate, learn a great deal, sharpen their arguments, and “grow” as a result of their visits here. Is there anything more enlightening than to listen to what people with different views feel and think about the very same topic about which one feels so confident?

So…thanks!

And shabbat shalom to all!!

60th Anniversary of Auschwitz Liberation remembered

They gathered from far and wide, the survivors, the Jewish community leaders, the politicians, the royalty and over 3,000 security staff, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by Red Army troops. Of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, 1.1 million died in Auschwitz, the most notorious of Hitler’s death camps.

The event was duly sombre. The rail lines leading to Auschwitz were lined in fire and watching this I couldn’t help but feel I was witnessing a religious ceremony. The analogy is very fitting – Yad Vashem and the Holocaust Museum in DC are very temple-like. Abe Foxman of the ADL and Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Wiesenthal center are accorded the respect and importance that was once the exclusive domain of Torah scholars. Jews everywhere use the Holocaust and anti-semitism as the primary focus and manifestation of their Jewish identity.

Frankly, death as religion sucks.

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Judapest has done it again. Today they link up to the book “Torah Yoga: Experiencing Jewish Wisdom Through Classic Postures

This highly original book introduces a fascinating new approach to yoga and Torah by combining the practice of classic yoga postures with traditional and mystical Jewish wisdom. Each chapter begins by presenting a central Jewish spiritual concept that engages readers of all faiths on a personal level. It offers an in-depth exploration of the concept, quoting and commenting on sacred Jewish texts from the Pentateuch (Five Books of Moses) and other sources. It then guides its readers with mastery and clarity through a meditation and a set of fundamental yoga postures–clearly illustrated by beautiful photographs–for both beginning and advanced yoga students. The Torah concept is actualized and experienced through the practice of these postures. Torah Yoga helps to heighten awareness of body, mind, and spirit—it illuminates the heart of Jewish wisdom.

Also today on Judapest, they have an English translation of a very moving tribute to the Hungarians killed in the Holocaust. In some ways, this short piece affected me in a way that all of the political rememberances and commemorations have not.

Forgive the absence of links, but I don’t feel like searching for them right now. Here are the basics of the story:

- Richard Wagner, though a great composer, proved that musicians should keep out of politics and social issues by spending his most popular years as an outspoken and vitriolic antisemite.
- The Nazis were inspired by Wagner. He was their touchstone in some respects.
- For many years, playing Wagner in Israel was taboo and no symphony played his music.
- Daniel Barenboim, an Argentinian-born Jew who had lived in Israel and is considered one of the finest classical musicians and conductors of this period, lobbied to play Wagner in Israel.
- After much wrangling and lots of anger and wasted newspaper ink, Barenboim foisted his personal feelings upon Israelis of all stripes by breaking the taboo and playing Wagner in Israel. He played a portion of Tristan and Isolde after arguing, from the stage, before the performance for almost an hour with members of the audience.
- Having foisted his feelings and beliefs, in the free country of Israel, upon many who didn’t want to have to deal with the disgust of having the antisemitically inspired music of a man who inspired Nazis with his music, Barenboim left Israel again to continue galivanting around the globe with his successful career.

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Remember this? I don’t think VW likes the publicity it garnered and wants to sue…

Volkswagen is to take legal action against the mystery duo who made the controversial suicide bomber short film that apparently shows an Arab blowing himself up in a Polo car.

If it can find the producers of the ad, Lee and Dan.

But the company privately admitted that it cannot locate Lee and Dan, the London based advertising creative partnership who dreamed up the film, which has been seen around the world via the internet. “We are prepared to pursue the two individuals but need to locate them to ensure the success of our legal claim,” the company said in a private memo.

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The Muffti has never been a fan of assasination targeted killing. He was thus elated to notice that the Israelis have promised to stop. As a show of good faith, following Abbas’ negotiations with terrorist groups liberationist organizations like Hamas towards a cease fire. “Wherever the area remains quiet there will not be any Israeli action,” said a source from Sharon’s office. See the CNN report. The Muffti likes to be optimistic.

It’s always hard to tell when one is being soft on terrorism as opposed to constructively trying to advance towards peace. And it is a bit hard to see how well negotiations can possibly go when some of the groups you are negotiating with are committed to your unqualified destruction. The cease fire seem pretty tenuous at best: Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade threatened to pull out after the IDF shot a man fleeing arrest during a raid. Finally, there is reason to believe that contrary to popular reports, the rockets are still flying just landing impotently. See: this story in Isrealnn. So much for cease fires. The Muffti recognizes room for pessimism.

Oh well. Hope for the best. If I was a praying type, I’d say something like Elohim Yishmor. Or some other cheesy phrase that ck likes to rattle off

Muffti wants to move to Israel, as he likes faking being sick when he can get sympathy for it. And apaprently it is like real sex rather than masturbation. Haaretz reports that Israelis take more sick days than their counterparts in Europe and Asia. Since Kenny always rants about plagiarism (actually, he only did so once) I’ll just quote some of the relevant bits.

The committee found that over the past 20 years there had been a steady increase in the number of days workers remained away from their jobs following an accident at work. While in the 1980s the average sick leave was 16 to 20 days, in 2001 it reached an all-time high of 40 days, dropping to 34 days in 2003. This compares with an average absence of 19-25 days in Europe and even fewer days in Asia.

The committee, headed by Dr. Avi Grippel, an expert in work safety, found that ironically, the number of days of sick leave rose at a time when the number of work accidents fell. However the number of days of sick leave in general was almost doubled during this period, from 1.3 million to 2.5 million. In 2001, the NII paid NIS 350 million for sick leave and in 2003 it paid NIS 221 million, to some 62,000 workers. The average payment is NIS 150 per day.

Wow! I can make Kenny happy and post a (lightly) negative story about Israelis (because I know Laya likes it) and not have to type to much. Working less is jewlicious!

From the JPost

Until the 18th century there was basically only one kind of Judaism, that which is now called Orthodox. It meant living by the religion’s 613 laws, and doing so suffused Jews’ lives with their faith.

Then, starting with the thinker Baruch Spinoza (1632-77) and moving briskly during the Haskala (”enlightenment”) from the late 18th century on, Jews developed a wide variety of alternate interpretations of their religion, most of which diminished the role of faith in their lives and led to a concomitant reduction in Jewish affiliation.

These alternatives and other developments, in particular the Holocaust, caused the ranks of the Orthodox to be reduced to a small minority. Their percentage of the world Jewish population reached a nadir in the post-World War II era, when it declined to about 5%.

The subsequent 60 years, however, witnessed a resurgence of the Orthodox element. This was, again, due to many factors, especially a tendency among the non-Orthodox to marry non-Jews and then to have fewer children.

Recent figures for the United States published by the National Jewish Population Survey point in this direction. The Orthodox proportion of American synagogue members, for example, went from 11 percent in 1971 to 16 percent in 1990 to 21 percent in 2000-01. (In absolute numbers, it bears noting, the American Jewish population went steadily down during these decades.)

Should this trend continue, it is conceivable that the ratio will return to somewhat where it was two centuries ago, with the Orthodox again constituting the great majority of Jews. Were that to happen, the non-Orthodox phenomenon could seem in retrospect but an episode, an interesting, eventful, consequential – and yet doomed – search for alternatives, suggesting that living by the law may be essential for maintaining a Jewish identity over the long term.

Full article here.

Business 2.0, a business magazine that somehow survived the dot com bust and seems to be doing well these days, published a list of the “101 Dumbest moments in business” (subscription needed) of the past year.

What does this have to do with Jewlicious?

Well, maybe it’s that one of the authors of the article is Adam Horowitz. He’s gotta be Jewish, right? If he isn’t, he should convert or change his name. Maybe it’s that they use an Israeli photographer, Rafael Fuchs, for some of their pics? Perhaps it’s the connection with its owner, Time Inc., which is really a part of Time Warner, a company descended from the famed Warner Bros. Hollywood studio, founded and run for many decades by the Jewish immigrant Warner Brothers from Poland? Maybe it’s the obvious Jewishness of Bugs Bunny and the Tasmanian Devil from Warner Bros. animation studios?

Maybe.

Or maybe it’s the #39 item on the list of the 101 Dumbest Moments in Business, which gives us the legendary and singular Dov Charney,

“OK, but why did she go back for seven interviews?
Dov Charney, founder of American Apparel – a company whose reputation has been built around its high-quality, politically correct “sweatshop-free” T-shirts – agrees to be interviewed by a reporter from Jane magazine, who reports in July that Charney masturbated eight times in her presence over the course of two months.”

Dedicated Jewlicious readers know this is a well deserved prize and now I can’t wait for the 101 Dumbest Facial Hair Awards of 2004 article.

By the way, #40 goes to Conrad Black, who is, of course, a Canadian who gave up his Canadian-ness to become a British Lord (Lord Black of Crossharbour). He’s also the former owner of the Jerusalem Post, and married to the lovely Barbara Amiel, who is Jewlicious, and who loved Lord Black of Crossharbour enough to leave Canada to return to the Old Country, where she was born, with him. In gratitude, and no doubt from a profound love for her (stop being so cynical, the guy loves her, and how can you not love a Libertarian who wants the state to stay out of people’s bedrooms), he ponied up $1.1 million, according to the article, in order to provide her with gainful employment, while spending another $42,870 on a birthday party at NY City’s La Grenouille restaurant, where you might find our own amiable ck dining frequently and spending the big bucks he makes here at Jewlicious.

Oh, did I mention that this post is about to go into the archives? Mooo.

The IDF announced the impending disbanding of all Hesder units this coming March. Hesder units are made up of religious-Zionist Yeshivah students who combine Yeshivah study and Army service. Serving in such units allows the soldiers involved to fulfil their Army service requirements while minimizing violations of Jewish religious law, like kashrut, that are commonplace in the army:

…hesder provides a convenient framework for discharging two different – and to some extent conflicting – obligations. It enables a talmid, morally and psychologically, to salve both his religious and his national conscience, by sharing in the collective defense burden without cutting himself off from the matrix of Torah…
-Harav Aharon Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion

Hesder unit soldiers typically serve in the IDF for 18 months, then attend Yeshivah for three years followed by 6-7 months in an integrated, non-Hesder unit. Major General Elazar Stern, head of IDF Manpower justified his unprecedented and unilateral decision by stating that:

“In the past, these companies were desirable because the army felt it was helping religious youngsters who want to join the IDF continue religious observance in the army,” Stern said on Tuesday.

However, the situation today is different, he said. “I think this is not a good structure. The IDF is the people’s army. Each soldier brings his values and they are discussed with others. This is the best move for the IDF, and probably the best move for the State of Israel,” Stern told Israel Radio.

Way to go. Now all religious individuals will be viewed with suspicion and will be presumed guilty of disloyalty. Way to further isolate an already embattled but important element of Israeli society. Good job IDF. This bonehead move will be remembered along with other dumb stuff like ignoring intelligence reports emanating from Egypt in 1973.

Wow.

Forward magazine has dedicated their entire Arts section this week to the fascinating subject of Sephardic Jews. The well intentioned but slightly patronizing article by Seth Rogovoy What the Klezmer Revival Can Teach Sephardic Music was more than balanced out by Sami Shalom Chetrit’s kinda offensive, but otherwise hilarious piece of poetry Who Is a Jew and What Kind of Jew?.

Jerusalem born actress Natalie Portman received a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in the movie Closer. So what are Natalie’s chances?

Her heavy competition, at least according to oddsmakers, is Virginia Madsen in Sideways. Now I’m sure Virginia is a great actress and all, but Sideways totally sucked! What a crappy, vapid and totally vacuous piece of sh*t movie. If ever there was evidence of the existence of faustian bargains, Sideways is it. And if I overhear another pretentious shlubb wax poetic about the delicateness of the pinot noire grape whilst trying to get into some woman’s pants, I swear I’ll vomit. Besides, I bet grandmuffti’s parents loved Sideways. That alone should eliminate it from contention.

Anyhow, I’m rooting for Natalie, not because she’s Jewish, and not because as we speak she’s probably sleeping peacefully mere minutes away from me, but because Closer was an excellent, thought provoking film, and Portman’s character was great. Also, frankly I think we ought to all be a bit more supportive of Natalie. Apparently, she missed the Golden Globes and is not going to go to the Oscars because apparently she’s intimidated by the glitz and glamour. I personally don’t think that’s the case at all – Hebrew U.’s ulpan is friggin hard and very time consuming. Natalie can’t just run to the US every other day and keep up with all her assignments. Go Natalie, you rock!

In other great Oscar news, Mel Gibson’s snuff film, you know, that Passion thing, got totally shut out. All the boys at Stormfront are really sad about that. Oh well. That almost makes up for all the Sideways hype. Almost.

Oh look at that, while laya and I were busy planning and plotting how to best get more North American youth to Israel, israellycool got started on the Jewish Blog Awards voting. Thus we urge you to go and vote for your fave yiddle blogs, check out the others that you may not have heard of yet and just, you know, have fun with it. Oh… and stay tuned for some new, exciting and groundbreaking news from the gang at Jewlicious. I’d post it now but Joe is kicking me out of his office. Feh.

Our new friends at Judapest – a site that stands out for its beauty and content even if one doesn’t speak the requisite Hungarian – and I were having a brief chat where one commented that living in Eastern Europe at this time evokes cognitive dissonance (here, ck: www.dictionary.com ). It came up because one of their authors lives in a house that was a safe house during the war. However, there is no plaque to commemorate the location.

I thought about that today as the UN commemorated 60 years to the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviets. Kofi Annan said to the General Assembly,

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Premier of French Province Caves

Man do I feel stupid. After making a gutsy but surprising decision to subsidize private Jewish day schools at the same levels that public schools are funded, Premiere Jean Charest and his Liberal government pulled a flip-flop. They surrendered to fiercely secular Quebec teachers Unions (who just happen to always be very well represented at all anti-Israel rallies in the province … just sayin’). They abdicated in the face of an ill informed an highly partisan “outcry” represented by the xenophobic sounding sentiments of the opposition Parti Quebecois education critic Pauline Marois. So unimpressive. And the PQ wonders why their support in the Jewish community is always restricted to a handful of marginal individuals. And Charest wonders why his leadership of the Quebec Liberal party has been considered weak.

And what of our organized Jewish community leaders?

Charles Levy of Federation CJA said: “… I think that it is wonderful that the debate has not turned into anti-Semitism.”

So now we’re handing out brownie points for being normal? The Jewish community is saying “Oh wow! You may harbor anti-semitic sentiments, but thanks so much for not expressing them publicly!” Is it any wonder some Zionists expressed disdain for weak-ass, shtetl-based, diaspora Jews?

So much for ahavat chinam. If the mashiach comes today, it sure won’t be because of me.

Finally! No more running out of the meeting room apologizing, “I’m sorry, let me get rid of this call.” Israelis are apparently on the verge of marketing a technology that will enable people to have silent conversations over the cell phone.

In other news, here’s a story about a young Israeli computer scientists who was chosen as one of four scientists profiled in the latest issue of the prestigious British science journal Nature. “The journal’s special issue marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of three of Albert Einstein’s landmark theories, when the acclaimed genius was only 26.”

Just a few days ago, the New York Times reported about Collette Avital’s report on the incomprehensible delay on the part of Israel’s banks and the state of Israel to compensate Holocaust survivors and their heirs who held accounts during WWII. Today, Haaretz has published a scathing and right-on-target assessment of the immorality of the banks’ and state’s position. Worse of all, the article points out, this behavior will reflect very badly on all Jews, inside of Israel and out. For some reason, the Israelis are not “getting it.”

If you have an account with an Israeli bank, I suggest you send your branch’s manager a strong letter about this matter. Here are a couple of salient points from the article, although you should read it all to feel rage coursing through your veins.

The banks had better realize the course they are facing: If they do not pay at once and without trying to be smart alecks, they will pay after becoming the target – together with the entire Jewish nation – of endless contempt and derision. The world media will condemn the hypocrisy of the Jews, who are demanding compensation from the whole world but refusing the pay themselves. The banks might also be threatened with constraints on their activity abroad, as the Swiss banks were in the United States.

and this:

Moreover, it is unthinkable to oblige the heirs to prove that the account owner has died, as if death certificates were handed out in Auschwitz. This was the Jewish organizations’ central demand of the Swiss banks, and it must apply to the custodian and Israeli banks as well. To prove eligibility, the list of Holocaust victims in Yad Vashem should suffice, and even that should not be necessary (for the list does not include all the victims). The fact that a person held an account that has never been cashed should be enough so that his heirs receive the money, even if he did not perish in the Holocaust but survived, and did not receive his money.

Maybe we should petition Bronfman and the WJC to go after them. The shame!

If we get locusts tomorrow, I’m so blaming bus 8.
(they actually started calling it “birthrightIsrael: Jews Gone Wild”)

” Heavy snow on Mount Hermon, rains, hailstorms and an earthquake in Jerusalem measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale struck Israel SaturdayThe earthquake was felt primarily in northern Jerusalem, and no damage ‘ was reported. Mount Hermon recently opened its ski site, but skiers received too much of a good thing as the facility was shut down for a few hours because of a heavy snowstorm along with winds up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour.”

And I know first hand it’s been hailing like mad in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

By my count, this is Israel’s fourth earthquake in a year.

But all this is totally normal….right?

Vanunu could not be reached for comment.

Long, but always worth it.

“One of the greatest gifts we have in this world is the ability to make choices in our lives. Though sometimes, we might wish we didn’t have to make those choices.

They had trained us for just such a moment. Again and again, this exact question had come up; in fact, an entire day in Officer’s course had been dedicated to this very question. What would you do? How would you respond? And all of us, without fail, had reached the same conclusions. Intellectually the choice was very clear, and made infinite sense. But that didn’t make the choice any easier.

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Avi Dichter, head of the Shin Bet, gave a moving eulogy for Oded Sharon, the agent who was killed apprehending a suicide bomber.