Yes, yes, I know it’s not the Jewish new year. Still, virtually all of us work and live at least a portion and perhaps most of our lives according to another calendar and today a new year begins on that calendar. I would like to wish all of our readers, active participants, posters and your families a happy, healthy and good new year.

Hat tip Bangitout.com

I responded to Laya’s post about intermarriage on my blog. I linked to the response from Jewlicious, but for some reason (my pathetic Internet) it never quite went up. I’m reading Arthur Hertzberg’s anthology, The Zionist Idea, and apparently one of the more obscure Zionists saw things much as I do. Note the word “obscure.” Meaning, it’s quite possible I don’t know what I’m talking about. I’d look up which one it was, but I’m going to Israel on this very blog’s trip in about a minute, so sleep, travels, then more Zionist history when I return…

[REVISED]
Saddam (may his named be blotted out) was executed on the 8th of Tevet, the same day that Adolph Eichmann was sentenced to death 1961. Saddam )may his name be erased and trashed forever) was a bad man, and no amount of apologetics from ultra-leftists (calling him our dictator) can change the fact that Saddam (may his named be blotted out) was evil, perpetuated evil, even if at times at the behest of other countries. I remember running for bomb shelters and sealed rooms in 1991, donning our gas masks, unsure which of the next scuds was carrying the promised payload of biological or chemical weapons. Boy, that was fun! Saddam (may his named be blotted out) also tortured and repressed Jews in Iraq. A recent Al Jazeera propaganda piece though on You Tube seems to claim otherwise. Did he receive a “fair trial”, General Wesley Clark? Fair trail in Baghdad, yah. He should have been hung the moment they found him in the little pit.

Source

There is no better way to help achieve positive results in my own problems, issues, and personal struggles than by helping others first.

Rarely do I make public appeals for tzedaka. I am myself, overwhelmed with the number of people that need help. However, recently these very important cases have come to my attention and from very reputable sources. Do I need to go into the details?

Well here are the basic issues. A young women with two small kids abandoned by her husband. A family whose main breadwinner can’t find any clients. A Jewish couple from that cannot afford a wedding.

All tzedakah is tax deductible, and you just give them your credit card over the phone. Please Call: 888 MITZVOS
Please mention that the donation is for the attention of Mrs. Maschinsky so I can direct your donations towards these causes.

May the merit of our tzedakah help those in need of healing, recovery, and rescue.

A recent op-ed in the Jpost proposes a new solution to address the American Jewish community’s elephant in the room: Intermarriage.

The first half of the article bemoans those named “Cohen and Friedman marrying McCarthys or O’Connors, instead of each other,” and calls it a “crisis of unprecedented proportions, one that will only worsen over time if drastic steps aren’t taken, and soon.”

So what might these drastic steps look like? Obviously, another free trip to Israel.

Looking at the “success” of Taglit-birthright israel, the author, Michael Freund, suggests the following:

The idea is very simple: the American Jewish community would give every Jew who ties the knot a free 10-day trip to Israel to be used within the first year of marriage.

All American Jews, regardless of whom they marry, would be eligible to participate, with the goal being to spark their interest in all things Jewish as they set out to build a family.

First of all, the “success” of Taglit-birthright israel is a tricky question. Surely “success” should not be based on attendance, for if I was giving away free 10 day trips to Cancun to all Jewish college students, I’m sure my program would be a huge success as well. To the best of my knowledge, there have been no independently funded studies measuring how many birthright alumni are compelled to marry Jewish or live more Jewish lives because of the program.

Nonetheless, while Freund’s idea for this last-ditch attempt at saving the American Jewish soul is sweet, it is a band-aid solution at best. A connection to Israel does not a Jewish identity make. Why not propose a solution which not only addresses the problem closer to the root, but gives individuals the tools needed in order to know how to build a Jewish household?

The money he proposes the “American Jewish community” ponies up to pay for this would be far better spent making full time Jewish education affordable for all who want it, thus instilling a sense of why one would want to marry a Jew, rather than simply rewarding those who might do so latter in life.

Only a fraction of American Jewish Youth have a Jewish education that extends beyond Bar and Bat Mitzvah age. Just as we start shaping our identities, personal values and world view, the voice of Jewish wisdom is pulled out of our lives. My experience with birthright groups tells me that the majority of the participants lead Jewishly ambivalent lives not so much out of choice but out of ignorance. That is the real problem and another trip to Israel is not going to change it.

So how do we really fight intermarriage?

People say you can’t choose who you love. This is only true to a point. I’ve never seen a girl accustomed to a upper class kind of life fall in love and marry a nice boy struggling to make ends meet while living in his parents basement.

No matter how cute he might be, she will have made a decision, consciously or not, to only pursue relationships with men who can provide her with the kind of lifestyle she wants.

So too with Judaism. If Judaism is important to you, not just as a latent sense of “heritage” but as a daily lifestyle choice, influencing where you live, work, volunteer, give charity to, the books you read, the news you watch, what and where you choose to eat, your sexual ethics, your value system, what you’re doing Saturday afternoon, your daily, weekly and yearly life rhythm, then you will naturally seek relationships with partners who can share in, and provide you with, the kind of lifestyle you’ve chosen.

If Judaism is important to you, it may or may not dictate who you marry. If Judaism is a vital and daily part of your life, it probably will.

Israel is not a magic bullet. Ten fun-filled days can no more repair a relationship between a Jew and Judaism than it could between an long time absentee father and child.

Let’s see:

Olmert, Peretz and Halutz have still not resigned.

There are two gazillion internal investigations inside the IDF, attempting to figure out what went right and what went wrong. There are no investigations of the IDF by unaffiliated third parties.

There are two ongoing investigations of the functioning of the Israeli government during the Lebanon War, but neither one has the stature required to truly investigate. In fact, it appears the PM’s office has been resisting, with some ease, providing documents demanded by the investigating comptroller.

In the meantime, the IDF is paralyzed. The army seems incapable of truly learning from its mistakes and rebuilding for the next war. If the same folks who screwed up Lebanon remain in power, as is the case right now, what hope for improvement is there? It was ass-kissing and politics that brought this regime of generals into the top slots, and as we’ve seen this is not a formula for producing quality or even acceptable outcomes in war.
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Usually I read Akiva Eldar with some apprehension, but I simply had to quote the following hilarious** paragraphs from this article in Ha’aretz:

Olmert’s refusal to talk with the Syrians made Labor MK Matan Vilnai reminisce about his mother. On Tuesday, during a discussion in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Vilnai said Assad’s peace efforts should not be ignored. The retired general said that before the Yom Kippur War, “My Egyptian mother used to say we have to compromise with the Arabs. I was a young officer full of strength, and I thought we need not rush to respond to the Egyptians.”

MK Yossi Beilin asked if that was also how his father, Prof. Ze’ev Vilnai, a Greater Land of Israel proponent, felt. “The smart one in the family was Mom, and Mom was always right,” Vilnai answered with a smile.

Committee chairman Tzachi Hanegbi intervened: “What would happen if my mother were also always right?” said the Knesset member who forewent the right-wing doctrines of his mother, Geula Cohen, in favor of the center. It would be even more interesting if Hanegbi’s Kadima colleagues, and primarily Olmert, were to start listening to Tzipi Livni’s mother. The foreign minister has come a long way from the house of her father, Eitan Livni, the operations officer of the Irgun, to Condoleezza Rice’s apartment in Washington.

** Please note that I had some port earlier.

One of the bolder projects that has recently emerged from Jewish philanthropy is a trip to Israel called Leading Up North. Run by the newly created Center for leadership Initiatives and funded by philanthropist Lynn Schusterman, the trip

will involve repair of cities and towns, bomb shelters, and forests which have been devastated by the violence [caused by Hizballah Katyushas this summer]. A specially tailored educational curriculum will be offered by scholars-in-residence with expertise in service learning.

The 500 trip participants were drawn from Hillel students, young professionals recruited by the Jewish Coalition for Service and ROI120 alumni who paid a mere $180 for the 10-day trip and the opportunity to lend a hand to the residents of northern Israel. It seems like everyone I know in New York just left and it’s just me and David Kelsey holding down the fort here in New York, standing guard over Babylon.

The trip seems like an awesome idea and I hope it goes well, but, as in all things Jewish, there have been rumblings of discontent and the usual logistical issues. For instance, some municipal officials in northern Israel have noted that the money spent on the trip would have done their constituents more good had it come in the form of cash rather than otherwise well meaning young diasporah Jews. It has also been noted that the trip organizers purchased a type of paint unsuitable for use in bomb shelters. But hey… anyone can make a mistake. What’s important is that certain goals are met:

By allowing 500 young people to engage in real engagement in Israel’s North, CLI is seeking to reduce the distance between Israel and the Diaspora and to model global Jewish community.

Reducing distance… engaging in real engagement. That’s what it’s all about.

So how’s it going so far? The participants landed in Israel early this morning. They travelled up north and were shuttled from speaker to speaker prior to attending a dance party. People were dropping left right and center because no one saw fit to let the kids rest after a long plane ride. Hotels were unavailable until after the party. I don’t know how wise that planning was… how effective can our young Jewish leaders be if they are completely knackered?? Oh well… stay tuned for more updates. Looks like I’ll be the only one posting about this too because no one there has Internet access either… Good luck guys!

Does this look like a desert to you?

It’s snowing in Jerusalem, and I, a former native of the American Mid-west, am pissed off. Winter in a wet, cold Jerusalem, where they continue to build houses without proper insulation is no treat to begin with. Especially when you realize that umbrellas in the rain are no use anyway, as the wind just contorts them into skeletons of their former selves. But snow? This is what I left Chicago because of! Well, that and something about the Zionist dream which I don’t remember exactly.

Israelis, unjaded by living half their years in a dead, barren landscape of endless grey, love the snow and get all excited about it. Giddy, even.

I attempted to go take some photos of Jerusalem of White and Jerusalemites playing in the demon-powder, but much to my chagrin, my patio is as far as I could get. You see, the weight of the snow has pulled the leaves and branches, which you see above, into a position where they completely block my staircase up to the rest of the world.

Hopefully the problem will remedy itself overnight, otherwise I might have to call on some volunteers to throw me down some supplies.

Until then, I’m just gonna close the shades and pretend like this is not happening. I hate snow almost as much as I hate babies, and I’m somewhat convinced that simply ignoring either helps them go away.

We know a great phrase when we see it. And so, apparently, does Pissed Off Liberal Jew who commented earlier as follows: “Oh it would be so hot on College Campuses.”

Well now it can be! Introducing the newest addition to our Jewlicious Apparel line of ironical Jewish themed shirts: Palestine is for Lovers.

We have also recently brought back due to popular demand our I Love Israel shirts, written both in Arabic and in English, Feel the love people, feel the love!.

See also Palestine is for Gay Lovers!

…starting with a strong belief that the Jews control everything. Carter has blamed trouble getting onto college campuses with his new book Palestine Is For Lovers, on Jewish influence. That is the same thing that got Judith Regan fired from NewsCorps, according to some good sources at the Daily News, Regan was fired for, “after she ranted that a “Jewish cabal” was “conspiring” to smear her in the media and ruin her career, a spokesman for her former employer claimed on Monday. The news has hit everywhere, especially among publishers in Russia who were looking forward to the OJ book, before letting the KGB publish, If We Had Killed Alexander Litvinenko.

I know zilch about Regan and her tabloidification of publishing, but it seemed not out of line with the rest of what passed for reading materials. But that she and Carter should both be victims of the same cabal, albeit different divisions! Ghastly Horror!

Of course there were many Jewish connections with Regan’s doomed OJ Book— Ron Goldman was murdered along with Nichole Simpson, OJ had a fancy Jewish attorney (lest we forget). And OJ owes Ron Goldman’s family 33 million after loosing the civil suit.

Ariel Beery. You may know him from his work on Columbia Unbecoming, or from his mag Presentense, or from his Blogs of Zion blog, or from his op eds in the Forward and the Jerusalem Post, or from the good times with Mobius as well as the bad times. Everybody Jewish it seems knows Mr. Beery.

Or do they? I’ve just had the privilege of staying at his digs in NYC for a week. This gave me tremendous insite into the real Ariel. Check out the video clip above where Mr. Hashomer Hatzair rocks the Chanukiah with Aaron Small (formerly of the weirdest Jewish philanthropy ever – the Forest Foundation) and Lindsay Litowitz of Livnot. Last night, Ariel threw a party that was attended by like, the Jewiest Jews in New York City. Of course our Esther was there as were a whole mess of current/former/infrequent Jewschool bloggers namely David Kelsey, EV, Balam’s Donkey, Lilit Marcus (who I am sure thinks I am a total asshole, so to make up for that I will point you to 2 of her projects, namely Lilit in Stereo, her personal blog which I just added to our blogroll and Save the Assistants which is oodles of fun) and Shabot6000. There were others there too, like Aryeh Goldsmith of JRants and other projects, Sydney Henning from birthright israel, and a few folks I recognized from ROI120.

Man… Al Qaeda really missed out on a great opportunity… So what did we all do? Foment revolution? Discuss new ways to save the Jews? Study a blat of Gmarah? Nope. Allwe did pretty much was get drunk. And take lots of silly pics.

Hey… we’re all entitled to a day off once in a while, no?? Even Ariel Beery gets a day off…

Enjoy the party pics below!

www.flickr.com Jewlicious’ Ariel Beery’s Party photoset

Cindy Chupack’s piece in the New York Times Style Section, “Jewish in a Winter Wonderland,” is a glorious Christmas “coming out” story, of a married couple, both Jews, who decide to “rebel” and embrace Christmas. The Jewish Christmas dilemma is, of course, a secular Jewish dilemma, one faced by those who feel a void in their spiritual and family-gathering lives and believe Christmas is what’s missing. (Some secular Jews feel no such void, and thus use Internet on Saturday afternoon but have no use for December 25th other than as a chance to perhaps see the “Borat” movie a second time).

Christmas being what it is in America today, empty of religious significance to so many, especially in places like New York, it’s hard to see the harm in those who are not Christians in the sense of believing in Christ as a savior nevertheless celebrating the holiday. Is it worse for an apathetic Jew to celebrate Christmas than for a non-believing person of any other origin to do so?

Chupack’s words give something of an answer:

“In my humble opinion, Jews have yet to make Hanukkah decorations beautiful, unless you consider a blue-and-white paper dreidel beautiful, but what can you expect from a holiday whose spelling is constantly up for debate.”

Ah yes, Christmas should be celebrated not to fit in, not because it’s fun, but because it’s specifically better than anything the Jews have come up with. Christmas should be celebrated out of self-hatred, out of the shame of coming from a tradition so friggin weird that it requires the occasional transliteration. As for the relative beauty of the holidays, this doesn’t seem nearly so straightforward–as any child with pyromaniac tendencies could tell you, an opportunity to play with fire is far, far more exciting than the hanging of giant socks on a mantle.

The most annoying thing about this seemingly endlessly irritating article is Chupack’s bizarre, patting-herself-on-the-back, rationalizing conclusion, which follows a whole riff on how she does actually care about Jewish continuity, what with her Jewish husband and future Jewish children, from whom she will hide this whole youthful Christmas extravaganza (until the day they learn how to put their mother’s name into Google, that is.):

“On the other hand, maybe it’s nice to teach children that holidays can be done à la carte. Every religion, every culture has so many beautiful rituals and traditions to choose from. Maybe celebrating is a step toward tolerating.”

Haven’t we as a society moved pass this sort of PC-inspired nonsense? Are Chupack and her future children planning on observing a really stunning Ramadan as well, just to better understand the Other? Chupack does not so much care about tolerance when it comes to her own group. Jews are just a guilt-providing, ugly-holiday-having, strange-spelling community of losers. So why, then, does she care about continuity? Why not make a point in marrying someone observant of another faith, so as to make absolutely sure her children never have to be put in such an awkward and embarrassing position?

Seriously, “Borat” and bars. December 25th is a day off for many of us, enjoy!

And many happy orgasms. Um, to those of you in committed relationships…

If you haven’t noticed the rather large banner on the side of Jewlicious, go ahead and click on it now. It will take you to Bikkurim, a NY based incubator for new Jewish Ideas. Applications to join them are open until Feb. 1 and if you’ve got a hot Jewish project, trust me, you want to.

Bikkurim will help you give your project the tools and experience it needs to succeed in every stage from development to sustainability.

What does this mean? In addition to free NYC office space to house your fledgling organization, being incubated by Bikkurim means you get free consulting and help with organizational development in addition to cash stipends, subsidised services and a peer network of talented Jews.

Funded from a private donor, with little discernible agenda other than to help good projects see the light of day and flourish in it, Bikkurim is open to just about anything new. They’re super friendly, so feel free to give them a call to talk out whether your project would be a good fit.

Special thanks goes out to director of Bikkuim, Nina Bruder.

Coming Soon to a Federation/Jewish Philanthropy Near You!

Aw man, we missed an awesome party the other day when Jewcy.com pulled out all stops and held a swank, exclusive little affair at their family-owned Ars Nova Theatre, which is apparently equipped with a fancy shmancy apartment on top.

We didn’t go because we weren’t invited but Gawker’s Team Party Crash was there to celebrate at Jewcy’s Launch Party. They even got Nikola Tamindzic to take photos of the assembled Jewcy Media Conspiracy. Oddly, while Gawker saw fit to publish the pics (and brilliantly snarky comments) Nikola did not add the pics to his ultra hip party pic Web site, ambrel.net. Why? Probably because the Jewcy party lacked sufficient eye candy and/or public nudity (thank God!).

Also, Jews of a certain milieu are just not hip, try as they may. They may be well monied, they may serve and drink top-shelf liquor, they may wear red tinted glasses, they may be accompanied by trophy shiksas, they may have all the outer trapppings of hipness (a “Jewish Salon.com” indeed!) but really, all I can see when I look at them are the lovable shleppy, shtetl Jews from whence they sprang and from whom they try create as much distance as possible.

That having been said, yeah maybe they’re not cool enough for the ambrel.net, but somewhere out there is a Jewish community professional looking at these pics and reading Jewcy.com and thinking “Oh man! The kids’ll really dig this exciting brand of Judaism! We need to take all this hip Jewishness and turn it into a program/conference/publication/Israel trip/social networking Web site etc. etc. and this will surely lead to the salvation of the Jews!!”

God help us all.

Hat tip: Frickin Esther

It’s Chanukah in Babylon and the Chabadniks are out in full force, asking everyone if they’re Jewish and then giving out doughnuts, latkes and menorahs to anyone who asks. I met these guys in Union Square in New York and I liked them. They were smiley and friendly and earnest and they gave me a latke. And Ariela? Well… she gave them a piece of her mind, something about accosting people on the street like Hare Krishnas or Mormons. Of course the Chabad guys never ask for money or anything, all they do is give and I think even Ariela could not withstand the force of this one dude’s smile. This photo shows Ariela being fake-indignant. The other photo in my camera shows her smiling but Ariela says she doesn’t look good happy. But that’s a whole other story. Happy 6th night of Chanukah people…

As Jews we pray for peace three times a day, and we know the pursuit of peace is one of Judaism’s highest values. But how often do we lay people really get to do something for peace?

Well, tomorrow is your chance.

It’s Global Orgasm Day.

Scientists at Princeton who run Random Event Generators (REGs) around the world will be measuring what changes the energy from a mass synchronized orgasm, in which all participants focus on the concept of peace, will have on the world.

From the website:

The results show that human consciousness can be measured to have a global effect on matter and energy during widely-watched events such as 9/11 and the Indian Ocean tsunami. There have also been measurable results during mass meditations and prayers.

The Zero Point Field or Quantum Field surrounds and is part of everything in the universe. It can be affected by human consciousness, as can be seen when simple observation of a subatomic particle changes the particle’s state.

We hope that a huge influx of physical, mental and spiritual energy with conscious peaceful intent will not only show up on Princeton’s REGs, but will have profound positive effects that will change the violent state of the human world.

See this demo of the science behind it, and feel free to grab yourself a “we came in peace” T shirt from the site.

Conveniently enough, this science experiment for peace corresponds with shabbos – which might just make it triple mitzvah night. So put the kids to sleep a little early, grab your Eishet Chayal and do it for peace.

as much of the old testament seems to be?

Recent scholarship suggests that the answer may well be yes, and that the Hannuka story is largely Hashmonite propaganda and exaggeration, fostered by a government that was controversial in its time. Steven Weitzman, professor at the University of Indiana argues that the description of the antagonist Antiochus and his edicts were massively out of step with the general trend of the Seleucid emperor’s reign, which generally consisted in religious tolerance and a strong interest in plunder. As Weitzman puts it:

When Antiochus IV’s father first conquered Palestine, he displayed much respect toward the Temple and used his authority to protect the Jews’ traditions…Most of the sources relating these events were written a very long time after they took place. They do not provide sufficient information and are occasionally contradictory.

Why would anyone make up a story, or engage in such an act of hyperbole?

The Maccabees have been considered heroes for so long, that it is hard to imagine that in their time, their rule was extremely controversial. They and their descendants, the Hasmonean dynasty, presented themselves as high priests, but did not belong to a family that held that position for a long time. Neither did they belong to the House of David dynasty, which was supposed to produce kings. Therefore many Jews did not recognize the Hasmoneans as legitimate rulers.

Muffti isn’t really sure what to make of this, since he is no expert and hasn’t seen Weitzman’s paper first hand. Anyone in the know care to fill in some details?

If you’re in Jerusalem, tonight is the Interfaith Chanukah Celebration with the Abrahamic Reunion at the Van Leer Institute. The Abrahamic Reunion is a group of Muslim, Christian, Druze, and Jewish religious and spiritual leaders, and they have invited everyone to an interfaith
celebration of the fifth candle of Hannukah on tonight at 5:00 PM.

Rav Ari Smadja, the Chief Rabbi of Ramat Shlomo will give teachings in the spirit of Hannukah. There will be music and piyutim for Hannukah and food (vegetarian but no hechsher). The Hanukah candles will be kindled with blessings for peace by Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Druze religious leaders from the Abrahamic Reunion. Yeah, it’s a little kumbaya-esque, but who can take offense to peace?

Invited participants include Druze Sheikh Hussein Abu Rukkun, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari, Ibtisam Mahamid, Jiries Mansour, Reverend Abuna Abu Hatoum, Ibrahim Abuelhawa, Elias Jabbour, Imam Khalil Albaz, Elana Roszenman, Rabbi Zion Cohen and other special guests.

Sadly, I will not be able to attend because I am in New York. But had I been in Jerusalem I totally would have gone. I actually enjoy these interfaith things. Well, I actually enjoy meeting the Arab participants – they really remind me of my own family with the hard working parents, the shy kids etc. Most of the Jewish participants however, I totally cannot relate to and I often wonder, whilst shrouded in a patchouli scented mist, what exactly it is some of these people uh… you know, do for a living. Maybe you can go, find out and then tell me…

When: Tuesday Dec. 19th, 5:00-7:30 PM, the 5th candle
Where: at the Van Leer Institute, Rehov Hanasi, in the Talbieh neighborhood, Jerusalem
For more info contact Eliyahu at 02-563-7578 and 050-569-1697.

American Apparel has declred December 25th “Online Jewish Shopping Day” and they’ve also added a Jewish educational component to boot!

American Apparel explains on their corporate blog:

We know, Christmas sucks if you’re Jewish. Stores are closed, restaurants are overbooked, and there’s nothing but football and It’s a Wonderful Life on T.V. … But this year Christmas needn’t be a lonely day filled only with Chinese food and afternoon matinees. We want everyone to have a reason to celebrate December 25th, so we are declaring it Online Jewish Shopping Day. Come to the American Apparel online store on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and we will have a neat little Hebrew School quiz for you. Pass or fail, you get 20% off your purchase… And no, you don’t actually have to be Jewish to take the quiz. Hot Shiksas and friendly Goyim of every sort are welcome. Mazel Tov!

Check out the test here – it’s not that easy. Clearly, having been bought out by some fund has not dampenned American Apparel’s ability to just be whacky. War on Christmas or no War on Christmas, when has a major retailer ever contributed to your Jewish education? Happy Chanukah Dov Charney! Thanks for the discount…

Heck, we’ve written a lot about them and now the company is no longer Mr. Charney’s. The New York Times reports they’ve been sold to a private equity firm for nearly $400 million smackers. That’s a lot of smackers, but clearly somebody feels there’s plenty of untapped potential there.

American Apparel, the casual clothing chain whose socially-conscious manufacturing, sexually-charged advertising and snug-fitting T-shirts have generated a cult-like following, will be sold to a little-known investment firm for $382.5 million, according to people briefed on the matter.

The decision to sell the privately held company, expected to be announced tomorrow, is a surprise move by the company’s eccentric founder, Dov Charney, who is known for exercising strict, and at times controversial, control over the retailer’s operations.

Mr. Charney has personally photographed many of the semi-naked women featured in American Apparel advertising and is known for hiring employees, most of them female, on the spot during phone calls or at parties.

American Apparel’s buyer, Endeavor Acquisition Corporation, is a small, publicly traded investment group created last year, with less than $125 million in assets. American Apparel is the firm’s first acquisition.. Endeavor Acquisition was founded as a specified purpose acquisition company by Jonathan J. Ledecky, a serial acquirer who started U.S. Office Products in 1994 and turned it into a Fortune 500 company.

Mr. Charney, 37, will remain chief executive after the sale, according to people with direct knowledge of the deal, who discussed the transaction on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Last Thursday, I attended the first show of the Good For the Jews concert tour. It’s really remarkable how much Jewy stuff goes on in New York, especially this time of the year. Maybe people just need a safe harbor from which they can be spared the endless Christmas ditties… So instead we get Rob Tannenbaum’s shmaltzy Jew ditties! I saw Rob at the Just For Laughs Festival Bar Mitzvah Show when he was still performing with Sean Altman. Sean’s since started his own Jew thing called Jewmongous and both shows share guest performers and musical numbers. No, the split was not amicable.

So about the show. Rob is certainly earnest. His new sidekick, David Fagin of indie pop icons the Rosenbergs is cool. There’s some new material, but really it’s all the same… corny lyrics, self-referential catskills-type jokes, Rob is still performing in his bar mitzvah suit, it’s all just so… aw heck, who am I kidding. I laughed. I had a good time. I hate Rob for forcing me to be honest and admit I like shmaltz. There goes my friggin street cred. The show I saw at the Knitting Factory in New York also included comedians Todd Barry (surly mo’ fo’ – Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Sex and the City, Road Trip, Pootie Tang etc.) and Rachel Feinstein (Premium Blend, Samurai Love God – a new Sarah Silverman for those who fetishize female Jewish comediennes – when she imitated her Mom I swear I got the opposite of a woodie!). Also present was country singer-cum-evangelistTammy Faye Starlite. She was a riot and a total bonus!

The show’s already been to New York, Boston, Philadelphia and DC. Good For The Jews next performance will be in Milawaukee and Chicago on the 23rd and the 24th of December. See? Not everyone ignores the midwest! Go to the Good For The Jews Web site for schedules and ticketing information.